As Gadget, Manic and Johnny were frantically searching for a way out of the security room, the dread-inducing sound of a blowtorch being taken to the main door graced their ears. Gadget whipped around to see a hot red dot starting to appear on the bottom right side of the door and slowly inching upwards.
"Don't bloody stand there gawking at that door!"
Johnny's more urgent voice snapped the wolf out of his trance and quickly went back to finding anything resembling a second exit out of the room. The rabbit believes that since this would have been a hidden laboratory for the Robotnik Empire and judging the late Julian's track record, it would stand to reason that he'd have a number of hidden emergency exits incorporated into the architecture.
They just have to locate one of these exits or at least that's what Johnny had told the ever-anxious red wolf a moment ago to keep up his morale and that seemed to be doing the trick. Now's not the time for any panic attacks but the jam they're in sure is stress-inducing for all three of them.
"There's gotta be another exit out of here somewhere!" Manic scrambled around for any hint of a second exit. "Damn it, where is it!?"
While searching around the room, Gadget occasionally glances at the main door and sees one cut line on it completed. Three more to go and they're all in serious trouble.
He looks up and sees a few openings up in the ceiling where patrol drones would have gone up through to the surface back in the First Robotnik War according to the slightly faded letterings next to them. "Up there!"
"Is your hook in any shape to take us up?" Johnny asked. Seeing the openings being just wide enough for them to fit through.
Gadget checks his trusty grappling hook watch and remembers Rotor having recently done some minor maintenance to it a while ago. "Should hold up our weights."
He'd aim upwards at one of the holes and fire off a hook into it before said hook eventually finds a good surface to catch onto. "I'll stay down here until you're both up there."
"You're a faster climber on these than I am." Johnny said as he let Manic go and climb up the grappling wire. He glanced at the door and saw the second cut line almost nearing completion when the green hedgehog made it up.
Manic lets out a holler to let the other two know he made it and proceeds to make his way through the drone tunnel above.
The rabbit began his ascent up the wire and made his way to the opening, albeit a little slower than Manic but seemed to be doing well. That was until he slipped up just as he got close to the top and slid almost the whole way down on it. Nearly knocking down Gadget with how quickly he dropped from his previous position.
Checking on the door, the third cut line is almost halfway done and the grey rabbit made himself climb up the wire again. More cautious and urgent in his second attempt under the time limit they have right now. Despite a few struggles getting up the wire and Gadget growing ever more anxious as the fourth line on the bottom of the door began to appear on the metal, Johnny eventually made it to the top.
"Come on!" Johnny called down to the wolf below. "It's just you now!"
Gadget nodded and wasted no time in immediately reeling himself upwards into the gap while the fourth line on the door was nearly finished. With how quickly he had shot up, he'd end up banging his head on the ceiling above where the hook is. The wolf would have fallen back down the tube in his momentary daze had Johnny not been there to catch him.
"I got you mate!" Johnny says to him and is doing his best to help his teammate up to safety. "Come on, just a little more and we're out!"
Once he fully snapped out of his daze, he'd climb up into the chute and follow Johnny's lead as the freshly-cut door was kicked down by Dark Legion Troopers who quickly swarmed the security room. The wolf felt a little shaky at the thought of being just seconds away from finding himself surrounded by those people below.
Despite narrowly avoiding that fate, he and the boys were far from being in the clear just yet.
Sonic and Tarek stared each other down. Ready to attack one another while their respective allies fought away against one another.
With the hedgehog making the first move, he immediately spin-dashes and zips towards his armoured foe who countered by raising his arms up to make a shield materialise that absorbed the impact of the attack. The jackal shoves him back and Sonic proceeds to try floor sweeping the golden combatant but he jumps over his move to thrust a palm into his face, staggering the speedster.
Tarek grabs his blue opponent and redirects his force to instead throw him through the tube with a loud glass shatter; releasing the foul smell of the dead hobo into the open air. A wincing Sonic would stain parts of his exposed blue fur under the stealth suit with a cut to the back of his left elbow and the left side of his back from the broken glass.
This guy can't Chaos Snap, he can't fly and he can't outrun him without that armour on Sonic thinks while getting up to his feet again and dusting off the specks of glass on his fur. He's only doing well because he hasn't figured it out yet but he'll make a comeback eventually. The blood is just bringing some colour to this matchup.
