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There was no question about it. This mountain was assuredly under the influence of Doctor Robotnik. The fact it had been entirely hollowed out was one subtle indicator. The fact it had been converted into a machine was another. Pistons pumped and belts whirred as Badniks whizzed back and forth, hard at work on… well, whatever it was- Sonic couldn’t really tell.

At any rate, Sonic didn’t know how he’d be able to stop the machine. It looked for all the world like Robotnik might intend to use the mountain as a new base of operations after the Scrap Brain Zone was put out of commission by Sonic’s use of the Chaos Emeralds. Sonic didn’t like the idea of Robotnik having a base of operations anywhere and the thought of him excavating a mountain for that purpose, frankly, revolted him.

A loud explosion jolted Sonic to his senses. He peered over his shoulder. A Ball Hog Badnik sporting a slick black paint job was supervising a procession of Bomb Badniks as they walked to designated spots along the mountain wall, gave their signature “ping!” sound and detonated the kilo of explosive within, excavating further space inside the structure.

“Good,” the Ball Hog noted, “At present rate, Gimmick Mountain will be completed ahead of schedule. The rest of you, remain in line until you receive further instruction”

“ping!” the Bombs all pinged in unison.

Sonic raced up a conveyer belt towards the Badniks, “Hey, can I join in or do I have to wear an employee name badge?”

“The hedgehog!” the Ball Hog exclaimed, “Stay back, you lot- watch how it’s done!”

The front panel on the Ball Hog opened up and out popped one of the explosive bomb balls for which it was named. The pig reared up and threw the ball at Sonic- who deftly caught it out of the air.

“Actually, I had a lot of practice with one of your Master Robot friends- how about we play bowling?”

“Oh dear…” the Ball Hog lamented.

Sonic rolled the bomb ball along the floor at speeds only he could manage, where it collided with the Ball Hog and cracked it open in a storm of machine parts, freeing the Mobini bird trapped inside, who promptly flew out of the mountain to safety. The bomb ball kept going, however, rolling into each of the Bomb Badniks in turn until it had travelled to the back of the pack, hitting every target along the way. Sonic ducked down behind a nearby rock and covered his ears, knowing the inevitable result of his strike.

Following a stream of pinging, a deafening roar of explosions went off. The mountain practically shook and Sonic felt the air vibrate in his chest as he breathed. Then, after a few moments, there was nothing but silence… and a rather larger crater where the Bombs had previously been stood.

Sonic walked over to survey his handiwork, giving a low whistle. He didn’t have much chance to pat himself on the back, however, as a Burrobot Badnik shot from the ground towards him.

Sonic almost yelped in surprise but managed to contain his excitement, “Nice stealth skills, drill-features. Oh, no, what’s with the hat?” The Burrobot was wearing a larger cap than previous models Sonic had faced and the peak was stuck up at an almost comical angle. In addition, it was wearing a pair of sunglasses.

“Sunglasses, indoors?” Sonic asked, “It’s not even bright in here”

The Burrobot was having none of Sonic’s attitude. It lunged forward with a drill arm, whirring in motion as its caterpillar treads pushed it forward with surprising velocity. Sonic looked for a way out and decided the only readily available exit was to ride up what appeared to be a huge corkscrew drill working up into the mountain. He could just about make out a ledge up above and decided he’d aim for that as his safe spot.

“Stand still, hedgehog,” the Burrobot commanded, “so that I can turn you into my organic battery!”

Great, Sonic thought to himself, Nobody inside- that means I can afford to let loose.

Leaping backwards onto the corkscrew, Sonic found the Burrobot was all too eager to pursue him. That suited Sonic just fine. As he rose higher and higher, leaping up the corkscrew as he went, Sonic was sure to keep one eye on the ledge up ahead.

Eventually, the Burrobot managed to draw level with Sonic, staring him down, “End of the line, hedgehog, prepare to serve the glorious Doctor Robotnik!”

“Sorry, pal,” Sonic shrugged, “Any battery of yours is about to be flat”

Deftly leaping backwards, Sonic landed on the ledge still facing the Burrobot. The Badnik barely had time to register this as the corkscrew pushed it into the ceiling and crushed it.

Before Sonic could make any additional quip, he was distracted by the beeping of the Emerald Radar. He spun round- and right in front of him on the ledge was a Chaos Emerald. Curiously, the emerald retained its red colouration. Perhaps the emeralds were back at full power, Sonic pondered. He touched it and it disappeared, as with the rest, to be called upon when he needed their power.

Of course, now he had another problem- how to get down. Fortunately, he had a ready solution for the occasion. One Triple Spin later and Sonic had buzzsawed a path back down to where he began.

He didn’t count, however, on landing in front of the “foreman” of the Gimmick Mountain, the next Master Robot. This wild boar Badnik looked particularly angry with Sonic.

“You’ve ruined my digging operation!” the Badnik declared.

“Your digging operation? Wait, sorry, hang on, Robonik sent a boar to bore? That’s actually pretty clever, I’ll give him that. Not so sure about his reliance on this pork theme, though, between you, the sumo guy and the Ball Hog, definite points off for unoriginality”

Steam emanating from vents on its back, the Master Robot fumed and charged at Sonic with blistering speed. Sonic now spotted the next problem- every inch of the robot was covered in spikes, there was simply no leaping onto it.

“Give it up, hedgehog!” the boar gloated, “Even if you could somehow hit me, it’ll have no effect on my armour! You die here today!”

The robot was fast, pushing Sonic to his limits. He was much faster than the sumo pig.

Wait a second- that was it!

At the risk of becoming repetitive, Sonic considered an encore. Only this time he’d have to hope the damage he’d done inside the mountain already would help him out.

“Think you’re fast enough to dodge this one?” the boar snarled.

“Maybe not…” Sonic shrugged.

The Master Robot shot at Sonic like a rocket. Sonic held his breath in anticipation. He waited… then… one might bound over his foe saw Sonic get to safety as the boar blasted itself into the mountain wall with the force of a cannon shell.

Sonic watched as the robot struggled to get free to no avail- and then watched as his plan began to pay off. With a loud rumble, rocks dislodged themselves from high up above and began to rain down towards Sonic and the Master Robot. Sonic was nimble enough to evade them. The very stuck Master Robot… was not. Crushed and smashed by the rocks, the boar never knew what hit it- literally. A wall to the outside crumbled and Sonic stepped through, eyeing the floating Robotnik face outside. By now Sonic knew just what to do and smashed the Prison Capsule open, freeing the hostages.

Gimmick Mountain had been brought down before it could even get going, Sonic was pleased to recognise. He looked at the Emerald Radar’s screen. One dot remaining. That had to be where Robotnik was currently holed up. It had to be where Tails was being captive.

At least, Sonic hoped it was.

Not wasting a further second, Sonic rushed off in the direction of the dot.

On to Chapter 60