Shadow the Hedgehog: The Just and the Fallen
Segment Twelve — The Mysterious Client
CENTRAL CITY—4:50
Central City's downtown shopping district was teeming with police, fire trucks, ambulances, and news crew vans. While news anchors on the scene gave their reports, police officers had taped off the area where Shadow and the GUN forces had fought. They analyzed the ruins of the GUNFF helicopter that had crashed, and even the remains of the three enemy Assault Mecha Shadow had destroyed. The city blocks Shadow had also destroyed were being investigated by more local detectives and police.
A press investigator scanned over the indented concrete of a radius of about eighty meters. Everything within that radius was gone, and other structures outside of it were plainly visible. The investigator lifted an eyebrow.
"Whoever did this had tremendous power," said the detective, explaining to the police officer next to him.
"Yeah, it's been explained by a surviving eyewitness that this was caused by a 'black hedgehog'," the officer added.
He and the investigator solemnly looked over to see a small girl huddled next to a corpse buried under rubble from a collapsed building. She shivered feverishly, holding the corpse's hand. She had spoken with them, telling them that the person underneath the rubble was her mother. Medics wrapped her in a terry blanket and treated her wounds. The small girl's viridian eyes quivered with fear as a female paramedic held her comfortingly. The hand of the corpse was taken away from the girl tenderly.
"This is way out of our hands, you know," told the officer to the detective. "We need more answers."
"We need more evidence, more witnesses, but most of them were killed… brutally." He recalled all the messy bloodstains he had seen when he first arrived there. He frowned at the crater they were standing in. "We need the Chaotix Detectives."
"Who we all need is the—!"
Before he could finish, the pair of men, as well as everyone else in the entire city, could hear sonic booms thundering high overhead. Everyone looked up at the sky.
"Look!" the little girl said, pointing up toward the sky. "Pretty ribbons…!"
"Those aren't ribbons, sweetie," the female paramedic corrected her. "Those are the Helios Rockets…!"
Following after them were dozens of recruiting aircraft, flooding into the bluish-black, early morning sky. Their "ribbon" lights flickered synchronic red, white, and blue in the sky.
They were indeed of Federal Forces origin.
The Helios Rockets and Aerial Hangars roared through the air in flocks, like migrating birds.
The paramedic embraced the girl. The young girl's curled, reddish-orange hair billowed in a helicopter's wind, for all other aircraft were ordered to immediately lower their altitude or land. Her green eyes sparkled with innocent concern as she held close to the female paramedic.
FINAL FORTRESS - CENTRAL CORRIDOR (LEVEL 3)
"Amy, I don't like being in the dark for very long," little Cream complained, clinging onto Amy's arm.
Amy smiled. "Don't worry, Cream. We'll be out of here soon."
The girls took their time down the fluorescent-lit corridor, taking precious caution. Amy looked around the path ahead, while Cream clung to her arm. Cheese was resting on top of Cream's head, looking around fearfully as well.
But lurking in the shadows behind them were twin scarlet orbs.
"I don't know, Amy… It's really dark here." Cream's large brown eyes veered behind her, and her body stiffened fearfully.
"Aw, come on, Cream," retorted Amy, halting their stroll. "You're a big girl now. You can't be afraid of the dark!"
The remark made Cream shiver, with Cheese trembling right alongside her. He turned around, seeing Amy obliviously walking toward another pair of shining orbs. "Chao-chao!" he cried frantically.
Cream also saw what Cheese was seeing. "Amy…?"
"Cream, why in the world would you so be afraid of the dark, anyway?"
"Chao chao!" Cheese prattled, taking cover behind Cream.
The little rabbit girl hesitantly raised a finger to point toward the two, shining, red dots. "That's why…!"
Amy blinked at her. As she turned around, the two red "eyes" sparkled brightly. Amy and Cream backed away, only to find the other pair of eyes getting closer. Just when their situation was bad, six more pairs of those same, stalking, red eyes appeared to encircle and overwhelm them.
