Chapter 12

Sky Sanctuary

"This place is incredible," said Silver to himself as he walked about the Mushroom Forest. He had arrived on the island only an hour ago, and already he was greatly impressed with what all he saw. He had already seen the vast desert from the air, and had noticed the Death Egg resting atop the mountain range. But even the sight of the Death Egg couldn't spoil all this natural beauty he saw. He flew up and out of the forest, looking about. He knew he had a mission to do, but where was the best place to start looking for this echidna.

"Man, this is going to take me days to search this whole island," said Silver under his breath. But something flickering out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned towards the flickering light to see a shaft of blue light shoot up from the mountain range and head into a patch of clouds above the island.

"Well, that's as good a place as any to start looking," said Silver as he flew off towards the patch of clouds where the beam of light was now fading from.

**********

"Wow! How high up are we?" asked Tails as he looked over the edge of the platform.

"About 2 and a half miles above sea level right now. There are a few more areas higher than this, but this area was the closest to where the Death Egg should be launching from," said Knuckles.

"How long do you think before it gets up far enough to see?" asked Sonic.

"About ten minutes I would think," answered Knuckles. "You should be able to get on board it then." Suddenly, Knuckles' eyes shifted into a glare.

"What?" asked Sonic. Knuckles motioned for him to be quite.

"I'm not sure. I sense something close by, watching us," whispered Knuckles. Tails suddenly looked scared.

"It's not Metal Sonic, is it?" he asked.

"I don't think so. I don't have that eerie feeling that comes over me when I know I'm being watched by him," said Knuckles. Suddenly, a figure appeared from an area of fog that was still lingering. A round shape bigger than any of the three of them became visible. The whole thing looked like a robotic version of Robotnik with a jet pack and a laser cannon.

"An Eggbot!" cried Sonic as the robot lifted its laser cannon towards them. Sonic and Tails jumped back as it fired, just barely getting out of the way of its blast. Knuckles, on the other hand, rushed the robot, his fist ready to deliver a crushing blow to the robot. But the Eggbot activated its jet pack and shot out of range of Knuckles' punch. It then charged its laser again, intent on blasting Knuckles this time. Sonic quickly dashed out and snatched Knuckles out from underneath the Eggbot just as it fired, scorching the ground where he had been just a second ago.

"Thanks," said Knuckles.

"Don't mention it," said Sonic. He then looked back up at the Eggbot, its aim switching over to Tails, who was now trying to get the Chaos Emeralds from his pack. Sonic realized that the Eggbot would fire before Tails could go super. Thinking fast, Sonic clapped the supers together that were still in his hands. His quills flashed to a multitude of colors, the energy stars circling his glowing body. He shot up and grabbed the Eggbot with both hands, sending his invincibility into it, overloading its systems. The Eggbot let out a shriek before it went limp in Sonic's grasp. Sonic then dropped it to the stone platform below, then landed next to Tails.

"That was a close one," said Sonic. Tails was about to agree when his mouth suddenly hung open and he lifted a finger towards another area of still dense fog. Sonic and Knuckles looked over towards where Tails was pointing to see over a dozen other Eggbots fly into view.

"This just keeps getting better and better," said Knuckles sarcastically as he took a fighting stance. Sonic stepped forward and grabbed Knuckles by the shoulder.

"No. Leave these guys to me and Tails. You're in no shape to take on this many," said Sonic. Knuckles nodded and stepped back, catching a glimpse of light behind him as Tails struck the Chaos Emeralds together, his fur glowing bright yellow and the four Power Flickies returning to their orbit around his head, once again filled with the emeralds' power.

"Good luck," said Knuckles as Sonic and Tails took to the air, flying away from the platform, the Eggbots following them.

"Okay. We'll fly out straight for two minutes, then you break left and I'll break right. Head straight for them and attack," said Sonic.

"Okay Sonic," said Tails. He looked up at the four Power Flickies. "You guys ready to have some fun?" The lead flicky looked down at Tails with a smile.

