Chapter 4: Creation and Destruction
~The rescue of Sonic from Prison Island~
________________________________________
The opaline hedgehog pounded one hand into the other, in her most decisive manner. She was standing in the chao garden, surrounded by Tails, Amy, Citras and Riot. The other chao were also crowded around, acting as interested third parties.
"We've got to do something," said her sister excitedly, before she could speak. "Like rescue Sonic." Riot had filled them in on what had happened to the blue hedgehog since they had seen him taken by the G.U.N. soldiers.
"He said I'd turn into Eggman though," whined Clove, tugging at her ankles. "I don't wanna rescue him if he says mean stuff like that to me."
Riot Yasani rolled his little orange spirals. "That is a good thing, since you were not invited to come." The light chaos chao glowered at him while the omochao smiled peaceably, if patronisingly, back.
"I've got a speedboat down by the docks that we can use," Samantha told Tails and Citras. "We can use that to get us to Prison Island. It should be big enough to fit us all on."
They nodded. "I guess we'd better start off sooner rather than later then, in case they're going to do something to Sonic." Seeing Amy's expression, Citras quickly added: "Not that I think that's likely. It's just better to be safe than sorry."
"We can discuss the rest of the plan on the boat then," said Tails, already starting towards the door. The others hurried after him. Samantha, last to leave because she was the one with the key to lock the gardens against strangers, was stopped by Clove.
"The cloaked person was here again." Sam froze for a moment, glancing back to see if Citras or Tails had heard. They had not; they were too far away. "She didn't leave money this time though, but she and the other one took an egg," the chao continued, importantly.
Amy, who had not heard any of this called: "Come on!" from behind her. Samantha hesitated: she had not the time to pursue this further. "Well, so long as it was just the one, I guess that's all right. Coming," she added to the others.
It was only when they were at the docks that she noticed that Clove had said 'she' and 'the other one'. By then though, it was far too late to go back and ask about it.
***
Samantha drove the speedboat across the water determinedly. Her companions received a fine coating of spray, adding to their growing feelings of excitement and expectation. The craft cut through the water smoothly. According to their wristwatches, they had only taken twenty minutes to get to where they were.
Tails was worried about Sonic, though he tried not to show it. He did not want to dishearten the others, especially Amy, who was dancing about as if the ground beneath her feet was composed solely of hot coals. Citras was sitting, expressionless at the end of the boat, one hand trailing in the water; lost in thought. Every time one of the other looked at him though, he managed to flash a reassuring grin. As for Sam ... Tails grinned to himself. She looked like she had taken her pose straight off the cover of an 'Action Kid' playset - 'the only fully poseable adventure toy for all ages and habitats'. He suspected that she was quite enjoying herself. Riot stood by her side in the prow of the speedboat, occasionally giving directions. The chao always seemed to be as cool as a cucumber, he thought.
The fox's ponderings upon his companions were broken off by Samantha glancing round, calling to them to get their attention. "Look." They followed her pointing finger, seeing the island that was rapidly approaching. What seemed like a couple of minutes before, it had been a mere pinprick on the horizon.
There was not much doubt, but Citras asked the obvious question all the same. "That's Prison Island?"
Amy, who had stopped jumping up and down when she had seen the island, nodded her head up and down vigorously. "Uh-huh. It's a really scary place, isn't it? If it wasn't for Sonic being held there I wouldn't have come." She shuddered. "I'm sure glad it isn't me in there."
It did indeed look forbidding, and above all impenetrable, though not to the extent Amy was describing.
"Should we try and circle round the island and some at it from a different angle?" Tails suggested.
Samantha did not respond herself, instead turning to Riot for the answer. "No," said the chao, at once. "There's no point. It wouldn't do any good weaving, either. The best way to approach would be to just go straight at it; we'll escape detection longer that way. The more time it takes to get there, the more chance there is of being discovered prematurely in our operation."
The opaline hedgehog nodded, looking back at the others. "Are you all ready for this?" Her gaze lingered longest on Amy. Her little sister was less able to take care of herself than the others, and she was concerned for her. The last thing she wanted was for something to happen to her. After all, she had already been captured on numerous occasions. "It's going to be risky. Even if we manage to rescue Sonic, we'll most probably be branded as terrorists, or criminals." What if Amy was arrested? What would their parents think?
The pink hedgehog drew out her large mallet that she had somehow folded up to a convenient pocket size - Sam was never sure how she did it - and met her gaze squarely, a look of childish determination upon her face. "If I beat Zero with this thing I can beat those G.U.N. robots for sure," she told her. Sam smiled.
***
Sonic sat slouched in his cell, staring dejectedly at the walls. They had scribblings all over them, like a scientist's notebook.
"Shows how bored people must get in here," he muttered. "It's more likely to kill you than the starvation." Thus far, they had not given him one morsel of food. He thought this a bit harsh, considering that he did not even know what he was supposed to have done. "And it shows how often they clean the place," he added disgustedly, as that thought dawned on him.
"I guess they must not be very tolerant with prisoners of any kind. I wouldn't know though, since it's not my sector."
The blue hedgehog looked up in surprise. He had been so lost in his self-pity that he had completely failed to notice anybody entering the cell-room. When he saw who it was, he brightened up considerably.
"Hey, Alice. You haven't come to jail-break me have you, by any chance?" he asked, hopefully.
The pilot stepped up to the stainless steel bars. "Afraid not. I did bring you some food though. Here." She passed him through several sandwich packets, a bag of crisps and an apple. "It's the best I could do," she added apologetically. "I took it from the canteen they've got here."
"It's great, thanks." He tucked in hungrily, then glanced up, his expression guilty. "Sorry I couldn't return the parachute. I think I can give you directions to where I left it, although I don't know that part of the city too well. Perhaps if-"
She shook her head, smiling. "No, don't worry about it. It's fine. I'm more worried about your being captured right now."
"Isn't there surveillance in here?" asked Sonic, through a mouthful of sandwich. "If there is, I'd be a little more careful what you say."
"Oh." She looked a little downcast. "I forget about that kind of thing at times. I guess I must have inherited it from my mum." She stopped quickly, before quickly rushing on. "Luckily though, I got most of my dad's skill with machines and computers, so they kind of balance out. I just forget that other people can use them too at times. That's all." Sonic watched her, confused. He was not quite sure, but he felt that she had contradicted herself several times with those last few remarks.
She continued. "I think I'll go down to the docks for a while. I'll probably be back later though, so see if you can think of anything that you might want in the meantime, okay?"
He nodded. "Thanks again, Alice."
"Any time."
She left, leaving him to mull over his thoughts once more. This time though, it was made better by the fact that he was doing it on a full stomach.
***
The four Mobians and the chao crept swiftly and silently across the docks, towards the jungle area that surrounded most sides of the G.U.N. complex. They all knew not to make a sound, lest they alerted the troops to their presence. When they were almost at the fronded edge, Amy let out a squeal, rushing forwards. The others froze, all apart from Citras, who ran after her.
