Final Rites
Final Rites
Chapter 1 â€" Routine Mission
The winds of war had passed...
The sun rose over the immensely beautiful hills and valleys of Mobius, the capital planet in the Mobian system. The trees wiggled about in the winds, swaying one way and then the other. The sea crashed against the cliffs leaving the cool crisp air to descend inland, giving a nice breeze on this hot summer's day.
It was an island, a small mass of land, smack in the centre of the South Mobian Sea, a place that was calm and serene but terrible things had happened on this island and it had given rise to great evil but it had also given rise to great good as well.
There was a large, green, tree plastered valley in the centre of the island that had in it, the remnants of an old evil that had festered here. Massive metallic structures protruded out the ground, losing their colour and paintwork to the green moss that was slowly crawling but the towering spires.
This was the ruins of a launch base, used to put the second Death Egg into orbit, when the military had checked this over they had obviously left this, but why? Did they leave it to the plants to climb like a Virginia creeper climbing up a wall? Or did they leave it because the pieces were too large. Well it couldn't launch another one. Team Fox had stopped that, the same way they had destroyed Phoenix Grace, the company fell apart after Ivan's death, he had been the boss of the company and with the evidence that Team Fox had, the company fell extremely quickly and the remaining leaders were put on trail for crimes against the planet of Mobius, this was not only for the destruction of over three hundred people on the UMSS Erika, a top of the range battleship that had fallen pray to the experiments made by Phoenix Grace but also Radical City that had been destroyed in an attempt to cover up Phoenix Grace interests but here thirty miles west of where Radical City used to be, there was a still a remnant of evil.
A person slid down the bank, amongst the trees, her body was slender and her orange fur that covered her body including her most unusual feature, her two tails. She was a famous Admiral in the military, she was one of the famous Team Fox! A familiar face. Lin.
She skidded down the mountain towards the old base, she marvelled at its construction. The rocks tumbled beneath her feet, tumbled down into the wooded valley.
She came to the gates of Eggman's old base, they were dark and cold, massive slabs of metal the came out of the walls that surrounded the base. Lin had been here before, eight years ago when she had first met her friends and they set off on an adventure to stop the Death Egg from launching, she had flown a fighter and caught Rouge as she fell from the Death Egg wounded. That was how their friendship had become.
She moved up to the gate and pulled out a gun, it was silver and looked majestic in her hands. She moved her arm up to her face and spoke into her watch; it was obviously a communication device of some kind.
"I'm at the gate" she said quietly, she straightened up what she was wearing, she wanted to look nice, it was long blue trousers and a blue jacket with a blue crop top underneath. A voice came back through the watch, she listened carefully, it was a female voice.
"Great" she said, her voice slightly muddled through the watch. "Me and Jill are in position, you know what we want. Stef's at Millennia, he says that he will hold position there if we need any help but I want this to be and three-woman show."
Lin chuckled, she then pressed the watch and with the words "I'm going in" walked up to the gate, the control panel on the wall beside the door was destroyed obviously it had been destroyed when the military fought Eggman's robots protecting the base. No worries.
Lin got into position and spun her tails, they came to life like helicopter blades, she lifted off the ground and flew over the large gate, she landed just outside the door that read "South Lock". The door was large and metallic, this was for big supply trucks to enter the base. How could Eggman afford this?
The walls inside the base had given way to the mould and moss that covered most of the outside walls, it looked like the base had been her for centuries.
Lin approached the south lock of the main building, a big long circular control tower, the tallest structure in the base except for the docking pylons that would have supported the colossal Death Egg.
She stepped inside, the inside was cold and dark, the corridors were made up of a metal grating on the floor and the walls were old, grey metal with green moss starting to creep in.
Lin skulked down this corridor, she was careful not to disturb any of the metal bulkheads that hung off the wall, exposing the circuitry that ran through the walls, she stepped over the fallen pieces of metal.
With a stealthy approached, she walked to the stairs. Lin was one of the best and legendary Admirals in the UMSS. The UMSS had sent them here saying that terrorists were using the base. So far there was no evidence of that, if there was all she would have to was press a button on the watch and the UMSS would send in the troops to help "remove" the evidence but so far she had found no evidence that there was anyone here.
But...
Somebody was behind her, she knew she had to be quick, she put her hand on the handle of her gun and felt the smoothness of the handle. She got ready, turned, whipped the pistol out and was just about to fire.
"Wait!" shouted a familiar voice.
Lin lowered her handgun, it was Chaos, she walked towards Lin, her fists ready and her personal weapon also ready to inflict damage.
"You could have told me that you were coming in that way, scared the shit out of me!" said Lin, as the white Echidna approached her and smiled.
Chaos laughed. "Well....I like to keep you on your toes, I thought you were supposed to be one of the best Admirals in the UMSS. Anyway, down to business, Jill has gone to the lower levels of the base but so far we have found nothing. Not a thing! The military have sent us on a wild goose chase. I'm gonna go to the Command Room with you, check that out and then go home. Stef is waiting for us."
Lin nodded, she didn't like the idea that this mission was for nothing but if it was a hoax then what was the point of staying here any longer than necessary?
Chapter 2 â€" Evil Remembered
"This is the life"
Stef lay back on the large hill of grass over looking the ruins of the village of Millennia, he had come in with the girls but this mission was for them so he said that he would stay far back enough to cover them. The clouds seemed to just drift by as he looked into the sky. Behind was the only building in Millennia that had stayed the same all throughout his life, it was a circular room with heavy doors that stay had his back up against, the walls had heavy inscriptions on them and ancient hieroglyphics engraved in it. Stef had no idea what they met, one picture that particularly interested him was the one of the far left hand of the door, it depicted a man from the clouds and three woman coming down in beams of light and an Echidna with the same sword that Stef possessed, the seeker sword of "true" Chaos, it was entrusted to him to find all seven spirits of the Chaos Emeralds he had four, Lin, Marianna, Chaos and Adam. He wasn't aware of anymore but his sword reacted to the presence of another spirit and he could also feel it so he would know.
A large plane shot over his head, it was flying low, about to land and was heading straight for where Lin, Chaos and Jill were, reinforcements?
Stef got up; it warranted checking out, they might need his help, he put his hand together and called upon the gods.
"God's of the wind, water and Earth, come to me, god of the wind bring me to the valley of Serenity."
Stef felt the wind pick him up, a powerful uncontrollable force, he began to spin, round and round, he shut his eyes as he catapulted up into the sky, everything became blurred as her spun, everything had turned light blue.
