Chapter 2
As soon as the man pulled the rifle's trigger, and a bullet shot out, a blue blur suddenly dashed out of the workshop, sped up to Tails, grabbed him, and ran out of the bullet's path as it went through the workshop door.
"What the devil...?" questioned the man who had fired the bullet, looking around for the blur along with the other two men. Just then, Sonic dashes up to the man with the rifle.
"Hi!" said Sonic happily, "I'm Sonic!"
Sonic held out his right hand as if to shake the man's... but then promptly swung it into the air, uppercutting the man in the jaw. As the man yelled out and grasped his jaw in pain, the other two men pulled out pistols and aimed them at Sonic.
"STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE, FREAK!" shouted one of the men, slowly approaching Sonic.
"No can do, guys!" replied Sonic in a rather polite tone before running up to the two men. The two, startled, could do nothing as Sonic slammed their heads together, causing both to collapse.
"Oh, and the name's not 'freak'." remarked Sonic to the two groaning men, "Did you not hear me introduce myself as Sonic, or what?"
As Sonic stood over the two men, the third, behind Sonic, slowly aimed his rifle at the back of Sonic's head. Before he could pull the trigger, however, Tails swooped down at him, punching him in the head.
"That's for almost shooting me!" yelled Tails as the man also collapsed himself.
"Thanks for that, Tails." complimented Sonic, turning around towards Tails and the unconscious man. "But I could have handled him myself."
"I'm... uh... sure you could have, Sonic." replied Tails, looking some what unsure.
"And speaking of 'handling things'," said Sonic, getting a more serious expression and crossing his arms. "What did you think you were doing coming out here without me, kid? You could have gotten yourself killed!"
"Sorry, Sonic..." muttered Tails, looking down at the ground. "I just wanted to prove that I could handle by myself without you!"
"... All right, I get where you're coming from," responded Sonic, uncrossing his arms. "Of course, no one could ever be as good as me, but I still get where you're coming from! Just next time, wake me up first, 'kay?"
"Speaking of which, how did you know I was in trouble?" asked Tails, a puzzled look on his face.
"Woke up when you closed the door." explained Sonic. "So I peeked through a crack, saw that guy aiming his gun at you, and sped out to save the day!"
"Ah, I get ya!" said Tails as Sonic looked around himself and Tails.
"And speaking of those guys..." commented Sonic while looking around, "Looks like they went up and left while we were talking! How rude!"
Tails looked around in surprise, and indeed saw the strange men nowhere in sight.
"But how did...?!" started Tails.
"Who cares?" interrupted Sonic. "They're gone. That's all that's important. Now how's about we get back inside and rest up for that Chemical Plant attack tomorrow, 'kay?"
"... All right." stated Tails with an unsure look. Sonic then walked back into the workshop, Tails following.
---
As mentioned earlier, West Island is one of the most peaceful places on Mobius. However, that did not mean it didn't have its downsides. Metropolis represented all of these.
The city was built by Doctor Ivo Robotnik, and while it may have seemed harmless enough with the seemingly ordinary skyscrapers that made up the majority of the city, that was hardly the case. Factories filled the city, sending pollution into the air as Robotnik's Badniks and other machines were built inside of them. The Badniks themselves patrolled the city, programmed to capture any intruders that wandered in, and bring them to the doctor's Badnik factories to be used as living batteries for other Badniks if possible. In the middle of this nightmarish city, stood Robotnik's citadel, the tallest skyscraper in the city, and the top of it was designed to resemble Robotnik's own visage. Robotnik's personal office was on the top floor, and Robotnik himself was currently pacing back and forth in it, stomping on the floor with each step he took.
"Once again, that rodent has stopped me from gaining the Chaos Emeralds!" complained Robotnik. "How does he do it?! It's mind-boggling!"Near Robotnik was a large, metal desk with a small computer on it. In front of the computer was a gray robot with a white, dome-shaped head. It had bright, red eyes and several red squares lined up in place of its mouth, possibly designed to look like teeth. Its hands were also red, and in place of legs, it only had the bottom half of a dome. This robot was SA-55, Dr. Robotnik's personal assistant.
