For a moment, his entire mind went completely blank. Not even an echo of a thought rang through his mind. But that moment was fleeting and ever so easy to miss, much like his eternal foe. His thoughts were written all over his face. The way his jaw hung open, the crevices around his cheeks, the folds in his brow. The subtle drops of sweat rolling down his face.
And for a fraction of a fraction of the smallest form of a second. Just for a measurement of time so close to nothing, it was easily ignored…
He smiled. It was a subtle smile, if it could even be called that. It was much better to say it was a reaction, much like the slight changes one's face makes when they lie.
He might have known the answer, but in order internalize it, he asked it anyway.
"…How…? How, how, how, how, howwwwwww?!"
With every word, he slammed the dashboard in front of him with his balled-up fists. In his rage, he was careful not to break it.
"There's no way you could have saved everyone in time! You're just not fast enough!"
With the smuggest look ever, Sonic flipped a palm sized mass into the air and caught it without looking.
"Chaos Control."
"Chaos Control?"
"Chaos Control."
Dr. Eggman slammed his right fist on the dashboard with much less power than he previously did.
"Chaos Control…" he said as he damned the concept to infinity in his heart simply for the fact that it worked against him in that one moment. "But you never use that!"
Sonic looked away with an irritated expression as if calling back an embarrassing moment he wished he could forget.
"Yeah, I'm already confused for that faker enough as it is."
The blue emerald glimmered in Sonic's palm as he held it up. With the skills of an illusionist, he brought it behind his back and brought his empty hand to his side.
"So," he said. "You wanna call it quits now? Or are you just that desperate to get your butt kicked for the umpteenth thousandth time?"
Knuckles spoke with eagerness in his voice as he cracked himself. I mean his knuckles.
"Please say you want to get your butt kicked."
Dr. Eggman gnashed his teeth together. He cocked his upper body back and whipped his right arm diagonally. His palm was aimed at his mortal enemy and his allies, as if commanding him to cease living.
"Destroy them!" he said as he pointed furiously at his target.
"By the way, Eggface…"
Sonic's tone was grim. Despite that, he smiled. He closed his eyes and opened them again. The Eggbehemoth's massive arm swung down towards him. Following it was the sound of wind being slied. A 140-ton mass of metal was 3 inches away from the top of his skull.
And yet…
Before it could even touch the floor of the base, Sonic was running along the torso of the massive machination. This was not teleportation. This was less than half of his top speed.
The Egg Behemoth's arm sunk into the mass of rock with a loud crash. Sonic kicked off it with one foot and slammed his feet at the side of the Eggmobile. It flew back for a few feet. Sonic squatted and looked Dr. Eggman dead in the eyes. Despite sunglasses obscuring them, Sonic's words would reach the very pits of Dr. Eggman's foundation.
"I'm always fast enough."
Sonic kicked off the floating carrier and flipped into the air several times. He slammed his body downward and went into a spin. A moment later, he clashed with Metal Sonic and ricocheted to his left. They would repeat the process for several more seconds with what sounded like the sound barrier breaking many times.
The Freedom Fighters, and let's not forget Knuckles, were suspended in the air around the metal arm. Several massive rock fragments spread out in all directions. Much like a helicopter, Tails propelled his tails rapidly to fly diagonally upwards at approximately 234 mph. He aimed his tails downward to protect himself from smaller rocks. Then he aimed them backwards and launched himself forward towards the massive robot's head.
Bunnie held her left arm in front. A green shield appeared and several rocks smashed into it, turning them to dust. While holding Antoine's hand in her right, massive rockets burst from her soles with a roar. She plowed through oncoming debris from the front while Antoine whipped his sword in several directions to either slice through or deflect fragments.
Big jumped into the air with Cream and Amy sitting on his shoulders. Rotor followed a few meters to his left with Sally sitting on his left. Knuckles soared through the air diagonally with his fists in front of him, not as he punched through incoming rocks with ease. He spun his body around and drilled through a very large boulder without losing speed.
Machine gun turrets sprouted on the base of the Egg Behemoth's forearm. Sally climbed into Rotor's palm as he raised it.
