Sonic Adventure 2
This is an alternate version of Sonic Adventure 2, which I did as a writing
exercise. The plot differs extremely from the established storyline, but it
did for the STC Sonic Adventure as well (I haven't played the game, so the
characters may not all be in character.) Most characters are © Sega.
Part 2: Dark Force Rising
The Emerald Hill Zone had become the most famous place on Mobius. It was on the coast of South Island, which had survived Robotnik's rule relatively unscathed. The Emerald Hill itself was all green fields, pure streams and deep forests. Its good-natured inhabitants had remained old fashioned in continuing to live in trees, and the Zone stayed clean and untainted by industry.
But the main reason Emerald Hill was famous was Sonic the Hedgehog lived there.
Sonic's base was a tall tree in the centre of the Zone. He and the Freedom Fighters had set up their H.Q. after Robotnik's defeat, now it just served as a home for the gang.
Amy Rose awoke confusedly, the sudden light stinging her eyes. Her mouth was dehydrated, scratching her throat apart. Her pink spikes flopped in her face.
She brushed them away, rearranging her big red hair band. She was sitting in the blue padded chair overlooking the window; she had sat up all night. Her room was small and cosy, with a window and a door. There was a simple green bed, a table and a window, and a cupboard. Any thought that Amy was a neat hedgehog would vanish on closer inspection of the cupboard. It was light outside; four little puppies were bouncing a ball against the tree trunk. She reached out with clumsy hands to the glass of water on her bedside table. She knocked it over.
The drink splashed onto her bed, soaking the sheets a darker green. She moaned and stumbled out into the bathroom.
She searched the whole base. No one was home, except Tails. Concern washed back into her mind. Tails was outside in the meadow, playing with his chao, Bobbsey. The little creature's indigo skin contrasted with Tails' vibrant orange and white fur. Bobbsey was twittering around, trying to fly on his new wings. The sky was azure, with a few tattered strips of cloud around the horizon. The sun's light dyed everything with a happy tint of yellow. Many Mobians were out, and the field bubbled with cheerful background noise.
Amy played with Tails, unsure about her fears. Finally, she asked the fox. "Sonic left for the city yesterday. He hasn't been home yet. Do you think he's okay?"
Tails dropped his pet in alarm. "Crumbs! Your right, Sonic should have at least called by now." He stood up, alert. "He's nearly twenty four hours late. Something terrible's happened."
In the middle of the Mobian Wastelands, Knuckles the Echidna stared in amazement at an ancient stone pyramid.
The building was made of sandstone, blending in almost perfectly with the barren acres of dust around it. It had complex runes and hieroglyphs etched into the stone, just ghostly impressions now, after millennia of weathering. The crumbling rock was scuffed off into the breeze.
The desert's heat flooded him, the scorching winds grated him with sand, but he was used to that by now. His red spines buffeted his head persistently, and he dug his knuckles further into the parched mountain he was watching from.
The structure looked old, but had evidently been modernised. From his vantage point, Knuckles could see laser gun emplacements in the sandstone, and the grand entrance doors had been replaced with steel.
He let go of the rock, and glided down, rolling and twisting to avoid the winds battering him around. He landed twenty feet away. He took a closer look. Who had found this?
His suspicions were confirmed when he saw the blast doors. Each one had a fat, gloating face grafted into the metal.
Robotnik's hideout.
Knuckles grinned to himself. Sand flew into his mouth, and he coughed it out. If this was where Robotnik had been hiding all those years, they could finally stop the madman after all.
Knuckles took a step closer. Felt something shift under his feet.
He spun, in time to see his attacker erupt out of the ground behind him. It was a Badnik, one of Robotnik's old soldiers.
It was a line of metal spheres, each with a long, vicious spike protruding from the top. The ball at the front had a stylised evil eyes and grinning teeth. It launched itself right at him.
Knuckles felt a spark of panic, but crushed it quickly. A scowl clenched his face as he watched the beast come nearer and nearer. It was about two feet from his head. He brought his fist up to meet it.
The head cracked open, circuits and gears showering onto the desert. The body bounced off his hand and stuck in the sand.
