Hi! My name is Albanesi Luca. I'm a 17 years old Italian boy that likes Sonic very much. Unfortunately, Sonic here in Italy is not so famous as there in America or in other countries. We don't have any comics or movies. But there are people like me that won't allow for Sonic to be forgotten in Italy. I'm here to tell you a story that I wrote. I call it "The Flying Fortress". This is my second story at Sonic. The first was "The Death of Sonic". I hope you like this one also. CHAPTER ONE - CAPTAIN SWORDMAN Tails was looking at the television in the Rec room. Now there was "The Adventures of Captain Swordman". He was his best hero, second only to Sonic! He liked him because he had a laser sword that cut everything and could deflect lasers (like the lightsabers in Star Wars). Tails always wanted to have a true sword. The show was going to finish when Sonic approached Tails and said "Come on, little fox. It's scouting time!" "Wait a minute... Captain Swordman is in danger! He's surrounded by four robots and is wounded at one hand! I want to see what will happens next!" "Hey, little boy. You too will be in great danger if you won't come with me. Understood?" "Wait... it's nearly..." "GET UP AND TURN OFF THAT TV! CAPTAIN SWORDMAN IS FOR BABIES! YOU'RE QUITE BIG NOW!" "Shut up, I can't listen to the words." Sonic took the remote controller and turned off the TV. "No! What have you done? I'll never know if he will survive!" "You'll discover tomorrow. If there is another episode, he'll have survived." "Sonic... you can't understand... he's my hero!" "WHO IS YOUR HERO?" "Ehm, you... in the real life... but the children need some fantastic heroes. Do you understand?" "Yes, maybe you're right. I'll talk to Rotor. Maybe he can create a laser sword. What do you say?" "Oh, Sonic, it would be fantastic!" "Ok. When we return, Rotor will present you with the new "Fox sword"!" "Yes! What are we waiting for? Let's go!" CHAPTER TWO - SCOUTING Sonic and Tails jumped on the red plane and took off from the village's airstrip. After an hour, Tails said "That's a loss of time... nothing happened since now. Let's go back to the village. Maybe my sword is ready!" "No," answered Sonic "Rotor said 'It will take three hours to make it'. We must go on..." "Umpf," replied Tails. Suddenly, when they were near Robotropolis, Sonic said "Tails, can you go land please? I think I saw something..." "What, a chili shop?" "Don't be silly. It's incredible... but I think I saw something like a giant ship!" "Ok, I'll land. But if that was a false alarm, we'll go back to the village. Promise?" "Promise." They landed and walked to see what that thing was. A black bird was over them. It was a spy for Robotnik. In fact, he saw them and shouted "That's enough! They're here to see my new ship... and they'll rest here forever! Nack, go and meet them. They mustn't go back to the village alive!" "Ok, doc. I'll use my new super-sharp knife! They won't stand a chance!!!" So, the evil Nack the Weasel started hunting Sonic & Tails. CHAPTER THREE - THE GIANT SHIP "You were right, Sonic! That's an enormous ship!" The ship was really huge. It was 500 metres long and 200 metres tall. Fortunately, now it was unoperative, because it had a lot of big turrets and missile launchers. "We must go and tell the others of that new menace!" said Sonic. "I'll take some photos. Maybe Sally will be able to tell us something about that ship." "You're not going anywhere, rebel scum." "Uh? Who's talking?" Sonic turned his head and saw the evil weasel. "Dr. Robotnik's flying fortress will bring doom to the Freedom Fighters! You won't be able to do anything when she flies!" said Nack. "And you won't stop her takeoff either!" "Ok, we'll see. C'mon, Tails. It's time to go home." And Sonic and Tails walked to their plane. But Nack threw a sharp knife at Sonic's back, hitting him. "Aargh! That hurt!" shouted Sonic. "Hey, are you all right, captain?" asked Tails. "I suppose so. A single knife can't knock out the