A/N: Howdy everybody! It's been a long while since I updated this story, so if you're still along for the ride, I thank you! If you're new to this story, then welcome! I've recently found the motivation to continue this story and have finally been able to push past my writer's block, so I'm real excited to finally at least somewhat back on track. Also, shout out to my buddy NCR DEF Commander for beta-reading this chapter!
Goodbye Blue Sky
"Princess Sally; Sonic." Gregory greeted with a nod of his head while he and Ash laid out a detailed map of the city over a large desk. Several interior areas of the city were circled with red ink, designating enemy supply depots and transportation routes. "You guys are just in time."
"Lupe's main forces are moving here to link up with Knothole's freedom fighters," the wolf explained and pointed to the circle labeled armory. "In the mean time we need to hit this facility and its surrounding routes before we begin pushing into the capital."
"And how do you propose we smash those supply lines?" Ash asked with routine irritation. "It's too far into the city with far too much activity for even a two-man team to get to."
"Who said anything about a ground team?" The wolf slyly cast his gaze at the young two-tailed fox in the room. "You saw what that cannon did to the access tunnel, right? We can use it to cripple Robotnik's logistics. Those contractors would lose out on food, ordinance, armor, everything."
Tails stepped forward with his hand resting on his chin as if he was in deep thought. "What about the possibility of Robians in the area? The council's rules of engagement specifically designate worker bots as civilians."
"So, what do you suggest?" Ash asked.
Gregory released an aggravated sigh, the strict engagement rules once again provided yet another hurdle. "Guess we'd need a way to confirm the objective is clear of worker bots."
"So we drop in a team of spotters," Sally interjected. "Sonic and another two operators could be dropped in here," she said and pointed just south of the intended target. "He could get you guys to the objective and cause a diversion if need be."
"Heh," Sonic laughed slightly and looked back to Sally, "just like old times, right?"
Gregory nodded and planted his finger just outside of the red circle, "Hunter 0-1 would deploy here. Sonic, you'd help get us to the depot, and if need be, create a diversion so we can scope it out. Once it's been cleared, we'll bring it down."
"And extraction?" Tails asked with concern lacing his tone. "The Tornado's fuel is gonna be stretched pretty thin with this kind of run time."
"Once we've called for fire, we'll move to the extraction point, a quarter click southwest," Ash announced, before shooting a glare at the blue hedgehog. "Sonic, you'd be able to help us with this one, right?"
"You know it," the hedgehog declared in a nonchalant tone and laced his fingers behind his head.
"I suppose it's settled then," the mongoose reluctantly agreed and shook his head, "let's ready up."
Tails walked out of the meeting with a heavy, yet blank stare in his eyes. He didn't even wait for Sonic or Sally to ask him any questions on the matter. He simply made the short trek to the hangar in silence. When he began his remedial tasks of refueling the biplane and working through a preflight checklist, his mind began to wander.
This mission was going to push the Tornado's fuel capacity to the limit. Though the fuel tank had not decreased in size, the added weight of the cannon had dropped the allotted flight time dramatically. The limited capability of the aircraft had the potential to leave multiple freedom fighters stranded behind enemy lines. It was a sobering realization that caused the fox's skin to crawl.
Nonetheless, Tails continued his inspection until he reached the cannon. The weapon was still in pristine condition, save for a small amount of black soot that had accumulated on the base of the barrels. Taking note of the spent power cores, the pilot swiftly replenished the ordinance load.
Soon after, Tails made his way to the cockpit where he checked every flight instrument and control response. Everything seemed to be in order, minus the malfunctioning backlight. Tails shrugged it off as a minor inconvenience, considering he'd be back by sunset. With one last system to mark off the list, Tails mounted his headset.
"Com check," he called out into the microphone. "Tornado is performing radio check, all stations report."
"Hunter 0-1 copies and is ready for departure," came Gregory's typical easy-going tone.
"Sonic the main hedgehog is ready to rock and roll, T2."
"Outpost watch copies all," came Rotor's voice, "good hunting guys."
Only moments later, the Tornado's fuel tank was filled to peak capacity and Tails ran through another, shortened checklist. Upon his command, every flap and aileron flexed appropriately and the fuel gauge displayed the proper weight. Finally, the vulpine initiated the Tornado's ignition and before long the engine roared to life and the propeller slowly began to spin.
After several minutes the plane taxied its way from the hangar and onto the tarmac. Sonic, Ash, and Gregory subsequently approached the aircraft. Each member carried a backpack and a rear deploying parachute. In addition, a short-barreled plasma rifle hung from the wolf and Mongoose."
