D.C.111: Thanks, glad you liked it. Heh, long is right; I've entered the 'gotta finish' mentality that always grips me towards the end of a story, so I was working for two days solid on that chapter :P As for Mighty...I'm sure he'll realise the truth about Sonic soon ;)
MilesTAiLSPrower-007: Thanks, glad you like it so far :D
Hawk's Soul: (goes red) Thanks :D I have a tendency to extend chapters for a story that's really going well...put it this way, if any of the 'Zone' chapters here is under 10 A4 pages, I wonder why ;) And ooh, cousins! One of my cousins has just set up an account here...I keep waiting for her to write something :P
TigerOfTheSpear: (goes redder) Wow, thanks :D I will update as soon as I can (I try to get at least one update a week...not always this fic, but still, it's an update :P)
DragonUk: (innocent look) Well, I didn't tell you to read this instead of doing homework (and if your teacher gets mad, don't blame me okay:P) (eats cookie) You know me too well ;) Bribery...yup, it'll get you an update ;) Now I've finished the mountain (aka Metropolis Zone) it's downhill all the way. I hope.
Maverick87: Thanks :D There was going to be a Tails/Mighty part towards the end of the chapter, but I cut it; it didn't fit in right. As for Espio...I've been kicking around the idea of adapting Knuckles Chaotix...whether I do it as a separate story or part of Espio's backstory, I haven't decided yet :S
Reko Reborn: Heh, thanks. Confusing sentences...actually, I can well believe it. I was a little punch drunk on occasions when writing this ;) And I will keep working on SEGA, never fear :P I aim to get in on the ground floor and join Sonic Team :D
Az the Dragon: Yep, it's out! Super Sonic...he will turn up, I promise you, and you'll see how he's done. I don't follow one Sonic universe religiously; I pick and choose the bits I like, so there's no knowing whether he'll be a maniac or not ;) Well, I know, but only 'cause I've already written it (reads Super Sonic part...hmm...yep, think it'll work) ;)
Poridet: Thanks. As to the Tornado…read on ;)
Professor Vengeance: That's okay, I don't mind people repeating themselves ;) At least then I know they're still reading and enjoying it. And thanks
Private somebody: Thanks. Me, I actually love Metropolis Zone; I found it easier to wait for the mantis to turn its back and then sneak up behind them and pounce a la Tails ;)
TrueVulcanRaven: Thanks, I'll try :D
Sonic-Addict: Makes you wonder, doesn't it ;) I had heard that the original Sega mascot was going to be an armadillo from somewhere but I wasn't sure how true it was :P Glad they went with the hedgehog idea...
Shadow-spawn180: Well…I think I cleared up the grammar point in the PM :P As for the rest of it…(blushes) Thanks :D
A Tails Fan: Thanks; glad you're enjoying it :D And I'll do my best :)
Matt Lans: Ah, but who's to say they DIDN'T turn into mini-Robotniks? Maybe Sonic was just too busy trying to dodge them to notice ;) As for Sonic and Mighty patching things up between them…you'll find out about that at the end of the story ;)
Asher Tye: Yeah, poor Sonic :P I feel kinda sorry for him sometimes…
Lewisty: Thanks :)
Milette Tails Prower: (happy smile) Glad to hear it :D
MadCat: Thanks :D No, I didn't get the idea of a falling star from the Sonic 2 startup screen…to be honest, I'd never really noticed it :S
Gameorama91: Thanks :) Sky Chase…heh, it's the one I was looking forward to doing the most, purely because I get a chapter off from doing a boss scene :D
TC Chan: Yeah, I guess that's true...I did mention the star bot at the very beginning (and meant to include it) but had to cut it in the end…I thought the mantis ones were worse. Then again I did cut most of my notes on Metropolis Zone by about 90 percent, else the chapter would probably have turned out to be almost as long as the rest of the story put together :)
For Tails, the next few weeks passed in a kind of happy, wondrous delirium. There was no more Robotnik, no more mean traps and best of all, people wanted to play with him! The only bad point as far as Tails was concerned was that despite his very best efforts, he still hadn't managed to change Sonic's mind about the weekly bath, which was why he was currently lying as close to the pool as he could in the hopes that Sonic wouldn't want to approach.
