By "willing to help" I meant help Knothole (or IS he?), but that works too.

Sonic the Hedgehog #43
Order of Ixis, 1 of 3
Ixis Naugus returns from the outskirts of the universe with Lazaar's computer in hand and goals for world conquest! Only two things stand in his way: the Freedom Fighters and a fiendish Raven warlock named Mathias Poe, who challenges Naugus for control over the computer. Naugus, unintimidated, summons the Arachne spider ninjas to battle the heroes while he and Poe go head to head. As the two villains struggle, the computer is shattered, and the evil energy within it is released. It lances towards Naugus-only to miss him and hit Tails instead.

Mystery of the Newest Guardian, 1 of 2
Knuckles, fresh from his victory over Enerjak, finds himself confronted with a new set of problems: namely, Julie and Lara-Su. The two female Echidnas evoke feelings the Guardian never knew he had, and Knuckles vows to discover the truth. To that end, he sets out for the legendary Haven, a realm where all questions can be answered by a trio of oracles known only as the Ancient Walkers.

Meanwhile, Julie-Su finds herself worrying over the absent Guardian, and experiences flashes of memory that make no sense to her. Dr. Finitevus reemerges to speak with her, and reveals to her a shocking truth that she can barely begin to comprehend: she is, or was, Knuckles' wife, and Lara-Su...is their daughter.

Sonic #44
Order of Ixix Part 2 (of 3)

Tails is gone. All hail Ixis Prower, the head of the reformed Order of Ixis! (Naugus has been... discouraged from going against him) But the Order has gone to ground, whereas Nekronopolis is a present threat to the freedom of Mobius. The Freedom Fighters are focused on Scourge, and Sally knows they can't divide their attention.

But Sonic can not - WILL not - leave his "little brother" to this fate - and so he's gone AWOL! He's going to free Tails from the dark magic whatever it takes... and when the newly-named Ixis Poe gets in his way, he learns just how determined Sonic is! That's one Ixis down - ALL to go...

And meanwhile, the Freedom Fighters have a man on the inside at Nekronopolis: Robotnik?! It seems he made a deal to Antoine: he doesn't want Scourge taking over and he'll help the Kingdom against him, and so he's pretended to escape and defect as a lackey to Scourge. But he's told Scourge that the Kingdom thinks he's their double-agent, and he can sow disinformation to make them play into Scourge's hands. Just what does Robotnik have planned for when the two superpowers clash...?

Mystery of the Newest Guardian Part 2 (of 2)

As Knuckles achieves communion with the Ancient Walkers and Finivetus blabs all to Julie-su, the truth is revealed. Lara-Su was born in the future to the union of Knuckles and Julie; at least, a possible future and one that is no longer 'our' future thanks to her time trip. She was sent back in time as an infant, into the hands of the Brotherhood circa 15 years ago, who raised her without knowing her origins. Because the Dark Legion managed to steak the data disk that came with her.

And Lara-Su was sent back in time because of a hideous catastrophe that occured just three years from now. At least, it did in that future. Because the timeline has been divergent for 15 years, that catastrophe could occur sooner.

To Knuckles, this means he, Lara-Su and the rest of the Brotherhood need to be ready. They also need to find the lost Echidnapolis, which may turn the tide. But Finivetus is claiming he was secretly organising the Dark Legion to be ready for this; now Chaos has wiped them out, his plans have to change rapidly and he needs Julie-Su to help him. See, he plans to find Echidnapolis first and... change it a little.

To be continued in the upcoming miniseries, Knuckles: The Lost City!

Sonic the Hedgehog #45
Order of Ixis, 3 of 3
Tails, his hidden jealousy of Sonic magnified a hundred fold by the energy within Lazaar's computer, attacks his old friend with incredible magical energies! Sonic finds himself being defeated easily, until Naugus interferes and transfers some of the evil energy from his "master" into Sonic, turning him into Dark Sonic. The two evil superpowers continue their battle, and this time seem deadlocked. Finally, the bond the two share with each other and their friends allows them to throw off the influences of the computer, only for Naugus to absorb it himself. He strikes the two down with a beam of powerful energy, and leaves cackling as they fall unconscious. Luckily, a face from the past appears to take them to safety: Merlin Prower.

NOTICE: Please don't post any new comic summaries after this one: I'm not done yet!

EDIT: Okay guys, sorry about the delay. I wrote the first part during a minute of free time I had during my computer class in school, but the teacher got us back to work before I could finish. Now, where was I?

Order of Ixis 3 of 3 (continued)
In Nekropolis, Robotnik decides that intellectual superiority to his foes doesn't cut it, so he downloads his brain into a mechanical turtle body composed out of nanites. To go with his new form, he takes a new name: he is the Autonomous Digital Assault Microbe, or A.D.A.M. Fortunately, when he attempts to lead an army of Shadowbots into the reclaimed Mobotropolis, he finds a little surprise waiting for him: E-123 Omega, one of his own creations reprogrammed by the Freedom Fighters and equipped with knowledge of all the hidden entrances into Mobotropolis-knowledge that, ironically, was originally programmed into him by Robotnik.

A.D.A.M. has no choice but to flee, and receives a most unpleasant welcome from Scourge upon returning to Nekronopolis without the Shadowbots. Sonic and Tails return to meet their newest ally, both of them fully recovered from Lazaar's magic. Merlin bids his nephew and the others farewell before setting out to find Ixis Naugus and Mathias Poe, the latter of whom managed to survive Sonic's attack. Once out of sight of the Freedom Fighters, he reveals that he is not alone: an enigmatic Panda named Feist has joined him with designs of his own on Naugus.

The Lost City, 1 of 6
Knuckles rejoins the Chaotix and is informed of Finitevus' plan, which the Brotherhood doesn't approve of. Deciding to go against their orders-something that's bound to become a habit-Knuckles accompanies the doctor, Julie-Su, and Tikal as they set out to find the lost city of Echidnaopolis by going onto the Cosmic Interstate. When they get a moment alone, Knuckles and Julie reveal what they've learned about their connections to each other and Lara-Su, whom they left behind with the Chaotix to restore order to Angel Island. Agreeing not to disclose their knowledge to Lara for the time being, the two have a rather awkward moment until Finitevus interrupts them, telling them that they need to continue.

Back in Albion, Dimitri is rebuilt using bionic implants in order to keep him alive. Furious at his failure to overcome Chaos and at losing his power to Metal Sonic, he soon reveals a new objective: to claim power greater than he originally had as Enerjak. His target is none other than Knuckles, the Herald of Chaos-and the possessor of powers that even the legendary elemental cannot overcome. Kragok and Lien-Da, eager to help him achieve these goals, form up the Flame and Frost divisions of the Dark Legion for another attack on Angel Island. To top that off, they reveal a new soldier: Xenin, the elite cyborg warrior with a body specially designed to handle even Knuckles' impressive strength.

Later, while the other members of his party sleep, Finitevus begins contemplating his own past. Gazing upon the sleeping Knuckles and Julie-Su, he displays obvious sorrow, but forces it away with his determination to reach Echidnaopolis-and all the power that the city holds.

(Spectre, the Lost City's a miniseries. Also, A.D.A.M. was in the series earlier. We could make him Metal Robotnik or General Brutus, a robot from Fleetway that had Robotnik's brain patterns.)

Sonic the Hedgehog #46
Before the Countdown

With E-123 Omega doing NOTHING but simply guarding over the entrance to Mobotropolis, Sonic says he's a little creeped out at as the Freedom Fighters have a meeting. Sally says he's just a mindless robot that doesn't have emotions like them, though Rotor isn't convinced. Sonic also asks if Robotnik's still with them or not, though Sally says she's not exactly sure. Suddenly, Shadow barges in and demands that he gets a Chaos Emerald in exchange for the help he's given Mobotropolis. Sonic starts arguing with Shadow, but Sally breaks it up and tells Shadow that he'll get a Chaos Emerald as soon as the threat of Scourge is neutralized. Shadow, though angry, accepts. Meanwhile, in Nekronopolis, Scourge has his own meeting with Robotnik (I'll call him that until we decide on a name), Rouge, Sleet, Dingo, and the Wolf Pack. He tells them that all of the Shadowbots destroyed at Mobotropolis can still be replaced, and he also still has the deceased Crocbot's army. He then also tells them that tomorrow night will be the night Mobotropolis is destroyed once and for all. Robotnik asks what they do before then, and Scourge tells him that he needs the full power of the Master Emerald. In other words, his next target is the God of Destruction, Chaos...

Fox Hunt, Part 1 of 2

At a tavern in the Mobian Badlands, Nack the Weasel meets up with his sister, Nic. They've hated each other since they were toddlers, and that hate comes back as they get into an agrument. Nic then suggests that they settle their rivalry once for and for all by seeing who can catch a Freedom Fighter first. The Freedom Fighter? Tails! Nack asks how they're supposed to find him, and Nic tells him that Tails has been spotted doing another routine flight around the Badlands. Nack then agrees to the contest, and wishes his sister "bad luck". Nic heads out with her partners, the insane Bean and silent but strong Bark, while Nack borrows two of Lord Sidewinder's henchmen, Mr. Fry and Biohazard. Does Tails know what he's in for?

Knuckles the Echidna: The Lost City #2 (of 6)

As Knuckles, Julie-Su, Tikal, and Dr. Finitevus journey through the Cosmic Interstate, Knuckles asks Finitevus why the Brotherhood members don't seem to age. The doctor says nothing. Suddenly, a squad of figures appear and attack the group. Knuckles and Julie-Su use their fists on the attackers, while Finitevus uses some sort of strange magic and Tikal does nothing but watch, worried. Knuckles then finds out that they're dingoes, a species that's long been extinct on Angel Island. Julie-Su thinks that they'e simply from another dimension, but suddenly, a large dingo enters the battleground and blasts both Julie-Su and Finitevus with some sort of glowing glove. The Dingo then introduces himself as General Von Stryker, and the group is now under arrest. Meanwhile, back in Albion, Dimitri researches ways to unlock Knuckles' true potential and make it his own. A Dark Legionnarie then reports with good news: they've found the Brotherhood's base.

Sonic the Hedgehog #47
Countdown to.... Part 1 (of 3)

The location of Chaos is currently unknown, but Scourge is determined to track him down and evolve into a stronger form once more. But our heroes are equally determined to stop him! Informed by Robotnik that Scourge is absent, Sally organises every free nation on Mobius - Mobian and Overlander - into an army that plans to hit Nekronopolis and remove Scourge's power base! Already they've used Scourge's old frequency to get the Robians to desert the city en masse to be deprogrammed.

The Freedom Fighters join the united army in the attack, but Sonic has another mission: he and Shadow are out to stop Scourge!

However, what Robotnik didn't tell them was that Scourge was expecting an attack on Nekronopolis - because Robotnik told him about it. And so the army finds itself drawn into a trap and under heavy fire! It's still likely they'll win - but whoever wins will be heavily weakened, which plays into Robotnik's hands... His hands, and a little thing he'd been building "for Scourge" called the Egg Fleet...

Sonic and Shadow know none of this - they just know they have to beat Scourge or everything ends! But Scourge won't give up when he's this close, and so a battle to the death breaks out!

Fox Hunt, Part 2 of 2

Tails is marked for death, with two gangs of assassins trying to plug him! But following his many experiences and battles over the past few months, Tails is no slouch. After overhearing the reason why Nack and Nic are after him, he hits on a plan: get both gangs together in the same place. The result? The weasels and their gangs fight each other for the right to kill Tails, allowing him to knock out the weakened victor!

Knuckles the Echidna: The Lost City #3 (of 6)

The Brotherhood's base of Haven is being invaded by Legion forces, and defence after defence and Guardian after Guardian is falling! Meanwhile, Knuckles and his band are interrogated viciously by the Dingos - but Knuckles turns this around using his strength of will.

It turns out these are the same Dingos that used to live on Angel Island: they were forced off their lands by the Echidnas when they first settled on the place, pushed into a small corner and one single "Dingo City" where they lived as second-class citizens. They were the race that Echidnas took out their frustrations from losing the war for Mobius on. The Dingos reacted by turning militant and aggressive, fighting small conflicts against their hated enemy. Then, two centuries ago, one such conflict took advantage of new dimension-hopping technology and the Dingos threw Echindapolis into a new dimension - but got themselves lost in the process, and now live on the Interstate.

Finivetus and Julie-Su know of the Dingos history and, being from the Legion, look down on them. Knuckles, however, realises they were wronged by his people and is sorry - but that does not justify attempted genocide. Attempting diplomacy, he points out that as his group can get to the Cosmic Interstate, they can get the Dingos back onto Angel Island - if they help him find the lost Echindapolis. Stryker agrees and lends them the use of Harry, a dimension-hopping cab driver. Our heroes start on their quest once more... but there's a lot of dimensions to look through and the first they run into is the dreaded Anti-Mobius!

And back on Mobius, Haven has fallen. Dmitri seems ready to achieve his goal - and then hears how Knuckles has gone off with Finivetus to find Echidnapolis. And that terrifies him. Because he knows what Finivetus is like and what he might do when he finds it...

Sorry guys, I didn't catch that A.D.A.M. had already been in the series. Also, I figured that the first Knuckles mini-series got cancelled by you guys, and I though you'd just have it as a backup plot. My bad.

Sonic the Hedgehog #48
Countdown to....Part 2 of 3
Robotnik's Egg Fleet launches a devastating attack on Robotropolis to make sure it will do the job in destroying either the Freedom Fighters or Scourge's forces, but fortunately all the citizens are evacuated thanks to timely assistance from Omega, who demonstrates his loyalty to his new masters. While the robot leads them back to Knothole for safety, the Freedom Fighters manage to defeat Scourge and take over Nekronopolis, but are left badly weakened.

Meanwhile, Scourge continues to hold his own against Sonic and Shadow, but the tables are turned on the heroes when their plunge through various planes of existence (which Scourge had entered in search of Chaos) leads them to where the God of Destruction has been hiding. Despite their best efforts, Sonic and Shadow fail to stop him from absorbing Chaos' powers. Now in the form of Hyper Scourge, the evil Hedgehog prepares to attack...

Boss Mogul
Mammoth Mogul, the same Mobian crime boss who betrayed the Kingdom of Acorn during the war with the Overlanders, is revealed to have prospered in the planet's underworld since his role in the events surrounding the banishment of King Acorn. Long since split from Warlord Kodos, he has a new agenda: seizing power through shady business dealings so that he can take over the planet once the warring factions have left each other so badly weakened that they can't fight. His first plan: recruiting Nic and Nack the Weasel, their gangs, the Babylon Rogues and Rouge the Bat into an alliance of criminals. The Weasel siblings don't seem too intent on the idea, nor do their allies Bark the Polar Bear, Bean the Dynamite, Fiona Fox, and the Weasels Carl, Jeff, and Konor-until Mogul's Destructix thugs beat some sense into them and take out the three lesser Weasels.

Knuckles the Echidna: The Lost City 4 of 6
After a brief battle with the Anti-Freedom Fighters (a group of evil alternate selves of the ones back on Mobius) the four Echidnas and their Dingo escort are rescued by Zonic the Zone Cop, a watchman over the Cosmic Interstate who warns them against further violations of the dimensional boundaries. After hearing their story, he agrees to point them in the right direction towards Echidnaopolis. Once they're on their way, however, Zonic turns his attention to more serious matters: namely, the fact that the Anti-Freedom Fighters have made their way onto the Cosmic Interstate and are following the Echidnas' trail back to Mobius Prime.

Knuckles and the gang finally reach Echidnaopolis, where they are greeted by Constable Remington of the Echidna Security Team and Knuckles' long lost mother Lara-Le. Finitevus takes advantage of his companions' surprise to disappear, and throws one pained glance Lara-Le's way before he fades into the shadows of an alleyway. Knuckles and co. then go to meet Gala-Na, High Councilor of the city. Upon hearing their intentions, she adamantly refuses to return the Echidnas to Mobius. With the only authority who could order such a transition against them, the three Echidnas and their apprehensive Dingo friend don't know what to do.

Later, Remington opens a portal that leads back to Mobius Prime and welcomes Dimitri, Kragok, Lien-Da, Xenin, and a contingent of their most loyal troops to the city. A confused Kragok is then astonished when Remington embraces him, revealing himself to be the Grand Master's long lost son, and swears fealty to Dimitri. Pleased with this development, Dimitri assumes command of a faciton of the Dark Legion that Remington has secretly been forming during his time in Echidnaopolis, and sets out both to eliminate Finitevus and steal Knuckles' powers. However, the likelihood that he will obtain vengeance on the doctor is low, as Finitevus receives his own interdimensional visitor: Spectre, escaped from the Legion attack on Haven and eager to exact vengeance on any poor cyborg who gets in his way-and Finitevus just so happens to fit the bill.

Sonic the Hedgehog #49
Countdown to....Part 3 of 3
Chaos grants what remains of his power to our heroes, but the newly-charged Super Sonic and Super Shadow are still no match for the terrifying power of Hyper Scourge! He rants and cackles about finally gaining the ultimate power, the ultimate "upgrade" - and heads off to reclaim the conquered Nekronopolis by swatting aside the Mobian forces!

But Sonic has an ace up his sleeve - Naugus. As he casually points out to Scourge, Naugus recently gained supreme magical power. Maybe he's stronger than Hyper Scourge... something the power-obsessed villain can't allow! He heads off to find, defeat and power-drain Naugus; and when he finds him, he certainly defeats him... but the wizard's spells have undermined him. His Hyper powers run out... and he can feel himself magically regressing from Scourge back into Metal Sonic.

Losing his power and upgrades and his empire cause him to snap, and he heads after Sonic - he can at least kill his hated enemy! But no. Sonic has become stronger and smarter with each battle, whereas Scourge artificially boosted his powers. The two fight as Scourge becomes Metal Sonic and realises, to his horror, Sonic is the superior lifeform and that his own quest for power above all has undone him. Finally turning back into Silver Sonic, his processor shuts down as Sonic destroys him.

