[Fan Fic] Sonic and Tails in Castle Eggman Zone

[Little T]

Here is a project I've been working on for a while and I've probably mentioned it more than once in status updates. Well now it's finally done, and it's about time I actually got to share it here.

This is a sort of 90s-esque Classic Sonic story partly influenced by the Ladybird chapter books, James Wallis and Sonic Robo Blast 2 , without copying anyone's particular writing style and writing for the characters as I see them. I later discovered that there already is a chapter book called ‘Sonic the Hedgehog in Castle Robotnik’, so hopefully I didn’t unknowingly steal ideas from that!

I'm going to post each chapter periodically (so not to spam the thread) and in spoiler tags (so not to make this post overwhelmingly long!) Alternatively, you can get to every chapter in advance from here, complete with some additional commentary in the descriptions.
 

Act  1

 

It was night time, and Sonic and Tails were lost. Mainly Sonic. Tails chose to stick close to the blue hedgehog he looked up to like a big brother, following his every move as he zigzagged between the tall trees. He knew when Sonic was lost that he had a strange habit of being stubborn, refusing to slow down and look at a map or ask for directions, always insisting that he knew the way to go. It was at times like this that it was easier for Tails to simply follow Sonic and let him do his thing. Tails thought to himself that if he was in charge, he would be none the wiser. At night, the woods all look the same and at times the canopy would become so dense that very little light could get in. Whether or not they were passing the same trees over and over would have been a matter of debate, and so the two were left with no clue if they were making any progress at all.

Tails normally enjoyed woodlands, having grown up in one himself, but there was something about this one in particular that made him uneasy. Every flower that they had come by was wilted and during their travels they hadn’t seen a single critter. Sonic, who had got to know his fox friend very well, answered his unspoken questions.

“They’ve probably all hit the hay long ago; we just like to party for a little bit longer!” Perhaps they had got a bit carried away and overstayed their welcome in the Sparkling Stadium Zone earlier. Just as Tails was contemplating this, something caught his eye. Before he could say “Sonic, Look!” the hedgehog had already sped off towards a gap in the trees, the first sign either of them had seen in a long time of a clearing.

            The two gave a sigh of relief at the satisfaction of progress.

“Well” said Sonic, “we’re finally in the clear! Things’ll be a lot easier for us now!”

CRACK!

“…either that or I spoke too soon” he concluded, as his smile changed to an annoyed frown. At the first sign of the storm, Tails wanted out, and the little fox begun nervously hopping from foot to foot and clutching his two tails tight.

“Not lightning! I hate lightning! Eek!”

 A second flash lit the grey sky, and Tails instinctively clung to Sonic for protection.

“It’s okay, little buddy,” said Sonic softly, tussling the small fox’s rain soaked fur,

“I’ll get you out of here. We just need to find some shelter”

But where could they possibly go? The last cave they happened upon was a long way away, and having to trawl through those woods again didn’t appeal to Sonic. But neither did hanging around in the storm. Not only did they have to suffer through the thunder and lighting, but there was also rain. Lots of it. Sonic couldn’t help but notice large puddles beginning to form on the ground and in a large ditch ahead of them, the water levels were on the rise. Sonic hated water. The thought of it made him more nervous than he would have liked. A space where he couldn’t run fast and free as, having never learnt to swim, he’d sink and be forced to wade through it. Slowly. The impending thought of drowning always there.

            Sonic grabbed hold of Tails’ arm and started running.

“Come on, Tails! Better get you away from this lightning!”

He opted not to mention his own fears, acting only to help his friend. After all, he had his “cool, fearless hero” image to maintain! As the fog parted through hedgehog speed, their surroundings became clearer.

“That’s no ditch,” realised Sonic, “it’s a moat!”

Sure enough, the two heroes looked up to see a large castle ominously silhouetted against the storm. The cold brown walls and barred windows didn’t look very inviting. Sonic couldn’t help but crack a grin.

“It may be a tired cliché, but it looks like we’re going to have to spend the night…in the spooky castle!”

 

[Little T]

Well a day has passed, so here comes part two!

Act 2

Upon entering the castle, Sonic and Tails were met with its grand interior. A red carpet lined the floor and the brightly, torch lit walls were lined with book cases, each one full to the brim with colourful volumes.

“It’s not so creepy once you get inside,” squeaked Tails cheerfully, wringing out his tails of the remaining rainwater, “I think it’s really welcoming!”

“I’m not so sure about that,” replied Sonic, directing the fox’s attention to the ceiling, “Nothing says creepy like Robotnik!”

Sure enough, the ceiling was decorated with draped flags of assorted colours, each one baring a familiar moustached face with a sinister grin.

Not put off by this revelation, Sonic and Tails begun wandering down the halls, inspecting them for anything unusual.

“Now why would old Egg face build a place like this?” Sonic pondered. “I’d be on the look out for traps if I were you, Tails.”

