There's really nothing I can say to make the over-2-month wait less awful, but I'm really sorry about that. I just seemed to lose inspiration. My writing became incredily slow (and I've just started college). Anyway, you can thank the brilliant Skyelara for editing this for me so that I could finally post it. She was very helpful and only once she'd looked at this did I think I could post it. So a massive thank you to you, Skyelara :)
And a huge thank you to everyone who read and reviewed (and put up with the ridiculous wait...) :Karanma Maeryl, hotpink123, XoxoSonamy4440oxoX, Maximum Miles Hedgehog, Moon over Rainbow, BrownPaperBear, Jade the Fox, November Ember, xxBrownSugarxx, demon, Hollie the hedgehog, pura blaze, Danielle Fenton, shirinuigoddeviantart, Comrade Athelwine, Guest, Mi123, eternalthiefoftehnight, Spectacular Super Nova, Super-Shadow1248, ChillyNight, Guest, Guest, :P .. IHeartSonAmy, rainbowprincess, Saziie, blaze, Kaikai Kitsune, Skyelara, SHADOW SHADOW SHADOW IS SEXY, shade. .ota, Onyx Orchid, Guest (sorry it took so long), 1sonamyaddicted, RaeRaethehedgehog and xShadowxRocksx.
Whoa it's been so long that some of you have changed your names/pictures! O_O sorry about that...
And I know you shouldn't take review numbers as a measure of success, and there are nearly 20 chapters, but I'm still thrilled to have over 300 reviews. :) Thank you so much everyone!
Anyway, I won't keep you any longer... I hope you enjoy what I'm pretty sure is the penultimate chapter of Me, Myself and Andy!
Chapter 19 - Hero
Amy shifted her weight from one foot to another, analysing the robots ahead of her. Her eyes shifted between them, calculating her chances of success against the metal brutes. They quickly advanced towards her, and she dismissed her doubts, replacing them with determination. Three robots were a lot to take down on her own but she'd give it her best shot. They moved in formation, cracking the ground with each booming step that they took. Rather than waiting for them to reach her, Amy raced towards the robot at the front of the clan.
Their joints are their weakness, she reminded herself, focusing on its mechanical knees.
.
She readied her arm for a punch, but was forced to jump back as two other robots shot out their arms from either side of her target. Their huge fists slammed into the ground and Amy barely contained a frightened yelp. She scrambled backwards, panting. A quick glance upwards showed a couple more robots had reached her, preparing to attack. When had they got here?
Focus!
.
Amy swallowed, forcing her brow to furrow into the strongest glare she could muster for the robots. In seconds, she was running at them again. She panicked as three of them attacked at once. Her view was obscured by metal arms before she'd even had time to move. They'd missed, thankfully, but it also meant that she was trapped by the maze of mechanical limbs that surrounded her. A sudden yell stole her attention. Through the gaps in her vision, Amy could see Tails pinned to the floor by one of the robots, quivering in fear. His teal eyes were wide as he gaped at the robot's free arm, raised and ready to strike. He didn't even struggle. He simply lay still, frozen in terror.
.
"Tails!" Amy cried.
"Don't let him escape!" Eggman ordered his robots, pointing at the cage-like structure that had been formed around her.
In response, the three robots imprisoning her moved closer, enforcing the circle of powerful limbs.
Amy tugged at the cold, hard metal of the robots' arms, desperately trying to get to the fox. "Hang on, Tails!" She quickly scanned the area, her eyes pleading for the sight of Knuckles or Rouge available to help him, but they too were struggling to fight off the robots.
They wouldn't make it in time. None of them could. Alarm raced through Amy's mind as she realised this. The robot trapping him wasted no time in swinging its arm down in full force. Then there was a flash of blue. A gust of wind blasted through the air.
.
