-Chapter 200-

Attack on Pinball Fortress, Part 1

Isolated Island

The sun was just going down as the Egg Mobile headed for Isolated Island, docking outside the Techno Tower. Robotnik disembarked as he was greeted by Lien-Da and Dr. Finitevus.

"Doctor," Lien-Da greeted civilly. "What can we do for you?"

"I'm here to see if you've finally finished your little project," Robotnik replied. "I'm not exactly fond of my lackeys wasting valuable resources with nothing to show for it. Now, show me Enerjak."

"For the record, his name is Dimitri," Finitevus corrected. "Enerjak is no more."

"I don't care what his name is. Just show him to me."

They headed into the tower, entering an elevator. As it headed down, Lien-Da turned to Robotnik.

"Dr. Robotnik, with all due respect, I fail to understand why you're complaining about this," she remarked. "If you recall, we rescued Dimitri and began this operation on your orders in the first place."

"I also recall the echidna literally crumbling away as we worked on him," Robotnik retorted. "He's a lost cause, one I never should have let you talk me into continuing."

"Let's not be too hasty, Doctor," Finitevus interjected. "Dimitri is a wealth of ancient knowledge and Echidna history. It would be a shame to let him wither away."

"All I know for certain is that you've sunk a significant chunk of Mobiums and resources into keeping him alive. For your sake, the old fossil better be in a position to be of use to me."

"Why don't you ask me yourself, Doctor?" an electronically-amplified voice sounded.

Robotnik looked up to see a Cyberized Echidna laid out on an upright worktable. He was almost entirely robotic, save for the lower half of his left cheek, part of his left arm, and a single eye. The rest of him was a shiny, chrome color, his right eye a solid red lens. A deep, raspy breathing sound filled the room, which Robotnik quickly deduced Dimitri was the source of (1).

"Dimitri, I presume?" Robotnik questioned.

"Yes. Dr. Finitevus' efforts were... quite extensive, as you can see."

"The cybernetics are keeping his deterioration at bay," Lien-Da explained.

"From what I can tell, there's not much left to deteriorate," Robotnik deadpanned.

"Yes," Dimitri agreed. "I'm more machine now than Mobian. But that does not mean I'm in no position to aid you."

"And can I trust you?"

"We share a common enemy in the hedgehog and his friends," Dimitri clenched his fists. "They drained me of my power, left me to die. Like I was nothing."

"Ah yes, I'd imagine you'd hold a particular grudge against Knuckles," Robotnik mused. "And once you swear your loyalty to the Robotnik Empire, it would be my pleasure to ensure you get your desired vengeance."

"You have it," Dimitri assured without hesitation. "The Dark Legion is part of your army in all but name at this point, anyway."

"Excellent," Robotnik grinned. "Now come along. My niece Agatha has been insistent on showing me her own personal project, and I have put it off long enough."

He headed out of the room. Once he was out of earshot, Dimitri stepped down from the table, stumbling slightly under the weight of his prosthetics before standing tall.

"We move forward with the plan, then?" Finitevus questioned.

"Of course," Dimitri agreed. "Let the doctor think we serve him... for now. In the end, that fat oaf will learn that the Dark Legion are the rightful rulers of Mobius."

Knothole

In the training room of Freedom HQ, Antoine was leading the day's combat lessons. Bunnie was acting as his back up, and most of the kids were their students. A surprise addition to this group was Cosmo herself, who was off to the side with Espio.

"So this other form you accessed is a defense mechanism of your people?" he asked.

"The 'final stage', my mother called it," Cosmo explained. "It's in part what brought about the downfall of my species. During the initial war with the Black Arms, so many of us overused it and burned themselves out."

"And that's what you experienced when facing these Drakons," Espio mused, getting a nod. "Well then, we'll need to make sure that doesn't happen."

Cosmo nodded in agreement. Before they joined the others, Espio gently grabbed her shoulder.

"Are you absolutely sure about this, Cosmo?" he asked, not unkindly.

"I'm a pacifist, yes. But even pacifists need to stand their ground once in a while," Cosmo's fists clenched. "I couldn't do anything when Black Doom killed my mother and what was left of my race. I couldn't stop the Drakons from taking Chris and the others. I'm tired of sitting by, unable to do a thing while the people I love suffer and die."

Espio smiled. "The protection of others. Never was there a nobler reason to fight."

As the kids all gathered for their lessons, Sonic wandered in, a chili dog in hand. He went and sat with Knuckles and Tails, who were watching everything.

"So these Drakon, they made the Chaos Emeralds?" Knuckles asked.

"Uh-huh," Sonic nodded.

