In Due Season

Chapter IV

Endear the Battle, In No Way the Lore

"I can't get enough altitude," Tails panted, trying everything within him to ascend.

"Then just drop me, I can get down from here," Knuckles stated.

"No!" Tails shouted just before the echidna let go, "I'm going to need someone's help in getting that bomber down."

Knuckles let out an exasperated sigh. Was he really that heavy? Joking aside, he knew Tails couldn't fly long distances and the fox was just recently electrocuted. What they needed was a . . .

"Need a boost?" a chipper voice asked as they suddenly went higher. Knuckles looked up to see a bee had grabbed onto Tails' shoulders and was helping them rise up. Normally, an insect wouldn't be enough to airlift a fox and echidna, but this wasn't any normal insect. Tails breathed a sigh of relief as Knuckles smiled.

"Right on time, Charmy! Where's Vector and Espio?" the guardian asked.

"They're down there somewhere. We split up once we met up with Solana. I went with her . . ."

"Solana?!" Tails nearly yelled.

"Yeah, anyway, I saw you guys and thought you might need some help. . ."

"Where is she? Is she okay?" Tails asked. Charmy sighed. He hated being interrupted all the time.

"Why don't you ask her yourself? She's coming right now."

Both fox and echidna turned to see a small silver helicopter heading their way. Tails' glee could hardly be contained as he spotted the familiar aircraft. It was Sol. The chopper pulled up alongside the flying trio side door already open for their entry.

"Thought you all could use a lift," a ginger-colored dhole quipped from her seat in the cockpit.

"We sure could!" Knuckles hollered over the noise created by the rotary blades. Charmy and Tails guided themselves into the helicopter being careful not to get caught in the downdraft. Once safely inside, Tails made his way to the cockpit, grabbing a pair of headsets and coming beside Solana.

"Thanks," he said.

"Anytime, sweetie. So, to the big bomber I presume," she smiled maneuvering the chopper in that direction.

"You got it. First try."

Both the canines laughed while Knuckles and Charmy busied themselves with rolling their eyes.

"Can we remain focused, please," Knuckles huffed. Tails blushed but Solana's expression narrowed.

"Don't get your locks in a twist. I could fly this thing with a blindfold on . . ."

"Look out!" Charmy shouted frantically. The dhole turned to see a missile heading straight for them. She quickly veered left allowing the projectile to pass without incident.

"Blindfolded, huh?" Knuckles snorted. She frowned deeply before looking back at Tails to gloss over her mistake.

"What is it you need me to do?" she asked. The fox looked to the bomber and then to the control panel of the helicopter.

"Do you still have that automated guidance system I put in for you last year?" he questioned.

"Yes, but why does that matter now. I have most of the autopilot systems on already . . ."

"I need you to turn those off and fly manually up to the top of the bomber. I think there's an anti-tampering device on that thing and it's wired for guidance systems," Tails directed.

"I don't get it, Tails. The Tornado was creamed just for being near that thing. How can you assume . . ." Knuckles started.

"I'm not assuming. When I took them down in the past, I had to rely on my plane's systems to keep me steady while working. That's the first and probably the only thing that electric pulse took care of."

"But the plane's engine cut off. The same could happen to this thing," the guardian protested.

"No, Knuckles, because we're not going to do that again. It's just a precaution, but we're going to try something a little bit different this time. Trust me," the fox persuaded.

"If you say so."

"Not to seem rude, but I'm still heading for a huge warship with no idea what it is I'm doing," Solana interjected. Tails flushed just a bit before responding.

"Oh, sorry. Okay here's the plan . . ."

o

"Oh, no, Shadow!" Cream yelled as she witnessed the hedgehog getting slammed into a boulder by the droid; the crushing impact echoing in her ears. The ultimate life form went limp while the chaos emerald he was using rolled out of his hand into the mud. The robot released its grip on Shadow and turned towards her. She shivered with fright, but bravely stood her ground. Cream wasn't going to give up; not now. Shadow had helped her draw the fight away from her mother and Kimi. She had suffered many battles in her young age and had many things ripped from her due to them, but the rabbit was not going to lose a friend today.

