Back to Chapter 73

Sonic and Tails looked up at the sign above the entrance to the facility. It proudly boasted in capital letters “OCEAN COMPANY OIL REFINERY – Under New Management”. Underneath it, someone had vandalised the sign with graffiti reading “WELCOME TO THE OIL OCEAN ZONE”.

“That sounds promising,” Sonic said sarcastically.

Tails was nervous, “No sign of the others. What do we do now?”

“We press on. No time to wait, the longer we stand about, the further away Robotnik gets.” Sonic looked down at his friend, noticing his discomfort, “I don’t like getting separated any more than you do, little buddy. But if it were the other way around, Sally would be saying the same thing. Besides, I’ve got my sidekick, haven’t I?” He gave a smile and raised his eyebrow. Tails seemed to perk up.

The two friends headed into the facility and, after a short walk, were practically roundhoused in the face by a stomach-churning odour. Tails held back a choke, “What is that?!”

Sonic did his best to hold his breath but ultimately realised with a grimace that to do so was futile, “I’m no expert, buddy, but I’d be forced to guess it’s the oil”

“It smells like rotten eggs!”

“Yeah, you’d think we’d be used to that by now. This is like having fifteen Robotniks giving you a big hug”

Tails waved a hand in protest and scrunched up his brow, “Oh, don’t, you’ll make my breakfast repeat on me”

“Hey! What are you two doing here?” an authoritative, adult voice called out. A lion wearing a sort of hazmat suit walked over to Sonic and Tails. His suit bore his name, Red, in large capital letters. It seemed appropriate, given his bright red mane, “This place is off-limits to anyone but clean-up crew!”

Sonic and Tails looked at one another. Sonic shrugged, “We could help with that if you need?”

“Nice try,” Red put his hands on his shoulders, “but something tells me you two kids aren’t employees. I think I’d remember a fox with two tails and a blu—” he stopped, “A blue hedgehog. You’re Sonic!”

Sonic was unable to stop himself from grinning, “My reputation precedes me”

“I’ll say! Listen, if anyone can help us here, it’s you! Sorry I snapped at you, we’re under a lot of stress and pressure here. We’ve been fighting a fire here for three days. If it spreads much further, the entire facility is liable to go up! We’ve tried everything but it’s no use. At this rate, I’m going to have to get my men out”

“Relax, pal,” Sonic was cool, “There’s still one thing you’ve not tried”

“What’s that?”

“You’re looking at it. Show me where the fire is, I’ve got a little party trick I’ve been working on”

Red led Sonic and Tails deeper into the Zone. Tails’ heart pounded a little, aware in the back of his mind that the Zone could explode at any minute and there’d be nothing they could do to stop it. Red brought the heroes to a huge spout of fire, shooting skyward.

“Stand back, guys,” Sonic said, determined, “Let me take care of this”

Rushing at the fire, Sonic surprised Tails, Red and the men fighting the blaze as he ran to its base. Faster and faster he circled it, running round and eventually propelling himself off the ground with the air currents looping behind him. In no time at all, a cyclone had formed around the fire. As the air pressure shifted around the inferno, a vacuum formed at the base of the cyclone. With a thunderous sonic boom, the vacuum extinguished the fire. Oil continued to spurt from the broken pipe it had been leaking from but the immediate danger was gone.

“That was fun!” Sonic announced, returning to Red and Tails, who had been knocked over by the burst, “What’s next?”

“Hah, take your pick,” Red frowned, “I take it you saw the ‘Under New Management’ sign on the way in?”

Sonic didn’t follow the point, “Yeah, so?”

“Yeah, well, it turns out the new owner is Doctor Robotnik, he bought this place out from the greedy bosses and turned it into a death trap then flooded the Zone with oil. Now everywhere you step, the floor gives way or flames shoot out or—”

“Or you get attacked by an Octus”

“Exactly, you—eh?”

Hovering in the air above Red was a pink octopus-like Badnik, its tentacles spinning and acting like a sort of rotor blade, “Oh, that’s me by the way. Pleased to meet you!”

Sonic took a running leap at the Badnik, “Shame I have to cut this meeting short!”

“Uh-uh-uh!” the Octus tutted, “Always think before you ink!”

Without warning, the Badnik shot a spray of ink at Sonic, who groaned in disgust and barely managed to shield his face in time.

“Don’t worry, Sonic, I’ve got it!” Tails zigged and zagged in the air towards the robotic menace.

“Jealous of your friend? Don’t worry, plenty of ink for all!” the Badnik goaded.

“Yeah, I’m a little more manoeuvrable in the air than Sonic,” Tails retorted, flying around the back of the Octus.

As the machine’s head span around, it demanded, “Where did you go?” before locking eyes with Tails’ fist, which knocked it to pieces. A Mobini penguin fell out of the machine and landed safely in Red’s arms.

“Right here,” Tails replied, feeling good about himself before landing next to Sonic, “Are you okay, Sonic?”

“I’m fine,” Sonic shook himself at rapid-speed to clear away the ink, “Good job, kid”. Tails felt warm inside.

“Sonic,” Red interjected, “We need somebody who can go into the control room and deactivate the traps. Is there any chance you might…?”

“Hey, don’t sweat it,” Sonic responded, “Naturally you think I’m up to the chance!”

A burst of fire blasted the yelping Sonic in the back, knocking him over as a seahorse Badnik floated down from above, “Then he’d better think again! So says Aquis!”

“Don’t dare come at me from the front, eh?” Sonic frowned as he got to one knee, his back to a ledge.

“Of course not,” the Aquis almost sounded offended, “I’m not stupid! And nor am I about to give you any time to recover!”

Another burst of flame knocked Sonic over the ledge and onto a slope absolutely dripping with rushing oil, “Gah- no way I can get a grip in this. Looks like I have to go with the flow! But if this messes up my sneakers, you’re footing the bill, ugly!”