Sonic himself had loosened up, relaxed and was the real cool and nice hedgehog Tails always thought he should be. It wasn't until they'd whumped ol' Robotnik and driven him away for good that the little fox had realised how tense Sonic had really been, how on edge.
"Gotcha!" Sonic seized Tails around the waist, rolled him over and proceeded to tickle both the fox's bare feet until Tails was squealing with laughter.
"C'mon squirt," Sonic said lightly. "Bath time for lil bros."
"Don't wanna bath! Wanna go play in the bubbly thing!"
"The jacuzzi, kiddo, and no. You've played here enough for one day. C'mon, let's go back to our room, huh?"
"Yeah! An' no bath, right Sonic?"
Sonic grinned broadly. For all Tails' faults, he had to admit the little fox never gave up.
"Yeah, bath. You smell like chlorine."
Tails frowned. "But I don't know anyone called Coreen, Sonic."
The hedgehog laughed. "Oh, you don't, huh?"
"Nuh uh! So I can't smell like her an' so I don't gotta have a bath, right?"
"Nice try. C'mon." Sonic hoisted Tails into his arms and broke into a run.
The bath proceeded mostly without incident (unless you counted Tails' spinning both namesakes in the water and drenching both Sonic and every available surface) and in relative silence which lasted until Sonic was about to towel the little fox off.
Wriggling away, leaving wet footprints in his wake, Tails fixed Sonic with a big-eyed look. "You don't really wanna towel me, huh Sonic?"
"No, I don't," Sonic answered and then, as Tails yipped in delight and scampered for the door, scooped the little fox up under his arm and rubbed his tummy vigorously with the towel. "But I'm gonna."
Trying unsuccessfully to squirm free, Tails glared up at the hedgehog. "How come I always gotta be dried? Why can't I jus' shake myself dry an' drip?"
Depositing him on the ground again, Sonic hesitated. "Well...I didn't wanna bring this up, lil bro, but wet canines don't smell so good."
"That's your fault, Sonic." Secure in the knowledge of his own self-righteousness, Tails folded his arms and stuck his little snout in the air. "You make me have baths an' so it's your fault if I'm stinky after!"
Sonic rolled his eyes. "Tails, I know that if you had your way you'd never get in a bath again, but you don't have a choice, kiddo."
"Hmph!" Tails shut his eyes in an effort to simulate disdain, only realising his mistake when Sonic pounced on him, lifted him up and zoomed him through the air, tossing him lightly onto the bed.
"C'mon. Bedtime."
Tails opened his eyes again to glare at Sonic. "You're not going to bed!"
"I'm older than you. You're five years old, kiddo, and if you go to bed any later than eight o'clock you get cranky."
Tails looked at the clock, currently telling the world that it was eight fifteen, then scowled at Sonic. "I do not!"
"Uh huh. Right." Sonic grinned and reached down to ruffle Tails' fur. "Go on, go to sleep."
"I can't sleep," Tails said, now looking perfectly serious. "You gotta tuck me in, Sonic, else I'm not gonna be able to fall 'sleep."
"You used to manage okay without me," Sonic couldn't resist pointing out.
"I jus' never slept, 'sall."
The hedgehog laughed. "Right. So you went two years without sleep, is that what you're telling me?"
"Yup! C'mon Sonic, please?"
Sonic pretended to consider, then winked. "Yeah, alright. You want blankets or tails tonight, squirt?"
"Both!"
"Both?" Sonic echoed, feigning shock and astonishment. "You want both?"
Tails nodded, beaming.
"Okay kiddo. You got it." Reaching down, Sonic caught hold of one of Tails' namesakes and pulled it over the little fox, then did the same with the other one, pausing as Tails squeezed his hand between both namesakes.
"Tails, one of your tails just ate my hand!"
Tails giggled. "No it didn't, Sonic."
"It did too, look." Sonic pretended to tug, prompting more giggles from the little fox who squeezed harder before suddenly unfurling both tails and wrapping them tightly around the hedgehog's arm. "Now it's eating the rest of me!"
"Nuh uh! 'S on'y eating if you chew an' my tails aren't chewing you, Sonic. They jus' got you so's you can't 'scape unless you promise never ever to gimme a bath again! Ever!"