Lin and Chaos walked up the steps and stepped onto the landing at the very top, the door to the Command Room was directly in front of them, it was metal and thin, just enough room for a single person to fit through. Lin and Chaos took out positions outside the door, Lin drew her handgun and Chaos took out her custom made shotgun, the barrel was black and the butt was brown. Lin smacked the control panel next to the door and for once something worked, it swiftly moved up into a slit in the doorframe, leaving a hole.
Lin walked inside the room, she held her handgun up, her hair swung elegantly beside her. What! Nothing!
The room was big with large windows looking out onto where the Death Egg would have been, the computer consoles that lined up in front of the window had been destroyed, one of the window planes were broken, this was from where Stef and some others had jumped through the window about eight years ago, so much had changed since then. They had grown up.
"That's strange!" said Chaos entering the room after Lin, she didn't trust this. "Damn! It was a hoax"
"I'm afraid it wasn't" said a cold, dark voice, Chaos had heard it before. No. He was dead! "I want to see if the military sent you! They are so predictable."
The voice had came from the door they had just come in, they turned it was a black hedgehog stood in the door, he was distinctly familiar but he had change, his sunglasses were gone, reveal his piecing green eyes, he also wore a set of black robes, he also wore a headband. Was he a member of some tribe like Stef? Chaos herself knew about tribal life, she had grown up with a tribe of hedgehogs, adopted by the royal family of the tribe when it was believed that her own parents had died, this was before she had become blind and could see the beauty of the world.
"Rift!" said Chaos, she could sense his appearance, that how she saw, it was a strange power but she could sense what he was wearing, strange.
Rift stood smiling an evil grin at them and soldiers moved into the room, they were all wearing black suits, all of them were human, they carried machine guns. Lin knew that she couldn't win this fight, so she lowered her weapon, Chaos did the same.
The men pushed them into a corner and surrounded them.
"Now!" said Rift, he pulled out three black objects, they shone an oily black, they looked like fragments, a jigsaw like puzzle.
"You will witness the rebirth of the awakened spirit of the Emerald of Darkness, Ivan Grace, my master and you will all bow to him or you will die."
Bang!
One of the soldiers was shot in shoulder and went down on the floor in pain, the others turned and looked including Rift. There standing in the door was Stef, he had his hands on a gun, he wasn't going to surrender to a superior force, that wasn't his style.
"I don't think so" said Stef, Rift turned and snarled at him. This was there opportunity, Lin jumped up and jumped on one of guards with her thighs around his neck she then back flipped and he flew out the window, smashing it. Chaos low kicked a guard in the genitals, he crouched down in pain.
"I don't think you'll be having kids" she said, bringing her elbow crashing into his back. He fell to the floor. "A man's fatal weakness."
Stef ran up the side of the wall, he drew his sword and began to spin, he chucked himself, forward spinning, sword in hand creating a spinning razor blade, cutting up two soldiers in front of Rift.
Rift moved back, he had underestimated them, he was going to pay for that mistake, bullets danced around the room from the panic stricken soldiers. He clasped the three bits of Emerald in his hand and began to join them together.
Stef saw what he was doing, as he hit back a guard.
"STOP HIM!" he shouted, Lin turned and shot Rift in the torso, she couldn't get a clear shot for his head, Rift went down on the floor, she couldn't see him, smacking one guard in the face that was obstructing her view, she raised her gun again and shot him in the torso again.
Rift finally got the last piece and with repeating shots from Lin brought the Emerald together and then collapsed dead.
The room shook as the Emerald glowed, Stef and Chaos finished off the last of the soldiers. The Emerald shots out beams of black light, a person emerged from it, a racoon. No! Ivan Grace!
Ivan emerged but this time he was different, he still had the same colour fur as before but now he had a black symbol on his forehead. Lin stepped back, he was frightening but she was ready to fight him once more.
"I am released" said Ivan, he gazed at his hands. "I am free from that hellish domain which I have came from." He raised his hands and a staff came to him, Chaos picked up a gun and made shots from him, they merely passed him. Ivan walked over to her and picked up Chaos by the neck, she struggled for air.
"Foolish mortal" said Ivan, his eyes flashed at her. "Did you really think that mortal weapons could kill me?"
At that moment Jill ran into the room, she picked up the machine gun that hand from a strap around her neck, she fired into Ivan, she was awestruck that he was here. He was dead. Why did nobody stay dead?
Ivan suddenly stopped, he let go of Chaos, Stef had plunged his sword into his side, he smacked Stef back, sword and Chaos as well.
"Bugger!" shouted Stef, getting up, bewildered.
"Your sword may be able to penetrate my skin but you cannot destroy me with that blade alone!" said Ivan, he looked at the wound that Stef had given him and it began to clear up and healed itself. "I will enjoy killing the Seeker of the Emeralds but perhaps another time." He spun his hands in the air and disappeared in a puff of black smoke.
Chapter 3 â€" A Godly Surprise
Stef stood back, bewildered. Lin ran to be with him, she grabbed him and kissed him. Jill and Chaos groaned. The room then began to shake. What now?
The room began to split up, a divide was forming in the Command Room, it spit in half, light purple beams of light flew out of the chasm. The whole group felt themselves be lifted of the floor and down into the Chasm. Lin grabbed Stef's hang, she couldn't fight this power. Was this Ivan's way of killing them or something else, a beam of purple shot through the ceiling making the whole base collapse around them, it began to crumble, melt into the floor, unnaturally. Jill could see the large construction towers fall into the ground, metal just dissipating as it touched the ground. This had to be a divine power.
Then everything went to light, the light was so bright. The team had to cover their eyes and everything went black.
Jill woke up, she was standing in a chamber, an underground chamber of some sort, the other Team members were there two, just waking up.
The chamber, itself was made of brown wet rock, the only thing that was in this room was a raised platform that a man was sitting on, he appeared to be human. He had a long white beard and grey hair, he was wearing white robes.
The rest of the Team had all come back into reality, the human man raised his hands.
"Welcome" he said, his face was full of kindness. "I am Olean..."
Stef interrupted him.
"Yes, Master Spirit of the Emeralds", he said bowing low as a sign of respect.
Olean smiled at his bow and clasped his hands together, he knew that their wasn't time for pleasantries.
"I'm sorry for being you all here but as you can see we have a small problem to deal with." His voice was low and commanding, everything you could expect from a god.
Chaos looked up at him, she imagined his visage but she couldn't, she wasn't even sure where he was because of the echoing in the underground cavern.
"Ivan Grace!" she said, trying to face Olean.
