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/*-*/
Sonic hung limply from his restraints… Sally was alive, and well. She had destroyed the other competition, and nothing else could really challenge her. She was too strong for them, which meant Sally was going to win.
In a moment of selfishness, Sonic felt the hope of freedom in his life. Yeah, he cared about Sally, but the idea of getting out was just within his grasp. All it took was Sally saying that she wanted Sonic to go free in order to get out those stupid restraints. Sonic was starting to feel stiff anyway.
He just needed Eggman to announce the winner… Unless Eggman was going back on his word. Sonic probably got his hopes too high. Eggman was certainly waiting a long time… Then again, Sally needed repairs.
Was he just justifying his hope? Maybe, but it was all he had to cling to.
He waited as the pain in his back returned for its brief flash before shrinking away. So he was stuck, in another torture of endurance and patience. How long was Eggman going to make him wait?
Suddenly, the doors burst open, with several badniks with cameras for heads flying around him. The tall, fat man hovered inside a slightly bitter look plastered along his face. Sonic could hear Lien-da's voice demanding, "We need more badniks, more carriers, everything!"
"Bah, I've had enough of your stupid little ventures. Why would I waste my time giving you anymore of my precious Badniks for your little city when I could dedicate them to far more valuable projects…" Eggman growled at the Echidna woman.
Lien-da sounded like she had been having quite the rough trip, "I SAW YOUR STUPID ARENA! SEND US HELP NOW! THE WOLVERINE IS HERE!"
Eggman sat in his chair, and scratched his cheek, "Hmmm, Maybe I will, I don't know…. I don't have anything going on of course…"
"WE NEED HELP NOW!" Lien-da shouted as Eggman floated in and turned around in front of Sonic, "I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR TORTURE GAME! WE ARE DYING OVER HERE!"
"It would take me three arduous days simply to get to you. You can make do." Eggman laughed, before pressing the button on his Egg mobile.
Lien-da got very close to the screen to shout at Eggman but was cut off before she could finish any further complaining.
Eggman then turned to Sonic, "Goodness, she is such a nuisance, almost as annoying as you. Now, lets get on with the ceremony, congratulating your princess's little victory over my fine piece of art."
The door burst open with Orbot and Cubot coming into the center of the room, along with the camera badniks was Clove and her little sister, who both looked like they would rather be somewhere else. Clove and Sonic made eye contact for a brief moment, before she looked away.
"We're ready, come in!" Eggman ordered, allowing his voice to boom across the hallway.
With her cue stated, Mecha Sally walked inside the room, with the Camera Badniks now focusing on her alone. Her cold gaze pierced any cheers that were made as she marched forward. She seemed proud of her work, destroying all of the badniks that Eggman threw at her.
The badniks buzzed around with excitement, Eggman sat in his chair lackadaisically, seeming somehow less agitated than before. Sonic wasn't going to focus on it too much, with freedom so close he could taste it.
Mecha Sally walked until she stood in front of Eggman, her cold metal eyes still scanning the room. There was a silence to it, and for once, Sonic kept his mouth shut, and tried to hide his smile. It was coming.
Eggman sighed, looking around the room at all of the badniks, "Well, I am proud to say that I learned so much about the works of art I make. I'm going to be making a lot of changes to what is being produced. The Eggman Empire will have all of the right Badniks to serve me… and the wrong ones will be melted down for scrap metal!"
His voice boomed in the silence, echoing through the room and down the hallways. Clove and her sister covered their ears in a rather concealed way.
"I must say, I even impress myself with how beautiful my creations are. They're all so neat and clean, not like floppy, imperfect little creatures like the hedgehog." Eggman took the time to point at Sonic and laugh, "Look at him, like all his little forest creatures, ugly and imperfect."
Sonic almost laughed. Eggman wanted to call him ugly? That was rich. Sonic snorted softly, but still kept up his straight face. It was getting harder, but he needed to keep up the act until Eggman had to let him go.
"This little nuisance was a pain in my side for so long." Eggman growled, pointing his finger at Sonic, "He always broke my favorite machines and laughed it off… Well now who's laughing, Hedgehog?"
