A/N: Oh hey, I actually managed to post a chapter about a month after the last one! I would have posted it sooner, but I had times where I just didn't feel like writing due to feeling tired.
Anyway, happy 2022! I hope everyone's having a great year so far. I know I didn't write a lot of chapters last year; I only wrote five chapters (including the update chapter). But I just wanna say, I'm not gonna go on any more hiatuses for the rest of this story. I know I'm a bit behind on planning out the Shadow Saga, but it's over halfway done, so it should come along soon. But once I have a better flow, I won't need to go on any more hiatuses, which means I can post more chapters this year for you guys :)
How was your Christmas? This year, I got some Pokémon cards, a new gamer mouse, and a few other things.
In addition to writing new chapters, I'm also going over the older chapters and updating them, as well as updating the AO3 version of Chaos on Earth with each new chapter I update. Also, I won't be updating the DeviantArt version of Chaos on Earth anymore because DeviantArt isn't that practical for my taste when it comes to fanfiction. And instead of updating the AO3 version a week before the version, I will update both versions at the same time.
So far, I updated the first 8 chapters. Most of the updates are typo corrections, and making dialogue flow better and sound more casual, but I did make two major changes. The first change is in Chapter 6 (Ep. 6), where I removed any mention of the Chaos Control module and a time skip, and I'm finally satisfied with the way it turned out because it makes more sense than it used to. The second change is in Chapter 7 (Ep. 7), where I changed Chris' outburst when he finds out his mom left. Now it is less like the original episode and more heartfelt, like it's the straw that broke the camel's back.
The last thing I wanna say before we get to the chapter is that I've been checking out the Archie Sonic comics lately, and for some reason, I sometimes feel inspired to write my story when I read them. And yes, I know they're pretty cheesy, to the point where they're probably considered a cult classic by some, but I do want to read through all of them from the very beginning. Also, just for kicks, I read through the comic adaptation of Sonic Adventure to see if I could get any inspiration or even make references to it, but sadly, I found that I couldn't.
And when I read an article about Ken Penders' shenanigans, I was actually angry. Like, I knew what he did, and I knew he was beyond strange, but… reading it all at once… I promise, I'm going to handle Sonic with care! I always want to listen to the fans.
But anyway, I think I'm rambling now, and my author's notes are gonna warrant their own fanfiction pretty soon if I keep this up! XD
This chapter was originally going to be called Change of Course until I started writing it, then I changed it to One Step Ahead.
I would like to thank Demnlex, jcvozza, Classic17, Lady Dory, Arthron1911, GrimRider, and Vraigard for favoriting and following since my last chapter!
Shoutout of the chapter goes to CreativeKitty975! Thank you for all the support and encouragement you've given me on Twitter!
Without further ado, let's move on to the reviews and what matters most: the story!
GuardianDragon98
The deja vu plot is going to last through the entire second season, since we still have the Shadow and Emerl Sagas. But don't worry, there are going to be plenty of twists and turns to keep everyone on their toes!
I love making references to past Sonic media :)
Yeah… Tails had a rough early life, but I'm glad he has a best friend like Sonic to help him.
Thank you, I will! :D
Ushigomesan123
Funny you mention that, because it's Saturday where I live as I'm typing this! XD
And I love writing brotherly moments between Sonic and Tails. Sonic and Tails forever! :D And I had a great Christmas and New Year's :)
blazenight01
That's actually a great idea! I'm not sure how I can directly involve GUN in the Chaos Saga, but I'll see what I can do.
dbehi1
Yeah… This time, Eggman is ready for our heroes, and they're gonna have to up their game if they want to stop him.
Animation Adventures
Eggman definitely has a plan going on, and he seems to always be one step ahead of the heroes. And I wanted to have ZERO appear more in the story because he only got two small appearances in the original anime.
That's actually a very good idea, I think I'll use it :)
I know that Chaos 3 was implied, but never actually appeared, so I wanted to see what a fight with Chaos 3 would be like. And Knuckles is going to want to get the Master Emerald back together as fast as he can.
Sadly, that wasn't Tom, but I do wanna have him appear later this season. There are a bunch of characters gathering together at the tournament… I'll leave it at that.
Yeah, we'll see :)
BazookaM1A1
Yokew, that sounds heavy… And I will keep that fanfic in mind.
D.J. Scales
Yeah, but hopefully there's a reason behind Eggman's motives.
PowerKey
I can't remember, but I know I didn't originally have it in my notes when I wrote that chapter, but maybe it was in the back of my mind. It was still a great idea though!
Lady Dory
I just wanna say… If you want to create a visual novel game, or fanart, or even a comic based in Chaos on Earth, by all means, go for it! :D I'll definitely retweet it if you send it to me on Twitter.
guess
Thank you, I fixed the time error as soon as I saw it.
CreativeKitty975
I'm glad I was able to help you start your day! :)
Eggman is feeling really confident knowing he can stay one step ahead of everyone else. And I agree, there is so much chaos going on! XD
I wanted to make another joke there, but I forgot, so I can always include it in a later chapter. And I love including references to all kinds of Sonic games and shows!
She did a great job :) And I love writing Sonic and Tails brotherly love scenes, even though they can be tricky. And banter isn't my strong point, but I'm working on it.
It's okay, you're not a nitpick at all. And I fixed the time error as soon as I saw it. Thank you for pointing it out!
Thank you so much, and you keep being awesome too!
Lady Dory
I guess they could? But the Boom universe is a bit different than my universe, and I kinda like the idea that Mobians don't need to use the bathroom, because it would be weird to explain it if they did.
benjaminanderson685 (2 reviews)
I wanna say, your review was really interesting to read, to say the least. And when I went back to fix up episode 7, I had Cream apologize to Chris. It made more sense that way.
I like the idea of the Mobians having a few animal-like features, but I will probably not make them fully animals. Regardless, I can reply to your points individually.
1 - I've seen Biko97's art, and I really love it! I've seen some great art of Sonic characters having animalistic hands and feet. However, they will still have human-like hands and blog feet in my story, as per the canon design.
2 - The characters' ears twitching, this one I really like!
3 and 4 - These might be a little bit too animalistic for me, but they do make for a great experimental oneshot idea.
5 - I like these headcanons, especially the night vision one. In fact, in my headcanon, all Mobians can see very well in the dark.
6 - Probably not, but it can also be a good oneshot idea.
7 - I love this one, in fact, I saw it in Blue Hedgehog Psychology!
Thank you! I did everything I could to make Chris better and more relatable. And those are good alternate voice options!
And the other two headcanons you mentioned in your latest review make good oneshot ideas too.
Anyway, Happy New Year to you too!
snake screamer
That's an interesting headcanon! I think that the bit about seeing in the dark applies more to Mobians in general than just foxes, but I do want to try and have slight differences between species.
I agree, this is getting really interesting! And it's only gonna get more intense from here!
I like your idea with Infinite, and I love the dialogue you wrote too!
