Right, so this is my first submission to this site. I've put this WIP on some forums and the like, but I decided to see what the people here had to say, and because I like this community and the layout. This kind of has a weird setting, because it's in an alternate dimension of the Archie comic series (kind of), while also throwing in plot elements of the games. That's all I have to say right now...so enjoy Chapter 1!
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The hallway was long; it appeared to span about one hundred yards. On each side of the hallway were cells guarded by sturdy metal bars – Tails concluded that they were titanium alloy. He was shoved along by the two robotic guards and began walking at a fast clip. He examined the cells, and not one of them was home to a captive. He observed that the floor in one of the cells was streaked with blood.
Suddenly they stopped about three quarters of the way through the hallway. One of the mechanical guards punched in a code, and the cell door opened with a satisfying beeping sound. The other guard grabbed Tails and hurled him into the cell; he smashed into the wall on his shoulder blade. The door closed, and the guards strode off.
He sat up and rubbed his shoulder blade. Amazingly the area didn't hurt; he simply glanced off the wall causing minimal damage to the bone. Tails stood up, his mind racing. He tried to reach through the bars to use the control panel, but the bars were too close together. He felt around the walls for any worn or poorly constructed spots, but the steel enclosure was perfectly sound. He sat against the wall, digging for ideas.
Suddenly Tails remembered something. He searched around…where had he put it? Aha! From one of his quite bushy tails, he pulled out a glistening power ring he had gotten from one of the robot guards. It had enough energy for about a 1 second effect – just enough time. He tapped into the ring's power.
The guards around the corner heard a small explosion. They rounded the wall – and one of them got a taste of worn sneaker. It careened into the wall, and the other one reached for its plasma pistol. The former prisoner was too quick, and kicked the gun out of the guard's hand as it raised the weapon. Tails jumped in the air, grabbed the droid's head, and delivered a well-placed snap kick to its chest. It soared into the guard that was already down, and they both deactivated.
Tails didn't care that the guard robos were out in the open. He just ran. Neither guard had gotten the opportunity to sound the alarm, but he still had to be stealthy. He heard heavy footsteps and ducked into the other hallway as two bots marched past, and continued on.
Tails found himself situated at a ledge. He peeked down; it appeared to drop about fifteen feet. He scanned the area for potentially approaching guards, and leapt. Once he hit the ground he rolled to minimize impact damage and stood back up. He looked around and noticed the hallway getting brighter south of his position. He headed that way.
The hallway broke off to the right, where there was a large window at its end. Tails walked up to it and looked out. There was a great stretch of metal ground going out about one hundred-and-fifty yards and encompassing the building. Guard robos swarmed the platform, each one going in a different direction. The large metal platform was surrounded by glistening water, spanning as far as the eye could see. The cloudless sky was a dazzling blue. He peered into an area with a low ceiling covering it. His craft, the Tornado, was still there, unseen by the guards.
There was a door just to Tails's right. The control panel was next to it, and, to his relief; there were only five buttons. He punched in an assortment of different possible combinations and the door opened in about four minutes. By that time he heard clanking footsteps coming down the corridor again and he took off through the doorway. He heard the footsteps' pace increase as the guards began pursuit. He found a small loose shaft on the wall and yanked it off. The guards came into sight and one of them fired a shot. He held the shaft in front of himself, and, as he had hoped, the bullet ricocheted off. It slammed back into the robo, who exploded on impact. The other one was stunned by the explosion. He hurled the shaft at it, delaying it more, and he dashed. He picked the shaft back up while he was still running, hopped, and swung down. The guard disassembled in mid-air and hit the ground in seven neat pieces.
There were still no alarms sounding, so Tails began sprinting with less worry. Everything began to whiz by in a blur. Another mechanical guard came into view halfway down the corridor. He was going too fast to stop, so he did a small hop, ducked, and lifted off. He was moving through the air in a sort of sideways type motion, with one foot far in front of him. It collided with the bot's head, but he wasn't done yet. His other foot came around in an arc as he was spinning, and it caught the droid on the side. He did a neat corkscrew before he landed lightly and continued running. A perfect butterfly kick.
Tails glimpsed large double doors ahead and his heart leaped. There were no control panels next to this door, so he just positioned himself in a versatile defensive tackle. The door gave way instantly. The alarm finally sounded once the door opened. Almost instantly the guard robos stopped and surrounded him – he could see almost twenty just out of the corner of his eye. They shot at him, but he was going at a rate way ahead of their aim. He was almost to his plane when the gunfire suddenly ceased and the guards disappeared around him. He was starting to wonder why when the answer came.
Tails saw a figure ahead and skidded to a stop. His heart sank. He faced a large robotic contraption, a manual one that requires a person at the controls. It had two cannons on each arm and rocket packs under each foot. It was painted red and black, and was covered with thick armor. He didn't even have to look to know who was in it.
