Wandering Hedgebot

"I will, and I will do all in my power to aide in this fight," Miraya replied before shaking Thunder's hand.

Rocky, meanwhile, looked over at them, then back to his father and Rika, unsure of whether to rejoin the Metal Freedom Fighters or go home with his father.  Rika walked over to him and put her arm around him.  "You're at a loss for what to do.  I can tell."

"Yeah.  I..I love my father, but I've come to see the Metal Freedom Fighters as an extended family.  Also...I don't know if Dad will ever accept you...and I don't want to have to leave you."

"What does your heart say, Rocky?"

Rocky sighed and looked over at Thunder and Miraya yet again.  "It tells me...to go with them...for you.  They accept you...and always have."

"Wait..." Mr. Collins finally reacted. "Those people could control you...like they controlled me...promise me that you'll never give in to them...no matter how hard it gets." Then he looks at Rika. "My wife...his mom...was just as stubborn as you were...that's why I loved her...you remind me of her...when she was taken from me...I wanted to make sure my son wasn't taken, either..."

"Does this mean...you finally accept me?" asked Rika.

"It sounds like he does, and..if that's the case, I'm coming home."  With that, Rocky turned to face the Metal Freedom Fighters.  "Well, I'm heading home now, guys.  Thanks for everything you've done for me!"

"You're welcome, Rocky," replied Metal.  "You deserve this happiness, and not the hard life you were given thanks to Eggman and GUN.  When this fight is over, perhaps we should visit you."

"That'd be great....if it's alright with Dad."

Mr. Collins' expression was joyful when he said that his son was finally returning home with him.

"Of course it's fine with me." Mr. Collins said. "You all saved my boy, even though I fought you all and caused you so much trouble. I just don't know how I can even begin to thank you."

"Don't worry about it." Thunder said. "Just don't be so cruel and harsh to machines. They only want to help their creators and be their best, just like Rika the IntelliBreeze was."

Then he frowned regretfully. "Oh Rika...I was so horrible to you...I almost killed you...and you were the closest to my son. Can you ever forgive me for being so foolish?"

"Of course," Rika replied with tears of joy in her eyes.  "I never have held a grudge against anyone, and I'm not about to start."

Rocky smiled.  "Sweet as always..."

"Rocky, will we ever play Mario Kart again?" asked Russ.

"I should still have my DS in my bedroom back home, and I have Mario Kart DS.  Maybe the others can get you a DS and the game so we can race over Wi-Fi."

"OK.  That sounds like fun."

While the Metal Freedom Fighters bid farewell to one of their greatest sources of inspiration, Miraya was deep in thought, attempting to sense the location of the corrupted Life Stone that was the Orb of Darkness.  After a few minutes, she received a vision of a cyborg in a cloak with a glowing purple orb in the center of his chest.  Standing next to this figure was a robot that resembled a roboticized Dr. Eggman.  This dastardly duo stood over the remains of the White House.  "Balthasenn has set up a fortress where the center of the United Federation's government once stood.  He has forged an alliance with the one called Dr. Eggman through roboticization."

She then saw another vision.  This one depicted a beam coming from an IntelliBreeze II and roboticizing the people in the room where the fan was installed.

"Devices called IntelliBreezes are being used to further the roboticization of the populace of the United Federation."

"How is that even possible, Miraya?" asked Rika.

"He is no doubt using the electrical power grid to transmit transmutation signals.  It is technology that has existed for thousands of years on Lakuras."

Thunder's face grimaced. "It's worst than I ever thought." Thunder said. "Balthasenn is using the IntelliBreezes to roboticize the public into a hive mind, resuming his conquest, and he's using the Orb of Darkness to do so. They must be stopped before everyone becomes just another metallic puppet! Fiona, set the Zephyr on a course for Station Square, full speed ahead!"

"Coming right up!" Fiona sounded, powering up the ship while Thunder guided everyone on the ground to the Tempest. "Get inside. I'm going to try something for a moment."

"Thunder, are you up to something again?" Indigo asked.

Thunder suddenly created a cloud of static electricity, flying on it high into the air, zooming ahead of the Zephyr. Then, he held up the Chaos Emerald.

"CHAOS CONDUIT!!!"

Suddenly, a prismatic ring of chaos energy appear, growing a bit of distance from the Zephyr, growing until it was gigantic. Through the other side, there was Station Square, with Balthasenn's fortress also in view.

"Head for that portal, Fiona!" Thunder said.

"Um...okay!" she responded.

