A/N: I'm back with another chapter! This time it's "Sonic's Big Break", my favorite episode in the Shadow Saga! And for once, it's longer than the last two chapters! XD
And I wanna thank you all for 350 reviews! Without you guys, this story wouldn't be what it is today! Thank you guys for all your support!
Also, shortly after I posted the last chapter, I got sick, so I passed the time by bingewatching the SnapCube fandubs. Before then, I had only seen the Sonic Adventure 2 fandubs, but now I saw the 06, Riders, and the new Shadow fandub too. I really loved them, SnapCube did an amazing job!
Also, I wanna say that I have officially been a Sonic fan for six years now! And last month, I finally started reading through all the Archie Sonic comics. I started before half a year ago years ago, and I made it to around Issue #45. I read all the IDW comics up to #49, and so far, this time around, I made it to around where I was before. I guess this means I'm not too far off from the majority of the Ken Penders craziness XD But now that I'm thinking about it, I could actually attempt to rewrite the Knuckles miniseries if I wanted to. It had a lot of wasted potential.
Also, just a quick note: going forward, I'm gonna rename "Superior Containment Facility" to "Superior Correction Facility" because it sounds better, and besides, I kinda don't want Earth's Prison Island's name sounding like an SCP facility :P
Before we start the chapter, I wanna issue a WARNING for vivid descriptions of trauma in the middle of the chapter.
I would like to thank Althea Sirius, AgentV12, AlexeiKidd, LoneEagle745, Vexatron Primal, Blue Eyes Silver Wolf, TheManiacalMadman, IsaMGA, mickelcarey44, and MexicAmerichick6 for favoriting and following since my last chapter!
Shoutout of the chapter goes to elprovchico on Wattpad! Check out his Sonic and Dragon Ball Z story, "The Very Tough Life of Benjamin and Timantha!"
Without further ado, let's move on to the reviews and what matters most: the story!
13 Reviews
dbehi1
They're not canon to my story, it's just the Sonic franchise and no one else.
ASX-000
Eggman is using the Phantom Ruby by himself, and as far as Infinite goes, I haven't fully planned if he is or isn't going to appear yet, but I'm so far leaning toward him not appearing. After a quick check of the wiki, it says that Infinite was pulled into the Phantom Ruby along with the prototype he was wearing, so if he is still alive, he is most likely trapped inside the Phantom Ruby for all eternity. I haven't figured out all the details on that yet.
denisegalante1009
That is true, but as it stands, I haven't fully finished my notes for this story, and it's slightly canon divergent from my usual headcanon in the fact that while it goes into IDW after Forces, my story takes the other path. I could have Tangle and Whisper cameo during the Metatex Saga, but they will most likely not have major roles in my story, unless I did a sequel after the Metarex Saga.
blazenight01
Eggman has different plans with the Eclipse Cannon this time around... Stay tuned!
Super duper waffles
You're welcome! I'm glad I had Shadow turn into Sonic too. Since he's a Phantom illusion, pretty much anything is possible.
1: That's a good question that I never thought about! I think Eggman probably thinks that if he has control of the United States, then he can practically control the whole world from there. And he's starting with Station Square mainly because Sonic is there.
2: Technically yes, the Mega Man franchise exists, but it's an alternate form of Earth that's as close to ours as possible without using most real-world people, or the Sonic franchise.
3: The Xorda are not canon in my continuity, because as far as I'm aware, they are part of the reason why the humans and Mobians are at odds with each other. However, in my continuity, the humans and Mobians live in harmony, mostly in their own pockets of Mobius, but there are places where they mingle.
JustinTheSpider
, the lesser-known cousin to ? :O
GuardianDragon98
Yup! Now that Eggman has the Phantom Ruby once again, he's gonna use it to its fullest potential to stop Sonic once and for all.
Five-Chosen
That reference to Sonic Movie 2 was totally unintentional, I swear! XD But looking back, it really works!
I didn't think about having Metal Sonic or Planet Wisp appearing in the Metarex Saga, but those are really good ideas! And now that you mention it, if I do an original chapter in the Metarex Saga, I could actually have Planet Wisp appear!
Althea Sirius
Yes, that's true, the original red Tornado is Sonic's plane, and the blue Tornado II is Tails' plane. The first Tornado doesn't appear in this story, but I have on occasion called the Tornado II "the Tornado".
snake screamer
Thank you!
Blue Eyes Silver Wolf
Don't worry, I have a proper epilogue planned for this story, since the original didn't have much of an epilogue, so I wanted to change that. I love happy endings in my stories, and it may take me a few years to get there, but I promise it will be worth the wait!
CreativeKitty975
I didn't want anyone mistaking Shadow for Sonic either, and that was something I wanted to avoid at all costs. So I took a creative liberty to fix that, and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.
Believe me, there are gonna be some twists and turns that you might not see coming. Stay tuned!
Guest
I was literally just about to post the chapter when I noticed your review! XD
Anyway, that could be an idea for a future oneshot, I'm not sure yet.
Chapter 33
Episode 35
Sonic the Captive - The Dire Prison Break-in?!
Set Me Free
Superior Correction Facility – Fri December 23; 2:12 AM CDT – Third-person POV
The Superior Correction Facility was about to see the most amount of activity it had in recent memory, and Howard Watcher knew it.
The head night shift warden was sitting up in his office, his desk surrounded by monitors. One of them was showing the solitary confinement cell that would eventually house Sonic the Hedgehog.
It was two in the morning, which could only mean that according to the information he had gotten an hour prior, the hedgehog, the guest of honors, would be arriving any minute.
It had been quite a surprise for him to see Sonic on the receiving end of justice. He had given the cops the runaround, but in the end, he succumbed to justice. He had been eager, gleeful even, to see Sonic being delivered to Superior. In fact, he wanted to see him in person the moment he arrived.
There was a knock on his door, and Howard swiveled his chair to face the door.
"Come in," he said.
The door opened, revealing a patrol guard.
"Is he here?" Howard asked.
"Sonic?" the guard asked, and Howard nodded. "Yes, sir. He has just been unloaded from the helicopter and is on his way to his cell."
"Good," Howard said as he practically leaped out of his seat and walked past the guard as he left the room. He had to hold back an immature giggle as he ran down the hall toward the special prison.
He ran past the standard cell blocks. Sonic was too good for a normal prison. He could easily break out of them, knowing his superhuman strength. No, he needed a prison that was practically designed for him. It resembled a clear box surrounded on all six sides by water, accessible by an extending tube. Even though it gave anyone else goosebumps to be anywhere near it, Howard was dying to see if it could successfully contain Sonic the Hedgehog.
He arrived at the subcorridor that led to the solitary prison. Seconds later, eight other officers joined him from the other side of the corridor, escorting Sonic. Even though Sonic's hands were a little larger than the average human's hands, the handcuffs were a bit too big for his relatively small wrists, so he had to be physically restrained. At least he wasn't resisting.
"I want to talk with him," Howard stated matter-of-factly.
"You sure you wanna do that?" one of the officers asked. "'Cuz that could give him a chance to esc-"
"Are you questioning your superior officer?" Howard snapped.
"N-No, sorry," the officer says, taking a step back. "Go ahead."
Howard nodded and stepped toward the panel next to the door. He placed his hand on the scanner and waited for the scan to complete. A few seconds later, an LED light on the panel glowed green, and there was a humming sound as a tube extended from the corridor toward the prison.
The door in front of them slid open, and the whole group of ten marched forward into the glass tunnel that led to the prison. Sonic shivered at the thought of being surrounded by water like this.
"This tunnel right here is made of the strongest transparent alloy known to man," an eccentric Howard explained. "You may not know it, but it's rigged to prevent escape."
"You, uh, really outdid yourself with this place," Sonic finally spoke up.
"Hey, you try being head warden for a day, you'll find that you can give your place your own personal touch," Howard bragged.
It took them about thirty seconds to emerge from the other side of the tunnel and step into the cell. It was a cubic cell, measuring about thirteen feet on all sides.
"It's a little tight," Sonic stated.
"Oh, it's quite spacious for a normal person, but for someone as fast as you are, no place is ever big enough," Howard said. "Guards, leave us. I wanna deal with the hedgehog personally."
"As you wish," one officer saluted, and they exited single file through the tunnel. It remained extended so Howard could eventually leave too.
"So… Sonic the Hedgehog… I hear you're been a pretty bad boy lately," Howard said as he slowly walked around Sonic. "Do you even have the slightest idea what you did?"
No reply.
