"And...that's how it started. With the disappearance of those two important people. The rest of us? We didn't know until it was too late. I still remember just how hectic and awful it was that day, when Eggman finally decided to move with his plans, now that Sonic was out of the picture..."
Part I: A Steady Decline
The city of Station Square was always a lively, bustling place. Traffic was almost always terrible, especially during the rush hour. Sidewalks were no less busy, as the compact space was forced to accommodate an exceptionally large amount of pedestrians. Businessmen, tourists, locals going about their daily business, and plenty of other people of different shapes, sizes, and backgrounds moved throughout the city. Most were humans, but there were a few anthropomorphic animals strewn throughout the crowd. They seemed just as preoccupied with their daily lives, only allowing themselves to be momentarily preoccupied by the flashy neon signs that hung from the top of a few buildings throughout the squares.
One of those animal-like people wandering through the crowd was a young, colorful hedgehog. The girl's hot-pink quills were styled to stretch downwards rather than strictly jutting behind her head, resulting in it appearing similar to a hairstyle popular with many human teenage girls. To keep with the hip, trendy look of her hair, the hedgehog wore a fashionable sleeveless red and white dress, with matching boots as well. Even among other cartoonish, oddly-colored animals, she stood out with her loud and bold presence. In one of her hands was a large paper bag filled to the brim with groceries. In the other – a small pink cellphone which she held directly against her ear.
"I know…! I know! I know, right!?" The girl jabbered in her girlish voice. How she spoke quite accurately reflected her outer appearance. "I went ahead and got that nice reservation set ahead a week in advance, and he completely stood me up!" She whined. Others around her seemed aggravated by her rather loud exclamations, but none spent enough time near her to feel the need to say anything.
"I've absolutely had it with Sonic after last night! I beat him in that game of croquet fair and square, and he even said he'd come. If he wasn't going to show up then he should have just said so, and not wasted my time!" The girl whined. She took a moment to balance herself – not allowing some of the fruits at the top of her bag to spill out onto the street.
"I agree! It was very rude of him to not keep his promise. He could have at least been honest and said he couldn't make it!" A young, high-pitched voice replied over the line. "But I think Mister Sonic might have been busy with something, Amy. I don't think he wanted to hurt your feelings, he's not like that!"
"Trust me, you wouldn't believe some of the stories he's made up to try and get out of a day with me." The hedgehog named Amy sighed, rolling her eyes. "Remember that time he said he got summoned into a fantasy world filled with knights and stuff? Or that time he got sucked into a book by a genie? Yeah – that was always conveniently after he missed a date!" She suddenly swerved out of the crowd, letting her duck into the nook of a pub doorway.
"Plus I called him ten times before, during, and after the time he was supposed to meet me outside the restaurant and he never showed! Someone better have died, because I put a lot of work into scheduling that for him!" She whispered into her cellphone. "It's probably why he hasn't called me or stopped by today, either. He knows he messed up by being a no-show. A girl has feelings too, Sonic! Humph!" With a rather snooty expression, she pointed her nose to the air indignantly.
"Oh...I'm sorry Amy..." The other voice sighed. "Well maybe you, me, and Mister Big could go on another trip together soon! Or we could have a sleepover tonight. I'm sure mama would say yes if she knew you were sad." They suggested.
"I totally would Cream, but I'm house-sitting, remember?" Amy sighed. "I wish I had your mom's cooking to keep my belly full this weekend though. I got tired of eating takeout and microwaved stuff, so I actually went and bought things to make real food." The girl leaned against the wall, pressing her bare arm against it while she listened to her friend continue to speak.
"I'll try and bring you some of mama's lunch after my dance rehearsal tomorrow. That should cheer you up!" Cream suggested. "And then you and I can watch that one movie where the bee uses his stinger to-" Amy's face scrunched up when she heard the line suddenly go quiet – followed by a toneless beep. Much to her dismay, checking her phone only informed her that she no longer had service in the area.
"What the-? What gives!? The line was just fine a minute ago!" Amy gasped, her eyes narrowing. She tapped her phone a few times, before holding it over her head in an attempt to regain her connection. These tries weren't successful, which only further exasperated her. "Oh, come on! Dumb cell service!" The hedgehog whined. A loud huff escaped her lungs as she shoved the device into her pocket.
