Sorry these chapter has taken a while. I'm suffering from a major geek-out withdrawal… my only Star Wars Rebels friend is out of town and I can't freak out with her over the new trailer for the next season, so… yeah. I'm sort of DYING because I'm holding in screams of pure happiness, terror and anger all at the same time. *bites lip and breathes deeply*

Alright, now let's see what in Chaos Robotnik is up too. Just a heads up, but I hate writing fighting scenes. I think I sort of...ruin them. And I personally don't like how this chapter turned out, so please bear with me… Much appreciated.

Sonic's POV:

I had just settled down on the couch in front of the TV with a chili dog in one hand and the remote in the other when my wrist communicator started buzzing.

Tails was outside in the workshop, but I knew his had also started going off because the hammering that had been going on almost nonstop for the past three hours suddenly ceased.

Great...what's the madman up to this time?

Over the communicator, the sound of Amy's voice came crackling, "Rose here."

"Just when I was really getting into my building," Tails replied also over the radio.

I rolled my eyes and held down the talk button, "It's always a bad time with you, bro. What's Robotnik up to now, General?"

I heard a small sigh from the said General, "We're still waiting for Knuckles to respond."

"Knowing him, he is probably asleep. We'll fill him in when he finally wakes up." I couldn't help but smirk.

"Very well. Robotnik's forces are attacking Station Square."

I flipped the TV over to the news and found the live coverage of the attack. Sure enough, the mad doctor's bots were terrorizing and destroying downtown Station Square...which was a little weird, seeing as it was literally a few minute's run away. Maybe Robotnik was just getting lazy or something. Speaking of him…

"Is Robotnik there?"

"Negative. He has not yet been spotted on the scene."

With a sigh, I shut off the TV and put my chili dog down. "I'll be back for you later." Turning my attention back to the communicator I held the talk button again. "Alright, General. We're on our way."

I didn't wait for a response, but flipped the frequency to a different channel. "Amy, you coming over here for a ride?"

"You bet. Already out the door."

"Tails, you have The Tornado ready?"

"Yep. Prepped and ready to fly. The only thing I'm waiting for is-"

I smirked and sped out of the house and into the garage, screeching to a halt next to the biplane.

"-you." Tails rolled his eyes. He was already in the cockpit and had started the engines. Literally seconds later, Amy dashed in and climbed up in the second seat.

I flipped up and stood on the wing. "Well then, what are we waiting around here for?"

"Oh brother…" Tails mumbled.

"Yes?"

The plane ride there was pretty uneventful. About a minute away from our target, Knuckles showed up out of the clouds riding his extreme-gear board. He landed on the plane's right wing with a small clank and gripped his board a little tighter than seemed necessary.

"Chaos, I hate heights…" He grumbled as he shifted closer to the cockpit.

The three of us just looked at him, very confused. Tails was the first to speak.

"Uhh… you live on a floating island, you're able to glide on air with your dreadlock thingies, and you just flew here on extreme gear."

I interrupted, "And you're telling us that you don't like heights?...Why?"

"Why are you afraid of water?" he retorted back.

Since I didn't have a good answer for that, we dropped the subject.

The first indication that Robotnik's forces were close was when a laser bolt narrowly missed my quills. The second sign was when one of those annoying buzz-bombers appeared to blow us out of the sky. I can always expect a warm welcome with Robotnik.

Amy climbed out of the cockpit as I spin-dashed at the bot and bounced back, leaving the empty shell and a flicky in the palm of her hand. It chirped its thanks and flew off.

"Well then," the pink hedgehog smiled at me, "that was a pleasant reception." Knuckles just huffed and rolled his eyes.

"Alright! We're coming closer to the ground, so get ready!" Tails called over the engine.

I smirked at him and shifted slightly closer to the edge. On the other side, Knuckles followed suit. Tails flew as close as he could to the ground and then nodded at us. I let out a whoop and leapt off the plane. Knuckles didn't really say anything, but was right behind me. He glided down to the ground while I just took the direct route and burrowed down slightly, before springing up and hitting any robot in range.

Up in the air, Tails pulled up with Amy, who had summoned her hammer, standing behind the cockpit in a ready stance. Tails started a round of target practice while Amy swung, and at some point threw her hammer at the incoming bots; Knuckles and I were on ground patrol.

