SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: VELOCITY'S END
A fanfiction by Mythick Voices
Chapter 6
Just as Ixis Naugus was fleeing one side of Mobotropolis, an assault began on the other. The herald of this attack was an absolutely enormous robot with the appearance of a church organ on wheels. Beneath the organ section, immense, spiked metal rollers churned and gnashed anything unfortunate enough to be caught in its path. An inscrutable tangle of wires and piping ran the entire length of the box, all the way up to a central cockpit. Out of this stuck the head of a portly man who bore some of Robotnik's hallmark features—the mustache, goggles, and bulbous rosy nose—but whose skull was ringed by a thin band of ginger hair. Marching alongside the gigantic organ on wheels were several hundred roboticized monks in dark, hooded robes, their cybernetic eyes glowing with evil intent.
"Behold! It is I, Eggnatius Capuchini, the Great Inventor!" the robot's driver shrieked in a thick accent through his megaphone system. "You will all swear fealty to me and my unstoppable army! Egg's Benedictine Monks of Iron!"
From a hill nearby, the currently-assembled members of the New Suppression Squad watched with piqued interest.
"Well, this is certainly a new development," Zyndara observed cooly.
"Is… is that Eggman?" Boomer Walrus growled. "Been wonderin' what happened to that rotten Egg since Sonic and his gun buddy wrecked the last big ol' robot of his!"
"That don't look like no Death Egg Legion I've ever seen," Jack Rabbit remarked, struggling to recall a memory that seemed just out of reach, a recollection of battle against the Legion for control of a maritime oil refinery. "But that robot… who else but Eggman would build such a thing?"
"Boss, should we wait it out and let the clunkers do their thing, or should we get involved?" Avery grunted questioningly, looking at his superior.
"Remember," Jack told the group, "Dealing with Eggman isn't our objective. Our objective is to capture the mobians. That's priority alpha! Everything else is secondary, got it?"
The Suppression Squad members nodded.
"So… a smash and grab without the smash? Seems easy enough," Jolt smirked confidently.
"Just don't trip over your own feet out there," Tex laughed.
"Yeah, but what if Sonic shows up in the middle of all this?" Shift E. Wolf asked the question the rest had been avoiding.
"Then we deal with him, same as always," Rabbit huffed irritably.
"We… deal… with him?" Avery wondered. "Yeah, how 'xactly we supposed to do that, boss?"
"Well, there's six of us, and one of him, for starters. And besides…" he nudged Boomer in the side.
"Oh, right," the Walrus snorted. "Yeah, Miles had a special plan for dealing with Sonic. And according to the boss, that's Zyn's job."
The entire group's gaze fell upon the Maine Coon mobian, who sat casually, one leg folder over the other, on a fallen tree trunk, spinning an unusually high-tech-looking syringe between her fingers. "You might all think you hate that hedgehog, but you don't," she said, her tone of voice oscillating between a purr and a snarl. "In that department, I've got you all beat. So when that time comes, you just let me handle Sonic, OK?"
Jack side-eyed his compatriots, then nodded broadly. "Hey, sounds good to me, lady! Don't let us come between you and the boy in blue!"
"Good," Zyn replied. "Then can we get this party started, or do ya still need more time to get your chutzpah back?"
Screams of panic rang out throughout the eastern districts of Mobotropolis as Eggnatius' giant engine of destruction rolled slowly toward the city, monks in tow chanting "There is no life. There is no death. There is only Egg!" The organ-like device spewing black smoke powered the spiked rollers, positioned like horizontal bars along the front of the vehicle. They spun at such incredibly high speeds they made short work of the city's outer perimeter wall.
Amy and Tails found Geoffrey St. John's Royal Secret Service evacuating the Council of Acorn while the Republic's military forces filled Julayla Memorial Garden, setting up defenses in preparation for the attack. Among them was Tails' mother and council member, Rosemary Prower, and Sonic's uncle, Professor Charles the Hedgehog.
"It never stops!" cried Charles amidst the fray.
"Mom!" Tails called out, helicopter-tailing his way swiftly to his mother. "What's going on? Is it Eggman again?"
"We're not sure! We're trying to restore leadership now that Naugus has fled."
"Where's Sonic? We could sure use him at a time like this!" Charles asked.
"I wish I knew," Tails admitted.
Amy caught up to the group. "I swear to Eggman, if that hedgehog is off sniffing flowers while New Mobotropolis is getting trampled, I'll never forgive him!"
