(As you can see, I made another post elsewhere without thinking. Oh well; this only means combining two parts into one.)

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Part 1: Return

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At the edge of the Mobius Forum World...is nothing.

Literally. The MFW is a self-contained universe. It is finite in its boundaries, but seeing as how the land suddenly drops off into nothingness, it's clear that the MFW can still grow.

This portion of the world is a desert-like area. Strangely, it looks like the Dust Hill prototype from Sonic 2 Beta, complete with cacti, cowboy-hat shaped plateaus, and the occasional hedgehog that is always off-center of the screen (if you get this reference, you get a bunch of Oldbie points. If you don't get it, then you don't know your Sonic history, you LAZY LAZY BUM!).

However, there is a spot where the desert suddenly drops off, like a cliff with a sheer edge. Beyond it is nothing but a mist-like cloud that stretches on, seemingly into infinity.

Suddenly, the sky began to shimmer in one spot.

You see, one must realize that although the Mobius Forum World is its own universe, it merely constitutes one Demiplane within the vast expanse of the Multiverse. If you're confused, go to the helpful MFW Guide at the top of the page. Terms made by Mobius TBlood, so blame him if you're confuzzled.

Seeing as how this Demiplane is one part of the Multiverse...occaisonally, inhabitants from other planes of reality will come. Usually, it's those with super powers, warp-gate technology, or god-like abilities.

Thankfully, it's the second choice. There's no need for another God Moder on the forums.

But back to the story...

The shimmering spot suddenly burst into a purple portal, through which a shuttle-like aircraft burst through. Unlike the usual shuttle design, this one was flat, and it was made of curved, streamlined metal. Also, it was colored blue. The wings were swept forward, and two fins jutted from the top. Finally, the glass of the bridge was colored red.

It was the famous X-Jet (or infamous, if you happened to work for Magneto). The sleek-looking craft kicked up sand and dust as it set down at the edge of the world, looking awfully out of place.

The bottom ramp opened...and a blue hedgehog stepped out. The wind made his torn red cape flutter around him, making his body difficult to see.

He glanced back up into the X-Jet and yelled, "Thanks for giving me a lift Logan!"

A gruff voice answered, "No problem bub. You helped us with the Flame Sentinels, remember?"

"Don't remind me." The hedgehog sighed. This would be the last time he would see the man known as Logan...or, more famously, Wolverine. "Tell the professor I said goodbye."

"What's the point? You already told him."

"Do it anyway."

An annoyed grumble came from the mutant. "Fine then. Stupid mushy crap..."

As the hedgehog stepped off the ramp, the X-Jet took off into the air. It turned around, and with a burst of light, it reentered the portal. Moments later, it closed, leaving no evidence that it had ever existed.

The hedgehog sighed as he gazed inward towards land. It had been two years...

He might as well run. No point in delaying the inevitable...except when he wanted to make sure it never came at all...

Now's not the time for regrets, thought the hedgehog angrily as he burst off into the distance, his cape flapping in the supersonic wind.

xxxx

THE NEWBIE DISTRIBUTION CENTER!

It is basically an 'official' entry point into the MFW. There are numerous NDC (there's those acronyms again...) facilities around the world, for helping newbies get acquainted to the MFW as quickly as possible.

And by that, I mean that they're eaten as quickly as possible.

How could such an inhumane place exist? One could say it is...but in the MFW, cannibalism is common. A forumer eating a newbie...well, it's just an everyday thing here.

All I can say is that newbies go great with salsa.

Anyway, the blue hedgehog was at the edge of the desert, having reached the NDC for the area. It was rather small; nothing more than a block with the words 'NDC' hanging above it.

As the hedgehog neared the facility, the doors flew open as a rabid nekomata (AKA, walking cat creature) flew out. "NEWBIE!"

The hedgehog whipped out a laser blaster, fashioned as a Colt .45. "I'm no newbie. Put. The spork. Down."

"Aw..." The nekomata groaned. "I never get any newbies around here..." She pulled out a small scanner from Hammerspace (you know, where Amy keeps her hammer in Sonic Adventure) and aimed it at the hedgehog's eyes. "Your name is...?"

"Redley."

"Okay Mr. Redley, this'll just take a second..." The scanner pointed a beam of light into his eyes, scanning his genetic code. "Okay..." A look of confusion crossed her face. "Odd...it says you're actually-"

"I changed my name."

"...oh." The nekomata shrugged. "Okay. Proceed. Next stop along the way is the Sailorness District, so be careful..."

"Thanks for the concern." Redley walked off calmly...but a few seconds later, he turned around and said, "By the way, why do you have ChibiBecca's spork?"

The nekomata giggled a bit as she nervously scratched her head. "Well, that's a bit of a long story..."

Redley's expression remained stoic. "Either way, now that I've mentioned it, the owner of said spork will now magically know where it is, as per the Anime/Manga Rules of Logic." As the blue hedgehog walked away, sure enough...

"GIMME BACK MAH SPORK!"

"EEE! GET AWAY FROM MY ANKLES!!!"

CHOMP.

A squeal of pain followed.

xxxx

Redley sighed as he stretched his neck. He was feeling too nostalgic. It was making his heart ache.

After bypassing the Sailorness District (although he had thought of visiting his alter-ego Sailor Ultra, he didn't want to unintentionally have her TV spawn an alien and spew acid on his face. Melting flesh was unpleasant.), the blue hedgehog stood on a cliff overlooking the bustling MF Central, urban center of Sega City.

Sega City. Capitol of the Mobius Forum World.

Sitting in the middle was the HQ Tower.

Redley sighed once more. "I suppose the adage fits...there's no place like home..."

But could he truly consider Sega City his home?

That's what he wanted to know. He calmly slid down the cliff side towards the outskirts of the city.

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END PART 1

To be continued in...

Part 2: Old Acquaintances

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Tune in tomorrow for part 3!

(Yes, I posted elsewhere again. -.- Oh well; that only means three chapters will be condensed into one.)

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Part 2: Old Acquaintances

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THE CITY OF TOWNSVILLE!

Will not be featured in this story. For you Powerpuff fans, sorry. But this is the Mobius Forum! Not Cartoon Network.

Anyhow, we return to Sega City. More specifically, we move on to a rather innocuous place known as Papirini Polis...well, scratch that. A building over one million stories tall is bound to have something that could hurt SOMEONE.

Why does one forumer have need for such a massive dwelling? Who knows? For that matter, the owner doesn't even let visitors up beyond the 100th floor! Or, was it the 1000th...oh who cares, it's just a number.

The doors to Papirini Polis opened, and out stepped a female echidna. Her body was colored tan (she almost looked like Tikal of SA fame. And there's another acronym!), and she wore casual clothing for the day. Simple jeans and a white T-shirt.

Her name was Cookirini, who to many in the MFW is the rough equivalent of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love. And yes, I just made that up. Who cares? I'm just the narrator.

"Who said that?" said Cookirini, looking around her worryingly.

Anyhow, she was basically going to enjoy an off day. Visit the Spam Protection Agency District (or the SPA District. Another acronym!) perhaps, or maybe lurk in the Sailorness District. Perhaps she might even sneak onto the Floating Island for some nostalgia...

"Who's there?!" yelled Cookirini, her eyes darting everywhere.

...JUST GO!

"Sheesh, fine! Good grief..." Cookirini grumbled as she twirled a finger around one of her dreadlocks. "You try to find a disembodied voice and it gets all huffy..."

As Cookirini walked away, I sighed. I hope the health insurance is worth the insults to my dignity.

xxxx

THE SPA DISTRICT!

Will be featured in this story.

Right now, we're at an intersection featuring three things. One: a trail of Spam. And not the kind of spam that makes your e-mail crash. The meat by-product Spam.

Two & Three: Two familiar-looking Moderators.

One Moderator (or Mod, for short) was kneeling down, examining a can of Spam. He was a full 6 feet tall, his body covered by a slim suit of blue-and-orange armor. The most distinctive features were his black V-shaped visor, and the swept back helmet spike. Yes; it was none other than...

(Trumpets blare!)

TERGONAUT!!! Superhero of the Mobius Forum!

Tergonaut sweatdropped as he sighed. "I wish whoever's playing those trumpets would stop."

"I think it suits you!" happily chirped the other Moderator standing next to him. This Moderator was a bit bigger...but only in height. In width, he outclassed Tergonaut. He was a fox with two tails, and his fur was reddish-orange. He wore a large white T-shirt, and blue shorts. He also had small white angel's wings. His button-like nose was black, and his eyes were a serene shade of blue. To round out his figure (pun fully intended), he was fat. And I mean REALLY fat. As in 'Fat Albert' fat. Garfield fat. Peter Griffin fat. Fatty fatty McFatfat. Or, in his words, 'ludicrously obese'.

His name is CjTails. Fattest fox in the MFW, weighing in at 500 pounds, and sponsor of the Fat-Kins diet (and somewhere, Atkins is filing a lawsuit). His stomach is so large, it often holds junk topics, closed threads, and the occasional flamer that is so hot and spicy that only Cj's stomach can hold it.

Tergonaut glanced back at the rotund fox, calmly retorting, "When I'm on duty, blaring trumpets that signal my arrival kind of defeat the purpose of the 'stealthy pursuit'."

"Point taken."

The 'Wearer of Omni-Pants' stood up, picking up the can of Spam. "Well, whoever's spamming the SPA is rather old-fashioned. I mean, this stuff expired in 1975."

Cj paled. "That stuff's more potent than nuclear waste!" It would explain why the SPA's empty today, though.

Tergonaut grimaced as he glanced down the road. There were more cans sitting around. "With the SPA littered with toxic Spam, everyone's unwilling to come here...and that means eventually, someone will lose control and spam elsewhere. We have to hurry." He tossed the can of Spam in the air.

*GULP*

Cj sighed with content as he swallowed the whole can at once. "Eh, a little metallic. Probably should've opened the can first."

"And risk you growing additional stomachs or another appendage?"

"Point taken. Although the extra stomachs bit sounds awfully appealing..."

Tergonaut sighed as he rolled Cj along the streets towards the trail of Spam.

Moments later, Cookirini entered the same intersection, looking a tad miffed. "Man, no one's here! Not even at my official spam topic! Everyone probably got tired of that Ratty puppet..." (In-thread joke. Snaaay-aaap.)

Oh well. She didn't feel in the mood for much spamming anyway. She felt like visiting the Chaotix Bakery.

xxxx

THE CHAOTIX BAKERY!

Is right in front of you.

Cookirini sighed as she entered the revolving glass doors of the bakery. It was built about a year-and-a-half ago, in place of an old building that had been destroyed two years ago.

(Acronym alert!)

That building was the Forum Protection Agency (or FPA. TOLD YOU!). It had been utterly destroyed in the dead of night, leaving nothing behind but dust and rubble. Within days, it had been cleared of all debris, and the property had been put up for sale. Within several months, a bakery was built at the site.

What had disturbed Cookirini back then was that after the FPA's destruction, an old friend of hers had disappeared.

His name: Ultra Sonic 007.

Cookirini said nothing as she inwardly winced. No use thinking about it now. He's gone, never going to return. Not like it hasn't happened before. After all, forumers come and go all the time.

She simply pulled up a booth and said, "I'll have a Charmy Baguette." The echidna shook her head; today was a day for relaxing! And she was going to do just that!

Suddenly, someone else entered the bakery.

Cookirini blinked as a blue hedgehog wearing a tattered red cape (looked like Sailor Evil's Wrath pulled a number on it...), a black shirt, and khakis. The most distinctive feature was his cybernetic left arm (eesh. What happened to him?).

The hedgehog gazed at the menu with green eyes and finally spoke to the baker. "I'll have an Espio-Rye Loaf." After his order was given the hedgehog spoke at Cookirini without even looking at her. "Hello there."

"Hi there. Ya new?" asked Cookirini.

"Nah. I'm sort of a guy who went missing for a while. Decided to come back." He gazed around the bakery, still not looking at Cookirini. "I heard there was once a security organization here."

"Yeah. The FPA."

The hedgehog snapped his fingers. "Ah...so that's the name. Thought it sounded familiar." There was a slight tone of mock remembrance in his voice. He would drop the illusion when he felt like it.

Cookirini took a large bite out of her baguette (complete with Charmy imprints on the surface) before continuing on. "So, how long you been gone?"

"Well, let's see here Cookie...about two years, give or take a few days."

Cookirini blinked. Two years...and he knows my name! A tone of uncertainty crept into her voice. "...pardon me, but I didn't get your name..."

The hedgehog took a bite out of his loaf of rye bread (shaped like Espio) and swallowed before replying. "Well...my name's Redley..." He turned, grinning goofily at the echidna. "But you can call me Ultra."

Cookirini's eyes bugged out of her head.

"ULTRA?!?!"

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END PART 2

To be continued in...

Part 3: Catching Up

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(What does everyone think of it so far?)

i'm loving it so far, keep it up! (and not just because i got a small cameo. )

Hey, nice story. Will I get a cameo?

Hmmm... probably not.

In fact, knowing my rep, it's probably a good idea if I don't get one. That way I won't get humiliated three ways from Thursday.

Right, that's bodged it. Why the hell can't I keep my mouth shut every once in a while?

I suppose I missed when you did get back so welcome back from me who is here now...

You're not going to start the FPA up again are you? And I just finished cleaning up the last of the MoFo Mafia in the Group Mission

There is a bakery!?

WHY did no one tell me this? *invades it with a vengance*

...oh, and good work so far ^^

Heh...
Looks like we picked roughly the same time to return.

ROFLMAO U R TEH FUNEE CAN I HAV CAMEO PLZ?!?1/1//1

Ya know, someone should really point out to Ultra that Tergonaut hasn't been seen in or on the MoFo (as far as anyone besides Vec and TBlood are concerned) for over 2 years since he returned to Earth.

Once again over-eagerness causes posts before asking, or permission seeking, it seems.

I gave him permission initially, Craig, so he's legit about using my character. But as you can see, he didn't know about the changes that have happened in the meantime, so that's what's caused some confusion that we're sorting out right now. So it's chill.

On a side-note, Tergonaut being back in the MoFo will become general knowledge when he starts showing up as a vigilante fighting crime in emergency circumstances. But any knowledge of his whereabouts or his connections to the Admins or anything else will be extremely limited. Obviously there's a lot of stuff I could get into, but this thread is for Ultra's story, so we should give him the opportunity to tell that.

(Some events being told took place in other MoFo events, such as Group Missions or MoFiction. Some events are alternate outcomes of older RPs.)

(And Craig, as Tergonaut said, he allowed me to use his character. Although I thought that he would have changed a bit over two years, I didn't expect changes on such a large scale. I mean, his omni-suit giving him cancer? That's just...whoa. But since there's been a bit of problem concerning my initial unknowing of Tergonaut's changes, he's politely asked for his character to be withdrawn. He'll be withdrawn as of part 4. Understand everyone?)

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Part 3: Catching Up

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We return to the Chaotix Bakery, where old friends are catching up.

Redley, aka Ultra Sonic 007.

Cookirini.

"So, you're saying that another world invaded the Mobius Forum?" asked Redley, nibbling on a small pastry (a Julie Stroodle...rhymes with Julie-Su!).

Cookirini nodded as she ate the last of her Charmy Baguette. "Yeah. Planet in question was called Hisworld."

Redley let out a low whistle. "Ooh. Almost sounds like GM material. Speaking of Group Missions, last one I was on involved Nightshade." Ultra winced slightly at that memory. "Dying is unpleasant...even if it IS in a dream world."

Cookirini said nothing as Ultra chewed off a larger piece of his stroodle. I have to be careful with what I say...

You see, Cookirini was actually Gingersnap. Gingersnap was once half of Cookirini.

Although the events surrounding such events are too broad to be explained here, the real Cookirini was actually away from the MoFo, leaving Gingersnap to take her place (much to Gingersnap's chagrin...so she intended to get revenge!). Interestingly enough, the real Cookirini had actually erased everyone's memories of her. Since it was one heck of a mistake (then again, hindsight is always 20/20.), Gingersnap was left behind to take her place.

What Gingersnap was worrying about was Redley; he had been away during the whole Herland incident. She didn't know if Cookie's memory erasure had affected him. She was pretty sure that wasn't the case...but then again, he HAD called her by name. Although no one remembered the Herland incident (save for her, and a handful of others), she didn't want to seem unwilling to talk to him about past events, and the Herland event, unfortunately, had been the first to come to mind. However...she could alter events to prevent others from finding out the truth, Redley included. Why do you think she switched it from Herland to Hisworld?

"Remember Mr. V?*"

'Cookirini' blinked. "Huh?"

Redley gobbled the last of his pastry before continuing. "Mr. V. The guy who kidnapped me and tried to digitize me shortly before I left the MFW."

"Oh yeah..." muttered 'Cookirini' as she racked her brain for memories. Shortly before Ultra had left the Mobius Forum World, a virus entity known as Mr. V had kidnapped him for reasons unknown...that is, until they discovered that they had intended to digitize his body for an experiment that would eventually lead to a plot to mass-digitize the forum, turning everything into a living virus. Fortunately, Cookirini and a number of other forumers had tracked down Mr. V's base in time to stop the experiment. The process had been 11% complete when the forumers had arrived, destroyed Mr. V and his minions, and freed Ultra. The hedgehog had been out of it for a while...but he had recovered. And all had been good...for a bit.

Then Ultra had suddenly left.

And now he had returned...as Redley.

The blue hedgehog asked, "Cookie?"

'Cookirini' turned to face Redley. "Uh huh?"

"You okay? I asked if you remembered Mr. V."

"Oh. Him. I remember," hastily replied the tan echidna. Inwardly, she grimaced. Shoot. Gotta be more careful...

Redley frowned a bit as he rubbed his neck. "Okay...you just seem a bit different. Then again, two years can do a lot to a person." He knew that very well...very well indeed.

Redley suddenly felt a bit woozy. He sighed as he grumbled inwardly. Not now. You can have your time later. Deciding to change the topic, the hedgehog asked, "So...your spam thingamawhozit still open in the SPA?"

'Cookirini' sighed as she mumbled, "Yeah...no one's there though."

