S.O.N.I.C GO!

S.O.N.I.C GO!

GO. GO. GO. GO, LET'S GO!

Return of Emerl saga

Episode 7: Eggman's big comeback!

When the Eclipse Cannon's test run had blown the moon in half, the cosmic debris from the explosion had begun to settle, over the last few months, into a faint ring that spiralled around the planet, occasionally bombarding it with showers of meteors that burned up in the atmosphere long before they could even get close to the surface. By no means as spectacular as Saturn's but beautiful none the less. It made watching the night sky far more exciting than it had been in pervious years. Most telescopes however were directed no were near this new cosmic event. Most were kept pointed directly at the moon, or more precisely it's metallic half that served as the headquarters of the Eggman Empire. Nights were far darker, as the shimmering metal half did not reflect the sun's light, so very little people would be found out on the streets at night. The entire world's intelligence divisions were in a state of pent up readiness, so it was no surprise that when a pair of massive doors in the Egg moon's underside swung open and several space ships flew out that alarms bells began ringing in every country around the world. Within moments, the U.S government had confirmed at the objects heading for the planet's surface were Eggman Empire drop-ships and were heading from the European Continent, or more accurately, the middle of the French countryside.

By the time those ships had entered the atmosphere, the French national defence fighters were already in the air and on an intercept course. The pilots had authorisation to do whatever it took to destroy those ships. The Eggman Empire drop ships, numbering five, were now over French air space, heading north towards Paris as the fighter planes caught up with them. As the pilots prepared missile fire, on the leading drop- ship, a large platform rose up from underneath a sliding panel in the centre of the craft. Standing directly in the centre of this platform was one of Eggman's E1000 elite. It retained the basic shape of the E100 series before it, with round body and thin legs with large flat feet, blood red in colour, on each hand however replacing the often inaccurate laser rifles was a pair of battle adapted flamethrowers. The words, E1004: Thetha were painted in small white letters on its chest plate. The robot stared at the planes following them for a moment, before it raised it's left armed, directing the barrel of it's flamethrower toward them. A torrent of white hot flames screamed through the air, striking the leading plane with pin-point accuracy. The pilot having just enough time to curse and bail out with his parachute before the fuel tanks caught fire and the plane exploded into tiny flaming fragments, the other four already pouring through the smoke after the fast fleeing ships.

"Thetha." The voice over the com system built into the robots head announced itself. The robot barley even acknowledged its presence, it simply kept blasting away at the planes and one by one they fell to the ground, pillars of smoke slowly rising into the sky. "I've reading an object closing on your position at high speed. It can only be one thing." The robot turned to look down at the narrow cliff side valley they were quickly approaching. Approaching from the west was a blurred blue streak.

"Don't worry Doctor." It replied, turning its attention back to the last fighter plane, blasting it to pieces before it had the chance to fire any missiles what so ever. "The specialty for the day is Barbequed Hedgehog."

Sonic watched the ships from the ground, keeping up with them with ease. He figured Eggman would try something like this, so he'd had Chuck keep a close eye of any military transmissions so they could pin point the spear head movement of the Eggman Empire. The valley was a dense mix of trees with a thick canopy and foliage that spread for miles, still he was able to keep track of the five ships flying above him. He'd seen something blast the few fighter planes that had been following them to pieces with what looked like nothing but fire. It seemed Eggman had been up to his robot handy work again. Sonic wondered what the scientist had in store this time. It began to look like they were started to land, Sonic knew if best chance to hit them and hit them hard was to get them while they were still in the air. He waited until they sank a little lower, then he sped to the right and up the sheer cliff face that marked the valley side. Reaching the top, he pushed of with his powerful legs, his jump super propelling him through the air. As the point where his weight was balanced perfectly, he forced his head over his feet and began spinning. His attack slammed straight through one of the ships and as he came out of the other side, landing on the end of another ship, he looked back to watch the last one, engulfed in flames sink faster and faster, before crashing into the ground. Well, one down, four to go.

