Chapter Text
Knothole
It had been two months since what had been dubbed by the news media as the South Island Incident. Robotnik had been surprisingly quiet in that time, allowing the newly established Freedom Fighters to focus on refurbishing Knothole. There was a lot of work to put in before it was a suitable base, most notably the need to convert an old limestone cavern in the heart of the village into a home away from home. Luckily, they had managed to finish the last of the renovations, and Knothole was ready for them.
During this quiet period, the group was hanging out in the common room of Freedom HQ, doing their own business when Sally came in, holding a small handheld computer.
"You're so bored you're playing video games too, Sal?" Sonic quipped.
"Sonic, this isn't a video game," Sally clarified. "Don't you recognize Nicole?"
Sonic blinked as it dawned on him. "Whoa. I forgot you still had her."
Nicole, as Sally called her, was a handheld A.I. that was given to her as a child by Kingdom of Acorn scientist Dr. Ellidy. Serving as a form of PDA, she served a wide variety of functions for the young princess.
"These past few months, I've been having Rotor and Porker upgrade her," Sally went on. "One of her latest functions is a direct interface with the Kintobor Computer back at Station Square University."
"Kintobor what now?" Sonic perked. "Oh yeah! Dr. Kintobor's brain thing burned onto one of the Power Rings. I remember now." After a minute, he scratched his head in confusion. " But, uh... why'd you do that?"
"It's a theory Rotor came up with. He believes the Kintobor program may have some kind of connection to Dr. Robotnik. That he may be able to monitor what he does."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Sonic asked.
Sally nodded, pressing a few buttons. "Nicole, initiate Kintobor interface."
"As you wish, Sally," Nicole replied.
The sound of a dial-up modem sounded, followed by a brief image of Julian Kintobor, which shifted into picture-less dialogue between Robotnik and two voices the Freedom Fighters didn't recognize.
"Dr. Robotnik, preparations are nearly complete," one of them said. "Do we move forward with the plan?"
"Indeed," Robotnik confirmed. "I will be arriving at Westside Island shortly to oversee the final stages."
"It is time for those poor fools of Mobius to bow before our might," a third person declared.
"'Our' might?" Robotnik questioned threateningly.
The third person chuckled nervously. "I mean your might, Uncle. Slip of the tongue."
Sonic perked, finally recognizing the third person.
"I know that voice. Dr. Kintobor's nephew Snively." He scowled. "Conniving little sneak."
"Westside Island…" Sally mused. "What could he be up to there?"
Sonic shrugged. "Only one way to find out."
-X-
Tails led the Freedom Fighters to a hangar, where Porker and Rotor stood waiting in front of a large object covered by a tarp.
"My fellow Freedom Fighters, after two months of pouring our blood, sweat, and tears into it, the three of us have finally completed the team's personal troop carrier," he announced. "Allow me to present... the Freedom Fighter Special!"
He yanked the tarp off with a flourish, revealing a black jet big enough to carry all of them. Sonic whistled.
"Nice work, Tails," he congratulated.
"Well, it was a group effort," Tails pointed out.
"This'll get us to Westside Island in no time," Rotor assured.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Johnny questioned.
They boarded the plane. Tails sat in the pilot seat, running diagnostics.
"Instruments at 100% capacity, all systems go. Everyone strap in and get ready for takeoff!"
Everyone got into their seats and fastened their seat belts. Tails threw the switch, and the top of the hangar opened up, allowing the plane to depart. As they went, Nicole, at Sally's request, informed them of the history of the island.
"Legend has it that a very long time ago, the Ancients that resided on Westside Island used the Chaos Emeralds to advance their civilization and achieve prosperity. However, when they tried to use the Emeralds for the wrong reasons, their prosperity vanished overnight, and the gods themselves sealed away the Emeralds within the island's depths."
"Explains why Robotnik would be interested in it," Sonic mused.
"What do you think he's up to?" Rotor wondered.
Robotropolis (1)
Within Robotropolis, an industrialized city created by his burgeoning empire, Robotnik oversaw the Badnik horde as they were constructed, and the Death Egg's completion. He's managed to "acquire" some workers from a small village, and all of them were working tirelessly to do their jobs. His Swatbots ensured that none of his new "workers" slacked off. This was a tremendous help, given that Robotnik had some personal issues to deal with. Specifically, his still-bandaged left hand and the fact that it was constantly itching and aching.
"Hand still bothering you, Uncle?" Snively asked.
"It's nothing," Robotnik said dismissively. "Just needs more time to heal." The hand was trembling slightly, but he didn't notice. "Though it has been itching a lot lately."
"Just change the bandages," Snively replied dismissively. "You'll be fine."
After a few moments, the itching got to be too much, and Robotnik finally gave in. "Snively, continue overseeing the Death Egg. I need to get to the medical bay."
And with that, he departed.
Emerald Hill Zone
Meanwhile, the Freedom Fighters were approaching Westside Island. The Freedom Fighter Special landed in a picturesque area dominated by lush, green fields, sparkling lakes, and dotted with palm trees, the group disembarking.
"The Emerald Hill Zone," Tails mused nostalgically. "Been a long time since we've been back here."
"Reminds me of Green Hill Zone in a way," Sonic remarked.
They looked around. Nothing seemed to be out of place.
"It's quiet," Sally remarked. "Too quiet."
Sonic looked at his wrist as if checking a watch. "Y'know, if Robotnik really is here and up to something big and bad, I'd say we're about to see a sign of it right about…"
As if on cue, an ominous flash occurred up ahead, followed by a terrific explosion.
"Called it," Sonic deadpanned before dashing off.
"Sonic, wait!" Sally shouted, the others hurrying after him.
-X-
Up ahead, Commander Brutus was overseeing several Mobians rounded up to be converted into Badniks. A female rabbit in particular was strapped into a portable Roboticizer, while two Swatbots held a male squirrel by the shoulders. Brutus looked over the smashed computer console, the source of the explosion.
"It was a good try, rodent," he remarked, "but I'm afraid the roboticization process can't be stopped."
He looked the squirrel up and down. "Hmmm... and I believe you're the perfect organic battery needed for the Cybernik project."
"Dream on!" the squirrel snapped. "I'll never be one of you!"
Despite his struggles, the squirrel was unable to escape from the Swatbots' grasp and was stuffed into an empty Badnik shell that, ironically, resembled a metal squirrel.
"And here's the beautiful part," Brutus gloated. "The Cybernik shell is composed of solid Megatal. Completely indestructible. Once you become a Cybernik, you will never be free, and serve Robotnik forever."
"You'll never brainwash me into following you!" the squirrel snapped defiantly. "I'm Shorty the Squirrel, and always will be!"
"Whatever helps you sleep at night."
The head of the Cybernik armor slowly lowered down, covering Shorty's head. Despite his struggles, he couldn't stop and eventually held perfectly still. Brutus looked over him, the new Cybernik standing stock still.
"It's done." he boasted. "You and the armor are now one, the first in a new race of ultimate Badniks. Even Sonic can't break Megatal."
He grinned. "Now, Cybernik, show me your power."
After a moment or two, Shorty raised his arm, a laser blaster poking out... and fired directly at Brutus. It scored a direct hit, but Brutus was unfazed, more shocked than anything.
"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded. "I didn't say demonstrate on me!"
"Like I give a crap!" Shorty snapped, his voice coming through the helmet with a slight robotic tinge, but still full of emotion. He raised his fists. "I told you I'd never serve that lard-butt, and I meant it!"
"How is this possible?!" Brutus shouted. "No one can resist the Badnik programming!"
"Well, I did smash your equipment. That, and I've always been stubborn."
"A fault you will suffer for," Brutus vowed.
The two charged at one another, clashing in an even match.
"You trapped me in this suit... and you're gonna regret that big time!" Shorty vowed.
Brutus smirked. "I think not."
He pulled a small handheld device from his cape and pressed the button. Shorty began sparking with electricity, collapsing in pain.
"W-what the?!" he let out.
"Failsafe Dr. Robotnik created," Brutus explained. "Something to scramble unruly Badnik circuits. Now beg for mercy!"
"No-!" Shorty choked out a scream. "No way!"
Before this could continue, a blue blur slammed into Brutus, knocking him back and the scrambler out of his hand. As it hit the ground, Sonic stomped on it, smashing it and freeing Shorty from the effects.
"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" the hedgehog demanded. "Or at the very least, in the same IQ bracket."
At that very moment, Sonic's eyes shifted to the Roboticizer where the rabbit was trapped. His face shifted from shock to horror, then to rage before he dashed forward, tucking into a ball and smashing the glass casing. As the device powered down, he pulled the unfortunate rabbit out, seeing her left arm and both legs had been roboticized.
"Damn…" he cursed. "At least it's not any worse."
At that moment, Brutus got to his feet, glaring at Sonic.
"YOU!" he bellowed.
"That's right, me."
"You've interfered with the doctor's plans for the last time, Sonic!" Brutus aimed his blaster at Sonic, who nimbly dodged the blast. "Let me remind you my alloy is indestructible, Sonic. If you were powerless against me back in the Jungle Zone, what do you expect to do now?"
"This time, I'm not alone!" Sonic shot back.
Right on cue, the rest of the Freedom Fighters arrived.
"Can't sit still for one minute, can you?" Sally questioned.
"Sorry," Sonic said. "Thirty seconds is my limit."
Shorty stepped up as well, brandishing both of his arm cannons. "As tough as you are, even you can't take all of us. But go on and try it. I'd love to watch you fail."
"You underestimate me, little Cybernik." Brutus retorted.
A fight broke out, with Sonic dashing back and forth against the behemoth. This did little as Brutus knocked him away. The rest of the Freedom Fighters charged into battle, though able to hold their own, soon find themselves losing ground against Brutus. Eventually, Sally decided it was time for their trump card.
"Sonic!"
Sonic perked, turning to Sally just as she yanked a Power Ring out of her pocket and tossed it at him. He caught the Ring, his form beginning to glow before he ran at Brutus at full speed, knocking him off his feet. Before he could even hit the ground, Sonic clasped his fists together, reeling back and slamming them into Brutus' chest with enough force to plow him into the ground. With that, he sprang into the air before tucking into a Spin Attack, drilling into Brutus' chest and pummeling him deeper and deeper into the soil. Eventually, he flipped backward, landing on his feet with a grin.
"Do yourself a favor and stay down," he declared.
Brutus didn't answer. He merely sparked, a dazed look on his faceplate as he found himself barely able to move. With that done, Sonic turned to Shorty and the rabbit, the latter of whom had just woken up and was looking over her newly robotic limbs.
"No…" the rabbit let out in horror, her voice thick with a Southern accent.
"I'm sorry I couldn't get here in time," Sonic told her. "But at least they didn't get you completely."
That came to little comfort to the rabbit. She hiccupped, her hands shaking as she ran her normal hand across her robotic arm. Sonic looked over both of them.
"What are your names?" he asked.
The rabbit looked up. "B-Bunnie. Bunnie Rabbot."
"I was Shorty, but for now, you can call me... Shortfuse."
"I know how you feel," Sonic assured them both. "Robotnik did to my Uncle Chuck what he did to you two. But I swear we'll find a way to reverse the process. Someday."
"In the meantime, we need to find out what Dr. Robotnik is up to," Sally cut in. "Do you know anything?"
"He's been working on some kind of super-weapon," Shortfuse told them. "He calls it the Death Egg. He claims when it's completed, all of Mobius will quake with fear before it."
"Then we'd better make sure it never gets off the ground," Sonic decided. "You know where they're building it?"
"This big industrial city they constructed on the other side of the island," Bunnie answered. "Brutus called it Robotropolis."
"Probably big enough to fill his over-inflated ego," Sonic muttered.
They were about to get going when Bunnie suddenly piped up. "Wait, let us come with you."
The Freedom Fighters turned back to them.
"You sure?" Tails asked.
"Robotnik's invention turned us into these... things," Bunnie reminded them. "And as long as I have these robot limbs, I might as well put them to good use."
"Yeah," Shortfuse agreed. "This is personal."
"Won't get any arguments from me," Sonic said with a smile. "Welcome aboard."
Robotropolis
Meanwhile, Robotnik and Grimer were about to examine the former's bandaged hand, which was now trembling in convulsive little bursts.
"It's getting worse," Robotnik managed through clenched teeth. "That hedgehog did more damage than I thought."
"Let me see it, Doctor," Grimer insisted. "Please."
After a minute, Robotnik nodded and slowly unwrapped the bandages. The minute he did, they both recoiled at the sight; Robotnik's left hand was deathly pale, streaked with black veins. His fingernails were extending into claws.
"What in the name of-?!" Robotnik managed, looking over his withered hand.
"This… this isn't some normal wound," Grimer remarked. "I thought you said Sonic broke your hand. This looks more like poison. Or worse… corruption."
"He did break my hand!" Robotnik snapped. "He ground it under his heel…" realization dawned on him mid-sentence, "while he was empowered by the negative energy of the Chaos Emeralds!" He let out a growl, slamming his uninjured fist onto the table. "Damn that hedgehog. If it keeps going at this rate, my whole body could be infected!"
"What do you suggest we do?" Grimer questioned.
"What else can we do, idiot?" Robotnik demanded. "This hand has to come off!"
Grimer nodded solemnly. "Right. Remove your shirt. I need to see just how far this has spread."
Robotnik nodded, immediately removing his shirt. The damage seemed to have gone as far as his elbow.
"Damn…" Grimer cursed. "I'm sorry, Doctor. It seems I'll have to remove your forearm as well. Unless you want to give the Roboticizer a try."
"This isn't a normal affliction," Robotnik told him. "It wouldn't do any good. Let's just deal with this so I can focus on the Death Egg... and how best to make that hedgehog suffer for this."
Grimer grabbed a device nearby, pressing a few buttons and protruding a red energy blade from it. Robotnik held out his left arm, closing his eyes and looking away just as Grimer brought it down, quickly and cleanly slicing through the arm and lopping it off a little bit above the elbow. Robotnik let out an agonized scream, reeling back and smashing a table with his remaining fist before clutching his stump in pain. Eventually, he managed to get himself under control, glaring at his severed arm, which lay flexing and twitching on the table.
"...I really hate that hedgehog."
Notes:
(1): My replacement for the Metropolis Zone in Sonic 2, since I already established Metropolis is on the continent of Soumerca near Station Square.
The idea of Robotnik losing his arm after his fight with Dark Sonic is something suggested to me by Writing Avenger 2016. Those of you who watched the SatAM cartoon or read the early Archie comics probably have a good idea of what's gonna happen to him now.
Bunnie Rabbot joins the crew, as does Shortfuse the Cybernik from Sonic the Comic. Can they stop the Death Egg's launch?
Voice cast for this chapter:
* Bunnie - Cat Taber (Padmé Amidala from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Party Girl from Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, Rogue in X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse)
* Shortfuse - Derick Snow (Wall Eehto from Fairy Tail, Roh from Dragon Ball Super, Eita Kusunoki from Seraph of the End)
* Nicole - Dana Swanson (SARA from Toonami)
Please R&R. Until next time!
Chapter 2: Menace of Megatox
Chapter by Author_Of_Insanity101, WindstarOsprey, Writing_Avenger_2016
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Chemical Plant
Past the Emerald Hill Zone was another of Robotnik's bases, the Chemical Plant. Once a beautiful green field, it was paved over by Robotnik and his men, who constructed a factory for the sole purpose of creating chemical weapons. And it was within the plant that a human scientist was working with a pink substance in numerous containers. His monitor starts beeping, and he presses a button, revealing Robotnik's face.
"Report, Dr. Napier," he ordered.
"Ah, Dr. Robotnik," Napier greeted. "I was just putting the finishing touches on the chemical agent you requested." He gestured to the fluid in the containers. "Allow me to introduce megamalatricarboSonichloride. Or Mega Mack for short."
"And you're certain it will do what you say it will do?"
"Yes, it's fatally toxic to any organic life it comes into contact with. Especially your little hedgehog friend."
"It better be, for your sake." Robotnik made as if to point at Napier, but accidentally used the stub of his left arm. Napier looked at the bandaged stub in confusion.
"Sir, where's your arm?" he asked.
"I had a little accident. Nothing you need to worry about." This time, he pointed with his right arm. "Just make sure this gunk does what you promise… or you'll be the one missing your limbs."
With that, the call ended. As Napier got back to work, he began to hear an ominous sizzling/smoldering sound.
"What the…" Suddenly, alarms began blaring and he went pale. "Oh, no…"
Before he could react, the Mega Mack containers broke open, spraying the ooze everywhere. He was swallowed by the gunk, barely having time to scream. The slime flooded into the factory itself, without a trace of Napier to be seen. As things settled, the goop began to bubble and ripple ominously…
Outside the Chemical Plant, the Freedom Fighters were doing recon, examining the exterior.
"Security seems pretty tight," Sally mused. "I don't know how much closer we can get without getting caught."
"We'll need someone to go in and scout things out," Rotor remarked, rooting around his satchel for something.
"I'll do it," Sonic offered automatically.
Rotor looked up. "You sure about that?"
"Positive," Sonic nodded. "I'll be in and out before they can even blink."
"Actually," Sally cut in, a strange smile on her face, "we had another idea."
-X-
A few minutes later, Sonic came out from behind a tree, donning an outfit that completely concealed his body and rendered him unrecognizable, consisting of a thick green duffel coat and ushanka, heavy grey boots and mittens, a checked yellow scarf, and topped off with a fake beak and wraparound sunglasses.
"This was your idea?" Sonic questioned, tugging at the scarf uncomfortably. "It's like an oven in here."
"While there are times for speed, we think a more subtle approach would work better," Sally explained.
"We need to know what's going on in there, meaning we need to ask questions," Porker added. "Dressed like this, you'll be able to blend in perfectly."
"Okay, I see your point," Sonic conceded. "But did it have to be thick winter clothes in the middle of summer?"
"Yeah, sorry about that," Rotor said awkwardly. "Every Badnik in Robotnik's arsenal knows your face, so we needed an outfit that would hide you effectively."
"Just try and be fast," Porker insisted, "but not too fast."
"Here's hoping I don't sweat to death before I find out what's going on in there," Sonic muttered before going off.
They watched him go in silence before Johnny spoke up. "So, who wants to bet he'll ditch the costume and get to smashing in the first ten minutes?"
"Knowing Sonic, that's probably gonna happen," Tails confessed.
"I say eight minutes," Sally offered.
"Five," Rotor declared.
"Three," Porker insisted.
Antoine sighed. "Perhaps zis was a bad idea. Sonic does not have the patience for such subtlety."
"From what I've seen, he's also the only one who can get in and out in one piece," Bunnie pointed out.
