Chapter 1-2: To Fight Or Not To Fight

"Woah!"

It was clear from the exposition provided by Shadow and Amy that Strider had been gone a LONG time. A month after Strider's departure, it seemed that an individual known as Metal Sonic had made off with the seven Chaos Emeralds (gems of formidable power) and brought the world to its knees.
At the dawn of this dark era, a select group, of which Shadow was a member, joined forces in an attempt to restore freedom...but all their actions were met with defeat or (at best) stalemate-the power of the empire was too strong.

Strider also learned of Amy's exploits and was surprised that she had managed to evade capture for the past three years However, the lack of relayable information meant she had to hop from safe house to safe house to find the resistance.
"I've got to say Amy: that's some rotten luck," Shadow said. "After a while, I almost lost hope, especially after..."
"I know Shadow," Amy said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We lost more than just Green Hill that day."
At the mention of Green Hill, Shadow's head dipped, a spot of sadness visible in his crimson eyes. Strider guessed that to pry any further would be in bad taste.
For a moment, all that could be heard was the forest ambience...the swooning wind...the chirping of crickets...the sound of metallic footsteps...

Thud thud thud!
"Open this door!" boomed a harsh mechanical voice. "We are conducting an investigation into the location of freedom fighters in this area and have obtained search warrants."

"Damn!" Shadow exclaimed. "A patrol."
"I forgot to hide the body," Strider said. "This is my fault."

"Open this door!" the sentry repeated. "Failure to comply will result in detainment!"

"Never mind!" Shadow said, grabbing a rifle from the table and typing rapidly into a keyboard. "We have to get out of here. Now!"
"Can't we take 'em?" Amy asked.
"Patrols are usually eight strong-take out Strider's victim and that leaves seven. These aren't run-of-the-mill grunts either. They're good."
As he finished, the circular pad in the middle of the room chirped.
"All aboard!" Shadow beckoned.

"Open this door! This is your last chance!"

Cramming onto the circular pad, the trio of hedgehogs descended. The shack, it seemed, had a basement. Truth be told, this "basement" was more like a bunker: gun racks lining the walls; complicated computers gathered around the pad; and crates of tools strewn around, emblazoned with a large "G". This must've been an old G.U.N. safehouse.

"You have failed to comply! Preparing breach protocol!"

"OK! We haven't got long!" Shadow said, dismounting the elevator and rushing to an escape hatch. "Strider-grab as many weapons as you can carry and bring them over...but not that red box. Leave it on the elevator and input the number 10.
"Amy-there's a cardboard box for you by the wall-bring that too. Apologies in advance-I had to guess your size."
"Size?" Amy asked, somewhat puzzled (and perhaps a little offended).
"It's not a good idea to fight robots in a dress! Hurry up!"

"Breaching in 1..."

Having heaved the curious red box onto the elevator, Strider typed 10 into the keypad, which showed up on an LCD display. What was in here?

"...2..."

"Are you done Strider? Shadow called, filling an escape pod. Strider nodded. "Now hit the green button!"
Doing so, Strider saw the 10 flicker into a 9...8...
"Is this a-" Strider began.
"NEVER MIND! GET IN THE POD!" Shadow roared, signalling for Strider to leg it like hell.

5...4...

"3!" The sentry yelled, crashing through the door of the shack.

Reaching the pod in the span of a heartbeat, Strider couldn't brace himself for the inevitable.

An eruption of fire sprouted like a tumour from the red box and blasted the circular pod down an abyssal tunnel out of sight. The force of the explosion then tore through the shack, the sentries and a half mile radius of the forest, engulfing everything in a ball of infernal fury.

Open transmission
Central Command 2 Log In
Control Unit Omicron 1A Alpha Log In

CC 2"This is Central Command 2. What news do you bring?"

CU ὀ1Aα"Central Command 2: this is Control Unit Omicron 1A Alpha. We have lost contact with Patrol Unit Gamma 6F in the vicinity of Leaf Storm Forest. Requesting an extra platoon to carry out an investigation."

CC 2"Request Accepted. A platoon of Delta Troops is en route to your garisson."

CU ὀ1Aα "Thank you Central Command 2. Control Unit Omicron 1A Alpha out."

Control Unit Omicron 1A Alpha Log Out

CC2"Hmmm! Could it be...?"

Central Command 2 Log Out
Close Transmission