- Chapter 29 -

Countdown to Death

Launch Base

Robotnik was seated in his chair, having dozed off in it out of boredom. Suddenly, the perimeter alarm went off, and he snapped awake. Bringing up a screen, he saw Sonic and Tails entering the base.

"It's Sonic!" he roared. "Get to work, you fools! Prepare the launch sequence!"

"But sir, the Death Egg is-" a drone began.

"I know it's not ready yet, but we don't have a choice!" Robotnik snapped. "Sonic is at our doorstep and if we wait a second longer, he'll make sure the Death Egg never flies again!"

"Please, doctor," the drone pleaded. "Just give us a few more minutes-"

"No!" Robotnik cut off sharply. "The time has come."

The drone gave in, turning away. "Preparing Death Egg launch sequence."

Master Emerald Shrine

Kat and Knuckles are in the middle of some high intensity training. He was holding up small planks of wood, which she was trying to split.

"Remember, it's both inner and outer strength that breaks the wood," Knuckles told her.

Kat nodded, taking a deep breath and throwing a punch. She hit the wood, but just pulled her hand back, shaking it.

"I think I'm getting blisters in my knuckles," she grumbled.

"Don't sweat it," Knuckles assured. "A lot of people can't do it on their first try."

"How long did it take you?" Kat asked.

"Well… one," Knuckles admitted. "But I have an excuse."

"Right," Kat shrugged before reeling back for another try.

That was when the ground began to shake.

"What the hell-?!" Knuckles let out.

Kat looked up. Her eyes widened, and her face went pale as they saw the Death Egg rising.

"No…" she stumbled backwards, scrambling in fear. "No, no, no, no…"

"Kat?" Knuckles asked, confused. "What's-?"

Rather than answer, Kat just turned and vaulted off of the shrine, running into the jungle.

"Kat!" Knuckles shouted.

Chomps looked up in worry.

"Chomps, go after her!" Knuckles ordered. "Make sure she's okay! I need to check on this."

Chomps ran into the jungle, while Knuckles looked up at the Death Egg.

"She freaked out at the sight of Robotnik's space station," he pondered. "Does that mean Sonic was telling the truth?"

Launch Base

Sonic and Tails had just run into the Launch Base when they saw the Death Egg lifting off.

"We're too late!" Tails exclaimed.

"Not if I can help it!" Sonic declared.

He ran up a wall as the Death Egg continued to launch. Just before it passed the building, Sonic made a mighty leap, landing on a platform at the bottom.

"Alright!" Tails cheered.

Before Sonic could do anything else, a hatch opened in the bottom. From it descended a modified Egg Mobile with Robotnik at the controls, with two massive arms, a windshield, and a spiked canopy.

"Ready to party, Eggman?" Sonic asked.

"Party's over, hedgehog," Robotnik retorted. "Now get off my Death Egg!"

"Fat chance, tubby!"

The Egg Mobile flexed its arms, spikes popping out of its knuckles before it began throwing punches. Sonic was able to easily dodge the strikes, but not the tremors caused when Robotnik slammed the ground.

"Feeling the pressure, Sonic?" the doctor demanded.

"You kidding?" Sonic asked. "A child could do more damage than you."

"Confidence," Robotnik scoffed. "A fool's substitute for intelligence."

Sonic launched into a Homing Attack, only for Robotnik to catch him and slam him into the ground with considerable force.

"Ha!" Robotnik taunted. "Not so tough now, are you, hedgehog?"

"Please," Sonic retorted, grunting slightly in pain. "Barely felt it."

"Let's see if you feel this!"

He began slamming him down multiple times, enjoying each and every grunt and groan he got from the hedgehog. Eventually, Sonic was pinned to the ground under one of the Egg Mobile's hands, Robotnik expending all his might to do so

"Revenge is a dish best served cold, and mine is frozen solid, Sonic!" Robotnik declared. "And this time, you don't have any Chaos Emeralds to bail you out!"

"Who said I need Chaos Emeralds…" Sonic retorted.

Robotnik felt a tap on his back. He turned around, and was immediately punched in the face by Tails. The fox then pulled a lever, freeing Sonic from the hand's grip.

"Took you long enough," Sonic remarked, cracking his joints.

"I can only fly so fast," Tails answered.

With that, Sonic then Spin Dashed right at the Egg Mobile, wrecking it. Tails caught him, Sonic giving Robotnik a two-fingered salute.

"Better luck next time, Eggman!" he mocked.

With that, they departed as the Death Egg was wracked with small scale explosions and began to lose altitude. As it fell, Robotnik clenched his fists and raised his head to the sky.

"I HATE THAT HEDGEHOG!" he howled.

Mushroom Hill

In an area of the jungle filled with giant mushrooms, Kat had finally stopped running, taking refuge under the massive fungi. When she heard the sounds of the Death Egg failing, she looked up to see it falling into the volcano. She breathed a sigh of relief, then prepared to move from her hiding spot, only to trip over something in her way. After getting her bearings, she stood up, looking to see that she had tripped over the green Chaos Emerald.

"What the…" she managed, picking it up. "A Chaos Emerald? It must have landed here in the crash."

She heard someone coming and quickly stuffed it in her shirt. That was when Chomps came in, whining when he found her.

"Oh…" Kat sighed, feeling her pulse slowing down. "Chomps, it's just you."

The dinosaur let out a low roar, nudging her with his snout.

"Yeah, I know," Kat patted his head. "Sorry I worried you. I just-" She shuddered. "It's nothing. Just me overreacting."

After a minute, Chomps perked, sensing something. He nudged Kat, gesturing to look up with his head. Kat did so, her eyes widening to see Sonic and Tails flying away from the Death Egg's fall... and headed their way.

"It's him…" Kat let out.

Torn between fear and anger, she made her decision.

"Let's hide. C'mon, under the mushrooms. Hurry!"

They hurried under one of the mushrooms, taking cover. Kat peeked out cautiously, glaring at the approaching Sonic and clenching her fist.

"I've been waiting for this, Sonic. You're gonna pay for what you did…"

Author's Note:

Things are starting to heat up. Will Kat give in to her need for vengeance?

Please R&R. Until next time!