-Chapter 113-
A Robot Rebels
Knothole
Hope and Big arrived in Knothole not long after getting Kat's call. The Chaotix crew, as well as the Knuckleheads, were waiting for them by the Special.
"Get on," Knuckles insisted. "We've got a lotta sky to cover."
"I hope you're ready for a fight," Hope cautioned. "Eggman'll see the Special coming from a mile away."
"We're not fighting, Hope," Big insisted. "We're saving Froggy."
Julie-Su blinked. "You... do know that Eggman isn't the type who's just gonna hand him over if you come up to him and ask nicely, right?"'
"Yeah!" Vector agreed. "Eggman only speaks one language: fists!
"No fighting," Big said firmly. "We're rescuing Froggy, and that's it."
"Big," Kat began, "you're gonna have to fight if you want-"
"NO!" Big screamed, startling everybody. "No fighting! I hate fighting! I won't fight!"
He stomped his foot hard, shaking the Special slightly. Everyone recoiled as Big breathed heavily before calming himself down.
"Sorry, that was mean," he said politely. "It's just... I hate fighting and violence. I left my old hometown to get away from things like that."
"Hey…" Hope said, placing a gentle hand on his arm. "There's a difference between what the Felidae do and what we do. We don't fight for the sake of fighting. Instead, we do it to protect something or someone important to us."
"Yeah!" Vector added. "I'll go to war if someone screws with my friends."
"And I'll gladly defend my home and the people I love," Knuckles added.
"It's not a sin to fight for the right cause, Big," Espio included. "There are those who are not content with peace, who words alone will not reach. Dr. Eggman is such a being."
"That's why Mobius has people like us!" Charmy chimed in. "To fight him off and save people!"
Big listened to their words, taking them in.
"Gee, I never thought about it like that," he admitted.
"I get where you're coming from, believe me," Mighty told him. "I don't like fighting either. But sometimes there's no other option. Sometimes, turning the other cheek just doesn't work."
"So I can fight, but not be mean about it?" Big asked.
"Exactly," Hope nodded. "Like... to save Froggy or me."
"When you're fighting to protect people, like you're friends, it's okay," Ray included.
Big gave a nod.
"Okay then. Sorry I got mad."
"Don't worry about it," Hope assured. "Now, you ready to get Froggy back?"
Big nodded. With that, Julie-Su took the pilot seat.
"Then let's go," she declared. "We've got an Egg Carrier to catch."
Mystic Ruins
Meanwhile, Sonic was running as fast as he could, trying to catch up to ZERO and his prisoners. Amy and Cream kept squirming to get loose to no avail as they made it outside the train station.
"Let us go, you hunk of junk!" Amy shouted.
Sonic finally caught up, darting in front of them.
"If I were you, I'd do what she says, you glorified toaster!" he snapped. "Put Amy and Cream down, or I'll recycle you into a pop can!"
Suddenly, a beam of light engulfed the bot, pulling him upward with his quarry.
"You lose, hedgehog," ZERO boasted as he flew up.
Sonic gritted his teeth before calling out to his captured friends.
"Amy! Cream! Hang in there! I'm coming for you!"
He began looking around frantically for a way to get up to his friends. That's when he remembered Chris' gift to him before he left Knothole.
"The Light Speed Shoes!"
He plopped to the ground, yanking his sneakers off before reaching into the bag the Light Speed Shoes were in, switching them out. He slid the new shoes on, giving them a test.
"Let's hope these live up to their name."
Sonic reared back, getting into a runner's position before taking off even faster than usual, his legs practically blurs while a red Mach cone formed around him.
"Wooooohooooo!" he screamed in exhilaration. "This is awesome!"
Angel Island
In record time, Sonic made it to Angel Island. Seeing the Egg Carrier above, he threw his arms back as he ran at full speed, dashing up the Red Mountain before shooting into the air like a missile. Unfortunately, he miscalculated badly and completely overshot the Carrier. As he found himself in mid-air, he blinked and gulped.
"Ohhhh… poop."
He plummeted with a yell. The ocean was coming up fast and Sonic braced himself for a painful splashdown.
"SONIC!"
Sonic perked, turning to see the same black, red, and white jet plane from before flying in at high speed. His face brightened to see Tails in the cockpit as the plane flew under him, catching him safely.
"Tails!" Sonic exclaimed. "Boy, am I glad to see you."
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Tails replied, patting the side of the plane. "Meet the new, improved, and ironed out X-Tornado!"
"Looks good, buddy. Let's see if it can catch the Carrier."
Tails grinned. "Oh, it'll do more than that."
He threw a switch, the X-Tornado powering up before blasting off.
