Earth - Dr. Eggman's Hidden HQ

Doctor Eggman stared with glee at the capsuled Chaos Emeralds, now fully recharged after three weeks of resting.

His most recent failure against Team Sonic was just three hours ago. Well, he wouldn't call it a failure per say, because he had to loose since that was his plan. Distracting Team Sonic with "pointless" attacks, give them enough info to figure out his intentions, making them prepare to protect the Master Emerald... All was going accord to plan!

Sage was definitely right: Making Team Sonic believe they've got the upper hand by giving them everything they need to "stop him as usual" was probably the most risky, yet most successful plan so far.

"Oh, to be young and smart, dedicating yourself to villainy..." Eggman said, as he happily spin on his chair, while Sage supervised the Emeralds' status on a monitor screen, Orbot seemed to be supervising the badniks production, and Cubot was cleaning the Chaos Emeralds' capsule. "Sage, you're making me so proud, and you're just a few months old!"

"In human years, I'm technically five," Sage pointed out.

"And with such a short age, you're already doing more for me than anyone ever has in 55 years!" Eggman said happily, then he stood up from his seat and approached the capsule with the Emeralds. "Thanks to you, I'm closer than ever to obtain that source with magic. I never thought I'll come to a point where I'll relay in such a fantasy thing... But the Chaos Emeralds themselves are magical, they're simply not enough to achieve my goal."

"The Chaos Emeralds are made of Chaos Energy for the most part," Sage said, then she turned around and floated to stand right besides her father. "While there's some magic in them, it's not enough to fulfill your desire of building a whole empire with just a snap."

"And that's precisely why I need that source of magic!" Eggman declared. "That blue pest is always messing up with my plans, but not this time! Because I will remain as a distraction for him and his friends until we know exactly where are those crystals in that new dimension to get them! And when I get my hands over them... Ho, ho, ho! Hell will look tame with all the chaos and destruction I'll unleash!"

"Uh, I hate to brake it to you, boss, but if Sonic and company are also coming to the island, how exactly are you supposed to take over this new dimension if that's the plan?" Orbot questioned.

"Yeah! Wouldn't Sonic and his friends remain as a problem?" Cubot added as well.

"Dragging Sonic and company along is not an inconvenience anymore," Sage replied. "It is true that they have defeated Father before, but that's precisely what we'll use against them: Their over-confidence on thinking they've got the upper hand when, in reality, we're 10 steps ahead of them."

"We've got at least 187 plans ready to put into action once we get to this new dimension!" Eggman declared. "No matter what Sonic and his friends do, we're gonna be ready!"

As Eggman started to laugh maniacally, Orbot and Cubot turned to each other. Cubot scratched his head uncertainly, and Orbot facepalmed. They're both so used to all this chattery that it's hard for them both to believe in their boss and creator anymore.

"One of these days, his own ego will backfire at him..." Orbot muttered.

"Like usual?" Cubot questioned, to which Orbot nodded.

But then suddenly, Eggman stomped hardly behind them, startling the two robots and making them hug each other terrified. "Stop wasting your time and go back to work, or I'll turn your bodies into replacement parts for future badniks and machines!"

"S-Sir, yes sir!" Orbot and Cubot replied, then they bumped into each other and fell backwards, before standing up again and resume their respective labors.

As all of this happened, Eggman facepalmed and shook his head disappointed. He'll probably never stop question why he even made those two in the first place...

Angel Island

The next day, Sonic, Tails and Amy arrived into Angel Island, where Knuckles was already guarding over the Master Emerald, but this time, more aware than ever.

Angel Island is a landmass of miracles and mysteries that floats high in the sky using the eternal energy of the Master Emerald; without it, the island will inevitably plummet from the sky. This is precisely why Knuckles protects it from Eggman, who's after its power from time to time, and from a thief-spy-agent named Rouge the Bat, who's always getting on Knuckles' nerves just to make him flustered or, as he says, distract him to low his guard and let her steal the Master Emerald.

