CHAPTER 13: "Thank you and have a wonderful destruction!"
Panicking fans flooded the stadium halls, everyone running amidst the falling debris. The upper levels cleared out first, but they created a block on the lower levels as the people converged from every direction, every person scrambling to find any exit they could. Giant walls prevented their escape. Robotnik had sealed off every one while the game was being played!
The people stopped in place, unable to run any further, nor retreat to where they had come as the upper levels crumbled forward towards the infield, the bots turning around slowly now that the stadium seats were demolished to stare down at the people pressing against the walls in fear. They stomped towards them.
The pillars of the stadium shook violently from their footfalls, sending the fans falling to their knees.
One group looked up to see a giant robot fist about to slam down on top of them.
Everyone screamed as the wind howled from the blow. A second passed, the dust settling. They all looked around. They were alive! The shadow of the fist remained above them, holding still in the air. They didn't waste another moment, scrambling up and out of the way.
Holding up the giant fist were two bears, their muscles flexed to the limit, straining against the pressure.
"No ya don't ya big lugnut!" Mad Mike said between his gritted teeth. "Nuthin can stop..."
"DA BEARS!" They shouted in unison.
Hodge Podge climbed up on the robot in the blink of an eye and swung his leg super fast, kicking it so hard he left a deep dent. It lifted its fist and reached up to slam it into Hodge Podge. The hare was just as quick as his blue friend, and easily leapt up in the air, the robots own fist connecting so hard that it punched its own head clean off its shoulders.
"HEADS UP!" Hodge Podge shouted as the crowd dove out of the way, the robot head smashing to the ground. He leapt down as the robot crashed into the tumbled stadium, sending up another thick cloud of dust.
Da Bears gave Hodge Podge a high five. "C'mon, we gotta make some holes in these walls before the crowds get antsy!"
Big Griz nodded to Mad Mike who picked him up by his feet. "Get outta da way! I'm coming through!" Griz shouted as Mad Mike swung him against the first wall they came to. Griz's hard head bashed clean through, his head wobbling like a tuning fork.
Mad Mike continued to brandish his brother like the world's biggest club, bashing giant holes in the walls. Everyone stood back as the cracks from the holes surged up to the top of the walls.
Hodge Podge followed in their wake, giving a gentle breath that caused each one to crumble into dust. Everyone cheered as they fled the stadium into the parking lot, most people not even bothering to grab their cars and just heading for the hills.
"Where are they going?" Hodge Podge wondered, watching the other robots head out of the stadium. "I'm gonna help take out the robots," Hodge Podge called out to Da Bears as the last wall crumbled, "I think you fellas got everything under control here!"
"But I wanna play ball some more," Griz said dizzily, and then fell over. "Da, maybe I should sit this one out coach," he said, blacking out.
Mad Mike helped his brother up, letting him lean on him. "Go ahead! We'll catch up!"
Hodge Podge was gone in a flash. The other robots weren't hard to find. They had grouped together just outside the stadium. But what he couldn't figure out was, why one of them was fighting the other ones! It swung a powerful punch, knocking one back onto the highway, flopping up the asphalt like a giant carpeted wave, nearly sending the drivers flying off the road as it rose and fell.
"YEEEHAW!" Junior called out as he tugged on the wires and circuits which he had hotwired onto his own. "This is fun!"
"Watch out for the people on the highway!" Breezie warned. She was half inside the ear of the robot, half outside watching as the giant robot stomped along the ground, directing Junior's steps.
"Oops! You're right, sorry about that!" Junior said, tugging a string of wires and bending over. The giant robot he was controlling copied his motions perfectly. He shoved the deactivated bot off the roadway.
"Behind you!" Breezie shouted.
"Got it!" Junior swung around, getting tangled up in the wires. "Whoa!" The bot tottered as he and Breezie tumbled around in the head cavity, getting snared by the wires.
The bot kicked out wildly, taking down another two of the bots but then it fell to the ground itself with a mighty thud, shaking up Breezie and Junior. They shook again as they felt the footfalls of another bot stepping towards them.
"Abandon bot!" Junior yelped, but they were too tangled in the mess.
Just as another sentinel bot was about to stomp down on the head of their bot, it stopped mid-air. Hodge Podge tugged harder on the rope and ran around a couple more times, tying up the limb in the air to the one on the ground. "TIMBER!" He yelled as the bot fell backwards against another one that was coming to help it elminate the rogue bot. They both tumbled hard onto the ground.