"Yes" said Olean. "That is the name he goes as now but he is slightly older than that, his real name is Lucifre, he was the spirit of the Emerald that was supposed to balance out good and evil, tens of thousands of years ago but he turned jealous because of the powers of the other spirits and the eighth Emerald turned black. I managed to keep him sealed away for thousands of years but as I aged my magic got less powerful and he broke out of his entrapment. He took the personality of Ivan Grace, the illegitimate child of Cecelia Grace, however she had no children, her mind was warped by his magic and so was everyone else. I watched powerlessly as he led Phoenix Grace, my magic does not work in the Physical World so my only hope that heroes would arise to destroy him, you did and his death and the destruction of the black Emerald resulted in him being damned until the Emerald was brought back together. That fool, Rift re-awakened him but he also allowed Lucifre to bring his powers into this world. He is bent on conquering it."
Lin and the others all seemed shocked by this, they had know idea that Ivan had existed for thousands of years.
"So what do you want?" said Jill bluntly. Olean smiled at her.
"Such sarcasm, what I would expect from my daughter, Kyjill."
Jill and the others looked at Olean as if he was insane, he just stared at her.
"WHAT!!" she said in surprise.
"You are Kyjill, Goddess of the Ultimate Power. You don't know that because your mind is in Chaos but you are the spirit of my daughter, one of the three legendary Goddesses that I hid from evil."
"I'm not! My parents live in Central City." Said Jill, trying not to except it.
"Think about it, Kyjill. Have you ever felt that there is something...."More" to you?" said Olean. "Oh I have to introduce to your sisters, one of the each of the main species of Mobius, for the Unity of the planet."
Olean then took his hands apart and pointed to Lin and Chaos, Stef stood there bewildered. It wasn't possible but these were powers that he couldn't begin to understand.
"What the hell are you on about!" shouted Lin, she looked almost scared.
"You are my two other daughters, Lindia and Chaotica, the two other Goddesses of the Ultimate Power."
Olean then put his hands together and began to chant.
"Through the power of space and time
To prove that one is truly divine
With the power that I must keep
Awaken my daughters from their sleep"
Something began to happen to Jill, Lin and Chaos, they lifted off the ground and began to glow, their clothes were changing into robes, the swords that sat in the belts of Lin and Chaos, one became a rapier, Lin's and the other became a staff with a purple jewel at the top of it.
Lin's clothes hand changed into almost regal clothing, it was a godly like dress made of a blue silk, her face changed, her fir fell of her face leaving her beautiful, soft skin, her hair became blue and she looked like a tall fox but with human features. Lin's twin tails still poked out the back of her dress
Chaos changed too, her face changed to, her hair was still white but longer and she found herself wearing a white dress and her fists had become hands but something more important had changed, her eyes, she suddenly opened them and looked to the sky, they became beautifully blue. Jill had just had her dress change it was green.
They were lowered to the ground and markings appeared on their for heads, a triangle for Lin, a diamond for Chaos and a circle for Lin. Crowns also appeared on their heads, thick gold with jewels in the centre the same colour as the dresses. They touched the floor in there sandals, all brown and wooden. Stef stood absolutely ridged; he had never seen such a transformation.
"I can see!" shouted Chaos, she poured her hands out in front of her, she looked amazed. She began to cry, she thought she would never be able to see things again.
Lin looked round at Stef, he just stared at her and then at Olean, Olean held his hands out and lowered them.
"Did you honesty think that you were just pathetic spirits of the Emeralds" he commanded, Chaos looked up at him, she could finally see him, his old face, not in her mind but physical. "No! You are more powerful then that! Daughters?"
Lin, Jill and Chaos, looked up at Olean, he spread his hands, three things plummeted into the ground from the dark abyss above them, they were three staffs each with the matching symbols of each of the Goddesses symbols on their foreheads.
"Once you pick them up, you will all be taken back to Serenity Island, you know what you must do, your clothes will also change but you will have knowledge of powers that you didn't know you had! You have to stop Lucifre, I am too weak. Go now!"
Lin had many questions in her head but she wasn't going to get them answered, she felt the long metal staff and pulled it out of the ground. Jill and Chaos did the same and in beams of light, they shot up, up and up,, into Darkness with Stef following them in his own energy beam.
Olean sat back on the floor; she looked into the cavern walls.
"I hope you can end this. Good luck" he muttered.
Chapter 4 â€" The Mission
Two weeks had passed....
"Shit!" shouted Chaos, she ran through the corridors of the police building in Central City, she had a stack off papers in her hand and she ran down the corridors, avoiding the other people. She was dressed in a blue police tunic and mini skirt.
She crossed to a large office and slumped the paper on the table, the office was large and the window looked out from the Police Tower over Central City, there was person standing in front of a large desk looking out the window. It was woman, she was wearing a green tunic that indicated that she worked for a special branch of the police, her hair was pinned back, a cat. Flex
"Chaos?" said Flex as Chaos dumped the paper on her desk. "What is this?"
"Reports" replied Chaos, smiling she was proud of herself, she might not have been able to do any magic since she got her sight back but she had become damn good at report writing, she had a new appetite for life, come to think of it, those staffs that had been given to Lin and Jill also didn't do anything. She recalled Lin trying to do a magic spell with the staff, Stef had helped him but she obviously didn't need to, maybe magic was unlocked when it was need.
"Oh..." said Flex, she was impressed by Chaos's work rates, she had only just joined the Police Force. Flex joined after her own personal Phoenix Grace disaster, only Team Fox knew of her secret, she was a clone, cloned by Phoenix Grace.
Lin entered the room from another door, she wasn't a member of the Police Force but a liaison with the military, the police and the UMSS worked closely together. She wore her usual clothes and gave a piece of paper to Flex.
"Look at this." She said, giving Flex the piece of paper, Stef entered the room after her, through the same door.
"I see" said Flex, she continued to read and then put the paper down on the desk.
"Right! Ok! I'll tell Chief Superintendent Gateway, that we accept this mission."
Lin smiled and Stef and Chaos stared at Flex and Lin confused.
"What mission?" said Stef.
"There is a group of Dark Emerald Cultists, in the Central City Area, they have barricaded themselves into a building in Guilford Street, and we have to "remove" them."
Memories suddenly came flooding back to Chaos, she remember the incident with the Dark Emerald Cultists, with Rift, with Olean. She had got her sight back. But most importantly, Ivan Grace had been resurrected, they had to destroy him once and for all.
"Ok" said Stef. "Let's go!"
It was night in Central City, the city lights flickered as a helicopter flew by and over the buildings, heading for the more industrial part of town. The buildings became less glamorous, they were boarded up but it was still beautiful none the less.