"No one in the SPA? That's weird..." said Ultra as he scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"No kidding," agreed 'Cookirini' as she momentarily gazed at a clock. "Eh, I better get going elsewhere. I have relaxin' to do." More than that...I need to get away and prep myself. Never thought I'd run into someone who'd know the real Cookirini! "So I guess I'll catch up with you later Ultra."

No response.

"Ultra?"

Still no response.

"Redley?"

Ctrl+C and paste.

"Yoohoo?"

JUST TURN YOUR BLOODY HEAD!

'Cookirini' finally gazed away from the wall-mounted clock at Redley...only to find that he was gone. She turned around to see that the revolving glass doors were spinning. "...he left."

Well, that was good news for her. At least now she had time to excercise her mind to adapt to the possibility that someone else knew who she was.

xxxx

"When you said old-fashioned, you weren't kidding."

They had finally caught up with the spammer in question. They saw that he was...well, rather old. At least eighty. It was a miracle he was still moving. He wore nothing but black clothing, and a knapsack that was tied to his waist held the many cans of Spam he had been leaving behind.

"No kidding." Tergonaut sighed as he stared at the old spammer. Honestly, he had wondered why Vector had called on him to oversee this mission (ESPECIALLY considering his 'condition'...and for those who don't know, I'm not telling. YET. Or will I? Who knows? And for that matter, why should I care? I'm confused. Continue reading!). Considering how old the man was, anyone else could've done this mission with ease. Aside from the disposal of the cans of Spam, Terg wondered why Vector had assigned Cj to go with him. More to the point, he wondered why Vector had specifically told him to use the omni-suit.

Oh well. It didn't matter at the moment. He would be over and out of the suit in no time. "Okay Mr. Spammer, just take it easy and put the Spam down."

The spammer glared indignantly at Tergonaut (you couldn't really tell; his eyes were closed). "Well, I never! Such an impetulant youth; I have to get rid of this Spam somehow. I thought someone else would like to take care of it!"

CjTails calmly raised one hand. "Um...wouldn't it be easier to just throw the cans away?"

"Tried that once. They were returned to my house by the garbage company."

Cj sweatdropped. "...okay..."

The spammer smiled as he reached into his knapsack. "You two aren't that bad...I'll let you see why I've gotta get rid of this Spam." Without hesitation, he opened the can. It revealed a soupy pink mixture that was glowing (and somewhere in that can, a race of microscopic organisms has created an advanced civilization that nothing on this world can touch.). "The name's Foxy Grandpa kiddies (or FG. ACRO TO THE NYM!)...and let me show you why it's bad to hoard Spam that's a few decades old!"

Then, FG threw the spam out onto the ground.

A warning message flashed across Terg's visor, momentarily startling him. Now that it was out of the can, the toxicity levels of the old Spam were coming out at full force! NOW he understood why Vector had called him. On impulse, he pushed Cj away; unfortunately, he pushed a bit too hard.

"TERG!!!" wailed Cj as he was sent rolling away down the road. He picked up velocity as he went down hill, eventually going faster...and faster...and faster...then he disappeared beyond the horizon.

Well that's not good, thought Tergonaut as the nanites on his right forearm shifted and formed a rapid-fire particle cannon. He took aim at the Spam as it to began to shift in form. It formed a small little gremlin-like creature; almost like a pink, icky version of a SaibaMan (DBZ otaku should know who these guys are. Due to the similarity, they shall be known as SaibaSpam! Or SS, if you want another acronym.) The SaibaSpam snarled as it leapt at Tergonaut.

Tergonaut paled; the thing was fast! With a thought, the omni-suit's jet boots pulsed with light, propelling him to the other side of the street. The SaibaSpam skidded to a halt, glaring at the Moderator with red eyes.

The omni-suit wearing Mod frowned as he saw the skid marks left behind by the monster; they were slightly smoking. As a matter of fact, the places where it had stepped were also smoking. Acid...its body is like a toxin factory. Bad news for me.

It was no wonder that the SPA was mostly empty; many forumers had the ability to sense trouble, foretell the coming of danger, or the simple power of staying out of trouble. At least it worked for Tergonaut's advantage; even though some knew he was back, he would've liked for his presence to be kept a secret. For a little while longer, at any case.

Until then...

"RAAAAAGH!"

Tergonaut quickly snapped back to reality as the SaibaSpam leapt at him. The Mod quickly raised his right arm and roared, "Eat this!" Switching his cannon to 'stun', three small orbs of blue electricity were fired by his cannon in a rapid-fire manner. The monster gurgled as he spasmed...

BOOM!

...and exploded into several pieces. Tergonaut blinked; he hadn't expected the creature to be so frail that a stun blast would shatter it into pieces. Good thing I didn't use a regular shot; it might've exploded and covered this entire steet.

Foxy Grandpa frowned. "Well that's not very nice. Spam has feelings too, you know."

"So do a lot of villains. Doesn't mean I can't stop them," retorted Tergonaut as he aimed his cannon at FG. "Put the knapsack down. You can't beat me."

The spammer grimaced as he pointed at the remains of the SaibaSpam (you know, I just realized that sounds like 'cyber spam'. IRONY!**). "Before you try to apprehend me, you might want to look behind you."

Sure enough, Tergonaut did. To his surprise, he saw that fragments of the original SaibaSpam creature expand and regrow...becoming SEVEN SaibaSpam. Although they were smaller than the original version, they still looked quite dangerous. "Well...that's unpleasant."

The seven SaibaSpam snarled and leapt at Tergonaut.

His jet boots flared as he leapt up and over the leaping creatures, aiming his blaster cannon at them. He switched from stun to his normal rapid-fire mode; thirty pellets of blue plasma were fired, raining down upon the creatures like hail.

They wailed as the plasma ate away at their bodies, burning through their flesh. Instead of exploding, their bodies burnt and shriveled into tiny husks. Tergonaut gave sigh of relief as seven burnt corpses dropped to the ground. Talk about well done.

Foxy Grandpa grimaced. "Well, that's unfortunate. I had hoped not bring out my oldest can...but then again, I didn't expect to run into trouble so soon." He pulled out another can of Spam. "This one expired in 1940."

A small pang of fear gripped the Moderator's heart; that can held Spam MUCH older than that that had spawned the SaibaSpam. What would THIS unleash...?

FG opened the can.

POOF.

A small puff of black smoke floated out of the can. It was empty inside.

Tergonaut resisted the urge to succumb to the the Anime/Manga staple known as 'facefaulting'***. Besides, unlike other characters, facefaulting tended to give him a headache and a few aches. Hence, he shied away from doing so.

Suddenly, Tergonaut noticed that the smoke hadn't dissipated. In fact, it was...moving. Suddenly, it fused with the corpses of the SaibaSpam...and they rose, looking meaner, more feral. Their joints seemed more angular, and they now possessed four red eyes. Also, their bodies were pitch black in color.

Foxy Grandpa smiled. "Meet the Dark SaibaSpam." Or if you want to have yet another acronym, call them DSS.

Tergonaut grimaced as he got into a defensive stance. keeping his eyes on the Dark SaibaSpam as they surrounded him. Why do I feel like I've seen this before? Metroid fans will recognize this scene from Metroid Prime 2. That's right Tergy, I'm talkin' to you!

...er, never mind. Back to the story!

The Dark SaibaSpam roared, spewing a shower of acid at Tergonaut.

His jet boots flared to life, propelling him upward from the splash of toxic liquid. The Mod glanced down at the seven dark monsters as they glared up at him, eyes filled with bloodlust.

Tergonaut planned to put a stop to that. He charged a single orb of plasma, drawing in particles from around him. Without hesitation, he fired downward.

Two of the Dark SaibaSpam were vaporized. The rest were either sent flying several yards by the blast, or they had had the sense to jump away before the plasma ball hit. Tergonaut set back down in the small crater he had formed in the middle of the road. Two down, five to go. I'd better wrap this up.

Two of the Dark SaibaSpam snarled as they scampered from side-to-side in an erratic manner, hoping to disorient Tergonaut. In a way, they did; their zig-zaggy movements send invisible energy waves towards Tergonaut, causing his visor to start going on the fritz (much like actual computer spam. You see? I can give out relevant information too.).

The OMNI-01 wearer frowned as static began clouding his visor from the outside in. Gotta stop those two! The nanites on both forearms shifted, forming small blades. He impaled the ground, forming small handholds. After shifting his nanites back to normal, Tergonaut grabbed the asphalt with his hands. The suit's impact screens increased around his fingers, giving him a better grip on the road.

With one quick heave, Tergonaut lifted the road, causing it to curl like a blanket. The two Dark SaibaSpam suddenly stopped their erratic movements, apparently confused by the fact the road was rising up.

Then, they squealed as Tergonaut pushed the lip of the road down upon them, squishing them into liquidy paste. The static on his visor disappeared. The omni-suit wearer rolled the road onward for several more yards, constricting the two monsters even more. That should keep them from reforming. He only hoped their acidic bodies didn't melt through the layers of asphalt. Only three more.

Tergonaut turned around to see the last three Dark SaibaSpam charge en masse, maws open, filled with fangs.

The Moderator silently folded his hands together, holding his arms out in front of him. The nanites shifted to form a larger version of the particle cannon; it began charging with blazing blue plasma. He took aim, staring without remorse at the oncoming monsters. Finally, he added in the punchline ALL superheroes must add before dealing the final blow (it's the law!).

"Bang."

SHIZAP!

The three monstrosities didn't get the chance to scream. The giant orb of plasma had vaporized them, AND their ashes.

Tergonaut sighed out of sheer relief. He had gotten more than he had bargained for by coming on this mission. Guess I know why Vector asked me now; those guys were a pain. At least they weren't as tough as Stahlmansche, his current arch-nemesis, or Terrornaut, his evil counterpart.

Tergonaut made a quick check of his energy levels. Good. Plenty left for taking down the spammer. "Your SaibaSpam have been defeated," stated Tergonaut as he turned to face Foxy Grandpa. "Now come quiet...ly..."

Foxy Grandpa was gone.

Tergonaut scowled. "Dang! He must've snuck away while I was fighting the Dark SaibaSpam!" Tergonaut took to the air; he had to find the guy, and fast!

Meanwhile...

Foxy Grandpa paused to catch his breath; he was further down the road from Tergonaut's location. "My...that Moderator was quite tough. Looks like my plan to overrun the place with Spam will just have to wait..." The old spammer took off, looking for a place to hide-

CHOOM!

A red laser bolt from an unknown source suddenly hit the old man in his kneecap, causing him to yelp. The pain momentarily overwhelmed him...and he fell to the ground, gasping out of pain. "Agh...what just-?"

"....aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!"

Foxy Grandpa blinked as he saw a fox rolling towards him; it had been the other Moderator. The obese one that had accompanied the one in the armor. And in case you're wondering, yes, CjTails had rolled so far that he gone around the world back to the spot he had been at. If you must ask how, I'll respond with a question: don't you watch cartoons?

Suddenly, Cj hit a pothole in the road, and his large form was sent airborne. He screamed as he tried to right himself...and as he fell towards Foxy Grandpa...

GULP.

...Cj engulfed the spammer and impulsively swallowed him, along with all the cans of Spam. His eyes spun as he tried to shake off the intense feeling of dizziness that had gripped him. "Oy......"

Tergonaut set down moments later, looking at Cj out of slight confusion. "...you just eat the spammer?"

"I guess. Tasted slightly tangy, if a bit moldy."

Tergonaut swetdropped. "Well...I suppose that's been dealt with." Good; he could get back to the HQ Tower, report to Vector, and get out of his omni-suit. As Tergonaut walked away, he turned around and said, "Remember; this mission is confidential. No one except you and Vector knows I'm here."

Cj smiled as he flapped his tiny wings. "Crystal clear."

The armored Moderator nodded as he walked away. After slicing through the section of the road that held the remains of the two Dark SaibaSpam, he hefted a large roll of asphalt over his head and activated his private com-link to Vector with a thought. "Vector, transport for one. I also have a present for you."

"Sounds wonderful. Hold on."

In a flash, Tergonaut - and the section of road he was carrying with him - was gone.

As CjTails went off to notify the public that the SPA was open for business once more, a blue hedgehog looked on from a rooftop 100 feet away from Foxy Grandpa had been, holding a small laser blaster shaped like a Colt .45.

Redley remained stoic; his urge to investigate had kicked in the moment he had heard the SPA was vacant (A rarity, to be sure). It hadn't been long until he had heard the sounds of battle between Tergonaut and the Dark SaibaSpam.

After seeing the spammer try to escape, he had shot him from 100 feet with his laser blaster. Not a killing move...but it had been sufficient.

The hedgehog thought of Tergonaut. From what he could deduce...the Moderator had been holding back.

What if he were to go full out?

That would be quite the worthy adversary, thought Redley as his eyes momentarily phased from green to red, then back again. Once they turned green again, Redley blinked. What had just happened?

Frowning, the hedgehog turned away. In such a realm, he hoped he wouldn't lose control...

xxxx

END PART 3

To be continued in...

Part 4: R & R

xxxx

OOC: Tergonaut will be given some closure in the next chapter with a small talk with Vector. After that, consider him withdrawn with this fic. It was still a pleasure to use the character (and I hope the battle was up to snuff Terg).

Tune in next time! Because next time: Sailor Ultra!

*Mr. V was a villain in an RP of mine titled, ironically, Ultra's Disappearance. In the actual RP, Ultra's body had been succesfully digitized, and Mr. V and his minions had escaped before the forumers could stop the process. About a year later, the MoFo had become home to a new craze; sort of like a MoFo version of 'Phantasy Star Online'. Ultra's digitized self had actually been uploaded to this online game, as he had been part of an experiment to see if viruses could be implanted into forumer bodies while they were playing the game via a VR pod. This RP was never finished; had it been finished, Ultra would still be Ultra, and he'd be a Reploid. The situation explained in this chapter is an alternate outcome to that RP.

**Irony: it's what's for breakfast.

***Facefaulting was invented by some guy who invented it. Maybe Al Gore?

You're saved from a smooshing this time = p

No seriously, not bad.

Cool, Ultra; you did a good job representing Tergonaut's capabilities overall, and I think you tied it all back together nicely. And of course, the MP2 reference is well-noted. (at the present time I'm going my second time through the game in Hard Mode, and I'm nearly ready to take on the final boss - I've already seen all the secret endings and such since I got 100% everything my first time through). Thanks again for your cooperation in this matter.

And a note on Terrornaut, up to the present moment, everyone thinks that he's dead as the result of the climactic clash that he and Tergonaut had back just before Tergonaut left the MFW. Of course, hints have been made that he's back in GM: Inferno, but as far as anyone's concerned, he's dead. Little do they know the truth of the matter, which will be revealed in later GMs...there's lots more that could be said, but that would be pulling this topic off-topic, so back to you.

(Glad you liked it Cj. Sorry for not asking beforehand; I hadn't seen you on the forum recently, so, well...ya know? :/ )

(And Terg, I was just using Terror as a comparison. And as for MP2...BOOSTER GUARDIAN IS MURDER ON HARD MODE. XO )

But before we begin...

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE CHARACTER WAS WITHDRAWN?"

We see Redley talking on the phone with yours truly, the narrator. More to the point, Tergonaut has withdrawn his character from this story.

Redley growled out of exasperation. "But I had planned it all out and everything..."

Not my fault. Heaven forbid that Tergonaut should actually change over two years.

Redley glared at the invisible switch. "Do you have a sarcasm switch I can turn off?"

No.

"Bleh." Redley sighed as he threw away the original script and pulled out a backup copy. "Thankfully, I managed to have a backup copy of events." After clearing his throat, the hedgehog said, "Now kids, it wasn't actually Tergonaut who fought the one took off my arm; it was actually Sailor Ultra."

Reality bender.

"Like it hasn't happened before."

Point taken.

"Begin the story once more!"

Hold it!

"What now?"

Just to make a note...prepare for forumer cameos!

"Fine then. BEGIN!"

xxxx

Part 4: R & R

xxxx

The HQ Tower. Headquarters of the Mobius Forum World, and one of the few constants of most, if not all, Group Missions.

Right now, we turn our attention to Vector's lab, where a certain Co-Webmaster is looking through a powerful microscope at the remains of the Dark SaibaSpam creatures. The section of road that Tergonaut had brought with him had been placed in a sterilized room until it could be properly stored.

Speaking of Tergonaut, he was out of his suit, revealing his true self. Outside of the omni-suit, he was two inches shorter; he wore slightly baggy jeans and a black T-shirt (he had decided to deviate from the normal light gray for today) with the SEGA logo on it. His brown hair, normally parted down the middle, was a bit tousled since he had been in combat. He wore red-and-white sneakers, as well as gray skintight gloves with red fingers. His blue-green eyes showed a slight sense of tiredness as he watched Vector examine the remains of the Spam monsters.

His name: Justin Hobbes. He was a special Moderator under the command of Vector...but aside from him, only Mobius Tetherblood, True Red, Gingersnap, Inirikooc, and CyKairus knew he was the same person as Tergonaut.

Vector turned away from the microscope, yawning; as a result, his pearly white crocodile teeth were shown. "Interesting genetic make-up...that spammer did something to this Spam, causing it to mutate...don't know exactly, but I'll look into it later." He stood stretching his arms. "Sorry about calling you on such short notice...but after getting this, I had to do something."

Justin was handed a slip of paper showing a picture of Foxy Grandpa. Above the picture were red words saying 'WANTED'. "Where'd you get this?"

"A detective from another forum world dropped this off when he found out the spammer had come here." Vector absent-mindedly rubbed his eyes before continuing. "The guy had been banned from several forum worlds already; a simple banning would've been a bit redundant. Plus, due to a recent flame attack in the EVC and South Island, the other Mods are busy. Due to the nature of the spammer, the omni-suit was needed...and since banning would have been ineffective in truly stopping the spammer, I assigned Cj to help you. Sorry for sending you out so quickly like that, but then again, you weren't in the suit that long."

"Understood Vector," replied Justin as he massaged his neck. His adverse reaction to the omni-suit was due to the fact that the suit had actually given him cancer...and the cancer was in an advanced stage. Wearing the suit longer would only worsen his condition. "I had to admit...I didn't expect the mission to be like this."

"Spammers have a tendency to be unpredictable." Vector quietly turned on some worker bots and assigned them to place the SaibaSpam samples (and the road they had been squished on) into cold storage. As the mechanical units clambered away, the crocodile Admin turned back to Justin. "I'll go ahead and transport you to your apartment. You look like you could use some R&R."

