Tails grunted as he tried to fit his oxygen suit over his twin tails,
trying to cram them into the suit with his free hand, and with that same
motion letting the suit slip back down to his feet. Looking over towards
Sonic he saw that the hedgehog was having the same problem. Obviously Red
was taking a little revenge for the time when Sonic (under the control of
his alter ego, Super Sonic) had tried to kill the lion in the Oil Ocean
Zone. Still Tails reasoned, as the suit snapped back on his ankles, it
could be worse. He could have punched holes in the oxygen tanks. Or
something like that. This was probably a very restrained reaction, given
the circumstances.
The squeak of rubber announced the arrival of Sonic; arms splayed wide of his body by the constraints of the suit. Tails thanked his luck that he didn't have such unwieldy spines. Then his Tails slipped back out of the suit again and he forgot that thought.
"You know Tails," said Sonic in a strained voice. "I think these suits are a bit too small."
"No. You don't say," grunted Tails. At least, that's what he would have said if the air of stress inside the hold was not so palpable that you could have cut it with a knife. Instead he grunted in agreement.
Forcing a smile, Sonic waddled off to check on the others, as Tails' tails slipped out yet again, like earthworms from a can of bait. Or something.
Far below, on the ocean floor, something stirred.
Porker laughed as he watched his team-mates waddle around in the unwieldy diving suits that Red had supplied with the ship. Sonic's was in danger to ripping due to his spikes, Tails' was just too small for two tails, and Knuckles. Was not having any trouble at all. Neither was Amy. Neither of those two had any features that caused problems as Amy had combed her quills down since the Chaos incident. Behind them stood the sub that was going to transport them to the depths. At first sight it looked like a faceless shark, its sleek, streamlined form perfect for the task. From here it looked small, but Porker knew that that was only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Connected to the body of the sub were five escape pods, small submarines that could be detached from the main sub at will. Shaped like flu capsules, they contained enough emergency supplies to live comfortably for weeks. And, of course, each escape sub was heavily armoured, as was the main sub. Below the fragile outer hull lay a layer of pure Metagel, the strongest metal on Mobius. Porker had only heard about an incident where an object made of Metagel had been destroyed, and that was when the object had the collective life-forces of Mobius and Earth flowing through its form. The main sub was also armed with several heavy torpedoes that could rip a ship this size in half, and vaporise smaller ships. Red certainly hadn't skimped on the transport that's for sure. He knew how important this mission was.
As Sonic waddled into a pile of several crates Porker decided that he'd had enough fun. Holding aloft his package he ran down the stairs.
"Guys! Come over here, I have something to show you!" Immediately Sonic and Tails began waddling towards him and Porker saw another of Red's humorous touches. The suits were painted black and white, like penguins. Tux would have enjoyed seeing that, if he still fought for the Freedom Fighters. After the Death Egg incident Tux had left the group's network of informants to care for his family on the Floating Island. Holding out a hand to stop Sonic from falling over, Porker propped the hedgehog against the stair-rail. Holding out the package he undid the straps. Five diving suits folded out, each a different shape. On the left breast of each suit was the suit's wearer's symbol during the Freedom Fighter days. Fitted to each suit was a large airtank, with a curling plastic tube connecting the packs to the wearer's mouthpiece.
"I thought Red's suits looked a bit suspect, so I had these made during the journey." Porker said. A loud ripping sound followed as Sonic's old diving suit disintegrated. Grabbing his suit, Sonic ran to the changing rooms to put it on, followed by Tails, Knuckles and finally Amy. Sighing, Porker grabbing the last one and ran after them.
Far below, on the ocean floor, something moved.
Sonic finally emerged from the changing rooms, clad in the suit. More flexible rubber had been fitted at the back to allow space for his spikes. Hearing the creak of door hinges, he turned to the right just as Tails emerged, followed by Knuckles, Amy and then finally Porker. Each suit moulded to the wearer's body perfectly, giving the impression that their skin had been replaced with rubber. Tails' twin tails seemed to be the biggest testament to Porker's skill with these suits, as they moved easily despite the rubber that encased them. Porker had engineered Amy's suit differently to the others', for obvious reasons.
"Well guys, we have no time to waste," said Porker. "Knuckles and Tails. You two come with me to get the Emeralds loaded." He then turned to Sonic and Amy. "Sonic, Amy. You two get the sub ready to leave. Make sure the fuel tanks are filled and so on." Sonic scowled a Porker. He hated boring labour like this. But he knew how important this was. As the three ran to the upper decks, Amy smiled at Sonic.
"Well, looks like it's just you and."
"Not now Amy," muttered the blue hedgehog, wandering over to the sleek submersible.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," replied Amy. Sonic sighed. Amy had grown out of mindless flirting now. She'd matured past that stage long ago. Ever since Super Sonic had been separated from him, she had grown more independent. After all, she had had masterminded the plan to trap Super Sonic in the Special Zone, and had had to fight Robotnik alone after Sonic had become trapped in that Zone as well.
Standing in front of the sub, Amy opened a small compartment in her backpack. Taking out a small laptop she laid it on the floor and began connecting leads to the Sub. Kneeling, she began to check the readings from the sub. Sonic recognised that laptop as well. It was the same one used to store the Kintobor Computer after Robotnik had driven them out of their old base. Sonic could still see the slot on the back where the Mobius Ring that Kintobor had been stored on had connected to the laptop.
Sighing Sonic mounted climbed into the sub for his share of the chores.
Far below, the ocean floor shifted. Clouds of dust obscured the thin light of the Sun as a solitary tentacle began to rise towards the ship high above.
