Chapter 8: Hammerfall
Panic ensued as everyone began to scream, and run for the doors. But before anyone could reach the doors, they burst open.
A battalion of GUN special forces flooded through the doors, rifles at the ready, and wearing some kind of lightweight armor and helmets. As soon as he saw the soldiers, Tails dove beneath a chair, and covered his head.
I'm too young to die! He thought, as he cowered.
The sound of more gunshots rang throughout the room, and he heard the screams of both men and mobians.
"Take some of these... vermin... alive," a gruff voice said, "Lord Fidel wants to study them personally."
In the confusion, Tails caught a glimpse of the scene by peeking around the edge of his seat, and what he saw wasn't pretty.
Some of the soldiers were rounding up mobians left and right. The others had their guns out and they were walking down the rows one by one, checking for anyone they had missed, while still others ran towards the stage, their rifles raised. On the floor, with blood flowing out from them, lay the bodies of all of Facility Bravo's human officers and NCOs.
A few more gunshots rang out against the wall, and Tails ducked under the seat again to avoid getting shot. He stayed that way for what felt like eternity, and then, everything was entire room seemed to have been cleared in less than 5 minutes.
I'd better just stay low, for now, he thought, crawling on his hands and knees toward the stage. Maybe I can sneak out through the back, then circle around and-
Then, he froze as his sharp fox ears heard the clicking of a rifle from right behind him.
Dammit! he thought, his ears drooping in defeat. He turned around to see that two of the Spec Ops had remained inside to check for any remaining mobians. One had his weapon pointed straight at him
"Get outside with the others, runt." the GUN soldier said, with no emotion in his voice.
As soon as the doors burst open, Sonic was yanked behind the curtain by Sergeant Miller.
"Officers, out the back," the sergeant muttered, motioning towards the door. "If you all are captured, then all is lost."
They all rushed into the hallway. Behind them, footsteps could be heard.
"What about the recruits?" Sally asked.
"No time!" the sergeant replied.
"But we cannot just leave them!" Sonic said, glancing back worriedly. He could easily outrun everyone, but the tile was slippery, and he still wasn't completely used to his new abilities yet.
After about 30 seconds of running, The Sergeant suddenly waved everyone down a side hallway, and motioned for them to be silent. They heard footsteps fade away.
Sergeant Miller peeked around the corner. At the end of the hallway, he could see that the door was open, and in the light, he thought he could make out two figures guarding the door.
"Dammit!" the Sergeant cursed,"Looks like they cut us off from the back exit.""What do we do now?" Sally whispered.
"We could fight," Knuckles suggested.
"No!" The sergeant whispered fiercely, "They already know we are trying to escape. If we try to fight, then they will just be able to pinpoint our location, and everyone will be on us in a moment. Professor Jason didn't spend ten years creating and training the first generation of Mobian Officers to have you all die before you even have a chance to reach your full potential. The world needs you all alive, not dead or captured, and I will not allow you to surccumb to those fates under my watch."
"Why are we more important the recruits?" Sonic asked almost irritatingly. After all, Tails was still back there, and the twin-tailed fox was almost like a little brother to him.
"Because they haven't received the training that you have." The Sergeant stated simply.
Sonic was about to reply when they heard the voices of a couple of GUN soldiers.
"Did any of those... vermin, try to escape through here?" The voice of an officer said.
"No, sir." Replied a second soldier, "No one has left through this door since we secured it."
"Then that means that the ones on the stage must still be here... Spread out!" The officer said.
The sounds of heavy Boots hitting the floor soon filled the corridors.
Sergeant Miller, rushed everyone down another side hallway, and into the room where they had waited for the ceremony. He ran to the a drawer, and pulled out a key, unlocked the cupboard, and pulled out an emergency pistol. He cocked it, and then he walked over to where Sonic was watching anxiously.
"Sonic," He said, reaching into his pocket, and pulling out a small black bag. "I want you to have this. Keep it safe, and use it only in extreme emergencies. Do not let it fall into the hands of Fidel's minions."
Its almost as if he is saying goodbye, Sonic thought.
There was a thump at the door, and Sonic thought he heard a soldier yell something.
"Promise me Sonic," He said, looking more urgent.
"I promise," Sonic replied.
The Sergeant handed him the bag, then walked toward the door. Outside, it sounded as if there were at least a dozen soldiers.
He turned to back and smiled, looking at the mobian officers that he had helped to train.
"Sonic, you are in charge now. Don't make the mistake of letting your friends get captured or killed. I am proud of all of you," He said, almost calmly.
Sonic, tears now in his eyes, saluted his friend and longtime mentor.
"Good Luck, Sergeant." He said.
Sergeant Jake Miller opened the door, and charged out the doorway, his pistol blazing. Cries of pain, and spurts of blood flew through the doorway, he heard three bodies to the floor.
NOOOO! With a cry of pain and rage, Sonic opened the bag and with his right hand, held aloft a white Gemstone, no bigger than the size of a human hand. It shined with a light that seemed brighter than the sun. It was a Chaos Emerald. He felt the energy of the Emerald flow into him. He felt as if he could do anything, and despite his sorrow, there was a surge of joy as he raised the crystal higher into the air.
More soldiers burst into the room, leveling their guns at the mobians and telling them to surrender...
Rouge, Sally, Knuckles, and the other officers crouched into a fighting stance...
The soldiers cocked their guns...
With a yell, Sonic tapped into the energy he felt flowing into him, and broke through the mental barrier in his mind. He forced the energy deep within him to join with that of the Chaos Emerald, and enhanced by the Chaos Energy, he instinctually did something that he had only done once before, in the fight against Knuckles...
"CHAOS... CONTROL!" He shouted.
There was a flash of white light... and all the Mobian Officers vanished.