The threat is over. Mobius has won.

And that means the countdown is over - and Robotnik makes his move! The victorious army is beaten, Mobotropolis has been trashed by him, Sonic is exhuasted, Chaos is unable to go Perfect again, Scourge's forces no longer exist... Every obstacle that could have stood against him no longer matters! With his base in the Egg Carrier, head of the Egg Fleet, he is untouchable - and can obliterate any part of Mobius at will! He demands that everyone surrender to him immediately - or he starts shooting.

A new era starts next issue - if Robotnik lets it...

Knuckles the Echidna: The Lost City 5 of 6

Knuckles bonds with the mother he never knew he had, needing the answer to questions that plagued him for years.

For a start, how can his mother be here when the Guardians, who programmed him, didn't know where Echidnapolis was? It turns out that since Echidnapolis was lost in dimensional space, time has not passed - everything is the same as it was the day the city was lost, and as a result Gala-Na and the Council are scared to take the city back because then they'll start aging again.

But there's a sudden crisis - the Dark Legion have invaded, and a third of the EST has joined them! Dmitri claims he can return the city to Angel Island and prevent everyone from aging - all they have to do is become cyborgs. All they have to do is swear loyalty to him. And the Council may be scared enough to do it! Can Knuckles and his few allies make a stand?

Meanwhile, Spectre and Finivetus fight... and Spectre loses! It turns out they know each other of old - for Finivetus used to be a Guardian. More than that, he was one of the earliest Guardians, the younger brother of Lara-Le, and it was him who developed the means for the Guardians to remain forever youthful. (He tested the prototype and in his case it... didn't quite work) But he defected to the Legion when Lara-Su and her message from the future arrived, believing only they could avert the coming catastrophe... and then he decided only he could, and to work on his own agenda.

Of course, the Brotherhood didn't want him to defect - which is why he killed the Guardian that tried to stop him. The Guardian Locke - Knuckles' father and his brother-in-law. He's done a lot worse since then, and he plans to do worse still. See, he doesn't think Echidnapolis as it is now can avert catastrophe. He thinks that the technology and power can help, but the Echidnas will prove too weak. They need to be... improved, made more organised and strong.

Remember how he had Black Doom in his custody back in "Heralds Of Chaos #4"? Well, that's how he plans to improve the Echidnas - releasing a retrovirus of his own design that will transform them into a new race of stronger Black Arms!

Sonic the Hedgehog #50
Armageddon's Horizon, 1 of 10
Robotnik's seemingly clear path to victory runs into an obstacle: an army of alien robots known as the Metarex, who land on Mobius intent to seize control. While their fleet battles Robotnik's, the weakened Freedom Fighters and their allies search desperately for a haven from both enemy forces. Hope arises in the form of the subterranean city of Lower Mobius, and the former citizens of Knothole gratefully take shelter within it's protective caverns. Unfortunately, all is not well: Lower Mobius is controlled by Mammoth Mogul and his band of criminals, including the newly recruited Rouge the Bat and the Anti-Freedom Fighters.

Back on the surface, Mobius burns as Dark Oak, leader of the Metarex, faces Robotnik with all the firepower both sides can muster. As mile after mile of land is destroyed or rendered uninhabitable, can the battleweary Freedom Fighters-and the exhausted Sonic and Shadow in particular-hope to survive? Will Chaos, who is being tended to by Merlin Prower while Feist continues to hunt Naugus and Poe, recover? And does E-123 Omega have the secret to defeating his old master and bringing Mobius peace?

Knuckles the Echidna: The Lost City 6 of 6 FINALE!
Knuckles leads the rest of the EST in attacking the Dark Legionnaires, and they recieve unexpected assistance: the Chaotix and the rest of the Brotherhood under Lara-Su, who escaped the rest of the Dark Legion back on Mobius and followed Dimitri to Echidnaopolis! Leaving Julie-Su to handle the offensive, Knuckles goes after the Dark Legion Grand Master. He finds him, but Dimitri isn't alone: he and his most loyal advisors have tracked down Dr. Finitevus!

Finitevus reveals his origin to Knuckles, and one thing more: his initial attempt to join the Dark Legion forced him into a duel with Julie-Su's father Luger, and in the process the two of them were pulled into a vortex that fused them together! Since both of his former selves were thought dead, he was able to work his way into the highest levels of the Dark Legion until he was beneath only the other Grand Masters, and in so doing executed his plan to bring down Enerjak, though he does not reveal his reasons for doing so.

Demonstrating the truth of his story by briefly revealing his true form-that of a Two-Face like Echidna, half red and half purple-he then prepares to release the Black Arms based retrovirus! Tikal arrives just in time, and absorbs the virus into her own body, destroying it with her own internal powers so that none will take on the properties of the warlike aliens. Furious, Finitevus flees through one of his Warp Rings, but not before he releases a rejuvenated Black Doom, who quickly accompanies him.

Tikal and Spectre, weakened by their respective encounters with Finitevus, fall unconscious while Knuckles is left to face Dimitri, Remington, Kragok, Lien-Da, and Xenin alone. He managest to overpower Julie-Su's siblings, but Xenin's sheer strength is too much for him to overcome. All but dead, he is suddenly visited by the spirit of Locke, his lost father, and those of the other Guardians who perished before the youth maintaining process was discovered. Together, they use the power they retained from life to heal Knuckles and unlock his hidden potential as the Herald of Chaos, chosen to be the embodiment of the Chaos Force itself.

Recharged and transformed into the green-furred form of Chaos Knuckles, the Herald shatters Xenin's armor with a single blow and vaporizes Remington's left arm below the elbow. He turns on Dimitri, intent on destroying him once and for all, but a final Grand Master appears to stop him: Moritori Rex. Using his special power to travel dimensions, he teleports all the Dark Legionnaires back to Albion. Too unfamiliar with his new powers to maintain his Chaos form long enough to finish off the Legion, Knuckles settles for bringing Echidnaopolis and Dingo City back to Angel Island on opposite ends, and moving the island far from Albion.

With his people restored to Mobius, his promises kept and his new powers unlocked, Knuckles feels quite proud of himself. The moment doesn't last, as the Ancient Walkers arrive with news of the Metarex and Robotnik's personal war. Julie, Lara, and the Chaotix agree to join Knuckles as he sets out to find his old friends, the Freedom Fighters, and hopefully bring down these threats to Mobius. But the Dark Legion isn't gone, and Dimitri still dreams of claiming Knuckles' powers. As if that weren't bad enough, Finitevus has located the only individuals who can rival him in arcane knowledge: Ixis Naugus and Mathias Poe, both still reeling from their battles with Sonic and Scourge.

Both stories continue in the ongoing arc of Armageddon's Horizon!

Sonic the Hedgehog #51
Armageddon's Horizon, Part 2 of 10

The Egg Fleet and Metarex keep battling each other on the surface, while the Freedom Fighters and their allies battle Mammoth Mogul's crew underground. However, seeing as how the Freedom Fighters' allies include every citizen of Knothole and Mobotropolis, as well as the Station Square soldiers, Mogul decides that now isn't the time to battle them. Mogul and his cronies then escape, though Anti-Sonic vows revenge on his Prime version. And, little does Mogul know, Nack the Weasel is really a spy for Lord Sidewinder, who believes that there's only room for one crime lord on Mobius. The injured Freedom Fighters and their allies are then tended to, including Sonic, Shadow, and Chaos. Sally then tries to figure out what they're going to do about Robotnik and the Metarex, and Omega suddenly speaks up, saying he knows a thing or two about his former master. Meanwhile, on Angel Island, Knuckles gets into another argument with the Brotherhood, who all think he should stay on Angel Island and help them find a way to restore the Master Emerald's power, rather than going off to help the Freedom Fighters. Knuckles tells them that he'll be back as soon as possible to help them before leaving the island with the Chaotix (Julie-Su included) and a recovered Tikal. And somewhere else on Mobius, Dr. Finitevus and Black Doom give Ixis Naugus and Matthias Poe two options: join them or die. The two wizards obviously choose the first option. Naugus then looks up at the Metarex ships and asks who they are. Black Doom laughs and reveals that the Metarex are really Black Arms with cybernetic implants, and Dark Oak is their general and Black Doom's second-in-command. Black Doom had contacted them after Finitevus released him, and now they're here to destroy Mobius once and for all. Finitevus then tells Black Doom to contact Dark Oak and have him send some Metarex underground, as he thinks he knows where the Freedom Fighters are...

Hey guys? While we're doing the whole Armageddon's Horizon arc, do you think we could do a mini-series that's a bit more...light-hearted? No offense, but as far as I've seen this Comic Association has been pretty grim up to now.

Sonic the Hedgehog #52
Armageddon's Horizon, Part 3 of 10
While Omega works with Sally and the other Mobian leaders to develop a strategy against Robotnik, Black Doom and his three arcane allies arrive aboard the Metarex flagship. Unfortunately for the Black Arms leader, he's in for a rude awakening: Dark Oak and the other Metarex have turned against him and any purely organic Black Arms who remain, declaring themselves an independent race who only came to Mobius at Doom's call because of it's resources. Betrayed, Doom has no choice but to flee with the others, and swears allegiance to Finitevus on one condition: that the doctor allow him vengeance on Dark Oak. As the four set off, they are unaware that two determined pursuers are on their tail: Merlin Prower and Feist, one motivated by justice, the other by his own dark designs.

Thanks to Black Doom, Dark Oak's commander Yellow Zelkova is able to locate the entrance to lower Mobius, and leads a battalion of Metarex soldiers inside to attack. Fortunately, they do not get far before they are stopped by the latest arrivals: Knuckles and the Chaotix, all of them itching for a fight. Zelkova, easily a match for Knuckles in terms of physical strength, finds himself unable to defend against the combined power of Knuckles, Lara-Su, and Mighty the Armadillo, and flees just as the other Chaotix destroy his troops. Proceeding to Lower Mobius, the Chaotix join up with the Freedom Fighters and make their own contibutions to a slowly forming counterattack plan on the Egg Fleet.

And speaking of the Egg Fleet, Robotnik completes his latest robotic masterpiece: the Eggsterminator, a powerful war machine capable of turning into his Egg Fort 2 battleship. With his new titanic creation in need of a test drive, Robotnik decides to tempt fate-and challenge Dark Oak to a one-on-one duel...

Mini-Series
Mobius' Children, 1 of 3
While still recuperating from his final battle with Scourge, Sonic thinks back on his innocent childhood, before any of the wars that have scarred his homeworld for so long. He remembers the day he met Sally, and how their shy greetings soon became a friendship that has since evolved into something far deeper.

On the flip side, Sally sees other events from her early relationship with Sonic and the other Freedom Fighters as she sits in council with the other leaders. Soon enough Bunnie, Antoine, Tails, Amy Rose, and Cream (forgive me if she's not in the series yet, I'm not sure) find themselves thinking fondly back on their own childhoods...back before Dr. Robotnik came to power. Bunnie also remembers her partial Roboticization, Antoine the loss of his father, Tails the one meeting he had as a toddler with his uncle Merlin, Amy her time spent growing up alongside her cousin Rob O'The Hedge, and Cream her childhood with her mother Vanilla.

In these cherished memories, the Freedom Fighters find solace in the turbulence of war...

Sonic #53
Armaggedon's Horizon Part 4 (of 10)

Using Star Post technology, Knuckles begins - at Sonic's request - transporting refugees to Angel Island, currently protecting by a shield of pure Chaos Energy and being ignored by the warring fleets. Meanwhile, the technology of Echidnapolis helps to amp up Mobius' defensive capabilities.

But this is just stage one. The war is devastating Mobius and whichever side wins will conquer the remains - our heroes have to find a way to take both sides out. Enter Finivetus and his allies! It turns out the Metarex were the threat that the future warned about and that Finivetus has been scheming to avert, but his scheme was thwarted... but he has a back-up scheme! He knows of a secret nuclear base of Robotnik's, guarded by the half-senile Isaac robot; there are enough missiles to blow both war-fleets out of the sky. Of course, the fall-out will kill the Mobians - but he's prepared to forcibly half-roboticise and mutate them to survive.

Our heroes have to come up with a plan before Finivetus can unleash his - and they may have something. For in one of the Overlander city-states is a myth of the "Flames of Disaster", something that could turn the tide...

And up in the sky, Robotnik and Dark Oak fight each other to a standstill! They're too evenly matched at present - but Robotnik plans to change that...

Sonic: Mobius' Children #2 (of 3)
Amy Rose remembers her life before Robotnik took over; Sonic and Jet flash back to their school rivalry days, when they finally raced to see once and for all who was the coolest; and Chaos remembers his former life as one of the oldest of the Chao...

(Spectre, Mighty's a member of the Freedom Fighters. The Chaotix just includes Barby Koala, Walt Wallaby, Wombat Stu, Espio, Charmy, Julie-Su, and Lara-Su. And yeah, Cream's not in the series yet.)

Sonic the Hedgehog #54
Armageddon's Horizon, Part 5 of 10

Robotnik unleashes the Egg Fort 2's most destructive weapon upon Dark Oak and the Metarex. The Ultimate Annihilator! A weapon capable of destroying cities, the Metarex find themselves being used as target practice and start falling back. Yellow Zelkova then arrives back on the surface of Mobius...and gets vaporized by the Annihilator for his efforts. Meanwhile, Sally decides to send Knuckles, the Chaotix, and Shadow to stop Finitevus' gang, while the Freedom Fighters, Babylon Rogues, and E-123 Omega will head to the lost Overlander city, Soleanna. The teams then head off to their respective targets. But, as the Chaotix and Shadow head to the missile base now under Finitevus' control, they run into two others after the group. Feist and Merlin Prower! Meanwhile, the Freedom Fighters and their allies find Solenna...completely abandoned...

Sonic the Hedgehog: Mobius' Children #3 (of 3)

And on Angel Island, Knuckles thinks back to his own chilhood along with the Chaotix. Lara-Su thinks about how she was raised by the Brotherhood, and Julie-Su thinks about how she was raised by the Dark Legion. And lastly, we see...well...not exactly the childhood of Shadow, but his time on the ARK.

Thanks for the tip, Bean!

Sonic the Hedgehog #55
Armageddon's Horizon, Part 6 of 10
With Soleanna abandoned, the Freedom Fighters are ready to give up hope-until Omega reveals the most crucial secret Robotnik ever programmed into him: the location of the lost Sword, Crown, and Ring of Acorns! With these powerful objects, Sally can bring King Acorn back from where Mammoth Mogul and Warlord Kodos banished him, and the king can then use them to send Robotnik there in his place! Knowing what they need to do, the Freedom Fighters go after the Sword, the Babylon Rogues go after the Crown, and Omega sets out alone after the Ring.

Unfortunately, a Metarex spy in Soleanna's ruins overhears the conversation and warns his masters. Dark Oak dispatches his three remaining commanders-Red Pine, Black Narcissus, and Pale Bay Leaf-to recover the artifacts so he can use them against Robotnik himself. Pine is the first to reach one, and almost gets his hands on the Ring-until Omega arrives and challenges him. The two fight an intense battle, but in the end Omega proves victorious and heads back to Lower Mobius at top speed, leaving Red Pine's corpse behind him.

Arriving at Finitevus' missile base, Knuckles, the Chaotix, Merlin, and Feist are infuriated to find it empty-Finitevus and co. have come and gone, taking Isaac with them and leaving only a recording vowing that they will return once Robotnik has been overcome. Working furiously, the heroes struggle to deactivate the missiles, but time quickly runs out. Determined to prevent the destruction of the planet, Knuckles taps into his Chaos powers and drains the nuclear payload of the missiles into his own body. Shadow is then able to destroy the rockets safely with a spell, but Knuckles falls unconscious as he begins a desperate battle with the deadly radiation...

Elsewhere, the Ultimate Annihilator is directed towards Angel Island, and the energy shield put up by the Brotherhood begins to weaken under the pounding. An unexpected respite comes in the form of Dark Oak, who challenges Robotnik to a second duel, this one pitting Robotnik's nanite-composed Turtle body against Dark Oak himself. Prideful to a fault, Robotnik accepts Dark Oak's challenge. But when Oak gains the upper hand due to sheer skill, Robotnik reveals his hidden ace: the Chaos Emeralds that powered the Eggsterminator and Ultimate Annihilator have been placed inside his body. As Robotnik goes Super, Dark Oak powers up to his maximum. Spectre, putting his extra-sensory abilities to work, reports not only that Robotnik and Dark Oak are once again equal in power (as even Super Robotnik cannot channel as much energy as the Ultimate Annihilator's beam) but that the resulting clash of their energies has the potential to rip Mobius apart...

Finally, as Finitevus disappears into the shadows of Mobius until the crisis is averted, he grins evilly at his latest acquisitions: Isaac the robot, a treasure trove of information regarding Mobius' history, and a powerful artifact known as the Sceptre of Darkness, which holds within it a prisoner connected to the Flames of Disaster...

(I know I have no right to impose on anyone's creativity, but can we let Finitevus and co. stay out of the picture this time until after Armageddon's Horizon is over? Robotnik and the Metarex are enough for the rest of the series, and we have the promise of future villainy if Robotnik or the Metarex get killed off by the guy who writes part 10. Again, I'm not trying to order you around, it's just something that seems sensible to me.)

Sonic Special Issue #1
It was the Best of Times...
While Knuckles struggles against the radiation threatening to kill him as a result of his absorbing the nuclear energy from the missiles in Sonic #55, he finds his mind mysteriously unlocked to view the same future that Julie-Su saw flashes of back in the Knuckles mini-series. This future Mobius seems the utopia that Sally has always dreamed of: Robotnik is gone, no other villains or monsters are to be seen, the role of Guardian has been reassumed by Chaos, and the Freedom Fighters, Chaotix, and their friends and allies enjoy a normal life spent together with their growing families.