I could go into detail of every robot and how we smashed it and what moves we used and... zzzzzzzzz... Sorry, just thinking about it makes me want to fall asleep. Basically we fought them, we destroyed them, right?

Well, almost. Let's just say that-

"Holy Chaos!" Knuckles commented as he smashed one of the swat-bots into several pieces. "This is a lot of robots, even for Robotnik."

Up in the sky, Tails and Amy were looping around in a continuous figure eight pattern, getting rid of as many bots as possible. But no matter how many bots we smashed, there always seemed to be another to take its place. In fact, even I was getting a little tired. "Where in Chaos did Robotnik get this much metal to make all of these?" I grumbled loudly, spin-dashing into a bot's chest, sending it flying.

Tails let out a chuckle over the com-link, "I wouldn't be surprised if he stole most of it. That would be his style. I mean-"

"Tails! Pay Attention!" Amy shrieked as more buzz-bombers closed in.

With a slight jerk, the fox yanked at the controls to avoid the laser shots. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough. A few shots managed to skim the right wing, sending the plane into a tailspin. Amy let out a shrill scream and she grabbed onto the wing to prevent herself from flying off the plane.

"We're going down! Hang on!"

Knuckles and I watched as The Tornado spun downwards towards the ground. My jaw clenched slightly and I started to run towards the soon-to-be crash site, but was cut off by the many crawlers and swatbots.

"Tails, I may be running a little late. Eject!"

"We got this, Sonic! Tails, pull up!"

"I'm trying! We'll be fine Sonic, it's just going to be a bumpy landing! Hang on, Amy!"

"You keep saying that! I hate it when you say that!"

Despite the situation, I couldn't help but smile as I spin-dashed through another row of robots. I also knew that Tails had made hundreds of emergency landings before and this one would be rougher than most, but they'd survive. But that didn't mean I liked it. I heard the loud crunching noise as the plane collided head on with the ground, probably about half a mile away. After a few moments of silence, Amy finally called in saying that they were fine, if a bit shaken.

And of course that's when Robotnik's big robot showed up.

This one...well, I wondered if Robotnik had eaten pizza with triple anchovies the night before and had a dream the night before that gave him this idea. Call me crazy, but it appeared to be a squid crossed with a scorpion.

"Hey, Knux?" I called over to the echidna as he smashed the final bot standing, "Want to take out the trash?"

He glanced over at the creature's tentacles and pincers. A small smirk spread across his face. "Why not? That thing looks like it should be put down." Without waiting another second, he launched himself at the nearest pincer, crushing it in a matter of seconds. Not to be outdone, I cut through one of the tentacles and jumped up above to get a better view of the 'creation'.

The whole thing had a bunch of electric eyes and a large beak for chomping up anything it could get close to. It's 'legs' were mostly just glorified tentacles, but there were six spindly legs that shifted slightly.

Knuckles was dealing with the last pincer (there were only two) which meant I had to keep seven other tentacles from plucking him up. This shouldn't take too long.

I was cutting through one of the last remaining tentacles with Knuckles just finishing off the pincher when suddenly-

"Sonic! We got trou- AAAHHHHHHH!" Amy's scream just seemed to echo through my mind.

My spin stalled and then stopped, allowing one of the tentacles to wrap around my arms and legs and pinning them together. I growled and attempted to free myself. "Amy!"

Knuckles also heard the scream and had stumbled slightly, but unlike me hadn't gotten trapped. Instead, he finished off the pincer by ripping the whole arm off the bot and throwing it aside, sparking and crackling.

Tails voice crackled onto the com, "Sonic! Knuckles! Robotnik just came out of nowhere! Amy's down and-"

The radio suddenly cut off and a large boom came from the crash site. My blood ran cold and I could feel my heart sinking to the pit of my stomach. "Tails! Answer me! Tails!"

Knuckles jumped up and ripped through the tentacle that held me captive. "Focus, hedgehog. First this, then Robotnik."

I nodded, a little shakily, "R-right."

"Then let's finish off this joke of a bot." Knuckles growled.

I forced myself to push thoughts about Amy and Tails aside and focused. "You got it, Knucklehead. Together?"

