- Chapter 14 -

Menace of Megatox

Chemical Plant

Past the Emerald Hill Zone was another of Robotnik's bases, the Chemical Plant. Once a beautiful green field, it was paved over by Robotnik and his men, who constructed a factory for the sole purpose of creating chemical weapons. And it was within the plant that a human scientist was working with a pink substance in numerous containers. His monitor starts beeping, and he presses a button, revealing Robotnik's face.

"Report, Dr. Napier," he ordered.

"Ah, Dr. Robotnik," Napier greeted. "I was just putting the finishing touches on the chemical agent you requested."

He gestured to the fluid in the containers. "Allow me to introduce megamalatricarboSonichloride. Or Mega Mack for short."

"And you're certain it will do what you say it will do?" Robotnik asked.

"Yes," Napier confirmed. "It's fatally toxic to any organic life it comes into contact with. Especially your little hedgehog friend."

"It better be, for your sake."

Robotnik made as if to point at Napier, but accidentally used the stub of his left arm. Napier looked at the bandaged stub in confusion.

"Sir, where's your arm?" he asked.

"I had a little accident," Robotnik said dismissively. "Nothing you need to worry about." This time, he pointed with his right arm. "Just make sure this gunk does what you promise… or you'll be the one missing your limbs."

With that, the call ended. As Napier got back to work, he began to hear an ominous sizzling/smoldering sound.

"What the…" Suddenly, alarms began blaring and he went pale. "Oh, no…"

Before he could react, the Mega Mack containers broke open, spraying the ooze everywhere. He was swallowed by the gunk, barely having time to scream. The slime flooded into the factory itself, without a trace of Napier to be seen. As things settled, the goop began to bubble and ripple ominously…

Outside the Chemical Plant, the Freedom Fighters were doing recon, examining the exterior.

"Security seems pretty tight," Sally mused. "I don't know how much closer we can get without getting caught."

"We'll need someone to go in and scout things out," Rotor remarked, rooting around his satchel for something.

"I'll do it," Sonic offered automatically.

Rotor looked up. "You sure about that?"

"Positive," Sonic nodded. "I'll be in and out before they can even blink."

"Actually… we had another idea," Sally cut in.

-X-

A few minutes later, Sonic came out from behind a tree, donned in an outfit that completely concealed his body and rendered him unrecognizable, consisting of a thick green duffel coat and ushanka, heavy grey boots and mittens, a checked yellow scarf, and topped off with a fake beak and wraparound sunglasses.

"This was your idea?" Sonic questioned, tugging at the scarf uncomfortably. "It's like an oven in here."

"While there are times for speed, we think a more subtle approach would work better," Sally explained.

"We need to know what's going on in there, meaning we need to ask questions," Porker added. "Dressed like this, you'll be able to blend in perfectly."

"Okay, I see your point," Sonic conceded. "But did it have to be thick winter clothes in the middle of summer?"

"Yeah, sorry about that," Rotor said awkwardly. "Every Badnik in Robotnik's arsenal knows your face, so we needed an outfit that would hide you effectively."

"Just try and be fast," Porker included. "But not too fast."

"Here's hoping I don't sweat to death before I find out what's going on in there," Sonic muttered before going off. They watched him go in silence before Johnny spoke up.

"So, who wants to bet he'll ditch the costume and get to smashing in the first ten minutes?"

"Knowing Sonic, that's probably gonna happen," Tails confessed.

"I say eight minutes," Sally offered.

"Five," Rotor declared.

"Three," Porker insisted.

Antoine sighed. "Perhaps zis was a bad idea. Sonic does not have the patience for such subtlety."

"From what I've seen, he's also the only one who can get in and out in one piece," Bunnie pointed out.

"You saw how he handled Brutus," Shortfuse mused. "He'll be okay."

-X-

Sonic approached the main door of the Chemical Plant, where two Swatbots on guard detail immediately aimed their blasters at him.

"Halt!" one of them ordered. "Identify yourself!"

Racking his brain, Sonic quickly thought up a lie.

"Uh… my name is Bob Beaky!" he replied in a timid, quavering tone. "I'm here to help you work on whatever you're doing here."

The Swatbots exchanged confused looks at that.

"Is that so?" the second one questioned suspiciously.