Unfortunately, Knuckles is also shown a vision of the day when a pair of strangers from even farther in the future, Silver the Hedgehog and Blaze the Cat, arrive with a dire warning that the past is in flux. The two then leave to go further into the past, hoping to undo the threat posed by the Metarex. Knowing that he cannot go himself to help, the future Knuckles is forced to make a heart-wrenching decision...and send his newborn daughter, Lara-Su, back in time with a message for the Brotherhood, asking only two things: that they prepare for the Metarex-and that they raise her to be the Guardian she was destined to be.

(can we let Finitevus and co. stay out of the picture this time until after Armageddon's Horizon is over?)

Be a bit weird for him to vanish, since his goal is to prevent the Metarex winning (and do extremely evil things in the pursuit of this) after hearing Lara-Su's warning.

True, but at this point he doesn't know that Knuckles has thwarted his missile strike. He won't know until everything blows over, and until then he's looking for a nice safe place to hide. Besides, who's to say that the threat presented by Dark Oak and the other Metarex occurs at this point in time? This fan made series is still young, my friend. But, to help it grow just a little bit older:

Sonic the Hedgehog #56
Armageddon's Horizon, Part 7 of 10
Robotnik and Dark Oak begin to battle, and the resulting shockwaves continue the devastation to Mobius. Try as they might, neither of the two can defeat the other, and Dark Oak isn't about to let Robotnik back into the Eggsterminator. Omega, heading to Angel Island after finding Lower Mobius in ruins thanks to the Metarex fleet, sees the battle and takes advantage of it, flying into the Eggsterminator and disabling the Ultimate Annihilator. Unfortunately, his luck seems to run out as an army of Robotnik's latest troops, the E-2000 robots, emerge from their storage compartments and open fire on their precursor.

Elsewhere, the Freedom Fighters find the Sword of Acorns buried beneath the ruins of Mobotropolis, only to come under attack from Pale Bay Leaf. Sonic tries to defeat him, but the dual sword-wielder is only beaten when Sally's lineage allows her to activate the powers of the Sword, mind-controlling Bay Leaf's escorts to attach to him and self-destruct. With both their leaders drained, the Freedom Fighters race back towards Lower Mobius, unaware of the city's destruction.

Back at the missile base, Merlin works feverishly to save Knuckles from the deadly influence of the radiation, employing all his healing magic in a vain effort to revive the dying Echidna. Lara and Julie, both worried for him, discuss their fears that he may not survive. Overcome by worry, Julie reveals to Lara the truth that she and Knuckles learned from the Walkers: that the three of them are a family. A disbelieving Lara listens as Julie tells her the circumstances of her arrival in the present day Mobius. Unable to accept it, she runs out of the base with Shadow hot on her heels.

Finally, the Babylon Rogues close in on the Crown of Acorns, and they've acquired some help: the Rebel Underground, led by former Kingdom of Acorn Secret Service head Geoffrey St. John. Backed by the Skunk and his team-including his wife Hershey, Vector the Crocodile, Ray the Squirrel, Espio's old friends Valdez and Liza, and Charmy's childhood sweetheart Safron, the trio of treasure hunters break into the ancient but heavily fortified Ironlock Prison. But they are not alone: not only has Black Narcissus arrived on the scene with his bodyguards Silver and Gold, but one of Ironlock's cells is still occupied...by none other than former Acorn Minister of War and ally of Mammoth Mogul, Warlord Kodos.

Sonic Special Issue #2
Seeker of Justice
Feist's origins are revealed, as are his reasons for hunting Ixis Naugus. Once, Feist lived in a peaceful village in a dimension adjacent to Mobius. The tranquil life this formidable Panda once knew ended when Naugus arrived, seeking to test a spell he had developed called Shadow Meld. Using it to teleport arround the defenders, he joined his shadow with Feist's to take control of his actions, and at Naugus' command Feist destroyed his entire village.

Releasing Feist, Naugus left the village that day, and a brokenhearted Feist was ready to die. But then he was approached by Aurora, the super entity worshipped by Mobians as a goddess. Offering him condolences in his grief, Aurora offered Feist a position as one of her Knights, bound to seek out those who would threaten the ideals of good. His first mission: to hunt down Ixis Naugus.

EDIT: Sorry guys, my bad; I posted two issues on the same day. I'm just really into this, and I didn't read through all the rules. Speaking of that, sorry to CharlesRocketBoy for putting off your Flames of Disaster deal. Not trying to be rude-I actually look forward to having Iblis/Mephiles/Solaris in the series, but the Armageddon's Horizon arc is just getting a little too packed with villains. Besides, at this point I think Dark Oak and Robotnik can handle the rest of the story with a little help from some minor guys.

(Whatever happened to "wait at least one day to post again"? Also, the Freedom Fighters and the others wouldn't head back to Lower Mobius, as everyone there was evacuated to Angel Island via Star Posts.)

Sonic the Hedgehog #57
Armageddon's Horizon, Part 8 of 10

Omega's able to defeat the E-2000 Robots, but is badly damaged during the battle. He quickly flies back to Angel Island, where he gives the Ring of Acorns to the Knothole citizens there before collapsing. The Freedom Fighters then arrive back at Angel Island with the Sword of Acorns in tow and watch the battle between Robotnik and Dark Oak while Rotor repairs Omega. Meanwhile, outside of the missile base, Shadow catches up with the upset Lara-Su and comforts her. He tells her how he, at one time, knew nothing about his past as well. Shadow then becomes a mentor to Lara-Su to teach her how to use her Chaos powers. And in the missile base, Julie-Su and the Chaotix decide that Knuckles is in no condition to fight and must now get back to Angel Island. In Ironlock Prison, the Babylon Rogues and Secret Service start battling Black Narcissus and his bodyguards. But during the battle, Kodos is accidentally broken free from his cell. As it turns out, being trapped alone in Ironlock Prison all of these years has turned Kodos into nothing more than a mindless beast. Kodos then kills both Silver and Gold and badly injures Narcissus. He then starts brutally attacking the Babylon Rogues and Secret Service, but is eventually put back in his cell...at the cost of Jet's legs being broken! And as the two groups rush to give Jet medical attention, Black Narcissus crawls off towards the Crown of Acorns' location...

Sonic #58
Armaggedon's Horizon Part 9 (of 10)

Heroes are falling, one after the other. Finivetus realises his schemes have failed and collapses into shock as this sinks in. And both Dark Oak and Robotnik are getting desperate enough to do... anything.

Sonic, desperate to end the fighting - and so horrified at seeing his old rival Jet injured that he forgets to put up an arrogant front - has arrived to get the Crown from Black Narcissus. But the alien has been recharged by the object and won't give it up without a fight! A vicious battle erupts, and Narcissus is beaten back! With all the Relics of Acorn now in Mobian hands, they may be able to win.

But up in the sky, as Dark Oak seems triumphant and ready to kill his enemy, Robotnik reveals his trump card - he wirelessly uploads his mind into a new body aboard the Eggsterminator and self-destructs his metal turtle one, wiping out Dark Oak! Robotnik has won and all that remains now is for him to mop up the remaining Metarex troops... after he's blitzed Angel Island's shields to nothing and forces everyone to surrender!

To use the Sword, Crown and Ring to banish Robotnik and return the King, Sally will need to get on board the Eggsterminator. Tails reveals a souped-up Tornado II he has made with GUN help, which should be fast enough to make a one-way trip and get two people onto Robotnik's warship. Sonic, resolute, realises this could be a suicide mission - and so he knocks out Tails. He's not letting his little bro fall like all the others.

And as Robotnik comes in range of Angel Island, Sonic and Sally fly out for what may be their final mission...

I know the rules say you have to wait a day before posting again, but I posted last yesterday and I didn't here anything more specific than a different day. Kinda roundabout, but that's the way it is.

Sonic the Hedgehog #59
Armageddon's Horizon, Part 10 of 10
Sonic and Sally get aboard the Eggsterminator, making their way through the silent ship towards the bridge. Along the way, they discuss their shared childhood, lamenting what they've lost and remembering all that they've done together. As they reach the door, they suddenly admit their feelings for each other: they both love each other, they both know it, and nothing will stop them from being together. Sharing a brief kiss, the two barge onto the bridge, determined to win the day.

On Angel Island, all is quiet as Robotnik positions himself for a final attack. Knuckles remains comatose, but Jet's legs have been set. Lara-Su finally accepts her predecessor and Julie-Su as-in a roundabout kind of way-her parents, much to Julie's happiness. The other Freedom Fighters and Chaotix, along with their various allies, share gestures of friendship, knowing that the coming moments may be their last.

Sonic and Sally arrive on the bridge and are confronted by Robotnik, who has downloaded himself into a new robot body identical in appearance to his old Overlander one. While Sally combines the powers of the Relics of Acorn, Sonic attacks his old enemy. Proving stronger than Sonic can handle, Robotnik defeats him and moves towards Sally. Before he can reach her, she manages to open a portal to the Zone of Silence, and a grim looking King Acorn emerges.

Taking the Sword, Crown, and Ring of Acorns from Sally, King Acorn begins to combine their powers in an even more impressive display than Sally's. Robotnik tries to stop him, but Sonic revives and is enraged to see his hated enemy charging the father of his love. Employing amazing concentration, Sonic draws in all the Power Rings from across the planet, absorbing their power to become Ultra Sonic. He easily defeats Robotnik, only for a swarm of nanites to cover his enemy, beginning to repair and reshape Robotnik. Before they can finish, however, King Acorn's ceremony is completed. Ultra Sonic then teleports himself, Sally, and the king to safety as the Egg Fleet, it's engines irreparably damaged by the Sword of Acorns, is drawn into the Zone of Silence-taking Robotnik with it.

Cheers erupt from the Mobians as Sonic returns, arm-in-arm with Sally and accompanied by the king. King Acorn proceeds to the infirmary, placing the Ring upon Knuckles' finger to begin the healing of the Echidna. Merlin welcomes his old friend warmly, but then departs with Feist to pursue Dr. Finitevus and his minions. Suprisingly, the two are joined by another pair: Shadow and Lara-Su, both eager to keep fighting and save Mobius from any other threats.

The work of rebuilding Mobius lies ahead, but the victors put it out of their thoughts for the time being as they rejoice. King Acorn gives awards to Mobius' heroes, praising their efforts in his absence. Sonic, Sally, Knuckles, Jet, and all their allies are included, and the former residents of Mobotropolis and Knothole rejoice all the more for the return of their king. Unfortunately, not all the villains have been destroyed:

Black Narcissus, barely alive after his battle with Sonic, regroups the remaining Metarex. He then analyzes sensor data from Robotnik's duel with Dark Oak to make a surprising discovery: the explosion that hit Dark Oak didn't destroy him, but instead wounded him severely. By absorbing the Chaos energy from the blast, Oak was able to use Chaos Control to teleport himself into outer space, where he is undoubtedly recuperating for another attack on Mobius. Getting ready for his own recuperation, Narcissus laughs wickedly, knowing that Oak won't be gone for long...

Kodos breaks out of his cell at Ironlock again, only to be defeated by the attack of a rebuilt Crocbot, who carries the Lion Warlord through a portal to the headquarters of his new mistress, who identifies herself only as E.V.E...

Finally, the story shifts to Sonic and Sally watching the sunset of what they believe to be the final day of their wartorn lives. They briefly discuss their future together, but soon change their intentions to sharing a tender kiss. As their lips touch, both think the same thing: no matter what evil arises, Mobius will always have heroes to defend it.

P.S. Hope I didn't make anyone mad by posting so much lately; I'm just really getting into this. Here's to more great issues of the Sonic Comic Association 2007!

Sonic #60
Braver, Newer World

Mobius is now free and the Kingdom of Acorn united, allied with its former enemies the Overlanders. Reconstruction is still taking place two months later, but already New Mobotropolis in place. Under a suggestion from Sally, the King has brought in Zone Leaders - democratically elected leaders of specific regions - to ensure, after Robotnik, no one person can ever hold ultimate authority in the Kingdom.

As for Sonic... he's got absolutely nothing to do and boredom is setting in. While Mammoth Mogul's crime syndicate is still out there, the Freedom Fighters aren't dealing with it. In fact, all the cells have disbanded and defence of Mobius is now in the hands of the Secret Service, with the premier unit being Antoine and the former Rebel Underground. As they fight crime and villainy and became acclaimed heroes, Sonic finds his uncle steering him to a great nightmare - he's back in school!

With most of his friends retired and Sally often busy, Sonic is - but wait! Anti-Sonic is attacking! Finally, Sonic has... no, wait, the Secret Service came in, gently moved Sonic aside, and defeated the villain easy.

The only person Sonic can talk to about this is the crippled Jet. After all they've been through, can either of them adjust to a calm, less stressful life?

The Madness Of Doc Finivetus

The great catastrophe came and went, and Finivetus failed utterly to do anything about it. The work of decades, everything he'd planned for... gone. And with it, his sanity. For two months he hasn't talked and has barely ate, and his control over Black Doom has been lost. The alien warlord, however, has no army and has lost control of the Metarex, and has no way of regaining any power. Until an idea occurs to him.

And he points out to Finivetus that maybe there can be another catastrophe. Maybe the Flames of Disaster are the catastrophe. Maybe, if he unleashes their power with the Sceptre's prisoner, the prophecy will have meaning again and he can stop it. And in his insane state of mind, this makes utter sense for Finivetus - and so Black Doom and his unwitting insane puppet plan to unleash a new horror...

Sonic the Hedgehog #61
Starting the Flames, Part 1 of 2

Sonic talks to Jet about how he and Tails are the only friends he really talks to nowadays, and how he STILL hasn't seen the other Freedom Fighters, particularly Sally, at all recently. Jet tells Sonic that he should try to arrange a meeting with his old friends, but Sonic says that he's tried. Jet then asks about Knuckles, and Sonic gets an idea. Elsewhere, in Finitevus' base, the good doctor uses Issac's data to perform experiments on the Sceptre of Darkness. Black Doom, Ixis Naugus, and Matthias Poe all watch, Naugus also having his suspicions of Black Doom manipulating Finitevus. Suddenly, explosions are heard throughout the base and a wall in the room is blown down. Merlin Prower and his allies have arrived! Prower and Poe start using spells on each other, Feist does battle with Naugus, Lara-Su battles Finitevus, and Shadow attacks Black Doom. Black Doom talks about how Shadow is indeed a fine weapon for the Black Arms, which makes the black hedgehog angrier. Shadow tries to use a Spin Dash on Black Doom, but he avoids it and Shadow ends up hitting the Sceptre, shattering it! Finitevus screams in panic at this and although Merlin and the others think they've won, no one notices something heading into Shadow's shadow...

Changes
While Sonic goes through his own changes, so do his former teammates. Rotor is now at a university in a village outside of New Mobotropolis, and he seems to almost be ready to graduate. Bunnie went back to her hometown that she lived in before going to Knothole Village, and no one's heard from her since. Tails, like Sonic, now goes to school and even lives with Sonic and his Uncle Chuck. Amy also goes to school and has developed a secret crush on Sonic. Antoine and E-123 Omega are now both members of the Secret Service, and Antoine's been depressed since Bunnie left New Mobotropolis, though Geoffrey tries to get him to fit in. Mighty, like Antoine and Omega, is also working for King Acorn, but as a guard at Castle Acorn. And finally, Sally obviously lives at Castle Acorn, rarely allowed to leave and getting prepared for her duties as Queen.

Sonic the Hedgehog #62
Starting the Flames, Part 2 of 2
Shadow and the others are caught off guard when the hidden prisoner of the Sceptre reveals himself by possessing Shadow's shadow: it's Mephiles the Dark, a force of evil whose powers are beyond the understanding of the heroes. He demonstrates this by interfacing with Dr. Finitevus' mind, revealing to the Doctor that Dark Oak has survived and that the Metarex threat to the timestream hasn't truly been defeated, only delayed. Finitevus regains his lost spirit, overjoyed, and then turns in a fury upon the treacherous Black Doom. The brief battle ends with Doom bound inside a cocoon of dark energy, while Mephiles takes his place in a rematch with the four heroes. Unfortunately, Poe and Finitevus switch opponents, so while Lara-Su defeats the Raven warlock, Merlin loses to Finitevus! With Shadow losing to Mephiles, Feist stands alone against the four enemies-until Sonic arrives, that is!

Alerted to the destruction of the powerful Sceptre of Darkness by the energy of the Power Rings that he still carries within him, Sonic transforms into first Polar Sonic and then Eco Sonic to subdue Finitevus and Naugus. Unfortunately, his new Solar Sonic transformation proves ineffective against Mephiles. Miraculously calling upon the powers of Chaos Control, Mephiles disappears with his allies, swearing to return with the power of the Flames of Disaster at his back.

Recognizing no purpose in continuing the pursuit of the villains, Merlin agrees to return to New Mobotropolis with Sonic, Shadow, and Lara-Su. Feist, however, leaves to seek out the Ancient Walkers in his continued quest for vengeance against Naugus. Once back in the city, Merlin finds a home for himself and gladly takes in Tails, agreeing that he will stay with his nephew, both of them praying that Tails' parents will be found. Lara-Su then requests transport to Angel Island so she can rejoin the Chaotix, only to learn that they've all vanished-including Knuckles.

Sonic and Sally enjoy a candlelit dinner together, the first chance they've had to be alone since returning to New Mobotropolis. Sally laments her busy schedule and Sonic's difficulties, but her boyfriend is able to cheer her up as always with a roguish comment. Unbeknownst to either of them, however, they are being monitored by hidden cameras. On the other end, a holographic Lynx named NICOLE watches the two intently, with other monitors depicting other former members of the Freedom Fighters. NICOLE then communicates with her superior-none other than Zonic the Zone Cop-with news that the former heroes are truly ideal candidates for the Knothole Special Forces Team...whatever that may be.

Hunting the Dark, Part 1 of 4
Knuckles, fully recovered thanks to the restorative powers of the Ring of Acorns, has gathered the original Chaotix and Julie-Su for a new mission: to hunt down the Dark Legion. Agreeing that the cyborg army is the most organized threat to the relative peace Mobius is now experiencing, the natives of Angel Island set out to bring them down. There's just one problem: Albion is a seemingly impenetrable fortress, and Knuckles still doesn't have enough control of his Chaos powers to overpower the defenses.