Porker let the goggles snap to over his face, the tinted lenses making the world look like an old black-and-white film. Knuckles and Tails were reluctantly donning theirs, but they knew why. The Emeralds had been away from the Special Zone and the Emerald Chamber for so long that they had become radioactive. The light they emitted now was blinding, and even when they were stored in the sealed Emerald boxes the light still shone through. The only thing holding the Chaos Emeralds in check at the moment was the freezing temperature of the boxes.
Donning his radioactivity suit Porker walked up to the box containing the Blue, Red and Grey Emeralds. Tails took the box containing the Purple, Orange and Yellow Emeralds. Knuckles had insisted on being the one to take the Master Emerald's box down to the sub, so he took that box. Together the three lugged the boxes across the water-slick deck, being careful not to slip. The slightest mistake at this stage could be catastrophic. Descending the stairs, the three walked towards the sub, just as Sonic and Amy were leaving. Stumbling over to the side of the ship, Porker flipped open a small panel in the hull and pulled the lever inside. Immediately the storage hatch swung open, kicking Sonic across the hold. Porker laughed as the hedgehog dusted himself off and entered the hold. Inside, he secured the Emerald boxes then turned to where the others were at the end of the hold.
"Guys! I'm going to check that the sub's working!" he shouted, before slammed the storage hatch shut and leaping into the control room of the sub.
As the tentacle wound through the dark, grimy water towards the belly of the boat, two more joined it. Then, slowly they were joined by yet more. And more. And more.
"So guys, ready for this?" said Knuckles. Sonic nodded and put one hand above his head to pull Tails down from the air above. Setting the fox down beside him, he walked over to the wall of the hold and lay against it.
"Tell me when Porker's done, 'k?" he mumbled, closing his eyes. Amy sighed and looked towards their transport. It was drifting silently up and down, up and down. Amy blinked and shook her head. It was like watching a lava lamp. Sighing she sat down too and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Almost as soon as Amy drifted off she was awoken by Tails shaking her. Leaping up she had her crossbow ready in an instant, causing Tails to leap to the floor in surprise. Realising that there was no threat she put the crossbow back in its sheath.
"Tails, why did you wake me?" she asked blearily.
"Porker's finished."
Blinking, Amy saw that Tails was right. Porker was waving at them, and seemed to be holding a huge loudspeaker.
The words "I'M READY!" blared through the hall and Amy realised the he was holding a huge loudspeaker. Shaking Sonic awake she pulled her self up and began towards the sub. On the edge of her hearing she could hear the creak of metal. She paid it no heed. Probably just the sea.
Suddenly, the hull bulged inwards. Amy instinctively leapt back as the hull gave way with a shriek of tearing metal. Water poured from the gash, obscuring Porker and the sub behind the torrent. Sonic started wading forwards, but was pulled forcefully back by Knuckles. As Sonic turned to protest, Knuckles pointed towards the gash as its maker revealed itself.
Emerging from the torrent was a huge segmented tentacle. Its yellow underbelly offset its purple top and thin, cruel-looking steel spikes protruded from the line where the colours met at regular intervals, like the blades of a chainsaw. At its tip a huge bronze spike protruded from the metallic limb, spinning slowly in contrast with the quick, rodent-like movements of the tentacle. Something in its appearance tickled Knuckles' memory, but the shook it off. This was no time for reminiscing. As he watched the tentacle reared up and lunged across the cavernous hold, striking the opposite wall and burrowing through, projecting a new torrent into the rapidly flooding hold. He heard a creak behind him and turned to see another tentacle leap across the hold from a huge gash in the titanium hull, striking the opposite wall and bouncing off it. Settling on the floor it curled round and lifted its 'head' up to look at the tiny shapes far below it, like a snake poised before the kill. Acting fast, Amy whipped out her crossbow, slipping in a full dart clip in the same movement. Aiming quickly she held the small trigger on the weapon, bringing forth a torrent of bolts that impacted on the creature, embedding themselves in its shiny metal skin. Shaking itself, the tentacle turned sideways on to its attackers. As Amy watched, the very same bolts slid out of slots in the cruel looking spikes that lined the creature's sides. The Freedom Fighters barely had time to duck before a hail of bolts peppered the air where their heads had been moments before.
As Sonic leapt up he began to run towards the creature, picking up speed as his legs whirled round. Suddenly the hull bulged under him. He threw himself backwards as a third tentacle smashed through the floor sending a great plume of water into the air, like a crude fountain. He turned as the creaks sounded again behind him, and watched as the first tentacle punched yet another hole in the hull. By now the water was up to his waist and Sonic reluctantly rushed towards the ladder leading out of the hold, shouting at the others and trying to make himself heard as yet more smashes announced the arrival of more tentacles. The others didn't hesitate, hurling themselves at the ladder and rushing up it as the hull filled with brine.
Emerging into the fading light, Sonic placed one hand over his eyes to shield them from the glare of the evening sun. Stumbling out onto the deck, soaking wet, the group took their hands from their eyes and gasped.
Five huge tentacles were wrapped around the titanic ship, these ones dwarfing the ones they had just escaped from. As it to offer a contrast the five tentacles currently occupying the hold smashed through the deck in front of one of the tentacles and curled up on the wooden planks, imitating the snake-like pose of their partner. Waving in the wind like blades of grass they seemed to be trying to decide whether to kill them now, or later. Suddenly, all five of the smaller tentacles lunged for the bridge, smashing through the bullet-proof glass easily and completely annihilating the controls.
"So much for getting this thing back to Red in one piece," mumbled Sonic as the tentacles leapt from the stricken bridge and span through the air, heading towards the stern of the ship. Suddenly Sonic remembered what was at the stern and grabbed Tails, throwing him over the side. "Everyone! Jump!" he shouted, before leaping over the side after Tails. Impacting on the choppy waters he heard two further splashes behind him. Looking around he spied Tails off in the distance, swimming as fast as his body would allow. Setting off after him, Sonic kept his head down. He knew what was coming. Stopping at a safe distance he turned back towards the ship.
