Sonic's Chaos
Chapter 6: The Mission
Author's Notes: Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed so far! It's great having people who are invested in this story. I have enjoyed writing these and trust me, there are many more to come! However, as I have my last exam coming up soon I'm going to be studying a lot, meaning that new chapters might not come out as quickly. This should only last for a week or two! Thank you and enjoy reading :)
Fang guided Espio through the streets of Robotropolis. There was a time where these streets were full of neon lights, bustling with people. The atmosphere of Megatropolis was electric, full of culture, new ideas and exciting opportunities. Now, the streets are dull and grey. People rarely leave the house unless absolutely necessary. The streets are patrolled by Badniks. Everything that made Megatropolis great has been completely removed; the only thing baring resemblance to how the city was before Robotnik took over is the casino. Fang watched a patrol of Egg Robos speed across the street ahead of them. They were getting closer to Robotnik Tower.
"How much further?" Espio whispered, still camouflaged.
"Not long," Fang replied quietly.
The two crossed a couple more desolate streets. Espio looked around, taking in the impact Robotnik had on the city; shops closed with their windows shuttered, ash staining the walls of buildings. Fang nudged him.
"Hey," Fang muttered. "We're here."
Espio looked up at Robotnik Tower. The scale of it was massive and its appearance seemed to be reflective of the effect Robotnik had on the city; its metallic, grey, imposing exterior loomed over the city, with the giant neon sign of Robotnik's face flashing between blue and pink. Espio scowled at the sight of it.
"You ready?" Fang asked, sniffing. "I'm gonna try and sniff out a way in."
"Alright," Espio replied. He made sure to keep an eye on Fang; he wasn't quite sure if he could trust him yet. After all their encounters, Espio was certain that Fang must have some ulterior motive, but he was willing to put their past behind for the sake of this mission. He watched Fang sneak along the outside of the building, sniffing along, until he stopped. He subtly motioned for Espio to come over and when he crossed, he saw that Fang found a ventilation grate.
"I think we could sneak through here," Fang said quietly, looking up at the grate. "What d'ya think?"
"Are you certain this will actually lead anywhere?" Espio replied.
"Only one way to find out," Fang looked at Espio. "Are we going in or not?"
Espio paused before pulling out a kunai knife. "Are we clear?" he asked Fang, who looked around before nodding in approval. Espio leaped up, grabbing onto the vent grate. With his other hand, he cut into the bars of the grate, separating them so that he could pull it off, allowing him and Fang to crawl in. Meanwhile, Fang looked around, checking for any patrols.
"How long's this gonna take?" Fang asked in a hushed tone, sounding slightly panicked. Espio didn't respond as he continued cutting; he had separated the bars on all sides but one, sawing through them as quickly as possible. Fang grew more worried that a patrol would catch him, standing around suspiciously, until he heard the sound of the grate clanging against the ground. He turned and saw Espio materialise in the vent, motioning him to come in. Fang climbed up and inside the shaft.
The pair crawled through the shaft, being careful to make as little noise as possible. According to their intel, the surveillance control room should be somewhere on the second floor. The two peeked through vent grates, looking into the other rooms for monitors. They must have been crawling around for about 15 minutes before finally seeing it; a room full of screens, flicking between different cameras. Espio turned to Fang and quietly confirmed they found it.
"Ready when you are," Fang whispered, pulling his revolver out from his holster. Espio nodded before kicking the vent in, resulting on it hitting the ground below.
The two dropped into the room; there were about ten Badniks in there, none of them armed. Espio quickly drew his shurikens and threw them across the room, slicing through four Badniks that were positioned near the monitors. Fang turned and unloaded his chamber on the Badniks on the other side of the room, before rushing to lock the door. He turned to face Espio.
"You alright?" Fang asked, panting.
"Get your radio ready," Espio said, stepping up to the control unit. "I'm about to disable the surveillance system."
With a few clicks and some typing, a notification appeared on the monitor: "Are you sure you want to disable the Robotropolis Surveillance System?" Espio clicked yes, and all the monitors in the room turned black. Fang switched on his radio and spoke to Sally.
"We did it, the cameras are off," Fang said, speaking into the microphone. "You're all clear." He waited for a response before shutting the radio off. "What now?" he asked Espio.
"They'll radio us when they arrive," Espio replied, leaning against the controls. "When they get here, we'll link up with them."
Fang nodded. Espio took this moment to deal with his suspicions.
"So, what's next for you?" he asked the weasel. Fang looked up.
"Whaddya mean?"
"Well, when we get Sonic out of here," Espio replied, "What are you gonna do then? Go back to stealing?"
"What makes ya say that?" Fang asked quietly. Espio chuckled, puffing through his nose.
"I know you, Fang," he said. "I know you'll go back to your old habits."
"You don't know that." Fang retorted. The two stared at each other before Espio broke the tension.
"Keep that radio on," Espio said, pulling a chair. "The others could be here any minute."
