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Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3
Phantom Forces
Act 4
Chapter 23: The Network Fortress
Inside the base of the Avalician Resistance, Tails and Carol had already arrived a few minutes ago along with Milla and Sven, and the kitsune was currently going over what plans needed to be done on Avalice. On the table before the group was a digital map of Avalice, showing the kingdoms themselves, with primary focus on Shang Tu at the current moment.
"Alright, so here's our current situation." Tails said, looking in on Shang Tu. "Currently Shang Tu is part of the most heavily fortified kingdoms of the three on Avalice, and this in turn is a major problem for us because Shang Tu has the shield generator satellite for the Death Egg in of itself. And if the Death Egg isn't taken out, it could very well be used in this Project IKARUS thing to wipe our populations out completely. However, the energy shielding around it makes it impossible to enter into it without Eggman affiliate identification. Otherwise..."
"...we'll be ripped to shreds by this thing's weapon systems." Carol finished, soon zooming in on the Death Egg schematics. "Eggman's got all the stops pulled out on this damn thing; laser cannons, anti-air missiles, electric burst shocks, EMP launchers... and then we have the planet killers." She added, zooming in on the eyes of the gigantic station. "The Death Egg Eye's; each one having just as much power as the Eclipse Cannon from the ARK. And chances are he's got a Ruby prototype powering each cannon, meaning if they fire... there may be nothing left of Mobius or Avalice after they hit their targets."
"So that's why we need to get that shield generator down." Tails said. "Once it's down, we can sneak someone in on the Death Egg and blow it to smithereens. And without their strongest weapon aside from Infinite himself, we could be set up for the perfect assault on Eggman's main fortress."
"I have a concern however..." Milla spoke. "How are we even going to get into Shang Tu to take out the shield generator? Chances are Eggman's got the place even more reinforced from last time he took it over..."
"Not to mention there might be anywhere as several dozen Badniks patrolling the outer limits of the kingdom..." Sven said. "And then there's the logistics of getting up to there without being seen. I mean, Shang Tu's up on a mountain; surely enough we're not gonna be able to climb that thing without getting spotted, right?"
"That's why we came here first." Tails said, looking to the Head Scarf Natalya. "We'll need the Scarves to provide a distraction in order for us to get a proper route to infiltrate in. Do you think you can lend a hand to this plan at all?"
Natalya nodded. "This is our homeland. And we are certainly going to fight for it."
"Alright." Tails said, looking around. "And if I have accurate calculations, there might be a Chaos Emerald there as well. So we'll split up into two separate parties for this entire mission. Carol and I will go after the shield generator; my hacking skills will be imperative for that point."
"And once it's down, I just carve it up like a New Year's roast turkey with the Mech Blade." Carol said. "That way they can't get it set back up after we do our damage."
"Meanwhile, Milla and Sven should go for the Chaos Emerald." Tails said, looking to the two dogs. "Sorry Sal, but I don't think the Badniks are gonna cut it this time; could be too much of a risk of us getting found out."
Sven nodded. "Alright, if you say so." He spoke.
"It's important we get this done quickly and efficiently." Tails spoke. "Time's already running short; our break has us at four days left until Eggman unleashes that Project IKARUS on our planets. We can't risk too much resting at this point."
"Alright, then answer me this Tailsy." Carol said. "Who are we gonna send up into that giant metal face to destroy it?"
Tails merely cracked a grin. "Why not send the one who had the most experience with dealing with that thing?"
"Classic?"
"Classic."
"Should we send Cyclone with him too?" Milla asked. "Those two are quite the formidable combination."
"It's our best bet." Natalya spoke again. "If Cyclone is anything like the Sash I trained when she was in the Scarves, she'll be more than capable for this infiltration."
Tails nodded. "Alright, then we need to move." He said, grabbing his blaster. "We've only got one shot at this, so let's make sure everything goes-"
After that the three Zeti had entered into the room from the teleporter, catching all three of them off guard.
"Sorry we're late." Zeena said.
"I brought donuts!" Zomom said, setting the boxes on the table.
"What are you guys doing here?" Tails asked.
"Amy wanted us to come over; we got reports we've got another one of our allies cooped up on the planet." Zeena spoke. "We're coming over to make sure we get them out."
Tails nodded. "Just be careful; we're short on time before Project IKARUS launches."
