In the sky, the Resistance Battleships were engaged in a fierce battle with Eggman's fleet. The sound of lasers roared in the clouds as they littered the sky. On the ground, Sonic was grinding on a rail from the edge of Eggman's fortress and making his way through until he reached solid ground. He then began to run across a path, which took him downward.
"The Rainbooms opened a path for me to finish Infinite. I'm not going to waste it!" Sonic declared.
The Blue Blur reached another pathway, located in the metallic canyon. In his way, Egg Pawns formed a blockade and they all fired at once. Sonic easily evaded the barrage of lasers and split through the robots as a single streak. This made them fall in half while he continued on ahead.
Sonic went down even further and reached a darkened area. The only light available was red lasers in the gaps between and the dark purple lights on the platforms below. Coming his way were 4 Egg chasers, whom quickly unloaded their beams. The speedy hero sidestepped and was safe. He then became a streak and blitz through each of the flying enemies. Doing this brought him to the platforms more quickly. Sonic sped along and came into the daylight again. The region he was in now had many smaller platforms to fill it. With his speed, he jumped off each of them and landed on a rail. Via grinding, Sonic was taken around Eggman's fortress and landed on a highway. As soon as he did, he used his boost and burst through any enemy he came across, which included Egg Cutters, Egg Walkers and Egg Pawns. The highway ended in another large canyon, with larger platforms. The super sonic youth continued with his boost and used it to fly across an enormous gap ahead. He reached another path up ahead and turned his boost off. Egg Pawns prepared to stop him but Sonic quickly unleashed a shockwave from his feet before they had the chance. With the path free, he raced through and it became light once more. Here, there were many small bridges placed around. Sonic ran off each of them and started down a steep slope. He ended up on another highway and traversed through it. Egg Choppers flew above him, but he made quick work of them with his streak attack, hitting them one by one. He was now in another canyon and it consisted of parallel paths at different heights and longer platforms than before. The fastest thing alive leaped from platform to platform before he took the highest path. He then took a small jump across and reached one more highway. Egg Walkers, who were hovering above, dropped bombs while Sonic ran ran. Now, he was running through bursts of flame all around, but this didn't phase him much. He'd been through worse. In order to stop the assault, the blue warrior created 3 vortexes as the bombs fell. This carried them back into the air, making them denote ahead and taking out the Egg Walkers.
"Got you with your own weapons." Sonic smirked.
Sonic reached the Highway's end and ran towards the entrance of Imperial Tower. There, he found Infinite waiting for him, who floated in a magenta aura. He stopped in his tracks and glared up at his foe.
"Pathetic boy. Even if the Phantom Ruby is weakened, I'm more than enough to finish you." Infinite threatened. "I'll show you how outclassed you are."
"Yeah, yeah. Do you ever stop with the overly-dramatic lines and threats? It got old a while back. Time for me to shut you up!" Sonic boasted.
Infinite's body split apart and in his place, a barrage of rotating x-shaped waves of cubes towards Sonic. The blue hero dashed through each of them, timing his movement by going through each of the narrow gaps. Once Sonic had moved past all of them, Infinite reappeared and Sonic lunged towards him as a streak. The dark villain simply moved right and Sonic missed. He skidded to the ground and tried to hit the illusionist once more with the same maneuver. This time, Infinite flicked his wrist and sent Sonic back before he made contact. Once he landed on the ground, Sonic sprung right back into mid-air and tried a kick downward. Infinite effortlessly blocked it but in response, his heroic adversary unleashed a barrage of kicks from his right foot that Infinite caught with one hand. Sonic then tried another kick using his other leg, which made Infinite tilt his head backward slightly. The azure speedster then tried a punch, but his enemy took a hold of his wrist and blew Sonic away with a red pulse. Infinite then teleported behind him, ready to strike. However, thanks to his quick reflexes, Sonic suddenly moved over his masked rival, and kicked him down with a reverse ax kick. Before Infinite hit the floor, Sonic pursued him as a streak and crashed him into the ground. Sonic then landed on his feet but Infinite was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, he felt a sharp sting on his back.
"Arrgh!' Sonic grunted as a red beam hit him directly. This made him fall back a bit.
"This will be how it ends. This place will be your grave." The master of illusions promised as he charged up two energy spheres before he fired them.
