Mecha Action!

Chapter 5: Trapped
She had only been in there for an hour and already Amy saw a bleak future ahead of her. The prison cells inside Prime Tower were barely lit. Only a few hanging lamps in the aisle between the cells lit the area and most of the bulbs were running out of power. Amy leaned against the bars staying the light of a nearby lamp; she was too afraid to move into the dark, damp shadows of her cell. Having been stripped of her vest and whatever gear she had left in her boots, the Defender was left with very little to do and stared blankly at her surroundings.

"I hope Cream doesn't get too worried about me…" Amy thought observing the bracelet Cream had made for her. "But then again once Knuckles becomes aware of my long absence, then everyone will know that I've gone missing."

The hedgehog sighed frustrated and banged her head against the cell bars. Amy was much smarter than she felt, she knew it! She knew that she should've gone back for more supplies after being chased around by Metal Sonic. Then again…everyone makes mistakes every now and then. Still she regretted not thinking through the entire situation. Soon other things began to fill her mind such as the immense strength the Metals had and the possibility of even more power hidden within them. Deep in her heart, Amy knew that the Metals would possibly be the ice breaker of the invisible barrier around Defender Territory and if that was the case then the future of the entire Organic population was doomed.

To ease her mind of the threats the Metals presented, Amy began to think about Miles and why Eggman wanted him to search for Metal Sonic. She couldn't understand how someone would look for anything while trapped inside a capsule…but then something else had hit the hedgehog's mind.

"Miles? Where have I heard that name…?" Amy went into deep thought.

The name sounded familiar…a little too familiar for her. Suddenly it dawned on her!

"Miles! Can it really be him?!"

Amy had realized that Miles was the real name of Tails, one of the Three Legends. If the young fox was Tails then that would mean—

"Metal Sonic is…?!"

She felt even dumber now for not figuring it out sooner. Metal Sonic and ShadoMech were obviously Sonic and Shadow, the other two Legends. So the two hedgehogs had not died years ago as most of the Organics thought. They were just captured and made into Mechas like millions of other Organics, thus giving Eggman the upper hand on the war. But why did he spare Tails? Was there something different about him that only Eggman saw?

The heavy door at the far end of the prison area opened and closed with a loud clanging noise. Footsteps could be heard walking towards Amy but she could not see who it was at first. Soon Eggman's round and tall figure came into view fading in and out as he walked by each lamp. He stopped in front of the hedgehog's cell and their eyes met. There was an unsettling silence between them before the scientist spoke.

"So how do you like the hospitality?" Eggman asked.

"Kinda sucks if you ask me." Amy retorted harshly. "But I want to know how you could do such a thing to the world's greatest heroes?! It's totally barbaric!"

"Hmm…so you found out the truth about them? Well I wouldn't be surprised if I were you. What else did you expect me to do with such Organics? They had so much potential power within them, I was just filled with the joy of a child when I finally got my hands on those three!"

"But you spared Tails the pain of becoming a Mecha. Why?"

Eggman glared down at the girl but a disturbing smile crept onto his face. Amy backed away a bit.

"The boy…" the scientist hissed. "He seemed useless to me at first…but then I discovered his secret that only he and the hedgehogs knew."

Amy inched closer gaining some interest.

"His physical capabilities were as normal as any other Organic, but his mind power was superior, fascinating, almost…supernatural. I had to utilize it to my advantage and once that was done, the entire world was in the palm of my hand!"

Angered by this, Amy booted Eggman in his shin. The scientist shouted out in pain and grabbed Amy by the collar of her tank top and slammed her against the bars.

"You got a lot of nerve for someone your age." Eggman growled at her.

"Only because you're a sick freak! No one has the right to take away the life of others and turning them into robots is no exception!" Amy shouted.

Eggman harshly pushed the girl away from him and she tumbled onto the filthy metal floor.

"I have just the right place for you: the underground factory of the Five Towers…but I think I'll roboticize you after your slave sentence." Eggman grinned as he walked away.

Amy quickly stood up and kicked the bars numerous times shouting foul words and insults at the scientist, but he didn't seemed to notice and the prison door closing echoed from down the hall. It was pretty much hopeless for the hedgehog. With her fate already planned by Eggman and no way of contacting Defender Territory, all she could do was sit around and hope for a chance to escape.

Meanwhile in Defender Territory, and young bat raced across the vast fields and to the entrance gates of the forest. After having some conflict with the guards, the bat was finally let in and raced through the villages heading towards the center where the Great Tree stood. As she neared the murky swamp, the water began to boil menacingly. The bat was only a foot away when a monster made of the murky water shot out of the swamp and attempted to grab the bat. She jumped into the air soaring high over the swamp as more creatures emerged trying to capture the bat. After landing on the other side, the bat gazed up the tree and then banged on its base.

"Hey let me in! It's an emergency!" she shouted frantically.

