Sonic, Shadow and co are © Sega; all the other characters are mine.

Authoress' Note: I excuse myself if the battle with GUN could seem a little 'lame', but I'm lacking of 'battle inspiration'.

Dragon Master Naya (x2): Like I said, I was just curious… I live (like everyone by now knows…) in north Italy… Veneto, to be precise…
"*twich**twich*"? What's that? Are… are you angry? Did I write something wrong? Are you mad with me? Please… don't! I'll get really sad if I did… soooooooooorryyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Chaos Flower: Since I am the Authoress, yes I can (bad influences from Za…). *Pats her on the head and gives her a kleenex* But don't worry! Here's the next chapter!
As for that rumor you say… well… it'll be cleared out a little in this chapter by Chaos, and definitively explained in the future (I think). Enjoy!

Chibi Yoshi: Yes, I made Shadow a bit too casual in the first chapters, but that's on the old version. The new one (first three chapters, the forth is coming) he's more IC (I dearly hope). Yes, I noticed it too… I really improved with writing, and I'm damn grateful for that.
For Broken Chaos; GUYS! Go and read it! It really deserves! I command you all! GO AND READ IT!

RichaCo: The first question will be answered in this chapter, but for the fluff between Knuckles and Rouge I fear that you have to wait better times (for them, since they are now under attack).
"Goddess of writing"? *Speechless and open mouthed* … … [five minutes later…] … … Man! Did I really impress you so much with my writing skill and plot? You nearly made me have a heart attack for the shock!

Firehedgehog: I'm just happy knowing that you read them all, so it doesn't matter if you don't have time to review every chapter.

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CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Fight And Defend!

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Eggman walked back and forth in the control room with his hands behind his back 'Ok, recapitulating everything, Shadow was originally brought to life, along with his twin, in the project denominated 'ULF'. After that his twin 'died' in an explosion, my grandfather had to change the names.'

He walked in front of the screen and sat back on the chair 'The original project was cancelled and it was renamed CT-Project. Shadow was moved to another project, Project Shadow, with the clear intention to search for a cure for Maria's illness.'

'The BioLizard was the prototype of the original ULF-Project, and after the incident, it was transferred to being the prototype of Project Shadow.'

The doctor sighed heavily and passed a hand over his head 'Everything was messed up to protect something, but what?' He leaned back on the chair and just stared at the screen 'I don't think that he was trying to protect Shadow's twin brother that everyone believed dead…'

Eggman looked up at the ceiling 'It's sure that he wanted to erase everything about the other half of the initial project… like if he wanted to cancel him from history and from everyone's mind…' His eyes widened and he sat up properly, looking back at the screen 'Wait! Isn't Shadow suffering of partial amnesia?'

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Chaos ran as fast as he could, and when he reached them he saw the two hedgehogs on the ground; the statue was over them with a raised foreleg. He reared back his right arm and when he was right next to the rock beast he released the blow with all his strength; his fist collided with its right side and the power of the hit sent the statue stumble on the ground some feet away.

When Shadow felt air rush over his body, he opened his eyes by a crack and managed to see an azure creature stand where the statue used to be. It seemed to be composed by water, and kept in that way by Chaos Energy; but differently than the statue, this creature was intelligent.

Chaos briefly crossed his gaze with the black hedgehog, then he resumed staring at the stone statue, which was slowly returning on its feet; a rocky growl later the fake dragon turned around and charged the water beast. Every step it took, it would cause a minor earthquake; as soon as the mindless creature was at his reach, Chaos whirled around and backslapped it on its right 'cheek'.

The statue was stopped abruptly and its head went to the left; a second later, it returned its dead eyes on its adversary and tried to bite him. Chaos dodged by taking a quick step backwards, then he punched the statue on the nose; the beast was flung a little backwards and shook its heat. Little pieces of rock flew left and right.

Meanwhile the statue was being occupied by the water creature, Shadow managed to roll on his left side and face the blue hedgehog. Sonic was laying motionless on his back and his body was in the same conditions as his "Sonic?" He weakly called for him.

