Piercing Through the Dark
by 1Speak-th3-Truth
Chapter 5
Nightfall
The sun slowly faded away until it disappeared from view. The orange lands now blanked purple lay stained in darkness until next morn. Tyranny and lies seemed to blacken the terrain more, the land in thick coats of dust. Dreams decending. The moon shining down on the lands. Twas since the beginning that creatures have wondered of the universe. The stars-each one holding its own mystery. Just waiting to be told of. But now the stars seemed to disappear. Just as the sun had escaped from the sky. The magestic feeling of the night had been poisoned and tainted by violence and destruction. Courtesy of Sonc2. (Who COULD'VE guessed!!)
"Shh, come on." Shadow whispered through the inky blackness of the forest. Two innocent rabbits followed him. One named Vanilla, the other Cream. Both scared and confused, followed Shadow without hesitation. For they knew that their home wasn't safe anymore. That android would rip them into shreds if he found them.
The darkened trees looked as if glarring. Cream looked about, her imagination of a child kicking in. The trees...they starred at her, laughed at her like they were goblins and ghouls. Their branches...hands, trying to grab her. Owls...monsters of the night sky, looking at her as if she was their prey. The wind that blew past her felt strange and chillful. An omen of some sort. The ground was damp with dew.
The black hedgehog led the rabbits through a hidden forest path. This path could never be caught in the sight of any sattelite. So Sonic2 wouldn't be able to track them here, hopefully. The hedgehog looked around, then haulted. He motioned a hand in front of Vanilla who carried Cream. The two of them stopped as well.
"Mom, I'm scared." Cream whispered out of fear. Vanilla kissed her child on the head and patted her ears down. "Don't worry, Cream. Shadow's taking good care of us." Those words began to make Cream feel better. But she couldn't escape the fear of the night time ghouls. If they were real. If they weren't just her imagination. She hoped Shadow would be there to protect her. Same for her mother.
...
"Amy? Amy are you there?" Sonic asked as he knocked her door several times. But he had yet to receive an answer. Was she sleeping already? It was only 10:00pm. Sonic didn't know Amy to go to bed so early. At least not for another 30 minutes. Either she felt sleepy, or something was up. But what? First thing's first. He'd have to get in and see if she was there. Of course, the door was locked, so, time for plan B!
Sonic stepped back a few feet, readied up his energy, then dashed at full speed into the door. CRASH!! His impact impaled the door inwards and caused it to fly into the kitchen.
"Oh shit! Amy's gonna kill me for that...err..." Sonic sweatdropped. Hopefully when she did get mad, she wouldn't have her hammer with her. But like that would ever happen.
The house was dark. No one was here. Sonic walked up the staircase, a creak escaped the wood every time he moved his feet upward from the wood and back onto it. The walls seemed invisible. So did the ceiling and the floor. In front of him it was dark, to the side of him it was dark. Darkness all around him. Improvising, the blue hedgehog motioned his hands around, feeling for one wall from the other. Amy's room was to the left right from the staircase, so Sonic was pretty sure he went the right way.
Suddenly, the hedgehog felt something on the wall. "Hey, a light switch!" Sonic whispered. Though it was a pretty loud whisper. He pushed up on the switch and the darkness disappeared. He could see the tan walls, white ceiling, and the brown wooden floors. "Now that's much better."
More along the lines of his objective, Sonic walked toward Amy's room. Strange enough, the door wasn't locked or even shut. So he pushed the door and made another kind of creaking noise as it opened. The room was dark, but was lit partially by the hallways's light. Sonic went over to the bed and noticed that Amy wasn't there. With that, Sonic zoomed out of the house, turning off the light and trying to fix the door.
But it slowly fell back down to the ground. "Shit! Amy's gonna kill me for sure...I'll worry about it later though." Sonic slapped his own forehead. Maybe I shouldn't of overreacted about the whole 'break-in' thing. the hedgehog thought to himself, probably right about it.
...
Reapairs Completed
Beginning charge...
Beginning mech tests...
Beginning interface tests...
Beginning combat tests...
Beginning receiver tests...
