Because We're Sonic Heroes
Chapter 20: Final Fortress
Night managed to cross the heroes once again, the third morning being sapped away by their adventures through the Egg Fleet. But by either fate or a ton of luck, the four teams managed to reach Eggman's Final Fortress…
A massive mechanical marvel all by itself, it outsized every ship in the Egg Fleet, with a few heroes comparing it to a whale. Team Sonic had been the first to step foot upon it with Sonic grinning, Tails gasping in awe, and Knuckles simply gaping.
"Oh, the Egg Carrier has nothing on this thing," Knuckles whistled, still taken aback at the immense size.
"Well, this has to be Eggman's headquarters; of course it'd be big, fancy, and over the top!" Sonic exclaimed.
"It's pretty much an airbase, Knuckles," Tails pointed out, scratching his ear. Knuckles just shook his head in bewilderment.
"How does it stay afloat? !"
"Well," Tails began, emitting a light cough. "I'm lead to believe that it has something to do with the air pressure and-"
"Erm…Nevermind, doesn't matter. Let's just take it down." The echidna folded his arms. "So, how do we plan to do that?"
Tails gestured to the main hull of the fortress, as if Knuckles was automatically supposed to know what that meant. When Knuckles didn't catch on as quickly as Tails had hoped, the fox began to explain. "I'd assume that this ship is being powered by…well, a power core, and I wouldn't be surprised if the energy being used came from Grand Metropolis…"
"So bust in there and bust the power core?" Sonic asked, absentmindedly tossing his blue Chaos Emerald up and down.
"That's the plan!"
"Sounds good to me!"
Sonic motioned for the other two to follow, with Knuckles letting out a crazy battle cry before taking off after the hedgehog. Tails chuckled and flew to catch up, until a flash of lighting caused a bright scar in the sky, with the thunder being the sky's pained scream and the rain that fell afterward the tears.
"…wait up! WAIT UP!"
Tails wasted no time in flying toward what could possibly be a suicide mission…better than taking his chances with the storm.
. . .
"Well…here we are," Amy breathed, her boots squeaking against the wet metal. The rain was much more menacing than it had been in the forest, and the lighting didn't just startle Tails…
Cream's ears straightened out perfectly when the blinding flash lit up the sky and the rumble of thunder pounded against her ear drums. "Ooh, this is…quite overwhelming. I really better pull myself together…"
"Are you afraid of storms, Cream?" Amy asked, glancing over her shoulder and looking concerned. To Amy's surprise, Cream shook her head.
"No, I actually love storms…" she glanced up at the sky worriedly, cringing when another lightning bolt struck. "It's just…this one seems very violent…"
"It's not so bad," Big promised, ushering Cream under his parasol. "I've endured storms much worse than this back in Mystic Ruins!"
Amy, meanwhile, took the lead and looked around. The deck didn't appear to have any definite way to go, let alone a sign that said "Eggman- this direction!"
"Ugh, where are we supposed to go from here? I know Eggman's on this ship and all, but it's so big…"
Cream peered out from under the umbrella, noticing more grind rails reaching about the fortress. On them she saw Team Dark grinding away, which she quickly pointed out to Amy.
"Hey, I bet Shadow and his friends know where Eggman is!" she exclaimed. "Maybe if we stay close to them…?"
Amy smiled and winked at Cream, already following the rail riders. "I see where you're going with this. Let's find Eggman and finish him once and for all!"
. . .
"Do we even know where Eggman is?"
"Unfortunately, no. I was just going on my killer instinct and Omega's rage."
"Eggman is only minutes away from termination!"
Large spotlights shot through the night, and proved to be the only illumination for the fortress. Shadow shook his quills dry of the pounding rain, only for them to be soaked once again. He was trying his hardest not to lose his traction on the grind rail, but the faster they went, the more dangerous it became.
"This weather could be an omen…" Shadow commented, staring up at the ravenous thunderclouds above. Rouge shook her head.
"You're thinking too much, Shadow…" she began, only to notice Omega quickly look away. "What? You too, Omega?"
"Sensing strong magnetic field…magnitude off the scale!"
"I'm going to admit to you guys, I'm feeling a bit uneasy…" Shadow confessed, his hard crimson-eyed gaze focused on the path ahead. "But there's no time to worry about that. Now is the time to attack!"
"Eggman's headquarters detected!" Omega yelled, readying his guns. "Destruction mode engaged!"
"I thought those battleships were big, but this is enormous…" Rouge whispered, taken completely aback at the sheer size of the ship.
"Enormous engineering feet, I must admit."
Shadow eventually reached the end of the rail, landing with a clank and surveying the surroundings. He turned to his team and tightly clenched his fist.
"We're almost at the moment of truth…at the center of this thing is Eggman, and not only will we get our revenge-"
"And treasure!" interrupted Rouge.
"-I'll finally get my answers…"
Consecutively nodding, Rouge and Omega tailed Shadow, the burning desire to locate Eggman being the only reason why he lumbered on.
. . .
Team Chaotix fought through the fortress as well, Vector clutching the communication device like it was a lifeline. The client hadn't contacted them yet, and not knowing what was going on at the other end was putting the crocodile on edge.
Charmy wasn't as concerned about the lack of instruction, instead turning his attention solely to the deck where lightning constantly felt the need to strike. For whatever reason, he found it quite humorous.
"Heh, guess they should call this place the 'Thunder Deck'! Hee hee…"
"Clever, Charmy," Espio replied, staring at the walkie talkie as hard as Vector was gripping Charmy folded his arms and heaved a heavy groan.
"I dunno why you guys are so stressed about this. Maybe our client expects that we're going to finish Eggman off at long last like the other teams, and doesn't have to tell us what to do!"
"Maybe, but it's unlike him to not butt his nose in at unprecedented times," Vector defended. "He'll be calling us up any second no-"
"Excuse me? Who's butting their nose in?"
"This crazy next-door neighbor we have- he's a real nut job!" Vector responded immediately with a lie, Espio moaning in disbelief in the background. "A-anyway, what's the scoop?"
"Well, you guys have been doing a great job, and I'm almost proud to say that this will be your last mission," the client explained. Charmy looked utterly ecstatic.
"Hey! Looks like we got praised after all!"
"Easy Charmy, let's wait until we hear what we're doing," suggested Espio.
"See, I've been…captured, and am being held captive in one of the rooms on this flagship. Find the keys to this room and rescue me. There are a total of five keys."