Egg Carrier
Inside the Carrier, Eggman looked over the E-Series robots, each presenting a frog for him to see. Eggatha was with him, scanning each frog. After seeing each frog except Gamma's, Robotnik gritted his teeth in rage, stamping his feet.
"You stupid mounds of metal!" he roared. "You dare bring me these crummy croakers?! None of you got the right one! Do you see a tail anywhere?!"
Beta just pointed to his eyes. "Sorry."
Robotnik sighed, face-palming.
"I'm surrounded by defective circuitry…" he groaned before straightening up and bringing up the image of Froggy again. "All right, you nickel-plated ninnies, listen here! I am not looking for your average everyday amphibian. I am seeking a very special frog with a tail that's long and pointy! That frog possesses a fragment of Chaos' essence, and has swallowed a Chaos Emerald. Do you understand me?!"
"Uh, Uncle Ivo?" Eggatha piped up, getting his attention.
"What is it?" Robotnik questioned.
Eggatha pointed to Gamma, who was holding that very frog.
"Gamma has the right frog," Eggatha told him. "He's teeming with Chaos energy."
Robotnik perked, hurrying over to Gamma.
"Yes, that's the one!" he cheered. "I just knew you would do me proud, Gamma!"
"Thank you, Doctor," Gamma replied.
"I'll take Froggy there," Eggatha offered, gently picking up the amphibian.
As she left, Robotnik glared at the rest of the E-Series.
"As for the rest of you, you're all worthless!" he shouted. "I have no use for Badniks who can't follow orders correctly. Be gone!"
He pressed a button, and every bot barring Gamma was surrounded by beams of light before being teleported away to parts unknown. Gamma looked at where his brethren once stood, optics going in and out of focus. Still he remained silent as Robotnik addressed him.
"Now that the froggy situation is dealt with, we have a little birdy in need of tending," he told him. "Go down into holding and collect our Flicky friend."
"Yes, doctor."
-X-
As Gamma headed for holding, he heard the sounds of sparking and smoldering from a nearby room. Curiosity gnawing at his processor, Gamma approached the door, which opened automatically for him. He stopped short when he saw that the source of the noise was Beta being dismantled, parts discarded like garbage across the floor. As this was going on, Beta was also undergoing several different modifications. Gamma took a step back, his optics widening.
"Beta…?" he managed.
Beta said nothing, unable to because of how many parts he was missing. Unable to handle the image, Gamma retreated, the door closing behind him. After a minute, he straightened, shaking his head.
"That was the wrong room."
Down in holding, Amy and Cream were in a cell. Amy was petting Lily while Cheese sat atop Cream's head.
"What's going to happen to us?" Cream asked. "Are we going to be turned into robots like my dad?"
"No way, Cream," Amy assured. "I won't allow it. Sonic's never let us down before. He's coming."
It was at that moment the door opened. Gamma entered, standing before the cell as the two girls tensed. He held out his hand.
"Hand over the little bird," he ordered.
Amy quickly held Lily away from him. "Nope! No way."
"You must," Gamma insisted. "Dr. Robotnik commands it."
"Eggman's a grade-A meanie," Cream told him. "You don't have to do what he says."
"Do you even know what he plans to do with Lily?" Amy asked.
"Does not compute," Gamma said simply.
"You don't, do you?" Amy questioned.
"Mr. Robot, please," Cream pleaded. "Just let us go. We haven't done anything wrong."
"I know you have a job to do, but I'd be extremely grateful if you would please let us out of here," Amy requested.
"Insufficient data," Gamma answered. "You have feelings for something you know nothing about. Does not compute."
Amy sighed. "I pity you. Love is not part of your programming. You're missing something good."
"Just because he taught you to be mean doesn't mean you have to be." Cream pointed out.
Gamma took a step back, a hand going to his head.
"Not possible…" he managed. "Against regulations... Must obey Doctor... Must obey Doctor…"
"Why? Because he made you?" Amy asked. "You're your own bot. Do what you think is right."
At that moment, Lily flew out of Amy's hands, getting right in Gamma's face. She chirped pitifully, eyes pleading. After a few tense moments, Gamma went over to the wall switch. Much to their surprise, he pulled it, opening their cell.
"You must go," he insisted. "Hurry."
Amy took hold of Lily again, smiling. "Thank you."
"Yes, thank you, Mr. Robot," Cream added.
"Gamma," Gamma corrected. "My designation is E-102 Gamma."
"Thank you, Gamma," Amy said gratefully. "We'll never forget this."
Taking Cream's hand in hers, she took off.
In the next room they entered, Amy and Cream stopped short to see a sizable machine resembling a Whack-a-Mole game before them, labeled Hedgehog Hammer.