The five tentacles arced through the air, spinning gracefully in the orange sky. For a moment they seemed to hang in the air, like huge Mobian rings Sonic reflected. Then, with excruciating slowness they fell straight into the engines at the rear of the ship.
The effect was immediate. The air itself seemed to flash as the stern came apart, slowly. Another flash of light, concentrated on the impact point now blossomed, gradually expanding outwards tearing up the shop as it went. The craft reared up as water poured into the gash, its bow sticking straight up into the sunset, and slowly began to sink. Then, a huge cloud of flame shot out of the middle of the stricken craft and the rest of the ship disintegrated in a haze of light. Sonic blinked, and then the shockwave hit him, catapulting him through the air. Huge waves rolled out from the fiery pillar that engulfed the vessel, tossing the four this way and that. Sonic struggled to keep his head above the waves. He'd had swimming lessons after the Chaos incident, but he still wasn't confident in the water, even at the best of times. And this certainly wasn't the 'best of times'. Buffeted by the waves, he fell into a kind of thoughtless trance. He didn't think, he merely tried his best to stay alive.
Finally the waves calmed down. When Sonic opened his eyes he found that the remaining members of the group where clustered around him, panting and soaked. There was no sign of Porker. Gritting his teeth Sonic cursed himself. Another of his friends had died because of him. This was just like Johnny's death.
"Well, well, well. What d'we 'ave here? Four drowned rats!" Sonic spun round to face the owner of the voice and gasped. Towering above, the ten tentacles formed a ring around a larger object in the centre.
"You!" shouted Knuckles, surprised. Puzzled, Sonic peered into the space between the tentacles. The object in there was circular. The shadows suggested a round see-through canopy; perhaps made of glass, and ten indents below. Five large, and five smaller. The size to fit the tentacles.
"Arr. From the look on yer face Sonic, it appears to me that ya can't see me. Well, let old Claw rectify that mistake for ya," the voice blared again. Gravely, it was the stereotypical seaman's voice you expected to hear in cheesy pirate movies. Suddenly, a bright glare appeared, bathing the area in a blinding glow. Sonic threw his hands up to his face and the voice laughed. "To bright for ye Sonic? Well, I do be sorry. Perhaps I should be turnin' it down." The lights dimmed and Sonic took the hand away from his eyes. Now he could see the foe clearly. Although from the noises Knuckles was making, it was clear he had already guessed.
Now Sonic could see the ship, an almost perfectly spherical vessel, the shape only broken by a small indent down where he had seen the indents before. He had been right; there were ten indents. One for each tentacle he guessed. The area around the indents was plain metal. Obviously the craft's owner had not bothered to paint that area, seeing as the roving machines that would attach to it would obscure any ornate paintwork. The bottom half of the vessel was painted a bold yellow and was segmented like the 'stomachs' of the worms. The upper half was a deep violet only broken by a glass canopy, which Sonic guessed protected the thing's bridge. The canopy was shaped so it would not break the shape of the vessel and was held in place by bolts of gold. Within the canopy, nothing could be seen. Except for one thing that is. The vessel's owner.
Sonic blinked. Standing at the controls of the vessel was a huge crab; a tricorner hat perched precariously upon its shell. Two huge laws pointed down at them, and the thing's mouthparts moved as if laughing.
"I do be sorry," shouted the crab, through what Sonic could now see was a near invisible speaker system, integrated into the ship's hull. "I haven't introduced meself. The name's Captain Claw. I rule the sea's south of Oil Ocean. They call me the 'Fisherman', they do. And it seems t' me, that I've caught meself an old enemy. How'd ya be Knuckles?" Sonic span round in the water to face Knuckles.
"Do you know this guy?" he shouted, gesturing towards the vessel's occupant. Knuckles gritted his teeth before replying.
"Yes," he growled. "I met him on the way back to the Floating Island shortly before Robotnik's defeat. I had just left the hometown of your old 'friend' Captain Plunder, carrying the chest of documents that I'm sure you're familiar with. I was in a mere rowing boat at the time, and I was aiming to land at the site of the western Mobian colonies. I met Claw's pets at the Six-Pronged Spires and they destroyed my boat, very nearly drowning me. Rescuing the chest I climbed onto the base of one of the spires with it. It was then that Claw revealed himself with his old ship. Attaching his tendrils to his craft he chased me around the spires, destroying them as he went. It was by luck that one landed on his craft and disabled it. Taking him prisoner I forced him to row us the rest of the way. Upon landing I turned him over to the Mobian authorities." Claw had obviously been listening in. His next comment was directed at the echidna.
"Yes, I do remember that day. I haven't forgotten the indignity ya caused me. So I built this new craft. You've seen what my new 'pets' can do. And this time, there's no Spires to save you. You're out of luck my friend." Knuckles snarled at this and shook his fist at the craft.
"Claw! You lost me the Emeralds, the chest, and killed my friend! I swear you shall not come away from this alive!"
Claw chuckled to himself and thumbed a few buttons on his keypad. The tentacle whipped their heads up in unison, and turned to face the four sodden travellers.
"You're wrong about one thing there Knuckles. I will leave it up to you to find out what." He pulled up a separate microphone from his control panel and whispered one word.
"Kill."
The tentacles reared, and a low growl began to emanate from their forms. Then, they struck.
