Author's Note: In this chapter, I finally reveal who Amy's new love interest is!
Chapter Eight
Crystal Tears
"Sonic, what do you mean Eggman's attacking? I thought the shield around the city kept him out!"
"Not anymore! Eggman somehow managed to destroy it!" Sonic had reached the castle and let go of Tails and Mina. All around them, people were filing into the castle, some calmly, others in terror. There was a great explosion as a bomb went somewhere behind them.
"Thank goodness you're alright!" Sally had come out of the castle. "Eggman brought his entire army fleet! The Freedom Fighters alone can't stand against him, so I called help from Angel Island and GUN."
"Better get help than turn to road kill, I suppose," said Sonic. "Tails, I'll head out and find Eggman. You can aerial attack these guys, okay?"
"Got it!" said Tails. Sonic sped off. As Tails was about to turn and go, he felt someone grab his arm. It was Mina.
"Tails, I don't see my mom or Ash anywhere!" said Mina, her face full of worry and fear.
"I'm sure they'll turn up, Mina," said Tails.
"But what if they don't turn up? What if something happened to them? Tails, you have to find them! Please!" Tears ran down Mina's face. They shined like crystals. Tails couldn't stand seeing those tears.
"Alright. I'll find them."
"Thank you, Tails!" Mina hugged Tails, the tears still running. When she finally let go, Tails went of to search for Ash and Mina's mother.
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Tails ran towards the direction of Mina's house. Here and there, he saw the ground torn up from the explosions, fallen houses, and a few of Eggman's robots. Tails sometimes had to hide behind a house so that the robots wouldn't see him. He couldn't waste his energy fighting them. As he neared the place where Mina's house was, an unseen bomb went off right next to him. Tails fell to the ground, coughing. The smoke from the explosion blocked his vision.
"Tails! Are you alright?" As the smoke began to clear away, Tails saw someone standing in front of him. It was Mina's mother, Isabella. She was with a couple of children.
"Isabella! I've been looking for you!" said Tails as he stood up. "You have to get to the castle! Mina's worried about you!"
"Mina's in the castle?" asked Isabella, looking relieved. "Oh, thank the stars! I was worried she had gotten hurt!" Tails, Isabella, and the children headed towards the direction of the castle. Suddenly, there was a gunshot. Tails felt immense pain in his arm. One of Eggman's robots, carrying a gun, appeared in front of them.
"Halt, in the name of Lord Robotnik!" said the robot as it pointed its gun at them. "You are ordered to get on a battleship and be roboticized!" The children began to cry. Isabella comforted them while glaring at the robot as if that could somehow make it go away. Tails looked at his bleeding arm and realized that he was useless at the moment.
Is this really how it's going to end? Suddenly, there was a flash of light and the robot crumpled to pieces. In its place stood a black hedgehog.
"Shadow!" Shadow looked down at Tails.
"That wound on your arm looks pretty bad," said the hedgehog. He then turned his gaze onto Isabella and the still crying children. "They with you?" Tails nodded.
"Is GUN already here?"
"No, it's just me. What, were you expecting them?"
"Yeah, we called them for help. Wait, if you didn't know that GUN is supposed to be here, then why are you here?"
"I have a friend living here. I was worried, you see."
"A friend? Who-?"
"Sorry to interrupt," said Isabella, "but aren't we supposed to be heading towards the castle?"
"Oh yeah! Sorry, Isabella!" Tails, Shadow, Isabella, and the children started walking. Because of Tails' wounded arm, Shadow had to take out any robot that was in their way. While they walked, Tails kept his eyes peeled for any signs of Ash. None. Where was that stubborn mongoose? Soon, they arrived at the entrance of the castle. Mina was waiting for them.
"Mom!" Mina ran towards her mother and hugged her.
"Oh, Mina! I was so worried!"
"I'm so glad to see you, but where's Ash?"
"I don't know, honey. I didn't see him anywhere." Mina turned her gaze onto Tails. Her eyes were full of disappointment and tears. Tails looked away from her, ashamed that he had failed her.
"Come on, Mina. Let's get the children inside," said Isabella. Mina nodded solemnly and herded the children into the castle. Tails sighed.
"Something wrong?" asked Shadow.
"It's nothing," replied Tails. The two went inside. The hallway was rather crowded, filled with the noises of children crying and adults whispering. Dr. Quack had just come out of one of the doors.
"I need more bandages! Some of my patients are bleeding badly! I'll also need—Tails! What on Mobius happened to you!?" Dr. Quack had spotted Tails and his bleeding arm. Tails went up to him.
"Got shot by a robot," said Tails, holding up his arm. "Is it serious?" Dr. Quack examined it.
"No, nothing serious," said the doctor finally. "But we need to clean it up right away to avoid infection. Come with me!"
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"How's your arm, Tails?"
"Still stings, but not much." Tails looked around the room. Many people were lying in beds with bandages on them. Some were awake and looked fine, some were sleeping and didn't look okay. Tails couldn't believe that so many people were injured. The door opened and in came Sonic and Amy.
"Hey, Tails! Isabella told me you hurt your arm. How are you-?" Sonic stopped when he saw Shadow. "You! What are you doing here, Faker?!"
"Is that anyway to thank someone who had just saved your friend's life?" asked Shadow. Sonic glared at him.
"I'm so glad you're here, Shadow!" said Amy as she walked up to the black hedgehog and hugged him.
"Long time, no see, Amy," said Shadow smiling. As Tails watched the two, something occurred to him.
"Wait a minute! Amy, that guy you were talking about…it…its Shadow?!"
"Bingo!" said Amy, winking at Tails. Tails stood there, completely shocked. How the heck did that happen?!
"What? You told them about our relationship?" asked Shadow.
"Not really," said Amy. Sonic continued to glare at Shadow. At the word relationship, Tails remembered Mina's upset face when he turned up without Ash. Tails opened the door and went out.
"Where are you going, Tails?" asked Sonic, who had finally stopped glaring at Shadow.
"I'm going to find Ash!"
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Author's Note: Right, so how many of you guessed that it was Shadow? Speak up, please! Tails is off to find Ash! What's going to happen? Find out in the next chapter!