"Amy!" Cream cried fearfully, tucking her head under her arms. "Chao-chao!" little Cheese panicked, doing the same.
Amy then armed herself with her trusty Piko-Piko Hammer, ready to fight. "Hey, you creeps! Nobody messes with my friends—or my Sonic—and gets away with it!" She then charged toward them at full speed.
After a few minutes of hammering and pulverizing, Amy defeated all eight sentry mecha by herself.
She giggled to herself. "That'll impress Sonic for sure!" She winked, sticking her tongue out playfully.
Little Cream uncovered her eyes, as did her Chao, coming out from behind her. They blinked. "Wow, Amy!" Cream was wowed by her strength. "You did it! You beat them all by yourself!"
"Aw, it was nothing, really—?"
"And you weren't scared?" Cream smiled sweetly.
Amy shrugged. "Why would I be scared?"
She took up Cream's hand and began to lead her up the hallway again.
"Come on, Cream. Let's leave before more come… and before you start freaking out again."
SECTOR NO. 6 / NORTH TOWER (LEVEL 3)—LATER…
"Well, we made it to the end of that creepy corridor," Amy said, relieved. She sighed thankfully.
"So, you were scared, weren't you, Amy?" Cream teased. "You did speed up toward the end." Cheese giggled.
"Oh, rub it in, why don't you!" Amy remarked smartly. She roughly crossed her arms. "Hmph!"
Cream giggled, too.
"Amy! Cream and Cheese!"
Amy jumped, squeaking a little bit. Cream and Cheese swapped their sights around the room, looking for the source of the voice. When they couldn't find it, a shadow fell from above and landed behind them. Amy, clearly spooked, jumped again, striking an exaggerated pose. Only Cream and Cheese looked behind them and blinked. They beamed.
"Miss Rouge!" Cream cried happily. "Chao chao!" Cheese sounded relieved.
"Hey, you two… and Amy." She smirked slyly.
"What's the big idea, sneaking up from behind like that?" Amy was yelling in Rouge's face. "I could've had a heart attack!"
"Well, you didn't, now, did you?" Rouge was being rather blunt.
"Oh, you…! Hmph!" Amy pouted.
"There you are!" another voice cried, coming from one of the corridors. Vector came running, with Charmy in hot pursuit.
"Hey, there!" Vector came to a screeching halt upon seeing Rouge and knelt down to kiss her hand. Again. "Oh, how I've missed you, Rouge."
"Oh, please, don't flatter me," Rouge said nonchalantly. She looked away from him, her eye twitching a little. 'Again…?'
Vector stood and dusted himself off. "We were parted for quite a long time, my dear." A bit of light created a cool gleam that sparkled on Vector's teeth.
But Rouge wasn't impressed. "Yeah, like five minutes…"
"But now, we're all together again!" Charmy sounded happy, throwing his hands to the air. "Yay!"
"Well, most of us, anyways," Vector said, looking around. "Where's Sonic? Where's Knuckles? …Where's Espio?"
Breathlessness echoed into the room suddenly. It seemed to be coming from the new-coming Espio, exhausted and clinging to the wall.
"You two do realize…" he huffed. "That you ditched me… right?"
Both Vector and Charmy turned petrified stiff. Then, unfreezing, they both scratched the back of their heads. "Whoops. Sorry."
Espio growled. Recomposing himself, Espio sighed. He looked over to Rouge. "Are you all right, Miss Rouge?"
Rouge blinked. "Oh, yeah! I'm fine. No worries here!" She waved a dainty hand, giggling a little.
Espio nodded, feeling reassured.
Vector smirked. "See, Espio?" He threw his strong hand against Espio's back. "She can handle herself just fine!" His laugh was loud and obnoxious.
This peeved Espio even more. He stood, trying to be calm, grinding his fist with a vein at his temple pulsating rapidly.
THWAP!
"Gyah!" Vector yelped loudly, holding the back of his head. "What the—! What did you hit me with this time?"