Then, Thunder got into the Tempest with the others, also heading for the portal. As both ships made it through, they realized that the ring had folded space, getting them to Station Square in mere seconds. Once through, Thunder gave the order to engage Balthasenn's fortress to create a distraction to their defenses. Fiona turned on the shields, activated all weapons, and signalled all combat drones. He asked Miraya to help and support them in case the Orb of Darkness was used on them. He also had Mr. Collins stay on the ship with the President and Amelia. Team Sonic had offered to help with the assault by the Metal Freedom Fighters, and Thunder was glad to accept. Thunder also created a portal leading to his home, the Metal Oasis, rallying every single combat robot in his arsenal. Thunder had one thing on his mind now: the utter defeat of Balthasenn.

"Alright, guys, LET'S GO!" called Metal as he charged at a line of Eggbots, dodging the bullets they attempted to fire at him.  Amy, meanwhile, pulled out her Piko Piko Hammer and swung it at an Eggbot that was approaching her, sending the machine flying into one of the fortress's turrets with enough force to knock it out of commission.

While Amy and Metal took immediate aggressive action against the Eggbot guards, Theo scanned over the fortress, carefully studying the layers of defense that it possessed.  While he did so, one of the turrets locked onto him and fired a reddish beam, transforming him into his original E-107 Theta form.

"For once, I'd say it's best NOT to try to analyze things," commented Amp when he noticed his comrade's transformation.  At times like this, it's probably better to just go in with guns blazing."  With that, the Echidna ran over to a nearby cliff and climbed to the top before jumping and gliding to the Fortress wall, dodging the blasts that were fired at him before smashing one of the turrets with his fist.

Theta, now under the command of Balthasenn, took aim at Amp and fired, striking the Echidna in the back and causing him to fall off the wall and hit the ground with a loud snap.  This left him open to fire from a still-functioning Roboticizer Turret, returning him to his original robotic form.

Miraya stood out of sight in the distance, analyzing the situation and thinking about a solution.  "Perhaps this organic form possesses the same abilities as my original form," she thought before closing her eyes and concentrating on Amp and Theta.  She opened her eyes a few seconds later, and they were now glowing bright blue.  "TRANSFORMATION PROTOCOL, ACTIVATE!" she called out, causing a bright light to consume the entire area surrounding the fortress for a few seconds before dissipating to reveal Amp and Theo in their organic forms once again.

"It worked...." the former Controller Module said out loud.  "Now....something must be done about the roboticizing turrets, or there will be a repeating cycle of roboticization and deroboticization."  The white Hedgehog closed her eyes once more and floated a few feet into the air before producing a bright blue-white orb in her right hand.  She then proceeded to throw the orb at one of the turrets, causing it to explode with enough force to blow a hole in the fortress wall.  The other turrets, meanwhile, were surrounded in sparks as they each shut down.

As soon as he was ready, his power suit came on, his sword in his hands, ready to cut through the Eggbots. His sword surged with electricity as he swung it like a warrior. Right behind Amy was Gamma, firing a hailstorm of firepower at the Eggbots. Sonic, true to fashion, ripped through each Eggbot in his path. Fiona kept those guns hot as she fired and bombed the area with the Zephyr. Meanwhile, Thunder's own bots stormed the area, colliding with the Eggbots and doing battle. Soon, his heavy artillery came into play as gunships and tanks arrived, firing hard upon the fortress.

"Thunder made all of this?" The President said, looking in awe. "Where does he keep it all?"

"Underground." Fiona said.

"It's so many..." The President said.

"He only uses them for big moments like these." Fiona said.

Then, Thunder saw the roboticization cannons, turning a couple of his own into their original robot forms. Then he saw Miraya not only change them back, but blast the roboticization cannons to bits, blowing a hole in the fortress wall.

"Way to go, Miraya!" Thunder said to her, turning to his army. "Attention all units! Converge to the breach in the wall, stat! Secure our entry and destroy all hostiles in the way!"

Then did as ordered, filing into the breach in the wall and taking out any Eggbots in the way, signalling the Metal Freedom Fighters to advance.

Meanwhile, offsides, watching the melee, a female fuschia echidna stood, wearing outdoor exploration gear, including a tan fedora with a belt wrapping it having silver medallions with multicolored stars on it. Two rings floated around her hand as she looked as she watched.

"Looks like they're finally here." she said. "Better follow them."

