"Uh… where are we?"
"A better question Dempsey, what time are we in?"
"I think Takeo's a little tipsy… that's what you get for drinking Nikolai's Vodka!"
(Throwing up in background)
"Jesus… did the teleporter take us somewhere else again?"
"Most likely, perhaps we've come to the other facility, maybe its number 2-"
"Wait, you know where we are!"
"No, but I know where we're going! So shut up and enjoy the ride… no pun intended."
"Alright, that's it Richtofen! I'm kicking your ass so hard that you're going to be bleeding-"
(Lights burn out as loud buzzing noise is heard)
"Hey, it got dark in here, or is it just me?"
"Son of a bitch, I can't see anything!"
"Ah ha ha, so naïve Dempsey, that's what made you such an easy subject to experiment on."
"What did you say, Kraut?"
"Oh, nothing… and do not call me a Trout! I am a genius, not a fish!"
"Trout… makes… an honourable sushi…"
"Seems Tak finally gained control of his stomach."
(Throwing up)
"Here we go again…"
"Hey, want to play a game I made up?"
"Sure Nikolai, got nothing else to do…"
"Oh, one hundred bottles of Vodka on the wall, one hundred shots of glee! You take one down-"
"You idiot, that's not a game, it's a song!"
"Fuck you, I use Russian head smash!"
(Knocks self-unconscious)
"…I would have been better off experimenting with monkeys! Oh wait, I did, with you Dempsey, ah ha ha ha ha ha."
"Uh, wish I was back home now, killing these maggot whores is getting tiring…"
"Well, we get to have a break in here at least."
"Shit, what am I saying! I gotta get out and kill me some zom-bags!"
"And that Dempsey, is why I drag you all around with me…"
"I know you're up to something… and I'll find out, Kraut."
"Shhh, I think I hear someone outside, Hello, is anyone out there?"
Meanwhile in the present… or future, or the past?
By the time Sonic reached Station Square, the rain had only intensified and the thunderstorm had started to become worse. The streets were beginning to flood and people were hurrying to get inside.
Added to the fact that his little buddy was afraid of thunder, he kept up a fast pace to getting the things he needed. After they're most recent battle with Eggman, the Tornado had been shot down and resulted in Tails injury. Strange, how he would continue to repair it, even while being unable to fly it anyway.
Sonic sped around, looking for the nearest mechanical store that would possibly have the needed items. Looking at the list, he smiled at how complex these pieces were, thinking he could find someone who knew what his brother talked about in his scientific talk.
"Two fifteen inch propeller blades… who sells these?" Sonic said aloud to himself. "A fifteen inch exhaustion pipe, three centimeters wide…"
He finally found a store, filled with many electronic devices and parts. He ran up to the doors, slamming into them as they were locked.
"What? It's only six thirty, why would it be closed now?" Sonic asked. He wasn't shocked to see no one answer him. Talking to oneself, often results in that.
Leaving, he ran through the puddles, making splashes as he stormed through them. The speed at which he ran was fast enough to avoid getting himself splashed.
Sonic ran and ran through the rain, until he screeched to halt in front of another appliance store. Not the sort of place where he would find the parts, but he saw a TV in the window showing a special report.
(Television) "Just in, there have been reports of recent death tolls going up due to a recent illness making people go berserk. All citizens are advised to stay inside as they're has been no contact from the White House. It is best suggested to avoid all contact with people outside during this time, as G.U.N authorities are making guidelines and patrol routes to keep the public safe at this time."
"Whoa, people have been going nuts lately? Haven't seen anything like that happening."
As he stood in place, he was shocked to hear a woman's scream in the distance. From where he could tell, it was coming directly from the City square.
He hurried over to see what the problem was, seeing a middle aged lady run away from a battered old looking man. Seeing no obligation to not do so, Sonic decided to help the lady by subduing her attacker.
"Hey buddy, leave her alone!" He shouted, as he ran towards and tackled down the man. As he brought the person down onto the ground, he turned them over to talk some sense into them. "Hey, what did you think you were… doing…?" He slowly dragged off.
He had not noticed until now, the man's decayed face, his glowing yellow eyes which burned brightly like the sun. The wrinkled skin was pale and his expression was emotionless.
Sonic backed off the creature he was on top of, aware that it wasn't human, or once was. The creature itself slowly climbed back onto its legs, growling as it stared at the blue hedgehog.
Immediately, it sprang forward, reaching its arms out to grab Sonic, who had leaped out of its way, letting it crash onto the ground again. Pulling itself back up, it ran after the hedgehog again, screaming as blood dripped out of its mouth and washed away in the rainwater.
