TheRedAuthar

War for Mobius
Chapter 23

“Sir Charles, it appears that Overlander Forces and the Mobian Underground have landed on the island.”
“This was unforeseen…I don’t know what to tell you.”
“Haven’t they found the Chaos Emeralds yet?”
“They found the missing one….but not without great sacrifice.”
“The others were left in plain sight!”
“But when left alone too long, the Emeralds only reveal themselves to those who can pass their challenge.”
“I see…then our hands are tied?”
“For now.  War is going to ravage Angel Island.”

Robotnik’s forces stand proudly in the storm, unmoving and silent.  Both the Mobian and Overlander forces fidget uncomfortably beneath the pouring rain.
The Commandos of Paladin Team check their weapons.  They may be the smallest force here, but they were also the most dangerous.  The best of the elite forces.  
And it didn’t hurt they had Spider Troop already on the Island to back them up.
The weakest group is the Mobians.  They don’t have the numbers of the robots nor the skill of the Overlanders.  Though many of them have had professional training, unlike the Freedom Fighters of Knothole, but many of them lack actual combat experience.  The majority of the war they ran sabotage operations and fought with guerrilla tactics, avoiding head on confrontations at all costs.  
Those who have experienced such confrontations in the group were old and retired professionals who risen back to arms to fight Robotnik, as the tyrant had captured and Roboticized the majority of the royal Army.
St. John knows of this disadvantage.  There is precious little he can do to increase odds in his favor.  The best course of action is to reduce the opposition, and since there was no current war against the Overlanders…
Col. Brass of the Paladin Team steps forwards, “Doctor Ivo Robotnik!  Surrender yourself now and we won’t have to break more of your toys.”
Robotnik doesn’t grace him with a response.
“Overlanders, you have no authority here!” Geoffrey shouts, “You and your kind shall leave our lands or face the consequences!”
Again Robotnik says nothing.
“There is an uneasy truce between us, Skunk.  I suggest you don’t interfere with our business,” Brass warns.
“Your people started the Great War, and one of yours started this one,” the mobian spits, “Back off now and perhaps you can avoid further damage.”
“It was your kind that allowed Eggman to rise to power,” one of the Commandos shout, “Don’t blame us for your leaders’ incompetence!”
The Overlander Colonel shouts for the soldier to stand down, but it is drown out by the cries of outrage from the mobian forces.
Realizing quickly that he’s losing control of the situation and turning the Overlanders against him, St John changes tactics.  If he can’t get them to back down, he would need them on his side.  He steps forwards in an attempt to take charge once again.
Suddenly Brass chokes, blood escaping from his lips and he falls to the ground.
Instantly the skunk knows where the shot originated, but it is too late.  The Commandos witnessing their Commander fall fire into the Mobian Forces.  They scatter returning fire back at the Overlanders.  
Robotnik says nothing as he pockets his still smoking sidearm.  He raises his hand signaling his forces forwards.  The robots fire into both of the fleeing groups as they pass.  

“By random chance, have you heard anything from Rotor team yet?” Princess Sally asks Sonic as he enters the storage room.  
The hedgehog lays Ben down on a cot Tails and Sally had set up for such and occasion, “Not yet.  Looks like trouble is all over the island.”
“What do you mean?” she asks.
“Overlanders,” Sonic explains, “I bumped into a squad of them fighting Ro-butt-nik’s forces.”
Sally taps her chin, “Perhaps we can form an alliance.”
“Doubtful,” the blue blur shakes his head, “They didn’t seem too thrilled we were here.”
The Princess sighs.  She stands up from the boxes she’s rummaging through and looks at Ben and Sonic, “Where’s Fiona?”
“Winded,” Sonic thrusts his thumb over his shoulder, “She told me to bring Ben to you while she caught her breath.”
“Ah, at least she’s alright then,” Sally smiles.
“Where’s Tails and Knux?”
“Tails is monitoring the control room.  Knuckles has returned to the Hanger, to see if we missed the Emeralds there,” she replies.
“No problem,” the hedgehog grins, “I can have this place turned over in no time at all.”
The chipmunk turns to him, “Sonic Hedgehog, what do you think you’re doing?”
“Uh…Looking for the Chaos Emerald Thingies?” he shrugs.
“Don’t you think you should be out looking for our missing comrades instead?”
“…possibly…”
“That’s what I thought,” Sally smiles smugly.
Tails’s voice crackles over the intercom, interrupting the conversation, “Sal!  You should come and see this!”
“Sounds important,” Sonic rubs his finger under his nose, “Need a lift?”
“Fine,” The Princess feigns disgust, “If I must.”
The hedgehog picks her up and races for the control room.