"Uh... what's this thing?" Amy questioned.
"It looks like a carnival game," said Cream.
Amy looked down one of the holes, seeing a crude animatronic Sonic with stupid faces painted on it.
"And Eggman's version of Sonic's stress ball," she theorized.
A loudspeaker crackled on at that.
"Right on the money, Amy!" Robotnik declared. "You may have bypassed Gamma, but you're not leaving this room... unless you manage to beat my high score."
They looked up, seeing the scoreboard reading Robotnik's name on top, with 50,000 points next to it.
"Fifty thousand points?!" Amy exclaimed.
"Losing to that smug blue rodent so often has become quite unbearable. So I whipped up this little contraption as a means to relieve aggression and free the beast. As you can see, I've had a lot of time to practice."
"Clearly," Amy deadpanned before drawing her hammer. "Well, prepare to lose your winning streak!"
"Oh, before I forget…" Robotnik piped up. "You have until the timer runs out to beat my high score. If you win, you get to leave. Lose, and... well…"
He chuckled darkly as the floor opened up just enough for the two girls to look down and see they were directly above a vat of hydrochloric acid.
"Cream, stand back," Amy ordered. "I've got work to do."
Lily hopped onto Cream's shoulder and the bunny stepped back, giving Amy room to move. As each Sonic head popped up, Amy was quick on the draw and bopped them. She began racking up points like crazy, Cream, Cheese, and Lily cheering her on.
"Go, Amy!" Cream cheered. "You've got this!"
Just as the timer ran out, Amy had racked up seventy thousand points.
"...It appears you win," Robotnik said casually. "But it makes no difference. You won't be getting off this ship anytime soon."
"We'll just see about that," Amy shot back. "C'mon, Cream. Let's go."
The two headed off, animal companions in tow.
In the bridge, Robotnik sat to the side as Grimer and Snively looked over the radar, seeing something approaching.
"Sir, two fast-moving aircraft are approaching from both sides," Snively informed him.
"What?!" Robotnik demanded. "Two?!"
"One appears to be the Freedom Fighter Special," Grimer replied. "The other is a new craft piloted by Tails."
"I should've known the fox boy and Sonic would still be alive…" Robotnik grumbled. "Ready everything we've got. We're going to blast both of those tiresome planes from here to Holoska!"
-X-
Outside, as they flew in, Tails perked, seeing something else on the radar.
"Looks like we're not the only ones gunning for the Egg Carrier." he said.
"See if you can contact them," Sonic insisted.
Tails picked up a com, fiddling with the radio.
"Testing one, two, three. This is Tails. Do you read?"
"Hey Tails," came Knuckles' voice. "Nice plane."
"Knuckles?!" Sonic exclaimed. "Then that's the Special on radar, isn't it?"
"Long story short, the last few Master Emerald shards are on the Egg Carrier."
"Amy and Cream got snagged and dragged," Sonic informed them.
"Are they okay?" Kat asked.
"They better be, or I'm gonna use Eggman's head as my new stress ball," Sonic swore. "On a more lighthearted note, remind me to let Chris know his Light Speed Shoes work like a charm. A bit too well, to be honest."
"Will do, after we save the world," Knuckles answered.
"We've got hostiles taking aim at us!" Julie-Su exclaimed.
Sonic grinned. "Time for the fun to begin."
The X-Tornado flew in, catching its attention. Before long, the panels in the front opened up, the Egg Motion Gun beginning its charging sequence.
"He's aiming the laser!" Sonic cried. "If you've got a plan, Tails, do it now!"
"Just watch this," Tails smirked, pressing a button. "X-Tornado, transform! Battle Armor Mode!"
A mechanical arm came out of the side, picking Sonic up with a yelp as the X-Tornado's main engines converted into a pair of arms, an afterburner protruding from the back as Sonic was deposited back on the plane.
"Let's do it!"
In the Special, everyone just stared.
"Man, where does that fox come up with those ideas?" Vector asked.
"I don't know, but I am so glad I'm on your side," Julie-Su said. "I do not want him as an enemy."
As the Egg Motion Gun fired, the X-Tornado nimbly dodged out of the way. Robotnik let out a growl.
"You have yet to see the true firepower of the Egg Carrier! Get a load of THIS!"
As they were bombarded with missiles and lasers, a shield extended out of the X-Tornado's right hand to block the lasers, while a sword protruded from the left hand to slice the missiles in half.
"Is that all you've got, Eggman?" Tails mocked. "Really, to see you talk so big and perform so poorly... it's embarrassing."
"Let's bring this in for a landing!" Knuckles insisted. "We have a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it!"
"Right!" Sonic agreed. "Bring us in for a nice, soft landing, buddy!"
