Shadow teleported Rouge and Omega via Chaos Control to where the beast was.
The massive wing was lined with aisles like goods at a wholesale store with various sized warheads. The walls had cutesy signs with safety slogans over Eggman's smiling logo:
LOOSE LIPS SINK WARSHIPS
NO EATING OR DRINKING PERMITTED
DO NOT PLAY ON OR AROUND THE AMMUNITION
Lights flickered overhead making it extremely difficult to spot the monster whose size kept fluctuating from the size of a loaf of bread to the height of the ceiling. It left a slimy, winding trail of congealed blood and crude oil and the residue began to dissolve the metal floor ever so slightly.
The trio could see that the creature had no eyes or mouth between shapes and yet it seemed to be aware of its surroundings and able to eat. It was struggling to maintain a form and transformed between the appearances of the robots and the various Mobians that worked in the base.
It seemed to be inspecting the weapons, unsure of what they were. It moved almost silently except for the occasional 'sloshing' noise when it moved and changed shape.
Omega wirelessly connected to the computer servers for the base and scanned the bombs.
"No firearms," Omega chirped as he withdrew his massive guns, "Every bomb in this room is petrol-based and armed. None are nuclear. According to the data this place has been under siege for five days by the beast. The first thing it did was cut every communication method off and trapped them inside."
"Great," Rouge commented, "So it's smart. We have to lead it out of this room or we're all going to be jelly."
"I will be fine," Omega said flatly.
"The witch said brute force doesn't work on these things… I wonder if Chaos energy is effective." Shadow teleported to be in front of the beast. Just as he was going to use a very precisely aimed Chaos spear the monster roared at him and dashed out of the way and toward Rouge.
The bat jumped up and used her screw kick attack on the beast. The creature split itself in half in order to dodge her attack and instead aimed for Omega.
The hulking robot grabbed the two halves of the beast and tried to hold it but the creature dribbled through his hands and turned to attack Rouge. Shadow teleported in front of Rouge and used a Chaos spear on the beast and nearly missed. The golden electricity that came from the hedgehog's hand crackled in the air leaving the distinctive smell of ozone behind as it hit the gooey creature.
The creature howled in pain and tried to get away but to no avail. Shadow shot it again and again with Chaos energy until it finally collapsed into a disgusting puddle of slime.
Omega looked at his arms and saw the metal was slightly sizzling, "Eggman. The threat is neutralized," then he saw the ooze was only playing dead. It inched slowly toward Shadow's metal shoes and began to eat away at the metal soles.
"Omega? The beast is dead?" Dr. Eggman spoke from his gauntlet to the robot.
"Down, Shadow!" Omega saw the beast move and instinctively fired a small rocket at it. The projectile ricocheted as the beast dodged it and hit one of the smaller bombs. The resulting explosion was relatively small however one bomb lit up another and the chain reaction set off the sprinkler system above which tried to douse the fire but to no avail.
"Omega!" Rouge shouted, "This whole place is gonna blow!"
"Seriously?!" Shadow was bewildered at the recklessness.
"I panicked." Omega explained.
"We're reading a massive temperature spike in your area," Hope shouted into her headset. The ship was scanning the base and feeding the data back to her computers, "What's going on down there?"
"Technical difficulties," Omega responded to Hope as Team Dark was fleeing from the bomb room, "Target is neutralized. Scanning for survivors now… Orbot reports there is a cluster of people in the lowest level."
The trio had left the creature in the room to burn to death. More and more bombs started going off shaking the premises.
"You two go find the others and get the hell out of here. I'm going to get the survivors out." Shadow teleported to the basement and found dozens of weakened Egg army soldiers crowded behind a barricaded door. They were all emaciated and dehydrated from being trapped there for days. He grabbed them five at a time and deposited them outside where Sonic's friends were waiting.
Sonic skipped over the junked robots and zigzagged between corpses checking for life on the ones that were less obviously decayed. He thought he heard something moved and ran to the uniformed body of a cat Mobian. He bent down and gently rolled the body over and saw that it no longer had a face. Exposed bone was all that was left. Sonic shrieked. He was going to have nightmares for months.
Just one survivor was all Sonic wanted to find. One.
The hedgehog backed up into the wall with his hands pressed flat against it and shut his eyes. He took several shuddering breaths before he regained his composure, or so he thought.
