-Chapter 224-

The Battle for Twinkle Park


Twinkle Park

Just as the mech was about to shoot Mina point-blank, Sonic vaulted over the Egg Soldiers in his way, Boosting into it at full speed and knocking it over.

"All of you, run!" he ordered. "Now!"

Immediately, the band scattered, a few grabbing their instruments as they bolted. The soldiers tried to stop them, but the rest of the Freedom Fighters moved to help them.

"Move it or be scrapped, junk piles!" Shorty ordered.

The mech rose, looking down at Sonic as he stood at the ready.

"Well, well," it remarked. "If it isn't the miserable, blue hedgehog who's caused so much pain and trouble to Master Robotnik." It chuckled. "This is perfect! I'll be due for a promotion once I kill you! I'll be the doctor's new aide!"

"Careful what you wish for, you factory recall," Sonic shot back. "I've seen the clunkers who work closely with Eggman. More specifically, their junked remains going everywhere when he gets mad."

The mech laughed, a horrible, screeching noise that made Sonic cover his ears.

"Go on and try!" it boasted, knocking on its chestplate. "Give it your best shot!"

Before anything could happen, it was suddenly pelted by blaster fire from Rotor, Bunnie, and Shorty, along with Nitro Balls from Chris and Keith. The bot staggered, but aside from minor scorch marks, it hadn't suffered any real damage.

"Megatal, of course," Tekno sighed. "They're not playing around."

"Oh, it gets worse!" the mech bragged.

Electrical humming sounded, Rotor and Shorty's suits sparking before shutting down as Chris and Keith's Nitro Gloves suffered a similar attack, as did Bunnie's limbs.

"What in tarnation?!" the cyber-rabbit demanded.

"Localized EMP," the mech declared. "You'll find your technology is useless against me."

"Nicole!" Sally screamed, shaking her handhold, which was refusing to turn on. Shard had just collapsed in a boneless heap. Kat stepped forward, bat in hand.

"Luckily, not all of us need tech," she declared. "And my Robot Crusher is just itching for some action!"

She charged, flaring up and pounding on the mech with all her might. After a few blows, the mech was suddenly surrounded by an aura of electricity. As soon as she landed another hit, Kat was electrocuted, spasming, babbling, and screaming for several seconds before being sent through four rows of seats. Then, to everyone's shock, she got back up.

"Mother…" she hissed in pain. "AGH!" She was still gripping her bat, but clearly disoriented. "Gāisǐ de (1), that hurt."

"Hey!" Sonic shouted. "Two can play at that game!"

He began sparking before tucking into a ball, revving up a Spin Dash before pounding into the mech and knocking it across the stage. His smirk of victory was immediately wiped off his face as the mech easily stood up, sparking even more from the attack as it chuckled darkly.

"Oh, Sonic," it sighed. "Only a dumb clown like you would think attacking an electrical conductor like myself with my own element would actually make a difference. But allow me to thank you for the pick-me-up in the following way."

The next thing Sonic knew, he was seeing stars as a powerful backhand across the face sent him flying across the auditorium.

"Sonic!" Sally screamed.

"Sally, stay back!" Sonic shouted. "If Kat can barely stand after an attack like that, you don't stand a chance!"

"And you think you can?" the mech mocked. "Your lightning is cute and all, but it's nothing like the real deal. Here…" Its hands began sparking. "Let me show you!"

Lightning bolts fired from both hands, shocking Sonic and sending him spasming in place before it let off the attack and let him drop to the ground, panting.

"You were a fool to think you could match me, Sonic. But you won't have to live with the indignity for long," the mech zapped him again as he tried to crawl away. "For two years, you have defied Master Robotnik at every turn! And now you will pay the price for your insolence!"

"Leave him alone!" Kat screamed.

She swung her bat with all her strength, bringing it down on the mech's arm. That just gave her another shock, sending her to the ground. The mech tauntingly wagged its finger at her.

"Now now. Wait your turn, Winters," it turned back to Sonic, raising its hands once more. "And now, Sonic the Hedgehog… you will DIE."

