Abandoned Mill
The raider's airship hovered ominously over the empty mill, the hum of its engines muting out almost all other sounds. From inside the mill, the only sound to be heard was a metallic grinding. Urvos gritted his teeth in concentration as he sharpened his battle axe, as his sniper Antenna the deer stood watch above him. Around them, multiple robots in various states of repair were being worked on by Krak, who occasionally stopped to adjust his goggles.
"I see nothing, sir," called Antenna, his voice sounding almost mechanical.
"Good," grunted Urvos, ceasing his actions and getting to his feet. "Once the boy finishes these machines, we shall regroup with the others and storm the largest civilization on this continent. Boy, load the machines onto the Horizon, quickly!"
"Y-Yes, sir!" stammered Krak, grabbing the most complete robot and carrying it away.
As the raccoon scurried about his way, Antenna chose to look away from the outside and check over his rifle, making sure it was fully loaded. Urvos didn't notice his subordinate's actions, the striking of the blade against the grindstone sending his mind to the past.
Eggbase South, two and a half years ago
Urvos peered through empty buildings, seeing if there was anything that might be useful to him. The rest of his team stayed well back, knowing that there'd be hell to pay if they interrupted his search. Whoever had left this building behind had technology far beyond the usual villages and farmsteads the warrior had raided in the past. He had no doubt in his mind that this plunder would provide him with the necessary materials to return home.
As he entered one building, he was met by a room full of robots, seemingly inactive. They sported two jet boosters on their back, with drill shaped forearms that looked like they could be used as weapons and sharp clawed feet. Urvos paid them no mind, at least until one of them began moving. It turned its head to follow the warrior, who didn't notice until he had almost left. When he turned around, the robot raised an arm and began to fire at him. Urvos blocked the shot with his ax, then charged forward and buried the blade into the machine's head. The rest of the robots began to activate, driving the warrior to engage them before they could fully come online.
"Fall by my blade, machines!" he roared, slicing off the arms of one robot before hurling the amputated body at another of its fellows. "Whatever you're protecting here, I shall claim for myself in the name of the Subjugators!"
"They aren't protecting anything, just dealing with intruders." Urvos stopped as he heard the voice behind him, as did the robots. "But they have found me a rather effective tool."
Urvos felt a sudden pain on his neck, and everything went black.
When he came to, he found himself strapped down to a metal chair, seeing a rotund human sitting across from him at a table. "I trust you're comfortable," he said, placing his arms on the table. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Doctor Eggman, but I don't think I've got your name just yet."
"Release me from these bonds and I shall carve it into your belly," snarled Urvos. "Your machines cannot pose a threat to me, and I will dance on your ashes once I've turned your pathetic form to-"
He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his skull, as though a bolt of lightning struck his brain. Through his torment, he saw Eggman holding a device in his right hand. "That's enough of that," he scolded, switching the device off as the pain went away. "Now, I'm not here to fight. In fact, I think we could work together."
Urvos stared at the other, looking around. "I have a team. Why would I ally with you?"
"Surely you want something. I've never seen someone like you before, so I take it you aren't of this world. Do you want to go home?" Urvos nodded. "Ah, so you're homesick. Well, I don't currently have the materials to build a spaceship, but just keep doing what you please, but give me some of the keep, and I'll send you home."
The warrior leaned back, considering the idea. It was then a door opened, two smaller robots entering, one shaped like a sphere and one shaped like a box, both holding food trays. Eggman looked irritated by the unannounced intrusion, and his glare could be felt even through his concealing glasses. "What are you two doing here?"
"We heard you had company," said the round one matter-of-factly, "so we made cookies and tea."
Eggman placed his head in his palm, letting out a low growl. "Get out of here, and forget about those blasted treats!"
"Well, if ya say so," said the cube, tossing his tray behind him.
Eggman sighed and shook his head as the two robots swiftly departed as fast as they arrived. "It's hard to find good help around here," he muttered.