The robot lunged forward, ready to dig its claws into the teenager when it was met with stark opposition from Cheese. Cream took the moment of distraction as an opportunity. She leaped up, avoiding the assault by inches and used her ability of lift to her full advantage. She rose until she deemed it the right height for her own attack.

"Come on, Cheese," she rallied causing the chao to come to her side. With Cheese providing extra speed and strength, Cream lunged full force, feet extended for a kick, and dealt the android a devastating blow, sending it sprawling backward. They didn't stop there as the duo repeated the maneuver, crippling the robot further. It tried to fight back with laser fire and hooked appendages, but one more kick drove it to the ground in a useless heap.

"We did it, Cheese," Cream breathed in relief not because she doubted her abilities, but acknowledging she was getting tired.

"Chao, Chao."

Their victory was short lived however as a flame shot out from somewhere behind them, narrowly missing the rabbit and chao as it engulfed the robot before them. They turned around quickly to see a line of D-12's; flamethrowers at the ready. Cream could feel horror grip her once more as she could make out the sound of the weapons tuning up to fire.

"No!" She heard as a black blur moved in front of her just as the flames came forth. Out of reflex, she grabbed Cheese to protect him and shut her eyes as if to protect herself. She expected the blaze of an inferno but instead just felt a hot breeze whip behind her. She opened her eyes to see Shadow was standing in front of her holding back the flames with some kind of shield. She stared in awe.

Shadow was just as surprised. He didn't know he had the ability to create a barrier like this. Being a living weapon he typically used his powers on the offensive rather than the defensive but here it was; Chaos Shield. He was too weak to use chaos control but this seemed to be working. Still, his energy was draining and he didn't know how long he could keep this up. He should have grabbed the Chaos Emerald.

His strain didn't go unnoticed. Cream could see the beads of sweat forming on the hedgehog's brow along with his teeth gritted in pain.

"Cheese, you have to find help," the rabbit instructed; desperation evident in her voice.

"Chao," the light blue creature nodded as it surveyed its surroundings trying to see a gap in the blaze in which to escape. He found his chance and took it. He shot forward, making it out without a singe. He looked back with alarm as he saw the magnitude of the dilemma. The robots were stepping closer to the black hedgehog and it wouldn't be long until they reached him. He had to hurry.

He flew out, frantically looking for someone to help with the frightening situation. Villagers were gone, either captured or worse, and there seemed to be no other heroes in sight. Cheese began chirping in a panic as he dashed around frantically, that is, until he smacked into something large and metallic.

o

"We got them on the run, Espio!" Vector cheered as he witnessed the robots turn and head back the other way.

"It's either that or they're heading to another target, Vector," the chameleon stated dryly.

"Guess we should still stop 'em, huh? Come on!" Vector shouted. Espio waved his hand in an 'after you' fashion. The crocodile charged forward smashing into a few androids as his ninja accomplice followed up with a few skilled attacks of his own. Before long, the two of them had laid waste to several bots; a sense of pride created within them over their victory. However, Vector caught sight of something in the distance and his features twisted into dismay.

"It's Vanilla!" he yelled. Before Espio had any time to respond, Vector took off running in the direction of the fallen rabbit. The chameleon followed, concern overtaking him as he knew his friend's attachment to the Rabbit family. They reached her quickly and the crocodile knelt by her side checking to make sure she was alright.

"She's still breathing and everything, but we need to get her someplace safe. Where's an ambulance when you need one," Vector cried, fear coming into his voice. Espio surveyed the area around them until he spotted a break in the destruction that might lead to safety.

"Over here. We should be able to make it down the hill and away from the city. It's going to be okay, Vector."

The crocodile calmed down enough to scoop Vanilla up but began panicking all over again as another thought occurred to him.

"What if Cream's here?!" he exclaimed. Espio nodded in acknowledgment.

"I'll look for Cream. You get Ms. Vanilla to safety," the ninja instructed as he faded from sight and headed out. Vector looked on as he could see the footprints of his invisible friend leading off and decided to do the same all the while praying Cream and Vanilla would be alright. He ended up receiving an answer to one of those prayers quicker than expected. The rabbit in his arms began to stir; eyes fluttering open as she let out a groan.

