-Chapter 103-

Skirmish in Sky Canyon

Egg Utopia

Knuckles sat in the cockpit of the Egg Saucer, the massive tire-like machine Robotnik had given him to complete his "mission". Just thinking about what he had to do made the echidna sick to his stomach. Worry gnawing at him, he grabbed a radio embedded in the dashboard of the machine.

"Eggman, I want to talk to Kat," he insisted. "I want to know she's okay."

"Knuckles, Knuckles, Knuckles, you don't seem to fully grasp your situation," Robotnik sighed. "I hold all the cards here, so you are in no position to make demands. You can talk to her all you want after you bring me Sonic's head on a platter."

"How do I know you just won't go back on your word and roboticize her anyway?"

"What do you think I am? A swindling, manipulative liar?" Knuckles opened his mouth, about to answer. "Don't answer that question."

"Just let me talk to her," Knuckles all but begged.

"Ask me again, and I'll send her roboticized form to join you in your hunt. Now get your furry red behind in gear already."

The line went dead and Knuckles slammed the receiver back into place. His hands were shaking as he gripped the steering wheel.

"Kat… please be okay."

Southern Baronies

Kat was just exiting the ER with a bright red cast on her arm, which was now hanging in a sling. She had just rejoined her dragon companion when she suddenly sneezed.

"Are you alright?" Dulcy asked.

"Fine," Kat assured, wiping her nose. "Someone must be talking about me."

After a minute, she shrugged before heading waving for a taxi.

"Excuse me, is there an optometrist in the area? I gotta pick up something for a friend."

Sky Canyon

Meanwhile, the Freedom Fighters had made it to the Sky Canyon, seeing it truly lived up to its name. The cliffs were high up, almost above the clouds, with all manner of bouncing platforms and narrow pathways being the only things saving passersby from a plummet of doom.

"Better watch that first step," Sonic warned. "It's a doozy."

Chris took Keith's hand. "Stay close."

"No argument here," Keith agreed. "I do not want to fall to my death."

They started to head in when suddenly they heard a massive impact that shook the ground.

"Did somebody order an earthquake?" Antoine asked.

Hope turned, letting out a gasp when she saw massive purple-and-red Egg Pawns at least three times the size of normal ones taking massive hammers to the cliff base above. The others looked, gaping as well.

"What in tarnation?!" Bunnie shrieked.

"They're gonna bring the canyon down on our heads!" Hope cried. "Sonic, do something!"

"I'm on it!"

Sonic curled into a Spin Dash, racing up the side of the canyon. When he launched himself at one though, he was met with the business end of its hammer. He went flying right back at the group, bouncing on the ground before stopping and pulling himself into a sitting position.

"I'm okay!" he assured before standing up, staggering a bit. "Shake it off, Sonic. It's just your bones... and organs."

The Egg Hammers slammed the mountain a second time, triggering a rock slide that the gang all scrambled away from. Massive rocks tumbled down, piling on top of one another, completely blocking off the way they'd come. A few more rocks tumbled down, the group narrowly avoiding them before all went quiet.

"Well... guess we're not goin' back that way," said Bunnie.

They tensed, ready for a fight, only for the Egg Hammers to retreat without further trouble.

"Okay…" Keith began. "Did those things just... leave?"

"Yeah, they did," Chris confirmed.

"Okay, good," Keith sighed. "Because I was about to question just how bad my eyesight was."

"This does not make any sense," Antoine insisted.

"I dunno about you guys, but I smell a trap," Sonic said.

"This entire place reeks of a trap," Bunnie agreed.

"So what's the plan?" Hope asked.

Sonic smirked. "Spring the trap."

They continued on, Chris looking at Sonic in concern.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked.

"I'm sore, but I'll live," Sonic assured. "I've taken worse hits than that."

"If it was really bad, the Emeralds would kick in," Keith pointed out. "Since they haven't, he's fine."

"I'm worried about more than just his body," Chris clarified. "Look at his hands."

Keith glanced down, and even with his less than 20/20 vision, he could see Sonic's hands were shaking, and one hand was rubbing his rib.

"Sonic?" Hope let out.