Sonic was hit with the most powerful voltage yet, screaming in agony as the other Freedom Fighters were helpless to do anything but watch. Just when things seemed their bleakest…

"WAIT!"

All eyes turned to see Mina running down the aisle. She hopped the stage, stepping between the mech and Sonic.

"I'm the one you want, right?" she insisted. "Then leave my friends alone. Stop hurting Sonic, and you can have me!"

The mech slowly turned to her. "And how do I know this isn't some kind of trick?"

"You took down all the Freedom Fighters single-handedly. I'm just a pop singer. What could I possibly do to you?"

The mech mulled that over, then reached out and grabbed Mina around the waist.

"At least someone here has some brains," it mused. "Consider yourselves lucky, Freedom Fighters. Men! We have what we came here for. We're leaving."

Sonic rolled over, unable to get up as the mech marched out. He weakly reached out with a trembling hand.

"No…" he wheezed. "Mina…"

His hand dropped, and he blacked out.

-X-

Sometime later, the injured were all gathered up in a medical tent. The Brain Trust were working to get the tech working again, focusing mostly on Nicole and Shard, as well as the Miles Electric. After a bit of time, Sonic's eyes fluttered open. He saw Sally sitting over him, pressing a Power Ring to his chest as he healed.

"You're awake!" Sally exclaimed. "How are you feeling?"

"Lousy…" Sonic winced. "What happened? Where's Mina?"

"They took her."

They turned to see Ash glaring at Sonic with barely contained rage and sorrow. He stomped forward, getting in Sonic's face.

"How could you let this happen?!" he demanded. "You were right there, and you couldn't stop them?! What kind of hero ARE YOU?!"

Sonic flinched at the venom in his tone, but before Ash could go on, a powerful arm grabbed him from behind, spinning him around and lifting him up by the collar. Ash gaped to find himself faced with an enraged Kat, her hair flaring up and her eyes glowing so bright they were practically fireballs in their sockets.

"Let it go, Ash," she hissed through gritted teeth. "Just let… it… go. You honestly think he wanted this?"

"H-hey, I didn't say that!" Ash objected.

"I get that you're scared, but taking it out of Sonic isn't…" Kat started faltering. "It isn't…" Her grip fell away, his collar charred and smoking. "Gonna... change…" Her eyes rolled back and she collapsed to the floor.

Keith immediately scooped Kat up and laid her down in a bed, turning to glare at Ash.

"We will get Mina back," he swore. "But if you're not gonna offer anything but criticism when Sonic's kicking himself enough, Ash, just get outta here."

Ash looked at his burnt collar, then at the rest of the Freedom Fighters.

"I'm sorry…" he sighed. "I just- Mina never shuts up about how powerful and unstoppable you are, how unstoppable he is. So why... why did she have to do that?"

"You were there," Sally pointed out. "That thing shrugged off everything we threw at it and was in the process of torturing Sonic to death."

"Besides, don't you think Sonic's beating himself up enough as is?" Knuckles asked.

Ash glanced down at Sonic, who was just staring at Kat with a hollow expression. He was gripping his side, his entire body trembling. He winced before walking out, giving them some space. Hope, who had been pacing the entire time, finally stopped.

"This is wrong…" she said aloud.

"I know," Sonic agreed. "But we'll find a way to save Mina, no matter what."

"No, I mean this whole attack is wrong!" Hope cried out. "Eggman's crazy, but he's not stupid. He even told us that these kinds of stunts are beneath him! This attack doesn't benefit him in any way!"

"Uh, you guys are the Freedom Fighters," Sam pointed out. "I would think getting rid of you is the benefit."

"No, she's right," Rotor insisted, genuinely giving the idea some thought. "Remember that thing with Breeze Media?"

"You mean where he rewrote the show and then turned the studio into a Roboticizer?" Knuckles recalled.

"Exactly. There was a greater purpose to the attack. This... this felt way too personal. Way too... out of character."

"Yeah," Johnny agreed after a moment. "And if the attack was to get rid of us, why wait until the concert? Why not attack when we were scattered about the park?"

