Sonic jumped to his feet, still half sucking on the ring. "That's more like it!" In a crack, he shot out of sight, into the cockpit and back, along the walls, around the case, over the ceiling—
Sally stumbled back and Tails sat up, grinning.
"Sonic, you are going to make yourself throw up!" Sally hollered.
He stopped behind her and tugged her braid. "Thanks for all the help, Sal," he said, his voice low—and he meant it.
Sally would have tried punching him in the stomach for tugging her hair, but she couldn't do it this time. She did manage a scowl though.
"Let's move, Tails!" Sonic shouted.
He dashed to the fox and before Tails could say a word, Sonic had flung his brother over his shoulder and raced him to the cockpit. He dumped Tails in the pilot's seat. "C'mon, Tails, we gotta blow this place if we want to find Gramps."
Tails stared down at the control panel, blinking. "Oh...yes…okay."
Sally dashed into the cockpit after them. "Wait!" Sally grabbed Tails' shoulder. "He was nearly dead twenty minutes ago, Sonic! You cannot just expect him to fly!"
Tails leaned over the control panel. "I had a healing ring—it's okay, and the panel is pretty standard…" His eyes gleamed as he ran his fingers over the panel, already categorizing the different switches. If he didn't know how to fly this model of cruiser, he'd figure it out one way or another. His mom had been a pilot back in the war, under Dr. Robotnik's—then Dr. Nikolos's—aviation program. Tails used to play through all the programs on her flight simulator at least once a day.
"Tails can fly anything, Sal," Sonic said.
"I know that," Sally said, crossing her arms.
Sonic paused, cocking his head and tapping his foot against the control panel siding. "Huh. I could fly." He knelt down next to Tails. "You sure you're okay?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Tails blurted, pushing his hands against the control panel to turn the chair so he could face Sally and Sonic—his feet didn't even touch the floor. "Like you say, Sonic, you've gotta do whatcha gotta do." The urgency in his eyes began to pierce through the exhaustion. "I can do it—if it means finding Gram-" he stopped again, his ears flicking back hard. He pulled himself back to the control panel. "I'll need Nicole to override the autopilot though-that's the fastest way. I can use her ports and a makeshift chip-connector to access the autopilot drive."
Sally pulled the computer from a pocket inside her right boot and tossed it to Tails.
Tails caught it and scooted off the chair. He crawled under the control panel. "I think I'll need a laser knife too."
"I'll get mine." Sally turned on her heel and jumped down to the cabin floor.
"Phew, are you gonna need a whole tool box here, Tails?" Sonic smirked, nudging the fox's tail with his foot.
Tails' tail whipped out and almost coiled around Sonic's ankle, but Sonic scooted back just in time.
"Man," Tails muttered.
Sonic crossed his arms and leaned against the window, grinning.
"Where did I put that," Sally's voice muttered from the main cabin. "Sonic jumped out of the case…I put the knife down…"
"Autopilot signing off," Robotnik's buzz tone sounded all around the ship. The thrusters began to slow down with a hiss.
"I got it, Sally, didn't need the knife after all!" Tails shouted, scrambling back into the oversized pilot's seat, taking ahold of the stick with one hand and laying his other over the automated, digital control panel. "The port wasn't locked. This thing is really nice…"
Sonic leaned his head out the cockpit into the main cabin. "Sal, Tails got—"
The chipmunk bent next to the case, her back to the chamber. She lifted up her head at Sonic's voice.
Metal shifted behind her.
"Sal!" Sonic barked out—
Sally whipped about, her eyes wide.
A combot lunged forward from where it had lain against wall. It slammed its fist into Sally's shoulder, throwing her across the floor like a doll.
The combot lunged over her and Sally let out a sharp yelp, trying to roll aside.
Sonic did not even have to think about turning his speed on. He was a bullet.
His body slammed into the combot feet first. It toppled backwards and a bitter smile crossed the hedgehog's face.
…That felt good.
Sonic whipped around Sally, snatched onto her wrist and pulled her from beneath the combot's weight. He scooped her up into his arms and she clutched onto his shoulders as he faced the combot. Its lenses were still fixed on Sally.
Sonic shot up at its jaw.
The whole combot head jolted back, the neck snapped.
The hedgehog stepped back, Sally in his arms, his gaze burning. The combot flailed for another second, its sensory panel still intact, but blinded.
Sally let out a long shaky breath, her eyes huge.
Sonic's hold tightened on her. He barely felt her weight. She was so light. She could have been crushed in a matter of seconds.
Sonic set her down. "Just a sec," he said, his gaze locked on the combot.
He'd had it.
Sonic exploded into the machine. It smashed back into the wall.
Sonic took a running start, and shoved the combot across the floor to the cargo hold door. He yanked it open. The loading door in the belly of the air cruiser was open, the ground whizzing past miles beneath them.
Sonic took one look and thrust the combot down the hatch steps into the hold, a bitter smirk on his face.