He nodded and we leapt forward, spinning directly towards the heart of the machine. We cut through the metal like it was cheese and landed on the other side. Behind us, the bot sparked, then exploded.

The whole area was wrecked, but no one had been seriously injured. Knuckles and I didn't waste any time waiting around for GUN, but raced off towards the site of the plane crash. It only took a few seconds to get there, and what we found was anything but pretty. One of the wings had been completely ripped off the plane, and the rest of it was still smoking. The whole area was scattered with small patches of flames or charred vegetation. A few of Robotnik's robots laid in piles of scrap metal, but it was much less than the number I wanted to see. Amy and Tails were nowhere in sight.

"Tails! Amy!" I called out.

Knuckles wandered around the sight, searching for clues in his own guardian way. I continued to call for my friends, racing around frantically for any sign of their survival.

"Sonic! Over here!" Knuckles shouted from the other side of the plane a few minutes later.

I zipped over. "Did you find them?"

"No...but I did find this." He held up something that nearly made my heart stop.

Tails' electric data pad was snapped in half, hanging together by only a few wires- and something told me it wasn't from the crash. My hands shaking slightly, I took the pad from Knuckles, clenching my shaking fists. "If Robotnik hurt him, I swear to Chaos I'm gonna-"

I was interrupted by a small flash of light across the clearing. When it faded, Shadow and Rouge stood there, the hedgehog holding the red chaos emerald.

Rouge fluttered in the air slightly, her arms crossed. "Hey, Blue. Red. Sorry we're late. What did we mi-" she cut herself off as she looked around the clearing. "What in Chaos happened here?"

Behind her, Shadow scanned the area and paused on the burning biplane. He looked over and noted the broken data pad then made a small grunting noise. "The fox crashed again. What a surprise."

Usually, I would be in the mood to banter, but this time I was on the verge of strangling the next person stupid enough to annoy me. "Not now, Shadow."

Yeah, I know. It's a kidnapping. How many times has Robotnik kidnapped my friends and led me into a trap? I've lost track at this point. But this attack had me on edge… There was something almost... haunting about it.

Knuckles snapped me out of my thoughts, "Sonic. I found bot tracks heading east." He was crouched near the ground on the other side of the clearing.

Hovering behind him, Rouge looked over his shoulder. "Bot tracks? It looks more like a stampede of elephants. Are you sure you can tell the difference?"

"Just because I'm on a floating island does not mean I don't know how to track." Knuckles growled. "I'm a hunter too."

"Whatever, Red."

I ignored the two and knelt down next to Knuckles, examining the ground. The way the grass was crushed did look like a swatbot's feet.

"Alright, let's go."

The four of us began to follow the trail.

Shadow was the first to say something, which would have been strange if I hadn't been so stressed out to actually talk. "This is obviously a trap."

Rogue shrugged. "Of course it is. Even my old, blind grandmother could see that."

"Do you have a grandmother?" Knuckles questioned. The only reply was her death glare at him.

Of course it was a trap. The guards were a pathetic few and all the lights were shut off. If that didn't say 'incoming trap' than I didn't know what did.

"Alright, here's the plan. Knuckles and Rouge, you distract the guards while Shadow and I figure out where in Chaos Robotnik is holding Tails and Amy."

Knuckles gave me one of his 'I hate you' looks, but Rouge looked a bit smug about the situation. "Just try and keep up with me, Red."

"Don't get too close, Bat."

"Well, now I'm offended. Don't you ever show respect to a lady?"

"Lady? I don't see any la-"

I cut him off before Rouge got angry. "Just try not to kill each other, got it?" The two nodded and skidded down the mountain towards Robotnik's factory.

Shadow and I started to take the longer (but stealthier) path, entering the back way. It was only a few minutes later we heard the explosions and laser shots from the ensuing fight.

"Why did we not just charge through the front? I thought you liked the direct approach, hedgehog." Shadow asked slightly puzzled.

I could understand his confusion. "Normally, I would. But with Amy and Tails at risk, I-"

"Sonic, they have been kidnapped before. There has been little to no risk. What makes you think that this will be any different?"

Slowly, I came to a stop behind a tree, and scanned for any hidden buzz-bombers. "I just… I just got a bad feeling. Call it what you will, but this attack wasn't normal."

"What are you talking about?"

