Sorry for the long wait you guys! I made up for it though I hope. This chapter is nearly twice as long as my usual ones ^^
Reply for Guest review on Chapter 3: Well yeah I plan to continue! :D My muse is just a real struggle sometimes. And I'm so glad you like my art thanks so much!
It's dark, cold, and confusing down here. With my mind distracted by emotions I'm afraid that I've missed the small yellow rocks ingrained into the walls at each dusty, cobweb-ridden intersection. There's an entire network of these tunnels down here. With nothing to go by except a small stick of burning wood that's quickly shrinking, I'm more and more concerned that I've lost my way.
My knees hurt from crawling on all fours through the winding tunnels. I've reached another intersection, where a tunnel marked with red stones crosses with my yellow path. Trying to ease my anxiety and distract myself from the bruised joints I sport (as well as the eternally nagging thought that Knuckles had kissed me not too long ago), I muse about an old movie I'd seen years ago. The Mage of Oz. There had been a yellow path for the main character to follow too.
"What was her name again…?" I think aloud to myself as I settle down at the intersection. I need to take a break, the skin on my knees and palms can't take much more of this rough stone. The flickering light of my torch is starting to die off, informing me that I'm wasting what little time I have. I sit there for a few minutes, trying to think of some other way I can keep moving without hurting myself, and I can't really think of one aside from a form of movement that makes me cringe to think of.
Mainly because that form of movement is used by Mobians who prefer a more… feral, lifestyle. I shudder and shake my head as I remember the one time I accidentally wandered by a group of Feralists who lived in dirt burrows in the forest. I've never seen so many naked people in my life. And I don't mean naked as in not wearing gloves and shoes, I mean naked as in letting all their junk hang out. Ew. I need to think about something else. Like now.
My attention wanders willingly back to the way I can keep walking and not hurt myself. All Mobians have small pads on their hands and feet, left-overs from our ancestors I guess. The pads can take much more of a beating than the skin that covers the rest of the body. Luckily for me, my feet are further protected by my beloved shoes. The only problem is my hands, guarded only by some thin gloves that have already been severely damaged by the rough, porous stone I'm forced to move on. If I could find a position that puts all my weight on the pad of my palm, rather than the whole palm itself, I could keep moving without having to worry about my hands bleeding.
I hold the handle of the torch in my mouth, wincing at the heat of the small flames close to my cheek, and test my weight on the front of my hands. I bend my fingers so that the tiny pads on the underside of my fingertip is the only part touching the rock floor of the tunnel, while the pad covering the palm near the base of my fingers takes the brunt of my weight. It's… actually much easier, my body can easily handle moving on all four, even if my mind find this terribly odd and unfamiliar. I've been through worse, I'm sure I can handle crawling around for a little while longer.
The torch goes out after a little while, but when it does I realize that there is light coming from the end of the tunnel ahead of me. It's the exit Knuckles mentioned earlier. Somehow through all the dust and darkness I managed to stay on the path.
Or, at least I managed to find it again. Either way, really freaking lucky. I crawl out of the stone tunnels and push past the moss hanging at the entrance, stepping out into lush jungle. The sun breaking through the leaves and warming my pelt is honestly the greatest thing I've seen or felt in the past hour. The fresh air clears my nose and lungs and leaves a pleasant, crisp taste in my mouth. I can hear… nothing? Wait, why aren't there birds making noise? This is a jungle there should be hundreds-
CRASH!
I whirl around behind me, my eyes meeting with a pair of the most soulless robotic eyes I've ever seen.
Knuckles spat a mouthful of blood onto the stone floor of the temple's lower platform, the glow of the master emerald pulsing behind him as if it could sense it's guardian's pain. Standing atop him was a war machine unlike any he'd seen before. A four legged robot with the ability to curl up into a ball and tear through the ground like a drill. The speed at which it turned also allowed it to cross terrain at ludicrously high speeds as well. There was no mistaking what purpose the metal monstrosity was designed for. It was built to catch Sonic.
"I'm going to ask you again, echidna. Where did you hide that murderer?" Commander Towers snapped, his patience wearing thin from the long confrontation.
"I… don't… know.. any… murderers!" the red male snarled back, baring his teeth as he fought for each breath. The machine pressed a heavy foot onto the echidna's bruised chest, enough to cause pain but not do much damage. It was clear that GUN didn't want to actually harm Knuckles, probably due to his status as the last living echidna on Mobius, they just wanted the information of Sonic's wearabouts.