Sonic was stunned at this monster, pinning him down on the ground, as it leaped onto him. Struggling, he tried to hold its head away from him as it pulled closer towards his face, baring its teeth and screeching as it did so.
Unsure of what to do, Sonic pulled his legs in, and did his signature spin dash, ripping through the creature as he sent its body flying a few feet into the air and landing on the pavement below it. His quills tore open the creature's ribs, pouring blood onto the streets in a sickening manner, making Sonic almost puke at the sight of its innards.
The red blood cloaked his cerulean coat, as he rubbed his backside. Looking around, he noticed the woman had gotten away, for her safety insured. But, on the far right side of the square, he saw more of those creatures coming down the avenues, the glowing eyes lighting the streets up with an ominous glow.
Sonic knew these things would be dangerous, but his thoughts had turned his attention to go and warn his brother. He dropped the list into the water, the paper slowly degenerating into the water as he walked backward.
Turning around, He sped off towards the west exit of the city, and went along the trail leading up to mystic ruins. The creatures moaned and stumbled following him slowly, but surely having no intention of abandoning his trail.
(At Mystic Ruins)
Tails had brought blankets down to the couch as he folded it out into a bed. He had after all, decided to rent the horror movie, watching the astonishing amounts of zombies being shot, maimed, gutted, and plain slashed apart and mauled in various ways and in a traditional bloody manner.
"You just F**ked with the wrong Mexican."
He shook every time he saw the immense amounts of blood fill up on the screen, as well when the thunder boomed and he screamed in fear, quickly hiding himself under the covers.
He was huddled under the sheets, when a certain someone barged in through the door. It was none other than Sonic the hedgehog.
"Sonic, you're back!" Tails said in delight. However, his happy mood turned sour, when he saw the blood that coated Sonics backside, most notable his quills. "My god, Sonic is that blood!"
"Yeah Tails, but you won't believe it!" He shouted back to the fox. "We got to get out of here, those things are crazy! Whatever they are, they are not friendly!"
"What things?" Tails asked confused.
"Weird things, they look really weak, but are very strong!"
"Oh?" Tails said, as he watched the TV again. The creatures on the screen were going by the description Sonic had started to explain.
"-And they had blood oozing out of their mouths, but their skin was pale and wrinkled, not like they were old, but more decayed like, like a corpse!" Sonic had finished describing them.
"You mean those things?" Tails said pointing at the TV.
"Yeah, exactly!" Sonic shouted in relief, finally getting the message through. "Now c'mon, we need to get out of here."
"My goodness Sonic, they aren't real. Maybe you just saw someone dressed up as one." Tails laughed at him. "Zombies aren't real, there is no way they could ever exist, I-"
Tails was interrupted as the kitchen window shattered open. A pale creature moaned as it stuck its arms through, pulling itself inside the house.
This one was mobian, more specifically a zombified fox. It moaned and screamed as it set foot inside. It looked directly at the two friends, and immediately charged towards them, only squinting as Tails screamed in disbelief.
"Sonic! What the hell is that!" He yelled; jumping behind the couch as the zombie jumped onto the fold out bed. Sonic panicked, quickly looking around as he ran up the stairs, leaving the undead creature with his brother.
It coughed out blood, and looked back towards Tails, it hissed and reached out for the fox, him screaming as he kicked at it only to have it grab his foot and pull him forward, until Sonic came back with a wooden baseball bat from the attic and smacked it across the skull with it.
Beaten down, Sonic smashed its head in with the bat, the battered flesh denting in as he whacked it constantly until he was sure it was dead. Panic struck his face as he heard more of them around the house. The door was being banged on loudly, the hinges clanged and clattered as the frame was slowly tearing apart. The other windows in the living room were being smashed as dozens of arms stuck threw them.
Fitting in with the movie, the exact moment occurred when the character had shouted, "We're completely surrounded!"
"Tails, we've got to move!" Sonic shouted, pushing a few of the creatures out with the bat, until one grabbed it and pulled it outside.
"This isn't real, this isn't real!" Tails kept muttering to himself. "I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming…"
"Tails c'mon! We need to get out of here!" Sonic shouted to his frightened brother as the creatures broke in through the windows, seemingly jumping over the broken shards of glass as they began a sprint towards the hedgehog and friend.
The yellow fox hurried to his brother's side, grabbed the gloved hand of Sonic and they bolted out the front door. The speed Sonic had gone through had knocked it off its hinges and sent it flying forward and crushing the zombies in front of it.
They sped off, Tails feeling the rush of wind in his face as Sonic stared idly forward to find a way out. The mountain path being ragged as he dipped the border line into the forest below, sprinting past a few straggling undead that lingered behind the rest.