"We finally get to meet you? !" "How are we supposed to find you? This ship is huge!" "Wait…have you been here the whole time?"
Charmy, Espio, and Vector stared at the communicator, and they could almost see the look of perplexity that crossed their client's face.
"Erm…technically speaking, yes, you will get to meet me and receive your pay. You can find me at the very back of the ship, behind the door with five locks- go figure. And…yes, I've been here the whole time."
"Why'd you tell us only now?" Vector asked. "I mean, if you'd told us you were captured earlier –along with that handsome pay- we could have freed you already!"
"I- I know. But, this needed to be handled delicately…and it would've been too early if I had informed you before."
"Too early…what-?"
"Listen, just get the keys, come and find me, and do it before the fortress is brought down! I'm counting on you!"
The line went dead, and though the team had more questions, they were all surprised.
"Someone's actually counting on us…" Espio realized, trailing with uncertainty.
"And we don't even know who it is," added Charmy.
"Either way, the only way to get to the bottom of this mystery is to get key hunting!" Vector put the walkie talkie away and pointed forward. "Let's go, boys! We're one mission away from a handsome pay!"
. . .
Sonic glided down the golden rail, already having made great progress across the massive flagship. In fact, everything was going smoothly until a hulking brute of a robot descended down upon them. The resulting 'thud' it made was enough to bounce the group into the air, sending them all to the ground.
"What the…is that an Egg Hammer?" Knuckles asked, only able to make out the mega-mallet the machine wielded. Sonic shook his head as he returned to a standing position.
"No, it's worse…that's a Heavy Egg Hammer. Much tougher."
"And Egg Hammers are pretty tough to begin with!" added Tails. Knuckles just snarled and readied his fists.
"I'm pretty tough to begin with as well!"
Sonic and Tails simply watched as Knuckles threw himself at the robot once again, leaving Sonic to wonder who really was the one who acted without thinking. Just as Knuckles was within range, the Heavy Hammer's primary weapon came swinging forward and battering Knuckles back like he was a baseball. Sonic had to grab him and pull him out of the air before he ended up careening off the edge and into the night sky.
"Oof, well, they were properly named…" Knuckles wheezed. "Heavy hammer indeed."
"Haven't you learned from the drone incident?" Sonic asked, setting Knuckles back on his feet. "This thing's going to take twice the fire power."
"Hmm…I think you're right, Sonic."
"…you do? !"
"Yup." Knuckles grabbed Sonic's wrist, then walked over and grabbed Tails'. "Fire Dunk!"
"Pardon?" both Sonic and Tails asked, but their only answer was being violently thrown at the Heavy Hammer without much of a choice. They were inexplicably enveloped in fire, which increased the damage done to the Heavy Hammer when they slammed into the torso. The moment Sonic uncurled slightly, he flung himself to the Heavy Hammer's back and attempted to twist the head off.
"That wasn't quite what I meant…"
Knuckles only shrugged as it was his turn to be thrown- Tails hurled him and performed Thunder Shoot, electrocuting the Heavy Hammer as soon as Knuckles collided with the robot. This caused the killer machine to drop its weapon, with Knuckles struggling to pick it up. However, once he managed to heave it over his shoulder, he called for Sonic to get out of the way. Sonic complied with no complaints, flipping off of the robot as Knuckles smashed the hammer into its original owner. Sonic and Tails shielded themselves as metallic bits burst everywhere, but it was all right, for the Heavy Hammer was no more.
"Yikes," squeaked Tails, unsettled by the strength of the machine. "Just imagine other tune-ups that Eggman's robots may have gotten…"
"Well no matter what they are," declared Sonic. "They're not stopping us form reaching the core!"
. . .
Big was simply doing what the rest of his team was doing- staying as close to Team Dark as they could and hopefully finding their way to Eggman and their kidnapped friends. The purple cat in particular was eager to just get the whole thing over with- his promise to Froggy had been broken days ago, and now he just wanted to make things right. His whole life had been lived in Mystic Ruins with Froggy as his only companion, and it was just over five months ago that his life became so chaotic.
He turned to Amy and Cream- two girls far younger than him, plodding their way through a monstrously sized flying fortress, just to perform a rescue. Big decided that if anything good was to come out of this, it be that he'd finally be reunited with Froggy, and that he would have made some great friends along the way.
"Some sections will fall and explode!" Amy suddenly cried, catching Big's attention. "Hurry!"
Amy, being the speed type, ran with all her might to get her team through the danger zone. Cream had it lucky, for she could just fly over the hazard without too much worry. Big, on the other hand, wasn't as light footed as the rest of his team, and really had to push himself to get by safely.
"Oh, boy…"
It really wasn't helping that explosions were detonating on his heels, or that Amy was screaming about avoiding the cannon markers again. The last thing Big needed was to dodge ammo as well.
Eventually, Big managed to get to safe footing, with Amy panting from exhaustion and Cream huffed from the intensity of it all. Despite his brush with danger, Big hardly thought twice about it- it was just another step toward Froggy.
"What's next for us?" he asked, turning to Amy, who was trying to locate any member of Team Dark.
"Ooh…I'm not sure. I think we lost the trail…"
"Maybe if we just keep heading this way, we'll get to where we need to go," suggested Cream, gathering the group into flight formation. She carried them to an upper part of the area, where Amy found Shadow and Omega fighting off a Heavy Hammer. She smiled and frantically pointed downward.
"Hey, you were right, Cream! We don't even need to follow them anymore. I bet they'll be so busy dispatching every robot that we'll beat them to Eggman!"
"Well…as long as we can get there on our own, then okay!"
Big nodded in agreement, as he usually did, and allowed Amy to lead in the way she thought best. Both girls were very clever, Amy with her pep talks and Cream always seeming to know what to do… Big may not have been the brightest bulb in the bunch, but he was satisfied with helping in any way that he could.
"Hey Big!" Amy called, running back to where he had stopped, lost in his own thoughts. "Do you think you can get rid of that huge cannon for us, if it's all right."
Big hoisted his fishing pole over his shoulder and smiled at Amy. "No problem at all!"
. . .
Omega existed for one purpose- destroy all Eggman robots!
…well, that was his own self-inflicted purpose, at least.
His original purpose, designated by Eggman, was to guard Shadow in that sealed room, to make sure that no one would break in and discover the doctor's dark secret. Unfortunately for Eggman, he never anticipated that the last of his E-Series robots would betray him.
