Chapter 8

Flying Battery

"Tails!"

Sonic slammed sideways into his sidekick, flinging him to the ground. The hedgehog lay on top of the fox, shielding him from the roaring exhaust vent overhead. They were not directly under the blast, but the heated, choking fumes engulfed them.

Fortunately for Sonic, the vent shut off after a moment. He sat up, releasing Tails, coughing from the depths of his lungs. Tails stood up, his feet clanking on the metal walkway. "Sonic," he said, tugging his friend's arm, "we gotta get outta here. It'll come on again in a minute."

They were a level above the cargo hold. A long, narrow walkway stretched through half the starboard section, branching off into three other segments. Their section crossed a row of five-foot vents in the ceiling. The vent above the walkway had kicked on the moment they walked beneath it.

With Tails's help, Sonic managed to drag himself out from under the vent. He collapsed against the cold steel railing, weak from coughing. Tails crouched beside him anxiously. "Are you okay, Sonic?" Sonic could only nod. It took him ten minutes to regain his strength. "I donno what this place uses for fuel," he said as he climbed to his feet, "but its fumes ain't healthy. It's like breathing hairspray."

"Sure you're okay?"

"No. My lungs feel funny. Let's get off this stupid walkway."

The interior of Flying Battery was an air-conditioned eighty degrees, but the air was far from fresh. It was stale and tainted with exhaust. The entire ship vibrated with the action of the huge engines. There was no sensation of motion, and only blue sky could be seen outside the windows.

They spotted some steps leading through the ceiling, but could not reach them. Every time they neared them, they discovered they were a catwalk too high, or two low.

The fifth time this happened, Sonic threw up his hands in frustration. "Forget this," he said. "Let's go back to where we started."

"Easier said than done," Tails said, looking up at the steps longingly. "I'm so turned around I couldn't find my way out of a paper bag."

Sonic looked at him, half annoyed and half amused. He tousled the fox's hair. "Me too," he agreed. "Let's go back to the junction up there, and-"

"Intruders! Halt!"

Sonic and Tails jumped. There were two robots on the walkway above, peering at them through the grating. Sonic smiled maliciously. "Gotta catch us first, tinheads."

The robots raced for the junction where their catwalk intersected Sonic and Tails's.

Tails watched them. "Sonic, look how they move. They don't have hover units, but they kind of ... coast along ... "

At the moment, Sonic could care less about how the badniks moved. Their walkway was a dead end, and the only way off was the junction, which was blocked. The robots advanced cautiously toward them, side by side. "Get behind me," Sonic hissed to his companion. Tails obeyed.

There was no cover on the walkway, and the floor-to-ceiling railing prevented escape. If the robots attacked, things would get ugly. Sonic realized this in an instant. He decided to carry the fight to the badniks.

Wishing for the chaos emeralds, he darted up the walkway, his feet hardly touching it. The robots lifted their blasters, but they were too late. Sonic crashed into them, knocking them over backward. He spindashed as they hit the metal walkway, tearing them apart. He sat on them until he was certain they were offline, then climbed to his feet and dusted off his hands. An impressed Tails walked up to him.

"Man," the fox said, "they never had a chance."

"Yup," Sonic replied, throwing his head back, "I'm pretty good, all right."

Tails crouched down, examining the robots' feet. He snickered, then laughed. "Sonic, look at what's on these bots!"

Sonic looked down, then added his laughter to Tails's. "I thought they went down too easily. Did Robotnik do that on purpose?"

"Who knows what he'd do for a laugh?"

"But rollerblades on sentry bots? That's-that's kinda dumb."

"Really dumb! But funny, too."

"Hey, do they come off? That'd be cool if we could wear 'em."

Tails tugged at one of the skates. "Hey yeah, I think they do."

"Here, undo the bindings. Like this."

The two worked furiously, their fingers clumsy with excitement. At last both pairs were free. There were adjustable and made of aluminum, and weighed less than three pounds apiece.

It took them a few minutes to adjust the skates and buckle them on. Sonic coasted a few feet. "Wow, these are really nice," he said to Tails, who was still tightening his own. "Smooth as silk. Gosh, these could make a rookie 'blader into an expert in no time! Hurry up, little bro. I wanna get a move on."

