Sonic's Chaos
Chapter 11: The Battle of Robotropolis
Bean, Bark and Fang rushed out the building, pushing past disturbed and concerned residents who heard the explosion. Bean's repeated use of bombs had brought them attention, and Team Hooligan intended to shake it off as soon as possible. They managed to break free of the rubble fairly quick, however they had no idea what happened to Espio – for all they knew, the Chameleon could still be unconscious, or even dead, but they didn't have the time to care now. As they left the complex, Bean could no longer keep his cool and began panicking.
"Oh..." Bean groaned, frustrated, "I messed up, I messed up big time..."
"Damn right you did!" Fang pushed him, "What were ya thinking, huh? Bombs? Seriously?!"
"I don't know!" Bean whined, "I panicked, okay?! I didn't think!"
"Yeah, well you never think..." Fang muttered. "Look, let's just head to the casino, huh? Lie low for a lil' while. Sound good?"
Bean began to cool down. "Right, mhm. Sounds good."
The woodpecker slowly walked on. Fang turned to Bark, who was still holding up his characteristically calm demeanour.
"Really takes a lot to shake you, huh, big guy?" Fang asked him. Bark simply looked at him in response, leading Fang to chuckle. "Seriously. Yer home just got blown to smithereens and ya don' got a care in the world?"
Bark only stared back in response.
"Ya know somethin'..." Fang continued, starting to follow Bean, "In all our years workin' together, I must have only heard ya speak two or three times. Don' even remember what ya sound like anymore."
The sturdy polar bear still showed no response.
"But that's why I like ya," Fang stopped. "A good counterpart to Mr. Hyperactive..." Fang pointed to Bean. Bark smirked, puffing a little before catching up with his teammates.
A gloved hand pushed out of a pile of rocks. Pushing them aside, Espio emerged from the rock to see the apartment completely empty apart from a few concerned residents peeping in through the doorway. Espio staggered out of the rubble. Remembering that Fang may try to compromise the Freedom Fighters, he sought to get out of the building and return to base as quickly as possible.
"Are you okay?" a concerned cat asked Espio as he pushed past her on the way out, only for Espio to ignore her. He had no time at all; Team Hooligan could be at the base now for all he knew.
Staggering and running to the base, Espio was relieved to see nothing had happened; not yet, anyway. Rushing inside, he found Sally, seemingly rushing somewhere.
"Sally..." Espio tried to catch her attention, panting as he caught his breath.
"Espio, we're a little busy right now," Sally continued, not even looking at him, "Sonic's coming with the other Emeralds and -"
"Sally." The chameleon spoke more sternly this time, forcing Sally to confront him. When she did, she saw the state Espio was in; bruised, battered and dirty.
"Christ, what happened to you?" she asked.
"Fang..." Espio breathed, "Was a double agent. He's been communicating with a group of crooks he used to work with."
Sally's face dropped. "And what did they have planned, exactly?"
"To steal... the Chaos Emeralds..." Espio panted, "And sell them."
Sally's mouth opened. "They did this to you?"
"I tried sneaking in," Espio continued. "Fang was visiting their apartment. But I wasn't quiet enough, and when Fang heard... he knew me well enough to know I was there."
Sally paused. "We can't let this interfere with our current plans. Sonic and the others will be on their way sometime this morning and once we get here, we need to start planning how we can take the other four Emeralds from Robotnik. Go rest up, I'll call everyone in when we're ready."
The Princess continued on her way, leaving Espio standing there. As he took a moment to himself, his old friend Vector came in.
"Hey, I overheard what happened," Vector said, approaching him. "Looks like you were right all along, huh?"
Espio nodded. "It's like she doesn't really care."
Vector put his arm around his friend's shoulder. "This is some heavy stuff, Espio, I'm sure she's a little concerned..."
"Well, exactly!" Espio said, breaking away to stand facing Vector. "This is big stuff. I mean, Fang planned on selling all the Chaos Emeralds once we got them all, and Sonic is about to come here with three of them..."
Espio continued as Vector attempted to calm him down.
"And if Fang betrayed us, who's to say that no other member of the Freedom Fighters is also a double agent?"
