In a small shed in the backyard, Knuckles and Shadow held the arms of Peter Charis as he tried to bolt out the door and find the soldier who attacked his daughter. Rouge stood in the doorway, merely shaking her head with pity. The man screamed and helplessly tried to break free of the Mobians' grips, but neither of them were letting him go.
"Take it easy, Mr. Charis," Shadow growled, trying to calm the man down, "you shouldn't waste your time trying to get to him!"
"Mr. Charis, wouldn't it be better just to be with your daughter?" Knuckles asked through gritted teeth as he gripped the poor father's arm, "we'll take care of the guy!"
Mr. Charis fell to the ground and started weeping. His eyes teared up and dripped like a fountain of mourning.
"Agatha, my child . . ." he whispered as he approached the little cot that his daughter rested on, "oh, my daughter!"
Agatha lay motionless, yet still alive, on the blue cot. Peter had patched up her wound with multiple bandages and special ointment taken from the first aid kit he brought outside on day one. Agatha's hair flowed on the pillow behind her, displaying the bloodstained strands of black wavy locks.
Peter continued to cry. Shadow crossed his arms in reply, trying not to look at the stony face of the girl. Rouge didn't look over her shoulder and she said nothing.
Knuckles shuffled around the floor, scraping his shoes anxiously.
"Mr. Charis . . ." he began uneasily, "you might want to carry her inside."
The weeping father took his reddened face out of his hands and gave Knuckles a look of confusion.
"That is a good idea, but why do you say it like that?"
Shadow and Knuckles exchanged nervous glances. Shadow raised an eyebrow, prompting Knuckles to spit out his answer.
"Well . . . see, the . . . the dictator, he's . . ."
"He's coming here today," Shadow finished bluntly, glaring at the stuttering echidna.
Peter's eyes widened with sudden panic.
"What . . . today?!"
All three Mobians nodded gravely, including Rouge, who finally looked over her shoulder. Peter stared at the ground, his mouth agape, and then at Shadow, Knuckles, and Rouge. They all looked back at him with serious expressions. Peter, taken aback, backed up into the wall, panting as though he was losing his mind. He glanced at his unconscious daughter and her delicate face.
"My family isn't safe with that bastard here," he whispered shakily, "I'm going to take her inside. Oh, her poor mother will lose it . . ." Peter buried his face in his hands. "Who told him?" he muttered insanely, "who told him to come here?"
Baffled, Shadow, Knuckles, and Rouge all shook their heads, each one rapidly trying to avoid blame.
"The same guy who attacked Agatha," Rouge said quietly, "he called in backup and they're not only bringing backup, but the freaking dictator himself decided to show up."
Peter Charis' mind spun with fears and troubles as he stroked his daughter's crusted and bloody hair.
"Ohh, she can't stay out here . . ." Peter moaned, becoming suddenly dizzy and overwhelmed, "We need to get her inside . . ."
Mr. Charis walked aimlessly around the shed, bumping into things and eventually giving the impression that he was about to topple over. Shadow ran to catch him, and did so successfully. Peter stood erect again, with the help of the black and red hedgehog.
"Take it easy," Shadow mumbled as he steadied the man, "steady, now."
Shadow turned to his companions as Mr. Charis clutched the cot, holding himself up.
"He's in a state of shock," Shadow explained as he realized what was happening to the man, "and I think they need to get inside, all of them. Not just Agatha, but Peter and Gabriel as well."
"Why? Gabriel can be a good resource for us. And besides, he's the only one who doesn't have any sort of . . . ailment," Rouge pointed out.
"While that is true, you realize he's just a kid," Knuckles countered, "he's not used to this . . . fighting atmosphere like we are. No one here seems to be."
"No wonder he makes a poor soldier," Shadow remarked cruelly, "the kid hasn't had any fighting experience. It's pathetic."
"It's part of their lives, Shadow!" Knuckles exclaimed defensively, his face turning hot with anger, "and you need to be more compassionate about that!"
Shadow and Rouge looked blankly at Knuckles. The red echidna gave up in trying to convince the dark hedgehog and curled his fists.
"Forget it!" he growled, "Fine! Let's just get these two in the house before something happens."
Silently agreeing, Shadow and Rouge helped Knuckles to get the badly shaken man and the girl on the cot into the house.
"But, Sonic-"
"No! Tails, you need to get inside! It's too dangerous out here for you!"
Tails had snuck out of the back door while Mrs. Charis was coming down the stairs and getting ready for breakfast. He kept a childish indignation as he argued with his "big brother" about staying outside.
"But you know I can help!" he protested, "I've done this all before, you know that!"
Sonic pursed his lips together and took Tails' shoulders.
"Tails, don't you remember what I asked you to do? I asked you to take care of the girls. Aren't you going to do what I asked?"
Tails carefully tried to word his answer. He opened his mouth, and then closed it, and then frowned at the grass beneath his feet.
"Sonic, I . . . I'm sorry. I miss you; it's lonely in there being the only boy besides a little baby."
"I understand, lil' brother," Sonic said, ruffling the fur on Tails' head, "but you're better off inside. There's too many risks out here, and I don't want to see you getting hurt."
The thudding of Omega's pounding feet came, and the hulking robot approached Sonic from his spot at the side of the house.
