MY LOVES! (glomps each reader!) I thank you so much for continuing to read! But before I continue onto anything else, I have an important announcement!
My first chapter after the prologue called "Amy" was recently deleted. I didn't realize it until I updated the last chapter. As I have no backup document of that chapter, as of right now I am not going to rewrite and post it. I have little time nowadays and it will be difficult for me to rewrite the whole thing. But the last chapter (Chapter 10: The New Mission) was recently uploaded on 01/20) so it IS a brand-new chapter that hasn't been read yet due to it being merely a "replacement" for Chapter 10 (stupid fanfiction! XD). So, please, go back to Chapter 10 and read that before reading this chapter first. Or you'll get bloody confused! XD So now, technically, you have TWO NEW chapters to read! :D So, please go back a chapter and read that one first! Then move onto this one!Another warning: Sonic may seem a little OC in this chapter, but I have a perfectly good explanation why! I just can't explain it right now XP If you want to find out, you're just going to have to wait and see! Thank you all for your time and patience! Please read and review! God bless you!
I'd give it all to you, Letting go of me
Reaching as I fall
I know it's already over now
Nothing left to lose, loving you again
I know it's already over, already over now
Already Over, RED
It took Sonic 1.3 minutes to reach Vanilla and Cream's house. He made sure to remain incognito in the forest next to their home to make sure that there was no damage to the house, no traps or any robots. Relieved when he saw none, he quickly approached the gate of the small home. It was a simple, small place a couple miles outside of the city. It was a small tan colored house with a white picket fence with a gate. Pushing the gate open, he took in the surroundings. There was a small vegetable garden to the left, filled with a vast number of growing vegetables such as carrots, lettuce, beats and potatoes. To his right, there was a flower bed of many bright flowers – including tulips, lilies, and white roses.
Images of Sonic handing a surprised Amy a bouquet of those perfect white roses caused him to turn his head away. His heart hurt. He didn't want to look at them anymore.
Walking to the door, he knocked on the door. Inside he heard china clattering softly and soft footsteps hurry to the door. He took a step back as the door opened. A familiar small rabbit stood there. When she recognized him, a wide smile spread across her lips.
"Well, hello Mr. Sonic!" Cream welcomed as she stepped aside, allowing the blue hero to walk inside.
"Hey Cream," Sonic offered a small smile. He was relieved Eggman hadn't arrived here yet. "How are you?"
"I am very good, thank you, Sonic!" she said cheerfully as she led him to the living room where her mother, Vanilla, was having tea. She lowered her tea cup from her lips and she smiled.
"Hello, Sonic," she said. "Would you like to join us for afternoon tea?"
Sonic shook his head. "I'm afraid I didn't come to have tea, Vanilla," he declined politely. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to take you to Tails' workshop right away."
The smiles faded from the rabbits' faces as they exchanged discouraged looks.
"Is something wrong?" Vanilla asked, the tone in her voice changing to alerted as she set her tea cup aside and rose to her feet. "Is everything alright?"
"Dr. Eggman is up to something," Sonic confirmed. "There was an attack on Angel Island a couple nights ago and Shadow was fatally injured."
"Oh no!" Cream panicked, her tan eyes filling with fear.
Vanilla placed a hand to her chest. "Is Shadow alright?" she asked.
"He's fine," Sonic reassured them. "Knuckles found him and brought him to the workshop. Tails' fix him up and made sure he's getting plenty of rest. He has taken good care of him."
A relieved look sat on Cream's features.
"Well, if he's safe in anyone's hands, it's Tails," she said quietly as she beamed up at Sonic. "Right?"
Sonic grinned at the shorter rabbit. "That's right." He had known that there was some attachment Cream had to his little bro for some time now. It must have been almost a year he started noticing the small things that she would do for him – whether it was to bring him cookies or just the small words of encouragement she would offer him. Of course, he was sure that Tails' had noticed it too. And of course, he would never admit it because he knew how to figure everything out except girls.
He'd best not bother, he told himself spitefully.
"Anyway, it's not safe here. If Eggman knows where you live, he's bound to show up sooner or later for you two. The safest place right now is at the workshop. If you don't mind, I can Chaos Control you there right now."
Cream nodded but Vanilla was not convinced.
"Sonic," she said as she approached the hedgehog carefully. "Why would the doctor choose to come after my daughter and I?"
"Because that's who he is," Sonic stated simply, as if it were the obvious. "He plays dirty and he's the kind of monster that would use our friends as bait to get what he wants. He's-,"
Vanilla held up a hand, causing Sonic to cease his ranting.
