A/N: I sincerely apologize that this chapter took so long, and unfortunately, the next one may take just as long if not longer due to schoolwork that needs doing. I will still be doing work, but I wouldn't expect it to be done anytime soon. Again, I'm sorry for the long wait, and the even longer wait to come.
Until then, please enjoy about thirty pages of Sonic 3 adaptation goodness(or crappiness depending on opinion).
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Death Egg Part 2.1
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Sonic and Tails watched in shock as the Death Egg, which had just been destroyed, fell to Mobius, only to be stopped by what appeared to be an enormous cloud. The fortress plummeted, casting it's shadow over the 'cloud', and at first, it appeared as though it would demolish whatever the floating mass was. However, as it got closer and closer, it seemed to shrink in comparison to the cloud, and eventually, it disappeared in the mists.
A few moments later, and a loud krak! echoed from the cloud. To their amazement and terror, an island dropped out of the cloud, plummeting into the ocean due to the force of the Death Egg. "What...Wh-What is that ? !" Tails cried out, eyes growing wide.
As they watched it's forced descent, they witnessed the destruction of mountains, of forests. Finally, after about ten minutes, the island crashed into the ocean, and a gigantic wall of water was thrown upwards, leaving the little red biplane mere seconds to dodge.
"Let's get outta here, Tails!" Sonic exclaimed, and Tails nodded, activating the rockets on the plane, and allowing them to make their escape. "Just what was that...?" He muttered. "Islands aren't supposed to float in the sky!"
"...We'd better go home, Sonic." Tails replied. "I think I read about something like this once, in one of my storybooks."
The blue hedgehog nodded. "Seems like a good enough place to start!"
Behind them, the wave had settled, but neither of them noticed that the island was still very much intact...
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"Six, seven..." A red echidna looked around the altar, having just woken up. He turned around, smiling up at a giant green gem, in the center of seven others. "And of course, the sacred Master..." He quickly bowed, before nonchalantly walking over to the steps, where he plopped himself down and lay back.
Yes, it was just another boring day for the echidna whom the island's inhabitants called 'Knuckles'. That is, if there were any inhabitants, save for the occasional Flicky. Ever since he was just a puggle, he had been guarding the Master Emerald, as well as the Chaos Emeralds. The large, body-sized gems were securely placed in their altars, and the Master Emerald towered over them all. He was at peace, knowing full well that today would be just another boring day, followed by a total bore the very next day as well.
Or at least, that's what he thought.
Suddenly, the Hidden Palace rumbled. Knuckles shrugged it off as merely a nearby geyser eruption, but after a minute or two, the rumbling grew louder and louder, and he felt himself vibrating on the floor. He knew something was wrong, and he pushed himself up, running into the Altar.
Looking up through the skylight formed in the mountain, he saw a quick zip of red, followed by an enormous ball-shaped object flying over the skylight.
The Emeralds all seemed to be shaking within themselves, as if the quaking around them was completely unrelated to their current vibrations. Before he could speak, a flash erupted from the Altar, and he felt himself fly backwards, tumbling out of the room and even through the wall, which had partially collapsed from the quake.
His world remained dark for a what he guessed was a few hours, for when he rose, the sun was nearly completely behind the horizon. He looked around for a few moments, paying little attention to the bleeding caused by the abrasion on his forehead; his red fur made it impossible to see anyways.
Suddenly, he remembered what had happened, and he quickly pushed himself to his feet, rushing into the Altar room. The sight that awaited him brought a sense of dread to his gut, as if he had just witnessed a murder.
The Emeralds were all gone, save for the Master Emerald, which had lost it's radiant green glow, and was reduced to a dull green shimmer. The other seven were gone, and he felt panic set in. He ran back out, looking left and right for the gems.
"No, no!" He growled. "Dammit, those things are bigger than I am, they couldn't have gone far enough to be out of sight!" He spent well into the morning searching for the missing gems, to no avail. He plopped onto the ground, exhausted and close to tears.
Suddenly, he remembered the large ball that had flown over the island. "I'll bet that thing is behind this!" He sprinted in the direction the ball had gone, running past the decimated sections of forest. He felt a pang of sorrow, not wanting to look at what might be filled with dead Flickies, and he continued forth.
He kept running, slowing at every sight, until he was stuck in a disheartened walk. Everything was destroyed; forests, ancient relics he'd played on when he was young, even entire mountains that had once stood tall and mighty over the rest of the island had crumbled, reduced to piles of rock.
Then, he finally saw it; an enormous ball-shaped monster of steel, cannons aimed directly at him. "The dragon's egg...from the legends..."
He heard branches snapping to his right, and he punched a nearby tree, causing it to fall in front of whatever had made the noise. He brushed away the vines, glaring at the rotund scientist on the ground, staring in shock at the tree.
"Who are you, and what are you here for?" Knuckles scowled. He had been over this island hundreds upon thousands upon millions of times, and never once had he seen this man. There was no doubt in his mind, this man was an intruder, and had something to do with the Chaos Emeralds vanishing.
The man pushed himself up, sweat beading on his forehead. "Why, I am but a humble scientist, come here to warn the guardian of the Chaos Emeralds of an incoming threat!"
"I'm listening." Knuckles lowered his fists.
"That giant ship over there is a device developed by an evil hedgehog, named Sonic. I knew that he planned to steal the sacred Chaos Emeralds, and being just a simple man, I knew I had to warn the guardian!"
Knuckles' jaw dropped. "The Chaos Emeralds were stolen ? !" He exclaimed. A few seconds later, his brow furrowed. "Where is he? I'll clobber 'im!"
"He has left for now, but he will undoubtedly be back to take what he left behind!"
"How dare he!" Knuckles growled, clenching his fists. He glanced at the man. "Thanks, you've been a big help!"
"No problem, Guardian." Robotnik nodded. "I'm going to be helping you from the sidelines, if you don't mind."
"Sidelines?"
He nodded. "Guardian, if you don't mind my asking, what kept this island afloat?"
"..." Knuckles seemed reluctant at first, but then waved for him to follow. They approached the altar, and Knuckles explained, "You're the first outsider to see this Hidden Palace, and thus the first person to ever see this;" he motioned to the large green gem in the center of the altar, "the Master Emerald." He glanced at the man. "But why were you asking?"
"Because, if this emerald is still here, why do you suppose this island has fallen?"
"I hadn't noticed." Knuckles' eyes widened. "I was knocked out after the emeralds were stolen."
Robotnik pointed to where the giant fortress lay. "Sonic sent this device as a means of crashing the island. If we can somehow lift it back into the air, then this island will ascend as well. If you don't mind, I'm going to have to modify the area around it in order to set up a Launch Base. I'm also going to take the liberty of creating a defense force to stall Sonic while we work to save the Floating Island."
"That's a good idea." Knuckles nodded. "I'll go wait in the forest for this 'Sonic'."
"You do that." Robotnik waved. "Good luck to you, Guardian!"
"Just call me Knuckles." Knuckles smirked. "And what's your name?"
Robotnik grinned. "My name is Doctor Ivo Robotnik."
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"Here it is!" Tails pointed into the book he'd brought Sonic, who currently sat in a folding chair on the beach outside their hut in the Mystic Ruins. "Right here, it says that long ago, there was once an island whose population was made prosperous by something called the Mighty Stone. But the gods became enraged when that power was abused, and thus threw the island into the sky, where it disappeared amongst the cosmos."
"And that island we saw a few days ago might be it..." Sonic nodded. "You might be right, Tails, and if you are, then the Death Egg crashing there isn't good. Knowing Eggman, he'll want to use the Mighty Stone to power his Death Egg."
"And that's not all." Tails explained. "I picked up a massive Chaos Emerald reading on the Jewel Reader, coming from the island."
"Chaos Emeralds ? !" Sonic exclaimed. He stood up, concentrated, and the seven gems from their previous adventure appeared before them. "But we have all seven here! How is that possible ? !"
"I don't know, but we should hurry to the island! If Eggman gets his hands on both the Mighty Stone and the Chaos Emeralds, then the Death Egg won't only be active..." Tails gulped. "It'll be an unstoppable doomsday device."
Sonic recalled the gems, and they hurried into the hangar, where the Tornado sat. Tails climbed into the cockpit and turned the key in the ignition. The rotors roared to life, and the rocket strapped to the bottom hummed as it began to spark. Sonic leapt up onto the wings, and in seconds, they were in the air, zooming along towards the crash site.
In about half an hour, the island appeared on the horizon, and Sonic looked back at Tails. "I'll go scope it out! You find a safe place to land the plane!"
Tails nodded, and Sonic leapt off the wings, curling up and summoning the emeralds as he skipped along the surface of the water like a stone. A flash of light surrounded him, and after a few seconds, he zipped past the Tornado, covered in a golden aura.
