Ice Cap - A New Target

[YolkaEd]

Into the tunnel, and up a ladder, Sonic found himself overlooking a huge, snowy slope leading both downwards and upwards. As Tails got up behind him, he frowned. "Guess we'll have to split up, even as much as I hate it, Tails." he said, as he looked at the slope. "If you go down, I'll take the route upwards."


Tails nodded, as he got some spin in his tails, flying down the path. "The one who finds it first meets up with the other, okay?"


"I wouldn't have it any other way, Tails!" Sonic said with a smirk, as he leaped from the cave mouth he was standing in, landing inside a different cave, which lead furhter upwards.


As the two left, Big trotted towards the same cave mouth, looking down at the slope with a puzzled look. "Why'd it get so cold, all of a sudden? Is Froggy really here?" As he pondered, he felt someone bump into him, which accidentally pushed him over the edge, making him roll down the slope, the snow covering him like a snowball.


Still invisible, Metal watched as Big rolled out of sight, shaking his head. "What was that meatbag doing up here, anyway?" he mused, as he looked upwards. "The hedgehog went upwards, so I think I'll surprise him." Then, he sped up the slope with his rocket booster.

[AnT]

Probably by Sonic, Tails, or Metal's notice, they would see a group of suspicious jets shooting over the snowy land. However, one of the 'jets' had a egg-shaped design, and this one crashed right on top of the tall icy wall.

Metal would probably know, for the jets are Eggman's 'Egg-Sharks'; robotic jets with shark faces. They're used as defense fighters for the Egg Carrier. And as for the egg-shaped jet, that would be the Egg-Prison, a large capsule Eggman used to use to trap animals. But right now, it would house a couple of robots for Metal to use, if he would go up the icy cliff to see who they are.

[YolkaEd]

Metal quickly took notice of the Egg-Prison, as he flew up to it, making sure that Sonic wasn't around to see him. "I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise for him, would I?" he asked himself rethorically, as he walked closer to the egg-shaped jet. "Now, time to see what Eggman sent to assist me!" Then, he forcefully opened the jet by ripping away part of the exterior, as he saw...


At the bottom of the valley, Tails had managed to fly down there, but was now on his knees, heaving for air. "I shouldn't overexert myself; my injuries aren't fully healed yet." Soon, however, he felt a rumble, as he looked up to the sky to see what looked like jets zooming over him. "What the...?" However, he didn't get much time to think of it, as a humongous snowball was rolling down from the cliff, straight towards him! "WAH!" Quickly, he got out of the way in the nick of time, as the snowball crashed into a wall, sending heaps of snow flying everywhere.


And in the center of the massive pile of snow, Big was sitting in a daze, as he was holding his head in pain. "So dizzy..." he muttered, as he suddenly fell forward, landing with a thump in the snow.


"H-hey, are you alright?" Tails called, as he ran over to the big cat, trying as best he could to get the feline on his feet, but that was easier said than done, due to the cat's weight. "C'mon, you have to get up!"


Suddenly, Big quickly pushed himself off the ground, getting on his feet, as he began looking around the area. "Froggy, where are you?" he called, as he walked away from the snow, unwittingly dragging Tails along with him.


Just what is with this guy? Tails thought, as he quickly let go of Big's arm, though the cat didn't seem to take notice of him, instead seating himself next to a frozen pond, throwing the fishing lure into a hole in the ice. "But I got to focus; I have to find the emerald!" he suddenly said, as he began searching the area, ignoring the cat for now.

[AnT]

"Ba-HA-hur-HAAAA!!!"

A tall robotic chicken with a long neck, and stout green drill robot suddenly clogged the hatch when they both tried to fight their way out.

"Lemme go, Scratch!" The robot cried with a dopey voice. "I made the rocket blast off, so I should get out first!"

"But Dr. Robotnik told me the mission, first! So I should go first!" said the chicken, which he had a scratchy voice.

The two robots pulled themselves with all their strength until they popped out of the hatch and crashed into the snow.

The two stood up, but covered in so much snow, they looked like they were a snowman. And since green's one's drill nose acted like a snowman nose, it's obvious he was on top of the chicken.

"Hiya, Metal!!"

[YolkaEd]

Metal groaned just as he saw the two robots fight their way out of the jet, and he even had to slap his forehead in frustration when the two formed into a snowman. "Of all the robots he could send to help, he sends Scratch and Grounder..." he sighed, as he shook his head. "Right, it'll just have to do, I guess." Then, he grabbed the green robot's drill nose, as he gave it a good yank, seperating the green robot from the chicken. "Listen up, you two; the hedgehog and his partner are here looking for the Chaos Emerald, and they've split up to thoroughly search the area. I want you two to search the bottom of this valley, where Prower went to search, and make sure he doesn't find the emerald down there. You got that?" Then, he dropped the green robot's drill, letting him land in the snow.

--------------


Tails sighed, as he looked around the area. "It would have helped to have a radar with me, but... I can't complain right now, Sonic's counting on me!" However, it was easier said than done; since there were no cliffs or caves at the bottom where it could be hidden, he assumed that it had to be buried under the snow, and proceeded to dig for it, but so far, no luck.


Big, on the other hand, seemed to have things working out quite well for him; he had now placed three moderately-sized fish next to him, which he had fished out of the pond, but he showed no sign of stopping. "Froggy, where are you...?" he sighed, as he closed his eyes for a brief moment, when he heard a faint ribbit. "Froggy!" Immediately, he tried to shift his gaze so he could get a glimpse of what he heard, but the ice was too thick for him to see anything.

