Author's Note: I'm so sowwies! I went on vacation. Please don't kill meeeee! Remember, I said you guys were awesome! –still runs for cover-
I'm mad at myself for this chapter. I find it confusing. I redid it at least six times. And this isn't even good yet. Grr.
File 10 This Is Where it All Ends
Entry 3 When the going gets tough, the tough pack their bags and head for the hills
Fly like the Wind. Fly like the Wind.
"I've gotta get Knuckles…but how…?" Amy muttered, unsure of which way she was going to go. "I could wait here. I could go forward without him…"
"Amy!" She heard Sonic's voice. Or was she dreaming? "Amy! Psst! Over here!"
She looked around, finally spotting Sonic waving frantically from behind a pole. Shadow was too, holding up a Chaos Emerald.
"Guys!" She hissed. "Did you hear?"
Sonic looked confused. "We just got here!" he whispered.
"Miserie is a Chaos Emerald! They plan on strapping her to the machine!"
Shadow shrugged. Sonic looked at him and said something, and Shadow just smirked.
"Let's go!" Sonic mouthed to Amy. Then he paused. "where's Knuckles?"
Amy pointed. "He told me to go…I left him behind."
Shadow nodded. He said something to Sonic, who looked surprised, then nodded. Both hedgehogs made a dash over to Amy.
"Get going." Shadow told Sonic. "I'll be better off helping Knuckles anyway. We'll cause the distraction, just find that traitor."
Amy blinked. "but Shadow…"
Sonic agreed. "Find your way to the middle." He said, "If they don't catch you, I mean."
"Don't think I'd be so stupid." Shadow said. "I will get to the middle. No doubt about that."
Fly like the Wind. Fly like the Wind.
"Amy…what are you doing?" Sonic asked, as they stealthily ran up a flight of stairs.
"I'm…I'm…" Amy stopped thinking and realized she had collapsed. "I'm okay. I'm just worried…Can Shadow and Knuckles make it to the middle…?"
Sonic grinned. "They're two stubborn guys. They'll do it."
"you're right." Amy said. but…would they do it?
Miserie, in her head, was calculating. If she went to get the emerald now, would Talon know she was here? What was Scarlet protecting or doing?
"What do you think, Erie-chan?"
"We can't get Scarlet until we're positive he's far away." Miserie said. "Since Violet cut the security on the outside, we know that Scarlet has to be controlling something on the inside. But what?"
Tails looked thoughtful. "The Emerald has to be…Has to be controlling…Controlling…" he looked around, finally settling his eyes on a dim red glow beneath them. "The tripwires in here."
"Trip wires…." Miserie stared down at the red glow with him.
"That's the one we hit. It looks like they didn't build good ones, since we can see them from up here."
"So…there are more of them?"
"Yeah, probably. They're invisible when you're on the same floor with them, but if you're above them, you can see them." Tails said. "We should stay up here until you can find the last emerald."
"Listen." Miserie pointed at Talon, who was talking into his headphone set.
"….The girl…" he said, clearly. "She's not dangerous by herself. But with that boy, she's got potential. When I spied on them… I realized it." He was silent. "Yes. I know." He paused again. "But I couldn't help it. Besides….she is an Emerald." He was silent again. "Roger that."
Miserie knew that she was 'The Girl'. She inched her way across the beam, heading to her left, towards Scarlet.
Talon spoke again. "If you find the prince…Annihilate. Rosemary won't know the difference."
Miserie looked at Tails, whose eyes widened in disbelief.
"I don't like him." Miserie said.
"Did you ever?" Tails asked.
Miserie shook her head. "We should keep moving."
They watched as Talon turned and left. Then, they scurried like mice towards the seconds emerald, Scarlet.
Miserie could barely see out of her one eye. She had to stay focused on her step, which was crucial, but she was also standing in front of Tails, who was worried about her hesitant movements.
"…Tails, go ahead of me. I can't see."
Tails replied, "I can't fly here."
"…" Miserie stared at the ground. "We're wasting time."
"It's alright." Tails said. "Just get to the emerald."
"Okay."
