//------------------------------// // 27. Monsters, Inc. (Part 3) // Story: Through The Multiverse // by Battwell //------------------------------// Earth 2001 Monsters Incorporated ”Ẉ̶͋̐è̷͉̰ȃ̴̘̬͓̉̚k̶͖͉̥̉̆̾.̸͖͑́̓ P̵̛͓͓̿̉ŏ̷̪̜̞͂̀w̷̛̰̆ě̶̜̝̑̌r̶͎̯͕̈l̸̻̭̆̽e̵̲̲̪̚š̵̫s̷̮͗́̚.̵͓͉̣͌ Ț̸̋̒̋õ̵̻̯ŏ̵̪̝̈́͊ ̸̢̤͗̐s̵̞̞͇̓͒l̸͔͊͐o̸̝͚͗͂ẘ̴̗͑̀.̷̮̟̮̑“ No matter how hard Sonic tried, he just couldn't ignore the dark voice in the back of his mind. Sure he heard it a few times when he was the werehog before, but now it was amped up to eleven and it wouldn't stop. He winced slightly, hoping that nobody would notice. ”Ỷ̴̼̦̬ộ̴͌͝u̸̡͈̿̏̓ ̶̢̢̼́c̵͈̟̑̈͒o̷̯̒u̸̠͎̔͌l̵̙̯̇̋̅d̵̹̮̒̈ň̴͜'̷͚̖͌̈́͑t̷͚̲̄̎͋ ̵̺̊̀̀s̸̼̙̍͊a̸̧͙̓̏̚v̸̪̗́ê̸̪̹̳̑͝ ̸̨̟̟̅ỷ̷͖̠́̋ô̴̥̬͈̐u̴̡̾̚r̸̺̋ ̸̤̋f̴̟̜̌r̴̭͒̿i̶̖̰̯̒̎͒è̶͇̳n̸̗̪͚͂d̶̪̐̌͐s̶͖͇̽.̶̺̰̩̃̀“ "Stop." He pleaded internally within his mind, trying to shut out the temptations of what little remained of Dark Gaia. ”Y̶̘̿͜o̸̮͕͐̍u̴͉̱͐̃̀ ̴̘̥̯́͗̚c̴͆̅̕ͅa̴̤̮̋́ͅṇ̶̖̲̊͋̈'̵̼͕͇̒̓ṱ̸̎͋́ ̴͙̣͊s̶̬͒a̶̖̼̅̏͝v̸̡͍̈̊̚e̷̘̰̓ ̷͕̊a̸͉̭̱͘ṅ̶̙̮͒y̴̡̱͙̔̕͝o̵̲̮̭̍̓̊n̴̲̿ͅe̶̦̔̃̾.̶̇̀̆ͅ“ "Please..." ”Y̷̟̙̖̌ò̸̡̙͋͋ų̸̫̓'̸̨̧̙̾r̶͈̚é̵̝̲̀͐ ̸̮̊n̵͕̣̄͂e̷̖̽̆w̵̦̖͂̚͝ ̵̢̨̱͐͐f̴̩̮̫̈́͊r̶̨̙͊̚ï̵͚ḛ̶̩̍̈n̵̞̉̌d̴̤̦̣́̚͝ś̶̤̖̜̆͆ ̸̫̆͠ẅ̴̗͍͉̓͠i̶̖͔͔͗ļ̴̓͑̌l̴̼͂̍ ̶͇̊̂s̶̹̹͇̽h̸̫͐͋͘a̵̛̭͖r̴̫̓é̴͖͎̆ͅ ̶̱̜̔̅͋t̸̤̭͚̆h̸̫̘̽͒̆ẻ̶̩̻ ̶̥̋̀̔s̴̺̮͈̒͒͂a̷̢̘̿m̸͍̤̈̎ĕ̸̎͝ͅ ̵̼͛̕̚f̷̱̙̔̒a̵͈̖̳̓t̸̹͇̞̆͝è̸̢ ̶̢͉͉̃̽â̵̦̭s̴͖̫̏̒ ̷̠̽͂̕ṯ̸̙͇͗h̴̥̒ẹ̷͉̿͐͒ ̸̺̫̻͂͌͘r̶̫̜̎ĕ̸̦̲ŝ̸̖̥̣t̶̗̹̘͑ ̵̩̯̾ȍ̸͖̻́̃f̶͙̋͗ ̸̧͇͌t̷̳͘h̶̓̕͜è̵͉̅̚ ̶͎̣̅̚w̴͚̠͇̓͝o̶̡͎͛̋͠r̴͈̊̊ļ̷̗͖̋̚ḓ̴̜̯̓.̴͈͈̬̀̏͒“ When Sonic opened his eyes, he saw everything in flames, buildings crumbled as the sky seemed to be falling. He looked around, none of his friends were there, he was no longer inside of Monsters, Incorporated. He was in a world of brimstone and fire, it reminded him of when he fought the malevolent darkness inside of Mobius' core. A sudden shadow loomed over behind him, which caused Sonic to slowly turn around in fear. Looming over him was a serpent-like entity. It had a brown body with its torso resembling that of a snake's body and two thin arms with large neon-blue claws. It also had a very wide head, which was even wider than its entire body, which consisted of a mouth made up of many teeth, and a single green eye one each side of it. In the center of its head was a reptilian face with four horns on top, and a pair of white eyes. On its back was a group of seven lavender-colored tentacles made up of flaming energy. Dark Gaia let out a monstrous roar that shook the entire planet before leaning down towards Sonic, speaking to him telepathically. ”I̶̠̪̭͝ ̶̬̤͈̄l̸̜̂i̵̗̬̍͜v̵̽͜ě̶̤̣͗̚ͅ ̷͙̕͝o̷̢̰̣̿͊͑n̶͎̤̞̽̆ ̵̈́̄̐ͅw̴̱̩͆͠i̷͚̣͙̅t̸̻̳̋̔h̴̺̞̭͝i̸̻̊̏̃ñ̸̜͎ ̵̨̣̈́͌ͅỵ̸̑͌́õ̶̙̩̎̍u̸̼̰̎̔.̶̛̝͙̚ Y̴̫͈̐̌o̶͍͈̗̒ù̴͕͎͗͝ ̶̭̂w̵̲̪̮̃ī̷͎̥̺ḽ̴̻͊͗̆ͅl̵͔̈́͘ ̴̼͑b̶͖̦̔̈̈́ŗ̵̺͒̅̃ï̸͚n̷̺̈̋g̴̘͇̀ ̵̬͎̜̽͘ȁ̶͇͔͕͊̉b̵̘̺̾ȏ̶̦͚͎u̶͍͒͊t̶̖͎̻̃̌ ̶̰̎m̵͈̟̣̈́͝y̷̺͉̦͛͝ ̶͇̃͒̔r̴͙͔͔̅̕ę̴̟̀͑̊t̴̳̜̤̊͊̿ư̸̯̖̔͠r̸̺̍̑͋n̷̮͕̐̀,̸̖̗̉͂͝ ̵͓̟̈ä̶̪ṅ̷͙͕̩d̵͚͌ ̸̗̎̋͆y̸̫̫͈͋ȯ̶͈͚ŭ̸̮ṛ̷̆͌ ̸̖̄͋͜w̸̭̠̮̐̆͝ǫ̷̖̆̓̈́r̸̨͌̒͝l̷̦͈͎̈d̴̤̋ ̴̱́̆͝w̴̭̿ͅͅi̸̖͙̗͗l̵̤̝̳͋l̸̛̻͍ ̵̨̤̈b̶͉͓̲̕ǘ̵͓r̸͙̮̲̎̇n̵̮͑̍͆͜ ̸̯̋͆̓ţ̵̈́̆̔ō̵͇̠ͅ ̷̧͖̦̃͆â̸͘͜s̷̱̺̰͐͋ḥ̵̄͌͑ͅ.̸̳͌̀͘“ The evil entity slammed its massive hand down next to Sonic as it declared, ”Ỹ̷̳̇o̴̞͂ų̸̟̪͋̚͝ ̵͓͝w̵̰͐͘͜į̷̙͇̆̈́̌l̶̲̦̓̕l̸͔̹̗̓̓ ̷̹̠̍̍f̷̡̜͙̆͘ö̵̹̣͜r̴͈̝̗̊e̶͖̍̀̀v̴̼̣̊́̈́e̶̡̅̕r̷͈̱̞̓ ̶̟͓͔̑̾b̷̘̪̱̆͝e̵̺͎̔̋̈́l̸̥͇̾̾͝o̵̯̺͑n̷͈͇̓͜ǧ̵̳̞ ̶̠̣̹̽́͌t̷̤̒̀̇ö̵̪͈ ̴͍͔̀̑ḿ̴̗͠e̷̙̺̦͆̋̓.̵̻́̀͝“ Sonic closed his eyes tightly, muttering to himself that what he was seeing wasn't real. This destruction, this utter devastation, was all in his head. Dark Gaia was still sealed within Mobius' core, he wouldn't reawaken for another ten thousand years. He was brought out of this horrific living nightmare by the sound of a bell chime, ringing to let him know that they had made it to the second level. He opened his eyes. It was gone. He was back in Monsters, Incorporated. He let out a small sigh of relief as he leant against the wall of the elevator, the worst was over, for now at least. What he didn't understand was why he was being tempted by Dark Gaia at all. The evil deity had drained what remained of his essence out of him to become perfect. Was there some small part of it hibernating within Sonic's very being? If so, why did it manifest now? Was it because of him returning to this form? That is the most probable answer. His attention was brought back to reality when Boo ran out of the elevator, giggling happily as she bolted into the next room. "Boo!" Sulley exclaimed, already running after her. Mike wasn't far behind, also shouting, "Come back! You can't run off, kid!" Seeing this, Twilight looked to her friends and said, "Come on! We can't let anything bad happen to them!" Sonic put the dark thoughts to the back of his mind as he nodded in agreement, following the transformed unicorn out of the elevator, putting his encounter with the specter of Dark Gaia behind him. For now at least... Sulley and Mike ran into a blue room with yellow water pipes, hoping that Boo hadn't run off too far. To their luck, they found the little girl hiding behind a pipe, giggling cutely. "Kitty!" She shouted gleefully. Both monsters let out