Sonic Evolution
Unity Story
Chapter 6: Hognapped in Chaos
Emerald Town, Night Babylon, Mystic Ruins, and all related close-by places were generally peaceful and quiet. The truth about them, however, is that they were pieces of land set aside by the outlander governments for furries to live, a hope of which to keep the latter out of the hair of the former.
When Sonic goes out to run, he usually likes to keep within these boundaries. As of late, the thought of leaving furry territory when he doesn't need to has made him uneasy. Thus, when he nearly exited north out of Night Babylon, he turned around and headed straight back toward Tails's lab in Emerald Town. After confirming that there were still no more signals from the Chos Emerald tracker, he walked toward Tails's oversized computer on a whim. Rather than try to hunt down Team Evolution, which they have no way of doing, Sonic and his team decided to track the Chaos Emeralds. Team Evolution dropped the hint that they were searching for the powerful gems, so where the Emeralds were, Team Evolution would be there too.
As soon as Sonic had entered the room, as if on cue, the phone rang. Having seen Tails answer the "phone" before, he pressed on the proper button and said, "Hello?"
"Oh!" Came a high voice from a speaker that Sonic could not see, "Mister Sonic! Is Tails there?"
"Uhhh… no." The hedgehog pieced together who would call him "Mister," "Cream, is that you?"
"Yes." As if Sonic's figuring out it was Cream enabled it, Cheese's excitable chattering was heard in the background, "If Tails isn't there… then I guess what happened to him and Mister Knuckles is true?"
Sonic gave a sigh at the mention, but remained in control of his emotions, "It's true. I saw them myself."
"I'm so sorry, Mister Sonic…" The cute rabbit's voice said.
"Where are you calling from, by chance?" Sonic asked to change the subject.
"Amy's room!" Cream said, "I met with Mister Big and we went to see Amy and talk about what we saw on the news, but she isn't here!"
Once again, Sonic sighed at a wound unintentionally reopened, "Um… maybe I should tell you what happened to Amy in person."
"Okay." Cream's voice had a bit of a waver, as if she already knew what Sonic was going to tell her when they met.
Sonic pressed the proper button to disconnect, then walked out to the main room of the laboratory where a voice could carry into any corner of the building, "I'm not back for long, just wanted you all to know I came back for two seconds."
"Hold up!" Came the voice of Vector somewhere in the halls. It made Sonic kind of irritated to be speaking to disembodied voices so much. Eventually the crocodile emerged, "Where are you going? You sound like you have some place to be in particular."
"Amy's room." Vector made a little mouth noise of disdain at the mention of the bratty pink hedgehog. Despite that, Sonic continued, "I'm going to talk with Cream."
"Eh, I'll go with." Vector responded, "I'll just take the Emerald scanner with me."
"Me too!" Came the cry of their third member, Rouge the bat, "Being cooped up here does NOT float my boat!"
"If you all wish." Sonic said with a grin, "See you there."
The other two were about to ask why he said that as if they would arrive there separately, but couldn't due to the fact that the blue hedgehog was no longer there.
-
The entire short walk to Amy's room, Rouge and Vector had practiced the dirty look they'd give to Sonic for ditching them, so when that same furry opened the door for them, they let him have it.
"Come on, guys! Do you really think I'd settle for WALKING there?" Sonic said to the sour faces. They merely rolled their eyes at the overbearing personality and let themselves in.
"Oh my…" the bat muttered as she look about the room, "It's very…"
"Pink." Vector finished.
They walked forward, but also rotated around so that they could get a good look at all the pink. Rouge enjoyed a condescending smirk at an excessively large picture of Sonic, then at another embedded in the carpet, then another overlooking Amy's bed.
"Cream didn't know that Amy was taken down… she moped a bit, but cheered up knowing I'll get her back." Sonic broke into the searching.
Once he got that out of the way, he let the other two back to their fascinated search. By all means, this was most likely the most interesting room either of them had seen.
-
Vector looked at a row of pictures, most of them of Sonic. He eventually looked at a series of different pictures and even saw one of Team Chaotix as they were directly after the recent fall of Metal Sonic. He always wondered what the hedgehog girl did with that picture. The question of what she was doing with a camera in the first place never really mattered in comparison to that huge hammer, which of course Vector had met the business end of during their little scrape. "Where are you guys?" Vector asked the likenesses of Espio and Charmy. Beneath each picture was a caption. Underneath his own image, Vector saw the word "meanie" and enjoyed a good scoff.
-
"This girl needs to get a hobby." Was all Rouge could say about Amy during her tour. At one point, she passed by a desk littered with undelivered love notes all starting with "Dear Sonic," "My darling Sonic," "My lovely Sonic," "Sweet Sonikku," and things of that matter. Rouge reconsidered her earlier statement. Sonic WAS her hobby.
"Mister Sonic," Came Cream's voice from a far off corner of the room. By instinct, Rouge hid. She then thought it silly and was about to get out of her hiding place until she heard what the rabbit said next, "Why don't you like Amy?" Rouge was always up for a little gossip, so she stayed hidden and listened intently. The rabbit, her accompanying chao, and the hedgehog walked over to the same corner of the room as the bat as the latter spoke.
"Well…" Sonic looked left and right, making Rouge smirk at the futility, "I don't exactly DISLIKE Amy… it's just that, well, maybe I more dislike what she wants. You've no doubt heard, but she wants to get married, raise children, and settle down in general. Now, I'm Sonic the hedgehog, "settle down" is not a term you use in close proximity to my name unless contrasting them. I'm a guy constantly on the move, so you can see what kind of aversion I have to anything relating to love, especially one so in it with me like Amy."
"So then… you DO like Amy?" The ever-innocent Cream asked. Cheese looked from her to Sonic.
