AUTHOR'S NOTES:
1. I made a little mistake in Chapter 2, specifically regarding Silver and Blaze's part. When I posted the second chapter, it said that they were having a conversation in a snowy forest. That was a mistake. I looked at my outline for this story, and I meant for them to be in Ghost Town from Sonic Forces. So, I fixed that.
2. I have this weird preference for the Boom designs of Sonic and Amy, which is why I wasted a few lines in Chapter 2 saying that they changed their look according to their Boom designs, as well as basically saying that they grew fur on their arms overnight.
Anyways, enjoy.
Feel free to let me know what you think.
Emerald City Bank is currently under attack by Eggman robots. These ones are literally egg-shaped, painted with Eggman's colors, and their faces are designed like that of his infamous grinning symbol. They don't have weapons, but they do have big metallic hands. They punch the bank's security guards so hard that they either get knocked out or are too hurt to get back up. The citizens inside step aside and cower against the walls to avoid getting punched. The robots were kind enough to not attack cowering civilians and focus on getting inside the vault.
The vault, though, is able to withstand multiple punches by the Egg-Bots. Just as one is about to grab the bank manager, another one of robots punches the vault's keypad, and it works. The vault door opens automatically.
Inside the vault is the red Chaos Emerald.
"So, Egghead is robbing banks now? He must be running out of funds for his tin soldiers."
Both the robots and the civilians turn their attention towards the entrance of the bank. He has arrived. Sonic the Hedgehog. But he's not alone. Right by his side is Amy Rose, armed with her Piko Piko Hammer. The sight of the two heroes fills the crowd with hope and smiles.
"Shall we add a few more rings to the good doctor's expenses?" Amy joked.
"Hey, we can even deliver the bill to him personally after this," Sonic replied jokingly.
Sonic starts by zooming around the bank, taking all the innocent civilians out of the building in order to keep them from getting hurt. With the Egg-Bots distracted by the blue blur, Amy leaps high and quickly smashes one bot with her hammer.
Egg-Bot #2 goes in for a punch, but Amy blocks it with her hammer. The impact causes the bot's arm to shatter into pieces. Amy swings at the Egg-Bot like a golf ball towards bots #3 and #4, damaging all three at once. Egg-Bots #5 and #6 come at her from the front and back respectively. Amy takes one foot off the ground and starts spinning super fast, whacking both bots, sending them flying and crashing.
Sonic has been watching the action for the past ten seconds. He decides to now get in on the action.
Sonic curls up, spins, and unleashes his Homing Attack on three Egg-Bots, bouncing off each one and taking them all down in one hit. Egg-Bot #10 tries to go for a leaping smash attack, but Sonic casually side-steps to safety. Sonic unscrews #10's head with his super speed and then delivers a strong descending punch to its now headless topside. He takes down Egg-Bot #11 by drilling into its chest with a powerful Spin Dash.
"Sonic, the Chaos Emerald!" Amy called.
The Chaos Emerald is in the hands of Egg-Bot #12, the last one. Sonic spin-dashes between its legs and then spin-kicks it in the backside, sending it flying. Amy jumps high and hammer-smashes the robot in mid-air, sending it crashing down. Sonic and Amy spin-dash together and perform a simultaneous Homing Attack on the bot, destroying it.
"Piece of cake, Ames," Sonic bragged.
"I'm surprised how well we fight together after so long," said Amy.
"Well, that's a sign of a special connection," said Sonic.
"Do you really think our connection is special?" Amy blushed.
"I mean, how else would I describe it?" Sonic smiled.
Amy can only smile as she tries to resist teasing him in some way. Sonic just silently looks at her with an unwavering smile on his face. It was amazing how well they work together even after being apart for some time. Fighting with her has heightened this positive feeling inside of him.
"Uh, Sonic, the Chaos Emerald," Amy reminded.
Sonic snaps out of it and grabs the Chaos Emerald that the robot dropped during the fight.
"Wait, why was the bank manager keeping the Chaos Emerald in a safe?" Sonic wondered.
"Um, for safekeeping?"
That nervous voice came from none other than the bank manager herself. He goes back inside the bank, along with a couple of guards, now that the battle is over. Sonic and Amy notice the nervous look on the bank manager's face as he eyes the Chaos Emerald.
"Thank you for saving us," said the bank manager. "Is there any way we can repay you?"
