Amy, Silver, and Blaze were fortunate that they didn't see the corpse itself. Eggman was sliced in half, intestines were torn out and spilling onto the cold, hard floor. His corpse lay in a puddle of blood, as well as soaked in it. His eyes were gauged out and his jaw ripped from his skull. Multiple gashes covered his body and parts of it were torn away by what could only be claws or teeth. Jagged, animal-like teeth.
The group was too disgusted by the image to continue the search. Although Tails wanted to extract information from Eggman's main computer, the entire system was off. The heavy stench of death in the room would've made it difficult to concentrate on the hacking, anyway. Exhausted, the heroes returned home to tell everyone of the Doctor's current... condition.
Being both an agent of G.U.N and a citizen of the Kingdom of Acorn, Rouge was chosen to give the news at a public event. That's where we are now, backstage of said event; it would probably change the future. The bat flew in circles, having a nervous breakdown. In the shadows, red eyes watched her. She stopped when a cold chill ran up her back. She turned around, searching. When she spotted the red eyes, she faced them in a fighting stance, but relaxed when she recognized the being.
"Don't sneak up on me, Shadow, especially before such an important meeting." Rouge breathed. She had never felt this pressured before.
A black hedgehog stepped out of the shadows, closing the door behind him.
"I came in to check on you, and wish you well." Shadow walked up to his friend as she flew down to him. She sighed. "It seems like you need some encouragement," Shadow said, placing a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head away.
"How do you do it Shadow?" Rouge asked. He looked at her confused. "I mean, even now you're so calm about all of this. You act as if it's... just another mission or something." The black hedgehog sighed, taking his hand off.
"Someone needs to keep a level head, but I am just as shocked as the rest of you. This event is... troubling for all of us, not just you. The reason you were chosen to speak is that the government needs this information to be revealed by someone of their own and someone the people will trust. The public does not know Omega that well and... I do not fit either category." Shadow informed. He locked eyes with hers and gave a stern expression. "Do not be nervous. I, as well as the others, will all be behind you." His encouraging words caused Rouge to smile. She hugged him and he returned it, awkwardly. She stepped back and looked up at him, smirking. She then playfully punched his arm.
"Don't go all soft on me, Shads, you're supposed to be as emotionless as a rock!" She joked. Shadow crossed his arms and gave her a smirk, scoffing in the process. Her expression relaxed.
"Seriously though, thank you." She turned to walk away. "Well, I should probably get out there. You coming, Shad?"
"In a minute. You go ahead." She walked away as the hedgehog watched her. Shadow let his mind drift, recalling the day before, each event that had come to pass, the search for the blue hedgehog...
We never completed the search, there could still be evidence that we missed. No. There is evidence that we missed. I'm so foolish... *sigh* I must tell the oth-. . . . . . . no. . . everyone is too focused on this public announcement; I will tell them after. Shadow walked through the same exit Rouge did, keeping a stern expression.
News reporters received an invitation to an important public announcement regarding Dr. Ivo Eggman Robotnik. This was an opportunity for every reporter. So they came from all over the planet to hear the special news. The quad and streets, in front of the Acorn Castle, were crowded with Mobians and people alike; citizens watched the event from their balconies, windows, rooftops or TVs. The queen, Sally Acorn, walked out before the press.
"Good afternoon, Mobians and people of Mobius. As some of you may know, this meeting is regarding a man who has threatened this planet for many, many years. A man called Doctor Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik. Recently, Mobius's hero, Sonic the Hedgehog has been kidnapped by Dr. Robotnic." She hesitantly informed the media. Gasps escaped from the crowd. Sally continued her speech. "A rescue team was sent out a couple nights ago to save Mr. Sonic: Mr. Prower, Ms. Rose, Mr. Knuckles, Mr. Espio, Mr. Shadow and Federal Agent Rouge." the named mobians stood up from their seats as the audience applauded them. When the noise died down they all sat back down except for Rouge. She looked towards Shadow and with a nod, she walked up next to Sally. "Agent Rouge will now give you the details of their mission." Queen Sally backed up and allowed Rouge to take her place by the mics, each on a different channel.
Rouge put on a calm and serious face. "I will skip right to the point. The mission was unsuccessful-" gasps escaped the audience and murmurs were heard. Rouge knew they would start asking questions. "-although we were not able to find Mr. Sonic, Dr. Eggman's lab showed signs of some sort of struggle. However, we also found..." Rouge paused. A dark and gloomy expression was plastered on her face. "... the corpse of Dr. Ivo Eggman Robotnik..." immediately, there were gasps but mostly shrieks of horror, followed by questions.
One beaver asked, "Do you know what happened to Eggman?" Then a human female.
"Did something attack him?"
"what happened to Sonic?"
"Is Sonic also dead?"
"If something killed Eggman, is there now a greater threat?"
"Can you describe to us the probable cause of his death?"
Questions were being asked from all directions, but one stood out from the rest.
"Did Sonic the Hedgehog kill Eggman?" A female voice asked.
All the reporters stopped talking and waited for an answer from Rouge. She hesitated, unsure of how to respond. Before she could speak, Knuckles stood up and stomped over to the mics, despite the others' protests.
"Sonic did not kill Eggman!" The Echidna was furious, "Sonic only defeats Eggman, not violently attack him! 'Sides, the wounds on Eggman show signs that he was torn open by jagged teeth and sharp nails. The best plausible cause of Eggman's death is that some sort of monster attacked both of them but only Sonic survived. Why he hasn't come back, we don't know but what we do know is that he is alive! So don't go spreading idiotic rumors about him!" Knuckles yelled in a fit of rage, shocking the audience into silence. Knuckles huffed and then walked off the stage and left before he could be bombarded with questions.