Knuckles kicked the edifice in frustration. He had smashed all the hidden guns by throwing rocks. The ground was covered in black craters where he had come to close. He had slashed his way through the solid blast doors, only to find another set waiting behind, with a force field ready to fry him. He rubbed his singed hand, but it didn't help.
He had to admit that Robotnik wasn't as stupid as he looked. He was in no mood to admit anything right now.
He was stuck in the middle of the wasteland; he hadn't eaten or drunk for a day, and had no shelter. Brilliant.
A shadow blocked the sun. Knuckles whirled into a fighting stance. Things just got better and better.
Perky landed on top of him.
Knuckles was amazed. He put up his arms, trying to fend off the pteranodon's happy attention. "Perky! How did you find me, girl?"
The pteranodon playfully head butted him. Knuckles remembered the cowboy who had given him the reptile. He had said that the creatures had remarkable homing instincts. Knuckles had underestimated them.
"Come on," he said, jumping onto Perky's back. "Let's go."
Robotnik kept to the shadow of a surviving warehouse on the outskirts of the city. It was missing a wall, and most of its ceiling. Enormous stacks of tyres and hydraulic cylinders were smashed all over the floor, black, wet and slimy. The light from the stricken city struggled into the shed, dancing in the pools and puddles. Everything was cold. Water fell from the roof in a constant drip drip drip.
Robotnik adjusted the heating system in his Egg Walker. The timer on the computer read 13:53.
Seven minutes to go. Robotnik activated his machine, and clunked forward. The contraption shuffled forward, kicking stray rubble out of its path. The grating noise quaked Robotnik's brain.
He stepped outside. Cast a glance of contempt over the Mobians wrecked metropolis. Serve them right for rejecting him.
He watched two small bear cubs frantically shifting debris, trying to save their father, moaning in pain and loss. Badniks didn't do that.
Robotnik called up his map, and Shadow's coordinates. He strode through a couple of streets, now and then taking pot shots at the dying animals. He reached a corner. The road was clear here, only the carcass of a delivery lorry slamming off the road. Oil leaked out of the vehicle, consuming the road until it trickled down an empty manhole. There.
Robotnik blew open the road. Tarmac cracked and died away from the hole, enlarging it enough to fit his Egg Walker. Robotnik stepped into his homemade entrance, activating hover jets on the Walker's feet and body. There was an uneasy sensation of giddiness before the machine touched the ground underneath.
Robotnik stabbed a button, and the vehicle shuddered into submarine mode. The windscreen extended over his head, becoming watertight. The legs folded into the bottom of the pod. There was a heavy clunk, which shook the craft as the engine cylinders at the back readjusted themselves. Robotnik piloted the submarine through the flooded sewers.
The tainted water was dingy and murky, clouds of tar, oil and sewage obscuring all vision. Robotnik abandoned sight, bringing up a digital map on the screen with a series of buttons. A further switch started some jaunty music playing. Robotnik giggled, wandering if perhaps he was still a bit insane.
He followed Shadow's instructions exactly, taking a long winding route heading out of the city. Eventually, the submarine reached a dead end. Robotnik read his screen carefully, turned 90 degrees and obliterated the wall. The turgid water became cluttered with destruction, black slabs of ruined metal bouncing off his shields.
The hole in the wall revealed a new passage. Robotnik's excitement increased. The flood slashed into the secret corridor, and the Egg Walker followed it, picking up speed.
The tunnel sloped uphill; the Walker broke the surface. Robotnik switched off his cheerful music, and angrily flicked back into walking mode. The mechanical feet slipped on the slimy metal, the craft began to fall.
Robotnik activated magnets in the feet, the Walker stopped, its cockpit still falling like a limbo dancer. Robotnik brought the Egg pod back up, and sat panting.
That had been to close. His hands giddy with shock, he uncertainly manoeuvred the vehicle forward, shuffling its legs, afraid to slip again. He continued like this for what seemed like centuries, until the floor levelled out and he could walk normally. He didn't stop his shambling walk, until after a while he built up enough confidence to stride. The floor was dry and solid.
Robotnik's panic faded, his excitement returned like mist being banished by sunlight. Nearly there now.
