NOTE: LONG CHAPTER ahead. Mild language and bloodshed. Also, I tortured Rouge and Amy, I'm such a horrible person. Sorry, girls. Anyways, Enjoy! Remember, this fan fiction owned by me! :) Also, not sure whether should change to M, because I figured that M was like T but just way more extreme? I don't know...
Chapter 3: Let's Get Outta Here
With the sound of propellers that sliced through the air, all eyes were fixated on a blue and yellow biplane that flew into the picture, looming above the bloody battleground beneath. The plane was piloted by a very clever fox boy, who gripped that wheel with obvious expertise. The plane swooped upwards and circled around the battlefield, observing the dramatic dispute.
"Pilot Tails to the rescue!" announced Tails as he gave a cheerful wave to the blue hedgehog beneath.
The zombies turned to look at the mysterious flying machine that suddenly disrupted their battle against Sonic. They grunted and covered their faces with their arms, shielding themselves from the huge blast of wind created by the powerful propellers.
"Hahah! Tails!" Sonic responded with a grateful leap in the air. "Nice timing!" At that, Sonic gave a satisfied thumbs-up, to which the fox bashfully responded to with a humble chuckle.
Tails maneuvered the Tornado closer to the ground, circling round and round, as he cannot land the plane because there are no clear empty lots to land on. He pressed a red button on his control panel, and just like that, a pair of heavy-looking artillery was revealed from the sides of the plane. Tails shot the zombies a look of victory as he flicked open the tops of his wheel, revealing two smaller buttons. With eagerness in his mind, he pushed down on the buttons and a bunch of bullets appeared from them, striking the zombies down. Loud cries came from the zombies as many of them were shot down by the excited fox. A cruel grin grew on his face in pleasure, and Sonic shot him a strange look as he ducked beneath the plane, avoiding the bullet's line of sight.
As planned, many of the zombies Sonic had fought against with had been cleared, and the grass was bloody due to the amount of guts and muscles being blown to bits by the fox. As soon as the zombies have been cleared, Tails withdrew his guns and circled the plane around Sonic, lowering it closer to the ground. The large propellers made his voice faint, but Tails managed to speak to his best friend.
"Sonic," Tails called, cupping his hand in front of his mouth, "hop on!"
"Okay!"
As Tails circled the ex-convention ground, Sonic sprang from his place and ran beside the plane, trying to find the perfect time to jump. As he ran, several zombies appeared from beyond the bullet battered trees, aiming straight for the speedy blue hedgehog that ran around in circles.
"Nuh-uh! You ain't gonna catch me!" he mocked, smirking at the monsters behind him. But the sound of the Tornado's propellers drowned his voice, obscuring the path of his sound waves from reaching into the zombies' ear drums.
Tails had still circled the plane close to the ground, waiting for Sonic to hop on.
"C'mon, Sonic!" He watched as the Blue Blur accelerated and zoomed around the zombies until finally, he popped up and landed swiftly as his shoes made a loud thud sound upon the Tornado's wings.
"Right on! Great landing, Sonic!" cheered Tails, throwing his fist into the air.
"Heh, heh!" he chuckled proudly, rubbing his nose to mask his pride. Sonic had often found it pleasing when he did something awesome and somebody praised him for it. It made him feel… good. He grasped onto the stilts between the double wings of the biplane as Tails pulled the wheel upwards, which sent the blue and yellow biplane's nose to tilt upwards, flying away from the ground.
The zombies below them groaned in failure and threw their fists in the air in disgruntlement. They snarled viciously at the eluding pair as the plane did a celebrative spiral into the sky, disappearing right before the zombies' clouded eyes. Many of the zombies Sonic fought have been mutilated and completely bashed up. Their limbs and organs hung from their body as blood poured out, coloring the grass into a deep shade of red. As if the grass wasn't bloodied enough! The zombies moaned in pain from the hedgehog's feet and hands had inflicted upon them and started to wander around aimlessly.
"Woo hoo! We did it! See ya later, suckers!" Sonic hollered, hyper from the amount of adrenaline rush he received from kicking zombie butt. At the same time, he was feeling quite exhausted and wanted to lie down but as he was on a plane, he can't. He panted heavily and clutched his aching side, weary from fighting against a bunch of zombies.
"Hold on," Tails playfully reminded Sonic as he tilted the wheel, sending the Tornado to tilt upwards, ascending into the beautiful clear sky.
"T-Tails wait," Sonic panted, slouching over to catch his breath, "we need to save Amy!" His eyes sparkled with worry as an image of the bubbly pink girl flashed in his mind. "She's in the mall! C'mon!"
"Right," Tails nodded in determination and made the Tornado turn sharply around, aiming at the mall's direction. As the Tornado accelerated in speed, Sonic remembered Tail's pleasure at shooting the zombies and turned to face his innocent looking partner.
