Chapter 13

Death Egg

Sonic and Tails located the docking bay Knuckles had spoken of, far down the ship's side. They landed cautiously, found a door, electrocuted the lock and stepped in.

They entered a long, narrow corridor between exposed machinery. Most of it was running, pistons moving up and down, wheels and bars turning rapidly, nameless things moving in and out. The air reeked of grease and exhaust. "Decharge!" Sonic called over the racket. "I wouldn't mind taking this mess down, but we have to find the Master emerald."

Tails obeyed. The flickies faded into their natural blue and flew out the open exit door. "Frankly," Tails said, watching them go, "I like being invincible."

Sonic's multi-colored glow faded to indigo. "I know," he agreed, "but it has its disadvantages. Let's go."

They cautiously made their way down the narrow avenue, stepping around turning gears and ducking under great swaths of hanging cable. After fifty or sixty feet they came to a heavy door in a thick frame, such as those found in submarines. It took both of them to turn the wheel and open it.

On the other side was a huge open space with a catwalk leading across it. Sonic ventured out a few steps, scanning for danger. There was nothing but space. They had entered the core section of the Death Egg.

It was a monstrous spherical hollow, the sides studded with lights, catwalks, doorways, machinery, windows and framing. A massive metal pillar, more than a hundred feet in diameter, soared up the center, supporting the inside of the ship. Halfway up was a section with brightly lit windows. "Nerve center," Sonic said to Tails, his voice echoing in the vast cavern. "Ten to one that's where the Master is."

A tiny security camera on the walkway railing rotated and focused on the two. Neither noticed it. It followed their movements as they walked by. A light on its side began to flash, signalling robotic backup.

"Yeah," Sonic was saying thoughtfully, "I saw this open place last time, but I didn't cross it. I think I was in that side, over there."

"Well, _I_ don't like this place," Tails said. "It's freaky. Too big to be a ship. Too big, period. Can we fly out to the pillar and get the Master?"

"Nope," Sonic shook his head. "Only way to get in there is to climb up inside of it. C'mon. I want to see if we can find the bi- plane."

They crossed the catwalk, their feet clanking on the metal grating. They reached a doorway, stepped through and began to pick their way down the hallway. Doors were set at regular intervals all the way down its length. The lights were few, turning the corridor into a long, dim, cave-like place.

Sonic watched the names of the doors as they went by. "Engine 25C," he read aloud. "Engine 25B. Fuel. Robot Maintenance. Engine 25A. Hanger." Sonic touched Tails's good arm. "Hanger. That's where they keep planes and stuff, little bro!"

"Cool!" Tails said, eyes lighting up. "Let's go in!"

"Right," Sonic replied. He twisted the doorknob and pulled the door open.

Glaring at them from the darkened hall beyond were a pair of red- crescent eyes.

Sonic tried to slam the door shut, but Metal Sonic caught it halfway. He swung it open as the fox and hedgehog backed away. "We meet again," the robot purred softly. "This time you will not escape so easily."

"Oh yeah?" Sonic challenged. "You'll hafta catch us first. Run, Tails!" He grabbed his friend's good arm in his steel hand and was off like a shot.

"You will not escape as easily as that!" Mecha roared after them.

Tails felt his feet touch the floor once in a while, such as when Sonic took a sharp turn and had to decelerate. He could not see how his friend kept from tripping or hitting a wall. After a close brush with a protruding pipe, Tails shouted, "All right, all right! Put me down- you're gonna kill me!"

Sonic slowed, looking behind them. "Okay," he panted, "I don't think he followed us. You okay?"

Tails stood, pulled away and rubbed his arm. "Man, you have no feeling in your hands. I'll bet I get a bruise the size of a grapefruit from that."

Sonic opened his hand and looked at it witheringly. "I can't help it, little bro. This stupid metal-"

"Actually, it is very intelligent metal."

They whipped around. Metal Sonic was standing in the passage behind them, arms folded. Somehow he had crept up without them hearing. "In fact," he continued, "you would be much more useful if you were both robotized. And Sssonic, your condition is permanent, so get used to it."

Sonic's hands curled into fists, but otherwise he did not stir.

"You are trapped here. All exits have been sealed. You will die unless you surrender."

"And if we surrender," Sonic growled, "we die. Not much choice there."

"Correct. Which do you wish?"

"Hold that thought. Tails, we are up, over and gooonne!"

The two fled down the passage. This time Mecha pursued them openly, red eyes bright with anger. They could hear as he radioed for reinforcements.