"What kept you?" Robotnik gasped, sightlessly looking around to find where the silent voice could have come from. He flicked on his headlights, slamming his eyes shut to avoid being blinded. He opened them cautiously, spotting a figure in the shadow of the beam. The white light crackled in his ruby eyes.
If Shadow was dazzled, he did not show it. He stood, waiting patiently. Robotnik eventually spoke:
"How did you get in? I had to blow up the wall first!" Shadow didn't move.
"There are many different ways through. Do you want to see this now?"
"Yes!" Robotnik was red hot with anticipation. "Show me!"
Shadow held out a gloved hand. Robotnik gave him the strange object he had found. Shadow scanned the wall, then suddenly smashed the tool against it. Robotnik winced, but the device did not snap, it disappeared up to the handle.
Shadow pressed four buttons and rotated the hilt, without ceremony. A clang reverberated around the tiny passage, and a hidden compartment in the metal sprang into existence. Robotnik jumped again, annoyed at being surprised so easily. He calmed, got a firm grip on himself, and looked back to Shadow.
A thin bar had come out of the slot, with a circular hole cut into the end.
"Well?" demanded Robotnik impatiently. "What now?"
Shadow reached over his shoulder, smoothly removing a small rucksack Robotnik hadn't noticed. He opened it, and a dull blue glow illuminated the tunnel. Robotnik nearly gasped, but controlled himself. A Chaos Emerald.
Shadow placed the Emerald in the hole. "Stand back."
He pushed a lever in the side of the stick.
There was an avalanche of sound. The din vibrated through Robotnik, through his Egg Walker, through the ground. Heavy levers clanked, chains rattled. Robotnik covered his ears, the infernal, endless racket smashing down all around him. Shadow just looked at him.
Robotnik felt a draught of air behind him. He turned.
The entire wall had gone, leaving an immense chamber. In the centre of the cathedral-like hall was the most enormous gun Robotnik had ever seen. The barrel was larger then him in diameter, and was mounted on a stand the size of a house. Boxes and wires littered the machine; circuits and controls stationed at random locations. The barrel supported tonnes of engines and spidery cables.
At the base of the gun were seven clear containers, each linked up to the main power source. The cannon gleamed gun blue through its thick layer of dust.
Robotnik took a quick scan of the weapon. The dust on it could have been nearly fifty years old. The hedgehog was only about seventeen. How could Shadow have heard about this? He would have to find out more about the animal. For now, though, here was the perfect weapon. Robotnik would rule again!
Shadow watched Robotnik's expression carefully, then said:
"Behold the Eclipse Cannon."
Rouge stared in horror at the devastated city. It was clear that something disastrous had happened, possibly to do with Robotnik. He could be plotting another takeover, and with power like this he probably could.
She slinked further in, careful of the oily surfaces. Why was everything soaked?
She felt a wave of pity for the inhabitants. Pity? She must be going soft. She recalled her long, painful training and carried on.
"The freak tsunami has wiped out most of Metropolis City. Estimates over seven eighths of the residents killed. The survivors agree that there has not been such a holocaust since Robotnik's era." The camera panned over the remains of the late capital, but Amy wasn't watching anymore.
The whole gang stared at the television, speechless. Dismay resonated through the silence.
Amy's insides felt like they were rearranging themselves, panic and guilt shoving themselves into her brain.
Why hadn't she tried to find him sooner? He could have been dying, helpless all night, waiting for help. Why had she left it so late?
A flicker of uncertainty sliced through Amy's depression. Could Sonic have survived? Could he have escaped a tsunami?
Tails voiced Amy's thoughts into the silence. "Could Sonic have survived?"
Porker Lewis answered, not very optimistically. "I don't think anything can avoid a tidal wave. Not even Sonic is that fast."
But Amy had found a thread of hope, and was clinging to it bravely. "But Sonic's done impossible things before," she argued, "and during those experiments you did, you said."
She was cut off by Tekno the Canary. "Its worth a look. The city needs help anyway." She stood up, heading towards the door. Her bottle green feathers hung down over one of her jade eyes; she wore a simple white t-shirt and shorts. Around her waist was a utility belt, bearing many small devices. Tekno was almost as smart as Porker, but where the pig excelled in natural science, she was nearly unsurpassed at designing weapons.