Before the others could go anywhere, there was the click-click-click of metal studded boots coming towards them. Considering that they were trespassing, Samantha realised that they would most probably be shot if they ran at that point. The opaline hedgehog gently rested one hand on Tails's arm, letting him know without words that they should stay still. He stayed, but reluctantly. He could not help feeling that they might be just as likely to be shot if they stayed as they would if they followed the others.
A human soldier in standard-issue camouflage uniform ran towards them. The three stood their ground, watching his advance. He had no stripes on his shoulder nor badges on his clothing, so they assumed him to be of low rank. The soldier stopped, breathless, in front of them. He had a gun holstered at his side, but he had not taken it out. Obviously, they did not appear to be much of a threat.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded, using the familiar clipped tones that they associated with army people.
"We just came," Sam replied sweetly, flashing him a cute touristy smile. "I'm looking after my friend's little boy-" She indicated Tails with a small yet theatrical hand gesture. "-and I thought we might cruise around the islands a little. He's into exploring you know, and wants to be famous when he's older." The hedgehog gave the guard a 'don't we all at that age' wink. "I hope we're not doing anything wrong? His parents would be awful mad with me if I'd got him into any trouble."
He hesitated, partly won over by her smile and charm. "Well, strictly speaking you're not really supposed to come here, Miss. It's supposed to be a government military base to carry out top secret investigations and activities. Since it's your first time trespassing though, I think it might be okay to let you off. Just this once you understand. You mustn't come here again."
"Oh no, sir. We wouldn't dream of doing something like this again, not now we know that it isn't legal." She gave him one final smile, then turned to the others. "C'mon, you two. We'd better go and let the nice Mr. Solider get on with guarding his island." She steered the fox away, Riot following at her heels. When they were far enough away not to be overheard, she hissed, through her teeth: "Thank Lloyd for that. My mouth was really beginning to hurt with all those darn smiles."
Tails tried hard not to laugh. The three of them clambered into the speedboat, Sam flicking the engine through its paces. They shot off over the calm water, creating a rippling bow-wave in their wake. "What about Amy and Citras?" asked the orange fox anxiously.
"They'd have been in real trouble if we'd said anything about them being there. The guard had no reason to think that there was anyone there but us, so they should be safe for the time being." She bit her lip. "I hope Citras is looking after Amy."
Riot spoke up. "I am sure he will be if he caught up with her. Don't worry about them. Right now, we've got to concentrate on how to get back to the island. You never know, the guard might say something that puts them on the lookout for crafts like ours."
Samantha shrugged, turning off the engine, allowing their craft to drift. They were far enough away from Prison Island to satisfy safety measures. "Sure, but I don't have anything else that will go across water other than this boat. I can't see how we're going to get back there any other way. Perhaps if we came at it from a different angle ..." She trailed off, knowing that it was too far fetched.
"Why don't you organise a chao protest?" suggested Tails, grinning a little. He knew how much the opaline hedgehog believed in the powers of chao.
Even she hesitated over this though. "I'm not sure," she said, doubtfully. "Those soldiers might stand on them with their great big clomping boots, or worse, they might laugh at them. No, we're going to have to do this ourselves."
Tails stood stock still, wondering how he had not thought of the solution before. The others looked at him, sensing him stiffening with excitement. He talked fast, though he was still comprehensible. "We're going to need to go back to the mainland, to the warehouse where I stored my walker. If we can get that up and running, then we can use that to cross the sea. I designed it so that the legs could fold up and it's got enough jet power to keep it up. We only need to finish it off. It shouldn't need a lot doing to it."
The hedgehog grinned at him and set them whizzing across the water even faster than before, shooting a fine mist of spray up from either side of the vessel. She shouted something over the combined roar of the engine and sifted water. He could not hear exactly what it was, though he certainly got the gist: she approved of his idea.
***
It was several hours later, and the guard was long gone back to his work. Three figures stood at the docks on Prison Island: one hedgehog, one bat and one human in a mechanised walker. The floor was tarmacked, stretching for quite a way so that lorries and perhaps even private planes could travel up and down it. At the side was a path for pedestrians to use. It overlooked the deep water of the ocean. Strangely enough, there were no barriers to prevent people from falling over the side, only a slight incline in the sidewalk. Gulls wheeled overhead, cawing raucously. The sky was a shade of blue just nearing navy, with quite a few fluffy clouds lining the horizon, prophesising a storm later.
Surprisingly enough, they had found it relatively easy to actually arrive on the island base. If they had been expecting booming loudspeakers and the firing of missiles, then they would have been highly disappointed. On the other hand, if they had been expecting Robotnik's anti-radar equipment to work, then they would not. Needless to say, they had been anticipating the latter. The human's genius for machinery was renowned.
Robotnik cleared his throat. "Is everybody clear on what they have to do?" They nodded. A thought seemed to occur to the human. The obese human waved one hand in a theatrical gesture. "Shadow, Rouge, on with the show. Before I go anywhere though, I think I will make a quick call to the ARK." Robotnik himself was not one of the most vital parts of the operation. He would be the one who was keeping surveillance on everybody else, including G.U.N.. Also, if anybody tried to follow the other two from the outside, he would be able to blast them with the Egg Walker's superior weaponry.
The two nodded again, going their separate ways. Rouge was to do the actual stealing of the Chaos Emeralds, since that was the field in which she had the most experience. Shadow was going to be planting explosives. Robotnik was not on the whole sure why they had chosen to do this. He liked to think of it as a message to the world that they meant business. It had been the hedgehog's idea, he remembered. He also remembered that he had not liked the look that had come into his eye when he had suggested it. Shadow had said something, too.
He dialled the code, waiting impatiently for Pip to answer so that he could get on with his end of the mission. While he waited, he remembered what it had been that the hedgehog had said.
Revenge.
***
The jungle was dense, and the pink hedgehog wandering through it was already lost. Ten minutes after she had run headlong from the others, she had begun to regret her rash action. That had been what seemed like days ago. It might have been too, she thought, if it were not for the fact that it was still light.
Her reason for leaving the others had been simple. Amy had caught a glimpse, or at least she thought she had, of a golden echidna. Remembering her previous adventure with Sonic, she had recognised her as Tikal, the echidna from the past. Lost, all alone in the jungle, she was beginning to doubt that she had ever really seen anything.
She looked about her. The glade she was in was seemingly identical to the hundreds and thousands of others that she had already passed through. In the soft earth, she saw footprints walking from one end of the clearing to another. Scared, she looked behind her. Was someone else following her? Panicking, she saw that the very same prints were behind her, leading right up. It took her a moment to realise that they were produced by the soles of her own shoes. She groaned with relief.
