The final surge. Having learned of warlord
Vesper the Wasp's plot to rebuild a
Separatist badnik foundry on Waspnosia, Shinobi
Knight Shadow the Hedgehog and his apprentice,
Amy Rose, prepare to assault this heavily-
fortified installation. Their mission: destroy the
factory at all costs. Anticipating stiff resistance,
Republic commanders send Shinobi Master
Elizabeth Quack and her apprentice, Clove
the Pronghorn, to reinforce the attack. But time runs
short for our intrepid heroes as the dreaded
badnik mill nears completion...
Elizabeth Quack was in a gunship with Clove, a green pronghorn wearing a grey tailcoat "Captain, the only safe landing zone is south of Shadow's position" "Yes, General". Elizabeth then turned to her apprentice "Clove, i assume you've made the necessary preparations" "Precisely as you instructed, master" clove responded respectfully. A bear clone walked through the gunship. We're going in, men. Load up!" all the clones then took their weapons as the gunship flew over a ridge filled with the bodies of dead clones.
Amy was showing a map of the factory to a group of clones while Shadow was behind her. "This bridge is our first waypoint. Focus your fire on the gun emplacements here and here, because it's only-". "Because it's only after we neutralize the guns that we can push for the factory" Shadow interrupted her as he stepped forward. Amy was annoyed by this "I was-yes. We can push to the factory. Now expect stiff resistance from-" And don't forget to top off your energy cell and ration packs. Once we leave, there will be no re-supply. Anything else, Amy?" Shadow said, the clones were slightly amused by the two of them. Amy tried to hide her frustration "No, I think you've pretty much covered everything… in my briefing" "Very well. Squad dismissed" the clones went to prepare. Shadow turned to Amy "Okay, what's next" "You know, Master, my briefing might go better if you didn't interrupt me every time I try to-" "I wasn't interrupting. I was trying to help you" Shadow said. He started walking away but Amy wasn't having it "Which I would appreciate if you didn't interrupt me to do it. I just think maybe you don't trust me to give the briefing", Shadow turned to her "It's not about trust. It's about getting the job done right". Shadow again tried to walk away but "Ah, so you don't trust me to get the job done right. I knew it!" Amy said angrily. Shadow sighed "Snips, I never said-" "No. No, it's okay. I understand. I'm the apprentice. You're the Master".
Not far away Fang was waiting as a group of gunships landed in front of him. The lead ship opened up and Elizabeth and Clove. Fang stepped forward "Good day, General. General Shadow's waiting for you". He led them to Shadow and Amy who were still arguing, Elizabeth looked amused "At it again, are they?" she asked Fang. Clove looked confused "Again, Master?" "Let's just say they have a penchant for playing loose with regulations and rules of command". Amy crossed her arms "If you don't trust me, maybe you should just send me back", Shadow crossed his arms and smirked "Oh, don't tempt me, Snips". "If you're both finished with your little discussion, we do have a factory to destroy" Elizabeth said, Shadow and Amy turned to them. "Well, Clove, aren't you going to introduce yourself" Elizabeth said. Clove curtseyed "Clove the Pronghorn at your service". Amy was surprised by this and then saw that Shadow was staring at her with an amused look. Amy glared at him before she shook Clove's hand "Amy Rose, glad to meet you". Shadow nodded to Elizabeth "It's good to see both of you again" "I wish it were under more peaceful circumstances".
Later the wounded were being loaded onto gunships while the Shinobi were examining the map that was being projected by Emerl. "A frontal assault is risky. Our losses will be high" Elizabeth said, "Not as high as they'll be if that factory comes online". Elizabeth pondered "Indeed, but there is an alternative. Every Waspnosian building has a series of catacombs beneath it that run deep underground. Clove nodded to Emerl who then projected the catacombs "Some of them are close enough to the cliff wall under the bridge. We could cut a whole through and make an entry point". Elizabeth nodded "Once inside we could plant the explosive on the reactor and destroy the factory from the inside out". Shadow didn't like this idea "Seems like an easy way to get lost, if you ask me" "For the unprepared perhaps, but I have instructed Clove to memorize the labyrinth, all 200 junctions". Shadow was impressed "You always were thorough" "It pays for one to be prepared. Right, Clove?". Clove nodded "Especially when other peoples lives depend on your success". Amy examined the map "How do we keep the wasps occupied while someone else is setting the bombs?", Shadow nodded in agreement "Good point. If whoever's going in there is going to be successful, we'll need to create a diversion". Lizabeth nodded in agreement "Precisely. That task will be carried out by you and I, Shadow, while the destruction of the factory falls to the apprentices" Elizabeth said. Shadow didn't like this "Now, hold on. Who decided that? Walking into that factory could be suicide", Elizabeth shook her head "Not if you and I are successful holding Vesper's attention at the bridge".
