Yikes, sorry that I haven't updated as much as usual. I've just had a lot to deal with at the moment and I lost my notes on the story and I started freaking out. I still haven't found them so it's lucky I remembered what I was going to write in this chapter.

Thanks for the reviews and I own nothing.

XXI: Prison Breakout

Sonic stood standing at where Amy had just been with a shocked expression. What the hell was going on? He managed to snap himself out of his trance and quickly ran out after her, but the pink hedgehog was nowhere in sight and he began to panic.

He heard the sound of Nero's footsteps behind him and he quickly turned around to glare at him.

"Where's Amy? What's going on?" Sonic demanded as he pointed at Nero.

Nero sighed. "I honestly have no idea. That girl has always been a bit crazy so it's no surprise to me that she's been arrested."

"Arrested?!" Sonic shrieked and Nero nodded. "What for?"

"No idea." Nero responded. "Although it seems she had been messing with taboo magic."

Sonic thought about her declaration of love to him and he cringed as it sunk in. They'd found out. Somehow they had found out and now Amy was in major trouble. It was all his fault. If he hadn't got so interested in the tribe and just left the matter alone then Amy wouldn't have had to worry about trying harder to keep the secret, she wouldn't have been cursed and she wouldn't have had to worry about helping all of them to escape. He should've listened to her, listened to his future self and now he was paying the price. Everything that he had been trying to prevent from happening was now happening and he felt powerless to stop it.

"Where have they taken her?" Sonic snapped.

"Probably to rot in jail and be executed along with the others."

"The others?"

Nero smiled. "Those old friends of yours. We got a call saying how one of them was being blasphemous and free thinking. The other two attacked when we tried to take her so they have all been arrested and sentenced to death." He explained with cruel smile on his face.

Sonic gasped as he felt his heart sink in his chest. His friends had been arrested? And he hadn't been there to save them? No! He had to save them!

Sonic pushed past his father, but Nero stopped him by gripping onto his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Nero demanded, his smile now replaced by a menacing glare.

"I'm going to save my friends." Sonic growled out. "You got a problem with that?"

Nero's eyes shone brightly with anger. "Yes I have a problem with that! You will come home with me now. You are my son and you will do exactly as I say!"

Sonic knocked his hand off his shoulder roughly and glared back at him. "Nobody tells me what to do big shot. You're no father of mine."

Nero stood there in shock before quickly covering his ears as Sonic disappeared in a blue streak and a sonic boom, heading towards the Oracle's temple.

"Big shot." Nero chuckled in disbelief. "You want to go against your father? Fine. You haven't seen nothing yet."

.

The dark, damp corridors of the prison echoed sinisterly as the dripping of water could be heard and moss and other different kinds of fungus grew out of the stone tiles. The metal bars were rusty and the smell of rotting flesh was being carried through the stale air.

Knuckles once again tried to smash his way out of the prison cell, repeatedly punching the rusty metal bars but to no affect.

"Just give up Knuckles." Tails groaned from the corner of the small cell they were all sharing together as he tried to wipe the blood away from the huge gash in his arm Nero had made when he was arrested. "Those bars were obviously built to withstand magic so I don't think your strength will have much effect."

Knuckles snarled as he punched the bar as hard as he could before sighed and leaving his fist to linger on the metal pathetically.

"So how are we going to get out of here?" Knuckles demanded as he turned to face Tails and Kiko.

Kiko sighed. "It's hopeless; we're toast."

"Our only hope now is Sonic and I doubt he'll realise we're gone until it's too late." Tails whimpered as he pulled his knees up to his chest.

Kiko sniffed as she tried to wipe away the tears that were now threatening to fall.

"It's all my fault." She cried. "If I hadn't spent my life obsessing over dangerous people."

"Hey," Tails comforted as he awkwardly slid over to her and wrapped an arm around her shaking shoulders, "You weren't to know this would happen."

"Yeah, but I exasperated the situation by mouthing off in that shop." She sniffed.

"Yeah that might've helped." Knuckles mumbled and Tails silenced him with a hard glare.

"Don't blame yourself." Tails begged. "Right now we've gotta focus on getting out of here alive."

Kiko sniffed and nodded.

"I thought you just said that Sonic was our only hope?" Knuckles grumbled as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Well until then, it won't do much harm to try and figure a way out ourselves. We can't always rely on Sonic." Tails said as he began looking around the cell for ideas.

"GAH!" Everyone gasped as they fell backwards due to the bright blue light and loud booming noise of the cell being blasted open.

Tails opened his eyes and squinted as the bright light began to dull to reveal his best friend stood by the now broken bars which indicated their freedom.

"Sonic!" Everyone shrieked and ran out of the cell.

"How did you do that?" Tails asked in shock.

"My awesome chaos powers." Sonic smirked. "But now we need to get out of this tribe for good." He said before looking around worriedly. "Where's Amy?"

"We thought she was with you." Kiko replied in confusion.

Sonic's eyes widened. "She was arrested and I assumed that she had been locked up with you."

"I haven't seen Amy in ages." Knuckles said.

Sonic felt as though his heart had just skipped a beat. "Then where is she?"

"Where indeed?" Sonic heard someone chuckle from behind him.

Everyone twisted around to see Ezra and Nero walking down the corridor towards them with smug expressions on their faces.

"What have you done with her?!" Sonic yelled.

"Oh don't worry." Ezra laughed. "She's been stashed somewhere safe for now. Somewhere she can be…cured."

"Cured?" Tails repeated in confusion.

"Cured of her sinful ways you stupid free thinkers." Ezra snapped. "You have polluted her mind. She was the perfect Zanybe child until she started mingling with your lot. Now look what's happened to her: questioning our laws, our way of life and getting involved with taboo magic."

"We question your laws because they're stupid and barbaric!" Tails shouted and his friends nodded in agreement. "You have the nerve to call yourselves an advanced race." He spat.

"We are a pure civilisation and we shall not be tainted by your ways of thinking!" Nero yelled back. "Only we were chosen by the gods to possess and yield magic. We are superior in every way."

"You're a bunch of nutcases that need a good beating." Knuckles growled out as he cracked his knuckles.

"Hand Amy over!" Sonic demanded again and Ezra just laughed.

"Why? Does Sonic love her?" Ezra cooed before laughing again. "Amy is in a special place right now and there's no way you're getting hold of her. In fact, you'll never see her again!"

Sonic saw red as he charged towards Ezra and Nero, knocking them both to the ground.

"Do you really think that challenging us is the best way to get what you want son?" Nero teased as he managed to stand back up, ignoring the pain in his ribs.

"You tell me." Sonic said as he punched Nero in the face.

"Executioner!" Ezra called out and Kiko gasped.

Nero just laughed. "No I think this is more fun!" He said before holding out his hands and zapping the four friends with a bright silver light and they vanished into thin air.

"What did you do?" Ezra gasped.

"Oh I just sent them back home." Nero explained as he calmed down and looked up to see Ezra glaring at him.

"What did you do that for?" Ezra shrieked as he registered what his friend had just done.

"What?" Nero asked in confusion. "They'll never be able to find the tribe again and it will constantly torment them that they'll never see Amy again."

"You really are an idiot sometimes." Ezra snarled out as he punched Nero on the nose, breaking it and knocking Nero to the ground.

"I don't get it." Nero gasped as his hand gripped his bloody nose.

"There is the chance they could find us though and they'll tell others about us and then they'll take Amy away." Ezra explained in a panicked state before freezing in place and smiling.

"What?" Nero demanded.

"I may be able to work this to my advantage after all." Ezra smirked.

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