Yup, Sega still owns Sonic and ARC. Drake and Ruth are mine, although Ruth doesn't appear again until the end. You must be almost as sick of reading this as I am of writing it.
This fic is drawing to a close, and things are starting to get interesting. Yeah, I'm presenting you with another very short chapter, but it will be made up for. The next chapter is the longest yet, and there's some pretty good action so don't worry!
Chapter 14: Return to Station Square
The six teammates ran down to the dock as soon as Getaway Isle appeared again beneath their feet. There was no time to wait for any stupid ferry, so Knuckles, Rouge, Tails, and Drake took off either gliding or flying. The two echidnas carried Sonic and Amy on their backs. Soon the flying foursome ran out of strength, dropped into the water, and began swimming. Tails stayed aloft longer than Rouge and the echidnas, but eventually he was swimming too.
At last, they reached the edge of Station Square and pulled themselves out of the water. The hedgehogs and echidnas shook water out of their spines, and Tails squeezed some out of his furry tails.
"This way," Rouge told them, pointing in the direction of the tall building near the cinema. The rest of the crew followed her as she ran down the sidewalk, past the theme park, casino, and town hall. The people in the city gawked at the motley crew as it went by.
Rouge finally halted in front of the large, twelve-story building she had been investigating earlier. Everyone else ran up behind her.
A tall, burly security guard stood at the entrance, blocking their passage.
"Excuse me," Drake said, stepping forward. "But we really need to get into this building. It's an emergency!"
The guard looked at them strangely. "Sorry, but no one's allowed in here anymore. No exceptions. We recently had reports of a break-in, and security's been tightened." He raised an eyebrow. "Um…who are you anyway? Those are some weird costumes you've all got on…"
Before he could finish, Rouge delivered a sharp kick to his private area, and he fell to the floor in pain. They all rushed in the door behind him.
"Sorry," Sonic called as they went by. "It's for your own good!"
The sounds of twelve shoes, clicking on the marble floor, echoed in the halls as Rouge led the others through the corridors. They rose up five stories, until she finally stopped and said, "This is the floor."
Suddenly, Drake stood up very straight. "It might already be too late!" he cried. He shot off down the hallway.
"Hey, wait up, Drake!" said Tails, whirling his tails and following him.
"Tails, where are you going?!" Sonic cried, running after him.
"No! Sonic! Come back!" Amy used her boots to perform a Giant Step and followed Sonic.
Knuckles and Rouge looked at each other for a moment, shook their heads, and went after the others.
Drake flew through the broken-down door of the laboratory and screamed.
Eggman stood at the monitor, holding the last Chaos Medallion.
"No!" Drake yelled at him. "Don't put that Medallion in!" He ran up and tried to grab it, but Eggman shoved it into the slot before he could reach him. Drake stopped short, lost his balance, and crashed to the floor beside Eggman. "You…you don't know what you're doing…"
"Oh yes I do," Eggman said with a wicked smile. "With the power of this new monster, I could rule the world!"
Tails, Sonic, Amy, Knuckles, and Rouge came running into the room, one by one. "Oh my God," Sonic said, speaking for all of them. Their mouths hung open in shock.