(Laughs) I love the reviews you guys send me. They always make me smile when I read them. The readers of this story are another step closer to the end. Enjoy!
Cold-hearted Metal
Chapter 25
Tails, Knuckles, and Rouge ran into the living room to meet with Sonic. He was found standing in front of the TV, facing the screen.
"What's the problem?" Knuckles asked. But his attention was instantly turned to what was showing on the TV. Everyone was wide-eyed as they heard a familiar evil laugh.
"Ha, Ha, Ha! Citizens of Station Square, your fate now lies in my hands."
"Dr. Eggman!" Tails said.
"So, he escaped from the base," Knuckles said, crossing his arms. "Why am I not surprised?"
"He's really starting to be a pain in the ass." Sonic said as he was grinding his fists. They continued to listen to the mad scientist on TV.
"I, Dr. Eggman, possess the ultimate technology capable of destroying an entire continent. With it, I will destroy Station Square and dominate the world. Enjoy your time while it lasts, for you will only have 24 hours until your end. Ha, Ha, Ha!"
A counter then appeared on the screen, and Eggman's image vanished. Other programs got back on, but the counter remained.
"We're in big trouble now." Tails said to Sonic. "I'm sure that made an impact in the city."
"So what now?" Knuckles asked. "We're back to where we started. We have no idea where Eggman is."
"If only we knew what that 'technology' he keeps mentioning." Sonic rested his chin on his hand as he sat down on the floor.
Rouge's ears then twitched and she slowly looked down. "I know what it is."
Everyone looked at her. "You do?" Sonic asked.
"I should know. I'm the one who experienced it first-hand."
And then it hit Knuckles. "You're talking about that vile that was on you?"
"It's what was in the vile. That's Eggman's new weapon."
"What's that?" Tails asked.
"A brain." Rouge was speaking in a low and serious tone of voice.
"A brain?" Sonic repeated.
"Yes, and in about 20 hours or so, that brain will have fully matured."
"So, do you know what's he going to do with it?"
"Actually, I did some research about it, and the results weren't good. I found charts showing how Eggman would install the brain in his robots. Its main purpose is to search and destroy everything and anything in its way."
Then maybe we should look for the brain."
"Easier said than done, Sonic." There's a whole army supply of it, and each sample is very well protected. Knuckles should know."
Both Sonic and Tails looked at Knuckles. "Yeah," he admitted. "It took a large amount of my power to brake that vile."
"That's because it was made with diamond titanium material so that it would be indestructible by enemies."
"So what happens when Eggman puts the brain in the robots, Rouge?" Tails asked.
"Well, the way Eggman planned it, the robots would transform onto monsters. The robots will have the ability to use the brain as a sort of steroid of their body, but who knows how much stronger they'll be after they transform."
"What do you mean?" Sonic asked.
"The Chaos Emeralds." Rouge said.
"But doesn't Eggman need all seven?" Knuckles said.
"Three is more than enough for Eggman to get the power he needs."
"Hey wait a second," Sonic shouted. "Shouldn't the brain have been gone when Eggman's base was blown up?"
"Before Knuckles found me, Eggman ordered me to transport it to his other base."
"Oh, so you do know where the base is." Knuckles was glaring at Rouge. "Why didn't you tell us before?"
"You didn't ask." Rouge glared back.
"So now what do we do?" Tails asked. "We can't just take out all of the brains one by one."
"Maybe not," Rouge began. "But we can reprogram them."
"What?" Sonic said.
"Yeah. We can reprogram the brains just before they've matured."
"But Eggman must have a powerful defensive system on his computer." Tails explained. "I probably can't take it down."
"I've hacked thousands of computers, even the military's. Eggman's computer shouldn't be different."
"You can't use my computer, though. It's not that advanced."
"Then we're gonna have to go to South Island."
Is that where Eggman's base is?" Knuckles asked.
"Yup."
"Great." Sonic said. "Now we know what to do. We shouldn't have a problem."
But Sonic," Tails said. "South Island is overseas, and my Tornado can't carry four people."
"Well, you three can take your plane." Rouge suggested. "I can get a ride over there."