"For one, Robotnik never showed up with his giant robot to brag about his newest design. Another thing is that he's taken Amy before. He's taken Tails. But both of them together? Usually, he'd leave one behind with some kind of cryptic message." I paused and closed my eyes, trying to calm my nerves. "Trust me, Shads. I've been doing this since I was ten. I know Robotnik's plans. I know his style. This isn't normal."

We moved closer to the base and ducked a small patrol. Shadow raised an eyebrow, "Then what do you suppose his plan is?"

I poked my head up from behind the rock and looked at the completely unguarded and unlocked backdoor. "Nothing good… someone getting kidnapped by Robotnik always gets me on edge, but this… this is something I've seen before. And it's something that I don't want to experience ever again."

Shadow's frown deepened, then he vanished. A little confused I looked around; the ebony hedgehog was nowhere in sight. As suddenly as he had vanished, the back door pretty much exploded off its hinges. When the dust cleared, Shadow was standing in the building, arms crossed and glaring in my direction.

I smirked and started to waltz over, "Whatcha doing over there, Shads?"

"Could you stop calling me that, hedgehog?"

"Whatever… faker."

"We are not doing this right now."

I shrugged, "Maybe. Or maybe not. Ready, set, go!" Without waiting to see if he'd follow, I zipped off into Robotnik's base. Honestly, I don't think he even tried, but just stayed in pace with me the whole time. Killjoy. Then again, he is Shadow. While we 'raced', I tried to keep my heart steady and not panic. Running helped calm me down a little, but… I just couldn't keep the fear from creeping into my thoughts. What if this was like last time?* What if he tried to do the same thing to Amy?

We burst into the main headquarters with only three scantily-armed guards to deal with… meaning that Robotnik hadn't improved on his trap making abilities. Let's just make a giant neon sign that just said, "Welcome to your doom! Please wipe your feet!"

Honestly, I could never understand what was going on in the madman's head. Then again, he is a madman. I'm getting off subject again, aren't I? No surprise there. I really don't like this next part.

Robotnik was sitting at his grand console or whatever he called it, having one of his evil laugh sessions when Shadow and I burst in the room.

"Mwa, ha, ha, ha, ha!" he cackled, turning around in his chair to face us. "How did you get in here?"

I pointed to the blown off door. "You left the back door unlocked. Seriously, you're getting sloppy."

Shadow didn't seem interested in the conversation, but stayed a few paces behind me, arms crossed and eyes ahead.

"Well," Robotnik frowned slightly, "I wasn't expecting him to be here. Shadow, you were not on any of my robot's scans during my attack on the city. Nor was your batty friend out front destroying my troops." He gestured to one of the video cameras that showed Knuckles and Rouge having some fun with robots.

"We invited ourselves, Doctor." Shadow replied.

I decided to cut the chit chat. "Where are Tails and Amy? Now."

"My, my, someone's certainly in a rush," the man chuckled.

My blood boiled. "Robotnik, I swear-"

"No need for that. The little fox is on the west side of the base while your pink friend is on the east side." He flipped a switch and two holo-screens appeared floating in the air above Robotnik facing us.

Shadow made a small grunting sound, "Why do I sense a challenge…?"

"Aren't you a smart boy, Shadow?"

The ebony hedgehog growled softly, making me think it was a good time to step in.

"What's the challenge, Robotnik?"

"Simple. Tails is sitting in a glass orb that is surrounded by about twenty feet of water on all sides. The water is twenty feet deep."

Great…

Robotnik smirked, his yellowed teeth showing slightly beneath his curled lip. "Fun fact: That orb your little friend is being held in? I took the liberty of lining it with a combination of copper wire and a set of electric output devices of my own design, programmed to fill the orb with an electric current of approximately ten thousand volts. I believe your little friend will find it quite, hmm... shocking."

… And now we're adding in Tails' worst fear. This just got personal. "Let him go, Robotnik!" I growled.

"Oh, but my dear Sonic, we're just getting warmed up," he cackled. "Sweet, darling Amy is on the other side of the building, where you'll find her strapped down with twenty separate laser guns pointed at her in every direction. You'll find that simply- what do you call it?- 'spin-dashing' at them won't do you much good. I plated each with a chromium steel alloy. It will take you far too long to destroy each before they destroy your lady love."

