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War for Mobius Act 1 Chapter 17

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War for Mobius
Chapter 17

“This place is complete devoid of tech,” Sonic grumbles, “Ol’Buttnik wouldn’t be caught dead here.”
“Believe what you want to, Hedgehog,” Knuckles rolls his eyes, “The ‘tech’ is underneath the temple.”
“Is this temple dedicated to the Chaos Emeralds?” Sally changes the subject.
“Yes,” the echidna nods his head, “One of them was even rumored to be stored within many years ago.”
“Is it still there?” Sally asks.
Knuckles shakes his head, “No.  The temple was torn apart by looters trying to find it.  They never did.”
Sonic rubs his finger under his nose, “How about the other five?”
“Six,” the princess corrects.
“Sure,” the hedgehog shrugs it off, “Other Six.”
“Robotnik has them,” Knuckles admits.
“What!?” both Sonic and Sally respond with at shout.
“That is how he found the island.  He tracked the Master Emerald using the Chaos Emeralds.  Their powers are linked,” the guardian explains, scratching his head, “Honestly I don’t know how it works, myself.”
Sonic punches a nearby tree out of anger.  Then when he believes nobody is looking, he winces in pain.  Sally pretends not to notice but can’t hide her grin.
“Is it possible the looters just missed the Emerald?” she asks Knuckles.
“Unlikely,” he replies, “but possible.  Even so Robotnik set up shop beneath it.  He’ll likely find it before you can.”
“Doesn’t matter right now,” Sonic interrupts, “Tails does.”
“Of course,” the echidna smiles, “You might be scum hedgehog, but at least you’re respectable scum.”
“Thanks, I think,” the hedgehog mumbles to himself.  “So where is he?”
“I’m not sure exactly…” Knuckles sighs.
“But you said…” Sonic begins but Knuckles cuts him off.
“He’s in one of the chambers within the temple itself.  But which one I do not know.  I handed him off to…oh what is his name…the one with the nose.”
“Snively?” Sally suggests.
“No, mobian, big, ugly, bulky.”
“Dingo?” Sonic guesses.
“That’s the one.”
“Great,” Sonic mopes, “It’s like BadGuyCon or something.”
A pause follows.
“Sonic, you’ve never met Dingo,” Sally points out.
“Huh?  Oh I’ve met him before, but before I joined up with the KFF,” Sonic corrects her.
“You’ve met Sleet and Dingo?”
“Yup, we’re old pals,” Sonic smiles, “Right guys?”
Dingo’s voice comes from behind the group, “Old pals, Sonny-boy.”
Knuckles and Sally turn quickly to face the newcomers.  Sleet, Dingo, and Fang the Sniper all stand behind them.
“Afternoon boys,” Sonic turns casually to look at them, “Well late night, morning, whatever time it is now.”
“Didn’t think you could escape us for long did you hedgehog,” Sleet cackles proudly.
“Please,” the hedgehog sighs, “the only reason you found me, is because we let you.”
“We did?” Knuckles whispers to Sal.
“In Sonic-Logic,” she whispers back.
“Knuckles, looks like you’ve shown your true colors,” Fang continues, “Freedom Fighter…”
“I protect the Master Emerald and Angel Island,” Knuckles snaps back, even from those who claim to be heroes.”
“Can we just crush ‘em and get it over with?” Dingo interrupts, “We still owe payback to the blue boy.”
“The last of the Hedgehogs…” Sleet adds.
Sonic’s eyes narrow, “I’m already having a rough day, so don’t test me.  What happened to them?”
Knuckles looks to Sally who just shrugs as a response.
“Sleet, I don’t think…” Dingo begins, but Sleet had the floor now, and he rather did enjoy the spotlight.
“You mean those foolish siblings of yours?  Well let’s just say the Robotnik found good jobs for them.  One day they might actually be worth something.”
Sonic clenches his fist, “I’m warning you…”
“You did the right thing leaving them behind when you did,” Sleet continues, “It made it so easy for us to defeat them.”
