-Chapter 226-
Thunderbolt Strikes
As the smoke cleared, the Freedom Fighters prepared themselves for a fight, only to stop short as Thunderbolt's appearance was revealed… and it was far from what they were expecting. In a sharp contrast to the Surge Breaker mech Sonic had destroyed, the pilot was a diminutive Mobian that couldn't be more than two feet tall, with yellow-orange fur, a brown nose, light green eyes, and a white short muzzle. She had a small head with round ears almost as large as her head, an over-proportioned round torso, stubby legs and arms, a long bushy tail, and bushy, green hair fluff covering her chest all the way to the back of her neck. She wore an orange shirt and boots, black pants with two yellow buttons and long, rubber gloves, and her Cyberization was apparent by a pair of cables on top of her head, a ruby-like object on the forehead, and a cable each connecting the back of her hands with a power generator on her back.
"You've caused Master Robotnik nothing but trouble for years!" she ranted. "But today, it ends. I will personally destroy you and deliver your charred corpses to the doctor! I'll be promoted for sure!"
The Freedom Fighters just stood there, silent and looking her over. Thunderbolt raised an eyebrow.
"What's the matter?" she asked. "Frozen in fear? So terrified of my awesome power that your little pea-brains shut down?" When she got no response, she grinned. "Ha! Knew it! Of course, I can't really blame you. After all, when you're standing in the presence of one of the great Dr. Ivo Robotnik's elite soldiers, it's natural for you to think-!"
"Is that a Rikachu?!" Chris cut in randomly.
Thunderbolt's jaw dropped at that.
"Oh my gosh…" Amy gasped. "It- it's a real, live Rikachu! Eggman has a freaking Bookeymon!"
"I am not a Bookeymon!" Thunderbolt started angrily sparking with electricity. "I'm a chinchilla! Chin-Chill-a!"
"B-But your fur…the antennae…the lightning…!" Bunnie pointed out.
"They're electrical cables! They're part of my cybernetics, you idiots!" Thunderbolt threw up her hands in exasperation. "Damn it! Everywhere I go, someone thinks I'm a Bookeymon! All over, stupid brats throw books at me to see if they can catch me! Aurora forbid they give me the slightest bit of respect or credit I deserve! I mean, really-!"
By this point, however, the Freedom Fighters had tuned out her rant and were talking amongst themselves.
"Seriously?" Knuckles asked. "That little, yellow… thing is one of Eggman's elite?"
"Well, she did have that suit," Tekno mused. "Without it, she shouldn't be much of a threat."
"Honestly, she's kind of adorable." Hope said.
"She's kinda loud." Sam replied.
It was at that moment Thunderbolt turned to see they were ignoring her. She scowled in rage.
"Stop ignoring me, you damned rabble-rousers! I'm…!"
Only to be cut off by a Nitro Ball to the face.
"Nice shot, Keith," Kat congratulated, giving him a thumbs up.
"Thanks," Keith grinned as he lowered his arm. "See Chris, I told you that I-"
He was suddenly tackled by a flash of lightning, launching him into the wall.
"Keith!" Chris screamed.
Dazed, Keith looked up to find himself face to face with an extremely irate Thunderbolt. Sparks danced around her rotund body as she breathed heavily through gritted teeth, the chinchilla's eyes literally glowing with lightning and pure hatred.
"What the-?!" Keith managed before Thunderbolt grabbed his face in both hands.
"You die…FIRST!" she screamed before unleashing a surge of lightning, electrocuting Keith, who screamed in agony as he spasmed and convulsed.
"Keith!" Kat screamed, running to help him, only to be restrained by Rotor. "Damn it, Rotor, let go of me!"
"Kat, stop!" Rotor insisted. "You'll just get fried too!"
"I tanked two of her hits and I'm fine! Keith's not as strong as me!"
Thunderbolt stopped at that, breathing heavily as she looked over the unconscious Keith, chuckling darkly.
"That's one down. So…" she slowly turns around and grins maliciously at the remaining Freedom Fighters. "Who's next?"
Having had enough, Kat broke free of Rotor's grip and charged at Thunderbolt in a berserker rage
"Oh good, a volunteer!" Thunderbolt attempted to shock Kat, only to be shocked when Kat easily powered through it. "WHAT?!"
Kat's hands wrapped around Thunderbolt's neck like vice, the redhead choking her out.