"Th-that will be all." Rouge hesitantly concluded before sitting down with the rest of the group. Queen Sally walked back up to the mics.
"Uh, Thank you Agent Rouge and... Mr. Knuckles." Sally turned to the bat and then turned back to the reporters. "We will try our best to find Mr. Sonic the Hedgehog and bring him back. Until then, citizens, you can rest easier tonight knowing that Dr. Eggman is no longer a world threat. I thank you all for attending this conference. We will keep you updated on developments." And with that, Queen Sally and the others retreated behind the curtain while reporters anxiously ask questions. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Tails looked towards the queen.
Once behind the curtains, everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Tails looked at the queen.
"I'm sorry for Knuckles's sudden outburst, Sally." Tails apologized to her. Sally just shook her head.
"No, it's alright, Tails. That question shocked us all and you guys are still on edge from the experience." Sally turned to face Rouge. "And thank you for staying strong and agreeing to this, I really do appreciate it." Rouge smiled.
"It's quite alright, your highness," Rouge assured her, receiving a smile back. Suddenly, Silver, Blaze, Cream and Cheese walked in. Sally greeted them.
"Good afternoon," Blaze responded.
"So how did it go?" Silver asked. The group gave him a confused look.
"What do you mean? You were watching weren't you?" Tails asked.
"Yes, we were, but a television can't tell me how you were feeling." Silver responded with a sarcastic yet kind voice.
"Well... it could've gone better in my opinion," Rouge stated and everyone else murmured in agreement. Sally stepped up to the cat and white hedgehog.
"Are you two sure you don't want to be mentioned? After all, you both did go along on the mission." Sally asked them. Blaze brought her hand up in a sense of reassurance.
"It would be better, and easier, if no one knows I am a queen and Silver is from 200 years in the future." Blaze stated. It was true. Even now, Mobians stared at her for just have a jewel on her forehead.
"Very well, I understand." Sally gave in. As one queen to another, she understood the dangers of being out in the open when people knew of your rank in society. That's why she doesn't visit all the little towns like she used to, much to her dislike. Shadow stepped in.
"Excuse me your highness, but I'd like to discuss something, with you and the others, in a more private room." He lowered his voice when he spoke, hinting that it was very important.
"Yes, of course," Sally responded and led them to a secured room that was furnished nicely and had an overview of the city. The door was locked and everyone was seated, but when Shadow began, he was immediately cut off by Amy.
"You are going say that we never finished the mission, aren't you." She asked in a serious tone. Shadow nodded as the others looked confused. Amy looked down at her hands laying tensed in her lap. "Did anyone else notice the red symbols and circles on the ground?" Everyone looked at each other as if asking. Espio spoke up.
"I had noticed them, however, I did not recognize what they were. Do you know?" The chameleon asked in a flat yet questioning tone. Amy lifted her head.
"Unfortunately, yes." She stood up, closed her eyes, and held up her hand, murmuring words of another language. Suddenly, four books appeared on the table. They're titled Demonology I, Demonology II, Dark Spells, and Forbidden Rituals; all of them had multiple markers for the pages. She picked up the Forbidden Rituals book and flipped to one of the many bookmarks. As she did this, Tails hesitantly picked up Demonology II and scanned through each page. Silver used his telekinesis to pick up Demonology I and opened the book to the middle. Although they could not read the letter, the pictures gave some interesting information.
"Amy, where did you get these?" Blaze questioned while peering over Silver's shoulder to see the book.
"I asked my mentor about the symbols, and I guess by the description, she knew what I was talking about right away. So she showed me these though warned me to never use any of the spells, enchantments or summonings. She also gave me a book about encountering these... ah! Here." She placed the book on the table and turned it around to show her friends. They leaned in to look closer at it. "I'm not sure if these are the right books though; I will need to go back to the lab." Everyone looked at each other again and this time Silver spoke.
"Are you sure-"
"Yes, I am sure-" Amy stood up, cutting the hedgehog off. "-but that doesn't mean you have to go with me. I will go alone." With that, she dismissed the books and headed toward the door. Tails quickly stood up.
"Sonic is like a brother to me, so if figuring out those symbols will help us, I'm coming with. I can also gather the files from-uh-the main computer there." He walked to join her at the door and they both turned to face the others.
"I'm sorry, but I will not be available to accompany you. I have an urgent meeting with Vector." Espio replied, then turned to the queen. "Your highness." He said, bowing to the queen, of which she returned with a nod, before exiting the room.
"Sorry guys, Shadow and I have something we need to do first," Rouge stated apologetically. Shadow gave her questioning look, however, she dismissed it with a subtle shake of her head.
"I'm afraid that we cannot stay here any longer; we must return to our own world and time, or risk a disruption in this one." Silver gestured to him and Blaze. Everyone nodded and bid their farewells before Silver and Blaze returned home in a flash of light.
"I'm coming with you!" Cream ran up to them, along with Cheese.
Cream is now 13 years old. A couple years ago she started to go on missions with the rest of her friends as she was of age, and her mother finally agreed. She wears a short dress with ribbons on her ears and a large ribbon around her waist.
"Alright, Cream, let's go." Tails replied with a smile. With that the trio walked out the door, followed by Rouge and Shadow. When they exited the castle, the two groups said goodbye with Shadow and Rouge wishing them good luck.
"I need to gather some things before we go," Amy informed her group.
"Same here, meet me at my workshop and then we'll fly to Eggman's base." Tails proposed, receiving an 'alright' from the pink hedgehog.
"I'll go with Tails." Cream told Amy. Cheese chirped and then followed the rabbit and fox while the hedgehog girl walked the other direction.
Amy walked on with a stern expression on her face. She hoped that she was wrong about those symbols.