Sonic's Chaos

Chapter 8: The Ruins

Sonic was woken up by the sound of their radio buzzing and squeaking. At first, he thought maybe there was some trouble in Robotropolis and Sally needed their help, until he heard the speaker.

"Calling out for help!" the voice said as the radio crackles. "Need urgent help at the Aquatic Ruins! Please help!"

Soon, the radio faded out to nothing. Sonic looked to Tails to see that the distress call had also woke him up.

"What was that?" Tails asked, yawning. "Did they say Aquatic Ruins?"

"I think so..." Sonic said, rubbing his eyes. "Sound familiar to you?"

Tails stretched before getting out of his bed and picking up the radio. "The ruins have been on the island for thousands of years, made by the first inhabitants of West Side Island," Tails explained, fiddling with the radio's dials. "In the days of the Kingdom, the area was protected from interference. I think they did conduct expeditions into the ruins, but I suspect that all the data is lost now."

Sonic got out of bed, standing to talk to Tails. "So who lives there now?" he asked, trying to find an explanation for who may have sent out that message.

"Flickies, probably," Tails replied, still turning the dials. "They live all over Mobius. You've probably seen them where you came from."

"Yeah, those little birds?" Sonic said. "Robotnik tried to capture them when he was causing trouble back where I come from."

"It's understandable," Tails said, putting the radio down. "There's so many of them, it would be easy to use them to power his machines." He paused for a second. "Hey, maybe that's what the distress call is about!"

"Robotnik could be at the ruins," Sonic thought aloud. "Well, we'd better go check it out! The longer we leave it, the more powerful Robotnik grows!"

"Right!" Tails agreed, "I'll leave a message on repeat for Sally if she ever tries to call us."

In Robotropolis, Sally turns on the radio to check on Sonic and Tails only to hear a message being repeated.

"Sally, we're answering a distress call right now. Be back soon."

The voice was easily identifiable as Tails'. Sally sighed before switching it off. She heard footsteps coming into her room; looking up, she saw it was Amy.

"Hey, Sally," Amy said, "I was thinking maybe we should clear up the rubble from Robotnik Tower?"

Sally looked confused. "Why?"

"Well, I just thought it would be a sign of good will towards the people here," Amy continued. "That we have the city's best interests at heart, you know? Maybe more people will warm up to us that way."

Sally considered it for a few seconds. "Alright," she said, "but you can't go alone, it's too dangerous. Take some people with you."

"Don't worry!" Amy reassured her, "Mighty, Vector and Rover already said they'd come along! Thanks, Sal!"

Amy skipped out. Sally looked back to the radio, hoping that Sonic and Tails hadn't just fallen into some kind of trap. Turning it back on, she heard Tails' voice still looping. She wondered when they had left, if they had been gone for some time. Maybe if they hadn't returned by the following morning she'd send some people out to Knothole.

The four volunteers ran over to the rubble of the tower, still littering the streets. Some of it had been cleared by desperate civilians, however much of it remained.

"Geez, look at this!" Vector exclaimed. "And it's damaged all the other buildings too!"

Looking around, Mighty saw that many of the surrounding buildings have been destroyed by falling rubble. "Looks like we've got a lot of work cut out for us, gang! Now come on, it won't clean itself!"

The gang started piling up the rubble in the empty space that Robotnik Tower once occupied. For rocks that were too big to pick up, a blow from Amy's hammer or Mighty's fist helped break them up into smaller, more manageable pieces. Mighty would occasionally look around, making sure that none of Robotnik's forces were around, only to see small groups of civilians watching on as the group cleaned up the streets. Mighty nodded at them and gave them a friendly wave before continuing with his work. He hoped that Amy was right, that after this work was done maybe the people of Robotropolis will see the Freedom Fighters as their friends.

Sonic and Tails ran over hills towards the ruins, using the Chaos Emerald Locator as a map to work out where to go. Soon they began passing pillars and ancient structures before entering the ruins properly, only to see a group of Egg Robos up ahead of them.

"Quick, hide!" Tails whispered before the two ducked behind a pillar. Poking their heads out, they could see that the Egg Robos seemed to have captured a group of Flickies, holding them captive maybe.

"We can't just let them push the Flickies around!" Sonic said, getting ready to attack. "Come on, let's show 'em who's boss!"

Sonic and Tails leaped from behind the pillar, spinning into the Egg Robos, scarcely giving them an opportunity to strike back as those furthest away could barely raise their weapons in time before being reduced to junk. Sonic and Tails turned around, looking at the Flickies surrounded by destroyed Badniks. The five birds flapped their wings, rising into the air and circling Sonic and Tails.

"Thank you very much!" one tweeted. "The bad man has been coming here with his machines!"

Sonic and Tails looked at each other before looking back at the Flicky. "Bad man?" Tails asked gently.

"Let me guess; bald, big moustache, out of date sunglasses?" Sonic joked.

"He has been coming here and taking us away!" another Flicky cooed. "He's looking for something; the ancient gem!"

The two shared a look again. "Is the locator picking up on anything?" Tails asked.

Sonic looked down at the screen. It seemed that it was glitching slightly, with dots flashing on and off in the surrounding area.

