Chapter Nine – A Nightmare Revived – by MTP
Tails slowly reached out and pressed a red button marked 'start'. With a splutter the Tornado's engines roared and came to life. He brushed a hand through his bangs and then pulled his flying goggles down over his eyes. He sighed heavily and then shuddered. This was it! This just might be the final battle. Tails looked at the controls in front of him and then leaned over the cockpit side. Below Knuckles was standing next to the planes wheels.
"Ok Knux remove the chocks." he said.
"You got it Tails." replied Knuckles.
Knuckles quickly leaned over and removed the two sets of chocks from around the plane's tires. He stepped back out of the way and nodded at Tails. Tails nodded back and increased the thrust slightly. The Tornado gently rolled out of the hanger and onto the runway. He brought it to a halt again and looked out of the cockpit. Knuckles had walked out of the hanger now and stood along side Sonic next to the stationary plane. He nodded firmly at the pair and they in turn nodded at him.
"Good luck Tails." said Sonic.
"You too bud." replied Tails.
"Keep it cool Tails." put in Knuckles.
Tails nodded again and then looked back at the controls. He gently took hold of the control stick and thrust lever and closed his eyes for a moment. The next few second he spent readying himself for his task ahead. Finally with a long sigh he pushed the thrust lever forwards. The plane began to speed up as it thundered along the runway. The tail soon left the ground giving Tails a much better view of the runway ahead. It was taking a lot longer for the plane to take off than normal and Tails knew why. Strapped to the bottom of the wings were as many bombs and missiles he could fit on them without compromising the structure of the plane. Then next to him in the cockpit was a large bag filled with a variety of explosive devices that had scrounged up around the village.
Finally the plane gained enough forward momentum to launch itself into the air, even if it did so rather shakily. The wings seemed to bow under the weight of its payload. Tails was just praying they didn't fall off! The plane climbed more as it started to pass over the forest. In the distance the outline of Robotropolis could be seen glinting on the horizon. For a moment Tails glared at it. The cold black towers pierced the sky like a knife would skin. To Tails this comparison held true. A knife only caused pain in the wrong hands and so did that place. It couldn't go on anymore I WOULDN'T go on anymore!
He looked down at the ground below him as he cleared the edge of the forest. Far below a twin streak of colour, one red and one blue. Sonic and Knuckles only had to keep up with his plane and at that kind of speed Knuckles could easily keep up with Sonic. He wondered what they were talking about. Maybe the mission ahead of them? Maybe the dangers that were involved? Did it really matter anyway? Probably not, all that they had to do was focus on the task ahead. They had to rescue Sally and they had to put a stop to Robotnik's plan here and now!
Tails looked up again to see Robotropolis getting bigger on the horizon. He checked over the panel in front of him. Normally the Tornado only had its nose mounted machine guns as weapons but now it had the bombs and missiles also. Tails had designed the plane to carry a few if it was ever needed but he was carrying so many now it was ridiculous. He had had to double up on some of the controls so one control actually released two bombs. It made his relative payload smaller as he could only drop so many 'lots' of bombs but he didn't mind, so long as he could drop them! He just hoped that Robotnik might not be ready for such a swift counter attack. Knowing Robotnik he'd probably be ready but Tails hoped otherwise.
"You ok up there, Tails?" came a voice.
Tails quickly picked up the comm. and answered.
"Peachy as always Sonic." he replied.
"Good, you ready for this?"
"As I'll ever be."
"Good."
"Sonic?"
"Yeah Tails?"
"I'm scared."
"Me too Tails. And I think Knuckles is too."
"No I mean really scared."
"Tails listen bud. We've had our….differences lately, but I gotta tell you something kid."
Tails didn't reply, he just sat looking at the comm. What was Sonic going to say?
"Listen to me bud. I've known you for a few years now and during that time you've got from an annoying kid who kept following me around to a close friend. You've matured and grown into a strong person. I've never told you this before but people respect you a lot, I respect you a lot."
Tails was amazed. His hero respected HIM?! He blinked a few times and pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. It hurt, he wasn't dreaming.
"Sonic I…" he started.
"No Tails don't speak. I know you probably think I'm joking to boost your confidence but I'm not. You really are a capable person and if anyone can pull this off its you." finished Sonic.
Tails made a small happy whimper and then answered.
"Thank you Sonic." he said.
"Not at all Tails ol' buddy. Now get your sights trained on that city. It's juice time!"
