Doctor Robotnik wore a vicious smile as he marched through the halls of the Death Egg, his personal mobile battle station, flanked by a pair of his new model Egg Pawns. The bulky spherical robots accompanied him as he went on his way to administer the latest 'treatment' to his... patient.
The human cackled softly, pausing to tap at the controls to a large pair of steel doors. The doors slid open with a hiss, and the man entered a small room, within which sat a blue figure strapped into a metallic chair.
"Oh, hey there egg-head!" Sonic the Hedgehog flashed his trademark lopsided grin, emerald eyes locking onto the doctor's tinted spectacles and the man strode before him, "been a little while! Did'ya miss me?"
Robotnik chuckled, and smirked back to his prisoner. "Oh, Sonic..." he said lightly, crossing the room to a pair of blast-shielded windows, "ever the jokester... even in your defeat, you always have a humorous comment up your sleeve..."
"Don't have sleeves, skinbag!" Sonic remarked, "and I've never been defeated before, so I wouldn't know!"
"Well, there's a first time for everything..." Robotnik tapped at the window controls, causing the thick shields to retract, displaying the world of Mobius below. The human snickered as Sonic's chair swivelled to face his planet, a look of brief uncertainty flashing across the hedgehog's face. Robotnik move close and leered down at his captured arch enemy. "Do you know, Sonic... what I plan to do with this world in your absence?" the human relished the look of uncertainty now barely contained over Sonic's face, "with you gone.. nobody can stand in my way... my empire will stretch across the globe... all will bow down to me! Perfect order will will be restored, all down to ME!"
Sonic set his jaw and glared. "You're wrong, Robotnik..." the hedgehog said determinedly, "you might have me, but you're forgetting about my friends... and about all the people who will fight you! So long as there are people like me standing up for themselves, you'll never win!"
Robotnik's face split into a malicious, evil grin, and the man removed his spectacles to peer into Sonic's eyes with the black, artificial prosthetics that had long replaced his own. A chill ran down Sonic's back at the utterly vicious and triumphant expression now worn by the evil doctor, though he refused to show it to the human.
"Perhaps..." Robotnik hissed, regarding the hedgehog with his cold dead eyes like a morsel to be savoured, "under ordinary circumstances, perhaps there would be a slim chance I could be defeated..." the human straightened up and raised a remote, directing it to the 'window' and bringing another tab up in the corner. Sonic flexed his bound hands and watched, a sudden lump forming in his throat as he recognised a gleaming blue machine... accompanied by a familiar golden form, flanked by wings of buzz-bombers, heading straight towards a major Resistance base.
"You seem to forget, Sonic..." Robotnik said coldly, "I have a brand new weapon at my disposal... one which will bring your resistance forces to waste... the human sneered as Sonic glared at him, "oh, and don't fret! I've seen to it that your 'little brother' has no control over his actions... though he will be completely aware of every single life he takes under my command!" Robotnik growled as Sonic looked away from the screen, unwilling to watch the footage. "Oh, and please..." Robotnik raised his controller and tapped the button... and Sonic began to spasm in his seat, shaking like a leaf, mouth open in silent torment as powerful electric shocks were administered to his body. "Do try and pay attention?" Robotnik leered like a python at Sonic's torture, watching with glee as he cut the power and the hedgehog slumped in his chair, "If you don't, I'll simply have to keep you... engaged!"
Sonic glowered at the doctor with bloodshot, hate-filled eyes. "You won't win..." he snarled, all humour evaporating as he glared defiantly at his hated foe, "you'll never win..."
Robotnik cackled, gesturing back to the screen. "Well," he said flippantly, happily toying with the device in his hand, "you're more than welcome to watch me!" the human raised the control, and leered menacingly, "in fact... I insist!" Robotnik set himself beside Sonic's chair and chuckled as they watched the battle begin onscreen... and his machines began to raze the Resistance fighters to the ground. "It's going to be a long war, Sonic..." he growled, glaring down at the hedgehog, "and we're going to watch the downfall of your world, every step of he way... together! Won't that be utterly delightful?"
Sonic had no further comment, cutting off his emotions as Robotnik's war to take Mobius began in earnest.
Six months later...
One final hostile remained. Not much of a threat, bleeding and broken and dying, but still classified as an enemy. The wolf, formerly brown yet now blackened and roasted, weakly crawled across the debris strewn ground, lower limbs shattered and trailing.
Unit Mecha-Tails simply watched emotionlessly as the soldier fruitlessly crawled for his life. A pointless gesture. The man was close to death, even if he could have received emergency medical care in time.
Still. Unit Mecha-Tails dragged out the man's expiration as long as it could, for one simple reason - it didn't want to kill.
