17 - He's Losing It

The hedgehog duo woke up the next morning bright and early to return back to the HQ. The guards weren't there anymore, for some reason. They just assumed they returned to base after a while or whatever. Anyway, when they entered the building after going through some minor security measures, something felt wrong. The second they stepped inside, the air immediately felt strange. Like there was, thick tension spreading around. It didn't feel intimidating or angry, it felt sullen and miserable. Like something awful happened not too long ago.

When they walked by some soldiers who politely greeted them a hello, they had obvious masks on their faces. Not literal masks, but fake smiles and fake happy expressions. Not only that, but any solider who was patrolling or guarding an area seemed more stricter than usual. More quiet as well. Of course, they were always like that, but things were never this severe. They even passed by Zespio, whom which, gave them a nod and just walked away. His eyes were low, and his head was down. He seemed sad, and everyone else did too. What happened?

With worried expressions, Shadow and Sonic made a bee-line for Zonic's office. After they arrived at the floor of his room, they caught him stepping out of it and locking the door to it. Sonic put on a smile and waved, saying, "Heya Z! What's up?" He greeted his twin happily. And then, Zonic slowly turned to them, and made the most penetrating ice-cold stare they'd ever seen. He looked beyond enraged. He didn't even look just angry or stoic, he looked like he was gone. Like he was no longer there. It was as if his persona wasn't even existent. To this, Sonic didn't say a word and took a step back carefully. Shadow, furrowed his brows and made a glare back. More protective than challenging.

That's when Zonic's face appeared to fade back to normal, and looked more lively. "Good, you're both here. Excellent." He said as he took the key out of the lock and placed it in his back pocket. With his normal authoritative stature, he made a gesture for them to follow him. After giving each other a side glance, they reluctantly followed the commander. They returned to the elevator they used to arrive at the floor, and was now using it to get down. The building was very big, so it took them a while to move. While they waited for their stop, Sonic took the chance to ask Zonic what was wrong.

"Um," He grimaced, earning the lieutenant general's attention.

"Something wrong, Sonic prime?"

Sonic stopped talking. Why was he playing dumb? Zonic may have been oblivious to his strict and bland persona, but he knew when he gave harsh glares. And what he did back there, was probably the meanest face he ever saw him make. Usually when he glared at Sonic, it was to get a point across or to threaten him in a playful manner. But with that face, he looked like he really wanted to kill someone. And he never ever looked at him that way before. Zonic was observant and picked up on things quickly, even his own actions. He knew damn well that they noticed he was in a horrible mood just now. "The HQ's super quiet. The atmosphere feels pretty thick. Somethin' happen?"

"Ah, not that I can recall. Nothing significant happened yesterday. If it did, I would have told you." The officer explained, making Sonic scowl. Zonic looked away before he did so, so he didn't catch it, but Shadow did. Sonic didn't like that answer, because he lied right to his face. No matter how sincere it may have sounded, that was a bad lie. Something did happen, and that's why everyone looked like their family dog just got put down. "Oh yes, my apologies. Today, a lot of our units need to scout and do some patrolling. So, I have to do a line up to check my men and then send them off to their appropriate locations." He made a very small smile. "It's also practice for what we're planning to perform on the first and final day of the festival."

Shadow could tell that Sonic didn't want to give a response at the moment. Despite being a little angry at Zonic's previous statement, he also seemed deep in thought. He answered for him to carry on the conversation. "You're doing a performance?"

Zonic nodded. "Indeed. To celebrate our victory against Eggman Nega, we perform a series of events at once. An airshow, a ship show, and a gun show."

"I see, so a highlight for each branch of your military."

"Precisely. Our navy, our army and our air force."

"Sounds interesting. I hope we'll have front row seats to see it."

The commander made a small chuckle. "As my guests and my friends, I'll be sure to pull a few strings so that only you two have the best view."

Sonic suddenly chimed in cheerfully. "Sweet! Can't wait to see it."

