Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog. All rights belong to Sega. I only own the OCs.
Episode 11: Beating Robotnik-Part 1.
A week has passed since Sonic and his friends' adventures on Seaside Island, having met Manfred "Manny" Milestone the hedgehog, who agreed to keep the situation a secret, and the two dinosaurs they encountered turned out to be have been living underground beneath the island's surface and returned to their home cave in the most densed parts of the jungle, since the battle across the ocean alerted them. While it was another bust in finding the Chaos Emerald as well as the Iron Empire's current secret base, they did find a disk which contained information on Julius' plans.
As of now, unfortunately it still delayed the need to find the actual base and still no sign of Vanilla or the Floral Forest Villagers either. They still haven't found anymore Chaos Emeralds either. Knuckles had left to continue his own search and investigation alone the moment after the group came back home, as well as search for answers on Cheese's connections with the Chaos Emeralds and why they both reacted in such a mysterious way. So many leads and none of them were one step closer to learning of the whereabouts of the hostages.
Sonic was lying on the roof of the garage reading a book that detailed a map on the Soumerca Continent as he tried to think of a way of where the Iron Empire's base is, before setting it aside and gazed up at the sky with one hand placed behind his head.
"I guess I've seen every place there is to see on this continent, but there's still no sign of Julius' base. Maybe they're operating on some deserted island like Eggman." Sonic noted to himself, before sighing as he thought about the unusual connection Cheese has with the Chaos Emerald. "I still can't believe Eggman's brother was right. But...how can that be?"
He thought back to when they told Chuck about what happened on the island while reassuring him and the kindly house servants that Cream and Cheese hadn't been in any sort of danger.
Flash-Back: A week ago...
A few hours after returning home from Seaside Island and Knuckles departing from them, Sonic, Tails, Amy, Chris, Cream and Cheese met up with Chuck before heading into the lab to start analyzing the disk they found in the abandoned base, while explaining to the old human scientist about what happened, including the shockingly discovery of surviving dinosaurs, and Cheese mysteriously glowing which had him react to the power of the green Chaos Emerald and even using Chaos Control.
Chris's friends Danny and Francies, who had been waiting for him at the Thorndyke Mansion, were there as well after Chris told his friends a while ago and having met Sonic and the others, the two other kids getting along with them just fine.
"Hi, I'm Danny." Danny introduced himself.
"And my name's Francies." Francies added. "It's really nice to meet you."
"Hi there. I'm Amy Rose." Amy responded happily.
"My name's Tails." Tails waved. "Hi."
"My name is Cream, and this is my special friend Cheese." Cream added, with Cheese waving a hello.
"Oh, they're so cute." The twelve year old girl cooed at the cute duo.
"And you're Sonic, right? It's so cool to finally meet you." The twelve year old boy added when he gazed at the blue hedgehog who winked with a thumbs up.
"Great to meet friends of Chris, too. Friends of his are friends of ours too." Sonic replied.
Once the introductions were done, the group explained everything that transfered.
"So you're saying that Cheese began glowing before alerting you all with Dr. Robotnik being chased by an actual adult Brachiosaurus who mistook him for his brother who caused trouble on the island eight years ago, and then the little Chao and the Chaos Emerald somehow reacted in causing this Chaos Control that guided you safely to the ground?" Chuck surmised, seated on his computer chair deep in thought.
"We're still not sure how or why it happened, but it's very unusual for a Chao to actually do such a thing." Tails confirmed, causing worriedly over Cream and Cheese who both still looked just as confused as everybody else. "Another thing is that Cheese could actually understand what the Brachiosaurus was saying."
"I still can't believe all of this happened because of Robotnik and his mean and horrible brother." Francies remarked, feeling sorry for Cream and Cheese for what happened to both of them.
"Those two guys are really nasty." Danny shuddered in agreement.
"Nasty is an understatement, especially with Eggman and Julius." Chris sighed.
"Cream, I don't mean to ask you this, but what do you know about Chao?" The elder Thorndyke asked cautiously.
"I only heard that Chao make special bonds with people they come attached to, they live in colonies that are hard to find and have to be treated well with love and care. But Mama and I never heard of Chao glowing before, or even about the Chaos Emeralds until we came here to find Mr. Sonic for help." Cream explained, gazing at her Chao in her arms. "But then they can be reborn sometimes."
"Reborn?" Chris asked, surprised as he and the others gazed at her.
"There have been stories that Chao can form into Cocoons to evolve, and that's how they grow up. If they bond with people, they can turn into eggs and be born again, having memories of their really close friend. Mama told me this when Cheese first hatched." The little rabbit girl said. "Sometimes they can even be in different colours, but blue and yellow are the ore common colours."
"Chao, Chao." Cheese squeaked, feeling rather haunted by the discovery over what he did and felt scared about it.
"What about white and blue kinds of Chao?" Sonic asked, lying against the wall nearby, making everybody else glance at him before the blue hedgehog shrugged, admitting. "Call me crazy, but I think there's a ghost Chao somewhere in the forest that I noticed the other day while I was looking for the Iron Empire's secret base."
"Ghost Chao?" Tails, Amy, Chris, Danny, Francies and Chuck asked in unison.
"Chao?" Cheese blinked, confused.
"Yeah, and even crazier, while you guys were at the beach before Eggman attacked the Emerald Resort, I had this really weird dream that I followed this girl who was just like Cream, only she was wearing a pink dress, and she was friends with a colony of white and blue Chao. I only remember that her name is Camellia, and she was being followed by some shadowy kind of guy who I couldn't get a glimpse of, but like Julius, he seemed pretty determined to get all of them. Don't know who he was or what he actually wanted, since I woke up after that, but I didn't think it would be important 'til now to mention it." The hero of Mobius explained.
"Maybe it was just a nightmare and Julius was that guy you saw, Sonic." Amy suggested, finding this unbelievable.