Omega hadn't been in that room for very long, and he really didn't know how long Shadow had been in there before Eggman had decided to beef up the security. Regardless, it was enough time for a highly developed fighter robot like Omega to realize his talent was being wasted in a room, guarding a creature in a test tube.
And now here he was, on a flying creation of the doctor's, destroying fellow robots of the doctor's, on his way to destroy the doctor himself.
"Must eradicate! All sensors locked on Eggman robots!"
"Omega," Rouge began, once again allowing Omega and Shadow to prove their dominance by crushing metal. "I understand that you feel that the way to get back at the doctor is by destroying the rest of his robots…but wouldn't that mean you'd have to destroy y-"
Omega refused to let her finish as he stomped in front of her to take the blow from the first of two Heavy Hammers. The bat gasped and widened her eyes, fretting for her robotic friend, but being a robot, Omega felt nothing. The blow didn't even leave a dent, which Rouge was relieved to see. However, she wasn't so relieved when Omega grabbed her and used her against the Heavy Hammer. As Rouge once again ranted on about 'giving her a warning', a thought worked its way through Omega's processors.
"Hmm…"
There was Eggman's original intention for him. There was the quest that Omega had placed upon himself. And then…there was the purpose circumstances had given him.
Somewhere along the way during the crazy, mixed up adventure, he had found Shadow and Rouge by his side, having his back while he had theirs. It started rocky, with Shadow holding a grudge against the robot for attacking without consideration and Rouge having divided attention of Eggman's treasure and Shadow's lost memories, but they were now a pretty stable team. It never really occurred to him why he assisted the duo, or why he obeyed when they told him when he was getting too destructive, or even why he somehow managed to know what to say to cheer up Rouge, but he could conclude one thing…
They were much better company than Eggman.
"Omega- this one is getting ready to fall!" Shadow exclaimed, running around in mad black circles to keep the Heavy Hammer's attention on him. "Strike at the right opportunity!"
"Understood," Omega replied, lifting his arm and taking aim. He waiting until the robot's face was completely facing him before firing. The shot hit its mark perfectly, damaging the wiring and whatnot within. The Heavy Hammer ceased to function, dropping its hammer and simply collapsing to the ground. Shadow huffed a little, but visibly looked unexhausted. He turned to Omega, smirked in his own dangerous way, and gave him the quickest thumbs up ever witnessed.
"Not bad."
"I must be quick and precise to be of use," was his near-emotionless reply. Shadow just shrugged and pointed his team in the next direction, which Omega was quick to agree with. It just meant that they would continue on with their mission. The only thing that they were allowed to deviate for was to attack other robots looming about.
And Omega wouldn't have it any other way.
. . .
The Chaotix had already found the first key, and Charmy was undeniably determined to find the next. After Vector had made quite a show in locating it, Charmy wanted to top him.
After all, Vector and Espio always had to go out of their way to prove they were in charge, and Charmy knew it as well. As awesome as he thought they were, and rarely admitted, he wanted to be just like them.
As Charmy was buzzing in his own thoughts about being as strong as Vector or as stealthy and skilled as Espio, he flew right into the chameleon, who had stopped and surveyed the area.
"Hmm…I sense Eggman's robots again."
"Bad guys!" Charmy cheered, spinning his helmet back around and flying toward the fray. "I'll take care of 'em-"
"Better leave this to me," interrupted Vector, sprinting by the other two and swinging his arms in all directions. Charmy went flying away in the aftermath, up righting himself and frowning.
"Hey, but I-"
He couldn't even finish his sentence, for Vector had already torn apart the robots. Espio whistled, impressed with the speed.
"Nice time, Vector."
"I guess all these missions have been good for the biceps," chuckled the crocodile, making muscles and striking pose. Espio walking by and plainly ignored him while Charmy whimpered and floated alongside them.
Eventually Espio had taken the lead and rushed down several ramps, ricocheted from wall to wall, and stylishly destroyed a few more of Eggman's clunkers. Charmy outwardly complained at missing another chance to shine and simply resorted to looking for the second key himself.
"Hey! There it is over there!" he claimed, his eyes catching a glint inside of a small cage. He hovered over and tried to pry off the bars, but they wouldn't budge for nothing. "Huh. There's gotta be some way to open it…"
Charmy turned around to locate a switch or something of the sort, only to find himself faced with a Heavy Hammer ten times his tiny bee size.
"Well hi!"
Espio and Vector, meanwhile, were searching behind every pipe, box, and hatch in search of more keys, but were quickly torn from their search by the sudden lack of a bee buzzing in their ear.
"Oh, great. Where'd the little pipsqueak run off to this time…?" Vector grunted, throwing a box to the ground and huffing off. "I swear, he'd better not be getting into any trouble-"
"A little late for that, Vector," Espio cough, pointing off to the side. Vector's gazed turned to where Espio was pointed, only to witness Charmy at the mercy of a Heavy Hammer. Letting out an uncharacteristically high pitched yelp, Vector scampered over there with Espio into tow.
"Hang on, Charmy, we'll save ya!" Vector blared. Charmy was sitting on the ground and leaning against the key cage.
"Save me? But I-"
"YAARGH!"
Vector roared and threw himself onto the Heavy Hammer, his fists of fury doing next to nothing to the reinforced metal. Espio was wise to stay clear until an opportunity presented itself, and Charmy was still sitting on the ground looking confused.
Soon enough, the Heavy Hammer whirled around and tossed Vector right off, followed by extending its hammer. From there, it spun around rapidly, striking Vector somewhere in the process and continuing until it was dizzy. The hammer's weight and momentum forced the Heavy Hammer onto one leg, which Espio used as a chance to attack. Before he could get close enough, Charmy dashed in from nowhere, striking the last leg it had to stand on and sending it to the ground. Then Espio rushed in and attacked it, while Charmy saw that the cage had shattered when the Heavy Hammer hit the ground, and retrieved the key inside.
"I knew I could do it! I bet the last three will be even easier!"
Charmy happily glided away, with Espio balking and Vector griping in pain on the ground.
. . .
Team Sonic was stuck in an area that was shielded from all light, with the exception of the flashing lights that lined the path. Sonic was mostly taking care of business, being on point and depicting the team's next move, with consultation from Tails.
