Arc 8: The Sentinel Blockade
Takes place after Story 72 and between Stories 73-75
Part 3
Kate the Eagle waved her cuffed hands over to Shadow the Hedgehog, who stood on a ledge looking down at the Sentinel Blockade and waiting to make his move. He had joined the Northern Royal Fighters on a rescue mission to save their team leader, Miranda Mongoose, although he was only in it to get revenge on Dr. Eggman and now Kate was giving him the go-go. Shadow ran down the ledge and he skated towards the Sentinel Blockade at top speed with his jet shoes. One of the hundred robo-officers on the yard saw Kate waving and it grabbed her by the arms.
"Hey, who are you waving at?" it demanded angrily.
Kate just promptly pecked it on the arm. Kate's pecks were as strong as her fists and that one peck left a huge dent in the robo-officer's arm. The robo-officer recoiled quickly and it rubbed its arm. Thunder and Bolt, two chipmunk brothers, just laughed at the robo-officer.
"Not to you Robocop, don't touch Kate the Eagle if you know what's good for you." said Thunder helpfully.
"If she can't use her arms, her beak's a good substitute!" sniggered Bolt.
One of the robo-officers pointed a rifle at Thunder and Bolt to make them shut up. Thunder and Bolt did as they were told and they closed their mouths tightly.
"Make another noise and we'll blast you!" warned the robo-officer.
But then suddenly, Shadow leaped over the wall and he landed onto the robo-officer's back. The robo-officer yelped as it was suddenly taken off its feet and sent crashing down on its front. Shadow stomped on the robot's back, leaving a huge dent in it, and then he threw a Chaos Spear at the one Kate just dented. The Chaos Spear struck the robot in the chest and the robo was brought down onto its back. Shadow then threw a Chaos Spear at Kate, Thunder and Bolt's sphere cuffs, breaking them all into little pieces and freeing their hands so now they could use their arms again.
"Thanks Shadow." said Thunder.
"Don't mention it, go and save your leader while I keep these clunk heads busy." ordered Shadow "I've got this."
"It seems so." said Bolt "Come on, let's save Miranda and Kari from that woman-bot-thingy!"
With that said Kate, Thunder and Bolt quickly ran for it as fast as they possibly could before the robo-officers could even catch them or stop them. Five robo-officers saw the three fighters running towards the cell blockade and they tried to shoot them with their huge rifles but Shadow the Hedgehog threw a Chaos Spear at them each. The robo-officers were impaled in the back by the Chaos Spears and they were brought down in an instant. One robo-officer drew out a huge metal baton and it tried to whack Shadow with it but Shadow warped out of its way and reappeared behind it. He kicked the robot in the back and knocked it over. Then he proceeded to snatch the baton from the robo-officer and smash the robot's head in with the baton. The robot's head was crushed and the robot was offline. A couple of robo-officers tried to shoot Shadow with their rifles but Shadow spin-dashed them both into little pieces. The robo-officers lay in pieces on the ground and Shadow smirked at their remains.
"Now I can see why Sonic has such an easy time with the doctor's robots." he crowed "They're pathetic. This mission will be over before the doctor knows it."
You'd think by now Shadow would have known better then to stop and boast for a minute during battle because that got him into a lot of trouble during his time with Dr. Eggman when he was his ally instead of his enemy*. While Shadow boasted, a dozen robo-officers appeared from behind and they all blasted him at once. Shadow cried out as his back was blasted by twelve searing hot lasers and the black hedgehog was thrown down to the ground onto his stomach. Shadow grunted in pain. Despite his immortality, he was capable of feeling pain and that attack on him had really hurt him. Two robo-officers nervously approached the downed Shadow to see if he was unconscious or still awake. They kept their rifles ready for in case they needed to shoot Shadow quickly. They two robots peered at Shadow and they waited for the black hedgehog to do something. Shadow remained lying on the ground, completely motionless. One of the robo-offices poked him ever so slightly with the barrel of its rifle. Shadow still didn't move. It appeared that Shadow had indeed been knocked out by the twelve laser blasts from the twelve robo-officers that had ambushed him. Seeing that Shadow had been knocked out, one of the robo-officers reached out to grab him and lock him up along with Miranda and Kari. But before the robo-officer could even grab Shadow, Shadow teleported out of its way just as its arm reach to grab him. Shadow had not been knocked out; he had instead been playing dead to fool the officers and it had worked to perfection. The robo-officer that had tried to grab Shadow was dumbfounded and it wondered what on Mobius had just happened. Shadow reappeared behind the robo-officer and he threw a Chaos Spear at the robo-officer. The Chaos Spear impaled it through the back and killed it instantly. The robo-officer fell onto its front and lay on the ground dead as a doornail. Shadow had managed to destroy many robo-officers but he still had a lot left to go. He had destroyed ten of them so he only had ninety left to deal with. Shadow was not concerned by the large number of robo-officers on patrol at all; he knew he could destroy all of them in a matter of seconds. He just had to keep it in mind that he shouldn't start gloating until he had defeated them all. Shadow spin-dashed two robots to pieces and sent them tumbling down to the ground in bits and pieces. Shadow landed foot-first on a robo-officer's face and knocked it down onto its back. He stomped on the robot's head and destroyed it, killing the robot in an instant. A robo-officer wielding a taser the size of a sword ran up to Shadow and it attempted to shock Shadow to death with the taser but Shadow jumped out of the way just as it lunged at him and Shadow kicked it in the back of the head just as he leaped over it, knocking the robo-officer onto its front. It dropped its sword sized taser and Shadow snatched it. It stabbed the robot with the taser, which was still activated, and the robo-officer got a very painful shock that fried its circuits and caused a lot of them to blow up inside of it. The robo-officer was destroyed instantly. Shadow smirked at the dead robo-officer and he sped off to attack another robo-officer that was attempting to shoot him.