Sonic looked off into space and distorted his face into many comical expressions until finally he looked back to Cream, "I don't rightly know. I mean, sure, I like Amy as in not NOT liking her, but do I LIKE like her? I love attention, but certainly not the type that she deals! I'm kind of in-between. The way I see it, there just may be chance for something more than we have now, but if marriage and childrearing are behind it, there's no chance. She also seems to be under the pretense that our getting married is inevitable. There's a part of me that doesn't want to give her the satisfaction in the way that she envisions. Besides, if we ever got together, would is necessarily work out? If not, I couldn't imagine how she'd feel. I may appear insensitive to her feelings, but that apathy only stems from me looking out for her in the long run. Do you get what I'm saying?"
Cream seemed to think it over for a second, but then looked to the blue hero and nodded, causing her ears to fall in front of her face then back to where they originally were, "Yup!"
"Okay!" Sonic said out of having nothing better to say, "So… how about keeping this between the three of us?" He asked, including cheese.
"Just the three of us!" Cream proclaimed, excited at having a secret.
"Chao chao chao!" Cheese chattered, mimicking the gesture Cream made.
Just the four of us, Rouge thought. She wore a soft smile and rubbed her chin. So, what seemed to be acting out of fear or dislike was actually a subconscious protection! As if their little talk the other day hadn't revealed enough to Rouge about Sonic already. She guessed that there were just some things that he could only confess to a naïve little rabbit girl and not to a member of his own team. How sensitive, this urban legend of Sonic the hedgehog.
At this time, Sonic, Cream, and Cheese made their way to another corner of the room, so Rouge felt it was safe to come out of hiding. Suddenly the bow-tied chao looked behind him. There was nobody there. Cheese heeded the call of Cream and followed. Meanwhile, Rouge was hanging on to the ceiling.
"That was close." Rouge breathed. She looked as her thin gloved fingers lost their hold, "Ack!" The bat cried as she fell to the floor.
-
Vector, after some hesitation, sat on a large couch, pink and heart-shaped, of course, and began to look at the Chaos Emerald tracker. As he punched buttons to do whatever, he saw a large shadow fall over him. The crocodile looked up to see Big the cat looming over him.
"I remember you!" The large cat said with a smile, "You made fun of my friends in that forest, but you didn't mean it!"
"Yeah… that's me." Vector muttered, a bit uncomfortable.
"Amy's been gone for a while…" Big continued, not noticing Vector's discomforts, "I hope nothing bad has happened to her.
The couched crocodile looked up from the tracker, conflicted whether he should just tell Big, or perhaps Sonic was waiting for the opportunity. He decided to just keep checking around with the tracker.
It was apparent Big noticed the lack of attention he was receiving, so he asked, "What have you got there?"
Vector stood up, having had enough of this. He didn't even look up from the tracker, "You… wouldn't understand."
Big stopped smiling, "Now what do you have to go and do that for?"
"Do what?"
"People tell me all the time that I'm stupid, all because of the way I talk. I might not know much, but I'm not stupid!" It was odd to hear such a lazy and slow-speaking voice say such things and even more odd to see such a blank, simpleton-type stare become one of a little conviction.
"Uhh…" Vector trailed off, and then finally said, "I wasn't calling you stupid."
"I know," Big sighed, "I just wish people would take me more seriously sometimes. That's why I only hang out with my closest friends, because I don't care what others say about me. If anybody says anything bad about me, I know that they aren't my friends and I'm better off ignoring them!"
"Good for you!" The crocodile made a hand gesture to emphasize, "You really DO know a lot!"
"Aww… thank you!" Big scratched the back of his head, back to his old, always-smiling self.
"Seriously," Vector said after, "This is one of Tails's inventions. I'm sure you'll understand if I think that you wouldn't get it."
"Sometimes, I don't even understand what Tails is saying." The cat muttered while scratching an ear to emphasize his confusion, "Oh well… bye-bye!"
"Uhh… see you!" Vector called back as Big went into another room. At this point Vector finally noticed that Froggy had been perched on the large cat's head the entire time.
"Ribbit." Said the frog.
-
"Hey, guys!" Sonic called throughout the room, attracting the attention of all, "Cream just got a good idea. She suggested we go visit those guys in the hospital, kind of remind ourselves what we're fighting for, besides world peace."
"Sounds good!" Vector immediately responded, the words "anywhere but here" apparent between those lines.
"I guess it would do you some good to go visit Fox Boy a bit." Rouge said with still a trace of the smirk she had on earlier because she was addressing the hedgehog that was the cause of it.
Cream looked to Rouge with wide eyes, "Don't you want to visit Mister Knuckles, Miss Rouge?"
"Wh-WHAT?" the treasure hunter yelped, "That ECHIDNA? What for?"
"Um… nothing." The rabbit said quietly.
Sonic and Vector exchanged a quick grin while Big didn't even bother trying to comprehend what just happened.
-
In to Station Square hospital and back down to the furry wing, Sonic and the rest beheld the sight of Tails and Knuckles in their beds.
"They only look like they're sleeping…" Cream muttered, eyes a bit watery. She sniffed. It was one thing to be told about it, a complete other to actually see it.
"Chao chao…" Her chao called to Tails while nudging his head to no avail.
Big poked Knuckles with his fishing rod, "He's always so angry-looking and speaking loudly, but now he's not even moving. It's kind of freaky!"
At one point, Sonic was able to get alone time with the unconscious Tails.
"Hey, Buddy." The blue hedgehog muttered, rustling the tuft of hair on the fox's forehead like he always had, "I'm… sorry I totally blew it like this. Of course, if I'd have been here, I have no doubt you still be with us. It's just so weird… whenever I had a mission, I knew I could count on you to be right by my side and provide invaluable assistance. Now YOU are the mission and I almost feel like I'm all alone. …I'm going to make up for it all, no doubt about that. I have Rouge and Vector with me and I know that we can pull together and work as a team. We're called Team Unity… corny, huh? The decision was all mine and I had no clue what else to call ourselves, so I made one that I felt would symbolize US as the buddies we've been since… ever. I know we typically don't trust types like Rouge, but she has a reason to fight on our side. I promise that with this new team, the ones who did this to you will be put to justice and I'll get you back. I'll get you both back."