Not even close to giving up, the Chaotix decide that there's only one thing for it: to beat an army, they'll need an army. Using Julie-Su's mechanical dreadlock as a transmitter, they put out a priority call to the disbanded Freedom Fighter cells across Mobius, with the exception of Sonic and Sally's group. Eager for action, the various bands begin making their way towards the land nearest to Albion: the continent of Mercia. However, the first to answer the call is not an old ally, but a new one: Rob O'The Hedge, Mercia's last Freedom Fighter and the cousin of Amy Rose.

Sadly, the Chaotix's message reaches unfriendly ears as well as friendly: the Higher Sheriff of Mercia, one of Robotnik's last remaining sub-bosses, sets out for the peninsula that reaches out towards Albion. Accompanying him are an army of Combots-robots capable of turning invisible-and a group of as yet unfreed Robians who are quite familiar: they are none other than Sonic's parents Jules and Bernie, Tails' parents Amadeus and Rosemary, and Rotor's father Sherman! Worse yet, the Sheriff himself is a hero turned villain: Antoine's long lost father, General D'Coolette!

Albion itself is not quiet, though they have not picked up the Chaotix's broadcast. Dimitri's plans to steal the powers of the Herald of Chaos, aka Knuckles, are still in motion. No less vehement are his fellow Grand Masters: Kragok, Lien-Da, Remington (now wearing a Dark Legion cloak and sporting a mechanical arm identical to his father's), and Moritori Rex are also eager to see Knuckles brought to his knees. Their newest scheme has already allowed them to seize all seven Chaos Emeralds, and their weapon of choice against Knuckles-the Chaos Syphon-is being improved upon by a most unexpected prisoner: the Overlander scientist and former ally of the Kingdom of Acorn, Nate Morgan.

EDIT: The original version of the story had Sonic show up at Finitevus' base with no explanation, and Bean the Dynamite was kind enough to point this out. So, I came back and edited it. Thanks again Bean!

(Ignore this. Spectre fixed it.)

Sonic #63

Out-of-work Hero

When Finivetus left with his allies, he left the traitor Black Doom behind - and in custody, he's spilling everything to Geoffrey St John and Sally. He is tired of Mobius and wants nothing more than to get off it - he also freely admits he was going to use the Flames of Disaster to burn the world before he left, but while he's still stuck here he'll have to prevent it. Revealing everything he knows, he also mentions the Metarex will regroup for a second assault. However, they've taken such a beating that it won't be as catastrophic as the last one - Mephiles is lying to Finivetus to keep him working, and based on the Doctor's previous work the results can only be apocalyptic.

But that's all the background. In the foreground, Sonic has a new challenge: he's going to need to get a job. As his inexperience and super-speed work against him at several jobs - waiters should not go at 200MPH... - he finally has to bite the bullet and take a courier job at his uncle's new business. Something he'd wanted to avoid, to show he could manage this new life on his own.

Oh, he's also got a bunch of loonies called DRAT - the Doctor Robotnik Appreciation Tribe, who believe life was better under the Doctor - trying to assassinate him. Can Sonic stop their giant killer robot on top of everything else?! Well, yes. Of course he can. He's Sonic.

Back at the palace, Sally states to the King that the only option she can see is to get the Flames first - and the Secret Service as it is might not be enough. They need to draft Sonic...

Hunting the Dark, Part 2 of 4

As Knuckles' makeshift army gathers, they find themselves suddenly surrounded by Combots - and with no way out that won't get everyone killed, they're forced to surrender! This, however, was what our heroes had planned. The safest way to get to the Legion is to make the Legion come to them, and with Knuckles in custody of another villain, it's a sure bet they'll come to seize him for their own ends.

Which they do, in full force! As battle erupts, Rob o' the Hedge and Julie-Su combine their lock-picking skills to free everyone and covertly raid the Sherrif's armoury. The Legion manages to overpower the Sherrif's hordes and break into the base, only to find themselves outnumbered & outgunned by a much healthier looking Freedom Fighter army! Do they surrender? You bet.

With much of the Legion's army and generals now in custody - and the Sherrif overthrown to boot! - Knuckles is ready to lead a force into Albion through the Legion's own back routes. The Battle for Albion starts next issue!

Sonic the Hedgehog #64
Cyborgs, Gangs, and Hedgehogs, Oh My! Part 1 of 3

Meet Bunnie Rabbot: Newest hero of West Falls! Yes, when Bunnie came back to her hometown, she stopped a bank robber and has been hailed as a hero ever since! Also since then, she's been cleaning the streets, stopping more criminals, and helping children recover their lost balloons! However, King Acorn (who's been contemplating Sally's suggestion about Sonic...) hears about this "psychotic vigilante" and sends the Secret Service to arrest her. What will Antoine do when he finds out it's his long-lost love? And not only that, but Mammoth Mogul's gang is also planning to come to West Falls for some shady deals. Nack reports this back to Lord Sidewinder, who thinks this is the perfect time to shut down Mogul's operations...permanently!

Hunting the Dark, Part 3 of 4

The Chaotix and their allies are able to sneak into Albion...and find themselves surrounded by Dark Legionnaries! An all-out brawl then begins as the Chaotix and their allies take on the Dark Legion! During the battle, Knuckles and Julie-Su sneak into Albion's dungeons to see if they have any prisoners, and come across Nate Morgan! The two Echidnas then get Nate out, but it turns out being trapped in Albion all of these years has caused Nate to start losing his sanity. But he's sane enough to tell Knuckles to look out behind him! But Knuckles does so too late, as Dimitri uses the Chaos Syphon on him!

(I'm also assuming made-up locations are alright, as someone came up with the "Village of Green Circle" in the early issues.)

Sonic the Hedgehog #65
Cyborgs, Gangs, and Hedgehogs, Oh My! Part 2 of 3
Bunnie and Antoine reunite happily, at least until Geoffrey orders that Bunnie be arrested for vigilantiism. Without any support from his fellow Secret Service officers, Antoine is forced to put the handcuffs on Bunnie, who complies with tears in her eyes. Before they can make their way back to their transport, however, they are stopped by Zonic and Omega, the latter of whom has been talked to by NICOLE. The Zone Cop and the robot announce that Bunnie is to be the first new member of the Knothole Special Forces Team, a group to be composed of the former Freedom Fighters and any others who choose to join. Geoffrey refuses to acknowledge any authority that Zonic has, but before the two come to blows, the Destructix and the Anti-Freedom Fighters attack!

Receiving word of the conflict, King Acorn reluctantly drafts Sonic into the Secret Service and sends him to West Falls. However, unbeknownst to the king, Sally also sneaks out to help her friends. Secret messages sent to the other former Knothole Freedom Fighters by NICOLE quickly have Tails, Amy, Mighty, and the Babylon Rogues-including a recently recovered Jet-joining the pair as they race to help their friends.

Back at West Falls, Zonic and the Secret Service fight valiantly, but the battle goes against them when Mogul, the Weasels, Fiona, Bark, Bean, and Rouge arrive to join in on the battle. Mogul reveals that Bunnie's crime-fighting efforts have ruined his chances for expanding his empire into the city, and he's determined to obtain revenge. Worse, Lord Sidewinder appears on the scene with some new minions: the Wolf Pack (please correct me if something has happened to these guys), now working reluctantly-with the exception of their self proclaimed leader, Drago Wolf-as mercenaries. Zonic, seeing that the time has come to tap into his full abilities, removes his heavy protective uniform...and reveals himself to be the No Zone's version of Sonic.

Hunting the Dark, Part 4 of 4
Dimitri becomes Enerjak once more as he absorbs Knuckles' power, reducing the Guardian to an ordinary Echidna without even his inherent super strength and trademark fist spurs. Not even bothering to finish off his former nemesis, Enerjak takes off to find and eliminate Dr. Finitevus. First, however, he stops to free the imprisoned Dark Legionnaires and actually demonstrates some small level of morality by De-Roboticizing the High Sheriff and his Robian commanders, restoring the parents of the Knothole Freedom Fighters to their natural states.

Outnumbered by the Dark Legion, the former Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix depart Albion, taking with them Nate, the overjoyed former Robians, and a depressed Knuckles. When he is questioned by Julie-Su, Knuckles admits the truth of his woes: the loss of his special abilities, without which he feels weak and lost. Julie, saddened by his loss, decides to help him the only way she can with a surprising act: she asks him to be her life partner, the two of them engaged until they're old enough to marry. Knuckles, shocked, doesn't reply for a long second. Then he smiles and agrees, and the two express the feelings they've gained for each other with a kiss.

Enerjak locks onto Finitevus' location, but then discovers a more serious problem: his cyborg implants are being overloaded by the Chaos energy he's absorbed, and if they fail he'll die. Only one solution seems viable: he must tranfer himself to a new body. And ironically, the perfect candidate is none other than Knuckles, who now has no chance of resisting Enerjak's possession...

Sonic the Hedgehog #66

Cyborgs, Gangs, and Hedgehogs, Oh My! Part 3 of 3
The mother of battle royales has erupted and with two large gangs of supervillains to deal with, our heroes are effectively outgunned. But Sonic has a plan - and with Zonic backing him up, he uses his super speed to physically remove Mogul from the battlefield (dumping him in a dumpster, no less). Now his gang is fighting without a leader and getting in the way of Sidewinder's team, and that puts the ball in the good guy's court! With Sally and Geoffrey St John combining their strategic skills, the villains find themselves outmanouvered.

Sidewinder runs off, deciding there's no benefit to him here; and Rouge has decided she's not being paid enough by Mogul to put up with this, causing her to vanish. The rest of Mogul's gang are now knocked out and being dragged off to jail - Mogul himself manages to escape, but he's lost his muscle and knows all his underworld rivals will be gunning for him...

Back at West Falls, Antoine makes it clear: he can't arrest Bunnie for helping people. Geoffrey, unwilling to lose his squad member, replies how amazing it is that the totally unknown vigilante vanished without a trace before Mogul attacked and may never be seen again.

Sonic, for his part, is ecstatic at this idea of a Knothole Special Forces and getting to defend Mobius for a career again. Sally is suspicious though - Zonic is a law officer from another dimension, he has no jurisdiction in the Kingdom of Acorn to organise a domestic paramilitary unit, especially when that'd carry out the same thing as the existing Secret Service. Zonic freely admits he has none, and also he doesn't care. He feels defence against the mega-threats will be more effective if the Zone Cops direct it. Sally makes it clear the Kingdom will regard this as an alien military presence defying the rule of law and they won't stand for it if he carries this out, before leaving with the Secret Service. Sonic and the other Freedom Fighters aren't sure how to react to this, but Zonic smiles and tells them his offer remains open and all they have to do is return to Knothole tomorrow...

And when the next day dawns, as the Secret Service prepare for another day, the message comes in from Station Square's GUN Intelligence - Mephiles and Finivetus have been spotted in the Soleanna ruins. Defcon One has been declared.

Possession, Part 1 (of 3)
The powerless Knuckles is adapting well to his new life, the burden of being a Guardian now fully passed on to Lara-Su and with him free to be a normal teenager in Echidnapolis. It's everything he ever wanted.

Then he returns home one day to find his mother has gone missing. The Dark Legion have her. And they'll let her go unharmed if he does exactly as they say.

And that's how Knuckles, hate and rage and helplessness churning inside him, walked into the abandoned wastes of the haunted Pumpkin Hill, where the Dark Legion had established a new base and Enerjak waited to channel his mind & power into a new body. Using newly-developed technology and Enerjak's Chaos powers, the transfer goes off without a hitch and Knuckles is having his mind erased...

And then something goes wrong. Knuckles, seething with chaos energy, obliterates Enerjak's old body. And then he turns his power on the Dark Legion and causes all their cyborg implants to short out. Half of them die on the spot.

The transfer left Knuckles' mind briefly open to any other presence that wanted in, and in his rage Knuckles was briefly willing to let anything else in to spite his enemies. Enerjak transfered his power to Knuckles but is mind is lost...

And now Pachacamac - the last and worst of the Echidna warlords, the butcher of the Chao, the one who could not stop trying to kill & conquer - has returned to walk the Earth. He's just taken revenge of Dmitri and his acolytes for past slights (see #30 & #38 ).

And now he's going to use his new power and body to force Echidnapolis and the Echidna race back into conquest...

Sonic the Hedgehog #67
Flames and Revelations

The Secret Service (Omega included, although Antoine said something about "being sick".) arrive at the ruins of Soleanna, Geoffrey having requested that GUN doesn't help them. However, as soon as the service arrives, they're attacked by Ixis Naugus and Matthias Poe! But Omega blows down a nearby building that collapses on Naugus and Poe. Before the group can check to see if the two wizards are dead, however, Mephiles and Dr. Finitevus start blasting up on them from a building roof! Meanwhile, in New Mobotropolis, Antoine sneaks out of his house and heads to the Great Forest. He also runs into Sonic, Tails, Amy, Mighty, Bunnie, and the Babylon Rogues. Antoine asks if Sally and Rotor are coming, and Sonic says they didn't bother, as Sally would refuse and most likely tell her father of what Zonic is doing, and Rotor's most likely busy with his studies. The ex-Freedom Fighters then arrive at Knothole, where they find Zonic and NICOLE waiting. Zonic introduces the group to NICOLE, who is the second in a generation of solid holograms with artificial minds. Sonic then asks why Zonic chose this Mobius out of so many to create this "Knothole Special Forces Team". Zonic tells them it's because their dimension is known as "Mobius Prime", and it and the No Zone were the first zones ever created. If something happens to Mobius Prime, the Cosmic Interstate could perhaps be destroyed. He also tells them that the Knothole Special Forces Team's main mission would be to basically defend Mobius Prime and, if called upon to do so, other dimensions. Zonic then decides to show the group their future headquarters, leading them into a tunnel. However Sonic realizes something and asks that if NICOLE was the second solid hologram created, who was the first? Zonic then says one word: "E.V.E.". Meanwhile, back in Soleanna, Mephiles tosses the last of the unconscious Secret Service members, Ray, into a pile of his fellow teammates. Dr. Finitevus asks what they're even doing here, and Mephiles tells him that he was checking to see if there was truly no one here. The Shadow look-a-like believes that the citizens of Soleanna left their city after the Flames of Disaster destroyed it. Mephiles also reveals that the Flames of Disaster were imprisoned inside of the city's Princess Elise, and they must now be inside of her descendant...

Possession, Part 2 of 3

Using Knuckles' powers, Pachacamec has created an army of undead Echidna soldiers! The Chaotix attack Knuckles, wondering what's gotten into him, but the Echidna reveals his new identity to his former allies, as well as everyone on Angel Island. The Chaotix are easily defeated and Pachacamec starts attacking Echidnaopolis, capturing many citizens. The Chaotix, though beaten and tired, evacuate as many citizens as they can, including Nate Morgan. Nate tells the Chaotix that he knows what may able to stop Pachacamec: the depowered Master Emerald! And meanwhile, Pachacamec tells a frozen Gala-Na that he blames her ancestors, as well as Dimitri and Chaos, for his death and revenge shall soon be his. He then puts Gala-Na and all of the citizens he captured under his control and sets his sights on the Dingo City. Meanwhile, Tikal and Chaos watch, Tikal saying that it's finally come...

Sonic the Hedgehog #68
Burn The World Part 1 (of 4)

When Soelenna fell, the survivors were scattered to the four corners of the Overlander regions - and in Station Square's outlying town of Westopolis lives Hope, a young girl who is unknowingly the descendant of the city's former Princess. Which means she's now considered the bearer of the Flames of Disaster, which has her being watched by both Mephiles' gang and GUN's Intelligence division. And if the amoral & pragmatic Division Captain Westwood could get away with it, he'd keep it within GUN ("the Mobians screwed up their chance") but protocol states he has to get in contact with the Secret Service...

Which means, thanks to the advanced tech at Freedom HQ, the Knothole Special Forces can listen in on his message too - and get their first! They arrive just in time to see the villains making their move, attacking Hope's school while GUN Agent Topaz and the Spider Troop trying to hold them off. Sonic makes a big impression on the girl as he battles Mephiles and holds his own, forcing the creature to back off and the villains to retreat. This is good, because what Sonic doesn't know is that before he did that, Hope was on the verge of accidentally releasing... something.

The downside occurs when the Secret Service arrives just five seconds after and see the Special Forces. Enraged at seeing Antoine there, Geoffrey punches him in the face and has to be restrained by others - he watched his back, he tried to help him fit in, he trusted him, and he deliberately failed the mission & betrayed his King to let Bunnie escape. And Antoine does this in return? He's dead to Geoffrey now.

Captain Westwood steps into the scene, stating that it's GUN that has jurisdiction here and, as Head of Intelligence, they take orders from him while they're there. The first order is for everyone to hold off any anger until after the threat has been dealt with - because the villains will try again, and myth states the Flames of Disaster cannot be controlled. Once they're loose, it'll make the Metarex-Robotnik War look like a minor slap-fight...

Possession, Part 3 of 3

Dingo City arms up, preparing to fight off Pachacamac - something they know they can't succeed at. There's only one hope, and that's Tikal and Chaos. As the raging warlord tries to fend off the monster that defeated him last time, he realises the chaos energy he took from Dmitri will work - Chaos just eats it and grows stronger! Pachacamac sics his army on Chaos and heads on to Dingo City while they cover him, but he's weakened enough for Tikal to make her move.

And as she once did with Knuckles himself, she enters into Knuckles' mind to convince him to fight. His rage and helplessness is causing a great evil to run rampant, and if he can't fight its influence off he _will_ be helpless. People will die if he fails - and a Guardian should not allow that to happen. At her urging, Knuckles strains against the evil warlord's ghost and - concentrating his entire will - pushes it back out of his head, the chaos energy leaving with it.