"Nice try. There's gotta be a weak spot somewhere." Sonic pretended to look for one, peering behind Tails' back, under his armpits and into his ears before winking. "I think I found it."
"Nuh uh!"
"Yuh huh; I think it's right about...here." Twisting the wrist Tails had grabbed around, the hedgehog tickled the little fox until Tails released him and caught hold of his arm with both hands, hooking one leg over it and pretending to gnaw the hedgehog's wrist.
"You're wrong, Sonic! That's not my weak spot, that's my secret hidden invisible button to turn me into a great big flying super-whumping fox robot thingy of doom!"
Sonic laughed. "Well, you know what happens to those, don't you?"
"Yeah! They go an' take over the worl' an' whump ev'rything!"
"Yeah, and as Sonic the hedgehog it's my job to stop things like that."
"You can't stop a great big flying super-whumping fox robot thingy of doom, Sonic," Tails pointed out, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"I can if I dunk it in another bath. Water stops it from working." Sonic quirked an eye ridge at Tails. "C'mon, let's go."
"Nuh uh! I had my bath for the week!"
"Tails did. I don't remember bathing a great big flying super-whumping fox robot thingy of doom, though."
"Well, you see—" Tails shielded his mouth with his hand and whispered in Sonic's ear— "I'm really Tails."
"Hmm." Sonic eyed him warily. "I dunno about that."
"I am, honest!"
"Well, if you were really Tails, you'd be lying in bed by now, and since you're not..." Sonic shook his head, a mock sad expression on his face. "You gotta be someone else."
Tails flattened his ears. "I knew it. You don't rek'nise me 'cause I've had too many baths, right?"
"You're a cute little fox with two tails, Tails. How could I not recognise you?" Sonic jerked his head. "Go on, into bed and go to sleep."
"I can't sleep, Sonic! You gotta tuck me in first!"
"Again?" Seeing Tails' big eyes, Sonic relented. "Okay, okay. But only if you don't untuck yourself until it's time to get up."
Tails frowned, a worried expression. "'Spose I gotta go to the bathroom, Sonic?"
The hedgehog rolled his eyes goodnaturedly. "Bathroom's okay, squirt. C'mon." He wrapped Tails' namesakes around the little fox's body, then cocooned him in a blanket and set him down on the bed. "How's that?"
"Great!" The little fox hesitated for a minute. "Sonic?"
"Yeah, lil bro?"
Tails squirmed and fidgeted. He knew what he wanted to say to Sonic, but even after all this time he was still frightened the hedgehog would reject him.
"Sonic...if I tell you my bestest most favouritest secret in the whole wide world, do you promise not to laugh?"
Sonic quirked an eye ridge at him. "I thought Sparkly was your bestest most favouritest secret in the whole wide world."
"He was but I already tole you 'bout him an'...an' now I got another bestest secret." Tails wriggled forward caterpillar style, then tried (and failed) to scramble onto Sonic's lap. Grinning, the hedgehog reached down and hoisted him up, settling him.
"That better?"
Tails nodded. "Uh huh!"
"So c'mon then. What's this big secret?"
Tails opened his mouth, shut it, wriggled about a little and then stuffed his face into Sonic's stomach, overcome by shyness, and mumbled something.
"Sorry kiddo, didn't catch that. What'd you say?"
"Well…I…" The little fox took a deep breath. "IloveyouSonic."
Secret out, Tails flattened his ears bashfully and dived back into Sonic's torso, hoping the hedgehog wasn't going to laugh in his face. The effort and amount of courage it had taken to say those three words...
Sonic swallowed past the lump that had appeared in his throat.
"I love you too, lil bro. You're the coolest."
He couldn't see the little fox's face, but he saw him give a happy little sigh before rolling off the hedgehog's lap and onto the bed, eyes already drooping.
Reaching out, Sonic ran a hand over Tails' fur, rubbing it as Tails curled up slightly, eyes tight shut and a happy smile on his face.
The hedgehog was halfway out the room when Tails said, "Sonic?"
Sonic paused and turned. "Yeah, lil bro?"
Tails wriggled around for a few minutes before managing to extract the Chaos Emerald Sonic had left him with for that night.
