So I go to write Chapter 1, and I get writer's block. Go figure. Anyways,
this will be the start of the conflict between Sonic and Eggman that
everyone has played through a million times. So far, this fic has gotten
pretty good reviews, so I have some motivation to continue on to the end.
It's been fun writing this, so fun that I might actually write more in the
future (though no comedy, cause I suck at that.) Wow, I've wasted a lot of
space with this opening blurb, so I'm going to stop now and present to you
Chapter 1 of "West Island Chaos"
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WEST ISLAND CHAOS
Chapter 1 - Green Land, Robotic Fury
Traces of light began to appear as the sun rose on the blissful Emerald Hills in the early morning, awakening the indigenous wildlife. The time for foraging had come. Many awoke in hopes of finding the next meal for themselves and their waiting family. One such animal was a small red bird, about the size of a large coconut. It had left home a short time ago to search for food, and was now considerably far away from where he had begun. It looked towards the ground, hoping to see some sort of movement in the tall grass. There was none. The bird continued its search, wincing at his bad fortune: it usually didn't take this long to find something.
A short time later, the bird looked towards the ground, and to his delight noticed some movement in one of the dirt patches. After swooping down to take a closer look at his potential prey, he noticed that the movement had come from a group of juicy, plump earthworms frantically trying to dig into the ground. Relieved that his search was over, the bird dipped his head and scooped up the worms into his powerful beak. Satisfied with his catch, the bird got ready to turn around and begin the journey home.
His plans were interrupted, however, when an ominous shadow overtook him.
The bird turned around slowly, attempting to get a good look at he source. It was a large beast, silver in color and possessing one eye, which glowed an eerie yellow. The earthworms that had previously been in the bird's mouth were now free, relieved that he had released his grip. The bird stood still, frightened at this new foe, until the glowing eye focused on him.
No time was wasted: Once it realized it had been noticed, the bird took to flight to escape the predator. But it was to no avail as the beast followed suit by going into the air itself. It crept closer and closer to the fleeing animal as the seconds went by.
Then the bird's flight was interrupted. Bewildered, the bird checked to see what had happened, and realized the awful truth: he had been caught. The beast tightened its grip on the bird, bringing it closer to its now open mouth, still staring at it with its glowing eye. Now fallen, the bird relaxed and closed its eyes, waiting for the horror to finally end...
In an open area of the Emerald Hills stood a large cliff, carrying on it a deluge of water that poured over the edge and into the large basin at the base of the cliff. This waterfall was the central area of the Emerald Hills, and served as the primary source of water for its inhabitants. Thus, it was no wonder many animals decided to make the cliff their home.
"That's weird," Tails said. He had left his home in the forest in order to get a drink from the lake. "I don't see a lot of people here today..." The area was almost devoid of wildlife; only a few birds and other animals were present, unusual for a time when a good amount of animals mingled and enjoyed their time here.
Tails walked up to the lake and began to drink. Well, it doesn't matter to me, thought a slightly irritated Tails as he swallowed the clean water. Tails went in for another drink when something glinted in the corner of his eye. Startled, Tails jerked his head in the direction of the bright light and went towards it. It seemed to be coming from the water.
He jumped into the lake, curious as to where this mysterious glint came from. He swam deeper until he saw the glint again. Tails looked towards the point of origin and swam towards the bottom of the lake, where he saw the light's source: a blue gemstone. Tails grabbed the gemstone and resurfaced. Now out of the water, he took a good look at the gemstone. It was very smooth, but unusually bright, as if glowing. The weirdest thing was the feeling Tails had while holding it: it was one of uneasiness, almost ominous.
What a weird gem, thought Tails, It isn't like anything I've seen before. And this feeling... something doesn't feel right. Tails put the gem away, making sure he wasn't seen by anyone, and began to walk away from the lake.
On the way, however, he noticed something else. A hint of red could be seen from behind one of the large rocks in the area, which conflicted with pretty much everything else around it. Tails was a bit more cautious this time around, as this object seemed to be a lot bigger than the tiny gem he had just collected. He approached the rock slowly, and then moved to a point where he could see behind it. A large smile appeared on Tails' face when he saw the object: a large, red biplane.
