Reversion
by Asher Tye
Disclaimer: I own nothing of Sonic, I own nothing of Tails, I own nothing typically recognized as belonging to Sega. I wish I did, but I don't… ::Sad Face::
Author's Note: Merlin's Disease is not a real disease, but I do feel I should give credit to my source anyway, Dan Simmons who wrote the Hyperion Cantos series. I've changed the characteristics of the sickness somewhat, but as Hyperion is where I first encountered it, I don't want to step on any toes. I should also point out that this story jumps back and forth between the past and the present. I'll provide break-ups for it, but I hope it isn't too confusing.
For those loyal fans still waiting to see this story's next chapter, I can only offer my sincerest apologies for how long it took to get this chapter posted. Chalk it up to real life. Chalk it up to my easily distracted nature. Chalk it up to writer's block. Or you can even chalk it up to me being lazy. I always love multiple choice. Be that as it may, this chapters done and ready go, so I thank everyone who's still with me and look forward to answering your reviews for this chapter. I think I did a pretty good job here though, so I am looking forward to opinions. I do ask that you keep in mind that I know nothing about planes beyond the Tornado. Anyway, enjoy!!
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Present
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"Hey, stop you!" Sonic yelled as he ran after the figure that had so recently decided to pelt his foxy charge with rocks, his teeth gritted in frustration. Though nothing in the world was faster than him on open terrain, inside the back alleys of Station Square, the high-speed hedgehog simply could not get up to his full speed. The fact that his prey was using the uneven terrain to his advantage, twisting and turning down the snow covered alleys, and that he had a rather good head start, made his capture anything but a foregone conclusion.
"Sonic, he went that way," Shadow informed him as the black hedgehog kept pace with his blue rival on his rocket skates. Rocket skates that did not have the limitation of being forced to stick to a single surface. An idea formed in Sonic's mind.
"Shadow, think you can get ahead of him? Cut him off maybe?" Shadow glanced at Sonic, a vicious smile on his face.
"Not even a problem. Chaos Control!" In a flash of light Shadow disappeared, reappearing on the roof of a building. Below him the black hedgehog could make out the form of the Mobian that had attacked Tails as he made his way through the alleys, Sonic in hot pursuit. Silently the Ultimate Lifeform waited, seeking the opportune time to intercept the wretched coward. Catching site of the fleeing being going down a straight alleyway, Shadow made his move.
Meanwhile, Sonic was hopping and leaping onto dumpsters, garbage cans, and even walls in an effort to avoid the slippery ice and snow and catch his quarry. Just ahead of him he could see Tails's assailant as he cast a furtive glance back at his pursuer.
'That's right jerk, keep your eyes on me,' Sonic thought as he matched the fugitive turn for turn. Suddenly, a bright light ignited just ahead of them both and the fleeing attacker suddenly found himself being violently slammed into the wall of one of the buildings making up the alley by none other than Shadow.
"For the record you worthless punk, when someone tells you to 'stop' it doesn't mean run away," Shadow growled as he slammed the creature again for good measure. This last act knocked away the hat he'd been wearing, revealing Tails's attacker to be a crane of all things. Sonic very nearly failed to stop on the ice covered ground as his eyes opened wide in apparent recognition.
"You stupid hedgehog, I think you bruised my ribs!" the crane complained.
"That's not all I should do," Shadow threatened, one hand releasing the bird's shirt collar. "I may be a dirty fighter, but even Eggman wouldn't be low enough to just chuck a rock at some poor kid. I should vaporize your head right here and now." So saying, Shadow's free hand began to glow as he pointed his fist at his captive's head, a vicious grin on his face. "Whaddya say, Sonic, it was your friend he attacked?"
"Take his head off," Sonic said, much to the surprise of Shadow who cast a look at his blue counterpart. Sonic's face held a look of dead seriousness on it.
"Wow," the black hedgehog responded, chuckling as he lifted the crane higher against the wall. "You musta really pissed the faker off; I don't think I've ever heard him hand out a death sentence like that, even to Eggma..."
"You gonna chat with him all day or are you gonna finish him off like you said you were?" Sonic angrily asked, causing Shadow to pause in his movements.
"If you insist," Shadow said as he aimed for the struggling bird's head. Oddly enough, what stopped his murderous motions was not an intervention on the crane's behalf, but a lack of one. Casting a curious glance back at Sonic, Shadow held his attack. "Aren't you going to stop me?"
"Why?"
"Because… that's what you do," Shadow responded, sounding like this was a statement of a defining characteristic for the blue hedgehog. "I'm the one who likes to finish off his enemies, you catch 'em and send them to jail, remember."
"Mr. Bigshot Hero's not as high and mighty as he seems," the crane laughed at them. "Whatsa matter, Olly, still afraid of baths?" Like lightning Shadow's hand clamped down on the crane's long beak.