The crisis averted, Knuckles feels free to collapse. But he knows he can't live as a normal echidna, he is not ever going to have that option. He has to serve as a Guardian and regain his powers somehow - for when the next evil comes along.

Sonic the Hedgehog #69
Burn the World Part 2 of 4
On Zonic's orders, NICOLE sends out a call to all the former Freedom Fighters who joined up with the Chaotix to storm Albion. The call is answered, and the assorted Mobians arrive in Knothole, joining the Knothole Special Forces Team in a massive organization (Justice League Unlimited style). King Acorn learns and protests, but Zonic has found a loophole in the agreement worked out between the nations who joined forces against Robotnik: there are enough Freedom Fighters now living in the rebuilt Knothole, which Zonic and NICOLE had rebuilt for the purpose of housing the Special Forces Team, to qualify them for status as a micronation, and none of the Freedom Fighters have any plans about leaving. Plus, with so many former residents of Mobius' varied nations in place, not even the volatile king will dare to attempt to remove them. Sally, amused, applauds Zonic's resourcefulness, and begins to wonder if she might have been wrong in deciding not to join the Special Forces Team, especially since Rotor has rethought his position and taken up residence in Knothole as well.

Back in Westopolis, Hope is under guard from the Secret Service, Sonic's squad of the Special Forces, and a small battalion of GUN robots. Unfortunately, Mephiles uses the opportunity to reveal a new ability, creating his own army of clones. While the others struggle against Mephiles' duplicates, Sonic takes Antoine, Omega, Geoffrey, and a squad of robots to escort Hope to safety. Unfortunately, they don't get far before Naugus and Mathais reappear, both of them itching for a rematch. Finitevus joins the fight, and the robots are soon destroyed. With the four members of the Secret Service and the Special Forces pinned down, all hope seems lost-until Feist arrives!

Granted new power by the Ancient Walkers, Feist grows to giant size to take on Naugus. Sonic is then able to focus on Finitevus, drawing upon the energies of the Power Rings to achieve his Solar Sonic form, which is weaker than Super or Ultra Sonic but still stronger than his normal self. Unfortunately, Mephiles sneaks away from his clones and strikes down Sonic with a crystalline energy blast, weakening the Hedgehog and causing Hope to cry.

With a thunderous roar, the lava monster Iblis-aka, the Flames of Disaster-emerges from Hope and begins laying waste to Westopolis. Finitevus questions Mephiles, who replies cryptically that Iblis can only be controlled through the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds, which are still back at Albion. Finitevus and his allies disappear to go after the gems, and Feist warns the others to evacuate the city while, at maximum size, he desperately launches himself at Iblis in a delaying action he knows may cost him his life...

Meanwhile, on Angel Island, Chaos is stirred by the roars of Iblis. Though still weak after his confrontation with Scourge, he cannot deny Mobius' need, nor his peculiar enmity towards Iblis. So, drawing upon as much of the weakened Master Emerald's energy as he can without causing it to plummet, he transforms into Perfect Chaos once more and sets out to challenge Iblis.

The Metarex Gambit
Black Narcissus travels to the small planet of Argentium, where his scans indicate that Dark Oak has fled to recover from his seeming demise at the hands of Robotnik. Sure enough, he finds his leader enveloped by a coccoon of healing energy, protected by a sentient Metarex vessel named Scarship. Almost back at full strength, Dark Oak communicates to Narcissus his desire for more: when he returns to Mobius, he intends to be stronger than ever. Narcissus agrees and departs Argentium, knowing that he must obey his master's wishes or be absorbed to fulfill Dark Oak's lust for power.

The scene shifts to the dimension where Scourge met his final defeat, and we watch as flecks of green energy appear and start flying towards one spot as if pulled by a magnet. As they meet, chilling laughter rings out across the planes of existence, and a shadowy form materializes: that of Enerjak, his general's outfit now adorning the brown form of Pachacamac. The ancient warlord and his former ally, Dimitri, have joined their spirits together to assume the mantle of Enerjak. Now fueled by both the power stolen from Knuckles and the Master Emerald energy Naugus caused to radiate from Scourge until he reverted to Silver Sonic-the latter of which has allowed him to create his new body-Enerjak has two purposes: revenge on Dr. Finitevus, and conquest.

EDIT: Guys, I came back and edited this for two reasons: I had some more ideas, and Bean was a little confused about something I did, so I decided to clarify.

(Is it Enerjak joining forces with Scourge in Pachacamec's body, or is Enerjak in Pachacamac's body?)

Sonic the Hedgehog #70
Burn the World Part 3 of 4

Giant monsters rampaging in Station Square? It's beginning to become a habit! Luckily, the arrival of Perfect Chaos saves the day - Iblis' form is fire and magma, and weakened by Chaos' water-based form. But it's already too late for Feist. Fatally wounded by his opponent, he has time enough to marvel at this end coming like this, at the hands of a complete stranger and defence of other strangers... before passing on.

Our heroes regroup, realising they have to take out Iblis before he regains his strength or all this will be for nothing. Sonic is still recovering from being shot by Mephiles and has to wait things out, stuck in GUN custody with Hope. He manages to make the girl realise it's not her fault that Iblis was released, that she wasn't the one intentionally doing it, while she asks him why he keeps risking his life when there appear to be lots of other heroes out there. Sonic has no real answer - "because" is all he can say.

The GUN Spider Troop, Secret Service and Knothole Special Forces track down and engage the enemy, who turn out to be prepared for such numbers and ready to fight to the death. But that's when everyone discovers they've been tricked - the Mephiles at the battle is a copy, and he had Naugus cast a spell to fool our heroes into thinking Iblis was there. In actual fact, Iblis is still near Westopolis - and Mephiles has gone to meet him. The two have always been linked and he's manipulated his "comrades" into getting him to this one point, when he can merge with his "other half" and be whole once again, be the being that scared Soelenna so much they split it in two even knowing the now-mindless Flames would destroy them...

And the two beings merge into one terrifying monster, one that - within minutes - will gain the power it needs to kill the entire planet. And the only one who can stop it in time... is a wounded Sonic.

He has no chance of back-up. He can't access his strongest "super" forms due to the monster blocking half of the Ring energy. He knows this is the nearest he's ever been to actually dying, and that he may fail.

But he speeds off anyway.

"Because."

The E.V.E. Agenda

Four years ago. The Zone Cops create the first AI hard-light holographic entity - E.V.E. - as a means of better organising their systems. Within hours she's revolutionised it.

Three years ago. E.V.E. has reached the point where she's invaluable and even overseeing part of their operations as a Precinct Chief. Zonic begins to get worried about her - she was designed to evolve and learn, but she seems to be interested in evolving and learning... too far.

Two years ago. The Zone Cops have been taken over - their systems, their bases, their minds. A desperate team under Zonic's command fights back from within their main HQ, attempting to kick out E.V.E. before it's too late.

One year, eleven months ago. Robotnik assigns a base to study this new virus - this half-erased thing that could make a hologram - that turned up three weeks ago. It quickly evolves once more, and will eventually gain sentience. Robotnik watches with interest.

One year ago. The A.D.A.M. virus, which Robotnik developed from what he learnt from E.V.E., goes rogue. Robotnik does not realise this was inherent due to its origin. E.V.E. regains sentience... and hides it.

Eighth months ago. Robotnik falls; E.V.E. is now able to take control of her base and began her evolution once more. Six months ago. E.V.E. takes control of Crocbot and co-opts Kodos, realising she'll need physical agents.

Today. E.V.E. watches the news reports on the Knothole Special Forces - nervous ones, with many worried at this large unaccountable army. E.V.E. notices Zonic is involved. E.V.E. decides it's time to make her move at long last, before others come to shut her down again - and this time nothing will prevent her reaching the pinnacle of evolution...

(Thanks for clearing that up, Spectre.)

Sonic the Hedgehog #71
Burn the World, Part 4 of 4

Sonic rushes off to the area near Westopolis where Iblis and Mephiles were last spotted as the world watches. Sonic then comes across Iblis and Mephiles...only to find one being. Iblis and Mephiles have merged together to create the God of Time, Solaris! Solaris tells Sonic how the people of Soleanna performed experiments on him and caused him to turn into a mad beast. Horrified at what they had done, they seperated him into two beings: Iblis and Mephiles. And while they were able to trap Mephiles in the Sceptre of Darkness, Iblis went on a rampage and destroyed most of the city before being sealed inside of Princess Elise. This resulted in the event known as the "Flames of Disaster". And now, Solaris plans to destroy the entire world...no...the entire UNIVERSE. Sonic tries to attack Solaris, and gets severly injured for his efforts. Dr. Finitevus, Ixis Naugus, and Matthias Poe watch from a distance, Finitevus figuring out that he has helped unleash an unstoppable beast before dropping to his knees and breaking down. Meanwhile, the Knothole Special Forces Team rush off to help Sonic, although the Secret Service, a weakened Chaos, and G.U.N. Spider Troop try to convince them otherswise. The Special Forces Team head to Albion to get the Chaos Emeralds, only to be contacted by NICOLE, who tells them that she already had a "friend" get the emeralds. Back at the battle, Solaris continues putting the beat down on Sonic, or that is, until a black blur zooms by and grabs Sonic. Shadow has arrived! Shadow tells Sonic that a friend of their's by the name of "NICOLE" contacted him and told him what was going on. Sonic's happy to know that he now has help, but he asks how Shadow's going to be able to help. Shadow then reveals that he has the Chaos Emeralds! With them, the two hedgehogs go super and charge at Solaris for what may be their final battle.

Just to be clear, are you setting that up to be continued next issue or leaving the aftermath up to whoever's next?

I was setting it up to be continued next issue, but it's up to whoever writes the next issue.

Sonic the Hedgehog #72
Waiting Game, Part 1 of 3
Sally, having monitored the situation with Iblis from Castle Acorn, breaks down at the thought of Sonic going into a life and death struggle without her there to support him. Zonic arrives, and she willingly accepts his invitation to come to Knothole. King Acorn protests, but Sally asserts her regal upbringing: she is the Princess of the House of Acorns, and the Hedgehog she loves is more important to her than any title. The king watches, stunned, as she leaves, and begins to wonder if she might be right. However, a voice whispers in his mind that she isn't, and the King finds himself stirred to fresh anger against Zonic for "stealing" his daughter from him.

Meanwhile, the Ancient Walkers appear briefly in Westopolis to spirit away Feist's body, saying that he shall be put to rest with his slaughtered people, and to return an exhausted Chaos back to Angel Island. With nothing to do but wait, the Special Forces head back for Knothole and the Secret Service for New Mobotropolis, while Captain Westwood and his troops begin mopping up, hoping that their efforts won't soon be disrupted.

Finally, Dr. Finitevus recomposes himself and turns to Naugus and Poe. He reminds them that while Mephiles may have lied about being their ally, he was telling the truth about the Metarex. Determined not to fail again, the Echidna decides that victory over the Metarex will require a huge force, preferably one that he won't mind losing. And as it turns out, the beginnings of such a force are obvious: Nack and Nic the Weasels, their gangs, the Anti-Freedom Fighters, the Destructix, and Drago Wolf--alone since the rest of the Wolf Pack has decided to reform--all conveniently located in the New Mobotropolis prison.

Power Struggle, 1 of 4
Knuckles and the Chaotix, anxiously awaiting news of the battle against Solaris-particularly Lara-Su, since Shadow went off to join in-are surprised when Blaze the Cat arrives to speak with Knuckles. She reveals that his powers are essential to ending the threat to the timestream posed by the Metarex, and that he must regain them soon. In order to help, she plans to guide him to the locations of several Power Gems: yellow colored stones containing immense power, perhaps even enough to restore Knuckles' abilities. Eager to be restored to his old fighting strength, the Guardian agrees to accompany her while sending the Chaotix-including Julie and Lara-to Knothole, figuring that their best chance if Solaris wins is to join forces with the Special Team and fight for all they're worth. Julie protests shortly, but eventually gives Knuckles a goodbye kiss and tells him to be careful, which he agrees to do for her sake and Lara's.

Blaze isn't the only one who knows about the Power Gems, however; Mammoth Mogul has also learned of their existence, and believes that they may hold the key to securing himself the position of Mobius' ruler. With his henchmen imprisoned, Mogul turns to a new set of allies: the Arachne, a band of spider ninjas led by the deadliest assassion on Mobius, Uma Arachnis. Promising the obscure yet lethal clan power once his regime is in place, Mogul hires them to track down the Power Gems and eliminate anyone else they find looking for them. Uma agrees, but as a matter of honor asks Mogul to offer her a chance to prove herself worthy of his services. He agrees, and watches gleefully on a camera carried by one of the other Arachne as Uma slips into Lord Sidewinder's office, surprises the crime boss, and leaves him lying dead on the floor.

Black Narcissus returns to Mobius after his time on Argentium, desperate to find a suitable energy source for Dark Oak before his master decides to feast upon him. Planetary scanners pick up several enormous concentrated energy sources-unbeknownst to Narcissus, the Power Gems. Relieved, he sends out several powerful Metarex, one assigned to recover each stone. Little does Narcissus suspect that E.V.E. has invaded his computer systems, and from them has extracted the coordinates of Dark Oak.

Knuckles and Blaze are fortunate enough to reach a Power Gem first, and absorbing the stone's power restores Knuckles' fist spurs and super strength. Sadly, it also unblocks flashes of memory from when Pachacamac possessed him, giving him a shadowy impression of horrible mental torture that involved images of his closest friends and family. Determined not to be stopped, Knuckles asks Blaze to take him to the next Gem, unaware that his days as Pachacamac's slave will continue to come to light, and that the revelations of that time will be beyond his most horrible nightmares...

Sonic Special Issue #3
Running down the Clock, 1 of 2
Super Sonic and Super Shadow find themselves in a strange dimension known as the Crossroads of Time, where they meet yet another Super-powered Hedgehog: Silver, the same white-furred visitor from the distant future who appeared to the Knuckles in the possible future! Silver then reveals how he traveled into the past with Blaze the Cat, his lifelong friend and companion, using the power of the Sol Emeralds that he now carries. Forming an alliance, the three set off to find Solaris, and they do...in the heart of the Crossroads.

Solaris reveals that the Crossroads is a dimension that formed around two powerful artifacts called the Time Stones (SatAM style), which allow the user to travel through time without expending the energy needed to do so using Chaos Control. With the stones and his ability to duplicate himself, Solaris plans to take over all of time and reign supreme over Mobius. Not about to let him get away with it, the trio take him on together, unleashing their most powerful attacks.

For several long minutes, the Hedgehogs trade blows with Solaris. Unfortunately, he then unleashes a blast of power that blows them back with ease, forcing them to revert to normal. As he prepares to use the Time Stones, the Chaos and Sol Emeralds suddenly react to each other. The gems fuse to become the Super Emeralds, and the three unlock the power of Hyper! With their loved ones at the forefront of their minds, Hyper Sonic, Hyper Shadow, and Hyper Silver charge Solaris, ready to do...or die.

EDIT: By the way guys, was A.D.A.M. officially destroyed back in the fourth part of Rebel Yell? Or could it be possible that he could come back?

With previews like these who needs to read actual issues!

Sonic the Hedgehog #73
Waiting Games, Part 2 of 3

Dr. Finitevus and his two wizard allies launch an attack on New Mobotropolis Prison! The Secret Service and prison guards try their best to stop the three villains, but all prisoners end up being freed...including the Weasel siblings, Bark the Polar Bear, Bean the Dynamite, Finoa Fox, the Anti-Freedom Fighters, and the Destructix. (including their newest member, Drago Wolf) Finitevus then offers the criminals jobs as his new henchmen, and says that they will all be paid. The villains all naturally accept and start causing the Secret Service lots and lots of pain. And unbeknowest to anyone, Black Doom also slips out of his cell and decides that Finitevus shall meet his end VERY soon. Back at Knothole, the Knothole Special Forces Team, though worried about Sonic, hear news of this and head to New Mobotropolis Prison...and end up being defeated by Finitevus' new army as well. Meanwhile, Zonic's just about to leave Castle Acorn, when King Acorn suddenly demands that the Zone Cop be arrested for crimes against the Acorn Kingdom!

Power Struggle, Part 2 of 4

Knuckles and Blaze find the second Power Gem, only to be attacked by the Arachne! During the battle, however, Knuckles touches the Power Gem and goes on a brutal rampage, almost murdering Uma Arachnis. Knuckles gets back into his senses and he and Blaze are able to escape the Arachne, though Knuckles wonders what got into him. And, meanwhile, one of the Metarex finds a third Power Gem...only to get vaporized by none other than Enerjak! Enerjak then takes the Power Gem, planning to use it and the others for his own purposes. And on Argentum, Dark Oak continues resting, not knowing that E.V.E. has uploaded herself into his body...

Sonic Special #3
Running Down the Clock, Part 2 of 2

The three hedgehogs take on Solaris, and it looks like they're equally matched. However, Solaris, not wanting to be defeated by three mere hedgehogs after all of these centuries, suddenly shatters the Time Stones! And so, a portal appears because of the stones' shattering and the four, as well as the Super Emeralds, are sucked inside. Sonic, Shadow, and Silver (no longer Hyper) end up in a strange place, and before they can question where Solaris and the Super Emeralds are, who should appear but...DR. ROBOTNIK?!!!!!? Robotnik welcomes the three to the Zone of Silence, and hopes that they enjoy spending eternity with him!

(It was never said, Spectre. And sorry if anyone's angry at Robotnik being back already. Whoever does the next issue or the one after that can still keep him in the Zone of Silence if they want.)

By the by, Bean, the Sonic Special Issue you submitted last should be number 4, not 3.

Sonic the Hedgehog #74
Waiting Games, Part 3 of 3
Zonic is trapped by an army of Acorn guards, but utilizes his super speed to evade them. Fortunately, help arrives in the form of Rob O'The Hedge and a squad from the Special Forces, who only sent half their members to capture Finitevus and his forces. With his men obviously outclassed, King Acorn is forced to let Zonic go, but later retires to a secret chamber to brood while examining a barbaric suit of armor (the one he had in the Zone of Silence in the real comics). He again hears the whisper of the mysterious voice, and with it comes the image of a glowing golden pool: the Source of All!

