Sonic dove into the cave, hurtling to the ground. An explosion hit the entrance behind him and Sonic and Tails both shouted.
"Their radars shouldn't sense us in here!" Tails blurted, clambering off of Sonic's head.
"Tell that to them!" Sonic leapt to his feet.
"Sonic! Aero-Sally?" Tails blurted.
"It's bad," Sonic answered. "We've got to get back there—"
A second explosion hit at the mouth of the cave. Rock shards flew over them and Sonic shoved Tails back.
The fox scrambled forward, nearly tripping on his tails. Sonic ran past him to the back of the cave.
Sally faced a large stone at the end of the cave, tugging at it.
Sonic stopped next to her, "It's covered?"
Sally breathed hard. She had already dug her finger tips into a crevice in the rock. She clawed and pulled with all her might. Tears stained her cheeks and she let out a growl-whimper. "Yes—it can come loose-"
Sonic gouged his fingers into the crevice and began to pull with her. He grunted, heaving back. "You sure?"
Tails slid next to him. "It's moving!"
"Good!" Sonic's eyes lit up, "Come on, Tails, pull all together and pull hard!—one—two—heave!"
The three of them strained, pulling, and the stone rocked forwards.
"Fire."
Sonic whipped around, releasing his hold on the stone.
Combots stood at the mouth of the cave, their blasters readying in unison.
Sonic's pupils contracted.
Everything in his body screamed to run.
He didn't think.
He threw his body over Sally, and he thrust his hand forward, bracing a Mobium ring in midair.
The combot blaster muzzles lit up. Streaks of scorching energy exploded towards them.
The Mobium from his ring shot out, a single stream of golden light. It surged forward and rippled out in waves, arching into a translucent, pulsing shield.
The blasts and the ring shield collided.
The cave shook.
Sonic stared at the blasts bursting into his shield, his eyes narrowed and jaw clenched. He felt Sally's heart pounding against his shoulder and her panicked breathing against his ear.
He lunged forward, the force of the ring whipping back into his face and prying at his fingertips. He held the ring steady. His spikes unsheathed and he crouched, pressing towards the combots behind the shield. "Get outta here!" he roared, his voice ripping through the cave.
He clawed out the second ring, his eyes blazing, and with cry of fury, he thrust it forward and launched it through his shield.
In mid-air, the second ring morphed and twisted into a white-hot bullet of energy, streaming into the midst of the combots.
It blew up, tearing through their metal bodies.
Debris slammed against his shield and he snarled, holding it steady.
The dust began to thin. Sonic narrowed his gaze, staring through the shield.
Behind him, Sally and Tails crouched, their eyes wide.
White light pierced into the darkness from the cleared cave entrance.
Sonic held his breath.
Through the dust, outlines of the next troop of combots began materialize.
Sonic took a heavy breath. A shudder ran through his shoulders.
"I didn't know the cruisers were run by combots, I thought they were autopilot!" Tails burst out, his voice shaking.
"Tails, help me!" Sally shouted. "We've got to make it past this boulder—they can't follow us, they're too big. Unless they blow their way through!"
"The Underground is our territory!" Sonic shouted, his eyes still alight. "They'll never find you once you're in! You two better pull fast, this ring has only two minutes left, and I've only got one more after that. After that, I've got to get back to Aero—."
"You—Sonic, you have another ring?" Tails blurted. The fox scrambled next to him. "Can we blow through-"
"-It's a shield ring!" Sonic snapped.
Tails paused, frowning. "A shield ring." His eyes lit up. "I have an idea."
"Take it," Sonic said, pulling the last ring from his belt with his free hand. He closed his eyes for a moment, running his thumb over the ring.
The ring pulsed in his hand, accepting his bequeath.
Tails took it, his face set. He half-ran, half propelled his way to the edge of the shield.
"Tails, where are you going?" Sally shouted after him, staggering forward.
"It's okay, Sal," Sonic moved the shield a few feet and Tails ducked through, putting up his own ring shield. Tails ran towards the combots and the second round of blasts started.
Sonic watched the blast-shots smash harmlessly into Tail's shield.
C'mon little guy, you better have a good one for us…
The combots turned their attention away from the fox back to Sonic.
"Override orders received, Nikolos. Annihilation suspended. Take them alive."
Instead of blasts, streams of smoke spewed out from the blaster muzzles.
Sonic caught his breath and his eyes narrowed...
Wait. Not smoke. Gas.
Sonic glared hard and switched both hands to stabilizing the ring. He broadened his shield trying to push it against the edges of the cave, into all the crags along the wall. "Hey, Sally, try not to breathe unless you have to…"
Sally cast a stricken look over her shoulder. Her eyes widened.
She dashed about and lugged up a rock from the ground.