Sonic slowly realized Eggman was going to be at this for a while. Then, Orbot spoke up.
"Sir, might we get along with this ceremony. There is a lot to do." Orbot pleaded, interlocking his fingers.
"I'm bored." Cubot mumbled.
Eggman stopped, and growled, "No one cares what you think! Now where was… Bah… oh well." He slumped down with force as he rested his head on his fist angrily. Eggman was annoyed, "Right… we're here to celebrate this tournament… or something. Right… Mecha Sally won the tournament, my prized badnik from the little kingdom she used to serve…"
Sonic felt his chest starting to hurt with excitement and suspense, to the point where he was pretty sure his heart was going to explode at the prospect of freedom.
"Now… I suppose I'll make this quick, since not everyone is as capable as me when it comes to solving problems." Eggman cackled, before gesturing down to the mechanized Princess, "You performed quite well, defeating most of your enemies, even with the strange malfunctions…"
"Thank you… sir." Mecha Sally stated robotically, giving a jagged nod of her head.
Something made Sonic's stomach quench with the way she was acting. Less expressive, even for her roboticized state, which made Sonic wonder if she was alright.
"Yes, you did admirably, even taking some serious scratches… thankfully, my lovely handy work was excellent, and you were repaired too easily." Eggman smiled while clapping.
Could this guy talk about himself any longer?
Sonic sighed as he realized the answer.
"Sir… there are things going on, perhaps you should skip the great conquest dialogue and move on to something that would allow our people to do more with their day." Orbot suggested, to the mercy of everyone involved.
Eggman paused for the moment, before groaning, "Fine… The prize of the tournament was the reward of being replicated in my army… of course I can easily understand how to replicate my roboticized minions.. .but I would rather focus on my Eggpawns and their remarkable achievement." He grinned as the sweat worked its way down his face.
"Understandable… I would not see a reason to make many of me." Mecha Sally stated firmly.
"Right… and the dearest hedgehog has been waiting long enough, don't you think." Eggman laughed maliciously. Sonic was calm though. Eggman still thought he had Sally under his control, Which was why when he was free, it was going to be extra sweet… assuming Eggman kept his word.
"An additional reward for winning the tournament was of course, the right to decide what we will do with the Hedgehog." Eggman grinned, before reclining back, "You've won the priviledge… and I bet the hedgehog thinks you're going to set him free."
Sonic stayed still, not letting Eggman psyche him out. He was just going to taunt Sonic into giving up that Sally was still…
Was she? Was she still in there? Was it all a trick?
Sonic gulped, and panted in his restraints, feeling even more trapped somehow.
Mecha Sally was silent. Which scared Sonic even more than he was normally feeling throughout this mess. Sonic gulped as she remained silent.
Eggman grinned as he stood up, "So, my dearest victor, what will you do for this poor soul who's been trapped for weeks?" His fingers interlocked as Sonic felt the weight of the entire dead badnik pile on his chest as Mecha-Sally remained cold.
Eggman reclined back, "Maybe you'll free him? And release with a chilidog and some fries? No?"
Sonic could feel sweat dripping down his armpits as he hung there, panting and freaking out. Sally was there, he knew she was there.
"Oh, I'm sure he'd love that, a little symbol of your bond and love and all of that young, stupid relationship drama that comes from you rodent-children." Eggman gloated as the flying buzz bombers seemed to buzz in laughter at Sonic.
Did Sonic demand that Sally confess? Was this a trick? Was everything a trick? Sonic didn't know anymore. He only realized that Mecha-Sally was staring at him, watching with those cold, blue eyes.
Sonic felt his confidence return. He calmed himself slowly. Maybe Eggman was just taunting, or maybe Eggman felt like he had full control of the situation. Sonic knew otherwise.
"Well, Princess? What will you do with Sonic the Hedgehog?" Eggman shouted.
Silence.
Come on, Sal, do it. Let's be free! Sonic mentally pleaded at towards his princess.
Mecha-Sally finally raised her head, and looked at Sonic, "… Blind fold him. Do not let him see the light again."