"That's why we're here, Tails," it said. They continued in their straight flight, making sure the Eggbots were still behind them, which wasn't hard since they were firing their laser cannons the whole time. Suddenly, Sonic broke off right, and Tails made a sharp turn left. The Eggbots, disarrayed by the maneuver, tried to figure out which one was the one to go after. Their CPU's were designed to be able to handle choice making decisions, and after a few seconds of processing, half of them turned to follow Tails, and the other half turned to follow Sonic.

"These guys just don't get it," said Sonic under his breath as he whipped around and flew back towards the six Eggbots pursuing him. The lead Eggbot, not expecting the move and being too close to Sonic when he executed it, was blown to pieces by a spindash as Sonic plunged his spinning body through it. The five others dodged out of Sonic's way, but one wasn't quick enough and fell victim to electrocution from being touched by Sonic, who grabbed the Eggbot by the arm and held on as he flew out of the Eggbots' small circle. He then tossed the now smoking Eggbot towards the ocean below before turning back towards the other Eggbots.

"Okay. Who wants to be next?" asked Sonic. The Eggbots fired their jet packs, blasting towards him. Sonic shook his head saying, "They just never learn." He curled up into a spindash and bounced off of two of the Eggbots, knocking the laser cannons from their grasp. He then crashed his body into a third Eggbot, it exploding as Sonic spindashed through it. The fourth Eggbot fired its laser cannon, and caught Sonic squarely in the chest. The hyper hedgehog flew back a few feet, acting like he was in terrible pain as he held his hands on the spot where the laser had hit him. The three Eggbots, their simple CPU's deciding Sonic was injured, moved over to capture him. As they reached out to grab him, Sonic looked up with a smile on his face.

"Gotch ya!" he said as he grabbed two of the Eggbots by the legs, shorting them out as they shrieked, then went limp. The last Eggbot, finally figuring out that Sonic was superior than itself, turned and tried to make a run for it. But Sonic wasn't about to let it get away. He shot forward and went into a spindash, crashing his glowing body into the robot. It gave a shriek just before it exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere. Sonic looked over to see Tails still dogging it out with three Eggbots. Up to that point, Tails had gotten one of them, the Power Flickies having nailed two others. Sonic leaned back and just floated as he watched his friend battle the remaining threat from the sidelines.

"Watch out Tails! There's one behind you!" cried the smallest flicky. Tails dodged to the left, just missing a laser blast. While he knew he was invincible, he still wasn't sure just how much pain he would feel by being hit by a shot, so he tried to avoid it as much as possible. The third flicky left the formation, flying at an Eggbot that was approaching from the side. The little flicky slammed its small body into the Eggbot, knocking it back and causing its jet pack to whine as the small amount of invincibility that had went through its systems shorted out a few systems.

"Okay, here's the plan," said Tails as he dodged another blast from the same Eggbot. "I'll go left and take out the trigger happy one. You guys go and take care of the other two." The flickies nodded as Tails made a sharp turn to the left, the flickies turning hard to the right. Sonic watched as he saw Tails perform the move, and was impressed by how well the young fox worked with the Power Flickies. He saw Tails grab the trigger happy Eggbot from behind, shorting it out as it started to smoke. The Power Flickies dove towards the last two remaining Eggbots, the four of them breaking off into pairs. Then they started to twirl like a drill bit, spinning their tiny bodies around really fast. Sonic watched as each pair of flickies punctured through the Eggbots, causing them to explode. He then flew over to meet the excited fox, who had just seen his first real fight by himself.

"So Tails, I see you made out pretty well," said Sonic as he floated up next to the two tailed fox. Tails blushed slightly.

"Well, I had some help from the flickies," said Tails. Sonic messed up Tails head fur with his hand.

"Kid, you just had your first real fight by yourself and didn't even get hit once. I'm proud of ya," said Sonic. Tails just laughed as Sonic messed his fur. Then one of the flickies flew over to Sonic.