The first Amy knew of it was when she felt herself lift from the choppy waters. She couldn't feel what was lifting her. It was as if she was floating in the air. Then, time returned to its normal pace as she hit the water twenty metres away. Pain flooded through her, and one of her arms flopped lifelessly at her side. Bobbing up and down in the water she could dimly see the unfolding combat.
"Damn you!" Knuckles screamed, hurling himself at the vessel's canopy. Claw smiled as he neared, and gestured towards a point five metres to the echidna's left. At once, one of the smaller tentacles smashed into him, swatting him out of the air. Tails was next, one of the huge tentacles lifting him carefully into the air. Looking down, the fox gulped at the daunting drop to the waves below. Suddenly the tendrils whipped out from under him then came back, slapping him down into the sea. Sonic leapt at the canopy, dodging in between roving tentacles and span straight at the bridge. As Sonic smashed into the vessel, a huge electric charge coursed through him. Smoking, he dropped to the waters below. The cold revived him just enough to keep his head above water level. He thanked his lucky stars for the suits they had on.
"I'm sure Knuckles remembers that, don't you mate?" laughed Caw, pointing one tentacle at the snarling echidna. "Well, I think me pets would be likin' a little more space to do what they do." As he said this, there was a hiss of escaping air, as the tentacles detached from the craft again and disappeared into the waves. A few moments later, Sonic felt something pull him down into the deeps. Struggling free of his captor he swam towards the sinking form of Tails. He could see that Tail's breathing apparatus was still connected properly. He'd be OK for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, Knuckles fought a battle of his own, three tentacles baring down on him. Swatting the first one aside he was unprepared for the other two. One struck him in the belly and winded him. The other just missed his head, snagging on the tube connected his oxygen tank to his mouth. With a sound of snapping metal the tube broke in two. Knuckles gasped for air, scrabbling uselessly at the severed ends. The first tentacle now took its revenge, smashing into his legs. Gasping for air, Knuckles saw the three tentacles drift away, their work deemed completed. Then, darkness took him and he slipped into unconsciousness.
Claw was laughing as his creations attacked the three remaining fighters. All was going according to plan. Knuckles was dead, Tails was out of it and the other two could hardly swim. This was getting better by the minute. Keying in the order to finish the job he watched as the turmoil grew, the tentacles taking wider and faster orbits around their targets.
Then, Claw was hurled into the glass canopy by two impacts on his hull. Cursing he switched on the rear cameras. Then he cursed some more. A sleek submersible was coming up fast from astern, torpedo bays flashed rhythmically. The damage to his ship was minimal, but the sub was still dangerous. Claw watched as two torpedoes streaked past his ship, atomising two of his creations in mid-swim. Snarling, Claw called off his beasts.
"Attack the intruder!" he bawled. The tentacles obliged.
Sonic bled from various wounds caused by the barbs on his attackers. Blood misted the water around him. Pushing the grisly fog away he gazed at their would-be saviour. It was impossible. It was their sub. As he tried to get to grips with this, a familiar voice carried over to him from the sub.
"Hey Sonic!" said Porker. "I thought you needed a little help, so decided to drop by!" Sonic shook himself. It was him. So, he'd survived. He'd ask why later. Suddenly, Sonic remembered Tails and span to face the point he'd seen him last.
He was gone.
"Hey Sonic!" said Tails, causing Sonic to jump. The fox was floating behind him, twin tails waving in the current.
"Don't ever scare me like that again," said Sonic levelly. "Come on. Porker will need our help."
Claw screeched as a barrage of explosives destroyed three of his huge tentacles. The mortally wounded beasts sank into the depths; clouds of oil marking their descent. Two tentacles struck the sub a crushing blow and Claw smiled. His smile disappeared as the enemy shrugged off the blow and steadied the craft, annihilating its two attackers seemingly as an afterthought. Snarling curse words, claw directed his remaining two huge tentacles towards the foe. Wrapping round the craft they began to apply pressure. Not enough apparently, as the remaining small tentacle disappeared in a cloud of smoke. But now the enemy was trapped. Claw keyed in the signal for the tentacle's electrical charges. He would fry the owner of that craft, then kill the remaining three annoyances. Before he could confirm the command however he heard a scraping on the hull above him. Looking up he found himself staring into the bloody, bruised face of Knuckles. In the echidna's hands was held a sharp spear of rock, which he now lifted above his head.
"You talk too much," muttered Knuckles, before plunging his weapon through the canopy. The spear pierced the glass, shattering it and continued on towards Claw. The spear penetrated through the top of his shell, sending fragments of shell and white flesh drifted into the deep water around. Screaming in pain, Claw slumped over the controls as Knuckles let go of the spear, leaving it stuck in Claw's flesh. Scowling, the echidna leapt from the hull of the stricken ship and swan towards the sub. Sonic and Tails were already inside, and as Knuckles watched the tentacles holding it slid off, their power source gone. Swimming inside he watched Claw's ship drift down into the depths. Then, he entered the dry area of the hip and removed the suit.
"How'd you make it Knuckles?" asked Sonic. Knuckles sighed.
"I was lucky enough to drift into a column of oxygen bubbles. They revived me and I was able to make makeshift repairs to my breathing equipment." He pointed to a length of seaweed, tied round his breathing tube to hold it together. "You know the rest."
"Well, glad you're OK buddy," said Sonic. "You too Porker!"
Porker turned his seat round and smiled. "Well, we've wasted enough time here. Let's head to the Floating Island!"
Sonic couldn't agree more.
Claw winced as he pushed himself back into a standing position. His time was short. But he had enough time to make sure he finished the job he'd set out to do. Squinting through the darkness he picked out the sub. Preparing the ship's only two torpedoes he locked on to the sub. His claw tightened around the firing trigger. Wiping a piece of seaweed from his eyes he rotated the ship to face the sub. Goodbye. He was distracted by a sudden whistling sound and looked up, just as two of Porker's stray torpedoes entered the hole in the canopy.