Sonic froze as those words flew through the air like bullets aimed at his heart, "W-what? Sal! Sal don't do this to me!"
"Ensure that he is struck in the head several times, and tie his ears. Do not let any sound of the outside world reach him." Mecha-Sally commanded coldly.
"Sally! PLEASE!" Sonic shouted.
Eggman began to giggle.
Sonic looked at the mad doctor as he seemed to be enjoying the whole situation. Then Eggman's giggles turned into full blown laughter. He… Planned this…
"You don't get it, do you hedgehog? Programming will always triumph over your silly little emotions." Eggman cackled, slapping the side of the Egg mobile, "Did you really think I didn't know about your little walks in the night? About the chilidogs that went missing? Do you think that was all hidden from me?"
Sonic felt his pain turn into anger, a rage even, "EGGMAN, I'LL END YOU FOR THIS! YOU MADE HER DO SOMETHING SHE'LL NEVER-"
" "Make her"? I didn't make her do anything. She knows you all too well, rodent." Eggman grinned, interlocking his fingers once again, and cackling, "She came up with the idea."
Sonic's throat went dry at the sound of that information, "No… No, You lying bastard! She-"
"-Gave me what I wanted: A plan to hurt you more. As I said, she knows you all too well. She knew you needed something to fight for, and so she gave me a proposition, one I couldn't refuse." Eggman smiled, tapping his fingers, "If it is any consolation, not that I want it for you, she didn't have any control of herself when she did. She was simply following her programming: serve me well."
Sonic groaned and pleaded once again, using his last bit of hope to beg Sally for an answer, "Sally, please! Don't do this! This is all a lie!"
Clove looked horrified by the statement, but kept her mouth shut. She wasn't going to stick up for an enemy.
Eggman snorted once again, "To be fair, she also didn't do this fully. Her intelligence, which is acceptable for such a stupid species, was useful, while her personality was not… I suppose that is the nice icing on the cake is that she still knows and hates that she did this to you, but couldn't do anything to stop herself. She's going to feel guilty for all of eternity thanks to her own stupid brain." He laughed again, louder and louder.
"Sally, please!" Sonic groaned, not even feeling energy inside himself to speak loudly.
Mecha Sally looked back at him, and the bottom of her mechanical eyes began to leak yellowish liquid.
"Oh, damn it all. I thought I fixed that… no matter, Mecha-Sally, blindfold the rodent and then go to a repair station." Eggman ordered, torn between annoyed and joyful.
Sonic lowered his head slowly. What point was there to fighting? She had set him up, even if it wasn't intentional. Sonic didn't care anymore… there was nothing left to fight for.
"Well, hedgehog, I think I've used up the last of the pleasure I could have with you. I think we're done. I think it's time to put you down." Eggman growled as Mecha-Sally approached Sonic with the blindfolds.
Sonic just hung there… He had stopped hurting, he had stopped feeling sad, or stressed. He was going to die… and that was ok.
"Um… Sir, might I recommend assisting the Grand Master in her troubles. You will need to leave effective immediately if you wish to arrive on time." Orbot proposed, sounding strangely urgent in his voice.
"But I can simply put the hedgehog down quickly and-" Eggman started, growling angrily at the robotic advisor.
Mecha Sally wrapped up Sonic's eyes as Orbot continued, " Sir, it takes two days to get to Angel Island, if you are not quick, things might turn dire for Lien-da."
Eggman growled, tapping his foot on the ground, "Send Egg Boss number six to deal with it."
Clove quickly spoke up as Sonic felt something hard smash his left ear, resulting in Sonic groaning as Clove spoke defensively, "Sir, we are still suffering engine problems. It would take us four days to get there!"
Eggman growled, "Grr! Fine! Don't kill him, not yet! We'll do it when I get back!" his command echoed throughout the room, "Turn those things off!" He shouted, "Don't you worry hedgehog, I could be back any day now!" His laughter left the room, along with several sounds as Sonic floated in darkness…
/*-*/
The city creaked as Johan marched down the remaining street with his army. They marched alone to fight the enemy, with the understanding that their allies would join them in a flanking maneuver.