How in the world did this get here? Tails began to circle the biplane, noticing the subtle details. Hmm... the paint seems a bit faded, but the plane itself is really cool. Let's see... wings are in good order... propeller seems to spin nicely... this thing is completely intact. Ecstatic, the young fox decided to go into the cockpit. Slowly, he climbed up and gradually reached his hand into the seat of the cockpit. It seemed to be a bit high for a cockpit this size... the chair was king of furry as well. Obviously, this hasn't been cleaned very well. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers. In one quick motion, Tails jumped into cockpit... and onto a sleeping blue hedgehog.
Sonic woke up almost immediately, quite startled at his sudden awakening. "What the heck?" he said, then noticing the orange fox seated on his bosom. Tails jumped out almost immediately, quite embarrassed at what had just happened.
"I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't see you," Tails stated nervously.
Sonic looked at Tails for a second, and then smiled. "Heh, who would've thought we'd meet up again so soon?" Sonic jumped from the cockpit onto the ground.
"I just... I was just looking at your plane, that's all. It's actually quite a piece of work. Did you work on it yourself?"
Sonic seemed a little surprised at Tails inquiry. "Well, uh, no. Actually a friend gave this to me before I left on vacation."
"Really? Wow, he must be a pretty good mechanic then. Boy, I haven't seen a plane like this since I went to the city a month ago. And none of them were nearly as sleek as this one. What I wouldn't do to work on this thing."
"Umm..." Sonic was a bit confused. "Honestly, I can barely fly the thing, much less 'work' on it. And what city are you talking about?"
"Oh, that's right; you're not from around here." Tails pointed to the North. "Over in that direction is Metropolis. It isn't nearly as big as this place, but it's still quite a site. I like to visit there every so often to look at some of the new planes and stuff they got. West Island's pretty big. We have everything from forests to mountains to caves to--"
"You... you're a mechanic?" Sonic interrupted. He could hardly believe that someone so young could really be able to fix things.
Tails blushed. "Actually, you could say I'm an engineer."
Sonic shook his head in disbelief, and then smirked. "My goodness. First you can fly and now you tell me you're an engineer? What else could you be hiding?"
Tails thought for a moment. "Well, I do have this." Tails took out the blue gemstone, hoping to impress Sonic even more. What he got instead was a reaction he didn't expect.
"What the... where the heck did you find that?" Sonic said nervously.
Tails was confused the hedgehog's reaction. "Um, I found it in the water over there," he said, pointing to the large waterfall.
Sonic looked towards the lake, and then back to the gemstone. He gazed at it for some time. That... it couldn't be... I could've sworn they were destroyed. Maybe it's--
Suddenly, Sonic heard a rumbling noise coming from a nearby group of trees. Sonic and Tails jerked their heads, trying to see what had caused the noise. As if out of nowhere, a large vehicle appeared from the trees, leaving a trail of brush and broken limbs behind it. The vehicle was mostly silver with red highlights, but its most notable feature was the large drill mounted on the front. It was flanked by a group of four floating robots, each with a yellow glowing eye in the middle of its frontal area. Sonic tightened up as he saw who the driver of the vehicle was.
It was none other than Dr. Eggman
So Eggman's come back for more, huh, thought Sonic as he stared at his old foe.
Eggman looked at Sonic menacingly. "So," he began, "we meet again hedgehog. I never thought I'd see you again, especially here of all places."
"So Eggman," Sonic said, "I see you haven't change at all. Still as chubby as ever, huh?"
"Maybe so, but looks aren't everything you know." Eggman signaled his robots, which then went in front of the vehicle. They stood there until another robot of the same kind appeared, carrying with its arms another inactive robot resembling a large hornet. "I see your friend there is a bit confused."
Tails, who had been confused since Eggman's arrival, whispered to Sonic. "You know this guy?"
Sonic looked at Tails in the corner of his eye, still focused on Eggman. "His name is Dr. Eggman. He's some sort of mad scientist bent on world domination. No problem though, I owned his butt last time we battled at South Island."
Tails looked at the hornet-like robot intently. "What's with that hornet thing? It doesn't seem to work at all."
Sonic cringed slightly at the question. "Just take a look kid. You'll see what kind of madman this guy is."