"Understood." Zeena spoke as the three Zeti went for the exit of the hideout.
"Alright, we have our missions, let's see through them to the end." Tails spoke.
The others nodded as Natalya activated the intercom. "All Scarf units ranks Scarlet A and above..." She spoke. "Prepare for combat."
It was high noon as the sun beat down blistering on the toxic waters of the once-beautiful Jade Creek, the large body of water becoming nothing more than a dumping ground for the waste from the captured Shang Tu. Large machines would be across the banks of the toxic river, pumping the liquid for something. Large construction towers would be at work slicing down the massive bamboo stalks of the forest, erecting what appeared to be large mechanical fans and statues of the mad doctor. Several robots would be scouring the area, searching for any kinds of intruders that would be nearby...
That was until a screeching sound echoed across the area as several motorcycles soon burst through the underbrush and attacked the bots, soon an all out fight taking place as the Badnik Forces would be engaging the Red Scarves in an all-out combat brawl. Soon enough Carol's crew burst through the brush and out onto the surface of the toxic water, skidding across the surface on the Mech Blade's hoverbike mode as the four were off up the river towards the captured Shang Tu...
"Gimmie an ETA Miles!" Carol said as she kept her eyes glued on the river, ready for evasive maneuvers in case things got ugly.
"Arrival at the captive Shang Tu in ten minutes!" Tails said, his ears pressed back against his head as he readied his blaster on the 'Lightning' and 'Chaser' options, soon seeing the hordes of Buzzbombers coming after the two. Tails opened fire on the bee robots as they fired back with their poised stingers, the high-energy plasma bolts striking the water and kicking it up as the bike fled upstream.
"They got way more air support than I was expecting!" Carol yelled, swerving around the shots. "How many are you taking out?!"
"As many as I'm locking on to!" Tails said back, still keeping his firing trained on the Buzzbombers, a new one coming every time another gets trashed, continuing to open fire on the oncoming insect horde.
Soon enough two other Buzzbombers wielding giant buzzsaws on their stingers would fly by the bike, soon going for the gigantic bamboo stalks before slicing through them with the saws, soon causing the gigantic tree-like plants to start collapsing... straight into the river, blocking the path forward.
"SHIT!" Carol yelled, skidding the hoverbike to a halt across the water surface as the Buzzbombers closed in. "We're cut off!"
Tails was still firing on the oncoming Buzzbomber horde, but the more he destroyed, the more just replaced the lost ones. "We're starting to lose ground, there's too many of them!"
"I can't put the blade into Shield mode! We'll fall in the water!" Carol yelled, a plasma shot soon whizzing by her head. "We're gonna get toasted!"
Tails gripped his eyes shut before soon Milla and Sven had lept from the side and shredded through the Buzzbombers, sending the scrap straight into the water.
"Keep moving!" Milla yelled, soon rushing over as her eyes glowed as she lifted the bamboo trunk high enough for the bike to fly under. "We'll catch up!"
Carol nodded as she soon took off across the water on the hoverbike with Tails as Milla hurled the bamboo into an Eggman ship and smashed into pieces as it sank to the bottom of the creek. Skidding along the rocky bank, Milla would soon summon several Phantom Spheres in her hands as she lobbed them at any of the oncoming Motobugs rushing her and Sven. The spheres exploded into several chunks, shredding through the oncoming Motobugs before the hissing sounds of mortar shells came from above. The shells would crash into the bank, explosions rocking the rocky shore as it blasted into the air high, soon raining heavy stones down on the two. Sven grit his teeth as he soon formed a shield from his wrist bracelets, protecting the two hounds from the debris. With the rocks now scattered, Milla's elemental abilities activated as she soon lifted the mass of stones into the air with her mind, throwing them like a shower onto oncoming Badnik forces, sending them sprawling. Soon enough the two had reached another of the Empire's boats, Egg Pawns scrambling to the deck to try and take their intruders down,but were soon overhwelmed as Sven and Milla tore through them like nothing.
Sven smirked as he headed for the control deck. "Let's give that Empire a little noise shall we?" He commented, soon hot-wiring the boat for autopilot as it started down the other fork of Jade Creek, leaving its wake of toxic water as aquatic Badniks soon met their untimely demise...