Tails stood up carefully, favoring his shoulder. He rolled up to Sonic, afraid of a fall. "They ARE nice," he admitted, studying his feet.

Sonic whirled and faced the rest of the walkway. "Let's juice, Tails."

Fifteen minutes later found them up the coveted stairs and deep in the bowels of the ship. They reached an engine room full of spinning rods, pumping pistons and the smell of oil. Tails was all for going around, but Sonic plunged in, rollerblades and all.

The machinery provided lots of obstacles. Sonic leaped, dodged and wove his way through, while Tails slowed to a crawl and fell several times. Sonic made it to the hall on the far side and waited for him. "Aw Tails, you're going too slow. You might as well take off the blades and walk."

"Yeah, yeah," Tails replied as he reached the hedgehog. "I don't like obstacle courses. Give me a clear track and I'll give you a run for your money."

"Well, better get out your money, 'cause we've got a clear track. Let's juice!"

Several hallways bore the smoking traces of speeding rollerblades as Sonic and Tails burned rubber. They were coming up on another room when Sonic hit sixty. He flew into the room, only to discover vast empty space beneath his feet. "Whoa!" he yelled, voice echoing. His momentum kept him flying forward. He twisted sideways, clanged his blades into the wall, and hurled downward.

He fell for several long seconds before he reached the floor, which was rounded into a bowl. He screeched down the wall, across the floor, and up the far wall. He bladed around and around until he finally came to a stop, panting.

Tails, who had been skating as hard as his friend, had seen the hole, spun his tails and hovered, saving himself from a fall. He floated down and landed beside Sonic. The blue hedgehog stared at the distant ceiling. "Man, that was fun! Blades are the bomb!" He stooped and tightened his bindings.

Tails looked around, then froze. Sonic stood up and noticed the look on his face. "Whassamatter, little bro?"

"Shh," Tails hissed. "Listen. You hear that?"

Sonic held his breath and listened. The sound of rushing water came from somewhere below them. The sound was drawing closer by the second, moving up the walls-

Tails pointed to a spot twenty feet above their heads. Every five feet a panel had opened, revealing half a dozen pipe openings. A second later, a clear liquid squirted out.

"Rocket fuel!" Sonic yelped. "Tails, get us outta here!"

The little fox leaped into the air and hovered, tails spinning. Sonic locked wrists with him, forgetting Tails's wound. Tails winced and said nothing as he carried them upward, out of the liquid's reach. It was pouring in by the gallon and the smell was nostril-searing.

By the time they reached the doorway they had entered through, they were choking on the fumes. They landed in the passage and crawled inside, thankful for the fresh air.

It took them a while to get over their nausea. They coughed until they were bent double, trying to rid their lungs of the noxious fumes. "Boy," Tails hacked, "now I know how you felt when you breathed the exhaust. It was just our luck it was a spare fuel compartment."

Sonic drew a deep breath and said, "Either that or a trap." He climbed to his feet and coasted down the tunnel. He reached the room at the far end, which should have been the engine room. Tails heard him whistle. "Tails, we're somewhere else!"

Tails joined Sonic. Indeed, they had inadvertantly exited the fuel container through another vent. Their passage was severed by a huge metal screw, its threads a tarnished grey. It turned slowly, transferring energy from the powerful dynamos below to the engine rooms above. The hallway continued on the far side.

Sonic squinted at the screw's threads, estimating how fast it was turning and its distance from the walls. Then, without a word, he sat down and took off his rollerblades. Tails guessed what he was going to do, and removed his own, as well. They slung them over their shoulders. "'Kay, Tails," Sonic said. "I'm gonna go first. Don't trip or anything. This is kinda like playing chicken." Tails nodded. He could imagine tripping and being screwed into the ceiling.

Sonic crouched, eyes on the rotating steel threads. He shot away, leaped into the shaft, touched the screw, then landed safely in the far hall. "C'mon, Tails!" he called.

Tails ran, crossed both without trouble and joined his friend on the far side. "Well, that wasn't too bad," he panted.

Sonic nodded. "Should we blade or run?"

"Let's see what's in the next room first."

They trotted down the corridor. They entered a small circular room with three doors in the walls. Sonic tried the doorknobs and discovered that all but one were locked. "Well Tails?"

"Why don't we just open it and see what's behind it?"