"Oh, now you decide to be quiet, huh," Howard said. "That's fine. We got you on theft. We got you on car-jacking. Cash. Teslas. Guns. We're talking- We're talking semi-automatic rifles that can put holes in reinforced concrete from hundreds of feet away. GUN-grade, more powerful than AR-15s. What on this green Earth would you of all people do with guns like that? Actually, you know what? That makes you a hypocrite. Don't think I don't see your PSAs on MTV. You're telling people not to use guns to hurt people, and here you are stockpiling them. You can only get bad things out of that. And that's exactly why you're here. That's exactly why I picked this cell in particular to put you in. Do you know why we like to call this place the Box of Madness?"
Sonic blinked.
"I'm glad you asked," he said sarcastically. "It's because the inmates who are kept here eventually descend into insanity from the silence and loneliness. In essence, it breaks them. Only the worst of the worst go here, but unfortunately for you, you're at the top of the list. And we can't take any chances, can we?"
There was way too much glee in the warden's voice.
"You're just like Eggman, right down to the robots," Sonic said with gritted teeth.
"Say what you want about me, but all I care about is justice, no matter what their track record is. And besides, you're an alien, and you know aliens can't be trusted at first glance. I'm flattered that you want to get to know me better, but I'm not the one about to do laps in a 13x13x13 cube. This is your show, not mine, buddy. You're not gonna be able to get out of here no matter how hard you try."
The whole time, Sonic had been looking at the dark, murky water all around him, above him, and even below him. The walls of Superior could barely be seen through the dark waters. But at least there were lights in his cell.
Sonic turned and looked Howard Watcher straight in the eyes.
"I'll find a way," he said with sheer determination.
"Good, so what's stopping you from going through that tunnel right now? The answer? Common sense. I mean, have you not seen the outer defenses alone on your way here? Why, the whole rest of the place's defenses are impregnable. It has infrared lasers. It has reinforced walls and ceilings everywhere. It has world-class voice, fingerprint, and retinal scanners like the one I used to get you in here. It has hair-trigger sensors– take it this way. Even if there is the slightest change in motion, sound, temperature, or pressure, they will go off, and they will bring the whole place running. And even if you do manage to get out of this cell, there's no land for miles. That's what makes this place superior. You, my friend, are in the most secure prison in the entire world.
"And no, your friends can't come and break you out this time. Ever since Superior started operations 38 years ago, there has not been a single breakout, be it solitary or otherwise."
Howard turned to leave, but he looked back at Sonic.
"We have orders to keep you here without bail until further notice. You'll be fed three meals a day, but calls and visitations are absolutely forbidden."
As he stepped through the tube and left the cell, he felt a rush of excitement. Even though Sonic used to be a hero, he suddenly went bad without explanation. And now Howard got to capture him personally!
Matt's apartment – Fri December 23; 8:20 AM CDT – Chris' POV
"So Grandpa, what do you know about Superior?" Tails asked.
I held back a yawn as I looked from Tails next to me to Grandpa on the other couch. I had not gotten much sleep last night because I was feeling very worried about Sonic. He was arrested right in front of me. And just when I thought Tails had been dealing with it worse than me, I realized I was feeling very stressed about it, even though everyone else knew this was coming.
All of us, except Mr. Tanaka and Ella, were gathered in the living room to discuss what we were going to do next.
"Well… It's a prison island in the middle of Lake Superior, hence the name. It's one of the most secure prisons in the whole world, and it's known to house and even break some of the world's hardest criminals."
Cream whimpered when she heard this.
"Break them…?" Amy repeated quietly.
"Oh gosh…" Tails said quietly. "That definitely sounds like Prison Island…"
To me it sounded like a nightmare. I couldn't imagine what Sonic was going through in there. I wouldn't wish anything like that on even my worst enemy. If I had known this last night instead of right now, I wouldn't have gotten any sleep at all.
"They have just about every kind of security measure known to man inside its walls, and outside, there are armed boats and spotlights everywhere. In fact, no one's ever succeeded in breaking in or out of there before."
"Uh, Chuck? This is kinda scaring Cream a bit…" Amy reminded Grandpa.
"It's okay, I'm done with the details now," he said gently, trying to ease them off the dark subject.
"No human has," Matt said, "but what about you guys?"
"Well, if this place is anything like the old Prison Island back home, then it's gonna be pretty tricky, but I think we can do it," Amy said optimistically.
"So what happened back then?" I asked. "So we can get ready in case it happens again."
"If I remember correctly, Eggman was there with Rouge and Shadow, and they took a few Chaos Emeralds and blew up the island," Tails summarized as he idly played with one of his tails.
"Why was Rouge working with Eggman?" Matt asked in concern.
"It's not so much working with Eggman as much as it is getting something for herself out of it," Amy said.
"Ah, okay," Matt nodded.
"So… just make sure Eggman doesn't go to the island?" I asked.
"I wish, but knowing him, he's gonna get there one way or another," Tails said. "Remember, even if all of this is technically not real, Eggman's trying to stay ahead of us, just like we are."
"Yeah, and we also need to make sure we don't get too reckless or anything," Amy added. "'Cuz one wrong move could land us in prison too, and besides, we're gonna be dealing with GUN directly."
"Oh… That is hard…" I said as it all sank in.
"Yeah…" Tails agreed.
"Now does the X-Tornado have a way it can fly under the radar undetected?" Matt asked.
"Sadly, no," Tails said as he stood up. "Doing anything like that is gonna be really time-consuming, especially since we gotta get Sonic out by Christmas. And this time, we gotta just… do it." He punctuated that by pounding his small fist into the palm of his other hand. He was met with nods of approval. "And, um… Chris, sorry to say this, but you may wanna sit out this time. Same with you, Matt. You've never been on this kind of adventure, so… yeah…"
"Hey, I'm fine with that," Matt said. "After all, I'm pretty sure someone needs to stay behind and hold down the fort. I'm happy just chatting with you guys," he added with a chuckle.
"This isn't really chatting, but okay," Grandpa smiled at Matt's optimism.
"But yeah, we're not gonna risk the possibility of you or anyone else going to jail," Amy declared, looking at me and Matt.
"Good idea," Grandpa said. "So it's just you two going, right?"
"Right," Tails confirmed. "It's too dangerous for Cream to go."
"Yeah," Amy said, before looking at her little sister figure. "You gonna be okay with that, Cream?"
Cream nodded as she held Cheese close. "Mm-hmm," she said quietly.
"Okay, I wish you two the best of luck," Grandpa said as Tails walked toward the door.
"Thanks, Chuck," Tails replied with a smile. "C'mon, Amy!"
"You don't need to ask me twice!" Amy said as she got up and joined Tails at the door. We all said goodbye to them as they left, closing the door behind them.
"So there they go," Grandpa said, and the room was quiet again.
"I don't really get how history's 'repeating' like this," Matt said.
"It's not really 'repeating', Eggman is using this thing called the Phantom Ruby to make it look like it's repeating, but instead he's just creating holograms that make it look like everything is happening again," Grandpa explained.
"Okay… I guess that makes sense?" Matt said. "Sorry, I'm still really new to this."
"It's okay, Mr. Matt!" Cream said. "We can teach you everything!"
"Chao chao!" Cheese echoed, and Matt smiled. I noticed a familiar pained look behind his smile, and I had a feeling I knew the cause of it. The same pained feeling I tried to hide back in May…
"I really hope we can get Sonic back before Christmas," Ella said as she entered the room from the kitchen. "I can't bear the thought of him staying locked up for the holidays for a crime he didn't commit."
"I know he'll be freed," Grandpa gently told her. "I know."
Superior Correction Facility - Outside – Fri December 23; 8:56 AM CDT – Third-person POV
After several minutes of piloting his Eggmobile over Lake Superior, Eggman was finally able to see Superior as a speck in the distance. Thanks to his hovercraft's built-in Chaos Emerald detector, he knew exactly where to go.
Everything was going according to plan so far. He had been able to enter the greater vicinity of the island undetected. Now all he needed to do to initiate his break-in was jam all the frequencies on the island, thus disrupting communications and shutting down all power on the island, except for essentials like lights. He had stayed up halfway through the night constructing a device for that very purpose.
He knew that Sonic's friends would inevitably come and thwart his plan, but as much as he wanted to bring his robots with him, he couldn't do that this time because they would be detected too easily. In fact, even his Eggmobile posed a risk. All he needed were two capable Mobians.
Chuckling, he picked up his newly-constructed remote and pointed it directly at the island.
"Time for a little pandemonium," he whispered as he pressed the large red button on the controller. Nothing seemed to happen on the surface, but in moments, security personnel and wardens ran around, scrambling to try to figure out what went wrong.
Eggman grinned before dropping his Eggmobile down toward the forest behind the main compound. While a lot of things about Superior Island were different than Prison Island, others were largely the same, like both of them having heavily forested areas. Eggman was quite confident he could pull off his plan this time around.