Hodge Podge circled them with more rope, going up and over and under until they were tied up so tightly they couldn't get up. He wiped the sweat off his forehead. Phew, that was the last one.
Or so he thought.
All the breath was crushed out of him by a giant fist that plucked him off the ground.
"I've got you now, you heinous hare!" Robotnik's voice echoed out from the robot.
Hodge Podge leaned back, spotting the bloated Dictator standing on top of the final bot's shoulders as it brought him closer.
"Let him go, Pops!"
Robotnik turned around to find another robot staring him in the face, but he recognized the voice all too well.
"Well, well if it isn't my delinquent, disowned son," he said.
The bot closed in, raising a fist to strike him down.
"So you think you can beat your old man at his own game, eh?" Robotnik said, pressing a button on his control device.
The bot released Hodge Podge and swung to block Junior's punch, catching its fist just an inch before it would have knocked it's head clean off. The two bots grappled with each other, fighting for dominance.
"Just face it," Junior's voice echoed, "You've lost, Dad! Quit being a sore loser and go home!"
"Don't you dare talk to me in that tone of voice!" Robotnik retorted, hanging on for dear life as Junior's robot tackled his to the ground.
"No! NO! NOOOOOO!" Robotnik pounded on the robot. "I refuse to lose! Get up, you useless pile of scrap metal!" Robotnik shouted, kicking the robot so hard that he hurt his own foot. He slipped and slid off the shoulder onto the ground. "When I get through with all of you you'll be lucky if I kill you!" He threatened. He yelped as the robot hand came towards him, but he disappeared under a pile of debris.
"Where did he go, Breezie?" Junior asked.
"I don't know, let's get out of this thing and go help Sonic!"
"I'll disable this one. You get the other two and I'll meet you in the in-field!"
"See you soon sweety," Breezie blew him a kiss and slipped out of the bot's head.
"I love that robo-gal!" Junior said as he violently ripped all of the wires out, the bot short-circuiting and its eyes going dark.
The nimble kangaroo seemed to ricochet off the crumbled stands as he made his way to the blimp, carrying two passengers, one complaining the whole way and struggling.
"Don't get too close! The lasers will activate!" Wes covered his eyes and hoped his eminent death would at least be quick if nothing else.
It was too late to stop him. MacHopper dodged their fire. He landed briefly on his tail, springing high up to kick the laser guns off-target with his long feet. He landed perfectly outside the grounded blimp. Wes opened an eye. MacHopper finally responded to Wes's demand and dropped him onto the ground. He sighed heavily in the dirt, but had no time to pity himself because Bobby Bambino picked him up by his Cyclones jersey and set him upright with his good arm, dusting him off politely.
"Thanks Palsy," Wes said.
"Don't thank me yet," Bobby warned, "If anything happens to my teammates, a medical bill is gonna be the least of your worries. Got it?"
"Yessir, Mr. Bambino sir," Wes replied, opening up a panel that neither MacHopper nor Bobby had seen there a second ago. "Ha, he didn't even change the default password," Wes said as he pressed a complex series of buttons that lit up and beeped. The buttons turned a shade of green and beeped twice like a disabled car alarm. Another panel slid open and he pressed the big red button.
A hatch popped lose form the side and hit the dirt. Bobby wasted no time running up it. As soon as he stepped inside a screeching alarm activated. He fell to his knees, covering his ears. "I thought you disabled the system!" Bobby yelled over it.
"I did! He must have installed something of his own!" Wes covered his ears and backed away.
Yet another panel opened, showing them small screen. On the screen was a picture of a kitten batting around a bomb surrounded by hearts. "Self-Destruction sequence activated," a female robotic voice crooned, "You now have - FIVE MINUTES REMAINING - to evacuate to the pre-determined safety zone. All material remaining in the harzard zone will be vaporized-" It showed a picture of the blimp exploding in a large area, obliterating everything above ground within a large yellow circle. It then changed to a photo of tourists heading out in orderly fashion carrying shopping bags and souvenirs, "-so please remember to check under your seats for your personal items. Thank you and have a wonderful destruction!" It ended with a big smiley face, showing a timer countdown. It was already at 4:45 and falling!
Bobby had already run inside, before MacHopper could stop him.
"You heard the lady," Wes said, backing off, "Could I interest you in some 'iDad' insurance?"
"What's that?"
"Imminent Death and Dismemberment, of course."
"No way!"
"Then it's time for me to take my leave! See ya palsy!" Wes took off, nearly as fast as Sonic himself.
