CHAPTER 11
XxXxXxXx
"What?! What is this?!" Robotnik shouted. "How did you get in?!"
"Security breech, pal!" Scourge growled, leveling a phaser at his head. "And if I were you, I'd let Kirk go. This is set on kill and I don't know how to set it back to stun."
Kirk took a deep breath and let it out slowly before dropping to the ground, dragging Robotnik with him. Kirk managed to flip the man over his back, slamming him faceup on the ground. Scourge, Blaze and Knuckles surrounded him, weapons aimed at his face.
"You all right, Captain?" Blaze asked.
"I'm fine." Kirk said, ignoring the pulled muscles in his arms and legs. "Is doctor McCoy with you?"
"Right here, Jim!" the surgeon said, rushing to his side.
"I need you to get Sonic up to the Enterprise. Find a way to sedate Shadow and bring him too. They both don't have much time left." Kirk accepted a phaser from McCoy and clipped it onto his belt.
He and McCoy rushed over to Sonic, who wasn't moving at all. He was lying on his back, neck tilted upwards, a small trail of blood parting his lips. A shattered rib was protruding from his right side, blood staining his fur and the ground. His left arm was bent an an unreal angle and dark bruises and fresh cuts lined his entire body. "I've got him, Jim. You work on neutralizing Shadow." McCoy whipped the medikit he was holding from his side off and grabbed a hypo, filling it with something clear.
Kirk nodded and turned his attention to Shadow. The black hedgehog was currently fighting his way towards Robotnik, throwing Enterprise crewmembers and Mobians out of his way as he went. They were desperately trying to hold him back without hurting him or ripping the tubes out from his body, uncertain of the outcome that would most likely be for the worst.
Kirk leveled his phaser at him, making sure that it was on stun. "Shadow, stop. Now."
Shadow's long-suffering eyes fixed on the Captain, but he didn't say anything. He only hesitated for a brief second before slamming a fist into Kirk's chest, knocking him to the ground.
Kirk fired. The blue beam hit Shadow in the stomach, throwing him to the side and into the wall. He didn't get up. Kirk slowly approached him, trying to find a pulse in his wrist. He was still breathing, but his breaths came in shallow bursts. A few places on the machine latched to his back were shattered, different coloured wires spilling out.
"Shadow..." Kirk said. "Can you hear me?"
A sound between a wheeze and a moan answered him. Shadow's bloodred eyes opened slightly, settling unfocused on Kirk's face.
"H...he...lp...m...me..."
"We will. Just stay still. Focus on me...don't look away. Don't give in, all right? Stay strong. Sonic's going to be fine, we're going to help you and Robotnik's getting the death sentence. You'll get to see this planet rise up once again into the great planet it used to be."
"...Pain..." Shadow whispered. "So m...uch..."
"I know." Kirk said. "Just stay with me..."
Shadow's eyes began to roll into his head. Kirk put a hand on his shoulder and shook, desperately trying to keep him from giving into the darkness. "Shadow! SHADOW!"
"I can take it from here, Jim." McCoy said, coming up behind him. Kirk backed off, watching as the surgeon treated the tortured, broken form. He eventually turned, finding Robotnik in chains between to security men. The Enterprise Captain landed a fist in his face, cracking his other sunglasses lens. Another punch to his jaw, knocking a tooth out.
"You are a monster," Kirk hissed. "A twisted, goddamned monster!"
"And yet you can't bring yourself to kill me." Robotnik grinned. "You couldn't even if you tried."
Kirk wound up for another punch, but someone caught is arm. "Captain, please."
"Spock...look what he did to this planet! To its inhabitants! He deserves this!" Kirk roared.
"He deserves a trial at Starfleet." Spock said in flat tones. "And we shall give him one. There is no way he can escape from the penalties."
"But there is a way to escape from here." Robotnik grinned madly.
"What do you mean?" Kirk demanded.
A shout from the destroyed doors: "Robots! Coming this way!"
Kirk whipped around and darted for the doors. Already, many Mobians and security guards were standing, weapons at the ready. They were facing endless rows of Robotnik's robots, arm guns raised to counter the fighters.
"Fire at will!" Kirk commanded.