"Yes, it is truly puzzling." stated SA-55 unenthusiastically while looking at some data on the computer's screen.
"Three times now, that hedgehog has gotten in my way!" continued Robotnik. "Yes, the third time was a bit smaller of a scheme than the other two, but that's beside the point!"
"It was a scheme?" asked SA-55. "And here I thought it was you mindlessly driving through the Emerald Hill Zone while shouting "give me the Chaos Emeralds" over and over in an obnoxious manner. My mistake."Robotnik stopped pacing and briefly glared at the robot, but then went back to pacing.
"If Project: D. E. is to reach fruition, I must get those emeralds at all costs!" ranted Robotnik. "They are the only things that can power my ultimate weapon! With it, no one—not Sonic, not any other Mobian, and certainly not any of my fellow humans in the United Federation—will be able to stop me!"
"Whatever you say." blankly stated SA-55 while blankly looking at more data on the computer screen.
"And then, once all of my enemies have been defeated, I can finally begin my conquering of Mobius! It shall be truly glorious! A whole empire of my own creation, taking over the planet's nations!"
"Excellent idea."
"Everyone on this world shall know the name of Ivo Robotnik! The Robotnik family's name shall be mocked no longer! And I will sit here in my citadel, bringing joy and happiness to my subjects!"
"Mm-hmm."
Robotnik then stopped pacing, and glared at SA-55 once more.
"You're not even paying attention anymore, are you?" he asked.
"Congratulations, Doctor, that's a new record on how fast it's taken you to figure that out!" replied SA-55. "You must be so proud of yourself."Robotnik's eyes both twitched violently, and he stretched his arms out towards SA-55's neck.
"If you're going to strangle me, Doctor, that won't work." stated SA-55 calmly. "I'm a robot, remember?"
"... ARGH!" shouted Robotnik. Just then, the computer on the desk started to beep.
"Eh?" questioned Robotnik, lowering his arms and sitting down at the desk. On the computer's screen was a map of an area labelled "Chemical Plant Zone", with two red dots outside of it.
"It appears that we have intruders at the Chemical Plant Zone, Doctor." observed SA-55.
"It appears that we do indeed." grinned Robotnik as he put a hand to his chin. "It's most likely Sonic and that bratty sidekick of his. Well, it's suppose it's time that I put that fellow I captured not too long ago to good use!"
Robotnik punched in a few buttons on the computer, and a message came up on the screen saying "SUBJECT 043 RELEASED".
"There we go!" smirked Robotnik, leaning back in his chair. "I do hope that Sonic and the fox enjoy... 'conversing' with my dear friend..."
---
"Well, Tails, here we are!" said Sonic, looking up at the large, metallic door in front of him. "The Chemical Plant Zone!"
The plant was much like one of Metropolis' factories, only much bigger. It was a huge facility, with smokestacks all over the roof. Haze filled the air, and the sun could hardly be seen. A lake was right beside the plant, although it wasn't full of water, but instead a strange, pink liquid.
"Eugh... Mega Mack." commented Tails while observing the liquid with a disgusted look. He was also holding a large, white bag over his shoulder.
"Remember to stay away like last time, little buddy." warned Sonic. "That stuff can poison you if you stay for too long in it."
"Yeah, yeah, I know..." sighed Tails while setting down the white bag. "So you remember the plan, right, Sonic?"
"Yup!" grinned Sonic. "We use these bombs of yours to blow this place sky high!"
"Yeah, that's pretty much it." Smiled Tails while opening the bag, revealing five bombs inside. "All we have to do is dash all over the plant and put these bombs in the plant's key locations, and that'll be it!"
"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Sonic, walking closer to the door. However, he then turned Tails. "Look, Tails... are you sure you want to do this? You almost got killed last night..."
"Nah, I'm okay, Sonic!" reassured Tails. "What happened wasn't too bad!""Well, if you say so..." sighed Sonic. He then slowly opened the door, and stepped into the plant, followed by Tails carrying the bag.