He felt the sand rush up behind his feet as he reached the shore, which immediately gave way to a forest, thick with vines and ivy. He barely had a second to glance around the forest, before pain shot through his head as a fist slammed itself into his face.
With a series of 'tack'ing sounds, the emeralds were forced from his body and clattered to the ground. He fell backwards, and rolled onto his feet. He looked up at his assailant, eyes going wide.
"Who are you ? !" He exclaimed.
Knuckles growled, glancing down at the emeralds. "The emeralds...What have you done to them?"
"What are you talking about?" Sonic glared, preparing for a fight. "What's the big idea of king-hitting me like that ? !"
Instead of replying, Knuckles scooped up one of the emeralds quickly. "This is definitely a Chaos Emerald...but why are they so small?" He glared at Sonic. "What did you do to the Chaos Emeralds ? !"
"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Sonic revved up a spindash, and charged towards him. Knuckles jumped away, grabbing up the other emeralds while Sonic prepared another attack. He sped towards the echidna, and as Knuckles jumped away again, Sonic jumped in the same direction, and the two clashed.
A flash of light erupted from the emeralds, and after a few moments, they shattered, falling to the ground. Both of them stared in shock, and Knuckles snarled. "I don't understand, what did you do ? !"
Sonic simply stared at the spot where the emeralds once were. As he was trying to answer the same question in his mind, Knuckles ran up and socked him in the face again, this time knocking him out cold.
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"-nic! Hey, Sonic!"
Sonic groaned as he sat up, rubbing his head. Tails stood in front of him, a concerned look on his face. "Tails? What happened? Where's that red guy?"
"Red guy?" Tails raised an eyebrow. "You were alone when I got here."
Sonic scowled. "...Say, Tails, while we had the emeralds, did you ever get a reading from them on the Jewel Reader?"
Tails placed a hand to his chin. "I...I don't think so. I built it to sense Chaos Emeralds in case we ever lost them again, so I figured you were always just too close to the device for it to sense them."
"I have a theory..." Sonic stood up, stretching. "What if those emeralds were more fakes Robotnik made? He's done it before; the first time I fought him I used fakes that had almost the same power as the fabled real ones."
"Fakes?" Tails raised an eyebrow. "I...I guess that could explain it."
"Then that means that that red guy attacked me because he thought I'd taken the real ones from this island...But there are two massive problems with this, both of which can be solved by one name."
"Whaddya mean?"
Sonic spun on his heel, facing towards the center of the island. "For one thing, how would he know we had emeralds, and what made him think we stole them? For another thing, what happened to the real ones?"
They stared at each other for a bit, before they both answered, simultaneously, "Eggman!" Immediately, they took off, further into the forest. In a nearby tree, they noticed a blue, metallic monkey-like robot, and it tossed down a barrage of coconuts at them.
"No doubt about it now!" Sonic called out as they dodged the projectiles. "Eggman's definitely behind this!"
He leapt into the air, curled up, and spun through the badnik, freeing the Flicky inside. He and Tails sped on ahead, coming to a cliff.
Ahead of them, they could see vines hanging from the treetops, and Sonic smirked. "You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" He took a running start, but just as he was about to jump to the vines, the cliff edge gave way, sending him tumbling down the cliff face. He instinctively curled up, bouncing as he hit the dirt. He uncurled, slightly dazed, and rubbed his head.
"Sonic, are you alright?" Tails called down to him, and Sonic nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just dizzy!" He looked around. "Hate to say it, Tails, but I don't see any way back up. You go on ahead, I'll catch up!" Tails hesitated for a moment, before taking a running start and jumping at the vines. "Be careful!" Sonic called after him as he swung further ahead.
He glanced around, noticing a wall nearby composed of rocks that looked loose enough to break. He remembered how Knuckles had come out of nowhere, and he wondered, could there be hidden passageways all over the island? "Maybe a way through here?" He revved up a spindash and plowed through the wall, stopping when he came into contact with yet another wall. He sighed and turned back to the entrance, only to came face-to-face with a giant ring, not unlike the ones from South Island.
"That's right, Tails said there were Chaos Emeralds here!" He recalled, and without a moment's hesitation, he leapt into the spinning ring.
As soon as his feet touched solid ground, he felt a sudden nauseousness, and he groaned. "Yep...Yep, just like South Island..." He looked around the orange-and-brown checkered land he was in, before his attention was drawn to a nearby blue sphere. He approached, and felt Chaos Energy radiating off of it. The orb vanished, and more appeared ahead.
Following his instincts, Sonic hurried along. Each time he collected a sphere, he felt the Chaos Energy grow stronger, until finally, a bright light overhead caught his attention. A small green gem floated down, and as soon as Sonic touched it, it vanished, and he was back in the alcove where he'd originally found the warp ring.
The green gem in his hand didn't glow like the Chaos Emeralds usually did, however, and he scowled, trying to sense the Chaos Energy he'd sensed in the special zone. It was gone.
"I better hang onto this, just in case." He finally decided, jumping back out of the alcove, and running forth. Eventually, he found a path leading upwards, and he followed it right up to an opening just big enough for him to crawl through. On the other side, he looked back, just in time to see Tails complete a loop-de-loop-shaped path, carved away by the elements.
"Sonic!" He called, relieved to see his friend alright. "You made it," he noticed the gem in his hand, "and you found a Chaos Emerald ? !"
The hedgehog smirked, tossing the gem into the air a few times. "No sweat, it was a cakewalk compared to those other special zones on Westside Island."
"You're telling me." Tails' cheek twitched. "I'm the one who had to run through five of them."
"And I greatly appreciate that, bud." Sonic ruffled his bangs. "Come on, I'm sure if we hurry, we can find Eggman and that red guy before long!"
They ran forth, into a small knothole in the tree ahead, only to realize that the hollow insides were bare; no stairs, no ladder, nothing.
"Grab on, Tails!" Sonic chuckled, grabbing Tails' arms. Immediately, he took off, running directly up the side, and back out through a higher knothole. He skidded to a stop as soon as they were out, and Tails let go of Sonic's arm, having been gripping it as if it was life or death(which it certainly could have been). "Oh. Sorry 'bout that one, Tails." He scratched his quills, embarrassed.
They barely took five steps, before a large, blue, orb-shaped robot dropped in front of them. The barrel on the front erupted in flames, and Sonic pulled Tails to the side as the grass became scorched where they once stood.
"You again!" Robotnik's voice reverberated from the robot. "You pest, I was hoping you'd keep your distance!"
"Aww, I'm sorry!" Sonic smirked. "I just can't help but be close to you, Eggman!"
"Oh? Then I'm sure you won't mind if I heat things up!" Three panels opened on the robot's back, and a barrage of missiles were launched into the air. In mere moments, the forest was set aflame, and Sonic and Tails were gone. The robot floated away, leaving the forest burning as the flames began to spread.
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"Oww..." Sonic groaned, pushing himself up and rubbing his head, shielding his eyes as light shone in from the hole in the ceiling of the cavern he'd woken up in. "Man, this is the third time I've found myself on the ground today..."
Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and Tails appeared behind him, holding another Chaos Emerald, this one dull as well. "Oh. You're awake. Hey Sonic."
He looked around. "Where are we?"
"I'm not sure..." Tails replied. "I managed to find a Ring Zone, though, and I got this emerald!"
They both examined it. "You don't think this is a fake, like the others were, do you?" Sonic asked, and Tails shook his head.
"I'm not sure. The scanner isn't reacting to it, but it did react to the entrance to the Ring Zone, so I'm guessing it's just lacking a sufficient amount of Chaos Energy..." He paused. "But...why...?"
"That's what we all wanna know..." Sonic scowled. "Come on, let's find a way out of here."
They searched around the cavern, and Sonic waved Tails over to the nearest wall. "I think I've found a way out, but it's still packed in pretty well...I'm gonna try to spin through it, so be ready to run out in case this place collapses!"
Tails took a deep breath as Sonic revved up a spin-dash, and as soon as he broke through, Tails jumped out. They looked back into the cave, waiting for it to fall apart, but nothing happened.
"Huh. Whaddya know." Sonic chuckled, sheepishly. "False alarm..."
They looked around. "Looks like we fell into a cavern." Tails noted, motioning to the tunnels before them. In front of them was a path, leading to what they both hoped was freedom, but when they looked to the left, they both stared in shock.
The caverns opened in a long strip, as if something had carved away a window of sorts. A valley sat below them, almost entirely engulfed in flames. "No way..." Sonic muttered. "Eggman's robot did this ? !"
Tails gulped. "We're lucky to have escaped with our lives..."