By the same token, Rouge was also able to be alone with Knuckles for a bit.
"Hey there, Treasure Hunter." Rouge grinned as she beheld the face of the Echidna, "That lummox was right… you always were angry-looking, and in the case of my perspective, violent and yelling. Now I see you looking so peaceful. In fact, you seem to be ENJOYING that little nap your taking. I think you need it… you dedicated your life to that Master Emerald and for what? How tirelessly you worked… I never really told you this, but I honestly think it's valiant how much effort you put into it. I guess in-between trying to steal it and the rivalry we had, I never really brought myself to think about it. Speaking of that precious jewel, don't fret. I don't think my TEAM over there wouldn't approve of me taking such a detour from the main mission. Also… I want to see your face when I, Rouge the bat, finally take that Master Emerald from you. So… don't get too comfortable, I'm ripping you right out of that little slumber paradise of yours as soon as possible!" The bat looked around and made sure no one else was looking, and then quickly gave the dormant guardian a kiss on the nose. She then quickly stood up as if she never sat down.
After all these touching reunions, things got kind of boring for all who had no one to visit. Big lumbered out the door into the main hallway of the furry wing and noticed something, that a door was swinging a bit, as if somebody had just left that room. The cat entered the room and called for anybody in the room, but nobody in that room was capable of responding.
"Hey… I know THESE guys, too!" Big's voice trumpeted so the others heard.
Confused, they moved into the same room as the purple one and the sight they beheld struck a chord in the final member of Team Unity.
"Espio!" The crocodile cried upon entering, "Charmy!"
Indeed, the said chameleon and bee were in this room, exactly in the same way that Tails and Knuckles were in the other room. Vector walked between their beds and looked from one to the other, then just hung his head. Sonic and Rouge walked to either side of their teammate to put comforting hands on his shoulders.
"WOAH!" Vector suddenly shouted, causing all awake to jump. He had suddenly spotted the Chaos Emerald tracker, still in his hand, "I had this thing on silent mode… STUPID!"
"What's wrong?" Rouge demanded.
"Look!" Vector displayed the screen, "There's a Chaos Emerald nearby… VERY nearby."
"Where?" Sonic asked, looking around. Little did he know his question was answered when a frightened yell came from a third room. Sonic whirled around. Cream was not there.
"It came from there!" Big pointed from the hallway.
Team Unity and the large cat ran into the indicated room, which, incidentally, was the room where Amy was kept, and saw Cream holding Cheese protectively while cowering. Across the room from her was a familiar face.
"What are YOU doing HERE?" Sonic demanded.
The figure looming ominously away from Cream was none other than the ultimate life form, Shadow the hedgehog. What was more odd was that one of his cuffed hands was intermingled in the female hedgehog's quills as if in an affectionate way. When he looked over at Sonic, one could tell all was not right. Shadow usually had a constant scowl, but it was absent, almost as if the black one did not know what face to wear. When he saw his blue counterpart, his face seemed to distort to surprise and fear.
"No! Not you! Not now!"
Sonic was about to try to talk some sense into Shadow, but the ultimate one had already lifted up his Chaos Emerald, the one that tripped the tracker, and used a Chaos Control without announcing. Whether intentionally or by accident, he hadn't only taken himself away.
"Amy!" The cowering rabbit called, for indeed, Shadow's Chaos Control had taken the pink hedgehog.
"Where's they go?" Big asked, not familiar with the ways of Chaos Control.
There was a moment of silence as the other three digested what just happened and designed their reactions accordingly. Sonic acted first, saying, "Vector! Does that thing still have a lock on the signal that Shadow's Emerald is giving out?"
A button press later, the crocodile looked back, "Yeah."
"Good! I'll get the Tornado and we'll follow that signal!" Immediately after saying that, Sonic took off.
Vector continued to mess with the tracker while Rouge shifted her weight nervously. Little did she ever feel sorry for anybody, but to be captured by one as powerful as Shadow? That's rough. Also, Rouge took note of the expression in the ultimate life form's eyes. Something was not right about that hedgehog. So, he was powerful AND loopy, and Amy is now at his mercy. It seemed that someone else hopped on this train of thought as Rouge looked off and saw Cream had slid down to her knees and was trying not to cry, but still sobbed heavily. The spectator bat looked around. Sonic was gone, Vector was probably back in that other room talking to his friends after that delay, and that cat was looking off thoughtfully, but he could be contemplating two plus two for all she knew.
Rouge sighed, then walked over to Cream, "Stop crying, already." The little rabbit suddenly flew forward and wrapped her arms around the bat's waist. The former agent turned red at this sudden development.
"Why are so many bad things happening?" Cream cried into Rouge's pink jacket. Rouge bit her lip; that jacket was fairly new. Cream continued, "What did we ever do?"
Cheese cried just as intensely into Cream's back, "Chao chao chao Amy chao!"
"LISTEN," Rouge suddenly placed her hands firmly on Cream's shoulders and forced the rabbit away at arm's length, "You didn't do anything! Nobody did anything! Bad people do bad things and it's up to good people like Sonic to stop them and make everything better!"
Cream stared back at Rouge and seemed to capture the bat's gaze in her large yellow eyes, "You're helping Mister Sonic to make the world a better place, aren't you, Miss Rouge?"
Rouge did not answer that right away. In general, she promoted crime and heinous acts more than well being of the common person. However, with Cream's eyes boring directly into her soul, salty tears already dampening her smooth white muzzle, Rouge couldn't bring herself to deny the rabbit, "Yeah… I guess I am… at the moment."