Resigned to calling her friend back later, Amy forced herself back onto the street to resume her walk home. With nothing else to do while she forced herself through the bustling street, the girl glanced at the world around her, hoping something interesting would catch her eye. All she seemed to notice, however, were people who seemed just as disgruntled and confused as she was. Several pedestrians were staring at their phones, their brows furrowed in confusion. As she passed by a particularly loud pair of women, Amy heard them mention the fact that their phones had stopped working as well.
"That's weird..." The girl muttered under her breath. "Did everyone else's go out too? It must be an internet issue, then...I hope it isn't a city-wide thing!" She whined to herself. Then again, the girl was still curious about the ordeal in the back of her mind. Something had to have caused the phones to be cut off. What could have been the source?
Unfortunately for Amy, as well as all those present in Station Square, the pink hedgehog was given her answer just a few short moments later. A large shadow suddenly loomed over the street, casting the location and all those occupying it in darkness. 'What the? Who turned out the lights?' Amy thought to herself. Glancing upward, she noticed that several people around her had stopped walking – far more preoccupied with something behind the hedgehog. Upon turning around and glancing up into the sky, she was immediately seized by shock. Her mouth hung open as the bag of groceries slipped out of her arm.
Looming over the city of Station Square was not one, but several large flying battleships. There were no less than half a dozen of the massive ships, each of them painted a deep shade of red, and were quite clearly armed to the teeth with artillery. The crowd around Amy shared in her appalled shock. Many began to whisper to themselves, while others shouted in fear.
Movement in the corner of her eye caused the pink hedgehog to tear her attention away from the encroaching battleships. As if to add to the terrifying spectacle, all the electric billboards around the plaza were beginning to show signs of glitching. The sound and image quality grew increasingly worse and worse, before the screens went dark.
After a few moments, however, the billboards flickered to life once again – this time displaying a symbol consisting of a round face and pointed mustache. A horrifyingly familiar jingle began to emit from the speakers as well. 'Oh no…!' Amy thought, her eyes growing even wider. Her worst fears were confirmed when she saw what the screens changed to next.
Each of the electronic billboards suddenly displayed Doctor Eggman himself, reclining in a chair. Behind him, one could see an entire control room filled with egg pawns, all hard at work manning stations and hundreds of buttons. Many of those around Amy immediately began to point at the screens, gasping and crying out in fear.
"Er-hem-hem! Citizens of Earth, lend me your ears!" The man suddenly called, sitting up. He folded his gloved hands together, placing them on the dashboard of whatever control panel was in front of him. All those looking up at the screens could see him glaring directly into the camera. "As most of you know, my name is Doctor Ivo Robotnik, the greatest scientific genius in the world! Though I am also commonly known as Eggman – the leader of the glorious Eggman Empire!" He exclaimed.
"And that empire is only going to expand. From this day forth, I claim the entirety of Earth as property of the Eggman Empire. You all are now honorary residents. Congratulations!" The doctor proclaimed. After pointing at the screen, he continued his speech. "And don't even think about fighting back! I'll crush anyone that gets in my way. With my new weapon of mass destruction, those of you who try to fight back will simply be wiped out. You'd best stand there like you are right now and accept your fates!"
Amy and the crowd watched in horror as the flying battleship passing directly over them suddenly began to make a loud noise. A panel attached to the bottom of the ship slowly moved to the right, revealing a horde of robots peering down at them. Their glowing eyes made it clear that there were hundreds of them – all ready to pounce on the city below.
"I hope you don't mind a hostile takeover, my dear peasants, but I have to ensure that there's none of you that have the ability to put a stop to my plans!" Eggman chuckled, his demented smile growing wider. "Don't worry! No harm will come to you, so long as you don't run or scream too loudly. Mwaha! Mwahahahahaha!" He cackled. The man's mirthless, spine-chilling laughter echoed throughout the plaza.
"No...No way…!" Amy mumbled, a bead of sweat rolling down her cheek. "He isn't seriously attacking the city now!?" There were times where the madman had been as bold before – though those times were few and far between. Any instance where Doctor Eggman was so confident, however, was a dangerous one. Seeing him attack then and there immediately caused the hedgehog to seize up.