Which was perfectly fine with Knuckles- he was just looking forward to destroying the power core, taking down the armada, defeating Eggman, and getting back to Angel Island.
He had a very limited idea about what needed to be done, so it was easier to allow Tails to spew his long explanations without asking questions and to let Sonic be as reckless as he wanted- it was who they were, after all.
Going against the grain wouldn't get them anywhere, as he had to learn the hard way.
"Argh, they're blocking the way!" Sonic suddenly cried, running toward the next door. However, like before, a red and yellow drone was standing guard, shield held high and guns blazing. Knuckles stepped forward and jerked a fist in the robot's direction.
"I'll take care of it- and I won't 'mindlessly' throw myself at it this time," he explained, shooting a glance at Tails. Tails grinned sheepishly and allowed the echidna to carry on.
As Knuckles danced around the android, waiting for a moment to strike, he thought about why he was even here to begin with. Tails had shown up in his biplane, surprisingly without Sonic, and explained about the letter he had received. Knuckles didn't have to go- Tails even said he just thought it'd be best if Knuckles knew about it.
If anyone else had asked him, Knuckles would've responded with a flat "No." He served to protect the Master Emerald, and only left the island to continue to guarantee its safely. Technically, he reasoned to himself, he left just to be sure Eggman wouldn't bother stealing the mystic gem again, but it seemed the doctor was beyond that.
"And take that!" Knuckles shouted, his fist thrusting into the back of the droid. He'd managed to roll around behind it and strike from there. Sonic cheered him on as Tails called out that a second well-placed blow would probably finish it off. Knuckles nodded, backed away, and awaited another chance to attack.
So if the doctor hadn't wanted the Master Emerald, why did Knuckles stay with the group anyway? Was it because he secretly wanted to get away from the endless cycle of life on the island, even just for a few days? Perhaps it was because it was simply the right thing to do, and Knuckles extended his protection of the Master Emerald to the world itself?
"Yes! Good job, Knux!" Sonic exclaimed, pumping his fists into the air as the droid that stood in their way was dismantled. Tails proceeded to open the next door as Knuckles smiled to himself, proud of his small feat. He turned and took the lead for once, just in case more robots decided that they were feeling bold.
"Let's just keep an eye out for anymore clunkers," Knuckles said. "It's already the final night, so we've got to take care of this now."
"We know, we know," scoffed Sonic, hands held behind his head. "Don't take all the fun out of it! Think of it as a last minute, daring mission, where we are the world's last hope at peace…and the solution to our problem resides in the very center of this fortress!"
"…Sonic, that's our situation exactly."
"…well, still, don't make the circumstances sound worse than they already are!"
Sonic dashed away then, the aftermath wind causing Knuckles' dreads to fly forward and smack him in the face. The echidna grumbled a little, but simply brushed them out of his face and trotted after the hyperactive hedgehog.
"Hmm…"
Fighting to get deeper into a dangerous, hazardous fortress certainly wasn't Knuckles' idea of how to spend a day. But now that he thought about it, and as he watched Sonic and Tails enjoy adventuring into the death trap, he decided on the true reason he'd left the island and agreed to do this.
He'd only been away from Angel Island only a few times in his entire life, which roughly added up to two and a half weeks total, give or take. Knuckles still didn't understand how most things worked in the world below his island, but that was okay- he knew enough not look like a complete fool if he ever went out in public. So long as he was with Sonic and Tails, maybe it wouldn't be so unbearable.
Knuckles enjoyed their company. Not all the time, of course, but every once in a while was just right for him.
. . .
"Those guys look pretty tough up ahead," Rouge said under her breath, she and her team approaching three red and yellow drones.
"Better be careful."
"I'm so tired of these creeps," grumbled Shadow, deciding on how to dispatch them. "Who do they think they are?"
"The E-2000!" Omega suddenly yelled, causing Rouge and Shadow to give them looks that asked for more info. "They are the robots Eggman designed after he gave up on the original E-Series, being yours truly. So they're in production now…I'll destroy them all!"
"So that's what those things are called," Rouge realized, jumping away from the E-2000 drone's attack.
"You just now recall the name after how many we've battled already?" Shadow deadpanned.
The three of them used all their abilities to execute a quick dispatch, with Omega continuing on about the new series of robots that had replaced him. Rouge eventually grew bored with hearing him drone about his rage, so she turned to Shadow, who also looked quite uninterested with Omega's ranting.
"Shadow…can I ask you something?"
"If it was that question, then yes."
"You know what I mean."
"The answer's still yes…though I might downgrade it to an 'I suppose'."
Rouge made a brief face, but it quickly went away as she returned to her original thoughts. "Shadow…do you think I'm…selfish?"
"Hm. You're a thief that does what she can to get what she wants, which is usually treasure, jewels, or both. You have a tendency to show greed and can be very abrasive, but selfish? Hm."
Rouge glared back, to which Shadow shrugged.
"Just being straight up. Why do you ask?"
"I dunno, last time I was out and about like this, I did some things that I'm not completely proud of, and whether I was working for the good side or the bad side at the time, it was always to follow my own desires," she sighed sadly. "It's just…even though I'm still looking for Eggman's treasure, I was hoping that this time around I could redeem myself, if only slightly…"
"Well…" Shadow wore a perplexed expression. "If you are selfish, you're not completely like that. You cared for a city that you didn't want torn down, even though it was under the enemy's control. You helped me out whenever you could and, well, it's not like you're pure evil because you go out of everyone's way to get something you want."
"R-Really?"
Shadow shrugged once more, which was beginning to bug the albino bat. "I suppose. If you surrounded yourself with a few more friends, you never know. You might become a nicer person, and if it really bothers you, your selfishness might diminish."
Rouge smirked and folded her arms. "Well that's awfully reassuring. You sure you're not just saying this to make a beauty like me feel better?"
"It's the best I've got- I can always take it back…"
"No, no, it'll do!" Rouge glanced around and frowned at their circumstances. "If we ever reach our destination and get our answers, I'll be sure to put it in action."
"Eggman located due north. Continue to proceed in said direction."
Omega led the way, Shadow determined as always, and Rouge now looking very insightful.
. . .
"All right, this place looks extra dangerous," Amy declared, halting her team before they skipped right into a bottomless pit. "Cream should fly us over, then Big can take care of those Badnik Brutes up ahead."
"Sure thing, Amy!" Cream and Big responded, both of them preparing to carry out their requests.