"Calm down, Espio!" Vector shouted over him. "Just think it through – the Freedom Fighters took a risk letting Fang join, he's a well known criminal! You said it yourself that this was bound to happen."
Espio grunted, staring at the floor with his arms crossed.
"You can't beat yourself up about it," Vector reassured, "The Freedom Fighters is about to go ahead with our biggest operation yet; if this don't work, everything that has lead up to this point will be for nothing! We have to keep it together, pal – the future of Mobius may be at stake!"
Espio paused. "You're right. I was a little selfish. I'm sorry."
Vector patted him on the shoulder. "I get it pal, you're concerned; but Fang and his pals aren't a threat to all of us! Now come on, we've gotta get this place ready for when Sonic and the others return!"
In the skies of West Side Island, the Winged Fortress swiftly made its way to its destination, with one of its two biological inhabitants, Dr Robotnik, eagerly anticipating its arrival over the skies of Robotropolis. As for its other human inhabitant, Snively, he felt less excited and more panicked. The Doctor had been increasingly pushing the completion of his mech suit, codenamed Metal Robotnik. The scale of the suit made its completion by Robotnik's deadline difficult, however by redirecting more and more forces to the manufacturing station, Snively was sure that the suit would be battle ready by the time Robotnik gave the orders. The completion of Metal Robotnik was not the only thing Dr Robotnik was anticipating; Metal Sonic's full roboticization process was nearing completion. Even if Metal Robotnik failed him, the new Metal Sonic would be more than a match for any of the Freedom Fighters. Looking out ahead of the deck, Robotnik saw the skyline of Robotropolis in the distance.
On the ground below, Sonic, Tails, Amy and Mighty run between trees and bushes on their way back to the Freedom Fighters base in Robotropolis. A low rumbling sound is noticed by Sonic, who suddenly grinds to a halt, forcing the other three to come to a stop too.
"Sonic?" Amy asked, kicking the dirt of the heels of her boots, "What's wrong?"
Sonic turned around and looked up. In the distance, he saw some kind of vessel approaching, rumbling louder as it flew overhead and causing the ground to vibrate. Sonic heard Tails mutter something under his breath before turning to face him.
"That's gotta be him, right?" Sonic asked Tails before looking to Amy and Mighty. "Old Robotnik really loves to make an entrance."
"I remember it," Tails said, eyes frozen on the ship. "That day, when he arrived... he flew in on that."
"I remember too," Mighty said glumly. "I was training up in the mountains when I saw it pass overhead. Before I knew it, the area was full of these unnatural creations."
"I was in Robotropolis at the time," Amy contributed. "The last day of normality..."
"Well stop me if I'm wrong, but it looks like the Doc's headed to Robotropolis now!" Sonic interrupted, "So I say we run as fast as we can before Robotnik unleashes whatever foul plan he has in store!"
The others silently nodded in approval before they all rushed to the city, determined to save their friends and kicking up trails of dust behind them. From afar, they appeared as coloured streaks – blue, yellow, pink and red blurs streaking across the countryside before they hit the road to the city. It didn't take them long to navigate their way to the base, narrowly outrunning the Winged Fortress. The team grinded to a halt as they approached the main entrance to the base, established in some old, abandoned buildings on the very outskirts of Robotropolis. Entering the inside of the compound, they found Sally, Ray and Bunnie waiting. Sally jumped up before speaking.
"It's good to see you all again!" she greeted the four as they piled in. "You have the Emeralds?"
Tails lifted the container, obviously struggling before dropping it on a table. "All safe. But there are bigger concerns..."
Sally looked at the others. "What is it?"
"Seems Robotnik's coming for a little vacation," Sonic quipped, "We just about managed to beat his ship here."
Sally held her breath for a second before sighing. "We were going to face that mad dictator at some point anyway. Doesn't matter if it's now, as long as we're ready – and luckily for you, we have a plan."
Sally lead them into the meeting room. Ray had a moment with Mighty just before they came in.
"Glad yer back, friend," Ray patted the armadillo on the back. "You ready for this?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Mighty replied, smiling. In the room, the rest of the Freedom Fighters, including the Chaotix, Antoine and Rotor awaited the group.
