Chapter 9

Return of the Chief

"It is called GUN Fortress." Aurora explained. The main console flashed and brought up the image of a huge industrial warehouse. Massive black towers encircled the central facility with dozens of smaller outposts reinforcing the perimeter. "It is located in a deep gorge within Sky Canyon. It is almost impossible to reach the area by any other route than by sea."

Tails leaned back in his chair and studied the screen. At his right, Rouge the Bat lounged with her feet resting on the conference room table. The rest of the Steel Court stood silently, watching the presentation without a trace of movement. Near the doors stood two newcomers that Tails did not know. That one called Mighty stood with his arms folded and a deep scowl stretched across his face. The other, a yellow squirrel named Ray glanced nervously at Metal Sonic and the other mechs.

"How close can we get by flying?" Metal asked Aurora.

"The mountain range is very narrow." The screen turned to satellite footage of a dark mountain range. Sharp ridges pushed close together, offering only the smallest gaps between the rocks. GUN Fortress resided at the base of the gorge, almost completely enclosed by the mountain walls. "If you bring the Egg Carrier too close you will be exposing yourself to GUNs turrets. The ridge is dotted with heavy machine guns and rocket launchers, and the terrain creates dozens of hazardous choke points."

"What if we tried a rapid extraction?" Tails offered. "We could park just above the base, decloak, launch the assault and send the Egg Carrier away."

"We need the Egg Carrier to provide the main distraction," Metal countered. "The ground team won't be able to breach the defenses alone."

Rouge sighed. "Why are we bothering with this? A lone commando has the same chance as an army."

Metal's eyes flashed. "Is that you offering?"

"I think I'd do better than all of this," She said with a contemptuous wave at the screen. "We won't out strategize GUN. They are a professional military."

Metal turned and walked towards Rouge. "Are you doubting my ability to lead this army?

Rouge didn't back down. "Yes. You've already been captured by GUN once, that doesn't exactly stand as a point in your favor."

"If we try sending someone alone, and they fail, we might not get another chance," Tails pointed out. "We may as well give it all we got in one attack."

Rouge turned her attention to Tails and her eyes narrowed. "Sorry if I sound rude, but you don't exactly strike me as a military commander either."

Tails' face reddened and he slumped in his chair. "The fox is right," Aurora said. "The odds of an all out assault are greater than one going in alone."

"Not if we get blown out of the sky before we even get a chance to fight," Rouge argued.

"That won't happen." Metal Sonic strode to the center of the room. "We will have to do this carefully. The Egg Carrier must be a part of the battle, and for that we will need a team to disable their anti air weapons."

"Ray and I can handle that," Mighty interjected suddenly. He slammed his fist into his hand. "I'll rip their machines apart with my bare hands."

"Enough with the bravado," Rouge said exasperatedly. "This won't be that simple. We tried this approach before, but GUN was one step ahead of us. Commander Smith will have extra protections that we don't know about. Protections even she-" Rouge pointed at the computer screen. "Won't be able to find, even with her fancy satellites."

"So what do you recommend?" Metal Sonic asked irritably. "We cannot wait to come up with some full proof plan. Everyday we waste gives GUN another opportunity to fire their weapon and create more of those Diamond Sonics."

Rouge sighed and shook her head. "I…I don't know. But we can't just go running in there and expect to overwhelm them with force alone."

Tails watched the defiant expression in Rouge's eyes slowly fade into grief. After they had made contact with her group a few days ago, Tails had insisted that the Steel Court bring her in. Rouge had said she had to do something first, and when she finally arrived, she did so bearing the location of the Eclipse Canon. Neither her, nor her companions were very forthcoming on how they had secured the information, but Tails could tell it had come at a high price.

"We will be careful," Tails said gently. "But Metal is right, we can't wait to consider every possibility. In a few days, we will have enough badniks to launch the assault, and we have to do it now, before GUN hurts anyone else."

"Once the anti-air turrets are disabled, Omega will lead a ground attack," Metal continued. "He will punch a hole into their defenses and open up the base. After that, I will lead a team into the facility where we can set the charges and destroy the Eclipse Canon, once and for all."