"Yeah, come on." Amy reiterated. She tried to crush the hope inside her, telling herself he was probably dead. Don't make the disappointment worse.
Still, there was a chance.
Rouge sat down at the top of the wreck, the cold and damp hacking viciously into her. She assessed her position.
She had collected nearly twenty shards of the Master Emerald, some big, some small, all as dead as each other. She also had a Chaos Emerald, and a ton of information.
She had stolen all the data on Robotnik from the remains of the G.U.N. base. On impulse, she had also taken some files on Knuckles as well. She wondered why she kept thinking of the Echidna. He reminded her of something, but she couldn't quite remember what it was.
Robotnik had escaped recently, and attacked many G.U.N. compounds, seemingly at random, but Rouge knew there was more to it then that. Robotnik was planning something big. He had uncovered some top-secret weapon, but the G.U.N. files had maddeningly not specified what it was.
She heard a wheezing clank down on the street. She looked down, curious.
Robotnik was making his way through the shadows, his machine having grown legs. Rouge could not believe her luck.
"Uh, guys."
Porker Lewis looked up from his seat, concerned. His black denim jacket whipped around him in the wind.
"What?" shouted Tails over the roaring breeze. His two tails were spinning, creating a blurred halo of orange behind him. He used this helicopter method to fly, resting in the slipstream of the plane.
The plane had been Tails' creation, a light bi-plane painted red and silver. It was the sixth in a long line of craft; Porker had helped him with the first two, but he had designed and made the rest all himself. Amy sat in the pilot seat, with Porker behind her. Tekno also flew in the slipstream.
"I've been searching for Chaos energy. Sonic's reading is faint, but the energy pattern is distinctive and easy to find."
"Well? Have you found him? Is he alive?" yelled Amy.
"Yes, but."
"But what?" elation filled Amy. Sonic had survived!
"He's not in Metropolis City. In fact he's not even in this country."
"What?! Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"How could he have got there?"
"I've no idea. I'm running a scan over the area now. Hang on." Amy waited, suspense growing and growing, Porker remaining aggravatingly silent.
"Well? Come on!"
"He's on Prison Island. He's been arrested by G.U.N."
There was a shocked stillness. What had Sonic done? Tekno broke through everyone's thoughts by yelling "What do we do, then? G.U.N. aren't known for reasoning."
Amy gritted her teeth.
"We'll bust them out." Robotnik switched his computer to hologram mode, projecting a shimmering blue map into the wall for Shadow to see.
The hedgehog stared critically. "We need to do more then that. We need the whole base obliterated, so they can't follow us."
Robotnik nodded, thoughtfully. It would help to have G.U.N. out of action, but there was more to it then that. Shadow had something against the military. Something very important.
He dragged his mind back to the abandoned jail they were using as an HQ. The rooms were all crumbling; most of them collapsed, all the heating and power systems were dead. The force field around the prison had protected it from the tidal wave, but it had been neglected afterwards; the citizens were too busy with other things.
They had left the Eclipse Cannon underground, although Robotnik itched to get back to it. Just looking at it was a glorious reminder that he would rule. But he needed only one thing: The Chaos Emeralds.
Irritation burned through Robotnik's muscles. So close!
But this time he would be patient. He would get those Emeralds.
The G.U.N. base on Prison Island had captured four Emeralds. It was an obvious target, but Shadow was right.
"Evenin' all." Robotnik turned, masking his surprise. A white bat was leaning casually against the damaged doorframe. She wore a green leather jacket and jeans, and a small bag on her back. She was familiar, from somewhere. Robotnik subtly activated a scanner in his craft, but the read out fuzzed static. He must not have repaired it properly after Knuckles' attack.
Shadow growled, threateningly. "Who are you and what do you want?"
The girl was unperturbed. "You look like you could use some help."
"From you? What use are you?" Robotnik sneered.
She pulled a hand out from behind her back, holding a Chaos Emerald. "Quite a lot, actually. Rouge the Bat, at your service."
