Eggmanland is complete and operational, Metal Sonic is back from dimensional limbo via Genesis Portal, and the tower gathering the Dark Gaia Energy is running smoothly.
Everything is coming up Dr. Eggman... right?
Not quite.
Aside from the Freedom Fighters being one step ahead of him, a pair of old adversaries are about to perform a magical hostile takeover and the doctor is completely outmatched.
To be rid of the Naugus Twins Walter and Wendy, and reclaim Eggmanland, he must call upon all of his active Egg Bosses for a coordinated counterattack. However, not everyone is eager to serve the Eggman cause, and some have bad blood against one another. Regardless, they have no choice but to commit. Along with renegade badniks and Wendy's personal servants, there is also the risk of Dark Gaia's Minions lurking about due to the increased energy harvest.
One thing is clear: the mission won't be over easy, and failure is not an option.
Tropes:
- Adaptational Context Change: Ixis was regarded as a cultist order of mages and warlocks formed in the old universe, as well as a title for many of its members that includes Naugus. Walter views this universe's Ixis as some sort of ancient god of darkness. Wendy corrects him that the energy he is trying to use actually belongs to Dark Gaia.
- And the Adventure Continues: The Naugus twins are defeated, Eggmanland and Metal Sonic are back in Eggman's control, and the Egg Bosses return home as Wendy is drafted as the 12th boss, now tasked with finding the Cacophonic Conch as part of a future plan of "Zeti-hunting". Eggman himself returns to harvesting DGE and attempt to get the Gaia Keys and Chaos Emeralds from the Freedom Fighters. Walter retreats in disgrace and starts a new plan to restore his powers... with what looks like a nearly completed Master Emerald.
- All Is Well That Ends Well: After the mission is complete and the Bosses return home, Nephtys reports to the Desert Raiders about what went down. Considering her view of the Empire and relationship with the Raiders, she is satisfied with the collateral damage while helping Eggman.Nephthys: Circumstances allowed us to destroy some of Eggman's infrastructure and free a lot of Mobini. All-in-all, I'd say it went well.
- Avengers Assemble: A villainous example, courteousy of Dr. Eggman, by summoning all eleven current Bosses of the Egg Army.
- Badass Boast: Kukku delivers a simple response to Abyss, after making quick work of the Minions and the generator they are tasked to disable. With bombs summoned out of thin air.Abyss: ...What are you?
Kukku: Perfection. - The Bus Came Back: Conquering Storm and Battle Kukku XV, with the Battlebird Armada, join Lord Hood as survivors of the Cosmic Retcon. The previously mentioned Ahklut the Orca appears as an anthropomorphic Egg Boss.
- Continuity Nod: The flashbacks here, taking place after the ones in the "Champions" arc of the main comic, show that Eggman was forced to abandon his trap on Sonic, after tasking Breezie as bait, and free Tails so he can escape them and Wally. Unfortunately, he and Sonic are both captured. Sometime later, Wendy calls Wally for help dealing with Tails after the fox defeated her Witchcarters, giving Eggman and Sonic an opportunity to escape.
- Curbstomp Battle: Eggman's first battle with the Naugus Twins ends with Eggman forced to retreat, outnumbered by them and the dark-powered Witchcarters, and losing Metal Sonic in the process.
- Double-Meaning Title: "Eggman's Dozen" carries the doctor's egg theme and, with Wendy becoming the newest Egg Boss by the end of the arc, he now has a total of twelve enforcers.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Maw's... maw seems to have a feature that can send enemies to some kind of pocket dimension. This concerns Nephthys as there was a risk of some of the Badniks Maw sucked up having "Mobini", or critters, in them. In the final battle against the Naugus Twins, Maw holds back this same power because the other Egg Bosses are in the way.
- Evil vs. Evil: Walter Naugus wants to take Eggmanland and use the Dark Gaia Energy to restore his magick power, and has brought along his sister Wendy and her Witchcarter minions for the ride. Eggman has ordered his Egg Bosses to defeat the Naugus Twins and take it back.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: As soon as Eggman spots the facility covered in crystal and the Witchcarters using dark powers, it dawns on him that the Naugus Twins are trying harness the Dark Gaia energy for themselves.
- A Fate Worse Than Death: Remember the mini-bombs Eggman installed while legionizing everyone in his Dark Egg Legion in the old universe? This is probably much worse. Eggman shows off that he can simply immobilize a victim up after activating a failsafe in their cybernetics at any given time, especially if they fail or betray him, or attempt to flee or switch sides. Basically, they would still be alive and aware, but unable to move or do anything else. Compared to that, getting blown up would be considered a Cruel Mercy, and this applies to every enhanced soldier below him in the Egg Army hierarchy, including the Egg Bosses.
- Foregone Conclusion: Because of the upcoming stories in the main comic, it is obvious that Eggman will emerge victorious.