I was about to open my mouth in contradiction when he interrupted me.

"But wait, there's more!" he added gleefully. "To add to the fun, I'm throwing in a special helper of mine to play with you before you can reach your friend! You will have precisely three minutes before detonation to save your friend. Yes, I said 'friend'. As in 'singular'. Three minutes, rodent, and then..." he paused and smirked, "...boom."

I stared up at the doctor, feeling the smirk slide off my face, being replaced by a mix of horror and fury. "You sick, low-down, Chaos-"

"You forget, Doctor." Shadow stepped forward, "That Sonic is not alone."

Robotnik made a face. "Yes, unfortunately. So the question isn't which one will you save… but which person do you trust Shadow to save?" He smirked and pressed a button on his console. "Run fast, Sonic. Clock's ticking!"

Of course the madman had an escape pod built into his console. And of course just as he was starting to escape, that blasted timer started. 3:00… 2:59...

My mind was racing. Three minutes… Oh Chaos, who do I go after?

"I'll take Miles, you get Rose."

My mind snapped into focus. "Woah, wait a minute-"

"That is the best option. You cannot avoid the water, but I can." He looked me in the eyes, steady and sure. "I promise that I will get to him in time. Trust me."

At first, I hesitated. I mean, come on, Tails was my brother. I didn't want to put his safety in someone else's hands. But Shadow did make a fair point. Note to self- get a pair of hover shoes. "Alright, but Shadow, if he's harmed-"

"We are wasting time. Get going." Shadow ran off towards where Tails was being held.

I glanced at the time and muttered under my breath. "Chaos." Twenty seconds had already passed.

Time to go save Amy.

First off, Eggman's squad. They seriously took about thirty seconds. Robotnik's 'best troops' seemed a bit…easy.

But the fact that it was easy allowed me to actually think for a second. Never had Robotnik done anything like this. Yes, he had kidnapped my teammates before. Yes, he had threatened and attempted to kill us before. But… I don't know. Most of the situations were simple to escape from and most of them hadn't involved a choice. Over the last six years of fighting this guy, I noticed something kind of odd. The first time I showed up to stop Robotnik, he seemed angry that I was destroying everything, but after a little while, he seemed to enjoy our battles (even though I won 95% of the time). He seemed to find pleasure in throwing his robots at me and seeing how it played out. In fact, I remember that on our one year 'anniversary', the guy had actually invited me over for a slice of cake (non-lethal poison, surprisingly enough). We had a nice conversation (using that term very lightly here) for about two hours, and then he tried to kill me. Didn't blame him, really...in fact, I would have disappointed if he hadn't. Then after two years, he seemed to get bored again and increased his efforts to completely and utterly destroy me. In a sudden turn of events, Tails showed up and started fighting him alongside me. I think the fact that he was only seven years old but knew how to beat a security system and where to deactivate a rampaging robot made the whole experience fun again. So it went back to 'fighting for fun'. Then Knuckles showed up, followed closely by Amy, increasing the excitement and the number of enemies. Add in the shifting alliances of Rouge, Omega and Shadow, and we had a regular party. But they joined GUN just about two years earlier and the routine had come back into play. With this kidnapping and choosing between two friends, something told me Robotnik was bored again. He needed a change in routine. A major change.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I realized that the bots were destroyed. Where the heck was Robotnik's 'special helper'? I sped up to a locked door and still hadn't run into whatever it was. "Maybe he was bluffing…?" I mumbled to myself.

With a shrug, I drilled through the door. The dumb thing was probably on the other side. Wrong. Instead I found-

"Sonic! What are you doing? Go after Tails!" Amy was strapped down on a slanted metal table with welded metal pins strapped around her wrists, ankles, neck and stomach. She looked terrified, but I could see the relief in her eyes. A digital clock on the side of the wall read 2:15… 2:14… 2:13. Just above her were metal plated and jointed laser guns, all aimed directly for her chest. No way was I going to cut through all those in time.

I ran to her side and started to try and get the rings off. "Tails is fine… I hope. Shadow's going after him." I put my fingers under one of the rings and started to pull at it. "And how did you know that this was a contest?"

"Robotnik told the both of us. But he never mentioned Shadow being here." She looked over to her right. "Hurry! You only have two minutes left!"

