Team Chaotix – On the News

Chapter 8 – One Chance

Jet the Hawk came flying back onto the scene. Storm was down, Omega was already conquered, and Wave was out, as well. He was all that was left, now! At least that stupid echidna was out of the way.

He soared through the sky, watching Vector, Bark, Bean, and Charmy get together. He smiled broadly. The hawk came down down from over atop from behind the building, smashing his gear into the four of them. Every last one of them, save for Charmy, collapsed onto the ground. Charmy had quickly flown out of the way, but was unable to get the message to the others.

Shadow quickly jumped back over from across the alleyway, quickly rushing over to them. Vector sat up, rubbing his head. "Yow, I've never had such a headache before," he proclaimed.

Charmy looked up, pointing with his finger. "Watch out, here he comes again!" the bee called out.

Bean and Bark dived right, Vector and Shadow dived left, and Charmy simply flew out of the way. Shadow gritted his teeth.

Bark pushed himself. "It seems that he hasn't given up yet. All of his comrades have been defeated, but he's still persistent."

Vector nodded in reply. "He must want to keep Hannah all for himself. That was clearly obvious to me. He didn't care about the money, Jet just wanted the girl."

Shadow slammed his right fist into the palm of his left hand. "Well, then, we'd best finish him off."

The hedgehog turned to Bean, whom was still on the ground, and then Charmy, whom was hovering in the air. "You two distract him," he stated. Shadow then turned to Vector and Bark. "You two, defend me while I try and reprogram Omega, again. He'll be our ticket out of here."

Vector chuckled, putting a thumb up. "That sounds like a great plan," he stated.

Shadow nodded. He began to move swiftly, but then, two figures ran out in front of them. Wait a second, wasn't that Wave?!

The swallow rushed forward, Espio tailing behind. She watched her leader come back down. "Jet, get down here right now!" she lashed out, angrily. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Jet lowered himself down, evening himself with the rooftop. "What has gotten into you? I thought we all agreed on this together," he proclaimed.

Wave snarled. "Jet, this was never about the money. You never wanted it, and at this point, I could care less if we ever get it. Right now, you must realize that this is wrong. We were only helping to further his cause, his agenda. Do you even know what he had done in the past?!"

The female bird paused for a moment, allowing Jet to think over what was said. Then, she answered without him being able to reply. "That guy is a murderer! He ordered the killing of his own wife because she 'knew' too much. You always jump into things without even knowing the details! Our previous employer was even the one that--"

Vector stared ahead in disbelief. "It's all come together now!" he yelled out loud.

Everyone glared at him, surprised and bewildered. The crocodile grinned slyly. "I've figured out the case," he stated.

XXXXX

Barrington's wife must have stumbled upon some information about his dealings. Somehow, some way, she managed to get hold of the information. When learning of this, Barrington took drastic actions. Learning of a well-kept, yet very secret mercenary, he decided to assign him as an assassin. Wave's final statement seems to state exactly what I'm saying—Ultima was the mercenary assigned to the task.

After a successful mission, he took the body into the mountains and disposed of it—taking her into a cave and tossing her into the lava flow inside Mt. Sahara, near the Mystic Ruins area. The echidna Flame must've somehow ended up there at the exact same time that Ultima was inside. Learning of this, he attacked, but collapsed in the forest a few miles away.

Ultima quickly found out about Charmy's finding and GUN's information on the case. For this reasoning, he hired the Babylon Rogues to take us out. However, we overcame them and found his base—containing stolen GUN technology. Ultima escaped.

Having blown his cover, he begrudgingly returned to Future City. At the same time, Flame had escaped to Future City, as well. Hannah found out about the echidna's dealings, and started to bash him on live T.V. This led to a whole new set of problems, as now Flame had been subject to the press, and Ultima was already known about the dealings in the United Federation.

When Barrington learned of the news, he went and hired the Rogues himself, having them kidnap Hannah to get her out of the way. Jet's little romancy situation may have led somewhat into it, as well. The high payment alone, though, was enough to get them to take the job.

Hannah was captured, and expected to either be killed or never released, leaving Flame completely out of the picture. Now that no eyes were on him, anymore, taking him out would be all the easier. With Flame gone, and the only witness to him—Hannah—also gone, then no one would even notice his absence, as no one even knew he was there. Barrington's plot was set.

XXXXX

Shadow clapped his hands together. "Bravo. You solved the case," he proclaimed. Then, motioning towards Jet, he added, "So, now what are we going to do with them?"

