Chapter #23: Storming the Castle

Because of Tortimer's connections, it wasn't hard for the gang to get a train in Boston. Of course, the conductor insisted that he only take them as far as the town closest to Tombstone: a tiny village called Medford. The Allies and heroes agreed and piled into one of the cargo cars. Soon the train was chugging along the track through the night.

The heroes sat in their car with its door open so they could watch the land pass by. Presently Patrick turned to Ratchet, which, as usual, triggered a hilarious event.

"Hey Hatchet…"

"It's Ratchet, you idiot," the commando snapped without looking at him.

But the starfish only grinned stupidly and dared to ask that age-old, annoying question…

"Are we there yet?"

With a heavy sigh, Ratchet turned to face him. "No."

But only a few seconds passed between them before Patrick asked again, "Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No!"

"Are we there yet?"

Finally he just screamed in his face, "No! We're not there yet!!"

A long pause, and then, "…Are we there yet?"

"Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrggggghhhh!!" The Lombax began banging his head against the wall, on the verge of going insane. The others watched, some with amusement.

But Patrick wasn't done. When Ratchet turned back to him, he resumed grinning and said, "Pass the mustard please."

He flattened his ears. "Idiot."

"You're supposed to say 'no'."

He blinked in surprise. "…Okay then, no."

The pink starfish gave a bigger grin. "Are we there yet?"

The alien commando twitched, and one hand began to reach for his Omniwrench. "Clank, can I throw him off the train…please?" he asked, with a tone that resembled one of a crazy person.

Clank folded his arms. "Ratchet, you know the answer to that."

"You're right, I do…and it's yes!"

Before anyone could move, the Lombax grabbed Patrick and walked to the open car door with the starfish held over his head. Patrick was screaming like he was on a roller coaster.

"Whoopee!! Hahahahahaha!"

"Ratchet, don't!" Spike cried. He and Jimmy grabbed Ratchet and pulled him back into the car. Patrick went flying and landed right on Clank.

"I know Patrick annoys you," he continued, "but that doesn't mean you can throw him off a moving train!"

Pat sat up and began bouncing up and down, crushing poor Clank as he did so. "Do it again! Do it again!" he begged, clapping his hands.

"Ratchet, I am in need of assistance," Clank said weakly.

His friend glared and moved toward the starfish, armed with his trusty wrench. "Get off Clank, Peanut Brain."

But Pat just kept bouncing. "What's a peanut? What's a brain? What's a—"

Whack!

Ratchet sent the starfish flying into a wall. Patrick blacked out, and there was silence for a while, much to everyone else's relief (especially Ratchet's). Then, as they were gazing at the starry sky, Tails broke the silence with his main thought.

"I hope Sonic's okay."

"He's fine," Spike told him. But then he turned away from the others and muttered to himself, "…I hope."

Suddenly Jimmy remembered something and turned to the fox. "Hey, Tails, when you were talking to Redd, did you say your name is Miles Prower?"

Tails shrugged. "Miles Prower is my real name. But I like my nickname better." But then his ears perked up, and he said, "Hey, is the train slowing down?"

He was proved correct when they heard the screeching of the brakes. Moments later, they were at a dead stop.

Copper and Tom Nook were the first to climb out of the car. (A/N: Tortimer had stayed behind, saying that he was too old to take part in the raid.)

"This is as close as we can get without being detected," said the dog. "We're gonna hafta walk on foot from here."

At that moment, Patrick woke up. As he was yawning, he asked once more, "Are we there yet?"

Ratchet glared at him. "Not quite." He held up his wrench. "Say it again, and you're dead."

SpongeBob then told his buddy, "Patrick, we've gotta walk to the beach."

He folded his arms and pouted. "I don't wanna go for a walk!"

"Pat, please! It's not very far!"

"No walk! I want train!" Suddenly he cracked his goofy grin and turned to Ratchet. "Are we there yet?"

The Lombax exploded. "That does it!" He brought out his wrench again and towered over the starfish.

Pat's eyes grew huge; he seemed to finally realize how much trouble he was in. "Cheesecake?" Ratchet lunged for him, but he somehow dodged and leaped out of the train car. He raced for the forest, screaming the whole way.

Ratchet took off after Patrick, SpongeBob ran to help Patrick, and Tails, Spike, and Jimmy went after Ratchet to stop him (Clank was on his back). Copper and Nook followed.

The police dog shook his head, grinned, and remarked, "Way to motivate 'em."

They ran through the forest for several minutes before they came to the sandy shoreline. They then turned their course west and marched in one single file (with Ratchet and Patrick separated, of course!). There was hardly any talk, as stealth would soon be needed. After about fifteen minutes of walking, they came upon a bone-chilling sight.

The forest to their left ended at a sharp cliff, and on top of that cliff was a dark, foreboding castle. Barbed-wire fencing surrounded the castle, making the fortress unreachable unless you entered a gate somewhere else near the stone building. An atmosphere of terror and evil hung in the air around it.