"Heh heh, he'll get to see alright." With that Eggman pressed a button on his console, which caused the yellow-eyed robot to reach into its inside compartment and pull out an unconscious red bird.
"A bird?" Tails exclaimed, "What could he do with that?"
The robot took the bird and placed it inside a compartment in the hornet robot. Suddenly, the lifeless robot started to whir, and gradually hovered up into the air, now fully active. It looked around its surroundings and focused directly on Sonic.
Tails was horrified, and almost fell down at the site. "That's... that's horrible," he said, still in shock, "How in the world could you do something like that to a poor defenseless animal?" Tails clenched his teeth and looked at Eggman intently.
Eggman laughed. "A little touchy, aren't we. Don't worry, the bird is alive. He'd have to be if he's going to power my robots effectively."
"That's it!" Tails exclaimed as he began to run towards Eggman. His trip was cut short when Sonic took hold of his Tails. "Let go of me Sonic. I'm going to teach that guy a lesson."
"No, Tails!" Sonic said, grasping his tails tightly to prevent him from going further. "Trust me; you'd better let me take care of this."
"But Sonic..."
"Eggman is dangerous. He may not show it, but he can be very tough to beat if you don't know what you're doing. Besides, if I know him, he's here for only one reason." Sonic looked at the gemstone in Tails' hand.
"You are perceptive, hedgehog," Eggman acknowledged. "I'm sure you'll be saddened to hear that I already have a head start." As he said this, Eggman raised his hand into the air, revealing a green gemstone, which was exactly the same size and shape as the blue gemstone Tails had in his hand. "If you're smart, you'll give me the other gem right now."
So it's true. I never thought I'd see those Chaos Emeralds again. "Humph, don't be stupid," Sonic said confidently, "I beat you once, I'll beat you again. What makes this time any different from the last."
Eggman chuckled. "You'll soon see, hedgehog, that things are quite different this time around." Eggman pressed another button on his console, and then stared into the distance behind Sonic.
Hmm... Sonic turned around and saw that Eggman was staring at. A large swarm of hornet-like robots flew towards Sonic, completely surrounding him and Tails.
"You see, Sonic, I underestimated you last time. I realized that if I'm going to beat you, I'm going to have to give you everything I've got. As you can see, I've increased the number of robots at my disposal. I now have enough robots to completely swamp you, even with your high speed. Now, I'll tell you again. Give me the other Chaos Emerald."
Sonic looked around at the hornets for a minute. He looked at Tails and noticed the shivering of his body when Tails clutched him tightly. I hope he'll be all right... Sonic focused his gaze on Eggman and smirked. "Bring it on, Eggman!"
Tails seemed perplexed. "Sonic, what're you doing?" he asked nervously.
Sonic looked at Tails again, still smirking. "Don't worry about. I've seen worse from Eggman," Sonic replied. He's young and very nervous. Still, I don't know if I'll be able to beat Eggman by myself this time...
Eggman laughed again at the hedgehog's taunt. "You're still quite confident? Perhaps you'll need to get a little more down-to-earth. I assure you, I--" Eggman was interrupted by a beeping sound coming from a device in his Drill Tank. He paused for a moment and looked at it intently. Darn... why does he-- "There's been a slight change of plans," Eggman yelled to Sonic, looking at him again, "I was planning to kill you myself but I think my hornets will be good enough for the job." Eggman pressed another button on his console, and the hornets surrounding Sonic and Tails began to hum louder and start circling them. "Go forth my hornets. Kill Sonic and his little fox friend."
"Heh, you're afraid, aren't you?" Sonic taunted, looking at Eggman now. "I expected better from you this time around."
"As amusing as I find that, hedgehog, I have no time to deal with you personally." Eggman took control of the tank, swerved around, and headed back through the forest I a quick burst of speed. The five silver robots around him followed him back, while the hornet came and joined the rest of the group circling Sonic.
He's fast...
"Sonic, look out!"
Sonic turned around quickly to see one of the large hornets speeding straight towards him. With a quick burst of speed, he circled around the hornet, jumped towards it and then curled up into a ball, blasting straight through the hornet, all in one quick motion, starling the nearby Tails.
"Wait, Sonic!" Tails exclaimed.
Sonic knew exactly what Tails was worried about. "Don't get alarmed. It's okay."