Justin smiled as he stood up. "That would be very appreciated."

"Alrighty then. Take care of yourself Justin."

"You too Vector."

In a flash, Justin Hobbes was transported to his apartment.

xxxx

Meanwhile, Redley, deciding to overrule his previous bit of advice, decided to visit Sailor Ultra in the Sailorness District. As a result of this, he had to tread lightly; judging from the various craters around the area, Sailor Evil's Wrath was out and about.

The blue hedgehog's thoughts went to his female alter-ego. Like many in the Mobius Forum, Ultra had been infected by the Sailorness disease, becoming Sailor Ultra. Although the Sailorness Scout had played a very very VERY minor role in GM: Sailorness, the purple-haired female had relegated herself to waiting for a cure to be found. Yet, somehow, someway, Sailor Ultra and Ultra had split, becoming two separate entities.

How? No one truly knows. Some claim it was due to a plothole. However, Redley seemed to believe that the incident was due to a certain something Sailor Ultra happened to possess.

The Box of Randomness.

In a way, it was a lot like the Cosmic Icky Stick in the fact that it was a PDEM...or, to be formal, a Personal Deus Ex Machina (although the Icky Stick was on a far greater level of power). A PDEM was a device that could potentially solve any situation no matter what. The Icky Stick definitely fit under that category, particularly when dealing with crises.

The Box of Randomness was a TV set that was able to spout of the current image on the screen and bring it to life. Such a unique ability was enormous in its implications; mechs, items, medicines, and even cartoon characters could be brought to life. Imagine; you're set to fight someone of greater power, and your TV suddenly spews a Gundam out of the screen for you.

Problem is, the Box of Randomness was just that; random. No one was able to control when it would activate its power to bring images to life.

And for every good or pleasant thing that came out of the TV, there was often a bad or troublesome thing to come out as well. Imagine if you were watching a documentary on WWII, and a German tank would suddenly roll out, cannon aimed at you?

Yeah. Although the Box of Randomness was capable of potentially solving any problem, it tended to cause just as many.

As to how Sailor Ultra came to possess it...well, that's something only she would know. Either way, Redley sometimes thought that the Box of Randomness had given his female alter-ego the key to their splitting apart. Of course, it was only a theory.

"Ah. Here we are." Redley calmly looked down at a small, one-story house situated amongst a broken apartment complex (most likely done in the hopes that Sailor Evil's Wrath wouldn't attack a place already destroyed. So far, it seemed to be working.). The yellow house had only one brown door, and no windows.

Redley calmly slid down the ruins of the apartment complex, coming to a stop in front of the door. Okay. Here's hoping SHE hasn't changed as well.

Knock-knock.

The door flew open a few seconds later, revealing a incoming boxing glove. Redley blinked as he dodged to the side, avoiding the fist.

Suddenly, the bungie cord it was attached to snapped back, pulling the glove back with it. Redley looked into the door to see a purple-haired Sailorness Scout holding a metallic yellow staff; attached to its end was a boxing glove.

Redley's green eyes narrowed. "You've cut your hair."

The one known as Sailor Ultra replied, "Bangs tended to get in my eyes." Her hairstyle had once been like that of Sailor Saturn's. She smirked as she placed her left hand on her hips. "I see you've had a wardrobe change."

Redley smiled. "Nice to meet you again Sailor Ultra."

The female scout smiled as she gave Redley a fierce hug. "Good to see you again Ultra."

"Actually, the name's Redley," replied the hedgehog as he broke the hug. "Mind if I come in?"

Sailor Ultra blinked as she stood aside, letting her male alter-ego walk in. After closing the door, she asked, "Changed your name? Why?"

"Actually, it's my original name," replied Ultra as he pulled up a seat, looking at the brown television set known as the Box of Randomness.

"So, how's my evil counterpart doing?"

"Ultra Shadow?" Sailor Ultra shrugged as she set her Boxing Glove Staff (or BGS. That's another one!) down in a corner. "He's been doing the usual. He tried to take over the MoFo a few times with the Piggy Armada, but he never got as far as he could. He hasn't even tried since you've been gone. You know what I'm saying?"

Redley nodded as he scratched his spikes. "Yeah; I've kinda missed the idiot too." As the hedgehog looked around, he noticed how remarkably EMPTY the house was. "So...where've you been putting all the stuff? The house looks spotless."

Sailor Ultra suddenly snapped her fingers. "Oh yeah!" She skipped over to a nearby closet and motioned for Redley to come over. "Come on!" As the hedgehog got up, the Sailorness Scout continued on. "I actually won a little sweepstakes contest about one month after you left. It was a special offer for a new closet...but not just any closet..."

She opened it.

Redley blanched as he looked inside. There was a never-ending realm that stretched on forever beyond the horizon; the sky looked like it belonged in space: stars, red nebula, and a number of star systems. There were even a few moons. Oh, and there were huge piles of STUFF lined everywhere. Stuff like furniture, appliances, utensils, and houses. There were a few forests, a lake, and even a mountain. Not only that, but there were a number of strange sights. Auron of Final Fantasy X and Sephiroth of Final Fantasy VII were dueling (surprisingly, Auron was holding his own.). A squad of Covenant Elites opened fire on a hapless group of Goombas. A certain Faye Valentine was (successfully) trying to tempt Master Roshi (or Muten-roshi for you otaku) out of his money. Emeril was teaching Bender how to cook without using LSD. In the background, Godzilla was fighting the Megazord.

Redley stepped back as Sailor Ultra closed the door. "My closet actually leads to Hammerspace."

"Ah." That explains a bit, thought Redley. Hammerspace was the mystical realm where large objects were stored until they were used. For instance, ever wonder where Misty Waterflower keeps her mallet (helpful for dealing with an idiotic Ash and Brock)? The existence of Hammerspace was discovered soon after Amy Rose kept pulling her large hammer out of seemingly nowhere. In a matter of weeks, the realm of Hammerspace was found. Since then, a number of Hammerspace duels had occurred (remember Terrornaut vs. War Troophead? The round had gone to Terror.). "That's interesting...a Hammerspace closet."

"Sure is. Helps when I need to do some house cleaning," replied Sailor Ultra as she turned the Box of Randomness on. "You go ahead and watch some TV. I'm gonna get some orange juice!" With that said, Sailor Ultra opened the door to her closet. "Let's see...the Florida Orange Grove should be to the left, behind the refridgerator pile..." As Sailor Ultra jumped in, Redley sweatdropped.

Figuring what the hey, Redley sat down in the chair once more, reaching for the remote. "Let's see what's on..."

*CLICK*

THE CRYSTAL FLOATING FORTRESS!

(Ominous organ music plays)

CRASH!

"AIIIIIEEEEEE!" squealed Evil Jinsoku as he and an organ fell out of a window and down towards the ground. An angry Evil Vec stuck his head out moments later. "I TOLD YOU TO STOP PLAYING THAT INFERNAL ORGAN!"

*CLICK*

Coming this fall on NBC...

What happens when a SegaSonic purist who longs for the days of the Genesis...

(cue image of Lee, aka VCP, aka Very Crazy Penguin, staring at the Sonic Advance games)

"Pfft. Crap. Nothing at all like the original games. Sonic's got nothing special to differentiate him from the other characters, and there's too many bottomless pits!"

And two guys who thinks that the Advance games were okay...

(cue image of Dirk Amoeba, playing a GBA)

"These games are fun! Especially Sonic Advance 3. Enjoyment is everything!"

(cue image of Swifthom, doing the same thing)

"Although the originals were better, I thing everyone's being too hard on the Advance series. Plus, a lot of the problems you accuse the Advance series of having were in the older games to."

...have to make a Sonic game?

(cue image of Swifthom, Dirk, and Lee standing over an electronic circuitboard, which is connected to a computer for compiling the programming code)

Swifthom: We can make it. We have the technology...

Lee: So did SEGA, but did that stop them from making mediocre games? No.

Dirk: Technically, that's DIMPs' fault.

Lee: And who let DIMPs make the game? SEGA.

Arrested Developers.

Coming this fall on NBC. Followed by Craig & Shadow. But you don't have to watch that.

*CLICK*

"And now we return to the debate between Fexusfan and a ham sandwich. Question to Fexusfan: if the world were to suddenly explode, how would you help humanity survive?"

: The world of my large molecule with Spicy Onion kittens is in love. Me, Pokemon are raising the sugar of nothing else or SHOGUN BELLY.

"Very astute, Mr. Fexusfan, and ham sandwich, your response."

: ...

"A stirring comeback. A counter-response Fexusfan?"

: Oh, it's easy to Schnitzel or DEATH, my all-time span is Nothing will calf or poultry! Or is the 401k minor troll discount a sock into disgruntled chuckling mice on the Jupiter final boss.

"Okay. Next question: ham sandwich, how would you pursue renewable fuel sources?"

: ...

"Very good. A response, Fexusfan?"

: Comas won't Bo-bobo nose hairs or my name's John Pop, Snap, Crackle! I am not truth, or terror highjacks Internet Wonka machines ROCKBELL! You fool! MOMMA DOG FACE TO THE BANANA PATCH!

"Do you have a counter-response, ham sandwich?"

: Why no, I don't.

"Very well. Next question..."

*CLICK*

Baby MoFo Tunes! Starring Acrio the-

*CLICK*

"PiE is-"

*CLICK*

We see an art museum curator pointing to the a piece of art on a wall. "And here's the latest work of art to pass the way into our museum halls..."

"Seeing as how there's no TRUE nudity, we of the museum staff figured no one would be offended by the-"

*CLICKCLICKCLICK*

"And now we return to Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, already in progress."

Redley sighed as he leaned back in the chair. "Finally. Something decent to watch."

A strange shimmering effect gripped the screen. The hedgehog blinked as a small, multi-colored light wavered over the screen...and the current image on the screen came to life.

Redley blinked as a Mandalorian known as Jango Fett rolled onto the floor, looking around him confusedly. "Hmm?"

Redley's eyes hardened as he stared at the bounty hunter. As his eyes phased from green to red, he said, "It's been a while since I've faced a Mandalorian...they always proved to be wily prey."

Jango Fett whipped out his blaster. So did Redley.

POW!

Redley blinked as a boxing glove suddenly circled around Jango Fett and hit him hard, sending him flying into Sailor Ultra's closet. Speaking of Sailor Ultra, she was standing outside her open closet door, Boxing Glove Staff in one hand and a carton of Florida Orange Juice in another. "I hate it when Star Wars villains come to life."

"You shouldn't have done that."

Sailor Ultra blinked as she stared at Redley's hard eyes...and paled at the realization that they were red. "Ultra...?"

As the hedgehog spoke, not a trace of emotion - not anger, rage, or irritation - was present in his eyes or face. There was only a blank slate. There was nothingness. "He is no more. There is only Redley...and I don't appreciate having a fight interrupted."

Redley quickly aimed for Sailor Ultra and pulled the trigger.

CHOOM!

xxxx

END PART 4

To be continued in...

Part 5: The Assassin's Return

xxxx

For those of you who got the 'Evil Jinsoku and his organ' reference, then you know your MoFo history. 😛

And here's Sailor Ultra!

And it IS the very definiion of a cameo, but yay, I got a couple of lines

Swifthom, the great mediator, now playing live on... NBC... coming soon on a TV Set near you...

Nice stuff Ultra, I want to see where this is going.

*Looks at LNR*

*Looks again*

*starts to cry*

*sissy girl mode on*

*her family stare in confusion at her sudden outburst of giggles* ^^;

FOXY GRANDPA!/1/1/1/1/

I AM 2 SUE U 4 COPYRITE!111

lmao j/k

::Skimming topic due to limiteed time, sees Craig pointing somethng out, Terg mentined byt then gne, Ultra returnng, and a bakery.

Is really intrigued over the bakery..and then sees LNR.::

Sometimes Ultra, I really want to hurt you. Alot. With nominally spiked objects.

But in any event, keep it up. Post #10K is only three away,I'll be sure to speed in and read it ...

(Glad everyone enjoyed their cameos. And DL...don't blame me. LNR ain't my creation. :P)

xxxx

Part 5: The Assassin's Return

xxxx

The Sailorness District.

Usually, it is the home to insanity. Aside from the SPA, there is no other place as light-hearted and crazy as this place.

CHOOM!

And yet, it was about to be the site of a battle that was unusually serious.

Sailor Ultra finally exhaled; she had raised her Boxing Glove Staff just in time, blocking the laser shot with her staff. A small burn mark in the shape of a circle was etched into the yellow metal. "What the...?"

CHOOM!

The second shot was blocked as well, albeit barely. Finally gaining enough sense to speak, the female roared, "WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YOU?"

"Nothing," calmly replied Redley as he holstered his blaster and suddenly ran forward.

POW!

The front of Sailor Ultra's house exploded as she was sent flying by a powerful punch to her torso. Spittle went flying as the Sailorness Scout skidded along the ground for over seventy yards.

Redley walked out of the ruined house, rubbing the fist of his metallic left arm. "I'm coming. Prepare yourself." No emotion was in his voice.

Sailor Ultra grimaced as she stood, the back of her uniform torn from her trip across the ground. "Agh...ow..." The sudden 180 in her alter-ego's personality had been unsettling...and dumbfounding.

Finally settling into a 'battle' mentality, the female quickly fired her staff's boxing glove. As the red glove went soaring towards Redley's face...he dodged it.

The blue hedgehog said nothing.

Sailor Ultra pulled back on the staff. The boxing glove, in turn, circled around.

Redley dodged again. This time, his metallic hand shifted into a blade. However, it wasn't the seamless shifting of nanites, a la the omni-suit; this was a simple (by comparison) transformation a la Transformers. Only without the 'ree ree rah rah ra ra roh roh'.

The hedgehog slashed at the outstretched bungie cord.

Only to find that the cord wasn't cut. Redley arched an eyebrow; that was one durable cord. Interesting.

Sailor Ultra tilted her staff to the left, then up, then down.

The boxing glove went left, then soared upward, and then down towards Redley's head. He said nothing as his hand transformed (More than meets the eye!) back into a...well, hand.

The boxing glove came closer.

Redley stopped it with his left hand. He arched an eyebrow out of surprise. Hmm. I see...no wonder there's so much force behind the blow. Impressive.

Sailor Ultra's eyes bugged out of her head. NO WAY! That glove's filled with metal...how could he stop it like that?

Redley had realized this as well. He looked inside the glove before saying, "Ah. A metal fist. No wonder there was so much force. And it looks like titanium too. Very impressive." He silently dropped the glove before grabbing the cord, clenching it tightly. "But my arm's made of something better."

Sailor Ultra scoffed. "Oh yeah?! I bet not!"

"Ever heard of adamantium?"

Sailor Ultra paled. "...no...you mean...?"

"Yes. Adamantium. And not the second grade kind. PURE adamantium." Redley began spinning the boxing glove over his head, giving off the impression of a helicopter rotor. "It was a gift from those in the forum world I had last visited."

Sailor Ultra knew about adamantium. She knew a lot about it (you'd be surprised how often an X-Men fanboy had fallen out of her TV. Stupid Live Comic-Con channel...). True adamantium was incredibly expensive...but it was also indestructible. No...it was INVINCIBLE. Not even a nuclear explosion could destroy pure adamantium once it had cooled. Only something - or someone - with the strength of a god or molecular-manipulation abilities could do something about Redley's arm now.

Oh well. At least the body was still vulnerable. She quickly tried to retract her boxing glove...but realized she couldn't. Shoot! His grip on the cord's too strong!

"Mass. Acceleration. Combine them, and you get Force," casually spoke Redley as he spun the boxing glove even faster...faster...faster...and faster still! "A titanium fist at this speed should break a few ribs."

He released the boxing glove. Due to the spinning motion, the fist's velocity was incredible.

BAM!!!!!

Sailor Ultra gagged as the fist slammed into her torso, sending her backwards by over fifty yards. As she skidded along the ground (leading to some unpleasant abrasions on her bare legs), she realized that two pairs of ribs were broken.

The Sailorness Scout coughed up blood before getting to her feet, using the Boxing Glove Staff as a cane of sorts. Shoot...gotta do something...

Even as Redely slowly advanced, Sailor Ultra focused on utilizing the magical energy within her...she directed it to the bottom of her staff...and then...

SHOOOM!

Redley watched silently as the bottom tip of Sailor Ultra's staff flared with purple energy, sending her high into the sky. The senshi quickly turned her staff around began concentrating on utilizing the last of her magical energy (the energy she used to direct her boxing glove, dont'cha know). As a purple gathered around her boxing glove, she yelled, "MULTI...PUNCH...OBLITERATION!!!"

Redley said nothing as he watched the boxing glove split into twenty seperate fists, all weaving and zooming down toward him like ravenous sharks. Now things were getting serious.

He crouched...and leapt over the fists before impact. As the gloves created a number of craters in the road's pavement, he pressed a button on his left shoulder and aimed his hand at the purple-haired senshi.

PYUUU!

The hand detached from the arm, connected to it by a long, thin rope of tightly woven titanium fibers. Sailor Ultra blanched as the grappling hook (nothing more than a hand really) latched onto her ankle. Uh oh.

Redley swung downwards. Sailor Ultra screamed-

SLAAAAM!!!!

A shockwave resonated through the area as Sailor Ultra was slammed into the road. Her concentration lost, the magic left the boxing gloves, and they fell limp to the ground. Blood leaked from her mouth...was this the end...?

Redley calmly stood over her. He picked her up by the scruff of her uniform, staring straight into her purple eyes. The senshi gurgled, "Who...are...you...?"

Redley's red eyes gleamed as he replied, "I am Jonathon Redley. I am an assassin. I am the best at what I do." There was no emotion in his voice...no evidence of cockiness or proof that he was getting an ego-trip...because he wasn't.

Redley was the best assassin.

He didn't boast. He didn't insist. He didn't believe.

He KNEW.

That's what scared Sailor Ultra most of all. It chilled her to the core.

Redley whipped out his laser blaster with his right hand, sticking the barrel into her temple. "Your life is over. Pray to whatever god you worship."

"I don't plan on dying yet!" In one last defiant move, Sailor Ultra did the first thing that came to mind.

