THE AMBUSH
SONIC AND ALL RELATED INDICA ARE © SONICTEAM/SEGA. PACKBELL IS COPYRIGHT DAVID PISTONE.
MOBIAN PALACE, MOBOTROPOLIS 11:15 A.M.
Sonic and Sally sat on their thrones, facing Rouge.
"What do you have for us, Rouge?" Sally asked.
"Absolutely nothing," she said back in disgust.
"This is terrible!" Sonic moaned, "It has been two and a half months since Packbell gave us that warning, and nobody knows where he is or what he is doing!"
"I don't understand it, either, Sonic. My agents have searched every corner of Mobius. From the Great Ocean, to the Meta Junglira, even the very depths of the Red Volcano, and nothing has turned up anywhere."
"What about the agents you have stationed in the Lethal Radioactive Zone?" Sally asked.
"Well, I only have 5 still alive, but they have found nothing either."
"Packbell has to be somewhere on Mobius, continue your search!" Sonic commanded.
"I am still working on it. I have a new fleet of agents prepared to search every volcano, and both poles of Mobius. I will find him!"
"Very good. Report your progress tonight at 10 P.M."
"I won't disappoint!"
***
PACKBELL'S SECRET BASE, ICY MOUNTAINS, 1:13 P.M
Packbell sat in his chair; his chief scientists and technicians faced him, prepared to give a detailed report on their progress.
"Well, how is the E-100 Series coming along?" he asked.
"We have managed to regain all the data lost on the Space Colony ARK," the man in the white coat answered.
"Good. And the Metal Sonic research and development?" he asked another scientist.
"Coming along perfectly, Commander!"
"Perfect. Do we have an estimate of how long before we can employ their services against our enemies?"
"Give us a week at most."
"Good. If it is not completed within a week, expect a very cruel repercussion."
The scientists gulped in unison; they had seen Packbell's "cruel repercussions" on some of their partners, mainly when the ARK was destroyed. Boy did those defense ministers, technicians, and defensive guards catch Hell. Never had the screams been so loud from the torture that even Robotnik inflicted when he was mad.
"Yes, Commander."
"Is our attack against Mobotropolis ready?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good, we will attack in 5 hours."
***
MOBIAN AIRSPACE, 5:50 P.M.
Packbell stood before the vast army.
"We are here tonight for one purpose! Genocide of Mobotropolis! We will have revenge for the destruction of our base! We will be victorious! On the ruins of this city, we will build the ultimate city-the ultimate empire! Now-on to the city!"
***
MOBOTROPOLIS 6:10 P.M.
Sonic and Sally sat at the large table in the Royal Dining Room, along with Amy, Rouge, Knuckles, and several palace inhabitants, including other spies, guards, maids, and citizens whop either lived in the palace or visited regularly. Tails was not among those at the banquet, due to the fact that the Senate was still in session in the Mobian Senate Building. As the guests and host sat at the large table, a sudden rumbling was heard. Sonic, Sally, and Amy all looked at each other.
"What the hell is that?" Sally asked, shocked.
"Is it an earthquake?" Amy asked.
"I doubt it, there are never any earthquakes in this area of Mobius," Rouge replied.
Suddenly, they were all rocked back by a tremendous amount of force.
"That felt like a bomb!" one guard yelled. All the guests ran over to the window and saw the ships, planes, and tanks filling the city, with bombs, missiles, and laser blasts ripping into the buildings of the city.
"It's an ambush!" Sonic yelled.
"Knuckles! Contact Geoffrey and tell him to get an army here ASAP!" Sally yelled.
"Sure thing, Sally."
Knuckles ran over to the communication screen and contacted Geoffrey. The attendees of the banquet stood, peering out the window as planes flew through the skies, blasting into skyscrapers, or flying low and attacking houses, streets, and civilians. Missiles flew from the mighty battleships, as did many laser blasts that licked across the city streets. People were running from the buildings screaming. Most were either run down by low-flying planes or gunned down by the tanks and troops that filed into the city. In the distance, planes and ships flew toward the battle. However, these were Mobian ships, coming to battle the ambush. As Mobian fighters entered the city's airspace, the enemy fighters attacked them, while still spreading destruction through the city.
"Alpha 6 to Beta Leader-do you copy?"
"Copy. We'll take the big ship near the palace. Can Alpha Team 1-6 back us up?"