Confused, Tails looked towards the remains of the hornet to see a tiny squirrel jump out completely unharmed. It was surrounded by a greenish aura. "It... it survived... How did--" Tails was cut short as he was hurled to the ground by Sonic, who then proceeded to destroy the hornet that had been speeding towards him before he hit the ground.
"Pay attention kid!" Sonic said indignantly as he dodged and countered the hornets' attacks. "Listen, I know this is all frightening, but if you're going to survive from here on out, you're going to have to start defending yourself."
"From here on... out?"
Sonic continued the counterattack on the hornets, swerving around the field and using his speed to surprise many of them. As Tails watched on, frozen from shock, more and more animals started to appear from the wreckage, escaping the battlefield frantically. Those that had gone to safety were now watching intently, most of them from the central waterfall. The amazing spectacle before them shocked them as much as it did Tails. A hedgehog that could move so fast and attack so fiercely was definitely something that the dwellers here ha not seen before.
The attack continued, and Sonic continued to dodge and counter. Soon, there were only four hornets left in the attack, which then regrouped into a straight line, high enough to avoid Sonic. Sonic watched them intently, waiting for their next move. The hornets hovered above the ground for the next few minutes, until two of them moved forward. Sonic readied himself for an attack, but was surprised when the two rearmost hornets released from their sides a large tube, connecting it to the hornets that were directly in front. Sonic, puzzled at the sight, could only watch. What the heck? The two connected tubes started to glow for a moment. Tails tried to figure out what they were doing, but even he couldn't think of anything. Not even Sonic was sure as to what was going on.
After a minute, the tubes stopped glowing, and then retracted back into their respective hornets. The hornets up front, upon retraction of the tubes, shut down and then fell to the ground, breaking into several pieces. Confused, Sonic wondered why the hornets did all hat only to destroy half of their attack force. He looked at the wreckage or a moment, until it finally hit him. Wait a second... they didn't do what I thin they just did. If they did, then that means... Sonic looked into the air at the two remaining hornets. Tails gazed at them, puzzled as well. Tails puzzlement turned to fright, however, when he saw the two hornets release from their sides each a large cannon.
Sonic saw the transformation as well. Darn it... this doesn't look good. The two hornets fired their cannons immediately, almost catching Sonic by surprise. Sonic barely dodged the first shot, and then proceeded to move evasively. They're too high for me to attack them. Eggman's previous hornets couldn't fly this high... maybe Eggman IS serious this time. Sonic tried to look around for some sort springboard to shoot from. There was the waterfall, but it was too far away. Sonic looked at the Tornado, but shook off the thought; he wouldn't have nearly enough time to start it. I guess there's only one option then... we'll have to escape.
"Tails!" Sonic called out, "we're going to have to-- No!" Sonic looked on as one of the hornets noticed Tails, still frozen on the ground, firing its cannon at him. "TAILS!" Sonic rushed over to Tails as fast as he possibly could, and then pushed him hard out of the way. But before Sonic could move away, the hornet's shot hit him square on the arm, causing Sonic to scream out in pain.
Tails was shaken by the sudden push, and when he got back on his feet, noticed Sonic wincing in pain. "Sonic!" he screamed loudly, attracting the attention of the hornet's again. No. Now what do I do? The hornets aimed their cannons at the fox, ready to finish him. Sonic can't beat them. But that means... Tails looked at Sonic, still recovering from his injury, and remembered what he had said earlier... He's right. If I can't defend myself, I'm not going to last long against Eggman. And there's no way I'm going to let him get away with what he's done. It's time I stopped being afraid. Tails tightened his face and looked towards the hornets again. They're going down. Tails braced himself as the hornets shot their cannons, causing two blasts of energy to come straight towards Tails, which, when they hit, would ensure Tails' demise.
Next Chapter: Tails is in trouble while Sonic watches on, unable to come to his friend's aid. Yet Tails doesn't seem so afraid... Meanwhile, Eggman wanders the Emerald Hills, searching for something... how will Sonic and Tails survive their battle and what exactly caused Eggman to leave so suddenly? Find out in Chapter 2: The Controllers of Chaos
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, that was refreshing. I think the chapter is a bit cliché in some parts, and you could probably tell I was rushing to get this done... which I was :/ . Still, I think this turned out okay. I certainly wanted more to happen in this chapter, but at about 3500-3600 words, I think this is enough typing for a while (my hands hurt :P ) Anyways, remember to RR and stay tuned for next chapter, where I get to take advantage of a little something I like to called creative license...