The rabbit blinked out tears at this, "Everybody has the ability to be good or bad… I just know that when the right time comes, anybody can be good!" Cream once again dove at Rouge, but this time out of affection.
Rouge couldn't help but smile at the overwhelming innocence of the rabbit, but then quickly forced her off again, "Okay, I get the message. You like me, I like you. How cute."
Cream giggled and wiped the last of the tears off her cheeks. On cue, the humming of the Tornado could be heard from outside.
"Let's go!" Vector declared and made for the exit.
"I'm right behind you!" The last member of Team Unity said and followed.
"Bye-bye!" Cream called.
"Um… see you later." Rouge responded, then continued on her way out. Cream smiled.
-
"We're going in the right way." Vector assured Sonic as the hedgehog drove the Tornado. The ocean passed beneath them as the destination, as indicated by Vector, was a remote island.
"Sure sounds like a good place for one to lose their marbles." Rouge commented.
"You noticed that too, huh?" The crocodile seated next to her said, "Just by curiosity, when was the last time you saw Shadow?"
"Barely after the Gizoid incident." Rouge remembered immediately, assuming Vector would know what she was talking about, "I don't really know what would make him isolate himself from the world, though."
As the other two talked about Shadow, there was another hedgehog on Sonic's mind, Amy. Before, he was under the pretense she was eventually coming back. Now, however, she was in great danger if Shadow really was suffering some kind of mental imbalance. He could hurt Amy… or worse.
That's just the way things went between the two of them, isn't it? All Amy does is love Sonic and all he offers in return is pain. Not only emotional pain, which Amy must have collected in bulk by now, but in pretty much every other pain as well. Who did Eggman send Metal Sonic to kidnap when he wanted to lure Sonic into a trap on the floating planet? Amy. Who went through heck, and the space colony ARK and back just to be by Sonic's side? Amy. Who did Eggman kidnap ON the ARK to lure him into a trap out in space? Amy. Really, Sonic wasn't giving her enough credit.
For all she's gone through, Sonic sure felt insensitive about all her hardships. Maybe, just maybe, he could try taking her seriously for once… on the condition that she relents on her chasing him. After all, the time they had spent together after Tails and Knuckles were taken down was… rather enjoyable. Sonic wanted to try experiencing like that with Amy again and seeing how it feels. Who knows… maybe if pink hedgehog could mellow out, so could the blue. Would it really be worth it to dash his creed of freedom and simplicity all for the love of another? Sonic rubbed his temples with one hand while steering with another. So much deep thought at one time was not customary for the hero. Fortunately for him, he didn't need to spend much more time alone with his mind.
"That's weird!" Vector called over the whipping wind, "I thought there was one big signal coming from that island… it turns out there were two of them close together!"
"Who else would have a Chaos Emerald and be anywhere near the location of any other Emerald?" Rouge wondered aloud.
It didn't take long before a process of thought led all three of them to the same solution at the same time, "TEAM EVOLUTION!"
"Those creeps must've tracked Shadow's Emerald, too, and gone after it!" Sonic realized, thinking only if Amy had been caught in the crossfire.
"Well, one of those signatures is gone now." Vector reported.
"Do you think Shadow was able to beat them off?" Rouge asked of her teammates.
"Far be it from me to wish well of that vain hedgehog, but for Amy's sake, I sure hope so." Sonic said for his turn of dialogue.
"I think that's it!" Vector shouted suddenly.
All three inhabitants of the Tornado looked up and over and saw a landmass in the distance. Vector checked again and indeed, the energy from Shadow's Emerald came from that specific island. Sonic shifted gears and landed the Tornado.
Once Sonic had the Tornado properly parked, he, Rouge, and Vector jumped out and began to look around at the immediate radius of their landing point. The setting was just as stereotypical as an island could get, with miles-long beautiful beaches and what appeared to be a patch of tropical forest that the island seemed to exist solely to support.
At Vector's instruction, the three of them made their away about the tropical setting toward the energy signal of Shadow's Chaos Emerald. Eventually, Vector stopped them.
"The tracker says," The crocodile paused, checked, double-checked, then nodded, "that past this brush area and some distance is where the Chaos Emerald signature is coming from."
"Do you think Shadow will attack when he sees us? I mean, we WILL ask for his Emerald, after all." Rouge said.
Sonic stepped forward, "In that case, let me go. I have the most experience tangling with him… I know his moves."
"Be careful." Vector wished.
"You should be more worried about Shadow." Sonic flashed his signature smile, then parted some brush and jumped through.
-
"Whoa!" Sonic cried as he emerged. He had expected to need to run some distance before finding Shadow, but the black hedgehog was right in front of him as soon as he came out of the brush.
The ultimate life form turned around after hearing the blue hedgehog's yelp, then grinned menacingly, "Well, well. We meet again, Blue Hedgehog."
Sonic noticed that whatever look of fear or interior imbalance existed in the prior encounter had vanished, leaving only the confident and condescending glare that he came to know and loathe.
"All right, Shadow." Sonic started, getting memories, "What have you done with Amy?"
Shadow slowly folded his arms, and waited until they were folded to respond, "At first it was an accident, but now I know that it was fate. I took her away from YOU. It seems that you can never harm her enough, however."
Sonic took a step back, completely not expecting Shadow to reply in such a way, "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Oh come now," Shadow sighed, "I know exactly the fate she suffered. She sacrificed herself expressing the most unrequited love this generation has ever known. She doesn't deserve to be put in the constant torment you provide for her. She needs to be around somebody else for a change."
The blue hedgehog couldn't believe his ears. Shadow was exposing every personal demon that Sonic had endured on the ride over. How pathetic his expression must have looked. Sonic's face hardened into one of competitive jest, "And just who do you think is better for her to be around… you?"