Tails had become distracted by the discovery of a cosy bedroom area, and was excitedly jumping up and down on the soft mattress of one of the beds.

“I don’t know, Sonic, it seems pretty nice to me!”

“Yeah, but when has Robotnik ever made anything nice that wasn’t at the misery of others?”

Tails thought for a moment, and then cautiously slipped off the bed. Perhaps it would be safer if he stuck by Sonic’s side. But try as they might, neither could find anything remotely threatening inside the castle walls. Maybe Robotnik really did mean no harm this time. It was at the first sound of movement that Sonic and Tails decided that they didn’t want to push their luck and find out. They leapt for the nearest hiding spot among the ceiling rafts and held their breath.

“A badnik!” whispered Tails as an unsuspecting robot walked past, dressed fittingly as a knight. When the coast was clear, Sonic suggested that they stay low and try to figure out what Robotnik was up to. Tails believed that this suggestion was oddly out of character, as Sonic was normally the first to jump into action. Sonic explained,

“If we manage to stay clear of the badniks and go undetected, we may be able to camp out here ‘till morning.”

Maybe that trek through the woodlands really did tire him out, Tails thought to himself.

            As they continued to creep down the halls, Tails’ nose picked up a scent.

“Mmm! Do you smell that?”

The air was quickly filled with the pleasant smells of fresh cooking. Either it wasn’t just robots inside the building or they were heading towards a trap set out for them. It smelt good but spelt trouble.

“Sonic, I’m really hungry! Can I sneak in and grab a bite to eat? I promise I won’t get caught!”

Sonic knew that this was a bad idea but had trouble saying no to the kid fox’s sweet little face. Besides, maybe it would bring them closer to the bottom of the castle’s mystery, and he couldn’t deny that he was also feeling a bit peckish after all that running around. It was settled. They would aim for the food but stay hidden.

            What Sonic and Tails found was a grand dining hall, with smartly dressed robots laying a huge banquet table full of meals. Plates of ham, roast vegetables and elaborately decorated cakes were amongst the masses of food laid out before them. The whole thing resembled something of a medieval feast.

“I’m sure they won’t notice if one little pastry were to go missing” whispered Tails as he crawled under the table, Sonic following shortly behind him. But before he could steal anything above him, he was startled by a sudden fanfare. A robot with a large trumpet had summoned someone into the room, and that someone was none other than Dr. Robotnik himself!

            “Ladies and Gentlebots, it is a great pleasure to have such a large attendance for the official, grand opening of Castle Eggman,” boomed Robotnik, his voice echoing off the castle walls. “That is of course, because anyone who refused their invite would have found themselves as scrap metal!”

The hall was filled with awkward laughter from the robot attendees, as Sonic and Tails were forced to sit still under the table and remain quiet.

“We shall now commence with the grand feast!” Robotnik looked around at his robotic creations, and then grinned.

“That is to say, I shall!”

            It’s not fair, thought Tails. Robotnik had a whole banquet’s worth to himself, and here he was, starving and having to hide right under all this food! He couldn’t help his stomach from rumbling. He nervously clutched hold of it as Sonic mimed for him to keep quiet, but to his luck, no one else seemed to notice, and the banquet continued as normal. Sonic and Tails smiled at each other for their luck, but perhaps too soon.

Clink!

A fork had fallen under the table, and one of the servant badniks was quick to reach down and pick it back up. Only it hadn’t grabbed the fork, but Sonic’s foot. Sonic winced as the cold robot’s hand felt his shoe, but to his surprise, it unknowingly dismissed him and aimed instead for the fork. Two times they had gone unnoticed, but they knew they couldn’t keep up this hide and seek act for much longer, and were very keen for the banquet to end as soon as possible.

“Now that you are all gathered here,” said Robotnik between mouthfuls “It’s a fine time to go over your role in the castle. You are to patrol the halls at all times and deal with any unwanted intruders. It seems you’ve been doing a good job so far, save for tonight’s special guests”

A shiver went down Sonic and Tails’ backs as Robotnik suddenly cast and evil grin in their direction.

“But not to worry, I can deal with them…” he said sinisterly, lifting up a hidden panel from his chair’s arm rest and flicking a switch. Before they had time to react, Sonic and Tails found themselves helplessly hurtling through a trap door beneath them, heading deep into the depths of the castle.

[Little T]

It's been over three days now, so I better get on with posting part three!

Act 3

The dungeons of Castle Eggman were dark, and save for the light of a small flickering torch attached to a wall; Sonic and Tails could scarcely see a thing.

“Any luck, Tails?” Sonic called up to his friend, who had used his two tails to fly up and find the ceiling.

“No good,” Tails called back “It’s too high up for me, and it looks like the door’s locked shut!”

“Well, we have no choice then” replied Sonic as he grabbed the torch light off the wall, “We’re gonna have to escape the dungeons the long way round!”