"Why Amy, what a surprise to see you here." The pink hedgehog jumped, then glanced up, confused, for the voice had come from above her. She saw who had spoken and relaxed. The pigeon was non-Mobian. It was of the unremarkable common city variety that you might see perching on any statue or monument that you could care to name. By its bedraggled appearance, it looked as if it had been dragged through a hedge strimmer backwards. Given the bird in question, that was more than likely.
"Eloquent!" she gasped, twirling on the balls of her feet. "I haven't seen you for ages and ages!" The pigeon had helped her in the time of Perfect Chaos. He was the most streetwise and possibly most intelligent bird of his kind, although being a pigeon, that was not quite a compliment. The bird had gained his name through his having more than an ample amount to say for himself.
He alighted upon her shoulder, cooing softly, though with a rasping edge to the sound, suggesting that he had swallowed a child's squeak toy. "Oh, I've been about," he told her airily, with his voice like a drawn-out death rattle that had a hint of cockney to it. "Done a bit of pirating about the Lesser Sea, then I tried my hand at keeping those thuggish parrots down about there. They seem to think that they run the whole of the seven seas, not to mention the whole pirating trade. I showed them that they were wrong. Recently though, I've been trying to get the better of the gulls about here. They're really cocky blighters. I mean, they're even attacking people now."
"I know. They attacked one of my friends a couple of days ago. How are you doing, then?"
"Oh, fine. Et toi?"
"Well ..." She hesitated.
"What's up?" he asked her, curious at once.
Amy's eyes brimmed with tears, trembling in a pitiful way. "It's ... it's just that my friend is trapped in that base over there. They've arrested him you see, though he's done nothing wrong. He ... he wouldn't. I need to get in there somehow and let him out. They wouldn't even listen to my sister. I was with her and some of my friends, but I've ... I've kinda lost them."
The pigeon flapped his wing in front of his face, an obvious imitation of a Mobian's yawn. "Oh, that's easy." He opened his beak wide, yawning again. "I know a way you can get in."
"You do?" Her face lit up with hope, the tears vanishing in an instant, as if they had never been. The pink hedgehog was no amateur in getting her own way.
"Follow me," he commanded, flapping his wings and taking off in the ungamely way that pigeons always do. Amy could not help thinking that he was about as graceful as a duck with one wing. To her, it always looked as if gravity was about to win the battle against pigeons, and it always amazed her when they prevailed. Clenching her hammer tightly, she followed him.
***
The receiver in the ARK bleeped once as Pip was watching Heat defend himself against the savage might of a sandwich. Catching it off guard for a moment, he leapt on top of it, sinking his sharp little teeth into its back. Over and over they rolled, sometimes the chao on top, sometimes the sandwich. A trail of breadcrumbs littered the floor behind them. With one final slash with his tail-claws, the sandwich lay still. Cautiously, treading with one careful paw at a time, he approached it, ready to run if it turned out that it was only faking it. No, he was satisfied; the sandwich was really dead. he raised one half ever so slightly, so that he could see the filling.
"Oh good," he said. "Tuna."
Pip answered the call, putting on her air hostess voice again. "I'm sorry, but nobody very important is here right now. If you would care to leave a message, I would advise you to reconsider. If not, please get off the line because I can't be bothered talking to you any longer. Thank you."
"Of course I know nobody important's there," snapped a voice on the other end. It was Robotnik. "I wanted to know how everything is going up there."
The Mecha bot considered this. "Oh, pretty well thanks. Heat beat it."
There was a momentary silence. "Is the ARK being invaded? What did he beat?"
"The sandwich."
More silence, although it was broken by heavy breathing, as if somebody on the other end was trying to control their temper. "Has anything else happened? Anything important? Even something just relevant would do." There was a note of sarcasm in his voice, that the bat completely missed.
"Not really, no."
"Good. We are about to enter the military base where the three Chaos Emeralds are stored. You can tell Mecha if you wish, and check that there is nothing amiss at the Tario base."
Pip cut the connection. "Sorry," she said aloud. "I had to cut you off there. Don't worry, it was a mercy killing."
"He is very boring, don't you think?" Heat said indistinctly.
The robot looked back at the chao, who had finished the sandwich and was licking his paws. He was keeping one careful eye on the larger of the crumbs, lest it take advantage of his momentary preoccupation and attack him.
"Heat?"
"Mm?" He glanced up.
"Do you think I ought to tell him? About those visitors?"
For a minute, the half-breed chao continued washing himself, considering. "Shadow? No. If they had meant you to tell him they would have said something about it, I am sure."
"Quite right." They turned round to see four figures standing there: the gryffin Krasyetta, the green hedgehog Manic, the golden echidna Tikal, and the sabre tooth tiger Sabre. It was the latter who had spoken.
"Hi again," said Pip, cheerfully. "I did everything you told me to. Right down to the itsy-bitsy details."
"Yes. Thank you. We have some more instructions for you."
The bat folded her arms. "Okay, but first you've got to tell me something." They looked at her expectantly. "Why did you want me to attack that treasure hunter person? There doesn't seem to be any point to it. They're all off stealing the emeralds anyway."
"I know, and that is part of what should be happening as well. The reason is simple really: if you had not gone after her, then Metal Sonic would have done, and he would have killed her. I knew that you would not try to kill her."
She thought about it. "That does make a kind of sense," she admitted. "So." She stood up. "What do you want me to do now?"
***
"Spanner."
Samantha passed him the spanner. The orange fox cub fiddled with it for a few minutes, then sighed, sitting back on his haunches. They were having to work with limited resources. The hedgehog put down the drill that she had switched to, using the spanner back to complete her end of the work. Tails had done nothing. Thinking he wanted it, she offered him the tool, but he shook his head.
"I don't need it." She gave him a quizzical look. "I've run out of parts," he explained. "There's not enough here to work with."
She chewed her bottom lip, thoughtfully. "I'm not sure where we'll get any more," she said. "I'm, er, sort of low on cash at the moment." She fidgeted while she spoke, glancing awkwardly in the other direction.
"That's okay." Tails shrugged. "I haven't got enough to buy anything for the machine either." He looked about him, as if searching for inspiration. As his eyes came to rest on the tarpaulin-covered object across from them, he realised that he had found it. "The Tornado," he said.
"Sorry?"
"The Tornado. I can use its parts, or at least some of them. They'll work well enough. Same basic principle for some of the functions, anyway."
"Oh no, Tails, you mustn't." She shook her head. As did most people who had met the fox, she knew how much his bi-plane meant to him. It was his very first creation, and he loved it as much as anyone can a machine. "Not the Tornado. We'll think of something else, I know we will."