"I don't think this was such a good idea," Tails panted to Sonic as they ran.

Sonic cast a glance over his shoulder. "What else was I supposed to do, give up? Not in a million years!"

"Do you think he was lying-you know, about this place being sealed?"

"I donno, but I'm pretty sure we're gonna need the bi-plane to get away."

Two hallways later they were forced to stop by three big robots, who were standing in the middle of the hallway, guns aimed and ready. Sonic recognized them as the 'SWAT-bots' they had seen in Flying Battery's construction bay. For the first time they head their war-cry: "NUMBER-ONE PRIORITY HEDGEHOG! APPREHEND!"

"Go back!" Sonic yelled, spinning around.

"But what about Metal Sonic?" Tails cried.

"I'll mow him down. Come ON!"

They tore down the corridor, alert to the clanking of the SWAT- bots' feet on the smooth metal floor. Laser blasts began to flash by them, striking the ground and walls. "I can see the headlines now," Tails said, gasping every few words. "Sonic Hedgehog and Tails Prower found dead-shot in the back. Speculation of cowardice-"

"This isn't cowardice!" Sonic retorted. "This is saving our skins!"

Metal Sonic appeared ahead as he rounded a corner. Tails moved next to the wall, while Sonic threw himself into a spin and shot forward. He collided with the robot head-on. Metal Sonic was thrown backward and sent skidding across the floor. He finally came to rest, the robot equivalent of stunned. Sonic and Tails jumped around him and ran on, scott-free.

"Sonic, where are we?"

The two stopped and looked around. They had been wandering down the hallways for ages, trying to find the hanger door Mecha had chased them from. None of the door names looked familiar. They had come to a gigantic, thick-glassed window that looked out into the core section of the Death Egg. They certainly had never seen THAT before. This is why Tails brought up his nervous question. Sonic had no idea, but was not about to admit they were lost. "We're almost to the hanger," he said, crossing his fingers behind his back and hoping it were true. "This is a shortcut."

Believing him, Tails meekly fell into step beside him as they set out again.

Robotnik was engaged in analyzing the crystal structure of the Master Emerald when his communicator beeped. Concentration focused on the computer, he didn't notice until it had beeped twice more. Distractedly he picked it up and flicked it on. "Yeah? This had better be important."

"Doctor," came Metal Sonic's voice, "S-Son-my rival and his companion have escaped and are somewhere in the Death Egg."

That got Ivo's attention. "What? How did THEY get here?"

"Crept aboard is my guess, sir."

"What about Knuckles? Did you kill him as I wished?"

"Nearly, Doctor. His vital signs were very low, so I brought him here. He is in one of the prison cells. I figured we could try out the robotizer prototype on him."

Robotnik looked at the computer screen thoughtfully. "I programmed you to show no mercy."

"That was not mercy, sir." The robot was personally insulted. "I will show you what I mean when you give me your permission to use him as a guinea pig."

Robotnik waved a hand, as if Metal Sonic were in the room. "Do with him as you wish, but I want him dead afterward. No traitor against me has ever lived long, and I intend to keep it that way."

"Very well, Doctor. It will give me great pleasure."

The comm clicked off, and Robotnik returned his attention to the Master emerald.

"Intruders! Halt!" Two laser blasts hit the wall a few feet from Tails's head.

"Yipes!" the fox shrieked, whirling. "Sonic, we've got company!"

A whole gang of SWAT-bots were pelting toward them, weapons ready.

"No kidding!" Sonic yelped. "Let's get outta here!"

The hedgehog and fox ran down the dim hall. Laser blasts flashed by, striking everywhere but their intended targets. "Lucky for us they're rotten shots," Sonic muttered.

Tails looked back. "Uh oh, not for long. Mecha just joined the troops."

Sonic tossed a glance over his shoulder. The blue robot had appeared out of nowhere and was leading the pack.

A few lasers were fired that merited ducking. Metal Sonic was deadly serious about the chase, but had not had much target practice. He was still learning how to think like an assassin.

"Oh great, what's THAT?" Tails asked, beginning to pant. Sonic looked. Ahead of them, standing in the middle of the hall and waiting, was a large figure. Sonic's footsteps faltered in indecision, then strengthened again. "Keep going," he panted to his sidekick. "It won't stop us."

A second later they flashed past it. Tails looked back. "Look, it's distracting the robots! It's leading them off!"