"Freedom Fighters!" she said as she crossed her arms in her front to form an X shape. And with all her might as orange lines of violence flew past her, she shouted "CHAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGE!"
With every muscle fiber in his left arm putting in maximum effort, Rotor whipped his arm downward. The forces behind his throw had enough power to surround Sally in flames as she slammed through three turrets three times her size. She bounced off the base of forearm, leaving an uneven dep dent with a diameter much wider than her body.
Amy jumped off Big's shoulder and spun downward. At some point, a hammer appeared between her hands. While in a freefall, she grasper her hammer over her heard. She let out a cry and slammed it down onto a turret aimed diagonally. Metallic crunching filled the air and white sparks flew. Amy picked up her hammer and hoped between incoming lasers aimed at her from two turrets ahead. Before she could reach them however, Cream and Cheese dived from above and shot through both with spin attacks. The turrets were sliced into two and exploded after being airborne for a second.
"It's CRUNCH TIME!"
Knuckles crashed into a rapidly firing turret from above, ripping it off from its holder. He slid on it using his fists for a few feet, kicking up sparks and causing an ear scrapping metallic noise. He rigorously kicked his legs forward to stand up and in the same motion threw the turret forward. However, Amy swung her hammer and knocked it directly at the Egg Behemoth's face. A tiny explosion erupted between its left lenses and nose. The enormous mass of metal was flung back several meters, causing the rest of its body to tilt in the same direction. The Freedom Fighters with their trusty pal Knuckles clung onto the base of the Behemoth's forearm with all their might.
Knuckles vigorously shook a fist at Amy.
"Don't! Do that!"
Amy turned around and in the cutest pose she could muster clasped her palms together, winked innocently, and stuck her tongue out.
"Sorry!"
Despite that, several rounds of lasers darted around her body. This was due to Big pushing on a turret several feet ahead. Sparks flew and metallic popping rang about as he ripped it off the side of the Behemoth's arm and threw it at another one up ahead.
Rotor clung to the edge of the base for dear life. Sweat poured down the side of his head as he felt his legs dangle above the several miles of air separating him from the harsh desert floor. Even if it was mostly sand, a fall from the height would, while not exactly deadly for this bunch, could hurt a decent amount if they landed wrong.
Rotor attempted to pull himself up. He flexed his upper body muscles with all his might, which caused a profuse burning sensation all through out. However, squeezing harder on the edge of the Egg Behemoth's forearm made his hands slip. He felt an intense pressure as if a hand had reached into his chest and profusely squeezed his heart at short intervals. As mentally powerful as he is, this dwindled his focus.
Without even realizing it, the orange sky suddenly filled his vision. The side of the Egg Behemoth suddenly grew further and further away with each passing second. His pupils dilated. He did not have an accurate grasp on his own body. All he could feel was a light, uncomfortable stinging sensation that paralyzed him. He fell back first. A fall from that height would cause devastating damage to his spinal column.
Despite his general humility, the thought of becoming involved in this type of predicament never crossed his mind. He had assumed he was too competent to let that happen. But instead of grimacing in frustration or continuing with a thousand-yard stare of disbelief, a faint smile appeared across his cheeks. He didn't have some grand realization. He didn't look over his life and decided he didn't have any regrets.
His brows curved. That subtle smirk turned into an auspicious scowl of determination. His vision of the Egg Behemoth grew larger and larger with every passing second. It would soon go out of his sight and all that would remain was the orange sky. With another short passage of time, base of the Egg Behemoth filled his entire vision.
It is better to be competent than not. But perfection cannot be and should not be expected of everyone. However…
"Git ready Rotor!"
Should you ever find yourself falling, a good friend will always be ready to lift you up. Sometimes literally.
Rotor curled his body within Bunnie's relatively tiny robotic palm. After arcing her back slightly, she whipped it forward at full power. The smooth sound of wind being sliced filled the sky. Rotor spun around at a blinding speed and with the roar of a boom caught a blaze. The massive fire ball was aimed right at the Egg Behemoth's face. It was far too slow to dodge.