"Exactly," Sally nodded. "Even if he had any way of knowing we'd be here, why not just take us all out when we were split up instead of getting us while we're all in one place and can fight back more effectively? "

"Plus, the robot was after Mina and her band specifically," Porker pointed out. "She's not even a full-time member anymore. This…this has no strategic benefit at all!"

"Exactly!" Hope exclaimed. "Eggman would never order something like this!"

Sonic perked in realization. "Unless he didn't." Everyone turned to him, seeing him rise from the table with a terrified expression. "Sal, I think we have another Kage situation on our hands!"

Everyone blanched at the idea, Hope immediately reaching for her phone.

"Tails, get this thing working!" she ordered. "I need to call Aggie!"


Robotropolis

Meanwhile, at Citadel Robotnik, Akhlut, true to his word, was putting Eggatha through some late-night spear fighting drills. As he had also warned, he was a very strict teacher, criticizing her for every little mistake she made with her grip, form, and/or stance. She soon gritted her teeth in annoyance.

"If I wanted to be lectured for every single, little, tiny thing I did, I'd just move back in with my asshole dad." she grumbled.

"This is not me being an asshole," Akhlut clarified. "Improper form can leave you vulnerable, and provide your enemies an edge against you. As the niece of the most wanted man on the planet, you can't afford to be sloppy. Can you look me in the eye and tell me there aren't those among the Freedom Fighters that would take advantage of your lack of skills?"

"Well…"

"Let me clarify. Anyone aside from Hope?"

Eggatha tried to argue before sighing. "I hate it when you're right…"

"If you're so fed up with it, then I can easily end these training sessions. I warned you it wouldn't be easy. If you're going to start whining after only one lesson, we might as well quit right now. Up to you."

Eggatha sighed, getting into position. At his direction, she did a few good thrusts.

"Excellent," Akhlut nodded. "Again, but harder."

She did it again, jabbing harder and faster... until the spear flew out of her hands and flew out the window. The orca sighed.

"And that, Agatha, is why a strong grip is so important."

"Right, my bad," Eggatha rubbed the back of her head. "I'll just run and grab it and we can-"

At that moment, an explosion went off somewhere in the citadel. She perked.

"That was from Uncle Ivo's lab!"

The duo immediately rushed out of the training room and headed straight for Robotnik's lab again.

"Uncle Ivo! What…?" As soon as the door opened, a large cloud of smoke surged from the room, along with an extremely foul odor.

"Oh gods!" Akhlut exclaimed as he covered his snout, "What in Odin's name is that?!"

"It smells like burnt rubber, melted copper, and...!" Agatha stopped for a second to smell the stench, "Sugar?"

"CUUUUBOOOOOOOOT!"

"RUN AWAY!"

Once again, the duo found Robotnik chasing and ranting at Cubot, this time with a fire extinguisher, occasionally spraying the bot to try and slow him down

"Quit running, Cubot!" Robotnik shouted. "I'm not gonna hurt you!"

"Yes, you are!" Cubot replied, "You wanna bash my head in with that fire-thingie!"

"No, I don't!"

"Then why are you chasing me?!"

"Stop running and you'll find out!"

And once again, the not-so-good doctor failed to look where he was going and stepped on a stray piece of machinery. Fortunately, he simply tripped and landed flat on his back. Unfortunately, he accidentally threw the fire extinguisher, which landed right on his midsection before rolling off of him.

"I hate slapstick." Robotnik groaned as he clutched his miraculously unbroken ribs.

"Uncle Ivo!" Agatha cried.

"Oh gods, what happened now?" Akhlut groused. "Did the machine delete your Flickee account too?"

"Don't give me that attitude, Akhlut!" Robotnik ordered, wincing in pain as Agatha helped him over to a chair. "I'm not in the mood."

"Besides, Dr. Robotnik has seventy-five alternative accounts!" Cubot happily chimed in...only for the doctor to hit him with a wrench on the counter.

"Shut up!"

"Seriously Uncle, what happened?" the doctor's niece asked worriedly.

