Red Guardians

by MetalJrock

Sonic 3: Hydrocity

Sonic and Tails screamed as they fell, seeing that they were no longer in the jungle, but instead some kind of underground labyrinth well below their intended destination. The duo continued to plummet downwards, that is, until Sonic felt himself fall into a pool of water. Once the hedgehog realized this, his eyes widened, reaching out for his friend to bring him to the surface.

Tails noticed his plea for help and swam towards the hedgehog, reaching out a hand to grab. The fox carried Sonic to shore and the two let out a sharp exhale, finally able to breathe. "Woo! I was not expecting that kind of fall. If those red guardian punks wanted us dead, they should'a done a better job of it."

"I don't think they want us dead, Sonic. We're still here after all. Perhaps it was some sort of device to divert us?" Tails suggested, keeping Sonic afloat.

Sonic nodded, jumping up and landing on a rocky surface. He coughed some water. "Yeah... You might be right, buddy. Wherever Robotnik's rebuilding the Death Egg, they don't want us to get there. Why? No clue, but they're on the wrong side."

Tails put a finger to his chin, "What I don't understand is that mysterious horse. No legends about Angel Island have stated that the guardian of the island had a partner." he hummed, wondering who this newcomer was and what he wanted.

The hedgehog gave the fox a blank stare, "Well, clearly he's like that knucklehead. Can't trust 'em either." he stretched his legs, "...Anyway, looks like we have to go..." he paused, his body shaking at the water below, "T-Through the w-water..."

Sonic inhaled and scratched his neck nervously, "U-Um... You go on ahead, Tails... I m-might just find another way around." he gulped while he shook.

Tails gave his older friend a deadpan stare, "It can't be too bad, Sonic. I still remember your nervous breakdown at the Chemical Plant and Aquatic Ruin."

"But Tails... Laybrinth, man. That place messed me up bad. All that water. You know I can't swim. I had to run underwater! Do you know how difficult that is?" Sonic groaned.

The fox rolled his eyes, "I'm gonna be by your side this whole time. Plus, what if one of those Special Rings are down there? We need to find the Chaos Emeralds, remember?" he reminded the hedgehog.

Gulping again, Sonic relunctantly nodded, "Fine. Let's just get this over with..."

With a sharp inhale, Sonic dived in behind Tails, his feet slowly reaching the ground. He paced behind the fox, who was managing to swim next to him. The blue blur rolled his eyes and the duo made their way to a small tunnel, where they hoped to reach an end.

As they wandered in, Sonic and Tails inhaled some bubbles that were popping out of the ground, giving them time to breathe and continue their underwater trek.

But then the two felt themselves getting pushed aside. They couldn't respond as the only sounds made were the sounds of gargles and near choking. Sonic and Tails quietly gasped, holding onto a disintergrating pole. Turning around, the hedgehog saw a spiked ball behind him and prompted himself and Tails to shimmy upwards so they would be pushed above the obstacle.

Luckily, the underwater pressure pushed them above the ball and they found themselves able to move freely again. They inhaled another set of bubbles before continuing on.

Sonic jumped in the water, smashing through a series of Badniks named Bubbles before their spikes protruded from their metal bodies. The hedgehog held onto the belt of a conveyor belt and felt his body spin above a moving fan. Once he saw the surface, he and Tails timed their jumps so that they could reach it.

Once they did, the heroic duo knelt down and panted, relieved to finally be on the surface once more. They inhaled as much air as they could as Sonic gasped, "Finally... It felt like a living nightmare in their." he shook his body to dry himself off.

Tails spun his namesakes around to do the same, and coughed, "Y-Yeah... At least we're okay."

Sonic nodded, "Yep! Now let's get movin'."

---

"Nice work, Mac." complimented Knuckles, "Good thing I taught ya the construction of the Hydrocity. Those two will not anticipate the next trap Robotnik sent after them. Another Badnik planted within the pools of the zone."

Big Mac blinked, "Was that how it was pronounced? I always thought it sounded like velocity. That's how it looked when spelled anyway according to those diagrams you gave me a few months back." he pointed out and admitted sheepishly.