best hedgehog in the world. We'll have to fight with this guy." "Don't be fool, hedgehog. You'll never beat me and my knifes! Just surrender and I won't hurt you anymore. So, do you surrender?" asked Nack. "The word surrender is not in my dictionary. Tails, give me the Chaos Emeralds please." "Of course, Sonic!" "What... Chaos emeralds? No, please, spare me... HELP!!! I don't want to meet that Super Sonic jerk again!!!" So the cowardly evil weasel ran away, leaving our two heroes free to go to the village. CHAPTER FOUR - RETURN TO THE VILLAGE The red plane landed on the airstrip and Sonic shouted "Sally! Please come here! This is an emergency!" "What's up? Robotnik's attacking again?" asked Sally. "Worse. Much worse. Robotnik has got a new weird weapon. It's name is "The Flying Fortress". It's a giant ship with lots of turrets. Just her alone can wipe out our village and all Mobius!" "Oh, no. Can you do something?" "I've already done it. I've taken some photos of it. Now you must examine them and tell me some information. Oh, by the way... Tails, this sword is for you. Rotor had to work hard, but he has done it. It can even deflect lasers!!!" "Oh thanks, Sally. Thanks to you too, Rotor." "Nothing, pal. It's been amusing to create something other than bombs!" After several minutes, Sonic said, "Then, are you done with that computer? "Hey, wait a minute, champion. You must be patient!!!" "Patients are good in a hospital, darling!" "Oh, shut up... Oh, no..." "What? What's up?" "Sonic... I've got good news and bad news. My computer says that the material of that ship is invulnerable to missiles or bombs. We can't harm that ship. Only a great overheat will destroy her." "Oh, no. Well, what's the good new?" "That was the good news. The bad news is real bad. The ship has got a very big radar. We can't get near it even with your plane, because it would be surely shot down." "Oh no. So how are we supposed to go in that ship?" "I don't know. We must do it now, when the ship is still unoperational." CHAPTER FIVE - BRIEFING "Let's go to the briefing room. There, we will prepare a plan," said Sally. "This is going to be a very difficult mission." All the freedom fighters moved into the briefing room. Sally started, "Okay, that's the point. Nicole, please display the images of the Flying Fortress." "Received, Sally. Loading display program... done. Initializing display pattern... Initialized. Ready to display." "Now, Nicole!" Sally's computer displayed the image of the huge ship on the wall. "Geez, that enormous!" exclaimed Rotor. "I've never seen anything like that!" Then Sally continued, "The material of that ship is indestructible. We can't blow it up. We must enter there now and sabotage it from the inside. Any questions?" Bunnie raised her hand. "Let's suppose that the 'front door' of that thing is closed. How will we enter in that thing?" "In that case, we must capture someone and make him open it for us. We've got no other chances." Sonic raised his hand. "Sally, don't you think that only Robotnik could have the key for that thing?" "Oh no! That would be a disaster. In that case... I don't know what we should do." "But, Sally! I know how to open the hull!" shouted Tails. "Oh yes? How?" "With my Captain Swordman sword! It will be able to cut everything!" "Don't be silly, Tails. That's only a toy." After some seconds of silence, Sally said, "Anyway, we must continue. Nicole, show us the laser's position." A red arrow lighted up and pointed to the front hull of the ship. "This is the critical point of the ship. Turning on the lasers for several minutes will produce a mass overheating that will physically melt the ship. We have got to enter and activate the lasers. Sonic, I want you, Tails, Rotor, and Bunnie to infiltrate that ship and execute the orders." All the selected members said, "Yes, sir!" "Any questions?" Bunnie said, "Yes, Sally. But that's for Sonic. Listen, pal, when you and Tails discovered that ship, were there any guards