"This is no challenge." he murmured to himself "But it's worthwhile at least. I hope Kari's group is doing well without me or I will have to help them."
He threw two Chaos Spears at the robo-officer and he destroyed it instantly. All the other robo-officers readied their weapons and they attempted to kill Shadow with their terrible gadgets. Shadow just fought back as hard as he could and prepared to make a scrap pile out of the remaining robo-officers…
Meanwhile in the cell blockade, Miranda Mongoose, the Northern Royal Fighters' team leader, and Kari the Rat, the Northern Royal Fighters' mechanic, were still dangling by their arms off the floor and they were waiting tensely for something to happen. Seventeen minutes had passed and nothing had happened. The Sentinel Blockade's warden-bot Katherine hadn't even returned yet and that just made Kari feel nervous. Was Katherine preparing her interrogation and was taking her time? Or was she just letting time pass just to make her feel nervous for the fun of it? Regardless, Kari didn't feel very comfortable right now and she began to wonder what Katherine had in mind for her. As for Miranda, she had just been keeping quiet and grimacing from her injuries. Katherine had tortured her pretty badly and Miranda could still feel the hard steel punches from the times Katherine had let loose on her. As time passed, Miranda wondered if Kari's plan was even working or being put into motion. Miranda decided to ask her mechanical friend and see what Kari's game was right now.
"Kari…?" she wheezed "What is taking…our friends and that…Shadow person so long?"
"I told them to buy their time for a little while to catch them off guard." explained Kari "I have no idea if they're still buying their time or if they're springing into action right now. I wish I had some way of communicating with them so I could find out. Not that it would be of any use given my current position," she murmured, looking up at her suspended arms "Let's just hope that Kate and the boys are springing into action right now."
"I am…hoping…" grunted Miranda "I...can't take this wait…anymore…"
"Me neither." said Kari with a worried expression on her face "I keep worrying about that Katherine bot thing bursting in any minute now and preparing to torture me. The fact she's buying her time is making me feel extremely uneasy right now."
"I'm willing to bet…that's exactly what Katherine…is doing…" said Miranda weakly "I really…hope that we'll be saved before…Katherine can torture…you…you're too sweet and caring to…have to go through such…pain and it'll be…horrible to watch."
"I really can't stop wondering how Katherine even managed to overhear us mentioning the vaults in the first place." muttered Kari "Did she just happen to come across us as we were talking?"
"That's…the likeliest probability." said Miranda groggily "How…it managed to creep…up on us…and spy on us without…us spotting it…I have no idea…"
"I guess Katherine's an excellent spy." said Kari "I think destroying her would be best for all of us as she's a rather dangerous threat to the R.F.S."
"Once I'm…rested up and back…in action we'll make it…our first priority to…destroy that demon warden-bot…" muttered Miranda "I will make that…robot suffer for what…it did to me…"
"I really hate it when robots are used for evil purposes." said Kari glumly "It's horrible seeing how such incredible technology can be used for such evil deeds. I'll never build something capable of such evil. Ever."
"And that's why…you're a much…better mechanic then…Dr. Eggman…" said Miranda with a weak smile on her battered face "You use your…mechanical skills properly and…you do not abuse your abilities unlike…that Eggman monster…who would much rather…build stuff for bad rather then good…"
"Thank you Miranda." said Kari, flattered by the comment "I'm so glad to be on your team."
"And I'm glad…I took you in…when no one…else would…" said Miranda kindly.
Then suddenly, just before they could carry on this long train of exposition, the cell door opened up and in ran Kate, Thunder and Bolt! Kari's face brightened. Miranda's face beamed like a sunrise. Their friends had finally arrived at last! Thunder and Bolt summoned a lightening bolt each to their hands and they threw them at Miranda and Kari's sphere cuffs. The bolts destroyed the sphere cuffs and Miranda and Kari dropped back down to the floor. Miranda slumped down onto the floor due to her injuries whereas Kari had no trouble staying up on her feet.
"About time." said Kari brightly "How long did you lot decide to wait for?"
"About fifteen minutes…I think." said Thunder "Kate knows, she can tell time by the sun's position after all."
"We felt fifteen minutes would be plenty long enough." said Bolt.
"Where's Shadow?" asked Kari.
"Turning the yard into a scrap yard." said Thunder with a big cheesy grin on his cheery face "Those robo-cop drones are being turned into piles of metal out there!"
"The Shadow definitely is a powerhouse isn't he?" asked Bolt "I bet he could beat Sonic in a fight."
Kari laughed weakly at their little joke, wondering if Sonic and Shadow had actually had a fight at all and who came out on top. As for Kate, she wondered over to Miranda and she looked at her old school friend. The eagle was disgusted at Miranda's injuries. She couldn't believe what the robots of the Sentinel Blockade had done to her.
"What happened to you?" screeched Kate angrily, itching to pummel something after what had happened to Miranda.
"I was…tortured by a robot…named Katherine…" coughed Miranda, rubbing her throbbing arms better "Dr. Eggman…wants to know…about the…Royal Fighter….Vaults…I refused to talk…so Katherine…tortured me really badly…"
Kate's arms trembled in anger. She tried her hardest to not accidentally unleash her anger on Miranda while she was tensing up angrily. Thunder and Bolt were pretty horrified at what Miranda had just told Kate.
