Another Tails heavy chapter this week as we witness the aftermath of last weeks explosion.
Can the two-tailed wonder save the King before its too late?
What is Dr. Robotnik up to this time?
And how- oh forget it!
Just read and enjoy.
Tails was up and running before the dust had settled and the noise had died down. He took the stone steps three at time and tore through the drifting dust, through the heavy doors which now hung precariously from their hinges and into what was supposed to be the grand entrance hall.
He darted through the rubble, over fallen pillars and around crumbling walls, his memory of the palace leading his panicked steps.
His heart was pounding in his chest, faster than it ever had been as he made it to the Throne room. He instantly rushed over to the secret entrance hidden behind a stone statue and pulled the switched to open it.
Nothing happened.
He tugged again and again, trying to force the entrance to open but to no avail. He pulled at the statue with all his might before his hands came away with lumps of masonry sending the young fox to the floor. He let loose an angry yell which echoed through the ruins before scrambling back to his feet and trying again.
"Tails!" The voice went unheard as he continued to batter his fists ineffectively against to stone. "Tails!"
Firm hands grabbed him by the shoulders and hauled him away. He staggered to retain his footing, turning on Sakura who had a stern look in her eyes.
"What help are you going to be with your hands pulverised!" Demanded the red vixen. Tails looked down and saw his battered, grazed and bleeding knuckles. Shame accompanied realisation and he hung his head.
"The mechanism is disabled, meaning it can only be opened from the other side." Sakura gently pushed Tails to one side and began looking over the blocked passageway.
"We lost all contact with the King and the Panic room moments after the missile hit." She began saying. She had produced a long screwdriver from one of her thigh-high boots and was sliding it along the edges and crevices of the statue. "With no explosion and a direct hit on the panic room being something like, I dunno a million to one chance, it was believed that an EMP was set off to scramble and disable our electronics and security measures. That was when we lost contact with Nicole."
"Now there are two reasons why I wanted to come with you." She continued, crouched down as she continued to probe and search with the screwdriver. "One, I just had to get away from that bunker. Hardly any room to move and the service there was terrible."
"And two?" Asked the twin-tailed fox. A soft click caused his ears to perk up. Sakura gestured him forward and together they pulled the now unlocked secret door open. She joined him in staring down the darkened passage, lit intermittently by flashing red lights. She was wearing a proud and smug grin.
"And two, I'm the best damned engineer in the Royal armed forces." She flipped her screwdriver twice before tucking it back into her boots. "Next to Rotor himself, I'm the best choice at getting this place back up and running."
She began sauntering down the passage before turning back to face the stunned fox. "You coming cutie, or do you want me to hold your hand?"
Tails was thankful for the dim lighting which hid the embarrassed sheen of his cheeks, and as they walked onwards he couldn't help but be thankful for her company.
They had walked along the dark passageways, turning back at dead-ends or collapsed sections for several minutes before they found themselves staring down another dark corridor.
"At least we know there's still power." Sakura commented, gesturing at the sparking wires and cables which provided their latest obstacle. Tails grimaced.
It seemed that at every turn there was something halting their efforts at progress. He knew the way through this maze of corridors, passageways and rooms from when he helped Rotor upgrade the security systems some years ago, but even he was beginning to feel lost.
"And as luck would have it, that's where we need to go." He said grimly. He scanned the nearby walls. "Maybe there's a mains panel where I can reroute the current from her to another location, giving us-"
A sharp crackling and sparking sound caught his ears and he spun around to see Sakura pulling hard at one of the closest cables. With a grunt she wrenched the dangling grey cable from the ceiling and tossed it aside. Dusting her hands she looked back at Tails, who for the second time was struck into silent awe. She grinned and winked at him before attacking the next hanging cable.
Tails stood motionless for a moment before he too leapt at the cables. After several minutes of hazardous work and a couple of minor shocks, they stood panting in the now unobscured passage.
"One problem with you intellectual types," Sakura began between breaths. "You think too much. You need to be a bit more stubborn, a bit more bloody minded. Sometimes the best way to get through something is to barrel forwards."
She stretched her back and rolled her aching shoulders, before smiling at him. "Lead the way fearless leader."
Tails grinned back. He was really starting to like this girl.
He coughed twice, a hand going to his throbbing temple. He tried to stand but fell back as something wrapped around his neck refused to let him rise. Snarling, King Elias unclasped his cloak and staggered to his feet. He looked around the collapse and saw a pair of long yellow ears bouncing erratically on the other side of a slump of debris. He clambered over the rubble to find Bunny scrabbling to uncover a partially buried coyote.
Both the King and Rabbit sported minor cuts and bruises and Elias had lost one of his twin daggers to the tunnel collapse, but Antoine D'Coolette was clearly in pain. Although conscious, his legs and right arm were being crushed under tonnes of rubble.
Elias wasted no time in rushing to the coyote's aid. Bunny's robotic arm did most of the work, but her flesh and bone fingers were bleeding from countless cuts and grazes. Soon only Antoine's arm was left trapped, which Bunny went at digging out.
"Stop!" Shouted the King. She halted in her excavation and stared at the King, who in turn was staring at the ceiling.
"We can't stop now, he's almost out!" She cried desperation and tears in her eyes.
"But if we move this it could cause another cave in." Bunny looked up and saw vast cracks and hanks of debris hanging precariously above them. She glared back at the king.