"And all those outposts we found were remnants of them trying to get them back?" Tails questioned.

"Yep."

There was a moment of silence.

"I liked my life alot better when it was just me and the Master Emerald," Knuckles lamented. "Everything was so much simpler back then."

Sonic scoffed. "Liar."

Knuckles turned to him at that.

"Yeah, things were simpler, but you were completely alone," Sonic went on. "Our lives are plenty crazy, but look at the positives."

He gestured down to the arena, watching the kids pair up and wrestle. Knuckles cracked a smile.

"Okay, you got me there," he agreed.

"INCOMING MAIL!" Omochao suddenly screamed.

Everyone jumped as the mechanical Chao came out of nowhere, shouting at top volume. Hope just sighed.

"Omochao, remember that little talk we had about using your indoor voice?"

"Sorry Hope, but it's important!" Omochao declared. "It's from Eggatha!"

That instantly got their attention.

"Patch it through," Hope ordered.

Omochao blinked and a holographic display shot from their eyes, showing off the email.

"Hey Hope! Guess what? Uncle Ivo let me create my own Egg Fortress! I've been working on it for weeks, and I finally got it done! It's kinda on the small side, but it still has a ton of traps, dangers, and robots! Tell Sonic to come check it out soon. Oh, and have him bring Knuckles and Tails too. I made sure it was fun for the whole gang.

-Your favorite evil cousin

- Eggatha Robotnik.

PS: Coordinates included."

Everyone exchanged looks at that.

"Coordinates place it atop Mount Mobius." Omochao informed them.

Sonic shrugged, standing up. "Well… I got nothing better to do."

"Honestly, I could go for some harmless evil," Knuckles decided.

"I've been curious to see what Eggatha can do," Tails agreed. "After all, when she gets older, she's gonna be inheriting Eggman's empire."

"Care for some back-up, huns?" Bunnie asked.

"Nah, we'll be fine," Sonic assured. "It's Eggatha. What's the worst that can happen?"

Mount Mobius

Meanwhile, Eggatha had escorted Robotnik and the Dark Legion to her new fortress, a large, gray tower that covered most, if not all, of Mount Mobius. The tower itself featured a checker pattern. There are also several tubes, pipes and machines that were connected to the sea nearby. The top part of the fortress also featured Dr. Robotnik's face on it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's with great pride that I welcome you to the Pinball Fortress!" Eggatha declared.

"I'm almost afraid to ask why you call it that," Lien-Da remarked.

"Well, for starters, I'm thirteen," Eggatha began. "Besides, I've been playing a lot of pinball with Metal in my downtime. So I installed a special Pinball Defense System to keep a certain blue hedgehog busy if and when he gets nosy."

"An interesting idea to say the least, but Sonic's no slouch at pinball himself." Robotnik pointed out.

"Maybe, but he needs a friend to help him out. And this fortress is specially designed to separate him from his friends, leaving him alone and vulnerable. Plus, he'll be more concerned with his friends' safety than his own, making him sloppy. And the finishing touch…"

She led them to the core of the fortress, revealing a sizable Badnik Processing Plant.

"The Badnik production facility!" Eggatha declared. "Complete with Cyberization sub-routine at your request, Uncle."

Robotnik grinned. "Good work, my dear."

They looked in, seeing the 6-S were in charge of one prisoner, strapped to an operating table. Cubot and Orbot were wearing surgical masks as the guy tried to get loose.

"Administer the anesthetic." Orbot ordered.

"Anna-what?" Cubot questioned.

Orbot sighed. "Knock him out, you dumbbot!"

"Oh! Why didn't you say so?"

Cubot pulled out a big mallet and smacked the "patient" over the head. He slumped back with a goofy facial expression, eyes unfocused. "There you go. He's out."

"Oh, that's right," Orbot said flatly. "I forgot who I was working with."

"Oh, for Aurora's sake…" Eggatha stormed in, getting their attention. "I provided anesthesia!" She gestured to the table with both hands, where several syringes sat. "Right there!"

"You know I'm not allowed to touch sharp objects." Cubot pointed out.

"What about this?" Scratch held up a bottle of liquor. "He won't feel a thing if he's drunk."

Eggatha removed her glasses to rub her eyes.

"Let it never be said I didn't suffer for my occupation…" she muttered. "Orbot, you're in charge of anesthesia. And only you."

"Yes, of course." Orbot floated over, taking a syringe before sticking the prisoner with it.

"Doctor, is there any particular reason you insisted on making your Badniks such idiots?" Dimitri questioned.

"In my defense, these particular models were solely meant to be cannon fodder," Robotnik answered.

