The Eggman Wars: Ch. 1
12:01 pm
"Come on, we don't have much time!" Raymond shouted as he desperately tried to avoid another stalagmite of ice impaling him to the slippery floor. As he scrambled up on all fours, next to him, Galaxina wasn't faring too well either. Both of them were pretty badly bruised up from slipping and falling on the solid ice. Cuts were evident on their bodies as sometimes sharp pieces of ice would graze their skin. But there was simply no time to stop and rest! They had to keep on going or else!
Ice falling from the ceiling tumbled all around them as the earth seemed to shake violently, dislodging more and more snow and ice. The walls seemed to crack and crumble, causing the ceiling to shift lower and threaten to squash the two underneath it. As Raymond and Galaxina quickly and hurriedly maneuvered their way over the occasional boulders and slates of slippery ice, they made sure to duck their heads to avoid hitting it against the ceiling. It was so low that they probably couldn't even stand up straight. They were even lucky to be alive right now; one hit from a stray icicle could cause serious injury…
There! Up ahead! Raymond barely spotted Eggman's base through the ever-decreasing triangle of vision, blocked by the ice. "There! Over there!" He wildly pointed, indicating it to Galaxina. She swiftly turned to look at it, then nodded acknowledgement. "Okay no time to waste!"
They were maybe a little under 500 yards away, but Raymond swore it seemed like 500 miles. Each step they took closer to refugee seemed to be counteracted by another block of ice that fell and threatened to block their path forever. He noticed Galaxina slip and almost fall next to him, so Raymond reached out and grabbed her by the arm, and hoisted her up as the two stumbled their way towards Eggman's base.
400 yards! Now it was easy to make out the small metal door in the distance, beckoning for the two of them to enter inside; a provider of shelter and safety. As Raymond jumped over another dislodged piece of ice, he quickly let go of Galaxina's arm and pointed his mechanical wrist band at the door, firing rapidly. Needle-like bullets sprang out and whistled through the air, embedding themselves in the lock. As if on cue, the lock broke apart and the door harmlessly fell over, sounding with a loud thud. Now Raymond could barely see the darkness that lay inside Eggman's base…
300 yards! Galaxina slipped again before Raymond instinctively reached out and grabbed her by the waist this time. Having no time to stop and think about anything, he awkwardly held her in his arms bridal-style and began to charge at the door in a full out sprint.
200 yards! The stinging pain on his back indicated that much more icicles were starting to fall. The ground trembled, making Raymond almost lose his footing at a couple of points. But he knew there was no time for failure! He lowered his head and plowed on through the falling mist of snow.
100 yards! They were almost there! He could almost taste the feeling of victory and pride! His legs and lungs felt like they were burning off, but he simply forced himself to use whatever last bit of energy he had left. 50 yards… 40 yards… 30 yards… 20 yards… suddenly…
"Watch out!" Galaxina screamed as a large stalagmite of ice fell a few yards up ahead. Time now seemed to flow in slow-motion as icicles all around them appeared to fall slowly, as if they were underwater. In the spilt second that immediately followed, Raymond calculated that there was not enough time to wait for it to hit the ground harmlessly and then continue on; the ceiling was literally collapsing behind him. He just had to hope that he could pass through unharmed…
"AHH!" Raymond yelled out as he dove the last few yards, hitting the ground with his arms outstretched. Galaxina safely slid inside as he followed suit a split second later. Just in time in fact, as just when Raymond's feet cleared the doorway, the entire ceiling of ice collapsed and covered the door, providing no means of escape. As the two of them remained lying there, panting, adrenaline coursing through their veins, Galaxina managed a smile.
"We… did.. it…" She breathed, trying to catch her breath.
Raymond managed a shaky smile as well. "Yeah.. we… OUCH!" He tried to get up, but immediately toppled over on his back, clutching his right leg in obvious pain.
"Raymond!" Galaxina screamed and hurriedly rushed over to his side to see what was wrong. "What is it?"
Raymond tried to smile again. "That… icicle… I… didn't…. quite… make… it…." He softly replied as his eyes fluttered closed and he drifted off into unconsciousness.