"Nah, it would suit you more." Sonic disagreed as he shrugged off the pain and avoided Infinite's spheres.
Sonic then charged towards Infinite, unleashing a frenzy of streak attacks. Infinite teleported and dodged every single one. When the last one was over, he appeared in front of Sonic and tried to kick him. Sonic responded with a kick of his own, which collided with Infinite's, though Sonic slid back a few feet. The Phantom Ruby's bearer then floated in the air and created giant walls of cube above the quickster in an attempt to crush him with them. Sonic zipped ahead out of their way and turned into a more focused streak to hit Infinite. Infinite defend himself but due to the nature of Sonic's attack, the latter pushed against the former. Infinite struggled a bit but sent his opponent back with a red distortion wave. Sonic reached the ground safely and turned to see that Infinite's glow was more prominent.
"The Phantom Ruby is recharged Sonic. You're finished. Now..Die!" The masked villain yelled.
Suddenly, a yellow spear headed towards Infinite, who quickly dodged it.
"What?" He said as both Sonic and himself looked to see who fired it.
Heading towards the battle was Shadow, much to both Sonic's and Infinite's delight, though for different reasons. Shadow arrived next to Sonic and quickly glared at Infinite.
"Shadow?!" Sonic questioned.
"You." Infinite said. "Hahahaha. This is wonderful. I was so thrilled when I saw you were out of my prison. I wanted you to be aware of how much stronger I am than you now. It was a wonderful show, wasn't it?"
Shadow tightened his fist.
"It's over Infinite." He simply said. "Sonic, stand back. I'm going to finish him."
Before Sonic could protest, the Ultimate Lifeform disappeared in a blue flash, which made Infinite vanish in a glitch. Above, Sonic saw a mixture of red and blue distortions appear randomly in the air, signifying his newest foe and arch rival clashing. After this occurred for a while, Shadow was sent back away from Infinite and returned to the ground. He conjured another Chaos Spear and attempted to use it to pierce Infinite. However, Infinite simply caught it with a simple grip.
"Wow there, that could have been dangerous." He sarcastically said.
Infinite's hand glowed red and he fired a beam at close range. Shadow blocked it by crossing his arms but was sent back further in the air. Eggman's lieutenant then flew towards him and unleashed an ax kick. Again, the black blur blocked it but the impact sent him to the to the surface blow.
"I told you before. This power is un rivalled." Infinite boasted as he shot forward a flurry of cubes to Shadow.
The dark hero skated forward and teleported in small sequences to avoid them. He then appeared above Infinite and became a streak. However, Infinite charged to him in a red aura, which caused Shadow to be repelled away from him when they made contact. He then returned next to Sonic and found his footing. Shadow then grit his teeth with frustation.
"What's wrong, Shadow? Are you feeling helpless? Weak?"Infinite taunted. "It's only natural before me."
Shadow remained silent and prepared to engage Infinite once more. However, pillars of red cubes erupted around him, leaving him trapped in a box of some sort. He looked around at the sight as the cubes got in closer.
"Now, you will submit to my power!" Infinite declared as the cubes started to engulf his hated nemesis.
However, from a narrow opening at the top, Sonic descended through in an attempt to try and help his number one rival, much to Shadow's surprise.
"Sonic, what are you-" He started to say as his blue counterpart came down next to him.
"You can't hog Infinite all to yourself. He and I have something special." Sonic joked. "Now, we can-"
Sonic's sentence was cut off as he and Shadow were enveloped by red cubes, which caused a giant distortion sound to be heard.
When the two speedsters opened their eyes, they found themselves in a red shaded area and glitchy area.
"Just what was that back there?" Shadow questioned. "You just walked right into his attack."
"Ok, I admit, I didn't have a plan." Sonic confessed. "But no worries. Now the two of us can take him down together."
"What part of I'm finishing him did you fail to comprehend?" His anti heroic rival answered.
"And how's that going so far, faker?" Sonic retorted.
Before Shadow could answer, the area around them suddenly materialized. Sonic and Shadow were standing on a metallic floor, with the rest of the room matching its design.
"Where did he-" Sonic began before he stopped short due to the sight of the planet....which was visible through a thick glass window right in front of him and Shadow. This made both of them start to recognize the location they were in.
"Shadow...are we..."Sonic began to say.
"Yes. This the Ark." Shadow finished. "I don't know what Infinite is up to bringing us here but we need to stay alert."
