The Black Arm's remaining territory looked as grotesque and gloomy as before. The recent engagements from the Restoration and G.U.N having wreaked havoc on most of the area.
Still, a single stronghold remained where the majority, if not all the remaining Black Arms were residing, if Eggman's analysis were to be correct. It looked terrifying, with the organic walls covering the place, the eerie feeling in the air, and the blood red sky giving such an ominous and intimidating presence.
Clove hated it, she hated all of this. She didn't want to be here, instead she wished she was back with her sister, tending to her, especially when the construction of the Care Suit was about to begin.
But she remembered Eggman's words, which he showed her that day. A Chaos Emerald in his possession, and these aliens wanted it. While that in itself wouldn't be a big surprise for Clove, who had been sent to retrieve them made her heart throb like crazy.
Shadow the Hedgehog. The Ultimate Lifeform. The pronghorn didn't understand why he would side with Black Doom, but that was irrelevant.
Shadow was hunting the Chaos Emerald, if not stopped, sooner or later, he would know on the doors of the base they were currently hiding in. He would not stop until he obtained the Emerald, and that meant obliterating anything that dared stood in front of him.
Even her sister.
Clove didn't care if this Eggman wasn't the monster she worked with before, didn't matter that as evil as he had heard he was, hadn't committed some of the same acts as her previous boss.
Because deep down, she knew that if it came down to it, he would gladly sacrifice her and Cassia to buy time to stop Shadow. Even a different Eggman was still an Eggman's at their core. Of this, she had no doubt.
So when the doctor told her that she was to eliminate the remaining fortress that the Black Arms had and take it over for him, she nodded warily and prepared to embark on this dangerous mission.
She needed to drive out the Black Arms, for Cassia. She won't let her sister face a terrible fate under those damn aliens.
Eggman gave her some of his limited number of Badniks to command and told her the rest was up to her.
And here she was, flying on top of one of the Blowfish, feeling the repugnant air of the territory above of the skies, as she inspected the fortress and how best to organize her fortress for the battle ahead.
She didn't have the forces to mount a proper siege, any loses she sustained would be fatal for this fight, so she needed to strike fast and hard on the heart of their remaining stronghold.
Luckily, she had a way to make that happen.
As the blowfish finally moved into position high above the fortress, Clove radioed Starline.
"I'm in position. Open the portal." She commanded Eggman's fanboy, what the platypus saw in the doctor, Clove would never know. But after meeting people like Maw and Thunderbolt, she gave up on trying to comprehend them.
"Understood lady Clove, summoning the badnik horde immediately." Starline answered without any preamble. "Warning that making a portal this big for all the badniks to pass throught can put risk on the warp topaz because of the amount of energy, I won't risk using it for a while to make sure there aren't any side effects, so you will be on your own without backup if-"
"I know, you have said this several times before." Clove answered calmly as she held tight her scythe. "Just bring over the Doctor's forces, I will handle the rest." She wanted this to be over soon, she wanted to return to Cassia's side.
The scientist didn't answer her verbally, instead, the sight of a weird portal several times the size of the ones he normally summoned appeared just at the entrance of the stronghold, right in the midst of the Black Arms Forces.
As the Egg Hammer, the Hey Ho, the burrowbots and some of the Egg Pawns arrived and began the attack on the caught off guard aliens, Clove gave the last command to finalize her opening strike.
"Release them." Clove ordered the rest of the Egg Pawns aboard the Blowfish, and a few seconds later, they delivered their cargo, the toxomisters, right in the middle of the battlefield.
In no time, the Toxomister's poison began spreading across the entrance of the fortress, weakening the Black arms and giving a Chance for the Super Badniks to demolish their forces, while the egg pawns and the burrobots sowed chaos amidst the enemies..
As the Blowfish landed nearby to release the rest of the egg pawns to assist on the battlefield, Clove analyzed the situation.
Thanks to her ability to command the badniks, The Black Soldiers and Oaks were easily handled by the Egg pawns and the Hey Ho, the burrow boys were dealing with the Sandworm, and while the Black Bolt and the Black Hawks were able to avoid the most damaging effects from the poison, they tried uselessly to stop the siege.
All the while, the Egg Hammer was leading the charge, each hit of its giant hammer making cracks on the fortress entrance and announcing their presence to the world.
All according to plan. Clove thought, now the next step would be-
A chill went through her spine and without questioning it, Clove threw herself from the Blowfish towards the ground, and not a second later a Black Assassin materialized and tried to slice where she had been not a second before with a Black Sword.
Right…she had forgotten about those, their ability to freely reposition in the battlefield would be an annoyance unless she neutralized them first.
Spinning her scythe and shifting her grip, she readied herself for her opponent's next move.
As the alien raised and aimed its Refractor towards her, Clove rushed forward. easily sidestepping the enemy blast then swinging her scythe towards the Assassin.