Sonic looked back, too, then laughed out loud. The thing had ducked through a side door, and all the SWAT-bots followed it. Incidentally, so did Metal Sonic.

"That was Slasher!" Sonic exclaimed, slowing. "What's she doing here?"

"Saving our skins," Tails replied, and sighed with relief. "Man, I thought we were toast."

They slowed to a walk, looking around warily.

"Think she'll keep 'em occupied very long?" the young fox asked.

Sonic shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Never can tell with Mecha. Let's find someplace to hide."

On impulse they turned down a hallway marked 'engines'. "Lotsa obstacles," Sonic said hopefully. "Let's hope they assume we wouldn't be dumb enough to go in here."

Tails shot him a sharp glance. "Dumb enough? We're not gonna jump down the engine core or something, are we?"

The blue hedgehog waved a hand. "Naw. We'll just hide somewhere. C'mon, before we get spotted."

The hall brought them to a large hall that dropped down two hundred feet. A narrow metal walkway and staircase zig-zagged down one wall, like a fire escape. The two started down, peering curiously over the railing at the machinery below. It was quite noisy; hissing, clanking, the roar of gigantic engines. There was a door at each level of the staircase-engine 1, 1A, 2, 2A-

The two made it halfway down before a laserblast bounced off the wall to their right. It ricocheted around the room several times before going out. Sonic and Tails dropped flat until it had vanished, then looked around. Two worker bots, apparently on guard, stood on another walkway across the room. One was carrying a deadly-looking blaster rifle.

Sonic jumped up and turned to the engine door on their platform. "In there, kiddo! We're gonna get killed if we stay in here!" He yanked the door open and they leaped through, failing to read the sign on the door. It said, 'Circle Gravity-Engine 3-B.'

The first thing they noticed was the deafening roar and the blue- grey light. The next thing they noticed was that they were flying forward with no way to stop. The wall coming at them was not a wall at all, but a spinning circular fan, like those in jet-engines. It had to be a hundred feet across. They shot toward it, but an enormous gust of air struck them ten feet from the blades. They were hurled back toward the door they had entered.

The entire room was turning clockwise around a huge rod through the center. It was not square, but cylindrical. They did not fall downward- 'down' had been switched to the giant fan to their right. The door they had come in by was now 'up'. The gravity was confusing, the noise was confusing, and the rotating motion of the thing they were in was confusing.

Sonic finally succeeded in catching Tails's arm as they passed in the air. Tails looked ill. He came near to losing his lunch every time he neared the sharp fan blades. "What is this?" he shouted over the noise.

"Gravity generator!" Sonic yelled back. "It's gotta shut down for us to get out!"

"Won't we hit the fan?" Tails cried, even as they hit the air barrier and bounced horizontally, or 'up'.

"No!" Sonic replied loudly. "Down is that way, remember?"

"How do we shut it down from inside?"

"I donno! I REALLY don't want to go hyper in here! Let's see if we can find something!"

They bounced around for a while, studying the walls and and rotating rod in the center. Sonic finally spotted a small panel hanging open on the rod, near the center of it. Wires and circuits were exposed beneath. After several tries, he finally managed to grab the edge's opening. He hung sideways by one hand, and with the other reached inside, clamped his metal fingers around the electronic hardware and yanked.

It must have been vital. Sonic was electrocuted, muscles locked, unable to let go. The rotating cylinder around them ground to a halt, the roar of the machinery rising to a deafening scream. Sonic could do nothing. He was frozen in place, unable to make a sound or free himself.

Gravity change. He had no idea which way was up anymore, so it was a shock to make a right angle turn and hang in THAT direction. It jerked his hands out of the wiring, and he dropped twenty feet to what had been the wall. He collapsed onto the rough metal surface and closed his eyes, muscles trembling.

The hedgehog lay there for a few minutes, unmoving. He was aroused by the faint clanking of footsteps. Tails knelt beside him. "Sonic? Are- are you okay?" Sonic hadn't the strength to reply, which frightened his sidekick. "Sonic! You're not dead, are you? Oh Sonic-"

"Tails," Sonic growled, irritated. His speaking apparatus didn't seem to work very well, but he slurred, "I'm alright, so gimmeuhminit ..."

Tails gave a sigh of relief and sat back on his heels.

It took Sonic some time to recover. The prolonged electric shock had drained him of all energy, and his muscles seemed jellified. He had just made it to a sitting position and was resting with his forehead on his knees, when voices startled them.

"Master, there they are!"