"Oh, that's none of your concern, really…" Espio said through clenched teeth. Still leaving Vector in suspense with his mysterious tone, what Espio was keeping behind his back this time was a metal pipe.
"Will you stop that then?" Vector roared angrily.
"Whoa, whoa! Hold up!" an all-too-familiar voice rang out. Then, Sonic came stepping into the room, with Knuckles at his side. "Chill out, you guys. Save some of that strength for later!" He winked.
"Oh, Sonic!" Amy cried happily, clasping her hands together. She made a dash over to Sonic and threw her arms around him; Sonic chuckled.
"Knuckles!" Rouge then cried anxiously. She sprang over to Knuckles.
The rest of the group then followed to see if Knuckles was all right, seeing that he had fallen to a kneel. Sonic crouched next to Knuckles. Rouge knelt down next to Sonic, concern filling her face.
Knuckles grunted, clutching his arm.
"Are you okay?" Rouge asked worriedly.
"Is there something wrong with him?" Charmy asked.
"No, Charmy," Knuckles replied. "And yeah, I'm fine, Rouge. No worries."
Sonic blinked a little. "What happened to you?"
"Nothing much, just got nicked by laser fire, that's all. No big deal."
Sonic smirked a little. "Okay… If you say so, buddy."
"Here." Rouge presented a small white box to Sonic. She saw Sonic blink before taking the white box. There was a red plus sign on its lid.
"Treat him with that," Rouge advised, getting back up on her feet. "I'm going to check for any more security modules, so I can override the defense grid with a ceasefire protocol." She darted off toward the elevator.
Everyone watched her go.
But Sonic kept a pensive glower. 'Be careful, Rouge.'
Then, the group heard a glitch of static crackling, as if from—!
"The walkie-talkie!" Charmy yelled excitedly, throwing his tiny fists in the air.
"Charmy, will you stop that?" Vector yelled back to the boy. "You're starting to piss me off…!" He took out the communication device and everyone listened in.
"Chaotix, come in. This is your Client speaking. Pick up!"
"Oh!" Vector signaled back, "This is the Chaotix, here, over."
"Where are you?"
"Well, uh… I know this is going to sound weird, but we're on the third floor, Sector Number Six, in the Final Fortress…?" Vector shrugged.
"Good. I'll need you to rendezvous with me on the lowermost level. If you take the elevator all the way down, you'll all see big titanium doors. Go through them, and there, you will receive your payment."
Sonic frowned. 'Wait…?'
"Huh? Now, hold up! Wait just a—!"
"I'll be expecting you, Chaotix. Don't make me wait," the voice on the other end threatened. Then, the transmission ended, leaving them in utter silence.
"What the…?" Vector blinked rapidly. "That was weird. How the hell did he know to tell us where to go?"
"I think there's something more to your mysterious 'client', you guys," Sonic said suspiciously. He glared pensively at Espio; Espio nodded.
"Yes," Espio agreed. "We must practice extreme caution when we face this 'client' of ours. We don't know what their true identity is or what they're planning. Let us make sure that we do not fly into a trap."
"Good thinking, Espio!" Vector slapped his hand against his back quite hard. "There's a reason why you're the leader of such a prestigious team like ours!" He was laughing loudly again.
A sweat drop fell from everyone's temples.
Espio smacked his forehead. "Please, don't let us be discovered…" he whispered to himself.
The "Client" smirked, placing the communicator down. "Phase Three has taken effect, Madam."
"Excellent," Madam General Harris purred. "Let them come. All of them, unscathed. Then, the real fun will begin."
"Yes, Madam."
She smirked deviously, snickering. 'Yes, let them come. Let them come…'
Rouge scoured the entire third floor, tripping most of the safety programs and defense mechanisms of Final Fortress manually. After Rouge had joined the GUN Rebellion, as a double agent, she had managed to have a request for a tour of the new facility approved. Using her recall as an advantage, Rouge went around to different electrical panels, overriding multiple firewalls to shut down the entire security infrastructure of the fortress. Her hacking skills were really coming in handy for her, and hopefully, Tails would be able to tell.