"Fake or not, sure brings back memories. It's where I first beat you." Sonic teased.
"A self-serving memory is dangerous." Shadow replied with a slight smirk.
"Shadow?" The voice of a young girl suddenly said from behind.
Hearing this caused Shadow to freeze up instantly. The voice, he recognized it. He could never forget it. Shadow slowly began to turn around and a few feet away was Maria, alive and healthy. The black wind was totally stunned to see his deceased foster sister before him and was speechless.
"Shadow. It really is you!" Maria exclaimed.
"Wow, this is just messed up." Sonic grimly said as he clenched his fist. He felt anger surging due to what Infinite was doing, defiling such a precious memory of Shadow's.
"Shadow, I've missed you so much.I'm so glad we can be together again." The young girl went on went on. "Come. My grandfather is waiting for us."
Shadow just stood there, still processing everything that happened. This made Maria confused.
"Shadow? What's wrong?" She questioned.
"Back up. We both know this is fake, so whatever mind games you're up to, it won't work." Sonic quickly said.
"Fake? Shadow, what's he saying? You know it's me. Don't you think we've been separated for too long?" Maria went on. "Why aren't you glad?"
"Didn't you hear? We-" Sonic began before Shadow raised his arm.
"Sonic. Let me." His dark ally requested. His tone was much softer than usual. This made Sonic back down but he looked at Shadow with concern.
"You. No matter how much the Phantom Ruby wants me to believe. No. No matter how much I want to believe. You aren't real." Shadow said in a monotone voice with his head slightly down.
"What are you talking about, Shadow? I'm-"Maria said.
"No. You aren't her." Shadow interrupted, looking at Maria right in the eyes. "Maria died a long time ago. I will always treasure her but, she's the past. I live for the present. I promised both her and myself."
Maria suddenly formed a sad look as Shadow started to turn his back on her.
"Shadow. Don't go. Are you going to let me die again?" She asked.
Sonic's eyes widened with worry while the black colored hero kept quiet for a while.
"Sayanora...Maria." He answered. "Sonic, let's go."
"Right." His blue comrade agreed as he also turned his back to the fake Maria. The two of them sped on ahead. While they did, the area around them began to glitch out before it shattered entirely.
In the real world, Sonic and Shadow both fell forward slightly and took in a few breathes as Infinite looked on.
"Well, since you two made it this far, I shouldn't be too surprised that you could resist my illusions for a bit. But it still must have had some impact?" The sadistic villain gloated.
Sonic angrily looked up at Infinite.
"Infinite, you've gone too far!" He yelled while Infinite chuckled slightly.
Shadow then rose up slowly with a straight posture as Infinite watched. The look in his eye was much more intense than Sonic's, fuelled by total fury.
"Oh, what a glare." Infinite said in an amused tone. "I must have touched a nerve."
"Sonic, get back." Shadow ordered as he prepared to remove his inhibitor rings.
"Wow, think about it faker. I get you're mad and all but doing that will do no good. We're not totally sure that Chaos Blast will work and if it doesn't, you'll just be drained and vulnerable." The blue haired youth brought up.
For the second time, Shadow hated that Sonic had a point. He then brought his arms down.
"Then what do you suggest?" Shadow said, taking Sonic back.
"Wow, you're actually listening to me?" He said with slight disbelief.
"Hurry up before I change my mind." The somber warrior demanded.
"Oh, well how about a lightspeed attack to throw him off?" Th upbeat fighter suggested.
"Hmph." Shadow simply responded, which Sonic took as a yes.
The two rivals then began to run and skate in place respectively. In doing so, many orbs of light began to enter their bodies.
"What's this? No matter what you do, it's useless!" Infinite announced as he stuck his hand out and shot many large cube streams.
Sonic and Shadow continued to charge as the cubes headed their way. Just before they made contact, the two of them burst ahead in the form of cyan and bright yellow beams of light. Infinite's cubes missed and he was now surrounded by the two beams moving around in a frenzy.
"I told you. It's useless. A small light show won't stop me!" The masked one gloated as he charged up a red aura and prepared to unleash a shockwave.
Before he could, Infinite suddenly felt a strong force ram him in the back, which made him lose his sense of balance.
"What?!" He yelled in a bewildered manner.
