Kj: Thanks :) As to the Chaos Emeralds, yes, perhaps it is ;) Then again, at this stage Sonic knows almost nothing about them and as for Robotnik...you didn't really believe what he was saying to Sonic, did you:P
Private somebody: Heh, thanks :D Wing Fortress easy...sure. Except for those receding platforms...that fourth one always (and I mean ALWAYS) knocked the timing out and killed me (scowls at evil platform)
Professor Vengeance: Thanks, glad you liked it :D And yes, there will be a Sonic 3 & Knuckles adaptation...it's been in the works ever since this one was begun. I just didn't want to upload it before I'd finished :P
Lewisty: Thanks :) And it's the NEXT-to-final chappy; there will be one more after this :P
Maverick87: Super Sonic does indeed rule...and after promising him for so long (and with this game being his debut) I wouldn't have dared leave him out ;)
Az The Dragon: (blushes) Thanks. Will Sonic remain super...keep reading ;)
TigerOfTheSpear: Thanks...I think I'm gonna need it :P
Ice the Rabbit: Heh, thanks...actually, it's only very recently that I managed to get to the Robotnik of Wing Fortress; I was already working on writing that chapter based on walkthroughs and screenshots ;) Made it in the end though (coughdebugcough) ;)
Dragonuk: (blushes) Thanks. Well...I've heard don't like people replying to reviews at the beginning of fics, but I've read and reread the guidelines and it's not mentioned there :P
The trouble is if someone takes time to review I think it only fair to say thanks...and the trouble with that is that because I also welcome anonymous reviews, I can't PM everyone who reviews to thank them and it always struck me as kind of unfair that some people get thanked and some don't. I really, honestly don't want to stop publicly thanking people, but yours isn't the first warning I've had and so I probably will phase it out gradually at some point...probably after this fic...
TC Chan: Thanks :D Super along the top...man, I have to try that! Anything to avoid the platforms :) And the big robot...oh yeah. Definitely the hardest stage :P
Gameorama91: Yes on both counts ;)
Myuu-san: (grins) Glad you approved :P As to the 260th review...yep, it's yours :D
Reko Reborn: Thanks :) As to the rest of it...point taken :)
Matt Lans: Thanks :D Super Pissed Super Sonic...hmm...actually, that has a certain Tailsesque flavour to it ;)
Milette Tails Prower: (happy smile) Thanks :D In answer to your question, my Sonic 3 & Knuckles adaptation follows on directly from Rising Star (since that was how the games worked). That said, I feel that Sonic's about to have a birthday soon...there may be a few months' gap :P Probably the ages will end up at twelve and five.
Pailsey: Thanks...yeah, I miss Tails too. From a writing point of view, probably more than you know ;)
TrueVulcanRaven: I'll try ;)
Shadow-spawn180: Yeah, I know. I have to admit Wing Fortress was the Zone I was least looking forward to doing for pretty much the reasons you mentioned; at least there's only one more 'solo' Zone to go :P
Bitch Wolf: Thanks :D Sonic going into space...well, Super Sonic may be able to survive outside in a vacuum, but I couldn't see Sonic doing it somehow ;)
"Dammit all to hell!"
Robotnik hurled a wrench overarm at the wall, where it bounced off and fell into the fish tank with a resounding plunk.
The doctor ran a hand over his head, leaving an interesting smear of oil behind. He'd been working nonstop on this latest project and it didn't seem to be going particularly well.
With a sigh he walked over to the fish tank, picked up a pair of tongs that lay next to it for just this purpose, retrieved the wrench, pulled the robot piranhas off it, dropped them back into the tank and returned to his work.
Just once, I'd like to have something go according to plan. I finally get time to perfect this invention and the damn thing doesn't work!
Breathing hard, Robotnik glared at the invention in question, which stared vacantly back at him. Contrary to popular belief, Robotnik didn't spend every hour of every day building robots, much as he would have liked to. With an enemy like Sonic trashing them left right and centre, it was all Robotnik could do to preserve his current batch of machines, never mind making new ones. This was his latest idea, and he wanted it to be ready for when Sonic showed up, as the doctor had no doubt he eventually would. He wasn't entirely certain how Sonic planned to accomplish this minor miracle, since Robotnik's structure was currently in the Mobian exosphere and rising fast, but he had no intentions of slipping up.
Although something tells me that Sonic's not going to be along for quite some time.
It has probably already been established that Robotnik was an extremely good scientist. In this case, he also proved to be quite a good prophet; Sonic was currently still wedged in Robotnik's airduct and – incredible though this may seem – asleep.