All system tests are online in perfect condition.
Eggman smiled. His eyes were crusty from staying up for so long. But he couldn't sleep from a kind of insomnia known as stress. The doctor was stressful towards Sonic. Whether it took him a few days, or just a few minutes, Sonic was always getting in the way of his plans. Things seemed to be different this time around, however. Sonic had not ruined anything yet. But Eggman refused to let his guard down or get cocky. He'd celebrate when Sonic finally had life leave his eyes. Only then would Eggman be truly feel accomplished.
He had designed this computer room to have a large window on the right side. An impressive steel entrance way on the left. And of course, all of the computer monitors, small control panels run by Bokkun, and the main monitor controlled by Eggman's keyboard on the side of his chair, litterally connected to it. Eggman typed in 'Notify when charge is complete'.
Suddenly, all went black. Eggman had fallen asleep.
...
"Data downloading..." Sonic2 said in a low tone. He spied down at a red echidna familiar to us all. Knuckles.
Knuckles had the feeling he was beign watched. He looked left and right at all the naturally formed landscapes. But he couldn't get rid of the feeling. Someone was ready to ambush him. Knuckles quickly switched into a fighting stance, ready to bash a skull or two. Little did he know Sonic two used a cloaking device to hide at a high peak...the roof of Eggman's base. The android...just as Knuckles would expect as someone...wouldn't want him getting in. There had to be another way in rather than the main entrance.
"Data confirmed. New log entry. Subject, Knuckles the Echidna.
Sex: Male
Age: 16-17
Strength Points: Power, subtle speed.
Weaknesses: anger management, low priority brain
Known factors: Still searching...
State of buisness: unverified..."
Sonic2 mumbled in a low voice to himself.
"This place gives me the creeps." Knuckles said quietly amongst himself.
Sonic2 stayed in the same squat position, eyeing up a target. He could not allow someone to stop his master's plans. After all, things were going so well for the both of them.
...
The crescant moon illuminated scarcely among the toppled forests. The path seemed as dark as the night sky. Tree roots picking at their feet, wanting them to trip. The dirt was moist, making it sort of muddy. It stained Shadow and Vanilla's shoes as they continued on their trek away from oblivion. Cream asleep in her mother's arms, hugged graciously on the soft arm of Vanilla. Vanilla wished she could dream as well. But as for now, she had to follow Shadow. And she was pretty sure that Shadow didn't intend on sleeping at all. They would walk...walk all night-long if they had to.
"Shadow, I'm still confused. Why must we travel in these conditions?" Vanilla asked in her usual calm voice.
Shadow stopped in response to her question. He looked to the back of him and eyed her. "Its either rough conditions, or a rough life...by which I mean you're dead."
His statement brought a cold feeling to her heart. She felt as if stoned in her own ignorance. This couldn't possibly be as bad as being dead. Rather than arguing, she should be considerably greatful that Shadow would risk his own life to save another. Why? 'Cause he doesn't do it very much.
The aged rabbit looked up at the towering trees, seeing a faint glimmer of the crecsant moon. It was yellow...almost like cheese. It sparkled in envious light, but was shrouded in a mystic energy. One that made you feel lightheaded. The trees made it hard to spot though. But it would appear as if the stars were really out tonight. Vanilla smiled, thinking of those stars. Cream always enjoyed them, too. But she was still worried about events to come.
...
"What!?" Sonic jaw dropped from the news he had just heard.
Sonic had asked Tails where Amy was. Tails told Sonic that he had received news that Amy was taken to the hospital after suffering sever wounds to the chest and legs. Sonic was dumbfounded. When did this all happen? Was it yesterday? Was it when he was out cold? What was going on? Eggman was probably playing them all for fools. Ironically, they had listened to him many times, and yet, they decided to not relate the crime to him. Now, when Eggman isn't even around, they convict him with no other explanation. Nothing was making sense. Sonic knew that for sure!
"That's right," Tails replied to Sonic's awe-induced statement. "she seemed really hurt. I saw her just a few hours ago. But visiting hours ended," the fox sighed with a sly smile on his face, "and...well...I had to leave."