"This everyone?" Sonic checked.
"Hey, where's Fang?" Tails asked. Espio simply shook his head.
"No longer working with us," the chameleon said bluntly. Sally quickly changed the subject, unveiling her plan.
"So to begin with, we were gonna use the Tornado to track down Robotnik's base," she addressed Tails. "And from there, we would have attacked the base, splitting into two groups; one to provide an upfront assault on Robotnik's forces, while another group would sneak in and find the Emeralds that Robotnik still has his fat hands on."
"And what now?" Mighty asked.
"Wait, why does it need changing?" Charmie asked, buzzing above his seat.
"Our friends spotted Robotnik's airship heading in this direction on their way back from Knothole," Sally explained to the shock of some unaware members. "But don't worry about that – we're all ready to fight, and the plan we originally had established isn't difficult to make amendments to." The princess turned her attention to Sonic and Tails. "You two are going to take the Tornado up onto the ship. Make sure you land that plane safely. Get in there, get the Emeralds, and get out, understand?"
"Please!" Sonic bragged, "We'll be in and out of that little ship before Robotnik gets a chance to lift his fat butt out of his seat!"
"Well, I'm glad you're so confident," Sally sighed, "As for the rest of us, if it's anything like last time Robotnik's going to be raining ground forces down on the city. We have no idea how many there will be, so we've got to be ready for anything."
"And 'oo is going to stay to protect ze Emeralds?" Antoine raised his voice, his accent thick.
"Well, I'll leave that to you and Mighty," Sally said, turning her head to look at the two. "You're both valuable fighters, but we can't just leave them unprotected and risk losing them again."
"I understand," Mighty agreed, nodding his head gently. "With all my years of training and Antoine's martial arts skills, we'll be worthy guardians!"
Antoine smiled proudly, puffing his chest and nodding. "Very well, your highness!" he accepted.
"In that case," Sally announced, slapping her hands on the table. "Is everyone clear?"
The room raised their voices in approval.
"Good," Sally said, "Then the plan is in motion. Everyone, get ready!"
Sonic and Tails prepared to make the journey back to Knothole. The distance was short enough that it wouldn't take too long for them to get back and arrive again by the Tornado. As Sonic got ready to leave, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Amy waiting nervously.
"Hey," she said with a hint of nervousness, "Just wanted to say good luck up there!"
"Don't worry 'bout it!" Sonic exclaimed, "Robotnik's got nothing on me!"
Amy giggled before clearing her throat. "We'll all be rooting for you down here!"
"You guys focus on taking out those Badniks!" Sonic said, following Tails out the door, "Me and Tails will be just fine!"
Sonic waved everyone goodbye as he walked out the door before kicking off and running back to Knothole, Tails' tails spinning rapidly to keep up with him.
"How you feeling about this, Tails?" Sonic shouted, arms tucked in.
"A little nervous," Tails squeaked, "But if you're confident, I guess I should be too!"
"Don't worry about it!" Sonic replied reassuredly, "Just stay sharp!"
After a couple more minutes, the two grinded to a halt outside Tails' workshop. Tails pulled the tarp off the tornado, unveiling the red biplane.
"Lookin' good!" Sonic complimented, taking it in, "Hey, there's nowhere for me to sit!"
Tails climbed up into his seat and looked around. "Huh, I guess not," he said, strapping himself in. "I guess you'll have to climb up onto the wing."
Sonic chuckled. "I've done riskier things!" he remarked before climbing on. As he stood up, he shouted back to Tails as the fox turned the engine key and the plane started rumbling. "Hey, you're sure this thing is safe to fly, right?"
Tails admittedly had not had time to test its flight capabilities, however he was smart enough to realise that now was a bad time to mention that. "Yeah, this thing flies like the wind," Tails commented before moving the plane forward. Its wheels sped up as it carried on across the ground. Sonic grew more and more worried as the tree line ahead came closer and closer. Worry quickly turned to panic.
"Tails..." Sonic shouted, eyes widening. "Tails! PULL UP!"