The sound of metallic devastation caught everyone's attention. Amidst the chaos, Rotor could be seen falling back first again. There were several red cuts along his body in a strange pattern. Bunnie covered her mouth with her hands and gasped. She rushed towards her falling friend. But sadly, she was too slow.
Two large metal hands quickly stormed in from the sides. They shut with a loud clang and slowly raised. Rotor groaned as he was clenched in the enormous right hand. The scene depicted looked like an uncoordinated little boy putting in an unnecessary amount of strength into holding an action figure. But the left hand faced down. It rotated and slowly opened to reveal its contents.
In a mocking display of triumph, Silver Sonic crossed its legs, placed its left hand on its hip and waved its right index finger towards the distraught Bunnie. Despite its celebratory bragging, the blade attached to the top of its head was bent and cracked at the side. Whenever Silver Sonic curls into a spin attack, it does not merely rotate its body at high speed. A metallic barrier protrudes from its limbs, coating it in a protective and destructive shell. This left the damage sustained to Silver Sonic during its clash with Rotor minimal to nonexistent.
In a rage, Bunnie raised her legs back. The booming noise of several gallons worth of rockets filled the sky. A yellow diameter many times her size followed her. She cocked her left fist back and squeezed so hard that she felt pressure on her left back muscles.
Silver Sonic was several times larger and heavier than Bunnie. Despite that, it was also rather fast since it was made specifically to combat Sonic, an entity that could reach hypersonic speeds easily. In this scenario, it had several options: blocking the shot and countering with a hit from any limb in any direction, blocking the shot then pin her down against the base of the Egg Behemoth's palm, dodge the attack then grab her and toss her into the dense side of the Egg Behemoth, and so on. But in this case, it decided to go for a classic Sonic tactic of dodging the attack and then countering.
The large silver robot squatted its legs in preparation to step to the side. However, its balance was disrupted and it made a stiff movement instead. It looked down at the source of the issue. At some point, a cutlass had been placed in the hinge behind its left knee. It quickly swung its head forward. But just as quickly as it did, it suddenly found itself looking back yet again. A massive metallic noise filled its sensors. Its red vision was filled with gray static before cutting out to black.
With the roaring of the sound barrier shattering continuously, Sonic and Metal Sonic clashed several times in the air. Lines of blue highlighted areas of the air in curves. Sonic bounced Metal but found himself backed against a wall. Upon closer inspection, he found himself backed against the rim of the Egg Behemoth's large metal shades. When he turned back around however, he would be greeted not only by Metal Sonic spinning towards him at lethal speeds but the addition of the Behemoth's massive metal hand as well. He hesitated for only a fraction of a second. But that was all it took for a fatal mistake to occur.
Do not misunderstand me.
With a loud, explosive noise, Metal Sonic was crushed between the palm and face of the Behemoth. The explosion in tandem with it smacking its own face launched its face back several meters, extended to the rest of its enormous frame. The grounded Freedom Fighters, and I almost forgot, Knuckles, clung to the surface of the massive forearm as raised several meters at once and then whipped itself down. It stopped at a diagonal angle. Its palm faced skyward and its fingers were slightly bent, forming a C shape.
Its right lens was heavily damaged, being cracked in a pattern that almost formed a three-tiered pie chart increasing clockwise where the fourth category was overwhelmingly abundant. A triangular portion on the upper right-hand side was completely missing. Massive sparks emanated from the gash along with a cracking sound like popcorn being made.
Evil popcorn.
Using its one good lens, it performed an are analysis on directly in front of itself. The Egg Behemoth could detect even the most minute of movements but placed priority on whatever moved the fastest for obvious reasons. Even if it was out of its line of sight, it had motion sensors built in around its cranium and mustache. Eluding it was no daunting task.