"Just because I don't plan to kill you now doesn't mean I can't change my mind if you annoy me with your stupid prattle." Turning back towards Sonic, he spoke again. "Come on, we're gonna take this guy to the police." When Sonic failed to move, Shadow cast an agitated glance at the other hedgehog. "Whatever he did Sonic, hurting him now would only cause you and Tails problems. Do you really want that?"
"Fine," Sonic said as he began to follow along.
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13 years ago
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People made light of those who were paralyzed with fear, but as Sonic lay painfully on his side, he could more than understand the expressions meaning. His hands and feet were bound behind his back and one of his arms was going to sleep, the blood flow cut off thanks to the weight of his own body lying on top of it. Before him he could see the body of a rather large, square-jawed crow sitting in a chair, piloting the small aircraft they were in. Shame burned in his cheeks as he recalled this same bird only a few minutes ago using him as a living bargaining chip to force his father to relinquish one of his inventions, a strategy that had worked flawlessly if what one of the bird's subordinates had given him was what Sonic thought it was. Now they were busy flying out of the city, to who knew where, and Sonic was very much feeling fear inside of him.
'Why didn't I just run away back at school,' he thought miserably to himself.
He'd heard the plane's engine as it had buzzed his school, a sound that was just under the clamor of the students cheering for him as he began his run of the obstacle course. The game had been interrupted as the jet suddenly buzzed the school, firing its guns directly at the building to cause a panic amongst the children below. And cause a panic it did. No one liked being shot at with live ammunition and, as they watched the bullets suddenly chewing up the bricks of their school, the children had begun to scatter, running in terror in all directions to get away from what they correctly perceived as a threat. Having never been in a situation where his death was a very possible outcome, Sonic's eyes had widened and he'd screamed rushing with the herd of youngsters to safety. To their credit, the teachers watching them had not been idle, quickly herding the children back into the relative safety of the school. As the sound of the plane returning came to his ears, Sonic noticed a young girl suddenly stumble, crying loudly as she held her foot.
Revving up his feet as fast as he could, Sonic had raced over to the girl, grabbing her so he could get her inside. His own small size and lack of muscle had meant he was actually just pulling her along, and not altogether gently if the girl's yelp was any indicator. Still the hedgehog had been able to get them both back inside before the attacking plane could make another pass on the play ground.
Inside the cafeteria, the children huddled together around the tables, afraid to go too near the glass windows. One of the teachers had run to go call the police, only to return saying that the phone lines were all dead. It was at that point that the sound of a loud engine parking itself outside came to everyone's ears, the plane had landed in the playground, and a large black bird had gotten out, approaching the school with a nasty look in his eye. A sharp kick was enough to open the door the teachers hadn't bothered to lock, not willing to give some psychopath an excuse to shatter glass with a gun.
"I, the Great Commander Kukku, am looking for some one," the bird said as he stared first at the adults, and then at the children. "A young boy is here that I am interested in giving a ride to, a blue hedgehog." At the description that matched him, Sonic suddenly found himself being shoved down to the ground and under a table by Mighty, with Ray and Carl moving to stand in front of him, obscuring him from the bird.
"Sir, I must ask you to leave," one of the teachers said, approaching what was now obviously a crow with his arms raised in a sign of surrender. "This is a school and what you are doing is most…"
"You are not the blue hedgehog," Kukku had said before firing the gun in his hand into the man's chest. As the human's corpse fell to the ground before them, the children had begun screaming, the remaining adults trying desperately to calm them before their cries caused the gunman to do something nasty. "I am looking for a hedgehog, produce him for me, or I will leave none of you alive."
From his hiding place, Sonic had quivered in fear. He'd had no idea why this bird wanted him, and he didn't really feel like finding out. Carefully he'd looked about for a door he could zip out of.
"If the hedgehog will not come forward, than I have no choice but to go through each and every one of you to find him," the bird had said as he'd stomped over to the students, roughly knocking away a teacher as she tried to intercept him. Reaching a hand out into the crowd, Kukku had taken hold of a young chinchilla boy, hefting him into the air by the scruff of his neck. "You are not the hedgehog," Kukku had responded as he'd pointed his gun at the boy's head.
"Wait!" Sonic had shouted, forcing his way out from behind Ray so he could become perfectly visible to the crow. "Wait, I'm here, I'm over here!" Kukku had cast a lazy eye out over the crowd to catch sight of the blue quills.
"Over here, now," the crow had said, shaking his gun in the chinchilla's face, "or he dies because of you." Quickly the children had tried to part ways to let Sonic through as the scared hedgehog had moved slowly over to the bird. "Olgilvie Prower, correct?" Kukku had asked as Sonic had nodded in the affirmative. Hurling his previous hostage back into the crowd, the giant bird had roughly grabbed the hedgehog's throat and beat a hasty retreat back to his plane, much to the adults' and children's combined relief… and distress. Once at the plane, the bird had taken a length of rope and painfully jerked Sonic's hands behind his back, tying him hand and foot before tossing him into plane like so much baggage. Sonic remembered pain as his unprotected chin had hit the floor behind the pilot's seat and terror as the bird had gotten in with him. Too frightened to say anything, silence only had come from the hedgehog as the plane had taken off.
