//------------------------------// // What's On the Inside // Story: Way Past Equestria // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// "BIONIC FARM/ARM!" Twin forces of southern might slammed into the side of the Master King and sent it staggering, giving Sonic the opening he needed to move. He zipped away right before a blast from the Master King annihilated where he had been standing. He didn't dwell on it. He attacked the King from every which way, forcing himself to go faster and faster. The King raised a hand to snap its fingers, only for whips made of pure chaos to wrap themselves around its hand. Shadow and Discord used whatever might they had left to keep the King from snapping. Eggman snarled and aimed the other hand at them, only to watch in surprise as Twilight, Pinkie and Rarity used their might to hold it in place as well. "What do you fools think you are doing?" Sombra asked. "It is taking all of your might to simply hold our fingers in place. Do you truly believe that you can-?" A blast of power slammed into the Master King's head, snapping it to the side. The King glared over to see that Tails and Rotor had managed to take what remained of the Final Gambit and turned it into a bazooka. The Master King looked towards the pair as power conjured around its head, but a squirrel landed on the head and slammed her wrist rings into the side of it, creating a hard light shield around the head. It wouldn't stop their power for long, but just long enough. "Sonic! Grab ze master emerald!" Antoine yelled at Sonic. "Of course!" Sonic realized with a smile. With speed that no one, not even Rainbow, could keep up with, Sonic rocketed towards the Master King. The King roared as it slammed its feet into the ground, conjuring everything from buildings to pillar of magic. But Sonic had hope now. And that hope allowed him to evade each attack before spin dashing into the shield of the Master King. "Nice try, Sonic, but you didn't really think that we would just let you touch us, did you? Wouldn't want you to scratch the paint," Sombra snarled. Sonic smirked up at Sombra before reality broke for a moment and Pinkie appeared where Sonic had been. Eggman and Sombra tried to comprehend what they had just seen before they realized that Sonic had gotten through their barrier. "Game over, eggheads!" Sonic yelled as he placed his hand on the Master Emerald...only for nothing to happen. Sonic had just a moment to try to figure out what had gone wrong before a backfist sent him sprawling across the ground. "But...that should have..." "Do you really think that would leave such an object of power out in the open, where any of you could simply grab it with ease? Do you really think that we are that foolish?" "Would you be mad if I said yes?" Sonic asked. Then his eyes narrowed as he noticed something around the tree of harmony. "Wait...are those...?" "Just noticing that, eh Sonic?" Sombra mocked. "That's right. We didn't just stop at the Master Emerald or the Tree of Harmony. All your little friends that we killed? We stole their souls, Sonic. Their souls power our machine now. That way, there's a little piece of them here with you when you die." "You...absolute...monster..." "Sonic, flattery won't save you here," Robotnik sneered. With one more use of might the Master King broke free from the bonds of the other heroes. It blasted its hands behind it, using its immense power to knock the other heroes back. It took aim with its harmonious hand and fired at Sonic, only for the blast to be stopped by a barrier of violet magic. "Twilight. Always a killjoy, right til the bitter end," Sombra snarled. "Anything to make you as miserable as possible," Twilight replied. Another blast destroyed her barrier and knocked her down. Twilight unleashed all of her harmonic might into the King, only for its barrier to stop her dead. Sonic tried to help her back up as the King aimed both hands at the pair this time. "Well congrats. You've ticked me off for the last time. I hope it gives you some small comfort when you get to the afterlife and have to tell all your little friends how you failed them," Sombra darkly replied. "Now, and if I have to repeat this again I'm going to scream, it is time that you die, once and for-" "Yeehaw!" Bunnie rocketed in from behind the Master King, wielding what remained of Antoine's blade that was fueled with chaos power. With all her bionic might she drove the blade into the back of the Master King, before driving her foot into the hilt to plunge it into the King's body. Eggman and Sombra roared in rage as they swatted the rabbit out of the sky, firing blasts at her as she tumbled. Shadow managed to get to her in time to pull her out of the way, but the explosions were still large enough to send the both of them sprawling. "She pierced through our armor? How?!" Eggman roared. "Now! While zere is an opening!" Antoine yelled. Discord unleashed what power he had left and created two, giant clawed hands that dug into the back of the Master King, peeling the metal back so all could see what made the King tick. And what they saw shook them. In place of a skeletal structure was the Tree of Harmony, having been broken up to form the skeleton. Whereas the Master Emerald rested in the chest of the Master King, acting as it's heart. The layout of the King caused the heroes to gasp, all except for Antoine, who smiled as his suspicions were confirmed. "I knew it. Ze are not using ze combined might of zhe Tree and zhe Master Emerald. Zey are using it separately," Antoine explained. "Zhe most powerful source of Harmony to combat Harmony and zhe master of chaos to fight chaos. Throw in a little dark magic at it seems like it is unstoppable. Zhe two objects are so strong that it allows them to create magic that is both harmony and chaos. But clearly even zhe villains have to abide by some rules. Zhe two cannot touch." "Congrats, you figured out our secret," Robotnik