But what Unit Mecha-Tails wanted and what was in its enslavement programming were two different things. Inside, Miles Prower watched morbidly as his body moved toward the dying Resistance Soldier of its own accord, stomping down on one of the man's shattered legs and halting his doomed grasp at life. The soldier squealed in agony, throwing back his head as Mecha-Tails' arm cannon raised... and fired. The scent of roasted meat reached Mecha-Tails' olfactory sensors, the cyborg looking down at the man's dead body without emotion.
Tails couldn't fight any more. He'd tried. Tried to stop his body from moving, from fighting... from killing. He'd tried to fulfil his promise to Sonic, to fight Eggman's influence every step of the way with all his strength.
Now, six months into this war, his will was spent. Mecha-Tails, formerly Miles Prower, just wished the Resistance would get a lucky shot at it... and put it out of its misery.
"Unit Mecha-Tails..."
Mecha's head swivelled at itss master's voice, glowing optics scanning as the whoosh of thrusters reached its audio receptors. The gleaming blue carapace of Metal Sonic crunched into the battlefield beside him, the machine stomping across the ground to regard it pitilessly.
"Report," Doctor Robotnik's voice crackled through their shared communications network, Metal Sonic glowering at Tails from its downswept visor.
"Primary objectives accomplished, doctor..." Mecha-Tails turned its body to face its comrade, regarding Metal Sonic with equal lack of emotion, "Resistance forces eliminated. Secondary objectives failed. No enemy commanders in this area. Awaiting further directives."
"Blast! Those infernal, elusive rodents..." Robotnik snarled, voice echoing in Mecha-Tails' head, "escaping my capture at every turn! Surely they can't keep it up forever!?"
"Awaiting directives, doctor." Mecha-Tails repeated, uninterested in the doctor's outraged ranting.
"Yes, yes... very well, return to HQ for debriefing and refit." the doctor said, a sudden malicious tone in his voice, "and congratulations, Mecha-Tails! You continue to serve me well!"
"Affirmative doctor. Returning to Headquarters. Mecha-Tails out."
Mecha-Tails hesitated before carrying out its orders, as it noticed Metal Tails glaring in its direction. The synthetic hedgehog took a menacing step forward, heat radiating from its blue carapace.
"Please..." Tails said, synthesized vocals devoid of emotion. His pleas would fall on uninterested ears he knew, but the former fox would desperately make use of whatever autonomy he still had. "Kill me..."
Metal Sonic didn't respond, optics flickering down to observe the Phantom Ruby glowing in Tails' chest, before it offered him a final scathing look, and rocketed into the air as per its orders.
Unit Mecha-Tails, after brief pause, followed suit, heading back 'home' for debriefing.
Inside, Miles Prower tried hard to ignore the sea of bodies and destruction he left behind.
Resistance HQ, some hours after the battle
The heavy metal doors to the Resistance HQ opened with a clank and a hiss, Vector the crocodile padding through in his thick soled combat boots. All eyes in the control room turned to regard the large croc, the mobian reptile battle weary and exhausted from the fighting.
"Eggman's army is unstoppable!" The croc said, massaging his temple, "Without Sonic..." he went on, "The people are losing hope and giving in to despair!"
"Despair..." replied Silver, folding his arms and wearing a grim expression, "is a luxury we don't have!"
"Oh..." Amy Rose moaned, tears in her eyes at the thought of her fallen hero, "I still dream that Sonic is with us!" She glanced to Silver as the hedgehog soothingly rubbed her back. "Do... you think he might be...?"
"I'm an optimist, Ames..." the hedgehog replied gloomily, "But I'm also a realist! Sonic is gone... and Tails? Well... Tails..."
"Yes, Silver..." the silver hedgehog, a refugee from an apocalyptic future, raised his ears as another individual entered the room. Knuckles the echidna, last survivor of an ancient warrior race, now the leader of the Mobian Resistance. The echidna set his jaw as he surveyed his friends and comrades, a pair of green-armoured Resistance fighters flanking him with blasters slung. "We're all very aware of Tails... condition"
A heavy silence fell over the control room at the thought of their lost comrades. Sonic, killed at the very outset of this war, and Tails... gone, enslaved, nothing more than a tool of their enemy's conquest.
"What's the sitrep, Commander?" Amy straightened at her console, forcing back her emotion at their lost friends. The others gathered around as the echidna approached the control room main tactical screen, inserting a data chip into the console.
"We've had a report from 8th Battalion..." the echidna said, tapping at the console, "two hours ago, their base came under attack..." Knuckles turned and regarded his comrades with a stony expression. "After that, comms went down. Scouts report no survivors. The entire Zone... is now under Robotnik control." Knuckles gestured back to the screen, all eyes looking to find security footage... of a golden vulpine machine, wiping out resistance soldiers lef and right with powerful waves of unknown energy. Egg-Pawns and other Badniks flanked the machine, though nothing could match the sheer destructive force of Robotnik's prized weapon.