Infinite didn't get a chance to do anything else as he was suddenly hit at ramming speed right in the chest. He was then suddenly being knocked around the area rapidly. His two challengers moved too fast for him to keep up. Eventually, Infinite was hit upward before he was sent crashing down below. Infinite managed to regain his balance and slid on the floor while on his knees.
"Don't believe you'll get a second chance like that!" He snarled.
A few feet ahead, Sonic and Shadow landed next to each other before they began to head straight towards Infinite, both of them surrounded in their boost. They held up their fist and punched. At the last second, the rogue managed to catch both of their boost powered fists but with much difficulty as he was nearly blown back. Sonic and Shadow were now at a stalemate with Infinite, who began producing a red field. He was slowly moving back as the determined heroes pushed forward.
"You..." Infinite seethed.
"Come on...." Sonic muttered.
"Tch..." Shadow grunted.
The deadlock between the 3 fighters continued on until they were all blow away from each other. Infinite headed mid-air and stopped himself midway. Sonic and Shadow skidded on the ground but weren't done yet. Sonic jumped ahead towards Infinite. As he did, his dark ally fired a Chaos Spear directly at his feet, which pushed him further with a burst of Chaos Energy. He reached Infinite and delivered a right hook, which was augmented by his momentum. This made Infinite move back a few inches and there, Shadow teleported and unleashed a flaring kick with his skates on Infinite's skull. Shadow's kick blew him down to his knees.
On the ground, Infinite then began to clench his fist as he processed what happened.
"(What..Are they trying to overpower me?! Me?! How dare they?! I will show them...my power is...Infinite!)" He mentally declared.
Sonic and Shadow appeared to each other, ready to continue the fight as their combatant rose once more. His aura then began to pulse while his head dangled. He then stared his two enemies down with vigorous anger, his body surrounding the area with a red wave, which disoriented Sonic and Shadow.
"YOU CAN'T DEFEAT ME!!" He shouted as his aura expanded into an electrified one and he charged towards Sonic and Shadow.
With their speed and reflexes, the fast dueo barely evaded Infinite's attack, certainly not helped by Infinite's wave. However, Infinite's trail gave off electric bursts, which they were in proximity of. They felt the backlash and this slammed both of them on the side. Infinite watched from above, pleased with himself.
"Great..now he's mad." Sonic muttered as he rose from the ground. 'All we just did is succeed in ticking him off."
"We need to end this now." Shadow decided.
"You are right! Sonic, Shadow. It is time for me to finish you both! In the past, you were formidable threats but now, you are nothing! I am the strongest!" Infinite manically announced.
Infinite expanded his hands as cubes began to swirl around to form an enormous energy sphere.
"I'm going to create an illusion so powerful and terrifying that your minds will be forever destroyed!" He threatened.
"Huh. That doesn't look good."Sonic said with a slight smile.
Shadow tugged at his wrist and removed one of his inhibitor rings, which made Sonic turn to him with a look of surprise.
"Hello? Didn't you remember what I told you from before, faker?" The blue wind reminded. "Chaos Blast is too risky. I know you're stubborn but come on."
"I'm not going to use Chaos Blast." His more serious equivalent answered as he took off another ring. "I'm going to use my full power to boost through that attack and hit Infinite. It's the best chance we have."
"Hold up,faker." Sonic protested. "You're forgetting something. Me. Like I said before, you're not the only with an ax to grind with this guy. Quit leaving me out. It hurts."
Shadow turned to Sonic and let out a small smirk.
"If you insist. Just don't slow me down." He remarked.
Sonic then crouched and began to vibrate his body at a high speed while also using his figure 8 move to charge up a powerful force of speed. A yellow aura began to emerge from Shadow and started to rise. Infinite noticed them and scoffed.
"Struggle all you want! This the end!" The unhinged villain yelled as he hurled his mass of cubes to Sonic and Shadow.
With Infinite's incoming attack, Sonic and Shadow acted. Shadow's aura exploded in a large one as skated ahead in a Chaos powered boost. Sonic, on the other hand, moved forward after building up all that speed and unleashed a sonic boom, propelling himself in a wild aura. Both of their fields combined and reinforced each other as they made contact with Infinite's energy sphere. It was a difficult task to move forward as twin speedsters were stuck against the energy sphere, which didn't appear to be budging.