"They are fun to play with, though," Eggatha remarked.

"On that note, you do realize you've built this fortress atop the mouth of an active volcano, right?" Finitevus asked.

"Of course," Eggatha nodded. "Geothermal energy from the volcano powers the fortress. And I've found a slew of Chaos Emeralds to stabilize Mount Mobius so it doesn't blow its top."

"You managed to find seven Emeralds?" Robotnik asked.

"Sixteen, actually."

A dead silence followed at that.

"How…" Lien-Da began. "Why… I don't-"

Eggatha just grinned. Suddenly, a klaxon began blaring.

"And that's Team Sonic, right on time."

They checked the monitor. Indeed, the X-Tornado was flying in, Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails on board.

"Wait," Robotnik turned to him. "You told Hope about the fortress?"

"I just fed her info and told her to send the Trio this way to check it out," Eggatha said simply, shrugging. "I got bored."

"Agatha, my dear, have you lost your mind?!" Robotnik demanded.

"Like I said, I got bored. And before you ask, no, this is not a small act of rebellion because you forced me to add a Cyberization plant to my fortress. Or me getting back at you for having to make a case on the use of anesthetics on the victims."

Robotnik stared at her for a good minute.

"We will discuss this later," he decided at last.

"Happily," Eggatha agreed. "For now, the show's about to begin."

She headed for the computer, pressing a few buttons…

Outside, the X-Tornado approached. The trio looked over the fortress.

"Of course," Sonic mused. "Wouldn't be Eggman associated if it didn't have his face all over it."

"I would have thought she'd make the fortress with her own face," Knuckles mused.

"Actually, if you squint, it kinda looks like her," Tails pointed out.

"Also, a volcano lair?" Sonic questioned, shaking his head. "Really? Didn't expect her to be so cliché."

"That's not all…" Knuckles chimed in. "Can't you feel it? The energy the place is giving off? It's like the Master Emerald is in there."

Tails held out the Miles Electric, scanning the fortress. Several different blips popped up on screen, causing the fox to go wide-eyed. "Guys... I'm getting readings from sixteen Emeralds!"

"WHAT?!" Both Knuckles and Sonic exclaimed, pressing themselves against the glass of the cockpit to take a look.

"Is that even possible?!" Sonic wondered.

"There's never been more than seven at play at once!" Knuckles declared.

"I'm starting to think that we've gravely underestimated Eggatha.." Tails let out.

"Why would she need that many?" Sonic asked.

Tails stroked his muzzle in thought. "Maybe to stabilize Mount Mobius. I mean, it is an active volcano. If it blows... bye-bye."

"Yep," Knuckled decided, sitting down on the wing of the X-Tornado. "We definitely made a mistake in underestimating her."

At that moment, the nose of the Robotnik face carving began to move, a cannon emerging from it and firing on them. Tails immediately took evasive actions, dodging and weaving around, but eventually, a lucky shot clipped the X-Tornado's wing. The impact shook the entire plane, sending Sonic flying off the plane and into the sea.

"SONIC!" Tails screamed.

"Turn back!" Knuckles shouted. "TURN BACK!"

"I can't! The plane's going down! I need to land!"

"But Sonic-!"

"He'll be okay! He can swim!"

Tails pulled up, the X-Tornado skidding to a stop atop the fortress.

Knuckles jumped off, rushing to the edge of the landing bay.

"I can't see him!" he shouted frantically.

Tails rushed to the edge himself, looking down.

"No…" he let out. "NO!"

"Damn it!" Knuckles scowled. "I'm going down there!"

"No!" Tails grabbed Knuckles' arm. "Do you see that current? You'll be bashed into the rocks! And not even you could survive that!"

"And Sonic can?!"

"Sonic fell farther offshore! We just need to pray that he gets to the beach!"

Knuckles scowled, pulsing with rage before spinning around.

"Eggatha!" he screamed. "You are NOT getting away with this! When I get my hands on you, I swear to Aurora I'm gonna-!"

Suddenly, a trap door opened up beneath him and he plummeted straight down. By the time Tails realized this, the door had already sealed shut, becoming seamless with the floor.

"Knuckles?" Tails let out, horror washing over him as he realized he was alone. "KNUCKLES!"

From the control center, Eggatha watched the proceedings with a smile on her face. She turned her chair to face her uncle and guests.

"Well, Uncle? What do you think?"

"Impressive," DImitri mused. "Most impressive."

"I suppose it's too much to hope for that Sonic drowned like a Micky," Lien-Da remarked.

"Of course it is," Robotnik replied. "That hedgehog is harder to squish than a cockroach. Believe me, I know."

