A/N: Hello, all! And welcome to my AU! It's a bit too early to start going into detail, but once the swing of things starts, I'll be able to talk a little more.
However, I did get a "quick Q," which I will quickly answer (especially for those who may not be familiar with the older games): GUN's position in this universe is described at the end of this chapter, but it's also worth noting that GUN was one of the main antagonists in SA2—most of the levels featured their robots as enemies.
I know this chapter is pretty short, but I wanted to wrap up what was essentially the City Escape level before heading into the next part of the story. So, without using up any more time, on with the show!
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The Mad Convoy Race
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A humongous grey GUN truck—the exact convoy they were looking for—was charging down the street towards them and plowing other vehicles out of the way. As the cars went flying, Sonic quickly calculated that the truck was accelerating too fast for Amy to outrun it. He immediately braked, snagged Amy as she ran by in a panic, and began to speed up again while holding her bridal-style.
The pink anthromorph gulped and held on tight to her beloved as they attempted to lose the convoy by taking sharp turns. However, the trailer-truck was able to round the corners without skipping much of a beat, knocking more cars away into buildings and PROBABLY causing danger to life and limb this time. Amy looked on and told Sonic what she saw; both were equally horrified.
What the hell are they doing! Don't they even care about the innocent bystanders—y'know, their CITIZENS? This is something I would've expected from Robotnik, but GUN? Sonic sped up and put some distance between them and the truck before pulling out the energy shield and handing it to Amy. "Can't predict what this truck will do, so might as well use this now." Amy nodded and activated the item, surrounding the two in a hollow green sphere.
Suddenly, the truck hit the accelerator and zoomed towards them. Sonic grimaced. Well, that just made us a shiny moving target. Bad idea.
He accelerated, but the truck accelerated to keep up with him—this repeated several times, almost as if the truck was designed for going after someone like him. The blue hedgehog couldn't help thinking that this would actually be a fun challenge if so many lives, including Amy's, weren't at stake.
Finally, they hit a flat incline and noticed a very narrow archway ahead straight under an apartment building. The truck definitely wouldn't have the ability to get through, but it would also crash straight into the building…
"Don't worry. That apartment building's pretty new, and pretty sturdy," Amy offered as she sensed Sonic's discomfort. "Dashing under it's going to be the only way to stop this truck. Besides, if we drag this out, even more people are going to be hurt!"
Sonic agreed, but his previous moment of hesitation allowed the truck to gain ground and pop their shield. Fortunately, it sent the contestants of sorts in opposite directions—the truck backwards, and the two partners hurdling forward. Sonic almost tripped to their doom, but he was able to right himself in under a second.
The convoy surged towards them in one last burst of speed, the engine roaring in their ears from only a few feet behind them, but the blue anthromorph finally flew under the archway, leaving the truck in a very precarious situation. It turned aside to try to avoid crashing, but the turn was too sharp—the truck flipped over and slid into the building, its engine exploding in flames and smoke.
Sonic braked to a stop. He set Amy down, and they both turned around to survey the damage.
The blue hedgehog got a strange feeling that almost emanated from the convoy. He decided to check it out—I mean, that's what we're here for after all, right?
"Okay. We're going to go in, get the cargo, and get out of here." Sonic turned to Amy. "I know you'll want to try and help everybody out who got hurt—I will too—but there's no way we can do that and not get caught." His face grew softer and sadder. "Understand?"
"…Yeah." Amy looked down.
"Let's go."
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Years and years ago, a young scientist named Ivo Robotnik launched a revolution against the Guardian United Nations, the leading world power at the time. This war was unique, the first of its kind, for one of its sides was made up almost entirely of robots. This was because Dr. Robotnik believed that the future of warfare and all other aspects of existence lay in human technology. He would stop at nothing to ensure this glorious future; a future that included himself on the ultimate throne of the world.
The war continued on between the Badniks, as the new robots were called, and the Guardian Units of Nations, GUN's military wing, for a few years. It eventually resulted in a draw and a peace treaty, and Earth was now divided between two powers, neither of which were entirely benevolent towards their citizens.
See, GUN had fallen under martial law during the war, a condition notoriously hard for a state to wiggle itself out of. The military was the highest priority, even above the citizens—a mindset demonstrated vividly by this past episode involving Sonic the Hedgehog and Amy Rose. Objectors were treated harshly at best.
In the other state, simply known as the Empire, technology was the highest priority, even above life itself. The reasoning was that technology would help more people to live better lives. But instead of helping, Robotnik's technology enslaved. It sucked the life and beauty out of every place and person it touched.
However, even under such harsh conditions, life and freedom still found a way to sprout. Rebel groups popped up all over, both big and small. Sonic, Tails, and Amy, three children with extraordinary abilities, considered themselves a rebel group, even if only a tiny one. They did what they could to help, and their tininess actually came in handy: it allowed them to stay under the radar where bigger groups would show up and get crushed.
It was an important day when Tails' hacking skills were finally good enough to estimate the location of major GUN weapons that could finally take down Robotnik if used properly. The three seized on the chance and set out to capture the one that was most vulnerable and yet one of the most difficult to get to—traveling unprotected right in the heart of the capital.
But the true nature of the weapon the three would unleash would have ramifications that nobody, especially not they, could ever have guessed…