“Last chance Sleet…”
“Or what?  You’ve already failed to protect your family and the mutant…” Sonic doesn’t wait for bounty hunter to finish.  Before Sleet could even blink, Sonic smashes his fist at top speed into the canine’s face.  Sleet tumbles end over end till he crashes through a nearby tree.  He barely makes it back to his feet and spits out a tooth.
“You little punk!” he howls, blood dripping from his cracked lip, “This time we end this permanently.”
Sleet reaches for his sidearm, but Sonic is on him again before he has a chance to fire it.
Knuckles takes the moments distraction to take a swing at Dingo.  The bruiser narrowly avoids it with a side stem before attempting to counter by clubbing the echidna over the head.
The Guardian blocks the attack, much to Dingo’s surprise, and delivers a harsh punch to his gut.
Fang takes aim at Sonic while he is distracted by Sleet, but before he and fire, Sally kicks the rifle from his grip, “Too shy to face me Fang?”
“Naw,” Fang drawls, “I have no problem making Princess eat dirt.”
“You couldn’t face anyone in a fair fight,” Sally barks as she sweeps at his feet.  Fang just leans back and uses his tail as a spring, bouncing out of the way.
“Please Princess, I had you in my sights years ago,” Fang chuckles, “The only reason you’re here now is wolf-boy saved you at the last minute.  Won’t happen again, Robotnik made sure of it.”
“I don’t need saving,” she snarls going for his legs again.  He attempts to spring away a second time, but this time Sally is ready for him.  The grabs hold of his him by his belt as he takes off, redirecting him back into the ground.  
As Fang coughs up some dirt, the Princess grabs the rifle.  She swings the butt of the weapon into the back of the weasel’s head, knocking him out cold.
“That’s for Ben…” she whispers, remembering how the wolf had taken that shot for her all those missions ago.  
As this happens, Sleet manages to kick Sonic off him, but all this does is slow the hedgehog’s barrage for a mere second.  Before he can utilize the brief reprise, Sonic spins into a ball and bowls the bounty hunter off his feet.  
Sleet falls to his face, and Sonic smashes down onto the small of Sleet’s back.  A crack snake its way up the back of bounty hunter’s armor as his breath leaves his lungs.
Sonic finishes the canine with a kick to the face, “Now you’re dumb, ugly, and beaten.”
Knuckles meanwhile lifts Dingo above his head and lobs the brute towards the temple walls.  Dingo bounces off and lands on his knees.
The echidna holds the mercenary up by the head, “The kid, where is he?”
“In the temple,” Dingo spits.
Knuckles jabs him in the gut, “Which chamber smart guy?”
“Heh, doesn’t matter…” Dingo coughs up some blood, “By now Needle Nose will have Roboticized him.”
“Where. Is. He.” The guardian asks again gripping tighter around the canine’s neck.
“….center chamber….”
Releasing him briefly, Knuckles then smashes his fist into Dingo’s face.  The bounty hunter smashes through the wall of the temple, collapsing on the other side of the opened up chamber.
“Glad you’re on our side,” Sonic admits, approaching from behind.
“I’m not,” Knuckles reminds him, “Remember that.”
“Let’s just get back to finding Tails,” Sally interrupts, stepping between the two.
“He’s in the center chamber, if Dingo didn’t lie,” the guardian jabs his thumb at the unconscious merc.
“Need me to prop him up so you can bash the next wall down?” the blue hedgehog mocks.
“If you want me to collapse the temple on your friend, be my guest,” the echidna shrugs.
“Ladies you’re both very pretty,” the princess sighs, “but can we stay focused?  We have to rescue Tails and stop Robotnik from…whatever he’s doing here.”
“I suppose,” Sonic grumbles stepping through the opening Knuckles had made, “How do we get to the center?”
“You have to follow the clues on the wall,” Knuckles points to a symbol of a tower on the wall, “That one will lead you to the center.”
“Can’t you show us?” the Princess asks.
“Robotnik has played his hand,” the guardian shakes his head, “I must assure the safety of the Master Emerald first and foremost.
“Can’t it wait?” Sonic shrugs.