Chapter 28
Episode 29
Return of the E-100 Series! Big's Elusive Frog
One Step Ahead
Thorndyke Mansion – Sat November 19; 9:16 AM – Sonic's POV
Just as Tails was saying his headache was finally calming down, he started gagging harshly and throwing up again, and I felt really bad for him. His concussion was turning out to be worse than I thought.
It took almost a minute before he finally stopped, and I cautiously made my way over to him.
"Oh, poor Tails…" I said quietly as Tails whimpered. I felt really bad for him.
We were just about to start talking about a plan to rescue Amy when his stomach had churned again, and I was worried that the crash had dampened our efforts. However, Tails sat up again, and even though he was in pain, he still had that determined look in his eyes.
"I gotta go rescue Eggman… and stop… Amy…" Tails said as he started to get up, before he realized what he said. "W-Wait, what?"
I chuckled at the mix-up, before patting his shoulder. "Hey, it's okay, bud. You took quite a beating out there. I think you should rest up until you're all better."
"But Sonic," Tails protested as he sat up, "I have to go!"
"Tails," I gently told him as I eased him back down.
"Sonic…" Tails looked up at me, tears threatening to leak from his eyes. "Who's gonna help you out? I mean… I know you can fly the Tornado and everything, but… Who's gonna be your right-hand little bro? Besides, um… Crashes didn't really stop me before, honest!"
I knew I couldn't resist him this time, especially with his relentless gaze and pleading voice.
"I know, buddy… But this time, you got yourself a nasty concussion. But, um… Sure, I guess you can come along, as long as you promise to take super good care of yourself."
"I'm not 100% on board with this, Sonic," Chuck said from behind me. "Suppose he throws up again in the air."
"He'll be fine," I shrugged. "See? He's looking better already!"
"Okay…" Chuck said. "But Tails… I'm super worried about you, so I'm gonna ask you to please keep your bandages on, okay?"
"Okay," Tails said, feeling excited that he could go after all. He wiped his tears away, and his ears twitched at the sound of footsteps as Ella entered the room.
"Oh! Poor baby…" Ella said as she noticed the vomit on the floor.
Tails followed her gaze, and he found himself blushing. He held the tip of one of his tails nervously, and he averted his gaze from the mess on the ground.
"S-Sorry Ella…" he said quietly.
"It's all right, dear, nothing a little bit of Spot Shot can't fix," Ella replied. "How's your concussion?"
"Um… I finally stopped throwing up, so… that's a good sign, I guess…?" Tails said.
"Well, that's wonderful!" Ella replied happily.
Tails smiled as Ella left to get the spot shot. Once she was out of the room, the fox slowly and painfully slid off the couch, and held a hand to his head, feeling his throbbing headache.
"Please be careful, Mr. Tails," Cream said before giving him a quick hug.
"I'll be okay, I promise," Tails replied, smiling at her and hugging her back.
"Take care, guys! We'll get Amy back before you know it!" I called.
Chuck smiled. "I have no reason to doubt you both," he said. "Just be extra careful with yourself, Tails."
"I'm okay, Chuck, I promise," Tails said before he joined me. "And I just realized, I'm gonna have to use the regular Tornado this time."
"Ooh, that's been a while!" I smiled. "Good thing you hardly ever decommission your own tech." The last time I remembered Tails flying the Tornado 2 was during the peace period, when the X-Tornado was undergoing some upgrades.
I ran out the side door and toward the garage, but then I looked back to see Tails trying to fly to catch up to me. He was having a really hard time doing it due to his injuries.
I winced inwardly, feeling bad for him, and I ran back to rejoin him.
"Sorry about that," I said. "Here, I can carry you."
Before Tails could say anything, I scooped up Tails with both hands and set him on my shoulders, and gave him a piggyback ride toward the garage. He let out a cute giggle, and I smiled at his reaction.
"Oh! Sonic, before I forget, I had a dream of when we first met," Tails said.
I smiled, before I briefly thought of the bullies that my brother had to deal with.
"I still wish we could have met under better circumstances," I said.
"It's okay, I honestly wouldn't have wanted it any other way," Tails said. "Sonic… Thanks so much for adopting me… You're the bestest big bro ever!"
Tails snuggled into my chest, and I hugged him closely.
"Aww, you're welcome, little bro!" I said. "You're an awesome tech wiz, you know that?"
Tails chuckled. "I do try my best," he said as I set him down once we reached the garage.
"It's okay, I know you're being humble," I said, "but for real, you're very good!"
"Thanks, Sonic!" Tails said with a smile. He was visibly looking better already.
"You know, you don't have to do this if you really don't want to," I said, but Tails was already climbing into the cockpit of his blue biplane.
"But I do!" Tails replied. "Because back when all this originally happened, I was the one who got you and Knuckles up to the Egg Carrier, and I carried Amy back down."
"Yeah, true," I replied. "And you're a really good team player. I know we can get Amy back!"
"Yeah!" Tails replied.
I stood on the wing of Tails' plane as he started up its motor and taxied down the runway. I always found it more fun to ride on the wing than sit in the back seat.
As we lifted off into the air, found for the Egg Carrier, I planned to take note of Tails' coordination in case he started to lose control.
The Egg Carrier – Brig – Sat November 19; 9:17 AM – Third-person POV
Amy slowly opened her eyes, feeling the sensation of being carried by someone. She didn't remember passing out, but chances were she was so scared she lost consciousness.
At first she started thinking Sonic was carrying her. She could only hope so. But the motion was too slow, and the hands that held her felt cold and rough.
She felt dread when she realized ZERO was still carrying her. Sonic hadn't been able to save her.
Amy took a deep breath and opened her eyes. While it was slightly different, she immediately recognized her surroundings; she was on the Egg Carrier.
And then she remembered everything. Sonic had been holding her until an energy blast from ZERO hit Sonic, causing him to drop her. That allowed ZERO to easily pick her up. However, she didn't exactly count on Eggman's robot having new abilities to keep the history repetition going.
Eggman was really determined to keep things going his way. This was surprising, especially since he had never tried to repeat any of his older schemes before. Besides, he said it himself; lightning was more unpredictable when it didn't strike twice.
The forward motion stopped, and Amy was able to see that she was inside the ship's prison block. She wasn't there a moment ago, which surprised her at how fast it took ZERO to get there.
She struggled again, but it was in vain, because ZERO's grip was strong. And before she knew it, she was physically thrown inside the metallic prison cell. Even though the cell had bars, an orange energy shield rose out of the floor, covering the entire cell. Eggman had definitely learned from his past security flaws.
Amy let out a sigh, before she heard a chirping sound from near her. It came out like a whimper, and the hedgehog looked to see that Lily was there as well. At least she was safe with her.
"Lily… You're okay…" Amy said absent-mindedly while looking around her cell. The energy shield glowed softly, and she found herself becoming slightly mesmerized by it.
A thought started to make its way into her head. The last time she was in a situation like this, she didn't try to escape. She had been too distraught to think about breaking out. This time, though, she had a much more level head,and she could think clearly.