"No." The fox cub was adamant. "You said it yourself: there isn't any way we can afford to buy parts for it. It's the only way we can save Sonic. There's no telling what they might do to him if we leave it any longer. Besides, Amy and Citras are stuck out there, too, and they're not even supposed to be there like Sonic is. What if they get shot or something?" Samantha hesitated; his argument was persuasive. "No, we've got to get there as soon as we can. If the using the Tornado's the only way we can do it, then fine. I'd rather dismantle the Tornado than have any of my friends killed."
"Okay then." Their eyes met. "If you want," Samantha offered. "I could help you put it back together afterwards."
The fox looked down at the spanner. "Let's cross that bridge when we come to it," he said, softly.
***
The gun shot went off, startling the birds out of the trees, ringing around the clearing, the quiet around amplifying it a dozen times over. Amy screamed her loudest, rooted to the spot it terror. Eloquent shot several feet into the air, shedding feathers everywhere in his panic.
Perhaps if Amy had not screamed, the soldier would have failed to spot her. Indeed, he had not been aiming at her. In actual fact, being bored, he had taken a pot-shot at the pigeon. Startled, the G.U.N. soldier blinked glanced around, then, catching sight of the pink hedgehog, stared at her in astonishment.
Amy screamed again, louder this time. This was partly because of her terror, and also partly because she hoped that he would not hurt her if she pretended to be defenceless. Unfortunately, the soldier was not what she would have called a 'nice person'. Recovering from his initial shock, he calmly aimed his weapon at her. She stopped screaming, realising that that defence had not worked very well.
Before he could fire, the human was knocked forward, having just received a heavy blow to the head. Amy gasped, both in relief and fear. What if this person who had rescued her was worse than the guard?
She need not have worried though, for, standing just behind the soldier, was Citras. He had evidently just thrown a rock at the man, rendering the human unconscious.
Running, forward, she gave him a hug. "Thank you," she said, gratefully. "I really thought that mean guard was going to shoot me then."
The android hedgehog grinned at her. "It's okay. I'm just glad that you're safe. I was worried for you when you ran off like that." His voice held the slightest hint of a query, though it did not demand an answer.
"I thought I saw someone I knew," she said, guiltily. "I didn't stop to think. Are the others with you?" She peered behind him.
He shook his head. "No. I ran after you, but they were sent away by one of the soldiers before they could follow."
"Oh." The full implication of this dawned on Amy. "Do you mean we're stuck on this island now? We can't get off it? The others have gone?" She gazed at him anxiously.
"I'm afraid so. They'll be back later, I guess, as soon as they figure out how to. For now though, we're the only ones who are left to rescue Sonic."
Her eyes brimmed with tears. "I want to go home," she whined. "I don't like it here. They might try to kill me again."
Citras gently reminded her of the trump card. "If we don't stick it out, who's going to rescue Sonic? If they shoot at you when you're not even their prisoner, just think what they might be going to do to him. We have to stay and help him."
She sniffed, drying her eyes on the back of her hand. "I suppose you're right," she admitted. She hugged him again. "You're so nice, City. Just like a big brother." The tropically coloured hedgehog flushed red. Nobody had ever suggested anything like that to him before. "Come on," she continued, ignoring his blushing. "Let's go rescue my hero."
***
The two hedgehogs sneaked along the boundary of the fence, looking for a suitable method of entrance. Eloquent flew a little ahead of them, for he knew the way. He glanced back over his wing every so often, making sure that they were not lagging behind.
The jungle growth went right up to the reinforced caged fence. This helped them, in that it shielded them from the view of any guards or security cameras, as well as hindering them, since it was hard to pick a path through at ground level. The sun reflected white and red off the thick, almost plasticy leaves, making them appear as if they were on fire. It was a beautiful effect.
"Not far to go now," the pigeon told them. "Just round the next corner." They toiled patiently onwards for another couple of minutes before halting at the bird's signal. There was a small gap where some animal had ripped a hole in the bottom of the fence. Either nobody had noticed it, or they just had not got around to fixing it up. Whichever it was, it suited their purposes fine. "That's it," Eloquent pointed out, rather stating the obvious.
Amy, joyful at the prospect of rescuing Sonic, threw herself down on the floor at once, about to crawl through.
"Stop!" She glanced up at the pigeon, brushing her hair back with one hand, while giving him a questioning look. "You'll have to take off those bangles, Amy," he explained. "They've got metal detectors hidden all over the place for the first few yards, and even something harmless like them would set them off." There was a squawking some way off. He glanced about him. "I do believe it's those dang gulls again. I guess I'll go and teach them another lesson or two. Be seeing you again sometime."
"Okay." She kneeled up, slid the golden bangle down one arm, over her glove, then proceeded on to her other arm.
Citras glanced through the fence uneasily, knowing what that piece of information meant. He would not be able to go through by that entrance, for he would most certainly set the alarms off, if something so small as a bracelet could do it. Shifting his weight to one foot, he watched as the young hedgehog crawled underneath the fence, coming up safely on the other side.
"Come on, City," she said. "It's your turn now."
He lowered his eyes. "I can't come," he said, softly.
She stared at him for a moment, then realised what he meant. "Oh, of course!" She hesitated, realising the full implication of this. If Citras could not go with her, she would have to go alone to save her hero from his fate. Still, if it would help Sonic, she would just have to be brave. "Will you be okay on your own?" she asked him, kindly.
The other grinned. "I think I just might. How about you though? You're going to be the one doing the dangerous part. I won't think badly of you if you want to wait for the others."
Amy tried to stand a little taller. "I'll ... I'll be okay. Will you wait for me here?"
Citras nodded. "Sure thing. I'll be right here. If you need help and you're near enough for me to hear you, just give me a yell. I'll come and help, alarms or no alarms."
"Thanks. See ya later."
"See you."
She walked away from him, stopping and turning back every half dozen paces to check that he was still there. Each time, he gave her a reassuring wave. Confidence boosted, she rounded a wall and disappeared out of sight. The tropical hedgehog sighed, wishing he could do more, sliding down into a sitting position by the fence.
It did not take Amy too long to find an entrance into the complex, and even less to enter. Strangely enough, it appeared that the security on the doors had already been breached. Maybe they had just forgotten to lock them properly, she thought to herself.
She walked down the gleaming passages nervously, expecting at any moment to be accosted by another one of the soldiers. One hand rested on the hammer as she went along, ready to whip it out at a moment's notice.
There were no convenient signs or arrows up around the base. Why should there be, after all? The people who worked there would be expected to know their own base well enough to make their way round it. There were, however, labels on the door of each room, giving their function.
Amy spent about five minutes running frantically along the corridors, searching for a likely looking door. Eventually she found one labelled 'Cell Block'. Gratefully, she pushed the door open, stepping into the detention area that the island had gained its name from. There were no G.U.N. operatives in there either. She had not really expected them to be in there, for there is only so much you can do in a prison. It calmed her fears of Sonic being horribly tortured though.
Happy at the thought of seeing her hero again, she hurried along, past the empty cells, until she reached one that contained a familiar blue hedgehog.