"The Death Egg is coming. We must prepare to board it," said the flicky. Sonic and Tails looked down to see the giant orb break through the top of the clouds, its gray hull looking like a giant thunder storm cloud.

"Well, looks like it's now or never Tails. You don't have to come if you don't want to. You've been through enough," said Sonic. Tails looked over at him, and Sonic noticed his eyes were as serious as he had ever seen them.

"There is no way I'm missing this! I've been there by your side through this whole thing, and I'm keeping it that way, even if we go to space," said Tails. Sonic just laughed.

"I knew you'd say that Tails. I was just kidding with you. Of course I want you to come. This is our fight, and we'll fight it together," said Sonic. Tails smiled and nodded. Then the two of them flew down the outer hull of the Death Egg and up to the access hatch Knuckles had described to them located under the nose.

"Here we go, venturing into the unknown. Wandering into who knows where. Flying head first into…" said Sonic.

"Knock it off Sonic," said Tails. Sonic turned and smiled.

"Sorry. I just can't help myself sometimes," said Sonic as they flew up next to the access hatch.

****Knuckles' Side Ending****

I watched as Sonic and Tails flew out of view. But something still didn't feel quite right. There was still a presence real close by. I suddenly had that chilling feeling, and I knew who it had to be.

"Show yourself, Mecha. I know you're here," I said aloud. I looked about the platform, then I saw his form wavering back in from deactivating his cloaking device.

"Very good, echidna. I am impressed. Few have ever sensed my approach before," said Metal Sonic as he walked over towards me until he stood only a few feet away. "It is such a pity. You would have made a fine ally, but alas, you have sided with the hedgehog." I took a step back, fire burning in my eyes.

"You're one to talk. You lied to me from the start," I said to the robot. He merely shrugged and turned his back to me, taking a few steps away.

"Part of what I told you was true. Sssonic is a threat to my master's empire, a threat that can not be allowed to interfere," said Metal Sonic. He then turned back towards me. "But now, you have proved where your loyalties lie, and for that you have sealed your fate." Even with all my years of training from my father, I still caught off guard by Metal Sonic's attack. He spun around and leaped at me, knocking me to the ground. I fell onto my back, a yell escaping me as I landed on a still extremely sore spot from my fight with Sonic in Hidden Palace. But I fought back the pain and pulled my fist back, slamming it into Metal Sonic's eye lenses. He flew off of me, landing on his back a few feet away. I quickly rose to my feet. I saw Metal Sonic also rising to his feet, a large crack in his left eye lens. The left pupil was flickering on and off, damaged by my punch.

"Nicely done, Knuckles. You fight well," said Metal Sonic as he stared me down. I heard a faint humming noise and realized that it was his engine. Mecha shot forward, his claws outstretched. I dove to the ground, just barely missing his razor sharp claws as he flew by overhead. I jumped to my feet and turned around, only to be punched in the face by Mecha. I flew back to the platform, where I stayed. I was still very weak from my fight with Sonic in Hidden Palace, while Metal Sonic was only slightly damaged. He had the advantage now, and I knew it. I tried to get up, but my strength had left me. I could only push my upper body up just enough to watch as Mecha walked over to me, reach down, and grab me by the throat. He picked me up off the ground, and tightened his grip, cutting off my air supply.

"Such a waste," said Metal Sonic as he stared at me with his crimson eyes. "I would Roboticize you, but I think you're just better off dead." I struggled as best I could, but he was way stronger than I was at this point, and I couldn't get free. I could feel the darkness start to creep into my head. I was losing consciousness fast. I tried to breath again, but I couldn't. I was helpless. The darkness was coming faster, and I was almost glad to welcome it. I had failed. Floating Island would sink into the ocean and the Master Emerald was now in the hands of evil. But before I went unconscious, I heard a different, unfamiliar voice cry out.