The Chaotix, having accompanied Rob's squad to New Mobotropolis, help recover the battered members of the Special Forces who challenged Finitevus and his army. Hidden nearby, Finitevus determines that while his new troops are physically impressive, they lack the abilities needed to stand against the more powerful specimens of the Metarex or even the likes of Sonic, Knuckles, or their fellow super-powered Mobians. Turning to his minions, he gleans valuable information from Mathias Poe: the Raven warlock was once a member of a quartet of magic users, the others of which were a Cat sorcerer named Black Death, a Rabbit enchantress named Carrotia (gave the character from Sonic #45 the name of the villain from the Tails Skypatrol game), and the conjurer Damocles. Pleased, Finitevus leaves the Destructix-by far the most loyal of his new supporters-in charge of his army of minions, directing them through a Warp Ring to his hidden base. Then he, Naugus, and Poe set off to find the magical brotherhood, unaware that Mammoth Mogul is also intent on "acquiring" the services of the mystics.

Just as the residents of Knothole are ready to give up hope, a flash of light appears in the sky and Sonic, Silver, and Shadow return! Sonic receives a warm reception from Sally and Shadow from Lara-Su, but Silver merely bids his two allies farewell before leaving to rendevous with Blaze. When questioned about the battle with Solaris, Sonic replies comically "It's a LONG story..." (Covered Sonic Special Issues #3-5)

Power Struggle, Part 3 of 4
Blaze and Knuckles split up in an effort to locate four power gems, two of each of which are located in terrain that only one of them is suited to. Knuckles begins climbing a sheer rock face, and begins pondering the effects the Power Gems have been having on him. First, they reawakened blurred memories from when Pachacamac possessed his body, and then they caused him to go on a rampage. Somehow, Knuckles believes that the two events are connected. Reaching the top of the cliff, he finds the two gems and carefully raps them up, not wanting to lose control as he did against the Arachne. Unfortunately, his decision may have been the wrong one, as the Arachne-minus a severely wounded Uma, who is recovering back at Mammoth Mogul's lair-swarm him, trying to overwhelm his strength through sheer force.

Making her way through a series of lava-filled caverns, Blaze contemplates her past. Growing up, she was feared and disrespected because she had pyrotechnic abilities instead of the psychokinetic powers displayed by Silver and others in their future. Fortunately, Silver befriended her, and the two worked together as a team for many years. Tears come to Blaze's eyes, a startling sight given her usual stoic nature, as she imagines the destruction Silver faces if the threat to the timestream is not ended. She arrives at the gems, only to be confronted by a Metarex composed of technological ice. Tapping into the gems and the surrounding lava, Blaze transforms into Burning Blaze, and vaporizes the attacker after a brief battle. Unbeknownst to her, three more Metarex (the second seen in the series, the third seen in the series, and that monkey one) are watching from nearby, determined to steal the Power Gems from her and Knuckles.

Returning to their chosen meeting place, Knuckles-who managed to throw off the Arachne despite their sneak attack-and Blaze prepare to place their Power Gems in a container for safe keeping. Enerjak arrives and thwarts their plans, but reveals that he isn't interested in gaining the Power Gems' energies for himself. He wants Knuckles' allegiance, and he can think of no better way to do that than to break him. Revealing the Power Gem he stole, he uses telekinesis to send it and the four collected by Knuckles and Blaze hurtling at Knuckles' forehead, where they are absorbed into his body and unlock all his memories from Pachacamac's possession. While Enerjak departs, laughing and saying that he will return when the Dark Legion has been set in order (in other words, it'll be a while before he's back), Knuckles falls to his knees in agony as he relives horrible memories of his possession.

The depth of Pachacamac's evil is revealed: while Knuckles was his prisoner inside his own mind, he subdued the proud Echidna with horrible images of what he intended to do to Knuckles' friends using Knuckles' own body. He watches as most of the Chaotix and Freedom Fighters are reduced to mindless animals, the Brotherhood are cut down one by one, Lara-Su is turned into a statue made of Chaos Crystal, and-most horribly-as Julie-Su is forced to marry Pachacamac, eventually suffering so much trauma at his hands that she is rendered docile and even loving of the monster wearing her true love's face. Illusions though the images were, they were real enough to Knuckles, and going through them again begins to release a rage so terrible that Blaze begins to fear for her very life...

Back on Argentium, E.V.E. oversteps her bounds by trying to seize control of Dark Oak, who proves her better despite his still damaged condition. Forced to flee, she returns to Mobius and her minions Crocbot and Kodos only to discover a horrifying truth: her prototype holomatrix, created by the Zone Cops and never since tampered with, has been weakened by Dark Oak's attack and is destabilizing. Unless she either restabilizes it or downloads herself into a viable new holomatrix or body, she will cease to exist. Determined not to fail, she sends Crocbot-equipped with his new Mega Mecha Tank-to Knothole to capture NICOLE and Kodos abroad to find Rouge the Bat. The two are the only candidates for a new body that she will settle for now that Dark Oak has proven beyond her, and she will have one or the other.

Knowing that it is not enough that she survive, E.V.E. decides that she needs a new ally to help set her plans of conquering the Metarex in order. Tapping into telepathic powers granted her by the Zone Cops, she holds a long distance mental conversation with the on-the-run Black Doom, who agrees to help her seize control of his former troops. However, he has a condition of his own: that E.V.E. help him evolve into his supreme form, the demonic Black Arms monster known as Devil Doom!

Sonic Special #5
Strange Bedfellows
Robotnik, now in his Dr. Eggman guise, leaves the three Hedgheogs to stew over their fate. Using the remains of the Egg Fleet, the maniacal doctor has rebuilt Robotropolis inside the Zone of Silence, and he is determined to conquer the Zone before returning to Mobius-which, in truth, he still doesn't know how to do. Sonic, Silver, and Shadow find themselves exploring the city, and they come across a most unexpected ally: A.D.A.M., Robotnik's rebellious computer virus son, who survived his apparent destruction in the Rebel Yell story arc and downloaded himself into the Egg Fleet's computers.

A.D.A.M. reveals that he has his own ambitions to rule Mobius, rebuilding it as a perfected version of the mechanical kingdom Robotnik intended it to be. However, he has no intention of letting Robotnik escape from the Zone of Silence, and reveals that he managed to seize the Super Emeralds when they entered the Zone. Left with no choice, the Hedgehogs make a deal with A.D.A.M.: they use the Emeralds to open a portal through which they can all escape, while he distracts Robotnik so that they can get out without him tagging along for the ride.

While Sonic and the others get to work, A.D.A.M. unveils a monstrous robot called Giga-Bot Prime, which he created using components cast off during the reconstruction of Robotropolis in the Zone of Silence. Taking over its core processor, he sends it on a rampage through the city, only for Robotnik to personally come against it with his Giant Borg battlesuit. The two titans continue their clash, and Silver convinces Sonic and Shadow that they should leave and hopefully leave A.D.A.M. and Robotnik trapped in a never-ending war. Leaping through the portal, the Hedgehogs carry with them the Super Emeralds, and arrive in Knothole (see issue #74 above).

A.D.A.M. proves to have been one step ahead of the Hedgehogs: Giga-Bot Prime was on autopilot, and he beamed himself through the portal at the same time that Shadow and the others entered it. He quickly finds a lone Metarex composed of nanites (it's on an episode of Sonic X) and quickly overpowers and deletes him, taking control of his substance and reshaping it to duplicate the robotic Turtle body Robotnik used before it was destroyed in the tyrant's battle with Dark Oak. With glee obvious on his new face, A.D.A.M. reveals that Silver Sonic was also pulled into the Zone of Silence, and he quickly uses his power to reformat and reprogram the formidable robot into a new caped version of Metal Sonic known as Metal Overlord. Determined not to reveal his presence on Mobius until the time is right, A.D.A.M. designates his new minion to be the public face of his new world order.

Traveling to Nekronopolis' ruins, A.D.A.M. sets his nanites to work rebuilding it, determined to use it as the seat of his empire. He then reformats broken down Shadowbots into Metal Sonic and Metal Knuckles (both look like their Mecha incarnations from the Mecha Madness Special) Troopers to serve as his new army. Cold, heartless laughter echoes through the city as the Brotherhood of Metallix is forged...

Sonic #74
And Death Shall Have No Dumb Minions

The Princess is gone. King Max has only one option to prevent a constitutional crisis - he immediately calls in the Secret Service and sends them to the last known place where the long-lost Prince Elias was. The Prince has believed dead when Robotnik rose, and the King was never able to check - now he has to.

In Knothole, they know the Secret Service being away means extra work for them. Still, into battle they go - Rotor leads a recon team to Nekronopolis (where strange things have been detected going on), Sonic leads a team to stop Finivetus and the mages, and Sally leads a group after Mammoth Mogul & the Arachne. The latter two groups are now caught in dangerous battles that push them to the limits, but they're holding their own...

And then Crocbot attacks, with Knothole unmanned and unable to stop him smashing his way in & capturing with NICOLE and their Power-Ring Generator. With Knothole is disarray and NICOLE no longer helping co-ordinate the squads, things go bad fast. Sonic's squad finds themselves up against every villain in Finivetus' legion, and are unable to stop Finivetus, Naugus and Poe escaping to the dark mages - and unable to prevent the deaths of two of their own. Sally's squad win their fight - at the cost of Antoine's eye. And Rotor manages only to make a panicked final report to Knothole before the Metallix kill him and his entire team, with no one able to save them...

And at E.V.E.'s base, NICOLE screams as everything she ever was is wiped clean and replaced with E.V.E.'s essence. With the Power Ring's energy, Black Doom evolves to Devil Doom - and now nothing can stop them.

Heroes are dead. Evil's legions are growing. Multiple dangerous plans are about to reach fruition simultaneously. Next issue, it all gets worse...

Power Struggles Part 4 (of 4)

Knuckles's powers have been returned thanks to the Power Gems - and with it, his rage increases. And Enerjak has just enough time to realise he pushed the Guardian too far before everything goes black...

When Knuckles wakes up, Enerjak lies crippled and half dead. Blaze is terrified. And as Knuckles takes the injured villain and the Gems back to Echidnapolis, he reaches an epithany: he doesn't care that Enerjak is crippled. He knows what the Metarex can do, he knows what Pachacamac wanted to do, and he knows what Enerjak was doing. All he wants to do is protect his friends, his family and his home - and will do whatever it takes to do this.

The people need a Guardian.

Geez, Charles, go overboard with the violence much? Anyway, Enerjak was supposed to be gone for a while, reorganizing the Dark Legion.

Sonic the Hedgehog #75
Recovery and Expansion
Knuckles arrives in after stopping off in Echidnaopolis Knothole to find things a mess, with Sonic's squad returning from their battle with Finitevus' army in bad straights, having lost Storm the Albatross and Amy Rose (RocketBoy wasn't specific as to which members of Sonic's squad got iced, or even who was in Sonic's squad; the way I see it, he and Sally and the other Knothole Freedom Fighters are supposed to be in the same squad). Together with the Chaotix, he helps begin the rebuilding process while the Special Forces nurse their wounds. Sally's squad returns with bad news: the Arachne and Mogul have escaped, both going underground to hide until things cool down. Zonic brings in the only piece of good news: he has managed to recover NICOLE's programming from E.V.E., but she is now consigned to a small handheld computer that the Zone Cop entrusts to Sally. He then departs for the Cosmic Interstate, hoping to make some sense of events by monitoring them.

Finitevus and his two wizardly allies arrive at Black Death, Carrotia, and Damocles' hiding place and engage them in battle. Naugus and Poe quickly defeat the sorcerer and the conjurer, but Finitevus is even more cruel in dealing with Carrotia: using his own strange eyes, he redirects her hypnotic stare back at her, transforming her into his mindlessly devoted servant. Finitevus then addresses a defeated Damocles, knowing that he has a powerful spell at his disposal that can be used to summon Zan, the last dragon on Mobius, from his slumber to wreak havoc.

Nekropolis is back up and running, with the Brotherhood of Metallix gearing themselves up for war against the Kingdom of Acorn and the United Human Federation. Metal Overlord addresses his troops with a Hitler-like fervor, stirring the automatons to greater levels of bloodlust. Deep beneath the citadel, Rotor's death is revealed to have been a ruse engineered by A.D.A.M., who is taking great pleasure in holding the Walrus prisoner and tormenting him with his newest scheme: the Auto-Automatons, androids intended to look like Mobians. And as the most devastating twist, the first few have been modeled after the late members of Rotor's squad (the Substitute Freedom Fighters from the Archie comics) with the intent of infiltrating Knothole.

King Acorn enters a deep catacomb of Acorn Castle, and there confers with the sentient pool known as the Source of All. Revealed as the substance from which the Relics of Acorn were created, the Source also displays a malignance that the King, in his obedient stupor, cannot detect. It's orders for him are simple: he will use the power of the Relics to destroy any who come against the Kingdom of Acorn, and in so doing will bring Mobius back into an age of peace. King Acorn agrees without question, and dons the barbaric warlord armor from his private chambers. All the while, the Source schemes further control over the House of Acorn, which it will accomplish through one of two individuals: Elias Acorn, should he prove to be alive, or through Sally. By extension, making Sally a pawn of it's power will allow the Source to dominate one of Mobius' greatest heroes: Sonic...

Antoine dons an eyepatch to cover his lost eye, and he then seeks comfort in the arms of his girlfriend Bunnie. Jet and Wave, heartbroken at Storm's death, reveal their own romantic bond as they hold each other close. Rob, mourning his cousin Amy, greets a medical team and EST unit from Echidnaopolis-only to fall hopelessly in love when he lays eye on Mari-An, an ambassador accompanying the group. As if that weren't enough, Mari-An feels the same way about him.

Time for Doom, Part 1 of 3
Devil Doom ensures that his new power will be permanent by absorbing fragments of one of the Time Stones, which E.V.E. managed to recover. He then sets out to seek the one being he believes can now threaten him: Solaris. Leaving E.V.E. and her allies to their own efforts, he goes to hunt the powerful entity. Meanwhile, Solaris has returned to the Crossroads of Time, and has absorbed the other Time Stone's fragments to evolve into his ultimate form. Now covered in golden, armor-like skin, he eagerly awaits Devil Doom's approach so he can test his new powers.

Kodos arrives back at E.V.E.'s base with Rouge, who watches as E.V.E. reconfigures NICOLE's holographic body into a coccoon shape with a metallic human head (otherwise known as her form from Tossed in Space). She no longer desperately requires a body, but knocks the Bat unconscious and transfers a piece of her consciousness into the former thief all the same as a precautionary measure. At that moment, a reunited Silver and Blaze burst in with a pair of allies from Angel Island: Lara-Su and Shadow! After a short fight, E.V.E and her minions depart swearing vengeance upon their return. Shadow wakes up Rouge, who finds herself attracted to the black Hedgehog. The three then reopen Devil Doom's time portal and pursue him, hoping to prevent him from damaging the time stream. Little do they know that they have an enemy in their midst, one who doesn't even realize that she's been tainted.

Finally, Black Narcissus returns to Argentium in disgrace, having only managed to acquire a single Power Gem. More existed than Knuckles' absorbed, but those that the Guardian didn't-aside from the one Narcissus has-were drained of their power through the gems that Knuckles did take into his body. Dark Oak reminds Narcissus of the consequences of defeat, and he absorbs the disgraced commander and the lone gem to complete his improved restoration. He then calls Narcissus' remaining lietenants on Mobius, tasking them with finding and securing the world's life force-also known as a "Planet Egg"-which the Metarex can use to rebuild their forces, until he arrives to personally claim it.

This then, is the danger posed uniquely by the Metarex: only they know how to extract the Planet Egg, and if they manage to seize it then Mobius will die and Lara-Su, Silver, and Blaze's futures will never have existed. Dark Oak, eager to test his new abilities, commands the surviving Metarex troops to watch as he and Scarship combine their awe-inspiring powers to begin ravaging Argentium and the peaceful Bem inhabitants. Before he returns to Mobius, however, Dark Oak plans to release pent up frustration by devastating a few other planets, namely Wheeet, Thoraxia, and others to claim their Planet Eggs to increase his already formidable power. (Note: this means that he's not going to be back for ten issues or so, okay?)

Sonic Special Issue #6
Family Feud, Part 1 of 5
With their forces slowly being rebuilt back in Albion, the four Grand Masters-Kragok, Kommisar, Moritori Rex, and Remingtion-arrive in Echidnaopolis with Xenin to liberate Enerjak. With Legion commander Rykor leading an army of Mechanauts against the Echidna Security Team and Legion sniper Syntar attacking City Hall to serve as distractions, the five break into EST headquarters. When they reach Enerjak's cell, they find that his Chaos-created body has already healed itself, and the confident tyrant declares that it was only Knuckles' intense rage that allowed him to overpower him in their last battle.

Pleased to have their leader back at their side, the five Legionnaires prepare to leave-only to have Brotherhood members Mathias, Hawking, Tobor, Spectre, Thunderhawk, Sojourner, Janelle-Li, Athair, and Sabre appear to confront them. While Mathias, Hawking, Spectre, and Athair-the four most powerful and wise Guardians amongst the group-attack Enerjak in hopes of overpowering him, the others challenge his cronies: Tobor faces Moritori, Thunderhawk goes for Kragok, Sojourner confronts Lien-Da, Janelle-Li goes for Remington, and Sabre pits his wits against Xenin's muscle.

Back at the Chaos Chamber, Tikal and a recovered Chaos watch the battle from safety, protecting the Master Emerald and lamenting their inability to help. Chaos, sensing half the Emerald's power within Enerjak, wants to intervene, but Tikal reminds him that they must protect the rest of the energy contained in the Emerald. Unbeknownst to them, they are not alone: Archimedes, Fire Ant and mentor of the most recent generations of Guardians (including Lara-Su) teleports away to warn Knuckles of the impending danger and to seek any other help he can find.

