Chapter 1: Beginning of Disaster
Location: Metropolis Zone
Evening...
A dark blanket hung over the sprawling cityscape, courtesy of the thousands of tons of smog being ejected into the atmosphere. Like a well oiled machine, each and every factory worked in nefarious harmony, to spread Dr. Eggman's glorious influence across Mobius. With the near destruction of Robotropolis, he had relocated his operations to the former Overlander colony. The rebels had laid claim the earthquake-ravaged ruins, which was in the process of being rebuilt. Turning away from the grim-covered windows, the Chinchilla surveyed the interior of the Operations Room with her flaxen yellow eyes. Snively was nowhere to be found, instead the computer terminals were being manned by Decoe and Bocoe.
"Ah Thunderbolt," Eggman's booming voice declared, appearing in the doorway, "What brings you all the way from your territory at this hour?"
Turing in the direction of the voice, she found the egg-shaped dictator standing in the doorway, clad in a pink blanket-sleeper that was concealed beneath a white bathrobe.
"Lord Eggman," she said, greeting him with a respectful bow, "My forces made an interesting discovery while patrolling the Mystic Ruins; an area within my territory that is adjacent to the Pais Misterioso. I thought that you'd liked to be notified of this discovery."
"And what might that be?"
Thunderbolt immediately produced a crumbling stone tablet, offering it to the world-conquering scientist. Seizing it from her, Eggman carefully studied it, taking notice of the serpentine dragon that had been etched into the stone. At the same time, his bare fingers were carefully tracing the weathered Echidaese script.
"Hmm...very interesting," he conceded, "This appears to be a diagram of the amazing creature I have ever beheld-."
"Except for yourself, naturally," Thunderbolt interrupted, attempting to flatter the egg-shaped dictator.
Nonthreatening at a glance, the Chinchilla's diminutive and cutesy-looking appearance did little to convey her ruthlessness, or her sadistic tendencies for that matter. Compared to the conniving personalities of his other subordinates, her obsessive loyalty was a refreshing change of pace. She had even gone so far as to attire herself in an outfit that was vaguely reminiscent of one he had once worn.
"Decoe! Come and get this analyzed," he ordered.
Tall and thin, Deoce was the exact opposite of his counterpart; Bocoe, and had gold plating. Stepping away from the computer terminal, the hench-bot approached the pair and retrieved the tablet at the behest of his creator.
"Don't drop it," the doctor warned with a snarl.
Decoe immediately walked over to the multi-option analyzer; an overly large and complicated-looking machine, and placed it inside. Scanned and translated by the machine, the process took barely five minutes before a full translation was displayed on the computer's monitor.
"Translation complete, Dr. Eggman," Decoe reported.
"Well!? What does it say, you dolt?" he demanded.
"The tablet speaks of a nomadic tribe of Echidnas who once settled in the Mystic Ruins. The tribe could only watch as the native inhabitants of that land, the benevolent Chao, worshipped their god - an entity comprised of living water; Perfect Chaos. Chaos unleashed its watery fury on the frightened Echidnas - until it was sealed within the Master Emerald."
"Well...this is most interesting," Eggman admitted, stroking the ends of his mustache, "You did well to bring this to my attention, Thunderbolt."
"Thank you, Lord Eggman," the Chinchilla said.
"No. It is I who should be thanking you," he corrected, "The greatest living weapon imaginable will so be mine to control and command."
"What will you do now, Lord Eggman?"
"I'll be getting dressed and then we'll be heading for Soumerca," Eggman explained, "Decoe! Bocoe! Get to the Egg Carrier and prep it for launch."
"Why Soumerca?" questioned Decoe.
"Because, the Floating Island will reach the coast of the Mysterious Cat Country within a matter of days," he explained, "If we launch the Egg Carrier from the Final Egg it'll be easier to intercept that gravity-defying mudball."
"Oh...right, the Final Egg," Thunderbolt said, "About that..., construction has reached approximately 90% completion."
"Excellent. I knew that I could depend on you," the doctor praised, clapping his hands together, "Anything else to report?"
"We've noticed an increase of Felidae scouting parties in the area," she stated, doubting the relevancy.
"Unsurprising. It's not called the Mysterious Cat Country for nothing."
"But we have encountered something most unexpected; Overlanders."
"Overlanders?" Eggman questioned, genuinely surprised by the revelation.
While most of his kind had fallen under his rule following his conquest of his former homeland, some had followed his brother into space, seeking a new world to colonize. It was conceivable that some of his former kinsmen had fled to other parts of Mobius, ashamed of their defeat during the Great War. It was a defeat he had helped to orchestrate, after falsely pledging allegiance to the Kingdom of Acorn.
"Intriguing," Eggman admitted, "Perhaps there's a settlement down there somewhere."
"We've found infrastructure that supports that theory," Thunderbolt acknowledged, "But we have yet to locate the settlement in question."
"Well I certainly can't permit this city to remain free of my rule," Eggman declared, steepling his fingers, "Once Chaos is released from its crystalline prison, I'll destroy it and build my own atop its ruins."
"I'll order my troops to begin searching at once," announced the Chinchilla.
"Good. I expect you to be at the Egg Carrier's hanger in twenty minutes."
"And what exactly is this Egg Carrier that you speak of, Lord Eggman?" Thunderbolt inquired.
"Like the Wing Fortress, Flying Battery, and Sky Fortress before it, the Egg Carrier is a super multi-purpose giant fly battle fortress," he answered, his pridefulness coming to the surface.
"Except all those were eventually destroyed by Sonic," Bocoe whispered to his companion.
"WHAT WAS THAT!?" Eggman demanded, having heard what had been said.
"NOTHING!" both hench-bots said in unison.
Without another word, Eggman whirled around and departed from the chamber, intent on gathering what could prove usefully for the journey ahead.