Egg Flag Ship

[Dr. Robotnik]

[Three day absence rule]

At the mention of taking a more direct course of action with Knuckles, Robotnik gave an exasperated sigh. "Come on...where's the fun in that? It's so much entertaining tricking that Knuckle-head over and over again, and it usually helps further my goals too. I remember when I did it the first time we met."

Robotnik looked back in his memories a good ways to the first incident on the Floating Island. "Yes...I'd just met Knuckles for the first time, and convinced him that Sonic was on the way to his island to start trouble. And since he was a loner and didn't have much skill in the way of reading people, he bought it hook, line, and sinker. And then for the next day or so..."

The doctor couldn't help but stop to spare a little laughter.

"....my my...I wish he was on my side all the time. He did a much better job slowing down Sonic and Tails than my robots ever did. Except for that one bit in the Carnival zone where all he did was turn the lights off... I don't know what was the point of that."

[Rampage]

Rampage smiled in satisfaction to see that Robotnik enjoyed theatricality and jerking people around as much as he did. "Well, if Knuckles was good for slowing down pests like the Hedgehog, than I'm good for stop'n 'em DEAD cold."

[Decoe and Bocoe]

Decoe looked at the badger with a strange look on his face. “Was that supposed to be a clever pun?” Though someone could mistake his tone, Decoe was genially asking.

Bocoe simply shook his head, not in disappointment but more in ‘why do you care’. So instead, he decided to ask a much more important question.

“How long would mineing take anyways?” Bocoe asked, somewhat dully.

[Dr. Robotnik]

"Well, if Knuckles was good for slowing down pests like the Hedgehog, than I'm good for stop'n 'em DEAD cold."

"Ah...you're no fun..." Robotnik said, as he sighed and gave a slightly dismissive hand wave.

“How long would mineing take anyways?”

"For most people, this would take months or years. Too much government regulation. Mining permits, insurance, complying with health and safety regulations, complying with environmental standards. But we don't have to worry about any of that."

He grinned at his little group.

"For us, I want to get things done within a month. Basically we'll be working as fast as possible. Based on the data of my spy bots, I have rough ideas on the locations of these emeralds. We're just going to strip mine wherever the emerald signals are strongest. It'll tear the Floating Island to shreds, but I don't really care. It's fast and cheap, and that's what is crucial here. We need to find shards as fast as possible and get them back to Robotropolis before the Freedom Fighters show up."

A gentle tone sounded from a nearby console. Robotnik walked over to have a look at it.

"Ah...looks like we're back at Robotropolis now."

The doctor walked over to a window and waited for his magnificent city to come into view.

[To Egg Air Field]

[Dr. Robotnik]

[From Egg Command Tower, after a time skip]

The little group of villains would find themselves en route to Angel Island aboard the Egg Carrier. For the moment, Robotnik met with Rampage in one of the hangar bays.

"As we discussed, you will start a fire in the jungle to distract any do-gooders while we begin the mining. And I've got just the thing to help you..."

The doctor turned around, feeling very nostalgic as he did so. Ball-like hovering ships filled much of the hangar, equipped with a lot of tubes on top for firing off mortar shells. This took Robotnik back, because he'd used these to fire bomb Angel Island on his first visit there.

"They're small, but with such a large group they can carpet bomb an entire zone very quickly."

[Rampage]

"B-E-autiful... And if I'm not mistaken those are flame-throwers on the front of that floating pyrotechnic disco ball? Yeah, that'll do JUST fine."

[Novus]

Novus whistled in response to Rampage's observation. "We didn't have anything like that where I come from" He added.

[Dr. Robotnik]

"Completely correct Rampage," he said, patting the flamethrower on the nearest ball.

A puff of flame suddenly blasted out of the barrel, scaring the living daylights out of Robotnik. He stumbled backwards gasping, holding up his hand to check for damage. Fortunately, his beautiful white gloves looked to be unsinged. Nervously laughing, he moved on with the conversation.

"Anyway...there is one concern I have. The last time I used these, I made sure to send them to fire bomb the jungle where one of them got visual confirmation of Sonic and Tails. They started a fire EXACTLY where their known position was...fires came up all around them...and then they were okay when the flames cleared. I just don't get it..."

He said, shaking his head.

"But I guess it doesn't matter this time. It's just a distraction, after all. The main show is going to be where we descend into the underground zones to go mining."

[Rampage]

"Sounds good to me, Boss. So, When do we start?" Rampage grinned as he cracked the knuckles in his one real hand.

[Novus]

Those Sonic and Tails characters sure sound interesting." Novus said. "Do we get to fight with them? That sounds way more interesting than mining, though I am curious as to what you are mining for." He continued, growing more curious.