"Knuckles!" Shadow stared into the wreck that Knuckles had caused. "What the hell did you do?"
No answer. Shadow started jumping through the disaster to the other side.
"Shad…" He heard a weak voice, and he turned. Knuckles was there, half crushed by a couple large rocks.
Shadow looked at the rocks critically, before asking, "Are you alright?"
"I saved myself, but barely." Knuckles said, breathless.
Shadow eyed Knuckles' position. One hand was trapped beneath him, and the other gripping the surface. His legs and half of his torso were under the rocks. "I'll get you out of there…somehow. I just need to find a weak spot."
Tails and Miserie had made it to Scarlet….or so Miserie called it.
Miserie still wouldn't look up. She was looking at her footing, which didn't seem secure. She reach back and took his hand. "…Please don't let me fall." She muttered.
"you won't fall. Promise." Tails said.
She looked up. With a sigh of relief, she proclaimed, "Scarlet!"
Tails smiled. Miserie looked back down and move her feet slowly and surely forward again. Tails followed her slow movements to the Emerald.
"I'm going to get it."
"I'm coming with you." Tails told her, and she smiled.
"You don't have to." She said.
"But I don't want you to go through all that pain again."
"You'll go through it too." She said.
"I know." He said. They both stepped into the shrine.
Nothing happened.
"What's this?" Miserie asked. Tails reach out for the emerald, but Miserie pushed his hand back. "Look." She put her hand on his. "Cool, right?" He nodded. She held her hand out for a second, then touched him again. "Hot now, isn't it?"
Surprised, Tails asked, "How did you know?"
Miserie pointed. "It's that thing." She said, and Tails followed her finger.
"That…that's an infrared laser transmitter." Tails said. "The only way we'll know where the lasers are pointing is if we use smoke to detect them. How many do you think there are?"
"I can see three. But we can't be sure."
"We have to think of something…something that will smoke."
"…" Miserie looked at Tails for a second. Then, she got an idea. She pulled some fur off the end of her tail and held it up to the heat. She could smell the smoke as her fur burned, and Tails got the idea.
"That was a good idea." Tails said. Miserie nodded, her stomach feeling awfully queasy.
Tails started reaching through the red beams to the Emerald. He almost reach the Emerald, but he was stopped by a severe shock. "What…?"
Miserie looked confused. "Double security!" she muttered.
"What now?" Tails asked, feeling the fur on his arm prickling. Miserie pushed her arm through next to Tails' and grabbed his hand.
"Endure the pain." Miserie said, slowly. And with that, they both got shocked at they pushed their hand through the shield to reach the emerald.
Knuckles was too slow, Shadow knew, because of the rocks crushing him.
Jeez, this guy is an oaf. Shadow said to himself. And I'll be damned if I say oaf again.
But, Shadow was enjoying the attention they were drawing by punching through every wall.
"Is this a good idea?" Knuckles asked.
"No, obviously." Shadow said. "But keep doing it. It's entertaining."
Knuckles glared at him. "Look, we have guards chasing us."
"That's the point of this operation. Can you pound walls any faster?"
"This is an operation?"
"Operation GET ATTENTION." Shadow said. "Not too hard, eh?"
"I don't get it."
"You don't?" Shadow sighed. "Look. Pound through walls, get guards after us, let others find emeralds. It's a DONE DEAL."
"That's your plan?" Knuckles eyed Shadow's emerald. "Hey, when did you"
"It works. Hurry up." Shadow ignored Knuckles andpointed at a guard behind them. "Chaos Spear!"
"I'm not sure if that's a good plan."
"Excuse me for actually thinking up a plan."
Knuckles sighed. "We'll be going around in circles."
"When we find a stair case, we'll go up. Better?" Shadow asked.
Amy muttered something about nonsense as she and Sonic dashed through another hallway.
"What?" Sonic asked.
"Nothing," Amy said, and she smiled. Sonic looked somewhat confused, but he shrugged, then took her hand.
"Come on. We're going there!" He laughed and pointed up at rafter.
"WHAT!" Amy cried.
When they made it up, Sonic looked around. "Looks safe."
Amy looked down. "Check it out." She breathed.
