Chapter 5: Encounter with Mechabot 7
Sonic, Shadow, and Tails had just entered Robotropolis about the same time Rahn was thrown inside the mechasizer. Sonic watched a group of Swatbots go by. Getting to the command center wasn't going to be easy.
"Well..." said Sonic. "...any ideas, guys?"
Shadow and Tails just looked at Sonic and shrugged. The three tried to think of a plan on how they were going to do this while en-route to the city, but no one came up with an idea on how to get inside the command center and steal three hover transports. After a few minutes of quiet thinking, Shadow came up with an idea.
"Hey, Sonic. How about me and Tails go to one of the hangers and get the transports ready while you go and rescue Rahn. We can wait for you there and have all three transports ready to go. If Robotnik is looking for us, he won't even think about looking in one of his own transports."
"Alright." said Sonic. "There's a hanger about a block up from here, those should have a few transports in it. I'll go and get Rahn and meet you guys at the hanger in about..." Sonic looked at his watch. "...fifthteen minutes, got that?"
Shadow and Tails nodded. Then the three seperated, Sonic headed towards the command center, while Shadow and Tails went to the nearby hanger.
Robotnik sat at his chair in his main office. He was very pleased of his success in the development of a working mechasizer. Now, all he had to do was figure out a way not to have six out of seven of the subjects die from the process. But, he would worry about that later. Right now, he was to busy looking over his new mechabot.
Rahn stood in front of Robotnik, and with the light not being as dull as in the mechasizer chamber, his features could be seen very clearly. He still wore his poncho, hat, and still had his sword sheathed to his back, but he now had many features similar of Metal Sonic. His eyes, for example, were similar to Mecha's, but his eye color was bright orange instead of red. He even had Mecha's armor plating on his lower arms and legs but, unlike Mecha, they came to sharp points that rose over his knee-caps and elbows.
He also sported new shoes. They were built-in hover skates similar to Shadows, but with different design. They were rounded around the toe like his old shoes, but they now had an arch in the middle for grinding and the purple stripe circled from the heel and met at the top of the shoe. And to top it off, all of his parts that sported his ultra-violet color was buffed up so much that light was reflecting off him and showing on the walls, much like a watch when you put it in the sun and reflect light off the glass. Mecha and R.K. still looked suspiciously at Rahn, both had a feeling that it may have been a bad idea to Mechasize him. But what was done was done, no way to reverse. They just had to sit back and enjoy the ride.
Robotnik looked over Rahn. He was very pleased with his success. But he had to find out if the process was a complete success. He nodded to Snively who was by one of the many control panels in the room, and Snively began typing in commands.
"Now, Mechabot Seven...."
"Rahn, sir; just...Rahn"
Robotnik noticed the tone difference in Rahns voice, he apparently didn't like his codename.
"Very well, Rahn. I'm giving you a special assignment. I want you to travel to the Floating Island and retreive the Chaos Emeralds. Once done, I want you to create a sword from them, and this."
Robotnik tossed Rahn the Emerald of Power. He caught it and looked it over. There was a strange glow coming from the gold colored emerald. As of the moment, it was giving off massive power readings. Even more strange, it seemed familiar to him. Robotnik continued.
"Once you have succeded, report back to Robotropolis. We will plan further once you return."
"I don't think you'll be doing any more planning from now on Robuttnik!"
The two humans and three robots turned towards the main entrance of the room to see Sonic standing there, ready for a fight. Robotnik and Snively didn't seem to care much, but Mecha Sonic and Robo-Knux went charging at him, but Sonic jumped out of the way and the two dog-piled on eachother. Sonic went running laps around the room while the two robots reapeatedly tried to catch him, but didn't succed. Rahn was just standing there watching, waiting, and calculating the right time to strike. He got his chance.
Sonic stopped for a second to taunt the two robots. That's when Rahn quickly moved his right hand down to a small buckle on his right hip. A bazooka like weapon materialized in his hand. He quickly aimed and fired a burst of photon energy at Sonic. Sonic, now noticing Rahn, started to get out of the way of the blast, but was to late. Sonic was blown away into nothingness, there wasn't even a trace of him left. Rahn just smirked and put the weapon back in the buckle he pulled it from.
"Very good Rahn." said Robotnik. "I only wish that was the real Sonic though."
Rahn went wide eyed and turned toward Robotnik.
"But, sir. The hedgehog was giving bio readings. It had to have been him."
Robotnik laughed. "No Rahn, it wasn't. That was a very sophisticated hologram that you detroyed. It was programmed to give off bio signitures. You see, it was a test to make sure that you would actuallydo what you are supposed to do."
Rahn nodded. "I understand."
Robotnik then turned towards Mecha and R.K.. "I expect better from you two next time, you understand!"