Traces of light began to appear as the sun rose on the blissful Emerald Hills in the early morning, awakening the indigenous wildlife. The time for foraging had come. Many awoke in hopes of finding the next meal for themselves and their waiting family. One such animal was a small red bird, about the size of a large coconut. It had left home a short time ago to search for food, and was now considerably far away from where he had begun. It looked towards the ground, hoping to see some sort of movement in the tall grass. There was none. The bird continued its search, wincing at his bad fortune: it usually didn't take this long to find something.
A short time later, the bird looked towards the ground, and to his delight noticed some movement in one of the dirt patches. After swooping down to take a closer look at his potential prey, he noticed that the movement had come from a group of juicy, plump earthworms frantically trying to dig into the ground. Relieved that his search was over, the bird dipped his head and scooped up the worms into his powerful beak. Satisfied with his catch, the bird got ready to turn around and begin the journey home.
His plans were interrupted, however, when an ominous shadow overtook him.
The bird turned around slowly, attempting to get a good look at he source. It was a large beast, silver in color and possessing one eye, which glowed an eerie yellow. The earthworms that had previously been in the bird's mouth were now free, relieved that he had released his grip. The bird stood still, frightened at this new foe, until the glowing eye focused on him.
No time was wasted: Once it realized it had been noticed, the bird took to flight to escape the predator. But it was to no avail as the beast followed suit by going into the air itself. It crept closer and closer to the fleeing animal as the seconds went by.
Then the bird's flight was interrupted. Bewildered, the bird checked to see what had happened, and realized the awful truth: he had been caught. The beast tightened its grip on the bird, bringing it closer to its now open mouth, still staring at it with its glowing eye. Now fallen, the bird relaxed and closed its eyes, waiting for the horror to finally end...
In an open area of the Emerald Hills stood a large cliff, carrying on it a deluge of water that poured over the edge and into the large basin at the base of the cliff. This waterfall was the central area of the Emerald Hills, and served as the primary source of water for its inhabitants. Thus, it was no wonder many animals decided to make the cliff their home.
"That's weird," Tails said. He had left his home in the forest in order to get a drink from the lake. "I don't see a lot of people here today..." The area was almost devoid of wildlife; only a few birds and other animals were present, unusual for a time when a good amount of animals mingled and enjoyed their time here.
Tails walked up to the lake and began to drink. Well, it doesn't matter to me, thought a slightly irritated Tails as he swallowed the clean water. Tails went in for another drink when something glinted in the corner of his eye. Startled, Tails jerked his head in the direction of the bright light and went towards it. It seemed to be coming from the water.
He jumped into the lake, curious as to where this mysterious glint came from. He swam deeper until he saw the glint again. Tails looked towards the point of origin and swam towards the bottom of the lake, where he saw the light's source: a blue gemstone. Tails grabbed the gemstone and resurfaced. Now out of the water, he took a good look at the gemstone. It was very smooth, but unusually bright, as if glowing. The weirdest thing was the feeling Tails had while holding it: it was one of uneasiness, almost ominous.
What a weird gem, thought Tails, It isn't like anything I've seen before. And this feeling... something doesn't feel right. Tails put the gem away, making sure he wasn't seen by anyone, and began to walk away from the lake.
On the way, however, he noticed something else. A hint of red could be seen from behind one of the large rocks in the area, which conflicted with pretty much everything else around it. Tails was a bit more cautious this time around, as this object seemed to be a lot bigger than the tiny gem he had just collected. He approached the rock slowly, and then moved to a point where he could see behind it. A large smile appeared on Tails' face when he saw the object: a large, red biplane.
How in the world did this get here? Tails began to circle the biplane, noticing the subtle details. Hmm... the paint seems a bit faded, but the plane itself is really cool. Let's see... wings are in good order... propeller seems to spin nicely... this thing is completely intact. Ecstatic, the young fox decided to go into the cockpit. Slowly, he climbed up and gradually reached his hand into the seat of the cockpit. It seemed to be a bit high for a cockpit this size... the chair was king of furry as well. Obviously, this hasn't been cleaned very well. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers. In one quick motion, Tails jumped into cockpit... and onto a sleeping blue hedgehog.