He hadn't intended to doze off. All the time he'd been glowing yellow, he'd felt full of energy, as alert and refreshed as if he'd just had a good night's sleep followed by half a gallon of coffee. As they'd continued, however, the yellow glow had died away from Sonic's hide, leaving it its normal blue, and it had taken the energy with it. The hedgehog had gone from being wide awake to so exhausted he could barely keep his eyes open, and no matter how much he screamed mentally at himself that it was crazy, that to drop off in this situation was tantamount to suicide, his body fought for sleep and finally won.
It was a good nine hours before Sonic woke up again, and then he was so furious at having fallen asleep in the first place that he spent another fifteen minutes berating himself for his stupidity and five more in pure relief that he hadn't been discovered.
Crawling warily out of the airduct, Sonic hunted around in the deserted shuttle until he found the same hatch that had let him in and which, with a little friendly persuasion in the form of a spindash through the exterior bolts, let him out again.
Robotnik's hangar lay deserted, empty except for his shuttle. Cautiously, every nerve ending in his body screaming that he was going to be attacked at any second, Sonic crept forward, one step at a time, taut and ready for an ambush.
Nothing happened. Was it possible the doctor didn't know he was there? Surely not…no, surely Robotnik would have some kind of early warning system or alarm, or…or…
Hedgehog detector? Sonic wondered with a touch of humour. Still, if Robotnik really was unaware of him, that gave him a valuable edge in the upcoming battle.
On the other hand, Sonic thought grimly, since he knows this place like the back of his hand and I've never been here in my life, I guess that evens us out.
Then he rounded a corner, caught sight of the viewing ports giving an unrivalled view of Mobian space – and Mobius itself – and lost all thought of anything besides what he was seeing.
For a long time, Sonic stood staring down at Mobius, awed. There were Mobian space facilities – mainly satellites – but space travel wasn't viewed as especially necessary. The Mobian view on such things was that they had a perfectly good planet already. Why would they want another one?
I gotta be the first eleven year old Mobian ever to go into space! Sonic lifted his gaze from Mobius to the stars, eyes shining. Oh man, how cool is that
Almost immediately the thought struck him: where are we going?
Were they going to Robotnik's planet? Sonic had been wondering this on and off ever since he'd hitched a ride on the doctor's shuttle, but he still wasn't any nearer to figuring out the answer. What the hell was this place, anyway?
Tearing himself away from the windows, Sonic headed on. There was still no sign of Robotnik, and now the hedgehog was starting to wonder if he was even there. Had the doctor known about Sonic right from the beginning? Maybe he'd taken another way out and abandoned Sonic up here, knowing there was no way the hedgehog could escape?
Sonic narrowed his eyes slightly as he caught sight of a control panel.
I may just surprise you, doc.
Crossing over to it, he studied it for a few minutes and then pulled on the altitude lever, causing the spacecraft to descend rapidly back towards the Mobian surface. He didn't do it particularly smoothly, and the resultant jolt almost flattened him against the ceiling.
In the construction room, Robotnik spun around with astonishing speed for a man of his size.
I'll be damned! The hedgehog actually made it!
He chuckled softly. Irritating though Sonic was, he couldn't help but admire the hedgehog's determination.
Rubbing his hands together like a demonic kindergarten teacher, Robotnik grinned broadly as he glanced at his invention. Time for a test run.
Sonic, meanwhile, was moving as slowly and silently as he could through the base, fur on end...although in his case it was so short it didn't make much difference to his general size. Since leaving the altitude controls he'd found himself in a room that had no viewing ports, had, in fact, nothing but several panels and pistons that reminded him strongly of the factory back in Metropolis Zone, albeit in a coffee colour.
One of those smaller panels slid up now to reveal Robotnik's face, gloating from behind solid glass.
"Welcome aboard my Death Egg, Sonic." The doctor's voice was pleasant, almost cordial, as though Sonic was an honoured guest instead of an intruder. "I take it that was you who changed the altitude?"
"Yeah." Sonic bit the word off at the end, not wanting to bandy words with this creature anymore than he absolutely had to.
"Impressive. Before we get down to business, I have one question—"
"I thought the intended victim was supposed to get the last request, doc."
Robotnik smiled indulgently. "Tell me how you got on board, Sonic."
The hedgehog curled his lip. "I hitched a lift with a passing alien. Now let's get going. Talking to you leaves a bad taste in my mouth."