Just then a sudden loud boom filled the air and Tails quickly leaned over the cockpit. A blue blur was flying across the landscape leaving a small red train behind it. Obviously Sonic was taking Knuckles for a drag. Tails looked back at the controls and floored the throttle. The engine roared and the Tornado leaped forwards into the wind with a burst of speed. Tails gripped the controls hard as he narrowed his sight on the city. He started to dive the plane slightly. Sonic's blur could be seen racing ahead of the plane and Tails made a small move. He flicked a control cover on the panel in front of him and pressed the button underneath. A couple of missiles detached themselves from the Tornado's port wing and flew into the sky leaving a trail of white behind them. Tails watched eagerly, urging then on in his head. The missiles reached the city limits and started to drop before they suddenly exploded in mid air. The balls of light lit the sky in a dazzling array of colour. Tails slammed his fists on the console next to him. Dammit! Robotnik must be ready as Bunnie had said. I've got to get closer.
Tails put the Tornado into a steep dive towards the city. As he dived he could already see a bright blue blur moving in an erratic zigzag pattern below as laser fire filled the area. Hold on Sonic! The Tornado continued to dive, gaining more and more speed as it went. The wings started to shake and groan under the strain of the wind and payload. Tails gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes on the ground below. Surprising no fire had come his way but he guessed it was because they were busy trying to shoot Sonic and Knuckles. Tails suddenly pulled back making the Tornado's engine roar as two oval shaped objects dropped from the wings. The Tornado started to climb steeply as two huge explosions rung out below it. The radio crackled.
"TAILS!" cried Sonic.
Tails hastily picked up and answered.
"Sonic! You ok?" he asked.
"If I wasn't me I'd be toast right now and it wouldn't have been from the bots."
"Sorry but I had to do something."
"Try not to cut it so close next time but thank you. The ground troops down here are intense. How far is it to that hospital?"
"About a mile to the east."
"A mile eh? I could do that in a few seconds but not with these troops around."
"Leave them to me Sonic."
"Be careful Tails."
Tails quickly put the radio down and then started to level out the plane. He was sure that as soon as he started to dive again he'd be diving into a rain of fire. The bots hadn't known about him before but they did now. Tails closed his eyes for a moment and clenched a fist to his chest. His thought drifted to Sonic and Knuckles below him and then back to Knothole. Bunnie was probably lying in a bed now with Antoine looking after her. Rotor would probably be resting too and Amy, what would she be doing? Mourning over Mina probably, those two were quite close. Mina, why did it have to be you on the Floating Island? Finally his thought landed on their goal, Sally. Tails opened his eyes slowly and sighed.
"I'll rescue you aunt Sally. I'll rescue you and make that Robotnik pay for anything he's done to you!"
Tails quickly turned the plane and headed into a dive again towards the troops. He hadn't been diving for long before a rain of laser fire headed his way. He jinxed the plane to the side to avoid it but flew straight into another rain. Several shots glanced the fuselage tearing gashes in it and a few others punctured the wings. Tails cringed as he thought his payload might have been hit, but after several seconds and no explosion he relaxed. He started to weave madly as he dived and then opened fire with the Tornado's machine guns. He strafed the ground for a few hundred yards, and was rewarded by a number of explosions, before he pulled up. The plane started to climb again as another volley of laser fire filled the sky. A few shots hit the tail making it spoke but the laser fire quickly stopped. Tails looked back to see a blue and red blur moving around the area followed by a trail of explosions.
"Tails you alright?" said Sonic's voice.
"Yeah. A few glancing blows but I'm ok. Thanks for the help just now." he replied.
"Don't worry about it. This area looks clear now so myself and Knux are gonna try for the hospital. Keep us covered."
"I'll try….WHAAAAAA!"
"Tails? TAILS?!" cried Sonic.
Tails wasn't listening though. The Tornado rolled in mid air as a flood of missiles flew towards him. Thankfully Tails had seen them in time to react and dodge. A few moments later the missiles were followed by a number of stealth bots.
"Tails?!" cried Sonic.
"I'm ok Sonic. I'll get back to you!" replied Tails quickly.
He switched off the radio and banked the plane. The stealth bots had also banked now and the Tornado and the bots gradually gained on each other. Tails didn't wait for them and opened fire. A small unguided rocket pod on the port wing sprung into action sending its contents into the sky. The rockets flew towards the bots that seemed to dodge easily although one appeared to be a bit slow. Two rockets hit it tearing it to pieces and throwing debris into the air. This debris quickly made contact with a nearby bot ripping off part of its wing and sending it plummeting towards the ground. A rain of laser fire soon followed forcing Tails to take evasive action. As he did a number of missiles detached from the wings and nicely found their marks. Banking the plane sharply, Tails soon pounded the last two stealth bots with machine gun fire forcing them to crash.