The fourteen year old shrugged. "Maybe, except I followed the kid and no one seemed to notice me. Like I was invisible or something."
"But Chao can't turn into ghosts. And there aren't any white and blue Chao anymore." Cream pointed out sadly.
"Cream's right, Sonic. From what I've heard, white and blue Chao had all vanished and gone extinct around four thousand years ago." Tails agreed.
"Or have they?" Chuck said thoughtfully, making the younger ones look up at him as he continued. "We don't know much about the past or why Chao are connected with the Chaos Emeralds, but perhaps Julius and the Iron Empire do, and there could be a spirit Chao or something that still exists. He knows more than the rest of us do, and if Sonic did indeed see one and had dream of it, it could be connected with Cream and her family as well as the Chao themselves, and the dream he had could be a warning to tell him of the possible dangers that may be coming."
"Me? So I wasn't hallucinating then?" Sonic asked while pointing at himself, puzzled and confused.
"We don't know that for certain, but as Tails once told me, you have the natural talent when it comes to the Chaos Emeralds, so it may stand reason that there is a special Chao out there sensing the dangers the Iron Empire pose to not just it's own kind, but to the rest of the world and only you can relate to them since it's now confirmed that they are connected to the Emeralds as well." The human man said firmly. "Either way, I think it's best to keep Cream and Cheese away from the Chaos Emeralds, especially now since Dr. Robotnik knows about this."
Everyone gasped in horrified realization before they all gazed their youngest friends who both looked terrified as well as, to everyone else's concerns, guilt-ridden. Sonic, horrified and gravely worried for the safeties of his new little sister-like figure and Chao, lowered his gaze as now even they were targets for Robotnik's evil schemes, no doubt that he would begin to follow his murderous brother's example for his own deeds.
End of Flash-Back:
Thinking about it now a week on, Sonic still couldn't get it out of his head. He wanted to find the Iron Empire's base soon, but now there's more to worry about. He squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to stop himself from screaming out in frustration and guilt, feeling responsible for this mess. At the same he blamed the Robotnik family for destroying Cream's family by taking away her mother just so Julius could take over Mobius for whatever connections the Chao have with the Chaos Emeralds. The blue hedgehog knew he had to do something, fast.
"Hang in there, Vanilla. Please, just hang in there, for Cream and Cheese's sakes." Sonic whispered as he gazed over the horizon once more.
In the living room while Cream and Cheese still worried about the former's mother and for the latter's safety as well as what just happened, they've been kept cheerful, safe and happy by watching the Next Show which was just finishing up.
"Bye bye, my friends! I'll see you tomorrow!" The monster host of the show waved the young audience all across the globe a goodbye.
"Bye bye!" Cream waved back, with Cheese doing the same just as Ella came into the room with a tray filled with snacks.
"I thought you two would like a little snack." The kindly human woman greeted warmly.
"Thank you, Miss Ella." The five year old Mobian girl replied happily.
Just then the news broke out on the screen with the reporter announcing while getting the trio's attention. "We interrupt our regularly scheduled program to go live to our SSTV correspondent Scarlett Garcia."
The screen then revealed Scarlett herself as she stood behind a crowd of people while reporting. "The president's top aide is going to make a statement before taking questions from the press corps."
Standing in front of the White House is a tan-ish man in a dark grey suit with dark hair as he began to adress the people and the media all across Station Square.
"The president has decided to take action to stop Dr. Robotnik." The top aide, Jerome Wise, announced, which shocked Ella, Cream and Cheese. "There is no need to fear, we will stop him."
Meanwhile in his base, Robotnik, who was recovering from a latest break in that someone tried to steal his Cyan Chaos Emerald but failed, yet blew up his machine the previous night, was also watching the news as he was angered that it was the Government who snuck in and that those fools seem to believe they can defeat him once and for all, with or without Sonic's help.
Pausing the video as the answer to the question of if they had developed a plan to stop him was positive, stating. "Yeah? Well I hope they come up with a disaster management plan, because they're going to need it!"
The evil scientist then thought about the connections Sonic's new friends Cream the Rabbit and Cheese the Chao have with the Chaos Emeralds, recalling what happened a week ago and also thought about what his brother told him before the blue hedgehog interrupted their all-out-bitter war of robots.
Julius just laughed. "I've been plotting in using Chao for a year, yet the only way to find all Chao Colonies lies within the little girl and her pet. They and the Chaos Emeralds are the keys in learning the truth about the emeralds."
"I think Knuckles is right." Tails began, gazing at the Chaos Emerald. "Chaos Control is a technique that only requires all of the seven Chaos Emeralds, giving the user the power to teleport or stop a catastrophic event, or even stop time. At least that's what they say. Sonic only used Chaos Control even without saying it to teleport whenever he uses all of the Emeralds, and even then, there's still a lot we don't know about. But what I don't understand is how or why Cheese is able to do that with just one Emerald."
"She speaks dinosaur?" Manny asked, baffled.
"I...don't think so. But it could be that Cream's understanding what Cheese is telling her since he's the one who can understand what the brachiosaurus is saying." Tails theorized.
"That little girl actually understands Chao?" The evil scientist asked incredulously.
"Oh, be quiet, Eggman!" Amy hissed.
"As for that young lady and her Chao...Maybe Julius is right and there is a special connection, and like Sonic, they could be just as linked to the Chaos Emeralds. Only neither of them have learned of their full potential." Robotnik muttered to himself, and while he was above in using life-forms to power up his robots, he was against the idea of using Cream and Cheese locate the Chao Colonies since they were younger than Sonic who can harness the power of the Chaos Emeralds, being mature enough to do so when they both discovered this three years ago in their first final showdown.
"Well either way, I'll get all of the Emeralds and Mobius is mine to rule!" The evil scientist declared to himself before laughing and would soon begin his plot take down all of his enemies.