"That bloke's sleazier than a one-eyed snake!" MacHopper replied, checking the timer and shouting inside for Bobby over the sirens. He hestitated going inside. He'd just get lost. Bobby would have to save them. He had to get everyone else away from the stadium. "I gotta warn Sonic!" He said bounding off as quickly as he had arrived. Luckily Sonic wasn't too hard to find in all the chaos.
Meanwhile the remaining Androids players had Sonic, Tails and Miss Possum completely surrounded. The heroes stood in a tight circle, back to back.
"Ready?" Sonic asked.
"Ready!"
He handed his bat to Miss Possum and then slipped his arms around their waists. "I call this move my Triple Header!"
His friends held their bats out as Sonic spun into a blue tornado. The SSSSS Squad members freaked out and backed off, but the Android bots foolishly rushed towards the tornado. The rapidly spinning bats tore them apart, their weapons scattering before they could react to fire them. Scratch, Grounder and Coconuts dove into the dugout, watching carefully.
"How are we gonna stop him?" Grounder asked.
"With these, doofus!" Scratch crawled out and grabbed one of the dropped weapons: a Mega-Muck-Missile Launcher. "Watch this!"
He aimed not at the tornado itself but at the ground underneath. A missile fired out and exploded into the ground, turning the surface into a pile of green goo.
"You missed!" Coconuts exclaimed, grabbing for the gun, "Gimme that!"
Scratch grabbed his head and twisted it towards where he fired, "I didn't miss bananas-for-brains! It's a direct hit! Watch! Bwah-ha-ha-HA!"
Sure enough as the tornado ran over the gunk it slowed almost immediately, Sonic tripping into the gunk, losing his grip on his friends, who got flung to the side, rolling to a stop in the dirt about twenty feet away. Sonic bellyflopped forward into it, thrashing against the sticky muck. His movements slowed, the gunk pulling against him, forcing him down against the ground. He grunted, trying to peel himself back, but the green goop only stretched like a rubber band, snapping him painfully back.
"You got him! You got him!" Coconuts cheered.
"Nice shot, Scratch!" Grounder said as they rushed towards the fallen hedgehog.
"Sonic!" Tails and Miss Possum cried out. They carefully stood up, wincing from the fall. They scrambled to their feet as fast as they could and hurried toward him.
"Stay back!" Scratch warned, "Or the hedgehog gets it!" He pulled out a laser and shoved it against Sonic's forehead.
Tails and Miss Possum stopped in their tracks.
"Now back up!" he ordered, advancing towards them. They did so.
Tails hurriedly tugged on Miss Possum's sleeve, whispering frantically, "I need water Miss Possum! Lots of it!"
"Tails! Can't you wait?"
"Not for me!" he pulled her closer, "It's for Sonic! Mega Muck is water soluable! It's the only way to free him!"
"In that case," she said, "I know where to get some. Follow me!"
"Look! They're running away!" Grounder said.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Hoo-hoo! They know when they're beat!" Coconuts added.
"BWAH-HA-HA-HA! Looks like your friends have abandoned you, Sonic!" Scratch said, stomping down on Sonic's head, pushing it further into the muck. Sonic could barely breathe and let out a muffled growl.
"Yeah, they probably think you smell or somethin!" Grounder added, poking his nose roughly.
"The only thing that smells around here is you varmits!" Miss Possum called out from the dugout, frantically turning a red valve. The long hose leading out onto the field filled up quickly.
"It's time for you guys to hit the showers!" Tails replied, holding up the powerful stadium hose as it sprayed a powerful stream of water towards Sonic and the robots. They were completely drenched in seconds. Sonic closed his eyes shut, struggling again as he felt the water wash over him. He could feel the mega muck breaking down. Just a little bit more and he'd break free!
Grounder turned his drill hand into a shield blocking the water. Scratch and Coconuts gathered behind him as he closed the gap towards Tails. They shook the water off themselves.
"Water doesn't hurt us!" Grounder said proudly.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! We're waterproof, pipsqueak!" Coconuts added.
Tails threw aside the hose as they cornered him against the wall. "But your Mega Muck isn't!" He ducked and dove between Scratch's legs, but Coconuts scooped him up, pinning his arms to his sides. "Let me go!"
"Whaddya mean?" Coconuts shook him.
"He was aiming for me!" All three robots turned around. Sonic coughed as Miss Possum helped pull him free from the rest of the gunk. Sonic brushed off the now oily gunk and shook the excess off.
He grinned at them. "Are you three gonna play nice?" Sonic wrung out one glove and then the other. "Or do we have a problem?" He slipped on his gloves and cracked his knuckles.