"Vanilla, are you okay?" Vector asked pausing in his travel. She looked at him in slight confusion. Then as she saw the fire and heard the popping ambers in the air her memory came flooding back.

"Cream! Oh, my goodness, Kimi!" Vanilla shouted as she anxiously wiggled in the crocodile's grasp. Vector nearly toppled forward.

"Whoa! Hold on a sec, Vanilla," Vector said as he struggled to place her on her feet.

"I'm so sorry, Vector, but where's Cream and Kimi?"

"Well, Espio went to look for Cream, but Kimi . . . ?"

"Yes! Oh, Vector, I had her right with me . . ." Vanilla began to panic, the memories flooding back. Just as the attacks started, Amy brought the infant over to join her and her daughter in the fight, but when they had gotten separated, she had been holding Kimi. She and Cream had tried to locate Amy only to run into more trouble with a pack of robots. She remembered her daughter charging forward and then severe pain in her head before it all went black. Now, she had lost Kimi.

"We'll find her, I'm sure she has to be around here somewhere. Where'd you last see her?" he asked; his old detective instincts kicking in.

"I don't know, but we have to find her quickly, she's only a couple months old," Vanilla cried. Vector quickly jogged back to where he saw Vanilla last, diving to all fours and searching the rubble and surrounding debris for any signs of a baby. The motherly rabbit did the same, tears streaming down her face at the awful thought that it might be too late.

o

Knuckles found himself drilling through metal, wiring and who knew what else under great protest. According to the plan: First, they would drop down on the bomber, then find the entrance hatch, get inside and take over the main controls from in there. Problem was, step two hadn't gone according to plan. Now, he was digging into something that could potentially detonate any second; not something he felt like dealing with at six o' clock in the morning. Either way, he trusted Tails and knew this was the only way to stop this thing.

Tails followed right behind him, carrying all the necessary tools to complete the task. Solana and Charmy were still hovering overhead hoping there would be no further mishaps in this mission. The dhole had convinced Tails to at least take a communication device with them just in case something went wrong but it was little peace of mind considering the circumstances.

"I think this is it, I can feel the generators," Knuckles hollered back. Tails nodded, albeit nervously, giving the okay for the echidna to make the final blow. The guardian could feel a bit of apprehension make its way down his face in the form of sweat. He just really hoped he was punching at a control room and not the payload. He gave a cry as he punched through the solid metal, breaking through. Success!

"See, what did I tell you, nothing to blow-up about," Tails quipped shakily. Knuckles grunted.

"There's what we need another wise-guy. Just get in there and do your thing."

"Just trying to lighten things up, no reason to explode," Tails smiled as he climbed through the opening to the floor below.

"Very funny. When we have an opening for another Sonic, I'll put in your resume," the echidna gripped. Tails made it over to the panel and slipped on some heavy duty electrical gloves for insurance before opening up the control box. The fox worked diligently, rewiring systems and cutting off all auto-control features. He now had manual control of the bomber.

"What brilliance!" a voice exclaimed. Tails fell back on his bottom in surprise. It was a speaker just above the control panel with a recognizably awful voice; Dr. Robotnik.

"Miles Prower, also known as Tails. Such mechanical genius spent mercilessly in a hero's shadow," it continued. The fox glared up at the speaker as he rose to his feet.

"I'm sure you remember Sonic the Hedgehog, who doesn't, am I right? But who's that little scamp that follows him around? Oh yes, that would be you, child. Have you ever realized something? How without a certain champion around the team usually falls apart."

Tails returned to his work, appearing to ignore the message, but a growl escaped his lips.

"Well, Tails, how long has it been since you started up your subordinate role as sidekick, nine, ten years ago? Has it ever paid off? Do you ever feel important, useful, respected . . . victorious? Are you making any real progress? You and that hedgehog have yet to stop me. So much for teamwork, eh? All that time and effort, sweat and tears and yet no closer to ending this war."