Meanwhile, Knuckles was climbing up the mountain wall with his fists while passing by the trees as he went before reaching the top and gazed out over to Station Square with a sigh. So far within the week he still came up empty handed, both in finding information on the Iron Empire and the Chaos Emerald located somewhere around here.
"Alright, where's that emerald?" The red echidna muttered to himself, before noticing the familiar sound of the X Tornado above him and looked up to see the plane itself flying over him. Knowing what to do and that it could be a lead, he immediately raced down the mountain to investigate.
Within the X Tornado, other than Tails, are Amy, Chris and Francies who wanted to come along for finding the third Chaos Emerald as well as hoping to help out Sonic to find another clue in locating the Iron Empire's base before they and Robotnik find the emerald itself.
"Amy, there's my house down there!" Francies pointed to the city below, making the pink hedgehog follow her gaze. "See the one with the red roof?"
"I see it! It looks great." Amy said, noticing how nice her new friend's home looks.
"You should come over for a visit sometime." The young human girl offered, which the pink hedgehog accepted and thanked her, before the twelve year old girl asked the twelve year old boy. "Hey Chris, do you think we can fly over our school?"
Chris, who was surprisingly wearing a pair of high-tech goggles, muttered in concern and embarrassment. "Uh...Well...I suppose..."
"Guys, this isn't sight-seeing. We've gotta hurry and track down the next Chaos Emerald or Eggman or even the Iron Empire will get it before we do!" Tails reminded the trio behind them as the three sighed.
"I know, Tails. Sorry." The young Thorndyke replied sheepishly as he forgot that this was a serious mission.
The two-tailed fox smiled and told him that it was alright, before asking curiously. "Hey Chris, where'd you get those new high-tech goggles? From your Grandpa?"
"Hm? No, my teacher Mr. Stewart gave them to me." Chris replied, gesturing at the goggles. "Like 'em?"
"Mm hmm. They look pretty cool." The seven year old fox nodded.
The twelve year old boy chuckled. "Yeah, they're one of the best gifts I ever got."
What no one suspected was that on the goggles was a tracking device as well as a mircophone, because down below following their trail was Mr. Stewart himself who was secretly following them in his car which also had a tracker, especially when he had noticed it flying above the school after he heard Francies point out to Amy, and the man's eyes widened before keeping track of them moments later.
Meanwhile, in the White House, Rouge was meeting with the President as well as her partner Topaz, who is a human woman with short dirty-blond hair and an outfit of that of the GUN organization itself, along with a couple of aids. They were discussing the plan to take out Dr. Robotnik and destroy his island base once and for all as the evil scientist's attacks have gone far enough. Also in the meeting room are many soldiers that are going to infiltrate the base.
"The power generators for Robotnik's base are located under the tower, Mr. President." The Captain of the Leading squad reported. "This information came to us from Rouge and Topaz."
"Good." The President nodded, gazing at Rouge and said. "You've really proven to be one of our finest agents, Rouge."
"Well, this spy stuff is up my alley. No Chaos Emerald is a downer, but at least having Dr. Robotnik's ear-killing robot blow up in his face was worth it." The female bat smirked, and while she tried not to show it, even Topaz found it amusing. In fact, this happened a few days ago.
Flash-Back:
Rouge, Topaz, the Captain of the mission and a few of the soldiers have sneaked into Robotnik's secret base with the Mobian bat thief taking the lead, and while there had been a few complications like her trying to take the Cyan Chaos Emerald only to run into a very noisy robot named Noizi, who had caught Topaz until Rouge came to the unexpected rescue.
Using a device to block out the ear-killing noise making robot to cause it to explode, during the fight they found that the generator room was underneath with a hole made until the duo manage to escape just as Robotnik came in to see what was going on, noticing the unfamiliar duo.
"Excuse me." The evil scientist muttered as he moved out of the way just as Rouge flies away while carrying Topaz around the waist, before he asked in confusion. "Who's that?"
Turning to see what happened, he let out a terrified scream just as the robot exploded and causing explosions that followed the two agents, but they managed to escape unharmed as they fly out to safety, but they also did manage to get a slight glimpse of the smoke clearing to see the mad doctor coughing while covered in soot and even missing a tooth.
"Help me...Mommy." Robotnik whimpered before falling onto his back, unconscious.
End of Flash-Back:
'I do kind of wish to see that for myself.' The President thought to himself, before saying out loud. "We're all very grateful to both of you for your hard work. Now, let's review our attack plan."
"Yes, sir." The Commander responded.
"Could it really be true that Dr. Robotnik and the Iron Empire Leader Julius Iron are brothers?" Topaz questioned Rouge who shrugged.
"From what I heard, those two are like oil and fire and the more disturbing part is that Sonic heard Robotnik meantion that Julius killed their father ten years ago." The female bat muttered, shaking her head in disgust. "That Julius guy is definitely more of a threat than Robotnik is, in a more murdering sense which is horrible."
"But what would the Iron Empire want with the girl and Chao?" The human female agent muttered in concern.
"I know, right? Those two are way too cute and innocent, not to mention very sweet and very well behaved to be on the Iron Empire's wanted list." Rouge agreed.
As the President, the Captain and the Commander discuss the plans including if Robotnik launches a counterattack, including diversions and a special forces team to infiltrate the base to plant time bombs joined by Rouge and Topaz, once this was done, they moved onto the next part of the discussion.
"Uh, now onto the subject with the young hero Sonic." The President began, looking rather a bit uncomfortable despite the teenage hedgehog's heroics for the past three years and several weeks.
"Hero or not, we're ready to capture him and force him to work with us." One of the advisors declared.
The man in charge however said to him as he already had another idea on how to approach Sonic without force. "Well...now, you see, I...I sent someone to try a more diplomatic approach."
"Who, sir?"
In the underwater base of the Iron Empire, Julius and a couple of his men had also noticed the news that was about to get rid of Robotnik's base.
