Bang!
The door flew off its hinges like a flicked insect. A dark figure walked through the gap. The tight fitting cloak showed a lean, light male figure. The face was hidden below a hood. He walked with an air of power and confidence, not cocky but knowing what he was capable of. A similar figure, taller and with a greater bulk, but just as confident, followed him in. The room they entered was large and circular, like a royal chamber. The throne in the centre added to this feeling. The only things separating the medieval theme were the plasma screens that lined the walls.
"You know it wasn't locked," a voice said from the chair.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't roast you this instant," the taller figure threatened. His companion raised his hand to silence him.
"Now now brother," he soothed. "I'm sure the good doctor had a perfectly viable reason for his robots assault on us." He gave the back of the chair a hard look. "Don't you?!" The figure in the chair chuckled and swung round. He was fairly tall, with a pot belly, dark glasses, and a bald head that was a great contrast to his overly shaggy moustache. He wore a tailed overcoat and sensible black boots. Dr Eggman portrayed a very unique and unmistakable physique.
"Of course," he said to his guests. "I wished to see if you were genuine. With your level of skill, neither of you were in any real danger." The smaller figure nodded in recognition. It's what he would do in the doctor's position. "Now, is there a reason for this unannounced visit you two?" The first figure examined one of the screens. It showed a picture of a teenage boy, around 16, with dark, spiked hair with red highlights. He felt his own hair inside his own hood.
"Just a proposition," he said. "I believe you are still having problems with the GUN team, SPEED." Eggman gave a grunt of displeasure.
"Sonic and his friends are a thorn as always. But as I recall, they defeated you as well as me." The muscular figure snapped his head up.
"That's a lie. We weren't beaten!"
"You were tricked, by the emo Shadow." The figure raised his hand, creating a ball of magma. He drew back to throw it, but stopped as he felt metal against his head.
"My other robots may be a pushover," the doctor said calmly. "But this one is an exception." The figure tried to turn around, but the metallic feel became harder. The large figure extinguished the melted rock and the feeling on his back disappeared. He immediately turned round, but there was nothing there. Eggman addressed the smaller cloaked figure coldly.
"Well, that would be good, if I had any idea where they were. They're constantly being moved, too much controversy.
"They're in Antarctica," the figure threw a disc into the DVD player. Immediately, a map of the frozen southern continent came up, with many points marked out. "They're in one of these GUN training camps." He smiled at the doctor, hidden by the hood. "Think you can do something?" The doctor laughed a deep rumbling noise.
"I have just the thing!" he snapped his fingers. From behind his chair, an incredibly pale young male appeared. The figures didn't question why a human teenager was in the base of a mad scientist who obviously wasn't a child loving person, though the smaller one was slightly curious.
"What is it, my master?" the teenager said in a cold, mechanical voice, dispelling the cloaked figures questions without even knowing it.
"Collect up your brother and the spy," the doctor said. "You're going hunting!"
The Antarctica base had everything a teen could want: TV, clothes, Video games, training facilities. Everything, except space. The eight members of SPEED, Sonic, Shadow, Silver, Amy, Knuckles, Tails, Espio and Blaze, were literally falling over each other. Twice Amy had walked in on Silver and Blaze making out in some obscure room or another. On the vacation to Hawaii the month earlier, Silver and Blaze had finally started going out with each other. Of course, everyone in the team knew about it within hours, though the two had clung to some strands of secrecy for as long as they could. Eventually they'd given up any attempt to keep their relationship a secret, and now just put up with people staring at them. Amy was tripping over someone with every step: Espio meditating, Shadow sleeping or Knuckles doing push ups. And everywhere, constantly there were the sounds of Tails' power tools. Bzzz! She nearly couldn't take it. Nearly. There was only one high point.
Sonic couldn't hide from her.
Amy loved Sonic, and she knew he loved her as well, but he just couldn't handle a commitment. So he ran away. But she knew how he felt, and she knew that, if she kept pushing, he'd come round eventually.
They'd been moved to Antarctica after their last training facility was compromised. The computers had been ransacked for information. Many of GUN's high priority files had been found, including most of the training area locations. So they'd been moved to this location, which wasn't even finished. The barracks where they were supposed to live had a giant hole in the wall. So they were left sleeping on the floor of the gym and living room. Not the best.
The base was roughly circular, four levels in total. Though it was a GUN training centre, it also had research systems to study the icy ecosystem surrounding it. The basic layout of the centre was this: corridors surrounded a central chamber with a pool for swimming. A lab, workshop and medical bay were on the ground floor, which was actually two levels below the ice's top. Level one had the training systems, gym and relaxation area. Level two, the true ground, had the uncompleted living quarters, kitchen and a maze of corridors that seemed to have no reason. The top level had the observatory, computer and communication networks and a second living room. This may sound like a lot, but with eight teenagers, all this space comes to nothing.
So that's what was going on. The day started as the rest of the week had, with boredom. Amy had nothing to do. With the recent crackdown on security, no unauthorized calls were allowed, so she was completely isolated from the world she loved, the world of fashion and supermodels. Those around her managed to amuse themselves. Silver and Tails were playing chess, Knuckles and Espio were in the gym and Sonic and Shadow were going for a run. Who goes for a run in Antarctica?! Blaze, the only other girl in SPEED, was watching a documentary on volcanoes or something. Boring! Honestly, was she the only sensible one here? So she decided to sleep.
This attempt was interrupted by a sharp rapping sound. She groaned.
"Tails, shut off your stupid tools!" she yelled. Tails turned from his game.
"I'm right here Amy. How can I possibly be running the stuff in my workshop?" he turned back to Silver and moved. "Check." The sound came again, more urgent. Then Knuckles booming voice echoed from the gym.
"Is someone going to get the door?!" Of course, he'd stated the obvious that everyone else had missed. Someone was knocking on the main door. But who would be knocking at an unmapped station in the middle of nowhere.
"Sonic probably forgot his keys," Silver muttered. He wasn't going well against Tails, and his King was on the run. "Go get it Amy."
"Why should I get it?" she pouted.
"Because then you can hold it over Sonic to get a date." The moment the words left his lips, Amy sprinted for the door. He grinned broadly. "I'm just that good!" Tails moved his queen.
"Checkmate," he said triumphantly.
At the door, Amy was fumbling with the combination to the door. A date would be the first step in their relationship. And after that the next step could be even further. The desperate knocking came again. "OK, OK I'm coming Sonic!" she called. She punched in the last number and the door came open. Outside wasn't Sonic, but a giant man with blonde hair. He was wearing jeans and a red T-shirt, the only protection from the weather being a thin cloak covering his right side. Two more figures were over his shoulder, but Amy couldn't make them out.
"Assistance required," he said in a strange voice, part human and part robot. Then he swayed and toppled forward, nearly crushing Amy beneath him. She edged close to the strange intruder.
"Tails," she called. "We got a…AHHHH!" she screamed. She'd lifted the man's cloak trying to move him. Below it, where an arm should have been, was a massive, wicked, monstrous metal claw.