"Well," Robotnik began, "I finally managed to get the terminal working, but the system was glitchy and full of bugs. So, I went to get some debugging tools from my kit…" the doctor's expression darkened as he turned and pointed at Cubot, "Only to discover the computer had burst into flames because Cubot poured maple syrup and fly paper into the hard drive to lure the 'bugs' out!"

"It's not all bad news, though!" Cubot produced a stack of pancakes. "Ta-da! Who wants a late breakfast?"

Robotnik scowled, grabbing Cubot before forcing the pancakes in between his two segments and forcibly making him "chew" them as Akhlut and Eggatha watched

"How is it that something that stupid has lived this long?" Akhlut questioned.

Robotnik sighed. "I built the dumbbot, and even I have no idea."

Before the conversation could continue, Eggatha's phone began to buzz. She pulled it out, surprised to see Hope's face on the screen.

"Oh, Hope's calling. Can I take this?"

Robotnik gave a dismissive wave as the call connected.

"Hey cuz, what's-?"

"AGGIE!" Hope screamed, Eggatha recoiling. "Sorry, but it's bad! Really bad!"

"What do you mean?" Eggatha asked. "I thought you were at that concert in Twinkle Park."

"I am, but then these Egg Soldiers showed up with an electrified Badnik! They took down Kat and Sonic, then kidnapped Mina!"

"What?!" Eggatha exclaimed. "But we didn't authorize an attack on Twinkle Park! We've been busy with some… repair work."

"Yeah, I know," Hope assured. "I think it might be a repeat of Kage. One of your Egg Bosses is acting on their own!"

"Another one?" Akhlut demanded. "Is anyone in this Aurora-forsaken army actually loyal?"

Eggatha went to answer, but then stopped, remembering her own treachery. At that, Robotnik grabbed the phone out of Eggatha's hands.

"Tell me exactly what happened," he ordered.

"Eggman?!" Hope exclaimed. "What are you-?!"

"One of my subordinates launched a full-scale attack on Twinkle Park, without my consent.

Minions who take it upon themselves to make executive decisions is something I will NOT tolerate."

"But you let Agatha do that all the-" Cubot began before being punted across the lab, Robotnik not even looking his way.

"Now, you were saying?"

"Right," Hope took a deep breath. "A bunch of Egg Soldiers slipped into the concert in disguise. They set off an explosive during the first song and next thing we know, they're holding everyone at gunpoint!"

"What did their uniforms look like?"

"Yellow and orange, with lightning bolt accents on their jackets."

Akhlut perked. "The Soumercan branch…"

Robotnik's eyes went wide.

"Hope, listen to me. Who was leading the charge? Was it a red robot with shoulder spikes and a tinted glass dome for a head, that lit up like one of those plasma balls at the museum?"

"Yeah. It nearly fried Sonic crispy with lightning before Mina gave herself up."

He looked ready to throw the phone in a rage. "Damn it!"

At that moment, the phone buzzed, playing a video. Robotnik looked down, as did Eggatha and Akhlut, his jaw dropping.

"Ohhhh…" Robotnik facepalmed. "Gears and starters…"


Twinkle Park

Back at Twinkle Park, the Miles Electric had gotten an alert of the same video.

"Guys…" Tails began, "you may wanna take a look at this."

They crowded around, taking in the sight of the robot at the Pleasure Castle roller coaster. Mina was there as well, chained up and struggling in the front car.

"People of Mobius, listen loud and clear," it began. "Sonic the Hedgehog and the Knothole Freedom Fighters have exactly ten minutes to haul their carcasses up here and surrender themselves to the Robotnik Empire. If they don't, well…"

The camera panned to show the end of the track was rigged with explosives.

"Let's just say Mina Mongoose will give Twinkle Park a fireworks show they'll never forget."

As the bot laughed, the video feed shifted to a timer that began ticking down...


Author's Note:

(1): Chinese for "damn it."

Oh no! Is this the end of Mina? Will she be blown to smithereens by the crazed robot?

Please R&R. Until next time!