Flex was in the cockpit flying the helicopter, Stef, Lin, Chaos, Jill and Adam were in the back of the helicopter, they put straps on them. Stef gulped, this was insane.
The helicopter spun over a boarded up building. Stef ran forward and jumped out the helicopter, he felt gravity pulling him down. He pulled the lever and a small parachute ejected from his backpack, the others did the same, they landed on the roof of the building.
The wind whipped through the hair of the girls, as the Team dragged their parachutes of the back. The roof was long a there was a bunch off steps that led down to a door. Team Fox took out there guns, this was gonna be an easy mission or so there thought! Routine!
A Racoon stood in a room, inside the building, he looked out on of the windows that weren't broken, his face was older. He walked across to the table and picked up a cup, it had a pale brown liquid in it, he drunk it, he had forgot the flavour of coffee, the pleasures of mortality, however mortality disgusted him. He saw mortals as beings infected with a disease, death slowly creeping in.
"So!" said a female voice, the Racoon turned round to look at the door, he was wearing classical black robes and had a symbol on his head, a black circle with gold markings engraved into it. "You've returned, have you Ivan? Or should I say Lucifre."
A female echidna then came into Ivan's vision, she was beautiful, she wore a blue shirt and black tight trousers, her hair was purple and her eyes were obscured by mysterious black glasses.
"Who are you" said Ivan, raising his arms to perform his magic. "Speak!"
"Chill darling!" said the female Echidna, she had become fully physical now, she could touch, smell and taste. "You are going to need me! If you wanna have all the other Emeralds."
Ivan looked at her surprised, he wondered how she knew his plans, or was she just guessing.
"Oh don't worry." Said the Echidna sitting on the table, she picked up the pieces of paper and filed them. "I won't tell anyone" she put her figures through the paper almost voluptuously. "I forgot the touch of paper, its been so long!"
"I'll ask you again" said Ivan, he began to twitch cautiously, his hands rose again.
"I'm, low and behold, the spirit of the Emerald of Love, Marianna" said the Echidna, she turned to face him. "I have got so board of being the only person who takes their job seriously, so I want a serious master....you"
Ivan stared at Marianna. Was this a trap? He didn't think so but it did seem a little.......convenient
"I know what your planning and if you want to succeed we will have to eliminate all of the other "awakened" spirits. I was stupid enough last year to do Olean's dirty work for him and just look at me....I'm not even powerful and I get board stiff day-in, day-out. So you're gonna need my if you are planning of disposing of that Team Fox. I am sick and tired of that girl" Marianna then tensed up "Getting her mits on my Stef so I gonna kill them both cos if I can't have him.....no one will"
Ivan smiled, this was just the turn of luck he was looking for, someone to give him their Emerald, freely and without hesitation. He loved it.
"Right, you can join me, if you wish" said Ivan, Marianna rolled her hands up her leg.
"Do I get to call you master?" she said with her eyebrows raised, she was over Stef pretty quickly, now she had bigger fish to fry.
"Check the corridors" commanded Stef as he backed along one, the corridor was empty. Where were they? Intel had picked up forty hostiles all over the place but they had got in so easily.
"Flex to Team Fox" said Flex's muffled voice over the radio, Lin picked it up.
"Go ahead" said Lin down the radio.
"There's no sign of any hostiles, I will give you ten minutes and then we will go. I'm circling th..........."
The radio then cut out, Lin fiddled with the buttons, shouting "come in Flex" down it.
"Shit!" said Lin as she threw the radio down at the floor. "Piece of crap!"
Chaos and Adam stayed back as Lin and Stef moved forward, Jill had stayed behind and Dan was keeping an eye on things in the CPU room of the police headquarters, he could communicate with the Team via comm-link, an experiment implant in the ear so all the Team could keep in contact with one another however using it in the Helicopter disrupted the flight controls causing the Helicopter to crash so that was why Flex and the others had to also use old radios.
"STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" said a man, he was armoured and had a M16 in his hand, he pointed the gun at Lin's head just as she and the others came round the corner, there was about twenty men behind him, all in battle armour and all fully armed. Team Fox knew they had to surrender, to fight would be suicide in the small metal corridor. Team Fox dropped their guns and the men walked behind them and tied their hands together.
"OK, BITCH MOVE!" shouted one of the guards at Chaos as he plunged the gun into her back.
Outside, the Helicopter had landed on the roof. Flex and Jill jumped out as the rotas slowed down, they would wait here for the Team, Flex had her shotgun ready and Jill, her pistol.
"Flex, Flex, Do you copy?" yelled Dan in her ear, he was so loud she almost had to chuck the implant out.
"Yes Dan" she said dazed, "go ahead!"
"Team Fox have been captured, they are being taken by about twenty soldiers to some kind of assembly hall on the top floor, we have to rescue them."
Jill got up upon hearing this.
"What weapons do we have?" she asked Flex.
"Nothing!" said Flex. "Lin and the others took all the weaponry, we have about three grenades and five smoke bombs and three flares."
Jill rushed into the Helicopter and grabbed three rounds for her handgun, she then collected all the grenades and flares and jumped out the helicopter.
"We will have to make do!" said Jill. "I'll collect weapons off the guards as I go along. We will need a quick extraction, get in the Helicopter and circle until we need a pick up and then get us out of here."
Flex didn't like this but she had no choice, an Officer in the police force out ranked a Mercenary Commander.
"OK" she said, switching off the comm-link and getting in the helicopter, it took off and flew round the area.
Jill took a deep breath, this was her test.
Chapter 5 â€" Dark Alliance
"Hey" said Chaos, as one of the guards shoved her in this room. This room had thick walls and a long marble floor, this was a remnant of a once powerful empire that encompassed the globe, and the symbol on the marble floor depicted a phoenix with lightning round it. This was a Phoenix Grace building? Or was?
Lin looked hatefully at one of the guards who smiled at her through his helmet, was he enjoying his power over her, she would have very much liked to kick him for smiling at her like that but she couldn't.
"Are the legendary Team Fox?" said a familiar voice, the door opened and it front of them out walked Team Fox with a female Echidna stood next to him, allied to him.
"We've been looking for you, Ivan!" said Lin, she smiled with malice as she looked up. "What have you been up to?"
Ivan gave a hideous laugh, it made everyone in the room shudder.
"I'm afraid, spirit of Wisdom that I am not Ivan Grace, he is....well...dead. I am Lucifre, spirit of the fallen Emerald. I'm sure the boring old fart, Olean brought you up to speed."
Stef looked fiercely into the female Echidna's sunglasses, he knew her. What! He sensed her! It's not possible. Why? Marianna?