"Our reunion with Froggy and Chocola can't be far now!"
"I sure hope so," agreed Big, grabbing onto Amy as they began to fly across the lethal drop.
Cream smiled as she carried the group in flight formation. There was once a time where she was a bit upset at Amy, for harboring such a crazy obsession for Sonic and the fact that this caused her to disregard Big and Cream herself. At first she almost blindly marched through danger just to find Sonic, and completely lost regard for Froggy and Chocola. Cream never said a word, since Amy's temper always had to be in check. She almost slipped up in Casino Park, but it ended up all right.
At least now Amy had realized her somewhat selfish mistakes, and was trying to make amends for them in her own little way. She hardly brought up Sonic as of late, and was more considerate towards Big's sensitivity about losing Froggy.
"Chao Chao?" Cheese spoke up, poking at Cream just as the rabbit sent her team down on the other side of the hazard. Cream alighted on the ground herself, patting her small friend afterward.
"We're really close, Cheese!" Cream assured. "We've just got to be a bit more patient and persistent!"
"That's right," added Amy, now taking the lead. "I still can't believe Eggman built this thing…it's huge! It's like this fortress is the size of a city!"
"Maybe he doesn't like his neighbors much?" Cream asked fervently, tossing out a suggestion.
"I…don't even think he has neighbors."
"You never know!"
Amy dismissed the thought as Big battered a way forward, ending up with the team descending into an inner area of the fortress.
"This is lucky," Cream decided, following Big through the path.
"Maybe Froggy's hidden down here!" exclaimed Big, suddenly moving faster. "Froggy? Froggy!"
"At least he's being optimistic," Amy sighed, placing her hands on her hips. Cream smiled with her- maybe things we're finally looking up for them.
. . .
With two keys under their belt, it was a matter of time before the Chaotix had all five. Vector in particular was keen on finding the next one, even though he had found the first. Charmy was proud that he'd –almost- taken down a Heavy Hammer single handedly, and that he retrieved a second key as well.
"Looks like I'm not such dead weight after all!"
"We already praised you, Charmy, now keep it up and keep an eye out," Espio ordered.
"Then we can free our client, beat up Eggman for imprisoning him on this ship, and get our handsome reward! In the words of Sonic, it'll be a piece of cake!"
Espio just nodded and attempted to keep his focus- he'd be able to sense a key anywhere…
Meanwhile, Vector was just concerned with what Charmy was saying.
It almost wasn't fair, the way Sonic did good things and never asked for anything in return. Vector wished he could be like Sonic in that aspect, but unlike Sonic, Vector had bills to pay.
"It's funny," he said aloud, directed at Espio but he wouldn't mind if he didn't receive an answer. "I always wanted to be a hero when I was younger, and the closest I could get was by becoming a detective."
"It is funny," agreed Espio. "I always thought you wanted to be in a band."
"Well I did, but we all know how well that went…'sides, what's wrong with our Chaotix Recitals?"
"What's wrong with that? We're the main cause of deafness when we play."
"…Anyway, I became a detective since I wanted to help people, but that plan sort of went awry, you know?"
Espio gave a firm nod before darting to the left, spinning into a robot, and kicking it off the edge. Vector looked somewhat disturbed as Espio returned to his side. Vector sighed and hung his head.
"Do you think I reached my goal, Espio? Or am I just trying to be something I'm not?"
Espio thought about for a moment, kicking open a door where the third key was simply resting on the ground. Charmy cheered, buzzed over, and grabbed it, beginning to fly around and cheer.
"Well, think about it, Vector. You're risking everything you've got to save a guy who could possibly be a complete stranger. When we save him, you'll be our client's hero. Not to the extent of Sonic, or even the original Shadow that gave his life for the whole world…but you are a good guy in your own right."
"Hmm. Never thought about it that way before," Vector realized.
"I think you're a hero, Vector!" Charmy exclaimed, flying over and dropping the recently acquired key in his grasp. Vector blinked and started up at Charmy, who was fidgeting with his vest. "To tell the truth…I wanna be just like you!"
"Like…me?" Vector repeated, Charmy nodded to confirm it. "I've never really done much though…you want to be like me, when there's nothing special about me at all?"
"Except the fact you can breathe fire," muttered Espio, but no one managed to pick that up.
"Of course! Sure, you might not have done crazy or outrageous things, but…you can be cool when you want to be, and Espio too."
Espio perked up a bit at this as Vector laughed lightly and patted Charmy on the back. "I always knew you were a good kid, Charm!"
"Let's use all this heroism we apparently have and find the fourth key," Espio interrupted, not trying to ruin the moment, but to guide the group back on track. Vector allowed Charmy to sit on his shoulder as the key quest continued.
They unknowingly ended up stepping on a bomb of sorts, which they only noticed once Espio heard the faint ticking. They used their last few seconds to dart out of the way, just before the explosive imploded on itself. The resulting blast caused the Chaotix to rocket into the air.
"…didn't think it would self-destruct. We barely made it," Espio concluded.
"Yeah, that's what they get!" Charmy exclaimed, simply lost in the spur of the moment. The three of them landed conveniently on some nearby grind rails, with Vector more than ready to get away from the detonation area.
"What an explosion! If we were any slower, we woulda been toast for sure!"
"I just hope the teams are a little less careless than we were…" Espio admitted, glancing ahead at whatever awaited them.
. . .
"Sonic!" Knuckles yelled, having been blasted away by a detonator as well. Sonic just grinned and shrugged as best he could while airborne. "Of all the reckless…"
"I never thought it'd actually self-destruct…" the hedgehog managed to squeak out in his defense.
"Are you kidding me? It's blown to pieces! It's a miracle that we weren't!"
"I wonder why it self-destructed though…" Tails pondered to no one in particular. Without any means to investigate further, Tails gathered the group into flight formation and placed them onto grind rails. Sonic instantly flipped to the middle one while Tails flew to the one on the left.
The group performed an impressive loop on the grind rails, Sonic smirking the moment they pulled it off. However, their success didn't last for long, because a shockwave zipped down the middle rail, with Sonic jumping up almost too late. The soles of his shoes ended up being singed a bit, which really upset him.
"Aw man! What gives?" Sonic huffed, looking forward to finding the origin of the laser.
"Red laser fired!" Tails cried.
"What does that even mean? !"