Wave glanced back at Shadow, sighing. "You guys leave everything to me. I'm through with this, anyway."

Jet gritted his teeth, curling his hand into a tight fist. "NO!" he yelled out.

The hawk quickly darted forward. He slammed the bottom of his board into Wave, knocking her back through the air. Espio immediately caught her by the arms and the two watched Jet soar ahead.

Across the street, Knuckles slipped one arm under Rouge's neck. He then took his other arm and slipped it under her leg, right below the knees. He turned back to the street and repositioned himself, slipped the bat over his shoulder. Now ready, he pushed himself off, trying his best to glide back across with the extra weight.

His right hand forward, the echidna slammed into the third floor of the Dynasty hotel. He hung from the wall, Rouge barely staying over his shoulder. Not giving up, the echidna lifted his left hand up. He dug it into the wall, and then used his right hand. After a few rotations, he finally placed his right hand on the rooftop.

Knuckles pulled his head up over the top, and then…

The echidna was instantly slammed in the face.

His body turned backwards in midair, quickly ending up in a downward dive, headfirst into the ground.

The echidna shook his head, then quickly saw Rouge just below him. She was falling. She did not scream. She did not try to even move. Could she already be…?

He narrowed his eyes. No, it wasn't true!

Knuckles put his fists toward the ground. The cars below stopped, and onlookers watched as the two plummeted to their doom.

Going into a dive, Knuckles sped up. He approached Rouge, grabbing her as he fell. Then, he let his dreadlocks flow. Immediately they caught the airflow, allowing the echidna to land safely upon the ground.

Jet grimaced at the echidna's safe landing. He looked back at the rooftop. Shadow, Bean, Bark, Vector, Charmy, Wave, and Espio, in that order from right to left, lined up along the edge. Wave aimed her finger at him. "This is over, Jet!" she yelled out.

Jet snarled. 'I will not be beaten! My dreams shall come--'

A figure descended in the distant. Orange in color and female, she floated down safely. Seeing the group their, she suddenly realized that something must be going on. She descended feet first toward the rooftop. Jet grinned, slyly.

He immediately darted forward. Everyone turned around to see what he was looking at, only to find…

Jet grabbed Tikal out of the middle of the air. He turned around and jumped onto the roof, whipping out a knife and holding it to her throat. "Stand back or she dies!"

Wave snarled. "Jet, let her go! This isn't like you. What the hell are you thinking?!"

Jet chuckled, which then turned into a loud cackle. "I'm thinking exactly what I've been thinking. My dreams shall finally come true! Now, if you guys don't back off, then the little girl feels my little blade in her throat."

Vector sighed. He stepped to the left. Bark himself then stepped to the right, leaving an open passageway for the hawk to get through.

He smiled. "Thanks," he stated. Whispering into Tikal's ear, Jet said something else. "Now come on little girl, we're going for a ride."

Shadow narrowed his eyes. He couldn't just let this happen! Jet was going to get away, and with Tikal as a hostage. He stared at the girl, and she stared at him. Instantly, she changed. Light blue clothes, flowing golden hair, deep blue eyes…

'Save her, Shadow…' the voice echoed.

Jet cackled, staring over each of the six people before him. Wave, Espio, Charmy, and Vector were on the right. They kept to the side, with Bean and Bark on the left, allowing an open passageway. "I thank you all for this pleasant endeavor. Now, though, I must be on my way."

The hawk kicked his gear up in the air with his foot then jumped on it. He put the knife away, but kept a steady grip around Tikal. 'This girl will be my ticket to getting Hannah back!' he told himself.

Jet leaned forward, but then suddenly collapsed. He fell face first into the ground, and the others quickly rushed forward. Vector stood in front of him, and the hawk backed away in fear. Something worse was about, though. The crocodile was no longer a threat at all.

He crawled backwards along the ground in a crab-like fashion. "Wave, please, you must understand!" he proclaimed.

Wave was furious. She slammed her foot into Jet's right hand, causing him to cry out in pain. He put his hands out in front of him. "Mercy, mercy!" he cried.

The swallow placed her hands on her hips. "Mercy? Hah! You don't deserve mercy. You threatened to kill someone! What you need is a little time in your room, that's what you need. Why, if your father was here, you'd be in serious trouble!"

Vector and Charmy laughed out loud. "Hah, well, it seems that this case is finished. Now I just need to report the remaining finds back to that Janelle character, and we can be on our way."

Espio walked up alongside Vector to the left, nodding his head. That wasn't what he was thinking about, though. He glanced at Wave and smiled.