"Oh my jumping, thunder bolts!" squealed Bolt "That Katherine bot pummelled you hard didn't she? I'm just thankful you're still alive!"
"And I'm thankful…that you…all came to save me…" croaked Miranda "Thank…you so…much you wonderful…team mates…"
"You're welcome Miranda." said Kari sweetly "Now let's make a break for it before Katherine catches us."
Little did Kari know, Katherine had just come back to torture her and she found that Kari and Miranda had just been freed from their bonds by Kate and the chipmunk brothers. The warden-bot was not pleased to see that her prisoners were free but she still had the advantage of surprise over them as she knew the blockade top to bottom and they knew nothing about the place so she was still three steps ahead of them. Katherine slammed a button on the side of the door and the cell-door closed down before the Northern Royal Fighters could get through it. The fighters were trapped in the cell and they had no way of escaping the cell as there were no trap-doors or any other ways of getting out other then the door. Katherine played a recording of a sexy evil woman's chuckle to herself and she pressed another button on the control pad. Then, Katherine walked away from the door and was just about to make a call to Dr. Eggman when she was interrupted by a call from a robo-officer. She touched the side of her head and heeded the call.
"Katherine, there's trouble on the yard!" cried the robo-officer "A black hedgehog is attacking us and we need some help and fast!"
His voice went dead as Shadow destroyed it just after it finished its message. Katherine fumed to herself. Could anything else go awry today? Well Katherine would deal with Shadow the Hedgehog and then comeback and collect the corpses of the Northern Royal Fighters once the thing she'd set off in the cell killed them. Katherine turned to the right and headed off to the yard to help her robo-officer cronies defeat Shadow. Meanwhile in the cell, Kari had seen the cell door close and she ran to it quickly. The door had closed shut and they were now trapped in the cell with no way out. Kari banged feebly on the door.
"Hey! Let us out of here!" she cried, banging on the door as loud as she could "Let us out of here!"
"What happened?" asked Thunder "Why did the door just close?"
"I bet Katherine saw what we were doing so she's locking us in here to prevent us from escaping!" shrieked Bolt "We're trapped! Oh calamity! The plan's in turmoil! We're all dead now!"
"No we're not." said Kari "We are not rotting in this cell. We are getting out of here. Kate, bust the door down." she ordered.
Kate obeyed and she cracked her knuckles. Kate strode over to the door and she drew her arm back. She then swiftly punched the door as hard as she could. To Kate's horror, the door took the blow from her powerful fist! There wasn't even a dent on it after that punch! The door was strong enough to withstand her punches! The eagle's feathers stood up in surprise. Miranda's weary eyes widened in surprise at the fact Kate's punch hadn't worked.
"I don't…believe it!" she gasped "The door withstood her attack!"
"Kate can't bust the door down!" cried Thunder "What are we gonna do now?"
"We have to bust that door down or we'll never get out of here." said Kari worriedly "Kate, keep punching that door and don't stop until you bust it down."
Kate obeyed and she punched the door once again. She punched and punched on the door, using both fists one at a time, and she punched at her very hardest. Kate had to keep this up or they would be stuck in this dark cell forever. Then more trouble began. Two little nozzles extended out from above the cell door and a faint hissing noise came out from the nozzles. Everybody froze at the sinister sound. Nobody could see anything coming out of the nozzles but there was definitely something because there was a hissing noise. Miranda sniffed the air and caught a deadly scent. The smell was the smell of death and she instantly knew from that smell what was emitting out of the nozzles.
"Gas!" she shrieked "Likely to…be poisonous gas! Cover your mouths…and don't breathe it in!"
Kari, Kate, Thunder and Bolt all quickly covered their mouths and they stepped back from the gas that was pouring out of the nozzles above the door. Katherine had activated the gas nozzles after locking the door in order to put the Northern Royal Fighters to sleep so she could deal with them later. The gas wasn't poison, it was only sleeping gas but Miranda was not taking any chances. Gas in enemy territory was never any good so she and her team mates fought to keep the horrible gas out of their mouths. Yet they knew they wouldn't be able to keep this up forever. They would eventually succumb and have to breathe and they would end up breathing in the gas. They had to get out of the cell now but Kate couldn't break down the door while trying to keep the gas out of her lungs so breaking out was no option at this minute. However, Thunder and Bolt both had a great idea.
"Hey Bolt, you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Thunder, his hands muffling his voice as he kept the gas out of his mouth.
"I think I am Thunder." said Bolt through his hands "Let's destroy the nozzles!"
They kept one hand over their mouths and they summoned another lightening bolt to their free hands. They threw the bolts at the gas nozzles and the bolts destroyed the gas nozzles instantly. Gas stopped pouring out and the nozzles fell down to the ground in pieces. Thunder and Bolt high-fived each other and they cried happily. That was one problem dealt with already. Miranda uncovered her mouth and she beamed at the two boys.
"Boys, as annoying…as you…can be…I'm glad you're…on my team…" said Miranda kindly "We'd…be dead if it wasn't…for you two…"
"Aw it was nothing Miranda." said Bolt "That's what we do after all, we joke around and still do our duty at the same time."
"It's just a slaggin' pity we're still stuck in this crummy cell!" groaned Thunder "Now the gas is off, Kate can bust us out of here!"