"Wait! Do not go in there. I will go in myself and drive them to you." The voices echoed in the vast tube. Sonic and Tails turned. Metal Sonic glared at them from the doorway they had entered by. Three SWAT- bots stood behind him.

Tails tapped Sonic's shoulder nervously. "Sonic, we'd better get out of here. Mecha's gonna eat our lunch."

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. Help me up."

Tails pulled him to his feet. Sonic took two steps, buckled and sank to one knee. His legs would not support him; they burned and throbbed as if his veins were filled with liquid flame. He moaned involuntarily, glanced back at the robot, who was climbing down into the generator, and forced himself to his feet.

Tails was dancing, eyes on their enemy. "Hurry, Sonic, hurry! We gotta run-"

"I can't run!" Sonic shouted in frustration. "Tails, you hafta help me. My legs don't work right!"

The fox took his hand, sobered. "You can't run?"

"No! You have to help me until my legs get strong again. Hurry up, already!"

They both looked at Metal Sonic. The robot was pacing toward them like a lion in an arena. "Run," Sonic commanded flatly. "I can move if you'll steady me."

Tails looked around wildly. "Where the heck do I go?"

Sonic turned and pointed to the huge fan, which was now stopped and quiet. "There. We can get out through the blades. Now run, dummy!"

It was the hardest thing Sonic had ever attempted. Tails's hand kept him upright, but he lifted and placed each foot by sheer willpower. Each step was agony, and his body cried out for rest. He bit his lip fiercely against the pain. Mecha was gaining on them-Tails was not half the runner his crippled hero was.

The huge fan rose before them, hundreds of thin blades glinting in the dim light. The center was attached to the monstrous rod that supported the center of the engine, now high above. Tails slowed, helped Sonic over the low ledge that formed the edge of the fan, then looked back. Mecha was only fifty feet away and closing fast, eyes burning dangerously.

They forced and wiggled their way through a gap in the blades, surprised at how wide they really were. Sonic held himself up and fought his way though the narrow slit without help, but once on the other side, Tails again had to take his hand.

They found themselves in a huge exhaust pipe, wider in diameter than the generator. Fortunately, there was a door in the far side. It seemed to take years to cross the vast open space. By the time they made it to the far side, Metal Sonic had succeeded in clawing his way through the fan and was again running toward them.

It was then they discovered the door was locked.

"Sonic," Tails said helplessly, "you have to become hyper. We're trapped, no question."

Sonic nodded. It was the last thing he wanted to do, but it was better than being captured and wrested of the chaos and super emeralds.

Wordlessly he pulled out two super emeralds and clashed them together.

His blue flashed to a hot myriad of colors, and the bursts of excess energy appeared. His glow was startling against the grey twilight of the pipe. Metal Sonic stopped short and began to retreat. He was not foolish enough to challenge Hyper Sonic.

Sonic stood still, feeling the pain drain from his limbs. Invincibility was a wonderful thing. Maybe his body would have recovered by the time he decharged. He had no idea how long he was to remain hyper that day.

He assaulted the door, wrested it from its hinges and and tossed it aside. He motioned Tails inside, waved a sarcastic goodbye to Metal Sonic, and disappeared into the dark passage.

A hunt/chase developed. Sonic, made reckless by faith in his invincibility, fought and destroyed dozens of SWAT-bots. Tails lived in an agony of suspense, never knowing when the next attack would come. Sonic didn't let him use the chaos emeralds for fear the flickies would cause major damage to the Death Egg before the Master emerald had been secured.

The chase went on for hours. Sonic and Tails fled through engine rooms, robot factories, guardstations, and spent quite a while lost in the weapons-factory wing. There they found a set of gigantic firearms, all of which needed the Master emerald as a laser crystal. Doomsday weapons all.

After a while Metal Sonic dropped out of the chase. They didn't know where he went or why, but knew he must be up to no good. Only the SWAT-bots kept up the chase.

Then Robotnik put his oar in.

Hyper Sonic and Tails ducked into a small empty room to catch their breaths. They heard the robotic voices of their enemies in the hall outside for a while, but the robots wandered off.

"Safe now," Tails panted.

"Not while we're here," Sonic corrected. "This stupid battlestation is crawling with traps. And robots." He looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I think if we leave this hallway and turn right, we'll-" He broke off and stared at the grid ceiling.

Tails, noticing, looked up as well. "Huh?"

