Chapter 17: Dream Sequence

Robotnik was giddy with glee. His plan was working. Not only that, but it was working perfectly. More perfectly than he could imagine. In less than a few hours, he had separated Amy from her friends—and her hammer—and made Tails cry—which was always a win against that sharp-witted brat. He had exhausted Sonic—which he always thought was near impossible—and terrified Cream—a bit of an easier task, but still delightful. He had caused Knuckles to abandon the emerald—and the echidna didn't even know it—and made Rouge the least confident she had ever been—because he may as well have included her in the fight.

.

Amy was nearing a building. She stopped as she realized that it was Eggman's lab. There was something different about it, though: a big satellite on top of it. "I wonder what that is…" she mumbled to herself. She figured that if something was going on, Eggman may be the one behind it. She also knew that cameras and alarms surrounded the lab, and she would not easily be able to get inside without trouble.

Outside the lab was a pile of scrap metal covered by a tarp. She maneuvered herself around so that she could duck behind it as she approached. Besides that, she needed a weapon. She didn't have her hammer, so she would have to improvise.

She lifted the tarp and scanned the pieces trash underneath. She found what must have once been a mechanical arm attached to a large hand. She picked it up and gave it a swing. It had an extra joint like an elbow, but other than that added movement, it worked just like her hammer.

She peered around the mound of metal and looked at the walls of the lab. Sure enough, cameras left no side unwatched. She would be caught in a moment. She had to figure out how to disable them before she could move any further.

Or… She looked under the tarp again. "Time to ask what would Tails do…" she decided. Her eyes scanned the pieces of trash again. Soon, she found what she was looking for: springs. She smiled.

Soon, she had crudely constructed a spring trampoline. It may only work for one jump, but one jump was all she needed. It just needed to be high. She had to jump over the cameras. She had to use flight to sneak into Eggman's lab.

She backed up a few paces, then a few more. She looked toward the spring, which was right beside the tarp. She would be hidden, then out in the open. Hopefully she would be high in the air by the time anyone had a chance to see her on camera.

She took a breath, then shot off in a sprint. Jumping onto the spring, she then jumped off with all her might, flying up, up, and over the pile of metal… falling right at the edge of the lab. She used her improvised hammer to balance herself out.

She held her breath, listening for alarms or cries of outrage. Nothing. She let out the breath, then tiptoed across the roof. She was surprised to see a mechanical garden up here. Metal flowers spanned the length of the roof, each holding solar panels on their leaves. "Really, Eggman?" she asked under her breath.

Soon, she got to the edge that opened up for the satellite. She bent down to survey the room. There was Robotnik at a screen. He seemed to be keeping eyes on all of her friends. But there were no eyes on her, to her surprise.

"Keep going, bots! Don't let Sonic have even a moment of rest!" he was commanding.

His eyes were on the left-most screen, which showed Sonic as he protected a very frightened Cream. He looked exhausted. Amy snarled. Adjusting her grip on her makeshift hammer, she readied herself to pounce.

Then, she did.

.

It was sudden, almost unreal. The red on the horizon became a soft pink. The darkened sky faded back to bright blue, and the heaviness Rouge had been feeling lifted from her. However, that relief was replaced by a headache.

Knuckles and Tails also clutched their heads. "What… just happened…?" the echidna's teeth were clenched.

"I feel like I just woke up…" Tails said, dazed.

"Out of a nightmare…" Rouge added.

Knuckles rubbed his temples.

Rouge gasped. "That's it!"

"Ow," the boys protested her sudden outburst.

"Sorry," she said, regretting it herself. "But that's it. That's the ruse. We were living our nightmares."

"What makes you say that?" Knuckles asked.

"Tails? Is your greatest fear letting Sonic down?"

Taken aback, Tails nodded.

"See?"

Knuckles raised an eyebrow.

"My greatest fear is… not being able to fly… being helpless…" She shook her head quickly after the brief vulnerability. "And yours, Knuckles… your greatest fear is losing your precious Master Emerald."

Knuckles was quiet for a moment as he thought. "No. Not for awhile now."