SMACK!!!

Redley's eyes twitched, and for good reason; Sailor Ultra's leg was lodged firmly between his legs. He managed to croak out, "Lucky you..." His eyes flickered from red to green. "If I were whole...that wouldn't have worked..."

He slumped to the ground, dropping Sailor Ultra onto her rump.

The senshi groaned as she rubbed her butt; waves of pain echoed through her body...it hurt so much...as her eyes began to droop, one last thought came to mind.

Ultra...what...happened to you...?

And then the darkness claimed her.

Moments later, 'Cookirini' happened to walk by. "Huh?" The tan echidna blinked at the sight of Redley and Sailor Ultra; she hadn't expected to see them like this in her little trek through the Sailorness District.

xxxx

Meanwhile, a few mils outside the Sailorness District, someone was watching through binoculars shaped...like a pig.

"Huh," muttered Ultra Shadow 007 as his black-and-red quills fluttered in the wind. "This is interesting..."

xxxx

Darkness.

...huh?

Searing pain.

Ow...who kicked me in the nuts?

Massive agony.

...don't tell me...

Tremendous guilt.

He got out...

Evident frustration.

No...I had hoped this wouldn't happen...

Light.

Redley slowly open his green eyes. "Ugh...where am I?"

"The HQ Tower. Specifically, my lab's infirmary."

The hedgehog tilted his head to the left to see a familiar crocodile. "Heh...hey Vector. It's been awhile."

"I could say the same for you Ultra. Or should I say 'Redley'. Cookirini told me about your sudden return."

"How long have I been out?" asked the blue hedgehog as he rubbed his neck.

Vector replied, "A few hours. It's night now." The Admin glanced beyond the forumer.

Redley, of course, turned to the right...and he gaped.

Sailor Ultra was lying in a small cot, her fuku removed and her torso, legs, and arms covered in bandages. "How did-?"

"Don't remember?" muttered Vector as he reached for a remote control and aimed it at a wall-mounted television set. "I'll let this refresh your memory."

The first station on was a news station. A middle-aged man with obvious tanning and silverish hair was sitting behind the anchorman's desk. He wore a grin that screamed 'fake'. Sitting beside him was a buxom blonde with a grin that screamed 'ditz'.

"Greetings. I'm Shameless McJackass, here to bring you the latest news and/or slanderous scandals! Remember, if it doesn't ruin someone's life, it ain't news! Speaking of ruined lives, we turn our attention to the current scene."

The TV showed an inset of a live feed from the Sailorness District. It show the small battle area where Redley had fought Sailor Ultra. McJackass continued on, "Although the damage is rather insignificant compared to what usually goes on in the Sailorness District, the commotion is due to the ones BEHIND the mess."

"Really Shameless?" asked the buxom co-anchor.

"Why yes, Dolly Milkjugski. An anonymous source claims that the one behind this mess was actually a forumer who's been missing for two years: Ultra Sonic 007. This anonymous source also sent in a picture of the forumer. Please note that the forumer has changed in the last two years. Also note that this picture is fuzzy, and has not been altered in any way."

A new picture showed up on the screen.

Redley indignantly replied, "Hey. My fur's not brown!"

Shameless continued. "Ever since the fight, no one has seen sight of Ultra Sonic."

Dolly Milkjugski suddenly chirped, "In other news, I just got a breast implant! Ain't that just the bee's knees?"

*CLICK*

Redley resisted the urge to laugh. "Ah...the ever-present idiots in the media. Occaisonally useful, but still idiots."

"Still doesn't erase the fact that you nearly killed your own senshi alter-ego," stated Vector.

Redley said nothing.

After several moments of silence, Vector asked, "What happened to you? I want to know...because after what you did, I don't know whether or not to just ban you on the spot. Give me a reason not to."

Redley clearly understood; the Admin was giving him a chance to defend himself. "If you say so Vec..."

But as Redley clutched his metallic left arm, he thought, But you won't like what I have to say...

xxxx

END PART 5

To be continued in...

Part 6: A Tale of Two Hedgehogs

xxxx

(Confused yet? The next chapter reveals everything!)

(Oh, and we need a Bigfoot theme. )

I love when Sailors die. There's just too many of them.

So, I suppose the conclusion will come in your 10,000th post?

(No to your belief that Sailor Ultra's dead...cause she ain't. Yes to the fact that this story ends on post #10,000.)

(WARNING: Some bloody scenes up ahead. PG-13 ahoy! No language though. And one more thing; this chapter is LOOOOONG.)

xxxx

Part 6: A Tale of Two Hedgehogs

xxxx

We are not in the Mobius Forum World. We are elsewhere...in a place known as the Archie Star Forum World. It is a unique combination of the Archie Sonic comics and the Star Wars universe...but we're not here to see the fun, lighter side of this place.

As a matter of fact, we're not actually here at all. Rather, we are witnessing an event...that occured over five years ago, before the hedgehog known as Ultra even came to the MFW (you can tell because the scene has the famous shading effect where the sides are blurred out. Everybody knows that means a flashback!).

Speaking of Ultra, we see him standing over the body of a pudgy man in a black suit. A burn mark was evident on his forehead; the sign of a pinpoint laser blast. The blast in question had actually gone an inch into the head; needless to say, the man wasn't going to be getting up ever again.

That's when we see the hedgehog's eyes.

They're red.

Jonathon Redley calmly pulled out a small disk-shaped object from his pocket, holding it out in front of him. A blue holographic image of a cloaked wolf. "The target has been dealt with."

"Good," replied the wolf with a smirk. "The money has been wired to your account."

"A pleasure doing business with you," replied Redley, his voice as unemotional as ever. He quietly flexed his left arm - his original arm - and made sure his lightsaber was clipped to his pants. Without even blinking, he cut the link and leapt out the nearest window and into the night air.

For the briefest of moments, we see that this hedgehog is now airborne over a surreal mixture of Robotropolis...and Coruscant. After landing on top of a speeding hovercraft - the pilot unknowing of Redley's hitchiking - the assassin disapeared from the crime scene.

xxxx

"Redley."

Redley blinked as he snapped back to reality. "Huh?"

Vector sighed as he asked, "I asked you a question. What made you act like that to Sailor Ultra? You nearly killed her. If she hadn't gotten here when she did, she'd have died soon of internal bleeding."

"I know that Vector..." The hedgehog sighed as he rubbed his temples. "Remembering my past is not an easy thing."

"Is that so? Then enlighten me as to why." Vector's tone indicated one thing: tiredness. He wasn't in the mood for any spin.

Finally, Redley sighed. "Fine then."

The hedgehog turned his green eyes to Vector before saying, "My real name is actually Jonathon Redley, and I was born in the Archie Star Forum World, a mixture of the Archie Sonic comic world and the Star Wars universe. The forum world itself is a finite place, contained in one whole solar system. Twelve planets revolve around the Archie Star, and Mobiscant, the first planet from the star, is the homeworld of the ASFW's staff."

Redley paused to form his words. "Rules are more strict there, as there are preset guidelines. Superheroes and god-like beings are unheard of there...but that doesn't mean there are those with great power. There are Jedi and Sith. Humans and furries. Hutts and SWATbots."

Vector nodded as he processed all the information the forumer was giving him. "But what about you?"

"As for me..." Redley's gaze darkened as he closed his eyes. "I was born on the third moon of Kalshek, the ninth planet in the system. Kalshek would be the ASFW's equivalent of the SPA...but the planet and its moons are also an equivalent of Tatooine in terms of lawlessness. Spamma the Hutt ruled Kalshek with an iron fist, so the staff made it a point not to interfere with him too much. As a result, Kalshek was not safe...as I plainly found out."

vector blinked as the area around him became wavy and blurry. "Uh...Redley?"

"Don't worry. It's just a flashback."

"Oh."

xxxx

Flashback to seventeen years ago.

We see a gray planet in space; it is intermixed with white clouds and blue seas. The rest is desert; desert made of gray sand. Also, four moons orbit the planet.

This is Kalshek Prime, the official name of the planet itself.

We focus our attention on the third moon, aka Kalshek III. It is colored a dark blue; those were actually clouds, composed of a dense smog that blocked out all light.

In the absence of light, the moon's dwellers had to make their own sources...but even so...it can get quite dark...

SPLICK.

And in the darkness, a lot of unsavory characters like to hide. As one blue heddgehog discovered as his mother was brutally killed by one thug.

Jonathon Redley was silent as he watched the thug turn to him, his bloody knife glistening in the dark.

The thug lunged at Redley.

The hedgehog, out of fear, panic, impulse, and a slight tint of revenge (after all, he just saw his mother get murdered! That just ain't right.), spun straight into the man's midsection.

SPLURCK!

The man gagged as the diminutive, ten-month old Redley spin dashed through his body. Blood splashed throughout the alleyway as the thug fell to the ground, dead.

Redley blinked at the sight. Why was the man not moving...?

Such was the mind of a child. Although he had hurt the man for hurting his mom...he didn't quite grasp the fact of life and death.

Something that a certain spectator was well aware of.

"Interesting."

Redley turned around to see a purple echidna in a black cloak, staring down at him with green eyes. "Who...who are you?"

"Someone who can make sure your talents are put to good use."

Redley could only blink as the echidna pinched a nerve in his neck. One second later, he was down for the count.

The Sith picked up the unconscious hedgehog and disappeared into the night.

xxxx

As the wavy flashback effect ended, Vector said, "So let me get this straight...you were that forum world's version of Sonic the Hedgehog?"

"Yes," replied Redley. "That was why that Sith was so interested in me; he knew that hedgehogs were naturally fast, but none were as quick as me. Nor were they capable of spin dashing."

Interesting indeed, thought Vector with a frown. "Who was this guy?"

"A Sith named Darth Kursion. The Sith in the ASFW are the equivalent of the Evil Admins, except they're actually evil. Kursion was a member of a group called the League of Assassins...and I was immediately trained in the art of killing. Needless to say...I was very good at what I did."

The room began to blur again. Vector sighed; flashbacks gave him headaches.

xxxx

The fifth planet in the ASFW: Toth. A planet that is one half arctic wasteland and one half ocean. Interspersed throughout the ocean are islands...some of which floated in the sky amongst the white and yellow clouds.

We focus not on the pleasant tropical islands...but the cold, frigid center of the ice continent. What we can see is a small black dome, surrounded by a tremendous blizzard that even starships would have difficulty navigating. Which is why those who decided to live on the ice continent remained on the fringes of the frigid shores.

Standing outside that black dome is a man wearing a skintight bodysuit colored black. It is specially made to protect him from the harsh conditions...but he was not out for the heck of it. Even the bodysuit wouldn't keep him warm for an hour...but he wasn't planning on staying out for long anyway.

He was waiting for someone to return.

Suddenly...

Boom...

A sonic boom. The man blinked as he looked around, searching for the one he was waiting for.

He saw a blue blur approaching.

The man didn't even move as the blur skidded to halt right in front of him, revealing that he was a hedgehog. Judging from the height, he was roughly eleven years old.

Also, his eyes were red.

The hedgehog calmly handed a black knapsack to the man in black. In his other hand was a deactivated lightsaber.

The man in black calmly opened the knapsack, his eyes - covered with cybernetic goggles - peering into it. There was a beast's severed head. It was furry, it was dark, and it had tusks growing out the side. "A Black Wampa's head...in 5 minutes and 34 seconds. A new record for the League."

Redley said nothing.

"Darth Kursion was wise to bring you along with us," muttered the man. "A Black Wampa is quite the challenge; almost as challenging as a Padawan Moderator. To see that you killed it with suck quickness...you're not an ordinary hedgehog, that's for sure. Your supersonic speed was abnormal enough...but your skill..."

Redley still said nothing, ignoring the fact that frost was building up on his fur and he was freezing. Pain didn't really bother him anymore. Not after the intensive (anyone else would say torturous) training he underwent at the hands of the League of Assassins.

"With this...you're now one of us." The man smiled as his electronic goggles glowed blue in the dull light of the blizzard-covered area.

"Now that I am an official member, I can have my say without asking permission to speak," finally said Redley. His voice, even though it was young in terms of tone, was unemotional and dead. "I'm going inside to get my things. Don't wait up Oneshot."

The man in black known as Oneshot blinked as he watched the blue hedgehog walk inside the black dome - the headquarters of the League of Assassins - with a forceful stride. The man sighed as he followed; although his cybernetically enhanced body made him a very adept assassin, he feared the young eleven-year old hedgehog. If he were to fully mature his already incredible abilities...well, he would be very very deadly.

Oneshot couldn't wait to see how the boy would fare.

Thirty minutes later...

Redley calmly walked out of a changing room. He wore the outfit that would become his signature; khakis. Black shirt. Red cape. Laser blaster holstered in his pocket. Lightsaber clipped to a belt loop.

He stood silently in front of a large, curved table. Behind that table sat the other twelve members of the League of Assassins, Oneshot and Darth Kursion among them.

The one in the center rumbled, "It seems your training is complete."

Darth Kursion, who sat on the far right, smirked. "I told you all that he was a good candidate."

A female on the far left hissed, "I still say he should get some experience in the real world before passing judgment."

"Which is why we're speaking," grumbled the center assassin. "Redley...your first task is to go to the planet Kelshak. Assassinate the Mandalorian bounty hunter Urso Fett. He's on Kalshek Prime. You have the resources to do your job."

Redley nodded as he stood up. "I'll be back soon."

He wasn't kidding. Within four hours, he had gotten to Kalshek Prime via hyperdrive transport. Within the hour, he had determined Urso Fett's location via interrogation of his known associates.

And within ten minutes...

Darth Kursion, Oneshot, and the rest of the League watched as a holograph projector displayed a news update from the planet of Kalshek Prime.

'BOUNTY HUNTER URSO FETT FOUND DECAPITATED OUTSIDE LOCAL cANTINA...'

Darth Kursion chuckled. "Gentlemen. We have ourselves a new member."

xxxx

As the background became less wavy, Redley continued to speak. "For the next year and a half, I assassinated for the League, not to mention doing some off-hand work for other groups. There were times when even a Jedi hired me to kill."

"What is this League?" asked Vector, a question finally escaping his lips. "I mean, are they Evil Moderators? Evil Admins?"

Redley answered. "Actually, they're forumers, with the exception of Darth Kursion, who's an Evil Admin. They're wanted for crimes. Bannable offenses. However, to ban them, they have to be subdued first...and to this day, no one has succeeded."

Vector was silent as Redley tried to remember. So he's that forum world's version of Sonic...except he's bad instead of good. "So, you say that the Sith who 'recruited' you was an Evil Admin?"

"Yes. You have to understand that the rule structure in the ASFW is more rigid than those of the MFW...and everything is so volatile. In the beginning of the forum world's existence, there were only humans...but later on, furries began to join up on the forum. Eventually, furries outnumbered humans by a margin of 2:1. Groups like the Hutts, the Sith, and the League liked to capitalize on some individuals' racial hatred..." Redley sighed, rubbing his eyes. "From the fourth planet Jorel inward to the first planet Mobiscant, everything is relatively peaceful. There's the criminal element of course, but the law enforcement officials and the staff are strongest there, making crime less than profitable. But from the fifth planet outward...from Toth to Zenos...things get worse. A lot worse. The whole political structure of the place was simply horrible...and it wouldn't take a lot to make the whole place go up in smoke."

Vector had a feeling the next flashback wasn't going to be pleasant. "What happened?"

An ironic smirk coated Redley's face as he looked up at Vector. "I happened."

Then the flashback began.

xxxx

Mobiscant.

A large tower, with four pillars surrounding it. We focus in on the very top of the tower. Inside there is a grand chamber, home to the Jedi Administrative Council.

Inside the chamber is a corpse of an orange, two-tailed kitsune wearing white robes. A broken lightsaber is by his body, which is sliced apart into three different sections. His head sports a laser mark on the forehead.

Security guards and fellow Jedi Administrators stare in shock at the body. A fox rushes up to the corpse, eyes wide with shock. "Tails...the Head Admin...dead..."

"No. Assassinated," muttered another Jedi Admin - this one a red echidna with sharp knuckles - as he stared at the wall. Scrawled on the wall was a message written in blood.

HUMANITY WILL REGAIN WHAT IT LOST.

At the sight of this, a Padawan Moderator - this one a gray-haired human with dark eyes - frowned. "This could get ugly. If the public got word of this, war will break out. The furries won't stand for Head Administrator Tails' murder. And if one furry even strikes back against a human...the human forumers will backlash. It'll all snowball from there...no doubt the Sith masterminded this plan."

"Right you are MacBeth," replied a blonde-haired, blue-eyed human. He was a Jedi Admin that - now that Tails was dead - was now the Head Admin by default. "No one releases this info to anyone in the public. We'll clean this up, prepare a funeral, and tell the public that the Sith were responsible."

"Too late," muttered a wolfen security guard; he was watching a live holograhic news feed from a device in his palm. "Whoever killed Tails also videotaped the message and his corpse. Unfortunately, the assassin didn't videotape himself either. As far as the public's concerned...a human DID commit the act."

The staff and the guards paled at the sight of the news hologram showing the bloody words on the wall. "A breaking news report; this video of Head Admin Tails has been spread over the entire forum world via an upload to the major news networks. We don't know who filmed it, but it is presumably the human who killed the Head Admin...this just in. Our correspondent at the Great Forest on Mobiscant is reporting a riot in Tails' hometown of Knothole. We go to him live..."

MacBeth sighed. "This is going to be very unpleasant."

Meanwhile, a few miles away...

One certain blue hedgehog stood on top of a roof. The only wound he received from the battle was a slight lightsaber wound...if you could call a circular hole in the gut a slight wound. But Redley didn't mind; he had already filled the wound with biofoam and bandaged it. Besides, he had been an assassin for about a year now; he knew how to block out pain.

"Very good."

Redley turned around to face none other than Darth Kursion. The purple echidna smiled at his fellow assassin. "The video you uploaded will tear this whole forum world apart. The Sith will be able to capitalize on the chaos quite nicely and come into power once more. My master will be pleased."

"I should also tell you something Tails told me before I ended his existence," spoke Redley, his voice cold and calm.

Darth Kursion arched an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Without hesitation, Redley drew out his lightsaber, its red glow burning in the dimness of the coming night. Kursion's eyes widened as Redley spin dashed toward him, his body now a blue-and-red buzzsaw of death. Kursion reached for his blade-

SPLICK.

