Chapter 33: Eggmanland

"Eggmanland must be north of here," Tails said to everyone the next morning. "My radar's pointing to the two Chaos Emeralds we don't have, and they both appear further up north in Ferrum."

"I see," a recovered Sonic nodded, leaning back in a lounger. "So that's our final destination, is it?"

"I suppose," Tails shrugged.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Ash said, pumping his fist with determination. "Let's get up there and finish the job!"

"I'm not sure it'll be that easy," Knuckles said.

"What makes you say that?" Max asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Eggman's been talking about building this place for as long as Sonic's been on his tail," the echidna explained. "If he's finally succeeded, then there's no way he'll let us in without a fight. Security's gonna be tight. There's no way we can just rush headlong in like we usually do."

Sonic listened to his friends words, then nodded. "So we need an actual plan this time," he said. "Too bad that's not my strong suite. I usually just run in and bust everything."

"We'll have to work together," Ash said.

"Don't we always do that?" Misty asked him with a deadpan expression.

"Yeah, but we're working with at least a dozen people here, Misty," Ash replied. "I know we all get along fairly well, but we still have our disagreements. Coming up with a plan of this magnitude to take Eggman down is no simple matter. The only way we'll win is if we put our heads together and work as a team."

"That's easy for you to say, Ash," Serena retorted, frowning at him with her arms folded. "It's easy to work with Pokemon like that. Humans are a different story."

"How much different?" Ash asked rhetorically. "I've worked with Pokemon and humans, and we always pull through whether we win or lose. We can do this."

"You are so naive," Serena grumbled.

Ash heard her. "What?" he said sharply.

Serena was quick to notice this, as her expression quickly softened. "Sorry," she said. "I guess I'm just nervous."

He smiled at her. "It's okay. I understand." He addressed the whole group again. "If we want to even get into Eggmanland, we'll have to know what we're up against. I think Sonic and Tails should go ahead of us and scout the premises."

"Count me in, too," Knuckles said. "Sonic's not going anywhere without someone to keep him in check."

"What, you think I can't?" Tails asked, slightly offended.

"Yeah, but you're more likely to go along with whatever he says," Knuckles replied. "Nothing personal. That's just the way you guys are."

"He does have a point, Tails," Sonic shrugged, a sheepish grin on his face.

"Whatever," Tails shrugged, a deadpan expression on his face.

"If we want to get there soon, we should go now," Knuckles clenched his fists. "Daylight only lasts so long, and Sonic's speed is crucial if we want to make it in time."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Sonic grinned, tapping his foot in excitement. "Let's go!" With that, they took off. Ash watched them go, a frown on his face.

"Don't worry, Ash," Serena smiled warmly at him. "They'll be fine. They know what they're doing."

"I know," Ash nodded, expression unchanged. "Still...I can't help but wonder…" he trailed off.

"What?" Iris asked. "What is it?"

Ash blinked as he watched his friends disappear over the horizon. "How do Tails and Knuckles keep up with him?"

Iris and Serena blinked, then sweatdropped. "And here I thought it was something serious," Misty mumbled in the background.

"Chaaaaa," Pikachu rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

It was an hour before noon when Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles arrived at a cliffside from which they could see Eggmanland. The massive amusement park loomed against the skyline, casting an ominous shadow over anyone who passed under its shadow. Of course, no one dared to do that, as a massive security system watched the outer wall like a hawk.

"Looks like he finally did it," Sonic growled, fists and teeth clenched.

"Not for long," Tails imitated his posture.

"Come on," Knuckles said. "We need to figure out how to take this baby down."

"Right," Tails nodded, pulling out another gadget. He held it up and pointed it at Eggmanland so its screen faced him while it scanned the landscape. He pushed buttons furiously as it did so, then a beeping sound confirmed the scan was complete. "Unbelievable," he murmured.

"Tight security?" Sonic smirked cheekily.

"Ash had no idea," Tails said. "The whole place is brimming with it!"

"The doc must really want to win this time," Knuckles muttered.

"There's no way in from the outside," Tails went on. "That would be suicide. Ugh! If only we had the Tornado NX!"

"Didn't Shadow say that Eggman would be able to take it down easily?" Sonic reminded him. "Word is his air defense is outstanding this time around."

"Security on the land and in the air," Knuckles mused. "That leaves one other option, then."

