Chapter Twelve

Author's Note: You know what would rock? If someone who liked this story would make it into a decent web-comic, or even a Flash animation about it. I'm not asking anyone to, but if someone did, I would be so happy! Even concept art or fanart would be nice…anyway, here's the next chapter!

-- -- -- -- -- --

After spending a little time at the base, Doctor Robotnik led Sonic, Shadow, Amy and Tahra down into the bowels of his base, to show him his newest work. They came to a room with a large door with several locks on it. The doctor inputted a code into the security lock, and the doors began to open.

"Behold, my friends, my latest and greatest work ever!" Doctor Robotnik beamed as he presented his newest machine to the four hedgehogs. The machine was a strange one. There were four glass tubes connected to a strange machine that was hooked up to a huge metal, flat-bottomed sphere with mysterious runes on it. The sphere was emitting a tiny amount of blue-green light from the runes.

"What exactly is it?" Sonic asked, scratching his head. "I hope this isn't some sort of trick."

"This was my grandfather's third greatest work, behind Shadow and the ARK. It is a machine that increases one's sensitivity to cosmic energy."

"…Sensitivity to cosmic energy?" Shadow asked. "What do you mean?"

"After studying my grandfather's work on ancient history, he had discovered that one particular race on this planet is particularly sensitive to the flow of cosmic energy...the hedgehogs. When properly trained, they could draw upon cosmic energy to perform amazing feats of strength and agility. A few special individuals were even able to use the Chaos Emeralds to change into what you call a Super form."

"That's great and all…but what does this machine do?" Tahra said.

The scientist chuckled a little. "It will allow you to draw upon the power of the Emeralds from a very great distance, and even supplement it with the natural flow that encircles this world."

"Doctor…if we weren't enemies…I'd hug you right now," Sonic said when he heard this statement. "Still, there has to be a catch."

"There is," Ivo replied. "The process will be long and painful, and there's a chance that the shock will kill you. But it may be the only way."

"I'm willing to do it," Amy said bravely. "We have no other choice." Amy made her way toward the tube on the far left.

"If Amy goes, I go," Shadow said, and went over to the tube next to her.

"If this Super transformation is as great as it sounds, count me in," Tahra said, and went over to the tube on the far right.

"I guess I'm in too," Sonic sighed. He entered the tube between Tahra and Shadow. Once all four were in the tubes, each gave the Doctor the nod to start the process. The scientist went over to the machine, and pressed a pressure plate on the center of the sphere. The runes began to glow, and the tubes suddenly began to emanate light.

Never before had any of them felt such pain. The sensation was a combination of being burned by a blue-hot fire, stung by a thousand angry wasps, shocked by lightning and having sharp spears run though every part of their body. Still each clenched their teeth, trying not to scream. Their minds began to hallucinate; their bodies began to hemorrhage; and their blood threatened to burst their veins wide open. But still they held on to life, resisting the cold, grim hand of death.

The torturous process lasted for almost fifteen minutes, after which time the machine stopped itself, and the tubes opened up. The four dropped out on their hands and knees, gasping for breath. Amy had gotten a bloody nose, and blood was dripping out of Sonic's mouth.

"Never…make us…go in there…again…" Shadow wheezed.

"So…you managed to survive," the doctor said with a tad of disappointment in his voice. He then pressed a button on a nearby console to summon some medical robots. Normally they served to treat the various cuts and burns associated with tinkering with prototype robots, but now they would help the hedgehogs recover.

-- -- -- -- -- --

Everyone but Sonic was asleep in the makeshift medical bay that was made in the Doctor's base. Sonic was staring up at the ceiling, hoping to fall asleep from being plain tired. As his eyes finally began to close, he felt an unearthly presence near his bed. His vision could make out the faintly glowing outline of a fox with wings.

"Tails…you…came…" Sonic growled quietly, trying to avoid waking the others.

"Hello, Sonic," Tails whispered. "It seems you all managed to survive the torture of the first part of your evolution."

"What…do you mean…'evolution'?"

