Chapter 8
Flying Battery
________________________________________________________________________
"Tails!"
Sonic slammed sideways into his sidekick, flinging both of them to
the ground. The hedgehog lay on top of the fox, shielding him with his
body from the roaring exhaust vent overhead. They were not directly
under the blast, but the heated, choking fumes still struck them.
Fortunately for Sonic, the vent shut off after a moment or two.
He sat up, releasing Tails, coughing from the depths of his lungs.
Tails stood up, his feet clanking on the metal walkway. "Sonic," he
said, tugging at his friend's arm, "we gotta get outta here. It'll come
on again in a minute."
They were a level above the cargo hold. A long, narrow walkway was
suspended through half the starboard section, branching off into three
other segments. The part they were on crossed a line of five-foot vents
in the ceiling. The vent above the walkway had happened to kick in the
moment the walked beneath it.
With Tails's help, Sonic managed to drag himself out from under
the vent. He collapsed against the cold steel railing, weak from
coughing. Tails crouched beside him anxiously. "Are you okay, Sonic?"
Sonic could only nod in reply. It took him a good ten minutes to quit
choking and regain his strength. "I donno what this place uses for
fuel," he said as he climbed to his feet, "but its fumes ain't healthy.
About like breathing hairspray."
"Sure you're okay?"
"No. My lungs feel funny. Let's get off this stupid walkway."
The interior of Flying Battery was an air-conditioned eighty
degrees, but the air was far from fresh. It was stale and was tainted
with foul exhaust. The entire ship vibrated faintly with the motion
of the huge engines. There was no sensation of flight or moving
forward, but only blue sky could be seen outside the windows.
They spotted some steps leading up into the ceiling, but could
not seem to reach them. Every time they neared them, they discovered
the walkway below them was the one they needed to be on. Or the one
across from them. Or above.
The fifth time they did this, Sonic threw up his hands in
frustration. "Forget this," he said. "Let's go back to where we
started."
"Easier said than done," Tails said, looking up at the steps
longingly. "I'm so turned around now I couldn't find my way out of
a paper bag."
Sonic looked down at him, half annoyed and half amused. He
tousled the fox's hair. "Me too, I think," he agreed. "Let's go back
to the junction up there, and--"
"Intruders! Halt!"
Sonic and Tails jumped. There were two robots on the walkway
above, peering down at them through the grating. Sonic smiled
maliciously. "Gotta catch us first, tinheads." The robots, in reply,
took off down the walkway, heading for the junction where their walkway
joined Sonic and Tails's.
Tails watched them. "Sonic, lookit how they move. They don't have
hover units, but they kind of ... coast along ... "
At the moment, Sonic could care less about how the badniks moved.
The path they were on was a dead end, and the only way out was at the
junction, thirty feet up the line. And the junction, at the moment,
was blocked. The robots advanced cautiously toward them, side by side.
"Get behind me," Sonic hissed to his companion. Tails obeyed.
There was no cover on the walkway, and the floor-to-ceiling
railing prevented escape. If the robots attacked, things could get
bad. Sonic realized this in an instant. He decided it would be safer to
carry the fight to the badniks.
Wishing for the chaos emeralds, he darted up the walkway, his feet
hardly touching it. The robots stopped and lifted their blasters, but
they were too late. Sonic crashed into them, knocking them over
backward. He was on them as they hit the metal walkway, literally
tearing them apart. He held them there until they shut down, then
climbed to his feet and dusted off his hands. An impressed Tails
walked up to him.
"Man," the fox said, "They never had a chance."
"Yup," Sonic replied, throwing his head back, "I'm pretty good,
all right."
Tails crouched down, examining the robots' feet. He snickered,
then laughed. "Sonic, look at what's on these bots!"
Sonic looked down, then added his laughter to Tails's. "I
THOUGHT they went down a bit too easily. Did Robotnik do that on
purpose?"
"Who knows what he'd do for a laugh?"
"But rollerblades on sentry bots? That's--that's kinda dumb."
"Really dumb! But funny, too."