Knuckles couldn't help but see the weight of the statements on Tails. He knew the guy had to be tired of these constant battles, but they all knew the cost of allowing a maniac like Robotnik to win.

"Yes, you are loyal and resolute, that is true, but I see some treacherous hands being dealt and the odds are looking uncertain for our hedgehog. Dear youngster, when the day comes for your hero to fall, you won't be far behind," it finished coldly. Knuckles came up next to the fox, placing a hand on the other's shoulder. Tails quickly regained composure and smiled up at the echidna.

"Alright, I should be able to guide it in for a smooth landing, but I'm going to need Sol to guide us because I can't see anything from in here," Tails instructed as he pulled off his wrist communicator and tried to hand it to the guardian. Knuckles stared at it then back at Tails.

"What do you want me to do with it?" he asked. Tails sighed.

"I need both hands to steer, so, if you could hold it up for me, that would be greatly appreciated," the fox stated curtly. Knuckles grabbed the device with some attitude, but did as instructed, pressing the button so Tails could talk.

"Sol, this is Tails. Over."

Both Solana and Charmy jumped at the sudden sound of the communication. Solana depressed the button on her console before the hyperactive bee did so.

"This is Sol, what is going on? Over."

"I got it, but I'm going to need you to give me directions so I can land it safely. Over."

"Oh, so you can ask for directions now, but you can't stop and ask for directions on the way to the beach, huh? Over." Tails blushed, but Knuckles was not amused.

"Are you serious? I swear I'm surrounded. Over," the echidna voiced into the communicator. A fight ensued over the radio with even Charmy getting involved. Tails shouted in frustration.

"We are trying to save lives here people!"

Knuckles, never admitting he felt ashamed of his behavior, quickly turned the communication back over to Tails where the fox heard a chorus of apologies from the other two. This was going to be interesting.

o

"Hold on, Shadow. Cheese will bring back help," Cream encouraged as she could see the hedgehog's resolve fade. His arms bent under strain and fatigue. He couldn't come up with any other defensive action as all his energy was concentrated on making this shield. They couldn't see how the robots were only a few feet away with the full intent of flattening them under massive feet. All they could see, hear and feel were flames. Shadow knew he couldn't hold this up any longer. How could he? But, how could he not? For Cream's sake.

He felt the heat breaking through the shield. This was it. He turned to face the rabbit, ready to use his body as the final shield, but nothing came. All he heard was silence. The roar of the blaze had temporarily dulled his senses and yet, he swore he could make out the sound of something extremely familiar.

"Kill! Maim! Destroy!"

Omega?

Shadow's head shot up as he looked around. Sure enough, the heavily armed combat robot was busy sending a spray of bullets and missiles into the mass of D-12s. He wasn't alone in his assault either as Shadow spotted a G.U.N. issued fighter-craft flying low and delivering its own ammunition into the bots below. It had to be Rouge. They were saved. He faced Cream once again with a more confident, directive air. He picked her up and quickly carried her out of the arena of battle, coming to rest close by only because he could run no longer. Mustering every last bit of strength he had, he placed her down gently and then collapsed face first into the snow.

"Shadow!" Cream cried as she crouched down. Then she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. She looked up to see Espio. The chameleon looked out at the fighting ahead and then to the fallen hedgehog. He bent down as well and began to roll Shadow over. Cream caught on and helped get Shadow into a more comfortable position on his back. The hedgehog was completely worn out.

"I think he's okay . . ." Espio stated with uncertainty. As far as he knew, the ultimate life form didn't need to sleep or rest, but the ninja was pretty sure the noisy breathing coming from the hedgehog now was snoring.

o

Vanilla and Vector had hunted all over the area, knowing the fires were closing in around them, but neither wanted to give up the search for Kimi. Still, the crocodile saw the need to get the rabbit out of the area as she had begun to stumble around; disoriented and exhausted.

"Come on, Vanilla. I have to get you out of here," he directed, taking her by the arm and steadying her toppling gait.

"We have to find her," Vanilla coughed as more tears came down her face. He knew this was hard for the motherly rabbit and his heart broke at the thought of her pain.

