In spite of his still simmering anger Knuckles was close to laughing as he stared at Sonic. The hedgehog had spent the middle hours of the night searching them out a small airfield and was now, in the pre-dawn darkness, perched on the pilot's seat of a beefy-engined, but spindly-legged aircraft. 'Perched' was the operative word--Sonic's toes dangled a good foot short of the rudder pedals even at their fullest forward position.
Knuckles stood on the wing and leaned over into the cockpit to get a better look. "Could it be your ego is so lofty you haven't noticed humans are a taller species?" he asked.
"Oh stop smirking and help me find some blocks for the pedals so I can reach." Sonic jumped out and down to the ground. "Unless you want to do the flying."
Knuckles shrugged. He'd had a few lesson in the Tornado from Tails, and experimented a bit with some of Robotnik's abandoned vehicles on the Island, but he always relied more on the knowledge that he could at a pinch, bail out and glide safely down if need be.
After some creative adaptation of the pedals and seating arrangements they were ready to go. Sonic heaved up two full jerry cans of fuel and stashed them either side of Knuckles.
"See, there are advantages to not taking up as much space," he said.
Knuckles shifted in his seat and tugged the safety harness loose from under the fuel cans.
"Being able to sit between several gallons of flammable liquid is an advantage?" he muttered.
"It is if you don't want to end up nose down in a field when we run out of the stuff." Sonic climbed back aboard. "I suppose we could always stroll up to the fuel pumps at a convenient airfield and ask them to fill her up."
Knuckles didn't dignify that with a answer. Instead he looked out at the black and red striped wings. "And you don't think we're the least bit conspicuous in this thing?"
"Of course." Sonic turned to grin at him. "It's the last thing they'll expect!"
Knuckles doubted that, but didn't bother to argue. The plain fact was that whether he was willing to admit it out loud to Sonic or not, he couldn't run all the way back to the base with his foot in the state it was. This was quicker and easier all around. What happened when they arrived--well they'd deal with that when the time came.
"Ready?" Sonic asked.
"Yes."
Sonic flicked switches and the engine burst into life with a cough, belching blue-grey smoke into the darkness.
"Let's go!"
"Well," Tailed pulled the biplane around to circle at the perimeter of Robotnik's fortress. Smoke drifted against the sky, wafted around the angular structures protruding against the horizon. Nothing moved.
"Here we are."
"And not shot at yet," Amy leaned over the side and peered down.
Tails took a deep breath. "Here goes then."
He rolled level and dived across the perimeter, picking up all the speed he could in case they did need to outrun any bots.
No one and nothing seemed to take any notice of this high speed run in and after a few minutes of the wind screaming in the flying wires, Tails levelled out and slowed, feeling slightly abashed.
"No one home," Amy said, though her voice sounded as nervous as Tails felt.
The fox shook his head. "Doesn't look like it." He pointed. "There's a landing strip."
He touched down on the concrete strip and taxyed to a halt. Still nothing came to attack them.
"This is weird." Tails said. "Something's wrong here too. Even when Robotnik's away from the place it's usually teeming."
They both jumped down to the ground and glanced quickly about, checking for alarms or automated defenses. The distant clink of metal on metal suggested that somewhere in the distance something was still running, but the lights which normally shone from the scaffolds were dimmed.
"Everything's running at low power," Tails speculated.
"Or the power is going somewhere else." Amy shifted uncomfortably. "Let's get inside. We're too exposed here. If anything did come we'd be toast."
Tails nodded and pointed at the nearest entrance. In the half light it was not an appealing sight, and he hoped the internal lighting at least would be functional.
He was disappointed. Inside, the corridors were as dimly lit, and as empty, as the landing area.
They wandered almost at random, heading vaguely for the centre of the complex until a sudden sound made them duck for cover behind a collection of spare parts as a wheeled and spiked bot hurtled past.
"In a big hurry," Amy said, picking herself up once it was out of sight.
Tails looked in the direction it had taken and nodded. "Think we should find out why?"
Amy followed his gaze and nodded. "Only lead we've had so far isn't it."
They moved cautiously along the corridor, alert for other bots. None appeared though the noise from up ahead grew gradually louder. Eventually they came to a sliding door but stood carefully out of range of its sensor.
"I think we want a more discreet entrance," Amy said.
Tails nodded and flew up to a ventilation screen near the roof.
"We're not going to able to fit through, but I can see in," he said, after a moment. "The room's full of bots, round some sort of machine. There's a big computer screen on the wall." He squinted through the grill trying to make out the words. "Says, 'retrieval program error."