Kate strode back over to the door and she began to punch it as hard as she possibly could once again. She rapidly punched door over and over and over in a desperate attempt to break the door down. They had to escape and fast before something else happened and made their escape even harder….
Back on the yard, Shadow was still in flat-out-destroy-all-robots-mode. Only fifty robots were left and Shadow was beginning to get a little worn out but he knew he'd be able to keep it up until he destroyed the rest. However, Shadow knew that he would have to pick up the pace before the robots could overpower him with their large numbers. Three robo-officers, each wielding a baton, threw their weapons at Shadow. The batons spun towards Shadow at a terrific speed as if they were boomerangs and they almost hit the invincible hedgehog. But Shadow spin-dashed the batons to pieces and he threw a Chaos Spear at each of the three robots. The three robots were stricken by the spears and they collapsed onto the ground, no longer functioning. Shadow landed on the ground and the remaining forty-seven robot-officers surrounded Shadow. They formed a circle around him to prevent him from getting away and they primed their enormous rifles. Shadow showed no signs of fear; he just smirked and dared the robots to get him.
"Go on then, shoot me." he dared "You've completely got me now."
The robo-officers were baffled at that sudden urge but they decided to take it. They aimed their rifles and they prepared to shoot Shadow. Shadow just remained calm and he unclipped one of his inhibitor rings. The ring fell off his wrist and fell to the ground with a clatter. Then Shadow removed his other ring just as the robo-officers prepared to blast him to smithereens. The ring fell to the floor with a clatter. The robo-officers charged up their rifles and they prepared to pull the trigger. Shadow tensed up tightly and he began to glow bright red. He was using one of his signature moves. The deadly Chaos Blast, a move that had helped him several times during the time he was Sonic's enemy. The robo-officers shot at him but the Chaos Energy surrounding Shadow defended him from the blasts. Shadow stopped tensing up and he unleashed the Chaos Power from within.
"Chaos…BLAST!" he yelled.
A huge wave of red Chaos Energy swept out from his tiny black body and destroyed all forty-seven robo-officers instantly. The robo-officers were blown away by the blast and they were quickly reduced to tiny little pieces by the raw power of Shadow's attack. The yard was now completely littered with robot parts and fragments and shrapnel. Any robo-officers already dead were reduced to even tinier pieces by Shadow's Chaos Blast. Shadow smirked at his triumph and he picked up his inhibitor rings. He clipped them back onto his wrists and he surveyed the mess he had made of the entire robo-officer patrol. Their remains completely littered the yard. It would take a while for anyone in the blockade to clean up. Shadow chuckled darkly to himself.
"Too easy." he sneered "If the doctor wishes to stand a chance against someone like me, he's going to have to try harder then this. I wonder if the doctor himself is actually here. Well there's only one way to find out, I'll have to investigate this place."
So Shadow headed off to the blockade itself. He had a feeling that if Dr. Eggman was anywhere in the blockade, it would be inside the building and if Shadow had to tear the building to the ground to find Dr. Eggman then he would happily do so. But before Shadow could go into the blockade, Katherine suddenly appeared out of through the door and she marched out onto the yard. Shadow hesitated a moment and he stood still. Katherine surveyed her surroundings and she was not too pleased to see that her entire robo-officer patrol had been reduced to spare parts and debris and shrapnel. She then stared at Shadow and surveyed him. Shadow stared back at Katherine. The robot looked strange to him. He'd never seen an Eggman robot like Katherine before during his time as Eggman's ally but he didn't care. An Eggman robot was an Eggman robot no matter what it looked like and he was going to destroy it. Before Shadow could so much as twitch an ear, Katherine's still-cracked visor displayed an image of Dr. Eggman's face again. Dr. Eggman's eyes widened at the mere sight of Shadow the Hedgehog and his moustache seemed to straighten in alarm.
"Oh my gosh!" he cried "Shadow! I wasn't expecting to see you some time soon! What are you doing here?"
"Helping some Royal Fighters rescue their leader." said Shadow grimly ""Although I'm mainly here just to get my revenge on you for your lies. Show yourself to me doctor so I can soften my knuckles on your face!"
"Oh ho, ho, ho! Still holding a grudge are we?" sneered Dr. Eggman "It's not good for your health you know!"
"Stupid remarks won't save you doctor." snarled Shadow "Are you gonna face me or not?"
"I can't face you Shadow because I'm in Robotropolis, not here right now and I'm too busy to fight you but I will book a wager with you." said Dr. Eggman "If you can beat Katherine in a fight, I'll face you and face you like a man. If not, you become a prisoner of the Sentinel Blockade. How does that sound?"
"You have a deal doctor." said Shadow grimly "Don't expect to win though, I'm too powerful."
"I know." said Dr. Eggman "Which is why after I left Chun-Nan, I upgraded Katherine with the right gadgets to keep up with your raw power. Well I must be going now. Byeeeeee…."
And with that, Dr. Eggman's voice and image faded away and Katherine's visor died down to its natural pitch black colour. Katherine remained standing guard in front of the door. Shadow strode up to Katherine, his red eyes glaring at her. Katherine stood still and didn't move.
"If I were you, I would stand down." said Shadow "You can see what I've done to your cronies and I'll do the same to you Katherine. Save yourself an unnecessary destruction and stand down now."
Katherine still didn't move. She stood guard, silent and as still as a gargoyle. Shadow frowned at Katherine. How dare that stupid little robot refuse to move? Well, Shadow would make her feel sorry she said no to him!
