Chapter Thirty-Three:

The Castle of the Eggmen

'I hope a lightning storm doesn't happen.' Classic Tails thought, seeing the dark clouds filling the sky. Yes, Tails' younger black-eyed self was still with the heroes, and he'd fought alongside the others in the previous battle before Silver arrived. We've been so busy following the other Sonics, as well as some others, that Classic Tails got a little sidelined. And yes, Blaze is still here.

"Stay on the trail, guys!" Sonic called, "Tails, do you have a lock on Metal?"

"Hard and clear!" Tails replied, holding up his Miles Electric, "We haven't lost the trail."

"Metal may be moving fast, but he can't outrun us!" Boom Tails declared confidently, "And y'know what's funny, I didn't even take the time to plant a tracker on him."

Boom Knuckles howled with laughter. "Wow, talk about too slow. Eh, Tails?!"

Boom Sonic was rolling his eyes with annoyance, unable to believe that the burly red echidna had said a 'too slow' remark before he did, but the hedgehog wasn't too worried about his sidekick's missed opportunity as long as the heroes still managed to catch up with the blue hedgehog robot. The Sonics ran at light speed, mostly to make sure the others were keeping up.

And no, Sally Acorn, Rotor, Antoine, and Bunnie or Sonic's other friends and Jim Robotnik did not serve to slow or complicate the hedgehogs. Oh, speaking of the rogue Robotnik, the doc was panting as he tried to keep up. The mustached scientist had never been in a situation where he ran so fast before, so this was a first for him.

Movie Sonic looked back, glancing at the man who was, or eventually would be, his troublesome evil nemesis, and he stared at the doctor for only a brief flash before focusing on the path ahead. Manhog Sonic was crackling with energy, just as the more handsome Movie Sonic was, and they still looked like flashy blurs even as the two Sonics ran at light speed.

'With Sonic's talk of how they forgot the Chaos Emeralds, I almost wish I brought the Sol Emeralds along...' Blaze thought with a frown, her body emitting an aura of fire that scorched the grass while she ran, '...But there was no time, and it didn't seem like the situation required Burning Blaze.'

"UP AHEAD!" Silver cried, flying high above.

The group reached the foot of a mountain, and looked down upon a large baren valley below, setting their sights upon a large fortress made of rock and metal with an eerie aura surrounding it, and the unmistakable symbol of the Eggman Empire was etched into it. The group spotted Metal Sonic racing towards it, holding both Princess Amys in his grasp

"Looks like Eggman wasn't kiddin' when he said that he had a castle fortress." Sonic remarked, "This scene is takin' ugly to the next level."

"No kidding." Classic Sonic said with surprise, "It gives off an evil fantasy and sci-fi vibe."

"I'll tell you now, it's nothing compared to Robuttnik's mountain fortress or his pinball machine fortress." AoSTH Sonic quipped, "I wonder if he has a pinball machine trap in there. Even if he does, we're hittin' em with everything we got..."

"It's no Robotropolis, that's for sure." Sat AM Sonic said warily.

"M-M-Mon dieu." Antoine whimpered, "Y-Y-You think it's a g-g-g-good idea to actually e-enter zat p-p-place, even though we've battled ze doctor thousands of times and raided ze city of Robotropolis more zan once? IT'S A DEATH TRAP, MONSEUR SONICS! WE'RE ALL DOOM-ED! LEAVE ME OUT OF ZIS, I CAN'T GO IN THERE!"

"Sorry, cowardly coyote chicken." Boom Knuckles told him, "But we're going in there and we're not leaving until we've saved the girls and kicked the docs all the way to the next universe beyond the universes from whence they conquered."

Myrule Sonic held his sword high. "It is the destiny of the heroic to enter the den of the dragon..." He said, "...to face the beasts within, to fight against the odds, and save the princess. Perseverance trumps fear and cowardice, and we're going in, and we will save all of creation from the apocalyptic wrath of the Eggmen. I say we go forward, no matter what."

Princess Sally stepped forward with a nod. "The Sonic with the sword and the green cap is right..." She said, "We haven't come this far to gawk at the fortress and turn back, people are counting on us, and we're going to make these crucial hours count. And I say, Freedom Fighters, let's do it to it."

"Right on, Sal!" Sat AM Sonic whooped, and he dashed forward to peck the princess on the cheek.

"What are we waiting for, you guys?!" Boom Amy raised her hammer in an intimidating manner, "It's time to scramble that rotten Eggman and his minions."

"Let's do it too it!" AoSTH Sonic, Sat AM Sonic, and Underground Sonic cried in unison.

Sonic rotated his shoulder and pumped his fists. "Time to kick some eggs wide open!" The hedgehog said with confidence to the others, "And when a situation calls for us to go fast, you just gotta go fast and do it to it, baby! AND IT'S JUICE TIME!"

He dashed down the hill, and the others followed close behind, including a wide-eyed Sticks. "We're nearing the nexus event horizon!" She exclaimed, "AND WE'RE WALKING INTO A TRAP AS WELL!"