The surprises never stopped coming for Sonic as Shadow stalled for a bit of thought, then said, "As a matter of fact, yes. You see, I can offer her the very thing that she sought from you all her life."
"WHAT?" Sonic yelped. He was hallucinating, dreaming, SOMETHING. Did Shadow… love Amy?
"You are probably wondering what it is about her that touches me, the ultimate life form, in a place so dear. Well, as you probably know, nothing is dearer to me than Maria." Shadow looked behind, as if an apparition of Maria had appeared there, "I thought I would never see her again, but I have. In Amy. I see Maria in Amy, and I take it no less as a sign from Maria."
"You really should give that name a rest." Sonic growled, irritable, "It's pretty much every other word that comes out of your mouth… and you're going in circles!"
"Am I? Well, that just goes to show just how I feel about current circumstances."
"Listen, Shadow. I don't care about what hallucinations you're having about Maria and Amy. She has been my responsibility ever since I promised to protect her after she was taken to the floating planet."
"Yet you don't love her."
Sonic bore his teeth, "I don't know!"
"I think YOU'RE more dangerous to have her around than I am." Shadow shrugged in a superior fashion.
"Just tell me where you have her."
"I don't think so, Blue Hedgehog. She already has the ultimate life form watching over her, why give her an inferior sentinel?"
"I'm giving you one last chance, Shadow."
"You can take that chance…" Shadow then waved his arm across his body in Sonic's direction, "and cast is into the pits of depression that you dug out for Amy Rose!"
"THAT'S IT!" Sonic howled and took off on a run toward Shadow.
Shadow merely grinned, anticipating the snapping of Sonic at any point. He stood; ready to receive the blue hedgehog. At the very last moment, Shadow leapt forward, creating an arc that barely passed over Sonic. Sonic stopped and had no time to react before Shadow's feet pressed against his back and pinned him to a tree. Shadow kept balance by keeping his feet firmly on the ground.
"Now is time to finally prove my superiority, Blue Hedgehog!" Shadow called, and then activated his hover shoes right on Sonic's back.
Shadow expends his own energy to activate the hover shoes, so he needs to be just as strong as Sonic to be able to go at such high speeds. The propulsion for the hover shoes is activated by his will. Minute powerful jets work just like wheels do on roller skates except with much more power. Normally, the heat from the jets dies out before it hits the ground, but when Shadow really pushes the shoes onto a surface, the jets have no choice but to propel their flames into the said surface.
In other words, Shadow was using his hover shoes as tiny flamethrowers directly into Sonic's back.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Sonic shouted, eyes wide as the tiny flames bore directly into his body, causing the pain to rattle through his bones and every muscle.
"How does it feel to endure a humiliating defeat?" Shadow called to Sonic above the screaming. Sonic's screaming was loud enough so that another screaming from a third voice was not heard by Shadow, so when a set of teeth clamped down on his midsection, it took him by surprise.
"WHAT?" Shadow cried in the said surprise and looked down and saw a mixture of green and red. Vector had jumped from the brush and spared no amount of effort in causing Shadow the most pain possible, digging every tooth that touched the black hedgehog into the skin and causing more punctures than one could count. Sonic groaned and fell back, just in time to be caught by Rouge. Somehow, she got the impression that if he fell on the sand on his burnt back, it would not feel good.
Shadow shouted angrily for Vector to let go, but "nuh-uh" was audible from the crocodile's throat. Rather, he tightened the squeeze. Shadow's eyes squeezed shut just as tight. He never thought this was how it would end.
It didn't end for Shadow there, for a pair of large blue hands came from the other end of the area and jammed themselves into Vector's chest cavity. Vector lost all breath in his lungs and staggered back, allowing Shadow to fall into the blue hands.
"Who's there?" Rouge demanded, looking away from Sonic for the first time. She looked in a certain direction, for the blue hands were connected by thin blue arms that disappeared in more trees.
The owner of the arms emerged, walking toward his hands as he receded them. Rouge felt that in some way, in some way, shape or form, at some time, she had met this figure earlier.
"You must be Chaos." Rouge muttered, now hunched over both male members of her team.
The liquid creature laid Shadow on the ground and returned Rouge's stare. Rouge wondered why he just stood there and didn't attack. He looked too placid to be authentic, almost as if he were providing…
"A diversion!" Rouge verbally realized and leapt into the air just in time to avoid an attack from behind. The bat landed and beheld a surreal sight.
Chaos stood third figure landed. It appeared to be an orange female echidna clothed as if in ancient times. The only surreal thing about her was the large pair of white feathery angel wings coming from her back. If Rouge didn't know better, she could swear that this echidna was this "Tikal" that Sonic spoke up.
There was a tense moment where Rouge stared these two down, not knowing if she'd leave this encounter alive. Chaos looked to Tikal, then motioned toward Rouge, as if allowing her to initiate combat first. Rouge stood tense to see Tikal's first move when suddenly Tikal said, "Forgive me!" and punched the ground. The sand shifted under Rouge's feet and caused her to land on her knees. The bad looked up just in time to receive a punch to the jaw.
Rouge flew through the air until she planted her feet firmly on a tree. She had already taken two beatings; she was NOT about to lose again! She launched herself from the tree towards Tikal. Tikal seemed ready for Rouge's arrival, just like Shadow had, so Rouge switched up, changed position in midair, and went right into a Screw Kick. Tikal did not seem ready at all, and got the full effect of the attack. The bat's feet dug into Tikal's stomach, then momentum kicked in and sent Tikal into a tree, snapping it in two.
Rouge landed, panting. That was too easy. Rouge saw Chaos gone and realized it was ANOTHER diversion! Her head swung around and saw Chaos over Sonic's body. Sonic was the one holding Team Unity's only Chaos Emerald. Chaos picked it from Sonic.