"We'll be catching up with Tails and Carol soon enough!" Sven said.
"Where's our access point into the fortress?" Milla asked.
"Looks to be a ventilation duck on the lower north side of the mountain!" Sven said. "If I can just get into contact with the others..." Soon enough a comm line opened up to the wildcat and kitsune. "Alright guys, keep your eyes open for a lower maintenance vent on the lower side of the mountain! There's going to be our access point to invade the fortress from the inside out! Keep your guards up, we'll be closing in shortly!"
"Roger!" Both Tails and Carol said from the comm unit as Milla got to the front of the boat, readying her shields.
"We've got hostiles inbound!" Milla yelled, the Phantom Shields forming in front of the boat as it soon plowed through several aquatic Badniks in the way as they closed in on the mountain itself. The boat would skid to the side of the bank of the river as Tails and Carol were already waiting for the two there.
"Alright Sal, where's this vent thing you were talking about?" Carol asked, looking around the wall.
"According to the scanner I have, the vent should be somewhere along this wall..." Sven spoke, checking along the place. "Let's see..."
"Oh! This must be it here!" Milla said, starting to try and open the vent covering a bit aways from the group. "Nnnngh! The cap's stuck!"
"Hold on, hold on. I got this." Carol said, her Mech-Blade switching to some type of claw device. Within moments she soon had the claw slam into the sides of the vent cover, soon ripping it off and opening up the chute. The four could definitely feel a strong vaccuming force coming from the mouth of it, leading inside.
"Looks like its acting like the tube transport system in Chemical Plant..." Tails spoke. "Hope you guys don't have back problems!" He said before curling into a ball at the entrance before the pipe sucked him in.
"Welp, looks like we've only got one way to go." Carol said, soon curling up herself as well and being shot into the pipe.
Milla and Sven both nodded before they curled up as well and shot into the pipe, soon entering into the base...
The sounds of loud-whirling fans and scurrying Badniks filled the air inside the inner mountain base as the fans ventilated hard on the inside of the base, several Egg Pawns scampering around as inside security before banging was heard through the vents, soon enough the four being spit out at the bottom of one of the giant vent shafts. Tails and Carol skid to a halt while Milla lost her balance and Sven faceplanted first into the floor.
"Alright, we're in." Tails spoke. "Let's get ourselves up to that shield generator and shut it down. You guys know your mission directives."
Milla and Sven nodded, before Milla readied her powers and Sven brandished the Phantom Claws he had, the two taking off down another path of the fortress as Tails and Carol began their ascent. Carol let her claws out as she soon scampered up one of the walls as Tails followed after with his flight, the two soon rounding a corner out of the shaft and into a short corridor before heading into the large deep excess of the base. Large dark blue metal support pillars stretched both horizontally and vertically across the area, large vent fans turning to filter out the smoggy air inside. Several scaffoldings and steel holdings would be across the area, intersecting and weaving between the large supports of the inner fortress.
"Looks like he's got a shitton of building inside here..." Carol said. "And chances are there's gonna be a load of Badniks. Keep on your toes."
Tails nodded, readying his blaster as the two took off down the slope and skidded around a corner onto the scaffolding. As they started their ascent up the place, spiked Technosqueaks started to swarm after the two from the walls.
"Company!" Tails said, seeing his blaster to the 'Fire' and 'Force' before opening fire, the fire bursts slamming into the Badniks and bursting them open... and several of their spikes shooting out into the walls in the process, acting like a chain reaction across the Badniks. The two would duck behind another pillar as the spikes whizzed past, soon taking off another pathway towards a higher area. Soon enough they'd take the fans in the floor as they blew them vertically upwards, soon skidding across the walls as the fans at the top changed their direction towards the forward direction, skidding across the walls as the spiked Technosqueaks scurried underneath, sparks flying from the wall before Tails and Carol dismounted and lept to the scaffold below, dodge-rolling as they continued their infiltration.
Soon spinning through another suction ventand spat out the other end, Carol would set off a switch on the floor, setting the entire base sector into a low-power mode, the fans barely moving their blades in any sort of motion as the two dashed through the area where the sharp blades would spin through. After a few moments the main power came back on as the fans fired back up to full force, Tails and Carol soon rounding the next corner as they skid across the scaffolding again, gaining height fast as they climbed higher and higher up the base's interior...