Kursion paled as Redley stopped spinning...on the otherside of him. Redley's spin dash alone had bisected him laterally...but the lightsaber...

Kursion managed to gurgle out, "W...why...?"

"Your Sith ideology seems to have made you forget what an assassin is: one who is paid to kill, no matter who it is." Redley turned around, his red lightsaber humming. "Tails, before his death, paid me 5,000,000 credits to kill the first Sith I came across. You just happened to be the first one. Nothing personal Kursion." He deactivated his lightsaber.

Kursion fell into four different parts.

"It's just business," replied the hedgehog before disappearing into the night.

xxxx

The flashback ended.

Vector sighed; at this rate, he was going to need some aspirin. "Okay...so after you assassinated the Head Administrator and Darth Kursion, war broke out?"

"Yes," replied Redley, his green eyes narrow. Remembering all of the deaths he had caused...it hurt. It hurt a lot. The soul was never meant to endure such guilt. "Tails' death caused a backlash from the furry forumers, which in turn caused a backlash from the human forumers. At the same time, my killing of Darth Kursion caused the Sith to become paranoid; they thought that someone was using the war as an opportunity to kill Sith in secret. As a result, they manipulated the League and the Hutts on Kelshak into waging war in secret; killing military officials, prominent forumers, buying out high-ranking public figures...it made the Jedi Administrators' job very difficult. The staff was forced to deal with the Sith, leaving the war between humanity and furrykind to wind down on its own..."

Vector didn't say anything for a few seconds. Redley looked like...he wanted to simply forget it all. But he couldn't. Finally, he asked, "Why'd you leave?"

Redley looked up at Vector, an ironic look in his eyes. "I'll tell you...and I'll also tell you why when I came here, I was Ultra Sonic 007 instead of Jonathon Redley."

The flashback began again. Redley winced; even he was starting to get a headache.

xxxx

Zenos. The last planet in the Archie Star Forum World. Essentially, it is nothing more than a spherical rock, laden with craters and ice-tipped mountains.

It is also the main entry point for most visitors from the other planes of reality in the Multiverse. From here, they usually travel via starship to Mobiscant, where they are formally integrated into society by the staff and its helpers.

However...it is also the main exit point.

We turn to a small spaceport on the rocky surface, sealed off from the airless atmosphere. The terminal we focus on is one for leaving the Demiplane...and hardly anyone left this forum world, despite the war.

A thirteen-year old Jonathon Redley calmly walked towards a small, spherical ship. It was an Egg-O-Mattic customized for interplane travel. A dome of glass covered the seat, and the engine was a tad bit bigger.

He had already bought it with the vast sums of money he had collected over the years. He had roughly 10,000,000 credits on his person - in paper, of course - so that he could exchange it for whatever currency the next Demiplane used (and if they didn't accept credits...well, he would get some money relatively quickly). As for the rest, he had transferred it to the League's account. He called it 'compensation' for training him. It was only logical; everything had a price these days. An assassin probably knew that more than anyone; lives were easily measured up into credits.

"Leaving?"

Redley knew that Oneshot was talking to him. Finally, he said, "Yes."

Oneshot sighed. "It's been one whole year since you've started the war...the League's business has been great. You should know this; you've killed a lot of people. So why leave when the getting's good?"

"No sport."

Oneshot blinked. "What?"

Redley turned to face him, his face stoic with the lack of emotions that characterized his entire existence. "As an assassin, I've killed many for the simple sake of doing it. After all, it's what I'm best at. Many say that I am the best, even more so than Ganor, the League's founder. My point is this: if it is something I am to do for the rest of my days, it should be SOME challenge. I haven't had a worthy target since Tails, the Head Administrator...and he was a master of the Force. I know nothing of it, even though I use a lightsaber. My speed and reflexes were enough to finish him."

"...ah." Oneshot smirked underneath his black bodysuit. "I see...killing people in this forum world's become boring. You want to see if there are more 'worthy' targets out there."

"Yes." Redley calmly jumped into the Egg-O-Matic. "I'm leaving for another forum world."

"Just know that Ganor won't take this lightly. Also, there'll be bounty hunters chasing you..." Oneshot simply shrugged. "Nothing you can't handle though."

"True," replied Redley, as if merely stating a fact. "So long Oneshot. I'd advise not coming after my 100,000,000 credit bounty; you'll only die."

Don't I know it, thought Oneshot as Redley closed the dome. The Egg-O-Matic trailed blue exhaust as it flew into space. It picked up velocity before blinking out of existence.

The next thing Redley saw was a smattering of colors and light that assaulted his vision. He momentarily recoiled; even he was susceptible to blinding light.

He impulsively steered his craft to a darker corner of the colorful space. He slowed down as he entered the dark mass...and then the colors were replaced by a tunnel, leading to the next Demiplane.

Redley blinked to remove the spots from his eyes...and finally, he reached the end of the tunnel.

When he emerged, he saw that he was flying over a mountaineous region, complete with canyons and chasms. Off in the distance, he saw that a large city stood.

"Hmm." Redley calmly stabilized the ship before setting course for the city. "Interesting."

CHOOMCHOOMCHOOMCHOOM!

Redley blinked as red laser bolts slammed into the back of his Egg-O-Matic. He turned around to see a ship that looked remarkably like the infamous Slave I pursuing him...but it was colored all black. "Ah. The Slave III. Property of Ohso Fett. Apparently, he decided to follow me. Bad decision."

He popped the glass dome off and quickly reached for his lightsaber. He activated it...and jumped with all his might off the Egg-O-Matic before another laser blast destroyed it. As fire and smoke erupted from behind the hedgehog, he spun, using the same move he had used to kill Kursion.

He spun right through Slave III. A gout of fire erupted from the hole as the starship spun out of control. Ohso Fett quickly opened fire with his laser cannons and let loose all of his cluster missiles, all in an attempt to bring down Redley.

The hedgehog landed calmly inside a canyon. Moments later, however, an errant pair of missiles struck the wall of the canyon, causing large rocks to plummet.

Redley calmly ran forward to avoid the cascading wave of falling rubble-

KABOOM!!!

Redley blanched as his Egg-O-Matic exploded on the ground in front of him; it had just now fallen after being hit by Ohso's lasers. He skidded to a halt and saw something that made him pause.

The Egg-O-Matic's remains had fallen THROUGH the ground, into a deep cavern below.

It dawned on him; the entire canyon floor was brittle and thin...and with all the rocks falling...

The entire floor of the canyon gave way. The weight of the falling debris and rock had proven to be too much.

As Redley fell into the darkness below, he felt something he hadn't felt for the first time in what seemed like an eternity.

Fear.

The back of his head slammed into the cavern floor, and all went black.

Moments later, he was covered by a mountain of debris.

xxxx

.....ugh.......where.....am I?

The blue hedgehog sat up, looking around with confused green eyes. "Huh?"

"Ah. You're awake."

The furry turned to see a male doctor with black skin. "Where...?"

"A Newbie Distribution Center, outside of Sega City. You should count yourself as lucky; any longer, and you would've been a goner."

The hedgehog blinked. "...what?"

"A case of amnesia, probably," muttered the doctor. "I'm Dr. Brookings, and I've been watching you for awhile. It's been two days since you were recovered from the mountains. Your clothes were in tatters and your lightsaber was damaged beyond repair. However, your laser blaster was undamaged, and aside from a nasty bump on your head and some bruised bones, you're okay."

"...that sounds good...I guess..." The hedgehog blinked again. Everything seemed so fuzzy. Who was he? Why was he here? What was going on?

His mind tried to reconstruct itself; he knew basic general information: the sun is hot. Ice is cold. Swords hurt. Bullets hurt. Lasers hurt. Smoking was bad. Don't do drugs. Gotta catch em' all, POKEMON!

Yep. Sounded good.

But when it came to personal information...he had a blank.

"I want you to rest a bit, and you can get some clothes later. We have a large selection; bodysuits, casual clothes, shorts, briefs, boxers, tuxedos, dresses...but before that, one thing: your name."

"My name?"

Dr. Brookings nodded. "Yes. You're a newbie, and I need your name for records."

"Uh...lessee...um..." The hedgehog looked around, trying to find inspiration. He saw on a book rack a science magazine with the following title:

'SCIENE MONTHLY'

'IS PNEUMONOULTRAMICROSCOPICSILICOVOLCANOCONIOSIS THE NEXT EBOLA VIRUS?'

The name was long...but one word leapt out. "Ultra..." He looked around some more. A poster of a hedgehog that looked a lot like him was taped to the wall, complete with the furry's name. "Sonic..."

He looked around, finally settling on a wall-mounted TV (obviously for patients), playing a move known as Goldfinger. A man in a tuxedo played by Sean Connery was onscreen.

That was it. "...007. Ultra Sonic 007."

"Very well," replied Dr. Brookings as he wrote it down. "Well Ultra Sonic 007...welcome to the Mobius Forum World."

xxxx

The flashback ended again.

Vector drank some water to clear the headache away. "Alright...that clears some stuff up. But why did your eyes change color?"

"Star Wars Episode III," replied Redley.

"But why would that..." Then it clicked. "Ah...it's because of where you were born. Depending on your moral alignments, your eye color changes...and since you were from a forum world that had Star Wars elements..."

Redley nodded. "I was born with green eyes. Aft%r my training with the League, I had red eyes. Due to my amnesia, I forgot all about my former self...and thus was I a green-eyed guy once more."

Vector nodded as he wrote down some more; he had written down a lot of information so far. "Now to the big question...why did you leave?"

Redley smiled sadly. "This is where my past caught up with me..."

Another flashback. More headaches.

xxxx

One day before Ultra was to leave the MFW...

We focus on the Forum Protection Agency's headquarters, which stands on where the future Chaotix Bakey would be built (sorry DL. 😛 ).

A familiar tuxedo-wearing, shades-bearing hedgehog groaned as he rubbed his temples. He was in his office; a simple room with file cabinets, a computer, a makeshift cot, a TV, and a few game systems in case he got bored.

But right now, he was in no mood for games. He was trying to figure something out.

After the big incident with Mr. V, he had gathered all information from the viral entity's computers. All of his technology had been confiscated, which, after an initial period of stay with FPA technicians, had been given to Vector for study.

What interested Ultra, however, was the files dealing with his memory. Mr. V had decided to get nosy...so he had glanced into his memory.

There were only fragmentted bits...a world covered by a large, pristine city...a group of twelve peopple sitting at a darkened table...bloody corpses...

Redley...

Ultra Sonic frowned. That had been all Mr. V had gotten out of his mind...but it was enough to make him wonder.

He couldn't even remember what had happened before coming to the Mobius Forum World...but a dark, foreboding feeling had filled his gut. Something was off...his fragmented memories seemed too macabre to be anything good.

Who was I...? "Was my name...'Redley'?" muttered the hedgehog to no one in particular.

"That would be correct."

Ultra blinked as he looked up; a man with gray hair was looking at him with dark eyes; he had sideburns that came down to join at his chin, forming a beard. His face was that of a battle-hardened warrior, and his black robes added an aura of mystery to him. "Who are you?!"

"The name is MacBeth. And don't bother calling security; I could simply force you into a wall before you could press the call button." The man calmly walked up to Ultra, whose green eyes glared defiantly into his. "But I did not come here to fight. I came to bring you back to where you came from."

Ultra paled at those words...the sight of this man...he had seen him before...but...where...? "Who did you say you were...?"

"MacBeth. Padawan Moderator for the Archie Star Forum World...well, actually, I'm now a Jedi Administrator. A lot of things have changed since you've left..." The man stared quietly at Ultra. "And apparently, so have you. Last time I saw you in person, I was pursuing you with security SWATbots...you escaped of course."

"...who am I?" asked Ultra. Part of him dreaded the answer.

MacBeth's eyes narrowed. "Your name is Jonathon Redley. You are an assassin, one of thirteen that make up the League of Assassins, a group dedicated to causing havoc. Your total number of kills in your two-year stint as an assassin comes to around 312...and that's only your targets. If you added in security guards, innocent bystanders, and bounty hunters coming for your head...that number comes to over 5,000."

Ultra Sonic's eyes widened. It was odd how words could work...he began to remember every kill...all those he had slaughtered...it began to pound at him like a sledgehammer.

"I skimmed your public profile when I came here," said MacBeth. "Ultra Sonic 007, forumer. Founder of a law enforcement organization known as the Forum Protection Agency. I must say...you've made quite a 180. Not surprising when I read back to the reports of Dr. Brookings, saying that you had amnesia."

In his stupor over hearing what he had been - No, no, how could he be?! - Ultra managed to choke out, "How...did you find out...?"

"I've been here for two weeks, snooping," replied MacBeth. "Trying to find if you still existed...looked into public records concerning forumers who had joined up roughly two years ago. You were among them. After discovering that you had had a case of amnesia...it wasn't hard to connect the dots."

Ultra Sonic slumped back into his chair, sweat beading on his brow. The reality of the situation was horrendous.

No...

He was gazing into the abyss...

No...

But the abyss wasn't gazing into him...

No.

But instead, he was also the abyss itself.

NO.

"Feeling a headache?" asked MacBeth. "Most amnesiacs tend to experience headaches upon remembering who they were. At least in my experience, in any case."

The hedgehog glared at the gray-haired human. "Why are you here...?"

To tell you who you are...

NO.

"Two reasons." MacBeth leaned against the wall, staring calmly at the potentially deadly hedgehog. "First of all, I've come to bring you back to Archie Star for a public trial. After the war-"

"What war?" demanded Ultra.

The war you started...

NO.

"The war between humans and furries, Jedi and Sith. The war ended four months ago; the Sith had been driven into hiding, and most of their members are dead. The League of Assassins is now on the staff's payroll, and the furries and humans are now at a peace treaty. Thanks to the League, we discovered that the Sith hired you to kill Tails. Once this info reached the public, all of their anger turned to fighting the Sith, as well as the bounty hunters, the Hutts, and the mercenaries in their payroll." MacBeth flexed his fingers. "As for the public trial...the forumers want you, more or less, hanged, beheaded, tortured, flogged, and any other form of unpleasant pain that can be wrought."

Ultra snorted. "Cheery."

You did kill over 5,000 people...

NO.

Blood on your hands...

NO.

Can no longer deny it...

NO, NO, NO!

MacBeth watched as the blue hedgehog grabbed his head, severe pain roaring through it. It was almost hard to watch; a young man, who had helped enforce law in the pursuit of justic, discovering that he had once been something he despised: a cold-blooded, emotionless killer. The reality of it was tearing him apart, the different sides of him like black and white. He was currently on the edge...teetering towards white...yet teetering towards black at the same time.

"What...is the second reason...?" growled Ultra, sweat running down his head.

MacBeth was silent before answering. "So you can kill Redley."

The pain disappeared, replaced by mind-numbing confusion. "Huh...? But...you just said-"

"Somehow, Redley has transerred himself into a droid, and has made himself known in the ASFW again. The public doesn't know just yet that he's back, but he's already killed two security officials, five bounty hunters, and three forumers," said MacBeth, his tone calm and even. "All we know is that he arrived roughly two months ago on a droid merchant vessel that departed from THIS forum world. It was only because of Redley's return that the staff decided to send me here to search for you. Before that, we had thought that you were dead; I had come here before, seeking for public records of Redley...but since none were found, we had assumed you died when Ohso Fett pursued you."

Ultra was blinking out of sheer confusion. What is he talking about...if I'm Redley...then how could Redley be in a droid...?

Then it clicked.

Mr. V. His machine had managed to digitize 11% of him...but none of his body had been digitized. The eleven percent...had it been the portion of his mind...that had belonged to Redley?

Yes. That had to be it! That's why he could remember a lot of the kills, but not all of them...why he couldn't remember everything about his past self as Redley, now that he knew...the rest of it had been digitized.

The gears in Ultra's head continued to turn as he spoke. "A few months ago, I was kidnapped by a viral entity known as Mr. V. Long story short, he was trying to digitize my body for an experiment...but he was stopped during the process. My body was undamaged...but perhaps Redley had been digitized, wandering cyberspace until he could find a body of his own."

"Ah..." MacBeth frowned as he cupped a hand around his chin. "Droid A.I. programs are usually downloaded from cyberspace...given how resourceful Redley is, it wouldn't have been too difficult for him."

Ultra Sonic 007 sighed regretfully as he rubbed his sweaty brow. "So...why me? Why do you need me to stop him?"

"Because you ARE Redley, whether you like it or not. You know him...and since you're the fastest being in the ASFW, it would be easy for you to stop him in his droid body...at least, that's what the staff's hoping."

Ultra leaned back into his chair, staring up at the ceiling. So...I have to go back to where I came from...and for what?

To face your own sins...

NO. NOT MINE. HIS.

Ultra is Redley. Redley is Ultra.

NO, NO, NO!

"One last thing," said MacBeth as he walked to the office door. "I'm actually quite nice compared to some of the other staff members who are tired of you and the trouble you caused. I'd advise you to cut all ties with anyone and anything you have here...because some might want to try and exact vengeance against you on a rather...'personal' level."

Ultra's eyes narrowed. The threat was clear enough.

"Come tonight to the western outskirts of the SPA District. I'll be waiting there in my starship Outrider*." Then, with that said, MacBeth was gone.

Ultra just sat there, unmoving,

He was like that for the next few hours.

Then, he reached for the microphone and switched it to 'All'. As he spoke, every speaker in the building transmitted his voice. "Attention, this is Ultra Sonic 007 speaking. You are all dismissed early for today. Go ahead and relax. Out."

Ultra sat back and waited another hour before leaving his office and looking around the building. Sure enough, everyone was gone. Good.

He then proceeded to smash all the hard drives for every computer in the building. Any information pertaining to him was now lost, except to those in the HQ Tower...and he doubted MacBeth or any of his fellow Jedi could get in there.

Next, he went to the Armory in the basement.

Fast forward.

The rise of the night.

MacBeth's eyes narrowed at the sight of Ultra approaching him. "About time. I was worrying that you'd make a break for it."

"Unlike Redley, I keep my word," darkly muttered Ultra. "And before we go..." He reached into his pocket and pressed a button on a remote detonator.