Wave heard the chameleon walking up behind, and she turned around. She smiled back, getting stares from Jet, Vector, and Charmy. She approached him. "Uh, hey, er…"

"Espio," the chameleon stated.

Wave cheeks turned red. She glanced away, but quickly regained her cool. "Uh, Espio… would… would you mind if we got together sometime?"

Charmy hovered around in from of Vector, staring at the two. Finally, he burst into laughter. "Ahahaha, Espio's got a girlfriend, Espio's got a--"

The bees laughing and giggling turned into mumbling. Vector slapped his hand across Charmy's mouth. He glanced at Espio, smiling and giving him a thumbs up.

Espio turned back to Wave. "Actually, I wouldn't mind that," he stated.

Shadow carefully placed the echidna girl back onto the ground. He had transported behind Jet and grabbed Tikal, then slammed him into the ground. She was glad to be out of harm's way, now. Despite her sudden appearance, the black hedgehog did not question why she was here. She had her own reasons, he decided.

The echidna girl glanced back at him. Truthfully, she felt… comfortable around him. The black hedgehog merely watched Wave and Espio's little chat, and also Jet's sudden change of mind after seeing them that way. He merely crossed his arms and turned away.

Tikal rushed after him. "What are you doing?" she asked.

The hedgehog walked to the corner of the rooftop, returning to where he left off before. The girl's stubborn persistence annoyed him, but he let her tag along. "I'm trying to get Omega back online," he stated.

She looked up in surprise upon seeing Shadow get behind a large robot. He flipped open a small compartment and pressed a few… things. After a short bit, a noise erupted from the android. Omega's eyes lit up, and Shadow shut the compartment again.

He glanced at the robot. "How you feeling, Omega?"

"Where am I?" the robot asked.

"You are right where you were," Shadow stated. "Somehow Wave managed to gain access to an override code, taking complete control over you. I've now deleted it and also all access to the code. No one should be able to hack into your systems by that method again."

Omega lifted himself up, then turned to his right. There, he saw the most peculiar creature.

Tikal backed up in surprise as the thing, known as a 'robot,' lifted its claw up and pointed at her. "Who is she?" the robot asked.

Shadow turned to the echidna princess, and immediately his face turned red. 'What am I doing?!' he asked himself.

The roof door slammed open, and Knuckles walked out. Hanging onto his shoulder, Rouge carefully limped her way along the ground. She dashed over and caught her, and suddenly Tikal's heart emptied. Wait, what…? Shouldn't she be happen that Knuckles was alright? What was going on here?

Despite her feelings, she rushed over to the echidna. "Knuckles, you're okay!" she proclaimed.

The echidna shrugged his shoulders in bewilderment. "Tikal, what are you doing here?" he asked.

She smiled. "The exact same reason you are—following my heart."

Tikal glanced over to the left, staring at the black hedgehog. Knuckles watched where she was looking, and suddenly came to the strangest conclusion he ever thought he'd find.

Bean patted his friend on the back. "Oh, don't you just love happy endings?" he asked.

Bark glared at him. He pushed the duck away. "The only happy ending I'll ever find is getting away from you!"

Storm landed next to Jet, glancing around. "Oh, is it over?" he asked.

Jet slapped his hand across his forehead. "Oh, just shut up!"

The albatross glanced over at Wave, curiously. "What's up with her?" he asked.

The hawk stared at her in disbelief. Instantly, Hannah was the last thing on his mind. 'So, they've got it in for each other, 'eh? No matter, I'll just win her myself,' he told himself.

Jet jumped to his feet. "Storm, Wave, let's get going. We've got treasure to find!"

Wave nodded. She gripped Espio's wrist tightly, then allowed it to slip out of her hands. She ran over and grabbed her gear, then joined back with the other two. "No more mysterious clients?" she asked.

Jet nodded. "Nope. The Rogues are back to thieving! I'm tired of these masquerades myself."

The three of them shot away, but glanced back at the others down below. He glared at Espio, but nodded back at Vector. 'You guys haven't seen the last of me. I promise you, I'll be back!' he stated in his mind.

The three of them raced off into the horizon, leaving the city and everything else behind.

XXXXX

Flame stared at the eagle in bewilderment. "What in the world are you doing here?!" he called out.

Hannah turned and glanced up at him. Her feathers were a light brown color, tinted slightly with a golden color. Around her head, Hannah's feathers frilled at the edges, but seeped further down around the back. Her feathers around her head all frilled downward, as well, styled as normal hair. Hanging from these at the sides of her head, two jeweled chains hung. Both contained first a small ruby, then at the bottom, a slightly larger diamond.

