Chapter 9: Lunar Palace
Author's note: Sorry about the delay. I was pretty sick last week. Just one chapter and an epilogue after this! Almost home! Also, I realized now that my hr tags are being left as text. I am too busy right now to deal with that on account of a number of life changes, including a JOB! Yes, a job! So I'll clean that up later. You guys know what it means. Also, apologies to TV tropes for the lampshading.
hr
He found himself leaning against Tails.
The world spun with chaos control as things fell into place around them. He could see Shadow out of the corner of his eye, a dark shape against the pale, shining silver of the corridor. The other two blurs at Shadow's sides shuddered as they landed.
Then there were arms behind his shoulders, behind his knees, a peculiar rotating sensation, and he was being carried.
"I designed the basic layout of the ship," Tails panted, moving fast down a corridor, faster than Sonic remembered him being. "Let's see if my sensor blindspots made it through Eggman's revisions."
Sonic wrapped his arms around Tails carefully, not sure if he was steadying himself or congratulating the scientist.
hr
A swipe of a mallet, a squeak, a simple sleeper hold, and a swipe of a card, and she was in. A few minutes later, so were they.
Knuckles watched as one by one, Amy took out guards, workers, astronauts, with simple holds and pressure points, sneaking up behind them. Espio was at it too, though Knuckles eyes could only catch a waver of his movements. They worked silently, the only sounds the squeak of a hammer and the swish of shuriken.
Knuckles knew firsthand of Espio's stealth abilities, but he'd never believed Sonic's tall tale about Amy breaking him out of Prison Island the time he was mistaken for Shadow. He always figured Sonic had exaggerated her minor role in the escape to build her self-esteem and possibly get her out of his hair. After all, how could she sneak, the way her hammer squeaks?
But it was true; she did it easily before him now, efficiently, as if she'd practiced for years.
"Where did you learn that?" He asked, as she obtained the last astronaut pass for them.
"Do you think my parents just let me leave to follow Sonic all the time, Knuckles?" She grinned and pulled the unconscious astronaut into a supply closet.
hr
The launch countdown droned on behind him, but his excitement was marred.
He looked over his shoulder, at the first officer—of course, as the Emperor, he was captain.
"Has the hedgehog been found yet?"
"No sir," answered the green squirrel, frowning. "Last recorded location was on deck 30."
He tightened the straps on his launch suit, royal red with green trim, and glanced over at his wife and daughter, similarly bedecked. Cream's face was lit up with hope, eyes shining, as her mouth frowned. He reminded himself to have a word with her about her disloyalty on the moon, after it was all over.
"I'm sure we'll find them," he reassured the squirrel. "In the mean time, let's stay on task. They won't kill themselves just to stop us."
"Why would they defy you?" The princess asked. " You only want to help."
"It's clear to me, daughter, that somewhere in Adabat, Sonic was infected by Dark Gaia, or that his previous possession took some kind of hold, broke past some barrier deep in him. I know Sonic; his willpower is unparalleled, but we all have our limits." Eggman cleared his throat, gesturing. "He wants to stop us from honoring and supporting Light Gaia—probably out of some kind of Dark-induced self-deception. Maybe he thinks that little creature travelling with him really is Light Gaia. Maybe he thinks I'm going to abuse or exploit his old friend somehow—and I suppose it's fair he does, as last he knew me, I would have. I—"
"Two… one… we have liftoff!"
Eggman let a little grunt as his inertia caught up to him, as the liftoff began. He looked out the wide viewing window at the ship's nose at the wide blue sky, dotted with purple tinged clouds, and wondered how badly Sonic and his friends were bouncing around on the lower decks. He continued his explanation—he wasn't going to let his villainy get in the way of being a good Evil Father to his morally ambiguous stepdaughter. "I had hoped he might come to our side, see the truth and my sincere contrition… but clearly he's lost to the enemy. Once we make our offering to Light Gaia, he will be able to save Sonic, but I fear it's beyond us.
She let a little hmm, chirping, almost supportive. He cursed her politeness. He knew she didn't mean it.
hr
Tails fiddled with the door when the PA picked up.
"Citizens!" came the Emperor's voice, cheerful. "Welcome to the Tempest. Please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times." He chuckled to himself, and Tails found himself chuckling along. That was a good one. Behind him, he heard Rouge groan in annoyance.
