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Part 1 of Miles the Fox
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2022-03-22
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2022-06-11
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West Side Skirmish

Chapter 8: Oil Operations

Summary:

As our heroic duo crosses the Oil Ocean Zone, Speedy is presented with an interesting opportunity. Meanwhile, the fox's friends consider what to do after the events at Mystic Cave.

Notes:

Apologies if this came a little later than folks expected. Having both hands work again also means going back to work, and thus less time spent overall on this. My mind's been in a bit of an odd place as well, and it may reflect in this chapter. It's better than all the other attempts I made in the last few days, though, so I'm okay with it.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“Any luck?” Giselle asked as she and Gad came down the trail from Hill Top, the limits of Casino Night coming into view.

The red twin shook his head, holding up his sister’s comm, which displayed an error message. “No, I can’t get through. Either something is causing interference, or the Miles Electric has been disabled in some capacity.” He sighed and glanced back in the direction they’d come from as he handed off the gadget to her. “I’m worried, sis.”

“Me too. But, there’s not a whole lot we can do right now aside from trying to find help,” she replied, her expression souring some, “Speedy wrecked all of our stuff aside from our grapplers, our specs, my comm, and my special key.” She let out a huff. “As for Miles, I know what I said in the moment back there, but he’s been through worse than that. I’m sure he’s fine.”

“Physically, maybe,” Gad remarked with some guilt, “but, given how he reacted, it seems he’s grown pretty attached to Sonic in the short time they’ve gotten to know each other. What if I was right, and he’s too late to save that kid?”

The she-wolf frowned sadly. She knew how much the losses back during the Cocoa Island incident affected everyone still around, especially Miles. In each adventure the fox had experienced since then, he’d shared that none of them ended with any casualties. He’d always seemed so proud and relieved to have pulled that off. There had already been some here, unfortunately, as she and her brother had seen for themselves. True, they wouldn’t be personal losses, but Miles would still feel bad that there were lives he couldn’t save. If Sonic was among them, however, it would become personal, as he’d made evident with his behavior.

“I know it’s not realistic,” the teal twin said, hesitating a moment, “but let’s hope he’s okay, too.” She returned her orange eyes forward. “And...if he’s not, don’t blame yourself.” She let her fangs flash a bit more openly as she growled angrily. “After all, you’re not the one that shot him.”

Gad felt his head heat up the more he thought about it. It had been one thing after another when it came to getting at Miles. The Empire was attacking his birthplace, and whether or not they were aware of that fact, the damage done was still awful. They’d used him and his sister as bargaining chips for the Chaos Emeralds, which they’d ultimately secured. And now, they’d possibly killed Miles’ new friend out of spite, as well as coaxed the fox into separating from them. But, for his little brother’s sake, he’d have some faith in the hedgehog.

“I know,” he told her, clenching his fists determinedly, “and let’s hope we can find someone that can help here.”

After several minutes, they entered Casino Night proper, noticing that the streets were relatively sparse compared to what they’d heard about the place. True, it wasn’t the liveliest part of the day yet, but they expected to see more people. Maybe news of what was going down in Metropolis had sent folks running for the hills? If that was the case, then at least they wouldn’t have to herd as many others to safety, but it would also be harder to find aid.

A little more time passed by before they came to a modest bar and grill establishment, and as if on cue, Gad’s stomach protested. Giselle looked over at him and crossed her arms while he shot her a sheepish look.

“Maybe we could stop for a bite?” he suggested with a shy smile, “we haven’t had anything since this morning.”

The teal twin held up a finger and opened her mouth to speak, only for a loud rumble to interrupt her. With flushed cheeks, she turned her attention to the joint and started walking towards the door. She didn’t have to see her brother’s face to know he was sporting one of his rare devious smirks as he followed along.

“Fine,” she conceded, her ears flicking in annoyance as she heard him snicker, “don’t you start.”

Gad hummed and folded his hands behind his head. “That wasn’t very ladylike.”

“Bite me,” Giselle barked while opening the door into the place.

The red twin chuckled, then grabbed the edge of it and let her proceed. “Love you, too.”

She sighed and rolled her eyes, peering around the little restaurant to see that it was mostly empty. There was a purple chameleon at the bar in the center, who regarded the two of them with a nod as they entered. There was also a green-skinned crocodile Animal with small and dull red spines from his back down his tail, goldenrod eyes, and his arms, belly, and muzzle were all a lighter verdant shade than the rest of him. He had a sort of S-shape to his body, one that started broad from his shoulders and chest, then got thinner towards his legs and tail, while his arms were thicker around the wrists than the rest. He wore white gloves, black wristbands with yellow stripes and gold buckles, black boots with yellow cuffs and white decals, small black shoulder pads, a pair of black and gray headphones, and a small gold neck chain. And while he was bulkier than the other reptile, the crocodile stood just above him in height, indicating he was still rather young.

He had been bussing the tables and booths around the establishment while blasting his music, when he also took notice of the new faces. The kid quit what he was doing and made his way over to the front, bobbing his head to the beat coming from his ‘phones. He slipped behind the host desk, grabbed a couple of menus, then waved to the wolves before pausing his tunes.

“Hey, guys,” the croc greeted them in a moderate tenor, “I bet you’re hungry. I know a song about that!”