"As you wish, Sonic." Robotnik pushed a button on the control panel and a hatch in the ceiling opened up to admit a new kind of robot which descended in a slow, controlled manner to regard the hedgehog with cold red eyes.
Sonic stared, for once at something of a loss. It was a...well...he supposed it was a hedgehog, albeit one almost twice the size of him and constructed from large segments of dark grey metal.
"Any questions before we start?" Robotnik asked.
"Yeah," Sonic retorted. He pointed at the chunky, ugly robot. "When you designed that, exactly what kind of hedgehog did you have in mind?"
Robotnik smirked. "You'll find out very soon. Sonic, meet Robo-Sonic."
"Robo what?"
"You heard." Reaching down, Robotnik flicked switches to bring Robo-Sonic to life.
Without waiting to see what would happen, Sonic ran forward, hit the brakes and started to spindash. Much to Robotnik's surprise, he didn't charge forward; instead he remained in that same position, rotating so fast on the spot the doctor couldn't make out anything except a blue blur.
Robo-Sonic charged forward with all the deceptive speed and grace of a tiger and ploughed straight through its organic counterpart, knocking him out of the spindash and into the opposite wall.
Sonic's plan had worked, however; the spindash had protected him from the robot's initial charge and he was relatively unscathed, which was more than could be said for Robo-Sonic; the machine was spitting miniature lightning bolts from one hip.
Robotnik pushed a button. Robo-Sonic wasn't sufficiently advanced yet to think for itself; the doctor hadn't had time to fix it up with AI and so was having to control it with a small panel currently worn around his neck like an accordian.
Damage report: 50
No! It wasn't possible! It wasn't fair! How could Sonic have half wrecked it already?
"Get a load of this, Sonic!" Incensed now, Robotnik began pushing buttons in a frenzy and Robo-Sonic curled over into its own version of the spindash. It was nowhere near as fast as Sonic, but the blades sticking out of it were likely to make up the difference.
Sonic didn't answer the doctor, didn't give any sign that he'd even heard. His entire attention was focused on Robo-Sonic and Tails' description of Sonic himself came into his head unbidden.
A great big blue flying buzzsaw thingy of death.
The hedgehog smiled. Substitute blue for grey and that wasn't a bad summation.
Robo-Sonic exploded into action, racing towards him faster than Sonic had anticipated; the thing's slow rate of spinning had fooled him into thinking it would move at that same pace as well. As it was, one of the blades flicked into Sonic's calf, and it was only the hedgehog's rapid dart out of harm's way that stopped it from taking his leg off.
Limping, Sonic risked taking his attention off Robo-Sonic for a few seconds to check the damage.
Mistake.
Big mistake.
By the time Sonic realised just how big, Robo-Sonic was on him. It wasn't spinning; it was simply going backwards and relying on its deadly blades to do the job. Pain knifed into Sonic's torso as the robot's weapons made contact, cutting into the muscles there as though they were made out of cheese.
Grinning broadly, Robotnik slowed the speed.
Let Sonic suffer. Let him die slowly for everything he's done to me, all the times he's got in my way...
There seemed to be no question that Sonic would die. The blades were grinding into him, almost into vital organs now. Blood was dribbling freely from the newly inflicted lacerations and over the blades to drip on the floor.
Sonic screamed. He didn't want to, he'd been determined to die without giving Robotnik that satisfaction, but he couldn't help it; the pain was excruciating. He couldn't even spindash; curling over would bring his throat straight into one of those deadly blades. The pressure was crushing him against the wall – he could feel his own blades being forced into it like they had been back on the Wing Fortress – and to make matters worse, Robo-Sonic's head had somehow turned round one hundred and eighty degrees and its glowing red eyes were fixed on him, pitiless, remorseless, without even a shred of mercy.
"Give it up, Sonic." Robotnik's mocking voice sounded tinnily distant in Sonic's ears, a cruel parody of the hedgehog's own words to Robotnik way back on the Sky Base.
Sonic struggled to think. His brain was nagging at him, telling him something about his blades...something about Wing Fortress...
The hedgehog shook his head, trying to focus. He seemed to be looking out on the world from behind a gauze curtain – albeit one made of pure dizziness – and let his eyes drop closed.
C'mon Sonic! The voice was Tails', and it seemed so real that for a minute the hedgehog thought the little fox was in the room with him.
The last image of Tails came into Sonic's mind at that point; Tails refusing to leave the Tornado, grimly fighting to bring it back under control as it plummeted towards flaming ruin.
