Chapter Ten – Surrender
Tails was exactly right. When everyone knew, they showed. Except Amy. She was pregnant and Earl had intervened. Fair enough, but truthfully, they were never seen again. Amy had her baby, a girl, in utter luxury, Earl devoting everything he had to her. She got the happy ever after she so desperately wanted but not with her Sonic. Only now, did she finally realise how young, naïve and stupid she had been and how flawed the Blue Blur really was. He wasn't perfect. Hell, no one was, and she was extremely silly to believe that he was. She hadn't realised that her super dominating personality and behaviour was completely overwhelming him, and looking back, she was extremely lucky not to kill him. She now felt extremely guilty as she cuddled her newborn but knew that now, her precious Blue Blur, like her baby, were in safe hands. Amy was utterly gut determined not to make the same mistake again, especially with her new family, and to her credit, she never did.
Sonic would have been proud.
The Mobian Authorities didn't hang around when they heard, and immediately evacuated Central City. That afternoon, there was chaos, but about an hour before dusk, the entire city was empty, everything of value gone. It was impressive, but as the Dog representative pointed out, the Mobian Authorities don't normally get a warning of a impending Eggman attack, especially one this big, and desperately wondered how they knew. How they had intercepted the communication when the Human was so diligent about covering his tracks?
They all smiled, not saying a word. A secret weapon. A pair of ears so incredible, that Shadow was planning on taking full advantage of them. But Sonic just giggled.
"Ooo, like the Blind Bandit." He giggled to be immediately jumped on by Tails and Knuckles and cuddled to death, and a serious eye roll from Shadow. He smirked. No, but it extremely good to see the Blue Blur finally getting his sense of humour back. It had been missing for for too long. But this did mean that Sonic, for once, was not going to be front and centre in this fight. Eggman didn't know the truth yet, and Shadow knew he'd heavily underestimate the Blue Blur on the field. He wanted Sonic to show his true colours at the most opportune moment possible in the battle.
Finally, the time came as the sun set, and enormous flashlights lighting up the entire battlefield. Everyone was there waiting but there was utter confusion. Both Sonic and Shadow were missing, very unusually, at the back of the field. Tails and Knuckles were leading this counterattack, or more specifically, the Fox. He was the one who found Eggman, he should be the one who defeated him, but very few who showed up believed in that. That was until Tails proved it. He had detailed readouts of what Badniks to expect, and then provided the weaponry to to destroy them. He'd beenworking overtime, to build weapons for the people to take these robots out, and it was working, as the two sides clashed in was stunned and then immediately fell into line. Tails always had the means to stand on his own two feet, now he had a chance to prove it.
Sonic getting blind was indeed his own fault, but by doing so, he gave someone else the chance to take over as the lead hero in the fight against Eggman. The Hedgehogs themselves, Sonic and Shadow, were right in the back, in deep darkness, just out of sight of the battlefield. Neither of them needed light. Shadow had absolutely perfect night vision and Sonic was blind. The Blue Blur was sat cross-legged on the ground, desperately trying to stay as calm as possible, his ears trained on the battlefield, ready to give advice on Badnik destruction as and when it was needed. There was simply to much information for Tails to memorise alone, a lifetime's worth, so better for Sonic to tell them on the fly. He remembered the distinctive sounds made by each and every Badnik, and such information was going be vital on the battlefield.
Shadow was also sat in the floor, his nose buried deep in a portal laptop, him desperately trying to hack the Eggnet with it, and disrupt the signal to the Badniks. When it came to computers, Tails was king, Shadow acknowledged that, but hacking the Eggnet, that was his bread and butter. Tails constantly struggled, but Shadow always got through. The Hedgehog knew Eggman better, having worked for him, and had better insider knowledge of the access codes and security.
As the sun went down, Eggman finally showed, to immediately be pounced on, to his complete and utter surprise. They knew. How? Then in the stretch of land between Bombay Pass and Central City the Badnik army came and the battle commenced.
Metal crunched, lasers fired and fires burned, as one by one, the robots of Eggman's mighty army fell. But it wasn't enough. Tails screamed. There were significantly more Badniks then expected, and they piled on top of the Mobians. Sonic was working overtime, desperately trying to single out with the hearing, the potentially nasty Badnik, out from the horrendous noise of the battle, and then explain how to destroy them. Shadow too was struggling, constantly hitting firewall after firewall, blocking his access to the Eggnet. It was frustrating. But despite everything, they had somehow, still managed to underestimate Eggman.
Again!