Topic moved because

Burning-Fox wrote:
4. No Canon characters outside of the "Non Canon" roleplaying section, unless you have claimed that character from the topic. https://sonicrpnation.forumotion.com/t1136-official-characters-and-the-emeralds

5. Emeralds also apply, you can't just magically own a Chaos Emerald, they're actually scarce in number and have a spot in that topic to show the actual owner. (Don't metagame that unless your character can sense Chaos Energy.) You can however use Emeralds in the "Non Canon" roleplaying section, so go nuts.

https://sonicrpnation.forumotion.com/t1855-roleplaying-rules

The only reason this topic didn't go under direct lock down was because we only realized and read the topic today. Next time we bust either of you breaking those rules it's an insta DELETE of the topic.

Miraya nodded as she watched Metal and Theo jump through the hole she made by destroying the Roboticizer Cannons.  Amp, meanwhile, scanned his surroundings and eventually spotted the fuchsia Echidna who had been watching them and dashed off to confront her.

The Fuschia echidna spotted Amp, waving a finger at him. "Ah-ah-ah! Not yet!" she said as there was a blinding flash, scrambling Amp's sensors for a moment. When Amp recovered, the echidna was nowhere to be found.

Meanwhile, inside the fortress, the group was surrounded by roboticized mobians and humans, as well as actual robots, armed to the teeth. Thunder glanced at them all, sad for the roboticized ones, but he knew what he had to do. He summoned a bolt of lightning from above, using it to blast the immediate radius to clear their way. Sonic followed with a Light-speed Homing Attack, clearing out the bots one-by-one. Soon the others followed.

(Amp's organic now.)

The magenta Echidna shook his head in confusion.  "Where did she go?"

Just then, Metal walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.  "Amp, this isn't the time to wonder about some girl.  We've got a world to save."

"She could have been a covert agent.  I felt that she required investigation."

"Come on, Amp.  Organic hormones will probably get to me too if I see a pretty girl, but we have to help Thunder."

"Yes.  Let's go."

"I shall join you," announced Miraya as she approached the Hedgehog and Echidna.  "I sense several roboticized beings in that fortress.  It is my duty to free them  It is possible that they may assist us."

"Alright.  Let's go!" called Metal as he grabbed his companions' hands and sped off toward the fortress.

The president simply watched from the safety of the Tempest, seeing the forces go into the fortress.

"To think...only mobians can save us..." he said. "Why do us humans keep making the same mistakes over and over again..."

"I guess, in the end, we're too ambitious for our own good..." Mr. Collins said. "But at least there's someone willing to undo our stupidity."

Meanwhile, the fight inside the fortress raged on as they ripped and tore through waves of roboticized bots. Gamma had found a room and went inside, but suddenly, he was blasted to the ground back out, where Amy was in view. Then, a familiar model, leading a different-looking groups of bots came out, the leader aiming at Gamma. It almost looked like XM-01, but more dangerous.

Amy, having seen Gamma knocked back by the blast from the ambushing robot soldiers, ran over to his side.  "Are you OK, Gamma?"

Meanwhile, the new XM unit stepped forward and focused on Amy before firing a powerful shot at her.

The pink Hedgehog responded by pulling out her hammer in an attempt to knock the blast away.  Unfortunately, she was too late and was sent flying backwards into one of the fortress's walls.

"We have been expecting you," the machine bragged in a monotonous voice that sounded like a mix of Rocky and the GUN Commander.  "Your mission will fail.  The Controller will now serve us, as will all of Mobius."

"No way!" growled Metal as he balled his hands into fists.

"Yes, Metal Sonic.  The Controller has been restored and fitted with the Master's data."  The machine extended its claw arm and grabbed Metal by the neck while the former Metallix was off-guard.  He then pulled the dark blue Hedgehog in close.

"Scans indicate that your blood oxygen levels are depleting rapidly....a disadvantage of being organic."

Metal was angry, but didn't have the air to even growl.

"You wished to obtain a favorable reputation among the people of Mobius.  You will fail."

The Hedgehog continued to gasp for air as his muzzle began to turn blue.

"Even if you are terminated, your data can be retrieved.  You will be Metal Sonic once more."

Just then, Corey came flying at the XM Unit, driving for a Homing Attack.  Before his attack could connect, though, he found himself blasted back into the same wall as Amy.

"Data on all Metal Freedom Fighters has been relayed to me by IntelliBreeze II Unit Alexa.  Your chances for victory are sub-optimal.  Your mission ends here."

Gamma looked in shock as Amy was knocked into the wall by the XM unit, and now had Metal in his grasp, slowly choking him out. However, before anyone could act, a fury swelled in Gamma that not only energized him to stand, but increased his attack power.

"I WILL TERMINATE YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID TO AMY!!!" Gamma's voice roared at XM with passion.