Sonic scowled. "Come on. Let's find Eggman and just get this over with." With that, they took off down the path.
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"What the hell, Robotnik ? !" Knuckles exclaimed, approaching the scientist at one of the exhaust pipes of the Death Egg.
He wiped a bit of soot from his temple, and glanced at the guardian. "What are you complaining about?"
"Don't give me that!" Knuckles growled. "That defense force of yours, the one you sent to stall Sonic! They're tearing up my island!" He explained. "I demand that you call them back!"
"Hmph!" Robotnik puffed. "You should be thanking me!"
"THANKING YOU ? !" The guardian's rage was reaching a breaking point. "ONE OF THEM SET MY ISLAND ON FIRE!"
"Ah, but it also stopped Sonic." Robotnik explained, holding up a small monitor. "I received a video feed; observe."
Knuckles stared at the screen, his glare softening when he saw Sonic and Tails disappear amidst the flames. "They're...they're dead?"
"It would seem so."
As Robotnik got back to work, Knuckles lowered his gaze to the floor. "...You didn't have to kill them."
"Pardon?"
Knuckles clenched his fists, guilt reaching his chest. "I said you...you could have just sent them away. You know, like...like a warning. If need be, you could've captured them and sent them away. You didn't have to kill them..."
"Yes, very unfortunate."
The echidna glanced up at him, before sighing. He walked, disheartened, back towards the altar, his shoes scraping the new purple-and-yellow marble of the launch base. He stopped in front of the mural, placing a hand on the space below the Master Emerald.
"It is my duty as Guardian of the Emeralds to defend them from all who dare defile them. But...is killing really the best way to do it?" He clenched his fingers, digging slightly into the mural. "As the last of my kind, it should be easy. Shouldn't I be desensitized enough?" He sighed. "Who am I kidding, talking to myself. 'S not like Argus can hear me..."
He shook his head a bit, clearing away his thoughts. "I'd...I'd better go looking for the Chaos Emeralds..."
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The bulbous robot fell apart, it's flamethrower crashing to the grass. Sonic let out a sigh, thankful that they had finally beaten it. "Come on, Tails!" He called for his friend to follow. "I think we're almost out of this part of the island."
"I hope so..." Tails groaned, wiping his brow. "It's too hot here..."
They took a few steps forward, before Sonic stopped. "...Do you hear something?"
A dull whirring filled the air, growing louder and louder. Sonic looked up, staring in shock at what hovered overhead; an enormous airship, it's cannons aimed at them.
"Tails, run..." Sonic breathed, still shocked. Finally he regained full control of his voice, and shouted, "Tails, we gotta run!" They wasted no time, sprinting forth as the landscape was ripped up behind them. They saw a cliff wall up ahead, and Sonic swore under his breath. "Hang on, Tails!"
Before his friend could react, he grabbed his wrist and curled into a ball, slicing right through the rock. They burrowed further and further, until they finally exited, water raining down on them in buckets. As they landed(rather ungracefully), they looked at where they had come from; the cliff face let out at a waterfall.
"That...was close.." Tails panted, pushing himself up and shaking himself dry.
Sonic looked left, then right, before sighing; they'd landed on a rock formation sticking out of the waterfall, it's edges rounded and smooth from erosion. "Well, looks like the end of the road, Tails. We're gonna have to find some other path to Eggman."
"Oh, you won't have to look far!" They turned around as a cackling voice approached, and a larger blue mech descended, dual flamethrowers aimed at them, with Robotnik in the cockpit. "This could have been so much easier! Why don't you just give up now ? !"
"Well, well, if it isn't tall, bald, and gruesome!" Sonic taunted. "It's over, Eggman! There's no way we're letting you repair that ship! We've already found two Chaos Emeralds, and as soon as we get the rest back, we're making sure that you leave Mobius for good!"
Robotnik smirked, aimed pressed a pair of buttons. Simultaneously, the flamethrowers came to life, fire spewing towards them. Sonic and Tails dodged to the sides, and while Robotnik was turning towards Tails, Sonic leapt up, spinning into the machine and causing it's flamethrowers to miss their target. The mech continued it's spin, and Sonic barely ducked in time to dodge the haphazard flames.
In it's moment of lack of control, the robot crashed against the rock, causing it to jolt and knock itself loose from it's perch in the waterfall. It remained precariously attached, however, and Sonic and Tails were left gripping the smooth surface for dear life, almost falling off due to the water now cascading down on them, making the surface even more slippery.
"Nowhere to run now, you miserable rat!" Robotnik declared, and aimed his weapons at Sonic. The blue blur could only grit his teeth, flinching as the flamethrowers let out a whoosh. But before the flames could reach him, Tails leapt up, pushing himself forward against the rock, and bounded into Robotnik's hovercraft, causing him to miss once more.
This time, Robotnik spiraled into the waterfall itself, and it was sent downward, the water stalling it's engines and causing it to drop like a stone. Tails quickly balanced his way over to Sonic, and helped him to his feet.
Sonic sighed, letting out the breath he'd been holding. "Thanks, Tails...You really saved me there..." He looked down, unable to see Robotnik. "Think Eggman learned his lesson?"
They both looked down, before looking at each other, and saying simultaneously, "...Naaahh."
"So, where do we go from here?" Tails asked, looking around. "It looks like we're stuck."
Sonic pushed himself to his feet, careful not to slip. "I hate to say it, but down might be our only option..." He looked back at the waterfall. "...Unless of course you're up for another spin?"
"Oh god please no."
"Thought not..." Sonic chuckled. "Welp, looks like it's down or nothing." He gulped. "Hey, Tails?"
"Yeah?"
"You know how to swim?"
Tails nodded. "A little. Why?" Sonic was silent, and Tails cocked his head to the side. "...You can't swim?"
"Of course I can!" Sonic replied, defensively. "...I mean, not...y'know...well. But I can swim!" He stared downwards at the mist below them. "...Kinda."
"Should we look for some other way?"
Sonic continued to stare, before taking a deep breath, and leaping over the edge, screaming as he disappeared into the thick mist.
It took Tails a few seconds to realize what had just happened, before he leapt over the side as well, muttering something along the lines of 'dummy'.
/-/-/-/-/-/
Tails eventually saw Sonic in the distance, and he placed his arms to his sides, allowing him to drop slightly faster, until he caught up with his friend. When he got close enough, his cheek twitched; Sonic was curled into a ball as he dropped, covering his eyes and muttering 'I'mgonnadieI'mgonnadieI'mgonnadie' repeatedly.
"Um, Sonic? Are you alright?" Tails asked, tapping his shoulder.
The older Mobian immediately turned to face him. "Oh hey Tails yeah I'm just fine I only made the BIGGEST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE OH GOD WHAT AM I DOING OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD."
"S-Sonic, just...just calm down..." Tails tried to get his attention, but he just curled back up, still mumbling to himself. Suddenly, Tails noticed that they were coming dangerously close to the water, and at they're current speed, they would hit the bottom for sure. Under normal circumstances, they probably wouldn't be hurt too bad.
Of course, under normal circumstances, they also wouldn't be in danger of being impaled on the bed of spikes directly below them.
Thinking as quick at he could, Tails grabbed Sonic's hand, and tried to flip him around and cause them both to steer out of the way, but this only succeeded in making Sonic panic further. Tails looked down, and saw that they were almost on top of the water, and once they passed the surface, they would be undoubtedly skewered.
He shut his eyes tight, and prayed for a miracle.
Sonic felt his fear reach a breaking point as his tail hit the water, and his scream caught in his throat, practically choking him. He trembled, absolutely terrified, before realizing that the only water he could feel was his sweat, and only a little bit on the tip of his tail. He opened one eye, slowly, and looked down.
To his surprise, they were hovering just above the water, and slowly moving towards a nearby ledge. He looked up, and his eyes widened at the sight; Tails had grabbed his wrist with both hands, eyes shut in determination, his two tails spinning furiously, like helicopter rotors. They landed, and Tails let out a breath, collapsing onto his front and panting heavily.
"T-Tails!" Sonic stammered, still shaken. "Tails, are you alright? Hey, come on, say something!" He lightly tapped Tails' cheek, trying to snap some sense into the young fox.
"S...Sonic..." Tails gasped, taking deep breaths. "We...We're alive?" He pushed himself up into a sitting position and looked around. "W-We're not dead ? ! But-" He looked at the water, a slight ripple breaking the surface as a few droplets dripped from above, the waterfall a few yards to their right. "But how ? !"
"Oh-hoh, man, you saved us, Tails!" Sonic cried in amazement, hugging his friend. "Dude, that was freaking amazing!"
"Wh-What'd I do?"