Sonic woke up almost immediately, quite startled at his sudden awakening. "What the heck?" he said, then noticing the orange fox seated on his bosom. Tails jumped out almost immediately, quite embarrassed at what had just happened.
"I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't see you," Tails stated nervously.
Sonic looked at Tails for a second, and then smiled. "Heh, who would've thought we'd meet up again so soon?" Sonic jumped from the cockpit onto the ground.
"I just... I was just looking at your plane, that's all. It's actually quite a piece of work. Did you work on it yourself?"
Sonic seemed a little surprised at Tails inquiry. "Well, uh, no. Actually a friend gave this to me before I left on vacation."
"Really? Wow, he must be a pretty good mechanic then. Boy, I haven't seen a plane like this since I went to the city a month ago. And none of them were nearly as sleek as this one. What I wouldn't do to work on this thing."
"Umm..." Sonic was a bit confused. "Honestly, I can barely fly the thing, much less 'work' on it. And what city are you talking about?"
"Oh, that's right; you're not from around here." Tails pointed to the North. "Over in that direction is Metropolis. It isn't nearly as big as this place, but it's still quite a site. I like to visit there every so often to look at some of the new planes and stuff they got. West Island's pretty big. We have everything from forests to mountains to caves to--"
"You... you're a mechanic?" Sonic interrupted. He could hardly believe that someone so young could really be able to fix things.
Tails blushed. "Actually, you could say I'm an engineer."
Sonic shook his head in disbelief, and then smirked. "My goodness. First you can fly and now you tell me you're an engineer? What else could you be hiding?"
Tails thought for a moment. "Well, I do have this." Tails took out the blue gemstone, hoping to impress Sonic even more. What he got instead was a reaction he didn't expect.
"What the... where the heck did you find that?" Sonic said nervously.
Tails was confused the hedgehog's reaction. "Um, I found it in the water over there," he said, pointing to the large waterfall.
Sonic looked towards the lake, and then back to the gemstone. He gazed at it for some time. That... it couldn't be... I could've sworn they were destroyed. Maybe it's--
Suddenly, Sonic heard a rumbling noise coming from a nearby group of trees. Sonic and Tails jerked their heads, trying to see what had caused the noise. As if out of nowhere, a large vehicle appeared from the trees, leaving a trail of brush and broken limbs behind it. The vehicle was mostly silver with red highlights, but its most notable feature was the large drill mounted on the front. It was flanked by a group of four floating robots, each with a yellow glowing eye in the middle of its frontal area. Sonic tightened up as he saw who the driver of the vehicle was.
It was none other than Dr. Eggman
So Eggman's come back for more, huh, thought Sonic as he stared at his old foe.
Eggman looked at Sonic menacingly. "So," he began, "we meet again hedgehog. I never thought I'd see you again, especially here of all places."
"So Eggman," Sonic said, "I see you haven't change at all. Still as chubby as ever, huh?"
"Maybe so, but looks aren't everything you know." Eggman signaled his robots, which then went in front of the vehicle. They stood there until another robot of the same kind appeared, carrying with its arms another inactive robot resembling a large hornet. "I see your friend there is a bit confused."
Tails, who had been confused since Eggman's arrival, whispered to Sonic. "You know this guy?"
Sonic looked at Tails in the corner of his eye, still focused on Eggman. "His name is Dr. Eggman. He's some sort of mad scientist bent on world domination. No problem though, I owned his butt last time we battled at South Island."
Tails looked at the hornet-like robot intently. "What's with that hornet thing? It doesn't seem to work at all."
Sonic cringed slightly at the question. "Just take a look kid. You'll see what kind of madman this guy is."
"Heh heh, he'll get to see alright." With that Eggman pressed a button on his console, which caused the yellow-eyed robot to reach into its inside compartment and pull out an unconscious red bird.
"A bird?" Tails exclaimed, "What could he do with that?"
The robot took the bird and placed it inside a compartment in the hornet robot. Suddenly, the lifeless robot started to whir, and gradually hovered up into the air, now fully active. It looked around its surroundings and focused directly on Sonic.
