Chapter 38: Fake
Once Tails had turned the shuttle around, he steered it straight for the ARK at full speed. In a few minutes, the shuttle approached one of the docking bays located on the far left of the nose-shaped laser. Tails looked down at the computer-screen next to the steering-wheel and after several minutes of typing, the docking bay doors opened allowing the shuttle to enter.
"What'd you do, Tails?" Sonic asked.
"Just a little hacking," Tails replied casually. "I temporarily shut down the security system and remotely opened the docking bay doors. However, there's a backup system that'll kick on in a few minutes so we'll need to hustle out of the shuttle as soon as it lands."
"Sounds like a plan."
As the shuttle quietly flew inside the docking bay, the doors closed behind them at a slow but steady pace. Then as soon as the shuttle landed on one of the landing strips, Sonic and Amy opened the flight deck door and ran behind the nearest pile of crates. Meanwhile, Tails went into the open cargo-hold, unlatched the Tornado 2 mech, and climbed into it. Next, he piloted it towards the nearest door and, after pressing a few keys on a nearby keypad with the mech's robotic hand, managed to open it. Sonic and Amy quickly slipped through it while Tails brought up the rear. The door closed behind them and they were soon standing in a dim-lit hallway.
"Not a very cheerful-looking place," Amy noted. "It looks rundown and dusty."
"Well, according to my research, the ARK was shut down fifty years ago due to some kind of accident that occurred here," Tails said. "While it was still functional, the ARK served as the world's most advanced research facility and it was led by Gerard Robotnik who was Dr. Robotnik's grandfather."
"Well, that does explain why the face on the ARK reminded me of Eggman," Sonic said wearily. "Was he a mad genius too?"
"Far from it," Tails replied. "He was a scientific genius, and so was his grandson before the spirit of Eggman possessed him."
"Oh, really," Amy said thoughtfully. "What was Dr. Robotnik like before Eggman's spirit possessed him?"
Tails cleared his throat and said, "Based on the articles I read, Dr. Ivo Robotnik taught robotics at the Central City University for a long time and wrote a number of award-winning theses on the subject. He was generally liked by colleagues and students alike for his eccentricity and superior intellect. Then four years ago he was doing research on robotization and after a mental breakdown during one of his lectures, Dr. Robotnik disappeared and the rest is history."
"I bet it was during that lecture when Eggman's spirit took over," Sonic said. "I wonder if Dr. Robotnik himself is aware of it."
"We won't know unless we ask him, but in the meantime we've got to stop that laser cannon from being fired again," Tails said and showed Amy and Sonic a visual layout of the entire ARK. "Since the cannon is protected externally, we're going to have to destroy it from the inside."
"Okay, so what's the plan?" Sonic asked.
"I'll head for the main power source and shut it down temporarily. But before I turn the power back on, Sonic will need to head into the control room and insert this fake Chaos Emerald I made into the device where the Chaos Emeralds are kept." As he spoke, Tails reached into the glove compartment and pulled out the dull yellow Chaos Emerald he showed as Miles the day before.
"What's that going to do?" Amy asked.
"Once the fake Chaos Emerald is inserted into place, it'll reverse the energy flow of the other Chaos Emeralds and essentially explode thus rendering the laser cannon completely useless," Tails answered. "Pretty cool for a last-minute reprogramming I did to it last night, huh?"
"Yeah," Sonic said enthusiastically, and took off running down the hallway in a straight path.
Meanwhile, Tails steered the mech into a branching hallway, which left Amy all alone.
"Hey, what about me?" Amy whined, following in Tails' direction.
###
A few minutes later, Sonic was in the control room which was a large circular room with a computer standing in front a towering object where six of the seven Chaos Emeralds were nestled neatly into.
"All right, Tails," Sonic said, talking into a walkie-talkie he took from the pocket of his shorts. "I'm in the control room. Have you shut down the power yet?"
"Um, about that," Tails said hesitantly. "I was just about to shut down the power when Dr. Eggman came out of nowhere and grabbed Amy, who had been following me the entire time. Naturally, I went after him but he said he'd only let Amy go if we gave him the Chaos Emerald."
"I see," Sonic said, and looked down at the dull yellow Chaos Emerald. "Where is he holding her?"
"In a research lab, where you could see the planet from."
"I'm on my way."
Then with resolve, Sonic sped away from the control room and eventually came to a sliding door labeled 'Research lab: Do Not Enter Unless You Have Permission from the Supervisor'. Ignoring the sign, Sonic stepped towards the door which automatically opened. On the other side was a large room with a giant window which Dr. Eggman stood at in his mechanized Egg Mobile as he used one of the mech's robotic arms to point a gun at Amy. Tails stood nearby in his mech, and turned his head towards Sonic.
"I'm sure Tails filled you in on the details," Dr. Eggman said. "Now place the Chaos Emerald down in the center of the room."
"As you wish," Sonic said, and walked toward Dr. Eggman with the fake Chaos Emerald in hand.
Dr. Eggman raised an eyebrow. "No tricks this time?"
"No tricks," Sonic said convincingly.
As Sonic stepped into the center of the room, Dr. Eggman grinned and pressed a button. This caused Sonic to suddenly get encapsulated inside a glass tube, which surprised both Amy and Tails. Sonic tried to break free, but the glass was harder than he thought.
"Did you really think I would be fooled by a fake Chaos Emerald?" Dr. Eggman said confidently. "It doesn't have the same luster that a real one has, but all the same I congratulate whoever created the forgery."
"I did it," Tails said. "Now let Sonic go."
Dr. Eggman chuckled in response. "So it was a fake after all. Thanks for the clarification, Tails."
While Tails was stunned, Dr. Eggman pressed another button, and the glass tube disappeared beneath the floor with Sonic inside. Amy looked behind her and outside the window she saw a small tube flying out into space towards Mobius. Then once it was a few miles from the ARK, the glass tube exploded in a sudden but brief burst of fire.
"SONIC!" Amy cried.
"Sonic," Tails said, still stunned.
Dr. Eggman pressed the gun against the back of Amy's head and looked back at Tails. "Now that my greatest adversary and his annoying human host are out of the picture, let's settle this business transaction, shall we? Give me the real Chaos Emerald, Tails, and Amy can go free."
"Never!" Tails abruptly yelled, and armed his mech with a laser cannon. "If you want the Chaos Emerald, then you'll have to take it from me!"
To be continued…