The fox then shifted his attention down to the ground to find more laser fire flying around but he couldn't see any sign of Sonic or Knuckles. He quickly picked up the radio.
"Sonic! Sonic you there?" he cried.
"Still here bud. It's like a fur ball down here." joked Sonic.
Tails sighed slightly. At least he was still alright.
"Tails!" said Sonic firmly, "There is no way we can get through here. We need a road sweeper."
"Tails street cleaning services at your disposal Sonic. Hang on I'll be right there!"
Tails looked up. In the distance he could see a large building. He had seen a few aerial shots of the target and knew he was looking at it now. A long straight road led from the target down to where Sonic and Knuckles were hiding. Street cleaning service eh? No problem! With a swift fluid move, Tails flicked a switch on the control panel. The Tornado gave a small shake and a small mechanical whine was heard. A large rocket booster lowered from the bottom of the planet between the landing gear. It locked into position and Tails pulled back on the stick just as the booster ignited. The Tornado's booster lit up the darkened sky as it looped over and then dived towards the ground. As it dived a flurry of missiles flew from wings streaming down onto the street below. The ground erupted in a huge fireball as Tails level the plane out a short distance from the ground and opened fire with the planes machine guns. He glanced over his shoulder to see the first explosions dying away and just in front of them was the blue and red blurs of Sonic and Knuckles. Tails looked ahead of himself again and readied the rest of his payload. With continuous machine gun fire the remaining bombs fell from the wings turning the street into a giant fireball. If any bots had been in the street they certainly hadn't survived.
It took all but a few moments to reach the hospital. As it came into sight Tails pulled up sharply before going into a loop. He looked towards the ground to see Sonic and Knuckles skidding to a halt outside. He looped the plane round and roughly brought it in for a landing on the street. It was tricky because of the pot holes and debris created by his bombing run but he managed and trundled the plane to a halt. He quickly jumped out already boasting a large laser rifle he had taken from the cockpit. He landed on the ground and rolled to a spot of cover before poking his head out. After surveying the area he could see no sign of danger and he stepped out.
"Sonic? Knuckles?" he called.
"PSST!" came a sharp whisper.
Tails looked to the side to see Sonic and Knuckles poking out from behind a broken wall. They were waving madly at him and Tails quickly sprinted over to them. As he reached the pair they grabbed him and pulled him behind cover.
"What are you doing standing out in the open like that? You wanna get shot?!" hissed Sonic.
"It was clear Sonic. I made sure of it before stepping out." said Tails.
"Never take that chance Tails, never. Anyway we got bigger problems now." said Knuckles looking out from behind the wall.
"Right Knuckles." replied Sonic turning to Tails for a second, "Tails I gotta say, you're street cleaning maneuver actually made more mess than it cleaned up."
Tails chuckled.
"It was meant to." he replied.
"Now!" cried Knuckles as he darted out of cover.
Tails looked at Sonic and then quickly followed him as the three sprinted across the street and into the hospital. They all jumped as they entered the building and rolled into cover before standing up. Everything was deadly quiet. The only sound in the air was the dripping of a nearby water main. Cautiously they all moved out of cover into the middle of the room.
"I don't like it." said Knuckles.
"Neither do I." replied Sonic, "Why is it so quiet all of a sudden?"
"Maybe they left?" suggested Tails.
"Left? Tails think straight will ya? If Sally really is here they wouldn't just leave. If anything they'd call in reinforcements. Something is wrong here. Deadly wrong." said Sonic.
"But what?" puzzled Knuckles.
"Only one way to find out, we have to go and see." replied Tails.
Sonic and Knuckles both nodded at each other and the group slowly made for the stairs. They knew Sally was being held on the third floor in the west wing of the building from her jackets transmitter. As they edged up the stair Tails began to think. Why is it so quiet? Where are all the troops suddenly gone? Was Sally really here? Was this just a big trap? What was going on?
"We're there." said Sonic's voice.
Tails snapped out of his thoughts and looked around. They were standing on the stair just below the third floor. Tails quickly checked his gun to make sure it was fully charged. Sonic looked back at him and Knuckles.
"Ok guys take it easy. This is getting far too odd for words and it's making me a bit jumpy. I don't know whats going on but things would not be this quiet unless something big was waiting for us. Keep it cool."
"As always Sonic." replied Tails.
Knuckles just nodded. The three of them slowly stepped out from the cover of the stair well and started to walk down the corridor. Rubble and junk lay everywhere along the corridor and the building itself was run down anyway. Tails was starting to get jumpy now like Sonic. They continued on for what seemed like an eternity peering into various rooms but not finding anything. Tails was getting very jumpy now spinning at any sound be it a dip of water or his own footsteps. He stepped up to another room and looked in. The window was dusty but a quick wipe with his glove made him gasp.