"So, Tails, I didn't know you liked shooting zombies," Sonic sneered cheekily at the fox as his cheeks burned bright red. His blue eyes flickered at the comment, ashamed at his pleasure for killing. He refused to face his best friend.
"Well, uh, yeah, b-but," he stammered uncomfortably, biting his lower lip. His grip on the wheel began to tighten, Sonic had noted.
Signs of when a person feels ashamed and guilty, he thought, still holding sneer at the fox.
"I think it's best we don't talk about that," he said, defeated, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Sonic threw a lighthearted chuckle and shook his head, amused. He liked it when he teases Tails because he gets such a cute reaction. Tails was so innocent that when he does something a little bit out of his normal nature, the hedgehog had found it so humorous and interesting. But Tails hated it when Sonic pointed out his change in nature, and he grunted slightly under his breath.
"Amy! Here we come!"
"So, Sonic, you into Amy now or what?" Tails teased, giving Sonic a taste of his own medicine. Sonic shot him a petrified look and shook his head rapidly.
"N-No! I just want to help a friend, that's all, Tails," he jeered, squinting his eyes at the fox. He gave a gruff 'humph' and crossed his arms hastily, leaning against the stilts that held the wings together. Tails threw a hearty laugh and expertly steered the wheel, tilting the plane to the right to lower it slightly.
"Didn't know this baby had guns," Sonic noted to which the fox nodded his head proudly. Tails gave him a thumbs-up and resumed to his steering. As the plane flew, Sonic observed the ground below and gasped at the horrific, calamitous city beneath his feet. Everything was demolished. He saw military vehicles scattered around the place, abandoned as their owners had been turned into zombies. Smoke and fire arose from the piles of destroyed vehicles and buildings. Zombies still roamed the area, walking around blindly, with no goal in mind. His green eyes illustrated remorse as guilt began to strike angrily inside his heart.
I could've saved those people. Guess being the fastest isn't where in the world did they come from? It's probably the work of that no good, double crossing Eggman! Perhaps we should find his tower and demand an explanation.
"Tails, quicken the pace. I have a feeling Amy's in a desperate situation right now," Sonic said sorrowfully, silently praying that Amy's doing fine.
Tail's ears flicked at his command and he made the Tornado fly faster. A swift machine only built by the hands of an eight year old. The plane glided through the air with flawless precision, like a torpedo through the water, or a missile. He promptly took his eyes of his wheel and glanced quickly at Sonic, mildly surprised by his sudden change of attitude. It's almost as if he felt... guilty and burdened. But he didn't do anything? Sonic didn't cause the outbreak, why was he feeling so remorseful? Tails observed Sonic's relaxed posture against the stilts, looking into the horizon, wistful and dreamy.
I wished I could've helped too, Sonic.
Using their trained skills as agents, Shadow and Rouge, as quietly as possible, tip toed across the zombie laden hallway to another large area where the elevators were located. Shadow lead the trio, while Rouge guarded the end. Even if there were zombies, the area still looked pretty neat. Light from above cascaded onto the crouching trio and reflected their tainted shadows on the ground. It was awfully quiet in here, Shadow had noted. Kim was still quivering behind him, horrified that the people she knew here had been turned into zombies, or killed by them.
It happened so fast, she noted inside her mind, looking down mournfully.
Those people she knew were now roaming around the office rooms and halls soullessly. Their footsteps were heavy as each foot they dragged was slow and painful, but with a lack of emotion displayed in their eyes. Soft moans echoed throughout the area, but their voice weren't filled with rage. In fact, the zombies were extremely mellow and passive. Sometimes they just stood there, doing absolutely nothing.
The trio had hid behind a wall, but they needed to get through the hall on their left turn in order to reach the elevators. Shadow had clenched his jaw tightly, not wanting to risk making any noise. He had observed that the zombies stay passive until sound has been emitted. He had also noted that the zombies can sense live and healthy flesh, but won't react unless they are very close by. He peered over his shoulder and the wall to scout. His red eyes glowed in perseverance, flickering back and forth to scout for any zombies ahead.
How brave, Kim thought, examining every detail of the hedgehog's dark furry back. She noticed that dynamic stripes ran down his arms, and his muscles rippled beneath his skin. He was so, handsome.
Kimberly Jameson! How could you stare at him like that? He's an animal for God's sake!
"He's very handsome, isn't he?" Rouge whispered into Kim's ears, a small grin growing on her lips. Kim's eyes flew wide and clenched her teeth to cover a squeal. Her body jolted slightly in embarrassment.
Damn, she must've noticed me staring!
Indeed she has. What else could she have been doing while waiting for Shadow to report?
Shadow's ears flicked backwards at the girls' mini chat and let out an annoyed grunt, also after he noticed that a zombie had turned its head at the direction of Kim's covered squeal. He whipped around and glared at both of them, putting a finger on his lips to tell them to zip it, then turned around to face the hall.
Rouge smirked at Kim and the woman looked away sheepishly, her cheeks redder than before.