"You c'n look after this if you want. 'Cause…well, you got 'em so they should be yours, right Sonic?"
Understanding what the little fox was really saying, Sonic grinned. "Right." He took the Emerald and secured it inside his quills. "I'll take good care of it, squirt."
"Like you're gonna take good care of me, huh Sonic?" There was a slightly pleading note in Tails' voice which told the hedgehog that while the little fox trusted him enough not to want a Chaos Emerald as insurance, there was still a touch of apprehension there.
"You bet, kiddo. Now go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
When Tails did wake up the next morning, he did so early, noticing that he seemed to have untucked himself at some point during the night. Well…it had been real hot, maybe Sonic would understand!
Thinking of Sonic drew Tails' attention to the other bed like a magnet, where he saw the hedgehog fast asleep. Like Tails, Sonic had kicked the blankets off himself in an effort to cool down.
"Sonic?"
"Mph?"
Tails scrambled off the bed and padded over to stand in front of the hedgehog. "Sonic, what're we gonna do today, huh?"
"Sleep," Sonic said in a muffled tone.
Tails giggled. "We already sleeped an' it's getting light so what we gonna do, Sonic? C'n I play in the pool again today?"
"Yeah…wha'ever…now lemme sleep…"
"But how're you s'posed to play with me when you're sleeping, Sonic?" Tails picked up the clock and yipped in alarm. "Sonic, c'mon, you gotta get up!" He shook the hedgehog hard and then, when Sonic opened bleary eyes, thrust the clock at him. "See? It's ten to five an' I gotta go to bed at eight so we gotta have dinner at six so c'mon Sonic 'cause otherwise there won't be 'nough time to do anything!"
Sonic glared at the clock, then shifted his scowl onto Tails.
"Two words for you, kid. Twenty-four…hour…clock."
Tails frowned. "But that's three words, Sonic."
"Tails, it is ten to five in the morning and I didn't get back from the club till gone one. You wanna cut me some slack here?"
"Erm…" Tails looked around. "Well, I can try if you get me some scissors 'cause I'm not very good at cutting things with knives yet an' I've never cut slack before. What's slack, Sonic? An' how can it be ten to five in the morning when mornings don't start 'til you've had breakfast?"
Sonic groaned. "Am I gonna get any sleep today?"
Tails giggled. "You don't sleep during the day, Sonic! C'mon, let's go play in the pool!"
"Sure…" When Sonic failed to leap up enthusiastically at the prospect, Tails took his arm and dragged the hedgehog determinedly out of bed, then caught hold of his hand and tugged him out the door, into the elevator and out to the pool where Sonic promptly dropped onto a sun lounger and fell asleep again.
It was about ten o'clock when Sonic woke up to see Tails sitting happily on his chest reading a Sonic comic.
"What…" Sonic began weakly, then looked around at the other families and shimmering blue water. "How the hell did I get here?"
"You came with me, 'member?" Seeing his big brother was awake, Tails folded the comic carefully and hid it under their towel so Sonic wouldn't see it and get all sad again. "I was swimming for ages, Sonic, but it's all hot an' I don't wanna swim anymore so c'n we go get breakfast? Please?"
"What? Yeah, c'mon." Getting to his feet, feeling only slightly more refreshed than he had at ten to five, Sonic yawned. "Let's get some food."
"Yeah!" Tails grabbed the hedgehog's hand and padded towards the dining room, pulling Sonic behind him.
A shadow crept over the buildings, advancing towards the hedgehog who glanced down at Tails.
"Looks like our luck's about to change. It's clouding over."
Tails looked up eagerly, then back at Sonic with a puzzled frown. "But that's not a cloud, Sonic."
Unease prickled in Sonic's mind, but he forced his voice to remain light and carefree as he said, "What is it then?"
"That." Tails pointed carefully at the sky. Sonic followed his finger, saw the huge battleship floating in the sky and paled dramatically.
"Oh—"
"SONIC!"
Robotnik's voice boomed out seemingly from nowhere, causing an abrupt halt to the everyday hustle and bustle. Next to Sonic, Tails flattened his ears.
"Sonic, I thought we whumped him!"
"Hush up!" Sonic ordered as Robotnik started to speak again.