He grinned proudly as Gad and Giselle both laughed at his music joke. Really, they were doing so more to be polite than because it was actually funny, but they appreciated a little levity after everything that went down. Satisfied at getting some genuine smiles, the boy gestured between the tables and the bar, to which the twins decided on the latter. They sat down on a couple of stools in front of the chameleon, who provided them both a fresh glass of water while the other Animal headed for what they presumed to be the kitchen. A couple of moments later, shouting came from that general area between the young reptile and a presumably older guy, though it was hard to tell.

“Come on, kid!” came the croc’s voice.

A more cheerful, and somewhat deeper tone answered. “That’s funny, Vector, calling me a kid when you’re less than half my age.”

“Yeah? Well, you’re less than half my size!” Vector retorted.

The other guy chuckled airily. “I’m actually about four-fifths your size, ‘boss’.”

“Whatever! Get out there and help Espio! We got people!” the younger Animal ordered.

“Oh! You should’ve said so in the first place!”

The twins glanced at one another simultaneously, while the chameleon, whom they now knew to be Espio, continued cleaning around his space without any care or concern shown for the bickering in the back.

“Did that other voice sound familiar to you at all, sis?” Gad murmured curiously.

“I was gonna ask you the same thing, bro,” Giselle muttered back, “not just the range, but the way he spoke, too. Do you think...?”

They both jerked their heads towards the kitchen door as it opened. Both of them stood up with a start as the one that came flying into the room was a bee they knew all too well. Yes, he was somewhat bigger than they remembered, and his outfit did have a few details that were different from the one he wore years ago. However, there was no mistaking that smile and those honey-brown eyes.

“Charmy!” the pair exclaimed at the same time, which managed to grab the stoic bartender’s attention.

The bee, who’d only been half-paying attention to where he was buzzing, stopped in mid-air. He looked over at where his name had been called and blinked a few times. After rubbing his eyes and seeing that the wolves were indeed real, he flipped for joy and shot right over to them. He nearly tackled Gad, only for the red wolf to step to the side and let Giselle intercept him, wrapping one arm around the much smaller male while her other glove noogied him between his antennae.

“Agh, hey!” Charmy protested, laughing and struggling against the teal lady lupine until she mercifully released him, “it’s awesome to see you guys again! You just missed Miles, though, if you’re here to surprise him too.”

The male twin coughed while the female rubbed the back of her head bashfully. Charmy had always been pretty good at figuring certain things out, even without anyone having to say anything.

“That was the plan,” Giselle admitted, her face becoming more serious once she’d shrugged off her slight embarrassment, “but things have gone from bad to worse.”

“I assume you mean the Kukkus’ attack on Metropolis,” Espio said as he paused his duties.

“Not only that,” Gad elaborated, leaning forward on the counter while sporting a worried expression, “but they’ve got most of the Chaos Emeralds now.”

Charmy blinked and whipped his head side to side in disbelief. “What? But, Miles had like, four of them, and he said there were seven! What happened!?”

“Well,” the red wolf pondered, thinking how to summarize it all.

After a few moments, he began relating everything that had gone down for him and his brother in the past day. How they’d intended to surprise Miles and, if he wanted, help him in his endeavors here. But then, they’d discovered the yellow Chaos Emerald in Metropolis, making the connection that the fox must have come seeking them out. Knowing that others would be after the mystical minerals as well, the two had kept close by, and were proven right when the Empire showed up. They’d managed to give Speedy the slip, secure the Emerald, then make their way to meet up with Miles and his new buddy.

They shared how Speedy had been more than true to his name and overtaken them, and though they’d tried fighting him, it became fruitless once he nabbed the Emerald back. Captured, the prince had set them up to be exchanged for the other Emeralds, though Miles had been clever in rescuing them. Despite that and the subsequent defeat of Dr. Fukurokov’s newest mech, most of the gems had still been lost to the Empire. Worst of all was that Miles and Sonic were currently MIA, having been separated from them during a cave-in. Any attempts to reach them had, so far, been unsuccessful.

“Our little bro is probably okay,” Giselle tried to assure Charmy, trailing off some as her thoughts turned to the other kid.

Gad picked up where she paused, frowning remorsefully. “But, there’s a good chance that his new friend might not be.”

Charmy hummed concernedly, drawing a look from Espio. The bee’s face scrunched and shifted as he weighed everything he’d heard, flitting about the bar in thought. The teen insect eventually sat down on a stool next to his old friends, swiveling around to stare up at them. He then jerked his seat again, slapped his hands on the counter, and smiled at Espio, who perked his brow in turn.

“I’ve gotta help Miles!” he chirped, meeting the steely gaze of his co-worker, “those birds will be here soon, anyway, from the sound of things. Can’t just sit around!”

Before the chameleon or anyone else could say anything, Giselle’s comm came alive and started blaring metal, startling everyone present. The she-wolf checked the display, and her peachy muzzle split into an elated grin when that amber, fox-faced icon she knew well blinked on the screen.

“Well, look who decided to join the chat,” she quipped as she moved to answer the call, “I guess whatever was keeping us from connecting isn’t an issue now.”


Miles kept his back pressed to the purple pole on one side of the pathway above the oily waters, looking over at Sonic, who was doing the same on the opposite side. He then glanced down at his multitool, wary of the flashing verdigris wolf symbol. The two boys peeked around the bend every so often, keeping their eyes on the movements of numerous Kukku forces. Unlike any they’d faced so far, these were mostly composed of non-avian Animals and a few humans, wearing the colors and wielding the weapons of the Empire. The fox growled, knowing well that the doctor’s machines were responsible for bringing in these types of troops.

