After a quick radio transmission it was found that Tails' team had found similar troubles, hence the lost radio connection.
"What's our damage?" Shadow queried.
"Espio hurt his shin, Sonic sprained his ankle and Amy broke a nail."
"I'm sure she's complaining like hell."
"You have no idea! We may have more trouble getting back though. The damn demon broke the hanger door. Sorry guy's you're on your own!" Tails cut the connection. Knuckles came over his shoulder.
"So what do we do?"
"We came here to rescue Jet and his team, that's what we're doing," Shadow kept moving, his eyes downcast.
"Listen Shadow, it wasn't your fault," Knuckles tried to comfort him. "There was no way for you to know."
"It doesn't matter," Shadow muttered.
"But…" Shadow's fist slammed into the wall next to Knuckles head. The wall buckled.
"I could have killed her!" he seethed. "I was this close. Whatever my condition, it's my fault!" he turned away from the stunned Knuckles and started off down the corridor. Silver came up behind Knuckles.
"Still stressed?"
"He just found out he nearly killed his friend, what do you expect?" Knuckles sighed. "I mean, imagine having that much power and knowing the slightest mistake could kill the guy next to you. Must be terrible." Suddenly Blaze, who had been scouting ahead, came round into them.
"I've found something!"
The Boiler Room door was a big metal slab, bolted solidly in place. Dents in the door showed where someone or something had tried to break through. Knuckles, with his instincts and tracking skills, began to recreate the scene.
"The three of them came through and Storm barred the door. That's when the call came through. While Jet answered, the monsters broke through the door." He went over to the far wall. "They fired, but the guns weren't powerful enough to pierce the skin."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Silver was waving his arms. "Those three carry .50 calibers. You're telling me they didn't pierce it?!"
"Not too hard," Shadow said. "Their SMG aren't meant to pierce amour. Still," he mused. "The one's we saw weren't armored at all."
"Great," Silver said bitterly. "They're evolving!" Knuckles continued scanning the ground.
"After the rebuke failed, Jet ordered the retreat…."
"That's when the call ended," added Blaze.
"They ran into the inner room," Knuckles moved on. "Wave got through…" he stopped, staring at the scrape marks on the floor. "Something stopped Jet. Storm got him free, and threw him in," he stopped, staring at the ground. "Then he closed the door."
"What?!" everyone was stunned.
"There's more," Knuckles muttered. Sadness was evident in his voice. Though they'd been rivals, Knuckles had liked Storm, and his life looked bleak. "Storm faced the monster, fist to fist. He put up a good fight, but the thing knocked him down, and dragged him away." Knuckles shoulders slumped dramatically, his eyes nearly teary. "He's gone."
"Shit!" was all Silver could muster. No smart comment, no sarcasm. Just 'shit'. Blaze couldn't say anything. Shadow, who'd been looking at his shoes, snapped up suddenly.
"How hot is the boiler room?"
"50 degrees Celsius," Blaze replied. "Why?"
"Because Jet and Wave have been stuck in there for over an hour. They'll be nearly fried by now." He ran to the door and tried to push it, and then pulled away suddenly.
"The door's hot!"
"No durr!" Silver said and pushed at the door. He jumped away too. "It's….!" he stopped himself under Blaze's judging look. "Stuck," he finished pathetically.
"Weaklings," Knuckles said as he pushed the two of them out of the way. He pulled back, and then smashed his fist into and through the door! It flew through the following room. The team ran through.
The first thing they noticed was the heat. It was like a physical wall, pushing them away from the giant object in the centre of the room. This object was a humongous boiler, larger than the Tornado and Whirlwind together. Tubes came from it, branching out like vines to the outer walls. The boiler was Babylon Garden's backup power source, and was kept running at all times to keep the floating island in the air. Not a particularly environmental choice, but necessary in case of complete shutdown.