She was tapping various codes in, with successive beeps following. Finally, there was one more. She typed in the final code.
"That should do it," Rouge said proudly.
She pressed one last key on the screen. The key turned red, indicating a successful override.
The Sonic Monsoon swerved out of the firing range of the machine gun turrets. Tails had been fighting against the Fortress itself for far over one straight hour, trying to destroy every single turret. With only a few left, he made the decision to attack again.
But then, they suddenly stopped firing.
Tails blinked. Then, he noticed that all of the armadas of the GUNR aircraft had been destroyed, and that more had stopped coming. He blinked again before frowning.
'Thanks, Rouge,' he thought, having the feeling that Rouge played a part in the weapons' ceasefire. 'But it's strange. Something doesn't feel right.'
Tails banked, spiraling into a barrel roll, heading back toward Final Fortress.
"Can we even trust this 'Client' of ours at all?" Espio inquired.
"Bah, I don't know anymore, Espio," Vector growled. "But we're going to have to, so we can get that cash, and get the hell out of here!"
"Well," Sonic spoke, standing up. "Then, let's go. There's no time to waste."
"But what about Miss Rouge?" Cream asked, concerned. "Shouldn't we wait for her?"
"No worries, Cream," Sonic reassured her. "She's resourceful. She'll find us." He winked.
Amy clasped her hands together, dreamy-eyed, as Sonic and the others stood as well, heroically somewhat. 'Oh, Sonic… you're so dreamy. You're my hero…' She sighed in her mind.
"You okay, Knuckles?" Sonic asked.
The group saw him nod confidently.
"All right." Sonic smirked. "Is everybody ready?"
"Yeah!" was the first enthusiastic response. Charmy pumped his fists into the air. "Let's get these creeps!"
Espio smirked, crossing his arms.
"Aw, yeah!" Vector flexed his biceps. "Let's do this!"
"Okay!" Cream smiled cutely. "Chao-chao!" Cheese sounded excited, too.
With that, the band of heroes headed straight for the elevator the "Client" had guided them to. Amy was the last one following behind. Her pretty green eyes shimmered with adoration.
'Our hero…'
Sonic led his company over to the clear-glass elevator and pressed the down button. Once inside, they headed down to the first level. The elevator car was big enough for everyone to have some personal space.
The red lights passed upward as Sonic made a concerned face.
'We're coming, Shadow… we're coming. Just hold on!'
MAIN FLOOR - HIDDEN CHAMBER…
I am… in a bright room. I am curled up in a ball, resting on a pillow in an orb-like bed. There are human-shaped shadows standing over me. From the corner of my eye, I can see one speaking.
'"He's adorable when he's sleeping," says a woman's voice.
The woman reaches down to pet my head. The hand strokes me soothingly.
It's… Miss Laura. She is smiling reassuringly at me, her sapphire eyes telling me everything was all right.
I… can trust this hand. I can trust her. So I close my eyes.
Shadow had remained in that hidden chamber, where he was being held prisoner, his arms still held down by the metal chains, with his legs still anchored down by their weight. He grimaced. Resisting the urge to fight against the chains, Shadow gazed pensively at the floor. He flashed a fierce fang.
"I have returned… Shadow."
The Madam General was entering, with a troupe of GUNR troopers that was armed with sedation rifles. She stood with her arms akimbo. She smirked.
"You're not Miss Laura…!" Shadow's anger was building in his voice. Shadow demanded to know, "What did you do to me, human?"
"My my, I don't appreciate that tone, Shadow. But, I had a couple of my specialists make a few quick… 'adjustments'." Her smirk grew suspiciously.
Shadow blinked. "'Adjustments'?"
"Why, yes. I thought the bond between us wasn't strong enough, even though it's already there."
"Bond? What bond?"
"Our neurological bond, as well as our karmic bond."
Shadow remained silent. He was confused, not having any idea of what Madam General Harris was talking about. So he did not object; he only deepened his frown.