The ultimate life form noticed that sudden change in attitude. He knew something, but it was obvious that he didn't want it to show. He probably didn't feel like getting into another argument with the commander. He'd ask him about it later.

After they made it to their destination, the three hedgehogs appeared on the ground floor. If he planned to send a certain amount of soldiers from the branches of their military, how would that work? The HQ wasn't too far away from a coast, so their ships must be close by. But their planes were in some kind of hangar at the very top floor, right? How would they get to where they need to be? Ah wait, they probably had chutes or something to go up or down.

They went down a long large hallway that had several doors and rooms for numerous purposes. They saw their bomb squad inspecting some kind of equipment, while they saw some scientists marching to their labs. They had pretty much anything that involved a crime here, didn't they? Explosives, poisons, guns, aquatic assaults, air attacks, cyber attacks...Yeah he swore he saw a huge ass computer lab as they walked past. They had people who hunted hackers here, too. They had counselors here as well, who tried to talk with inmates, but their main focus was to study psychopaths. They had everything here.

No wonder they were so feared. Their military wasn't just a bunch of soldiers, it was that and more. It was like, convicts had more to fear of than just being caught by some officer. They had to fear everyone, even if they didn't have a pair of handcuffs or a gun on their hip.

Towards the end of the hallway, were three separate large entryways. They looked as if they had thick metal shutters on them that were lifted up not too long ago. Probably a safety measure, for anyone who tried to plan on escaping through one of these exits to the outside world. Zonic had stopped here, and kept his back turned. Suddenly, maybe five dozen men and women came marching through. They were simultaneously moving, almost like robots. Their forms were straight and confident, their faces blank yet determined. Then, they spread out evenly before lining up on the walls. They were so organized, that they even placed themselves in height order. Zector was one of the ones in the back since he was fairly tall, and Zespio was seen more in the middle since he was around the same size as the three hedgehogs.

They all saluted at the same time, and kept their positions. Sonic and Shadow took this chance to move out of the way so that Zonic could inspect them properly. They figured this would take a good ten minutes. They gave a small glance at each other before narrowing their eyes at his soldiers. As he was inspecting them, some of them were purposely putting themselves in bad form. If someone wasn't in the proper stance, Zonic would scold them harshly and physically correct them. Like a sergeant from boot camp. They saw a female soldier purposely spread her legs a little too far apart, putting herself in a sloppy posture. So Zonic gave her a few words before kneeling down and roughly pulling her legs closer together. They saw her face become dreamy, like the boy she had a crush on just touched her. Then, a male soldier had his saluting position off, with his hand not at the right angle. So Zonic forcefully placed it in the right spot, close to his face. The soldier looked as if he nearly passed out from the touch.

Sonic and Shadow made a look of repulsion. Those nasty little bastards. Basically, almost everyone in the HQ had the hots for Zonic. Probably why he had so many love letters on his bullet board, and that cake box. That was probably an anonymous gift. Everyone was flirting with him. What happened to everyone being all sad and depressed?

They could have at least acted a little more subtle about it...

"Alright Z, what's the plan?" Sonic hopped on top of Zonic's desk and let his legs kick in the air, up and down. He watched as his twin walked over and sat down in the chair in front of his desk. Shadow stood by it, and leaned his legs against it, while crossing his arms. Zonic fidgeted a bit while adjusting the collar of his uniform. He did look a bit uncomfortable and itchy. He crossed his legs and let his arms rest on the chair arms.

"Right." He nodded. "No plan." He shook his head, making the two almost fall off the desk.

"H-Huh?" Sonic blinked.

"Not yet. We'll discuss it in a second. We need to talk about your forms, first." The officer held up a fist underneath his chin and crossed one of his arms over his chest. He loomed his eyes over at his Mobian twin, thinking about what he was about to say to him. This would be a lot on him, but both he and Shadow had to know. He locked the office door, making sure that his own two personal soldiers couldn't listen in on their conversation. This was extremely private, highly classified. "Sonic prime, you are aware you have four forms, yes?"