"Marianna?" he said, out loud, the whole Team looked at him confused. "Why Marianna?"
Marianna just laughed, she looked up at the sky and then back down again as if mocking Stef.
"Because I can! Because I want to! Because this is power, Stef, real power!"
She walked up to Lin and took her sunglasses off, she stared at her face. Lin looked back in anger.
"You bitch!" shouted Lin at her, "you betrayed us! No wonder Stef hates you at least I don't lie to people."
At that Marianna burst with rage, she slapped Lin across the face and was just about to kick her.
"Enough!" said Ivan and Marianna stopped. Lin got back up the guards were still behind her. "Your going to help us."
"What!" shouted Chaos. "You need your head checked!"
Stef thought her heard Marianna mumble something into Adam's ear as her walked past, she cut Adam's ropes. Why. Adam followed her and turned to stand next to her and Ivan. Ivan smiled.
"OK. Then Adam will help us! Put it this way. Give me your Chaos Emeralds or you will fight Adam"
Adam smiled at them evilly and then said "Do as he said or I will tear you all limb from limb."
Lin looked at him confused, Why? Why did Adam betray them? Stef was looking at Marianna, she was moving her hands and why Adam had spoke, her mouth had moved too. Of course! Marianna's Love, her special power, she could control other people.
"Lin" Stef called to her telepathically, she looked at him. "Marianna's controlling Adam against his will, we have to break her control. I'm gonna try to break her concentration.
Suddenly a smoke grenade flew into the room filling it with smoke, Jill rushed out amongst the shouts and gunfire and grabbed all the team and pushed them out the room, she shot a few guards and pulled them into an office with a window and barricaded the door.
"Jill!" shouted Stef, "Are we glad to see you!"
Jill took Stef's sword and cut through the bindings, she looked at Stef and smiled, on the far side of the door of the office, there was a window suddenly the lights of the city were blotted out by the shape of a helicopter. Flex waved at them, Jill shot the glass and they all jumped through to safety, however not for all of them. They had left Adam and they had to rescue them but how could they fight Ivan and Marianna together when Ivan had so easily defeated them last time? Lin knew that they had to learn how to use there the powers Olean had given them, it was the only way to save Adam. They had to get him back!
Chapter 6 â€" Discovery
Marianna, Ivan and Adam boarded a shuttle; it had landed on the roof of the building. Ivan looked furious, he needed those Chaos Emeralds! He had to get them some way and it didn't matter how many people he had to kill to get them.
The walked onto the bridge of the shuttle as it lifted off the ground, the bridge was barely small enough to walk around in, consoles stuck out from the walls.
The shuttle began to rock as the landing struts retracted and the engines blazed to life in a green flash. Ivan crossed the room to a console that was name communication. Marianna, who was looking happy, took the helm of the ship and brought her up to speed.
"Ivan to the Phoenix Resurrection" he called through the speakers, his face was poised, he knew he would have to deal with Team Fox in a harsher way, perhaps force them to give up the emeralds, he had Adam. One of the guards had taken him to prison cell, he would make a great test subject for "enhancement. "Decloak" said Ivan.
A massive vessel began to appear in front of the tiny shuttle, it was colossal and the decloaking effect made it look graceful as if a thousand pieces of glass were breaking and shattering to produce the dark, grey hull. The vessel was an old military ship, not very fast or armed but Ivan had modified it with the latest black market space weaponry and new engines and power systems. This vessel out match UMSS ships easily.
The Phoenix Resurrection itself was a long oblong body with four massive wing like structures that protruded out of the side of the ship, on the end of these were glowing green cylinders, the nacelles.
The shuttle headed for a landing bay in the ship, the shuttled carefully landed on the floor of the vessel.
A ramp extended downwards towards the highly-polished floor, that gleamed under the synthetic lighting that dotted the roof. Ivan descended the ramp, his black robes swing beside him. A small man, stood by the door to the corridors that formed the bloodlines of the ship. He stood to attention as soon as he saw Ivan.
The man was short, stubby, he had blue eyes and distinctive scaly skin, it was an adaptation from his watery, ocean-like planet of Zelna. The Zelnaians were amphibious beings allowing them to swim in the warm tropical waters of Zelna and then to build the massive cities on the island that were dotted around the planets surface. However there were cities under water, beautiful, majestic cites that were made out of crystal so when the sun shined on them they gleamed with a holy light.
"Commander Varranad" said Ivan, in greeting as he strode up to meet him with Marianna and Adam close behind. Varranad turned his fish eyes to look at Ivan, he always looked distant when he spoke but that was the way his species was.
"Yes sir" he said, he had a low husky voice, it also gurgled slightly.
"Prepare for the attack on Central City, I want to have my troops ready to take control of that city in two days. This is General Marianna, you will report to her as well. How many troops do I have and how many ships."
Commander Varranad looked at Marianna in a most desirable way but she looked back at him disgusted, Zelnaians were so ugly, this was the first one she had met.
"Six hundred men" he said finally "and two Zelnaian battlecruisers have also take up your call. They want to be rewarded with more land on Mobius."
Ivan looked at the small mini-computer that Varranad gave him, it was a slim card like device, it was no bigger than a floppy disk but carried a massive amount of information.
"Good!" said Ivan, gleefully. "Remember I want those Chaos Emeralds as well, once I get all seven I can cover this world in darkness and punish all my enemies! You may continue!"
"Damn!" said Lin, she banged her fist on the table of the Team Fox Headquarters main office, Flex was sat at a computer terminal in the corner of the room along with Dan and Jill. Chaos was in the corner with the three staffs that Olean had given them. "Right let's go through this again!"
Lin crossed the room to Stef who was sat in the large leather chair behind a desk behind him was the big open windows overlooking Central City. The room was a small rectangle shape and it was dark, the only light was from the windows and the computer screens.
"Ok" said Stef, he swung in the chair to face her. "Are you sure you are picking up no life signs from that building?"
Flex turned from her screen.
"Sure as hell" she said.
"Then that means there must have been a drop ship or some king of transport nearby, it looked as though Ivan had a little more support than we anticipated, that building was swarming with his people" said Stef. Lin turned to face him, it had hit her, a shuttle!
"Flex! Scan for Ion Trails away from the building."
Flex nodded and tapped a few buttons on the computer, it began to flash.
"Ah-ha!" she said "found it, it looked like an Armira class shuttle, those can't fly very far, not enough to get into space, there must be a mother ship nearby but I can't detect one! I've managed to get the CCTV footage of the vessel lifting off, wanna see?"
Lin and Stef watched as Flex put up the top of a building on the screen, they watch Ivan, Marianna and Adam get in the shuttle and it lift off but after it had got a little way in the sky, it disappeared!