So she pulled her hammer out of Hammerspace, then took a few steps forward as she held it ready. She took a deep breath, raised it above her head, and slammed it down on the force field. There was a ripple of electricity that added out of the impact zone, but as she expected, she didn't do any damage.
Amy was surprised, but she wasn't deterred. She kept going at it, delivering hit after hit on the force field. It started to crackle slightly, but otherwise, it looked no worse for wear.
However, she didn't count on the reverberating noise of the impacts to be an issue. She looked up to see ZERO quickly approaching her. She started to step away, but ZERO pointed its hand forward and fired a stun ray at her, causing her to collapse.
With Amy temporarily out of commission, this allowed ZERO to float through the force field unhindered. It reached down and picked up Amy's hammer before carrying it out of the brig.
A few moments later, Amy slowly sat up and held a hand to her head as the cloudiness left her. She didn't remember ZERO ever having that kind of ability. In fact, ZERO was almost completely different. It was able to launch massive beams, as well as project energy shields.
Amy looked over to see that her hammer was missing. Now she was left without a way to escape… again. She let out a sigh.
Then another thought crossed her mind. She remembered what was supposed to happen next. Apparently another robot, E-102 Gamma, was supposed to come to her cell and ask for Lily. At least, that's what happened last time. Things could wind up very different this time, especially since Gamma wouldn't recognize her this time around, and it would be pointless to try and sweet-talk him.
So without anything left to do, Amy sat back down on the floor and leaned against the wall, and cuddled with Lily on her lap, and waited for Gamma's inevitable arrival.
Station Square – Sat November 19; 9:13 AM – Chris' POV
I had no idea how I suddenly wound up at the pier. It was the last place I expected to go, but since Big said he thought he knew where Froggy was, I figured there was no harm in trusting him and following him.
Even though Big was kind of slow and dumb at times, I was surprised at how fast he could run. In fact, while I was able to outrun my friends (except Sonic, of course), I had a hard time keeping up with Big. He started running out of nowhere, and no matter how many times I called out and told him to stop, he just wouldn't listen. Before I knew it, Amy and Cream were out of sight.
At one point, I thought I saw one of Eggman's robots, and it spurred me on to run even faster. Luckily, the green robot didn't see me.
Now we were at the pier, and of all things we could have been doing, Big was fishing. I was already getting impatient. I threw several nervous glances up at the Egg Carrier, still feeling slightly disoriented by its engines' monotonous drone.
"Um, Big… I honestly don't think you should be fishing now, unless, like… you're 100% sure he's here." I urged him.
"Froggy always goes to the water when he goes missing," Big said without looking up, "so that's where he is."
I shrugged. "Okay… I guess…"
I felt kind of trapped and helpless. It looked like fishing, and even though we were supposed to be finding a frog that swallowed a Chaos Emerald… it was still fishing.
I took a few steps down the coastline, idly looking out at the waves, when I happened to notice something flying in the sky toward the Egg Carrier. Squinting, I could make out the green robot I saw earlier. It was carrying something in its arms, and it was very hard to see, especially since the robot was moving fast, but the object looked pink and red… and alive.
I yelped. "Amy!"
"Not now, I'm focusing," Big said.
"No, no, she's getting kidnapped!"
Big's head swiveled back, and he looked up. The moment he saw Amy, he looked panicked.
"Amy… No… He's gonna take the bird away from her…!" he whimpered.
I was confused. "What bird?" I asked.
"I don't know, I don't know…!" Big panicked, sounding absolutely flustered. "We gotta find Froggy so we can get the pretty rock he has!"
"Yeah, but you- you're gonna have to hurry up!" I said. Now I was sounding panicked.
"Fishing takes patience, Chris," Big said matter-of-factly as he cast his line out into the water again. I could have facepalmed. I preferred Sonic's speedy lifestyle over Big's unreasonably laid-back one.
I looked at my wrist communicator that Tails made for me, feeling glad I brought it with me today. I planned on calling Grandpa and telling him the bad news.
It took me a moment to figure out the frequency, but not as long as last time because Tails had preprogrammed the frequency we could use to contact each other, so that we could talk to each other easier.
A few seconds later, Grandpa appeared on the tiny pop-out screen on my wrist.
"Oh, Chris, it's you," Grandpa said, looking visibly relieved, and I didn't know if I should have been worried. "Cream told me you and Big got separated."
"Yeah…"
I was about to speak when Grandpa added, "Where are you at?"
I looked over to make sure Big couldn't see me before I spoke.
"Me and Big are at the pier right now, and he's fishing for Froggy," I said, "and I just saw Amy being kidnapped by a green robot, and she just got taken up to the Egg Carrier." I looked up at Eggman's ship, squinting at the sunlight reflecting off of its hull. "Uh, I don't see her anymore…"
"I know…" Grandpa said solemnly. "Sonic told me, and he also told me why she got kidnapped."
"Why?" I asked, feeling surprised that Grandpa knew.
"Long story short, a bird fell out of the Egg Carrier and it has a Chaos Emerald. I know it sounds random, and I thought the same thing, but believe me on this one."
"You know, I feel like I can honestly believe anything at this point," I said. I had seen so many weird things while I was hanging out with my friends that it was all normal to me.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Grandpa said.
I took it the reason Grandpa knew why Amy was kidnapped was not just because Sonic told him, but it was also because of the history repeating event, which I couldn't possibly believe was real.
"Hey, is that Chris?" I could hear Sonic asking, and Grandpa looked over and nodded. "Can I talk to him?"
Again Grandpa nodded and turned to look back at me.
"Hey Chris, Sonic wants to talk to you," he said. I nodded as Grandpa moved aside, holding his arm out so Sonic could appear in the screen's view.
"Chris, you still there?" Sonic asked. He looked more serious and concerned than when I saw him that morning.
"Yeah, I'm here," I said.
"It's getting pretty bad out there. Amy's captured, and now Tails is out of commission– hey, it's okay, we'll be okay, it all works out in the end."
I was quite surprised that Tails had crashed during his fight with Eggman. I really hoped he would be okay. But before I could reply to that, Sonic continued.
"But listen, you gotta come back home as fast as possible. Like, drop whatever you're doing and come back right away."
"What? Why?" I asked.
Sonic looked me in the eyes. "The next several hours are gonna get pretty rough, and there's not a lot of time, so you gotta get Big, get back home, get your family, and get outta Dodge right now. Perfect Chaos is not something you should be dealing with lightly. It can literally destroy an entire city."
I felt really worried for Sonic. He was dead serious.
"So yeah, as soon as Tails is better, we're gonna fly out to the Egg Carrier."
"Okay," I nodded. "I'm gonna come back home."
"Good," Sonic said. "Just get out of Station Square. Take what you need and go. It doesn't matter where you go, just keep going fast. I'll call you and find you when everything's said and done."
"Okay, but what about the rest of the city?" I wondered.
"Already got that covered," said Sonic. "This morning, I swung by the mayor's office and told him about Perfect Chaos. Actually, now that I think of it, don't go by road. Get a helicopter or something, and don't pack too heavy."