Sonic nodded quickly, without mumbling a word. Shadow also watched the lieutenant general's body language carefully.

"Good. I'll name them all." He then tilted his head to the side a little, and pointed to something on his desk that was behind Sonic. His twin blinked and looked from behind, seeing a black binder on the desk. It wasn't thick like the other ones Zonic had, but it still had some info inside. He seized it in his hands and turned around to hold it up to his military counterpart. Zonic moved over and grabbed it in his own hands before opening it. "This binder is top secret, and was locked away in a safe hidden somewhere in this room. It is gravely important info, that only you two can know about. And Shadow prime, I'm only telling you this as well, should Sonic prime lose control. Do you understand?"

Shadow nodded reassuringly. "Of course."

"Then I will name and briefly explain all four." He flipped to a page and put his finger down to a document, his other hand balancing and holding the binder as he read. "The first one, the gold one. You both know of this one very well, Super Sonic. You use him when you are in a bind in battle, usually your last resort if you have the option." His eyes traveled downwards onto the next. "The next is the form you almost transformed into yesterday. The dark one, Dark Sonic. It is rare that he comes out, since you keep him on a tight leash. If he ever appears, it's only because you can't control yourself, Sonic prime." He then flipped to the next page and sighed heavily. These were the best and the worst. "The last two are your most powerful." He said that almost like a warning. "The scarlet one, the demon. You've yet to see it Shadow prime, and Sonic prime has only seen it once in his life time. It has powers beyond understanding, and is a literal evil entity that can plague plenty of planets at once with destruction. It doesn't necessarily have a name, but it takes a similar form to Super Sonic, just more twisted with red swirling eyes."

The hero just looked ashamed, slightly looking away from Shadow. The ultimate life form's eyes widened with shock. A being able to destroy plenty of planets at once? A demonic entity? That was surely intimidating.

"Finally, the light one. This is another form Sonic prime has only met once in his life when he was younger. It is a pure being, and has great power as well. It is also capable of destroying more than one planet at once, but it also has the limited ability to reverse permanent damage. I don't know it's name myself, but it's a being untainted by evil." He closed the binder and handed it over to Sonic to put it back where it was. His twin grasped it and placed it behind himself where it belonged. "These forms aren't just forms, they are higher beings. They're similar to deities."

The dark hedgehog was taken aback. "They're Gods?"

"Not really Gods, more like divine spirits that have been reduced to raw, unadulterated power. However," Zonic added. "They aren't without a conscious, and are very much alive inside of Sonic prime. They connect with him, and merge with him when he needs to use their powers. But, like Dark Sonic or the demon, they will try and overcome him with their influence, taking over his body and mind." He explained carefully. "For Scourge to have the scarlet one willingly work with him, is a very serious problem, but you already know that." Zonic leaned back. "Your forms weren't created, they were born a very long time ago on your home island. They reigned there for centuries, but were reborn inside of your body to be used at your disposal."

The blue Mobian was agape in shock. "Z...Why do you know so much about this stuff? I don't understand."

"Sonic prime, we both were born with a purpose, just like Shadow prime." He glanced over at Shadow before looking back at his twin. "Your entire bloodline was born to watch over and protect Mobius eternally. Should you die, another Mobian with your specific blood would be born decades later. Christmas Island's strange and immense chaotic power is responsible for spawning your blood line, and keeping it alive." He placed a hand to himself on his heart and continued to speak. "My blood line's purpose, was to protect you and other realities. Your existence in itself is extremely important to the universe, as there are other realities with your counterpart since you're the original. But I am the one who manages all of them, to monitor them. I am not just a zone cop who patrols other realities, I'm the one who prevents them from falling apart. I interfere in battles, I say certain things to certain people, I arrest criminals that can be too great of a threat to handle by normal means. I am the 'big brother' of you all. I watch over all of you." He stood up out of the chair while still holding his hand to his heart. "I am not just Zonic the Zone Cop. I am Zonic, the Overseer of all Realities."