"All right, Badniks, you better not get in my—" started Sonic before stopping himself. "Uh... what?"
Sonic and Tails both looked around in confusion at the large room they were in. There were glass tubes of Mega Mack running through the ceiling, walls, and even the floor, as well as large, glass containers spread throughout the room with Mega Mack inside of them. But strangely enough, there were no Badniks.
"This is weird..." mumbled Tails. "Where are all of the Badniks?"
"I don't know, kid..." scowled Sonic. "But this definitely screams 'trap'. Be careful."
Tails nodded, and slowly followed Sonic through the room. The two reached a door at the end of the room, and cautiously walked through it. They found themselves in a room identical to the first, with still no Badniks in sight.
"This is so strange!" exclaimed Tails. "Did Robotnik abandon this place, or what?!"
"As I said before, bud, there's probably some sort of trap." replied Sonic. "Maybe a giant hammer will try to crush us or something."
As Sonic and Tails continued through the room, Tails noticed a puddle of Mega Mack by the room's entrance, but said nothing of it and turned away. However, when Tails looked back at the puddle, it was now right behind him.
"GAH!" shouted Tails. "SONIC!"
"Yeah?" asked Sonic while turning towards Tails and the puddle.
"Th-that puddle!" stuttered Tails while pointing at the puddle of Mega Mack. "It moved behind me!"
"... Tails, are you sure YOU'RE okay?" asked Sonic while peering at the puddle. "It's just an ordinary puddle of Mega Mack. You're probably seeing thin-"
Just then, a fist made out of Mega Mack suddenly sprang out of the puddle, smashing into Sonic and sending him flying into a nearby wall.
"SONIC!" shouted Tails.
"He... shouldn't have... been so blind..." gurgled a voice from the puddle of Mega Mack. Tails turned towards it, and watched in horror as it morphed into a humanoid body. Two long arms stretched out from it, and a head also popped out, with a large mouth and two small, green eyes on it.
"Who-WHAT are you?!" asked Tails, backing away from the repulsive creature.
"I am... WAS a resident of a city far, far away here..." answered the creature. "Ivo Robotnik captured me along with some others... tried seeing what kind of effects his 'Mega Mack' would have on us. I was the only survivor of his experiments... if you call THIS surviving! My body is ruined, and so is my mind! I can't even remember my own name!"
"Oh, cry me a river!" shouted Sonic before spin-dashing towards the creature. "That was a cheap shot, but now—"
However, as soon as Sonic collided into the creature, he went right through it, landing on the ground behind it.
"Huh?!" exclaimed Sonic in surprise. "But... how?!"
"My body is made out of liquid, hedgehog." explained the creature. "Sure, I can turn my body solid, but with just as thought, I can make myself about as punchable as water!"
"Okay, so I'll just have to hit HARDER!" exclaimed Sonic before spin-dashing into the creature again. However, as before, he just went right through it.
"This is going to be... tough..." said Sonic, suddenly trailing off and grasping his head in pain.
"Sonic, what's wrong?!" asked Tails, running over to him.
"I don't feel... so good..." groaned Sonic, still grasping his head.
"No wonder!" exclaimed Tails while looking over Sonic, and finding Mega Mack on him. "You got Mega Mack all over yourself from coming in contact with that... thing so many times! There aresome mega toxins in that stuff!"
"Mega toxins... 'Megatox'..." mumbled the creature aloud. "I like it! Thanks for the name, kid!"
"You're getting your new name from THAT?" coughed Sonic. "Gee, you're not too creative, are you?"
"SHUT UP!" shouted Megatox before extending his arm towards Sonic and Tails. "I have no identity anymore! Megatox is as good as anything!"Quickly, Tails grabbed Sonic and flew into the air, narrowly dodging Megatox's fist, which collided into the floor.
"But why are you attacking us?!" yelled Tails. "We haven't done anything to you!"
"I don't care!" hissed Megatox. "You're entering my home! That's as good a reason as any!"