"Several zombies occupy the horizontal hall beyond this vertical one on our left. We have to move fast but quietly," Shadow instructed, looking behind him, only to come face to face with two giggly girls. He blinked at them and rolled his eyes. "Come on." He gently stood up and flicked his hand behind him, a gesture that told the girls to follow.
Rouge gently placed her hand on Kim's shoulder to assure her that she's safe, while at the same time she perked her ears upwards, being the trio's close listener for any suspecting sounds. The bat looked behind her to check for anyone there, and fortunately, no one was. She had noted that the offices were wrecked and the glass had been broken. Chairs were ripped and blood dripped in all corners of the room. It's either the zombies' blood or the victims'. Both girls shuffled closer to the black hedgehog as he tried to perfect his timing on when they should move.
In Shadow's eyes, the zombies had left the entrance to the hallway and Shadow quickly motioned for them to move. The three of them quietly shuffled across the narrow vertical hallway and tip-toed across the hallway filled zombies.
We made it!
Rouge thought, smiling in determination whilst looking behind her. Her heart raced feverishly inside, lightly beating against her rib cage like a steady drum. She exhaled in alleviation and quietly shuffled along with Kim and Shadow.
Unfortunately, their sweet delicious scent of a healthy flesh caught the zombie's attention and they question the presence of not one, but three living beings? The zombies groaned louder and walked closer to the trio.
"Hurry!" Shadow implied heavily, dashing towards the elevator lightly. Kim started to whimper softly when she heard the zombies approaching. She pursed her lips together in fear and brought a hand to her heart, trying to calm herself.
"I got'cha!" Rouge consoled, holding on to Kim's hand. The three of them had reached the elevator and Shadow hastily pressed the down button.
As soon as he did, more zombie groans could be heard coming from the end of the hallway across, on the both hallways to the right and left. Their eerie sounds made Rouge and Shadow's fur stand on an edge. Rouge almost doubled over at their sharp grunts and pressed her and Kim against Shadow, wishing for the elevator to come faster. Her eyes glistened desperately, sending an invisible message to the elevator.
Be faster!
"Dammit," Shadow growled, turning around towards the direction of the sound his Ultimate ears picked up. He snarled defensively and backed away. "C'mon, faster you damn elevator!" His red ruby eyes flared up in rushed agitation.
"Shadow," the bad hissed, "don't attract attention. Quiet!"
"I know, godammit!" He looked up and noticed that the elevator still read a high floor number.
"Use Chaos Control!" Rouge spat, bringing her face close to Shadow's.
"I can't, Rouge, I need to save my energy!" he spat back, glaring at her. It's true, he had already used it twice consecutively beforehand.
"Shh!" Kim hushed aggressively. As their tension grew, the zombies' snarls increased in volume and their footsteps thudded lightly along the hallway. Kim stared horrifically at the monsters, whilst tugging on Rouge to look, but the bat ignored her and shot a piercing glare at the hedgehog, and the hedgehog returned the glare.
*Ding!*
At the sound, everyone hushed and turned to face the elevator. Shadow held his breath and stood before the elevator. The door opened gently and much to their horror, it was filled with bloodthirsty zombies. Both parties held a long, dreadful stare before one of the zombies reached out for them, hungry for more.
"Chaos Control, Chaos Control!" Rouge jeered, shaking Shadow vigorously to make him to do it. Unfortunately, the zombies stepped out of the elevators and lunged forward at the trio, inflicting their unholy wrath upon the three, and punched the hedgehog straight at his face.
"Argh!" Shadow flew backwards and collided with Rouge.
"Ah!" Rouge cried in surprise. She quickly held Shadow before the both of them would trip and fall backwards.
Kim screamed loudly and threw herself against Rouge and well, sandwiched her between Shadow and herself.
"Ugh! You guys!" she groaned, pushing them away to give herself more space. Before anyone could say anymore, the zombies rushed in and proceeded with their assault. Rouge flew upwards and came down ferociously, jabbing several zombies with her hard metallic shoes. The zombies moaned in pain and stumbled backwards. Before they had time to recover, Rouge appeared in front of them and swept her leg across their face, hitting every one of them square in the face with her powerful feet. As she did, she did a twirl on the spot and landed gracefully, then bowed down, proud of her elegant ballet like attack.
Shadow sped past her and bounced up, and as he did, he did a spindash and struck several zombies on their heads, bouncing off of one and to another, leaving a red and black trail in his place. He did a final bounce and landed in behind Rouge. All around them, the zombies crept closer, desiring to feast upon their beautiful flawless flesh, a flesh not tainted by any sickness, especially him, the Ultimate Lifeform that cannot be infected by any diseases and sicknesses on the world. All the zombies thirsted for Shadow's flesh, and the trio had noticed that their eyes were fixated on the hedgehog.
"Shadow! You get the zombies near the elevator, I'll take the ones in front of us," she informed, nodding her head to the hog.