The two glared at Robotnik then nodded.
"Sir!" said Snively. "We have a silent alarm going off in hanger 15, do you want me to send some swat-bots to deal with it."
"Put the intuders on screen, Snively."
Snively did so, and the large screen in the room came to life. It showed Shadow and Tails cautiously stalking around the hanger.
"Well, this should be interesting." said Robotnik. "Rahn. I want you to go and deal with those two. It will give you a chance to test your other weapons before you go to the Floating Island."
"As you wish, sir. I will make sure that none of them survive."
Rahn walked out of the room en-route to hanger 15. Mecha Sonic decided to follow him. For if Tails was in the city, then Sonic had to be somewhere nearby. Once Rahn was outside, he actived his hover drive and flew towards hanger 15.
Sonic was burning rubber to the command center, the entire time hoping that he wasn't to late. Lucky for him the Swat-bot patrols were not as dense in this area as they usually were. As he was running through the deserted streets of the city, he noticed something fly by overhead.
"Whoa! What the heck is that!?"
He tried to get a good look at the 'UFO' ,so to speak, but wasn't able to. And considering how close it was to Sonic's hearing range, it wasn't making a sound.
'Whatever that thing is, it's fast and extreamly quiet. I'll have to tail it later though. I've got more important things to do."
As he was about to head back to the command center, he saw and heard something else coming. Sonic immediately recognized the hum of Mecha's engine.
'Dang! I don't have time to deal with him!" yelled Sonic.
He quickly ducked inside a large, metal pipe and hoped that the robot hadn't detected him. Sonic peeked out of the pipe and saw Mecha fly by above him and just kept going. Mecha had not detected Sonic.
"*whew* That was a close one. I wonder where he was heading anyway? Hmmm.... maybe he's chasing after that weard thing that flew by a few minutes ago. Well, better get back on track and get going before it's..."
"Sonic! Sonic! Come in, over!"
"Shadow? I wonder what's up?"
Sonic pressed a button on his watch and spoke into it.
"This is Sonic, over. Whas'up Shad?"
"We've got a problem here Sonic! Me and Tails are under attack!" yelled Shadow
"Don't tell me that you two can't handle a couple of Swat's? You being the ultimate lifeform and all, I would've figured..."
"Would you shut-up, Sonic! It's not Swat-bots. Rahn's down here, and he's tearing this hangar apart. He's already nailed Tails in the shoulder, and he's got us pinned behind one of the transports. Get down here, NOW!"
Sonic froze when he heard Shadow mention Rahn. He was to late to save his friend, and now he was attacking the others. Sonics' expression hardened, and he spoke back into his com.
"I'll be there in a few minutes, Shadow. Just sit tight, over and out!"
Sonic turned around and headed back toward the hangar. While on his way, he realized that he was going the same direction as that 'UFO' and Metal Sonic.
'That weird thing had to have been Rahn. I hope I can get there to help in time.'
********************
Shadow and Tails entered the hangar without any trouble. Sure, they had to take out a Swat-bot while breaking in, but they determined that it dind't have time to set out and alert. The two immediately spotted four hover transports on the opposite side of the hangar. Tails hovered over to them while Shadow stealthly glided across the floor with his hover skates.
They both got behind one of the transports and waited a moment before proceeding to make sure they weren't spotted by any robots that could be in the hangar with them.
"Seems clear." said Shadow
Tails nodded and pulled a small object out of his back-pack. It was a small calculator devise with a few number keys on it. He slapped it on the door and pressed a few of the buttons. The door quickly shot open, and the two ducked in.
"How long will it take you to hot-wire one of these things, Tails."
Tails shook his head and made and estimated guess. "I don't know.....five to ten minutes tops. That is, if we don't get caught."
"Alright. Better get crack'n then. When Sonic busts out with Rahn, he's going to have a whole army of Swat-bots on his tail."
Tails got to work with the hot-wiring while Shadow stood watch. Tails quickly got the first transport up and working, and Shadow continued his watch. That was, until he noticed an interesting little side-room nearby. He poked his head in and looked around. One of the walls had a gun-rack on it, and it sported some interesting armaments. It was a bunch of stuff they already had back in Knothole. Lasers and grenades and such. But the one that took his attention most was a sleek looking rifle. Shadow fell in love instantly.
He picked it up and looked it over. It had a paded shoulder rest, laser settings, sniper mode, and all sorts of fun little gadgets on it. Shadow noticed a little engraving on the side and thumbed over it. It read 'Imperial Sniper Rifle- Model 02'.
"Imperial? I didn't know Robotnik made rifles with the word 'Imperial' on them. Usually he uses 'Eggman Empire' or something else with the word 'egg' in it.