The slope deposited Sonic in a pool full of oil as the Aquis Badnik floated nearby, “Any last words, blue boy?”

“Get real! You think this oil’s going to stop me? I’m still too fast for you to hit!”

“You’re right…” the Badnik conceded, “Good job I don’t have to”

Another burst of flames shot from the Badnik and collided with the oil. Instantly, the entire pool ignited in a huge blaze.

“SONIC!” Tails yelled.

The Aquis Badnik floated up towards Tails and Red, “Road hedgehog, anyone? I’m afraid it might be a little overdone”

Red placed a consoling arm around Tails’ shoulder, “I’m sorry, son. I think he’s gone”

Tails was heartbroken, “Sonic…”

A roaring noise filled the air. Not just a roaring noise. A roar. A screeching, manic, insane roar.

With a burst of golden yellow light, Sonic rocketed out of the oil- but he wasn’t Sonic as Tails recognised.

“What on Mobius is that?” Red gasped.

“I… I think he…” Tails remembered some of his comics. A great hero in one of them was once overcome with powerful emotions and transformed into a more powerful form, “I think he’s… Super Sonic”

Super Sonic, teeth bared and eyes swirling, bore down on the Aquis, “Oh I’m gonna get you. I’m gonna get you REAL GOOD!”

“Well, this I don’t like the look of,” the Badnik admitted, before zipping between the constructs of the facility, “Good job I know this Zone like the back of my—"

Before the Aquis could utter the word “fin”, Super Sonic smashed effortlessly through a huge oil container and collided with the Badnik, “Did I say I was done with you?!” As pieces of the Badnik fell to the ground below, a Mobini seal previously held hostage within the robot landed next to them. Super Sonic rounded on the helpless animal, “And where do you think you’re going?” Fear and panic spread across the face of the creature, which only amused Super Sonic, “Don’t worry, small-fry. This’ll only hurt for a second!”

“Super Sonic, stop!” Tails leapt in front of the Mobini, addressing him without thinking, “You’re making a terrible mistake!”

“You again!” Super Sonic roared, “Why do you call me Super Sonic? Hmm… although… it has a nice ring to it! And supersonic speed is how quickly I’ll turn you into paste!”

“Sonic, please! Listen to me!” Tails begged, “You’re not yourself! We’re here to help! Don’t you remember?”

“Remember? I… remember? I think…” the yellow began to fade from Sonic and a familiar blue slowly swept over him, “I remember now”

Tails wiped his brow and sighed, deeply relieved, “You had me worried there, Sonic. What happened?”

“I… what do you mean what happened? What happened to the Aquis?”

“You don’t remember? Hmm. I guess when you turn into Super Sonic, you don’t remember what you get up to”

“I guess not,” Sonic shook his head, then put a hand on Tails’ shoulder, “But I’m glad that in my absence someone had the situation handled”

Tails smiled, pleased with Sonic’s approval.

“How sickeningly twee!” Robotnik’s voice crackled through a speaker. Sonic and Tails turned to see a submarine emerging from the blazing oil. A video screen projected the devious doctor’s face to the heroes, “Don’t get your socks in a twist, hedgehog, I’m not piloting this thing. As if I’d be that stupid. I’m safe and sound in my brand new Citadel Robotnik here in the Metropolis Zone! That refinery was supposed to be your tomb but if you want a job doing…!”

“Can it, fatso,” Sonic wasn’t in the mood to mess around. He hopped onto a nearby platform and almost found himself skewered as a huge pink tentacle with a spiked end launched out of the oil at him, with Sonic only narrowly dodging in time by leaping to another platform.

“How do you like my tentacles?” Robotnik asked. “Not keen on that one? Then try this one!”

A second tentacle slowly emerged from the water. Where the other one had a spike on the end, this one had some fashion of futuristic cannon. With a loud whine, a laser shot from the end of the cannon and scorched the platform Sonic was standing on. Sonic only just had time to react, leaping above the submarine and back to the first platform.

“Give up, hedgehog!”

“Never took you for a comedian, Robotnik,” Sonic frowned.

The laser cannon was locked on to Sonic, tracking his every move. The fumes from the burning oil were starting to make Sonic cough too. He had to finish this quickly before he passed out. It was risky, but he’d have to do something Robotnik wouldn’t expect if he was going to end this.

Sonic watched as the laser cannon lit up and prepared to fire, its sights firmly locked onto him. Without another word, Sonic leapt onto the submarine and the cannon tilted downwards. As the cannon fired another burst, Sonic leapt high into the air, where Tails was waiting to catch him. The laser bolt blasted through the submarine and the tentacles flopped, lifeless into the oil.

“That was awesome timing, Sonic!” Tails gushed as he placed his friend on the ground.

“Yeah, something tells me Robotnik’s not going to be as impressed as you, pal!” Sonic chuckled as he wiped a tiny spot of oil off his glove. “Alright, Red,” Sonic looked at the lion, “You wanted the traps deactivating, right?”

“Well, if you’re sure you’re up to it…”

“Up to it?” Sonic laughed before a cool smirk spread across his face, “It’ll only take me five minutes”

***

Five minutes later, Sally, Rotor, Antoine, Porker, Johnny and Bunnie arrived at the Oil Ocean Zone. Stepping through the front door, they were greeted by a familiar sight.

“Sonic!” Sally exclaimed, “You’re alright!”

Sonic, reclined on a chair, a Koala Cola in hand, looked over at his friends, “Oh, hey, guys! Just put in a full day’s shift at the refinery and brought everything up to safe standards. Getting an ocean’s worth of oil in the drums was the real hard part. That almost took eighty-three seconds. What took you so long?”

On to Chapter 75