Her attention was drawn back to reality when the screams of those around her grew ear-piercing. She focused her line of sight on the cruiser above them once again, and realized that dozens of the doctor's mechanical soldiers began to throw themselves from the ship.
One by one the robots landed in the street – some pulling out parachutes or brightly-colored umbrellas moments before they would have hit the pavement. One egg pawn, however, was too slow in deploying their parachute. It crashed into the ground right in front of Amy, letting out a clang as parts and sparks flew from its metallic body. The hedgehog it nearly crushed squealed in surprise, falling backwards and landing roughly on her backside. She simply stared at the body of her would-be killer with wide eyes.
Panic immediately broke out among the hundreds of people in the crowd. They were sent in a frenzy, screaming as they scrambled to escape the clutches of the large, brightly-colored robots that were scattered among them. There were even a few in the crowd who were dragged into the sky and back to the flying battleship – all in the hands of larger, specialized robots. The chaos only grew more intense when the local law enforcement attempted to intervene. This resulted in dozens of egg pawns retrieving the equally-colorful blasters they had kept hidden within their holsters.
Amy let out a cry as a stray laser from an egg pawn shot directly at her feet. The hedgehog immediately scooted back more, her breathing growing more and more panicked. A sudden metallic body behind her forced the girl to come to a halt – with her head hitting the wall hard. "Ow!" She winced, craning her neck to glance back at what she had run into.
Towering over the relatively small hedgehog girl was a large, green, broadly-built robot. It hovered over the ground, with its two red eyes glowing brightly as it glared at her. This robot was quite familiar to Amy – and her suspicions were confirmed yet again when she read "E-100 ALPHA" printed neatly on the side of its head. While it was bold to see, such a detail was only noticeable thanks to how close she was to the robot.
"Not you again!" Amy cried. Her opponent hissed angrily, steam shooting out of the back of his head. The robot seemed equally displeased to see her. Without any hesitation he aimed to punch one of his metallic fists through her head – only failing in the attempt due to the girl rolling out of the way. Bits of pavement shot out of the ground, particles of the material coating his hand as he slowly looked up to see Amy.
The hedgehog had already sprung to her feet and turned to face Alpha, but seemed incapable of doing much else in that moment. She simply stared at the robot, her face showing a look of terror, her body trembling in its presence. "G-Get back! L-L-Leave me alone!" Amy whimpered, biting her lip as she stared down the robot. Her attacker simply stared in return as it pulled its fist back into place. Quickly realizing that the girl was easy prey, however, Alpha knew it had to seize the opportunity.
Alpha slowly approached her, holding out his arms and flexing his metallic claws – making it clear his intentions were to grab her. With many others in the street being taken back to the ship from which the robots came from, one could be led to believe no immediate harm would come to her if she simply let this machine take her. This hedgehog's old rival had different plans. As soon as Amy was within grabbing distance, Alpha raised his arm into the air, balling the hand into a fist and ready to make another attempt at crushing her.
Unfortunately for the large robot, Amy had other plans as well. Her eyes gleamed dangerously when she noticed the metallic hand swinging at her. She reached behind her back, before screaming at the top of her lungs as she summoned a bright yellow hammer from seemingly nowhere. The girl swung faster and with even more force than her opponent, hitting the robotic appendage with all her might. A loud crunching sound emitted from Alpha's body as his right arm was ripped out of its socket.
"You thought that'd work again? You really are a useless piece of scrap!" Amy shouted, glaring up at the robot as it struggled to recover from the shocking retaliation. Any sort of fear from earlier was gone, leaving behind a defiant fire in her eyes and a large frown on her lips. "I've already beaten you once before, and I'll do it again if you don't leave me alone! And don't ever try a nasty trick like that on a girl ever again...you're lucky I was just pretending to be scared!"
Without a hint of hesitation, Amy reeled back, her hammer poised to strike. "Hey, batter batter! Hey, batter batter!" She announced, watching the whining Alpha attempt to back away. With sparks and smoke emitting from its severed limb, however, the robot found trouble in moving. "SWING-!" The head of Amy's hammer hit the robot hard, sending it rocketing off of the sidewalk and through the display window of one of the many shops lining the street.