“What’s the big Emergency lil’bro?” Sonic asks as he and Sally speed into the control room.
The fox points to the monitor.  The screen shows security footage from Robotnik’s cameras spread across Angel Island.  Many of the cameras show feeds of Overlanders and Mobians fighting.
“What on Mobius….” Sal begins, but her voice trails off as she tries to comprehend the madness.
“Okay…” Sonic whistles, “I knew about the Overlanders, but not the other Mobians.  Who are they and where did they come from?”
“Not sure,” Tails replies, “but this symbol is patched on their uniforms.”
The young, twin-tailed Mobian presses a few keys on the keypad and an image pops up in the center of the screen.  
Sally gasps, “That’s the symbol of The Acorn Elite Guard!”
“No way!” both Tails and Sonic look at each other, “How in the world did they get here?”
“I don’t know, most were Robotnik’s first victims,” the chipmunk lowers her head in remembrance, “But…”
“Sal?” Sonic gently places a hand on her shoulder.
“Sonic…if they’re using that symbol, they could be under command of my brother!”
“You’re brother?” Tails scratches his ear.
“Yes, I wasn’t sure if he was alive…” Sally wipes a tear from her eye.
The hedgehog scratches the back of his neck, “Don’t get your hopes up too high.  It’ll cloud your judgment.”
The Princess takes a deep breath, “Right, staying focused for now.”
“What do we do about the Overlanders?” Tails asks.
“We have to get everyone off of the island,” Sonic explains, “It’s too risky having everyone here.”
“Robotnik is also back on the Island,” the fox boy adds.
“If he’s on the island he won’t destroy it,” Sally taps a finger on the side of head, deep in thought, “We have to take the fight to him before he retreats.”
The blue hedgehog shakes his head, “Too risky, we need to take advantage to get everyone to safety.”
Tails and Sally look at each other than back to Sonic, “Uh…don’t you want to fight Robotnik?”
“Usually you’d jump at the chance,” Tails adds.
“Johnny’s dead,” Sonic lowers his head, “Tails got captured, Ben is seriously wounded, and Rotor and his team are missing.  We’ve got Overlanders shooting at any Mobian they see.  We’re not in a position to face Robotnik right now.”
“Normally I’d agree with you,” The Princess pokes the hedgehog’s in the chest, “But for once we don’t have the option to fall back and regroup.”
“If Robotnik gets away with the Master Emerald there will be no stopping him,” she continues, “There is no safe place to retreat to.  No haven where we could plan a counter attack.”
“She’s right,” Knuckles agrees as he enters the room.  His expression is grim and serious, “If he wins today, there will be no Mobius by tomorrow.”
“Look Knux,” the hedgehog begins, “I know the Emerald gives Robotnik power…”
“It has nothing to do with Robotnik,” the guardian counters, his voice tense with anger, “Many years ago my ancestors used the Master Emerald as a weapon in an attempt to defeat a rival tribe.  It had been a long bloody war, with my ancestors losing ground every battle.”
He pauses to remember the story, “Out of desperation they turned to the Master Emerald.  It gave them the power to defeat their foes, but the power corrupted them.  They could get enough of it.  They tried to seize the power to wage war against the other nations and tribes, under the belief that Echidna Rule would benefit the so called lesser races.”
“Only one was known to speak out against such action,” the red echidna continues, “She was the daughter of Pachacamac, the chieftain at the time.  Though he cared deeply for his child, his lust for power blinded him and he ignored her warnings.  His attempt to seize the Emerald caused a great catastrophe.   Mobius burned under the chaos he unleashed.”
“His daughter, wise beyond her years, and an avid student of the ancient traditions and mystical arts, used her power to halt the chaos.  She sealed the power back within the Master Emerald and in so doing created the seven Chaos Emeralds.  This act resulted in her death.  Saddened by the loss of his first born, Pachacamac declared that never again should such a power be used for war.  As penance for his actions he formed the Brotherhood of Guardians who would protect Mobius from those who would abuse the powers of the Master Emerald.”  
“My people swore to uphold that duty,” Knuckles concludes, “If Robotnik unleashes the chaos that held within…”
“What do you mean by ‘chaos held within’?” Sally asks.
“The mystical being of chaos, uncontrolled power, nobody really knows for sure,” he answers, “But the proof is all around us.  The Island’s ability to fly, the many different ecosystems contained on it, the storm that formed without warning…”
“The power Mecha absorbed…” Sonic adds.
Silence fills the room.   None of them dared to speak a word.
Finally the Hedgehog breaks the silence, “You’re the Emerald Expert Knuckles.  You and I have to find the Chaos Emeralds before Egg-belly can.  Then we’re going to take him down.”
“If what Knuckles said is true,” Tails interjects, “Wouldn’t using the Chaos Emeralds be just as dangerous?”
“The Chaos Emeralds were created to defeat the chaos of the Master Emerald,” the guardian explains, “They don’t have the same risk.  Though only a select few have been able to use their power.  However…”
“But what?” the hedgehog folds his arms and taps his foot impatiently.
The echidna smiles, “If you and I can’t handle the power, nobody on Mobius can.”
Sonic grins, “You’re not bad, rad red.  There may be hope for you yet.”