The trees were droning on Sonic, the forest seeming endless as he tried to figure out where to go. He held tightly on his brother's smaller Kit hand, aware of his condition and his limited capabilities.
"That didn't happen… those things just can't be…" Tails began to mumble as they ran, making himself run out of breath as Sonic slowed down to a halt in a small clearing to let him regain his stamina.
"Little bro… I really don't know what to do now." He said grinning at the Fox, who looked at him distraught fully. "Hey, I am not expected to know what to do when some supernatural creatures come and start to go on a cannibalistic rampage through the city and cause a national epidemic." He defended himself as he noticed the fox's glare on him.
"This is way beyond what we normally do; Eggman is one thing, but this…" He started to rant. "My god, this is some demented person's nightmare or a sadistic person's idea for a good story."
"Tell me about it, you're not the only one scared right now Tails." Sonic agreed with the scared fox. "Zombies are something else that-"
"NO! Don't say that. They're not real, please don't call them zombies, I can't believe things like that exist." Tails interrupted.
"Alright… I don't know what to call them though, but I won't call them that."
"So you were scared of them too? Well, I'm guessing that I'm going to have less of a profanity against lightning when I start having my nightmares of these monsters." Tails chatted with Sonic. "Yea… just monsters, nothing like the undead…"
"Are your tails still hurting badly?" Sonic asked. "If they are, I can carry you on my back to where we need to go."
"They do sting quite a bit, but where do we need to go?" Tails had backfired towards Sonic.
"Good question, wish I had an answer."
"Shouldn't we go warn Amy?" Tails had asked. He had now thought of all there other friends, if they were going to be alright or if they were victims of an undesirable fate.
"Amy? Oh man, I totally forgot about everyone else! We should go get everyone together than we'll know where to go!" Sonic had ethusiacticly shouted. "But of course, Amy is first since she is the closest one to us at this point."
"Uh huh, I think that's not the only reason…" Tails mildly suggested.
"What do you mean by that?" Sonic asked immediately. "I'm only worried about her safety, there's nothing else to it."
"Me too." Tails agreed. He carefully climbed onto his brother's back, careful to avoid the sharpness of the hedgehog's quills. Quickly, Sonic sprinted off in the direction of Amy's house, located on the edge of the cliff facing the Emerald Sea.
"You know… you were pretty scared back there." Sonic acknowledged to his friend. "I didn't think you'd be so calm immediately as we got out of there."
"I was not expecting that when you got back Sonic. Sometimes I wish stuff like this would just not happen for once." Tails expressed his thoughts. "Sometimes…"
Both looked forward, rushing towards the cottage house that had belonged to Amy Rose. The exterior was mostly pink, showing her love for that girly colour. Inside, it was even pinker as they entered through the front door.
"Hello? Amy you there?" Sonic's voice echoed into the empty house. "It's me, Sonic!"
It was dark, as the lights were off. Sonic and Tails investigated the scene, stumbling across the living room and seeing her overturned coffee table. The marks of red that stained the couch were visible. Claw marks stretched out against the walls, with teeth marks on the legs holding the furniture.
The entire room was a mess, the curtains were ripped wide open, the cabinet on the wall was toppled over with smashed dinnerware all over the floor. Examining the specks of red, Sonic picked up a little grey piece of an unknown substance, the texture of which was squishy and soft to the touch.
"All this mess… but there's nothing here, is she… gone?" Sonic asked worriedly. He looked closer, seeing the red beret she always kept in her hair lying on the ground.
"Nobody here Sonic, she might be…" Tails uttered to his stricken friend. Seeing Sonic just stare at the floor, the fox decided to investigate more and give his brother some time alone. The two tailed fox walked into the kitchen, seeing a bloody knife stuck into a cutting board, the color of red much different from that of normal blood.
He wasn't very good around blood, but saw that he needed to see it closer. He grabbed the knife and pulled it out from the board. He ran his finger slightly over the edge of the blade, drawing some of the blood off it as it slid across his gloved hand.
"It's still fresh…" He quietly talked to himself. The darker shade made it look dry, but the wet texture of it was suggested it was a recent event.
Sonic backed off from the sofa, stepping on some shattered glass as he heard the crack. He looked to his feet and saw a picture of him and Amy. The hedgehog stood beside her in the frame as he swore he smiled just to make it look authentic to her, but as he looked at himself in the picture he saw himself more like he was… happy.
Another large booming of thunder echoed throughout the clouded sky, spooking the Kit as he jumped up and hit the frying pans above the sink. A blue streak of lightning blazed and shackled as it spurred towards the ground outside. The electricity sparking against the ground as it dispersed into the dirt and left a black spot of scorched earth.