"Humph! And stay gone!" Amy cried, her eyes twinkling. Her excitement didn't last long, however, as she noticed that another robot stood a short distance away. To her dismay, that robot was nearly identical to Alpha, and shared in its hatred of the small pink hedgehog. "Uh oh…!" She gasped, watching as a small red light positioned just a short distance above its eyes began to glow.
A laser suddenly fired at its target, forcing Amy to dive out of the way. "Since when has there been more than one of you!? This isn't fair!" She cried. The hedgehog immediately scrambled to her feet before dashing away from the scene. Her robotic pursuer followed closely behind, the obnoxious screeching noise of its tracking system ringing out over the sounds of combat and fleeing civilians.
"I hate that this comes so naturally to me!" Amy groaned, swinging at an egg pawn that was moments away from dealing a finishing blow to a police officer. Her victim was flung across the square. "If there weren't so many people here, I'd totally teach you a lesson you lethal green jerk!" She called back to the Alpha clone as she sprinted into a crowd.
Yet hiding herself among the chaotic fleeing humans and attacking robots did little to help Amy put distance between herself and Alpha. Fellow citizens of Station Square were far too unpredictable with their panicked movements, and the robots themselves threatened to intentionally stop her in her tracks. With the others around her in mind, Amy did her best to deal swift ends to the egg pawns in her way – always using vertical attacks to avoid hitting nearby people.
Amy was suddenly seized with inspiration when she saw a pawn positioned a sizable distance away from any of the fleeing civilians. With a cry she hopped over the robot, before twisting her body around and landing just behind it. "Alright, jarhead! You can have a taste of what it's like to be bothered by a robot!" She called. The hedgehog swatted her hammer against the egg pawn, sending it flying towards the enemy. Alpha, who had taken a moment to shove a frightened businessman out of the way, could do nothing but take the force of the projectile. Its ally shattered into dozens of broken parts – leaving behind a massive dent in its superior's face.
"Alright!" Amy giggled, watching as the Alpha clone's lifeless body fell to the ground with a clang. The hedgehog spun around and immediately ran back into the chaos. In the distance she could see her destination – a square brick building with a monorail system extending from it. The city's train station.
The hedgehog was only a few yards away from her safe haven when she watched, to her horror, three Alpha clones form a line between her and the doors. All three of the robots held up their metal claws, steam shooting out from the back of their heads. "You gotta be kidding me!" Amy whined. She skidded to a halt just a few feet from the center robot.
"Excuse me, Mistew Wobots?" The girl called as her attackers raised their fists. Amy felt a small sense of relief seeing them freeze for a moment. "Is thewe any chance you could let me thwough? I'm gonna be late for my twain. You could make an exception fow a cutie like me, wight?" She asked in the most sickly-sweet voice she could muster. To her dismay, her cutesy demeanor didn't seem to persuade the blockade of Alpha. They immediately lashed out at her, all three shooting their hands at the girl's face.
"Thanks, Cream. That idea helped so much." Amy huffed after sliding out of range of the fists. "I know Eggman doesn't put a lot of thought into his robots, but he should have added a line of code that reminded you to never get in a girl's way!" She called. None of the robots were able to react in an orderly manner as the hedgehog tossed her hammer at them. Her throw was powerful and her aim was true, resulting in the center robot being tossed backwards and hitting a nearby pillar.
"This isn't how you treat a lady, you know!" The hedgehog called as she dodged several lasers the two other Alphas sent her way. She began to flank them from the left, creating a wide arc at first, but narrowing in the closer she got to the train station's entrance. 'Now...to use a strategy Sonic taught me!' Amy thought, smirking.
With a cry the hedgehog leaped into the air, dodging her attackers' projectiles while moving over their heads. She landed atop the head of one of the Alphas, leaving the one she stood atop of incapable of hitting her. Its partner, however, realized the hedgehog was just in range of its fists. The robot took a swing – punching at the girl's feet as hard as it could. This led to it accidentally punching the top of the other Alpha instead, causing the front of its face to crumple and fall apart. After realizing it had mistakenly destroyed its own ally, the Alpha beeped sadly.