"What?" Rouge and Tails asked him.

"But I think you've just managed to sniff out the one that put us through all of this."

"Who?" Tails asked, while Rouge still stared at him curiously.

"Robotnik. He would think my greatest nightmare would be losing the emerald. After all, he saw my panic when Robrat took it. Heck, he was able to manipulate me when I thought Sonic did."

Tails stood. "We need to find Eggman!"

.

The antenna inside the dish was broken in half, dangling by a wire. Amy had hooked the elbow of her hammer on it as she fell down. Pushing off the pole with her feet and pulling down on it split it perfectly. Then she landed in the dish.

"You pesky rat!" Robotnik was as red as his shirt. "How did you—When did you—?"

She rolled out of the dish and landed on the control panel. She swung the robot arm, but Robotnik quickly stepped backward.

"Security Bots!" he called, pointing to the pink hedgehog. "Snatch her!"

But Amy made quick work of anything that came at her, swinging the robot arm like a giant pair of nunchucks.

"You pest!" Robotnik screeched. Amy could practically see the smoke coming from his ears.

The robots were gone. It was just him and her now. She looked down at the platform she had been using. She smashed her new hammer against it everywhere she could. She didn't know very much about this techy stuff, but she was sure that beating it to pieces would make sure it would never work again.

"Stop! Stop!" Robotnik made to grab her, but she gave him a swift kick in the nose. "GAH!" He stumbled back.

"Whoa, Amy!" a voice called above her. It was a voice that made her heart flutter, especially at how impressed it sounded. Sonic was above her, looking down into the room.

She grinned at him and waved.

Cream rose up beside him, holding her hammer. "Do you even need this?" the rabbit asked, looking at Eggman clutching his nose.

"Toss it down!" Amy called, holding up her hand.

She caught it perfectly, then turned to Robotnik.

Before she could make to swing at him, he scurried through a door beside him and pressed a button to seal it tight. Amy lifted her hammer to bust through.

"I think you made your point, Ames," Sonic laughed. He looked at the wrecked machine beneath him. "So… should I even bother to ask what this was?"

.

"Nightmare machine," Amy told them all. They were back at the house, which wasn't actually destroyed at all. "He was watching you guys. Apparently, he set up a bunch of illusions. And apparently, he had bots attacking you all the while."

"So… I saw a fake Tails being carried off by monsters," Sonic concluded.

"And I failed a fake Sonic…" Tails added.

They had been glad to see each other safe and sound.

"I'm glad the monsters are gone," Cream said, holding Cheese tightly.

"They were fake, too, Cream," Tails reminded her. "There are no such things as monsters."

"They were just a bunch of Egghead's robots," Sonic added.

"I think Dr. Robotnik's robots are always monsters," the bunny noted.

The others couldn't argue with that.

"I better get back to Angel Island. If all this was smoke and mirrors, I'm sure the Master Emerald is just where it's always been."

"See ya, Knuckles!" Sonic waved.

Tails got up to give him a hug, which surprised him again. "Thanks, Knuckles."

"For what?" he asked.

"Being there."

With a lopsided smile, he patted the fox on the back, then turned to leave. Rouge followed him, stopping him before he headed up to his home. "You never told us," she reminded him.

"Told you what?"

"What you're afraid of."

He frowned.

"It's only fair. I shared mine. Now you."

He didn't speak for awhile, but Rouge kept watching him, certain she could pressure it out of him. He lowered his head, then turned back toward the house. "I don't know what I'd do… if something happened to any of them…" he finally said.

Rouge followed his gaze.

"My greatest fear… It isn't that something would happen to the emerald. No. Not anymore. Not my greatest." He looked at her. "Protecting the Master Emerald is my duty, and failing in that duty is cause for distress." He looked away. "But… I suppose I've another duty." He looked again at the house. "One to them." He turned back to Rouge. "I would rather lose the emerald than see harm come to my friends." He turned back toward Angel Island. "There." Then he headed off toward the floating island.

Rouge watched him go and whispered to herself, "You're sweeter than anyone gives you credit for, echidna…"