"You see, Shadow," Number Ninety-Nine began nonchalantly. "I had my surgeons insert this device into my breastbone, implanting it into my skin." She caressed the little electronic device with her fingers. "This device allow my orders of thought to be transmitted to the frontal lobe of your brain, which means your body will do as I command."
Shadow gasped a little.
"You may or may not have noticed, but there is a spinal implant correspondent to this one. It's to ensure my complete control over your judgment, impulses, reasoning—every aspect of your brain that can be controlled. And that's not all: There are nanocrystals flowing through your bloodstream as of right now. They are there to convert the neurological control I have over you into a new hormone that strengthens your muscles and enhances your senses." She giggled cruelly. "I can control you without even lifting a finger. I'm just letting you utilize your free will temporarily. Then, it's onward to the next Phase."
Shadow growled.
The Madam General only scowled at him. "Growl all you want." Her troupe of gunmen formed a barrier in front of her and took aim at Shadow. "It's not going to make a difference."
Shadow growled again. 'Damn… those again.'
"No, no, no," she ordered. "He's an essential part of our plan. We need him conscious. Plus," she started to say to Shadow. "I have a few questions I want to ask you."
"Madam Anelixe?"
Ninety-Nine turned to see that Numbers Ninety-Eight and Ninety-Seven had returned. She scowled.
"Don't get too comfortable addressing me that way, Andrew," she snarled through gritted teeth. "What is it?" she asked, a bit annoyed.
The First Lieutenant General flinched. "Umm… it's our defense grid…! It's been overridden by one of the same intruders from earlier!"
"Those 'intruders' just happen to be a part of our plan, dear. And that 'one' is apparently one of ours…"
Ninety-Eight blinked.
Shadow grimaced. 'Rouge!'
Ninety-Nine snickered, turning her back on her subordinates. "Let them be."
Ninety-Seven and Ninety-Eight saluted. "Yes, Madam."
Shadow snarled, "What do you want from me?"
Number Ninety-Seven glanced over at Shadow and the method of his imprisonment. He looked pensive. 'These mere chains can't be holding him there, can they?'
"What I want from you, Shadow… is your power." Ninety-Nine was glowering at him.
The two Lieutenant Generals were keying in on the conversation at hand, trying to piece everything together silently.
The black hedgehog's threatening visage suddenly lightened into a confused look.
"My… my power?" Shadow sounded uncertain.
His thoughts trailed back to the incidents in Central City and on Radical Highway, where he had fought off the GUN forces in order to protect Rouge.
He sighed hopelessly. 'Why would anyone want such terrible powers like mine…?'
"I want your strength, your determination… your deadly vengeance. Your miraculous talent to harness the truest strength of the Chaos Emeralds will become of great use." She menacingly paced up to him, trying to intimidate Shadow.
"How exactly are you willing to use my power?" His eyes followed her feet.
"Don't mind it. It's none of your concern, really. For right now, let me ask you this." She stopped in front of him and crossed her arms. Her smirk widened suspiciously. "How fond were you… of Laura?"
Shadow gasped. He froze, his eyes quivering. He hesitated, not knowing how to respond.
'That name…? Why does it sound so familiar?'
"Did you even know who the woman was?" Ninety-Nine asked, sensing hints of uncertainty in Shadow.
'That name…?' Shadow growled under his breathing. 'Whose is it? And why does it haunt me so?'
Shadow's eyes flared brightly all of a sudden, and he quickly shut them, looking away. He tried vainly to reach for his head, but the chains were unresisting and would not let him go. He pulled at his restraints, wriggling vainly while jingling the chains that held his body. His grunts were only refrains that were pleasing to the Madam General's ears.
Anelixe snickered. "I may not be able to take the memories themselves away, but I can take your awareness of them away. And besides…" She adjusted her glasses, so that a crimson gleam of the lights appeared. "Why take them away when I can make you suffer first…!"
"I order you to release me, human!" he barked at her vehemently.
