Chapter 10- Oooooh god...
(Small recap)
Knuckles nodded after a pause and then lifted his head. 'What happen to Haze?" he asked.
"She and Charmy went to go find Sonic and Shadow." Espio answered rubbing his shoulder gingerly. It was badly cut with blood flowing freely down his back.
"We should go after them." Hope mumbled quietly.
"Yeah." Amy nodded in agreement.
The group all left the house after everyone was sure they could all function alright. They progressed through the forest but was soon stopped by a very familiar scream.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Knuckles gasped in shock. "That sounded like..."
-new part-
"Let's go!" Espio exclaimed
The group quickly ran through the thick trees and came across Charmy who was lying on the ground battered very severely. Amy ran to help him instantly. He coughed and opened his eyes groaning in pain.
"Charmy what happened?" Amy exclaimed.
"It was... M-Metal Sonic..." Charmy whispered before fainting again.
"WHAT?" Everyone screamed in unison.
(A/n: Me- Ehehehehehe... I can't help it, I like Metal Sonic...)
Knuckles and Vector ran ahead and saw a bright green blur flash by. They froze as it went by. Vector went after it, and Knuckles followed close behind. The two followed it all the way to an opening in the middle of the forest. The blur revealed to be a green hedgehog with a black cloak and green and pink shoes. Knuckles was about to speak but Vector shushed him.
The two of them looked around cautiously and saw the hedgehog walk forward and kneel next to a figure. When he spoke, his voice was low and cold.
"This is unexceptable..." was his comment.
Knuckles moved forward and saw that the mysterious newcomer was next to Sonic. The blue hedgehog was badly hurt and bled profusely. Knuckles bit his lip and came to stand next to his befallen friend and the green stranger. Vector soon joined him.
"Do you know this hedgehog?" the stranger questioned standing and looking at Knuckles.
Knuckles nodded, feeling his blood pressurerise intensly. The other hedgehog shook his head mournfully.
"There was another hedgehog here... a girl... She was in trouble, a machine was chasing after her. Then a black and red hedgehog. It seems that he held a fox in his arms." he said looking at the destroyed path that laid before them.
"A girl...?" Knuckles echoed. A horrible thought crept into his mind. "HAZE!"
Knuckles dashed trough the path calling out for the girl. Vector began to follow but the hedgehog hled out his arm to block him.
"No, do not follow him." He said. "You'll take your friend to a safer place adn warn the other's of the danger. The echidna will be fine. For now anyway..."
Vector looked down at the hedgehog, a look of disdain on his face. He then nodded reluctantly and picked Sonic up from the ground and ran back towards the others. The green hedgehog closed his eyes and crossed his arms in deep thought.
"This is worse than I thought..." he muttered to himself. "I guess I'll have to step in..."
He then opened his eyes quickly and dashed off after Knuckles catching up with him quickly.
"You musn't be fooliosh with your actions." He warned Knuckles.
The red echidna looked over at him, surprise obvious in his amythest eyes. The green hedgehog stared back seriousness in his expression. He then nodded to his new allie (sp?) as it seemed. The two then increased speed and were now only a green and red flash of movement as they progressed down the path.
Knuckles suddenly came to a halt and looked ahead, his breaths coming in heavy and halted gasps. He listened closely and heard shouting and movement coming from up ahead. The green hedgehog paused and looked at Knuckles.
"Why do you hesitate?" He asked raising an eyebrow, "Do you not want to help them?"
Knuckles looked at him, silent but ehn resumed running forward. The sounds were growing louder by the moment as the two approached the cause of the sounds. The came to another clearing and Knuckles gawked at the sight that lay before him.
Metal Sonic and Shadow were walking in circles around each other, as if to size each other up. Midnight lay a distance away, unmoving and beaten badly. Haze was next to her but was staring at her brother with horror in her eyes. Suddenly with lightining speed, Metal and Shadow lunged at each other at the same time. Shadow gave off a wave of attacks, all of them blocked. Then Metal grabbed him by the arm and threw the black and red hedgehog into a tree, causing it to shatter and sending him crashing through 4 others. Haze screamed and got up to run towards her injured sibiling.
The robot's red eyes flashed towards her adn he grabbed her by her cape yanking her backwards. Haze fell back and was swung through the air by her cape's back and then Metal released his grasping sending her flying through the air and towards a gorge that was behind them. Knuckles let out a cry of panic and raced forward to catch the female hedghog before she fell downwards.
Haze coughed, trying to catch her breath from being choked so badly as Knuckles pulled her to safety. She lay on his chest for a moment, panting heavily before she opened her eyes and saw that Metal was walking toward where Shadow lay. She got up and screamed her brother's name, hoping to alert him of the immediate danger. Shadow lifted himself up from the ground at the sound of his sister's cry. He saw through the clearing dust two leering, crimson eyes.
He tried to run deeper into the forest but fell to the ground gasping and nearly screaming with hysterical pain. Blood ran down the side of his face and his back was slashed badly with bits of wood enlodged in some of the wounds. He tried to move again but couldn't bring himself to. He coughed and blood was cast upon the grass beneath him. Shadow then lay on the ground, his breathing stalled and pained.