Sonic moved forward and reached up. "Hey Tails, look. See how this seam right here runs up to here, then across, then down, the back across-" Experimentally he pushed on the square. To their surprise, it lifted easily. It was a trapdoor. "Cool," Sonic remarked. "I take back what I said before. We'll get out through here."

He gave it a shove. The panel flipped up and clanked against the floor above. Sonic jumped up through it and looked around, braced up on his elbows. Tails saw him freeze and catch his breath. "What?" the fox demanded. "Is it Mecha?"

Sonic climbed up out of the hole and stood beside it, staring around him. "Nope," he replied after a moment. "It's the hanger. Give me your hand-I'll pull you up."

Tails took Sonic's hand and scrambled out onto the floor. Then he too stared.

Like everything else on the Death Egg, the hanger was enormous. Easily the size of a football stadium, the ceiling was so high it was almost out of sight. The west wall was a solid glass door from floor to ceiling. Outside was a broad landing platform, almost a runway. Also outside, they could see something that gave them sudden vertigo.

They were on a level with Mobius's atmosphere. Black, star- studded space spread out above, and Mobius, sapphire blue, vivid brown and green, laced with white streamers of clouds, lay below.

"If we jumped now," Sonic said grimly, "we'd be meteors by the time we hit the ground. I only hope Slasher got out of here before we got so high."

Tails was more concerned with their predicament. "Could we get out of here as super and hyper?"

Sonic nodded. "Probably. I'm not too worried about us. But the Master emerald-" here he turned and gazed into the hanger. Tails did the same.

A vast assortment of attack ships met their eyes. They were parked in neat rows near the walls, silent and waiting. The two approached them for a closer look.

The ships were nearly trademarked-Knuckles had obviously designed some, and Robotnik others. Some resembled fighter jets, others closer to flying saucers, and a few were so bizarre as to defy description. These were the fast, expensive fighters, all bearing heavy defense shields and vicious weaponry.

"You know," Sonic said, hands on his hips, "I could destroy all these. But I don't think I will."

"Why not?" asked Tails, who was crouched over a jet's canopy, looking into the cockpit.

"Two reasons," Sonic said, with the air of a know-it-all teacher. "One, they might blow up big. Two, those explosions might hurt the bi-plane."

Tails's head snapped up. "What?"

Sonic walked up to a tarp-covered object and flipped one corner back with a flourish. Underneath was the silver wing and bright scarlet side of none other than their stolen plane.

Tails came running, eyes bright. "You found it! How'd you know it was under there?"

The two pulled the yellow tarp off, and Sonic replied, "I'd know its shape anywhere. And what a place for it!" He jumped on the top wing, which was specially insulated so his power would not affect the machinery. His eyes swept it from nose to tail, missing nothing. Aside from a little dust, it seemed untouched. "If Robotnik put one scratch on this baby," he growled fiercely, "I'm gonna sweep the floor with his mustache." He nearly decharged himself so as to examine the engines, but checked himself. He didn't want to run the risk that he might not have recovered from his electric shock. Instead, he waved Tails into the cockpit.

The young fox vaulted into the seat with the ease of long routine. He adjusted the controls and started the engines. "Everything's the way we left it," he reported, "but the fuel's one notch lower."

"Probably from Knux taking it," Sonic said, lightening up. "Good. We'll be able to get it out of here-as soon as we get a little lower, that is." He glanced toward the glass door and space beyond. Then he gasped. "Oh my gosh. Tails, look!"

The fox stood up in the cockpit and looked. He too gasped in horror.

Outside on the runway were two giant feet. These were connected to two giant legs, a massive torso, huge arms-Their eyes travelled up to the head. One eye was back, tinted glass-the cockpit. The other was a mass of machinery. The metal mustache confirmed the robot as Robotnik's likeness. It was framed in the glass doorway, four stories tall.

"Tails," Sonic said quietly, "get out of the plane and become super. When that door opens all the air will be sucked out."

Tails obeyed, wondering how Sonic knew the door would open.

The flicky birds appeared out of nowhere, as usual. The lead bird looked around the hanger with a destructive eye and asked if his young master would like all the machines destroyed. "No," Tails said shortly. "See the big robot outside? That's the target, as soon as the doors open."

"Look," another flicky chirped, "it's Robozilla."

"But there's no air this high," another began. It was interrupted by a clank and a whirr. The glass paneled door began to rise.