"That's OUR Emerald!" Rouge shouted as she prepared a Screw Kick to Chaos. A stream of Chaos's liquid charged at Rouge, forcing her to readjust and dodge in mid-air several times. She finally got to a point where she could thrust her foot forward.
It turned out to be a bad choice as her foot and midsection sailed clear though Chaos. She stopped as her head became completely submerged in the liquid beast. Rouge thrashed around, trying to get herself out, when she saw Chaos suddenly had a head no more. The creature fell apart, but quickly reformed. Rouge gasped for air as she felt herself get carried toward another end.
"Are you okay, Rouge?" Her savior, who turned out to be Sonic, asked.
"Yeah… but he has our Emerald!" Rouge pointed. Chaos had Team Unity's purple Emerald submerged in one large hand, and Shadow's green Emerald submerged in the other.
"What… what's going on here?" Sonic asked, bewildered, "Shadow, Chaos, and Tikal together? What kind of cruel twist of fate ordained THIS together?"
"I don't now," Came the voice of Vector as he rose, "but they're going down!"
All three of them nodded and faced their opponents. Now three, as Shadow had also risen.
"DELTA STRIKE!" Team Unity shouted as they performed their appropriate tasks. Rouge created a black wave, Vector shot a stream of fire, and Sonic generated a Sonic Wind. All three of these formed into a tornado of black fire and charged at the opposing team.
The others had plans, too. Chaos stood in the middle of the three as they joined hands, Shadow's left in Chaos's right, and Chaos's left in Tikal's right. They then pounded all their fists into the sand at the same time and in unison and shouted, "CHAOS BURST!"
A large purple orb grew from where Shadow, Chaos, and Tikal stood and went to math the Delta Strike. The Delta Strike was no match for the Chaos Burst as it fizzled out, leaving the Chaos Burst to eventually collide with Team Unity. Sonic, Rouge, and Vector all hit different trees and landed in the sand. There was a moment of silence as none of Team Unity moved. Eventually, Sonic stirred and stood up before the three opponents. He was hunched over with pain and fatigue, but he couldn't give up… he just couldn't.
"Your funeral, Blue Hedgehog." Shadow said as it seemed he and his partners were ready to attack until a shrill cry stopped them.
"STOOOP!" Came the female voice. All four still conscious looked to the source, running towards them.
"Amy?" Sonic said with disbelief.
"STOP FIGHTING!" Amy shouted as she came closer, "There is no reason to fight! We're all on the same side, here!"
She stopped in front of Sonic and held out her arms to indicate she was protecting him.
"Amy…!" Sonic gasped, "How are you…!"
"Later." The pink hedgehog said sternly, then to Shadow, "Now just cut it out, okay?"
"Very well." Shadow responded. He and the other two relaxed.
Sonic's eye's once again popped at the obedience shown… or maybe they were doing Amy a favor, respecting her wishes.
Amy sighed in relief, then turned back to Sonic, then looked behind him, "What the… Rouge and that weird crocodile? What kind of messed-up team is THIS?"
"That's what I want to know about THEM!" Sonic said and motioned to the three behind Amy."
"Oh!" Amy looked back and took a better look at the team opposite Sonic, "You haven't been formally introduced. Once THOSE two get back up, we can sort this ordeal out in a civilized manner!"
-
It certainly was an odd thing to be locked in mortal combat with another group one second, then to be sitting in a circle, sharing handpicked fruits the next. This sentiment was felt all around as the said circumstance was endured by the two groups and was sternly mediated by Amy.
Sonic had two large burn marks on his back, Shadow's stomach and back were full of punctured holes that still leaked vital fluid, Vector had a pair of purple wounds on his chest, and one of Tikal's wings was folded down due to it crashing into the tree before she actually did. Chaos merely regenerated all the damage he took, leaving Rouge the best one off with a sore chin that didn't really hurt much any more.
"So…!" Amy started, shifting eyes back and forth nervously, like she was dealing with a bunch of convicts, "Um, you guys," She looked to the left half of the circle with Shadow, Tikal, and Chaos, "You can explain your origins so we can all get to know each other better!"
"I already said all I could." Shadow muttered. Amy cut off Sonic before he could say a retort, possibly sparking another conflict.
"I will explain." Tikal spoke up after a silence, "As you all know, recent events have rendered the current guardian of the Master Emerald unable to perform his duties. The Master Emerald sensed this and released my father from within itself to take the current guardian's place."
"Hold on," Vector said in a diplomatic manner when Tikal had paused, "Chaos is your… father?"
"He was not always like this." Tikal said, a bit of irritability at the subject in her voice, "He sacrificed his mortality and physical form to adequately guard the children of Chaos Energy, the Emeralds and the Chao. As I was saying, the Master Emerald summoned him, not a moment too soon as he immediately came upon a team of thieves determined to steal the Emerald."
"Don't look at me, I was with you all this entire time." Rouge spoke up before anybody could shoot her looks.
"Do you remember who they were?" Sonic asked, free to talk to anybody who wasn't Shadow.
Tikal looked to Chaos, then back, "They consisted of a Hawk that went by the name of Talon, a Raccoon that went by the name of Bandit, and…" She looked back, as if trying to confirm what he had to say next, "A… Cheetah… by the name of Ayla."
"I thought as much. Team Evolution." Sonic looked to the sand, then up again, "Wait, there was a third?"
"Yes."
"You said a Cheetah named Alya… I wonder why WE haven't seen her, yet."
"Ayla, she was the most powerful of the three of them, no doubt."
Vector made a thoughtful mouth noise, then pulled out a notebook and a pencil and began to jot notes down. All throughout current incidents, Vector had done this; this was just the most noticeable time. He gingerly put his utensils away after a bit and continued to listen.