Shadows attention to the weapon was diverted by and explosion coming from the hangar. Shadow acted quickly and took a few rechargers for the weapon he picked up then tore back to the main room in the hangar. When he entered, he got near the transport Tails was in, he was already on the last one. Shadow stared towards the large hangar door. It had a hole blasted through it, and a little bit of dust floating around. When it cleared, a purple robot entered through the hole, and Shadow was completely taken aback.
There, standing infront of the door, was Rahn. He put away a miniature, bazooka like weapon in a very small buckle on his leg, and turned his gaze towards Shadow. Shadow loaded the rifle he found and aimed it towards Rahn.
'I don't want to have to shoot him; but I may not have a choice.'
Rahn started to walk towards Shadow, with a small smirk strung across his face.
"Stay back, Rahn!" yelled Shadow.
Rahn stopped, but he still smirked as if he knew something that Shadow didn't. This worried him.
"Do you honestly think that that rifle of yours is going to do anything? Don't make me laugh. You'd have better luck just throwing it at me!" said Rahn.
Shadow was surprised by the sound of Rahn's voice. It sounded like his original voice, and it was a little deeper at that, but it sounded more diabolical. Tails walked out to see what was happening and was surprised to see a mechanical Rahn standing just ten feet in front of him.
"Shadow, i..i..is th..tha..that Rahn?!" asked Tails, who was a little scared to see the intimidating mechabot.
"Ya, it's him Tails."
Rahn stared at Tails and grinned even wider.
"Well, a two for one special. Must be my lucky day. Now...."
Rahn drew the sword from his back, and activated an odd looking weapon that came out of the top of his wrist.
"...which one do I get rid of first?"
Shadow pulled the trigger on the rifle. Nothing happened. He pulled it again, and still nothing. Rahn saw this and sighed, thinking that he would have figured it out by now. He threw his hand up in the air and the weapon flew from Shadows hand to Rahn's. Rahn pushed a few buttons on the weapon and aimed.
"You forgot to turn the safety off."
Rahn fired and hit Tails in the shoulder. Tails slumped to the ground, grasping his shoulder. Shadow retaliated with a flying kick to Rahns chest, causing him to drop the rifle. Shadow picked it up and dashed towards Tails. He grabbed him by his good arm and quickly dragged him behind the fourth transport. Rahn got back up, and was a little pissed off. He fired the weapon on his wrist, and orange tetryon blasts started perferating the wall behind Shadow as he and Tails ducked behind the transport. Rahn stopped firing.
'It's useless to try and resist! Surrender now and, I assure you, I will make your deaths quick!"
Rahn didn't even give them a chance to reply and started to fire again, putting holes into the transport they were behind.
"Well, this is just great." said Shadow. "How's your shoulder, Tails?"
"I'll live. But we need to get those transports out of here."
"Alright, take this and try to shoot him with your good arm, I'll contact Sonic and tell him what's going on."
Tails nodded and took the rifle while Shadow contacted Sonic. He pressed a button on his wristlet and spoke into it.
"Sonic! Sonic! Come in, over!"
"This is Sonic, over. Whas'up Shad?"
"We've got a problem here Sonic! Me and Tails are under attack!" yelled Shadow
"Don't tell me that you two can't handle a couple of Swat's? You being the ultimate lifeform and all, I would've figured..."
"Would you shut-up, Sonic! It's not Swat-bots. Rahn's down here, and he's tearing this hangar apart. He's already nailed Tails in the shoulder, and he's got us pinned behind one of the transports. Get down here, NOW!"
"I'll be there in a few minutes, Shadow. Just sit tight, over and out!"
Shadow turned off his com. "Yeah, no problem. Tails, can you get a good bead on him?"
"I'm trying to, but everytime I poke my head up he sees me." said Tails
Shadow poked his head up out of hiding, but Rahn saw him and started shooting again. Shadow had barely enough time to get his head back behind the vehicle.
"Dang! Sonic, where the heck are you!?"
"Did somebody call?"
Shadow and Tails wipped their head toward the entrance and saw Sonic standing there with his arms crossed, and flashing that trademark grin of his. Rahn turned around when he heard Sonic. He wasn't surprised that he'd shown up.
"It's about time you arrived, hedgehog."
Rahn whipped around and started firing at Sonic. Sonic ran towards Rahn in a zig-zag formation, rapidly dodging the tetryons flying towards him. He finally got close enogh and did a flying kick into Rahn's head, sending him into the far wall.
"Shadow, Tails! Get to the hover transports and get them out of here! I'll deal with Rahn and catch up with you guys later!" yelled Sonic.
Tails and Shadow got out from behind the transport and started making a run for the others.