"Well, you could make a donation to the local orphanage," Amy suggested. With a glare, she adds, "And make sure it's a sizeable one."
"Um, n-no problem," the bank manager replied nervously. "Just give me a number and I'll get to it."
"And, hey, piece of advice," Sonic said, subtly criticizing the manager. "Next time you find a Chaos Emerald, how about you try contacting your nearest G.U.N. agent or friendly neighborhood echidna?"
"I assure you, lesson learned," the bank manager promised.
Amy turns to her blue friend and says, "So, now what?"
"Well, the Eggster is looking for the Chaos Emeralds again," said Sonic. "I guess this means I gotta track 'em down... unless, of course, you wanna..."
"Sonic! Miss Amy!"
That shout came from Barry the Quokka, who runs into the bank and stops in front of the heroic duo. This is the second time today that they've approached them. They can guess that it's about something serious and important again.
"First of all, I saw it all from outside. You two are amazing!" Barry complimented. "The double Spin Dash at the end, wow!"
"Eh, you haven't seen us at our best," said Sonic.
"Is there something else you wanted to say, Barry?" Amy asked.
"Oh, I was talking to my buddy Officer Boris about you two saving the bank," said Barry. "He patrols the city borders, and he said that he spotted Eggman robots heading towards Four Seasons Forest."
"That must be where I can find more Chaos Emeralds," Sonic guessed. "I guess I better be off."
"Not without me, you're not," said Amy.
"But what about the orphans?" Sonic asked. "You said you wanted to take time off adventuring to focus on spreading love."
"I trust the staff at the orphanage to look after the kids," said Amy. "And while I do trust you to look after yourself, I'm not done with you yet, especially when Eggman's involved."
"Well, I was gonna ask if you wanted to come along," said Sonic.
"Man, this makes me wish I could come," Barry muttered. "But I'm not really a fighter."
"You're better off here in the city, Barry," said Amy. "Hey, think you can pass by the orphanage, tell the staff and the kids that I'll be out?"
"No problem," Barry accepted.
"Well, now that things are settled here, no time to waste," Amy said to the blue blur.
"I guess this means we better be off," said Sonic.
"I think you've been lonely long enough," said Amy.
"Well, you know what they say. The more, the merrier," said Sonic.
Back at the foot of the Flash Freeze Mountains, one G.U.N. agent is using a large boulder to shield herself from enemy fire. Her partner is unfortunately down for good. He took two bullets to the chest, and his fellow agent couldn't save him in time. Now, she's left to fend for herself. Against who? Against what? Egg Drones, egg-shaped and armed with machine guns and mini-missile launchers. The still breathing agent can only use this boulder to protect herself. She occasionally steps halfway out into the open, gun in hand, and takes her shots, aiming for the drones' eyes. She managed to take out a few drones, but there's too many of them.
"This is not how I wanted to go out, partner," she said, losing hope.
The agent peeks out, only to be met with a mini-missile exploding a couple feet from her. The explosion knocks her on her back and out in the open, vulnerable to enemy fire. Six Egg Drones hover over her, preparing to fire.
"Chaos Control!"
Time suddenly stops around the area, freezing both the agent and the drones. Warping into the action is Shadow the Hedgehog. He immediately fires Chaos Spears at the six drones, destroying them quickly and easily.
Time unfreezes. The G.U.N. agent and the remaining Egg Drones instantly notice that the attacking six drones just mysteriously dropped dead in the blink of an eye, as well as the black hedgehog that was not here a literal second ago.
"Agent Shadow," the agent spoke.
"Take cover," Shadow ordered.
The agent goes back behind the boulder, while Shadow runs/skates into the middle of the open area. All Egg Drones are now targeting the black hedgehog. They open fire, but the Ultimate Life Form dodges every single bullet and missile fired his way. Shadow warps behind Drone #7 and kicks it, knocking it towards Drones #8 and #9, destroying all three. Shadow then warps on above Drone #10 and pounds it on its head, sending it crashing on a tree stump.
Unfortunately, Drone #11 seems to be fixated on the agent behind the rock. Hovering quietly towards her, it prepares to finish the job, with the agent none the wiser as she was occupied watching Shadow. Just as the drone was about to fire, it felt something poke it from behind. It turns around only to be met with...
A boot to the eye. That boot belongs to Agent Rouge.