"Sonic, I know you're down here and that you can hear me. Did you think I'd given up? I've been busy preparing a special reception for you on board my Wing Fortress. If you want to save your little friends down there, you'd do well to attend. You'll find me beyond Metropolis Zone."
The battleship – presumably the Wing Fortress Robotnik had mentioned – accelerated away, leaving a shocked silence in its wake. Looking around, Sonic saw with no surprise that every face was turned expectantly to him.
He frowned slightly. "Just what is beyond Metropolis Zone, anyway?"
There was a silence. Now everyone seemed determined not to look him in the eye.
"Mebbe it's on a map somewhere?" Tails suggested.
"It's not."
Sonic whirled, tense. "Mighty?"
The armadillo nodded coolly to him. "Metropolis isn't the last Zone on Westside Island."
"Then what is?" Sonic demanded.
A shrug. "I don't know. It's not marked on any map; it just shows a blank patch of land the size of Emerald Hill Zone. Swamp and mountains, mostly, according to the key. The last official exploration team to see it went in over two hundred years ago."
Sonic stared at him. "So what happened then?"
Another shrug. "People kept going, kept trying to find out. None of them ever came back. Everyone who went into that place is either gone or dead."
The hedgehog snorted. "Dramatic much?"
"Sonic c'n 'scape from anything!" Tails said fervently, beaming up at Sonic adoringly. "He's the coolest blue hedgehog in the whole wide world!"
"He's the only blue hedgehog in the whole wide world," Mighty answered in a more civil tone than he'd taken to Sonic.
Tails floundered for a few seconds before saying, "Yeah, but…but if there were a million trillion billion squillion kajillion blue hedgehogs in the whole wide world Sonic'd still be the coolest! An' we're gonna prove it by going into that scary place you're talking about an' coming out again after we whump ol' Robotnik, right Sonic?"
Sonic glanced down at him. "You bet we are, lil bro." Returning his stare to the armadillo, he added, "Mighty?"
It was both a question and a challenge at the same time, and the armadillo shook his head. "Forget it."
"So for all your big talk about family and friendship last time we met, you're chickening out like some coward, huh?"
"Hey!"
Sonic glanced over at the indignant chicken who had protested. "Uh…sorry. No offence."
"I'm no coward," Mighty all but snarled at Sonic, his temper rising.
"Prove it!" Sonic shot back. "Do something useful and help us out for once!"
"I'm not suicidal either! If you go into the next Zone, you'll never come out again! Nobody ever has and I don't think you're going to be the first!"
"Nobody's ever fought Robotnik either," Sonic said acidly. "Especially not you, right? No, you just sat around wallowing in self-pity and left me to get on with it!"
The armadillo's hand clenched into a fist. "You're pushing your luck, Sonic."
"Fine," Sonic snapped. "You hang out here with all your new friends – assuming you've managed to make any – and I'll go save your ass. Again," he couldn't resist adding. "C'mon Tails. Let's go."
Shooting a look at Mighty that he clearly wished was a knife, Sonic stalked away, Tails trailing behind him, and refused to say another word until they'd left Metropolis Zone and then he only spoke because he saw the outskirts of the next one and the sight made him lose all thoughts of Mighty, and very nearly his lunch.
"What is this place?" he said hoarsely.
"Sonic." Tails tugged on the hedgehog's arm. "Sonic, I wanna go."
Sonic didn't answer, kept looking around at the bodies – some completely decayed to bones, others rotting and stinking – that had been pinned to the wooden pillars like some obscene butterfly collection. Others dangled from nooses made of vines that had been fastened to crude gallows, still more had been suspended in wooden cages and left to die.
"Are we gonna go after ol' Robotnik in this Zone?" Tails asked in a very small voice.
Sonic hesitated. Although he was normally against Robotnik's tendencies to massacre or roboticise everyone he came across, he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that wiping out this particular Zone could only really be classed as a public service.
Glancing around, he caught sight of a sign that was so overgrown with vines it was almost unrecognisable. Frowning slightly, Sonic stepped back and craned his head up. There were words underneath, he could make out that much, but the vines were too thick to be able to read them.
"Tails, fly me up to that sign, okay?"
Tails shifted. "I don't like it here, Sonic. It's scary. I wanna go back."
