Eggman could kill her. She wants to fight them? Of all people she chooses Axel first? She's incredibly weak to iron and his gauntlets are iron chains. He wanted to strangle her for her recklessness.
"Wouldn't that hurt Lord Eggman?" Mordred nervously pulled on his tongue. "Since you are bonded?"
With one hand on her hip and the other on the table Sheptilah leaned forward. "Good question, Prince Mordred." The cobra Mobian flushed a bit at being called by his self-given royal title by an actual queen.
"Also a bit of a dumb question but at the same time it is a good one." She stood up straight and gestured with her free hand as she spoke. "What makes you think that Doctor Eggman cannot handle whatever you throw at him? Please."
Shadow knew she was being tongue-in-cheek but Eggman and the bosses all took it like she was telling the truth. The good doctor's ego was given a strong boost by her words.
"If you aren't terrified of him you aren't paying attention." Sheptilah stared down Mordred.
"Rest up; the scuffles will begin in a few hours." Eggman said proudly.
Orbot and Cubot were picking up the plates and cups to be disposed of. All of the Egg Bosses had left the room to rest and prepare for the sparring with Thunderbolt directing them where to go.
Shadow watched closely as Eggman approached the witch who was fiddling with her gloves.
"Are you warming up to me?" His hot breath tickled her neck. She stuck her elbow out as a warning and he backed up obligingly.
"They have to believe you're invincible. Leaders do not show weakness." She huffed.
"I've seen you cry at least four times since I met you." Shadow chortled from the corner.
She turned to look at the smug hedgehog and pursed her lips. "Crying isn't weakness. Weakness is pretending you have no emotion because you are afraid of how people will perceive you for shedding tears."
"Hmph." Was his only response.
"Your mortality cannot come into question, Eggman. I know most of them hate you. I don't want them thinking they can kill me just to get to you." She looked up at him and his glasses she could see a faint glint of red.
"And yet you wish to fight them?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Why are we out here in the arctic, Ivo?" She dodged the question.
"Because it's quiet."
"Yes, and?" She expected a better answer. "Tell me the truth."
"Your highness," he said glibly, "I wanted to see the northern lights reflected in your beautiful violet eyes. I wanted to see you playfully frolic in the snow you've seen only for the first time. Hearing your screaming laughter was delightful, and I'd love to hear it again."
Her cheeks felt warm. Was she blushing? She looked to the side with embarrassment and shame. "R-really?" She twirled a lock of her hair in her fingers and avoided eye-contact at all costs.
"Hm?" Ivo leaned in. "Are you flustered?" A sneaky grin appeared on his face, "That's so cute!"
He couldn't help but find her reaction very endearing. Under her dirty, tough exterior she is still a woman, he thought.
She backed up a bit, face entirely red. Realizing she had been holding her breath she took in a sharp inhale of cold air.
"Calm down; I'm teasing." He reassured.
"He wanted to make sure GUN couldn't bother him," the hedgehog rolled his eyes, "And we couldn't run away just in case we dismantled his entire empire by eliminating all of his active Egg Bosses. Isn't that right, Doctor?"
Shadow hit the nail on the head. Eggman grinned. "You always were my grandfather's greatest achievement."
Sheptilah sidestepped around the man and went over to the hedgehog. "To answer your question earlier… I was inspired by the fights with you and Shadow. I learned a lot about the both of you. I also need the training as it's been five thousand years since."
"Haven't you been in suspended animation?" Eggman was typing something in his gauntlet.
"I was awake for much of it; conscious, rather." She bit a nail.
"Wait, you were alone with your thoughts for that long?"
"Yes and no." It was hard for her to explain. "I was aware I was trapped in the crystal. My biological functions were stopped but my magic was still going. I tried to get out but surrounded by absolute blackness and impenetrable walls made me terrified. After so long I was so drained of energy my Oracle Stone took over and waited for someone to revive me."
"Were you always claustrophobic?" Shadow asked.
"No," she nervously straightened her coat, "Now that I think of it maybe my people trapped me because they thought I was useless but didn't have the guts to kill their queen. I must fight all I can now. I need to prove I'm worthy of the Nannae lineage and the title of queen."