When no response came, he placed his right hand on the hero's chest; the pain from his arm and wrist was barely noticed by the distraught hedgehog, who was already having great difficulty breathing. His eyes started releasing tears as he felt that Sonic was barely alive; his heart was beating so slowly and faintly that he hardly noticed it. His breathing was matching it.

Shadow shook the other hedgehog in a vain attempt to wake him up 'No… wake up… please Sonic… wake up…'

Chaos delivered another blow at the statue and sent it against the back wall with its rear; the strength of the blow gave him some seconds to recollect his ideas. As he did so, his eyes widened as he felt the emotional pain of the black hedgehog; he turned his head around and immediately rushed to their side.

The water creature hastily, but carefully, took away Shadow's hand from the other's chest and placed his own instead; he could barely feel his heartbeat. He looked back at the statue and dangerously narrowed his eyes; he had to destroy that statue soon or he would lose the blue hedgehog, and the black one would follow him soon.

In a part of his mind, however, he wondered why they where affected by the drain more than anyone else; normal beings would survive even without Chaos Energy, but the two hedgehogs were clearly dying from the continual drain. He shook his head a little and returned into focusing on the fake creature that was once again standing on its feet.

Chaos fisted his hands and walked towards it, examining every part of it. There was no apparent weak point, and that made the fight harder than it needed to be; and the fact that the thing was draining Chaos Energy from everywhere, included him, gave it a great advantage.

The stone beast turned around and raised its tail; a second later it brought it down with a tremendous force. Chaos barely avoided it and briefly glanced at the huge hole that the impact had made; a blow from that statue and he would surely be flung away from the battlefield.

Sensing that the water creature was once again occupying the statue, Shadow replaced his hand on the blue hedgehog's chest; there was still pulse, but something on the back of his mind was telling him that it wouldn't last much longer.

He closed his eyes and just lay there, listening to the raging battle and feeling Sonic's heart; also, he could feel that he was slipping too, and he couldn't do anything to prevent it. Just hope that the water creature, which was on their side, would quickly win the battle.

Chaos stopped his walk and looked at the beast's head; there was no external weak point, but what about an internal one? The statue needed a focus point to keep all the energy it drained and to keep its body together. For him it was his brain, but for the statue what it would be? But above all, where it would be located? In its head like him?

The water creature took some steps backward to avoid a barrage of swings by its hands and spent a second to think about how to discover that point. He couldn't go randomly since he hadn't enough time to try every spot; maybe if he concentrated on the flow of Chaos Energy he could understand where it was.

Narrowing his eyes for a fraction, Chaos jumped back and started feeling the surrounding Chaos Energy; he could feel his own and the little leftover of the hedgehogs being drained to the statue, and into a particular spot on its upper torso.

Not wanting to waste any more time, the water creature ran forwards and to its right side; he reared again his right arm and delivered the blow. This time, however, the hit wasn't delivered by a fist, but by his hand kept like a spear; he jumped back and observed the damage he had done. If he kept it up, he could dig into its rocky torso and take away the 'brain'; once separated, the body would lifelessly fall apart.

This beast, however, was a little harder to fight than that big lizard since it was just moving rock; the lack of real life gave it the ability to not feel any pain. That saying was true… or you kill it, or it kills you.

Chaos ducked and avoided a swing of the tail, which hit only air; as he felt the tail go back to its place, he stood up again ad delivered another drilling blow. Huge cracks appeared and spread from the hole making their sounds resound in the cave.

The water beast step back again as the statue tried another swung with its tail; thinking again about it, this thing was easier than the lizard… she was intelligent… this one no.

After that the tail returned again to its place, Chaos stepped forwards again and delivered another blow; his arm went into the body of the statue and his hand touched something that was not rock. He gripped it and took it away from the statue; after it was outside, all the pieces of the stone dragon fell apart and rolled lifelessly on the ground.