The old man cleared his throat and continued. "In all seriousness, our journey is going well, but there is one minor, although expected, snag. We have some stowaways. Sonic the Hedgehog is, by all accounts, possessed by Dark Gaia, and the poor soul is being deceived into trying to stop us from restoring Light Gaia to his glory. Pity him, friends."
Tails glanced behind him as he worked the whiles, seeing Sonic sneer, glaring at nothing with tired eyes.
"While it is tragic that once again his heroism failed us—"
Tails shuddered, telling himself that he didn't need to see Sonic's response to that.
"—we must abbreviate our pity."
Unable to resist, Tails glanced back, looking at Sonic, whose eyes shined in the harsh light. In that moment Tails could see every time salt water flowed into one of Sonic's wounds, every time he turned on the news to see Eggman back at it. He could see the disappointment on Sonic's face as Shadow gloated about being the ultimate hedgehog as wounded aliens languished around him, the fallen blue hero, and the Diablon prototype.
"Sonic… don't listen to it," Tails whispered, turning back to his door.
"With him is Dr. Miles Prower, who is no doubt naively helping his old friend. Dr. Prower, I urge you to reconsider Sonic's sanity and return him to us for treatment. If you do not, and we find him in your company, there will of course be charges of high treason to contend with. I cannot afford allowing your sad little crush on the poor man to endanger the safety of the world."
Tails twitched, muttering to himself, "it's not a crush," trying wires against each other.
"We also believe that Shadow is with him—Shadow, old friend, the same rules apply to you. I know you have been helping Sonic all these years, and your charity is noble, but he is a danger to us all. Please consider your naivete for a second—would Maria want you to risk the whole world for a single man?"
Tails heard a spitting sound, and smiled.
"We also suspect two others are by his side, though at this point it would be foolish to speculate their identities. We have also noted a number of colonists checking at the door but not reaching their designated launch room. We can only assume this is another party aimed at our sabotage, lead by Dr. Amy Rose and Inquisitor Espio. Amy, I'm very disappointed in this step backward following Sonic, and I sincerely hope you've been honest with Shadow about this. Because you two are so close to me, and have so blatantly subverted my plan, this is unacceptable. If you submit yourselves to me now, I will take execution off the table."
"I've almost got this open," muttered Tails. "There are so many decoy wires in here… he knew what I'd do."
"Also with them is a tiny creature called Chip, a horned being with blue wings. Chip is, in fact, the earthly avatar of Dark Gaia, and is extremely dangerous."
"Lies!" Tails rolled his eyes at Charmy's outburst, fairly certain that Eggman was right.
"This whole lot is very dangerous; some of them are armed, and some of them don't need to be. If you see them, quietly report them to your supervisor. Do not engage them; you only risk injury and infection, and fights are exactly what Dark Gaia wants."
The door popped open and Tails leaned in, looking down, trying to see what strange cargo Eggman had planned for it. He saw… a brushed metal floor. He had plotted this cargo bay to be fifteen decks deep, lightly padded at bottom with asylum grade padding, wide enough to accommodate about two Egg Lancers. The Egg Shedu was stowed away in a separate, documented bay, of course. But this was just a wide room, one deck deep, right where the bay was supposed to be. Steel walls, steel floor, nothing inside.
"He changed my plan!" Tails murmured, careful not to step in.
The others crowded around the door, looking in.
"This was supposed to be a fifteen deck cargo hold! It's like seven percent the size I was told to design."
"So it was a trap," Rouge decided, pulling Tails gently away from the door.
"We can't hide here," Shadow decided.
"We shouldn't even go in." Sonic bit off part of his claw and threw the piece into the room, as if to check for traps.
"So where is my cargo hold?" Tails shuddered. Sonic wrapped an arm around his shoulder.
"Let's try the next level down."
"Anyone see that? Charmy buzzed in.
"Charmy, no!" Shadow tried to follow, but Rouge yanked him back.
Charmy flew to the floor, picking up a small, pink object. A slip of paper. "Ooh, Dr. Prower, you got pink-slipped!"
"What? He can't fire me, I qui-"
As Tails shouted, the door suddenly slid shut. Tails grabbed at Chip, who was still peering in; Shadow jumped back. It was Sonic who shouted, "Charmy!"
"Uh… "
"I'll make sure the prisoner's treated well," came a voice from behind.
Tails turned to look; there, in a sleek green space suit was a hawk of the same color. "You got me on board, Sonic. Who better to work security against you than a famous thief."
Sonic grinned. "Thanks. You ok, Jet? You were looking pretty rough back in Shamar."