"I'm sorry . . ." he began.

"Are you two alright?" a voice asked from outside the wall of fire. Both looked up but couldn't see through to who was speaking.

"Hold on," the stranger said and with surprising swiftness, a gap opened up in the flames as if they were pushed aside, but considering who was doing the pushing . . .

"Blaze?" Vanilla asked as a purple cat stepped in through the opening. However, the rabbit's eyes quickly shifted to what the feline was holding in her arms.

"Kimi!" Vanilla shouted as she reached for the baby hedgehog. Blaze obliged in giving over the little one but looked to her in confusion.

"How did you know my name?" she asked. Vanilla nestled the baby checking it over for any marks or bruises. Then she reached over and gave the young cat a hug.

"Thank you so much. We met a long time ago, dear. My daughter knows you better."

Blaze looked the older woman up and down as realization played across her features.

"You're Cream's mother!"

The rabbit nodded as Vector just looked on in bewilderment.

"Can someone tell me what's going on?" he inquired, scratching the back of his head. Blaze took on a more serious expression.

"I don't know, but if Cream is here, that means I'm not in my dimension anymore. Where's Sonic?"

"We can answer those questions better from a safer location," Vanilla stated as she walked through the path Blaze created. The feline followed, cooling out fires along the way and answering the rabbit's questions as to how she found the baby. Vector gave a sigh of relief and trailed behind them.

o

Rouge landed her ship next to Omega as Espio made his way up to them. Just before the lizard could reach the group, they all heard a low rumble in the distance along with the vibration of the earth beneath them.

"What is that?" Rouge asked as she opened the hatch, allowing Cheese to come flying out. The chao eagerly went forth to look for Cream.

"Sensors indicate a large vessel is landing close by," Omega related.

"Huh?" Rouge regarded him before spotting the chameleon running up.

"Shadow and Cream are over there. I regret to inform you I'm not sure if Shadow is alright," Espio said, pointing in the direction of the pair. The bat and robot looked to one another before they set off, Rouge taking to the air while Omega stomped through the snow. They reached the rabbit and hedgehog in a matter of seconds, seeing Cheese had beaten them to it. He floated over Cream as she held Shadow's head in her lap. The rabbit looked up to them.

"I think . . . he's sleeping," she replied, trying to understand the oddity of it. Rouge landed next to them and tilted an ear towards the hedgehog's nose to see if he was indeed still breathing only to be startled by a thunderous snore. She hadn't seen Shadow in several months and to finally see him safe and sound was an overwhelming relief to her, but to catch him napping was priceless. If only she had a camera. Oh, that's right; she did. She laughed, causing Shadow to jolt out of slumber; his eyes shooting open. Rouge turned to Cream.

"I believe he likes to call it falling in battle, so, it will be our little secret okay," she smiled and winked as Cream did the same.

"What happened?" Shadow asked hoarsely as he rose up, clutching his head.

"Hopefully, you remember us, handsome."

That smooth voice he remembered all too well.

"Hello, Rouge," he said coolly to the bat before looking past her to the E-series behind her, "Omega."

"Espio!" they all heard a high-pitched voice call out in the distance. The chameleon looked up for who called his name, having a feeling he knew who it was. Sure enough, Charmy came dive-bombing out of the air showing no signs of stopping. The reptile cringed in anticipation of an impact, but the bee came to a sharp stop just inches away from his head.

"Charmy, you maniac! Don't do that!"

"Aw. Well, anyway, you won't believe what we did. First, me and Solana went up to go help Tails and Knuckles, then Tails got control of this huge airship and we crashed it into a frozen lake and then Knuckles was glad we didn't blow up and we stopped the bomber . . . It was awesome!"

"Alright, already."

"Cream!" another voice shouted out from another direction. The rabbit turned to see her mother coming up over the hill holding Kimi. Then she saw Vector and Blaze in tow.

"Mom! Blaze?!" she cheered happily as she sprang up to greet them.