Impossible, it can't go into Hyperthrust on a planet.
"Wait" said Lin, her sharp eyes catching something. "There. STOP!"
Flex stopped the tape and waited.
"Magnify the top right-hand corner!" commanded Lin
Flex pressed the button and the screen enlarged showing the online of a ship. A massive vessel, Ivan's capital ship.
"That sneaky bastard!" shouted Chaos, she had come up behind them and made them jump. "A capital ship with a cloaking device."
Stef sat back. "We will have to go and tell Challenger, Central City could be in danger!"
Chapter 7 â€" Serenity X
"Hang on!" said Grand Admiral Ben Challenger, sat in front of a desk, in his office. Stef, Lin and Chaos stood in front of the desk addressing him. "You expect me to believe that Ivan Grace is alive and some hoky-poky magic has brought him back and he is going to attack Central City. You are all in way over your head my friends!"
Chaos slammed her fist on the table.
"Listen!" she said, anger flaring in his eye. "Believe me, he is alive."
Challenger pressed a button and five security guards entered the room.
"Take them away!" said Challenger and the men grabbed the Team and dragged them outside.
"Maybe...we should let Central City burn!" said Lin as they were dragged out the office. They knew this battle would come quickly, the resurrection of Phoenix Grace but not as a company but a world power!
Marianna strode into the science lab of the Phoenix Resurrection; it was a large room with Mobian and Humans in white coats. There were large tubes of a liquid, it was pale green. Computers and scientific equipment surrounded the room and the walls and floors were a metallic grey colour.
"Have you quite finished?" asked Marianna to a female cat, she was short and wore a white scientist coat.
"Yes ma'am" said the scientist and she loaded something up on the computer screen. It was a series of pictures of a strand of DNA and after the DNA had completely changed.
"Good!" said Marianna, two guards entered the room and grabbed the scientist, the others stood in fear. "Now we can test it. You!" she pointed to another, male scientist. "Inject her with the virus."
The scientist hesitated but Marianna pulled out a handgun and pointed it at him, he grabbed a syringe and loaded it with the pale green liquid. The female cat's eyes were full of fear, she tried to break free but where could she go?
The man put the syringe to her shaking arm and put it in, the cat winced and almost at once her skin began to change colour, it became whiter, her veins became more pronounced, her pupils disappeared, she let out screams of pain.
"Get her behind a containment field!" said Marianna, she watched the full horror of what was happening but a tear almost came to her eyes.
The guards picked up the shaking, in pain scientist and put her behind a reddish transparent field, that would keep her in there.
Her clothes began to rip and tear, her body mass increased, she let out a terrible scream as her neck elongated and a massive claw formed on her hand, she suddenly grew in height.
"Magnificent!" said Ivan with glee as he entered the room, all scientists bowed but Marianna just stood looking at this terrible creature in awe. "Purely magnificent, so experiment 4 went well, the virus is complete, Serenity X." he turned and addressed the scientist. "I want the virus put in a torpedo ready to fire by tomorrow."
Marianna turned in shock. What had she done! Allowed Ivan to make this.....this.....monster!
"Ivan?" she said to Ivan just as he turned to leave. "Why do want Serenity X ready by tomorrow?"
Ivan turned and gave her a smile, maniacal almost. "Why my dear, Marianna, once we have secured Central City, we don't want the UMSS to recover so we are going to release the virus in Central City to wipe out the military leaders and then nuke the city."
"WHAT!" shouted Marianna, she looked at Ivan with disgust. She could not believe that she had helped him, she wasn't evil. What madness possessed her. "But that will kill over fifty thousand innocent people."
Ivan just walked out the door.
"Yes, I am aware of that!"
Chapter 8 â€" Marianna's Call
Stef, Lin and Chaos wondered the streets of Central City, so many people lived here this was a bustling megapolis.
"Well that was a waste of time!" shouted Lin, she kicked a can on the floor.
"Yeah!" said Stef, he wasn't any less angry about the situation, thousands of civilians were going to die but they didn't even know what Ivan Grace had planned. All he knew was that his ship was up there, somewhere!
Jill was waiting on the street corner, she was looking at the building across the street.
Suddenly the buildings began to spin.
"What the fuck!" exclaimed Jill as the buildings and cars of Central City all became a blur, suddenly they felt something pull them up into the sky and them fall down again.
The team landed in a dimly lit chamber, they did not recognise it, it was under ground else, on the end of the wall were shelves full of paper and big leather bound books. At the front of the room was a crown on a pedestal, it was beautifully jewel incrusted.
"Hello" said a sheepish voice behind them, the team turned to find Marianna stood there waving rather sheepish at them. She looked like a child at school that knew she had done wrong.
"You BITCH!" shouted Lin. "You brought us here!"
Marianna swallowed, her eyes looked terribly sorry.
"I've been so stupid! I captured your friend and he's being held on Ivan's cloaked capital ship, he is pure evil. He wants to use Adam in his experiments with the new Serenity X virus."
"WHAT!!" shouted Chaos, she wanted to see the virus never be created again, it had turned one of her closest friends Dr John Goddard into a monster, and this was the power of the Serenity Virus but if Ivan had improved it.
"That's not all!" said Marianna, she began to cry. "He's going to release it all on Central City, it mutates cells and turns people to monsters in mere seconds. I've seen it! You must stop him. I am such a fool, please forgive me."
"Oh!" said Chaos, she look angrily at Marianna. "So you think you can just waltz in here and pretend that we are just gonna forgive you. Think again bitch!"
Marianna looked down at the floor. Stef walked up to Marianna and helped her up, he held her. She had been stupid but she could be redeemed, she hadn't killed anyone so he could forgive her but Adam was still in Ivan's custody.
"It's OK" he whispered to her. Marianna grabbed her and started crying.
"What have I done?" she said with so much grief and I'm supposed to be a good spirit of the Emerald.
"We all make mistakes in life and in death" said Stef, he smiled at her, a reassuring smile. "Now. Why have you brought us here? Where are we?"
Marianna looked directly at Lin, Chaos and Jill, they were still understandably angry.
"This is the ancient archive of the Royal Family of Serenity Island, it's underneath the Emerald Chamber. I brought you here because this is where we have to be to release the three goddesses of the Ultimate Power. To release them I have to crown the heir to throne Queen."
"What!" said Jill, she looked at Lin and Chaos surprised. "So you're saying that one of us is Queen?"
Marianna nodded, she looked into Stef's eyes, he saw no lie.
"But Serenity Island has no royal family only a chief, you father?"
Marianna stood up.
