"Snively!"
Eggman stormed into the command center of his laboratory, specially built for just such an occasion as taking over a kingdom. Snively, still as small and bald and shark-nosed as ever was sitting in a curved metallic chair in his green shirt in front of several giant monitors, all connected to the city-wide surveillance system that had been activated minutes ago. He swiveled the chair around and, mixing together the appropriate measure of deference and apathy like a pro, raised one thick eyebrow as he clasped his hands together.
Ah," he said, "good to see you back sir. I'd ask you if all went well, but thanks to this marvelous setup, I don't really need to, do I?"
"If you don't need to ask, then you also don't need to ask why I'm going to order you to send you the first batch of Buzzbombers after that the Princess and her menagerie of freaks."
Snively folded together his fingers as he smirked like the devil. "I can only fathom. Though if I were to guess, I'd say it's because Knothole forest is quite possibly the only place where they can escape our grasp. There's no doubt that is where they're planning on heading next."
"And they've got the means to do it. Eggman clenched his fist like a gung-ho gambler with a fistful of dollars in danger of losing a bet. "The mongoose is trouble, but the hedgehog is dynamite. I can feel it in my bones."
Snively slowly let his lips form a most putrid smile that, if one could smell a smile, would surely be stinking up the room. "Assuming you even have any bones to feel. Only Gaea knows if there's anything left under all of that blubber."
"Say that again, and I'll be using that nose of yours to clean the toilet, you oversized toothpick."
"Yes, sir," said Snively, getting the message.
"In any case, the lot of them still need dealing with. If they reach the forest, there's no telling whether or not I'll be able to find them unless they want me to, and we can't have that."
"You could always just burn the whole place down, sir," said Snively. "It would save you quite a lot of time and effort compared to searching out every single little tree."
"As tempting as such a thought is, it's not exactly the most viable of options. If I attempted to make a bonfire of the place now, we'd be at risk of setting fire to the surrounding plains, perhaps even the whole Island! A kingdom isn't exactly worth ruling if there's nothing left to rule."
"You have a point. Buzzbombers it is?"
"Buzzbombers it is." Eggman grinned like a maniac about to go on a killing spree. "On another note, how's the takeover of the rest of the city coming along?"
"Most excellently sir. Most of the guards and soldiers are either incapacitated or worse, and Director Who and that most infuriating skunk have flown the coop. Within an hour at most, the entire Capital should be under your control."
"Egg-cellent," said Eggman.
"There is one small hiccup," said Snively.
Eggman's right eye suddenly began to twitch under his round spectacles. "And just what would that be?", he growled.
Snively reacted almost like a scared little rabbit would to a vicious predator. "Well, you see sir, it's, um, Coolete. Marcus Coolete."
"That little sadsack's father?"
"The one and the same. He and his men are putting up quite a fight. Certainly more than we could have considered."
"Well, he is the General. As much as I hate to admit it, the man does know how to fight a war. But this isn't like any kind of war he's ever fought." He considered sending another pack of Buzzbombers their way, but as if showered by a wave of inspiration, he decided on something a tad more vicious. "On second thought, send in Sleet. He prefers to spend most of his time ordering his troops from the sidelines rather than getting into the thick of it himself. I want to see what he can do."
"Of course sir." And with several presses of several buttons on a control panel, the orders were sent.
"Right. That should take care of that. In the meantime, I'll be checking up on Grimer and our guests. Oh, and if Chirps stop by, do tell him to pay me a visit, will you?"
"Of course sir."
"Right then." Eggman started to make his way towards the metallic sliding doors. "Oh, and do let me know how it all goes, will you? I'd stay and watch, but duty calls."
"Of course sir. Why, I'll even save you a recording."
"Good man. Oh, and Snively?"
"Yes sir?"
Eggman then oh so slowly lifted up his spectacles to reveal the black and red cybernetics beneath, as though to give the forthcoming order just that extra touch of dread to really help it sink in. "Don't mess this up." He lowered his spectacles once more and continued on his merry way. And as he exited through the door, all Snively could say as he got back to work was…
"Over-sized omelet.
"FALL BACK! FALL BACK!"
Marcus Coolete was near the end of his rope. Most of his men had either been incapacitated or worse, and as he and his last remaining squad of troops darted into the nearest alleyway, he knew that in all likelihood that these thoughts could well be the last thoughts he would ever think. They had fought a good fight, but against foes such as these, a good fight just wasn't enough. All he could hope for now was that Antione was alright. And if he weren't, well, nothing a good sword forced down Robotnik's gullet wouldn't fix. Assuming he'd live that long.