Anelixe sighed hopelessly. "I only took your awareness away; did you not hear me?" She glared at him. "You should be able to recall her face, at least…?"
Shadow gasped, freezing again. His eyes quivered, a dim light flashing in his irises. He suddenly saw a mental image of a dark-skinned woman that looked a lot like Anelixe. She seemed to be smiling.
'It's her!' Shadow cried in his mind. But something didn't feel right to him. 'Wait…!' The mental image of the woman started to disappear. 'That can't be the same person…! No!'
Shadow's eyes widened, his irises flashing brighter, before he snapped them shut again.
Caiden glowered. 'She's using mind games to torture him into submission,' he thought critically. 'This isn't right! I have to stop her!'
"Madam…?" he began suspiciously.
But she did not turn around.
"Uh, Madam General?" Andrew spoke up next. "Umm…?"
"I sense hesitation in your voices," Number Ninety-Nine said. "You're probably wondering why I'm doing this, Ninety-Seven, Ninety-Eight." She turned her head a little. "This is still the Second Phase of my plan… but if you don't like what I'm doing…!"
Suddenly, the barricade of gunmen in the room maneuvered to face them. They switched their sedation rifles for their machine guns and quickly took aim directly at the two Lieutenants. The two of them against the eight of them wasn't a fair advantage, and they could see that the troupe of guards outranked them in importance. Since they were the Madam General's personal corps of protection, they were defenseless, even with their weapons. They both gawked at the sight of the gun barrels being aimed directly at them.
Anelixe grinned. "Then, you can both just die."
"No, stop—!" Shadow cried out.
But the barricade of arms open fired. Bullets blazed through the Lieutenants, striking through their bodies and into the walls, killing them instantly. The protection corps stopped on its own and watched as the two of them crumpled to the floor. Blood steadily pooled underneath them.
Shadow was speechless, except for the faint "No…" that escaped. He shut his eyes, continuing his struggle against the shackles.
As he fought, more strange images began to show themselves, showing multitudes of horrifyingly graphic instances involving screams, gunshots, and blood: There were several screams after the explosions of gunshots; there were mutilated bodies everywhere in Shadow's vision, the gunshots having penetrated most of them and destroyed them in parts. There were puddles of blood.
Even the woman Shadow could not recognize appeared to be dead.
"Why…? Where did all of this come from… and why am I seeing it?" Shadow cried out, demanding an answer.
"Because, Shadow," Anelixe replied in a nefarious tone, half-calm and half-insane. "I want your power; I want it! Now, show it to me!"
"No! Stop it!" the hedgehog cried, seeing the images in his head flashing, one by one, repeatedly. "Please, make it stop!"
Rapidly, the memories sped back and forth in his mind. They all began to scramble out of control, and all chaos broke loose.
But then, there was Laura's smile. And then, there was nothing.
Shadow was on the verge of tears. He could feel his mind burning once again. His chains lifted as the presence of gravity began to nullify. Everything—and everyone—was starting to float. Shadow hovered there, the chains holding him jingling and rattling. His eyes were raised, gazing at the ceiling, when his pupils constricted to an indescribable size, his irises a crimson beyond recognition.
Anelixe just watched in pity, floating upward, as Shadow floated there in his restraints, screaming from the mental torture.
'Such tremendous power…! I almost feel sorry for the poor creature,' she thought pitifully. 'No matter. He's broken, now.' She smirked evilly.
Shadow finally howled to the top of his lungs.
SECTOR 6 (LEVEL 1)—5:13
Sonic and the gang had arrived at the designated area that they were told to head to, and ahead were the huge titanium doors that the "Client" said they were supposed to see.
"It's not guarded?" Vector wondered, scratching his head.
"It has to be," Espio said, crossing his arms. "Or else this would be too easy."
"But there's not a guard in sight!"
"But we can't risk getting caught, though," Sonic added. His thoughts instantly went back to the time when he first saw Shadow resting on the bed. He furrowed his brows. "We still have a mission to complete."
"No worries, Sonic! Espio and I'll check it out," Vector insisted, with Espio nodding.