As he yelled those words, the plane lifted upward off the ground, forcing Sonic to cling onto the frame of the wing as he felt the wind rush down past his face. The biplane tilted as it turned back around and levelled out as its course was set for Robotropolis, with Tails putting the engine on full throttle. A pretty good result, Tails thought to himself. Sonic stood to his feet as the plane rattled through the air at full speed to the city, arriving there in a matter of minutes. By this time, the Winged Fortress rested over the skies of the city, its size more obvious now they were roughly level with it.
"Tails, are you gonna be able to land on this thing?" Sonic shouted back as they came closer to the airship.
"I'll make a couple of passes – keep an eye out for any flat areas!" Tails shouted back, peering through his goggles at the ship as they came up on its left.
As Robotnik marched through the corridors of his ship, ensuring that everything was in order and ready for the upcoming attack, he saw something through the window; a small biplane flying along the length of the Winged Fortress. Squinting his eyes, he just about made out a blue figure standing atop it. He needed no confirmation. Grabbing his assistant by the throat, Robotnik growled his command.
"Open fire on the biplane," he spat at a terrified Snively, who simply nodded.
While coming around to the front of the ship, Sonic and Tails were alerted to fire coming from its cannons. Tails shouted up to Sonic.
"Sonic! Hold on to something!" he yelled, Sonic just about making out his speech before it was carried away by the wind. The blue hedgehog clinged to the wing with both hands as the plane twisted and tilted out the way of incoming fire. Tails sped up as they flew past a heavily armoured section of the ship. Sonic's legs flailed behind him as the Tornado sped past the vessel. Once they were out of the way of the ship's cannons, Sonic regained his footing.
"Over there!" Sonic pointed towards the deck of the ship, coming up on their right, "That's our best bet!"
"Right!" Tails shouted back, slowing the plane down and activating the landing gear. All of a sudden, something smashed into the wing of the Tornado. At first, Sonic thought they were under fire again, ducking down and holding onto the wing, but after a second he realised no further shots rang out. Looking to his right, he saw something climbing onto the wing, something Sonic recognised immediately; Metal Sonic, now fully roboticized, was on board the Tornado. Despite its changes, Sonic recognised its design as being a mimicry of him. The robot climbed onto the wing of the Tornado, facing Sonic.
"Metal!" Sonic shouted, remembering his sacrifice in aiding the Freedom Fighters when they escaped Robotnik Tower shortly before its destruction. "You don't have to do this! Robotnik isn't your master!"
Metal's cold, red eyes simply stared back. There was no longer anything natural about Metal – he had been fully roboticized, and not an ounce of humanity remained. Raising his clawed hand, Metal swiped towards Sonic, who stumbled back.
"Tails, you have to land this thing!" Sonic said, cautiously holding his footing. Tails slowed down the plane even more as they approached the deck. Metal took another step towards Sonic, swiping again. Sonic ducked under his arm and spun his legs around, sweeping Metal off his feet and sending him falling out of the sky. There was a thud as the Tornado hit the deck and grinded to a halt. The two climbed out of the plane.
"Metal Sonic?" Tails asked, "I thought he was destroyed!"
"Obviously he's stronger than we gave him credit for," Sonic replied, looking to the sky and being shocked to see Metal flying back in their direction. "Uh oh..."
Tails turned around to see Metal rapidly approaching. Sonic grabbed Tails and pushed him out of the way as Metal crashed into the Tornado, heavily damaging the body. The robot emerged unscathed.
"Don't you remember, Metal?" Sonic asked once again, trying to see good in his counterpart. "You turned on Robotnik! You can do it again!"
In response, Metal simply charged the jet engine built into his torso and sped into Sonic grabbing him and smashing him into the floor, dragging him along the length of the deck as Tails watched in shock. Tails quickly flew over and as Metal was about to punch Sonic into the ground, he felt a pair of tails smack him across the head before Tails spun around again, kicking Metal in the head and knocking him off Sonic. Sonic quickly got to his feet and into fighting position.
"Looks like Ro-butt-nik taught you some new tricks!" Sonic taunted. "Not that it matters – there's only one Sonic!"
Metal got back to his feet, ready to kill his opponents.
Meanwhile, Robotnik rushed to Snively inside the Winged Fortress. Finding him, he spat out his orders.
"The attack begins now! Send out the Badniks!"