The explosion was deafening, throwing a huge plume of water high into the air on the surface of the ocean.
And so ended the life of Captain Claw.
The squeak of rubber announced the arrival of Sonic; arms splayed wide of his body by the constraints of the suit. Tails thanked his luck that he didn't have such unwieldy spines. Then his Tails slipped back out of the suit again and he forgot that thought.
"You know Tails," said Sonic in a strained voice. "I think these suits are a bit too small."
"No. You don't say," grunted Tails. At least, that's what he would have said if the air of stress inside the hold was not so palpable that you could have cut it with a knife. Instead he grunted in agreement.
Forcing a smile, Sonic waddled off to check on the others, as Tails' tails slipped out yet again, like earthworms from a can of bait. Or something.
Far below, on the ocean floor, something stirred.
Porker laughed as he watched his team-mates waddle around in the unwieldy diving suits that Red had supplied with the ship. Sonic's was in danger to ripping due to his spikes, Tails' was just too small for two tails, and Knuckles. Was not having any trouble at all. Neither was Amy. Neither of those two had any features that caused problems as Amy had combed her quills down since the Chaos incident. Behind them stood the sub that was going to transport them to the depths. At first sight it looked like a faceless shark, its sleek, streamlined form perfect for the task. From here it looked small, but Porker knew that that was only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Connected to the body of the sub were five escape pods, small submarines that could be detached from the main sub at will. Shaped like flu capsules, they contained enough emergency supplies to live comfortably for weeks. And, of course, each escape sub was heavily armoured, as was the main sub. Below the fragile outer hull lay a layer of pure Metagel, the strongest metal on Mobius. Porker had only heard about an incident where an object made of Metagel had been destroyed, and that was when the object had the collective life-forces of Mobius and Earth flowing through its form. The main sub was also armed with several heavy torpedoes that could rip a ship this size in half, and vaporise smaller ships. Red certainly hadn't skimped on the transport that's for sure. He knew how important this mission was.
As Sonic waddled into a pile of several crates Porker decided that he'd had enough fun. Holding aloft his package he ran down the stairs.
"Guys! Come over here, I have something to show you!" Immediately Sonic and Tails began waddling towards him and Porker saw another of Red's humorous touches. The suits were painted black and white, like penguins. Tux would have enjoyed seeing that, if he still fought for the Freedom Fighters. After the Death Egg incident Tux had left the group's network of informants to care for his family on the Floating Island. Holding out a hand to stop Sonic from falling over, Porker propped the hedgehog against the stair-rail. Holding out the package he undid the straps. Five diving suits folded out, each a different shape. On the left breast of each suit was the suit's wearer's symbol during the Freedom Fighter days. Fitted to each suit was a large airtank, with a curling plastic tube connecting the packs to the wearer's mouthpiece.
"I thought Red's suits looked a bit suspect, so I had these made during the journey." Porker said. A loud ripping sound followed as Sonic's old diving suit disintegrated. Grabbing his suit, Sonic ran to the changing rooms to put it on, followed by Tails, Knuckles and finally Amy. Sighing, Porker grabbing the last one and ran after them.
Far below, on the ocean floor, something moved.
Sonic finally emerged from the changing rooms, clad in the suit. More flexible rubber had been fitted at the back to allow space for his spikes. Hearing the creak of door hinges, he turned to the right just as Tails emerged, followed by Knuckles, Amy and then finally Porker. Each suit moulded to the wearer's body perfectly, giving the impression that their skin had been replaced with rubber. Tails' twin tails seemed to be the biggest testament to Porker's skill with these suits, as they moved easily despite the rubber that encased them. Porker had engineered Amy's suit differently to the others', for obvious reasons.
"Well guys, we have no time to waste," said Porker. "Knuckles and Tails. You two come with me to get the Emeralds loaded." He then turned to Sonic and Amy. "Sonic, Amy. You two get the sub ready to leave. Make sure the fuel tanks are filled and so on." Sonic scowled a Porker. He hated boring labour like this. But he knew how important this was. As the three ran to the upper decks, Amy smiled at Sonic.
"Well, looks like it's just you and."
"Not now Amy," muttered the blue hedgehog, wandering over to the sleek submersible.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," replied Amy. Sonic sighed. Amy had grown out of mindless flirting now. She'd matured past that stage long ago. Ever since Super Sonic had been separated from him, she had grown more independent. After all, she had had masterminded the plan to trap Super Sonic in the Special Zone, and had had to fight Robotnik alone after Sonic had become trapped in that Zone as well.
Standing in front of the sub, Amy opened a small compartment in her backpack. Taking out a small laptop she laid it on the floor and began connecting leads to the Sub. Kneeling, she began to check the readings from the sub. Sonic recognised that laptop as well. It was the same one used to store the Kintobor Computer after Robotnik had driven them out of their old base. Sonic could still see the slot on the back where the Mobius Ring that Kintobor had been stored on had connected to the laptop.
Sighing Sonic mounted climbed into the sub for his share of the chores.
Far below, the ocean floor shifted. Clouds of dust obscured the thin light of the Sun as a solitary tentacle began to rise towards the ship high above.
Porker let the goggles snap to over his face, the tinted lenses making the world look like an old black-and-white film. Knuckles and Tails were reluctantly donning theirs, but they knew why. The Emeralds had been away from the Special Zone and the Emerald Chamber for so long that they had become radioactive. The light they emitted now was blinding, and even when they were stored in the sealed Emerald boxes the light still shone through. The only thing holding the Chaos Emeralds in check at the moment was the freezing temperature of the boxes.
