Enjoy.

Chapter 6

Cloud and Tifa stood side to side with Sonic and Amy were only a few feet away from them. The steel door at the other end of the room was decorated with fist moldings. The fists didn't seem to be very big though. In fact, they seemed to be about the same size as Sonic or Amy's fists. Tifa squeezed down on Cloud's arm as if she were scared. Cloud had never imagined Tifa to be one to be fearful. Having fought against Sephiroth and the even Genesis, why of all times should she be afraid?

The pounding had finally stopped and the group finally loosened their tensed muscles. Cloud's grip had stayed strong on his sword. There only chance of getting out was through the door that lay before them. They would have to fight what was on the other side.

"Sonic I'm scared," Amy hugged against the blue hedgehog.

Sonic gave no reply. He had a good clue of what awaited him on the other side. The door capsized revealing Metal Sonic. Cloud's heart knocked against the inside of his chest. "Surrender now and you might be spared," the robot said. Its appearance had slightly changed and his voice seemed to bare emotion. Almost as if it were living.

"I don't think so pal," Sonic shouted back. "I've beaten plenty copies before and this shouldn't be any different."

"Oh please, I am different from the other models."

"That's what they said."

&

This wasn't how things were supposed to be. She had agreed to help Dr. Robotnik in liberating his rodent problems, but he said nothing about fighting Cloud. Shelke shrank into her chair. He stomach tightened and her heart hastened with fear. What had she gotten herself into? She could see through the robot hedgehog's eyes through her helmet. The visuals were not very vivid due to the fast paced movement of the the new Metal Sonic. Shelke could take maual control at any but found herself unable to do so. What was holding her back? Was it guilt or perhaps fear? Such feelings were knew to her. To think one of the Tsviets, an elite of Deepground, would sink so low as to getting scared. A door slid open behind her. Dr. Robotinik approached the young girl's side and set his large hand on her shoulder. "And how are things coming along my dear?" he asked in his deep yet scratchy voice. Without any hesitation, Shelke jumped from out of her chair and knocked Eggman over set one of her feet on his torso.

"Fine doctor, " Shelke replied. She squeezed one of the arms on her chair.

&

"Tifa, protect Amy," Sonic shouted as he and Cloud leaped into action. Cloud grabbed Sonic's arm and spun him aound. Once he made a full revolution he through the blue hedgehog at his metallic counterpart. Metal Sonic put out his hand preparing the catch Sonic. Sonic crashed had into Metal Sonic, sending them back through the door. Cloud followed the two through leaving Tifa and Amy behind.

"Cloud!" Tifa called but it was too late. Cloud was out of earshot. "Amy we'v got to help them."

"Are you crazy?!" the pink hedgehog yelped. Tifa tightened her gloves ready for battle.

"I must be." With that she ran after Cloud and Sonic.

Metal Sonic brought his fist to meet Cloud's sword and the two pulled back. They met once more and again, and again. Cloud brought his sword down a third and this time the two pressed against each other. Cloud moved his eyes behind Metal Sonic over to a pile of rubble to find Sonic emerging from it. Sonic shook himself of all the dust and shot forward with his straight out. Without looking, Metal Sonic immediately reacted and within less of a second. He had a grip on Sonic's head.

"You two just don't get do you?" Metal Sonic asked. "I am the ultimate Metal Sonic."

"Cloud!" TIfa burst into the room and slammed her elbow into Metal Sonic's face, knocking it into a pile of rubble. "Let's get out of here."

Cloud and Sonic gave her a nod and made their leave.

&

"What are you doing don't touch that!" Tails shouted. His workshop had tools laying about the room and it reeked of cigarette smoke. A human male pushed Tails to the side as he exited the workshop carrying a set of iron bars.

"Relax kid I'll return your stuff once I've finished repairing my airship."

The human kicked the door open and went outside. Tails dropped his head and sighed. Who was this stranger? "Oooooweeee what a beauty."

Tails ran out the door to find the human standing on top the tornado. This is some plane you've got here, kid. Who built this?'

"Thanks. Actually I built it myself."

"No kidding? Wow you must some kind of kid, Kid."