Sonic nodded as well. "All right, we'll be back here until you give us a signal."
Vector and Espio nodded and made their way toward the titanium doors, while being on constant guard. Espio was equipped with an arsenal of kunai, creeping down the hall alongside Vector, who cracked his knuckles. The titanium doors glimmered, despite the dimness of the red fluorescent lamps all over the Fortress, let alone that level.
"Well, it's safe to cross, now, you guys," Vector called to the group behind. "Heh heh! Told you, Espio! No guards or sentries in sight—Gah!" the crocodile bellowed. He fell backwards onto the metallic floor, seemingly disoriented and his leg twitching.
Espio looked down at him oddly.
Sonic lifted an eyebrow. "What was that? Is everything all right?" Sonic called, leading Knuckles, Amy, Cream and Cheese, and Charmy to them.
Espio attempted to touch the door, but was greeted by an electric shock as well. There was a supposed invisible force field partitioning them from the metal doors.
"Well, this wasn't mentioned by our 'Client,'" Espio said, placing a hand under his chin. "It's some kind of force field."
"You bet it is."
Everyone sharply turned around to see the owner of the voice: a man with navy-blue hair and dark grayish-blue eyes. He donned an elite GUNR uniform of burgundy and black. With him were three other men, one tall and buff, another shorter and slimmer, and the last with brown skin and cropped, auburn hair. The navy-haired man smirked.
"Yes, and, apparently, an alarm, as well," Espio added, falling into a combat stance.
The navy-haired GUNR agent backed up toward an electronic interface behind him. After tapping in a few keys, the elevator doors behind him slid shut and locked. The three accompanying the assumed leader snickered a little.
Vector bolted upright. "Hey, what the hell—! Uh…?"
The leader of the group armed himself with a semiautomatic pistol.
Vector sat, a little dumbfounded by the human agents taking aim at them. He blinked, a sweat drop falling from his temple. "Oh boy…!"
"Those uniforms…?" Sonic muttered. "You're… part of the GUN Rebellion, right?"
The other three elites glared at the hedgehog.
"Why, yes," Number Ninety-Three answered honestly. "Yes, we are." He frowned again. "What of it?"
"Your mecha attacked us!" Amy yelled, pointing an accusing finger. "What's the big idea, anyway? What are you after Shadow for?"
"That information is highly confidential, my dear," the elite officer claimed. "But your 'Client' awaits your presence beyond those doors, you see. He might be able to answer your burning questions. As for now, though…"
The other three male officers with him pulled out their handguns and aimed directly at them. Amy and Cream and Cheese hid behind Sonic, who snarled a little as he threw out a protective arm.
Number Ninety-Three smirked smugly. "Those doors are impregnable without the password, but anyway…" He snickered. "Good luck getting passed us."
The three agents cocked their weapons threateningly.
"Now, hold on a sec," Sonic halted them, stepping up a little. "Why are you attacking us if we're supposed to get through those doors?"
"Why, you ask? Because we still see you as intruders." His three partners smirked, snickering heavily. "Plus, we want this to be more fun… by making this a challenge for you."
Sonic furrowed his brows, flashing a fang.
"Good luck…! Fire!"
The four agents fired their weapons.
"Scatter!" Sonic ordered, seeing that the bullets didn't connect.
With that, he, Espio, and Vector took off in three separate direction, each of them taking on an elite. Knuckles managed to defect the gunfire by punching the floor below and bringing up a makeshift metal shield. He held the girls close to him, hearing them yelp in fear. Charmy ducked underneath the metal covering, tucking his head under his arms. Knuckles grimaced, hoping the metal shield would hold up until there was a ceasefire.
"Damn!" he cursed, holding the girls closer.
As Vector went in for Number Eighty-Nine, Espio took on Number Ninety. Vector dodged the shots made by his brawny human counterpart and connected his fist to Eighty-Nine's jaw.
