Chapter 3: War Missions

Part 4: The Search

The New Resistance has narrowed the search locations down to three area. There's the Chemical Plant, there's Seaquestria, and then there's the Marble Zone. They aren't sure that Shadow and Sunset are in those area, but they are betting that they are there.

To do this, the New Resistance hires the help of three people: Thunder, Blaze, and the Rookie (or is it the Veteran?). They are sent to these three locations to help with the search of these two. Them coming back could make or break them, as they aren't sure which side these two are on.

And so, the great search for two friends begins.

Stage 3-07

North Metropolis

"Chemical Factory"

Thunder is searching at the Chemical Plant in search of any signs of either Sunset or Shadow. He moves his way around the pipes as he tries to find their whereabouts. He comes out of the plant with nothing.

"Did you find any signs of either Shadow or Sunset?" Knuckles asks.

"Uhh...no," Thunder replies. "It'll take an eternity to search the entire area. Maybe we should get out of here and search someplace else. I don't think we'll be getting any closer to finding them anytime soon."

Thunder travels further into the Chemical Plant, joining the other soldiers in their search of two people. After a while, they still come up with nothing.

"This is Squad Eclipse, reporting that we've found nothing," a soldier reported. "We can't find any signs of either of them in here."

"Alright, that's it," Knuckles declares. "Withdraw all forces in the Chemical Plant right now. We're not going anywhere if he stay in this place searching for two people."

Thunder then exits the interior of the Chemical Plant, traveling on top of a walkway before reaching the finish. An small airship is waiting for him and the other soldiers at the end of the walkway.

[Time Elapsed: 01:30:00]

Stage 3-08

Seaquestria

"Flooded City"

Blaze descends down to the ruined underwater city along with several soldiers. They began to search through the water looking for Shadow and Sunset. Blaze dives down into the water, hoping to find some clues there. There's not much enemy forces that in the water. All she could find is some monstrous fish that have found their way into the city.

Blaze treads through the water, still searching for any clues. While under water, Blaze holds her breath in and searches for any air bubbles, just so she wouldn't drown. The rest of the soldiers searched thorough all of the buildings that are above the water as well as any pieces of debris that are left over from the flooding. Unfortunately, they couldn't find anything.

"Seen anything yet?" Applejack begins to asks.

"There are no signs of the two missing people," a soldier reported. "All we can find are a bunch of fish, the remains of a city, and a whole lot more."

"Urg," Applejack groans. "We can't go on like this. Tell you what. Let's get ourselves out of this gosh darn flooded dome. If we can't find any useful clues here, then why are we in here in the first place? Alright everyone, pack up. We're outta here."

Blaze then lands the roof of a building, where everyone is lining up ready to leave.

[Time Elapsed: 01:45:00]

Stage 3-09

Marble Temple

"White Rock"

"Anything of interest found within the Marble Zone?" Amy asks the soldiers as they investigate the area.

"Still nothing," a soldier reported, her tone filled with frustration. "This is madness. How can we ever find their whereabouts?"

"I'm betting that the area where the Veteran is located is where we'll find either Shadow or Sunset," Amy said. "Preferably both."

"Wait," a soldier began. "Didn't you refer to the new guy as a Rookie?"

"Yes, but they've experienced enough to be promoted," Amy replies. "I mean, they did do great feats during the war. Might as well promote them to make them feel more powerful."

"But didn't you hire them-" a soldier tried to argue.

"Silence!" Amy ordered. "We must not talk about this any more. Stay focus on searching the area. We need to know of Shadow or Sunset is safe and is still on our side."

The Veteran continues to go through the Marble Zone, only to come up with nothing. The other soldiers reported the same.

"Urg!" Amy growls. "You guys couldn't find anything, even after all of this searching? This is getting ridiculous. Time to withdraw from the area. This place is useless for searching."

[Time Elapsed: 01:40:00]

"All this searching and none of you could come up with anything?!" Sonic shouted. "Urg! This is a waste of our time. We'll never find out the whereabouts of either of them if we keep on going like this!"

"Well, we tried out best," Knuckles said. "We searched through every possible search area we could find. And we've found nothing."

Rainbow pinches her nose, shaking her head. She is disappointed that all that searching has resulted in nothing found. "Aww come on..." she said. "Really? All this searching and you guys come up with nothing? That's just...sad. A waste of our time, even."