Thus had young Olgilvie been roped into the predicament Tails had found him in as the Battle Bird Armada had attacked Prower Aerodynamic's building. He hadn't meant to cry out the way he had when he'd seen the elder fox, a baby begging for help and putting himself above everything else, but he'd just been so scared at the time. Now it seemed all that had served to do was convince his father to capitulate to Kukku's demands, if the happy grin on the bird's beak was any indication.
"This is the Great Commander Kukku, calling Imperial War Tengu carrier Shrike, do you copy?" the bird called into his radio.
"This is Captain Torp of the Shrike, have you acquired your target."
"Yes, my squadron and I are winging our way towards you as we speak, we should be there in less than two hours, though if you can cut down that time…"
"We will not be violating Station Square's waters, Commander…"
"Great Commander," Kukku corrected, though if the Captain heard him, he ignored it.
"…you will just have to make it to us."
"Very well, I will only need to dispose of some… excess baggage before I rendezvous with you. Out." Of course such words did not fail to gain the attention of Sonic, who stared at his captor with a rather worried look on his face.
"You… you told Tails you'd let me go if he gave you that weapon!" the young hedgehog protested. Kukku looked back at his now useless hostage, a kindly smile on his face.
"And I will be true to my word. Once we are safely out of G.U.N.'s jurisdiction and ability to freely attack us, I shall let you go," at this point the smile became quite sinister, "right into the ocean below. How you get back to your furry fool father is none of my concern Olgilvie." Sonic's fear filled eyes widened again in shock.
"But… but I don't swim so well," Sonic protested.
"My advice, little hedgehog, is to kick your legs very hard and hope you don't attract sharks."
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Station Square was in an uproar as G.U.N. vehicles made their way into the city, headed straight for the building belonging to the company known as Prower Aerodynamic. Citizens who had seen the attack on the building were being herded away from the scene to prevent them from getting run over, and to take their statements for later. Planes were being scrambled from the nearest airbase, as well as one of G.U.N.'s massive but lumbering airships, but with such a head start it would be difficult to find the culprits. So distracting was the presence of the G.U.N. units that few of the people watching had noticed the streak of orange that had shot out of the tower, making its way swiftly towards a private hanger at the city's airfield. That had been almost twenty minutes ago.
Currently, the cause of the orange streak was moving at top speed over to his red plane, performing a quick check as the engine warmed up in preparation for flight. Miles Prower was nobody's fool, particularly when it came to Battle Birds, especially the ones named Kukku. He knew exactly what Sonic's chances were if the cruel crow was able to outmaneuver G.U.N.'s eventual pursuit. Quickly he put on his flight goggles as he hopped into the pilot's seat, ready to take off. It was then that he noticed his runway was somewhat blocked by a familiar looking deer standing in his path.
"Mr. Prower, you are aware G.U.N. has issued an order grounding all non-military craft, are you not," Michael Cervid said as the two tailed fox's mind boggled over how his personal assistant always managed to be everywhere he was.
"Good for them, that'll keep people out of the skies who don't belong there so they don't get hurt," Tails responded, the look on his face very much resolved to begin the plane moving forward.
"I do believe the order was more given with a certain daredevil vulpine in mind sir," the hoofed Mobian said, not budging an inch.
"Michael, they have my son," Tails protested.
"I know sir, and G.U.N. is doing everything in its power to bring Sonic back to you."
"It won't be enough, you know that," the fox pointed out. "I'm asking you to please move out of my way. I can't waste anymore time."
"If you are determined in this course of action sir," Cervid said, his normally stoic voice tainted by the sounds of worry, "then I suppose I can only ask that you at least exercise caution when you catch up to them, Kukku may be a coward and bully, but he is still a dangerous opponent in the air." So saying the deer moved out of the way of the Tornado, allowing the plane to pass. "I shall notify G.U.N. of your actions, sir. They'll most likely not be happy about it but at least they won't shoot you down by accident."
"Good idea," the fox called down as his plane began to move forward, allowing him to flash his assistant an "OK" hand gesture. As he watched his possibly soon-to-be-late employer, Michael Cervid could not help the worried look on his face.
"Good luck to you sir," he said as the Tornado began to rise into the air.
Inside the cockpit, Miles put the plane on autopilot. He needed some time to work and, as he couldn't do anything himself until he got out of the city limits, all the Tornado V had to do was fly in a straight line. Idly he wished he had had the time to do this on the ground, messing with the electrical system of a flying airplane was not a smart move, but time was of the essence. Carefully he was hooking up the personal communicator Kukku had used to talk to him to the Tornado's own radio system. The small device had been getting a signal directly from the Commander's own plane, and with such being the case, Miles could rig his own communications equipment and sensors to piggyback off the signal and could easily track down Kukku's plane… and that was the only one he truthfully cared about finding. But time was of the essence.
