Soon, Amy and Rouge arrived, with Shadow in tow. Tails told them that Sonic and Knuckles were on the way. Shadow seemed mildly surprised to hear that he was about to meet Sonic again.

"So he did survive..."

"He used my fake emerald for Chaos Control," Tails said, almost with a hint of pride.

"A fake?" Shadow murmured. He paused, figuring something out. "I'm not sure how it works exactly...but using a fake emerald...it might work on machines, but they are not the same as living things...if the energies inside the emerald are slightly different, it could be dangerous."

Tails hung his head, looking worried. Of course the emerald was slightly different...It was designed to explode when in contact with a real one!

Rouge examined the computer screen.

"Robotnik came in while I was waiting, and I hid. He did that," Tails told her. She studied the kid, as if she was trying to tell if he was telling the truth...but why would Tails do this? Rouge sighed.

"Did he take the emeralds too?"

"No, I put them in my tool bag before he came," Tails said, then showed her. Rouge's eyes glistened.

"Beautiful aren't they?"

"Yes," said Tails. "And very powerful if you have all seven. The seventh is missing, we never had it, but the Eclipse Cannon worked with six chaos emeralds and Knuckles' master... he probably won't let anyone use it though..." He trailed off hearing footsteps approaching. Rouge peered around the door.

"Speak of the devil...here he comes now, with Sonic."

"Soniiiiiiic!" Amy squealed, rushing out to hug him.

"Take the emeralds anyway. Just one can be powerful if used properly," Shadow told Tails, who scooped up his bag and flew out to meet Sonic.

"Budge up," he said, leaning into the Cyclone's cockpit to reach his console. He retrieved the maps of the Colony, located his information on the main power source, and growled under his breath.

"What?" asked Sonic.

"It's the security. To get thought to the power core, you need to activate two switches...and the route to either of them leads away from the security doors they open. And then the most direct route to the power source is heavily guarded of course. We don't have time for this!" Tails complained. "Look at this list!" he cried, jabbing a finger at his screen. Sonic leaned over his shoulder to read. It was a maintenance list, noting the guardian robots and their numbers, then describing in more detail the obstacles and traps and instructions on how they should be repaired and maintained.

"Looks like fun," he commented, in a careless tone. "But we've gotta do this fast, so we'll have to split up. Me and Knux'll take care of these robots...we could use your help though..." he added, talking to Shadow. The black hedgehog came over to glare at the security statistics.

"I'll need an emerald," he said by way of reply. Tails reached for his bag, but hesitated.

"Give him one!" Amy encouraged. Reluctantly, Tails reached into the bag and fished out the blue emerald. When he handed it to Shadow, Tails half expected him to yell 'Chaos Control' and vanish, but he simply accepted it and leant against the wall to wait.

"I could find one of the switches," Rouge offered. She joined Tails by the Cyclone. "Let's see the route." Tails showed her. He felt more inclined to trust her, so long as the chaos emeralds weren't involved.

"Can you remember the way?" he asked. Rouge nodded, studying the map, so he pulled a small communication device from his tool bag and handed it to her. "Take this with you this time. We'll need to keep in touch."

"I want to help out!" Amy piped up. The others exchanged tired glances, but Tails thought of how awful the waiting had been for him, back in the Eclipse Cannon room. He wouldn't wish that on anyone.

"Do you have your hammer?" he asked her. Amy grinned, and pulled out a small device from her pocket. She pressed a button and the hammer lengthened and folded out to its full size like an umbrella.

"Okay, you go after the second switch," he said, handing her his last communication device. "Be careful with this," he warned. "I'll head for the shuttle bay, there may be one we can use to get home."

"Maybe...but I followed Robotnik here in a space transporter...still he may have destroyed that already...same with any shuttles..."

"Yes, but I might be able to repair one," Tails said. He paused interrupted by the computer moaning about more life support systems going offline. "I did build the Cyclone!"

"And our plane, the Tornado," Sonic added, proudly. "Our way home is in good hands, so let's make sure there's once to get back to."

"Good luck everyone!" Tails called, as they split separate ways.

Rouge soared upwards, reaching out for the ledge above. Behind her, the water poured freely, submerging the switch that she'd just pressed.