"You…brat!" Thunderbolt wheezed. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"What's it look like?!" Kat roared. "I'm about to snap your neck for what you did to my boyfriend, you wannabe Bookeymon!"
Thunderbolt's eyes lit up with rage. "I told you…!"
She suddenly disappeared in a spark of electricity from Kat's arms.
"What the…?!" Kat let out as the chinchilla suddenly appeared right behind and above Kat.
"I. Am NOT. A BOOKEYMON!" Thunderbolt roared as she fired a lightning bolt at Kat, brutally shocking her. Kat screamed in pain before dropping to the ground, badly injured.
"N-No way…" Amy gasped. "Sh-she just one-shot Kat!"
"I didn't even see her move!" Antoine cried.
"How are we supposed to beat something like that?!" Shorty demanded.
"Simple," Thunderbolt grinned psychotically. "You don't!"
The Freedom Fighters attempted to ready their weapons, but Thunderbolt's speed allowed her to instantly reach them and electrocute Tekno. She then proceeded to start bolting around the group, who were unable to get a beat on her, much less hit her. Between her bouts of high-speed running, Thunderbolt struck one of the heroes down by launching out waves of lightning, or more gruesomely, swinging her arms or kicking and unleashing large, devastating arcs of lightning at melee range, compensating for her lack of reach. In less than a minute, she was able to take down nearly half of the Freedom Fighters with electric attacks, only failing to take out the other half because they either had protective gear, super speed, or were just tough enough to survive it.
"Well, it's been fun, but I'm bored now," Thunderbolt said at last before putting a hand to her ear. "Shock Troop!"
The Freedom Fighters watched in shock as several Egg Troopers suddenly sped in and flanked Thunderbolt, before more showed up and surrounded them, blasters primed and ready.
"What the?!" Johnny demanded. "Where'd these guys come from?!"
"Destroy these filthy heathens, and sweep up what's left in a coffee can!" Thunderbolt ordered. "For Master Robotnik!"
"For Master Robotnik!" the soldiers intoned in unison.
Thunderbolt raised a hand to signal them to fire, but before they could, a voice rang out.
"Hey! Rikachu!"
Thunderbolt perked, turning to see Sonic standing near the end of the roller coaster track, holding Kat's Bookachu plush.
"Your mama's here!" he taunted. "She has something to tell you!" He began flopping the head of the doll around, putting on a mocking, falsetto voice. "'Honey, please stop! We raised you better than this! Boo-hoo-hooooo…'"
Thunderbolt started twitching and sparking angrily.
"Ohhhhh, crap…" Tesla gasped.
"Everyone!" Edison screamed. "Get away!"
Thunderbolt screamed in rage, her troopers dashing out of the way as she charged at Sonic, who immediately turned and fled down the track with her hot on his heels.
"You blue pest! THAT'S NOT EVEN THE RIGHT BOOKEYMON!"
Everyone just looked on in confusion at what just happened.
"Okay…" Rotor remarked. "That just happened."
"Yeeeeeah…" Edison agreed.
Both sides paused at what just happened.
"Sooooo…" Rotor began, "We still gonna fight or…?"
The Egg Troopers suddenly opened fire.
"Yep!" Sam exclaimed. "We're still fighting!"
As they faced the Shock Troop, the Freedom Fighters soon discovered they were much more powerful than Kage's squad. Not only did they possess enhanced speed, each of them were hardcore Robotnik loyalists, fully prepared to fight and die for the not-so-good doctor. Hope backed up nervously, breathing heavily as she flashed back to the fight with Akhlut and Kage.
"This was supposed to be our break…" she let out. "A day off…"
Elsewhere, Tesla and Eddison were trying their best to shoot at the Freedom Fighters, and weren't doing a very good job, both from their lack of experience and because they're scared out of their wits.
"Hey!" one Trooper who got clipped in the shoulder by Eddison's raygun yelled.. "Watch, where you're shootin', four-eyes!"
"Sorry, Braun!" Edison called back.
As they tried to look busy, they bumped into Hope, startling all three of them. Hope immediately drew her GUN pistol, but Tesla quickly waved his hands frantically.
"Hey, hey!" he exclaimed. "Sorry we freaked you out! Don't shoot!"
Hope blinked in surprise at that.