He'd recognized the planes the Battle Birds had used, short range strikers, built to hit a target and leave before anything could retaliate, the same ships Kukku had used when he'd attempted to take over the Aerial Dogfight Competition before. If G.U.N. could catch up the seven Battle Bird crafts before they were able to rendezvous with whatever carrier had gotten them close enough to assault Prower Aerodynamic, Kukku's squadron would have no chance of taking the better armed and armored G.U.N. planes. But that was a mighty big if, especially with the head start the raiders had managed to grab.
Soon the red biplane had made its way past the limits of the city, heading in the direction the Battle Birds had last been seen. His modifications complete, Miles looked down at a red button sitting just an inch or two lower than his seat between his legs, covered by a plastic casing to prevent it from accidentally being touched. Reaching down, the fox opened the casing and jammed his hand on the button. A glass shield rose about the cockpit of the Tornado as, on its tail, two cylinders were pushed out; rockets. The propeller of the plane stopped its rotation as hidden hinges inside of its central point bent the three blades backwards against the engine. The young pilot cast a worried glance at the wings of his plane. So far he'd been unable to complete the designs for the entire transformation process of his plane, which meant that utilizing its jet engines would most likely cause a certain amount of stress damage to the wings.
'Can't be helped,' Miles thought as he engaged the thrusters. Like a rocket the plane shot forward, heading in the direction indicated by the communicator's signal.
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Kukku felt good, he very much did. Nothing like a successfully completed to make a bird feel young again, especially when that mission was carried out against a hated enemy. The only thing that would have made this all the better would have been not to have a little brat sniffling in the background.
'Bah, I'll be rid of the little pincushion soon enough,' Kukku reasoned, determined not to allow the annoying sound to ruin his happiness. Casually the big crow cast a glance at the other six planes in his squadron. 'Maybe I'll set my plane on autopilot for a while and engage one of the men in a bit of wing poker,' he thought, taking advantage of the fact that all Battle Bird planes had the ability to link together wingtip to wingtip. It came in handy if one of the planes became crippled and needed to be repaired without stopping; two of its squad mates could easily carry the damaged plane between them while the pilots made repairs.
As Kukku's eyes finally settled on a likely pigeon to play, a startling sound came to his nonexistent earlobes; that of a machine gun rapidly firing its bullets. Said bullets appeared like a swarm of angry hornets, tearing into the right wing of the plane Kukku had been looking at just moments ago. Quickly the attacked aircraft began to spiral downward, the loss of its wing destroying its ability to fly. As the Battle Bird fell, a red biplane shot past, a familiar orange figure sitting in its cockpit as it tilted to the side and began to turn.
"I've found you Kukku," Miles's voice yelled over the crow's comm. speaker.
"Prower!? What are you doing here?"
"I want my son back you ratty flying feather duster! Give me back Sonic or so help me I'll send you all down in flames!"
"You dare to make threats of…" Whatever the squadron commander was preparing to say was cut off as the Tornado made another pass, flying straight at the startled Battle Birds and firing its guns again. "Attention all fighters, BLAST THAT PLANE OUT OF THE SKY!!" Commander Kukku screamed as he pulled his own plane into a turn.
"Commander, our orders are to return to the carrier as quickly as possible. If we engage Prower now, G.U.N. will no doubt be able to catch…"
"I do not care what our orders are; I will not be made a fool of by that fox again!" Kukku commanded as his weapons screen, came up. "Besides, if we don't do something, Prower will simply pick us off one by one."
"You beak-faced weirdoes are going down," Sonic said as some of his confidence returned and his fear began to ebb. Knowing that his dad was here helped somewhat. Of course it didn't completely omit the fact that he was currently in one of the planes that might get shot down. Silently he hoped Tails would see him in time.
Outside, Miles Prower pulled his plane up into a cloud bank, as he was being chased by the Battle Birds. The more maneuverable and faster Tornado could have flown rings around the Tengus' little planes; the Battle Birds had practically been raised from birth on the concepts of coordinated aerial dog fighting. Miles could not afford to waste time dispatching his opponents, lest they manage to corral his plane and shoot him down.
Quickly the vulpine aviator pulled out of the cloud bank's side, turning the tornado in mid-air as he made a beeline for the largest of the six remaining Battle Bird plane; the one undoubtedly occupied by Kukku.
"Trust that stupid bird to sacrifice speed and maneuverability for extra armor so he can take hits," the fox quipped as he approached. "Of course, given that Sonic's probably in there with him, that's actually something to be thankful for." The sound of engines coming closer came to his ears. "Okay, Prower, we need a plan."
