Painful Memories

The Final Battle: Unexpected Help

Sonic soared across the room and landed on his back, the floor cracking beneath him! He gasped in pain, badly beaten. Manic tried to rise up from his position but couldn't. He wasn't as bad as his brother, but getting there. Sonia lay, fighting consciousness, on the floor, worse off than both of them. Queen Aleena was now desperately trying to struggle from the robots clutches! It was squeezing the life out of her, choking her! All at once she felt an unnatural energy flow through the bots arm, making her gasp then scream in agony.

She did not physically look the part, but compared to the mother, the children were nothing. There wasn't a part of her that didn't hurt. The pain kept coming, unending, pulsing through her body with each heartbeat. The aching the robot was delivering to her with his energy, it was as if her were ravaging her, torturing her. Her anguish was both physical and emotional. She had tried to protect her brood, and she was paying for it; but, even now she was serving as a protection, a distraction, for with her struggling, Metal Sonic hadn't focused on finishing the teenagers yet. He found her terror, her pain, her desperation, highly amusing.

Sonia began to stir, eyes fluttering open. Manic saw their mother and cried, "Mom!"

"Run my dears, run!" she choked.

"No!" Sonic replied as he tried to dash at his metal counterpart again. Manic forced himself to his feet and joined his brother. Sonia, her every bone hurting, forced herself up and desperately joined them, feeling as if there was nothing left to lose. Without even trying the robot sent the triplets flying back into the ground. This time they couldn't move. Their bodies were refusing to listen. After all this time this was how it would end, Aleena realized as she began to lose consciousness. No… Sonic, Manic, Sonia… no…!

"Chaos Spear!" a voice shouted. All at once Metal Sonic dropped Aleena and made an agonized sound. Aleena fell to the ground and gasped for air. She looked to her children and weakly forced herself to crawl towards them on her stomach. She had to get them out of here before whatever distraction had happened ended. She managed to get her body to work, managed to stand. Now she was running towards her children with power she never knew she had in her.

Metal Sonic turned, only to see Shadow standing there! "Subject Shadow, how have you come to be here? No matter, you are nothing compared to me with the power of the Emeralds," Metal Sonic rattled.

"Sh-Shadow…?" Sonia asked weakly on hearing this, her mother tenderly helping her up with one arm around her waist and the other under her arms.

"Good old Shads," Sonic wryly said as his mother took his arm.

"What about the others though?" Manic asked fearfully when Aleena turned to take his hand and pull him carefully up.

"Hopefully they're all right. Hurry your three, we have to leave! He has orders to destroy us," Aleena urgently said.

"What about Shadow?" Sonia asked fearfully, as she pointed. Sonic shot her a sharp warning look, not liking how worried she seemed.

Metal Sonic was racing at Shadow! They gasped in alarm. However, Shadow suddenly Chaos Controlled away from Metal Sonic. The Ultra form robot looked around determinedly, but on finding nothing he then turned to focus once more on his goal.

"Must destroy Council of Four," it rattled. Quickly Aleena pushed her children behind her. She would die before she let that creature touch them again. Instead of physically attacking, though, the robot began to charge up his gun arm!

"With the power of all fourteen emeralds we'll be annihilated!" Sonic exclaimed in fear.

"Who would have thought it would end like this? Been nice knowing you sibs, mom," Manic ruefully said.

"We're not beaten yet kids," Aleena reassured as she lovingly brushed back her son's wild quills. Even on the brink of death they felt safe with their mother. They moved closer to her to relish the last feeling.

"Now you die," the robot said as he finished charging up.

Suddenly, though, a voice exclaimed, "That's it!" A figure jumped from the roof delivering a strong kick to the bots back knocking it forward! The family watched in disbelief as seven of the emeralds pitched from the robots body and roll away. One sharp kick; Sonic had been right, and they were never so thankful for it! They looked passed the robot only to see one ally they'd never expected to. "No more playing around," the figure growled.

"Sleet!" the triplets exclaimed in complete and total shock. They couldn't believe their eyes!

"Sleet…" Aleena breathed.

Suddenly Shadow was there. He seized every emerald that had fallen from the bot; seven in all. "No!" the robot said as it powered up to shoot the hedgehog. Sleet, though, shot it with a laser pistol breaking its concentration! It looked up only to find Shadow gone. It whirled to Sleet, furious that emeralds had been taken from it. "You!" it yelled as it lunged at the wolf. It hit him sending him back into a wall. Sleet cried out in pain then shook his head to shake off the agony. He gasped on seeing Metal Sonic about to strike! Sleet cried out in fear and swiftly dove to the side, barely avoiding the attack that would certainly have killed him. He drew his own sword and leapt onto the bot stabbing at it. He knew it wouldn't damage Metal Sonic, but it wasn't damage he was going for.