or not?" Sonic answered, "Just Nack. He threw a knife at me and hit me in the back. But now there are probably lots of guards. It looks like that Robotnik doesn't want that the ship is destroyed." "Any other questions?" Sally asked. Tails said, "Sally, you said that we must light the main laser for several minutes. But when we light it, maybe somebody will go and turn off it. We can't stay in the ship for too long! We will blow up with her!" "Wrong, Tails. That's Rotor's part. He will sabotage the main circuit and it will make the laser unstoppable. Got it, Rotor?" "Completely, Sally". "Good. Any other questions?" Nobody replied. "Good. You will depart from here tonight at 1:00. Rest well this night because this will be a suicide mission. Dismissed... and good luck. You will need it!" said Sally. "Let's do it to it!" shouted Sonic. "For Mobius and for freedom!" And all the Freedom Fighters went to sleep, thinking of the mission the next day. CHAPTER SIX - APPROACHING AT THE SHIP At 0:30 Sally awakened the chosen Fighters. Sally said, "Before you go, take those transmitters. You'll need them if something goes wrong." "Ok, Sally," said Sonic and kissed her. "Come on, let's go. The ship is 10 kilometers east from here." "Oh, Sonic," said Sally. "I almost forgot. Take that gun. You may use it against the enemy. The more longer you pull the trigger, the more firepower the gun will have." "Thanks, Sal. Let's move now, Freedom Fighters!" And the group of four fighters leaved the village of Knothole. After 2 hours of walking, Sonic stopped the others and said, "Ok, here we are. Rotor, gimme the IR Goggles." "Affirmative, Sonic." Sonic wore the goggles and said "One... two... three... there are three big robots guarding that ship. Ok, that's the plan. Rotor, you and Bunnie are going to penetrate the ship. Use the gun if necessary. Tails, you will distract the left guard, while I distract the right guard. Enter the ship only if you're sure that nobody sees you. Understood?" "Completely, Sonic," said all in chorus. "Good. Let's do it to it!" Meanwhile Robotnik was controlling the state of the ship. "Damned hedgehog! Now I must guard my ship because you discovered it. And you, stupid useless weasel, why did you let him escape?" said Robotnik. "Well... he threatened to use the Chaos Emeralds, your evilness!" " Right... the emeralds... with them, my ship would be unstoppable! YES! I WANT THOSE..." Suddenly the computer said, "Red alert - blue hedgehog has being spotted - require instructions." "Ah, so you're back, Sonic. But my robot guards have spotted you... HA HA AH! You'll find a nasty surprise inside that ship! To all robot guards - let the hedgehog in. After that, close the main door! Oh, I almost forgot... I must open the door... You're almost finished, hedgehog!!!" Sonic was astonished when he saw that the guards were leaving. "Hey, what's happening? Why they are leaving?" he said. Then, using his transmitter, he contacted Sally. "Sally, have you received some of Robotnik's radio message?" "No, sorry, Sonic." Tails said, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go inside that ship!" CHAPTER SEVEN - IN THE SHIP The Freedom Fighters entered into the ship. "Hey, there are lots of doors here! Which is the right door?" asked Bunnie. "Well, let's try the RIGHT door," said Sonic and opened the door at the right. They found themselves in a room with other four doors. Rotor said, "Hey, guys, it's better that we split, or we'll never find the laser room. Sonic, take the north door, Bunnie, take the east door. Tails, the west door. I'll go back and I'll choose another door. Everyone draw a map. If you found the right door, you must call the others. Understood?" "Yes, Rotor" answered Tails, Bunnie and Sonic. The four heroes went in different door. But every door that they opened had another room with another four doors. That ship was a real labyrinth. Meanwhile in Robotnik's palace, Nack the weasel said, "Listen, 'Nik, I'm going in the