City Outskirts/Green Hill Zone, United Federation
September 16, 2:30 p.m. – 4:47 p.m.
"HQ to all teams outside the City. We're picking up an energy reading in the central region of Green Hill Zone. Scour the area for enemy presence nearby. Over."
"This is Sonic. My team and I are outside the City and will proceed to investigate the area. Over."
"Espio here. Team Chaotix is nearby as well. We'll arrive there shortly to provide Team Sonic support. Over."
"Thanks but don't keep us waiting there."
"No promises."
"Enough chatter you two. We'll be addressing you as Green Hill Reconnaissance Team for this mission. Get to those coordinates as soon as possible. Over and out."
Sonic smiled and looked at his companions as he spoke, "Well, you heard them. Let's go!"
Tails and Gadget nodded and followed the blue hedgehog just as he started to sprint towards Green Hill Zone. The three of them moved through the landscape of the Zone quickly since they were on the outskirts of the City when the call came on their comm link. Taking several turns here and climbing hills there, they reached the designated area just about the same time as Team Chaotix arrived through the opposite direction. Both teams jumped to the area and reconvened with one another.
"Well, that was fast," Sonic said, looking somewhat amused at everyone's arrival.
"What are you talkin' about? We were in the neighborhood, remember?" Vector replied as he crossed his arms with a smug on his face.
"Uh, guys? Are you sure this is the right place?" Tails asked as he looked at his surroundings. "I'm not seeing anything out of the ordinary here."
Vector spoke, "Of course we're in the right place! Why wouldn't we?"
"Maybe HQ got the coordinates wrong or something?" Charmy said as he looked around as well.
"Probably," Sonic said, "It's not the first time they messed up, you know."
"Regardless of that, we still have a job to do," Espio replied as he added, "Let's split up and scour the area for any machines."
"I think it just found us instead," Gadget spoke in an alarming voice.
They all look at where he was pointing and saw a giant robot running towards them. They all moved away from the robot's path quickly —Tails and Charmy flew away, Espio and Sonic ran out of harm's way, and Gadget lifted himself to a cliff with his grappling hook while he carried Vector with his free arm— as it jumped in the air and slammed its fists into the ground, making the ground tremble at its tremendous force and dust rise in the air. After the dust settled down, they all could see the shape of the robot and immediately identified it as a Death Egg Robot. Soon enough, Sonic sprinted towards the robot's feet while Espio moved onto its head. The robot swung one of its arms at Gadget and Vector while it fired a laser beam at Tails and Charmy. The four of them avoided the attacks respectively and moved in to aid their two companions.
Sonic performed a Spin Attack at the machine's feet, forcing it to tumble down momentarily as Espio threw a Shuriken Star at its eye compartment. The sentinel regained its balance and thrashed one arm around while the other covered the area teared by the projectile. Gadget grabbed Vector once more and swung in front of its face, dropping the crocodile on top of the arm as he landed on a ledge nearby. Vector pummeled his hands on the metallic gauntlet repeatedly until it moved from its place, leaving enough space for Tails and Charmy to wriggle inside its processing unit. Both of them riveted several cables apart and managed to disable its laser artillery, rendering it to perform physical attacks. Once they got out, Sonic and Gadget proceeded to attack the robot, the former providing a diversion by twirling around its feet and the latter swinging to its face with a Burst Wispon in hand. The red wolf landed on the robot's face and let out a heavy fire charge inside the compartment, sending him in the air while the machine whirled out of control and exploded. Gadget regained his balance in mid-air and used his grappling hook to land smoothly on the ground near his companions.
"Ha! Didn't stand a chance now, eh?" Vector cackled at the sight.
"I have to agree as well," Sonic responded, "This was a piece of cake!"
Gadget panted slightly, standing a few feet apart from his friends as they investigated what remained of the Death Egg Robot. He took a deep breath and looked at the sky for a moment, pondering on why Eggman deployed a single Death Egg Robot in Green Hill Zone. It made no sense if he wanted to retake the region—
A voice in the comm link startled the wolf as they spoke urgently, "HQ to Green Hill Reconnaissance Team! We're detecting more energy readings headed your way and fast! Get out of there now! Over and out!"
The ground shook slightly at their feet, its rhythm increasing bit by bit with every minute that passes by. The red wolf looked to his right and saw in the distance six to seven Death Egg Robot units running fast at their position. The others caught on as well and were shocked to see six to seven Death Egg Robots running towards them. Their sudden appearance took them by surprise, not expecting to encounter a large group of large robots this quickly.
"What the— Are you kidding me?!" Charmy exclaimed, shouting as the noise of metal stomping ground increased momentarily.
"We won't be able to stop them all!" Tails said, "They'll get to the City in no time!"
"We must try!" Espio responded. He turned to friends and asked, "Anyone got any ideas to stop them in their tracks?!"
Gadget looked at his surroundings quickly and took note of a few things; the first thing he saw was that there was gorge near their location. The second thing he saw was that the gorge connected the landscapes of the City and Green Hill Zone via a land bridge. Following this, a rock arch was positioned above the bridge with a fragile support structure. And last but not least, he saw the width and depth of the gorge and then compared it to the size of the incoming machines.
Taking all these details into accounts, a thought came to Gadget's mind and he spoke, "I have an idea! But you guys might not like!"
"Doesn't help when you say it like that!" Vector shouted in agreement, "So let's hear it!"