Shadow roared. How? He had everything planned out, he knew Eggman, but unfortunately, as he only now just realised, that also went the other way. The Human also knew him, and had managed to hide a large chuck of his Badnik army from him on the Ark. Truthfully, Eggman was expecting a counterattack of some sort, just not one this well organised, and as the battle got closer to the city, he noticed it empty. Evacuated. He growled in frustration. So the resistance had eavesdropped on him. He had no idea how, but the mob of Mobians who came out to greet him were no where near enough to stop him flattening the city, especially when more then thirty Heavy-Egg Hammers suddenly landed on the battlefield, forcing many to flee. Both Tails and Knuckles knew how to defeat them, but they took so much effort, that after one or two, you were borderline exhausted.
Only Super-Speed had the edge over those monsters, but the resident speedsters weren't on the battlefield, which was something Eggman noticed. He was piloting the Egg Emperor and it was proving incredibly tough. A huge hovering Boss Robot with arms and legs, and Eggman's cockpit in it's head. It's golden armourand enormous shield just repelled any attack. He rounded on the Fox, firing at him with everything he had, forcing Tails to fly for it, spinning his tails, helicopter style. Eggman laughed, evilly.
"Where's your pet Blue rodent?" He sneered. But the Tails just growled, grabbing yet more weaponry and promptly swinging round and firing back at Eggman, forcing the Human to swerve. The Fox hissed.
"Hedgehogs are not rodents. They're part of the Erinaceid family. Learn your mammals, Human." He roared, completely and utterly frustrated at Eggman constantly calling his best friend that. Sonic and Shadow both looked up and then at each other, when they heard this, down the communicator, and promptly giggled. Shadow did know that, however Sonic, didn't. Regardless, Tails was very unimpressed. Eggman rounded on the Fox, angry to have been put in his place. He roared at him.
"So where is he, then?" He demanded. But Tails just growled.
"Not here." He lied. "But I don't need him. I'm more then strong enough to beat you." He growled, but Eggman just howled, laughing hard into his face. He smirked.
"We'll see about that, Fox." He sneered, and immediately went for him, arming the Egg Emperor to the maximum and firing everything at Tails. The sudden huge bombardment, forced Tails to flee, his own firepower unable to match it. He flew left and right, but he was unable to shake the mighty Egg Emperor, and if Knuckles hadn't have intervened, he would have been caught and most likely, killed. They immediately went to ground, under the cover of darkness as Tails looked around the battlefield. Project Scorpion was far larger then even he had anticipated. Everyone everywhere was getting overwhelmed by the sheer number of Badniks, some of whom were very difficult to destroy. They were loosing the fight. Knuckles heaved, he understood, turning to the Fox.
"I know you want to be a hero." He sighed. "To stand on your own ground, but today is not that day, but I assure you, you will get your chance. We need backup." He growled, and immediately got to his feet, and whistled at the top of his lungs. Every Mobian within earshot, immediately stopped and fled the battlefield, as per prearrangement. Others began shooting out every light they could find. Tails immediately got his confidence back, and taking to the air, he said three words that would change everything. He hissed, straight at Eggman.
"Call the cavalry." He smirked, and to the utter confusion of the Human, and suddenly, the entire battlefield was plunged into completely darkness on this moonless night, as the flood light gave out. Eggman panicked. He desperately tried re-light the flood lights, but they were quickly sabotaged. He switched the lights on, on his Egg Emperor, but they too were shot out. A highly organised team of natively nocturnal Mobians, Bats, Badgers, Foxes, and Owls, lead by Rouge, with good night vision, were destroying all the sources of light they could find. The Badniks just wondered, dazed and confused, unable to see where they were going. Eggman did have night vision technology but the field of view was extremely narrow and unsuitable for a battlefield. Eggman, as a Human, had no natural night vision at all, and in the pitch darkness, he was blind.
Now they were even.
Sonic panicked when the call came through, his anxiety sky high, but Shadow immediately grabbed him, and successfully calmed him. Shadow's plan to keep Sonic out of the fight wasn't going to work anymore. There were significantly more Badniks then expected, otherwise his hearing alone, and advice would have been enough. But Shadow had put together a backup plan just incase it wasn't, from a rather passingly side comment from Sonic that morning, which at the time appeared to be nothing, but it gave a Ultimate Lifeform an absolute brainwave. The Blue Blur had heaved.
"Why is Eggman attacking at night?" He had asked, severely out of practice with battling. But Shadow had just shrugged.
"To catch the city off it's guard. I guess." He had responded. But the Blue Blur had heaved, and then frowned.
"Shads?" He'd asked, as the Ultimate Lifeform looked at him. "Can you see in the dark?" He wondered. Shadow rolled his eyes, somewhat unimpressed.
"Yes, perfectly, why do you ask?" He hissed, but Sonic had just sighed.
"Well, Eggman can't, not without tech, and it doesn't matter for me, anymore." He had said.
Ding!