"Fine." said Shadow in a dangerous sounding voice "Don't say I didn't give you a chance to make it out alive."
So Shadow spin-dashed towards Katherine, the fem-bot still standing still and not moving. But before Shadow could hit Katherine, Katherine deployed a barrier from her built-in force-field generator and Shadow ricocheted off the barrier. Shadow skidded to a halt and he stopped just in front of a wall. Shadow stared in horror at Katherine's barrier. Katherine was shielded by a red energy sphere with no way of being penetrated. Shadow snarled angrily.
"A barrier? That's just cheating!" he growled "My attacks will be useless! How can this be a fair fight if I can't even touch you?"
"That's the precisely the point!" a recording of Dr. Eggman's voice rung out from Katherine's voice recorder which was built into her throat "I don't play fair!"
Shadow got cross and he spin-dashed towards Katherine again. But Katherine kept up the barrier so Shadow ricocheted off the barrier again and he hurtled backwards a few feet. Katherine raised her arms up and she held her hands up in a "Stop right there!" position. She then began to fire several bladed discs at Shadow. The barrier she had was designed to block anything except Katherine's weapons so she could use her weapons even with the barrier up. Shadow dodged the discs with ease and he spin-dashed towards Katherine again. Even though he knew his attacks were futile, he was determined to penetrate the force-field. Shadow ricocheted off the barrier again but Shadow charged towards Katherine again. Katherine then expanded the barrier out around her and the barrier hit Shadow just as he was charging towards her. Shadow was smacked by the barrier and he hurtled backwards into the wall at the end of the yard. Shadow crashed into the wall and he ended up slightly embedded into the wall. Shadow pulled himself out of the wall and he charged towards Katherine again. Katherine clasped both her hands together and in the palms of her hands, something began to build up. Shadow almost reached Katherine just as she finished building something up in her attack and Shadow lunged towards her. Katherine then thrust her hands outwards and a huge laser blast shot out from the palms of her hands and blasted Shadow down into the ground. Shadow smashed into the ground head-first and he groaned to himself.
"Stupid accursed force-field!" he grumbled "How can I destroy that thing if I can't touch it? I'll find a way of destroying that thing somehow!"
Katherine raised her arms and began firing bladed discs at Shadow again. Shadow picked himself up and he swiped his arm at Katherine and three Chaos Spears shot towards Katherine. They destroyed some of her bladed discs but they bounced harmlessly off the barrier. Katherine then shortened the barrier a little so it only looked like a red outline around her body and she strode up to Shadow. Shadow threw a Chaos Spear at Katherine, hoping that it would hurt her since the barrier had been shortened but the barrier was just as effective even if it was shortened so the spear just bounced off of her harmlessly. Katherine had shortened the barrier so she would be able to punch Shadow. Katherine drew her arm back and she socked Shadow directly in the face. Since Shadow was the Ultimate Life Form, that punch had less of an effect as it would do on an ordinary being but it was still a terrific punch from Katherine and Shadow could feel it. He felt like he'd been hit by an iron bar. The barrier had made the punch even harder so the punch was more powerful then normal. Shadow fell onto his side and he clutched his throbbing jaw.
"What power does that thing have behind it?" he gasped "That thing can punch harder then that cyborg rabbit girl Sonic's friends with!"
Katherine advanced on Shadow and prepared to attack him again. Seeing as the barrier was shortened so it covered Katherine's body rather then surrounded her, Shadow spin-dashed Katherine. The barrier stopped the spin-dash from destroying her but Katherine was still sent hurtling backwards. Katherine quickly expanded the barrier back to its normal sphere shape and she bounced off the wall like a ping-pong ball. She hurtled directly towards Shadow as if she was a dodge ball being thrown at somebody but Shadow leaped up and kicked the barrier before Katherine could bowl him over. Katherine was sent hurling backwards but she aimed her feet at the wall before she could crash into it and she shortened the barrier before she could bounce off of it again. Katherine hit the wall foot first and she hurtled herself towards Shadow. She switched off the barrier and spun around in mid-air like a drill-bit. She struck Shadow and ground him into the dirt. Katherine landed right-side up and she re-activated the barrier. Shadow picked himself up and he prepared to attack again. Katherine fired some bladed discs at Shadow but Shadow dodged the attacks and he leaped towards Katherine. He punched the barrier but the barrier repelled him and he skidded backwards. Shadow growled angrily to himself.
"That robot is much more of a challenge then those pathetic cop-bots I destroyed." he muttered "Regardless, I'll destroy it eventually; I just need to find a weakness on that thing."
And he would have to do it fast before Katherine overwhelmed him with her cunning tactics and then locked him up as a prisoner for Dr. Eggman…
Meanwhile in the cell blockade, Kate the Eagle had been punching the door for several minutes and yet the eagle hadn't managed to destroy it yet. No matter how many times Kate punched the door; the door just withstood her amazingly strong punches. The door wasn't dented the slightest despite the heavy pounding it had been receiving from her minutes on end. Kate punched the door one last time and then collapsed onto the floor, panting and gasping like an athlete that's done ten long laps in the long run. The eagle was absolutely worn-out and her fists felt numb after punching such a hard door for so long and yet not damaging it the slightest. Miranda couldn't believe it, no matter how many time Kate had punched the door, it withstood her powerful attacks and they were still trapped in the cell.
"I can't believe…it!" gasped Miranda "Kate…can't break the door down!"