With Sonic holding the torch in front of him, the two pressed on ahead, but weren’t able to make more than a few steps from their landing point before a loud crunch noise emitted from under Tails’ shoe.

“Yaaah!” cried the small fox, jumping backwards in alarm. Sonic had instinctively shone the torch in the direction of Tails, revealing the crunching sound to have come from a pile of bones. If this really was the “grand opening” of Castle Eggman, then surely someone couldn’t have already…? Sonic shook his head and took his mind of it. It was probably just Robotnik’s twisted idea of décor.

“Now what do you s’pose this is?” Sonic pointed the light in the direction of a barred door.

“Here, hold this a sec…”

Having passed the torch to Tails, he was free to curl up in a ball and spin at the bars. No luck. They weren’t going to give with force alone.

“I get it!” squeaked Tails. Next to the door was a series of levers. This wasn’t some obstacle course for Sonic to get through, but a puzzle.

“It’s a combination lock! If we work out the correct positions of all the levers, the door will open!”

Tails proceeded to enthusiastically pull on the levers in all sorts of different combinations. The whole thing reminded him of a computer game he liked to sometimes play. In no time at all, he had solved the puzzle, and with a creaking noise, the gates swung open.

“Great job Tails!” said Sonic, giving him a thumbs up, but Tails didn’t reply. Upon closer inspection, the orange fox had frozen in place, a look of terror on his face. He slowly and shakily pointed back to where they had been standing before.

“S-S-S-Sonic…”

 The pile of bones was rising from the ground, hovering eerily as they started to form the shape of a skeleton. Tails scurried and hid behind Sonic for protection as the bony figure ambled towards them while producing a horrible groaning sound. It had a sword in hand and was clumsily trying to swing it at Sonic.

“Don’t worry Tails, I got this!” Sonic charged up his famous spin attack and zoomed into the skeleton, sending it scattering across the dark room, back into the pile of bones from which it came.

“There. Piece of cake!” he grinned. Only he couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was something very different about his latest foe. The whole dungeon didn’t feel like one of Robotnik’s usual traps. No, something just felt…off.

            Ignoring these concerns once more, Sonic speeded through to the next room, where he was instantly met with a constant barrage of arrows flying in every direction. Dodging and weaving out of the way, something high up caught the corner of his eye.

“Now this is my sort of challenge!”

He holstered the torch in place on the wall and spin jumped on top of the nearest flying arrow. Leaping from arrow to arrow, Sonic gained height, and as quick as he could, he made the final jump towards a button positioned high above the door, giving it a high five before falling back down to the ground on his feet. The arrow trap stopped, and the door was unlocked.

“Hey Tails, did you see that? Tails?”

Sonic turned around to notice that his friend wasn’t behind him for once. Tails was still in the first room.

“What are ya’ waitin’ for Tails? You just missed my cool moves!”

Tails stepped into the room as dramatically and importantly as he could muster. He had on him the circlet that the skeleton was wearing, and was holding the sword aloft.

“Good morrow, fair hedgehog! Mayhaps we should continue our yonder adventure?”

“Uh, Tails?”

“I am not Tails! Nay, I am Sir Bravefox, the bold and fearless”

Sonic scratched his head. Clearly something was making Tails act strangely. He tried once more to get him to continue.

“Come on Tails, the next doors open! We should be able to get out of this weird place soon.”

Tails gave a little startled look, before marching slowly on ahead, his sword wielded out in front of him.

“Oh! Uh, of course! I am the b-bravest warrior who fears not of this dark dungeon! Forsooth!”

Sonic blinked slowly and stared at Tails as they walked through to the next room. This castle has got to Tails’ head, he thought to himself, and we better get out of here as soon as possible.

The next room was decorated in a manner of chains of varying lengths, all of which were hanging from the ceiling. Before Sonic could figure out if this was part of a new puzzle, Tails had already walked forward, only to activate a large crusher.

“Zounds!” he exclaimed, stepping back and narrowly avoiding trouble. Sonic assumed that there was some kind of trick to turning it off and knew that Tails would normally be the first to pick up on it. Unfortunately, ever since Tails had decided he was some kind of old timey adventurer, he hadn’t been acting himself, so Sonic went for his own solution. As soon as the crusher went down, he broke into a run, staying close to it until it rose again, so he could make a dash to the other side. Sonic skidded stylishly to a halt, and called for Tails to make his way across. “Bravefox” however, was too busy looking around frantically, as though he could sense something was there.
“Show thyself! I’m not afraid of thee! If thou doest not leave, I shall brandish thy…uh…my sword! Verily!”

Sonic sighed. To say he was little tired of Tails’ act would be an understatement. The little adventurer wasn’t wrong though, as a loud echoing voice filled the room.

“LEAVE THIS PLACE!”

That was it for Tails. He bolted across the room as far as he two tails could carry him. Sonic was sure that his was just another trap, but he didn’t want to stick around and find out what it was. He took Tails by the hand and started running.