a sigh of relief as Twilight and the others joined up with them, waiting by the entrance to the room. But suddenly a pipe burst above the two monsters, drenching them in water and removing their new paint jobs. Sulley smirked as he looked himself over, "That paint was kinda growin' on me!" Mike however, was relieved that he was back to his usual self, "Woo! This is way better." But his smirk would be washed off his face when Sulley shook the remaining water off of his body like a dog, further drenching Mike in water. "Agh! Hey, no. Would ya cut that out?" Seeing that she had been found, Boo ran over to Sulley and was scooped up into his arms. But the joyous moment was halted by the appearance of two portals. Then two Soulless Commanders fell from them and landed in front of the two monsters and human. The portals closed as Boo whimpered, snuggling into Sulley's fur. "Sulley, let's get her outta here." Mike said to his friend, turning around and making a break for their new friends. Upon seeing the two androids, Sonic's eyes turned to slits as the voice of Dark Gaia commanded, ”Ş̸͎̈́̂͝l̵͓͂a̷̩̬͛̚ù̶̟̮̯͝g̵̭̰͚̑̅h̷̲̹͊͋͛t̶̖͖̓͝ë̵̫́̌r̴̢͓͠ ̵͚͖̂̀̌t̷͍̎̓h̷̛̦̦é̴̟̄͝m̸͔̮̬͗̈͘.̴̹̞̈́̽“ Tony was about to activate his Proton Cannon, but stopped when Sonic leapt over them and attacked the two androids. His moves were ferocious as he slashed and bit at the two commanding officers. Sonic stretched his arm and grabbed one by the head as he pounced on the second, not even granting it a chance to fight back. The werehog then crushed its head with little to no effort before mauling the second Soulless Commander. Everyone could only look on in abject horror as Sonic continued to maul at the fallen android, tearing it apart with his jaws. Twilight shook her head at the sight, "This isn't right. Why is Sonic acting like this? Why is he acting like a... monster?" She thought to herself before Batman called out to him. "Sonic, control yourself now!" The werehog's ears perked up as he dropped the android's head from his mouth, his head held low as he slowly walked away from the body as it turned to red mist. As the second one faded away, both Mike and Sulley rushed past the group of heroes, exclaiming, "Come on! We don't have time to lose!" They all looked at one another before nodding, they would deal with Sonic's behavior later. But right now they needed to find Boo's Door and the final Keystone. They all rushed past Sonic, who loitered around for a moment before catching up with the others. But as they all left the room, Randall's voice popped up over the intercom, "All right, I'll give you that one. But no more freebies." He was then promptly shut up by Iron Man, who blasted one of the speakers with his Proton Cannon. "Thought he'd never shut up." Said Tony, who depowered his weapon and continued pressing forward. "Once we get through here, we're clear." Sulley informed the group, rushing to the large shutter door with Boo in his arms. Meanwhile Twilight was concerned for her friend, Sonic wasn't acting like himself. He was more aggressive, more animalistic. He wasn't talking as much as he normally would, and that worried her greatly. She approached the werehog and asked, "Sonic, are you okay?" His ears perked up as he turned downward to face Twilight, "Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" Sonic responded, albeit a little too laid back for her liking. He was hiding something. "Well you haven't been acting like yourself and it's starting to worry me." Replied Twilight, clearly seeing something wrong with her friend. When Sonic averted her gaze she pressed on, "You've torn apart multiple Soulless Ones as if they were nothing but... prey! I know that you're clearly unhappy about being in this current form, but don't worry! Once we find the Keystone and get Boo home we'll be back to normal in no time!" She said, sounding cheerful to try and at least cheer him up a bit. She felt pride in herself when she saw Sonic smile, "Thanks, Twi." He then pet her on the head and said, "You're a good friend. Don't let anyone make you feel otherwise." The two friends smiled at each other before being interrupted by Mike, who said, "This is the central control unit for the whole factory! Now whaddaya say we get outta here?" He gestured to the main console in the tan colored room with his hands. Tony interlocked his massive hands and cracked them, moving towards the console, "Allow me." At everyone's confused looks, he clarified, "I am a tech genius after all. Who better to do the honors than me?" Mario scoffed and waved his hand dismissively, "Puh-leese, let me do it." "Not sure if you know this, but that's a computer, not a toilet plumber boy." Tony quipped as folded his arms. The monstrous plumber gawked at his billionaire friend before retorting with, "Have you seen how big you are? You'll probably end up breaking it before you even get the door open." Tired of their bickering, Mike walked past them and said, "Hey, hey! Show a little finesse!" He