"Look, kid, we don't even wanna be here," Eddison informed her. "We're only fighting because the boss will get mad and zap us if we don't. It's not fun."
"Sooo," Tesla began, lowering his voice, "how about you just knock us out so we have an excuse not to keep fighting?"
Before anyone could do anything, however, numerous guns cocked, and they turned to see some of the more fanatical Egg Troopers pointed their guns at them.
"Tesla! Eddison!" one of them declared. "Good work on finding the traitor, Hope Kintobor!"
Hope began to sweat as they all took aim at her.
"Don't worry, kiddo," a second remarked. "This'll only hurt a LOT!"
Before they could fire, however, Kat's bat came flying in, striking him in the back of the head and knocking him out cold. All eyes turned to see Kat, hair frazzled and smoking slightly, on her feet, glaring at them as her hair glowed.
"Get… Away from her." she hissed in rage.
"Oh no!" one of them declared, turning on her. "We're gonna get one hell of a promotion by bringing Master Robotnik your head, Wild Kat!"
Kat was breathing hard, smoke rising off her body and her clothes burning along the edges. She grips her bat and got ready to charge.
"Hope… you might want to step back…"
Hope wisely stepped back as Kat charged in, taking the Egg Troopers down with brutal strikes from her bat. One managed a lucky shot, kicking it out of her hands, but Kat, undeterred, just grabbed him by the leg, using him as a club to beat back the others. Once that was done, she punched out her living bat substitute before tossing him aside and turning to Eddison and Tesla. In a panic, they pointed their blasters at Hope, desperately trying to be intimidating.
"T-Take one more step and we'll shoot!" Tesla stammered.
"We are veeeery bad people!" Eddison added. "You think we won't-!"
Kat just strode up to them, grabbing them by the faces and bashing their heads together. They collapsed to the ground, and she dropped not long after, utterly exhausted. Hope caught her, steadying her.
"You alright?"
"Was about… to ask you…" Kat let out. "They didn't hurt you… did they?"
"No, I'm okay," Hope assured. "C'mon, you need to take a breather."
Supporting Kat on one side, they began to walk away, taking a look at the downed Egg Troopers. Kat scowled in confusion and disgust.
"I don't get it…" she spat. "How could anyone… ever want to serve Eggman willingly?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," Hope mused, looking at Tesla and Eddison. "But they probably didn't have much of a choice."
-X-
Meanwhile, Sonic was running down the roller coaster track with Thunderbolt in hot pursuit, the chinchilla ranting and raving all the while.
"You'll rue the day you met me, Sonic!" she roared. "I'm gonna enjoy electrocuting you again and again until your spines are singed off your hide! By the time I'm done, you'll KISS MY ASS, BEGGING ME TO KILL YOU!"
Jeez, this girl's a fruit loop! Sonic thought to himself. I almost wish Akhlut was here fighting me instead!
Out loud, he said, "Y'know, it's amazing you can keep up with me on those stubby little legs of yours!"
"STUBBY?!" Thunderbolt screamed, putting on a burst of speed and firing a lightning bolt that missed Sonic by millimeters.
"Okay, that was probably not a good idea!" Sonic let out. "But, it's okay, I just need to keep running and-"
Unfortunately, another lightning bolt hit home, blasting Sonic off the track and sending him into a freefall. As he fell, Thunderbolt kept running, grinning eagerly and cheering.
"YES!" she screamed. "I did it! I did it! I actually did it! I, the mighty Thunderbolt, have finally defeated Sonic the Hedgehog! Master Robotnik's going to be so proud of-!"
It was at that moment she looked ahead, realizing that she was heading straight for the explosives she set up for Mina's execution.
"...Meep," was all she managed to say before she ran full tilt into the explosives...
-X-
As Sonic fell, he managed to right himself, pulling off a superhero landing and looking up to see the explosion go off.
"Whew!" he let out. "Wow…can't believe that actually worked."
He took a moment to get his bearings, dusting himself off and smoothing out his quills.
"Alright, I'd better get back to the others before…"
He perked at the sound of an approaching scream, looking up to see Thunderbolt flying toward him. He winced as Thunderbolt landed in the ground a few feet away from him with a crash. When Sonic looked back at Thunderbolt, he fought back a chuckle at the sight of her upper half buried in the dirt, kicking her legs rapidly as she let out muffled screams.