"Rouge, there's too many! I'll take the ones on the front, you secure the back!"
"Are you serious? You're closer to the elevator, Shadow!"
"But, I don't want-"
"Shadow, there's no time! Do it, now!" she fired, shooting him a poisonous glare, to which he was taken aback to and turned to battle the elevator zombies. Shadow kept cursing and did a roundhouse kick to a zombie that lurched forward.
As he busied himself with the zombies, Rouge exhaled at her sudden burst of anger and ran forward, a sending a sharp kick into a zombie's stomach. The zombie fell over as more took its place. Rouge backed up a bit, bombarded by so many zombies. She bit her lower lip until it was bruised, suddenly regretting her decision.
Kim, this whole time, had been cowering in between the two agents and had tried her best to avoid the zombies. The Human had no knowledge and experience of combat whatsoever and had only been trained in the medical field. However she was swift and agile and could easily avoid the hands that desired to strike and claw her. However, with two agents on either side, she was pretty safe. Although deep down, she felt guilty for having two agents fight tirelessly for her while she stood there and did nothing. She felt burdened by that weight and wished to do something, but alas, she couldn't.
Shadow had courageously and almost angrily smashed the zombies into smithereen with his powerful punches. Blood coated the elevators and Shadow's gloves too, making him look like a ruthless murderer. He cursed at his bloody hands and his blood covered fur.
While Shadow had been delivering blows to his zombies, Rouge was having a difficult time trying to fight a horde of seemingly endless zombies that appeared out of nowhere. She grunted and panted heavily, sliding across the floor after a harsh kick to a zombie's head. Her icy glare stabbed into the eyes of the zombies before her and she sprang forth, using her fists to send a mighty force of pain into the zombies.
Unfortunately, one of the zombies had struck her across the cheek, causing the bat to stumble backwards. Her cheek began to sting as her hand flew to her burning cheek.
Her heart began to quicken its pace as she glared darkly at them, full of passion to demolish them. She cursed and prepared another punch. But before she could deliver it, a zombie shot forward and smacked her across her arm, tearing her muscle.
"Aahh!" she cried in pain, clutching tightly on her wounded arm as blood dripped from her arm and travelled across her flawless gloves, dirtying it. She fell down from the blow and groaned as pain ripped throughout her whole arm.
She let out a low growl and stood up to defend herself, but she had been weakened from the blow and another zombie stepped forward and punched her cheek. Rouge fell backwards and let out an exasperated moan.
"S-Shadow!" she called desperately, seeking his help. She turned to him as her eyes flickered with pure horror.
At the sound of his name, the hedgehog whipped around, eyes tremendously wide, heart in a frazzled frenzy, shocked to see his partner so defeated looking.
"Rouge!" he called, throwing his hand towards her. For a moment, he was frozen with underlying worry for his partner, and his feet were unable to be lifted off the ground. His heart thumped furiously, struggling with his emotions.
"Shad-" she managed, trying all she can to kick the zombies that tried to surround her. More zombies proceeded to engulf her and at the minute, Shadow narrowed his eyes icily and bounded towards Kim, sliding an arm around her waist as he slid across the floor, dragging the woman with him, and stopped behind Rouge, towering over her defensively.
"Chaos Spear!" he announced, sending a bolt of Chaos energy towards a group of zombies, sartling them in their tracks, causing them to hinder in their journey towards the fallen bat.
"Chaos," he started, slipping his arm around the bat's shivering shoulders, "Control!"
In flash of green sparks, the trio had vanished in thin air, leaving the zombies astounded and perplexed at the strange sorcery they witnessed.
The trio appeared at the Military Section located at the basement of HQ. Around them, zombie turned soldiers peered at them, then dashed forward, prepared to launch their attack.
Several more zombies began to gather at the trio and snapped their jaw viciously, transmitting fear into them, but only Kim quivered in fear. Shadow didn't care about them noticed that there were several military vehicles scattered all over the area via a zombie rampage that this area had underwent.
"Shadow, my arm," Rouge groaned, biting her lip to conceal a whimper of pain. She continued to clutch her arm desperately. Shadow nodded his head and pointed to a military vehicle.
"There's no time to waste, move it! Get to car, both of you! I'll handle this!" With that, Shadow dispatched from the girls and leapt into the air gracefully, making himself as eye catching as possible. His vivid scarlet stripes had certainly caught the attention of the zombies and they fixed their eyes on the hog. Incidentally, more so, his almost invincible flesh caused the zombies to feel dangerously desirous. Their eyes dilated at his incredible scent and they ran to him, hungry for his flesh.
"Hey! Bastards! Come and get me!" he taunted, preparing a Chaos Spear in his hand. The zombies snarled at his comment and forcefully threw themselves at the hedgehog, only to be incinerated by his powerful blast of Chaos Energy.
