- Chapter 3: Faiths Restored -
Among the vigilant quartet searching for Amy, Rouge seemed to be the most concerned of them all. At least, on the outward appearance. She constantly groaned to herself, knowing they weren't making any progress. It was a big world out there and Dr. Eggman could be anywhere he pleased; but here they were, searching without a lead and equipped with nothing but hope. Hope that they would not be too late to stop Eggman's horrible scheme, whatever it was.
The nocturnal thief stretched her wings and glided above Sonic, Knuckles and Shadow as the men began to slow their sprint into a half-hearted jog. She pressed on ahead of them, flapping her wings to gain momentum. "Okay, guys..." she said, mentally strategizing as she spoke. "The sun's already set and it's getting pretty dark. But I think that'll only give me the advantage, so be sure to stay close." Rouge expected a reply from below or at least a grunt of approval, but she heard nothing. She couldn't even hear their panting after the countless hours of running. "Guys?" She dipped her wings and did a full 180 in the air to see why there was so much silence. The boys weren't following her anymore. In fact, they were way behind. "Hey!"
By the time Rouge reached them, the three had made themselves comfortable on the ground. Sonic sat on the street floor with his elbows on his knees and his head resting in the palms of his hands. Shadow sat at the edge of the curb, his face buried into his hands and muttering incoherently to himself. Knuckles, apart from the hedgehogs, was lying on the sidewalk, breathing so heavily he could barely talk. His legs twiched from running, which lightly amused Sonic. The cobalt hero chuckled to himself every time his red friend's limbs went into spasm. Rouge's boot heels clicked loudly when she landed before them, her face impatient and arms akimbo.
"What are you doing?" she cried out, causing the two hedgehogs to look up startled. "We have to keep looking!" She raised her arms for emphasis, but it didn't really excite any of the three.
"Give us a break, Rouge! We've been running around all day!" Sonic shot back. "We've gone everywhere Eggman would have nested and I've circled the metropolis five or six times already! I even skipped lunch for this!" He sighed and patted his empty stomach. A growl emanated from his gut and he couldn't help but point this out. "Speaking of which, I'm hungry."
If Rouge could have been any more angrier than what she already was, steam would have emerged from her ears. "How could you think of food at a time like this? This is Amy-- Amy is in trouble! A-a-and you're just sitting here like you could care less!" she spat.
"Hey hey hey!" Sonic sprang up, suddenly offended. "I do care about Amy! Why do you think I'm out here wasting away daylight looking for her?" His tone was harsh, but his eyes read such pure honesty that made Rouge feel guilty almost immediately. Sonic softened his expression, though kept his seriousness. "You have no right to judge me just because I'm beat, Rouge."
The bat girl sighed. "You're right. I... I'm sorry." She scratched the back of her head and sat on the curb next to Shadow. "I'm just so worried that... I'm not thinking clearly, I guess." She looked up at the evening sky. A streak of golden orange covered the horizon, blending in with the indigo purple heavens. The moon shined in a dull orange behind the curtain of smog. The sight would have been breathtaking if it wasn't for the air and noise pollution that crowded the grand metropolis. Rouge shook her head miserably. To think Amy could be suffering during a beautiful night that she'd normally appreciate. She broke out of her trance when spotting Sonic sitting next to her and glanced from him to Shadow. "Now what do we do?" she murmured her question.
For a few moments, no words were exchanged. There was only the sound of Knuckles' heavy breathing behind them. He has not even budged from his spot on the ground.
Finally, Shadow spoke up brazenly for the first time since they left the house. "Even if we do find Eggman, a plot of this magnitude you suspect it to be can't be dealt with so easily." Rouge nodded in agreement, deep down admitting to herself that running off like she had done wasn't the best idea. Sonic scoffed silently to himself and couldn't help but feel he was being robbed of his spotlight every time his 'duplicate' spoke. "I think we should go back to see Tails... I wouldn't be surprised if he's already figured out something we need to know." The ebony hedgehog smiled at the thought and stood. Sonic and Rouge did the same.
Sonic stared down at the prostrate echidna with an amused grin. "So... who's carrying Knuckles?"
---
Cream stood on her toes every three seconds, swaying her body and waiting for Tails to start his machine. With its compact size and dull colors, the device wasn't something utterly impressive to the average person. But the little rabbit trusted Tails' knowledge and knew this little machine would do them so much good in this mission.