The mechanical arm crashed into nothing but concrete, encouraging clouds of dust. The metal of the robot's legs had been completely torn. Seconds later, the entire creature crashed to the ground, sending out an ear-splitting boom. Sonic appeared in the centre of the battleground with a glare on his face and Tails in his arms. He set his brother down on his feet, checking him over for injuries. Relief settled in Amy's stomach, while at the same time tingles of anxiety gave her butterflies. Was Sonic's anger from the robots or was he still mad at her? She dismissed these thoughts. Either way, maybe with Sonic here, they had a chance of defeating these things.
.
Surprisingly, Dr. Eggman's grin only grew as he acknowledged Sonic's arrival. "Sonic! You're finally here," he called to the hedgehog, snickering. "It's about time. I was beginning to think that you were going to miss the main event."
"Keep your freak shows to yourself, Eggman!" Sonic said as a growl escaped his curled lips.
Amy felt her heart sink at the anger radiating from the blue hedgehog. He wasn't bantering with his nemesis in the way that he usually would. There was no challenging grin on his face, just a scowl.
.
"Oh, but what would be the fun in that? Now that you're here, I can reveal the biggest attraction of all!" Eggman said, followed by a maniacal laugh. "And just to be a good sport, I'm going to make things easier for you! Instead of fighting my entire army of robots, how about fighting one?" His evil smile widened as he slammed his fist onto a large button on his control panel.
The robots froze. All of them, except the ones keeping Sonic's allies busy, began making their way towards the hedgehog. As they gathered, they climbed on top of each other, stacking themselves higher and higher. The sheer number of them was made clear as a new creature began to take shape, and the heroes had to shield their eyes from the sunlight.
.
With every metallic clunk that sounded, the creature grew larger until it was finalised with a forceful hiss from the hydraulics. A flicker of light flashed from the robot and as it faded, the new form was fully visible. The Mobians stared at the new foe, overwhelmed.
"Meet Eraditron," Eggman said grandly.
Few singular robots remained; the rest of them had combined to make what was one of the biggest robots that Dr. Eggman had ever created. It towered above them, casting an almost infinite shadow across the town. Amy's hope drained away at the sight, and she clenched her fists tighter.
.
Eggman hooted with crazed laughter, relishing in the awe from his spectators. "Don't look so worried, Sonic!" he sneered. "After all, you have the advantage. Five heads are better than one! Though, your friends will have their own problems to take care of," he added, gleefully gesturing the robots left behind.
Sonic stared at his new rival, narrowing his eyes. "I can take whatever you throw at me!" he shouted.
Eggman's glasses seemed to flash in response as he reached for his control panel. "Let's test that, shall we? Eraditron, destroy that blue pest!"
.
Before Amy knew what was happening, she was watching Sonic battle one of the largest robots that she'd ever seen. Her eyes were glued to the fight, following Sonic's every move as he dodged the robot's attacks and sent them right back. But something wasn't right. He seemed distant, somehow, as if his body was fighting Eggman's robots but his mind was elsewhere. His reflexes were just that tiny bit slower and his attacks seemed to lack his usual power. They were very small differences and Amy was aware of that, but she knew that if he made one mistake, the power from that robot could seriously hurt him.
.
Sonic flipped backwards out of his spindash and landed deftly on the ground, eyeing the damage done to the robot. There was a small dent but it was hardly enough to disable it. He cursed under his breath. He knew full well that he hadn't used his full power but he was distracted. He could feel Andy's eyes on him, watching him. He didn't have to look back, he just knew. Not that he wanted to look anyway; it would only get him even more frustrated than he already was. No, he really did not need to give that traitor another second of his time.
.
A torrent of rage, blended with a sting of anguish, rushed through him at the thought of his former friend. How dare Andy lie to him like that? How could he find it in himself to betray someone so terribly? Sonic's mind snapped back into the present as pain slammed into his gut. Winded, he gripped his stomach and winced, keeping the determined frown on his face. Eraditron prepared itself for another punch, its glowing eyes almost taunting the hedgehog.
.