Then they saw the two figures. Both weren't particularly big, their figures light and lean. Discarded jackets, beanies and gloves had left them in pants and skivvies. They were both out cold. Sweat matted the spiked back green hair of the boy and the girl's twin back length tails of purple hair. Even without their extra high altitude gear, Jet and Wave were unmistakable.
Unperturbed by the heat, Blaze ran forward, and checked Jet's pulse. It was jumpy and fleeting, but definitely there. Wave's was the same. Blaze tired to pull them, but barely managed to move them. Knuckles, sweating profusely, managed to pull him to them and, with Blaze's help, pulled the Babylon Rouges out into the entry room. Silver pulled out a dehydration pack and began to apply them. The specified chemicals in the packs sent oxygen and hydrogen straight to the central organs, getting them back up to speed. Jet spluttered as his lungs began to restart. He looked up at Silver's face.
"Took your god damn time!"
"You're welcome." Jet looked around.
"Where's Storm?" he croaked. Silver looked away. "No," Jet shook his head, trying to destroy his thoughts. "NO!" Shadow came over. He grabbed Jet's shoulders.
"What happened Jet? What went wrong?" Tears had formed in Jet's eyes.
"God,
so much! We were trying to increase the warp drive past its
limit."
"Why?" Knuckles asked. He couldn't see why it
needed more power. It could already go anywhere on Earth.
"Wave discovered something in the engine's old records. She found that, with enough power, the warp engine could create a portal to another dimension."
"I repeat, why?" Knuckles said. "What reason do you have to go to another dimension?" Jet gave him a strange look. He looked puzzled, amused and pitying all at the same time.
"Do you know what could be in another dimension?! Valleys of gold, diamond plains, riches beyond your wildest dreams," his eyes were shining with longing. Now Knuckles gave him a pitying look.
"That's what Wave told you to get you to agree, wasn't it?" Jet looked at his feet, like a child who knows he's done something wrong. Knuckles laughed. "Honestly, even I'm not that gullible!" Silver and Shadow raised their eyebrows skeptically. Knuckles stopped. Jet was fuming.
"Yes, I made a mistake! And I've lost my best friend for it! Now shut it!" He was standing now and waving his fist in Knuckles face. Shadow stood in between them.
"Yes, we understand Jet," he said sympathetically. "And we're sorry. But we have to know what happened. Did the experiment succeed?"
"Sure did," said a voice behind him. Wave was behind him, being supported by Blaze. "We put all the power into it and the rift opened. Horrible black slit." She stumbled slightly and Blaze had to support her. She coughed and spat, then continued. "Before we could shut it off, these two guys came through."
"Did, you get a good look?" asked an excited Shadow. Wave shook her head.
"They had these overcoats and hoods covering their face. Then those monsters started coming. Torrents of them. Storm broke the computer and the rift closed. But it was already too late!" She clutched at her head. "Damn it! This is all my fault!" Storm's supposed death had hit her hard too. Blaze tried to comfort her while Shadow thought.
"OK," he said. "We have to take out whoever or whatever this is." He turned to Jet. "They're controlling the power system. Where are the controls?" Jet thought for a second.
"There
are 4 in total," he said. "One down here, one in the hanger…"
he counted them on his fingers. "One in the warp room and one at
the central chamber in the mountain." Then he thought of something.
"Storm broke the one in the warp room, so they must be in the
central chamber!"
"We need to strike them now!" Shadow
activated his comm. "Tails, we need some ideas."
In the hanger, Tails was staring out of the burnt out hole in the door. The wide eyed, gaping mouth expression told more than any words could. Finally he found his voice.
"We may have a problem." The comm. crackled before Shadow responded.
"What kind of problem?" Tails glanced at the monstrosity in the distance. Even at a distance, its signature whale shape and oversized guns were visible. The final part that gave it away was the symbol on the side: a white circle with a strange moustache and an insane grin. The Egg Destroyer's was nearly comical if you hadn't seen it in action.
"A big problem."