A large banging noise was heard as Sonic looked back to the front door, the hinges moving as something was making impact on it from outside. The wooden frame started to chip and break as the banging sounded harder and harder.
Suddenly, the front door budged open with a fist shoved forward, revealing a shadowy red figure emerging from the dark.
Sonic looked around for something, he looked around beadily as he picked up a broken lamp from the floor and prepared to strike the figure.
To his surprise, the figure simply walked forward and reached for the light switch next to the door. The lights flashed on and revealed a rather steady Echidna standing there, annoyed by the circumstance he was in.
"Hey Sonic, did you turn the lights on?" Tails asked him as he walked out of the kitchen, noticing the red Echidna standing there. "Oh, hi Knuckles."
"Hey Tails." He replied to the fox, looking back at Sonic. "Well, didn't think I'd ever see you come here Sonic."
Sonic didn't answer until he ran up to Knuckles, grabbing onto his shoulders as he shook him violently. "Knuckles, did you see anyone when you came here? Did you run into Amy?" He asked him.
"Ha." Was all Knuckles had to say. "I was coming in town to get some supplies… didn't run into anyone that wasn't completely out of they're mind. It's like they were just playing or something, running after each other, until I saw one get gnawed on by some freak." He explained what he saw.
"Point is, I didn't see anyone we know. Amy, Shadow, Rouge, uh… and…." Knuckles struggled to point out anyone else. "Um… Silver… or Blaze, and then there's-"
"Okay, Okay, I get the point Knuckles." Sonic interrupted. "I just hoped you would have known…"
"Yeah, well I'm just as confused as you are right now."
"Sonic, I'm going to check upstairs." Tails shouted over the loud sound of rain hitting the roof.
"Wait Tails, I don't think you should go up there alone." Sonic shouted his concern. Sighing, the fox obliged to his brothers concerns.
"Okay, I see. You came here to find Amy because of your crush on her." Knuckles said to the blue hedgehog as he grinned slyly.
"No, I came to find her out of good will, and she has a crush on me, not me on her!"
"I bet you're used to not having a relationship with women, being so close to Tails and all…" Knuckles laughed as he blurted that insult out. Tails only looked confused as Sonic got furious.
"Shut up, Knuckles!" He yelled at him as loudly as he could. Tails still didn't get it as he pondered the meaning, still being young and not very knowledgeable of those things yet.
"See? Tails seems pretty ok with it, maybe you should just come out of the closet too, Sonic." He said as he couldn't stop laughing.
"My god, I'm going to kick your ass if you don't shut up with your stupid jokes!" Sonic cursed at the red Echidna.
Tails was the only one still in the awkwardness of the moment. "Uh… what about Amy? And the others? We don't know if they're going to be ok!"
"Oh hush, hush Tails. As long as I'm here, you got nothing to worry about." Knuckles said confidently to the fox, now done with his joking around.
"Yea, with you here, we have a lot to worry about." Sonic replied sarcastically.
"GUYS! This is serious. Honestly, I thought you two would be worried or at least rational at a time like this…" Tails yelled at the two of them, stunning them back into the intensity of the situation.
"Well hell, I don't know what to do…" Knuckles complained.
"Me neither, Tails, do you have an idea?" Sonic asked his little buddy.
"Maybe we can head to G.U.N's Military command in the city?" Tails suggested. "It's the safest place and most likely where anyone else would have gone."
"Yeah!" Sonic snapped his fingers. "Maybe Amy went there, and she's waiting for us to show up!"
"It's worth a shot." Tails muttered aloud.
Sonic stepped up to knuckles, looking the Echidna in the eyes. "Tell me Knucklehead, why did you come here?" He asked his red friend. "Amy's house is the last place I thought you'd go."
"I thought the same with you, but as it seems I have appeared here as well." He answered while avoiding the question.
They proceeded to leave the house, Sonic walked back over to the shattered glass on the floor, seeing the picture of Amy and him broken on the ground.
"That was our first date…" He said quietly. He looked over and saw the red beret that Amy wore all the time. Picking it up, he ran his fingers over the surface as he remembered the soft texture of her hair. He silently hoped that everything would be okay as he stuffed the clothing in his fur for safekeeping.
Knuckles and Tails sat on a log outside, the rain still going strong as lightning struck the ground miles away. Waiting, they got up as Sonic walked out of the house with the picture in hand.
"Sonic, she'll be alright. I'm sure she is somewhere safe, she would have beaten anyone of those things before they could ever get her." Tails tried to reassure the azure hedgehog.