"You saw how he handled Brutus," Shortfuse mused. "He'll be okay."
-X-
Sonic approached the main door of the Chemical Plant, where two Swatbots on guard detail immediately aimed their blasters at him.
"Halt!" one of them ordered. "Identify yourself!"
Racking his brain, Sonic quickly thought up a lie. "Uh… my name is Bob Beaky!" he replied in a timid, quavering tone. "I'm here to help you work on whatever you're doing here."
The Swatbots exchanged confused looks at that.
"Is that so?" the second one questioned suspiciously.
"Yes!" Sonic insisted out loud. "I will delight in serving our glorious ruler, Dr. Robotnik!"
"I am so gonna wash my mouth out with soap after this..." was what he thought.
The Swatbots took that information in.
"Well… Napier did say he needed more help after what happened," the first Swatbot remarked. "And if these sorry Mobians want to give up and surrender, it just makes our job easier."
"Alright, you can enter," the second said. "But no funny business, understand?"
Sonic saluted. "Yessir!"
With that, he began waddling inside.
"Guess it's true what they say," he muttered to himself. "Being the good guy ain't easy."
Once fully inside, he took in the sights. The interior of the Chemical Plant was a spiraling industrial cityscape, filled with blue toxic gloop, mechanical creatures, and twisting chemical pipes. Tubes and floating platforms decorated the area, but what really got Sonic's attention was the bizarre pink fluid that was billowing and flooding different parts of the area.
"What happened here? What is this stuff?" Just being near it made him feel lightheaded. Deciding it was best to stay clear of it, he started to scout out the factory. As he walked around, he noticed there were no Mobians around. "There's… nobody here? Where is everybody?"
As he passed a pool of Mega Mack, the pink fluid suddenly began to ripple and bubble, which caught his attention as something began to take form from it. A form, just barely perceivable as human, begins to form, wild eyes and a goopy mouth being the only real discernible features.
"Careful," it warned. "I'm toxic."
Sonic's eyes widened behind his shades, taking a step back. "Who or what are you?"
The creature threw a punch. On instinct, Sonic jumped out of the way, casting off the Bob Beaky disguise. The monster's eyes widened at the sight of him.
"It's you! Sonic the Hedgehog!" The monster bellowed out what sounded like a pleased laugh. "Oh, what luck!"
"You know who I am," Sonic mused. "Can't say the same."
"I was once Jack Napier, a humble chemist," the creature replied. "On orders from Dr. Robotnik, I created Mega Mack, the chemical agent you see before you. Unfortunately, I didn't realize how corrosive it was, and there was an... accident. By some twist of fate, my consciousness became one with it. Jack Napier died… and was reborn as me, the malignant Megatox!"
"Megatox, huh?" Sonic felt his vision begin to blur. "And just what... what is this... ugh... stuff?"
"The Mega Mack is a deadly chemical weapon. Fatally poisonous to any and all forms of organic life..." Megatox got a vile, gloopy grin on the mass that served as his face, "but especially deadly to you. Such was its purpose."
Sonic's face went pale as he reeled back, feeling the effects of the Mega Mack fumes.
"It seems just being near such a high quantity of the stuff makes you ill," Megatox mused. "What a lovely side effect. So my guess is you really shouldn't touch it either."
He raised his hand, spraying a stream of Mega Mack directly at Sonic. In his weakened condition, Sonic was unable to dodge in time, the jet hitting him right in the face. The effect was instant; Sonic felt his body burning, his lungs felt like they were on fire, and it was becoming hard to breathe. He doubled over, coughing and dry heaving before clenching his fists and getting up. Tucking into a ball, he launched into a Spin Dash, slamming through Megatox, only to seemingly have no effect. When that didn't work, he started running at full speed around him, whipping up a tornado that seemingly tore the toxic monster to shreds. After a few minutes, he reformed, having split into four identical Megatoxes.
"You can't destroy me, hedgehog!" they boasted in unison. "I'm one with the Mega Mack! I am invincible!"
Even in deadly peril, Sonic had time for sarcasm. "Insufferable, more like. Now, get lost."
An idea forming in his head, Sonic dove directly into the Mega Mack, gritting his teeth and fighting through the pain as he swam to the bottom.
"Whatever you're up to, Sonic, you're only killing yourself faster!" Megatox gloated. "Whether by drowning or poisoning, the Chemical Plant will be your grave!"
Tucking into another Spin Dash, Sonic burrowed through the floor at super-speed, creating a tunnel leading outside the factory before coming back up and swimming around Megatox as fast as he could to create a propeller effect, whipping up a whirlpool that sucked the Mega Mack down the hole like bath water down the drain, taking a screaming Megatox with it. With that done, he collapsed to his knees, coughing violently.
"Not good…" he wheezed.
Struggling to his feet, Sonic leaned against the wall as he tried to call for help. Unfortunately, the Mega Mack had corroded through, and he fell through the wall, landing with a grunt. He pulled himself up on limbs that felt like spaghetti, pulling himself along by his fingertips as he felt his consciousness fade and his vision slowly go black.
"C'mon, Sonic…" he said weakly. "Gotta stay awake… I black out, I may not wake up again…"
Suddenly, his legs gave out completely, and he dropped to the ground. Sonic had just enough strength left to roll onto his back, laying limply as he stared at nothing.
"So, this is how it ends… Not how I thought I'd go out…"
The last thing he managed to see was a group of figures approaching him before everything went black...
Outside, Sally was trying to contact Sonic on Nicole but was getting nothing but static.
"Sonic? Sonic?!" She bit her lower lip in concern. "Why won't he answer?"
"Something musta happened," Bunnie mused.
"He's gotta be in trouble!" Tails exclaimed. "We gotta get in there!"
"Easy," Rotor insisted. "We gotta be careful. Who knows what's going on in there."
"Tails is right," Sally insisted. "If something happened to Sonic, we need to help him."
Moving carefully, everyone headed inside. Unbeknownst to them, the same mysterious figures that Sonic witnessed were secretly following them. Working quickly and quietly, they snagged Porker, yanking him into the shadows. Sally was the first to notice.
"Where's Porker?" she demanded.
They all turned around. Sure enough, the pig was nowhere to be seen.
"Quoi dans le monde? (1)" Antoine exclaimed.
"He's gone!" Tails yelped.
"Stay close, everyone," Sally ordered.
There was a strange zap, then the sound of metal hitting concrete. Everyone jumped, then realized Shortfuse was gone.
"Shorty!" Bunnie screamed.
"Damn it!" Sally cursed. "Everyone, defensive positions!"
They all took those positions, but it still wasn't enough. Bunnie let out a yelp and then went silent as well. Sally was starting to get legitimately scared. As they kept going, she stepped on something and heard a crunch. She looked down, gasping when she saw it was Sonic's communicator, looking as though it had been melted.
"Oh no…" she managed.
"Sonic's communicator?!" Tails shrieked.
Sally picked it up, looking at it.
"Tails, what could have done this?"
Tails looked it over. "From the looks of it, it was dissolved by some kind of corrosive agent potent enough to liquefy metal."
"That's not good," Johnny mused. "Rotor, what do you-"
But Rotor was gone too.
"Not Rotor too!" Sally exclaimed.
"They're picking us off like flies!" Tails yelled.
"We need to go," Sally insisted. "Now."
"But what about the others?" Tails demanded. "What about Sonic?!"
"We cannot help them if we are captured as well!" Antoine pointed out.
"We'll come back for them when we have reinforcements," Sally insisted. "Now move!"
The four remaining Freedom Fighters immediately made a break for it. Unfortunately, by the time they reached the exit, only Sally remained. She looked around in fear as she realized that.
"They've gotten everyone…" she let out. "I'm next!"
Steeling herself, she extended her arms, popping out the Ring-Blades on her wrists. "Well, if they're coming for me, I won't make it easy."
Hearing a noise behind her, Sally whirled around, blades at the ready, only to see nothing. Another sound came from her left; once again, nothing. Then, there was a soft pop and a dart hit her in her neck. Almost immediately, Sally felt sleepy and collapsed…
An unknown amount of time later, Sally found herself coming to. She saw almost the entire group with her, laid out on bedrolls. As she took in her surroundings, she heard footsteps approaching and stiffened at the sight of a female figure entering the room. It was a Mobian sheep dressed in military pants, a green shirt, and a brown leather jacket.
"Well, well," she said. "Look who finally woke up."
Sally immediately got to her feet, getting into a combat stance.
"Relax," the sheep said calmly. "If we wanted to kill you, you and your friends would already be dead."
"Who are you?" Sally demanded. "What is this place?"
"My name is Sab," the sheep replied. "And this, Princess Sally, is the underground base of me and my Flock."
"Flock?" Sally raised an eyebrow.
"Yep," Sab nodded. "After Robotnik had that factory put in, we were forced underground. We've been working to try and liberate the area ever since."
"You mean… this was your home?" Sally asked.
Sab's expression soured. "This Chemical Plant used to be a beautiful green field... until he came along. Everyone who didn't flee ended up as slaves. We were freeing them one by one… then the gunk flooded."
"What gunk?" Sally questioned, confused.
"A chemical weapon Robotnik had a scientist named Jack Napier working on. He called it Mega Mack," Sab explained. "It's poisonous to all Mobians, but especially for a specific blue hedgehog."
"Sonic…" Sally managed before perking up. "That blue hedgehog was with me and my friends! Have you seen him?"
"I have, yes," Sab nodded. "Follow me."
She escorted Sally through several twisting tunnels. There were dozens of sheep everywhere, each one decked out for war. As they passed one room, Sally was shocked to see Shortfuse and Bunnie strapped to operating tables. Guards were posted next to them, their purpose evident.
"What are you doing to them?" she demanded.
"The squirrel is clearly a Badnik, and the rabbit shows signs of roboticization," Sab defended. "We're being cautious."
"Shorty was never programmed," Sally told her, glaring at her. "And Bunnie's just got mechanical limbs. They're with me, and you will let them go. Now!"
The two stared silently at one another before Sab gave a nod. The scientists in the room unstrapped both of them before removing an EMP device from Shortfuse, who instantly sat up.
"Look out!" he exclaimed. "There are sheep ever-!"
Sally held up a hand to silence him before turning to Sab. "I can understand your caution around Shorty, but why snatch me and the others out of the blue?"
"We couldn't risk compromising our position, even to fellow Mobians," Sab explained. "Too many of us were already roboticized, and when we are, loyalty means nothing."
Sally nodded solemnly at that.
"Now, shall we go on to see your hedgehog friend?" Sab offered.
"Right," Sally agreed. "Lead the way."
They continued, and Sab eventually led Sally to an infirmary. The Acorn princess gasped in horror, seeing Sonic lying on a bed. He was unconscious, ill-looking, and in visible pain.
"He collapsed after fighting Megatox," Sab explained. "We brought him here to try and help him. Unfortunately, the toxin is progressing far faster than in any other Mobian.
Sally raised an eyebrow.
"What's a Megatox?"
Sab's eyes widened briefly as she realized she hadn't told Sally of Megatox. "Right, of course." She let out a small cough. "That is what Dr. Napier became when the Mega Mack flooded the plant. He was swept away by the ooze, but somehow, instead of dying outright, his mind melded with the chemicals. For all intents and purposes, Megatox is the Mega Mack, a walking wasteland."
"And he did this to Sonic?" Sally asked, Sab just nodding.
"I've seen these same symptoms and effects before, in some of the other Flock," the sheep recalled, "but it was specifically designed as a weapon against your friend, so…"
"It's hitting him harder and faster than anyone else." Sally desperately turned to Sab. "Is there any way we can save him?"
"Not that we've found," Sab replied. "Then again, we weren't exactly the most technologically sound Flock."
"I've got three technical experts on my team," Sally told her. "Between them, I'm sure we can find a cure."
"Then we must hurry," Sab looked over Sonic's prone form. "I do not know how much time Sonic has left."
-X-
Sometime later, the rest of the Freedom Fighters had come to, and Sally quickly explained the situation.
"This is bad…" Tails let out. "This is really bad…"
"If we had a sample of the gunk, maybe I could synthesize an antidote," Porker suggested.
"Then we'll find some," Sally said firmly. "Sonic is not gonna die. I won't let him."
Tails perked. "Wait a sec… Sally! Sonic's communicator!"
Sally pulled it out of her pocket. "What about it?"
"It was exposed to the Mega Mack with the rest of him, right?" Tails questioned.
"Yeah…" Sally confirmed.
"Meaning there may still be a trace of it in there!" Tails insisted.
"Hand it over," Rotor told her. "We've got work to do."
-X-
Fate was on their side; sure enough, there were enough traces of Mega Mack within the communicator for the three scientists of the group to analyze. After a tense couple of minutes, Tails came rushing out of the lab, a vial of green liquid in hand.
"We did it!" he declared.
"Give it to me, quick!" Sally ordered. "No time to lose!"
Tails obediently did so, and Sally took off for the infirmary. Sonic was writhing on the bed, moaning in pain.
"Hang on, Sonic," Sally soothed. "I'm here."
Sonic's eyes opened, and he looked at Sally blearily. "S-Sal…"
Sally helped him sit up before holding out the vial.
"Sonic, I need you to drink this," she told him. "It's an antitoxin to the Mega Mack in your system."
Sonic took the vial, chugging the contents. He then dropped it, the vial breaking on impact with the ground. He was gagging, clutching at his throat, and spitting in disgust.
"What is it?!" Sally demanded. "What's wrong?!"
"It tastes like cat pee, that's what's wrong!" Sonic declared.
Sally snorted before starting to cry in relief.
"Just rest, Sonic…" she let out.
Sonic gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder before falling back on the bed and closing his eyes.
-X-
A short time later, he was back up, going to meet with his friends.
"Good to see you up, Sonic," Shortfuse greeted. "You okay?"
"Better than okay," Sonic assured, stretching his arms and legs. "I feel completely recharged."
Sab smirked. "Glad you're doing better, hero."
Sonic turned to Sab at that. "Thanks for helping me out back there. I owe you one." His expression steeled. "And I promise you, what Robotnik did to your home here is just one more thing he's gonna answer for."
"I'll hold you to that, hedgehog," Sab remarked before turning to address all the Freedom Fighters. "If you're gonna get to Robotropolis before he launches his Death Egg, the fastest way is through the Aquatic Ruins."
"Aquatic Ruins?" Sonic sighed. "Let me guess, filled with water?"
"Hence the word 'aquatic,'" Sab deadpanned.
Sonic let out a groan.
"First I almost get poisoned to death, then I gotta go through water," he grumbled. "This just isn't my day."
Robotropolis
At his base, Robotnik was trying on a new cybernetic arm. It was embedded in the stump of his arm, with a hand that almost looked like a glove.
"Impressive, I must admit," he confessed.
"I trust you'll find the design adequate?" Grimer asked.
Robotnik grabbed a metallic cup set on the table with his robotic arm, picking it up and crushing it in his fist. He smirked.
"More than adequate," he declared, looking over the arm. "I can hardly wait to wrap these new fingers around Sonic's puny blue neck."
"Speaking of Sonic, we just received a report from the Chemical Plant," Snively piped up.
Robotnik turned to him. "I'm listening."
"I'm sad to report, sir…" Snively sighed. "The hedgehog survived the Mega Mack."
Robotnik took that in, before turning purple with rage. "He WHAT?!"
He slammed his fist onto the workbench, bashing a noticeable dent.
"Napier assured me again and again it would kill Sonic without fail!" he ranted.
"In Napier's defense, it nearly did," Snively informed him. "But his friends were able to synthesize an antitoxin."
With a roar of anger, Robotnik flipped the table, scattering the contents. "That hedgehog has bested me for too long!"
"Doctor, perhaps this could work to our advantage," Grimer suggested nervously. "We don't necessarily have to kill Sonic and his friends. We just need to keep them busy for now. Once the Death Egg's preparations are compared, nothing they do will matter."
Robotnik mulled this over, then nodded. "An excellent idea, Grimer. Dispatch my strongest Badniks to every Zone from here to the Aquatic Ruins. Whether they win or lose, we'll have all the time we need to prepare. And tell the Death Egg construction crews to double their efforts! I want it airborne as soon as possible!"
The two nodded before departing, leaving Robotnik alone. He replaced his shirt, pulling the sleeve down to hide his robotic arm. "You may have bested me on South Island, hedgehog, but once my battle station is fully armed and operational, even you won't be able to stand against its power."
Notes:
(1): "What in the world?" in French.
The Mega Mack backstory is taken from Sonic the Comic, as are the Flock, Megatox, Sonic's Bob Beaky disguise, and the backstory of the Chemical Plant. Megatox's human name was never revealed in the comic, so I named him Jack Napier as a reference to the 1989 Batman movie.
Next chapter finds the gang trekking through the tricks and traps of the Aquatic Ruins. Will they make it out?
Voice cast for this chapter:
* Sab - Lia Sargent (Shion Uzuki from Xenosaga, Aura from .hack, Dorothy Wayneright from The Big O)
* Megatox - Sherman Howard (Derek Powers/Blight from Batman Beyond, Kor from Jak and Daxter, Arius and Argosax from Devil May Cry 2)
Please R&R. Until next time!
Chapter Text
Aquatic Ruins
After exiting the Chemical Plant, the Freedom Fighters found themselves within an open area containing deep, widespread lakes filled with ancient Romanesque buildings and structures.
"The Aquatic Ruins," Tails mused in fascination. "Another Ancient colony. It's amazing how widespread they were."
Sonic was more focused on the numerous lakes everywhere. "And just like the Labyrinth Zone, the place is filled with water."
Sally took his hand comfortingly.
"It's okay, Sonic," she soothed. "Relax."
Sonic took a deep breath, composing himself.
"You're scared of water?" Rotor asked.
"So what if I am?" Sonic defended. "A lot of people are."
"Not really," Tails cut in.
"You're not helping, Tails," Sonic hissed through clenched teeth. "Really not."
Tails just shrugged as they continued. It wasn't long before they heard a scream. Sonic disappeared within the second, running towards the scream.
"After that hedgehog!" Bunnie shouted.
Sonic soon came out near one set of ruins, seeing a swarm of Buzzbombers harassing a female Mobian. Tucking into a Spin Dash, he homed in on each of the buzz bombers, smashing through them one by one. Once they were all destroyed, Sonic landed right in front of the woman, taking in her appearance; it was a Mobian pika (1) with teal fur and brown eyes. She wore a shoulderless black bodysuit with a long, light-brown jacket and matching gloves, as well as white and brown shoes, along with a backpack matching her coat and a pair of purple spectacles, and had hair matching her fur that she kept in a lock that stuck out from her forehead and in a bun at the back of her head.
"You alright?" he asked.