- From Bad to Worse: Kukku and Abyss find out that the Dark Gaia's Minions have formed due to the Naugus twins gathering of Dark Gaia Energy during their task.
- Hope Spot: For the Witchcarters, Lord Hood manages to undo Wendy's control spell on them and, now free, they are ready for payback. Unfortunately, Wendy manages to take back control just as easily.
- Insane Troll Logic: Why did Eggman pair Battle Kukku XV and Abyss, a bird and squid respectively? Because they share the trait of having beaks despite their different species.
- Interquel: Takes place after the Freedom Fighters faced Thunderbolt, Clove & Cassia, Tundra, and Nephthys, but before Axel, Conquering Storm, and Battle Kukku and the Armada.
- By the end of the arc, Thunderbolt returns to find that her unit had unearthed a few Master Emerald Shards, currying Eggman's favor again but drawing the attention of Knuckles and Amy before their Sonic Universe arc "Shattered".
- This also leads to "Panic in the Sky", the final arc of the main comic's "Shattered World Crisis" saga.
- It Only Works Once: Before he and Axel rendezvous with the other Egg Bosses to pursue the Nagus Twins, Eggman creates a Hard Light energy armor specially designed to resist Walter's crystallization magic. It does its job in the final battle, allowing Eggman to "beat the ugly out of him". As Orbot calculated, its power structure is fashioned in a way that it can't be replicated a second time but, after successfully driving away Wally, Eggman feels it is worth it.
- Kick the Dog: The Foreman of Metropolis Zone's Egg Army R&D department is brought in after failing to stop Sonic's team from taking his shield generator. He not only loses his job, but Eggman activates a failsafe in his cybernetics to freeze up his body as punishment, and orders his robots to store him in a cellar until he feels ready to bring him back out ("in about fifty years or so"). He even throws in an insulting nickname "Tassel Boy" due to the tassels on his uniform, not caring about his actual name. After the Egg Bosses' mission is complete, Eggman has Maw take the Foreman back to his own base... as a test subject for a new Roboticizer.
- Make an Example of Them: Eggman is aware that some of the Bosses aren't too keen on helping him take back Eggmanland, so he shows them a possible consequence if they refuse or fail. The unfortunate "Tassel Boy" is displayed, frozen thanks to a failsafe included in his cybernetics. With this, the Bosses cooperate as their allies back at the bases might suffer the same fate.
- More than Mind Control: It is unknown how the Witchcarters met Wendy Naugus or whether they were loyal to her before she used mind control on them. Her version allows her to twist their personalities while granting them power and performing independently, all while keeping them all under her thumb from a distance.
- Save the Villain: Eggman is shocked that Axel saves him from a surprise Minion attack. When questioned about it, Axel explains that regardless of what he and the other Egg Bosses think of him, they have to work together as a single unit or they will all lose.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Everyone has thier own personal opinion of Eggman, for better or worse, but they have no choice but to help reclaim Eggmanland so they or their own allies don't suffer for it. That said, a few pairs of Egg Bosses have an issue with each other, but must still work together to succeed in the tasks given to them.
- Clove already hates Eggman for lying to her about helping her sister Cassia. She has to put up with Thunderbolt, who is willing to kill for him if necessary and won't let anyone badmouth him or show lack of gratitude. Luckily, Clove plays into TB's devotion by saying the chinchilla is far more worthy of Eggman's attention than any other Egg Boss ever hope to be.
- Ahklut and Tundra had a very bitter rivalry in the past, before either of them joined Eggman, and it hasn't died down after rediscovering each other's existence. Ahklut antagonizes Tundra's long enough to dare him to attack the orca first, giving him an excuse to end Tundra for "betrayal" and leading to a fight. Eggman eventually orders them to stop and finish their task, or else he would stuff them and all of their subordinates in a cell forever with their bodies paralyzed.
- Undying Loyalty: Even though she had failed to kill Sonic twice and lost a Chaos Emerald to him and the Freedom Fighters, Thunderbolt is willing to make up for it and continue fighting under Eggman despite his threats. The doctor acknowledges this brand of loyalty, at least.
- Wham Line:
- The start of the arc has Eggman find that his robots and half of Eggman are covered in crystal, which means only one thing:Eggman: The Naugus Twins are here.
- By the end of the arc, Maw the Thylacine, one of the Egg Bosses, returns to his base with a piece of tech to test out: a brand new experimental Roboticizer.Scientist: But I didn't think that process worked anymore.
Maw: Not the old way. But this new approach shows promise. It just needs testing. Lots and lots of testing.
- The start of the arc has Eggman find that his robots and half of Eggman are covered in crystal, which means only one thing:
- Villain Episode: Eggman returns as the main Villain Protagonist in this arc since Scrambled. Similar to that arc is the appearance of his top enforcers, and he needs to face another set of villains to take back control. None of the heroes appear except for in flashbacks.