Sonic's teeth sunk into the insides of his mouth as he forced himself to concentrate. He couldn't allow himself to be distracted, even if Andy's betrayal was tainting his thoughts, infuriating him. He leapt into the air, avoiding another punch, and drove a kick into Eraditron's head. Once again, he made a dent but otherwise little damage. He jumped back, staying on his toes and ready for the next blow. His eyes swept the robot, searching for the next target. This was Sonic's forte. This was what he did day in, day out. This shouldn't have been a problem, but his thoughts drifted away again, out of his control.
.
He was desperately trying to keep his attention on the battle at hand, and yet it was becoming increasingly difficult. He found his mind drawn to memories of his time with Andy. Snippets of the past few weeks flashed through his head at impossible speeds. Andy practicing battle skills with him. Andy encouraging him to face his fear of water. Andy comforting him when he thought everything was his fault. Andy noticing that Sonic was distressed when no one else could. Andy… helping Sonic search for Amy, cheering him up, making him laugh, giving him such a valuable friendship.
And all of it was a lie.
.
Sonic had never really felt emotional pain but it almost stung. It was unlike anything he'd felt before. It swept through him, fuelling every cell in his body with anger. Then there was a new pain. A physical pain. Alarm bells rang in his mind as he realised he'd been hit again. The ground seemed to creep up from behind him as he fell, his entire body tensing. He groaned, slowly pulling himself to his feet. He needed to snap out of this. He'd fought countless robots in his time, and each one had required little concentration. He'd always relied on his reflexes to do the job, and his body would do the fighting without him needing to plan and structure every single move he made. But this time was different. His mind was simply lost, and it was refusing to cooperate with him.
.
He was slammed into the ground again before he'd even noticed the attack. He couldn't even cry out; he was becoming increasingly weaker by the second. His stomach felt like it was on fire where the metal beast had swung its enormous arms into him.
"Sonic!"
His ears shot up. That sounded like… He craned his head back, ignoring the throbbing pain in his neck as he did so. She wasn't there. Though a pink hedgehog was watching him with wide eyes, it wasn't her.
Now I'm getting delusional.
He was so messed up he was imagining things, though he could've sworn he'd heard Amy's voice. He grunted as he staggered up from the floor, his legs quivering with the strain.
.
Sonic was almost angry at himself for confusing her with him. She was nothing like him. She would never betray him like that.
But she left…
He pushed himself to attack the robot, ignoring the burning sensation in his muscles. He threw every ounce of his strength into it but try as he might, he couldn't block the stream of thoughts that pulled his mind off course.
She left us. She left me… for him.
It didn't make sense to him. He couldn't wrap his head around it. Out of all of the people who'd cared about him, she was the most devoted. What had happened to change that?
What did I do wrong?
.
He hardly felt the next blow as solid metal once again made contact with his body. He barely noticed how hard the ground was as his back was hammered into the concrete. His vision was becoming dotted with black. Someone called his name again but he ignored it. He tried with all of his might to get back up, willing his muscles to work with him, holding his breath and routing all of his energy into one last push. He'd moved less than a few inches off the ground before his limbs collapsed beneath him.
.
Something sharp dug into his back as he fell, making him wince. He reached into his quills, his fingertips sweeping over hard, pointy objects. A flare of hope was sparked inside of him as he retrieved two Chaos Emeralds from underneath his back, thanking his lucky stars that he'd found them. It was quickly extinguished, however, when his eyes fell upon the dull, lifeless grey of the gems. His heart sank as he remembered his last serious battle with Eggman, before he'd met Andy and all of this mess had started. The crazed scientist had drained the emeralds of their power before scattering them once again. Though Sonic and his friends had found a few since then, each jewel they found was in this state and completely powerless.
.
Despite that, Sonic held one in each hand and closed his eyes, hoping that his good will and desperation would be enough to trigger the tingling warmth that would engulf his body and heal his wounds. But nothing happened. No energy was released into his hands, and the Chaos Emeralds remained dim and bleak. He clutched them harder, tensing his fatigued muscles. Still, the emeralds were lifeless. He let his hands relax their grip on the useless gems as a cough escaped his throat, and the last of his hopes shattered.
.
