Skye, Feral Forest Dazed, it took Skye a moment or two to remember where she was, and why she was on her side. Then the sounds from outside the jeep snapped her back to reality, and she scrambled to try and get free. Pulling herself out of the truck, at first she was terrified seeing the robots flying above. Then she noticed they were focused on someone else, an Armadillo that seemed to be using part of the wreckage as a weapon. For a moment, she was more concerned that she hadn’t injured him or anyone else in the crash than she was about the attacking robots. As an explosion of two robots smashing into each other created a plume of smoke, and two small flickies flew away swiftly to freedom, the Armadillo yelled at her to run. “Uh…. R-right,” she managed to reply, before running after. “If we can make it to the Ranger’s Cabin, we can radio for help from there,” she gasped. The next moment something silver barrelled into her, knocking her to the ground. The metallic form of Brian towered over Skye, and out of the corner of her eye she saw a similar figure heading towards the Armadillo. Heart sinking, she knew that was almost certainly Fisher. Brian reached down, grabbing Skye by the throat as he picked her up. Skye wrapped her own hands around Brains arm. “All Mobians must be processed,” he began. “You…. will….. ser…. ve….. Doccc……….torrrrrrrrrrr.” The robots speech slowed as the ice emanating from Skye’s hands started spreading, covering the robot, trapping it in a block of ice. But the hand was still tight around Skye’s neck. ------------------------- Robotnik, Wing Fortress Flames licked around the sides of the Wing Fortress as it descended into the Mobian atmosphere. As it broke through, for a short while numerous warnings flashed on the screens as communications were disrupted by the atmospheric entry. But soon the Wing Fortress passed through, and the warnings disappeared as contact was restored. Except for one. “Prison Pod and all forces in Sector Seven Two Zero Red have been render inoperable,” Zero reported. “I can see that,” replied Robotnik tersely, as he reviewed the recorded footage from just before the communications disruption. It all seemed clear. Whoever or whatever had done this was fast. Very fast… ------------------------- Wave, Sleet, Dingo, Battle Bird Armada Airship, the Eastern Coast of Northamer near Angel Island “We don’t have time for this,” said Sleet dismissively. “I don’t intend to be on this craft when it hits the ground.” With a swish of his cape Sleet moved purposely towards the Manticore. “What? You can’t take that!” exclaimed Wave. “The Manticore is a Relic! You can’t just…” Sleet turned, his trademark sly grin firmly in place. “Oh, but I can.” His eyes ran over the helmetless Wave, her Extreme Gear board, then to Storm and the bad he was carrying. “Here’s the deal. You don’t do anything stupid to delay us as we leave, and Dingo and I will forget we ever saw two Armada soldiers go Rogue.” “What are we forgetting Sleet?” asked Dingo. “Don’t you mind, let’s just go,” replied Sleet, running to the Manticore’s entrance hatch. Wave grimaced, but truthfully, she knew they didn’t have much choice. There was only moments before the Airship’s engines gave out or were blown up, and then the craft would plummet to the ground. “We’ve got to let them go Storm,” Wave said sadly. She didn’t want to see the Manticore stolen, but it was better than being destroyed. And her own freedom was just moments away, and she couldn’t throw it away now. Running towards the open hatch, she quickly powered up her Extreme Gear and leapt onto it, shooting out the side of the airship. ------------------------- Tails, Midair ‘I’m falling, I’m falling!’ Tails thought to himself. But at the same time, it didn’t feel like any of the other times he had fallen. And his namesakes were still making the strange motion from being cause in the draft from the propellers. Slowly, Tails opened his eyes. He was now some distance from both the airships, but still level with them. And they weren’t falling. So…. Neither was he. But how? Looking around, Tails gasped as his gaze finally fell on his twin tails. They were spinning round rapidly behind him, like the propellers on the two airships. And somehow, that was keeping Tails aloft. In his shock, Tails suddenly tried to stop them from moving. He gave a yell as the sudden stop caused both tails to jerk in pain. And now he was truly falling. ------------------------- Battle bird Armada Airship Aboard the Airship Bridge, the Battle Lord continued to bark out orders. “Forget the damage! Recharge the laser cannon. Another strike will….” His words faded as a shadow fell across the bridge. Above, blotting out the sun, the Wing Fortress slowly drew into position above the airship. If the airship had been outsized by the Flying Battery, it was now dwarfed by the gigantic Wing Fortress. “You’re actions here have been an amusing diversion, but against the might of Doctor Robotnik, they are nothing more than the merest speedbump,” came Robotnik’s voice, greatly amplified so that everyone aboard the airship could hear him. As Robotnik spoke, the underside of the Wing Fortress opened up, a large emitter protruding, emitting a steadily increasing, pulsating whine. The next moment, a wide beam of energy shot out from the emitter, slamming into the Airship’s bridge. It passed right through the craft, into the sea below, casing the surface to steam and hiss. And just as quickly, the beam faded. Broken, the airship started to twist and buckle in the air, as the remaining active engines now started tearing the airship apart, several explosions erupting from it.
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