"Then it's settled." Sonic said as he stood back up. "We can start in the morning. We've got time for some R & R (R&R for those who don't know what it means is rest and relaxation). What do you think, guys?"
Sonic then noticed that Knuckles looked a little tense. He kept looking at different directions.
"Yo Knuckles, you okay?" Sonic asked.
"I sense something."
Everyone fell silent. They all stood still until they saw a ball of a bright green light. It grew brighter and brighter, then suddenly Shadow appeared in front of the couch.
"Heh, I figured you would all be here." Shadow said.
"Shadow!" Sonic shouted. "Is Amy doing okay? Where is she?"
"Come down. I left her at her place." Shadow replied. "Don't worry about her. By the look on all of your faces, seems like you've been discussing something rather important."
"Yeah. Rouge, why don't you give Shadow the 411."
Amy's ApartmentAmy got back to her bedroom with a small green box in her hands. She had just gotten it from her kitchen after hearing Eggman's speech on the television. Amy sat at the edge of her bed; she was lost in her thoughts.
'I hope Sonic and the others are okay.' She thought. 'I'm sure they are. Bet that they saw Eggman on TV.'
Amy then opened her box and took out a deck of cards. These were her special cards, her tarot cards. She had them ever since she was very young, and they've always helped her find where Sonic was and to achieve other goals.
Sonic. Amy started to wonder if she would ever chase Sonic again. What he said to her two days ago was very stupid and rude of him. But... it wasn't his fault. Amy thought that maybe he did what he did because she got on his last nerve. Amy couldn't blame Sonic. She had to apologize to him the next time they met.
Amy started to shuffle her deck of cards. When she was done, she pulled out three cards and placed them next to each other, on her nightstand faced down. She then took off her winter coat and changed into her pink pajamas. After that, Amy put her box away and got to bed.
"I'll look at the cards in the morning." She said to herself. Amy closed her eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.
(Dawn)
Amy woke up from a fairly good sleep. She yawned as she stretched out her arms and legs. Amy looked to her nightstand to check the time on her clock.
6: 35 AM
'Guess I didn't sleep all that much.' Amy thought.
She then got up and made her bed. Amy started thinking as she sat back down. South Island. She knew something was going on over there, her cards told her so. That thought led her to ask what will happen in the future. Amy got up and walked to where she had placed her tarot cards the night before. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on her question about South Island. She paused for a moment, and then she flipped her cards over. From left to right, Amy's three cards were:
The Wheel of Fortune card, The Moon card, and-
Amy stopped. Her eyes grew wide. The fist two cards had surprised her, and at the same time Amy had also a bad feeling about it.
"The Wheel of Fortune," Amy said to herself. "It symbolizes destiny; what will happen in the near future, and any unexpected changes that might happen."
Amy gazed at that card again. "But it's upside down. Which means that whatever change there'll be will be bad fate." Amy then looked at the second card.
"The Moon card represents deception, trickery and caution. But this card is usually shown to symbolize a person. Does that mean that someone's been taking advantage of something else?"
Amy gulped at that thought. The fact that a person might be working behind the scenes of something bad that's about to happen. Before Amy could flip over the third card, she thought over what was happening recently.
Eggman's planning to take over the world again,
His robots are stronger than before,
He got Rouge to work for him,
And the news last night...
'Does all of this have a connection with South Island somehow?' Amy thought. ' If that's true, then...'
"Oh, no!"
Amy then rushed to her dresser and quicker took out the clothes that she usually wears. She grabbed all of her clothes and rushed to the bathroom to shower and change.
Station Square
Time: 6:50 AM (15hrs. 10mins. Remains)
Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, and Rouge were standing out in front of the Burger Shop, near the City Hall. Sonic and Rouge just got out of the shop with food in their hands. Sonic had two cheeseburgers, fries, and a drink, and Rouge just had a half-decaf, half-regular latte.
"Um Sonic," Tails said. "Are you sure you're going to be okay eating before going on the Tornado?"
"'Course I'll be okay." Sonic said, stuffing his face with a burger. "Where's your plane anyway?"