Sonic backed off, and extended a hand, helping him to his feet. "Your tails! You were spinning them like some kind of helicopter and we were flying! Oh, dude, that was sweet!"
"W-We were flying?" Tails asked in amazement. "I...I didn't even know I could do that..."
"Either way, it saved our lives!" Sonic cheered. "Come on, let's find Eggman and get rid of him for good!" Tails nodded, taking off after him.
For the next ten minutes or so, Sonic was overly-cheerful, his renewed zest for life more apparent than Tails had ever seen. Whenever he saw a Badnik, he simply spun through it, not bothering with anything else. At last, Sonic slowed his pace, and Tails sighed in relief; they'd been sprinting for almost that entire time.
"S-Sonic, can...can we...take a rest...?" Tails asked, panting.
The hedgehog nodded, scratching his quills as Tails took a seat against the wall. "Sorry 'bout that Tails. I got a bit ahead of myself." He took this opportunity to stretch a bit, before walking over to Tails. "Hey, listen, I'm gonna go look for more of those giant Rings, okay? You stay here and rest."
"Yeah...alright..." Tails nodded, face still a bit red from exertion.
Sonic jogged off down the hall, in the direction they'd come from. He rounded the corner, and was out of sight. The young fox rested his head back against the wall, closing his eyes. He let the sounds of the Hydro City enter his ears, calming down as the waves soothed his nerves.
Suddenly, he recognized something amidst the waves, a whirring sound. He opened his eyes and stood up, looking around curiously. Before he could consider what it was, the floor caved in beneath him, and he opened his mouth to call out for Sonic, only for his lungs to be filled with water. He paddled to the surface, coughing out the water he'd swallowed, before looking left and right for a way back.
The whirring had become louder, and when he realized this, his eyes went wide. The sound got louder and louder, and he spun around just as the surface of the water broke, a group of Choppers flying through the air towards him.
He spun his tails, trying to fly, but the water weighed him down, making it nigh impossible to lift into the air. One of the robots made contact with the water to his left, narrowly missing his hand. Tails flinched, before crying out in pain as a pair of metal teeth bit into one of his tails. He splashed about, the robot pulling him further under the water.
As soon as he was under, he felt a force sucking him through the water, and he flipped about haphazardly. He shot out a hand, and grabbed onto a stalactite. He grit his teeth as the robot's teeth were pulled along his tail, and the robot was yanked off by the current. He could feel his lungs straining for air.
His vision started going dark as he let go, spinning through the tunnel. Finally, he burst out of the pipe, shooting upwards and landing on solid ground, before coughing up the water he'd swallowed, taking deep breaths.
Exhaustion finally got to him, and he collapsed, his world going dark.
/-/-/-/-/-/
"Hey, Tails, I'm back!" Sonic called as the rounded the corner. "And I come bearing-...Tails?" He looked around, holding two Chaos Emeralds in front of him. "Tails, you here?" He looked down into the hole in front of him. "Oh no, don't tell me he fell in..." He gulped, the water below reflecting his nervousness. "Okay, okay...No problem, he can swim..."
That's when he noticed that the water seemed slightly murky in one spot, and upon looking closer, he noticed that it was also red. He stared for a moment, before absorbing the Emeralds and jumping in, disregarding his own fears.
He looked around under the water, looking for any signs of his companion, and spotted a trail of blood drifting through the tunnel before him. He took a step, and immediately, a pair of fans lowered behind him, and he felt himself spinning out of control. He soon found himself flung upwards into the muggy air of the Hydro City, and onto a bridge.
"Talk about a ride-Tails!" He hurried over to his friend, and immediately checked for sighs of breathing; his chest was moving up and down, and he could feel air coming from his mouth. He sighed in relief.
He attempted to wake Tails by gently shaking his shoulder, and after a few seconds, he came to, groaning. "S-Sonic...?"
"Thank goodness..." Sonic sighed. "Tails, are you okay? What happened?"
Almost immediately, Tails latched onto him, shaking. "Th-The ground caved in and I fell into the water!" He sobbed, clearly frightened. "Then a bunch of those piranha robots attacked me! I thought I was going to drown!"
Sonic patted his shoulder, angry not only at Robotnik, but also himself. "Sorry..." He muttered. "I shouldn't have left you alone." He stood up, and extended his hand. "Are you okay? Can you walk?"
Tails nodded, wiping his eyes and taking Sonic's hand. "Yeah. They just got one of my tails."
"Is it still bleeding?"
He looked down at the floor where he'd been the moment before, before shaking his head. "No, I think it stopped before I landed."
"That's good..." Sonic grinned, before waving for Tails to follow. "I found two more Chaos Emeralds, by the way. Just three more!"
"Alright!" Tails cheered, hurrying after him. Although they were both smiles on the outside, they both scowled when they knew the other wasn't looking. "I was powerless...If that tunnel hadn't sucked me in, I'd be dead..." Tails thought.
"Damn..." Sonic swore in his mind, gritting his teeth. "Eggman's not going to get way with this! I'm going to make him pay for what he's done...For all of this..." He briefly glanced back at Tails. "...The little guy needs me, he's my responsibility. He almost died this time because I left him alone. What'll happen the next time he gets into trouble and I'm not there?" He clenched his fists, and subconsciously sped up.
At the same time, they both thought, "...I have to get stronger..."
/-/-/-/-/-/
Knuckles grunted, punching through one of the walls of the Hydro City. He had managed to find two Chaos Emeralds, but still was disheartened, unable to sense much power within the gems at all.
"It's almost as if they're...dying..." He sighed. He looked to his left, over the ledge, and did a double-take when he spotted Sonic and Tails. "They're ALIVE ? !" He muttered, before running to the edge.
"Hey, you're the blighter who mugged me earlier!" Sonic pointed, scowling. "What the hell, man!"
Knuckles ignored his accusation, eyes going wide when he sensed four more weak Chaos energies coming from them. Then, he grimaced right back. "Still after 'em, are ya?" He leapt down, raising his fists. "Give me back the Chaos Emeralds! They don't belong to you!"
"Oh? Like you're they're rightful owner!" Sonic sneered.
"No." Knuckles shook his head. "I'm no 'owner' of anything. Those Chaos Emeralds belong to none other than the Floating Island itself! And I am their guardian! You've stolen from this island, and my duty is to make sure that they are returned safely! Then, I want you both to get your giant egg off'a my island and leave!"
They were about to start throwing punches, but Tails quickly stepped between them. "U-Um, you guys, can't we, y'know, talk about this?"
"There's nothing to talk about." Knuckles growled, intimidating the youngest the the three. "I don't take too kindly to thieves."
"Funny." Sonic smirked, bending his knees and raising his fists as well. "I was about to say the same about punks who attack without warning!"
That did it. Sparks immediately started flying as the two clashed, forcing Tails to take cover to the side. Sonic had curled up, jumping into Knuckles, who reached up, catching him and throwing him into the air. He leapt up after him, spiking him downwards like a volleyball.
Sonic uncurled at the last moment, landing on his feet, and blocking Knuckles' kick, pushing off so that Knuckles landed in front of him. He aimed a punch for Knuckles' face, but the older Mobian countered, successfully punching Sonic in the gut.
Only now was Sonic painfully aware of the spikes on his fists, and he double over, the spikes digging into his stomach. Knuckles retracted his fist, a few specks of blood on the tips. This was his first mistake, and although Sonic was winded, he was still kicking, and immediately grabbed Knuckles' wrists, throwing him into the wall.
Knuckles landed with his hands against the wall, and he pushed off to the side just as Sonic punched where his head was. While Sonic recoiled from the impact, holding his hand in pain, Knuckles kicked him from behind, sending him forward. He rolled back onto his feet and spun around, but Knuckles was already on him, punching him in the chin. Sonic tried to push back down, trying not to pay attention to the pain in his jaw, but eventually, Knuckles won the struggle, uppercutting him and sending him onto his back, knocking the four emeralds right out of him.
The gems clattered across the floor, and Knuckles trampled over Sonic, desperately reaching for them. Sonic, although winded, reached out as well, grabbing his ankles and tripping him. He vaulted backwards over Knuckles, turning to get to the Emeralds, only to watch in shock as they rolled over the ledge they stood before, into the water below.
Tails and Knuckles ran over as well, looking down in disbelief. Knuckles was the first to recover, and he pushed Sonic backwards by the nose, giving himself a head-start after the jewels. Sonic was left dumbfounded, rubbing his nose, as Tails leapt in after Knuckles, diving down and grabbing his legs to prevent him from getting to them first.
Sonic dove in at last, sinking like a rock and grabbing three of the emeralds. He reached for the fourth, but Knuckles snatched it up first, having escaped Tails' grasp. Sonic growled, absorbing the Emeralds, and aiming a punch.