Eggman was struggling to keep up, his body was fighting him on exerting itself. "Sonic?" He turned to the corpse and winced, kicking it over with the toe of his boot so the rotted face was no longer visible to them. "Ugh."
"I thought they were alive," Sonic's forehead was damp with sweat, "I thought they were alive… I've never seen a corpse like that before."
Sheptilah gently cupped Sonic's cheeks with her hands, "It's okay," she stroked his face with her thumbs. "You're okay. There's nothing you can do for a dead body. It's okay. A dead body can't hurt you."
"I know but..." He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. "I thought they were alive and … ugh."
"Yeah," Tilly said sympathetically. "The witch-eaters do that. I can send you back home if you can't do this."
"I can do this! I have to do this. I just got spooked, that's all."
Sonic's breath hitched trying to stifle sobs. Normally he wouldn't dare allow anyone, especially Eggman, see him so shaken but in this extreme situation there was no shame in it.
Ivo groaned and looked upon the hedgehog with pity. "Shake it off, Sonic! We're on a time limit here."
Sheptilah shot him a glare while Sonic looked up at the overlander with wide, exhausted eyes.
"He's just a kid, you jerk." She frowned.
"What? We have a mission to do." Ivo shrugged.
"He's right; we have living people to save." Sonic swallowed hard and lifted himself from the wall. He shook off the tension, making his spikes rattle against themselves.
"Go straight and then take a left down that hallway, that's where Thunderbolt's vent is according to Orbot's map. Take Sheptilah with you."
"How am I supposed to keep up wi- AH!" She was startled when Sonic simply picked her up and ran with her in his arms as per Eggman's directions. "You are a lot brawnier than you look, kid!"
"I'm just full of surprises!" He turned to find a door that was shut and set Sheptilah down on her feet.
"How are we getting in?" Sheptilah felt around for a key or a button that would let them in.
"Watch it," Sonic nudged her out of the way and turned into his spin-dash form and ripped a small jagged hole in the thin metal door. Sonic unfurled and stepped inside after Sheptilah squeezed in but lightly scraped her arm on a sharp edge. The pain was searing all up her arm due to the metal allergy but she did not bring attention to this as it was a minor cut.
"Thunderbolt?" Sonic called, "Thunderbolt!?" It was a smaller room meant to store office supplies. Many of the boxes were turned over revealing their contents: light bulbs, duct tape and paper towels were the most common items. A haphazard pile of crates leading up to a wall vent in the corner had small hand prints stained with blood showed Thunderbolt climbed them not that long ago.
Fresher blood stains covered older, flaky ones on the wall under the vent's opening.
Sonic jumped up and ripped the vent cover off the wall and climbed inside. It was a tight squeeze but he was able to flatten his spines enough to fit in.
"Is she in there?" Sheptilah called. She took off the glamour hiding her absurdly long hair in preparation of healing the wounded Mobian.
"There's a blood trail, it leads further down. I think I can hear her breathing." Sonic was crawling on his elbows and knees now and squinting in the darkness.
"S.. Sonic?" A very quiet voice spoke, "I'm here." It was almost heartbreaking for Sonic to hear the very feisty chinchilla barely able to even whisper. Then again, she did try to kill him and his friends a few times, so maybe she deserved this. No, he shook that thought from his mind, nobody deserves this.
"I'm coming!" Sonic turned a corner and found Thunderbolt lying on her back. Her cybernetics were destroyed and her normally extremely soft fur was caked in blood. Her nose and mouth were leaking a slightly pink foam. She was definitely drowning in her own blood. Slowly.
"No," she wheezed, "Why you ?"
Sonic looked down at her and saw she had a proportionately deep cut in her torso.
"God, oh God, oh God," he was started to panic. He spoke into his wrist communicator hailing for his friends waiting outside.
"Guys?"
"Sonic!" they all shouted in unison.
"Wh- what do I do if someone… if their insides are outside but they're not dead?" His voice was shaky.
"What?" Amy's face contorted with horror, "Who is hurt?"
"It's Thunderbolt," he swallowed hard.
"How much of her inside is outside?" Sticks spoke. Her years in the jungle made her somewhat of an expert in on-the-fly medical care.
"Just… I see a bit of bone; maybe a rib? It's across her torso." He felt queasy.