He glanced around, making sure he still had his cover. It was as nerve-wracking as he remembered it being the last time. Even with the success of his distraction scheme, it was still possible that someone would see him in person. But he shrugged it off because he was still quite a ways off from the main facility.
Once he was below the tops of the trees, he carefully steered his hovercraft around the branches, trying his best not to disturb any of the snow that was blanketing them. It felt different in the fact that it was winter this time around. Eggman was glad he had bundled up. His standard red jacket alone wouldn't have been enough to protect him from the cold.
As Eggman dropped his Eggmobile to ground level, he noticed a service road nearby, but he figured he was safely away from it so that no one would see him.
It seems that even the so-called greatest prison in the world has its flaws, Eggman thought as he activated the Eggmobile's built-in radio.
"I'm in," he reported.
"Excellent work, Doctor," Orbot reported from back on the Egg Carrier. "Did they happen to see you by any chance?"
"Heh, not at all," Eggman said. "It was just as flawless as the last time we did this."
"We have your position," Orbot said. "Please wait there while I fetch Shadow and Rouge."
"Uh, what's that one elevator song they play in all the YouTube videos?" Cubot asked. "'Cuz I'll totally play it for you right now while you-"
"I'm going on radio silence now," Eggman said as he shut off his radio. He didn't want Cubot's annoying voice blaring across the entire island and bringing the guards running. Even with the communications jammed, he wasn't about to take any risks.
Eggman leaned back in his seat, clasping his hands behind his head. He was there for one reason only: to pick up the Chaos Emeralds and return to the Egg Carrier. He needed them for the next part of his plan. And luckily for him, the humans had made the mistake of keeping more than one Emerald together. That would only make his goals easier, especially since he had three of them already.
There was a very sudden and quick flash like lightning that startled the doctor for a moment. He turned around to see Rouge and Shadow standing there, the latter putting away his Chaos Emerald.
"Hey doc, real talk," Rouge started without wasting a breath. "Shadow here is a Phantom Ruby illusion, right?"
Eggman nodded.
"Then how is he able to use Chaos Control? He doesn't even have a real mind!"
"I have my ways," Eggman casually replied. "Now, we're going to quickly review the plan before we move out. So according to the scan you ran on the computers, you said there were supposed to be no fewer than three Chaos Emeralds in there, correct?"
Rouge nodded. "Mm-hmm, and the rumor is there's being shipped down south somewhere."
"Are we going to stand around all day?" Shadow asked. His arms were crossed, further emphasizing his impatience.
"Patience, Shadow, I'm getting there," Eggman said. "Rouge, your task is to go to the island's storehouse and locate the Emeralds. And Shadow, you're going to take this time bomb and set it in the ammunition warehouse to ensure maximum damage. We can't allow GUN to follow us after our mission is done."
As he handed the bomb to Shadow, he continued.
"And while you two are doing that, I'll distract GUN and cover you. And I'm quite certain Tails will show up sooner or later, and when he does, I have a robot waiting for him."
"Oh, I don't know~" Rouge teased. "Tails can be very persistent."
"As intelligent as he is, he's still a child," Eggman stated. "He's sure to slip up sooner or later. Anyway, I already went through the trouble of disabling all the security measures inside, and the backup generators too. Give yourselves thirty minutes to be in and out. Don't expect to get another chance at this. Do you understand?"
Rouge and Shadow nodded.
"Good. Then let's move out."
As they took off, Rouge stuck with Shadow, since both of their destinations happened to be in the same direction. She glanced uneasily at him; it was so weird having to work with someone so familiar and yet so distant.
Suddenly the sound of lasers filled Rouge's ears. Glancing up, she could faintly see Eggman taking on a group of newly-arrived aerial GUN robots.
"Here comes the swarm," Rouge noted.
"The doctor can handle himself," Shadow shrugged.
Rouge's ears twitched at the sounds of explosions as Eggman effortlessly destroyed the robots. She knew that not only was he working on the controller to create a power surge, but he had also recently upgraded the Eggmobile's armor. And discovering the location of the Chaos Emeralds wasn't the only thing Rouge was doing on Eggman's computers…
Rouge was about to start forward when Shadow took hold of her arm, stopping her. His grasp was surprisingly firm.
"Wait," he told her. "There are still some robots nearby."
So Rouge stood there, looking up to see if she could catch a glimpse of Eggman or the robots. They were still fighting strong, but nearly two long minutes later, the fighting was finally being taken out over the open water.
"Go."
The moment Shadow gave the signal, he skated forward toward the facility, and Rouge followed him. It only took them about fifteen seconds to reach the wall, and Shadow was just about to blast a hole in it when Rouge took her turn to stop him.
"Hold it right there, mister," Rouge told him. "How do you know which wall to go through?"
"That's the thing, I don't," Shadow said. "It doesn't really matter anyway, as long as they have signs everywhere telling us where to go. Chaos Spear!"
He pulled himself loose from Rouge's grasp and pointed straight at the wall. A green bolt of energy fired out of Shadow's glove, blasting a clean hold in the exterior wall, big enough for the two Mobians to fit through. Shadow stepped through first, followed by Rouge.
"Be mindful of traps," Shadow warned her. "This is not your usual turf."
Rouge rolled her eyes. "I'm not a baby, you know…"
She knew this was not the same Shadow she always worked with. Not only was he a Phantom Ruby illusion, but his personality seemed to be a little off.
Superior Correction Facility - Outside – Fri December 23; 9:05 AM CDT – Third-person POV
Minutes later, the Superior Correction Facility received yet another unexpected visitor in the form of the X-Tornado.
"Huh, looks like the party's already started," Tails quietly noted as he slowed his descent.
Amy squinted as she tried to get a better look at the island. "So I guess that means Eggman's already here," she said.
"Mm-hmm," Tails said as he flicked a few switches in the otherwise quiet cabin. "I'm gonna drop you off and then go help GUN fight Eggman. But, uh… Try not to mistaken Sonic for Shadow this time, okay?" he added jokingly.
"Oh, come ooonnn," Amy whined. "I'm way past that stage now, Tails!"
"Okay, just checking," Tails chuckled as the plane finished transforming. "And don't worry, if this is gonna be like last time, Eggman probably caused a power surge in there."
"I hope so… He wouldn't be dumb enough to come here without doing that," Amy said.
"Well, better safe than sorry, especially on another planet," Tails commented.
"Yeah, definitely," Amy said, her gaze not shifting from the island.
Seconds later, there was a small jolt as the X-Cyclone finished landing in a clearing in the forest, followed by the silent hiss of the cabin depressurizing.
"Hey, I think there's a hole in the wall over there," Amy noted as she pointed to their right.
"I guess we just found our way in," Tails said as he pushed the canopy open. "Good eye!"
Amy giggled as she unbuckled her seat belt and stood up, ready to climb down. But she immediately shivered; the frigid forest was a far cry from the warm cabin of the X-Cyclone. Even with her fur, she was definitely going to bring her coat next time.
"So I guess that means Shadow and Rouge did all the hard work for us," Amy noted.
"Yeah, I guess so," Tails said as he looked out at the hole. "It doesn't look like blunt force made that impact. It looks more like… like it was burned… Probably a Chaos Spear."
"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too," Amy said.
"Be extra careful in there, okay, Amy?" Tails said. Amy nodded and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Don't you worry, Tails! I'm doing this for Sonic," she assured him.
"I mean really," Tails pressed. "Shadow and Rouge are probably still in there."
"Yup, I know," Amy nodded as she finished climbing down. "Good luck up there!"
They both waved to each other, and Tails watched Amy disappear through the hole. Once she was gone, he pulled back on the lever, lifting the X-Cyclone back into the sky. He then activated a few levers to transform back into the X-Tornado.
He told himself to be careful too; Eggman was here too, and he could potentially make him a target while simultaneously finding time to get GUN out of his way. Fortunately, his analytical mind was doing its best to figure out any possible scenario that could happen.
A few stray lasers whizzed past his craft, which punctuated his own emphasis on being careful. A few seconds later, his radio crackled.
"I've been expecting you, Tails. What took you so long?" he heard Eggman say.
"I mean, I did show up…" Tails said, feeling a bit lost for words. "I was here last time we did this too, remember?"
"All too well," Eggman said. "And I was also expecting Amy to come too and rescue Sonic. How close am I?"
"Uh…" Tails flattered as a few of Eggman's lasers nearly hit his plane, and he banked to the left and returned fire. "Um, what about it?"
"I've given Shadow and Rouge specific orders to detain and capture anyone who gets in their way, and that includes Amy," Eggman explained. "See? I'm always one step ahead!"
"And I thought I could stay a step ahead by getting here ahead of you…" Tails sweatdropped. Eggman laughed.