"We'll go back as soon as I've had a look at that sign, kiddo. C'mon."
Reluctantly, Tails lifted Sonic into the air, quivering so much that the hedgehog was experiencing turbulence. Hanging on tightly, the little fox kept hold of him long enough for Sonic to clear the vines away from the sign, frowning slightly.
"Genocide City Zone? What the...?"
Tails yipped in alarm and almost dropped him. "I heard stories 'bout this place, Sonic! Ev'ryone who's tried to come...they gave 'em radios an' phones an' ev'rything an' they all died but nobody knows how."
"Really?"
A vigorous nod. "Uh huh. An' they all screamed something 'bout how they were falling an' it was all blue but nobody knows what happened."
"Blue?" Sonic frowned. "What was blue?"
Tails flattened his ears and pointed, almost dropping Sonic in the process. "I think that mebbe they were talking about that, Sonic."
The hedgehog's head snapped around to see what looked like thick blue smoke coming towards them fast. It was completely opaque, and seemed almost to glow against the muddy browns and greens of the landscape.
Blue smoke...Sonic stared at it, instincts warring with curiosity. What was causing it? Was it deliberate?
He'd only just made up his mind to go and investigate further when Tails' nerve snapped and the little fox turned around and flew away as fast as his namesakes could take him, not stopping until they'd reached the park in Metropolis where he dumped Sonic unceremoniously on his behind and sat down next to him on a bench.
"That was a real mean trap of Robotnik's, huh Sonic?"
Sonic shook his head. "It wasn't Robotnik who did that, Tails."
"It's gotta be! He always does mean stuff like that!"
"No, it..." The hedgehog hesitated, on the verge of telling Tails the truth about the doctor, then backed down. "I can't explain, Tails, you're just gonna have to trust me. Robotnik would say he had better things to do with his time than stuff like that."
"Sonic, we're not gonna go through there, are we? Say we're not gonna go through there, Sonic."
"No. No, kiddo, we're not. We'll take the Tornado and fly over it, okay?"
Tails hesitated. "Sonic…I don't wanna go whump ol' Robotnik anymore. I wanna stay here 'cause we almost got whumped last time an' I don't wanna be almost whumped, Sonic."
Sonic raised his eye ridges. "Alright lil bro. If you wanna stay in Metropolis Zone, that's okay. It's a shame though," he added, studiously casual, "since I was kinda hoping you'd fly the Tornado for me."
Tails' jaw dropped. "Me?" His chest inflated so much it almost lifted him off the ground. "Sure! C'mon!" Grabbing Sonic, he raced off down the streets until they reached the outskirts where Sonic had landed the Tornado after fetching it from Emerald Hill Zone a week or so back.
Clambering into the pilot's seat, Tails glanced up at the flying fortress pensively.
"I wonder if he's making more baby Robotniks."
"Tails, I'm not sure if starting a family is—what do you mean, more?" Sonic interrupted himself.
"I mean like those baby Robotniks he threw at you back in the fact'ry an' when they hit the ground they went POOM!" Sonic ducked just in time as Tails flung his arms out dramatically.
"Tails, those were bombs."
The little fox nodded readily. "Uh huh, an' when he threw 'em at you they turned into little baby Robotniks! They looked jus' like him, Sonic. Least, how he always looks in that big round hovercar thingy. Sonic, when you kill him, can I have that to play with?"
Sonic stared at him. "Tails, I'm not going to kill him!" He was genuinely shocked by the idea; although he'd made various death threats when fighting Robotnik, he'd never had any intention of carrying them out. His plan centred more around getting the doctor arrested and imprisoned than actual death.
Jumping onto the Tornado's wings – he didn't feel especially safe up there but if he sat in the passenger seat Tails couldn't see round him – he hung on as Tails took off. Sonic had finally given into Tails' pleading one afternoon and taught the little fox how to fly, and he had to admit that Tails had proved to be a better pilot than Sonic himself was. Certainly mountains and trees never seemed to jump out at the little fox like they did at Sonic.
Glancing up at the Wing Fortress, Sonic shook his head. Had he really been so naïve as to expect Robotnik to have given up? How stupid could you get?
