Chapter 24- Return to the Base

The four now sat inside a helicopter. It was one of the same helicopters that were used to protect the flying fortress. The interior was rather nice, black leather seats covered the passenger area that the group was in now. Skara and Sotsu sat next to each other, though both had their attention out the window that viewed the forest below. 

Lemetris’ regiment of Dark Legion troops were being carried in a large Dark Legion plane that they were following. Though the plane was very large it only housed twenty or so of Lemetris’ men. Sotsu wondered if they could have just got a smaller aircraft since such a large one wasn’t necessary.

The passenger cab the four sat in now was rather cramped. There was less the two feet of space between Sotsu’s knees and Lemetris’. It being even more difficult to manage because of Sotsu’s leg gear. Skara and Hellfire were across from each other. There was plenty of headroom, but that’s because each of them were no more then a little over 3 feet tall, Sotsu being the tallest at 3’ 6". 

Sotsu had his right hand next to his leg and his head resting in the palm of his left hand as he looked out the window next to him through the blue frames of his sunglasses. His tail was folded across his lap. Sotsu straightened his glasses with his right hand and when he put his hand back he accidentally rested it on Skara’s who was near by. Sotsu looked over blushing slightly and apologized as he removed his hand and placed it where he intended to. Hellfire smirked a little and Lemetris just cast a confused look about not knowing what happened. Skara told her demon counter-part to grow-up and keep quiet. Sotsu kept his attention at the window a little angry at himself that he did that.

It had been a good few hours our so. The group was completely silent the whole time. Finally the pilot announced that they were finally arriving at Robotropolis. The group looked out the windows to see the huge city not too far ahead. The group was suppose to land outside of the city and quickly make their way into Robotnik’s HQ. The helicopter landed a good half-mile or so outside the city limits. The troop transport aircraft opened it back end as the Dark Legion troops parachuted down. Sotsu wondered why they did all that instead of just taking a few more helicopters to get all of the troops in… but he didn’t question authority. 

"Well you all want me to scout ahead?" Sotsu asked as they began to walk ahead while Lemetris rounded his troops.

These Dark Legion troops were different. They looked like some sort of Specialist Team of some kind. They all wore urban camo of gray, black and white. Each had a gray helmet with a visor that went down over there eyes, attached from the helmet was a small mike. They each had a backpack of equipment and each held a machinegun. They looked like some form of marines. Though Sotsu thought it looked weird that most of them were echidnas with cybernetic implants or different sorts.

"Squadron ready!" Lemetris barked as Hellfire, Skara and Sotsu stopped to wait for the force to catch up.

They all replied in the same army-like fashion and Lemetris lead them forward. 

"Sotsu… yes you scout ahead. If you can make an entrance for us," Lemetris replied finally as he neared the three.

"Alright then right away," Sotsu said as he drew the small black cube from one of his coat pouches. 

He pressed a small button on the top of the cube and dropped it to the ground. In a small cloud of white smoke the black motorcycle appeared. Sotsu got on and turned the ignition.

"C’ya there!" Sotsu shouted, he nodded toward Skara then zoomed off.

He enjoyed the ride as the wind gushed about him. Though he had his mind only focused on the mission. He leaned into the bike as he pushed it faster, his eyes sharpened. Determination shown through. He knew that once he got to the base he’d have to break an entrance for the group. No doubt Robotnik had put up some extra defense, not only due to his absence but do to the last break in that Sotsu had assisted in.

Sotsu reached the great metal city in less then a minute. He hit a slightly raised hill and ramped into the city. The Mobians there dived and ran out of the way as Sotsu didn’t stop. He rushed through the city as fast as he could. There was no doubt that every minute he wasted there’d be more and more of a chance of his detection. Sotsu hit the bike into a higher gear and gritted his teeth, as everything became a blur. His improved vision and highly honed reflexes allowed him to maneuver the bike from anything that he’d crash into.

The great egg base came into view as he approached it. Sotsu slowed as he drove around to it’s front. Sotsu hit the big red button, which opened the two gattling chambers.