Shadow suddenly smirked like never before. A cavalry, if Tails couldn't do it alone but the sudden silence from the Ultimate Lifeform, temporally worried Sonic, but Shadow calmed him. Sonic frowned.
"Shads, are you alright?" He'd wondered. Shadow beamed, he was more then alright. A battle plan over the Human that would give them an edge. He stared at the incredible Blue Blur ahead of him, and into the pale grey discs that were his eyes nowadays. He was exactly right. It didn't matter for him anymore. It could be broad daylight, or pitch darkness, he was blind and his amazing Sonar would work anywhere regardless. But Shadow would see that Sonic was ready for the battlefield, despite the horrendous nerves. He'd done some small Badnik fights and won, leaving unharmed. Now he just needed the confidence.
If Eggman was blind in total darkness, then lets fight him in total darkness, so long as it was kept that way. The others took some persuasion, including Rouge who was brought up to speed on everything, when they arrived in the battlefield but it was Sonic's unfaltering trust in Shadow that won them all over, as, despite the anxiety, he immediately agreed to do it.
In their quiet corner, Sonic's high-speed panting from his panic finally eased. Shadow smirked, much better, but now he was just waiting for the hook, to reel Sonic into the fight, his instincts taking over, overriding the anxiety. It didn't take long. A high-pitched scream of pure fright on the battlefield immediately sent Sonic running in, extremely fast. He panted.
"Tails." He exploded, but Shadow just smirked, as he raced straight after him, the battlefield ahead of him, crystal clear, in beautiful black and white. He sniggered.
'Nicely done, Fox.' He thought to himself. That too was also prearranged, on the quiet between the two of them. Tails himself, was actually safe, and had faked the scream, as he had also agreed with Shadow that with Sonic's anxiety, he would indeed need in hook to get him into the fight. Tails knew that despite everything that had happened between them, the mistakes that had been made by the both of them, Sonic would still come running for him. Always. Within seconds, Sonic had grabbed in pitch darkness, making him jump a mile. His Sonar leading Sonic straight to him. Tails didn't even see him coming. He was panting hard.
"Tails." He heaved, but the Fox quickly rounded on the Blue Blur.
"Sonic. I'm fine." He reassured. "I've got my handheld, and Knuckles isn't far away. We can get to safety." He explained, then he rounded on his best friend. "Now go and take out Eggman." He ordered, in a cold, stern voice. But Sonic just gulped, but suddenly, screaming could be heard from the other end of the battlefield. Tails smiled. "Go, be the Hero. I'll get my chance another day." He heaved. Suddenly, Sonic grabbed the Fox and hugged him, his confidence exploding. He had well and truly believed he was done for as a Hero. Pretending was one thing, but in real life, saving the world, not just small fights, no. But the Fox still believed, and that, right there and then, meant the absolute world as he heard Shadow's tell tale rocket shoes running along the ground. Tails let him go, and pushed him away, giggling. "Go!" He spat, and immediately Sonic heard the Egg Emperor behind him, he was gone, into the darkness.
Shadow had rescued the Mobians trapped by Badniks, the other end of the battlefield, and was delighted when Sonic finally came back to join him. Rouge and her team where doing an amazing job at keeping the battlefield in total darkness, as finally the cavalry arrived. The old team was back. Shadow was utterly stunned. It was as though Sonic had not lost his sight at all as they both went for the Egg Emperor, again and again, spinning and homing attacking with ruthless speed and efficiency. The partnership they used to have back when Sonic was still in his teens, before the anxiety, and the resulting cockiness took over, which caused Shadow to walk away.
The Ultimate Lifeform gulped. Just how much was Sonic's Sonar compensating for him? It was indeed lighting up the world in a beautiful pale blue, from the noise of the battle, and with his extensive experience in these fights, Sonic could easily work out what was what. Despite years of study, Shadow still didn't really truly understand it, but from what he was witnessing, as Sonic rammed Eggman again and again, as though the fateful incident had never happened. All Shadow could conclude was that the Blue Blur could indeed 'see', just not with his eyes, and in the end, should be treated as such.
He wasn't blind anymore.
Eggman had no idea what hit him. Through the darkness, his night vision technology was desperately struggling to keep up with the super high-speed bombardment he was getting. He fought back, but unable to see his target, he constantly missed, the Hedgehogs easily dodging him. His attempts of trying to light up head of him, failed, to his utter frustration, and now he was just confused as to who exactly was attacked him, until a very distinctive Sonic Boom from his rocket shoes gave him away. Eggman growled.
"Shadow!" He sneered. So the Ultimate Lifeform wanted to play, fine, but he still wasn't winning, as he finally managed to technically grab his Chaos signature and track it, sending every Badnik he had, after him. The Human smirked. That should keep him busy, but it was the second Sonic Boom on the battlefield, different from the first, Eggman heard moments later, that completely and utterly blew his brain. He gasped, immediately recognising it.