"Yes!" Sonic insisted out loud. "I will delight in serving our glorious ruler, Dr. Robotnik!"

I am so gonna wash my mouth out with soap after this... was what he thought.

The Swatbots took that information in.

"Well… Napier did say he needed more help after what happened," the first Swatbot remarked. "And if these sorry Mobians want to give up and surrender, it just makes our job easier."

"Alright, you can enter," the second said. "But no funny business, understand?"

Sonic saluted. "Yessir!"

With that, he began waddling inside.

"Guess it's true what they say," he muttered to himself. "Being the good guy ain't easy."

Once fully inside, he took in the sights. The interior of the Chemical Plant was a spiraling industrial cityscape, filled with blue toxic gloop, mechanical creatures, and twisting chemical pipes. Tubes and floating platforms decorated the area, but what really got Sonic's attention was the bizarre pink fluid that was billowing and flooding from different parts of the area.

"What happened here…" he pondered. "What is this stuff?"

Just being near it made him feel lightheaded. Deciding it was best to stay clear of it, he started to scout out the factory. As he walked around, he noticed there were no Mobians around.

"There's… nobody here?" he let out. "Where is everybody?"

As he passed a pool of Mega Mack, the pink fluid suddenly began to ripple, before bubbling, which caught his attention as something began to take form from it. A form, just barely perceivable as human, begins to form, wild eyes and a goopy mouth being the only real discernible features.

"Careful," it warned. "I'm toxic."

Sonic's eyes widened behind his shades, taking a step back. "Who or what are you?"

The creature threw a punch. On instinct, Sonic jumped out of the way, casting off the Bob Beaky disguise. The monster's eyes widened at the sight of him.

"It's you!" he exclaimed. "Sonic the Hedgehog!"

The monster bellowed. "Oh, what luck! "

"You know who I am," Sonic mused. "Can't say the same."

"I was once Jack Napier, a humble chemist," the creature replied. "On orders from Dr. Robotnik, I created Mega Mack, the chemical agent you see before you. Unfortunately, I didn't realize how corrosive it was, and there was an... accident. By some twist of fate, my consciousness became one with it. Jack Napier died… and was reborn as me, the malignant Megatox!"

"Megatox, huh?" Sonic felt his vision begin to blur. "And just what... what... is this ... stuff?"

"The Mega Mack is a deadly chemical weapon," Megatox boasted. "Fatally poisonous to any and all forms of organic life... but especially deadly to you. Such was its purpose."

Sonic's face went pale as he reeled back, feeling the effects of the Mega Mack fumes.

"It seems just being near such a high quantity of the stuff makes you ill," Megatox mused. "What a lovely side effect. So my guess is... you probably shouldn't touch it, either."

He raised his hand, spraying a stream of Mega Mack directly at Sonic. In his weakened condition, Sonic was unable to dodge in time, the jet hitting him right in the face. The effect was instant; Sonic felt his body burning, his lungs felt like they were on fire, and it was becoming hard to breathe. He doubled over, coughing and dry heaving before clenching his fists and getting up. Tucking into a ball, he launched into a Spin Dash, slamming through Megatox, only to seemingly have no effect. When that didn't work, he started running at full speed around him, whipping up a tornado that seemingly tore the toxic monster to shreds. After a few minutes, he reformed, having split into four identical Megatoxes.

"You can't destroy me, hedgehog!" they boasted in unison. "I'm one with the Mega Mack! I am invincible!"

Even in deadly peril, Sonic had time for sarcasm.

"Insufferable, more like. Now, get lost."

An idea forming in his head, Sonic dove directly into the Mega Mack, gritting his teeth and fighting through the pain as he swam to the bottom.

"Whatever you're up to, Sonic, you're only killing yourself faster!" Megatox gloated. "Whether by drowning or poisoning, the Chemical Plant will be your grave!"

Tucking into another Spin Dash, Sonic burrowed through the floor at super-speed, creating a tunnel leading outside the factory before coming back up and swimming around Megatox as fast as he could to create a propeller effect, whipping up a whirlpool that sucked the Mega Mack down the hole like bath water down the drain, taking a screaming Megatox with it. With that done, he collapsed to his knees, coughing violently.

"Not good…" he wheezed.