"You guys really need those things?" Tails heard Sonic's disapproving tone through his headset and he couldn't help but smile and shake his head.
"A lot of things have changed since you and the princess have been all nice and comfy out in Knothole," Ash spat in reply. "There's more than just SWATBots when you go out as far as we do."
Before the banter could escalate, Tails glanced back and pumped his fists. He watched Ash and Gregory clamber onto the plane's rungs, while Sonic stood alone looking rather confused. "Sonic, mount the plane," he requested.
The fox quickly settled back into his seat and strapped the safety restraints across his body. Finally with a gentle push of the throttle, the engine roared in protest, but the aircraft began to roll forward. The air speed gauges routinely increased and before long the Tornado left the tarmac and was headed toward the heart of the city.
The tainted city skyline was painted with several smoke stacks emanating from various factories and mills. The very atmosphere was particularly acidic stemming from the citadel's increased productivity as well as the tension amongst the team members.
An unsettled lump soon formed in the pit of Tails' stomach; he could almost feel the thousands of stares from the streets below burrowing into the aircraft's fuselage. It was seldom that they would be pushing this far into the city, let alone in broad daylight. His apprehension was only fueled by the Tornado's newfound limitations. The mission alone would no doubt consume every ounce of fuel the biplane carried.
The pilot shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind of such concerning thoughts and subsequently checked the map. "We're on approach… 30 seconds out," Tails announced into his microphone. Just as before, Ash and Gregory dropped simultaneously, while Sonic dropped several seconds later. As per usual Tails held his orbit until he received confirmation of his teammates' safe landing.
Sonic fell through the air, seemingly ready to belly flop against the cold hard streets below. With a quick peek behind him, he deduced it was time to deploy his parachute and yanked the ripcord loose. His rapid descent was nearly halted when the chute fully opened overhead.
Only moments later, his feet hit the ground with a dull thud. Sonic slipped his arms out of the straps and quickly set to work reigning in the chute and shoved the tarp back into the backpack.
By the time he'd finished, the more experienced operators had already stored their own chutes and caught up with the hedgehog. "Tornado," Ash spoke into his wrist communicator, "this is Hunter 0-1; we've made contact with Sonic and are proceeding to objective."
"Tornado copies." Tails' voice static laden voice returned contact, "Be advised, there is a SWATBot patrol approaching from the north, over."
"Roger; hold traffic." Ash replied curtly and turned back toward Gregory and Sonic. "We've got company, let's make this quick, boys." Without a single word more, the trio began their trek toward the supply depot.
Sonic's head twisted and turned as he took in the decrepit sights of the city. The dull grey buildings towered over him and ominously cast a shadow that made the thick, heavy air unnaturally cool. His eyes settled back to Ash and Gregory who had taken point.
The two walked with swift, smooth strides and Sonic noticed that their gaze were fixed to the distant rooftops. Their rifles, however, remained trained on the ground in a low-ready position.
The relatively sluggish pace made Sonic's skin crawl; he always hated moving slow, especially in such a disadvantageous position. His eyes traveled back toward the surrounding skyscrapers and a unsettling lump formed in the pit of his stomach at the sight of multiple broken window panes. The jagged glass was shrouded by the buildings' shadows and would have easily concealed any being that hid in the darkness.
Although no one spoke of it, they all knew they were being watched.
The thought sent shivers down Sonic's spine. He'd gone on numerous missions in the City of the Damned, and had destroyed hundreds of spy-bots, but nothing compared to the feeling of being stalked by another living being.
The distant roar of the Tornado's engine overhead broke Sonic from his unsettled trance. It was of mild comfort to know that Tails was watching over them. On the other hand, his anxiousness only deepened at the thought of the kit facing down this level of danger.
The scuff of boots against the ground caused Sonic's eyes to snap forward with uneasy anticipation. Ash stood stiff with a fist raised at a 90-degree angle, a clear indicator to halt. The mongoose cast a quick glance back toward him before bringing his communicator to his mouth.
"Tornado; Hunter 0-1 has reached objective. Grid mark Echo-27 165-0406."
"Roger," Tails responded, "patrol eta is… 5 minutes out."
"Copy." The mongoose turned back toward Sonic with an agitated huff. "We've got maybe five minutes. Sonic, we need you to push forward and try and lure the SWATBots off our trail for a few minutes."
"Can do," Sonic replied with a thumbs up.
"Once you have their attention, head east, not west."