"Okay," I said.
"All right, stay safe out there," Sonic said.
"Okay, take care," I replied back, and Sonic disappeared from view before the call ended. I let my arm drop to my side, glad I could finally relax it after my call.
I ran over to Big, who was still fishing, and from the looks of it, he still wasn't having any luck.
"Hey Big, we gotta go now," I urged him.
"Wait, wait, I think I'm getting something!" Big said. He wasn't in any hurry to move, and that was frustrating.
"Can it wait?" I asked.
Big shook his head. "He has a Chaos Emerald, remember?" he said.
"Yeah, but… Safety first!" I protested, but my plea fell on deaf ears. I knew I couldn't just leave Big, so I had to stay with him and desperately hope that he would be done soon.
The Egg Carrier - Briefing Room – Sat November 19; 9:19 AM – Third-person POV
Eggman stepped into the Egg Carrier's briefing room and flipped the switches on the walls, bringing light to the room. This was his first time using this room since he made his return to the world.
Today, he was going to give the E-100 Series robots their first official briefing. They were to go out and bring him a frog containing a Chaos Emerald. This time, he was sure they would return successful.
Holding up his arm, he pressed two digital buttons on his wrist device, activating his intercom.
"Attention all units!" he announced, listening to his own voice booming across the entire airship. "All E-100 Series robots and attack units are to report to the briefing room. Briefing in ten!"
Once the announcement went out, Eggman walked around the room, making sure it was prepared for briefing. This would be the E-100 robots' first official mission since their recreation, and he was feeling quite confident.
Within moments, a few Motobugs and Crabmeats entered, along with E-103 Delta.
"Welcome, welcome," Eggman said as he positioned them in their assigned spots.
As soon as Delta was standing in his assigned spot near the back of the briefing room, Orbot and Cubot entered through the side door.
"We came as soon as we could, Boss!" Cubot said with a salute.
"Good; get all the newcomers into their spots. I'm going to prepare my notes," Eggman said as he stepped onto the stage.
"Excellent, a sorting job. This is right up my alley!" Orbot said.
Eggman looked over his notes and presentation. It was well-organized, and dated about a month before. These were some of his many notes he had made for his elaborate plan.
"Doctor, I have a question," came Orbot's voice, and Eggman looked up to see him helping a group of Buzz Bombers to a section reserved for them.
"Go ahead," Eggman said.
"Have you atoned for the flaws the E-100 Series have developed during the mission their predecessors did?" Orbot asked.
Eggman grinned. "Oh, I'm confident of their new design," he said. "I'll get to that during the briefing."
"Y'know, it's kinda funny that they all got the wrong frog except for Gamma," Cubot said.
"There's nothing funny about failure by oversight," Eggman said. "I prefer to think of it as a learning experience."
E-101 Beta lumbered through the door, and Cubot floated over to it.
"Here, Beta, you can sit next to your good buddy Delta," Cubot said.
"I don't think that's quite right," Orbot said. "You see, E-102 Gamma needs to go between them."
"Oh yeah, you're right," Cubot said, rubbing his boxy head.
Eggman checked his watch. Five more minutes. He looked up to see more and more Badniks streaming into the room, Gamma and Zeta being among them. Orbot and Cubot were almost overwhelmed.
Eggman spent another moment looking at his plans, before he looked up to see that everyone but Epsilon had arrived, and by now it was time for the meeting.
"Cubot, check for Epsilon. He's late," Eggman ordered.
Cubot nodded and started to leave the room, but just as he was leaving the room, he ran right into the orange robot who was just entering the room.
"Oof!" exclaimed Cubot as he rubbed his dazed head. He looked up to see the robot wordlessly taking its place between Delta and Zeta.
Now that everyone was there, Eggman beckoned Orbot and Cubot to join him on the stage, and he waited for them to flank him before he cleared his throat.
"History is repeating," Eggman began. "That is, random elements – people, places, small moments in time – they keep appearing, vanishing, and reappearing in a most unpredictable manner. It's being done in such a way that I can't possibly keep track of it, even with my genius mind. It's as if the past is coming back to haunt us."
Eggman closed his eyes for a moment. "Of course, this is all part of my plan, but they don't need to know that. My method, however, will be kept secret from you in case any of you are interrogated or anything like that. Regardless, this is an opportunity to learn from my mistakes and have a second chance at my old plans, not to mention stay one step ahead of our enemies.
"To start with, I sent down E-100 Alpha, also known as ZERO, to obtain a Chaos Emerald from one certain Flicky. If my calculations are correct, and they usually are, it will have fallen into the hands of Amy Rose, and I will bring her up here as soon as possible, just in case I need a hostage."
Eggman looked back over his plans. Among his notes were the blueprints for Gamma, both the original and his recreation.
"Now… The last time this happened, one of my E-100 robots, Gamma, betrayed me and helped her escape. After Black Doom, I managed to find his data core, and it was mostly intact. And that surprised me, considering Gamma had self-destructed.
"So I took his data core back to my base and processed it, and I found out that it had managed to wipe its own memory of me, and then gunned down the other E-100 robots one by one. I was amazed by my own intellect, considering I didn't program Gamma with renegade programming. I didn't realize this whole time that it had betrayed me. So I took special precautions in my designs of you to make sure none of you would ever repeat his mistake.
"And starting now, once the prisoner is on board, none of you are to go near her. That's what started the chain reaction of failures that Gamma went through."
Eggman turned to look at his other robots.
"All of you Badniks, you're going to go up to the deck and prepare for an imminent attack from either the Tornado II or the X-Tornado. Expect the Tornado II, because I shot down Tails' other plane earlier this morning."
Eggman picked up a remote and pressed a button, and a giant screen on the back wall activated and displayed an image of the Egg Carrier, with arrows pointing to the front parts of the ship.
"Now, you're going to focus on the frontal areas," Eggman instructed. "That's where I anticipate the Tornado is going to strike. As for the E-100 Series robots–"
He stopped mid-sentence as he watched ZERO making his way into the briefing room. The robot stopped in the middle of the aisle.
"Ah, ZERO," Eggman said. "Did you succeed in your assignment?"
"Affirmative," ZERO reported. "The prisoner has been secured, along with the Chaos Emerald she is carrying."
"Excellent," Eggman grinned. "You are to personally stand guard, and wait for my signal before you get the Chaos Emerald from her."
"Affirmative."
"You may go," Eggman said. ZERO saluted and left the room.
Turning to the other robots, he said, "Badniks, you are dismissed to carry out your assignments."
Eggman wordlessly watched all the Badniks filing out of the room, before he turned to the only robots remaining in his audience: the E-100 Series.
"As for you, E-100 Series, your mission is to collect a frog. But it's not just any old frog. No, it's a frog with a tail, and a Chaos Emerald inside. Your visual sensors have been specially upgraded for this mission."
Eggman switched the screen's display to show the frog in question. Sure enough, it had a tail.
