Chapter 18: Losing Battle

September 3rd, 2316 – 1:10 PM – Reppocian Wilderness

Nack sighed again, listening to the low rumble of an approaching storm. The thunder lasted for another five seconds. Then ten. Then fifteen. Not to mention, it was also getting louder. Nail's eyes popped open, and he looked around, towards the source of the noise. For the second time in about ten minutes, his mouth opened in shock. It wasn't another one of Sonic's friends though.

A horde of robotic soldiers was thundering across the field towards them, as tanks smashed through the trees and pushed aside rocks. Up in the air, jet fighters buzzed through the sky, deafening him with the sound of their exhaust. All of them were painted black and had Robotnik's emblem upon them. After noticing that, he also saw the big man himself hovering in his egg ship above his army, looking down gleefully at the seven of them in the middle of the rocky field. He held up a microphone.

"Nack, Canma, Nail, and Redrum... You all did a marvelous job collecting Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles! I'm afraid that I don't have twenty million demens to pay you with for your services though, so you'll just have to settle for a night in my luxurious jail cells instead! And Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles...don't worry about being left out! You'll get just the same treatment!"

Nack turned around and saw that more soldiers, tanks, and planes were moving in from all other sides of the field. One word was all it took to sum up how he felt about the situation.

"Shit."

This entire mission had been nothing but a hoax. Kenny Oviron didn't exist, and neither did the twenty million demens. They weren't going to be rewarded in any way for all their trouble, except for a night in a cell and probably a free go in a roboticizer the next morning. They wouldn't even have their freedom any more. And all of that really pissed Nack off.

He started to get up, but then forgot he was still bound by the ropes. However, the weasel felt someone grabbing him from behind and cutting the ropes. He turned around to see Sonic doing it, of all people. He had pulled out one of his own quills to do it.

"What are you—?" he started.

"There's no way me, Tails, and Knuckles can take them all by ourselves," Sonic interrupted. "We need help. Besides, since Robotnik screwed you and the others over, we're all in the same boat now."

"Yeah..." Nack shrugged. "That's true."

Nack looked back, and he saw Tails and Knuckles cutting free the other three bounty hunters with quills Sonic had loaned to them as well. They were all moving to collect their weapons too. Finally, Sonic cut through the ropes around his feet, and now Nack could stand up. As the weasel got to his feet, Sonic shoved Nack's revolver into his hand. Nack stared at Sonic in surprise.

"Good luck!" he said, giving a thumbs-up.

The hedgehog then turned around and dashed straight for the approaching horde of robot soldiers, leaving a trail of flames in his path as he ran. Nack just blinked, surprised at Sonic being so quick to trust him. He'd never dash off to battle that quickly, knowing that a soldier carrying a grudge against him was at his back...

A laser blast sizzled right past Nack's hand. It was so warm it made his hand feel like he'd just touched it against a hot pot on a stove. This was no time to be thinking about what he would and would not do if he were in Sonic's shoes, because he had to be Nack right now. He flipped the cylinder out, and saw that the gun was fully loaded. Nodding, he took cover behind a rock, and raised the pistol to the approaching crowd of soldiers. Nack fanned the gun, firing off all six shots in less than a few seconds. However, he only succeeded in bringing down three soldiers, which were quickly replaced by six more anyway.

He checked his bandolier, and saw that he only had six bullets left. That was only enough to refill his pistol this one last time. After those shots were gone, he'd be unarmed. Nack nervously chewed his lip, as he started filling up the gun again. Once that was done, he cursed himself for not bringing more ammo with him from his hover bike.

Wait...my bike...

He looked around, and finally spotted it to his right. The line of soldiers still hadn't passed by it yet... A wicked smile crossed his face. It looked like he wouldn't have to fight this losing battle after all.

Screw the others! I'm getting my ass out of the fire right now! They're already dead anyway if they're challenging an army this size.