"Could I just walk away and leave her like that?" he pondered to himself before sighing. "No, of course not… sometimes I really hate having a conscience."
He walked over, pulling her out of the ground by her feet. She gasped for air, looking before scowling at the sight of Sonic.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Get your filthy hands off of me, hedgehog!" Thunderbolt snapped, unleashing a quick jolt of lightning that forced him to drop her. She darted away, the two staring one another down.
"Hey, don't give me attitude, pipsqueak!" Sonic snapped. "I just saved your slimy life from being buried alive!"
"I don't recall asking you to do that!" Thunderbolt shot back before looking up at the roller coaster. "Still, I must admit, that was clever, using my own death trap against me like that. I can see how a miserable, little pest such as yourself has been able to give Master Robotnik so much trouble for so long." She grinned. "At least, until now."
"Why are you doing this?" Sonic demanded.
"Haven't you been listening?! My troops and I came here to execute Mina Mongoose and put an end to you constantly interfering with our master's plans!"
"Then fight us! Mina's not a Freedom Fighter anymore! We're the ones interfering with Eggman's plans! She doesn't have anything to do with this!"
"Once a filthy Freedom Fighter, always a filthy Freedom Fighter! She may not be scrapping our robots or swiping Chaos Emeralds, but she continues to oppose the doctor's will! That makes her his enemy! My enemy!"
"She's a pop idol! A musician!"
"AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHY I CAME HERE TO DESTROY HER! DID YOU NOT SEE MASTER ROBOTNIK'S SCRAMBLER POST?!"
Thunderbolt pulled out a smartphone from her pocket, playing the video Cubot recorded of Robotnik ranting and raving about Mina's music. As he watched, Sonic thought back to everything Thunderbolt had said and done ever since she arrived. His eyes widened in confusion, then realization, then shock.
"T-that's it?" he questioned. "That's why you attacked the concert? Almost killed Mina and hurt all these people? Because Eggman doesn't like her music?!"
"Exactly!" Thunderbolt confirmed. "And honestly, after listening to it myself, I can see why! She has that obnoxious, high-pitched voice. Those irritatingly peppy songs with their corny, upbeat lyrics. And that sappy 'Let's do our best, everyone!' attitude. It makes me wanna freaking PUKE!"
Sonic just stared at Thunderbolt as she continued ranting.
"Honestly, I'm surprised none of you idiots got in your heads to use her voice as a weapon! You…"
At that point, Sonic had tuned out Thunderbolt's speech completely. All he could think about was everything that had happened that day; having fun with his friends at the park, catching up with Mina and the others before the show, how happy he was to finally have a moment of respite from dueling Eggman's new and improved army, and the beating Akhlut put him through, only to have it all torn away by this lunatic chinchilla. Someone who went out of her way to attack Twinkle Park, try to kill Mina, hurt innocent people and all of his friends, simply because of Robotnik's taste in music. These were the kind of people the doctor was recruiting? Who were going to lead his new, more powerful army into battle to conquer Mobius?
"Buuuut I might be willing to spare her, if she gets on her hands and knees and begs."
That immediately got Sonic's attention.
"Honestly, if she were smart, that little bitch and her mother would go back to making Badnik parts in the Egg Dungeon, where they belong!"
She cackled, and at that, Sonic's temper snapped. He began breathing heavily, sparking a menacing navy blue color..
"But enough about that. Now, it's time for you to-!"
She was cut off by a brutal punch in the face, sending her rolling back several feet. Thunderbolt struggled to get to her feet.
"You damned hedgehog!" she spat, wiping blood from her nose. "What do you think you're-?!"
"What's it look like I'm doing?"
Thunderbolt's jaw dropped in terror, seeing Sonic's Chaos lightning had turned completely black. His nails grew out, tearing through his gloves as he slowly advanced on her.
"I'm gonna make you wish you never set foot in Twinkle Park!"
Thunderbolt slowly backed up, recalling the mentions of Dark forms Robotnik had made, and what could happen if she pushed Sonic too far. She was snapped out of her thoughts by a black lightning infused punch that she narrowly avoided.
"Damn! He's even faster in this form!" Thunderbolt's ears perked as she heard a sizzling noise. "What the?!"
Thunderbolt looked for the source of the noise before noticing sparks of negative Chaos energy eating through one of the electrical cables in her head, the material rapidly blackening and corroding.