Hannah had deep, green eyes, an obvious orange beak as all birds did, but also a pair of glass covering her eyes. Clearly her eyesight wasn't as well as it should. Her clothes draped over her body loosely, but still tight enough to keep them from falling. They were a light orangish-tan color. Her shirt sleeves draped over her hands in a baggy fashion, with her pant legs doing the same.

The eagle girl raised an eyebrow. "Ah, Flame, I presume. You look rather stunning today. Or, well, perhaps I should say 'stunned,'" she proclaimed, laughing out at that last part.

Flame gritted his teeth. "But you were held captured by--"

"Those three fools…?" Hannah interrupted, completing his statement for him. "Well, what do you think I did? I escaped. Now if you'll excuse me, I really must be going. You're just lucky I heard about this in time. I never really liked you much in the first placed, but hey, I couldn't just let you get yourself killed, right?"

Flame sneered, but a noise put him off. Both of them glanced back, seeing Ultima push himself up. He immediately aimed his pistol at Hannah, but whipping out a dagger and poising it at Flame. "Don't move an inch," he stated.

Hannah opened her eyes wide. Well, so much for that. She left the frying pan but leaped directly in to the fire.

Ultima stepped forward, kicking the board aside. "Now," he stated, "I've got you both right where I want you. I knew that those foolish thieves couldn't keep you under lock and key. I can now turn both your heads in and reap my reward."

Flame grimaced. This didn't look good. He grasped his fist tightly. Then, though, his had began to feel hot. What…? No way! Was his anger causing it? He let it lay back down, and the flames dissipated.

The mercenary suddenly stopped. He lifted his head into the air. "What's this?" he asked.

Hannah glanced up in surprise. "What's what?"

Ultima sniffed the air. He turned back to the reporter. "You truly cannot smell that? This disgusting odor? Surely you jest. It smells to me liking burning sulfur, yet there's nothing around." He sniffed the air again. Something didn't feel right here.

He nodded to himself. "This smell reminds me of something. I truly hate heat, but I had do something. One of the mountains east of here is an active volcano. It's not very large, but it is filled with such intense heat…" Ultima slowly turned his head from Hannah over to Flame. He finished his statement by saying, "…and, of course, such smells."

Hannah swung her head over to Flame. "What in the world is he talking about?" she asked.

Ultima watched Flame get tense. He slowly approached. "Oh yes, of course! I now know the whole truth. You must've plucked that blade out of that chamber. I noticed it early, but never found anything significant. However, the intense heat caused by the friction in removing it, mixed with the minerals used to create that blade, it distorted time, sending you into the distant future. When you came out, the heat signatures merged with you due to the mineral, cursing you with your flames. It makes so much sense, now."

Flame couldn't take it anymore. His blood boiled, and his anger lashed out. He dashed forward, slicing his sword down upon the mercenary. Ultima dodged, kicking the echidna to the ground. Flame sliced his sword across, and as he did so, a beam shot out. Ultima ducked to the side, shooting his weapon at the echidna's leg.

"Ah, so you've only just proven it to me," he stated. "Your blade is created of a mineral named 'vulcan.' This mineral is commonly used in various weaponry, but never had such an extravagant usage before. Or, at least, what we know of recorded history. The makers of that blade must've known that the mineral is powerful, but they probably didn't know just how powerful it was. Such a thing can easily be recreated through modern technology quite easily."

Hannah stared at the hedgehog in surprise. "How do you know all of this?!" she cried out.

Ultima turned back to her. "Why, of course, young lady. I know everything. I especially know a lot about this weaponry, for GUN is a heavy developer of vulcanized weapons. I should know this, for after all, I did work for them."

Hannah backed away in surprise after hearing this stunning statement. Could GUN have actually hired such a fiend?! Why would they do that, though, weren't they the protectors?

Suddenly, she fell into even greater surprise. Ultima was suddenly shot into the wall by a blast of fire. She glanced over and noticed Flame standing up. His legs were doused in fire, as were his hands. The echidna's eyes showed fire within them. He dashed across the alley and grabbed the mercenary hedgehog by the neck. He spun around and tossed him away, blasting him with another fire ball.

Ultima crashed into the other wall, falling onto the ground. The echidna still persisted. He reached his hand out, and…

Hannah cried out in pain. Flame felt a hand grasp around his left arm. She was trying to stop him!