Donning his radioactivity suit Porker walked up to the box containing the Blue, Red and Grey Emeralds. Tails took the box containing the Purple, Orange and Yellow Emeralds. Knuckles had insisted on being the one to take the Master Emerald's box down to the sub, so he took that box. Together the three lugged the boxes across the water-slick deck, being careful not to slip. The slightest mistake at this stage could be catastrophic. Descending the stairs, the three walked towards the sub, just as Sonic and Amy were leaving. Stumbling over to the side of the ship, Porker flipped open a small panel in the hull and pulled the lever inside. Immediately the storage hatch swung open, kicking Sonic across the hold. Porker laughed as the hedgehog dusted himself off and entered the hold. Inside, he secured the Emerald boxes then turned to where the others were at the end of the hold.
"Guys! I'm going to check that the sub's working!" he shouted, before slammed the storage hatch shut and leaping into the control room of the sub.
As the tentacle wound through the dark, grimy water towards the belly of the boat, two more joined it. Then, slowly they were joined by yet more. And more. And more.
"So guys, ready for this?" said Knuckles. Sonic nodded and put one hand above his head to pull Tails down from the air above. Setting the fox down beside him, he walked over to the wall of the hold and lay against it.
"Tell me when Porker's done, 'k?" he mumbled, closing his eyes. Amy sighed and looked towards their transport. It was drifting silently up and down, up and down. Amy blinked and shook her head. It was like watching a lava lamp. Sighing she sat down too and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Almost as soon as Amy drifted off she was awoken by Tails shaking her. Leaping up she had her crossbow ready in an instant, causing Tails to leap to the floor in surprise. Realising that there was no threat she put the crossbow back in its sheath.
"Tails, why did you wake me?" she asked blearily.
"Porker's finished."
Blinking, Amy saw that Tails was right. Porker was waving at them, and seemed to be holding a huge loudspeaker.
The words "I'M READY!" blared through the hall and Amy realised the he was holding a huge loudspeaker. Shaking Sonic awake she pulled her self up and began towards the sub. On the edge of her hearing she could hear the creak of metal. She paid it no heed. Probably just the sea.
Suddenly, the hull bulged inwards. Amy instinctively leapt back as the hull gave way with a shriek of tearing metal. Water poured from the gash, obscuring Porker and the sub behind the torrent. Sonic started wading forwards, but was pulled forcefully back by Knuckles. As Sonic turned to protest, Knuckles pointed towards the gash as its maker revealed itself.
Emerging from the torrent was a huge segmented tentacle. Its yellow underbelly offset its purple top and thin, cruel-looking steel spikes protruded from the line where the colours met at regular intervals, like the blades of a chainsaw. At its tip a huge bronze spike protruded from the metallic limb, spinning slowly in contrast with the quick, rodent-like movements of the tentacle. Something in its appearance tickled Knuckles' memory, but the shook it off. This was no time for reminiscing. As he watched the tentacle reared up and lunged across the cavernous hold, striking the opposite wall and burrowing through, projecting a new torrent into the rapidly flooding hold. He heard a creak behind him and turned to see another tentacle leap across the hold from a huge gash in the titanium hull, striking the opposite wall and bouncing off it. Settling on the floor it curled round and lifted its 'head' up to look at the tiny shapes far below it, like a snake poised before the kill. Acting fast, Amy whipped out her crossbow, slipping in a full dart clip in the same movement. Aiming quickly she held the small trigger on the weapon, bringing forth a torrent of bolts that impacted on the creature, embedding themselves in its shiny metal skin. Shaking itself, the tentacle turned sideways on to its attackers. As Amy watched, the very same bolts slid out of slots in the cruel looking spikes that lined the creature's sides. The Freedom Fighters barely had time to duck before a hail of bolts peppered the air where their heads had been moments before.
As Sonic leapt up he began to run towards the creature, picking up speed as his legs whirled round. Suddenly the hull bulged under him. He threw himself backwards as a third tentacle smashed through the floor sending a great plume of water into the air, like a crude fountain. He turned as the creaks sounded again behind him, and watched as the first tentacle punched yet another hole in the hull. By now the water was up to his waist and Sonic reluctantly rushed towards the ladder leading out of the hold, shouting at the others and trying to make himself heard as yet more smashes announced the arrival of more tentacles. The others didn't hesitate, hurling themselves at the ladder and rushing up it as the hull filled with brine.
Emerging into the fading light, Sonic placed one hand over his eyes to shield them from the glare of the evening sun. Stumbling out onto the deck, soaking wet, the group took their hands from their eyes and gasped.
Five huge tentacles were wrapped around the titanic ship, these ones dwarfing the ones they had just escaped from. As it to offer a contrast the five tentacles currently occupying the hold smashed through the deck in front of one of the tentacles and curled up on the wooden planks, imitating the snake-like pose of their partner. Waving in the wind like blades of grass they seemed to be trying to decide whether to kill them now, or later. Suddenly, all five of the smaller tentacles lunged for the bridge, smashing through the bullet-proof glass easily and completely annihilating the controls.
"So much for getting this thing back to Red in one piece," mumbled Sonic as the tentacles leapt from the stricken bridge and span through the air, heading towards the stern of the ship. Suddenly Sonic remembered what was at the stern and grabbed Tails, throwing him over the side. "Everyone! Jump!" he shouted, before leaping over the side after Tails. Impacting on the choppy waters he heard two further splashes behind him. Looking around he spied Tails off in the distance, swimming as fast as his body would allow. Setting off after him, Sonic kept his head down. He knew what was coming. Stopping at a safe distance he turned back towards the ship.