ship. I want to take revenge on Sonic for today's adventure." "You won't go anywhere, stupid animal. You've done too much damage today!" "But 'Nik..." "DON'T CALL ME NIK! CALL ME BY MY FULL NAME!" "Ok, Dr. Ivo Julian Robotnik..." "That's better." "I want to kill Sonic! There's a fire inside me that..." "May you repeat, please?" "I said that I've got a fire inside me..." "You're a GENIUS! I found a punishment for them! They've entered in my ship, and I will punish them!!! HA HA HA!!" Tails was searching for the laser room. But every door had a room equal to the others. "I need a map... father, mother, wherever you are, please help me!" "We're here, Miles." The parents of Tails were just in front of him! He couldn't believe to his eyes! "Mum... Dad... is that really really you?!?" "Yes, Miles. Follow us and we will help you." A door and they entered into that room. Tails entered with them. When he entered in the room, his parents disappeared and the door before him shut. "Mum... Dad... Where have you gone?" On a monitor, Robotnik's face appeared and said, "Sorry, litte ignorant fox, but your parents were just holograms... HA HA HA! You're trapped!!! HA HA! The sabotage mission will fail, and all will say 'Tails, it was your fault!!!'" "Wh... What a... are you going to do now?" Tails was really frightened. "Out there the temperature is 10 degrees. A bit cold, don't you think? I'll just warm up the room! Ha ha ha!" At that moment, a strange liquid started to enter in the room... CHAPTER EIGHT - TAILS IN HELL Tails tried desperately to open the door but it was closed. "Damn! It's shut tight! I'm trapped here!" Suddendly, a gun appeared from the ceiling and shot Tails. He avoided it and said "You missed, egghead!" "Oh, really? I'm sorry to report that the liquid is phosphorous, a very inflammable liquid... if the laser should hit the liquid... I'll let you imagine what could happen next!" The gun shot Tails another time that he dodged again. But the third shot hit the liquid that immediately started to burn. Tails was very frightened. He hated fire, and now he was surrounded by 5-metres columns of flames. Meanwhile, Sonic was searching for the room. Fortunately, opening a door, he found it. "Brilliant! I've found it! Room 561. Now I must call the others and..." "Help! Sonic, please help me! I'm trapped in room 412! The room is on fure and... Argh! It's burning in here! Please hurry! Aaah! It's burning!" "HANG ON, TAILS, REINFORCEMENTS ARE ARRIVING! SONIC TO BUNNIE AND ROTOR! SONIC TO BUNNIE AND ROTOR! CODE TWO - TAILS IS IN BIG TROUBLE! REPEAT - TAILS IS IN BIG TROUBLE! MISSION SCRUBBED! REPEAT! MISSION SCRUBBED! GO ALL TO ROOM 412 REPEAT! 412! FOUR-ONE-TWO! Now... that is room 561... Where is the 412? Damn, damn and again, damn." Sonic ran as fast as possible but finding the right door was a probability of 1 over 1000... Tails was still in the burning room. "I hope that Sonic will come soon... Hey, what's that?" Tails saw a button with the words "Anti-fire button". "Hey! I'm safe!" He pressed the button and water started to fall fromm the ceil. "Yahoo! I'm safe! The water stops fire!" Robotnik said "Ahem, I'm sorry to report that it's true that water stop fire, but this is phosphorous! Not wood! Nothing can stop the phosphorous while it's burning!" And actually, the water didn't stop the fire. "Oh no! I'm doomed! Cough... Cough..." The smoke was filling the room. Tails started to choke. Sonic finally found the door. There was a lot of smoke that exited from there. "Tails, are you all right?" "Finally Son... Cough... Sonic. I'm Cho... Cough... Choking... Hurry up... Cough!" "Hang on, you'll be out in a minute," Sonic touched the handle of the door. "Ouch! It's really hot! I can't open that door..." "Please... Cough... Hurry... Cough, Cough." Then Tails fell to the ground. Sonic heard the sound of Tails and said "Tails! Don't faint now! Wake up! TAILS! WAKE UP!" "It's all over, Sonic... thanks for your help... See... cough... see