After presenting his true title, Sonic's jaw almost dropped to the floor. He knew Zonic was someone who patrolled and watched over the realities, but he thought that was a duty all no zone officers had. But no, his role was much more important, and much more discreet. Behind the scenes, Zonic watched over everything. He really was a big brother. Not just to Sonic, but to every other Sonic out there.

"And you," Zonic gave a particular stare at Sonic. "You're the Champion of all Realities, so you're one of the most important people alive right now."

"...Woah." Sonic murmured. His mind was freakin' blown.

"Your blood line and my blood line are very crucial to the universe. For you're one of the only Sonics in existence with these powers, and I am the new big brother for the realities."

"Wait wait," Shadow raised his hand up to the blue Mobian's forehead and plucked it. "There's more of these idiots running around on other worlds? Don't tell me there's another green demon spawn out there wreaking havoc."

Zonic chuckled at this, while Sonic whined painfully and slapped Shadow's hand away. "Oh Shadow prime, there's so many realities, I would need at least a full package of fresh copy paper to write down all the ones that I know of. There's even some that I have not yet visited. There are millions if not billions of Sonics, Shadows, Tails', Rouges...The list goes on and on." He then smiled. "But most of the realities that I've visited have good Sonics." He added warmly. "And now," He clapped his hands together. "The plan that I've devised, we will finally discuss."

He gave them a summary, and promised to give them more specific details when the time was right. After reporting everything to the warden, they came up with a conclusion. Scourge will return to make a full scale attack on No Zone. They suspect that he's trying to start a war. Sonic and Shadow's faces tightened with concern. That's exactly what Sonic was afraid of when he first got here.

They knew for sure that he knew that Sonic was here, and they know that he's obsessed with capturing him. He won't let Sonic go so easily, so he'd be coming back for him soon. They already had their weapons ready, and their soldiers prepared for anything. They assume he'll attack before the end of this month at the very least, and took the proper steps to ensure that their citizens would be able to evacuate immediately without issue. The entire building itself, was prepared to launch a counterattack against anything he had up his sleeve. When he mentioned that the entire building itself was a 'weapon', that confused the two hedgehogs. He also said he had an initial plan that involved Sonic, but that was something they had to discuss in private.

Anyway, if and when they're attacked, Sonic and Shadow will be on the front lines along with Zonic's elites, while the rest of his soldiers backed them up. However, he didn't want Sonic to fight Scourge himself. They wanted to make sure that he didn't get his hands on him again. Once things were in motion, he would inform them both on transmitters when a certain phase of their plan needed to alter to the next. But he was confident that the two hedgehogs knew what to do when the time to fight came upon them.

After their discussion was over, Zonic announced that the hedgehogs were dismissed and were allowed to do whatever they pleased in town. He gave Shadow a transmitter, just in case they needed to contact them for emergencies. As the three walked out of the commander's office, Sonic pouted and took the courage to ask about the elephant in the room. He gently grabbed his twin's padded shoulder and turned him around to face him. "Hey, Z," He began carefully. "What's up?"

"Hm? Sonic prime, I don't believe anything is wrong at the moment. Why are you concerned?" He asked with 'genuine' puzzlement.

Sonic scoffed. "You're playing dumb again, and lying to me. I don't like that." He let go of his shoulder and crossed his arms while Shadow watched cautiously. His tone was pretty low, it was growing with irritation. Zonic caught onto this and sighed heavily.

"You know me too well, Sonic prime." He admitted sadly. "My apologies for lying, I didn't mean to offend you."

"C'mon Z," Sonic replied with a more lighter tone. "You said yourself that we're brothers, right?"