Ducking low, he crouch-ran towards his bike as he dodged the laser fire. Fortunately though, since Robotnik's soldier bots had really crappy aim as usual, he made it easily. With the twist of a key, the bike roared to life. It wasn't a moment too soon either, as the soldiers were now getting uncomfortably close.

Frantically, he toggled the control to engage the hover jets, and the bike rose into the air. Before he could get far though, he heard the thump of something landing on the back of his ride. Turning around, he saw it was Canma. There wasn't any time to push her off, so he decided to just let her stay put. Even though they were fighting before, he really doubted she'd try to kill him since he was saving her.

"Hey! Hey!" Nail screamed on the ground. "Don't go! We're gonna die!"

Nack gazed down with a grin, seeing Nail jump up and down while waving his arms. Redrum clung to his back as well, bouncing up and down as the fox leaped again and again. If this were any other time, Nack would have thought this scene would be exceptionally funny and most personally satisfying, now that his rival was taking the fall. However, Nack's bike was about to be overrun, so he had to fly away quickly. That damn fox just wouldn't stop yelling though...

Grumbling, Nack turned around and fired a single bullet at Nail. A splatter of red blood came out from the fox's lower left leg, and Nail screamed out in agony as he collapsed to the ground, unable to stand anymore due to the gunshot wound. Nack smiled maliciously.

That felt so good. Not to mention the robots will focus on him since he's much easier prey now. Two birds with one stone.

Nack turned around and engaged the jet, sending the bike shooting forward and away from the battlefield. Nobody pursued them; not even the hover jets changed their course. Apparently their top priority was to capture Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, while other targets were of secondary importance.

He decided he'd turn around to look at the fighting, now that he had a better view of it. There was quite a lot of shooting going on...not to mention a variety of explosions here and there. Several blasts sent an entire squad of robot soldiers flying into the air like rag dolls. Looked like Sonic and company weren't doing so bad...but Nack doubted that would last for long.

Oddly, he noticed Canma was also staring back. However, instead of smiling like him, she almost looked like she was ready to cry. He wondered what was up.

"Hey Canma...wishing you stayed down there, eh?" Nack chided.

For a moment, it was like she didn't hear him. Then she turned around and shook her head.

"No... It's nothing. Let's just get out of here."

Nack nodded, and engaged the afterburners. The bike shot away from the war zone like a rocket, leaving Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Nail, and Redrum alone to face the largest army on the planet.

On the ground...

Sonic smashed through yet another robotic soldier, instantly turning it into a pile of scrap metal and smashed circuitry. But, he didn't know how much longer he could keep this up. This was the twentieth he'd destroyed in the last minute or so, but there were plenty of others to deal with anyway. There didn't seem to be any end to them. It looked like Robotnik hadn't wanted to take any chances in transporting Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles back to his prison.

Sonic's fatigue really started to get to him, and it was only going to get worse if he didn't get a chance to rest. However, right now him getting rest anytime soon looked about as likely as him winning the lottery a hundred times in a row.

"Oh Sonic... Feeling tired?" Robotnik boomed out from above, with the help of his loudspeaker. "Why don't you just give up? You'll have plenty of time to rest in your jail cell."

Sonic let out a growl of rage, and sent himself hurling once again at the crowd of robots that was surrounding him. He took down another four or five of them with one spin dash, but they just kept coming... There had to be hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of them here...

Sonic had only been out here fighting for about five minutes, but already he felt as if he'd ran across the globe several times over. His arms and legs felt like they were made of iron...and each breath wheezed out from his mouth as the constant fighting sapped at his dwindling stamina. He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up. Sure, he and his friends had fought Robotnik's army many times in the past, but they'd never faced such a large force all at the same time.

The laser blasts felt like they were coming in greater numbers and at faster speeds too. Sonic continued to bob and weave to avoid the bright spears of light, as he took down more and more of the machines. It was all like a blur, as Sonic's body moved unconsciously. Despite the hedgehog beating them back again and again, slowly and steadily the robot soldiers gained ground on him.

