Chapter 20: Team Up

Earlier…

"Hang on, Amy! We're on the way!" Tails said urgently.

"Tails, what happened?" Sonic asked.

"Alex is being chased by Eggman's robot again!"

Tails eyed the surrounding robots. He and Sonic had succeeded in taking out a large chunk of them, but more were still coming.

"Tails, you go on ahead," Sonic ordered. "I'll stay and keep the robots busy."

"You sure, Sonic?"

"Don't worry, I'll catch up with you. Get going. I'll clear a path for you."

Sonic dashed forward and curled into a ball, spin-dashing into the legion of robots like a bowling ball knocking over pins. Tails flew past him and back towards the hanger. From behind, he heard the robots chasing him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Sonic circle back around and bulldoze into the pursuing robots.

But more were coming.

"Hang in there, Sonic," Tails said to himself. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Flying as fast as he could, Tails made it to the hanger. As he approached the X-Tornado, he saw three figures running towards him. When they emerged into the light, he saw they were three teen girls.

"You're the ones Eggman kidnapped?" Tails asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Yes," said the girl in the teal blouse. "Are you Tails?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Amy told us you came to rescue us," said the girl in the pink shirt.

"Where's Amy?" Tails asked.

"She went to help Alex from one of Eggman's robots," replied the girl in the cream dress. "She told us to meet you and Sonic here."

"Oh, I hope she and Alex are okay," Tails said, concerned. "And Sonic is still fighting Eggman's robots." He then shook his head. "First thing's first, I have to get you three to safety. The X-Tornado has three passenger seats, and Sonic can ride on the wings. But Amy and Alex will need seats."

"Tails!"

Hearing his name in a familiar voice, Tails looked up, and a relieved smile came across his face.

Amy and Alex came running towards him.

"Amy, you're alright!" he called, relieved.

"Glad to see you are too, Tails," Amy replied as she reached him. She then looked around, and worry came over her face. "Wait, where's Sonic?"

"He's still fighting Eggman's robots," Tails said.

"Where?" Alex asked.

Tails pointed to the ceiling. "Just above us."

"Good," Alex said. "Tails, Amy, get Hannah, Taylor, and Brooke to safety. I'll go help Sonic."

"Wait, Alex," Amy protested. "You can't go by yourself."

"I'll be fine," Alex assured. "Don't worry. I need you here to protect everyone in case Eggman's robots slip past us."

Amy closed her eyes and twisted her mouth. But then she let out a deep sigh and looked at Alex with determination.

"You can count on me, Alex," she said. "Just make sure you bring Sonic back safe and sound."

Alex grinned and winked. "You can count on me."

"Alex, wait!" Hannah pleaded.

Alex stopped and turned to her.

"Thank you for saving us," Hannah said gratefully. "I mean it."

"Yeah," Brooke said. "Thanks a lot."

"No problem," Alex smiled. "I'm glad I could help."

"Will we see you again?" Taylor asked.

"Who knows?" Alex replied. "But I hope we meet again. And I hope you all get home safely."

Then, with a single salute of goodbye, Alex rushed off in a flash of teal light.

"Alright," Tails said. "Let's get out of here. Since there are only three seats, two of you will have to share one. Hannah, you're small enough. Do you think Amy can sit on your lap?"

"Sure," Hannah nodded.

"No need, Tails," Amy said. "I'll stay behind while you get the girls to safety."

"But Amy—"

"I'll be fine," Amy interjected.

She then held out her hand, and Tails saw a green ring with an image of a yellow hammer on it.

"Is that a forcejewel?" he asked, surprised.

"Alex gave it to me," Amy explained. "I can stay and help her and Sonic fight, but only you can fly the X-Tornado, and getting these girls to safety is most important right now. We can hold out long enough until you come back. Besides, Knuckles is here, too. We'll need to get him off, too."

Tails brought a hand to his chin. Amy was right, the safety of the girls was their priority right now. And with the X-Tornado and Eggman's laser cannon gone, he could make it to Station Square and back in no time.

"Okay," he finally said, "just be careful. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Amy nodded in agreement.

"Now, let's get everyone on board." Tails turned to the girls. "Hannah, you first."

Sonic came out of his spin-dash, breathing heavily. Everywhere he looked, more and more robots kept appearing.

"Just when I knock them down, more take their place," he grumbled. "Just where is Eggman getting all the metal to make these things anyway?"