then pushed some buttons on the console to try and get the door open. But to his surprise, the device wouldn't respond. "Rats! Randall must have messed this up. Nothin' works!" "We can't get out?" Twilight asked with a hint of worry in her voice. Sonic rolled his eyes and sarcastically said, "Maybe it would be faster to just break it." Shrugging, Mario pounded his fist into his hand as he approached the console, "If all else fails..." He was promptly stopped by Iron Man, who placed his arm in front of him to cease his movement. "Are you insane?!" Tony asked as Mario crossed his arms over his chest, "You wanna break our only way out of here? Yeah, great plan. Reeeal great plan." Hearing the commotion, Sulley turned around and walked over to the group. "Hang on!" He said, getting everyone to turn around and face him. "Think I've got a better idea. If we can just short it out, the lock will disengage." He then looked down to the little girl in his arms, "And, lucky for us, Boo is a walking energy generator." Mike pondered for a moment before snapping his fingers with a smile, "That might work!" "You're our MVP, Boo!" Mario said as he smiled to the little girl in Sulley's arms. Boo giggled and clapped her hands as Sulley placed her atop his head. He started to laugh, playfully running around the room, and she screamed excitedly. Seeing how much fun they were having, both Mike and Twilight ran after them to help get Boo to laugh. But Mike lost his footing and tripped in front of Twilight, causing the unicorn to roll on top of him due to her not stopping in time. The two of them rolled to a stop, their eyes rolling around in circles as Sulley, Boo, and Mario laughed at the scene. Even Tony chuckled a little bit. This sudden burst of laughter caused the console to whirr to life, getting everyone's hopes up. But alas, it shut back down due to not having enough power. "It's no use. We need a bigger burst of laughter." Mike said dejectedly. Sulley then smiled at his friend as he set Boo down onto the floor. "Would you care to do the honors?" "I'd love to!" Exclaimed Mike, pointing his finger guns at the small child. He waved his hands around, getting ready, then proceeded to smack himself in the face, sending his eyeball in various directions with each smack, mimicking a bouncing ball. It bounced faster and faster until he exclaimed, "Tada! 40 - 0. Game and set!" Boo made no reaction. Mike sighed, so he tried a joke, "I'm not cut out for this racket." Still no reaction. "Come on. It's a tennis joke." He looked around, expecting some sort of reaction. When he received none, he turned around to face the others and asked, "Should I've gone with ping-pong?" "Nothing could've saved that one." Sonic said, clearly bored. But all of a sudden Mike yelped and shouted, "Nobody move!" When everyone looked around, ready for trouble, the green monster simply dropped on all fours and said, "I dropped my contact!" While Mike searched the floor, Sulley simply scratched his face. "I don't think Boo's gonna get it, Mike." "Do you get it?" Mario asked with a smirk. "Yeah, it's 'cause his eye's so big. The joke is you can't lose a contact the size of a dinner plate." "OH FINE!" Mike shouted, agitated that he wasn't getting the job done. It was then that Batman walked towards him with a scowl on his face. "Aren't you supposed to be good at this?" He whirled around and replied, "I am once I'm warmed up!" Sighing, Mario walked past Mike and crouched down in front of Boo. He turned his head to face his friends and said, "Let me show you how it's done." He turned to face Boo and muttered to himself, "This always worked for Luigi when we were kids. If this doesn't work, nothin' will." He then perked up his head with the goofiest smile, causing Boo to laugh. Seeing the desired reaction, he turned to everyone and said, "Everyone join in!" Everyone, sans Batman, Iron Man, and surprisingly Sonic, all made goofy faces, which caused Boo to burst out in laughter. The control panel went wild, sparking and whirring to life until finally, the shutter door opened. Sulley smirked down at Mike, "Mario's aiming for your job." Mike then proceeded to pout. Twilight walked up beside Mario and asked, "How'd you know that'd work?" "I used to do it for Luigi when we were kids." Mario explained with a shrug. "It always cheered him up whenever he was down in the dumps." The unicorn giggled behind her hoof as she followed the others. They all started walking towards the door when Randall suddenly slithered up behind them. "You guys aren't gonna leave without saying good-bye?" They all turned around at the sound of his voice. Mike, having had enough of Randall's games, walked forward and said, "Give it a rest, Randall. You're not gonna get away with this." "We'll stop anything you throw at us." Sulley continued. "Yeah!" Twilight said, lighting up her horn as the others prepared themselves for a fight. Randall shrugged, "Maybe you will. Or then again, maybe you won't. I