"I'll live," the pika nodded, speaking in a British accent. "Thanks."
"Sonic!"
They turned to see the rest of the Freedom Fighters run in.
"Will you stop running off like that?!" Sally demanded.
"Sorry, Sal," Sonic said sheepishly. "Force of habit."
With that done, Sally turned to the pika.
"Ma'am, you shouldn't be here right now," she insisted. "This island isn't safe."
"Believe me, I'm aware," the pika replied. "Comes with the territory. Though I will admit, the robots were not the type I was expecting."
"And what territory is that?" Antoine questioned.
"Allow me to introduce myself," the pika bowed her head respectfully. "My name is Relic. An archaeologist by trade." She straightened. "And you are?"
Everyone was surprised at that.
"You… don't know about us?" Sonic asked.
"Sorry, no," Relic replied. "Current events aren't my expertise. Now, ancient history, that's my bread and butter." She squinted at Sonic. "Like for example, you are the spitting image of Solaran the Hedgehog. A great warrior of the ancient hedgehog tribes. Oh, the stories I could tell you about-"
Sally cleared her throat at that, and Relic snapped to attention.
"Oh yes, of course. Sorry about that." She adjusted her glasses. "I get lost in my work. What were we talking about?"
They quickly explained the situation and their fight with Robotnik, and Relic perked.
"That's right. Now I remember. I've heard in passing how a blue hedgehog defeated that Robotnik man two months ago. I imagine you'll become as great as Solaran, or Pachacamac, or even Aurora herself."
Sonic shook his head. "I'm just a guy trying to make a difference."
Antoine leaned over to Bunnie. "Is it just me, or is this petit a few cards short of a full deck?"
"Hey, we all get passionate about certain things," Bunnie replied. "No need to judge."
Before the conversation could continue, from the nearby ruins came a small robot.
"Mistress Relic, I believe I've uncovered something," he reported.
"Badnik!" Shortfuse shouted.
He aimed his laser blaster, but Relic stepped in the way, waving her hands.
"Hey!" she snapped. "Put that down! What are you doing?! Honestly, control your automaton!"
"He's not an automaton," Sally explained. "He's a Badnik who resisted reprogramming."
"And I wanna know why you're defending that Badnik!" Shortfuse demanded.
"He's not a Badnik," Relic replied. "That's my assistant, Fixit."
"Salutations," Fixit gave a small wave.
"Also, what's a Badnik?" Relic asked.
"Robotnik's robots," Sonic answered. "Like the bee-bots that attacked you."
"Oh, that's what those were," Relic mused. "I was thinking they were more ancient automatons. I thought they seemed a bit too clean."
"You have a robot assistant?!" Tails exclaimed, excited.
"Yes," Relic confirmed. "I found him at one of my old dig sites. I believe he may have been a remnant of the ancient Echidna Empire, or even the Ancients themselves. So I fixed him up and made him my assistant."
As they entered the ruin, Relic continued to talk.
"I've spent years searching for the answers my father and his father failed to find," she went on. "Who were the Ancients? Why did they create the vast monoliths that litter our planet? How did they harness the powers of the Chaos Emeralds? What was their purpose, and why did they vanish?"
"The Chaos Emeralds…" Sonic muttered, once again thinking back to his dark persona. He shook his head, shoving his trepidation down. "What can you tell us about them?"
"Their exact origins are shrouded in mystery," Relic replied. "All I've gleaned for sure is that they first appeared during what the Echidna Tomes call a 'Day of Fury.' The sky turned green, and numerous emeralds rained down on Mobius like a meteor shower, triggering the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs. I, however, have a theory on their origin. Some cultures have a passing mention of an energy field they refer to simply as the 'Chaos Force.' If it truly exists, I believe the Chaos Emeralds are physical manifestations of it."
"Really?" Tails asked.
"Oh yes," Relic confirmed.
Fixit led them to a back room. Relic squinted at the wall he pointed at, looking it over.
"Hmm, that's odd," she mused. "This doesn't seem to match any Ancient script I've seen." She looked closer. "In fact... it doesn't look like any writing system on Mobius."
Everyone gathered around.
"But if it's not from Mobius…" Tails began, "Then where is it from?"
"Space aliens, maybe?" Rotor offered.
"Be serious, Rotor," Porker scoffed. "Aliens? Really?"
Before the conversation could continue, the ground began to rumble ominously.
"What the…?!" Sonic managed.
"Earthquake!" Relic screamed. "Everybody out!"
Everyone began running, Sonic snagging Relic and Fixit as he sped out. However, once they got out, they stopped short to see a massive metal tentacle emerge from the lake before them.
"Bloody hell…" Relic managed. "What is that?!"
From the lake emerged a large mechanical nautilus shell, one that had several long, metal tendrils coming out of the shell's mouth. A glass dome on top lifted, revealing Dr. Robotnik.
"It's Robotnik!" Sonic exclaimed.
"Yes, Sonic," Robotnik deadpanned. "How incredibly observant you are."
"That's Robotnik?" Relic mused. "Nothing like what I expected."
Robotnik stuttered and gagged, utterly insulted. He then began glaring at Relic, who remained unphased.
"You should watch how you speak of your future emperor, little girl. Unless you want a date with the Roboticizer."
Relic tilted her head in confusion. "What's a Roboticizer?"
Robotnik blinked, surprised.
"She doesn't get out much," Sonic explained.
"Actually, I get out a lot," Relic insisted. "I think what you mean to say is my grasp on current events is-"
"ENOUGH!" Robotnik roared, cutting her off before pointing a condemning figure at Sonic. "You may have survived the Mega Mack, Sonic, but the Egg Nautilus is invincible in its native element! I'll squeeze you into paste!"
"Bring it on!" Sonic shot back. "I'll smash it to bits and use the scraps to make a coffee table!"
Robotnik just chuckled before descending into the lake, the tentacles whipping about.
"Okay…" Sonic began, "How are we gonna do this?"
"I got this!" Rotor declared.
Before anyone could stop him, he dove directly into the lake.
"Rotor?!" Sonic exclaimed.
"Let him handle this one, Sonic," Sally insisted. "Trust me. I didn't hire him just for his brains."
-X-
Rotor swam down into the depths of the lake, seeing numerous submerged ruins as he heard Robotnik's diabolical laugh.
"Do you honestly believe you have a chance against me?" the doctor taunted.
"Do you think you stand a chance against a walrus in his natural element?" Rotor shot back.
The Egg Nautilus came into view, waving its tentacles threateningly. Rotor straightened out his body, holding out both fists as he began rapidly spinning in place before launching himself through the water like a torpedo. Before Robotnik could react, he rammed right into the Egg Nautilus, sending it spinning through the water.
"What?!" Robotnik shrieked. "Impossible!"
"That's how we do it up North!" Rotor declared.
He came around for another strike, ramming into the Egg Nautilus again and again. Eventually, Robotnik began to surface rapidly.
-X-
On the surface, the group watched as the Egg Nautilus emerged from the lake, battered and dented, before beginning to spin its tentacles under its body like a helicopter propeller, lifting it into the sky.
"Did not see that coming," Sonic remarked.
"Sonic!" Tails declared. "I've got an idea!"
He began spinning his tails, lifting off the ground, and offering his hands.
"Grab on!"
Sonic leaped up, grabbing Tails' hands. The two then took off as Relic blinked in surprise.
"A flying fox. Just when you think you've seen it all."
-X-
Flying with all his might, Tails intercepted the Egg Nautilus in a matter of minutes. As they got above it, Sonic looked up at him.
"Rolling Combo!"
Tails nodded and the two clasped hands before spinning around in mid-air. Eventually, their synchronized movements formed a blue and yellow-colored Spin Dash, moving so fast that a circular wave of wind surrounded them, allowing them to hover. After a moment, the two launched themselves forward, plowing clean through the Egg Nautilus, which began to spark and smoke.
"Why, you little-!" Robotnik managed before the Egg Nautilus crashed into the ground, Sonic and Tails landing safely.
"Oh, yeah!" Sonic cheered. "Who's bad?!"
He pointed at himself with both thumbs.
"Hey!" Tails objected.
Sonic grabbed him, giving him a friendly noogie. "Relax, buddy. Couldn't have done it without you."
Tails smiled at that. Once that was done, Sonic turned to the remains of the Nautilus.
"Now, let's deal with the doc."
He approached, only to be surprised when he saw Robotnik sparking and whirring in the cockpit; metal and wires sticking out of his skin. The others came along, seeing the sight as well.
"So, this Robotnik bloke was a robot himself," Relic mused. "Who would have thought?"
"No, Relic," Tails told her. "This is a decoy."
"So where's the real Robuttnik?" Sonic asked.
"My guess?" Sally pondered. "Still in Robotropolis."
"But why use a decoy?" Rotor wondered.
"So we would think he was here," Tails realized. "The Death Egg… he's probably working on it right now."
"So this whole mess was to keep us busy! Stall for time!" Shortfuse cursed. "That sneaky tub of lard!"
"Easy, Shorty," Bunnie soothed. "We'll stop 'im."
"Count on that," Sonic agreed.
"Well, you better get moving," Relic said, adjusting her glasses. "Next stop from here is the Casino Night Club. But watch yourself. I've heard talk that everyone who goes in there gets hooked and gambles everything they've got away, no matter how hard they try not to."
"Sounds pretty fishy to me," Johnny mused.
"If there is something fishy going on, we'll figure it out," Sally decided.
"What will you do, Relic?" Antoine asked.
"Casinos aren't my cup of tea," Relic replied. "I'll stay here and study the ruins a bit longer."
She started heading off. "C'mon, Fixit! There's history to uncover!"
Fixit followed closely behind her, the Freedom Fighters watching her go.
"Now there's a girl who's devoted to her job," Sonic remarked.
Robotropolis
Robotnik watched spy camera footage of the Egg Nautilus going down. He sighed at the sight.
"So, they took down my Egg-Bot," he remarked. "Pity. He was such a handsome devil."
"They'll be a bit more suspicious of you from now on, Doctor," Grimer remarked. "We should be cautious."
"Suspicious or not, it doesn't matter," Robotnik said flippantly. "We just need to keep them occupied, and the Casino Night Club will do that spectacularly."
Notes:
(1): Not a reference to Pikachu. A pika is a real animal, mountain dwelling animals related to rabbits that live in Asia and North America.
Relic and Fixit are taken from the Archie comic, as are the Egg Nautilus, and Relic's statements on the arrival of the Chaos Emeralds and Chaos Force. Rotor's attack he uses on the Egg Nautilus is called the Drill Rush, also taken from Archie.
Next chapter, the gang investigates the strange goings-on at the Casino Night Club. Will they get out with their money… and their lives?
Voice cast for this chapter:
* Relic - Camilla Luddington (Lara Croft from Tomb Raider 2013 and onward, Jo Karev from Grey's Anatomy, Zatanna from Justice League Dark)
* Fixit - Chris Collet (Orbot's original voice in Sonic Unleashed, Conklin/Raizou Mototani from Yu-Gi-Oh! GX)
Please R&R. Until next time!
Chapter Text
Temporary Campsite
The Freedom Fighters had left the Aquatic Ruins in their wake and were camping for the night. As Shortfuse used his weapons to get a campfire started, Sonic went over to Rotor.
"Hey, nice work back there with Robotnik," he noted.
"Thanks," Rotor smiled, then perked as if remembering something. "Oh, hang on. There's something I wanted to show you." He started fishing around in his pocket. "I found something at the bottom of the lake when I was fighting with that robot."
He pulled out a glittering green object. Sonic gaped, recognizing it for what it was.
"Whoa… You found this in the water?"
"Yeah. Weird, right?" Rotor asked, clearly not realizing what the object was. "It was just lying in the silt."
"Rotor, that's one of the Chaos Emeralds!"
Rotor blinked before looking at it again.
"Seriously?!"
"Yeah, it is. I'd know a gem like that anywhere. But why was it in the water? It should have gone back to the Special Zone like they did last time."
"Good question," Rotor murmured.
"Guys, you know what this means, right?" Tails asked.
"The Chaos Emeralds are on Mobius where anyone can find them!" Porker exclaimed.
"Including Robotnik…" Sonic realized.
"The last thing we want or need is him finding the Emeralds," Sally insisted.
"Since we already have one, maybe I can use its energy signature to find the others," Tails mused.
"You can do that?" Johnny asked.
"We're gonna find out," Tails replied.
Rotor handed Tails the Emerald, and the fox took it off to the side, pulling out a yellow tablet-like device and using it to scan the gem. Some time passed, Tails fiddling with the device with a wrench and screwdriver, before he finally finished.
"Alright, I got it," he announced before showing them the screen of the device, several images displaying emerald-shaped blips on it.
"Great work, Tails," Sonic said with a grin. "Where's the closest Emerald?"
Tails looked at the screen before pointing ahead.
According to the readings, it should be somewhere in the Casino Night Club."
"What a coincidence," Sonic remarked. "We were heading there anyway. Anyone feeling lucky?"
Casino Night Club
The next morning, the group made their way into the Casino Night Club. The first thing they noticed, strewn all over the area, across the various amusement park rides, slot machines, and the like, were images of Robotnik's face, covering the area like a bad rash. On top of that, looming over everything was a massive grinning statue of the doctor himself.
"Someone loves himself a little too much," Sonic deadpanned.
"Mon dieu… (1)" Antoine let out, shuddering. "This is so disturbing."
They heard a sad groan nearby and turned to see a Mobian dog walking away from one of the tables, the guy running it casually counting his money with a cigar in his mouth.
"I can't believe it…" the dog whimpered. "Everything... I've lost everything."
So lost in his sorrow was the dog that he didn't notice Sonic was there until he bumped right into him.
"Hey, what's the rush?" Sonic asked. "Heh, isn't that ironic coming from me?"
"Why the long face, hon?" Bunnie asked.
"I was playing the tables and something came over me," the dog explained. "I kept on losing, but I couldn't stop. I even gave them the deed to my house for some reason! What am I gonna tell my family?"
"You… gambled away your house?" Johnny asked, exchanging looks with the other Freedom Fighters.
"Yes," the dog nodded. "I don't know why. Something just... came over me. Made me want to try my luck."
Sonic did a quick run around, glancing at every machine and game, and saw more of the same: everywhere, everyone just kept losing every time. Eventually, he came back.
"Nobody's winning at anything here," he reported. "Ten to one says all these games are rigged."
"That's not unexpected for a casino, but these people don't seem to be able to stop!" Tails pointed out.
"And no one in their right mind would ever keep going after that big a losing streak," Sally added. "Or risk something as valuable as a house deed."
After a moment, she pulled out Nicole. "Nicole, scan for anything that could be causing this. Brainwashing frequencies, hypnotic music, anything."
"Scanning…" Nicole's screen beeped for a few moments, before concluding. "It appears the head of the Robotnik statue is the cause of it. Readings indicate that it contains the master computer rigging the games."
"And all this compulsive gambling?" Sally asked.
"The eyes of the statue seem to be sending out hypnotizing beams," Nicole informed them. "Any visitors to the club will gamble all their money away."
Tails pulled out his own handheld, looking it over as it beeped.
"The Miles Electric is going crazy," He held it out every which way, eventually finding the yellow Chaos Emerald on top of a table nearby. "They're... using the Emerald as a prize?"
"They must not know what they have," Sonic mused.
"Then we better take it before they do," Bunnie decided.
"No argument here," Sonic agreed.
-X-
At the top of the statue, a Mobian lizard in a pinstripe suit spoke to Robotnik on a vid-chat.
"What's the situation, Gamble?" Robotnik asked.
"Eh, call me Max," Gamble replied. "And it's workin' perfectly! Mobiums are comin' in by the truckload! I knew you were a good scientist, Dr. Robotnik, but I never knew you were such a good salesman."
"Just remember our deal. I get a cut of the profits, and you don't get roboticized."
"Relax, I'll keep my deal. I know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em."
He made to shut off the connection.
"One more thing," Robotnik cut in. "Sonic and his merry men are most likely on their way to the club if they're not there already. The Casino Night Club is raising a lot of money, and if they cause us to lose it... I will be very upset."
Gamble gulped. "Understood, sir."
"Good," Robotnik replied. "I'm glad we had this little chat."
-X-
Back with Sonic and co., the dog was scowling.
"Seriously?" he demanded. "Hypnotizing us? Rigging the games? The club used to actually be fun and fair before Max Gamble took over."
That got Sonic's attention.
"Max Gamble? That lousy crook?" he scoffed. "So the Station Square PD finally chased him out of Casinopolis."
"Only for him to continue the game here," Rotor mused.
Tails looked up at the statue. "If I can get up there, I think I can do something about the computer and the hypnosis ray."
"You take Rotor and Porker, see what you can do," Sonic told him. "I'll make sure Gamble doesn't notice you."
Before they could question his intent, Sonic casually walked over to the table where the Chaos Emerald was set up, pounding on it with his hand.
"Hey! Max Gamble!" he shouted. "I'm calling you out! You wanna play a game, or chicken out?!"
-X-
In his office, Gamble perked up.
"So, someone wants to go a few rounds with me, eh?" he mused before chuckling. "Well, I better not disappoint them."
-X-
On the ground, a moment of silence followed before Gamble descended on an elevator. As he stepped out, he glared at Sonic.
"I know you," he remarked. "The blue brat who was there when that loser cop Wachowski kept harassing me in Station Square."
"Friend of the family. I owed him a favor," Sonic shrugged before returning Gamble's glare. "And word of advice: never insult the Donut Lord in front of me."
With that, he looked around at all the Robotnik faces.
"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you sold out to Robuttnik, Gamble," he mused. "Is there no low you won't stoop to?"
Gamble just shrugged. "I've never been a proud man, kid. I'm just a survivor."
"Survival's overrated," Sonic replied. "I prefer living. More rewarding that way. But anyway, I've got my eyes on that pretty emerald you got there. Whatever you wanna play for it, I'm game."
"Oh really?" Gamble pondered for a moment before coming to a decision. "That's a very popular gem nowadays. Plenty of my customers have lost their life savings trying to get it."
"Well, they weren't me," Sonic said simply.
"Very true," Gamble admitted. "Which makes me consider what would happen if we made things more... interesting."
-X-
Gamble led Sonic to the top of the club, where they found themselves looking down at a giant pinball table.
"You just happen to have a jumbo-sized pinball table sitting around?" Sonic wondered.
"Where do you think Casinopolis got the idea?" Gamble asked rhetorically. "Now, it's quite simple. The blue bumpers on the table are yours, the red ones are mine. Hit mine, you lose points. Hit yours, and you score."
"I'm sensing you have something dark and ominous planned if I lose," Sonic said flatly.