"Yeah, probably. C'mon lets go to the city and find G.U.N, maybe we can learn more from them." Sonic said as the three of them sped off by Sonic's side.
The scorched ground that lied close to the house trembled and shook as the dirt beneath it collapsed away and revealed a rather grey hand. The hand soon turned into two as they clawed away and grabbed onto the soil above, gaining a grip as it pulled its shadowy figure from the decaying dirt, as it showed itself being an even more decayed body.
(Later in Station Square)
They had arrived within the city, the rain slightly letting up. Soaked, the hedgehog, fox and echidna stood within the center of Station Square, wandering around looking for the military outpost.
Sonic shook his entire body as his wet fur dangled in front of his face. Tails did the same, although his bangs stayed in the same place they always had been for some reason.
Knuckles dreadlocks just stayed behind his head, giving him no reason to shake his fur. "Never doubt the dreads." He said while seeing the other two having trouble with they're hair.
They walked through the city, coming by the police station. The officer cars that stayed in the parking lot were bashed open, the windshield shattered and many parts of the paint clearly clawed off. The wall of the station was freshly sprayed with blood, with no body in sight. A message was written in red on the wall, a warning message. "They change with your eyes…"
"Nonsense." Knuckles muttered as he pushed open the door, creaking loudly as the rain sounded with droplets hitting the collection of pools outside.
Walking over to see if anyone was inside, they entered the station while shouting for a response.
"Hello? Anyone in here?" Sonic said aloud, as he led the group further in. Knuckles barged past him, knocking down the nearest door with his fist as he shouted in there for anyone. As he got no response, he looked inside the drawers of one of the desks that stood by the entrance.
"Ah, this is just what I need." Knuckles said as he pulled a Desert Eagle from out of the drawer. Pulling back the chamber as it made a satisfying 'snap' as it pushed back forward. Pointing it forward, he put his index finger onto the trigger, pressing down lightly.
"Whoa, Knuckles watch where you're pointing that thing!" Sonic shouted as he walked into the crosshair of the gun. Knuckles frowned as he let the gun down by his side, carrying it along as they continued investigating.
"Guys, I don't know what did this…" Tails said quietly, but since nothing was there, they heard him alright. "You two should come check this out… I think I'm going to be sick…"
Both Sonic and Knuckles walked into the other room where Tails had just left from. Inside, they found a dismembered body that painted a very gruesome scene. They saw trails of blood and saw the dead man's arms and legs ripped off as the neck was tore completely open with the torso as well.
Curiously enough, they noticed the bite marks, as if something was chewing on this body. Perhaps the monsters did? Although they didn't know if they were actually this gruesome at eating, making a more unpleasant image of these creatures.
"I think we should leave…" Sonic whispered to Knuckles. The red echidna nodded his head in agreement, uncomfortable with the sight of the maimed body.
Wandering through the city once again, they journeyed down the streets and avenues, looking for any sign of anyone. The place had almost seemed instantly abandoned, save that many of the street lights were still on.
"Did we really forget where G.U.N is, guys?" Sonic asked them both.
"I don't know. You two are here more often than me." Knuckles replied.
"I heard they moved they're base and made the old one a research lab." Tails acknowledged them. "The new base is supposed to be on Ivory Street I heard…"
Walking down Central Street, the three heroes heard a too familiar sound of moaning and screams. Tails darted his eyes around as he saw many of the undead corpses crawling out from every corner.
"Ah shit, there's so many of them!" Knuckles blurted out loud. A rotting creature ran up to him as Knuckles punch it in the jaw, dislocating the creatures head and killing it instantly.
The creatures limped their way forward; a few of them were grunting as few others ran slightly, letting their disfigured arms fly in the wind.
"What do these things want? We're not food!" Sonic shouted as he spin dashed into a walking zombie, sending it flying across the sky as he landed on the street.
Knuckles punched and lifted the gun to his face level, shooting the weapon as he killed one rotten corpse that got too close. More still came, shooting and shooting away as he found himself out of bullets.
Tails didn't know what to do. One of the creatures ran up to him, hissing and gurgling as it flailed its arms at him, smacking him onto the ground. Landing on his appendages, he screamed as he felt a jolt of pain jump up his spine.
The monster had him pinned on the ground, covering his face as the creature kept battering at his head. Its blows kept hitting his arms as they steadily bruised, until the blows started hitting him in the head. He started to become dazed, the punches weren't very hard, but the feeling of it was dawning on him. The last of his hazy vision was that of the hedgehog kicking the creature off him, stomping its head in as he quickly helped the fox back up.
"Tails, are you alright!" Sonic asked with concern, seeing the small drawing of blood form his brother's head.