"Not to mention there's a large plethora of underwater caves running beneath the island," Eggatha added. "Luckily, I've integrated them into my base with the help of Dr. Grimer."

"And Knuckles?" Dimitri asked. "Where did he end up?"

"Just head down the corridor and take the first stairs to your right," Eggatha replied. "You can't miss it."

"Excellent," Dimitri smirked. "Come, Lien-Da. It's time we had a reunion with the Guardian."

They headed off as Robotnik ruffled Eggatha's hair.

"Forget that discussion I mentioned. I'm proud of you, my little Badnik."

Eggatha beamed happily.

Toxic Caves

Deep within the half-submerged caves of Mount Mobius sat a disgusting, slimy dungeon filled with horrible fluorescent green ooze and rusty sewer pipes. The waters below were calm... until a hand burst out, grabbing onto a platform overhead, followed by another. Sonic pulled himself up, gasping for air and coughing violently as he managed to get out of the water and slump back on the platform.

"Oh, that sucked…" he let out.

A crackling noise sounded, before Eggatha's voice came over the loudspeakers..

"Hi there, Sonic!" she greeted cheerfully. "Enjoy your dip?"

"Not really," Sonic stood up. "Now then, what are you up… to…"

It was at that moment he took in his surroundings, his hands going up to his nose to avoid the stench.

"Woo! What is that nasty stink?"

"What you see here are the Toxic Caves. Level one of my little fortress... and what amounts to the garbage dump. Yeah, Grimer helped me with this one. He admits he went a little overboard."

"You think?" Sonic pulled a brown bandana out of his hoodie pocket, tying it around his mouth and nose. "So, what's the game here?"

"For you? Basic survival. And if you're expecting hints, then you're out of luck. All I will tell you is that your friends are somewhere within the facility. Separated."

"What are you up to? Why tell Hope about all this?"

"Well, I wanted to show off a bit. Things have been quiet, and I was bored. So I decided to test out my technical know-how... and see if you could handle it."

Sonic stretched his arms over his head. "Wow. Turning yourself into a full-fledged supervillain. Can't say I'm not impressed."

"Hey, if I'm gonna inherit the Robotnik Empire, I need to make sure I can live up to the Robotnik name. Now get moving. Your friends are waiting. One more thing, though: don't get too close to the water."

Before Sonic could ask why, a massive leviathan-like Badnik with a gray serpentine head burst out with a roar, snapping at him. Sonic narrowly managed to dart away as it went back into the water.

"Meet Rexxon. Rex for short. He eats scrap metal... and makes for one hell of a garbage disposal system."

"And everyone keeps questioning why I hate water…" Sonic muttered to himself.

He looked above, seeing a group of pinball flippers.

"Pinball, huh? Well, let's see if I can break my record."

"Good luck!" Eggatha chimed in cheerily. "Especially since you don't have anyone to man the paddles."

"Oh c'mon, Eggatha. Are you seriously telling me that a Robotnik is gonna turn down a chance to whack me around like a pinball? And you call yourself a villainess."

"Are you just trying to get me to give you a sporting chance?" Eggatha asked, her tone menacing. "Because if you are…" Her voice took on a cheerful tone, "I will gladly do so! Where's the fun in you just being stuck there in the crud and sludge?"

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Bipolar much?"

"Undiagnosed, but most definitely possible. It does run in the family. Now then, the rules are simple. Just get through the caves, dodge the Badniks, collect the Chaos Emeralds, and beat the big boss bot, and you can move on! Ready?"

"Always."

Sonic curled into a ball, hopping into the slot. Up in the control room, Eggatha pulled a lever, a set of controls set up for a pinball machine popping out. An interface flashed "Let's Begin!" and Eggatha pulled back the handle. Sonic was immediately launched into the air, bouncing off the flippers. As he went up, numerous worm-like Badniks popped out of holes in the walls, snapping at him.

"Whoa!" Sonic cried out. "I think you have an infestation problem down here!"

"Oh, those are just the Magma Worms. They helped work out the foundation of the fortress."

"And let me guess, you think they're cute."

"I think they're useful. Grimer thinks they're cute."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Sonic deadpanned.

A Magma Worm lunged, but Sonic managed to jump on its head and bounce off. As he went, he saw a Chaos Emerald in a tank of green slime, cringing.

"I'm gonna have to stick my hand in that, aren't I?"

"Actually, there's a release switch to drain the slime on the bottom. You just need to pinball your way up and hit it."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. I would not recommend touching the slime. I think it's part of the reason the worms are so big."

Sonic perked. "Wait, I thought they were Badniks!"