"Got it." The hedgehog quickly rolled his shoulders and bolted forward and out of sight of the other two freedom fighters.
Gregory looked back at Ash and gave a curt, silent nod, "I'll take point."
It was a short trek to the main road that lay adjacent to their intended target. The two freedom fighters knelt down and took refuge behind a pile of fallen roof panels. The wolf cast a quick glance to the rear before he removed his backpack and subsequently retrieved a crude pair of binoculars.
The glass lenses were dull and heavily scuffed, but just clear enough to read the signs plastered on the structure's walls. "I don't see much," Gregory whispered. A heavy sense of dread filled his voice when he spoke again. "I'll have to search it up close."
Before his partner could protest, the canine hopped over the makeshift barrier. His backpack and rifle rattled loudly as he sprinted across the open road. With no cover to speak of, Gregory's fear grew with every clack of his boots. He'd broke the number one rule of reconnaissance: never leave yourself exposed in the open.
His eyes remained focused on the depot that laid only 20 feet away, but he could feel another thousand eyes watching his every move.
After what seemed like an eternity, his shoulder clumsily slammed into the bay door. In one inglorious movement, his feet were swept away by loose, crumbling concrete and he tumbled to the ground. "Ugh, that wasn't fun," Gregory muttered and flashed a quick thumbs up toward Ash.
While prone, he wiggled the stock of his rifle underneath the bay door and slowly forced it open. Gregory buried his cheek into the ground to get a glimpse inside the facility. Several unique pairs of metallic feet roamed around the depot, and even through the sounds of the city, he could hear the creaking of unattended metal joints.
"Damn." Gregory pulled his rifle out from beneath the door, causing it slam to shut against the ground. Without further hesitation, the wolf scrambled away from the depot and back into the exposed main road.
As he ran, he heard Ash scream, "Gregory! Get down!"
The wolf did as instructed and dove into the chewed-up asphalt. No sooner had he done so, a blaster bolt tore through the area that his body had previously occupied. Risking a quick glance behind him, Gregory saw a sea of hellish red visors rapidly approaching. The muzzles of the SWATBots' rifles flashed with a tantalizing purple light, and the bolts of plasma snapped harshly as they passed over Gregory's head.
"Tornado, this is Hunter 0-1 requesting immediate close air support on preestablished target Echo!" He frantically yelled into his wrist communicator and continued his panicked scramble toward cover.
"Danger close!"
Those words wrang in Tails' ears like bells tolling with an ominous warning. "Tornado copies all. Strike inbound at mark 165-0415. Time to target… 45 seconds." His stomach churned itself into knots as he gently rolled the yolk, forcing the biplane into a wide bank.
The contaminated skyline passed by in a blur and his vision began to tunnel. Through the scuffed windshield, Tails could see the depot and his eyes were washed with a flurry of blaster fire. Amongst the purple bolts of plasma was a faint blue blur. "Ground team take cover, strike in bound!"
With his final warning issued, Tails raced past the point of no return. His eyes screwed shut, his finger pulled the fire control, and the plane began to violently shake. The roaring growl of the cannon filled his ears and blotted out even the loudest of his thoughts. When he released the trigger, all he could hear was a dull ring. It was as if time had stopped a tolling bell and its sonorous note brought an eerie sense of calm.
What seemed like hours passed by in the strangely calm void of Tails' mind. He knew there was no way Sonic could have outrun that blast. He distinctly remembered the size of the craters. Even the taste and smell of the dust that was launched into the air. He was even uncertain of Ash and Gregory's fate. Only the gnawing fear of Sally's disappointment halted his retreat into his own mind.
He couldn't let her down, and he wouldn't allow Sonic to have died in vain.
Finally out of the darkened ringing, came a monotone voice that blared into the fox's ears. *WOOP* *WOOP* "PULL UP! OBSTACLE! PULL UP! OBSTACLE!"
The fox's eyes snapped open to catch the glimpse of the rapidly approaching buildings. Tails yanked the yoke to the rear and the force of the turn pinned him into the worn leather seat. The engine bellowed in protest and the wings screeched as they ached under the pressure, yet the fox pulled with all of his might. With only feet to spare, the Tornado managed to avert disaster.
The red machine continued to climb to a vantage point to observe the battlefield.
Sonic wove through the buildings knocking out several SWATBots, yet despite his greatest effort, only a few gave chase. It was an unsettling change in the machines' collective demeanor. He was Sonic! Hedgehog priority one! Despite his former title however,the robots seemed fixated, almost exclusively on heading directly toward the depot.