With expert skill he had pried out three more emeralds from the bots back! These he tossed into the air. Shadow was suddenly there, taking them, then striking the robot. He disappeared again as the bot tackled Sleet to the ground painfully! Where was that hedgehog? He stood no chance alone. All at once Shadow stepped in saying, "Chaos Blast!" Taken off guard Metal Sonic flew off of Sleet. Sleet was swiftly up on hands and knees. He growled at his prey. Shadow pounced on the robot at the same time as Sleet. The two pried at the last four emeralds desperately.

Sleet managed to grab one each of the Sol and Chaos emeralds before the bot threw him across the room! He cried out in alarm, then pain as he landed, but he held fast to the two treasures in his hand. Seeing that Shadow was about to take the other two, he leapt up and raced behind the fighting pair, standing by the door. He pulled out a device saying, "Oh hedgehog, we've got the emeralds! Guess what that means! The E-100's are about to be activated again! Better hurry and get to your friends. E-series attack!"

It wasn't Shadow, but Metal Sonic who looked angrily at the wolf. With that distraction Shadow finally pried the last two emeralds from the bot, rendering him normal once more! Sheer luck, both he and the wolf knew it all too well. All at once Shadow was next to the royal family. "You, you made a deal with Sleet, didn't you!" Manic demanded. "How could you leave the others!"

"I didn't," Shadow answered. Looking to the Queen he said, "It's an honor to finally meet you, now I have to go save our friends. Run, if you know what's good for you. He'll hold him off." The next moment he was gone to turn the tides back with the others.

Back in the main computer room the bots had begun to attack again! However, Silver and Tikal had gotten enough of a rest to put up the shields once more! On seeing him appear unexpectedly to them, most of the others were shocked. Rouge, though, said calmly, "Shadow, I knew you'd come back for us."

Shadow harrumphed then displayed the emeralds. "The Chaos and Sol Emeralds, you got them back!" Tails excitedly said.

Blaze instantly seized the Sol Emeralds from him happily. Her happiness fell, though, on counting only six. She looked at Shadow, confused, then asked, "Where is the seventh?"

"Use what we have," Shadow simply said.

"Anything will help us now!" Cream exclaimed as she raced to them. The others quickly joined her. They felt the power of the Emeralds flowing through them as they took hold of the powerful items. They were refreshed, more ready than ever. This time they turned boldly to face the nearly invincible robots.

"Now they will fall. The emeralds power is beginning to wane in them. They are weaker than they started out," Omega said certainly.

Shadow smirked. "Good. Chaos Blast!" he exclaimed as the others divided once more.

Meanwhile, the royal family looked back at Metal Sonic only to see him rise and yell again, "No!" Sleet stood behind him, poised to fight. The robot whirled on him, knowing full well he still held two emeralds, shouting, "Give me those!"

"You will obey me from now on!" Sleet retorted.

"Insolent creature! Surrender!" Metal Sonic insisted.

Looking passed the robot Sleet barked at the temporarily weakened royals, in a voice betraying slight fear for his own well being, "What are you waiting for, run, before I get my senses back and change my mind!"

"Surrender the Emeralds!" Metal Sonic ordered as he suddenly lunged at Sleet. The wolf met the attack dead on with his sword. It damaged the robot but barely.

"Come on!" Sonic said.

"But what about Sleet!" Manic asked.

"Does it matter? This place is going to blow soon anyway if the plan worked!" Sonia yelled.

"But…" Manic began.

"Manic, son, we have to get out of here," Aleena gently said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "He can take care of himself now." Manic looked back at the wolf, seriously doubting it, but going by the past, then relented. Quickly they began to run towards the blocked exit. Sonic was there in less than a second, behind the battling Sleet and Metal Sonic, holding the door open for his family. In seconds the others had dashed passed him and out the door. Sonic looked hesitantly at their enemy. Viciously Sleet managed to kick the robot away from himself.

"What are you waiting for?" Sleet challenged coldly. Sonic looked guiltily away then raced out. He felt as if he was leaving his enemy to his doom, but that would be good, wouldn't it? Sonic looked back, but he couldn't think of it anymore. His family needed him to be there. He ran.

Sleet turned to face the robot once more, worry in his eyes, and he muttered, "Stupid, why did I stay? What was I thinking? I've got to get out of here." Suddenly, though, the bot attacked. He fought back, but after a few minutes he had been thrown!

Metal Sonic raced over and seized the single Chaos and Sol Emeralds. He placed them inside of him, longing for their power. He laughed then took aim at Sleet. He charged up the gun arm, but all at once he lowered it, and in a typically Sonic gesture, he wagged his finger while tsking. Metal then said, "Must destroy Royal family. I will deal with you later." The next second he was gone.

"Oh no you don't. I'm not through with you yet," Sleet muttered. "I hate hedgehogs, metal or otherwise." He drew out a communication device for the speakers.