He could hear a buzzing noise, a whirring of wind that started to get louder and louder. Sonic stared at him for a response until Tails finally saw what that noise was.
"Look up, in the sky!" Tails shouted, as pointed to the loud buzzing sound that begun to fill the air. Soon enough, the image of an attack helicopter was seen and the spotlight attached to it blared on the three.
The zombies started to surround them. The scene started to look bleak, even when Knuckles started shredding the undead with his fist, the numbers overwhelming his undying resolve. The helicopters side opened up, revealing a manned Gatling turret. The gun spinned and buzzed loudly as it reached its peak. As the sound became very high pitched, a barrage of bullets flew out as the blaring sound of bullets rang out, punching through the zombie lines as they fell in number.
Knuckles had little time to react as the machine started up, jumping out of the way and ducking down as the bullets flew only inch's away from his face. Sonic did the same thing as he pulled Tails to the ground with him.
The helicopter made quick work of the zombies, ripping up they're flesh and puncturing their bones. Soon the group of undead that surrounded Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails, were completely abolished from sight, leaving only the pile of tattered flesh.
The helicopter flew over them, a woman's voice shouting through the speakers on the vehicle. "Survivors, head to the G.U.N secured evacuation site at emerald street, ETA is eight hours from now." The woman spoke to them. "Follow us, we're heading back to the site, it's too hot for landing and your space is too limited."
Gratefully, the three followed after the G.U.N operated helicopter until they reached the clear street of emerald and saw the base.
"Look Sonic, over there!" The kit said, as he pointed his finger to the far right. There stood the G.U.N operating center, with chain linked fences covering the ground around it.
The three of them walked up to the front gate, meeting armed soldiers outside the front entrance. Wearing body vests and armoured helmets with visors, they stood with they're automated rifles aimed on the mobian group. The leading officer, marked by his eagle badge on his shoulder, walked forward to them, his men still trained on the three.
"Halt! You will be screened for immediate infection!" The armoured man said to them. "Even with your reputations, the risks of infection are not to be taken lightly."
Grateful, they were happy to oblige as being inside there was better than outside. All except Knuckles were happy to be tested.
Freaking out, Knuckles pushed back one of the soldiers. "I ain't a pale skinned freak, buddy!" He shouted towards them. Suddenly, all of them had their guns pointed towards the Echidna.
"Wow, calm down buddy." Sonic said sheepishly to his tempered friend. "He's not going to cause any trouble; he's just very easy to get riled up." Sonic reasoned to the officer, shoving his red friend forward into the base.
"That's Sonic the hedgehog, right sir?" One of the rookies asked his commanding officer.
"Yes Recruit, even though he is quite renowned, we mustn't let our fortifications fall to unknown surprises."
"What are you trying to do, get us killed?" Sonic whispered in Knuckles ear as they walked forward into the steel framed outline of the base.
"NO, I have my rights you know." He angrily retorted.
"Don't be so stupid."
They reached the inside, the white interior seeming so different from the outside exterior. Armed soldiers were running all over the place, few civilians were within the lobby.
Immediately, a combat medic ran up to Tails, asking to examine his head wound. As the man checked on the small incision on the fox's forehead, he bandaged it up as he saluted and rushed to the front of the base.
"Whoa, didn't even ask for medical help yet and already they get you checked, pretty good service here." Knuckles made of that scene.
They walked forward as they were greeted by a commanding Colonel. By the appearance of the man, his white hair and rough bread seemed to show that he had earned great respect as a high ranking officer.
"Sonic, Tails, and of course, Knuckles, Welcome to G.U.N's military operated base within the center of Station Square. I assume you are here for safety and evacuation from the area, no?" He asked them.
"Well, we were hoping that-"
"Oh no, I didn't really think so. You would be looking for ways to help, wouldn't you? I'm sorry, but you are considered a civilian Sonic, we cannot have you involved with our governmental affairs like this." He interrupted.
"Uh sir, we don't know your name, please." Tails politely asked. The man was hesitant at first, but answered him immediately afterwards.
"I am Colonel John Pierce, substituting here for the direct absence of General Han Barack of G.U.N Command, who has been attending to other national duties." Colonel John said. "Don't be alarmed, the recent incidents are at his highest attention, we will be dedicating large portions of our military force into dealing with this Outbreak."
"Outbreak? You mean this is some sort of disease?" Tails asked the Colonel.
"Did I say that? This is much more than a simple infection spreading around, this is something deeper and more secretive than anything you've ever dealt with before. I can't tell you any more than that, it's classified information. Consider that slip of the tongue a friendly leak." The Colonel said before nodding and walking over to the nearest elevator.