"Now this particular frog is owned by Big the Cat," Eggman said as he changed screens again, showing the frog's owner. "You may see him nearby, and if you do, don't be afraid to tranquilize him if he puts up a fight. But anyway, the frog will most likely have a Chaos Emerald inside it, so I gave you all enhanced Chaos energy detectors, so I am positive your success is guaranteed."
"You will all report to the Badnik hangar," he instructed. "We're going to land soon, and then you'll be deployed. You are dismissed."
Eggman waited for the remaining robots to lumber single-file out of the room before he turned to Orbot and Cubot, a big grin on his face.
"You see?" he said proudly. "That's why I'm the man with the master plan."
Station Square – Sat November 19; 9:28 AM – Chris' POV
"I got something!"
"C'mon, Big, that's like the fifth time you said that. Can we just go now?"
"Gimme another moment," Big pleaded as he continued to reel in his line.
On top of feeling impatient, now I was feeling frustrated. Sonic told me that I had to stop everything I was doing and go back home to evacuate because of Perfect Chaos. But at the same time, Cream had asked me to help Big find Froggy. I had no idea who to listen to! If I was supposed to evacuate, that meant Eggman could swoop in and grab the Emerald at any time. But if I found Froggy, I would very likely die in the biggest flood in Station Square history. It was so frustrating!
I was started by a delighted yell, and I looked up to see Big just reeling in Froggy!
"Oh Froggy, I found you! I missed you so much!" he cooed as he hugged the wet amphibian, completely forgetting to remove him from his line.
I knew I should have been happy for him, but inwardly, I sighed.
"So does that mean we can finally go home?" I asked impatiently.
Big had a firm grip on Froggy so he couldn't escape again. "Yes, Chris, we can go home," he told me. "Um, now, uh… What did Sonic tell you? I heard his voice in your wrist thingy."
Another exasperated sigh came from me, and I was just about to explain when a green laser flew right past my head. I yelped and leaped to the side.
Looking up, I was startled and surprised to see five robots marching directly toward us. They were all nearly identical in design except for their arms, which sported various weapons, and they were all different colors – black, red, blue, orange, and purple.
"Set for stun," the black robot ordered. I took it he was the leader.
Big was sweating, and he dropped his fishing pole on the spot. "No no no no nooo!" he panicked as he fled from the scene. The robots made no move to stop him. I thought that was strange, but it seemed like he wasn't their target.
However, when Big dropped his pole, he also dropped Froggy, which meant the Chaos Emerald was ripe for the picking. No way was I going to let Eggman's robots have it.
I ran forward and made a grab for the pole. I picked it up without losing speed and ran as fast I could away from the robots. However, they were much faster, and I felt a laser impacting me squarely in my back.
While it didn't hurt, all my senses were immediately dulled the moment the laser hit me. My eyesight became blurry, and my hearing was muffled. Everything sounded like I was underwater, and I could only make out faint colors and shapes. I wondered if this was what needing glasses felt like.
But that wasn't all. I lost all control and coordination of my muscles, and I instantly fell over. I couldn't even move my arms to catch myself, and I landed roughly on my chest and face on the boardwalk. Granted, it hurt a lot, and I really hoped I hadn't suffered a severe head injury.
Behind me, I could sense several jellybean colors approaching me, and I could only assume they were the robots as they picked up Froggy and moved away from me. I could barely hear them leaving.
I lay there for a while, my head throbbing, and the sun beating down on me was not helping matters at all. I felt miserable, and I couldn't even move at all. In fact, the only function that still worked was my breathing.
Just then my heart leaped out of my chest as someone picked me up. I tried to scream, but my voice wouldn't cooperate with me. I felt myself being carried very fast for a long distance. It was too slow to be Sonic, and whoever it was was wrapping their entire arm around me.
I wished I could see to find out where this person was taking me. However, I could sense the entire environment getting darker around me, and I could start to slowly hear things again. I was grateful to still have my sense of touch, because now I could feel the entire environment moving up, as well as a sense of pressure on my chest.
Even though my sight was not entirely back yet, I decided to try my voice.
"I-I-I… Wh-Wh-Where… a-am I…?"
"We're gonna get Froggy back," said a familiar yet unexpectedly deep voice. I looked at the source of the voice, only to see a large purple figure standing there next to me.
I was shocked. Big had saved me?! I didn't know he had it in him to do that. He seemed very timid, but what he did was extraordinarily brave. I took it he was really motivated to rescue Froggy. That would explain how he would do something so bold.
I rubbed my eyes furiously, trying to get my sight back, but it only resulted in me seeing spots. However, they started to clear up, and I could see Big better, as well as where we were.
We were in a small metallic room of some sort, and we were continuously moving upward and forward. There was nowhere to sit, so I had to settle for leaning against the wall. There were steps leading to a room above us, but I didn't want to dare go up the steps.
"B-Big…?" I asked in surprise. "D-Did you really just sneak me in the cargo hold of the robots' ship?" I asked in disbelief.
Big nodded. "Yeah, whatever that is," he said.
I was feeling nervous as the landing craft rose higher and higher. If I had to guess where we were going, we were on our way to the Egg Carrier, where the foreboding doctor himself was. I could only assume the robots were going to present Eggman with the Chaos Emerald, and there was no logical way I could stop then.
As nervous as I was, I had to be absolutely silent, because Eggman's robots were directly above us. Even a single sound could bring them running, and I didn't want that. One prisoner was enough, and Eggman didn't need two more on top of that.
Big was quiet too, and he was looking around nervously. I felt bad for him, because I could tell that his adrenalin rush was dying down, and he was starting to wonder how he got himself into this situation.
At last, I could feel us slowing down, and I knew we were about to come in for a landing. I had to emotionally brace myself for what was coming.
A minute later, we came to a complete stop, and I could hear the engines shutting off. Big was about to move when I held up my hand to stop him.
There came a whooshing sound of the shuttle's ramp lowering, and a small clang as it touched the floor outside. Immediately afterward, we heard the metallic pounding sound of the five robots leaving the craft. The sound got quieter and quieter, and soon silence reigned.
Once I was sure we were safe for now, I shakily got to my feet and looked around. I was still a bit wobbly, but I knew I would fully get my bearings soon.
"Okay…" I said quietly. "I think the coast is clear…"
I crept over to the steps and crawled up them as silently as I could. I knew I was running a huge risk in case there was a robot still inside the craft that I didn't know about. But as I looked inside the main room in the shuttle, I saw to my relied that it was empty.
Turning my head in the other direction, I looked over to where I assumed the ramp would be, only to see a massive hangar bay before me.
My heart skipped a beat. The robots had forgotten to close the door behind them. That was a huge stroke of luck.
As scared as I was, I suddenly felt a spark of boldness. I looked back at Big.
"Stay here for a second," I told him before I looked outside again, trying to get a better view of my surroundings.
The hangar bay was huge, even bigger than my school's auditorium! There were landing strips, other landing ships, and offline Super Badniks everywhere. Yet, it felt empty… The lack of normal Badniks probably explained it. In fact, it felt eerie…
I looked down into the cargo hold.