War for Mobius
Chapter 22

Sonic can’t wrap his mind around what he’s seeing.  One moment things were bad: Johnny died, no word from Rotor and his team, and the supposed location of the emeralds in Robotnik’s base appeared to be false.
He, Sally, and Tails had found the blasted container where the Emeralds were supposedly left, empty.  That’s when the bad news came in.
Fiona contacted them for help.  Apparently the tower she and Ben were hiding at had fallen under attack.  The message was cut off before more details could be obtained.
As expected, Sonic had quickly volunteered to go check it out, determined not to lose anyone else, only to have Knuckles arrive with even worse news: Robotnik was on his way back to Angel Island.  The Guardian insisted that they gather everyone and find the Emeralds before Robotnik had a chance to destroy the Island.  
Normally the blue hedgehog would have been willing to face Robotnik, but if the results of the mission thus far told him anything, they had no chance to face Robotnik now.
He swallowed his pride and suggested they should evacuate.
It should have been for the best, but nobody could really know what was to happen next…
Sally ordered Sonic to go rescue Fiona and Ben, and hopefully, find Rotor, Antoine, and Bunnie before a final decision can be made.  The rest would continue searching for the Chaos Emeralds.  
That was the plan, but no plan survives contact with the enemy….
…or the unpredictable.
Even when he arrived at the Communications Tower, the blue blur knew something was amiss.
Robots were everywhere.  SWATbots and Badniks fired not only upon the tower, but a squad of Overlander Soldiers backed by a large bipedal walker.  They too fired upon the tower.
Sonic couldn’t understand where did the Overlanders come from?  Why were they here?  He doesn’t have the time to ponder the answer for long, and he knows it.

Captain Zane Kalzier takes aim at one of large, slightly overlander-shaped robots and fires.  The walker’s Gatling Gun tears through the machine easily, and the robot collapses, smoldering with bullet holes.
“Eggman and his forces don’t stand a chance against these new F-6ts,” he laughs to himself, and turns his attention back to the tower.
The F-6t Walkers had been based highly off a design created by Robotnik himself many years ago, and was ideal for combating infantry squads.  Weighing over 100 thousand pounds, and standing 18 feet tall, it was quite the force to be reckoned with.  
The walkers are all armed with a M32 A-1 Gatling Gun and a payload of air-to-surface missiles.  Bullets and laser-bolts were repelled by the machines armor.  None of the robots were going to even scratch his paint.  
Kalzier is just locking on one of the missiles to strike the tower when the motion detector picks up a new contact heading his direction.  Based on the side and speed of the thing, it had to be a missile or rocket of some kind.  
Reacting quickly, the G.U.N. Captain activates the walker’s boosters lifting it into the air briefly allowing the machine to turn instantly to face the attack.  Even before it comes back down, the Gatling Gun is firing upon the incoming projectile.  The whole maneuver takes maybe 3 seconds.  
Bullets spray from the Gatling Gun towards missile which reacts by…
…Changing Direction?
Robotnik designed a projectile that could change its direction and dodge attacks at will?!
That was impossible!
By the time the walker’s feet touch the ground, the missile has resumed its course, barreling towards him.
“Spider Troop, scatter!” the overlander barks over the communicator.  Even if the missile does penetrate the F-6t’s armor, which he doubts, at least his men could avoid being hit in the explosion.  
The foot soldiers scatter away from the walker, never taking their eyes off the robots still firing upon them.  Spider Troop had suffered no casualties thus far, and Kalzier wasn’t about to let one happen now.  He widens the walker’s stance and prays beneath his breath that the armor would hold.
Before he can react the Walker is hit and tumbles over backwards.  
A dud?  Seriously?
He didn’t even see what hit him.  There was a blue blur but nothing more than that.  Not even an explosion!
The overlander checks the walker’s readout on the monitor.  Minor Damage, and the booster engines have overheated.  The canopy in front of him has cracked due to the impact, but the damage beyond that was miniscule.  However the walker was down until the boosters could reset.
What the heck hit him?
“Hostile Mobian detected!” a soldier shouts over the com, “He’s knocked down the Captain!”
A mobian knocked him down?  There’s no way….

Sonic jumps the guy shouting to the other overlanders, ripping the rifle from the man’s hands.  The weapon is much heavier than Mobian firearms.  The hedgehog had never been a fan of guns.  Sure he knew how to use them, quite well actually.  Uncle Chuck had trained him to use them in fact.  However Sonic never felt comfortable with one in his hands.  Usually to avoid the problem he would pretend no to know how to use one, but right now that wasn’t necessary.
He drops the clip from the rifle and tosses the weapon towards a charging buzz bomber, knocking it from the sky.
“Who is in charge here?” the mobian asks the overlander he jumped.
Even weaponless the man was quite brave, “Like I’d tell a freak like you.”
Sonic responds by kicking him below the belt, “Wrong answer.”
The trooper’s comrades aim at the hedgehog with their own weapons, Loyal to each other to say the least.  Before they can fire however, the robots attack again.  The Overladners’ focus returns to the machines that are now barreling towards them.  Even the one Sonic kicked ignores the hedgehog to return fire at the machines, using a fire arm he kept at his side.  
Since the robots distracted the soldiers’ attention away from him, the hedgehog makes his way towards the tower.  He had hoped that if could have talked to their commanding officer he could reason with them.  However since the Great War, Mobian and Overlanders haven’t really seen eye to eye, perhaps he was hoping for too much.
He just reaches the door when he notices something out of the corner of his eye.  Two SWATs have climbed up onto the walker he knocked down and were aiming at the pilot inside.
“I know I’m going to regret this…”