"Secretive, this whole thing just stinks of conspiracy." Knuckles whispered around the three of them. "You heard how he said that it was classified information about what's going on, G.U.N must have been involved somehow."
"I don't think they would have done something like this though." Sonic shared his opinion. "If even making some mistakes, something like this can't just happen on accident."
"Yeah, but Knuckles is right Sonic. I mean, who else could be capable of something like this?" Tails tried persuading the hedgehog. "G.U.N has so much access to secluded areas and various compounds, who's to say they didn't take a part in any of this?"
"You know, I'm not really willing to argue… just show me some proof of that." Sonic retorted, tired of these conversations on conspiracy's.
"Actually, we should ask around if anyone else we know is here." Tails suggested. "And, while we're at it, ask about the... 'Monster', things."
Sonic only nodded in agreement as Knuckles did too. The three spread out as they asked around for information, finding themselves being answered with nothing.
"If I knew how this happened, I'd be the general." One man answered Tails.
"Sonic the hedgehog, I don't imagine you would likely to be behind all this, would you?" One of them questioned Sonic.
"Are you a natural red?" Another asked Knuckles, whom the soldier had been dragged away to a medical bay for a broken ribcage.
"Talking half-humanoid animals, pale skinned, scrawny deceased freaks, and now being questioned about where some mobian friends of yours are, yikes. Haven't I done enough for this place?" The last man said.
All of them found no answers; nothing about they're friends or what was going on.
"Well, looks like we're stuck here." Knuckles said, giving up.
"We're not giving up now, Knuckles. I think we need to do some snooping around…" Tails whispered around to them.
All of them were confused. The situation was beginning to seem very unlikely to happen without some sort of explanation behind it. Huddling together, the stood in a circle as Tails informed them of a plan.
"Okay, Sonic, I need you to create some sort of a distraction to keep the guards attention. While that's happening, I need Knuckles to keep watch over the Generals office over there." He said, pointing to the northwest side of the base, seeing the ornamented door. "While Sonic distracts the guards and Knuckles keeps watch, I'm going to sneak into the office and look for anything interesting, got it?"
"Got it" The both of them had responded.
Sonic slowly walked up to the two guards blocking the doorway, coughing as he looked up to them as he prepared his distraction. "Hey guys, do any of you want my signature?" He asked them.
"Oh, my son is a huge fan of yours Mr. Sonic!" One of them shouted while the other didn't look very interested. It's going to take a bit more to get this one, Sonic thought to himself.
"Um… did you know… that my friend Tails, sleeps with a night light when it's thundering?" Sonic blurted out, which Tails had frowned at him from afar.
"Really?" The other guard had asked. He'd gotten both of their attention as he continued to tell them secrets about his friends, something that would get him in trouble if this was not a more serious situation.
Quietly, Knuckles tip-toed up to the door as he carefully nudged it open, leaving a gap for Tails to squeeze through. As he did, Tails quickly slid through the door and found himself within the finely decorated Generals room.
Tails stood inside the office, staring around at all the pretty decorations. As he walked forward, he stumbled upon a very elaborate desk, quickly looking and searching through every drawer until he found a small note attached to a black folder.
Geisteskranken, Der Reise, Shi No Numa, Ascension, Shangri-La, and Anstieg.
All have been confirmed for infestation.
He didn't understand the meaning of these names. Tails thought they were names of government facilities, but what do they mean by infestation? This not being enough information for him, Tails carefully placed it back in the drawer, shutting it as he searched the cabinets behind him.
He looked through them, scanning them for viable information, stopping when he came across a strange one that stuck out from the rest. As all of the others hand the traditional G.U.N Eagle on them, this one had a strange image of an open palm holding a nuclear atom, with the numbers 935 written within the center.
He couldn't help himself from reading what was inside. The countless words said so little, mentioning nothing about these zombies, but rather a patient at the mental facility outside of the city.
Patient Edward Richtofhen has been undergoing extensive treatment to his mental instability and his Schizophrenia, resulting in hearing voices in his head. I have also diagnosed him with Pereidolia. We have affiltrated his condition with the environment he was exposed to at Geisteskranken, the radiation having physiological effects on the humanoid brain pattern. We think there is no hope for treating his condition at this time, and should be transferred immediately, as he is startling many of our staff and other patients even.
-Verruckt, from desk of Doctor Fredric Steiner.
This document had been not very informative in the immediate disaster, but the mention of that name again had triggered a response in Tails. "Geisteskranken…" The name had risen up once again, the first being in that list. The person that the paper talked about seemed to be the only clue that he could get from this office.