            Sonic and Tails could sense that they were being pursued as they sped down the corridor, narrowly avoiding several barred doors that came crashing down. They soon found themselves in a circular room that opened out into several paths. Perhaps stopping momentarily to consider which way would be best was a mistake though, as the voice had followed them in.

“YOU’RE NOT WELCOME HERE!”

Tails grabbed hold of Sonic for comfort. The paths had suddenly been blocked off by gates, and the two were trapped.

“That’s enough, Robotnik!” Sonic called out, but all he was met with was the source of the voice. A gigantic monstrosity of a ghost had entered the room and was enclosing in on them. There was nothing that Sonic and Tails could do but shut their eyes and wait for the worst.

[Little T]

Act 4

There was a pause, followed by a strange sparking sound. Sonic opened his eyes. The ghost had stopped, caught on a ceiling chain. The ethereal aura that surrounded it kept dipping in and out, making the whole experience feel a lot less real.

“Hey Tails, take a look at our ghost!” With that, Sonic leapt into a spin jump and plunged towards the incapacitated phantom. In a puff of smoke, their tormentor was defeated and all that lied in its place were a few nuts and bolts and a small, bespectacled gecko. The little lizard scurried up to Sonic and Tails and started chirping apologetically to them.

“That’s okay, I understand,” said Sonic calmly, before continuing “but I’m afraid you’ll need to start from the top. The reader won’t be able to make any sense from that! If we continued the story with chirping noises, that wouldn’t make for a very readable book! I’ll tell you what, you start over, and this time it’ll be conveniently translated into English, just so everybody’s clear on this.”

The gecko looked puzzled for a moment, but obliged with Sonic’s request anyway.

“I’m so so sorry! Dr. Robotnik trapped me in this ghost robot and forced me to h-haunt you guys! I don’t really mean any harm; I’m a big fan of you two really!”

Sonic pointed up to the chains,

 “Those chains must have been wired up to something that short circuited the robot and stopped the program! Now we know your game, Eggman!”

Gecky continued,

“If it’s any repayment for sc-scaring you like that, being trapped in this dungeon has taught me a lot of shortcuts. I should be able to help you escape!”

Sonic and Tails were grateful for the extra help, and let Gecky lead the way.

“I should be small enough to run between the bars and open the doors from the other side.” Within a few moments, the doors swung open, and the gang were free to move on.

“If I remember correctly, this path is the quickest route to the exit. Follow me!”

“It’s like having our own personal tour guide!” joked Sonic as the trio headed down the corridor. “With you on our side, we should be outta here in no time! Or not…”

Sonic had just caught sight of another skeleton heading their way. Tails, who hadn’t said anything for the entire chapter, spoke up.

“Have at thee!”

With a single blow from his sword, the skeleton collapsed. Sonic and Gecky were sure that he hadn’t even grazed it at all. Tails turned around with a grin on his face, holding out what appeared to be nothing.

“See, I get how these work now! They aren’t real bones, they’re magnetic!” Tails prodded the invisible object once more with his sword. There was a small fizzing noise, and small, greyish orb came into view.

“When one of these floating robots gets close to them, they get attracted and form a skeleton shape. It’s quite clever, really!”

            Tails was happy. He couldn’t explain spooks and spectres, and the thought of the unknown scared him. But he knew now that everything in the dungeon was fake, which came as a huge relief. Not only that, but it was all mechanical. Tails enjoyed mechanics, which put a whole new perspective on everything around him. Maybe his situation wasn’t so bad after all.

The problem with dungeon corridors, Sonic thought to himself, is that they all begin to look the same after a while. He was starting to get a little impatient. Gecky clearly knew the way he was going, but that wasn’t helping much. So far the trio had been forced to turn back multiple times.

“Now I know there was a turning to the exit here…” said Gecky with a perplexed look on his face, “…but now there’s this wall in the way. We’ll have to try again from the other side.”

Sonic shook his head,

“It’s no use, ol’ Robuttnik clearly doesn’t want us to leave!”

Gecky looked irritated, pacing up and down fast and causing his glasses to bounce up and down his face. Sonic could have sworn that the little gecko was more annoyed about the lack of knowledge of this dungeon function than the fact they were now trapped.

“Hey! Can you hear that?” piped in Tails. Sonic turned around to see his friend pressing against a stone wall, his ears pricked up. Sonic and Gecky looked on blankly.

“Oops! I guess not!” Tails sometimes forgot that his hearing was a bit more astute than his friends’. He pressed an ear against the wall and begun slowly walking forwards, a look of pure concentration on his face. Gecky turned to Sonic hoping for an answer, but the blue hedgehog shrugged. Tails started to tap his fist against a particular stone excitedly.

“I think I got it!” He clasped his paws around the stone and began to pull at it, straining as he did so. Suddenly, it broke free with such a force that it sent Tails flying backwards, landing a few feet away. Seemingly undeterred by this, he sat up grinning, holding the removed part of wall up for his friends to see. It appeared a lot flatter than it had looked when attached, and on the other side, four prominent screws jutted out. Behind where the “stone” had been was a panel full of coloured coded wires and shining buttons.