The screen fizzled out into static, the final image that of the cyborg stomping toward a dying Resistance trooper, the recording fizzling out just before it delivered the killing blow.
All present remained in shocked silence, this being the most they'd seen of the unit known as 'Mecha-Tails' for months. Usually the cyborg's work was over and done before much could be recorded. Knuckles cleared his throat and regarded his fellows sourly.
"Red Gate is lost," he said bluntly, his words echoing around the silent chamber, "Robotnik's forces have completely taken the city thanks to his... special weapon."
"Tails..." Amy whispered, despair at her lost friend settling in her chest.
"Tails is gone, Amy..." Silver said quietly, "there's nothing we can do for him now..."
"We'll avenge Tails," Knuckles said, as the doors grinded open once again and another pair of resistance fighters entered the chamber. A smirk twitched the echidna's face as Gadget the Wolf stumbled in, portable computer in hand as he adjusted his square spectacles. Rouge the Bat accompanied the red wolf, a cocksure expression over her face. "But anyway... I think we've had our fill of bad news for the day," he said, straightening his posture as Gadget and Rouge approached, "now, it's time for some good!"
He had their attention now. After the devastating news that Red Gate was lost, and total defeat was even nearer than ever... the prospect of a silver lining definitely had their attention.
"Good news?" Espio the Chameleon said sourly, folding his arms beside the much larger Vector, "What kind of 'good news' could possibly make up for the ground we have lost? The destruction of an entire battalion?"
"Well, Espie..." Rouge said, slinking to a stop beside Knuckles and setting her hands on her ample hips, "if you give us a minute, perhaps you'll find out, hmm?"
Espio lowered his horned face and stared coldly at the bat, unimpressed by her mischievous attitude.
"Go on then, bat-girl!" Knuckles said, folding his arms while Gadget hooked his computer up to the main console, "let's inform the troops!"
"Anything for you, Knuckie..." the bat winked at the commander, before changing tone entirely and gesturing a hand toward the tactical screen. "Thanks to yours truly," she said, placing her hands behind her back and stepping away from the console, boots clacking on the concrete floor, "we now know something Robotnik would really rather we didn't..." The bat grinned, flashing sharp, bright white fangs. "Sonic... is alive!"
"No way!"
"That's... amazing!"
"Are you sure?!"
"I knew it! I knew it!"
Stunned gasps filled the chamber, accompanied by excited chattering, before Knuckles raised his hands for silence. "That's right, boys and girls! And We've come up with a plan to rescue him! Gadget?"
"Uh... uh, yes sir!" Gadget fumbled with his spectacles, hunching over his computer and bringing up plans. A large, spherical monstrosity filled the screen, a hunk of metal large enough to be considered a planetoid... the Death Egg. "The doctor has finally finished rebuilding the Death Egg! He's ready to use it in battle, along with fresh battalions of troops, to completely crush the Resistance once and for all!" the red wolf turned to regard the rest of the command team. "That's where he's keeping Sonic!"
"Mhm," Rouge hummed, "he's been torturing Sonic for months, making him watch as his forces take our world... he's waiting to show Sonic his completed empire, and then he's going to banish him into space!"
Concerned muttering sounded from the assembled command team at the news. Thanks to their hammerspace, Mobians could carry their own personal 'bubbles' of oxygen that, while useless underwater thanks to the pressure, could allow them a short supply of breathable air in a vacuum... but even that wouldn't last too long. Months of torture, and then a slow and painful death in space... that's what Eggman had in store for Sonic.
"The Death Egg..." Vector muttered, yellow eyes locked onto the leering metal visage of Doctor Robotnik's moustachioed face, "that's not good..."
"None of this is good, Vector..." Knuckles said grimly, "that's why it's called war."
Silver and Espio offered a brief, confused glance at the statement, but shrugged it off.
"However..." Knuckles continued, "we have a plan! Gadget?"
"Yes sir!" Gadget's fingers danced over his keyboard, bringing up images and plans for a Robotnik spaceport. "Eggman's not going to suspect a direct attack on the Death Egg! He thinks he has us on the ropes. He thinks it would be suicide!"
"So what we're going to do," Rouge added, "is assault this spaceport and... borrow a few shuttles..."
"Fly on up, and BAM!" Gadget grinned, his own pointed canines jutting from the corners of his mouth, "board the Death Egg, retrieve Sonic, and bring him back!"
"That's right!" Knuckles said approvingly, Gadget awkwardly adjusting his glasses yet again, "we get Sonic back... cause some major damage to the Death Egg before it can be used... we just might have a chance at winning this war!"