"You two were made for each other," Eggman rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Creepy likenesses."
"Well, yes. That's how the Universe works." She squinted at him with disbelief. "That's how familiars work."
Orbot and Cubot left the room to dispose of the cutlery.
"Come on, Shadow," she gestured to the door, "Let's go walk around. I need to stretch my legs after spending all that time sitting down."
"I'm coming with you." Eggman insisted. "Can't have you two getting into trouble!" The witch's response was to put him to sleep with that thumb-against-the-forehead trick. She then put him in a chair and rested his head in his arms on the table.
"Like I said, let's go for a walk." She shut the door behind them and they wandered around the icy fortress. Even with the Egg Bosses and their skeleton crews around it was still very empty.
Sheptilah felt around for snags in the Universe to open portals but found none.
"Hm…" She grumbled to herself. "Not a lot of activity here. No people, no knots."
"What's up?" Shadow's metal shoes clicked against the ice floor.
"I wanted to check on Sonic but…" She sighed. "If I can't open a portal I can't do that."
The hedgehog rolled his ruby eyes. "Please, what could he need?"
"Ever since the thing at Thunderbolt's base he's been plagued with nightmares. It's gotten bad enough that he can't even function."
Shadow felt a pang of guilt. "I should never have let him in that base."
Sheptilah reached over and lightly stroked the spines on the top of his head, "As if you could've stopped him. I haven't spent much time with him but I can already tell he's stubborn ."
"He's just a kid." Not much older than Maria was, he thought to himself. Now he felt even worse.
The witch crouched down. "Usually when a child experiences death for the first time it's a pet or a family member. I guess with strangers it's weirder."
"No, it isn't that. Sonic… loves everything with all of his heart. He believes that he can save anyone and anything if he tries hard enough." Shadow clenched his fists. "We should not have let him in there."
"He saved Thunderbolt. He was the only one small enough to fit into the vent and I did not have enough energy back then to shapeshift. Without Sonic that chinchilla would've died." She felt the bridge of her nose tingle. "I saw a weird side of Eggman that day, too. He pulled Sonic from the vent when he realized he couldn't get down easily and he was so gentle . I don't understand any of it."
"Yeah, he does that sometimes." The good doctor did in fact save Sonic and Tails on more than one occasion.
"Shadow? How old are you really?"
"Nineteen."
"You're just a kid, too." Her heart thudded painfully. She stopped speaking and stood when she heard footsteps approaching. It was Tundra.
"Where is Eggman?" The gruff walrus demanded. "You should not be out wandering alone; especially with him." The walrus stuck a thumb out toward Shadow.
Sheptilah stuck out her chest and crossed her arms. "He is in the meeting room drawing up plans. We are just exploring this base. I am from an arid desert so being in a frozen one is fascinating."
"I see," he peered her over, "At any rate I'm eager to watch you fight. I cannot respect a leader who has no taste for war and I want to see you prove yourself."
She couldn't help but smile. "I told Eggman the same thing earlier." The trio walked forward with Tundra serving as a sort of chaperone to make sure the hedgehog did not get into any trouble.
"Are you eager to fight me?" Tilly chuckled. "I heard you have ice breath. I want to see it in action."
Tundra pounded his palm with his fist. "I am always eager to fight!"
The arena was a massive room with stadium seating. Large flat screen TVs fixed to the walls along with a heavy-duty speaker system provided music and visuals. The battle ground was deeply recessed into the ice floor and hard as concrete. Shadow, Thunderbolt out of her mecha and Eggman were sitting near each other with the Egg Bosses scattered around the room in their seats. Orbot and Cubot were offering bags of popcorn to each of them.
"Are you sure you're read-" Eggman was cut off when she handed him her accessories. Sheptilah removed her earrings and crown and gave them to the man. She then took off her coat and gave that to Shadow. The clothing under her pink coat was a simple tank-top sleeveless style bodysuit. The thinness of the fabric combined with the cold air made her skin break out in goosebumps.
"I'm always ready." She gave the thumbs-up gesture she learned from Shadow. She then jumped into the arena and waited for Axel to appear.
