Chapter 3 – Capture And Release
Amy couldn't sleep. It was a little over an hour after they had made it back to Drood Henge but already the sun had dipped below the horizon. However for Amy time was forefront on her mind. She sat up and looked around. The usual bare rock greeted her. How she wished she was back on Little Planet in her home. Tails and Lavender would be by her side as she lay in her garden surround by flowers with the sun beaming down on her. The thought made her sigh out loud. It was then that a cold wind whistled into the cave and swept around her. She shivered and wrapped the blanket she had around her. Night in the Great Unknown was unforgiving. She couldn't stop thinking about that hedgehog. He had come back with them but ever since he had arrived he had just sat in silence. He hadn't acknowledged anyone, not even T2 and Sally when they had said thank you. Everyone was now concerned and suspicious of him. Amy, however, was interested in him. He had mentioned the Acolytes. Was he a descendant of them too? She didn't know. Her parents had always told her that she was the only one. Maybe they hadn't known. One thing was for certain, she had to find out. She had to find out right now. Maybe he would be more talkative now than before? Slowly Amy stood up. She was already wearing her clothes but she wrapped her blanket around herself for extra warmth and walked out of the cave. The full force of the wind hit her and she almost fell over. She walked out into the centre of Drood Henge. At first she didn't see anything but then she saw a red quill sticking up from behind a rock. She was surprised he was still outside in this cold. As she approached the hedgehog seemed to stir.
"I know you're there Amy." he said.
"Why are you out here?" she asked.
"No-one has asked me inside."
Amy gasped and put her hand to her mouth. It was true, no-one had asked him inside.
"I'm so sorry!" she said.
"It's of little matter. I don't go where I'm not asked unless circumstances change." he replied.
"Well I'm asking you to come inside. You'll get ill sitting out here."
"Very well."
Amy led the hedgehog inside and managed to find a spare blanket for him. The night was deepening now but the cave offered more protection than being outside. They sat down together at the back of the cave. For a few minutes they sat in silence before Amy spoke.
"Um there's something I wanted to ask you. Well a lot of things I wanted to ask you." she said.
"I had a feeling you might. You want to know about me don't you? Who I am? Where I'm from? Correct?" he replied.
"Well yes." said Amy slightly embarrassed, "And about what you said before we escaped. About the…"
"…the Acolytes?"
"Yes."
"Ok I will tell you what I know about myself."
"What you know?"
The hedgehog sighed and looked at Amy. He nodded and smiled.
"My name is Nenya. I am a descendant of the Acolyte civilization on Little Planet."
"Really?" said Amy too shocked to say much else, "I thought I was the only one."
"No not the only one. But there are no more outside our family."
"Wha…what?"
"That is the other thing I needed to tell you. You are my sister."
"Your sister?!"
Amy leaped to her feet and starred at Nenya. Had she heard that correctly? Of course she had, there wasn't anything wrong with her hearing!
"But how?! My parents never mentioned a brother!" she said quickly.
"They wouldn't have, they probably didn't want to upset you. But it is true." he replied.
"Then what happened? If you are my brother where have you been?!"
"I will explain to you. You know that far in the distant past Little Planet was stable. Hanging in the sky over Never Lake it actually had a permanent physical form."
"Until Sarath disrupted the Time Stones." said Amy.
"So you know about him good. That will make it easier to explain. Do you know what made Little Planet stable?"
"I had always assumed that it was the Acolytes looking after the Stones."
"Yes in part that is true but it is not the whole story. The Time Stones needed something to bond them together. Something strong enough to bind them together through the endless depths of time. The only thing that was strong enough to resist this force was the essence of a living Acolyte."
"What do you mean?"
"During the time of the Acolytes the way of life was very simple and the way a ruler was chosen was even simpler. Every family on Little Planet was only allowed one child be custom. The Time Stones needed an essence to stabilize them. This is what happened. Every generation, a new born child would mysteriously go missing and no trace of him or her was ever found. Do you know what happened?"