"I knew it! In the end, your last act of resistance is futile!" Infinite berated.
Suddenly, user of the Phantom Ruby noticed that his sphere was starting to faintly fade. He saw cubes rising in the air and vanishing, which puzzled him. While this was occurring, his orb was starting to shrink. Infinite's eyes widened with shock due to this.
"What?!" He shouted.
Sonic and Shadow were managing to push through Infinite's assault, chipping away at the energy ball bit by bit until it dispersed in a flurry of cubes. This made Infinite paralyzed with disbelief due to what he just witnessed.
"No!" He yelled as the two speedy heroes burst up ahead and straight towards him.
Infinite was too caught off guard to defend, leaving him open to Sonic and Shadow's combined boost hitting him at full power. The forces of their auras damaged him greatly as the two continued to push their attack. Infinite's body flailed around due to the attack's feedback. Eventually, they went past him as their former undefeated enemy was launched several feet in the air while Sonic and Shadow landed on the floor, their boosts giving out. Infinite then crashed to the floor, with a battered body. His mask was cracked and his body started to glitch out while red sparks 'bled' from his arms and knees. He then began to twitch while the victorious allies caught their breaths. They were feeling pretty worn out. They then turned to see the defeated Infinite.
"Yeah. That was great, partner." Sonic said as he stuck his hand out for a fist bump to Shadow.
Shadow looked stoically at Sonic with an unimpressed look.
"Don't push it." He warned.
"Sonic!" Sunset's voice said from above, which caused Sonic and Shadow to see her coming towards them.
"Sunset. Great work on stopping that sun." Sonic congratulated.
"Thanks. The girls and I were heading down to join everyone else but I saw this giant energy eruption and wanted to check it out. Was that you?" Sunset asked.
"Yep. Me and the faker." Sonic said as he pointed to the latter, who crossed his arms.
"Figures Shadow would be involved." The magical heroine replied. "You working with Sonic? That's something you don't see every day."
"Hmph. Don't get used to seeing it." Shadow simply answered.
Behind them, Sunset noticed Infinite's defeated form, much to her amazement.
"Wow. You guys beat Infinite?" She questioned.
"Oh yeah. It was pretty cool." Sonic boasted while Shadow kept silence.
" Shadow, I'm glad you decided to stay with us instead of going off on your own. We really needed your help." Sunset praised as she turned back to Shadow.
"Like I said. Don't get used to seeing it." Shadow repeated, which made his companion beam.
Infinite suddenly began to stir, which made the 3 resistance members turn to see him rising. He couldn't even stand, no matter how much he wanted to.Only his knees could support his body.
"No. This can't be happening. I can't be beaten.." Infinite weakly said.
"Wrong. What can't be beaten are the bonds of friendship." Sunset told him while Sonic playfully rolled his eyes in the background. " That's why you lost Infinite. It doesn't matter how strong you get, you'll never beat that as long as we have it on our side."
"Absurd. I don't need friends. They are an illusion which will fade eventually. Nothing last forever..." The defeated rogue retorted.
Sunset's look softened. Despite everything he had done, she was actually feeling some pity for Infinite, which she never expected to happen. Now, he just looked so lonely and sad.
"Infinite. Didn't you have friends once? You must know what it's like." She questioned
"I-." Infinite began as memories of his time with old squad resurfaced.
"No. I have never had any use them for them." He reaffirmed, trying to convince himself after he shook his head.
Sunset just looked on at Infinite sadly while Sonic and Shadow's expressions were more neutral. Shadow then stepped forward.
"It's over now. You've lost." Shadow told him.
Just then Infinite's body became transparent as he was suddenly lifted in the air, much to his displeasure.
"No! Wait! I can still-"He protested before he became a magenta beam and was pulled towards the top of Imperial tower. This left Sonic, Shadow and Sunset stunned by this.
"I must admit, this is unexpected. I did not think Infinite could be defeated."Eggman said as he descended down towards the trio, who looked at him with tense glares.
"Thought you did have the help of my grandfather's masterpiece, so I shouldn't be too surprised." Eggman continued while looking at Shadow.
"This isn't over. Far from it! My plan just entered overtime!" The doctor finished.
Meanwhile, much earlier when Sonic had left to go find Infinite, Knuckles and the Heavy King faced each other. Knuckles hit his fist together, ready to brawl while the King laid down his scepter.