"Don't thank me; run. The cargo bay's a decoy, all traps. Get out of here before you get me in trouble; I'll take the bee to the brig."
They started to run, but Jet called after them, "Sonic!"
Sonic stopped in his tracks, turning to look; Tails stopped to watch him.
"Don't end up like my dad."
Sonic's jaw dropped, and after an eternal second he asked, "Bean was your dad?"
"Yes. Go!"
Sonic nodded and took off again, and Tails followed.
hr
They huddled carefully in the service tube, admiring the plaque that hung on the wall inside, a dedication to a skunk construction guard who had died when a previous version of the section had collapsed. He thought of them, imagining them, thinking of them as he stepped through, into the bridge, guards at his sides standing too close.
"I have to do this honest," he had told them, and honest he would.
Eggman stood as he entered. "Highness, what an honor to see you. Do you think you could have gotten here without displacing my scientists?"
Knuckles crossed his arms. "You didn't even tell me when launch was," Knuckles said clearly, absently trying to figure out how to explain this foreknowledge to the others, who listened through the microphone stuck in his deadlocks. "I wanted in on this, Ivo. It's my planet too. I want this to succeed."
"You can't fault me for not wanting to be caught gullible, old friend," the Emperor chided, dismissive. Knuckles took a step forward, throwing his arms out and down.
"Ivo. I've vetted him. He just wants a piece of this. You should have offered him the chance to get involved, or at least informed him of what's going on. He expects betrayal, so he anticipates it, and he acts on it."
Eggman sat down, shouting, "Oh ho! I should have vetted you. Betraying me so easily?"
"Says the pot to the toast."
Cream giggled, and Knuckles shot her a glare, shutting her up.
"Knuckles! You know that I'm a changed man. I'm astounded at your lack of faith in me."
"I'm astounded at your lack of faith in us. We can handle the emeralds for you, we can handle Sonic for you, but we can't help you put this to bed once and for all? Ivo, this is not the way to build a loyal inner circle."
Suddenly, faster than he could blink, at almost Sonic-speed, the Emperor was looming over him, leaning, white moustache almost touching Knuckles face. "I don't need loyalty when I have fear. I humored you because it was right and because we had the time and the wiggle room, but this is far too important."
"That's the thing about getting in bed with your enemy," Knuckles muttered, "you open yourself up to him. If even one of us dies, is executed, imprisoned, punished, your empire is going to dissolve, because they remember us protecting them from you. You built your empire on our submission; they won't stand for you kicking the dog."
"Are you threatening me?" He leaned in, oily nose touching Knuckles' wet one. His teal eyes stared back at Knuckles over those mirrored blue glasses, and Knuckles tried hard to suck the hate out of his face.
"I don't need to threaten you, Eggman. I've learned a lot about how groups of people think, running sanctuary on the island. And you know just as well as I do that what I've said is true-it's not a threat, not a promise, but a fact. What I'm offering is a way for you to make everyone happy-give the people their heroes, us our piece of mind, and you your security."
"You're on my ship, you shouldn't be offering anything. I should be taking."
"Some things can't be taken, old friend. Do you want our help or not?"
Ivo considered. Then, he went to his chair, pressing a button.
"Tempest, this is your captain speaking. I have just located His Highness, Knuckles of the Floating Island. He has informed me of the intentions of our stowaways and I would like to apologize for my hasty dismissal. It seems they shared my concerns about possession-of me! Imagine that, how silly. But these are trying times, and I appreciate their concern. We have about an hour before we begin deceleration, and I'd like them to be secured in comfortable seats by then, so please direct them to the Bridge if you see them. That will be all."
He released the button, and Knuckles crossed his arms.
"Do they taste good?"
"What?" Eggman considered him.
"The half-truths we tell? Mine make me gag when they come out of my mouth."
"Knuckles, old friend, you have something to learn about discretion. Tell me, now, who's on board, and in what configuration. One of my elite agents has already captured the bee, but he insists the others were gone when they found him."
"Sonic has Tails, Chip, Shadow, and Rouge. Charmy was with them."
"I know; only Tails could have broken into that vault."
"Everyone else was with Amy, Espio, and me. They're in one of the service tubes. I'll go get them."