"Well, hypothetically-"

"-So," He cut him off sarcastically. "You should tell me what's wrong." The Mobian hero smiled tenderly at the overseer, making a gentle expression. He looked welcoming and sympathetic, making that charming smile that let him know that he wanted to help out. Such a kind soul, this one was. No one of Sonic's bloodline was as kind as he, according to past overseers. Zonic closed his eyes with an exhale, before opening them back up to see Shadow's gaze. The ebony life form nodded his head once, signaling that he should just tell them what the problem was instead of keeping it to himself.

"..." Zonic looked away. "Fine. I will show you."

The commander then guided them to the elevator so that they could travel to the floor of the medical ward. Immediately, Sonic and Shadow felt the air get heavier with each step into the ward. The nurses and doctors rushing around had a look of fear or sorrow on their faces. But once they saw their leader walk near the hospice-Oh Chaos no. Hospice? Wasn't that the place where people died? Where people were doomed to die, and had little to no chance at life? People who just, sat there in their beds, waiting to be unplugged? Sonic felt nauseous all of a sudden. A-Anyway, once they saw their leader walk near the hospice, they almost scrambled away like roaches. One of the leading doctors, who was a duck, gulped and saluted his lieutenant general.

"S-Sir. Very nice to see you today," He peeked over Zonic's head and gave a smile to Shadow and Sonic. "And to you as well, Sonic prime, Shadow prime." He fearfully glanced back at his boss. "Will you be visiting him again, sir?"

"No need to be so fearful of me, doctor." Zonic said rather, apathetically. "I'm in a better state now. Forgive me for my recent behavior."

"Oh no no, it's understandable, sir. I assume these two are joining you, so please, come this way." He waved his wing over to entrance of the corridor, gesturing for all three hedgehogs to follow suit. Thankfully, many of the rooms were empty. There were only a few soldiers here, and the doctor leading them to a certain room explained that the soldiers who were here, were getting ready to transition to the regular medical ward. They were recovering greatly, and were no longer chronically ill or wounded. As they walked, Sonic felt Shadow walk a bit too close. When the hero was about to say something, he saw the look on his face.

Shadow looked angry, and terrified all at once. His expression was too calm, but his eyes told differently. His hands were balled up into fists. This hospice, must have reminded him of the Ark, and that poor girl Maria. He was walking closer because he was starting to lose it by being here. Suddenly, the ebony hedgehog felt a warm hand grasp his own. He flinched and looked down at his wrist, to see Sonic holding his hand. He looked up at his companion, who just smiled back at him. He understood what was wrong. He didn't have to say a word or explain, he could feel his pain.

Someone who understood you without having to speak or ask why...That was something else he loved about Sonic.

Soon enough, they were in front of a door. It was all the way at the end of the hall. Zonic still had on the same dull look from earlier. The two hedgehogs could tell from the doctor's face, that he didn't want to open the door. He was eyeing Zonic for way too long, with his hand almost trembling on the door knob. He clenched his eyes shut and grimaced harshly, before looking away and turning the knob to open the entrance. He stepped aside to let everyone else walk in. Zonic walked in first, while everyone else went in afterwards. Zonic stood against the wall next to the door, with his hands behind his back.

He silently stared at the bed before them.

Sonic looked at the bed and frowned. There was a white sheet over this person's face, and it covered them from head to toe. The heart monitor beside the bed was kinda slow and irregular. When Shadow made a step to move, he nearly tripped over a tube and some wires that was connected to the bed. His eyes widened. This reminded him too much of Maria's medical equipment. She needed so many tubes and plugs in her skin, tainting her frail body. He couldn't look for too long. Whoever this was, they were in serious danger. The grip on Sonic' hand tightened, making Shadow look over desperately. Sonic's face was saddened, but adamant. He didn't want Shadow to run away from this. It was almost as if he could tell what he was thinking.

This isn't her. This will never be her anymore. She's in a better place, and she's free of her sickness. You know that, so don't panic.

I'm here.

He was there for him.