The two soon lock up in a form of martial arts fighting. Despite being the older one between them, the jackal can keep pace with him just as well as Mecha Sonic and his fighting proves that he's just as willing to throw hands if it comes down to it. No doubt the reason he was able to overpower his Royal Secret Service escorts and escape as he did.
Tarek can respond to Sonic' offense with blocks and counters just as quickly as the blue blur's own speed which he reckons is due to the tech in his armour that's helping him out. Seeing as he wasn't getting anywhere fighting normally, Sonic chose to try psyching him into slipping up.
One of his psych-outs would trip up Tarek when he got him to throw a high kick and the hedgehog quickly dodged it, making him stumble a bit. Enough of a gap in his defence that Sonic seized it and got him with a homing attack that sent the golden jackal right through the lab door.
He would follow up with a drop dash to quickly close the distance between them and get in a second hit. After knocking him back a second time, Tarek boots him in the chest and clotheslines Sonic down to the floor.
Rolling to the side to dodge a metal boot stomp aimed at his face before jumping back to his feet, Sonic got Tarek in a running tackle that brought down the hall and his opponent responded with a down yard elbow strike. The two throw strikes at one another when they're both in each other's spaces. Their battle has now migrated from the lab of Project: Lazarus device and out into the greater West Robotropolis.
The R.A.A Commandos had split up into three teams once they were separated from the Freedom Fighters and they went off to deal with the defenses set around West Robotropolis according to the note. Since they only have the communicators that came with the disguises and assuming the calls would be monitored, the three teams kept their communications short and discreet. Only contacting each other to warn one another or confirming a successful hit.
The head commando hound led one of his own men over to a generator connected to a set of anti-aircraft cannons located outside of the base. As the alarms are blaring and seeing a handful of Dark Legion Troopers rushing past them, something is obviously going on elsewhere in the base. Sonic had probably caused the disturbance.
Using their own army training and skills, they quickly dispatch the security guards present in the area before reaching the target.
Getting out some plastic explosives they had brought with them and setting them up at the generator alongside the explosives taken from the dispatched guards. Once it was primed to go and they were both a safe distance away from them, the sergeant detonated the explosives to take out the generator. Disabling the anti-aircraft cannons and leaving two out of three successful hits on the enemy's defences.
Quickly distancing themselves from the site of sabotage, the hound sergeant contacts one of the other teams and spoke to them in code. "The bubble has just popped. What is the word on the flowers in the shed?"
"Nearly ready to blossom." The commando speaking on the other end of the call reported in kind. "Ready to receive some s—"
A scream abruptly rang out in the background followed by a loud thud accompanied with a splat and the speaker's formal tone quickly shifted to panic. "OHSHI—AGG—"
The scream gets cut off and the call suddenly ends afterwards. The sergeant knew something very bad had befallen that team and he had just heard their last living moments.
A moment later, an explosion would be heard in another part of West Robotropolis over where the last of the key spots on the paper is located. He prays that whoever killed those good men got caught in the blast with them.
Gadget, Manic and Johnny all made it to the outside of West Robotropolis. Out in the icy snowy landscape, they took a moment to catch themselves for a moment.
"Woah, that was a close one man." Manic took a deep breather. "Good thing those tubes lead somewhere."
"Aye." Johnny had gotten out his communicator to go reach Sally Acorn but got no response from her end. "Damn it, she's not responding. We need to keep moving. A patrol squad's probably out looking for us right now."
The trio headed on and were looking for a way back into the base when they heard an explosion closeby. Going over to investigate to see black billowing smoke emitting from a freshly-produced hole in the wall. One of the key spots in the lab's defence systems that's been dealt with by the R.A.A Commandos.
As they get near the opening, a menacing blue figure covered in blood emerges through the smoke and Gadget almost feels his own ghost leaving him when the metallic hedgehog looks over at them with glowing red optics. Due to where the splash of blood had landed on the mouth, it looked like a crazy smile or a slit mouth like that old Yamatoese legend.
The slightly scuffed Mecha Sonic took a step forward out into the snow. "Well, well, well… You vermin somehow got out of your cells and got busy. Heh, I expect nothing less of the Snothole Freedumb Fridgers. What, got nothing to say to me ya little jabronis?"