"Hey, do they come off? That'd be cool if we could wear 'em."
Tails tugged at one of the skates. "Hey yeah, I think they do."
"Here, undo the bindings. Like this."
The two worked furiously, their fingers clumsy with excitement.
At last both pairs were free. There were the adjustable kind, made for
strapping to shoes. They were made of aluminum; for robots, of course,
but very light.
It took them a few minutes to figure out how to adjust the skates.
Then they buckled them on with lightening speed. Sonic stood up and
coasted a few feet. "Wow, these are really nice," he said to Tails, who
was still tightening his. "Smooth as silk. Gosh, these could make a
rookie into an expert 'blader in no time! Hurry up, little bro. I
wanna get a move on."
Tails stood up carefully, favoring his shoulder. He rolled up to
Sonic, afraid of a fall. "They ARE nice," he admitted, looking down at
his feet.
Sonic whirled and faced the rest of the walkway. "Let's juice,
Tails."
Fifteen minutes latter found them up the coveted stairs and
deep in the bowels of the ship. They reached an engine room of sorts.
Tails was all for going around, but Sonic recklessly plunged in,
rollerblades and all.
The engine compartments and machinery provided lots of obstacles.
Sonic leaped, dodged and expertly wove his way through, while Tails
slowed to a walk and fell several times. Sonic made it to the far side
and waited for him. "Aw Tails, you're going too slow. Heck, you might
as well take off the blades and walk."
"Yeah, yeah," Tails replied as he reached the hedgehog. "I don't
like obstacle courses. Give me a clear track and I'll give you a run
for your money."
"Well, better start running, 'cause we've got a track that looks
pretty clear. Let's juice!"
Several hallways bore the smoking traces of speeding rollerblades
as Sonic and Tails literally burned rubber. They were coming up on what
appeared to be another room just as Sonic hit sixty. He flew out into
the room, only to discover a well-like hole beneath his feet. "Whoa!"
he yelled, voice echoing. His momentum kept him flying forward. He
twisted sideways, met the wall with his blades with a clack, and hurled
downward.
It seemed he had fallen for a long time by the time he reached the
floor. The floor, however, was rounded, like a bowel. He went down the
wall, across the floor, and back up the other side. He bladed around
and around until he finally came to a stop, panting.
Tails, who had been skating just as hard as his friend, had seen
the hole, spun his tails and hovered, looking down. Now he floated down
and landed beside Sonic. The blue hedgehog stared up at the distant
ceiling. "Man, that was fun! Blades are the bomb!" He stooped and
checked his bindings.
Tails looked around, then froze. Sonic stood back up and noticed
the look on his face. "Whassamatter, little bro?"
"Shh," Tails hissed. "Listen. You hear that?"
Sonic held his breath and listened. From somewhere below them came
the sound of rushing water. The sound was drawing closer by the second.
Now it seemed to be moving up the walls--
Tails pointed to a spot twenty feet above their heads. Every five
feet a panel had opened, revealing the openings to several pipes. A few
seconds later, a clear liquid began to pour out. It looked like water,
but smelled otherwise.
"Rocket fuel!" Sonic yelped. "Tails, get us outta here!"
The little fox spun his tails, leaped into the air and hovered.
Sonic locked wrists with him, momentarily forgetting Tails's wound.
Tails winced, but said nothing. He carried them upward, out of the
liquid's reach. It was pouring in by the gallon now, and the smell
was not pleasant.
By the time they reached the doorway they had entered by, they
were choking on the fumes. They landed in the passage and crawled
inside, thankful for the fresh air. A metal door closed over the entry,
shutting off the sound and smell.
It took them a while to get over their nausea. They were both
coughing, trying to rid their lungs of the noxious fumes. "Boy," Tails
hacked, "now I know how you felt when you got hit with the exhaust. It
was just out luck to be in a spare fuel compartment."
Sonic drew a deep breath and said, "Either that or it was a trap."
He climbed to his feet and coasted down the tunnel. He reached the room
at the far end, which should have been the engine room. Tails heard him
whistle loudly. "Tails, we're somewhere else!"
