Shadow the Hedgehog: The Just and the Fallen

Segment Eight — On The Offensive

AMY'S CONDOMENIUM—9:34

Sonic and Amy were cornered by the GUN Rebellion Assault Mecha. They all looked determined to rush their targets. But Sonic stood his ground and held a protective arm around Amy. He scowled lightly at them.

"What do you want from us?" Sonic forced the question out.

"Information," a different pilot answered. "Information on the location of the Project: Shadow Subject."

Amy shivered. "Sonic, what are they talking about?" She sounded fearful. "What 'Subject'?"

Sonic growled. "They must be talking about Shadow, the guy Rouge found…and apparently, their target."

Amy blinked, confused. "What?"

"So, you know about Project: Shadow as well? We were briefed on it before setting out to find you, and since you know who we're talking about…" The pilot aimed his weapon away from Sonic and Amy; the two of them blinked a little. "We're just going to have to interrogate the info out of you."

The mecha cockpits steamed out and opened up, revealing the three pilots. They were triplets: All of them had light-red hair and hazel eyes and they all wore their GUN Rebellion uniforms with their Assault Unit badges stitched into the red bands on the upper part of their sleeves. They all smirked and hopped out of their cockpits after setting their mecha down into a kneel.

Sonic kept Amy behind him as the three of them approached them. Amy stayed behind, while Sonic did the talking. Then, the triplets surrounded the two hedgehogs, meaning to slightly intimidate them. Sonic wasn't very fazed, but Amy shivered again.

"Now, then, Sonic the Hedgehog," one of the triplets called him out. "You know about Shadow the Hedgehog, am I right?"

Sonic looked around him cautiously. "Yeah. Why?"

"We're looking for him," the second triplet answered, the one with the longest hair. "General's orders." He smirked. "You wouldn't happen to know where he is, would you?"

"No, I don't," Sonic replied honestly, but the three officers seemed to have taken his honesty as a sort of mockery.

The first officer scowled, the one with spiky hair.

"Maybe the little miss might want to tell us?" the third triplet asked; his hair was in a ponytail. He smirked slyly.

Amy's fists trembled and Sonic saw this, lifting an eyebrow.

"If you think you're going to come in front of my house, ruin my day, and mess with my Sonic…" Flames of fury flared in Amy's eyes. "You're getting your asses kicked!" Amy pulled out her trusty Piko-Piko Hammer. She snickered.

Sonic blinked. "Amy, what the heck do you think you're doing?"

Amy dashed toward the massive mecha and gave a mighty swing of her hammer. The protective glass covering the cockpit was smashed. But she wasn't done: she went ahead and practically destroyed one of the GUN Assault Mecha with only a few blows. She then leapt down from the pile and anchored her Piko-Piko Hammer onto her shoulder.

"You creeps keep away from my Sonic!" she yelled.

"Little brat…!" the first pilot yelled, quickly arming himself with his pistol.

"Amy, look out!" Sonic zoomed past and saved Amy before the pilot's shot hit. He clutched Amy closer to him and smirked.

'Oh, Sonic…' Amy thought dreamily.

"Why you…!" the other two cursed, getting their pistols out as well.

"What do we do now, Sonic?" Amy sounded a bit frightened.

"Well, what I should say is to go get reinforcements…" Sonic began to say. Then, he saw the triplets taking aim at them. "But what I was going to say—and I strongly suggest this—is…bail!"

And, as the soldiers fired their weapons, Sonic dashed away, avoiding the bullets' paths, notoriously at the speed of sound.

"Damn, they got away!" one of the triplets cried.

"Our assignment isn't over, however," the first triplet said. "We will find the Subject…" He snarled. "At any and all costs."

EMERALD TOWN—A FEW MINUTES LATER…

Sonic had sped so far away so fast that he was already within Emerald Town's city limits. So, he and Amy decided to take a rest. They sat on the sidewalk in front of a store. Sonic was trying to catch his breath before huffing, "Man, I never want to go back there again. Not if those guys are going to be there."

"I'll say," Amy agreed. "I'll bet everything that they're going to be stalking us from now on." She was still huffing and puffing as well.

"Hey, I'm going to check on Tails and Cream to see if they're okay." Sonic then stood up, stretched, and started down the sidewalk.