Of course, the enemy teleported away safely, but Clove was expecting that, letting her momentum carry her forward, she completed a spin when-
The Black Assassin teleports behind her, ready to receive the full swing of her energy weapon.
The creature screeches in pain as it helds the stump that was his arm, the limb and the Refractor dropping to the ground useless.
As she rushes for another swing to finish them off, the Assassin quickly teleports away, after a few seconds of it not reappearing, Clove concludes it must have run away.
She takes a moment to observe the rest of the battlefield, most of the current Black Arms presence had been eliminated without a single loss, and the egg Hammer had just finished destroying the main entrance, giving her and the badniks, an opening to advance.Clove gaze wandered to a Black Volt that was also retreating, hurt from its fight with the badniks. Deciding it wasn't worth pursuing, she decided to proceed with the invasion.
"Egg Pawn squad Beta, load the Toxomisters back to the Blowfish and follow us inside once ready." Clove barked orders, the badniks programmed to follow her every command thanks to the Doctor. "Everyone else, follow Me! Egg Hammer and Hey Ho take charge with me, eliminate all Hostiles!" She shouted as she rushed forward, towards a waiting group of Black Arms, with the two super badniks right behind her.
It might have been because of how unexpected the attack was, or because of the lack of leadership, but the aliens barely presented a threat.
Clove was a whirlwind of death, every swing of her scythe ended another Black Soldier Or Oak, her march of destruction was glorious, as she proceeded deeper into the stronghold, more and more Black Arms died to Clove's unrelenting resolve.
In the middle of the fighting, Clove noticed another of those Black Volts flying above her forces and trying to harass them. Having none of these Clove uses one of the badniks as support to jump towards it and after a quick correction, assumed total control of the best.
Handling her new mount, Clove resumed the advance of her forces, until no enemy remained.
You were Dr. Ivo Robotnik, better known as Eggman, and today, you were quite happy.
Since his defeat by that Hedgehog during his last scheme, he had been humiliated by losing his memories, the entire world deciding to break in itself without his permission, the damn Zeti taking over his Empire, even having some upstarts daring to destroy Metal Sonic.
But today…today things changed, today was the start of something great. The beginning of your revolution.
All these fools had forgotten who was the true master of this world. Letting them squabble like children in the playground for what was basically this.
That won't do, that won't do at all.
So now, there was one thing left to do.
Time to make an announcement.
Oh but he would not be doing this alone, not at all. This was the perfect moment for a Father and daughter bonding moment after all!
"Sage…" You spoke softly the name of your daughter. "Has Clove reported back?" You currently were on your lab, making the final arrangement needed for the grand event, just needed to wait until the signal was given to start,
"Not yet Father." Sage said, her voice equally showing excitement and nervousness. "But I'm tracking her progress, she is doing such excellent work! She has completely eliminated all the forces in the area in less than 2 hours. Such efficiency is admirable for the Empire!"
"Ahhh, of course, I knew that version of me chose her as one of his "Eggboss" for a reason." You mused as you made a mental note to reward Clove somehow, good quality minions were quite hard to find these days. "Are you ready for this?" You ask your daughter, wanting to make sure she was on board for her task.
"Of course father!" Her digital avatar gives you a warm smile, making you smile back. "I'm…excited for you allowing me to do this."
"You have earned it, never forget that." You say as you adjust the handle of your microphone. "Remember Sage, an important piece of advice. While it's good to do things as you have rehearsed, sometimes it's perfectly fine to go off-script and do what you feel is right." You say as any moment now, The Pronghorn will confirm the complete takeover of the last remaining Black Arms Stronghold.
"Understood father, I will do my best!" Her avatar nods. Ahhh, how earnest of her. It was time for the world to be shocked once again!
Just then, a ping was heard, notifying you of an incoming message, without waiting for Sage to identify them, you ask her to connect the call.
"Doctor, it's me, Clove." The Eggboss introduces herself. "We have finished eliminating the last remains of the Black Arms here. We have taken complete control of the area, your orders?"
"Have G.U.N or the Restoration made any moves? What about that pathetic Zeti?" You ask, wanting to make sure there was no one that would interfere with this.
"Negative, we detect no movement from any of them. It's likely they noticed the battle happening but chose not to intervene." She informs you.
"Excellent." You smile widely. "Finish securing the area and wait for Starline to extract you, leave the Badniks there to safeguard the area. Get some rest, your sister is waiting for you. Courtesy of Isara of course."
"..." There was a pause for a moment, the egg boss not sure how to respond. "As you command, Doctor. Clove, out." And with that the transmission ended.
"You heard the lady Sage! It 's our time!" You shout excitedly, grinning like a child, Sage sharing the same excitement as you. "Take it away!"
"As you wish father!" Sage remarks happily. "Connecting to all available broadcasts and channels in the area!" She informs you, ready for your grand debut!
All around Green Hills, every single communication channel, either radio, T.V, the Eggnet, it didn't matter what, found itself transmitting the same thing.