Chaos looked down at what he was clutching; it was an oval, shining-yellow crystal two inches long, and it was still draining energy. Thinking quickly he reared back his arm and threw the little thing on the nearest pillar; at the impact, the crystal exploded, almost destroying completely the huge natural column.

The water creature's eyes widened in shock as the entire cavern started shaking heavily; he ran to the two hedgehogs and picked them up in his arms. Not caring at how badly he picked them up, he started running for the exit.

After some long seconds of run he finally came to the entrance of the tunnel that would bring them back to open space; he entered into it and didn't slowed down until he saw that the natural walls became filled with well placed bricks.

Not knowing if the humans were still there, he slowly and silently made his way to the last doorway and pecked outside; his eyes narrowed and he mentally growled as he saw an unnatural cone of light walk back and fort right in the piece of land where the exit was situated. They were damn persistent in their task; they were still there even if the robots were all destroyed.

He walked a little backwards and carefully placed both hedgehogs on the ground; he examined their energy condition and felt a little relieved. Even if they were still almost without it, they were still alive; unluckily, the Chaos Energy remained in them was slowly being consumed for healing, and that wasn't good since they were too weak to collect other energy from the surroundings.

The only thing that could save them was a Chaos Emerald, which was a direct font of the mystic energy.

The only problem was to find one…

Chaos looked back at the doorway and pondered what to do; he could rush out with hedgehogs in hand and push the human into the water. If he was quick enough, maybe the one holding the artificial light would not see him.

Thinking again, maybe it was better to go stealthily and avoid them all; if one of them was pushed into water he would surely warn the other that there was something strange in the ruins. Luckily it was deep nighttime, and he would have a great time avoiding them all.

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He was back on ARK, in front of the same window where he talked for the last time with Maria; only this time there was no one at his side. Thinking about it, nobody was there, and there was an absolute silence in the place that sometimes would give the shudders.

Shadow walked in front of the glass and placed his hands on the transparent surface; on the other side, many, many miles away, there was the planet known as Earth.

A sudden sensation made him turn around, towards the door; a short childish laugh later he saw a little shape quickly ran past the opening. The black hedgehog walked outside and started in the direction that it had gone; the environment was slightly dark, and after twenty feet everything became just darkness "Shadow?"

Shadow turned around as he heard the young voice call his name from his back; however, when he faced the new direction, no one was there "Shadow!" The same voice exclaimed again from behind him.

He turned around again and stared at the shape that for some strange reason was barely visible; it was just on the brim of the confine between slightly dark and complete darkness.

"Shadow…" It repeated again.

The black hedgehog took a step onwards "You're… you're my brother… right?"

Silence greeted him and when he walked towards the shape, he bitterly discovered that it always kept the same distance "Why can't I remember you?"

The shape disappeared into the darkness behind it, and it left the black hedgehog alone "No! Wait! Don't go!"
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"Who am I?" He asked to himself for the hundredth time "Where am I?"

Sonic was sitting into a black and cold void, clutching his knees to keep himself warm; his head was buried into the space that his torso and legs produced "Anybody here?"

When he received no response, he felt a lump in his throat and his eyes started watering "Don't leave me alone…" He whispered watching his breath form a white trail of condense "Please…" He fell on his side and curled more "Please… somebody…"
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Knuckles stood in front of everyone "Tails, since you're the only pilot here, you have to take the airborne ones alone. Up to it?"

"Count them already down, Knuckles!" The fox exclaimed running out of the door and to the underground hangar, where the Tornado II was parked.

The echidna followed him with his eyes, and when he saw that he was out of sight, he returned them to the others "Rouge and I, instead, will take the ones on the ground."

Amy stood up with the clear intention of protesting the echidna's decision of leaving her out of the fight; she opened her mouth to start talking, but never got the chance as Knuckles turned to her with a serious look on his face "You, Amy, will stay here and be our last line of defense. It is really important that the folder in our posses doesn't fall in their hands. Even if we have a copy."