"No" she said almost in disgust. "My father disposed of the Royal Family so he could claim power over our tribe, the King died first poisoned by my father and then the Queen was also poisoned two but she managed to give birth to a daughter before she died. My father couldn't bring himself to kill a new born baby so his co-conspirators smuggled the baby off the country and abandon it somewhere. However it grew up with another Royal Family."
Chaos looked up, she had grown up in the Royal Family of a tribe of hedgehog however she always knew that she was different from them.
"So this baby grew up never knowing what it was born to be, the lost Queen of the Kingdom of Serenita. Queen......" she pointed at Chaos. "Queen Chaos!"
Chapter 9 â€" Ascension
Chaos stood in the Royal Archive, she had no idea that this was her destiny. Stef put himself on the floor, he bowed to her.
"What...." She said, trying to find the words. "I can't be Queen?"
Marianna got on the floor and bowed to Chaos, Chaos looked uncomfortable.
"Believe me, your majesty, you are!" she got up. "Your crown awaits" she lifted the crown off the pedestal. "Please."
Chaos looked back at Jill and Lin, they looked back at her, not knowing what to do. Chaos walked forward, she suddenly said something that she didn't even know, she didn't remember saying anything.
"Through Serenity Island, I am bound." Chaos moved forward.
She stood behind Marianna, who placed the jewel encrusted crown on her head, it was a light gold thin crown, like Stef's band by more regal.
"I crown you, in all the power that is within me. Queen of Serenita!"
The crown fell on the top of Chaos's head, she looked uncomfortable. A powerful beam of purple light shot up around Chaos and one round Lin and then Jill, all different colours. Stef watched as their clothes changed to the one's that they had when they had first changed in Goddess, he concluded that it must have been a dream. The three of them touched the floor, there powers returned, Marianna bowed to them.
"My eternal masters" she said. "You now have the power to stop Ivan with your staffs."
The three staffs appeared in there hands, Stef began to change, a marking appeared on his head, his sword changed, it became large and symbols appeared on the blade. He pulled it up, it was covered in gold but had some super strong metal underneath. Marianna grinned, she had just done something good, released the power of Goddesses, legend had it that one of the Goddess was the female heir to the throne.
"What has happened to me?" asked Stef, he stared at himself. "I feel.....more powerful?"
Marianna chuckled, she was rejoicing, the end of evil.
"You are the one that is needed to imprison Ivan Grace and send him back where he came from. The Ultimate Spellbinding Triangle, the power is in your sword, you will know the spell when the time is right. Now go! Destroy Ivan and rescue Adam. I will return to the Phoenix Resurrection. Dispel the cloaking field, it's not technology but magic and magic can be dispelled."
Stef put his sword back and he looked in the sky and grabbed and three goddesses hands and called to the sky.
"God's of the Wind, Water and Earth, come to me, God of the wind bring me to Central City."
They were gone, this was the final battle.
Chapter 9 â€" The Truth Revealed
Ivan was waiting for Marianna in her quarters, he shouldn't have been there, this was a serious breech in regulations, enter a woman's chamber without permission. Marianna suddenly appeared in a flash of light and she jumped when she saw Ivan.
"Oh...." She said when she came into full form in the room.
"Been anywhere interesting" said Ivan, giving a smile. Marianna relaxed, he hadn't caught on yet.
"No...not....not really" she said.
"Marianna?" asked Ivan. "Do not lie to me, I know where you have been!"
He picked her up and smacked her against the wall.
"You know what the cost of betrayal is!" he said as he sat on the floor pinned down by his magic. "Banishment to the eternal darkness."
Marianna looked fearful in her eyes but she pat in his face.
"You may banish me but you will be destroyed. They will kill you. You bastard!"
Ivan looked down on here and waved.
"Good bye Marianna" he said and against her screams he called. "One tortured soul, or another, release a power like no other, eternally bound this spirit in the chains of darkness and keep her there!"
Chains of black energy cuffed onto Marianna, she struggled to free herself and was pulled further and further until her body disappeared.
"What!" said Stef as they stood in Central City, nobody had seen them appear, they just carried on walking. Stef had felt something strange as if a woman's voice was calling out to him and then was silenced. Something terrible had happened.
"What is it? Stef?" asked Chaos as they ran to the highest building in Central City, the skyscraper of the UMSS.
"It's nothing" said Stef, he couldn't put his finger on it.
They rushed into the UMSS building showing their security passes to the guards and the guards were started by their new clothing. They got in the elevator and ascended to the top floor and out on the roof.
Jill felt the cool breeze of the wind as she walked out of the sky-scraper. Stef looked around. How where they supposed to fight this ship if they couldn't see it.
"So how do we do this?" said Stef, he looked over the edge of the building, a forty-nine story drop, most certainly death.
"Leave it to me!" said Lin and she swung her staff and pointed it at the sky. "Release and DISPELL!"
A blue beam shot out of her staff and it hit something in the sky, it began to appear, a massive battleship, Ivan's battleship, the Phoenix Resurrection.
"Lord Grace!" said a man sat at the pilot panel on the bridge, Ivan turned he was looking at the weapons control panel. "We have lost the cloaking spell!"
"What!" said Ivan, he looked shocked, there was no magic force more powerful than him? Was there?
"UMSS fighters are being launched and the civilians are starting to panic. Incoming fire!" said a man sat behind Ivan and the bridge shook.
"We will have to start the attack early!" said Ivan, he walked over to the bridge. "How long until Serenity can be deployed."
The science officer turned and bowed to Ivan. "About ten minutes!" he said almost sheepish.
"Good" said Ivan, he called to the entire of the bridge, "Begin the attack. I will be in the main power room!" he then left the shaking bridge.
The Team stood there as they watched the ship fire down on Central City leaving smouldering ruins, those lasers and machine guns were powerful. They watched as the fighters were being shot down by Ivan's fighters and people were starting to run, screaming, abandoning their shopping. Then Phoenix Grace soldiers started land from the bulky troop supply ships and proceeded up the street to the UMSS building, killing civilians and UMSS personnel alike. They had to do something but they couldn't make that far a jump and because it was moving they couldn't risk teleportation.
Suddenly they felt a large gust of wind behind them, a helicopter and in it Flex and Dan!
"Need a hand?" said Dan as they climbed aboard and shot off to the Phoenix Resurrection. This was it! The final battle!
Chapter 10 â€" Sins of the father
Team Fox dodged the machine gun fire and landed on top of the massive vessel as the guns on the ship let out a howling, painful sound. It was manic but what could be done. They had to destroy that ship.