This time Robotnik couldn't control his astonishment. Shadow, however, was stoic, almost as if he already knew. Robotnik recovered quickly. "Well, in that case," he said, "welcome aboard."
Part 2: Dark Force Rising
The Emerald Hill Zone had become the most famous place on Mobius. It was on the coast of South Island, which had survived Robotnik's rule relatively unscathed. The Emerald Hill itself was all green fields, pure streams and deep forests. Its good-natured inhabitants had remained old fashioned in continuing to live in trees, and the Zone stayed clean and untainted by industry.
But the main reason Emerald Hill was famous was Sonic the Hedgehog lived there.
Sonic's base was a tall tree in the centre of the Zone. He and the Freedom Fighters had set up their H.Q. after Robotnik's defeat, now it just served as a home for the gang.
Amy Rose awoke confusedly, the sudden light stinging her eyes. Her mouth was dehydrated, scratching her throat apart. Her pink spikes flopped in her face.
She brushed them away, rearranging her big red hair band. She was sitting in the blue padded chair overlooking the window; she had sat up all night. Her room was small and cosy, with a window and a door. There was a simple green bed, a table and a window, and a cupboard. Any thought that Amy was a neat hedgehog would vanish on closer inspection of the cupboard. It was light outside; four little puppies were bouncing a ball against the tree trunk. She reached out with clumsy hands to the glass of water on her bedside table. She knocked it over.
The drink splashed onto her bed, soaking the sheets a darker green. She moaned and stumbled out into the bathroom.
She searched the whole base. No one was home, except Tails. Concern washed back into her mind. Tails was outside in the meadow, playing with his chao, Bobbsey. The little creature's indigo skin contrasted with Tails' vibrant orange and white fur. Bobbsey was twittering around, trying to fly on his new wings. The sky was azure, with a few tattered strips of cloud around the horizon. The sun's light dyed everything with a happy tint of yellow. Many Mobians were out, and the field bubbled with cheerful background noise.
Amy played with Tails, unsure about her fears. Finally, she asked the fox. "Sonic left for the city yesterday. He hasn't been home yet. Do you think he's okay?"
Tails dropped his pet in alarm. "Crumbs! Your right, Sonic should have at least called by now." He stood up, alert. "He's nearly twenty four hours late. Something terrible's happened."
In the middle of the Mobian Wastelands, Knuckles the Echidna stared in amazement at an ancient stone pyramid.
The building was made of sandstone, blending in almost perfectly with the barren acres of dust around it. It had complex runes and hieroglyphs etched into the stone, just ghostly impressions now, after millennia of weathering. The crumbling rock was scuffed off into the breeze.
The desert's heat flooded him, the scorching winds grated him with sand, but he was used to that by now. His red spines buffeted his head persistently, and he dug his knuckles further into the parched mountain he was watching from.
The structure looked old, but had evidently been modernised. From his vantage point, Knuckles could see laser gun emplacements in the sandstone, and the grand entrance doors had been replaced with steel.
He let go of the rock, and glided down, rolling and twisting to avoid the winds battering him around. He landed twenty feet away. He took a closer look. Who had found this?
His suspicions were confirmed when he saw the blast doors. Each one had a fat, gloating face grafted into the metal.
Robotnik's hideout.
Knuckles grinned to himself. Sand flew into his mouth, and he coughed it out. If this was where Robotnik had been hiding all those years, they could finally stop the madman after all.
Knuckles took a step closer. Felt something shift under his feet.
He spun, in time to see his attacker erupt out of the ground behind him. It was a Badnik, one of Robotnik's old soldiers.
It was a line of metal spheres, each with a long, vicious spike protruding from the top. The ball at the front had a stylised evil eyes and grinning teeth. It launched itself right at him.
Knuckles felt a spark of panic, but crushed it quickly. A scowl clenched his face as he watched the beast come nearer and nearer. It was about two feet from his head. He brought his fist up to meet it.
The head cracked open, circuits and gears showering onto the desert. The body bounced off his hand and stuck in the sand.
Knuckles kicked the edifice in frustration. He had smashed all the hidden guns by throwing rocks. The ground was covered in black craters where he had come to close. He had slashed his way through the solid blast doors, only to find another set waiting behind, with a force field ready to fry him. He rubbed his singed hand, but it didn't help.