And yet…
It detected several moving objects through a light red screen and ranked them according to speed in yellow text. "Antoine D'Coolette. Alignment: Foe. Status: Grounded, mobile, cowering. Speed: 200 mph. Paraphernalia: (1) Saber. Priority: 12. Sally Acorn. Alignment: Foe. Status: Grounded, mobile, bossy. Speed: 98 mph. Paraphernalia: (2) Wrist mounted, high-temperature laser blade(s). Priority: 5. Cream the Rabbit. Alignment: Foe, sadly. Status: Airborne, mobile, adorable. Speed: 236 mph. Paraphernalia: (2) Large ears that create fight, Priority: 5. Must resist urge to protect. Cheese, Chao. Alignment: Foe. Status: Airborne, mobile. Speed: 237.5 mph. Paraphernalia: Bow tie. Stylish. WARNING: LEVEL OF DESTRUCTION INCALCUABLE. AVOID AT ALL COSTS."
A beeping noise rang throughout its massive cranium. Its peripheral scanners picked up something towards its right.
"Miles "Tails" Prower. Status: Airborne, offensive. Speed: N/A. Alignment: Foe. Paraphernalia: Twin tails of destruction, high but inferior intellect to Dr. Eggman, disgusting but admirable bromance with-"
It didn't even bother finishing the last scan. Several feet away from its face, it located its target.
"Sonic the "Meddlesome, ugly, putrid, sometimes humorous, please die, I secretly harbor your friendship" Hedgehog. Status: Airborne, revolving. Speed: Really fast mph. Alignment: Sworn enemy. Paraphernalia: Destructive quills protruding from head and spine, legs, hurtful words. Priority: Alpha. ANNIHILATE WITH WREACKLESS ABANDON."
As Sonic spun several times in the air, several gun turrets protruded from the Behemoth's chest and lower shoulders. Two, massive red, cannons grew from its upper shoulders. They were all aimed at Sonic. A mesh of gunfire, laser fire, missile fire, and just fire filled the air. Despite the oncoming destruction, Silver Sonic charged towards their model foe with deep discrimination, ignoring Tails and Cream. Amidst all this, the Behemoth's eyes began to glow a dim yellow.
Then, the Egg Behemoth picked up a slight movement. Eggman didn't need a high-speed, super detailed processor to notice it either. However, nobody else could detect this minute change. It may have been due to years of tangling with him, gathering a database of intimate knowledge. Call it intuition.
Dr. Eggman frowned and slammed his fist against the dashboard.
In converse, Sonic was smiling.
He stopped spinning and slammed his feet towards the base of the Behemoth's upper arm that was diagonally positioned. He slid down it, ran through several gun turrets, around his friends (forcing Amy to hold her skirt down and Knuckles to shake his fist with a ferocious expression as he was almost knocked off). At some point, he entered a spin. He rolled around the Behemoth's curved hand.
A blue figure soared through the air through a sea of explosions and metal fragments.
Knuckles shouted with all his might.
"Hit the deck!"
But his efforts were futile.
At approximately 1297.32 mph, Sonic slammed into the face of the Egg Behemoth. At the same time, it released its devastating laser blast from both eyes. The Freedom Fighters that couldn't fly, that includes Knuckles, were instantly miles into the air behind the incoming light of devastation. Knuckles managed guide his line of flight by using his dreadlocks to catch wind and glide. Bunnie caught Sally with her mechanical hand and flew away. While carrying Antoine and Rotor by their hands respectively, Tails and Cream flew as fast as they could to avoid the incoming laser that was several inches away from their tails.
Ha.
Despite being carried, Antoine desperately kicked his legs as if running on air.
A shock ran up Bunnie's spine. She quickly turned her head around.
"Wait a sec!" she desperately shouted. But as if reading her thoughts, Sally turned around as well, finishing her sentence with a frantic look.
"Where's Amy?!"
Cream, Tails, Rotor, and Big let out simultaneous gasps.
"S-shoot!" Knuckles shouted. "There she is!"
A simultaneous feeling of guilt ran through the deepest pits of their hearts at that moment. It wasn't that they forgot about her. Rather, the ones that could do anything were positioned in a way where they could only save someone who was already within close- proximity of them. Regardless, no one could do anything to fight those feelings of inadequacy as their long-time friend fell helplessly towards the rays of destruction mere feet away.