"I think it's okay," I told him.
Big carefully emerged from the cargo hold, and I took his hand to help him up the stairs.
I crept toward the ramp, looking back at Big and putting a finger to my lips as I tiptoed down the ramp. Big followed me, but he wasn't as quiet as I was. I took it he wasn't used to being sneaky, but this wasn't the time for him to be picky.
At last, we were in the hangar of the Egg Carrier. My first thought was to find a way out of there. In a room as big as a hangar bay, there had to be several exit points at different parts of the room.
Looking around, I counted a total of eight doors leading out of the hangar bay. The only problem was, I had no idea which door to go through.
Suddenly, this seemed like a bad idea…
I looked over at Big, and he was pointing to each door in a sort of pattern and mumbling something to himself. At last, he settled on one of the doors to the left of us and started walking toward it. I desperately hoped that no Badniks would come from that way, or from anywhere, for that matter. Luckily for us, no robots showed up as we made our way toward the door.
I looked up at Big again, feeling a little uncomfortable, not to mention cold from being surrounded by so much metal.
"I-Is this- A-Are you sure this is the right way?" I asked, my voice shaking a little.
"Have you played eenie-meenie-minie-mo?" Big asked me. I thought that was a very strange question. So that explained what Big was doing…
"Uh… Yeah?" I replied.
"When I'm confused, I always do that, and that's how I know what to do," Big said. I shrugged.
We suddenly heard metallic marching coming from somewhere. The way the sound echoed across the metallic corridors, I had no way of telling where it was coming from.
Panic welled up in me, and I pulled him back as best as I could. Not only was he deceptively heavy, but it took him a moment longer than I would have wanted to send what I was trying to do and comply.
We were almost too late in ducking behind the corner as I saw a small platoon of Egg Pawns marching down the hall. I watched all of them marching in perfect unison, and it amazed me how they were programmed to move in sync the way they were. But this was no time for me to get too fascinated by them.
"That was.. That was the first robots I saw since we got here…" I said. Something felt off…
And just then, all my boldness ran out.
"Uh… I just realized… How are we gonna get down…?"
"Oh, that's easy!" Big said like it was obvious. "We just gotta fly in the plane."
I blinked. "Wait, what?"
Big shrugged. "That's what I did last time, I think."
"…Okay…?"
I assumed it had to do with the past, so I had to just take Big's word for it. For now, though, I had to keep moving and hope we wouldn't get caught.
Angel Island – Sat November 19; 9:33 AM – Third-person POV
Knuckles was gliding across the Pacific Ocean with his load of Master Emerald shards. He was grateful Angel had crashed relatively close to the shore, which meant he didn't have to glide far to get to it. When it landed, it had created a giant splash, but the echidna was mildly surprised it didn't destroy anything of value on either the island or the mainland.
The moment he set foot on the island, he broke into a run. He had gathered as many shards as he could find, but none of them gave him any more visions like the first one did. It had been a surprisingly productive day for him; he wasn't expecting to find so many shards in just one day. Perhaps they didn't scatter very far. He was quite anxious to find out what Tikal wanted to tell him, because chances were it could help his cause.
It took him roughly five minutes for Knuckles to reach the altar. When he saw the familiar altar, he ran even faster and scrambled up the steps. Only when he reached the pedestal did he finally stop to catch his breath.
He spread forth his hands, and willed the shards to gather together. They all floated out of Hammerspace and levitated directly above the pedestal before they assembled themselves back into the familiar shape of the Master Emerald.
However, Knuckles squinted. The Master Emerald was not complete. There were gaps in three spots, which means three shards were still missing. The echidna wondered how he could have possibly missed them.
Unless…
"Of course!" he mumbled to himself. He had almost forgotten about the Egg Carrier! Surely the last few shards were up there somewhere. It was just like the last time this happened.
As if to confirm his thoughts, an image of the Egg Carrier appeared in the incomplete Master Emerald. Knuckles nodded his understanding.
"Hang in there, Tikal," whispered Knuckles as he glided down the steps of the altar, thinking the whole time of finding a way to get there.
The Egg Carrier – Sat November 19; 9:41 AM – Third-person POV
The E-100 robots were marching as a group back toward the briefing room. Gamma was carrying Froggy, holding him securely so he wouldn't slip away, no matter how much the frog squirmed and tried to break loose.
When Beta led the group into the room, they saw Cubot, who was otherwise alone there.
"Oh, hey guys!" Cubot said with a wave. "I'll get ya some seats, and uh… Sorry we don't have popcorn or anything, but, uh… Yeah, I'mma call the doc in for you guys."
"What's going on? What are you doing here?" came Orbot's voice as Cubot's round companion floated into the room.
"Hey, I was just welcoming back our old buddies from the E-100 faction," Cubot said. "Looks like they had a good trip, and they even brought home a pet!"
"Well, I'm more of a kitten robot myself, but frogs can make good pets too-"
Orbot stopped as he approached Gamma and investigated the frog.
"Curious, this frog has a tail…" he mused, before he backed away in surprise. "Wait a minute!"
Suddenly Orbot rushed out of the room, and Cubot looked up.
"Hey Orbot, where ya going?" Cubot called, cupping his hands to his mouth, but he got no reply. He let out a sigh.
"Stay here, I'mma BRB real quick," Cubot said before he left the room.
Since the Egg Carrier was so big, Cubot knew Orbot could be anywhere on the ship. Even with its schematics programmed into his digital brain, he still had a hard time navigating the whole ship.
Five minutes later, he bumped into Orbot who had suddenly rounded a corner. They both recovered right away, rubbing their heads, despite them both being robots.
"Dr. Eggman is on the bridge, and he requests that the E-100 Series reports to him there," Orbot reported.
Cubot sighed again. "And after all that trouble they went through to get to the briefing room…" he said as he and Orbot floated back to said room. "All this back-and-forth is gonna do a number to my battery…"
"Eggman did request that this ship be built one to one compared to the original," Orbot reminded him. "Therefore, it's not our fault we have to travel so far."
"Yeah… He could build teleporters… I'm tired of all this walking, and I don't even have feet!"
They returned to the briefing room another five minutes later.
"Dr. Eggman would like all of you to come to the bridge," Orbot said.
"So he couldn't use the intercom?" complained Cubot.
"He must like to see us exercise," Orbot said. "We can't always be sitting at computers all day. We are multipurpose robots after all."
"Sorry 'bout that, guys!" Cubot called to the E-100 robots as they followed him and Orbot to the elevator.
It took almost ten minutes this time for all the robots to make it to the bridge, which was occupied by Dr. Eggman and several navigator robots sitting at computers. The doctor himself was sitting in his command chair, and he swiveled it around to face the newcomers.
Eggman leaned forward and peered at the frog that Gamma was holding. Before he could get a good look at it, it finally broke loose from the robot's grasp and bounded off the bridge. However, Eggman was able to catch a quick glimpse of the frog's spade-like tail.