"Careful Knuckles. He's the leader of those elite Eggman robots we've fought." Amy warned, which made Knuckles grin.
"I couldn't ask for a better opponent now. Stand back and help the rest of our forces." Knuckles commanded, ready for action.
Amy nodded as she and the others rose up. She then led them back to the main fight, leaving Knuckles with the Heavy King.
"You're the closest to smashing Eggman I'm going to get. Get ready!" The Resistance leader warned as he rushed towards the King.
Knuckles began by punching rapidly at the robot, who used his scepter to block the hits. When Knuckle's last hit collided with the scepter, the King spun it around after and the top began to glow purple. He then unleashed a straight purple beam. Luckily, the brawler rolled to the side to dodge it. The metallic monarch wasn't over it as he continued to fire beams while Knuckles moved around the area to dodge them. Knuckles then leaped mid-air and glided to the King before he could fire a blast. This forced him to use his scepter to block when the guardian came close. The robotic tyrant was then pushed a few feet away and Knuckles landed. He immediately continued his assault on his opponent, this time unleashing a different combination of punches instead of just punching straight. The King blocked them, but it was more difficult due to Knuckle's different forms. During his attack, the red hero saw an opening and went with a right hook at the King's face. Instead of hitting his head, The Heavy King caught Knuckles punch. The two of them struggled for a bit as the ruler's scepter glowed once more and he slammed the bottom on the ground. This created a purple shockwave that blew Knuckles back and he fell to the ground. He quickly rose up as the King laid down his staff.
"Don't think I'm done yet." Knuckles boasted.
The Heavy King's scepter charged up energy once more and this time he began to fire energy spheres at Knuckles. The treasure hunter ran straight towards him, evading the spheres as mini explosions appeared everywhere. Then the robotic sovereigns scepter began to glow more prominently as several orbs began to surround. He then quickly flung the attack at Knuckles. Due to their incoming speed and number, it seemed Knuckles didn't have time to dodge as an eruption of energy appeared where he stood. The King looked on to see no trace of his adversary. This caused him to look up proudly. Just then, the ground beneath him began to crack, much to his curiosity. The machine leader looked down and after that, Knuckles emerged from the ground, landing a strong punch on the King's chin. Despite hitting him, the King quickly recovered and grabbed Knuckles's torso. He then slammed him on the ground. Close to his face, the mechanized emperor began to charge up an energy blast. Acting quickly, Knuckles jammed his fist in the ground and propelled his feet to land a kick on the Heavy King's face. The stubborn hero continued to push his kick on the King and this eventually sent him back while Knuckles flipped off the ground. The Heavy King quickly reformed his offensive stance.
"Sonic's probably found Infinite by now." Knuckles said to himself. "He'd never let me live it down if he beat that masked freak while I lost to this."
The Heavy King began to surround his body with energy spheres, forming a field. He then rose in the air and flew straight towards Knuckles. Knuckles somersaulted while his enemy left behind an energy trail. The King then turned around and tried to ram into Knuckles once more, who was able to dodge as he jumped to the side. The highest ranked Heavy then attempted his attack once more and instead of jumping, Knuckles stood his ground. As the King got in close enough, the red fighter struck the ground with both fists, making an explosive shockwave which crashed into the Heavy King's field. This made both of them pushed back due to the resulting force of the clash. Knuckles slid on the ground and started to pant. The fight was starting to wear him out while the Heavy King still seemed ready to go. The King's staff flashed purple and he rose it up in the air. As it did, spectral versions of the Phantom Heavies appeared ahead, taking Knuckles off guard. They then headed in his direction.
"I don't care how many of you there are. I'll smash you all!" He declared as he ran ahead.
Knuckles threw a punch towards the incoming Phantom Rider. Much to his shock, his fist simply went through the Rider as he stumbled forward a bit.
"What the?" The confused commander said in a perplexed state as the other Heavies phased through him.
Unfortunately, Knuckles was caught off guard by this and this allowed for the Heavy King to fire 3 energy spheres which hit him directly. This sent him crashing to the ground.
On the battle, the main Resistance members were still dealing with the replica army. It appeared that they had the upper hand. As a portion of the army began to attack, a large pink explosion covered them. Above, it was Pinkie, joined by 5 other Rainbooms as they descend down.
"Hiiiiiii!" Pinkie greeted.