Struggling to his feet, Sonic leaned against the wall as he tried to call for help. Unfortunately, the Mega Mack had corroded through, and he fell through the wall, landing with a grunt. He pulled himself up on limbs that felt like spaghetti, pulling himself along by his fingertips as he felt his consciousness fade and his vision slowly going black.

"C'mon, Sonic…" he said weakly. "Gotta stay awake… I black out, I may not wake up again…"

Suddenly, his legs gave out completely, and he dropped to the ground. Sonic had just enough strength left to roll onto his back, laying limply as he stared at nothing.

"So, this is how it ends… Not how I thought I'd go out…"

The last thing he managed to see were a group of figures approaching him, before everything went black...

Outside, Sally was trying to contact Sonic on Nicole, but was getting nothing but static.

"Sonic? Sonic?!" She bit her lower lip in concern. "Why won't he answer?"

"Something musta happened," Bunnie mused.

"He's gotta be in trouble!" Tails exclaimed. "We gotta get in there!"

"Easy," Rotor insisted. "We gotta be careful. Who knows what's going on in there."

"Tails is right," Sally insisted. "If something happened to Sonic, we need to help him."

Moving carefully, everyone headed inside. Unbeknownst to them, the same mysterious figures that Sonic witnessed were secretly following them. Working quickly and quietly, they snagged Porker, yanking him into the shadows. Sally was the first to notice.

"Where's Porker?" she demanded.

They all turned around. Sure enough, the pig was nowhere to be seen.

"Quoi dans le monde? (1)" Antoine exclaimed.

"He's gone!" Tails yelped.

"Stay close, everyone," Sally ordered.

There was a strange zap, then the sound of metal hitting concrete. Everyone jumped, then realized Shortfuse was gone.

"Shorty!" Bunnie screamed.

"Damn it!" Sally cursed. "Everyone, defensive positions!"

They all took those positions, but it still wasn't enough. Bunnie let out a yelp, and then went silent as well. Sally was starting to get legitimately scared. As they kept going, she stepped on something and heard a crunch. She looked down, gasping when she saw it was Sonic's communicator, looking as though it had been melted.

"Oh no…" she managed.

"Sonic's communicator?!" Tails shrieked.

Sally picked it up, looking at it.

"Tails, what could have done this?"

Tails looked it over.

"From the looks of it, it was dissolved by some kind of corrosive agent potent enough to liquefy metal."

"In English, please," Johnny requested.

"Acid. It was melted by acid."

"That's not good," Johnny mused. "Rotor, what do you-"

But Rotor was gone too.

"Not Rotor too!" Sally exclaimed.

"They're picking us off like flies!" Tails yelled.

"We need to go," Sally insisted. "Now."

"But what about the others?" Tails demanded. "What about Sonic?!"

"We cannot help them if we are captured as well!" Antoine pointed out.

"We'll come back for them when we have reinforcements," Sally insisted. "Now move!"

The four remaining Freedom Fighters immediately made a break for it. Unfortunately, by the time they reached the exit, only Sally remained. She looked around in fear as she realized that.

"They've gotten everyone…" she let out. "I'm next!"

Steeling herself, she extended her arms, popping out the Ring-Blades on her wrists. "Well, if they're coming for me, I won't make it easy."

Hearing a noise behind her, Sally whirled around, blades at the ready, only to see nothing. Another sound came from her left; once again, nothing. Then, there was a soft pop and a dart hit her in her neck. Almost immediately, Sally felt sleepy and collapsed…

An unknown amount of time later, Sally found herself coming to. She saw almost the entire group with her, laid out on bedrolls. As she took in her surroundings, she heard footsteps approaching, and stiffened at the sight of a female figure entering the room. It was a Mobian sheep dressed in military pants, a green shirt, and a brown leather jacket.

"Well, well," she said. "Look who finally woke up."

Sally immediately got to her feet, getting into a combat stance.

"Relax," the sheep said calmly. "If we wanted to kill you, you and your friends would already be dead."

"Who are you?" Sally demanded. "What is this place?"

"My name is Sab," the sheep replied. "And this, Princess Sally, is the underground base of me and my Flock."

"Flock?" Sally raised an eyebrow.

"Yep," Sab nodded. "After Robotnik had that factory put in, we were forced underground. We've been working to try and liberate the area ever since."

"You mean… this was your home?" Sally asked.

