A/N : Okay. This time, our Mobian privates are going to be the heroes. There'll also be a non-OC char addition. By the way, I'm not doing the usual character review because of where it's typed.
Credits goes to ReaderWriterLoner for putting the parts altogether
Disclaimer : Own nothing I don't own.
Chapter 10 : Janus Facility.
Atlantis III had plotted a new course as soon as the orders were given. This time, Spark took the helm due to Tails getting struck by fever, landing him to sick bay.
Isa and Jake decided to visit the twin-tailed vulpine due to Sonic being busy with weapon loadouts along with Shadow. Amy and Starlight also can't visit him since Carter are briefing the mission for them.
The yellow fox lied down on the bed. He looked weak and miserable. Levinski was busy looking for his hypospray on the table that he wasn't able to even give vocal greetings toward the Taskforce veterans. He did wave his hand though.
"How're you doing, Tails?" asked Jacob.
"Terrible. I never felt this awful before, not even in my first travel on space."
"You had been in Onyx Coast, right?" said Levinski, holding a hypospray, "The region is known for the fever bacteria that kicks in after spending a long time in cold places, such as space. The only way to get rid of the sickness is to warm your body up."
"I hate to break the news, man" said Isa, "But it looks like Tails is going down to Janus."
Levinski's tools fell from the tables as the green fox hit it with his leg, "J-janus? But it's Storm Year there!"
"Storm Year? What's that?" asked Tails.
"Janus is known for the yearly season changes. Scorch, Frostbite, Storm, Meltdown. But certain regions only have Frostbite and Storm, such as an Axon science facility in there."
"And...?"
"In Storm Year, there'll be everlasting snow storm that will almost freeze every living things. It's an awful place for Tails."
"Streak had prepared the asbetos suits, though. It's going to be fine." said Jacob.
"Can't he stay here? He's freaking sick!"
"If only I were in charge..." said Isa.
"It's okay, Lev. I can handle it."
"Alright, but stay close to me. And..." Levinski injected the medicine on Tails' neck. The yellow fox shivered a little as the medicine ran in his bloodstream. "If you don't have anything else to do, I have to ask you to leave. Sick Bay's off limit."
"Lev..."
"Don't worry about it." said Isa, "Carter expects you to be in the Launch Bay in 10 minutes." with that, both him and Jake left the Sick Bay.
"You're rude." said Tails.
"I don't give a damn. Every Sick Bays have their rules."
Tails piloted the shuttlecraft down to the surface. Sonic looked outside, getting impatient. "Next time, we'll bring X-Tornado Tails. This thing is slow"
"Tails, be careful." said Levinski, "The storm is too strong."
Tails' condition made it harder for him to get through the weather. He bumped the shuttle on the ice cliff, causing the navigation system to malfunction. The storm brought the spacecraft colliding against the surface on the cliff. The Mobians jumped out from the shuttle before it fell down and blew up.
"Damn..." said Shadow, "How far's the facility we're heading to?"
"Well since the facility is in the stormy region, we might miss it. But if my memory serves me right, the facility is up there."
"Well can you Chaos Control us up, Shads?" asked Sonic.
"I've never been in this place, Faker. If there's anyone among us who knows something about this place, it would be the cranky fox boy."
"Excuse me? I know I'm cranky. You don't have to point it out. Hand me that jewel."
"It's called a Chaos Emerald, Grass." said Starlight, "And can you perform Chaos Control?"
"We don't know if we don't try. How do you do it Shadow?"
"Focus on destination, and recite the word"
"Okay. Chaos Control!"
Nothing happened.
"I thought so..." said Levinski, "We have to climb up. You do pack full equipments right?"
Everyone nodded. "Are we going to climb up with the ice pick?" asked Tails.
"Excellent guess. You can hang on me, Tails."
"No, I can do it myself."
Everyone pulled out their ice picks, "Who goes first?" asked Amy.
As the answer, Shadow swung his picks on the ice cliff. He was able to hang on it firmly, "The ice is good. Come on."
Sonic followed the ebony hedgehog. Amy quickly followed him, rather too fast. Starlight and Levinski followed them up. Tails waited for a few minutes before climbing up too.
The storm was pretty strong that the group felt as if they were being pulled off the cliff. Suddenly a Raptor flew by. It spun all the way toward the cliff. "Damn, that Raptor is going to crash!" said Shadow
A loud explosion occured next to the group, causing them to lose balance. Amy fell down as her picks were loose. Starlight acted fast and grabbed her hand before she fell. "Careful, Ames!" The feline pulled the hedgehog up, giving her enough momentum to start climbing up again.
"That was close. I'm coming Sonikku!"
"Eh, you better brace for another impact, Ames. We got a Cicada!" Another explosion was heard, this time a lot closer and more powerful. Tails lost his balance and dropped one of the picks he held. He was lucky that the picks were attached on his wrist, but now he was hanging on just one.
He tried to pull himself up to gain momentum, but the ice shattered and released the pick. A green furry hand grabbed his wrist just in time, "You alright, comrade?" he heard Levinski's voice.