"I think that would be a fine idea."
hr
As they were lead off the winding path, off the ship and onto the pathway, Sonic gripped at Chip tighter, looking off into the distance at the skyline. Shining white marble reached up over the gray moonscape, the highest tower seeming almost to touch the transparent bubble arching over the colony. Below the tower Sonic could see lower buildings and palaces, towers. It reminded him for a moment of Apotos, so much that it sent a chill down his spine. Chip clutched at his chest, pulling himself closer, and Sonic returned the gesture.
There were more guards than he liked stationed with them, more guards and less freedom. As all the colonist disembarked, security personnel already waiting on the surface directed them down various corridors that stuck out from the terminal like starfish arms-like Doom's Eye. The next thing he knew, Sonic was being pulled one way, Amy anther, Shadow another still. The next thing he knew, he was in a comfortable chair, alone, a table across from him, a screen hanging on the wall.
After a while the screen activated, Eggman's frowning face appearing on it. "Sonic! Hope you enjoyed the trip."
"I might have more if you hadn't been trapping people."
"Now now, that's not the attitude I'd expect of a stowaway. Look, I'd like to have a word with you, in private."
Sonic drummed his fingers on the table. "Egghead, you have me in private."
Eggman tilted his head, revealing his teal eyes, and cast them downward, toward the fairy nestled in Sonic's chest.
"Anything you can tell me, you can tell Chip."
"I don't feel like telling Dark Gaia all of my plans," Sonic.
Sonic felt Chip tug at him, but ignored it. "You're saying Chip is Dark Gaia."
"Yes. Isn't that right, 'Chip?'" Eggman sneered.
"If Chip is Dark Gaia, then where's Light Gaia, Eggman?"
The old man looked away for a second, frowning. "I... oh, it's no use lying to you, Sonic. I was hoping you could tell me. I really do think that Chip is Dark Gaia-I mean, look at his appearance; look at how deformed and dark he is. But if he's not Light Gaia, where is he? Did he die saving you?"
Sonic stood up, still clutching Chip. "So, if you don't know where Light Gaia is, why are we here?"
"To get away. To see if we can do anything about the impending eternal night with the chaos emeralds. I..." Eggman chuckled sadly, putting his head in his hands. "I'll be honest, Sonic, I thought you had things in hand. Last time and this. I... I thought you'd come through for us."
Sonic groaned. "Oh come on, this isn't like you at all! What happened to master plans and getting all of us on being predictable!"
"That's exactly what I banked on, Sonic! You, being predictable!"
Eggman looked up, and they stared at each other for a moment.
"I'll send for someone to get you some sleeping quarters," Eggman decided. "Your face, it looks a little pale."
"Space sickness. It'll pass."
"I hope. Farewell, Sonic."
The screen switched off, and Sonic glanced down at Chip, smiling.
"Sonic?" The little fairy asked, reaching up.
"Yeah, Chip?"
He flew into the air, hovering before Sonic, violet eyes shining in the warm light. "Sonic... if what he said was true... you know, since I don't remember…"
Sonic laughed, pulling the fairy close. "It is true, Chip. And I don't mind; bad guys need friends too."
He felt Chip shudder suddenly in his arms and pull away, flying up to glare at him. "Are you calling me a bad guy?"
"No." Sonic stood. "But everyone thinks you are."
The little fairy turned away, frowning. "When did you figure it out?"
"I'm not sure. It dawned on me slowly. And you remembered in Adabat, didn't you? Just like your brother did last time. Only you tried to hide it from me because you think I've got a thing against you."
"You don't?"
"Not a thing. You know the guy I hate; you were just a pawn in his plan. Hard to blame Chaos or Shadow for the evils they did at his bidding. I mean, if you keep taking over the world, I will stop you." The two shared a look, Chip glaring, sharp little teeth bared. Sonic narrowed his eyes a little, warning, and then smiled. "But for now, why not be friends? Why not live and talk and have chili dogs and soda together? Why not just do what we want to do and let destiny catch up with us at its own pace?"
Chip seemed to consider that, floating on his side. "So... you mean..."
Sonic kicked his feet up on the table in front of him. "Oh, I hated you at first. You changed me, warped me, and all of a sudden I had to face my own dark side. Didn't like it. It made me… question myself a little bit. But once… once I saw the Light Gaia creatures, once I figured out your brother operates the same way… I can't blame either of you." He reached up, grabbing at one of Chip's tiny hands, pulling it toward himself. Chip allowed himself to be pulled into a hug.
"Why not?"
"Because life is all about balance."
A guard arrived, and Sonic stood. He looked down, reassuring. "And we're going to put my life back into balance tomorrow. Yours too."
hr
"Room service!"