"It would seem that that Government have been spying on Dr. Robotnik's base and plan on destroying it, sir." One of the Iron Empire aides reported.
"Good. That will keep Ivo Eggman busy for a while, even if those fools cannot even put a dent on that second-rated scientist's robots. Sonic on the other hand will no doubt be there as well. This would be a perfect opportunity to see how this unfolds, and while the base is destroyed, we make our move to capture the girl and her Chao." Julius chuckled cruelly.
"Understood, sir." The two aides nodded, before making their leave from the room and left their leader alone once more.
The evil leader grinned darkly, before opening up a drawer where he pulled out a small doll based on Sonic and held it in his hand which fitted perfectly and he stared at it as though he was holding the fourteen year old hedgehog himself.
"You think you can win this fight, Sonic the Hedgehog. But soon enough this world will be mine, and you and Ivo will be within my grasp...Where I will crush you!" Julius declared, before laughing manically with such an insane and monstrous way that he began squeezing the doll so tightly that it began to make squeaking sounds.
Sonic had once again left the Thorndyke Mansion to try and find the Iron Empire base again while hoping that Ella, Tanaka, and Chuck would be keeping an eye on Cream and Cheese. The hero of Mobius searched the same areas again and tried new routes in case he missed a place or two. So far, he still came up empty handed and it was frustrating him to no end, and the clue found on the disk was that there were hints and pieces that there are special kinds of Chao, but most of the data has been wiped out and erased, so it was useless.
"Maybe I'm not looking right. We've searched everywhere on land and I don't think they'd be dumb enough to make a giant flying fortress like Eggman does sometimes." Sonic grumbled, placing a finger to his forehead as he closed his eyes. "Guess I'll have to ask for more help after all, but I can't let Cream down."
Sighing, he shrugged before deciding to head for home for now and hoped that the others were okay. Thinking that he should meet up with Tails and the others to at least find another Chaos Emerald, the blue hedgehog then sped away back to Station Square.
Back at the Thorndyke Mansion, Jerome Wise, along with two other agents, were standing at the front door under the President's orders to negoticate with Sonic to agree to work for the President to help defeat Dr. Robotnik. After the aide knocked on the door, Ella answered as she opened the door.
"Good day, sir." The housemaid greeted, only to gap in shock and surprise to see who it was, recognizing Jerome almost immediately. "You're...the president's aide!"
"Is Sonic home?" The man questioned straight away, much to Ella's shock.
While wondering how the government knew that Sonic was staying here for a while until Cream's mother is found and the Iron Empire is defeated, Ella began to worry that the blue hedgehog was to be captured despite being a hero, even though there weren't many Mobians here and the White House may believe that the fourteen year old was best to be kept in one place against his will, not to mention that they may put him in jail even though he didn't do anything wrong.
"Sonic the Hedgehog? Why would he be here? I've never met the famous young hero before." Ella responded, crossing her arms.
But Jerome wasn't fooled as he attempted to reassure the woman. "I'd like you to let Sonic know that I didn't come here to capture him. I simply came at the request of the president, to ask for his cooperation. You should also tell Sonic that if he does agree to work with us, he'll be rewarded. The president gave his pledge that Sonic and his friends will be offered citizenship and they'll be paid for their services, if they wish to stay here in Station Square."
"That's all very nice, but I don't think I know no Sonic other than in the news." The housemaid denied once again.
"We know you know Sonic other than hearing about him on the news...Ella." Jerome responded, holding out a note-book which had, to Ella's shock.
"But how do you know my name?" Ella asked, wondering how in the world did the government know about her in the first place.
"We know all about you, this house, and your visitors." Jerome answered firmly.
The housemaid narrowed her eyes as she denied, quickly calming herself down while getting more and more annoyed by the president's aide's stubborness., and made to shoo him away. "I already told you, I don't know nothing, so why don't you put an egg in your shoe and beat it!"
Jerome didn't take this kindly as he growled while threatening her. "I can cause lots of problems for you, lady. Get Sonic!"
But all she did was slam the door on him and locking it up, much to his frustration. Growling in anger and impatience, the man attempted to pull the door open but was unable to do so and ended up falling onto the ground hard. Just as he made to stand up, the door opened again as Ella emerged with a bucket of water, before dumping it right on top him, soaking him to the bone as he yelped and screamed while the two agents watched on in shock but had to refrain themselves while the housemaid slammed the door shut once again.
Jerome growled in frustration as he stood up while complaining loudly while the two agents just stood there. "What kind of security is this!? They're supposed to jump and now I smell like floor wax!"
Ella pouted before walking away to continue her chores while Tanaka approached as the butler asked about the commotion, descending from the stairs. "Who was it?"
"Just because he's the president's big shot assistant, he thinks he can threaten me! Well I just showed him he's all wet!" Ella said in annoyance before walking away.
As Jerome and the two agents, in humiliating defeat, reported to the President before driving off to return to the White House, Sonic had just returned and unknowingly avoided in being seen before skidding to a stop. He was about to head inside when he noticed the porch was slippery and damp the moment he stepped onto the slowly drying patch where Jerome had stood on just moments ago.
"Why is the porch all wet? That's weird." Sonic muttered to himself, before shrugging and decided to dismiss it for now and headed inside to check up on Cream and Cheese.
"Yes, I see. Thank you." The President responded after hearing what happened, before hanging up and sighed while announcing to the people in the room. "He couldn't even get in the door to see him."
"It seems that Sonic is very headstrong, it's no wonder he's put up against Robotnik. It could be that he may be attempting to locate the Iron Empire's base and cannot worry about our target right now." One of the chairmen remarked.
"It looks like we'll have to stop Robotnik ourselves, Mr. President." The Government Official suggested wirily.
