Chapter 17: Skirmish in the Sky
Meanwhile with the X-Tornado…
Sonic shifted in his seat as the Egg Carrier came into view. Now that he and his friends had an upgraded plane, his confidence in their success was as solid as a rock. They weren't going to fail this time.
"Here's the plan, guys," said Tails. "We have to get Alex and the others off the ship before we can take it down. Sonic, Knuckles, when I get close enough, jump off and break as many cannons on the main deck as you can. Once enough are taken out, I can land on the X-Tornado. After that, Knuckles will look for the remaining shards while we rescue Alex and the others. We'll meet back at the X-Tornado and escape."
"You got it, buddy." Sonic said before looking back at Knuckles. "You ready, Knux?"
Knuckles gave a stern nod and braced his hand on the hatch. "Just say the word."
"Get ready," Tails ordered. "We'll be on top of it soon."
Suddenly, Tails' radar began to beep loudly, and it showed two yellow dots racing towards the center. At the same time, Amy looked out the window and shrieked.
"Tails, look out!"
Tails only had a second to move the plane before missile shot right past us. The radar continued to beep, and more missiles flew past the X-Tornado as it continued to dodge them.
Sonic looked over his shoulder. Coming up behind them was a squad of fighter jets. In a few seconds, they were close enough that he could see the insignia on the side of each of them: big white "G" encircled with a blue, red, and black target.
"It's G.U.N," Sonic alerted.
"They must be here to take down the Egg Carrier," said Amy.
Tails gripped the control sticks and dodged another oncoming missile. "Then why are they firing at us?"
"I'm guessing they think we're with Eggman," Knuckles gritted. "Shoot first ask questions later. They always did have a problem with ethics."
"Tails, can you hack into their communications?" asked Sonic.
"I can try," replied the Fox.
Tails quickly adjusted the frequency and said, "X-Tornado transmitting in the blind guard. Disengage, repeat, disengage. We are friendlies, say again, we are friendlies."
After a few seconds, the missiles stopped, and a voice came over the radio. "Sigma-Alpha 1 to X-Tornado. You are ordered to evacuate the area, repeat, evacuate the area."
Tails was about to reply when another pilot's cut him off.
"Sigma-Alpha Beta to all units!" said the pilot, his voice spiked with worry. "High Energy readings coming from enemy aircraft! There are Chaos Inclined beings are onboard! I repeat, Chaos Inclined beings are onboard!"
All the passengers of the X-Tornado looked at each other. Sonic and Knuckles with concern, and Tails and Amy with worry.
"Copy that," said the first pilot. "All units, fall into formation and prepare to attack."
"Mayday, mayday!" Tails said urgently into the radio. "Egg Carrier has captives!"
"X-Tornado, do not engage," ordered the pilot. "This is a matter of national security. Evacuate the area immediately. I repeat, evacuate immediately. Engage, and we will attack."
"Wait—!"
Before Tails could finish, the connection to the jets was cut off. The planes flew past the X-Tornado and straight for the Egg Carrier as the Fox desperately tried to reconnect.
"X-Tornado to Sigma-Alpha 1! Abort, abort! There are children aboard, say again, there are children aboard the Egg Carrier! X-Tornado to Sigma-Alpha 1, come in!"
"It's no use, Tails," Amy said, clutching the back of his seat. "You know G.U.N is afraid of Inclined beings. They might think they're in league with Eggman and Chaos. And why they shot at us."
Knuckles clenched his fists even tighter. "What about the other captives? Are they just going to let them be destroyed with the ship?"
Tails looked back at Sonic. "What do we do now, Sonic?"
Sonic narrowed his eyes. "What we set out to do, just with an extra step. Tails, mind if I piggy-back off your original plan?"
Tails replied with a simple nod in agreement. Sonic gave him a grin and winked.
"Then here's what we'll do. Knuckles, you're the strongest hitter out of all of us. You take out as many cannons on the Egg Carrier as you can. Tails, you and I will take care of the G.U.N jets."
"Sonic, you can't hurt them," Amy protested. "I know it's wrong, but they're just doing what they were ordered to do."
"No need to worry about hurting anyone, Amy," said Tails, looking at his radar. "I just did a scan of the planes. They're piloted remotely. No humans on board."
Sonic grinned at the news. "I guess that means we can wreak as much havoc as we like."
"Don't go overboard, guys," warned Amy. "We're going to be in enough trouble as it is when G.U.N finds out."
