Desert Fight

**Desert Fight** *(砂漠の戦い Sabaku no tatakai) is the fourth episode of **Fangs And Speed: A New Adventure**.*

## Synopsis

Derek, Tails, Knuckles and the Downunda Freedom Fighters goes to La Iglesia ruins to save Sonic and Amy from the WereJaguar and Doctor Robotnik.

## Plot

Derek, along with Tails, Knuckles, and the Downunda Freedom Fighters, fly to La Iglesia to free Sonic and Amy, who have been captured by Doctor Robotnik and his new creation, the werejaguar. "Okay, here we are. Come on!" Derek says as they land the plane. But just as he exits, Berserker emerges from behind Barby and Tails. "Barby, Tails, watch out!" Derek yells and throws them both aside. The Berserker catches Derek and throws him against one of the broken walls. Derek tries to fight back, but the Berserker is too strong, and stabs Derek repeatedly in chest with his long and sharp hand claw.
"Derek!" Barby and Tails shout in shock as the Berserker stabs him. Knuckles quickly reacts and attacks the Berserker, causing him to flee. The team rushes to Derek's side, trying to help him. "Why doesn't it heal?" Tails asks, his voice filled with stress. "I can't...this stab is too deep..." Derek says weakly, struggling to stay conscious. "What now?" Knuckles asks in a panicked voice. "I'm fine! I'm fine. Just get to Sonic and Amy," Derek says, trying to hide the severity of his wounds. But everyone knows that he's not okay. "Knuckles, you and Tails just find Sonic and Amy. I'll be right behind you. Go," Derek insists, coughing up blood. Knuckles still hesitates. "Go!" Derek implores. Knuckles then runs to the ruins. Tails tries to go with Knuckles, but Derek grabs Tails' hand and urges "Hey, Hey. Save them." Derek leaves Tails hands. Tails hesitates to go for a moment, but ultimately follows Knuckles into the ruins. Meanwhile, Kate, Robotnik, and two more Berserkers arrive on the scene. "Can you hold on?" Barby asks Derek. "Yeah, sure," Derek replies weakly. "Stay with me. You're gonna be okay," Barby says, trying to keep Derek conscious. "It's a mortal wound. And right now I'm feeling pretty mortal," Derek groans. "I won't let you die," Barby vows, determined to do everything she can to save him. "Walt! Come here, I have a plan." Walt goes to Derek, who explains his plan, "Listen... attack as hard and fast as you can. That way we'll manage to create enough time for Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Amy to arrive,". Walt says "Okay. But, Derek, Hang in there, okay?" And Derek replies "Don't worry about me, just show them what we got," The Downunda Freedom Fighters take up their fighting stances, ready to take on Kate and Robotnik's forces. Kate taunts them, saying "it's hopeless, Derek. You're friends won't be able to beat me." But Derek unexpectedly smiles, his confidence returning. "Oh, not my friends," he says, before shouting as loud as he can, "My Pack!" Right after that, the Downunda Freedom Fighters start fighting the Berserkers and Kate, while Robotnik is watching.
Meanwhile in the ruins, Knuckles and Tails find Sonic and Amy chained to the wall. They immediately free them and ask, "Sonic, are you okay?" Sonic nods, "Yes, thank you guys." Knuckles looks stressed, "We don't have time, we have to help the Downunda Freedom Fighters, especially Derek." Sonic senses something is wrong with Derek and asks, "Did something happen to him?" Knuckles responds, "Just as we got here, Berserker attacked him and he was seriously injured." Sonic is shocked by this news and turns to Tails, "Tails, he's joking, right?" Tails shakes his head, "No, that's the truth." "It can't be…" Amy says in disbelief. "Come on!" Knuckles yells, and the four rush back to the exit.
Back in the battle above, the Freedom Fighters struggle against the Berserkers. No matter how hard they try, the Berserkers won't go down. Suddenly, one of them throws Barby to the ground and advances towards her. Derek then somehow manages to get up and steps in between them, "Stay away from her!" Derek yells and roars at the Berserker, while Barby is surprised by him. The Berserker doesn't feel threatened, attacking Derek instead. Derek grabs the Berserker's hand, but it's too late, and the Berserker stabs Derek again. "Derek!" Barby yells. Derek manages to take the Berserker's claw out of his body and push the it aside. However, he falls to the ground due to his injury. Barby brings him to the wall where he was lying before. Derek can't do anything at this point.
As Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Amy emerge from the ruins, Sonic looks around to see where Derek is, and sees him propped up against the wall, badly injured and heavily bleeding. He rushes over to Barby and Derek, Sonic's heart sinks as he kneels down beside Derek, who looks up at him with weak eyes. "Sonic," Derek whispers, his voice barely above a hoarse whisper. Sonic and his friends look on in shock and tears well up in their eyes. Sonic quickly grips Derek's hand, which causes his glove to get filled with blood. "Derek, hang on! We'll get you help, you'll be okay!" Sonic pleads, his voice choked with emotion. Derek shakes his head slowly, a faint smile on his lips. "No, Sonic... it's too late..." He struggles to speak, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "Don't talk, save your strengh!" Sonic says, tears stream down he's face as he holds Derek's hand tightly, unable to find the words to respond. Knuckles, Tails, and Amy stand by, their expressions a mix of complete shock and sadness. "Derek, you can't give up! We