Soon popping out of another tube and continuing on, now a few of the newer model Egg Pawns would start their assault on the wildcat and kitsune with new weapons. Several of the Pawns would hang back with their new toys and open fire at an arc, lobbing the new energy grenades into the air to rain down on the two. Tails would skid past the energy blasts before opening fire himself on the Egg Pawns with his fire bombs, the napalm-like substance exploding on impact with the Pawns. Several of them would explode while some of the remaining ones took aim with their energy rifles, opening fire large laser blasts straight at the kitsune and wildcat. Carol grit her teeth before she soon kickflipped into the air, her Mech-Blade morphing into a high-power sniper rifle mode and taking aim at the Pawns while she was still in midair. Time seemed to slow down as she took aim and pulled the trigger multiple times. Several high-caliber bullets would slam through the Pawns and scrap them entirely as Carol landed back on her feet, taking off after Tails.
"How close are on homing in on the shield generator?" Carol yelled to Tails as they rounded another corner.
"Fifty meters enclosing!" Tails yelled as they soon skid around another corner, seeing an elevator entrance. "Just gotta get up!"
"Alright!" Carol yelled back as the two dove right into the elevator as the doors slammed right behind them. Soon enough the sounds of a jetpack filled the room as Heavy Gunned soon descended into the shaft, staring down the two with his bazooka slung over his shoulder.
"Well well, if it isn't the stray runts of the Resistance!" The Eggrobo said, crossing his arms. "You're little show out there at the Creek has caused a lot of damage to the empire's goods!And where exactly do you two think you're going to? Having a change of heart and wanting to turn yourselves in for your crimes against the empire?"
Carol grit her teeth. "As if we'd surrender to a lard-filled slimeball like that psycho!" She growled. "Especially at the hands of a robot mook with the actings of a sterotypical Empire City police officer!"
"HEY! I'll have you know Chief programmed me with all the knowledge of Empire law in existence! More than I can say for being a dirty runaway runt that lived on Kingdom property without a homeowner's permit and not a single mortgage payment to your name!"
"I built that house with Sash, it didn't need payment!" The wildcat growled. "Now get the hell out of our way before I make you!"
"Threatening to assault an empire police officer." Gunner said, taking out a notepad and writing it down. "That's gonna be at least an extra twenty years on top of the other charges your little rag tag group of furries accumulated, you're gonna be lucky if y-" Gunner's rant was almost immediately silenced as a fire bomb blasted his notepad out of his hands, sending it into a smoldering pile of paper a few feet away... with the barrel of Tails' gun still smoking for the shot.
Carol sighed in relief. "Thank you I was about to do the same thing myself." She said. "Now let-"
"Alright, I tried playing good cop, but clearly I gotta be bad cop for this one." Gunner growled, taking aim with his bazooka and aiming for the two. "We're skipping the trial and going straight to the sentence! And for you two, it's the death sentence!" With that, Heavy Gunner would open fire as a spewing of missiles came forth from his bazooka. Carol grit her teeth and hissed, soon rolling out of the way of the oncoming missiles as she charged for Heavy Gunner, scythe primed for a bisecting slash. Tails would dodge to the left and let loose his fire bombs from the barrel of his blaster, taking aim for the bazooka the Eggrobo itself was wielding. Not to fall for the assault though, Heavy Gunner would soon fly upwards sending down a rain of grenades onto the elevator platform floor, causing it to shatter apart and send the two falling downwards.
Carol snarled and slammed her scythe into the wall, skidding down the shaft as sparks flew across the shaft, Tails diving down while he whirled his tails to slow himself down, the two landing on a lower elevator platform as Gunner soon came down, launcher at the ready. Another missile round bust came from the barrel as several blue missiles went flying at the two. Carol grit her teeth as she soon swung her scythe in an arcing motion, slicing through the missiles like butter as they detonated in front of her, throwing up an ashen smoke across the ring as the other two missiles rocketed straight for the kitsune. Gritting his teeth, he'd soon swing his tails hard into the missiles, sending them back into the Eggrobo and blasting him against the wall. Tails gripped his blaster hard as he switched from the fire bombs to the short-range flamethrower, getting ready as Heavy Gunner burst back through the wall again, the siren on his head in full flash.