While he's got the zombie distracted, the girls quickly made their way to a military vehicle. Rouge swung open the door,clambered onto the driver's seat and slammed the door shut, locking it too for good measure. She let out a very long sigh, and slumped against the chair. Her breaths were short and heavy, tainted with immense stress. Her arm stung badly and she grimaced, clenching her jaw tightly to withstand the pain. Amounts of flesh and tissues are exposed and blood began to flow non-stop. Kim had climbed into the back seat and looked at her arm, taking it delicately in her hand.
"I can fix it, but unfortunately, I have no medical tools with me right now," she admitted, biting her lip in disappointment.
"Ohh," she moaned, "anything. Find anything! A cloth, s-something!" She winced at her gory looking arm as Kim began her search for a cloth.
Outside, Shadow dashed right past the zombies, aiming for the vehicle, swiftly avoiding the zombies' nasty hands that flailed about in an attempt to grab him. He performed a flawless Chaos Burst to dispel the zombies that ran after him.
"Shit," he muttered, hearing the zombies' ominous footsteps thundering behind him. He gave a gruff cry at Rouge, who turned to see Shadow running straight at her without losing momentum. She jerked upright and shot him a panicked glance.
"The door! Open the door! Get in the other seat, Rouge!" he ordered, swinging his arms in front o him in an effort to communicate with her.
Rouge panicked and scrambled across the driver's seat to the seat beside it, exhaustedly plopping herself on it as Shadow opened the door forcefully and fiercely sat down. Nobody said a word after that. Shadow's heavy breaths penetrated the tense silence as he gripped the steering wheel.
They all screamed when heavy banging noises were forced upon the windows as the zombies attempted to break in. They pushed against the vehicle, rocking it back and forth. Their horrifying faces were plastered against the windows, roaring at the trio with only murder planted in their minds. Kim gripped the side of her head as she let out a shrill cry of panic.
"Shadow!" she cried.
Shadow cursed and grunted as he transferred some Chaos Energy into the machine to start it, as there was no key to be found, and the vehicle's engine sputtered and revved up with a low, vibrating sound. Shadow's ears twitched at the appealing sound and stepped on the accelerator, causing the vehicle to lurch forward violently.
Rouge held onto her seat as Shadow swerved around, crushing several zombies in his path.
"Let's get out of here," Rouge sighed, closing her eyes in pain. Shadow observed the bat, unsure of what to say to her at the moment. He has never seen Rouge so vulnerable before. He brushed off his thoughts and stepped on it, making the vehicle zoom at an incredible speed towards the large door that led to a pathway outside.
At the front, he could see several zombies run after them, but he did a mock chuckle and drove the car straight at the barrier.
"Shadow! The wall!" Kim cried, putting on a seatbelt to secure herself.
"Noted," he said, smirking defiantly at the barrier. With an accelerated thrust, he rammed the vehicle against the wall, causing all three to jump up in their seats. Kim gave a sharp cry in shock. Shadow backed up again and rammed the wall again.
"Shadow!"
"Hold on!"
With one more thrust, the vehicle rammed straight through the wall, slicing into every fiber of metallic components. The vehicle was outside and quickly Shadow stepped on the accelerator and turned the vehicle around, driving it up a ramp that led to the upperground. Several zombies still pursued them nonetheless.
"They just don't quit, do they?" Rouge grumbled, cursing the zombies into Hell.
Finally the vehicle made it up the ramp and zoomed across the road opposite.
"Where to now, Shadow?" Rouge asked, still grasping onto her bleeding arm.
"The countryside."
Rouge's eyes widened at his response.
"W-Why?"
"Because it's pointless to try to battle against a horde of seemingly endless zombies when only two out of three of us are capable of fighting. And… you might get worn out."
"Good point..." Rouge sighed in alleviation and settled comfortably into her seat, letting herself slip into a daydream-y mood. She gazed out the window and noted the zombies that had mercilessly assaulted innocent lives, tearing apart their souls and bodies, leaving them into complete nothingness.
We made it, we made it. I can't believe this.
Quietness had fallen over the trio as Shadow concentrated on driving. Kim decided to take tiresome nap and fell asleep almost instantly. Rouge glanced at her hands then turned to face the cold hedgehog who was so immersed into his driving. She was about to speak up when his voice broke the silence instead of her, and she withdrew into her seat.
"I told you so. I should've taken the back," he muttered crudely.
"I'm sorry, okay? I just thought…"
"Just thought what?"
"Never mind." Rouge looked away, unable to speak.
"You're hurt," Shadow pointed out. If it wasn't any obvious, Shadow the Hedgehog. Rouge picked her arm up and stared at the gash. Her blood had dried up a bit, but it was still pretty gnarly in appearance. Suddenly the hedgehog slowed the vehicle and turned to face Rouge.
He inspected her arm and raised his hand towards it. Rouge sharply withdrew her arm, afraid he'll touch it.