you in heaven... cough." At that moment, Rotor arrived. "Sonic, where's Tails?" "In that room... The room is on fire. Hurry up, do something! He's choking in here! "What can I do... I wasn't prepared for this..." "Rotor, give me that damned gun! NOW!" "Here. Do you think it will work?" "IT MUST WORK, FOR GOD'S SAKE!!!" Sonic pressed the trigger. An energy beam appeared from the mouth of the gun. He held the trigger longer and the light became bigger. "Now, little gun, BLOW UP THAT DAMNED DOOR!!!" Sonic released the trigger and a big laser exited from the gun. It hitted the door and the explosion was so big that Sonic and Rotor fell back. But fortunately, the door was gone! Sonic ran inside, took his friend and ran to the exit. He found two robot-guards at the exit that said "Stop - surrender or die!" But he destroyed them with a quickly spindash and continued his run. He brought Tails outside the ship and dropped him in the forest. CHAPTER NINE - TAILS BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH "Come on... Tails... Come on... don't leave me alone now... breathe... please!" But Tails didn't answered. His Heart was feeble and so was his breathing. "Tails... Please... say something!" Rotor and Bunnie arrived. "Is he alive?" asked Bunnie. "I don't know... his heart is so feeble..." Suddendly, Tails's heart ceased to beat. "No... what are you doing, my friend... Please! Wake up!" "He has breathed too much smoke, Sonic. He's dead," said Rotor with a sad voice. "NO! IT'S IMPOSSIBLE! TAILS! WAKE UP!" But Tails was still lying on the grass. Sonic started to cry. He closed his eyes, took his transmitter and said "Sally, this is Sonic. We've got a casualty. Tails has died in action. Sonic out." Bunnie said ,"Let me try in that mode." She gave a big punch to Tails' stomach and incredibly, Tails's heart started to beat! "Cough.. Cough! Was really necessary that... cough... punch, Bunnie?" Sonic opened his eyes and said, "TAILS! YOU'RE ALIVE! THANKS GOD! BUNNIE, YOU'VE DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB! SALLY! THIS IS SONIC! TAILS IS STILL ALIVE!!!" "Sonic, I've never seen you crying!" said Tails. "You can't know how happy I am, little friend. I feared that I'd lost you forever!" "Sometimes having roboticized arms can be useful... this is the proof!" said Bunnie. "Sonic... Bunnie... Rotor... Thanks. It's thanks to you that I'm still alive," said Tails. "Hey pal, that's our work, remember? Anyway, why were you closed in that room?" asked Sonic. "That... cough... bastard Robotnik showed me my parents in a hologram. I believed that they were really them so I followed them in the room. Then the door closed and..." Tails was finishing his tale when the awesome ship made a big noise. The Freedom Fighters turned to see what was happening and discovered that the ship was taking off! CHAPTER TEN - THE FORTRESS FLIES "Oh, no, she's leaving!" said Sonic. "It's all over now! We've lost!" "I'm sorry my friends. It's all my fault!" said Tails. "Never mind that. Fortunately, that ship is really slow. We must return to the village as fast as possible now. Maybe we'll get another idea..." Sonic's transmitter emitted some beeps, then Sally said "Sonic, I can see on my computer that the ship is taking off! You must return to the village. We are all in great danger!" "Roger, Sally. We're returning. Tails, can you run?" "Yes, perfectly, Sonic." "Ok. Rotor, Bunnie, me and Tails are returning to the village at supersonic speed. You must run now! Meet us at the village. Take those rings, maybe they will work with you also!" "Ok, Sonic. We'll do our best". So Sonic & Tails ran as fast as they could toward the village. It was only a matter of time before the flying fortress reached the village... CHAPTER ELEVEN - DESPERATE GAMBIT The fastest Mobians arrived in just 30 minutes, while Rotor and Bunnie took an hour to arrive. "Come on!" said Sally "We must elaborate another plan before it's too late!" "Sally... in the briefing you said