-Chapter 225-

Killer Coaster

Twinkle Park

The Freedom Fighters were all reeling as they took in the stakes.

"Alright. Let's not panic," Sally insisted. "Sonic, just stay here so we can work out a-"

She turned, but he had already darted off. "Aaand… he's gone."

"That idiot!" Robotnik's irked voice came through Hope's still-active phone. "Is it too much to ask that he at least try to wait and attempt something other than the Leeroy Jenkins method?!"

"It's Sonic we're talking about." Sally pointed out.

"Right… of course," Robotnik's voice got distant as he turned to address the others for a few moments, before he turned back to them. "Akhlut and I are heading that way to deal with these renegades. Hope, your Omochao should be getting a file that reads File #263 any minute now. But before you do anything else, you need to get to Pleasure Castle before Sonic does something monumentally stupid and gets himself killed!"

Just before he hung up, they heard him growl and say, "Lousy, Aurora-damned, yellow... THING!"

The line went dead, and Omochao beeped.

"File received," he reported.

"Open it." Hope ordered.

Omochao did, and everyone went pale.

"Keith, wake Kat…" Sally ordered. "We're gonna need all the heavy hitters we can get."

Meanwhile, at Pleasure Castle, Tesla and Eddison were standing guard.

"This is so stupid…" Tesla grumbled. "Going to all this trouble just to kill an idol singer. What's the point?"

"Shhh!" Eddison hissed. "Shut up, man! We'll get zapped again!"

Tesla scoffed. "Oh, what's there to worry about? She's all the way up on the top floor. She can't do a damn thi-"

They sparked, spasming and grunting before collapsing.

"Stop slacking off and pay attention!" the mech ordered. "Have you seen anything?"

"Yeah…" Tesla winced. "A whole lotta nothing."

"Keep your eyes peeled. They're coming. I know it."

As if on cue, Eddison spotted something in the distance and tried to get Tesla's attention.

"Uh-oh…" he nudged Tesla. "Tes?"

"Not now, Eddi," Tesla waved him off. "I've got a headache."

"Tes, seriously! This is important!"

Tesla whirled on him. "What do you want from me, man?!"

Sonic then blazed right past them, knocking them both to the ground as he plowed through the door. A moment passed before Eddison sat up, rubbed his head, then turned to Tesla.

"Sonic's here…" he wheezed.

"Yes, I noticed." Tesla deadpanned.

-X-

Sonic proceeded to speed his way through Pleasure Castle, blazing past all the Egg Troopers there and crashing through everyone who got in his way. As he ran, he thought about Mina and everything she'd been through with the others, from his first meeting after the Egg Dungeon fiasco, to when she took up her music career to help bring joy and hope to everyone affected by Robotnik's evil, right up to her sacrifice mere hours before. He clenched his fists in determination.

"I'm bringing you home, Mina," he swore. "I promise. And that bot's going right to the junkyard."

-X-

On the roof, the mech was pacing, eagerly anticipating their imminent victory.

"It ends tonight…" it swore. "Sonic the Hedgehog dies by my hand. Master Robotnik will be so happy with me, he'll give Agatha the boot and promote me to his right hand for sure!"

It cheered happily, doing a small dance of joy, only to be brought out of its revelry when it heard chains rattling. It turned to see Mina trying to slip out of the chains, and quickly zapped her to stop it. Mina gasped in pain before slumping.

"Stop squirming and be quiet, or I'll plunge you into a nightmare world from which there is no waking!" it threatened.

Much to the bot's surprise, Mina showed no sign of fear, just glaring at it coolly.

"You're not gonna win," she vowed. "Sonic and the Freedom Fighters will stop you."

"Do you not remember how you surrendered to save them?" the mech taunted. "How not even 'Wild' Kat Winters could take me? Or your precious Sonic?"

"They'll bounce back and take you down. Also, by the way, not the first time I've been placed in this kinda death trap. You're gonna be scrap, just like Heavy Magician."

"Please. I utterly crushed Sonic and the others, and did so with ease. Unlike that bloated whale, Akhlut."

Mina looked to the side, bored, and perked to see Sonic at the window. He shushed her, signalling for her to keep the bot distracted. Mina gave a subtle nod, her expression twisting to shock and horror.

"Y-you mean you're like him?" she asked. "One of Eggman's new Super Egg Troopers?"

"Oh, I'm not just one of them," the mech boasted. "I'm the best there is. His most trusted lieutenant. His most powerful minion. I'm part of a new breed of anti-Sonic super soldier. Before long, the Robotnik Empire will be unstoppable, and there's nothing Sonic or his little friends can do about-"

It was at that moment Sonic Spin Dashed into it, knocking it to the ground.

"Sorry about that," the hedgehog said, "still feeling a little static-y from earlier, so all the trash and junk here kept sticking to me like a magnet. Case in point..." He pointed down at the mech.