"I won't leave him!" Elias looked her in the eye.
"I know, Bunny. But we can't risk another collapse, it could kill us all!"
"I don't care! I'm getting him out!" In a flash of movement her hand was gripped tightly. She looked down at the one who held her hand, all anger vanishing from her being.
"The King is correct ma chère." Antoine said gently. Tears running down her muzzle Bunny rested her forehead against his.
"I won't leave you, I can't." Elias stood back, watching these passing moments with a great ach in his chest.
"I know, I know." Cooed Antoine in a comforting tone. "And I wouldn't ask you to, but I can no longer feel my arm."
"There must be something we can do?" She pleaded, her voice cracking as salty tears flowed freely down her face and pattered to the dusty ground.
"There is." Elias stepped forward drawing his remaining long dagger. Fear instantly appeared in Bunny's eyes.
"No! I won't let-" Elias held up his hands.
"I would never suggest that!" He snapped defensively. "We remove his arm."
Fear was replaced with horror. "You can't be serious!"
"Think about it, Bunny! Time is against us!" He pointed his blade to the ceiling. "Another cave in could happen at any time, and we need to get Antoine out of here!"
"And what about Robotnik?" Bunny asked sneeringly.
"What's important is that we get Antoine to safety." He turned his head away in shame. "If I had followed protocol instead of my own selfish actions, we all would be safe in another bunker."
He turned back to his friends and knelt down beside them. "Robotnik can go hang for all I care."
"Your arm has a built-in blow touch hasn't it, Bunny?" The dust caked rabbit nodded, her mouth suddenly dry. "Good. When I'm done you'll sear the wound shut and quickly."
The King gently laid his free palm against the coyote's forehead. "I'm sorry my friend, but this will hurt."
"An understatement I think majesty." Antoine grinned though the pain. Elias smiled.
"On the count of three. Ready?" They both nodded and Elias laid the blade gently against his friends' trapped arm. He took a deep shuddering breath. "One…"
"Adrenalin levels risen by fifty-three percent, white blood cell increase by thirteen percent. Scans indicate three broken ribs, a broken femur and fibula, a cracked clavicle, several lacerations of varying degrees and some internal bleed. I recommend you seek out medical attention immediately."
Rotor grunted in pain as he dragged himself from underneath what used to be the backup generator room. He pulled himself up against the wall, wincing at all the cuts and bruises that covered his body. He spat out a stream of blood.
"Please tell me you've got communications back, Nicole." The walrus growled through gritted red teeth.
"I am sorry Rotor, but without an uplink to the emergency systems I am unable to send anything other than a short ranged distress call." Rotor groaned and clenched his eyes shut.
"Just do it Nicole." Despair dripped from his every word. He had failed.
"Affirmative, broadcasting on all frequencies now."
Rotor stared up at the blinking red light flashing above him and reflected on his life, all his triumphs, all his failures, all those wasted opportunities.
"You respiratory and heart rate have dropped!" Came Nicole's synthesized voice, bringing the walrus back from his thoughts.
"I know, Nicole." He replied softly. "I was always afraid of dying, but now?"
He stared at that single red bulb, flashing defiantly in the dark above him. He chuckled grimly.
"Typical isn't it? This fear I've had; fear of dying, fear of being alone, of not being useful, drove me to work as hard as I could at everything I did, except for living. And it's only as I lay here that I realise I've neglected the one thing no-one should. To live." He closed his eyes, listened to his heart beat and drifted into his memories.
"Argh! Son of a kacking canine!" Sakura yelled suddenly almost causing Tails to jump out of his skin.
"What's wrong!" He faced her quickly, his heart thudding hard and fast in his chest and a slightly fearful and worried expression on his face.
She was clutching something in one hand and massaging her ear with the other.
"I forgot I had this in and it decided to try and deafen me!" She held out her palm and Tails' eyes widened.
"A communicator!"
"Don't get too excited Fuzz, it's only short-range."
"But don't you see?" He snatched the small device from her hand.
"Hey, don't be so grabby!" She moaned.
"We've now got proof that someone's still alive down here!" The excited fox continued.
"Of course, that's why they sent an SOS call." Said the red vixen mockingly.
"Which means they need our help, come on!" Sakura grabbed his hand before he could bolt off.
"Hold on! How are we even going to find them? It's not like you can add your forwarding address to Morse code!"
"True, but by realigning the wave length inhibitor, splicing through the transceiver unit and rerouting the feedback matrix," His fingers moved at a blur as he tinkered with the tiny ear piece. He had produced a miniature screwdriver from the pouch hidden in the thick fur of his tails. "I can make this communicator into a locator!"
He held out the tampered device and turned slowly on the spot. Suddenly it began emitting a sharp continuous note.
"It's that way!" He cried triumphantly, pointing his miniature screwdriver. Sakura smirked.
"Hey Tails." He looked at her, still wearing a broad grin. She pulled her screwdriver from her boot. "Mines bigger than yours."
Grinning stupidly they both delved deeper into the underground complex, following the incessant bleeping from Tails' little improvised device.
The harsh realities of life are brought to you by Corrupt TE and his fragile mental state.
What of Rotor's fate you ask? Well I'm not telling. Yet anyway...
In other news I find myself with some free time on my hands, so next weeks update might be earlier than expected.
Anyway, Corrupt TE... I've no idea what I'm going to do now, so I'll just sit here and stare into space...
See ya!