Red beams of light met with the flashes of the machine guns. For every Mobian downed, five robots were eliminated. The injured were beamed back aboard the Enterprise.
"Captain!"
Kirk wheeled around to see the two security men guarding Robotnik on the ground, clutching their mangled arms. Kirk glanced to the right to catch Robotnik's terrifying smile before he vanished into a secret door.
"Stop!" Kirk commanded, firing the phaser. It hit the wall, but nothing happened.
He was forced to accept the horrible truth... The man behind the genocide had escaped.
He turned to face Spock. "Beam everyone back up to the Enterprise! We need to minimize the casualties and injuries!"
"Understood," Spock pulled his communicator from his belt. "Scotty, beam us back."
"It'll take a few minutes to get you all back here." came Scotty's response. "But I'll work as fast as I can."
"Affirmative." Spock shut the communicator.
Just a few seconds after their conversation, a large group of the fighters were fading from sight in the transporter beam; McCoy, Sonic and Shadow along with them, Kirk noticed.
"Help me hold the robots off." Kirk drew his phaser again and took up position at the wall, firing at the oncoming hoard of enemies. Spock did the same, the two of them disabling at least twelve before the next sparkle of the transporter beam took more of the fighters. They were outnumbered, yet they still fought.
Kirk narrowly missed being hit by a blast of bullets and countered with fire of his own. Spock was nicked on his right arm, a tiny line of blood seeping into the light blue fabric.
"Captain, we can't keep this up forever." Kirk's First Officer pointed out the grim truth.
The third sparkle of the beam had ignited itself around more fighters, whisking them off and leaving only a small group.
They were surrounded. Of the few left, Kirk recognized Silver and Blaze, back to back and destroying many of the threats.
All at once, the firings ceased from the robots. They simply stood, alert and waiting for some type of command.
"What's going on?" Kirk demanded loudly.
"Patience, Kirk," Robotnik's voice echoed around the room. "You want to savor the last moments of your life, don't you?"
Spock's communicator beeped. He flicked it open, saying, "Spock here."
"Sir! The transporter! Somethin's jamming the signal!" Scotty said in a panic.
"Your technology is so primitive," Robotnik continued. "So easy to interfere with."
A computerized voice echoed around the room, louder than Robotnik's and more threatening in a way.
"SELF DESTRUCT IN THREE MINUTES,"
"Get out of here!" Kirk commanded.
The remaining fighters ran at the robots, trying to break their formation and get to the door. They resisted, throwing them backwards and firing warning shots. They wouldn't be escaping that easily.
"What do we do?" Blaze shouted.
"I don't know!" Silver responded. "I'm not powerful enough to overthrow them at once!"
"Captain?" Spock asked calmly.
Kirk cast a glance at the robots and then at the group. He sighed heavily before turning back to his First Officer. "We fight. It's the only way. We either escape or die trying,"
With that, they plunged back into the battle.
"TWO MINUTES UNTIL SELF-DESTRUCT,"
Kirk easily downed two more robots before jumping over the empty shell of one. He managed to find the door, which was now surprisingly clear of threats.
"Spock! We're almost there!" he cried, dodging another burst of fire and countering. "Just these...and we can get out!"
Another volley of machine gun fire. Kirk managed to gasp as a bullet found home in his arm. He dropped his phaser, falling to his knees.
"Captain!" Spock cried. "Captain! Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, Spock," Kirk said between clenched teeth. "Keep fighting...!"
Spock hesitated for a brief second before saying, "Understood, sir."
Kirk gripped his arm and stood again, falling back slightly among the more able-bodied warriors. Blood dripped from his limb, but he ignored it. He found a fallen security guard who had taken a bullet to the brain. He retrieved the guard's phaser and staggered back to the frontlines, determination blazing in his eyes.
"Captain!" Spock called.
"ONE MINUTE UNTIL SELF DESTRUCT,"
"What is it, Spock?" Kirk demanded, injured arm shaking uncontrollably as he tried to aim his weapon.
"You should not be fighting!" the Second Officer said.
"And if I don't fight, we might not make it out alive!" Kirk fired, striking and downing a robot. The image of the demolished doors awaited behind the threat. "Everyone! Assist one of the injured! We can escape now!" Kirk shouted, running towards the exit.