As much as he hated to admit it, the President knew that they had no choice and without Sonic, this was going to be more difficult. "I suppose we'll have to count Sonic out."
"Sonic is probably busy trying to find the little girl's mother. He really cares about her, but I think he'll find out and rush in to help anyway. In the meantime, you don't need him in the game." Rouge spoke up, making everyone gaze at her as she gave the President a wink. "Not when you've got me going a bat for you!"
Realizing what she meant and she is a strong fighter, not to mention a well-known agent, the President nodded in agreement. "You're right, Rouge!"
Secretly though, the bat smirked slyly. 'I'm not going to let anything stop me from getting my hands on a Chaos Emerald this time.'
Meanwhile, while Mr. Stewart was still secretly following the X Tornado while wondering why they were flying towards a field, within the plane itself Tails, Chris, Amy and Francies all looked to see that the green Chaos Emerald began to glow which made the vessel rock a bit.
"The Chaos Emerald's picking up something!" Tails called up as he gazed at the Emerald.
"That's great!" Chris remarked happily as he leaned over to see for himself.
"See on the locator screen?" The two-tailed fox asked.
The human boy did so, and after reading it carefully, the twelve year old nodded and answered. "It's coming from southeast!"
"Chaos Emerald, here we come!" The seven year old Mobian cheered happily, as he put the X Tornado to alter it's course straight towards southeast where they would find the third Chaos Emerald itself, still unaware that Mr. Stewart was following him.
Once the X Tornado made it to the area, it made a landing in a dense corn field while Chris announced happily. "The stopes say there's a Chaos Emerald in this field! We beat Eggman to it!"
"Alright!" The other three celebrated.
"Let's open the hatch and start looking." The twelve year old boy declared.
"We can look from here." Tails pointed out with a smile, confusing his friend and then answered the unasked question he knew Chris was about to ask. "Wait and see."
The young fox cub then pushed a red button and then pulled up a lever. All of the sudden, the entire plane began to transform, first it began moving it's engines, and then, to the confusion and surprise of Amy and Francies who both wondered what was going on, their seats were being lifted up, the engines separated, the wings went inside the plane and then the X Tornado extended the lower half into legs which the plane itself was now standing on the ground!
"Wow!" Francies exclaimed in awe as she could see all the growing corn cobs.
"Wow, Tails!" Amy exclaimed, also amazed. "What did you do?"
Tails chuckled as he rubbed his nose, explaining. "I transformed it into an all-purpose robot called the X Cyclone. What do you guys say we take it for a little stroll?" When his friends nodded in excited agreement, he piloted the newly transformed plane to walk. "Now let's find that Chaos Emerald!"
While the newly transformed X Cyclone walked through the field, Mr. Stewart heard what has happened while noticing that the blip stopped moving after he followed it just outside of the corn field and, hearing that the Chaos Emerald was within the area, knew what he had to do. It gave him an idea that it could help with the situation as well as stop Robotnik in his tracks, also that the Government would like to keep the Chaos Emeralds away even from Sonic's group and potentially from Cream and Cheese.
He then pulled out a small communication device and began sending out a report. "This is Chalkboard Charlie calling homeroom. Come in homeroom. Over."
Back with Tails' group, they eventually stopped moving as they stood in the middle of the field.
"It looks like there's a Chaos Emerald right underneath us!" Chris analyzed excitedly after he and the others stepped out of the plane and stood on the ground.
"Mm hm." Tails agreed as he and his friends gazed at the dirt to investigate.
"But we didn't bring a shovel." Amy pointed out, placing her hands on her hips with a disappointed sigh.
"That's okay, because we got the X Cyclone to dig for us! Isn't that right, Tails?" Francies reassured as she, Chris and Amy turned their gaze expectingly to Tails who, realizing that they were all staring at him, felt completely embarrassed and sheepish and beginning to sweat nervously once he realized he forgot to mention a problem.
"Hey yeah! You said it was an all-purpose robot!" Chris added excitedly, only for the two-tailed fox to sigh while slumping a little.
"Sorry, guys. But I...didn't include a digging function." The seven year old kit apologetically replied, much to the older kids' shock as they exclaimed in disbelief.
"It's not all-purpose then, is it?" Amy asked, annoyed and exasperated.
"Not exactly."
Despite the disappointment, Chris decided to try another approach as he pointed at the farm barn nearby. "Eh hey, guys, I bet the farmhouse we saw has a shovel we could borrow."
"I'd better go with you just in case." Francies sighed, shaking her head with a shrug, before following her friends as they both raced to find a shovel or two as fast as they could, while Tails sighed and felt disappointed with himself for making a slight mistake.
Yet none of them were aware that things were about to get worse before they get any better.
When the White House got word from Mr. Stewart about the Chaos Emerald being located in the fields, much to Rouge's disapprovement since she had already warned the spy acting as a school teacher about keeping an eye on Sonic and his friends which would jepodize the situation with Cream and Cheese as well as their safeties. Alas the government decided to risk the chance of luring Robotnik out to destroy his base while he searches for the Chaos Emerald.
"This may well be our only opportunity, Mr. President. If Robotnik leaves to chase after that Chaos Emerald, we can attack the base while he's gone, which will improve the odds for our success." One of the officials informed the President who gazed out of the window, deep in thought over the situation.
"And we'll have Robotnik on the run." Another Official added.
Again, the President didn't say anything. As much as this was an opportunity, he didn't want to risk the lives of his men or anyone else for that matter. As far as he knew for the last three years ever since the evil scientist began his regime of terror and Sonic put a stop to all of those evil plans since the age of eleven and was still fighting against villains today even though the Mobian hedgehog was still a child himself, only into his second year of being a teenager, at this point with the blue hedgehog being busy with the potential threat of the Iron Empire, and given the situations like this, there was no other choice.
Reluctantly with a sigh, the man in charge turned around and declared. "Alright then. Let's get this job done."