Sonic grabbed Tails and held him as the air roared through the door. It tugged at their bodies with impossible strength, attempting to suck them out the door. Sonic, protected thoroughly by the supers, felt no ill effects. Tails, however, was only partially protected by the chaos emeralds. The air was ripped from his lungs, and the air pressure changed wreaked havoc on his eardrums. He gasped, struggled a little, then went limp in Sonic's arms.

"Tails?" Sonic said in horror. "What happened? Tails!" The fox lay senseless in his arms, the glow in his body slowly dimming.

"He will be dead in a few seconds," the lead flicky said impassively. "You must bond the emeralds to save him."

"What?" Sonic said, panicking. "How do I do that?"

The chaos emeralds, rotating around Tails, were slowing down.

"Take your super emeralds and hold them inside the orbit of the chaos," the flicky explained.

Sonic hurriedly pulled out his supers and thrust the handful inside the chaos emeralds' circle.

There was a powerful flash of light. Tails was torn from Sonic's grasp in the explosion. Sonic was thrown to the floor on his back. He bounded to his feet and beheld a strange sight.

Tails was sitting up a few feet away, gasping and dazedly shaking his head. The chaos emeralds were not orbiting him only-they looped around him, flashed through the air, went around Sonic, and back again. The bright sparks of energy that had flamed from Sonic were now flaming from both of them. The flickies soared back and forth between them.

Sonic went to his friend and helped him to his feet. "Are you okay, little bro? I thought I'd lost you."

Tails rubbed one ear. "I'm okay now, I think. I couldn't breathe. It was like my brain shut down. Hey, what's with the emeralds?"

The lead bird heard him and said, "In atomic terms, this is called 'covalent bond'. Two atoms bond by sharing the electrons in their orbits. The chaos emeralds, incidentally, do the same when brought into contact with the supers. The two of you together have achieved ultra powers. Travel through the sun itself would not harm you. Oh, by the way-do you want to do something about Robozilla over there?"

Indeed, the giant stood waiting, Dr. Robotnik himself in the cockpit. As they gazed at it, it lifted one foot and moved forward heavily. "Sonic," Tails said, "don't let him come in here. He might hurt the bi-plane."

"Yeah," Sonic agreed. "C'mon, mister ultra-Tails. I don't think we can get very far apart during this ... 'covalent bond'."

The two took off. Tails found himself able to move as effortlessly as Sonic and just as quickly. He could not help but feel a twinge of fear as they neared the monstrous robot. He didn't trust the emeralds. He had been super and yet nearly suffocated. No matter what the power flickies said, he was taking no chances.

Sonic, on the other hand, was ready to take every chance he got. If he was mondo invincible now, then he could test the robot's defences without fear.

"Can't tell you to split up," Sonic called to Tails, "so come with me. I wanna get a look at the engine housing."

"Be careful!" Tails said. "It's a little bigger than we're used to."

"Duh."

They cut a sharp right thirty feet from the boss's feet and circled it. The head turned to follow their movement with its one black eye, giving the uncanny impression it was alive. The engines, unfortunately, were built inside the robot's chest. Only the vents on the underside of its torso gave a clue as to where they were. They circled it again, looking up at it curiously. Its armor was three feet thick.

"I don't see any weak spots," Sonic said, discouraged. "If there were only a way to get inside ... Tails, fly with me. I want to get higher up."

The fox spun his double tails obediently, and kept up easily as Sonic bounded into the air and soared upward. On level with the chest, they again circled it, then moved closer and looked at the head. No weaknesses. They landed on it and walked around, trying to electrocute it, but the robot was insulated from their attack. It was too big.

They landed on the runway a short distance away. All this time the only move the bot had made was to turn its head. They decided that it was too big and heavy to pose any real threat. Sonic scratched his head in bewilderment. "I don't know what we're gonna do, little bro. We're like ants trying to threaten an elephant."

Tails nodded. "But there's gotta be a weakness. There always is. Hey birds," he addressed the glowing flickies, "any suggestions?"

"Yes," one chirped. "Watch out!"

A monstrous metal hand smashed down inches away from Sonic and Tails, shaking the entire platform. They leaped back with a surprised yelp. The boss had extended its hand on a long thick pole from its wrist. Now it lifted it and withdrew. They could almost see Robotnik's sneer in the robot's face.

"Overconfidence is your weakness," the lead flicky remarked to Sonic. "You forget to be on guard. This is your intelligent, scheming enemy we're facing. It would help to be on your toes."

Sonic glanced at Tails, who nodded. "I'll watch, too, Sonic. Look, here comes the other hand. Think we could break it off?"