Suddenly, several small laser turrets rose from their hiding places on the sides and roof of the ship, aimed directly at him and started blasting. Moving too fast for them to get a lock on, he tore through those on the right with another super spin, before taking hold of a sharp corner at the front to flip himself up side down, his balance perfect again, he slammed straight down through the cock pit of the ship, surprising the two robot pilots.

As the second ship began to fall, Sonic leapt out at the last minute before an explosion tore it in half. Sonic slid own to the cliff race again, using it's curvature to run back down to ground level. He'd certainly gotten their attention now. One of the ships had actually broken formation and was going back to fight him, which of course was exactly the action he'd wanted them to take. He reached a piece of rock that jutted out into the air at a thirty degree angle, and using that as a ramp, the hedgehog propelled himself into the air again, becoming a spinning ball that tore through the third ship, which had positioned itself in exactly the correct position to his attack to work, tearing right down the middle. Flying out the end, Sonic righted himself in mid air and landed with a loud thud on the end of the second ship. He was slightly curious that they hadn't deployed any flight capable robots to go after him, but of course when there was a loud groaning sound from the first ship; it was forced out of the hedgehog's mind. Looking up, he yelped and dived to the floor to avoid being hit in the face with a wall of screaming flames.

"You know what they say Sonic." A voice said sharply as Sonic looked up. Standing on the roof of the other ship was one of Eggman's robots. With the standard E100 design, blood red, with two large flames throwers on its arms. Yellow and orange flames had been painted onto its body and legs and two wheels jutted out from the back of its large black feet, showing it could convert into mobile mode whenever the need arose. "If you play with fire, you're going to get burned!" Another burst of fire erupted from the barrels of the flame throwers coursed through the air toward him. Sonic dodged to the side, but still wasn't fast enough to avoid getting the ends of his quills burnt. Sonic gave an impressed whistle.

"Eggman's certainly gone all out this time." Thetha ignored the comment and simply kept blasting, Sonic relying on his acrobatic skills and back flipped to avoid being burned alive. It quickly became odvious that he had to get in close if he was to have any chance of taking this robot down, and do it without getting himself badly scolded in the process. A burst of fire caught his leg, sending painful signals throughout his entire body. Yelping, the hedgehog collapsed, some of his blue fur turned a crispy black.

"Can't take the heat Hedgehog?" Thetha asked; a pair of rocket boasters helping the robot to hover over to the second ship. He hovered a few feet about the hedgehog, holding both barrels of the flame throwers down toward him. "I'd expected more from the greatest enemy of the Eggman Empire." Sonic suddenly shot back with a grin, before flipped back to his feet completely unharmed, getting enough time to land a super fast kick straight across Thetha's width, knocking the robot into the air. Sonic had taken worse attacks than that before and always come out on top, he'd hardly felt a thing, but played it up to make the robot come in for the kill. The hedgehog would never have been able to jump the distance without getting a full blast from the fire. "Oh that really burns me up!" Thetha snarled, landing with a loud thud on the other side of the second ship. The first one had sped on, trying to use this time to separate itself from the Hedgehog.

"Dude, those fire puns are getting worse by the second." The hedgehog groaned, before sprinting forward; kick jumping off Thetha's head up into the air, before curved back down in a super spin, landing on the very end of the ship that was trying to get away. Thetha's turned to watch as Sonic tore through that ship with several last spins, before spiralling into the air away from the ship as it crashed straight into the cliff wall. The E1000 robot the wreckage as Sonic landed back where he'd been, already in a fight stance.

"Well I guess that's sayonara to Eggman's army." The blue hedgehog said with a wide grin. "Give it up bot-boy, I've already won." Thetha looked back, its own glass eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

"Yes, I believe I've dragged this out long enough." Sonic blinked in surprise.

"What you mean?" He asked. Theta folded his large arms and began laughing.