"No, Sonic," she said. "What I mean was, why would Eggman choose to come after Cream and I? The doctor plays favorites with his victims, you know this. He chooses the someone that would hold the most leverage over someone. As he has stated before, you are his arch rival. He would only use the person who is closest to your heart to gain that authority over you. And he knows it would get the most anger and the most emotional reaction out of you. If that is the same doctor you have been fighting for all of these years, it is not us that he would come after. The person he would choose to capture would be Amy."
Sonic felt a pang in his heart with Vanilla spoke Amy's name. Avoiding her gaze, his eyes drifted to the wall.
"Well, if he does, he's wrong." he said softly. "Amy rejected me…"
Vanilla's eyes widened. "I beg your pardon?" she asked, astonished.
"You heard me," he spat. Inwardly calming himself, he quickly added. "I'm sorry…"
"But… but how?" Cream asked, who was just as shocked at her mother. "And why?"
"I yelled at her a couple of days ago," he admitted shamefully, his eyes now on his shoes. "I told her that she needed to let me go because I would never, ever return her feelings. I got mad at her and I said the most… unforgiveable things to her… She ran away before I could apologize. I don't blame her though. I was truly a cruel person to her because I was blinded by my duty as a hero…" Sonic took a deep breath. "So, I took some time to reflect on what I said… I searched myself… and I realized that I, too, have… feelings, for Amy. Then when I approached her about it today, I was so confident that she would take me back. I was so sure that when I told her I wanted to pursue her romantically, that she would just fall back into my arms… and that I could give her what she's always wanted to have. Me…" Sonic scoffed bitterly. "But I was wrong. I told her how I felt, and she completely threw it back in my face. She told me that she… was going to do what I asked and let me go… and then she ran away from me…All the times I've rejected her, I did it so carelessly. I rejected her constantly. I always threw it back in her face, even though I knew it was what I wanted. And when I finally thought that I had the same feelings for her, she stomped on them; just like I had done to her so many times…" Letting out a bitter chuckle, Sonic raised a hand to his forehead, trying to rub away the headache that was forming. "Guess I got a taste of my own medicine, huh?"
There was silence in the room. Sonic did not want to look at his friends. He didn't want to see the looks on their faces. He didn't want sympathy from them; that's not what he needed. He did this to himself. Dropping his hand from his face, he turned to the door.
"Anyway, enough of that. It's best that we hurry and get you to the workshop-."
"Sonic," Vanilla interrupted him once again. "I believe that this is the perfect opportunity for you to confront Amy."
Sonic was surprised at Vanilla's words once more. He turned to look at her. She was standing right where she was, her eyes searching him. Even though she was a dear friend to him, it was times like these when Sonic would listen to her. Vanilla was a mother and was once a wife- she held good judgment. He stood still, facing her and waiting for her to explain herself. And she did.
"Do you truly believe that the Amy Rose that you know – that we all know - who has persistently and ruthlessly chased you all these years and vowed to capture your heart would truly be so crushed by words that she would give up her heart just after a petty argument?"
Exasperated, Sonic threw his arms up. "Truth is, Vanilla, I don't know anymore, okay? We were great friends until all this romance got involved. Now, everything is about feelings. I'm not sure we can even ever be friends after this."
"Why is that, Sonic?"
"Because she hurt me!" Sonic said, aggravated. "I was going to give her what she had been chasing for all of this time and she threw it back at me! Whatever could have been started between us is already over! All this time, she's just been… she's just a… a tease!"
Vanilla's gaze softened.
"Do you truly think that the Amy Rose you know and care about is a tease, Sonic?" she asked softly. "Or do you think that she was hurt and she just said some things that she said out of angry?"
"Why are you asking me all these questions?"
"When you yelled at Amy a few nights ago, as you had said, you told me that you had said things to Amy that you did not mean because you were blinded by your emotions. And after some time to yourself to clear your head, you were able to see things for what they were. Then you rushed to make amends. Do you not think that this is perhaps that Amy is in your shoes now, regarding this situation?"
Sonic did not respond. Instead, he pondered on this. He was able to see things clearly when he took some time to be by himself and he wasn't in a pressured position. He took time to reflect on his heart and listen to his conscience. Then when his heart check was complete, he knew what he had to do. Perhaps Amy was doing the same things right now? Was she taking the time to push aside all the emotions and face the facts? Sonic considered this.
"Do you really think…?" Sonic paused. "That she could be reconsidering?"
"I believe that you should take this time now to talk to her," Vanilla said. "It is obvious that she is hurting the most someone could ask for in a time like this is someone to lean on and someone to listen to them. If you truly want Amy to see that you were serious about how you felt about her, show it to her by your action and not just your words."
Sonic could almost hear Rouge's voice echoing on Vanilla's words.
"Amy has been down recently," Cream said. "A few days ago when we came back from the museum, I was asking her about you. Of course, I won't repeat what she has said as that is between Amy and I but… she wasn't acting herself when I had left that day."
