ZONE 3: STARLIGHT CITY

ACT 4: OUT OF THE FRYING PAN AND INTO THE FIRE

Whoever built this roller coaster deserved a raise. It was handling the weight of Sonic, Shadow, the motobug, and even the large robot like a champ. The large robot stood a ways in front of the others, its bold proclamation vibrating the metal tracks, but they refused to be intimidated.

Sonic's eyes widened. "Distress signal?" he repeated. Then, he looked down at the motobug. Its eyes were still flashing that same desperate red as before. "Huh… I never would've guessed our little buddy came with a direct line to someone like you! But hey, I'm glad it's got some friends on speed dial!"

The large robot bored its crimson eyes into Sonic. "INCORRECT," it said. "THIS UNIT IS NOT 'FRIENDS' WITH THAT INFERIOR MODEL."

The motobug beeped. If it was capable of making an expression, then it probably would've been sticking its tongue out right now.

"DO NOT INSULT ME, PUNY FODDER MODEL. I WILL CRUSH YOU LIKE A GRAPE."

Sonic was confused. "Well, if you're not pals, why'd you show up?"

With a single sharp, titanium plated finger, the large robot pointed at Sonic and Shadow. "SCANS OF THE AREA INDICATED AN ABNORMAL SPIKE IN CHAOS ENERGY. THE DISTRESS SIGNAL HAD AN ESTIMATED 73.4% CHANCE OF BEING RELATED."

Shadow didn't like where this was going. "Why would Chaos Energy be of any interest to you?"

"YOUR INQUIRY IS IRRELEVANT," the large robot said. "PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: LOCATE AND RETRIEVE MISSING HEDGEHOGS. MISSION STATUS: 50% COMPLETE."

Sonic and Shadow looked at each other. Then, Sonic turned back toward the large robot. "That other half might be tough to come by, big guy," Sonic said. He spared a glance over his shoulder and saw that the G.U.N. soldiers had begun scaling the hill below them. "Y'see, we're kinda popular right now…"

"DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE ME," the large robot snapped. "MY ARSENAL IS EXTENSIVE. AND DEADLY."

It was then that the large robot's hands retreated into its arms. With its blasters now operational, it raised them up, preparing to shoot down whichever poor G.U.N. soldier was unlucky enough to reach the top of the tracks first.

Sonic felt uneasy as he stared down the barrels of the large robot's blasters. They didn't look like very precise weapons. Cautiously, he urged the motobug to drive behind the large robot. Now, at least, they wouldn't get caught in the crosshairs of those massive machine guns.

"Blue," Shadow hissed, his eyes locked on the back of the large robot's head. "We don't need to put our faith in this machine. A warp is still possible."

Sonic looked at Shadow. He looked at the tension on his face, the barely-contained exhaustion. Then, he whispered back, "Then what? You go dark on me again? I'd rather take my chances with Mr. Mecha here."

"THIS UNIT HAS BEEN DESIGNATED E-123 OMEGA."

A single drop of sweat slid down Sonic's head like he was an anime character. "Sorry," he said. "I'd rather take my chances with Mr. Omega."

"NO GENDERED TITLE IS NECESSARY."

"…Just Omega?"

"CORRECT."

A human hand appeared at the top of the tracks. A helmet and head joined it shortly afterwards, illuminated by the bright white spotlight on the ground. Omega didn't hesitate–he opened fire immediately, and the soldier dropped back down the tracks with a startled yelp. Bullets clanged off the tracks and pierced through the office building to their right, turning the outer wall into a pretty decent impression of a cheese grater.

Then, everything went quiet. So quiet that Shadow could hear the internal mechanisms of the motobug whir as it sat idly on the tracks. Shadow hopped off of its back after a second spent in the tense, unmoving silence. Now he was standing parallel to Sonic and the motobug on the other side of the tracks, with his fists clenched tightly in anticipation.

The hedgehogs and robots watched the edge of the tracks. Waiting.