With the cracks in the canopy, one direct shot could end Kalzier's life, and he knows it.  And with the machine on its back there isn’t much he can do about it.  
Unfortunately it seems that Eggman’s robots were also aware of this weakness.
Two of them stand on the canopy aiming right at him.  Even if the first shot only breaks the bullet proof glass, the second would definitely hit him.  Instinctively Kalzier’s hand reaches for his own weapon, but he knows it’s a futile attempt.  
If he shot before they did, he’d just break the glass himself.  If he shot after…
Unexpectedly, one of the SWATs suddenly is knocked from the canopy.  The other turns to fire at whatever attacked its fellow robot.
The G.U.N. Captain tries the boosters again.  They roar briefly but fail to come back to life.  The action causes the remaining SWATbot to return focus onto him.  Again it aims.
And just as before he is saved before it can fire.  This time however he sees it.  A blue mobian.  It tackles the robot at impossible speeds, knocking it from the walker.  
During the mere seconds it takes for the Mobian to dispatch the SWAT, its eyes meet with the overlander’s.  The Mobian had intentionally saved Kalzier’s life.  
But then why did it attack him in the first place?
Not waiting around to find out, Captain Kalzier fires up the booster yet again.  This time they roar to life, lifting the F-6t back to its feet.  He scans the battle for the Mobian.
There by the tower.  It can really move.
The mobian needed to get into the tower, that’s why it attacked him.  But why did it need in the tower?  It wasn’t working for Eggman, clearly.  
Come to think of it the robots were attacking the tower as well.  
That train of thought is interrupted as energy-bolts bounce off the walker’s armor.  
“Spider Troop,” Kalzier orders over the com, “Regroup and push the clankers back!”

“About time you showed up,” Fiona mutters as Sonic enters the room.  She clumsily holds a large ax she found from somewhere.  Judging from the blood on the blade, likely Ben had it.
“Don’t you have anything uplifting to say?” the hedgehog groans, “Like ‘Oh thank you Sonic’ or maybe ‘My Hero’?”
The red fox shrugs, “Complaining is how I deal with the stress of my job.”
“Fair enough,” Sonic shrugs, “I inflate my own ego.”
“I’ve noticed,” she gives Sonic a legitimately friendly smile, “So are you going to wait around till Robotnik shows up or are you gonna grab Ben and get us out of here?”

Between the might of the F-6t and the skill of Spider Troop, it doesn’t take long for the overlanders to turn the tide of the battle back into their favor.  Even better, Spider Troop still has suffered no casualties.  A few wounds perhaps but nobody died.  
“We’ve got them on the ropes,” a voice cheers over the coms.
“Great job kid, don’t get cocky,” Kalzier replies.
He turns his attention back to the tower.  The blue hedgehog has come back out.  It’s carrying another mobian, slung over its back.  A third is following the hedgehog.  They glance briefly at the walker before heading off into the trees.
It was a rescue op; the hedgehog was saving his comrades.  That’s why it attacked him.
“Sir,” a voice crackles over the communicator, “The Mobian that attacked us is retreating to the rear.”
The captain smiles, though his soldier can’t see it, “Then let’s buy them some time shall we?  Spider Troop covering fire.”
“But sir…”
“Orders were to stop Eggman.  If the Mobians aren’t hostile then we shouldn’t be either.”

Meanwhile on another section of the island, Commander Brass and his Commandos touch down.  
“Alright boys and girls, this island is a hostile environment.  Spider Troop has already come under attack by Eggman’s Forces.  So cover your butts and keep moving.”
“Sir, Yes sir!”
The Commandos double time out of the transport.  One pauses to survey the area as the others take up defensive positions on the beach.  
“Sir, drop ship landing to the east of us!”
“Make?” Brass asks, strolling casually over to the surveyor.
“Unknown sir, but it has Eggman’s insignia on it.”
“Well looks like company has arrived.  Let’s give them a warm welcome.”

Alright lads,” Geoffrey St. John barks as the ‘liberated’ hover pods touch down on the island, “Rumor has it that some of our comrades from Knothole are here on the island and are in need of assistance.  As you know Knothole was the Royal Family’s hidden safe heaven.  If this is true, we may have just found blokes who know the whereabouts of Princess Salina Acorn!”
His troops cheer at the news.
“But that means we have to find these Knothole agents alive,” St. John continues, “And since Robotnik seems to want them for himself and this island paradise seems to have his name all over it, you’ll be up to your necks in trouble out there.”
“But you can handle it your sleep, right?”
“Yes Sir,” the troops salute.
“Good,” the skunk smiles, “Because if you fancy your eyes to the west it looks like Robotnik himself is just arriving.  So we’re going in hot.”