Tails joined Sonic. Indeed, they were somehow in another passage.
The thing before them was like a an empty elevator shaft. It housed a
huge metal screw. It spiraled into the ceiling, winding down to the
floor far below. It turned slowly, massively, transferring energy from
the powerful dynamos below to the engine rooms above. Its metal surface
had once been bright, but was now a dull grey. The hallway continued on
the far side.
Sonic squinted at the screw's threads, estimating how fast it was
turning and its distance from the walls. Then, without a word, he sat
down and took off his rollerblades. Tails guessed at what he was going
to do, and removed his, as well. They slung them over their shoulders.
"'Kay, Tails," Sonic said. "I'm gonna go first. Don't trip or anything.
This is kinda like playing chicken on the railroad tracks." Tails
nodded. He could imagine tripping and being screwed into the ceiling.
Sonic crouched, eyes on the rotating steel threads. Then he shot
away, leaped the shaft, touched the screw, then landed safely in the far
hall. "C'mon, Tails!" he called.
Tails ran, crossed both without trouble and joined his friend on
the far side. "Well, that wasn't too bad," he panted.
Sonic nodded. "Should we blade or walk?"
"Uh, let's see what's in the next room first."
They trotted down the corridor. They entered a small circular room
with three doors in the walls. Automatically Sonic tried the doorknobs.
All but one were locked. "Well Tails?"
"Why don't we just open it and see what's behind it?"
"Good idea." Sonic opened the door and stuck his head in for a
look. Tails watched him as he suddenly went stiff, back arched, hands
gripping the side of the door like a vice.
"Sonic, whassamatter?"
Tails's voice awakened him. He jerked backward, closed the door
carefully, then leaned against it, eyes wide.
Tails watched him uneasily. "What was in there?"
Sonic moved only his lips. "Metal Sonic."
"Metal Sonic? You mean that robot that freaked you out in Ice Cap
this morning?"
Sonic nodded. Abruptly he leaped away from the door and whirled to
face it. "Get behind me, quick!" he commanded. Tails obeyed hurriedly.
The door swung open. Framed in the doorway stood a steel-blue
robot. It was the same size as Sonic, and looked remarkably like him.
Its glass eyes were black, and had glowing red rings for pupils. Its
lower arms were armed with sharp metal plates that came to a point in
its elbows. It gazed at Sonic with a robotic indifference.
"Who are you?" it asked. Its voice was low, metallic and sinister.
"What do you want to know for?" Sonic questioned in reply.
"So I can tell whether you are friend or foe." Metal Sonic was
still relatively new to life, and had not yet become the twisted,
hateful robot of later years.
"Will you shoot me if I tell you?"
"Perhaps. But only if you are an enemy of Dr. Robotnik."
"But what if I'm YOUR enemy?"
The robot hesitated. He did not yet have enemies of his own, and
this was a new concept. "I suppose I would take you to Dr. Robotnik."
Sonic was relaxing a bit. This robot was not a badnik, but a
henchmen, who were usually safer and more predictable. A new one to
the job, at that. Sonic drew himself to his full height. "I'll tell
you my name if you'll tell me yours."
"I am Metal Sonic, or Mecha, as some call me. And you are?"
"I am Sonic the Hedgehog. The ORIGINAL."
That was the wrong thing to say. Mecha hissed, "So, YOU are the
hedgehog for which I am named! Prepare to die, Sssonic!" The robot drew
a pistol from somewhere on his person. Before he could aim it, however,
Sonic went into a spin and crashed into his midsection. Metal Sonic
crashed to the floor, temporarily jarring his motion control.
"Tails, get through that other door! Quick!" Sonic cried from
where he was crouched over the robot.
Tails leaped around Sonic and hit the other door. He pulled it
open and ducked through it. Sonic followed a split second behind him.
He slammed the door shut and snapped the electric lock on. "There," he
remarked, "that should hold him off about five minutes."