"Yeah, but where was I!!" Sonic shouted.
"Shh...don't wake up anyone, Sonic. You know what happened last time."
Flashback
"Listen, WHERE IS MY BASEBALL CAP!! TAILS!!" Sonic shouted angrily. Mostly blind fury.
"What the? Hey you, damnit, boy, shut it!" a cranky owl from next door scolded.
"Yeah!" an eagle agreed. "Some of us actually sleep, you know!" And with that, the two animals prowled onto the hedgehog, pounding him down to silence him.
End flashback
"Oh yeah. Not a pleasant thought." Sonic remarked. He didn't want to make those two angry again. It meant certain death...well...not death, but still. That owl...
Remeber Old Man Heatherbottom I told you about? Well, that owl IS Old Man Heatherbottom. He's a cranky old fellow and he never gets enough sleep (in his book) and he hates Sonic personally because of the hedgehog's free-spirited attitude. Apparently, Heatherbottom appreciates Tails for controlling Sonic's rowdy behavior on several occassions. But would appreciate it even more if he got Sonic to stop all together. But if you know Sonic, that wasn't a possibility.
His friend, the Eagle, is BillyBoo. A strange name, a nickname to be exact. His real name is William. He's not as cranky, but still dislikes Sonic for the same exact reasons.
Enough of that, though, back to the story...
Sonic scratched his head, recollecting his cool looked out Tails' doorway and up to the bright moon. Then he looked down at the moist ground. A rose...how very odd, was springing from the ground litterally before his eyes. But Soinc didn't recall Tails' owning a rose garden. Did he? The only thing he ever saw Tails' plant was that seed of Cosmo when she had sacraficed herself what seemed so long ago.
"Hey, Tails, you wouldn't happen to be planting roses, would you?" Sonic asked. He sounded suspiciously curious about the whole thing. Especially when Sonic backed up to let the fox come out and see for himself. The fox even seemed troubled, so he couldn't have grown it.
"No. I don't grow roses. That's strange." Tails went back in and came out with a magnefine glass. He knelt down by the specimen and observed it through the glass tool. To his suprise, there was no abnormalties about it. It was just an ordinary rose that you'd find in a garden or the forest. But the question of how it got placed there was still a mystery. An omen perhaps? Maybe even a good sign?
But it made the hedgehog think. Amy was always chasing after him and he ignored her. Now, with the state she's in, may be his last talk with her. Sonic was beginning to wonder on past events. Maybe, just maybe, he and Amy were meant to be. Whatever it was, Sonic knew one thing, and that was that he needed to get to that hospital as soon as possible. "Sorry, Tails." Sonic began as he got ready for a dash. "Gotta go!"
A blue blur was the last thing that fox saw as his friend darted off down the cliffside and into the city. "Same old Sonic." Tails remarked to himself as he walked back inside, closing the door behind him.
...
"What the hell is that?!" Knuckles gasped for air. A small brown pile of sludge gave off an odor. It lay just feet away from the entrance to the base. The echidna couldn't take much more of the smell. His face turned green and he began to feel sick in the stomach. "Oh, GOD THAT SMELLS!!" Knuckles shouted out, unable to hold his content much longer. That was, until he heard the clank of metal footsteps.
Suddenly, a mechanical figure jumped down onto the ground before Knuckles.
"I am Sonic2. Super Obliterator Nano-Ion Collateral 2."
Knuckles seemed shocked at first, but shook it off quickly and got into his fighting stance. "Alright, when I'm through with you, you'll look like that shit on the ground, eh, bot boy!?" Knuckles smirked with a grin. But the android didn't even move. He just stood there with his palm out. A sinister glare from his eyes was bestowed on the echidna, making the mamal feel highly uncomfortable.
Knuckles broke the prolonging silence with a bold statement, "You must be that android that nearly wipped Sonic out, huh? Sonic2, right?"
The android only nodded. A powerful energy beam began charging in the palm of his hand. Knuckles thought quickly. As the beam was fired, the echidna cleverly ducked and rolled up to the droid and kicked from below, making Sonic2 collapse on his rear. "Why you?! I do not understand your tactics. They are highly unusual for combat and yet they are very effective." the android noted.