A beep on the Miles Electric brought him out of his anger, and the face of Giselle greeted him as he lifted it up to see. She seemed just as displeased as he felt.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve hurting your brother and I, then jumping into a chasm to who-knows-where, during a cave-in! I swear,” she scolded him, before dropping the angry demeanor and letting out a sigh, “such a pain in the arse sometimes. Thank the gods you’re alright." She paused for a moment. "What about Sonic?”

“I got to him just in time,” the fox responded, briefly showing her the hedgehog, who gave her a wave. He smiled when he heard his siblings let out relieved sounds at the news. “We wound up traveling through an underground cavern where we found some...interesting things.”

An "ooh" of intrigue sounded out, and suddenly, Miles found himself face to face with his best bee buddy. He would’ve asked what Charmy was doing there, but he was more happy to see his friend, and that his siblings had gotten somewhere safe.

“Hey, Miles! Glad you and that cool little dude are okay!” he said in a chipper tone, swerving out of the way of a purple glove lunging at him, “so, you find anything neat? Something worth a lot of money, like treasure, maybe?”

Charmy was yanked out of the picture, the feed spinning around and falling until it went out for a moment. The call hadn’t dropped, though, as the view was soon uncovered and brought back into focus on Gad. He wore a timid smile as his sister chased the bee around the bar, griping at him about touching her things without asking. The fox scanned around the corner once more, then reached into Remi’s storage, now that he was back in pack form, and pulled out the white Emerald.

“I’ll explain in more detail later, but the important thing is we found the last Chaos Emerald,” he informed them, briefly showing it off, “and we managed to get back above ground and out of the caverns. We’re over at the Oil Ocean Refinery, where there’s a lot of Kukku forces. It looks like the doctor finally expanded his Conversion Therapy to non-avians...”

The red wolf covered his muzzle with the other glove to suppress a sound of shock. “The new robots were one thing, but...it sounds like they’re pulling out all the stops.“

“And whatever it is they’re planning with the Chaos Emeralds, we won’t let them have their way,” Miles decided firmly, “Gadget, I need you and Gizmo to meet up with us in Metropolis so we can take them down.”

“Wait, ‘Gadget’, ‘Gizmo’?” questioned the larger canid.

The fox chuckled and scratched at one ear shyly. “Oh, yeah, Sonic came up with nicknames for you guys. Don’t worry, he does that for everyone he likes.”

“I like it,” Giselle affirmed as she squeezed her face into the picture with her brother’s, “spiny boy’s got good taste!”

Having overheard the compliment, Sonic puffed out his chest proudly, which Miles snorted softly at.

“Anyway,” he said, getting back on track, “I’ll probably need your help too, Charmy, and if your other friends are able to join, I’d appreciate it.”

The insect flew above the wolves and plopped his chin right on top of their heads, one growling in annoyance while the other rolled his eyes.

“No need to ask, buddy, I was already gonna pitch in!” he declared, “and as for Espio and Vector, you won’t have to worry!”

Miles grinned graciously. “Glad I can count on you.” He then stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Hmm, it’ll be tough for you guys to catch up in a timely manner, unless there’s some other path to Metropolis from Casino Night.”

“Nah, just send Remi over,” the newly christened Gizmo suggested offhandedly as she took back the comm, “the Sea Fox’s jet mode should be able to get us all over safely. I’ll let ‘Gadget’ fly, but I’ll need his grappler to make this work.”

The vermilion wolf was puzzled as to why she’d need it, but after a few moments, he seemed to gain understanding. Gadget nodded, slipped the bracer-esque tool off of his left glove, and handed it over. In exchange, she passed her comm back to him while she put the grappler over her own left wrist. He could see for himself that Miles had also caught on to what Gizmo was scheming.

“Alright, I’ll send him over,” the amber teen informed him, “he should also have enough supplies in his storage to set you two up pretty well. I’ll be taking a few before that, though.”

“Of course. Take care, little bro, and we’ll see you when we get to the city. We’ll just search for where the most explosions are coming from.”

They shared a small laugh at that, then Miles terminated the call. With that, the fox knelt down and began digging through Remi’s storage. He brought out a utility belt with four pouches, a shoulder strap, and a holster, which he readily put on. Two of the pockets were filled with the Chaos Emeralds they had, the other two were used to contain the Miles Electric and a good helping of the small but powerful bombs he had been using during their adventure, and last, but not least, he slipped the Pikkon Hammer into the holster. He also pulled out what looked to be an oversized gold ring, then set his little companion down to shift into Critter form.

“Okay, Remi, you overheard the conversation?” he asked the robot, which dipped its head in the affirmative, “great, initiate Sea Fox form in jet mode.”

Remi did just that, shifting and expanding until he was in the familiar minisub shape that Sonic had seen before, only now with a jet thruster in place of the propeller. Miles briefly popped open the cockpit, tapped at the console for a few seconds, and closed it up again. He bent down and gave the vehicle a brief hug and a few fond pats.

“I’ll see you later, buddy,” he said to his creation.

As quickly and stealthily as it could, the Sea Fox rose into the air and made its way west towards its destination. Once it was out of sight, Miles went over to Sonic and handed him the large ring.

“This’ll be of more help to you than me here,” the fox told the hedgehog, “it’s the same weapon I used back when I fought that witch and her flunkies I mentioned earlier. I call it the Boomering.”

Sonic studied the object curiously. “So, it’s like a boomerang, but a ring?”