"Roger that, Beta Leader. Gamma Leader-do you copy?"
"Roger, Beta Leader. We'll take those fighters near the city streets."
"Copy that."
Geoffrey stood in the main war room in his battleship.
"Ground troops, do you copy me?" he asked.
"Roger, Supreme Commander. We see the enemy and are ready to engage."
"You have my signal. Send team Zulu to the 400 block of the city to handle the troops there. Get your tanks and protect the business sector."
"I copy that, Commander St. John."
"Blue Guard of the Mobian Elite Peacekeeping Force, do you copy me?" Geoffrey asked.
"Roger that, Commander."
"Get your troops assembled near the Senate building. Our radar shows several guards entering the ground floor. Protect the Senate at all costs!"
"Yes, Supreme Commander."
"Queen Sally, I suggest you all get to the shelter in the palace basement." Geoffrey suggested.
Sally looked at the guests.
"All maids, citizens, and spies-get to the shelter. Guards, protect the palace from the ground troops. Have our missile defenses armed and ready. Have our turret guards get to their posts. They can take out the planes that fly by. Knuckles, Rouge Sally- come with me to the war room!" Sonic ordered.
On the ground, all 5 sections of the Mobian Elite Peacekeeping Force were engaged in a fierce battle with the tanks and ground troops of Packbell's army. Mobian soldiers ran into the fray, blasting their laser rifles and pistols. Several guards were armed with rocket launchers and plastic explosives that they placed on the tanks. The Mobians seemed to be winning.
Meanwhile, on the ship, Packbell stood in the main control room, watching the battle being lost by his forces.
"Deploy the robotic walkers!" he commanded.
"Yes, Commander."
The ships' cargo holds opened, and large robot walkers, some up to 50 feet tall, extended their legs to the ground. Their laser cannons were operational. They began their attack, walking through the streets, crushing Mobian citizens, tanks, soldiers, houses, and buildings; also blasting away with their cannons at the palace, Senate building, and other Mobian landmarks.
Geoffrey stood in his ship, dumbfounded.
"Fighter squadrons Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta: you go after the walker! I will have the battleships take care of the fighters and their ships!" he yelled.
"Roger, Commander."
As the walkers spread their reign of destruction, the fighters had to do triple duty. The enemy fighters, ships, and walkers all had to be fought to save the city, and Mobian troops were falling fast. The guards on the ground rushed the tanks and walkers; some were crushed. Many guards planted plastic explosives on the legs and feet of the walker, causing the feet and legs to explode. This, in turn, caused the walkers to fall to the ground, crashing into both Mobian and Packbellian troops and tanks. The fighters still flew low, some accidentally crashing into buildings and houses, some just continued to smash into tanks and people. Many turned into kamikazes that smashed into the buildings and tanks. Even some Mobian ships were now turning into kamikazes, as they smashed into other planes, the ships, tanks, walkers, or onto ground where several ground troops were. In the air, the fighters followed each other, blasting away at each other, and launching missiles at the battleships. For the most part, the battleships were quiet, only occasionally dropping bombs or launching missiles. The ships did, however, often fire at the buildings. Mobians watched in horror as the Senate Building's ground floors exploded, causing the top to crash down on the bottom. In a flash of fire and smoke, the Senate Building fell to the ground, taking a 50 mile radius with it, including Mobian citizens, troops, tanks-even some fighters and 3 ships; as well as several hundred of Packbell's ships, fighters, tanks, and troops. There were many explosions on the ground, as buildings and walkers collapsed or completely fell over in a glorious fireworks display. Mobian troops ran through the streets, yelling at citizens to find shelter, all the while blasting at the Packbellian troops, many of which were robots.
Meanwhile, at the palace, the guards held barricades at the doors, which did not hold off the attackers very long. With a great blast, the doors were blown off and several hundred guards rushed in. Sonic, Sally, Amy, Knuckles, and Rouge watched all this from the war room.
"We have to get out of here!" Rouge yelped.
"You're right," Sally said solemnly.
"Guards," Sonic called out, "come with us. Have a shuttle waiting for us at the landing deck. I want an army of bodyguards with us. Sally, Knuckles, Amy, Rouge-grab some laser blasters and let's go."
"Sure thing, Sonic," they all agreed.