"The Time Stones." said Amy as it finally dawned on her.
"Yes. The Stones absorbed the essence of a new born every generation to serve as their anchor in time. This child would grow up inside the Stones and see everything that went on. The parent of this child would then become the next rulers of Little Planet until the time when another child disappeared. Then they would step down and let the new rulers take over."
"What has this got to do with….wait."
Amy stopped and looked at Nenya.
"You?" she said slowly.
"Yes. After the Acolytes were killed the essence in the Time Stones slowly faded away until the entire planet destabilized and vanished. The Time Stones still had a small anchor but not enough to hold them entirely. When I was born the Time Stones instantly recognized me as an Acolyte and drew me in. I cannot imagine how distraught Patrick and Marian were when it happened. It was a further five years before you were born. Since then I have watched you and tried to help when I could."
"Really?" asked Amy.
"Yes. How is it that you managed to find out about your Acolyte skills so easily and quickly. I was helping. I concentrated the energies of the Time Stones on you to try and help you remember. Once you did I helped you as best I could."
Amy stood for a moment in silence. This was too much.
"But if you were taken by the Stones why are you here?" she asked.
"I was waiting for that question. I have been released to perform one important task. Amy, sister, I have been sent back to help bring Little Planet back."
"WHAT?!"
Amy staggered backwards and almost fell over. Her hands went to her chest and mouth and she took a number of deep breaths.
"Bring Little Planet back?!" she cried, "How?!"
"There is a way but I need your help to do it." replied Nenya.
"But what can I do. I've lost all my powers."
"Not lost, just buried."
"What do you mean buried?"
"If you had lost them you would not have been able to summon your mallet earlier today."
Amy blinked. She went to speak but nothing came out. She just stood there staring at Nenya. Nenya got up and walked over to her. He put an arm around her shoulders and smiled. To Amy's surprise she didn't feel the need to recoil. In fact she welcomed him doing this.
"Thank you." she said.
"No need to thank me." said Nenya.
He slowly released her and looked at her directly.
"Will you help me?" he asked again.
"I don't know. What can I do?" she asked.
"You can do anything you set your mind to. Remember how you used to be."
Amy thought back to her time in Mobotropolis. Her sense of duty had been strong then and so had her determination. Had these things faded since three years ago? Since she had been robotisised?
"But what about my powers?" she asked, "What good can I do as an Acolyte without them?"
"You do not need your powers to be an Acolyte. The Acolyte spirit is in here." replied Nenya, tapping his fist on his chest, "Do not worry. You will know what you can do when the time comes."
"I don't understand."
"Sister." said Nenya slowly placing his hand on her shoulder again, "Do not worry about it. Your powers are not gone as I said before."
"Then where are they? If I still have them why can't I use them?! I need them now more than ever!"
"They are dormant. When you were….changed…..your powers imbedded themselves deep in your subconscious. They are probably waiting for an appropriate time to resurface."
"And now isn't that time?! Why didn't they resurface a week ago when Charles was……when he was killed?! Why didn't they come back and help me save him?! Was that not an appropriate time?"
"I am not sure. Obviously your powers thought it wasn't. But today they finally showed themselves again. Have strength Amy, they are there."
Amy was feeling worst by the second. The memory of Charles had stirred up emotion of a week ago and she started to feel sad again. Coupled with more recent events it was too much. She sat down and started to sob quietly.
"Why is this happening to me? My powers, my family, my friends, my home….everything is gone." she whimpered softly.
Nenya slowly sat down beside her. He had no answers for her so he remained quiet. Amy turned and threw both of her arms around his neck. She pulled herself into his shoulder and continued to sob.
"Oh Nenya, why is this happening to me?" she asked.
Hush child do not worry.