He had to admit that Robotnik wasn't as stupid as he looked. He was in no mood to admit anything right now.
He was stuck in the middle of the wasteland; he hadn't eaten or drunk for a day, and had no shelter. Brilliant.
A shadow blocked the sun. Knuckles whirled into a fighting stance. Things just got better and better.
Perky landed on top of him.
Knuckles was amazed. He put up his arms, trying to fend off the pteranodon's happy attention. "Perky! How did you find me, girl?"
The pteranodon playfully head butted him. Knuckles remembered the cowboy who had given him the reptile. He had said that the creatures had remarkable homing instincts. Knuckles had underestimated them.
"Come on," he said, jumping onto Perky's back. "Let's go."
Robotnik kept to the shadow of a surviving warehouse on the outskirts of the city. It was missing a wall, and most of its ceiling. Enormous stacks of tyres and hydraulic cylinders were smashed all over the floor, black, wet and slimy. The light from the stricken city struggled into the shed, dancing in the pools and puddles. Everything was cold. Water fell from the roof in a constant drip drip drip.
Robotnik adjusted the heating system in his Egg Walker. The timer on the computer read 13:53.
Seven minutes to go. Robotnik activated his machine, and clunked forward. The contraption shuffled forward, kicking stray rubble out of its path. The grating noise quaked Robotnik's brain.
He stepped outside. Cast a glance of contempt over the Mobians wrecked metropolis. Serve them right for rejecting him.
He watched two small bear cubs frantically shifting debris, trying to save their father, moaning in pain and loss. Badniks didn't do that.
Robotnik called up his map, and Shadow's coordinates. He strode through a couple of streets, now and then taking pot shots at the dying animals. He reached a corner. The road was clear here, only the carcass of a delivery lorry slamming off the road. Oil leaked out of the vehicle, consuming the road until it trickled down an empty manhole. There.
Robotnik blew open the road. Tarmac cracked and died away from the hole, enlarging it enough to fit his Egg Walker. Robotnik stepped into his homemade entrance, activating hover jets on the Walker's feet and body. There was an uneasy sensation of giddiness before the machine touched the ground underneath.
Robotnik stabbed a button, and the vehicle shuddered into submarine mode. The windscreen extended over his head, becoming watertight. The legs folded into the bottom of the pod. There was a heavy clunk, which shook the craft as the engine cylinders at the back readjusted themselves. Robotnik piloted the submarine through the flooded sewers.
The tainted water was dingy and murky, clouds of tar, oil and sewage obscuring all vision. Robotnik abandoned sight, bringing up a digital map on the screen with a series of buttons. A further switch started some jaunty music playing. Robotnik giggled, wandering if perhaps he was still a bit insane.
He followed Shadow's instructions exactly, taking a long winding route heading out of the city. Eventually, the submarine reached a dead end. Robotnik read his screen carefully, turned 90 degrees and obliterated the wall. The turgid water became cluttered with destruction, black slabs of ruined metal bouncing off his shields.
The hole in the wall revealed a new passage. Robotnik's excitement increased. The flood slashed into the secret corridor, and the Egg Walker followed it, picking up speed.
The tunnel sloped uphill; the Walker broke the surface. Robotnik switched off his cheerful music, and angrily flicked back into walking mode. The mechanical feet slipped on the slimy metal, the craft began to fall.
Robotnik activated magnets in the feet, the Walker stopped, its cockpit still falling like a limbo dancer. Robotnik brought the Egg pod back up, and sat panting.
That had been to close. His hands giddy with shock, he uncertainly manoeuvred the vehicle forward, shuffling its legs, afraid to slip again. He continued like this for what seemed like centuries, until the floor levelled out and he could walk normally. He didn't stop his shambling walk, until after a while he built up enough confidence to stride. The floor was dry and solid.
Robotnik's panic faded, his excitement returned like mist being banished by sunlight. Nearly there now.
"What kept you?" Robotnik gasped, sightlessly looking around to find where the silent voice could have come from. He flicked on his headlights, slamming his eyes shut to avoid being blinded. He opened them cautiously, spotting a figure in the shadow of the beam. The white light crackled in his ruby eyes.