They grabbed their weapons and rushed out the war room into the main corridor. Robots and troops were already filling up the hallways when they opened the doors. They ran through the halls, blasting at the troops. While they were trying to run out, hundreds of troops were running in. The guards blasted at the forces entering from the windows, and those that were attacking them in the hallways. Sonic threw a hand grenade at a group of troops assembled by the next doorway they needed to get through. It exploded, as robot and body parts flew through the air. More troops rushed in, blasting at them. They rushed the troops, blowing them away with the laser blasts. Other Mobian guards followed Sonic's lead by throwing grenades and timed mines. The explosions rocked the walls, and destroyed some of the art and sculptures and statues in the elegant hallways. They continued to run, making their way down the graceful stairways, still in combat with the hundreds of troops that showed no sign of ceasing their fire.
"We don't have time for this!" Sally yelled.
Rouge blasted out a window.
"Come on, we'll descend from the window!" she called out to them.
They ran for the window and scaled down the face of the palace. Fighter laser fire flew around their heads, and crashed into the palace, both from being shot down and kamikaze attacks. The walkers still blasted through the streets, while some converged on the palace. Packbell had stated that they were here for genocide-it was genocide, it seemed, that was taking place now.
Geoffrey tried to contact Sonic and Sally. They had only one more chance-a nuclear weapon. His attempt was to no avail, as they war room was being ransacked by the troops that were not killed.
Sonic and company had made it, finally, to the landing deck when they were suddenly surrounded by several hundred troops.
"Don't move an inch!" they were commanded.
Meanwhile, Knuckles and Rouge, a few feet behind the others stopped in time to avoid the guards. Sonic, Sally, and Amy were taken to Packbell's ship. Knuckles and Rouge ran to the defense outpost room. There were two super laser turrets there that were still not one hundred percent complete, but still could be used, nonetheless.
"Get that one!" Knuckles yelled.
They each sat in the turret chair and blasted at the walkers with the super laser. The walkers, now severely decreased in number, fought to the death, even though the super laser was now obliterating most. Soon, all walkers were gone. Knuckles and Rouge now focused on the battleships. As the blast leapt from the lasers and smashed into the ships, the windows and walls blasted out with such force that every ship and fighter near it was engulfed in flames. One ship, however, did get away. Packbell's flagship retreated quickly away from the battle, which was now won by the Mobians. The tanks and troops finished up their jobs, and the fighters took care of the enemy fighters. Victory was Mobius's, but it was a victory tantamount to defeat. Much of the city lie in ruins. Buildings were crashed, houses and lives destroyed. Millions were dead; the palace had been ransacked and damaged. Tall skyscrapers were now stumps compared to the grandeur of what they once were. Tanks, dead troops, destroyed robots, crashed fighters, debris, and even parts of the ships and walkers littered the city. Sonic, Sally, and Amy had been captured, and no one had heard from Tails since before the attack. Geoffrey landed and entered the palace, prepared to meet with Sonic and Sally, for he had no knowledge of their capture. As he entered the palace, he saw the looks on Knuckles's and Rouge's faces, as well as the desolation in the city, and just knew that they were all dead.
"Where are their royal highnesses?" he asked with a gulp.
"Sonic, Sally, Amy-Packbell got to them." Knuckles replied gravely.
"Are they dead?" he forced out.
"They weren't when they were kidnapped. As of now, I hope not." Rouge inserted.
"Oh my God! What about Tails?" Knuckles screamed.
"Knux, he was in the Senate Building," Rouge forced back tears.
"No." he collapsed to the floor in tears, and was soon followed by Rouge and even Geoffrey.
***
Tails lie on the ground under the ruins of the Senate Building. At first he showed no signs of moving, but soon forced himself up. He limped over to a Mobian soldier and requested to be taken to the palace.
"Yes, Chancellor." the troop replied.
Tails limped along after the soldier, watching other soldiers, citizens, and cleanup crews rescue people trapped in debris or cleanup debris. When they got to the palace, they saw Knuckles, Rouge, and Geoffrey-crying.
"What's wrong guys?" he asked.
"Tails! Thank God! You're alive!" Rouge yelled in glee.
"Barely, but yes, I am alive." he replied.
"Packbell kidnapped Sonic, Sally, and Amy!" Geoffrey interjected.
"What?!"
"He's right. He got them when we got to the landing deck." Knuckles added.
"What are we gonna do?" Tails asked.