Talon was running beneath them. "They're doing what now?" A pause. "Well, stop them!" Again, a pause. "I don't care what you have to do. That Hedgehog must die!"
"Shadow…?" Amy looked at Sonic.
"Has to be. But Knuckles is the only one who can reactivate the Master Emerald. Killing him is ensuring your death."
"Hey, that reminds me. Shadow had an emerald…where did you…?"
"Oh." Sonic grinned. "Well, see, accidentally, this fox guard fired at us, and he blasted through this wall… The emerald was way in the back. He started calling for all this back-up, and we just…" He was interrupted.
"Two emeralds…? Gone? Check the last one! Go!" Talon yelped.
Amy tugged on Sonic's arm. "Sonic…" She murmured.
"We can't waste anymore time, Amy!" He said. "We have to hurry. From up here… we should be bale to spot them!"
"What if we're too late..?" Amy wondered.
"We won't be." Sonic reassured her. To her surprise, he said, suddenly, "Amy, you're always good at finding me…Now, can't you help me find my best friend…?"
She stared at him, studying him. He was serious…He wanted to find Tails more than anything. Amy nodded. "I'll do…the best I can!"
Sonic smiled. "I knew I could count on you." She was immediately filled with pride. Sonic trusted her. He really did.
"Hurry! Get to the rafters!" Talon cried.
"The rafters?" Sonic grinned. "There must be a party up here."
"Do you think…this is the hiding place for the last emerald?" Amy asked excitedly.
"And where it is…" Sonic prompted.
"Tails and Miserie are!" Amy said, with a wicked smirk. She had a good idea where to start looking, and she had plenty of experience in finding people she needed when she needed them…she never had to look twice.
Miserie felt time slowing down around her. Two shocks to her system, she was already dizzy and only her connection to Tails was keeping her sane.Is it too much?
She jumped at Scarlet's voiceless words. I'm…I'm going to set you free! She said, determined.
We're going to set you free. Violet gently reminded her.
Yes. Miserie said, her head spinning. We will set you free.
The shield around them flared, a power that Miserie could feel chilling her to the bone. I am the last of all the emeralds here. I will not be taken out by a mere child.
Miserie heard something, someone. And then, deafening silence. …I have to save you.
Her name. Wasn't that her name that she heard? She was so numb, so blind. Was She still holding onto Tails?
You will not win. Scarlet told her. I'm stronger than the rest. Much stronger. You will not win, child.
"I can't…" Miserie thought aloud. "I won't… I have to…save you."
You're losing control, aren't you? Scarlet said.
Violet rose its power too, and Miserie's world of pain subsided. A shield! Fight harder, Miserie!
"I'm trying!" She cried, her head splitting. In a second, wouldn't she be dead?
"That's why I made you, you know." The professor?"Why did you make me?" That was her, Miserie.
"To help. To save Shadow from himself. To save everyone from themselves."
"But I thought…I was a Chaos field generator. Isn't that bad?"
"…If you turn out that way, then yes. The damage you cause will be catastrophic."
"What if I'm not bad?"
"Then you'll save the world."
"Will I, professor?"
"You will." The professor's voice began to fade. "That's why I made you. To help. To help our world."
"…I can't give up yet." She said to herself. Violet's power was subsiding. If she didn't think quickly, she would be succumbing to Scarlet.
Then again, if she could transfer violet's diminishing energy into her body, then use it to suck up Scarlet's booming power, she might be able to override Scarlet…but at the cost of her life. Her body hadn't ever experienced such exploding power…she could not imagine living after being hit with it. Was she supposed to survive…to save the world?
Opening her eyes, she could faintly see blue, pink, yellow blobs behind her. She was alone. Tails had let go. It must have been Scarlet's doing… the blue and pink where holding him back. Sonic and Amy..?
I am here. Violet faltered. The two Chaos emeralds were still dueling.
"Put…put down your shield, Violet." Miserie told the emerald. "…Lend me your power, please."
Violet didn't think. It did as it was asked. Faintly she could hear the question… "What is she doing?"
She didn't think. She just answered. "I'm saving the world."
Oh dear, will Miserie die? Scary!