Since Tails was convinced that Eggman would try to go straight to the Master Emerald, he spend the whole night awake, building up an electromagnetic shield that he was now installing in the Altar of Emerald. Said Altar is where the Master Emerald rests and gives its power to the island, and it's also the place that Team Sonic will protect the most.

"With this electromagnetic shield, no badnik nor Eggman machine will live to see the light of day!" Tails declared, activating the shield that surrounded the altar, the Emerald and Team Sonic. "I wanna see Eggman trying to pass this thing up!"

"I wouldn't tent destiny, buddy," Sonic said, as he sat over the Master Emerald while flexing his knee and resting his arm over it. "Eggman has outsmarted us in the past. And considering he's after the Master Emerald, we're gonna have to be xtra careful with whatever he throws at us."

"I don't need to be careful!" Knuckles stated with a frown, then he hit his fists together in anger. "I just need to punch that stupid asshole off my island!"

"We're gonna be prepared for Eggman," Tails stated. "And even if were not, is Eggman we're dealing with! We're used to his shenanigans already, so what's gonna change this time around?"

"Hmph. Fair enough." Knuckles said, crossing his arms.

"I cannot argue against that logic!" Sonic said with a confident smirk, then he got off the Master Emerald.

Yet, as Tails brought out his Miles Electric to check that everything's in order, and Knuckles made absolutely sure that the Master Emerald was on its place, Sonic couldn't help but notice that Amy was sitting over the stairs that lead to the top of the Altar, resting her cheek on her hand and looking down a bit concerned.

He gently approached and sat at her side. "Yo, Ames. You okay?"

Amy was not startled in the slightest. In fact, she allowed herself to sigh and stretch her fingers further, then she rested her head on Sonic's shoulder. He did blushed slightly, but he didn't seemed to mind that much.

"...I don't really know..." Amy confessed. "I guess... I'm overthinking some stuff without motive..."

"You concerned about what could happen with Eggman at any minute now?" Sonic questioned, then he placed his hand over Amy's and caressed it, which made Amy blush a little, but she still smiled. "If I recall correctly, you said a long time ago that sticking together was our best plan ever, so I know for sure that if we do just that, we'll keep Eggman away from the Master Emerald and, therefore, from invading a parallel universe with magic. And if sticking together doesn't work, well, we can all kick Eggman's butt on our own any day of the week!"

Amy giggled a bit after hearing this. "Is not Eggman I'm worried of, silly." She said, pushing his shoulder slightly, before sighing and look down concerned. "...I just been wondering... do you believe that I have really changed?"

That question made Sonic blink twice, confused. "The what now?"

"You know that I have... toned down, to put it some way, about how I express my feelings towards you, right?" Amy asked, and while that made Sonic chuckle sheepishly and look around nervously, he eventually just nodded. "I did so not because anyone in specific told me so, but because I wanted to change, to be a better person... to be a better friend. In the end, you just wanted to have your space, but I was always trying to drag you into something I wanted, but you didn't. I want you to know that, even if it's been years since the last time I tried to drag you on a date you don't want to have, I still love you the same I've always done since the first day we met. "

Hearing Amy say he loves him with absolutely no shame nor embarrassment made him blush like mad, and he started to laugh nervously while scratching his cheek. He really didn't minded the reassurance, but after so many years of not hearing her say that, it felt kinda weird... Then why did it made him so incredibly happy as well? Ugh, feelings are confusing.

"And is because I love you that I choose to change, to stop being so... noisy about how I feel, to finally give you that space I know you desired." Amy explained.

"You didn't had to change who you are, Ames," Sonic told her with a little smile. "I... I gotta confess that, even if I did felt awkward with you being so over me... I kinda miss when you used to do it. I guess a part of me, despite hating the sudden and forced hugs, was also kind of expecting it sometimes... Weird right?"

Amy's eyes sparkled, her heart beat and her cheeks were so red anyone could confuse her with Knuckles' long lost sister or with a tomato. Still, she shook her head and took a deep breath to focus again.