Tails frowned upon his little gadget, currently regretting he had not used it very often. It was a simple tracking device for each of his friends, but he has never found much use in it. He already had several locators and sonars built into the Cyclone, but they were short-ranged and meant to be used in battle; they would not aid him in a wide-spread search for Amy. The device had gathered some dust and its buttons were a little rusty, but when wriggling the power lever on, the machine hummed to life. Tails grinned and sighed in relief. 'Now we're getting somewhere!'
"It's working!" Big observed, clapping in enthusiasm. Cream joined in the clapping, giggling non-stop with high expectations.
"Now let's give this old thing a try," Tails said with a smile, typing in the search command on the tiny keyboard on the bottom. He had to press some specific buttons several times, for most were rusted together. He pressed Enter and waited while the tracking device processed Amy's information. Unfortunately, it took him right back where he started. The young fox scowled when the tracking device blipped the location of Amy's house on the screen. "Bu-but... Amy's tracker is in her shoes! She always wears shoes wherever she goes, so I thought..." his voice trailed off. He slumped onto his chair with pure disappointment and Cream did no better at hiding hers. She buried her face into Big's fur, tired of letting her tears fall.
Big also sat downhearted, heaving a loud sigh and patting Cream's head. "Now what do we do?" he asked Tails.
The two-tailed kit looked down at the ground, like if his eyes were searching for an answer below his feet. He shook his head, about to voice his cluelessness... then another thought emerged from his clouded mind. He remembered Cream's missing chao, Cheese, and his suspicion that it too could have been kidnapped by Eggman as well. If this really was true, he had another chance. He turned back to the device resting on his desk and reset the coordinates.
The entrance to the room slammed open, but Tails did not even lift his head from his work, knowing all too well that Sonic had entered the workshop. "Tails, you better not be playing video games! You should be working on finding Eggman," the blue hedgehog said, walking over to the little fox and looking over his shoulder. The gadget did look like an old handheld video game, but he smiled when noticing Tails was at work running default searches. He rubbed his "little bro's" head in encourgament and sat on the couch far across his desk.
Not a minute later, Shadow and Knuckles also entered and sat beside Sonic. Sonic stared at Knuckles with a teasing smile. "How'cha doing, Sleeping Beauty?" he asked him with a grin that would have made a Cheshire cat jealous. In return, the echidna frowned and punched him hard in the arm.
Sonic would have probably kicked him back, but Tails' discovery prevented a fight from breaking out. "I got it! I got it!" Tails cried out happily, bouncing off his desk chair and running towards the rest of the gang with his tracking device still at hand. "I couldn't find Amy, but I did a search for Cheese, 'cuz I remembered that I installed a tracker in his bowtie, too!" He pointed at the screen, but most did not even bother to look; they were too busy expressing their confusion.
"Tails... unless you weren't paying attention, we are looking for Amy... A-m-y..." Sonic said slowly, like if he was addressing a one-year-old.
"I know that!" Tails shot back and stomped his foot. "But unless you weren't paying attention, Cheese is missing too." He gestured towards Cream, who was the only one peering over his shoulder to the device with interest. Sonic blinked, realizing just then that the little girl had gone all day without her chao friend. Truthfully, no one ever seems to notice the chao's presense unless he speaks up for himself or if he's mentioned. "He's been gone just as long, too. And I think wherever we find Cheese, we'll find Amy," Tails said.
"So where is this Cheese?" Shadow asked.
The tracking device's screen blipped into a far and desolate location. It showed a clear, satellite image of canyons and hills with absoulutely no sign of buildings, landholdings or technology around (that is, to the naked eye). Everybody gathered 'round to look at it. "It's a little deserted land far under the old Bullet Station!" Tails cried out, recognizing the place all of a sudden. "That's where Eggman's hiding!" He was so sure himself, he dared not use the words 'maybe' or 'should'.
"Alright!" Sonic whooped. "Good work, Tails! Let's hightail it back to the desert!"
CLICK.
"Rouge! Stop taking pictures!" Shadow growled. "It's really getting on my nerves!"
"Oh, come on! Memories are being made!" she protested.
---
Even though they knew where to go, Tails knew better than to foolishly run up there and start a fight. This was something Eggman didn't want them to know and the madman was trying to keep it that way. It was a really unpredictable situation for them all and they had to be prepared. So despite their worries, he tried to convince everyone to wait a couple more days before striking. Of course, no one took the idea very well. Especially Sonic.
"WHAT?" he blurted out. "Are you seriously expecting me to just sit around while Robuttnik toys with my patience?"
Tails tried to explain. "I'm sorry, Sonic... but I think it's best for us--"
"Best for us? What about what's best for Amy? What if Rouge is right about her being in real danger?" His head looked like it was about to explode.