"Well, you thought wrong," he said. "Believe me, fox-boy, it's gonna get a lot hairier for you and your friends from here on out!"
Superior Correction Facility - Inside – Fri December 23; 9:04 AM CDT – Third-person POV
Like a living bullet, Rouge was soaring through the prison island, searching for the vault block. She didn't know if it was in a separate complex, but it really helped that there were overhead signs pointing to various different sections of Superior. She had passed sections leading to the break area, surveillance room, and of course, three different prison blocks.
She spotted Shadow aimlessly skating up the hall ahead of her, and she took it he was lost too.
The moment he looked in her direction, he sped his way over to her, glancing down the adjacent hall to make sure no one was coming.
"I can't find the warehouse anymore," he said in frustration.
"Hey, we're in the same boat," Rouge said, "but I just passed a sign for it back there." Shadow nodded his thanks to Rouge and took off, his shoes creating a quiet, high-pitched, jet-like sound that got further and further away.
Rouge flapped her wings once and gracefully glided through the hall once more, inwardly surprised that she hadn't seen any guards this whole time. Eggman was doing more than an excellent job at distracting GUN.
As she looked down each hall to make sure no one was coming, she happened to notice a few bodies lying on the ground. She knew she was supposed to prioritize the vault, but she landed on the ground and approached one of the bodies. Feeling the guard's pulse, she saw that he was alive, but there was a burn hole in his bulletproof vest. Shadow had Chaos Speared them.
As Rouge returned to the main hall to resume her original objective, she knew that it was against Shadow's nature to outright kill people because he had made a promise to Maria that he would watch over the people of Earth. But she couldn't trust that this phantom version would do the same thing.
Rouge reached into Hammerspace and slipped an eyepiece over her left eye. There would inevitably be fields of infrared lasers, even if the other security measures were down. It was a good thing Eggman had one handy on the Egg Carrier; it was so convenient, to her it felt like a plot device.
She made her way up the hall and around a few more corners. Half a minute, she finally saw a sign pointing to the vault, but there was a laser field in the way.
"This story pretty much writes itself, doesn't it…?" she thought to herself before she took a moment to analyze the layout of the lasers. Bracing herself, she expertly flipped her way through the field. The signs wouldn't lie to her, so she knew this was the right direction to head in.
She landed on her feet on the other side of the laser field, right at a three-way junction in the hall. There was another sign pointing to the vault down the left corridor. There were cameras up ahead too, but they were completely still, and there were no guards or robots to be seen.
Until now.
Rouge suddenly heard the sound of footsteps coming from around the corner up ahead, so she flew up and pressed herself against the wall near the ceiling to avoid being seen by them. She wasn't sure if it was going to work, because the guards of the most secure prison in America would have to always be aware of their surroundings.
To her relief, the six armed guards ran under her and through the laser field. She assumed they were wearing something on their uniforms that negated the effects of the lasers. She remained absolutely still, not daring to breathe or move. Even though the security was compromised, no one was impervious to human detection in Superior.
Breathing a sigh of relief, she silently dropped off the wall and glided toward the vault without ever touching the ground.
The hall had a dead end, so she landed once she reached the end. There was a very heavy door containing a glass panel. But on the other side, she could see a red glow that could only be one of the Chaos Emeralds.
There was also a keypad next to the door, but Rouge wanted to see how far she could go to get the Emerald without doing anything with the keypad. However, since the system was shut down, it would be pointless to try and use it, nor would she know any kind of code to open it. So the only way in would be to break in using force. Yes, people would hear her, but she didn't care as long as she escaped in a hurry.
It was just like the time she first arrived on Earth, when she went on a thieving spree. She cleanly kicked the glass, but even though she tried to catch it, it fell and shattered on the opposite side. She cringed at the impact, but judged that the hole was big enough for her.
There didn't seem to be any lasers inside the vault, so she crawled through the hole and into the dark room, effortlessly grabbed the Emerald, and, chuckling to herself, made off with her treasure.
Superior Correction Facility - Outside – Fri December 23; 9:10 AM CDT – Third-person POV
Even without a combat robot, Eggman was still a formidable foe for GUN. He had increased mobility with his Eggmobile as he nimbly dodged lasers and returned fire, taking out several Laser Hunters and Hot Shots over the course of the battle. He had been at it for the past ten minutes, the whole time wondering where his combat robot was.
But GUN wasn't his only opponent. He had to fight Tails too, who was outmatching him, but Eggman still had the element of speed on his size, not to mention his craft was much smaller than the X-Tornado.
Once he found a break in the battle, he activated his communicator screen to contact Orbot and Cubot on the Egg Carrier.
"You two, what's taking my robot so long to get here?!" Eggman demanded.
Orbot blinked in surprise. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said blankly.
"The incompetency I have to put up with," he sighed in agitation. "Is Bokkun there?"
"Hey, uh, sorry about the robot!" Bokkun apologized as he came into view. "It had a little malfunction 'cuz, well… we kinda forgot to charge it."
"I'm being hammered out here!" Eggman said as he was forced to dodge some more lasers. "I need that robot right now!"
"Sorry, it's gonna be another twenty minutes," Bokkun said. "But hang in there! It's gonna be worth the wait, I promise."
"Eh, forget about it," Eggman shrugged. "I'm leaving now anyway. I no longer have any time to waste."
"You can still buy more time though," Orbot said. "Don't forget about Diversion CT."
Eggman's eyes widened in realization.
"Oh yes…" he said. "How could I forget?"
"Do I get a line?" Cubot randomly asked.
Dodging another salvo of lasers, Eggman immediately switched frequencies back to Shadow.
"Shadow, do you have the bomb set yet?" Eggman asked.
"I just made it to the warehouse now," Shadow replied. "It took longer than I anticipated to find it. Should I set it for ten minutes? No wait… it doesn't matter how long I set it; I can be out in the blink of an eye."
"Yes, ten minutes will do," Eggman nodded, even though no one could see him. "And once it's set, execute Diversion CT."
"Your wish is my command, Doctor," Shadow replied as they ended the communication.
Another laser from the X-Tornado nearly struck him squarely, and he inwardly cursed the incompetence of his own hench-bots. Even if it wasn't by much, this was exactly why Decoe and Bocoe were better than Orbot and Cubot by a long shot.
Matt's apartment – Fri December 23; 9:12 AM CST – Third-person POV
It was almost time for lunch back at Matt's apartment. About an hour and a half had passed since Tails and Amy left for Superior, and there was an air of uncertainty over whether they would be able to bring Sonic back in time for Christmas.
Even though Cream was sitting on the couch, idly watching Matt playing Hill Climb Racing on his tablet next to her, her thoughts kept returning to Sonic, and she was getting more worried with every passing minute.
"Grandpa?" she finally spoke quietly, looking up. "Is everyone going to be okay…?"
"They'll be okay, Cream," Chuck gently told her. "They're going to do just fine. Even if something were to happen to them, this is Sonic, Amy, and Tails we're talking about. I know they'll pull through in–"
Suddenly there was a bright green flash in the other room, bright enough for even Matt to see it while looking at his tablet, which he lowered.
"What was that?!" he exclaimed. It couldn't possibly be lighting, nor could it be a power surge, so–
"Help!" Chris' voice urgently called from the other room.
Matt was immediately off the couch, tablet tumbling onto the hardwood floor, as he ran into the bedroom. He was promptly joined by Tanaka who happened to be nearby. They were shocked to see Chris struggling against Shadow the Hedgehog, who had a firm grasp on his wrist.
"Let go of him!" Matt shouted as he tried to pull Shadow off. However the hedgehog was much stronger despite his smaller size, and he used his free hand to roughly push the young man back into the wall. Tanaka tried to pry Shadow away from Chris too, but he was easily kicked back onto the bed.
Matt wasn't one to give up easily. He ran back toward Shadow and tried to punch him and his arm which was still restraining Chris. Shadow let out a low growl, and with a cry of "Chaos Spear!", he let loose with a green bolt of pure Chaos Energy that seared right through Matt's right side. It was strong enough to cause immense pain, but weak enough to not instantly kill him.
Shadow glared at both of his assailants before securing his grip on Chris.
"Sorry for the intrusion, gentlemen, but the doctor needs a hostage," he said with a smirk. He pulled a Chaos Emerald from Hammerspace and held it up. "Chaos Control!"
But just as it was activating, Tanaka pushed himself off the bed and threw himself at Shadow. However, at the exact moment of contact, the Chaos Emerald glowed sharply and instantly vanished, taking him with it along with Shadow and Chris.
Now that the danger was over, Chuck entered the bedroom, followed by Ella, Cream, and Cheese. The first thing they saw was Matt slumped on the floor against the wall, clutching his injured side.