“If I do not, saving your friend will be meaningless,” Knuckles explains, “The Island will drop from the sky, and we could all die.”
“I guess it can’t,” Sonic cringes.
“Be careful,” the red echidna warns, “I’ll join you when I’ve assured the Master Emerald’s safety.”  
“Thank you,” Sally grips his hand briefly.  Sonic tries not to gag.
“No thank you,” Knuckles smiles before letting go.
“For what?”
“For calling me ‘pretty’,” with that the guardian slips back out the hole and disappears.
Sally ponders that for a moment before blushing.
“Oh come on,” Sonic whines, “She called both of us Pretty!”
“Feeling jealous?” The princess asks smugly.
“No,” the blue blur mutters, “Jealous was when you made him blush earlier.  We’ve reached the level of rivalry now.”
He turns to follow the temple’s hallways, leaving Sally to ponder his words.  She really hadn’t expected Sonic to respond that way.
“Wait what?!” she runs after him.

Johnny pours the pitcher of water into the makeshift flower pot that held the Golden Mobian on his windowsill.  He usually did it for luck on a mission, and he can only hope the luck would help the Floating Island Expedition.  
Rotor delivered the bad news to the others, yesterday; they had lost contact with the team.  Johnny had suggested sending a search party, but with no way to track them there wasn’t anything they could do.
However that didn’t stop Rotor from preparing for the worst.  He assigned Johnny and Bunnie to break into Robotropolis and “liberate” a vehicle to go after the others if the option presents itself.  Meanwhile Antoine and Cat would work on regaining contact with the away team.  Rotor and NICOLE would work on forming a rescue party and prepping to go.  Johnny insisted on being part of the rescue team, and Rotor agreed, but first they would need a vehicle.  
Johnny sets the empty pitcher down.  He scratches his chin in thought.  Everything was falling apart.  Deep down he doesn’t want to admit it, nor does anyone else, but he knows…
This is their last stand.  
He looks through the window towards Bunnie who is talking to Rotor about the mission.  Perhaps it’s for the best he tell her now.

Knuckles ducks under the low branches as he approaches the Master Emerald’s altar.  He knows his mind should be focused on the large gem and the fate of the floating island, but his mind instead wanders back to The Princess and The Hedgehog.  Something about them causes him to worry about their safety, to trust their words.  Specifically Sally.
He shakes the thoughts from his mind.  There is a most important job to do, and if he fails, there won’t be another chance for him to meet with them again.
He begins to climb the stairs of the Altar.  Through his guardian training, he already knows the Emerald is there, being mentally connected with it.  However he would be unable to tell if it was in danger until it was too late so he hurries towards the top of the stone steps.  His feet barely touch them.
When he arrives at the top he looks the Emerald over.  The Enormous gem nearly is the same size Knuckles.  The top of it is even wide enough for him to stand on.  
Gently, he rests a hand on The Master Emerald.  Instantly he feels its power surge to him and regenerates his body.  His wounds from his battles earlier that day seem to fade away.   He relaxes just a moment to enjoy it.
He shouldn’t have.
An explosion throws Knuckles from the emerald and he tumbles down the altar landing one the ground below.  He quickly pulls himself to his feet and races back up the steps to the Emerald, hoping it remains in undamaged.
Otherwise they were all doomed.
When he reaches the top this time, standing on the Emerald he spots a Mechanical Blue Hedgehog.  
“Sonic?” Knuckles takes a defensive stance.
“Not quite,” a voice from behind him laughs.  The echidna turns to spy Doctor Robotnik piloting his personal hover pod, “Mecha here is one of my creations, designed to be superior to that meddlesome hedgehog in every way.”
Knuckles turns back to the machine just in time to block a kick.  The blow still causes him to slide back to the edge of the stairs.  He wishes he had something to say back to the Overlander, but nothing comes to mind.
Worse still, the Machine still stands atop the Emerald.  Knuckles can’t risk releasing Armageddon by damaging the giant gem.   He has to lead the blue monstrosity away somehow.