"Looks like Dr. Eggman put all he could into that door." said Kari grimly "I bet that thing would withstand a bomb blast. Poor Kate, she's all worn out and she hasn't managed to break the door down."
Kate just slumped on the floor with a heavy wheeze and she continued to pant tiredly. She felt like she was going to pass out from exhaustion. Thunder and Bolt patted Kate on the back affectionately.
"Ah Kate, you tired your hardest." said Thunder softly "Don't feel too bad."
"At least you had a go." said Bolt "None of us can be bothered to try and break the door down."
Kate didn't answer them; she just continued to pant exhaustedly. Kari put a finger to her lips and she thought desperately.
"We've got to get out of here or we'll all be prisoners for Dr. Eggman." said Kari "But how can we break the door down if Kate's amazing strength can't get through that door?"
"If only…my electro-prod was fixed…." muttered Miranda "I could just short circuit the controls and get the door to open…"
"Wait a minute…" said Kari quickly "There's a control pad right there." she suddenly said, pointing at a control pad that was there so that anyone wanting to leave the cell could use it to open the door "Gosh I feel like such a twit! Why didn't we just use that pad to open the door?"
"Because we're dumbos that's why." said Bolt, strolling over to the door and pressing a button on the control pad.
But the moment he pressed the button, he got a very nasty zap on his finger and he leaped back.
"Yow!" he cried "That's why we didn't use that pad to open the door! We can't use it!"
"Very clever." muttered Miranda "The control…pad will only work…for Katherine or any of the robots here…"
"So if we can't use the pad to open the door then we'll have to open it another way." said Kari "And thinking about your idea to short-circuit it with your electro-prod earlier…maybe Thunder and Bolt could do it instead."
"You know what Kari, I think you're absolutely right." said Thunder with a big cheesy grin on his face "Me and Bolt will short-circuit that control pad and hopefully, it'll open the door."
"If not then we're just screwed really badly right now." said Bolt as he and Thunder held hands.
They then tensed up their tiny little bodies and electricity crackled in their fur. They then fired a gigantic bolt of electricity at the control pad at the side of the door. The control pad was fried in an instant by the terrific bolt of electricity and the control pad blew several fuses. The damage done to it was so severe it broke away from the wall and fell to the floor in pieces. The moment the pad was destroyed, the door opened up, freeing everybody at long last. Thunder and Bolt skipped about happily.
"Yay! We've opened the door!" cheered the chipmunks "We've freed everybody!"
"Well done…boys." said Miranda "You've managed to open…the door at last…"
"Let's run for it before anything else can happen." said Kari "Kate, you carry Miranda as she's too banged up to walk."
Kate obeyed and she scooped Miranda up bridal style. Miranda moaned weakly. She wished she was able to walk as she hated having to be carried around, it made her feel weak. Kari, Kate, Thunder and Bolt ran out of the cell quickly before anything else could happen. Kari led the way with Thunder and Bolt behind her and Kate took the rear, carrying the battered Miranda in her arms. The Northern Royal Fighters ran down the corridor and to the door that led outside to the yard. They hoped that there was nothing else that was going to happen and catch them off guard. They had had a hard enough time as it was and if anything else happened, they wouldn't be prepared for it…
Meanwhile out on the yard, Shadow the Hedgehog was still having trouble with Katherine. No matter how many times he spin-dashed, charged and threw Chaos Spears at Katherine, he still couldn't penetrate Katherine's barrier. The robot's barrier was just impossible to penetrate. Katherine spent her whole time just standing there and letting Shadow spin-dash at her over and over while occasionally shooting at him just to get on his nerves. The warden-bot was attempting to tire Shadow out by just letting him constantly attack her over and over, which would eventually tire Shadow out and leave him vulnerable for her and she was only shooting at Shadow in an attempt to tire him out even quicker. The black hedgehog had tremendous stamina but not even he would be able to keep the fight going forever. He could get worn out just like any normal person. Shadow however, wasn't stupid. He had a feeling that Katherine was trying to tire him out by just doing nothing and letting him attack so he stopped spin-dashing at Katherine. He began to think quickly to himself. He couldn't penetrate the shield no matter what and all his attempts were in vain and he'd wear himself thin if he carried this on any longer. How could he destroy Katherine if he couldn't penetrate her barrier? He could try Chaos-Blasting her but he didn't want to risk trying that in case it didn't work and he just left himself power drained and vulnerable to Katherine's wrath. Maybe he could trick Katherine into switching the barrier off. Shadow smiled darkly to himself. Yes…he had the perfect plan. He would feign tiredness to trick Katherine and when she lowered her barrier, he would let loose on her. Shadow spin-dashed towards Katherine again and he ricocheted off the barrier. He hurtled backwards and he skidded across the dirt once again. But instead of attacking again, he pretended to pant. Katherine stood still and watched as Shadow panted and gasped tiredly. Then Shadow collapsed onto the ground, pretending to be too tired to attack. Katherine was a little weary at first, wondering what Shadow's game was, but she dismissed it as just being too overly cautious as Shadow was clearly too tired to fight her now and he didn't appear to be faking so she switched off the barrier and walked up towards Shadow. The fem-bot felt pleased with herself. She had beaten Shadow fair and square and now she was going to lock him up with the Northern Royal Fighters and keep him prisoner for Dr. Eggman. She couldn't wait to see her master's expression when he saw Shadow in her clutches. Katherine stood over Shadow, who lay on the ground still pretending to pant, and she reached out to grab him with her long thin claws. Then suddenly, Shadow leaped onto his feet and he socked Katherine directly in the face. The robot made a frantic robotical screech of surprise at that unexpected attack and Shadow then began to wail over and over on Katherine. The fem-bot was punched all over her body and Shadow didn't once slow down or give her a chance to fight back and raise the shield. Shadow then punched Katherine so hard the fem-bot fell onto her back with a sharp clang and he leaped back so he had the right distance for a spin-dash. Katherine picked herself up quickly but Shadow spin-dashed her before she could re-activate the barrier. Katherine was sent hurling backwards and she crashed straight into one of the cell blockade's walls. The robot was dented thanks to Shadow's fists and she felt a little frail after that spin-dash but the warden-bot was still not down or destroyed. Shadow spin-dashed again towards Katherine but his good luck ran out. Katherine re-activated the barrier after pulling herself out of the wall and Shadow ricocheted off of it and landed a good distance away from Katherine. Shadow growled angrily to himself as Katherine stood there as still as a statue.