Suddenly, his blaster charged with fiery energy before erupting in a flurry of strange beams that took the form of avians. "BIRDIE BLASTER!!!"

The beams zoomed at the XM before parting like a squadron of fighter jets, soaring around XM in all directions at the speed of light. One beam blasted XM's hand that held Metal, while another nailed the bot in the chest, right into his reactor, cutting off his energy supply. Another struck his radar, while another struck a leg, and so on upon several vital points. They kept nailing XM, like a swarm of bees. But Gamma wasn't finished yet.

"That was....not expected...." said the XM Unit with a fading voice as Gamma's Birdie Blaster tore him apart.  As soon as the robot shut down, all the robots following him became still as statues, completely lost without their leader.

Metal, having regained his breath, picked up the severed arm that was choking him and threw it at a line of motionless bots before ripping through more with a spindash.  After taking out all the robots, he dashed further into the fortress, hoping that what the XM said about Miraya now being under Balthasenn's control wasn't true.

As he neared the central control room, he was blinded and knocked out by a bright flash of light.  When he came to, he was Metal Sonic once more.  "What is your command, Master?" he droned.

Gamma then went to help Amy up, like a knight taking the hand of a princess. "Are you harmed, Miss Rose?"

Thunder and the others stopped, seeing Metal being reverted back to his old Metal Sonic self.

"Eliminate the incarnation of Raiden!" Balthasenn ordered Metal Sonic in his receiver. "Priority one!"

"Oh great...here we go again!" Thunder groaned, charging up to subdue him.

"Thunder!" Fiona sounded from his headset. "It's Miraya! She's become a crystal again! She's emitting Balthasenn's signature everywhere!"

"What?!" Thunder exclaimed.

"Thunder, go ahead!" Indigo said. "This is a stall tactic, meant to slow us down. Remember who's behind all this! Go on ahead and stop Balthasenn! We'll handle the stragglers!"

"Are you sure?" Thunder said. "You could be--"

"We know." Indigo said. "But we're not ready to lay down yet. Here's I'll buy you some time. INDIGO SECOND!"

Suddenly, the space around them became indigo-tinted as she froze time, allowing Thunder to bee-line for Balthasenn. She couldn't hold it forever, however, as it gave out after 16 seconds.

Meanwhile at the Zephyr, Fiona tried to counter Balthasenn's roboticization signal, but to no avail. Suddenly, a flicker of light appeared before the Controller, and it turned into the magenta echidna from before.

"This isn't right." she spoke. "I like her better as a huggable hedgehog."

With that, her twin rings flew around the Controller, spinning as the girl began to chant. However, Balthasenn was already fighting her with his roboticization ray. Nevertheless, the girl touched the crystal, calling out to the soul inside of it.

"Controller, fight for your freedom, for your free will..." she called out, her voice echoing deep into the crystal. "Fight for a world of peace and freedom! Fight for a world of love and compassion. Fight against tyranny and oppression. Fight for you friends, your ancestors, your future! FIGHT!"

Amy groaned as she grabbed her knight's hand.  'i...I'm alive.  How about you?"

Meanwhile, deep within her crystalline housing, Miraya could hear the voice of the Jewel Mage pleading with her to break free from Balthasenn's control.

"Balthasenn's data....is overwhelming my own," came the voice of the Controller.  "If I am....to override it, a power boost is required."

Amp, who had followed the mage, quickly activated his communicator, setting up a link with the Zephyr.  He then began to speak.

"Attention, everyone on board the Zephyr.  This is Amp.  If you have not been affected by the roboticization wave, your assistance is required.  Miraya's mind is locked in a struggle against that of Balthasenn.  I believe that a massive influx of positive energy will increase her strength.  Focus on Miraya, my friends."

Having heard their comrade's words, Rika, Rocky, Amelia, Arella, Misha, Alexa, Dextetta, and a young grayish-white Wolf girl closed their eyes and focused on Miraya.

Miraya, meanwhile, could feel the positive energy from those aboard the Zephyr being drawn into her and empowering her.  This caused the crystal she was housed in to glow bright white while sending a large lightning-like bolt straight for the Orb of Darkness.

"OVERWRITE!" she called out"

"I am feeling much better knowing that you are unhurt, Amy Rose." Gamma said, helping her to her feet, instinctively pulling her close like a lover. He felt very good being so close to Amy when she was happy.

Meanwhile, the jewel mage smiled brightly upon hearing Miraya's voice, but knew she was right as she felt Balthasenn trying to take over the Controller once more. So, she lent all of her power to Miraya to aid her. She began to stretch her power all over Mobius, calling out to all the Life Stones all around the planet, summoning them to her and using their power for Miraya.