"Chaos, I hate cutting these things so close!" I grunted and finally realized that pulling wasn't going to work. "I need a laser or a metal cutter or-"

"Sonic! Behind you!"

I yelped and dove as a laser shot came out of nowhere. Who was the 'special helper'? Yet another version of Metal Sonic bent on turning me into burger meat. What was with Robotnik and building cheap robotic copies of me?

This Metal was the normal color pattern (blue, gray, gold, you get it) and of course had its creepy glowing red eyes. Its hands were clawed and had some sort of laser repulsor inlaid in the palms. And of course the lame rocket boosters on the back to help move at 'top speed' were there too.

Amy let out another cry of warning as Metal charged again. I smirked and avoided his attack, jumping up and spin-dashing directly into his chest. Unfortunately, Robotnik seemed to have hardened his shell a little since our last meeting. Metal grabbed my leg and slammed me into the metal plated wall. I moaned in pain slightly. "Ugh… Geez, since when could you-"

Metal interrupted me by pinning me up against the same exact wall that he threw me at.

"Okay… no messing around this time." I gritted my teeth and struggled to free myself from its grip.

On the table, Amy was still struggling in her bounds. "Sonic!"

"Little busy here, Ames. Try summoning your hammer and-" Metal tightened his grip slightly, making it a little harder to breath. I grabbed at his arm and grunted. "What- is it- with you- and chok- *gasp* -ing me?" I managed to question.

Metal didn't answer but squeezed even tighter. Man, this was all business today. Whatever happened to a battle for fun?

"Sonic…!" Amy cried out in a slight panic. Her hammer was in her hand, but the way she was strapped down, it was completely useless. But her eyes weren't on her hammer, but on the ticking clock.

I glanced over and felt my blood go ice cold. Oh Chaos… thirty seconds until-

No. I couldn't think about that.

"Hang on!" I glared at Metal and tried to clear my mind of the ticking clock. At the speed of sound, thirty seconds is nothing. I could do this. I glared at Metal and tightened my grip on his wrist. "This is going to hurt you a lot more than it's going to hurt me." I took my left hand and placed it on Metal's locked elbow.

Struggling, I managed to wiggle into the right spot and swung my foot up at the upper arm, twisting my hands in the same general direction. There was a large snapping noise as Metal's right arm and I went tumbling away. I landed in a crouch and pounced back at Metal. The two of us rolled across the floor, trying to overpower the other. I swung the robot against the wall, Metal sparking slightly.

Amy let out another shriek and I zipped over to her. "Hang on a second, I'll have you out in a jiff."

"Fifteen seconds! Sonic, get me out of here!" Amy made a sound that seemed to be a cross of a growl and a whimper.

I shook my head and tried to pry off the metal rings again, but it was still too strong. Although that makes sense that it hadn't changed a bit, since I hadn't attacked it or anything.

The sound of the laser gun's humming and warming up filled my ears and I started struggling again, trying to blink the tears back. Amy couldn't die… I couldn't do that. All of these thoughts seemed to zoom through me at Sonic speed.

Amy struggled with me, "Sonic! I need to tell you something!"

Twelve seconds.

"Not, now Amy! Hold on!"

"Sonic! It's important. Forget about the lasers and Metal for a second!"

"Don't you get it? We don't have a second!"

Eight seconds.

I had a brief flash of inspiration. I grabbed the Metal's torn-off limb and examined its claws. They'd have to do.

Five seconds.

Moving as fast as humanly possible, I cut the bands that held Amy's arms and stomach down with Metal's sharpened claws.

"Sonic! I need to tell you-!" Amy had silent tears streaming down her face, her eyes squeezed shut.

Three...

I practically ripped the last two restraints off of her ankles. Throwing the arm aside, I yanked Amy roughly off the table, sweeping her into my arms.

Two…

Time seemed to shift into slow motion. I pressed Amy against me, using myself as a shield, and braced myself for the oncoming impact.

One.

It sounded as if someone detonated a grenade right next to my ear. Clouds of burning smoke and the scent of melting metal filled my senses along with a giant flash of red light. I could feel the vibrations of Amy's scream, but I couldn't hear a thing.