"Um, hello! You're forgetting something—someone." Amy pouted, tapping her foot on the sidewalk.

"Oh. Yeah. Right." Sonic scratched the back of his head. "Hey, why don't you, uh, head up to Holy Summit to check on Knuckles, while I go see Tails and Cream. You okay with that? Cool! See you!" Sonic sped off again across the intersection and down the street.

Amy stood there, tensing up. "Ooh… Sonic the Hedgehog!" Amy exploded, stomping her foot.


Tails's second workshop was a few blocks away from the shoreline. Sonic was already there at the front of the lab, waiting for Tails to answer. He pecked a finger against his hip. He was trying to be patient, but his concern was starting to cloud over it.

"Tails?" he thought aloud. "Are you there?"

He glanced at a console that was next to him. There was an "Emergency Entry" key on it. Sonic's brow arched mischievously, and it was pressed. The door quickly swished open. The laboratory was dark and empty, and something didn't feel right to Sonic.

"Tails? Cream?" he called out. "Are you guys here?"

Something definitely didn't feel right: normally, either Tails or Cream would have greeted him by now, but the lab was empty and desolate. Sonic was trying to find a light switch when the sound of a roaring engine flooded into his ears. Sonic was startled and dashed back outside, only to find the Sonic Monsoon soaring through the air, not too far from the ground.

Sonic shielded his face from the gusts that followed in the plane's wake.

"Tails!" Sonic cried out.

Tails was banking when he noticed Sonic waving his arms. He grimaced a little and attempted to land there on the street in front of his lab. Carefully, the Sonic Monsoon flew in toward Sonic. As Tails's cockpit dome opened, Sonic blinked.

"Mister Sonic!" Cream cried out over the wind. "Chao-chao!" Cheese was holding onto Cream's sleeve, trying not to fly away.

"What's going on?" Sonic had to ask.

"No time," Tails insisted. "Just get on!"

Sonic obeyed, hopping onto the wing of the plane, and the Sonic Monsoon swiftly took off into the sky.

HOLY SUMMIT—10:05

Amy made her way up to Holy Summit to see Knuckles. The feisty red echidna wasn't too much of a city guy. He was more attuned to his natural surroundings, so he could maintain a hawk's eye on the Master Emerald. Being its guardian was a serious but simple job. It was much like a family heirloom, and he had to do all he could to protect it.

Not too far away, Amy to tell that something was wrong. She heard crashing sounds; a battle going on, and Knuckles was in trouble.

"Ah! Knuckles!" Amy cried, clambering up the hill. In the distance, she could see Chao Ruins. And she could see that Knuckles was fighting off a triplicate of Assaults Units, like the ones that had attacked her and Sonic—by himself at that. She raced over, pulling out her Piko-Piko Hammer, ready for combat.

Amy gave her hammer a good swing, trying to topple her target over, and managed to knock it off balance.

Knuckles glanced up and saw Amy landing next to him.

"Hiya! Need some help?" Amy asked politely, despite the situation. She winked at him, sticking her tongue out.

Knuckles smirked. "Hmph, that'd be nice," was his just-as-polite response. He fell into a combat stance.

"Well, well," the pilot in the Unit Amy attacked said slyly, having found his balance.

Both Knuckles and Amy glared at the metal suit.

"Looks like somebody else wants to rumble…!"

"What do you want from us?" Amy implored. "You've attacked me and Sonic already! What more do you want?"

"Attacked you? We didn't attack you," one of the pilots corrected her.

"Yes, you did! Sonic and I were minding our own business when you and your robot suits tried to kill us! We know it was you!"

The pilots in the cockpits looked at each other questioningly. The supposed leader of the team seemed to be checking something.

"Our transmission logs haven't recorded any other signs of confrontation as of yet." He looked over to his comrades. "She must be referring to the Rebellion forces…? They're on the hunt, too?"

"Hey!" Knuckles intervened. "What are you mumbling about? Are you going to let us go or what?"

"We need to know where the Subject is," the other pilot snapped at him. "Whether you tell us or not is up to you. But if you defy our orders…" The three pilots aimed their guns at them. "Then, in the name of the GUN Federal Forces, you will be placed under arrest for insubordination and being accomplices of a conspiracy."