"I like your new costumes" Flex said to all three of the Goddesses, Lin smiled.
"Don't ask" she said, predicting what she was going to say.
"Right" said Dan, he brought up a computer map. "This shaft here leads to the main power room, so it will be easy to destroy the vessel, Adam is on Deck 6, we will take care of him, we will land in the secondary hanger from there it is only a short stroll to the Detention Block and we'll bring him back to the helicopter, you will destroy the main reactor and meet us here in five minutes. Right lets go."
So Stef, Lin, Jill and Chaos jumped out of the helicopter and onto the metal hull of the Phoenix Resurrection, they could here the blasts of lasers from this ship. They had to stop it! Kill Ivan! But would he stay dead.
The Team pulled the top off the large circular shaft. Jill climbed inside and slid down with the gun that Flex had given her still in her hands. Stef looked up at the sky, he had a bad feeling about this and then he turned, two other big battleships were coming this way and they weren't UMSS, they were Zelnaian! They would tear this city apart. They had to hurry!
The Team came out of the slide-like tube and landed on the hard metal floor, it was a series of bridges with a dark abyss below them and the massive reactor in the middle.
"We could destroy it now!" said Jill, she looked at her staff. "With our powers."
"No!" shouted Chaos, she looked back to Jill. "We need to give the other team more time to get Adam."
"Whatever you say Queeny" said Jill mockingly.
About twenty Phoenix Grace soldiers ran into the room and began to shoot at the team on the large bridge, the Team dodge the bullets and shot back but ammunition was limited and soon they had run out.
Stef ran forward and slid up two guards legs with his sword up, cutting into their groin, they howled in pain.
"Hey guys?" said Chaos with a sexual ring to her tone, she lifted a little of her dress up to show her legs and why about five men were concentrating on her legs she kicked the first one knocking all five of the heads together, the fell down on the floor, unconscious.
"Men's fatal weakness" smiled Chaos and she continued fighting.
Lin jumped behind one of the guards an knocked his shotgun in the air, she then caught it and fire right into his back, she did a side flip, catching the man's neck with her thighs and she twisted snapping his neck and flinging him into three guards. Jill finished of the rest.
"We that was fun!" said Lin, wiping the sweat of her forehead.
"Playtime is over" said a familiar voice and Ivan in his dark robes jumped down from the reactor and drew his massive broad sword.
"Oh please!" said Lin, she scowled at him. "Can't you say anything original, that's such a cheesy cliché"
Ivan swung for Lin and Stef rolled in the way and blocked it with his sword, he then forced him back. More guards came into the room and the three Goddesses had to fight them.
Stef swung for Ivan, Ivan ducked and thrusted his sword up. Stef suddenly remembered what he had to do, when the time was right. Would he feel it?
"Not bad!" said Ivan, looking at him, fiercely. "For my own flesh and blood."
"What!" shouted Stef, they were related.
"You are very good, trained well. My son!"
Chapter 11 â€" Shattered Glass
"WHAT!!" shouted Stef, how could Ivan be his father?
"I know what your thinking" said Ivan, he began to change, his hair grew longer. He had turned into an Echidna, Stef's father. "I am your father. You are my son. I am Ivan Grace, Lucifre and Arian the Echidna all in one. You have been avoiding me all these many years so son will you join me?"
Stef looked at him, he lowered his sword. He went to shake his hand.
"I will join you father." He said out loud, the Team had heard everything, Jill was in rage, Chaos and Lin in disbelief. "IN HELL!!!" Stef swung back his sword taking off Arian's arm.
"AH!" said Arian, changing into a dark angel, a black angel with devilish wings.
"That's for my sister!" said Stef, he raised his sword above his head and looked over to the other three girls. They all started glowing. "And this for me!"
He began to chant;
"Wind, Water, Fire, Earth
Create the power in which he fears most
Reveal yourself to me and imprison his soul
Forever bound to this control"
The three Goddesses started to resonate, energy flowed out of them and Lucifre stood there looking freighted.
A triangle formed around him and squeezed into him, locking into position.
"Damn you!" shouted Lucifre and he struggled. Stef looked at him and gave the final command.
"Destroy!" he shouted and against Lucifre screams, he exploded into, shattered into a million pieces like glass. Light shot around the room, a blinding white light, they felt themselves move and land somewhere.
Chapter 12 â€" Rightful heir
The Team opened there eyes, they were on Serenity Island and it was changing. Bits of rubble came out the ground and began snapping together to the ruins of Millennia, the buildings began to reform. Stef looked up in amazement, this was overwhelming and then something more wondrous happened.
People started appearing, they began to materialise, everyone that Stef had known before. Chaos began to cry. As she wept a person put his hand on her soldier, she looked up and opened her mouth in amazement, it wasn't possible.
Looking down on her was he old friend, father-like mentor, his face was still old and he had wrinkles in the corner of his mother. She wept as he embraced her.
"John!" she said, crying into him. "I never thought I'd see you again."
She cried even more, sobbing into his arm. It was all over, the horror.
"Hey Stef!" said a female Echidna's voice. Stef turned, he hadn't heard that voice for years. It was his sister, Shannon, she came running towards him and grabbed him. "I missed you" said Shannon, she started crying too. Stef let go of her and she looked up.
"I knew you'd save me big brother!" she said, embracing him.
The chief, followed by Marianna shot through the crowd of rejoicing people and look at Chaos.
"As Chief of this........" Marianna, now fully physical tapped him on the back and as he turned around smacked him right in the face.
"You are not chief!" said Marianna, she pointed to Chaos. "All hail the rightful heir to the throne of Serenita, Chaos I"
The entire company of echidna bowed to Chaos, who was going red and blushing.
"Rise!" she said. "You all do not bow to me" she then pointed to Lin, Stef and Jill. "My friends are the ones that deserve that!"
Stef started crying, this was so emotional, he figured this was as good as time as any and grabbed Lin and kissed her passionately, she kissed back.
"Hey guys!" said two voices, in unison. "What about us!" Lin and Stef looked up at the sky and massive ship was on top of them the UMSS Erika, with Captain Flex in command.
"Hey!" said Flex, she grabbed all the members of the Team and hugged them, Adam came down too and went to Lin, she embraced him, crying.
"We did it!" shouted Adam. "Central and Radical City have been restored and Cecelia Grace is back in control of Phoenix Grace, since we have broken the spell she has become good. Ivan put a spell on her. Everything is back to the way it was."
Stef smiled, after more than 10 years of fighting, it was over! All of it was over! Central City was reborn in the light and so was Radical City, fallen comrades reborn, the Serenity Virus gone. The dark days had passed and everything was back to normal.