There was a shout of determination as the rest of the fighters burst through the rest of the robot's ranks, many of them supporting the ones who could not fight anymore.
"Captain, are you sure you can—"
"I'm fine, Spock!" Kirk insisted. "You worry about getting yourself out of here!"
"THIRTY SECONDS UNTIL SELF DESTRUCT."
The stairs and a long hallway was all that separated them from surviving. Kirk ran as fast as he could, blood rushing in his ears. His vision was slowly growing dark, and then too bright, then too dark...
"Captain, please," Spock grabbed his uninjured arm and began supporting him as he staggered on up the rest of the stairs.
"TEN SECONDS UNTIL SELF DESTRUCT,"
Just the hallway. And then onto freedom.
"NINE,"
Just a few more meters...
"EIGHT,"
"Captain..." Spock said solemnly.
"SEVEN,"
"We're not going to make it, are we?" Kirk sighed.
"SIX,"
"...No." the Second in Command admitted.
"FIVE,"
"What about the others? Are they making it? Will at least some of them survive?"
"FOUR,"
"Yes. Captain, according to my calculations, there shall only be seven casualties..."
"THREE..."
"Including us," Kirk sighed.
He managed to see Spock nod.
"TWO,"
"It was an honour serving with you," Kirk said.
"Likewise...Jim,"
"ONE,"
"CAPTAIN!" a shout sounded.
Kirk managed to clear his vision enough to see Silver run for them, Blaze following close behind.
"Silver, NO!"
"ZERO,"
The explosions began. Kirk gritted his teeth, shut his eyes and waited for a beam to strike him on the head, ending his life quickly. It never came.
He could feel the bricks and debris raining down around him, and waited for the end. It never came.
More explosions sounded, as though they were directly next to him. Kirk expected to be blown to bits.
It never came.
Kirk took a deep breath, surprised to not be inhaling floating debris from the ceiling. He cracked open an eye to see that everything had missed him, Spock, Silver, Blaze, two security guards and three Mobians. They were huddled in an area that was not touched by the explosion.
"Wha...what happened?" Kirk asked.
"Silver's what happened," Blaze gave a short burst of laughter that was ended in tears. She retrieved a limp white form from the factory rubble, holding Silver close to her. "He must have deflected everything that would have landed on us. He's fine...just exhausted,"
"He... just saved our lives..." one of the security men finally came to grips with what had happened.
"Fascinating," was Spock's reaction. "Psychic abilities, I presume?"
Kirk chuckled. "Yes, Spock. You presume right."
XxXxXxXx
When the factory was destroyed, it took the signal jamming the Enterprise with it. The remaining fighters were beamed up and treated instantly for multiple wounds.
Kirk was patched up in under five minutes, thanks to the amazing technology and Nurse Chapel's skills. His arm would still need time to heal, but other than that, he was fine. His nose was still tender, but he would live.
Silver was set on a bed in the far corner to rest, Blaze never leaving his side. Tails was sitting in front of the Sick Bay's back door, where both Sonic and Shadow were undergoing intense surgery behind the doors.
McCoy hadn't once left the room since beaming back. He and a group of highly skilled surgeons and Mobians alike weren't going to rest until their patients were stable.
Kirk escaped from his hospital bed and knelt next to the small fox. "They're going to be fine. McCoy is the best surgeon in all of Starfleet. They couldn't die if they wanted to."
"Where did Robotnik go?" Tails asked softly.
"I don't know. All I'm sure of is that he escaped the factory."
"He won't be a threat anymore." Tails said. "Without his source of power, the factory, he won't ever oppose our race again. We could easily track him down."
"You can start rebuilding," Kirk smiled grimly. "And see the green grass and healthy plants you've always wanted to see."
"Yeah!" Tails grinned. "And I can build a workshop and make my plane! I've been working on the blueprints forever! It's going to be called The Tornado!"
Kirk left him sitting there, a bit more optimistic than he he had been a few minuets before. He made it out of Sick Bay without any of the doctors noticing and headed to the Bridge.
There was still some things left to do before they left Mobius to heal.
XxXxXxXx
There is one more chapter after this! And it's going to be really short, as it's the ending one.
I hope you all liked this final action-y one!
Hasta la Vista, Readers!
Lordoftheghostking28