In the streets below, the Freedom Fighters looked to the sky as Egg Robos crashed down onto the streets, sending civilians running inside as they opened fire. Meanwhile, Team Hooligan duck into an alleyway as Egg Robos block their way to the casino.
"What do we do – WHAT DO WE DO?!" Bean panicked, his legs trembling.
"Keep it cool!" Fang hushed him, "Remember, we ain't done anythin' wrong – and even if they wanna mess with us, Team Hooligan don't take any pushin' around!"
Fang poked his head around the corner to see the Egg Robos hovering down the street, away from the casino. Motioning Bark and Bean to follow him, he crept out of the alley and to the doors of the casino.
Upon the Winged Fortress, Robotnik stood in the bridge, watching from afar as Metal fought off Sonic and Tails. Hearing a knock at the door, he turned to see Snively. Clearing his throat, the servant spoke.
"Metal Robotnik is ready to be activated, sir," Snively announced, "If you'd like to make your way to the docking station when you're ready..."
Robotnik grinned as his servant walked away. Metal Robotnik, a vessel of destruction, an impenetrable suit of armour – the excitement lead Robotnik to abandon the bridge as he followed his servant down through the Winged Fortress. Leading him to the docking station, he found the Metal Robotnik mech, positioned as if it were curled up in a ball. Climbing up into the torso of the suit, Robotnik found the control system; a suit worn by Robotnik would control its movements, while buttons on the grips of the gloves would allow Robotnik to perform certain attacks or manoeuvres.
Meanwhile, Amy, Sally and Ray fought off the Egg Robos. Ray found a wrench which he used to cave in the exterior of the Badniks, while Amy used her trusty hammer to crush the Robos into the ground. While Sally had no weapon, she had been trained by Antoine in the ways of martial arts, and her blows were strong enough to take any Egg Robo by surprise. Helping them was Rotor, who, thanks to his sheer muscle, smashed Egg Robos together by their heads before tossing them aside only to repeat his punishment again. The next street over, the Chaotix were busy combating their own share of Badniks. Thanks to Espio's weaponry, the team could take on the Robos from afar. However, when this strategy eventually failed to be effective as more and more Egg Robos arrived, the team switched to close combat, with Charmie providing a distraction while Vector and Espio wiped the floor with the Badniks. Despite being outmatched in numbers, the Freedom Fighters fought ferociously, not breaking a sweat. After knocking out a wave, the Chaotix took a moment to pause for breath when a noise was heard overhead, sounding something like a jet engine. Looking up, Espio found the source of the sound; a huge robot, wings flapping as it lowered to the ground. It must have been the same size as a ten story building. Its feet crashed onto the ground, the machine standing upright to reveal its menacing stature. On one hand, its fingers merged together to form gattling guns, opening fire on the Chaotix in the street below, who dived for cover. The monster was large enough to be seen by the other Freedom Fighters streets over. Ray looked at Sally, fear in his eyes.
"What do we do, your highness?" the squirrel asked before looking back at Metal Robotnik.
"He's after the Chaotix," Sally realised before commanding her troops, "We have to go help them; come on!"
Amy, Ray, Bunnie and Rover made their way through the alleyways, finding Vector taking cover.
"What the hell is that thing?!" Vector panicked, "We weren't expecting this!"
"We can't back down now!" Sally shouted, "We'll find a way to get around it; you, Espio and Charmie need to keep it busy!"
Upon the Winged Fortress, Sonic and Tails were struggling to defeat their adversary. Sonic knew to expect that Metal would be no pushover thanks to their previous encounters, however Tails had no idea of the sheer strength of Metal Sonic. Despite seeing him before, the two-tailed fox had never actually fought Sonic's counterpart; even then, the version he saw was considerably less powerful than the version he was currently fighting. Tails flew in, attempting to throw a punch at Metal's head, however Metal simply grabbed Tails' fist, swinging him around and tossing him aside. While Sonic acknowledged that this fight wasn't going in their favour, he knew that the other four Chaos Emeralds needed to be recovered. Charging into Metal Sonic and knocking him off his feet for a few moments, Sonic quickly picked Tails up and pushed him towards the entrance to the ship's interior.
