Winds of Freedom

Chapter 63: Glacier Heroes!

Chapter 63: Glacier Heroes!

Shuigang Island – Dreadnaught's Crashsite, Evening Hours

"Alert, alert!"

The metallic walls of the frost-laced facility trembled with the urgent blare of klaxons. Red warning lights flared, casting an ominous glow across the interior of the Dreadnaught's remains, now a twisted yet operational command base embedded deep in the icy cliffs of Shuigang Island. Cold wind howled through cracked metal joints and icy vents, echoing the panic rising within the fortress as the announcement repeated.

A harsh, mechanical voice followed through the intercom, garbled with static and urgency.

"T-t-t-en intruders h-h-have entered the mounta-a-ain parameters! Annihilate t-them i-i-i-immediately!"

Syntax's distorted signal jittered through the halls like a broken scream. Her voice clipped and cracked, transmitting irritation masked behind layers of glitch. The corridors came alive with stomping feet as troops surged from their holding bays, Robotnik's badniks and Brevon's soldiers flooding toward the snowy outer perimeter.

In the command observatory, lined with screens and surveillance systems, Metal Lilac stood perfectly still, her body framed by the deep scarlet hue of emergency lighting. Her pink optics narrowed at the live feeds flashing before her. Sonic. Carol. The others. And at the front of it all... her.

Her copy.

The so called "original."

Metal Lilac's fingers curled into fists. Of course they would come. And faster than expected. Each second they grew closer to the facility, and to the Chaos Emeralds.

But not this time she thought internally, sparks dancing along her arm plating. I won't fail. Not this time.

The soft hum of engine swelled as she took a step forward, ready to launch out and tear through the snow herself, only to halt as a firm, armored hand caught her shoulder.

Startled, she turned sharply. Her optics met a pair of steady crimson eyes, a towerinf figure who loomed with a heavy presence, commanding yet eerily calm. Heavy King.

"Ah, Metal Lilac. Good to see that you are supervising the security cameras." Heavy King said in a calm tone "But tell me, we haven't properly introduced ourselves... have we?" he asked, his tone measured and almost polite.

Metal Lilac blinked. Introductions? Now? The mountain was crawling with enemies, and he wanted to chat?

"Oh, I'm aware, strange to get acquainted now, it it?" Heavy King replied, as if reading her thoughts. "But better now than never after all, it's not like I'll be assisting... and neither will you."

What?! She recoiled slightly. Her metallic frame trembled but from restrained fury and disbelief. They're right there! They had the numbers. The strength. She could stop them!

But Heavy King remained unmoved, arms crossed behind his back as he stared at the feeds of the advancing heroes. Sonic zipped through a badnik battalion like the wind while Lilac shattered robot grunts with a flick of her hair.

"You know the orders," he said at last. "Our creator tasked us with guarding this facility. While they make one final push to retrieve the Emeralds, we stay put. If they fail, then we move." His voice dropped to a whisper. "And we certainly don't want you hesitating again... especially after you almost deleted your own memory core."

His words hit harder than any blast. Metal Lilac's optics widened, a flicker of something vulnerable sparking in their glow. The Thermos Incident, the torture chamber. It still lingered in her drive, compressed files of pain, confusion, hesitation. A ghost of emotion not meant for her kind.