“That is its primary use, but that’s not all,” Miles claimed, wagging a finger chidingly, “not only can it strike things at a distance, but it can retrieve items and even other people, if you’re so inclined. Additionally, you can use it as a tether, either to draw yourself to something like a pole, or to drag something behind you.”

The cobalt kid pictured each way he could wield it, then gave it a casual toss. Like clockwork, it whipped forward, curved through the air, then returned to his hand without issue. He smirked and spun it around on a couple of fingers.

"Alright, I think I can handle it," Sonic declared, giving the fox a determined look, "you ready to go?"

"Yeah," Miles replied, casting one more glance towards the path before them, "I’d like it if we alerted as few of them as possible, but when we do fight, just be sure to hold back. Most of our foes here aren't robotic, as you saw. That said, hit them fast, not that you’ll have a problem with that."

The boys bumped their fists together, moved away from the cover of the poles, and rushed forward. They crossed a couple of golden bridges before running into a team of converted soldiers, which only noticed them after the fox and the hedgehog were right on top of them. Miles lunged forward, striking the base of the snout of a ram with the heel of his palm, and knocking the ungulate out. A hyena attempted a back attack, only to receive a hard elbow to his nose, causing him to drop to the ground with a dazed and goofy giggle before slumping entirely. Sonic slipped between the legs of a possum, and when the somewhat larger Animal turned to face him, the speedster kicked off the ground and slammed into where the guy’s Adam’s apple would be. The second his feet touched the metal again, the hedgehog launched the Boomering at a man just as he drew out his energy rifle, snatching the weapon from his grasp and then taking it once the projectile had returned with it. Sonic tossed the gun aside, and then knocked the human flat with a swift Rolling Jump to the nose.

Having dealt with that group, the two moved on before more attention could be attracted. They dashed up an incline to a platform on the next derrick, where they leapt to a towering pole atop the following structure. The hedgehog used the Boomering to hook onto the top and hang there with his feet planted against the shaft, while the fox simply flew to the very peak and perched atop it on all fours. There were more soldiers below and ahead of them, as well as yet more new robots. These were pink and heavily based on an octopus, though they possessed small corkscrew ears on their round heads, a snout below a pair of cyan eyes, and six mechanical tentacles that they were using like propellers to hover around.

While there were undoubtedly more forces further ahead, Miles elected to at least avoid these immediate ones, taking hold of the Boomering and nodding at Sonic. They flew to an outcropping about halfway along the oil platform, coasted down a gentle decline, and ended up on another ledge. Looking on, they saw yellow and white metallic seahorses with cyan eyes, orange back spikes, two sharp antennae, a spike on the end of its curled tail, and small wing fins. Miles scanned below their position, spotting a platform much closer to the oil that was beneath a slope carrying more of the substance down into the water. He brought Sonic and himself down to the purple and gold structure, where they found three arches composed of pipes sticking up out of the thick liquid, and a pathway further out.

After traversing these convenient stepping stones, the pair ascended through the next section of the facility thanks to a series of open elevators. Near the last shaft, they ran into one of the octopus robots, which immediately fired a small energy ball their way. The two dodged out of the way, Sonic retaliating with the Boomering to grapple, pull, and then kick the Badnik into the air, which Miles subsequently broke apart with his hammer. They continued on past the wrecked robot to a short downhill slope slickened with oil, precariously sliding until they came to a jump at the end. Using their momentum, the fox flew them both over to a distant platform that was below a fifth elevator, which they promptly made use of.

At the top, they encountered two seahorse Badniks, which instantly flew their way and started trying to bombard them with projectiles. The teen swerved around the shot that was sent his way, vaulting off the head of one robot and surprising the other as he came down with a solid Rolling Jump. Sonic used the moment of distraction to use the Boomering in a more traditional fashion, breaking apart the remaining Badnik with a quick toss of the weapon. They progressed over the top of the derrick they were on and floated their way down deeper into the refinery, courtesy of the vulpine’s flight. Navigating down more slopes, some with oil and others without, they descended two more elevator shafts before they went up another incline and came to the largest building they’d yet found in the place.

Unfortunately, their current spot was also where they were the most out in the open, and it didn’t take long for them to be noticed by passing patrols on parallel platforms. They hurried on ahead down the path and over a couple of bridges, facing down a pair of walkers and a hoverpod just before they reached the next elevator. Miles flipped over the cannon balls sent by the former two, whipping out his hammer once more and striking at the fragile joints of the machines. The birds piloting the walkers were stunned as their rides collapsed under them, and only had enough time to let out a small yelp before the fox whacked them both and sent them to dreamland. Sonic threw the Boomering and snatched the pilot of the hoverpod, letting the craft fall to the ground and then throwing the avian at the teen’s feet. Miles didn’t give him any room to get away before grabbing him and kneeing him in the base of the beak, dropping him back to the metal walkway once he was out.

The two took the lift up, where they saw four green metal plates lined up on the path before them. When they got close, the fox and hedgehog saw that they were lids keeping strange green flames contained, ones that popped into the air every few seconds. The boys moved their gaze up and saw a series of what appeared to be green and gold checkered cannons that were mounted throughout the facility. The fox peered towards the fourth lid and saw that it could lead them into one of the strange fixtures. Perhaps they were used for getting around, for whatever reason.

Deciding to give it a shot, especially with more soldiers looking to converge on them, Miles brought Sonic along, timing it so that the final top launched them up. They tucked themselves into spheres to fit into the barrel they flew towards, which readjusted its angle once the two entered the chamber. It fired them off into another, identical cannon, which propelled them to a walkway significantly higher up than where they’d been. Scaling a couple of ledges, they dispatched two more octopus Badniks, then crossed a large bridge towards a group of lifts that went down. It was four more in total before they could continue on, Roll Jumping into two more seahorses that had sought to ambush them.