"Are you okay? What happened?" Chuck asked urgently as he made his way over to him.
"Shadow was here…" Matt croaked as Cream and Cheese helped Chuck inspect him for injuries. They didn't seem apparent at first, except for a visible burn mark on the right side of his shirt.
"Shadow?! How?" Chuck exclaimed.
"Y-Yeah, h-he just g-grabbed Chris and d-disappeared…" Matt spoke, his voice sounding shaky. "Tanaka tried to s-stop him, but… h-he's gone too…"
"So he used Chaos Control?" Chuck asked, and Matt nodded. "Okay, this is really bad."
"He said Eggman needed a hostage…" Matt recalled. He tried to get up, but his side flared up, and he yelped as he covered his wound.
"Oh, easy there, bambino, easy there," Ella told him as she carefully helped him to stand up and move to the bed. "How bad is it?"
"Maybe a 7?" Matt guessed as he lay down on the bed. "It kinda feels like it's burned."
"Was it a Chaos Spear?" Cream asked. She knew about it because she was the only one there who had experience with Shadow.
"A what…?" Matt asked.
But then it clicked in his head that it was the name of the attack that Shadow had used. He carefully pushed himself up into a sitting position on the bed. Turning to make sure Cream and Cheese couldn't see for decency's sake, he slowly lifted his shirt up. There was a large red area on his right side, and it felt like it was burnt.
"Hmm, it doesn't look as bad as I thought," Chuck noted with optimism. "I think we can get a way with just some ice and TLC, and you'll be good to go."
"Okay, that's good," Matt said as he lowered his shirt again. "'Cuz I thought it was gonna be worse."
"But the question is, what on Earth does Eggman even need Chris for?" Chuck asked. "It doesn't add up."
"We might not be seeing the big picture though," Ella pointed out.
"Right," Chuck said. "Well, if anything, at least Mr. Tanaka's with him, and he can protect him if anything goes wrong."
"I hope Dr. Eggman doesn't make them into robots…" Cream realized in worry.
"Oh, I hadn't thought of that…" Chuck said quietly. "But from what I remember, I don't think Sonic said anything about Eggman having a roboticizer now, but we can't be too careful."
"Here, follow me, I'll get you treated," Ella said to Matt as she left the room. Matt slowly got up and followed her. His side still hurt, but at least he didn't have difficulty breathing.
"As much as I hate to say this, there's nothing we can do about this," Chuck said. "If Eggman and Shadow are at Superior too, then there's a good chance Tails and Amy will find out."
"Mm-hmm…" Cream nodded.
Superior Correction Facility – Fri December 23; 9:15 AM CST – Sonic's POV
WARNING STARTS HERE.
Seven hours.
Seven hours of insanity within my cramped cell, with nothing to do but run around in circles out of sheer boredom. I was going stir-crazy, not to mention I didn't get a wink of sleep. I had no clue what time it was, and as of now, I had yet to receive a meal. The Box of Madness was living up to its name. At the very least, my cell was heated, so I had that going for me.
Even though I complied with my arrest without resisting, nothing could have prepared me for this, as well as the intense flashbacks that I didn't know would come with it.
Every time I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, everything was coming back to me, hitting me like a hurricane. I could see myself back on the Death Egg as clear as yesterday. I could see, even hear things that weren't there. I could remember when Eggman and Infinite taunted me. When they locked me inside a tiny cell. When they used fake versions of my friends to lull me into a false sense of freedom. When the world was going down in flames all around me. When Eggman was winning.
Just like now.
I wouldn't be broken again. I couldn't.
It went without saying that I tried to escape my cell several times. But Howard Watcher was right when he said there was absolutely no way out. I automatically ruled out the outer walls because there was water outside on the top, bottom, and sides, and there was absolutely no way I could escape that way. Even the front of the cell was enforced with material that resisted my greatest efforts.
I desperately clung to the hope that my friends would know I was here and come to rescue me, but with my deteriorating situation, hope was all I had.
I was curled up in a tight ball on the floor, unable to rid myself of the flashbacks in my mind. Even though I had an exceptionally strong will and metabolism, they were truly frightening me. The silence and loneliness were scaring me. It was all too much. In fact, I was sure I shed several silent tears.
My ears twitched when I thought I heard a voice, but I dismissed it. I hoped to Chaos that it wasn't Howard again. He genuinely scared me. He was just like Eggman, Snively, and Infinite all rolled in one. He was mentally insane, took delight in locking me away. He was one of the very few people I could say I was truly scared of.
I willed myself not to weep thinking about any of this.
My heart raced in overdrive as a pounding sound reverberated around my cell, several pounds, and then nothing. I was so scared, I found that I couldn't uncurl from my ball to see what it was. I held back a whimper as the barrage of flashbacks kept hitting me like a storm. Then I could hear footsteps, followed by the sound of something being set down nearby.
And then I felt two gentle arms wrapping themselves around me. They were the first sense of warmth I had since yesterday.
I tensed up for a brief moment, before finally willing myself to relax. I took a second to collect my nerves, before opening my tear-stained eyes and looking up into the face of Amy Rose.
No Phantom Ruby illusion could emulate this sense of warmth. She had rescued me.
I slowly uncurled from my ball, before throwing my arms around her. I was so grateful to her for risking her life to save mine and freeing me from this awful place. I had no idea what I had signed myself up for when I went along with the arrest, but I never wanted to go through this ever again.
"Shhh, it's okay Sonic, it's okay… I'm right here for you, Sonikku, it's allll right…" Amy gently soothed. "It's okay now, I'm gonna get you outta here, and then we're gonna kick Eggman's butt together."
I smiled for the first time since my arrival as I hugged her tighter, and she gently rubbed my back to calm me down. I never thought I would be on the receiving end of comfort, but the Phantom War did things to me that I never thought would affect me that much.
"I'm so, so sorry…" Amy whispered in empathy. She already knew that Superior triggered my flashbacks. The Box of Madness had broken me.
But I didn't want her to worry.
"I-It's okay…" I whispered as I wiped my tears away. "I'm just a short run away from freedom now. That's all that really matters."
Amy stood up and extended her hand to me. I reached out and took her hand as she helped me to my feet.
"I wish we had more time, but we kinda need to get going," Amy told me as gently as she could. "But I'll give you a moment while I call Tails, okay, Sonic?"
I nodded, and while Amy opened her wrist communicator, I glanced at her hammer which was lying on the floor. Even though I did get a chance to hold it before, it was never the same as when Amy held it.
Out of curiosity, I bent down and tried to pick it up. It felt very heavy in my grasp, and I found that I could only lift it a few inches above the ground. I didn't know how it was possible. Amy made it feel so light. It was just like Thor's hammer.
"Hey Tails, I just rescued Sonic," Amy reported. "We're on our way out now!"
"Okay, but hurry! If my memory is right, they're probably gonna blow up the island again," Tails warned.
"Oh, I forgot about–"
But she was interrupted by a Gold Beetle robot materializing right in front of us. Wasting no time, Amy grabbed her hammer and smashed it to pieces before it could fire a shot.
"Okay Sonic, let's go before the power comes back on!" Amy urged me. We ran through the glass tunnel as fast as we could go. I was still emotionally recovering, so my mind was not entirely in the game. Not once did I look back at the prison cell behind me.
"So now they know you're here," I pointed out.
Amy giggled in spite of the dark situation. "Big deal, they can't do anything about it when we're gone," she said.
I wanted to say that I couldn't count on that because GUN was very persistent, but I wanted to leave my memories back in the prison cell I had just left.
Suddenly there was a low click as various doors across the facility started closing, followed by an alarm. They were closing faster than either of us were comfortable with. It was like Area 99 all over again, except this time, I was on the receiving end of the rescue. I told myself to snap out of it, and to at least help out with the breakout.
The doors finished closing, and one such door was not far ahead of us.
"These doors may be escape-proof, but are they hammer-proof?" she said with a playful smile.
A few hits on the door were all it took to create a sizable hole in the door, big enough for Amy and I to fit through.
"Heh, for the strongest prison in this world, it looks like they're gonna have to step up their security a bit," I said.
"Tell me about it," she said as she led the way through. "Tails said Eggman created a power surge. That's how I got in without anyone seeing me."
"Not even any human guards?"
Amy winked. "Nope!"
I glanced around. I couldn't see any other guards either. I didn't know where anyone was.
"This is almost too easy… Anyway, there's probably a few more doors around here," I noted.
As we turned down another corridor, Amy took my hand in hers. Even though I wasn't usually one to hold people's hands, I didn't resist. After all, I was still emotionally damaged.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Amy asked me, looking me in the eye as we ran.
"Y-Yeah, I'll be okay," I told her, but Amy didn't seem too convinced. "Just need a bit of fresh air is all."