"You're just some irrelevant prat calling himself a Sonic." Johnny deployed his custom bo-staff weapon. Manic and Gadget followed suit in getting their weapons out.
"Rich words coming from Long Ears who couldn't even score a pity date with a pink fangirl chasing a disinterested dude..." The metal hedgehog sneeringly shot back and Gadget noticed one of his fists curling up slightly at Johnny's remark. "I'll let her know what romance she's missed out on when you come home in a coffin!"
He lunges at the three who quickly dodged out of the way. Him and Johnny would clash in a duel against each other. His metal claws versus the rabbit's metal melee weapon. The two fought for a moment.
Whenever Johnny was a safe distance away from Mecha Sonic after dodging one of his beam shots, Gadget and Manic proceeded to fire their weapons at the metal hedgehog to try dealing some damage to the Badnik. He would tank the hits but it did give Johnny an opening to quickly hit him in the side of the head with his weapon and leave a dent on his left cheek.
An act that earned him the ire of the robot but as the robot was about to retaliate, two familiar opponents would suddenly enter the fray and one throwing him an uppercut that sends Mecha stumbling back before quickly snapping up to his feet. Bunnie and Shortfuse had made it to Big Kahuna Island ahead of the others.
"Remember us Sourhog?" Bunnie held a fierce expression with a suited-up Shortfuse at her side. "We're fixin' for a rematch with ya!"
"The Rocket Hillbilly and the Short-Tempered Monologuer…" The blue and gold mechanical menace scoffs at the pair. "Guess our last rodeo together didn't teach either of ya schmucks anything."
"Nah, it taught us we needed to get better." Shortfuse growled as he's more than happy to wipe that arrogant look off from the metal hedgehog's face. "We've gotten stronger since then ya tin-plated smeghead!"
"Y'all leave this pile of bolts with us." Bunnie says to Gadget, Manic and Johnny with a curt nod. Not taking the eyes off from the metal terroriser that nearly tried to destroy Knothole Village once.
Seeing as they're better equipped to handle Mecha Sonic than them, the trio went on their way inside West Robotropolis while the two flight-capable mobians were left to battle with the robot. A rematch that's been four years in the making.
Tarek and Sonic's hard-hitting brawl brought them down to the robotics research section where they were tearing up the place including the spare parts room.
The armoured jackal countered a homing attack from Sonic and hurled him through the lab window with the hedgehog rolling back up to his feet to tackle him into a shelf of rusted Motorbug spare parts. Said parts came crashing down to the floor with clang and Sonic used an exhaust pipe to whack Tarek with it before the jackal tore the makeshift weapon out of his hands. Responding back with a few hard body blows.
He's able to hold his own against the blue hedgehog with him having near-complete control over their fight like a veteran bullfighter despite Sonic's own speed advantage and keeping him at bay for the most part. Every offence he would dish out at him was focused and swift.
From the way the fight was going for him, Sonic was taking more damage than he was dishing out against Tarek as their fight led them to a different room. A fact that started to frustrate the blue hedgehog the longer the battle went on. He shouldn't be having this much trouble against this one guy in a suit of armour and his growing frustrations only made him become more prone to making mistakes and throwing sloppier hits to try knocking him down to the floors.
It seemed like since his rescue during the war, he felt as if he's been half the hedgehog that he used to be and his struggle just to even get Tarek down to the floor seemed like confirmation of that concern. The fear that he's not good enough anymore and can't surpass himself like he had used to adding onto those sentiments.
It seemed he was having a harder time reaching his top speeds than he used to in his mind despite the nominal difference in his performance and that only compounded his underlying negative emotions. Thinking most of everything that's been happening recently could have been averted if he wasn't left 'crippled' by his six month stint on the Death Egg. The fear of him being a shadow of what he had used to be seemingly becoming more true by the day.
Sonic struck him in the head with an swift axe kick followed by a floor sweep that Tarek managed to jump over before he knees him in the face, busting the left side of his lip open. The jackal deploys a laser blade from his right hand guard and thrusts it at the hedgehog's face. He quickly moves his head aside to dodge the blade while throwing a stiff elbow to Tarek's visor, managing to crack it to the point that he had to retract the helmet to reveal his face.