Seeing more soldiers start to board the lifts above them, Miles grabbed Sonic and flew them over the pipes and slides that carried oil through the refinery. He squeezed them through the bottom of an elevator shaft and brought them to a high ledge that overlooked much of the rest of the place. They could go down towards the oil ocean, head for higher ground, or try and throw their pursuers off another way. The fox saw yet more of those cannons above, as well as an odd green structure beneath the outcropping he was on. It appeared to be some sort of tall vent cover, one that was positioned directly beneath the barrel of one of those things.

As carefully as he could, Miles aimed and tossed one of his bombs down at the object, blowing it apart without causing any flaming detritus. A violent rush of air whipped up from where the cover had once been, giving weight to the teen’s theory about its function. Hearing the shouts of combatants on their tails, the pair curl up and let themselves be carried by the blasting air into the cannon above its vent. They’re sent hurtling about four more times, ending up next to another bridge like the one they’d traversed just moments ago. This brought them to three declines that had all been previously used to transport oil, so they took care in getting down.

Another couple of minutes passed, and the two discovered the exit to the complex, the outskirts of Metropolis only a few hundred meters away. They crossed over a golden bridge, only to have it collapse just as they reached the other side, which made them both pause. They noticed there was a gap in the platforms in front of them, and the oily water there bubbled for a moment, then erupted. Once the greasy drizzle cleared, they were faced with a super-sized version of the octopus Badniks, which also sported a golden neck collar, a golden hatch on its head, and it seemed to have more numerous tentacles, which were composed of pink orbs rather than being singularly solid limbs. It certainly appeared more threatening than those they’d come across so far, as each tentacle was tipped with a different weapon, such as energy guns, claws, and bullet turrets.

Miles and Sonic were prepared to throw down, but were confused when the top opened up and three unremarkable Kukku combatants emerged. The duo glanced at one another, shrugged, then regarded the trio that was fixing an angry glare at the teen.

“It’s the fox!” one of them shouted, “Lord Speedy was right!”

“We mustn’t disappoint him, then!” a second piped up.

The third one thrust a fist into the air. “It’s time we finally get you back, Prower!”

Miles let his gaze sweep over each of the little birds that were once around his size, some years ago. He scratched his chin and tilted his head, mumbling in bewilderment.

“Um, who are you guys?” he couldn’t help asking.

The three birds wilted, as though they’d been shot upon hearing the vulpine’s words. After a few seconds to collect themselves, they snarled angrily at the teen.

“The nerve of this kid!” remarked the first one indignantly.

“You might not remember us, but we remember you!” the second claimed.

“We were the pilots of Mecha Golem Mark IV, V, and VI, respectively!” the third clarified.

Sonic looked expectantly towards Miles. The fox tapped at his ears as he rewound his memories, thinking back to his battles with those robots.

“Hm, the fourth one was in Padon Tunnel,” he recalled, “the fifth one was at the bottom of Brocco Island’s caverns, and the sixth one was encountered while escaping from the doctor’s island fort along with Ray and Mighty.” He peered up at the small gang of Kukkus. “They look like any other typical combatants I’ve seen, though.”

The hedgehog shot him a confident grin. “Shouldn’t be any trouble, then!”

“As long as we stay sharp,” the fox replied while wearing his own smirk, “let’s go, partner!”

Sonic stopped short just as he was about to break out into a run, giving Miles an incredulous face. “Partner? For real?”

“Yeah, we’ll talk about it later,” the older Animal assured him, nodding towards the Kukkus, “we’ve got a few guys that need me to teach them a lesson again.” He cracked his knuckles through his gloves and rolled his neck a little bit, then glared up at the pilots. “I’m not fond of repeating myself about things like this, but for folks like you, it’s the only way you’ll learn to stop antagonizing me!”

There was a moment of fear on the faces of the soldiers, but it was hastily brushed aside as they gave a cry of bravado, then retreated into the mech. The octopus dove beneath the oil, leaving the two heroes on alert, ears perked and eyes scanning over the waters. The sound of groaning metal reached them, spotting two tentacles tugging at the platform they were standing on. Miles and Sonic beat feet to the next one, jumping the gap just as their previous ground was yanked down into the depths. The robot came back up, the pilots checking around to see if their handiwork did the trick.

With their backs turned, Miles revved up a Spin Dash and tore off, bouncing off the edge at the last second to slam into the glass dome around their cockpit. A small crack appeared on the surface, but nothing that would spell trouble for the guys driving. Sonic followed up with his own Spin Dash, striking the thing between its beady eyes hard enough to make it rock backwards. The ends of one of the appendages sharpened into a spearpoint and fired towards the hedgehog like a missile, but the kid’s reflexes tipped him off. He threw the Boomering at the oncoming projectile, the tether effect pulling him along once it swirled around the sharp point. Sonic swung up onto the top side and dropped into a Rolling Jump, landing dead-on right into the top of the mech’s dome.

As the octopus went back under the oil, Miles swooped in and brought the both of them back to dry land. Two more limbs rose from the liquids, aiming a pair of cannons at them with almost pinpoint accuracy. Miles and Sonic doubled back to avoid the blasts that came their way, but the beams ignited trace amounts of oil on the platform all the same. Another tentacle rose up and smacked down, trying to slash at them with the claws on the end, its weight causing the fiery metal to sink a little. Miles knew that if that fire licked at the ocean beneath them, it wouldn’t be an explosion, but everything would go up in smoke pretty fast!