I don't want it to end...not like this. But I don't see a way I can change anything. I'm totally surrounded, I'm getting exhausted, and I've got no idea where the others are... As much as I don't want to admit it, I think that Robotnik has won this time...

Simply too tired to jump again, Sonic went to one knee to rest for a second. That turned out to be a mistake. A stun bolt hit him square in the chest. Sonic screamed as the voltage of the blast seared across his already wracked body. Then another one struck him in the back...another in the leg...and then he just lost track of where he was hit. It was like a white-hot blanket of burning pain all over his body. He cried his agony out to the sky. Finally, the world went black, as he collapsed to the ground unconscious.

On another part of the battlefield…

Unable to fight back the masses of soldiers, Tails twisted up his tails and took to the air. The downdraft blasted back a few soldiers, which would give him a little breathing room as he flew into the sky. He was hoping that by flying up he might find his friends on the battlefield and pull them out.

But within two seconds of making it into the sky, a robot jet fighter streaked right towards him. The laser guns on the craft spit out a hail fire of lasers, making the air around Tails feel like a fireworks display. The fox twisted and turned all about, avoiding the shining bolts, and he was successful. However, the draft from the jet streaking by blasted him back several feet. The distraction caused him to stop spinning his tails, and he fell towards the ground.

At the last second though, Tails managed to curl them back together and soared into the sky once more. That turned out to be a big mistake. Another jet fighter targeted him and unleashed more laser fire. He scrambled to get out of the way, this time managing to avoid both the bolts and stay on course from the back draft.

The fox realized this plan of rescuing his friends wasn't going to work. If he took to the air, Robotnik's fighters would chase after him, and he was clearly no match for them without his own plane to fight back with.

If only I had the Tornado 2 here...

Three jet fighters targeted him at the same time, each approaching from a different direction. The fox ascended into the air, hoping he could elude them, but they blew right on past. The gusts of wind were so intense he felt like he was trapped in a hurricane. He pin wheeled towards the ground, spinning out of control.

Somehow, someway, he once again managed to get his tails spinning again, and got back into the air. That last flyby had taken a lot out of him though, as he tried to catch his breath. In the distance, a fighter approached once again. Tails gritted his teeth, steeling himself to dodge the next attack. But this time, instead of laser fire, a white plume of smoke streaked away from the craft straight towards Tails.

Oh no! A missile! Please...not now!

Tails tried to avoid it, but he was simply too exhausted to do any more quick maneuvers. The missile easily corrected its course to keep up with him. Before the rocket hit, the front popped out, sending a huge net flying out that was at least twenty feet in diameter. The net easily encircled and trapped tails, and now the fox was made totally immobile by the ropes. Tails then discovered that Robotnik had put another extra little surprise in his net missile, in the form of electric coils. Tails screamed as the electricity surged through his body.

Through the pain, he was dimly aware of a parachute popping out of the back of the missile, allowing him to slowly drift towards the ground. His last sensation before the world went black was cold metal hands grabbing at his net.

Elsewhere in the war zone...

Knuckles' fist passed straight through two robots, causing them to short out and power down. Just as he jerked his arm out of their destroyed bodies, another four rushed at him. He ripped the arm off of one of the first two robots, and spun around in a circle. The arm connected with the heads of all four enemies, knocking them clean off. Knuckles took a look at his makeshift club, and saw that it was much too bent out of shape to be used as a melee weapon anymore. He tossed it aside, as he prepared to face the next horde of enemies.

Instead of footsteps, he was greeted with the sound of rumbling treads. Several gaps appeared in the approaching robotic soldiers, as five large tanks appeared into view. All of them pointed their guns at Knuckles, but did not fire. Instead, more soldiers rushed in to attack. The echidna smirked, as he charged headlong at them.