"I don't know," Sonic replied. "The thing's bugging out."

Suddenly, they heard some noise behind them. Looking around, they saw one of the Egg Robos they thought they had destroyed was still functioning, repeating the same two words.

"Blue hedgehog," it beeped. "Blue hedgehog..."

Sonic quickly leaped into the air, curled into a ball and smashed into the robot, destroying it for good.

"What was that?" Sonic asked, dusting himself off.

"It could have been a distress call!" Tails exclaimed. "Maybe that thing was sending a message to Robotnik!"

Sonic thought for a second. It made sense; why else would it be repeating "blue hedgehog"?

"We should wait it out," Sonic said, putting his hands on his hips. "These Flickies have been tormented enough. If Ro-butt-nik wants to come 'round, we'll send him packing!"

Tails felt a little sceptical. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Sonic? What if we get outnumbered?"

Sonic grinned, "The two of us together are more than a match for whatever crummy force Robotnik sends our way!" The hedgehog addressed the Flickies. "Don't worry, you guys; once we're done with that fat scientist, he won't be hassling you again!"

The Flickies tweeted in response. Sonic turned back to Tails. "I say we camp out somewhere, wait to see if anything comes. That way, we can sneak up on 'em!"

Tails nodded and the two hid inside a small structure, occasionally looking to the sky to see if any of Robotnik's forces, or even Robotnik himself, are nearby. Once they disposed of them, maybe then they could try and find the mysterious Chaos Emerald that seemed to be somewhere hidden in the area. After a while, Sonic asked Tails about why the Locator was malfunctioning.

"So, what was up with the screen before?" Sonic asked, leaning against the wall of the structure.

"I don't know, we should be able to pick up Emeralds fine by now," Tails said, peering outside. "It could be that there's something about this place interfering with the tech. Like I said, there's not really much known about these ruins."

Sonic chuckled. "What, so you're saying there's some magical aura blocking the Emerald?"

Tails shrugged in response. "I wouldn't underestimate this place," he chuckled before watching the skies.

A screen in Robotnik's lair began flashing. After looking at the code, he saw it was one of the Egg Robos he had sent to the Ancient Ruins to capture Flickies. Robotnik looked at the message: "Blue Hedgehog" repeated a number of times. Robotnik snarled.

"Snively!" the Doctor shouted, marching out of his lair into the corridor outside. He looked around, waiting for a response, before calling his servant again. "SNIVELY!"

Snively popped out of a nearby room, clearing his breath. "Sorry, my lord," he said quietly. "How may I help?"

"The hedgehog is at the Aquatic Ruins," Robotnik growled. "And until I'm finished with Metal, none of our current forces can deal with him, so I'm going to destroy that rodent myself. Prepare the Egg Hammer."

Snively looked a little shocked. "My lord," he stammered, "Are you sure this is a good idea? To face the Hedgehog all on your own?"

"Don't question me!" Robotnik yelled, standing over his assistant. "With my new machine, I'm more than capable of destroying this pest! Now, get it ready!"

Sometime later, Snively entered Robotnik's lair. "Your ship is prepared, my lord. Are you ready?"

Robotnik grinned, swivelling his chair 180 degrees to face Snively before standing up. With his assistant, he marched through the airship until they reached the docking stations, where his latest contraption, the Egg Hammer, waited for him. The machine used the same cockpit design premise as his other weapons; however, this one had a powerful hammer attached, more than capable of squashing blue hedgehogs or any other insolent creature that stood in his way. Robotnik climbed in, barely fitting inside the cockpit, but no matter; he was ready to destroy his opponent. With a push of a few buttons, the cockpit fired up and floated off the ground, the red hammer rising with it. The engines fired up and propelled Robotnik off of his Winged Fortress, making his way to the ruins.

Sonic and Tails continued their conversation.

"How are we gonna find the Emeralds Robotnik already has?" Tails asked, now sitting down.

"I guess we can still use your locator," Sonic replied. "But we can't go after them without expecting a fight!"

Tails yawned before stretching. Looking outside, he could see the sun was beginning to set. They must have been there for hours. "No one really knows where Robotnik is now," he thought out loud. "He must have another base of operations somewhere."

"Doesn't matter what that Robotnik has in store for us," Sonic said assuredly, "we'll crack that egg-head wide open!"

Tails grinned and nodded. Sonic's cocky attitude alone was enough to reassure him that they were capable of winning this war. All of a sudden, the sound of an engine roaring and whirring was present, the sound of something whooshing through the air. Sonic looked outside to see Robotnik's new ship circling the area.

"Robotnik," Sonic snarled. "Looks like he's ready to party!" The hedgehog stretched, getting ready to fight the mad doctor. "C'mon, Tails, let's show him a thing or two!"

Sonic and Tails sped out of their hiding spot to face Robotnik, who laughed maniacally at the sight of them.

"You two rodents!" Robotnik yelled, "You have no business here – let me show you the way out!"