Yeah. Sonic forced his eyes open, bullied them into focusing on Robo-Sonic's detached stare. Tails didn't quit. Neither will I.
He stretched up, fighting to suppress the next scream as the pain was quadrupled by the action, then his questing fingers found what they were looking for; a protruding panel. It would have to do.
Gripping it as tightly as he could, Sonic pulled his body up, another agonised scream forcing its way out as he hauled himself backwards up the wall like he had on the outside of the Wing Fortress, the action dragging Robo-Sonic's blades down through his body.
"What are you doing?"
Sonic's ears heard Robotnik's words, but his brain failed to register them. One hand slid up to get a better hold on another panel, tilting his body and directing the robot's blades on a diagonal path, teeth gritted against the pain and unconsciousness so hard his entire jaw was aching.
Gathering all his strength, he wrenched himself up an extra couple of feet, the blades emerging from his flesh with a sudden rush.
Deprived of Sonic's mass between itself and the wall, Robo-Sonic's own impetus drove it forward into the side of the room with devastating speed and force before Robotnik could correct the mistake.
Damage report: 75
The last vestiges of his strength giving way, Sonic's hand slithered off the panel and he tumbled onto Robo-Sonic, inadvertently slicing into it with his own blades (and bringing the damage level up to eighty seven point five percent, Robotnik noted sourly) before rolling off and onto the floor where he lay motionless, blood leaking out of his horrific injuries to puddle underneath him until his fur was soaked with it. Even the most medically inept watcher could tell that he would bleed to death before too long, if he hadn't already.
Placing his controls on a workstation, Robotnik left the viewing panel and entered the room via a hidden door in the wall. Crossing to his enemy's unmoving form, he stood there, looking down on the hedgehog who had been a thorn in his side for so long.
Five minutes ticked off the clock and Robotnik didn't do anything. He justified this by saying to himself that he wasn't going to do anything until he'd finished savouring his victory, but the reality was that he simply didn't know what to do. A dead hedgehog was of no use to him, and Robotnik's enmity towards Sonic didn't stretch to the point of desecrating the hedgehog's corpse.
Maybe he was either consciously or subconsciously demonstrating a certain level of respect for the hedgehog. Sonic had certainly been a worthy opponent, and had kept fighting right to the very end. It wouldn't be the same without him.
"You fought well," he said, impassively but with a stamp of sincerity in his voice, turned and walked away.
He'd got as far as the end of the room when a hoarse voice from behind said, "Thanks, doc."
Robotnik froze mid-step.
No! It's not possible!
Carefully, he turned, staring at the hedgehog who was now lying on his side. The hideous gashes were still carved into his body, but they were no longer bleeding.
Even as Robotnik watched, Sonic pushed himself to his feet, swaying. The grin became more sickly and he held up a finger, eyes not quite focused.
"One second, doc."
Turning, he spat blood onto the floor, then hobbled over to Robo-Sonic's inert form, holding his left arm with his other hand.
As Robotnik watched, too stunned to do anything – although with Robo-Sonic's controls a hundred yards away in another room, he wasn't sure what he could do – Sonic turned around and went backwards in a slower, more painful version of the robot's last attack and didn't stop until he heard the crackle and fizz of burnt out components.
Pulling himself out again, he looked at the astounded doctor and his smile widened. "One down."
"You should be dead!"
"No kidding." Sonic himself didn't understand what had happened; his bleeding had stopped suddenly and his mind was clear, but physically he still felt too weak to do much more than stand.
Robotnik barely even registered the destruction of Robo-Sonic and Sonic's own dragging approach towards the doctor; his senses were too busy shouting that this wasn't possible, couldn't be possible.
When Sonic was six feet away from him, Robotnik's survival instinct kicked in and he turned and ran, heading straight for the bridge.
Sonic followed him, not fast because he didn't think his body would take it, but not particularly slowly either. His entire attitude was that of someone who's been through so much pain they've come out the other side and are beyond feeling anything.
Robotnik opened what Sonic thought was a circular hatch and jumped down it, and the hedgehog smiled slightly.
"You really think that's going to stop me, Robuttnik?"
"Actually, Sonic—" the floor slid away in segments to reveal the red and yellow monstrosity lurking beneath it, one which rose up and stepped onto the bridge as the floor clicked back into place underneath— "yes, I do."
The hedgehog stared at the robot for a few minutes, then curled his lip. "A giant robot of yourself, doc? That's cheesy even for you."
Robotnik smiled lazily, like a cat. "Well, your little pet shouldn't go putting ideas in my head, should he?"