"Shadow!" Rouge called.
Rouge grabs Drone #11, spins three times, and throws it into the open area, towards her field partner.
Drone #12 fires a missile, but Shadow dodges it and grabs it out of the air. He then throws the missile at the drone that Rouge threw towards him. The missile destroys #11 completely. Rouge flies up high and then descends at high speed towards the final drone. Shadow jumps towards a tree and boosts himself off of it, aiming for the last drone. Shadow and Rouge kick Drone #12 from opposite sides at the same time, almost flattening it as it explodes from its damages.
With all the drones destroyed, the G.U.N. agent comes out from behind the boulder and approach the two Mobian agents, intending to thank them for coming to her rescue.
"Thank you," the agent said gratefully. "Agent Espinosa, at your service."
"Don't mention it," said Shadow.
"Abe told us there would be two of you," said Rouge. "I take it the lifeless one behind that boulder is your partner."
"That was Agent Connor," Espinosa said sadly. "We were assigned to this region along with a few others. He shielded me. I tried to save him, but he ran out of time."
"Our condolences," said Shadow.
"I better contact his family," said Espinosa. "But, first, your mission. Agent Connor and I were following Dr. Eggman up the mountain, but our vehicle was less suited for the harsh snowstorm. We spotted what we presume to be a yellow hedgehog with super speed running down the mountain. Dr. Eggman's drill came down not too long afterwards. We continued our pursuit, but his drill was collected by his new aircraft carrier before we could engage. The carrier was last seen flying southwest."
"Towards Emerald City, maybe Four Seasons Forest, or any zone around there," Rouge wondered, based on the direction.
"And the drones?" Shadow asked.
"Likely deployed to patrol the mountains and prevent anyone from investigating," said Espinosa. "I'll call for backup, more cold-resistant vehicles, and extra firepower. Now that it's daytime, the snowstorms should be less severe, but there might still be Eggman robots in the mountains."
"Good luck, agent," said Shadow. "Rouge, we should get moving."
"I hear you, handsome," Rouge replied.
After escorting the agent back to her slightly damaged snow truck, Shadow walks back to his motorcycle - the Dark Rider. Before starting his ride, he takes a moment to look back at Agent Espinosa. She seems to be wiping her eyes with her sleeve. She's crying, he could tell. And it's easy to guess that this must be because of Agent Connor's death. She did a solid job appearing focused back on the battlefield in spite of her loss. But now that the battle is over, her emotions overtake her. Despite trying to appear professional in front of fellow agents, she couldn't hold it in for much longer. The black hedgehog can't say that he can't understand.
After all, if anyone knows grief well, it's Shadow.
"Grief is never easy on anyone, especially if it's someone very special to you," Rouge said, as if she read his mind.
"Hmm, they must've hidden their relationship so well if they were assigned together," said Shadow. "Assigning them as partners was a risk."
"Now, Shadow, don't sound so heartless," Rouge scolded.
"I didn't mean to," Shadow said apologetically, sighing with self-disappointment.
Shadow starts his motorcycle and slowly rides away from the grieving agent, not wanting to fill her ears with loud noises from his ride when she needs the quiet right now. Rouge hovers next to him as she waits for the moment he zooms off to continue their mission.
"Good job rescuing her back there," said Rouge.
"That was less than child's play," said Shadow. "The doctor better provide me a challenge... although it would better for the world if this mission were quick and easy."
"Still, it is good to see we can still function together as a team," said Rouge.
Shadow hangs his head in response to that word. Team. They haven't been a team in a while. As mentioned before, Shadow has been off on his own since Dodon Pa's Grand Prix. Rouge can assume he feels some shame for leaving her and Omega on their own for too long.
"You know, you could go on and take Eggman all by yourself while I keep Espinosa company," Rouge suggested unexpectedly.
"Ah... no," Shadow reacted, rather quickly.
Both Shadow and Rouge were surprised that the black hedgehog would respond so quickly. Rouge also noticed that Shadow's eyes widened in response to her suggestion, as if he was shocked she would even dare suggest splitting up.
"I mean..." Shadow clears his throat. "That won't be necessary. The commander sent us on this mission together. I can manage on my own, but we would work more efficiently together than apart."
"Well, you know what they say. The more, the merrier," said Rouge.