"Why don't you pick on someone of your own kind!" cried the voice. The next thing I knew, I was flung sideways by something. I gasped for air, and after a few breaths, my vision started to clear. Even though I was still dazed, I noticed the outline of a second figure that looked remarkably like Sonic. But he wasn't blue. He was a shiny silver color, his metallic quills shimmering in the morning light. I looked up to see a robotic hedgehog standing between me and Metal Sonic. It took me a few seconds, but I managed to stand back up, a little wobbly, but I still managed to get to my feet.

"Thanks," I said to the new robot. He didn't take his eyes off Mecha as he replied.

"Don't mention it," said the silver robot. I watched as he went into a fighting stance, metallic claws extending from within his fingers. "All right Mecha. Let's you and me dance, shall we?"

"Let's," said Metal Sonic as he lifted off the ground. The silver robot also took to the air, and the two robots circled around. Metal Sonic made the first move, shooting forward towards the silver robot. But the silver robot dodged to the side, then swung his left foot around and caught Metal Sonic in the side, knocking the blue robot back a few meters. But Metal Sonic steadied himself, then shot forward again.

The silver robot tried to dodge again, but Mecha was ready for him this time and changed his course to follow, slamming himself head first into the silver robot's chest. The silver robot flew back a few meters as well, but was still able to maintain his flight. I watched the two of them fly back and forth, each getting a few hits on the other one. Then the silver robot managed to grab hold of Mecha, and I watched as he went into a nose dive, dragging Mecha along for the ride. The silver robot came within ten feet of the ground, then let go of Metal Sonic, flinging him to the stone ground below. I saw my one chance to get in on the fight, and I wasn't about to let it get away. Metal Sonic had caused me a lot of misery, and now was the time to pay him back for it. I ran forward as fast as my weakened body would allow me to. I saw Metal Sonic getting to his feet. I knew I had only one shot, but I didn't care.

"Now you're mine, you overgrown can opener!" I cried as I pulled my fist back. I saw Mecha turn towards me, obviously shocked that I was still able to fight. I slammed my best punch into his engine intake, bending the spike inside it as I sent Metal Sonic flying back into a pillar. A huge indentation of Metal Sonic was left in it as he slumped to the ground, his entire body going limp as his pupils lost their glow, vanishing into the blackness of his eyes. I stood there, panting heavily as the silver robot landed next to me.

"Man, that was a good punch," the robot said just before I collapsed to the ground. The silver robot caught me as I dropped. "Whoa there! I think you might have over exerted yourself." I smiled weakly, then looked up at the robot, getting my first real good look at him. For all of Mobius, he looked like a silver version of Sonic, all the way down to how his quills looked. His yellow eyes cast their soft glow onto my face, and somehow I knew he had a very gentle persona about him, even though he was a fierce fighter.

"Thanks for the help," I said as he helped me to my feet.

"Hey, no problem," said the robot.

"What's your name?" I asked him, looking over into his yellow eyes.

"My name's Silver the Hedgehog, but you can just call me Silver," he said. He then let go of me and looked over at Mecha, who was still slumped against the pillar, looking as though he was off-line. I could only hope it was for good.

"You did quite a number on Metal Sonic. I haven't seen him off-line during a fight for ever since I've known him," said Silver. Turning back to me, he asked, "By the way, you're name wouldn't happen to be Knuckles, would it?" I looked up at him quickly. How did this robot know my name?

"Uh…yes it is. How do you know my name?" I asked him.

"Sonic sent me a message saying what had happened out here," said Silver. He began to walk over to Metal Sonic's lifeless form. I walked over to it with him. Silver knelt down and examined him.

"You sure that's safe?" I asked him.

"Not really, but he took a hard hit. He'll probably be out for at least another hour before his systems reset themselves," said Silver. I looked down at the blue robot, still loathing him for what all he had put me through. I brought my foot forward to give him a swift kick in the side. But what happened next neither one of us was prepared for. Metal Sonic's left arm shot up and grabbed my leg, then his right arm punched Silver backwards and to the ground.