Directly after she had completed her task, there'd been a brief sound like the noise made by latches opening and a putrid yellow liquid streamed out of every exit from the room. Rouge grabbed the ledge and swung up, hearing a startled yell.

"Amy! What are you doing here; I thought you went after the other switch?" Rouge scolded in the way some do when they've had a small shock.

"I am! The route Tails showed me leads here. But that door won't open, and I found a small switch thing above that room over there, but nothing happened," Amy explained, pointing to the things she had mentioned. " I thought it maybe opened something down there."

"The switch I went after is down there. You sure you haven't gone past it?" said Rouge.

"Uh huh," Amy nodded confidently. "The water came up after I pressed the switch up there...so maybe it's to stop you looking around down there because the other switch is somewhere around there."

"Take a look then," Rouge sighed. Amy sat on the ledge, dangling her feet over the water, as though she was about to slide in, but regarded Rouge with large pleading eyes.

"Come with me?" she asked.

"You got this far on your own," said Rouge, not welcoming the thought of diving into the water.

"Please? I'll get there faster if you help me!" Amy moaned. Glaring into her pleading eyes, Rouge sighed. Better make sure she found the switch. Everyone was depending on her.

"We shouldn't let these get wet," she said, holding her communication device. Amy flipped one end of her hammer open.

"They'll be okay in here."

"Where'd you get that, anyway?" Rouge asked, handing her device over.

"Tails made it for me," Amy told her. She snapped her hammer closed. "C'm on."

She dived gracefully into the water. Rouge dipped one finger in, scowled in disgust, and followed her.

Knuckles, running slightly ahead of the others, skidded to a halt, and growled out a long sigh.

"What's up?" Sonic called. He caught up with Knuckles and understood the problem. He stopped the Cyclone. Shadow joined them, seeming confused.

"We've seen those creatures before," Sonic explained, pointing to the thirty or so floating blue blobs in the room ahead. "They shoot out tentacles, drain all your energy. They're fast." Shadow regarded the creatures silently.

"I can paralyse them with my emerald. Hit them before the effect wears off," he told them. He ran towards the creatures, raised his emerald aloft and cried "Chaos Control!" The creatures froze. Moments later they were reduced to suspended pools of water.

"Nice one!" Sonic called out to Shadow, impressed. But as Shadow crossed the room to join him and Knuckles, the effect of the chaos emerald vanished and Shadow was soaked. At sight of him with sopping wet fur clinging limply to his frame, his quills misshapen and drooping to the floor, streaming with water, Sonic clapped a paw over his muzzle trying to retain the laughter. He met Shadow's expressionless eyes, and the laugh exploded out with a loud snorting noise. Shadow raised his head, walked slowly over to the Cyclone and stood beside it, waiting. Sonic recovered quickly and sat up to meet Shadow's stony gaze. The black hedgehog crouched slightly. Then he shook like a dog, showering Sonic with hundreds of water droplets. He straightened, fixing his spines.

"Funny," he stated, regarding Sonic for a few moments, before proceeding down the tunnel ahead of them. Sonic and Knuckles exchanged unsure glances, and followed him.

Rouge and Amy reached a room filled with lasers, and raced for the surface gasping for air. Water flowed from the room, through the passage behind them causing a strong current, but Rouge had overcome this obstacle by digging the spikes in her gloves into the walls and pulling against the current, flapping her wings for extra momentum, with Amy clinging on. Now Amy realised that her hammer was talking, and it was beginning to panic. She retrieved her communicator from inside.

"Hello?" She asked into it.

"Amy, there you are!" Tails sighed with relief. "Did you find the switch yet? I can't contact Rouge...Sonic and the others are waiting by the security doors!"

"Its okay, she's with me. She got one switch, we're looking for the other one," Amy told him.

"Why'd you take so long to answer?"

"We were underwater...and we've got to go under again to find the switch, so I gotta go," Amy told him.

"Tell Sonic when you find the switch. Good luck," Tails replied.

"Bye Tailsy!" Amy told the device, placing it back in her hammer.

"You ready?" Rouge asked, impatiently. Amy gave a single nod and they dived below again swimming nimbly past the lasers, and Rouge climbing around the walls, clawing against the current through the tunnels below. Having turned three corners, with their lungs now painfully gasping for air, they found the switch. Amy gave it a hearty whack with her hammer, and to their relief, the water began to drain away. Amy swam up to meet the surface, choking.