"Sign me up for that," Rouge said casually. "I'm not really built for a battlefield-" The rest of her sentence was interrupted by a sudden alarm. Everyone stared up at the ceiling as the siren rang.

"Aurora what is it?" Metal snapped.

"Two intruders were just picked up by the perimeter scouts."

Intruders? Tails couldn't believe it. The Egg Carrier was parked in the middle of the ocean, and was completely invisible both to eyes and to radars. Tails stood up and followed Metal Sonic out of the conference room.

When they reached the deck, Tails caught a face full of sea breeze. He clutched his arms as he shivered. Ahead of them, a dozen badniks encircled what had to be the intruders. Everyone rushed forward, pushing Tails aside.

Nursing his bruised shoulder, Tails crept forward trying to get a look at what was going on. Suddenly, something small and blue soared over the crowd. Tails looked up and could hardly believe his eyes. "Cheese?" The Chao gave a little cry of delight and rushed over to him. Tails couldn't believe it as the Chao wrapped his neck in a fierce hug. "Cheese, what are you doing here?"

Tails looked up and saw someone squeeze through the crowd. It was Cream. She looked haggard and glanced around nervously for her Chao. When she spotted Tails, a wide smile spread across her face. She sprinted forward and wrapped her arms around him. "Tails! We've found you!"

Tails embraced Cream and then took her by the shoulders. "Cream…I…wha…what are you doing here?"

Now that he got a closer look at her, he could tell that Cream had been traveling a lot lately. Her dress was torn in several places, her face was dirty and her fur was packed with mud and grime. However, her eyes were as vibrant and cheerful as ever. "We've been looking for you! My gosh Tails we've been everywhere, I feel like we traveled around the whole world."

Tails looked at Cream and Cheese, his heart filled with both amazement and fear. "But why? I mean…Cream…why did you come here? It isn't safe. Why didn't you go back to your village?"

Cream looked at him and her expression suddenly became stern. She took a half step back and stomped her foot. "I'm here because this is my fight too. I can't run away. I refuse to be left behind." There was a fire in her eyes, but it wasn't the passion of innocent nativity that Tails had seen when they first met. Cream had changed, her expression was now stiff and stern, solid as stone.

"Okay, but how did you find me, I mean…how did you even get here?"

"He found you. He could sense all the Chaos Emeralds you have."

"He?" Tails looked back towards the crowd. At that moment, the circle of badniks broke. Tails caught a flash of red, and then he saw him. His heart seemed to skip a beat. Knuckles looked up and caught Tails' eye.

Tails didn't care that there were so many eyes watching. Tears came flowing down his face as he sprang forward. Tails stopped just short of tackling Knuckles. "Hey kid," Knuckles said casually. Tails didn't know what to say. Not only had one of his best friends just seemingly walked out of the grave, but he had also changed mightily. He seemed even larger and stronger than before. An impressive crown rested over his head that made him seem even older and stately than usual.

Knuckles put his massive hand on Tails' shoulder. "Man am I glad to see you."

Tails nodded his head, still too stunned to even speak. Cream walked up beside him and put her hand on Tail's other shoulder. "After you left, your workshop got attacked by GUN soldiers. Knuckles saved me. Ever since then we've been looking for you."

"You didn't make it easy on us," Knuckles said playfully. "I could hardly sense the Chaos Emeralds from all the way out here."

"I…." Tails tried to control himself, but it was all too much. His voice choked and more tears came streaking down his face. "I thought you were dead."

"He would have been. Had I not saved him." Tails and Cream turned around to see Rouge approaching. She glared at Knuckles with her hands on her hips. To Tails' surprise, Knuckles lowered his head, almost in embarrassment or shame.

"I'm sorry," He muttered. "I should have listened to you from the start."

"O, you're sorry?" Rouge repeated with sardonic cruelty. "Well I guess that makes everything okay then. I mean, we could have destroyed the Eclipse Canon already, we could have avoided all these unnecessary battles, but I guess it's okay, I mean you are sorry. You're sorry so I guess it doesn't matter that…" Rouge could not bring herself to say the rest. She was actively working herself up into a raged frenzy.

Knuckles continued to bury his head. "I know I can't reverse what I've done. But I'm here now."