Finally, on a higher plane of existence, the goddess-figure Aurora watches in Echidna form as the Grand Masters and Guardians clash. Also in her vision are the threats of the Metarex, Devil Doom, Solaris, E.V.E., the Brotherhood of Metallix, Finitevus and his growing army, the Source of All, and even Mammoth Mogul's weakened crime empire. With such powerful threats to Mobius, she can no longer remain passive while the planet she has watched for millennia suffers. Until the situation grows bleak enough for her to appear personally to confront Enerjak or any other threat, she decides to act through intermediaries. Her call is quickly answered by none other than the Ancient Walkers.

Demented Dimensions
(Just trying to brighten up the series a bit, guys; I admit that I've contributed to the series being rather dark, but I think we should put the breaks on the world-destroying villainy for a bit and try and get back to the classic old funny stuff. And who better to do that than a few old pals from the early days of Archie?)

Sonic and Sally go off into the Great Forest surrounding Knothole for a picnic together, but romance keeps failing in the face of Rotor's apparent death and the loss of several other members of the Special Forces. Sally, as leader of the Special Forces, blames herself, but Sonic tries to convince her otherwise. Before he can succeed, however, the two are suddenly teleported to a strange world where Sally finds herself walking on the walls and Sonic on the floor (from the reader's perspective, anyway). The perpetrators of this anomaly are soon revealed: Horizont-Al and Verti-Cal, two reality bendng imps who live in a zone adjacent to Mobius. Tired of pulling their endless pranks on each other, the two have selected some new patsies: Sonic and Sally.

Al subjects Sonic to a test that forces him to move slowly in order to get across a bridge equipped with speed-equipped booby traps. Sonic struggles against the urge to move at super speed, and Al quickly discovers that Sonic blames himself for the deathes of Storm and Amy because he thinks he should have been fast enough to save them. Before Sonic can fall into self-depreciation, Al displays some unexpected wisdom: Storm and Amy wouldn't have wanted Sonic to be sad on their account, and moving at super speed seems to have made Sonic quick to forget the times he had to spend with them. Sonic thinks this over, and realizes that Al is right. Grinning, he crosses the bridge with fond memories of the pink Hedgehog and the grey Albatross in mind, and resolves that from now on he won't use his super speed as much to have fun.

Sally finds herself facing another test: a rather strange game of chess against Cal. To her dismay, not all of her pieces-which are shaped like her fellow former Freedom Fighters-listen to her, and those that do keep getting eliminated by Cal's villain-shaped pieces. Not as slow as Sonic when it comes to thinking, Sally comes upon Cal's lesson: even a leader can't always plan things so that everything works out perfectly, and a leader can't blame herself for the death of her teammates when they chose to get involved.

Pleased that their chosen victims are no longer depressed, Al and Cal send Sally and Sonic back to their picnic spot. When Sonic asks why they're stopping so soon, the two answer that they want to give him and Sally time to fully get over the loss of their friends before they return for more games. The two seem rather reluctant, and reveal that they have no one else to prank. Sonic gets another grin, and whispers a suggestion to the two that Sally hears, causing all three of them to snicker maniacally.

Overseeing the repairs to New Robotropolis in the Zone of Silence, Dr. Robotnik is suddenly pulled into Al and Cal's dimension for an initiatory prank. Robotnik confidently steels himself against anything the pair can dish out-or so he thinks until they turn his clothes into long johns and conjure up the giant-sized faces of all his various opponents, each and every one of them laughing hysterically at the embarrassed doctor. Meanwhile, Sonic and Sally resume their picnic as they watch a meteor shower, both giggling over what they imagine Robotnik is going through. Their eyes meet, and then lips meet as they share a tender kiss.

Moral of the story: loss is hard, but life goes on and love heals all wounds...oh, and Robotnik looks hilarious in long johns. Al and Cal agree on this point, and then close the story with a promise that they'll be back.

Quote:

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Geez, Charles, go overboard with the violence much?

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We have about a million villains and they're all planning big world-shaking plots at the same time, one of whom was plotting to directly attack Knothole to kill NICOLE and steal her body in the previous issue, and with Knuckles being driven utterly mad. I thought if we were going to go down this route, the heroes should get a pasting at least once and Knuckles should get to defeat a villain.

Sonic #76
It's Behind You...

"Rotor's team" have returned to Knothole, reporting Rotor dead and that Metarex were at work in Nekronopolis. Sonic, however, is suspicious - they're too vague about the circumstances in which his friend died. And that means he could still be alive!

As Sonic and Tails go AWOL to check out the ruined city, Antoine soon notices the Substitutes are... different to how he remembers them, and they don't seem to remember things they should. Covertly watching, he discovers their true nature as Auto-Automatons and sounds the alarm before they can infect Knothole's systems and kill and replace Sally as one of their own!

As the Knothole Special Forces realise an enemy is beginning to send out infiltration units, Sonic and Tails come under attack by the Brotherhood of Metallix! With the Tornado shot down and only briefly getting out a message of warning, our heroes are now stuff in enemy territory. But they have three advantages Rotor's team didn't: Sonic's speed, precise knowledge of the nature of their enemy... and the determination to get Rotor back whatever it takes.

Time for Doom Part 2 (of 3)

It's Devil Doom VS Solaris at the heart of the timestream itself - whoever wins, we're[/] screwed. Having failed to stop Doom from reaching the Crossroads, the only option to save the timeline is a risky one: using a combination of Chaos Control and Silver's telekinesis, they use the remnants of Doom's time portal to suck both fighters out of the Crossroads. The other end of the portal dumps the fighters in the one place they can never do damage and can never escape - Mobius, billions of years in the future, a few minutes before the sun goes supernova...

Unfortunately, Solaris' passing distorted the portal and dumped Doom in the absolute worst time he could've been dumped: back during his initial invasion in #19! Our heroes have only a few minutes to stop him before he alters time and ensures the Black Arms win...

Sonic Special #7
Family Feud, Part 2 of 5

The Legion battles the Brotherhood and the future of both organisations is at stake - and with the chaos they've unleashed in Echidnapolis, so's the future of the city! Archimedes and Lara-Su manage to get Knuckles back to the island, with the Guardian enraged to find out the villains are attacking again and determined to finish this.

Tobor falls to Moritori; Thunderhawk's conbat skills prove greater than Kragok's; Sojourner is taken down when Lien-Da fights dirtier than he expected; Janelle-Li attacks the EST-traitor Remington with a fury he can't withstand; and Sabre's wit and strategy leaves Xenin unable to land a hit. But Enerjak is able to smash aside his opponents and seem ready to turn the tables... until Knuckles arrives, ready to assume his Chaos-powered form, and asking Enerjak "How many times do we have to defeat you before you realise you can't win this?". Let the grudge match commence!

As for the Legion's assault on the EST and City Hall, at Knuckles' suggestion some help has been called in: the Dingo Army! But can the Dingoes and Echidnas co-operate for long enough against this common enemy, despite their antagonistic history?

For Prince And Country

Investigating the Great Plains of Mobius and the rusted wreckage of Acorn One, the Secret Service realise Prince Elias' body is not in the crash - unless someone took it, that means he's still alive! And after some searching, they find him in a nearby village, where he's spent the last seven years in rural isolation. That's not a problem; what IS a problem is he has a pregnant wife from the village and he's reluctant to leave...

The other problem is the criminal gang the Nasty Hyenas, who grew vicious and strong during Robotnik's reign - every year they raid the village at harvest time, and the village can't stop them. It's unlikely the Secret Service can stop them either, but it's Geoffrey's duty to try. Elias points out he could die in the attempt; Geoffrey replies it's his job to deal with enemies of the state and the Hyenas qualify.

The battle is hard and while Geoffrey's superior tactics do damage, eventually he's put in danger of being gunned down... until Elias intervenes, leading some of the villages to take down the remains of the gang! Seeing Geoffrey risk his life for duty has made an impression, and now Elias agrees to return to the Kingdom to do his - but his wife & unborn child go with him, and he wants aid for the village. Geoffrey agrees and the group head back to the capital: mission accomplished.

Guys, if I may make a suggestion: let's try and lighten up the story abit. Delay the apocalyptic attacks, make it so that only one villain is attacking at a time, and try to insert some humor and fun adventure! Anyway, back to the association.

Sonic the Hedgehog #77
Old Wounds
Sonic and Tails manage to sneak into the city, only to find it inhabited by the deadly Metallix! Sonic calls upon his Ultra form and launches an attack on the robots while Tails breaks into the citadel and recovers Rotor. Unfortunately, A.D.A.M. remains concealed, surprised by Tails' ingenuity but not really caring about Rotor's rescue, since he erased the Walrus' memories of who the real leader of the Brotherhood was. Just as Tails and Rotor almost escape, Metal Overlord steps out to challenge them.

A few rounds of punches quickly causes Tails to realize that he has no chance against the monstrous reincarnation of Metal Sonic. Forced to desperation, he calls on a spell taught to him by his uncle Merlin to transform into Turbo Tails. Now super-charged, he goes up against Metal Overlord again, and manages to knock him off balance long enough to escape with Rotor. Metal Overlord apologizes to his master, but A.D.A.M. is more forgiving than Dark Oak and says that there will be another day. The metallic Hedgehog acknowledges this, and reveals a grim secret: while he is loyal to A.D.A.M., he retains Silver Sonic/Metal Sonic/Scourge's hatred for Sonic and the other Special Forces, and looks forward to seeing them brought down.

The Special Forces celebrate as Rotor is returned to them and Tails announces his new ability, but Sally remains pensive at the thought of the threat posed by the Brotherhood of Metallix. Her fears are well-founded, as E.V.E arrives in Nekronopolis with Crocbot and Kodos turned loose. She claims authority over A.D.A.M., who quickly demonstrates his superiority by taking on a Super form. She surrenders, but instead of deleting her he offers her a place at his side as his queen. Charmed by the roguish virus, E.V.E. agrees, effectively doubling the threat of the Metallix.

Time for Doom, 3 of 3
Solaris' time warping abilities allow him to escape the supernova by returning to the past, and he again attacks Devil Doom. Silver and Shadow call upon all their powers to produce the ultimate Chaos Control effect. Blaze uses her pyrotechnic powers to hide the clash of titans, determined to preserve the timeline from further pollution.

Devil Doom and Solaris are locked in a death grip, determined to destroy each other, when Shadow and Silver finally manage to freeze them using Chaos Control. With the might of two such powerful individuals, the two will be frozen for centuries-unless someone comes along and breaks the seal created by Chaos Control. In a final act of exertion, the Ultimate Lifeform transports the two supervillains back to the Crossroads of Time, where they will hopefully be trapped forever.

Exhausted, the two Hedgehogs collapse into the arms of their female companions, unable to muster the energy to return to the present. Fortunately, some surprising help arrives: Horizont-Al and Verti-Cal, the reality bending imps. The pair willingly bring the four back to the present, and bid their farewells quickly. Rouge and the others are puzzled-but the readers aren't when they see the four from behind with "Kick Me" signs taped to their backs.

Sonic Special Issue #8
Family Feud 3 of 5
Chaos Knuckles and Enerjak renew their battle, and the conflict seems even as Knuckles' natural strength is pitted against Enerjak's regenerating Chaos body. Lien-Da, Xenin, and Moritori leave Kragok and Remington to the Guardians, fleeing out of the city and regrouping their forces as they go. Lara-Su pursues, and her popularity as a Guardian becomes obvious as both EST and Dingo forces rally to her side as they follow the Legionnaires.

With Chaos Knuckles holding Enerjak at bay and the Legion on the run, Tikal and Chaos arrive to help. While Tikal heals the weary Guardians and helps them secure the Dark Legion prisoners taken during the battle, Chaos aids Chaos Knuckles by draining a distracted Enerjak of the energy that once gave rise to Scourge, restoring the Master Emerald to its full power. Robbed of his regenerative powers, Enerjak is briefly weakened, but Chaos Knuckles takes advantage of the situation not by finishing him, but by exchanging the energy he's taken from the Power Gems for that which Enerjak holds within him. When Enerjak asks his reasons, Knuckles replies: "These replacement powers don't sit too well with me; I prefer the real McCoy."

Lien-Da and her men return to Albion, thinking themselves safe-until Lara-Su arrives with every available Dingo and Echidna soldier from Angel Island and lays seige to the Dark Legion city! Worse yet for the Grand Mistress, Finitevus arrives and tries to woo her, revealing that while her father Luger was one of the Echidnas who were accidentally merged to create him, the original Finitevus-Knuckles' uncle and the fallen Guardian-finds her quite alluring. He then extends a tempting offer to her and the common Legionnaires: that they join with his band of magic users and criminals, and together their forces will be able to challenge any group.

Doing her best not to seem interested, Lien-Da smugly asks how he intends to deal with Enerjak. The mad doctor responds by pulling out the Black Emerald, an artificial Chaos Emerald created with his technology and infused with the magics of the newly reformed Order of Ixis: Naugus, Mathias, Damocles, Carrotia, and Black Death. He reveals that its powers allow it to hold one or more super-powered beings, depending on how powerful they are, within its gleaming facets. As an added bonus, it slowly but surely transfers power from the captive(s) to the holder, aka Finitevus. With it, the doctor will be able to drain Enerjak's powers...and become a power equal to that of the new and improved Dark Oak.

Outside, Lara manages to sneak past the front lines and penetrates the city, intent on capturing Lien-Da. Archimedes, sensing that the teenager is ill-advised in her attempt to bring her aunt to justice, teleports away with the intent of calling in some help: namely, Julie-Su. Meanwhile, on the island, Knuckles and Enerjak take their battle to the skies, pitting their nearly equal powers against each other. As their clash continues, Aurora watches on...and wonders whether or not Mobius can survive.

Deep Sea Situation
Antoine and Bunnie are sent on a diplomatic mission to the most unlikely of places: the Mobian Ocean. Sent to investigate rumors of a still functioning Freedom Fighter cell, they run afoul of an undersea turf war between one of Robotnik's old minions, Octobot, and a gangster named Eel Capone. Not at all suited for the environment, the two fear that their time is up-until the Forty Fathom Freedom Fighters arrive!

Ray the Manta, Fluke the Blue Whale, Bottlenose the Dolphin, P.B. Jellyfish, and Bivalve the Clam arrive to help, quickly overcoming gangs of "Hired Mussels" and undersea robots. Together, they're able to defeat the villains and send Capone spiraling down into the most inescapable prison on Mobius: Davy Jones' Locker. Octobot flees to the surface, where he runs into none other than an out-of-work Crocbot, whose body from the waist down has been destroyed due to his objection to being "fired" by E.V.E. The two, both alone and without any forces to call their own, forge an alliance with two objectives: to link up with Dr. Robotnik and help him return to Mobius and conquer and then overthrowing him and splitting the planet between them. (Of course, first they need to find a way into the Zone of Silence that won't leave them trapped there, which could take a good 20 issues.)

The Forty Fathom Freedom Fighters extend their greetings to Antoine and Bunnie, and agree to an alliance with the Knothole Special Forces-but they can't agree to becoming members, as they'd have to reside in Knothole itself, which would lead to complications. Feeling quite pleased with themselves, Bunnie and Antoine head for the nearest deserted island to enjoy a little fun in the sun-not to mention much desired alone time.

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Guys, if I may make a suggestion: let's try and lighten up the story abit

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We should probably write out some of the villains then. We've got loads and they're all extremely powerful with large armies and dangerous plots - it inevitably leads to darker, more violent stories.

I know the rules about submitting more than once in the same day, but this isn't for comic summaries so I don't think it counts.

In response to Charles' suggestion that we need to write out some villains, I agree that we should, but let's give them decent send offs-we want our villains to go out with grace. My suggestion is that we write off some villains, while maybe condensing those that exist into fewer groups-like what I did in my last submission before this, with E.V.E. joining the Metallix, Crocbot and Octobot hooking up (Croctobot's comin'!) and planning to join Robotnik, and Finitevus offering the Dark Legion a chance to join him and to eliminate Enerjak by taking his place and his powers.

Of course, instead of writing villains off entirely, we could do what I've done with Dark Oak, Devil Doom, and Solaris: come up with some way to get them out of the story for a while until some of the current big dogs get eliminated or have their own problems that force them to go on hiatus. One of the problems is that we keep sticking multiple villains/villain groups into the same story, when really we should be doing it one or two at a time.

Sonic #78

Metal Gear Sonic

Prince Elias, the new heir to the throne, has returned to Mobotropolis! The media frenzy is at fever pitch, especially over the wife and unborn child he brought with him, and the young prince is overwhelmed - and while Geoffrey St John is watching his back, the King has grown more distant than he remembers.

Sally wants to meet her long-lost brother face to face, but the threat of the Metallix are in the way: specifically, their Auto-Automatons may try to kill & replace Elias! With only the Special Forces having the means to detect them (via the dissected remains of the first lot) and not knowing who in Mobotrpolis may be an Auto, this means an agent will have to sneak in without telling anyone. If caught, they could risk starting a conflict with the Kingdom!

Using his speed and reflexes, Sonic does that secret-agent thing and manages to reach the prisoner - just in time to prevent the assassination! Unfortunately, the Metallix have upgraded their Autos to possess the same power, deadliness and status as a regular Metallix, and both Elias and Sonic are almost before the enemy is defeated! Sonic flees before the Secret Service ask him "difficult questions", but now the Kingdom is aware of the Metallix and may have the means of detecting them.

Unfortunately, Station Square isn't so fortunate - and Captain Westwood is left wondering about the abrupt change in strategies and resources allocation that his superior officer's have decided on. Why, if there was a major attack...