There was a sudden mechanical roar that came from outside; the four looked at the ceiling and wished the fox a silent good luck. Knuckles lowered his head and looked at the bat "C'mon, Rouge."

The female treasure hunter looked at him in the eyes and nodded one; a second later they ran outside and into the battle.

Amy sighed a little disappointed; she wanted to go out there and show everyone that she was strong too, that she could take care of herself. A hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality; she turned her head around and smiled a little at John.

He smiled back "Amy," He started taking away his hand from her shoulder "The last line of defense is a really important task. If one robot, or agent, pass Knuckles and Rouge's line of defense and get here, the only one that can stop it it's you, because they can't leave their place."

The pink hedgehog sighed and looked to the door "Yes, but I really wanted to help them in the front line… you have seen how many opponents they have to face…"

The human nodded in agreement "I know that, but I'm sure that they can take them all without much problems, or they would have called you with them and let me here at your place."

Amy faced him and sighed "Maybe you're right… however I can't stop being preoccupied for them."

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Tails was flying with his special biplane right into the enemy's line; he narrowed his eyes and pushed a button in the console in front of him. The Tornado II's propellers stopped spinning and retracted into the frontal part of the vehicle; the wings twisted and moved, assuming an X position. After a second of glide, a rocket engine sprouted from under the Tornado's belly, activating immediately.

The fox's eyes narrowed with decision "Never… you will never win this battle!"

The Tornado flew right into the Blue Eagles' formation shooting with its machine gun, making them all spread in every direction. The fox made the plane turn to the left in pursuit of one of the fighter planes; he followed it down near the water surface and resumed shooting. After some bullets gone wasted, one of them hit its target, which fell miserably into the water.

Tails returned up into the sky and looked at the little radar that he had recently installed in his beloved plane; there were still eight dots, and every one of them was dangerously pointing him.

The vulpine made the plane go up vertically, and narrowly missed a missile meant for him; the weapon, instead of hitting its original target, went right into another Blue Eagle, sending it into flaming pieces.

Tails sighed relieved as he discovered that his plane was more agile than the others; after that the little shock left his mind, he smiled. This was going to be an easier fight than the two that occurred around the Egg Carrier; it was apparent that the humans that built the fighters weren't experienced enough to make them Tornado-proof.

The fox leveled his plane and turned slightly to the left; he took carefully his aim and after a second of lock-on, he shot. The target was hit in the tail and lost its balance, falling directly against the rocky wall that was near his workshop; at the impact, it exploded into pieces. Three down, six to go.

Seeing that he was again under lock-on, Tails made its plane go down near the water; he was so close that the lower wings skimmed the calm surface of the sea, leaving two trails after his passage. The missile was fired, and when it was near him, the fox sharply turned upward; the weapon didn't have the space to make a turn and exploded into the water, creating a big column of the same liquid.

The vulpine saw an enemy fly past in front of him, and followed it; he locked on and fired an energy missile. The dangerous bullet shot onwards, and after a couple of seconds of pursuit, it hit its target dead square; the Blue Eagle exploded in mid air, and the pieces fell down into the sea.

Another blip from his radar told Tails that the last five enemy fighters were pursuing him; the fox looked around for a way to escape, and saw the pillar that was keeping up the runway of his workshop. Maybe, just maybe he could trick the IA planes into smashing themselves on one of the surroundings rocks that were jutting out of the water.

After a deep breath to raise his courage, the fox went down and circled the pillar, narrowly missing it on purpose; a quick glance at his radar told him that one of them found its end on the rock surface.

With his adrenaline at the max, Tails pointed the Tornado towards two rocks; the passage was wide enough to let his plane pass. The Blue Eagles at his tail shoot upwards to avid the obstacles, but two of them hit each other with their wings, destroying them; soon after, the damaged planes hit each other and created an explosion that illuminated the dark liquid beneath them.

The last two Blue Eagles returned on their pursuit, and more than one time tried to hit the Tornado with their machines guns; luckily the fox always avoided the oncoming bullets.