"But--"
Sonic groaned and turned his back on the kit. "You know what? Forget it." He stormed out of the room, rubbing his temples to ease his throbbing head. "Call me when it's time to go." He slammed the door shut. Tails' ears drooped sadly as he heard Sonic stomp up the stairs and into his bedroom.
He was really upset, but no one was really all that surprised. Being the on-the-go hero that he is, he would never stand idly by when he knows where trouble is located. If it was his choice, he'd go wherever Eggman goes without thinking it twice.
Tails sighed loudly and turned to face Knuckles, Cream, Rouge, Big and Shadow. "I guess you guys can spend the night," he muttered sadly. "I added two extra guestrooms down in the basement recently and there's three seats in the living room. I'll wake you up if there's any more news." With that said, he walked back to his desk where he would more than likely spend the night awake.
---
Crr...rreeee...eaaa...aakk...
He opened the door as slowly as he could, but the hinges still creaked loudly. Sonic winced every time they made that annoying snapping sound. 'Stupid door,' he thought after he had opened it far enough to go through. The floorboard was no more silent, either. He took slow and careful steps, often remembering which tiles were the most hollow underneath and avoiding them. And the staircase? Oh, boy.
Halfway down them, Sonic accidently stepped on the dreaded Eighth Step. It made a light popping noise that made Sonic jump about three feet into the air and slide all the way down the handbar to the bottom floor. Thankfully, he landed on the carpet flooring which lightly cushioned his fall and muffled his landing. He grinned in relief. He was home-free now. None of the others had ever stirred in their sleep. He walked quickly and carefully through the living room, passing by Cream, Big and Knuckles' sleeping forms. 'I guess that means Rouge and Shadow took the guestrooms. Good thing, too... they're the lightest sleepers.'
Sonic was worried about opening the front door at first, but if everyone could sleep over Big's snoring, he had nothing to worry about. Just the sound of it rattled his bones. He bit his lip to keep from rejoicing. He was practically out of here already! 'Piece of cake! I'll be back with Amy and Cheese before they even realize I'm gone!' He beamed as he turned the knob, ready to run out to the canyons like a bolt of lightning. Outside it was completely dark with only a few stars and the cresent moon casting silver light onto the houses and foliage. Just enough to light his way. He faced the door just for a second to lock it, and when turning back, he was face-to-face with another pair of eyes.
"Oh jeez!" he cried out and stumbled back, almost slamming his head against the doorframe. He clutched his chest and stared hatefully at Shadow the Hedgehog, who was standing before him. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"
Shadow smirked, which pretty much answered that question in his own, twisted way. "I had a feeling you'd sneak out like this in the middle of the night. Although I wouldn't really call all that racket you made upstairs 'sneaking'."
The blue hedgehog stood and dusted himself. He had half a mind set to drive a fist into the guy's mouth, but he decided it was not the time. He planted his heels on the ground and mocked his rival's stony glare. "Well, I'm going and you can't stop me!" he said in an attempt to intimidate the red quilled hedgehog.
Shadow simply shrugged. "I won't," he said plainly, catching Sonic a bit off guard. "But I will say this: you are, by far, the stupidest guy I've ever met. And most of that stupidity comes from your actions. If you won't even listen to a wise kid like Tails, you really have nothing but helium and ego in that balloon head of yours."
"You have no right to criticize the size of my head when yours is as big as mine," muttered Sonic under his breath.
There was hateful silence between the two that seemed to go on for hours. No matter when, where and what the situation was, Shadow always had this intimidating way about him; even when he does nothing about said circumstance. Looking unbreakable on the outside, Sonic was slowly breaking apart on the inside. The sun would start to rise in about five hours and Shadow had him pinned like an anchor to the porch all because he was having a psychological warfare. 'Gotta run, gotta run, gotta run,' he thought to himself impatiently. The urge to run past his adversary was getting really, really tempting, but he couldn't do it. Shadow --him being unbelievably honest-- would tell the others. Sonic couldn't let him do that.
He wouldn't. The following question that escaped his lips could not be avoided. It was only way to keep the guy's mouth shut.
He sighed. "You wanna come with?" he asked half-heartedly.
Shadow's lips curved into a smile and he patted Sonic on the shoulder. "Why, faker... I'm so touched," he said with an extremely fake tone of sympathy. "I didn't know you cared." It wasn't long until he started chuckling at Sonic's annoyed look. He now addressed him seriously. "Sure. I might as well go to keep you from causing those occasional screw ups when you don't follow the rules." He turned and ran down the path, getting a head start.
Sonic shook his head and bolted after him. 'What did I get myself into?'