Sonic Super Special #9

Family Feud 4 of 5

Finivetus' army of villains and mages has joined the Battle for Albion, and the EST and Dingoes are rapidly losing ground! General Stryker knows if they lose this, they lose their best chance to end the threat of the Dark Legion for good - but what can they do to regain the advantage? Lara-Su may have a plan: take down Lien-Da. Unfortunately, her infiltration attempt is detected and leads to her capture!

Up in the skies, Chaos Knuckles and Enerjak continue their battle - but Enerjak, exhausted and partially drained and on edge, is starting to lose his concentration and is taking hit after hit! Unwilling to retreat, he hurls himself back into the fray... and finally falls as Knuckles punches him out. At which point Damocles and Naugus strike, sucking him into the Black Emerald! Knowing he has to prevent them from leaving with it and also knowing his Chaos powers will cause him to suffer the same fate, Knuckles returns to his regular form. This means they can't absorb him into the Emerald - and also means he's outgunned...

Back at Albion, Julie-Su arrives at the Dark Legion base and makes an offer: her life for Lara-Su's. Lien-Da likes the sound of that and gleefully hands the Guardian over for the chance to torture and kill her hated relative. However, she forgot two things: Julie-Su hates her just as much and Julie-Su was a former Legionnaire & willing to cheat. The instant Julie is taken into the base she whips out her concealed taser, konks out her guards and prepares to take down Lien-Da the old-fashioned way!

And as Damocles and Naugus strike out with magic only to find Knuckles refuses to back down, the equally tenacious EST and Dingo troops find an equaliser has arrived from Angel Island: Perfect Chaos!

Sonic the Hedgehog #79
Ties of Blood
Elias surprises the inhabitants of New Mobotropolis-and infuriates his father-by throwing his political support to the Knothole Special Forces Team as well as calling for the formation of the "Council of Acorn", a political body intended to make the Kingdom more of a people's government with the king's powers reduced. King Acorn broods over Elias' naivete, and laments that he didn't have the chance to raise him properly. The Source of All's whisper calms his thoughts, reminding him that their plans will give Elias all the experience he needs by allowing him to share in the knowledge of all past kings of the House of Acorn.

Meanwhile, Sonic returns to Knothole after his "meeting" with the Secret Service, looking forward to relaxing and spending some time off with Sally. Unfortunately, Sonic's luck runs true to form: he, Sally, and the Chaotix-who are still rather miffed at not helping out with the current battle against the Dark Legion-are called to Port Mobius to meet a vessel known as the S.S. Marine and welcome a group of former Kingdom of Acorn residents who fled to the various islands in Mobius' Southern Sea when Robotnik came to power.

The mission takes a far more interesting turn when three of the Marine's passengers embrace Sonic and introduce themselves as Sonia, Manic, and Aleena, his long lost cousins and aunt! Sonic doesn't believe their story at first, but a conversation that his parents and Uncle Chuck share through holographic conference verifies their tale. When Sonic was just a baby, Sonia and Manic were a few years older and lived happily in Old Mobotropolis with their parents, Chuck and Aleena. After Kodos began turning corrupt and Robotnik started working behind King Acorn's back, Chuck begged his wife to take their children to safety. Only a few years after that, Robotnik came to power, and the three Hedgehogs had thought their family lost ever since.

Sonic soon joins his parents in welcoming his relatives' return, but their first day together turns grim when Mogul and the Arachne, the Destructix, and a rampaging Warlord Kodos arrive in Port Mobius! Aleena and Sally lead the inhabitants of the port and the other refugees to safety while Sonic and Tails go head-to-head with Mogul. The Chaotix challenge their Destructix counterparts, quickly gaining the upper hand against the criminals. But the truly impressive stage of the battle takes place as Manic and Sonia are joined by Marine the Raccoon-captain of the vessel that brought the refugees-Cream the Rabbit-Bunnie Rabbot's orphaned niece-and Mina Mongoose-daughter of famous pre-Robotnik singing sensation Isabella Mongoose-join them in battling Kodos and the Arachne! Mina's speed, Marine's fighting skills, and Cream's flight capabilities allow them to easily subdue the spiders, while Manic's earth manipulation abilities knock Kodos out cold. Uma closes with Sonia, thinking the girly Hedgehog an easy victim, but she's proven wrong when Sonia first disorients her with a Super Twirl attack and then takes her down with a punch!

Carrotia chooses that moment to intervene, calling upon her spellbinding vision to immobilize the Special Forces and their allies. She then commands that Mogul join Finitevus' forces, to which he objects, only to find himself staring down the hypnotized Arachne and Kodos and the Destructix. Conceding defeat, and knowing that Finitevus may see fit to bolster his criminal empire, he accompanies them through a Warp Ring.

Much later, the refugees and their escorts-including Marine-arrive in New Mobotropolis to receive warm greetings, most particularly from Sonic's parents and Chuck. Reunited with his wife and children at last, the proud inventor is overjoyed, which Antoine and Bunnie-who were sent to New Mobotropolis to notify the King of his returning citizens-share as they welcome Cream. Not wanting to break up his cousins and their parents, Sonic decides not to ask them to join the Knothole Special Forces for the time being. Geoffrey isn't so sensitive, and offers the duo a place in the Secret Service. They decline for the moment, saying that they wish to spend time with their father-but they'll consider the offer. Mina decides that she'd rather follow in her mother's footsteps as a singer, while Cream and Marine agree wholeheartedly to go to Knothole, the Raccon accepting the position of Captain of the Special Forces Aquatic Divison, the members of which currently include the Forty Fathom Freedom Fighters.

The Gentlehog's Art
Knothole is throwing a ball to celebrate the ten year anniversary of the formation of the Knothole Freedom Fighters (Sonic, Sally, etc.) and Shadow finds himself asking Rouge-now serving in the Special Forces intelligence division on a trial basis due to her past crimes-to go with him. Surprised and delighted, Rouge accepts, but Shadow had another problem: he doesn't know the first thing about how to behave at this kind of event!

Fortunately, help arrives from an unexpected source: Nate Morgan, the Overlander scientist whom the Chaotix liberated from Albion and who has been recovering from mild psychosis since his rescue. Eager to help the "young" Hedgehog with his plight, Nate begins schooling him in etiquette; how to be respectful towards others in a less funeral-solemn manner, how to participate in the higher activites of society, and most importantly, how to dance.

Shadow's eduction goes unsteadily at first, but it isn't long before he progresses enough to feel confident in his abilities. The night of the ball, he arrives at Rouge's door in a tuxedo and escorts her to the event. Everything goes smoothly-until Silver and Blaze arrive, that is. Having taken up residence in Knothole following Solaris and Devil Doom's imprisonment, the pair have joined the Special Forces and are slowly beginning to open up, displaying less professionalism and more friendliness-particularly towards each other. Silver has even gone so far as to form a rivalry with Shadow, and their proud partners are quick to join in as each pair takes part in a ballroom dance competition that ends up embarrassing all four of them and amusing everyone else.

Rouge flies up to the roof of the dance hall, where she begins crying over the humiliating experience. Shadow arrives to comfort her, and the Bat reveals that she's been doing her best to earn the trust of the Special Forces so that they'll stop seeing her as the criminal who once worked for their greatest enemies, and that the degrading fiasco of the dance competition-which ended up with Shadow slipping, Silver twisting his ankle, and Blaze and Rouge ending up covered in cake and punch, respectively-makes her think that she's gone from untrustworthy former enemy to Knothole's laughing stock.

Shadow wipes the tears away from her eyes, and tells her with a smile that no one will think of her that way. Gently, he pulls her back downstairs, where they take part in another dance-this one slow and with their arms wrapped around each other tightly as they sway to the music. As they dance, Nate and their former competitors-Silver, his twisted ankle faked and Blaze, her dress and fur clean of cake-watch from nearby and smile as they whisper two words:

"Mission accomplished."

Sonic Super Special #10
Family Feud, 5 of 5
With Naugus and Damocles working against Knuckles and Carrotia occupied with recruiting Kodos, Mogul, and the Arachne, Mathias and Black Death find themselves forced to deal with Chaos themselves. Poe contemplates summoning Zan, but Black Death reminds him that Finitevus has forbidden it and that only Damocles knows how to conjure the Dragon without losing control of him. Employing their considerable magic, they manage to hold of Perfect Chaos' attacks as the Dark Legionnaires pull back from the front.

Julie-Su and Lien-Da meet in the ultimate embodiment of sibling rivalry, tearing at each other with fury that only two siblings who have hated each other for as long as they can remember could ever possess. Finitevus watches from hiding, marveling at the display of ferocity and finding himself divided; the original Finitevus is rooting for Lien-Da, but his Luger half is calling on Julie to win. Ignoring the disturbing thoughts, he watches as each of the two sisters screams all her reasons for hating the other in her face.

Knuckles, desperate to thwart Naugus and Damocles, calls upon his Chaos powers despite fear that he will be targeted with the Black Emerald. He is struck by a capture beam...only to not be affected! The fatal flaw in the Black Emerald is revealed: it cannot hold beings of an uncorrupted nature. Now overmatched in the extreme, Naugus and Damocles do the only thing they can: they flee to Albion, drawing Chaos Knuckles after them with payback in mind.

Exhausted to the point of collapse, Julie finally gets the opening she needs: by striking Lien-Da's bionic dreadlock with a blast from her taser, she stuns her sister and leaves the Grand Mistress stunned and unable to move. The victory is short-lived as Julie also topples, and Finitevus moves in to revive Kommissar. While her hatred for Julie-Su remains, the older female finds herself gripped by fear; not only of Julie's own skill and enmity towards her, but of what Lara-Su and Knuckles would do to her if she harmed Julie before they were neutralized.

Damocles and Naugus arrive at that moment, giving the Black Emerald to Finitevus and explaining their predicament. The doctor is unconcerned as he attaches the Emerald to his belt, only to be overcome by the sudden surge of power as Enerjak's powers begin to become his own. With her newfound master incoherent, Lien-Da orders the two wizards to begin evacuating Albion of the Dark Legionnaires and criminals. However, while the pair races off to carry out her orders and see to their leader, Kommissar gleefully arranges for all the Legionnaires who betrayed the EST and swore loyalty to Remington to remain behind with the Mechanaut troops under Moritori and Xenin to hold off the encroaching invaders.

Chaos Knuckles appears on Albion in the nick of time, freeing Perfect Chaos up to continue the attack while he goes after Mathias and Black Death. Joining their powers together, the pair of sorcerers create a golem to do battle with him. When Knuckles easily shatters it, they go for a more desperate attack: using their magic, they pull Kragok from Echidnaopolis and grant him magically enhanced abilities, while Remington views the scene through a window left by the portal that captured Kragok. The Grand Master goes head to head with his Guardian counterpart, both of them venting hatred that's been building since their first fateful meeting in a seemingly deserted Albion. Finally, though, Knuckles proves the stronger, and Kragok screams in vain as a portal of Chaos energy sends him flying into the distant future-to be exact, the moment of the supernova of Mobius' sun that Silver hoped to use to destroy Solaris and Black Doom. Unlike those villains, however, Kragok has no way to escape, and is consumed in a fiery explosion. Only his bionic eye, mutated by magic, survives to return to his cell in Echidnaopolis, where Remington forces it into the place of his own right eye as a symbol of his loyalty to his father and his intent to gain vengeance.

While Knuckles' efforts destroy Kragok, Poe and Death are able to escape with Finitevus, Naugus, Damocles, Lien-Da, Xenin, and the rest of the criminals and Dark Legionnaires to the city of Portal, an ancient Echidna civilization rebuilt as a forbidding subterranean metropolis. The escape route closes as Mathias and Black Death get through, leaving Remington's men and the Mechanauts at the mercy of the EST and Dingoes. Left with no other options, they surrender and are taken into custody.

All seems well for the Echidnas: the Dark Legion has been weakened and is now in hiding, two Grand Masters are in custody while another has met his end, and the feud over territory on Angel Island between Echidnas and Dingoes is over, now that the Dingoes have Albion to colonize as their own home city. Despite this, Knuckles remains wary, knowing that the Legion isn't gone for good and that Lien-Da, Dr. Finitevus, and Enerjak haven't been destroyed. Worse, Enerjak's disappearance may only lead to greater evil. Before he can go off on a rant, though, Julie and Lara convince him to relax for a change, and the little family of three decide to celebrate the victory by going out for pizza. Euphoric over their victory, neither the EST nor the Dingoes realize that Perfect Chaos disappeared during the fighting.

Inside his new citadel in Portal, Finitevus is awake and already looking more powerful than before. He has also added another prisoner to the Black Emerald, since the negative energy that powers Perfect Chaos allowed him to capture the powerful entity. With his abilities destined to grow as the two and any future victims have their life force and strength transferred to him, Finitevus begins to laugh in a way that doesn't fit him-but which is eerily reminiscent of Enerjak. Noticing this himself, the doctor laughs even harder, realizing that he's taking more than just his prisoners' powers: he's taking on their attributes, as well...

EDIT: Hey guys, what's the deal? Nobody's added to this in days; has everyone but me lost interest, or are you all just sick of me posting so much? If so, sorry, but if not, come on! 2007 isn't over until 12:00 a.m., January 1st, 2008!

You shouldn't be surprised. SCA threads tend to peter out eventually.

My advice? Don't make it so needlessly complicated. You've got several paragraphs of exposition in each post, which adds up to several pages when tallied. Anyone who would want to contribute would feel quite intimidated trying to add to such a monstrosity, and rightfully so. As such, its been you and Charles In Charge over there for several posts now.

Keep it simple. Keep it short. Keep it sweet. Originally, the SCA was a mimicry of Archie's official comic previews, but with a "What We Want to See" fan touch.

...Thanks for the info. I'm sorry if I've been overbearing; I'm just really into this. I'll try to keep it shorter from now on. I just hope this doesn't qualify as posting more than once in the same day; the first one was just an edit. Again, I'll take your advice.

Sonic the Hedgehog #80
Anti-Climactic, Part 1 of 2
Evil King Max, Evil St. John, and Anti-Knuckles arrive on Mobius looking for the renegade Anti-Freedom Fighters, who have left Anti-Mobius a mess by rebelling against the king and not putting down factions of resistance as they were supposed to. The Secret Service and the former Knothole Freedom Fighters join forces to attack the trio, but a combination of E.K.M.'s bionic implants (resembling those of Dr. Robotnik's original form), E.S.J.'s skill, and A.K.'s strength overwhelms them. Deciding that the Mobius Prime natives are weak, Evil King Max decides to take over this world instead of going back to Anti-Mobius.

As if one evil King Acorn weren't enough, Sally's father learns of his doppelganger's intrusion and decides to take the offensive. Donning his barbaric war armor, he disguises the Sword of Acorns as a lance capable of firing energy blasts and rides out on his black horse to challenge Evil King Max...

Field Medicine
NICOLE and Omega, the only victims of Evil King Max's attack who haven't been left unconscious or unable to function normally, team up to treat their injured teammates despite the strained relations between Geoffrey and Sonic. There's just one problem: NICOLE has medical knowledge but no body to use in operating, and Omega has a body but no medical knowledge. As a result, the two decide on a compromise; NICOLE will dock with Omega, combining their talents to solve the problem. While their shared body works, the two are left free to explore each other's minds...and what they discover could change their interaction forever.

Sonic Super Special #11
Rings of the World, 1 of 5
Croctobot-the fused Crocbot and Octobot-breaks into an ancient tomb in search of artifacts that may provide the power he needs to free Robotnik from the Zone of Silence: the World Rings. He manages to locate one, but his efforts to seize it awaken the tomb's long dormant occupant: Aman-Rapi, Sonic's ancient ancestor who entered into hibernation before he could die and has magically regained his youth after millennia! With a slew of insults towards the monstrous robot worthy of his descendant, Aman-Rapi sends Croctobot packing. Deciding that it's time to look up old friends (namely Aurora), he leaves, unwittingly leaving the first World Ring unprotected from...

Anti-Sonic! Fed up with being Finitevus' lackey and already fleeing the predations of his old rivals Evil St. John and Anti-Knuckles, the evil Hedgehog searches for a higher level of the Dark form that Sonic tapped into with Lazaar's magic: Darkspine Sonic! Taking the first ring, he leaves in search of the others...and he only needs a few to achieve a power level equal to that of Ultra Sonic.

Engagement
Antoine and Bunnie find themselves confronted with a major decision; what are they to do with Bunnie's cousin Cream? As Cream's oldest living relative (at least on the right side of the law-future plot development), Bunnie has legal custody over her, but she knows that she doesn't have the experience to raise a child on her own. The only viable option appears to be a wedding-but Antoine isn't sure he's ready for that kind of commitment.

Feeling lost, Antoine goes to his father Armand for advice. The old general tells his son to follow his heart, and gives him a small box for when he makes up his mind. Gathering his courage, Antoine asks Bunnie if she'll be his wife and Cream if she'll be his daughter...and the answer is yes on both counts.

Ghosts of the Past
Dr. Finitevus and the Order of Ixis travel to a desolate realm known as the Spirit Zone, where the restless spirits of the most powerful beings on Mobius reside until the terms of their purgatory are met. Their reasons for coming are simple: Finitevus wishes to recover the magic of Lazaar's computer, and he has come seeking a spirit who can help him. After thwarting an attack by the spirits of several Guardians-Steppenwolf, Moonwatcher, Harlan, Remembrandt, Aaron, Jordan, and even his brother-in-law Locke-Finitevus speaks with the spirit he has sought: Menniker, the original Grandmaster of the Dark Legion.

Once Menniker has told Finitevus what he wanted to know, the Order prepares to leave-only to be attacked by the ghost of Feist, reaching out from the grave for a final change at destroying Naugus! He succeeds in pulling Naugus' spirit into the ground of the Spirit Zone, and in the process goes to his rest, but Finitevus absorbs the wizard's empty shell of a body with the Black Emerald, adding Naugus' magical energies to those he is already beginning to gather in his body...

EDIT: Does the no double-posting rule apply in the Comic Associations? 'Cause if it doesn't, I have some ideas that I'd really like to write up on here. If it does, then I guess I'll have to wait a while.