Her limbs flailed around unable to feel any firm grasp. The sensation of grasping at the air did nothing to calm her unsteady heartbeat. She hyperventilated and the muscles in her face loosened. In a panic, she felt a strange presence approaching from behind. She swinger her body around to see the upper torso of Silver Sonic with its massive arms extended. For a few moments, her heart stopped beating. Years of close calls to death did nothing to prepare her for this instance.
Then, a slight smile appeared on her lips. A somber look formed on her eyes as they slightly close. After all this time, she thought she could finally stand on her own, next to her idol as a hero of justice. But it would appear old habits die hard.
Amy Rose closed her eyes and extended her arms, retiring to her fate.
Looks like I'm still a damsel after all, were her last thoughts in that moment.
Dr. Eggman slammed his fists against the dashboard of the Eggmobile, again, but not out of rage.
"Yes!" he shouted in jubilation.
"Noooooo!" Knuckles shouted in frustration.
Some would call this next moment a miracle. Others would call it business as usual. The ignorant would call it plot armor.
The Eggmobile shook abruptly. Afterwards, Dr. Eggman peered over the edge. He grinded his teeth together so loudly, Orbot flipped through a cell phone for evil dentists within the area.
Silver Sonic and Amy faded away in a yellow light. Afterwards, a massive explosion filled the air. Orange flames covered the ground, soon followed by black clouds.
Yes, old habits die hard.
But so does Sonic the Hedgehog.
While carrying Amy in a bridal position, Super Sonic flew ahead of his friends just for the sake of being in first.
"Yes!" Knuckles shouted as he fist-pumped with one arm.
"Noooooo!" Eggman shouted.
Do not misunderstand Amy.
She did not accept her demise. She turned to Sonic with an irritated expression.
"You know," dotingly said. "You could have done that any time, right?"
Without looking at her, Sonic simply said
"A hero's always late to the show."
But rather, she accepted her role as being eternally drawn to her hero in times of despair.
A few seconds passed.
"…That, and I didn't think about it until a few seconds ago."
"Uh-huh."
Amy snuggly embraced the side of Sonic's cheek.
"Would you two like some of ze 'alone time'?" Antoine said with a mischievous look and using air quotes with one hand.
"Shut up," Sonic replied with a frown.
"Yes," Amy said at the same time.
The Freedom Fighters, with the addition of their invaluable ally Knuckles, joined together for a chorus of laughter.
"I'm serious though," Amy said.
Several miles down below, the ruins of the Egg Behemoth lay barren on the desert landscape. Rather than appearing like a destroyed robot, it looked more like the unevenness of mountains. The coloring on its body had been displaced by black marks in some areas. Despite this, its sensors still seemed to work. It took note at its fleeing foes and made one last analysis.
"Knuckles the Echidna. Alignment: Foe. Status: Airborne, mobile, chuckling."
…
…
…
"ERROR. IT HAS BEEN MADE APPARENT THAT KNUCKLES DOES NOT CHUCKLE AND WOULD RATHER SPEND RECREATIONAL TIME FLEXING HIS MUSCLES. DOES NOT COMPUTE. SELF-TERMINATION EMMMMMmmmmmmmm…"
With a whirring sound, the Egg Behemoth's vision faded to black.
Dr. Eggman looked at the hides of the Freedom Fighters.
You're probably tired of this but I don't care, deal with it.
And Knuckles.
"Uh, boss?" Cubot said with a cautious look in his eyes and his right finger next to his mouth.
Orbot used his index finger to scroll through a list on a red smart phone.
"Okay. Dr. Cucumber seems to have an evil lair 3200 miles north of here. If we leave now, we can probably make it before closing time. If not, we could just declare war on him unless he agrees to see you. Dental health is essential for an evil villain to maintain if he or she wants to deliver that oh-so perfectly evil laugh."
"Heh…heheheheheheh…"
"See? Just like that."
"No, you idiot. You're all a bunch of idiots."
"…I may be an unfeeling mass of electrical impulses simulating intelligence, but words still hurt, doctor."
While Orbot was complaining about getting his puny feelings hurt, a large red button appeared on Eggman's dashboard.
"Foolish miscreants. I always have a Plan B!"