"Getting in by digging underground," Tails said, practically reading his thoughts. "But how do we pull that off?"

"Scan the ground," Sonic urged him. "Maybe there's a way through down there."

"Maybe," Tails mused, pushing some buttons to adjust his scanner. "My goodness!" he cried.

"What?" Sonic and Knuckles said in unison.

"There's an entire complex under the surface," Tails replied in shock. "It's like people have been down there before!"

"Holy cow," Sonic said, looking over Tails' shoulder. "You're not kidding."

"But how could Eggman build his amusement park over a complex like that without crushing it?" Knuckles wondered. "It's a shaky foundation."

"That's a good point," Sonic mused. Then he grinned as he cracked his knuckles. "I guess that'll make it that much easier to destroy it!"

"Don't be too hasty, Sonic," Tails admonished him. "We can't all enter from underground. It would be too predictable."

"What?" Sonic looked at his best friend with a disgruntled look. "But you guys said there was no other way to enter!"

"There isn't," Tails shook his head. "But that's assuming Eggman can detect us coming in. If we can find a way to disguise our approach, we can all come in from different directions."

"I like the sound of that," Knuckles agreed. "But how can we pull that off?"

"With this," Tails said, pulling out a large, nonfunctioning Eggrobo. "I'll repair this robot, install a tracking device, then use it to get an in-depth view of Eggman's park. We'll be able to figure the rest of our plan out from there."

"Let's do it," Sonic nodded.

It took Tails a half-hour to repair the robot. Then, with it fully functioning again, it flew to the park according to protocol. When it was out of sight, Tails activated the tracking device. A screen showed them what the robot was seeing through its eyes.

"Wow," Sonic murmured. "You've really done it this time, Eggman."

"That's enough," Tails said, shutting the device down. "My replication of Eggmanland is complete." He pulled out his scanner, updating it with the data from the tracking device. "Now, we can figure out how to get in there, get the Chaos Emeralds, and defeat Eggman."

"Call the others," Sonic ordered Knuckles with a grin. "It's time to crack this egg's shell!"

From a distance, Shadow watched as Ash and the rest of them began the long trek to Eggmanland. It was noon, and since the average human would take three hours to walk there, they would get there by 3 in the afternoon.

"Don't lose hope, Ash," he whispered. "Everyone else is counting on you."

A sudden bolt of lightning struck behind Eggmanland, even though there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Shadow looked at Ash and his friends. They didn't react at all. So I'm the only one who saw that he thought.

And then he saw him.

"So that's Eggmanland," Ash said, determination surging through his veins.

"Yes," Sonic nodded. They stood where they were before, looking over the ominous park.

"I have a plan," Tails said, "but it requires Sonic to be a hedgehog. Speed is of the essence."

"How much room did you leave for error?" Max asked.

"None," Tails replied. "Eggman left me no flexibility. There's no other way."

"Then fire away," Misty said. "We're ready."

"Okay," Tails nodded. "Sonic is the key to this plan; it is imperative both that we keep him safe and that we complete this operation before the sun sets."

"That gives us about three hours, then," Knuckles noted.

"Sounds like plenty of time to me," Bonnie grinned.

"It's actually not," Tails shook his head. "By my estimate, if all goes according to plan, we only have two and a half hours."

"Is it that elaborate?" Ash asked.

"Yes. Now, the first order of business is to get Clemont, Bonnie, Max, and myself in. Clemont and I have to find a way to disable the most intense security. That will most likely take an hour in and of itself. But we can only shut it down for an hour and a half. Once we've pulled that off, the rest of you can split up and enter by air land, and through the underground passage. Break through the rest of the security, and head for the center of the park. The Chaos Emeralds are being used there as a source of energy for the park. Once we've retrieved them, we have to get them to Sonic, and he'll make a break for it."

"Do you really think Eggman won't find us at some point?" May asked.

"Honestly," Tails shrugged, "I'm counting on him finding us once we've finished up. He might not find us, but it's highly probable that he will. By the time he does, however, Sonic will have the Chaos Emeralds far away from there, which is just what we need."

"Then we can take him down ourselves," Serena nodded, also determined as she clenched her fist. "I've always wanted to give that fatso a piece of my mind."

"Then we have three hours to pull this off," Knuckles said.

"And only one shot," Brock shuddered.

"No time to lose," Ash grinned, pumping his fist. "It's time to take down the Eggman!" Everyone cheered.