"My father barely warded them off, then summoned me from the depths of the Master Emerald to assist. The Master Emerald granted me these wings so I may be of greater assistance in guarding the Master Emerald. However, we did not guard it for long as my father noticed that the Emerald that… Team Evolution, you called them? The Emerald's energy was moving toward this island. Using a power of Chaos Control that only my father could derive from the Master Emerald, we were able to come and help thwart those three again. In fact, that was not long ago, you three came soon after."
"Very interesting…" Vector looked off, in deeper thought than he showed.
There was a moment of silence as the story just told registered, when the one thing that Team Unity did not suspect happened, Chaos Talked.
"I used the Emerald to bring the girl back."
Chaos talked very slowly and had a deep, low, raspy voice that sounded slightly muffled, like a voice from a communicator that had bad reception.
"WOAH! You can talk?" Sonic said immediately after.
"I am not the same enraged automaton that Dr. Eggman took advantage of. When you removed the negative energy of the Chaos Emeralds from me, I regained my sanity."
"Oh…" Sonic said, regaining composure, "That's… cool. And… I guess I should thank you for what you did for Amy."
"You were worried about me? Oh, Sonic!" Amy squealed and looked to shuffle over to Sonic.
"What were they after?" Shadow cut in irritable, preventing Amy from moving from her spot, which was right next to him and away from Sonic per his conditions. "Team Evolution, I mean."
"The Chaos Emeralds." Rouge spoke up, wanting a part in this conversation. "We don't know why, but they are after them and we don't want them using them for whatever purpose they have planned."
"The power of Chaos is not to be abused in such a way…" Tikal muttered.
"Sounds like a job for us, Team Chaos!" Shadow said climactically.
"THAT is your team name?" Sonic said with an eye roll.
"Want to make something of it, Blue Hedgehog?"
"I have a NAME, you know!"
"Cut it out!" Amy scolded.
"One thing is for certain," Vector said to get things back on track, "Team Evolution must be stopped!"
"No problem." The ultimate life form spoke up, "As I said before, we will take care of them!"
"Some of us have our own reasons to pursue Team Evolution, too." Rouge said matter-of-factly.
"That harms your argument." Tikal countered, "Your vendettas against them cloud your mind with bias and rage. It's best if we take the job of collecting the Emeralds and keeping Team Evolution in check with goals as broad as ours. That way, we will not act irrationally."
"I'm capable of acting rationally!" Sonic insisted with a fiery tone that contradicted his statement. He digressed by unclenching his fist.
Chaos stood up, "We will have to agree to disagree for now. Team Evolution could be on the move now and arguing will not suppress their injustice."
"Agreed." Shadow got up, too. Tikal followed in suit.
"We were just leaving, too." Sonic got up, prompting the rest of his team to do so. "Come on, Amy."
Amy looked up in surprise, but then looked over at Shadow with indecision.
"Go with him." Shadow said, though it looked like he hurt to say it, "That's what you'd ultimately prefer. I… don't care."
As both teams started on their separate ways, Amy eventually turned around and caught up with Shadow.
"Shadow… um, thanks for caring." She then gently hugged the ultimate life form before rejoining Team Unity. Sonic shot a glare towards Shadow's back afterward.
-
The ride in the Tornado back to Emerald Town was a solemn one. Sonic, Rouge, and Vector all played the battle back in their minds, going over alternate methods and attacks they could have used. Amy sat up front and laid her head on Sonic's shoulder, which he usually told her to knock it off after she did. However, he said nothing this time. Amy didn't know whether he decided to accept her love, or maybe he was lost in the illusive fight, too. Amy thought about Shadow and how he seemed to really care for her with a love that mirrored his descriptions of how he cared for Maria. She had loved Sonic all her life, but it seemed that Shadow was the one willing to accept any love she had for him. She just let her conflicted head rest on Sonic's shoulder, not even caring to brush away a quill that the wind plastered against her face.
Vector watched the ocean go by under him and thought about more than just the fight. He fingered his notebook, though he knew its contents page for page. There was a greater mystery at hand, and not just what Team Evolution wanted to do with the Chaos Emeralds, but almost everything about the current circumstances.
Rouge was inwardly kicking herself. They had been in such a rush to leave, did they ever ask for their Emerald back from Chaos? No. Team Unity was once again left with no Chaos Emeralds. For all they knew, Team Evolution had one and Team Chaos had two. Maybe Shadow and Tikal were right… that perhaps THEY were more suited to the task at hand than the ones out for revenge. On the thought of revenge, Rouge's mind involuntarily shifted to Knuckles and viewed her revenge in a different light. She made a promise to that echidna! Well, maybe she hadn't PROMISED, but she said something along those lines. She may have developed quite a steak of activities that make her untrustworthy, but she was still true to her work, believe it or not. Rouge kicked herself again. They could have asked Chaos to come back with them and heal all those stuck in Station Square Hospital! Then again, he might not have done it, given the circumstances in which they met.
No mind was buzzing with more activity than Sonic's. He was tortured by a little bit of all the previous stated problems and then some. First, of course, was the fight. He would never feel the sting of the pain and the humiliation when Shadow so effortlessly trapped him in that position and began to puncture his back with those white-hot flames. The two burns on his back seemed to flare up with hot pain whenever he remembered it. Sonic felt stupid for rushing in so recklessly, but it WAS Shadow's fault; HE was the one who made Sonic crack so harshly. Then again, maybe THAT was the intent of Shadow's smack-talk the entire time. Maybe he DIDN'T mean all those things he said!