The depressed robot wasn't given much time to lament over the tragedy of the situation, however, for Amy was quick in dropping down and swinging her hammer over its head – crushing the cheaply-produced robot. "You guys just get easier and easier to fight. I don't know why I was even worried!" She giggled, winking at the three smoldering robot remains. For a few moments she had forgotten why the clones had bothered to get in her way in the first place. Focus returned to her when she spotted a mother and her child sprint past her, heading straight towards the entrance to the station. "Oh, shoot!" The hedgehog cried as she ran after them.
While Amy was expecting the train station to be packed with panicked and fleeing civilians, the girl couldn't have been prepared for the sight that awaited her upon entering. The entirety of the first floor was jammed tightly with human bodies, all pressed together and shouting at the top of their lungs. Each person seemed to be protesting something, but the young, short hedgehog wasn't capable of seeing the source of their disdain from the floor. Coming to the conclusion that she would only receive answers through reaching higher ground, Amy forced herself through the crowd, shoving and squeezing past bystanders until she reached a tall marble pillar that stretched towards the ceiling. She began to climb, using her arms and legs to grip the structure the best she could.
Upon reaching a height that was beyond the heads of the tallest humans present, Amy glanced towards the second level of the building – where the trains themselves moved to and from. To her dismay, she found that several security guards lined the top of the stairs, forced to keep those who wished to climb towards the higher floor at bay. She narrowed her eyes to get a good look at the train parked next to the loading area. With her sharper line of sight, the pink hedgehog realized that each of the tram cars were already packed with people.
"...Oh no!" Amy gasped, her eyes widening. Seeing the monorail tram's cars begin to close cued Amy to act. She immediately threw herself from the pillar she clung to moments prior, and hopped from one head to another as she raced towards the higher platform. "No no no no, please!" She cried, upping her speed even more when she noticed even more train cars closing. The pained cries below her certainly had an effect on the hedgehog, but the wild, instinctive fear driving her thus far dulled her feelings of guilt.
There was nothing the guards could do to stop Amy from forcing herself onto the platform. The girl nearly tripped upon finally reaching stable ground once again, but she refused to allow even a moment's hesitation in those few precious seconds left to her. Amy immediately ran along the length of the tram, tapping the head of her hammer against every closed door. "Please! Please! Let me in, please let me in!" She begged, watching as the doors ahead of her slid shut.
With one last bout of energy, she charged forward, hoping to reach the last car that had its door open. Amy felt the rush of adrenaline course through her body, the pounding of her heart and head, the exhilaration of running for one's own survival. She took a dive for the final tram car, shouting and holding her hands out to the crowd inside.
Those inside the last tram car watched worriedly as a small, pink hedgehog slammed face-first into the door moments after it sunk into place. Her face was squished against the glass, and her emerald eyes darted from one person to the next, as if begging for any of them act. None of them did.
Amy slowly trailed down the length of the tram card, before falling to the tile floor with a dull thud. The clatter of her hammer echoed in her mind – drowning out the screams of the crowd below, as well as the metallic groans of the monorail powering to life. She had only gotten to picking herself off the ground by the time the sleek, modern tram shot out of the station, leaving her behind in its wake.
"Ngh...Mmm…!" Amy whimpered, sniffling as she watched the train abandoned her. She was only capable of staring at the vehicle as it quickly shot out of sight, leaving no trace of its presence other than a defeated female hedgehog. The next few minutes of her time were spent with her breathing heavily. With no train to take her, she would simply have to walk.
In one final bid to provide some relief to her fellow victims in the station, Amy climbed atop the railing. She looked down to the dozens of protesters, watching each of them. To her surprise, she found that many were yelling at different things. Some voiced their disdain towards the guards, some shouted at where the train once stood, some stared up at the sky and shouted to the heavens, and some even seemed content with screaming at the hedgehog herself. Amy's eyes trailed across the crowd, taking note of each and every person.
When her eyes wandered towards the glass doors she had entered from, however, Amy felt a new sense of urgency course through her. Standing just behind the reinforced glass panes were a pair of Alpha clones, both of which were bashing their metallic fists against the doors with as much force as they could muster. While one may have thought they were safe at first, the tiny cracks forming where their fists struck made it clear the glass's time as whole pieces was coming to an end.
