Egg Bunker
Coffee beans get crushed, letting a liquid seep into a perfectly black cup. The creator adds a new mixture to his creation. Doctors orders.
"You'll be my masterpiece."
He raises two pins, dabbling on the liquid to paint a perfect picture. That criminal old man with his bushy mustache. Stone can't help but smile at his work. "Look at you.." he's got a fixation on that sinister smile. It's accurate..and maybe the Doctor would appreciate his work on this.
The doors to the kitchen automatically open, and there stands the Doctor, clasping a Chaos Emerald. Stone clears his throat. "Doctor! You're here..I always knew you'd come back."
"In the flesh." he responds, lifting the cup. "Nothing like a refreshing beverage after victory." As he sips the beverage, Stone looks on like he's the Chef. If this latte impresses him, he's done his service. If it doesn't..another chewing out.
Robotnik smacks his lips. "Could use a little more milk."
Stone hides his frown. "Of course." His eyes move lower..to the emerald in his hand, of course. "I see you've fetched the emerald."
"Hm-Hm-Hm." The Doctor reveals the blue gem to his servant.
"It's beautiful."
"More than beautiful. Powerful." Robotnik corrects. "We're in the lead, Stone. I don't know who or why our opponents would enter this field. Their minds would go 'ka-ploey' at what I've discovered. But I won't be the only one finding them anymore.."
Stone adjusts the doctor's collar. "What are you implying?"
The Doctor gives Stone a cold stare. "You're back on the field. I've scanned all over. There's a stray left on Southside. The rest on West. While I target the stray, you will cut down on the West's numbers."
Stone gulps. "You really trust me?"
"Do I TRUST you? I'm just practicing the best strategy!" Robotnik reminds. "All we need are half to rip the upper hand from our enemies!"
"Nobody's attacked us…"
Robotnik freezes. "..are you avoiding all the possibilities? Thinking small? Expected from another person. People don't pay any attention to detail." The Doctor corners Stone, with a wall blocking his behind. "Remember the hedgehog?"
"Yes, Doctor…"
"We never found a body, did we?"
Stone shakes his head.
"You should know better." He gives Stone a little pat on the head. "Make me proud."
Emeralds two and three are in sight for Robotnik, and his new Badnik empire. Speaking of them, a Motobug rolls in with two keys. Robotnik snatches one, and holds the other.
"Up high!"
Stone reaches up, but the Doctor moves it down.
"Down low!"
He reaches again, but the Doctor tosses it in the air.
"TOO SLOW!"
He chops Stone in the chest, and unfortunately for the agent, no key. He's left gasping as the Doctor stands over him. "Left yourself open." The Motobug itself blinks in disappointment, as he follows his master out. "Don't forget my air shoes!"
Stones left alone, finally able to catch his breathe. He holds that key between his fingers. "I won't let you down."
"Good! Don't!"
"…"
Southside Island
A tall mech with gray legs (red at the end), and no arms. Instead of arms, there's a round mobile in place of the head. A shiny red "Eject" button is inside, along with a few others for commands. A family of squirrels run for their lives.
"Say hello to my precious Eggwalker." Robotnik greets, launching a missile to make those animals bolt. "Don't be rude! God. Animals are so classless these days." Says the terrorist. He's demolishing the natural earth around these parts, with no intent to stop. A driven egomaniac for sure.
The Eggwalker stops at a totem, with empty eyes, but a smile painted on. Robotnik cringes at the sight. "THIS is what they call art?" He peers real close. "You're too hideous to live in my world."
BOOM!
Totem destroyed via missile! "That'll teach you to look at me funny!" The Doctor gloats. He slams another button, adding onto his bag of tricks. Capsules are fired out, and literally grow legs! No matter how fast those families run, the capsules outrun them. They even grow their own shiny arms for the grabbing. One by one, the animals get sent into the claustrophobic space. Nowhere else to run.
If they don't have a savior, they'll have a horrible future.
As the animals get forced away from their habitat, Robotnik takes in the empty nature. "Good place to set up shop." A few Badniks with hardhats surround him. "You know what to do!"
As his machines head over to start a speedy construction, Robotnik turns to his left and spots a cave. He can see a faint glow all the way back there.
"Two down. Don't choke, Stone.."
Westside Island
A plain grey mech takes a big leap through the air..with Stone sitting inside. Once they hit solid ground, Stone climbs out of his mech, staring at the floating gold ring. "So you're that portal the Doctor was talking about." He looks to peek in the middle, but it's just the other side of the ring.
"Unpredictable. Great.." Stone says, with a dash of sarcasm, as he takes those steps back. They may be his last if this trip goes awry.
"HEY NEW GUY!"
Stone spins around, but nothings there. "Is this a joke?"
"Yoo-hoo!"
He spots a trail of blue circling around. "Show yourself!"
"Gotta catch me first!"
"Screw it." Stone has enough of these games and climbs into his Walker, and aims his missiles both ways. "You've messed with the wrong people, kid. You don't know what you're getting into, so I suggest you STAY OUT."
The blue blur pops in, and stops himself like that Coyote. "Talkin' about me?"