"I-I wouldn't say is weird, per say..." She confessed, still blushing slightly. "Rather, considering how much you used to avoid me back then, I'll say is unexpected."

"Well, unexpected or not, it's the truth," Sonic stated. "But what does your choice to show your love towards me in a different way has to do with your initial dilemma?"

"I guess is just the kind of random thoughts that don't really matter, but you can't help and give them more importance than they deserve..." Amy said. "I just wondered if you really thought I had changed for good, or if anyone else thought so..."

Seeing why she was feeling so unsure, Sonic smiled, then he straight up grabbed Amy's hands and caressed them, which made Amy look down at their hands with wide eyes and a huge blush.

"Amy, even before you changed, I never for a second thought anything bad about you," Sonic assured her with a smile, but it was the type of smile he only had for her, a smile only she could recognize, a smile that always made her heart bump like if she ran a marathon, while blood raised over her cheeks. "Sure, you used to get on my nerves years ago, but come on! You really think I could ever believe you're a bad girl? No way! If I had a nickel for everytime you saved my butt when I was in trouble, I'll own you a lifetime of dates!"

Those words were making Amy feel like if the sun was literally right besides her, because she starting to sweat while her blush increased even more, if that was even possible.

"I've seen how insanely strong you are as well, both physically and emotionally," Sonic added. "Sometimes I'm scared of you! I-I mean, Shadow once said you lifted a car like if it was just a toy!"

"I mean, Eggman messed up with Cream and Cheese, so of course I couldn't just stand there and do nothing!" Amy raised her hands in defense.

"I'm not saying it was wrong, I just... I think it's impressive how far you're willing to go in order to protect those you care for, just like me and the rest of us!" Sonic said with a smile. "Amy, I admire you, because unlike many other people would do, you actually recognized that you had something to change and choose to change it. I know you say you did it for me, but I also believe you did it for you."

"What do you mean?"

"You changed the way you acted with me because you wanted, true, but I believe you also wanted to improve for yourself. I mean, I'm not the only goal in your life, am I?"

"Pff, of course not! I have a lot of hobbies beyond fortune reading. Helping out people in need, babysitting Cream when Vanilla is busy, check out how things are going on Resistance HQ from time to time... If I ever had free time and want to spend it with you, you know you'll be the first one to hear it." She pointed out with a smile.

"You see? You have changed for the better!" Sonic said with a smirk. "And I like the new Amy... Just as much as I liked the older one." He added with a slight blush, but now with that smile he only had for her, as well as moving part of her hair aside to see her face better.

Amy's eyes sparkled again, but this time she let herself smile a bit as well, also giving away a smile she could only make to Sonic, and she also looked away. Sonic pulled his hand away, but he still chuckled at Amy's adorable reaction. To say that he felt the same was an understatement. Truth to be told, he thinks he always felt the same for her, but he refused to embrace those feeling because, deep down, he was scared he wouldn't be enough for her, so he kept running away.

Those days are far behind now days, though, and he has gotten over that fear. However, he's not sure if he wants to take the next step just yet. He never had a girlfriend before, and he was concerned he could screw things up with Amy. Amy herself was not sure if ask for him to be his boyfriend, either, because she wants to wait until he is ready. If only she knew...

As the two hedgehogs acted like the pair of lovebirds they are, Tails and Knuckles stared as they lay on the Master Emerald. Tails had a smug smile and was making the shape of a heart with his tails, while Knuckles grinned with his arms crossed and nodded in approval.

"Looking at these two is adorable, yet also painful," Tails commented.

"Agreed. Is like if those two were a couple already, yet everyone but them know that." Knuckles noted.

But even if the scene was adorable and all, they soon realized that it wouldn't last anymore, because in the distance, a set of giant ships, some with the shape of fishes, were approaching the island, making Knuckles frown, while Sonic and Amy stood up from the stairs and stared with frowns at the ships ahead.

"Seems like Egghead has arrived," Sonic declared. "Alright, Tails. You and Knuckles will stay here to protect the Master Emerald."