"Everyone, everyone!" Amy cried, waving her arms at the crowd. "We need to move, now! There are robots at the doors, they're breaking their way inside!" She hopped up and down a few times in the hopes of gaining their attention, but the crowd simply didn't acknowledge her. In their moment of weakness and fear, they were too scared to acknowledge her. The hedgehog screamed, cupping her hands around her face and bellowed as loudly as she could – but her voice was no match for the tirade of panic below her.
Amy's face scrunched up as she stared down at group below them. With the tram finally gone, not even the security guards meant to keep her from the higher platform bothered to acknowledge her existence. The area had fallen to chaos. All the hedgehog could do was ball her hands into fists and bow her head, silently apologizing to the horde of innocents she had failed.
The sound of crashing glass and fresh screams cued Amy to take her leave. She immediately hopped down from the railing as the crowd's panicked cries grew louder and louder. The robots had finally broken into the train station – allowing dozens of egg pawns to swarm the bottom floor and overwhelm those present with sheer force. They were quick and efficient in suppressing those who were compliant, while incapacitating those who weren't. Amy, however, wasn't interested in interacting with Eggman's forces any longer. She immediately darted towards the monorail railing, gritting her teeth as she hopped atop it.
"I'm so sorry!" The small hedgehog whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. She ran into the tunnel, sprinting as fast as she could while maintaining balance atop the platform. Amy Rose abandoned the train station and all those left inside – much like how the train itself had abandoned her. Her footsteps echoed around her as the screaming and beeping of robots grew diminished.
She ran for quite some time. Surrounded by darkness and equipped with no means of telling the time, she wasn't able to accurately gauge just how long she had been within the monorail's tunnel. Minutes passed, then hours. As her legs grew tired and her sides began to ache, Amy was forced to slow to a walk. Her time in the tunnel seemed never ending.
What kept her going, the only thing keeping the small hedgehog going, was what awaited her on the other end of the tunnel. Not what laid immediately at the end, however. In the back of the girl's mind, all she could think of was the heroic blue hedgehog that often occupied her thoughts, the one she hoped to reunite with. She squeezed her eyes shut, allowing the image in her mind seem realer to her. The ability to see meant little at the time – darkness continued to envelop her as she walked further away from Station Square.
"Sonic, I'm sorry..." Amy whispered, clutching her shoulders as she walked. "I'm going to find you. As soon as I find you, we'll sort this out...together. I-I won't even say anything about the date..." The hedgehog paused for a moment, bowing her head. Remembering her callous conversation over the phone just a short while ago caused another wave of guilt to wash over her. "...I'll get to him. I'll make sure he's okay...and then we'll stop Eggman." She said, reaffirming the sentiment to herself.
After clearing her throat and picking up the pace, Amy began to distract herself with from the immediate thoughts of her hero – primarily relying on the concerns awaiting outside of the tunnel. She needed a plan.
"Okay...so this train leads from Station Square to...Mystic Ruins." Amy whispered to herself, nodding with each factual statement. "And from the station set up at Mystic Ruins, I can go to...to..." The hedgehog closed her eyes, sticking her tongue out as she hummed thoughtfully. "Mmmm...Tails! Tails has a workshop right outside of the Mystic Ruins, a-and he might be there! He'll definitely be there!" She stated. "So I'll go there, I'll find Tails, and then we'll go after Sonic. Sonic...Sonic..."
Any opened her eyes, staring sadly at the ground. Her eyes had finally adjusted somewhat to the light, allowing her to see the faint outline of her stylish boots. They were dirty – covered in rubble, dirt, and a single burn left by the laser of an E-100. That was all she could focus on as she walked. "...I hope you're okay..." She sighed.
In the back of her mind, all Amy could see was the blue hedgehog she so deeply cared for. In the forefront of her mind, however, all the hedgehog's mind seemed to concern itself with was Eggman's triumphant speech. All other trains of thought or attempts at diversions eventually died out – even when they managed to keep her occupied for a while. Each attempt always ended with Amy reminding herself of the mirthless, maniacal laughter of the madman that forced her to flee her home city.
The darkness enveloped Amy Rose once again as she pressed further through the tunnel.