Chapter 15 "Escape"

Spike stopped in the dead silence; sitting down dropping the emerald.

Everything got slower; they'd outrun the Elite but now Spike felt this feeling he couldn't shake.

"Master? How on EARTH did you do that?" Power said in amazement.

"I…I don't know, I've never gone that fast before…sure I'm a descent runner but…that was unnaturally fast…" Spike said.

"That emerald? Is that what caused your jolt?" Power said looking suspiciously at it. "Well, I can't say I'm not happy you got us away from there when you did…but if the gem can give you that much speed…what else can it do?"

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Melody ran down the darkest stairway in her father's base.

The area around was bleak and scary looking, clearly his men were harsher then she thought they were.

"This was where prisoners were held, I can't believe I've been so blind…" Melody said shrieking a little at the sight.

Melody had never known how to be brave before, the feeling crept into her heart and she didn't know what she was dealing with.

Blake had lost what decency he had left now, and Melody could see it clearly.

Her hair flowed as she ran down the hall with urgency; she stopped in her tracks as she saw a soldier going to his next post.

She quickly shifted to the side of the door as it was opened and hoped in her mind she would not be spotted.

Lucky for her, the soldier had just finished his routine and there was enough time to slip by.

Melody walked slowly into the door the soldier came from, darting her eyes left and right cautiously.

"Help…" she heard a faint voice from the darkness.

"Where are you?" Melody pressed herself to the walls of the room.

The room was empty, but she could still tell somebody was there, she knew somebody was crying for help.

Her ears popped up higher, and finally she found the source of the screeching.

"Sure hope this isn't just a wall." Melody thought to herself, pushing against it roughly.

Slowly….creeeeaak…the wall came apart from the rest of it, separated, the gray metal surface started budging like a door.

A hedgehog fell at her feet looking out of breath…his eyes were barely open as his short stubby quills pressed into the floor.

"Oh my gosh! are you alright?" Melody said bending over to help him up.

Starring into her worried eyes was the leader of the freedom fighters, the only resistance against Blake's reign on this new planet, and he could barely move.

Though the secret door was about forty freedom fighters, a few raccoons and other such townsfolk; all looking surprised.

"A fello' freedom fighta' as' come to rescue us? But what post ah' ya' from?!" one of them said, the raccoon of the group. "Ow' did ya' know we were er'?"

"There's no time for this! My fathers' guards will be here any moment!" Melody said. "I'll carry him; all of you run for it!"

The rebels didn't waste any time; they ran out the door into the hallway like their life depended on it.

Melody lifted the hedgehog over her shoulders struggling to get a handle on his weight.

The loud thumping noise echoed through the hall as the multitude of people passed through it.

Sirens and loud alarms went off when the cameras got a good sight on them.

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During all this commotion, Tai, the young officer, sat watching the cameras.

And to his surprise, Blake himself stood presently behind him.

He stood up in allegiance and in perfect form for his position, saluting him.

"Supreme Commander." Tai said with his semi high teenage voice. "I sent the men to apprehend your daughter and the rebels."

"Call them off." Blake said.

Tai looked at him with a confused pair of eyes. "Sir?"

Blake scuffed. "What are you waiting for? Radio them to call it off."

Tai shook himself and ran to the radio.

The area in which they were standing was metal, like a lot of the other rooms, only a large computer sat in it, and there were other technologies that this world had never seen.

Blake was not only taking the world over almost completely by now, he'd also taught a few men how to work with the technologies from Sonic's world they had no knowledge of before, and how to build the things themselves.

There were clocks and radios and computers and tracking devises and earphones and new weapons.

"Team three, abort mission, repeat, abort mission." Tai said.

"Yes sir." He heard back.

Blake came closer to the video screen, where the camera feed was.

He saw Melody run through the last door, making it out with all of the freedom fighters alive.

"Commander." Tai said wanting an explanation. "How could you let them go free like that?"

"They're not free." Blake said.

"Sir?" Tai said, awaiting Blake's answer.

A quiet few seconds passed, Blake was tentative to the cameras until he saw the last glimpse of Melody.

"Relax Tai." Blake said.

"Sir, you let your daughter run off with the only resistance there is out there." Tai said.

"They're not the only ones; I just wanted her to think that." Blake said deeply. "You see I knew all along she would betray me, that's why I did not get too attached to her."

"Sir, she's your only daughter." Tai said.

"Yes, but she doesn't act like it," Blake stated, with seriousness in his voice. "She's like her mother, I knew that the day she was born, when she knew enough to think for herself she started doing things on her own, against me, I always knew she would, today was the day she made it known."

Tai stuttered a little, not understanding Blake's motives.

"If I'm not speaking out of place Commander, why then wouldn't you want her stopped?" Tai said with curiosity, almost sounding like he was speaking as a son asking a question to a father.

"She IS stopped." Blake turned facing Tai, his cape flowing slightly as he did so. "That hedgehog who was in the front, the one she had to carry. He's one of the new recruits."

Tai gasped. "What? Forgive me sir but…?"

"That's one of the young hedgehogs who was lucky enough to make it off of my planet Tai, a few Elites from my world are here too. He's got a fire inside him, I can tell just by looking at him." Blake said. "He's going to slowly earn her trust, to the point where he means more to her then any other. Then I will use this trust to turn her back on my side."

"And then, I will punish her for her actions as soon as my task is complete." Blake thought to himself. "She will live and learn the to hate me in the time she will be away…but she will gather information…she will gather the rebels remaining, which I have not been able to find…and she will single-handedly give me the last free parts of this world…through the rebel forces."

End chapter