"Well you're too late," Rouge snapped. "He…" Again, Rouge's words failed to match the rage she was directing at Knuckles. She turned around and stormed off in the opposite direction.

Rouge did not reappear for the rest of the day. Tails went with Knuckles and Cream to the Egg Carrier kitchens. Neither of them had eaten much in a while, so they relished the opportunity to feast. Tails sat and listened as Cream told the story of their adventure. After shaving Cream, Knuckles used his connection with the Chaos Emeralds to try and track Tails. At this point, Tails was flying over the ocean with the Steel Court, and following their flight patterns only served to confuse Knuckles. However, he could not stand around and wait for the signal to stabilize, not with the possibility of more GUN agents returning.

"Cream and I tried to hide in Station Square, but that didn't work out too well either. Some GUN spy or another must have spotted me, because our room got raided. Luckily, Cheese noticed them coming and we were able to escape." Knuckles took a huge bite out of a burger and wiped his mouth. "After that we just sort of laid low waiting for the signal stabilize."

"Then there was the attack," Cream offered. "The Eclipse Canon destroyed the Mystic Ruins and nearly did the same to the human capital. I know GUN is the one behind it, but I can't believe they risked hitting their own people."

"GUN crossed the line a long time ago," Knuckles said darkly. "They can't stop now. We haven't even seen what they are truly capable of yet."

"But how did you get here?" Tails wondered. "We are in the middle of the ocean."

"That part was tricky," Knuckles explained. "We traveled across the U.F, but it was clear that the Chaos Emeralds were far off the coast. Cream flies better than me, but I was at least able to get to an island that is less than fifty miles from here. At that point I knew that the Chaos Emeralds were either sunk into the middle of the ocean, or that there was something out here that wasn't on the map. Luckily for us, we found some friendly locals on the island who were willing to help us out."

"Her name was Marine," Cream corrected. "She was really great Tails, she let her use this boat that she made herself."

"Anyways," Knuckles continued. "This Marine insisted that the storms were too bad for any to make it through, but we had to try. We had a really bad time of it at first, but eventually the storms faded and…here we are."

Tails looked at the two of them with a sense of wonder. He could tell that there had been more to the journey, and that they had no doubt faced their own dangers along the way. But, at the moment, all Tails cared about was that they were there.

"So what's going on?" Knuckles asked. "You have the Chaos Emeralds and it seems that Metal Sonic has an army, so what is the plan?"

"Well, Rouge brought us the location of the Eclipse Canon. The plan right now is to assault the base and destroy it."

Knuckles pressed his fists together. "Sounds like we got here just in time. Whose leading this operation?"

"Metal Sonic."

Knuckles frowned. "I don't like that. Are you sure we can trust him?"

"He has as much reason to hate GUN as anyone else. They had him captive and have blamed everything on him."

"Just because he hates GUN, that doesn't make him an alley. We want to save the earth, not burn everything down."

Before Tails could respond, the doors to the kitchen slid open. Rouge the Bat walked in. Her eyes were locked on Knuckles. A coldness followed as Rouge strode forward. Knuckles hastily pushed away his food and wiped his face clean.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here," Rouge started. She glared down at her prey without taking even the slightest notice of Tails and Cream. It was as if they didn't exist. "What makes you think that we need you? You had the right idea of it back on your island. You should have just let yourself die."

Knuckles said nothing. He gazed absently at the ground. Tails and Cream exchanged looks. Neither of them wanted to be there anymore. Tails tried to gently push his chair back but it squeaked in the silence. Rouge's eyes snapped over to him. Her scowl made him freeze in place. "This isn't a daycare, we are running a military operation here, and we've got no one to lead us."

"I'm sorry," Knuckles interrupted. "I understand that you're angry with me, but that doesn't mean you can take it out on Tails."

"I'll take it out on whoever I please!" Rouge kicked the chair in front of her and sent it crashing across the room. Cheese let out a scream of fright and dove into Cream's front pocket. "I needed your help!" Rouge pressed as she jabbed her finger at Knuckles. "I saved your pathetic life, and you turned your back on me. Now you come back with some child and her chao, and say that you're here to help. Help us what? Lose?"