"Sonic…" Amy said. There was nothing more I could tell her. We both knew I was not okay, and I was trying to act like I was okay so that no one would be worried about me. But I couldn't hold that facade up as well as I could before the war.
"Just need some R&R with my friends," I said. "I'll be okay, Ames, but… I-I never want to be in another prison like that again."
"I know," Amy gently told me as she looked down another hallway. "I said this back then and I'll say it again now. You'll never be alone again, Sonic." She gave my hand a gentle squeeze. "Promise."
I smiled for the first time since I was brought to Superior.
"I know," I said. "That's why you're a big team player with Team Sonic."
Amy smiled at me as we kept moving.
"I'll be home for Christmas," I said. "Gonna make sure of that."
WARNING ENDS HERE.
As we came to a junction, Amy held out her hand to stop me, then let go of my hand and carefully peeked around the corner.
"It's clear," she told me before leading the way in that direction, and I followed her. "It was a little tricky getting to you, I'll say. Just a couple wrong turns and almost getting caught a few times, but here I am!"
"I guess for once, I got to be damsel-in-distress," I joked dryly. "You wanna lift?"
Amy nodded, and I gently picked her up bridal-style. She giggled as I zipped through the halls with her, taking several twists and turns through the facility.
"Tails is waiting for us outside," Amy told me.
"Good to know," I said just loud enough for her to hear over the rushing wind of us running. "I really missed him."
"You have no idea how much he missed you too, Sonic…" Amy said. "He told me he had a really hard time sleeping last night."
"Well, we're all gonna sleep good tonight," I told her with confidence. "I'll make sure of that."
With my speed and Amy's keen direction-finding skills, we emerged into open daylight only a minute later. I blinked at the sudden brightness; I wasn't used to spending so much time inside a single building like that.
"There he is," I said in excitement as I spotted the X-Cyclone in the forest up ahead. Tails was standing outside, and the moment he saw us, he sprinted toward us with a very excited grin on his face.
"Sonic!" he called in joy. I gently set Amy down and hugged my little bro tightly. "I really missed you, big bro!"
"Me too, buddy," I said. My trauma was still fresh, but I had my friends with me to help me out. "I knew you guys would come and get me outta here!"
"It's just like Aunt Sally always said, we never abandon our teammates!" Tails proudly declared, quoting the Freedom Fighters' official motto.
Then Tails regained his composure and glanced somewhere behind him.
"Oh yeah, I was just about to tell you guys, I think I spotted someone unconscious over there. I don't know what happened!"
"Unconscious?" Amy repeated.
Tails nodded. "Yeah. We gotta go check it out!"
Tails led the way toward what looked like someone wearing an expensive suit, lying on the ground near the underbrush.
"Careful, could be a trap," I warned as I caught up to Tails. But as the figure started to move, Tails suddenly gasped, and his jaw dropped.
"Mr. Tanaka…?!" he whispered in shock.
"What…?"Amy echoed, and I was equally surprised as well. "How did he get here…? I thought he was all the way back in…"
"Easy there, easy there…" I gently told the butler as helped him to sit up.
"Everything's spinning…" he weakly said as he held his head.
"You okay? What happened?" I asked him. I wanted answers, but I didn't want to rush him, especially since he had just spent a bit of time blacked out.
"Sh-Shadow…" he said. "H-H-He–"
"I see you discovered our newest arrival, rodents," Eggman's voice suddenly boomed from a loudspeaker somewhere above us. "I knew you would simply book it after you rescued Sonic, and since you happen to have something I want, I planned ahead."
"What did you do to Tanaka?" I spoke with gritted teeth.
Eggman laughed. "Absolutely nothing! You see, his biggest mistake was trying to be a hero. Humans simply aren't made to withstand the reality-bending properties of Chaos Control. But if I were you, I would be more concerned about this."
That was when I became aware of a holo-screen floating above the facility in clear view of us. I could see Eggman and Shadow outside of a different part of the facility, and Chris was with them. His wrists were bound in front of him with electronic handcuffs.
"Shadow here was kind enough to abduct Christopher for me as a hostage, just to make sure none of you do anything terribly rash," Eggman explained.
Amy let out a worried gasp, and Tails was gritting his teeth in anger. This was completely unexpected, not to mention a very low blow. None of us saw this coming, which I assumed was Eggman's intention.
But even more than that, Chris looked scared. Yes, he was angry beneath his fear, but he looked like he was too scared to struggle, and I couldn't blame him. I had to rescue him no matter what it took.
"I will give him back to you once you surrender to me any and all Chaos Emeralds you have," he continued. "I must have all seven of them, and if you all have brushed up on your history lessons, you'll know exactly what I'm working on. And GUN, I know you're listening right now, and I'm only going to say this once. Do not interfere in my affairs, or else I'm taking Christopher back to the Egg Carrier with me and making him my newest robot. Now make it snappy. I'm an impatient man."
The screen disappeared, marking the end of Eggman's speech, and we were all left stunned for a good twenty seconds.
"I… can't believe he did that…" Amy spoke in disbelief. "Chris looked so scared…"
"Y-Yeah…" Tails said, and I could tell he was trying not to tremble. "I was trying to see where they were, but I couldn't really tell… And Eggman didn't tell us where he was either."
"This is definitely a Phantom Ruby illusion," I said.
"What do you mean…?" Tails asked.
"Shadow, he's not real," I explained. "Taking hostages is not something he would do. And speaking of hostages, we can't waste any more time. You guys take Tanaka and go. I'm gonna find Eggman and Chris."
"Sonic, we're not leaving without you," Amy told me with determination. I glanced around, before looking back at her.
"Then you can be my eyes in the sky while I cover the ground," I decided.
"Actually, we should all probably look from the ground," Tails suggested as his namesakes waved in thought. "There are GUN robots everywhere, and I have a feeling they don't like us being here too much."
"It's okay," I told him. "Just stick together. I'll go ahead of you."
Tails and Amy nodded, and I took off through the thick of the forest. I couldn't believe Eggman was doing this. Now things were going to get a lot harder and much more complicated. We wanted Chris to stay back this time, except apparently that wasn't what fate wanted. I had no idea Eggman was that desperate to take a hostage like that.
But then I remembered something else that happened in the past. Before Eggman left Prison Island for the second and last time, he had Shadow set a time bomb in the facility that blew up the entire island. I tightened my hands into fists in determination. If he was doing the same thing this time, I was in for a serious time crunch.
Superior Correction Facility - Inside – Fri December 23; 9:17 AM CST – Third-person POV
On her way back through the hall, Rouge discovered another door she didn't know she had missed. It was a second door into a different section of the vault.
She couldn't believe her luck. After she had found the first Chaos Emerald, she remembered that she had her Jewel Scope with her, and thanks to that, she was able to find two more. She had already collected the second one, but the third was behind a pane of strong glass like the first two. The beautiful purple stone was the same one she found at the anniversary party earlier that year, but Rouge knew this was not the time for reminiscing.
A few clean kicks later, the pane was removed in one and the Emerald was resting in the palm of her hand. She glanced around to make sure no one could see her. Fortunately, the coast was clear.
She remembered that the first time she was in a scenario like this, GUN's Flying Dog robot had ambushed her when she visited the vault on Prison Island. She shuddered, hoping such a case wouldn't happen again, and she certainly didn't want GUN accusing her of high treason.
She had already gotten a heads-up that Shadow had set the bomb, which meant she no longer had any time to waste. As she went, she couldn't help but wonder where all the guards were. Yes, some of them had been Chaos Speared by Shadow, but that only amounted to a fraction of the personnel stationed at the joint-run American/Canadian prison. Even with the surveillance cameras down, some of them should have seen her by now.
The intercom activated suddenly, making her jump.
"Attention all personnel. This is an emergency. An explosive device has been detected in Warehouse B1. A mandatory evacuation order has been issued for the entire facility. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill!"
Word got out, she thought. Gotta hand it to these guys, they sure got the intercom up quick.
Another thing that was on her mind as she glided down the hallway was the fact that it took everyone so long to find the bomb to begin with. Perhaps she had just answered her own question as to where everyone was.
Even though the sound of the alarm was going through her head, Rouge urged herself to fly faster. Yes, Shadow could instantly make his escape with the aid of Chaos Control, but for someone without a lot of Chaos energy in their bodies, she needed a little more effort than that to escape.
She made a left turn and soared through a prison block at a rapid pace. However, thanks to her super sensitive hearing, she was able to detect something banging on one of the prison doors. She shrugged it off as just another prisoner, but the banging got louder, as if trying to get her attention. Out of curiosity, she landed and walked back to the cell, hoping she wouldn't regret it.