"I'm fine," Sonic insisted. "I promise."

"We've heard that before," Antoine pointed out.

"I am, I'm just… something doesn't feel right."

"Sonic, we're going to get everyone back," Bunnie assured. "This ain't gonna be like before."

They heard engines revving, and looked to see several ladybug-like Badniks on single tires running in. Sonic rolled his eyes.

"Motobugs?" he asked. "Does Egghead really think he can take us with throwbacks like that?"

"Maybe with just how many there are," Chris pointed out. "Look!"

Indeed, there were enough Motobugs that they completely covered the canyon.

Keith squinted. "So, that sea of red-and-black I'm seeing…"

"It's all Motobugs," Hope nodded. "There must be hundreds of them!"

Sonic smirked, popping his neck. "This is gonna be fun."

"You and I have very different definitions of fun," Keith deadpanned.

Bunnie formed her arm cannon. "Get ready, y'all! Here they come!"

The swarm closed in on them. Hope activates her Flame Shield, the boys powered on their gloves, Antoine readied his sword, and blue lightning danced on Sonic's body.

"Let's dance," the hedgehog declared confidently.

The groups clashed. Hope speared forward like a comet of flame, plowing through multiple Motobugs (1).

"Yes!" she cheered. "The Fire Boost works like a charm! Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Eggman!"

"How-?" Sonic managed.

"It would take too long to explain!" Hope cut him off.

Bunnie blasted the Motobugs, Antoine hacked and slashed, while Chris and Keith lobbed energy balls all over the place, Chris telling his nearsighted cousin where to shoot using clock position code.

"Keith, two o'clock!"

Keith spun around, pelting a Motobug that was right behind him.

"Five o'clock!"

He threw to his left, smirking. "I've still got it."

Eventually, the Motobugs were scrapped. With that, Sonic turned to Hope, a questioning look on his face.

"One of my modifications to the design," she told him. "The Flame Shields are basically giant fireballs, right? So I got the idea to weaponize them. Use them offensively in a pinch."

"I'm so glad you're on our side," Sonic remarked. "Don't ever use your skills for evil, Hope. You'd make a terrifying villain."

Hope smiled playfully. "No promises."

They heard another engine revving, this one much louder.

"Uh-oh," Sonic let out. "Something big is coming."

From deeper in the canyon came a giant wheel with a grey tire that was decorated with alternating yellow and brown-colored stripes around its circumference. It had three contraptions mounted on it which revolved around the wheel's center: a cockpit, a laser cannon and a giant hand. The cockpit and the cannon was blue and orange, and the hand was mostly gray with some blue and orange dots on it. Each of these contraptions were mounted on a metallic stand on the wheel, which was mostly grey with a blue spherical glass on either end, a smaller blue spherical unit on the center, and orange borders with spikes underneath. The glass covering of the cockpit was dark and opaque, making it impossible to see the pilot.

"Seriously?" Hope asked. "A killer tire? What, did Eggman get this idea from absurdist horror movies? (2)"

"I'll take care of this one," Sonic decided. "You guys stay out of the way. I do not want you guys to get run over."

They nodded, standing back as Sonic confronted the Egg Saucer.

"Yo, Eggman!" he greeted. "Bit of a cheesy mech, don't you think? You can do better than a giant tire!"

There was no response. Sonic raised an eyebrow.

"What, no witty banter? No gloating about how this contraption is gonna do me in? What's the matter, Egghead? Cat got your tongue?"

The saucer pressed forward, determined to run him over. Sonic zipped out of the way.

"All work, no talk," he mused.

The saucer swerved, aiming its cannon and firing on Sonic while the hand attachment kept trying to grab him.

"Sheesh, the Motobugs were more vocal than this!" Sonic remarked.

He jumped up, slamming both feet into the barrel of the cannon and bending it so it pointed at itself and obliterated itself with its next shot. Nonetheless, the saucer kept going. The saucer launched itself at Sonic, and when he dodged, he realized that he'd sent the saucer on a collision course with the group. However, much to his shock, the saucer braked, stopping itself from hitting them,

"He… stopped?" Sonic let out.