"That's impossible." He stammered, but the Blue Blur rammed, so fast and so hard into the Egg Emperor that the mighty boss robot was toppled out of the sky, as Sonic had smashed straight through its shield. It crashed to the ground, barely landing in his feet, as Eggman was thrown from the cockpit, plummeting hard on the ground. He heaved as Sonic disappeared for another run up and within seconds, and another almighty boom, and Sonic punctured straight through the Egg Emperor, immediately destroying it, the fire from the explosion temporally lighting up the entire battlefield.
Eggman gulped. He was now loosing the fight and badly. His Badniks were now falling like flies as Shadow expertly knew exactly how and where to hit them, despite the darkness, and as for the Blue Blur, the mighty Hedgehog stopped just ahead of him, his eyes level with his, as Eggman was on his knees. The Human saw the pale grey discs for himself, no contact lenses, from the flickering light behind him. In the darkness, no one could see his eyes anyway. Sonic had definitely lost his eyesight, but... Eggman gasped.
"How?" He stammered. But Sonic just giggled.
"Hey, Egghead. Do you know what one of my favourite games is?" He asked. Eggman just gulped. Suddenly, Sonic smiled turned into a full on grin. "Pinball." He sniggered and suddenly he curled up into a ball and span extremely fast, so fast in fact, that he sent gusts of winds everywhere, and immediately vanished into the darkness, and bounced at ruthlessly high speed from one Badnik to the next, ping ponging like a pinball, destroying everything in his path. It was superbly controlled, but also, completely crazy as Sonic forced Shadow to duck for cover, swearing hard. Eggman screamed.
"No." He yelled as he lifetime's work was being disintegrated before his very eyes. But Sonic wasn't done. His anger was getting the better of him, and finally, he decided to finish what Eggman started. He had the power, he had the confidence. Correction, he had his confidence back, thanks to a certain Fox, whom he now loved more then ever, time to end this.
Permanently.
He owed it to Mobius. They had put up with him and especially Eggman's antics for long enough. With every Badnik and robot finally destroyed on the battlefield, the Blue Blur immediately left, for somewhere he should have taken out a very long time ago. Tails came running up the Shadow, his handheld as guidance. He noticed his best friend leave. He panicked.
"Hey, where's he going?" He stammered but Shadow smirked, immediately working it out, and he silently ran up to Eggman, the Fox following, confused and put a revolver to his Human's head, right between the eyes. Eggman squealed in fright, but Shadow didn't move. He waited. Tails's frown deepening, until finally, it happened. In the far distance, and enormous mushroom cloud lit up the entire night sky, as his home, Eggman's entire territory, all of it, including the recent expansions, and all docked battleships, including the what was left of the Egg Fleet and the fabled, heavily rumoured Egg Carrier, all went up in flames. Everything gone. Tails squealed, his jaw dropping.
"He did it. He actually did it." He stammered, not quite believing. Shadow gasped, swearing extremely hard, mainly to himself, but stayed cool and calm. Sonic was indeed powerful enough and had been all along. Now he fully understood how deep this had gone, just how much the anxiety had held him back. But, despite everything that happened, everything Sonic had endured, he finally conquered his fear, and destroyed Eggman. It had taken time, but Shadow just smirked. Yes, it does, to have a single emotion dominate your life so entirely. It does take time to smash through it and achieve the impossible, but try hard enough and you will succeed and as for the Ultimate Lifeform, he gulped. That had taken guts. Shadow would never truly understand, but he did appreciate the hard work that went into getting there.
As for now, he was just relieved it was all over. The job was finally done. The Human was now left with absolutely nothing. Every Badnik, robot, base, factory and battleship gone. Tears fell down Eggman's face as he was left violently shaking, as Shadow cocked the gun at his head, to Tails's utter horror. He smirked.
"Well, Human?" He hissed. Eggman sniffed and hard. Against such incredible power, an almighty foe, he now realised he could never beat, no matter what happened, he would never win. He closed his eyes and hung his head, tears rolling down his face. He cried.
"You win, I surrender." He hissed, barely more then a whisper, his voice extremely cracked. The Human was now completely broken, he had nothing left to give. Tails squealed in pure delight, both hands over his mouth, dropping his handheld, unable to quite believe that he'd ever hear those words leave Eggman's mouth, in his lifetime.
He'd surrendered.
It was real. No schemes, no agenda, the Human was done for. Only when Shadow was finally lowered his gun from Eggman did everyone finally believe that, as dawn rose. As the darkness lightened, and the sun rose, the true scale of destruction could be seen, and Eggman realised he really was done for. He sat on the ground, not daring to move, for fear of Shadow killing him dead, if he did. Finally as everything settled, everyone cheered.
The war was finally over.