As the Battle Birds closed in on the Tornado, the red biplane tilted upwards into the air, its own engine pouring on the power as it attempted to get behind its pursuers. Never ones to back down from a challenge, the crow Mobians followed in pursuit. The Tornado wove in and out as it avoided the gunfire of the Battle Birds, their bullets whizzing by the fox pilot like angry bees. Suddenly, the Tornado began to turn to its side as it rose in the air, making a complete one hundred eighty degree turn as its nose suddenly pointed down, and flying straight at the pursuing squadron at fantastic speeds. As the planes scattered in an attempt o avoid a mid-air collision, Tails released some of his missiles. Thus it was that as he shot past the squadron, two of the Battle Birds found themselves colliding with the explosive weapons. The remaining Tengu quickly recovered, turning their planes around to give chase to the Tornado, guns blazing at the red biplane. Once more it was headed for the large aircraft that carried Kukku in it. This time, rather than wait for the two tailed fox to attack, the Battle Bird instead charged forward his own guns blazing and quite confident his more heavily armored plane would easily survive a midair collision with the Tornado. Suddenly the propellers pulling the Tornado forward stopped their rotation, and the plane suddenly dropped from the sky like a stone. In that instant, Kukku found himself pointed right at his wing mates and the large bird scrambled to pull his plane out of an accidental collision. Rather than go up, however, Kukku decided to head downward, tailing the two tailed fox. At some point Miles would have to break out of his dive, and when he did, Kukku would be there to punish him for his arrogance.
Just as the Battle Bird commander predicted, young Prower did indeed pull out of his dive, turning his plane straight up and again seeming to charge at Kukku. This time Kukku was ready, aiming his guns on the Tornado as the red plane spun at him.
"Take this you treacherous freak!" Kukku yelled as he let fly with his guns, a nasty smile on his face as he watched the bullets tear into the Tornado. Despite this damage the Tornado continued on, though Kukku could see smoke coming from the plane. "This is Great Commander Kukku to all fighters. I have hit the hated fox's plane. Your orders are to take him out." Behind him, the crow could hear a cry of despair, no doubt from the hedgehog he still had tied up in back of his plane. Mentally the crow decided that, once Miles Prower's plane was sufficiently scrapped, he'd toss the hedgehog amongst the wreckage to be with his furry fool father.
The sound of propellers came to the bird's ears and he looked about to see the sight of the red biplane as it was being chased by the rest of the Battle Birds. Kukku watched as the Tornado zipped by, a savage glee in his heart as he tried to catch sight of the cockpit, hoping to see a bullet riddled Miles Prower hanging limply inside. Instead what he saw was the ruined upholstery of the pilot's seat, but no orange fox inside at all.
'Where did he go?!& Kukku thought furiously as turned his plane a bit to look at the water below, hoping to see Miles's body falling through the sky and into the ocean below. It was an immense surprise for him then when a wrench suddenly slammed down on the glass windshield of his cockpit, shattering the glass and sending shards flying into the Battle Bird's face. White gloves held the wrench, belonging to a seriously angry looking fox that was quickly working his way into the plane.
"Are you insane?!" Kukku screamed as he struggled to keep control of his craft, all the while trying to find some weapon to attack the obviously deranged fox with.
"Just a little bit," Tails retorted as he brought the wrench down again, this time intending to cave in Kukku's skull the same way he'd done to the cockpit glass. Kukku's arm moved just quick enough to catch the tool before it could hit him, his other arm working to keep control of his plane. As Miles began to overpower him, the large bird abandoned his plane's controls, not about to let himself be defeated by his sworn enemy. For his part Miles worked on getting into a more defensible position. Though strong enough to match his avian opponent physically, even a child could see that it wouldn't take much to shift his weight and throw the fox from the airplane.
"Dad!" Sonic yelled suddenly, catching his adoptive father's attention. Unfortunately, this proved a distraction as Kukku used the vulpine's loss of concentration to deliver a vicious jab to Miles's mid-section. Sonic squeaked as he realized he'd just inadvertently helped his father's enemy.
"Commander Kukku, the fox is not in his plane," a voice crackled over Kukku's comm. radio. With the threat of Miles temporarily removed, the War Tengu leader activated his microphone.
"He is on my plane. Zero in on me, for he will soon become an airborne targ-AAAAAHHHH!" Having recovered from the Battle Bird's attack, Tails had reached back into the cockpit grabbing Kukku's arms and using his own weight to pull the crow halfway out of his seat, and slam him down, driving the jagged edges of the shattered cockpit glass into the Mobian's gut. Scrambling over the injured bird, Tails reached for Sonic, grabbing hold of the ropes that bound the young hedgehog.
"Are you okay?" Miles asked as he worked to untie his son. Sonic could only nod his head slightly as he felt his bindings loosen. Suddenly his eyes widened.