"I knew you'd come." Mina said, smilin for the first time since she'd arrived at the castle.

"Heh! Was there ever any…?"

Before Sonic could try anything else, however, the robot rose to its feet, turning on him in a rage.

"My…my armor…My beautiful armor!" It ranted. "You filthy, overcharged pincushion! You dented my beautiful armor!" It actually seemed to be crying for a brief moment. "Dr. Robotnik built it himself from scratch, just for me!" It sparked in a rage. "And you RUINED IT! I'LL KILL YOU!"

It fired on him with another lightning blast, which Sonic darted to avoid. They faced off, at a stalemate due to the robot's electrical prowess and absorption power.

"My armor was custom-built to destroy you, Sonic!" the robot declared. "It's impossible for you to overcome me!"

"Yeah?" Sonic demanded. "Well, it doesn't matter! I'm just too stubborn to quit! Beat me down as many times as you like! I'll just keep coming back, keep fighting, until I find a way to beat you! To WIN!"

The bot reeled back, sparking violently before throwing a punch. Sonic darted to the side, sparking himself as he focused his lightning around him, a colorful sparking shield surrounding his body.

"Whatever you're trying, it won't work!" the bot declared. "Your lightning will only make me stronger!"

It swung again, only to strike what appeared to be a solid wall, its hand denting on contact.

"WHAT?!" it shrieked.

Sonic immediately took advantage, revving up into a Spin Dash before engaging the Sonic Boost at the same time and blasting through its lower half. He grinned eagerly, performing a quick breakdance in victory.

"Um, excuse me?"

Sonic perked, turning to Mina.

"I hate to interrupt your victory dance, but could you untie me now, please?"

Sonic hurried over, grabbing the chains with both hands before vibrating them rapidly, snapping them like twigs. Mina immediately pulled herself out.

"What the heck was that?" she asked.

"Something I've had on the backburner for a while," Sonic explained. "I took my Insta-Shield move, and combined it with my Chaos lightning. It makes me completely invulnerable for about twenty seconds.

"Nifty," Mina mused.

She approached the scrapped robot before kicking it in a rage. She yelped in pain, hopping around and fanning her battered toes.

"Ow! That was stupid…" she grumbled. "But totally worth it."

"Sonic! Mina!"

At that moment, they heard footsteps, turning to see the others arrive.

"Hey guys!" Sonic greeted, putting a foot on the bot triumphantly. "You just missed it."

"Get away from that thing!" Hope ordered.

Mina blinked. "What the-?!"

"Hey, take it easy," Sonic assured. "The bot's dead."

He kicked its dome head to demonstrate. "See? The bad guys are down, Mina's safe, and everything's gonna be…"

"It's not a robot!" Hope cut off.

Sonic blinked. "Say what?"

"It's not a robot!" Hope repeated. "It's a suit of powered armor! There's an Egg Soldier inside!"

Sonic looked down and saw the dome start to glow and pulse with electricity. As his eyes widened in shock, he could vaguely make out a pair of glowing eyes, looking back at him with nothing but pure, unadulterated hatred.

"Oh crap!"

Sonic quickly scooped up with Mina as the dome blew up, unleashing a giant column of lightning. Sonic was knocked off his feet by the blast, but managed to land near the others on his feet.

"By Aurora…" Mina gasped.

"What in Mobius is that?!" Sonic demanded.

"The pilot..." Hope let out.

The Freedom Fighters watched as a figure slowly crawled their way out of the center of the explosion. The only parts of their face that could be seen were her eyes and mouth, burning brightly with electricity and – even more so – hatred.

"You miserable…loathsome…Freedom Fighter SCUM!" they ranted in a feminine voice. "You destroyed my Surge Breaker! My masterpiece! I hope you all got everything you wanted out of your worthless lives, because tonight…you'll all be reduced to ashes! Tonight, all of you will suffer a slow, agonizing end at the hands of Dr. Robotnik's strongest, smartest, and most loyal follower! Tonight, you face the wrath…of THUNDERBOLT!"

Author's Note:

Yeah, I found a way to incorporate the Invincibility power-up. Here, Sonic engages the Insta-Shield (vibrating air molecules around his body at super-speed to solidify them, as in Sonic the Comic) and infuses it with Chaos lightning.

Next chapter, things get hectic as Thunderbolt goes all out.

Voice cast for this chapter:

* Thunderbolt - Lauren Tom (Gizmo from Teen Titans, Numbuh Three from Codename: Kids Next Door, Linda Tran from Supernatural)

* Tesla - Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants, the Mayor and Narrator from The Powerpuff Girls, Spyro in the Spyro Reignited Trilogy)

* Eddison - Carlos Alazraqui (Rocko from Rocko's Modern Life, Mr. Crocker from The Fairly OddParents, Bane in Justice League: Doom)

Please R&R. Until next time!