"It will become clear in time. I have merely come to check your progress, nothing more. Goodbye, Sonic. I'll see you again." Before Sonic could say anything more, Tails disappeared into the blackness.

Evolution, huh? Sonic said to himself. I hope it isn't a bad thing…

Sonic began to drift into slumber at last, and he greeted it with open arms.

-- -- -- -- -- --

"Goooood morning, hedgehogs!" the Doctor yelled in the corniest upbeat tone he could muster. They all awoke slowly, but soon they were all sitting up in bed.

"Ugh…'morning, doc." Sonic groaned.

"Please, call me Ivo," Doctor Robotnik replied. "I had my chef robots whip up some food for you. I'm sure you'll find it to your liking."

"Why are you being so nice all of a sudden, Doc…erm, Ivo?" Shadow asked.

"Believe me, it isn't easy," Ivo answered. "You have no idea how tempting it was to finish you off after you came out of those tubes. I suppose I've lost my villainous touch." The robots came in, each carrying a plate of light brown goo not unlike oatmeal.

"Oatmeal?" Sonic said as he eyed the dish warily. "Are you sure you're not trying to kill us, Doc? I still don't trust you."

"I eat this stuff every day. It is specially formulated to not only give you a complete day of nutrients, but it will heal any damage my medical robots couldn't fix. This is how I've managed to stay alive after you kept destroying my inventions."

"This stuff must work pretty well, then. I guess its bottom's up…" Tahra said. With a degree of caution the four began to eat the oatmeal-like substance. To their surprise, the substance did everything the doctor had said. They were all up on their feet, stretching their limbs.

"NOW do you trust me?" Ivo asked in a slightly whiny voice.

"Okay, you're right…thanks, Ivo…" Sonic sighed. "But about this Super form business…are you sure that's what the machine did?"

"No pain, no gain…" Shadow interjected. "I think Sonic and I can give the ladies a lesson…"

-- -- -- -- -- --

"Come back here and fight fair!" Amy yelled as Shadow once again Chaos Controlled out of her reach. The lesson Shadow had in mind was an intense sparring session, which took place just outside Ivo's base. Amy was at a bit of a disadvantage, since she couldn't use Shadow's signature technique. Shadow was laying a pummeling on her, but he was hoping for one thing…that the stress of combat would push her over the transformation threshold. Shadow reappeared behind her, and uppercut Amy in the chin. She landed face-down, and Shadow stood over her, shaking his head in disappointment.

"C'mon Amy, is that all you've got?" he said in a mocking tone, "Stop holding back…I know you are! Unless you can use the Super transformation, we may never be able to save everyone!" Amy didn't respond.

"Fine then…maybe you ARE too weak. I really thought you had the potential…but I guess I was wrong. You're nothing but a weakling…" Shadow began to walk away, but suddenly felt the ground begin to shake a little. Pebbles scattered across the dusty field were vibrating, and the air itself was beginning to hum. Shadow's frown turned to a small smirk.

"I...am…no…weakling…" Amy growled as she stood up. Her green eyes had turned an orange-red, and her hair was starting to rise.

Shadow realized that his mockery was working, so he continued. "Come on, little girl! Are you going to standing there having a tantrum or are you going to show me what you've got?" Amy seemed to take this comment personally. The dust around her began to swirl like a vortex, and now she was flashing between her natural pink and the gold hue of the Super form.

"I'll show you a tantrum…" Amy said with a grin, and with a last cry of rage…she crossed the threshold. Shadow's expression now turned to eager joy. Amy had finally managed to use the Super transformation, and now he could kick it up a notch.

"Now we're cooking with gas!" Shadow said. With surprisingly little effort, he changed into his own Super form. Now the two could really get down to business…

-- -- -- -- -- --

Ivo observed with great care the four fluctuating bars on his screen. The machine scanned the flow of cosmic energy through the bodies of the four hedgehogs. Amy's transformation was indicated by a major jump in her respective bar. As the scientist was doing this, he was unaware of Metal Sonic casually walking in. After the latest version of Metal Sonic had been dashed to pieces, a copy was quickly awakened.