"It's a long shot," Espio said, rubbing his chin and nodding with approval, "but it just might work..."
"Aren't we forgetting something?" Amy piped up, glancing around with worried green eyes, "what about Tails? What if... he gets in the way? Tries to defend the Death Egg?"
Knuckles grimly set his jaw, glancing at the other fighters in the chamber. "We have to accept," the echidna said, looking back to Amy with stony eyes, "that Tails... is beyond saving. If it comes to it, we... may have to take him out of commission. Permanently."
Amy's mouth flapped open, and she angrily shook her head. "No! We can still save him Knuckles! He's our friend! We don't give up on our friends!"
"Knuckles is right, Amy..." Espio said, "Tails is gone. The best thing we can do for him, may be to end his suffering. If there is even anything of him left."
Amy pursed her lips and swallowed. "And what about Sonic?" she said coldly, "what will he think?"
Knuckles shook his head and sighed. "We'll... cross that bridge if we come to it... when, we come to it. Right now, we have a rescue mission to execute." The echidna turned to the rest of his team and raised a determined fist, brow furrowing. "This is it, guys! This is the day we turn this disaster of a war around, and take back our world! Time to show Eggman who's boss!"
Knuckles was met with a chorus of determined voices, his comrades all hungry for payback against Robotnik's forces... though Amy couldn't help but wonder if their time really had come.
"HA! Wonderful day! Glorious day! Another step towards total global domination!"
Doctor Robotnik cackled as he strode across the control room of his Death Egg, a glass of liquor in hand, leering down at the planet below through wide, slanted windows. Blossoms of flame and light flickered beneath the clouds, signs of major fleet engagements between his own forces and those of the Resistance. He turned back to face his favoured machines, Metal Sonic and Mecha-Tails stood coldly at attention, awaiting fresh orders.
"My boys!" the doctor cheered, approaching the fighting machines with glee, "my beloved instruments of destruction! Oh, how you have done your master proud!"
Metal Sonic proudly straightened under the doctor's favour, pleased at his creator's praise, while Mecha-Tails remained utterly still and silent. Whatever autonomy remained in the mechanized fox, didn't extend to wilful displays of approval for the doctor.
"And you..." Robonik approached Tails and positively beamed with delight, looking down at his greatest creation with pride, "Mecha-Tails! Any expectations I had of your performance have been exceeded tenfold! You are the greatest weapon I ever had the genius to construct!" The doctor didn't seem to notice as, behind him, Metal Sonic's head snapped to face Tails, angry red optics glowing hot.
Miles ignored the robot. He didn't care. He wanted nothing more than to end this existence. He was responsible for so much destruction, so much ground lost by the Resistance... so many lives, gone.
He morbidly anticipated his next 'sleep' cycle. Non-existence was welcome.
"Thank you, doctor." Mecha-Tails said, looking up to the human, Phantom Ruby glowing in its chest, "awaiting further directives."
"Of course, of course..." Robotnik said, stroking his moustache as he tapped at a nearby console. "All in good time, Mecha! All in good time..." Miles' optics flickered to the screen, finding Robotnik leering down at a blue figure, curled up in the corner of a featureless cell...
Sonic...
Miles' optics remained locked on his tortured brother, who Robotnik had kept alive for all these months. He didn't notice as the human turned back to face him, Robotnik wearing a malicious grin as he caught his underling's briefly divided attention.
"It won't be long..." Robotnik mused, Miles' optics returning to him, "this war is all but over... when the resistance HQ is destroyed, along with their leaders... the creatures will scatter. They will inevitably fall, and the world will belong to me!" Robotnik sneered evilly as he returned to his command chair, legs splaying open as he set his hefty bulk into the creaking leather. "And I'll give Sonic a front row seat! Before I have him... executed..." the man's evil grin grew impossibly wider, as he glared at Miles. "And you, Mecha... will carry out the termination! Your reward for such... impeccable performance! What do you say?"
Mecha-Tails paused for a brief second, before answer coldly and emotionlessly. "Affirmative, doctor. Objective understood."
"Grand!" Robotnik cackled, clapping his hands before swivelling in his chair. "Anyway, I believe you've worked hard enough today, Mecha. Return to your recharge station and undergo rest and refit period until further notice. Metal Sonic? You will remain here."
"Affirmative, Doctor."
Bleep.
Miles turned and begin to march away, off to engage in a period of recharge and maintenance. Inside, despair filled the circuits that had long replaced his flesh and blood, though he knew by now there was no fighting Robotnik's control.
All he could do, was accept the blessed relief of unconciousness... and hope he didn't wake up.
That would be the sweetest release of all.