"Look out!" he screamed, just in time to warn his savior of the wrench coming down to crack him in the skull. Miles shifted his weight just in time to avoid the deadly strike from Kukku who had appropriated both his opponent's weapon and attack pattern.
"Miserable mammal, do you think you can defeat me so easily?"
"I'd hoped," Miles responded as he aimed a sharp kick at the bird's knee. While the joint did not break, it did buckle as pain shot through Kukku's leg. Sonic wiggled as far into the back as he could, not wishing to be pulled into the cramped battlefield of the two combatants if he could help it. Unfortunately the plane, lacking a pilot and still being buffeted by the winds, was making this a difficult task as it rocked back and forth through the air. Thus it was that, as Miles grappled with Kukku, Sonic found himself struck by the fell crow's head as he was forced to the ground. Taking his chance, Sonic opened his mouth and his jaws suddenly clamped onto the bird Mobian's shoulder, biting deeply. Kukku howled in pain and anger, unable to attend to the striking hedgehog as the fox on top of him continued to punch him. Inspiration struck the raider as he stretched a foot out to strike the control stick of the plane, forcing the craft into a dive and through the fox off of him.
Miles let out a pained yelp as his back crashed into the controls of the plane, followed by a second cry as Kukku slammed into him as well. A malicious grin spread over the bird's beak as his hands reached up to clasp around the vulpine's neck and squeeze.
"You are weak, you are pathetic, you are… OW!!!" Kukku's tirade was thankfully cut short as a sharp pain shot up his leg. Beneath him, the still bound up Sonic had managed to wiggle up next to his leg and deliver a sharp bite. Glaring daggers down at the boy whose jaws were clamped firmly on his calf, the Battle Bird Commander used his other foot to roughly kick the boy in the head, trying to dislodge him before he could break the scaly skin and actually draw blood. Though as an attack Sonic's actions proved a dismal failure, as a distraction they were effective enough to grant Miles the time he needed to recover, raking his claws across the bird's face and leaving four bloody gashes in his wake. Quickly using a tail to correct the plane's course, Miles pressed his attack and kicked off of the control console, pushing Kukku backwards. Sonic tucked as best he could to keep the crow's feet from finding purchase and thus forcing him to fall backwards. Kukku grunted as he banged into the back of the cockpit. Quickly he pulled his leg up, paying Miles back for his earlier work with the glass by digging his sharp foot talons into his enemy's stomach. Already tender from the punch it had taken earlier, the fox's white furred tummy sent waves of agony to his brain as its soft flesh was cut. Reacting to the attack, the resilient fox knocked the leg away and made another slash with his claws, this time aiming for Kukku's exposed neck. He missed as the crow's arm came to block and he began to stand again, grappling with the fox.
Sonic, who'd been watching this occur since the battle had left his side of the cockpit, began to try to wiggle over again, hoping to deliver another bite to his kidnapper's leg, or maybe even jam a few quills into it. Though not barbed like a porcupine, his own defenses were plenty sharp enough to hurt, even dulled as they had been for school. Before he could make it over to the battle, the plane jarred again as the Battle Bird Squadron passed it over, hoping for some way to aid their commander in his efforts to get rid of the young CEO. The motion of the plane threw both bird and fox up in the air to land roughly on the aircraft's back. Again Kukku grunted as he landed on his back with Miles on top of him, but this time his grunt was followed by a smile as he was now in the more defensible position. Quickly he tried to roll the fox of and let gravity send Miles falling to the ground, but his opponent, well aware of the precarious position he was in, was quick to spread out his legs and keep himself stable.
Suddenly, triangular ears perked up as the sound of multiple engines came to them. Quickly Miles scrambled off of Kukku, who himself quickly shuffled out of the way, as a spray of bullets began to perforate the section of the plane they'd been on.
"You IDIOTS!" Kukku screamed. "Are you TRYING to hit me as well?!" Angrily the Battle Bird Commander looked back at his opponent, an almost predatory gleam in his eyes. This battle had gone on long enough. Reaching into his belt he drew forth a small survival knife. Though not a preferred weapon, in a pinch it would no doubt do for getting rid of an annoying fox. Angrily he charged the vulpine, the handle of his blade clutched in his hand as he gave a swipe Miles had to work to avoid. Revving up his tails as quickly as he could, Miles sidestepped the attack, using a quick burst of aerial speed to get himself back onto the solid surface of the plane.
"Come on Kukku, you can do better than that," Miles called, attempting to bait the bird into making a mistake.
"I told you before Prower, I am the GREAT COMMANDER Kukku!!" the pilot screamed, charging the fox again. This time possessing a warning, Miles ducked down and kicked to the legs out from under the Imperial War Tengu pilot, causing him to fall hard to the surface of the plane. Before Kukku could find purchase and scramble back to his feet, his feathered body began to slide. With an angry scream the cruel battle bird lost his hold on the plane and Miles watched as he fell off.
Contented that his opponent was out of his fur, the two tailed fox moved quickly over the cockpit.