He felt his heart beat slightly faster. He swallowed hard and sucked it up. Yes, he needed to face this head on and quit thinking about the past. He slowly faced the body covered with the sheets again, his hold on Sonic as firm as ever. They watched the doctor walk over, and place his feathered hands on the covers. Sonic and Shadow prepared themselves. It couldn't be that bad. It was just someone resting, that's all.

"Well boys," The fowl started, "This," He swiftly uncovered the patient of the sheet.

That's when they realized who this person was.

"-Is Lieutenant General Zhadow." He said while folding up the sheet into his arms. Sonic let go of Shadow's hand, and placed it on his own mouth from gasping. The person that they carried here, the person that Zonic couldn't stop talking about...The person that looked just like Shadow, was in this bed. An oxygen mask was heavily planted on his muzzle, and his eyes were open. Staring at the ceiling. His fur didn't look as shiny as it was supposed to, and it didn't look as black. It looked a little gray. His chest fur wasn't a healthy looking white, and the color in his eyes were almost empty. Sonic couldn't even find a scent on this person. It was like they weren't even here.

It was like he was dead.

Seeing an exact twin of himself like this, put a horrible taste in Shadow's mouth. No, it didn't matter. He still couldn't look at this body for too long. It made him too uncomfortable. His ruby eyes shook, before grimacing and looking away sharply. Why, why did he look so skinny? He had so many tubes and wires in his body. From the looks of it, this person was fated to a coma but...It looked worse than that. This, couldn't have been just a coma.

Then, they realized why Zonic was acting funny.

Oh no...

They slowly turned around, distraught written all over their faces. The doctor looked down at the floor. They saw that Zonic still looked exactly the same. No, that couldn't have been an honest reaction. He was holding it in, he was hiding his feelings. Sonic tried hugging himself to give himself amenity and gain a little confidence. He took one step towards Zonic with an arm outstretched. "..Zonic-"

"..!" Spit dripped from his peach lips with a loud cough, startling everyone in the room. Zonic was still trying to keep the same exact face, and he was failing. His body was shifting and shuddering, his knees were quaking. His face was darkened, and he looked so scared. He tried to keep his position, so he could still keep his image as commander. But he couldn't keep the tears from falling. He coughed again, with more spit falling onto the floor.

Shadow knew what that meant. "He's going to puke." He warned. Then he saw Zonic's eyes fade faster with each second. His breathing was shortening, and he was panting. He was coughing, and he was starting to grab at his own throat. Then he started to grab at his own chest, they all could hear his heartbeat over the monitor. These were more serious symptoms, symptoms he recognized all too well. "He's having a panic attack!" Shadow shouted.

"Zonic, calm down!" The hero tried to reach out and touch him again, until Shadow snatched him away. Zonic screamed at them to get away the second he came too close. "Damn it, do something!" Sonic whipped his head at the duck.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Zonic hollered. That's it, he couldn't hold it in anymore. He placed his hands on his stomach and hunched his back. He vomited all over the floor below him and fell to his knees.

The doctor pressed his fingers into his collar, and spoke into the hidden transmitter that was placed in his clothes. "The commander is in need of serious medical attention, dispatch two nurses and an additional doctor from level three to room 304 immediately." He rushed over and crouched down to his commander's side, who began to yell and shout for him to get off. His mental state was deteriorating, and he needed to be apprehended this instant. With a grit of his teeth, the duck pressed his fingers on his collar again for an additional message. "I need half a dozen soldiers to apprehend the commander! His mental state is in question and he needs to be taken to the psychological ward this instant!" He looked up at Sonic and Shadow and pointed to the door. "You two! Please leave, we shall handle this!"

Sonic was speechless, but he didn't want to leave him behind. "B..But Zon-" He couldn't finish his mumbling, because Shadow had already took him by the hand and sprinted out of the room. As they ran out, all they could hear was Zonic's screams. He screamed that guy's name, Zhadow, over and over. He sounded like someone was killing him. It was too painful to hear. He couldn't even cover his ears to try and drown it out, that's how horrifying it was. They saw Zespio and Zector push and shove bystanders out of the way to run past them. Other soldiers and doctors joined them and fought to try and get in that room.