"Go find the Emeralds!" Sonic panted, "I'll distract him!"
"Sonic, no!" Tails whined, fearing that Sonic would not be able to hold off Metal on his own.
"Don't worry about me!" Sonic reassured him, "If you don't get the Emeralds, everything will be for nothing! Now GO!"
Sonic pushed his friend one more time before Metal got to his feet. Tails quickly rushed inside as Sonic and Metal collided with each other. Running through the cold corridors of the Winged Fortress, Tails desperately searched for clues, signs, anything that could indicate just where these Emeralds might be. On his way around, he encountered several Badniks, left behind to maintain the ship. These posed no threat compared to the foe he had left behind, and Tails swiftly tore them apart. Running around a corner, he happened to bump into something; bald, small, wearing green uniform. Tails recognised it as a human, just like Robotnik, however that was where the similarities ended; looking further, this man couldn't be further from Robotnik. His small stature, not being much taller than Tails himself, was nothing to be afraid of, and the look of pure terror on his face showed that he was weak. After the shock washed over him, Tails pinned the man to the wall, who merely whimpered and begged not to be hurt.
"You know why I'm here," Tails said, "The Chaos Emeralds. Where are they?"
"Please..." the man begged, "Don't hurt me, please!"
Tails simply pushed him back into the wall, commanding him again.
"Tell me!" he snarled, enjoying the power he felt over the man.
"The lab," Snively gulped. "He keeps them in his private lab – down this corridor, to the left."
Tails smirked and tossed the man aside – despite putting on a confident face, Tails was surprised he pulled that off. Speeding down the hallway, Tails turned left at the end of it, seeing a shut door with the word "Private Lab" on a plaque above it. Tails kicked the door in before quickly barricading it with cabinets and tables once he got inside. Scouring the room, Tails eventually found the Emeralds, kept behind a password-protected metal door with a small glass panel. A password – the man never mentioned anything about that. Tails considered running out to find him, but the man could be anywhere by now. Looking around the rest of the lab, Tails practically turned the place upside down trying to find anything that could contain the pass code, but despite his efforts he came back empty handed. Looking at the door, he wondered if there was another way of opening it. Looking at all the parts he had emptied out in the lab, an idea came to mind.
While Tails had been navigating the interior of the Winged Fortress, Sonic had been distracting Metal Sonic, the two bouncing around the deck as they dodged any opportunity for their opponent to deal damage. Eventually, Sonic managed to circle back around and knock Metal to the ground. After a few blows, Metal began charging up, releasing a burst of energy as he grabbed Sonic and flew with him, smashing him through the door to the inside of the ship.
Tails heard a crash and, when realising what the source may be, noted that he may be running short for time. Fortunately, he had managed to throw together a small device, designed to overwork and overheat before frying the control panel in which the pass code is supposed to be entered. It was crude and primitive, but it should work. Attaching the device to the keypad, Tails pressed the switch. The device began to whir, heating up and crackling before there was a small bang as sparks and smoke flew from the keypad. Tails heard a click and tried the door; it opened. Tails laughed and swept the Emeralds into his arms. Realising it would be too risky to simply carry the Emeralds in his arms, Tails grabbed a bag left on the workbench and emptied the Emeralds inside. While excited to have the Emeralds, Tails was not looking forward to their escape. Throwing the bag over his shoulder, Tails pushed the barricade out of the way and ran down the corridor. As he did, he saw two blue streaks flash past. Knowing that his friend may be in trouble, he prioritized following them to help.
Sonic and Metal raced throughout the fortress, smashing into each other. Their course took them deep into the ship, leading into the engine room, where two large, powerful generators powered the whole ship, keeping it afloat. The two stopped, and as Sonic threw a punch, Metal grabbed his fist and pulled Sonic over his head, smashing his back into the floor. Metal stomped on Sonic's chest, bending over and landing punch after punch into Sonic. Sonic bent his legs and kicked Metal off of him, staggering to his feet. Metal came forward and swiped his claws at Sonic, cutting his chest. Sonic staggered back before Metal backhanded him, sending him stumbling over to the generators, whirring and spinning rapidly. Before Sonic knew what was happening, Metal grabbed him by the throat, flying him over in between the two generators. Sonic glanced down, knowing that whatever happens when Metal drops him, it won't be pretty. Sonic shut his eyes and felt Metal Sonic's grip loosen, letting him fall. As he prepared for the inevitable, Sonic felt a hand grab onto his. Opening his eyes and looking up, he saw Tails, his two tails spinning rapidly as he struggled to hold onto both Sonic and the bag of Emeralds. Looking back down, Sonic's feet were dangling barely above where the two spinning generators met; if Tails were any slower, the blue hedgehog's story would have ended far sooner. Tails flew up onto a walkway, heaving as he dropped Sonic and the bag.