Sonic watched the heavy metal hand slowly extend toward them. "Sure. I seem to remember another ship with hands and arms-it got you last time. Dual attack as soon as it comes down. Ready ..."

The massive hand crashed down. Ultra Sonic and Tails dodged like lightning, then pounced on the hand before it could pull away. Tails was surprised to find himself strong enough to grasp two metal panels and rip them off. Sonic noticed and approved. "Get the fingers, little bro. I'll get the rod."

He flung himself into a spindash and crashed into the thick, greasy pole. His own strength had been doubled by the bond, and he was able to smash it in half with only two hits.

The other hand was already extending. When Robotnik saw what they had done he tried to retract it, but it was too late. Sonic and Tails attacked, and soon the other hand was dislocated and lying on the runway, smoking. They gave each other a high five as the boss loaded its next weapon round.

Sonic and Tails turned to face the boss again, only to see all four flickies abandon them and take off toward it. "Wait!" Tails began, but Sonic touched his arm. "No, look."

A gigantic panel had slid aside in the robot's chest, revealing delicate machinery-and the biggest laser either had ever seen. The lens was four feet across, and a deep green.

"Sonic," Tails said softly. "It's the Master emerald on end."

Sonic stared. It was true-the emerald was on its side, smooth top facing outward. As they watched, it began to glow a hot neon green. "Not only that," Sonic said, "but it works, too. Start running. Even as ultra, I wouldn't want to get hit with that thing."

They took off, zig-zagging and dodging around the runway, eyes fixed on the Master emerald/laser. It charged until it was nearly too bright to look at, then fired a monstrous green beam. It missed, of course, but it burned a ten-foot circle in the runway. Then the panel closed over the laser, and the flickies returned and again circled Sonic and Tails.

"What'd you guys do?" Sonic asked.

"Checked things out," one replied. "It'll fire again. The Master is the heart of the whole machine. If you can get in and break the Master out of the machinery, the robot will die. We'll help you as much as we can."

Sonic gave them and Tails a thumbs-up. "Good. Now we have something to go on. C'mon!"

First the robot moved forward several steps and blasted a huge fireball at them from the guns in its' 'nose'. Sonic, Tails and the flickies stood still and let it pass over them. The flame could not penetrate the emerald bond or invincibility, Tails was relieved to see.

The chest panel opened again. "Now!" Sonic yelled. He and Tails bounded forward, leaped into the air and flew into the chest cavity. It was narrow and cramped, so Sonic went down on his belly and wormed his way in. Everything was hot and reeked of grease and oil. A hot green light shown from the Master emerald. He worked his way alongside it and examined the steel framework about it. Then he yelled, "Birds, get in here!"

Somehow, all four obeyed.

"I'm gonna pull this bar like this," he said, demonstrating. "You get in and pull those three clamps back. That should get it away from the light source. Ready, set, go!" He pulled the support rod back, releasing the clamps. The flickies jumped in and yanked the clamps back. The Master emerald settled to one side, loose. Sonic set his feet against it and kicked.

Tails, hovering outside, was just in time to catch the heavy gem as it popped out. It was too big for him to carry, so he brought it to the ground as best as he could without dropping it. Sonic jumped down beside him, literally glowing with elation. The flickies followed close behind. Sonic turned the gem this way and that before finding a way to carry it. He lifted it, grunting, and said, "Might as well be a boulder. C'mon Tails, let's get out of-"

He was interrupted as the towering mountain of metal above gave a groan and began to topple forward. "RUN!" a flicky shrieked. Sonic and Tails dashed sideways in time to avoid the monster's fall. The metallic crash was deafening as it sprawled headlong, covering most of the runway like a felled tree. As soon as silence resumed, Tails said, "All right, where'd Robotnik go?"

Indeed, a door in the back of the robot's head was standing open. They looked around suspiciously.

"Sssonic ..."

They whirled. Metal Sonic appeared, walking toward them from the direction of the hanger. He had something-it looked like a piece of glass-clenched in one hand. Sonic folded his arms. This robot was nothing compared to the one they had just defeated. "Hiya, Mecha. Where've you been? Ya just missed all the fun."

"On the contrary," the robot replied, red eyes glittering savagely, "that was merely the intro. The show has just started. For instance." He lifted the thing he was holding above his head. "I hold in my hands a fragment of the Master emerald."