"Damn it!" he growled "The plan almost worked! I should have just kept wailing on her until she went offline or something and then Chaos Blast her before she re-activated! Now I've got to get her to switch that damn force-field off again! I doubt she'll fall for the same trick twice though so I'll have to try something else."
But before Shadow could continue the fight, the Northern Royal Fighters burst out from inside the blockade and they ran out onto the yard. Kate put Miranda down and she charged up to Katherine. She drew her arm back and she punched Katherine's barrier as hard as she could. Even though Katherine's barrier protected her from the incredibly powerful attack, the brute force of Kate's punch was strong enough to knock Katherine off her feet. Katherine hurtled backwards as if she was a dodge ball being thrown at somebody. The warden-bot hurtled towards Shadow and Shadow spin-dashed her before she could bowl him over like a skittle. Katherine hurtled back towards Kate and Kate just back-handed Katherine straight into a blockade wall. Katherine crashed straight through the wall, the barrier protecting her from the impact, and left a gaping hole in it. Katherine continued crashing through more walls in the blockade until eventually, she came to a stop and the barrier switched off. Katherine lay among some rubble that lay on the ground after the crashes, knocked out and motionless. She had crashed through five walls, two of which were cells, and had left huge gaping holes in them. The Sentinel Blockade was a complete mess now with dead robo-officers littering the yard, the yard's walls being broken in several places and the blockade itself having holes in five walls. Shadow folded his arms and huffed at what he and Kate had just accomplished now.
"Thank you Kate." said Shadow.
Kate just beamed with pride.
"So, did you manage to rescue your leader?" asked Shadow.
"We have, she's right here." said Kari, helping the weak and frail Miranda up onto her feet.
Miranda wrapped an arm around Kari's shoulder and Kari kept her up. Miranda looked at Shadow weakly and Shadow looked back at her.
"So I guess…you're Shadow…" Miranda said weakly.
"I am indeed." said Shadow "I joined your team in your rescue and it seems we've succeeded as you're free now. Pity you got used as a punching bag before we could get here."
"That doesn't matter now." said Kari "We've got Miranda and we've got to get out of here before anything else happens."
"Yes…but we must destroy…this place before we…go…" croaked Miranda "The loss of…this place will be a….heavy wound on Eggman's Empire and he…won't be able to imprison…anymore innocent Mobians."
"But we don't have anything to blow the place up with." noted Kari "We'll have to come back later and destroy it…"
"No we don't." said Shadow, removing his inhibitor rings once again "I can destroy the place easily."
"How?" asked Thunder "Do you have some ability that allows you to make things suddenly explode?"
"No. I have this." said Shadow lowly.
His body began to glow red with Chaos Energy again and he tensed up tightly. He stood in front of the Sentinel Blockade and he unleashed the power within him once again.
"Chaos…BLAAASSSSTTTT!" he bellowed as raw Chaos Energy exploded out from around him and swept forward.
The Chaos Blast ploughed its way through the Sentinel Blockade like a snowplough through the snow. Katherine rebooted just in time and saw that a huge wave of Chaos Energy was coming towards her so she quickly activated her barrier so the blast wouldn't destroy her. The blast swept over her and pushed her back a good distance but she survived the blast thanks to her barrier. The Sentinel Blockade was completely destroyed by Shadow's raw power and all that remained of the place after Shadow was finished were huge chunks of rubble, debris and concrete. The holding laser generators from the ceilings of the cells lay in pieces amongst the wreckage. Shadow picked up his inhibitor rings and he clipped them back onto his wrists. He felt a wave of power surge back up his veins as he clipped them back on. He surveyed the damages done to the Sentinel Blockade with satisfaction. He was well and truly pleased to see that he had just destroyed one of Dr. Eggman's most precious facilities. How cross Eggman would be once he found out. Shadow smirked triumphantly.
"Let's see how you like that doctor." he said dryly.
Thunder and Bolt were well and truly gobsmacked at what Shadow had just done.
"Cor blimey!" cried Bolt "You don't half have some power in ya Shadow boy!"
"I know." said Shadow "That's why I am the Ultimate Life Form, nothing can stand to me and nothing is more powerful then I am."
"Well I guess we were extremely fortunate you decided to help us Shadow." said Kari with a bright smile on her face "Now let's run for it, I can't bear to stay in this place a minute longer."