As the air-force began to make their flight to head over to Robotnik's Island Base, Knuckles, having made it back to the city to continue his search but to his irritation lost track and sight of the X Tornado, noticed something was up in the sky and narrowed his eyes in superstition.
"I wonder what's up now..." The fifteen year old echidna muttered to himself, and despite that he wanted to continue searching for clues and couldn't wait to get both Angel Island and the Master Emerald back, curosity got the better of him. So he decided to follow and investigate and, if he had to, handle whatever dangers that were forth-coming.
Even as the royal navy ships set sail for the island as well as they prepared for Operation Beating Robotnik.
Within the evil scientist's base with the man himself fully unaware of what was going on, Robotnik was watching TV with Decoe and Bocoe while attempting to figure out where to find more Chaos Emeralds as well as search for the secrets that hold a connection between the gems and Chao as well as figure out the true meaning of what Julius and the Iron Empire have found out throughout the entire year of research and terror.
"Now folks, let's see how a single application of B Ted's stain remover handles this gooey grease stain. Wow, look at that!" A person says on the commercial, much to the amazement of the two robots and the annoyance of their creator.
"That's rad." Decoe commented in awe.
"Let's call and order some." Bocoe suggested in agreement.
Robotnik on the other hand found the whole thing to be ridiculous while tapping his foot as he grumbled. "I wish that stock got rid of infomercials too."
As the commercial continued, all of the sudden the screen became static and the sound seemed to be changing voices because the next thing the three of them heard almost instantly got the mad doctor's interest.
"A Chaos Emerald buried in a cornfield near Tingalin Villa." The voice said.
"Huh? What kind of show is this?" Robotnik wondered, leaning closer to the screen to see if it wasn't his hearing starting to go.
"Yes, near Tingalin Villa. A giant jet landed there and they're starting to dig right now. It's-"
Instantly as soon as the unusual signal came, it ended and the screen returned to the original programming, but Robotnik paid no attention to that as he grinned evilly. He couldn't believe his luck! A Chaos Emerald located in an area that was close by on the main continent! This was going to be his day. If he can get his hands on that Chaos Emerald, he could come up with a new evil plan to use that as well as the one he has now to power up a new super robot and destroy Sonic once and for all. Even have fun with crushing the blue hedgehog who would be helpless and the evil scientist even imagined the look of fear on the teenager's face.
Turning to the slot selection machine, Robotnik ordered for the cards which were almost immediately handed over to him by Decoe before the evil scientist placed them into the slot and pulled the lever to begin his hunt for the Chaos Emerald. It scrolled down to reveal a giant robot that looked like a yellow chicken with a giant fan in the middle, known as E-35 Fun-Fun.
"Oh, Funfun! Perfect!" Robotnik grinned evilly. Now it was time to get to work and blow his enemies away. Literally.
As the exit of the base opens up and Fun-Fun flies off with Robotnik not too far behind, little did the evil scientist know was that it was all part of the trap as the intelligence team spotted him leaving while the royal navy and airforce were waiting to begin the operation.
"There he goes. Get ready to mobilize." One of the GUN officers reported.
As the Squadon A then fly away from the island while the Squadon B make their way to the island to begin to destroy the base, Knuckles had snuck around to see what was going on and when he saw this, he was greatly surprised.
"They're attacking Eggman's base..." The red echidna realized as he witnessed this right outside of the fence. Then he began to wonder if the government could actually pull this off without Sonic's help, or if the blue hedgehog was helping the military to pull this off.
Either way, even the Guardian the Master Emerald knew this wouldn't be easy.
Back in the cornfield, Tails, Amy, Chris and Francies, the latter who having returned with the promised shovels, were digging their way to find the Chaos Emerald before Robotnik would show up his ugly face and steal it from them. The two-tailed fox certainly didn't want a repeat of what happened the last time, and he could only hope they still had time.
"It must be pretty deep." Tails remarked as they still haven't managed to dig it out yet.
"Let's keep digging." Chris advised, only to pause along with his friends when they heard an unusual sound, making the two Mobians and two young humans to look up. "What's that?"
"It sounds like a jet." Francies said thoughtfully.
She and the others then gasped when a huge shadow loomed over them and when they followed it's trail while wondering what it was, Fun-Fun then landed with a bit of a tremor and, to their dismay, Robotnik who hovered next to his robot in his Egg Mobile.
"Oh no! It's Dr. Eggman!" Chris cried out in a panic.
"It's Dr. Robotnik, not Dr. Eggman, you brat!" Robotnik snarled angrily in sheer annoyance. "Why can't you just say my real name instead of taking that irritating Sonic's example?"
"Tails, do something!" Amy exclaimed to the two-tailed fox who nodded, determined before the seven year old quickly hurried and flew into the X Cylone to fight Robotnik's giant robot, though the young cub stumbled a bit to get in at first.
"Have you found my Chaos Emerald yet?" Robotnik questioned evilly.
Tails glared at the evil man while yelling out with determination. "We're not gonna give it to ya!"
"That's right, so you can just forget about it, Eggman!" Amy shouted in agreement.
"Very well, I'll just take it then!" The evil scientist declared, willing to take drastic measures to get what he wants before Sonic shows up.
"Hey, I better find a phone and call Sonic!" Chris suggested quickly, knowing that even thought Tails can handle this, he was worried about the fox and that the blue hedgehog can handle this.
"Tell him to hurry!" Amy cried out, and the human boy nodded, before taking Francies's hand and pulled her along to hurry to the farmhouse.
But when Robotnik saw and heard this, he narrowed his eyebrows as he was determined to make sure the hero of Mobius wouldn't get here. "Go, get them, Fun-Fun!"
"You stop 'em, X Cyclone!" Amy cheered on.