Shadow stops his bike for a moment. He looks forward and takes a deep breath, readying himself for the mission. He looks back at Rouge, who is just waiting for him to start speeding. The two look at one another with different looks on their respective faces. Rouge has her typical smile that hints at attempted flirtation. Shadow's neutral expression starts to soften into a look of someone who needs and wants to let something out.
"I missed you, too," Shadow admitted.
Shadow rides off as fast as he can, all the while still avoiding the wildlife. Rouge remains hovering in the same spot, stunned by Shadow's words.
The treasure-hunting bat is quite surprised. The softness in Shadow's voice, as well as how genuine those words sound, combined with the less intense expression on his face is telling her something. It brings a smile to her face knowing that he would be willing to admit something like that. Shadow is still the same ole' Shadow, but there's always more to him than meets the eye.
When Silver and Blaze set out to find Sonic and ask for his help, they decided to start by looking by looking for the blue hedgehog's best friend - Tails the Fox. They went to Tails' Workshop near Emerald City, but no one was home. Blaze said that Amy mentioned to her once that she volunteered to help at the Emerald City Orphanage. The two went into the city and ask for directions to the orphanage. Amy was not there, but they did find someone who knew not only of her whereabouts but also where Sonic is currently. This well-informed citizen directed them towards a multi-seasoned forest miles outside of the city.
The two Mobian heroes do not waste any time. Silver flies through the skies as fast as he can with his psychokinesis. Blaze traverses the lands with her own super speed, while also leaping far distances just to keep up with the hedgehog.
Seeing their possible destination up ahead, Silver shifts to the next gear and boosts in mid-air, propelling himself faster. Blaze leaps off an angled boulder and uses her pyrokinetic powers as boosters to get more air time while making sure she's not too high off the ground.
Silver soars higher to get a bird's eye view of the forest. Blaze stands and waits not too far behind for confirmation. The hedgehog returns to his feline companion after only ten seconds of checking what's ahead.
"Is this the place?" Blaze asked.
"Half of the forest is as green as spring and summer. The west side looks like fall. The north is full of snow," Silver confirmed.
"Four Seasons Forest, just like the quokka said," said Blaze.
"Barry," Silver reminded.
"I suppose some shame on my part is warranted for not recognizing them at first," said Blaze. "They did act odd whenever they looked at my direction. Their posture was terrible and they kept stuttering. Do I make them nervous?"
"Maybe they're in love," Silver joked.
"Of course," Blaze sighed, seemingly annoyed.
"Wait, you think so?" Silver asked, surprised she didn't dismiss it.
"I've seen nobles and scoundrels eye me like some prized jewel," said Blaze.
A brief, squeaky chuckle comes out Silver's mouth. Blaze is confused by this reaction. Is he mocking her? No, he wouldn't dare. The avoidance of eye contact doesn't seem to signify any intent to mock.
Silver fake-coughs and says, "Shall we?"
"After you," Blaze replied, mimicking his gentlemanly tone from earlier.
Silver and Blaze walk into the forest, into Summer Springs Zone. The name fits very well. The leaves of the trees and bushes are of differing shades of green. The heat is fair, not harsh. The springs look sparkling clean. Whoever or whatever enchanted this part of the forest clearly didn't want to deter people away. Making the heat manageable and having bodies of water to take a dip in to cool off was very effective in convincing people to regard this zone as highly as the others, whether it's for exploration or a little family trip. That's not even to mention the tourist-baiting attractions like a crescent-shaped rock formation and an oasis-like clearing.
But the sound of something mechanical is what really drew the attention of the psychokinetic hedgehog and the feline princess. They follow the sound and make sure to stay hidden behind a tree or bush to avoid causing unnecessary ruckus. As expected, what they found in a wide-open space filled with rocks and flowers are...
"Eggman robots," Silver said quietly.
"They appear to be searching for something," Blaze noticed.
"Barry did mention the Chaos Emeralds," said Silver.
"We might as well do Sonic a favor and lighten his load," Blaze suggested.
The Eggman robots in the area are scanning the area for Chaos energy. There does not seem to be any in this area, but they are programmed to scan every spot in this forest so they don't miss anything. In case of unwanted interlopers, they keep their arms up. Their left arms are machine guns, while their right arms are missile launchers.
All of a sudden, one Egg Gunner seems to be slowly levitating off the ground. The other robots look at the levitating bot, distracting themselves from their task.