"You didn't give her underwear?" The hedgehog narrowed his eyes at the Overlander.
"I realize the mistake now," he pinched the bridge of his nose, "Well she could always stab him with her nipples."
"That's not GUN standard issue weaponry but if it works, it works." Shadow said.
Eggman was caught off-guard by the hedgehog's reaction and had to grip the armrests to keep from sliding out of his seat from laughing so hard.
Axel appeared and made his way down to the ring and jumped in. "I apologize for being late," he said, "This place is a maze."
"Twenty bucks on Axel beating her." Thunderbolt held out a crisp twenty dollar bill and snapped it.
"You're on," Eggman grinned, "MARI?" He spoke into his gauntlet.
"Yes?" The digital image of an older teenage girl with one eye a darker blue than the other, short black hair and a button nose. She sounded like she was heavily autotuned.
"Play some mood music." He twirled the edge of his mustache.
"Gotcha!" MARI winked. "Now playing… War Cry by Indecent Noise."
A heavy, driving hard trance beat came on over the speaker system. Eggman spoke into his gauntlet again but this time his voice was heard over the music. "The sparring matches will each be over under one of the following conditions: you are knocked out of the arena or you are unconscious. You may also surrender at any time. Begin!"
Axel swung his hooked chain at the witch.
"Who is MARI?" Thunderbolt wondered if she had another Overlander to deal with.
"She is the deejay at the Stratosphere club as part of my recommissioned Starlight Carnival. Her name is an acronym: Music And Remix Interface. She also controls my music libraries and maintains some of Eggmanland's robots." He seemed proud to show off his AI creation.
"You own the Stratosphere Club?" Shadow couldn't believe it. Rouge loved that club and tried to drag him there many times.
"I own a lot of things-" He was interrupted by Sheptilah impacting the wall with great force.
The pain went away with her rapid healing powers before either Eggman or Shadow could feel it. Sheptilah landed hard on the ice and rolled over, dodging Axel's thrown hooks. One of them had gotten lodged in the ice and the water buffalo struggled to get it free. The witch jumped up and ran across the taut chain. She then kicked Axel hard in the chest and rolled forward when he landed.
"Woo!" Tundra shouted excitedly. Axel looked up at the witch and growled. He dislodged the hook and caught it in his hand.
Sheptilah took her hair out of the ponytail and split it in two, one half in each hand. She rolled her wrists to build momentum as her hair grew longer and longer.
MARI'S voice came back over the system to announce the next song change. "Now playing… Problem [Solo Version] by Ariana Grande."
"Nobody cares, MARI." Eggman barked into his gauntlet.
"I care!" Her face turned to a tongue-wagging emoji before disappearing.
"What the Hell is this music?!" Axel grunted.
"It's one of my AIs, she thinks she's funny." Eggman shrugged.
"I kind of like it." Shadow mumbled.
"See?! Shadow likes it, what's your problem?" Eggman was gesturing broadly with his arms.
Cassia was dancing in her seat to it with a hesitant Clove bobbing her head along.
"Focus!" Sheptilah shouted at Axel. "This is a fight!" She sent a bunch of tendrils at the man who punched them away. More came at him with great speed. He flung his chains around successfully breaking them.
"I wonder what hair conditioner she uses." Nephthys mused.
"Why do you have Ariana Grande, of all people, on your playlists?" Thunderbolt was a little weirded out.
"MARI is streaming from the internet. This is how she runs the club music, too. MARI, bring up the queue." Eggman flicked through the songs and removed some of the odder choices she had cooked up.
"You are so old, Eggman," the AI sounded annoyed. She hated when people screwed around with her sets.
Axel grabbed a fistful of Tilly's hair and pulled her forward like he was playing tug-o-war. She was dragged slowly across the ice. Axel, however, didn't see what was coming up behind him. The hair he had pulled back changed into a dagger-like entity that wrapped itself around Axel's arms and pulled them back violently, dislocating both shoulders.
The pain was excruciating and all Axel could do was howl.
Silently on the mounted flat screens MARI announced the song change with text over a visualizer graphic: Geometrix (feat. Driftmoon) [Tempo Giusto Radio Mix], Ferry Tayle.