Tails' eyes widened as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Uh… you might need to settle for nice and bumpy,"
Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Well… there's no landing gear in Battle Armor Mode."
"WHAT?!" Knuckles and Sonic screamed in unison.
"Oh, this will be good," Kat deadpanned.
"Brace yourselves, guys!" Big exclaimed.
The X-Tornado crash-landed onto the Egg Carrier's deck, skidding a bit before coming to a stop as the Special landed far more gracefully.
"Well, I guess any landing you can walk away from is a good one." Sonic muttered.
The gangplank lowered as the stronger members of the group approached the X-Tornado.
"Landing gear, Tails," Knuckles sighed. "Landing gear."
"You two okay?" Mighty asked.
"Well, we survived, so there's that." Sonic answered.
"Hang on, guys," Kat warned. "I see the welcome wagon approaching."
They soon relaxed at the sight of the 6-S Squad running up.
"Oh, it's just the SSSSSSquad," Sonic said, hissing out the S's.
"It's S.S.S.S.S. Squad!" Cubot objected. "Say it right!"
"I'm not sure he cares," Orbot pointed out.
"Nope."
"Hey guys, remember me?" Kat asked, grinning and cracking her knuckles.
Grounder stiffened at the sight of Kat.
"It's freakin' Kat!" he screamed.
They heard several thumps like stone on steel, and everyone looked to see a perfect stack of bricks that just fell from Grounder's backside.
"Um… ew?" Tails let out.
"Did that thing just literally shit bricks?" Vector asked.
"Yep," Mighty confirmed.
"Just what did you do to those things?" Ray asked.
Kat smirked. "I'll show you."
She charged at the 6-S, causing almost all of them to scream in fear. Orbot just retreated into his ball form, awaiting the inevitable..
"Wait, wait!" Scratch called out. "Dr. Robotnik asked us to give you a warm welcome. So here it is!"
He tossed out a ball. As a fuse burned down, everyone recoiled.
"BOMB!" Espio screamed.
The fuse went out, and the ball cracked open, shooting out fireworks and confetti as figurines similar to cheerleaders and a marching band drummer held up a welcome sign. They all stared blankly.
"Yay! Yay! Hip-hip-hooray!" the figurines cheered. "Yay! Yay! Hip-hip-hooray!"
"Who could ask for a warmer welcome than that?" Decoe asked as Orbot facepalmed.
Julie-Su held out a hand, her expression screaming "How are you so stupid?"
"Is there a sentient Badnik on Eggman's team that doesn't act like they use paint fumes for cologne?" she asked.
"Orbot," Kat replied. "Now, where were we?"
"Is this the part where we run away?" Bocoe asked.
Kat nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."
"Alright," Coconuts nodded. "Let's do it."
They took off screaming at that.
In the bridge, Robotnik saw the entire thing, slamming his fist into a monitor in aggravation.
"I'm surrounded by incompetence!" he shouted. "Why must I do EVERYTHING myself?!"
"Perhaps you should have thought of that before giving every member of the Super Special Sonic Search and Smash Squad an IQ of negative five." Snively suggested matter-of-factly.
"Oh shut up, Snively!" Robotnik snapped. "Just make yourself useful and switch the Carrier to Battle Mode."
Eggatha pouted slightly. "Orbot's not dumb."
Snively waved a hand dismissively. "Yes, I'll admit he's the only one with a functional brain. But semantics. Who needs them?"
-X-
Outside, the group heard several hydraulic hisses, and looked to see the Egg Carrier changing shape, the armor plates on the side unfolding into wings with numerous armaments.
"This could be a problem," Hope let out.
Sonic took charge.
"Hope, you and Big get inside now! Knuckles, Chaotix, do what you came here to do! I'll draw their fire and give you time! Now go!"
"He started zipping around as the arsenal fired on them. Sensing something from inside, Knuckles focused before jumping into the air and blasting a hole into the deck with his fist
"Everybody move!" he ordered.
Everyone began jumping into the hole. Big ended up getting stuck, but Knuckles and Kat shoved him through. Hope was the last one down, turning to Tails.
"What're you gonna do?" she asked.
"I'll stick with Sonic," Tails said simply.
"Alright, good luck," Hope nodded. "And Tails? Don't let him do anything stupid."
"I won't," Tails assured. "That's a promise."
Hope ducked into the hole as Tails followed Sonic.
On the bridge, Robotnik watched them escape.
"They gave us the slip, sir," Grimer said.
"They won't get far," Robotnik pressed a button on the intercom. "Gamma, report to the control deck immediately. I have a task for you."
Author's Note:
On board the Egg Carrier at last. What will happen next?
Please R&R. Until next time!