"T- tie your bandana around her torso and carry her to the witch." Tails tried to be as calm as possible when giving first aid directions but his voice was cracking.
"Okay… okay," he took off his bandana and gingerly tied it around Thunderbolt's stomach. "I'm gonna pick you up, okay? I am getting you out of here, T.B."
"Sonic?" Sheptilah's voice echoed, "Are you okay?"
"She's alive! I'm coming." He called back to her.
"Don't touch me," Thunderbolt spat, "I'm proud to die for Eggman." She weakly coughed between words.
"He's here; he came for you." He gently tucked her in his arm and prepared to turn around to crawl back to Sheptilah.
"Take me to him," she shut her eyes and welcomed death. She would never admit it but she was grateful to be laying against Sonic's soft fur.
Sonic tried to turn around but found he couldn't. He was too tall to simply turn and his barbs wouldn't let him crawl backwards out of the vent. Sonic tried to push through the pain but the sheer agony of his spines being pulled out of their roots was like fire burning each and every nerve ending he had.
"Sheptilah, I'm stuck! I have to keep crawling forward. Meet me at the other opening."
"Where?" She was more lost than he was.
"Just follow my voice!" Sonic crawled forward on his knees and elbow and held tightly to Thunderbolt. He could see the light coming in from the nearest vent opening and moved as fast as he could toward it. His sensitive nose also picked up the faint smell of bleach.
Eggman finally caught up to Sheptilah and helped her out of the hole Sonic cut in the door. That was when the whole building rattled.
"What was that?" Eggman spoke into his gauntlet.
"I set off some bombs," Omega responded.
"The creature is neutralized. I'm collecting survivors now. Some were hiding in a basement, it's about thirty people." Shadow's voice was almost a comfort to Eggman, "But the bombs are still going off. You need to get out now."
"Sonic's got Thunderbolt and he's moving forward to the next vent opening. Where is that?" The witch's hands were shaking.
"This way," he led her to the next room down the long hallway which was a public unisex bathroom. The walls were tiled a pristine white and the floors were shiny and black with inlaid glittery specks. It was like walking on outer space itself.
There was no door to this room- instead zigzagging partitions offered privacy when entering.
Sonic stuck his fingers through the vent opening above the sinks trying to push it open but he couldn't get the leverage.
"I can't get it open," the hedgehog shouted.
"Stop shouting! I see you. Hold on," Eggman leaned his gun against the wall, reached up and ripped the cover off almost effortlessly. He threw the grate down with a metallic clang that hurt Sheptilah's ears. He held his hand up so he could take Thunderbolt and so Sonic could get out. Eggman handed off the chinchilla to Sheptilah who looked over the little yellow puff with pity.
"Eggman, I am never going to complain about fighting your robots again." Sonic stuck his head out and was trying to figure out how to get down. Ivo grabbed the hedgehog by the underarms and pulled him out and set him down gently on the floor. Sonic threw the human a thumbs-up as thanks.
The witch wrapped her hair around Thunderbolt's tiny body and concentrated hard. It's one thing to heal little cuts but it's another to repair entire organs. The chinchilla shivered from the ice cold sensation of the magic and opened her eyes. When things came into focus she saw the violet-eyed woman staring down at her with her lips in a thin frown.
"Am I dead?" Thunderbolt wondered, "This doesn't look like the underworld…"
"Thunderbolt?" Eggman gently poked the little rodent on the forehead.
"Am I in heaven?" the chinchilla's face flushed until she saw Sonic. "Never mind, I'm alive."
"You gave us a scare," the blue hedgehog put a hand on Sheptilah's shoulder, "This witch saved you." The building rumbled again, this time it was louder.
"Is she related to Regina?" Thunderbolt was asking about Snively's former lover and techno witch the Iron Queen. She squirmed in Tilly's arms when another rumble went off.
"No, I'll explain later." Eggman said, "It's time to go."
"What's the fastest way out of here?" Sonic was bouncing on the balls of his feet. They were deep in the building and the rumbling got louder and the quakes shook the building enough that it nearly knocked them over.
"I hear voices," Rouge spoke from outside and poked her head into the bathroom, "Hey!"
"Rouge!" Tilly smiled, "You're okay!"
"I'm tough as diamonds, sweetheart," she winked.