Sonic blinked. He raised a hand to wipe his nose.
"Come to think of it," Sonic stated. "Usually, Amy would always give me the time of day and go through extreme measures to make sure I was comfortable. She was acting weird when I went to see her and ask her out on a walk. She wouldn't let me in her house and she claimed she had things to take care of…"
"Cream and I will take the train to Mystic Ruins and we will be fine," Vanilla assured, changing the subject as she slipped on her shoes. "I think that you should go make sure that Amy is safe, take some time to talk to her, and bring her when you two have worked things out."
"Are you sure?" Sonic asked, unsure of this plan. "What if she rejects me again? I don't know if I could-,"
"Sonic."
Man, everyone is interrupting me today!
"You need to work your problems out with Amy first," Vanilla said firmly. "And when you talk to her, I am sure that things between the two of you will work out for the better. And if you two end up in a relationship, that's wonderful. But if not, at least you will be on good terms with one another and you will at least be friends."
Sonic wasn't so sure. Even though his heart was crushed, he knew that if he and Amy were to reconcile, he was not sure if he could just be friends with her. He admired practically everything about her – her strength, her smile, her cheerfulness, her character. He wanted to be the one who would win her heart and the thought of her being with someone else… was unacceptable. He inwardly growled at the thought.
He nodded at the motherly rabbit as she smiled at him.
"Women love a man who can listen," she assured. "If you give Amy this time to just listen, I am sure that everything will turn out great." She placed a motherly kiss on his head before grabbing Cream's hand.
"Don't worry about us, Sonic," Cream said as her bright smile returned to her lips. "And don't worry about Amy either. If you go to her now, I'm sure that she will love you just as much as she loves you now."
Sonic considered this before he gave them a grateful smile and he sped out the door and headed for Amy's. His mind raced and his heart was pounding. He just hoped that Vanilla was right and that if anything, Amy would accept him.
He arrived .52 seconds later. He wasn't surprised when he knocked on Amy's door and she wouldn't answer. She probably knew it was him because it was locked. Inwardly growling at her stubbornness, he simply went outside and leaped up to her balcony, knowing that her double doors were probably unlocked, as always. He half-expected to see Amy standing in the kitchen, humming quietly to herself and cooking something superb that filled the kitchen with mouth-watering aromas. He wished that she would turn and smile that beautiful smile of hers at him.
What surprised him was seeing the two doors smashed in with the glass littering all over the carpet. He cautiously entered, his eyes scanning the room. Instead of seeing it in its usually bright and very alive atmosphere, it was the complete opposite. The apartment was completely darkened and filled numerous stacked boxes and piles all over living room. The couches and coffee table were flipped and many of the boxes were knocked over. Taking a cautious step inside, his lime eyes scanned the empty room. The boxes were all labeled with words like STORAGE, GOOD WILL, and TRASH.
He accidently bumped into the overturned table but something of interest caught his eye on the carpet covered in the window shards. It was a small stack of papers with a small note scribbled in purple handwriting. Curious, he bent over and picked up the note. Although it was rude to poke in other people's business, he read it anyway. It could have a lead as to where Amy was.
June 17th
Dear Amy,
Thank you for all of your hard work these past two years at Station Square Chao Garden. It will be hard to find a replacement with half the experience and half the heart you have. But I know that wherever you are going, God will bless where your feet go as well as the work of your hands. Come by whenever you're in Station Square. I'd love for you to come by and see the baby.
With love,
Brandy Perry
Realization dawned on Sonic. He felt panic rise in him. This was no spring cleaning. Was she planning on moving? If she was, why didn't she ask him for his help? Why didn't she tell anybody else? Cream, Vanilla, Rouge? They all had said that hadn't seen or heard from Amy in days. Was it because of what had happened between the two of them? Sonic clenched the note in his hand and guilt weighed heavily on his heart.
This was his fault. All of it. If he had put his stupid pride away to begin with and had done what his heart had told him to do from the start then Amy wouldn't be gone. If he had just given her the time of day and listened to her when she tried to explain her feelings for him then she would be with him now and they would be happy together. But she was gone now…
Sonic's ear twitched at a small familiar sound ringing in the empty apartment. It sounded like a certain musical sound. Curious, he followed the sound to a closed door down the hall. Hesitantly he opened the door. By the look of the bed and dresser it was Amy's old room. Moving past the stacked boxes to the sound his eyes widened when he found Amy's purse on her nightstand. Bending over he picked up her purse and fished around inside for the cause of the music. Pulling out the source it was Amy's cell phone. Sonic's eyes widened.