Meanwhile, inside the base, Blaze the Cat heard the fighting. Though she knew it wasn't Sonic by the faint sound of Knuckles' voice. But right now, she didn't care. The only thing she cared about at the moment was getting out of there, one way or another!
Knuckles jumped on missile after missile as Sonic2 began launching them out everywhere. This thing's insane! Knuckles thought. Suddenly, the droid's eyes began to glow, and a powerful laser shot out of them, whacking Knuckles back, down the cliff. Sonic2 followed ruthlessly down, ready to bit the crap out of him. Knuckles saw Sonic2 about to prounce onto him. He rolled to the side and successfully pulled off an uppercut to the android's chin, causing him to be airborn. When Sonic2 recovered his ground, he seemed a bit pissed off. "I have had it with you! Prepare to die, echidna!"
Sonic2 pulled out a ray gun attached to his wrist and fired thirty-some blasts of energy. Knuckles began to feel heavy. Then heavier. Unable to withstand the power, the echidna fell to his knees in defeat. Knuckles groaned in agony. His spine began creaking as if it was about to snap. When all seemed lost, the android finally ceased fire. Something told Knuckles that this bot had other plans for him. Sonic2 walked up to Knuckles who lay on his back on the canyon dirt. Knuckles starred at the moon, and suddenly, at the android face looking down on him. But rather than continuing the fight, the android held out his hand in assistance.
Knuckles was baffled as he was pulled onto his feet. Hesitantly, he looked to the side to see the android starring at him. "You spared me. Why?" Knuckles was confused.
Sonic2 just looked up to the sky away from Knuckles. "You were a fine opponent who knew skills I did not. You will die...but not like this. I will battle you again one day, without the aid of a weapon. Then...only then...will we see who is truly the best." the bot explained as it jetted away on its jetback unit (transformable back component).
Knuckless stood there speechless for awhile. Even after the android was long gone. How very strange, that a robot who was programmed to mercilessly murder many people, would look at him as worthy to stay alive. While pondering, Knuckles realized something about that weapon that Sonic2 had used. Wasn't that the weapon Tails' told all of us about?! Knuckels was shocked once more. He had thought of it as a joke. But now he knew that it was surely not a joke, as it had almost killed him.
But more along to important things, the echidna once again used his fists to climb back up to the base entrance. But he was worn from the battle and climbed the slowest he had climbed in years. He felt heavier than usual and he thought very hard on several things. One of the most sinister things he pondered on was Sonic2. Super Obliterator Nano-Ion Collateral 2. Definately belonged to Eggman. But what was inside the base began worrying him the most. If Sonic2 was that powerful, what if Eggman had something else up his sleve? Only time would tell, and it was up to himself to be ready for it.
...
"What a strange lifeform." Sonic2 thought mentally. Eggman had given him humanoid properties such as the ability to think, to read, to feel. Necessities.
The android remained puzzled after his encounter with Knuckles just as Knuckles was puzzled on him. Never had Sonic2 ever seen that kind of combat before. There was more to this echidna than his looks and attitude. Sonic2 landed his jetpack unit onto the steep forest hill with its darkened soil with overshadowing trees. The dark earth beneath him shook as he made impact with the earth. His sensors began picking up traces of powerful life-waves.
Life-Waves, in terms of Dr. Eggman, were waves given off by lifeforms. The stronger the lifeform, the stronger the wave. This wave seemed so familiar that it made his metal creak as he stood in fighting stance. The last time Sonic2 felt this much of a wave, it was from that black hedgehog, Shadow.
Midnight was passing on, Sonic2 had a very tight schedule. "Those rabbits. They must be with him. There is no other options."
So with that, the android walked pacefully through the forests. He had no time to waste here. Especially when his targets had not been eliminated.
...
"How can I help you, sir?" a hospital employee and the sign in desk asked. The rat looked at the blue hedgehog then back to his checklist.