The robots charged Sonic again. He leapt above them and curled into a ball. He then shot down, striking one after another with his homing attack. Then suddenly, a flying robot swooped down and struck him in the side, knocking him out of his spin-dash, and he hit the floor. He grimaced and pushed himself to his knees. He heard the sound of laser guns charging up and looked around.

The robots surrounded him, and their guns were ready to fire!

Then suddenly, a bright figure jumped over the crowd and landed beside him. They spread their arms, and a shining green shield appeared, blocking the lasers.

"Alex!"

"Thought you could use some help," Alex grinned. "Sorry I'm late."

Sonic smirked and got to his feet. "Heh, I'd say you're right on time. Ready to help me take out these rust buckets?"

"Just waiting on you."

"Alright, let's do it!"

Alex's shield disappeared. Together, Sonic and Alex jumped out of the way of the robot's lasers. Sonic landed feet first onto the nearest robot and shoved it back, forcing it into the robots behind it. He then landed and curled into a ball and spin-dashed into the legion, causing them to crash into each other and explode.

At the same time, Alex flipped over the robots like a gymnast, and her sword appeared in her hand. She swung it, a stream of green light appearing from the blade like a sickle, and sliced through a crowd of robots below, cutting clean through them. She landed behind them and sprinted forward, her sword ablaze in an emerald radiance, and slashed through the robots.

Sonic circled back around and plowed straight into a line of robots again, sending them flying into the air and crashing down on the others below them.

He and Alex slide to a stop beside each other.

"You got some slick moves," Sonic complimented.

"Right back at ya," Alex replied in kind. "What do you say we combine them."

"Thought you'd never ask."

"Then you set them up, and I'll cut them down."

"Right! Let's go!"

Sonic and Alex rushed forward in streams of blue and teal light. He sped ahead of her, curled into a ball, and spin-dashed straight into the legion of robots, knocking them off their feet. Before they hit the floor, Alex sprung forward and sliced each of them so fast it looked like time had stopped for a moment.

Again and again, Sonic shot through the robots, and Alex sliced through them. In a few seconds, all that remained of the robots were cleanly cut pieces of metal.

Among the wreckage, Sonic and Alex lay flat on their backs, breathing heavily.

"You okay, Alex?" Sonic panted.

"All good," Alex replied, breathless. "You?"

"All good. Gotta say, you're pretty skilled. You're probably the first person so fast even I had trouble keeping track."

"Heh, high praise coming from you. You're no slowpoke yourself." Alex then sat up. "And seeing you in action gave me an idea. Give me your hand."

"Why?" Sonic asked, looking at her curiously.

"Just do it," Alex said.

Sonic blinked before sitting up and holding his hand to Alex. She placed her left hand under his, and held her right over both of theirs. Instantly, her Energy and Sonic's mixed and swirled together between their palms. Soon, their Energies became a cyan orb.

"Another forcejewel?" Sonic questioned.

"Yep," Alex nodded proudly, touching the cyan jewel around her neck. "This one's called Manipulation. It allows us to project our elemental powers outwards. Since your element is Air, I thought this would come in handy. Now you can really harness the power of the wind."

Sonic grinned and placed the orb on his right wrist, and a silver band encircled around it. He held it out, impressed.

"Thanks," he said. "Can't wait to try this out."

"I should be the one thanking you," Alex said softly. "You came to save me."

"Yeah, but I'd say you saved yourself," Sonic replied.

Alex shook her head and cast her gaze down. "No, you all saved me. Just by showing up, you gave me hope. I was afraid of…doing it alone."

Alex clenched and shivered. Tears pricked the corner of her eyes, and she forcefully wiped them away. Then, before Sonic could react, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"H-Hey," he stuttered. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Alex whispered. "I'm just…I'm just so relieved. I'm not alone anymore."

Sonic stiffened for a moment, feeling a little uncomfortable by the sudden hug. Finally, he smiled awkwardly and patted Alex on the back.

"That's right, you're not alone anymore," he said. "I'm here. So are Tails and Amy. You don't have to be alone anymore."

Alex took a deep breath and let Sonic go, sitting back on her feet.

"Sorry," she said bashfully, rubbing the back of her neck. "I guess I just got overwhelmed."

"Hey, no sweat," Sonic shrugged. "I'm just glad you're okay. Now, what do you say we meet up with the others."

"Sure."

"Sonic! Alex!"

Sonic and Alex turned and saw Amy running towards them.