If Amy was moving, why would she leave her cell phone behind? Sonic glanced at the bag in his hand. Or her purse for that matter? Glancing inside the purse he caught a glimpse of Amy's wallet. Pulling it out, he opened it wide. Her ID was inside along with her credit card, a few gift cards, and two twenty bills.
Sonic's eyebrows furrowed angrily.
None of it made any sense. None of this lined up with who Amy was. She was a caring, kind person. She was also very stubborn. She wouldn't let something that happened between the two of them completely ruin her life. Sure, she would be hurt but she was tough enough to pull through and come out even stronger than before. And even if she were going to move away, she most certainly would have told them – her friends. He added arrogantly. Something isn't right.
Studying the living room, a thought crossed Sonic's mind. She may have been in the middle of moving, but no matter how upset she would be, she wouldn't be so angry that she would completely destroy her apartment… Where is she? What happened here…? His eyes flashed dangerously as darkness clouded his heart and displeasure clouded his vision.
"I think I know someone who may know…"
*~.:Tails' Workshop, 6:53pm:.~*
The orange-two tailed fox sat at a large computer screen, his elbows resting on the desk and his chin resting on his linked fingers in an anxious gesture. It had been a while since he had last heard from either Rouge or Sonic and he had expected at least a report from at least one of them by now. It was getting dark now and he was getting restless. Shadow was getting edgy as well. It was difficult but he managed to get Shadow to at least sit down. Although he refused to go back up to his temporary room, he lay on the couch, his eyes locked onto Tails' screen.
Ever since the conversation the four of them had earlier, they both had been apprehensive. Everything these past couple of days - from the Master Emerald acting strangely, to finding out that the Chaos Emerald were not from the echidna ancestry, to having Shadow almost die – Tails felt an odd feeling of sorts. He knew everything was connected but to connect it all together, he still needed all the pieces. He looked up at the screen, where a file regarding the Chaos Emeralds was displayed. He had already read it twice but he felt like he should read it a third time, in case he had missed anything. …either that or he was simply getting impatient.
Tails placed a hand to his chin, his mind reflecting on what had happened earlier that day in his workshop. He felt that everyone in the workshop was at their weakest today. Shadow was physically wounded and believing a phantom thief. Rouge was emotionally hurt by Shadow's unnecessary cruel words. And Sonic…
Sonic was a totally different story. Sonic was never one about opening his heart to people. Even when it was just the two of them, Sonic didn't talk much about what he was feeling. He was someone who dealt with his feelings by himself and did the best he could to keep drama out of his life. As he was free from the world, he was sometimes free from himself. But today… Tails' saw that his big brother was totally caught in an inner battle that he had no idea how to fight. And he would have to learn how to and Tails' felt saddened that he would be unable to help him in this situation; that he would have to help himself.
I'll think about this later. Tails looked up at the file on the screen. If he had planned everything correctly and Rouge and Sonic followed everything according to plan, they would have the rest of the Chaos Emeralds in their possession and Eggman (or whoever this caped hedgehog was) would come to them. And hopefully, they'd be ready for him… or her.
"It's not the doctor."
Tails looked over his shoulder at the resting hedgehog. His red eyes held Tails' with a searching gaze.
"You do believe me." Surprisingly, it was not a demand but a question.
Tails blinked. He didn't know how to reply to his question. And he wanted to trust him. He believed that Shadow was unimpaired at the time he was attacked. Plus… the past few years Shadow had truly changed and everyone (including Sonic) had seen the changes. Sure, his attitude hadn't improved much but his heart had. They had seen it in his actions. Instead of doing what he knew was wrong he had made a decision to choose to do right. It was almost as if he were proving himself to the team that he was a different person. And of course, everyone had accepted him. But just even imagining some random hedgehog appearing out of nowhere seemed doubtful. It was more reasonable to think that it was Eggman's doing. He had done things like this before; kidnapped their friends, done experiments on them, used the Chaos Emeralds against them – you name it. It was the most logical explanation. But Shadow was in no-way a liar. He wasn't that person anymore…
Tails' smiled.
"I believe you." He said. "I have every confidence in you, Shadow."
Tails' noticed Shadow's tense shoulders loosen up and his countenance relaxed some. Realizing this brought some sort of comfort to Shadow's conscience, Tails' turned back to the screen. Instead of reading the file again, he leaned back against his chair in thought. He had faith in Rouge finding the Chaos Emeralds. Next to Knuckles, she was a very impressive treasure hunter. He knew without a doubt Rouge would return with the Emeralds. It was Sonic he was concerned about.
"I was saved by a spirit."
Tails turned around in his chair once more. He looked at the black and red hedgehog.
"What?" he asked, not sure he was hearing correctly.