Tails and Knuckles both yelped and jumped as two shockwaves shot down their rails, where Tails theorized that it could be lighting that struck the rails. But once it seemed that a blue beam of light shot out of a cannon below them, Tails concluded that they were being bombarded by both.
"Okay, what was that? !" Knuckles yelped, his voice going up an octave. "What was that bright light? Giant laser beams? !"
"I'm afraid so!" Tails called back, now flying off the rail to make it easier to avoid both threats. "Cannons are firing at us, and these rails are like lighting magnets!"
"They can't be specifically targeting us, can they? !" Sonic questioned, jumping from rail to rail to avoid all hazards flying at him.
"I'm sure anyone on the rails would be in danger…"
Team Sonic frantically dodged for their lives, Tails eventually having enough of it all and returning the group into flight formation. Sonic was more than welcome to this idea, while Knuckles was yelling at Tails to go higher- primary colors of lasers were aimed to shoot his legs off.
"Okay, I believe we're out of range, here…" Tails huffed, setting the group in an area beyond the rails. Sonic looked completely frazzled.
"I hope that is the only time in my life that I will ever despise a grind rail."
"Whoa, Sonic despising a grind rail?" Knuckles gasped, lying on the ground. "If that's possible, then I'm not the last echidna!"
"Oh, hush," Sonic returned to his feet and scanned the surroundings, only to blanch when he saw what was up ahead. Tails was fearing that he had chosen a bad spot to seek safety at.
"Um, Sonic?"
"Stay sharp." Sonic cut him off with a quick and sharp whisper, stuck in a battle stance and slowly inching his way forward. Tails and Knuckles made his way behind him, only to see what he was so tense about.
Two Heavy Hammers blocking their way forward, along with lesser Egg Pawns for back up.
"We'll be all right, as long as we focus on the Heavy Hammers one at a time," Sonic explained. "That means one of them needs to be stunned with Thunder Shoot at all times."
"Got it!" Tails replied, nodding in agreement.
When they got close enough, Sonic broke out of his defensive pose and ran straight at the Egg Pawns.
"They're robots everywhere! Time to party!"
"It looks like their attack is mounting!" Tails deducted, grabbing Knuckles and performing Thunder Shoot. "Keep your guard up!"
"I'll destroy everything that comes my way!" Knuckles yelled as he collided with the Heavy Hammer on the right. Sonic made a mocking face as he sent an Egg Pawn over the edge.
"Well in that case, I'm not coming in Knuckles' way anytime soon!"
Knuckles emitted a low growl in reply as he proceeded to attack the other Egg Hammer. Tails, meanwhile, whipped out his tails and threw himself into the robotic fray.
"Bring it on!" he shouted, knocking out a clunker with one blow. Sonic, in the middle of tearing an Egg Pawn to pieces, managed a genuine smile.
"That's my bro."
. . .
There was once a time where Espio believed that Vector wasn't suited to be leader of the Chaotix.
When he took over the business, Espio highly disapproved of his laid-back attitude, rambunctious nature, and his taste in music. There were times when Espio felt that he would be much better suited for the position.
The thought crossed Espio's mind as he silently made his way down the rails, listening to Vector and Charmy return to bickering when lighting shot up the rails and lasers aimed to blow them to smithereens.
"Yellow! I said yellow laser!"
"What difference does the color make? It's a laser for crying out loud!"
"Red! Red Laser!"
"Wow! That's what I call a laser!"
"It's-a firing a blue laser!"
Espio just murmured to himself and continued to solid ground. Despite the fact that Vector's methods were usually very…unorthodox, he meant well, and his ideas usually worked out in the end.
He landed on the next platform, knocked out a robot, and retrieved the fourth key that he was carrying…along with one that was different from the other keys.
"That's peculiar…" Espio noticed, holding up the golden key. It was smaller than the other keys, colored differently, and didn't have Eggman's over eccentric face on it. It was just a plain old normal key. "Better hang onto this for safe keeping…"
As he pocketed the find away, Vector and Charmy caught up with him, looking much more upbeat now that they didn't have to quarrel about oncoming lasers intent on killing them. Espio updated them on the situation.
"I've located the fourth key, meaning there's only one left to find," he explained. "I also found a key that's different from the others, but it could be important."
"Good work, Espio," Vector said honestly, giving the ninja thumbs up. "I would've been here sooner, but our 'legacy' here wanted to be difficult."
"I just don't get why you felt the need to point out the color of the lasers! Saying 'Look out! Laser!' would've worked ya know!"
"It's behind us now," Espio interrupted. "We still need to find the location of the door after we get the keys, so we have no time to lose."
"My thoughts exactly- let's go!" Vector put his words into action and jogged off, Espio sprinting and Charmy flying eagerly along.
Luckily, the group didn't have to go too far, for Charmy spotted the key locked up like some of the ones before. Also like before, it was being guarded by a pack of robots.
"You know what to do, boys," Vector stated as they got closer. "Espio, would you care to lead off?"
Espio was taken a bit aback by this, but acquiesced anyway. "Yes, no problem."
Espio prepared a few shuriken in his hand and darted forward, Vector and Charmy keeping close. Once Espio momentarily stunned the robots with his weapons, Vector and Charmy went to work. Vector instantly heaved a wave of fire, with Charmy being tossed at them and doing damage like a bowling ball. There were only three, and Vector and Charmy combined destroyed two, so Espio flung himself in, went invisible, struck without being seen, and freed the final key to their client's cell.
"And there we go," Espio sighed to himself, claiming the key. "Our final mission, on the brink of being completed."
Meanwhile, Vector caught a glint in the corner of his eyes and turned to investigate, only to discover another cage. This time, however, it was barricaded shut with a silver lock, and housed the red (and final) Chaos Emerald.
"Well, well! Looks like Eggman keeps his trump cards hidden in plain sight," Vector chuckled. "I bet this is what Espio's key unlocks…"
"And I've got it right here!" cheered Charmy, tossing it to Vector. Vector, surprised, caught it flawlessly and raised an eyebrow at Charmy.
"How'd you manage to get it off his person without him turning around and pinning you to a wall?"
"I get into his stuff all the time- that wasn't much different!"
…concerned, but not going to worry about it for the moment, Vector inserted the key into the lock and freed the Chaos Emerald from its prison.
"Wow, it's just as pretty as the other one we have!"
"And we've got two now!" cheered Charmy. "That's more than I thought I'd ever see in my entire life!"