"You got it!" Tails said with a determinate look and his thumbs up.

"That's literally my job!" Knuckles declared, punching his fists together.

"Ames. You and I will deal with Eggman, face to face!" Sonic stated with a smirk.

"Let's wreck down his ego as usual!" Amy said with a determined smile, bringing out her Piko Piko Hammer.

"Be careful out there, guys!" Tails said, opening a small door on the electromagnetic shield to allow Sonic and Amy to get out.

As Amy did that, Sonic stood behind and laughed at Tails' words. "Careful? Where's the fun in that?"

With that being said, Sonic got out there and stood with Amy in front of the Altar's stairs, while the Egg Float stopped moving right above the island. Soon enough, thousands of badniks were falling from the sky, and all of them landed one by one around the Altar of Emerald, surrounding it along Team Sonic and the Master Emerald itself.

And then, Eggman came out of the main ship: The biggest one that looked like a giant red Chopper, which could only be compared to Marvel's S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier.

The doctor launched himself from that height, which surprised all Team Sonic since he was not inside any of his machines... But soon enough, around Eggman started to approach several metallic pieces that eventually started to build up around him like a suit.

The armor overall was very similar to his original Death Egg Robot, but this one had just as much mobility as if he didn't even have the suit. Additionally, the arms could be converted into weapons, as one was originally a laser cannon and the other was an extendable hand with spikes, before transforming into metal gloves. The last part to be covered was the face, which was just Eggman's face but in metal as usual.

Soon, the doctor pointed his feet to the ground and turned on his thrusters, slowing his fall and eventually slowly descending until he landed in front of Sonic and Amy. It's like a Metal Eggman had landed, but this was the real Eggman with an armor that made him look as much of a robot as his own inventions.

"Now just look at that..." Sonic said, genuinely impressed, but still smirking in a mocking way. "Dr. Eggman has finally upgraded from low-budget Hulk-Buster suits to a full own Iron Man rip-off. Took you long enough!"

Eggman's helmet was removed, showing Eggman with a frown as he looked at Sonic and Amy. "The couple of the year is here to stop me, huh? I'm gonna guess that good for nothing echidna and your little foxy friend are up there taking care of the Master Emerald."

"And what if they are? Even if they were not here, we're more than enough to take you down as usual!" Amy declared confidently. "That's how the game goes: You show up, get the upper hand at some point, then we turn the tables on our favor, we kick your butt away, and that's it!"

"Yeah, you're gonna need more than a fancy copy of Iron Man's suit to defeat us!" Sonic added as well. "Also, we kinda know about your entire plot of traveling to another dimension to do your thing, which is mess up everyone's lived because you have nothing better to do, so we gotta stop you and all of that stuff. You know, the usual!"

To Sonic's surprise, however, Eggman grinned and started to laugh maniacally, which actually startled him a bit, and it also made Amy take a step back. Eggman never reacted like this before, so whatever he has under his sleeve must be something that could actually make everything go north for him.

"Oh, Sonic. You always talk about my ego and how it gets on my way, but you're not realizing that your ego is getting in yours!" Eggman said. "I've been dealing with you long enough to know that if there's something I can destroy in seconds, is your little fragile ego. So go on! Talk about how humiliating my defeat will be this time as usual. But when I actually crush you down, we'll see who laughs best in the end!"

Sonic and Amy looked at each other for a moment after hearing this, then they nodded before looking back at Eggman. "Show us what you got, Egghead!"

"Game on!" Eggman stated with a sinister smile that actually sent shivers down Sonic and Amy's spines. Right after this, he put back his helmet and pointe with a hand at the two hedgehogs. "Badniks, destroy them!"

With the order given, the badniks proceeded to head towards Sonic and Amy. However, they didn't even see them as a challenge, because Sonic charged up his Spin Dash and accelerated towards several of the robots, while Amy climbed the steps a little before jumping into the air and then slamming her hammer against the ground. , releasing a small shockwave that destroyed some badniks and pushed others back.