From behind, he heard a boom. A half second later, an explosion ripped through the air right behind him. The world went topsy-turvy, as Knuckles was sent flying into the air head over heels. A boulder in the field broke his fall, as he crashed into it face first. He then slipped off the rock and fell on his back to the ground. A tremendous pain coursed through his head, as blood poured down his face. When Knuckles opened his eyes, the sky over his head blurred. Still, the stubborn echidna refused to give up.

I've had worse...

Grunting, he staggered to his feet, looking at the robotic soldiers that were approaching him. With a shout, he tossed himself at them.

There was another cannon shot, and he was blasted into the air along with pieces of the robot soldiers that were about to get him.

The soldiers... They were just decoys...to distract me from the real threat.

The world spun all around him again, as gravity took over and brought him back down to the ground on his back. The echidna grunted in pain, as he managed to get up on one arm. Then he realized he was just too exhausted to move, and fell back to the ground.

He looked up at the dark, unforgiving sky overhead, as he continued to press himself to get up again. It was no use. Robotic soldiers moved to form a circle all around him, so that their heads with their glowing eyes blocked out the sky. As one, they all raised their stun guns, and fired. Knuckles had never felt such a pain in his entire life, and he wasn't even strong enough to scream it out. The only condolence was that he didn't feel it for long, as he went unconscious quickly.

In the remaining corner of the field...

Nail limply leaned against a rock, as he squeezed the trigger of his sniper rifle. The gun kicked into his shoulder, sending a bullet flying straight through five robot soldiers in a row. It wasn't by his skill though, but rather because the battlefield was so full of enemies that he'd hit something no matter where he fired. Nail tried to ignore the pain of the revolver bullet lodged in his leg as he scooted to the side to take cover behind another rock. Nail ejected the empty magazine, and reached into his belt for the next clip. There wasn't one there.

The fox looked again, and sure enough he realized he'd used up the last of his ammo for his rifle. Sighing, Nail tossed aside the rifle, and reached for another spot on his belt. This time he pulled out four pineapple grenades. He held them out towards Redrum, who was sitting on the ground near him, still just half a body.

"Pull out the pins," Nail said.

"But you know we're not gonna win," Redrum said back.

"Just do it," Nail grumbled. "If we're gonna get captured or killed, we might as well go down fighting."

"Fine...makes no difference anyway," the dog said back, as he yanked out the pins on all four grenades at once.

Nail stepped back out to face the approaching horde of soldiers. He threw the grenades into the air, and they landed at various places in the crowd. Explosions sent robots and robot parts into the air. It only delayed the approach for several seconds though; yet another wave came out of the smoke and marched towards them.

Still not willing to stop, Nail pulled out his handgun and flicked off the safety. The fox leaned out from behind cover, and squeezed the trigger so rapidly that his finger was like a jackhammer. The twelve-shot magazine emptied out in less than three secons. However, through the gun smoke, Nail could see that his handgun bullets hadn't made much of a difference. Five of the soldiers had gone down, but that was about it. It looked like his pistol bullets didn't have much of an effect...

Regardless, Nail ducked back, ejected the empty magazine, and slammed home a new clip. He fired off all twelve shots at the crowd again, with about the same results as the last attack. Then he reloaded and fired through yet another clip. Again, it hardly made any difference in halting the advance. By this time the soldiers were nearly upon their hiding spot.

"Well...that's it..." Nail said, letting the empty handgun slip from his fingers. "I'm out of ammo. But...I'm still not stopping."

Nail picked up the rifle, and held it by the grip towards the front of the gun. He brandished the weapon like a baseball bat. As the first guard stepped around the rock, Nail clubbed him in the head with the butt of his gun, disorienting the bot's programming. However, three more robots stepped in. Nail managed to hit the first one in the chest with his gun, but the other two zapped him with stun bolts.

The fox shouted as he fell down to the ground. At the same time, Nail saw Redrum get zapped with his own stun bolt, and he shorted out. The fox tried to get up to help, but he could hardly lift his own hand, and quickly slipped into unconsciousness...