Gadget nodded and spoke, "We act as bait and lure the robots to the City through that gorge! You four," he paused as he signaled Sonic, Vector, Charmy and Espio, "will stand still at the end of the bridge while I scale the arch and use my Wispon to destroy it! The rock debris may not destroy them completely, but it will destroy the bridge and make them fall in the gorge, where an airstrike can finish them off! Tails, I need you to catch me if I fail to land safely! Once they start passing by, one of you must signal me to open fire!"
Espio nodded at Gadget and spoke, "Got it! Any questions?!" Everyone shook their heads in response, and he commanded, "Let's move!"
They all moved to the end of the gorge and took on their positions. Gadget deployed his grappling hook and scaled the arch while crossing the bridge, bringing out his weapon out once more and aiming it down. Tails hovered above in the sky, ready to catch Gadget at any moment while the rest spread out near the bridge, Sonic and Charmy taking the left side with Espio and Vector taking the right. While they waited for the robots to come, Espio contacted HQ and gave them the coordinates for the airstrike. Soon enough, the robots reached the other side of the gorge and began passing through the bridge.
Sonic looked at the red wolf above them and shouted, "GADGET! GO!"
And with the pull of the trigger, Gadget let out another heavy charge of fire burst through the arch, destroying it completely. The tremendous force of the charge sent him flying high to the sky, giving Tails the chance to catch him in the air. Once he secured him, he flew back to where the others were as the robots fell down into the gorge. The gorge itself was not too deep for a lethal fall but deep enough to keep the robots from attacking anyone. As soon as Gadget and Tails landed, Espio ordered a tactical airstrike at their position and sent everyone back to one of the City's entrances. They waited a few minutes until three Blue Eagle jets arrived and performed a bombardment on the gorge, destroying some of the robots in the process. The jets reconvened and performed a second bombardment, this time taking the remaining machines out of commission for good.
The comm link turned back online and the same person spoke, "HQ to Green Hill Reconnaissance Team. What's your status? Over."
Sonic spoke in the comm, "Sonic to HQ. All Death Egg Robots have been eliminated and we're headed back to the City. Over."
"Acknowledged. In the meantime, Director Fritz has requested Gadget's immediate return at the base. Over."
Everyone looked at the red wolf, who sported a confused look as he asked in the comm, "HQ, this is Gadget speaking. Is there a reason the Director needs me? Over."
"He didn't say. There's a transport waiting for you in the City. Perhaps he'll tell you himself. Over and out."
Gadget hummed curiously at the response, "Guess I'll head back to base."
"I'm sure it's nothing serious," Sonic assured him, "Maybe he will give you another mission or something."
Gadget nodded, "Yeah, maybe."
"Welp, don't know about you fellas but I'm starving," Vector said, "Who wants to eat with me?"
"I do! I do!" Charmy exclaimed.
"We're all going for a bite," Espio clarified to Vector.
"Not me. Director's expecting me?" Gadget reminded him.
"I'll bring you something when you get back," Tails offered, "Or when we see you again."
"Thanks for the offer."
Soon enough, they returned to the City and took their separate ways: Gadget walking up towards the transport and the others walking to a nearby diner. Gadget got on the vehicle and observed the landscape of the City as he flew towards the base. While his destination was a fair long distance, he had time to ponder on why the Director called for him. He came up with dozens of reasons but concluded that all of them neither made sense nor negatively affected him. Whatever the reason was, he would have to wait when he gets there.
M.O.S.S. Social Interface Network
Central Communications Relay Hub
-INCOMING REPORT TRANSCRIPT-
Mobian Operations Security Service
Military Operations Board
Mission Overview Committee
DATE: [September 16]
TO: Task Forces Alpha, Delta Union
FROM: Echo Task Force Communications Office
SUBJECT: Green Hill Zone Reconnaissance After-Action Report
[1.] This report has been prepared in accordance with current Echo Task Force Intelligence Electronic Detachment (IED) mission parameters.
[2.] IED satellites detected a large spike of energy in the central region of Green Hill Zone at [0228] hours. Operator Amy Rose contacted all units near the region to investigate the energy surge; Teams Sonic and Chaotix (designated as Green Hill Reconnaissance Team) responded the order and arrived on the scene. Initial surveillance of the area revealed that one D.E.R. (Death Egg Robot) ambushed the team and seven additional D.E.R. units . Green Hill Reconnaissance Team retreated to a nearby gorge and lured the D.E.R. units into a trap, routing them into gorge with little chance of escape. Blue Eagles 195-V, 195-X and 195-T were dispatched to the area and engaged the trapped D.E.R. units in two consecutive bombing runs (see attached video feeds).
[3.] Green Hill Reconnaissance Team neutralized all hostile D.E.R. in the area. All D.E.R. wreckage have been transported to Gamma Task Force [REDACTED] facility for RD in advanced weaponry.
[4.] Following this incident, Command has issued new directives in the following order:
[4.1.] Alpha Task Force is to increase offensive operations on Eggman-held territory as well as provide additional defense personnel to frontier regions.
[4.2.] Delta Task Force is to infiltrate Eggman outposts at Metropolis to investigate recent D.E.R. activation and sabotage any and all activation signals upon possible discovery.
[4.3.] Union Task Force is to maintain order on populace regarding confrontation in Green Hill Zone.
-REPORT TRANSCRIPT ENDED-