"On Angel Island," Shadow replied softly. His voice was quiet, almost a whisper. "When I was attacked, I was bleeding in my side. Believe me when I say that the wound was deep and I would not have survived. I fell unconscious but when I had awoken, there was a spirit of an echidna in front of me."
Confirming Tails' fear that Shadow had been holding back information, Tails slid his chair closer to Shadow. He was more than interested now.
"Tell me."
"Her name was Tikal," Shadow said. "I'm pretty sure that she had been dead for centuries due to the clothing she wore and her hair ornaments. She was a young echidna, no older than nineteen years old I'm sure but her skin was casting off radiance like the moonlight…," He abruptly changed the subject. Shadow cleared his throat. "She approached me and gave me a premonition… a forewarning that I would soon be confronted with one of my friend's relations. She explained to me that this person is a very wicked and dangerous person and that she will destroy the world. She gave me a duty…" Shadow absentmindedly raised a hand to his cheek. "And she healed me so that I would be able to fulfill this task. That is the only reason why I am alive right now is to fulfill that duty… and I will keep my promises."
Tails' raised an eyebrow at that last statement of mentioning two promises but decided it best not to question him. This is why Shadow did not want to reveal this information. It sounded utterly absurd and unbelievable. But Tails only smiled.
He was about to say something when the door swung open and hit the wall behind it with a loud SLAM. Tails and Shadow whipped their heads around to see a familiar red echidna standing there, panting and his amethyst eyes widened. Tails, overly happy to see him, leaped up from his chair. "Knuckles!" he cried, glad and relieved to see the guardian for the first time in days. "We're glad you're back! Something's happened and we could really use your help!"
"You sure as heck do!" Knuckles said as he tossed his rucksack aside. "I found her! The thief who attacked Shadow!"
Hearing this, Shadow shot up from his resting position. "You found her?" he demanded as he forced himself to his feet. Tails hurried to help him but Shadow's. eyes were now clear and focused. He was pushing aside his pain. "Where is that witch now? Tell me so I can go teach her a lesson or two."
"I do not know," Knuckles admitted although he did not appear to be ashamed of this action. "I didn't follow her."
"You fool!" Shadow yelled. "Why didn't you go after her, knowing that she was the thief? Did you even attack or did she kick your sorry tail as well?"
"It would have been pointless!" Knuckles retorted as he approached the fox and black hedgehog. "She had three Chaos Emeralds, Shadow. Three. If she had enough power to defeat you, what makes you think that I'd stand a chance against three Chaos Emeralds as well as a shard of the Master Emerald? We're not dealing with some amateur fighter here!"
Shadow's body went tense under Tails' hands. Tails looked at Knuckles.
"Knuckles, did you get any information on her? Like, do you know why she wanted the Emeralds? Or where she was heading?"
"She was in Mystic Ruins when she had used Chaos Control in front of me."
"That's impossible," Shadow hissed irritably. "Aside from Sonic and I, we are the only ones who are talented enough to manipulate space and time to warp. We know the secrets of the Chaos Emeralds enough to manipulate that energy. What could some little hedgehog thief such as herself know anything of Chaos Control?"
"She is as I have feared," Knuckles said, his face growing pale. "She is of the Neveian Clan."
"Neveian?"
"It's a clan of hedgehogs that are pure myth," Tails cut in. "It is said in a legend that Knuckles and I had looked up that the Neveians were the original creators and of the Chaos Emeralds, as well as the Master Emerald. Over a thousand years ago, they were a peaceful village of hedgehogs that could take the energy of the world and the elements around them and that was what had fueled the Emeralds their energy. All that energy comes from somewhere and it was the Neveians working together to gather that energy and send it to the Emeralds. They were the Emeralds… original manipulators."
"This explains nothing!" Shadow remarked. "So what would a dying clan send a member to kill me?"
"The thief was not sent to kill you," Tails said. "It was obvious that she came back for the Emeralds."
"Then why would she only take three?" Shadow growled. "Not to mention the shard of the Master Emerald. It's apparent that the Emeralds that are her main prizes…"
"No; the Emeralds are not at all what she was after." Knuckles confirmed. "After obtaining only three of the Chaos Emeralds and a single Master Emerald fragment, it was apparent by the Neveian's words that she had every intention of returning to her village. But she also came here for one more thing…" Knuckles said as he trailed off, his desperate features melting away to concerned. "She came for Amy."
"What?" Tails cried. "Knuckles, are you sure?"
"I'm sure…"
"Did you see her?"
Knuckles lowered his head. "Yeah, I saw her. She was with the thief."
"Was she alright?"
"She was fine," Knuckles said quietly. "If anything… she was with the Neveian."
Tails was now confused at Knuckles' heavy emphasis on his words.