"You're on your own, mop-boy," Scratch said, grabbing Grounder and fleeing the scene as fast as possible. Miss Possum picked up the hose and pulled it taut as they ran by, tripping them. They fell apart into a pile in their own dugout, their parts rolling about.
Coconuts gulped, looking around for any possible way out of this without being torn to pieces. He held Tails in front of him as a shield as Sonic approached him. "Don't come any closer!" His threat was empty and Sonic knew it, continuing to stare him down and close the gap between them.
Coconuts flung Tails forward with a yelp and scrambled up into the rubble of the stadium stands. Sonic didn't chase after him and instead bent down to his young friend, offering a hand up. "You alright?"
Tails took it. "Thanks."
"I should be thanking you two! That was too close." He waved to Miss Possum as she hurried to them.
"The water was Tails's idea," she said with a smirk.
"Serious?" Sonic seemed very pleased. Tails blushed. "What would I do without you bro?"
"You'd be stuck!" Tails said with a mischevious grin.
Sonic and Miss Possum laughed as Sonic pulled Tails into a head-lock, giving him a noogie. Tails giggled.
"Sonic!"
They all turned around to see MacHopper bounding towards them. He skidded to a halt in the muddy ground.
"What's up Mac?"
"Got big problems!" MacHopper replied, nearly out of breath, "The blimp was booby-trapped! This whole place is gonna blow in a few minutes!"
"What?"
"That's right Hedgehog!" A shadow fell over them. Everyone looked up. Robotnik floated just out of reach in his Egg-o-Matic hovercraft. "I'm afraid play time is over."
"Once a sore loser, always a sore loser," Sonic replied with a shrug and a sigh.
"The only one who's going to be sore is you!" Robotnik cackled, pressing a button on his control console. A large weapon pointed just an inch away from his face.
"C'mon! That all you got?"
Robotnik growled. "My Kinetic Blaster will hit you with so much force that you'll land someone on the next continent!" He snickered.
"Hmm, you don't say," Sonic said inspecting it, "But is it powerful enough to take out your own giant robot?" he pointed up behind him.
"Ha! I'm not falling for your pathetic little trick hedgehog! You just want me to turn around so you can mess with my precious blaster!"
"Wow, guess I can't fool you Doc," Sonic said, still grinning. Miss Possum and Tails tilted their heads back, watching something behind him. Sonic seemed to be watching it as well.
"Stop that! I told you I'm not falling for that!" A shadow fell over him. "What?"
He glanced behind him just in time to see one of his own giant robots slam down its huge foot on top of him, crushing him onto the ground. It ground him in for good measure it had gum on the bottom of its foot. A second later Breezy flew down, carrying Junior.
"I tried to warn you," Sonic said. He smirked.
Robotnik cursed at him. "You may have beaten me, but you won't be able to save your precious baseball players! I've locked them in the blimp and it's going to explode soon, taking everything here with it! AH-HA-HA-HA!"
He stopped laughing as large dust cloud approached. It was Hodge Podge and he wasn't alone. Da Bearz were with him and running in their wake was Bobby, followed by the Ghunderthorks!
"What's that you were saying?" Robotnik looked up to discover THE Bobby Bambino staring him down, surrounded by his teammates, all of them looking like they were about to tear him apart.
"Now, now gentlemen!" Robotnik said, trying to pull himself out of his ruined hovercraft. He was stuck inside it.
"Hey Tails, can you get that blaster off the ship?" Bobby asked.
Tails removed it. "Don't touch that, you two-tailed pest!"
"Whaddya gonna do to him?" Tails asked.
"Ban him from baseball for life," he said, aiming the weapon at him. "Sonic, why don't you do the honors?"
"That would be my pleasure," Sonic said, taking the weapon from him. "Any last words, Eggbelly?"
"You may have won this battle, hedgehog but next time you won't be so lucky!"
"We don't need luck," Sonic replied, "We ll whip your sorry butt any time, any place Ro-bum-nik."
"Yeah!" His friends replied in unison.
"Until then," he said, firing the weapon.
KERPOW! The ground exploded as Robotnik went flying into the air, blasting out of the stadium so fast that he went through the scoreboard easily. Before long he was a tiny dot. But they could hear him screaming, "I HATE THAT HEDGEHOG!"
Everyone cheered.
"I hate to break up the party, mates," MacHopper said, "But we gotta clear the stadium in the next 30 seconds or we're toast!"
END OF CHAPTER 13