He hadn't accounted for water resistance, and Knuckles easily dodged, throwing his own punch, which moved slightly faster thanks to the cones on his fists. Sonic barely dodged, causing Knuckles to punch the floor instead. The Hydro City began to shake, and a jet of pressurized air burst upwards, taking the three of them skywards. As they tumbled through the mist and air, Tails managed to right himself, and grabbed Sonic's wrist, spinning his namesakes as fast as he could, to no avail.
He looked left and right, looking for Knuckles, but only managed to catch a glimpse of a red dot gliding away from them. He grit his teeth, slowing them down ever so slightly, but they were still approaching solid ground fast, far too fast for any normal person to survive unscathed.
However, luck was with them, and before they hit the flattened area of the Marble Garden, they passed over the edge, coming down somewhat softly on the hill below. The sudden shift of terrain was too much for Tails to handle, and he spiraled out of control, rolling down the hill alongside Sonic, who had let out little more than a series of grunts; Tails couldn't have known that they had come closer to the ground than he'd thought, and that Sonic's heels had scraped the dirt more than just once.
They finally reached the bottom of the hill, slowly rolling to a stop. After a few minutes, Sonic groaned, pushing himself painfully to his feet, his head swimming with dizziness. "Tails...Hey, Tails, you alright?"
His companion was silent for a moment, and Sonic assumed the worst, before his friend pushed himself up, arms shaking. "Y-Yeah...I...I'm okay..."
Sonic sighed in relief, and helped his friend up. "Come on, let's get moving-" As soon as his feet were firmly on the ground, Tails cried out in pain, collapsing and holding his leg. "Tails? Hey, come on, Tails, what's wrong? What is it?"
"M-My leg..." He moaned, tears appearing in the corners of his eyes. "I...It feels like it's on fire!" Sonic immediately had Tails lay on his back, and he elevated his foot with his knee.
"Where does it hurt?"
"I-I don't know!"
Sonic tapped Tails' thigh, then his knee. Tails still showed no sign of extreme discomfort, and remained quiet until Sonic got to his ankle, after which, he grunted in pain. Sonic removed his shoe and sock, carefully, and took a good look at Tails' ankle; it was swollen and his foot seemed to be twisted slightly.
"Oh, man..." He gulped. "Tails, can you move this foot?" It took a moment, but at last, Tails' foot wiggled, causing the young fox to grunt in discomfort again. "Phew..." Sonic wiped his brow. "Luckily it's not broken. You probably just twisted it." He explained. "Worst case scenario is that it's sprained."
Tails sighed, before pulling himself against a wall. "S-Sonic, you go on ahead."
"Huh?"
"Let's be honest, here. I can't walk, and I'm not good enough at flying to follow you that way. You should just leave me here and stop Robotnik. I'll be fine, I'll catch up." Sonic stared at him remorsefully for a moment or two, before shaking his head, about to speak before Tails continued. "Sonic, right now, you're the only one of us two who can move. If I tag along like this, the most I'll do is get in the way. Just go on ahead. What's important right now is that someone defeats Robotnik."
Sonic looked at Tails, then down the path, then back at Tails. After a few moments, he turned around, and Tails thought he was leaving, before he knelt down next to him. "Climb on my back, I'll carry you."
Tails shook his head. "But what if a Badnik-?"
"I'm not leaving you here." Sonic replied. "If we see any Badniks, we'll just run. If you don't get on my back, I'm not going anywhere."
"Sonic..." Tails felt tears in his eyes, and choked back a sob as he crawled over, wrapping his arms around Sonic's neck; to his surprise, Sonic's quills weren't sharp at the moment, instead folded inwards. Sonic reached back and held Tails' legs with his arms, before hurrying onwards, taking it slow to make sure Tails' ankle didn't bother him too much.
To their much-appreciated surprise, there was hardly a Badnik in sight, with the exception of a few Bubbles overhead, which barely noticed them. Unfortunately, their luck couldn't last forever, and a few Bubbles caught sight of them, making a beeline towards them.
At first, Sonic wasn't worried. They were just floating balls with eyes, after all. He ducked under the one that had spotted them, only to stumble as something sharp scraped his scalp, sharp enough to draw a little bit of blood. He looked back, staring in shock; the Bubble had grown a set of spikes, jutting out like a puffer fish.
He gulped, speeding up slightly, only to run into another group of them, each one glaring at him, hell-bent on skewering the both of them.
Sonic weaved through them, careful not to bump Tails' foot, and hurried forward, leaping over a few chasms. He didn't look to see what was below, and at the moment, he was fairly certain that there were nothing but spike traps.
"How you holding up, Tails?" He asked, and the fox nodded, gripping his neck tightly as they crossed another gap. He scowled, sweat beading on his forehead. He didn't know where the exit was, but he hoped it was soon.
Suddenly, the ground rumbled and shook, and from below came a robot with two drills attached to it's 'arms'. It swerved through the air, and Sonic barely had enough time to leap away to dodge as it burrowed into the ground where they'd been standing. It came back up, and Sonic spun on his heel, sprinting away.
The drill constantly ducked in and out of the ground, like a dolphin of sorts, and Sonic could feel the chunks of dirt hitting his ankles. They noticed a wall ahead of them, and Sonic silently cursed, not seeing a way out.
"Sonic! Up there!" Tails exclaimed, and Sonic looked upwards; there was a hole in the ceiling of the ruins, and Sonic increased his speed.
"Hang on tight, Tails!" They approached the wall, and as soon as they'd made it to the apparent roadblock, Sonic continued to run, pushing upwards and his momentum carrying them both further up, towards the opening.
Sadly, as Sonic jumped to grab the ledge, he was just short of grabbing it, and they began to fall towards the whirring drills. It seemed to leap up at them, it's rockets propelling it forth. Sonic shut his eyes, but to his surprise, they began to lift back into the air.
He looked up to see Tails, his appendages whirling once more, giving him enough of a boost to grab the edge, pulling them both up, and dodging an undoubtedly gruesome fate. He sighed in relief, only to falter as the sound of marble shattering echoed behind them. The drill was still after them, but it had made a fatal error; it had done too much damage to the ruins, and they began to collapse around them. Sonic ran away as fast as he could, the ground falling behind him, but even he couldn't outrun the collapsing dirt, and he and Tails both fell into a mess of falling soil, rock, and marble.
The ruins fell silent as everything settled, leaving a pile of rubble where they had once stood tall. A few seconds later, however, and a pattering sound filled the air as Tails and Sonic surveyed the destruction, the younger Mobian's namesakes spinning furiously, keeping them aloft.
"That...was close..." Tails gulped. "Where'd that Badnik go?"
They looked about, unable to spot the robotic menace. "Guess it got buried." Sonic sighed in relief. "Good riddance, too." He looked up at Tails, grinning. "Way to go, Tails! You saved us again!"
"Yeah, well...I think this might be the last time...for now at least..." He panted, tails beginning to slow down. They began to lower, and Tails steered them away from the ruins as the sun began to set.
They touched down against a concrete surface, and Sonic rubbed his eyes, trying to get used to the darkness; his eyesight wasn't that great to begin with(1). "Where are we?"
"I'm not sure..." Tails looked around, barely able to make out anything as well. "I hear water, though...Maybe we're near the ocean?"
Suddenly, the lights flashed on, momentarily blinding them, and loud, obnoxious, carnival-esque music filled their ears. Before them stood what appeared to be some sort of amusement park, and Tails' eyes lit up like a child's on Christmas.
"Wow...It's so bright!" He stared. "What's a place like this doing on an island? Everything else has been either ruins or forest."
"I'm guessing this is more of Eggman's handiwork." Sonic looked around, quickly observing everything around them. "...I don't like this place, even if Robotnik didn't make it..."
"Huh?" Tails cocked his head to the side. "Why? This place looks like fun!"
"I don't know, just..." Sonic's lower eyelids seemed to twitch. "...It looks too freakin' off for this place, and those barrels give me the creeps..."
Tails glanced at the barrels in question; spinning, floating, and checkered red and white. "...Are you serious?"
"Don't. Mock. The barrels." Sonic noted, morbidly, before walking ahead. "How's your ankle? Can you walk?"
Tails got off of his back, and winced slightly as his foot touched the ground. He took a few steps, limping, but overall walking fine. "Yeah, I'm good."
"Alright, then, let's get moving."
They went on ahead, and as they passed one of the barrels, Tails took a second glance at it, noticing a sign on it as it spun; "WARNING! Prolonged exposure to barrel may cause death!". Next to it was a logo of Robotnik's face. He stared for a moment, before continuing after Sonic. "Eggman's sure got a strange sense of humor..."
