The City, United Federation
September 16, 8:05 a.m.– 12:50 p.m.
The sun glimmered intensely in the sky as it illuminated the region without hesitance. The streets were lively in the morning with several human and anthropomorph habitants tending to their needs and chores of the day. Many felt rejoice at seeing their beloved home prosper once more despite the ongoing war with the Eggman Empire. Children played in the streets while many couples, both young and elder, enjoyed the conformities and activities that were taking place.
Among the denizens that were walking on the streets, a crimson red-colored anthropomorph wolf moved swiftly in the air as he made his way to meet up with his friends near the lake of the City. He swung from one building to the other with the help of a grappling hook embedded in his wrist communicator, avoiding all hanging signs and cables the best way he could, seeing the people below him with a smile before continuing onward. Once he spotted a familiar blue hedgehog and two-tailed fox a few feet away, the wolf smiled wider and managed to land near them smoothly.
"Sonic, Tails! Good morning!" the red wolf spoke, his voice filled with eagerness as he approached them.
The blue hedgehog, Sonic, responded, "Morning, Buddy!" while the fox, Tails, greeted, "Good morning, Gadget."
"So, what brings you here today? I thought you were taking a break from your last mission," Sonic said.
"Yeah, but I was told that I'd be assigned with you two for this assignment until Knuckles can resume his duties," the wolf, Gadget, replied.
At this, Tails facepalmed, "Right. He has to check every now and then the Master Emerald. Which explains why your here today."
Sonic patted Gadget in both his shoulders, "Well, either way, I'm glad you're here. Means a lot to us if you'll help us catch a bad guy or two."
Gadget nodded and the three of them began to walk the streets. Patrol duty is one of the more vital missions that comprises the Union Task Force. Due to this, a major portion of its organization involves civilian volunteers, law enforcement detachments and medical teams, the latter being through an agreement with the Gamma Task Force. Patrolling the streets has always been one of Gadget's preferred missions since he joined the Resistance years ago – not only does he get to help civilians directly, he also can take a break from infiltrating enemy bases and getting shot at constantly. He is grateful to participate in them whenever he gets the opportunity to do so.
Unfortunately for him, the same can't be said for his current company. Many Mobians serving in the coalition consider this task too mundane compared to fighting the war and tend to avoid it most of the time. Sonic falls in this category to some degree; while he isn't against performing this duty as a whole, he prefers to face Eggman and his army in battle rather than maintain order within the populace. Tails, however, is another story. He uses his time to observe the people and buildings around him and make annotations to add on several research studies he was currently working on. Because of his high-intellect level, he doesn't afford to waste any second of it and writes every detail on his tablet every now and then.
Hours pass by and nothing out of the ordinary sticks out. The red wolf looked between his companions; Sonic had both arms wrapped behind his head and had his eyes closed, seemingly bored out of his mind as Tails finished writing whatever caught his attention. Gadget smiled a bit and looked forward again, pondering on what to do afterwards with them. Eventually, they stumbled upon a tavern near the outskirts of the City and saw a law enforcement patrol taking several people into custody. A white-colored hedgehog that they have come to identify as Silver was amongst the patrol group, standing next to a human officer while confronting one of the detainees near the establishment's entrance. The verbal argument was deteriorating quickly between a yellow-skinned lizard and a pink-feathered bird as they got closer, to which Silver moved in as a barrier between both female anthropomorphs.
"Now you do realize that particle disintegrator could've killed you as well, right?"
"Officer, please! I never saw that weapon before in my life. I had nothing to do with this."
"Hey, hey, hey! It was in your possession and you were shooting us with it, so that makes you an accessory for smuggling weapons and an accomplice to murder."
"No! It's not true! Let go of me!"
"Ma'am-"
"I can't be arrested!"
"Excuse me-"
"THIS TAVERN IS MY ENTIRE LIVELIHOOD!"
The female lizard proceeded to attack Silver, swinging her arms quickly and hitting him hard in the head. Silver stumbled into the ground, giving the captive a chance to escape. Moving in fast, Gadget fired his grappling hook and wrapped it at the fleeing Mobian's feet. The lizard fell to the pavement and groaned as the other officers lifted her up, escorting her towards the back of an armored truck.
She looked at Gadget in contempt and shouted, "You bastard! I could've broken my ankles back there!"
Gadget retrieved his grappling hook and replied, "Perhaps now you'll think twice about escaping custody."
The officers secured the lizard in the truck and locked both doors. Silver stood up from the ground and spoke, "Thanks for the assistance, though it wasn't necessary of you to drop by."
"It's no problem, really. We were just in the area as well," Gadget responded.
Sonic stepped in and asked Silver, "So, what exactly happened here?"
Silver was about to answer his question before the female bird interceded. She straightened her posture and wrapped both hands behind her back before speaking, "We received word that a rogue clandestine group was bringing in illegal weapon contraband into the City about three months ago. We've been scouring the region ever since but turned up without any solid leads to follow; it wasn't until yesterday, however, that one of our informants came up with the location of the smuggling operation, to which we came and disrupted it completely. Hence why we are standing here today."