With that said, Shadow sped off on his hover-skates with Kari, Thunder and Bolt running after him. Kate carried Miranda on her back and she flew into the air and swooped after Shadow. Miranda held on tight as Kate soared after the black hedgehog. She was free from Dr. Eggman grasp at last. She reminded herself to thank everybody once they made it back to camp. The moment everybody left though, a robot fist punched its way through the wreckage. It was, of course, Katherine. The fem-bot had been buried by the rubble but a bunch of rubble on top of her wasn't going to keep her down. Katherine pulled her way out of the rubble and she stood up straight. She surveyed the damages done to the blockade all around her. The Sentinel Blockade, a proud and powerful prison place was now in pieces thanks to Shadow's Chaos Blast. Katherine could see that she would do no more good around here so she decided to retreat back to Robotropolis, which was many miles away so it would be a long walk for her. Katherine left the wreckage of the Sentinel Blockade behind and she headed off to Dr. Eggman's city of operations. While she walked, she began to send a message to Dr. Eggman. She couldn't imagine Eggman being too pleased with her message once he read it…
Back in Robotropolis, Dr. Eggman got Katherine's message and he read it aloud to himself.
"Dr. Eggman, I am sorry to announce that the Sentinel Blockade has been destroyed by Shadow." he read "I almost beat him but I got overpowered by the Northern Royal Fighters and Shadow Chaos-Blasted the place to pieces. I am returning to Robotropolis right now. I hope you won't be too furious with me master. Love Katherine."
Dr. Eggman just sat back in his chair and he fumed loudly. He put a hand on his face and he ran it down his face slowly, sighing exasperatedly.
"Curse that miserable experiment!" he growled "My genius of a prison blockade is now in pieces! The Sentinel Blockade was one great way of me getting to roboticize many Mobians at once! Oh well, I can't let this bit of bad news darken my day. I've got many more plans to put into action."
He got up from his chair and he walked out of the lab.
"The repairs on my headquarters are done and the new adjustments and attachments I've been making secretly are almost finished." he said to himself "Soon I shall have a flying fortress and Angel Island shall be the first to see its true wrath! Once that's done, I shall move onto the whole world!"
He cackled loudly to himself as he left the lab. The Sentinel Blockade may have been a heavy loss, but whenever Dr. Eggman had a heavy loss, he retaliated with a heavy fist swiftly and powerfully and Angel Island would be the first to find that out…
Back at Miranda's camp, the Northern Royal Fighters had all arrived home and they settled back down into their camp. Kari got out the first aid kit and Miranda was wrapped in bandages in a few places. Her lower arms and her lower legs were wrapped in bandages and one of her eyes had a cold tissue placed on it to ease the pain of the bruise and a bandage was wrapped around her head to keep the tissue in place. Miranda sat in her deck-chair and let herself get some much needed rest. Despite her injuries, the brave-hearted mongoose would make a steady recovery.
"There you are Miranda, all nice and bandaged." said Kari "How are you feeling now?"
"I feel much better now I've been saved." said Miranda, who was now able to speak properly again "Thank you everybody for risking your lives just to save mine. I couldn't ask for better team mates."
"And we couldn't ask for a better leader." said Kate with a smile on her beak.
Miranda just beamed with pride. It was nice to know she had such great friends by her side. There was one more thing to take care of now. Shadow the Hedgehog had decided to stick around and say his goodbyes and Miranda focused her attention on him now. Shadow stood there with his arms folded in front of Miranda.
"Thank you for helping my friends in their mission Shadow." said Miranda "I am eternally grateful to you young man. I'm amazed thought that you decided to help my friends even though you've never met them before. What made you want to help them anyway?"
"I only took this mission in hope I could get revenge on Dr. Eggman for deceiving me." said Shadow "But at the same time, I felt like I owed you Mobians an apology for my earlier actions. You see, I'm a genetic experiment from another world and I've forgotten my creator and purpose. Dr. Eggman fooled me into thinking he created me and I was supposed to destroy you all but Sonic managed to get Eggman to reveal the truth to me and now I go around Mobius looking for answers to my past while getting revenge on Dr. Eggman at the same time. And in order to redeem myself among you Mobians, I felt like helping one instead of trying to destroy one like the doctor tried to make me do."
"I see." said Miranda "Just a pity Eggman wasn't in the Sentinel Blockade so you could unleash hell on him."
"I'll get him some day." said Shadow determinedly "But for now, I must continue my quest to find answers to my past. So long Miranda. So long everybody." he said with a wave to the Northern Royal Fighters "We may meet again someday but for now it's goodbye and who knows when we'll meet again."
"Bye Shadow." said the team in unison.
Shadow activated his jet shoes and he skated off away from Miranda's camp and off into the distance and beyond. Everybody waved goodbye as Shadow disappeared into the distance. The minute Shadow left, everybody got back to their business. Kari pulled up a deck-chair and sat beside Miranda.
"That Shadow is amazing isn't he?" she asked.
"He is." said Miranda "Unleashing all that power and destroying the Sentinel Blockade in an instant. I really hope that he'll find out his origins and what his purpose is. It must be horrible to feel like you've got no purpose in the world."
"I have hopes for him too Miranda." said Kari, looking up at the setting sun that slowly began to dip down behind the rocky hills in the distance "I have hopes for him too."
Footnotes:
*We all remember the Shadow saga (Heroes of Mobius Stories 57-62) don't we?
Annnnnd that's the Sentinel Blockade arc done and dusted! Tune in next time as the R.F.S. gets some New Recruits to train. Read and Review
Meanwhile, tune back into Heroes of Mobius as Sonic and friends have their seventy-fifth adventure which also happens to me my THIRD milestone! :) :) :)