"Thanks Gramps," Tails put his finger across his nose in flattery.

"Hey there now, don't go off calling me Gramps, ya' hear? The name's Cid. Cid Highwind"

"Alrighty. I'm Miles Prower. But everyone calls me Tails. Well then since we've gotten the introductions out the way I have a question for you Cid."

Tails looked over the cliff side his workshop that his workshop stood towards the wrecked airship, signifying what his question entailed.

&

"What kind of dump of a detective agency are you guys running?" Yuffie nearly gagged upon seeing the inside of the Chaotix Detective Service's office. Pizza boxee and paper work decorated the single desk and the floor. Vector came in from behind the young ninja girl.

"Well excuse me," he said. "But we happen to have a very busy schedule."

Tifa spotted the phone in a corner and found that the cord had been unplugged from the wall. She rolled her eyes and proceeded into the room allowing Charmy Bee and Espio the Chameleon to enter. "But don't worry. With me, Yuffie Kisuragi , a part of the Chaotix Detective agency you'll get new clients in no time."

Espio approached Yuffie with an angry look on his face. "Don't think that you are going to just barge in here and take over okay. If it wasn't for us you'd still be trapped in that space pod of yours."

(Flashback)

Yuffie huddled into a feeble position. Her escape pod spun wildly out of control towards the green planet below. There was no chance of her survival now. Not that it mattered or anything. The only one she trusted, Vincent was gone forever. Engulfed by the cruel dark void of stars.

It grew hotter and hotter with every passing second. She was in the planet's atmosphere now. Yuffie felt a harsh burn against her back and pushed off of the wall. She placed a hand on her back. "Cure," she softly said and a cool sensation came from her hand and the wound on her back healed. It continued to heat up inside. Yuffie looked at her wrist and saw three circular glows coming from her arm. A single green and two red. She could summon two Eidolons. But the question was which ones? Now was not the time to worry about that now, or was it? Yuffie squeezed in her fist focusing on one of the red materia; she heard the sound of a horse galloping. She now knew that she had summoned Odin. She looked out her spinning window to see what appeared to the Eidolon racing toward her through the air on his six legged horse. His hand was reaching out to her. Just then Yuffie felt herself being yanked away from the window and thrown against the opposing wall. Knocking her out.

The world around slowly came back into view as Yuffie regained conscience. She was alive but she wasn't sure how. It was a miracle, if that's what you wanted to call that. To her it felt like a curse. She was separate from all of her friends who were probably dead by now and she was stuck. Alive and alone.

&

It was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Perhaps it was something that the good doctor had sent to destroy Sonic. No, if so than it would have...hatched or something. Right? Charmy Bee slowly hovered over to the banged up metal contraption. What was it? His attention was caught by a cracked window. He peered inside and saw a female overlander. Blood was flowing down the side of her head. She was obviously not one of Eggman's robots. He had to help her. Charmy shot off into the forest in search of his friends. It didn't take long before he found Vector leaning against a tree bumping his headphones to a ridiculous capacity. Charmy nudged one of Vector's legs but the distracted Croc didn't seem to notice.

"Vector you've got to come see this," Charmy yelped in his premature voice but it didn't seem to overpower the high frequency of Vector's music. "Vector!"

Charmy had, had it up to here. He pulled himself up over Vector's muzzle and pushed out his stinger. He lifted his legs out of the way and shot straight down onto the crocodile's nose. Vector shouted in pain and grabbed his nose. "Charmy!" he shouted. "What's the deal? Can't you see I'm trying to listen to my tunes?"

"Why don't you try turing it down you big doof? The whole world could be going to Hell and you wouldn't know because your music is blasting too loud."

"Never mind all that. What's the problem? What do you want?"

"I found something you really need to take a look at this."

"This better not be another one of your alien sightings."

"No it's a girl and she's hurts."

Charmy guided Vector back to the metal contraption. It hadn't changed since he left it and the girl was still inside.

"What do you make of it," came a dark, raspy voice. Within seconds, Espio the Chameleon came into clear view how long he had been waiting for them they didn't care to ask.