Except when she looked through the glass door into the cell, she saw that the prisoner was short and wearing a red shirt.
Rouge gasped.
It was a child.
Christopher Thorndyke.
"L-Let me out!" he begged, fear totally overcoming his voice. "P-Please!"
Rouge was shocked. Unless Eggman was using the Phantom Ruby to double-cross her, there was no way that Chris of all people should have been there.
"Okay, hon, stand back," she cautioned. Hoping she wouldn't regret it later, she took a deep breath, twisted her body, and Screw Kicked the door in. It fell about a foot to Chris' left, forcing him to step back.
"State-of-the-art handcuffs…" she noted when she looked at the electronic cuffs that bound Chris' wrists together. "Nearly impossible to break… Can't really do anything about it right now. Come with me. We don't have a lot of time left before this place goes up in smoke."
Chris couldn't keep himself from crying as he tried to keep up with Rouge's pace.
"I thought I was g-gonna die in there…" he whimpered.
"I know…" Rouge said. "How'd you end up in there, anyway?"
Chris tried to reach up to wipe away his tears, which was a little tricky with handcuffs.
"Y-You heard Eggman's announcement…?" he asked, and Rouge nodded. "H-He said I'm a hostage. and Shadow locked me in there…, a-and he's coming to get me soon…"
"Oh… We better make this quick. And just an FYI, he's never like this normally. Ugh, forgot just how heavy you were…" she grunted as she scooped Chris into her arms. With two flaps of her wings, she took off soaring down the hall at powerful speeds that forced Chris to close his eyes.
"D-Do you know the way out…?" Chris asked. His voice was muffled, and it was hard to hold on to Rouge while handcuffed.
"What'd you say, hon?" Rouge asked as they rounded a corner.
Chris cleared his throat and repeated his question.
"Oh, sure, just give me two minutes," Rouge answered, "This kind of thing's right up my alley."
But then her ears perked up the moment she heard the sound of heavy machinery.
"All personnel have been evacuated. Commencing 100% lockdown," came an automated voice over the intercom as heavy doors started slowly closing across the entire prison.
Rouge gritted her teeth. "Hang tight, kid. This is gonna be close."
"A-Already doing that!" whimpered Chris.
Even though Rouge was flying fast while carrying Chris, she wasn't fast enough to make it to the next door before it closed and sealed itself, only seconds before she made it there.
"Come on, I don't need this right now!" Rouge protested as she landed and set Chris down. "They never make it easy to escape. Okay then, I'm gonna see what these doors are made of. Hoping it's the good stuff."
A single Screw Kick from Rouge only yielded a small dent.
"…and it's not the good stuff…" she said quietly, looking up at the walls and ceiling around them. "Air ducts are way too small too…"
"Y-You mean we're stuck?" Chris asked with uncertainty.
"For now, yeah," Rouge said. "I mean, I can probably get the door down eventually, but there's not exactly a lot of time left until…"
She sighed. She couldn't believe she had come this far, only to have her fate sealed like this. The facility wasn't even supposed to have its communications and reserve power back on for a good while longer. She wasn't expecting the doors to work again. And even worse, Chris was going down with her.
Rouge slumped against the wall.
"I failed…"
Superior Correction Facility - Outside – Fri December 23; 9:17 AM CST – Third-person POV
As I ran across the perimeter of Superior looking for Chris, I could hear a loudspeaker going off from all across the facility. It was an evacuation order for the staff, which meant I only had a few minutes to find Chris and get off the island. I was none too pleased to hear Howard Watcher's voice again, but at least GUN would be out of our way for the time being.
Tails was right about it being next to impossible to pinpoint where Eggman and Chris were in the video, but from what I remembered, he was outside somewhere. Unfortunately, there was a whole lot of outside and not much time, even for someone as fast as me. However, I did remember that I didn't see too many trees in the background of Eggman's broadcast, which meant they were somewhere close to the facility itself.
Suddenly a black streak blasted toward me from out of the trees and nearly slammed into me, but I was barely able to duck out of the way just in time. I skidded to a halt and turned around to see Shadow doing the same. We were now facing each other, standing fifty feet apart in the forest.
"Predictable as always," Shadow taunted. "I knew you'd come running and play the hero as soon as you got the message."
"And why not?" I responded. "Chris is my friend, and there is no way on Mobius I'm gonna leave him hanging."
I started pacing, walking a slow circle around Shadow, and after a moment, he started doing the same.
"So let me guess," I continued, "Eggman sent you out here to stop me, even though we know this whole place is gonna go up in smoke."
"To be fair, the doctor's resources were limited, and I was all he could spare," Shadow admitted. "Regardless, I am more than enough to put an end to the thorn in his side."
"Heh, now you're speaking my language!" I quipped. "You can talk and move like the real Shadow… but can you fight like the real Shadow?"
Shadow smirked. "Are you challenging me, Faker?"
I smirked as well, holding up a finger.
"Yeah, unless your powers are as fake as you are," I told him.
That was all it took for Shadow to let out a growl and bolt forward, but I sidestepped out of his way, barely moving otherwise. I didn't want to waste any more time on him, not when I had bigger priorities to deal with.
"Enough being macho. You're gonna tell me where Chris is right now," I said.
In response, he tried to spin-dash into me, but I leaped clear over him and landed up in a tree on a sturdy branch, shaking the snow loose that was resting on it.
"Look, I'll search this whole island if I have to, but I'm gonna get Chris back and that's that," I declared.
"Hmph, but you won't," Shadow responded with crossed arms. "Did you already forget about the bomb?"
That was when I realized, if this was a distraction, it was working and I wasn't fully focusing on my goal!
"Oh yeah, thanks for joggin' the ol' brain!" I said as I hopped down from the tree and sped off. However, seconds later, I glanced over to see Shadow skating alongside me, evenly matching my pace.
"However, I can't let you off that easily," Shadow told me. He raised his hand, which started to crackle with Chaos energy. "Chaos Spear!"
The moment he said that, the newly-formed green bolt fired out of his hand at me, and it nearly singed my spines as it exploded into a tree, sending bark flying everywhere.
"Keep it up, you might actually hit the bull's eye next time!" I taunted as I sped ahead. But it didn't take Shadow much effort to catch up to me once again as we raced around the island, scenery whipping past us.
"Are you making child's play of me, the Ultimate Lifeform?!" he growled.
"Well~" I grinned, "it's kinda hard not to when I've seen internet speed faster than you."
I sprinted forward at supersonic speed, curled into a ball, and ricocheted off a few trees before shooting myself back at Shadow. The black hedgehog was forced to go into ball form himself, and he spin-dashed toward me in defense, so now we were grinding against each other. After a few seconds, we propelled off each other, but when Shadow came back at me, I did the same, and we clashed several times in midair.
After a few moments of this, Shadow tried to up the ante by kicking me. I dodged and attempted to punch him, but he avoided my attack too.
"Faker's got a nice ring to it, 'specially for you," I noted.
"We are nothing alike," Shadow said matter-of-factly. "Super speed alone doesn't make you the Ultimate Lifeform. If anything, you're the fake hedgehog compared to me."
"Can we not do this again, Shads?" I groaned. Shadow blinked.
"What do you mean, 'again?'" he asked.
I ran toward a tree and leaped up into the air, effortlessly grabbing a branch. After swinging around it once, I dropped toward Shadow, but his reaction time caught me off guard. He kicked me into the air, but I was able to land on my feet. I took off running, still looking for Chris, but Shadow wouldn't quit. He kept racing alongside me.
"Hate to say it, but there's just one little flaw in the doc's plan," I said, and I noticed that Shadow looked surprised. "When you used that form-changer thingy, you tried to act like me. That's not something the real Shadow would do. The real Shadow would wanna try and surpass me, not become me. So that kinda makes you my fake. So when you boil it all down, you're no Ultimate Lifeform at all!"
Shadow was visibly annoyed, but before he could retort, his wrist communicator started to buzz, and he lifted his arm to answer the call.
"We are out of time," I heard Eggman say. "Get Chris and the Emeralds and get off the island now. You have three minutes left!"
I was ready to make another witty remark, but Eggman's message really hit home how little time I had. Playtime was over. Shadow had wasted enough of my time.
"We'll pick up this discussion later," Shadow said, "if you live to make it that far. Chaos Control!"
Shadow disappeared in a flash of bright green light, the very moment my own wrist communicator went off. As I wondered how a Phantom illusion could possibly use Chaos Control like that, I answered it to see Tails appear on the screen. He looked just as stressed as I felt.
"Any luck…?" he asked. There was no mistaking the worry in his voice.
"It's not lookin' too good…" I admitted. "Shadow kinda held me up, and now we only got two minutes left."
I heard a gasp on the other end.