"Accomplices?" Amy cried, thoroughly shocked. 'The GUNFF think that we're…helping with something? But what?'

"What conspiracy?" Knuckles demanded to know.

"Project: Shadow. It was an experimental research project developed and conducted by the late Professor Gerald Robotnik and his posse of geneticists. He was creating the ultimate living weapon, and we believe that you know something about it."

"We have no idea of what you're talking about," Knuckles shouted back at them. "So just leave us alone!"

The pilots within the mecha looked to one another and growled.

"We suspect that you're lying," the first pilot spoke. "But we'll spare you…for now, mind you. We will find that hedgehog, and we will put an end to all of this!"

Then, with a sudden ignition of their engines, the Assault Mecha took off into the sky and headed down. Back to Mystic Ruins.

Amy and Knuckles watched the three of them go. Amy held her hands in a prayerful clasp, while Knuckles snarled quietly.

'What just happened?' the question entered his thoughts. 'They let us go scot-free and took off.' His brows furrowed a little deeper. 'They're after a hedgehog… Could it be Sonic?'

CENTRAL CITY - NEAR HARBOR—10:35

"Yes, you've reached the Chaotix Detective Agency! How can I help you?"

A green crocodile sat balanced in a tilted chair, listening to his caller. He was giving his hearing a break from his headphones. He rested his crossed feet on top of his desk. He blinked ginger-orange eyes.

"Package? What package—?"

"It's here! It's here!"

A small bee child flew in excitedly, with a brown package in his hands. The green crocodile lost his balance in his seat and fell over with a crash.

He growled. "Charmy, don't do that!" he exclaimed. "Jeez…! Knock before you enter!"

"Sorry, okay," the one named Charmy apologized. "But, Vector, the present's here! See?" He was about to set it on the desk when a sudden voice called out.

"Wait!" it cried.

A shiny object glinted within the shadows. It soared through the air as a flash of steel. Before Vector or Charmy realized it, their package was hanging against the wall by its string with a kunai stuck there. They searched the shadows and saw a purple chameleon stepping out of them.

"You never know if 'presents' like that could be holding bombs," he heeded them with a stern voice.

"Ah, Espio, quit being so paranoid," Vector nagged. "It's from our client. Sheesh…!" He walked over to fetch the package.

Espio grimaced.

Vector snatched the package from the wall; its cord snapped. He continued on opening it, with Charmy looking over his shoulder. Inside, there was a pair of radio transmitters. Vector and Espio blinked a little—!

"Ooh! Walkie-talkies!" Charmy cried happily, throwing his arms into the air. "Let me see! Let me see!"

Charmy was flailing his arms, trying to reach the pair of radios—!

"Come on, come on! Can't I see just one of them? Please?" he drawled.

"Bah! No, Charmy! Back off! Since I'm the leader, I'm going to hold onto them." Vector held the walkie-talkies away from the boy and snarled. "And quit interrupting the narrator, will you?"

"Oopsies… Sorry," Charmy apologized.

"Where precisely did this package come from, Vector?" Espio asked, suspicious as always. He seated himself upon a crate next to a doorway.

"Don't know. But it was addressed to us, though." Vector rubbed the back of his neck. He raised an eyebrow. "Come to think of it, they didn't even tell me who they were over the phone. Hmm, our client…? I'm getting pretty suspicious myself there, Espio."

Espio glanced over to Vector keenly and smirked.

"Heck, as long as they pay up, though, I really don't give a damn!" Vector winked, shrugging. He threw his pointing finger at Charmy. "Charmy!"

"You've got it, Boss!" Charmy saluted.

Charmy pressed a button on a nearby stereo and rhythmic techno-pop music started playing, and Charmy started dancing to its catchy rhythm.

Vector looked at Espio, who was speechless and slightly annoyed. Vector grinned.

Charmy dancing…again.

Vector had a double-take between Charmy's dancing and Espio getting more annoyed.

Charmy dancing…some more.

Espio had a vein pulsating at his temple, darkly grimacing at Vector with a spasmodic eye. Vector once again lifted his brow and smirked mischievously.

Vector joined in on Charmy's dance session. They stepped in a silly rhythm simultaneously, having fun. Even though Espio just sat, dumbfounded and annoyed to the peak. His temple vein still pulsated, as his arched brow twitched. He smacked his forehead and moaned, clearly embarrassed and vexed.