If Shadow was dazzled, he did not show it. He stood, waiting patiently. Robotnik eventually spoke:
"How did you get in? I had to blow up the wall first!" Shadow didn't move.
"There are many different ways through. Do you want to see this now?"
"Yes!" Robotnik was red hot with anticipation. "Show me!"
Shadow held out a gloved hand. Robotnik gave him the strange object he had found. Shadow scanned the wall, then suddenly smashed the tool against it. Robotnik winced, but the device did not snap, it disappeared up to the handle.
Shadow pressed four buttons and rotated the hilt, without ceremony. A clang reverberated around the tiny passage, and a hidden compartment in the metal sprang into existence. Robotnik jumped again, annoyed at being surprised so easily. He calmed, got a firm grip on himself, and looked back to Shadow.
A thin bar had come out of the slot, with a circular hole cut into the end.
"Well?" demanded Robotnik impatiently. "What now?"
Shadow reached over his shoulder, smoothly removing a small rucksack Robotnik hadn't noticed. He opened it, and a dull blue glow illuminated the tunnel. Robotnik nearly gasped, but controlled himself. A Chaos Emerald.
Shadow placed the Emerald in the hole. "Stand back."
He pushed a lever in the side of the stick.
There was an avalanche of sound. The din vibrated through Robotnik, through his Egg Walker, through the ground. Heavy levers clanked, chains rattled. Robotnik covered his ears, the infernal, endless racket smashing down all around him. Shadow just looked at him.
Robotnik felt a draught of air behind him. He turned.
The entire wall had gone, leaving an immense chamber. In the centre of the cathedral-like hall was the most enormous gun Robotnik had ever seen. The barrel was larger then him in diameter, and was mounted on a stand the size of a house. Boxes and wires littered the machine; circuits and controls stationed at random locations. The barrel supported tonnes of engines and spidery cables.
At the base of the gun were seven clear containers, each linked up to the main power source. The cannon gleamed gun blue through its thick layer of dust.
Robotnik took a quick scan of the weapon. The dust on it could have been nearly fifty years old. The hedgehog was only about seventeen. How could Shadow have heard about this? He would have to find out more about the animal. For now, though, here was the perfect weapon. Robotnik would rule again!
Shadow watched Robotnik's expression carefully, then said:
"Behold the Eclipse Cannon."
Rouge stared in horror at the devastated city. It was clear that something disastrous had happened, possibly to do with Robotnik. He could be plotting another takeover, and with power like this he probably could.
She slinked further in, careful of the oily surfaces. Why was everything soaked?
She felt a wave of pity for the inhabitants. Pity? She must be going soft. She recalled her long, painful training and carried on.
"The freak tsunami has wiped out most of Metropolis City. Estimates over seven eighths of the residents killed. The survivors agree that there has not been such a holocaust since Robotnik's era." The camera panned over the remains of the late capital, but Amy wasn't watching anymore.
The whole gang stared at the television, speechless. Dismay resonated through the silence.
Amy's insides felt like they were rearranging themselves, panic and guilt shoving themselves into her brain.
Why hadn't she tried to find him sooner? He could have been dying, helpless all night, waiting for help. Why had she left it so late?
A flicker of uncertainty sliced through Amy's depression. Could Sonic have survived? Could he have escaped a tsunami?
Tails voiced Amy's thoughts into the silence. "Could Sonic have survived?"
Porker Lewis answered, not very optimistically. "I don't think anything can avoid a tidal wave. Not even Sonic is that fast."
But Amy had found a thread of hope, and was clinging to it bravely. "But Sonic's done impossible things before," she argued, "and during those experiments you did, you said."
She was cut off by Tekno the Canary. "Its worth a look. The city needs help anyway." She stood up, heading towards the door. Her bottle green feathers hung down over one of her jade eyes; she wore a simple white t-shirt and shorts. Around her waist was a utility belt, bearing many small devices. Tekno was almost as smart as Porker, but where the pig excelled in natural science, she was nearly unsurpassed at designing weapons.