There were several thunderous explosions as the long-range gun batteries typically used in the defense of Castle Acorn emptied their magazines.
"It's got to be Eggman!" Charles insisted. "Who else would attack this city, and with a giant robot to boot?!"
"Amy and I'll do what we can to hold them off, but the city will have to mount a resistance in the park. Mom, people are gonna need leadership. Direction. Make sure everyone at the hospital is ready to receive patients. You've gotta keep things from falling apart at the administrative level!"
"I could sure use Nicole's help to delegate tasks," Tails' mother observed.
"Oh, right, I didn't think about that. With Naugus gone, I'm sure a lot of free time probably just opened up on her schedule! Amy, do you mind going with my mom to Castle Acorn to find Nicole while I establish a line of defense at the Coliseum?"
Rose looked slightly perturbed, but nodded in agreement. "Fine. But then I'm coming right back to help you put the beatin' on some cretins!"
"Don't take long!" Tails smiled back at her. Then the fox looked once more at Sonic's uncle. "Are there any other Freedom Fighters or allies still in the city that could help us?"
Chuck scratched his wiry old head, then had a lightbulb moment. "Ah! Yes! I believe two of your friends had come to visit the park! Just doing some sight-seeing and nature tours, I think. Last I heard, they were in the temple! Just around the corner!"
"Friends? Two? Who are you talking about Professor?" the orange fox wondered.
Not unlike virtually every other building of significance in New Mobotropolis, the Mobotropolis Temple was an architectural marvel to behold. Somehow, the nanites Nicole used to build the city managed to perfectly mimic centuries old architectural forms, blending it seamlessly with modern materials and aesthetics. It was a place for repose, for solace, for contemplation. When the artillery guns only a field away in the park rattled off their initial volley, the beams and pillars of the temple glitched and thrummed as the earth beneath the structure shook in response.
"A peaceful, weekend itinerary in Mobotropolis, where absolutely no one can cramp our style, he says," Mighty the Armadillo heaved a heavy sigh, turning from the tablet he'd been reading to face his closest friend. He folded his arms across his tanned stomach.
"Hey! Don't look at me, Mighty!" the golden-furred flying squirrel Ray countered, shrugging sheepishly. "Everybody said Eggman was defeated! I don't have a clue what's going on this time!"
Mighty's hands clenched into tight fists. "There's three things I hate most in this universe, Ray. Eggman. Violence."
"And your friends being in danger, I know," the flying squirrel finished. "Let's go take a look and see who's guilty of disturbing the peace, yeah?"
At that very moment, Tails flew through the doors to the atrium and gave a happy shout. "Mighty!"
"Miles Prower," Mighty smirked. "Long time, no chili dog."
"Boy, am I sure glad to see you!" the fox laughed nervously. "We've got a real problem right outside!"
"What's going on Tails?" Ray asked.
"Something big's attacking the city! Commanded by someone or something calling himself Eggnatius Capuchini. You ever heard of him?"
Mighty and Ray exchanged empty glances. The armadillo shook his head. "I haven't. But there's many dimensions and zones out there still unmapped, and after the Super Genesis Wave, I wouldn't be surprised if we start to see more and more out-of-towners, so to speak."
"Will you help us?" Tails pleaded.
The armadillo tapped his fist twice against the thick red armor that plated his head, neck and spine. "Of course I'll help you," he replied. "I take it Sonic bit off more than he could chew with this one?"
The fox shook his head morosely. "Actually… I don't know where Sonic is at the moment."
Ray tightened the straps to his goggles. "Don't worry Tails! We won't let ya down!"
"You bet your shoes we won't!" Mighty bellowed! "Let's take it to 'em!"
Jack ducked down a narrow alleyway just in the nick of time to avoid being spotted by a throng of Acorn soldiers rushing toward the park. He looked cautiously both ways, then gestured across the street to where Avery hid in the shadows. His immense frame was hardly inconspicuous, even hiding behind several shipping containers. After several moments, the grizzly motored his legs as fast as they would carry him across the cobblestone street, his hammer and tools jingling noisily at his mustard yellow toolbelt.
Rabbit's ears drooped as he cringed. "Jumpin' Jehoshabat, Avery! The next time I need to wake up an entiiiiire city, I'll just ask you to take a lap! Could you conceivably make any more noise?!"
"Sorry boss!" the bear apologized.