Knuckles shook his head, "Wha? N-No, it was always meant to sound like Hydro-City. But it being spelled as one word makes it look cooler." he shrugged, "Eh. What do I care? I didn't name the place. I just found it like this, all I did was add the traps."

The two heard a ching and looked at the monitor, seeing Sonic and Tails hop out of a secret tunnel, a gem in tow. "Darn it! Another emerald?! I seriously have to do a better job of hiding and remembering those Special Zone Warps next time." the echidna cursed himself.

"It's not your fault, Mister Knuckles." assured Big Mac, patting his mentor's back.

Knuckles huffed, "Figured. Those two are more capable than I thought. Y'know, they'd be pretty alright if they were on our side."

"Eeyup..." muttered Big Mac to himself, secretly wondering that was such the case.

---

Sonic drove his feet down on a spring and jumped, curling into a ball to destroy the Bubbles in the air. "Wow. Seems Robuttnik can't keep originality! All we've seen are Crabmeats and Bubbles! I'm actually kinda hopin' the next mook will be a challenge." he admitted, bouncing on the ground before getting a full sprint.

Tails hit a boostpad, which Sonic followed. The two sprinted over the water, completely ignoring any obstacle that awaited below them. They ran over a waterpipe that sloped upwards, where they curled into a ball to gain momentum as it descended, allowing them continue skidding on the surface of the water.

"Wahoo!" cheered the hedgehog, "Now this beats underwater running!" he declared, uncurling.

Tails flew over a small platform. "Ditto!" he waved to his friend. Sonic then used a fan to ascend, narrowly avoiding the spikes on the ceiling.

Finally, Sonic and Tails reached a half-pipe with a large cylinder in the middle and on the other side was a closed door. The hedgehog smirked and chuckled, "I dunno, Tails. I'm gettin' mini-boss vibes from this little area." he observed.

"Looks like Robotnik planted a trap for us once we got here." Tails noticed as well.

The hedgehog rolled his eyes, "Underwater of course. At least it looks a little more shallow than the literal ocean we ran through not too long ago." he was grateful.

"That's where you're wrong."

Sonic scowled, recognizing the voice. A large blue ball came down, holding a piece of the supposed Badnik, and tossing it to the ground next to the heroes. "I shall be your challenge this time, my hated enemies." he growled.

Sonic and Tails got into a battle stance, "Mecha Sonic!" growled Sonic, as he curled his palms into fists.

"Ah, I see you recognize me. A shame our rivalry has to end here." Mecha declared. "My purpose will be fulfilled."

Sonic frowned, "Not on our watch, Metal 2.0!"

And so Mecha Sonic luned forward, intending to attack the two straightaway.

---

Knuckles' eyes widened, "What the heck?! He wasn't supposed to be here! What is that robot thinking?" he groaned. His eyes lowered and he saw Big Mac sitting on a lawn chair, eating a small bag of popcorn, wondering what was going to happen next.

"Where did you--?"

With a defeated sigh, Knuckles summoned his own chair and sunglasses before putting them on, looking back to the screen. "You know what? Hand me a bag. Might as well enjoy the show. Mecha would give them a good fight. You have any spare anywhere?"

The echidna sat on his chair while Mac handed him a separate bag with a grin, "Eeyup."

"Thanks." replied Knuckles, "For now, even though this wasn't part of the plan, let's just watch the show. I'm getting tired of doing this work. That hedgehog is a piece of work."

Comments

[badninja]

Yea after this I don't see Sonic and Knuckles really working together at all. Hopefully someone will knock some sense into them.

[Gojira_Tanaka]

"Finally... It felt like a living nightmare in their." he shook his body to dry himself off.

You used the wrong kind of "their/there" right there

[MrAquino]

Do dey kno de whey?

[blue-hart]

need more!

[Discordkeeper122]

Is this going to be updated anytime soon. I would be really interested in how far you can take this.

[AstralFlare42]

More please?

[MagicalPony2099]

Continue?