"Well, given the fact that both the king and queen are missing, you have become ruler." Geoffrey said.
"What?! What am I supposed to do?"
"I can undertake a mission to find his secret base. I am sure his ship will be on radar. If I can find it and track him, I could go rescue them." Rouge volunteered.
"I'm going with you!" Knuckles piped up.
They ran to Rouge's spy headquarters. It was one of the few places that were not damaged badly. They ran to her radar computer and she quickly pressed every button she could find. A large, infared image appeared on the screen-the image of Packbell's flagship.
"He's heading for the Icy Mountains!" Rouge jumped up. She looked over at Knuckles.
"Get a ship ready for us with some weapons! We are going to the Icy Mountains!"
"You got it, Rouge." he answered.
"I'll make a statement to the citizens tonight on the balcony. Geoffrey, have the people informed of my speech." Tails said.
"Certainly, Tails." he replied.
***
PACKBELL'S SECRET BASE, ICY MOUNTAINS, 8:35 P.M.
Sonic, Sally, and Amy lay in the jail cell, still unconscious. Packbell walked down the hall toward the room and entered the door. He walked over to a chair and sat down, waiting for them to awake. He could not believe they had lost the battle, even with the element of surprise and the fact that they had begun to overtake the Mobian forces. He had not counted on a super laser defense battery system on the palace, yet he wondered why it took so long for someone to wise up and use it, especially after a 2 hour battle and many losses. They finally showed signs of waking up. He sat up, straightening himself in the chair.
"Hello, your highnesses. It's been awhile, has it not?"
"Packbell, you bastard!" Sonic spat.
"Flattery will get you nowhere." he joked.
"Where are we?" Sally demanded.
"My new base. Yes, here in the Icy Mountains-the one place you could never find me!" he replied.
Packbell stood up and walked around the room. He recounted the story of the endless planning he underwent to prepare for the ambush, leaving out no details. He then recounted the stry of the invasion, then moved onto the defeat by the super laser batteries.
"But those turrets were not completed!" Sonic said, shocked.
"There were complete enough to be used, but still they ran the risk of exploding," Sally replied.
"I suppose by then, an explosion on the palace was the ;east of anyone's worries," Packbell chuckled.
"How can you laugh about this?" Amy asked him with hatred in her voice.
"How could all of you just run through my Space Colony and blast away my guards? Or blow up everything I worked so hard for? How could you destroy everything Robotnik worked so hard to build? This is a two-edged sword. I merely had revenge for everything you do in the name of justice and peace!"
"You're a madman." Sonic yelled.
"Perhaps, but you should realize the repercussions for all the things you do when you fuck up what people work so hard for! Hours and hours and days and weeks have been destroyed on the ARK! You cannot even wait for someone to become prepared for attack when you jump up and lead your troops to battle! I now realize that Robotnik programmed me with no mercy. I may have emotions, but that is why I am glad that I can show no mercy."
"You won't get away with this, Packbell. Sonic shot back.
"Yes, I will. No one even knows where this base is!"
"I am sure Rouge and her spies can find it." Sally replied.
"I think not. Now, if you will excuse me, I have planning to do." he swung his cape around and disappeared.
***
MOBIAN AIRSPACE, NEARING THE ICY MOUNTAINS, 9:02 P.M.
Knuckles and Rouge sat in the cockpit of their small scout ship. The radar indicated some unusual radiation and an influx of computer signals there, so it was quite obvious that that was where Packbell was. They neared the base, when suddenly a series of shots rang out at the ship.
"What the Hell is that?" Knuckles screamed.
The blasts struck the ship's boosters, and it crashed into the snow.
***
INSIDE THE SECRET BASE, 9:05 P.M.
Packbell stood, watching as the ship crashed.
"Do they think that I am absolutely stupid? How moronic of them to appear with no protection. Ha!" he grumbled.
***
ICY MOUNTAINS, 10:00 P.M.
Knuckles and Rouge awoke inside the crashed ship. Their oxygen and heat was quickly didappearing.
"We have to get inside the base if we have any chance of survival." Knuckles said.
"I agree. Let's get some weapons and jackets. I'll get my radar." Rouge agreed.
They put on jackets, gathered some weapons, and left the ship. They ran through the snow until they neared a clearing with shacks and satellite dishes. Rouge turned on her radar.
"The base is right here." she said.