He tried to hit the jackal's face with a jab though the latter caught the fist in time and jerked it to headbutt the hedgehog that sent him staggering down to the floor. Tarek stomped on him that earned a pained yelp from the blue blur.
Before he could follow up on his stomp, he'd catch two R.A.A Commandos in their Dark Legion disguises rushing into the lab to save Sonic and raising their rifle at him to open fire. Quickly bringing up his energy shield to block the shots and his energy blade extending into a laser whip, Tarek rushes at the attacking pair. Upon getting in range of them, he hurls his whip at them in a left downward diagonal swing that cuts right through the two commandos.
Sonic coughed and spat out some of the blood in his mouth. Looking up in time to see the top half of two commandos slide off from their bodies.
Tarek commenting to himself with his back momentarily turned to Sonic. "Hmph. A waste of bravery..."
Like a provoked dog who's just had enough of the abuse, Sonic angrily shot up to his feet and ran Tarek right through the wall where they're brought back out into the hallways again. Whipping him around to throw hard shots to his face that ends with him cracking his nose before the pair are back to brawling again and taking themselves away to another part of West Robotropolis.
Sonic is now fighting him more aggressively and violently than he had been up to this point and being hellbent on hurting the jackal. He will personally make this son of bitch pay for all of his horrid crimes.
Slimy ran down the halls with the two Shards in his possession. Trying to escape the carnage currently happening around the base and keeping the key items to the Legionizer out of the hands of those brats. He had considered bailing on his current employers and taking the crystals for himself until he decided against it.
Making himself an enemy of the very organisation protecting him from G.U.N, the Acorn Republic and vigilante groups hunting after anyone even remotely associated with Robotnik would be a pretty stupid idea even if he does secretly hold the same contempt for Lien-Da as she does for him.
Tarek Mengele also probably knows some people in the underworld to have him hunted down should he dare try to make off with what he calls his philosopher's stone.
He thought he'd be able to slip away to safety unnoticed. That was until he turned a corner and came face to face with Gadget who upon sighting him tackles the reptile to the floor before he could attempt to flee. Quickly getting him into an arm lock submission.
"Where do you think you're going?" The red wolf greeted Slimy with a serious expression and a tone to match it. Holding his arm tightly behind his back.
"N-Nowhere partic—" Slimy felt some pressure being applied to his arm and he immediately changed his tune on the spot, not being much of a physical specimen himself compared to the red mobian on top of him. "I'm getting out of here!"
"With these bad boys no doubt." Manic picks up one of the Shards that was dropped in the tackle and looks it over, admiring the beauty of it before pocketing it. "Nice jewellery. Think I'll be keepin' this."
"It must be one of Kirk's mystery stones. He must have the other one on him." Johnny commented, looking down at Slimy. "You're coming with us dirtbag."
"Get up. No funny business." Gadget lifts up Slimy to his feet, still having him in an armlock. "I mean it."
He wasn't going to make the same mistake and allow the creep to slip away like last time. It's the least he could do for his team. Makeup for his earlier screw up.
"H-Hey, no n-need to be harsh with me." Slimy gave the wolf a smarmy grin. "I-I'll do as you say."
"Then get moving."
"R-Right…"
Tails and Julie-Su were giving chase to Lien-Da and Gae-Na as they were fleeing in Triplex. The husky had morphed into a green car to get them away from the pair but Tails was more than fast enough to keep up with them and that's even including him carrying Julie-Su in his arms.
Suddenly, Knuckles would show up to halt their path and use his strength to lift the car form of Triplex straight off the floor while the two female passengers inside immediately got out of it. The red echidna would ram the front of the vehicle right into the nearest wall which prompted a dazed Triplex to revert back into his mobian form.
Lien-Da and Gae-Na find themselves surrounded as Sally, Antoine and a few R.A.A Troopers would show up to cut off their escape routes. Rifles pointed at them as well as Triplex.
"You're under arrest." Sally informed the pair. Pointing one of her Ring Blades at them.
Gae-Na knew they were in serious trouble but she had considered that possibility and prepared a plan for it accordingly just in case. She subtly reached up to her ponytail hairband to tap on a hidden button that transmits a concealed signal.