But they were looking at the wrong spot. No soldiers appeared from the hill–instead, a group of them dropped down from the sky, having leapt off the roof of the office building. Omega resumed his attack on them immediately, swinging his hulking robotic body around and letting loose a blanket of bullets that seemed to cover the night air with red hot steel.

A soldier with gold teeth landed on the tracks in front of Sonic. He jabbed his gun in the hedgehog's face, but Sonic was faster than him, and he slapped the gun out of the soldier's hands before he could pull the trigger. It fell to the ground far below, breaking into a million pieces when it hit the sidewalk.

The soldier jumped in fear when Sonic grabbed his collar. "W-Wait!" he gasped. "Don't! I just got my teeth fixed from the last time I saw you!"

Sonic frowned. He didn't let go of the man's collar. "You're that guy from the forest?"

Nodding, the soldier replied, "That's right!"

Sonic punched him in the face. A few of the soldier's gold teeth went flying.

"Word of advice?" Sonic quipped dryly. "Quit your job."

After releasing the man's collar, Sonic did something risky. He hopped off of the motobug's back, balanced on the tracks with his one uninjured leg, and then pushed the disoriented soldier over. The man landed on his back on the tracks, and once Sonic tied the hems of his shirt and pants to the horizontal beams, it was clear he wouldn't be rejoining the fight anytime soon.

When that was done, Sonic straightened. Then, the motobug drove up to him. Its eyes had returned to their original electric blue color, but the little robot was obviously still in distress–a feeling that worsened when Omega's aim shifted from the sky to the tracks and the soldiers that were crawling across them like insects.

Sonic did the only thing he could think of to keep himself and the motobug safe from the onslaught. He hooked one hand under Buggy's wheel, and then he dropped down under the tracks, dangling from them with his free hand. A concrete patio jutted out from the office building about 30 feet below them, but he wasn't going to risk that fall until someone tried stepping on his fingers, so he simply hung there for now.

Meanwhile, Shadow was up against the rest of the G.U.N. soldiers. He could feel the pressure building behind his eyes the longer they fought, his punches driving back one soldier only to reveal two more. It was difficult to stay on the narrow, slippery tracks while trading blows–something the soldiers didn't have to worry about, Shadow realized, since their shoes were magnetized.

However, it wasn't until Omega started firing in his direction that Shadow really started to feel the heat. Sparks appeared around his fists, and when he socked the next G.U.N. soldier in the jaw, the impact released a burst of red kinetic energy, and the man's head snapped sharply to the side. He stumbled backwards, then fell to his hands and knees.

Omega took care of the rest. One by one, the soldiers crumpled under the pressure, until none of them were left standing.

Then, Shadow hurried over to where Sonic and the motobug were hanging from the edge of the tracks. He pulled them both up with one hand. "That was beyond reckless," Shadow said.

Sonic shrugged. "It was no big deal," he said. "Besides, I needed the workout!"

Omega turned towards Sonic and Shadow. His arm cannons were smoking. "THREAT ELIMINATED," he said. "COMMENCING HEDGEHOG RETRIEVAL PROTOCOLS."

Shadow tensed when the large robot moved to grab them, but then his attention shifted to the sky over his flat yellow head. Partially hidden by the darkness of the citywide blackout, a G.U.N. helicopter was hovering in the space just beyond the tracks, a giant missile hanging from its undercarriage, pointed directly at them.

Shadow zapped himself behind Omega. The missile unlatched from the helicopter. Shadow started glowing, his whole body on fire. The missile ignited, its tail ablaze with the promise to come right towards him. Shadow jumped from the tracks and landed on the window of the helicopter. The missile began rocketing forwards.

The pilots inside the helicopter became frantic at the sight of him, but there was nothing they could do.

Molten Chaos Energy exploded from Shadow's body. It engulfed the helicopter and the missile. It scorched them. Destroyed them completely. For a second there was ashes, but then they got eviscerated too. Shadow hung in the air for a moment afterwards, floating in the space where the helicopter and missile had just been, radiating power.