"Let's go!" Tails pulled a lever, making the X Cyclone to lift off the ground and fly into the air to fight Fun-Fun. But then the giant robot activates a fan, uprooting the corn with a very strong wind and messing up the flight pattern of the plane. To make things worse, Amy was sent flying as she screamed, much to his horror. "Amy!"
Then to his dismay he was sent flying as well as the seven year old fox screamed while holding on for dear life, before the X Cyclone crashed onto the ground.
"You're blowing those brats away! Good work!" Robotnik chuckled as he pumped his fists in triumph.
Tails attempted to try and fight against the wind, but it was too much as the plane began shifting, much to his fear, before the gusts flew straight to where Chris and Francies were running which forced the two young children to be sent flying as they screamed in alarm, caught off-guard before they crashed onto the ground themeslves. When they looked up while trying not to be blown away even further, they gasped in shock and horror as the farmhouse was then flown away and destroyed right before their eyes, making them lose their chances in calling for help.
"No!" Chris exclaimed in horror.
Robotnik laughed at the sight of the destruction his robot was causing and having stopped the group from getting help from Sonic. "This is the most 'fun fun' I've had in a long time!"
"The control stick is jammed up!" Tails cried out as the X Tornado is still struggling against the wind, meaning that this was a fight that he was going to lose, much to his dismay. He squeezed his eyes shut while trying not to panic, but was becoming really terrified. 'Sonic...Please, help us!'
Chris was doing his best to shield Francies, while his goggles was then blown away from the winds.
Where Mr. Stewart was, he was still trying to locate the group's whereabouts only to notice, to his confusion and annoyance, the signal was now leading him away from the cornfield and was unaware of the dangers that the four children were stuck in.
"They're heading the other way! Alright." He grumbled to himself, heading back into his car and drove off to find them.
GUN planes and ships in the meantime began flying straight towards Robotnik's base, locking onto their target and then began firing missiles and rockets, hitting the base while causing it to shake violently. Inside the building, Decoe and Bocoe scream in panic when they felt it.
"What's happening!?" Bocoe exclaimed in fear.
"It's an attack, you bolt-brain!" Decoe shouted, pointing at the window as he finally saw the army coming their way. "Those fighter planes are firing it up and there are battleships too!"
This angered the two robots as they realized this was some sort of distraction attack which lured Dr. Robotnik away to make him run, with the shorter silver robot declaring. "We will show them. Let us launch a counter-attack!"
Decoe and Bocoe then pushed a couple of buttons which launched several robots into the air to battle against the army, including the rebuilt Beacon that Sonic already destroyed weeks earlier, and another robot called Sneezer which Rouge defeated just the other day, with three missiles launched back to the ships, missing one. Beacon then destroys a plane while it launched itself onto a ship, much to the army's shock and horror as they wondered how this was possible before realizing that Robotnik has set up a new defense system since their break-in the last time.
Yet this was all part of the plan as Rouge, who was dressed in a black spy suit instead of her usual outfit and used a mask to cover her face, Topaz and the special forces team quickly sneak into the base while climbing up rocks.
The planes and ships continue to attack, with Beacon flying through the planes at lightning speed, destroying them in it's path but the pilots at least managed to get out in time and parachute to the ocean, waiting to be rescued. As the battle wages on out in the open sea. Rouge had placed a bomb inside the base before it goes off and explodes. She jumps inside the newly made hole, gesturing for the others to go inside, which they do so without being noticed.
At the base, Knuckles had managed to sneak into one of the missiles of a fighter plane, and has been waiting there for a while, too curious on how they planned on attacking Robotnik's base. One plane then takes off to follow the other planes' leads to continue the fighting.
"Sir, it appears that the attack is at full scale and Dr. Robotnik has left the base, leaving it vulnerable for the attack. However, we have reason to believe that his robot assistants are in control of the situation in defending it." One of the Iron Empire assistants reported, as underwater a large robot whale was observing the situation and been screened back to Julius' monitors in the control room which was huge.
"Good. It won't be long before Sonic and his friends join in the fighting. If Robotnik is searching for a Chaos Emerald and succeeds in taking it, that hedgehog will move in to follow and that's when the real game begins." Julius snickered, grinning mischievously.
The Iron Empire members that were monitoring the events playing out all gazed at their evil leader who began laughing manically once again.
"Whoever owns all of the Chaos Emeralds will be lost because while they are busy today, we make our move to capture the girl and her Chao since Sonic will be too weak to fight us after he has defeated Robotnik who will not survive this outcome. Not this time." The Iron Empire Leader declared, clutching his fist tightly.
"Tails! Amy! Chris! Where are you!?" Sonic called out as he raced across the city for the fourth time in the last half an hour since learning from Chuck, Ella, and Tanaka that three of his friends including Francies who had joined in had left for a flight somewhere. It annoyed him that he decided to find them himself but was left empty handed.
Not only that, he was starting to get worried. Even though he knew that they can take care of themselves and they were safe in the X Tornado, but it wasn't just Robotnik to worry about anymore. The blue hedgehog had come to learn just how dangerous the Iron Empire really is the recent weeks since arriving in Station Square. Especially Julius, who was just as evil, cold-blooded and extremely cruel as 'Eggman', and seeks out to use the special connection of Cream and Cheese with the Chaos Emeralds to find the other Chao Colonies all across the world for something horrible.
"Where could they be? They've gotta close by somewhere." The blue hedgehog muttered to himself, before deciding to try the Thorndyke Mansion again and headed straight back home.
When he got there, he leaped over the gates and headed straight towards the garage and stopped just as Cream and Cheese came out, panting a little but looked very relieved to see the hero of Mobius back home.
"Mr. Sonic! Mr. Sonic!" The five year old girl cried out.
"Cream, what is it?" Sonic asked immediately, mentally fighting a growing panic that began to surge as he wondered what has his friends so excited and worried about.
"The Government is attacking Dr. Robotnik's base. It's on TV!" Cream exclaimed.