He dropped back to the floor. "Sonic and Knuckles must have interrupted the experiment. Something went wrong." He faltered, not wanting to think about what the consequences had been.
"'Retrieval program' sounds like there might be a way to reverse it though. They might be all right, just trapped wherever they were sent," Amy said, hopefully. "We need to get a look at it. Maybe it's fixable."
Tails brightened. "Maybe. That's what the bots must have been trying. But bots are dumb. I bet I could do it better."
He flew up to the grille again. "We need a distraction to get them out of there though."
"Hmm," Amy frowned. "That could be tricky -- they don't seem to have cared much about our arrival here so far."
"Maybe we need to be less--" Tails grinned, remembering Amy's own phrasing, "--discreet. Get ready to get out of sight, I've got an idea."
He propelled himself rapidly down the corridor. When he was a suitable distance away he leapt at one of the sirens mounted on the wall. It duly broke into an ear splitting wail. However urgent the bots thought their current task was, this would surely be a priority.
He hoped.
Tails sprinted back down the corridor, then skidded to a halt and ducked into a side room as he heard to tromp of metal feet from around the corner ahead. Once they had passed he continued. It took a surprisingly long time. Their were more than he'd expected and he hoped Amy had managed to hide in time. He felt a sudden pang at not having given her more warning f what he was planning.
Fortunately, she sprang up from a panel in the floor as he approached.
"That has to be the single most stupid thing I've ever seen you do, Tails!" she shouted. "I always thought you had more sense than Sonic, but he's obviously rubbed off on you!"
Tails grinned with relief. "It worked then?"
"There's certainly a lot less bots in there now, yes," she allowed.
Tails checked at the grille. "Yup. Empty."
The two of them hurried inside.
"We probably haven't got long," Amy said.
Tails was already working. His hands darted across the computer consoles, his eyes scanned the messages on the screen.
Suddenly he darted underneath a piece of equipment and after a moment started laughing.
Amy ducked to stare at him. "Something you want to share?" She asked. "Or have you really lost it after all?"
"Trust Robotnik to not program in a check for something so obvious." Still giggling, Tails stood up, clutching a small cylinder in his hand.
"What's that?"
"That," Tails waved it then started rummaging in the spare parts boxes which lined the room. "Is a fuse. A burnt out fuse."
"You're kidding?" Amy took it from it and turned it over in her hand.
"Nope." Tails located a replacement and headed back. "It must have--"
He was interrupted by the clanging of metal.
"Bots on their way back!" Amy spun to look at the door. "Tails!"
Tails flung himself under the apparatus, fuse in had. "It'll only take a sec."
"Have we got a sec?" Amy asked aloud.
The doors slid open. The computer screen opposite flashed:Estimated time for restart 4 hrs 27 minutes. Confirm restart?
"Tails!" Amy leapt behind the console anticipating weapons fire but none came.
Tails slapped a button and leapt clear over the equipment he was working on. "They don't want to damage the equipment," He whispered, scooting up next to Amy. He peered out at the milling bots trying to judge the distance between the range of their grabbing arms and the top of the doorway. It would be a tight squeeze.
"Once we're past them, they're not going to hold back," he said. "We'll have to really shift."
Amy nodded wordlessly.
"Ready?" Tails asked. "We're going over their heads."
Amy caught Tails' wrists as he lifted off and flew straight at the bots. Bedfuddled and torn between shooting and not shooting they scattered. Tails belted through the doorway and the two of them landed running.
Only the fact it took the mob of bots a few seconds to sort themselves out and get through the doorway without obstructing one another saved them.
The first bolts of weapons fire impacted around them as they ran outside and leapt gasping into the Tornado.
Tails started the engine and poured on the power without a thought for checks and pre-flights. He kicked the rudder hard to swing the tail around and line up on the runway.
As soon as they left the ground he went into a twisting jinking climb which kept them narrowly clear of the shots.
Nothing pursued them by air though, and soon he was able to establish a more normal climb and head back to safety. They were both quiet for several minutes.
"Do you think it'll work," Amy asked eventually.
"If Robotnik built it right in the first place." Tails stared out, concentrating on holding their course. "And if it does, Sonic and Knuckles are going to arrive back right in the middle of that lot back there." Now the initial danger was past he felt bad about not staying to do more.
"I know," Amy said. "But what else could we do? They managed the first time."
---End Part 12---