Amy was alert in a second and sat up sharply. She gasped at the sight. All around her was dark but the ground appeared to be firm. She spun but saw nothing at all around her. Just then seven spot of light appeared around her. She watched as they slowly closed in around her.
"What are you?" she asked.
"Do you not remember us?" said a voice as one of the spots moved closer to her.
Amy slowly reached out her hand and tried to touch the spot. Her hand, however, passed straight through it.
"We are not really here. We are not in this world. We need you help. Please trust in Nenya…he is worthy of that at the very least."
Amy watched as the blackness dissolved around her. The next thing she knew she was pulling away from Nenya's shoulder staring at the necklace he wore. It was glowing slight but fading away as she watched. Nenya was looking at her as she looked up.
"They spoke to me." she said slowly.
"I know. They do that to me too." he replied.
"How?"
"The Time Stones still exist, just not in this world. They use this to cross the time plane." said Nenya tapping his necklace, "The Time Star is incredible."
"Where did it come from?"
"I am not sure. I had it when I woke up by Never Lake. But you must decide quickly, will you help me?"
Amy looked at Nenya once more. Please trust in Nenya…he is worthy of that at the very least.
"Alright I will help you." she said finally, "I will help."
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Chalk groaned as she slumped to the ground in a heap. She had been carrying Sonia since they had left the forest the previous day. While Sonia had slept in her arms, Chalk had been marching across country. They were now only a short distance from Never Lake but Chalk couldn't go on. Sonia was in a bad way too. Her wounds were deeper than Chalk had first thought and the blood she had lost was now making her light headed and dizzy. Most of the time now she couldn't speak. Chalk was now on her knees breathing softly. She was nearly falling asleep but forced her eyes open.
"No Chalk don't you fall asleep now." she said with a groan, "Sonia? Sonia you ok?"
Chalk looked over at Sonia. She lay on her back next to Chalk with her eyes closed. As Chalk spoke she slowly blinked and turned her head slightly.
"Chalk." she said in a slow moaning voice.
"It's ok Sonia. I'm going to go and check Never Lake to see if I can find them."
"But….tired." mumbles Sonia.
"I know I'm tired Sonia but you are much more important than my sleep. I won't be long."
Chalk got up and made sure Sonia was comfortable before she started on her way. Crossing a small stream, she climbed a bank and started to make her way towards Never Lake. There still had to be about half a mile to go and Chalk was already exhausted. As she walked she started to doze off. Her eyes started to flutter and she yawned. Just then her foot found a rut in the ground and seconds later she was rolling head over heels down a grassy bank. She hit the bottom with a thud and with a groan looked up. Blowing her hair out of her eyes she looked around. She almost screamed. Standing around her were a number of men in military uniform all pointing laser rifles at her.
"Oh crap." she said quietly.
"Get her!" yelled one man.
Before Chalk could react several men had grabbed her by the arms and pulled her to her feet. She started to thrash about trying to break free but their hold was tight.
"Lemme go dammit! Lemme go!" she cried.
"Not a chance." said a soldier, "Take her to holding and inform central command."
"Yes sir." replied the four soldiers holding her.
As Chalk was carried off she heard the soldiers next command.
"Send out a squad to scout the area. There might be more of them."
"Oh god…Sonia." whispered Chalk to herself.
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With a groan Knuckles picked himself up off the floor. He dusted himself off and looked back at his 'bed'. A small stone section cut into the rock with a blanket on it. For the forth night in a row he had managed to roll off it and land on the floor. He rubbed his head.
"If we don't find a better place to stay soon this bed is gonna be the death of me never mind the Earth Alliance."
"Knuckles you awake?" called Sally into the cave.
"Yeah. Be out in a second." replied Knuckles.
Knuckles stretch and held it for a moment before releasing and walking out of the cave. Outside the weather was grey as always. Sally stood with her back turned talking to Manic.
"Yo Sally!" called Knuckles as he walked towards her.
Sally turned and Knuckles could instantly see that she was concerned.