"What!? No way!" The fourteen year old shouted in shock.
"They don't want that mean man attacking people anymore. They're going to try and stop him from taking over the world." She continued worriedly.
"Are Tails and the others back yet?" Sonic asked, only to recieve a negative and sad shake of his friend's head, making him sigh before he lead her and Cheese back inside. "C'mon, let's go talk with Chuck. It's not safe out here right now."
Cream nodded with Cheese cooing in worry, allowing their hero and close friend to guide them back inside as the blue hedgehog closed the door behind him.
Meanwhile, Tails and the others were still struggling against the winds from Fun-Fun, with Chris, Francies and Amy still being pushed back and struggling to keep themselves upright.
"Ugh, when's the wind gonna slow down?" Chris grunted, only to notice Amy, who narrowed her eyes with determination, to stand up by placing stakes onto the ground as she stood to try and reach Tails. "Amy!"
"Don't worry! I'm almost there!" The pink hedgehog grunted, while the X Cyclone seems to have recovered as it began standing once again, struggling against the winds and Robotnik laughing evilly.
"I won't let you win, Eggman!" Tails exclaimed with determination, narrowing his eyes as he knew if he had given up now, the evil scientist will get the Emerald and it's the situation like back at the stadium all over again. He couldn't afford that. Not again. Not when Sonic was counting on him.
"Oh ho ho ho ho ho ho! That measly machine of yours is no match for my robot!" Robotnik grinned wickedly.
"Oh yeah!?" The young fox shouted with a challenge.
"Let's compete to see whose robot rules. Knocking the wind out of your puny X Cyclone will be a breeze!" The mad doctor suggested, before snapping his fingers and under his command, the Fun-Fun robot powers up it's fan which makes the winds more stronger, making Tails' vessel struggle even more. Robotnik grinned as he mocked. "It seems Tails is in way over his head!"
Tails was struggling against the gusts, feeling his heart rate go faster and faster until the X Cyclone was flown back with him inside. He screamed while holding on for dear life.
At the same time, Mr. Stewart found the goggles he gave Chris on the ground but no sign of the boy or the others anywhere. Fearing for the worst, he hurried back into his car to find them, and searched around until he ended up caught stuck in the blast from Robotnik's robot which have leaves cover his windshield.
"I can't see!" The man exclaimed, pulling the car to a stop, which this only made the vehicle began to be pushed back by the powerful gusts as he grunted. "It's like a tornado out there!"
Realizing now there was only one way to solve this crisis as it was becoming far too dangerous even for him, and fearing for the four children's safeties, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number before calling, putting on a disguised voice. "Is this the Thorndyke Residence?"
"They're still not back!?" Sonic exclaimed as he and Cream found that the X Tornado still isn't there, and while the blue hedgehog could easily fly to Robotnik's island himself, that would leave his own Tornado plane vulnerable and much more difficult to burst into the base without wrecking the plane his father had given him.
Having went back to Chuck, they found that Tails and the others still haven't reported back yet either, which meant that the hero of Mobius was stuck.
"I think you need to calm down, Sonic. I'm sure they won't be gone for too much longer." Chuck attempted to reassure the increasingly frantic teenager, even though he couldn't help but begin to fear for the worst themselves.
Sonic growled in frustration, clutching his fists as he couldn't get to Robotnik without Tails' help despite that he didn't want to put his little brother's life on the line, but now that said little brother he loved so much was still out there, with Amy, Chris and Francies, wherever they are and while he held confidence that they can get away from the Iron Empire, those guys were dangerous and he hoped that they weren't causing problems now of all times.
"Lousy time for a joyride!" Sonic grunted. Just great. How was he going to infiltrate Robotnik's base now?
Cream could only watch the teenage Mobian pace back and forth in what she could see as anger and frustration, and began to lower her gaze in worry, sadness and guilt.
Both Cream and Sonic were brought out of their thoughts when the phone rang and Chuck quickly answered. "Hello?...Yes, that's right..."
The two Mobians and Cheese stared at the elder human curiously despite their minds still onto the situation that was happening, before they and Cheese shared confused glances, wondering who was speaking to the kind scientist.
"Sorry, what did you say? Speak up." The elder Thorndyke muttered, having trouble hearing as he could have sworn he could hear gusts of wind in the background, before his eyes widened in shock. "They're in Tingalin Villa? Thanks a lot, I'll send someone after them right away."
"Who was that, Mr. Thorndyke?" Cream asked softly after Chuck hung up.
"He didn't say who he was. Chris and the others need your help Sonic, at Tingalin Villa." Chuck explained the situation, making the two Mobians shocked and worried.
Sonic, immediately getting into action and determination to find his friends as he instantly knew that Eggman and/or the Iron Empire were behind their delay home, nodded. "Right. Chuck, keep an eye on Cream and Cheese, okay?"
"I will." The human scientist nodded.
The blue hedgehog made to leave when he felt small-ish hands tug at his glove's cuff, making the fourteen year old gaze at Cream and Cheese who both looked very worried.
"Please be careful, Mr. Sonic." Cream pleaded softly, very worriedly.
"I'll be okay, and we'll be back home before you know it. I promise." Sonic reassured, confidently and reassuringly before he gently rubbed his youngest friend's head, and then sped out of the garage and hurried towards his destination, determined to save his friends.
The question is, will he be able to make it in time and stop Robotnik once again? One thing's for certain, Sonic wasn't going to give up as he was about to face one of his toughest challenges yet.
To be Continued!
A/N: I've decided to add in parts of Rouge's mission as a flash-back since it would make sense since she's already an agent. But don't worry, this is not the end of the story. Part two of Beating Robotnik will happen in the next chapter, and it's up to Sonic to stop him. Yet there is still the threat of the Iron Empire that lingers in the shadows and depths. Will our hero be able to stop Julius and ever save Cream's mother? Only time will tell.
See you later!