He isn’t given the chance.  Mecha dives at him, and the two tumble down the steps.  Booster hidden in the machine’s spines thrust it forwards forcing Knuckles to take much of the damage from the steps.
Robotnik fires a missile into the top of the altar, destroying the canopy above the Emerald.  He pilots his pod above the gem, and lowers a claw down to retrieve it.
“NO!” Knuckles calls out attempting to push past the robotic hedgehog, but the machine is too fast, moving quickly to intercept him.  It slams its fist into his stomach, and he tumbles to his knees.  
“Finish him Mecha.  We have much to do and so little time,” Robotnik orders.
The claw begins lifting the Emerald from the altar.  As it does the Island shakes.  
Knuckles swallows his pride.  There is nothing he can do alone to stop Robotnik now without risking the Emerald’s safety.  He’s just not fast enough to take on his Monstrous creation.  But he knows someone who might…
“Alright you oversized can opener…let’s see if you can keep up,” Knuckles feints slipping passed Mecha again, but instead turns and dashes for the trees.  The machine pauses to comprehend what just happened before taking off after him.  
The Red Echidna slips into the trees before the machine can grab him.  Now all he has to do is get back to the temple before it is too late to fix this.

Tails rubs his eyes.  How long had he been asleep?  He didn’t remember falling asleep but…
More voices.  He hops to his feet and races to the window.  Nothing.  Nobody is there.  He listens again.  The voices are faint, coming from the other side of the rubble.  He flies back over to the pile and moves some smaller stones out of the way.
“…no use….he isn’t here either….”
“…must be.  Perhaps…”
“…Tails…”
“…collapsed room….”
It sounds like Sonic and Sally.  Tails tries clearing more rubble away, “IN HERE!  I’M OVER HERE!”
He listens again.
“SONIC!  I’M IN HERE!” He calls out again.  
Most of the rocks are too heavy for the young fox to lift, but still he struggles to do so.  He can’t escape without the others’ help, and they were right outside the room!  
He pauses briefly to listen.  Did they hear him? There isn’t any reply…
He keeps digging.  They had to of heard him.  They just haven’t found a way to answer yet…
“…back…”
Tails jumps back from the rubble.  
A small explosion throws the rubble across the room.  
“Tails!” Sonic’s voice fills the chamber, “You okay!?”
Tails stumbles out of the room where his friends are.  Sally wraps her arms around him, “Tails you’re alright!”
“I thought you guys might be dead,” he replies, tears filling his eyes as he hugs Sally back.
“Us?” Sonic smiles, “You can’t get rid of us that easily shrimp”
Tails playfully punches Sonic’s arm.
“Careful,” the hedgehog laughs, “I’m gonna need that before the day is through.  Where’s Ben?”

Sonic slams his hand against the Temple Wall, “Blast it all!”  
“I’m sorry Sonic, I didn’t know what else to do,” Tails cries.
“You have nothing to be sorry about,” Sally assures him, “You did the right thing.”
“It doesn’t feel like the right thing,” Tails sniffles.
“Tails look at me,” Sonic places his hands on the fox’s shoulders, “It wasn’t your fault.  You can’t blame yourself for what happened to Ben.  Do you understand me?”
Tails nods.
“Good,” the hedgehog continues, “You know you can trust me right?”
Tails nods again.
Sonic sighs, “Then I’m going to be completely honest with you.  Robotnik is up to something big on this Island.  And there is a good chance we might get hurt…”
“You want me to sit this out don’t you?” Tails moans.
“Not on your life bud,” Sonic shakes his head, “You are a Freedom Fighter just like the rest of us, and we wouldn’t be here without you.  But I can’t ask you to take this risk.  You have to decide for yourself if you’re up to it.  Everything might be fine, but then again, there’s a chance none of us will walk away from this one.”
The young fox considers this for a moment before replying by holding out his hand, “We can handle anything ol’Egg-belly can dish out at us.  Ben said so.”
Sonic smiles, “Yeah, Freedom Fighters till the end.”  He places his hand on Tails’s.
“To a Free Mobius,” Sally adds, placing her hand on Sonic’s.