Tails was horrified, and almost fell down at the site. "That's... that's horrible," he said, still in shock, "How in the world could you do something like that to a poor defenseless animal?" Tails clenched his teeth and looked at Eggman intently.
Eggman laughed. "A little touchy, aren't we. Don't worry, the bird is alive. He'd have to be if he's going to power my robots effectively."
"That's it!" Tails exclaimed as he began to run towards Eggman. His trip was cut short when Sonic took hold of his Tails. "Let go of me Sonic. I'm going to teach that guy a lesson."
"No, Tails!" Sonic said, grasping his tails tightly to prevent him from going further. "Trust me; you'd better let me take care of this."
"But Sonic..."
"Eggman is dangerous. He may not show it, but he can be very tough to beat if you don't know what you're doing. Besides, if I know him, he's here for only one reason." Sonic looked at the gemstone in Tails' hand.
"You are perceptive, hedgehog," Eggman acknowledged. "I'm sure you'll be saddened to hear that I already have a head start." As he said this, Eggman raised his hand into the air, revealing a green gemstone, which was exactly the same size and shape as the blue gemstone Tails had in his hand. "If you're smart, you'll give me the other gem right now."
So it's true. I never thought I'd see those Chaos Emeralds again. "Humph, don't be stupid," Sonic said confidently, "I beat you once, I'll beat you again. What makes this time any different from the last."
Eggman chuckled. "You'll soon see, hedgehog, that things are quite different this time around." Eggman pressed another button on his console, and then stared into the distance behind Sonic.
Hmm... Sonic turned around and saw that Eggman was staring at. A large swarm of hornet-like robots flew towards Sonic, completely surrounding him and Tails.
"You see, Sonic, I underestimated you last time. I realized that if I'm going to beat you, I'm going to have to give you everything I've got. As you can see, I've increased the number of robots at my disposal. I now have enough robots to completely swamp you, even with your high speed. Now, I'll tell you again. Give me the other Chaos Emerald."
Sonic looked around at the hornets for a minute. He looked at Tails and noticed the shivering of his body when Tails clutched him tightly. I hope he'll be all right... Sonic focused his gaze on Eggman and smirked. "Bring it on, Eggman!"
Tails seemed perplexed. "Sonic, what're you doing?" he asked nervously.
Sonic looked at Tails again, still smirking. "Don't worry about. I've seen worse from Eggman," Sonic replied. He's young and very nervous. Still, I don't know if I'll be able to beat Eggman by myself this time...
Eggman laughed again at the hedgehog's taunt. "You're still quite confident? Perhaps you'll need to get a little more down-to-earth. I assure you, I--" Eggman was interrupted by a beeping sound coming from a device in his Drill Tank. He paused for a moment and looked at it intently. Darn... why does he-- "There's been a slight change of plans," Eggman yelled to Sonic, looking at him again, "I was planning to kill you myself but I think my hornets will be good enough for the job." Eggman pressed another button on his console, and the hornets surrounding Sonic and Tails began to hum louder and start circling them. "Go forth my hornets. Kill Sonic and his little fox friend."
"Heh, you're afraid, aren't you?" Sonic taunted, looking at Eggman now. "I expected better from you this time around."
"As amusing as I find that, hedgehog, I have no time to deal with you personally." Eggman took control of the tank, swerved around, and headed back through the forest I a quick burst of speed. The five silver robots around him followed him back, while the hornet came and joined the rest of the group circling Sonic.
He's fast...
"Sonic, look out!"
Sonic turned around quickly to see one of the large hornets speeding straight towards him. With a quick burst of speed, he circled around the hornet, jumped towards it and then curled up into a ball, blasting straight through the hornet, all in one quick motion, starling the nearby Tails.
"Wait, Sonic!" Tails exclaimed.
Sonic knew exactly what Tails was worried about. "Don't get alarmed. It's okay."
Confused, Tails looked towards the remains of the hornet to see a tiny squirrel jump out completely unharmed. It was surrounded by a greenish aura. "It... it survived... How did--" Tails was cut short as he was hurled to the ground by Sonic, who then proceeded to destroy the hornet that had been speeding towards him before he hit the ground.