"Good idea." Sonic opened the door and stuck his head in for a look. Tails watched him as he stiffened, back arched, hands gripping the side of the door like a vice.

"Sonic, whassamatter?"

Sonic jerked backward, closed the door carefully, then leaned against it, eyes wide.

Tails watched him uneasily. "What was in there?"

Sonic moved only his lips. "Metal Sonic."

"Metal Sonic? You mean that robot that freaked you out in Ice Cap this morning?"

Sonic nodded. Abruptly he leaped away from the door and whirled to face it. "Get behind me, quick!" he commanded. Tails obeyed at once.

The door swung open. Framed in the doorway stood a steel-blue robot. It was the same size as Sonic, and looked remarkably like him. Its glass eyes were black, and had glowing red rings for pupils. Its lower arms were armed with sharp metal plates that came to a point in its elbows. It gazed at Sonic with a robotic indifference.

"Who are you?" it asked. Its voice was low, metallic and sinister.

"What do you want to know for?" Sonic questioned in reply.

"So I can compute whether you are friend or foe." Metal Sonic was still relatively new to life, and had not become the twisted, hateful robot of later years.

"Will you shoot me if I tell you?"

"Perhaps. But only if you are an enemy of Dr. Robotnik."

"But what if I'm YOUR enemy?"

The robot hesitated. He did not yet have enemies of his own, and this was a new concept. "I suppose I would take you to Dr. Robotnik."

Sonic was relaxing a bit. This robot was not a badnik, but a henchmen, who were usually more predictable. A new one to the job, at that. Sonic drew himself up to his full three feet. "I'll tell you my name if you'll tell me yours."

"I am Metal Sonic, or Mecha, as some call me. And you are?"

"I am Sonic the Hedgehog. The ORIGINAL."

That was the wrong response. Mecha hissed, "So, YOU are the hedgehog for which I am named! Prepare to die, Sssonic!" The robot drew a pistol from somewhere on his person. Before he could aim it, however, Sonic went into a spin and crashed into his midsection. Metal Sonic clanked to the floor, temporarily jarring his motion control.

"Tails, get through the door he came through! Quick!" Sonic cried from where he was crouched over the robot.

Tails leaped around Sonic and hit the door. Sonic followed a split second later, slammed the door shut and snapped on the electric lock. "There," he remarked, "that should hold him off five minutes."

He sat down and thrust his feet into the rollerblades he had carried this whole time. "What are you doing?" Tails demanded.

"I got a need for speed. Put yours on, if you like."

After a moment of indecision, Tails too sat down and donned his gear.

A moment later found them gliding down the hallway. The left wall opened into a construction facility, and they could see rows and rows of robots in the making. They were only partly assembled, but looked fearsome with their huge limbs and heavy armor.

"Military force, looks like," Sonic commented. "I'm glad they aren't on-line yet."

Tails, skating a few feet behind the hedgehog, said, "Hey, Sonic, look. See that robot, close to the walkway? It has something written on it."

They coasted up to it. "SWAT-bot 1037," Sonic read aloud. "Well well."

At that moment the once-locked door flew open. Metal Sonic stood in the doorway, eyes glowing like live coals. "You!" he shouted.

Sonic and Tails looked at each other and said simultaneously, "Run."

With a clatter of metal blades on metal floor they fled down the passage. Mecha gave chase, hoverjets lifting him a foot off the floor. Sonic glanced back. "He's hot," he called to Tails. "See the door up there? Let me open it-don't you stop."

The hedgehog surged ahead in a racing skater crouch. He didn't bother to slow down, but let himself smack into the wall, hand groping for the doorknob. He jerked it open, let Tails fly through, then leaped through himself. He pulled the door shut, and heard the satisfactory thud as Metal Sonic crashed into it. This door had no lock. Sonic turned, ready to run again-

Wait, this was no hallway. It was a large rectangular room. Something about it triggered a warning in the back of his mind. He had learned never to trust large empty rooms. Tails was about to cross it, looking back. Sonic sprang forward. "Tails, don't go in the center! Stop!"

Too late. Three things happened at once. Mecha Sonic burst through the door, enraged and slightly dented. Second, two tall laser- screens came on behind and in front of Sonic and Tails, blocking them in. Third, the lights went out.