He sat down and thrust his feet into the rollerblades he had
carried this whole time. "What are you doing?" Tails demanded.
"Giving myself a reason to speed. Put yours on, if you like."
After a moment of indecision, Tails too sat down and donned his
gear.
A moment later found them gliding down the hallway. The entire
left side was open, and they could see rows and rows of robots in the
making. They were only partly assembled, but looked rather fearsome with
their huge limbs and heavy weaponry.
"Military force, looks like," Sonic commented. "I'm glad they
aren't on-line yet."
Tails, skating a few feet behind the hedgehog, said, "Hey, Sonic,
look. See that one, close to the walkway? It has something written on
it."
They coasted up to it. "SWAT-bot 1037," Sonic read aloud. "Well
well."
At that moment the once-locked door flew open. Metal Sonic stood
in the doorway, eyes glowing like live coals. His thrown-back head and
spread legs showed his anger. "You!" he shouted.
Sonic and Tails looked at each other and said simultaneously,
"Run."
With a clatter of metal blades on metal floor, they fled down the
passage. Mecha gave chase, hoverjets lifting him a foot off the ground
and propelling him forward. Sonic glanced back. "He's hot," he called
to Tails. "See the door up there? Let me open it--don't you stop."
The hedgehog surged ahead in a racing skater crouch. He didn't
bother to slow down, but let himself smack into the wall, hand groping
for the doorknob. It turned easily. He jerked it open, let Tails fly
through, then leaped through himself. He pulled the door to behind him,
and heard the satisfactory thud as Metal Sonic slammed into it. This
door had no lock. Sonic turned away, ready to run again--
Wait, this was no hallway. It was a large rectangular room.
Something about it tingled in the back of his mind--a red flag waved.
He had learned never to trust large empty rooms. Tails was about to
cross it, looking back at him. Sonic sprang forward. "Tails, don't go
in the center! Stop!"
Too late. Three things happened almost at once. Mecha Sonic burst
through the door, enraged and slightly dented. Second, two huge laser-
screens came on behind Sonic and Tails, and in front, blocking them in.
Third, all the lights went out.
The fox and hedgehog stood in the center of the room-turned-
prison, uneasy. The forcefields shed a lemon-colored light, gleaming on
their roller blades. Metal Sonic stood on the other side of the screen,
staring through at them. Tails slipped his hand into Sonic's. "What's
gonna happen?"
Sonic cast a glance up at the shadowy ceiling. "I donno. Stick
close--he can't get us as long as the lasers are on." He returned his
gaze to Metal Sonic.
Abruptly the robot turned away, looking back at the door they had
come through. Over the electronic hum of the force fields, Sonic and
Tails heard the clanking of approaching footsteps. They heard who it
was before they saw him.
"Well well, it's Sonic and Tails, caught like little rats in a
trap."
Knuckles stepped into the room with a smirk. What caught their
attention was the forcefield-like bubble that surrounded his body.
Lightning flickered and danced over it, lighting his face and the area
around him. "Small little rats," he continued witheringly, "with no
hair and one leg."
"Where do you get your material?" Sonic said, making a face.
Knuckles gave him a plastic smile. "It IS a fitting analogy,
don't you think? Neither of you are going anywhere anytime soon."
His smile twisted into a sneer. "I assume you met our project?"
He gestured to the robot beside him.
Sonic and Tails stared. "You mean YOU built him?" Tails exclaimed.
Knuckles nodded condescendingly, eyes half closed. "Me'n Doc. We
finished him up and he's ready for service."
The lightning curved, flickered and danced in a continuous rhythm.
Sonic pointed at it. "What's with the special effects?"
Knuckles sneered again. "You're so stupid. This is an electronic
shield. It'll protect me from anything but water and open flame. I'm
wearing it so I can do THIS." He stepped forward, and to their surprise,
walked THROUGH the laser screen, shield parting the beams. "Don't try
to touch me," he warned. "I'll zap you."
They stood aside as he crossed the room, shield casting a dim
light into the dimness. He passed through the force field on the far
side. Then, with a sly glance in their direction, he swung open a panel
on the wall to reveal a set of controls.