"Sonic!" she squealed loudly.
Sonic sat bolt upright, surprised out of his gloomy contemplations. Blinking at her as if he did not believe what he saw, he said dazedly: "How long have you been a prison guard, Amy?"
The young pink hedgehog pouted indignantly. "I'm not a prison guard, silly!" She batted her long eyelashes at him. "I've broken in here to rescue you. Aren't you pleased to see me?"
Considering that Amy was the one who had the means to release him, Sonic thought it unwise to say "No". "Are the others with you?" he asked instead.
"No. I came all by myself. A little birdie told me how to get in. Tails and my sis got sent away by the guards, but they didn't see me because I wasn't with them. I was some way away, though I could still see what was happening. Of course, I wanted to rescue you, so I went the other way. I met that pigeon who helped me before." Sonic had vague memories of a bird with more to say than his beak would allow at one time. "That was near the dock, and he told me how to get in. This mean guard person jumped me before I could get my hammer out. I bet he'd have killed me and everything, y'know. Luckily though, Citras turned up out of nowhere and saved me." Sonic made a mental note to berate the other hedgehog next time he saw him. "Then I-"
Amy could have kept going for much longer, but at that moment Sonic, who had stood up and come over to the bars, held up one hand, stemming the flow of words. "Cut the chat," he said shortly. "You can tell me everything later on, after we've escaped."
She moved towards the lock on the door. Halfway there though, she hesitated. Sonic gave an impatient snort. "What's wrong now? Hurry up and let me out of this thing!"
Amy spoke slowly. "If I do ... will you marry me?"
The blue hedgehog thought of dismissing it with a 'What do you think?', before he realised that Amy might interpret that as a 'Yes'. "Absolutely nothing doing. No way. Totally, and with the utmost sincerity, an unquestionable no." Glowering slightly, he folded his arms. Well, the kid had to be told.
"Dang!" exclaimed Amy. "That was a definite negative, right? You're not going to change your mind?"
"No."
She looked crestfallen. "I was sure I'd got you there. After I'd broken in to help you, too. Still," the pink hedgehog added, brightening up. "You're my hero anyway, so I'm going to rescue you whatever."
Pulling out her hammer, she swung it expertly round, giving the lock the mightiest blow that she could manage. There was a reverberating clang, and parts of it flew everywhere, forcing both of them to duck down hastily.
"It might have been easier to use a keycard," Sonic said, weakly. Tentatively lifting one foot, he aimed a kick at the barred door. It swung open easily, not even creaking. "Thanks," he managed. "C'mon then, let's juice."
He hastened down the block towards the main door, Amy skipping excitedly after him, her eyes wide with admiration for her hero.
***
Rouge raced along the corridor, dodging under the steel girders. Inside, the base was a lot more 'space agey' than it first appeared. She ground to a halt at the top of a steel walkway, folding her arms, waiting for the signal. They had chosen for her the perhaps harder, certainly the least direct, method of entry. In actual fact, she had not seen the point of it. Maybe they thought it was more stylish for villains to take the hard route? Well, she could not exactly credit the brains of some jerk who had taken plastic surgery. He looked like plastic surgery gone wrong, at any rate.
"I wonder if he sued?" she mused aloud, looking bored.
She had entered through the classic route: the ventilation system. What risks people always put themselves at for the sake of a little extra fresh air, she thought. Following that, she had proceeded through the attic-like catwalks that were in the upper, mostly unused section of the base.
Minutes passed. The bat began to wonder if they had given her faulty equipment, or had forgotten about her entirely. Just as this thought was crossing her mind, the multi way radio-link smoothly played Shadow's voice. Gone were the days of static-filled lines, at least for those who could afford them.
"I'm in position doctor. Tell me when."
A brief pause as Robotnik received the message, then it was his voice on the line. He sounded slightly annoyed, as if he was outraged that anybody would dare to get in the way of his plans. "There's some G.U.N. troops who are more than agitated. Something must have happened to alert them, though I can't think what." His voice grew brisk. "There's no more time to waste. Set the timer for fifteen minutes, Shadow."
Rouge cut across. "Five minutes should be plenty. We need to get this job done as quickly as possible." She was certainly going to prove her worth as an expert treasure hunter before the day was out.
The human sounded slightly taken aback. "Are you sure, Rouge?"
"Of course I'm sure. Now get ready, because here I go."
She leapt off the platform, onto the wider floor below. It was coloured purple, presumably to give the place a more cheerful atmosphere. It had not worked. The low barriers on either side of her were still the cold grey metal of before, as were all other parts of the construction that she could see.
Before her was a divided path. She chose right, and kept on jogging, although carefully. There was a chance that she could meet a soldier or a robot on that level. Rouge did not carry conventional weapons, although she was more than able to take care of herself. She had once trained in kickboxing, something that she now excelled at. On the whole though, she preferred using her head rather than straight forward fighting.
According to the information that Shadow had provided, the three Chaos Emeralds were kept away in a vault somewhere on that floor. It was her job to find it, get the emeralds, and get out, all within the time limit of five minutes. This was most certainly a challenge to anybody's abilities, although she was feeling quite confident in herself.
Whipping out the rough diagram that the black hedgehog had drawn her, she briefly consulted it. It appeared that just about all of the routes passed the vault at some point. Therefore, the easiest thing to do would be to keep running down the corridors until she reached it. It would be very hard to miss something as big as the vault was supposed to be.
Rouge allowed her mind to wander as she jogged along. Since the passages were mostly on the lengthy side, she would be well warned of any people who may wish apprehend her. Besides, they would be a lot more suprised to see her than she would be to see them. That would give her time to ram her advantage home.
Not too surprisingly, her thoughts turned to Shadow. 'The mysterious one', she thought, grinning to herself. There was much about him that she did not know, and was determined to find out. It was her job, after all. Ah, but that was not something she would be telling anyone, at least not at that present time. He was the reason that she was risking her life even more, for she had one stop to make before the vault: the records room.
***
The very same hedgehog was, at that moment, stepping up to the appointed spot. It was there that he would lay the explosives. The small pack alone had enough power to blow up the entire island; complex, jungle, people and all. Good. That was what he wanted, a small part of his revenge, no, Maria's revenge, to be complete. It would show them that he was not fooling around, that he meant business. Soon, when they had gathered the other Chaos Emeralds, he would be able to give his former friend her full measure of revenge. No, that was wrong. Not former friend. She had always been his friend and always would be. It made no difference whether she was alive or dead.
He carefully attached the pack to the wall. The pack was semi-magnetic, meaning that it would stick itself to the wall without any help. It had been produced by Robotnik himself, proved by the signature stamp in one corner. Shadow set the timer for five minutes, then turned, running away down the corridor. It would be impossible to override the programming once it had been set, Robotnik had explained, so it did not matter if somebody discovered it before the reading was at zero.