But instead, Shadow hovered his hand right above the wound. His fingertips began to light up in green as Chaos Energy is released from his hand. Rouge held her breath as she watched the hedgehog work his power.
Misty looking energy had coated her wound and to her astonishment, layers of flesh began to heal by itself, and her bleeding had been stopped. She watched as pieces of muscle began to layer themselves and finally, the skin closed up, revealing no form of a scar at all. Rouge gaped at Shadow's powers and shot him an inquiring look.
"Shadow Heal," he responded as he retracted his hand back to the wheel. Rouge didn't say a word for a long time, but finally she gathered her strength together and spoke.
"Thank you." The bat rubbed her arm at where her wound had been and smiled slightly, grateful for Shadow's sudden act of compassion.
For a long time, the vehicle traveled up a long road, wanting to reach the end of the city to fully escape. All around, the city's buildings were dilapidated, destroyed by the zombies and the military's vain actions. The city had gone quiet, creepy though. Not a sound could be heard other than the soft groans of the zombies that still lingered about. The rays of the sun glinted off the building's broken glass, blinding the hedgehog for a moment.
Finally, all can rest as the trio embark on a journey to escape their destroyed home.
The Tornado flew smoothly through the chaos inflicted city as dilapidated buildings toppled, crashing onto the broken road below. Tails and Sonic examined the atmosphere, heavyhearted. Sonic brought his hand to his chest, completely disgusted by how awful the city looked. Neither Mobian said a word during the flight.
Sonic could see several zombies staggering and looking up at the plane. The Tornado's streamlined shadow loomed over the cracked ground.
I-I can't believe all this happened within seconds.
The hedgehog was baffled that it was such minor news then, bam, everything exploded all of a sudden. He shook his head in bewilderment, refusing the believe that this was reality, but sadly, it is.
"I don't understand, Tails."
"Hey, I'm the smart guy here, Sonic, yet I still don't understand it myself. I want to know how this happened, specifically, not when or what."
Sonic glanced at Tails, intrigued by his words.
"Yeah, me too. I bet did this was Eggman's doing."
"Perhaps so. Then I'd like to discover why on earth the Doctor is working with live experiments."
Hmm, strange of Eggman do experiments biologically rather than technologically, you know, if it was him. But we can't guarantee.
As Sonic mulled over the zombie outbreak, Tails tilted the Tornado as the desolate mall began to rise above the horizon. The place was bleak and abandoned as smashed cars piled everywhere and several corpses lined the roads and walkways. Smoke consumed the Tornado as it passed through.
"Sonic," the fox called, snapping him out of his morbid thoughts, "the mall's up ahead. I can't land as there are no clear spots. You need to drop down below and find her yourself!"
"Yes, sir!" Sonic replied, saluting to his friend playfully. His hand loosened around the stilts as Tail brought the Tornado closer to the ground, circling around the mall like a ravenous vulture. Even when situations are dire, Sonic can still make the best of it. He's like the spark between the duo, always the one to speak up first, and usually most optimistically. Tails admired that quality in Sonic. Although Amy claims Sonic's her hero, Sonic is Tail's hero too.
As soon as the Tornado lowered, Sonic saw the entrance to the mall had been covered by a bunch of hungry zombies pushing over each other as they tried to barge through.
"Ugh, shoot."
Tails saw that too and flew the plane higher, trying to scout for any openings on the walls of the mall.
Suddenly a bloodcurdling scream penetrated the air and Sonic's ears twitched violently at the sound. His green eyes widened drastically and he leaned forward, darting his eyes back and forth to search for where that sound came from.
"Amy!"
"Help! Somebody please!" Amy cried, still defending herself from the zombies by using her humongous hammer to pack a deadly punch at the zombies' faces. Several zombies flew backwards from the impact of her hammer, and their jaws broke in the process, causing their gums to bleed.
All around, pillars began to give in, collapsing loudly against the battered floors. The building began to quake violently as the walls prepared to tumble down. The mall was about to cave in!
"No! Help me!" she cried hopelessly, running the opposite direction to find herself a safer place. She dragged her hammer along the ground beside her, caring less about the damaged objects that lay scattered around her as her hammer came in contact with everyone of them.
She ran as fast as she could, hopping over broken pieces of glass or walls, or even corpses of dead people, those who were brutally attacked by the zombies and were killed instantly. As she ran, the zombies ran closely behind her, chasing the poor girl to the far end of the mall.
Amy's heartbeat advanced to its peak, pulsating voraciously inside her chest. She panted heavily as she ran. Her skirt was ripped and had hung loosely on her body like a rag cloth. Her feet began to ache exceedingly, delaying her pace slightly. The zombies' snarls grew louder as they neared her. Amy, with all of her might, swung her hammer around and smashed the zombies behind her. Sweat trickled down her face like a river, making her face shiny and wet as she stared boldly into the zombies' eyes.
Her pink ears fluttered at a faint sound outside the mall, and she looked up as her heart danced inside with delight. It sounded like… a plane.