"You okay Sonic?" he called down to the hedgehog.
"I… I think so," Sonic responded, still lying on the floor all bound up. "I'd really like to go home now if you don't mind!"
"Gotcha, just let me get at those controls and I'll turn this clunker aro… Geeze!!" Just in time Miles threw himself into the cockpit to avoid another round of gunfire courtesy of the Battle Bird Squadron. Looking up, the fox could only watch as they made a tight turn, ready to come back and finish the job. More gunshots were heard, but this time it was the tengu whose planes were attacked, by the forces of G.U.N. no less. Miles's attack on the squadron had caused them to forget they were under a time limit and now G.U.N.'s carrier had made it on the scene. "'Bout time those boys got here," Miles said sarcastically as he went back to trying to get control of Kukku's craft. His efforts were halted, however, when a sharp pain came to his shoulder, courtesy of the blade that had been stuck into it.
"No!" Sonic yelled as he watched Kukku suddenly pounce on his father, driving his knife into the kitsune's shoulder.
"Did you miss me my furry little troublemaker?" Kukku asked as wrenched Miles out of the pilot's seat. Though the fall had caught him by surprise, Kukku was not without his own method of personal flight and he'd been able to stay aloft long enough to catch hold of his vehicle again, thus enabling him to sneak up upon Miles. The blade still lodged in his shoulder, all the fox could see was a white haze of pain as he was sent into the walls of the cockpit. Chuckling to himself, Kukku gazed at the prone form for a moment. "Your comrades in G.U.N. have arrived to gut my forces it would seem. But, though my mission is a failure YOU will not enjoy your victory." So saying the crow moved, not for Miles, but for Sonic, grabbing hold of the boy by the ropes that bound him.
"Let me go you feathered creep!" Sonic yelled as he was held aloft.
"Put him down Kukku," Miles called, standing as best he could with his injuries. "Sonic's got nothing to do with this. Your fight is with me."
"Then you shouldn't have gotten in my way!" So saying Kukku lifted Sonic over his head and sent him hurtling down to the waters below.
"SONIC!" Miles yelled as he raced over, trying to catch the blue kitten before he got too far. Failing that, the fox too jumped over, determined to catch the hedgehog. cerulean eyes darted about as the air rushed past him, searching for the dark blue figure, a task made much harder by the dark blue color of the ocean below them. Finally he managed to spot Sonic, revving up his tails again to increase the speed of his fall to catch up with the much lower kid. Always one to think a few steps ahead, the vulpine reached down to touch one of the buttons on his wristwatch, activating a tracking beacon in it. If the Tornado was still around, and able to fly, it would hopefully home in on the beacon. That taken care of, the fox turned his attention back to Sonic.
From his point of view Sonic was very much having a bad day, made so much worse by the sight of the ocean rushing up to meet him. Desperately struggling to free himself of his bonds, the young hedgehog was quite on the verge of panicking as he fell through the air.
'Come on Sonic, get it together. Its water, not like it's gonna hurt,' Sonic tried to convince himself. 'Oh man, oh man, oh man I don't wanna die!!' With a loud splash, Sonic hit the water, falling deep beneath the surface. For a few seconds he remained still, the bone-jarring pain of his impact with the water's surface clouding out his mind. His skin stung all over, a sting that was only exacerbated by the salinity of the ocean water. Still he managed to open his eyes a bit and recover, wincing as the salt began to sting his sensitive eyes as well. Writhing and wiggling in his bonds, Sonic began to try to make his way to the surface, the lack of a breath before he entered the water causing his lungs to begin to burn as he struggled not to breathe. While it was indeed a valiant effort, the little hedgehog's restrained body just couldn't make the distance to the surface before his oxygen ran out, his mouth opening in a desperate attempt to take in air that was not there and releasing what was left of his own air as he began to lose consciousness. Slowly the now soaked mammalian Mobian's body began to sink back into the murky depths below, his mind only barely registering it as something reached around his chest.
Miles had hit the water only a few seconds after Sonic, though his entry had been far more controlled and prepared. Sliding into the ocean like a diver, the fox had not been subjected to the same pains his son had been, though the wound in his shoulder did not in any way appreciate the sudden exposure to salt water. Forcing his mind past that, he began the daunting task of trying to find Sonic again, hampered once more by the fact that the hedgehog's quills were close enough to the color of his surroundings.
'We get outta this I swear I'm gonna dye that kid's fur neon green or something,' Miles swore in half desperation. Finally his eyes locked onto the trail of bubbles that escaped Sonic's mouth. Twisting his tails to propel him forward, Miles moved as fast as he could over to the hedgehog, grabbing him around the chest before adjusting his trajectory to take them both to the surface.
"GAAAAH!!" Sonic called as his head broke through to fresh air, his body working on automatic to fill his lungs with the precious gas known as oxygen. Beside him Miles too surfaced, using both his tails and his legs in coordination to keep them both above water. A hand went to the hedgehog's back as Miles patted him, helping him to expel the obstructive liquid.