"Hey, Ames!" Sonic called back. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Amy said as she reached them. "I just wanted to let you know that Tails took the girls back to Station Square, then he'll come back for us. We need to find Knuckles and meet back at the hanger."

"Knuckles should've found the rest of the Master Emerald by now," Sonic said. "Of course, finding him is going to be difficult."

Alex stood up. "I can't go yet," she said. "I still need to find Carrie and Master Aaron. They're here on this ship. I just know it."

"C'mon, Alex," Amy insisted. "We came all this way to rescue you."

"I know, and I'm grateful, Amy. But I still need to find them. I made a promise, and I'm not going to break it."

"I'll stay, too," Sonic said. He then grinned and held up his new forcejewel. "Besides, I want to test this out."

Alex sighed in amusement and shook her head. "Well, I guess I could use the help."

"Then I'm staying, too," Amy said.

"No, Amy," Sonic said. "We need you and Tails back at Station Square to keep an eye on things. Once we find Alex's friends, we'll meet up with you there."

"But Sonic—"

Before Amy could protest, there was the sound of a large metal claw snapping and Alex screaming.

Sonic whipped around in time to see Alex yanked away and pulled towards Eggman in his hovercraft just yards away. With her in the clutches of his metal claw, he pulled her in like a fish caught on a line. All the while, Alex struggled and squirmed, trying to get free.

"Thought you could get away from me, Mystic!" Eggman growled in her face.

"Let her go, Eggman!" Sonic demanded.

"Not this time, Sonic!" Eggman barked. "I went through too much trouble to get this Mystic and the Chaos Emeralds. I'm not about to give them up now."

Amy stood beside Sonic and clenched her fists.

"Let her go or you'll get it!" she threatened.

"Hohohoho!" Eggman laughed mockingly. "And what are you going to do? Hit me with one of your cards?"

"No, with this!"

The ring on Amy's finger flashed, and her hammer appeared in her hands. Seeing it made Sonic's eyes widen and jaw drop.

"Where'd you get that?" he exclaimed.

"Oh, you got a quaint little hammer now," Eggman drawled. "I'm so scared."

Alex scowled. Then, with Eggman's attention on Sonic and Amy, she reared back and head-butted him in the temple so hard he yelled out in pain and slammed his hand on the control panel. The claw holding Alex yanked away, nearly sending her flying.

"You little brat!" Eggman raged. "I'll enjoy shoving you into a robot!"

Sonic was about to spring into action when Amy suddenly dashed towards the Egg Mobile and jumped into the air, raising her hammer high.

"LET HER GO!" she shrieked angrily.

Eggman screamed as Amy swung her hammer down on the arm of the claw, shattering the joint, and breaking it in half. His hovercraft swayed from side to side violently, almost throwing him out. The claw loosened as it fell, releasing Alex. Before she hit the deck, Sonic sprinted before sliding under her and catching her in both arms.

"You okay, Alex?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Alex gritted, rubbing her forehead. "But he's got a real thick skull."

Sonic looked back at Amy, who had landed on her feet, and was now staring at her hammer with shock.

"Nice one, Amy!" he praised. "You packed quite the punch."

Amy stared at Sonic for a moment before giving a big smile, half touched by his compliment, and half surprised by her new power.

Eggman climbed back into his seat and grabbed the controls. Amy noticed and ran back to Sonic and Alex.

"So, we're going to do this the hard way!" Eggman fumed.

Sonic felt Alex tense and she stood up, her eyes glistening with anger.

"That's it!" she seethed, her sword appearing in her hand. "I'm sick of getting captured! I'm taking this guy down, then I'm finding Carrie and Master Aaron! You guys with me?"

"Oh yeah, I'm with you," Sonic

"So am I!" Amy declared.

The three stood their ground, and then Sonic noticed something that made him snicker impishly.

"By the way, Egg-Head, what happened to your mustache?"

Alex stifle a laugh, and Eggman turned even redder. The veins on his head protruded so much that his head looked like a shriveled tomato.

"THAT'S IT!" he raged. "GAMMA!"

On that command, a robot suddenly dropped down from the sky. Sonic tensed, recognizing the robot. The same one that attacked them at the beach.

Seeing it, Amy and Alex both gasped in alarm.

"It's you!" Amy shrieked.

"GAMMA, DESTROY THE BLUE HEDGEHOG!" Eggman ordered. "BLAST HIM TO PIECES! THEN GET ME THAT MYSTIC AND CHAOS EMERALDS!"