"Sally?" he asked, "Something up?"
Sally nodded slowly, looking off to one side.
"It might just be me worry but I can't find Amy or that red hedgehog from yesterday anywhere." she said.
"Really? Hmm."
"I've already sent out Sonic to see if he can see them."
"It is a bit odd." said Manic, "And we don't even know who that hedgehog was. He could have been a spy or something."
"I doubt it." said Knuckles, "The way he acted yesterday would go against that."
"Possibly Knuckles but I'm still worried." replied Sally.
"Any sign of them leaving?" asked Knuckles.
"Not that I can see." answered Sally.
"I'm gonna take a look round. I can't see Amy just leaving." said Knuckles turning away.
"Neither can I." said Manic.
Knuckles walked away from the group pondering. Why would Amy just disappear along with that hedgehog? Amy wouldn't leave by her own free will without telling them! Did that hedgehog force her? If he had why? And why didn't they hear? He made his way round Drood Henge to Amy's cave. He entered to find little. None of them had any kind of personal possession and the cave contained no more than a blanket and a few bits of paper. Knuckles took a quick look around the cave. He figures Sally had probably already done this but he wanted to double check. It didn't take long to check the cave again and Knuckles walked out finding nothing of interest. He walked back to Sally and Manic.
"Find anything?" asked Sally anxiously.
"Not a scrap." replied Knuckles, "It's like they've disappeared."
"I know what you mean." cried a voice.
They all looked up as a blue blur shot into view and came to rest nearby.
"I've checked out the whole area around Drood Henge and can't find them anywhere." said Sonic quickly.
Sally looked annoyed as she clenched her fists.
"Just what is going on?!" she cried, "Where have they gone?!"
"I don't know Sal but I picked up some other news while I was out."
"What?"
"Looks like the Alliance had a small tiff at somewhere we know well." replied Sonic.
"Where?" asked Knuckles.
"Knotlake." replied Sonic.
"Knotlake!" cried Sally, "Why did they have a battle there? What's going on?!"
"Dunno but I have a feeling it might be some of our friends." answered Sonic.
"You mean…" started Knuckles.
"…maybe Amy heard and went there?" said Sally quickly.
"Possibly." put in Manic, "But if she did, why didn't she wait for us?"
"Good point Manic." said Sonic, "But as far as I'm concerned it's a good lead."
"That's true Sonic." said Sally, "Knuckles, Manic, you two stay here. Sonic and I will check it out and report back."
"Be careful you guys. Knotlake is a very hot spot now." said Manic.
"We will Manic. Come on Sal lets motor." said Sonic.
Sally nodded to Sonic and held out her hand. Sonic took hold of it and swung her up into his arms. Shooting a glance at Knuckles and Manic, he spun and shot off into the wastelands of the Great Unknown.
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Amy wasn't paying anything much attention. She walked along side Nenya mulling thought through her head. The pair had left Drood Henge about an hour before sunrise ands certainly a good few hours before anyone had gotten up. Amy still felt a little back for leaving without telling anyone but she figured that if she had told anyone they would have wanted to help and she didn't want that. She somehow knew that this was something only her and Nenya could do. She looked over at Nenya. Could he really be her brother? She did feel different around him. Was this a reaction to having another Acolyte around? She shook her head, Nenya saw.
"Something troubling you?" he asked.
"I'm just trying to work things out." replied Amy looking straight ahead.
"I can understand. It mustn't be easy to accept."
"Too right."
"But I have not lied to you. You know that don't you?"
"Yes. I know you have not lied but still…."
"Hush. All will become clear in time."
"I hope so."
The pair fell silent again and continued to walk. Amy strangely felt highly energies, as if she could keep going for ever. She brushed a hand through her long quills and sighed.
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Sonic and Sally skidded to a halt at the edge of Knotlake village. For a few minutes they stood remembering past events and memories. Sally sniffed and wiped away a tear.
