Back to Chapter 75

Mobian historians would one day look back on the history of Sonic the Hedgehog, his friends and his foes and remark of his exploits in chasing down Robotnik’s Wing Fortress in the Tornado bi-plane. What exactly constitutes a Zone on Mobius would remain a nebulous concept and many Zone Leaders would claim it was the skies above their Zone which housed the famous chase. Eventually, as a matter of politics, the stretch of sky above West Side Island in which the chase ensued would be named the Sky Chase Zone. Annual celebrations would be held, with firework displays stretching as far as they eye could see throughout the length of the area deemed to be host to this event.

Of course, back in the present, Sonic had to make it happen first.

The Tornado roared through the sky. The sun was coming up and, high above the clouds, the night-time of the Metropolis Zone seemed a distant memory as the morning light began to glow. As the engine and thrusters of the bi-plane were pushed to their absolute limits, a shape began to come into view on the horizon. A huge, brown plane. But it was more than any ordinary plane. It was the size of a large town. The Sky Base had been huge but Robotnik’s Wing Fortress was really something else to behold.

“Faster, Tails, we have lost ground to make up for!” Sonic crouched down on the wing of the bi-plane, thankful for the lab accident which had streamlined his quills. He needed every last ounce of aerodynamics he could get stood in such a precarious position.

Tails called back up, “We’re going as fast as we can, Sonic, I promise- if I push it any harder, the Tornado will probably shake itself to bits!”

Sonic didn’t like hearing it but he’d have to accept it. Robotnik’s plane was coming closer into view, it just wasn’t doing so at a rate Sonic was particularly thrilled with. Sonic squinted. The small dot on the horizon (or whatever the sky equivalent of the horizon was, he wasn’t sure) that Robotnik’s craft made up almost looked as if smaller dots were joining it. Those smaller dots suddenly grew a lot larger. No- it wasn’t that. They were getting closer.

Sonic braced himself, “Tails, get ready, we’ve got company. I hope you and Uncle Chuck put some kind of weapon on this thing”

“Would you be terribly upset if I said it never occurred to us?”

Sonic groaned, “I suppose not”

“That’s a relief”

“Just be ready to catch me, okay, buddy? It’s a long way down and, unlike some people, I can’t fly without a plane”

Soaring towards Sonic at tremendous speed came a wave of Badniks built like miniature jet engines with a bird’s beak painted on the front. Those Mobian historians mentioned before would one day learn, thanks to the tireless research of the Wimple Badnik Spotters Association, the names of Robotnik’s Badniks during this encounter, with the jet birds being Balkiry Badniks. Slower than these were the Nebula model, a spherical design with a propeller on the top and a funnel in the base which shot spiked balls at Sonic and Tails. Rounding out the trio of Badniks encountered at this time was the Turtloid, a weaponised riding platform designed to look like a turtle, harmless on its own but when controlled by a smaller turtle riding on its back, it could be a dangerous foe, with laser blasts firing from its mouth.

All of this is terribly fascinating and I can heartily recommend then Wimple Badnik Museum to any enthusiasts that get opportunity to visit Mobius some two-hundred-and-forty-seven years from now, but Sonic didn’t have any of this knowledge to hand at the time. Instead, he was forced to rely on his wits and skill- which were still going to be tested to the extreme, given he was currently being buffeted about, riding on the wing of a bi-plane, being forced to erratically zig-zag around at high altitude and high speed while being fired upon from all sides and dogged by speeding miniature jets.

All in all, it was turning into a bit of a high-stress morning for both Sonic and Tails.

“Tails, remember how I said to catch me?” Sonic called out.

“You’re about to do something reckless aren’t you?” Tails asked, concerned.

“Hey, it’s like you’ve known me all your life!”

Sonic leapt from the wing over a Balkiry, colliding with a string of Nebula Badniks before smashing into a Turtloid rider. More Turtloids appeared and Sonic was able to leap to each of them in turn, as if jumping to platforms. Mercifully, even with the riders destroyed, the larger Turtloid platform stayed intact in the air. The Balkiry Sonic leapt circled round and Sonic was nimble enough to leap onto its back and crack it open with a kick. Mercifully, the only animals trapped in the Badniks were Mobini birds, able to fly to freedom. Sonic dreaded to think what would have happened if Robotnik had been cruel enough to put anyone or anything that couldn’t fly inside these Badniks, though it seemed at least Robotnik, while cruel, was logical enough to put flying creatures inside flying animals.

Sonic landed back on the wing of the Tornado as it drew level with the enormous plane. Robotnik’s voice boomed from an enormous speaker on the Wing Fortress, “Give it up, hedgehog! You’re in Robotnik air space now! Withdraw or I’ll be forced to use… well, force!”

“No chance, egg-features!” Sonic yelled back, uncertain if Robotnik could even hear him, “We’ve come this far, we’re not giving up now”

“Have it your way!” Robotnik sounded pleased with Sonic’s response, “Prepare to be blasted out of the sky!”

Sonic’s eyes widened as he spotted the huge laser cannon on the top of the plane. The end of its turret glowed a bright orange as it drew in energy…

And fired.

On to Chapter 77