Omega led them out of the base through the most direct route which incidentally was blowing a giant hole through the walls with Eggman's laser gun. Even the thickest steel walls melted away like butter under its blasts. Omega silently made a note to steal that gun for himself when the doctor wasn't looking.
The man was becoming exhausted now and found it very difficult to go on. With every labored breath his muscles burned. Tilly took his hand and gave him a magical boost so he wouldn't collapse from exertion. It was like drinking four espressos at once!
Thunderbolt was scandalized that some hussy touched her beloved overlord. The ferocious chinchilla decided, however, she'd hold onto her anger for later use when she could exact revenge.
Finally everyone who wasn't dead or destroyed was out of the building. Sheptilah set down Thunderbolt and began to tend to the survivors who were grateful that a rescue came at all. The ends of her hair were stained pink from all of the bloody wounds she healed with it.
Sonic's friends immediately group hugged him and happy that he was okay. Amy showered Sonic's cheeks with rapid fire kisses.
All of his emotions poured out and he began to cry from relief. His tears causes his friends to sob in return and soon they were all a pile of wet cheeks, choked laughs and pained smiles.
"Don't cry, faker," Shadow approached the group, "You did well today." Shadow's praises made Sonic sob harder but the ebony hedgehog couldn't quite place why. He felt pity for Sonic and his friends for having to see those horrors.
"Get in here, buddy!" With a swipe of Knuckles' muscular arm Shadow was drawn into the hug and loved against his will.
"Ack! Knuckles!" Sonic cried out, "We love you too, man, but you are making it hard to breathe!"
Rouge giggled and snapped a photo of this to tease Shadow with from now until the heat death of the Universe.
Knuckles felt satisfied and let them all go. He approached Rouge to talk but chickened out and went back to Tails to discuss how they were getting home.
Tails went up to Sheptilah and sheepishly asked her if she could open up another portal to let them go home.
"Absolutely," she looked around, "I just need to find a quiet place to do it."
Thunderbolt looked on at the commotion with hatred in her heart. How dare Eggman threaten to leave her to die and how dare he send Sonic and some woman to save her? She was disgusted and humiliated. She took off Sonic's bandanna and threw it on the ground, digging her heel into it.
Eggman saw this and approached the chinchilla. "Omega told me that you survived in there with that thing for five days," Eggman looked down at the angry Mobian, "You're an excellent addition to my army."
All of her fire instantly melted away, "Really?"
Eggman nodded. Thunderbolt nearly jumped three feet into the air from excitement.
"President Tower is sending emergency vehicles to pick up the survivors," Hope spoke with relief in her voice, "He wants everyone moving as far away from the building as possible."
"Understood," Rouge said, "Anything else?"
"He wants you to bring Sheptilah, Thunderbolt and Eggman back with you immediately for questioning." Hope remotely lowered the plane so that Omega could board.
"Do you want Sonic, too? He helped us directly." Rouge asked.
"Hold on…" a pause and then, "Tower says yes." Hope confirmed.
"Team Dark, you're ordered to come back to base with Dr. Eggman, Thunderbolt, Sheptilah and Sonic the hedgehog immediately," President Tower spoke into their communicators.
Just then the emergency vehicles had warped in overhead and hovered close to the ground to load in the survivors to be taken to the hospital wing at G.U.N.'s fortress. The displacement of air was greater this time and sent the bulk of the people standing on the ground flying a few feet back.
Rouge and Shadow escorted Eggman and Thunderbolt onto the plane first and Shadow stayed behind to make sure they wouldn't get up to anything troublesome. Shadow had immediately confiscated the laser gun and handed it to Omega for safekeeping. If the robot could smile he would grin from ear to ear. What a great day!
Rouge went up to Sonic's friends and Sheptilah to get them going as well.
Eggman sat with Thunderbolt in his arms and she couldn't have been any happier. She was almost purring.
"Wait, hold on," Sheptilah had trouble lifting her wounded arm but managed to open a small portal for the Mobians to return to Seaside Island.
"Thank you, miss!" Tails said as he hopped in. He was followed by Amy, Sticks and Knuckles after saying their goodbyes to Sonic.
"Don't let them make you lick any stamps, Sonic," Sticks warned.
Sheptilah closed the portal and nodded to Rouge that she was ready to go back to the G.U.N. fortress.