Fearing such an outcome, he grabbed the Boomering from Sonic, his other hand reaching into his utility belt and taking out the cyan Chaos Emerald. He hurtled the weapon hard at the tentacle, putting a sizable dent in it and forcing it to retreat. The fox caught the ring and touched it to the gem, then threw it once more so that it made a full revolution around the affected area, only it didn’t return right away. It unceasingly circled about in that same trajectory, creating a vortex that steadily sucked the oxygen out of that patch of terrain, soon killing the blue flames.

“Crazy birds,” he muttered as he tossed the Boomering back to Sonic and stored his Emerald, “we’ve got to disable that thing before we all end up flash-fried!”

The younger boy checked behind them and pointed with his free hand. “We’re pretty close to shore. Let’s make them think we’re trying to escape, then turn it around on them!”

Miles’ eyes darted between the tentacles and the looming buildings that were just over that way. To be fair, they could get over there before the Kukkus could have any time to catch up, but they couldn’t leave their fight unfinished. He nodded after a few seconds, and the two of them sprinted off at a relatively moderate pace. The octopus, predictably, surged through the oil after them, using two more of its tendrils to collapse one of the platforms in front of them, as well as another behind them. The boys split up, with the fox staying on the lone rise while Sonic bounded over to the raining path towards Metropolis.

The mech surfaced in the space between their positions, now bringing up two tendrils topped with round bullet turrets. They swiveled Sonic’s way, its shallow barrels lighting up and unleashing a hail of rounds. The hedgehog’s agility allowed him to stay a few steps ahead, though he made sure to never stray too close to the edges to make sure that the bullets didn’t fire into the oil. Miles pounced high in the air, then dove towards the dome over the cockpit, hammer in hand, though just before he reached it, a third tentacle surged forth from the oil and lashed out at him. He brought up his weapon in time to prevent a direct hit, but he was still sent into a disorienting spin, leaving him open to a second attack. The tentacle was suddenly whipped to one side as Miles saw the Boomering soaring in and smashing it close to the base of the limb, giving him time to right himself.

A burst of speed from his tails let the vulpine close the distance faster than his foes could retaliate, banging his hammer against the glass as he flew in circles around the main body. The chinks in the protective coating grew from the successive impacts, forming spiderwebs of cracks as the punishment went on. They submerged once more, and the turrets that had been focused on Sonic rounded on him, although Miles could see that the pilots were hesitant to try and riddle him with bullets. Instead, they attempted similar maneuvers as they had with the more melee-oriented attachments, but they obviously weren’t as suited.

Miles weaved between them and landed next to Sonic, drawing the attention to them both. Hedgehog and fox both dodged to the side as one tentacle slapped down, charged up a Spin Dash, then came at the orbs that made up its length from opposite sides. The double act severed the mount from the rest of it, then made their move on the second. Miles performed a Rolling Jump to knock the turret off-center, while Sonic tethered himself to the Boomering as he lobbed it at that same spot, curling up for his own attack. The result was much the same as the first, and the kid swiftly returned to safety using that method again, using the fox as a willing anchor.

Once again, the terrain beneath them quaked as the robot tried pulling them down, and the pair retreated further in the direction of the city. As expected, the combatants moved to cut off their escape, though this time, they crashed the octopus right through the platform in front of them. Two additional tentacle spears arched in a pincer trajectory, hoping to catch them off guard, but given they’d seen all of the machine’s tricks by this point, Miles and Sonic saw it coming. The latter entered his Rolling Attack state, which the former juggled into his arms and then took to the air. The blasters showed up again, freely taking shots at him as he flew above due to no fear of igniting the liquid below. Compared to Speedy and others he’d faced, Miles found their aim to be lacking, while he wouldn’t say the same for himself, now that he was at the perfect altitude to deliver a decisive blow to their canopy. He let the spiny blue ball drop, then wound up his leg as his eyes locked onto target.

“Thunder Shoot!” the fox shouted, giving his partner’s form a hearty kick.

Sonic came down right on the epicenter of the mess of cracked glass, giving it the last push it needed to completely shatter the barrier. The three Kukkus squawked in a panic as Miles then landed in the cockpit, taking each of them and tossing them in the air for his young partner to hurtle to the opposite platform. The teen only needed a handful of seconds to study the controls and enter the right commands, tapping his fingers at a choice few buttons and smiling in satisfaction as he heard the engine power down. To make certain that the birds wouldn’t be able to use it again, he used his hammer to pound a hole into the console, then tore out several wires and circuits under the key inputs.

He hopped out of the now inactive robot and traded a high-five with his little buddy, paying no mind to the Kukkus as they protested being left stranded.

“I told you it’d be easy!” Sonic bragged, grinning up to the fox.

Miles returned his expression and chuckled, already lightly jogging towards their next destination. “With two sharp guys like us, was there ever any doubt?”

“Hah, you’re a lot cooler when you talk more like that, big guy,” complimented the kid, catching up with very little effort.

The fox chose to modestly accept the praise, flashing a nervous smile and dipping his head. But, there were more important things to think about at the moment. He retrieved the Miles Electric and, as had become habit on this journey, brought up the Emerald Radar. Sure enough, the five that the Empire now possessed were straight east from them, just off that side of Metropolis. Glancing up, he didn’t see the Battle Fortress in the sky. Thus, he had to assume it had returned underwater or was parked on the surface, out of sight.