A few minutes passed, and Sonic stopped, brow furrowing. "Hold on...something just isn't right..."
"What's that?"
"Think about it for a second. We haven't seen any Badniks since we got here, and it seemed like there was a limited amount back in that marble place." He explained. "If we were getting closer to Eggman's stronghold, you'd think that there'd be even more, but...there seem to be less..."
"You're right..." Tails looked around as well. "You think he got cocky and just sent all his troops to those first two places?"
"No..." Sonic shook his head. "I know Eggman. He's cocky, but he's no fool. He always takes precautions. So...why is this place so empty...?"
They were silent for a moment, before Tails' ears perked up. "...Hey, do you hear something?"
"Actually, yeah. Sounds kinda like..."
They turned around, and their eyes went wide as a wall of water rushed upon them, roaring like a dragon as it got ever closer.
Immediately, Sonic grabbed Tails' wrist, and made a mad dash away from the torrent. "OH JEEZ OH CRAP OH MAN OH NO."
The water rushed forth, and in seconds, they would be overwhelmed by it. Sonic couldn't speed up any more, and he felt his ankles being sprayed. He saw a hill up ahead, and he ran as fast as he could, but just before they reached the incline, they fell, bouncing off of the wall of the ravine they'd fallen into, and dropping down, the water following.
Then, there was a flash, and Sonic felt the world spin as he hit a bumper, sending them both flying into another, then another, before finally stopping and landing in a heap. "...Ow..." He groaned, pushing himself up. "Where...?"
They looked around, and Tails sighed in relief. "I...have never been happier...to see a Special Zone."
/-/-/-/-/-/
Knuckles looked at the three emeralds before him on the ground, sitting in a cross-legged position, trying to make sense of the situation. "Why...Why did the Chaos Emeralds that Sonic guy had shatter? And why are these emeralds so small? This isn't making any sense..."
He stood up, and hid the gems inside of his gloves, exiting the forest, and walking along the Launch Base. "Hey, Robotnik!" He called up, and the scientist looked out from on of the broken windows of the Death Egg. "How much longer till you've gotten this thing off my island?"
"Not much longer, Guardian!" Robotnik scowled. "It'll be ready by noontime tomorrow!"
Knuckles grimaced. "Noon? Can't you get it done faster?"
"It'll be ready when it's ready!" Robotnik shouted, before turning away and getting back to work. "Ungrateful little possum..."
/-/-/-/-/-/
Amy huffed, looking around the recently-abandoned workshop. "Sonic said he was going to the Mystic Ruins on Westside Island, but each time I ask someone, they just direct me here!" She took another look around the place, and noticed a book on the coffee table, open to a page showing what appeared to be an island in the sky. "What's this? A storybook?"
She began to read. "Many millennia ago, there existed a clan of echidna warriors, known as the Knuckles Clan..."
They were a fierce, violent clan, and each one was trained in specialized martial arts. They were feared all across the lands, and were only ever rivaled by the Nocturnus, who were just as fearsome due to their advanced technology rather than their power.
The Knuckles Clan and the Nocturnus Clan despised one another, however they never waged war, fearing that it would only end in disaster for both parties. As time went on, though, the breaking point drew nearer, until the Knuckles Clan discovered a Nocturnus spy amongst them; a strange creature, skin as hard as rock, yet as smooth as silk. It could copy any of their movements, but was overpowered by the sheer number of the Knuckles Warriors. It escaped into the forests, never to be seen again by either side.
The leader of the Knuckles Clan, Pachacamac, ordered that his warriors seize the Mighty Stone, the source of their prosperity. Before his warriors could use it's power, however, a dragon rose from the Stone. It is unknown what happened to the Knuckles Clan, but the next morning, the landmass which one housed them was gone, completely missing from the shoreline. The Nocturnus was now the most powerful in the world, but shortly after the disappearance of the Knuckles Clan, they vanished as well.
Many people believe that the two landmasses were flung into the cosmos, never to be seen again. Others believe that it was the work of a god, who was upset at them both for constantly fighting. The truth may never be known.
Amy shut the book. "The 'Mighty Stone'? I wonder what that is..." She took one last look around the place. "Could Sonic have gone off to find this 'Mighty Stone'? If he did, then...why?" She stepped out, and walked along the shoreline, kicking the sand every few seconds. "I haven't seen him in four years...He wouldn't avoid me, would he?"
Suddenly, she stopped, noticing something, or rather, someone, ahead. It was a small rabbit in an orange dress, but what caught Amy's surprise was the little blue creature flying around her head, making odd squealing noises and waving it's arms about as if trying to say something.
"I don't understand, Cheese." She sighed. "What's so important about that island?"
"Cheese?" Amy asked, and Cream spun around, almost dropping her binoculars.
The rabbit pushed herself up. "Yes, his name is Cheese." She nodded, smiling. "He's my friend. After that island landed, he began shouting at it, like he wanted to go there."
"...What is he?" Amy raised an eyebrow.
"Chao!" It squealed, and continued to repeat the sound.
"I'm not sure, but judging from what he keeps saying, I'm guessing he's a 'Chao'." Cream suddenly curtsied. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Cream! What's your name, miss?"
"I'm Amy Rose." She smiled, slightly uncomfortable from her blunt politeness. "It's very nice to meet you Cream." Suddenly, Cream's words seemed to reach her ears, and she stopped. "...Wait, did you just say the island 'landed'?"
"Yes. It fell from the sky."
"For real ? !" Amy exclaimed. She stared out over the water at the landmass, eyes growing wide. "Just like in the story...!"
/-/-/-/-/-/
Sonic and Tails let out gasps for air as they surfaced, having had to swim back to the surface upon reentering the normal world. They quickly scrambled to the edge of the road, shook themselves dry, and hurried ahead.
"H-Hey, Tails?" Sonic asked, rubbing his arms. "D-Did it suddenly get colder?"
"A little, yeah..." The kit nodded, surveying their surroundings. "It looks like this place was closer to the mountains than we thought."
"Ah, jeez..." Sonic's cheek twitched. "And here we are, soaked, and without our jackets..." They turned a few corners, and as Tails predicted, they were at the base of a large mountain, the Ice Caps on the top glistening in the moonlight. Before them stood a ski-lift, no doubt only recently built.
Tails checked it over. "Do you think it's safe?"
"Eggman built it." Sonic smirked. "What do you think?"
He climbed on, and Tails raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you just say it wasn't safe?"
"I did, but it looks like the fastest way up. I sure don't feel like climbing this thing..." Tails climbed up next to him, and after a few moments, the lift began to move, the sun rising on the horizon.
"Hey, Sonic?" Tails spoke up when they were about halfway up the mountain. "How much of a chance do you think we have of winning?"
Sonic just shrugged. "Who knows? If it's anything like last time, we're probably aces, but there's still the fact that he hasn't sent any Badniks after us in a while. I'm guessing he's got the welcoming committee waiting for us at his Launch Base."
"How many do you think there are?"
They sat silent for a bit, before Sonic sighed. "Y'know, Tails...I really don't know..."
Finally, they neared the top, and Sonic looked down over the side. "Wow...You can practically see the whole island from up here!"
Tails looked over as well, and realized that Sonic was right; he could see the shoreline to the west, and to the east, he could see another forest, this one full of giant mushrooms. Beyond that sat a desert, and even further, a small volcano.
Suddenly, the lift shook, and Sonic looked up to see that the rope had become frayed at this elevation, probably one of Eggman's traps. "Tails, fly!" He shouted, and the fox spun his namesakes, lifting into the air. He swerved around, reaching for Sonic's wrist, but the lift fell too fast, and both it and the hedgehog plummeted.
Sonic cursed under his breath, and kicked off the back of the lift, spinning the seat around, and holding onto it as he neared the sloping hills of snow. It crashed into the ground, but remained for the most part intact, and Sonic struggled to keep his balance as it slid downhill.
Before he could gather his wits, he felt the ground disappear from under him, and slammed face-first into the wall of ice ahead. His makeshift snowboard fell into the crevice below, but he had managed to grab a foothold, gripping it as tight as he could. He looked down, gulping at the darkness that glared back. "That...was close..."
"Sonic!" Tails called, hovering over. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine..." Sonic nodded. "Uh...think you could give me a hand?" Tails quickly grabbed his hands, and lowered him to the edge of the crevice. "Oh, man, that was close...Hey, do you hear rumbling-" Before he could finish his sentence, a wall of snow collapsed on them, forcing them down into the crevice. About ten minutes passed, before a hand shot out of the snow, and Sonic dragged them both out. "You okay, Tails?"
"Y-Yeah..." He nodded, shivering. "L-Let's hurry up and get out of here, it's f-f-freezing..."