"My dear Sonic, do you honestly think so little of me?"
"No, less."
"Well, if you must know, you have three tries. When you fall past the flippers for the third time…" Gamble pointed, and Sonic noticed a deadly pit of spikes beneath the table. "Hedgehog shishkabob, if you will."
Sonic winced at the thought, before turning to face Gamble.
"Gamble, no one can have a higher opinion of you than me," he said casually before scowling. "And I think you're a slimy, despicable pile of Flicky crap!"
"Eh, I've been called worse," Gamble replied with a shrug. "Also, I almost forgot to mention this."
He slapped Sonic on the back so hard he tumbled onto the table. "You're the ball!"
Sonic let out a yell as he fell into the ball slot. He got up, shaking his fist in anger.
"Gamble!" he shouted. "When I get my hands on you, I'm gonna-!"
Before he could finish, he was shot out onto the table.
-X-
Below, Sally had taken up a position at the controls for the flippers. A screen popped up, showing Sonic being launched into the game. She quickly manned the flippers, launching Sonic high up on the table.
"You doing alright in there, Sonic?" she called out to him.
"More or less!" Sonic shouted.
He first started hitting Gamble's bumpers but managed to stop himself and hit his own bumpers to score points. Gamble watched him do so before a slot machine above showed three reels of Sonic's face, a slew of Mobiums spilling out (2).
"Just a warm-up, Sonic!" the gangster declared. "It's not over yet!"
He pressed a button, and another flipper emerged from the table, bouncing Sonic into Gamble's bumpers.
"You cheating son of a-!" Sonic spat.
"Hey, cheating is a legitimate strategy," Gamble replied flippantly.
"When I get out of here, I'm gonna-!"
Sonic plummeted toward the flippers, Sally slamming her fist on the button and launching him back up. Seeing Sonic score more points, Gamble scowled and pressed another button. A slew of Buzz Bombers flew out onto the table, all of them beginning to chase after Sonic.
"You're playing my game, kid!" he ranted. "I'm in control here! I make the rules!"
"Lucky for me, rules were made to be broken!" Sonic retorted.
He bounced around, luring the Buzz Bombers to the flipper. Getting Sonic's intent, Sally uses the flipper to rebound each of the Badniks, knocking them out of the air and sending them down the hole into the spike pit. Sonic then maneuvered his way between two bumpers, bouncing between them repeatedly to wrap up some major points.
"I think we just might get a high score!" Sally boasted.
"Don't cash your Mobiums just yet!" Gamble spat.
He pressed a button, and some holes opened up on the pinball table. Monstrous worm-like Badniks emerged, snapping at Sonic.
"Just how low can you sink, Gamble?!" Sally demanded.
Gamble just smirked. "Depends on how much money there is to gain, sweetheart."
Sonic maneuvered around the worms as best as he could, narrowly avoiding their fanged maws.
"This just keeps getting worse…" he muttered. "What is taking Tails so long?!"
-X-
In the computer room within the head of the Robotnik statue, Tails, Rotor, and Porker were at work hacking the system. Porker looked up and paled at a screen showing the pinball table, and Sonic's increasingly dire situation.
"Tails, hurry up," he urged. "I don't know how much more Sonic can take!"
"I'm hurrying as fast as I can!" Tails shot back.
He frantically typed away before pressing a button. "There!"
-X-
Back on the pinball table, Sonic landed in the slot machine once again; Gamble watched, and his jaw nearly hit the floor when the three slots all read "JACKPOT".
"What?!" he screamed.
At the sound of cheers, he turned, and his shock increased at the sight of the visitors dancing in jubilation; now everyone was winning their games.
"WHAT?!"
"Yes!" Sonic cheered.
With that done, he burst out of the pinball table, confronting Gamble.
"I can't believe this is happening!" Gamble shrieked. "How did you win?!"
"It's simple, really," Sonic replied. "I was just distracting you while my buddies hacked your computer up in that ugly Robotnik statue."
"What?!" Gamble sputtered. "But… but that's cheating!"
Sonic smirked. "Hey, you said it yourself, Max. Cheating is a legitimate strategy."
He casually walked over to the table, snatching up the Chaos Emerald. "Now, I believe this is mine."
Gamble was practically grinding his teeth to shards in rage.
"Well, you're not getting it!" he yelled. "You've ruined my business for the last time, Sonic!"
He charged at him in a rage, but Sonic casually stepped aside, sticking out his foot. Gamble tripped over it and slammed into his table, smashing it and knocking himself out.
"You bet I have," he declared. "Because after this, there's no way you're ever gonna pick yourself back up."
The Freedom Fighters regrouped just as the Robotnik statue's head exploded.
"Wow…" Sonic let out. "Do you have bombs in that bag of yours, Tails?"
"Nah," Tails replied. "I just programmed the computer to self-destruct after all the gamblers got their money back. Gamble's business is toast without it."
"Nice work, pal," Sonic said with a grin.
With that, Tails held up the Miles Electric, bringing up the Emerald Radar.
"Okay," he began. "According to the readings, the next Emerald is in the Hill Top Zone."
"Then that's where we're headed," Sonic declared.
Robotropolis
In his lab, Robotnik had called Gamble after losing the signal to the statue in the club. Getting no response from the gangster, he quickly realized what happened, his face turning red in rage.
"I give you one task, Max," he ranted. "Protect that damned statue and keep the money rolling in. And you couldn't even do that right?! I hope Sonic broke every bone in your stupid body. I hope you're lying there, desperately trying to breathe through fractured ribs and punctured lungs. And if you're not, you better summon whatever strength you've got left and run, because once I'm done dealing with the hedgehog, you're next! (3)"
With that, he ended the communication. "I earned millions through the Casino Night Club... and that blue rodent undid it all in one day!"
"Calm yourself, Uncle," Snively insisted. "At least Gamble kept them busy."
"Judging by their current course, they should be in the Hill Top Zone by noon," Grimer added.
Robotnik took that in, smirking. "Well... things will definitely heat up for them there."
Notes:
(1): "My God" in French.
(2): Wouldn't be Sonic without a slot machine. Except rather than rings, here they use Mobiums, the currency in post-Super Genesis Wave Archie and AoSTH.
(3): A line taken and tweaked from one of Penguin's in Batman: Arkham City.
Another one bites the dust.
The inspiration for this chapter comes from a mix of a Sonic the Comic arc, Sonic Spinball, and some of the Sonic SatAM episode "Game Guy." Max Gamble is also a character from Sonic the Comic. You may have also noticed my allusions to the movie with Tom Wachowski, and Sonic's banter with Gamble at the start; essentially, Sonic's been active as a hero/vigilante here and there even before the ROCC explosion that created Robotnik.
Next chapter, Sonic and co. get into a very heated situation at the Hill Top Zone. Will they prevail?
Voice cast for this chapter:
* Max Gamble - John Kassir (Enzo Ferino from Bayonetta, the Cryptkeeper from Tales from the Crypt, Deadpool from X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse and the first two Marvel: Ultimate Alliance games; I hear him with Enzo's Joe Pesci imitation)
Please R&R. Until next time!
Chapter Text
Hill Top Zone
Leaving the Casino Night Zone behind, the Freedom Fighters soon found themselves entering the mountainous regions of the Hill Top Zone. The first thing they noticed was a plume of smoke emerging from a volcano in the distance.
"That's odd," Rotor mused. "The volcano on Westside has been dormant for decades."
"If it's active again, this entire Zone could be in danger," Tails insisted.
"Then we better get moving," Sonic decided. "This has Robuttnik's stink all over it."
They made their way to the village at the foot of the volcano, which was dotted with teepees and inhabited by Mobian birds similar to Native Americans. One saw them and raised a hand in greeting.
"Greetings, outsiders," he said politely. "I am Kordon, chief of the Hill Top People."
"Greetings, Chief Kordon," Sally replied. "I am Princess Sally of the Kingdom of Acorn. These are my Freedom Fighters."
Kordon bowed. "It is an honor to meet all of you,"
"Chief, how long has that volcano been active?" Porker asked.
"It was only recently the Mountain of Destiny became active," Kordon answered. "The Ancient Walkers must be displeased with us."
"The what now?" Antoine asked.
"The Ancient Walkers," Sonic replied. "I remember Omni mentioned them once or twice."
"The gods of Mobius," Kordon explained. "Said to be at least equal to your Aurora, if not greater."
"With all due respect, Chief, I'm sure there's a logical explanation for all this," Tails said.
"You are welcome to believe what you will," Kordon said simply.
"No shame in checking it out," Shortfuse decided, looking up at the mountain. "And the only way we're getting any answers is by going in.
"Whoa, whoa," Johnny held up a hand. "You want us to go inside the volcano? That's suicide, Shorty!"
"In case you forgot, I'm basically indestructible," Shortfuse reminded him. "I'll pop in, see what's up, then pop out."
"I'm going with you," Sonic insisted. "As long as I don't touch the lava, I'll be fine."
"If you insist," Shortfuse decided.
"Be careful, you two," Bunnie warned.
"Hey, careful is my middle name," Sonic declared.
"Really?" Tails quipped. "I thought your middle name was 'the'."
Sonic just rolled his eyes before grabbing Shortfuse's hands, the two flying up toward the volcano. Making it to the top, Shortfuse slowly flew in. They looked down at the lava below, just as a plesiosaur-like Badnik surfaced from it, roaring at them.
"Badnik!" Sonic exclaimed. "Of course Robotnik's behind this!"
"So it would seem," Shortfuse remarked.
"Wonder what he's planning this time?" Sonic pondered.
The Rexon spat an energy ball at them, the two dodging before Shortfuse raised his arm cannon, blowing its head off. With that, they went further in, soon finding a cave deeper in the volcano. As they entered, they felt tremors that slowly increased until they found an ominous-looking machine. It was a large red box with a black dome on top. Several long, silver arms extended from the sides of the machine, embedding themselves into the rocks. There was a large screen on the front, providing data on the seismic activity, magma levels, and a countdown to detonation. Sonic let out a whistle in astonishment.
"He loves to go all out, doesn't he?"
After a moment, the screen flickered out. A familiar evil laugh sounded before Robotnik appeared in place of the data.
"Sonic!" he greeted cheerfully. "So glad you made it in time for my little trap."
"Why are you doing this, you maniac?!" Shortfuse demanded. "What do you accomplish with this machine?!"
"Isn't it obvious?" Robotnik asked. "My Seismatron made the volcano active again. Any minute now, the volcano will erupt. With you in the dead center of it!"
"Not if we stop you first!" Sonic shot back.
Shortfuse aimed his blaster, but Robotnik just chuckled.
"You're too late, anyway," he boasted. "Even if you destroy the Seismatron, the volcano will blow!"
He turned to Sonic. "A pity I can't be there to watch you go down in a blaze of glory, but c'est la vie (1)."
He laughed once more, which was cut off when Shortfuse shot the Seismatron to pieces. At that very moment, the tremors reached their peak.
"Uh-oh…" Shortfuse let out.
"We need to move," Sonic insisted. "NOW!"
Shortfuse grabbed Sonic, jetting out of the volcano at full speed. The two made it out with mere seconds to spare, molten lava shooting into the sky like a fountain.
"Sonic!" Sally shouted as they made it back to the others. "What happened in there?!"
"Robotnik happened," Sonic replied. "He had some kinda seismic machine. It was all a trap to get me. Boil me in lava."
They turned as the lava slowly seeped down the mountain and right for the village.
"We can't let these people die!" Johnny shouted. "We gotta do something!"
Sonic paced around, wracking his brain desperately before perking.
"I've got an idea!" He pulled the two Chaos Emeralds in his pocket. "If I can use the Emeralds' energy, maybe I can stop the lava. Redirect it or something. Think it's worth a try?"
"At this rate, I think anything's worth a try!" Antoine shrieked.
"Just be careful, Sonic," Sally pleaded. "Please."
"Hey, it's me we're talking about," Sonic answered. "Now stand back!"
He closed his eyes in concentration, channeling the chaos energy into his body. He was soon surrounded by a yellow aura, and took off at super-speed, running around the volcano and its lava spout so fast that he whipped up a tornado around both, rapidly cooling the lava and sending up clouds of dust. When it cleared, Sonic stood triumphantly, revealing he had carved a massive statue of himself out of the cooling rock, flashing the V-sign with a triumphant grin.
"Missed my calling as a sculptor, wouldn't you say?" he quipped.
"I don't know," Sally said playfully. "I think the head could be a bit bigger."
Sonic looked at her, a deadpan expression on his face. "Tee-hee."
-X-
Later, they stood before Chief Kordon and his tribe, the old bird looking at them gratefully.
"You have earned the respect and gratitude of me and my people," he declared.
"Just doing what I do best," Sonic boasted.
"Please, allow me to show you our gratitude,"
Kordon reached around his neck, removing a necklace. They all gasped. At the end of the necklace, previously hidden by his feathers, was the red Chaos Emerald.
"No way…" Tails let out. "A Chaos Emerald!"
"Whoa!" Sonic exclaimed.
"This gem is important to you?" Kordon asked, getting a nod. "Then it is yours."
He held it out to Sonic, who took it.
"Thanks," the hedgehog said. "That makes three."
Tails held up the Miles Electric. Once he switched to the Emerald Radar, he gaped in shock.
"The next stop is the Mystic Cave Zone," he reported. "But... that's odd. I'm getting readings from dozens of Chaos Emeralds there."
Everyone looked confused.
"You sure that thing ain't busted?" Bunnie asked.
"Positive," Tails insisted. "Something's going on."
"Relic did say that dozens of Chaos Emeralds rained down on Mobius in ancient times," Sally recalled. "But so many in one place…"
"Let's check it out," Sonic insisted.
Robotropolis
Robotnik took one look at the monitor showing the Sonic statue on the Mountain of Destiny and promptly put his bionic fist through the screen with a growl.
"I'm beginning to see why Sonic is my arch-nemesis," he spat. "He's harder to squash than a damned cockroach!"
"Perhaps you will get him next time, sir," Snively suggested.
"Most definitely," Grimer agreed. "After all, just see where they're heading next."
Robotnik took a look, seeing where exactly the Freedom Fighters were heading.
"The Mystic Cave Zone…" he mused. "They must have gotten a whiff of the energy signatures down there as well."
"What should we do, Uncle?" Snively asked.
Robotnik smirked, going over to a section of the lab where a robot stood dormant. It was eerily similar to Sonic, a silver color with a red bar for eyes and long, claw-like arms.
"We give Sonic the shock of his life," he boasted. "Now's the perfect time to let loose with the Silver Sonic."
"But Dr. Robotnik, the Silver Sonic is just a prototype!" Grimer objected. "It hasn't been properly tested yet!"
"Well, I'd say now's a good time," Robotnik said flippantly.
He flipped a few switches, sending power to the robot, its eyes beginning to light up ominously…
Notes:
(1): "That's life" in French.
Yet another storyline adapted from Sonic the Comic. The next chapter, however, will be my original flavor for once.
Next chapter, Sonic finds himself literally fighting himself in the Mystic Cave Zone, while the Freedom Fighters discover a shocking secret within.
Voice cast for this chapter:
* Kordon - Jay Tavare (Vega from the Street Fighter movie, Koba from Turok: Son of Stone, Code Talker from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain)
Please R&R. Until next time!
Chapter Text
Mystic Cave Zone
Leaving the Hill Top Zone behind, the Freedom Fighters soon found themselves descending into the depths of the Mystic Cave Zone. They took in their surroundings, seeing all the spiraling tunnels filled with moss-covered rocks and dangling tendrils of ivy, the caves themselves being a dull purple with old mining equipment strewn about.
"Nice place," Sonic said flatly. "Just digging the 'prepare to die' ambiance."
"Personally, it gives me the creeps," Tails admitted.
"Everyone stay close," Sally ordered.
Tails raised the Miles Electric, checking the readings. "The energy signature's coming from somewhere up ahead. Follow me."
They all followed him as they moved through the tunnels, eventually coming across a broken bridge over a deep pit. Tails double-checked the radar, nodding.
"Down there," he confirmed.
"So how do we get down?" Sonic asked.
"Jump?" Shortfuse offered.
"There's no telling how deep it is," Sally replied.
"Maybe Tails and Shorty can fly us down," Rotor suggested.
"Honestly, I don't see any other way," Tails confessed.
"That'll be a lot of trips," Shortfuse pointed out.
"You have a better idea?" Bunnie questioned rhetorically.
"Yeah, better safe than splattered," Sonic agreed.
So that's just what they did. Tails and Shortfuse flew the other Freedom Fighters down the pit, two at a time. Last was Rotor, who they worked together to get down. Once they all landed, they took in the surroundings. They were in a massive area, littered with various multi-colored gems and crystals.
"Those are a lot of Chaos Emeralds," Sonic remarked.
"Not quite, Sonic," Porker said. "I think those are Power Gems."
"What's the difference?" Sonic asked.
"Power Gems are similar, but weaker," Porker explained. "They say they're the source of power in every Lake of Rings on the planet."
Sonic blinked, looking them over again. "You mean, these are what Power Rings come from? Uncle Chuck and his buddies always said they were byproducts of the Chaos Emeralds."
"It's not implausible to assume there's a connection," Rotor confessed.
Before the conversation could continue, Sonic perked, hearing a footstep. He raised a hand to quiet them down.
"What's-?" Antoine began.
"Shh!" Sonic covered his mouth. "I don't think we're alone down here."
Everyone fell silent, listening closely. Sonic tiptoed over to where he heard the sound, motioning for them to follow. Once they were in position, he held up three fingers.
"On three," he whispered. "One… two… THREE!"
The Freedom Fighters all lunged out, dogpiling the figure and pinning them to the ground.
"Oi!" the figure shouted in a familiar voice. "What do you think you're doing?!"
Sally blinked at the sound of the voice and looked down to see who they had grabbed.
"Relic?!" they all exclaimed.
Sure enough, it was the Mobian pika they had run into back at the Aquatic Ruins.
"You guys?!" Relic realized. "What are you all doing here?"
They all backed off, letting Relic get up.
"What are you doing here?" Johnny asked. "And how'd you get here before us?"
Relic dusted herself off, readjusting her glasses. "Every girl has a secret or two, Johnny. Let's just leave it at that."
The group exchanged looks before shrugging.
"So what are you doing here?" Sonic questioned.
Relic's face lit up, having clearly been waiting for someone to answer that question.
"I'm glad you asked," she declared. "Through hours of tireless searching and digging, I believe Fixit and I have come across the fabled Hidden Palace Zone of Westside Island."
She was met with a group of blank looks at that.
"It's another remnant of the Ancients," she clarified. "According to the texts I've read, it was here they conducted experiments into harnessing the power of the Chaos Emeralds." She gestured to the crystals around them. "This gave birth to the Power Gems you see before you."