“To a Free Mobius,” the others repeat.
“And Break,” Sonic grins, “Now let’s find out what Buttnik is up to.”
“He’s building some sort of super weapon,” Tails explains, “I overheard him talking to Snively about it.”
“What did you hear?” the Princess Queries.
“Not much, but I do know they need the chaos Emeralds to power it.”
Suddenly the temple shakes.
“Or the Master Emerald,” Sally shudders at the thought.
“But didn’t Knux say that would bring about some sort of doom to this Island?” Sonic groans.
“Knux?” Tails tilts his head to one side.
“The guy who caught you,” the blue blur explains.
“He was tricked by Robotnik,” the princess adds.
“He might have a thing for Sal too,” Sonic admits.
Tails scratches the back of his head, “Will that interfere with your date?”
“What?” Sal is taken back.
“Sonic didn’t ask you yet?”
“I told you,” Sonic rubs his temples, “I was going to ask her AFTER the mission.  She wouldn’t listen to me before hand.”
“What are you talking about?” Sally demands.
“Remember back in the hanger?” the hedgehog sighs, “I was going to ask you then, but you were too focused on the Mission you left before I could.”
“…you’re kidding…” the chipmunk stutters.
“He was planning for a week,” Tails adds.
“Don’t say that, now I look desperate!” Sonic whines, “Look it doesn’t matter right now, we have work to…”
Sally interrupts Sonic by kissing him right on the mouth.
“We survive this,” she whispers after breaking the kiss, “I’ll take you up on that offer.”
“S-sure,” Sonic stammers.
“First time you made him speechless,” the young fox teases.
The temple shakes again.
“Grab hold,” Sonic snaps to his senses and grabs ahold of Sal and Tails’s hands, “I don’t think this place is going to keep standing.”
They nod just before he races for the exit.  
“Turn left!”
“No the other way!”
“Sonic!”
“I know where I’m going!”
“There!”
Sonic and Co race out the hole that Knuckles had generously made for them earlier.
“Keep moving towards the trees,” Sonic orders, “I’ll be right back.”
Sally nods, taking Tails’s hand and they head for the woods.
“What’s he doing,” Tails asks pulling his hand away, not wishing to be treated like a child.
“We ran into some trouble when we first arrived…” Sally begins.  
Just as the reach the trees so does Sonic, dropping Dingo at their feet, “Man he’s heavy, hard to believe Knux could lift him.”
The temple shakes again…no not the temple the whole Island is shaking!
“What’s going on!?” Sonic shouts.
Knuckles emerges from the trees.  He looks a lot worse than he did when they last saw him.
“Robotnik has taken The Master Emerald,” he warns them, “Angel Island is falling!”  
“Dang it!” Sonic grumbles, “Things keep getting worse before they get any better.”
“It doesn’t end there,” Knuckles sighs.
Suddenly a robot emerges from the trees behind Knuckles and slams into him.  The machine is a large blue hedgehog.  It tosses Knuckles to the side easily.  It then turns to the Freedom Fighters.  It looks Sonic over.
“I am Designated Mecha, and I have been designed to be superior to you in every way.”
“Oh yeah?” Sonic takes an aggressive stance, “Wanna put that to the test?”
“With pleasure,” Mecha copy’s the stance.
The two charge each other.

“Knothole Headquarters come in, do you read me?  Robotnik has created a super weapon, a flying fortress designed to destroy the Great Forest.  If this succeeds, he will be unstoppable.  I know this isn’t a secure line, but we don’t have time for protocol, sorry Ant, and I’m not sure how much longer before I’m discovered….”
“I’m critically wounded as well…”
“This is our last chance…”
“Repeat this is our last chance to stop Robotnik.”
“Come in Knothole Headquarters, this is Ben Wolfsbane, do you read?”
If the ending feels a bit rushed...it kinda was.  Originally Chapters 16 and 17 were one chapter.  Originally more stuff was going to happen but then I'd have to cut the chapter again...and the third part wouldn't be very good.  So yeah, I had to edit some stuff down. 
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