Four 'Til Doomsday
Part 3:
Sonic awoke to find himself chained to a wall. He was suspended over a vertiginous drop, which was the only thing in between him and a nasty looking pool of lava. Both his arms ached, and his wrists were sore where they ground against the two metal rings that held him up.
Apart from that evil trick Amy and Tails had played last April Fools, he couldn't remember waking up in a worse situation. He tore his eyes away from the drop, cautiously in case doing so would let him fall, and looked around.
Opposite him, the far wall was a few hundred metres away. Sticking out from it like fungi was a huge platform, covered in techno-stuff. Porker, had he been here, would probably have forgotten the drop just by looking at it, but Sonic couldn't forget until he'd looked a little closer.
"Drakons!"
Tails nearly panicked, but kept his head safe from both his fright and the lasers. Freefalling, he spiralled down past the robot, whipping a mounted gun with both tails as he did so. The gun tumbled away, and the robot spun angrily. Tails flew like a wasp directly at its head.
A metal fist bigger then he was swatted him away. Tails clutched his head and moaned in pain, but the robot was already bringing its other arm around to open fire. He soared up over the cyborg, trailed by near misses. Suddenly he turned and charged again, keeping alert for both arms. He vaulted over the fist and struck, body slamming right between the eyes at almost sonic speed. The hedgehog would have been impressed.
There was a crunch and a clang and Tails opened his eyes. From behind a fox-sized hole he could see the orange/pink sky and the body of the robot spasmodically convulsing. Grinning, he grabbed two handfuls of circuitry and jumped back out again, letting the robot fall.
He turned to look at the ground. From this height, he could already see the Pyramid. He sped on, fast as he could.
Robotnik checked his computer. ETA twenty minutes. By then, his machine would have activated. The hedgehog would be rendered helpless on entering. His victory would be waiting on his doorstep, along with his new and improved unbeatable army. He would beset the world with Badniks once more, while his creations killed the Guardian and took the Emeralds. With Sonic and Knuckles neutralised, the rest of the planet would be demoralised and helpless. The other outlaws would be no trouble. The Mobian police and military forces were over fifty years behind his technology. With specialised Badniks attacking from land, sea and air the animals would have no defences left. They would be thrashed and vanquished, and forced to acknowledge his glorious genius.
Then he would tame the wilderness that covered half the planet, flattening forests, levelling mountains and filling in smaller oceans. Tarmac and metal would carpet the ground, turning Mobius into one big ball bearing. He would construct huge cities with skyscrapers so high they could be seen from space.
Then he would spread his empire to the Miracle Planet, and into all the other planets of the solar system, wiping out any other life he found until he ruled the galaxy. Through the special zone he could access limitless planets to conquer. He would rule everything; he would be the first man to rule the Universe.
He did not know that another race had got there first.
He couldn't move, or feel. Half the time he couldn't see. If he strained hard he could nearly hear the incessant whirring and beeping around him, but he had no desire to. Any effort at all could knock him out for days and leave the machines panicking and whirring double speed to bring him back. He was balanced just on the edge of life.
He couldn't die; the machines would bring him back. He couldn't live; if he tried to gather enough energy to move, the machines whisked it away, leaving him drained again. He couldn't be angry at his situation, because the machines had numbed most unessential parts of his brain.
All he could do was watch his memories. He didn't even have that many of them.
Sonic swore as another electric shock ran through him. The chief fish held his paddle menacingly, all too eager to give him another one. The floating platform he stood on bobbed gently. Across the sea of lava, the main platform was spreading slowly outwards as the fish in suits worked to built extensions on to it.
"What the hell do you lot think you're doing here, anyway?" he demanded. The Drakon grinned nastily. Here was one species that hadn't learned the disadvantages of gloating.
"We're here to reclaim our planet, rodent. We're here to finish off every last one of you Mobians."
"You've had your turn. The Drakons are pre-history now, dude." Sonic scowled. "We can stop you as soon as you try anything. We're used to madmen trying to take over."
The four Drakons laughed. Sonic glared at them. "Your long finished! The Drakon Empire was defeated thousands of years ago!"
The chief Drakon's laughter faded. "Look up, hedgehog."
Sonic looked up. The sun had gone down and the navy sky was filled with countless stars. He grew dizzy watching them.
"We are not the Drakon Empire. We were just a tiny outpost. The Drakon Empire covers over a million planets." He laughed at Sonic's expression. "Correct, hedgehog. We cannot be beaten. Can your pitiful planet stand up to even a billionth of our forces? You and everything you know won't even leave a memory."