Dr. Eggman slammed his fist on the big red button that red "PLAN B" in all caps and white letters.
Eggman's fleet teleported miles into the sky in a yellow flash. The Freedom Fighters and, wait for it…Knuckles all looked up at the sudden appearance of the battle fleet.
"Pretty sure those are empty," Knuckles casually said.
"No…" Rotor said lowly. "He wouldn't make them appear unless he restocked them or they were an entirely new set of fully armed ships."
"Oh…Well, no problem for us, right?"
"Right," Sally said. "Sonic, get us up there."
"Okay," Super Sonic replied. "But not because you told me to. Because I want to. Chaos…"
Dr. Eggman snapped his fingers. The entire fleet disappeared in a yellow flash. In its place, a large holographic display appeared. It was divided into nine segments.
"…What?" Sonic whispered.
"Mon Diue," Antoine gravely said.
"Oh mah stars," Bunnie added.
"That doesn't look good…" Big said.
Depicted on the holographic display where images of Eggman's fleet miles above Central City, Westopolis, Station Square, Shimar, Apotos, Empire City, Soleanna, The Kingdom of Knothole, and a blue Eggpawn with rockets on its back pointing a large laser rifle at a large green emerald.
"I'LL DO IT," he shouted while facing the display. "DON'T THINK I WON'T. I'M CRAZY LIKE THAT."
"Oh, come on!" Knuckles shouted.
"No…" Sally said very lowly. "He's…he's targeting major cities around the world."
"And with that kind of firepower," Rotor in a grave tone of voice. "He could wipe out neighboring territories and wild life…"
Tails turned to Super Sonic with a grim expression.
"Can't you do something with Chaos Control?"
Sonic didn't immediately reply. In case you didn't know, if the guy with the smartest mouth doesn't immediately have a comeback, something is most definitely wrong.
"…I can only teleport to one location at a time," Sonic said in a muffled voice before gradually speaking louder. "And even if I were to stop time and destroy an entire fleet, I can't do that consecutively. I'd have to wait a few more seconds before doing it again…I can't be in more than one place at a time…"
"Then…" Cream said. "What do we do?"
Eggman's laughter could be heard from a few meters behind.
"Ghahahahahaha! Hohohohhohohohoho! How does it feel being bested by me yet again, Sonic?!"
Tails turned around with a judgmental look on his face.
"Yeah, that's never happened," he said.
"Quiet, you two-tailed freak!"
"…Okay, ow."
"Well, what'll it be Freedom Fighters and Knuckles? Give up your pride and surrender your lives along with the Chaos Emeralds? Or let billions of lives go to waste because of your misguided, self-righteous, hubris? Heck, if you give me the emeralds, I might even let you go free." Eggman leaned forward. "Might."
Sonic looked at Eggman expressionless. He slowly floated towards him.
"Oh, and by the way. If you attack me now, my fleet will automatically fire. And I doubt you can stop time and teleport in one move. So make this next choice wisely."
Dr. Eggman triumphantly folded his arms as Sonic stopped moving. Amy tried not to let her worried expression cloud his judgement, but she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. The glowing, golden hedgehog continued to scowl at the menacing, and balding, scientists who retorted with a widening grin. Behind that smile were years of a malice and hatred.
"An ultimatum, huh?" Super Sonic replied with a smile. "Yeah…"
Suddenly, he threw Amy up into the air. Even though she held a firm grip on him, his godly strength made it easy for him to break her grasp. She yelped as she was catapulted into sky.
"Sonnniiiiiiiiiiiiiiic!" Amy said as she ascended further and further away.
With a stoic expression, Super Sonic's forehead was touching Dr. Eggman's. Startled, the mad scientist pulled back.
"No thanks."
With that, Sonic disappeared. Clenching his fist with every bit of his strength, Eggman shouted furiously at the top of his lungs.
"Fire everything!"
Nine screens were filled with explosions. The sound quality was superior than anything that modern technology could provide at the time, but static interference could still be heard. After several seconds of orange flames and ear-splitting explosions, gray clouds filled the screens. Bunnie covered her mouth with her flesh. Cream's jaw weakly hung open as a steady stream of tears poured down the side of her cheeks. The Freedom Fighter and Knuckles gazed on ahead with looks of despair.