have still got an ace up my sleeve." He then put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. Something then whirred to life... above them? It all happened so fast, what with the ceiling suddenly exploding to the giant shadow descending down in the smoke. Once the smoke cleared, Sonic's eyes shot open at the familiar robot before them. It had a bulky humanoid torso with spiked shoulder guards, several highlights on the front, a smaller platform-like torso inside the main torso for an Egg Mobile to be inserted into as a cockpit, blue prongs on its lower chest, thin arms, two wing units and exhaust pipes on the back. On its left arm it had a long and gigantic drill, and on the right arm it had a six-barreled cannon. Along the cannon's hexagonal carapace, its small barrels could extend outward from the primary mechanism. Its shoulder joints also had a spike protruding from each of them. On the bottom of its upper torso dangled a lower-belly with two smaller cores and two talon-like feet cannons. Randall slithered his way up to the top of the Egg Dragoon, the glass sliding over the cockpit once he was inside. He looked around the cockpit and chuckled as he rubbed his hands together. "My new friends hooked me up with this bad boy! Now you're all gonna pay!" To say that Mike and Sulley were terrified would be an understatement. This was new, even to them. "Boo? Hide. Now." His tone was authoritative, no jokes, no debate. The little girl scampered away and hid beside the main console. "You've really done it this time, Randall." Mike said with a shaky voice. The purple monster waved his hand, "I told you losers that there was a change in the chain of command! I think it's time I actually begin laying off some dead weight!" He slammed his upper hands onto the console before him. "Get ready, losers! You aren't making it out of this one!" Meanwhile Sonic was just stood there, his eyes shaking as he heard a familiar voice inside of his head. ”K̷̟͙̠̈́̏i̸͓̇̀ḻ̸̤́̃̒l̵̪̟̇̀̅ ̸̡͎́̽ͅR̶͈͐͒̔a̴͚̱͋n̴͔͋̔d̶̮̟͇͑̀á̴͚̩̻l̵̳͋̆͂l̴̝̈́̋̒.̸̲̬͙̉͆“ He let loose a feral growl as he got onto all fours. Twilight looked at him worriedly before she lit up her horn, hoping that things wouldn't get too bad from here on out. "Let's do this!!!" Randall shouted as he aimed the six barreled cannon down at the heroes. Without waiting, he opened fire upon them, causing them all to scatter. Twilight brought a shield up to protect herself as Batman and Iron Man took to the air. Sonic stretched out his arm and swung out of the way while Mike and Sulley ran to safety. Mario leapt into the air, his fist glowing red as he prepared to throw a punch at the mech's belly. But it suddenly swung its feet forward, sending forth a freeze ray that froze the plumber solid. As Mario landed on the floor, frozen completely, Randall stopped firing and moved to the left to avoid a blast from Iron Man's Proton Blast. As he moved, Randall aimed the drill at the Armored Avenger and proceeded to fire the massive projectile. Tony didn't have enough time to dodge the attack and was sent crashing into the wall as a result. Boggs laughed like a nerd before being shut up by Batman, who flew forward and slashed at the glass protecting him. "Hah! Nice try, loser!" The cockpit then moved down to the torso, specifically where the belly was, and he aimed the mech's legs at Mike and Sulley. "This is payback for sending me through that door!" He then fired an ice blast down at the two monsters. "Mike! Look out!" Sulley exclaimed as he quickly tackled his friend to the floor, just barely avoiding the ice blast. Randall growled as he aimed for them again, but was stopped when a chunk of rock smashed against his protective glass. He looked for where it came from and saw Twilight Sparkle levitating bits of the concrete floor into the air with her horn. "Leave them alone!" She shouted as she sent forth even more projectiles. The Egg Dragoon maneuvered to the left and dodged them, aiming its talons down at the unicorn. Randall then fired an ice blast at Twilight, who quickly lit up her horn and teleported away. The monster snarled as he pressed another button, raising himself to the head of the mech. "You all think you're so cool, don't you?!" Randall shouted as he saw Sonic swinging around the mech, snarling ferally. "Well let's see how cool you are after this!!!" He then opened fire upon the werehog, his assault unrelenting. Sonic let go of the beam he was swinging on and flipped through the air, avoiding all of the bullets around him as he pulled back his fist. He let out a battle cry as he punched the cockpit of the Egg Dragoon, sending it crashing into the wall behind him. "Hey! Not fair!!!" Randall complained as he propelled the Egg Dragoon forward, slamming right into Sonic. Twilight used her magic to catch her friend as he fell to the floor, with Iron Man flying past him to take the Egg Dragoon head on. Tony fired six rockets from his shoulders, each making an impact on the Egg Dragoon. Although