"I don't know," Vector rubbed his chin. "But whoever she is. We've got to get her out of their."

&

Yuffie could hear voices outside. She could she feet moving around outside. Perhaps some locals had come to save her. Or not. Her pod shook upon heavy impact with something. They were banging on the pod's exterior. Dents formed along the top of the pod getting deeper and deeper until a hole had formed.

"Are you alright in there?" came a child's voice.

She was saved.

(End of Flashback)

"Yeah, don't rub it in," Yuffie scratched her head with her eyes closed. "I said thanks didn't I?"

"Well anyway," Vector interupted the two. "Why don't you try getting in touch with your friends again? I mean you haven't tried yet have you?"

It took a while for the words to process in Yuffie's mind. Her friends. She reached for her phone and looked at it. The last time she tried she couldn't get anything out of it. Should she try again?

&

This new world was like his own. The cars in the city, the people busily going about their business. He felt he had never left Gaia. Though there were some things that this planet would never have. Her. Lucrecia. Her crystalized form enterd his mind. Her beauty echoing in his heart as a mere memory now. And that was she will remain. A memory.

"Tell me," Shadow suddenly interupted Vincent's thought process. "Who are you thinking about?"

Vincent looked down at the black hedgehog. "Nothing. No one."

Shadow could obviously tell that he was lying. Shadow had been told that he had that same look whenever he reminisced on Maria. Like him, this Vincent character carried a heavy burden on his shoulders. Something happened in his past. Something dreadful. Vincent had lost someone just as he did 50 years ago.

"Will you please be quiet?" came a feminine voice.

"Geewiz Lassy!" a squeaky Irish accent responded. "All you had to do was ask."

Vincent recognized the voice immediately. Cait Sith. Reave was always with him. But the female voice Vincent had never heard before.

"Rouge," Shadow mumbled.

Upon saying her name Rouge the Bat came from around a corner with a small black cat and a tall man with long hair. The black cat stopped and tugged on the man's leg. "Vincent you're alive!"

Vincent didnt show any sings of emotion as usual. He casually approached Reeve and Cait Sith not paying any attention to the female bat that was with them.

"But how did you survive?" Reeve asked. " before we got seperated we received a transmission from Yuffie saying that you didn't make it to your pod with Yuffie.

"It's funny you should ask me that," Vincent didn't quite understand how he survived himself.

"It was Chaos wasn't it?"

There was a brief silence amongst the group when Rouge intervened. "Excuse me for interrupting your family reunion but can someone please tell me what's going on here? Who is this guy?"

"Rouge,"Shadow let out a smirk and folded his arms.

"Well if isn't Shadow," the bat approached the black hedgehog and placed her hand at the base if his chin. "Where have you been? It's been a while."

"I've been around,"Shadow pulled away.

"This is our friend Rouge," Reeve began to explain. "We got separated. But since Vincent and I managed to survive. There's no doubt in my mind that and the others are okay."

&

"That Metal Sonic was unlike anything I had ever fought before," Sonic said.

"Don't worry Sonic," Amy wrapped her arm around Sonic's and leaned her head on his shoulder. "You'll beat him. You always do. Besides, we have Cloud and Tifa to help us."

"Sonic," Cloud came in. "I think we should go our separate ways from here.

"What? Cloud what are you saying?" Tifa asked. "But he can help us find our friends. Don't you want to see Barret and the others?"

"We shouldn't get him involved with our problems."

"But Cloud we're in a strange new land. How long do you think we'll last if we don't even know where to go. Who know? The natives of this planet probably aren't as friendly as Sonic and Amy."

Cloud looked away and thought. Why did Tifa always have to be so right all the time? Just then his phone vibrated. Cloud's heart raced with joy as he slowly pulled it out of his pocket. He looked into the screen. Barret. He was alive.

"Cloud you're welcome to come with us if you like," welcomed Amy. "I have a friend who doesn't live too far from here."

If he followed Sonic and Amy then he would probably find his friends again. But there was always a chance that they wouldn't find them.

"C'mon Cloud," Sonic provoked. "We're buds now and buds don't leave each other hanging.

Cloud turned to the blue hedgehog and gave him a nod.