This included Rouge's Life Stone, as Shadow and Omega had noticed. "Power convergence detected." Omega said. 

"Looks like we'd better check it out." she said.

"Seems that way." Shadow said. "There could be trouble." And with that, Team Dark set off in the direction of the Life Stones.

Also, Cream, Mr. Collins, and the President lent their energy to her. And Fiona as well. As Miraya felt their support, she shot an electric bolt right into the Orb of Darkness, meaning to overwrite its program and purify it once and for all.

"W-WHAT?!" Balthasenn growled. "How...how is she doing this! How can such emotions be so powerful...no...I won't allow this! I will now allow all of my work, my plans, my ambitions to be overtaken!!!" With this, he began to resist Miraya's rewriting.

It was then that Thunder managed to enter Balthasenn's chamber, seeing what he was doing, and also seeing Eggman there but only as a helpless pawn. His guards immediately attacked, but were quickly dispatched with Thunder's sword.

"It's time to end this!" Thunder said, bringing out both his Chaos Emerald and his Life Stone. "Lonn, Dunn, Raiden, Princess Arika, I call upon your power...for the fate of Mobius, to avenge your people...let there be love & happiness again! CHAOS CONDUIT!!!"

Suddenly, he began to channel the positive energy of the Meta Freedom Fighters in the fortress. Gamma & Amy's bond was the strongest, so that allowed Thunder to channel a powerful surge of energy onto Balthasenn and the Orb of Darkness. The two-fold assault from Miraya and Thunder was far too much for Balthasenn, but then, suddenly, the spirits whom Thunder called to had begun to add their power as well.

"N-NO! You..." Balthasenn roared as he saw his former adversaries. "I destroyed you!!! How could you have returned from oblivion?!"

"We have returned to end your reign!" came the voice of Princess Arika.

"Now you shall feel the pain of the Lakurian people!" added Lonn.  "My daughter and her allies shall fulfill their destiny!"

"Peace and freedom shall reign once more!" concluded Denn and Raiden in unison

Miraya's blast grew larger and stronger as her crystalline form began to change shape, eventually transforming into her Hedgehog form once more.  When the transformation was complete, a large, blinding explosion tore through the fortress, but the Metal Freedom Fighters all found themselves shielded from the blast by a force that they figured could only come from Miraya.

When the explosion dissipated, there was nothing left of the ominous fortress, and Miraya lay exhausted on the ground.

All over Mobius, everyone who had ever been roboticized found themselves suddenly back to normal, and the IntelliBreezes that had grown beyond their programming all had flesh-and-blood bodies, including the one in Winston that belonged to the InfoBunker listener that Amelia had mentioned in a video chat before joining the Metal Freedom Fighters.

Back on the Zephyr, Rocky and Rika looked out the window to see that a beautiful field had taken the place of Balthasenn's fortress.

"I...I think it's finally over," said Rocky with a smile as he put his arm around Rika.

"Me too," replied Rika before looking deep into her companion's blue eyes.  "You may not have struck the final blow, but....I believe you contributed greatly to our victory."

"I have to agree," added Dextetta.  "He set everything in motion.  Who knows how differently things would've turned out if Thunder hadn't met you both at that cafe on that December night?"

"Well, I would have been scrapped."

"I'm glad you weren't, Rika," smiled Rocky before pulling the girl into a kiss.

It wasn't long before all the couples on board the Zephyr followed suit, sharing kisses of their own.

"Arika, Lonn, Denn....Raiden...thank you...now you can rest in peace."

Thunder spoke these words to the spirits as they finally passed on, leaving Thunder on one knee, recovering from the tremendous energy he had given off.

When the dust finally settled, the humans were themselves again, the Metal Freedom Fighters and Team Sonic regrouped and celebrated, and the President and Mr. Collins looked on with sighs of relief. Mr. Collins joined his son, hugging him tightly, and then giving Rika a kiss on her forehead, signalling his acceptance of her in his and his son's life. Indigo and Flash watched on, smiles on their faces. Team Dark simply looked on before going on their way. Meanwhile, Thunder ran to Miraya, who had collapsed due to her "miracle".

"Miraya? Can you hear me?" Thunder called out to her. "Are you alright?"

Miraya groaned groggily, struggling to get her eyes open so she could look at Thunder.  "I am...alive....Yes."

Meanwhile, Rika smiled and hugged Mr. Collins back.  "Thank you so much, Mr. Collins."

Everyone on board the Zephyr smiled, and the couples all embraced.