The warrior nodded, placing an arm over his chest. "I will serve you, Doctor. All my plunders shall be in your name!"
"Great to hear! Now, let me present an offering that will, shall we say, make our alliance official." A window panel opened up, Urvos taking in a huge airship sitting outside. "I call it the Horizon, but you can call it what you wish. I trust this will be more than satisfactory for you and your little team?"
"Yes, satisfactory," repeated Urvos, impressed by the craft before him.
Present Day
Urvos was broken from his remembering by the sound of Krak coming back to gather more robots. Antenna had broken his gaze away from the outside, turning down to analyze his gun, and thus was unaware of the small dot moving rapidly down the slope until it disappeared behind an old shed.
That dot was, of course, Sonic and his team on a motorcycle, having managed to track down the airship. Shadow got off of the bike as Sonic helped Grid down, the black hedgehog staring up at the looming vessel.
"Huh, it looks different from last time," remarked Sonic. "When I saw it, there was a little place on the back, but it isn't there anymore."
"I think when talking about ships, it's called the 'stern'," corrected Shadow matter-of-factly, noticing Krak hauling a robot up a slope to the craft. "That raccoon seems small and harmless, let's ask him what's going on."
"Actually, I think I should go interrogate him," said Sonic, stepping forward. "No offense, but you can be kinda scary." Sonic gave a smile, then ran up the slope and in front of the raccoon, making him jump. "Hiya, goggles, how's life?"
"P-Please don't hurt me!" shrieked Krak, shielding himself away. He felt gentle hands grip his shoulders and the blue hedgehog kneeled to his level.
"Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you," he comforted. "Sorry, but I need to know what's going on here. Can you do that for me?"
Krak felt conflicted, looking from the blue hedgehog to the mill where his boss was waiting. "I… I don't know. If Urvos found out I helped you-"
"Hey, if he tries to mess with you, I'll teach him a lesson, goggles."
"It's Krak. My name… is Krak. I'll tell you what I know." The raccoon proceeded to tell Sonic what he knew, that he was going to use the robots to storm a city, but for what purpose he didn't know. "What are you gonna do if you can't stop him?"
"I'll answer that question after I've stopped him."
Behind the shed, Shadow and Grid were both watching the mill to make sure nobody stepped out. The squirrel made a nervous noise and tugged on Shadow's glove. "Shadow, the big one's getting up. He might come this way!"
Before Shadow could ask how she knew this, the door to the mill was slammed open, Urvos stomping out with a steely glare. The warrior peered up the slope, finding Krak talking with Sonic; he snarled and slammed his axe into the ground, making the raccoon jump in fear as the blue hedgehog stood defensively in front of him.
"I should have known that weakling would consort with the enemy," he seethed, raising his axe.
"Hey, he's not consorting with anyone, I was just telling him you were gonna lose round two with the blue."
Urvos bared his teeth, but rather than swing his axe forward, he pressed a button on his belt. All of a sudden, many of the robots got to their feet, some of them aiming their weapons at Sonic. Behind the shed, Grid bit her lip nervously, while Shadow watched intently, wanting to see what Sonic would do.
As Sonic was surrounded by the ramshackle robots, he gave a wide grin to Urvos. "You'd have a better chance if you fought me yourself."
The bots aimed their weapons right at the hedgehog.
"But now I'm gonna ruin your day!"
Very Nearby
The Horizon's tail flew low to the ground, Amy looking over different maps on her phone. "According to those pictures, it looks like Sonic and Shadow are heading to some steel mill. Maisie, where do you think we'll find it at?"
Maisie looked over to answer, then her mouth went agape as she saw the Horizon looming over the mill. "It's… it's very close."
This chapter answers a question I'm sure some of you have been wondering about, how did Urvos end up under Eggman's employ? The next chapter will be the finale to this little story arc, and afterwards it'll be mainly standalone stories.
As always, tell me what you thought, and to my American readers, vote if you can.