CHAPTER 30
Requiem

Robotnik was now invested in monitoring the unusual events which were now taking place all across Mobius. He had seen sporadic activity ranging from seismic shifts to mapped areas completely vanishing from existence. What ever was now happening was causing his systems to go on complete high alert.

" What is it now? "

His monitors were flooded with the word 'ESPYLACOPA' over and over. Something was reaching out and communicating with him now. He quickly traced the source of the signal which made his blood run cold.

Sally looked at the monitor showing footage of the antartic pole of Mobius having been blown apart. The ice continent seemingly had exploded from its center, as if something massive had burst forth. The massive shockwave sent massive tsunamis to all coastal regions of the planet, but that wasn't what was bothering Robotnik. Out of the hole in the earth emerged a large black sphere. The energy scales it was giving was off the charts. Equal or perhaps greater than even a star could generate.

" What...is that " he asked himself.

Sally asked herself the same question, but feeling like she would not want to know the answer.

The large sphere It began to grow now, swallowing up the broken ice and waters in its path. Small islands in its path were sucked into its exterior, disappearing from all radar and maps.

" An interesting force of nature " Robotnik pondered. " Is this the birth of a black hole? "

" What's going on ?" Sally asked.

Robotnik turned to her almost forgetting she was still there giving her a strained smile.

" I have been monitoring the planet for some time now. I had hoped by the time this tipping point occured I'd have long been off world, but it seems this has arrived closer than my calculations predicted. This planet is not like others where it will just simply die off and become like Mars did. This world was brimming with cosmic energy that existed inside it and within the very inhabitants who dwelled upon this rock. All essential to my future galactic conquest of course " he said with a chuckle.

" Stop gloating and get on with it. What did you do? "

" I used it all up, and now this planet is going to devour itself! I harvested this world for all of it was good for " Robotnik said, showing her footage of imprisoned mobians being drained and absorbed into his machines, along with energy from the ground channeled through massive pipelines.

" I must admit, I didn't know what was going to happen once this old place decided to cough up its last breath. This planet never fails to amaze. "

Sally hocked up a loogie spitting in Robotniks face. His mechanical eyes turned crimson with fury.

" You dare...! "

Sally felt the claw wrap tighter and choke her, her body being squeezed tight as her vision went dark.

Sonic and the rest had now passed through the outer layers of the city and were now docking at the station alongside other trains that looked just as dishevelled and old as the one they had ridden. They cautiously stepped off scanning for signs of ambush with the coast clear. Sonic had now realized this place he had dreaded returning to had now grown substantially.

" So this is Robotropolis. I can feel its evil all around us " said Lupe staring at everything as they passed by sky scrapers and various energy tanks and lightning towers. The city seemed almost alive as its own living organism. Bright blinking lights, hissing steam, and massive moving gears with shifting plates making the city seem alive. it was so technologically advanced beyond most of their imaginations. Various small drones buzzed passed their heads unaware of their presence.

" I find it very strange we haven't been given a proper welcome yet " remarked Rotor.

No sooner did Rotor say that did the metal floor around them shake, opening up large cubes rising from beneath their feet. The massive metal squares hummed to life, opening up its hatches releasing a swarm of murderous Swat Bot drones that poured out. Hundreds now surrounded them, their guns trained, their bloody red visors gleaming with malice. More cubes began to rise to the surface around them, more and more joining the ranks.

" Thats' a whole lot of robots " said Bunnie.

" It's an army...! "

Sonic brushed his nose. " No problem, time to cut loose! "

The blue hedgehog charged up and in a blue flash tore through the ranks of Swat Bots sending their bodies into the air. The shockwave rippled through the machines causing some to malfunction and collapse. Sonic had given them their opening.

" Move! "

They split up dividing their fire up. Sonic was making quick work of a majority of them, until their combat protocols activated. The slow mechanized foot soldiers now came to life with newfound aggression, their movements and speed much faster now. They were now starting to dodge and avoid Sonic, adapting to his speed. For every Swat Bot they were able to destroy, ten more would immediately follow. They soon found themselves surrounded once more, with Lupe erecting a magical barrier around them. Blaster fire and metal fists hammered against the shield, them soon covered in a wall of malice on all sides. Lupe could feel their weight press down on the shield, straining to keep it sustained.

" Unnh...I can't keep this up for very long! " she said.

" We're dead if we stay here. We need to find higher ground " said Rotor.