"Oh no!" She thought. "That's how Master Robotnik lost his arm! I need to stop the spread!"
She focused her electricity into her fingers, forming a blade of electricity, and sliced the cable before the dark energy could reach her body. As the cable fell, she watched as the energy ate through it, reducing it to nothing in seconds.
"Well…" she let out timidly, "as they say, 'he who fights and runs away, may live to fight another day.'"
"Oh no," Sonic hissed, slowly advancing on her. "You're the one who started this game, and now that you're losing, you don't wanna play anymore? I don't think so, Thunderbolt! You're gonna stay here and finish what you started!"
Before she could react, Thunderbolt was kicked through a wall, into the now-deserted laser tag arena. Sonic jumped through the hole, letting out a bellow of rage as Thunderbolt quickly darted away. She ran every which way, trying to shake the corrupted hedgehog, but at every turn, he was standing right in front of her. She screamed, hitting him with a lightning bolt, which he took directly to the chest without even flinching. She threw a few more bolts before darting away, ducking behind a corner, her finger sparking before going dull.
"Shit!" she cried. "I'm running low on juice!"
At that very moment, Sonic's fist smashed through the wall right over her head, grabbing her by the scruff of her neck and yanking her out into the open. Thunderbolt backed up slowly as Sonic advanced on her, his eyes glowing brightly.
"Welcome to the last few moments of your life, Rikachu," he said mockingly, an evil, toothy smirk spreading across his muzzle, "and I promise you, it's gonna hurt."
In desperation, Thunderbolt began sparking.
"BACK OFF!" she screamed before unleashing a massive burst of electricity, sending Sonic reeling and blinding him. As he got his bearings, he scowled as he saw the chinchilla had disappeared.
"You spineless little rat!" Sonic shouted. "You don't even have the guts to die with dignity?! You just made things ten times worse for yourself!"
He began stalking around the arena looking for her, not realizing Thunderbolt was hiding behind another one of the walls. Realizing she had no chance of beating the hedgehog as he was now, she frantically activated her com.
"Tesla! Eddison! This is Boss Thunderbolt! The hedgehog's gone Dark! He has me trapped in the laser tag arena and I'm almost out of power! I need you idiots to get me out of here, stat!"
When she got no response, she scowled. "Come on! Pick up, you worthless-!"
That was when Sonic burst through the wall. Thunderbolt screamed in terror as he turned to face her, grinning maliciously.
"Heeeere's Sonic!" he declared.
"Mami… (1)" Thunderbolt whimpered as Sonic prepared to rush her.
-X-
Back at the coaster, the Freedom Fighters continued their battle with Shock Troop, which was quickly turning into a repeat of Station Square. Their battle was interrupted by a loud crash as Sonic and Thunderbolt burst through a wall, falling to the ground. Freedom Fighters and Egg Troopers alike looked on in horror at the sight of Sonic attempting to murder the chinchilla.
"What are you idiots waiting for?!" Thunderbolt shrieked. "He's gonna slaughter me! Shoot him! SHOOT HIM!"
The Troopers just stood there, frozen in terror as Sonic loomed over Thunderbolt. He punched into the ground, tearing a sizable chunk free and lifting it overhead.
"Sonic, don't!" Sally screamed. "She's not worth it!"
"Yes, she damn well IS!" Sonic screamed. "This was supposed to be a happy day! A chance to unwind after Akhlut! But this psychotic little bitchlet had to barge in and ruin everything, trying to kill Mina just because Eggman ranted about hating her music! And for everything she's done, Sal, she is NOT leaving Twinkle Park alive!"
Realizing she was about to die, Thunderbolt began gathering as much energy as she could, preparing for one last attack. Sonic recoiled, wincing in pain despite his current state. Mina perked, realizing the danger, and acted on instinct.
"NO!" Running at full speed, Mina jumped in front of Sonic just as Thunderbolt unleashed her attack, the lightning bolt striking her right in the belly. At the sight, Sonic threw the chunk of the floor aside, catching Mina without thinking. The minute he saw the corruption beginning to spread, Sonic dropped her, looking at himself as the darkness retreated, returning to normal.
"Mina…" he gasped in shock and horror. "No… what have I DONE?!"
Author's Note:
(1): Spanish for "Mommy."
Oh damn! What will happen next? Stay tuned...
Please R&R. Until next time!