The five tentacles arced through the air, spinning gracefully in the orange sky. For a moment they seemed to hang in the air, like huge Mobian rings Sonic reflected. Then, with excruciating slowness they fell straight into the engines at the rear of the ship.
The effect was immediate. The air itself seemed to flash as the stern came apart, slowly. Another flash of light, concentrated on the impact point now blossomed, gradually expanding outwards tearing up the shop as it went. The craft reared up as water poured into the gash, its bow sticking straight up into the sunset, and slowly began to sink. Then, a huge cloud of flame shot out of the middle of the stricken craft and the rest of the ship disintegrated in a haze of light. Sonic blinked, and then the shockwave hit him, catapulting him through the air. Huge waves rolled out from the fiery pillar that engulfed the vessel, tossing the four this way and that. Sonic struggled to keep his head above the waves. He'd had swimming lessons after the Chaos incident, but he still wasn't confident in the water, even at the best of times. And this certainly wasn't the 'best of times'. Buffeted by the waves, he fell into a kind of thoughtless trance. He didn't think, he merely tried his best to stay alive.
Finally the waves calmed down. When Sonic opened his eyes he found that the remaining members of the group where clustered around him, panting and soaked. There was no sign of Porker. Gritting his teeth Sonic cursed himself. Another of his friends had died because of him. This was just like Johnny's death.
"Well, well, well. What d'we 'ave here? Four drowned rats!" Sonic spun round to face the owner of the voice and gasped. Towering above, the ten tentacles formed a ring around a larger object in the centre.
"You!" shouted Knuckles, surprised. Puzzled, Sonic peered into the space between the tentacles. The object in there was circular. The shadows suggested a round see-through canopy; perhaps made of glass, and ten indents below. Five large, and five smaller. The size to fit the tentacles.
"Arr. From the look on yer face Sonic, it appears to me that ya can't see me. Well, let old Claw rectify that mistake for ya," the voice blared again. Gravely, it was the stereotypical seaman's voice you expected to hear in cheesy pirate movies. Suddenly, a bright glare appeared, bathing the area in a blinding glow. Sonic threw his hands up to his face and the voice laughed. "To bright for ye Sonic? Well, I do be sorry. Perhaps I should be turnin' it down." The lights dimmed and Sonic took the hand away from his eyes. Now he could see the foe clearly. Although from the noises Knuckles was making, it was clear he had already guessed.
Now Sonic could see the ship, an almost perfectly spherical vessel, the shape only broken by a small indent down where he had seen the indents before. He had been right; there were ten indents. One for each tentacle he guessed. The area around the indents was plain metal. Obviously the craft's owner had not bothered to paint that area, seeing as the roving machines that would attach to it would obscure any ornate paintwork. The bottom half of the vessel was painted a bold yellow and was segmented like the 'stomachs' of the worms. The upper half was a deep violet only broken by a glass canopy, which Sonic guessed protected the thing's bridge. The canopy was shaped so it would not break the shape of the vessel and was held in place by bolts of gold. Within the canopy, nothing could be seen. Except for one thing that is. The vessel's owner.
Sonic blinked. Standing at the controls of the vessel was a huge crab; a tricorner hat perched precariously upon its shell. Two huge laws pointed down at them, and the thing's mouthparts moved as if laughing.
"I do be sorry," shouted the crab, through what Sonic could now see was a near invisible speaker system, integrated into the ship's hull. "I haven't introduced meself. The name's Captain Claw. I rule the sea's south of Oil Ocean. They call me the 'Fisherman', they do. And it seems t' me, that I've caught meself an old enemy. How'd ya be Knuckles?" Sonic span round in the water to face Knuckles.
"Do you know this guy?" he shouted, gesturing towards the vessel's occupant. Knuckles gritted his teeth before replying.
"Yes," he growled. "I met him on the way back to the Floating Island shortly before Robotnik's defeat. I had just left the hometown of your old 'friend' Captain Plunder, carrying the chest of documents that I'm sure you're familiar with. I was in a mere rowing boat at the time, and I was aiming to land at the site of the western Mobian colonies. I met Claw's pets at the Six-Pronged Spires and they destroyed my boat, very nearly drowning me. Rescuing the chest I climbed onto the base of one of the spires with it. It was then that Claw revealed himself with his old ship. Attaching his tendrils to his craft he chased me around the spires, destroying them as he went. It was by luck that one landed on his craft and disabled it. Taking him prisoner I forced him to row us the rest of the way. Upon landing I turned him over to the Mobian authorities." Claw had obviously been listening in. His next comment was directed at the echidna.
"Yes, I do remember that day. I haven't forgotten the indignity ya caused me. So I built this new craft. You've seen what my new 'pets' can do. And this time, there's no Spires to save you. You're out of luck my friend." Knuckles snarled at this and shook his fist at the craft.
"Claw! You lost me the Emeralds, the chest, and killed my friend! I swear you shall not come away from this alive!"
Claw chuckled to himself and thumbed a few buttons on his keypad. The tentacle whipped their heads up in unison, and turned to face the four sodden travellers.
"You're wrong about one thing there Knuckles. I will leave it up to you to find out what." He pulled up a separate microphone from his control panel and whispered one word.
"Kill."
The tentacles reared, and a low growl began to emanate from their forms. Then, they struck.
The first Amy knew of it was when she felt herself lift from the choppy waters. She couldn't feel what was lifting her. It was as if she was floating in the air. Then, time returned to its normal pace as she hit the water twenty metres away. Pain flooded through her, and one of her arms flopped lifelessly at her side. Bobbing up and down in the water she could dimly see the unfolding combat.