Dear God...

After a while, they waited outside the ward. It's been ten minutes, and Sonic was getting antsy. Patience was not his virtue. Shadow tried comforting him while no one was looking, and wrapped an arm around him to pull him close. He whispered to him that he would be fine, and that they shouldn't worry too much. Everything would be alright. They shared a chaste kiss before just leaning against each other. After all that talk about being the big brother of them all, after proving time to time again how mature and calm he was...He crumbled into nothing right before their eyes. He threw a tantrum, an extreme tantrum. He couldn't take it, he couldn't be strong anymore. People worshiped him, kissed the ground that he walked on and respected him for being so cool and hard boiled. Others did the same with Sonic. They kept forgetting one important thing-

Zonic was no God. He was just like everyone else.

He worked too hard, and tried to hide his feelings so that his soldiers wouldn't lose morale, even though they could sense it anyway. He held it in for too long, and this was the result.

Sonic understood all too well. He was a hero, but that didn't mean he didn't have feelings either. Feelings he didn't want anyone to see. To see him so weak...

That's when the doors of the ward burst open. Shadow and Sonic shot their attention over worriedly. Zonic was walking out steadily, with both Zector and Zespio holding his shoulders and arms securely. His uniform jacket was off, so all he had on was the dress shirt underneath. It was tainted with puke, so they probably discarded it. Zonic looked exactly the same as before, dull. Something was still very wrong with him, and he was glaring at the floor intensely. They could hear Zector trying to talk to him as some nurses checked his face and wrote things down. "We're gonna take you home, okay? And hey! Maybe we can getcha some cake from that fancy bakery that just opened up! I know you've been dying to try one!"

"They're pricey, but it's worth it. I'm sure you'll love it." Zespio added softly.

Zonic said nothing in return.

The surrounding soldiers beside the crowd's transmitters all beeped at once. So did Zespio's and Zector's. That wasn't good. Then, they heard a voice on a loud speaker from the ceiling. "We've got a 10-34 level four riot in the courtyard, repeat, level four. All combat patrolling officers please report to the prison courtyard immediately for offensive apprehension."

"A riot now of all times?" Shadow grumbled. His ear twitched at the sound of grunting and concerned warnings. Both he and Sonic looked to see Zonic moving to get out of his constrained hold. Zector with his strong arms, tried his hardest to keep his boss from rushing into action. Zespio tried calming him down, but it wasn't working. Even the doctors and nurses were trying to hold him back, as the other soldiers rushed to get down to the prison.

"Sir? Sir! Sir, please calm down-" They tried to say, but to no avail. "Commander, no-!"

With a few kicks, punches and some elbows, Zonic got free. He elbowed Zector in the stomach, hard, making the crocodile nearly throw up his insides and fall to the ground.

He bolted out of the medical ward and disappeared from sight.

That was seriously bad. They needed to go after him! Zespio rubbed his chin from the knuckle-sandwich Zonic gave and glanced at the hedgehogs. "Sonic prime, Shadow prime! Don't take the elevator, take the emergency chute! It's the fastest way to get to the prison. It's down the hall from the elevator to the left!"

The two nodded and ran in the appropriate direction.

"He tried to tell you, we all tried to tell you so many times, and now look what happened! You're damn pride costed their lives! There are at least twenty people dead now, all because you don't have the balls to handle things yourself! And you wonder why Sonic does a better job than you? That's because unlike you, he doesn't sit on his fucking ass!" The echidna yelled as he shoved his fist into the elder human's face, sending him into the floor. No one even stopped him. Not Amy, not Rouge, not Tails. They were all still in shock at what they just witnessed.