He certainly hadn't ordered Room Service. He was pretty sure you couldn't even get it here on the moon. He didn't even feel like getting up, much less answering the door, but still he did.
She stood there in a military uniform, clearly designed for a woman taller and plumper than herself, smiling.
"Are you trying to get me killed, Amy?" He grabbed her arm and pulled her in gently, faster than she could move herself, sliding the door closed.
"Shadow's getting Tails right now, so if anyone ought to be jealous, it's you." She grinned, ear to ear.
Sonic sneered, sitting down on a brushed metal chair. Then he jumped up as the cold clawed at his skin. He grabbed a blanket off the bed and threw it on the chair, then sat back down. "Very funny, Amy. A real knee slapper."
Amy sat down in another chair smoothly, bare lower thighs touching the metal without incident. "Where's Chip?"
Sonic indicated the bed, where the little creature was curled up in a mass of blankets and pillows, smiling in his sleep. "I haven't seen him rest this easy since Spagonia."
"It's about him. I need to talk to you about him, before we meet up with the others."
Sonic stood up, walking over to the little fridge in the wall. He pulled out a carton of juice, but then glanced at it, reconsidering. With the mental image of himself, keeling over, paralyzed, he put the juice away, looking at Amy. "I think I know what you're going to say."
"If you know, why are you still working with him? He's the enemy! He caused all of this." Amy stood up, growling.
"Eggman is our enemy. Not these guys."
She advanced on him, hammer dropping toward him, but he deflected it with his arm, pushing it harmlessly to his right. She shouted, "How can you believe him?"
Sonic glared. "Why would he help me restore all the continents if he's all bad? And those creatures in the daytime. They're Light Gaia creatures; Dark Gaia has no power during the day, he never had. Maybe Dark is not Evil and Light is not Good. "
Amy frowned. "Pickle said something like that before he died. Something about… Light and Dark are all a part of life."
Sonic stepped closer to her, unsure of what he was about to do. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close, against his body. She stiffened at the contact, but did not resist, and he fought the throbbing in his blood, begging for her.
"Sonic?" She whined a little, pulling away gently. "What do you think you're doing? I—"
He leaned in close, until his lips were almost touching her ear, and whispered, "Pickle is alive."
She froze, gasping.
"Hiding in Shamar. He was in danger."
"Sonic… there are cameras. Eggman will see us, and show Shadow…"
"So fight me off; we'll blame Gaia."
So Amy pulled her hands up to his shoulders and shoved him, pushing him back onto the bed. "How dare you, Sonic! You had your chance, years ago!"
"Amy…" Sonic hammered the bed with the bottom of his fist. "If I'm going to have your husband try to kill me for something, can't it at least be true?"
She grunted, walking toward the door. "You aren't even the same man I remember! You were never like this before."
"I always took you for granted." Sonic looked down, pouting, hoping he was working whatever hidden cameras were in place.
"I have to get you to that meeting, pervert. Follow me, quietly. And take him. We can't leave him unattended."
So Sonic scooped up the little creature, trying to ignore the confusion swimming in him, the game of denial and lust that wasn't really a game anymore. He held Chip close, and the fairy stirred in his arms, nuzzling his chest with a quiet little snore.
"He's been tired, since we got here," Sonic mused, rocking him.
"We're on the dark side during a new moon. Direct sunlight."
"So my old buddy is probably going nuts right now."
"I miss him, Sonic."
"I miss him, too, Amy. I miss everyone. Everyone except you."
She looked up at him with a little gasp, confusion in her eyes—but he wasn't still covering for the secret he'd told her.
"You've grown up into a real hero in your own right. You were too hung up on me to be much of anything before. I guess I'm better as an idea to strive for than a guy to follow. But if we don't see each other after this is over… now, I would miss you."
Sonic walked out ahead of her, and she followed. He wondered just how bewildered she might be, but dared not look back, not until they made it out.
hr
"You can't stay here," she squawked, clearing a table. "I only let you gather here in the first place as a favor. You'll have to conduct this somewhere else. If the emperor finds out I helped you, I'll die on this rock."
"Wave." Tails reached up, touching her face. "I'll get you and Storm out of here."
She batted his hand away with a gloved wing. "I could make a million comments about how funny you're acting lately, Tails. I won't unless you make me."