The audience winced and yelled when they heard the pop of Axel's shoulders move out of place. The water buffalo was so angry he bowed his head and charged at the surprised woman and nearly bisected her at the torso. He kept running forward with his arms flopping uselessly at his side until he hit the ice. By virtue of his horns being solid steel, this did not hurt him.
He did, however, hurt Sheptilah. Shadow felt the crushing blow in his ribs and gasped for air. Eggman himself felt the same pain and gritted his teeth.
The witch broke out into a cold sweat from the agony and realized she couldn't move her legs. He had paralyzed her.
"You forced me to do this, Mistress." Axel snorted, clouds of vapor curling around his snout. "You asked me not to hold back."
"Then why are you holding back?" She managed to choke out. With a smirk she flicked a finger and the hair wrapped itself around his torso and dragged him back until his horns dislodged from the ice wall and dropped the woman to the ground.
Once free of the steel horns she was able to heal herself and gave her foot a cursory wiggle to test the repair. Unfortunately for her when Axel rolled on the ice wall it reset one of his shoulders. With his now semi-fixed arm he popped the other in place.
"Easiest twenty bucks I ever made." Thunderbolt chuckled, fluffing up the green fur around her neck. "So much for your Overlander friend, huh?"
"Just wait." Eggman said.
Powering through the soreness the hulking Mobian pulled his chain back and sent it flying again, the hook cutting her upper arm. It felt like fire was licking her flesh. The wound bled freely and openly. She sealed it with a crystalline band and she had had enough of him; with one final magical blow she had sent the water buffalo out of the ring and into the unoccupied seats. Orbot and Cubot ran to him to make sure he was still alive, both giving a thumbs-up to confirm this.
The robots then administered first aid.
Thunderbolt groaned and handed the money to a very excited Eggman. Sheptilah sighed and retracted all of her hair. Her eyes scanned the room looking for her next victim. Mordred tried to make himself as small as possible and prayed that he was not next.
"Akhlut!" She called. "I challenge you!"
The orca grinned and stood. He made his way to the arena just as the music changed again.
"Crescent (Radio Mix) by Raminio." MARI announced.
"Want to make another wager?" Eggman turned to the eager Thunderbolt.
"What's your bet?" She asked him.
"Twenty on Tilly getting knocked out."
"Ye of little faith." Shadow rolled his eyes and then realized something. He scratched his chin in thought. "Akhlut is the one with psychic powers?"
"Yes." Eggman bared his teeth in a devious smile.
"So if he scrambles her brains, does that mean ours get scrambled, too?" The hedgehog squinted at the Overlander.
Eggman's mouth became a tight line. He leaned over the wall and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Tilly! Don't let us down!"
She turned to the man and waved her hand as if to tell him to shut up. Eggman slipped and almost fell over the edge. It took the efforts of Shadow and Thunderbolt grabbing the seat of his pants to catch him.
Orbot and Cubot continued to hand out snacks to the viewers. Other members from the skeleton crews came in to observe after they heard the commotion.
"Do you need time to rest?" Akhlut politely asked the woman.
"No," she bobbed her hair, "I hear you have excellent hand-to-hand combat skills as well as mind-breaking powers. This will be fun."
The orca took a powerful and defensive stance waiting for the witch to make the first move. She ran at him and unleashed a flurry of punches, none of which landed as he blocked them effortlessly. The Egg Bosses had a very bad habit of leaving their backs unprotected; something Sheptilah was glad to take advantage of.
Before the orca could use his psychic powers on her she shape-shifted into a little brown mouse and ran under him.
"What the-" Was all he could say before she changed back to her human self and extended her nails into deadly claws, stabbing his tail.
"She fights dirty." Clove sounded extremely stressed.
"We'll fight dirty, too!" Cassia flexed a robotic arm trying to appear brave.
"You are not going out there, I won't allow it," Clove shot her sister a look, "You're too young."
"Oh, please," Cassia shrugged, "I can handle myself."
Akhlut felt the dull pain throb in his tail and retaliated by attempting to punch her down. Instead he hit the ice and it left a huge crater in his wake.