Stone launches his rockets, but Sonic uses them as stepping stools, and lands behind the Walker. Those missiles redirect, and head Stones way. "Clever." Stone makes a big jump, putting Sonic back in danger.
Tails swoops in, with a yellow backpack, and flies Sonic up to the walker's level! "Now, Sonic!"
The hedgehog dropkicks Stone, sending him right out his Walker! Stones flailing in the air, ready to break his back. Sonic stays put in the Walker, bringing it back down. Those missiles are oncoming, so he jumps out.
BOOM!
The Walker explodes into several pieces! Bullet not dodged. Stone just closes his eyes, accepting his fate. He's being pretty dramatic because Sonic just catches him anyway. "Maybe if you played nice I wouldn't have to break your toy."
"They aren't MINE.." stone rolls himself from his grasp. "They're invented by the smartest man I know. Think you can hide your emeralds forever?"
"Oh if you want the emeralds.." that Lightning crackles around him again. "You'll have to go through US…"
The animals enter that ring without hesitation, catching Stone off guard! The agent makes a majestic dive into the portal, leaving this world behind (for now).
Flash…
?
Tails is on pickup duty, flying Sonic down to avoid the fall. Once both are down, Sonic pops his arms. "Ready for round two?"
That fox is too busy glancing at this new environment. The ground below is blue with orange stripes, as is the rest of the way. It's like an endless hallway. Unfortunately for them, it's not just a straight run through.
Black mines blink, almost six per turn. One wrong move, and someone's getting blown to smithereens. "Sonic.."
Sonic grabs his fox friends hand. "If we hit one you can just fly away." Consider that grab a warning because Sonic guides him through, moving past mine after mine. It's a good ten dash just to reach a single TURN in the stage. No wonder nobody's been able to report anything.
They probably never found their way out.
While they take off, Stone hits the ground stomach first. While he groans, Stone uses his elbows just to get on his knees. His heart almost ripped itself from his chest after the action earlier, but this little world will really test him.
The mines remain. Stone brushes off his air shoes. "Ok, hedgehog. Let's go." He reaches his waist and pulls out a desert eagle. He takes aim for the mines ahead. Those bullets cause a huge smokescreen from the explosions, but on the bright side for him: Clear path. For now.
Stone heads on through, coughing to get those chemicals from his lungs. He doesn't just have a gun, he has a drive to claim the emeralds.
As the animals pull ahead, it turns out this hallway isn't endless. In their view is a giant square, looking like a giant mash of roads. So many four way stops, and so many accidents if this becomes a reality. That's not even the wildest part.
A white UFO's dead center. There's no limbs at all, but it has a booming voice. "YOU WANT? COME GET." It floats around the pathways, daring them to make a move. Who knows what could happen with one fall.
Sonic wipes a quill from his face. "If you say so." He zips around the roads at a record speed, and gets beneath the saucer.
"OH."
Sonic does a handstand, and hits a spinning kick to split it in half! Out pops a purple emerald, caught by that hedgehog. "Score!" His smile quick turns to a look of shock. "Move!"
Tails spins around, and almost gets caught by a silver bullet! A tiny speck of his fur gets caught on it. Stones back, aiming his gun at the fox. He fires a few more, but Sonic shoves him out of the way. Then..time just stops.
Those bullets are extra slow. So, the hedgehog just flicks them to the side. Next, he unzips Tails backpack and pulls out one of his blasters. Sonic snickers. "These are so cute." He forces it into Tails right hand, and clasps it shut.
Last, but not least: Stone himself. There's little time left for Sonic to beat him via time. He grabs Stones suit, and drapes it over his head, blinding the guy.
.
With no sight, Stone fires like a madman. Sonic knocks Stone upside the jaw. Tails uses his flight to leave the non-slowed bullets. He raises a brow seeing his blaster all of a sudden. "Huh?" Sonic's gesture to leave reaches the kid, and they do just that.
The mines are no match for their speed. Back at the start once again, and that rings still above them. So, Tails uses his flight to bring them back up..
Another flash…
They rise again to cloudy skies. Even though there's no sun at all, Sonic's sweating. "Whew. You ok, pal?"
Tails sets his blaster back in his pack. He's shaking a little. "He almost got me…"
Seeing the fox reflect on near-death, Sonic offers a fist bump. Not really appropriate for the situation, but that's the first thing he thought of. "Don't worry. I got your back. You're never gonna touch a bullet again."
After a few seconds..Tails returns it.
That puts a smirk on Sonic's face. "We've earned ourselves a meal. F c'mon!" Tails does as he's told. The fourth Emerald, as well as a feast is on the menu. They could definitely use the recharge, because when the Doctor hears about this?
They may not have any breaks left.
That saucer had no chance. RIP. Anyways, Stone let his boss down, and he'll get chewed out for sure (not the way he wants). That's if he even gets out of there. Speaking of his boss, Robotnik's probably scored another emerald. What an ego boost that is.
Sonic and Tails finally got their first emerald from Westside. Who knows what zone they'll have to hit next just to get another. Three emeralds down, four to go. The race continues!
Next chapter will feature Sonic and Tails on their next trip. Plus, Robotnik's reaction to Stone's loss..and an unveiling of bigger plans. See you there :)