"Alright, you little outlaws are really starting to piss me off!" Heavy Gunner spat, holstering his bazooka as his optics narrowed. "Let's see how you like a taste of 'the big boys'!"
"...please never repeat that." Carol groaned as soon a bright flash came from Heavy Gunner's back, soon a large rack of missile's adorned across the jetpack, now readily taking aim at the two Freedom Fighters to blow them to shrapnel. Missiles flew already, exploding the platform as the two began to plummet a long distance down the shaft... almost like it never ends.
Carol grit her teeth as she readied her Mech Blade and Tails readied his blaster as the two weaved between the missiles in the air, Carol swinging her blade into the wall as sparks began to fly like mad, showering into the shaft as Tails took aim and let loose the stream of flames onto Heavy Gunner. A siren sounded as Gunner's jetpack started to overheat before a loud burst sounded, causing Heavy Gunner to spiral out of control into one of the shaft walls before ricocheting off it like a pinball, heading straight for Carol. The wildcat smirked wildly as she soon swung her scythe hard, slamming it straight into Heavy Gunner as he smashed through the wall and down in a spiraling motion outside the base...
"Alright, now that he's no longer interfering..." Tails spoke as Carol morphed the Mech Blade into a propeller stand as she lifted Tails and herself back up the shaft before reaching the upper path of the base, the two taking off down the corridor ahead as Carol skidded around the corner and sliced through more Egg Pawns.
"Right around here!" Tails said, whipping around another corner into the room, sealing the door behind the two. The two leaned against the door, panting heavily as they sank to the floor in exhaustion.
"Phew..." Carol sighed in relief. "Alright, now let's get that shield generator shut down." Tails nodded, the two getting up and reaching the generator itself. Tails would start working away at the hacking, soon penetrating into the shield generator's firewall and driving past it into the main framework.
"Alright..." Tails said. "I've got the readings inside the generator. I just gotta get past this last part and then you can go to town Carol."
"Excellent." Carol said, getting the Mech Blade ready for carving. Tails fingers would work away quickly, soon penetrating through the console and shutting down the shields for the Death Egg almost instantaneously.
"They're down!" Tails said, before leaping to the side as Carol soon started to carve up the shield generator like a roast turkey, soon reducing the shield generator to nothing but scrap metal and sparking circuit boards in a pile on the floor. The wildcat smirked at her handiwork, clearly proud of her destruction of the shield generator as she turned to Tails, giving a thumbs-up. "That oughta take care of it for the time being."
"Let's get to an exit and blow this joint before they find out we're in here!" Tails said, heading for the door with Carol.
"Fine by me!" Carol said as the two began to fight their way through to an exit...
Sven and Milla meanwhile would be heading lower and lower into the tunnels under the fortress, following the trace of the Chaos Emerald's signal until they reached the deepest point underground of the base, hearing only the echoes of the footsteps and scampering Egg Pawns and Technosqueaks. Skidding around a corner, Milla would blast her way past several Egg Pawns before smashing into the next room, Sven hot on her heels as he readied his Phantom Claws and shredded through the oncoming Technosqueaks coming at him, taking care not to send the spikes flying.
"Heads up!" Milla said, lobbing a Phantom Sphere right as an Egg Pawn was about to ambush Sven from behind.
Sven smirked back. "Nice save!"
Milla flashed a thumbs-up back before the two headed deeper into the complex, their footsteps echoing off the metal flooring as the giant fans slowly twirled overhead.
Skidding around a next corner, the two would soon find themselves face-to-face with a gigantic vault door, several feet taller than either of them. Milla, gritting her teeth, would soon summon several Phantom Cubes before firing them off into the door, striking it with as much ferocity as a basset can have. Soon enough the door crumpled under Milla's strength as it was blown to pieces, lying in scrap as the two dogs rushed inside the vault. At the far end of the room was the Emerald, sitting in a glass container on a metal pedestal, the white gem dimly glowing ever so much...
"Well, there it is..." Milla whispered, looking around. "It's quiet though... too quiet."
"Yeah..." Sven spoke, before lowering his voice volume. "Shouldn't there be security in here?"
"There should..." Milla spoke. "We destroyed any of the Badniks guarding on the way here; no one should know we're in here right now."
"Well, I don't see any harm in tak-" Milla pulled Sven back mid-sentence.