All of a sudden, the hammer attached to Robotnik's cockpit sprung to life, swinging wildly at the two heroes. Sonic managed to dodge and weave out of the way, avoiding being struck by the hammer. Robotnik soon diverted his attention to Tails, attempting to knock the two-tailed fox out of the sky; however, the hammer was still too slow for Tails, who managed to dive out of the way of its attacks, leading the hammer to smash into the ground instead.

"Sonic!" Tails called, still dodging Robotnik's attacks, "How do we stop this thing?"

"Watch and learn!" Sonic replied, shouting over the sound of Robotnik's laughter. Sonic spun into a ball, spin-dashing into the appendage attaching the hammer to the cockpit. While it didn't completely separate the weapon from the cockpit, it seemed to do some damage. Tails acknowledged what Sonic was doing, flying under Robotnik's hammer and slashing the appendage with his tails. Robotnik panicked as he tried to damage Sonic and Tails while avoiding their attacks, however it was futile as a message on the screen of his cockpit alerted him that the appendage connecting the cockpit to the hammer was severely damaged. He could do nothing but swing wildly as streaks of blue and orange flew around him, damaging his ship, until he got lucky. He heard a loud thwack as the hammer struck something. Looking up, he saw the orange fox flung into the air before crashing back to the ground. Sonic sped over to his friend, lifting him up to see he was out cold. Sonic shook his body in an attempt to wake Tails up but he was completely limp. He snarled as he turned around to face Robotnik, however the doctor had already made his escape, the machine too damaged to risk fighting an angry Sonic. All the hedgehog could do now was try to wake up his friend. He knelt back down beside him.

"Tails?" he asked, shaking him lightly, "C'mon, man, wake up!"

Suddenly, the flock of Flickies the two had saved previously appeared from behind some bushes and began flying in circles around Sonic.

"You saved us, so we will save your friend," one tweeted. "But we need something first."

"What is it?" Sonic asked, his panic relieved slightly knowing that there was a chance Tails could be saved.

"The ancient gem," another Flicky spoke, "Find the temple and recover the gem!"

"The Chaos Emerald, you mean?" Sonic asked, looking back down at the locator. He could see that, while it was still malfunctioning, the dot would occasionally flash by a pyramid-shaped structure. "Okay," Sonic said, standing up. "I'll find this ancient gem, but you have to stay here with Tails, alright? Make sure he's safe."

"We will," one of the Flickies cooed. "Now help us!"

Sonic around – it was night time now, the sky a deep blue, realising that he and Tails had been there most of the day and worrying that Sally might be concerned about them being gone for so long. Wasting no time, Sonic started running towards the pyramid on the map, darting under tree branches and around old ruins. Soon enough, he arrived at a clearing, at the centre of which was a large, stone pyramid, coloured blue and grey.

As the moon rose in the sky, the vast majority of the rubble on the streets of Robotropolis had been piled up. Amy, Vector, Mighty and Rover were all tired out from the constant work but proud nonetheless. Mighty noticed that small groups of people were still watching, maybe a couple more than before.

"What should we do?" Amy whispered to Mighty. "They've been standing here the whole time we've been doing this."

Mighty stepped forward, addressing the crowd. "Doctor Robotnik has ruled with fear over this once great city for too long. When we were close to stopping him, he blew up his tower, thereby destroying the surrounding area."

The crowd remained quiet, yet Mighty continued. "Just know that we are on your side. We'll keep working until Robotnik is far, far away from this city and Megatropolis can finally exist in peace again!"

The crowd seemed more pleased by this, the idea that there were a group out there, fighting for them, being quite appealing considering the dark times the city had been going through.

"Who knew you were such a public speaker?" Vector joked under his breath to Mighty as he returned to the others.

"Well, we had to say something," Mighty replied. "Now let's get back to the base!"

When the four entered the headquarters, Amy split off from the other three. "I'd better go tell Sally that we're back," Amy explained before heading off down another corridor. Upon entering Sally's room, Amy found her waiting at the radio. Amy approached her slowly.

"Sal?" she asked slowly. "You okay?"

Sally turned around. "Sonic and Tails went out to answer a distress call," Sally replied quietly, "and they haven't called us back."

"So what are you thinking?" Amy sat down next to her. "You know them; they're more than capable of handling themselves?"

"But what if it was a trap?" Sally asked worriedly before Amy cut her off.

"Or maybe they're in for a little more than they bargained for!" Amy reassured her, putting her arm around Sally's shoulder. "Sonic fought off that robot clone of him for days, I'm sure he's more than capable of handling any of Robotnik's goons!"

Sally still looked nervous, so Amy came to a compromise. "How about me and Mighty head down to Knothole tomorrow morning to check on the place? That way, we can keep that Emerald safe until they get back!"

Sally nodded. "Only if we haven't heard off them by tomorrow morning," she said.

Sonic had been trying to find an entrance on the ground level of the pyramid, however it seemed that all entries were sealed shut.

"How the hell am I meant to get into this place?" the hedgehog thought to himself, looking up and examining the structure.

He decided to make his way up the steps to the top of the pyramid. The stairway was long, but Sonic climbed up it in seconds. As he stepped onto the peak of the temple, he heard a rumbling beneath his feet. Suddenly, the stone beneath him gave way, sending Sonic plummeting into the darkness below.