Not sure how long we stood there. Could've been minutes. Could've been hours. I just know that my limbs seemed to be frozen and I couldn't stop shaking. I held Amy in my arms, gripping her tightly. I didn't want to move at all, and something told me that Amy felt the same way.

Finally, the strength and will to get up returned. The table that Amy had been chained to was nothing but a pile of blown apart scrap metal, fused together from the heat of the lasers. With a thought of what it could have done to Amy, I suddenly felt nauseous. Without a word, I scooped the pink hedgehog up into my arms and sped out of the room.

Knuckles and Rouge were standing the in the middle of a large pile of broken robots, arguing about something or other. I completely ignored them, but put Amy down. I couldn't see Tails or Shadow, making my already pounding heart pick up even faster. I rushed over to Knuckles and grabbed him by his shoulders.

"Where. Is. Tails?" I practically shouted, spinning him around to face me and shaking him till his teeth chattered. Knuckles was so taken aback that he didn't even try to stop me.

"Relax, hedgehog."

I whirled around and found Shadow standing behind the young yellow fox. Tails was a little roughed up, but at least he was standing on his feet.

"Tails!" I ran forward and wrapped my arms around him tight. "Oh, thank Chaos!"

My brother returned the gesture quite eagerly. "Sonic!" He was shaking slightly, but had this big grin on his face.

After a few moments, I finally released him and turned towards the ebony hedgehog. "Thank you." I said seriously, meaning it with all my heart. Shadow simply nodded and motioned at Rouge to follow him.

"A-are you… are you alright?"

I jumped at the sound of Amy's voice. It was the first time she had spoken since the explosion.

Tails smiled warmly. "I'm fine, thanks. How are you?"

She hesitated, "...Fine."

"Great." I nodded and motioned for everyone to follow, "We should get going. This day has had way too much excitement already and I really don't think I can handle another squad of Robotnik's attack bots."

As we walked home (and it was a long walk), my mind tried to calm down from the experience. I had almost lost not one, but two of my best friends. One who was my adopted brother and the other… well, she was a very, very good friend.

Robotnik wasn't playing around anymore. This wasn't a friendly rivalry anymore. It wasn't a game. It wasn't entertaining himself with our battles out of boredom.

This was war.

(* Reference to fanfiction Miles from Home: Chapters 21-26)

Another Sonic chapter, yay! I guess I should have warned y'all but most of Sonic's chapters, at least at the beginning, are going to have a one-shot kind of feel. These chapters are just sort of building up Sonic's relationships with everyone and show what Robotnik is up too. Next Sonic chapter will build off this, so if it seems incomplete...that's because it is.

I know I completely butchered Shadow and wrote him pretty OOC. I'm so sorry, and please believe me when I say that I try my best to keep him...well him. I am so sorry. Shadow is really hard for me to write correctly.

Also, how do you like my version of Sonic? I know it's not the most accurate Sonic you've ever seen, but I wanted to see more of that side of him that is never shown on camera. Sort of more...human. Or hedgehog. Or whatever. Basically, someone who isn't always cool with everything and actually has feelings.

For another point: you may have noticed that I have only been using the name Robotnik. Well Eggman never shows up in this story. It's always Robo-man in this story. Why is it that way? One reason is so we don't have that whole, 'is Robotnik and Eggman the same person or different people?' I'll answer that right now: They are different people in this story. The second reason… well, that was what my co-writer and I finally agreed on. And thirdly: if we had brought in the name Eggman, Halo would never let me type the nickname, 'Egghead', so it takes the fun out of everything.

This is turning into a really long author's note… sorry, but I still have one more point I need to touch on. Knuckles is afraid of heights… this is a personal headcanon of mine, which I know makes no sense at all. Let me explain: in every story I ever write, whether it's fanfiction or an actual work of fiction I have someone who is afraid of heights. Why? Well… I'm scared of heights so it's kind of fun to write about a personal fear of mine. So when I started typing 'Miles from Home', I realized that I didn't have anyone with that fear. My brain started to scramble and the first person who popped in my head was Knuckles. This is amusing and also ironic, as Knuckles can 'fly' and lives on a floating island. So he isn't exactly controlled by his fear, but I'm thinking he doesn't like step ladders because it's too short to get any lift on his...quill things. So we may have a few funny moments with Knuckles.

Anywho, hope y'all enjoyed! Review!