The saucer then turned, focusing back to Sonic. Getting back in the game, Sonic rushed it, jumping onto the platform that once housed the cannon.

"Alright, Eggman," he began. "Just what's your game?"

He got no answer once again, and finally jumped up to the cockpit.

"Okay, enough of the silent treatment! I'm getting some answers outta you if I have to drag your flabby ass out of that cockpit myself!"

He smashed through the opaque glass, grabbing the cockpit. To his shock, he didn't grab Robotnik's red coat. Instead, he was holding onto Knuckles' hoodie-vest combo.

"What in Aurora's name?!" he exclaimed.

He tossed him from the machine, which was now powering down. Knuckles landed, punching the ground in anger.

"Damn it…" he cursed.

"Knuckles?!" the other Freedom Fighters exclaimed in unison.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do, Knucklehead!" Sonic demanded. "Start talking!"

"I can't!" Knuckles insisted.

He got up, getting into a fighting stance. "I'm sorry, but I have to do this!"

He launched himself at Sonic. The two clashed for a while, Sonic acting purely on the defensive as Chris, Keith, and Hope turned to one another, trying to hash things out.

"What the hell is going on?!" Chris demanded.

"Knuckles wouldn't be doing something like this without a good reason," Keith insisted.

"But why?" Hope asked. "What would push him to do this?"

It soon hit them, the three exchanging looks of horror.

"We haven't heard from Kat in awhile," Chris realized. "You don't think…"

"It couldn't be…" Keith said.

Hope turned to where Sonic and Knuckles were grappling.

"Knuckles!" she called, getting their attention. "Eggman has Kat, doesn't he?! That's why you're doing this!"

Knuckles froze at that, as did Sonic.

"Yes…" Knuckles confessed. "Some robot came to me with a message from Eggman. Said he had Kat and would roboticize her if I didn't kill Sonic."

Dread rising, Keith raised the radio to his mouth.

"Kat, do you read?" he pleaded, getting only static. "Kat, it's Keith! Do you read?!"

He still got no response.

"KAT!" he screamed.

Suddenly, they heard a draconic roar up above. They looked up to see Dulcy coming down. She landed, and they saw a familiar head of red hair on her back.

"Hey, guys!" Kat greeted. "Sorry I'm late. We had a devil of a time finding you guys."

She slid off, stopping short to see Knuckles there, staring at her like he'd seen a ghost.

"Knuckles?" she began. "What the hell are you doing-?"

She was cut off when he suddenly tackled her. He held her tightly, face buried in her shirt.

"Knuckles?" Kat asked, feeling the tears running down his snout. "Are you okay?"

"I should be asking you that question!" Knuckles said, pulling away and looking at her in a mix of fear and worry. "How'd you get away from Eggman? And the Roboticizer?"

Kat blinked, looking at the others in confusion.

"Roboticizer? Eggman?"

Sonic sighed. "You… better sit down for this."

-X-

Some time later…

They were seated near the wreckage of the Egg Saucer, Knuckles explaining the situation. The entire time, he kept a grip on Kat's arm, as if afraid she'd disappear.

"The message was crystal clear," he insisted. "I saw Kat strapped to the Roboticizer with my own eyes."

"What?" Kat let out. "I was nowhere near a Roboticizer. I was in the hospital getting a cast for my arm."

She showed him the cast and sling.

"Then I went to the optometrist. Speaking of which…"

Kat reached into her jacket pocket, handing Keith a pair of new glasses.

"Then why didn't you answer the radio?" he asked as he put them on.

"What do you mean?" Kat questioned. "It never went off."

"Is it on?" Dulcy piped up.

Kat blinked, then slapped her forehead.

"Oh, duh…" she muttered. "The doctor told me to turn off the radio while he did X-rays. I must've forgotten to turn it back on."

She pulled it out and turned it on.

"Then... he tricked me…" Knuckles let out. "But... the Kat in the Roboticizer... it looked so real!"

"Could've been a Kat-bot," Sonic suggested.

"Or a hologram," Hope voiced.

Knuckles trembled in rage, furious at being duped. Everyone recoiled when he stood up with a growl, threw his hat on the ground, and began jumping up and down on it while ranting furiously.