that the radar can see things approaching, right?" said Sonic. "Yes... I said so... your plane will be downed before reaching the hull of the ship," answered Sally "But can it detect even a hang-glider?" "No, I don't th... Hey, wait a minute... that's too risky, Sonic." "It's our only chance. Maybe when I'm up there, I will be able to enter in the ship in some way..." "Maybe you're right... but be careful, Sonic." Tails said "Sonic, take this Captain Swordman sword too. It will bring you luck!" "Thanks, pal. I'll take it to remember you when I'm up there. Ok, this is my plan: Tails, you will bring me 100 meters above the fortress with your plane so I can reach it with my hang-glider, then you will go back to the village. DON'T COME BACK FOR ANY REASON. If I need help, I'll contact you. Ok?" "Yes, captain!" said Tails. "Good. Let's go then!" Then they went to the red plane and took off. "Sally to Sonic. Sally to Sonic. Can you read me, Sonic?" "Yes, Sally. Any news?" "The ship is heading north now. It will be here in ten minutes." "Roger. I'll do my best." "I'm sure you will... Sally out." CHAPTER TWELVE - APPROACHING THE GIANT SHIP Robotnik was inside the flying fortress. He was thinking that in a few minutes, the Freedom Fighters' village would be in ruins. "Just ten minutes and it will be all over!!!" Then a red light turned on and a robotic voice said "Radar contact - 10 kilometers - small red plane approaching. Heading : 0-0-0 degrees." "Ah, that's that stupid hedgehog again. I'll shoot him down! He'll never know what hit him! Computer... arm all laser turrets. Sonic's time is finished!!! HA HA HA!" "Sally to Sonic. Sally to Sonic. Do you read me, Sonic?" "Yes. What now?" "Nicole told me that the turrets of the ship are all armed. The estimated range of the lasers is 3 kilometers. Repeat: 3 kilometers." "Got it, Sally. Sonic out. Tails, bring me 200 meters over the ship. Some complications have occured." "Roger, Sonic." Sonic's plane was 200 meters above the ship. "Sonic, the ship is now at 4 kilometers from us. Should I continue?" "No. That's enough. Return to base immediately." "Roger out." Sonic jumped off with his hang-glider and Tails headed toward the village. In the huge ship, the robotic voice said "Radar contact - 5 kilometers - small red plane has changed direction. New heading : 1-8-0 degrees." "So he's escaping! He must have understood that he had no chances of survival! Mobius will be mine soon!!!" But Sonic was not a coward and was approaching the giant ship. After several minutes, he landed on the ship. "It's time to kick the egghead's ass!" he thought. "Let's do it to it!" CHAPTER THIRTEEN - TRAPPED! "ALERT! ALERT! SHORT RADAR SCAN REPORTS AN INTRUDER IN THE HULL. REQUIRE NEW ORDERS." "WHAT? WHO? HOW'S POSSIBLE!" Robotnik was really amazed. "MY RADAR WOULD HAVE SIGNALED IT! Well, that's not a problem. I'll see to it personally that he will pay for every robot that he destroyed!" Sonic tied the hang-glider to the ship and took out his comm unit. "Sonic to Sally. Sonic to Sally. Can you hear me, Sally?" "Pl..e rep..t, th..e are s.me int..er.f..." "Sally. I'm Sonic. Can you hear me?" "So..c, a.e you o. bo..d?" "Yes, I'm on board. I'm going in now!" "P.y a.t.n...n, y.. h.v. b..n d.t..t.d" "What? Repeat please!" ".o. ...e b..." and the transmission finished here. "Damn! Maybe it was something important. Well, I'll do it alone now." Sonic jumped from side to side of the ship, avoiding the propellers and paying attention not to slide down. He saw that the main door was open. "I don't like this... It's surely a trap! But that's a dirty work, and somebody will have to do it!" He entered the door and searched for door #561, looking at his map. He quickly found it and entered. Robotnik was inside the room and said, "Welcome aboard, Sonic! I was waiting you... You will see the destruction of Knothole!!!" "Wrong. I'm here to stop you and this ship." "I wonder how you will do it, if you're trapped inside my laser barriers!" He