Bored of standard travel, he took out the yellow emerald that he had brought with him, activating it in an instant. There was no point in sticking around inside the base any longer, leastways, as long as that treasure hunter managed to complete her job.
***
The white bat hurried out of the records room. She did not look in the slightest bit guilty; that was a sure fire way to be spotted doing something that she was not supposed to. Something like she had just been doing then. It had been worryingly easy to get the folder that she wanted. Rouge had been highly suspicious at first, though she had been forced to just take it. It was either that or abandon it, something that she was not prepared to do. She would not, after all, get a second chance, what with the island being blown up.
When she had gone into the room she had found it completely empty of people. She wondered where they must have all gone to: had Robotnik or Shadow accidentally set of some kind of alarm that had alerted them all? That by itself seemed more like a chance of good fortune than anything else, so she had proceeded on into the room. A red folder lying on the desk had caught her eye. She had flipped it over, reading its neatly printed title.
Project: Shadow.
It had to be more than a coincidence, it just had to be. Nobody could have accidentally left the file that she had been looking for on the desk, then conveniently vacated the room.
Somebody must know what she was up to. That did not worry her quite as much as it should have done, for she knew it could not be either Robotnik or Shadow himself, as they were both elsewhere in the building. Besides, Robotnik was not really interested in Shadow, only his usage. The black hedgehog would not, presumably, need to look up information on himself. Nobody else would cause her any trouble on the issue, so far as she knew.
She would just have to thank her lucky stars and get on with finding the vault.
***
"Citras is waiting for us," Amy panted. It was hard not to when you were trying to keep up with Sonic. "He's out by the way I got in. he couldn't come in case he set off the alarms. You know, being an android and all?" There were plenty of times when the blue hedgehog did indeed forget this fact, for it was definitely not obvious to the eye. Far from it.
Sonic shrugged. "Okay. You lead." They went through the empty corridors of the base, the blue hedgehog forced to keep at Amy's pace. It could not be helped if she was going to lead. Having been along that path before, it was easy for Amy to get them out in the quickest of times, so he could not really complain. It did worry him that they met nobody though. He began having a train of paranoid thoughts, worrying that they were all laying an ambush for him, that this had just been a trick to put him at his ease. Of course, he knew in his heart that was just plain ludicrous, and they would be doing nothing of the sort. It did not stop him worrying though.
He was glad when they were out in the open air. It gave him a sense of freedom and security. After all, there were always places to run to in the great outdoors. He would not be recaptured so easily once outside.
Sonic only began to worry again when they discovered that Citras was not waiting for them by the hole in the fence. "But he said he'd be here!" Amy wailed.
He shrugged, trying to act casually, hiding the fact that he was also concerned about the android's whereabouts. "I shouldn't get too het up about it. He probably had to hide from some troops or something, and had to move on a bit. I bet we'll bump into him if we keep going."
She sniffled a little. "You sure?"
"Positive."
"Okay." She cheered up, for she knew that Sonic could never be wrong. "Which way shall we go?"
He hesitated, considering. "Which way are the docks?" he asked.
The pink hedgehog pointed. "That way."
"That's the way we'll go then. Who knows, maybe Tails and your sis might have come back for us. We'll be able to get off the island really quickly if they have. We can pick Citras up en route, too." It sounded a little too improbable for his liking; there were so many things that could go wrong, or not even happen. Still, at least it seemed to satisfy Amy.
They started off through the undergrowth, Amy skipping along, Sonic struggling to remember to slow himself down so that she could keep up with him. They entered yet another clearing. The pink hedgehog turned her head to say something to her hero. Moments later, all thoughts of discussion were forgotten.
Sonic had stopped in his tracks, staring at a creature that stood on the tree stump ahead of them. It was the black hedgehog that he had met just before his capture by the G.U.N. troops. Shadow had his back to them, appearing not to have noticed them. He looked as though he was waiting for something. Sonic, however, could not help attracting his attention by letting out an exclamation. "Hey, that's-" he began.
Shadow spun round at his words, his eyes widening in surprise when he saw who it was, although he quickly masked it. Like Sonic, he did not address the other directly. "That blue hedgehog again, of all places," he cut across, looking distinctly annoyed.
"Of all places? It's your fault that I'm here, anyway. If I hadn't been mistaken for you, those soldiers would never have captured me. You'd better give me some answers now that I've found you, faker."
"Faker? I think you're the fake hedgehog around here. You're comparing yourself to me?" He brought one hand down dismissively. "Ha, you're not even good enough to be my fa-"
This time, it was Sonic who interrupted. "I'll make you eat those words!" he yelled, furiously, starting towards him.
Shadow rolled his eyes and turned to go. Sonic was ready for this. "You can't get away this time!" he hollered after him, breaking into a run. Over his shoulder, he called instructions to the pink hedgehog. "Amy, go to the docks and wait for me there." His words were whipped away in his slipstream. He was not sure if she even caught them. Whether she had or not, he did not give her a chance to argue with him as he chased after his adversary.
***
The white bat hastened down the corridor. According to her stopwatch, she had already wasted two precious minutes. All of a sudden, five minutes did not seem such a long time. Clutching the folder tightly to her chest as she went, she scanned the corridors for any sign of an attack. It was strange that she had not met anybody. She supposed she should be preparing for an ambush of some sort, since she did not believe in coincidences, or runs of good luck so good as the one she was getting.
A faint whisper behind her, not of a voice, but of movement. She glanced over her shoulder, not expecting to see anything. If she was being shadowed, the person or creature following her would not be so stupid as to let her see them. There was nobody there. Nodding calmly to herself, she continued. As long as she was right with her predictions, she was safe.
Another half minute passed, and still she had not found the vault. She had also heard nothing more of the creature following her. Perhaps it had given up.
No sooner had this thought entered her head than something rammed itself hard into her back. She yelled aloud, tumbling head over heels down the corridor. If she had not ducked into a roll, she might have come off worse. As it was, her back felt merely bruised, no sting of a cut anywhere. Springing back up, she balanced on the balls of her feet, looking about for her attacker. It must have been something large, considering the weight it had got behind the blow.
Nothing. There was nothing there. Without warning, something struck her again, in the front this time. Her body jerked as it was flung back into a wall. She narrowed her eyes. Battered she may be, but she had not lost her ability to think and calculate.
The swish of moving air came once more to her pricked ears. She flung herself sideways, watching with interest at the huge dent that appeared in the wall where her head had been seconds before. Well, that explained it: the creature must be invisible, probably a G.U.N. robot with chameleon circuits.
There was nothing that she could do to show its outline, no objects or substances that she could throw over it. The only other option that she could see was to run, hoping that she would find a place that would lend her some sanctuary against the creature.