All, except for Tails who had a smug smirk.
The screen in upper right corner was the first to clear. Then the second of the first. Slowly but surely, the black clouds disappeared.
Sally paid heed to the second to last screen. She could not muster the strength needed to express her feelings properly. Instead, she let the tears flow without any attempt to hide them.
On the holographic screen, the Kingdom of Knothole was shown perfectly intact. In fact, every territory was shown as they were moments before sans the massive fleet of airships and that one blue robot.
"What…?" Bunnie said.
"Whaaaaaaaaaaat?!" Dr. Eggman said as he stood up and leaned forward. Orbot and Cubot tried to pull him back to prevent him from falling. Luckily, the Eggmobile could sense this and adjusted its position to prevent that from happening.
Super Sonic reappeared and caught Amy between his arms.
"I told you, Eggface," he said with a cocky voice. "I'm always fast enough."
At some point, a large circular vehicle with angel wings had appeared. This was the air craft known as the Freedom Fighter Special that functions as an air carrier and base of operations for the Freedom Fighters. With the sound of glass shattering, the Chaos Emeralds burst from Sonic and raised several into the air. They spun around for a few seconds before flying off at high speed in opposite directions, leaving a trail of their perspective colors.
Sonic fell on the top of the Freedom Fighter Special while the rest of the Freedom Fighters, and Knuckles, very important, headed towards an open platform. Eggman stared with a blank expression as his foes fled the scene. With a roar of the jet's engines, the massive air carrier flew forward, eventually leaving the human eye's level of detection.
For a few seconds, there was no sound except for the humming of the Eggmobile.
Cubot was the first to speak.
"That…" he said in amazement. "That wasn't Chaos Control, was it?"
"…No," Orbot said as if taking a second to deeply contemplate. "That was pure speed…"
"Gee, am I glad that Sonic's a good guy, right doc?"
Cubot covered his mouth after uttering that last word. Him and Orbot looked at their creator as he stared at the horizon a stoic expression. The setting sun painted the sky with a dim coat of orange. Dr. Eggman slightly arched his head to look at the serene scene. The day ended in defeat, just another day in the life of Dr. Ivo Eggman Robotnik.
An eerie grin appeared across his face. Orbot was under the impression that he was hiding the humiliation with a Stephord smile. But he noticed something. Things like feelings aren't the same for what we call robots. But even though they are technically incapable with sympathizing with organic beings, there are more than one ways to skin a cat. To Orbot, that smile seemed unnatural.
"Hahaha…" that man known as Dr. Eggman calmly laughed. This time, even Cubot's eyes widened. The two geometric robots shared a quick glance before returning their gazes to their creator. "Yes, Cubot. I guess I am."
"…WHAT." Cubot said. It was not a question. It was more of an expression of utter disbelief and shock.
"Doctor," Cubot began. "Perhaps we should see a real doctor later. You never agree with Cubot."
Dr. Eggman turned around to Orbot. He had a very calm smile. If this scene were one's first sight of the mad scientist, one would describe him as wholesome and jolly as opposed to certifiable.
"Oh, don't get me wrong my eternally loyal and incompetent lackey," he said. "Cubot is a totally witless and incapable imbecile. He just happened to be right this one time."
"What…" Orbot chose his next words cautiously. "Do you mean?"
The afternoon sky slowly but surely disappeared. As Eggman talked, the orange was slowly replaced by a dark blue.
With the sun setting, Eggman's smile grew more menacing.
"Phase 1 has been completed. And that blue goody-two-shoes played right into my hands the moment he let the emeralds disappear. I might have to make a few calls and place a few deals, but in the end, I'll come out on top. Gentlebots, it's the dawn of a new era."
With his arms behind his back, Dr. Eggman turned around to look at the bright full moon. A white light filled his shades. Despite this, only darkness could be felt in his words. He continued to smile as he spoke.
"This is the year I totally and utterly defeat Sonic. Once and for all."