Sonic looked up to where they'd fallen from. "Looks like the there's no way up. We might have to dig through."
"Th-Through a m-m-mountain ? !"
"Hey, it's worth a shot." Sonic smirked, and revved up a spin-dash, aiming at the wall. Tails didn't expect him to burrow far, but to his surprise, it gave way easily, revealing a secret pass. "Huh...Wouldja look at that."
"This must be one of that red guy's secret passageways!"
"I guess so..." Sonic hurried along, waving for Tails to follow. Just as the other areas, it was empty of Badniks, and Sonic felt his spines stick out; there were a lot of them further ahead, he could feel it. Before long, they'd escaped their frozen prison, and had stepped back out into fresh air. Unfortunately, they could only breath in relief for a few moments, before the smell of gasoline and oil filled their nostrils, making them gag.
Before them stood the Launch Base, the Death Egg at it's center. But the doomsday weapon wasn't what caused them to stare in shock. Rather, it was the horde of Badniks ahead, successfully blocking any and all passage to the fortress.
"Ohh, god..." Sonic gulped, cheek twitching nervously. "This...doesn't look good..."
Tails stared, his brow furrowed, before shaking his head. "Sonic, you go on ahead, I'll keep them busy!"
The older Mobian looked at him in shock. "T-Tails, what're you-?"
"They're going to go after us because we have four of the Emeralds. I don't think they know which one of us has them, though, so that means they'll have to split up to chase us." Tails explained. "I'll stall some of them, while you use your speed to dodge the rest and find Eggman!"
Sonic stared, before shaking his head. "No, no way, Tails! I can't just leave you alone like that!"
"You have to!" Tails shouted, and they glared at each other for a moment. "You're the only one who can stop Eggman now, Sonic. The most I'll do is get in the way if I tag along."
"Tails, I'm not leaving you here, and that is final." Sonic declared, grabbing his shoulder firmly. "I'll just be that much more distracted if you stay behind, not knowing if you're okay. I won't know if you're alive, or...or dead, or captured, or worse, and that's just going to get in my way even more!"
To his shock, the kit pushed him away, harder than Sonic had expected him to be able to. "Just go! I...I need to get stronger...I need to get stronger, and this is the only way!"
"Stronger? Tails, what're you-?" Sonic paused, remembering what had happened in the Hydro City. "...You mean...ever since then, you...?"
"I...I want to be able to defend myself...I can't just keep holding you up because I get hurt or get into trouble. You have too much to worry about, and I don't just want to be another thing on your list of things to keep an eye out for."
Sonic understood what Tails meant completely, but even so, he didn't want to leave him alone. "Are you sure, Tails? There are a lot of them."
He nodded. "All the more reason for one of us to stall them."
"...Alright..." Sonic sighed. "I still don't like the idea, but it looks like it's our only option." He grinned, confidently. "Good luck, Tails!"
"You too!" Tails smiled back. Immediately, he ran forward towards the Badniks, stopping right in front of the horde. They started towards him, and he crouched. From behind, Sonic sprinted up, and placed his hand on Tails' back. The fox bucked him skywards, over the main body of the horde, where he curled up in mid-air and spun a path straight through, clearing a way directly to Robotnik.
The Badniks charged at Tails, and in a flash, he contracted the muscles in his tails, spinning like a top and cutting through any robot that dared come near. But his luck couldn't last forever, and in seconds, the Badniks began to overwhelm him.
Sonic struggled not to look back, knowing that if he did, he'd never make it to Robotnik. More Badniks lay ahead, but more sparse than previously. He spun through each one, and dead ahead, he could see it; the Death Egg's construction site.
"Not one step further, hedgehog!" He skidded to a stop as Robotnik appeared from the entrance of the ship. "It's time for you to face the facts; I've outdone you this time! You're alone, and facing my ultimate weapon!"
"Blah, blah, blah." Sonic crossed his arms. "Keeps flappin' your lips, you big windbag! I'm not gonna give up now!"
"Funny..." Knuckles stepped out from behind a nearby support beam. "I could say the same thing to you!"
"I shoulda known you're in league with him!" Sonic scowled. "Get out of my way, red. I have no more beef with you! All I wanna do is-"
"You can't fool me with your lies, thief!" Knuckles interrupted, raising his fists. "Now, I want answers! What did you do to the Chaos Emeralds, and what were those emeralds you had when you came here ? !"
Sonic growled. "I didn't do anything to the Emeralds! The ones I came here with must have been fakes!"
"I don't believe you! A fake Chaos Emerald? No civilization has the technology needed to even come close to replicating their power!"
"It's true! You can even ask your lard-ass friend!" He jerked a thumb at Robotnik.
"ENOUGH!" Knuckles snarled, charging. "I've had enough of you!"
Sonic leapt back, barely dodging the punch. He rolled onto his feet, leaning to the right as Knuckles punched again. He grabbed Knuckles' wrist, throwing him into the support beam he'd hidden behind. Knuckles spun through the air, landing on the beam, and jumping off again, this time aiming downward.
This time, however, he deliberately missed, burrowing deep underground. Sonic looked around, trying to figure out where he'd come from, only for Knuckles to burst out of a nearby wall, spinning into him. Sonic fell backwards, the four Emeralds he'd had falling from him.
"N-NO!" He reached for them, but Knuckles was quicker on the draw, and snatched them up before Sonic could even get to his feet. "Damn!"
"Get off of my island, you villain!" Knuckles scowled, turning away. "I never want to see your face or that of your fox friend here ever again!"
"Good, Knuckles!" Robotnik laughed. "Now, quickly, take the Emeralds back to the Sanctuary! I'll have this up in the air in no time!"
Knuckles nodded, and walked off. Sonic climbed to his feet, before turning on Robotnik, glaring. "Good riddance! I don't need the Chaos Emeralds to beat you!"
"Oh? Persistent, aren't you? Well then, prepare yourself!" Robotnik stepped down to Sonic's level, and out of the ground popped a large cylindrical cockpit. A group of spheres surrounded it, spiked and sparking with electricity. "This will be your grave!"
/-/-/-/-/-/
Tails panted, exhausted. "They...They're done..." Indeed, around him lay the remains of the Badnik horde, reduced to scrap. "I...I hope Sonic is okay..."
"Your hope is misplaced."
He turned around, and there stood Knuckles. "Y-You!"
"Get off my island. I've already beaten your friend." Knuckles scowled, holding out the Emeralds. "I'm taking these back to where they belong. If your friend knows what's good for him, he'll already have left."
"Y-You...!" Tails huffed, glaring. "You're wrong!" He shouted. "Sonic won't die! He's beaten Robotnik before, he can do it again!"
"Sorry, kid, but Robotnik is ten times the man Sonic is. He doesn't stand a chance."
As Knuckles walked away, Tails stood up, panting in anger, before letting out a scream of fury and charging. Knuckles turned around to try and dodge, only for Tails' head to meet his chest, winding him. He dropped the Emeralds, which had begun to glow a sickly dark gray.
"Wh-what the-?"
Knuckles could only stare as the Emeralds began circling the fox, sinking into his body. For the first time in his life, Knuckles felt unadulterated terror as seven more appendages grew from Tails' back; seven more tails.
The fox's fur glowed yellow, and his irises vanished, leaving the sclera a glowing white. In seconds, Knuckles was on his knees, shaking. "Wh-What the...He...didn't even touch me and...I'm weakened..." His breaths became labored. "What...What the hell is this...? !"
Tails vanished.
/-/-/-/-/-/
Sonic covered his eyes as Robotnik's machine exploded for apparently no reason; he'd barely landed a single hit, and it just detonated. He looked back at it, eyes growing wide. There stood Tails, glowing, nine tails sprouting from his back. "T-Tails? What...?"
"Silence."
That one word, and Sonic felt his legs collapse. The bloodlust he sensed behind Tails' voice was overwhelming. "T-Tails, just...just calm down! Wh-What's wrong-?"
"With me?" Tails finished. "Absolutely nothing, Sonic. I feel better than I ever have before." He seemed to glare at him, and Sonic shivered. "Thanks to the Chaos Emeralds, I finally have what I've always craved; power."
"Power? Tails, what're you talking about? What power?"
"The power to protect myself, and destroy those who don't appreciate me." Tails explained, calmly. "Of course...you could never understand. You've always been well-liked, haven't you? Ever since I was a newborn, I have faced rejection after rejection. And what pain have you felt, Sonic?"
The question seemed to burn him to his core, and Sonic gulped, unable to believe what was happening. "T-Tails...I-"
"Precisely." Tails answered himself. "Nothing. You've not once felt the rejection of losing your own parents, simply because of something you were born with. You've never been belittled, because nobody ever questioned you. Ever looked down on you." His brow furrowed ever so slightly. "All you've ever done is look down yourself."