“Check it out, the inner workings!” Gecky exclaimed, climbing up on top of Sonic’s head to get a closer look. Tails was now up on two feet studying the controls. He was all too eager to get hands on with these unfamiliar mechanics.

“If I move this wire to here, and change these settings to that…” Tails continued to mumble to himself as he rapidly tinkered with the panel. He even remained completely focussed when the corridor started to rumble and quake, merely holding on a little harder while continuing to work. Sonic was balancing on one foot, trying not to be knocked over by the sudden tremors.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Tails?” he called out, batting away some small rocks that were crumbling from the ceiling. Gecky was finding it hard to stay in one place on the hedgehog’s head and was in the process of slowly sliding off, hanging onto Sonic’s spikes with his sticky feet. It was thanks to this commotion that it took them a few moments to notice the cause of these quakes. The walls were moving! Without having seen the controls until minutes ago, Tails had hacked into the system and was countering Robotnik’s trap.

“….and we flick that switch and there! That should have cleared a path!” Tails let go of the panel and turned around to see a very surprised Sonic. It took him a few moments to speak up.

“……that…was….AMAZING! Way to go, Tails!” Sonic grinned, giving his sidekick a thumbs up. Even though it could take him a little while to show it at times, Tails really was a little hero. The little fox gave out a shy giggle, slightly taken aback by the praise.

“That’s new!” said Gecky, his glasses now askew, “I never encountered this door on patrol…” He was pointing in the direction of a large door that had been revealed by the wall shift. Strange coloured symbols were lighting up on it in a seemingly random order.

“Maybe I overwrote a puzzle sequence?” pondered Tails, as he looked back and forth between the door and panel. When all the symbols were lit, the door swung open dramatically and before Sonic and Tails could stop him, Gecky was already scampering forwards to check out the newly opened room. When inside, he beckoned his friends to come and join him. The sole contents were a single wooden chest.

“Do you suppose this is what Robotnik was trying to hide from you?” asked Gecky.

“Well, all good quests deserve a reward, so let’s get us some treasure!” replied Sonic, pulling up the lid. Inside, the chest was piled high with gold coins, with a few spilling out as it opened. Sonic picked one up and inspected it. Staring back at him was the engraved head of Dr. Robotnik. Every other coin was the same. Tails rummaged through the chest and emerged with a small scroll which he presented to Sonic.

“Contents – Novelty fun coins for use only at EggmanLand.

 

*OPENING SOON*”

 

“Whaddya know? Eggman’s finally cracked!” Sonic chuckled, flicking the coin away.

“Hey, where’s Gecky?” asked Tails, looking around frantically. Sonic quickly spotted the tiny lizard hopping down a corridor up ahead.

“Way ahead of you, Tails!” Sonic called back, speeding off. In no time, the two had caught up, leaving Tails to trail behind. The little fox sighed. It was hard enough to keep up with Sonic, and now there were two of them!

“Even without the wall traps, a lot of people would miss this!” Gecky was gesticulating towards a small alcove among the stone walls. Inside was a small wooden platform connected to a series of chains, forming a rather rudimentary lift.

“It might not look the safest,” continued Gecky, “but it’s your ticket out of here!” Sonic and Tails hopped on, and looked at the gecko expectantly.

“Aren’t you coming with us?” questioned Tails.

“Well actually, I’ve been thinking. W-what if someone else were to wind up down here? If I left, they’d be no one left to show them the way out.”

“So you want to stay behind and help out anyone else!” said Tails, nodding.

“Sort of like a guide I suppose…” considered Gecky.

“Gecky the dungeon master” Sonic added, a cheeky grin on his face, “I like the sound of it!”

 The lift clicked into action, and Sonic and Tails said their goodbyes to their new friend with lots of waving.

“Good luck stopping Robotnik! If anyone can do it, it’s you two!” Gecky got up on his hind legs and waved back at the heroes as the lift continued to rise, creaking and groaning as it did so. Soon enough, it reached the top, and they were back on the familiar and far cosier ground floor, its warm torches and red carpets more welcoming than ever before. Their relief didn’t last long though, as before they could even step off the platform, the two found themselves helplessly grabbed by two robot guards either side of them. Sonic turned his head to Tails.

“You don’t suppose Robotnik’s one step ahead of us?”

[Little T]

The final act is here!