"Alright, Sonic!" yelled Tails. "Good luck!"
"And try not to get killed!" added Shadow.
Sonic nodded and turned his attention back to Rahn. He was getting back up from Sonic's last blow.
"Very impressive, Sonic. But you aren't the only one with speed here." said Rahn
"What do you mean?" said Sonic. "I'm the fastest thing alive on Mobius!"
Rahn chuckled. "You are indeed. But, just like our friend Shadow over there, I to have been outfitted with hover skates."
Rahn activated his skates and a white fire erupted from the bottom of his shoes. Rahn started skating across the room towards Sonic, full tilt, and sword drawn. Rahn started to barral down on Sonic, cutting and slashing through the air trying to hit his mark. Sonic just kept jumping over or side-stepping the blade.
Sonic was starting to tire from dodging the attacks, and it was beginning to show. Rahn finally slashed Sonic across the stomach, leaving a long, red streak across his tan colored chest.
"OW!! Watch where you're swinging that thing!" said Sonic
Rahn smiled and was about to continue the attack when he was shot from his side, sending him flying halfway across the room. Sonic turned to see Shadow standing inside the side door of one of the transports with his rifle drawn.
"Come on Sonic, get in! Were heading out!"
"Not without Rahn!" Sonic turned to get him, but Rahn had already drawn out his dissruptor again and opened fire on Sonic. Sonic dodged and made a run for the transport and dived inside. Shadow shut the door just as tetryons started perferating through the hull.
"Tails! Fly us out of here, now!" yelled Shadow.
"You've got it! Activating autopiolet on transports two and three! Now opening hangar doors."
The large hangar doors slowly started opening and the transports lifted off the ground, ready to go.
"Tails, sometime today!" yelled Sonic as more tetryons started to penetrate through the hull.
"Hold your horses!" said Tails. "Hangar doors are open, all systems go and moving out!"
The transports started to speed out through the door. Transport one (carrying Sonic, Tails, and Shadow) and two made it out with no problem. Transport three on the otherhand, didn't. Rahn stopped firing when the the first one got out. He flicked his wrist, and a flat, circular object appeared. He threw it at transport three and it stuck to its hull.
All of the sudden, the devise detonated, causing the area around it to ripple like water. Then, the entire transport exploded in a firery blaze of smoldering metal. Tails saw the explosion and was Rahn didn't use that weapon on them when they were fighting.
Rahn watched the other two transports escape. He didn't bother to give chase, since they would be dead in about twenty-four hours anyway. He sheathed his sword and was about to walk out of the hangar when he heard a voice.
"You know, I would have handled that situation a little differently."
"Would you, Mecha?" said Rahn.
Mecha decended from the rafters of the hangar where he was watching the battle. He had slipped in while Rahn was laying waste to the fourth transport that Shadow and Tails were behind earlier.
"Yes, I would have. First off, I wouldn't have let them escape with hover transports, and second, If I had a grenade that powerful, I would have used it when those two idiots where behind the transport. It's just common sense to use the big guns first, you idiotic piece of...!"
Mecha didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before Rahn had turned around and kicked him right in the jaw, or where his jaw would be. Mecha went straight up into the air. Rahn jumped up and kicked him right into the nearby wall, leaving a very noticeable dent.
Mecha stuck to the wall for a second before falling back down to the ground. Rahn landed and walked up to the battered robot.
"Listen here, you obsolete coffee machine. It is not wise to tick off someone who is stonger, faster, smarter, and more advanced than you. If Master Robotnik didn't need you or Robo Knux, I'd destroy you both. Next time you decide to piss me off, I will not be so merciful!"
Rahn flew out of the hangar back towards the command center, leaving Mecha to contimplate what Rahn had just said.
"That robot is going to get out of control. Maybe it wasn't such a wise thing to mechasize him. Well, if he decides to rebel, this 'obsolete coffee machine' is going to make sure there won't be anything left of him to make a toaster out of." Mecha got up and flew back to the command center to get repairs done on him; again.
"What are we going to do now?" asked Shadow.
"I don't know, Shad. Aw man, thus stinks! How are we going to tell this to Sally and everyone else!?" said Sonic
"Don't worry, Sonic." said Tails in his usual, happy tone of voice. "We'll be able to get Rahn back, I just know we can."
Sonic looked out the window towards the dissappearing city of Robotropolis.
"I hope you're right, little bro........I hope you're right."
Well, what do you guys think so far? Please R*R and tell me what you think so far. I don't think I did a great job detailing the fight in the hangar, but maybe I'll get better as I go along. In the next chapter, we're going to take a trip to the Floating Island, and the Chaotix are going to get a chance to meet Mechabot VII. So, until next time, catch'ya later!