pressed a button and Sonic become surrounded by 16 laser barriers. "What... What the hell is that? Free me immediately!" "I don't think that you can do anything... my doom cannon will destroy Knothole!!" Then the mad doctor pressed another button, pulled a pair of levers and a huge cannon appeared from the front of the fortress. "Doom cannon charging - 1 minute for charging" said the robotic voice. "In 2 minutes, you will see your village crumble! You'll then be roboticized and you'll obey all my orders!!! HA HA HA!!!" Sonic took the seven Chaos Emeralds and a power ring from his backpack. "Egghead, prepare to meet Super Sonic!" "I'm not scared. This ship is filled with radiation that prevents the use of the emeralds." "We'll see!" Sonic joined all 7 emeralds with a power ring but nothing happened. "Damn... it's true! I can't do anything!" "Yes! Am I a genius? You've lost, Sonic!" "Oh no! You can't win!" "I've already won, hedgehog! Mobius will be mine!!!" "Doom cannon ready. Select target." "Do you see, Sonic? My cannon is already charged! Computer, point laser at heading 1-8-0 degrees. Angolation: 30 degrees down." "Coordinates received. Doom will start in 1 minute." Sonic had to think something very quickly. He thought about Sally, took his comm unit and said, "Sally - this is an emerg..." but the evil doctor shoted at his hand, destroying the comm unit. "Doom will start in 30 seconds." Then Sonic thought of Tails and remembered the sword he gave him. "Sure! That sword can deflect lasers!" he thought. "Excuse me, Rob. This is my last wish. Where's the control lever in this ship?" "I'll tell you; it's that lever here. Why, do you think you can stop the doom? HA HA!" "Doom will start in 15 seconds." "Maybe... TAKE THAT!" He used the sword to deflect the lasers and destroyed the laser's red lever. Then he got out of his prison. "YOU FOOL! I CAN'T STOP THE LASER NOW! THIS THING WILL MELT SOON!!" "Yes, I know. Look straight ahead and say 'BYE BYE!' to your ship, eggman!" And Sonic turned the ship by 90 degrees. "SONIC, THE VILLAGE MAY BE SAFE, BUT YOU'RE DEAD! YOU WON'T LEAVE THIS SHIP ALIVE!" "Laser fired. Push the red lever to stop it." An enormous purple laser was fired by the cannon. Because of the recoil, the ship jerked back, and Sonic saw his hang glider falling to the ground! "OH NO! MY HANG GLIDER! I'M STRANDED HERE!" said Sonic. He was really frightened. Robotnik punched him in the stomach and then in the face. Sonic fell to the ground unconscious. "Now you are the one that must say bye bye, hedgehog! Bye bye, you'll blow up with this ship!" CHAPTER FOURTHEEN - SONIC IN TROUBLE At Knothole village, Sally was looking at the ship. She saw Robotnik's ship going away, but there was no trace of Sonic. "Sally to Sonic... Sally to Sonic... Please, Sonic, answer!" But nobody answered. "He may be in trouble..." said Tails. "I must go and check it out." "That's a negative, Tails" said Sally. "He would have contacted us if there would was trouble. Let's wait some more." In the ship, Sonic was awakened 2 minutes later by the robotic voice. "Warning - main reactor overheating. Estimated time before melt down: 5 minutes." Sonic was a bit confused. He couldn't understand where he was. After several seconds, he remembered the laser and the fallen hang-glider. "Oh no. Robotnik has destroyed my comm unit. And I can't use the emeralds. This is a disaster!" Sonic opened the main door and looked down. The ship was above the land by 2 kilometers. Nobody, not even Sonic, would have survived so a big fall. "Hey, but maybe there's a radio on this thing! Let's see..." Sonic went back to the control room but most buttons were destroyed by the laser deflected by the sword, so he couldn't understand what was the right button. "Warning - 4 minutes remaining before melt down." Meanwhile at Knothole, Tails was even more worried. "Please, Sally, let me go. I feel that Sonic is in trouble." "Tails, the turrets may be still active. You know the range