The fox and hedgehog stood in the center of the room-turned-prison. The forcefields shed a lemon-colored light, gleaming on their roller blades. Metal Sonic stood on the other side of the screen, staring through at them. Tails slipped his hand into Sonic's. "What's gonna happen?"

Sonic cast a glance at the shadowy ceiling. "I donno. Stick close-he can't get us as long as the lasers are on." He returned his gaze to Metal Sonic.

The robot turned away, looking toward the door they had come through. Over the electronic hum of the force fields, Sonic and Tails heard the clanking of approaching footsteps.

"Well well, it's Sonic and Tails, caught like rats in a trap."

Knuckles stepped into the room wearing a smirk. What caught their attention was the forcefield-like bubble that surrounded his body. Lightning flickered and danced over it, lighting his face and the area around him. "Small little rats," he continued witheringly, "with no hair and one leg."

"Where do you get your material?" Sonic said, making a face.

Knuckles gave him a plastic smile. "It is a fitting analogy, don't you think? Neither of you are going anywhere." His smile twisted into a sneer. "I assume you met our project?" He gestured to the robot beside him.

Sonic and Tails stared. "You mean YOU built him?" Tails exclaimed.

Knuckles nodded condescendingly, eyes half closed. "Me'n Doc. We finished him up and he's ready for service."

The lightning curved, flickered and danced in a continuous rhythm. Sonic pointed at it. "What's with the special effects?"

Knuckles sneered again. "This is an electronic shield. It'll protect me from anything but water and open flame. I'm wearing it so I can do THIS." He stepped forward, and to their surprise, walked through the laser screen, shield parting the beams. "Don't try to touch me," he warned.

They stood aside as he crossed the room, shield casting flickering light into the dimness. He passed through the force field on the far side. Then, with a sly glance in their direction, he swung open a panel on the wall to reveal a set of controls.

I really wanted to shut off the lasers, ditch the shield and have it out with Sonic right there, but Doc didn't want it done that way. He needed his newest invention tested. First he had asked me to try it on myself, and I refused. I had looked at the schematics. So he told me to do it on Sonic and Tails, and all I had to do was drive.

I glanced through the forcefields at Metal Sonic, but he was gone. I felt a chill. I had heard nothing. For the first time I wondered if that robot might turn out a little too well. I shrugged it off and flipped the 'on' lever. If he didn't want to watch, that was fine.

The ceiling slid apart with a whine of machinery. Sonic and Tails stared upward as a milky white lens opened behind it. It hung on a track that could slide it along the ceiling in any direction. It jolted a little as it was activated.

Sonic and Tails looked at each other. Sonic was nervous, and Tails was downright scared. Neither said a word, for that would reveal their feelings to Knuckles. They coasted apart, skates ticking on the metal floor. The big lens began to move, following Sonic. In a way he was relieved. He could handle an attack-Tails couldn't.

The lens began to blink. Probably a laser, Sonic thought. Just like in Wing Fortress, when the same thing had happened. At least he knew what to expect ...

Knuckles hit 'fire'. The lens locked, then fired a wide blue beam. Sonic barely ducked in time, and felt the intense heat on his arms. "Nah nah!" he jeered at Knuckles as it shut off. "Missed me."

Knuckles glared at him in disappointment. "We'll see about that," he snorted. He flipped a switch. The force field on one side flicked off, and another set of lasers flicked on, narrowing the arena by two feet.

Tails looked at Sonic from his place by the wall. If Knuckles changed barrier locations each time the laser fired, eventually they would both be hit. Sonic returned his gaze. "Don't worry, little bro," he said quietly. "We'll get out somehow."

Four times the laser fired, and each time it missed Sonic by an inch. Knuckles was growing frustrated. He had kept moving the force field in, but it hadn't done any good. Sonic could still dodge, even in a space six feet wide. The echidna moved the screen in one more notch, narrowing the gap to three feet. If he missed this time, then heck with it.

Sonic and Tails could have touched the force fields on either side. They stared up at the lens, like small animals waiting for a snake to strike. Sonic could only move forward or back-he dared not touch the screens. The lens moved around, its metal parts clanking as it changed directions.

Knuckles pressed 'fire'. The laser locked and fired. Sonic leaped out from under it, but one rollerblade caught on a ridge in the floor. He smacked down on his face and the beam caught him.