Tails quickly thought hard, and his ingenious brain came up with an unusual solution; he flew upwards and let the two enemies follow him. When they were all leveled with the sea surface, he pressed the special button on his console and reverted back to normal mode.

The two Blue Eagles surpassed him, and Tails made the Tornado turn back to the special mode; now that he was at their backs, the fox fired. The continual shooting firstly hit the one on the right, which went down into the water, then the other, which simply exploded in the air.

Having completed his part of the battle, Tails reverted the plane to normal mode, and turned it around for the landing; unluckily, a shot from the ground hit the tail, making the vehicle almost uncontrollable. However, being the expert on flight that he was, the fox managed to emergency land on his runway without ruining the Tornado.

The vulpine quickly freed himself from the belts and jumped out of the flying vehicle; once on the ground he ran inside, in search of the others.

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Knuckles and Rouge walked on the brim of the little round square next to the workshop; they both gazed at the multitude of enemies. The female sighed "In total they are more than fifty… can you stand the outnumber?"

The echidna looked at her and grinned "Are you scared?"

"Maybe a little… I never faced so many enemies at once…" She responded nodding a little.

The red male looked back at the oncoming swarm "Think about this, Rouge. Their AI its nothing compared to the AI of Eggman's robots… I assure you."

Rouge smiled a little "You sure know how to encourage someone…"

Knuckles shrugged "I just stated the truth…" He said jumping down the steep surface of the hill and into the battle.

The female treasure hunter watched him disappear and reappear a second later down, in front of the first squadron of Shield Hunter; with a quick shook of her head she followed him without thinking a second time.

On the ground, Knuckles ran at the first robot's side and punched a hole in its middle; the mech fell on the ground and after a few convulses it died. A sudden rustle at his back attired his attention for a fraction of a second; upon sensing that it was his companion, he grinned "Rouge! I'll take care of the ones with the shield, you take the ones without it!"

The bat nodded and ran in front of the first team of Laser Hunters that was trying to reach the workshop using the stairs; she jumped and kicked the first one on the head with a downward kick. The mech fell on the ground with a decent sized dent on its head.

Rouge faced the team and pointed it with a finger "If you want to reach the workshop, you have to defeat me!"

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Knuckles punched another hole in the side of another robot; for him, this would be an easy, but long battle.

The echidna ran in front of another mech and took in his hands the shield; with a strong tug the red protection was yanked away. The arm was pulled off from its place, and the mech fell onwards; when it was on the ground Knuckles quickly finished it off delivering a punch on its head.

The Guardian stood up and ran at the back of another mech; he reared his right arm and punched the robot at the base of its torso. Like the previous ones, it fell on the ground lifelessly.

Knuckles stepped to the side and avoided a shot from an enemy; after it hit the ground, he ran in front of the Hunter and took a hold of its weapon before it could use its shield to protect itself. A yank later the echidna raised the new possession in the air and smashed it on the head of the mech.

The red male jumped and glided away to miss another hit meant for him, and in the process he smashed on the shield of another robot; the collision made him fall to the ground on his back, and made the Hunter lose its protection.

Knuckles raised his head and seeing the good opportunity he rolled on his belly and hit the legs of the mech with his left foot; the robot lost its balance and fell on its back, its own weight destroying its engine.

The Guardian stood back up and looked around; the moonshine helping him by illuminating enough the area. There were still five robots standing; a quick glance at the fallen one told him that he was halfway through the first wave of Shield Hunters.

The echidna ran towards the first one, and when he was near enough he threw himself on the ground with his feet onward; he slid under the shield and hit the legs of the mech, then he quickly rolled away from under it and briefly glanced at its fall.

He stood back up and ran behind another one; a punch later the mech fell on the ground like all the others had done. Knuckles briefly stopped and took a few full breaths with his mouth; after he felt concentrated again, he ran to the next one. He grabbed the right side of the shield with his left hand and moved it out of the way; he reared back his right arm again and delivered another punch.