"Don’t hit this unless you wanna kill something," Sotsu mumbled to himself as he hit the trigger and unleashed hell on the bulkhead that was the entrance to the base. 

The gattling fire mowed down the two SWATbots that were guarding the door. They were nothing more then ribbons by the time they had knew what hit them. The door kept up for as long as it took for the gattlings to rotate a few times. Then fell inward with a loud wham.

Sotsu laughed a little as he dismounted his bike and put it back into it’s portable cube form and placed it back into it’s pouch.

Sotsu drew the Sword and set it for automatic assault. He hit his targeter on his glasses and stalked toward the broken remains of the entrance door. Like before there were a handful of SWATbots guarding the inside hallway that led from the entrance.

"It’s Sotsu! Attack!" the lead SWATbot commanded.

Though his order went undone. By the time he had finished that Sotsu had lay waste to all of them in a swift round from his Sword. 

"Man with the Machine Gun…" Sotsu thought to himself, that was Laguna’s theme from Final Fantasy 8. A game which he never particularly cared for, it just came to his mind.

A second blastdoor was set at the end of the hallway. Sotsu merely jammed his right foot into it, and with little effort the door busted out and tumbled a ways into the large room Sotsu was now entering. 

Sotsu knew there’d be guards ahead, as he entered the room the Sword was flashing brightly pumping out several bullets into the turrets that were stationed about. Sotsu remembered the struggle that he and the other ex-earthlings had with these automated turrets. Now they were nothing more then waste as each bullet found home into the metal hides of the sentries. No bullet was wasted, Sotsu’s enhanced accuracy heeded no mercy. 

As Sotsu walked though the smoking debris of the turrets toward the next bulkhead he thought of how efficient of a killing machine he had become. He thought how effective he’d be against the Freedom Fighters. He wouldn’t even have to use his psychic hold on them… he could put a bullet into each of there head’s before they could so much as say a stupid remark toward him. It was sickening to think such things… Sotsu noted this to himself… but now his purpose was to do nothing more then what Kragok bided. If he bides that Sotsu kill the Freedom Fighters… then so be it.

Sotsu encountered the metal door that’d lead to the next hallway. He kicked it in with one swift and powerful blow and turned the metal to scrap. There were more automated turrets lining the walls. Sotsu unleashed one swift round from the Sword, sending a single bullet aimed strategistically toward their internal sensory device. Sotsu had no idea how he knew where it’d be, but seeing that it no longer made the turrets capable of activating, he knew he did something right.

Sotsu casually walked down the hallway. Sotsu’s right hand holding the Sword’s handle with his finger on the trigger while the Sword’s grip on the body section rested in his left hand. Once again a blastdoor’s demise occurred as Sotsu entered the next room. 

Sotsu quickly sent a single lead bullet into each of the SWATbots that awaited him on the other side. Then it was silent. Sotsu looked about as he thought he heard a slight banging sound coming from within the next room. 

Soon it began to come louder, then the door was blasted off it’s hinges and landed a little ways from Sotsu. Now standing were the large door was… in the now smoking frame… is a large walker of some kind. Sotsu recognized it to be the same one that Shadow had fought in Sonic Adventure 2. Though this one Robotnik had made. Sotsu seethed his Sword, not wanting to waste ammunition on this. 

It’s chin-mounted chain gun opened loudly and spat rapid fire at Sotsu. Sotsu merely rounded about as the round of fire ceased for it to launch a round of missiles. Sotsu stood still as the missiles emitted a hiss and came to life as they charged straight for him. Sotsu stood there calmly and let the missiles close in before he stopped them, only a few feet away. 

They slowly turned and ran straight for their originator, making contact and blasting half the hull away with a loud eruption. Sotsu then ran straight for the recovering walker. Once he got within a few feet away he back-flipped, though slightly awkwardly as he wasn’t use to his tail. 

Once at the peak of the arc he unleashed a powerful shadow blast that tore the walker to shreds. Sotsu landed exactly were he took off just in time to see the walker tilt wearily a little, then all together fall. Sotsu made his way past the newly blasted doorway and down the hall. 