"Don't worry, bro. I'm fine..."
"You better be. That Helo almost zero-ed all of us. Swing your pick and start climbing. I can't hold you forever!"
Tails nodded. He started climbing again with all his strength. He let out a sneeze just before Lev pulled his arm back. He heard a groan from the fox, followed by "Gee, thanks a lot..."
Shadow finally made it to the top, only to meet red steel boots in front of his eyes. The ebony hedgehog recognized it as Izanagi mercs' shoes. He looked up and saw a Mobian rabbit standing with Crowd Pleaser shotgun. Shadow quickly pulled the merc's leg and threw him away from the cliff. The rabbit fell screaming his lungs out as he plummeted to his death.
Shadow got up and pulled Sonic to the top. Then Sonic helped Amy and so on, until Tails decided to sneeze in front of Levinski, causing him to instinctively covered his face, releasing Tails and let him fall, if it weren't for Sonic.
"Thanks Sonic." Tails and Levinski said in unison. Both foxes then looked at each other confusedly, realizing that they just spoke the same words, at the same time.
"Definitely twins..." Amy whispered to Starlight.
"Alright, little kit," said Shadow, "Where to now?"
"Up ahead. We just need to go to our twelve. It's still several miles though."
"Extreme Gears, anyone?" suggested Sonic.
The group rode their Extreme Gears toward where Levinski guided them to. The stormy weather kinda made the ride felt uncomfortable, but it'll have to do since not even a Scorpion was visible to hijack.
Levinski stopped Nitrous Wind just at the edge of a cliff. "There it... OOFF!" Suddenly Yellow Tail collided on his back due to Tails sneezing just when he was about to stop. Both foxes rolled down the hill, creating a snow boulder that everyone could've sworn can only be formed on cartoons.
The Prower twins hit a metal-made tower, stopping them. Tails rubbed his head while Lev rubbed his back. "You need your medicine now, Tails!"
"Sorry..." Tails gave him an apologetic smile. Levinski just rolled his eyes and injected the twin-tailed fox with the hypospray.
The rest of the group walked toward them and helped them stand. Sonic suddenly spotted a bridge that leads to... the Axon facility. "Guys! There it is!"
All of Mobian TCAs turned to where the cobalt hedgehog was looking. The building was big, not as big as Elysium though. The bridge had armor pieces and debris scattered all across it. It seemed like there had been a battle going on several hours ago.
"Intel is solid, guys." said Levinski, "There are Izanagi Ghost Warriors and Liandri Angels armor pieces on the floor. They're both fighting for the Artifact."
"It's free for all, isn't it?" said Shadow.
"Axon is on our side. But rest of them, exactly."
The group walked toward the building and found an elevator. They took the elevator and went to the top floor. "Ready for this?" said Sonic.
Everyone nodded. They pointed their guns to the front. As the elevator stopped, Sonic curled and performed the well-known Spin Dash through the double doors.
But to everyone's surprise, the corridor was quiet. Not even a single human was visible. The group soon knew why : There had been a three-way battle happened on the hallways.
That was when they heard some footsteps on the other side of the hallways. Everyone hid behind the pillars, preparing for an ambush.
"Guys, stay here." said Levinski, pulling out a Tarydium-made machete, "I'll try to handle this one."
Shadow was the first to nod. The green fox then sped up and charged. There was some yelping and sounds of fist colliding with flesh. Shadow decided to peek behind the pillar.
He saw Levinski had his machete placed just one inch away from a red echidna's neck, while the echidna had his fist pointed on Levinski's face. "Tails?" asked the echidna.
"Wait, you know my brother?"
"Wh...?"
"Hey, Knucklehead!" Sonic suddenly called, "What are you doing here? I thought you're supposed to guard the Master Emerald!"
"Sonic...what are you doing here?"
Levinski had a feeling that the 'Knucklehead' guy wasn't an enemy, so he drew his machete back. Sonic then replied at him, "Duty calls, you?"
"Duty calls? I didn't know you work in a military. If I remember you correctly, guns aren't your things, are they?" the echidna spoke, "Anyway, I heard about a powerful artifact being kept here. My guess is that it is a Chaos Emerald. That's why I hitched a ride here."
"No, it's not that 'Chaos Emerald'." said Levinski, "It's an alien artifact coming from this world. From our research, it's volatile and more dangerous than those Emeralds, especially if falls on wrong hands. We're sent here to pick one of the seven pieces of the Artifact."
"Do I know you?"
"Anatoly Levinski... Prower."
"Prower? That explains why you look a lot like that kit."
"Knuckles?" Tails' voice was heard as he appeared from the pillar, rubbing his nose.
"Speak of the devil..."
"Well, we're off now. You wanna join us, Knuckles?" asked Sonic.
"Hm, okay. I need someone to get me home anyway..."
A/N : Okay. We'll continue later. If you've seen Unreal II on Janus mission, you'll see how hilarious this will be. Review please!
By the way, that Storm Year and Tails' bacteria were made up by me. There are no such things as those in the real Unreal universe (Readers : ?).