However, Amy and Sonic alike knew that fighting the badniks would be a waste of time, because the one they really wanted to reach was Eggman, who was slowly and without any rush walking towards the steps that would take him to the Master Emerald.

Noticing this, Sonic growled lowly and proceeded to charge his Spin Dash at Eggman. Usually, this would cause the doctor to be sent backwards along with five and the machine... But what happened in the end no one saw coming: Eggman raised his hand and, without making the slightest effort, managed to stop Sonic's Spin Dash. . Amy, who had just crushed a Moto Bug, was shocked to see that Eggman was blocking Sonic's Spin Dash, an attack that no one believed was dodgeable.

Knuckles and Tails, who were watching from the top of the Altar, were also surprised to see that Eggman was able to stop Sonic.

"Your Spin Dash has always been a pain in the ass for my machines... But to me? It's starting to get RUSTY!" Eggman declared, then he throw Sonic against a tree, and Sonic crashed on his back, letting out a painful groan as he slid down and lay on the tree.

His friends were stunned to see what just happened, but Sonic himself was stunned and didn't quite understand what had just happened. How did Eggman stop his Spin Dash? No one had ever done it before!

"H-How did you...?" Sonic tried to ask.

"Chaos Energy! Thanks to the Chaos Emeralds, I can allow myself to make things most would had consider impossible in the past!" Eggman declared with glee. "For example..."

Eggman then proceeded to speed up and grab Sonic by the neck, then threw him so far in one shot that he was literally already reaching the limits of Angel Island.

"SONIC!" Amy shouted in fear, but then she groaned in pain when Eggman zoomed behind her and grabbed her neck as well.

"Don't worry, Ms. Rose. You are joining your boyfriend!" Eggman shouted, then he threw her as well without mercy.

"Sonic! Amy!" Tails shouted in panic with wide eyes as he saw his friends flying away. "Eggman's got a lot of power now, and he threw our friends away!"

"Then go after them!" Knuckles declared, braking the barrier that Tails made at first. "I'll take care of Eggman."

"But the Master Emerald––" Tails tried to argue.

"I am the guardian of the Master Emerald and Angel Island, Tails. It is my duty to protect both of them from threats like Eggman." Knuckles said decisively. "If I die here, I die fulfilling my destiny and my duty. You go and save our friends, I..." He bumped his fists and smirked. "Will have fun with the intruder!"

Tails instantly hated the idea of leaving Knuckles alone, but he knew full well that the echidna was stubborn and wouldn't let him stay. Sighing regretfully, Tails nodded in agreement and flew out of there to go after Sonic and Amy.

Knuckles, for his part, waited patiently for Eggman to arrive, as he climbed the steps of the Altar without haste. Coming face to face with the Guardian of the Master Emerald and the Emerald itself, he removed his helmet and smiled sinisterly.

"Looks like your friends had left you behind in your own, Knucklehead," Eggman said with glee. "Anything you wanna share before I take the Master Emerald?"

"Just one thing..." Knuckles replied, then punched Eggman in the nose and left him stunned. The doctor took several steps back as he clutched his nose and grunted in pain. "If you go into combat protected, don't expose your weak points!"

After saying this, Knuckles threw Eggman back with a punch, and then proceeded to glide from his spot to then fall on Eggman and begin punching his face incessantly. He also tore off parts of the armor to leave him even more exposed and sore.

On the other hand, Sonic and Amy finally fell and started to roll painfully on the ground.

Amy used her Hammer to slow down a bit, since she noticed that they were near the border of the island and could fall, but then she saw that Sonic was not stopping, and that he was about to fall from the island.

"Sonic!" Amy shouted, literally launching herself into a Spin Dahs to approach faster.

Once she was, she grabbed Sonic's hand, and then smashed her hammer to the ground again to slow down and stop moving, but the hammer only stopped them both when they were hanging over the edge of the island.

"I-I don't know if I should be relieved that we're not dead, or terrified that we could be at any second now!" Sonic commented with a nervous chuckle.