This transitions nicely into Sonic's next mental torture, Amy. How did SHE feel about Shadow? Did the fact that he actually gave her love affect her any? He now couldn't purge from his mind the look of indecision that gripped her face when she looked from him to Shadow, as if trying to decide whom to be with. It seemed Shadow was ready to step down. With all this effort and emotion put into it, Sonic thought that he was acting like he really DID return Amy's love… but he didn't! It must be true what they say, that one does not know what they have until it is taken away. Did he fear losing Amy's love… or her friendship? Surely if she joined Shadow, that black hedgehog would train her to hate Sonic. One thing Sonic knew is that he did NOT want Amy hating him, but then again nobody wants anybody hating them. He looked at Amy with her head on his shoulder and thought that maybe she deserved this one. She probably put herself in the MOST danger pitting herself between two violent teams. Also, the ambiguity of his feelings toward her spawned inactivity. Should he let her rest her head to show that he wasn't completely indifferent, or should he take it off to show that he still was not sure if he felt that way toward her? Sonic shook his head. He was barely making any sense. He decided to change the subject.
The mention of Ayla the Cheetah, the third member of Team Evolution, worried the blue hero as well. Tikal had said that Ayla was the most powerful of the three. Talon and Bandit were nasty enough, but now there's one even worse? Speaking of fast spotted creatures, Sonic's mind then wondered to Sheena the leopard. Cheetahs and leopards are so much alike… maybe she would know a thing or two about this Ayla person. Team Unity could use all the help they could get with Team Chaos now about. At the mention of the unnatural team, Sonic seethed. Some time in the future, Team Unity and Team Chaos WILL have a rematch and Sonic was sure that the next time, Team Chaos would experience a time of reckoning.
As Sonic's thoughts completed the round circle, the shores of Emerald Beach were visible above the horizon.
-
The walk of each member of Team Unity to their respective rooms was more of a walk of shame considering how crushing their defeat had been. Vector hadn't even made it to his room, he merely crashed onto a nearby couch, hand over the purple wounds on his chest, trying to breathe at the most comfortable pace. Rouge was able to find her way nicely, but Sonic was worse off, leaning against a wall in his room trying to cope with the white-hot knives of pain in his back.
"Sonic, are you okay?" Amy asked from the doorway.
"Yeah… just fine!" Sonic insisted, sparing no effort to look that way.
The pink hedgehog folded her arms, "How are you going to sleep? I doubt that laying on your back isn't going to be pretty for you."
"I'll manage." The blue one waved his hand dismissively.
"Stop that!" Amy scolded, "If you don't want my help or my pity, you can just say so… and you'll be getting them anyway! From what I was told, what you endured to get those burns was horrible! Let me help you!"
Sonic sighed, "What have you got in mind?"
"Sit down."
"What?"
"Just do it!"
Sonic sat abruptly on his bed, then Amy sat behind him, "What are you doing?"
"I want to feel the damage. This WILL hurt."
As gently as she could, Amy traced her finger around one of the large burns. She could hear Sonic feel the pain hard as he took a sharp intake of breath through clenched teeth. She slowly spiraled her finger towards the center of the burn when she looked closely, then gasped.
"Sonic!" She clamped a hand over her mouth roughly with shock, "Shadow burned clean through your skin! There's… there's a hole!"
Sonic sighed, "I thought as much. That jerk."
"Sonic…" Amy started, "Shadow isn't a jerk. He's just… aggressive. If you didn't lose your temper, I'm sure you guys wouldn't have started off on such a wrong note."
"… He doesn't even call me by my name. He still thinks I'm some kind of inferior fake of him."
"Maybe… but you shouldn't let this experience deter you from him. I know, deep down he is decent like you or me… he's just lived a harsh life."
Listen to her, Sonic thought bitterly, defending Shadow. Maybe it's true; that his act of affection toward her touched her in a way I never wanted to. And the way that he LET her go… isn't that the perfect set-up for the downward spiral to her hating me?
"Wait here." Amy said suddenly, and then got up. She returned shortly, "I saw this in a movie. I'll put these cold wet rags to make the burns less. They'll hurt first, but soothe after."
"It didn't happen to be a romance movie, would it?"
"Is there any other kind?"
Sonic rolled his eyes, then widened them when Amy placed the first cold rag on his back. It hurt. A lot. He gripped the sheets of the bed as the second blinding rag was placed down. The pink hedgehog held them there, pressed to Sonic's back. After what seemed like hours for Sonic, the pain subsided, and all he could feel was cool relief. He gave a peaceful sigh at the first good feeling he felt in a long time. There was a knock at the door. The hedgehogs looked toward and standing there was Sheena the leopard.
"Hi, Sonic. I just wanted to see if you had any leads as to- wha… Amy? You're back."
"Yeah." Amy merely stated.
"Look, I'm sorry for what I caused to happen to you before." Sheena apologized after losing the look of shock.
"No way!" Amy responded, "It was totally my fault! I have a reputation for acting stupid when it comes to Sonic."
"What… happened to Sonic's back?" Sheena asked, feeling awkward still standing in the doorway."
"If you help out, we'll tell you." Amy grinned.
"Deal."
-
From outside Sonic's room, Rouge looked in and saw the two girls fawning over him. She upturned her nose at the scene in typical form and walked away.
"Jealous?" A voice asked.
"WHAT?" Rouge yelped, then looked as Vector's gold chains were glistening from the shadows.
"I saw how you looked into that room with jealousy and contempt. Why don't you join them?"
"Listen, Vector," Rouge said softly, "I know it's in the style of a detective to get involved in every little thing around them, but let me say this once and with pristine clarity. BACK OFF!"
At the last two words, she poked the end of Vector's muzzle separate times. She then stormed off in a huffy fashion. Vector watched her go, and then looked into Sonic's room himself. After a while, he narrowed his eyes, then after the thought he had, turned around to do his own thing. Out of habit, he ran his tongue along his teeth.
"I'll be tasting Shadow for a while."
Meanwhile, in the room Vector took, the Chaos Emerald tracker beeped for a split second. However, it was the signal of the green Chaos Emerald, an ominous reminder that Team Chaos was on the prowl.