Final Fortress

“	The Egg Carrier is nothing compared to this!	„
	~ Knuckles about the Final Fortress of the Eggman Fleet.

The Final Fortress, sometimes called the "Whale Shark", is a giant whale shark-shaped battle flagship that stands at the heart of the Eggman Fleet, which are both designed and commanded by the power-mad scientist Dr. Eggman as he leads his evil Empire's most massive armada on his never-ending quest for total domination. It made its first appearance in Sonic Heroes as the final stage, and as 3 different racing tracks in the racing videogame Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. The Final Fortress is located at the center of the Eggman Fleet itself, and seems to be permanently surrounded in rough weather. Sonic (as Modern Sonic) fights the Egg Emperor at the Final Fortress in the Nintendo 3DS version of Sonic Generations.

Description

In Sonic Heroes, the Final Fortress acts as the final stage of the game. It has many different sections crossed with grinding rails, Tornado Jump poles, cannon fire, and the best of Doctor Eggman's robotic army. Some parts of the stage collapse; others can be detonated. Laser fire occurs periodically throughout the stage, probably as a security reflex.

In the very core of the flagship lies a giant structure with a mechanical version of Doctor Eggman's head on top, hiding the power core of the vessel. The most common robots there are the E-2000s. Team Sonic must befall the battleship by destroying its power core. Team Dark must reach this power core and capture the Doctor. Team Rose goes to find Froggy and Chocola, whom they believe have been kidnapped by Eggman. Team Chaotix goes to find the Keys to free their client and meet him in person. After reaching the core, Eggman goes to finish off the heroes in his most powerful robot yet, the Egg Emperor.

Neo Metal Sonic transforms the bridge of the giant ship into Metal Madness and into Metal Overlord.

Appearances in other media

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing

The Final Fortress also appears as three separate tracks in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing representing the Sonic the Hedgehog series.

Turbine Loop- This course has many long wide turns, perfect for drifting on. One section has multiple hills, which can be used to preform tricks.
Dark Arsenal- This course features Eggman's enemy factory on the ship, with numerous points on the track having enemy assembly lines in the way.
Thunder Deck- One of the hardest courses in the game, the sharp turns and numerous obstacles make for one tough course. It is possible to jump through the beam if the player has enough speed.

Sonic Generations

The Final Fortress returns as the battlefield where Modern Sonic face off against the Egg Emperor in the Modern Era for the Nintendo 3DS version of the game.

Trivia

In Super Hard Mode, after Team Sonic triggers the first self-destruct button onto the rail section, Sonic comments that the clouds are dark and Knuckles asks Tails if he can handle the stormy weather. Tails falsely replies that he is not scared, although, there was a slight pause before he finished his sentence, alluding to the fact that Tails has a fear of lightning.
The lasers fired by the Final Fortress match the team formations' primary colors: Blue (Speed Formation), Yellow (Flight Formation), and Red (Power Formation), however, the red laser is pink in color.
In Team Sonic's version of the Final Fortress, shortly after destroying the first ship, there is a mistranslation. In the English version, Tails will ask why the ship self-destructed after pressing the button. In the Japanese version of the line, Tails asked why Eggman would place a self destruct switch where it was easily accessible.
Whenever the lasers fire, Tails will say "Blue/Yellow/Red laser fired!" which does not make a lot of sense if thought carefully. It would make sense if he says "Blue/Yellow/Red laser firing!".
Rouge also says "Yellow laser fired!" but says something different for the other lasers.
Unlike much of the Eggman Fleet, the Final Fortress is still airborne at the end of the game. Apparently this flying whale shark-modeled flagship did not meet its end until Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, when it is destroyed by the heroes and G.U.N. (Guardian United Nations) above Metropolis in the game's opening sequence (although Eggman calls the Chronicles airship a "new Egg Carrier", so whether this is actually the Sonic Heroes model is never certain).