"Sally!" he cried.
Sonic and Knuckles were at his side in a flash and Sonic's hand landed on the doorknob.
"No Sonic don't…." started Tails.
It was too late though. Sonic twisted the handle and flung the door wipe open. Sally lay bound and gagged in the middle of the room with her eyes closed. She didn't look too badly beaten but they could all see various bruises all over her body. Sonic flew into the room before the other two could stop him. Tails was waiting for it, a laser field, a group of swatbots, anything to just burst in and surprise them. It didn't happen though. Sonic reached Sally and collapsed to the ground next to her. He quickly removed her gag and then severed the metal binds on her wrists and ankles using his own laser gun. He pulled her into himself and shook her slightly.
"Sally! Sally can you hear me? Are you alright? Sally?" he said quickly.
Sally moaned slightly and Sonic pulled her even closer. Knuckles walked out into the room and started to look around cautiously. He was shaking his head slowly.
"This isn't right." said Tails still standing in the doorway.
"Not right at all Tails." replied Knuckles looking round at him.
"Where are the swatbots? Where is the surprise attack? Where is anything?" continued Tails.
He stepped into the room slowly looking around frantically. Sally gave another moan and started to open her eyes.
"Sally?" asked Sonic nervously.
"Uuuuh….S…..Sonic?" asked Sally slowly.
"Sally!" cried Sonic as he drew her even closer.
Tails was still nervous but he was also concerned for Sally. He walked over to Sonic and Sally and knelt down beside them.
"Aunt Sally? You alright?" he asked.
Sally slowly turned to look at him. She blinked her bruised eyes and smiled slightly at him.
"Hey Tails." she replied hoarsely.
"Sally what's going on? Where are the troops guarding you?" asked Tails.
"There never were any." she replied.
"What do you mean Sally?" asked Sonic.
"I don't know. When Robotnik caught me I was sure he'd roboticizes me. But he didn't. He didn't even seem to brag over my capture. It was like he wasn't bothered."
"Wasn't bothered?" questioned Knuckles, "That seems a little odd."
"Coupled with this situation I'd agree." said Sonic, "But we can puzzle over it later. Right now we have to get you back to Knothole Sal."
Sally nodded weakly and let Sonic pick her up. Tails and Knuckles nodded at him and both sprinted from the room with Sonic following. They raced back down the stairs and into the main lobby. There they stopped for a moment to check the street. As it had been earlier, it was clear and they all made a mad dash for the Tornado. Tails quickly started the plane as Sonic and Knuckles hoisted Sally onto the upper wing. They then both took a hold of the plane and Sally with different hands.
"Ready!" cried Sonic, "Let's get the hell out of here."
"You got it Sonic." replied Tails fixing his attention on the controls.
He turned the plane quickly half expecting laser fire to suddenly spring from a corner and blow the plane to pieces. It didn't come though and Tails had soon lined up on the battered street. He opened the throttle and the plane shot forwards along the road. Bumping along the pot holes and craters it finally gained enough speed and took off. The plane was lighter now that it didn't have its explosive payload and the three people on the wings hardly made a difference at all. As the plane climbed higher a rustle ran through the air. Tails pricked his ears, the sound wasn't normal. It sounded like something mechanical but really big. It was followed by a number of small explosion sounds. The group on the wings heard this and Sonic looked over at Tails.
"Tails what's that?" he asked.
"No idea Sonic. They sound like explosions." replied Tails.
"Maybe some of your bombs didn't go off and have been set off now?" commented Knuckles.
"No they all exploded." replied Tails.
"Then what was it?" asked Knuckles.
During this time Sally had been clinging to the front of the wing. She suddenly whimpered and gulped making Sonic and Knuckles turn away from Tails and making Tails look forwards. They all gasped. Ahead of them an object was slowly raising upwards out of the group. As it did a loud roar started to fill the air. The object was huge and spherical in shape. It blotted out the already dark sky as it climbed higher. Nobody could speak, they all just stared at the sight.
"That's the…" started Sonic.
"…Death Egg!" finished Knuckles.
"How?!" whimpered Sally still clinging to the plane, "You destroyed it!"
"We did." replied Sonic still staring at the object as it rose higher into the sky.
Suddenly it all clicked in Tails head. The reinforced diamond glass roboticizer parts, the stealing of the master emerald, the Death Eggs reappearance. Tails face fell as he looked up at the others.
"You were a decoy." muttered Sonic to himself as he looked at Sally, "He used you as a freaking decoy Sal!"