Knuckles dodged a shot and mentally wondered; that was the eighth robot that he had destroyed, and there were two still up. Not to mention the second team that was slowly approaching like the humans had programmed them…

He even wondered at how the two hedgehogs managed to escape from the base; surely the site would have been full of robots and humans. Not even him could escape from such a place; not without a big external help.

Another shot that narrowly missed his head brought his full attention back at the battle that was going on; he looked at his left and saw that the second troop of Shield Hunter had arrived. Growling a little he ran in the middle of it and took a hold of the legs on one of them; he made it fall down on its belly and with great effort he started swirling on the spot.

After a complete spin, the four nearby robots were taken down; Knuckles released the one that he was holding and made it collide into another one. He grinned panting a little: the move had been a little straining, but he had managed to take down six of them in a single movement.

After a quick glance to his surroundings, he jumped back to avoid another shot; there were only six robots left, and this raised his spirit. He turned around and ran to the one that was at his back; he quickly sidestepped as he saw that the mech was aiming at him.

The shot went off, but instead of hitting him, it hit the shield of the robot that was pursuing the echidna. The shield flew away from its hands, and hit it in its eyes; the mech, not having anymore its sight, just stood there waiting for something.

The Guardian went at the side of his target and delivered a blow; the robot broke in two parts, and fell on the ground, with the other fallen ones. After the hit, the echidna ran to the blind one and cracked open its head with a punch; for the nth time that night, Knuckles watched another metal enemy fall down.

After a quick wipe of his wet brow, the echidna ran in front of the last four mechs and jumped over their heads; once behind them, he reared back both his arms and punched the back of two robots that were standing side-by-side. The two fell, and in that same instant the other two turned around and fired with their weapons; the two laser beams traveled towards the echidna, who managed to duck in time to avoid serious damage. However, he wasn't quick enough to avoid being hurt on his upper right arm; the burn wasn't serious, but it had stun his arm, making it insensible to any command gave by its owner.

With his predominant arm unusable, Knuckles ran around the mech on the left and delivered a kick to its legs; the robot fell down and shut down immediately after it hit the ground. The Guardian mused a little; he wasn't a good fighter with his feet, but he never imagined that the mech of GUN were so poor…

Shrugging off his bewilderment, the echidna ran to the right side of the last mech and jumped; he somersaulted in mid air and delivered a blow with the heel of his right foot. The Hunter fell down with its head cracked open, and after a few yellow sparkles it died, leaving its carcass on the field.

Looking up he saw Tails make an emergency land on it runway, and after a good glance at the sky he concluded that the young vulpine had been of word; the flying enemies were all down.

Knuckles smiled and shook his head as he saw Rouge limp a little towards him; he ran to her and called her name waving his left arm a little.

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Rouge dodged several laser beams by jumping in the air and gliding behind them all; she landed and kicked one that was in the last row. The mech fell and hit the ground with a loud thud; with a quick glance around, she sighed a little relieved as she discovered that her enemy squadron was less numbered than the one of his fellow treasure hunter.

The bat jumped to the left and kicked another Hunter on the head, downing it instantly; she made a little cry of victory as she discovered that the mechs were less resistant than the last time she fought them. Wondering a little at that, she ran forwards and kicked the legs of the next mech, making it fall on the ground helplessly; a quick kick later the robot was just scrap metal.

Running to the right, she delivered an upward kick on a Hunter; her foot connected with its weapon and made it fly away from its hands. Rouge followed the trajectory of the rifle and easily grabbed it in her hands before it could even hit the ground.

With her new weapon in hand, she shot at the head on the next robot, which made a little explosion; smoke sprouted out of the new hole, and the mech fell dead on the ground. She aimed again and pulled the trigger of the laser rifle; the beam hit its target dead in the torso, laving a neat hole in it.

A strange whir that came from her back attracted her attention; she turned around and barely saw a laser beam shot towards her. Her instinct took over her mind and she threw herself to the side; after she landed she quickly stood up and cringed at the pain on her left leg.