Could it be…?
"HELP!" she screamed, cupping her hands around her mouth to intensify her voice. "HELP! IN HERE!" She grunted in dismay when she heard the propeller sounds fading. Seconds later, the sound grew closer again and her eye went wide in realization.
It's flying around!
Amy looked at the zombies coming at jumped up, bouncing off their heads and landed behind the large mob and ran closer to the sound. She continued screaming for help until her voice cracked from the amount of force she exerted. She gulped for air and panted heavily, almost doubling over from the exhaustion.
Suddenly a loud crash was emitted when a piece of glass from a window broke from one of the stores, and Sonic came sliding through, his shoes screeching as he halted. He stood up and looked around frantically for a pink female hedgehog. He ran to the rails and peered below.
"Amy!" he cried from an upper floor. "Hold on Amy! I'm coming!"
"Sonic!" she cried at the sound of her name, heart beating wildly. She looked up and saw the blue hedgehog standing on the floor above. She ran beneath him to greet him as he jumped from the floor above and landed gracefully in front of the shocked girl.
"S-Sonic!" she cried jubilantly as she ran towards him with her arms out. She threw herself onto him and wrapped her arms around her hero, bursting into to tears. Sonic was mildly surprised by her action, but he genuinely returned the hug and wrapped his arms around the sobbing girl.
"Oh Sonic, I thought I was going to die," she sobbed, pulling herself away from him to look at his emerald eyes.
"No, Amy. I'm here," he reassured wholeheartedly, smiling slightly at her. "But I gotta deal with these zombies' first, okay?" Amy nodded her head and freed Sonic from her clingy hug. She watched as Sonic zipped from her side and jumped up into the air to strike the zombies from above. Her heart fluttered with relief knowing that she's now safe with Sonic by her side. She clasped her hands together admiringly.
"Hey! Didn't your mother ever tell you that it's not nice to hit girls?" he mocked, sending a powerful kick on a zombie's head. The impact of his foot made the skull of the zombie crack open, and blood splattered on his foot.
"Yuck!"
Sonic spindashed and struck several zombies down by bouncing on their heads, making their delicate necks snap. The zombies groaned in pain and crumpled to the floor hopelessly.
He then jumped up and as he fell, swung his legs to sweep several zombies off of their feet. The zombies plopped to the ground with a loud thud, as their spines cracked. Blood seeped from the corners of their mouth and pooled beneath their damaged bodies.
"Hah! That'll teach ya!" As he recovered from his kick, he noticed at the corner of his eyes two familiar looking rabbits shuffling towards him, staring blankly into his emerald eyes. Then his heart sank to the ground and he fell to his knees, clutching his aching heart at the sudden realization.
No… Cream, Vanilla…
He stared at the zombified rabbits horrifically and let out a frustrated and defeated cry, pounding his fists onto the floor in anguish.
"I couldn't save them!" Amy cried, burying her face into her hands as tears poured from her eyes, soaking her dirty, battered gloves. "I tried, but there were too many! I'm so sorry!" Amy backed away from the fray, pained to see the rabbits that stood ahead of her in their zombie glory, ashamed that she couldn't save them. She looked down in complete agony, guilty for her vain actions.
I'm such a horrible person!
Tears begin to pool at her eyelids, then they flooded and poured over, releasing the pain that Amy had felt during this whole time.
Sonic stared at her miserably, crushed by what she said. He gasped loudly and brought his hand to his stomach to comfort himself as she shook his head in disbelief. He closed his eyes, heartbroken. What's the point of battling against these monsters when the rest of your friends could have already been zombified? When you've lost everything? When your world has shattered apart? But then the zombie's groans provoked his mind and he opened his eyes in fury. His blood began to pump and surge through his veins as his heart beat began to rise. He narrowed his eyes at the zombies in front of him.
"How could you," he hissed. He sprang up and delivered a ravaging compelling kick to them, sending a majority of the zombies to fall backwards. He threw himself at them, but a zombie slapped his cheek and he flew to the left, sinking into a pile of broken glass.
"Ah!" he cried as pan began to burst at the side of his cheek.
"Sonic!" Amy yelled, extending her arms involuntarily towards him. "You monster, how dare you hurt Sonic!" She brought out her daunting hammer and aimed the hammer at their direction to deliver a threat.
Sonic growled and felt liquid travelling on the side of his face. He bounced from his position, landed on the ground, and crouched low to prepare for a fast-paced pounce, but as he did several more zombies from the main entrance barged through the door and aimed straight for the blue hero.
"Oh, crap!" he cried, barring his fangs at the barbaric, merciless monsters that hungered for his flesh. He turned to look at Amy, who still stood completely still in the middle of the mall then shifted his gaze to the roof. His ears flicked back the zombie groans that were thrown at his direction. He looked at the zombies and took an uneasy step back, trying to think of what to do next as his mind went into a frenzy.