With shovel-like claws she stabbed Akhlut between his ribs. She didn't count on his dolphin hide being so thick . Akhlut barely felt the stab and did not even flinch.
Tundra fell in love instantly. There was a deadly conflict going on between his clan and Akhlut's, which seemed to be getting resolved all at once.
"I just might propose to her." The walrus sighed wistfully. Nephthys raised an unseen eyebrow at him and shook her head disapprovingly.
"You would have ugly children together." She commented. Tundra couldn't help but guffaw.
The televisions changed again: Pangaea, F.G. Noise vs Tom Exo.
"Did you think you could gut me like a fish?" Sharp green irises on black sclerae were piercing.
"Kinda, yeah," she laughed nervously, "Is it just me or is this music weird?"
"At least the robot has the courtesy to let us know what music to block later." Akhlut grabbed the witch by the throat and squeezed. He then shot a psychic attack toward her. Her body went limp for a second but then her eyes glowed brightly as the Oracle Stone took over.
This is my space, the witch spoke, no visitors allowed.
Akhlut seemed to be standing in a black room with no discernible walls or ceiling.
"Madame?" He found it hard to breathe. His chest tightened like a vice was squeezing every last ounce of life out of his heart. "What is this?"
You are in my mind, the witch's voice echoed, this is my turf. You will learn just as Ivo did that you cannot choke me and walk away unscathed.
She uttered an ancient banishment spell, filling the orca's head with cacophony. Back in the tangible world the orca was screaming and clutching his head before he collapsed, unconscious. Sheptilah felt something warm trickle over lip. She had a nosebleed.
"God," Eggman had a slight headache, "What happened? Do I keep my money or not?"
Sheptilah knelt down and healed the orca who then left the arena feeling about shameful for his loss. She then climbed the wall and made her way to the water buffalo and healed him.
"Thunderbolt gets her money back." Shadow said. Eggman scoffed and handed the bill back to her.
"I should've healed you right away," the witch said dryly, "I got distracted. You almost killed me, you know that?"
"Well, you said not to hold back." Axel smirked.
Sheptilah looked around. "Who's next…? Mordred!"
The cobra, being cold-blooded, was unable to stay awake in the icy fortress and went into a hibernation-like sleep.
"Or not… Nephthys!" She called for the vulture.
"Yes, my lady?" She turned her masked face toward the Overlander.
"I would like to challenge you, though perhaps I shouldn't."
"Why not?" The vulture tilted her head ever so slightly.
"When I am from, Nephthys was in our pantheon of gods. Specifically the guardian of the dead and putrefaction."
"I assure you I do not fill such a role in this day and age," Nephthys chuckled, "But I have heard of the Nannae."
"So you admit you are the goddess!" Sheptilah smirked. "To the arena."
They each made their way back to the ring. Nephthys, despite being a vulture could only glide with the use of her cape and would have to be very protective of her rear unlike the other two Sheptilah took advantage of during the fight.
"Why are you here, really?" The vulture picked up a chunk of ice and bounced it in her palm.
The Overlander sighed deeply. "I am here to atone for the sins of those that came before me and ensure that life continues here on Mobius."
"Noble," the vulture admitted, "But I do not trust you." She tossed the ice ball over her shoulder.
The witch, using magic, lunged forward with great speed and wanted to make quick work of the Mobian woman.
Nephthys was faster and quickly jumped into the air and landed hard on Sheptilah, breaking her shoulder and arm with wet crunches. The witch screamed with intense pain. Orbot and Cubot looked away from the carnage. Eggman himself clutched his arm from the sympathetic pain and Shadow let out a low growl without meaning to.
"Surrender." the cloaked woman demanded of the witch. Sheptilah dragged herself forward with her better arm, leaving a trail of pink blood on the ice from the compound fractures.
"Now playing… Lone Digger, Caravan Palace." MARI wasn't one for strictly obeying orders even from Eggman, "Also, ew." she commented.
Cassia buried her face in her bag of half-eaten popcorn and Clove was visibly sweating. They had to be the next ones to fight her. There were few left to fight besides the sisters: Tundra and maybe Thunderbolt.