The gang shivered and halted, afraid to go on. Tails was the first to move forward, with the thought of Sonic being held somewhere in that dark place on his mind. Not wanting to look like scaredy-cats, Ratchet and Spike also continued onward. The others followed behind.

It was Jimmy who spotted the hidden cave in the cliff first. He pointed it out, and they went inside. At the back of the cavern they found a deep pool of water and a control panel with a thumbprint scanner. Clank took out the glove with Crazy Redd's thumbprint and placed the thumb on the scanner. The screen turned green, and somewhere a mechanism was activated. A hole in the bottom of the pool opened, draining the water. They saw a set of stone steps leading into the pool, and at the other side was a door, which also opened. With Ratchet in the lead holding his N90 Hurricane, they walked into it.

The secret passage was pitch black, and Copper handed Ratchet a flashlight. The light revealed a narrow tunnel leading into the cliff. They followed it onward and reached a spiraling staircase. As quietly as they could manage (even Patrick, who sensed the need for stealth, was silent), they crept up the stairwell and found a door at the top. On the other side of the door was a dimly lit stone hallway; they had entered Big Boss's fortress.

But then a complication popped up: they had no idea where the control room was. They argued about which way to go until they heard the sound of robotic footsteps. They crept a little back down the staircase and closed the door, leaving it open just a crack. Clank stayed by the door. They waited for several minutes, and then the footfalls faded away. The little robot returned to them, and Nook asked, "What did you see?"

"I saw robots escorting prisoners," Clank replied. "They were most likely headed for the lower dungeons." He saw Tails watching him, and added, "Sonic was not among them." The fox deflated slightly.

"Shouldn't we follow them?" Jimmy suggested. Ratchet nodded and took the lead again.

They emerged from the passage and went the way the robots had gone, according to Clank. They eventually caught up with the escort and had to slow their pace. The troopers marched on to the lower dungeons, which was on the same level as the secret passage. They shoved their animal prisoners into their cells and departed to do their other duties. The gang made sure everything was clear before entering.

Spike whispered, "Now what? I thought we were supposed to be going for the control room."

"We're just taking a little detour," Ratchet answered. "We should free all the other animals here too. Maybe some of them know where they've put Sonic. After all, we can't trust Lyle completely."

Tails found the keys for the jail cells hanging on a nail, and they began unlocking the cells. Animals of all kinds streamed out, praising the gang for their work and wondering how they were going to escape. The heroes recognized two in particular.

"Boys!" Tom Nook cried, and he ran into the cell where Timmy and Tommy were huddled in one corner. They hugged him tightly, and he did the same. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, thanks to Sonic," Tommy said, smiling. "He kept the robots away from us."

"Do you guys know where he is?" asked Tails, biting his lip. He had not seen his best friend among the animals in that dungeon.

The Nooklings' smiles disappeared, and they gave him apologetic faces. "Sorry, but we don't know," replied Tommy with a shrug.

His brother added with a shiver, "That Chief guy came and took him away. He's mean."

Copped sighed. "We'll have to check the guard towers, then. But first, let's get you guys out of here."

The rescue party led the prisoners out of the dungeons to the secret staircase. Nook decided to lead them to their train, and he departed, taking his boys with him. The heroes and Copper then began exploring their level of the fortress. They found a computer for Clank to hack into, and he downloaded a map of the entire castle. He didn't find a list of prisoners and where they were kept, but he found something else of interest.

"There is a garage on the castle's ground level," he told the others. "Data logs show that a fleet of vehicles have been stationed there until called for."

Ratchet frowned. "If Big Boss finds out that his jail's empty, he'll send robots after them in those. We should sabotage them; it'll give Nook time!"

The group agreed, and, with Ratchet leading and Clank giving directions, they ran up one level to the garage, which was filled with cars, trucks, trains, and planes of all shapes, sizes, and models. Ratchet handed out his weapons and instructed everyone on how to use them. Within five minutes, the entire vehicle arsenal was blown to smithereens. That is, except for one.

Tails was in charge of destroying the last vehicle, which was a plane covered by a canvas tarp, and had his finger on the trigger of his weapon. But suddenly he caught a glimpse of blue under it. Curious, he ran forward and lifted up the tarp. His blue eyes grew wide, and he let out a surprised, triumphant cry of joy.

"The Tornado! I found it!"

The others ran over to see it, and the fox handed off his weapon so he could check his beloved plane. It took a few minutes, but when he was finished, he concluded with a smile that the Tornado was unharmed and in tip-top shape.

Ratchet nodded. "We'll come back for it when we're finished. Now let's go!"

They all turned and ran for the door that went back into the base. Suddenly it opened, and the Lombax screeched to a stop. Spike slammed into his back, and the others did the same to each other. (They had been running in a single file.)

"Ow! Ratchet, what did ya do that for?!" the spiky-haired teen asked, rubbing his nose. But then he looked over Ratchet's shoulder, and his eyes widened.

He didn't need an answer anymore. He (and the others, who also looked over each other's shoulders) saw what the commando had seen.

A familiar cloaked figure stood in their way…