"Well, it looks like the gangs all here," yet another voice declared. Knuckles along with Tails and Solana walked up to the group. It wasn't long until there was a raucous of stories and greetings. Shadow sat quietly and listened to the different conversations going on around him, tiredness slowly fading his consciousness again.

"Yeah, if it wasn't for little blue over there we never would have found Shadow and Cream," he picked up from Rouge. The two words struck him; little blue. Blue.

"Wait!"

Everyone hushed upon hearing the hedgehog's exhausted voice.

"Where's Sonic?" he breathed; his last words before slipping back into nothingness.

o

In blistering combat, where hammer met metal, could be found Amy gritting her teeth against the strain as she brought her heavy, blunted weapon down on yet another doomed robot's head. She was taking out her fear and anger on these bots. All she could think about was her family; her husband lying motionless only a few yards behind her and the baby girl missing from her arms; both gone forever as far as she knew. Androids screamed out as they launched attacks on the pink hedgehog, who only missed being struck narrowly. She knew she was beginning to tire and that delay in reaction time here would spell disaster.

"God, give me strength!" she hollered as she charged forward and knocked one of the larger machines back into the other smaller robots, taking them all down. With a temporary break from the robotic onslaught, Amy ran back to her downed hero's side. She felt a sob catch in her throat as she saw what condition he was in. Cuts and bruises littered his body and his shallow breathing was sure to plague her dreams. It sounded like he was dying . . . She placed a hand on his forehead, stroking his quills back; she had to protect him. Standing up once more to fight another wave of robots, Amy nearly faltered.

Exhaustion was gripping her limbs and her head pounded from the fighting she had already participated in with Cream and Vanilla. She had been troubled by a funny feeling shortly after Sonic left home and knowing better than to ignore that check, gathered Kimi in her arms and headed over to see the rabbit family. To her dismay, the siege on the city began when she was almost there. Cream and Vanilla had met her outside the home and they left together hoping to find refuge for Kimi's sake. However, Amy had to give her little one over to Vanilla so she could help fight more effectively alongside Cream. That's when she got separated and now . . . now she didn't know where any of them were.

Tears welled in her eyes, her mind reeling through the series of events. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her back. With one fluid motion, she turned around, raised her hammer and would have nearly struck her husband on the head if it hadn't of been for his quick reflexes.

"Whoa, Ames, it's all right."

She nearly cried at the sound of his voice. She grabbed him in a hug, to which he staggered a bit in his footing. He returned the embrace, more for the sake of her protection than a warm reunion as he pulled her out of the way of an assault. They both regained their combat stances, though they each knew at this point they were whipped. Amy held her weapon high getting ready to do anything it took to protect Sonic and, in turn, he prepared himself to do whatever he could to defend her. They were both bowled over by the mechs. The robots were inches away from slaying the couple when the Calvary arrived.

In a flash of red and white, several bots were knocked away from the hedgehogs and as the dust settled Knuckles and Rouge were clearly seen standing before them. The echidna turned around to offer a smirk.

"Thought you could use a hand," he spoke.

"Well, finally. What took you so long?" Sonic coughed as he gave a sly grin of his own, not wanting to think how close to death he'd come. He slowly rose to his feet but had to quickly help his wife as she immediately tried to rush forward.

"Have you seen Vanilla or Cream?" she questioned desperately. Rouge met her alarm with a calming tone.

"Don't worry. Vanilla, Cream and Kimi are fine."

The bat could literally hear the weight lift off the young mother as Amy let out a sigh of relief knowing her family was alive. Sonic, too, felt liberated from the fear for his family's safety. That last push of adrenaline both hedgehogs used to carry them this far quickly drained along with the color in their faces. Sonic's vision became distorted while Amy's strength wavered. They both felt light-headed.

"Sonic, are you alright? Amy?" Rouge reached out to both of them. Knuckles looked over just in time to see the couple fall back to the ground, unconscious.

Author's Note: I apologize for any typos up front. My favorite editor and sister are currently clear across the globe in Japan doing missions work . . . Yay! Posts may go a little slower now as I will probably be updating once a month, but I hope you enjoy the longer chapters. Thanks for the reviews and favorites everyone, there always helpful and encouraging.