Rahn (Mechabot VII)
Sonic, Shadow, and Tails had just entered Robotropolis about the same time Rahn was thrown inside the mechasizer. Sonic watched a group of Swatbots go by. Getting to the command center wasn't going to be easy.
"Well..." said Sonic. "...any ideas, guys?"
Shadow and Tails just looked at Sonic and shrugged. The three tried to think of a plan on how they were going to do this while en-route to the city, but no one came up with an idea on how to get inside the command center and steal three hover transports. After a few minutes of quiet thinking, Shadow came up with an idea.
"Hey, Sonic. How about me and Tails go to one of the hangers and get the transports ready while you go and rescue Rahn. We can wait for you there and have all three transports ready to go. If Robotnik is looking for us, he won't even think about looking in one of his own transports."
"Alright." said Sonic. "There's a hanger about a block up from here, those should have a few transports in it. I'll go and get Rahn and meet you guys at the hanger in about..." Sonic looked at his watch. "...fifthteen minutes, got that?"
Shadow and Tails nodded. Then the three seperated, Sonic headed towards the command center, while Shadow and Tails went to the nearby hanger.
Robotnik sat at his chair in his main office. He was very pleased of his success in the development of a working mechasizer. Now, all he had to do was figure out a way not to have six out of seven of the subjects die from the process. But, he would worry about that later. Right now, he was to busy looking over his new mechabot.
Rahn stood in front of Robotnik, and with the light not being as dull as in the mechasizer chamber, his features could be seen very clearly. He still wore his poncho, hat, and still had his sword sheathed to his back, but he now had many features similar of Metal Sonic. His eyes, for example, were similar to Mecha's, but his eye color was bright orange instead of red. He even had Mecha's armor plating on his lower arms and legs but, unlike Mecha, they came to sharp points that rose over his knee-caps and elbows.
He also sported new shoes. They were built-in hover skates similar to Shadows, but with different design. They were rounded around the toe like his old shoes, but they now had an arch in the middle for grinding and the purple stripe circled from the heel and met at the top of the shoe. And to top it off, all of his parts that sported his ultra-violet color was buffed up so much that light was reflecting off him and showing on the walls, much like a watch when you put it in the sun and reflect light off the glass. Mecha and R.K. still looked suspiciously at Rahn, both had a feeling that it may have been a bad idea to Mechasize him. But what was done was done, no way to reverse. They just had to sit back and enjoy the ride.
Robotnik looked over Rahn. He was very pleased with his success. But he had to find out if the process was a complete success. He nodded to Snively who was by one of the many control panels in the room, and Snively began typing in commands.
"Now, Mechabot Seven...."
"Rahn, sir; just...Rahn"
Robotnik noticed the tone difference in Rahns voice, he apparently didn't like his codename.
"Very well, Rahn. I'm giving you a special assignment. I want you to travel to the Floating Island and retreive the Chaos Emeralds. Once done, I want you to create a sword from them, and this."
Robotnik tossed Rahn the Emerald of Power. He caught it and looked it over. There was a strange glow coming from the gold colored emerald. As of the moment, it was giving off massive power readings. Even more strange, it seemed familiar to him. Robotnik continued.
"Once you have succeded, report back to Robotropolis. We will plan further once you return."
"I don't think you'll be doing any more planning from now on Robuttnik!"
The two humans and three robots turned towards the main entrance of the room to see Sonic standing there, ready for a fight. Robotnik and Snively didn't seem to care much, but Mecha Sonic and Robo-Knux went charging at him, but Sonic jumped out of the way and the two dog-piled on eachother. Sonic went running laps around the room while the two robots reapeatedly tried to catch him, but didn't succed. Rahn was just standing there watching, waiting, and calculating the right time to strike. He got his chance.
Sonic stopped for a second to taunt the two robots. That's when Rahn quickly moved his right hand down to a small buckle on his right hip. A bazooka like weapon materialized in his hand. He quickly aimed and fired a burst of photon energy at Sonic. Sonic, now noticing Rahn, started to get out of the way of the blast, but was to late. Sonic was blown away into nothingness, there wasn't even a trace of him left. Rahn just smirked and put the weapon back in the buckle he pulled it from.
"Very good Rahn." said Robotnik. "I only wish that was the real Sonic though."
Rahn went wide eyed and turned toward Robotnik.
"But, sir. The hedgehog was giving bio readings. It had to have been him."
Robotnik laughed. "No Rahn, it wasn't. That was a very sophisticated hologram that you detroyed. It was programmed to give off bio signitures. You see, it was a test to make sure that you would actuallydo what you are supposed to do."
Rahn nodded. "I understand."
Robotnik then turned towards Mecha and R.K.. "I expect better from you two next time, you understand!"