" We can't, we're trapped! " Antoine responded.

The barrier flickered and then just as her shield fell they moved in like locusts for the kill. When Sonic opened his eyes he saw a wrist laser pointed at his face in every direction. The Swat Bots had stopped in place, a siren was now blaring.

' PRIORITY ONE, ALL SWAT BOTS ASSUME BATTLE STATIONS. '

The mechanical horde swiftly marched past them, scattering into groups and disappearing out of sight.

" What is going on? " Antoined asked.

" Looks like something else got their attention, it seems " replied Rotor.

Among the dispersing crowd of Swat Bots, one stood its ground. It was one Sonic had seen before and knew all too well this one was not like the others. It was a red colored Swat Bot that was adorned in a matching red cape making it stand out from the others, obviously a general among them. Aptly named, it was the Red Swat Bot.

It had the same build as the other Swat Bots but stood out from the others, carrying itself with a high range of intelligence and confidence. It slowly began to approach, the last of the remaining Swat Bots leaving the premises.

" You... " said Sonic bitterly raising his fists. The Red Swat Bot stared back, its red visor flickering, analyzing the information of each of them.

" Special orders confirmed. Capture and detain Carbon Unit 001. Safety protocols disengaged. "

" Is this one going to be a problem? " asked Rotor.

Sonic bit his lip. " I can handle Buttnik's goons pretty well, but this guy...he was the one who brought me in and held me down when he did this to me " Sonic replied, touching his cheek, the mutated flesh pulsing.

Rotor cracked his knuckles together and stepped forward.

" I can handle this. Get Sally before its too late!" he said.

The Red Swat Bot seemed to move in a red blur, swerving around Rotor, razor bladed claws unsheathed ready to tear into them all. Rotor caught it by its fluttering cape, and slammed it to the ground. Rotor threw his massive body weight on top of it wrestling against its immense strength, grappling him.

" Get going!" Rotor cried, Antoine tugging at Sonic's arm who wanted to stay and help. They reluctantly turned and headed towards the citys interior, now that the roads were cleared.

The Red Swat Bots strength was overwhelming, much stronger than any Swat Bot he had encountered before. It threw Rotor off of him, almost tearing his arms off. It revealed one of its special capabilities Robotnik had installed, a liquid metal shape shifting feature. Its hand morphed into a large hand cannon that made Bunnies blaster look like a water pistol. Rotor instinctively ducked and rolled out of the way barely missing a large blast that left a large hole through the buildings behind him.

He was not fast like Sonic and couldn't dodge blaster fire for very long like this. If he just made one mistake it was all over. He needed to buy them as much time as possible. He was still strong, and that was something he had over Sonic. Rotor zig zagged back and forth avoiding the aim of fire from his foe until he was close enough to grab hold of the robot and with a mighty show of strength ripped its gun arm from its body. The Red Swat Bot stumbled back, raising its other hand up to defend itself as Rotor brought his mighty fists down like furious hammers denting its steel plating.

Rotor didn't see the reshaping of its feet forming curved spikes as a harsh kick to his side felt his kidneys punctured. Blood gushed from his wound as Rotor bit down on his tongue, holding in the pain. He refused to let the Red Swat Bot go, gripping it tighter as he brought his large tusks down on its head impaling it.

Its body began to liquify and reshape itself to break free of his grip, feeling tendrils begin to wrap around him. No wonder Sonic had such a hard time with this thing, Rotor realized. As much as Rotor rip and teared at this machine it would just simply regenerate its mass, slicing further into his flesh. It did have a power core in the center of its mass that he noted was the only part of it that would not turn to liquid metal. More spikes jutted out of its body impaling itself into Rotor, blood now pooling around him who could now taste it in the back of his throat. He was running out of time and needed to summon the last of his strength he had before he lost consciousness. He reached deep into its chest gripping a hold of its beating core snatching it from its chest cavity and crushed it in his hand.

Sonic and the others turned when they heard the sound of a large explosion from behind them, a great shockwave that knocked them off their feet, glass windows shattering, a small plume of smoke rising into the sky.

" Noooo!" Bunnie cried.

Sonic winced. He knew Rotor was a tough walrus and would not go down without a fight, but he had held onto some hope he would have done something with that big brain of his to avoid the fight entirely and meet back up with them.

" Damn it... " he uttered quitely to himself.

The explosion echoed through the emptied city of Robotropilis leaving behind only a heavy quiet for their fallen comrade.