"Shhhh! We're in the vicinity! According to the Eggnet, the two we're looking for were last seen somewhere between the Library and the Temple!"
"Duuuuh, which two were we supposed to capture again?"
"It's a darn good thing you're handy with a wrench and loyal to a fault, Avery," Jack complained, deftly clearing a thin wooden fence in a single leap. Avery cleared the fence next—by running right through it.
"The armadillo and the flying squirrel! Focus, you big lug!" Jack Rabbit huffed, dexterously swatting garments hanging from clotheslines between buildings out of his way as he ran.
"Right!" Avery remembered, getting tangled in the same garments and simply ripping them off with his claws. "Sorry… memory ain't been so hot these past few days."
Jack didn't want to admit it, but he'd been experiencing similar issues. Lapses in concentration. Forgetting what had just happened only five minutes ago. Things like that. At first, they had been isolated incidents, but recently they had increased in frequency.
As the pair nearly bounded out from behind a large stone wall into an open square, Jack put his arm out in surprise. "Stop!"
Not one hundred feet across the square, a large military contingent of some forty of fifty Acorn soldiers had assembled. About a dozen or so of these were arming laser ballistae fixed to rotating loading cylinders. Members of the Royal Secret Service positioned themselves at the entrance to the Park and were beginning to unpack an EMP battery, one of Charles' innovations. Supervising this were their two targets—Mighty and Ray—along with Tails Prower, a target his doppelganger and leader of the New Suppression Squad Miles insisted be left to him.
"Typical smash and grab without the smash, my cottontail!" Jack scowled. "How're we gonna lure them two away from the others and the fox?"
"Look on the bright side," Avery offered. "It could be worse. I don't see Sonic anywhere, do you?"
Come to think of it, he hadn't. He hadn't seen so much as an inkling of blue since he'd snuck into the city. "That doesn't mean he's not here," the Rabbit cautioned. "Remember who we are, Avery. We're the Sand Blasters. We didn't get this far making foolish and hasty plays."
"Of course not, boss!" the bear agreed enthusiastically. "Nobody can outthink you, Jack! Not even Eggman!"
"Speaking of Eggman…" replied the rabbit.
There was another terrible explosion, followed by something that sounded like a mechanical scream. Then fire. Lots and lots of fire.
The tree line just beyond the Coliseum burst into flames shortly before the trees themselves exploded into tiny splinters. Capuchini's metal death machine advanced slowly on spiked wheels into the mobian city. The Acorn artillery line unleashed the full menace of its energy-based salvoes upon the enemy, but just before the photonic cartridges reached their targets, they detonated against a shield made of red, translucent hexagons that shimmered into existence, then disappeared again as the smoke cleared.
"Again!" the guard commander shouted. The second volley was met with the same, less-than-spectacular result.
"You insolent heathens don't deserve such hallowed ground as this!" Eggnatius shrieked from atop his death machine, gesturing at the Lake of Rings and vernal garden landscaping. "But fear not! I shall be your salvation! Behold! The Organ Grinder! Any who would serve false kings or gods shall be fed to its maw! For I am the chosen prophet of The Machine God! I will restore order to this broken world with psalms of fire and ash!"
"Ok, this one's definitely cuckoo for Cocoa Island Puffs," Mighty gasped.
Ray's jaw hung agape. He reeled it back in, then said, "I understood less than half of whatever he just said, but Organ Grinder doesn't sound like a good thing at all."
Tails stared crossly at the giant devourer robot and the tide of roboticized monks pouring out of the burning forest, their roboticized bodies undeterred by flame, soot and oil. Some of them diverted into the Coliseum and engaged the forces there while the bulk of the invasion continued south around the Lake of Rings, advancing swiftly upon the Memorial Garden.
"Keep the pressure on 'em!" Tails yelled to the guard captain over the noise. Then he looked at Mighty. "Sonic or no, you ready to do this?"
The armadillo tapped both fists against the shell plate on his head once more. "This mad priest's about to get the shell-shock of a lifetime for ruining my vacation!"
And with that, Tails, Mighty, and Ray grounded themselves at the fore of the Royal Guard, each charging up their respective powers or readying their weapons. With less than 50 feet between the Acorn forces and the robian belligerents, the Iron Monks suddenly kicked into overdrive, sprinting the remaining distance until once more a battle for the fate of Mobotropolis began anew.
End of chapter six