"Sonic!" Amy screamed again. She tugged at the metal arms that imprisoned her, grunting and straining as she tried to prise them open. She needed to get to him. She needed to help him. Her ragged breaths tore at her lungs as she watched, with wide eyes, the gargantuan robot taking its final crushing steps towards Sonic. Why wasn't he moving? Why didn't he get up? "Sonic! Sonic, look out!"
The fallen hero did nothing to answer her call. Couldn't he hear her? He was awake; she could see his eyes tiredly scanning the robot as it reached him. Surely he hadn't given up?
.
"Sonic!" she tried again. It came out as a desperate scream, a plea, and she didn't care if it was in her real voice. In fact, she hoped it would snap him out of it, but he didn't seem to notice. What was wrong with him?
Eraditron's eyes glinted as it reached the hedgehog, almost as if it knew it had won, and raised its powerful arm. In less than a second, Amy realised two things. The robot was going to strike, and Sonic wasn't going to move. Someone had to do something, anything. Her eyes darted between their allies. Tails must have tried to run back into the battlefield, but one of the robots was now holding him captive. A fresh dose of panic clutched Amy's insides as she saw that Knuckles and Rouge had been given the same fate. Large metal hands clutched them both, sealing their arms against them and rendering them helpless.
.
Just as when Tails had been in danger, no one was free to help. But this time, Sonic wouldn't come to the rescue. This time, the hero needed saving. The only person that Amy hadn't considered was herself, but what could she do? She was trapped, and just as helpless as the rest of them. This must have been Eggman's plan, she realised, to hold them all off while he focused on Sonic, snuffing him out like a dying flame.
No, she thought wildly. No! He can't!
But what was stopping him? Eraditron's colossal arm would crush Sonic in mere seconds, and no one would be able to do anything about it.
I will.
.
Amy wasn't sure where that thought had come from. All that she was aware of was that if she didn't do something now, Sonic could die. So much terror was induced from that one piece of truth, and it swelled, pushing aside all other qualms. It didn't matter if everyone found out who she was; Sonic needed help and he needed it now. Despite her shaking hands, she managed to snap her fingers, hoping to summon her hammer. Her hand automatically curled into a clutching position, but it was empty. Her fear heightened. She tried again, her mind swarming with panicked, fragmented thoughts.
Come on, come on, she pleaded, clicking her fingers frantically.
.
She tried over and over again, but still no hammer appeared in her hands. She choked on a frightened sob, lost on why she couldn't summon it. Could it be that she hadn't used it in so long that she'd forgotten how to? No, that was impossible. It might have had something to do with the fact that she could hardly think straight, but she couldn't change that while the love of her life was about to die.
Eggman brought his hovercraft over to Sonic and the monstrous robot, obviously planning to enjoy every second of this. If there was any time left to stop him, it had almost run out.
.
Amy scanned her makeshift prison, eyeing the robots' fists that had plunged into the ground. They were all stuck fast; there was no way she could move them. All except one. With a glint of hope she realised that one robot's hand was resting on the concrete rather than stuck inside it. She didn't pause to go over a plan. Without wasting another second she kicked at the metal fist, taking the robot by surprise and knocking it over. She saw her opening and she took it, diving out of the gap between the metal arms.
.
Then, she ran.
.
Everything around her, apart from Sonic and the robot threatening him, seeped away as she charged forwards. Her already pounding heart was now beating at impossible speeds. She wasn't even sure if she was breathing at this point; every part of her was tense. With each step that brought her closer to Sonic her pulse seemed to go faster. She'd practically reached him when Eraditron brought down its arm. She was mere seconds away from pushing Sonic out of its reach, but these were seconds that she didn't have. As the giant metal arm came crashing to the ground, Amy leaped, throwing all of her energy into it. Arms outstretched, she knocked into it, pushing it off course. A searing pain burst from her hands and soared up her arms from the sheer force of her lunge, bringing tears to her eyes, which she did her best to ignore.
.
Eraditron's arm cracked the concrete less than a metre away from Sonic's head, and Amy tumbled to the ground not far behind. She pulled herself back up, rushing to defend her hero. Hooking her arms under his, she dragged him back, as far away from Eraditron as she could get before it pulled its arm back out of the ground.