"Master, I can do this. I've had riskier assignments" Amy said defensively, "But unlike Clove, you aren't prepared for this mission" Shadow told her sternly. "Not to worry. My apprentice is reliable. She can lead them both through the maze" Elizabeth. Clove smiled at her Master's recognition "We'll be in an out, Master". Amy turned back to Shadow "See? Dependable Clove will get us through. Don't worry, Master. As you well know, I can follow orders". Elizabeth nodded "It's decided then" "I guess so" Shadow said reluctantly. "We'll monitor your progress on these chronometers" she gave them all a small wrist device. "Let's get going. After you, Clove" Amy said as she took a backpack and they both ran towards the factory. Elizabeth and Shadow watched them "You feel Amy's not up to the task" the former asked, "I never said that" "What is it then?". Shadow sighed "Nothing. Let's prepare the men". They walked back to the map "We'll have to make a bold move if we're to draw them out of the factory and keep their attention on us and not Amy and Clove" she said. Shadow nodded "The best way to do that is to march our troops straight up the middle, parade style. They can't resist that" "With no cover?" she said concerned, "Well, we have to make it tempting".
Inside the factory a Swatbot was showing Vesper a map of the area "The factory is operating at 50% production capacity. We have ten garrisons of new badniks ready to deploy". Vesper looked pleased "Are the super tanks ready yet?" "No, but when they are, the Republic forces will be routed. They have no weapon that can penetrate its heavy armour".
Shadow and Elizabeth were leading the clones and tanks towards the factory. The doors to the factor opened and an army of Egg Pawns marched out. "Here come the badniks. Everybody steady and keep marching" Shadow said, "I hope Amy and Clove have made it past the bridge by now". "They'll be fine as long as we keep them busy. All we have to do is destroy badniks faster than they can make them", Elizabeth smiled "I love your simple logic, Shadow". They charged forward with the clones and started taking out the badniks. They were making progress but wasps started flying out of the rock formations behind them.
Amy and Clove had climbed down into the trench, they could hear the battle taking place above them. Clove placed her hands against the wall trying to find something when she then started cutting through a specific section into the tunnels. "Nice work. Well, here goes nothing" Amy said as she was about to go in. Clove stopped her "I should go first. I know the way", Amy shrugged "Be my guest". They ran through the caverns for a while before ending up in a hall where the walls were covered with sleeping wasps. "We should find another way" Amy said, "Sshhh. We don't time. This direction is the fastest" "And if you're wrong?" "Trust me". Amy reluctantly followed Clove. They both slowly crawled to avoid touching the wasps. Suddenly a sleeping Wasp placed his hand on Clove's head causing her to freeze "Amy" she said quietly. Amy turned around and carefully moved it and they both quickly moved on but the wasp then opened its eyes.
The battle outside was still going on. Three clones with miniguns were able to keep the wasps at bay allowing the rest of the army to advance. "They should have entered the catacombs by now" Elizabeth said to Shadow, "I sure hope they're not lost down there". Gammas then appeared "Fang, little help here". Fang signalled for the tanks to fire on the gammas taking them out.
The two of them were still walking through the dark tunnels "Left at the next junction" Clove said. They kept going but once they reached the next junction there was no left "Dead end" "If we make a wrong turn we'll never find our way out. You do remember the way, don't you?" Amy said. Clove pondered for a moment "Of I course do" she then realized there was light coming from a hole in the ceiling "It's not left. It's up. Come on". They both jumped through but once they did a wasp came out from a hiding place and followed them.
Vesper and the Swatbot were watching the battle outside "My lord, I beg you to let us use the secret weapons" the latter asked. Vesper thought for a moment "How many are ready?" "We have twenty units ready now and many more on the way". Vesper nodded "Very well. Send them out and crush the Republic troops". The Swatbot nodded "Thank you, my lord". he activated his commlink "Deploy the super tanks. Attack formation".
Outside most of the badniks have been destroyed when the doors to the factory opened to reveal a squad of tanks. Shadow saw them "Fang, tell the cannons to fire", Fang got on his commlink. He then took out his binoculars and watched the tanks "Steady. Fire!" the cannons fired and Fang saw them hit the tanks but once the smoke cleared there was no damage. Fang was surprised "Sir, nothing cold withstand that" "They must be ray-shielded". They started firing rockets "Get down!" Shadow yelled. The rockets hit the cannons destroying them.
Amy and Clove went through a hatch and found themselves in the reactor room "This is it. We're here". They ran over and started placing bombs on the reactor before Amy pressed her chronometer signalling that the bombs were armed "Now we make ourselves scarce". The large door opened revealing the Swatbot, a group of wasps and a tank. Amy and Clove ignited there lightsabers, but the tank started firing on them which pushed them back. While they were distracted the wasps quickly flew over to the reactor and removed the bombs. Amy pulled out another bomb from her backpack "See if your stupid tank can take this" she threw it at the tank close to the Swatbot. It laughed "Fool, the super tank is impervious to all weapons-" the bomb blew up not damaging the tank, but the blast did destroy the Swatbot.