"You still with me kid?" Miles asked as Sonic gave a weak nod, his bound hands unable to give his customary thumbs up. Above them, a new aerial battle raged as the forces of the Imperial War Tengu tried desperately to escape the forces of G.U.N. It was the largest plane that caught the fox's attention however. Kukku had been watching for them to surface. Like malicious lightning the crow dove, firing his guns at the pair. Waterlogged now, Miles knew he couldn't fly, especially with Sonic's additional weight; so instead he made a quick dive, narrowly avoiding the spray of bullets.
'We're sitting ducks as long as we're in this water,' Miles reasoned to himself as he quickly surfaced again, making sure Sonic was covered by above water. 'I gotta get rid of this clown before he gets us, but how?' A sudden beeping came to the vulpine's attention then, the proximity alarm in his watch signaling the Tornado was nearing his position. Glancing at the watch and then glaring at Kukku as he performed a turn for another run, an idea formed in his head.
"Sonic, I need you to try to tread water without me for a while," he told his son. Sonic's eyes widened as he looked at his dad.
"What? W-W-Why?"
"I have to do something and you'll be safer if you're not near me."
"No! No, don't leave me, please don't leave me Dad. I'll drown." A hand reached down to the hedgehog's body and broke enough of the rope to free his limbs.
"Not now Sonic, you have to do this. Just kick you're legs as hard as you can."
"NO… I…" His pleas fell on deaf ears as the fox pushed the hedgehog away just in time to get into position as Kukku came for a second run. Twisting his tails as tightly as he could, Miles prepared himself for the inevitable.
Inside his plane, Kukku was almost cackling with glee. Not only was the hated fox helpless, he'd separated from the youth. Now not only would he get the pleasure of finally killing Miles Prower, the last thing the fox would know as he died would be that he'd failed his spiky son. Carefully he took aim at the glaring vulpine.
"Now you die, Prower!" he yelled as he fired his guns again. Rather than try to dive again, Miles surprised Kukku by rocketing into the air for a short distance, his arm pulling back before he threw something at the passing plane. Kukku laughed derisively as he saw it, particularly as he noticed a sudden spray of foxy blood appear as one of his bullets caught the pretentious businessmobian in the side.
'Excellent. Now if it is not my bullets that take his life, the sharks will have a feast instead,' the evil bird thought nastily as he glanced behind him to see his target fall back into the water. That was when he noticed something else. The object the fox had thrown at him had apparently been a wristwatch, one that had made it into the cockpit with him. For a second the bird considered whether or not his adversary had lost his mind. Then he looked up and released a scream. Miles's plane, the Tornado, homing in on the signal coming from the watch, was headed right for him. Thinking quickly Kukku grabbed the control stick of his plane and turned, trying to avoid the oncoming traffic. Even without a pilot, however, the Tornado followed his movements. Desperately the bird tried to move his damaged plane out of the way, but the craft was simply not up to the task.
In the water below, the injured Miles smiled with grim satisfaction as he watched the two planes crash into each other with a loud explosion. Wasting no time, lest the falling debris strike him, he swam as best he could over to Sonic catching up the boy who had struggled his best to stay above water.
"Don't ever do that again," Sonic yelled at the fox as he gathered the boy up, a look of terror on his face as he completely stopped moving for himself, his entire weight coming onto his father's weakened muscles. Grunting a little, Miles signaled him to be silent.
"We need to get to the G.U.N. carrier Sonic, and we need to do it quick," he said, feeling it as the wound in his side was beginning to sap his strength completely.
"Ahoy there!" called a voice as the sound of a motorboat came to the two Mobians' ears.
"Ahoy! Ahoy! AHOY!!" Sonic mimicked, wiggling about as he shook his arms and tried to attract some attention. The G.U.N. carrier had apparently noted their descent, and the Tornado's crash, and sent out a lifeboat to investigate. Miles grunted a bit as he was repeatedly stuck with Sonic's quills, struggling to keep a hold of the hedgehog and keep them both about water. Soon the life boat made its way to them and Miles gingerly handed up Sonic to the seamen before accepting help getting himself up.
"Careful with the fox, he's been shot," one of the three sailors said they handed both Mobians blankets to help banish the cold ocean water. "Don't jostle him too much of the Captain will have our hides."
"Miles Prower?" another of the sailors asked. Miles slowly nodded his head, his weakened muscles protesting the movement. "Base said you were out here too. The Captain is gonna wanna have a few words with you." Again Miles nodded.
"First we're gonna need some help," Miles pointed out. "Is there a doctor on your ship?"
"Yes sir."
"Good… because I don't… think I'm gonna be much… for… con… ver… sation…." At this the exhausted fox's eyes closed as he finally slipped into unconsciousness.
To be Continued….