"Andy," Sonic wheezed, squinting up at her. "W-what are you doing?"
"What a good friend should," she said firmly.
The robot in front of them raised its fists again, clearly not discouraged in the slightest. Amy ran in front of Sonic, as close to the robot as she could get, hoping to distract its attention from him.
"This battle is between you and me now," she told Eraditron. Then, more forcefully, she said, "Leave Sonic alone."
.
The robot simply stared at her for a moment, and she couldn't help but think that it was scrutinising her. Eggman appeared beside it in his hovercraft, his malevolent smile still stretched across his face.
"Nice try, hedgehog, but my robots only accept orders from their master," he sneered. He clicked at the robot. "Eraditron, destroy them both. But Sonic is your priority."
"No!" Amy cried as the colossal robot aimed at Sonic. She attacked its arm, throwing as many kicks and punches as she could muster. Her muscles could hardly stand the strain of it, but she was fuelled by pure adrenaline, sparked from her fear for her hero.
.
Her attacks weren't dealing as much damage as she'd hoped, but she was managing to keep the metal beast away from Sonic and that was all that mattered to her. Eraditron prepared for another strike, in spite of the hedgehog damaging it. Amy clung onto its arm, refusing to let go no matter how much her muscles begged her to. There was no way she was letting Sonic get hurt again.
.
Sonic stared at the hedgehog and robot before him, ignoring the burning sensation in his neck as he did so. Andy was latched onto Eraditron's arm, holding on for all he was worth. Eraditron swung its restricted limb higher, leaving Andy hanging like a rag doll, yet he still would not let go. In that moment, Sonic's pain - both physical and emotional – was forgotten. Andy briefly changed, in his eyes, from a traitor to someone who was risking their life to save his, against all odds.
.
It didn't change the fact that Andy had betrayed him, but even through the haze of hurt and anger, Sonic could see that Andy cared. He cared enough to put everything on the line just to save Sonic from his own stupidity. That thought alone was enough to bring warmth to Sonic's heart. He could practically feel it, a familiar tingling sensation. With a jolt it dawned on him that he really could feel something, but it was in his hands. He glanced down at them and found himself having to squint. The emeralds in his hands were glowing. Pulsating waves of violet and blazing white burned inside each emerald respectively, sending energy shooting up Sonic's arms and around his body.
.
They'd regained their power. Out of nowhere the emeralds had found their power just in time to help him when he needed it. But it couldn't be out of nowhere; that was impossible.
Of course. Chaos is the power enriched by the heart…
As if on cue, the energy collected around his wounds, healing them instantly. He was filled with a new fiery determination. He couldn't be Super Sonic without all seven Chaos Emeralds, but two was enough to teach that pile of scrap metal a lesson. He got to his feet with ease, welcoming the newfound strength in his body. Finally his trademark smirk regained its place on his lips, as he moved towards Eraditron, the energy still bouncing around inside of him.
.
Amy felt the wind knocked out of her as Eraditron managed to shake her off, flinging her onto the ground as if she weighed nothing. She coughed, struggling to get air back into her lungs. Every inch of her was in pain and dizziness was starting to take hold of her body, but she had to get back up. Sonic needed her. She pushed her hands into the concrete below her, trying to lift herself up, but her arms would not allow it. A glowing light appeared some distance beside her, and through the increasingly dark haze in her vision she could make out Sonic standing upright, clutching two shining Chaos Emeralds in his hands.
.
Relief washed over her. He was okay. She'd at least been able to hold off the robot long enough for him to heal himself. She had no idea how he'd managed to restore the emeralds' power, but at that point she was too exhausted to care. She watched Sonic brace himself, ready and more than capable of taking care of Eraditron. Allowing herself to relax, the last thing she saw was Sonic leaping towards the robot before the darkness conquered her vision completely.
Well, I hope you enjoyed that, and once again thank you for your patience. And thank you so much, Skyelara, for your editing :)
This story is finally drawing to a close...