"You all made it back safe. Thank goodness." Amy expressed with relief. "
"Oh, but we almost didn't. There was an awful laser chasing us as we got close." Fluttershy. "It could have ended badly."
"But it didn't. We owe you guys a huge one for getting rid of that sun." Manic thanked. "That's hardcore."
"What did you expect from us? Now let's go kick some more butt!" Rainbow Dash eagerly said.
"Wait, wasn't Sunset with you?" Silver wondered.
"She saw an energy spike up ahead and went to investigate." Twilight responded. "I hope it wasn't anything dangerous."
AppleJack then noticed Knuckles was missing.
"Hey, wheres' Knuckles?" She asked.
"He stayed behind to fight the leader of those robots we held off for you." Rouge explained. "You know how he is. Always trying to the big tough guy."
AppleJack formed a look of concern which then became determined.
"Ah'm going to go help im. " She decided. "He could be in big trouble if he's taking on the boss."
"That sounds like a good idea." Espio agreed. "The others were quite formidable, so I imagine the leader is on a different level."
"Fine. But be careful." Rarity cautioned as AppleJack nodded.
The bass playing Rainboom then flew towards Knuckle's location while the rest of the Rainbooms joined the battle.
The Heavy King continued to fire energy spheres at Knuckles, which moved around in a frenzy. This made it difficult for him to dodge due to how unpredictable they were. He just barely avoided two as a third one was incoming. The resistance clenched his fist and released a flaming uppercut that sent the sphere back to the crowned head. It didn't do much damage as the elite robot simply defended himself with his staff. The Heavy King then raised it, ready to fire another blast while Knuckles prepared himself. Just then, AppleJack's lasso wrapped around the scepter, which made the King look back to see her struggling to yank it from him.
"AppleJack?!" Knuckles questioned. "You should be helping the others fight on the battlefield."
"I figured you could use ma *grunt* help!" She answered back. "Hurry, hit im!"
Knuckles realized the Heavy King was open due to being involved in a tug of war with AppleJack and ran towards him for a punch, his fist covered in fire. The King noticed him incoming and from the top of his scepter, he unleashed two beams. The martial artist's came into contact with one blast, which he was put at a stalemate with before he was sent backward. Meanwhile, AppleJack had to let go of her lasso in order to avoid the blast that headed her way. She flew past it and landed next to Knuckles. The Heavy King twirled his weapon and stared down his two enemies. He then surrounded himself with energy spheres once more
"So since you came to help, any ideas?" Knuckles asked AppleJack. "Me trying to just smash him isn't working out well. He's going to charge at it."
The blonde farm girl then got an idea, thanks to Knuckle's last sentence.
"If he's gonna try that, we'll just have to meet im head on!" She decided as she took out her rope and suddenly threw it around Knuckles. He then got what she was up to.
"Ok, let's do it!" He agreed.
AppleJack then began to spin her red comrade around with all her strength. At the same, her body began to glow yellow and this was being transported to Knuckles. He was now shining yellow due to the surge of magical energy. The strong Rainboom continued to swing him around a few times. Then, the Heavy King moved forward to the power duo with his energy spheres. Due to this, AppleJack let go and flung Knuckles directly to the King, the former flying with his fists straight out as a yellow projectile. When he collided with the Heavy' boss, a small eruption of energy erupted. The Heavy King was blown in the air, his chest having a large dent in it and his scepter broke in two. Knuckles landed on the ground and looked up to the airborne machine.
The red resistance leader put his fist together and charged up red energy while purple orbs surrounded him. When he was finished, he released the stored power as he flew upwards in a red field at high speed. He went straight through the Heavy King, using his Maximum Heat Knuckles attack. The King's broken pieces crashed to the ground, crackled a bit with electricity and then shut down as Knuckles came to the ground once more. He turned to see AppleJack rushing towards him.
"Thanks AJ. I did really need your help after all." He congratulated. "With this and that pep talk back there, you're a good partner."
"It was nothin." AppleJack modestly replied though she was flattered by his praise. "But that was the last of those super robots right? That means we took out one more chunk of the army."
"Right! We're sure to win now." Knuckles said.
Suddenly, Tails appeared on the comms for everyone to hear.
"My Miles Electric says the Phantom Ruby's signal is moving underground. Eggman is up to something!" He informed everyone.