Sonic recovered, forced back in his cell. He was covered in bruises and cuts, but after some rest was feeling a little better. His ears perked up as Robotnik spoke to him.
"Metal Sonic was made to beat you," Robotnik spoke, facing away from Sonic. "He was made from you, and, with my great scientific genius, was enhanced to be superior to you – and yet, you beat him. But no matter; Metal Sonic was created to destroy you, and I will ensure he fulfils that purpose."
Sonic smirked, "Oh yeah? And how's he gonna do that, exactly? The thing can't even stand up." He looked over at the centre of the room. Metal Sonic lay there, still awake, but too weak to get up; however, Sonic's comment seemed to motivate him to slowly rise to his feet. Robotnik chuckled.
"Well, would you look at that?" he said, his voice rising. "It seems Metal is ready for Round 2! Are you, Sonic?"
Sonic replied with his signature cockiness. "You bet! I'll turn this bucket of bolts into scrap metal, once and for all!"
The electrified bars of Sonic's cage lifted, allowing him to exit. While he wouldn't let Robotnik or Metal think that this fight would be a struggle, deep down Sonic knew that he'd be lucky to see the end of this fight alive. Like last time, the two charged up their attacks before colliding head first into one another, Robotnik cheering in the background. The two swung punches rapidly, using every opportunity to beat their opponent senseless.
Fang's radio buzzed. He picked it up and heard Sally's voice.
"Fang, we're coming up to the front entrance now," her voiced sounded through the crackling of the radio. "You and Espio need to ambush any Badniks blocking our way."
Espio came up and snatched the radio from Fang's hands. "You got it, your highness." Espio turned the radio off. "You heard her. Let's get a move on."
The two ran down the corridors, taking out any Egg Robos they encountered along the way, dodging their gunfire with ease. Fang opened fire on them, destroying their hardware and forcing them to break down. Espio manoeuvred around the Badniks with ease, destroying them through the use of his kunai knives and shurikens. The two heard the sounds of battle approach them, hearing banging and small explosions before seeing the Freedom Fighers sprinting around the corner, catching up to Espio and Fang.
"You had any trouble?" Sally asked, catching her breath.
"Surveillance is fully disabled," Espio responded. "They would have had no idea you were coming. We've got the element of surprise."
"Good," Sally said. "We'd better use that to our advantage while we still can. Come on, people, let's get a move on."
Sonic and Metal slugged it out in the Throne Room, the fight getting more and more dangerous, causing significant damage to the room's infrastructure; the fight destroyed technology, damaged the walls. Robotnik shielded his face with his hands as the two hedgehogs crashed around his throne, leaping and diving into each other. The fight came to a brief stop as the doors whirred open and Snively ran in.
"Sir, sir!" Snively shouted, out of breath. His interruption angered Robotnik.
"What now?!" Robotnik yelled, wanting this interference out of the way so the show could go on.
"The Freedom Fighters..." Snively said between breaths, "...are in the tower..! They... they disabled surveillance... they're making their way up here..." Snively dragged his feet over to Robotnik, worn out having run up here. Robotnik paused for a moment as Sonic began laughing.
"Told ya, Ro-butt-nik!" Sonic chuckled. "Looks like you're in trouble!"
Robotnik grimaced, smashing his fist against a button. Sonic looked down the corridor leading to the throne room, seeing several doors slide down from the ceiling before the throne room door was reinforced. "Don't get your hopes up, rodent..." the doctor snarled. "Those pests you call your friends will find nothing but your body by the time they reach here!"
Metal swiped at Sonic, slashing his chest. The two returned to their fight, Robotnik watching with a mad look in his eye, while Snively cowered in fear by his side. As the fight dragged on, the distant sound of explosions could be heard, momentarily stopping the fight. Sonic grinned, knowing his friends were approaching, the sound of explosives growing closer as they blasted through the doors. Sonic and Metal fought fiercely, kicking, punching and spinning into each other as the booms increased in volume. Metal managed to block one of Sonic's attacks, throwing him into the ground in front of his feet. Sonic lay there, coughing, the force of the impact weakening him considerably, when his opponent raised his metal foot above his face, ready to stomp down. As he raised his foot, Metal felt another rush of emotions, getting notified that his Emotional Inhibitor had, once again, malfunctioned. He looked down at his victim and couldn't bring himself to end his life. Metal moved his foot away, stepping back, to the anger of his master.
"Metal?!" Robotnik screamed. "What are you doing?! KILL HIM!" the doctor pounded his fists against the armrests of his throne. Metal extended his hand out to Sonic. Sonic was in awe, confused that his opponent had gone from being ready to end his life to saving him instead. Sonic grabbed Metal's hand and was pulled to his feet. He stared Metal in the eye and noticed something that seemed absent before; some kind of humanity, if you could call it that. His clone looked alive, whereas earlier he seemed more like a shell. Suddenly, the door to the throne room started banging, denting outward slightly before one final explosion burst it open. Sonic saw his friends; Tails, Sally, Mighty, Ray, Amy, and all the other Freedom Fighters rush into the room. Immediately he noticed their eyes widen in shock at the sight of two Sonics in front of them.