"Guess that explains all the mining equipment we saw on the way down here," Shortfuse mused.
"That's not all," Relic added. "I found something truly amazing. It's easier to show than tell."
She led them to a wide open, cathedral-like chamber. The group took in the sights and were amazed at the sight of several Power Gems in the process of fusing, forming what appeared to be new Chaos Emeralds. Everyone was in utter shock at the sight.
"No wonder my Emerald Radar went crazy," Tails remarked.
"So this is how the Chaos Emeralds are made?" Sonic questioned.
"At the very least, the Ancients discovered a way to make more," Relic replied.
"Whoa…" Sonic let out. "Maybe we could do the same. Get the edge on Robuttnik."
"Possible, but unlikely," Relic said. "The art of Chaos Emerald forging is a forgotten method only the Ancients knew of."
Sonic took that in silently, then stiffened as he felt a tingle in his quills. He turned around toward the door they came in through.
"Everyone look out!" he shouted.
They all ducked as a silver blur darted in, narrowly missing them.
"What in the name of-?!" Antoine exclaimed.
The blur stopped, revealing Robotnik's Silver Sonic prototype, which turned to face them.
"It…" Porker stammered. "It's a robot Sonic!"
"Seriously?" Sonic demanded. "Robotnik made a robot clone of me?"
He looked it over, scowling in disapproval.
"First of all, I'm much more attractive than that."
The robot seemed to glare at him before launching at Sonic. Sonic met him halfway, the two clashing. The two became blurs, speeding around one another and clashing repeatedly. Eventually, Silver Sonic lashed out with one of his clamps, his arm stretching and grabbing Sonic by the neck before slamming him against the wall.
"Argh!" Sonic spat. "Cheap shot!"
Silver Sonic soon got the better of Sonic, flinging him around before tossing him into a cluster of Power Gems. The minute he landed in them, the gems seemed to react to his presence, glowing brightly. Relic wiped her glasses before doing a double take.
"That's… unexpected," she remarked.
All eyes were on the gems as they produced a Power Ring. Tails gasped.
"So that is where Power Rings come from!" he exclaimed.
Silver Sonic immediately tried to grab the ring, but Sonic was quicker on the draw.
"Sorry!" he taunted. "You're too slow!"
The minute Sonic grabbed the ring, he was powered up and began running circles around Silver Sonic.
"Sorry, robo-fraud!" he declared. "There's only room for one Sonic on Mobius, and it's not gonna be you!"
With that, he dashed right at Silver Sonic, plowing right through him and tearing him to pieces. As the ring energy faded, he caught the robot's still intact head.
"Alas, poor fake," he recited in a faux-dramatic voice. "I knew him well."
After a minute, he shrugged. "Well, not really."
With that, he nonchalantly tossed the head aside before turning to see his friends looking at him oddly.
"Yes, I've seen some classical literature and all that," he deadpanned. "Try not to faint."
Sally just rolled her eyes. "Tails, can you find anything useful?"
Tails searched around with the Miles Electric, eventually finding the cyan Chaos Emerald sitting around.
"Four down, three to go," he noted.
"Why can we not just take the others around here?" Antoine asked.
"They're still merging from the Power Gems," Rotor pointed out. "No telling what might happen if we separate them or disrupt the process."
"It's never a dull moment with you lot, is it?" Relic questioned.
Sonic grinned. "Not if we can help it."
Tails held up the Miles Electric once more, pressing a few buttons before getting a reading.
"Alright," he said at last. "There's another Chaos Emerald somewhere outside the caves. In the Wood Zone, from the looks of it."
"Really?" Sonic snorted. "Of all the Zone names they could've come up with, someone drew the short straw and came up with 'Wood Zone'?"
"This coming from the guy who likes to run around the Green Hill Zone," Sally shot back.
"Yeah, but I'm not the one who named it, am I?" Sonic retorted.
Sally just shrugged. "Let's just go."
"The exit's this way," Relic told them, pointing. "Straight ahead, you can't miss it."
Robotropolis
On the monitor, Robotnik watched as Silver Sonic faced off against Sonic, giving the blue hero a run for his money before ultimately being destroyed, upon which the screen went black.
"Damn," he cursed. "Waste of a good robot."
After a minute, he shrugged. "Still, I believe we've achieved enough data to move onto the official model."
"Wonderful news, sir," Snively mused. "Though I must admit, I half-expected you to be far angrier."
"Don't get me wrong, I'm quite annoyed," Robotnik clarified. "But that was the entire point of deploying it. Whether the prototype defeated Sonic or not, any bugs or flaws in its design would be made apparent for us to iron out. Regardless of the outcome, I win."
"Brilliant, Doctor," Grimer congratulated. "I imagine next time, the outcome will be quite different."
"Oh, it will be," Robotnik vowed, chuckling menacingly. "Sonic's days are numbered."
Notes:
Another one down.
The Power Gems are from Archie, whereas the part of them producing Power Rings is taken from the Power Rock/Stone from SatAM; the idea of them slowly fusing together to create new Chaos Emeralds is my own spin. Also, the Hidden Palace Zone is a deleted level from Sonic 2, restored in the 2013 rerelease for mobile systems; the Chaos Emeralds forming down there is a reference to the original plan, where Hidden Palace would be where Sonic unlocked Super Sonic after getting all seven Emeralds.
The next chapter is the Wood Zone, a level deleted from the original Sonic 2, but featured in Archie in the first post-Mega-Man crossover comics. What awaits Sonic and Co. there?
Tune in next time to find out. Please R&R.
Chapter Text
Wood Zone
The Freedom Fighters came out of the cave, wincing at the bright sun in their eyes. Once they adjusted to the light, they took in the sights of a dense forest, albeit with some trees having been felled.
"Robotnik's handiwork, no doubt," Sally mused.
To their surprise, they also saw a few Badniks and Swatbots felled here and there. They seemed to have been bludgeoned with rocks, and a few had crude arrows sticking out of them.
"Looks like someone hates Robotnik as much as we do," Sonic remarked.
"Are these… arrows?" Antoine pondered, pulling one out. "It looks like it was made by a child."
"Everyone be careful," Sally insisted. "There's no telling what awaits us here."
"Eh, don't sweat it, Sal," Sonic said flippantly. "We've survived everything Robuttnik's thrown at us. I'm sure whatever we run into here, it'll be a piece of-"
As Sonic spoke, he stepped into a pile of old leaves and promptly found himself snagged by a snare trap, which yanked him up by the foot.
"...cake." he finished.
"What the-?!" Tails managed before a net scooped him up.
"Sacre bleu!" Antoine shouted before falling into a pit trap.
Bunnie and Shortfuse ended up trapped in a cage that appeared to be made from scrap metal from the Badniks, and one massive net managed to snatch everyone else.
"Okay," Sonic began, "once this is over, we are never speaking of this to anyone."
At that moment, they heard a trilling cry, and a figure swung in on a vine. It was a female Mobian badger not much older than Tails, with brown hair, blue eyes, and dressed in rags, brandishing a boomerang.
"Trespassers!" she shouted. "What are you doing here?! Are you here for me?! I'll tell you now, I'll scrap you all!"
"Hey, we were just passing through when we got snagged by these traps!" Sonic retorted.
"Shut up, Blue Devil!" the badger snapped. "I know your scheme. You're with him! You're all with him!"
"Uh, what?" Johnny asked.
"Don't play dumb with me!" the badger insisted. "You're in cahoots with the Eggman, I know it!"
Sonic blinked in confusion. "Hang on… who?"
"The Eggman!" the badger spat. "Round, bald, wears red, massive caterpillar on his face?"
It hit them at that.
"Oh!" Porker realized. "She's talking about Robotnik!"
"Eggman? Really?" Sonic snickered. "I've gotta remember that one."
"Did I say you could talk, Blue Devil?" the badger snapped.
"We're not with… uh, Eggman," Tails insisted. "We're trying to stop him."
"A likely story," the badger retorted. "You think I'll fall for your lies, but I'm not a fool!"
"It's true!" Sonic insisted. "We're the Freedom Fighters! I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!"
"Yeah, I know who you are," the badger made big, exaggerated arm movements. "The 'big hero' who 'saves the day'." She gagged. "It's all a load of Flicky poo!"
"Oh, really?" Sonic crossed his arms. "And what makes you say that?"
"Because you're in league with him! How else are you everywhere his schemes take place? And how do you always have the answer to everything? You have inside information because you're a spy! The proof is right there!"
She pointed at Bunnie and Shortfuse in their cage.
"They're our friends," Sonic insisted. "We saved them from Robotnik."
"They're the Eggman's metal men!" the badger retorted.
"Just our luck," Shortfuse sighed. "We've been snagged by a crazy survivalist."
The badger scowled before darting over.
"You callin' me crazy?" she demanded. "Just 'cause I got a hotel in my foot don't make me a BOOGALY-MOOGALY-MOOGALY!"
She shook her head around frantically as she said that.
"You… don't get out much, do you?" Sonic questioned.
"Get out?" the badger repeated. "I am out! I've been out since the day I became Sticks the Badger! The day I struck out on my own and made my way into this crazy world of ours! And I'll tell ya, I don't regret it!"
Sonic gave her a blank look before looking up at his leg in the snare trap.
"I wonder, will I still be able to run if I chew my foot off to get out of this thing?"
"Sonic…" Sally sighed,
"Just asking," Sonic shrugged.
Sally turned to Sticks. "Look… Sticks, was it?"
"What do you want, Princess?" Sticks demanded.
"What do we have to do to convince you we're not with Robotnik?" Sally asked.
That gave Sticks pause. She sat down, thinking.
"What do you gotta do?" she pondered. "Huh. Never thought of that."
"What a shock," Sonic deadpanned, only to get a boomerang to the head. "Ow."
"Alright," Sticks decided. "You wanna prove yourself? I want one of those."
She went over to Rotor, pulling the Chaos Emerald from his coat.
"A Chaos Emerald?" Rotor demanded. "No way!"
"Not one of those," Sticks clarified, tossing the emerald back to Rotor, who fumbled for it a bit. "For all I know, that's a fake. Luckily, I know where to find a real one. And the Blue Devil is coming with me to get it."
"Fine," Sonic agreed. "Just get me down from here."
Sticks threw the boomerang again, cutting the rope on his snare trap. Sonic landed heavily before pulling himself up.
"Okay, let's get this over with," he insisted. "Lead the way."
"Right," Sticks nodded. "Oh, and if any of you try to escape, you'll get shot full of arrows, and the bots'll be crushed."
She pointed up to a massive wrecking ball made from numerous Badniks tied together, hanging right over Bunnie and Shortfuse's cage.
"Noted," Sonic said.
With that, Sticks turned to go, motioning for Sonic to follow.
"Blaireau fou… (1)" Antoine muttered, shaking his head.
Sticks heard him say that and turned around with a glare.
<Call me that again and I'll rip your tongue out,> she warned in perfect Mercian.
Antoine blinked in surprise as she turned back around, nudging Sonic along.
-X-
As they went, Sonic turned to Sticks.
"So…" he began, "I doubt you learned to speak French living out here in the woods."
"Shut up, Blue Devil," Sticks snapped. "I ain't makin' chit chat with you.
"Enough of this Blue Devil crap. Seriously," Sonic insisted, annoyed. "My name is Sonic. So-nic."
"Don't. Care," Sticks shot back. "Rule number one: never learn names, never make connections. Makes it too easy to be betrayed."
"Is that why you decided to strike out on your own, as you said?" Sonic questioned.
"What's it matter to you?" Sticks said defensively.
"I'd just like to know who's holding my friends prisoner," Sonic explained.
"Friends…" Sticks scoffed. "No such thing. Just people using other people for one thing or another."
"I don't agree with that," Sonic replied.
"Then you're the crazy one," Sticks insisted. "People are no damn good. They only visit when they need something, and the minute they don't, they cast you out like a leper. Their morals, their code, it's a bad joke, dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be. And the minute they get a chance and the chips are down these so-called 'good people' will stab you in the back and step all over you like a rug."
"Rrright," Sonic remarked. "You're not crazy, you're just ahead of the curve."
"Exactly!" Sticks agreed, oblivious to Sonic's sarcasm.
Sonic just rolled his eyes. Suddenly, Sticks yanked him back, seconds before a whole group of arrows hit the ground where he stood.
"Tripwire," she explained. "Spider thread. Invisible to the untrained eye. Not even you would have been able to dodge."
"That's opinion, not fact," Sonic said simply.
As they kept going, Sonic's curiosity got the better of him. "So, if you don't mind me asking, why do you hate people so much?"
"I met them," Sticks answered. "It was all I was surrounded with growing up."
"Somewhere fancy I'll bet, given your Mercian," Sonic mused. "How many other languages do you know, anyway?"
<I know plenty,> Sticks said in Spagonian before going on in Mercian. <I had to learn-> she switched to Deutschen <-because if I can speak their language...> Finally, she ended with Chun-ese. <Then no one could talk about me behind my back.> Once she was done showing off, she switched right back to Common. "So I know enough." (1)
"Right…" Sonic said after a minute. "So, what happened that made you hate people so much?"
Sticks looked torn on answering, then sighed. "Ever hear of Jebediah Badger?"
"That sleazy, money-grubbing crook?" Sonic asked. "Yeah. My dad and Uncle Chuck dealt with his B.S. back during the Great War."
"You know anything about his family?" Sticks asked.
"Didn't even know he had any," Sonic admitted.
"He had a wife, Maryanne," Sticks explained. "And his daughter, Sophia."
Sonic stopped at that before looking her over, noticing a resemblance between Sticks and photos he'd seen of Jebediah, and then it clicked.
"He's your old man, isn't he?" he asked.
Sticks growled.
"Yeah…" she admitted. "He was grooming me to take over his empire. He showed me the truth about people. Everyone's out for themselves. Everyone wants something. Everyone will use everyone else to fulfill their own selfish goals."
"Well…" Sonic began, "I won't lie that there are some people out for themselves, but there are good people out there, too."
"I know that, too," Sticks said. "Maryanne was one until Jebediah used her. That was the last straw for me. I left, moved here, and haven't looked back. I'm better off alone. That way, I can't be used, betrayed, or hurt. Sophia ceased to exist, and Sticks was born."
"I'm sorry for what you went through," Sonic consoled as Sticks just snorted. "I know humans and Mobians aren't perfect by any means. We fight, we kill, we betray each other. But there are just as many people out there who try to be better. Like me. What I do, I do because I want to work hard at things I love, find the good, be one of the people who fix instead of break."
Sticks seemed to listen for a moment, then she just looked ahead.
"We're here."
Sonic looked ahead, seeing a cave before them. "You sure there's a Chaos Emerald in there?"
"Of course," Sticks insisted. "It's where I got this."
She pulled a spear off her back, what appeared to be a Chaos Emerald shard serving as the point.
"Duly noted," Sonic said simply. "Well, ladies first."
Sticks shook her head. "Uh-uh. You first."
Sonic rolled his eyes. "So little trust in the world these days."
Nevertheless, he went in. As they walked, Sticks scanned the area.
"Stop!" she shouted, Sonic immediately freezing. "Pressure plate. You would've activated the pendulums."
"This place would be rigged with booby traps," Sonic deadpanned.
"Every fifth step, to be exact," Sticks said.
"Good to know," Sonic remarked.
"I've explored every inch of this temple," Sticks went on. "I know all the traps like the back of my hand."
She held up her hand for emphasis, then squinted. "Has that cut always been there?"
Sonic just rolled his eyes as they kept moving. Eventually, they emerged into a large antechamber, two stone statues sitting on either side of an altar upon which the purple Chaos Emerald sat.
"Well, well," Sonic mused. "If it isn't Mr. Chaos Emerald, waiting right there for us to grab it. Which can only mean one thing."
"Major trap," Sticks confirmed. "There's a pressure plate under the Emerald. Too much weight, trap. Too little weight, trap."
"We need something to weigh it down with," Sonic mused.
On cue, Sticks pulled a bag off of her hip. "Sandbag. Good counterweight for snares, or a bludgeon to knock someone out."
"You really need a hobby."
"This is my hobby."
"Ever try ring collecting?" Sonic asked. "Works for me."
Sticks gave him a deadpan glare. "You are aware I could just leave you in this trap-riddled temple with no way out, right?"
"...Give me the bag."
He snatched up the bag, approaching the altar with bitter determination.
"Hey, Blue Devil!" Sticks suddenly shouted. "Wait!"
Sonic turned to face her. "Now what?!"
He had already switched out the bag and the Emerald.
"I… didn't get a chance to even out the weight," Sticks admitted. "You just put too much weight on the pedestal!"
"Great…" Sonic turned to see the pressure plate slowly sinking. "You keen on seeing what this trap is?"
Sticks shook her head.
"Me neither," Sonic agreed. "Let's scram!"
Unfortunately, before they could get out, a massive stone door slammed down, blocking their only exit and leaving them effectively trapped.
"Perfect," Sonic groaned. "What next?"
There was the sound of stone moving behind them, which prompted the two to slowly turn around. The two stone statues that had been guarding the pedestal were now glowing, beginning to move toward the pair.
"Well…" Sonic let out. "At least it's not a giant boulder,"
"You just had to take the bag before I was ready…" Sticks grumbled.
"Stand back!"
He began running around the guardians, landing Spin Attacks every now and then while avoiding their strikes. Eventually, he realized it was pointless and doubled back.
"Okay, these guys are crazy strong," he mused, looking at the door. "Maybe we can use that."
"Nice thinking," Sticks complimented. "Maybe there's a brain in there after all."
She went over to the door, waving her arms. "Hey! Over here, you rockheads!"
"C'mon, Rocky and Rocky II!" Sonic taunted. "Take your best shot!"
The closest guardian threw a punch that the two ducked, the rocky fist sailing overhead and slamming into the door, knocking it down.
"Time to bail!" Sonic shouted.
He ran for the door but stopped when he heard Sticks scream. He whirled around, seeing Sticks squirming in one of the statue's grips.
"Sticks!"
Without hesitation, Sonic doubled back and ran over to the guardian. It threw a punch with its free hand, but Sonic jumped before running up his arm. Making it to the fist where Sticks was held, he braced himself and pushed against the fingers with all his might.
"You… came back to help me?" Sticks asked, confused.
Sonic nodded. "I told you, I try to be one of those people who do good."
Sticks took that in, looking away in thought. "So shines a good deed in a weary world…"
Eventually, Sonic managed to loosen the statue's grip enough for Sticks to get loose. She immediately ran up the statue's arm, letting out a war cry before jamming her spear into the statue's eye. The Chaos shard on the end caused the statue to overload. Seeing this, Sonic grabbed her by the arm.