"What do you mean?" Shadow's eyes narrowed. He had valued Amy Rose as a person. Sure, he didn't exactly consider her his close friend, but it was because of Amy he had realized Maria's true wish. On the ARK, if it weren't for Amy's words he would have never turned a corner, the world would be lost and Maria's wish would have been forgotten. She was kind to him and whenever she saw him she always made sure to see how he was doing. She indisputably cared about him and he saw it whenever she looked at him. He held the highest respect for her. And the thought of her being with that criminal was almost unbelievable… "Don't say stupid things like that. Are you actually suggesting that Amy was a part of the entire plot?"
"I'm not suggesting that, no," Knuckles said. "But I'm very sure that the Neveian came for Amy. If the Neveian were here for the Emeralds, she would have collected all of them and not bothered shattering the Master Emerald and Amy wouldn't be with her. They were very… familiar with each other. They talked very freely and it was obvious that they were no strangers to each other. They knew each other well. In fact, if I had heard correctly, they are related somehow."
"A friend who is very dear to you will stand in your way, for her blood's sake."
Tikal's words echoed in Shadow's mind. Clutching a hand to his head, her words were repeated.
"The cloaked individual who came to harm you is not a person of good intent… She holds fast to a practice that will bring this world that you know to absolute ruin. She will leave this world in oblivion... She will position herself in your way, between you and the person who will cease the existence of this world. It will be up to you whether you will stand beside your friend, or against them."
"Oh God…" Shadow whispered, his eyes widening in fear. "Amy…"
"Shadow?" Knuckles' voice broke through Shadow's thoughts. "What's wrong? Shadow?"
Shadow reached up, his hands grabbing Tails' shoulders. He stared into Tails' eyes; his blood red orbs reflecting desperation. He ignored the way Tails' winced as his grip tightened.
"We have to follow after them," he said urgently. "We have to catch up to them, right now. We have to get Amy away from that girl! We can't waste any more time just standing here-,"
"Whoa, whoa!" Knuckles cried as he stepped between the fox and the hedgehog, placing his hands on their shoulders and forcefully pushing them apart. "Time out! Shadow, what's gotten into you? Why are you-?"
"You said that this girl was from an ancient clan, yes?" Shadow demanded from the fox. "Nevaeh, you said?"
"Y-yes," Tails stammered weakly. "That's right…"
"Then Amy is in grave danger," Shadow hissed. He threw a glare at Knuckles. "If they are related as you have said, then my vision is about to come true."
"What vision?" Knuckles exploded. "In case you guys have totally missed something, I'm the only one who has seen this girl since the attack! That and I have an idea of where they are headed! If we should be making plans about what we should be doing, we all need to know and understand everything about this situation! We can't be holding in valuable information on each other! Including your vision, Shadow, as you obviously have more information on this thief than the rest of us do!"
"I do," Shadow stated simply.
"Then we need everyone here as quickly as possible and make a plan of our own," Knuckles said firmly. "Tails, I need you to get Sonic and Rouge immediately."
"But Rouge and Sonic are-,"
"Just get a hold of them and get them here as quickly as possible," Shadow cut in. "Our priorities have now changed."
*~.:Elsewhere, 7:01pm:.~*
Dr. Ivo Robotnik was having a quiet evening. Sure, he was planning his preparations that were sure to end that nuisance of a blue hedgehog and take over the world - but it was nice regardless. He preferred it that way. It helped him to think clearly, logically – he was focused. Other than the rain beating outside it was close to silence in his secret laboratory. He leaned over his newest blueprints for his most recent project and continued working progressively. He was on a timed schedule so he could not afford any big distractions.
Taking a sip of his coffee. He leaned over the blueprints, inspecting every detail.
BOOM!
Ivo coughed at the sound of the explosion, sending spewing coffee out of his mouth and all over his blueprints. The plans forgotten, he sat up straight in his chair, immediately alerted. His attention turned to the door where the explosion-like sound came from. Standing from his chair he pressed a button on his board.
"What is going on up there?" He called irately. "I ordered for complete silence today!"
"Doctor," a monotone robotic voice came over the speaker. "There is an intruder."
"WHAT?" the angered doctor cried. He slammed his fists against his desk. "Block all doors! Capture this intruder!"
Bringing up the security video, he watched the screen as he saw a familiar blue hedgehog walking down the hallway on the first level. His eyes widened in horror as he watched the screen as a horde of Egg-bots headed towards the stomping hedgehog. With ease, he spin dashed through all of them, leaving nothing but spare parts. His stomping turned to running as he cleared through any robots and doors that came in his way.
Dr. Robotnik let out a cry in fear.
"Stop him!" he yelled desperately into the speakers. "Make sure that he does not reach my laboratory!"
"But, Doctor," a familiar voice came from the doorway. "I'm already here."