it didn't do much damage, it gave Tony enough time to boost forward to lay some damage onto Randall and the mech. Unfortunately he was swatted away by the mech's drill, sending him sliding across the floor. As Boggs laughed, he was unaware that Batman, currently holding Mario, was flying around behind him. The Dark Knight threw the transformed plumber directly into the mech's cockpit, his punch further damaging the glass protecting Randall. Mario flipped through the air as Batman soared past him, his talons out and ready to go. He dove forward and positioned himself so that his feet were in front of him. He then kicked the cockpit, causing the glass to crack. Randall screamed like a big girl before boosting the mech away from the Dark Knight. As he moved to the other side of the room he descended down to the mech's belly again, aiming its feet at Mike and Sulley. "I won't stop until I get what I deserve!!!" Randall shouted as he fired two ice blasts at his foes. But the projectiles didn't hit as Twilight put up a protective barrier around the two monsters. She gave them a kind smile while Mike and Sulley nodded to her. It was then that Sulley looked up to Randall and shouted, "Stop this, Randall! Can't you see all the damage you've caused?! All the people you're hurting?!" "Yeah this is nuts!" Mike agreed. "Even for you!" Boggs snarled at the two people he hated most in the world, "You're the reason why this is happening in the first place!!! If you had just minded your own business and let the company do what it did best, then none of this would've happened!!!" "We found a better way!" Sulley argued. "There's only one way that this company thrives! My way!!!" Twilight looked up at the Egg Dragoon and shouted, "If you think that torturing little children by scaring them is the best way to go, then you're sicker than I thought!" Randall scoffed, "Like I care what some loser like you thinks of me!" He leaned forward and continued, "Once I get rid of them, I'll get this company back on track!" He then fired another ice blast, once again it struck the shield protecting Mike and Sulley. While this was happening, Iron Man and Sonic were charging towards the mech, with Tony flying through the air, and with Sonic dashing forward on all fours. The werehog leapt into the air, flying alongside Iron Man until they both struck the mech with a combined assault. Both of their punches struck the mech's belly, sending Randall leaning back in the cockpit and further cracking the glass protecting him. "No!" He exclaimed as he rose back up to the top of the Egg Dragoon. Randall then aimed the drill at Mike and Sulley and launched it directly at them. But before it could land, Sonic stretched out his arms and spun it away from the two monsters. He then sent it straight back into the Egg Dragoon, directly into the lower cockpit and shattering the glass protecting it. "Wha-?! WHAT DID YOU DO?!" The monster shouted in a panic, pressing any and all of the buttons to try and fix this. But it was for naught, as Sonic jumped onto the drill lodged into the Egg Dragoon and then proceeded to jump into the air, getting in line with the cockpit. He then pulled back his fist and sent it forward, smashing the glass protecting Randall. "NO! S-STAY BACK!!!" He pleaded as the Egg Dragoon began to explode. His neck was suddenly seized by Sonic before he was pulled out of the mech, the Egg Dragoon exploding in a blaze of glory as it fell to the floor in a crumpled heap. Sonic threw the monster to the floor as he landed, watching as Randall back pedaled across the room to try and get away from him. Randall looked around and saw that he was surrounded, but that wasn't what scared him. No. It was the werehog that was currently circling him, baring his very sharp teeth. Sulley then said to the werehog, "Just leave him. Don't think he can cause us any more trouble." He then placed his arm around Boo as she crashed into his leg, hugging the monster. "Besides, we gotta focus on getting Boo home." They all looked towards him, expecting him to stop. But he didn't. Twilight tilted her head in concern, "Sonic? You can stop now. Randall's beaten and we have to get Boo to her door." Sonic responded, but not in the way she had hoped. He growled at her. Like actually growled at her like a wild animal. "Sonic?" She repeated, her voice sounding distressed. He couldn't hear her. He couldn't hear any of them. All he could hear was the voice of Dark Gaia, ordering him to do one thing. ”K̷̟͙̠̈́̏i̸͓̇̀ḻ̸̤́̃̒l̵̪̟̇̀̅ ̸̡͎́̽ͅR̶͈͐͒̔a̴͚̱͋n̴͔͋̔d̶̮̟͇͑̀á̴͚̩̻l̵̳͋̆͂l̴̝̈́̋̒.̸̲̬͙̉͆ A̷̧͕̒̕c̸̘͖͛̚͠c̷̡͖̭͝e̶̟͘p̵̖͚̂̏̈́t̵̛̔̈́͜ ̵͈̀m̷̬̰͂͂ỵ̸̤͙͐͒͠ ̷̬̍̆p̴̞̗̜͐o̷̱͉͐͆w̵̪͍͝e̷̟̿͗r̷̮̮̬̐̐͐!̶͇̥̋ ̵̠̓̊͊U̸̝̗̠͒̒͠s̷̬̦̀̈́e̶̻͛̓ ̶͇̏̒̾i̴̝̐̚ţ̸̣͎́̉́ ̴̨͇̼̉̌t̴̟͂͝o̵͔̯̥͊̐͝ ̷͕̬̮̓̾͝s̷̩̥̀́̄a̶̠̿͊́v̵̛̤̻̺̾̌e̵͈̺͂̿̆ ̵̺̱̜͝y̶͇͍̼͂̑̆ǫ̵̇ú̵̧̺̪͊r̸͚̭̆̅ ̷̨̼̅̑͠f̵̨̓͂̑r̵͙̍ḯ̴͍̪e̵̳̮̋̊̂n̶̥̈͊d̵̗̳̐s̴͖̜̻̍̔̎ ̶̨͈̠̆a̸̧͍̻͊ņ̵̎̔̒d̸̮̲͆ ̶̩̾d̴̨̼̬̈̏̑e̵̪̮͋̊s̶̺̎͛̓t̶̲͉̐r̷̞͌o̷̰͎̪͒ỵ̵̒̄ ̴̢͚̯̍̓͛y̶̩̾̌o̵̗̥͋͆ǘ̴̦ͅṟ̷̱̎͆͜ ̵̩̩͚̕e̵͙͠n̵͚̙̒̚ͅȅ̷̛̟̎m̷̦̥̎ͅī̸̗͝e̷̔̓͜ș̷̣̲͋!