"C'mon!"
He dashed out at full speed as the statue exploded. They made it out of the temple, which crumbled in on itself from the sheer force of the explosion. Once outside, Sonic released Sticks, who stared at the crumbled remains in shock.
"Hope that wasn't a tourist destination," Sonic quipped before turning to Sticks, holding out the Chaos Emerald. "Well, here you go."
Sticks looked at it, then at him. "You saved me, and you're actually letting me keep it. Why? What do you get out of this? Why do you care so much? You don't make sense!"
"I'm not that complicated," Sonic told her. "Just a guy with a need for speed, a love for adventure, and who always keeps his word. Besides, we had a deal. You gonna keep your word and let my friends out of their cages so we can get on with putting Robotnik in his place?"
Sticks looked at the Emerald once more before taking it. "Yeah… let's go free them."
-X-
They headed back to the traps, setting everyone loose. Once everyone was free, Sonic checked everyone over, making sure they were okay. Sticks watched them, occasionally glancing down at the Emerald in her hand.
"Hey," she said, getting their attention as she held up the Emerald, "what do you want these for?"
"We're trying to keep Robotnik from getting his hands on them," Tails replied.
"But why?" Sticks asked. "Why do you care? What do you gain from... any of this? What's in it for you?"
"We help keep the world safe," Sally said. "There's no ulterior motive, no personal gain. We just want to help people."
"Just… want to help…" Sticks looked down at the Emerald in her hand, before holding it out to Sonic. "Here."
"You sure?" Sonic asked.
"Just take it before I change my mind!" Sticks snapped.
Sonic took it at that. "Well… thanks,"
"I still think you're crazy…" Sticks admitted. "But for the first time in a while, I'm starting to miss people."
"Frankly, I can't see how you can stand it," Sonic confessed. "Being all alone in the wilderness, no friends or anything. If I was in your position, I'd go nuts. I hate being alone."
"I thought I was better off alone," Sticks replied. "That people would just use me, then cast me aside." She sighed. "Guess Jebediah's still pulling my strings."
"Still not too late to cut loose," Sonic pointed out.
Sticks perked at that as Sally approached.
"Sticks, I've been thinking this over," she offered. "You're opposed to Dr. Robotnik just like us. We could use someone like you on our side."
Everyone looked confused and somewhat worried.
"Uh, Sally girl?" Bunnie began. "You sure about that?"
"Yeah, you sure about that?" Sticks questioned. "I'm pretty sure your team thinks I'm a few peas short of a pod."
"I admit you're a tad eccentric, but you do have a good heart, I can tell," Sally insisted. "That, and your prowess with these traps is second to none. If you know how to build one, you know how to escape one."
"These nets are pretty well made," Tails confessed. "Have you considered carbon fiber?"
"Do I look like someone who can buy carbon fiber?" Sticks asked rhetorically.
"Good point," Tails admitted.
"So, what do you say, Sticks?" Sonic questioned. "Wanna be a Freedom Fighter?"
Sticks looked at Sonic, then the others then sighed.
"Eh, what the heck?" she decided. "I got nothing better to do."
Sally smiled at that. "Welcome aboard, then."
With that, Tails pulled out the Miles Electric, checking the Emerald Radar.
"Next stop is the Oil Ocean Refinery," he informed them.
"I've steered clear of that place since the Eggman took over," Sticks confessed. "Slimy, oily water, smoke-spewing chimneys…" she shuddered. "Yuck!"
"Yeah, I didn't take Robotnik to be the sort to care for the environment," Rotor remarked. "We better shut that place down."
"Then let's get cleaning," Sonic declared.
"Alright, but let's take the northwest path," Sticks said. "When the bots started coming I tore down the bridge to the refinery. We'll have to take the scenic route."
They exchanged looks before shrugging and following the badger through the trees.
"You sure we aren't gonna regret taking her with us?" Johnny asked Sally.
"She just needs a little social interaction, and her… quirks should clear right up," Sally insisted.
"Oh, and be sure to keep an eye out for wood trolls," Sticks piped up. "They steal your socks. But only the left ones. Weird, right?"
They took that in, and Sally let out a sheepish chuckle.
"Okay… maybe more than a little."
Notes:
(1) Spagonian is Spanish, Mercian is French, Deuchschen is German, and Chun-ese is Chinese
And now Sticks from Sonic Boom joins the party! It was Insane's idea for Sticks' backstory and real name; to that end, Jebediah Badger, her great-great-grandfather in the show, was made her father here. It was also Insane's idea for her to coin the Eggman moniker.
Next chapter, the gang makes their way to the Oil Ocean Refinery to shut down production and end the environmental damage.
Please R&R. Until next time!
Chapter Text
Robotropolis
Robotnik's spy cameras captured the Freedom Fighters making it out of the Wood Zone, heading straight for the next area. Snively noticed this as he surveyed the area.
"The Freedom Fighters have made it out of the Wood Zone, sir," he reported. "They're headed straight for the Oil Ocean Refinery. My guess is they'll be in Robotropolis by sundown."
Robotnik came over, a deadpan look on his face.
"Really, Snively?" he said sarcastically. "I had no idea. Idiot."
Snively reeled back in fear. "S-so sorry, Uncle. W-what would you like to be done?"
"Double our forces at the refinery, and tell them to prepare for my arrival," Robotnik ordered.
"Truly, Doctor?" Grimer asked.
"If you want something done right, you need to do it yourself," Robotnik decided.
Oil Ocean Refinery
Around that time, the Freedom Fighters had arrived at the Oil Ocean Refinery. The entire area was a sea that had been blanketed by oil and was being overcast by an orange sky with a lit horizon. Only some clouds and the obscured sun could be seen in the sky. The areas with solid footing consisted exclusively of a network of metallic oil platforms and factories emblazoned with Robotnik's decal, most of which were disposing of oil into the sea. Along the roads were sections in purple and green with strange-looking ornaments. Sonic shook his head in disgust at the sight.
"Nasty," he remarked.
"Just when you thought he couldn't sink any lower," Tails remarked.
"I'll bet my tusks this place is providing fuel for the Death Egg," Rotor theorized.
"All the more reason to take this place out," Sally agreed.
"Cut the juice, and the Death Egg's useless," Sonic said. "Just gotta find the fuel lines."
"Leave that to me," Tails declared.
"So, should we get to smashing?" Sticks asked.
"Not at all," Porker cut in. "The last thing we want is the refinery blowing up at the moment."
"Right," Tails nodded. "We have to be cautious about this."
They went along, doing their best to keep their footing on the oil-slick platforms. It wasn't long before they were surrounded by Badniks resembling seahorses and octopi.
"Anyone else hungry for sushi?" Sonic quipped before promptly dashing at some of the Badniks, destroying them.
The group made quick work of them, but it wasn't long before Swatbots and Troopers showed up. Sticks threw her spear through one of them, while Antoine, Johnny, and Bunnie also jumped into the fray, putting their respective sword, staff, and robotic limbs to good use. Tails easily flew above them before using his spinning tails to knock a robot to the ground. Eventually, only one Swatbot remained, held at laser-point by Shortfuse.
"Enjoy your little victory, Freedom Fighters!" The bot boasted defiantly. "When Dr. Robotnik arrives, you'll wish we killed you!"
Sally perked at that. "Robotnik is coming here?"
"Finally decided to show up, eh?" Sonic asked. "Well, I say bring it on!"
"Thanks for telling us," Shortfuse told the Swatbot before casually blowing its head off.
"Robotnik coming here?" Tails pondered. "This just made things really difficult."
"Not necessarily," Sonic pointed out. "We can cut the fuel lines to the Death Egg and take him out at the same time. Kill two birds with one stone."
"As long as we do this right," Sally cut in.
"First things first," Johnny said. "Shut down the oil pump. Any idea where the switch could be?"
"Gimme a minute," Tails told him.
He whipped out the Miles Electric. Searching around for a bit, he soon got a reading at a nearby building in the center.
"Chaos Emerald reading from that building," he reported. "I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Robotnik's using it to power this place."
"I'll take that bet," Sonic agreed.
"And all we have to do is survive countless robots and Robotnik himself to claim it," Antoine mused. "No pressure."
The group made their way to the building, entering to see numerous Swatbots and Troopers roaming about busily. In the center of the room was a massive engine-like device, in which the grey Chaos Emerald was encased.
"And bingo was his name-o," Sonic declared. "Let's go make some noise."
Before anyone could stop him, Sonic jumped down into the dead center of the room, getting the robots' attention.
"What?" the blue blur taunted. "You're having a party and I wasn't invited?"
"Hedgehog detected! Priority One!" the bots intoned. "Destroy with extreme prejudice!"
"Prejudice, huh?" Sonic asked. "Good thing I'm an equal opportunity bot-basher!"
With that, he began zipping around the room. The Swatbots and Troopers all attacked at once, but Sonic fought them off quite well. Eventually, however, one managed to tackle him to the ground, upon which every remaining bot dogpiled on top of him.
"Sonic, no!" Tails screamed.
After a tense moment or two, the bots were all flung back, Sonic standing tall.
"Need something, buddy?" he asked.
With the bots smashed, Sonic stretched his muscles out, cracking his neck and joints while his friends rejoined him.
"You are so reckless, you know that?" Sally criticized.
"Got the job done, didn't I?" Sonic shot back.
"In the future, you need to wait so we can work out a plan!" Sally snapped.
"I already have a plan, Sal," Sonic retorted flippantly. "I plan to win."
"What a coincidence. So do I."
They whirled around in the direction of the new voice, seeing Robotnik on the upper levels.
"It's the Eggman!" Sticks exclaimed.
Robotnik blinked. "Is that what you call me?"
"Eh, I say it fits," Sonic said with a shrug. "Wouldn't you… Eggman?"
Robotnik gritted his teeth in annoyance before composing himself.
"Call me what you want," he spat. "But you should know one thing. Even if you do yank out that Chaos Emerald and cut off the fuel lines, it doesn't matter. I'm afraid the Death Egg will be quite operational by the time you arrive in Robotropolis."
"Tough talk, pal," Sonic shot back. "But I've kicked your mustachioed butt before. I'll gladly do it again." He perked. "And speaking of the Chaos Emerald…"
He casually walked over to where it was kept, smashing the glass capsule encasing it with his elbow before pulling it out of the engine. "Oops."
Robotnik snarled in response. "The time for talking is over, Sonic! It's time to push buttons!"
He raised his right hand, revealing a controller-like device on the palm of his glove. He pressed several buttons on it, and the group heard the sounds of water rippling and splashing.
"That can't be good," Bunnie let out.
The Freedom Fighters ran outside just in time to see several bridges being crushed and ripped apart by metallic pink tentacles before a massive version of the octopus Badniks they'd faced before emerged from the oily sea.
"Yup," Sonic agreed. "Definitely not good."
"Good luck fighting the Mega Octus, Sonic!" Robotnik taunted. "I doubt oil makes a suitable running surface!"
The group was forced to hit and run, attacking the octopus whenever they could as it smashed more and more platforms, firing on them with bullets and lasers as they went. Soon, they were cornered. After a minute, Rotor dove into the sea, wincing in disgust at the sliminess before attacking it with his Drill Rush. Shortfuse took to the skies, firing on it as well. As this went on, Tails ran over to Bunnie, looking over her arm.
"Let me see this for a minute," he insisted.
Bunnie just nodded, and Tails got to work, fiddling with the arm. After a few minutes, Bunnie's arm turned into some kind of cannon.
"What in tarnation?!" Bunnie exclaimed.
"Seems like you're equipped with onboard weapons," Tails mused.
"Handy," Bunnie mused.
Bunnie aimed the cannon, supporting it with her organic arm as she focused. After a minute, lines of power spread down her arm before a laser blast fired, connecting with one of the Mega Octus' tentacles and destroying it.
"Well, alright then."
She and Shortfuse continued firing on the Mega Octus. As it sunk, Rotor shot out of the water, smashing through its head. The Mega Octus hoisted the white flag and shorted out before sinking into the water, completely destroyed.
"Oh, yeah!" Sonic cheered. "I'm the man!"
The Freedom Fighters exchanged high-fives and cheered before Robotnik cleared his throat, getting their attention.
"It's not over until the fat lady sings, Sonic," he told them.
"Please tell me you're not referring to yourself," Sonic said, getting a growl in response.
"I happen to have a trick or two up my sleeve," Robotnik declared.
With that, he ripped his glove off to reveal his robotic arm. They all recoiled at that.
"...That's new," Sonic said after a minute. "When'd that happen?"
"When, you ask?" Robotnik repeated, glaring at him. "You little punk, this is your doing. The result of you crushing my hand while hopped up on dark Chaos energy!"
Sonic winced at the reminder of his dark persona but quickly recovered. "I'll be sure to send an apology card."
"That won't be necessary," Robotnik shot back, pressing buttons on his glove controller. "Because you're about to go down in flames."
The Egg Mobile floated in at that. Robotnik immediately boarded, giving the Freedom Fighters a big, toothy grin as he snapped the fingers of his cybernetic hand, creating a spark that fell straight for the oil below them.
"Everybody move!" Sonic shouted.
They scrambled away from the edge as the oil ignited.
"Burn in Hell, Sonic the Hedgehog!" Robotnik mocked, laughing wickedly as he flew away.
"That bastard!" Sonic swore. "When I get my hands on him, I'll-!"
"Not now, Sonic!" Sally cut in. "We need to stop this fire. If it reaches the Wood Zone, it'll burn everything from here to Emerald Hill."
Sonic nodded. "Right…"
"Whatever we're gonna do, we better do it fast!" Sticks shouted.
Tails looked over the blazing oil, wracking his brain for a solution before it hit him.
"Sonic, I've got an idea!" he exclaimed. "Can you whip up a Blue Tornado around the fire?"
"Well, yeah," Sonic replied. "But won't the wind and all that just make the fire bigger?"
"Just trust me!" Tails insisted.
Sonic nodded and began running around the fire. Before long, the fire was slowly sucked in by the vortex Sonic had created, eventually putting it out completely. With that, he stopped before Tails, a questioning look on his face.
"It's simple, really," Tails began. "By running around the fire, you were able to create a vacuum that prevented air from reaching it. Flames need oxygen to burn, and without it, the fire was snuffed out."
"Nice," Sonic mused.
With that, Tails pulled out the Miles Electric, pressing a few buttons.
"Looks like the last Chaos Emerald is in the direction Robotnik was headed," he noted. "Somewhere in Robotropolis."
"Swell…" Antoine sighed.
"Then we need to find it before he does," Sally insisted.
Rotor looked to the sky nervously."What Robotnik said... if he's telling the truth, the Death Egg is almost complete, if it isn't already."
"Meaning the pressure is really on now," Sonic noted. "No matter what, we can't let that thing get off the ground."
Robotropolis
Robotnik arrived back in the lab, just in time to see the security footage of Sonic putting out the fire.
"Why am I not surprised?" he grumbled.
"Death Egg at 87% completion, sir," Snively informed him.
"Double production speed immediately! Sonic and his friends will be in Robotropolis soon." Robotnik clenched his robotic fist. "And when they do, they'll be the first to witness the firepower of my fully armed and operational battle station."
Notes:
Oh, no! It's a race against time to get to Robotropolis! Will the Freedom Fighters get the Chaos Emeralds, stop the launch of the Death Egg, and win the day?
Stay tuned to find out.
Please R&R. Until next time!
Chapter Text
Robotropolis
In Robotropolis, Robotnik was performing some maintenance on his cybernetic arm when suddenly a Klaxon went off, a red light flashing.
"Intruder alert!" a computerized voice went off. "Intruder alert!"
"They've arrived sooner than I thought," Robotnik mused.
He rose to his feet, checking the security monitors. Sure enough, the Freedom Fighters had just arrived within the city limits.
"Doctor, what should we do?" Grimer demanded. "The Death Egg isn't ready yet!"
"Send out our troops to stall them by any means," Robotnik ordered.
With that, he headed out to the back of the lab.
"Sir, what are you doing?" Snively asked.
"Pulling the ace out of my sleeve," Robotnik said simply.
Snively just nodded at that, then ran over to a red button near the monitors and slammed his fist down on it. Swatbots, Troopers, and Badniks galore mobilized and scrambled as Grimer snatched up a microphone.
"All hands on deck! All hands on deck!" he shouted, his voice echoing through loudspeakers. "Sonic has been located within the city limits! Initiate immediate hedgehog countermeasures! This is not a drill! I repeat. this is not a drill!"
Around that time, Sonic and Co. had entered the city proper. They saw and heard the alarms going off, hearing Grimer's voice over the loudspeaker as well.
"Well, so much for the stealthy approach," Sally deadpanned.
"They know we're here," Sticks gasped. "They're gonna take us and turn us into more of the metal men! Well, they won't take me alive!"
"They won't take any of us if I have anything to say about it!" Sonic vowed.
Before long, Badniks were coming out of the woodwork, converging on their position.
"Everyone spread out!" Sonic ordered. "Divide their attention and do not leave a single one of these things intact!"
Everyone promptly scattered, and the Badniks scattered as well. Sally ran into an alley, leaping from wall to wall before drawing her Ring-Blade and slicing through a Buzz Bomber. Tails took to the skies, flying around multiple buildings with Buzz Bombers in hot pursuit. He eventually found himself cornered with Badniks on both sides. As they charged in, Tails quickly darted upward, the Buzz Bombers unable to stop in time and slamming headfirst into each other. Sticks raced up the walls, letting out a war cry before spearing a Caterkiller right through the head. She ripped the head off, then flung it at a buzz bomber above her. Antoine drew his sword and ran it through a Swatbot, kicking him into another Swatbot causing them both to explode. Bunnie and Shortfuse were back to back, fighting off Swatbots that attempted to surround them. Bunnie fired her arm cannon multiple times, but soon the cannon powered down, the rabbit sweating and panting.
"Bunnie, stop using the cannon!" Shortfuse ordered. "You're burning yourself out!"
"I ain't got much choice!" Bunnie shot back. "There's too many of them!"
Sonic, meanwhile, was plowing through one robot after another in rapid succession. He heard Porker scream and ran to help him, only to find both Rotor and Johnny fighting Swatbots off to protect him.
"Not bad, Rote!" Johnny congratulated, spinning his staff.
"Water may be my element, but I can hold my own on land too!" Rotor replied, punching a bot.
Before long, all the robots were destroyed and broken on the ground.
"Alright, that's the first wave," Sally remarked.
"Meaning more will be coming soon," Sonic realized. "We better get moving."
Tails held up the Miles Electric, scanning until he found a solid reading.
"Got it!" he told them. "The last Chaos Emerald is this way."