"We aren't going to lose," Knuckles said hotly. Tails was pleased to see that Knuckles wasn't going to back down and take the abuse Rouge was throwing at him.

Rouge laughed in his face. "Is that what you think you've come back to? Do you think this is going to be some heroic final mission? We had our chance, but we missed it."

"If you've given up, then why are you still here?" There was a flash of silver and Knuckles drew back. A thin red line traced across Knuckles' cheek.

Rouge had drawn a katana that she had been hiding behind her back. She stood with her chest heaving as she drew a series of rapid breaths. "I'm here to make GUN pay. What happens after makes no difference to me."

Knuckles covered the scar on his face. His eyes narrowed with intensity. "Then you're no help to us. We move forward to win, not to throw our lives away."

"Hah!" Rouge's expression broke and she made a half hearted slash attempt. Knuckles caught the blade in one hand and held it easily.

"Stop this!" He insisted.

Rouge let go of the sword and drew back. All her rage had seemingly evaporated out of her. She stared meekly at the ground with tears slowly dripping onto the floor. Tails watched the scene unfold with a building sense that he was intruding on something. He quickly glanced at Cream and the two of them swiftly made for the exit. As the door closed behind them, Tails heard the clatter of the sword falling to the ground.

"Oof," Cream said as the two of them hurried down the hallway. "That Rouge lady seemed really upset."

"She's been that way ever since she got here. I think something happened to her team, but they won't say what it was." Tails led Cream back onto the deck. The fresh air was a welcome relief after the awkwardness of before. "Come on," Tails flew up into the air and Cream followed. The two of them soared onto the largest of the Egg Carrier's towers. They sat down upon what was essentially a crow's nest and looked out over the ocean.

Cheese emerged out of Cream's pocket and rested on her lap. Tails smiled at them, but Cream was frowning. "Is she right though? Do we actually have a chance?"

Tails sighed. "I'm not sure. This is as strong a team as we could get considering the circumstances, but still….without Sonic…I just don't know."

Cream reached out her hand and placed it onto Tails' own. "We have you. That has to count for something."

Tails smiled wistfully. "I'm trying my best. I designed an entirely new wave of badniks especially for the mission. They will be remote operated and I designed their fighting program with Aurora, so they should hold out pretty good."

"You also have the Chaos Emeralds!" Cream said excitedly. "I saw you in that Power Suit, you looked invincible."

"Yeah…but I can't be everywhere at once." Tails looked out over the rushing waves. "When we were in the arctic we discovered that GUN was using Metal Sonic to create fake Sonic's of their own. Only this time, they've super charged them up. Even one of them was difficult to take down, and if GUN has an entire army of those…"

Cream squeezed his hand. "Then you'll think of something. You always do."

Tails smiled and Cream rested her head on his shoulder. Together, they sat in content silence as the sun slowly started to sink beyond the western horizon.

Their relaxation was interrupted when Tails heard a siren below. Cream had fallen asleep on his shoulder, and though he hated to wake her, Tails nudged her gently. "Come on, I think they may be calling a meeting."

Tails and Cream flew down from the tower and reentered the ship. From there, he followed Aurora's instructions to head down into the main workshop. The Egg Carrier had always been meant to serve as a mobile base for Eggman. Therefore, it came equipped with its own badnik factory. Tails had repurposed the equipment, and Aurora had been working non stop to create the badniks Tails had designed. As it stood, they had made nearly fifteen hundred units.

Tails' badniks were not nearly as colorful or wacky as some of Eggman's nor as impersonal and deadly as the old Aurora's. He had designed his badniks with defense and durability in mind. Half the units were shaped like floating medieval shields. These Clypeus (as Tails had named them) had very sturdy hulls and could project energy shields to protect themselves and their allies. Offensively, they could encircle a target and fire rounds of small machine gun fire.