“We’re almost there, kid,” he told Sonic, his other hand clenching tightly, “not just to Metropolis, but the Kukku HQ, too.”

The boy nodded back at Miles. “Just a little further, and then all we gotta do is beat the bad guys!”

“Once the others arrive and meet up with us, we’ll make for the Battle Fortress,” the teen planned out loud, “but first, we need to cut off any supplies they could get, especially ones that would expand their robot army and add to their weapons.”

“Well, Metropolis is an industrial city, and the biggest manufacturer is Metropolitan Industries,” Sonic informed him, giggling when Miles gave him a deadpan look, “yeah, I know, not very original. But, they’ve got the biggest plant on the island, so if the Kukkus are looking for scraps, there’s no better place.”

“Then that’s where we’re headed,” Miles decided, picking up the pace, “just be ready for anything.”

The pair of them raced off, amber and blue blurs tearing through the city limits and down the wrecked streets towards a truly colossal factory on the east coast. Though he couldn’t see it, Miles had indeed been correct in his assumptions about where the Battle Fortress was, looming just behind the immense building on land, framed by the approaching darkness of night.


Speedy folded his arms behind his back as he gazed at what was before him. It was a large, egg-shaped module that rested with a metallic “nest” atop a deep blue-gray pedestal. Within the face of the egg were the five Chaos Emeralds that they had acquired. The red gem was arranged at the top, with the magenta one to its left and the yellow rock to its right, the green stone opposite of the former, and the blue mineral across from the latter. That left the one outer space available for the cyan, and reserved the center slot for the white. It would be quite a sight to see once all seven Emeralds were in place. At least, that’s what his father and the doctor said.

The rest of the immense chamber was cast in steel gray and circuit yellow, empty aside from the multiple levels of catwalks around the edges, and a positively massive viewing window that currently had the blast shield lowered. He’d elected to come alone, after both of the other major authority figures had elected to attend to other plans for the evening. He’d been troubled by a number of thoughts and had believed that coming here would help him sort them out. The magenta Emerald, in particular, stirred memories that he was already sick of revisiting.

And yet, when he turned his thoughts away from them, they just went to another source of stress.

‘The praise that miserable old owl received,’ he fumed, ‘as though he’d been the one to do all the heavy lifting! He barely helped when capturing the wolf twins, damaged my exosuit with his clumsiness, then got his new toy trashed! If he hadn’t brought back the Emeralds, Fukurokov would have nothing good for Father to say about him! He’d have been thrown in the brig for his screw-ups!’

Speedy slammed his fists onto the module, which buckled a bit from the force, only to harmlessly warp back into shape. The clatter of a tool came from the entrance of the vast room, prompting him to whirl around to face the source. It was a large, egg-shaped man in red, black, and gold, with blue pince-nez glasses and a bushy mustache that would get along well with Fukurokov’s beard.

“You there!” the heir shouted as he stormed over, one hand hovering above his other wrist, “you have ten seconds to identify yourself and state your intentions before the entirety of my military comes down on top of you!”

The burly and rotund fellow held up his hands defensively, but didn’t seem worried. “Easy there, Prince Battle Kukku XVI. The name is Dr. Ivo Robotnik, and I’m here to help dear old Dmitri put the finishing touches on this magnificent station before the day is done.”

That last bit, along with being addressed by his proper title, made Speedy stop himself from activating his comm. So, this was the mysterious benefactor that Miles had gotten the owl to slip up and mention? He’d been...well, he wasn’t really sure what he’d been expecting, but a human was not it.

“Is that right?” the Kukku inquired, leveling his gaze up at this rather tall fellow. He had at least a foot on his father, and probably a couple hundred pounds! “The doctor has been loath to have anyone working directly with him ever since a few incidents occurred some years ago. How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

Ivo grinned and tapped a few points on the palm of one glove with his spindly fingers. Within moments, a hornet Badnik entered the room and hovered at the doctor’s side, awaiting further instruction. Speedy let out a grunt and reluctantly withdrew his hand from over his comm.

“So, you’re the one that’s been supplying our forces with all of these contraptions,” he stated, briefly regarding the droid, “and redesigned machines like the doctor’s recurring mech. I wonder why we haven’t been properly introduced, given how much you’ve done for us.” He shook his head after he thought about it for another good moment. “No, I know why. Dr. F made it clear back in the caves that he didn’t want anyone else to find out about you.”

The man chuckled and waved away the robot. “My ‘better half’ may be willing to stay in his cage, but I prefer working where my brilliant touch is most needed. That’s pretty much everywhere, sadly.”

“What do you mean by that?” Speedy pressed him.

Ivo motioned for him to follow as he strolled over to the module in the center of the room. The prince rolled his eyes at the flippant audacity of this guy, telling him where to go. But, he chose to entertain this for now. Who knew when he’d get another chance like this?

“Ever since I was young and soft-boiled,” the man said, as though narrating some grand tale, “I’ve had to share this body with a contemptibly kind-hearted cad. Until recently, ‘Ovi the Tinkerer’ has been the dominant personality, even though my identity is the one that holds the true name!”

‘Leave it to the crazy old bird to find another head case to bring aboard,’ Speedy thought snarkily.

The human swept his arm over the Chaos Emeralds. “The power of these gemstones allowed me to come to the forefront, even if only temporarily. And with them, as well as the generous amounts of materials we’ve secured, I’ve made such advancements to projects that were once pipedreams!”