"Get that frog!" Eggman commanded, pointing at the direction it went. The five robots saluted and marched off the bridge.
"Did you see the tail too, Doctor?" Orbot asked.
"Yes, why else would I waste my time with a frog if it didn't swallow an Emerald?" Eggman remarked as he activated the ship's intercom. "All off-duty robots, you are to search for a loose frog, last seen on the bridge. It contains a Chaos Emerald. This is a priority one order!"
Hanging up, he turned to Orbot and Cubot.
"The show must go on," he said. "I'm probably going to regret this, but I want you two to bring me the Flicky from Amy's cell."
"But you've seen her, she's dangerous!" Orbot said.
"Yeah, I don't want my naturally flat head even flatter!" Cubot said.
"She's powerless," Eggman said with a grin. "ZERO took her hammer away from her, which means you can safely retrieve the bird without her stopping you. Now go!"
With a nod, the two robots floated out of the room to complete their task.
California – Sat November 19; 9:44 AM – Sonic's POV
By this point we were out in the middle of nowhere, and I kept scanning the mountainous landscape around us for any sign of the Egg Carrier. Shockingly, it was nowhere to be found. I knew it was going to leave Station Square after Eggman captured Amy, but it really left.
"It's a really big ship," Tails said. "I don't think it should have gone too far."
That was the first time Tails had spoken in quite a while, and my focus turned on him.
"You, uh, doing okay?" I asked.
Tails felt his bandaged head.
"A little motion sick…" he quietly admitted. "Nothing too bad yet. I think I might be able to hold out this time."
"Okay, but if you start feeling queasy or anything, let me know and I'll take over," I said.
"Okay, Sonic," Tails said with a nod.
A little while later, the ocean came into view below us. I had no idea we were so close to the coastline.
"Oh hey, is that Angel Island over there?" I said, pointing to a massive land shape ahead of us.
Tails leaned forward in an attempt to get a better view. "Oh yeah, it is!" he said. "Wonder if Knuckles is here?"
"Or still on his Master Emerald hunt," I added. "Maybe we can bring him along with us."
"Well, he was on the Egg Carrier last time this happened," Tails thought aloud, "so yeah, why not? After all, he may need some help getting up there, 'cuz I remember something about there being Master Emerald shards up there."
I nodded. "Yeah, good point," I said.
As if it was a stroke of luck, we spotted a red shape running along the coastline a moment later.
"I see him!" Tails called as he brought the plane down toward the ground. Knuckles waved at us as we got lower and lower.
It was kind of a rough landing as we touched down on the sand, but while we were slowing down, I climbed out of my seat and onto the wing.
"Hey Knux! Going my way?" I called as Knuckles ran alongside us.
"If it's the Egg Carrier, then yeah," he replied as he leaped off the ground and climbed into the seat behind Tails, all while the plane was still moving.
As soon as Knuckles was strapped in, Tails pulled back on the control stick and lifted the Tornado 2 back into the air.
The Egg Carrier – Brig – Sat November 19; 9:52 AM – Third-person POV
It had been over thirty minutes since Amy had been locked in her prison, and without her hammer, she had nothing to do but aimlessly pace her cell and take care of Lily. That said, her boredom was excruciating.
She kept her hopes up that Gamma, or one of the other E-100 Series robots, would come, and she could convince them to let her out. But knowing Eggman, he would surely learn from his mistakes. Beyond that strategy, she would figure it out on the fly. That was what Sonic would do, anyway.
Amy could hear Eggman's voice coming over the intercom, telling all his off-duty robots to find a loose frog. She was intrigued; that didn't happen the first time around, which threw a wrench in the works. Eggman would be kept busy for a while trying to get things back on course.
She sat down on the floor with her back against the wall and her knees drawn to her chest. She almost fell asleep when she became aware of metallic voices from nearby. She opened her eyes, expecting Gamma or his brothers. But she was both disappointed and surprised to see Orbot and Cubot outside her cell instead.
Orbot punched in a few digits in the keypad, and the force field around Amy's cell disappeared. She held Lily closely as the two robots blocked the doorway, looking at her.
"Doctor Eggman requests that you calmly hand over the bird," Orbot said.
"Yeah, the E-100s have a pet, and I want one too!" Cubot said.
But Amy was not afraid, or even fazed. In fact, she was smiling, and she held back a laugh.
"Is Eggman stupid or what?" she remarked between giggles.
Cubot inched forward. "Hey, don't say that about our boss!" he protested.
But Amy ignored him, pacing back and forth while holding Lily and looking at the robots.
"Y'know, I knew he would send somebody to come pick up this Flicky, I just knew it. I was fully expecting Gamma, or maybe another one of the E-100 robots. They were probably reprogrammed or something, and he could have sent them to come get me, but nope! He sent the two dumbest robots he ever made. That's a really big step down."
"What did we do?" complained Cubot, before he scratched his head and looked at Orbot. "Orbot, what did we do?"
"I am not sure, but Dr. Eggman has been acting especially grouchy around us ever since he reactivated us," Orbot said, before looking back at Amy. "That bird does contain a Chaos Emerald, does it not?"
"Even if it doesn't have a Chaos Emerald, a no is a no. You are not having it," Amy firmly said, her eyes narrowed.
"The doctor really only wants the Chaos Emerald," Orbot said, holding up a finger. "You can keep the Flicky."
"Did you hear what I just said?! You're not getting her, or the Chaos Emerald." She paused to take a breath. "I don't know what planet you guys come from, other than Mobius, but you guys really need to know what 'no' means."
Orbot held up his hands, taking mock offense.
"You make us out to be horrible robots," he said.
"Yeah, we have feelings too!" Cubot said.
"Completely ignoring the fact that you're trying to guilt-trip me right now, did anyone ever tell you about the big picture?"
"Oh, you mean the one that plumber jumps through-"
"Eggman is making a monster, you guys!" Amy said, cutting Cubot off. "He needs the seven Chaos Emeralds to make Perfect Chaos, and then he's gonna destroy Station Square. Think of all the people who're gonna die down there!"
Orbot closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again.
"My apologies, I don't really know what 'death' means, but it sounds quite ghastly. And I rather like Station Square, but Eggmanland is a far more enjoyable place."
"Yeah, it's got roller coasters, high drops, merry go rounds, Ferris wheels, and the chili dogs and cotton candy are to die for- Oh wait, no, I forgot we don't know what death means. Anyway-"
As he rambled on, Cubot turned away from Amy, and Orbot tried to get a hold of him to try and stop him. Amy smirked before she held onto Lily and crept out of the cell. But she stopped and turned back to pull a face at the two robots before she broke into a run.
Amy chuckled; in fact, she had to stop herself from laughing triumphantly out loud at how outlandishly easy that was.
"Well, that's one problem that took care of itself!" she said to herself.