Haze, Knuckles and the strange green hedgehog went after Metal and Shadow, in hopes of not being too late. The three reached the area where Shadow lay, but there was no sight of Metal Sonic anywhere. Haze ran directly to her befelled brother and began to sob involuntarily. Knuckles jaw was clenched tight and his hands were locked into hard fists. The green hedgehog's ears twitched nad he disappeared back towards the previous area.
Midnight was now standing, her right arm grasping her torso as she stared at the robot that was in front of her. But something was odd about her. Her eyes were changing colors constantly, from blood red to an oceanic blue. She looked at him and her eyes widened. The hedgehog stared at her, his mouth slightly open.
In a flash of a moment, Metal charged at the confused fox knocking her backwards. She cried out and tears began to stream down her face. The hedgehog ran forward and lept onto Metal's back. He held onto him as the robot struggled to get him off. The hedgehog the flipped infront of Metal and threw him over his shoulder and off the ledge. He then went to aid the fox girl.
Knuckles and Haze appeared with one of Shadow's arms around each of their shoulders. The hedgehog lifted the crying young fox from the ground and walked toward the echidna and the two hedgehogs.
"The robot is over the edge of that cliff. It won't hold him off too long so we'd better go." he said.
Knuckles looked at Midnight confusedly. "What about her...?" he asked, his voice as hard as stone.
"She needs help as well. We can't leave her, she'll be killed." The green hedgehog stated looking off into a distance.
"Hell she deserves to die!" Knuckles snapped, his anger suddenly rising.
"That's not true Knuckles." Haze whispered looking at him. "No one deserves to die that way. And she used to be your friend... didn't she?"
Knuckles sighed and then closed his eyes. "Alright, fine. Let's move." He ordered as he and Haze began to walk with Shadow back the way that they had arrived, with their aid behind them.
"Holy crap!"
"What happened?"
"I'm not so sure but we need to help him!"
"Sonic!"
Voices swirled around in Sonic's ears as he opened his eyes. He was surrounded by the majority of his friends, all of them staring down at him with worry.
"Guys...?" he rasped, his head beginning to spin. "Where... am I...?" he asked in a whisper.
"You're safe now and that's all that matters." Amy told him putting her hand gently on his forehead.
"Vector, where did Knuckles go?" Espio asked.
"He and some weird hedgehog ran off somewhere. I have no idea where he went." Vector answered with a shrug.
"I hope he's okay." Rouge whispered to herself.
"You think maybe he went after Haze and Metal Sonic?" Charmy asked as Hope wrapped yet another one of his wounds. Cream was helping.
"Probably..." Hope said with a nod.
Suddenly Knuckles and Haze appeared with Shadow, Midnight and the stranger. Charmy covered his mouth in shock to refrain from cursing. Espio went over to them as they laid Shadow and Midnight in the grass gently. Shadow's breathing had slowed and was becoming more faint.
"What the hell happened?" Vector cried in despiration.
"It was Metal..." Knuckles muttered coldly.
"Why'd you bring her here?" Chramy asked reffering to Midnight.
"She needs help as well." the stranger stated.
"Who are you...?" Haze asked standing up straight and looking at him.
"My name is Vinny." He told her simply.
"Well... Vinny, thank you..." Haze whispered greatfully.
Hope went over to the black and red fox and sat near her. "Oh Michelle..." she groaned in sorrow. "What's happned to you...? You never used to be this way..."
Midnight stirred and then opend her eyes looking at the human with familiar blue eyes.
"H-Hope...?"she whispered in a soft tone that was also familiar to Hope.
"Your... your eyes... they're normal again!" Hope breathed in surprise.
Michelle blinked slowly before grinning alittle and then passing out. Hope sighed with slight relief. All seemed to be getting better until a loud crash was heard not too far from the group. Everyone who was able to looked up in alert and suddenly Metal Sonic and Cyborg Eggman burst into sight. Haze stared with an unreadble expression.
The two mechanical beings attacked the weakened group, battering them all one by one. Pretty soon everyone was either unconcious or too hurt to move. All but Haze... She was left standing before them, fear locked into her eyes. Metal Sonic lunged for her, grabbed the girl and a black aura appeared around them. She began to scream as she began to feel jolts off pain throughout her body.
Shadow opened his eyes slowly and heard his sister's shrieks. He struggled to apush himself up but did eventually long enough to see Metal and Haze beginning to disappear right along with Eggman. Haze looked back at him, tears in her eyes.
"Shadow help me!" she screamed as she tried to pull away from Metal's steel grasp.
Shadow was now on his knees trying to stand. "H-Haze..." he choked as his entire body shook as he tried to support himself.
The red chaos emerald came into his sight and his eyes widened. He grabbed it and threw it to Haze. She caught it and then looked at him.
"Haze... I'm sorry..." He called weakly to her before he fell to te ground.
Haze screamed once more before she and the two enemies disappeared without a trace. Shadow lay still, panting heavily.
"Haze..." was the last thing he could utter before he lost complete conciousness.
-end of chapter-
Me- Okay... first off: I can't help it if I like Metal Sonic! He's just sooooo cool! Second off: Where the hell was Cream during all this anyway...? I'm still trying to figure that out. And lastly: I'm sorry Fortune Zyne, no ass kicking for Hope. Not now anyway. (devious laughter) Anyway... That is not a technical cliffy! Anyway, review and I guess it wasn't too short now as it...? (smiles) Review!