"Well, well," came the dark, pompous voice of Dr. Ivo Robotnik. "I knew those pathetic contraptions wouldn't be able to hold you for a day. They revealed their incompetence much sooner than expected, though."
He sneered. "But this is where it all comes to and end, Miles. You're going with me this time, and this time there's no escaping."
Tails finally locked eyes with the pathetic criminal, annoyed after being addressed by his real name. "Since when has that ever worked, Eggman?"
"Since now."
"You say that every time."
The sneer was gone. "You see, Miles, I learn from mistakes…and it isn't long until I've learned all that I can about bringing you and that blasted hedgehog to your knees."
"It's been six years, Egghead. Six years of mistakes. Either you just can't win or you're a really slow learner."
Eggman's face twisted in anger, and his machine raised its weapons. They fired at Tails, who dove and rolled out of the way.
"You'll see," Eggman growled between clenched teeth. "You'll all see. One day this planet will be mine, and you and that gang of wretched mutants will be begging for death!"
Tails scoffed. "Say it all you want, Eggman. Everyone knows you don't really have it in you to kill."
"Is that what you think?!" suddenly the anger left his face. Then, as suddenly as it had gone, it came back in full force, and the craft charged at Tails.
Tails launched himself up, and the machine whizzed right below his long, furry two tails, causing them to jerk violently. Eggman turned the machine around, and saw Tails pulling his eyelid down in a classic taunting fashion Sonic had taught him. Eggman fired again, and Tails began spinning on the ground, creating incredible torque. The bullets all bounced back off wildly, and a few of them hit the robot, only the ones hitting the cockpit doing any noticeable damage to it. Tails grinned once he stopped spinning.
"Come on, Eggman! Six years and you haven't changed your weapon's weak point!"
Tails sprinted at the machine and leapt, somersaulting violently; his tails outstretched and working as blades. He crashed into the cockpit and blew the robotic contraption over, flipping through the air and denting the ground with a heavy thud. The ground tremored violently and knocked Tails over. Apparently the machine's fall had damaged the platform.
The craft picked itself back up and tried to take advantage of Tail's fall by smashing him with its fist. Tails narrowly dodged by rolling over and kicked himself back up. The other hand came at Tails with its palm out, and Tails held out his arms. It pushed him back as he tried to keep standing. Tails tripped on an indentation in the platform, and the palm pushed him into the ground. The ground was quite dentable, however, and Tails wasn't greatly harmed. Another metal fist tried to crush him once again, and he rolled backward.
Eggman tried to force Tails backward again by launching the machine's arm at him, but Tails jumped this time. He landed on the stretchable arm, and gave it a punch at its bending point. It gave way, and he repeated. It broke in half, and the arm dropped into the ground. Another tremor came, but Tails held steady this time. Tails leapt again, this time somersaulting and kicking as he was arcing down. The machine ducked the attack and jumped, causing Tails to land on the cockpit. It rocket-launched into the air and gained altitude at an impressive rate. The robot's remaining arm grabbed Tails and hurled him toward the ground.
Tails righted himself and began spinning his tails, slowly at first, and gaining speed. Once they had reached a high velocity his descent slowed down. However, it still wasn't enough to land comfortably. He flipped over and outstretched his arms, clamping his eyes shut and waiting. His timing had to be perfect. His hands touched the ground and he waited half a second for the momentum of the impact start rapidly to give his body G's. Once the G force was built up enough, he pushed off. His calculations were correct, and instead of the impact damaging his own body, the force was transferred into the ground, causing it to be pushed into the sea. Tails was now standing in water that was about three inches deep.
Eggman's machine landed with a thud, pushing the platform in a few more inches and creating a dent were his machine was now standing. Tails was tiring, and Eggman knew so.
Eggman fired his cannons again, and Tails slid through the shallow water. The water sprayed and evaporated where the mildly powered bullets landed. Eggman reached the remaining arm at Tails, who jumped again, but this time Eggman was one step ahead of him. He made the machine jump with Tails and the arm came back like a spring. It hit Tails hard in the back and he smacked into the water.
Eggman again didn't bother with the rockets and let the heavy machine slam into the ground. The platform sank even more, and began to shake – and this time it didn't cease. Eggman looked through the cockpit's glass at Tails with a triumphant grin.
"This platform is doomed now," he said in a proud tone. "and I'm afraid this is where I take my leave. Good luck at getting to your little plane before it's on the ocean floor!"
He cackled, and with a loud beeping noise, the cockpit launched out of the machine and hovered away, Eggman's laughter floating through the sea breeze.
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Also, I'll be throwing in some fan charries in future chapters, so enjoy the original-ness while you can... dun dun dun