Eighty-Nine had been knocked backward by jab. He caressed his jaw. "So you want to play rough, do you?" He spotted his gun and ran up to grab it. He took aim, only to see Vector rushing toward him. "What the…!"
"Look out!" Vector's voice called out from behind. He leapt into the air, forming doubled fists, and hammered the nape of Eighty-Nine's neck, knocking him out cold.
Vector flashed an annoyingly masculine pose, flexing his muscles. He smirked handsomely, grinning his pearly whites.
"Don't move," a voice ordered. It was Number Ninety-Two. He kept a steady aim directly at Vector. "Under my federal license to kill, I suggest you stay where you are."
Vector only planted his fists against his sides. Waving a finger, Vector said coolly, "I don't think my friends agree with you…!"
Number Ninety-Two quirked an eyebrow. He shot his eyes back at Number Ninety and saw him on the floor, out cold as well. Ninety-Two seemed annoyed, but on guard.
"Useless piece of—Ah!"
Then, he felt a flurry of stings shoot passed him, slitting his arms, legs, and neck. The blades' cuts sharply stung, for he dropped his gun and gripped his neck.
"Shit…!" he murmured.
"No need for you to panic," said Espio's voice gently, slowly moving away from the elite. "I've avoided all of your vital areas, your veins. You shouldn't even bleed."
'Like paper cuts…?' Ninety-Two examined his arms and pant legs, which were covered in nicks, but they were clear of blood. He closed his eyes.
"How merciful of you," Ninety-Two commended the chameleon. "Even though you shouldn't have been…!" He quickly took up his weapon and aimed it behind him. He fired.
Sharply and fluidly, Espio was able to deflect the bullets that came at him.
Number Ninety-Two fired round after round of bullets at Espio; unfortunately for him, they were all deflected and evaded, no matter how well-aimed he was, and he was fresh out of ammo.
"Damn it!" he cursed to himself, finding no more magazines for his gun. Suddenly did he give a brief yelp and moan, collapsing to the floor.
Vector cracked his knuckles. "Heh!"
Espio shot his eyes back to see Sonic speeding around his opponent. Sonic Spin-Dashed, striking Ninety-Three in the back. He went down with a crash, his gun spinning away from him. Sonic skidded to a stop and smirked.
Knuckles, Charmy, and the girls slowly crawled from behind the metal covering and stood. Knuckles nodded to Sonic, indicating that they were all safe and unharmed.
"All right, you guys," Sonic signaled them to regroup, and they did. "Let's go. The 'Client' is just beyond those doors."
Everyone nodded. As everyone made their way over to the doors, Cream and Cheese looked back to the fallen GUNR elites, who were still unconscious. Cream blinked a little. "Chao…" Cheese cooed, blinking as well.
Sonic had a glower of determination traced in his face. 'And Shadow is, too. I can feel it…!'
The doors were right there, and Knuckles made his way over to the security module to the side of the massive doors. He smirked. He revved an arm back and threw a strong punch into the electronic interface. It was instantly crushed, and the electric force field was disabled. It collapsed from in front of the doors and fizzled out.
"Why hack when you can smash?" Knuckles playfully joked.
Cream giggled a little.
Sonic smirked down at her.
The massive doors were sliding open slowly, and when they were completely wide, Sonic and the gang raced inside. Seeing two familiar silhouettes, Sonic stopped the others and glanced over the two of them. He frowned.
"Tails? Rouge?"
Tails turned around. And shockingly, his eyes were filled with tears. "Sonic…?" he murmured hopelessly.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Sonic then looked beyond the metal balcony, and saw an army of E-102 Gammas activating row by row. Near the back of the chamber resided the Eclipse Cannon, with Shadow at its heart.
"I see you've all fallen into my trap," the 'Client' said over his radio receiver to the Chaotix.
Vector, Espio, and Charmy gave the walkie-talkie that they had thoroughly baffled looks.
"Congrats."
'Shadow…' Rouge thought, terrified. 'This can't be…' Tears streamed down her cheeks. 'No…!'
Segment Twelve Completed.