"Right where?"Knuckles asked.
"It shows the base right here. According to the radar, it's supposed to be all over this area." she replied.
They looked around. No base. She continued fiddling with the radar controls.
"It's underground!" she whispered.
"Where is the entrance?" Knuckles asked.
"2 miles over that way," she replied.
"Let's go!" he said, impatiently.
"Wait, we need to disrupt the communications link, so they won't be able to tell that we are here."
"Where is it?" he asked.
"In that satellite tower over there!"
"Let's get going!"
"O.k., I'm coming!"
They ran through the snowy field, weapons rady at a moment's notice. Several guards walked around, and some ran at them, shooting. Knuckles took care of all guards to the right; Rouge took the left. Most guards were "snow-bots" who could handle all weather conditions, but some were living guards. Knuckles shot at one guards, and he barely flinched. Several guards threw grenades, and some robots self-destructed. Knuckles blasted the robots and live troops, as did Rouge. For 3 minutes, they held of the continous stream of guards. Finally, the guards slowed down, and they ran across a snow bank toward the satellite tower. The kicked the door in and ran up the stairs to the comms room. Knuckles walked over to the door and tried to open it.
"Locked!" he groaned.
Rouge blasted the doors off and then planted a plastic explosive under the commincations dish control. They ran out of the tower, and watched as it exploded, taking several guards with it.
"Now, let's get to the base!" Rouge mumbled.
"I'm right behind you."
They ran to the door, following her radar all the way. Several guards who had heard or seen the explosion ran at them shooting. Once again, Knuckles and Rouge blasted at them with their blasters, then ran for the door. They entered the base and ran down the stairs, directly into several guards.
"Welcome to the Icy Mountains, friends," the captain said.
***
MOBOTROPOLIS, 10:49 P.M.
Tails watched as the crews worked to cleanup the debris and some were even beginning to rebuild houses and buildings. The machines and robots were already completing some of the business district, and many houses had already been rebuilt. They were tired, but showed no sign of stopping. Every piece of metal and iron that could be found was being used in the rebuilding, so nothing was wasted. The robot, tank, and walker parts that littered the streets were being put in with the other scraps that were now putting Mobotropolis back together. Tails was glad to see how the soldiers, crews, and citizens were tirelessly working, but he was worried about Sonic, Sally, Amy, Knuckles, and Rouge right now. Geoffrey and his troops had gone back to the Meta Junglira Base, except those that had stayed with the rebuilding effort.
***
INSIDE THE SECRET BASE, ICY MOUNTAINS, 10:55 P.M.
Knuckles and Rouge were placed in the cell with Sonic, Sally, and Amy, and the five discussed what had happened and how they were going to get out of there. The guards had taken Knuckles and Rouge's weapons, and just about everything else they had, even her radar.
"I know how we can get out of here,"Rouge volunteered.
"How?" Amy asked.
"I still have my code breaker," she winked.
"How'd that get by them?" Sonic asked.
"I hid it where they could not find it."
She reached into her shirt and pulled out the decoder, then placed it in the slot where the key opened the door. The door slid open, and they ran into the hall. Knuckles punched a guard and took his gun, then blasted all other guards that had begun running into the prison area.
"Get their weapons!" Sonic commanded the others.
All 5 of them now had the laser pistols and they ran through the hallways, blasting every other guard that ran at them. About twenty oor thirty guards had run into the corridor, and all 5 pressed the triggers forcefully, blasting away all the guards.
"Get an explosive!" Knuckles yelled at Rouge. She got the plastic explosives from her boot and threw them on the floor and walls.
"Fuse set for one minute!" she called out.
They ran for the exit, and lept into one of the transports, safely flying off just in time to see the base explode behind them.
Inside the base, the computers and machines exploded in the flames, while guards were incinerated- robot and living. Packbell heard the first explosion and quickly disappeared, using his shape-shifting powers. The base, and all around it, detonated in a ferocious blast. The Icy Mountains base was no more.
***
MOBOTROPOLIS, THREE WEEKS LATER
Much of the city had been rebuilt since the attack. The people were broken and bruised, but not beaten. Their spirits went on, each person doing what they could to aid in the cleanup and rebuilding. Just like in Technocity six months before, Mobotropolis had been nearly destroyed. The main difference is that techno city was destroyed, but both were now rebuilt. Life soon returned to normal.