War for Mobius
Chapter 21

Lightning flashes brightly, illuminating the skies above briefly before it fades dark again.  The wind and the rain beat down among the plant life as small creatures scurry about for shelter.  Waves crash against the shoreline, washing away anything not quick enough to escape their grasp.  
Knuckles the Echidna watches the storm assault his beloved island.  Angel Island has faced many storms as it traveled through the skies above Mobius.  The plants and animals have become used to the sudden changes of weather, climate, and location.
And yet without the Master Emerald, life one the island, now floating amongst the waves, seemed to be decaying.
The guardian lets the cold rain trickle down his long red dreadlocks and his face.  It is only a minor annoyance before what is to come…

Rain and wind batter futilely against the giant flying battle station as it flies through the air.
It does nothing to faze the crew inside.
Doctor Robotnik stands at the bridge.  Countless robots work tirelessly around him.  He had originally planned to crew the giant super weapon with Robians or Organics, but ultimately decided against it.  Organics couldn’t be trusted, and while Robians were ideal for labor, they weren’t the best suited for tasks such as piloting such a weapon as the Death Egg.
The flying fortress had been code named the “Death Egg,” named after a childhood nickname Robotnik had been given long ago.
Nobody would be laughing at him this time…
The overlander grins widely as he contemplates the looks upon the overlander nations as he, “Eggman” blast them off the face of Mobius, one country at a time.
Not all of course, there had to be someone left to rule when all was said and done.  And mobians are only entertaining for so long…
A flash of white fills the view screen as lightning strikes the Death Egg.  The machine shudders briefly but continues flying onward as if nothing happened.
But something did happen…
Robotnik scratches his chin.  The shudder shouldn’t have happened at all.  The shields around the craft should have deflected the lightning easily.  He presses a button on his control console, “Status Report.”
“Yes Doctor,” a small orb shaped robot pops up from the console, “All systems remain fully operational with no structural damage.  Shields are still functioning at ninety-seven percent.”
“Excellent continue….Ninety-seven percent!?” the overlander slams his hands on the console, “The lightning did three whole percent of damage to my shields?!”
“Yes sir,” the orb-bot continues, unfazed by his master’s outburst, “Other than that everything is functioning at ninety-nine percent.”
“And where did the percentage go!?” demands Robotnik.
“To recharging the shields of course.  Once the shields return to one-hundred percent functionality and power, the other systems should return to normal,” the robot explains.
“The shields should have much more power than that,” the dictator bellows, “We shouldn’t be effected by the weather at all!”
“Unfortunately, while the Master Emerald has the potential to provide unlimited power to the death egg, we can only tap into and utilize a small percentage of it.”
Robotnik sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his fingers, “That’s what the Chaos Emeralds are for.  Just utilize the energy from them in the meantime.”
“Impossible sir.”
“You did say everything was functioning at one-hundred percent did you not?” Robotnik resists the urge to tear the robot from the console and smash it against the wall.
“Correction: everything is function at ninety-nine percentage,” the orb-bot replies.
“Then prey tell why it is impossible to make up the difference with the Chaos Emeralds!?” Robotnik roars, “It’s the whole reason we brought them with us!”
“They are not aboard the Death Egg,” the robot corrects.
There is a brief pause from the doctor before he can muster a reply.
“WHERE ON MOBIUS ARE MY CHAOS EMERALDS!?”

“Sir we’ve detected a large craft leaving the Eggman Empire!” the G.U.N. soldier at the computer calls out to his superior officer.
Commander Abraham Tower casually strolls over to the young operator, “What kind of craft?”
“Unknown sir,” the younger man replies, “But it is massive and moving rapidly.”
Tower watches the blip moving slowly across the screen, “Do we have any visuals on this thing?”
“No sir.”
“Do we have any operatives in close proximity?” the commander asks, turning to another operator.
“Commander Brass and Paladin Team Sigma Alpha 2 are in relatively close proximity,” she replies quickly printing out the report, “Captain Kalzier’s Spider Troop is also rather close.”
“The craft is going to pass over a small island,” Tower replies, looking over the report, “Have Spider Troop set up a base of operations.  We’ll have Paladin Team board and take the craft from there.”
“Sir,” the male operator interjects, “The Island is in Mobian Territory.  What if they run into any Mobian interference?”
The Commander considers this, “If the Mobians are hostile…”
“Take them out.”

“General,” a mobian beaver rushes over to his commander, “We’ve received an emergency transmission picked up by one of our scout teams.”
“What is it?” the General, a skunk ask.  He is much younger than the title suggests.
“It is a call for help to Knothole from one of their operatives,” the beaver explains, handing a hard copy of the message over, “We barely picked it up a few hours ago.”
“I see…” the skunk replies looking the message over, “Rather interesting.”
“Should we inform his highness?”
“No,” the General folds the note and pockets it, “I’ll have my team personally check this out.  Until we have confirmation that this is really from a Knothole Operative we tell no one.  Is that clear?”
“Yes General St. John,” the beaver salutes.
“Good, now let’s find out what’s going on at this island…”

Lightning once again illuminates the sky before Knuckles.  A tingling feeling in the back of his skull grows.
The Master Emerald was moving…it was returning to the Island.
The Echidna closes his eyes and reaches out with his mind.  
“Robotnik is coming back…”
His eyes fly open once more.
Turning his back to the sea the Guardian makes his way back the temple where he had last seen the Princess and the Hedgehog.
Normally he would have been excited for the opportunity to retrieve the emerald from Robotnik, but something inside his mind was screaming of incoming danger.  
Robotnik was coming back…
…to finish the job.  He was going to destroy Angel Island!

