I finally got Chapter 17 done! Oh joy. It seems that High School is a bit more demanding as I imagined it to be (not hard, just time consuming), so I hope you can forgive me for the lateness of this chapter. Also, it may be a while before I update after this, for I have some family business to attend to in California. But, at least I got this one up, right?
The Egg Carrier Mach III was quite similar to the battleships Dr. Eggman had used before in the Egg Fleets, except this ship was smaller. The ECM III (as he nicknamed it) was originally designed for sneak attacking, so it would take longer for enemies to notice it. The ship was only a bit larger than a jet, but was also packed with weaponry. Missile launchers and mini-turrets littered the outside, but all carved into a perfectly aerodynamic feature. That, combined with the black paint, made the ECM III perfect for midnight assaults.
"Beauty, isn't it?" Eggman asked his crew. "I designed it before you twins were born, but all I had left was the blueprints after your father ransacked my base. I say I've done a fairly decent job."
"Sweet," Akumu whistled. "What Mr. Prower wouldn't give to get his hands on this."
"It is a fair attempt," Mech admitted, "but I'm sure Master Zynth could design better."
"Suck up," Yume muttered to her brother. "I swear, if Mech wasn't helping us, I would kick him so hard. In fact, I might just do it."
"Save it for the Capital," Akumu advised. "We're going to need all our strength against those robots." Yume rolled her eyes.
"You take all the fun out of it," She muttered. Yume turned to go see what else was on the ship. There wasn't much to see. There was the cockpit (where Eggman was driving), the rider's area (her present location) and an engine room (where Mech was hanging out). Akumu followed Yume, while Ghost was staring blankly out the window. In his hands was a machine gun, and next to the gray hedgehog lay a bazooka. A dagger was also strapped to his arm, and a holster for the bazooka was on his back.
"For the invasion," was all Ghost said when the twins asked about the weaponry. It was obvious that he planned to do some fighting. Yume walked past him (with Akumu following behind) when the battleship began to shake violently.
"What's going on?" Yume screeched, grabbing the wall tightly. Akumu nodded over at the entrance to the cockpit, and the two began to make their way there. Inside, Dr. Eggman was in a fury.
"It isn't my fault!" He shouted. "I was driving perfectly fine! Something's wrong with the wings." Another shake, and the Egg Carrier began to dive. Mech then entered the cockpit.
"I…I am sorry to report th…that our wings are nearly de-de…destroyed," Mech explained frantically, causing him to stutter. 'It seems th…that Master Zynth has deployed…ed some ant…nt…anti-aircraft devices in our absence." This was in fact true, for it was all part of Zynth's secret plan.
"Well then, what do we do now?" Akumu asked, one arm around his sister and the other holding the door.
"I think we'll have to jump!" was Eggman's reply.
"Are you nuts?" Yume yelled. "We'll get attacked too! And if we don't die from that, we'll crash into the ground!"
"Hey, at least it's better than crashing with the ship," The madman pointed out. He then punched out the cockpit window, climbing out onto the nose of the plane. The twins then saw him jump, and he was gone. Mech hesitantly climbed out, his cloak flapping in the wind as he slid off the plane. Then, as if out of nowhere, Ghost entered the room, and was now jumping himself. Shrugging, Akumu began to climb out as well, pulling Yume with him.
"I think I can break our fall if I can time Chaos Control right," the bat said reassuringly. "We aren't going to die from this."
"We better not," the hedge-girl replied, holding tightly to her brother. Down below was Zynth's fortress, dark metal pointing towards the sky. There was an anit-aircraft device in view, launching a homing missile. Knowing it was either explode or risk a chance, the twins jumped off the ship, watching as the Egg Carrier Mach III was blown to smithereens.
"I never thought I'd see an explosion like that," Yume muttered, closing her eyes as she gripped her brother tighter. She could feel them falling faster, faster, felling as if they were falling apart. And then, the ground loomed towards them. It was only a few feet away, and then-
"Chaos Control," Akumu cried, quickly enveloping them in a light. They were safely dropped onto the ground, no damage done to either.
"I can't believe it worked," Yume admitted, relieved. Then, remembering where they were, she turned around. Standing behind them were a bewildered group of guard androids.
"Don't just stand there," one piped up. "Get them!" The guards began to charge, and Yume grabbed Akumu's hand, this time making a run for it as she kicked her airshoes into high gear. The race was on.
Now the real fun begins! Tell me what you think people, and I'll try to get this up as soon as I can manage. See you next week!