The hedgehog's eyes narrowed. "And just what do you call that one? The Hedgehog Eggstinguisher?"
Robotnik snorted, inwardly wondering why on earth he hadn't come up with that one. "Close, Sonic, but not quite enough to pass. This is my Eggstreme Annihilator."
"Right..."
"You know you're not going to win this one, Sonic. You couldn't have beaten this at full health and now you're nearly dead. Why continue the fight?"
Sonic lifted his head and looked Robotnik squarely in the eyes, a broad grin spreading across his face. "Haven't you heard, doc? I'm Sonic the hedgehog. It's what I do."
"Have it your way." The robot took a long, lumbering step forward, one foot crashing down onto the deck with such force Sonic was amazed the floor still held. One arm – sporting three vicious looking claws at the end instead of fingers – surged forward. It was about six feet above Sonic's head, but it meant it was almost impossible for the hedgehog to dodge it and attack at the same time.
If he'd been fully healthy, Sonic could possibly have finished it off in a dozen or so hits. As it was, it took all he could do to keep himself out the way.
Maybe I can get it from behind.
Sonic dived forward, racing between the robot's legs and turned, eyeing it up contemplatively as it stopped moving. Was it going to try and turn? He'd aimed to attack it from the rear on the basis that a robot as large and cumbersome as this one couldn't maneuver easily, but had he been wrong?
The question of the Eggstreme Annihilator's agility was never resolved, however, since that was the point when Sonic saw what was either torpedos or rocket-shaped mines erupting from between the shoulders and bolted back the way he'd come as the explosions went off behind him.
Glancing to his side, he noticed the full length viewing ports with a certain amount of trepidation; the Death Egg was still high enough to be showing stars on black as opposed to blue sky. Somehow he had to delay Robotnik enough for the base to re-enter the Mobian atmosphere.
Turning, determined to try and stall for time, Sonic prepared to jump. He could see only one real chance; he had to jump on top of one of those arms and from there to the top of the machine, attempt to get to Robotnik that way.
As he was readying himself forthat leap, all the while doubting his battered body could manage what looked like a dizzyingly high altitude in his current state, Robotnikleapt first.
For a few seconds, Sonic could only stare. He'd never supposed something that size could jump, much less jump three or four times its own height.
Looking up, he saw it moving as it ascended until it was directly above him, and he raced forward, skidding to a stop in front of the door he'd come through before.
No, I can't go back there; he'll only follow or do something even worse.
A shadow fell across the hedgehog and he glanced up again to see the robot overhead. It looked like it had reached the apex of its jump; it was starting to descend.
Right on top of him.
Sonic ran again, limping now. Whatever had stopped his bleeding (and just what had done that, anyway? he wondered) hadn't healed his injuries; it had just prevented them getting any worse.
The robot slammed onto the floor, denting it slightly. The force of the landing caused it to sway forward, almost as though it was bowing.
Sonic looked at the massive metal stomach in front of him, then leapt and rammed into it with as much force as he could muster.
He barely had enough time to duck as the laws of physics brought the robot's top half forward again and Robotnik took advantage of the position to shoot one of the deadly metal arms at the hedgehog.
Rolling frantically out the way of the massive feet (one of which pounded down on the exact spot where he'd been not seconds before) Sonic tried to think.
Okay. I can't get up to the top, so I gotta bring it down to my level somehow.
But how? Although it was almost guaranteed that Robotnik would jump again (and quite possibly that the Eggstreme Annihilator's upper body would swing forward again) Sonic didn't much fancy his chances of dodging it over and over again. A couple of the slashes on his chest had already been pulled apart by his actions against this thing, and were bleeding again.
Sonic gave ground in front of the approaching machine, trying to work out a way of bringing it down long enough to mount an attack on the top and its occupant.
Something touched his quill and he let out a yell and whirled, coming face to face with nothing more deadly than the wall.
He wasn't face to face with it for long, however, since a metal arm punched through it, narrowly missing Sonic. Ducking and rolling out the way, Sonic dived between the legs again and this time kept going to the opposite side, well out of range of the bombs.
His foot caught in something and he sprawled onto the ground, blackness crashing through his head. Half pushing himself upright, Sonic spat a mouthful of blood onto the floor and turned to see a slightly buckled floor section.
Actually, now that he thought about it, all the floor in about a ten foot radius seemed to be cracked and damaged. Robotnik might build sturdy fortresses, but a barrage of explosives followed by a multi-ton robot from a great height was asking a lot out of any floor surface.