After hiking a good distance of ascending and descending hallways and staircases Sotsu finally made it to the rest area, the lobby that was blown to bits by Wolf’s fireball. But to Sotsu’s surprise it had been rebuilt to look exactly as before, it even had the same vending machines. Though one new thing were the white orbs stuck about here and there in the walls. Sotsu examined them and recognized them to be made of the same material as the newer cyber-cells, example being the ones the ex-earthling’s were held in. Sotsu didn’t wish to take any chances and decided not to try and use his psychic powers. If he were right into thinking these would zap him for doing so… that zap might prove to be a fatal one. 

"He’s up here! Let’s get him!" Sotsu heard a SWATbot shout from one of the hallways.

Sotsu quickly reached for his equipment bag and drew out a red egg shaped item from his bag. Out of one end of the item protruded a small extension. Sotsu inserted the extension into the barrel of the Sword. He hefted the weapon up aimed for the hallway that was sounding with countless footfalls.

As Sotsu saw the leading few SWATbots round the corner of the descending hallway Sotsu smiled as they looked up right before Sotsu pulled the trigger. The red projectile made a loud hiss sound before it rocketed off leaving a white tail of smoke behind it. In a bright yellow flash and an earthshaking rumble the whole hallway collapsed on regiment of SWATbots.

"Got a problem," Sotsu began as he cocked his rifle for automatic, "blow it up."

A slight vibration went thought the building. Sotsu thought it might either be an aftershock, a reaction, or what it really was, Lemetris’ men making their entrance.

"Ah well might as well take the easy way through," Sotsu said.

The black echidna seethed his Sword and popped over to the window, the same one the Freedom Fighters had made their escape before. Sotsu though didn’t know of that as he was unconscious at the time. 

With one good kick the glass shattered and fell away to the streets below. He looked above to the slight extension of the ledge above. Sotsu stepped back a little ways from the window, then ran straight toward it. Once he reached the edge he jumped and spun about, reaching up and gripping the ledge with both hands. He strained hard to pull himself up, the equipment not making it too easy, but then again he managed to due to his enhanced strength. 

He looked about his perimeter. The rounded surface of the egg-shaped structure made it hard to determine were the windows were placed. Sotsu finally decided to make use of his boots. He bent down and pressed one of the hidden buttons on the boots. With a slight humming sound, Sotsu felt his feet lock onto the metal.

Though it was indeed harder for him to lift his feet, Sotsu began to scale the building using the magnetic device in his footgear. His equipment threatened to pull him down, but once again his abnormal strength proved useful.

Sotsu now was near the top, he looked into a particular window and recognized his location. This window led to the inside of Robotnik’s office, where Sotsu had been awarded with that medal. Funny to bump into this place after just recently had thought about that day he had gotten the award.


Sotsu drew his Sword and butted the window with it. The window gave easily enough. Sotsu entered and turned off the magnetic soles of his footwear. He thought it felt good again to be able to walk about more freely, not having to pull against that magnetic force. Sotsu’s electromagnetic senses picked up something. Sotsu turned as someone revealed himself.

"Intruder halt," Mecha Sonic demanded as he exited from a metal door that sat at the corner of the room, no doubt it was one of Robotnik’s defenses in his absence.

"Or…?" Sotsu asked, wanting to play with Robotnik’s toy before making waste of it.

"Or be destroyed," it replied.

"Hey I got an idea. How about I don’t halt… and you be destroyed," Sotsu replied smiling at the little game he was playing with his assailant.

"Lay down your weapons or be destroyed," the robot demanded.

"Or how about this. I don’t lay down my weapons… and instead use them… to blast you to hell," Sotsu mocked Mecha Sonic.

"You have ten seconds to follow my orders, or prepare to be destroyed," Mecha Sonic announced.

"Okay then… I’ll wait nine seconds to open fire. Just to give you a fair chance that I might miscalculate. Then you’ll get in an attempt to attack me, but it will just fail and then…" Sotsu was cut short as the robot counter-part of Sonic began to charge for a spin dash.