The Republic walkers were getting wiped out by the tanks' weapons "Fang tell the men to fall back" Shadow said but Fang didn't seem to like this "But, sir, you can't be asking us to turn tail and run?". Shadow picked up a backpack "I'm not asking you to run, Fang. I want to draw those tanks out onto the bridge". Elizabeth smirked "I see what you have in mind" "I always come prepared, Master". They both ran out while the clones retreated. They ran towards the tanks while avoiding fire and climbed to the underside of the bridge. They started placing bombs. After a while they finished and they jumped back on the top side of the bridge behind the tanks. Shadow grinned and detonated the bombs destroying part of the bridge causing all the tanks to fall into the gorge. All the clones cheered from the other side of the bridge. Shadow looked at his chronometer "Where are they? Those bombs are gonna go off any second. Fang, any sign of Amy and Clove on your side?" he said over the commlink. "No, sir, but this place is getting ready to blow. The evacuation ships are arriving. I suggest you get on one" "Not without Amy". "My apprentice will not fail" Elizabeth said reassuringly. Shadow changed the frequency on his commlink "Amy, can you hear me? Amy, Come in!". The doors then opened releasing more badniks.
The wasps flew into a hatch with the bombs, Clove was about to chase after them but realized it was too late. She and Amy jumped on top of the tank and cut through its roof. They jumped into the cockpit with the two Pawn pilots not noticing "Where did they go-AH!" it screamed before Clove cut them both in half. "What do we do now?" Amy asked Clove who looked lost "I… I don't know". Amy paused then sighed "Well, this tank could destroy the power generator… and probably us along with it", Clove looked down solemnly "I guess that's our only choice". Amy activated her commlink "Master, can you hear me? Master?". She could hear Shadow was in the middle of a fight "Amy, set off the bombs! We're trapped!". Amy sighed "I'm sorry, Master. We can't make it out" "Can't make it out... Amy, wait". Amy ignored him and fired the tank cannons at the reactor destroying it.
Outside Shadow and Elizabeth were dealing with the badniks when the factory suddenly blew up. Everyone took cover and after the smoke eventually cleared Shadow and Elizabeth looked down at the wreckage. He activated his commlink "Amy. Amy, can you hear me? Come in", Elizabeth calmly kneeled down and closed her eyes. "Master Elizabeth, don't worry" Shadow said reassuringly but Elizabeth was emotionless "Be at ease, Shadow" "At ease? We need to act now. Amy and Clove may still be alive down there". Elizabeth lowered her head "There's not enough time. I sense them drifting away down there" "No. We'll get them out". A gunship arrived carrying Fang and other clones "The tank lifters are here to move the debris as ordered, General" "Get to it, Fang".
Amy and Clove ignited their lightsabers lighting up what was left of the tank "How deep do you think we're buried?" Clove asked. "It's probably best not to think about it. Hand me that power cell, would you?", Clove did so and Amy gave her lightsaber. Amy started doing something with her commlink, Clove looked curiously at her "I hope whatever you're doing works. I'd rather have died fighting up there than starve to death down there". Amy chuckled "Don't worry. We'll run out of air long before we starve" "That's a comforting thought, thanks. So, what're you doing?". Amy held up her commlink "Master Shadow taught me a trick. I'm hoping I can boost the signal".
Elizabeth was calmly watching the gunships remove debris when a worried Shadow walked up to her "We can't abandon them" "You misjudge me. I too care for my apprentice, but if their time has come" Elizabeth replied looking saddened by the idea. "I refuse to let Amy die. She'll find a way out" "If my apprentice has perished, I will mourn her, but I will celebrate her as well through her memory". Shadow walked away dismissively "Well, I still plan on celebrating this victory with my apprentice in person".
Clove shrugged "What happens to us doesn't matter. By destroying this factory, we've saved countless lives elsewhere". Amy smiled "Well, I'm about to save two more". They both started to feel faint form the lack of oxygen. Amy connected the power cell to the commlink "Master, I know you're up there. I know you're looking for me". Amy could now barely stay awake and she dropped the commlink. Clove deactivated one of the lightsabers and took her Amy's hand.
Shadow's commlink started beeping "Wait, I'm picking up a pulse on Amy's comm-channel. It's over there" he points down to part of the wreckage. They ran forward "I'll move the heavy machinery over, sir" Fang said but Shadow raised his hand "No time". Shadow and Elizabeth started lifting debris until eventually they saw an opening in the wreckage. Amy and Clove suddenly crawled out coughing but uninjured "Clove" Elizabeth said happily. The clones went down to help them, and Shadow smiled down at them "I knew they were still alive. I told you we shouldn't give up on them". Elizabeth shook her head "It's not that I gave up, Shadow. But unlike you, when the time comes, I'm prepared to let my student go. Can you say the same?". Shadow dismissively shook his head before going down to help Amy up "I knew you'd come looking for me" she said, "I never doubted you for a second". Elizabeth greeted her apprentice "Clove, you did well" "Thank you, Master. But if it weren't for Amy, we'd still be down there". Elizabeth turned and smiled at Amy "Indeed. Your master never lost faith in you".