Sonic pushed a button on the communicator, making it clear to Amy that the conversation between the two hedgehogs was over. Although she'd only heard one side of the conversation, she couldn't help but feel suspicious that Sonic lied so flatly about not having the code. Right now she held that code in her pocket, it sitting there crumpled and damp due to sitting in his jacket pocket earlier. It must have been put in there knowingly, but Amy wasn't sure. He had to have a reason for not telling Shadow. She wondered if he would tell her the truth if she asked.
"What was all that about?"
"Oh, apparently he'd gone look about at that place you left your walkie-talkie behind at."
"Oh. Thanks for that by the way." She replied sheepishly.
"And what was that about GUN?"
"Huh?"
"You mentioned GUN, what was that about?"
"They turned up after I found your communicator."
"They attacked you?"
"They didn't mean to." His voice wavered, as if unsure. She didn't know why he answered that way as if he were trying to convince himself. "They're on our side, right?"
"Well, I mean, we aren't exactly their favourite to bump into."
"I know, but soon after some robots turned up and it was just a bit of a mess," Sonic admitted, that left arm holding his shoulder again as if an anxious tic he had developed all of a sudden.
"What's the matter with you?"
"Excuse me?" His eyes widened, unsure of what the pretty hedgehog's intention was.
"Your shoulder, you keep-" A yell cut Amy of her second attempt at speaking to Sonic was rudely brought to an end as they heard commotion ahead. Granted, they had fallen behind after talking with Shadow and then one another. It sounded too chaotic to actually be Espio. As if he were having the same thought process in his mind, Sonic held out his hand towards Amy so as to propose they move quicker. As her fingers laced between his, he took off in a straight direction to their two other teammates. The speed was exhilarating, Amy had forgotten how nice it was to watch Sonic move with such poise.
In seconds they reached Knuckles and Tails, the fox was on his knees and Knuckles stood defensively in front of him, the backpack still slouched across his shoulder.
As if it had known where to meet them, ahead of them stood four robots as large as Big the cat. Their copper bodies glistened in the moonlight and the insufferable clanking did nothing but lessen Amy's confidence. Sonic parked the two of them right beside their friends, his own body taking charge of defence as he stood in front of Knuckles.
"I thought Espio was meeting us here?" The blue hedgehog muttered.
"He was." Knuckles retorted, standing up and moving beside him.
"You don't think they took him out first, do you?" Amy whispered as she crouched down beside Tails who was tapping away at his communicator. This was the base, after all, a place kept unknown from the radar of robots. In fact, the location was kept private to anyone who wasn't part of Rouge's small force. Even GUN didn't know of it, and it was probably better that way. Even if Sonic felt complied to trust GUN, most likely to Knuckles' faith of them, Amy wasn't so sure. They had their own agenda, sure they wanted the robots out of control too, but they didn't care if they took Sonic and the rest of the team down with them if it meant doing exactly that.
"Maybe. Better keep one in one piece to ask afterwards."
"Sonic, you take the left. Amy, you're the right. Tails had dibs on the one closest and I'll have the one at the back. Deal?" Knuckles offered, Amy noticing the familiar glance he tossed towards Sonic. Clearly, he too was unsure of the status of the blue hedgehog as much as she.
"Roger." Amy agreed.
"Sweet, got it," Sonic added with a smirk.
"Right ahead of you." Tails growled. Amy only had to flick her eyes up to watch as Tails flung his communicator directly at the centre robot, it magnetically colliding with the metal in a single swift movement. At the connection, it flashed once, twice and then exploded in the chest of the robot.
At the new sudden commotion, the robots sprung into action. Upgraded, they were fast. All the robots now seemed to fight with better intent, stronger mobility. But nothing like the four of them combined.
Sonic was the first to leave his spot, his sweep of the arm moving to the concrete as he curled up into a spin dash and headed directly for his target. Although the metal only dented, it was clear this attack was not his last as he prepped for the next hit.
As for Knuckles, he had pulled his backpack around both of his shoulders and used his fists as his weapon; them digging directly at the robot's knees as if to pull it away from under.
Tails had recovered from whatever wound he had retrieved prior to Amy and Sonic's appearance and was sending kicks towards his robot with better force than one would imagine from a gentle fox.
And Amy.
Amy might be good at ripping pieces apart, but she did a greater deal of damage with her hammer. Her bracelet swiftly did it's exchange, the piko replacement flinging out like a vision of nature, it's handle familiar to the touch.
She let it fly forward as it struck copper with an excruciating clang. As if lost in a fight of her own, the others faded away from her vision and all that was left was the agile movements of herself and the hazardous responses from the robot she attacked. It looked like most robots that usually roamed downtown, shiny, outdated and merciless.
No matter how she tired from swinging her hammer, she let her rage unleash upon his head, his chest, most of his outer exterior. Before she knew it, there were dents in places that weren't before and she ricocheted it towards the brick wall. Would Espio be inside? And what were these robots after? Them? Or the delivery?
Or the code. Something whispered in the back of her head and she couldn't help but glance in the direction of Sonic. His robot was already a pile on the floor and he'd taken to helping Tails with his. Though as she watched him, the robot behind her swung up it's dented body.
Sonic's eyes met with hers, his green pupils growing as she watched his stoop forward as if heading directly for her. It was easy for her to realise that she was in the line of danger for letting down her guard. Fast as he was, the blur of Sonic made itself visible as he sped between the two of them.
But the robot was already falling towards her and now that he had made himself a shield of sorts, she clung to her hammer like a sword.
As if in slow motion, she watched herself from above. Sonic moved gently aside so to let her take her final blow, however as he did so the robot continued descending.
Claw-like daggers retracted from the robot's hands, them slashing out and burrowing into Sonic's shoulder right as Amy's hammer annihilated it from the side.
Although Sonic didn't get the chance to react, as when the metal pierced the skin of his shoulder, an electric wave seemed to emit from him and he shook visibly for a moment as he dropped down to his knees, eyes squeezed shut in momentary pain. As the robot behind clattered onto the surface behind, the notion retracted his claws and Sonic fell onto his side. Amy dropped her hammer and quickly moved to the blue hedgehog, her emotions null.
For she didn't know how to react. Sure, he was injured in the shoulder. But only when she got closer did she realise he had been electrocuted.
Her hand touched his now still body, rolling him so that she could see the puncture in his shoulder. Ironically, it was the shoulder she'd asked him about earlier, the one that seemed to be agitating him. As if she were living in a dream, her hand extended itself out and pulled at something in his wound. As she pulled out with a dead state, she tilted it over between her fingers.
No buzzing. No noise. Just her and in her fingers she held a single chip. The letters GUN engraved into. They hadn't attacked him. They had chipped him.
Just what were they playing at?