"Heh. I can't surrender." Sheptilah said over her unbroken shoulder. Nephthys walked forward and pressed her foot against the flapping arm. Unwilling tears streamed down Tilly's cheeks.
"Acquiesce." The bird woman demanded again, applying more pressure to the injuries. The witch's head was swimming. She nearly passed out from the pain and had a hard time controlling her magic. Her body subconsciously healed itself and every injured nerve began to dull.
"We shouldn't have let her fight without breaks." Shadow spoke through sharp, gritted teeth.
"Get up, Sheptilah!" Tundra howled. "I still haven't fought you yet!" Some other members of the Egg army cheered half-heartedly for the witch and others cheered for Nephthys. Shadow's spines stood on end and all at once flattened when he became calm again.
"Surrender so Cassia doesn't have to fight." Nephthys spoke quietly. She swore she could see glitter form on the wounds and heal them.
"I never intended to fight Cassia," the witch whispered, "Only heal her by 'accident'."
The vulture looked away toward the small crowd where the green pronghorns were sitting and holding each other nervously.
"Great healers, your people were. They lived in a terraced garden ziggurat in my region. The subject of myth." She kicked Sheptilah hard in the chest and sent her sliding across the ice.
The vulture spied the wound protected by the crystal band did not heal.
"I can also see you are weak to iron." She knelt down and grabbed the witch's hair and lifted her to her feet. "I don't trust you, Lady Sheptilah. I don't trust anyone who deals with GUN and Eggman's empire. How do I know you are not here to undermine everything Eggman has built up?"
Sheptilah rolled her shoulder which was now fully healed. "I don't like GUN." She was panting and sweaty. "In fact I hate them."
"FINISH HER!" Thunderbolt screamed. "Kill the Overlander!" This was followed by her yelping as Eggman lightly swatted her.
Nephthys' looked down her beak. "Don't get me wrong. I respect you, I just do not trust you. Your orders to stop all other projects is affecting my very delicate balances I've put in place in Midesta."
"Thunderbolt told me that you had your face crushed when you were younger; that you had Ivo give you facial cybernetics. Unfortunate that I cannot help you. I think you are my favorite of the Egg Bosses. I'm sorry my presence is disruptive."
Sheptilah was deeply regretting challenging them all to battles one after another while only having eaten bits of carrots and apple cookies.
Nephthys let go of the exhausted Overlander's scalp. "I admire your power but you are reckless. Work on that. I will fight you again when you are at full capacity, Lady Sheptilah."
"Before you go," Sheptilah whispered as quietly as she could while still being heard by Nephthys, "Are you into women?"
"What?" The vulture responded just as quietly. "How'd..."
"I want to take you out on a date." She brushed her hair out of her face with a bloody hand, grinning broadly.
"I... uh..." Nephthys' feathers fluffed up when she cleared her throat. "I cannot date my superior... as much as I'd like to. Do you always flirt with women you beat you to a pulp?"
"No, just you." Sheptilah laughed nervously. "Please don't tell anyone I asked."
"I'm not out, either." Nephthys helped the Overlander to her feet.
"Then this conversation never happened." Her heart sank a bit.
Nephthys looked at the witch thoughtfully before jumping up and flew back to the seats, walking out of the arena with her cape flapping behind her.
Tilly's face was flushed with embarrassment; was she really that bad a fighter and flirter?
"We will continue the fights at a later date. Great work, everyone!" She made her way back to where the good doctor was sitting. He reached over the wall and pulled her up by the wrist and set her down gently next to him.
"You're hard to kill." He chuckled.
"I learned a lot." She forced a smile. Her chest rose and fell with exertion. "Everyone is great... except Mordred; but it's not his fault. Someone should go warm him up before he is frozen solid... I'm happy to be on your team, anyway."
Eggman's eyes skimmed her thin, frail figure. Poor thing is all skin and bones, he thought, and yet … He couldn't help but be a little turned on by someone who despite being bloody and sweaty could still smile and walk around like they didn't just have their ass handed to them.
His mind wandered into more erotic territory. A crazy woman who was used to being nude, knows succubi on a personal level and never shaved? She absolutely must be a demon in bed.