They followed Tails until they reached a massive building shaped like Robotnik's head, complete with a metallic mustache. The windows were set in the eyes of the building, and the doors in its teeth.
"Wow," Sonic said flatly. "And people think I'm egomaniacal."
"Talk about being the face of the company," Tails quipped.
"The Eggman's full of himself," Sticks cut in. "We get it."
Antoine perked. "If the Chaos Emerald is in here, then that means-"
"Robotnik found it before we did," Porker stamped in frustration. "Damn!"
"Doesn't matter," Sonic said. "We take it like we took all the others."
"Mind knocking, Shorty?" Sally asked.
Shortfuse smirked. "Not at all."
He aimed both his laser blasters, blowing the door off its hinges.
"I don't think Eggman will mind if we let ourselves in," Sonic mused.
They stepped over the fallen doors, entering the compound.
"Hello, and welcome to Citadel Robotnik."
Everyone jumped, turning to see a robotic secretary at a lone desk on the wall.
"How can I help you today?" the robot asked.
"Didn't see this coming," Sonic admitted.
"Uh… who are you?" Tails asked.
"I am Receptionik, Dr. Robotnik's secretary and personal assistant," the robot replied. "Do you have an appointment with the doctor?"
"We're… walk-ins," Sally replied.
"Receptionik." Everyone turned to see Uncle Chuck walking into the area, completely emotionless as he approached the desk. "Dr. Robotnik has been expecting these guests."
Sonic locked eyes with his robotic uncle, his heart dropping into his stomach. "Uncle Chuck…"
Sadly, Uncle Chuck didn't even bother acknowledging him.
"Oh, right!" Receptionik perked. "The Freedom Fighters. Go on in. Charles will escort you."
"Follow me," Uncle Chuck ordered.
Sonic just stood there for a moment, until Sally put a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her, not saying a word as she took his hand. After a minute, he nodded, and they followed Uncle Chuck into the back room. Sonic walked up next to Uncle Chuck, looking at him in desperation.
"Uncle Chuck," he began, the older hedgehog slowly looking at him. "It's me. Sonic. Your one and only too-cool nephew. Don't you remember?"
"You're like a shadow to me now," Uncle Chuck said callously. "I live to serve Dr. Robotnik."
Sonic ran in front of him. "Come on, Uncle Chuck! Snap out of it!"
Chuck showed no emotion. "Do not impede my duties."
Sonic grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him.
"I know you're in there somewhere!" he pleaded. "Fight it, man! Fight it!"
Chuck grabbed his wrists, easily breaking the hold before pushing him away.
"Do not provoke me further, Sonic," he warned. "It is by the doctor's will alone that I do not destroy you here and now. He wants that pleasure for himself."
Sonic looked at him in despair, before clenching his fist and gritting his teeth in anger.
"Then I better not keep him waiting," he spat.
With that, Sonic ran off. leaving the Freedom Fighters in the dust.
"Sonic!" Sally screamed. "Sonic, come back!"
Uncle Chuck watched, his mechanical hands clenching slightly.
"...fool..." he said, almost too quietly to hear.
Sonic reached a massive door, kicking it in violently before storming inside to find himself in a large open room.
"Show yourself, Robotnik!" he screamed.
"Welcome, hedgehog," came the doctor's voice. "I've been expecting you."
"Have you also been expecting me planting my sneaker up your flabby ass?!" Sonic demanded.
"Actually, I was expecting to snap your spine with my bare hands," Robotnik replied.
"Hand over the Chaos Emerald, release my Uncle, and maybe I'll let you off with only a mild concussion," Sonic growled.
"I don't think so," Robotnik answered. "But I can see you're itching for a fight, so who am I to deny you?"
Sonic heard the sound of jet boosters and looked up to see Robotnik swooping down in a new suit of powered battle armor. The suit was a large, mechanical monstrosity with a red chest plate and lower section. There was a glass dome covering his head, and what looked like golden pipes on the shoulders. There were a few more golden adornments on the suit, no doubt different weapons Robotnik had installed.
"Nice threads," Sonic said, unimpressed. "Must've cost you an arm and a leg."
Robotnik growled in response. "Joke while you can, Sonic. But with my Eggs-O-Skeleton, I'll have the last laugh!"
He revealed an opening in the chest plate, in which the yellow Chaos Emerald sat.
"So that's where it is," Sonic popped his neck. "Thanks for making it easy to find, Eggman."
Robotnik scoffed.
"I'm well aware you beat me to the other Chaos Emeralds on the island," he confessed. "But it seems you've overlooked one small detail, you little blue delivery boy."
"And that would be?" Sonic questioned.
"Now that you've gathered all the Emeralds…" Robotnik stood in a fighting stance, numerous armaments popping out of the shoulders and arms of the suit, "All I have to do is take them from you!"
Sonic snorted, getting down low and into a jogger's stance. "You'll have to catch me first."
With that, the showdown began. Robotnik aimed directly at Sonic, firing a missile from his shoulder. Sonic performed a backflip, landing on the missile and bouncing off it before landing a Spin Dash to Robotnik's chest. He was knocked back, but otherwise unfazed.
"Is that all you got?" the hedgehog taunted.
"No, but thank you for asking."
Robotnik then fired several smaller missiles right at Sonic. The hedgehog avoided them all, smirking. However, that's when the missiles turned around, heading back for Sonic. He immediately took off running, the missiles following.
"Good luck shaking them!" Robotnik mocked. "They're locked onto you now!"
After running around for a while, Sonic jumped over Robotnik. Seeing the missiles headed his way, Robotnik raised his hands, firing lasers from his palms and shooting them down.
"Nice try, Sonic!"
"Hey, I got them off my tail, didn't I?"
With that, Sonic delivered a hard kick to Robotnik's back. He immediately went on the offensive, landing kicks and Spin Attacks that forced Robotnik back. Eventually, Robotnik caught the spinning Sonic in his hand before tossing him aside.
"It appears it's time I trigger the secret feature," he mused. "Get a load of this!"
He slapped a hand on the Chaos Emerald in his chest, and it began glowing. This spread to the entire armor and it began to glow orange. Sonic snorted before moving in for another attack. However, the armor suddenly darted aside, avoiding the strike. Sonic stood there silently, taking in what happened.
"What the hell…?" he let out.
Before he could do anything, Robotnik got behind Sonic, knocking him to the ground. Sonic tried to get up, only for Robotnik to kick him hard in the stomach.
"You're too slow!" Robotnik taunted, grabbing Sonic by the neck. "C'mon, step it up!"
Sonic struggled in Robotnik's grip. "Put me down, you overgrown rotten egg!"
Robotnik just punched him in the face again, sending him across the room to slam into the wall.
"With just one Chaos Emerald, my machines have finally reached their full potential," he gloated. "Just imagine how powerful they'll be with all seven. Though you won't live long enough to witness it."
He grabbed Sonic by the leg, turning him upside down. "Now, let's see how many you have."
He began shaking Sonic hard, only for Sonic to start laughing. Robotnik stopped shaking him, holding him up at eye level.
"Why are you laughing?!" he demanded.
"Did you honestly think I'd be stupid enough to run in here alone with the Chaos Emeralds?" Sonic asked. "Come on, Eggman."
"So they're with your friends," Robotnik realized. "Well, I'll get to them soon. The only question now is how to dispose of you." He looked him over. "Hmm... I could chop off one of your arms. Eye for an eye, after all. So many options." He perked. "Actually, I know just what to do."
With that, he snapped his fingers, summoning Uncle Chuck. Sonic went pale, all his bravado leaving him.
"Charles, dispose of this pest," he ordered. "I have Emeralds to collect."
"You dirty rat!" Sonic shouted.
Robotnik just tossed Sonic to the ground, heading out of the room. The door closed and locked, leaving Sonic and Uncle Chuck alone.
"Uncle Chuck, please," Sonic pleaded, raising a hand. "Don't do this."
Uncle Chuck's eyes began glowing red. He rushed at Sonic, attempting to tackle him. Sonic dodged quickly.
"C'mon!" Sonic begged. "Robotnik's messed with your head! You gotta fight it! Are you just gonna live your life like this?! Like his tool?!"
Uncle Chuck just turned to Sonic, eyes still glowing. "It is my purpose to serve the doctor."
He swung his fist, Sonic ducking.
"I'm not gonna fight you!" Sonic shouted. "You're my uncle!"
"That old fool doesn't exist anymore."
Meanwhile, the rest of the Freedom Fighters were discussing what to do.
"We can't just leave him in there alone!" Sally insisted.
"I toldja he was crazy!" Sticks cut in.
"I'd be more worried about yourselves if I were you."
They tensed, turning to see Robotnik strolling up to them.
"Robotnik…" Tails gasped.
"In the flesh," Robotnik boasted. "Now, which one of you has my Chaos Emeralds?"
"Forget it!" Sally snapped. "We'll never give them to you!"
"What have you done with Sonic?" Tails demanded.
"He put up a good fight, but in the end, he fell to my power," Robotnik replied casually. "Right now, he's spending some quality time with his dear old uncle."
"No…" Sally let out. "You monster!"
She charged at Robotnik in anger. He casually grabbed her arm before tossing her back to the crowd.
"Don't toy with me, you little brat!" Robotnik shouted. "Give me the Chaos Emeralds if you value your pitiful lives, or I'll take them from your charred remains!"
"Not a chance, Eggman!" Sticks declared. "You're not taking any Emeralds from us!"
Robotnik scowled, aiming a laser.
"Have it your way," he spat. "Remember, I gave you a chance to end this without bloodshed. Whatever happens to you now, you brought it on yourselves."
Sonic was thrown against a wall, bruised and struggling to stand. Uncle Chuck didn't have a mark on him and continued to close in on him.
"Remember who you are!" Sonic shouted. "You're not a robot! You're Sir Charles Hedgehog, hero of the Great War!"
"That man is gone," Chuck threw a punch, slamming into the wall where Sonic's head was mere seconds before. "You do not comprehend the doctor's true brilliance. Mobius is imperfect, afflicted with the cancer of organic life. In its ruins, he will forge a new planet, remade in our image. In steel, free from the sins of the flesh."
"Are you even hearing yourself?!" Sonic demanded. "Mobians aren't perfect, you're right. But what Robotnik wants is the complete and utter subjugation of all life. If he gets what he wants, the carnage of the Great War will be nothing compared to what he'll do!"
Chuck stopped his assault before clutching his head in pain. Sonic saw his chance and took it.
"You fought on the front lines to stop monsters like Robotnik! Do you wanna keep serving as a mindless machine under him, or do you wanna do something about it?!"
He got to his feet, meeting his uncle's eyes. "Please, Uncle Chuck. Please…"
Uncle Chuck's eyes flickered between glowing red and a dull maroon, before settling into the maroon color. His entire body seemed to shudder before he looked up.
"...Sonic?" he managed.
"Uncle Chuck-" Sonic began before his uncle held up a hand to silence him.
"I don't know how long I can keep this up…" he struggled to speak. "Go… quickly…"
"No way am I leaving you here!" Sonic insisted. "You've gotta come with me!"
"Sonic…" Chuck let out, his eyes flickering red. "Run…"
Realizing he had no choice, Sonic ran to the door, busting it down with a Spin Dash. He stopped only briefly, looking back at his uncle.
"I promise, Uncle Chuck," he began. "Someday soon, I'm coming back for you."
With that, he took off down the hall.
When he got back to the Freedom Fighters, all of them were on the ground. They were still alive, thankfully, but most were barely conscious. There was also a torn brown bag on the ground.
"Guys!" Sonic shouted.
Sally let out a soft groan, struggling to sit up.
"He took then…" she managed. "He took them all…"
"No…" Sonic let out. "He took all the Chaos Emeralds?!"
"We tried to stop him…" Tails wheezed.
"Don't blame yourself," Sonic insisted. "He baited me and I fell for it."
"He has all seven Emeralds, Sonic," Rotor lamented. "We lost. It's all over…"
"No," Sonic swore, everyone looking up in surprise. "It's not over yet. I refuse to let Eggman win and dominate Mobius! We're gonna find him and stop him, no matter what!"
Elsewhere, Robotnik walked into a room with the Chaos Emeralds in hand.
"Like taking candy from a baby," he bragged.
"Well done, sir," Snively congratulated.
"Our moment is at hand," Grimer declared. "The Death Egg is complete."
Robotnik grinned. "And not a moment too soon. It's a good day to be a villain, wouldn't you agree?"
They all cackled before Robotnik held up a hand.
"Prepare the launch sequence immediately," he ordered. "Now begins the glorious era of the Robotnik Empire."
With that, the Chaos Emeralds were inserted into the main engine, which immediately began powering on. Outside of Citadel Robotnik, a massive metal hatch opened up, from which the Death Egg began to emerge.
"Let no joyful voice be heard!" Grimer declared triumphantly. "Let no one look to the sky with hope! And let this day be cursed for those who witness the rise of… THE DEATH EGG!"
All three villains laughed diabolically as the horrible space station took to the skies…
Notes:
Say it isn't so. The Death Egg is active! Could this be the end of Mobius?!
Who knows? But Sonic ain't goin' down without a fight.
Voice cast for this chapter:
* Receptionik - Annie Potts (Janine Melnitz from Ghostbusters, Bo Peep from Toy Story)
Please R&R. Until next time!
Chapter 10: Sky Chase
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Robotropolis
The Freedom Fighters had just made it out of the citadel when they saw the big door in the ground open up. They gave it a wide berth, gaping as they saw the Death Egg emerge from underground.
"No…" Sonic let out. "No… no way!"
"That… is one big egg," Sticks remarked.
"That's gotta be the Death Egg!" Porker exclaimed. "He finished it!"
"He must be using the Chaos Emeralds to power it," Tails theorized.
"Damn it…" Sonic cursed. "We have to get up there and take that thing down!"
"But what about collateral?" Bunnie asked. "There's gonna be a lot of creatures in this thing's wake!"
"Maybe we can lure it somewhere where it can't do any harm," Sonic mused.
"Leave that to the rest of us," Sally assured.
As the Death Egg ascended into the sky, the top of Citadel Robotnik opened up, from which flew a massive yellow battleship.
"Two giant aerial death machines?!" Johnny shrieked.
"Oh, great," Rotor groaned. "As if we didn't already have enough problems."
"The Wing Fortress," Shortfuse informed them. "That's what some of the Badniks back in Emerald Hill called it. It's a second base, and how Robotnik's gonna stock the Death Egg with food and supplies." He turned to Sonic. "It's your ticket onto the Death Egg, Sonic."
"Perfect," Sonic said.
"But the Special will never catch it before it reaches the Death Egg!" Antoine pointed out.
"Then we'll take something a little faster," Tails decided.
Sonic grinned. "You thinking what I'm thinking, buddy?"
"You bet," Tails confirmed. "But we better hurry."
"Hurrying I can do," Sonic assured.
He scooped up Tails, rushing off with him.
Emerald Hill
A door opened up in the side of the Freedom Fighter Special as the Tornado wheeled out, Tails at the controls.
"It's been a while since we've taken the Tornado for a flight," he remarked.
"Well, there's no time like the present," Sonic said, jumping onto the wings.
Tails sighed. "Why can't you sit in the cockpit?"
"More fun up here," Sonic replied.
Tails rolled his eyes, pulling his goggles down. "You never change."
With that, the two took off.
Death Egg
Snively and Grimer oversaw several enslaved humans, the workers Robotnik had "collected" from their village months ago. All of them were toiling away in the engine room and all across the ship.
"Faster!" Snively ordered. "Dr. Robotnik does not tolerate laziness!"
Men, women, and children were all working nonstop, trying to keep up with their demands. A group of slaves, a red-haired man, an oriental woman, and their red-haired young daughter, were currently shoveling coal. The man stepped on a piece of coal and his foot slipped, causing him to fall. His wife and daughter both turned, but when they moved to help him, Snively interjected with a crack of a whip in his hand.
"Did I say you could stop?!" he roared.
The man cried out as he was hit, the other slaves watching but not daring to interfere. All of them were far too scared to do anything.
"Snively," Grimer called out. "Let him actually get up. We can't afford to lose any more workers."
"Quiet, you!" Snively snapped before turning back to the man, who was being helped up by his family. "I better not catch you slacking off again, or else."
The man managed to get to his feet, speaking to his wife and daughter in what sounded like Chun-ese. The daughter said something short, glaring at Snively's retreating back in hatred and anger. Her mother whispered something to soothe her, then they all got back to work. Meanwhile, Snively and Grimer went to a communication screen, showing Robotnik in the cockpit of the Wing Fortress.
"Work is progressing splendidly here, Doctor," Grimer informed him. "How are things on your end?"
"I'll be docking on the Death Egg within the hour," Robotnik replied. "I want everything running smoothly when I get there."
"Will do, sir," Snively assured.
Robotnik was about to say more when something caught his eye.
"What's this?" he let out. "Something's approaching on the radar."
"Uncle?" Snively questioned.
"I'll call you back," Robotnik said before ending the communication.
Wing Fortress
Robotnik checked the radar, seeing a small, fast-moving blip approaching. He pressed a few buttons, revealing a video screen.
"Zoom in," he ordered.
The screen did so, and Robotnik's jaw dropped at the sight of Sonic and Tails on the Tornado. After a minute, he let out a growl before slamming his fists on the handles of his chair.
"How many times do I have to kill that hedgehog before it sticks?!" he roared. "All units, open fire on that plane!"
-X-
On the Tornado, Sonic and Tails were rapidly approaching the Wing Fortress when they saw several chicken-like Badniks emerge from the sides, all of them manning turrets before firing on the plane.
"Incoming!" Sonic shouted.
Tails quickly swerved to avoid the shots, activating the Tornado's weapons.
"Two can play at that game!" he declared before opening fire on the Wing Fortress. Several of the Badniks went up in flames, plummeting down to the ground below. More Badniks fired on them, soon forming a wall between them and the Wing Fortress. Sonic squatted, putting his hands on the wings.
"Keep going, Tails!" He insisted. "Trust me!"
Tails put the plane into overdrive, not breaking his course. Sonic focused, closing his eyes and channeling his power. Blue lightning danced around him, running down his arms and into the plane. Its speed suddenly increased tenfold. The Tornado rocketed forward at the speed of sound, blasting through the Badniks. Once they got close enough, however, a lucky shot clipped the Tornado's wing. The plane began to lose altitude.
"Sonic, you gotta jump!" Tails screamed.
"What about you?!" Sonic demanded.
"I'll be okay! Just go!"
Hesitantly, Sonic leaped onto the Wing Fortress. He turned to watch as the Tornado went down, Tails with it.