In another part of West Robotropolis and away from the main action, a reserved group of Iron Vigiles that were resting in sleep mode came to life. Ready to serve.
Awakened from their rest thanks to Gae-Na's signal and all departing from their resting booths to go respond to the distress signal.
"So it seems." The Kommissar replied and shot Lien-Da a little nod. Letting her know that she's activated their emergency plan.
The Grandmaster went along with the act as they're in a real jam right now and let out a deep sigh, seemingly admitting defeat to their captors. "I guess we have no choice but to go with you…"
Mecha Sonic fought Bunnie and Shortfuse in a fierce battle together. Fighting both in the air and on the snowy ground. The latter two were putting up a much better effort than they did four years ago.
As much as he loathes them and thinks they're pests to him, he wasn't slow in actually recognising how formidable they have become compared to their last encounter. The difference in how they both fought and defended themselves against him is night and day. He'd be impressed at the improvements if he didn't have an ego the size of Saturn.
It was just the three of them for a while before Iron Rotor and Big would arrive to assist their teammates. Turning a two versus one into a four versus one battle and Mecha found himself having to be on the defensive more due to the numerical advantage his opponents had on him.
The remaining two R.A.A Commandos made their way down through the left side of the lab base. Soon, they'd reunite with Johnny's group and take over Gadget's duties in escorting Slimy. The wolf reluctantly releases the reptile into their custody.
"...Alright, we'll meet you there." Johnny ends his call to Sally and turns his head to the others while following the Commandos' lead. "Sally says to meet her team down at the entrance."
"What's the word on her end?" Gadget asks with the rabbit answering his question.
"They just caught Lien-Da, Gae-Na and Triplex. No word on Mengele or Lindsey's capture yet."
"Where is her crew though? They should still be about somewhere." Manic wondered out loud as he didn't recall hearing or seeing any sign of Lindsey's crew after Butch busts them out.
A question that proves fatal as Slimy's escorts step through a door and come face to face with Lindsey's gang sans Lionel; all packing heat. Slimy quickly gets himself freed from his captors and dives to the floor just as Lindsey and her crew open fire on the two R.A.A Commandos. Swiftly cutting both of them down on the spot faster than they were able to react. The sergeant hound got blasted in the head for his troubles.
"Get those pests!" Slimy screams at his mercenary rescuers while staying down on the floor. "Including the red mutt!"
The red mutt part being more than enough motivation for Lindsey to order her crew to go after the three mobians who quickly ran for it and fled the other way. The trio were being pursued by a very eager Lindsey and her group.
Sally and her party were escorting their valuable catches through the hallways with the soldiers providing security. With the capture of the Dark Legion's leadership, the optimist in them believed they've just ended a war before it even has a chance to get started.
The chipmunk tries to contact Sonic but gets no response from him. She would get a reply from Bunnie's team about what's been going on and requests some assistance with Mecha Sonic. Sally sent Knuckles, Tails and a squad of soldiers away to go help the bunny's group in taking care of Mecha Sonic.
He blocks a blaster shot from Shortfuse, deflecting a high kick from Bunnie and dodges a right hook from Iron Rotor but Big would get a hit in with a stiff drop kick that knocks him forwards followed by a hit from his shoulder charge. Said cat seemingly being the one opponent who's doing the most damage to him out of the four and the one he is having the most trouble with.
With that followup hit from Big, the other three combatants would wail on the metallic terror and roughing him up. His attempts at trying to use psychological warfare getting shutdown or ignored by his foes.
All of this feeds into Mecha's ever-growing anger he's feeling over the fact these stupid friends of Sonic's are able to get the better of him despite his superior specs and abilities being more than enough to curbstomp these furry fools. Anger that was also being transmitted elsewhere.
Sonic and Tarek's slugfest had brought them down to a hanger. Said hangar being filled with old, disused equipment and a few partly disassembled or decayed vehicles from the First Robotnik War like a rusted Hover Unit that had once served as Julian's personal hovercraft. The aircraft's rich red paint work has faded over the years thanks to exposure from the natural elements.
The golden armoured jackal punted the blue hedgehog when he went for a homing attack and sent him straight through the front windows of the Hover Unit. Crashing into the back of it inside.