Sonic cast a glance at the gem beside him. His eyes fell on the pointed end-the three inches of the tip had been cleanly shaved off. He returned his gaze to the robot, horrified.

Metal Sonic nodded. "You understand. And soon you shall see!"

He clashed one metal hand against the bit he held. His metal hull began to glow a dull yellow, like molten gold.

"Fool," the lead flicky said evenly. "That power is not meant for a machine. Sonic, you must take the fragment from him. It could be the cause of much evil."

Sonic looked at Tails. The young fox nodded, eyes burning. "Let's get him."

They attacked. Mecha deflected their blows easily, for he was invincible. He looked toward the Master emerald, alone and exposed on the runway, and laughed. He was a decoy. He would hold their attention until Robotnik had picked up the Master, then flee the two.

The armored freighter was nearly silent. It swooped down unnoticed, scooped up the huge gem and took off into the airless sky.

Seeing this, Metal Sonic broke away from his attackers, pelted to the edge of the runway and hurled the green fragment over. It fell, shimmering like a raindrop for an instant, then was gone. Bewildered, Sonic and Tails stared at him. "You two are very stupid," he told them smugly. "Where is the Master now?"

They turned and saw it was missing.

Neither noticed the robot calmly enter the hanger, climb into one of the little jets, fire it up, and roar away. They had run to the edge of the runway and were staring after the departing freighter.

Abruptly Sonic turned to his sidekick. "Tails, I'm going to unbond us. You go back and get the plane out of here. I'm going after Robotnik. I'm not losing out now. Not after coming this far."

"Sonic," Tails said apprehensively, "I can't breathe out here. We can't unbond."

"We can create an oxygen shield around you," a flicky said. "But Sonic, don't unbond here. Please, not here!" The other birds echoed him.

"Why not?" Sonic said impatiently, staring after the vanishing ship.

"Because it releases a tremendous amount of energy! Don't do it here-"

"We've got to do it sometime," Sonic said crossly. "Put your shield around Tails and tell me when you're ready."

Reluctantly the flickies began to whirl around Tails's head. When they were a yellow blur, one said, "Okay, we're ready."

Sonic snatched a chaos emerald from its orbit and clashed it against a super.

The resulting explosion was best compared to a nuclear bomb, or a volcanic eruption. Sonic was blasted spinning out into space, where he righted himself and tore after Robotnik, hyper. Tails was hurled in the other direction and landed on the hanger floor.

True to their word, the flickies had created an air shield around the young fox. He picked himself up, winded but unhurt. As he did he heard the sound. It was a horrible mechanical shriek, as if every machine in the Death Egg were running down. It wasn't until artificial gravity slanted sideways did Tails understand-the explosion had been so big it had damaged everything in the battlestation. He ran for the bi- plane, staggering on the floor that now felt as if it were pitched up at a 45 degree angle. As he did, he thought of something-wouldn't he fry the machinery?

"Birds," he panted, "can you drop my energy output so I won't hurt the bi-plane?"

"Yes," one flicky said slowly. "But it will have grievous consequences."

"Just do it," said Tails. His glow dimmed accordingly as he vaulted into the cockpit. He fired up the little plane, thankful that they had had the engines and fuel line pressurized, so an airless altitude wouldn't hurt them.

He taxied out onto the runway, drove around the fallen boss robot, gunned the flamejets, and took to the airless sky.

He never would have made it if not for the flickies. They moderated the power of the chaos emeralds, while maintaining the bubble of air around the young fox. What they didn't mention was that this was the breath from their own bodies.

As the altimeter dropped from 55 miles to 4, one by one the flickies began to fall behind. Tails didn't notice until he said, "Okay, I'm low enough to breathe now." He looked around, and saw only one flicky, the leader, flying wearily alongside.

"I am the last," he gasped. "Young master, I am afraid I must take the chaos emeralds from you."

"Why?"

"You no longer need them. It is better for them to remain separated."

The little bird flew forward, caught each emerald in its orbit around Tails, deactivated it, then tossed it out into space. Finally all were gone, and Tails was normal. The flicky no longer glowed. Its once-bright eyes were dim. "Goodbye, Tails," he chirped feebly. "I have done my bidding. Our lives were drained from us to maintain enough air for you to survive. I must now leave."

"No!" Tails cried. "Land in the plane with me! I'll land-we'll find a doctor-"

"Too late," the bird murmured. "Too late. You are alive-that is all that matters. Farewell, friend ..."

The flicky sank from sight and vanished in the wake of the bi- plane.