Two minutes later, she had just made it out of the brig when she felt the ground moving, as well as the walls and ceiling. She felt like she had an idea of what was going on all across the ship…
The Egg Carrier – Bridge – Sat November 19; 9:56 AM – Third-person POV
Eggman was wearing a headset, listening to the radio chatter of his robots as they were searching every nook and cranny of the ship for the missing frog. It had evaded most of the robots that encountered it, and it reportedly entered one of the Egg Carrier's many air shafts.
The doctor mentally kicked himself for not sealing off the bridge in time, but what was done was done. It was a minor setback, because the frog was a lesser life form, not intelligent like humans or Mobians. He knew there was no conceivable way for the frog to leave the ship, so it was only a matter of time before it landed back in his hands.
However, his Crabmeats and Caterkillers were some of his only robots that could easily access the air shafts, and they were all on duty patrolling the bridge. In other words, Eggman had no robots to spare.
Just then an alarm sounded throughout the bridge, startling Eggman from his thoughts. Upset at the continued hindrances to his plans, Eggman got up out of his chair and looked at the nearest monitor. He grinned when he saw that it was the Tornado 2.
"So you've returned," Eggman said, as if speaking to the plane's pilot. "I was just wondering when you would use that old relic of yours again. It's been so long, I was beginning to think it was decommissioned."
Eggman pressed a few buttons on one of the consoles, and the ship shifted as it began to transform.
"I'm surprised you recovered so quickly from our earlier fight," he said. "But no matter. Ready for round two?"
California – Sat November 19; 9:57 AM – Sonic's POV
At last, we spotted the Egg Carrier, flying way above the forest some fifty miles outside Station Square. I had no idea where it was going, but I had other priorities to deal with first, like what Eggman was up to, and staying one step ahead of him.
It seemed like Eggman was ready for us, because I watched the whole ship starting to change form into what I remembered was its battle mode.
"Looks like he knew we were coming," Knuckles called.
"Not surprised; he's got his welcome mat out for us," I noted, staring out at all of Eggman's Badniks that were swarming the Egg Carrier. And before I knew it, several Hoverbys, Buzz Bombers, and Orbinauts took off and flew straight toward us.
I looked back to Tails. "Tails. You sure you're okay, bud?" I asked him.
"Uh… Headache's coming back, but I think I'll be okay," he replied as he gripped the yokes firmer.
"Wait, what happened?" Knuckles asked him.
Knowing Tails had to concentrate, I answered for him. "His other plane crashed and he got a concussion, but he's okay now-"
"He WHAT?!" Knuckles shouted in shock, causing Tails to flinch. Only now did the echidna notice the fox's bandages.
"I-I'm okay, trust me!" Tails stuttered.
The situation was too dire for Knuckles to say what he wanted to say next, because he looked over to see three Buzz Bombers making a beeline toward us.
"Watch your right!" Knuckles called.
"I see 'em!" Tails replied as he turned the Tornado toward them and fired his blasters at them. As the three robots were vaporized in midair, we came dangerously close to an Orbinaut that nearly took out our left wing, right where I was standing.
Without wasting a second, I thrust myself off the wing and straight into the Orbinaut with a well-executed spin, before shooting myself into a group of approaching Hoverbys. I noted that they didn't seem to be modified with buzzsaws this time, which meant these were the normal kinds. I hadn't seen them in quite some time.
Just as nimbly as I took out the Badniks, I landed back on the wing, spreading my arms out for balance for a second.
"Okay!" I announced. "That's a few less to worry about."
"What about those guys?" Knuckles asked as he pointed to several more robots that flew in to quickly replace the ones I had just destroyed.
"Me and my big mouth…" I said under my breath. Sometimes even I was too cocky for my own good.
I looked behind us to see even more flying robots chasing us.
"Yo Tails, you got any of that… uh, short-circuit gas?" I asked, hoping he would.
Tails shook his head. "EMP gas? N-No, I totally forgot, it's been a long time since I flew this plane!" he replied.
"S'okay, we'll make do," I replied.
"This is pretty rough…" Knuckles admitted as he observed the hundreds of lasers barely missing us, and even the Egg Carrier was adding its own voice to the chorus of think laser and missile fire.
"Snail Blasters!" I called, pointing out the robots stationed on the Egg Carrier's deck. Knuckles yelped as one of their lasers nearly grazed his side.
Tails turned the plane to directly face the Egg Carrier, which by now was getting dangerously close. He shot at the Snail Blasters, but his aim was a little off. I suspected it was because of his headache.
"No EMP gas… What about rings then? You got any rings?"
But Tails didn't get a chance to answer, because a Buzz Bomber shot at us from behind, directly striking the plane's engine, and we started to fall. Smoke was now pouring out from the hole in the engine.
"Aim for the runway!" I shouted, pointing toward it with one hand while keeping my balance on the wing with the other. We were higher up than the Egg Carrier, which allowed us a shot at boarding the plane.
"But what about them?" Tails asked, referring to the Badniks.
"Me and Knuckles will deal with them. We gotta get you safe first!" I replied.
"Okay!" Tails yelped in a panicked tone.
We were descending at an angle, and I really hoped Tails could level out in time. But the way the Tornado was damaged, I didn't know if that was possible. On the other hand, the lasers and missiles stopped firing, and I couldn't help but think that something was up. It was almost like we were being lured into a trap.
Tails pulled back on the yoke, and I felt a violent thud that threatened to shake me off the wing as we crash-landed on the Egg Carrier's deck. But we were still speeding toward a closed hangar door at an alarming rate.
Not wanting to lose my control if the Tornado lurched again, I hopped off the wing and ran after the plane as it made a horrible screeching noise as it slid along the ground.
I watched Tails pulling back on the throttle with as much strength as his little body could give, and he miraculously stopped just feet in front of the bay door.
I ran over to him and Knuckles. "You guys okay?" I asked.
Tails was visibly shaking. "Y-Yeah- Owww!" he exclaimed as he held his head with both hands. "H-Headache!"
I couldn't bear to watch my little brother curling up in the fetal position in his seat, clutching his poor head, but before I could help him, Knuckles stood up.
"Guys, look around us," he said.
Only then did I become aware of the hundreds of robots that were completely surrounding us on all sides. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and now, when we were most vulnerable, we had no choice but to fight.
Leading the robots was ZERO, and as he advanced toward us, so did the metallic legion behind him.
"Sonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna, and Miles "Tails" Prower, by order of Dr. Eggman, you are all under arrest," he stated.
A/N: And that concludes "A Robot Rebels"! Sorry if this was a short chapter, but sometimes it doesn't have to be long to be good.
My favorite part about this chapter is when Big and Chris went up to the Egg Carrier. I feel like it's a nice change of pace to make Big heroic like that, to show that he's not dumb.
And also, I'm aware of the idea that Amy has multiple hammers, like she did in episode 52. However, in my headcanon, as well as my story, she will only have one hammer.
I don't have much else to say, but if you have any questions, ideas, or constructive criticism, I would love to hear it!
Next time is "Heads Up, Tails!", where there is an all-out battle on the Egg Carrier! Don't miss it!