The blue wind recovers from the toss and bursts out of the old aircraft to go give his opponent a receipt for the punting. Ramming Tarek into an old tool trolley and knocking it over. Spilling some of the rusted tools onto the floor with hard thuds.
Sonic got himself on top of his foe while he's down and threw in some real stiff shots to the jackal's face, managing to cause a cut on the cheek. Some of the blood from it getting onto Sonic's white gloves.
He'd normally be bantering with his opponent and saying something to set them off in a fury at this stage but he hasn't exchanged as much as a quip to Tarek who was doing more to trigger him without even trying to. The brutality and viciousness he's displaying along with a sharp glaring look to his eyes is a very telling statement about his intentions towards him.
The jackal would lay in a right hook that knocked Sonic off of him and jumped up to his feet to swiftly kick him in the side. Only due to the awkward angle of the kick did Sonic avoid having cracked ribs or worse from the golden boot and most of it sliding off him like he's been covered in oily substance.
The kick still left behind a bruise on the right side of his abs and Sonic let out a cough when the wind knocked out of him. Soon, he'd be picked up by Tarek who manages to lift him with just one hand and slams him hard against the floor. Putting a boot to his chest to keep him pinned.
He redeploys his energy blade and tries to thrust it into the downed hedgehog's face but the latter catches it in time though he is struggling to keep the tip from making contact with his flesh.
The jackal's eyes glare at Sonic both harsh and powerful in intensity. "I do not know how or where this side of you is coming from and as interesting it is seeing it from you of all people..."
Tarek spoke in his ever familiar neutral tone albeit with a small hint of tranquil fury behind his stoic words and trying to inch the blade ever closer to Sonic's teeth-gritting face. "But I have come closer today than ever before and I will not let a princess, a child or even the nephew of a respected colleague of mine deny me the fruits of my labour!"
Child.
That word conjured an image of that scared little vixen in the cell for Sonic and he started having the strength to slowly push back the blade away from his face. It is not the power of will that was helping him out here.
No, it is his own bottled frustrations and resentment from the last eight months of his life along with this sudden influx of foreign rage all coming to a boiling pot. All Tarek did was burst that dam wide open for him.
Through the corner of his left eye, he spots an old but still sturdy wrench laying on the floor near him. Reaching a hand out for it and quickly wrapping his fingers around the handle. He swung the wrench hard at Tarek and the strike landed that made the scientist stagger to the side.
However, the adrenaline-charged hedgehog now in a state of blind rage wasn't done just yet as he lets out a loud roar that could awaken even the most dormant gods from their slumber and soon proceeds to barrage his foe with a series of hard wrench swings accompanied by loud clangs that did put real dents into his gold armour compared to his earlier attacks that seemed to have barely done much to it.
The jackal suddenly finds himself being put on the defensive with his shields and trying to survive his opponent's fury raining upon him. Even putting his cracked visor helmet back on to protect his head from Sonic's onslaught of wrench swings. It's as if a red mist has completely overtaken Sonic and put him over the edge.
Gadget would inadvertently get separated from his team and left running down a different hallway when he narrowly avoided Lindsey's bullet spray. The redhead being utterly hellbent on trying to waste him while one half of her crew went after the other two.
He kept running and praying for a way out of his predicament or finding something to turn the tables on his pursuers. Anything that doesn't end in his body getting riddled with bullets.
His prayers were answered when he came to a four way junction where he encountered Isabelle, Sticks and an accompanying squad of R.A.A Troopers on the left turn as they were trying to locate Sonic as well as any Dark Legion Troopers hiding about.
As Gadget's pursuers arrive shortly after, they try to quickly capture them including Lindsey and manage to take down most of Lindsey's group. However, the redhead proved slippery and managed to get away from her would-be captors,
Isabelle hurriedly gave chase to the woman even though her peers vocally objected to the idea given what had happened to her sister. Sticks and Gadget quickly chased after the magenta hedgehog while the troops tended to Lindsey's lackeys.
They escorted Lien-Da, Gae-Na and Triplex up the hallways towards the exit area with Sally leading on. She wasn't taking any chances with them and had the trio closely watched in case they tried pulling a fast one.
"...Still no word from Sonic." Antoine shook his head, getting the same response as Sally when he tried reaching him. "It's like he's not zhere."