One second later, the vacant FPA headquarters erupted in a flash of fire and light. Although neither MacBeth or Ultra could see the explosion, the hedgehog knew what had happened. "There. All ties to this forum are now severed."

"Good. Come." MacBeth walked ahead.

Ultra glanced back at Sega City...because for some reason, he felt like he would never see it again.

He followed MacBeth into the night.

xxxx

The flashback ended.

"Man, that was a long one," grumbled Vector.

"I know," muttered Redley as he placed a gloved finger (did I forget to mention that he wears a white glove on his right hand? Oooops.**) through a hole in his tattered red cape.

Vector placed a hand on the wall, staring intently at it. "Alright...so you destroyed the FPA in the hopes that no one from the ASFW would come to hurt your friends out of revenge. Then you returned to your home forum world. Right?"

"Right." Redley sighed as he stared into the bright white halogen lights affixed to the ceiling. "It was so surreal...seeing a forum world that seemed so foriegn, yet so familiar. I met up with the staff...and I could tell that they didn't like me. But sure enough, within the span of one month, Redley made himself known...and he knew I was there. What happened next...was a duel."

Another flashback. Cue the headaches!

xxxx

Cinyos.

Eight planet of the Archie Star Forum World. A dry, arid desert world, filled with rocky plains and high mountains. Deep underground run rivers of water, allowing for forumers to live in certain areas in relative isolation and peace.

However, we turn our attention to one rocky plain, showing two figures.

Ultra Sonic 007, his shades covering his glaring green eyes.

Jonathon Redley, his mind inhabiting a customized Phase Two Dark Trooper droid, essentially a robotic stormtrooper with a repulsorlift pack, jet boots, plasma shell assault cannon, long-range rockets, and electro-shock gauntlets. Clipped to his belt were two lightsabers.

Ultra said, "So...you're Redley."

"Partially," replied the droid, his tone dull and robotic. "I remember how to fight...but a good portion of my memories are still in my body. I've come to reclaim it."

"Fat chance. The staff's on their way here."

Redley replied, "Perhaps. But this battle will be over long before they arrive."

Ultra smirked as he pulled out his blaster. "You won't be able to catch me in that clunker of a droid."

"Who says I need to?" replied Redley as a slot in his head opened up, revealing a segmented cord. "This will transfer my mind into the body. Then it'll be all over."

"I won't let you. This is my body, you monster," growled Ultra as his quills fluttered in the wind.

Redley's reply utterly dumbfounded Ultra.

"Monster? Perhaps. Nevertheless, I am the original. I was born into that body. You were not. You are a mere aberration that was never meant to exist. No amount of moral posturing will ever change that fact."

Ultra gulped as he began to unconsciously spasm. How could this be...why was all of this happening to him? Why? How could he be two people - people who acted and lived so radically different - at once? How...why...?!

An aberration...

NO.

Never meant to exist...

NO.

He is the real one...

NO. I AM MY OWN PERSON.

Redley is who you are...

NO. I AM NOTHING LIKE HIM!

Cannot change the truth...

NO, NO, NO!

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHH!!!!!!!" roared Ultra as he began running around Redley in a circle, his supersonic speeds kicking up a massive cyclone.

Redley hunkered down, pulling out his assault cannon and opened fire. Green-tinted shells coated with super-hot plasma rained from the multi-barreled gun. Ultra was simply too fast to be hit. Pock marks dotted the landscape.

The droid calmly discarded the spent weapon and used his robotic sensors to try and track the hedgehog. He calculated what to do...and then his shoulders opened up, revealing rocket pods.

CHOOM!

Rockets slammed into the ground right in front of Ultra's position, sending him tumbling. He quickly righted himself and opened fire with his blaster.

Redley's jet boots flared to life as he dodged from side-to-side. His repulsorlift back glowed as well, allowing him to jump and leap over the shots.

Ultra grimaced as he took off into a run again. SHOOT! How is he doing this?!
CHOOM!

More rockets. Ultra spun into a ball, spinning through the debris. He tilted to the left and zoomed towards Redley.

The droid's gauntlets crackled as he reared a punch...and slammed his fist into Ultra. A miniature shockwave resulted from the impact; the hedgehog gagged as electric energy rippled through him.

Redley calmly stood, staring at Ultra in silence.

Ultra snarled as he stood. No wonder this forum world's staff hates him. He's unreal!

Even so, he would continue to fight. He spin dashed toward the dark trooper.

"Fool."

Redley immediately grabbed a lightsaber and flicked it on, revealing a blue blade (Black markets. Nifty for buying lightsabers, nuclear weapons, illegal materials, and magic amulets.). Without remorse, he slashed at the spinning ball.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

Redley turned around to face a cringing Ultra, who was lying on the ground in pain. And with good reason; his left arm had been cut off at the shoulder, the wound cauterized by the lightsaber. The droid walked calmly over to the cringing hedgehog, who was trying to get to his feet.

Ultra groaned as he was picked up by Redley. "The gap between us is large. You never stood a chance." There was the roaring of starship engines. "The staff's here. Farewell. Pray to whatever god you worship."

The cord rushed from the droid's head and latched onto Ultra's skull.

"NO! NEVER!" roared Ultra as the cord glowed blue. He jammed his blaster into the droid's body and pulled the trigger.

CHOOM!

A red laser blast tore through the body, piercing the plasma reactor that powered the dark trooper.

Normally, this would result in an explosion that would incinerate the dark trooper (and, in this case, Ultra). But due to the concentration of Force energy in the area (the coming staff members) and the fact that, as the forum world's version of Sonic, Ultra's body could channel large quantities of energy...something different happened.

KABOOOM!

The ships slowed to a stop as a massive dome of white light erupted from the rocky plain. When it cleared, there was nothing...nothing but warped rock and a few pieces of the dark trooper droid.

MacBeth frowned from the cockpit of the Outrider. So...it's over.

xxxx

An explosion.

The feeling that his body was contorting into an impossible contortion.

Colors.

Light.

Darkness.

Vertigo.

Blue sky.

Collision with soft earth.

And finally, unconsciousness.

...huh...?

Ultra slowly sat up.

"Ah. You're awake."

Ultra looked down to see that he was sitting in a bed. He looked to his left to see a bald man sitting in a wheel chair. Talk about deja vu. "Who are you?"

"I am Professor Charles Xavier...and I must say, it was quite fortunate to see you alive. Your mind was a muddled mess when we found you...but thankfully, you're seem to be whole."

Ultra's eyes widened. "Wait. When you found me...did you see a robot with me?" He dreaded the reply...what if Redley had escaped...? Or worse...

"Only the remains of a droid of some kind. Mostly obliterated."

Ultra sighed out of relief. "Okay." So the droid's destroyed...and since I'm still me...that means...I won! Undescribable elation erupted in his body. He turned to Xavier and asked, "Where am I?"

"You are at the Xavier Administrative Institute. And this place is the House of X Forum World."

xxxx

End flashback.

Vector shook his head to clear the dizziness. "Alright...so instead of blowing you up, the blast created a warp between planes of reality, taking you to an X-Men themed forum world."

"Right. Thankfully, things were a lot more cut-and-dry in this place. The staff consisted of the X-Men under Xavier's command, while the prominent forumers were those with the X-gene. Of course, there was also Magneto and his cronies acting as the evil version of the staff...but more often than not, the X-Men won." Redley leaned back, his left arm glistening in the light. "I was able to integrate rather well...since I don't have the X-gene, I fascinated Xavier and Beast. Of course, given my luck, things didn't last so cheerily for long...roughly two months after I arrived, the Flame Sentinels came."

Cue the headaches! Er...I mean, the flashbacks!

xxxx

Downtown New York. Rough equivalent of the MF Central in the House of X Forum World (aka, the HXFW. Admit it; you missed the acronyms!).

Five gigantic robots are stomping through the district, their arms and legs flaring with fire. Their torsos were colored magenta, whilst their faces were robotic impersonations of human faces.

Flame Sentinels. Unlike the original Sentinels, these were created by Magneto for the purpose of destroying Xavier's X-Men. They were stronger than regular Sentinels...and their X-gene trackers were top-of-the-line.

Ultra Sonic, of course, had decided to help out. But by the time he had arrived, the Flame Sentinels had set several blocks on fire. Storm, Wolverine, Cyclops, and Jean Grey had retreated from the fight.

The hedgehog stared at Wolverine; the battle-hungry mutant was straining to break free from Cyclops' grip. "Lemme go bub...I ain't finished yet..."

"Yes you are," replied Cyclops, his ribs bruised from a brutal punch. Jean Grey had severe burns on her leg, and Storm had passed out from the heat, having had no chance to summon a rainstorm. "We need to retreat Ultra...we already tried, but these Flame Sentinels are too strong."

Ultra's eyes narrowed...and then he asked, "They track you because of your X-genes, correct?"

Jean Grey nodded. "Yes. And?"

"Say no more." Ultra immediately burst off in a sonic boom, rushing toward the nearest Flame Sentinel.

The massive robot stared at Ultra. It detected no X-gene.

Nevertheless, it classed Ultra as a threat due to his speed. It aimed a fist at Ultra, spouting off a river of fire at the hedgehog.

"YOw!" Ultra moved to the side, avoiding the fire. He jumped up and reached for his blaster-

POW!

"ACK!" yelped Ultra as another Flame Sentinel punched him in the back, sending him into the ground with a massive crash.

Moments later, the hedgehog pulled himself up, blood dripping from a cut on his forehead...and then he stood, turning to face the five Flame Sentinels.

His eyes were red.

He curled into a spin dash and tore through the chest of one Flame Sentinel. He bounded off a building wall and tore through another. Bounced off the road and slashed through a Flame Sentinel's torso. Bounced off the head of another Flame Sentinel before spinning through the chest of another Flame Sentinel. Finally, he ran around the last Flame Sentinel at high speed, creating a vortex of wind that doused out his flames. The giant robot tried to swat Ultra-

SLASH!

Only to have Wolverine (stubborn, ain't he?) sever his head. "Heh. And one-eye said I needed bed rest."

Ultra paused as he stared at the fallen wreckage of the Flame Sentinels...and as his eyes turned green, he blinked. What had just happened?

A familiar feeling...

What did I do...?

A presence in his mind...

Oh no...

I'm here...

No...

Always have...

NO.

Redley was still alive...inside Ultra's mind.

xxxx

The flashback ended. Vector and Redley both paused to let the pain subside. Finally, the crocodile asked, "So...Redley had managed to transfer his mind into you?"

"Partially," replied Redley. "Enough to make him a living consciousness...but not enough to become the dominant half of this body. But needless to say, his existence was troubling...VERY troubling." The hedgehog sighed as he leaned back into his bed, staring at the unconscious Sailor Ultra to his right. "For the next several months, I helped out with the X-Men in missions...but every so often, Redley would come out when I had a mental lapse, taking control. It wouldn't be for long; he usually receded when the battle ended. But he came so close to killing some people..."

"Then what?" asked Vector.

Redley tapped his left arm. "Then I was given this."

The air began to ripple.

"STOP WITH THE FLASHBACKS!"

"Don't worry, it's the last one."

xxxx

Ultra remained silent as Professor X the furry blue mutant known as Beast worked on the special 'gift' they had given him.

"There. Done," said Beast, his eyes twinkling with delight.

Ultra sat up, his body still slightly numb from the anesthetics given to dull the pain of the operation. He looked down...and blinked at the shimmering left arm grafted to his shoulder. "What the...?"

"It took a while to gather the adamantium, but we did," said Xavier. "It is a cybernetic arm made of pure adamantium, virtually indestructible. Seeing as how you are in constant combat, we also gave it some modifications: taser, a flamethrower...the hand can form a blade, and the hand is attached to a tether made of titanium fibers, essentially forming a grappling hook."

Ultra sat up, blinking at the extra weight the adamantium arm put on him. "Ooh. Heavy..." He got onto the groudn, flexing it around. "...but manageable." He bowed to the two mutants. "Thank you Professor. Thank you Beast."

"Thank us by testing it," replied Beast.

And he certainly did. Minutes later, Ultra was running around outside at high-speed, testing out the arm could handle the velocity. It would take some time...but he could adapt to the new arm. The extra weight would DEFINITELY help with increasing his musculature.

Ultra grinned as he curled into a ball, prepping a spin dash. Man! This arm is great! It feels awesome having both limbs again!

He spun.

Suddenly, he tilted to the left...

"WOOOOAAAAAAOOO!!!!"

...and spun out, falling into a heapt several yards away.

Professor X and Beast blinked. The latter muttered, "Perhaps we miscalculated the effects on his balance..."

xxxx

The flashback ended. Vector savored the fact that it was the last one. "So...your adamantium arm interfered with your natural balance?"

Redley nodded. "Yeah. It wasn't so bad without a limb, as the weight my original left arm contributed was minor...but this new arm makes me tilt to the left whenever I do a spin jump or spin dash."

"So you can't spin dash or spin jump ever again."

"Basically," replied Redley. "Either way, it wasn't so bad...but that didn't erase the fact that Redley was still in my mind...so I decided to come back here. I knew this place could help me...but I didn't want to cross that bridge yet. So I tried...acquiescence."

"Acquiescence?" replied Vector with a blink of the eyes.

"Yess. Changing my name from Ultra to Redley. Dressing like Redley. Even devoting myself to training my body to the point where I could go for the kill if necessary...all to try and please the assassin...but as you know, it wasn't enough."

Vector pointedly asked, "Why bother appeasing him?"

Redley chuckled. "That's the thing...considering how unemotional Redley is, I thought he wouldn't be able to argue with my 'giving in', so to speak...but he has a will to live unlike any I've ever seen. He has no emotions...no fear...no anger...no anticipation...but his drive to live is unparalleled. He is the best assassin...he knows this as a fact...and because of that, he continues to live for the sake of living. And nothing more..."

Vector sighed as he rubbed his forehead. "Man...Jonathon Redley...imagine how he would be if he ever decided to act out of revenge?"

"No," muttered Redley. "If he had emotions, I wouldn't be so scared...because emotions make us human. They make us who we are...but he has no emotions. He doesn't feel ANYTHING. He kills just because it's what he's good at! He doesn't even do it out of love for money! It's just...he's like a demon..." He placed a hand over his eyes. "How...how could I ever think that I could stand a chance...?"

No chance...

...no...

No chance at all...

And this time, the hedgehog had no retort.

"Bull."

Vector and Redley blinked as they turned to face the door to the lab infirmary. A black-and-red hedgehog wearing shades and a tuxedo was standing there, his red eyes glaring at the blue hedgehog.

"That's a load of crap and you know it," replied the Evil Forumer known as Ultra Shadow 007.

xxxx

END PART 6

TO BE CONCLUDED IN...

Part 7: Rivals

AND...

Epilogue

xxxx

Blargh...this part's over 9,000 words long. X_X

Oh well...this tale will soon be at its epic conclusion next time!

*Picture of the Outrider.

**But seriously, you knew he had gloves, right? I mean, he's a hedgehog!

And for you Gargoyles fans, you know who MacBeth is. For those who don't...BOW DOWN BEFORE THE ULTIMATE SPECIMEN OF MANLINESS!

(waits for the Enforcer Foxes to kill him for killing Tails)

Quote:

---

(waits for the Enforcer Foxes to kill him for killing Tails)

---

I suggest you run for your dear life, now!

** is not an Enforcer Fox nor he likes the idea of a dead Tails **

Rico's gonna mash you!

I can save you from him by diverting his attention - if you give me a cameo/part in the last part.

(Certain death...or letting Harley get a spot...decisions decisions...) *Smacked*

(Seriously though...the final part has arrived! Make sure you have speakers for the music to come!)

(PS: I am not held liable for any violations of the laws of physics.)

xxxx

Part 7: Rivals

xxxx

The HQ Tower.

Vector's Lab's infirmary.

Vector. Redley. Ultra Shadow 007. An unconscious Sailor Ultra.

Me. Now that that's done, on with the show!

The Co-Webmaster glared at the tuxedo-wearing hedgehog. "Ultra Shadow...how did you get up here?"

"Oh. That?" The Evil Forumer sweatdropped as he scratched the back of his head. "Um, about that..."

Vector immediately tapped a hidden panel in the wall. It flipped over, revealing a monitor and a keyboard; it linked to the security systems inside the Tower. He quickly turned on a video of the main lobby...and paled.

Little cartoony pigs FILLED the lobby, overwhelming the receptionists there. He switched to another camera...and saw that they continued to fill halls and stairwells. Paling, Vector stomped behind Ultra Shadow and gazed out the hall. More pigs. "GAH! YOU BROUGHT THE WHOLE PIGGY ARMADA HERE?!"

"What did ya expect me to do? Leave my babies home alone?" retorted the dark hedgehog.

Redley sighed as he stared at his 'evil' clone. Back when he had been simply Ultra Sonic 007, he had been in command of an army of Pikachus: the Pika-Death. Naturally, Ultra Shadow 007 had to mimic him...but he used pigs instead of Pokemon.

Thus, the Piggy Armada.

Although the Piggy Armada sounded silly (and it most definitely was), the massive army of pork was a force to be reckoned with. After all, the Evil Forumer had once been able to knock down the HQ Tower with his army of pigs (and Ultra Sonic had been forced to do clean-up. Rotten little...).

Yeah.

But even so, Vector just turned, around, glaring at the Evil Forumer. "Why are you here?"

"Ain't it obvious?" Ultra Shadow glanced at Sailor Ultra, then at Redley. "Saw those two fighting. Decided to come down and take a looksie."

The blue hedgehog frowned. "Just stay out of my business. This doesn't concern you."

"You serious? You think this doesn't concern moi, your evil alter-ego?!" retorted Ultra Shadow.

Redley replied, "No."

The dark hedgehog frowned. Finally, he said, "That is stupid. I can't believe how INCREDIBLY stupid you are. I mean rock-hard stupid. Dehydrating-rock-hard stupid."

Redley frowned; Ultra Shadow was getting on a roll. "Uh..."

"World-class, A-1, top of the heap, triple Whopper with cheese, supersized stupid. So stupid that it goes way beyond the stupid we know into a whole different dimension of stupid. One-of-a-kind, global, universal, intergalactic stupid. You are trans-stupid stupid."

"Uh...Ultra Shadow..."