"Visit. Amy Rose?" Sonic replied anxiously towards the rat. The rat nodded and entered Sonic's name into the computer. "Alright, visiting hours end in 45 minutes. That should be enough time, right?" the employee asked. Sonic eagerly nodded his head.
"Okay, then. Room 404 on the 4th floor. Do be mannered, though, people around here don't like to be disturbed. The hedgehog nodded his head, finding no reason to argue. So, rather than running, Sonic walked at a steady pace.
As the hedgehog walked, he looked into each individual room. It was then that he began feeling sorry for people. Gunshot wounds, attempted murder, cancer, and even having an organic limb removed. His expression turned to a sad look and he decided to drop in on someone. He peered through the glass window on the side. Inside the room, a doctor was discussing options with a couple. A young female cat, a teenager, lie in a full body cast. Sonic went to the wooden door and placed his firmly against it to hear what they were saying.
"Mr and Mrs. Allen, we are currently looking after your daughters well being. But we fear that the injury to her skull was collateral in several ways. If we cannot be successful in the up coming surgery...if you permitt us...we fear for the worst." Sonic heard crying after that. It seemed to break his heart. Sonic began wondering if there was anything he could do. But he had no idea about surgery, or how to run equiptment of any kind. There couldn't possibly be anything that he could do.
Sonic decided to leave. He heard footsteps heading to the door. The hedgehog walked away as the doctor came out.
Sonic thought he was in the clear. He wore an expression of nervousness and regret. He heard a voice behind him call out, "Hey, you, son. Come over hear." It was the doctor who had called him. Sonic turned around, and attempted to change his facial expression. "Yes, sir?" Sonic asked politely.
The doctor motioned a finger, giving Sonic a hint to come over. When he and the doctor stood face to face, the doctor looked into the previous room, then back at our hero.
"You were listening in, weren't you."
Sonic only starred. The doctor was a grey falcon with crispy white hair and a beard. "What...makes you think that?" Sonic asked. His voice was worried and the doctor could tell. He sighed and looked back into that room. "I'm Dr. Earnright. And THAT was Alexis Allen in that body cast."
"What happened to her, doc?"
"Sever injuy to the skull, I'm afraid."
"How?"
"She was wandering around the Forgotten Canyons."
That statement brought shock to the blue hedgehog's face. He remembered Knuckles before he left on a journey of some sort.
"See ya, Sonic. I'm gonna go look for Egghead's base. Maybe go through a few canyons or so. I'll be back."
"Everything alright, son?" the doctor snapped Sonic out of his memory. He shook his head and looked back at Earnright. "Yeah, fine."
The doctor nodded before heading off in the opposite direction.
Sonic then remembered what he had came for. He turned back in the right direction and walked off.
Finally, he had reached Amy's room. She lay weakly in her bed. She had been given a trake. Sonic was horrified. He looked up at the monitor. Heatrate seems good. Sonic thought happily. But when he looked down at Amy, he could only feel regret. A burden. Where was he when this happened? He should've been there for his friend. But he wasn't, and now he had seen what the results were. Disaster.
Amy Rose lay with her eyes gently shut. She seemed to be sleeping. Her hands crossed each other on her lap. Her hammer lay against the corner from the bed.
"Amy," Sonic whispered gently in her ear. The pink hedgehog's eyes slowly opened the set their eyes on the caller. They seemed to water when they saw Sonic. Yet, there was a smile on her face. A happy mood surrounded her, even in this condition. Sonic smiled and laid his hand on her's. He pulled a seat over to the bed so he could sit beside her. And so he did. He sat and patted her hands gently with his. He spoke to her. He wasn't sure whether she could hear him or not, but he didn't care, and talked to her anyway.
"How you doing? They treating you good?" Sonic asked with a friendly grin. Amy could not speak, but she replied with a smile and a grip on his hand. Another tear fell from her eye. Not a sad tear. But one of joy. She seemed to be glad that Sonic had bothered to visit her. Normally he'd be running from her. But things seemed different now. Nothing seemed the same anymore, anyway.