need you," Sonic says through his tears, his voice trembling with grief. Derek looks at Sonic with a determined gaze. "I'm proud to have... fought by your side, Sonic... by the side of all of you." he says, his voice growing weaker. "But this is my fate. And I... must... accept it" Derek grips Sonic's hand. "Take care... of everyone." Sonic shakes his head, unable to accept Derek's fate. "No, Derek, you can't leave us," he says, his voice breaking. Derek's breathing grows shallow, and he struggles to keep his eyes open. "Remember, Sonic... you're the fastest," he whispers, his voice barely audible. "Keep fighting... for all of us... my brother." With those words, Derek's hand slowly slips from Sonic's grasp, and his gaze becomes lifeless. Sonic and his friends look on in shock and sorrow as Derek's body becomes more and more pale.
Sonic's eyes widen as he sees Derek's dead body. He falls to his knees and begins to cry. "No... No!" But Kate intervenes and mocks "Hey, move that body. It is of no use now." Suddently, Sonic opens his eyes. "What's the matter, blue boy? Hey, it not that bad, because you're going to join him very soon." Kate taunts. Robotnik chimes in, "He should have been thankful that he didn't burn with his whole family. HAHA!" Sonic loses it, his fur begins to turn darker, his eyes become more darkier, and a massive burst of energy comes out of him. "You bastards!" Sonic yells in a malicious smile. Kate takes a step back, "You will pay for it!" Sonic roars. He flies towards the Berserkers, and Kate immediately fights back.
The battle takes a very violent turn, with punches and kicks flying left and right. Until Barby confronts Kate, "You're next, Barby! I'm coming to kill you next," Kate says. Barby replies, "Bring it on, monster!" Dark Sonic joins Barby and roars "You're going to die tonight!" The three get into their fighting stances, but before their battle can begin, a howl, a wolf howl echoes from the ruined buildings.
Barby and Dark Sonic look at the place where Derek's body was lying moments before, but now it is gone. They look up at the sky, and they see that there is a Full Moon. Suddenly, a black wolf emerges past a broken wall. Kate, however, is not scared, and roars at the wolf. But suddenly the wolf's eyes glow red, and Kate is surprised. Sonic realizes that this is no ordinary wolf, so his dark form disappears, and a tear falls from his eye, as if he recognizes this wolf. The wolf quickly runs towards Kate, attacks her, and takes her down, all the while snarling and biting. Kate screams and tries to crawl away from the wolf, who is slowly turning into a man. Kate looks back, and sees Derek. "You were… you were dead," Kate says in shock, and Derek declares, "No… I was evolving. And now I'm an alpha again." Suddenly, a Berserker charges at Derek. But he dodges his attack and then grabs onto the Berserker's skull with both hands - in a flash of yellow light, the Berserker turns to dust.
"It can't be..." Kate says in even greater shock. "It's over, Kate." Derek announces. But Kate then stands, pulls out her claws, and yells, "No! I refuse to give up!" Derek, not wanting to fight Kate, says, "Kate, you don't stand a chance against me, just give up." "Never!" Kate shouts furiously. Sonic wants to join the fight, but Derek signals him not to interfere. "Oh, Derek. You better say goodbye to your friends because you're going to die again, this time by me!" Kate says cockily. Derek pauses, then says, "So you want to kill me so badly, Kate? If so…" Derek pauses again, but then says, "COME AND KILL ME!” Derek transforms into a werewolf and runs towards Kate. In response to this, Kate transforms as well, and the two begin to fight.
As the long battle between Derek and Kate comes to an end, Derek emerges as the clear winner in terms of strength. Kate tries one last time to attack Derek, but he quickly grabs her arm and breaks it, causing her to scream in pain. "Damn you!" Kate yells, but Derek remains calm as he tells her, "Listen, Kate. I'm giving you one chance. You can stay, and I'll break something else... Or you can run. It's your choice." Despite her fierce nature, Kate decides to stand up and run away, shouting, "You'll pay for it, Derek! You and your friends! Remember these words!"
Robotnik stands in disbelief, muttering, "Impossible..." Derek advances towards Robotnik and declares, "It's over, Robotnik." With a defeated expression, Robotnik asks, "Well, you won. What are you waiting for? You don't want to get revenge for killing your family?" Derek takes a moment to think before responding, "No." Though Robotnik is surprised by this unexpected answer, Sonic and the others seem to understand Derek's decision. They move towards the two, ready to support their friend. "After everything I've been through, I realized that getting revenge is a fool's game, not worth doing. Therefore, I will let you live," Derek explains to Robotnik, who remains silent. "Good to see you alive, Derek," Sonic says with a smile, and Derek returns the gesture.
"Come on, team, let's get out of here," Derek says, leading Sonic, his friends, and the Downunda Freedom Fighters to Tails' plane. As they take off, Derek turns to Robotnik and says, "Goodbye, Doctor Robotnik. Until we meet again." With Robotnik left defeated and exhausted.

## Characters

### ***Main Characters***

* Sonic The Hedgehog
* Miles "Tails" Prower
* Derek Hale
* Knuckles The Echidna
* Amy Rose
* Doctor Robotnik

### ***Supporting Characters***

* Walt Wallabee
* Barby Koala
* Wombat Stu
* Kate Argent