Flame stopped. He fell to his knees, feeling the true terror of what just happened. Hannah ripped her own hand back, knowing that she had done something she never thought she would ever do. Even after her kidnapping, she was still the same old Hannah everyone knew and loved. Yet, this changed something. She didn't feel like going the same way any longer.

She ran over to the echidna. "Flame, are you alright?" she asked.

The echidna gritted his teeth. "What did I just do?" he asked in reply.

Hannah said nothing. That was exactly what he had been afraid of.

He jumped to his feet and ran to Ultima, grabbing onto the hedgehog's wrist. "He's alive," Flame stated.

Hannah walked over, and then jumped back. Ultima glared up at them, surprised. "Why… do you not finish me off… right now?" he asked.

Flame nodded to himself. "Because it's not right," he said.

"Despite… what I have done?" the hedgehog added.

"Of course," Hannah stated. "You weren't going to last much longer under Barrington's thumb, were you?" She didn't wait for an answer. "Of course not. You were on the verge of death yourself. Barrington is still onto us, and now we've all been dragged in together. Maybe instead of fighting, we should work together… or at least until Barrington has been taken care of."

Flame glanced up at her. "What are you saying?" he asked.

She smiled. Ultima pushed himself up, glaring at her himself. "I'm saying that we need to join together. Unite in one team, and taking one last stand against Barrington… one last chance for us to re-achieve a state of normalcy."

The echidna muttered over the words. "One last chance..."

Just one chance...

Janelle gathered up a few papers lying on the floor. The events had been laid out, and the evidence presented. With all available evidence already presented, Timothy James Barrington was found guilty of murder in the second degree, and for countless other crimes in the past. Ultima and the Babylon Rogues, after laying out their own evidences, were given a complete pardon… this time around.

After the events, Barrington escaped with the help of an unknown suitor, leading some to believe that someone higher than even he had been watching over the situation. Bean, Bark, and Omega were sent to chase him down. Meanwhile, Shadow and Rouge were sent to Westopolis for some recent happenings that occurred their.

Due to Barrington's escape, Hannah Swift was placed under a witness protection program and received time off for her job. With complete and total funding from her family, she was moved into a countryside mansion a few miles out of the city. There, she met up with Flame and Ultima, attempting to come up with plans for a method of putting down Barrington's plots.

At the same time, Flame had found his own liking. He began his own life, helping solve mysteries in the northern part of Future City. He also starting hanging out with a girl whom used to live nearby, that no lived in a foster home in Metal City—the industrial central area of the city.

The Chaotix detectives—Vector, Espio, and Charmy, received a heavy award for their help on the case. Returning to the United Federation, they sold the old dump they had and bought a nicer and larger place in Central City. They planned on hiring a couple more members, but were waiting for the right moment.

Knuckles and Tikal returned to Angel Island. However, they never kept their minds off of Rouge and Shadow. Knuckles and Rouge learned of Shadow's little scenario earlier, and were a little mad about it. However, they decided to go, anyway. Tikal's mind remained on the black hedgehog, thinking that perhaps she could find a way to knock down the barrier that has kept his heart concealed for so very long. Maybe, just maybe, she could find a way to crack it…

Ultima still kept his dark side. He never turned away from his old ways, but he merely decided to aid Flame and Hannah in taking out Barrington. Afterwards, he fully intending on leaving without warning. Hannah tried talking with him, attempting to change his mind, but never succeeded in doing so.

Janelle… well, she herself had her own plans. She decided to use her knowledge to help Hannah, Flame, and Ultima track down Barrington and figure out all the remaining unknown details. The project was labeled 'Last Chance,' in attempts to once and for all stop Barrington. Before that, though, she decided to help Hannah move out.

She held up the pile of paper she grabbed off the ground. "Where should this go?" the cat asked.

Hannah reached up into a tall bookcase and pulled down the remaining few, sticking them into a box. She turned back to Janelle. "Uh, go put that in the file cabinet in the corner," she stated.

Janelle turned around and saw it. A wooden filing cabinet made out of red oak. She opened the second drawer and stuffed the paper in. She slammed the door shut, but then suddenly a CD fell off of it. She quickly reached out and grabbed it before it hit the floor. She stared at it in horror. 'What the heck does this girl listen to…?' she asked herself.

She glanced on top of the cabinet and found a few more. She listened to angst rock music? Janelle turned around. "Uh, Hannah?"

The eagle walked up to her, staring at the music. Finally, she grabbed it and walked away. A trash bin lay in the center of the room, ready whenever it was needed. Hannah tossed the CD's in. She turned back around. "Do the same if you find anymore."

Janelle raised an eyebrow, and then smiled.