Sonic 3 & Knuckles (1994)

Sonic 3 & Knuckles Chapter Six

"Sonic," Tails said, "The Death Egg looks like it'll be ready to launch at any minute!"

"Then we've gotta hurry."

No sooner had they moved, they tripped an alarm.

"Okay, that is really annoying!" Sonic shouted.

"Incoming!" Tails cried.

A group of small airplane Badniks called Flybot767 dived at the duo.

"I've got an idea," Sonic said.

He began to spin dash in place, and one by one, the Badniks blindly ran into him and destroyed themselves. Sonic brushed himself off.

"Right, moving on."

Before they could go any further, another Badnik blocked their path. This time it was a floating grey sphere surrounded by four spiked balls, and it was called Orbinaut.

"How can you hit this Badnik?" Tails asked, "Its defenses seem impregnable."

"It's all about timing, pal."

As the Orbinaut moved closer, it began to spin its spiked balls around. Sonic backed up and waited. Suddenly, Sonic rushed forward and did his insta-shield move, destroying the Badnik.

"I see," Tails said, "You waited until there was a gap in his defense."

"Right," Sonic replied, "Now let's see what else this place has in store for us."

There were collapsing platforms, flamethrowers, and numerous spikes. They went inside a building, only to find the walls lined with Badniks called Snail Blaster who opened their shells to fire projectiles. On rails closer to the ground, laser Badniks called Corkey moved back and forth, repeatedly firing their beams.

"Man," Sonic said, "Eggman is definitely not pulling any stops here."

"Well, it is his Launch Base," Tails said, "Of course it would be the most trap-laden area."

Sonic began doing some stretches.

"This might take a while, but it'll be worth it."

Meanwhile...

"Sonic has arrived at your Launch Base," Knuckles growled, "Sonic has the seven Chaos Emeralds, but even without them, he's still carving a path through your forces! What's your brilliant plan now, Doctor?"

Robotnik looked annoyed, "I'm going to set up another special trap for those fools. While I do that, use this bomb on Sonic."

Knuckles looked shocked, "You want me to blow him up?"

"Of course not! As if something so simple could finish off Sonic. No, but I expect you'll find a good place to use it. Besides, even if he does reach the Death Egg, I'll have a surprise waiting for him."

Robotnik began to chuckle to himself, while Knuckles stared at the bomb and shook his head.

"Remind me again why I'm doing this."

"If I recall, at first you thought my masterpiece was part of a prophecy, but after I assured you such was not the case, you spoke of a mural. Is it all coming back now?"

Knuckles gave a sigh of resignation and left.

"That blasted echidna is really starting to grate on me."

*BEEP BEEP*

"What is it?"

"The Death Egg is ready to launch, Doctor."

"Excellent! Just stand by until I give the word."

Robotnik began to laugh.

"All that's required is to slow Sonic down a bit. Time to make a delivery."