"Damn you!" Knuckles screamed, hurling himself at the vessel's canopy. Claw smiled as he neared, and gestured towards a point five metres to the echidna's left. At once, one of the smaller tentacles smashed into him, swatting him out of the air. Tails was next, one of the huge tentacles lifting him carefully into the air. Looking down, the fox gulped at the daunting drop to the waves below. Suddenly the tendrils whipped out from under him then came back, slapping him down into the sea. Sonic leapt at the canopy, dodging in between roving tentacles and span straight at the bridge. As Sonic smashed into the vessel, a huge electric charge coursed through him. Smoking, he dropped to the waters below. The cold revived him just enough to keep his head above water level. He thanked his lucky stars for the suits they had on.
"I'm sure Knuckles remembers that, don't you mate?" laughed Caw, pointing one tentacle at the snarling echidna. "Well, I think me pets would be likin' a little more space to do what they do." As he said this, there was a hiss of escaping air, as the tentacles detached from the craft again and disappeared into the waves. A few moments later, Sonic felt something pull him down into the deeps. Struggling free of his captor he swam towards the sinking form of Tails. He could see that Tail's breathing apparatus was still connected properly. He'd be OK for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, Knuckles fought a battle of his own, three tentacles baring down on him. Swatting the first one aside he was unprepared for the other two. One struck him in the belly and winded him. The other just missed his head, snagging on the tube connected his oxygen tank to his mouth. With a sound of snapping metal the tube broke in two. Knuckles gasped for air, scrabbling uselessly at the severed ends. The first tentacle now took its revenge, smashing into his legs. Gasping for air, Knuckles saw the three tentacles drift away, their work deemed completed. Then, darkness took him and he slipped into unconsciousness.
Claw was laughing as his creations attacked the three remaining fighters. All was going according to plan. Knuckles was dead, Tails was out of it and the other two could hardly swim. This was getting better by the minute. Keying in the order to finish the job he watched as the turmoil grew, the tentacles taking wider and faster orbits around their targets.
Then, Claw was hurled into the glass canopy by two impacts on his hull. Cursing he switched on the rear cameras. Then he cursed some more. A sleek submersible was coming up fast from astern, torpedo bays flashed rhythmically. The damage to his ship was minimal, but the sub was still dangerous. Claw watched as two torpedoes streaked past his ship, atomising two of his creations in mid-swim. Snarling, Claw called off his beasts.
"Attack the intruder!" he bawled. The tentacles obliged.
Sonic bled from various wounds caused by the barbs on his attackers. Blood misted the water around him. Pushing the grisly fog away he gazed at their would-be saviour. It was impossible. It was their sub. As he tried to get to grips with this, a familiar voice carried over to him from the sub.
"Hey Sonic!" said Porker. "I thought you needed a little help, so decided to drop by!" Sonic shook himself. It was him. So, he'd survived. He'd ask why later. Suddenly, Sonic remembered Tails and span to face the point he'd seen him last.
He was gone.
"Hey Sonic!" said Tails, causing Sonic to jump. The fox was floating behind him, twin tails waving in the current.
"Don't ever scare me like that again," said Sonic levelly. "Come on. Porker will need our help."
Claw screeched as a barrage of explosives destroyed three of his huge tentacles. The mortally wounded beasts sank into the depths; clouds of oil marking their descent. Two tentacles struck the sub a crushing blow and Claw smiled. His smile disappeared as the enemy shrugged off the blow and steadied the craft, annihilating its two attackers seemingly as an afterthought. Snarling curse words, claw directed his remaining two huge tentacles towards the foe. Wrapping round the craft they began to apply pressure. Not enough apparently, as the remaining small tentacle disappeared in a cloud of smoke. But now the enemy was trapped. Claw keyed in the signal for the tentacle's electrical charges. He would fry the owner of that craft, then kill the remaining three annoyances. Before he could confirm the command however he heard a scraping on the hull above him. Looking up he found himself staring into the bloody, bruised face of Knuckles. In the echidna's hands was held a sharp spear of rock, which he now lifted above his head.
"You talk too much," muttered Knuckles, before plunging his weapon through the canopy. The spear pierced the glass, shattering it and continued on towards Claw. The spear penetrated through the top of his shell, sending fragments of shell and white flesh drifted into the deep water around. Screaming in pain, Claw slumped over the controls as Knuckles let go of the spear, leaving it stuck in Claw's flesh. Scowling, the echidna leapt from the hull of the stricken ship and swan towards the sub. Sonic and Tails were already inside, and as Knuckles watched the tentacles holding it slid off, their power source gone. Swimming inside he watched Claw's ship drift down into the depths. Then, he entered the dry area of the hip and removed the suit.
"How'd you make it Knuckles?" asked Sonic. Knuckles sighed.
"I was lucky enough to drift into a column of oxygen bubbles. They revived me and I was able to make makeshift repairs to my breathing equipment." He pointed to a length of seaweed, tied round his breathing tube to hold it together. "You know the rest."
"Well, glad you're OK buddy," said Sonic. "You too Porker!"
Porker turned his seat round and smiled. "Well, we've wasted enough time here. Let's head to the Floating Island!"
Sonic couldn't agree more.
Claw winced as he pushed himself back into a standing position. His time was short. But he had enough time to make sure he finished the job he'd set out to do. Squinting through the darkness he picked out the sub. Preparing the ship's only two torpedoes he locked on to the sub. His claw tightened around the firing trigger. Wiping a piece of seaweed from his eyes he rotated the ship to face the sub. Goodbye. He was distracted by a sudden whistling sound and looked up, just as two of Porker's stray torpedoes entered the hole in the canopy.
The explosion was deafening, throwing a huge plume of water high into the air on the surface of the ocean.
And so ended the life of Captain Claw.