Notes: we now come to the LAIR
Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic 2 & Sonic Chaos
Ch. 4: Full of gimmicks, eggs, and something completely different
Sonic stared up in awe at the mountain that separated him from whatever lay on the other side. As he stepped inside, he saw that the entire mountain was filled with machinery.
"Behind something this big, it's most likely where Eggman is hiding."
There were spinning platforms that launched Sonic higher up. Long corridors were lined with spikes, and the only way past was on conveyor belts. In fact this entire place seemed to be automated, and the only way out was up.
"All these springs and spikes and platforms. This place is full of annoying gimmicks. In fact, you might even call it Gimmick Mountain."
The Badniks were now coming out to play. There were Burrobot look-alikes called Drillin, and Ballhog look-alikes called Buton. After they were dispatched, Sonic jumped into a railway cart.
"As if these stupid carts weren't bad enough in Under Ground."
Having been carted farther through the mountain, Sonic ran into a familiar Badnik. The Bomb Badniks he saw back in Starlight were here as well. Having avoided the explosions. He climbed higher and higher until he found a dark ledge. At the back, he found the red Chaos Emerald.
"Seems strange that this place must have been remodeled by Eggman, and yet he didn't notice that. Although it might have transported here afterwards."
Sonic now had no choice but to rely on a levitating platform in order to progress. He rode it up through a winding tunnel with plenty of spikes. Upon reaching the top, he jumped off and kept going. That's when it was that time again.
"Hello again, Sonic. Meet the last of my Master Robots, the Inobuta Mecha."
"Inobuta?"
"It's a Japanese word meaning a pig/wild boar hybrid. It sounds catchy, no?"
"I…guess."
"Now attack him, my minion!"
It did look like a wild boar, with sharp tusks, wheels instead of feet, and spikes lining its back. It revved up its engine and sped toward Sonic. He dodged, but the robot collided with the wall, causing rocks to fall. As Sonic avoided getting hit, he noticed the shock had caused the robot's spikes to retract. He took this opportunity to give it a good hit. The boar snorted, extended the spikes again, and turned around. It charged at Sonic again, which ended with the same result. This repeated for a few more times, and then the boar was destroyed. Sonic shook his head as he readied to leave. Just then he saw a large, floating, metal device with Robotnik's face on it. He smashed it and out came dozens of his little animal friends.
"So that's where you guys have been. Well, you're free to go now."
Sonic continued and came to an expansive cave.
"Eggman must have remodeled this place too."
"Correct, Hedgehog! This is my base: Scrambled Egg."
"How appropriate, and so creative."
"Joke all you like. I'd like to see you get through it!"
"Considering all your so called Master Robots were so disappointing, it almost seems too easy."
"We shall see!"
Apart from the mindless Badniks, springs, and spikes, there were lots of tubes. He entered one and was taken to another location in the cave. He had to take a lot of different tubes, it was like a maze. He was starting to get dizzy.
"This is getting monotonous. There has to be a quicker way. Or maybe just a right way."
Eventually, the tubes led him to a big empty room.
"What? Nothing else you wanna try and throw at me, Eggman?"
"Well, now that you bring it up."
Suddenly, something came out of nowhere and smacked Sonic into the wall.
"That actually kind of hurt. What was…? Oh, not this again."
"Yes and no. You remember my Metal Sonic?"
"The one I defeated?"
"Shut up! Anyway, he was built with speed in mind over power. This time, I went with power over speed. Say hello to my Mecha Sonic!"
Unlike Metal Sonic, who was blue to match his inspiration, Mecha Sonic was silver in color. It had no individual pupils, just one cycloptic visor. Instead of arms, it had boosters. Its boots had jets in them. To make up for lack of arms, it had one long retractable tentacle with scissors on the end. Also unlike its predecessor, who although quiet, proved it could talk, this model never said a word. It snapped its scissor claw at Sonic.
"This thing just looks ugly."
"I don't care what it looks like, so long as it kills you. Mecha Sonic, attack!"
It rolled into a ball and began bouncing around the room. Sonic had to be fast to avoid getting hit.
"You wanna play like that, huh?"
Sonic too rolled into a ball, the real and fake hedgehogs merely bounced off each other.
"Well I'll give you props for creativity. Metal couldn't do what this guy just did."
"Mecha knows all your moves, Sonic. I've had him spy on you for quite a while."
"Copying isn't the same as the real thing, no matter how hard you try."
Mecha dashed from one end of the room to the other, extending his claw to get Sonic if he failed to hit him. Needless to say, it was very hectic.
"Over here, ugly."
Mecha sped towards Sonic, only to run into the wall, thanks to a quick sidestep. Sonic then gave him a hard hit.
"That'll teach you to copy me."
"Speaking of copies, I know this isn't the best time, but I do still have your little friend."
"Once I take care of this doppelganger, I'm coming after you, Eggman."
"Not that I expect you to survive, but I look forward to it regardless."
It seemed that no matter how much Sonic kept hitting this mechanical copy, it just kept going.
"For being a poor design choice, this thing sure has a lot of stamina. I wonder where it's getting that kind of power."
Just then, the claw reached out to grab him. Instead, he grabbed it and swung Mecha around. With all his might, he slammed Mecha into the wall. The impact caused part of the roof to fall on top of the robot. It struggled to get back up. That's when Sonic saw it. Through a chink in its torso, Sonic could see that a Chaos Emerald was what kept Mecha going. He revved up his super peel out and slammed Mecha into the wall again. This was too much for it, and it collapsed. Sonic wrenched open the robot and retrieved the green Chaos Emerald.
"That makes six, but where's the seventh? And more importantly, where are Tails and Eggman?"
The Chaos Emeralds began to glow faintly.
"I wonder…I'll bet I can use these six to find the seventh. Eggman must have it. When I find Eggman and the Emerald, I'll find Tails. Hang on, buddy."