Dr. Robotnik felt his insides freeze and his stomach drop. Turning around slowly, he came face to face with his arch-enemy. The blue hedgehog gave him a blood-chilling smile. Now, the doctor had seen Sonic mad before. But he had never seen him as infuriated as he had now.
"Hello Eggman," Sonic hissed through his teeth. "Long time no see."
Before Dr. Robotnik could speak, he was suddenly slammed against the desk, scattering the many blueprint papers and files on the ground. He lost his breath for a brief moment as he felt his arch-enemy step onto his back and pin his arms behind him, immobilizing him. He gasped as the hedgehog applied pressure to his arms, causing a stretching pain in his shoulders. He struggled with no prevail.
"Egg-bots!" he cried into the speaker. "I need backup to the laboratory - NOW!"
The hedgehog lifted up a foot from behind and swiftly brought it down on the speaker, crushing it with his heel. Grinding his heel against the shattered speaker, he jerked the doctor's arms upwards. "Shut up," Sonic demanded. His tone sufficiently silenced the now helpless doctor.
"I hope you didn't mind," the hedgehog hissed in his ear, his hands tightening their iron grip on Dr. Robotnik's wrists. "I told them that this was a private talk." He motioned his head towards the door. "They didn't take it so well." In the doorway was a large pile of broken and shattered robots. The doctor's heart fell.
"Looks like you're going to have to try little bit harder to try and keep me out next time, Doctor," Sonic whispered furiously as he jerked the heavy man backwards, throwing him against the seat. The doctor stumbled to regain his composure in his seat as the shorter, yet somehow scarier, hedgehog turned towards him. Dr. Robotnik noticed something: Sonic attacked him out of nowhere. Usually, it was he who instigated the hedgehog into battle. It was rare that Sonic would dare come charging into his secret lab and attack him. Perhaps a bad chili dog? He thought weakly as Sonic narrowed his eyes dangerously at him. Sonic was not just angry or irritated. He was fuming.
Dr. Robotnik cowered in fear as the blue hedgehog was now standing in front of him, glaring down at him. He reached out and grabbed the doctor by the collar of his shirt, pulling him towards his face. Was this the end of the line for him? Was he going to die? Was Sonic the Hedgehog finally going to end him? He gulped as the hedgehog gripped his collar.
"Where is she, Eggman?" he demanded, his tone low and laced with fury.
Dr. Robotnik blinked.
"W-what?" he squeaked.
"Where are you holding Amy captive?"
Pause.
"WHAT?" he repeated, legitimately confused. He let out a weak, nervous laugh. "I'm not holding Amy prisoner!"
Sonic's eyes flashed and violently shoved the man backwards, causing him to tumble off his chair and onto the hard tile. Backing away from the approaching hedgehog, he felt his back hit the wall. He cowered as the hedgehog now stood above him. His hands clenched into fists and his back straightened, he repeated his question. Confused, the doctor shook his head worriedly.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" the doctor cried.
"My patience is wearing thin, Eggman. And as I am in no mood to be screwing around with you today, you will tell me where she is-," He bent forward, raising a clenched fist to Dr. Robotnik's face. "- or I will beat it of you."
Dr. Robotnik panicked. "I swear to you," he said frantically. "S-she's not here! I haven't touched her!" He gave a shrug of his shoulders. "I mean, yes, I sent a robot out for her capture but-,"
"You what?"
"But I never collected her!" The doctor was now crying out. He moved from his back to his hands and knees in a pleading gesture. "I sent a robot out for her capture days ago but all it did was bring me back useless information! It entered her living courters to capture her about twenty minutes ago but she was not there. And she's not here either!"
Sonic's teeth grit together.
"What information?" he demanded through his clenched jaw.
"That she… that Amy was being watched by someone," the terrified doctor replied. Sonic's eyes widened a fraction of an inch. When he did not ask for him to clarify, Dr. Robotnik continued. "Every time the robot was going to collect her it was attacked by that someone. It was two days later that the robot sent to me with the information on Amy's apparent defender. They both disappeared since yesterday and I have been unable to track Amy since then."
"Who?"
The doctor swallowed the lump in his throat at Sonic's unyielding tone. His eyes searched around him to help explain. His eyes caught something on the ground. Raising his hands up to show he was not planning anything sneaky, he shuffled around the hedgehog. Grabbing a file off the floor he held it out to Sonic who snatched it from his hands. "Those are the photos taken from the robot I sent out," he explained as he raised his hands up once more.
Sonic opened the file and pulled out the photos, dropping the cream-colored file soundlessly to the tile floor. His eyes scanned the photos. His hand grabbed one in particular and allowed the rest to fall to the floor. His fist clenched angrily as he shot the doctor a death glare. He leaned forward and shoved the photo in the doctor's face. It was a lavender hedgehog – apparently a female – in a dark cloak.