Sonic let out sigh. "Fine. You win, Ames. We'll just knock them out of the sky."
"Good idea, Sonic," said Tails. "Knuckles, can you handle the cannons by yourself?"
"Yes," Knuckles replied. "Now let's get moving. They're almost at the Carrier."
"Right, hang on tight everyone!"
Tails thrusted the control sticks forward, and the X-Tornado shot across the sky towards the Egg Carrier. As they flew over the G.U.N fleet, Sonic unbuckled his seatbelt and pushed the hatch open, bracing himself against the sudden violent gale.
"Now, Sonic!" Tails commanded.
With a confident grin, Sonic leapt out of the X-Tornado and sailed down towards the fleet below. As he approached, the missiles launchers turned towards him and fired. Sonic curled into a ball and spin-dashed into each of them, using them like stepping stones to get to the nearest jet. He landed on the wing and looked over his shoulder. Another pair of missiles shot straight towards him, and he jumped out of the way just before they reached him, causing the missiles to blow up the wing. The jet spun out of control and down to the earth below.
Sonic landed on the wing of a jet passing underneath and turned back. Half the fleet pulled away from their formation and flew towards him, and the other half went after X-Tornado.
"This'll be a piece of cake," he smirked. "Catch me if you can."
Knuckles unbuckled his seatbelt and prepared to jump as the X-Tornado flew over the Egg Carrier. The cannons on the airship pointed straight at them, ready to fire.
"Now, Knuckles!" Tails shouted.
Knuckles pushed himself out of the cockpit and dove straight down towards the Egg Carrier like a meteor, the oncoming missiles barely missing him. With his fists first, he smashed into the Carrier so hard it sent a shockwave throughout the entire aircraft.
Alex and the girls stumbled as the ship suddenly shook and rocked underneath their feet. Alex slipped and slammed against the wall, knocking her head so hard her vision blurred. She braced herself back up, gritting from the pain.
"What was that?" trembled the girl in the pink shirt.
"I don't know, Hannah," said the girl in the teal blouse. "But it feels like something hit us."
"But what, Taylor?"
At that moment, Eggman's voice came over the intercom.
"Attention all robots! We're under attack! It looks like G.U.N is trying to bring down the ship! Shoot down the aircrafts!"
Alex's heart missed a beat when she heard "G.U.N" and she clenched her fists fearfully.
"Ow!" exclaimed the girl whose hand she was holding.
"S-Sorry, Brooke!" Alex stuttered, her throat suddenly dry. "C'mon, let's keep moving! We gotta—!"
"Attention!" screamed Eggman's voice over the intercom. "All robots to the main deck! Something's destroying out cannons! Switch to the Carrier to Battle Mode!"
Then, a deep rumbling came from within the airship, and the floor beneath them began to vibrate. It was immediately followed by a faint humming and the sound of large pieces of metal moving and locking into place.
"What's happening?" Taylor trembled.
"I don't know," Alex replied. "But I don't think it's good."
"Egg Cannon, prepare to fire!" shouted Eggman's voice.
As Tails shot down the last G.U.N jet, his radar beeped loudly, alerting him to the energy building up behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw the Egg Carrier's wings had expanded outwards like a bird, revealing an enormous triangular missile launcher with three rockets on each one. At the same time, the front of the ship opened, and a massive cannon stretched out of it.
The same one that shot him and Sonic out of the air before. Already, a dark golden glow was gathering up inside of it, pointed right at the X-Tornado and the G.U.N fleet.
"Not this time, Eggman!"
Tails gripped the control sticks and steered the X-Tornado around, flying straight towards the cannon.
"Tails, what are you doing?" Amy screeched. "That thing's going to fire at us!"
"Trust me, Amy. I know what I'm doing." Tails assured.
Using his thumb, Tails lifted a secret lid on the top of the control stick and prepared to press the red button underneath. He then took a deep breath and held it. He couldn't let Amy see he was nervous, too. This was a risky move, and he had to strike at exactly the right time. If not, then he and the others were done for.
The energy in the cannon grew and grew, and the X-Tornado got closer and closer. Amy grabbed the back of Tails' seat and braced for the blast. When Tails saw the laser reach its zenith, he pressed the button. Two lasers shot from the X-Tornado, straight down the barrel of the cannon, and struck the energy ball. The Fox sharply turned away just as the cannon exploded, detaching itself from the Carrier, a fell to the ocean below.
"Tails, you did it!" Amy laughed.
"Yeah, well, I told you I knew what I was doing," Tails exhaled.