of those lasers, don't you?" "Listen, Sally, Sonic has risked his life lots of times to save my life. It's time to earn my pay, don't you think?" "We don't go on suicide missions unless needed. I'm sure Sonic is in good shape up there." Suddenly, Sonic's hang-glider crash landed near the village. Antoine was there and yelled "SALLY! ROTOR! TAILS! BUNNIE! COME HERE!" Sally and Tails arrived and asked "What's up, Antoine?" "Is this not Sonic's hang glider?" "Oh, damn. Yes, it is! Sorry, Tails, you were right. Scramble immediately and go to save Sonic!" said Sally. So Tails took off with his plane again and headed toward the flying fortress. "Warning - 3 minutes remaining before melt down." "Yeah... all right... I've still got 3 minutes of life... thanks for the information!" "Radar contact - 5 kilometers - small red plane approaching. Heading : 0-0-0 degrees." "Hey, this must be Tails! I'm safe!" "Warning - 2 minutes remaining before melt down" "Radar contact - 2 kilometers - small red plane approaching. Heading : 0-0-0 degrees. Locking target... Target locked. Hunting target." All the turrets fired upon Tails' plane. Fortunately, Tails was a good pilot and managed to avoid them. "Warning - 60 seconds remaining before melt down." "Radar contact - 100 meters - small red plane approaching. Heading : 0-0-0 degrees. "Sonic, jump on the plane! Hurry up!" said Tails. "I'm coming... stay in that direction!" replied Sonic. "Warning - 50 seconds remaining before melt down." Sonic jumped on the plane but in that moment, a laser hit the tail of the plane. Sonic clung to the left wing of the plane. "Hang on, Sonic! I'll try an emergency landing!" CHAPTER FIFTEEN - THE DESTRUCTION OF THE SHIP Sonic's grip was weakening as the plane was going down. Tails managed to straighten the plane when another laser hit the plane, this time to the right wing. "I can't control it! I can't control it! We're going down!" Then Sonic's hand left the wing. "NOOOOOOOOOO! SONIC!" screamed Tails. "Don't worry! It's all okay!" said Sonic to reassure Tails. He grabbled the emeralds and the ring, put them all together and became Super Sonic!!! He flew to Tails and said, "Come on, pal. Take my hand! Quickly!" Tails took Super Sonic's hand and started to fly, bringing him and Super Sonic safely on the ground. "Great job, Tails! You've saved my life... Thanks." "Hey, Sonic. How many times did you save my life?" "Huh... lots of times?" "Yeah. Even you can't remember the times." And they both laughed, while the plane crashed on the land. Meanwhile on the ship... "Warning - 10 seconds before meltdown - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - 0." The flying fortress exploded with a great bang. Then she fell down and exploded again. All the Freedom Fighters members went to see the state of the two heroes. "Are you all rightm Sonic? What about you, Tails?" "We're okay," said Sonic. "Oh, I almost forgot! Here's your sword. If it wasn't for that, we all would have probably been dead by now." "Are you serious?" "Yes... but let me tell you my adventure from the beginning..." The next week, Sonic and Tails were in the Rec room. Sally entered and said, "Come on, big heroes, it's scouting time!" "Hey, wait a minute! Can't you see that we're looking at 'The Adventures of Captain Swordman'?" said Sonic. "Oh, not again that story... it's really scouting time! It's late!" "Listen... We'll go only if you and Bunnie will create the costume of 'Captain Swordman' for us." "Yesterday a laser sword, today the costume... You're asking too much, Sonic!" "No pain, no gain!" "GET UP AND TURN OFF THAT TV! CAPTAIN SWORDMAN IS FOR BABIES! YOU'RE QUITE BIG NOW!" "No. Captain Swordman said that we must do nothing in exchange for nothing. Understood?" "Ok, we'll get to work. But you will do an extra hour of scouting. All right?" "Yes! What are we waiting for, Tails? Let's go!" THE END THANKS FOR HAVE READ THIS STORY! I HOPE YOU APPRECIATED IT! E-MAIL ME YOUR IMPRESSIONS AT MYPAL@TIN.IT