"Sorry to disappoint you hedgehog, but those ships you just destroyed were empty. Apart from the pilots, there weren't any robots inside them." Sonic couldn't suddenly see their plan. All this was simply a diversion, meant to draw their attention and it had worked perfectly. "Pilot." Thetha began. "Activate self destruct sequence, ten second delay." He looked directly at Sonic again. "Hate to leave a battle unfinished, but I've got to fly.! So long sucker!" His rockets flared up again, and he flew into the air, flying faster and faster away from the ship as he could.

"Self destruct?! Sonic repeated, before throwing himself off of the ship as it exploded in a blast that knocked him off balance, sending him crashing down into the canopy below. The tree branches were hardly pleasant to have scrapping against his skin as he crashed through several feet of foliage before hitting the ground.

Luckily for the blue hedgehog, he wasn't that hurt, apart from his pride as he lay on top of a bush, groaning loudly.

"Tricked by Eggman. I'll never live it down."

"Do we have confirmation of this?" The President asked as they he, his personal aid Christina Cooper, several top ranking Generals from the military, an Admiral from the navy and several agents from the Special attics division sat down for an emergency meeting at one in the morning in the Oval Office at the White house. Ever since the first ship had entered the atmosphere, the President had been up running through report after report that was thrown on his desk. One of the generals nodded.

"The French Government made it clear that the salvage teams found nothing inside the destroyed ships, they where indeed completely empty." The president leaned back into his chair, a half finished brandy sitting on the desk in front of him. This wasn't what he had in mind when he signed up for this job, he expected he'd be talking problems like world hunger, poverty and public rights, rather than mad scientists and their plans for global domination. The UN was breathing down his neck for a long overdue problem to this solution.

"Several hours ago, one of our satellites detected a larger force of Drop-ships entering the atmosphere. We didn't detect it before since we were occupied with the five in France. It seems to be the real invasion force. At least twenty in total." Another General put in. "They've been tracked to the pacific ocean, where they proceeded to dive underwater. We believe Dr. Eggman is in the process of installing an undersea base."

"Can we attack in any way?" The President asked. "Submarines or any of the naval forces?" The admiral shook his head.

"No sir. Eggman already has a defensive perimeter around the sight. We send any submarines or boats into the marked area, they'll get blasted out of the water before they can launch any kind of contour attack." The President ran his fingers through his hair, groaning loudly.

"What about Giant Wing?"

"Not ready for launch yet sir. We estimate another couple of days before all systems are operational." Project Giant Wing was where the lion share of the technology they'd salvaged from the Egg Fleet had gone, as well as other areas of military operations. What was left had been used to improve civilian life.

"Which is why we came up with this rather more, unorthodox, solution." One of the agents, the one with a pair of wire rim glasses, put in quickly. The President looked his way. "We propose to send a team of eight highly trained individuals into the area with the use of our new Fox Raider1, which we were able to produce with the technology pioneered from the Egg Fleet. It's technological upgrade will allow it to slip past the defences un-noticed. Their mission would be to assess the situation down there, and neutralise any kind of threat."

"Well, who do you recommend for this mission. Who are the eight?" The President asked, drumming his fingers on his desk. The agent reached into his jacket and withdrew a file with several papers inside, held together with a paper clip. The words…"Evaluation" were written on the front. The President took the file after the General handed it to him and opened it, finding ID reports of various agents in their organisation and others in various other places.

"From our own forces, E123: Codename Omega. Suited for intense battle with overwhelming numbers." The President nodded in approval and moved onto the next paper. "Rouge the bat, skilled in espionage, sabotage and a master in many forms of unarmed combat. And we also two new recruits who did so well during their training, I believe they'd be a valuable asset to this mission." The President looked up briefly.

"Oh, and who are they?" The agent brushed a paper aside, revealing two new reports.