"It's so sad." she said.
"I know Sal. Our life never seems to go easily. Everything we build is destroyed one way or another."
"Not only our things. But our friends and family too."
Sonic put an arm around Sally shoulder. She looked over at him and smiled.
"Sonic." she said.
"Sally." replied Sonic, "I know things look grim but remember this. Miles and Alicia are alive. Morgan said so himself didn't he. One day we'll rescue them."
"I know we will but I'm still scared for them."
"We both are Sal but for now we have to find out who was here."
"You're right Sonic." said Sally pulling away from Sonic, "Let's get started."
The pair walked into the ruins of Knotlake. The village was still and not a single sound rustled on the wind. At last they came to the cliff face over hanging the village.
"Sonic look." said Sally pointing.
"I see it Sally." replied Sonic.
In the cliffside a small originally hidden door now lay on the ground revealing a room inside the cliff. The pair stepped through to find themselves in the village defense centre. Sally walked over to a console and took out Nicole.
"Someone was in here Sonic. This console has been activated." she said, "Nicole upload to defense computer and download last recorded data command."
"Working." replied Nicole.
"I wonder who was here." said Sonic.
"User data acquired Sally." informed Nicole.
"Display please Nicole."
A small hologram lit up showing a list of figures. Sally gasped.
"User CH01. That's Chalk's login command!" she said.
"Chalk! Chalk was here?! How long ago?!" asked Sonic staring at the hologram.
"By the look of it….yesterday." replied Sally.
"Then she can't be far." said Sonic, "I wonder if they left any clues about where they went."
"Possibly. We should continue to search."
Sonic nodded and they left the room together. It didn't take long to find the next clue.
"SONIC!" cried Sally suddenly.
Before Sally had finished calling his name Sonic was at her side. Sally was staring at two rucksacks lying on the ground. Next to them lay a large gun.
"That's definitely Chalks." said Sonic.
"Yes. And these looks like the girls rucksacks too." said Sally.
"But if they are why would they just leave them? They don't look like they have been touch in a while."
"Something must have happened." said Sally kneeling down to look at Chalk's gun, "This thing is completely empty. There was definitely a battle here."
"We need to find more clues."
"Sure do."
It didn't take the long to find the last clue they found. They both stared at the sight. Amongst the ruins of one of the villages wooden huts lay several pieces of wooden beam covered in blood. Nervously Sally knelt down and took a small plate out of the side of Nicole. She gently dapped the plate on the blood and inserted it back into Nicole.
"Nicole….scan…..scan sample please." said Sally nervously.
The pair waited for Nicole to respond.
"Scan complete Sally." said Nicole.
"Yes." asked Sally.
"Current blood sample matches that of Sonia Hedgehog."
"Sonia!" cried Sonic spinning to Sally.
Sally was at a lost for words. She blinked and shot a glance back at the packs they had found earlier.
"Sonic…they must have been attacked and fled. Sonia must have been injured and they fled leaving their gear behind. What else could have happened?" she stuttered.
"I don't know Sal but here's the question. Are they coming back? Why did they leave their packs and not come back? Where are they?" said Sonic.
"I don't know Sonic. It's all too much."
Sonic could see it was. Sally was now shaking slightly and taking deep breaths. He quickly raised his wrist and flipped on his comm unit.
"Knuckles, Manic, you read?" he said quickly.
There was a pause and then a voice answered.
"Knuckles here Sonic. What's up?" replied Knuckles.
"Lots, Sally and myself are in Knotlake now. There was definitely a fight. And what's more Chalk and Sonia were in it."
"Chalk and Sonia! How'd they…"
The other end of the comm suddenly went dead for a moment. Sonic was about to start fiddling with his comm when the other end came back again.
"Manic here Sonic, what's this about Sonia?"
"It looks like they were here recently. We found their packs and Chalks gun and…" Sonic stopped.
"What Sonic?" urged Manic.