sneered. The Master King snapped its fingers and blasted back the heroes once more, before another wave of its hand repaired the damage done. Then a barrier of both Harmony and Chaos formed around the King and it seemed to grow even larger in size. "But it will do you no good. You managed to scratch the paint. Now let us return the favor." The King fired a black laser that wiped past Sonic and caught Tails in the forehead. Tails went down as dark crystals formed all along his body. Sonic couldn't afford a moment to call out his name because in the next instance the Master King yanked them all into the air, where it fired black crystals at all of them. Discord nearly tore himself apart using his power to free the heroes, just managing to get them out of the way in time. The heroes split up and tried to attack the Master King again, but the villains were done playing. Time froze to the Master Kings will, leaving the heroes open to be taken down one by one. The King fired off blasts of darkness that struck Sally and Pinkie Twilight finally managed to activate a counter spell that allowed her to break through the stopped time, only to take a blast of shadow to the chest herself. Crystals had barely begun to form over her as the Master King fired at Rarity, who was spared only by Shadow taking the blast for her. She barely had time to call out his name before she was blasted as well. Fluttershy and Rotor were next, before the King was finally stopped by a blast of energy that struck it in the back. "That rabbit has to go," Sombra growled. "Agreed," Robotnik said as the King turned to face Bunnie. "Now be very quiet. I'm killing rabbits." Bunnie took to the sky to avoid the first blast. The King continued to fire at her, ignoring Sonic and Rainbow Dash as they pounded in vain against its shields. Bunnie managed to avoid the second and third shots, but the fourth final got her in the legs. She cried out as her thrusters were consumed by crystals, sending her into a death spiral. She hit the ground hard, but managed to retain enough sense to eject her legs from her body before her whole body could be consumed. The King fired another blast at her, one that she managed to block with a barrier. But the crystals began to go up her arm, forcing her to eject that limb as well. "Looks like your all out of tricks, rabbit," Sombra said. The King swatted away Sonic and Rainbow, before blasting back Applejack as well. "And while I would love nothing more than you to add your crystal figure to my collection, it seems that you're no longer in mint condition. And I don't care much for damaged goods. So just like anything else that's broken and useless, it's best to be rid of it. Die." A blast of energy fired from the Master King, aimed right at the D'Coolette who could do nothing but throw up her one remaining arm to try to defend herself before she was consumed in an explosion. The smoke took a moment to clear and when it finally did Eggman and Sombra found...that they had gotten to other D'Coolette. His smoldering body lay atop hers, with his cape gone...as well as his left arm. "Antoine?" Bunnie whispered weakly. "Oui...ma cherie...?" Antoine weakly asked. "Antoine...yer hurt...yer arm..." "Is nothing...compared...to ze thought of losing you," Antoine replied. "Well isn't this sweet. You know I should be surprised, but I'm really not," Sombra cackled. "Gotta say, I certainly wouldn't have taken that for a fourth of my wife. Maybe if it was half my wife I would consider it, but definitely not for a fourth of her." "Do...not slander...my wife...you piece...of garbage," Antoine wheezed weakly. Sombra smirked as the King walked towards the pair, Bunnie wrapping her only arm around Antoine to try to protect him. Sombra laughed at the attempt as he raised the King's arm...before something else caught his eye. "Well what do we have here?" Sombra asked. The King flicked a finger and a golden ring floated off the ground and hung in the air in front of the King. "Well what a surprise, the ring survives while the arm doesn't. Says something about you, eh Antoine?" "I'd say it says something more about the guy that made it. Hey Antoine, where'd ya buy this beauty. I might what them to make something for me," Robotnik laughed. "Put...zat down...it is ze symbol...of my love for ma cheri. You will not put your hands or hooves on it," Antoine spat. Sombra smirked down at Antoine before pulling the ring into the King, spinning it on his hoof with a smile before placing it next to him. "I think I will. In fact, once we are done here, I think I will melt it down at make it into something a little nicer. Maybe a new tip for my horn?" Sombra laughed. But the laughter died when he looked over at Eggman, who was looking at the ring with a puzzled expression. "What?" "That ring...looks odd...but also familiar," Robotnik muttered. "It should. After all, it has been ze source of your downfall many a times," Antoine chuckled. "You have been out of ze action long enough, I think. And I believe zat you want some vengeance of your own?" "What the hell are you talking about? Did we fry some of your brain as well?" Sombra snarled. "Wait a second...that's not a wedding ring," Robotnik realized at last. "That's a power ring." The Master King lurched violently as alarms blared inside of the cockpit. Eggman and Sombra began screaming in confusion as the King looked like it began fighting with itself. VIRUS DETECTED. VIRUS DETECTED. "Oh Antoine, you have no idea how long I've waited for this," a voice said from within the King. "For what they did to me, my home, but above all else...my Sally. I've had plenty of time to think about how to make this hurt." "That voice," Robotnik whispered. Both Sombra and Eggman looked towards the main console, where the holographic image of a lynx appeared in front of the both of them. And there was murder in her eyes. "Nicole..." "Hello "master" Eggman. And welcome to hell."