The Death Egg had now risen so far out of the ground it was now completely visible, its huge rocket engines driving it slowly into the sky.
"Sonic what do we do?" said Knuckles, "We have to do something."
Sonic spun on the wing, almost falling off as he did, and stared at Tails. Tails was looking a bit white but Sonic didn't appear to notice.
"Tails! Floor it! Get us to that thing!" he cried.
Tails quickly snapped out of his trance and stared back at Sonic. It was strange to see Sonic's eyes filled with emotions like fear but the sight filled Tails with a new found strength. He planted his hand firmly on the throttle and opened it up.
"Hang on." he said.
Moments later the rocket booster on the planes underside ignited throwing it into a steep climb towards the Death Egg. As they climbed Sonic started talking.
"We have to stop this thing." he said.
"How?" asked Knuckles.
"Just like last time. We blow it up."
"Yeah simple."
"Ok Tails get us as close as you can. Knuckles and myself will get onboard and try to stop this thing. You make sure you get Sally back to Knothole."
Tails suddenly looked up at Sonic. He couldn't be thinking of leaving him behind? Not on this important a mission. He wanted to go, he wanted to help Sonic, but before he could speak Sally spoke for him.
"Sonic wait! I don't need any help getting back to Knothole. Take Tails with you, he might be able to help." she said.
"You sure Sal?" asked Sonic.
"Yes I'm sure. I'll take the Tornado back to Knothole."
The plane was now nearing the Death Egg and Tails could make out a small flat area on the side of the ship. He turned the plane towards it and almost immediately the sky filled with laser fire from the Egg. Tails swerved the plane as he tried to juggle dodging the laser fire and keeping his friends on the wings at the same time. There was a momentary pause in the laser fire.
"Sally if you're gonna take over get in here now." said Tails quickly.
Sally quickly released her grip on the planes wing and slid into the cockpit next to Tails. Tails felt as if he was going to be crushed but then Sally was fairly slim and he didn't feel too squashed.
"Throttle, control stick and gauges." said Tails quickly pointing out the controls as he scrambled from the cock pit onto the wings.
The plane had now flown very close to the Death Egg and Tails quickly grabbed Sonic and Knuckles. Sonic and Knuckles both nodded at him and the three jumped from the plane. They fell for a moment and then Tails spun his tails slowing their decent as they touched down on the surface of the ship. They turned to see the Tornado banking steeply away from the Death Egg as another volley of laser fire flew from the ships guns. Sally, not being the aerial expert Tails was, was unable to avoid this next burst and the tails and upper port wing was ripped from the plane. It started to plummet towards the ground heading for the edge of the Great Forest. Tails could see Sonic's face was frozen in a look of horror. The Tornado continued to spiral towards the ground and none of them could do anything as it hit the edge of the forest and exploded.
"SALLY!" cried Sonic as he collapsed to his knees.
Knuckles gritted his teeth and turned away as he closed his eyes. Tails just stood and gazed. The Death Egg continued to rise and slowly the burning wreck at the edge of the forest began to get smaller and smaller. Tails blinked as a tear leaked from his eye. The Tornado was gone. Sally was gone! He slowly looked over at Sonic. He was one his knees still sobbing into his arms. Sonic had never been so free with his emotions before. The sight drained him of all the hope and determination he normally had. If Sonic is like this what chance do we have? Tails sighed slowly and continued to watch Sonic as he slowly looked up. He starred down at the ground below and then looked up at the sky.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he screamed.
Tails was so shocked he took a step backwards. Sonic slowly drew himself to his feet and turned to face him. Tails could see his eyes were ablaze, ablaze with anger and madness. He looked away from Tails, leaving the fox slightly stunned, and surveyed the flat area they were standing on. A small hatch was mounted near a corner of the platform and Sonic walked over to it slowly. The hatch had a lock code on it but Sonic just drew his gun and sprayed the entire area with laser fire. The hatch was reduced to a smoking hole in the ships hull and Sonic threw the gun to one side. He glared back at Tails as Knuckles step up beside him.
"Come on!" said Sonic flatly still glaring at them.
Without another word he spun and jumped threw the hole. Tails looked and Knuckles and then they both raced towards the hatch. Knuckles jumped in first followed closely by Tails. Inside all was dark and Tails felt himself falling downwards towards the unknown. What was down here? What was waiting for them? Did he really understand what was going on? Was this thing what he feared it might be? With a sudden thud that knocked the wind out of him slightly, Tails landed on a metal floor. It was still dark but he could make out the shapes of Sonic and Knuckles standing next to him.
"Let's go." said Sonic.