Sonic and Amy slipped in the front door—at least, Wave thought it was them. She wasn't going to acknowledge them by actually looking, only glancing them out of the corner of her eye. Still, she was curious how the long dead hero was holding up, so she took a long look around the room. Sonic was walking toward a stool, looking mostly as he had plus a few inches of height and circles under his eyes. He was clutching in his chest a little dark, horned creature with a pink orb on its neck. The others looked mostly the same as they did on TV, though Knuckles was a little sharper, Rouge a little thinner, and Shadow exactly as he'd been ten years before.
Jet was the last one in; when he arrived, he scooped Wave into a hug before sitting.
"The train for the Darkside Reflector leaves in two hours," Wave informed. "That's the amount of time it will take to ready the reactor."
They all fell silent.
"Eggman's trying to outpace us," Tails mused.
"I'm sure his soldiers are on the way her to capture you all for breaking curfew. I'm here gathering my tools before I go out to prepare the reactor. We must be brief—"
"Ergo, the plan must be made elsewhere."
"Hey, I remember you!" Sonic shouted, turning toward the door. Wave looked as well.
The little orb-headed robot stood there in the doorway, eyes glowing pink. He ignored Sonic's comment, continuing, "Ergo, we must leave quickly, before guards arrive. Ergo, you must follow me."
"Why would you help us?" Wave opened the lab's back door.
"Eggman is possessed by Light Gaia. Ergo, his current orders are contrary to his usual whims. Ergo, he is not really the same man. Ergo, I must disobey him to honor my creator's wishes and restore him to his usual, unpleasant self."
Tails started for the door; the others began to stand and follow. As he passed Wave, he mused, "So do all his rebels make Eggman a good roboticist or a bad one?"
She smiled and ushered the others out. As they left, she watched Jet slip up to Sonic and Amy, pressing something into her hands. Wave felt her smile widen.
hr
The train glistened in sunlight under a black sky. Far away, a ball of fire rained down onto the cratered surface with little drops of marble and plastic. Far away, a great shining mirror glistened, calling to him like a shrine.
Sonic adjusted the straps on his shoes. He could feel the sun beating down onto him, into him. Here more than ever he could feel the Light telling him to judge, to strike down Eggman. It was a feeling he never would have thought could have come from a friend.
He grabbed Chip and held him close, protective, as he waited, watching the people scurry around below. His blood ached for the sunlight, and it soothed his other yearning.
He waited for a sign.
hr
"I came as fast as I could." He bowed to the emperor. "They said I'd find you here. I suppose you already know—"
"That you've been plotting with them, yes."
"You don't want an ear on the inside, Ivo?" Knuckles took a small step closer, eyeing the portly emperor in his green protective suit.
"I can pay someone to do that much better than you." Eggman pulled the strap on his gloves tight.
"Ivo, why are you acting this way? I told you where they were on the ship. I told you how to get Sonic to come; I practically delivered him into your hands with my suggestion."
"Knuckles, I highly doubt you intended him to show up like that."
"No, I figured he'd go right to the shrine, to her, and we'd all go to the moon together. You're not good at sharing."
Eggman cleared his throat, pressing a button in his wrist cuff. "I'm tired of your games. As of this moment, I lay claim to Angel Island." He stood. "My troops will invade and any resistance will be put down.
"It'll be a great addition to the Knuckles Empire once I get rid of you!" he quipped awkwardly, launching himself into the air. He expected arms or laserfire to stop him, but instead his knuckles sunk easily into the Emperor's throat. The portly man tumbled to the ground, his head tumbling away, shedding wires and bolts. Knuckle started to stand, to run away, but two long whips snaked out of the body, orbs linked together. He screamed in recollection, almost smelling the Hidden Palace and his own burnt flesh. Without thinking, Knuckles pulled the device from his dreadlocks and pressed two buttons: first the detonator, then the teleport trigger.
He saw whiteness, felt fire, but it was all so far away.
hr
They were ready for them, too ready, tackling the blue, flaky hedgehog to the ground as Amy and the others looked on in horror. Soon her hands were in cuffs. Tails put up a fight and had to be put in a sleeper hold by a robot. Amy found herself cursing, come on, come on, when she heard the explosion behind her. She made a point of trying to look, a show of it, her head gawking awkwardly. She cried, "Knuckles," not entirely faking her concern. It was a nasty little backdoor in Eggman's transport systems they were using, and despite Tails' insistences she was not sure it was going to work. But out of the corner of her eye she saw Sonic drop down onto the train, and she enjoyed just a second of satisfaction.
"Win this time," she thought to herself as they dragged her away.