Nothing happened for a few seconds so the bat tried to gain entry again.

"Hey come on! I know you're in there! You haven't left the damn place for almost fifty years!" she shouted, this time with more anger than panic.

Immediately the bat disappeared in a green light and reappeared in Knuckles' chamber deep inside of the tree. The echidna was on his platform staring menacingly at the bat.

"Rouge…" he growled.

Rouge crossed her arms and turned up her nose as she walked onto the platform.

"I'm surprised to see you back here. The last thing I remember you saying—well actually yelling—was that you would never set foot on these lands again." Knuckles eyed her suspiciously. "Am I right?"

Rouge only rolled her eyes at the smart comment and turned her back towards him. She still felt a little resentment over what he did to her years ago.

"I came here with news you might want to know…" Rouge said in response.

"Go on."

"It's about your little prodigy child. She seems to have gotten herself caught by Eggman's new robots."

Knuckles glared at her as if she had told a horrible joke. Suddenly his eyes flashed a shining green color and he suddenly gasped and looked abhorred at Rouge.

"You saw it all happen and didn't do a thing to help?!" apparently Knuckles had a glimpse into her mind. "Have you finally gotten too stubborn for your own kind?!"

Immediately Rouge slapped Knuckles on his face with great force leaving a deep red mark on his cheek. The echidna, forcing his manners upon him, only growled in return and rubbed the mark.

"So now I'm too stubborn for my own kind? Talk about a big step down from your previous 'traitor' assumption!" Rouge spat.

"I only said that because you were a traitor! You left us in a dire situation to chase after your own damn dreams." Knuckles suddenly got into her face. "And on top of that…you used me."

As Knuckles walked away Rouge shivered hugging herself and soon ended up crying. Knuckles stopped upon hearing her sniffles and glanced over his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Rouge quickly wiped her tears away and tried to talk in a normal voice.

"Nothing. I'm fine." The bat turned to Knuckles with a serious face. "So you're not going to do anything about the girl?"

"Of course I'm going to do something." Knuckles replied. "I'll just send out—"

The echidna had stopped and was looking right at Rouge. He had remembered Rouge's earlier comment of when she was just outside of the Great Tree.

"You haven't left the damn place for almost fifty years!"

He wasn't sure if Rouge was either making fun of him or just pointing out the obvious but she was telling the truth. It's been forty-six years since Knuckles had truly seen the light of day. He had spent years inside the Great Tree mourning the loss of his closest friends and in turn isolated himself from his own kind. Perhaps it was time for the Defender leader to stop mourning the disappearance of the Three Legends and save his best Defender before he regrets not going after her. Knuckles smirked letting out an inaudible laugh. Rouge's ears perked up and she looked curiously at the echidna.

"I better get a team together. Hopefully the Mechalands haven't changed too much from my last visit." the echidna commented.

Rouge gasped at the shock that Knuckles was finally leaving the Great Tree.

"Thank you Rouge." Knuckles said giving the bat a calm and composed look.

The second the bat's eyes met his, Rouge felt a strong sensation in her heart. She couldn't understand why but she felt something familiar about the look Knuckles was giving her. It was as if she was seeing him for the first time all over again.

After hours of being trapped in her prison cell, Amy felt a rumbling growl in her stomach and held onto it pouting a bit.

"Man, I'm starving." the hedgehog complained.

Just then the prison door creaked open and closed and light metallic footsteps could be heard heading towards Amy. She pushed herself against the bars to see who it was and to her surprise she could see two red eyes walking towards her. As the Mecha passed under a lamp, it was revealed to be Metal Sonic carrying a covered tray. Amy gasped a bit and moved away from the bars as the Mecha stopped in front of her cell. The two looked at each other blankly before Metal Sonic unlocked a small entrance at the base of the cell bars. It was too small for any prisoner to get through but wide enough to send the food tray through it.

Amy took the food tray cautiously as it was slid through and lifted up the lid. A well prepared gourmet dinner was made complete with a main dish of grilled chicken, two vegetable side dishes, and a bottle of water. Amy looked up at Metal Sonic raising an eyebrow.

"A gourmet dinner?" she asked skeptically.

"Father thought it would be pleasing for you to have one last decent meal before sending you into slave work." Metal replied in his monotone voice.

"Father?"

"It is what all Mechas call Dr. Eggman. He created us, so he is our father."

Amy had nothing more to say so the Mecha turned to leave. But the young hedgehog stopped him with another question.

"May I ask you something?" Amy spoke out.

"You may." Metal Sonic replied facing her again.

"…Do you remember anyone named Tails?"

An unsettling silence followed with Metal staring straight at Amy with his glowing red eyes. Thinking that she hit a bad note, Amy bit her lip nervously and hoped that the Mecha would just walk away. Just then Metal Sonic slightly tilted his head. Apparently something was stirred in the Mecha's memory.