* * *
I really wanted to shut off the lasers, ditch the shield and have
it out with Sonic right there, but I had my orders. Doc didn't want it
done that way. He needed his newest invention tested. First he had
asked me to try it on myself, and with horror I refused. I had looked at
the schematics. No way was I going to sacrifice myself to a machine! So
he told me to do it on Sonic and Tails. All I had to do was drive.
I glanced through the screens at Metal Sonic, but he was gone. I
felt a chill. I had heard nothing. For the first time I wondered if that
robot might turn out a little too well. I shrugged it off and flipped
the 'on' lever. If he didn't want to watch, that was fine.
* * *
The entire ceiling split and slid apart with a whine of machinery.
Sonic and Tails stared upward as a big milky white lens opened behind
it. It was on a sort of track that could sling it in any direction in
the laser room. It jolted a little as it was activated.
Sonic and Tails looked at each other. Sonic was nervous, and
Tails was downright scared. Neither said a word, for that would reveal
their feelings to Knuckles. Slowly they coasted apart, skates ticking
on the metal floor. The big lens began to move, following Sonic. In a
way he was relieved. He could handle an attack--Tails couldn't.
The lens began to blink. Probably a laser, Sonic thought. Just
like in Wing Fortress, when next to the same thing had happened. He
felt a small bit of relief. At least he knew what to expect ...
Knuckles hit 'fire'. The lens froze, locked, then fired a huge
blue beam. Sonic just barely dodged, and felt the intense heat of the
laser. He was still up when it shut off. "Nah nah!" he jeered at
Knuckles. "Missed me."
Knux glared at him, disappointed. "We'll see about that," he
snorted. He flipped a switch. The force field on one side flicked off,
then on again--this time two feet closer.
Tails looked at Sonic from his place by the wall. If Knuckles did
that every time the laser fired, eventually they would both be hit.
Sonic returned his gaze. "Don't worry, little bro," he said quietly.
"We'll get out. Somehow."
Four more times the laser fired, and each time it missed Sonic by
an inch. Knuckles was getting frustrated. He had kept moving the force
field in, but it hadn't done any good. Sonic could still dodge, even in
six by fifteen feet. The echidna moved the screen in one more notch. If
he missed this time, then heck with it.
Sonic and Tails could easily touch the force fields on either
side. They stared up at the lens as if entranced, like a small animal
waiting for a snake to strike. Sonic could only move forward or back--
he dared not touch the screens. The lens moved around, its metal parts
clanking as it changed directions.
Knuckles pressed 'fire'. The laser froze, locked and fired. Sonic
leaped out from under it, but one blade caught on a ridge in the floor.
He smacked down on his face, and the beam caught him.
"Sonic!" Tails screamed. The laser, instead of shutting off
immediately, continued to fire, burning down into the floor. Knuckles
stood and stared a second, his jaw hanging open. Suddenly he whirled
and tripped the emergency breaker. "No," Tails heard him moan. "No no
no! Not that--not even Sonic deserves that! Doc, you liar--"
The beam flickered and went off, machinery whining in protest.
Sonic was lying where he had fallen, eyes closed, floor scorched in a
circle around him. Tails ran to him and fell to his knees. "Sonic, are
you alive? Sonic? Speak to me, bro!"
Sonic's eyelids fluttered open. Slowly he lifted his head and
looked at his sidekick. "Tails," he said thickly, eyes dull with shock.
He sat up and let his head droop, hands limp at his sides. Tails stared
into his face worriedly. "Are you okay?"
Sonic nodded a bit, as if it hurt to move. "I guess," he said
flatly. "My head--" He lifted a hand to his forehead. Abruptly he jerked
his hand back and stared at it, wide-eyed. He lifted his other hand,
then opened and closed them together, horror etched across his face.
"What?" Tails demanded. "What's wrong?"
Sonic leaped to his feet without answering and stared at Knuckles.
Knux looked back at him. "What? You're not hurt?"
