Day 166

[from Sonic the Hedgehog Returns]

Dr. Robotnik was not happy. He was sat opposite Snively in the cramped escape pod, and if looks could kill, his subordinate would be very dead by now. "So, to recap… we lost the Death Egg…" Snively nodded. "We lost the only copy of the Death Egg's plans…" Snively nodded again. "We lost Mecha Sonic Mk.I…" Snively nodded reluctantly. "…and we lost the power source." Snively nodded once more, shrinking back a little. Robotnik, however, seemed to be trying his best to stay calm. "Please tell me we at least have the data on that plane's flight path?" he asked.

"Err… I'm afraid not, sir," said Snively meekly, "it was lost when the Death Egg's main servers were… destroyed…"

Robotnik let out a howl of rage, and in his anger, the portly dictator seemed to swell and take up even more of the escape pod than before. Snively shrunk back into the wall as though hoping he could disappear inside it, clamping his hands over his ears in anticipation of what was to follow.

"I HATE THAT HEDGEHOOOOOOOG!!!" Robotnik bellowed.

***

A short while later, Sonic and Tails arrived back at Knothole to a hero's welcome. As Rotor helped Tails wheel his plane back into the hanger, the others went over to congratulate Sonic on a job well done. "Good work, Sonic," said Sally. "If you hadn't stopped that thing, we would have all been goners. You too, Tails," she called out to the young fox. "Nice job flying that plane."

"Aww, it was nothing," said Tails.

"There's still one thing bothering me about this, though," said Sally.

"Oui!" said Antoine, nodding in agreement. "What eef Robotnik makes anuzzer of zose dreadful theengs?"

"Well, he can't, Antoine," said Sally. "We stole the only copy of the plans, remember?"

"Oh, yes, of course," said Antoine. "That's a relief."

"No, what I mean is, how did Robotnik manage to power something that big and that heavy?" she asked. "Something like the Death Egg just shouldn't be able to fly. To generate the necessary power would require a-"

"-a tremendous source of energy!" Without warning, Rotor had suddenly flung open the door to his workshop and was now hurrying towards the others, a miniature scanner device clutched in his hand.

"Exactly!" said Sally instinctively, before pausing for a moment and turning to face Rotor. "Wait, what?"

"I'm picking up a tremendous source of energy!" cried Rotor, as he approached the others. "And it coming from Sonic!" he added, consulting his scanner.

"What?" said Sally. She and the other Freedom Fighters all turned to look at Sonic, surprised.

"Oh, right," said Sonic. "I snagged this from the Death Egg's generator room." Holding out his hand, he revealed a glowing, brilliant-cut blue gem, about the size of his fist. "I dunno what it is, but I think it must have been the power source."

"That tiny thing?!" said Bunnie, incredulously. "Ain't no way something that small could power something like the Death Egg!"

"My scanner says otherwise," said Rotor. His scanner was now pointed directly at the jewel, and its readings confirmed Sonic's suspicions. "Whatever that jewel is, its energy levels are off the charts!"

Sally peered forward to inspect the jewel. "So this is how Robotnik got that thing off the ground…" she said. "Hmm… I wonder…"

"Wonder what, Sal?" asked Sonic.

Sally straightened up, looking at Sonic with a concerned expression. "What if this isn't the only one of its kind?" she asked. "What if there are more of these jewels out there, with the same kind of power level? If there are-"

"-Buttnik will be looking for them," completed Sonic. "And if he finds them-"

"-then we're in a whole mess o' trouble," completed Bunnie.

"We just have to hope zat zis ees zee only one, then," said Antoine.

"Indeed," said Sally. "Let's hope so, for all our sakes."

***

Once Robotnik had sufficiently calmed down, Snively consulted his tablet in search of some crumbs of comfort and quickly found one. "There is some good news, sir," he said.

"And what could that be?" asked Robotnik.

"Research and Development Division #92393 has just filed a progress report," said Snively. "The designs for Mecha Sonic Mk.II are nearing completion. Construction could begin as soon as next week."

"Good," said Robotnik, relaxing a little. "I want it ready as soon as possible."

"One more thing, sir," said Snively. "Scouting Division #786 has reported in. Their mission was a success."

This grabbed Robotnik's attention immediately, causing him to sit back up again. "You mean that-"

An evil smirk passed across Snively's face. "Indeed," he said. "They have found the second Chaos Emerald."

Robotnik grinned, the devilish glint returning to his eye. "Excellent," he said. "The Death Egg may have failed, but I'll get those Freedom Fighters next time for sure!" He let out a hearty evil laugh, as the escape pod continued on its way back towards his fortress.