He and his men then pulled their blasters out from their hips. They clicked them on and off, fiddling with the triggers and rattling them, but for whatever Gaea-forsaken reason, they still refused to fire. "That Grimer!", said Marcus. "It must have been his doing. An 'inspection' indeed."
A slightly nasally voice then spoke out from the other end of the alleyway, with just a slight dash of a foreign accent to boot. "And indeed it was."
Marcus slung his blaster back onto his belt and thrust his sword out towards the voice. Standing in the blazing light at the end was a tall and lean wolf with a wild mohawk dressed in a maroon shirt and cape. His cybernetic limbs, two legs and an arm, shined in the light, and he stood with such poise that one would almost swear that despite having no guards at his side, he had the upper hand. And judging from experience, Marcus thought he well might.
"As I was saying, I do believe you will find nothing wrong with our dear Grimer's inspection. He simply did what he set out to do. Nothing more. That your weapons are no longer working simply means he performed his duties. And most excellently at that."
"Who are you?", said Marcus, he and his men never giving an inch.
"Ah yes," said the wolf, "I suppose I have failed to introduce myself. My name is Sleet and, as you might have already guessed, I am in the good doctor's employ.
"I should have thought as much. You've come alone?"
"It appears that way, doesn't it?" Sleet's lips, smiling all this time, slowly opened up to reveal two rows of dangerously sharp teeth, so much so that one could swear you could use some of them as small daggers.
"In any case, I will personally see to it that I drive you back from whence you came." Marcus readied his sword, preparing like a skilled knight to rush forth at a moment's notice.
Sleet simply admired his metallic wrist, turning it back and forth as he studied it with the sheer focus of one who could honestly not give a damn. "I welcome you to try."
Marcus suddenly faltered. This Sleet. He was confident. Confident that no matter what he and his men did to him, they were sure to fail. No, sure to get slaughtered. Such a feat might have seemed outside of the realm of possibility, but even if he didn't know much about cybernetics, he still knew they could pack a punch. Depending on just how powerful they were, he and his men might not have stood a chance. It was a textbook case of picking your poison. Either they dealt with the swarms of SWATbots and Troopers on one end that could quite possibly spill their lily-livered guts out, or they instead dealt with one Mobian who would quite possibly spill your lily-livered guts out. And yet, of all the choices available to him, there was only one that seemed to grant the highest chance for survival. No matter how unlikely or foolhardy it appeared.
Marcus took a long, deep breath, and then, without an ounce of hesitation, stood his ground, knowing full well that there wasn't much of a shot at getting through either route alive. "We will do more than just try."
"Very well. I suppose we had better get this over with. Now tell me," he said, as he cracked his knuckles ever so delicately. "Did you want one lump, or two?
"Can't you slow down for a minute?! I think I'm gonna hurl!"
Sonia was clasping her hand to her mouth as she felt the first wave of nausea in her stomach, a most understandable reaction when it came to traveling at the speed of sound via Mobian link.
"No can do Sonia," said Sally, "sorry." Normally, such words spoken at such a high velocity would be nigh impossible to comprehend to anyone standing still, but seeing as both Sonic and Mina were racing across the plains underneath the warm afternoon sky at more or less the same speed with the others in tow, this wasn't a problem for the lot of them. "Until Sonic and Mina can get us to Knothole, we're just going to have to cope." To be fair, Sally was on the verge of screaming like a ninny out of sheer panic, but seeing as she now had to fill in for Daddy, well, that just wouldn't be proper. Or at least that's what she kept telling herself.
"I'm glad one of us is!", yelled Sonia. "I just hope someone isn't going to find themselves eating a faceful of high-speed vomit!"
"Lighten up cuz," said Manic. "Sonic and Mina were the only way out of Mobotropolis, and you know it."
"YOU'RE DARN RIGHT I KNOW IT!", shouted Sonia. "DO YOU THINK I'D BE YELLING AT YOU, YOU SPIKEYHEADED MORON, IF I DIDN'T?!"
"Yeah," said Manic, as cool as a spring breeze, "probably."
"I THINK SOMEONE WANTS A FACEFUL OF HIGH-SPEED VOMIT!" Meanwhile, Antione was busy yelping and whimpering away like a madman on his end. When one was floating in the wind like pieces of string with the only chance of not tumbling about towards who knows what being to hold on tight, anyone could get jumpy. And Antione was not everyone.