"Knux," Sonic said, voice nearly a whisper. "What have you done to
me? My hands--"
"What about them?"
Sonic stuck the tip of his middle finger in his mouth, bit the
glove and pulled out his hand. Tails and Knuckles gasped as he held it
up for them to see.
It was a robot hand.
Each finger and joint was encased in metal, were just visible
beneath. The plating followed the contours and folds of his hand. It
reached to his wrist, where it had stopped. He yanked off his other
glove. Both hands looked exactly the same.
Sonic clenched his metallic fists. "Knuckles, you'd better not let
me out. Now my hands are just as tough as yours." Knuckles could only
stand and look at those robotic limbs. His mouth had fallen open, and he
shook his head slowly as he backed away. "I didn't know it would do
that," he gasped. "I--I--"
* * *
I could think of nothing more to say. Robotized! What if I had
waited a second later to shut off the beam? I had looked at the wrong
schematics. This was a robotizer prototype, stolen from a scientist in
Mobitropolis and reverse-engineered. His hands ...! Oh gosh, what had I
done? Was there any way to undo it?
I punched a button on the wall. It would drain the power in the
laser screens. Right now I didn't have the heart to leave them locked up.
I fled through a side door, locked it behind me, then pelted deeper into
Flying Battery. My mind was reeling. Disfigured for life! What was
worse, I had thought it would simply stun him.
I hung a hard left and headed for the bridge. I had a few
questions for Doc.
* * *
The force fields blinked and went off, and the lights came back
on. Sonic continued to stare at his hands. Experimentally he snapped his
fingers, making a sharp 'tink'. He clapped his hands and listened with
some amazement to the clang, clang, clang. He looked at Tails. "This IS
kinda cool," he said grudgingly. "It's like wearing armor."
Tails touched his shiny hand and shuddered. "Gee, Sonic. You're
part robot now. Better not try to use the chaos emeralds."
"You're right," Sonic exclaimed. "I won't be able to use 'em--
they'd blow my hands off or something. Aw man--" He glared in the
direction Knuckles had gone. "That jerk. Bet he planned it."
Carefully the hedgehog pulled his gloves back on. They covered
the metal neatly--unless you knew, you could see nothing wrong with him.
The two stepped out of the room into an adjoining hall. "I wonder
where Metal Sonic is," Tails said nervously.
Sonic shrugged. "On a ship this size, who knows. Let's see if we
can--"
Suddenly the hall around them groaned and squeaked. The floor
beneath their feet shifted. They automatically turned to go back, but
an iron door slammed to the floor, cutting off retreat. The two locked
eyes. "Run," Sonic commanded. He took off, and Tails followed close
behind.
* * *
I burst into the cockpit, my anger burning. The shock had
passed--now I was mad I had been tricked into doing something so
inhuman. Robotnik swung around in his chair as I entered. He squelched
the attitude right out of me as he said, "Knuckles, the laser firing
destroyed the platform stabilizers for floor 1C and up. The floor and
ceiling are going to close."
I caught my breath. That's where Sonic and Tails were. I sat down
in the co-pilot's seat and looked at the computer's readout. Doc was
right. I looked up at him. "How long will it take to close?"
"About--" He glanced at his watch. "--two minutes."
* * *
Tails stumbled on his rollerblades. Stubbornly he slowed down,
grabbing at the buckles.
"What are you doing?" Sonic shouted from ahead.
"Taking off these darn skates," Tails exclaimed. As he pulled
one free, the floor lurched again and began to move. Sonic skimmed back
and grabbed his good arm. Tails noticed his hand was ice-cold through
the glove. "Get up! We gotta get outta here!"
Tails kicked off his other rollerblade. "Okay. Now I can run!"
The two raced down the long hallway, one on skates, the other on
foot, but both just as frightened. Sonic kept one hand on Tails wrist
to be sure he didn't trip or fall behind. And it was a good idea, for
the lifting floor made it easy to stumble. It seemed as if the entire
ship were coming apart.