This she did, her footfalls ringing loud in the silence of the empty corridor. Behind her, there was an angry buzz, presumably the robot giving chase. She kept running in a straight line as it was quicker. It would not matter so much, as the robot had not shown any signs of weaponry yet, just its ramming attack. Just when she thought that her lungs were about to give out, she saw a welcome sight ahead of her. A large steel door stood at the end of the corridor, turning it into a cul-de-sac. Looking at the dial where its handle should be, she decided that it could be nothing else but the vault.
Whipping out the decoder Robotnik had given her, she clamped it onto the dial. For a moment nothing happened. She glanced back over her shoulder, trying to gauge where the invisible robot was. The lock began to whirr, then made a 'ping' sound, the door swinging open. Gratefully, she grabbed at the edge, pulled it open, and leapt inside. The door clicked shut behind her.
Seconds later, there was a loud clang; a bulge appearing in the door. The robot had rammed it at full speed. She waited breathlessly, wanting to see whether or not the door would hold. It stayed firmly shut despite the dent in it, and she sighed with relief, turning to look for the Chaos Emeralds. Yes, they were there all right: the red one, the purple one, and the light blue one. She moved towards them, picking them up admiringly.
"You're nice gems, aren't you?" she asked them. "Too good for that stupid doctor, huh? Shame really."
There was a snarl from the other side of the door, followed by a click. The sound of footsteps tramped away into the distance: the robot leaving. She froze, then rushed to the door, shoving at it, trying to get it to open. It was no good: the door had been locked from the outside. Swiftly, the bat searched for an inside mechanism that might reverse the process. It was fruitless. She supposed that the vault had never been meant to be opened from the inside anyway. It would be like putting a handle on the inside of a cupboard.
Desperately, she went back to the emeralds, picking them up as if to comfort herself. It was then that she noticed that something was missing: the folder. She must have dropped it when she was attacked. A sob welled up in her throat but she contained it, taking a deep breath.
Rouge looked down at her watch. A minute and a half to go.
***
There was a rush of wind in the trees as the air was squalled into a near river. The tropical hedgehog lifted his head in surprise, wondering what could have caused it. He had been forced to abandon his position when a patrol had come past, instead hiding in the jungle to await his friends. Whatever it was, he decided that he had to cross the open patch before him sometime soon, and it was better sooner than later. He had just stepped into view when he saw them.
Citras stopped, staring at the two figures running towards him. He shook his head, as if to clear it. One, the blue one, was Sonic, his friend. With him though, was, well, he thought there was ... No, the black hedgehog was really there, racing against his friend. Instead of going to Sonic's aid, the android stayed at the side of the track, melting into the shadows of the undergrowth. As the two passed, the black hedgehog glanced at the bushes, sensing his presence. Citras had a fleeting glimpse of a face turning as surprised as his own, then they were gone, the sound of pounding feet still echoing through the trees.
He stood there for a few moments, lost in thought, before a harsh voice brought him to his senses. Humans were there, stamping past him, totally lacking in any quality of stealth. Citras was not an impulsive creature, and so did not risk calling out, which would alert the humans to his presence. They were dressed in army commando fatigues, all with the letters G.U.N. stamped onto the back. Their camouflaged uniform seemed unnecessary with all the noise they were making using their heavy-soled brown leather boots.
A yell told him that he had been spotted. Loud these soldiers may be, but they were certainly not short sighted. Deciding that it was best to declare his peace before it could be questioned, he stepped forward, palms outspread to show that he carried no weapons.
"It's a hedgehog!" exclaimed one soldier loudly, pointing at Citras.
"What of it?" Citras asked, cautiously.
The human at the head of the patrol barked his response. "All hedgehogs in the immediate vicinity are to be brought back to base. Our prisoner has just escaped, and he is known to be dangerous."
The hedgehog shook his head desperately. He did not want to be arrested by these military thugs. Android he may be, but immune to pain he was not. Even that would not have bothered him normally: he had to get to Sonic; to warn him. "You've got the wrong hedgehog," he explained, distractedly. "I'm Citras." He could not get the image of the black hedgehog out of his mind.
"Are you resisting arrest? I warn you, we are not afraid to use force."
He could wait no longer. "No!" Citras turned and fled, the red eyes burning into his skull, though they were by now a long distance away. Sonic, he had to warn Sonic. He could not let any humans playing at soldiers hinder him in his task.
The energy blast sent him spinning off course, falling spread-eagled at an unnatural angle on the ground. His head pounded, and the light seemed to be dimming around him. Why was it so dark? he wondered, his thought process slowing down. What had happened to him? Why did it have to be now of all times, when he needed to warn his friend, to tell him what he knew? "Kaiser ..." he gasped, then his world faded about him and he sank into an all-enveloping darkness.
The last words that he heard were dim, as if they came from across a crowded room. "Fool! Look what you've done now! You've killed him! And see: it wasn't even the right hedgehog."
***
Sonic grinned to himself as he leapt over the other hedgehog's head. He had not enjoyed himself so much for a long time. Nobody before had come so close to matching his speed. This hedgehog was actually equalling it. The one time Sonic managed to get a good look at his shoes, he saw that they were not actually resting on the ground. They had hover-jets in them, keeping him a few inches of the jungle floor. Perhaps that was part of the other's speed, he thought.
Shadow veered round him, in the lead once more, although only for a moment before they were neck and neck again. The blue hedgehog had the feeling that the other was enjoying it too, though he did not smile. Then again, he was not a very smiley person.
The red-eyed hedgehog glanced at him. "I would get off the island, if I were you. It is going to blow up in a few minutes." He was not sure why he was bothering to warn Sonic. Maybe it was a reward for being such a challenge to him.
The blue hedgehog's eyes widened a little, and he slowed down. Shadow, on the other hand, raced away into the depths of the jungle, only halting when he was well away. He supposed it was time to be getting back to Robotnik, then away from the doomed Prison Island.
As he was about to do so, a voice issued from his radio-link. He stared at it for a moment - he had forgotten that he had had it switched on. It was the treasure hunter's voice. Shadow listened, focusing on what she had to say. She spoke rapidly, though he was still able to hear her.
"This is Rouge. I've got a small problem. I can't believe I'm trapped inside this trapped safe with the Chaos Emeralds. I guess I won't be able to call myself a treasure hunter anymore," she finished, sighing dejectedly. Shadow found himself thinking that that would be the least of her worries.
A sudden vivid image of Maria flashed across his eyes. She was watching him and although she was smiling, there was sorrow in her eyes. He gritted his teeth, shaking his head. "Is she a trouble maker!" he muttered. Holding the emerald above his head as if it were some weapon, he cried: "Chaos Control!" Moments later, the scene was empty, save for the trees and the foliage about the clearing.
***
Robotnik sat in his Eggwalker at the docks, glancing down at his watch in irritation. What was taking Shadow and Rouge so long? The whole island was going to blow up at any second, and they were late. If they did not turn up very soon, he would have to abandon them there. Without using the black hedgehog's Chaos Control, though, he might not have enough time to get away. Worse still, he would not be able to power up the Eclipse Cannon.