"Sonic the Hedgehog . . ." he stated monotonously, "my sensors are indicating vibrations that are quickly approaching."
Sonic looked up into the sky and perked up his ears as he heard the faintest sound of helicopter blades ripping through the air. He looked all around the sky for a sign of the vehicle, but he couldn't see it anywhere.
"Sonic, what's happening?" Tails inquired with more childish curiosity than worry.
The hedgehog grabbed Tails' arm.
"Tails, you need to go back into the house and warn the girls. Tell them to get in the basement, and don't let them come out."
"But why?"
"Never mind, Tails! Get inside and tell them!"
Before the fox had any time to protest, the sound of the helicopter grew very loud and close. Startled by the sudden change, Tails gave Sonic a final look of fear, not for himself, but for his big brother. Sonic winked and pulled the tiny fox into a hug.
As Tails ran inside and locked the door, Team Dark and Knuckles joined Sonic in the yard, all gazing at the sky and trying to determine where the sound was coming from.
"Where is it?" Knuckles cried out over the sound.
"Over there!" Sonic replied, pointing at the sky above the forest.
The sound of the blades came so close that Sonic, Knuckles, and Rouge covered their ears. The black vehicle emerged from over the trees, too close for any sort of comfort. It was in that moment of wonder that it came to a stop in the sky.
"What's it doing?" Sonic called. Omega's deep voice boomed,
"The door is opening."
Indeed, the door on the side was beginning to slide open slowly. Two men on either side of the door lowered a rope ladder to the ground, and the figure of a man, to whom the workers saluted, appeared in the opening.
"That must be him," Sonic thought to himself.
The man descended down the rope ladder's rungs, followed by a group of soldiers, all dressed in black. Sonic and his friends waited a painful five minutes before they could no longer see the man and his minions.
When nothing happened, Team Dark instantly went into their fighting formation, readying themselves for battle. Sonic and Knuckles looked into the trees, hoping to see the man stepping out.
"The suspense," Rouge remarked drily.
Suddenly, the sound of a thousand guns cocking erupted from the woods. Soldiers dressed in black surrounded the Mobians from every angle, some pointing guns, and the others taking their arms and dragging them backwards.
"Hey!"
"Let go!"
"Get off me!"
Four men grabbed Omega and tried to keep him under control. It's not very easy to contain a robot of Omega's size and strength, though.
Once every Mobian had been restrained, the soldiers that surrounded the Mobians parted to let a man walk through—the dictator, Edric, stepped forward.
"So we finally meet," Sonic said with a pained grin, "Dictator Edric."
Edric, in his long black trench coat, bowed deeply. He seemed young and had an air about him that suggested power and dominance.
"Sonic the Hedgehog, what a pleasure. I've heard so much about you," he said in a low and menacing voice.
Sonic kept his heroic smile on his face, refusing to wipe it off.
"Have you, now?" he inquired.
"I have, indeed. You're quite the figure of infamy these days. You and your . . . friends," he replied, gesturing to the others.
"We've certainly got a reputation to uphold," Sonic commented casually.
Without looking back, Sonic could already tell his friends behind him were snarling at him for his witty comeback.
"Now, then, Sonic the Hedgehog," the dictator said, snapping his fingers, "I have some business to settle with you."
As the man snapped his fingers, the soldiers led the other Mobians to the woods, where the helicopter had landed. They all looked at each other, nodding and understanding that they had to remain calm . . . for now.
"That's an impossible bargain, buddy," Sonic protested calmly, "I can't help you there."
The dictator watched as one of the soldiers struck Sonic.
"Personally, I don't think you're being truthful. There must be something you can do."
Sonic rubbed his head.
"Believe me, pal, I can't help you harness the power of Chaos Energy. It's too powerful, and I've been working on the same thing for months. We've got none of the right resources."
Edric glared down at the hedgehog, who stared gravely back. Neither of them spoke for a few seconds, and then the dictator pulled a pistol from his pocket and aimed it at the hedgehog.
"I'll give you another chance, Mobian. Tell me the secret to the Chaos Energy."
Sonic glared at the ground, pondering the offer. He knew which answer was right, and he was about to blurt it out, when the sounds of shouting and loud booms came from the woods. While Sonic and Edric glanced at the trees, a red figure came practically flying out, his fists ready for delivering a blow. Yelling, he ran straight for Edric, who didn't hesitate to whip his pistol arm around and pull the trigger.
"Knuckles!" Sonic cried as the echidna fell to the ground.
Team Dark emerged from the woods in almost the same manner as Knuckles, and they charged at the surrounding soldiers.
When Rouge saw Sonic kneeling next to Knuckles, she widened her eyes.
"No!" she screamed as she ran to the wounded echidna, "Knuckles, hon, talk to me!"
Knuckles opened his eyes and gritted his teeth.
"I'm fine . . . he only got my leg . . ."
Rouge examined Knuckles' bleeding leg and shivered.
"You gonna be okay, hon?" she asked nervously.
Knuckles looked at Rouge's face, and then at Sonic's.
"I'll be fine. You guys take down the bastard and give him what he deserves."
Knuckles let out a slight groan and then passed out, slowly fading into a blackness, though still alive. Rouge and Sonic exchanged glances, and then nodded at each other and got up, ready to fight with Shadow and Omega.