"Manic we found some of Sonia's blood."
"Oh my god! Sonic what are we going to do?"
"Get yourself and Knuckles over to the village sharp. I don't know how long we can stay here before being detected but we'll stay as long as possible. In the mean time Sally and I will look for more clues."
"What about Amy and that hedgehog?"
"For now that's not our major concern. It might sound harsh but we don't know what going on there. We do know that Sonia is injured. We have to finds her, however much Amy's disappearance worries us."
"You got it Sonic. I'll get Knux and we'll be there shortly."
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Amy bent down and plucked a flower from the ground. She twisted it round her finger for a moment before looking at it. The flowers delicate blue petals seemed to shine in the sun to her. Never Lake, her home. She stood up with a sigh. They had almost made it. Just over the next ridge and a short walk and they would be standing on the shore of Never Lake.
"Don't get too comfy." said Nenya from the top of the ridge.
Amy looked up at him. He appeared to be concentrating on something away in the distance. Curious, Amy walked over to him. What she saw shocked her. Never Lake spread out in front of them but it was not how she remembered it. On the far eastern shore a huge area had been flattened and a large amount of machines and vehicles stood there. Even from here she could see that it was the Earth Alliance.
"They are back." said Nenya.
"Should we stop them?" asked Amy.
"I would but if we accomplish what we have set out to do there will be no need to do anything. Come on, we must hurry."
Nenya took a striding step forwards and set of down the hill towards Never Lake. Amy quickly ran after him but cautiously. She knew that the Alliance would soon pick them up on their scanners and she didn't want to run into that kind of situation. As she neared the lake she began to sense something. Something familiar but yet old. She blinked hard and it faded away. She looked up to see Nenya slowing to a walk ahead of her. He ducked down behind a bush and stopped. Amy joined him.
"What is it?" she asked.
"The Alliance has made their new base at the entrance to the portal walkway. We can't get to it by land." replied Nenya.
Amy looked out from behind the bush. They were only a few hundred meters from the lakes edge and she could see the Alliance base clearly now. As Nenya had said, the base was located just at the point of the lake where the outcrop of land stretched out to the pillar that once served as the transporter between Mobius and Little Planet. She ducked back.
"What does the pillar have to do with it?" she asked.
"We need it for the merge. We'll have to swim across the lake." replied Nenya.
"Swim?" asked Amy slightly shocked.
As a rule of thumb, most hedgehogs hated water. Yeah sure to bathe in it was fine but water was another matter entirely. Growing up on Little Planet Amy had, to a degree, established a small tolerance to it. Saying this she still tried to avoid it wherever possible. She looked out over the lake. She had paddled in it before but swum?! She didn't even know how! Nenya saw how she was staring at the lake.
"I see you don't take to water too well." he said.
"Well not too well. I don't mind it as much as some but…" she gulped slightly, "….I've never swam before."
Nenya placed a hand on her shoulder.
"It's ok. I'll help you."
Gingerly Amy walked to the edge of the lake and sat down next to it with Nenya. Slowly they both slid into the water and started to wade out. Soon Amy was standing on her toes with just her nose sticking out of the water. Nenya was floating next to her holding both of her hands.
"Amy relax. We can't go any further until you relax." he said.
"I can't! I can't! Take me back to the shore! Take me back!" panicked Amy.
"Amy we can't go back. The Alliance has probably already detected us. We must hurry to the pillar! We must get there before they find us."
"But I can't go on. I can't breath!"
"You can! Amy trust me! Relax please!"
As nervous as she was, Amy tried. She closed her eyes and slowly relaxed her body. At first she felt herself sinking more but Nenya's grip tightened on her hands. She forced herself to relax more and suddenly found herself going up. She couldn't feel water on her face anymore and she opened her eyes. To her surprise she was floating on the surface of the lake. Nenya floated beside her smiling.
"You see. You can do it." he said.