War for Mobius
Chapter 19

The tree branch breaks away from the large tree as the blue hedgehog slams into it.  He falls and crashes into the ground by the roots, the air knocked from his body.
Sonic hurts all over.  His gloves are torn and one of his knuckles is turning an ugly purple color.  Speaking of Knuckles, the red echidna is thrown overhead smashing into another nearby tree, leaving a large crack on it.  As he falls to the ground, Sonic manages to push himself to his feet.
His head spins with dizziness.  He tries to shake it out of his head, but to no avail.  Turning, he looks back towards the guardian who lays motionless on the forest floor.
This isn’t going to work.  Neither Sonic nor Knuckles are still up for this fight.  And the blasted copycat of a Robot just seems to keep coming.  Sonic wipes a trickle of blood from his cracked lip.  
Mecha slowly marches over to the organic hedgehog, as if he was savoring his pain, “Can you not see the futility in your actions?  Is your primitive brain too weak to process your own defeat at my hands?  Is it too hard for you to grasp your inferiority?  Why do you continue to resist the inevitable?”
“Please,” Sonic coughs, “Anyone can win when they’re powered by a giant magical emerald.  You couldn’t possibly take me without your handicap.”
“You can’t bait me hedgehog,” the machine replies, “My ego is far superior then yours.  I can’t be reduced by such childish antics.”
“Says the ‘bot who can’t say two words without remind us how ‘superior’ he is,” the blue blur spits, “The only one who you’re really trying to convince is yourself.”
Mecha pauses to consider Sonic’s words, “You shall suffer for your ignorance.”
The robot hedgehog charges, only to be knocked aside when a mobian tackles it out of the way.  At first Sonic assumes Knuckles finally recovered, but when the mobian hops back to his feet the hedgehog knows differently.
“What’cha do that for John?” he smiles, “I had him on the ropes.”
“Sure you did,” Johnny replies before his kicked back by Mecha.
The hare rolls with the blow right back to his feet, “Who’s this fake?”
“Me only ‘perfected’ I guess,” Sonic shrugs, “He at least perfected being annoying.  Even I can’t stand myself right now.”
“That bad huh?” Johnny chuckles, “Well leave the bozo to me for a bit.”
“You sure?” the hedgehog looks at him, “He took me and Knux both.”
“Knux”
Sonic points over to the unconscious echidna, “Red guy, guardian of this island.”
“More reason to you should leave your evil twin to me,” the hare replies, “He looks in bad shape.”
“I’m not kidding dude,” Sonic argues, “Two of us couldn’t beat this guy…”
“I don’t have to beat him,” Johnny counters, “Just have to stall till you get back.”
The hedgehog shakes his head in defeat, “Fine.  I’ll be right back.”
The hare points to a pathway in the trees, “That path should lead you to the com tower Fiona is hold up in.”  
Sonic nods, “Don’t do anything stupid till I get back.”
“Hey, you know me.” Johnny smiles.  
Ignoring his pain, Sonic races over to the guardian and lifts him up over his shoulders.  Mecha dashes over to intercept but Johnny uses his staff to trips the robot up.
With Knuckles in tow, Sonic speeds off into the woods.
“You’ll regret interfering with my mission Mobian,” Mecha threatens.
The hare just shrugs it off, “Yeah and your mother was a toaster oven.”
Before he can react, Mecha punches Johnny in the jaw, launching him up into the air.  