"Just at the end of town. I'll get it once we're all ready."
Rouge then checked her watch. "I better go." She said. "Hey fox boy, did you decide who's going on your plane or not?"
"Why don't I go catch a ride with Rouge," Knuckles suggested. "And Shadow and Sonic can get on the plane."
"Why, Knuckles?" Tails asked.
"Because I really don't want to be near Sonic when he throws up in it."
"Shut up!" Sonic yelled. Knuckles gave him a toothy grin.
"I'll see you guys later!" Rouge then took flight to the roof of the Burger shop, and flew out of sight, while Knuckles followed closely behind her.
Shadow looked at Sonic with a disgusted and annoyed face on. "Are you done stuffing your face, Sonic?"
Sonic swallowed down his last burger and took a big gulp of his drink. "Okay, Okay I'm done. Tails, can you get your plane ready and meet us back at the Emerald Coast in 15 minutes?"
"Sure thing, Sonic." Tails then flew in the air and headed over to the other end of the City Hall.
"Why does it take 15 minutes to meet to the coast?" Shadow asked.
"It doesn't." Sonic answered. "My stomach would already be empty by then. And plus, I want to go check on Amy."
"Are you that worried if she'll leave her house?"
"Guess you don't know Amy that well. She can be up to a lot of stuff behind your back. C'mon, let's go."
Sonic and Shadow then ran to get to the main city area, to reach Amy's house.
Back at Amy's ApartmentAmy was already dressed and ready to leave her house. She quickly grabbed her winter coat from her bedroom floor and rushed to the kitchen table. There, she took an envelope and stuck it in her pocket. She then ran to the front door.
When Amy opened the door, she saw Cream and Cheese waking across the street from where she was.
"Cream!" Amy shouted.
Cream turned to her in surprise. "Amy?"
Amy ran to Cream and stopped right in front of her. She then took out the envelope she had before.
"Is something wrong, Amy?" Cream asked. Cheese was flying nearby. "Shouldn't you be leaving soon?"
"Yeah," Amy said. "But that's also why I'm here. I need you to do me a favor."
Moments Later...Sonic and Shadow just arrived in front of Amy's apartment. Sonic quickly knocked on her door.
"Amy!" he called. "Amy, it's me!"
There was no answer.
"Mr. Sonic?"
Sonic and Shadow turned around and saw Cream and Cheese behind them.
"Cream!" Sonic shouted. "Do you know anything about what's going on with Amy?"
"Actually, Cheese and I saw her not too long ago." Cream then bowed her head a bit. "She's gone."
"What!?!" Sonic yelled. Shadow's eyes grew wide. "You're not serious, are you?"
"Afraid so, but..." Cream took out Amy's envelope and handed it to Sonic. "She asked me to give this to you if I ever saw you."
Sonic quickly took out a sheet of paper that was in the envelope and started to read what it said.
Friends,
I figured you guys would probably be looking for me, but there's something that I think you should know. I didn't tell the real reason I was going to South Island. I knew something was going to happen over there, and it's not good at all. I had a hunch that Eggman has something to do with it, but I'm not sure. I'm sorry that I kept this from you as a secret. I just hope that everything will be over soon.
Amy Rose
Sonic's jaw almost dropped as he continued to stare at Amy's letter.
"What does the note say?" Shadow asked him. Sonic just shoved the letter to Shadow's chest. He quickly read it, and he threw it aside. Shadow then started to walk away.
"Where are you going?" Sonic asked coldly.
"You said that we needed to get to Emerald Coast." Shadow replied. "I'll meet you and the fox child over there. Don't keep me waiting."
Shadow then dashed off. Sonic stared at his direction for a bit, then turned back to Cream.
"I'm sorry if Amy's giving you trouble, Mr. Sonic." She said in a sad voice.
"Don't sweat it, Cream." Sonic said calmly. "I've got to go now. And thanks for giving us the letter."
Sonic ran off before Cream could say anything else. He started thinking as he was running, but still focused on where he was going.
'Amy, I sure hope that you're okay.'
NEXT CHAPTER COMING SOON!