"Uh… well I was trying to be reasonable," Sotsu sighed.

Mecha Sonic quickly charged straight for Sotsu, only to be stopped as Sotsu shoved his foot in the way. Mecha Sonic produced a loud ringing sound as he dropped to the ground, his attack having been abruptly stopped. Then within a split second Sotsu had the Sword drawn and shoved in Mecha Sonic’s face.

"Sorry, looks like your too slow," Sotsu said before pulling the trigger. 

The gun came to life and spat lead into Mecha Sonic, tearing him apart and leaving nothing more then scrap raining about the room.

Sotsu still held his position as the remains of Mecha Sonic clattered to the floor. A heavy smoke rose from the barrel. Sotsu finally leveled his stance and hefted the gun up in one hand and leaned it against his chest. Then he headed for the office exit, leaving the smoking mess to be cleaned up by whoever later.

Sotsu now entered a long metal hallway. He remembered that Lemetris was the one informed on where and what to find and take. Sotsu guessed the majority of his part was to take out anything that might hold hazard to the rest of the group, and also to wreak havoc on whatever he wanted. Sotsu wasn’t one to have a violent behavior but he was rather enjoying this thrashing of Robotnik’s base, maybe it was that chip talking, or maybe that’s just how he was now.

"All right men search for any and all files regarding the DE-55’s. Remember we need the armor schematics!" Sotsu heard Lemetris shout from somewhere near in the complex.

"Good Lemetris… you keep on track… I’m heading off to find something on my own behalf," Sotsu said before exchanging for a fresh magazine of ammunition.

After locking the clip in place Sotsu headed off intending to find that toxic waste storage room. He busted though a few rooms and quickly stuck down any SWATbots with swift blows, not wanting to waste any more ammo then he’d have to. 

After a while he came to a strange hallway. It had a tile floor that was slightly raised, and it had some arrangement of monkey bars going across, some were a red color looking as though they were being heated. The tiles actually had motion detectors underneath them and anyone who wished to cross would have to manage about the bars, not being able to touch the floor.

Sotsu knew it wouldn’t be easy not being able to use his psychic powers due to the conveniently place orbs that were found everywhere. Sotsu drew the Sword and loaded it with EMP rounds. He shot a single round into each orb. Sotsu could tell that they were disabled as it produced random pulse of electricity about it. Once Sotsu double-checked the room for anymore orbs he seethed the Sword and closed his eyes. He drew on his flowing hate and vengeance and manifested it as a physical force about the bars. Then in near unison all of them were ripped from their location and formed into a walkway, hovering mere inches from the floor.

Sotsu took a slow and careful step to the first bar. It didn’t budge a bit from were it was held at. Sotsu knew he was risking screwing up by doing this instead of simply hovering over… but he didn’t want to get lazy. Sotsu made it swiftly across to the other side. Once there he flew the bars over to the other side and made a neat pile of steel stacked up against a wall.

The breaking of the next door was meet by oncoming fire from several SWATbots. Sotsu quickly dispatched them with a series of swift blows and didn’t stop until he broke down the next door.

Upon entering Sotsu recognized it to be the entrance to the Chemical Plant Zone. The long extension going across over the ring of toxic waste that lined the cylinder structure.

"Heh that was easy," Sotsu gloated as he walked across the bridge.

Though his entrance was stopped. The place began to rumble violently. Sotsu at first figured it to be Lemetris blowing apart another wall of something of the like. But the truth was merely raising a few feet away. It was one of the toxic serpents Sotsu and the Freedom Fighters had encountered before. Unfortunately this metallic monster wasn’t of the normal kind. It was a gigantic version fit for it’s home in the large ring of toxic that rounded the Chemical Plant Zone.

Toxic recess ran off the titan’s great metal hide. It’s jaws snapped open and close as it’s large red eyes scanned the black echidna and readied itself to strike at him and end his life.

-Nicholas D. Wolfwood-