The two glared at Robotnik then nodded.
"Sir!" said Snively. "We have a silent alarm going off in hanger 15, do you want me to send some swat-bots to deal with it."
"Put the intuders on screen, Snively."
Snively did so, and the large screen in the room came to life. It showed Shadow and Tails cautiously stalking around the hanger.
"Well, this should be interesting." said Robotnik. "Rahn. I want you to go and deal with those two. It will give you a chance to test your other weapons before you go to the Floating Island."
"As you wish, sir. I will make sure that none of them survive."
Rahn walked out of the room en-route to hanger 15. Mecha Sonic decided to follow him. For if Tails was in the city, then Sonic had to be somewhere nearby. Once Rahn was outside, he actived his hover drive and flew towards hanger 15.
Sonic was burning rubber to the command center, the entire time hoping that he wasn't to late. Lucky for him the Swat-bot patrols were not as dense in this area as they usually were. As he was running through the deserted streets of the city, he noticed something fly by overhead.
"Whoa! What the heck is that!?"
He tried to get a good look at the 'UFO' ,so to speak, but wasn't able to. And considering how close it was to Sonic's hearing range, it wasn't making a sound.
'Whatever that thing is, it's fast and extreamly quiet. I'll have to tail it later though. I've got more important things to do."
As he was about to head back to the command center, he saw and heard something else coming. Sonic immediately recognized the hum of Mecha's engine.
'Dang! I don't have time to deal with him!" yelled Sonic.
He quickly ducked inside a large, metal pipe and hoped that the robot hadn't detected him. Sonic peeked out of the pipe and saw Mecha fly by above him and just kept going. Mecha had not detected Sonic.
"*whew* That was a close one. I wonder where he was heading anyway? Hmmm.... maybe he's chasing after that weard thing that flew by a few minutes ago. Well, better get back on track and get going before it's..."
"Sonic! Sonic! Come in, over!"
"Shadow? I wonder what's up?"
Sonic pressed a button on his watch and spoke into it.
"This is Sonic, over. Whas'up Shad?"
"We've got a problem here Sonic! Me and Tails are under attack!" yelled Shadow
"Don't tell me that you two can't handle a couple of Swat's? You being the ultimate lifeform and all, I would've figured..."
"Would you shut-up, Sonic! It's not Swat-bots. Rahn's down here, and he's tearing this hangar apart. He's already nailed Tails in the shoulder, and he's got us pinned behind one of the transports. Get down here, NOW!"
Sonic froze when he heard Shadow mention Rahn. He was to late to save his friend, and now he was attacking the others. Sonics' expression hardened, and he spoke back into his com.
"I'll be there in a few minutes, Shadow. Just sit tight, over and out!"
Sonic turned around and headed back toward the hangar. While on his way, he realized that he was going the same direction as that 'UFO' and Metal Sonic.
'That weird thing had to have been Rahn. I hope I can get there to help in time.'
********************
Shadow and Tails entered the hangar without any trouble. Sure, they had to take out a Swat-bot while breaking in, but they determined that it dind't have time to set out and alert. The two immediately spotted four hover transports on the opposite side of the hangar. Tails hovered over to them while Shadow stealthly glided across the floor with his hover skates.
They both got behind one of the transports and waited a moment before proceeding to make sure they weren't spotted by any robots that could be in the hangar with them.
"Seems clear." said Shadow
Tails nodded and pulled a small object out of his back-pack. It was a small calculator devise with a few number keys on it. He slapped it on the door and pressed a few of the buttons. The door quickly shot open, and the two ducked in.
"How long will it take you to hot-wire one of these things, Tails."
Tails shook his head and made and estimated guess. "I don't know.....five to ten minutes tops. That is, if we don't get caught."
"Alright. Better get crack'n then. When Sonic busts out with Rahn, he's going to have a whole army of Swat-bots on his tail."
Tails got to work with the hot-wiring while Shadow stood watch. Tails quickly got the first transport up and working, and Shadow continued his watch. That was, until he noticed an interesting little side-room nearby. He poked his head in and looked around. One of the walls had a gun-rack on it, and it sported some interesting armaments. It was a bunch of stuff they already had back in Knothole. Lasers and grenades and such. But the one that took his attention most was a sleek looking rifle. Shadow fell in love instantly.
He picked it up and looked it over. It had a paded shoulder rest, laser settings, sniper mode, and all sorts of fun little gadgets on it. Shadow noticed a little engraving on the side and thumbed over it. It read 'Imperial Sniper Rifle- Model 02'.
"Imperial? I didn't know Robotnik made rifles with the word 'Imperial' on them. Usually he uses 'Eggman Empire' or something else with the word 'egg' in it.