"Tails, stop this, this isn't you!" The fox took a step closer, rubble flying up and pelting Sonic's face, creating a few cuts.
"Don't you even remember what happened not even an hour ago, Sonic? You just wouldn't let me fight on my own. I practically had to beg you, and even then, you did so begrudgingly." He took another step, this time appearing right in Sonic's face. "You didn't think I could handle it myself, did you?"
"N-No...That...that's not true...!"
"We both know it is." Tails poked Sonic in the forehead, but it felt as if a ton of bricks had smacked him in the head, and he flew back, scraping and breaking the skin of his chest along the ground. He felt his front turn warm, a thin trickle of blood flowing down his chest.
"You...!" Sonic growled. "You say I've never felt rejection! How do you know for sure I haven't ? !"
"Because..." Tails started. "...You and I...and Knuckles...we are all the result of Robotnik's experiments with Chaos Energy."
Sonic stared, shocked. "E...Excuse me...?"
"The Emeralds tell me everything...They tell the truth. Robotnik attempted to create Chaos Emerald replicas, but the experiment went wrong. The haphazard energies scattered across the universe, where they collided with the Floating Island, South Island...and a vixen's unborn child, while she was sleeping."
"No...They...THEY'RE LYING!" Sonic cried, rage building. "SO WHAT ? ! AM I SUPPOSED TO CALL EGGMAN 'DADDY' NOW ? ! HOW CAN YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE SOMETHING SO...SO-! !"
"Obvious?" Tails finished. "Think of how much this would explain...Knuckles is the last of his kind, as the rest were wiped out over four thousand years ago. I was born with two tails, an apparent 'mutation' due to exposure to radioactivity, despite there not being any on my home island, Westside Island. And you...your innate ability to use the Chaos Emeralds' powers by sheer willpower. Think, Sonic. You know this is true."
"No...No...! NO! THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!" Sonic exclaimed, thoroughly panicked. "What does that make us ? ! Weapons ? ! Aliens ? ! WHAT ARE WE ? !"
Tails paused. "...We are mistakes." He scowled. "And I must rid the world of such." In seconds, Sonic was on the ground, covered in bruises and cuts, blood dripping from his lower lip.
"T-Tails...please...no...!" He gasped for air as Tails clutched his neck. "Th...is...isn't...right...!" He felt his back scrape the ground as Tails threw him away, like a ragdoll.
"Give up, Sonic." He ordered. "You're nothing compared to me without the Chaos Emeralds. As soon as this world's inhabitants feel the loss I have...I must die as well. You won't be alone." Sonic struggled to sit up on his hands and knees. "We'll be together in the afterlife."
"Why...Why can't we be together...in life ? !" Sonic cried, eyes stinging. "...You know...even...if we a...re...mistakes...you were wrong...about one thing..."
Tails remained unaffected as a tear splashed to the ground, then another, and another.
"I...didn't tell you not to...fight...because...I didn't think you could...handle it..." Their eyes met, Sonic's overflowing with tears. "I...could never forgive...myself...if you got...hurt...again..." He coughed, a little bit of blood mixing with his tears. "I...just wanted to...protect you...You're not my...friend...You're like a...brother...to me...! And...if what you said is...true...then...we are...aren't we...?"
Tails stepped closer, and Sonic lowered his eyes to the floor, feeling a sob build up in his throat. He couldn't bear the thought of losing Tails, or even worse, having to kill him. He shut his eyes, waiting for the strike...
About a minute passed, and Sonic opened one eye, surprised that he hadn't killed him.
Instead, Tails' fur returned to normal, his seven extra tails disappeared, and he collapsed into him, hugging him and sobbing loudly. "S-Sonic...! Sonic...! ! I'm s-sorry, Sonic!" Sonic could only stare ahead in shock, before returning the hug, more tears blurring his vision. "I d-didn't mean it...! I'm s-sorry...! S-So s-s-sorry...! !"
"It's okay, Tails...Everything's okay, now..." Sonic choked back his tears, before wiping Tails' eyes, then his own. "You alright, now?"
Tails nodded, a little bit of mucus dripping from his nose, eyes still leaking slightly. Sonic stood up, then helped Tails to his feet, before patting his shoulder. He crouched down, picking up one of the Emeralds; they had turned dark, a gray version of their respective colors.
"N-Never...I never wanna see a Chaos Emerald ever again...!" Tails sobbed, wiping his eyes. "I don't wanna turn into that...that thing again..."
Suddenly, a roaring sound filled the air, and the Death Egg slowly began to lift into the sky. "DAMN! We were too late!" Sonic growled. "Tails, come on!"
They sprinted ahead, and jumped for it, grabbing onto a catwalk on the lower outside perimeter.
"This time there's no escape!"
From above, Robotnik descended, his hovercraft fitted with a spiked helmet, as well as two enormous arms, and went into a speech while, surprisingly, attacking immediately.
"Big Arm has been tested many times over, using data from our previous encounters! And to be absolutely certain, I have taken extra precautions. In a five-part plan. Part one, spikes, to protect the cockpit. Part two, large, unavoidable arms that can grab, punch, and mangle! Part three, save the bragging for after the fight!"
Meanwhile, Sonic and Tails did all they could to dodge it's rapid attacks, which moved faster than any other machine they'd faced. "This isn't good...!" Sonic scowled.
"Uh, S-Sonic...! !" Tails gulped, pointing. Sonic glanced in the direction Tails referred to, and his eyes widened in shock; another horde of Badniks was approaching, quite rapidly.
"Part four, calling the Badniks for backup, which I did prior to attacking, and part five, ensure the only means of escape is jumping to your doom!"
"Crap..." Sonic gulped. He looked around, noticing that they were rising even higher. "Something, gotta do something!" Suddenly, he remembered the Chaos Emeralds, and summoned them.
"OH NO YOU DON'T!"
Robotnik swung a punch, sending the gems out of Sonic's grasp, towards the now-rising island.
"Damn!" Sonic cussed, jumping and curling up, hitting the window of the cockpit. It didn't even crack.
Robotnik grabbed him, cackling maniacally. "IT'S OVER, SONIC! Your main hope, your only hope, plummeting to the island below! Say your prayers!"
Before he could use the other arm to squash Sonic's head, Tails leapt at him, distracting him long enough for Sonic to curl up, cutting off the fingers.
"Pesky fox!"
To Sonic's horror, Robotnik swatted Tails in the head, sending him flying over the side of the catwalk. "TAILS!" He growled. "YOU...!" He curled up again, planning to strike, but Robotnik simply swatted him into the railing around the catwalk. Sonic cried in pain as he felt his spine crack, followed by his legs going numb.
"Farewell, Sonic the Hedgehog..." Robotnik added, menacingly, as he hovered closer, fist raised. "You did well to get this far...but our game ends here..."
He punched down, crushing the hedgehog easily.
He raised his fist to observe the carnage, only to stare in horror. Sonic stood there, glowing golden, his eyes crimson. Behind him was Tails, his forehead bleeding but otherwise unharmed. "N-No...You...grabbed the Emeralds...? !"
Sonic didn't even respond, he simply flew directly upwards, bursting through the Death Egg's steel exterior. In mere seconds, there was an explosion as Sonic flew out the top, having destroyed the main engine of the fortress. Robotnik screamed in a mix of rage and fear as the weapon began to plummet once again, taking him with it, down wards, into the volcano Tails had spotted earlier.
Tails covered his ears as it crashed, preventing the island from rising any further, yet not striking with enough force to send it back down. Sonic felt his eyes grow heavy, exhausted from the last few days' activities. His golden color faded, and he dropped towards the island, effectively unconscious. Tails moved quickly, grabbing him under his arms, and slowly lowering towards the forest below, giant mushrooms reaching up to greet them.
/-/-/-/-/-/
"Look at that!" Amy cried in shock at the sight. The island had begun to rise, only to stop, sticking out of the ocean awkwardly.
"Oh dear..." Cream replied, placing a hand to her mouth. "I hope everyone on that island is alright..."
/-/-/-/-/-/
To be continued...
/-/-/-/-/-/
(1) Hedgehogs have very poor eyesight in real life, and they rely more on their sense of smell and hearing than sight. Just figured I'd try to incorporate that into the story somewhat.
You may also have noticed a few lines Sonic delivers that use phrases he doesn't normally use, such as 'king-hitting' and 'blighter'. This is a reference to Sonic being from South Island, which in real life is an island off the coast of New Zealand. As a result, I felt it appropriate to reference this in Sonic's 'accent', though very sparingly.