"Don't risk it." Milla whispered. "IF there's alarm triggers in here, we can't see their laser points. Allow me..." The air around her would start to fluctuate in energy as she slowly ignited a flame in her right hand, burning a bright blue while the temperature dropped around her left hand, soon a solid ice cube forming in it as she looked between the two objects. Taking a deep breath, she'd soon merge the two elements together as it soon became a steaming ice block.
"Alright...?" Sven said, confused. "How's that help us?"
"Watch." Milla spoke, before sliding it fast and hard underneath the center of the room to the case on the other side. The steam would billow up into the room, the lasers starting to show themselves as the ice cube bounced all across the floor of the vault, soon disintegrating once all the lasers were revealed.
"Woah..." Sven breathed. "Tighter than we thought..."
"Looks like this is gonna be my job." Milla spoke. "Stay near the entrance and watch for incoming Badniks." Sven nodded in response as he peeked out the door as Milla soon began to stretch and squeeze her way through the laser grid, taking personal care not to accidentally trigger any of them like with a stray dog hair or her tail... or she could step on one getting down for that matter. Taking a deep breath, she'd carefully backcrawl underneath a set of low-set lasers, but soon run into a problem; the tight new sports bra as part of her outfit she received as a welcome-back gift from Amy was pushing her chest out too high, meaning it'd be impossible to get underneath the lasers without setting them off. Milla cursed to herself; this was the one time she had wished puberty hadn't been so generous to her!
"Shit..." She breathed, before sighing. "Alright, looks like I'm gonna have to complicate this a bit..."
"Huh?" Sven asked. "What do you mean?"
"Look away for a second." Milla said, getting her back as close to the ground as possible.
"Wh-" was all that was able to come out of Sven's mouth before she pulled her sports bra up, letting her breasts fall to the sides of her body now that they were unrestricted. Taking a deep breath, she'd soon slip under the laser, now with better room that her chest wasn't jutting upwards. Upon reaching the other side of the lasers she immediately reapplied her top snug, making sure it wouldn't slip.
"Alright, I'm through." Milla spoke, moving up to the capsule. "Now, to just-" She interrupted herself as she had turned to see Sven's face a bright cherry red color. "You okay?"
"Uhhh... y-yeah..." Sven said, trying to keep his blush down and failing.
Milla sighed. "Just be ready to catch the Emerald when I throw it to you." She said as she crept closer to the case. Taking one of her hands and spitting on it, she soon press it to the casing and twist, breaking off a perfectly circular chunk of the case, just big enough to reach through and grab the jewel. Taking a deep breath, she'd reach her hand through the case and grab the Chaos Emerald before quickly yanking it out before any detection could be triggered.
Milla tensed up for a second, waiting for the alarms...
...and nothing.
The basset sighed in relief. "Phew... we're in the clear." She said, soon turning and throwing the Emerald to Sven. Sven reached out to grab the gemstone, but soon had it fumble in his hands. Milla panicked as she gripped her ears tightly, her heart almost stopping as the gem flew into the air...
...and came back down as Sven gripped it hard, almost triggering the alarm. Milla clutched her chest and sighed in relief; that was way too close for comfort!
Sven nodded as he slipped out the door, waiting for Milla to get out. After a minute or so, Milla slipped out of the door, soon shutting it behind her as the two exchanged nods and looked down the corridor. They were in the clear, all they needed to do was get out now...
Tails and Carol soon burst through the walls of the fortress, skidding along a rail system as they made their way back down towards their escape vent. Alarms were blaring loudly as the inside of the fortress was soon bathed in a red light, hordes upon hordes of Egg Pawns swarming in and opening fire on the fleeing duo. Carol twirled her Mech Blade as it soon became a stinger missile launcher as she fired of a shot into the horde. An explosion soon rocked the base as scrap metal was soon sent flying across the way, embedding itself into the walls as the sirens grew louder.
"A little warning next time!" Tails yelled as he continued to fire off fire bombs at the Egg Pawns.
"Sorry!" Carol said, as she took aim. "Heads up!" She yelled as she fired off another rocket burst into the group of Pawns, another explosion setting off a chain reaction across the Pawns as soon the base was starting to collapse.