Shadows attention to the weapon was diverted by and explosion coming from the hangar. Shadow acted quickly and took a few rechargers for the weapon he picked up then tore back to the main room in the hangar. When he entered, he got near the transport Tails was in, he was already on the last one. Shadow stared towards the large hangar door. It had a hole blasted through it, and a little bit of dust floating around. When it cleared, a purple robot entered through the hole, and Shadow was completely taken aback.
There, standing infront of the door, was Rahn. He put away a miniature, bazooka like weapon in a very small buckle on his leg, and turned his gaze towards Shadow. Shadow loaded the rifle he found and aimed it towards Rahn.
'I don't want to have to shoot him; but I may not have a choice.'
Rahn started to walk towards Shadow, with a small smirk strung across his face.
"Stay back, Rahn!" yelled Shadow.
Rahn stopped, but he still smirked as if he knew something that Shadow didn't. This worried him.
"Do you honestly think that that rifle of yours is going to do anything? Don't make me laugh. You'd have better luck just throwing it at me!" said Rahn.
Shadow was surprised by the sound of Rahn's voice. It sounded like his original voice, and it was a little deeper at that, but it sounded more diabolical. Tails walked out to see what was happening and was surprised to see a mechanical Rahn standing just ten feet in front of him.
"Shadow, i..i..is th..tha..that Rahn?!" asked Tails, who was a little scared to see the intimidating mechabot.
"Ya, it's him Tails."
Rahn stared at Tails and grinned even wider.
"Well, a two for one special. Must be my lucky day. Now...."
Rahn drew the sword from his back, and activated an odd looking weapon that came out of the top of his wrist.
"...which one do I get rid of first?"
Shadow pulled the trigger on the rifle. Nothing happened. He pulled it again, and still nothing. Rahn saw this and sighed, thinking that he would have figured it out by now. He threw his hand up in the air and the weapon flew from Shadows hand to Rahn's. Rahn pushed a few buttons on the weapon and aimed.
"You forgot to turn the safety off."
Rahn fired and hit Tails in the shoulder. Tails slumped to the ground, grasping his shoulder. Shadow retaliated with a flying kick to Rahns chest, causing him to drop the rifle. Shadow picked it up and dashed towards Tails. He grabbed him by his good arm and quickly dragged him behind the fourth transport. Rahn got back up, and was a little pissed off. He fired the weapon on his wrist, and orange tetryon blasts started perferating the wall behind Shadow as he and Tails ducked behind the transport. Rahn stopped firing.
'It's useless to try and resist! Surrender now and, I assure you, I will make your deaths quick!"
Rahn didn't even give them a chance to reply and started to fire again, putting holes into the transport they were behind.
"Well, this is just great." said Shadow. "How's your shoulder, Tails?"
"I'll live. But we need to get those transports out of here."
"Alright, take this and try to shoot him with your good arm, I'll contact Sonic and tell him what's going on."
Tails nodded and took the rifle while Shadow contacted Sonic. He pressed a button on his wristlet and spoke into it.
"Sonic! Sonic! Come in, over!"
"This is Sonic, over. Whas'up Shad?"
"We've got a problem here Sonic! Me and Tails are under attack!" yelled Shadow
"Don't tell me that you two can't handle a couple of Swat's? You being the ultimate lifeform and all, I would've figured..."
"Would you shut-up, Sonic! It's not Swat-bots. Rahn's down here, and he's tearing this hangar apart. He's already nailed Tails in the shoulder, and he's got us pinned behind one of the transports. Get down here, NOW!"
"I'll be there in a few minutes, Shadow. Just sit tight, over and out!"
Shadow turned off his com. "Yeah, no problem. Tails, can you get a good bead on him?"
"I'm trying to, but everytime I poke my head up he sees me." said Tails
Shadow poked his head up out of hiding, but Rahn saw him and started shooting again. Shadow had barely enough time to get his head back behind the vehicle.
"Dang! Sonic, where the heck are you!?"
"Did somebody call?"
Shadow and Tails wipped their head toward the entrance and saw Sonic standing there with his arms crossed, and flashing that trademark grin of his. Rahn turned around when he heard Sonic. He wasn't surprised that he'd shown up.
"It's about time you arrived, hedgehog."
Rahn whipped around and started firing at Sonic. Sonic ran towards Rahn in a zig-zag formation, rapidly dodging the tetryons flying towards him. He finally got close enogh and did a flying kick into Rahn's head, sending him into the far wall.
"Shadow, Tails! Get to the hover transports and get them out of here! I'll deal with Rahn and catch up with you guys later!" yelled Sonic.
Tails and Shadow got out from behind the transport and started making a run for the others.
"Alright, Sonic!" yelled Tails. "Good luck!"