CLUB ROUGE (UPSTAIRS)—23:52

It had gotten late into the night since both the GUN Federal Forces and GUN Rebellion had confronted Sonic and the others. Meanwhile, Rouge was completely unaware of the situation at hand.

She lightly touched the Chaos Emerald she'd found just mere days before. She was sitting in the living room on the sofa. She sighed. She recalled the day she found Shadow. She was remembering him being burned and bruised, unconscious and alone, as well as his perfectly tan face. It made her blush intensely. But then, she looked gloomily down at the Chaos Emerald.

"It's only been a few days, and now all of this comes up out of the blue," Rouge complained. She held her knees close to her voluptuous chest, curling up on the sofa. She burrowed her face into her knees. Her large ears folded flat against her head. "What am I going to do?"

A familiar, muffled rumbling drummed into one ear. Her ear instantly perked, and Rouge lifted her head up, furrowing her eyebrows as she glanced over to her side table. "Maybe I shouldn't even bother," she thought to herself. But something told her to answer the incoming call, so she got up off the sofa and stepped in front of the side table, saying, "I wish he would just leave us alone." She opened the drawer. Inside was the small communication link earpiece, its vibrations more audible and blue light blinking brightly on the side. She lifted it from the drawer and placed it next to her ear.

"Speak now. You have thirty seconds," she warned.

"Allow me to be direct, then, Agent Rouge the Bat."

Rouge gasped. It was the Madam General's voice.

"Have you yet apprehended that weapon he ordered you to capture?"

"Wait," Rouge hesitated. "How did you—?"

"You may not have realized this, but several of my operatives are out on the prowl about the city…armed. They're in seclusion, but they are on the lookout. You know, once they find him, he will be seized and brought to me. But, in case he tries to resist, I have instructed my men to do whatever is in their power to get him calm—even more so, to get him still. Only if he is to further persist, he will be executed."

Rouge gave no response right then, but she began to mentally quake. "No…you can't…!"

"You've been given a deadline: only six hours to find and bring him to me, starting at twenty-four hundred hours. Unless you want him killed…?"

"No!"

She snickered. "Then capture him and turn him in to my authorities, alive, cuffed and, if necessary, chained. I'll be expecting you, Ninety-One," she teased. "If you fail, you will be hunted down, too." She snickered before she disconnected the call.

Rouge was frozen, as if at a loss. She felt her heart sinking into an abyss of fear.

'She's going to try to find him,' Rouge thought fretfully. 'And if she does, her soldiers will take him away, and who knows what she'll do to him? No…! They can't—! She can't take him away either!'

She tossed the communicator aside on the sofa and hastily ran to her bedroom. Her clock read 23:56.

She raced up the hallway. She sharply halted, and stood in the doorway to her bedroom, frozen: her room was deserted. Her bed had been neatly made up with everything placed thoughtfully. Everything seemed untouched, and Rouge was still frozen. Total panic and fear rushed throughout her body. Tears began to bleed from her eyes.

"No… He's gone." Her throat caught. "Shadow!"

AREA 99—MEANWHILE…

"Ready yourselves, with firearms engaged! Fall in, soldiers!" Commander Roderich issued to his men. "There's an 'Ultimate Life Form' on the loose with its location unknown. It must, I repeat, must be apprehended as soon as possible. In order to retain prosperity within our Nation, this threat must be dealt with by whom?"

"Us, sir!" the soldiers fired back in unison.

"This force that ultimately threatens the innocents of our Nation must be dealt with by whom?"

"Us, sir!"

"The righteousness and valor that strengthens this Nation is whom?"

"We, the Federal Forces!" The soldiers saluted.

Commander Roderich smirked. "To your battle stations, men! This hunt starts now!"

The Federal Forces' Army Brigade and Air Force started to scour the starlit desert sky. Sirens blared the release of Aerial Hangars and the Helios Rockets. They took off into the night, while Foot Soldiers compiled into Hangars to leave ground. All in all, a sea of Federal Forces aircraft massed into the sky, a long ways away from Central City. Their hunt had recommenced.

And the President sat in Area 11 Central Headquarters, viewing the departure by monitor intently. He shut his eyes.

'Rouge is bound to hate me for this.'

Segment Eight Completed.