Sab's expression soured. "This Chemical Plant used to be a beautiful green field... until he came along. Everyone who didn't flee ended up as slaves. We were freeing them one by one… then the gunk flooded."

"What gunk?" Sally questioned, confused.

"A chemical weapon Robotnik had a scientist named Jack Napier working on. He called it Mega Mack," Sab explained. "It's poisonous to all Mobians, but especially for a specific blue hedgehog."

"Sonic…" Sally managed before perking up. "That blue hedgehog was with me and my friends! Have you seen him?"

"I have, yes," Sab nodded. "Follow me."

She escorted Sally through several twisting tunnels. There were dozens of sheep everywhere, each one decked out for war. As they passed one room, Sally was shocked to see Shortfuse and Bunnie strapped to operating tables

"What are you doing to them?" she demanded.

"The squirrel is clearly a Badnik, and the rabbit shows signs of roboticization," Sab defended. "We're being cautious."

"Shorty was never programmed," Sally told her, glaring at her. "And Bunnie's just got mechanical limbs. They're with me, and you will let them go. Now!"

The two stared silently at one another before Sab gave a nod. The scientists in the room unstrapped both of them before removing an EMP device from Shortfuse, who instantly sat up.

"Look out!" he exclaimed. "There are sheep every-!"

Sally held up a hand to silence him before turning to Sab.

"I can understand your caution around Shorty, but why snatch me and the others out of the blue?"

"We couldn't risk compromising our position, even to fellow Mobians," Sab explained. "Too many of us were already roboticized, and when we are, loyalty means nothing."

Sally nodded solemnly at that.

"Now, shall we go on to see your hedgehog friend?" Sab offered.

"Right," Sally agreed. "Lead the way."

They continued, and Sab eventually led Sally to an infirmary. The Acorn princess gasped in horror, seeing Sonic laying on a bed. He was unconscious, ill-looking, and was in visible pain.

"He collapsed after fighting Megatox," Sab explained. "We brought him here to try and help him. Unfortunately, the toxin is progressing far faster than in any other Mobian.

Sally raised an eyebrow.

"What's a Megatox?"

Sab's eyes widened briefly as she realized she hadn't told Sally of Megatox.

"Right, of course." She let out a small cough. "That is what Dr. Napier became when the Mega Mack flooded the plant. He was swept away by the ooze, but somehow, instead of dying outright, his mind melded with the chemicals. For all intents and purposes, Megatox is the Mega Mack, a walking wasteland."

"And he did this to Sonic?" Sally asked, Sab just nodding.

"I've seen these same symptoms and effects before, in some of the other Flock," the sheep recalled. "But it was specifically designed as a weapon against your friend, so…"

"It's hitting him harder and faster than anyone else," Sally desperately turned to Sab. "Is there any way we can save him?"

"Not that we've found," Sab replied. "Then again, we weren't exactly the most technologically sound Flock."

"I've got three technical experts on my team," Sally told her. "Between them, I'm sure we can find a cure."

"Then we must hurry," Sab looked over Sonic's prone form. "I do not know how much time Sonic has left."

-X-

Some time later, the rest of the Freedom Fighters had come to, and Sally quickly explained the situation.

"This is bad…" Tails let out. "This is really bad…"

"If we had a sample of the gunk, maybe I could synthesize an antidote," Porker suggested.

"Then we'll find some," Sally said firmly. "Sonic is not gonna die. I won't let him."

Tails perked. "Wait a sec… Sally! Sonic's communicator!"

Sally pulled it out of her pocket. "What about it?"

"It was exposed to the Mega Mack with the rest of him, right?" Tails questioned.

"Yeah…" Sally confirmed.

"Meaning there may still be a trace of it in there!" Tails insisted.

"Hand it over," Rotor told her. "We've got work to do."

-X-

Fate was on their side; sure enough, there were enough traces of Mega Mack within the communicator for the three scientists of the group to analyze. After a tense couple of minutes, Tails came rushing out of the lab, a vial of green liquid in hand.

"We did it!" he declared.

"Give it to me, quick!" Sally ordered. "No time to lose!"

Tails obediently did so, and Sally took off for the infirmary. Sonic was writhing on the bed, moaning in pain.

"Hang on, Sonic," Sally soothed. "I'm here."

Sonic's eyes opened, and he looked at Sally blearily. "S-Sal…"

Sally helped him sit up before holding out the vial.