̵͕̱͚̉͛̕ ̷̖̋͑Y̴͖͔̩̆͝ọ̶̬̿͗͒u̵̡̠̜̇́͘ ̸͎̬͚̾̽c̸̭̱̹̎̓̕a̷̪̅̆̽n̷͓̙͊͛̎ ̷͈͎̽ș̵̪͙̆͝a̶̖͍͋̒́v̵͓͐̓͜͝e̸̻͝ ̶͈̲̝͆ṱ̷̭̮̿h̷͙͍͛́̕e̴̼͉͆̄m̵̮͚̋ ̸̱̐a̷̼̭̔͊̊͜l̶̜̀l̵̤̦̂̚͝,̸̻̀ ̵̨̛̳̜̌y̶̛͓̦ǒ̵͕̳̫u̴͉̟̞̇ ̵̹͊̂ȍ̵͚̆n̵̤̭̅l̸̰̟̗̊y̷̭̅̕ ̵̦̣͔͋̽̔h̸̭͖̗͋a̴̹͆̽̚v̸̲̦̀̒̾ê̷̤̙ ̸͚͙̬̾͆t̸͓̓͝o̸̞̗͆͋͗ ̵͕͗̇͝d̵̩̎̅̏ͅǫ̸͗̊ ̸̭͌̋ö̷͎͍́͛n̶͎͊e̴̢͙͖͝ ̸̦̝̈́t̴̼̋͜͠h̴͎̖̼̔i̷̦̼͔̊͝ń̶̼̳̀͘g̶̡̳͓̋̒͑.̷̬̘̔̆͘.̸͔̓́ͅͅ.̵͖̻̉͘“ "Kill Rand̶̥͑̆͘ã̷̗̺̤̿l̸̟̙̾͌l̸̡̈́͂͆.” Sonic growled out, his voice becoming distorted as a purple, flaming aura surrounded his entire being. The werehog let out a threatening howl before turning to face his friends. Everyone looked shocked when they saw Sonic's eyes. They were purple. "Hey man, it's just us." Mario said, trying to calm him down. Sonic growled at them all, slowly advancing toward them. Randall took this opportunity to make a break for it, camouflaging as he sprinted out of the room, Sonic turned around and noticed that he was gone. He let loose an animalistic roar before giving chase, following the monster's scent as he bolted after him. Seeing this, his friends wasted no time in going after him. "Sonic wait!!!" Iron Man shouted as his boots ignited, flying after his friend. Mike and Sulley looked at one another worriedly before going after them, wanting to make sure that their friend was okay. As she chased after him, all Twilight could ask herself was, "What's happening to my friend?" As they chased after their friend, the group had made it to the Power Plant, where they saw a truly horrific sight. It was set ablaze, fire was everywhere as smoke ascended into the air. Did Sonic do all this? What was going on here? "Oh no..." Mike uttered quietly as a helicopter flew overhead. "Disregard Code 835. 72-16 in progress. We have visual on the unidentified life-form. Suspected cause of the conflagration. Code 72-16, over." A CDA Agent said over the radio as the helicopter flew over the Power Plant. Suddenly it was grabbed by a purple hand that stretched up from the floor below. It was then pulled down to the ground where it exploded upon impact. "The whole factory--it's a total mess!" Exclaimed Mike, clearly distressed by what's happening. Sulley placed a hand on his head and said, "I know, Mikey. But right now, we just have to keep moving." "Sonic, what're you doing?" Twilight asked herself. Batman then said, "Ever since we've arrived here he's been unnerved by the fact that he's stuck in that form." "And we never asked ourselves why that is." Iron Man added. "Well we're going to figure out why and then we'll save our friend!" Said a determined Twilight as she lit up her horn and teleported everyone down to the Power Plant. Once they reappeared, another helicopter flew over as a rope lowered itself. "Ready to descend." A four-armed monster in a bright yellow suit containing a large tank dropped to the ground, followed by other CDA Agents with varying appendages. The CDA Agents approached the heroes and said, "Stand aside. We'll get this fire put out, pronto." But a sudden explosion sounded off behind him, causing him to turn around as two other CDA Agents ran away in fear. "Code 72-16. Unidentified life-form sighted." Then from the fire, Sonic walked out, only he didn't look like Sonic anymore. He had blackish-blue skin with purple neon body markings on his quills, hands, feet, and tail. He now had three claws on his hands and two talons on his feet with an external claw on the back of his feet. His tail had extended greatly, now with a dagger like protrusion on the end of it. He had a horn protruding backwards on his forehead and spikes on his shoulders. His eyes were black while his iris' were neon purple, his eyes outlined the same color. On his top quill were six spikes protruding upwards, adding to his menacing appearance. Sonic growled as soon as he spotted his friends. Slowly and steadily, Iron Man raised his Proton Cannon and aimed it at his friend before telling the CDA Agents to get back. He didn't want to fight him, but if he didn't calm down he would have no choice. "Hey man, we're your friends." Mike and Sulley looked at each other worriedly. Mario looked uneasy, but he slowly raised his fists. Batman spread out his wings. He didn't want to hurt Sonic, but he would if he had to. Twilight took a step forward and pleaded with him, "Sonic please! It's us!” Her eyes welled up with tears as she said weakly, "...Your friends." Sonic responded by letting loose a battle cry, sending forth a shockwave that changed the fires colors to neon purple. The werehog then got down on all fours and snarled, ready to fight. Twilight wiped away her tears and lit up her horn, "Don't worry, I'm going to save you." Sonic pounced forward on all fours, initiating the fight. He sounded feral, like he wanted to do this. He was smiling as he rushed forward. He leapt through the air and tackled Iron Man, who was just about to fire his Proton Cannon, but missed the opportunity. The werehog scratched and clawed at Tony's armor, trying to tear right through it. But he was suddenly spear tackled by Mario, which sent them both rolling across the concrete floor. "Sonic, you need to snap out of it!" Mario shouted, trying to get through to his friend. "This isn't what we do!" "YOU'RE IN THE WAY, MARIO!" Sonic shouted back, his voice deep and gravely. He backhanded the plumber off of him as he jumped to his feet. ”A̶͓͆l̴̘̀̅w̶̡̤̙̉̄á̷̘̱͙y̸̢̠͗͜s̶̨̅̿ͅ ̶̨̄̈́i̴͔̮̺̇ņ̶̤̦̅̀ ̴̖͇̭͋͌̿ṭ̶͝h̴͍̥͗͝e̸̫͐͠ ̴̙̠̟͑͗̄w̵͓̖̋͘̕à̶̙̥̬y̵̧͚͋͝ͅ.