"A-Amy, we gotta go! There's too many!" he cried, running towards the girl, jumping over fallen obstacles that barricaded him.
"What, can't you fight them all?" she asked, stunned. She blinked her eyes at him, unsure of whether or not Sonic meant what he meant. Sonic bit his lip as he placed a hand on his waist, taking her words into consideration.
"I-I can… but it's useless to try and fight a bunch of zombies when more are just going to come. Besides, you're hurt." Amy blushed and looked away, concealing a smile that was plastered on her face. "We gotta go! C'mon!"
At that Sonic fled from his spot and swung his arm around the girl's waist, earning a grateful giggle from her, and jumped to the upper floor to where he came from. He and Amy ran towards the store as more zombies appeared from others stores and started to run at them. Sonic gathered Amy in his arms and called for Tails as loudly as he can as he aimed for the broken window ahead.
The sound of the Tornado's propellers filled the air as the biplane shot past the window to make a loop.
Just as the Tornado made the loop and came back for them, Sonic slid on his side, full speed, towards the shattered glass and flew out the window. Amy screamed as she clung on to her hero as tightly as possible when the pair flew into the air. With perfect timing, the Tornado flew past and scooped the hedgehogs from the air.
Amy let out a sharp cry as she landed harshly on the wings, clutching tightly onto Sonic's neck.
"Amy!" Tails greeted with relief, sticking his hand out to give her a friendly wave.
"Ames, you alright?" Sonic asked to her, his hand still gripped strongly on her back.
Any nodded her head frantically.
The wind pounded against the pair forcefully, almost knocking Sonic over because both his hands were wrapped around Amy. He clenched his jaw as he stood up and began to walk across the Tornado to the extra seat behind Tails.
Sonic struggled against the wind but he managed to heroically carry Amy across the Tornado's wings, body, and even across Tails. He placed Amy into the seat behind the fox and she immediately put on her seat belt.
Sonic scrambled across the Tornado again and stationed himself on its wings again, gazing wistfully into the distance. Tails pulled the wheel and the Tornado tilted its nose upwards, ascending slowly above the clouds
As soon as the plane reached a high level, Tails slowed down and the Tornado flew at a steady speed, gliding smoothly across the cloud blanketed sky.
Both hedgehogs let out a distressed sigh and settled down in their respective seats. Sonic sat on the wing and leaned against the stilts.
The Tornado soared sleekly through the sky, letting a gentle wind touch and caress the three Mobians. For a while everyone was silent, especially Sonic as the image of Vanilla and Cream haunted his mind. He shut his eyes at the horrible image, wanting to shut it out but the image remained in his head.
He opened his eyes and stared mournfully at his shoes.
"I was so scared," Amy broke the silence, "I had thought I was going to die. I thought I'll never be able to see you or Tails or anybody again! I have never felt so hopeless before."
Sonic and Tails didn't reply, but only absorbed the words she had spoken.
"I wished I could've helped them somehow, or helped the other people below," she mused sadly, gazing at the ground below.
"I wish the same, Amy," Sonic replied hoarsely. His heart ached at the thought of the people in agonizing pain, being slaughtered by these monsters, and here he is sitting down and not doing anything useful. But it's useless to try and fight all of them at once without a proper plan.
"I don't understand. There's something here that doesn't add up nicely," Tails observed. "These zombies appeared out of nowhere and suddenly the city bursts into chaos. If this was the work of the Doctor-"
"Amy, where are you hurt?" Sonic interrupted, turning to look at the girl.
"I-I'm fine Sonic, thanks for asking," she said a little too cheerfully. "I'm just tired and aching everywhere, really. But I'm fine." She looked away to hide a blush that grew on her face.
Sonic smiled to her gently and resumed his post.
"Also, these zombies bleed," he continued, annoyed that Sonic interrupted him. "Strange, aren't zombies supposed to be dead? Unless there's some sort of virus or infection that had caused all of this. And I've observed that they are able to run really fast and move normally like any other living being. They just act, delusional." Tails kept thinking about the zombies, wondering why they behave the way they do as he cleverly maneuvered the Tornado through the air swiftly.
Sonic digested the fox's words and stared contemplatively at his feet, also wondering the same thing the fox had wondered about.
These zombies, aren't zombies... aren't they?
"Where to now, Sonic?" asked Tails from his seat, breaking Sonic's thoughts. He looked up from his shoes and stood up.
"The outskirts of the city, Tails. Let's get outta here."
Guys, I'm so sorrryyy for making this so long! This has got to be my longest chapter, I guarantee, for the whole story! I promise to not make the next chapters as long as this one! I'll make them probably around the same length as Chapter 2! Eeeek! I'm so sorry! But I hope it was interesting enough! :D Also my sister asked if I was doing SonAmy but NO, Sonic's just being nice to Amy since everything is so chaotic now. Anyway I hoped you enjoyed this LONG chapter! Buh-Bye! :)