"Sonic, I need you to drink this," she told him. "It's an antitoxin to the Mega Mack in your system."

Sonic took the vial, chugging the contents. He then dropped it, the vial breaking on impact with the ground. He was gagging, clutching at his throat and spitting in disgust.

"What is it?!" Sally demanded. "What's wrong?!"

"It tastes like cat pee, that's what's wrong!" Sonic declared.

Sally snorted before starting to cry in relief.

"Just rest, Sonic…" she let out.

Sonic gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder before just falling back on the bed and closing his eyes.

-X-

A short time later, he was back up, going to meet with his friends.

"Good to see you up, Sonic," Shortfuse greeted. "You okay?"

"Better than okay," Sonic assured, stretching his arms and legs. "I feel completely recharged."

Sab smirked. "Glad you're doing better, hero."

Sonic turned to Sab at that. "Thanks for helping me out back there. I owe you one." His expression steeled. "And I promise you, what Robotnik did to your home here is just one more thing he's gonna answer for."

"I'll hold you to that, hedgehog," Sab remarked before turning to address all the Freedom Fighters. "If you're gonna get to Robotropolis before he launches his Death Egg, the fastest way is through the Aquatic Ruins."

"Aquatic Ruins?" Sonic sighed. "Let me guess, filled with water?"

"Hence the word 'aquatic,'" Sab deadpanned.

Sonic let out a groan.

"First I almost get poisoned to death, then I gotta go through water," he grumbled. "This just isn't my day."

Robotropolis

At his base, Robotnik was trying on a new cybernetic arm. It was embedded in the stump of his arm, with a hand that almost looked like a glove.

"Impressive, I must admit," he confessed.

"I trust you'll find the design adequate?" Grimer asked.

Robotnik grabbed a metallic cup set on the table with his robotic arm, picking it up and crushing it in his fist. He smirked.

"More than adequate," he declared, looking over the arm. "I can hardly wait to wrap these new fingers around Sonic's puny blue neck."

"Speaking of Sonic, we just received a report from the Chemical Plant," Snively piped up.

Robotnik turned to him. "I'm listening."

"I'm sad to report, sir…" Snively sighed. "The hedgehog survived the Mega Mack."

Robotnik took that in, before turning purple with rage. "He WHAT?!"

He slammed his fist onto the workbench, bashing a noticeable dent.

"Napier assured me again and again it would kill Sonic without fail!" he ranted.

"In Napier's defense, it nearly did," Snively informed him. "But his friends were able to synthesize an antitoxin."

With a roar of anger, Robotnik flipped the table, scattering the contents.

"That hedgehog has bested me for too long!" he ranted.

"Doctor, perhaps this could work to our advantage," Grimer suggested nervously. "We don't necessarily have to kill Sonic and his friends. We just need to keep them busy for now. Once the Death Egg's preparations are compared, nothing they do will matter."

Robotnik mulled this over, then nodded.

"An excellent idea, Grimer," he agreed. "Dispatch my strongest Badniks to every Zone from here to the Aquatic Ruins. Whether they win or lose, we'll have all the time we need to prepare. And tell the Death Egg construction crews to double their efforts! I want it airborne as soon as possible!"

The two nodded before departing, leaving Robotnik alone. He replaced his shirt, pulling the sleeve down to hide his robotic arm.

"You may have bested me on South Island, hedgehog," he muttered, "but once my battle station is fully armed and operational, even you won't be able to stand against its power."

Author's Note:

(1): "What in the world?" in French.

The Mega Mack backstory is taken from Sonic the Comic, as are the Flock, Megatox, Sonic's Bob Beaky disguise, and the backstory of the Chemical Plant. Megatox's human name was never revealed in the comic, so I named him Jack Napier as a reference to the 1989 Batman movie.

Next chapter finds the gang trekking through the tricks and traps of the Aquatic Ruins. Will they make it out?

Voice cast for this chapter:

* Sab - Lia Sargent (Shion Uzuki from Xenosaga, Aura from .hack, Dorothy Wayneright from The Big O)

* Megatox - Sherman Howard (Derek Powers/Blight from Batman Beyond, Kor from Jak and Daxter, Arius and Argosax from Devil May Cry 2)

Please R&R. Until next time!