The Speed of Sound

To the Rescue!

        The Tsunami hovers quietly above the mass of purple pipes and silver and gold platforms, only a slight hum being audible. Slowly, cautiously, the flying machine lowers itself to the ground, landing atop a sturdy section of piping. With a single press of a button, the cargo hold is unlocked, coming to a rest once it has made solid contact with the floor below.

        "This is it, guys," says Tails in an almost nervous manner. "Amy, there are creations of mine in the cargo hold that we can use to travel in."

        "Good," the pink hedgehog snorts, "I wouldn't want to get oil on my new dress!" Everyone in the plane rolls their eyes, especially at the fact that Amy wears the same type of clothing mostly every day.

        After waiting for Amy to leave the seat next to you, you unbuckle yourself and follow the rest down the aisle and outside. On an instinctive reaction, your nose scrunches at the harsh smell of the unfamiliar environment. The Tsunami had definitely blocked out the smell of this place! The air is saturated with the intense odor of oil and gasoline, causing you to become more than a little nauseous.

        "Don't get sick now, (Y/n)! We haven't got much time to find your grandparents." Sonic speeds along the purple pipes, seemingly not affected by the smell. He raises an arm to shield his eyes from the glare of the sun against the giant metal dome, observing it from afar. "Seems that Eggman's been a bit busy," he mutters to himself.

        From behind you can hear a high-pitched, girly voice chatting over the glugging and sloshing of the dark oil beneath your feet. Twisting around you see as Tails and Amy exit the cargo hold, both inside their own large, lumbering machines.

        "So, we're ready then?" Knuckles asks rhetorically while cracking his namesakes. When he receives many determined nods, he grins. "Great, I'm really itching for a beat-down! Can't wait to get that fat skull in my hands—"

        "Now, now, Knuckles. You know how delicate eggs can be. Don't hold 'em too tight else they might crack," Sonic jokes with a wink. The echidna just chuckles along with the grin, his expression unnerving.

        "That's exactly what I plan on doing." Then he takes off toward the base. 

        Sonic awkwardly laughs at the frightened look on your face and scratches at his neck. "He's just kidding, (Y/n). We aren't murderers here, even if Eggman does go a little far out." The hedgehog dashes after his red friend, leaving you, Tails, and Amy to follow.

        With the dome-base in clear sight, it shouldn't take long to get there. You keep behind Sonic and copy the paths that he takes, going over pressure-sensitive platforms and winding pipes, at times being lifted into the rising purple towers by wireless elevator systems. It is all very confusing for you, most of the land appearing similar to a pit of writhing snakes stretching endlessly in all directions. Along the way, the boys comment about there being no robots to stop anyone from getting to the base. That comes as a surprise to them, even though you can't see the reasoning in having attacking robots when they could fall over the edge so easily. Oil may be good for robots in small quantities, but being completely drenched in it?

        Soon your vision is filled with the sight of the metal dome. Head tilted a little you reach out and touch it, awed by the feel of many, many tiny rivulets of dark oil trickling down, most likely coming from the tall fountains spurting the stuff out. A path of platforms leads the way to a door set into the wall of the base. It is shut tight. Knuckles sees this and squints, eyeing up the solid structure and deciding on where the weakest point is. In the blink of an eye, a massive hole appears within the door, following a teeth-gritting crash!