“Then why continue working with the doctor?” the prince couldn’t help wondering, “if this and everything else are anything to go by, you’re far superior to the old man.”

Ivo put up a hand in front of his mouth as he let out a loud and raucous bellow of a laugh. There was both condescension and a bit of pride in the chortling, which served to irritate Speedy further. It seemed that certain traits were shared between mad scientists regardless of species.

“While that may be true,” he said haughtily, “having readily available supplies and equipment to work with is quite wonderful.” He grunted in annoyance, his mustache drooping along with his smile. “I know that the owl plans to toss me aside once he’s gotten all he can from my designs. He thinks I’m not aware of his intentions, but you can’t fool someone who would do the same.” He traced one of his spindly fingers around the module he helped build, a wicked grin crossing his lips. “I think it would serve him right to have that teenage fox bring this all crashing down. The fool’s proven incompetent in handling what I’ve so generously given him.”

Speedy could scarcely believe what he’d just heard. Despite all the effort and production that had gone into this project, greater than anything the Empire had ever undertaken, this human was willing to let it fail out of spite? It seemed the sort of action a child would take, not some middle-aged man about to achieve an incredible feat of engineering. It reminded him too much of the owl.

“You ramble on just like him,” he said with a sneer, “and do you think it’s wise to say such tripe out loud? If you plan betrayal against us, my father will know.”

Ivo scoffed at the threat. “Oh please, I’ve already taken steps to ensure that you’d have no way of proving I’m even here. And besides, your father’s opinion of you is less than stellar at the moment, in no small part due to Dmitri’s recent string of ‘successes’. It must be frustrating to try and win Dear Old Dad’s respect, especially when you don’t even want the same thing as him.”

Speedy choked back a gasp. How could this man even know that, when they’d never met before today? Glancing back at Ivo, the prince felt unnerved by a gaze that he couldn’t see beyond the tinted lenses of those specs. It was like those hidden eyes were boring into his soul and laying it bare, reading his insecurities like a book. Just who was this guy?

“But, if it will make you feel better,” the human went on, his grin widening as he noticed the Kukku paying him greater attention, “I don’t plan on anything like sabotage. Rather, I have a method of insurance in place, should the Chaos Emeralds prove hazardous for the system.”

Ivo retrieved a small, black data drive from his coat and handed it over to Speedy. The bird turned it over in his fingers a few times, scrutinizing the plain-looking object.

“Once engaged, there will be a force field surrounding the module to keep the minerals in place while their energy is fed into the station,” the man explained, gesturing to the gems and then to the device he gave Speedy, “in an emergency, you need only insert that into one of the countless auxiliary ports around the complex. It will shut down the module and then divert power from the many generators I built in the event of such a scenario.” He chuckled amusedly. “Dmitri already has one of his own, but is unaware I’ve produced any more. Consider that your own form of insurance, for if he ever starts to gain aspirations above his station. Surely that will get you some respect from the Emperor, should that happen.”

The heir glared up at the man with his red eyes. “I don’t understand why you would do this. Why give this to me?”

“It makes things more interesting,” Ivo answered simply, “and just imagine how fun it must be to have a choice for once!”

Hearing that made the bird’s blood chill, his eyes drifting down to the drive. Speedy stared at it for a good while, not even bothering to respond as Ivo went to finish up his tasks. The man had essentially handed him a kill switch for the most important part of this new complex. True, he’d pointed out that the station didn’t technically need the Emeralds to operate, but their power would better assure victory. With the gems powering the onboard weapon batteries, they’d have firepower that would be unmatched anywhere in the world.

But then, that was the problem, wasn’t it? With five of the Emeralds, they could destroy a city like Metropolis, or possibly all of West Side Island, with its primary cannon. There wouldn’t be a need to use it on so many people, though Speedy had a feeling his father would justify it. He’d excused all the unnecessary pillaging and killing before now, so why wouldn’t he in this case? Not to mention, with them so close to their goal, and Miles drawing ever closer, the GBK could very well employ such a measure.

With what he held in his hand, Speedy could prevent that. But, could he do that to his father? The man that he respected and was loyal to?

You always had a choice!’ Miles’ voice played back in his mind, ‘you’re just too afraid of your father to make a sensible one!

The prince clutched the “insurance” tightly in a fist and stormed out of the chamber, leaving Ivo to his work.

“Is that why you’re so disappointed, Miles?” he snarled aloud as he stomped away, “because you think I’m a coward!?” His glove groaned in protest as he bunched up his fingers even more, though he was careful not to crush the gadget. “I’ll show you, you damn fox!”

Notes:

Having noted that Miles didn't really kill anyone on his previous adventures, I thought it would be silly for the pilots of the previous Mecha Golems to make a return here, controlling a Sonic Mania boss no less. Don't worry, though, they're not about to become a recurring gag trio like Team Rocket or anything like that. I had a bit of fun bringing in the Boomering as well, further cementing Tails' Skypatrol's place in this AU. As for Speedy, what will he do, now that Dr. Robotnik has given him the chance to make a choice and he's perceived a sleight about his character from his rival?

Many thanks again for the comments, views, and kudos. To answer at least one without spoiling anything, Dr. Fukurokov's given name of Dmitri was something I came up with on the spot. I have read the Archie Comics in depth, though, and have recently gotten around to them once again, so perhaps the name of Knuckles' nemesis and relative was on my subconscious. Anyway, I'll catch you all next time!