̸̥̣̣̾͊̄“ He was suddenly shoulder charged by Iron Man, which sent him back a few meters. He responded by stretching his arms forward and grabbing the Armored Avenger by the shoulders. He then spun him around and threw him directly into Sulley, who had just managed to set Boo down next to Mike. "I COULD'VE FIXED EVERYTHING!!!" Sonic shouted as he jumped into the air to grab Batman. "SAVED EVERYONE!!!" He then grabbed him by the throat and slammed him to the ground. Once he landed, he was barraged by a laser blast from Twilight, "How?! By causing all this chaos?! That's not what we do! Not what you do!" "DON'T TRY TO LECTURE ME!" Sonic shouted back, blocking the laser with his forearms as he pushed forward. "YOU'RE THE ONE RUNNING AWAY FROM YOUR PROBLEMS!" He roared as he released another shockwave, which disrupted the laser and sent Twilight flying backwards. Sonic straightened himself and said, "THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO GET MY FRIENDS BACK! I WAS TOO WEAK BEFORE! NOW I'M STRONG ENOUGH TO PROTECT THEM, TO PROTECT YOU!!! I'M NOT THE PROBLEM!!!" His voice then changed to Dark Gaia's, ”Į̷̯̖͌͛͠'̶̨̡̦͝m̵̡͓̑ ̶̲̲͊̀̽t̷̯̍̈h̵͖͖̃͒ë̴͙͉́ ̵̣̽s̷̯̩̗͂ờ̸͍̬͝ͅĺ̶̞̦̞̍̑u̴̢̝̠̿̀t̵̲̀͋̓i̷̟̮̽̈́ó̷̭̥̖͝ṉ̷̥̅̑ͅ.̶̘̻͗“ Suddenly, he was grabbed from behind by Iron Man, who then boosted up into the air before changing his trajectory to move downwards. "We all want to protect those we care about, Sonic!" He then slammed the werehog face first into the ground. He held his head there with his hand, "Sometimes to win, we have to lose! It sucks, I know, but sometimes that's the way it has to be." "YOU'RE NOT BETTER THAN ME!!!" "We're not saying that! You're not thinking clearly right now! Whatever's going on with you we can help you fix it!" Sonic laughed mirthlessly, "AND WHAT? LISTEN TO YOU?" Now it was Twilight's turn to try and get through to him, "Yes! Listen to us! What are you so afraid of?" "I'M NOT AFRAID OF ANYTHING!!!" Another shockwave burst out of him, sending Iron Man flying off of him. Sonic then got on all fours and tackled Twilight to the ground, leaning in close to her face. "DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO SAVE MY FRIENDS?! TO SAVE OUR WORLDS?! HE PROMISED ME THAT MY FRIENDS WOULD BE SAVED!!!" Twilight then released a burst of magic from her horn, sending Sonic into the air where he was promptly kicked in the back by Batman. He held him there as he said, "You've obviously never been this vulnerable before! But you don't need to work through it by yourself!" Sonic screamed in fury, enticing Batman to get off of him as a fiery aura surrounded him. Sulley then walked up to Boo and Mike and told them to get to safety. His friend nodded and picked Boo up and ran for the hills. The blue monster joined in on the fight to try and get his new friend back. They all surrounded Sonic, circling him as he got back to his feet. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!" Sonic asked, confused as to why the ones his trying to save has turned against him. "I JUST WANT TO SAVE EVERYONE!" "This isn't the way, bro!" Mario shouted as he charged forward, enticing the others to do so as well. Sonic ducked under Mario's punch and turned around to backhand Sulley to the floor, all the while using his tail to sweep the plumber to the ground. He used his hand to block a magic blast from Twilight before he leapt into the air and came back down to punch the ground, creating neon spikes that shot out from the ground. Twilight teleported away as Batman and Iron Man flew to safety. "We just want to save you, Sonic!" Twilight said as she reappeared behind him. He turned around and snarled, "I'M THE HERO! I DON'T GET SAVED!" He rushed forward on all fours towards the unicorn, only to be blindsided by Batman, which sent the werehog rolling. Batman quickly checked to see if she was okay. When he knew that she was he flapped his wings and got back into the fight. He flew across the Power Plant, moving to the left to avoid Sonic's outstretched arm. Once he was close enough he kicked Sonic in the chest, sending him backwards. He was then brought to the ground by Sulley, who charged him from behind. While he was held down Twilight approached him and said, "I know you're hurting! You've obviously hidden it deep within yourself so that we wouldn't notice. But you don't have to anymore. We're your friends! And friends stick together no matter what! And we know you can fight this, because you are better than this!" She seemed to be getting through to him as his struggling seemed to die down, "I