"Thanks for the hand, Tails," Sonic panted, smiling, "I'm guessing this is what we came for?" The hedgehog motioned towards the bag. Tails simply nodded, out of breath. Sonic looked to his left as he heard Metal Sonic whirring.
"Look, pal," Sonic slapped Tails on the shoulder, "This ain't over yet. We gotta get outta here first, and we can't do that without taking out this mean piece of metal!"
The two stood to their feet, eyeing down Metal Sonic as he hovered towards him. While Sonic had received his fair share of beatings in their fight, that's not to say that Metal hadn't been inflicted any damage – his metal armour was ripped, scratched and torn in places. In some spots, small sparks emitted; even one of his red eyes was flickering. As Metal charged up another attack, Tails grabbed Sonic, flying him over to Metal before he leaped out of Tails' hands and towards his counterpart, spinning into the robot before grabbing back onto Tails. Metal was knocked out of the air and onto one of the generators, still spinning. Realising his predicament, Metal scurried, crawling over the generator, trying to outrun the generator's spin. Sonic and Tails looked as the battered robot climbed desperately, his metal hands desperately trying to grip, however it wasn't enough. Metal was pushed back as Sonic and Tails watched him disappear over the top of the generator as it spun around and as Metal was crushed between the two generators, he let out some kind of metallic, distorted scream; a haunting sound unlike anything they had ever heard before. In a final, desperate attempt to escape in the moments before he was crushed, Metal charged himself to dash out, however it was too late. This wouldn't be totally ineffective however, as the energy released, combined with Metal's parts clogging up the generators, led to an explosion, heavily damaging the machines. The generators grinded and creaked to a halt, no longer able to function. Moments later, red warning lights flashed and alarms blared across the Winged Fortress as it lost stability and began to fall. Tails began to run before Sonic grabbed his arm, pointing up to the walkway.
"The Emeralds!" Sonic shouted, bouncing off the generator and leaping off walls before landing on the walkway. He made sure to check that all four of Robotnik's emeralds were inside before throwing the bag over his shoulder and jumping down, landing beside Tails. The two ran through the corridors of the ship, desperately trying to retrace their footsteps before eventually finding the hallway leading to the deck. Sonic ran outside to the Tornado before realising something was attached to it, skidding to a halt shortly before an explosion rang out, sending Sonic flying back towards Tails. Tails was shocked and when looking around, he saw the small man from before, laughing maniacally from a small ship similar to the cockpit Robotnik is known for using before flying away. He dropped to his knees, kneeling over Sonic.
"Sonic?" Tails asked frantically, "Sonic! Wake up!"
Feeling Sonic's pulse, he found the blue hedgehog was still alive. The fight with Metal had already taken something out of him, but the bomb Snively had planted to the Tornado seemed to knock him out cold. Tails had no time to find an escape pod or a safe way off the ship. With the bag of Emeralds in one hand and Sonic's gloved hand in the other, Tails lifted off into the sky, flying over the deck before floating down towards the outskirts of Robotropolis. On the ground below, he saw the huge mech – Metal Robotnik had pushed the Freedom Fighters way back, nearly to the outskirts of the city. Tails had no idea as to who was still fighting down there.
On the ground below, the Freedom Fighters did all they could to halt Metal Robotnik's progress. Amy and Rover tried their best to damage it's legs to no avail; it's tough, polymer alloy armour made blunt attacks ineffective. As the Freedom Fighters fell back, Metal Robotnik raised his other arm, revealing a glue cannon. Opening fire, a shot hit Vector, gluing him to the ground. Despite struggling, Vector could not break free of it, and panicked as he heard the stomps of Metal Robotnik's feet coming closer and closer. Espio ran over to him, drawing a kunai knife to cut him out.