Act 5

Sure enough, moments after these words had left Sonic’s mouth; Dr. Robotnik strode into the room, looking incredibly pleased with himself.
“That was just too easy! Everything’s gone egg-sactly to plan!”
Sonic began squirming uncomfortably within the guard’s grip.
“Alright, you can do what you want to us, but please don’t start with the egg puns!”
Robotnik winced a little, not wanting his moment in the spotlight interrupted.
“Puns or no puns, Sonic, you and your little fox friend are trapped and your fun ends here!” Sonic stopped struggling, instead going with the flow. He was very used to the doctor’s dramatic speeches.
“Yeah, yeah, you caught me. But what’s with the whole castle thing? Even for one of your traps, this is weird!”
A big grin appeared below Robotnik’s moustache,
“So, it’s exposition you want? Well that’s just what you’re about to get!”
“Hang tight, Tails,” said Sonic under his breath “this next paragraph is gonna be a long one…”
Robotnik cleared his throat and begun,
“You see, I’m sick and tired of always having my plans thwarted and my bases destroyed, it starts to get a little costly having to re-scheme and rebuild all the time, you know. It was high time to up my defences, and what better defence than a castle? If it’s disguised and out of the way, no-one can bother me while I get on with my work, and on the offhand chance someone does stumble in, well, my dastardly decoys and traps will soon take care of that! And just like that, my plans are safe from any meddlesome freedom fighters like you two! Perhaps I should have kept that last part under wraps, but there’s nothing you can do to stop me now, for your little castle tour is over! GUARDS! TAKE THEM AWAY! ….Heh, I’ve always wanted to say that!”
“So much for trying to stall for time,” said an irritated Sonic, trying to break loose the bars of the cell he was now trapped inside. “At least it’s a better view than the dungeon, but still not my idea of comfort!” The cell door was guarded by another robot that didn’t seem to be keeping too close an eye on them, but still made any attempts to escape seem rather futile. Sonic and Tails had spent the last few minutes pulling at, spinning at and poking limbs through the jail bars and no new ideas had come to light. That was until Tails tapped Sonic on the shoulder. When the blue hedgehog turned, he saw his friend with a big smile on his face and brandishing a familiar sword.
“Tails, you’re on fire today!” cheered Sonic, once again impressed by the small fox’s resourcefulness. The blade slipped through the bars with ease, and within a few moments, Tails was able to slash at the lock, sending it clattering to the ground.
“Wuh-oh!” said Tails. The noise had alerted the guard who had turned to face them wielding a large lance.
“Leave this one to me!” Sonic called out, swinging the prison door aside. He speedily dodged all of the robot’s jabbing motions, and although its large shield made spinning into it a problem, a quick spin jump on the head soon put the knight out of commission.
“Just one more thing…” he added, taking Tails’ sword and lobbing it at a “hidden” camera in the corner, “Now Eggman can’t watch us break outta this joint!”
The two had made their way back into the main hall and without Robotnik anywhere in sight they felt free to take their time. Tails watched on as Sonic paced up and down, a puzzled expression on his face.
“There’s just one thing I don’t get. If Robotnik really does keep his evil plans here, then how come we haven’t found them yet? We saw every nook and cranny of those dungeons, and nadda!”
“Do you think we have time for one more look?” asked Tails, ascending above the ground and circling the room. But it didn’t take very long for Tails’ tails to stop spinning, and quicker than usual, Tails descended back down, exhausted. Considering they had originally entered for shelter, it was no surprise really that this night was beginning to take its toll. Tails recalled their introduction to the castle and how they weren’t able to get anything from the banquet, let alone have a moment’s rest. It wasn’t just him. When Tails looked at Sonic, he could see it in his friend’s eyes. For once, Sonic was tired out too.
“On second thought,” he decided “Maybe we should take it easy for a few minutes…”
Sonic agreed, and after checking the coast was clear, he lead the way to the sleeping quarters. It was why they came here after all, and even if the situation wasn’t safe enough to sneak in some shut eye, the least they could do was put their feet up for a minute while Robotnik’s guard was down. Tails pointed to a small, yet welcoming room. A lit torch filled it with a warm glow, revealing a large double bed. Sonic, who hadn’t had the pleasure of trying out one of the castle bedrooms yet, took first dibs and dived onto the mattress. It seemed cosy enough, bar a strange crinkling noise from under the pillow. Feeling this was off; he jumped back onto his feet and fished something out from underneath. He emerged holding a roll of blueprint paper, which he immediately unfurled and presented to Tails.
“Talk about an anticlimax! He builds an entire castle fortress, and then goes and hides his secret plans under his pillow! Ha!” While Sonic couldn’t help but be amused at this turn of events, it was clear what had to be done next. There was no more time for lounging about, just to keep hold of the plan and get out of there! If they could slip away and decipher the blueprints, they could beat Robotnik at his game and put a stop to his next evil scheme before it was even in motion.
With a single nod as their signal, Sonic and Tails sprinted out of the room and towards the entrance. Just before they reached their goal, the front doors slammed shut loudly.