"Sonic!" Tails screamed. The laser, instead of shutting off immediately, continued to fire, burning into the floor. Knuckles stared for a second, his mouth hanging open. Suddenly he whirled and tripped the emergency breaker. "No," Tails heard him moan. "No no no! Not even Sonic deserves that! Doc, you liar-"

The beam flickered and went off, machinery whining in protest. Sonic was lying where he had fallen, eyes closed, floor scorched in a circle around him. Tails fell to his knees inside the smoking ring. "Sonic, are you alive? Sonic? Speak to me, bro!"

Sonic's eyelids fluttered open. Slowly he lifted his head and looked at his sidekick. "Tails," he said thickly, eyes dull with shock. He sat up and let his head droop, hands limp at his sides. Tails stared into his face worriedly. "Are you okay?"

Sonic nodded slightly, as if it hurt to move. "I guess," he said. "My head-" He lifted a hand to his forehead. Abruptly he jerked his hand away and stared at it, wide-eyed. He lifted his other hand, then opened and closed them, horror etched across his face.

"What?" Tails demanded. "What's wrong?"

Sonic leaped to his feet without answering and stared at Knuckles. Knuckles glared at him. "What? You're not hurt."

"Knux," Sonic said in a raspy whisper. "What have you done to me? My hands-"

"What about them?"

Sonic stuck his middle finger in his mouth, bit the glove and pulled out his hand. Tails and Knuckles gasped as he held it up for them to see.

It was a robot hand.

Each finger and joint was encased in metal, wire visible between the joints. The plating followed the contours and folds of his hand, extending to his wrist. He yanked off his other glove. Both hands looked the same.

Sonic clenched his metallic fists. "Knuckles, you'd better not let me out. My hands are just as tough as yours." Knuckles could only stare at those robotic limbs. His mouth had fallen open, and he shook his head slowly as he backed away. "I didn't know it would do that," he gasped. "I-I-"

I could think of nothing more to say. Robotized! What if I had waited a second later to shut off the beam? I had looked at the wrong schematics. This was a robotizer prototype, stolen from a scientist in Mobitropolis and reverse-engineered. His hands ...! Oh gosh, what had I done? Was there any way to undo it?

I punched a button on the wall. It would drain the power in the laser screens. I didn't have the heart to leave them locked up. I fled through a side door, locked it behind me, then pelted deeper into Flying Battery. My mind was reeling. Disfigured for life! I had thought it would stun him.

I hung a hard left and headed for the bridge. I had a few questions for Doc.

The force fields blinked off, and the lights came back on. Sonic continued to stare at his hands. Experimentally he snapped his fingers, making a sharp clink. He clapped his hands and listened with amazement to the clang, clang, clang. He looked at Tails. "This IS kinda cool," he said grudgingly. "It's like wearing armor."

Tails touched his shiny hand and shuddered. "Gee, Sonic. You're part robot now. Better not try to use the chaos emeralds."

"You're right," Sonic exclaimed. "I won't be able to use 'em- they'd blow my hands off or something." He glared in the direction Knuckles had gone. "That jerk. Bet he planned it."

Carefully the hedgehog pulled his gloves back on. They covered the metal neatly; unless you knew, you could see nothing wrong with him.

The two stepped into an adjoining hall. "I wonder where Metal Sonic is," Tails said nervously.

Sonic shrugged. "On a ship this size, who knows. Let's see if we can-"

Suddenly the hall around them groaned and squeaked. The floor beneath their feet shifted. They automatically turned to go back, but an iron door slammed to the floor, cutting off retreat. The two locked eyes. "Run," Sonic commanded. He took off, and Tails followed close behind.

I burst into the cockpit, my anger burning. The shock had passed-now I was mad I had been tricked into doing something so inhuman. Robotnik swung around in his chair, and squelched the attitude out of me as he said, "Knuckles, the laser firing destroyed the platform stabilizers for floor 1C and up. The upper deck is going to retract."

I caught my breath. That was where Sonic and Tails were. I sat down in the co-pilot's seat and looked at the computer's readout. Doc was right. I looked up at him. "How long will it take to compress?"

He glanced at his watch. "About two minutes."

Tails stumbled on his rollerblades. Stubbornly he slowed down, grabbing at the buckles.