"Mutant Badniks," Eggatha clarified, getting a beat of silence. "They're a thing!"

"How can a robot mutate?"

"I have no idea. Let's just focus on your task at hand, shall we?"

"Right, right. I still need to get out of this slimy hellhole."

Bouncing off the worms, Sonic managed to get to the release hatch beneath the tank. He grabbed onto the underside, yanking the pull cord and opening the hatch. He immediately leapt to the side as a flood of slime sprayed downward.

"You guys are so lucky the EPA doesn't seem to bother with you." he deadpanned.

"What's the EPA?"

"Environmental Protection Agency?" Sonic asked. "Cost them and Sally a fortune to clean up the Oil Ocean Refinery."

"For the record, we've eased up on all that since we got Chao."

Sonic looked at the slime-riddled cave. "Yeah… eased up."

"Hey, Grimer was the one who designed it that way. I just asked for something like the Chemical Plant, not the toxic jungle."

Once the slime was completely drained, Sonic climbed his way into the tank, snatching the Emerald before climbing out the top to see the second one on the other side of a river of slurry, a metal drum floating before them.

"Let me guess. I'm gonna have to use that drum as a canoe?"

"Wait, there's a drum down there?" Eggatha let out an annoyed grunt. "Ugh... I told Coconuts to collect all the drums! I recycle those!"

Sonic shrugged. "Well, works out for me either way."

He grabbed a piece of scrap metal before climbing into the drum, using the scrap as a makeshift oar to paddle through the sludge. He began to reach the emerald, careful to maintain his balance the entire time. It was tough slaying, but he managed to get to the Emerald and snag it, pocketing it before making his way back to solid ground.

"Two down, one to go. So... now what?"

"Now it's time for the boss round! Meet Scorpius!"

A shadow appeared overhead. Sonic darted to the side as a massive Badnik crashed to the ground. He turned to see a giant orange-bodied scorpion-like robot with four gray, mechanical legs and a large gray tail. The most striking thing about its appearance, however, was its head, which was Robotnik's face.

"Seriously?" Sonic demanded. "I thought this was gonna be challenging, not mentally scarring!"

"I'll be honest, this one scares me too. But, Uncle insisted, and Grimer was proud of it. Why do you think I stuck it down there?"

"Well, I definitely know who came up with this thing."

Off to the side in the control room, Robotnik was admiring his reflection in a mirror when he let out a sneeze.

"Someone must be talking about me," he shrugged. "Oh well. Back to my important business."

He turned right back to the mirror, smirking.

"Aren't I a handsome devil? I could kiss me… but then I'd fall in love."

Sonic rolled his arms, tapping his feet on the ground.

"Now, how to smash this ugly monstrosity."

Scorpius reeled back, its tail opening up and spraying a green fluid. Sonic darted to the side as the fluid hit the ground, melting it on contact.

"Acid. Of course."

"Well, duh," Eggatha chimed in. "I mean, what's a scorpion without an acid spitting tail?"

Sonic didn't respond, sparking as he ran around Scorpius, landing attacks while dodging acid sprays. Eventually, Sonic stopped, pointing at the ground a few times with a smirk. Ominous creaks sounded as Scorpius looked down, realizing its acid attacks had eaten through the floor. As Sonic mockingly waved, the bot fell through and plummeted down into Rexxon's waiting mouth. The garbage bot chewed for a few minutes before hacking and coughing up the third Chaos Emerald, which Sonic caught.

"Well… Rex is going to be having a serious case of indigestion later. And, you found all three emeralds down here. Congrats, Sonic!" A door opened off to the side, revealing an elevator. "Just take the elevator to get to Level 2. You'll find more Emeralds there."

"What about Knuckles and Tails?" Sonic demanded. "Where are they?"

"Dealing with their own games. And that's all you're getting from me. If you hurry, you can catch up and help."

"Someone really did take their evil pills this morning," Sonic deadpanned.

"I told you this is my attempt at being a villainess. What were you expecting?"

Sonic nodded, conceding the point. "I suppose the enemy part of 'frenemy' would have to show up sooner or later."

He got on the elevator, ascending…

Back in the control room, Eggatha turned to Robotnik.

"Sonic's cleared out the Toxic Caves," she informed him. "He's on his way to the Lava Powerhouse right now."

"I see," Robotnik nodded, smiling eagerly. "Well, let's see how the rest of your Fortress holds up, my dear."

Author's Note:

(1): Yep. Darth Vader reference.

So... yeah. This both reintroduces Dimitri and is a loose adaptation of Sonic Spinball. Can Team Sonic brave the horrors within?

Please R&R. Until next time!