"What the…!?" was all I got out before my leg was yanked out from underneath me. I fell to the ground with a thud. I heard a click noise coming from my foot, and the horror of what Metal Sonic was doing hit me head on. He was after the Master Emerald miniature! I tried to get to my feet, but he merely tugged my leg out from under me again. I knew I couldn't get to him in time. "Silver! Stop him! He's going to take the miniature Master Emerald!" I saw Silver stand up behind me, his systems now rebalance after Mecha's strike.

"I'm on it!" shouted Silver as he shot forward. Suddenly, I was lifted off the ground and flung towards Silver. We both hit in midair and fell to the ground in a heap. I was the first to get my bearings. I looked over to where Metal Sonic now stood, his pupils glowing like normal. It was then I realized what had happened. He had tricked us! He had only pretended to shut down. And now he had the Master Emerald's miniature.

"You are both fools!" cried Metal Sonic as he held the softly glowing gem above his head. Silver and I watched in horror as Metal Sonic clapped his other hand against the glassy surface of the jewel. He let out a cry as the power of the Master Emerald flooded his systems, a bright light filling the air. At first, I thought he had shorted himself out, but that wasn't the case. When the light died down, Metal Sonic was floating in the air, his blue hull now glowing a dull gold color. His red pupils now glowed so brightly, they almost covered the entire black part of his eyes.

"This isn't good," I said to Silver. "He's harnessed the Master Emerald's power. He's gone super!" Silver looked as scared as I was at this information. We both looked back up at Mecha, who in turn looked down at us. He then placed both of his hands in front of him.

"Now you two shall meet your fate!" said Metal Sonic as a bright ball of chaos energy formed in front of his hands. I grabbed Silver's hand and leaped out of the way as Metal Sonic shot the chaos blast at the spot where we just were. The ball of energy slammed into the floor, blowing a gaping hole in it. We both stared with our mouths open. We both turned and ran as Metal Sonic flew after us, his engine now giving off a bright gold glow instead of the usual blue. I looked back to see him charging up another ball of chaos energy.

"He's going to fire again!" I yelled at Silver. He looked at me, then reached over and grabbed me by the arm. He then flew up and away as an energy ball slammed into the platform, just missing us by a few inches. Silver then aimed his arm back at Metal Sonic and fired a few laser blasts at him, only to have the bounce off his invincible hull without leaving a scratch.

"We can't stop him. He's invincible as long as he stays super, and I'm not sure how long it will take before he overloads himself," I said. Silver dodged to the left, taking me with him as another ball of chaos energy flew by, exploding as it impacted a pillar a few meters ahead of us. I looked back over my shoulder, certain that Metal Sonic would be within feet of catching us. But for some reason, he wasn't anywhere behind us. *Where did he go?* I thought to myself. Silver stopped and floated in mid air with me still hanging onto him.

"What is he up to?" I heard Silver mutter.

"What? What's he doing?" I asked. Silver shook his head.

"I'm not sure. According to my scanners, he's leaving," said Silver. I should have been relieved by this information, but something about it worried me.

"Where's he headed?" I asked.

"Back towards that," said Silver, pointing off to the southeast. I looked over to see the top of the Death Egg burst through the cloud layer, gaining more altitude by the second. I squinted as hard as I could, and I thought I saw two glowing figures go up by the nose. It had to have been Sonic and Tails. But I also saw another slightly darker glow suddenly appear in the dark gray hull of the battle station. That had to have been Metal Sonic, still powered by the miniature Master Emerald.

"Silver, are there any other things you can detect besides Metal Sonic and the Death Egg?" I asked.

"Yeah. I can detect two other objects that are radiating power that's off my charts," said Silver. I sighed. That was them all right. I just wish I could warn them that Metal Sonic was coming, and this time, the robot would be on even grounds with them.

END OF CHAPTER 12