"You okay?" Rouge said when the choking subsided. Amy nodded weakly. She opened her hammer, and gave Rouge back her communicator.

"How'd you work this thing...oh wait, I got it..." Rouge muttered, fumbling with the device.

"Hello? Sonic, can you hear me?

"Sure can, Rouge. We know you found the switch; the doors are open. Nice job. We'll meet you at the power source. Take care," Sonic told her.

"Someone's in a hurry," Rouge grumbled, pocketing the now silent device.

"Yeah," moaned Amy. "I didn't even get to talk to him." Rouge shot her a weary glance. Then she pointed upwards.

"Let's find out where that hatch leads." She grabbed Amy's paw, flew upwards and yanked it open. They heard a loud shuffling noise from above, but Rouge climbed up into the room regardless, before her grip gave out.

"You!" Rouge exclaimed angrily. They had emerged in the space transporter room. Eggman was there, attaching small bombs to the transporter.

"Ah, Rouge. I wouldn't get any ideas about following me this time," Robotnik sneered. "Swiped yourself a hostage, I see. A good choice, that hedgehog will risk his life for her. Goodbye."

"I don't think so," Rouge replied, sliding swiftly over to the controls.

"Don't touch that!" Robotnik screamed. He dived from the machine and rolled toward the far wall with amazing agility for someone his size. Sensing danger, Rouge flew and landed next to Amy who was crouched tightly against the floor. The transporter detonated. Amy whimpered softly, clutching her hands to her ears to blot out some of the noise. She felt a sensation of burning heat and the floor beneath vibrated violently. Pieces of red-hot machinery zinged over her head, showering her with sparks. She could smell a thick oily-rubbery smell in the black smoke, which wisped about the room.

"You imbecile!" Eggman screamed in rage. Rouge tapped Amy's shoulder gently, since the pink hedgehog was still curled up on the floor, shaking slightly. She uncurled warily.

"The way I see it, I've just done the world a favour," Rouge scoffed smugly.

"You've destroyed your only means of escape!" said Eggman.

"Perhaps. But I've destroyed yours as well," Rouge replied coolly. Eggman sniggered as though he genuinely found this funny.

"So you've become one of them. The 'heroes'," he mocked, making quotation marks in the air with his fingers.

"It's better than being what you are, you creep!" Amy squealed indignantly. "You tricked Shadow, didn't you? You wanted to destroy the Mobius all along, and you tricked him into helping you! I hate you!"

"But my dear Amy," Robotnik rallied. "Having the Mobius destroyed was Shadow's idea. He must have revenge you see. For his Maria."

"Your grandfather's experiments are the reason she was killed! You must have known about them! That's why you woke up Shadow!" Amy yelled. Rouge watched the scene unfolding with a mixture of amusement and surprise at the kid's courage. "Sonic will stop you whatever you're up to!" Amy added.

After this, Robotnik regained whatever confidence he had momentarily lost, and scoffed at her.

"Face it, you pathetic simpleton. Your hero is dead," he told her smugly. Though this statement failed to have the effect he had expected.

"Nope!" Amy grinned. "You didn't think you could get rid of my Sonic that easily, did you?" For a moment Robotnik's features betrayed a kind of bewilderment. But he rallied again.

"No matter. You will all perish in an hour or so. And now I have a small matter to take care of. Farewell!" he cried, advancing towards the door. As the computerised voice made another complaint about Eggman's sabotage attempts on the life support systems, a scene unfolded which thoroughly amazed all witnesses apart from the perpetrator. When Robotnik turned his back, to head down the corridor outside, Amy crouched, ran a few paces, slammed her hammer down hard on the floor with a momentum that sent her flying into a graceful somersault, lifted and aimed the hammer on her descent, and struck her target hard on the head. As Amy landed neatly, Robotnik slumped to the floor, unconscious. Rouge stood aghast. Amy seized her victim by the wrist and yanked.

"Let's lock him in here! Help me!" she called to Rouge. The girls struggled to heave Robotnik back into the room. Behind them, Amy closed the door and tapped the lock with her hammer, just enough to dent and jam it.

"Well..." Rouge began. "The others underestimate you, Amy!" The hedgehog shrugged coolly.

"C'm on, let's find Sonic!" she squealed happily, already running on ahead.