As he was making up his mind to leave them to their fates, giving up on all plans of re-world domination, there was a crackle behind him. He jumped the machine round, ready to fire upon any enemies that dared to sneak up on him.
It was not enemies, only Shadow and Rouge. The white bat looked dizzy and a little unwell. He decided that it must be the Chaos Control that they had just used. It must take a little getting used to, that was all. He was pleased to see that she was carrying the three Chaos Emeralds though.
"What took you so long?" he demanded.
Before either of them could reply, a shrill voice interrupted them. "Oh Sonic, I thought I'd never see you again!" Amy, for that was who it was, gave Shadow a huge hug, squeezing the breath out of him. Too stunned to retaliate, he just stood rigid for a moment. "I'm so glad you made it," the pink hedgehog babbled on. "I got really worried when you ran off like that, you know." He shook himself, pulling back out of Amy's embrace, backing away from her, giving her a suspicious look. She stared at him for a moment. "You're not Sonic!" she gasped. "Who are you?"
He folded his arms. "I think I am the one who should be asking that question."
Confused, she looked around at the rest of the company, eyes widening as she saw a very familiar face. "Dr. Robotnik?" She screamed at the top of her voice, causing all three to clamp their hands over their ears.
The human grinned nastily at her. "Ah Amy, your timing is impeccable." He glanced at the other two. "You leave her to me. I'll take care of her." He pulled his goggles down over his eyes.
"You're welcome," said the black hedgehog, quietly, still a little shell-shocked. Rouge just watched the proceedings, a bemused smile upon her face.
Amy spun round on her heel, running towards the water's edge. She had the feeling that her hammer was not going to be much use against a heavily armoured walker. Robotnik followed at a leisurely pace. The pink hedgehog had no where to run to.
***
Samantha sat behind Tails, watching the sparkling ocean literally flying past below. The two Mobians were riding upon Tails's finally completed walker. It was using its jets to keep itself suspended in mid-air at a safe distance from the water. Of course, the fox had not failed to waterproof it, so it would still function underwater. It would still slow them down though, wasting time in which anything could be happening to their friends back on the island. The opaline hedgehog attempted to lessen the tense, expectant atmosphere through conversation.
"So, what do you think you're going to call her?"
Tails shook his head against the buffeting wind that the speed of the hovering machine was creating. "Sorry?"
"This walker. Aren't you going to name it?" He shrugged. The loss of his bi-plane and the capture of Sonic were still weighing heavy upon his heart. "How about something to do with the word Tornado?" she suggested. "Considering at least part of it is the Tornado. You know, like ... Storm, or Tempest, or ..."
"Cyclone?" suggested Tails, warming to the idea.
She nodded, then realised that he could not actually see her. "That's a good one. You can paint the name on when we get back home if you want."
"Okay," he said, brightening up. He flattened himself down over the controls. The island was looming up ahead of them at a terrific speed, and the air resistance was really beginning to hurt. Without Tails in front of her, Sam had a much clearer view of what was ahead of them. They were so near now that she could even see figures standing on the docks. She leaned forward slightly. Surely that was Amy standing there at the edge? It looked as if she was trying to escape from something. Narrowing her eyes, she saw a grey machine menacing her sister. She had missed it at first because it blended in with the tarmaced backdrop.
"Tails," she began, urgently.
He raised his head, taking in the scene ahead of them in an instant. "That's Robotnik," he said, angrily. "I'm sure of it. Well, I'm going to teach him a lesson he won't forget in a hurry for picking on Amy."
On the docks, the pink hedgehog gulped, turning to face the evil scientist. "If you come a step closer, you'll regret it," she told him, meeting only laughter.
"Now I doubt that," he sneered.
There was a soft clump of a sound as the newly named Cyclone dropped from the sky, hitting the ground neatly between the two. Amy clasped her hands in front of her mouth, grinning delightedly.
"Boy, am I glad to see you guys."
"Stay back Amy," Tails warned her.
Robotnik glowered. Taking on a small unarmed hedgehog was one thing, while taking on a fully armed and fully operational walker was another entirely.
"I hate to break this up, guys," drawled Rouge. "Only it seems that we've got about half a minute before Prison Island is blown to smithereens."
"Blown up?" repeated Samantha, looking concerned. "What about Sonic?"
The human looked surprised. "Sonic's here too?" He smirked. "Well, it looks like he'll die anyway, so it doesn't matter too much that I missed him on this occasion. Come on Rouge, Shadow. Let's go."
The black hedgehog, as if he had been waiting for his cue, held up the Chaos Emerald. "Chaos Control!" he called. The multicoloured spheres of light erupted from the emerald, encompassing all three. The pink hedgehog and her two rescuers had to shield their eyes from the brilliant glow. When they took their hands away again, the hedgehog, bat and human had vanished.
"What can we do?" asked Tails, looking worried. "How can we rescue Sonic and escape in less than thirty seconds?"
"But you don't have to rescue me," said a voice that they knew all too well. "I'm right here." They all spun round. The blue hedgehog stood there, grinning at them. "And I think we'd better juice guys, 'cause this place is going to be a whole lot less pleasant to live in than it already is in-"
"We know, Sonic," the fox interrupted him. "Jump on quickly you two, unless you want to be roasted alive." They did not need telling twice. Sonic leapt up, pulling Amy after him.
Tails started up the jets, flicking the machine round and stamping the accelerator almost into the floor. They shot off. Amy, who was at the back, twisted round in her seat to see the huge eruption of flame from the centre of the island. She nudged Sonic hard in the ribs. The other two hedgehogs turned, watching the billowing fireball in silence, willing it not to catch them. The fox did not dare to look round in case he lost his concentration. If he could only get the thrust to work, then there was no chance of them dying.
The cloud of fire and smoke was still moving rapidly towards them, seeming to grow in size and speed. The hedgehogs ducked down, looking back fearfully. For a moment, they felt the heat from the explosion, then the thrust finally kicked in, shooting them clear of the blast. The very back of the Cyclone had been burnt black, the huge temperature creating small bubbles all over it.
They watched the distant fires with a sense of detachment. The main explosion had set off other smaller ones. All that was visible from where they were was flames and smoke. They were not even sure if there was anything left of Prison Island.
It was then that Samantha asked the innocent yet haunting question about the one thing, or rather person, that had slipped the blue hedgehog's mind. "Sonic, what happened to Citras?"
Slowly, he turned to face her, his eyes wide with horror at what he had just done. "I ... I don't know," he whispered, hoarsely. "I think ... I think he was back ..." He could not finish the sentence, looking away from them so that they would not see the tears that dripped from his tightly shut eyes. On the back of his lids a single word played in front of him.
Murderer.