Nearby, Shadow and Rouge watched the argument with conflicted emotions. The jewel thief seemed to be curled into herself, not wanting to see or hear the interrogation. Shadow seemed passive, but his eyes reflected something skin to regret and pity.
Faker sure does know how to pick allies. Even now, outnumbered and beaten, the Guardian won't talk. He mused to himself, watching the Commander dish out a frustration-fuel kick to Knuckles's face, staining his black boot with crimson blood.
"We're not getting anywhere with this." Topaz muttered, shifting her stance to something a little less professional and a little more tired. It seemed that she too had grown uncomfortable with the situation. "Knuckles and Sonic are very close. They practically grew up together. He's not going to spill any beans anytime soon."
Shadow nodded, "I was thinking the same. Although I believe Towers is getting desperate. He's wanted for year to cage up that blue hedgehog, and now that he has a viable reason, he can't catch Sonic. That's why this has even gone on for so long."
Another strike from Towers managed to draw a yelp from Knuckles, which finally frayed Rouge's last nerve.
"C-Commander! He's not going to tell you anything. Just let the Mongoose loose on the island. It's programmed to find Sonic, and it will. There's no need to do irreparable damage."
Towers faltered in his assault, snarled, and then kicked once more for good measure. As the commander walked away, the echidna spat out one of his front teeth and sighed in relief. The commander turned swiftly around, "Mongoose! Activate Primary Objective protocols. Find that hedgehog! He's somewhere on the island and I want him brought to me alive!"
The shiny silver death machine took off into the forest, smashing through trees and underbrush with the strength of a freight train at full speed.
-x-x-
I stand there, frozen and shocked, by what looks like a giant robotisized version of my species' natural predator, the Mongoose. The subtle glow coming from it's nose pulses softly, and the eyes are locked onto me. The monster raises it's head by a mere centimeter and scans me, a cyan grid shooting from it's eyes and running across my form. I forget my surroundings and focus entirely on the robot in front of me. Instinctual panic sets in as I realize I am caught in the open, with my enemy between me and the only way I can get underground. A burrowing animal without access to it's burrow is doomed.
"LOCATED LIFE FORM. IDENTIFYING…" The voice is deep and sounds exactly like what I think a terrifying robot would sound like, seeping into my ears and freezing my blood, "IDENTIFICATION CONFIRMED. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG YOU ARE UNDER ARREST." The metallic monster crept forward, causing me to stumble back and land on my rump. "DO NOT RESIST. DO NOT RESIST. DO NOT-"
The thing's head is rammed into the ground by none other then Rouge the Bat and her signature screw kick. With one move, she succeeded in burying the robot's head completely in the ground. She lands nimbly, before looking at me with eyes wild and fearful.
"What are you doing? Get up and run!" As if her words woke me from a trance, I stumble to my feet, shaking my head to clear my vision before doing just as I was told, vanishing into the surrounding jungle.
Behind me, I hear a metallic roar and a scream. Oh no Rouge! I look over my shoulder, ready to run back and defend her, when two steel jaws snap shut in the open air where my quills had been moments ago. I can't help but shriek in response and keep running, hoping to outpace the death machine and double back to find my friend. I break the sound barrier, but I soon hear another sonic boom moments later, and I turn to see the machine curled into a ball, almost like it's spin-dashing across the ground to keep up with me. This is not fair. At all.
It chases me through almost every zone on Angel Island, and I can't seem to shake this thing. It's always right on my tail, and it seems like it knows exactly what I want to do before I do it. If I try to turn, it's there blocking my path. If I try to speed up or slow down, it follows. The machine hasn't actually tried to grab me again. Now it's just chasing me, and I'm getting tired. I really wish this thing would like, trip or something. Anything. Just give me a moment to breathe…
My chest is beginning to ache, but I don't get the respite I was hoping for. Instead, the chase intensifies as the robot seems to realize that I'm wearing out. By now, the helicopters have joined in the chase, their bright floodlights casting hard shadows on the jungle. It doesn't sound all that bad, but in reality it's very hard to see where I'm going. People in the helicopters are shooting at me, and I can't tell if they are using live rounds or darts.
My downfall comes from below, literally, when I stumble out of the tropical jungle and start falling off the edge of the floating island. It's absolutely terrifying at first when the ground disappears from beneath me, but the cloudy sky ends up saving me when the machine doesn't follow and the choppers can't see me through them. It's not the most graceful fall and/or landing I've ever managed, but I'm sure picking grass out of my teeth is preferable to whatever that robot was going to do if it caught me.