"We have one last base camp to destroy…" Gewis mumbled along Johan's side, "We lost good men for this city… I hope your plan works."
Johan growled in his throat with a nod as he prowled forward, " Then we must make their death mean something."
They found the enemy encampment, which was obvious as there was giant carrier overhead. The carrier also seemed to know exactly where they were as rockets flew overhead.
Johan roared, "Into battle!" before rushing towards the ground legionnaires. They scrambled to shoot at Johan while shouting back in a frenzy.
Bullets flew past Johan at the smaller machines which came out, the red ones with the small weapons. They moved clunkily towards Johan, but they were easy to destroy. As the Legionnaires retreated into the center of the camp, the machines tried to counter attack.
That attempt had no success, however, as there weren't enough machines left to create a strong fighting force.
Johan broke through the line with his body weight while his soldiers followed him by moving through the rubble areas.
A Titan reached out to grab Johna as he pushed through to the center of the town. It grabbed Johan's arm, which made Johan twist, pulling the machine towards him as he ripped the arm off the giant silver machine, before Johan punched its head, crushing the head piece.
Johan snarled and twisted around, before pulling the still-attached mechanical hand off his arm. He saw several of the shorter machines seemed to rush at Johan and move into a skirmishing formation with a loose space and a spearhead, despite the fact that those machines didn't have any support from the fleshy footmen.
The Legionnaires were fleeing back to a platform, which was carrying the enemy back to the flying fortress overhead. They scrambled around, showing their cowardice through their fear.
Johan rushed towards the platform as it rose up to the to the airship. He ran as fast he could, and leapt to grab onto the loading platform. Unfortunately, Johan couldn't grab onto anything, so he slipped down and fell onto the concrete ground.
He growled, gritting his teeth waiting for the platform to come back down. Instead, the ship began to whirl to life, preparing to move.
"Don't leave us!" Shouted the hooded Legionnaires who were left behind, some sitting on their knees as they were thrown to the ground by the swiftness of the loading, others having arrived too late. The ship paid no mind to them as it began to move.
The Garden Defenders and enemy wolves slowly turned around to look at Johan as he growled at them. They were the product of cowardice. Johan hated cowards.
He bounded towards them, tearing into the cloak of one who was slow to react. They didn't even bother standing their ground. Instead the Legionnaires fled down the street… towards another flying fortress. They had gathered here, which meant this was their main base.
When Johan would push them out, they would have no more holdout points in the city. The battle would be over.
Johan growled, and jumped backwards onto a machine that was trying to attack him from behind. Johan pressed his claws down into the parts and threw them at the retreating enemy, who scattered into three groups.
Suddenly, a piece of rubble behind Johan exploded, and her jerked around to growl at his enemy… until the smell hit him.
Julie-su and her Chaotix team ran out, panting. But the city's soldiers were not behind them.
"Where are the other men? Our enemy is right here. If we surround them, we will kill their ability to take the city. They have lost the will to keep fighting!" Johan growled at the pink Garden Defender.
"The… The city is moving around. They're… slower." The pink commander mumbled quietly. She was lying to him, Johan knew it.
"Where are they?" Johan growled, already knowing the answer. The council hoped that Johan would die out here with his men, and they would not have to pay for their weakness.
"The council needs the citizens back at city hall. I don't know why, but I'm not sitting this out while the Legion is still a problem." Julie-su offered.
Perhaps she had hoped that her presence would calm Johan's wrath. While he was grateful for her support, Johan was not keen to forgive this abuse from the council. He would let them live until they became useless. Then Johan would deal with them personally.
He roared, and punched a concrete building, causing a large crack to rise up the wall.
"Woah, buddy. Chill out." The Scaled beast, Vector demanded.
"YOU WILL NOT COMMAND ME!" Johan roared at the large dragon-beast, who flinched away and held up his hands in defense.
"Calm down, sheesh!" Julie-Su glowered, "We'll do everything we can to help… I know it's stupid politics at work, and it's not fair that I asked you to come and help us and then we leave you out here. So consider us even for this."