"And try not to get killed!" added Shadow.
Sonic nodded and turned his attention back to Rahn. He was getting back up from Sonic's last blow.
"Very impressive, Sonic. But you aren't the only one with speed here." said Rahn
"What do you mean?" said Sonic. "I'm the fastest thing alive on Mobius!"
Rahn chuckled. "You are indeed. But, just like our friend Shadow over there, I to have been outfitted with hover skates."
Rahn activated his skates and a white fire erupted from the bottom of his shoes. Rahn started skating across the room towards Sonic, full tilt, and sword drawn. Rahn started to barral down on Sonic, cutting and slashing through the air trying to hit his mark. Sonic just kept jumping over or side-stepping the blade.
Sonic was starting to tire from dodging the attacks, and it was beginning to show. Rahn finally slashed Sonic across the stomach, leaving a long, red streak across his tan colored chest.
"OW!! Watch where you're swinging that thing!" said Sonic
Rahn smiled and was about to continue the attack when he was shot from his side, sending him flying halfway across the room. Sonic turned to see Shadow standing inside the side door of one of the transports with his rifle drawn.
"Come on Sonic, get in! Were heading out!"
"Not without Rahn!" Sonic turned to get him, but Rahn had already drawn out his dissruptor again and opened fire on Sonic. Sonic dodged and made a run for the transport and dived inside. Shadow shut the door just as tetryons started perferating through the hull.
"Tails! Fly us out of here, now!" yelled Shadow.
"You've got it! Activating autopiolet on transports two and three! Now opening hangar doors."
The large hangar doors slowly started opening and the transports lifted off the ground, ready to go.
"Tails, sometime today!" yelled Sonic as more tetryons started to penetrate through the hull.
"Hold your horses!" said Tails. "Hangar doors are open, all systems go and moving out!"
The transports started to speed out through the door. Transport one (carrying Sonic, Tails, and Shadow) and two made it out with no problem. Transport three on the otherhand, didn't. Rahn stopped firing when the the first one got out. He flicked his wrist, and a flat, circular object appeared. He threw it at transport three and it stuck to its hull.
All of the sudden, the devise detonated, causing the area around it to ripple like water. Then, the entire transport exploded in a firery blaze of smoldering metal. Tails saw the explosion and was Rahn didn't use that weapon on them when they were fighting.
Rahn watched the other two transports escape. He didn't bother to give chase, since they would be dead in about twenty-four hours anyway. He sheathed his sword and was about to walk out of the hangar when he heard a voice.
"You know, I would have handled that situation a little differently."
"Would you, Mecha?" said Rahn.
Mecha decended from the rafters of the hangar where he was watching the battle. He had slipped in while Rahn was laying waste to the fourth transport that Shadow and Tails were behind earlier.
"Yes, I would have. First off, I wouldn't have let them escape with hover transports, and second, If I had a grenade that powerful, I would have used it when those two idiots where behind the transport. It's just common sense to use the big guns first, you idiotic piece of...!"
Mecha didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before Rahn had turned around and kicked him right in the jaw, or where his jaw would be. Mecha went straight up into the air. Rahn jumped up and kicked him right into the nearby wall, leaving a very noticeable dent.
Mecha stuck to the wall for a second before falling back down to the ground. Rahn landed and walked up to the battered robot.
"Listen here, you obsolete coffee machine. It is not wise to tick off someone who is stonger, faster, smarter, and more advanced than you. If Master Robotnik didn't need you or Robo Knux, I'd destroy you both. Next time you decide to piss me off, I will not be so merciful!"
Rahn flew out of the hangar back towards the command center, leaving Mecha to contimplate what Rahn had just said.
"That robot is going to get out of control. Maybe it wasn't such a wise thing to mechasize him. Well, if he decides to rebel, this 'obsolete coffee machine' is going to make sure there won't be anything left of him to make a toaster out of." Mecha got up and flew back to the command center to get repairs done on him; again.
"What are we going to do now?" asked Shadow.
"I don't know, Shad. Aw man, thus stinks! How are we going to tell this to Sally and everyone else!?" said Sonic
"Don't worry, Sonic." said Tails in his usual, happy tone of voice. "We'll be able to get Rahn back, I just know we can."
Sonic looked out the window towards the dissappearing city of Robotropolis.
"I hope you're right, little bro........I hope you're right."
Well, what do you guys think so far? Please R*R and tell me what you think so far. I don't think I did a great job detailing the fight in the hangar, but maybe I'll get better as I go along. In the next chapter, we're going to take a trip to the Floating Island, and the Chaotix are going to get a chance to meet Mechabot VII. So, until next time, catch'ya later!
Rahn (Mechabot VII)