He didn't care to watch it fall. He needed another one. The Mobium coursed through his healing arms and legs and pounded in his chest.
"Sonic!" Tails shouted from the pilot's chair. "What's going on-!?"
Sonic charged into the remains of a "dead" combot, then pushed it too down into the hold. "Just takin' out the trash, Tails!" he shouted. "You fly!"
He spun around to the third and last combot. He heaved it into the hold with a snarl.
Sonic raised his foot to kick the door shut and froze. His gaze fell on the severed gag-mask, laying on its side where Sally had dropped it.
Sonic's eyes hardened. His focus zoomed in on the mask, every edge and curve of the structure sneering at him.
Sonic swiped up the gag-mask, his hand clawed. The hedgehog spun to the open hatch door. He ripped out a shout and hurled the mask as hard as he could, his arm a blur. Like lightning, the mask crashed into the opposite wall of cargo hold before it fell downwards.
Down, out the hatch, into the sky, a speck falling to the forest below—
Sonic slammed the hatch shut.
He turned to face Sally. His fists clenched, chest heaving.
Sally stood where he had set her down, watching with wide eyes.
Sonic shrugged and ran a hand through his head spikes. He ambled back over to the cockpit.
Sally followed him with her gaze as he passed, silent. She blinked.
When Sonic was quiet…that's when he was really, actually mad.
Sonic stepped into the cockpit, letting out a deep breath.
"All cleared?" Tails asked, his gaze fixed on the horizon.
"Yep," Sonic said, leaning back against the wall again.
Sally stepped back into the cockpit. She shrugged her slight shoulders, as if trying to make herself as small as possible, and scooted next to Sonic.
The hedgehog and chipmunk both stared out the wide air cruiser window at the horizon beyond.
Even though Tails was turning them around, they could still see Robotropolis. The city sprawled across the ground beneath them, wafting a halo of dark chemical fumes into the sky. From their height, the city looked like a mangled growth, its skyline jagged and oozing out into the surrounding landscape.
Sonic swallowed and bowed his head, digging his hands into the pockets of his tunic. He tapped his foot.
Sally carefully put her small hand on his arm.
Sonic flinched and stopped tapping. He whirled to look over his shoulder.
Sally stared at him, her blue eyes wide, messy tendrils of her auburn hair falling out of its braid.
Sonic glanced away again, face still set…but his muscles had relaxed beneath her hand.
She was wise enough to know not to speak.
Sonic forced a smirk. "I'm used to this type of thing, Sal. I'll handle it. We hedgehogs aren't easy to bust open."
Sally arched her eyebrows.
"How long 'til we get back to Aero, Tails?" Sonic asked.
"Twenty five minutes," Tails reported, his gaze still locked on the panel.
Sonic's gaze stayed fixed on the horizon over Capitol Aero. He narrowed his eyes and his ears cocked.
"Wait…wait, what's that?" Tails blurted, pushing himself up higher in his seat, his eyes huge. He almost scrambled onto the dashboard. "That light—Sonic!—what's that light?"
Flashes burned on the horizon over Capitol Aero.
"You've gotta be kidding," Sonic hissed, pressing against the window.
"What's what?" Sally blurted, jumping in front of Sonic and pushing up on her toes.
Sonic snatched Sally's arm. "Wait, Sal!"
Pure terror flooded Tail's face. "Sonic."
Sonic whipped around to face his brother.
Tails gripped the controls for all he was worth. "It's…it's the missiles. It's the missiles, Sonic! We're too late! I should have told you the minute we got out—I—I—!"
"Tails!" Sally whirled to face the fox, panic beginning to rise in her eyes. "Tails, what are you talking about? Talk! Right now! What missiles?"
Tails' turned his attention away long enough from the cockpit controls enough to meet Sally's gaze. "The missiles that Eggman programmed for Robotnik to set off at any time he chose—I tried to destroy them, but…" He looked past Sally to Sonic, hunching over the controls in shame. "I gave up trying to tell you—we were going to die—"
Sally turned back to the window, her eyes wild. Sonic's hands had fisted. His head spikes began to unsheathe. "No way," he half hissed to himself, his green eyes flashing.
"I tried to tell you to escape so you could fight!" Tails blurted. "This is my fault—you would be there right now if you had just let them—!"
"Tails!" Sonic marched over and snatched the back of the cockpit seat. "Shut up and you keep it together, and you fly this thing back there as fast as you can, you hear me!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry—" Tails choked out. He yanked over to a side panel on the wall, pulling down a series of digital levers. "I'll go as fast as I can—I'll try—"
"Just be quiet and fly!" Sonic ordered.
The hedgehog spun back to the window, his gaze riveted on the horizon.
Sally fists clenched and unclenched against the glass and she breathed hard. She didn't make a noise.
They had done everything they could to keep this from happening. Sonic had delivered the rings. Sally had waited until after the trial to rescue him.
But it hadn't been enough. Death was coming to Aero.
"Sally, it's okay, we're going back right now!" Sonic said.
"Hurry." she gasped.