"HELP!" the chameleon yelled, shouting to his teammates as he sliced through the thick glue. "QUICKLY!"
Rover, Bunnie and Charmie quickly came to his aid, Rover assisting Espio in prizing the glue off Vector while Bunnie and Charmie tugged Vector's free hand to pull him out. After much effort, Vector was forcibly pulled out of the glue, just before Robotnik's foot stomped down. As it raised again, the glue stuck to it, pulling a chunk of the road out. The Freedom Fighters continued to fall back while still throwing anything they could at Metal Robotnik.
Tails landed just outside the Freedom Fighters base. Breathing rapidly, he swung the door open to be greeted by Mighty, fists raised, and Antoine, hands straightened and leg raised in the air. The two lowered their guard when they saw the fox.
"Tails?" Antoine said, confused, "Wot are you doin' 'ere?"
Tails flung the bag from over his shoulder and emptied the four Chaos Emeralds onto the floor. Mighty's eyes widened.
"You got 'em," he said quietly, grinning slightly, "That's all of them, right?"
"Where are the others?" Tails desperately panted before going outside.
"Uh, they're in the back," Mighty replied, confused. "Tails, what are you -"
Mighty was cut off when he saw Tails pulling Sonic in by the arms. The blue hedgehog was blackened, bruised and cut up.
"What happened?!" Mighty yelled at Tails as he left the blue hedgehog on the floor, heading into the back of the base.
"Oh, my God," Antoine gasped at the sight of Sonic. Tails rushed back in with the other three Emeralds, laying them all out in a circle around Sonic.
"Tails, what are you doing?" Mighty asked, frustrated.
"When I got knocked out at the Aquatic Ruins," Tails explained, placing the Emeralds around Sonic, "Sonic found a Chaos Emerald, and it helped heal me. I'm thinking in the state Sonic is in, he's gonna need as much of that as he can get..."
Tails stood up and backed away from Sonic. While he had laid the Emeralds out, he wasn't actually sure what to do next.
"So, what now?" Antoine asked, looking at Tails then back at Sonic.
"I don't know..." Tails said, "Just wait. Just wait and see."
Nothing happened for a few moments. As Mighty was about to raise his voice in protest, the Chaos Emeralds slowly lifted off the ground, gradually spinning in a circle around Sonic. Seconds later, Sonic too began to levitate. His body went limp at first, his arms and legs flopping towards the ground, before the Emeralds began spinning faster and faster as Sonic almost stood up mid-air, eyes still closed tight. A bright light was emitting from the Emeralds now as they span almost too fast to see, forcing Tails, Antoine and Mighty to shield their eyes.
"Tails!" Antoine shouted, "Are you sure this is working correctly?!"
Soon, the process became more violent, with streaks of bright light breaking out of the circle, smashing into the walls and floors. The room began to fall apart.
"Outside! NOW!" Mighty shouted as the three piled out of the door, running a safe distance from the base before looking back. Beams of whitish-yellow light broke out of the holes in the walls and ceiling before suddenly everything seemed to calm down; no more did they hear the walls cracking or the sound of rubble crashing to the floor. After a few seconds, Tails cautiously took a step forward before something burst out through the ceiling of the base. Looking up, Tails was once again forced to shield his eyes for a moment before they adjusted to the bright light. Tails could just about make it out – a violent yellow aura, and, at the centre, Sonic, although his appearance was incredibly altered. It was clear that his fur had transformed from a light blue to a bright, vibrant yellow and his quills, once short and downturned, were noticeably longer and pointing up. Sonic floated in the sky for a few moments before speeding off towards the city. Tails, Mighty and Antoine looked at one another in amazement for a moment.
"What was that?" Mighty asked in awe.
"I don't know," Tails said, dumbfounded, "But whatever has happened to Sonic, it might just turn the tide of this battle."
The three ran into the city in the direction of the battle, still hearing the rattling of Metal Robotnik's gattling gun out in the distance.