As they drew nearer the battleship, a fleet of robots dived for the Tornado, jerking Sonic out of his self-recriminations. These ones reminded Sonic strongly of his attempts to make paper aeroplanes as a kid (a skill he'd never been able to master). Although constructed out of what looked like red metal, they had the stumpy wings and somewhat bent nose that Sonic's paper crafts had been famous for.
Jumping neatly onto the leader, Sonic bounded rapidly from one to the next to the next, destroying them as he went before landing neatly on the Tornado again.
"Wow!" Tails shouted above the hum of the engine and the roar of the wind. "You're getting real good at that, huh Sonic? That's gotta be a thousand points!"
Sonic grinned back. "You say so, lil bro!"
Tails had recently come up with a points system for the number of bots whumped by either of them, and he couldn't be more pleased with himself. It was one hundred for one bot and it increased if Sonic jumped from that one bot to the next without returning to the Tornado. Sonic himself hadn't got a clue how Tails was working it out or how the points increased, but if the little fox was happy, he guessed that was the main thing.
What looked like three giant turtles drifted gently towards him, smaller turtles on their backs. It would have been cute if the smaller ones weren't manning (or turtling, Sonic thought wryly, a slight grin on his face) what looked like bazookas. Even as he watched, the closest one opened fire and Tails barely managed to swerve out the way in time.
Sonic glanced down at the little fox. "Hang back, lil bro! I'll deal with these!"
"Okay!" Tails turned the plane just as Sonic leapt, landing squarely on the smaller turtle and putting it out of commission. To the hedgehog's surprise, the bigger turtle seemed quite content to bear his weight and he found himself drifting along with it.
It reminded him a little of a tableback turtle, a huge, placid animal that – unlike a lot of its smaller relatives – travelled in a group and for some reason, never ever submerged completely. Tablebacks also had shells that were flat on top, hence the name. Once upon a time, Mobians had tried building houses there and living in little floating villages, until the tableback mating season had put something of a stop to that idea. The foundations still remained – it wasn't unusual to see a pod carrying blocks, grass and the remains of small fences on their backs – but very few people wanted to move back there.
Probably where Robotnik got the idea, Sonic thought flatly. After all, why else would someone pick a turtle as a combat model? Turtles weren't exactly renowned for their ferocity, at least, not as far as he knew.
"Sonic!" Tails yelped from the plane.
The hedgehog snapped back to reality and jumped back to the Tornado, hanging on as the little fox swerved around the other turtle bots and kept going.
"Hey, look!" Tails pointed. "Do you see that, Sonic?"
Since the object in question was Robotnik's fortress, and since it was at least a mile long and half a mile wide, Sonic didn't see how he could have missed it.
"Are we gonna go land on it?" Tails wanted to know, eyes gleaming eagerly.
"Not yet. Circle round; I want to make sure there's nothing waiting on the other side for us."
Tails banked obediently and so steeply Sonic almost slid off. Indirectly, this proved to be a good thing as the bomb dropped by what Tails was persistently calling the 'baby turtle Robotnik real ugly bots' missed him by a fraction of an inch and plummeted instead towards Mobius. Swearing, Sonic attacked, kicking it clean out of the sky.
No matter where Sonic leapt or where he landed, Tails was always there to catch him. Seemed like the little fox's mechanical genius also extended to piloting. Sonic had lost count of how many bots he'd destroyed before they finally stopped coming after them.
"We did it!" Tails yelped at the top of his voice.
"We sure did!" Sonic studied the fortress. There was a strut there which looked more than capable of holding the Tornado and he pointed. "Think you can land on that?"
"Yup!" Tails banked the plane steeply, and Sonic leapt onto the strut with the intention of racing on ahead and dealing with any booby traps to clear the way for Tails.
There was a humming sound and panels all around the strut slid open, revealing laser cannons that were all aiming at the Tornado. Eyes wide in horror, Sonic spun.
"Tails, look out!"
Valiantly Tails attempted to swerve the plane out of the lasers' path, but it was too late. From his perch on the strut, Sonic could only watch helplessly as the deadly beams sliced through one of the wings and the biplane went down in a crazy spiral towards the Mobian surface.
Okay, I know that strictly speaking this part should have occurred at the beginning of Wing Fortress Zone, but it was just too good an ending not to go here :P