"Ye….yes." replied Amy totally surprised.
"Remember Amy. You are capable of anything as long as you set your mind to it. You're mind is the key. Believe in it and you can do anything!"
Amy could only nod slowly as she stared in surprise at Nenya's statement. Still holding onto each other, the pair slowly made their way across the lake. A few minutes later they were scrambling onto the opposite bank. They climbed the small bank and stopped on the flat ground. Amy bent almost double and started to breath quickly. Slowly her breathing returned to normal and she stood up. Nenya was already running around the transport pillar fusing over it.
"What are you doing Nenya?" asked Amy jogging over.
"Preparing the pillar for the cross jump." he replied not taking his eyes off his work.
"Cross jump?"
"Yes. This pillar is normally only active while Little Planet is here. It has been three years since it was last used and it has deactivated. I must activate it and prepare it for the cross jump."
"What is this cross jump?"
Nenya shot her a glance and Amy stopped. She blinked at him and Nenya returned to his work.
"The normal effects of this pillar are to transport matter from here to the surface of Little Planet. If Little Planet is not here the pillar deactivates to prevent accidents. I'm reconfiguring it to transport us not only across space but time as well."
"Time? You mean….to Little Planet?!"
"Yes. Little Planet has been lost in time since it disappeared. The Time Stones do not have enough energy to return Little Planet to our time line. It is lost in the endless fabric of time. This will allow us to traverse both space and time to reach it. However…"
Nenya was interrupted by a huge laser beam that streaked across in front of him and hit the ground throwing up a cloud of dirt. The pair looked up to see a squad of men running towards them. As they looked they opened fire again. The pair dived behind the pillar to avoid the oncoming fire.
"Amy I must finish my work. Here take this." said Nenya handing Amy his staff.
Amy had been surprised he had been able to carry it across the lake with her but was even more surprised now.
"Me? But what can I do with it?" she stammered.
"Trust me Amy. Believe and you can do it!" said Nenya.
As Amy gripped the staff a sharp twang clicked in her mind. It was the same feeling that she had every time she drew her mallet. Her eyes seemed to glow as she leaped out from behind the pillar. The sight of the pink hedgehog wearing a soaking wet skin hugging white dress and wielding a huge seven foot staff made the men stop for a moment. Amy used this hesitation, leaping forwards and taking a broad swing. Several of the men were still slightly alert and jumped backwards but the rest caught the blunted blade at the tip of the staff and fell to the ground with a thud. Amy landed with her back to the remaining men and shot a hard glance over her shoulder. Before the rest could react she had spun and swung the staff around at full length, cleanly hitting them all and knocking them all to the floor. As she did there is a whistling sound and a huge explosion erupts on the water about ten feet away.
"AMY!" cried Nenya.
Amy looked ahead to see a large white trail streaking out of the military base and hitting the water just on the edge of the shore. She spins to see Nenya beckoning her frantically. She ran to his side as a bright glow erupted from the pillar. As Amy neared she could see that the necklace around Nenya's neck was now sitting upright on the top of the pillar. It was glowing a deep blue as Nenya put his hand on it.
"Amy hurry! Put your hand on this and hold on tightly." he insisted.
"What is it?" asked Amy as she quickly did as she was asked.
"The doorway is opening. We are being drawn in."
Amy suddenly felt a surge of energy rush from her feet, through her body and out of her head. She looked up to see rings of white light quickly passing upwards towards a ball of energy high above them. The ball grew and suddenly the rings joined to become a tunnel of energy above them. It descended and surrounded them. Amy felt herself being draw up like the transporter usually felt but this time she also felt as if she was being drawn through her memories. Her life seemed to flash around her in a random order making it hard to follow and her head spin slightly. The light increased and suddenly shot upwards past the ball and onwards into the sky. As the light channeled into a beam and shot from the ground, a giant explosion rocked the out crop of land blowing the pillar to a million small fragments.