"Hey, I'm gonna be right here, okay?" Sonic spoke to her. His tone was soft and sweet. Very unusual for Sonic, but a very nice thing to do. Amy smiled and moved her head in an uncomfortable manner. "I'll fluff that pillow for you." Sonic said. He carefully lifted her head, took the pillow, and placed it under her head and once more carefully put her back down. She passed a smile his way. Sonic couldn't help but to blush. For the first time ever, he began feeling strongly about her. Whether it was right or not, he wasn't going to leave, visiting hours or no visiting hours. They could not tell him to leave his friend. Until Amy would get better, this is where he needed to be the most. By her side.
...
Knuckles the Echidna smashed a whole through the steel doors and made a dive through it, only to land slickly onto the tiled floors of the interior. He looked in all directions of the intersection within. Which way should I go? Knuckles thought quickly. This had to be a quick mission. He hoped Eggman was asleep. He wasn't afraid of Eggman, but he was afraid of his toys. With a quick burst of speed, the echidna ran quickly through the halls.
Suddenly, he came to a stop. A series of security cameras marked the next few walls. "Good ol' Eggman. Hasn't changed a bit!" He whispered to himself. He jumped up quickly and pounded each camera left and right, jumping from one end to the other. Soon enough, there were no cameras left. Knuckles worried, however, that he ahd made to much sound. The echidna looked for the closest corner and dove into the shadows. He remained there for several minutes. But he stayed there after hearing Bokkun walk by. What was that little rat up to?
Sure enough, the moment passed, and Knuckles was on the run again.
Bokkun walked down the hall. He noticed the broken security cameras on the ground. What? How'd this happen? How'd ANYONE get in! Bokkun thought worriedly to himself. Eggman wouldn't be happy.
He pressed a button on his wrist watch to get a hold of the doctor before it was too late.
Eggman was snoozing away. That is, until the dreadful ringing of his communicator. "Huh? WHAT IS IT!?" Eggman was crankier than usual. "Doctor, someone's gotten into the base!" Bokkun exclaimed. Eggman's expression turned from angry to suprised. "Say what? How?"
Bokkun shrugged before continuing. "Don't know. But when I went for a glass of milk, all the cameras on the walls were fried."
Eggman pondered. "Don't worry about it, Bokkun."
"Don't worry? I don't get it."
"They're after our prisoners, Bokkun...I think."
"Still don't get it."
"We have no use for them. But keep an eye on the perp, make sure he or she does nothing else!"
Bokkun made a solut. "You got it, doctor!"
...
Tails sat on his couch for quite sometime. He wasn't sure what to do. It was times like this that the yellow fox wished his beloved Cosmo was still around. At least then he wouldn't feel so lonely. Sure, he had good friends and all, but they seemed to have something else on their minds all of the time. If Cosmo was still here with him, he could talk to her about anything. But she sacrificed herself to save the universe. So to deal with the lonelyness, he'd tell himself it was for a good cause. But then he remembered it. He was the one who did the sacrificing. He had shot at her. He couldn't bring himself to forgiveness. Tails wasn't sure if he ever could.
The fox turned his head to the window sill and looked at the beautiful plant growing there. That always cheered him up. That plant was the last thing he had to remember his dear Cosmo. Nothing could take that away from him. He wouldn't allow it.
He walked over to the window and saw the sky turning pink. Night was coming to an end. Daylight was beginning to stretch across the stary sky. Soon these nightmares could end. Or at least, he hoped they could.
...
"Blaze?" Knuckles asked. He looked rather shocked to see her again. Ever since the Sol Emerald Crisis, somewhere after the Metarex innicdent, he never thought he'd see her again.
"Knuckles, right? Thank goodness you're here. Think you could lend a hand?" Blaze asked, a smile of gratitude on her face. Knuckles nodded and held out one of his fists. "Just you watch." he remarked.
"Now hold it!"
The echidna turned to see Rouge in a net hanging from the wall. He didn't know whether to feel sorry for her, or to burst out laughing at her misfortune. One simply way to get out of that kind of situation is to do neither. Of course, that was his decision. Another thing he debated on was whether to save her or not. After all, she did say she could handle things her own way on her own. So why should he be the one to say no to it and help out? She drived him batty, anyway, so might as well leave it at that.