Tails slowly squeezed his way past the opening of the door Knuckles made, making sure to leave no traces of his intrusion in there. Knuckles slammed the door shut, as Sonic quickly made an excuse to leave as the guards shrugged and went back to standing in their original position.
"Tails, you found anything useful?" Sonic asked his two tailed friend.
"Yea, I read this note and document, I think I found something at least." Tails exclaimed. "The note I read, read out these names of places, then there was this medical report on a patient at the mental asylum outside of the city, mentioning one of the previous names in his medical biography. I think that there is a connection with this guy with the whole monsters running about."
"Damn, that's a lot to go by." Sonic smugly said, trying to make sense of the information Tails gave them.
"That's not all; there was a symbol on the document. Something unlike anything I've seen from G.U.N before, some sort of palm holding an Atom in the shape of a fist, with numbers 935 written in the center."
"Nine-three-five huh? A code or something maybe?" Sonic offered his opinion. "Besides, that's very vague to go wondering around with those things outside."
"But Sonic, this is too much to let it pass by. Who knows what we might find out, let alone we can't let this creatures running around eating people." Tails was reasoning with his blue brother.
"Eh… I don't know…" Sonic rubbed the back of his head. "I just don't want to take the risk of losing you to those things."
"What about the risk of losing me?" Knuckles interrupted.
"Risk? You do know that you are always making that a problem with you, right?" Sonic answered.
"Sonic, we can't not do this." Tails pleaded his brother, looking him in the eyes as he tugged at the hedgehog's heart for his approval. "We're Sonic hero's, it's our duty to protect people, right?"
Knuckles patted Sonic on the shoulder, grinning as he smacked the hedgehog upside the head. "We should go find that guy Tails mentioned, it's the best thing we're going to get from this." He said with smug grin on his face.
Sighing, sonic finally gave in to the demands of his figurative group. "Alright, let's do this, where do we go?"
Tails fumbled around as he noticed they were talking about his information. "Oh, the place is Verruckt, and the guy's name is… Edward Rich…toff…hen?" The fox stuttered to pronounce the name.
"Heh, strange name." Sonic chuckled to himself.
The three of them stared towards the exit, the doors leading out to where they'd entered from. The same group of soldiers stayed watch there as they imagined trying to get out.
"I say we just dart out of here; grab onto my hands Tails, you too Knuckles." Sonic said to both of them. Obliging, the two grabbed Sonics gloved hand, holding tight as Sonic prepared to sprint out of the base.
"Where are we going exactly?" The echidna asked, who didn't pay attention to most of Tails explanation.
"Where else? Verruckt. We gotta find that Edward guy, just hope he's not dead." Sonic smiled as they surged forward, leaving a large gust of wind that blinded the soldiers as they tried shooting at the hedgehog.
"Cease fire!" A rough voice commanded as the soldiers lowered their guns. Out from a small bunker in the far right, emerged a tall man, with gelled up brown hair and a sleek beard that ran down his chin and little onto his neck, he wore a formal grey uniform, baring a countless amount of medals on his chest. From his appearance, he only looked to be in his forty's.
"General Han, sir! The hedgehog had abandoned our base and also blinded us during what could have been an attack, Sir!" The chief officer reported in.
"I don't care soldier. That hedgehog will not be killed by one of my soldiers as long as I live." Hans said as he carefully lit a cigar he pulled out of a little box in his pocket. He smoked it, inhaling the toxic, yet soothing fumes as he blew out the smoke into the air.
"Sir, you're done already?" Colonel John said as he walked outside to greet the general.
"John, did you tell the hedgehog anything?" He eagerly demanded from the older man.
"Just that there was more than they could have thought from the situation, sir."
"I see, well, let's let the hedgehog snoop around for abit. We've covered up enough with group 935; maybe that hedgehog can find out more and deal with this situation better than us." He said to the Colonel. "Hm, that hedgehog knows where he's going, I saw his little friend in my office over the the camera. I forgot about that little loose end, Edward."
"The crazy one? Would he really help them, or tell them of our involvement?" John asked curiously.
"That fox is fucked up, but if he can lead those three to where they need to go… no, that won't do. We must still push forward on these zombies, and then take care of those other nuisances." He slowly smoked a little more, throwing the cigar onto the ground as it burnt out.
"As you command, sir."
"Now c'mon, I've got a bird ready to take us to the base in Westopolis, let's go."
"Note to self, never drink Nikolai's Vodka. Guess you found out the hard way, Takeo."
"You filthy American…"
(Throws up)
"Eh, that one was wet."
Don't you love one-hundred bottles of Vodka on your wall?