"Bean and Bark." He replied, pointing to the two photos, one showing a Mobian duck with green feathers and a Mobian Polar bear with yellow fur. The report said that Bean was an explosives expert, one of the best in their service and Bark, while gifted with exceptional physical strength was also an exceptional hacker. "We have also commandeered the services of several members of the public." He directed the President's attention to the four remaining files. "From the semi-famous Chaotix defective agency, Espio the Chameleon. Probably about as skilled as Rouge in his field. We also have recruited the exceptional mechanical skills of Mile Prower, known to the general public as Tails, according to our reports. His mechanical invention rival those of Dr. Eggman himself."

"Yes, well that make's six." The president stated, putting the files back inside the folder. "Then who are the remaining two?" The agent looked hesitant for a moment before saying…

"The two remaining positions are reserved for the two most powerful, in the departments opinion, beings on Earth. Sonic the Hedgehog, and Shadow the Ultimate life form."

Dr. Eggman's new, Atlantis base, was the perfect sight to begin his operations. It was isolated, and protected by his already installed defence ring. As his robots had already finished construction of most of the base's exterior, the Doctor could turned his attentions to other matters.

"That was sear brilliance Doctor." Decoe announced as the three of them entered Eggman's new commander chamber, from here he could monitor every that went on in and around the base. The chamber was a shallow levelled pit with control panels, monitors and large complex machinery placed around the outside. At the back of the room was a large window that gave an impressive ocean view of the coral just outside. The ceiling was just a mess of pipes and wires, with a few running over the floor. There was also a large metal seat placed directly facing the large main screen. Eggman seated himself and instantly the monitors flipped on, showing how the work outside on the base was progressing. His Dreadnaught units, although they had been adapted to battle scenarios, could still be use for manual labour.

"Using Thetha to distract them….

"And then slipping our main forces in to prepare for the final attack was ingeniously cleaver." Eggman, who was easily flattered, placed his arms behind his head with a wide smile.

"Yes, not only am I a brilliant robotic engineer, but a master strategist." He chuckled lightly to himself. "Decoe, the box if you will." The robot handed him the small metal box he was carrying. Eggman's smile widened as he peaked inside, the light from two Chaos emeralds highlighting his nose and moustache. The Green and Grey Emeralds were in his clutches, with these he could gain an advantage of the military and their inferior robot designs. But most of all, it would give him an advantage over that blue irritating pin cushion.

"This is Thetha requested access to Atlantis base." A voice declared, before a mini-screen flipped on, revealing the E1000's face.

"Ah Thetha." Eggman declared, leaning forward in his chair after placing the box on the arm rest. "Access granted. How did it go?"

"Swimmingly sir." The robot replied. "I hung around long enough to see the looks on their salvage teams faces when they realized those ships were little more than decoys." Eggman laughed.

"I can just imagine it. Come right in, and we'll brief you for the mission." The screen turned itself off again.

"You did not seem angry that he failed to destroy Sonic." Decoe stated as the Doctor drummed his fingers.

"I wasn't expecting him to." Eggman replied. "Sonic the Hedgehog is a worthy foe, and nothing short of my very best will ever have a chance at defeating him." He gave his two hence-bots a glare. "And how are preparations for my latest creation coming along?"

"The ship should be operational within forty eight hours sir." Decoe replied. "It still has various engine problems that have to be corrected before we can launch."

"Not to mention installing a Chaos Emerald power grid. That's more complex than it actually sounds." Eggman shrugged his shoulder, not concerned with the small insignificant details.

"Just get it up and running. That ship is vital for my plans, get it operational fast or it'll be your heads.

24 hours later:

As Fall set in, Tails found it increasingly difficult to trudge his way down the path that lead to his new workshop. The Mystic Ruins, being covered in trees, had shed unbelievable amounts golden, orange and yellow leaves. They had piled up against the sides of the door leading into the cabin entrance of his workshop, and every day there seemed to be more and more.