"Shoot! Run!" Tails yelled as they soon moved fast through the base as supports and scaffolding would start to fall from above, breaking through several parts of the upper paths. Tails would jump and start whirling his tails as Carol would grab on to his hands, the two flying over the gap before landing on the other side and continuing to run. Several of the newer model Buzzbombers would start to fly after the two, stingers poised for firing on them, but Tails reacted fast and opened fire on the robotic bees with his blaster's fire bombs, exploding them entirely as the two fled the explosion and grinded the service rails back down towards the ground level, all the while the alarms were loud and blaring, alerting the Egg Pawns for evacuation.
It wasn't long before Tails and Carol reached the service vent where they infiltrated through, Milla and Sven soon rushing out of the side alley as they came to the access vent.
"What in the world is going on?!" Sven said.
"No time to explain, get in the vent!" Tails said, curling into the ball and shifting through the pipe.
"Move!" Carol said, following suit.
Milla and Sven would soon follow suit into the vent as soon the entire inside of the base collapsed behind them. However, with the delay between Tails and Carol's entry and Milla and Sven's entry, something went wrong, soon the tremors of the explosions shifting and changing the pipe exits...
Carol and Tails soon burst out of the maintenance vent as the two landed sprawling on the ground, face first in the bank of Jade Creek as Carol gripped her head in pain, picking herself up as she spat dirt out of her mouth, coughing. But they wouldn't get much time before the rumbling picked up as the mountain of Shang Tu was collapsing right behind them from its structural instability. Wasting no time, Carol grabbed Tails and booked it for the edge of the river as she morphed the Mech Blade into a bike as she took off across the water's surface, as the entire kingdom came crashing down behind the two, leaving nothing more than a gigantic mass of rubble and scrap metal, an entire kingdom decimated from the inside out...
"MILLA!" Carol yelled, scared that she lost her basset friend after so soon of getting her back from being captured...
...that was, until the sounds of clanking metal and smashed steel seemed to ring in the area. Carol's ears perked up as she looked around quickly, trying to see where the source of the sound was coming from...
...and soon got her answer as a stray pipe would eject Sven and Milla as the flew through the air flailing before splashing down into the waters of the creek. Moments would pass as Carol quickly rushed up to the splash site, waiting to see a response...
...as a hand shot up from the murk, the white gemstone shining brilliantly. Carol sighed in relief as she pulled the soaking wet Milla and Sven out of the water and onto the bike, recoiling a bit from the stench.
"Phew!" Carol coughed. "I thought we lost you guys for a second there! You both alright?"
"We're fine..." Milla coughed a bit. "A bit close for comfort..."
"I feel bad for Shang Tu though..." Sven said, looking back at the kingdom. "The people that lived there aren't going to have anywhere to live once this war is over..."
Carol's ears drooped a bit. "It's a shame, really... but we've got bigger things to worry about." She said, revving her bike as she took off with the group. "Let's get back to the base and notify Mobius..."
It wasn't long before the group was back in the Red Scarves HQ, Milla handing the Chaos Emerald to Carol before she and Sven headed off to the showers in the base to get themselves refreshed while Tails and Carol headed for the main communications room, walking in as Merga and Corazon were discussing something with Natalya. Natalya had then noticed the two and turned to them.
"Ah, welcome back." Natalya said. "Judging from your demeanor, I'm guessing that means you were successful in your endeavors of shutting down the shield generator?"
Carol nodded, holding up the Chaos Emerald. "And we've only got one more of these to find."
"It was a heavy price though..." Tails reported. "The damage from the fight... kinda leveled the mountain that the captured Shang Tu was on..."
Natalya fell silent. "...a hefty price indeed, but so long as they don't have it either, it's one we should be willing to pay." She spoke. "I presume you're here to contact the Mobius base?"
Tails nodded. "Our end has been completed, now we need to get Classic and Cyclone up there to finish the job."
"Very well." Natalya spoke, stepping aside as Tails and Carol approached the comm unit and started to contact the Mobian Resistance base about the good news...
The price of freedom comes with a heavy cost of losing a kingdom forever, as Tails's group manages to shut down the shield generator for the Death Egg itself. Now everything rides on the success of Classic and Cyclone infiltrating the Death Egg and taking it down for good. But how are they going to be able to do that? Tune in next time for Chapter 24: "Operation Scrambled"...