"That's saying something, considering you're six."
"Hey! Who stole my key?" Espio suddenly questioned, turning around to face the group. He noticed that Vector was clutching both the key and the Chaos emerald, while Charmy was trying to cover up an undeniably guilty look. The chameleon's gaze lowered along with his voice, but he didn't sound the least bit irritated.
"So, you guys found another Chaos Emerald. Nice."
"Yeah, well…" Vector trailed off, tossing the emerald at Espio. He caught it with both hands, and then stared curiously at Vector. "You found the key, and since Charmy has the other Emerald, I'd figure that you should hang onto this one."
"But…you're the leader. Wouldn't you feel better if you hung onto it?"
"Maybe." The ends of Vector's lips went upward. "But, I suppose you deserve a little reward for all the hard work you've done. I really appreciate all you do for the team, Espio."
Espio was frozen with utter shock, but Charmy answered for him. "Hey! Hey! Do ya 'preciate me, Vector? Huh? Huh-"
"I went over that with you already," Vector protested, pushing the bee away. "…but for Espio, it's been way long overdue."
He winked at Espio, the ninja returning it with a small nod. Espio hid the emerald away, then consulted that it was probably best that they go find their client at long last. With no arguments, Team Chaotix searched the rest of the Final Fortress, their story almost coming to an end…
. . .
"He underestimated us, thinking that we couldn't get this far…"
"We've still had a few close shaves, though," Rouge pointed out to Shadow, who was currently looking indifferent.
"Searching for next target!" announced Omega, searching the area for an E-2000 drone or anything of the sort. Shadow just leapt off the grind rail and burst forward, forcing his team into speed formation.
"I don't understand…the doctor's the only one who knows the truth about me…so why won't he just up and tell me?"
"Because he gets a kick out of messing with people," huffed Rouge, shaking her head. "And apparently has a knack for building huge fleets of ships...I suppose if you're going to take over the world, you need something that big."
"It's not enough to stop me!" Omega blared, waving his arms crazily. "I'll destroy it with my bare hands!"
Shadow was about to say something more, but dismissed the thought and began to ride the final set of grind rails. Somewhere along the way, Omega began to go haywire.
"Whoa, you okay Big Guy?" Rouge asked, becoming concerned when his head started whirling around.
"Electromagnetic pulses increasing ten-fold…brace for impact!"
"Impact? From wha-"
Rouge let out a scream before grabbing Shadow and Omega and lifted them off the rails. Shadow's eyes widened as a red laser rocketed over the rail, later followed by a yellow one.
"Blue laser fired!" the hedgehog exclaimed, Rouge moving them out of range once again.
"Incoming yellow laser!" broadcasted Omega, the three of them heading to the left.
"Hoo…this is ridiculous!"
"I know," agreed Shadow. "Four lasers gone to waste!"
"Not what I meant…but there's a total of twelve cannons. Better stay frosty."
"Proceed with caution."
Rouge gulped and set the group back on the rail, hoping to cover a lot of ground before another laser fired. However, this was not the case, and Rouge was forced to maneuver between magenta, cyan, and yellow tinted lasers, and avoiding the jolts of shock they produced.
"There's gotta be some way to shut them off…" Shadow pondered.
"Let's worry about that when we're not about to fly straight into a laser!" Rouge cried.
Shadow had no idea what she was talking about until he looked straight forward. An Eggman-shaped dome was sitting right in their path, with one of the eyes open and charging up a red beam.
Their grind rails led right into it.
Taking a quick scan around, Shadow noted a platform down below, along with the fact that the rails took a bit of a dip before they reached the dome. A plan instantly came to life in his mind.
"I'll take it from here!" he ordered, hardly giving Rouge a chance to get stable.
"Shadow, what're you doing?" Rouge cried. "You're going to drive us right into the laser."
"Rouge, please," Shadow grunted, leaning forward and slowly gaining speed. "Just trust me."
Rouge trembled slightly as Omega calculated their odds of survival being only at forty-nine percent. The bat grimaced as Shadow willed himself to getting to the dip in the rails before the laser fired. He always thought rails were simply a nuisance, but this time around, they were about to be a blessing.
Just as they began to descend, the laser fired, Omega shouting incoherent things and Rouge simply screaming. However, with Shadow's proper timing of events, the three of them had enough time to slip under the laser, though Omega was pretty confident that he had a scorch mark on the top of his head.
When they were directly above the platform, Shadow careened off the rail, Omega following on the spot. Rouge eventually swooped down and flew the duo at a safe rate down to the platform.
"Okay Shadow, what's you next genius move of action?"
Shadow smirked and pointed to another detonation device up ahead, located almost directly underneath the Eggman dome. He quickly dashed over to it and jumped on the button. Rouge looked utterly bewildered, but when Omega joined Shadow, she knew there was no turning back now. Once she contributed to pushing the button, the fortress began to quake, with the detonator going off an d sending them into the air, along with destroying the Eggman dome as planned.
"Now to find Eggman…" Shadow sneered under his breath. "This fortress is nothing for the ultimate life form!"
. . .
Amy Rose powered through the long corridors of the fortress that connected the areas together. She wasn't particularly sure how far away they were from Eggman, but it couldn't have been that much farther.
"This weather reminds me of our last attack on the Egg Carrier!" Amy exclaimed, watching the latest flash of lightning light up the deck momentarily. Cream blinked in surprise.
"You mean you've actually been in battle?" she balked. "I thought you were just there…not actually fighting!"
"Yeah! I'm pretty sure Big was too!"
"What? You too, Mr. Big?"
Big nodded. "It was all for Froggy!"
"Ooh…now I feel so new at this!"
"Well, you definitely haven't had as much exposure to Eggman as Big and I have," Amy began. "But you've proved yourself all the same! When the time comes to confront him, I'm sure you'll be great!"
"You mean it?"
"Of course! You're my best friend- I should know that better than anybody!"
Cream eventually stopped in her tracks, glancing up at Amy. When Amy realized she had ceased to walk, she spun around to ask why, but the little rabbit stunned her by suddenly giving Amy a hug. Amy wasn't entirely sure of why Cream precipitously gave her a hug, but she knew that there was only one thing to do afterward.
And that was to return it.
"D'aw! I wanna join in too!" Big cried, jogging up and wrapping his arms around the duo. Amy just chuckled until both Big and Cream let go.