"I did see him discard the uniform earlier including the mask and that might be why he ain't picking it up." Julie-Su recalled, having seen him drop the disguise before taking on Tarek. "Maybe."
Sally hopes that's the reason why they can't reach Sonic and not because of something far worse. Glancing at Gae-Na who greeted her with a look of indifference.
"Heh. Your blue hero's not willing to talk with you… Can't say I'm surprised after what he's been through." Lien-Da said tauntingly to the chipmunk. "Feeling like he can't count on his so-called "friends" anymore."
Sally turned her gaze to the smirking Grandmaster. "And why might that be so?"
"Let's say Sonic is coming to the same conclusion as a certain red treasonous ex-teammate of yours' to put it that way…" The older echidna said with a grin. "I take it he hasn't been open on how he really feels about all of you these days."
"Whatever you're trying to do, it's not going to work."
"Oh no, I am merely forwarding what Mecha Sonic has shared to us and we're aware of the link as well." Lien-Da slyly states, subtly twisting the knife in. "After all, you're wondering what you ever do to alienate him and earn his distrust…"
That had Sally taken aback.
She had suspected for a long time since the war and she would usually be skeptical in taking the word of a politicking echidna but there is a kernel of truth to her words. The sudden bursts of anger, his dour aura, being more argumentative than usual, the restless nights and having the telltale signs of PTSD… Mecha Sonic knows all about it.
Then along came Gae-Na's insurance policy as a wall near them blew up and out came the Iron Vigiles as they emerged from the dust to ambush Sally's group.
Suddenly finding themselves fending against these experimental enemies again and fighting for their lives. It served as enough of a distraction for Gae-Na to high kick the nearest R.A.A Trooper on the chin which produced a bone crack sound before stealing his rifle to shoot him and his peers who were guarding Triplex and Lien-Da.
The Kommissar threw down a smokescreen bomb she had hidden on her person and hurriedly escorted her superior along with their ride off Big Kahuna Island away from the scene in the confusion. The Iron Vigiles did their part in allowing the trio to escape while keeping Sally and her party busy. Unable to go after the three with the cyborgs attacking them and gunfire ringing out in the halls.
"Where do you think you're going huh!?" Sonic yells as Tarek had attempted to pull away to get some breathing room but the angry hedgehog wasn't letting him get a moment and continued hitting his opponent with the wrench until he was knocked to the floor again where he gets subjected to more wrench swings. "Come on tough guy, don't be such a wimp and take it like a man!"
Only because of his armour's high durability was he able to withstand this much of a flurry of beatings from Sonic's wrench but that won't last forever and he can't even call on for help. He's left all alone in the hanger with a side of Sonic who is more than likely trying to bludgeon him to death and having no one else around to help snap him out of that state before he ends something he'll seriously regret afterwards.
Sonic will avenge all of those victims and prove to himself he hasn't lost it or so he's telling himself while mentally out of it. Believing he's doing the right thing.
Once the wrench broke apart from repeated contact to the armour, he went and tore off Tarek's helmet with his bare hand to expose the jackal's face. The moment he caught sight of his mug, he'd scream and lay in even more stiff punches to his face until he eventually busts Tarek's forehead open.
The wet crimson trickling down his face and staining more of Sonic's gloves, turning the whites of the fabric into an unpleasant red colour. While left utterly dazed by the strike that left his face coloured, Sonic was pulling back his strongest hand and winding it up. Readying up to deliver a killing blow to finish Tarek off.
Put an end to this saga for good.
Then, he'd notice the colour of his gloves and he pales at the sight of them as well as the gnarly visual of Tarek's face. Freezing in the middle of his fatal punch swing arc as a startling realisation has now dawned on him.
He has just lost control and was almost coming close to beating a living being to death in his rage. So consumed by anger that he had assigned himself as judge, jury and executioner in the heat of the moment without knowing it. Betraying his own values about freedom and independence just like that.
Even if the victim of his wrath has committed atrocities, proven themselves to be barbaric in his actions and had done more than enough to warrant a death sentence under due process, he can't excuse the fact he had virtually stooped to his level just to even "win" their brawl. Assaulting a wounded man while he's down on the floor and defenceless.