know... I-I know but..." But the images of Dark Gaia came rushing back into his head, "...no. NOOOO!!!!" He released another burst of dark energy that sent Sulley flying through the air. He was caught by Iron Man, who then set him down on the ground gently. Sonic then dashed forward towards Twilight, hoping to shut her up. But once he was close enough she teleported out of his reach. She reappeared on a nearby pipe and said, "You helped me when I was troubled back in Metropolis! Now let me help you! Let us save you!" "SHUT UP!!!" He screamed as he pounced onto the pipe, destroying it. But she had already teleported away and reappeared next to Iron Man, who said, "You're stronger than this! Don't let your fear control you, let it motivate you to push forward and get the job done!" He fired his Proton Cannon at the werehog, which stunned him for a moment. Mario then stomped on his head from above and landed in front of him. "Come on! Out of all of us, you're the one known for his optimistic attitude! Use that to push through this!" Sonic swiped at him, but was kicked in the side by Batman. "You're stronger than this! This time you have to save yourself!" The werehog grabbed hold of his head and screamed, "I-I CAN'T!!!" "You can!" Twilight encouraged as she and the others surrounded him. "And we'll be there to help you, no matter what. Because that's what friends do." Sonic fell to his knees, clutching his head in agony, trying to fight off Dark Gaia's influence. He grit his teeth, it was too strong for him to fight. It was time that she took charge. "Sulley, Tony, hold him down!" They both nodded and grabbed both sides of the werehog, holding him down. She lit up her horn, remembering the spell she used to rid her friends of Discord's influence, praying to Celestia that it would work here. Twilight slowly approached her friend and placed her horn against his forehead. The werehog's eyes shot open as memories flooded his mind. Meeting one another in the Land of Oz. Trying to survive the mess that was Springfield. Going from store to store in Galaxy Toys. Helping Rapunzel and Flynn in Corona. Overcoming impossible odds in Metropolis. She was right, he could do this. He fought off Dark Gaia's influence before, he could do it again. Sonic let out a scream of pure agony, his eyes returning to their normal emerald green. The fiery aura around his body enlarged before it shot up into the air, purple mist exiting his mouth and eyes as a white light engulfed him. The light expanded over the Power Plant, putting out the fires and reverting the werehog back to normal. He could hear Dark Gaia let out a roar of rage as it left his body for good. Once the worst was over, both Mike and Boo left their hiding place and rejoined their friends. Now back to his normal werehog self, Sonic panted heavily as he knelt on all fours. He could only look down in shame of what he had done. "I... I'm sorry.... I'm so, so sorry." To his surprise he felt two people impact his torso. When he opened his eyes he saw Twilight and Boo hugging him, the latter giggling while the former wrapped her hooves around his neck. "It's okay." Twilight promised, wrapping her legs tighter around his neck. "You and the other helped me back in Metropolis." "Now it's time we helped you." Said Mario as he walked over and playfully punched him on the shoulder. "You...You're not afraid of me?" Tony shrugged, "This isn't my first time fighting an angry friend of mine. You're all good." "Although you'll be telling us what was going on with you as soon as possible." Batman said, folding his arms over his chest. Sonic chuckled weakly, "Yeah... will do." He stood back up and looked towards Sulley and Mike. "What about you two? You guys okay?" Mike barked a laugh, "We should be asking you that." "We're fine." Sulley reassured him. "And don't worry, we don't hold anything against you." The werehog let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks guys. I promise that nothing like this will ever happen again." Twilight smiled up at her friend, "Just promise us that if there's anything wrong, you'll tell us." "You have my word." It was then that Sulley clapped his hands together, getting everyone's attention. "Alright, now what do we say about getting this little one home?" He asked, patting Boo on the head. Everyone nodded and began to leave the area. Sonic still felt immensely guilty over what happened, but he felt a weight lift off of his shoulders when both Mario and Twilight smiled at him. He smiled back as he followed his friends to try and get Boo home. But what they were unaware of was the fact that they were being watched by someone. Perched atop a rooftop near the Power Plant, a one-eyed figure scoffed in disgust before returning to the shadows. He'd get what he wanted, all he'd have to do was wait. He opened his hand, revealing a Keystone with orange and black hieroglyphics carved into it. He closed his hand and jumped off the building, preparing his next move.