"I will not hold any evil against you except what is yours. You are clean." Johan growled before turning around ,"We must move quickly. We can not let our enemy-"
"-escape, I know, CHAOTIX, MOVE OUT!" The pink Garden Defender shouted, and her team rushed forward and all around, each member taking up a position that they believed they could handle well.
Gewis rushed through the street up to Johan, "The road is clear! They're out of Badniks."
"They have wasted their resources fighting us earlier. No matter, we will finish them here!" Johan roared, and ran after their allies to help them.
They rushed through an alley way, pursuing to a second carrier. The enemy had set up close to each other, meaning they were all in one place.
The enemy was prepared, as they were facing the attack point the Julie-Su was fighting from. She was pinned down behind a corner of a building. The enemy was still not prepared for Johan, however, and when he ran around the corner and rushed down the Legion defenders.
The enemy immediately started shouting and shooting at Johan, still not able to do much more than scorch Johan's skin.
Still, they held their ground, which was far more worthy than the others who were running away. As Such, Johan took care to not kill the ones that he grabbed, and kept fighting. Their courage was to be nurtured and passed on.
Johan threw himself at the retreating foes, who were running further into the city, abandoning the airship which flew overhead.
Johan chased down a Legionnaire girl and tore out her stomach with his mouth, before pursuing the next one. They were not difficult to find or catch-
"GAH!" The Pink Garden defender's voice shouted loud enough to reach Johan's ears. The gun fire picked up and Johan could feel the tension in the air.
He turned around and ran back to the enemy. Something was wrong, and Johan was needed back with the others.
Johan's paws pressed into the pools of blood that he had left in his wake. Johan's running left a trail of bloody tracks behind him, but he left them behind in pursuit of his ally who had come to aid him.
Johan stopped just out of reach of the square, peaking out to see what was happening.
Julie-Su's neck was bound by a whip, which was held by the Leader of the Legion. She held the whip tight, and tugged tighter. Julie-Su's tongue shot out as Johan's men began to shout.
Gewis stepped forward, "Let her go! I swear, we'll put you down if you don't!" He shouted angrily, and his form conveyed confidence. Leadership had been good to the boy… no, young man.
Still, Johan did not desire a dead ally, so he pulled away and moved back through the alleys.
"They're closing in!" Shouted one of the men, with the sound of army moving into defensive positions.
Johan finally closed in so the he was behind Lien-Da, who tightened her whip around Julie-Su's neck once again.
The pink Garden Defender was gasping, and her face was losing color as she swung her fists backward, trying to hit her sister.
Johan crept closer as Lien-da retreated, tugging the pink one along with her.
"Hey! You don't get to leave with her yet!" Gewis shouted, running over. He slowed down for a moment as his eyes landed on Johan, before speeding up with a nod. He tried to be quick, but Lien-da saw and turned her head.
Johan had no more time to act, he rushed forward, slamming into the red Garden Defender, sending her away from Julie-Su, pushing her into a small flower garden.
Julie-Su dropped down and gasped, catching her breath from exhaustion, "Thanks for the save!"
Johan roared at Lien-da, leaving the compliment alone. She was right there, easy to kill, and destroy the Egg Man's hold over the Legionnaires.
She picked herself up off the side of the garden wall, before turning around to face Johan. Johan gave her that much time, and no more before thrusting his claws at her.
She pulled away with a spin, shredding some of her vest as Johan's claws ripped into the black hide. She was faster than Johan gave her credit for.
"Take care of the attackers… I'll take care of my selfish sister." Julie-Su growled, still gasping. It would be stupid to put any faith in the pink Garden Defender in the current state she was in. Yet she stood on her feet, and sounded confident.
Johan growled, "If you don't kill her before I am done, I will." Johan had to respect the sibling rivalry, and allow them to settle it. Still, there was more at stake than petty grudges and childhood vengeance.
Johan's men took cover behind some of the debris in the square, and began to fire as the Legion descended around them. They had allowed Johan's army to move into the square, before gathering more men to encircle them.
The tactic was clever, if not cowardly and wasteful… and foolish as they lacked the armor and power they needed to break through the poorly covered soldiers . Johan's men were better equipped, and now better trained.