All the people hearing this could not help but be surprised, not because of the sudden transmission, nor for the music, but for who was doing it.
Woo-hoo-ooh-hoo, oh yeah!
D-di-da, d-di-da, d-di-da-da-da-da-da-da-n, oh!
"Citizens of Green Hills!" A young voice resonated, belonging to what seemed to be a child. "We came to make an announcement!"
The story begins with who's gonna win
Knowing the danger that lies within
"For too long, you all have forgotten who is the rightful leader of this place!" The voice said, a mixture of happiness and firmness mixed in. "The Shattering has been such a tragic event that affected all of you!"
Aboard the ARK, a genius at heart
Wanting to unlock the mysteries of life
"But fear no more! The man who is going to fix all the world's mistakes is here! From the Zeti taking command of his rightful place, to G.U.N who have earned his anger, to those of the Empire for harming my brother!" The voice continued to say.
"The name of that person is…"
I am the Eggman
That's what I am
I am the Eggman
I got the master plan
I am the Eggman
That's what I am
I am the Eggman
I got the master plan
"My father, Eggman! Today is his grand return! Rejoice, people!" The girl said excitedly. "We are here to announce his comeback!"
I'm plotting my schemes wherever I go
They're perfect in every way
I'd love to destroy the blue one you know
He's an obstacle that always gets in my way
I must play this game by my rules
I will conquer the world with my tools
All my machines are made for destruction
I will build my empire
I will succeed and you will see
With my machines, there is no retreat
In an office deep in G.U.N. territory, a man was watching the transmission, watching Eggman continue dancing and singing in an absurd but graceful manner.
"This… is a problem." He commented as he retrieved his personal communicator. A bat needed to answer a few questions…
I am the Eggman
That's what I am
I am the Eggman
I got the master plan
I am the Eggman
That's what I am
I am the Eggman
I got the master plan
I am the enemy, I will succeed
My mission, yeah, I must complete
My name is Eggman, don't forget my name
If you ask me again, I will show you the same
Deep in Restoration territory, a beetle looked scared at the transmission, not believing that the monster that had almost conquered the world was back.
She almost jumped from fright when a hand was laid on her shoulders. Looking up, she saw Tangle, her best friend, giving her a nod of determination, making her feel slightly better.
I am the Eggman
That's what I am
I am the Eggman
I got the master plan
I am the Eggman
That's what I am
I am the Eggman
I got the master, master plan
In Empire territory, in the established headquarters, a Valkyrie was listening to the radio, hearing the song and proclamation from that girl. She quickly exited her quarters, and ordered a soldier to send a courier with a Message to her Prince.
There are new developments happening here, and preparations must be made.
I am the Eggman!
Tchu-do-do, doo-do, doo-do, doo-do, doo-doo-do
No, don't, don't, don't just defy, don't you defy, oh
And in Zeti's territory, a hulking image could be seen sitting in a throne, looking incensed at the video of the one daring to slave them, dancing and singing like an idiot. The mere sight of him filling his very being with such OVERWHELMING RAGE!
"EGGMAAAAAAAAANNNN!!!" Zavok shouted to the heavens, his rage reaching a new time high. He didn't care of the slight that the Empire had committed against him, nor of his Master near brush with death anymore.
Only thing he cared about was KILLING THAT EGG SHAPED PERSON!
"Prepare the troops! Soon, our vengeance will be achieved!!!" He shouts to his subordinates, as preparations are made for the upcoming assault.
*Ring Ring Ring*
"Yes? Oh Towers, how nice of you to call me, what do you want from me?"
"You had informed us that Eggman was neutralized."
"Oh yeah, I did mention that, didn't I? That was before the Shattering. Unfortunately, many things can change in a few months."
"We tried to search that village, but we never were able to find that "Mr. Tinker.", somehow, he managed to recover his memories…or someone else took over him."
"Yeah…I was afraid that was a possibility, Hopefully the old Egg shaped man manages to make Sonic appear soon."
"I need you here, soon. Now that Eggman is active, things can get even more…dangerous. We need to assess his next moves, soon."
"Oh, really? And I was enjoying such a nice vacation, it's rude to ask a gal to-"
"They just wiped out the entirety of Black Arms forces in the area, we don't have confirmation of what happened with Shadow. There is a possibility that he left Green Hills but we aren't sure. Eggman might have captured him."
"...We will be there soon."
"Thank you, and good luck."
"Ugh, what a gal has to do for the people she cares about. Omega! Time to finish up here and pack our things! An old friend has appeared!"
"Perfect! Point me at Eggman! My bullets shall express how much I have missed him! He shall explode!!!"
"Sure, Omega, sure."
Results: Eggman has introduced himself and Sage across all factions in Green Hills.
100 Metal obtained from the Raid.
Obtained Black Arms Material. Options to study it unlocked!
Zavok has reached abridged Vegeta levels of rage, be careful, he is coming to kill Eggman soon.