Megatox shot his arm up into the air at Tails, who barely flew out of the way and landed back on the floor with Sonic.
"Are you feeling better, Sonic?" asked Tails while watching Megatox, who just glared at the duo.
"I think so..." muttered Sonic while standing back up. "But as awesome as I am, I don't think me doing better is going to do us any good. This guy's impossible to hurt! Unless..."
Sonic looked over at the nearby bag of bombs, and grinned.
"I have an idea, Tails!" exclaimed Sonic. "But you're going to have to distract old Megatox or whatever his name is. Think you can do that?"
"No problem!" said Tails, putting a thumb up. He then flew up into the air, and stuck his tongue out at Megatox.
"HEY, MEGATOX!" he shouted. "You couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, let alone me!"
"You're going to regret those words, brat!" snarled Megatox before stretching his arm out towards Tails, who dodged it again. At the same time, Sonic ran over to the bag of bombs and pulled out one. It was orange and sphere-shaped, with a small button on one side of it.
"I hope this works..." thought Sonic as he pulled the bomb back, aiming at Megatox. At the same time, Megatox's hand finally slammed into Tails, and threw him against a wall. Tails struggled to get free as Megatox held on tightly.
"Now, punk..." started Megatox, "Let's see how long you can hold up against Mega Mack's poison. Five minutes, maybe? Or how about three? Or perhaps--"
"HEY, MEGATOX!" shouted Sonic as Megatox quickly turned towards him, "HERE'S A BOMB-RELATED PUN, COMING RIGHT AT YA!"Sonic then pressed the button on the bomb, and tossed it right into the arm Megatox was using to hold Tails. Megatox dropped Tails, then stared at the bomb in confusion as it beeped rapidly.
"... Oh, darn i-" started Megatox just before the bomb started to beep rapidly, and then exploded. The Mega Mack that made up Megatox's body was sent flying all over the room, Sonic trying not to get hit by any. He then ran over to Tails, and helped him up.
"You okay, bud?" he asked.
"Yeah..." coughed Tails. "I'll be fine..."
"Not for long!" echoed Megatox's voice throughout the room. Sonic and Tails both looked around in confusion, and then noticed the puddles of Mega Mack all over the room slowly moving towards each other.
"Ah, sheesh...!" groaned Sonic. "I was hoping this guy would just give up! Hold on tight, Tails!"
Sonic picked up Tails, and then dashed over to the bag of bombs and picked it up as well. He then quickly ran through the door as the puddles of Mega Mack came back together to form Megatox, who slid after the two. Almost immediately, Sonic ended up back outside the plant, and pulled another bomb out of the bag.
"Let's try this again!" said Sonic, gritting his teeth together as he threw the bomb above the plant's entryway, which Megatox was heading straight for. Just before he could lunge at Sonic, the bomb exploded, causing the entryway to crumble into rocks and collapse onto the Mega Mack monster.
"Phew!" panted Sonic. "That was a close one..."
"Way to go, Sonic!" exclaimed Tails before coughing. "Oh, right... Still feeling a little queasy..."
"Too bad we didn't get to destroy the plant..." remarked Sonic, scowling at the pile of rubble in front of the Chemical Plant Zone's entrance. "... Let's go, Tails."
Tails nodded, and started walking for the Emerald Hill Zone alongside Sonic. However, unbeknownst to either of them, Mega Mack was slowly flowing out of the pile of rubble...
---
G.U.N. Commander Abraham Tower marched through the hallways of the Guardian Units of Nations Headquarters, passing by various soldiers and other operatives of G.U.N. Two Mobians had seen the three agents he had sent to West Island. Worst yet, they had beaten them and caused them to retreat back to the United Federation.
Tower rubbed his hand through his white hair. This was not good at all. The two Mobians had probably told the rest of the island's Mobians what they had seen by now, and they might be preparing for next time. He could NOT let these savage creatures jeopardize G.U.N.'s operations on West Island, especially if they were to stop Robotnik from accomplishing whatever he's up to. Tower scowled. If he was going to keep these Mobians from interrupting his plans, he would have to strike first...