Knuckles made eye contact with her for sometime without breaking silence until he walked over to her. "Why?"
Rouge just huffed and fidgeted with her fingernails. "Well, Egghead made sure there was no way to get out of these damn things. What makes you think you can break it?"
Knuckles just went back over to the cage, and struck it with full force. Blaze felt the trevoring of the steel, until the bars finally collapsed onto the ground, leaving an indent on the tiled flooring.
Rouge looked at him dumbfoundedly. She couldn't believe her eyes. But then she saw a mistake with the plans the doctor had in store. The cage was fire proof, not strength proof, though, when it came to Knuckles. Did that mean he'd be able to free her as well? She sure did hope so. "Well then, mind helping me out, too?" Rouge flickered her eyes towards the echidna, hoping to charm him into it. Oblivious, he slashed the net with his fist as hard as he could. Nothing happened!
"What?" Knuckles looked back at his fists in astonishment. Surely he was powerful enough to do away with it. Wasn't he? Blaze motioned him aside and stood before the net. She had a devilish grin on her face. Rouge didn't like it one bit. "Oh no. You have GOT to be kidding me!" Rouge complained almost immediately.
"It's either that, or nothing!" Blaze noted sternly at the bat. Rouge looked at the netted ropes around her and then back at the cat. "Oh, fine, then. But don't roast me, okay?"
"Don't worry, I'll try."
Try. Rouge wasn't fond of that word as of now. But in no time at all, the cat shot a burst of flame that slashed the net open, leaving a gash for her to jump down through.
The two huddled together in hopes of a plan and some explanations.
"So, how did both of you end up here?" Knuckles asked. It was obvious for even a character like him to have some interest in things. Especially when they are Eggman related. Blaze looked away not wanting to answer one thing to him. Rouge, on the other hand, fixed her hair, and stpped up to Knuckles with a bit of glitter in her voice.
"Well, I was on my way to let Sonic know Eggman had a few tricks up his sleves. New ones."
"Don't worry, he knows, now."
"What?" Blaze interjected.
"That's right," Knuckles began, "he almost got fried. In fact, that new android almost fried ME!" Rouge wagged her finger teasingly at the echidna. "My, my, Knuckles, getting beat by a bag of bolt, I see." Knuckles could've just whacked her in the face as hard as he could. But what could would that do for him. He still had to get out of Eggman's base, and he still had to find away to beat the shit out of that android.
"Come on, let's get out of here," Knuckles suggested. The two ladied nodded and they dashed out of the base as quick as possible.
Little did they know, Bokkun had monitored every motion, overheard every word said. Now it was time to report back to Dr. Eggman. But Bokkun knew that his boss would be asleep again. He'd wait until morning when he wouldn't be as cranky. "So, what to do now." Bokkun whispered to himself. He wasn't tired anymore. Maybe a few scouting missions would clear things up. One thing in particular, what was going on with that pesky Cream girl? Bokkun fired up his jetpack and launched off into the pink sky.
...
Shadow had led the two rabbits to Tails' Workshop. Tails was sleeping peaceful on the couch. A guest bed was still available. As soon as the two rabbits walked in, Vanilla set Cream down onto the soft mattress. She knew she wouldn't get any sleep tonight. But that didn't mean her darling Cream couldn't. Vanilla merely sat down at the table, where Tails' ate his meals, and looked as the door shut, Shadow waving a farewell.
Vanilla sighed as she looked out the window. The night was over and daylight was now beginning. It was another day, another chance. Whatever was going on, she wanted to know about it. She looked at her daughter, and at the sleeping fox, and decided that she needed alittle insight. Vanilla went over to Tails' computer. Luckily it was still logged in. It was time for her to know some things.
...
Sonic looked at his watch. Daylight was here. Visiting hours had ended a long time ago. But he told the nurses he refused to leave his friend. After numerous attempts to rid the room of him, the nurses gave up. Amy slept peacefully as Sonic held her hand the whole time. Nightfall had brought many suprises. Sonic could only imagine what the new day had to bring. More importantly, what was Eggman's next move.