Sally smacks the computer console with her hand, “Come on you useless piece of junk!”
Tails slips back into the radio room from outside, “Looks like the coast is clear.  The base really does seem to be evacuated.”
“At least one of us is having luck,” the princess sighs rubbing the hand she hit the machine with, “All I can do from here is contact people.  This blasted computer won’t access anything else.”
“Well you got ahold of the others didn’t you?”
“I did, but without the six emeralds that Robotnik already found, any emerald they find on the beach will be pointless,” she explains.
Tails is silent for a moment, “Does it seem too convenient to you?”
“What does?”
“That Robotnik would just up and leave the Chaos Emeralds behind,” he answers.
“…I guess…” the princess considers this possibility.
“And that Snively just happened to be talking about it when we passed by,” the fox boy continues.
“You think it might be a trap?” Sally ponders aloud.
Tails shakes his head, “No, feels more like someone is guiding us.  Like they want a specific outcome between us and Ro-butt-nik.”
An awkward silence fills the room.  Could someone be controlling, nay, manipulating the Freedom Fighters?  It wasn’t the first time information just fell into their laps…
The silence is broken by the arrival of Johnny, “Someone order a pocket computer?”
Sally quickly snaps back to the present situation at hand, “Give me NICOLE!”
“Nice to see you too,” the hare shrugs handing the computer over to the princess.  Sally quickly connects NICOLE to the computer terminal.
“Alright NICOLE, find us those Emeralds.”
“Searching Sally….” The computer replies.
Johnny turns his attention to Tails, “How we doing, kid?”
“Well we think something is off about this whole situation.  Everything seems to be too easy for us, like it’s manipulated into our favor,” the younger Freedom Fighter explains.
“Could just be a string of good luck,” the hare suggests.
“Possibly,” Tails admits, “But aren’t you the slightest bit worried?”
The teenaged mobian sighs, “Truthfully, I’ve got a really bad feeling about…”
“Eureka!” the chipmunk unintentionally interrupts, much to Johnny’s relief, “We have access.”
“You’re welcome,” NICOLE replies.
“Great,” Tails runs over to get a better look at the monitor.
“What do we have to work with?” Johnny asks joining them.
“It looks like a worker had been tasked to pack up the emeralds for transport,” the princess explains, pointing at the screen, “However when the orders changed, it instead stored the container in bay…”
They pause as the read the bay number.
“Uh…whatever you would call that number,” Johnny whistles.
“It’s like thirty digits long!” Tails scratches an ear, “How does Robotnik remember any of them?!”
“Machines do the remembering mostly,” Sally explains, “They download the information and don’t really have to memorize it.  A thirty digit number is no trouble for a digital brain.”
“I guess…” the fox shrugs, “But still, it is overkill.”
“Agreed,” Johnny adds, “Why need such a large number if there aren’t that many bays?”
“Not to Interrupt,” NICOLE speaks up, “However it appears Sonic is having some trouble.”
A window opens up on the screen revealing surveillance footage of the battle outside.  Sonic and Knuckles are brawling with the robotic hedgehog Tails and Sally had seen earlier.  Sonic jumps in attempting to land a kick to the bot’s head, but he is grabbed at the ankle and just tossed to into a tree branch, busting through it.
Johnny watches the footage for a moment, “I’m going to back them up.”
“Johnny…” the princess begins.
“Don’t bother trying to stop me,” he replies before she can finish, “As much as I hate to admit it, Sonic is probably the only one who can stop Robotnik.  And he and that red guy aren’t going to last much longer.”
“Lemme help too!” Tails requests.
“You and Sally need to get those Emeralds,” the hare shakes his head, “I can handle the bot for a little bit on my own.”
“Be careful,” Sally warns him.
“Yeah,” Johnny replies, “Sure.”

Sonic dodges between the trees as he speeds onward.  What was he thinking?  Not only he stopped following the path, and has no idea where he’s going, he left Johnny to fight Mecha.  And not to doubt the hare’s capabilities, but if Sonic and Knuckles couldn’t take Mecha together, Johnny had no hope alone.
The echidna groans causing the blue blur to slow down.
“Where are we?” Knuckles asks.
Sonic skids to a stop and heaves the guardian off his shoulders, “Not sure…I was aiming to find you help but…”
“Don’t tell me we’re lost,” snarls the red mobian.
“No, I know exactly how to get back to where we were,” the hedgehog defends, “I just don’t know where I’m going.”
Knuckles just stares at Sonic, “You really think that makes a difference?”
“It sorta kinda does,” Sonic counters folding his arms.
The echidna sighs and attempts to stand.  The attempt fails and Knuckles ends up falling to his knees.  
“Easy,” warns the Freedom Fighter, “You’re lucky to be conscious.”
“Really?”
“Well,” Sonic rubs his hand through his quills, “As far as my poorly developed sense of medical knowledge can guess.”
“I probably have a better understanding of health than you,” Knuckles smirks, “But you’re probably right.”
“Thanks…I think.”
The echidna crosses his legs and relaxes, “Give me a moment to rest and get my bearings.”
“Sure…” the hedgehog shrugs.
As the guardian meditates, or at least what Sonic assumes is meditating, though it could be just sleeping, the blue blur looks around.  The area they’re in looks peaceful, untouched by Robotnik’s influence.  Then again, so had the place where Sonic had ‘landed.’
Sonic bends down and adjusts his sneakers.  They’re pretty beaten up from all the running and fighting he’s been doing.  Tux will have a heck of a time piecing them back together, if that is even possible after all of this.
He looks back over to his compatriot who hasn’t moved since the last time Sonic looked, “Anything yet?”
“Impatient much?” Knuckles replies opening his eyes.  He stands up, this time without any trouble, “However the answer is yes.  I know where we are.”
“Great,” the hedgehog stretches out his legs, “Where’s that?”
“Lost.”
The blue blur loses his balance and falls on his face, “Say what!?”
The Guardian grins, “I’m only kidding.  Where were we headed?”
“Well that’s a good question,” Sonic rubs his chin, “We were heading for medical help, but if you’re rearing to go again, perhaps we should look for Ro-butt-nik and your Emerald.”
“This way,” Knuckles turns and heads deeper into the trees.
“How can you know for sure?” the freedom fighter asks as he follows.
“I can sense the location of the Master Emerald,” the guardian explains, “I can find Robotnik with that ability.”
“And you didn’t mention this before?”
“We weren’t looking before, we were fighting a robot,” the echidna sighs.
Sonic follows for a few more steps and then pauses, “When you find him, don’t do anything I would do.”
“Easy enough,” Knuckles stops to look back, “I’m sure you’d go in kicking, I plan to go in punching.”
The Hedgehog smiles, “When I clean up our last mess, I’ll join you.”
He turns to head back the way he came, “Just one last thing.  Sally.  I saw her first.”
“No promises,” the echidna chuckles.
The nod at each other, acknowledging each other with respect for perhaps the first time, before heading off on their own, unsure if they’d ever see the other again.