"That lying, no-good, dirty, rotten, low-down, yellow-bellied, slime-sucking son of a Micky (3)!"

Kat went over, wrapping her good arm around him.

"Knuckles, I'm right here," she soothed. "I'm okay."

Knuckles took a breath, picking up his hat and dusting it off before putting it back on.

"I can't believe I let that tub of lard trick me again…" he spat. "I'm such an idiot!"

"Easy," Sonic cut in. "Even we believed he might've nabbed Kat while she was out."

"I just…" Knuckles sighed. "I can't believe he duped me. I could've killed you, Sonic. And it would've been for nothing!"

"Hey, you didn't, and we're all okay," Sonic insisted.

Kat perked, sensing something from the wrecked Egg Saucer

"Hang on, there's something in the saucer," she insisted, pointing towards the wreck.

Sonic went over, digging around in the engine before pulling out the purple Chaos Emerald.

"Ha!" He laughed, hopping back down to join the group. "One more in the pot! Awesome!"

"Six down, one to go," Hope recalled. "The last one must be in Eggman's base."

"Has to be," Sonic agreed. "Kat, I know you and Dulcy have been distracted, but have you found the base yet?"

"Not yet," Kat replied. "But we will, and the second we find it, we'll let you know."

"I know where it is," Knuckles piped up. "It's just past this canyon. He calls it the Techno Base. At the moment, his new airship is tethered to it for refueling."

"Airship?" Sonic asked.

"He calls it the Egg Utopia," Knuckles explained. "Afraid I don't know more than that."

"You know where it is, and that's a start," Bunnie decided.

"It must be what he used to attack Cream's village," Hope deduced. "Priority one is taking it out."

"I'm going with you," Knuckles decided. "Bastard uses Kat to dupe me, I break his little toys. Preferably over his head."

"We'll gladly take you on, Knux," Sonic assured. "You deserve some payback."

"Make sure to hit him extra hard for me, alright?" Kat requested.

"Damn right I will," Knuckles promised.

The two hugged, then he finally let her go so she could go back over to Dulcy.

"Hey!" Knuckles said in Chun-ese, drawing Dulcy's attention. "Keep an eye on her for me!"

"She's in good hands with me," Dulcy assured.

With that, Dulcy spread her wings and took off. Sonic blinked, turning to Knuckles.

"Since when do you speak Chun-ese?" he asked.

"Since a Chun-ese girl started living with me on the island," Knuckles replied. "I picked up the language real quick."

"Whoa, you are a prodigy," Keith commended.

"Something my dad and the other Guardians drilled into me during my early training," Knuckles recalled. "'Given enough time, any man can master the physical. With enough knowledge, any man can become wise. It is a true warrior who can master both.'"

"Guess your dad was good at something," Sonic mused.

They heard static, and turned to see something lighting up in the saucer's cockpit.

"Knuckles?" came Robotnik's voice. "Come in! Is Sonic dead yet?"

Knuckles strolled over, grabbing the radio.

"No, he's not," he spat. "And I know the truth now. You never had Kat. Your sick little game is over, Eggman."

A moment of silence followed.

"Well, it seems my charade is at an end," Robotnik sighed, resigned. "What a pity. I was so hoping you'd deal with my hedgehog problem."

"And now you have an echidna problem to deal with on top of it," Knuckles told him, deadly calm. "Get your affairs in order, Eggman. When I'm through with you, there won't be enough left of you to bury in a matchbox."

With that, he crushed the radio before turning back to the others, cracking his knuckles.

"C'mon. We've got an Eggman to scramble."

Author's Note:

(1): The mid-air dash attack from Sonic 3 & Knuckles, mixed with Blaze the Cat's Fire Boost from the Rush games. Unlike 3 & Knuckles, anyone who uses the Flame Shield can do it, not just Sonic.

(2): A reference to a weird little horror movie called Rubber.

(3): Mobini mouse or rat, not sure which. It was one of the animal friends released from Badniks in Sonic 2.

Well, glad that's settled. We're on the home stretch for this arc, baby!

Please R&R. Until next time!