[AnT]

"The fox-brat?" Scratch broke out of the snowman, pulling Grounder to his treadmills.

"Hee hee! Don't worry, big brother!" Grounder said to Metal. "I'll make sure that two-tailed brat will be sorry to mess with me!"

"Yeah, he'll be sorry to mess with ME again!" Scratch shouted, a-matter-a-facty, swatting Grounder's head.



"Why you?" diving at the chicken, the two brothers attacked each other like dogs, within a fight cloud. Random noises that doesn't sound logical can be heard; a traffic accident, a elephant cry, a cow moo, you name it.

[YolkaEd]

Metal groaned once the two robots began fighting one another, mostly due to his lack of tolerance for such sloppy behaviour. Also, he had started to grow very frustrated since being nearly destroyed by Knuckles, and his numerous failed attempts at bringing down Sonic... and there were two perfectly good targets to vent his frustration on fighting in front of him.

"SILENCE!" his voice boomed, as he forcibly seperated the two robots from one another, his eyes glowing a demonic red. "I WILL NOT TOLERATE YOU TWO MAKING EGGMAN'S ROBOT ARMADA LOOK LIKE A LAUGHING STOCK! YOU WILL FIND THE EMERALD, AND BRING IT TO ME, AND IF YOU HAVE TO KILL THAT FOX AS WELL, THEN DO IT! GOT THAT?!" Then, he let go of the two robots, as he pinched the bridge of his metallic nose, calming himself down. "Good lord, I needed that..." he muttered, as he looked at the two robots, interested in seeing their reactions.

[AnT]

Their eyes were like deers to headlights, at Metal.

"YES SIR!!!" falling flat on the snow, Scratch and Grounder got up and reeled to dash away...

...only to crash into each other. "OUCH!!!" But as they feared not to wait for Metal's outburst for that, Scratch grabbed Grounder by his antenna and zipped away.

[YolkaEd]

If Metal had been organic, he'd have smirked once Scratch and Grounder ran off due to his outburst. "I might have overreacted a tad, but no permanent harm's done." Then, he continued trekking towards the top of the valley, knowing Sonic would soon be there. "And this time, the hedgehog won't escape me."

----------------------


After digging into the snow began tearing on his fingers, Tails had decided to do it the lazy way; using his arm cannon, he generated a small flame that was just strong enough to melt away the snow he pointed it at. "Now I'll definitely find that emerald!" As he searched, he noticed the cat still fishing like no man's business, nearly emptying the entire pond of fish. "Isn't he happy with what he's got?"


Big was, as you guessed, determined to fish Froggy out of the cold water, and in doing so, had caught so much fish that the ice near the "shore" he was fishing from was cracking from the immense weight. Paying no heed to his large catch, Big had finally scoped a green creature swimming down below, and desperately tried to lure it on his fishing rod.

[AnT]

Somewhere behind large snowy rocks behind the cat and fox, the robotic nitwits that are the robot versions of Bill and Ted spied, observing what each of their targets are doing at the moment.

"You think he found the emerald, Scratch?"

"D'oh, I dunno! But if he did, we can't let that fox-brat get it." Sitting down, the tall chicken concentrated his digital mind for ideas.

Yes, Scratch and Grounder, as well as Coconuts, were second prototypes of the AI Badniks, based on Metal Sonic's AI capabilities. They were built during the time Sonic met Tails on Westside Island. Sadly, the trio proved to be dimwit failures. So, Eggman demoted Coconuts to sanitation duty, and Scratch and Grounder does the cooking. This is probably their only chance to prove themselves, so Scratch really didn't want to fowl this up.

"Oooo! I got it!" Getting his shorter brother in a headlock, Scratch whispered to him.

[YolkaEd]

Tails continued flaring through the snow, as his search still proved fruitless, without even the slightest glimmer of green shining through the white snow. "Maybe it's up there, instead...?" he sighed, as he looked up to the valley, but in doing so, accidentally stubbed his foot into something solid, making him fall into the snow. "Ow... what the?" Quickly, he got up, as he quickly noted that he had tripped over a part of the snow he had already melted a little. "It couldn't be ice, so it's got to be..." With a ecstatic look on his face, he quickly rushed to where he had stubbed his foot, and began digging into the snow there.


"Oh, come on, Froggy..." Big sighed, as a larger fish had scared the green creature away from the lure, but it couldn't save itself, so he was still trying to get it onto his lure. "Soon we can go home again, right?"

-----------------

Near the top of the valley, a small cliff was sticking out of the snow, which was connected to a cave blocked by some wooden beams. Above the cave was a pile of snow, stable enough to endure a loud echo, but if it was shaken too much, it would most definitely cause an avalanche.


Just then, the wooden beams were kicked away from the cave entrance, and a jogging Sonic emerged from the mouth of the cave, whistling a catchy tune to himself. "Man, nothing like a good run through some caves to wake you up!" However, as he looked at his surroundings, he found absolutely nothing, save for a banged-up snowboard lying on the edge of the cliff. "Oh, don't tell me it's not here?" he sighed, as he looked down the valley. "Wonder if Tails is having better luck..."

"Oh, that's your least of worries right now, hedgehog."


"Hn?" Hearing the new voice alerted Sonic that he had been tailed, and to his surprise, he saw the air in front of him distort, as Metal Sonic turned himself visible. "Oh, it's you, buckethead!" he said with a grin, as Metal merely glared at him. "What, you wanted a rematch after the valley? Why didn't you just say so?"