“It’s no good, they’re locked!” cried Tails, pushing against them with all his might. It was clear that Robotnik wasn’t going to let them go that easily. Sonic grinned, all traces of tiredness now wiped from his face. The adrenaline of finding the plans was just the sort of energy he needed, and just the sort he liked.
“If Robotnik wants us to fight to the finish, it’s a fight he’s gonna get!” So far, Sonic had admittedly not been taking the adventure that seriously, but things had just got interesting. He turned to Tails and winked,
“Whaddya say? You up for an exciting quest?”
“Aye, Sir Hedgehog! Tis a most splendid adventure!”
“Okay, Tails, no more of that fancy talk!” insisted Sonic. Tails nodded, and the two set off again in the opposite direction.
If the front exit was blocked off, the next step was to head to the back. Sonic bolted down corridors, tearing through any badnik which would get in his way, and Tails followed closely behind, helping out where he could. It wasn’t long before they reached the back door and the two skidded to a halt in the courtyard. They stood and inspected their surroundings. It was good to be back on grass again, but there didn’t seem to be any way out of the castle grounds from here. Castle walls lined with colourful flags formed a circle around the large patch of land and the few archways leading out were barred off. Raised above them were long rows of seating which on closer inspection were filled with onlooking robots. It was as though they had walked in on some sort of arena. But before they could turn back, their view darkened as an enormous shadow lingered over their heads, followed by an almighty roar. Looking above, Sonic and Tails saw an enormous dragon shaped figure descending. Of course, like everything else they had encountered, it was a fake, the engineering work of Dr. Eggman, but it was still an impressive and powerful looking beast, and no doubt the castle’s final trap. But what was an adventure without a battle to finish it off?
“We’re going on a dragon hunt!” called Sonic.
“We’re not scared!” replied Tails, as the two faced towards the now landed dragon, ready for action.
No sooner than they had poised for attack, a stream of fire emitted from the dragon’s mouth, and Sonic and Tails were forced to dive in opposite directions to avoid getting hit. Sticking together during the fight was going to be tough work. As soon as the two could see each other again past the fire, they signalled each other with a serious nod and prepared for attack once more. Their synchronised spin jump was poorly timed however, as before they could make contact, the dragon took off again, leaving them to abruptly land, skidding to a halt along the ground to stop themselves overbalancing. Sonic frowned for a moment, before realising that he had flight on his side too.
“Hey Tails,” he called out to his buddy, “Use your tails to take out the wings! I’ll deal with the flames!” Tails whirled up his two tails like a helicopter rotor and flew upwards after the dragon. His tails were moving at such a speed that whenever they made contact with the wings there was a loud scraping noise as sparks flew.
“I think it’s working!” Tails squeaked, barely making his voice heard over the noise. If he kept at it, the wings would soon be weakened enough to keep the dragon earthbound. Sonic meanwhile, was concentrating on his own safety, dodging and weaving past flames, which he soon noticed were being fired from a flamethrower within the “creature’s” mouth. As he jumped and ran, he could see the ground around him getting scorched, singeing the once green grass. He did not want to get caught up in those flames! While he was trying to figure out the best way of taking the weapon out, there was an almighty crash as the dragon came hurtling down to the ground, its wings now tattered and smoking and its means of flight now gone. Sonic jolted out of the way just in time and spotted Tails making a safe descent by the back legs.
“I did it-WAAAAH!” Before Tails could finish his sentence, a large green tail had attempted to hit him from behind. Jumping over it like a skipping rope, he managed to avoid the hit, only he was now the one behind. The tail swung back for a frontal hit, and Tails, barely able to register the first attack yet, wasn’t so lucky this time. He clutched hold of the robotic tail as it made contact so as not to be knocked down by its force, only this made the situation worse. The tail kept on moving with Tails attached, and the fox was left clinging on to it helplessly, trying not to fall. This feat was made harder by the fact that the dragon’s tail was swinging about viciously, attempting to fling him off into the castle’s walls. It was like a particularly intense game of bucking bronco.
“Sooniic! Heelp!” he cried out, already feeling dizzy.
“Hang on, Tails!” replied Sonic.
“I am!”
Sonic knew he had to get to the other side to get to Tails, but there was still the problem of the flames. Now, if there was one thing Sonic was good at judging, it was speed, and he could tell this dragon was not built for speed. He jumped up on the steps for maximum manoeuvrability and began to head towards Tails. Unfortunately, he was spotted, and the dragon began turning too, spewing out flames as it moved, forcing Sonic to run laps around the colosseum.
“Sorry about this, Tails!” he called out, imagining how hard the addition of circular movements must be on his friend. Sonic was right, however, the dragon was no match for his speed, and no matter how much it moved, the fire breath never caught up with the speedy hedgehog. Instead, when Sonic looked back, he saw that the flames had instead been accidentally taking out the robot bystanders, several of which were now in ruin.