Too late. The Evil Forumer was on a roll now. "Meta-stupid. Stupid collapsed on itself so far that even the neutrons have collapsed. Stupid so dense that no intellect can escape. Singularly, extraordinarily, incredibly, bewilderingly stupid. Blazing hot mid-day sun on Mercury stupid."

"Ultra Shadow."

"You emit more stupid in one second than our entire galaxy emits in a year. Quasar stupid. Your life is a monument to stupidity. I am breathless that anyone or anything in our universe can really be this stupid. You are a primordial fragment from the original big bang of stupid. Some pure essence of a stupid so uncontaminated by anything else as to be beyond the laws of stupidity that we know. A behemoth, a leviathan, a colossus of stupidity. A-"

"ULTRA SHADOW!!!"

"What?" replied the dark clone, looking innocently bewildered. Redley groaned out of exasperation. The black-and-red hedgehog calmly said, "But seriously though...you're stupid if you think what happens to you doesn't affect me."

Redley glared at his counterpart. "How so?"

Ultra Shadow was silent, his eyebrow twitching.

POW!

Redley grunted as he was sent to the floor by Ultra Shadow's punch. The Evil Forumer glared at his counterpart. "You..." He sounded...offended. "How dare you act so naive..."

The blue hedgehog blinked out of shock. "Huh? What are you-?"

"SHUT UP!" Ultra Shadow picked up Redley by the collar of his shirt, glaring angrily into his eyes. "You...you left for two years. TWO. YEARS. Without even saying a WORD to ME!!!"

"So?"

Ultra Shadow resisted facefaulting out of sheer anger. "So? SO?!?!?!" The black hedgehog shook Redley back-and-forth. "WE. ARE. RIVALS. We've been rivals ever since I was created...and we'll be rivals until the day I die. I have a say in your existence...whether you like it or not." He raised his arm to its maximum height. "And to see you looking so frickin' pathetic is just plain annoying..."

Redley shot his dark counterpart a nasty look. "Your point?"

"My point..." Ultra Shadow smirked as he dropped Redley onto the ground, shifting his shades with one hand. "...is that we do what we've always done: fight."

Redley blinked out of surprise. "What are you talking about? Fight me? How's that going to help?"

"Numbskull," muttered Ultra Shadow as he glanced at Vector. "I'm sure you've got some mind-transplant machinery around this dump...heck, I wouldn't be surprised if you MADE one using Mr. V's technology for the heck of it."

The Co-Webmaster muttered, "Well...there is something around here like that...but it's only one-way, for the purpose of putting injured and crippled people's minds into robots or androids."

"Even better," replied Ultra Shadow with a smirk. "Lead the way."

"Ultra Shadow."

The Evil Forumer turned around to face his green-eyed counterpart. "Yeah?"

"What do you have in mind?"

Ultra Shadow's smirk grew. "Heh...simple; I'm gonna put that little assassin of yours into my noggin."

Redley was silent.

Finally...

"WHAT?!?!?!?!?! ARE YOU STUPID?!"

"Geez, ya don't have to shout," grumbled Ultra Shadow as he picked his ear with his gloved pinky.

"But come on! Putting Jonathon Redley into your head?! That's not only idiotic, but suicidal! He'll take you over...your mind will be completely broken by his will..." Redley glared straight into Ultra Shadow's eyes. "You won't survive."

"So?"

Redley blinked. "...so? Whaddya mean so?! You'll cease to exist!"

"You should've thought of this when you cloned me," lightly retorted Ultra Shadow as he stared at his archenemy. "I was born to be your nemesis...somewhere in your head, you knew this."

"Lest you forget that it was one of my Pikachus who switched the cloning lever from 'Good' to 'Evil'."

Ultra Shadow facefaulted. "THAT DOESN'T MATTER!!!" Regaining his composure, the Evil Forumer continued on. "I'm your dark counterpart. Always have, always will be. We're rivals...and all rivalries end in battle. I'm just giving myself the best advantage I can get."

Redley remained silent as he watched Ultra Shadow walk out of the infirmary, his thoughts mixed with confusion...and surprise.

...that idiot...

You know he's right...

But why does it have to end...?

Born to fight you...

That's not all though...

You know this to be true...

He's my rival...but I don't want him to die.

Fight him...or be consumed...

The threat was clear enough. The assassin within Redley was giving him an ultimatum; defy his rival's idea and eventually be consumed by the deadly killer's will...or put the killer's mind within Ultra Shadow's, thus ensuring a battle to the death.

It suddenly dawned on Redley. He now understood why Ultra Shadow was doing this. A chance to defeat his dark side...in one place he excelled in: battle.

Redley smirked. Ultra Shadow...thank you for the gift.

As the blue hedgehog walked out of the room, a certain Sailorness Scout opened both eyes; she had been awake for a while now...but she had decided to listen to her alter-ego's tale and his evil clone's idea.

She didn't care. To her, the blue hedgehog was still Ultra Sonic 007. Ultra...be careful...

xxxx

Vector's Lab.

Experiment Storage Room #12.

The crocodile took off a pair of goggles as he looked at the giant power system he had just finished turning on. "There. System's online."

The system in question was a Mind Transplant Device (or MTD. Here comes the acronym police-)

(Acrio: Headed by me!)

(HEY! OUTOUTOUTOUT!)

...erm, anyhow, the device was essentially a black, T-shaped machine that stood at six feet. The two prongs had small helmets attached to them; these helmets were made of a unique, amorphous material that could meld to fit the head of the wearer. The right helmet was red, while the left helmet was green. These helmets were connected to the prongs via mechanical limbs that glowed with cybernetic technology.

Vector glanced over at the two hedgehogs. "Alright, Ultra Shadow, put the red helmet on. Redley, put the green one on."

The two hedgehogs obliged, putting their respective helmets on. Sure enough, each one shifted to make room for their spiky, enlarged heads. The Admin grabbed a PDA, connected it to Redley's helmet, and target the portion of his mind that was to be transplanted. "There we go." He disconnected the PDA.

The Co-Webmaster remained silent as he flipped open a panel, staring at a red button affixed to the MTD's main stem. ...should I really do this? I just know there's going to be a battle...and battle's always lead to damage. Eh, I'll just let em' fight...couldn't be any worse than what the Inferno incident did anyhow.

Careful what you wish for.

Vector pushed the button.

Electricity crackled on the green helmet, causing Redley to spasm and jolt as the portion of his mind belonging to the assassin was drained. The machine seemed to glow as Ultra Shadow suddenly started twitching, his helmet jolting with power as well. Suddenly, after five seconds had passed...

*DING*

"It's over," replied Vector as he pressed the red button again, causing the machine to shut down. Redley gasped as he took off the helmet, breathing heavily. "Hu...hu...hu...man..."

His mind...felt a little...strange...emptier...

He couldn't...remember...

Did it work...?

"Ah...a body of my own once more."

(Cue music Dark Samus Awaits)

Redley looked to his right to see Ultra Shadow take off the helmet...and then throw away his shades, revealing his eyes. They weren't the pure red of Ultra Shadow's...but the blood-red of Jonathon Redley's.

The assassin glared at the blue hedgehog, his black-and-red quills slightly twitching. "Ultra Shadow is no more. Now there is only Jonathon Redley."

The blue hedgehog grimaced as he watched the killer flex his neck. "Is that so...? If that's the case...then I'm no longer Redley...heck, I never WAS you! My name is Ultra...I am Ultra Sonic 007!!!"

They stared each other down for the next several seconds. Neither one moved.

Jonathon Redley calmly snorted. "If you insist. I still prefer my original body...but I'll use this one for the time being. Now...let us begin."

(End music)

Suddenly, Jonathon Redley ran backwards, spin jumping through the window.

"HEY!" roared Ultra Sonic as he jumped out after the black assassin.

Vector was left alone. This...is gonna get messy...

xxxx

(Cue music Dark Samus Battle)

The wide open sky.

The setting sun.

The skyline of Sega City.

A shower of broken glass.

And finally, two hedgehogs: one spinning black hedgehog, and one blue hedgehog with a red cape.

Jonathon Redley unfurled just moments before landing on the rooftop of a 30-story building, his jet shoes flaring momentarily a few feet above the surface. It slowed him down enough to cushion his fall. Hmm. This clone uses jet shoes for helping with his natural speed...this will prove useful.

But before he could actively fight...he needed something else.

Meanwhile, Ultra Sonic 007 landed on his feet, doing an old-fashioned roll to soften his fall. He immediately stood up and glared at his darker half. "This ends now Redley."

The assassin calmly spoke. In Ultra Shadow's body, Redley sounded even more emotionless than before. "We'll see."

Then he whipped out Ultra Shadow's blaster - an exact duplicate of Ultra Sonic's - and fired.

Ultra ducked as the red bolt zoomed over his head. Redley immediately leapt over the side of the building; Ultra followed as well, using his grappling hand to grab a street post far below.

Redley's jet shoes flared white as he began running. Ultra swung around the lamp post once, letting go as he reeled his hand in. He also took off running.

Redley looked back as Ultra slowly caught up. He pulled out his blaster and fired.

Ultra ducked as the shot missed, hitting a store window in its stead. He quickly aimed his cybernetic arm for Redley and stretched his fingers out, revealing a hole in his palm.

CHOOM!

The assassin swerved and dodged the green blasts coming from the laser cannon in Ultra's adamantium arm. He quickly ran up the side of a building - breaking all the windows due to his speed and velocity - and leapt across the road, firing his blaster down at Ultra as he did.

The blue hedgehog raised his left arm, letting the adamantium limb take the blows. Dang...he's not just firing...he's aiming! As Redley landed on the opposite side of the road, Ultra opened fire with both his laser blaster and his arm's laser cannon. Red and green lasers zoomed toward Redley in a devastating shower.

The assassin calmly adjusted his speed every split-second just in time to miss the hail of lasers; he was leaping, dodging, jumping, and utilizing his jet shoes for momentary boosts to accomplish this task. If the situation were any different, it would've been called a masterpiece of acrobatics.

This also made Ultra realize why Redley was so feared. He's only been in that body for a few minutes, but he already knows how it works...then again, my memories of Ultra Shadow were a big help to him. Deciding to use a new tactic, Ultra launched his grappling hand at Redley.

They suddenly reached an intersection...and a truck delivering new components to the RP Guild impeded their vision.

Redley grabbed Ultra's left hand and SLAMMED it into the top of the truck, making a hole. He jumped off, leaving the hand stuck inside the hole.

Ultra paled; he tried to stop-

Too late. He ran out of slack.

So we have a truck filled with heavy machinery and electronic equipment, going at sixty miles per hour, having roughly 60 tons of force behind it. We also have a blue hedgehog running at subsonic speeds; his weight about 100 pounds, a good portion of extra weight added by the adamantium arm. At that speed, he had roughly over 15 tons of force behind him.

The result?

The top roof of the truck being torn off, with Ultra's hand coming free.

Redley remained silent. Not the effect I wanted...but oh well. He fired again before bursting off into a run.

Ultra ducked as he reeled in his hand, bursting off after Redley. The blue hedgehog was puzzled; what was the assassin after? I'll find out soon enough! He poured on the speed, his cape fluttering in the wind.

Redley glanced back at Ultra as his jet shoes flared. The blue furry was quite persistent. No matter. The assassin curled into a ball, spin dashing further ahead of Ultra.

BOOM!

A sonic boom.

Ultra slightly winced at the burst of air erupting from behind Redley. He's going at sonic speed now...then I'll oblige! He ran as fast as he could, his legs becoming nothing more than blurs.

BOOM!

Another sonic boom.

Redley unfurled from his ball, still running at sonic speed. He glanced back to see Ultra catching up. Hmm. His body is stronger than this one; capable of higher speeds. Then he'd have to pull an advantage of his own.

His jet shoes flared blue, propelling him at an even faster speed.

As the two hedgehogs rushed down the streets of Sega City, their velocity pushed the air around them away, creating pressure against the buildings around them. Windows shattered and smaller buildings rumbled as the hedgehogs ran past them. Finally, as air rushed back into the empty space left in the hedgehogs' wake, there was an explosive effect; the air rushing into the space caused the ground to rupture along the hedgehogs' path.

Finally, Ultra caught up. He ran right beside Redley, aiming his blaster for the hedgehog's temple.

The assassin quickly grabbed Ultra's right wrist and twisted it, causing the blue furry to lose aim. The black hedgehog quickly jumped forward, slamming his foot into Ultra's face.

Ultra gagged as he was sent into a backwards flip by the kick...yet he was still moving forward at high speed. His speed slowed down immensely upon his contact with the ground. Pained groans escaped his throat as he bounced along the ground, finally skidding to a halt.

Jonathon Redley kept on running.

(End music)

Ultra painfully stood up, small wounds visible on his body. Part of his black shirt and khakis were torn, revealing bloody scratches on his skin. "Ow...shoot. He got away..."

The blue hedgehog finally looked around - he had been too focused on battling Redley to notice where he had been going - and he saw that he was in the Sailorness District. "Huh...where did Redley go?"

"Sailor Ultra's dwelling."

Ultra looked to the right to see Redley walking towards him...except in his hand was a deactivated lightsaber. As the blue hedgehog's green eyes widened, Redley explained, "In order to tap my full potential, a blade of some sort is needed. So I went inside her Hammerspace closet. It didn't take me long to find one."

He activated the lightsaber. A red glow coated Redley's face as he glared at Ultra Sonic.

The blue cyborg (he IS technically a cyborg, now that he has a cybernetic limb) frowned as his hand suddenly shifted into the shape of a foot-long blade. Then...he smiled. "Well...this will certainly be interesting...what's stronger? The blade of a Jedi...or pure adamantium?"

"It's not the strength of the blade that matters...it's who cuts the deepest." Then Redley charged.

(Cue music Anakin vs. Obi-Wan)

Ultra raised his arm just in time for the red lightsaber to smash into it. Thankfully, not a dent was made; adamantium was too strong for a lightsaber. But then again, the body itself was not so strong.

Redley immediately twisted around, bringing the blade around for a strike at the side. Ultra lowered his arm, causing a shower of sparks to appear against the metallic limb. Ultra immediately raised his foot, kicking at Redley's face.

The black hedgehog jumped over Ultra and kicked him in the back. The blue furry was sent flying.

Ultra grimaced as pain spasmed throughout his back. "Agh..."

Redley calmly aimed his blaster at Ultra, pulling the trigger.

Ultra immediately raised his own, firing. The two bolts collided, creating a small flash of red before fading. The blue hedgehog immediately clambered to his feet, aiming his foot-long adamantium blade at Redley. "I will win."

"Doubtful," calmly replied Redley.

Darn it, show SOME emotion! Ultra grimaced; how could someone act so effortlessly...emotionless? With a grimace of anger on his face, Ultra dashed at Redley, left arm forward.

BOOM!

A sonic boom. Redley blinked as Ultra came perilously near, his blade aimed for the throat. Impressive. Going for the kill.

He ducked, avoiding the blade by inches. He planted his free left hand into Ultra's gut and flipped him over onto his back, creating more pain for the blue hedgehog. He then aimed the blade for Ultra's neck.

The blue hedgehog quickly brought his arm up, blocking the lightsaber...if only barely.

So he had to even the odds.

He grabbed the red lightsaber with his left hand.

Redley arched an eyebrow as Ultra stood, his adamantium fist gripped on the glowing blade. "Smart move."

"Glad you approve," mocked Ultra.

SLAM!

Ultra yelped as Redley headbutted him in the face, causing him to recoil and stumble backwards. The assassin immediately twisted the lightsaber out of Ultra's loose grip and swung. The blue hedgehog BARELY managed to elude the lightsaber's reach. Have to be more careful...!

Ultra reached for his blaster and fired.

Redley refracted the laser bolt with his red energy blade, sending it back at Ultra.

"ERG!" groaned Ultra as he was hit in the shoulder by his own laser bolt. Scratch that-

POW!

Redley kicked Ultra in the gut, preventing him from finishing his thought. His jet shoes fired, propelling into the air. This allowed him to do two roundhouse kicks to the side of his adversary's head. Finally, he spun in midair...and unfurled just in time for his foot to slam into the top of Ultra's head. The extra speed provided by the spin caused a great impact.

SLAM!!!

Ultra gagged as his face slammed into the ground. Redley backed up...he ran forward, slamming his foot at high speed into the blue hedgehog.

POW!!!!!!

The green-eyed furry went flying backwards, blood flying from his mouth as a result of the kick. Redley calmly landed on his feet, watching Ultra land several feet away.

The assassin calmly walked towards the fallen body. No challenge. He was not meant to exist...so he is doomed to failure.

Ultra slowly stood.

Redley frowned. "Persistent." He quickly charged, lightsaber aimed straight at the forehead of his counterpart.

Suddenly, Ultra Sonic's blade was LAUNCHED at Redley. The black-and-red hedgehog blinked out of surprise. Hmm?

It should come as no surprise; the blade was really just Ultra's hand converted into a sharpened weapon. It too was connected to the tether of titanium fibers.

Redley's eyes narrowed as the blade slashed into his side, creating a nasty little cut on his body. Clever. The assassin quickly charged at his foe.

Suddenly, the blade turned into a hand once more...and Ultra reeled it back towards him. However, he twisted his arm, causing the hand to move ever so slightly around...

Redley blinked as the back of his neck was grabbed by Ultra's detached left hand. Before he could even say anything, he was heaved into the air...and slammed back into the ground.

Ultra growled. "How does it feel? This is what you did to Sailor Ultra...FEEL THE PAIN YOU MONSTER!"

Into the air.

SLAM!!!

Into the ground. Redley slightly grimaced as a shock ran through his chest; this body wasn't used to pain.

Seconds later, he experienced vertigo as he was hefted into the air once more, the metallic hand still clutching onto his neck.

Ultra then began twirling around in a circle, acting as if the assassin were a plane attached to the end of the string. Faster...faster...and faster still! You know, I detect a bit of deja vu...oh yeah, from part 5 in the battle between Redley and Sailor Ultra!

...er, never mind, I'm rambling again.

KAPOW!!!

(End music)

Ultra slammed Redley as hard as he could into a nearby building, causing half of it to crumble...revealing a set of rooms.

In one of those rooms was Sailor Nudity...trying out clothes.

For shame.

"EEEK! I'M EXPOSED!" The Sailorness Scout quickly hid in a closet, shedding her clothing.