Only a few minutes in, Sonic was already feeling somewhat fatigued. It'd been several months since he'd ventured this far into the city and had a chance to run this fast for this long, but he knew he couldn't stop.
Then, he heard the unmistakable sound of blasters firing, followed by Gregory's panicked call.
"Uh-oh," Sonic said to himself. With full disregard to what the wolf had instructed him to do, the hedgehog in true fashion, did almost the exact opposite. He proceeded to make his way southward toward the depot to lend a hand in any way that he could. Unfortunately, he'd unwittingly put himself directly in Tails' line of fire.
"Ground team take cover, strike in bound!"
Sonic pushed himself harder and harder. Faster, he had to move faster. If Tails' last transmission was anything to go by, he wasn't going to make it out of Robotropolis unless he sped up. In his peripheral vision, he could see the red biplane lining up with the depot. Soon his ears were filled with the raging growl of the aircraft's engine.
He watched in terror as the plane's canon spun to life. The world stopped turning as an intense white light pierced his vision. Sonic quickly blinked only to see a multitude of large purple projectiles flying directly at him. Sonic opened his mouth to scream, but any sound he was able to generate was dwarfed by the monstrous snarl of the cannon.
The concussive impacts of the ordinance hitting their mark caused Sonic's ears to pop as they decimated the ground, he'd occupied a split-second prior. Even running at his top speed, he still felt chunks of shrapnel and concrete pelting his backside.
Finally, time seemed to return to normal and the strident wave of sound was unbearably overwhelming. The ordinance depot nearly evaporated into a flaming ball of fire, dust, and smoke. The concussion sent Sonic tumbling forward, and as he came to a stop, the explosions continued to reverberate and echo.
Though his vision was clouded by dust, debris, and blast induced blurriness, Sonic could vaguely make out the image of the Tornado climbing back into the sky. The second his body allowed himself to take a breath, his lungs burnt with unmatched ferocity and he launched into a coughing fit. He slowly rose to his feet in attempt to walk forward, but he soon collapsed to the ground in a dirty blue heap.
Seconds later, he felt two sets of arms lift him to his feet. Sonic's ears were ringing, so much that Ash's voice was a barely discernable muffle. "Splash! Good effect on Target. Hunter 0-1 is exfil to extraction, over!"
"Alright, come on Sonic," Gregory said from the hedgehog's right side. "Let's head home."
Unbeknownst to the freedom fighters, an amber pair of eyes watched from an adjacent building. A tall, slender figure nearly washed into the darkened windows of broken glass. The tan fur of the being's wrist peaked out from beneath the black coveralls as the insurgent propped up a long-barreled rifle, and a gloved finger gently came to rest on the trigger.
The crosshairs rocked gently with every breath, but remained trained on the target: The blue hedgehog.
Using one hand to keep the weapon in place, the mobian slid his left hand across his chest to reach his radio. "Doctor, the freedom fighters are moving southward. Am I clear to engage?"
"No," a deep, slimy tone denied the request. "Survey the damage and report back to me."
The mobian pulled away from the scope, revealing the unamused expression of a brown fox. "Yes, sir."
Tails' expression was dull and he remained utterly silent on the flight back to the outpost. His grey coveralls flapped in the wind and his whiskers whipped wildly. The ice white fur of his muzzle was constantly contaminated by a dull, red illumination, and the light's source caught his attention.
WARNING: FUEL LEVEL LOW The words flashed again and again. It hadn't taken the warning light for the fox to know the plane was running on fumes. He and Rotor had calculated the approximate flight time with the extra weight. Their estimations for fuel consumption had been so accurate their predictions were off by a single minute.
"Prepare for landing," Tails forewarned to his extracted passengers.
Only moments later, the aircraft wafted down onto the awaiting tarmac. The rubber wheels screeched in routine protest and promptly the aircraft came to a complete halt. The exhausted kit slid his headset off and slouched in his pilot seat. His gaze followed the horizon and his stomach churned with fresh nausea.
The new cannon had once again revealed its unsettling capacity for destruction. Not only did he have the potential to unleash Robotnik-level weaponry, he knew he was a prime target because of it. If the mad tyrant was unaware of the Tornado's capability, he was well aware of it now.
"Well?" Sally's voice stirred Tails from his trance. "How'd everything go?"
A/N: Well hopefully this new third chapter was worth the wait… I'd love to hear what you think, so if you'd be so kind, leave a review. Thank you so much for reading, and as always, Rock on and God Bless!