It had been quite a while since he was intimate with another person but never really felt urges, either. He was always so busy he never had time for anything other than eating, sleeping and attempts at hedgehog eradication.
Doesn't matter, he told himself, I have better stuff to do than risk getting my dick bit off by a shape-shifting witch who doesn't even like me.
"Eggman? Are you listening?" Shadow pulled on his sleeve, "Eggman?"
"Woah, sorry; lost in thought." He batted away Shadow's hand.
"Tilly is hungry."
They didn't stay the night. Everyone packed up and left for their respective bases except for Eggman. He decided to linger a little longer and procrastinate about going out in the snow again.
"Next time maybe consult me before you decide to fight everyone; and don't do it on an empty stomach. Great show, though." He was going through their backpacks one more time before going out.
"Did you know he bet against you?" Thunderbolt was getting into her mecha.
"You bet against me?" Tilly pretended to be shocked. "Well my loss is your loss." Orbot and Cubot came up with thermoses full of piping hot minestrone and handed one to everyone.
"Mamnoon," she took it, "Thank you." Though when she said it it sounded more like 'sank thyoo'.
"You're getting better!" Orbot chirped. Just then the base shook a little. Shadow was alarmed and looked around.
"Don't panic. I'm pretty sure that's just the staff finally getting the submarine hatch de-iced."
Eggman stroked his mustache. "Fat lot of good it does for us though since I had to park in the boonies…"
Sheptilah sipped from the thermos. A moment passed without any more tremors.
"See?" Eggman grinned at the hedgehog. "Nothing is wrong."
"Fine, let's just go." Shadow was eager to get home.
Eggman opened the gates and a cold gush of air washed over them.
"I'm so glad I do not have nerve endings," Orbot was the first to leave the building for the sled that awaited them. Sheptilah had an uneasy feeling of dread crawl over her. She sipped the thermos nervously and hoped to get back into the submarine as soon as possible.
"Is something wrong?" Eggman noticed the wide-eyed woman's anxious expression.
"I don't know…"
"Maybe you do get motion sick…" Shadow recalled the earlier conversation. "I still have some sour candies if you'd like."
"No, thank you." The woman stared straight ahead.
"You are such a grandpa." Eggman chuckled. "Give me one."
Shadow tossed it at the man, intending for it to hit his temple but instead Eggman caught it with his mouth.
"Eggman?" MARI's voice spoke over the gauntlet. "Eggman. There's something moving beneath you."
"What? MARI! You're being nosy. Go back to being a deejay." He raised a finger threatening to silence the AI.
"Sir, your other robots are in sleep mode and aren't responding. There's something large moving beneath you according to the sled's sensors…" Her voice sounded worried.
"It's probably a whale."
Shadow was straining his ears to hear for anything but couldn't tell over the noise of the two adults yelling.
"We gotta get out of here!" Sheptilah dropped the thermos and pounded on the roof of the cab.
The hedgehog chalked it up to her claustrophobia and tried to calm her by rubbing her shoulder.
"MARI- we are almost at the submarine. I'll deal with you later." Eggman growled.
Then came a rumble and a scraping noise much like a freight train struggling to hit the brakes. Eggman instinctively placed his arm across the two smaller beings he was sitting next to. The sled was overturned and rolled across the ice a few times before finally settling right-side up with its robotic reindeer having been destroyed and kicking their legs in the air flaccidly. Thunderbolt's mecha was thrown in the other direction.
"Fuck." Eggman coughed. He wiggled his toes to make sure nothing was broken. "Is everyone alive?"
"Define 'alive'." Shadow groaned.
Before Sheptilah could respond the cab started to tilt.
"Time to go." Eggman kicked the glass window free and climbed out. The sound of cracking ice was very subtle, but Shadow heard it clear as a bell. The Overlander reached in and pulled Shadow and Sheptilah out and tossed them onto the ice. Orbot and Cubot, both still in sleep mode, were too far down to be reached and he had to abandon them.
"Go!" Eggman commanded. "If you fall into the water you will die!"
The snow was thick and difficult for Shadow to trudge through and he could not get the leverage to get on top of it to skate away. The ground shook violently and in a great plume of ice and water a witch-eater shot through like a geyser.