The other units were far more slender and narrow. They were far faster and more agile, with thin frames that made them difficult to pin down. Tails called these units Lancea, and they were intended to survive a battle while drawing enemy attacks. These badniks were not powered by tiny animals, nor could Tails afford to give them their own internal cpus. Instead, he had them all remote powered by the Egg Carrier's Ion Battery, and each badnik was remote controlled by Aurora (though Tails had created the actual program that told the units how to fight)

The workshop was in full work mode when Tails and Cream arrived. Metal Sonic had gathered the Steel Court along with Rouge and her team. Tails noticed that, though Rouge's eyes were red, she seemed to be feeling better.

"The army is nearly ready," Metal began as Tails entered. "We should be ready to leave here at midnight. The battle should begin just before dawn. GUN will not be able to call for reinforcements for a few hours at least. That is the one weakness for building their fortress in such a remote location. It is the weakness we must exploit."

"But first we have to get one thing straight." Everyone turned to see Knuckles enter. He walked straight forward until he stood face to face with Metal Sonic. "We need to decide who is leading this army."

Metal's eyes flashed. "I am in charge here. This is my army, my machines."

Knuckles didn't balk. He flashed his teeth as he grinned. "I think we'd all agree that the strongest should lead."

Metal glared at Knuckles, his iron fingers opening and closing at his sides. Tails wondered why Knuckles was pressing the issue. He prepared to rush forward in case he needed to break up the fight. However, to his immense surprise, Metal backed down. "You are wearing a crown after all. Very well, if it means so much to you, then you lead."

Knuckles puffed out his chest and turned to face the group. "Alright then, give me a map."

For the next two hours, Knuckles came up with a new strategy. Ray and Mighty would still go in first to clear out the canyon of turrets and missile launchers, but this time the Egg Carrier would wait to reveal itself. "You there, the big hulking red and black one," Knuckles said, jerking his thumb towards Omega. "You will still lead a ground assault, but this time your objective will be to take one of these towers. Take it, fortify it and get them to come to you. We want as many of their machines and soldiers out of the main facility." Knuckles pointed to each of the towers that encircled the main base. "We need to have the perimeter secured before we go inside. Speed would be our objective if this was a suicide mission, but we need enough of us to live so we can still take down GUN once this is over."

Tails stood back and watched with amazement as his friend displayed an entirely different side of himself. It had always been a running joke amongst them that Knuckles was a bit dim witted. However, that was not all the case when it came to the instincts of battle. True to his heritage, Knuckles had a sixth sense when it came to war. He understood the battlefield and when it was necessary to push an advantage and when it was time to hold back and secure your holdings.

"This base will be their undoing," Knuckles told them. "If we secure the towers around the main facility then we will have effectively isolated it. GUN won't be able to reinforce themselves, as they will be faced with the same terrain we just punched through. We circle the facility and then take it block by block, inch by inch until we secure the Eclipse Cannon."

Metal Sonic and the other mechs said nothing. This silence by the Steel Court was essentially their way of saying that they couldn't think of a better plan. Mighty continued to flex his muscles and promise to tear every single GUN robot into pieces. Even Rouge seemed impressed by Knuckles' strategy, and didn't interrupt him even a single time.

When it was over, Knuckles dismissed everyone and encouraged them to get some rest. "Or whatever you call rest," He added hastily to the mechs.

Tails returned to his cabin with his head brimming with information. He ran over the plan again and again until he had it memorized front and back. However, as she sat on the narrow bunk in his small room, Tails felt an anxious twisting in his gut. His heart was thumping oddly in his chest, pressing up against his fur in a disconcerting way. I could die tomorrow. The thought pierced through his jumbled thoughts like a spear.

He shivered and closed his eyes. Tails knew that this wasn't the first time he had been in mortal peril. He had been in plenty of tough spots before, and even a few battles. However, something felt different this time. He turned and stared into the darkness of his room. Tails wished with all his heart that Sonic was here. If he had been, he would have said something snarky when Knuckles insisted they get some rest. Right now, Sonic would be pacing back and forth in the room, unable to sit still due to his excitement. It was difficult to be afraid when Sonic was around. His energy was simply too infectious.

But Sonic was gone, and no one could take his place. Knuckles could lead the army, and Tails could be its mind. But without Sonic, who would be the heart, or the soul? Tails pulled his blankets up to his face. Would that responsibility now fall to him? Could he be brave, not just for himself, but everyone else?

