Chapter Seventeen
It didn't take long after for the heroes to start running down the road to Dr. Eggman's base. It was only Sonic, Shadow, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Rouge. Vanilla and Cream had sat out, Cream being too young, and Vanilla staying behind to look after her.
Naturally, Sonic and Shadow were at the front, taking the lead. Sonic was boiling with rage. His killer instincts were telling him to rip Eggman to shreds as soon as they found him, for daring to lay a hand on his best friend and future mate. For daring to make her cry out like that. He subconsciously licked his teeth, already imagining the taste of the human's blood.
It probably tastes like eggs.
"Sonic!" Shadow cried for the umpteenth time. He's been trying to get the hedgehog's attention for awhile now.
"Huh, what?" Sonic shook his head, snapping out of his daydream and looking at Shadow. "What?"
"I said we need a plan." Shadow frowned. "We don't want our friends to see Ryn, so we gotta figure out a way to rescue her without the others seeing her."
"Right." Sonic agreed. "One person knowing about the Sirens is too much already. Don't get me wrong, I trust you and our friends, but I just can't have too many people know about my people. It's dangerous for people to know, cause then we have this problem."
"I understand, which is why we need a plan. I was thinking we should split up, but what are the chances they'll find her before we do?""
Sonic frowned, thinking for a moment. "We'll split up. You and I will be together. Sirens have a specific scent. I'll track her with it and send our friends in the completely wrong direction. We'll find her and get her out before they realize that they have to turn around."
Shadow nodded. "Good that."
"Good that?"
"Maze Runner slang. Don't you know I'm a bookworm?"
The two hedgehogs laughed, confusing their friends. They were all suspicious about the two. All but Rouge.
"Those two have been getting real chummy lately." Knuckles frowned.
"They sure have been." Tails agreed. "I've never seen them act this friendly to each other."
"Rouge, you talked to them, right?" Amy said to the bat. "Did anything seem strange?"
Rouge lied easily. "Nothing that I could pick up on. I'm sure it's nothing, guys."
They left it at that and continued running. As they ran, however, there was a question burning at the back of Sonic's mind. One he just had to know the answer to.
"Hey Shadow?"
"Hmm?"
"Back at the house, when I was screaming…" He blushed a little before asking. "Why did you kiss me?"
Shadow seemed to tense up, a dark blush coming to his face, but he kept running and answered. "It was the only thing that came to my mind to shut you up."
Sonic had a feeling that there was more to it, but before he could ask about it, he was interrupted by Tails.
"We're here!"
The group stopped abruptly as they came up to the entrance of Eggman's base. The door was already open, as if he was expecting them.
"I don't like this, you guys." Amy said nervously, a little creeped out as they stepped through the doorway and into the intersected hallways.
"Remember, we're here for one reason and one reason only." Sonic said, paying no mind to the creep factor. "To find the animal and get it back to safety."
"So what's the plan, hun?" Rouge asked.
Sonic frowned and took a few discreet sniffs down each hallway, trying to pick up Ryn's scent. He purred a little bit in the back of his throat when he finally got it. "We'll split up. Knuckles and Tails, you go down that hall. Amy and Rouge, take this one. Shadow and I will go down this hall." He pointed down the hall where Ryn's scent was coming from. "If one of us finds the creature, don't bother calling out, just get it to safety. We don't want Eggman finding out we're here."
"Right." The others nodded and started running down their respected hallways.
Sonic and Shadow went up to their hallway. Before they entered, the black hedgehog looked at the blue one. "So she's down here?"
"Yes. I can smell her. She's here, and she's hurt and frightened. We need to find her now."
"Then let's not waste any time."
With that, the two hedgehogs started racing down the hallway, Sonic taking the lead as he followed Ryn's scent.
'Just hang on Ryn. I'm coming.'
"When we find her how are we gonna get her out?" Shadow asked. "Can she change like you?"
"All Sirens have the ability to change, but as you know, it is painful. I'm not sure Ryn will be able to handle it. Plus, it takes time to change. Time that we don't have."
"Then what's the plan?"
"We'll figure that out when we find her." Sonic stopped and sniffed again. "This way!"
They kept running down the halls, tracking Ryn's scent. At last, they came up to a large door. Sonic approached it and sniffed it dartingly. "She's here. Behind this door. Her scent is very strong."
"Then we gotta open this door." Shadow frowned, backing up a bit. "Move over. I'm gonna blast this thing down with a Chaos Spear."
Sonic nodded and moved over to the side. However, before Shadow could summon up a proper Chaos Spear, the door opened, sliding up silently. The two hedgehogs looked at each other, both having a bad feeling.
"I'm getting the bad vibes of this being a trap." Shadow said.
"Me too," Sonic nodded. "But we have to keep going. Ryn needs us, and I won't leave without her."
Shadow nodded in understanding. "Then let's go."
Without a second thought, they entered the room. It was big, and dark. They couldn't see a thing, but Ryn's scent was stronger than ever.
"Stay together, Shadow. If this is a trap, we shouldn't separate."
"Right."
They kept searching in the dark, Sonic sniffing the air. They were getting closer.
Suddenly, Sonic's hand bumped against a glass wall. His eyes widened and he tapped on the glass. Almost immediately, a pair of bright blue eyes came up to the glass and looked at him, attached to a female purple hedgehog's face that had a muzzle wrapped tightly around her head. A pair of webbed hands pressed against the glass, longing to touch Sonic's.
The blue hedgehog felt like crying.
"Ryn."
"Sonic! Look out!"
But the warning came too late as suddenly, the Siren in disguise was suddenly encased with glass, trapped without an escape.