Johnny tumbles end over end as he ricochets off a large rock into the air.  He lands in a heap a few meters away.  His left eye is swollen shut, and one of his front teeth has been broken in half.  Blood drips down from his mouth and nose, staining his torn jacket and fur red.
The grey hare use his staff to pick himself out of the mud.  With his good he stares down the mechanical hedgehog that strolls his way, casually.
He knows he isn’t going to buy Sonic enough time at this rate.
Using what little time he’s got left, Johnny glances around for something, anything that could assist him.  
There…
Not wasting any time, he charges towards Mecha, swinging his staff upward in an attempt to mash the machine where the jaw would be.  Surprisingly the attack hits its target, but all it accomplishes is breaking the end of the weapon off.  The robot counters by easily slapping the freedom fighter to the side.  The mobian stumbles before falling, dropping his weapon as he rolls.  
Not giving up, Johnny pushes himself back to his feet, ignoring the pain in his sides, and limps towards his goal.  He’s nearly there when a bolt of energy blasts him in the back.  The hare collapses to his knees, but he keeps crawling towards his last chance.
On the ground before him lays a large orange mobian.  There’s a small handgun attached to an ammo belt wrapped around the mobian’s waistline.  Johnny grasps the handle of the weapon and pulls it from its holster.  He rolls over onto his back and fires at Mecha.
Only three shots are discharged towards the robot before something pierces through Johnny’s lower abdomen.  The Freedom Fighter looks down at his own staff.  Mecha had impaled him with his own weapon using the jagged broken end from the previous failed attack.
The robot laughs as the energy bolts harmlessly bounce off his chest.  Again he casually strolls up to the wounded mobian.
“You’re a fool for thinking you could best me fleshling.  I am Perfection.”
Gritting his teeth, Johnny reaches behind himself grabbing ahold of the belt once more.
Mecha grabs the mobian by the throat, hoisting him up into the air, staff still punctured through his body.

“Princess Sally!” NICOLE nearly shouts, breaking her usual monotonous voice, “Johnny is in peril!”
Tails and Sally halt as NICOLE projects a holographic display of the scene.
“Oh no…” the princess can only whisper, deep down knowing there is nothing she or Tails can do.

“You’re truly pathetic,” Mecha gloats, “You aren’t even as powerful as the hedgehog, what hope did you truly have for stopping me?”
“Maybe I ain’t as tough as Sonic,” Johnny chokes.  He swings arm upward, wrapping the ammunition belt around the robot’s arm, “But I’m still better than you.”
“What!?” the machine grips tighter.
“You know what happens when these pistols overload?” Johnny asks, holding the weapon next to the explosives attached to Dingo’s belt.

Sonic whips around the last tree before skidding to a stop.  Johnny and Mecha had moved from where he left them.
Swearing to himself, he looks around quickly for where the fight had gone.  Finally he spots a gruesome sight just a little ways off.  Johnny impaled by his own staff being choked by Mecha.
The hedgehog races towards them, his feet barely even touching the ground.  He’s mere feet away when suddenly Mecha and Johnny explode.  The force throws Sonic end over end, spiraling through the air.
It only takes a few seconds, but the image of Johnny vanishing in the fiery light stays burned in Sonic’s mind.  
He lands one his rump back where he had skidded to a halt only moments before.  Not even taking a second to ponder what had just transpired, he hops back to his feet, ignoring the pain, and madly dashes for where Johnny had just been.
The hare is gone.  Nothing remains of Sonic’s teammate.
His friend.
All that remains is the charred husk of Mecha minus the arm that had been the center of the blast.
Suddenly the robot starts to move.  It vainly tries to crawl out of the blast crater.
“No…” Sonic hisses through clenched teeth, “NO!”
Fueled by rage he kicks the machine’s head as hard as he can.  The neck joints shatter and the head soars off into the distance.  Mecha’s body sputters and collapses lifelessly and slides back down into the crater.
The hedgehog stares down at his feet.  He was too slow…
Just seconds too slow.
Seconds, minutes, lifetimes.
It didn’t matter…he was too slow to rescue his friend.