Part 3:
Sonic awoke to find himself chained to a wall. He was suspended over a vertiginous drop, which was the only thing in between him and a nasty looking pool of lava. Both his arms ached, and his wrists were sore where they ground against the two metal rings that held him up.
Apart from that evil trick Amy and Tails had played last April Fools, he couldn't remember waking up in a worse situation. He tore his eyes away from the drop, cautiously in case doing so would let him fall, and looked around.
Opposite him, the far wall was a few hundred metres away. Sticking out from it like fungi was a huge platform, covered in techno-stuff. Porker, had he been here, would probably have forgotten the drop just by looking at it, but Sonic couldn't forget until he'd looked a little closer.
"Drakons!"
Tails nearly panicked, but kept his head safe from both his fright and the lasers. Freefalling, he spiralled down past the robot, whipping a mounted gun with both tails as he did so. The gun tumbled away, and the robot spun angrily. Tails flew like a wasp directly at its head.
A metal fist bigger then he was swatted him away. Tails clutched his head and moaned in pain, but the robot was already bringing its other arm around to open fire. He soared up over the cyborg, trailed by near misses. Suddenly he turned and charged again, keeping alert for both arms. He vaulted over the fist and struck, body slamming right between the eyes at almost sonic speed. The hedgehog would have been impressed.
There was a crunch and a clang and Tails opened his eyes. From behind a fox-sized hole he could see the orange/pink sky and the body of the robot spasmodically convulsing. Grinning, he grabbed two handfuls of circuitry and jumped back out again, letting the robot fall.
He turned to look at the ground. From this height, he could already see the Pyramid. He sped on, fast as he could.
Robotnik checked his computer. ETA twenty minutes. By then, his machine would have activated. The hedgehog would be rendered helpless on entering. His victory would be waiting on his doorstep, along with his new and improved unbeatable army. He would beset the world with Badniks once more, while his creations killed the Guardian and took the Emeralds. With Sonic and Knuckles neutralised, the rest of the planet would be demoralised and helpless. The other outlaws would be no trouble. The Mobian police and military forces were over fifty years behind his technology. With specialised Badniks attacking from land, sea and air the animals would have no defences left. They would be thrashed and vanquished, and forced to acknowledge his glorious genius.
Then he would tame the wilderness that covered half the planet, flattening forests, levelling mountains and filling in smaller oceans. Tarmac and metal would carpet the ground, turning Mobius into one big ball bearing. He would construct huge cities with skyscrapers so high they could be seen from space.
Then he would spread his empire to the Miracle Planet, and into all the other planets of the solar system, wiping out any other life he found until he ruled the galaxy. Through the special zone he could access limitless planets to conquer. He would rule everything; he would be the first man to rule the Universe.
He did not know that another race had got there first.
He couldn't move, or feel. Half the time he couldn't see. If he strained hard he could nearly hear the incessant whirring and beeping around him, but he had no desire to. Any effort at all could knock him out for days and leave the machines panicking and whirring double speed to bring him back. He was balanced just on the edge of life.
He couldn't die; the machines would bring him back. He couldn't live; if he tried to gather enough energy to move, the machines whisked it away, leaving him drained again. He couldn't be angry at his situation, because the machines had numbed most unessential parts of his brain.
All he could do was watch his memories. He didn't even have that many of them.
Sonic swore as another electric shock ran through him. The chief fish held his paddle menacingly, all too eager to give him another one. The floating platform he stood on bobbed gently. Across the sea of lava, the main platform was spreading slowly outwards as the fish in suits worked to built extensions on to it.
"What the hell do you lot think you're doing here, anyway?" he demanded. The Drakon grinned nastily. Here was one species that hadn't learned the disadvantages of gloating.
"We're here to reclaim our planet, rodent. We're here to finish off every last one of you Mobians."
"You've had your turn. The Drakons are pre-history now, dude." Sonic scowled. "We can stop you as soon as you try anything. We're used to madmen trying to take over."
The four Drakons laughed. Sonic glared at them. "Your long finished! The Drakon Empire was defeated thousands of years ago!"
The chief Drakon's laughter faded. "Look up, hedgehog."
Sonic looked up. The sun had gone down and the navy sky was filled with countless stars. He grew dizzy watching them.
"We are not the Drakon Empire. We were just a tiny outpost. The Drakon Empire covers over a million planets." He laughed at Sonic's expression. "Correct, hedgehog. We cannot be beaten. Can your pitiful planet stand up to even a billionth of our forces? You and everything you know won't even leave a memory."