"What are you doing?" Sonic shouted from ahead.

"Taking off these darn skates," Tails exclaimed. As he pulled one free, the floor began to move. Sonic skimmed back and grabbed his good arm. His hand was ice-cold through the glove. "Get up! We gotta get outta here!"

Tails kicked off his other rollerblade. "Okay. Now I can run!"

The two raced down the long hallway, one on skates, the other on foot, but both equally frightened. Sonic held Tails's wrist to make certain he didn't trip, which was a good idea, for the lifting floor made it easy to stumble. It seemed as if the entire ship were collapsing.

Sonic glanced up at the ceiling. If the floor was moving up at an inch per second, and the ceiling was six feet up, then ... "Tails," he panted, "look for a trapdoor in the ceiling. If we can't get out of here, we're gonna get killed!"

Tails looked at the ceiling, noticing how close it was. He kept his eyes on it, letting Sonic's hand guide him down the passage.

A few long, breathless seconds passed. The floor boosted a foot higher, like a giant trash compactor. Suddenly Tails's searching gaze caught a possible exit. He pulled against Sonic's hold. "Sonic, a door!" He had spotted a round door in the ceiling with a wheel on it. Sonic hit the blades's brakes and spun around. "Where?"

They dashed back and stood beneath it. They couldn't reach it- yet. "We'll hafta wait a minute," Sonic said, words coming between breaths. "If it's locked or something, we're sunk."

The ceiling lowered like the jaw of a giant nut-cracker, and they waited nervously. Sonic, leaped up and grabbed ahold of the wheel with a muffled clank. He jerked back and forth, dangling feet swinging wildly-Tails stood clear. "It's jammed," he grunted to his sidekick. He dropped to the floor. "Better put jam in your pockets, 'cause we're about to be toast."

Tails didn't smile. "Let's both try it when it comes down far enough."

Sonic looked at him. "That means we'll have one chance." His eyes moved upward. "Work fast, little bro."

Inch by inch the floor lifted them upward, machinery rumbling, metal grinding against metal. Sonic set his teeth grimly. This would be close. Tails watched the trapdoor as if it were made of gold. It edged closer ... closer ...

"Now!" Sonic barked. He and Tails leaped into the air and grabbed opposite ends of the wheel. "Pull right," Sonic said. "Same time as me. Go!" They jerked the wheel to the right as hard as they could. The wheel gave a little, then stuck tight. They kept pulling.

Their dangling feet touched the floor, for less than three feet were left between floor and ceiling. They looked at each other. "It opens or we die," Sonic said flatly, the noise of the retracting floor nearly drowning him out. They threw themselves into twisting the wheel, the floor giving them leverage.

With a rusty shriek the wheel gave in. The door flew upward and swung out of sight. Warm wind rushed down on them, along with bright sunlight. Without hesitating they clambered out of that death-trap.

Unfortunately, they emerged a couple feet from the backside of one of the jet engines. The turbulence hit them like an express train, impossible to stand against, ripping the breath from their bodies.

In an instant they were flung off the ship like scraps of paper. Sonic saw the tail fin of Flying Battery slide by, leaving only empty space below him.

Doc and I watched them drop past the cockpit, both doing over sixty. Then they were below us and out of sight. "They got out," I said, not bothering to disguise my relief. Doc looked at me, one hand twisting the end of his mustache thoughtfully. "Knuckles," he said, "why don't you go after them? I think I can get started on Death Egg's repairs without you."

I looked at him, wondering if my eagerness showed in my eyes. "Oh man, can I? Thanks, Doc!"

I whirled and ran for the door. Below was Sandopolis, the desert of the Floating Island. I had always wanted to 'escort' them through ...

. . .

As the door closed behind Knuckles, Robotnik spoke aloud to the cockpit. "Metal Sonic, come to the bridge." To himself, he continued, "That echidna may be a dimwit, but he's not so dense as to miss the significance of where the Death Egg crashed. I'm sure Lava Reef is near the Hidden Palace. If I can only search ..."

Metal Sonic stepped in, red eyes shimmering. "Yes, Dr. Robotnik?"

"Mecha, I want you to follow Knuckles. Watch him, but do not be seen. I want to know of his and Sonic's whereabouts while I am underground. Understand?"

"Understood. Departing now."