"Yeah, come on." Amy reiterated. She tried to crush the hope inside her, telling herself he was probably dead. Don't make the disappointment worse.
Still, there was a chance.
Rouge sat down at the top of the wreck, the cold and damp hacking viciously into her. She assessed her position.
She had collected nearly twenty shards of the Master Emerald, some big, some small, all as dead as each other. She also had a Chaos Emerald, and a ton of information.
She had stolen all the data on Robotnik from the remains of the G.U.N. base. On impulse, she had also taken some files on Knuckles as well. She wondered why she kept thinking of the Echidna. He reminded her of something, but she couldn't quite remember what it was.
Robotnik had escaped recently, and attacked many G.U.N. compounds, seemingly at random, but Rouge knew there was more to it then that. Robotnik was planning something big. He had uncovered some top-secret weapon, but the G.U.N. files had maddeningly not specified what it was.
She heard a wheezing clank down on the street. She looked down, curious.
Robotnik was making his way through the shadows, his machine having grown legs. Rouge could not believe her luck.
"Uh, guys."
Porker Lewis looked up from his seat, concerned. His black denim jacket whipped around him in the wind.
"What?" shouted Tails over the roaring breeze. His two tails were spinning, creating a blurred halo of orange behind him. He used this helicopter method to fly, resting in the slipstream of the plane.
The plane had been Tails' creation, a light bi-plane painted red and silver. It was the sixth in a long line of craft; Porker had helped him with the first two, but he had designed and made the rest all himself. Amy sat in the pilot seat, with Porker behind her. Tekno also flew in the slipstream.
"I've been searching for Chaos energy. Sonic's reading is faint, but the energy pattern is distinctive and easy to find."
"Well? Have you found him? Is he alive?" yelled Amy.
"Yes, but."
"But what?" elation filled Amy. Sonic had survived!
"He's not in Metropolis City. In fact he's not even in this country."
"What?! Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"How could he have got there?"
"I've no idea. I'm running a scan over the area now. Hang on." Amy waited, suspense growing and growing, Porker remaining aggravatingly silent.
"Well? Come on!"
"He's on Prison Island. He's been arrested by G.U.N."
There was a shocked stillness. What had Sonic done? Tekno broke through everyone's thoughts by yelling "What do we do, then? G.U.N. aren't known for reasoning."
Amy gritted her teeth.
"We'll bust them out." Robotnik switched his computer to hologram mode, projecting a shimmering blue map into the wall for Shadow to see.
The hedgehog stared critically. "We need to do more then that. We need the whole base obliterated, so they can't follow us."
Robotnik nodded, thoughtfully. It would help to have G.U.N. out of action, but there was more to it then that. Shadow had something against the military. Something very important.
He dragged his mind back to the abandoned jail they were using as an HQ. The rooms were all crumbling; most of them collapsed, all the heating and power systems were dead. The force field around the prison had protected it from the tidal wave, but it had been neglected afterwards; the citizens were too busy with other things.
They had left the Eclipse Cannon underground, although Robotnik itched to get back to it. Just looking at it was a glorious reminder that he would rule. But he needed only one thing: The Chaos Emeralds.
Irritation burned through Robotnik's muscles. So close!
But this time he would be patient. He would get those Emeralds.
The G.U.N. base on Prison Island had captured four Emeralds. It was an obvious target, but Shadow was right.
"Evenin' all." Robotnik turned, masking his surprise. A white bat was leaning casually against the damaged doorframe. She wore a green leather jacket and jeans, and a small bag on her back. She was familiar, from somewhere. Robotnik subtly activated a scanner in his craft, but the read out fuzzed static. He must not have repaired it properly after Knuckles' attack.
Shadow growled, threateningly. "Who are you and what do you want?"
The girl was unperturbed. "You look like you could use some help."
"From you? What use are you?" Robotnik sneered.
She pulled a hand out from behind her back, holding a Chaos Emerald. "Quite a lot, actually. Rouge the Bat, at your service."
This time Robotnik couldn't control his astonishment. Shadow, however, was stoic, almost as if he already knew. Robotnik recovered quickly. "Well, in that case," he said, "welcome aboard."