Suddenly, the door to Tails' cabin slid open. Cream stood in the doorway, cradling Cheese. "Tails?" She said quietly.

He rolled out of bed and flicked on his bedside lamp. "Cream? What's wrong?" Bags hung under her eyes, and it was clear that she was exhausted. However, it seemed that she also couldn't sleep.

"I was wondering if Cheese and I could sleep in here. Just on the floor, just so we don't have to be alone."

Tails was immediately filled with a profound sense of relief and gratitude. He offered Cream his own bed and settled himself down on the floor with a blanket and pillow. It didn't take long for Cream and Cheese to fall asleep, and soon the cabin was filled with the soft sound of their breathing. The fear and anxiety that Tails had been drowning under just a few moments ago was steadily receding. Tails closed his eyes and fell into an easy sleep.

When he woke he felt something in his hand. Tails looked up and saw that Cream's hand was dangling off the bed, and at some point in the night, he had taken hold of it. His face flushed and he gently let her go. Tails propped himself up and checked his clock. It was nearly twenty minutes until five. The sun would rise just after six, which meant the battle was about to start.

Tails roused himself and splashed some water onto his face. Now that he was awake, he cast a final look back at Cream and then silently slipped out of the room. The Egg Carrier was on a silent red alert as the final preparations for the battle got underway. Tails made his way over to the bridge where he found Metal Sonic and the rest of the Steel Court.

"Are you sure you want manual control of the Egg Carrier?" Metal asked Tails, continuing a conversation from the previous meeting. "That Power Suit of yours was incredibly powerful."

"And I will still use it, but we need the Ion Battery to power the badniks. Once I take my suit out of the control field, the Egg Carrier will become a sitting duck. I want to draw some fire in the early stages."

A moment later, Mighty and Ray came to the bridge. Neither of them looked as though they had gotten much sleep. Ray walked over to Tails and patted him on the back. "I saw the improvements you made to my plane. I'll be able to navigate the ridge with ease now."

"Just as long as we get to crack some heads," Mighty insisted. "GUN is going to pay for what they did to Espio."

"Speaking of which," Rouge the Bat walked into the bridge. She had changed into a sleek white outfit with padded shoulders and protection around her legs and forearms. The katana she had brandished in the kitchens was strapped behind her back. "We need to decide what to do with Argus Smith if he happens to be there."

"We must force him to confess his crimes," Metal said. "After that I don't care. Kill him if you want."

Rouge smiled. "It'll be my pleasure."

"Not if he gives himself up!" Tails protested. "If he surrenders then we don't kill him."

Rouge shook her head in annoyance. "Argus is too dangerous to be kept alive."

"No unnecessary killing." Knuckles had arrived on the bridge. The crown of sparkling crystal on his head, glimmered in the gloom. "Whatever GUN has gone, we aren't them. We take them down, we beat them, but we don't become like them."

Rouge scoffed, but didn't continue the argument. The main computer blinked and they all heard Aurora's voice over the intercom. "We will be approaching the fortress in ten minutes."

"Come on Ray, it's our job to start this party." Mighty and Ray left the bridge, and Tails went to follow them. Before he left the room, Knuckles stopped him.

"Good luck kid, you got this."

Tails smiled faintly and then left the bridge. He walked alone to the cockpit which was tucked away in an isolated section of the sky deck. Tails sat down on the huge chair that was obviously built for Eggman. He pushed the chair forward to the central console. Tails took a deep breath, then activated the screen. "Aurora, bring up the live satellite feed." The screen flashed and then Tails saw the mountain range from high up. The Egg Carrier was the faintest dot, slowly approaching from over the ocean.

A button on his console blinked and Tails pressed it. Ray's voice sounded over the intercom. "This is Ray, Mighty and I are ready to go, I need you to open up the hanger."

Tails acknowledged and then opened up the hanger. He watched from an internal camera as Ray's plane fired up and soared out of the Egg Carrier. Small and nimble like the Tornado 2, Ray's plane would be able to slip through the narrow openings of the mountain range while avoiding gunfire. From there, it was just a matter of finding a way to land. Tails watched the screen, with his hands shaking at his sides. The battle for the future of the earth was about to begin.