Tails and Johnny were both keeping a cool head in their respective chains, though Tails' blue eyes betrayed just the slightest hints of doubt. Mina was just trying to do her best, as she always did.
That just left Sonic. He was always running as fast as he could, testing his limits and just letting himself let loose, as much or as little as he wanted. He liked it that way, and who wouldn't? Only now, that wasn't the case, was it? Now he was told by his little bro and everyone else that his way of doing things just wasn't working out and that it was fact even a bit rude. This was news to him.
In any case, time enough for that later. He shook his head and continued on towards Knothole, which was getting closer and closer with every step. Maybe then he could sort things out because as far as he could tell, there was a lot to sort. At least he wouldn't have had to deal with all that incessant buzzing coming from right above his noggin.
Wait a minute.
"Uh, guys," said Tails, "do you hear something? I'm pretty sure it's right up above us and OH GOOD GAEA GUYS LOOK UP LOOK UP!
Sure enough, they all looked up. And what all of them saw was one seething mass of large dark blue robotic bees, all set on vaporizing the only living things in sight.
"Ah hell!" said Johnny.
"Damn it! Those must from be the Chemical Plant Zone!", said Sally. "Sonic, Mina, you think you can outrun them?"
"I don't know!" said Mina like a scared schoolgirl despite long being past that. "I'm still kind of new at this! We might end up in a ditch or something if we just trying running away nilly-willy!"
"And you call yourself the second fastest thing alive!", said Sonic.
"Well," said Mina, "I don't really, but I guess I see your point?"
"Look," said Sonic, "just follow my lead."
"Wait a minute," said Sally. "Mina, belay that order!"
"Um, okay?", said Mina.
"Hey" said Sonic, "I thought you wanted us to get you all out of here?"
"I do," said Sally, "but trust me, I have an idea."
As Sally and the others' little pow-wow went on, the Buzzbombers picked up in speed, starting to go after their prey in earnest.
"Sonic, Mina, the both of you need to start running in opposite directions! Divide their attention in half. One group of bees goes one way…"
"…the rest goes the other," said Sonic, as if he'd read the script and already knew just how this play went. "And then once we've got their interest, we run back towards one another and pass the other by, and they smash the living crap out of one another. Like I said, follow my lead!"
"Oh," said Sally, realizing she just made a complete fool of herself. Not the best start for an acting ruler. "Right. Carry on then."
"Right. Mina, let's—"
All of a sudden, the Buzzbombers stopped straight in midair and aimed their stingers at one and all. They started to glow a bright orange, and glowing balls of energy suddenly began to grow in front of them. And Tails had a pretty good idea of just what was going on. "BIG BRO, MINA!", he yelled. "THEY'RE GONNA FIRE! GET OUT OF THE WAY!"
"Fire?!", said Mina.
"Seriously?!", said Sonic. But one look up and, keeping Tails' warning in mind, they knew just what he meant. Mina screamed like a girl, which was only natural considering she was a girl, whereas Sonic simply yelped like a pussy. However, Tails noticed something odd. Looking up, he seemed to notice that the number of bombers seemed to be just roughly half the amount he had seen mere minutes ago. They couldn't have vanished, and they certainly couldn't have spontaneously combusted. Which meant only one thing. He looked to the other side, and there they were, just as he thought; the other half of the Buzzbombers, all ready to fire at a moment's notice. And as though a lightbulb suddenly turned on in his head, Tails knew how to take care of the Buzzbombers like so much broken shrapnel.
"Guys!", said Tails. "I know how we can still beat them, but you're going to have to listen to me and listen fast! Uh, is that okay Sally?"
"Tails," shouted Sally, "whatever you have to say, SAY IT!"
"Okay! Sonic, you need to stop running ASAP! I've got a plan, but I've got to do it myself, and I don't want me and everyone else being bounced around like tennis balls when we let go!"
Typically, both Sonic and Sally would be somewhat adverse to letting a kid try and get himself blown up on his lonesome, but given their current situation, they didn't have many alternatives. They could try dodging the blasts, but if they could take care of it here and now, wouldn't that be all the better?
"Oy, fine! Give me a minute!" Sonic then dug his foot into the dirt and came to as sudden a stop as he could. Everyone practically squished into his back like an accordion, but other than that, they were none the worse for wear. Mina did the same if only so that she didn't lose track of the others, and the result was just as expected.
"Okay!", said Tails. "Wish me luck."