"Pay attention kid!" Sonic said indignantly as he dodged and countered the hornets' attacks. "Listen, I know this is all frightening, but if you're going to survive from here on out, you're going to have to start defending yourself."
"From here on... out?"
Sonic continued the counterattack on the hornets, swerving around the field and using his speed to surprise many of them. As Tails watched on, frozen from shock, more and more animals started to appear from the wreckage, escaping the battlefield frantically. Those that had gone to safety were now watching intently, most of them from the central waterfall. The amazing spectacle before them shocked them as much as it did Tails. A hedgehog that could move so fast and attack so fiercely was definitely something that the dwellers here ha not seen before.
The attack continued, and Sonic continued to dodge and counter. Soon, there were only four hornets left in the attack, which then regrouped into a straight line, high enough to avoid Sonic. Sonic watched them intently, waiting for their next move. The hornets hovered above the ground for the next few minutes, until two of them moved forward. Sonic readied himself for an attack, but was surprised when the two rearmost hornets released from their sides a large tube, connecting it to the hornets that were directly in front. Sonic, puzzled at the sight, could only watch. What the heck? The two connected tubes started to glow for a moment. Tails tried to figure out what they were doing, but even he couldn't think of anything. Not even Sonic was sure as to what was going on.
After a minute, the tubes stopped glowing, and then retracted back into their respective hornets. The hornets up front, upon retraction of the tubes, shut down and then fell to the ground, breaking into several pieces. Confused, Sonic wondered why the hornets did all hat only to destroy half of their attack force. He looked at the wreckage or a moment, until it finally hit him. Wait a second... they didn't do what I thin they just did. If they did, then that means... Sonic looked into the air at the two remaining hornets. Tails gazed at them, puzzled as well. Tails puzzlement turned to fright, however, when he saw the two hornets release from their sides each a large cannon.
Sonic saw the transformation as well. Darn it... this doesn't look good. The two hornets fired their cannons immediately, almost catching Sonic by surprise. Sonic barely dodged the first shot, and then proceeded to move evasively. They're too high for me to attack them. Eggman's previous hornets couldn't fly this high... maybe Eggman IS serious this time. Sonic tried to look around for some sort springboard to shoot from. There was the waterfall, but it was too far away. Sonic looked at the Tornado, but shook off the thought; he wouldn't have nearly enough time to start it. I guess there's only one option then... we'll have to escape.
"Tails!" Sonic called out, "we're going to have to-- No!" Sonic looked on as one of the hornets noticed Tails, still frozen on the ground, firing its cannon at him. "TAILS!" Sonic rushed over to Tails as fast as he possibly could, and then pushed him hard out of the way. But before Sonic could move away, the hornet's shot hit him square on the arm, causing Sonic to scream out in pain.
Tails was shaken by the sudden push, and when he got back on his feet, noticed Sonic wincing in pain. "Sonic!" he screamed loudly, attracting the attention of the hornet's again. No. Now what do I do? The hornets aimed their cannons at the fox, ready to finish him. Sonic can't beat them. But that means... Tails looked at Sonic, still recovering from his injury, and remembered what he had said earlier... He's right. If I can't defend myself, I'm not going to last long against Eggman. And there's no way I'm going to let him get away with what he's done. It's time I stopped being afraid. Tails tightened his face and looked towards the hornets again. They're going down. Tails braced himself as the hornets shot their cannons, causing two blasts of energy to come straight towards Tails, which, when they hit, would ensure Tails' demise.
Next Chapter: Tails is in trouble while Sonic watches on, unable to come to his friend's aid. Yet Tails doesn't seem so afraid... Meanwhile, Eggman wanders the Emerald Hills, searching for something... how will Sonic and Tails survive their battle and what exactly caused Eggman to leave so suddenly? Find out in Chapter 2: The Controllers of Chaos
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, that was refreshing. I think the chapter is a bit cliché in some parts, and you could probably tell I was rushing to get this done... which I was :/ . Still, I think this turned out okay. I certainly wanted more to happen in this chapter, but at about 3500-3600 words, I think this is enough typing for a while (my hands hurt :P ) Anyways, remember to RR and stay tuned for next chapter, where I get to take advantage of a little something I like to called creative license...