Despite his confident smile, he felt as if his heart was going to explode from the adrenaline coursing through him. That was way too close for comfort.
He took another deep breath and calmed his nerves. "Now, c'mon, let's get Sonic. Knuckles has cleared most of the cannons, and now it looks like he could use some help."
Sonic stood on top of the last fighter jet and smiled as he watched the X-Tornado's attack succeed. There was just something so satisfying about watching Tails blow up one of Eggman's inventions.
"That's my little buddy," he said to himself. "Now, time to wrap this up."
In one swift motion, Sonic jumped, curled into a ball, and smashed the jet to pieces. The X-Tornado then swooped underneath him, and he landed on the wing, crouching to maintain his balance.
"Great job, Tails," he said. "With that cannon out of the way, landing will be smooth as silk."
"Get ready for another fight, Sonic," Tails warned. "Knuckles is fighting some robots, but I think I can land the X-Tornado now."
"You got it, little bro. Let's do it!"
Knuckles ducked under a robot's attacking arm, then grabbed it and threw it into the nearest missile turret, causing both to explode. Another tried to attack him from behind, but he spun around fast and punched straight through its middle. He then tore its arm off and threw it like a boomerang to two others advancing, striking them in the head.
By now, he had destroyed enough missile launchers that fighting all these robots was nothing more than an annoyance. He had to get on with finding the rest of the Master Emerald, and these metal rust buckets were in his way. He fought aggressively, wanting to get this over with.
Then, a shadow flew overhead. Knuckles looked up to see the X-Tornado zip over, and Sonic jump off the wing. The Hedgehog curled into a ball, increasing his speed, and spin-dashed into the nearest robot. He then homing attacked three more around him, taking them out in seconds. He landed and dashed towards Knuckles, stopping just a few feet away.
"Thanks for clearing a path for us, Knux," he winked. "We can take it from here. You go find the rest of the Master Emerald."
Knuckles simply nodded in response before dashing away. As the robots attempted to stop him, Sonic spin-dashed into all of them, him to move forward. He looked back over his shoulder, catching a quick smirk and thumbs-up from Sonic.
As much as Knuckles wanted to stay and help his friends, he had to find the pieces of the Master Emerald. That was his mission. Sonic was trusting him to carry out that mission, so he had to trust Sonic and his friends to carry out their mission.
And if he hurried, he could still make it back to help them.
"Attention all units!" Eggman's voice roared over the intercom. "The Egg Cannon's been destroyed! Sonic and his lackies have landed on the Carrier! Mobilize and attack! And keep searching for that Mystic!"
"Sonic?" Alex whispered.
"Sonic's here?" Hannah said. "Has he come to save us?"
"He must've!" replied Taylor. "He's a hero after all!"
Alex's heart leapt with hope and she smiled. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes, and she wiped them away. The stress and fear she felt of having to protect these girls on her own nearly vanished.
Sonic was here. He and his friends came to save them.
To save her.
A newfound conviction surged through her and she stood up.
"Sonic and his friends are here to rescue us," she said. "Which means we have to do what we can to escape on our own."
"But how?" asked Brooke. "We don't have powers like you."
"That doesn't mean you can't do something," Alex replied. "Even hiding is better than nothing. I'm the one Eggman really wants, so he'll most likely just come after me. You all hide until I come back for you, or until Sonic or one of his friends finds you."
"But what about you?" Hannah said, her eyes reflecting her worry.
"I'll be fine," Alex assured. "I can handle myself. You guys just focus on keeping each other safe."
Suddenly, there was a loud bang from behind. Alex spun around and saw a large, dark green robot with flashing purple eyes at the end of hallway rushing straight at her and the girls. She stood protectively in front of them, her muscles tense and ready to move.
"Run!" she ordered. "I'll keep him busy!"
"But—!" Hannah started.
"GO!" Alex screamed.
The girls hesitated for a moment, then Brooke narrowed her eyes and grabbed Taylor and Hannah's wrists.
"You heard her!" she snapped. "Let's go!"
Alex let out a small sigh of relief as she heard the girls race down the hall. She locked her focus on the robot as it swiftly advanced on her. As its raised a fist to strike, the forcejewels on her shoes glowed, and she jumped up, sailing over the robot, and tumbled back onto her feet. She looked back over her shoulder as the robot turned around.
"That's right," she snarled. "Come and get me, bolt bucket."
Like a sprinter at the sound of the starter's pistol, Alex shot down the passage, and the robot pursued her.