"Now's not the time to make jokes, Sonic!" Amy scolded him with a frown.

"Joking eases my nerves down!" Sonic countered, also with a frown.

"Ugh... Just hold my hand and resist, okay? Maybe I can..." Amy said, then she tried to pull herself up along Sonic, but she could not do it. It wasn't because she wasn't strong enough, but because the more she moved, the more her hammer seemed to be about to fall as well. "Oh boy..."

"Well, if this is game over for us, guess I should make a little confession..." Sonic said suddenly once he noticed their current situation.

"Huh?!" Amy asked with wide eyes. "What do you––"

"Amy... You've been kind of the only girl I hang around the most with, and you know? I really like when I spend my time the most with you..." Sonic confessed with a slight blush, making Amy blush as well.

"S-Sonic, I swear that if you're gonna do this right now––"

"What I'm trying to say is... Amy Rose... I L––"

"SONIC! AMY!" Tails' voice suddenly cut him off, and the two hedgehogs looked down to see that Tails was approaching with a red plane that Sonic owned, named the Tornado. "I'm right here, guys!"

"Huh... Look at that. It isn't the end after all!" Sonic said with a smile, then he looked up to Amy. "Forget it, Ames. We're living to see another day!"

Amy's eye twitched after hearing this, but then she sighed and smiled. Even though she suspects what Sonic wanted to say, she's not gonna pressure him on it and will wait until he wants to talk about it.

Soon, Amy dragged her hammer un purpose so they both would fall. And then, Amy landed on the empty seat behind Tails, while Sonic landed on the plane's wings and hold on them with a smirk.

"Thanks for coming, bro! But where's Knuckles?" He asked Tails with a frown.

"He told me to come and look after you." Tails replied. "He's dealing with Eggman on his own!"

"Well, not for so long!" Amy said with a determined smile, one that her teammates shared. "Let's go back to the Altar, Tails!"

With a nod, Tails spun the Tornado in the air to go back with Knuckles and help him with Eggman.

Knuckles was fighting against Eggman, who managed to get up from his punches and fight back.

Despite the fact that the armor was damaged, Eggman was still quite the match, and he was not gonna let Knuckles have all the fun. After all, thanks to the upgrades, the armor could make gloves as big as Knuckles' and return the punches, but none of them seemed to be affecting the last equidna warrior at all.

But what Knuckles didn't know, however, was that Eggman was only distracting him, since breaking the shield that Tails made only gave Sage access to use the Master Emerald. She placed the Chaos Emeralds around the enormous green jewel, and then closed the electromagnetic shield around the altar again and finished once and for all the task that her father entrusted to her.

When Knuckles sensed through the Master Emerald that something was wrong, he turned around and gasped when he saw that the shield he had broken was active again. "NO!" He screamed, then tried to go towards the Emerald, but Eggman grabbed him by the neck and held him in place to not let him go.

"You won't do anything this time, Knucklehead!" Eggman declared with a laugh, while Knuckles struggled to get free.

For her part, Sage had already begun contacting the crystals of that other dimension again, and thanks to the extra power provided by the Master Emerald, communicating with the crystals was so easy that it even seemed as if she had them in front of her. When she opened her eye, it was completely white, then she levitated the Chaos Emeralds, which danced for a while around the Master Emerald.

Finally, when the power of the 8 emeralds synchronized, a white flash became present and expanded in the form of an explosion, swallowing the entire Altar and everyone around it.

For its part, the Tornado was already close to the altar, but as soon as the explosion occurred, the three friends were shocked and could not even process what happened.

"What the f––" Sonic tried to say, but he couldn't finish his sentence.

As soon as the white flash swallowed them, it expanded until it covered the entire island, and then the flash disappeared along with it and its inhabitants, as if it had never been there, ever.

Author's Note

And with this, Team Sonic and Eggman are now in Equestria! Kinda... We won't know until next episode.

Thanks for reading, people! See ya next time!