And then it all went dark. The red light disappeared, and he started to fall, his energy completely spent. The soldiers on the ground waited, all too ready to catch him.

But Sonic beat them to it. He didn't have a plan–he didn't need one. He had driven Buggy to the edge of the tracks and then leapt off of the motobug's back without a second thought, diving after his friend with determination.

Sonic caught Shadow by the wrist. Then, he curled around Shadow's unconscious body, steeling himself for the moment when they would hit the ground.

It wouldn't be the first time.

But history didn't repeat itself. Omega swooped in before the hedgehogs could create another crater, and he snatched them from the air, saving them from falling into G.U.N.'s clutches. Sonic winced just a little bit when Omega's big metal hands jostled his broken leg.

"HEDGEHOGS SECURED," Omega said. "REGRETTABLY, THE PUNY FODDER MODEL IS SECURED AS WELL."

Sonic looked up. The motobug waved down at him from its spot atop one of Omega's large shoulders. Its other claw was wedged in an extremely convenient, handle-like protrusion that the author is amazed they managed to make plot relevant somehow.

"BLUE HEDGEHOG," Omega said, his shiny eyes peering down at Sonic. "YOU DID NOT INFORM ME OF THE DARK ONE'S DESTRUCTIVE POWER. I LIKE IT."

Sonic adjusted Shadow in his arms, holding his friend's head against his shoulder. "It's news to me, too," Sonic admitted. After a moment spent listening to Omega's thrusters burn and crackle, he asked, "Thanks for the save, and all, but mind fillin' me in on where we're going?"

"DESTINATION: SCRAP BRAIN BASE."

"Heh," Sonic laughed. It was short and thin. "Way ahead of you. Seriously, though–what's the deal with you?"

"I DO NOT OPERATE UNDER A CONTRACT," Omega stated plainly.

Starlight City faded into the distance behind them. Up ahead, the horizon was free from skyscrapers. In fact, it was free from any buildings at all. The only things for miles were mountains of sand and the occasional palm tree. And now that they had lost sight of G.U.N., Omega was flying closer to the ground, kicking up clouds of sand and dust in his wake.

Sonic wanted to trust Omega. He'd just helped them out of a tight spot, after all. And he seemed to know who they were–or, at the very least, he knew someone else who did. That lead was important, because it was what Stripes was looking for.

But Sonic couldn't help but wonder what waited for them at Scrap Brain Base, and if it was any good. Was Omega's creator going to be like G.U.N.? Sonic figured it was a coin toss.

Frowning, Sonic examined Omega. Unlike Buggy, the large robot was clearly built for combat. What kind of person would build something like him? "Omega," Sonic began, "you sure you're not with the military?"

"POSITIVE," Omega responded in that same booming mechanical voice as always. "MY CREATOR IS AN ENEMY OF THE STATE."

Sonic smiled faintly. Just like that, the scales tipped in favor of Omega's creator having decent character. "It doesn't seem hard to do," Sonic said somewhat bitterly. "Those police types always seem to wanna pick a fight!"

Shadow shuddered in Sonic's arms. He wore a pinched expression in his sleep and his fur was hot to the touch, despite the chill of the desert night. Whatever affliction he had suffered after their confrontation with the cowboy ghost was getting worse. That much was obvious to Sonic.

Carefully, the blue hedgehog ran his fingers through Shadow's quills. Quite a few of them were splintered or outright broken from their fall. Sonic cleaned them up with a deftness he didn't expect, hoping to bring at least a little comfort to his feverish friend.

Shadow's hard frown softened by a fraction, and Sonic considered it a win.

And there was one more thing. He no longer felt unsure about their destination, because he had realized something. If Omega's creator was familiar with them, then that was a good thing, because the guy would probably know a thing or two about Stripes. Specifically, what was wrong with him. Sonic just hoped they'd be willing to help.

Maybe then, he would be spared from having to hunt down a doctor.