The fight was already one-sided as they enemy trickled in only to be either pinned down or shot by Johan's men. Johan burst forward, and ran to break out of the thin ring that encircled the square that they were in.
He rushed down the weakened Legionnaires who fired frantically at him as he ran. They had enough discipline to fire at Johan's wounds. He felt the hot pain shoot through his shoulder and chest, but Johan was strong, and he would not be stopped.
They crumpled as Johan trampled them under his feet as he burst through their lines. Then, Johan moved through the alleyways to maneuver around the army, and tear open the encirclement.
Johan turned to rush the left flank, before rushing towards the pinned down enemies. They turned around and shouted at Johan, as if that would stop him.
He plowed through the Garden Defenders and their cover. Their forms launched across the square.
The men stopped and lowered their weapons to alleviate the weaker areas of their circle.
Johan turned and saw the pink Garden Defender shooting at her sister. Lien-da jumped out of the way and grabbed her whip, before slashing it towards Julie-Su.
One of Johan's men shouted, "I'm almost out!"
The Pink Garden Defender stepped to the side to avoid the strike, before quickly having to duck to avoid the next attack. Johan pushed into the center of the square and gave her more time. He did promise to return when he was done, and they were still under attack from a wavering but still persistent enemy.
Lien-da shouted, "Hold still and let me do what I should have done before, You traitor!" She swung her whip again, cutting through a flower that was in the square as Julie-Su raised her pistol and fired at her sister.
Lien-da dodged with a spin and swung her whip once again, cutting Julie-Su's arms. The pink Garden Defender yelped before firing more at her sister.
Johan turned and attacked a group of the Garden Defenders and wolves as they pushed into the square in a hesitant, but aggressive push. The combination of the lack of confidence and the aggressive led to stumbling which made them easy prey for Johan.
He cut into their flesh, flinging the top wolf off, with blood spraying form his side as the beast collapsed. Johan then sank his teeth down on the red Garden Defender who tried to curl up but was too slow.
"We're pulling out! Everyone, get to an evacuation point! Go, GO!" Lien-da shouted seemingly into a void. The Army around them responded in kind, with a complete collapse of what remained of the encirclement. They quickly turned around and ran away.
"CHASE THEM DOWN!" Johan bellowed in triumph, before turning around and seeing Lien-da grabbing on to her flying sphere. Johan ran after her, but did not get there in time as she flew off.
Julie-Su, sat on the ground, holding the inside of her left arm as it dripped with blood. She had two more gashed along her right shoulder.
Johan growled at her and the pink Garden Defender shook her head, "I'll be fine. I'm not a baby." She stood up to show her strength.
Johan nodded and turned around… to find his men standing around, looking at their rifles.
"I said pursue!" Johan roared at his men, "We have them here! We can crush them and finish this battle."
His men looked at each other, but instead of cheering and rising, they looked sad.
Gewis grumbled, "We're almost out of ammo. Some of us have a clip left." He looked down at his feet as if expecting to be scolded.
"Hmmm." Johan growled softly, before growing more vocal, "Damn them… so be it, we return to the center, and receive our prize!" Johan roared at his men, and raised his fist in triumph.
They could at least take the pleasure of conquering this city.
Ezra staggered up to Johan, looking tired, "Are you ready… they won't back down. Can we do this?" She whispered up at Johan.
Johan thought for a moment. Too much was lost to leave empty-handed.
/*-*/
Ah, the twist. Mecha Sally was manipulating Sonic to make him suffer more. I can already feel some people typing/feeling that I demonized Sally. To Clarify, Mecha Sally lacked the emotional connection to Sonic. She's a machine, simply offering solution without the full control to keep her mouth shut. She knows how Sonic works, but because of the programming, she can't keep his emotional weakness a secret.
Johan has also repelled the Legion from Echidnapolis, so the fighting should be over… right? One more chapter for the arc.
Please leave a review, and tell me what you thought. You all know the drill. If you leave a review, I'll respond next chapter. If you PM, I'll respond when I can. Thank you for reading.