Sigh...for shame indeed. Sailor Nudity. Trying on clothes. Such a hypocrite. Shame on you!

SLAM!!!

Oh wait, I have a story to follow.

Ultra slammed Redley into the ground once more. He finally let go, reeling in his adamantium hand. "That should do it."

The assassin slowly stood. There a number of cuts on his head and body, and his tuxedo was torn. Even so, his red eyes were staring quietly at his blue-furred counterpart. "Not bad. You came quite close...but you should've kept going until death claimed me."

"I believe that Ultra Shadow can still be saved," retorted Ultra as he cracked the knuckles in his right hand.

The assassin sighed as held his lightsaber above his head; by some miracle, it had survived the relentless thrashing at Ultra's hands. "Such a pity. It's been awhile since I've felt pain in this magnitude...but it'll be your last one."

He curled into a ball.

Ultra Sonic paled. Oh no...the attack that killed Darth Kursion!

Redley spin dashed towards Ultra. He became a black-and-red buzzball of death, zooming towards his adversary.

Ultra Sonic barely dodged to the side, evading Redley...but to his horror, the assassin turned around, still spinning. His lightsaber left a trench in his wake. "Running time."

Ultra Sonic 007 burst off running, with Jonathon Redley in hot pursuit.

(Cue music Summoned Beast Battle)

Ultra quickly ran as fast as he could to avoid Redley's oncoming attack. This is crazy...crazy crazy crazy! How can he keep moving after what I did to him?!

Simple. He was Jonathon Redley.

As the two hedgehogs exited the Sailorness District, Ultra risked a glanced back at the assassin. He was still carving a deadly swath through the ground. They reentered downtown Sega City, still continuing their high-speed chase.

Ultra quickly turned a corner and ran along the sides of the glass-window office towers, vaulting off of them with a push of the legs. With his extra height, he managed to leap over a smaller building and land over two hundred yards away in the middle of the road. "That should buy some time..."

A rumbling sound.

Ultra blinked as he turned around just in time to see Redley tear through the building he had just jumped over. "GAH!"

He BARELY managed to jump over Redley. The assassin plowed through a building...and then came out of another one, roaring straight towards Ultra.

The blue hedgehog burst off into a run, with the assassin in hot pursuit.

Meanwhile, all the buildings Redley had plowed through (which were a lot; he hadn't bothered to run through the streets and alongside buildings as had Ultra; in his current state, he could cut through anything) fell to the ground, their foundations weakened by Redley's rampage.

And watching it all from the HQ Tower was vector, who was currently reaching for some aspirin.

xxxx

South Island.

Home of SegaSonic and Sonic Team discussions, it is located to the south of Sega City's southern shores. The island is tropical in nature, looking like a mixture of Green Hill, Emerald Hill, and Angel Island of Sonic 1, 2, and 3 fame.

Half of it was scorched. The land was blackened...but there were sprouts of trees, grass, and ferns visible. Thanks to the work of the Mods on duty, the island was well on its way to recovery.

Very Crazy Penguin, aka Lee, looked at the scene with a look of content in his eyes. "That should do it..." Then he muttered, "I hate flamers..."

"Why am I even here?!" yelled Rico Underwood, a Moderator and an Enforcer Fox who has yet to kill Ultra for killing Tails (an alternate version of Tails, but Tails nonetheless!). "I hardly even come to South Island, if at all!"

Lee shrugged. "Probably because the author used a plot device of some sort. He probably wants you for SOME reason."

"Don't allude to the author out of character. That kind of thing sticks in my craw."

"Oh right; you're an RP moderator. Forgot. Forgive me, oh wise and mighty fox of doom." The sarcasm from VCP's voice was so evident, even a blind man would've seen it.

Rico Underwood shot Lee an angry glare. "You're lucky I'm in a mostly good mood. I might only shoot your foot off."

"By all means, don't let me make you cranky."

"Okay pal, you lost all rights to keeping your head on your shoulders." Rico took aim with his gun.

BOOM!

A sonic boom.

Rico and Lee blinked as a blue blur dashed past them, followed by a black-and-red buzzball. To their shock, they left trails of flames in their wake.

Lee paled. Don't ignite...don't ignite...

Fortunately, they quickly died out.

Lee sighed out of relief.

Rico, meanwhile, was about to witness Ultra do something stupid.

"RAAAA!"

He watched as Ultra tried to hit Redley with his flamethrower...but the assassin merely dodged. Giving up this line of attack, the blue hedgehog took off running, moving so fast that he zoomed over the water. Redley did so as well.

Meanwhile, the flamethrower had ignited a tree.

FOOSH!!!

Within seconds, all of South Island was on fire. Again.

"Lee?"

"Yes Rico?"

"Remind me to kill Ultra. Then after I kill him, remind me to kill him again."

"Will do."

xxxx

Ultra ran as fast as his legs could permit him, his cape fluttering in the wind. He didn't need to look back to see that Redley was still pursuing him. The furry was downright relentless. "Come on, take a break already!!!"

No such thing.

Ultra grimaced as they continued speeding through Sega City (thus resulting in Redley destroying more buildings) and northwest of it, towards a mountaineous area. He decided to attack; he aimed his left hand back at Redley, charging his laser cannon.

CHOOM!

A green bolt rocketed from the arm. Redley, however, deflected it with his lightsaber...and he kept on spinning.

So much for that plan, thought Ultra with a scowl. He kept on running until he got into a canyon...and ran up the wall of the chasm, vaulting into the air.

Redley continued spinning as he zoomed into the air after him, using the rocky walls of the canyon as a ramp.

"GOTCHA!" roared Ultra as he launched his grappling hand, grabbing Redley's lightsaber. This caused the assassin to immediately stop his spinning. Finally, he threw Redley down towards a plateau.

The black-and-red hedgehog landed on his feet, staring calmly at Ultra as he landed on the plateau as well.

(End music.)

Storm clouds began to gather. You KNOW that means the battle's about to end.

Redley calmly said, "You've done well."

"Cut it," snapped Ultra as he reeled in his hand before transforming it into the familiar blade. "I'm in no mood for talking."

"Good," replied Redley as he held his lightsaber at his side. "Neither am I."

Silence. The two stared at each other...and for a few moments that's all they could do.

Although the bodies were different, the two were both part of the same mind.

Jonathon Redley: the killer...and the original.

Ultra Sonic 007: the forumer...and the one who came last.

Redley was black.

Ultra was white.

Which one would win...?

Or perhaps the question is...will their clash merely turn them both into a shade of gray?

The battle would provide the answers.

The two charged.

(Cue music Escape!)

Their weapons clased: red lightsaber versus adamantium blade. Ultra scowled and Redley frowned as they both vied for supremacy. Ultra whipped out his blaster.

CHOOM!

Redley leapt backwards, barely managing to avoid the blast. He quickly landed and spin jumped, forcing Ultra to raise his arm out of defense. Sparks flew.

What followed was a dizzying array of jumps, kicks, and slashes as both hedgehogs tried to outdo the other. Ultra was mostly reacting to the movements of the superior Redley...but he had his own surprises.

Ultra quickly launched his grappling hand. Redley jumped aside-

CHOOM!

The assassin grimaced as a blue bolt hit him in the right arm, numbing it. Ultra had set his blaster for 'Stun'...and since Redley's arm was now numb, he couldn't help but release his lightsaber.

Ultra launched his grappling hand...but since it was a blade, it was a flying projectile.

SKRRSH.

The lightsaber was pierced by the adamantium blade; as Ultra retracted his body part, the assassin's eyes narrowed. "Now that was't very nice."

Lightning crackled. Thunder boomed.

"AND YOU AREN'T THAT NICE YOURSELF!!!" roared Ultra as he charged again, blade at the forefront.

Redley calmly dodged and sidestepped Ultra's advancing swings. Without a lightsaber, he couldn't parry his foe's blade...but he did have a last resort.

It would mean destroying his body...but he would adapt to this one. Just like always.

Before he pocketed his blaster, he set it to 'Overdrive'. It slowly began to charge...

Redley ran at high speed towards Ultra, leaping above the blue hedgehog. Right before the forumer could slash at the assassin...his jet shoes flared right in Ultra's eyes.

"AAAAAGGGHHH!!!" shrieked Ultra as the light momentarily blinded him. Redley quickly followd up with a series of quick punches to the chest and five roundhouse kicks to the head. The assassin quickly reared a punch-

SLAM!

With a speed that surprised even the assassin, Ultra slammed his metal arm into the assasin's face, using it as little more than bludgeon. Redley supressed the urge to growl out of pain...and he buried it. Pain was nothing.

Ultra roared as he charged at Redley, leaping into the air.

Redley needed to wait a little longer for the blaster to charge to critical levels. He jumped into the air, spinning towards Ultra.

Suddenly, the green-eyed forumer launched his blade down at the ground, implanting it into the hard plateau's surface. Seconds later, he activated the retraction mechanism...but this time, HE was pulled toward the blade, instead of the other way around. This allowed him to avoid Redley's spin jump. Without hesitation, Ultra aimed his palm at Redley and fired his laser cannon.

Moments later, Redley fell to the ground, a cauterized laser mark on his back. The assassin frowned; he was LOSING. How strange...yet, I will win either way. The time has come.

He could feel the heat in his pocket.

As Ultra advanced, Redley jumped into the air.

Ultra jumped after him, blade at the ready.

As the blue hedgehog neared, the assassin whipped out his laser blaster. It was trembling and glowing red with power; a result of the super high charge. "Your life is over. Pray to whatever god you worship."

He pulled the-

ZZAAAPPTT!!!

Redley spasmed as he dropped his blaster, electricity running through him. You want to know why?

It wasn't a lightning bolt.

It was due to a taser...built in to Ultra's left forearm. The hedgehog smirked. "That might've worked...if the glow in your pocket hadn't tipped me off."

The assassin was silent. He should've been aware of that little detail...

SHIKT.

Redley's mouth leaked with blood as Ultra stabbed him in the gut.

The battle was over...and Ultra was the victor.

Oh well. He had lost...for now.

(End music.)

As he fell to the ground with Ultra, his blood-red eyes shifted back to normal...and the voice of Ultra Shadow leaked through. "Heh...guess I couldn't beat you even with help..."

Ultra Sonic couldn't help but smile. "No...guess not."

They both fell to the ground, unconscious.

Moments later, the rain came, washing their blood away.

xxxx

Ultra sat up immediately.

He was in the familiar room of Vector's Lab's Infirmary. "How'd I-?"

"You were brought here unconscious."

Ultra Sonic tilted his head to his left, looking at the weary face of Vector. "Huh? Who brought me here?"

"You were found on top of a plateau near a Newbie Distribution Center. The one who called me was a man named Dr. Brookings. I arranged for your transport."

At the sound of the familiar name, Ultra slightly smiled. "I see...but what abut Ultra Shadow?"

"You were found alone," replied Vector.

Alone... Ulta grimaced. Where did Redley go...?

xxxx

The Piggy Fortress. Like its name implies, its a stone castle...shaped like a pig.

Inside, it's mostly mayhem. Piggies in mud pens. Piggies eating slop. Piggies watching Jay Leno.

And meanwhile, sitting in one of those mud pens was Ultra Shadow.

The battle, much to his satisfaction, had weakened Redley's will considerably...after all, this was the first battle he had actually LOST. This'll give me some time to toughen up should the guy try to take over...and if possible, I can use him...

It won't happen...

Says who?

I will break free...like always...

A sadistic smirk crossed Ultra Shadow's face. We'll see.

xxxx

(Cue music Hyrule King Farewell)

Ultra Sonic leaned back. It felt good referring to himself as 'Ultra' again'. "Where's Sailor Ultra?"

"I let her return home earlier on the recommendation that she get some bedrest," replied Vector. As Ultra nodded, the Co-Webmaster asked, "So what now? Are you going to restart the FPA?"

Ultra shook his head. "Nah...it seemed like a good idea...but in hindsight, it only got in the way of the real law enforcers: you guys. As an ulterior motive aside from seeing that the rules were enforced, it was just my way of trying to gain political power...and personally, I'm through with it. After being in my own home...I saw what it could do to people."

Vector was silent as he watched a distant look come over Ultra's eyes. He was still sorting out things...concerning his past. "Still feeling confused?"

"Sort of," replied Ultra with a shrug. "I mean, it's not everyday you discover that you've killed thousands of people." The phrase was accompanied by an ironic chuckle...but its only purpose was to mask the wrenching pain in his heart.

It didn't really work.

Vector sighed as he leaned against the wall. "So what are you going to do from here?"

"Probably repent," replied Ultra. "Although he's no longer inside of me, he's still part of me...and I have to repent for everything he did."

There was silence for a few more minutes. Vector didn't say anything. The silence was enough to show the Admin that the hedgehog was having a conflict of emotions now...trying to decide what to do next.

(End music.)

Finally, Ultra turned around, facing Vector with a small smile. "So...anything I can do?"

"Funny thing you should ask," said Vector. "Becuase that battle of yours made a little mess..." He poined out the window.

What Ultra saw...was more than just a little mess.

During their battle (with most of the damage coming from Redley's buzzsaw maneuver), Sega City had been hit hard. Many buildings were defaced due to the amount of sonic booms. A good three dozen buildins had collapsed.

Vector managed to say, "And the city had just been fixed after the Inferno incident too."

"...do I have to do it now?" replied Ultra, fear somehwat apparent in his voice.

"Nah; I'll let you sleep first. After all, it's still night." Indeed it was. Suddenly, the Admin smiled. "Tell you what; I can get a room for you. In return for helping with the cleanup effort and stopping that assassin, it's the least I can do."

xxxx

"And that's the story," replied Ultra as he leaned back on his couch. "I've dropped the stupid Redley name, I'm somewhat normal again...and I have a mess to clean up. Same ol' same ol'."

As the hedgehog stood up, he muttered. "Well...gotta get to work...but before that..."

He turned to face you, the viewer.

"Thank for reading this story. Thanks for putting up with my goofiness for 10000 posts. Thanks to Rico for not blowing my head off when I acted like an idiot over two years. Thanks to everyone else for making this forum the place it is...and to Jinsoku, thank you for giving this place the infamous moniker of MoFo."

Should I tell them that you just filed a complaint to the FCC concerning him?

"SSSH! QUIET!"

Fine then. Ignorant little...

Ignoring the author, Ultra continued to speak. "Anyhow...here's to many more posts. See ya."

So Ultra walked out of his new Sega City Apartment...and got to work.

The hedgehog groaned as he pushed along a cart full of debris and rubble. "Man...this is tiresome..."

That's when he noticed someone in front of him...carrying a bunch of large boulders on his back. Ultra looked under the boulder to see a familiar face. "Craig Bayfield?"

"Y-Y-Yes?" stuttered Craig, his knees shaking due to the severe weight on his back.

"What are you doing here?"

Craig moaned, "I'm the Lackey...I clean up EVERYONE'S messes!"

"...oh." Ultra stood there for a few moments.

Then he tossed the cart on top of Craig. "Keep up the good work, chap!"

SMASH!

Ultra sweatdropped as he watched Craig fall to the ground; the weight had finally been too much. "Ow..."

The hedgehog said nothing for a few moments. Finally, he said, "I think I'm going to go help out somewhere else."

He took off.

And things were back to normal.

"Craig?"

"Hmm...?" A gasp. "AAAGH! HARLEY!!!"

"I love you!"

"EVIL SHE-BEAST!"

"DIE!"

SMACKBAMPOWWHAPBANG!!!*

...well, what passes for normal around here.

xxxx

THE END...

xxxx

Epilogue

xxxx

Three days later.

Ultra Sonic 007 calmly stood on top of Sega City Apartments, staring at the rebuilt area.

The city was glorious to look at.

But he knew there were the teeming dark elements lurking in the city's shadows...and if need be, he would help take care of them should the need arise.

To put them down...

To strike...

To kill...

As his eyes momentarily flashed red, the hedgehog smiled. This city had proven to be very interesting indeed.

Oh yes...he was going to enjoy it here...

Then, the eyes turned green once more, with Ultra being none the wiser.

xxxx

...OR IS IT?

xxxx

(Well, that's the end of it. Despite the events here, Redley has proven to still be inside Ultra Sonic in some way...what role will this play in future RPs?)

(We'll just see. :P)'

(Seriously though, thanks to you all for a great time. Here's to more years as a MoForumer!)

([egotrip]Please review and leave comments at will. 😛 [/egotrip])

*Craig and Harley. Don't they make the cutest couple? (shot)

(is still waiting for Rico to kill him)

Me and Craig? A couple? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO(etc)OOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Oh well, you did give me a part, however miniscules...

Hey! Rico, look! The fanfic I wrote where Tails gets killed! He doesn't actually get killed, just horribly mutilated, and it's all thanks to an idea your Toby gave me!

Next decapost I want a bigger part, Ultra. I'm gonna suffer pain, even moreso because it's true.

Like I said at the beginning, this is my last decapost celebration (or any kilopost celebration, for that matter).

Good story, you went back and explained everything that had happened, and now you've got your character back in the MFW...with a mysterious underelement which was probably connected to GM: Revival somehow, ironically enough.

And the Metroid Prime references were priceless. ^^

Although Tblood removed Ultra's shadow powers during GM: Revival (which enabled him to use the power of darkness and become Shadow Ultra), Redley's return MAY have unforseen consequences that not even the Guardian of Worlds could've forseen...

After all, it's not everyday you discover that you have an assassin inside your head.

(still wishes he could've showcased the Tergo vs. Redley battle)

Aye, you'll probably be getting your fair share of battles soon enough - don't go wishing for more.

But yes, I'd forgotten that detail...I haven't looked up to see whether GMR was eaten by the hackie sack attack or not.

ah, this takes me back to the days of when my freinds would write up our rps in very desciptive story form. you even added musicial links like we did, funkyness.

a nice ending, and well written as well! ^^

GMR is currently in MF Classics...and yes, it was eaten by the Ezhack.

We focus on the Forum Protection Agency's headquarters, which stands on where the future Chaotix Bakey would be built (sorry DL. 😛 ).

DIE! DAMN BAKERY! DIE!

What's with the pastry hatred? I thought you liked the prospect of a bakery. o.o

Guess he didn't like that one so much. 😛