“Aaugh! My beautiful bots, battered and broken!” called out a familiar voice. Sonic stopped and looked down at the dragon. Dr. Robotnik had just revealed his location! Sonic threw himself off the raised stairs, curling himself into a ball as he did so, and aimed for a crash collision course with the dragon’s chest. As he rammed into his target, Sonic kept spinning until a plate of green, scaly metal came off, revealing a window underneath. Inside, a rather frantic looking Robotnik was at a control panel, its various buttons, switches and leavers controlling the beast’s functions. He was surrounded by monitors displaying a feed of the surroundings.
The sudden damage to his vehicle had taken him by surprise, and he momentarily lost track of the tail’s control, leaving it to fall limp and drop Tails. It didn’t take long for Robotnik to recover however, and soon he was in full control again, grinning menacingly at Sonic.
“I’ll get you yet, hedgehog!”
The flamethrower started back up again at full force. Only now the arena had seen a lot of damage, leaving there less room to manoeuvre. Sonic had an idea. This could be used to his advantage.
“How’s your football skills, Tails?”
This wasn’t exactly the sort of question Tails, who was still recovering from the dragon ride, wanted to hear. He held his head and shut his eyes tight for a moment in hopes of getting his bearings back quicker. Sonic was going to need his co-ordination skills to be top notch.
“You see that rock in front of you? Pass it to me!” Sonic was pointing to a piece of rubble that has crumbled off the stairs earlier. Tails gave the thumbs up, and kicked the rock towards Sonic. He wasn’t sure if he was just strong enough to take it or if Robotnik had simply cheaped out on the stone, but thankfully doing so didn’t injure Tails’ foot. It was Sonic’s turn now, and going in for a running kick, he sent the rock flying.
“GOOOAL!” Sonic cheered, throwing his hands up in the air. The rock, as intended, had jammed up the flamethrower, which was now unusable. Robotnik slammed his fists down on the console in frustration. Not only had he been made vulnerable, but now his primary means of attack had gone.
With Sonic and Tails back together and Robotnik almost powerless, it was time to finish this mecha dragon once and for all!
“Let’s do it, Sonic!” suggested Tails, confidentially. Now that the inner mechanisms were exposed, their synchronised spin jump wasn’t going to fail. The two leapt up for the final hits.
SMACK!
It worked. The mech began glowing red and smoking, vibrating heavily as it did so. There was no way it was in action anymore. Even above the sound of failing mechanics, Robotnik’s tantrum could be heard.
“I don’t believe it! I-I won’t! All of my traps! My castle! All for nothing! Why can’t I ever have nice things?!”
The source of the glowing became clear as the dragon went up in flames. Destroying a mech with fire attacks was going to have an explosive result. A moment later something burst out from inside. It was Robotnik in his egg-mobile, the dragon control panel still present.
“Too bad you’re too slow to prevent my impending escape! Mua ha ha ha!” The Egg-mobile rose upwards and began to leave the castle grounds. No matter how heated up their battles got, Robotnik always seemed to get away at the last minute. Tails began to run in hope of somehow catching up, but Sonic stopped him. Not only was their foe too far ahead, but the dragon fire was spreading rapidly. Soon the whole arena would be up in flames. It was simply too hazardous to stick around.
“We’ll just have to let Eggman one up us…as usual!” said Sonic, turning back indoors.
“Besides, we still have his plans!” piped in Tails in a sing song-y voice. As long as they could successfully escape the castle, all was not lost.
It wasn’t long before the two had made it back across the castle to the front entrance. Unfortunately, nothing had changed from before, and the front door was still sealed shut.
“What now?” asked Tails. Even without Robotnik’s presence, he’d still managed to make things difficult. Sonic shrugged. There had to be some other way out. The question was where? It was then Tails spotted something he’d missed before. Along the far side of the floor, a single, open drain exposing water ran across the floor.
“Follow me!” Tails took the lead as he followed the water from room to room until he finally got results - the castle drainage room, where the drain became wider and deeper. It lead to a small gap which when Tails looked closely; he could see the outdoors through.
“It’s the way out!” he decided, before turning to Sonic. Sonic wasn’t smiling. Some of that bravado which he had before was now lost. If there had to be just one exit left, why did it have to be via the castle moat?
It had been quite the underwater trek, and Tails airlifted Sonic out of the moat and towards land. The two were both soaking and dripping. Tails was feeling good. For such a strange adventure, he thought he had been particularly brave. As he stood on the grass and watched the sun rise, his excitement for all they had been through and achieved didn’t wane.
“What should we do now Sonic? Should we run back to my workshop and try to decode the blueprints? Maybe we could have a race back!”
Sonic gave a weak smile back, appreciative of Tails’ enthusiasm, but unable to give much in reply.
“Whoa there, lil’ buddy! It’s been a busy night. Whatever happened to hitting the hay?” Tails looked closer at this friend, wet and shivering from the cold. As the two made their way back into the woodlands, he couldn’t help but wonder; had Sonic actually been scared back there? Surely not! After all, he was the most noble (and the coolest) hero of the land!

Zone Clear

[PaulyBFromDa303]

Love it. You made Tails look like three badass he deserves to be. And quite the story telling too. Very detailed