"Greetings, master…" the robot said. Ivo jumped a little at the sound of the robot's voice. "I see you are still checking their energy flows. You've been obsessing over those hedgehogs ever since they arrived."

"The Chaos Emeralds are amazing things, Metal Sonic. I used to believe that those gigantic jewels were merely tools of power," the scientist sighed, "But after perusing through my grandfather's notes, that belief has vanished. The Chaos Emeralds are only containers for some of the vast energy this planet exudes. It is hard to believe that a single species would evolve the ability to use it to such incredible ends."

"It is no wonder your grandfather choose the hedgehog as the basis for the ultimate life form," Metal Sonic noted. As his visual sensors that served as eyes passed over the meter, Tahra's bar suddenly rocketed upward to level with Sonic's, Shadow's and Amy's.

"It seems Tahra has crossed the threshold of the Super form," Metal Sonic noted. Ivo glanced over to the bars, and smiled. His grin did not last long when Tahra, in her Super form, went hurtling through the glass window, making a dent in the wall, and wrecking a few of the Doctor's devices. The monitor with the meters remained intact.

"Oops…sorry, Doc. Blame Sonic," Tahra apologized in an embarrassed tone. She sped out of the window from whence she came. A second later, a loud grunt issued forth from outside, and a crash. Ivo glanced at the bars to fin Sonic's had fallen to its normal levels.

"It seems Sonic has finally been beaten…and by a friend of his," Ivo chuckled. "How ironic. I think I've seen enough." He grabbed a microphone next to him, but found that the sound system had been smashed by Tahra.

"If I had a program that enabled laughter at the suffering of others, I would be rolling on the floor right now," Metal Sonic said emotionlessly. "Anyway, I'm sure they're going to tire."

-- -- -- -- -- --

Sonic was sitting on the roof looking at the stars again. He couldn't sleep lately, for reasons he couldn't figure out. He joined by Amy, who crawled out of a small round door that led to the roof.

"Hey, Sonic," Amy said as she sat down next to him. Sonic acknowledged her with a grunt.

"You want to…um…talk or something…just as friends?" Sonic shrugged and grunted an affirmative response. He sat up, but continued to avoid Amy's eyes.

Amy looked at Sonic who was looking away. "Lately…I've been thinking about all that's been happening…Tails turning traitor, the angel attack, Shadow and I getting together…"

"You must be really happy," Sonic sighed. "It must be great to be with someone you truly care about. Shadow treats you pretty well. Better than I ever treated you…" Sonic stood up, walked to the edge of the flat part and sat down again, hanging his legs onto the slope. Amy, feeling that something was on Sonic's mind, followed him.

"You saved me whenever you could…that's pretty caring of you," Amy said, trying to make Sonic feel better. "Up until recently, I doubt Shadow would have done the same thing. It's amazing how much he's changed since he first beat Black Doom. It's like love has changed him." As Amy said this, Sonic closed his eyes and sighed deeply. Amy wondered if he was going to say something important.

"Amy…for the longest time…I didn't like you. You were annoying, overly perky and sickeningly cute. I couldn't stand you."

"People change as time passes. I suppose I certainly did. I look back on that and wonder how anyone could have stood me when I was like that."

"But as time passed, and I got to know you…I suppose I began to actually like you…"

"…Really?" Amy exclaimed, half-surprised.

"Yeah…but I hid it from everyone. I didn't want anyone to know how I really felt, especially you. But I guess I was really bad at it. Everyone wanted me to just admit to you my real feelings for you."

"You just did," Amy said bluntly.

"But now it's too late. You and Shadow are an item. Now I don't have anyone."

Amy put her hand on Sonic's shoulder. "Don't give up yet…I'm pretty sure there's someone who really cares. She just doesn't know it yet." Amy winked at Sonic. She got up and went back through the porthole, leaving Sonic alone.

Tahra… Sonic said to himself…