Not having the material time needed to control her wound, she quickly limped aside and avoided a new laser beam directed to her head; she jumped and glided where another Hunter was carefully taking its aim. Luckily, she managed to arrive before the mech had a clear lock-on, and with a midair somersault she delivered a strong kick to its head with her right foot.

The robot fell down on the ground, and Rouge used it to repair herself from the shots of the other mechs; she took the rifle that was still in the hand of the Hunter and examined its charge. There was still enough electricity left for eight or nine shots; with a sigh she pecked her head out of her hide and aimed the rifle.

The white bat carefully aimed at the head on the first Hunter; after a pull of the trigger, the laser beam was fired and it quickly collided with the marked point. After that the mech was hit, she took aim at another mech, and shot it down like the precedent.

Rouge ducked behind the fallen mech and waited patiently for the enemy to stop shooting; when she heard that they stopped firing, she pecked again her head out and quickly fired two times. Both laser beams hit their targets in the torso.

The bat cringed her teeth as she saw the second team advance steadily towards her position; a curse later she ducked to avoid several laser beams meant for her head. After they stopped briefly she stood up with her head and aimed; a pull of the trigger later a mech fell down like the others had down. After her own action, she ducked again.

The shooting went on for several minutes, until the female treasure hunter found herself without charge on the rifle; after a quick mental count, she pondered if she could took out the last two Hunters with her leg wounded and slightly unmovable.

Glancing down at her wound right below her knee, she noticed that it didn't lost blood; however, it was burned. Looking at it she guessed a second-degree burn.

Rouge took a deep breath and let it out slowly; she stood up and glared to her two enemies that were taking aim at her chest "You… I'll make you pay for this! You don't have to treat a lady like this!"

The bat's eyes burned in anger and she ran forwards, forgetting about the pain on her left leg; she reached the first mech on the right and delivered a kick with her wounded leg. The mech was cracked in two, and it fell down on the ground releasing yellow sparks.

The female treasure hunter turned around and glared at the last robot; she jumped and glided to it. The Hunter hadn't even the time to raise its weapon that the bat delivered a strong downward kick with her right leg; the blow made the mech crumple lifelessly to the ground, amongst all the others.

Rouge slowly landed and looked around; she sighed and looked at where Knuckles was. She smiled as she managed to see that he delivered a kick to the last opponent mech; she smiled and started limping towards him.

Her heart jumped a little with happiness as she saw him start running to her, while calling her name and waving his left arm on the air.

The echidna slowed down and stopped in front of her; he looked at her left leg and eyed the burn that was just a little below the knee "Are you ok?"

If it wasn't Knuckles, she would have rolled her eyes and snapped at him that he had just asked a stupid question; however, she smiled at his concern and waved him off with her right hand "It's not serious, really…" She said pointing his right arm "What about you? Your right arm is limp."

The Guardian looked at it then back at the bat "Just stunned…" He responded eyeing the burn.

Both treasure hunters looked at the meadow as they heard the humans fuss about something; after a retreat command, the humans left and took with them the squadron of Gun Hawk. Knuckles sighed and looked back at Rouge "We won the battle, but we can't let our guard down. They'll be back soon or later…"

The white bat nodded her approval "Yeah, we should make turns for the night… its best to keep a continual eye on the situation."

The Guardian mumbled something and nodded; he handed her his left arm and smiled "C'mon, we need to get a little medical attention."

Rouge smiled and gladly accepted the offered arm; she put her right arm around his neck and felt his left arm go around her waist, supporting her. A light blush crept to her cheeks and she let out a little sigh of content; in her mind she thought at how and when to tell him her feelings.

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Not a too quick update, but not even a slow one… oh well…

Anyway, I'm not too happy at how Knuckles, Rouge and Tails' battle came out… but what can I say? I'm not always full of great inspiration like in the twelfth chapter… oh well… until next!

And remember! Reviews are always welcomed! They keep me into the go. Without them I usually slack off…

Az