Sonic glanced up at the ceiling. If the floor was moving up at
that speed, and the ceiling was six feet up, then ... time was short.
"Tails," he panted, "look for a trapdoor in the ceiling or something.
If we can't get out of here, we're gonna get killed!"
Tails looked up at the ceiling, noticing how close it was
getting. He kept his eyes on it, letting Sonic's hand guide him down
the passage.
A few long, breathless seconds passed. The floor boosted a foot
higher, inching the hall that much smaller, like a giant trash
compactor. Suddenly Tails's searching gaze caught a possible exit. He
pulled back against Sonic's hold, eyes fixed upward. "Sonic, a
porthole--a door!" He had spotted a round door in the ceiling with a
wheel on it. Sonic hit the blades's brakes and spun around, searching.
"Where?"
They dashed back and stood beneath it. They couldn't reach it--
yet. "We'll hafta wait a minute," Sonic said, words coming between
breaths. "If it's locked or somethin' we're sunk."
The ceiling came down slowly, like a giant nut-cracker. They
waited nervously. Sonic, at one point, leaped up and grabbed ahold of
the wheel. There was a muffled clank as his hands closed on it. He
jerked back and forth, dangling feet swinging wildly--Tails stood clear
of them. "It's jammed," he grunted to his sidekick. He let go and
dropped to the floor. "Better put jam in your pockets, 'cause we're
both about to be toast."
Tails didn't even smile. "Maybe we can both try it when it comes
down far enough."
Sonic looked at him. "That means we'll have one chance." His eyes
moved upward. "Work fast, little bro."
Inch by inch the floor lifted them upward, machinery rumbling
below, metal grinding against metal. Sonic looked grim. This would be
close. Tails kept his gaze fixed on the trapdoor as if it were made of
gold. It edged closer ... closer ...
"Now!" Sonic barked. He and Tails leaped into the air and grabbed
opposite ends of the wheel. "Pull right," Sonic said. "Same time as me.
Go ... go ... go ..." Each time he said 'go', they jerked the wheel
right as hard as they could. The wheel gave a little, then stuck tight.
They kept pulling.
Their dangling feet touched the floor. They looked at each other,
then at the hallway. Less than three feet were left between floor and
ceiling. "It opens or we die," Sonic said flatly, the noise of their
surroundings nearly drowning him out. They threw themselves into
twisting the wheel, the floor giving their feet leverage.
With a rusty shriek the wheel gave in. The door flew upward and
swung out of sight. Warm wind rushed down on them, along with bright
sunlight. Without hesitating they clambered up and out of that
death-trap.
Unfortunately, they were only a couple feet from the backside
of one of the jet engines. The turbulence hit them like an express
train, impossible to stand against, ripping the breath from their
bodies.
An instant later they were flung off the ship like scraps of
paper. Sonic saw the tail fin of Flying Battery slide by, leaving only
empty space below him.
* * *
Doc and I watched them drop past the cockpit, both doing over
sixty. Then they were below us and out of sight. "They got out," I
said, my relief undisguised in my voice. Doc looked at me with a funny
expression, one hand twisting the end of his mustache thoughtfully.
"Knuckles," he said, "why don't you go after them? I think I can get
started on Death Egg's repairs without you,"
I looked at him, wondering if my eagerness showed in my eyes.
"Oh man, can I? Thanks, Doc!"
I whirled and ran for the door. Below was Sandopolis; the desert
of the Floating Island. I had always wanted to 'escort' them through ...
. . .
As the door closed behind Knuckles, Robotnik spoke aloud to the
cockpit. "Metal Sonic, come to the bridge." To himself, he continued,
"That echidna may be a dimwit, but he's not so dense as to miss the
significance of where Death Egg crashed. I'm sure Lava Reef is near
Hidden Palace. If I can only search ..."
Metal Sonic stepped in, red eyes shimmering. "Yes, Dr. Robotnik?"
"Mecha, I want you to follow Knuckles. Watch him, but do not be
seen. I want to know of his and Sonic's whereabouts while I am
underground. Understand?"
"Understood. I will go now."
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