Galaxina gently removed Raymond's hands from his leg and gasped. There was a huge gash running down his leg, blood seeping from it freely. She paused long enough to stifle a choked sob; he was seriously injured. There was no way it would be possible to recover from this. Not to mention they would have to survive here for a while, hiding from Eggman.
Yet in spite of the bleak outlook of the situation, she composed herself enough to place both hands on the wound, staunching the flow of blood. As she did so, she tore off a piece of cloth from her sleeve and gently wrapped it around Raymond's wound, acting like a tourniquet. There, at least that would stop him from bleeding to death. She sorrowfully sighed and placed a hand on Raymond's forehead, seeing him flinch slightly under her soft touch. It was what she feared; his temperature was starting to rise.
He was starting to get a fever from a possible infection from his wound. As Raymond shivered involuntarily in his sleep, Galaxina sighed and placed his head in her lap, gently embracing him and caringly stroking the bangs out of his face. As she did so, only one, unanswered thought was running through her mind…
5 miles away lay that answer to her question. A certain blue hedgehog looked in awe at the clear, blue sky. White clouds were picturesquely dotting the sky as a cool, autumn breeze whipped past his face. On either side of him were 20 feet tall walls completely made out of ice; only a narrow corridor with the sky above leading towards Eggman's base in the far distance.
"So this is what Raymond was talking about when he meant the ceiling of ice was going to collapse…" Sonic mused to himself. He just hoped the two of them were alright…
He inhaled sharply through his nose again before turning his attention to the rabble of soldiers and friends behind him. They too were looking at awe at the strange scene that lay before them: behind and to either side, the sky was covered by ice; yet in front they could see it as clear as it could be. In the distance, they could see the entire view of Mobius coated in what appeared to be a large, solid slab coating of sparkling white, brilliantly reflecting the sunlight, almost blinding them. Mobius itself was covered entirely in all ice, except for just this narrow strip of land…
"Sonic," Knuckles stepped forward from the silenced crowd. "Any idea what to make of this?"
Sonic shook his head and held up a cautionary hand in the air. "Wait up, Knuckles. I'd like to see if we can get any contact with Raymond first…"
He reached for the com-link headset on his head that Tails had given him, and turned it on, hearing the reassuring crackle of static that meant it was still working…
"Hello? Raymond? It's me, Sonic. Over." Sonic briefly spoke into the headset and patiently waited for a reply.
"…"
"Hello? It's Sonic. Over." Again, no reply. Next to him, Amy hesitantly stepped forwards to address Sonic.
"Maybe it's because they haven't turned their headset on, Sonic. Just because they're not answering doesn't mean they're in any danger…" Amy gently answered, trying to lighten the serious mood that darkened the group. No one wanted to even think about the possibility that Raymond and Galaxina might be…
Sonic tersely nodded and let out a tired sigh. "I know, you're right." He promptly turned around, and began to loudly speak to the group that stood before him.
"All of you volunteered to fight join this army to fight Eggman. You volunteered because you wanted to bring evil to justice, once and for all. But of course, this action doesn't come without risks and danger, maybe even death. Anyone that decides not to continue association in this army, please take a step forwards."
No one even moved a muscle as most were recklessly grinning at the thought of being able to fight Eggman.
"Eggman isn't some old fairy tale character where good always defeats evil in the end. You have to understand, we might not make it..."
Again, no one moved a muscle.
"We're with ya Sonic, all the way to the end and beyond!" Knuckles maniacally grinned, and jabbed his fists in the air a few times to prove his point.
"Nothing you say is going to make us want to stop from giving Eggman another beatdown!" Amy calmly declared, her piko-piko hammer appearing casually swung over one shoulder.
Sonic succinctly nodded, then turned back around to face the direction of Eggman's base. "Alright, alright; let's see how many of Eggman's robots we can make scrap metal of today!"
As they all started to walk steadily towards Eggman's base, nearby, a metallic reddish fox-like creature was waiting, concealed in the shadows…
