Chapter 21: Reunion and Reluctant Leadership.

The StrongGale was in Mobius atmopshpere. The ship which was David's pride and joy had taken a sever amount of damage from the laser fire, smoke rose around Zac and David, limiting thier vision and making it hard to breath. A glancing laser blast caused the right wing to be disintergrated.

"What th-....CR-" David was cut off when another shower of lasers threw him forward into the controls. Oil was covering most of the floor, while Zac was rapidly blasting away at the enemy robots. They did not have the mark of Robotnik on them...and it seemed if they weren't being shot down alone. Millions of Robotnik's robots intercepted The Dark One's, giving the StrongGale a bit more time.

"David! We're almost there! When we get close..."

"I know! I was the one who made this ship! Just hold tight and keep blasting! I don't know why those robots helped us out, but it's given us a chance. We're still capable of being killed here, but my ship's gonna get us through. NOW!"

The ship's reverse thrusters came to life, causing them to slow down, but created to large cyclones of aerial flame, which headed towards the robots. Loud explosions could be heard, as well as metal hitting the ground with a terrific force. The StrongGale landed on the icy plains below, seeing Seb in the Fire Wave to greet them. The three disappered into the white dunes of snow, before re-emerging underground. All sorts of heroes were here. Even a few villains. Like Bowser and Eggman Nega. Everyone turned around and looked at Gaming Force.

"It seems we have all of Gaming Force present, except for Joshua...He's not in trouble...is he?" Sally asked.

Eiko closed her eyes before opening them again.

"He...He's alive. And nearby. It might be a..."

Two shadowed figures walked into the base, thier faces had a grim look of anger and determination. They all gasped as the two walked in the center of the group and sat down. Everyone stared at them, thier hands near thier weapons, only to find John and Dakoda Darken to continue to sit, not flinching.

"...Odd. I was expecting my...brother...to be here...Perhaps he's already been done in...What's your opinion, father?"Dakoda started.

"The Dark One's power has almost reached it's peak. If Joshua was dead, we'd be nothing but dust. The Dark One...Gaiming Force...He's copied the data of all of you...everyone in this dimension...He seems to have been using the forces of Darkness to study and learn our power. With it, he is the most powerful being in this dimension..." John Darken stated.

"But...wouldn't that mean, he'd know about Joshua's abilities?"

"...Correct, but The Dark One cannot use them. To harness such power would require the Gameboy Jewels and The Chaos Emeralds. His appearance is that of a vampire. One who is larger than the monster's you would've encountered. But, he has learnt all of our abilites except...Assassin Aharon...He remains elusive, hiding in Oblivion, avoiding The Dark One's detection." John continued.

"But, why? Aharon would be able to be freed again, and able to..." Toxic started.

"He'd be killed. His power wouldn't be enough to inflict a scratch on The Dark One. Joshua is the only one who can stop him. But I doubt if he can handle this...You see...never mind...He comes..."

The J-Wing had landed nearby, following the signal sent from the base. They all raced outside, hoping to find Joshua, only to thier dismay, he wasn't there. Eiko had began to get worried, quickly blaming Adis for Joshua's disappearance.

"Adis! Where's Joshua?! You..." Eiko yelled.

"...I thought he would be here! The ship flew us straight to this spot, at full speed, so I thought that he would be waiting for us. Oh...This little guy is called Edward, we found him by himself...he's quite...odd for someone his age." Adis started.

"Wear's Joshua? Adis? Is he heer?"

Adis shook her head, before hugging Edward tightly, trying to get him to stop crying. As they all began to argue and go back inside, someone in a black cape watched them. The snow and wind had done some considerable damage to his body, as well as the injuries he sustained on his way here. His eyes burned brightly with determination, before he knocked on the door. Something in his mind stirred. A large image of a sword slashing through someone's flesh made him flinch. As the door opened, his strength gave out. He collapsed inside, exaughsted...

It was a few hours later that he awoke, alone in a cold room. Large bookshelves were against the walls, with a small workbench in the corner, where some tools and an old sword was placed. The boy looked down at his hands, rubbed his head and got to his feet. The door was locked from his side, meaning no-one could get in.

"Ngh...That was a rough trip...I wasn't expecting to find such a large force waiting for me...Heh...I barely got out of that one...I...I hope I made it to the Northen Base...Wait...Why did I say that? I am here! This...This is my old room...I remember making this base when I was exiled for a crime I didn't do...Heh, it wasn't so bad...I got a chance to train myself to find the truth..." he sighed.

As he opened the door, he walked down the long corridor to the main room. A heated argument from all sides could be heard. Plans for attack, for retreat...It seemed that in fear, they were getting desperate, objecting eacho others ideas, and suggesting foolish plans.

"...Enough...We must do something. When he wakes up, he'll know what to do. Trust me, I know. He's managed to get out of places harder than this." Sonic laughed.

"Perhaps, but is the Ultimate Gamer up to the task? If what Adis said is true, he could be turned against us. His emotions and memories are coming back to him in full force. I fear he may be severly weakened by this..."

"I might not be at my best, but I'm not about to let The Dark One win. Surprised to see me?" he laughed.

Everyone let out a cry of surprise. when they looked at him. He was expecting them to run up to him...but something seemed weird... like they were frozen solid...The whole room went dark, before a ghostly image of the Dark One floated in front of Joshua.

"Hahahah...It seems the effect I intended to occur has finally happened. You see...the before you, these fools are under my control. The one called Adis is under my constant watch. I have her and that boy, Edward as my prisoners. The ones you see are duplicates of them, only ones of pure dark. I made them...to render your friends usless! You cannot stop me now!"

"No...You no good...Grrrrr...I won't let you get away with this! I intend to stop you for good!" Joshua yelled.

The room lit up again, causing the ghost to flinch.

"What?! No!"

Dakoda and John Darken was standing beside Joshua, a small smile on thier face.

"It seems your plan failed. As much I dislike helping these...people, I managed to protect them from your fiendish plan. My darkness is enough to negate yours. I can block the lesser dark magic you use...I am the last Omega Knight after all..."

"So, you have decided to join them?! Fool! You will throw your life away?!"

"I don't intend to let that happen. I want you destroyed for good. You are a threat to all of us. Those who are light and dark. Joshua...He'll be leading them all to victory! His plan to strike down your army will not fail!"

"Pitiful...Look towards the remains of Robotropolis...My army is at it's full strength. Soon...when I have my full power...I will be able to call back my army from the dead, making us unstopable! See the last sunrise, for you will not live to see it again! Farewell, fools...when we meet again, I will be standing over your corpses..."

Everyone raced up to Joshua cheering, except for Joshua himself. He simply kept a straight face while they went through thier tactics. Later...

"So, it's agreed then...Joshua...You and your 'father' will have to face The Dark One alone. Only you two have the power to do so...." Eiko decided.

"...Dad. Are you sure you want to help us? I know you aren't...well happy with me since our last..."

"Joshua. I'm not your real father. Just call me John Darken. We can't be so formal. We'll be enemies after this all finishes. But...I swear that me and Dakoda will not attack this dimension until it is healed. All of the ones of Darkness will follow this oath." John Darken explained.

"John...You seem to have some honor in you after all...Even if we are enemies after this, we'll stil have this time to remember..." Joshua smiled.

John Darken simply shrugged his shoulders and went off to prepare. As did the rest of them...