Sonic quickly got off the still-breathing but bloodied jackal. Looking over his own handiwork and taking in the gravity of his actions.
Running shaky hands over his hair quills in an attempt to calm himself down and inadvertently stains some of them with Tarek's blood; further desaturating the hedgehog's cobalt blues into muted blues. An artist would say it is symbolic of where he is now and needs no further elaboration.
The brutality and ease in dishing it out to the jackal is nauseating to the rattled hedgehog. Even if no one else around saw his ugliest side or his act of lapse, he is disgusted and ashamed of himself. More than anything, it is a serious wake up call about a problem that he's been afraid to face himself.
When Tails and Knuckles arrived with some reinforcements, Mecha Sonic was stuck on the back foot. Having to contend with the numerical advantage while having R.A.A Troopers taking shots at him.
Growing ever more frustrated whenever he grapples with the echidna who was able to get the upper hand on him in their fight. Having gotten stronger since they last fought and he didn't need to become Mecha Knuckles to get on his level. When he tried to shoot his lasers at him, the echidna dodged them and uppercuts him on the chin.
That led to Tails and Iron Rotor flying in to deliver a double drop kick that knocked the mechanical hedgehog right into Shortfuse's double-fisted hammer throw to his head before Bunnie came in for a smooth axe kick. Said kick sending straight down onto the snow below and leaving him open to receive an elbow drop from Big.
A six on one battle where he's getting battered and that really infuriates the spawn of Julian in ways no machine has ever experienced. His rage is so great that it bled through to his twin and being influenced by it from what he could see.
He was able to beat these furry chumps years ago and he wasn't going to lose these pests either. He refuses to go before he's able to avenge his father's death. With a burning spirit inside his power core, knowing he's in a serious predicament and sensing his twin's state of vulnerability, he knew what to do to put these pests in their place.
Remind these self-righteous critters of his true terror as the archangel of Doctor Julian Robotnik's will. His instrument of destruction.
At his most emotionally vulnerable, an unwanted entity seized control of Sonic like a demon and forced him into the backseat spiritually-speaking. His green eyes turned red and his posture shifted afterwards.
"Sorry to cut this engaging confrontation a little short and you sure got an asswhoopin' of a lifetime but I need to borrow Blue Spaz here to deal with some pests that's been botherin' me. You sure do need some stitches for that new ugly mug of yours' bro." Sonic's vocal inflection is exactly that of Mecha Sonic's and carries the same smug arrogant aura to him as Mecha Sonic while he looks down at the beaten Tarek. "Well, smell ya later T!"
The possessed hedgehog speeds out of the hanger to tend to an urgent matter.
The bloodied jackal slowly got himself up to his feet while some of his blood dripped onto his armour. Any other foe of Sonic's would be going to the Holy Son after coming out of that experience alive but he was displeased with the outcome. That insufferable A.I had to interrupt what he saw was a very intriguing moment from the blue hedgehog.
He's been the target of someone's wrath before and he narrowly escaped that bloodbath with his life. He knows firsthand what a person's anger can push them into doing. If he wasn't so dazed by the injury to the face and being overwhelmed by Sonic's flurry of attacks, he would have done something to see how far the blue devil's own bushido can be pushed until it finally breaks. Everyone has a breaking point.
If anything else, he wanted to make the ultimate point to Sonic about the futility of his crusade for freedom, liberty and independence in a world that has a habit of losing all three as evidenced by recorded history. Make him see his world and see the uncomfortable reality of what he's trying to fight for when people like him are afforded the same rights as their own victims...
Author's Notes: Took a while to figure out how to come up with this one and setting up the next chapter but we got there. We finally see where Sonic's obsession has eventually brought him to and bring out a real ugly side of him in the process. Show a Sonic you'd rather not ever see again.
It appears that we have something of a pattern going on here where something that starts well like our heroes' best efforts to try to strategically capture the villains before things unexpectedly go careening off the rails like all the best-laid plans of mice and men often going awry. Suppose it beats seeing intelligent characters firmly holding onto the idiot ball just to make the plot happen.
I did want to write more for this chapter but I think it's long enough as is and the important parts are all covered. Got to keep this story moving along.
What happens in the next chapter? Stay tuned and find out. Reviews and comments are much appreciated.