"Wait, lil' bro!", said Sonic. "Just what are you even doing anyway?!" But it was too late. Tails had already taken off like a helicopter and was flying high in the sky. By this point, the Buzzbombers' stingers were glowing a dangerously red hot, but Tails didn't mind. The more destructive, the better. He flew up to them, positioning himself right in the middle, and stayed in place for about the next ten seconds or so, waiting for just the right moment to act.
"Lil bro!", called Sonic. "Get down from there, lil bro! Bad lil bro!"
"Calm down, Sonic," said Sally. "I don't like it as much as you do, but for now, he's the best hope we've got."
"She's probably right you know," said Johnny.
Tails very much hoped he was about to be proven wrong. However, much to his dismay, he was about to be proven right. As the seconds went on, the Buzzbombers suddenly changed the direction of their stingers, aiming them not at Sonic and the others, but at the nearest possible target; Tails. And with one last flashing of their eyes, they let loose and fired. At just that moment, Tails flew himself out of there like an airforce driver desperate to get off a moving plane. In one swift stroke, the blasts of each group of Buzzbomber's struck the other, resulting in two most glorious explosions of destruction that gained something of an extra spark of radiance under the midday sun. Bits of Buzzbombers' spread across the nearby plains, but the important thing was, for all intents and purposes, they were without a shadow of a doubt gone.
"Great job, Tails!", said Sally, patting Tails on his shoulder as he began to land. "Those come in handy, don't they?"
"I guess," said Tails. "The important thing though is that the Buzzbombers are off our trail, which just leaves…"
He turned to look at a giant forest stretching out into the distance like a gaping green abyss, so much so that it almost staggered belief.
"That."
"And that," said Sally, "is Knothole."
"Merci," said Antione, quivering at the natural monstrosity before him. "Uh, ahem, not that I do wish to stay here and face any more of whatever those were by any means, but is it possible if you please to take a raincheck? Perhaps? Maybe? It is a thought, no?"
"Dude," said Manic, "it's just a forest."
"One that few have come back from alive! You do not have to be afraid of the dark to, as they say, get the hint, no?!"
"Eh," said Johnny, "this doesn't look too bad. I've never camped out in anything this big, but trust me. I reckon I can guide us in and out of there in one piece."
"That's right," said Sally. "You said something about being from the Hilltop Zone on the way over. You probably know these kinds of places like the back of your hand, don't you?"
"Reckon I do," said Johnny.
"Good," said Sally. "Because like it or not, if we don't want Robotnik to find us, then that's where we're going to have to go."
And all Antione could say was, "Merci."
"Well, well. It seems your men wanted as many lumps as they could carry. Wouldn't you say, general?"
Marcus Coolete could scarcely believe it. In what seemed like a flash in the pan, every single one of his men had charged straight ahead towards Sleet, swords raised forward like mighty barbarians of old, only for said swords to break against his robotic arm like glass. Some of them were done in by their weapons; by sharp fragments breaking off and piercing through them at just the right spots. Others still were crushed by Sleet's' great strength, slamming them into brick walls like so much tissue paper. Of course, it was always possible that one of these brave warriors would get a lucky shot, but as the last of them had their heads bashed in, it it was clear that it wasn't to be.
"Your order, sir?"
Marcus braced himself. He knew that this was a fight he wasn't likely to win, that to even humor this monster could well mean his inevitable death. But he also knew that hordes of SWATbots and Troopers might as well have been waiting right outside his doorstep. Like it or not, this was it.
Without blinking an eye, he raised his sword, steeled himself, and like a man intent on one last desperate gamble, threw it towards Sleet's head like a mighty javelin. Without uttering a syllable, Sleet raised both of his arms like engines of destruction and caught it like catching a football. He then crunched it in his hands, swiftly turning it into one big ball of scrapheap.
"Any last words?", said Sleet, who was drinking it all in as much as he could.
Marcus simply spat on the ground, apparently having no more words to give.
"Very well." Sleet then rushed towards Marcus, spanning the distance between them in seconds, and lifted him up off the ground like he were a powerless whelp. Which in this particular moment was what Marcus was.
"You know," said Sleet, "I changed my mind. Regardless of your rather obnoxiously moral lifestyle, you can still be rather indispensable to us. We just need to put you to use."
"I would rather die than serve you," said Marcus.
"Oh, I am most sorry General," said Sleet, his lips curling up once more like a demented clown mask, "but as much as I do not hate to say it, you are not going to have much choice."