"I see," Gadget said, "Was everyone involved arrested?"
The bird sighed in exasperation, "Just the ones you saw being transported, sir. The rest managed to escape, and they're just the tip of the iceberg. We haven't figured out who the buyers are and any other parties involved with this endeavor."
Gadget acknowledged the information with a low hum. Tails observed the building they were standing in front of from top to bottom, looking for anything that was out of place. When he couldn't any clues outside, he walked inside the establishment and looked in every corner until he found something. He found a few scrape marks on the kitchen floor where the fridge stood, something that didn't sit well with him. He pushed the equipment out of the way and saw a tunnel leading underground the place. The fox ran towards his friends and informed them of what he found, to which the bird sent two officers to secure the entrance.
"An underground tunnel under the tavern? That's unexpected even in these parts of town," Sonic stated.
"We'll have a squadron enter the tunnel as soon as both Delta and Echo TF are informed of our situation," the bird said, sighing as she added, "And if they don't argue on who'll take the lead, that is."
Gadget stepped in and asked Silver, "Is there anything we can do to help?"
"We already got everything covered here, guys," Silver responded, "As soon as the team gets here, we'll move out and finish our patrol for the day."
Tails nodded, "Alright. We must get going, then. We'll see you back at HQ."
"You bet!"
The wolf and his teammates started to walk once more and took another direction, speaking with countless residents of the area and observing if any suspicious was taking place wherever they went. Nothing else exciting happened afterwards until…
Location unknown
September 16, 1:00 p.m.
A man sat in front of a computer screen, typing briskly several commands into the mainframe as monitors portrayed a squadron of robots moving down on his laboratory. The man exhaled for a bit and wiped the sweat off of his forehead, standing up from his chair and walking towards a large garage where a spherical-shaped vehicle remained docked to the ground. A small red and black robot with a round-shaped head followed the man around the place, observing him pick up multiple cases filled with information crucial to his plans. The man let out a short cackle and brushed his beard with his hands just as he entered the vehicle and activated its primary engines, hovering itself off the pad in the process.
The robot couldn't handle the tension in the room any longer and spoke, "Doctor, are you sure this is the best course of action you should take? The probabilities of your escape are slim to none, sir."
At this, the man turned to the robot, frightening it a bit as he replied in anger, "You dare to question me now, Orbot?"
The robot, Orbot, responded, "I always question your motives, sir. But that is not the point right now."
"Insolent fool!" the man spoke, "It took me years to make this Empire grow into more than a global power and anybody take it away from me without a fight! Bahahaha!"
"And there he goes monologuing to himself again," Orbot muttered to himself, "And he calls me a lunatic, but this is borderline insane!"
The man's laughter faltered at the comment and he spun to the robot, "Why, you little–!"
Their conversation came to a halt when an explosion occurred in the lab's entrance. A ball of blue blur appeared from the doorway and dashed quickly towards the Egg Mobile, knocking the man off to the floor as the vehicle was torn in half and crashed down. It wasn't long until a barrage of missiles destroyed the machine and many Egg-Robos that were currently locked in their containment pods. The man stood up from the platinum floor and saw his most dangerous robot float menacingly in front of him. Two Egg Gunners entered the room and pointed their cannons at him as well, leaving the man cornered and defenseless. He began to think how this could've happened when a cloaked figure entered the room, clapping slowly with every step they took.
"My, my, Dr. Robotnik. I didn't know you were leaving this place without even saying hello," the figure spoke as they feigned being hurt, "You must really despise me."
The man, identified as Dr. Ivo Robotnik –commonly known as Eggman–, growled in anger as he shouted, "YOU! You dare to usurp me from my empire!?"
"Yes," the figure answered, "After all, it was me who turned your most prized creations against you. No one will save you now, doctor. Surrender is your only option now."
Eggman scowled at the declaration but did not act immediately. He pondered on what to do in this situation when he saw Metal Sonic hold Orbot on a chokehold. The lesser robot grunted as the blue hedgehog's replica increased pressure in its metallic palm to the point a whirring sound could be heard throughout the room. After a minute or two, Eggman finally came to a decision.
"I… surrender," Eggman announced, lifting his arms in defeat.
The figure, amused of the doctor's decision, spoke, "Interesting choice, though it disappoints me not witnessing you fighting your machines. Such pity."
"I will not stoop so low to entertain the likes of you," Eggman replied coldly at them.
The figure smirked, "We'll see about that. Metal Sonic, take our beloved doctor and his pathetic robot to Sector 136-D. They most likely will serve for my… research. HEH HEHEHE!"
Metal Sonic nodded and grabbed the doctor by his coat as they began to fly out of the lab. While the replica flew at great speeds to its destination, Eggman discreetly pressed a button on his communicator and kept looking onward, grinning a bit knowing some of his forces haven't turned on him.
His only hope to survive now was Sonic and his friends…
A/N: Hello there! I hope you have enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a review and a like. See ya!