Rouge was desperately trying to get her communication device working so she could try and contact Shadow, but it wasn't going through. This was the worst time for it to malfunction, they were in serious trouble. Out the windows of the tall building of GUN HQ, Amy watched tearfully as people murdered each other left and right. She saw a dead body fall on the street every two minutes. If she saw a child's corpse, she was going to lose it. They didn't deserve this, no one did! Not...

Oh God, Cream! Her, Cheese and Vanilla, they were still out there some where! They weren't near Station Square, but she was sure Scourge's power reached their area. They wouldn't be safe, they had to find them! Just as she was about to turn around and yell for the group to come together so they could form a plan, Tails did it for her. "Guys!" He yelled, earning everyone's attention, even the GUN commander. "I'm not gonna sit here and cry while people are dying. Sonic would kill me if I let that happen, so I'm not planning on staying. I got a plan, but I need your help." He looked at Knuckles, who was livid. His purple eyes were flaming, but once he felt Tails' determination in his voice, he respectfully calmed himself down to listen to what he had to say.

Amy sucked in a large breath of air, before slowly letting it out. Just breathe, in and out. That's what Ms. Vanilla always said to do whenever there was a freak out situation. She'd still never get over this, not that anyone would, but she'd stay content for Tails' sake. Rouge looked at the device with a shaking hand. She grimaced and looked away from it. Neither Shadow or Sonic would be helping them out of this. They had to do this on their own. She placed the device back in her bosom and gave her attention to the fox. If the kid had a plan, she sure as hell would love to hear it. Out of everyone in the world, they were everyone else's only hope. And they couldn't sit around and do nothing.

Tails knew for sure from the looks on their faces that they were ready to hear what he had to say. "Alright." He exhaled heavily for a brief moment. This was a very grave scenario, that had little hope. They had to do everything they could to stop this. "So, Scourge took down the internet and most of the satellites, but he's not the only hacker in town. I can fight my way through the network and get it back online in no time. Once that happens, I'll hack my way into turning off those weird radios that's shooting all that chaos energy." He darted his eyes at Rouge. "Rouge, GUN has attack choppers, right? Take one with Amy. Those radios gotta be on higher ground to send off all those wavelengths in the sky, so you both take down as many as you can to weaken the signals. At least the ones in the Square." He looked over at Knuckles. "Knuckles, you and I take a chopper back to my place to get the Tornado and some communication devices." He reached his attention to all of them. "We'll all rendezvous back at HQ, and come up with another plan."

In unison, all of the Mobians nodded.

Before Tails went to move over to Knuckles, he looked back at the GUN commander and just sucked his teeth in disgust. "Calling for an evacuation is useless at this point. The most you could do now, is lock up the HQ so no one except for us can get in or out." He turned his back on the human. "All I can say to you, is to find a safe place to hide."

He walked away, his namesakes swishing as he left the room with all three of his allies.

The human was sprawled out on his office floor, and he clenched his eyes shut. The sky was falling, and there was an extreme amount of pressure on everyone out there trying to survive.

...But that fox kid, was something else.

END - 17

Hey! I got this one out pretty quickly, right? I mean, I didn't get it out as early as I'd like but, hey it's something. At least it wasn't a month's worth of waiting. By the way, for those of you who think that Zhadow is dead, he's not. He's just...severely comatose. Well, it's a little worse than that, but I won't say anything because I'd be spoiling things. So I'll just keep my mouth shut and let you all speculate.

Sorry, no bonus for this chapter, but I do have a question that I'm sure everyone can easily figure out.

Who is the light one? They've been mentioned more than once.

Anyway, thank you all for the reviews, you all are way too forgiving. Don't stop reviewing though! Keeps me going. Keeps me from putting a noose around my neck, ya know? Haha, just kidding, just joking. No but seriously, I really do read every single one. It really helps me stay inspired. I'm already working on the next chapter, and it's looking pretty good. Hopefully I'll have it out a little earlier.