"If you don't make it, Tails, I swear I'm gonna kill you," he muttered.
With that, Sonic made his way into the fortress.
Emerald Hill
On the ground, the rest of the Freedom Fighters were busy urging the Emerald Hill Folk to take shelter.
"Come on, everyone!" Sally ordered. "Keep moving!"
"Trust me, you do not want to stay here!" Antoine added.
"Come on, people! Keep it moving!" Rotor yelled.
"Move it!" Sticks shouted. "You wanna get crushed under a giant metal egg?! Of course not!"
Porker looked up, seeing a familiar sight.
"Look!" he shouted, pointing. "Up in the sky!"
They looked to see the Tornado plummeting. An ejection seat launched out as the plane crashed into the ground, Tails floating down safely. He landed, letting out a sigh.
"Tails!" Sally ran over. "Are you okay? Where's Sonic?"
"I'm fine," Tails assured. "As for Sonic, he's on the Wing Fortress. He jumped off just before the Tornado was shot down."
Sally looked up into the sky, hands clasped. "Please be careful, Sonic."
Wing Fortress
In the sky, Sonic was out for blood. He was smashing through every Badnik in his way, headed for the cockpit of the fortress.
"EGGMAN!" he screamed before smashing down the door to the cockpit. Sonic glared at the chair, its back to him.
"It's just you and me, fat boy," he declared. "So why not turn around and fight me, man to Mobian?"
The chair turned, Robotnik glaring at him.
"You just don't know when to give up, do you?" he spat. "Wake up and smell reality, Sonic! The Chaos Emeralds are mine! The Death Egg is fully operational! You. LOSE!"
"As long as I'm still breathing, you'll never win!" Sonic spat.
"A situation easily remedied," Robotnik swore.
"Well, bring it on!" Sonic shot back.
With that, Sonic charged forward, punching Robotnik straight through his own chair into the far wall. Robotnik slowly rose, wiping his mouth.
"So, you want to play rough, do you?" he questioned.
"Only if you're man enough for it," Sonic retorted. "Maybe this time I'll give you a leg to go with your arm."
Robotnik batted him aside with his cybernetic arm. "Admittedly, this arm has its benefits. It's all the better to strangle you with!"
Sonic picked himself up, wiping blood from his lip.
"I'm taking you out, Robuttnik," he vowed. "For my Uncle Chuck! And for Dr. Kintobor!"
Robotnik chuckled. "Oh, Sonic. You just don't get it, do you?"
"Get what?" Sonic demanded. "That you're a heartless, evil monster running around wearing Julian's skin?"
"Idiot," Robotnik scoffed. "If I'm heartless, it's because Julian was. If I'm evil or ruthless or lacking in morality, it's because he was! I didn't just spawn myself out of thin air! I wasn't just conjured by the ROCC explosion! I am Julian Kintobor, and he is me! Two sides of the same coin!"
"So what?" Sonic spat. "You think that changes anything? If what you say is true and you are Dr. Kintobor's inner demon, then it just makes me respect him more."
"Oh?" Robotnik said with a raised eyebrow.
"He had all that darkness inside him and he suppressed it. He fought you every moment of every day, acting like the kindest man I've ever met. If anything, it makes me respect him more. I gave in to my darkness without a second thought, but you had to wait until Julian was gone before you could surface."
"Inspiring speech, Sonic," Robotnik admitted. "But pretty words won't save you."
"I'm done talking anyway, Eggman," Sonic retorted. "You're going down!"
The battle began anew. They held nothing back; it was nothing but one punch after another, each matching the other blow for blow. The cockpit was pandemonium as the two combatants duked it out, with Robotnik and Sonic fighting so fast that it was difficult to keep up. Finally, Sonic knocked Robotnik into the control panel, causing it to spark.
"Whoops," Sonic said flippantly. "That looked important."
"You fool!" Robotnik shouted.
As alarms blared and the panel smoked, Robotnik got to his feet. "Another time, Sonic!"
With that, he took off running towards the interior of the fortress.
"Oh no, you don't!" Sonic yelled. "You're not getting away from me this time!"
He took off after Robotnik, making it to a hangar where a space shuttle was docked. Robotnik had just boarded it and was taking off. With a mighty leap, Sonic sprang out of the hangar, grabbing onto the side of the jet as it took off toward the Death Egg…
Notes:
Another cliffhanger? I'm so bad…
Robotnik being Kintobor's dark side was inspired by Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, of course. Essentially, Julian always had those dark desires and attitudes hidden within; the ROCC explosion just released him from his restraints and inhibition. Everything Julian fantasized about and kept under control, Robotnik does the instant it occurs to him.
Also, Sonic boosting the Tornado was a reference to the Tornado Boost move from Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II, as well as the fact that he could channel his speed into stuff like mine carts in Sonic Generations.
Anyway, next chapter: Sonic and Robotnik's showdown on the Death Egg! Two men enter, one man leaves. Place your bets, people.
Please R&R. Until next time!
Chapter 11: Day of the Death Egg
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Death Egg
As Robotnik's shuttle broke the stratosphere, Sonic held his breath. Eventually, the shuttle made it to the Death Egg, docking within. With that, he dropped off the shuttle, hiding and watching from the shadows.
"Any problems?" Robotnik asked.
"A few gripes from the slaves, but other than that, proceeding on schedule," Snively replied.
Sonic perked at the mention of slaves.
"Just make sure that the Death Egg is fully operational," Robotnik ordered. "I don't care if you have to keep them working 24/7, understand? Make an example out of a few if you need to."
As Robotnik walked away with Snively in tow, Sonic clenched his fists.
"Okay," he said to himself. "First step is getting those people off this ball of scrap."
Keeping to the shadows, he began following Snively, hoping to find the slaves. His efforts soon bore fruit when Snively entered a room where several people worked, on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion.
"Just when I thought he couldn't sink any lower," Sonic muttered.
"Alright, double time!" Snively ordered. "Dr. Robotnik wants this ship in perfect order! Anyone caught slacking will be thrown in the Roboticizer!"
Suddenly, a blue blur darted in, spinning around him and knocking him off balance. Dizzy, Snively collapsed to the ground, looking up just as Sonic grabbed him by the collar.
"Sonic," he greeted. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
"I'd have been fine never seeing you again, Snively," Sonic shot back. "Guess it makes sense only a psycho like Robuttnik would want your conniving, backstabbing hide around."
"Hey, don't blame me," Snively retorted. "Blame my upbringing."
"A shitty father is no excuse to be a shitty person," Sonic retorted. "It's folks like you who give humans a bad name."
He punched Snively out before running back and forth, breaking the slaves' chains. They all began cheering as they gathered around him, calling out in common and in their native tongue.
"Thank you!"
"Someone actually came!"
"Thank Gaia!"
"Thank me by getting outta here," Sonic replied. "Escape pods are down the hall."
The slaves all began fleeing.
-X-
Elsewhere, Grimer perked when he saw signs that the escape pods were being jettisoned.
"Doctor, something's wrong!" he exclaimed.
"What?!" Robotnik demanded. "What did you do?!"
"It wasn't me! It's the escape pods! The slaves are getting away!"
Robotnik gaped, before realizing the truth. "Sonic!"
"What are your orders, sir?"
"Get rid of the rest of the pods. No one else leaves this ship."
"And Sonic?"
"Have you finished the perfected Silver Sonic model?" Grimer nodded. "Deploy it immediately.
Even if it fails, it'll give me just enough time to prepare."
Grimer saluted. "Yessir."
-X-
Elsewhere in the Death Egg, Sonic was running through the station.
"I need to find the engine room," he muttered. "If I blow out the engine, this entire place goes up in flames."
As he went along, he stopped short as he heard something pounding nearby. He turned to see a metal door buckling in, before two metal hands reached out and tore it open to reveal a robot built in Sonic's likeness, but at least ten times his size. The robot had a very bulky, almost blocky, appearance, and was colored silver and gray with one amber eye. It also possessed three large spines down its back, a pointed nose, and red feet. It also had wheels on the ends of each heel.
"Another metal me," Sonic deadpanned. "Real original, Robotnik."
Silver Sonic rolled into a spiked Spin Dash, barreling towards Sonic. Sonic performed the same move, the two moving in for a clash. They bounced off one another multiple times before getting out of Spinball form and engaging one another, only to find themselves at a stalemate. While Sonic could easily outmaneuver Silver Sonic, the robot's raw strength outclassed his own, and its armor was able to take his best hits with minimal damage.
"I'm faster than you, but you're stronger than me," Sonic noted. "Great. How am I gonna get rid of you?"
He charged in for a kick, only for Silver Sonic to catch his legs and slam him into the floor, knocking a panel loose and exposing several wires that remained live. An idea forming, Sonic grabbed one of the wires and jammed it into Silver Sonic just as it raised its fists over its head to smash him. The robot began fizzing and sparking, its head twitching violently. When Sonic removed the wires, the robot fell backward, still sparking occasionally. For extra measure, he launched into a Spin Dash, knocking its head off.
"Like I said," he bragged, "there's only one Sonic."
With that, he pressed onward. He ran at full speed, barely stopping in time to avoid running into a pit. As he caught his breath, he heard a rumbling and looked down to see a truly massive mech rising on an elevator. As the elevator reached the floor he was on, Sonic took in the sight, seeing the mech was humanoid, its head and torso coming together in an indistinguishable egg shape. Its head and torso bore a great resemblance to Robotnik himself, right down to his mustache and attire, but with a metallic grey scalp and a small antenna on the sides of its head. It also had yellow shoulders with red arrow marks on them, along with red and yellow arms with three spikes for fingers, a grey jetpack on the back, and thighs made of two grey spheres each. It also had large and armored red feet with kneecaps.
"Wow, what an ugly robot," Sonic remarked. "I feel sorry for you, pal."
"Don't," Robotnik's voice came from within. "Before long, I'll finally be rid of you!"
The mech launched a spiked punch, and Sonic narrowly managed to jump back.
"My Death Egg Robot will smash you into blue jelly!" Robotnik ranted. "Prepare to meet your end, Sonic!"
"Yeah, yeah," Sonic rolled his eyes. "If I had a Mobium for every time I heard that…"
He slid under the bot, then jumped up, ramming it from behind. The robot was knocked off balance for a moment before Robotnik turned around. Incensed, the doctor began to viciously attack Sonic, forcing him on the defensive and damaging the room.
"Why don't you just give up?!" Robotnik demanded.
"Never really learned how to," Sonic answered.
The robot snatched up the shuttle before throwing it directly at Sonic. It exploded, sending him flying and further damaging the room. Sonic landed heavily, shaking his head.
"Okay…" he let out. "That one kinda hurt!"
"That'll feel like a love tap once I get through with you!" Robotnik declared.
The robot launched his fists at him a second time. Sonic got back up, jumping to avoid the fist. He then ran up the arm, jumping into the air and using a Homing Attack on the bot's face. As the fight raged on, fires began to burn, and Sonic was losing ground.
"You can't beat me, Sonic!" Robotnik boasted. "The Death Egg is powered by the Chaos Emeralds! I. Am. Unstoppable!"
At that moment, Sonic caught sight of a severed power cable. His eyes widened as he saw it was spurting multicolored energy rather than electricity.
"Well then…" he said, "guess it's time to even the odds."
As Robotnik approached, Sonic grabbed the cables in both hands, focusing as hard as he could. He recalled Longclaw's warning about the Emeralds, and their ability to channel both good and evil. Multicolored light began swirling around him as his spines began to stand on end.
"Whatever you're trying, it won't work," Robotnik spat. "Goodbye and good riddance, Sonic!"
He lifted the bot's foot, preparing to crush the hedgehog before stomping down. He chuckled, before a bright light shone, and the foot was slowly pushed back. Holding up the bot with a single hand was a transformed Sonic. His eyes had turned red, his fur a golden color, and his clothes a bleached white.
"What?!" Robotnik shrieked. "Impossible!"
"Very possible," Sonic retorted before charging forward, knocking the bot off its feet.
"The energy from that cable should've killed you!" Robotnik shouted.
"Hey, you're the one who pointed out what kind of energy was coming from the cable," Sonic retorted as he levitated off the ground, pointing at him. "Now I'm gonna scramble some eggs. Super Sonic style!"
The robot tried shooting out a fist at him, but Sonic Spin Dashed through it, shattering it. Robotnik looked at the now shattered fist, shouting in anger and fear.
"No, no, NO!" he screamed. "This is not happening again! I can't lose to a stupid hedgehog!"
"Get used to it!" Sonic retorted.
Sonic then flew in and out through the robot, shredding it to pieces. Robotnik let out a cough, struggling around in the rubble of the robot just as a horrible shudder and several small explosions ripped through the Death Egg.
"That's my cue to boogie," Sonic realized, giving Robotnik a mocking salute. "Been nice beatin' ya, Eggman!"
He was about to fly away when Robotnik held up a hand.
"Sonic, no!" he pleaded. "You can't just leave me here! You're the hero! You've gotta help me! You... you wouldn't turn your back on an old friend, would you?"
Sonic debated with himself briefly before narrowing his eyes.
"An old friend? No," he answered. "You? Yes."
With that, he darted off down the hall, leaving Robotnik in the dust.
-X-
Up in the escape pod room, Snively came running in as Grimer was launching the last of the pods.
"What are you doing, you idiot?!" he shouted.
"What Dr. Robotnik-" Grimer began.
"Forget what Dr. Robotnik wants! We have to get out of here!"
With that, Snively shoved Grimer into the last of the pods, climbing in as well and launching it.
-X-
Down in the lower parts of the Death Egg, several slaves were locked up in cells, clinging to one another or trying futilely to break down the doors. The family from before clung to one another, the father whispering soft affirmations of love even as he cried, and the mother praying to Aurora, Gaia, or anyone who would listen for their family to survive. The young girl gripped them both tightly, looking out through the bars to catch a glimpse of Sonic as he rushed to escape the wreck.
"Help us…" she let out, reaching out with her right arm as everything exploded.
-X-
Robotnik finally emerged from the rubble of the Death Egg Robot just in time to see the surface of Mobius rapidly approaching through the windows. He gritted his teeth, clenching his fists and stamping his feet.
"I really... hate... that hedgehog," he growled, his rage building by the second. "I hate him. I HATE him. HATE HIM! Hate! Hate! HATE! HAAAAAAATTTTTEEEE!"
Sonic managed to leap clear of the Death Egg as it exploded, falling toward the planet. As he fell, Tails came flying up in the freshly repaired Tornado, swooping in for the save.
"Nice timing!" Sonic noted as he landed.
"Wasn't about to let my best friend go splat," Tails replied.
Emerald Hill
They flew back to Emerald Hill, where everyone was waiting. The minute they saw Sonic, everyone was cheering. Everyone gathered around him, cheering and chanting. Sally ran over, pulling Sonic into a hug.
"You are by far the most reckless showboat I have ever known!" she scolded.
"But I'm your reckless showboat," Sonic pointed out.
"Shut up," Sally shot back, holding him tighter.
After a few minutes, they pulled away.
"What's the sitch?" Johnny asked.
"The Death Egg's nothing but a flaming crater on Mobius by now," Sonic replied. "As for Eggman, he didn't make it out. But I'm not gonna write him out of the picture just yet."
"Still, I'd call this a massive win," Sally remarked
At about that time, several of the former slaves began entering the area. All of them looked beyond relieved, but more than a few looked nervous and sad.
"Hi, guys," Sonic greeted. "No need to thank me for saving your butts. Just pay it forward."
"Where is everyone else?" a slave asked in heavily accented Common.
Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Else?"
"There were hundreds of us on that ship," another pointed out, also in heavily accented Common. "We were just one shift. Did the others make it out?"
The blood drained out of Sonic's face at that reveal.
"I…" he managed before he dropped to his knees, suddenly feeling sick to his stomach
"You mean, you didn't…?" A third slave began, realizing the truth.
"I thought you were the only ones on the ship," Sonic told them. "I... If I'd known…"
"There were hundreds of people there!" a girl no older than twelve cried out. "Women, children!"
Several of the humans began speaking up as well, asking about missing friends and family. They were shouting in a mixture of Common and two different Oriental tongues, progressively growing louder and more frantic. Sonic began to hyperventilate, his hands shaking and his face pale.
"Come on," Sally cut in. "Let's get outta here."
She ushered Sonic away from the humans, the Freedom Fighters quickly keeping them from following. Sonic looked almost the same way he did after he stopped being Dark Sonic.
"Sonic?" Sally asked.
"I left those people to die…" Sonic managed. "I... By Aurora, what have I done?!"
"There's still hope," Sally insisted. "We can find the Death Egg. Surely someone survived."
"Right…" Sonic nodded, regaining his composure with an effort. "Right. But there's no telling where it crashed down."
"We'll find it," Sally assured. "I promise, if anyone survived that crash, we'll bring them home."
Angel Island
Far from Emerald Hill, way across the Mobian Sea, an island hovered many miles above the ground. On that island, a red-furred Mobian echidna rested near a stone altar. He wore a patterned loin cloth around his waist, several strips of cloth around his hands, and clumps of his fur. A patterned bandana rested on his forehead, and woven shoes rested on his feet. He was reclining in front of a massive green gem, one easily twice his height and five times as wide. He chewed absentmindedly on a piece of grass, not a single care in the world. At that moment, he heard a low rumbling sound and looked up to see what appeared to be a giant fireball falling out of the sky, headed straight for the island. Before he could react, it crashed right onto the island, wobbling it precariously. At that moment, the gem teleported away somewhere, and the island plummeted to the sea, splashing down. Once the echidna got his bearings, he looked up to see the Death Egg, damaged and scorched, but still intact.
"What the hell?" he let out before noticing the missing gem. "The Master Emerald! It's gone!"
He pursed his lips in thought, rationalizing the situation.
"It must have gone to the Hidden Palace."
With that, he turned his attention back to the Death Egg.
"That egg... could it be? The egg of the dragon said to destroy the world? (1)" He thought about it for a moment or so, then shrugged. "Well, whatever it is, I better check it out. This could be big."
Having made his decision, the echidna jumped off the altar, extending his limbs and gliding toward the crash site.
Notes:
(1): Taken from the Japanese instruction manual for Sonic 3. It's stated that Knuckles believed the Death Egg to be the egg of a legendary dragon inscribed on the Master Emerald's altar that was rumored to bring about the end of the world. Chaos, perhaps.
And with that, the Sonic 2 adaptation is concluded. Our hero saved the day, but at what cost? Tune in for the next saga to find out if anyone survived the crash, and how Sonic handles the introduction of a familiar echidna.
Please R&R. Until next time!
SmokeAndMirrorsXXL on Chapter 1 Mon 14 Oct 2024 03:25PM UTC
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