"Sonic?" Tails asked, confused. "Which one is the real you?"
Metal raised his hand, pointing at Sonic.
The Freedom Fighters cheered, rushing over to the blue hedgehog, but Sonic had no time for celebrating. This was their chance to defeat Robotnik.
"Okay, Ro-butt-nik," Sonic faced the doctor. "Looks like you're outnumbered! How about you hand over the seven Chaos Emeralds before we take them ourselves?"
Robotnik was seething. "I don't have all seven emeralds, rodent!" he grunted. "I only have four; the two Metal stole from you, and two others I found myself. Regardless, you won't be getting anything!"
Robotnik pushed a button, and his throne materialised into the cockpit of a small ship, shaped like the bottom half of a sphere, with the doctor and Snively inside.
"This is no victory," Robotnik cackled, "This tower will be a mass grave! Now, Metal, come with me!"
Metal simply stood, staring at Robotnik, angering him.
"Obey your master, Metal! Join me!"
However, it became obvious that Metal had no interest in joining Robotnik. Giving up, the doctor flew away with his servant. A countdown appeared on the main screen of the room, counting from thirty.
"The place is gonna blow!" Mighty yelled.
"We have to leave – NOW!" Sally ordered the rest of the Fighters, who fled the throne room, running downstairs. However, Sonic couldn't leave without Metal. He sensed there was hope for him.
"Metal! Come with us!" Sonic shouted over the countdown, beeping every second. "We can fix you!"
Metal slowly turned his head to face Sonic. For the first time he spoke, in a deep, metallic voice. "Go."
Sonic gasped. In all their fighting, he never heard a word come from his opponent's mouth. He watched Metal march over to the computer.
Sonic saw the countdown timer slowing down and realised what he was doing; the detonation of Robotnik Tower was inevitable, but Metal could slow it down just enough to let the Freedom Fighters escape safely. Sonic acknowledged his heroic sacrifice and dashed down the corridor, speeding past flashing red lights. Soon, Sonic would reach the bottom of the tower, speeding out of the front entrance just as the tower began exploding. After ensuring he was a safe distance away, he looked up to see the tower exploding from the top down.
The rest of the Freedom Fighters joined Sonic, watching Robotnik's monument of domination over Robotropolis being destroyed. After a few moments of silence, Sally spoke to Sonic.
"So, what happened to you?" she asked delicately. "How come there's two of you?"
"Was. There was two of me," Sonic replied, still gazing at the tower. "Robotnik found a way to steal a sample of my DNA, some time before I was kidnapped. When I was fending off those Badniks, they overwhelmed me and took me to Robotnik Tower." Sonic paused for a few seconds. "There, I was made to fight him; Robotnik called him Metal Sonic, a technologically enhanced clone of me. We fought almost to the death. He was about to kill me before you arrived, but something changed in him. I think he realised what he was doing." The Hedgehog turned to face the rest of the group.
"Even though he was made to kill me, he's the reason we're all standing here right now," Sonic told them. "Metal slowed the countdown enough so that we could leave safely. He gave his life for us." He looked down. "Just wish I could have saved him somehow – like Tails did with you, Bunnie."
Bunnie Rabbot came to comfort Sonic. "Metal's sacrifice won't be forgotten, Sonic. Even though he's gone, he's out of Robotnik's control."
Sonic nodded, approving of this. At least he would no longer be enslaved under his insane master. Sally prepared a speech for the group.
"Ok, team," she said, raising her voice. "Robotnik has fled Robotropolis; this means it's up to us to wipe out what's left of his forces here and finally restore this city to its former glory. Robotropolis is no more!"
The Freedom Fighters cheered, excited to be on the winning side after so many losses.
"But there's more work to be done," Sally continued. "Robotnik still has four of the Chaos Emeralds. This means we need to keep the other three out of his hands – and who better to do that than Sonic and Tails?"
The hedgehog and the fox nodded at each other. As a team, each knew they were capable of finding the Emeralds.
"Even though we won't have all the Emeralds, it's a start," Sally said, determined. "And once we have them all, Robotnik will be banished from West Side Island, once and for all!"
The Freedom Fighters let out another loud cheer before celebrating. As a team, they were more hopeful than ever knowing that they had the power to remove Robotnik the aggressor from their land. Sonic approached Tails.
"So, you ready to beat Robotnik to the punch?" Sonic asked, patting him on the shoulder.
"You bet!" Tails said confidently, "No one can hunt down those Chaos Emeralds like we can!"
When Sonic first arrived on the island, he had no idea he'd come across something like this, that he could feel such a renewed sense of purpose or make so many new friends. He knew that by working together, Robotnik didn't have a chance.