"It's good to see we're all happy," she giggled. "But we've got a rescue mission to finish!"
"Then let's go!" cheered Big, hoisting Amy and Cream onto his shoulders. "To Froggy!"
"To Chocola!"
"To victory," Amy finished, raising her hammer and pointing it forward. "Everyone…follow me."
They all went ahead, knowing that they were in for quite a doozy of a fight…
…but truly, they had no idea.
. . .
"Eggman sure knows how to give heroes a welcome," snickered Sonic, referring to the barrage of lasers they narrowly escaped from.
"There's still more cannons where those came from…" Tails trailed worriedly.
"He can have as many cannons as he wants- it won't be enough to stop us!" declared Knuckles, raising a fist to the sky.
"That's the spirit!" Sonic cheered, not caring all that much about the lasers. After all, they had dodged them before- what was a few more?
He lead the team to the next round of grind rails, where more red, yellow, and blue lasers tried to knock them off their high perch. Sonic was able to jump from rail to rail swiftly, while Tails and Knuckles were scrambling about in desperate attempts to dodge.
"Sonic!" Tails yelled, the latest laser just barely missing him.
"Just hang in there!" Sonic ordered. "We're almost out of range!"
"It's getting a little dangerous, don't you think?" Knuckles asked, slipping a bit of his grind rail.
"We've been in danger since we started, and there's no looking back now!"
Tails was shaking, and the claps of thunder in the background weren't very soothing. Regardless, the three of them made it safely to a platform, where Tails and Knuckles were in dire need of a breather. Sonic landed next to them, making sure they were okay.
"That wasn't so bad…right?" he asked, attempting a smile. Knuckles practically glared as Tails plucked off a few bits of charred fur.
"I guess it could've been worse," Knuckles finally admitted, starting to walk off. "How far are we from the power core, anyway?"
"I have no idea," panted Tails, still viably shaken. "But the least we can do is find Eggman. Besides, if we destroyed the power core, everyone on this ship would be doomed to crash…you know, if the fortress didn't blow up first."
"You think we would've realized that at the start."
"Still," Sonic began, scratching his head. "How are we going to stop the fleet without blowing everybody up?"
"Let's figure that out once we beat the tar outta Eggman," Knuckles suggested. He and Tails began to walk toward the very back of the fortress, where oddly enough, there was practically nothing there. Compared to the red and silver mechanisms the rest of the fortress had, it was pretty peculiar.
"Well, we can't question Eggman's designs," shrugged Sonic, following Knuckles and Tails. However, he was picking up this strange buzzing sound, and he turned to Tails, who would usually be pressing his ears against his head if anything of high frequency was around. But it was like he was immune to the sound, along with Knuckles, yet it was bugging Sonic like crazy.
"Ugh! Where is that coming from? !" he exasperated, looking in all directions for the source of the annoyance. Once he turned full circle, he noticed an Eggman dome behind them, one powerful red laser charging within its opened right eye. Apparently there was more than one of them on the fortress, but this particular one seemingly had no way of being destroyed.
The laser fired, Sonic naturally ducking in retaliation. However, the laser was too high to strike him, plus it was aimed for the clear area up ahead.
And Tails and Knuckles, who were headed in that very direction.
"Wait, what? !" Sonic yelped, quickly turning heel and blasting at his top speed within the same moment. A light boom emitted from him afterward, but even then, Sonic didn't know if he could make it in time. "Tails! Knuckles! LOOK OUT!"
Tails and Knuckles stopped and turned around, which was a huge mistake. They saw the red laser blasting right after them, along with Sonic surrounded by a blazing blue blur of pure speed. The duo quickly yelped and back pedaled, miraculously outrunning the laser for a few moments, but eventually they ran out of ground to run on.
Sonic's heart leapt into his throat with how hard it was pounding, his legs reaching the edge of the line as well. Both Tails and Knuckles began to fly, trying to reach the other side in safety, but the laser got them first, despite only grazing them. It was still enough to knock Knuckles out of his flight pattern and startle Tails out of his wits…then they started to fall.
"NARGH!"
The Blue Blur bolted right over the gap, the advantage of his speed giving him a perfect running start to make it across. Sonic stumbled onto the other side, rolling several times before ending up on his back and panting heavily. He noticed that Tails and Knuckles were not next to him, causing his heart to leap once more.
"T-Tails? Knuckles…?"
Sonic groaned, rolling onto his knees and coughing. He squeezed his eyes shut, unwilling to face reality. He had been so close to saving them, and so careless at first…
"Should've listened when they said it was getting dangerous…"
"Yeah, ya think?"
Sonic's eyes shot open as he tilted his head forward, only to come across Tails and Knuckles, lying not next to him, but a few paces off. Tails was looking utterly terrified at that brush with death while Knuckles was pretty smug for almost dying.
"What? You guys…?"
"For someone with such a high ego," Knuckles began, standing up. "You sure underestimate yourself."
"Huh…?"
"You caught us before we fell," the echidna walked over and helped Sonic up. "Of course, you move so fast that your meager mind couldn't quite process it."
"I've never had so much force thrown at me at once…" wheezed Tails, stumbling around and trying to maintain his balance. Sonic scrambled away from Knuckles, helping Tails pull himself together.
"You all right, little buddy?"
"Yeah, I'm fine…just, really, really shaken up…but alive…"
Sonic sighed in relief and gave him a brief hug, letting go afterwards and shaking his head. "I'm sorry, you guys…I guess the idea of us all going on an adventure again for the first time in ages blinded me from the danger I was putting you in…from here on out, I think I should go solo."
"Sorry, that's not happening," scoffed Knuckles, folding his arms. "I've been dragged into this long enough, so I might as well see it to the end. Besides, you said it yourself- no looking back now."
"You don't have to apologize either, Sonic," Tails added. "It's been fun getting to hang out with you again! Right, Knuckles?"
"…yeah, sure, most the time, I suppose…"
Sonic smirked and held his hands behind his head. "Have I ever told you guys that you're the best?"
"You could stand to mention it more," Knuckles replied, getting a punch to the shoulder in return. With the near disaster behind them, though not entirely out of his mind, Sonic started jogging to the clearing.
"Let's finally get this party started, all right? I have a feeling Eggman's about to crash it any moment now!"
For once, Tails and Knuckles couldn't agree more.
They were looking the end of their adventure right in the face.
I had no idea how long this chapter was. xP