"How are we supposed to find Shadow and Sunset if we still don't know their last known whereabouts?" Rouge asks. "For that matter, where have they been all this time? I tried so many times over the past few hours trying to contact them, and I got nothing! No response from either of them. is there something that we're missing?"

The group then ponders for a moment, trying to figure out a solution to this problem. Their pondering was interrupted when the entire headquarters began to shook, startling everyone.

"Wait, what?" Sonic said. "Who is doing this?"

A soldier has the answer. "Emergency, emergency!" a soldier cried out. "There's an attack on the city, right near Headquarters! And worst of all, Shadow and Sunset are part of the ones who are attacking the city! Are they really the real ones?"

The news has everyone excited, and nervous at the same time. Excited because they found Shadow and Sunset after all those days fighting. But nervous because they are reported to be part of the attack on the city. Could they be turned to the enemy's side once again?

"Knuckles, where is the signal coming from?" Rouge asks.

Knuckles then began to look at the reading from the computer. "Consensus say that Shadow is last seen at Sunset Hill. Now we need to-" Knuckles turned to where Sonic and Rainbow is, but it appears that they left early, before Knuckles could give the command. "...send someone to investigate?" he finishes. Then he growls. "Grr. They've charged in before we could make the plan. Oh well. Time to help them out!"

Stage 3-10

City

"Sunset Hill"

Sonic and Rainbow went through the city and saw that it was up in flames once again. Bombs began to fall to the streets once more. Robots have invaded the city once again.

"...The hay?" Applejack said. "We just got back from those seaching...and the city has been...invaded?"

"Oh no!" Espio said. "Don't tell me that they're trying to take back this city again!"

"Stay sharp, everyone," Knuckles ordered. "Shadow and Sunset has been detected in the city. If you find either of them, report it."

As Sonic and Rainbow drop down into a plaza, they encounter a wave of enemies. They smash them all up and moved foreward. They ran into a broken shuttle loop and launched themselves with a ramp to the hills beyond.

"Listen up!" Pinkie cried. "I found Shadow! He's last seen flying over the city!"

Sonic and Rainbow each ran through some loops and hills as they ran towards the location where Shadow was last seen. Still no word of where Sunset is. As they get closer to the site, they began to talk to each other.

"You really think that Shadow would betray us like that?" Sonic began to ask. "Or Sunset?"

"They wouldn't," Rainbow answers, chuckling along the way. "Would they?"

"Well, search time's over," Knuckles said. "You're getting close to where Shadow is at." Then he takes a closer look at the radar. "Strange. It appears that there are two life readings that are heading right behind you..."

Sonic and Rainbow ran down the hill and onto the road. After a bit of running, they then meet up with Shadow as he stands there on the road, waiting for their arrival.

[Time Elapsed: 01:45:00]

69/? Stages Completed, 21/30 Bosses Defeated, still no new keys found. 68% of the world is still under the New Resistance's control.

To be Continued

From the Author:

We've finally met you...Shadow. After all these days of fighting, we've found you safe and sound. Except...you look suspicious.

And what's that following behind Sonic and Rainbow? They're life readings, but all accounted life readings so far are scattered around the city. Not on this stretch of road. Wonder who could they be...

Stage Descriptions:

Stage 3-07: A new layout using the palette and elements of Chemical Plant. Containing several elements from previous stages, this stages takes on a fresh experience of an old, but well remembered location.

Stage 3-08: This stage takes place nearly entirely underwater, due to the flooding that happened earlier. Hazards present in all the water stages can be found in this area. You're going to have to search for those air bubbles, bubble helmets, and drills. Otherwise, that dreaded drowning music will haunt you nearly all the time.

Stage 3-09: This stage features all of the things that make up lave themed stages. There are fire geysers everywhere, fire creatures stationed in the area, and a few buttons to be found. Sorry, so fire shield to save you from this.

Stage 3-10: Combining the first portions of Sunset Heights and containing a modified version of Sunset Hill from Advance 3, this stage serves as a transition from searching the world to finding two lost friends. The shuttle loop as been destroyed, being replaced with springs and rails leading into the hills.

Written by: TheAPPstore

All franchised involved belong to their respective owners.

Current list so far:
SEGA-Sonic
Hasbro-My Little Pony, Transformers