"Sonic, we're not gonna have enough time!" Amy exclaimed in alarm. "I–"
"It's gonna be okay Ames, it'll be tight, but you know me," I told them. "I'm gonna make it work."
I took off at subsonic speed, scanning the entire outside of the island. But no matter where I looked, I couldn't see Eggman, Shadow, or most importantly, Chris anywhere. Either they were already off the island…
…or they were back inside the building…
Superior Correction Facility - Outside – Fri December 23; 9:19 AM CST – Third-person POV
Amy let out a frustrated and stressed sigh as Tails lowered his arm with the wrist communicator, having ended the call. He resumed his patrol in the X-Cyclone as it walked around the perimeter of the facility, leaving large footprints in the snow behind it.
The young fox had easily picked up on Amy's stress, but he didn't know what to say to her when he himself was panicking on the inside. Three minutes was hardly enough time for them to break into Superior, rescue Chris, and make their getaway with any amount of time to spare.
Tanaka was sitting in the back compartment. He was quiet the whole time, still recovering from Chaos Control, and dreading what could potentially happen to Chris.
"Tails…" Amy whimpered. "W-We…"
The words had a hard time coming, and Amy couldn't even think straight. All she wanted was for her friends to be safe. Eggman was on a mission to forcibly "repeat history" at any cost.
"No…" Tails said. "I-I'm not gonna let this be the end… We made it out last time we were in this, we're gonna make it out this time too."
"Y-Yeah, but Chris is still in there, we need more time!" Amy exclaimed.
All around them, the last of the helicopters and robots were leaving the island. Tails was sure they couldn't estimate the size of the bomb's blast radius. The first time around, it was just enough to blow up the entire island. Eggman could have done something different this time.
"So they're not gonna try and disarm the bomb?" Amy asked in surprise.
Tails shrugged. "I guess not."
"That's really– That is so cowardly of them," Amy added.
Tails was visibly sweating, and it wasn't because of the heated cabin. There was virtually no time at all to re-enter the facility or even try and disarm the bomb themselves, because Tails couldn't even guess where Eggman set it this time. His heart was pounding, and he felt sick in his stomach. This situation was so tight that it was virtually impossible for him and all of his friends to escape alive.
Superior Correction Facility - Inside – Fri December 23; 9:20 AM CST – Third-person POV
"But there's gotta be a way out of here!" I said, looking frantically around the corridor for any other escape route, or even something to ram the door with. But I figured if even Rouge's Screw Kick couldn't do anything, neither would anything I could do. And the control panel next to the door didn't work; I had already tried that, even though my wrists were still cuffed.
Rouge was silent for a bit as she finished searching the place, before she stopped pacing.
"Hold on, let me call Shadow real quick, hon," she said as she activated her wrist communicator. Since I was kidnapped out of the blue, I obviously wasn't wearing my own comlink either.
I wasn't really sure if calling Shadow was the best idea, especially since he was the one who kidnapped me under Eggman's orders, but I couldn't see any other alternatives.
But from what Sonic told me, Rouge worked with Shadow back on Mobius. Obviously this wasn't the real Shadow, but there was a chance Eggman could make him similar to the real Shadow.
"Shadow, can you hear me? This is an emergency, we're trapped!" Rouge urgently spoke. A few seconds passed with no response, and Rouge hung up.
"He's not answering…" she said. "Here, let me try again." Reactivating the communication, she continued. "Look, I got three Chaos Emeralds with me. Do you want 'em or not?"
No answer.
"I guess these things are as good as mine…" Rouge said. Not that it's gonna matter in a few moments."
"So are we gonna die…?" I asked, trying not to hyperventilate.
"I don't know…" Rouge admitted. "I'll tell you what, I've come pretty close to death a few times myself, but boy, this is gonna be tight. Well… I don't know how to admit this, but we're toast."
"B-But we have to get out!" I exclaimed, not realizing until now that I was crying, and my tears were blinding me.
There was a bright flash of light from behind us, distracting me. Turning around, I saw Shadow standing at the end of the hall with a Chaos Emerald in his hand. He had answered the call after all.
However, his expression turned from surprise to a scowl.
"You dropped your end of the deal, Rouge," he stated as he approached us. "I was supposed to be the one to collect Chris."
"Well, I'm not going to just let him die here," Rouge fired back. "He's just a kid!"
"Forget it. He's not going to die, as long as you both come with me," Shadow said.
"Wh-What about Sonic?" I asked, feeling scared. Shadow smirked.
"He's not my problem anymore."
I couldn't help the blinding hot tears now. Normally I wouldn't probably be ashamed of myself – a 13-year-old crying in front of strangers – but my life was in danger, not to mention Shadow implied something far worse even if I did manage to get out of this alive.
"Come with me if you want to live," Shadow said as he roughly grabbed my wrist and Rouge's and yanked us toward him. He immediately turned to the Chaos Emerald in his right hand which was holding Rouge's wrist.
"Chaos Control!"
The moment the Chaos Emerald glowed sharply, I suddenly felt sick to my stomach, not from stress, but from motion sickness as I felt a world-bending sensation of Chaos Control happening all around me for the second time that day. In fact, I didn't realize I was sick since I was kidnapped because that feeling was eclipsed by adrenalin and fear. But now my stomach was doing flips.
I couldn't help but scream as Shadow, Rouge, and I all vanished from the prison island.
Superior Correction Facility - Outside – Fri December 23; 9:21 AM CST – Third-person POV
Desperation turned to despair as I raced back toward the X-Tornado. I checked as much of the main building as time would allow me, but there was no sign of life anywhere.
"Tails! We're outta time!" I shouted into the comlink. "Get us outta here now!"
"O-Okay!" Tails responded shakily.
It hurt me more than Tails would ever know to give that order. There had been times where people died, were injured, or even roboticized, even despite my best efforts to save them. I had only known Chris for a little over a year, but it hurt to see that he was going out like this.
Being careful of the snow beneath my feet, I poured on more speed, and seconds later, I reached the X-Tornado which was just starting to change into flight mode. There was no time for me to get inside, so I settled for hopping on top of it and riding it back to Minneapolis.
As the plane blasted away from the island and across the frozen Lake Michigan, I idly looked down at all the bullet and laser holes that pocketed the ice in various places. I felt like I let my best human friend down. To think that no only was Chris kidnapped, but now he was trapped on an island which was about to blow up. It took everything in me to forbid myself from crying.
Suddenly a gigantic explosion rocked the entire island. I carefully looked behind me to see a huge ball of flame rising into the air. I could even feel the heat of the explosion on my face.
Superior was gone.
And then I felt a sudden pang in my heart as I realized Chris may have been killed in that very explosion. My grip on the plane tightened. I may very well have lost yet another friend because I was too slow to save him.
Even as I told myself not to cry, the first tears started falling anyway. There was no way Chris could have really died back there. He had to have survived somehow. He had to have.
I wasn't fast enough to save my uncle from being roboticized when I was a kid. I wasn't fast enough to keep Mobius from falling completely under Eggman's rule. And now I wasn't fast enough to save Chris from an exploding prison island.
But there had to be a way.
There had to be…
A/N: And that concludes "Sonic's Big Break!" I was originally gonna call this chapter "infiltration", but after I wrote Sonic's breakout scene, I decided to call it "Set Me Free" instead.
In the sub, Howard Watcher said "Punish that arrogant hedgehog!" before laughing. That struck me that he might be sadistic, which is how I incorporated that into his character in this fanfic. Also, he was never named in the anime; he got that name in the Sonic X comics.
In my headcanon, Tails and Amy are the only people Sonic is comfortable sharing his deepest, darkest feelings with, but even then he doesn't do it often because he doesn't want them getting too worried. In this chapter, Amy knows very well what Sonic went through on the Death Egg, so she understands what Sonic must have been going through in Superior.
I didn't want Chris and Tanaka coming to the island in a swan boat because it's just plain silly, and besides, they would have been caught and detailed long before they reached the island. However, they are still a part of the story's events, so I came up with an alternate way for them to reach the island. More on this in the next chapter's ending notes.
I was originally going to have only Sonic and no one else knowing about Chris' capture before they left the island, but I changed it because it would make more sense to have everyone know. Likewise, I originally considered having Chris still think that Sonic was captured this whole time, but now, he doesn't know what to think anymore!
And it wasn't until I was nearly done this chapter that I realized this chapter was supposed to take place in the winter!
And lastly, I'm fully aware that Phantom Ruby illusions can't use Chaos Control with real Chaos Emeralds, but don't worry, I'll provide an explanation over the next two chapters.
If you have any reviews, critiques, complains, suggestions, etc, feel free to leave a review!
Next time is "Shadow World", where Sonic and his friends band together on a mission to rescue Chris! Don't miss it!