"Cold?" Sonic asked as Tails threw himself in, quickly shutting the door behind him, his orange fur fluffed up. The hedgehog, along with Amy had placed themselves down on the sofa in front of the wide screen TV, one of the pink hedgehog's favourite movies on. To keep herself warm, even inside Tails' central heated house, she wore a thick green jumper and had snuggled against Sonic's fur. Sonic himself however was used to the elements and hardly noticed a thing. His thin blue fur was all he needed to keep himself cool in summer and warm in winter. He did however have a large mug of Hot chocolate at the ready. It was already getting dark outside the glinting stars beginning to peer down through the Fall sky. As Tails took his scarf on and walked over to the kitchen area, Amy pushed her way underneath Sonic's arm. The blue hedgehog didn't protest, if anything his face simply turned a deeper shade of red.

"Chuck tells me that Chris had settled into high school nicely, and from the sound of it, he's already found a girlfriend." Tails stated, pouring himself a cup of coffee, inhaling the fumes that rose from the rim. Sonic chuckled to himself.

"Go Chris."

"That's sweet." Amy added in. "So who's the girl?" Tails paused, laughed inwardly, before looking over.

"Helen." Sonic, who was taking a ship of hot coco at the time, convulsed in surprise, scolding his tongue and nearly dropping his mug. He looked back with wide eyes.

"Helen? That disabled girl from his class?" Tails nodded, sitting down beside them. Sleeping on the edge of the sofa on the arm rest was the Hero class Chao Turel that belonged to Amy. it's golden feathered wings folded against it's back as it sleep. The changeable orb above it's head, although usually in a halo like shape, now resembled rising…Z's. Sonic sat there open mouthed for a moment, before turning back to the TV, shaking his head. "Stranger things have happened." He managed to murmur, of course those stranger things had been a falling Space Colony and a Metallic version of him taking control of the Eggman Empire from the good Doctor.

Before Tails could arm himself up with his drink, the incoming message warning light on his personal computer placed on the other side of the television blared several times. He placed his coffee next to Turel and went over to see what was happening. He moved the mouse and the computer transferred from sleep to active mode. Since Tails had set his preferences so incoming messages were displayed at once. Pr. Charles ThornDyke's face flashed up instantly over a web cam connection.

"Hi Tails." The human with a smile. "Sonic's not there is he?" Sonic blinked and pushed himself off the sofa, much of Amy's displeasure.

"Sure I'm here." He said, looking over Tails' shoulder. "What's up Chuck?" The human paused to reach to the side, then looked back to the screen, raising his hand to reveal he had a white envelope in it. "I just got this message. It's from the military, they want you and Tails to be part from some special operation they're running." Sonic and Tails looked at each other, before turning back.

"What for?" They asked together. Chuck shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. It doesn't say, they just ask you to meet them at Area 99 for a mission briefing tomorrow morning." Sonic looked back at his old friend.

"Since when were we on the Government pay roll?" Tails looked blank.

"They wanted Shadow to come along as well…" Chuck began, a nervous smile breaking the features of his face. "But well."

"I'm not interested." Shadow himself finished for him, stepping forward to show he was standing behind the human. "I've more important things to do than waste my time with the military." The black hedgehog added, folding his arms. He gave Sonic a crude smile. "Besides, I'm sure you can handle this without me."

"In that case, I'm coming too." Sonic and Tails looked back to see Amy standing behind them, with on end of her hammer in hand and the other resting on her right shoulder. An evil look on her face that made even Sonic slightly nervous.

"Fine, you have at it." Shadow replied before any one could argue. "Give the President my apologies for declining." He added slyly, before disappearing. Chuck laughed to himself.

"Shadow's become certain that the Foundation Organisation were the ones that attacked him." The human stated. "Although quite frankly I think he's grasping at straws, but Metal Sonic and I will do what we can to help him with his investigation."

"Are you still perfectly sure we can trust Metal Sonic?" Tails asked.

"I heard that!" A voice from off screen declared before the link was terminated.

Flip Card 1:

Name: E1004: Thetha

Age: 2 weeks

Sex: n/a

Species: robot

Job description: One of Eggman's latest E1000 series