Sonic stared at the ground, at the cracks there, and felt the pieces fall into place in his mind.
That's it! Come on, doc; one more jump...just one more...
Robotnik jumped.
Sonic ran to the end of the room and then back as he'd done the first time, then started to prepare a spindash. Halfway through, he slowed, stopped and collapsed onto his side. Desperately he tried to push himself up, to keep going, but it seemed his body had finally had enough. Looking down, Robotnik grinned broadly.
"Game over, Sonic."
He locked onto the hedgehog and cut the thrusters, sending the Eggstreme Annihilator down.
At the last possible minute, Sonic snapped onto his feet and darted to the other side of the room, leaving Robotnik to crash onto the damaged floor which finally gave way, causing the gargantuan robot to slide back into the niche it had been stored in. Its return was nowhere near as elegant as its emergence; it didn't land exactly in the niche and the resultant grinding down the inside took six feet off the front of it, the noise of tortured metal on metal echoing in the room.
Opening the hatch, coughing as smoke billowed around him, Robotnik caught sight of the hedgehog standing just in front of him, arms folded, foot tapping and with a grin on his face which belied the considerable pain he must still be feeling.
"There's always extra time, doc."
Unable to believe he'd lost a second time – and to a Sonic that had been almost incapacitated – Robotnik stared for a long time, then a slight answering smile appeared on his face.
"I believe you're right, Sonic. You'll be pleased to know I took your advice."
"About naming your sick little devices?"
"No." Dragging himself out of his Eggstreme Annihilator, Robotnik hobbled over to the wall. "About installing a self-destruct switch."
Sonic stared in disbelief as the doctor flipped open a hidden panel, revealing the switch in question. In keeping with both tradition and the general colour scheme, it was bright red.
"No. Way," Sonic said incredulously.
Robotnik grinned at him. "I suggest you start running, Sonic."
The hedgehog shook his head, although he was already backing off. "You wouldn't."
"I assure you I would."
"You didn't push any self destruct button when I wrecked your Sky Base, doc."
Robotnik scowled at him, no longer grinning. "Firstly, Sonic, I hadn't equipped it with such a nicety and secondly, the Sky Base happened to be insured!"
Thinking about that seemed to be the catalyst; Robotnik's hand slammed towards the button and Sonic ran for his life.
The hedgehog never knew where the explosion originated from. All he knew was that he was suddenly racing a wall of flame that seemed to be getting nearer and nearer with every second, desperately hoping that they were far enough into the atmosphere for the air to be breathable.
He shot out of the Death Egg like a cannonball and at a comparable speed as well, starting to tumble through the air as a pillar of flame exploded out above him. The incandescent heat was overpowering; Sonic could literally feel his fur crinkling, his body shrieking against this new abuse and he closed his eyes tightly, rolling over onto his belly. Anything was better than seeing those flames; they were too reminiscent of what Tails had most likely gone through.
Almost anything, he corrected himself, seeing the Mobian surface thousands of feet below him. His breathing was harsh and laboured – whether that was due to the fire, the lack of oxygen this high up, his own fear or all three together, Sonic didn't know – and he had a grim foreboding that pretty soon lack of oxygen was going to be the least of his troubles.
What was the terminal velocity of a hedgehog? Sonic guessed there was some calculation based on weight and gravity to work it out, but he didn't suppose it mattered; it was likely to be far too fast for him to survive. He wondered if he could use the Emeralds like he had before (and if the changes they caused would enable him to fly, or at least not crash quite so hard) but one look at them answered that question; they lay in his bag like so many rocks. Six of them were glowing very faintly, but the seventh – the light blue one – was dead.
Sonic closed his eyes. He wasn't thinking anything specific, but if his current emotion could be translated into words, it would be something like, I guess it's fitting in a strange way.
Oddly enough there was no real terror anymore. When he'd been trying to stop Robotnik killing him, there had been plenty of terror, but now the decision re Sonic's death had been taken out of the hedgehog's hands, there was only a kind of dull resignation.
Yeah, he thought. Robotnik's gotta be dead – nobody could have survived that – and so's Tails. Poor little guy. He never really had a chance, not this time. I should have left him in Metropolis.
At that point he crashed into something with the force of a bullet. His head hit a hard surface with an audible crack and his last conscious thought was, Funny; I thought the ground was a lot further down than that.
Then everything went black.
(deep breath) Well, it's not quite over; there's still one more chapter to go, kind of an ending one that ties up the loose ends :D Hope you liked this and if you read, please review!