"Is this her?"
Dr. Robotnik nodded many times.
"Yes, yes! That's her!"
Sonic's taken aback countenance became disbelieving and raised his fist to the man's face.
"Are you lying to me, Doctor?"
Dr. Robotnik shook his head.
"N-no! I'm not! I swear to you!"
Sonic's eyes widened with wrath like fire. "Swear to THIS!" he shouted as he pulled his fist back and launched it forward. Doctor Robotnik cowered in fear, letting out a scream for the pain yet to come but did not. He opened his eyes when he heard a small beeping sound going off. Sonic held his wrist back as the beeping sound came from a watch on his wrist. Pulling himself back, he opened a small screen on the watch.
"What?" he hissed angrily.
"Sonic?"
It's the fox's voice, Dr. Robotnik recognized. He was relieved that he chose now of all times to get a hold of Sonic. He would have to personally thank him later.
"Sorry buddy," Sonic apologized as he ran a hand through his quills. "It's Amy! She's gone and Eggman says that he doesn't have her!"
"That's because he doesn't," Tails' voice replied. "We know exactly –," he paused. "Well, we don't know exactly where she's at, but Knuckles saw her about less than twenty-five minutes ago."
A pleased look set on Sonic's face as he let out a big breath. "That's a relief," Sonic said as his hardened features softened bit by bit. "Is she okay? Is she with you guys now?"
Another pause.
"It's best if you meet with us, Sonic. We've got something to tell you."
Sonic nodded firmly at this information before closing the screen and covering his wrist again. Turning to the cowering doctor, his icy glare appeared once more.
"I'm glad that you weren't lying to me, Eggman," Sonic said indifferently. "Or your face would have been smashed in."
Dr. Robotnik let out a breath he did not know he was holding. The hedgehog peered down at the trembling man and pointed a gloved finger at him. "Listen good Eggman cuz I'm only gonna say this once," his indifferent tone faded to a deep baritone. "You keep your robots and your plans away from Amy. If I ever, ever hear of your robots coming within one hundred feet of her-," he paused. "Well, let's just say it's going to end up being extremely unpleasant for you." He leaned forward ever so slightly. "Are my words clear?"
"Crystal," Dr. Robotnik croaked out. Before he could blink, the hedgehog was gone, a streak of fading blue light in his place. Realizing he was safe and alive, he placed a hand over his racing heart. He had seen Sonic angry at him many times before so that in particular was no surprise. But to see him come alone and break down over two hundred robots and break into his high-guard laboratory was very unexpected. To see him on the very edge of his control, hanging on by the thread of sanity – it stunned the doctor to speechlessness.
All because of Amy Rose…
END OF CHAPTER ELEVEN
Song Inspiration for Chapter Eleven:
Already Over, RED
Training, Ninja Assassin OST
Warrior's Suite, Rurouni Kenshin OST
Corina: (clasps hands together) "I'm so excited! The tension is rising faster and faster and the inspiration keeps pouring in faster and faster!" (giggles) "I can't wait!"
Amy: "I'm kinda… disappointed…"
Corina: "Why?"
Amy: "Because I didn't showed up in this chapter!"
Corina: "Well… neither did Kaden, or Evelyn, or Rouge. I don't know what you're whining about."
Vanilla: "Thank you, Corina, for allowing me to have an appearance here." (bows head)
Corina: "No no! The pleasure is all mine, Ms. Vanilla!" (bows head)
Vanilla: "Oh, no, sweetheart. This is, after all, your story."
Corina: "Of course it is but Sonic wouldn't have gotten it through his thick skull if it weren't for you!"
Sonic: (scowls) "Why am I turning into a loose cannon?"
Corina: "Because the love of your life has gone missing!"
Sonic: (scowl deepens)
Amy: (hugs Sonic's neck)
Kaden: (simply smiles) (gets tackled by Amy)
Amy: "I wanna see you without your hood, dangit!"
Kaden: "All in good time; I promise!"
Sonic: (scowls even more)
Rouge: "So, disclaimer anyone?"
Corina: "Vanilla, if you would honor me…?"
Vanilla: "If you insist; Corina does not own any of the characters as we belong to SEGA. Except for Evelyn and Kaden, of course, as they belong to Corina."
Corina: "Don't forget to review!"
Evelyn: "You're starting to get on my nerves…"
Corina: "Whatchya gonna do about it?"
Evelyn: "I have a list of possible options…"
Corina: "Well, you can't do ANYTHING because I could do anything to your character!"
Evelyn: (pauses) "Good point…"
Kaden: "Have a pleasant evening filled with relaxation and spending time with family. Please remember to review this story."
All: "GOD BLESS!"