After fifteen seconds of random levitating, Egg Gunner #1 suddenly flings itself at another robot at high speed, damaging itself and its target. Egg Gunners #3 and #4 both start levitating now and mysteriously smash into each other, destroying themselves.
Egg Gunner #5 detects a heat signature behind a tree and starts firing at it with its machine gun. Running out from behind the tree is Silver. The Egg Gunners open fire at the hedgehog, but said hedgehog uses the trees to shield himself from missiles and gunfire. While running from tree to tree, he uses his telekinetic powers on Egg Gunner #5 and turns it around, causing it to shoot at Egg Gunners #6 and #7, damaging both heavily with its own bullets. Egg Gunner #5, still under the hedgehog's control, tries aiming its missile launcher backwards. It fires a missile, only for Silver to immediately stop that missile in mid-air with his powers. He redirects the missile and hits Egg Gunner #5 in the back, blowing it up.
"Your turn, Blaze," Silver signaled.
Blaze leaps out from a tree and runs into the center of the battlefield, taking some of the attention away from Silver. Blaze cloaks herself with fire, jumps high, and homes in on Egg Gunner #8 for a very strong kick. She dodges all the bullets and missiles by running around the area with great speed. Still cloaked with flames, Blaze leaps towards Egg Gunner #9 while doing a tornado-like spin, smashing into its chest and scattering the parts of its upper body. Egg Gunner #10 prepares to fire a missile, but Blaze quickly throws a ball of fire at its launcher. Her fire hits the missile as it was launch, causing it to explode and blow up the Egg Gunner.
Silver flies towards Blaze and stands next to her, back to back.
"You're amazing," Silver complimented.
"Save the praise for later," said Blaze. "But thank you."
Only two more Egg Gunners remain. One is aiming at Blaze, while the other is aiming at Silver. The two Mobians look at one another and simultaneously make head gestures, as if pointing each other in a similar direction. They nod in silent agreement as they prepare to execute this plan that they've concocted nonverbally.
After waiting for a specific sound from the robots' guns, Silver and Blaze dash off in opposite directions. The Egg Gunners each fire at their respective target. Silver starts glowing as Blaze starts burning. The Egg Gunners start positioning themselves next to each other as they try to aim properly at their targets. Silver starts flying as Blaze starts boosting. They run in large circles around the Egg Gunners, crossing each other with each loop. The Egg Gunners are disoriented by this formation and stop firing.
After the fifteenth loop, Silver and Blaze perform different acts at the same time. Silver flies low and fast towards the Egg Gunners, while Blaze boosts herself in the air with her fire.
Silver does a sweeping motion with his hand as he flies through and in between the Egg Gunners' legs, tripping them with a small wave of psychokinetic energy. At the same time, Blaze starts descending from above like a comet while twirling with her two fists up, ready to strike. Egg Gunner #11 was about to fall on top of #12, only for Blaze to smash into it with her twirling fire attack, causing a small fiery explosion that destroys the two robots.
Blaze comes out of the explosion unscathed. She even casually dusts her tailcoat with her hands like someone spilled sand on it.
"Whoa," Silver said with calm awe.
"Well, Silver, any words?" Blaze asked with a little smile.
"I think I've said what I needed to say," said Silver.
"It truly amazes me how in sync we are," said Blaze. "No words required. Just well-coordinated teamwork."
"It's strange, sure, but so cool," Silver understood. "I can't explain it, but fighting with you feels... natural."
"I know how you feel," Blaze replied sincerely.
Silver and Blaze look at one another with surprise. This isn't the first time they've fought together, but their chemistry on the battlefield and that strange feeling of familiarity around each other continue to astonish them. As if it couldn't get any stranger, they tilt their heads at the same time while studying each other's faces. They say nothing about how weirdly in sync they are and silently agree to move on.
"We need to continue looking for Sonic," said Blaze.
"And destroy any Eggman robot we can find," Silver added. "That way, it'll be easier to..."
Silver stops himself when he sees something out of the corner of his eye. At the foot of a nearby tree is a pile of leaves. Something is sticking out of it. He could see a small, orange, propeller-like object like one on a toy plane. Curious, he walks over to the pile and starts scattering the leaves with his psychokinesis. With the leaves out of the way, he can finally see what they were covering. To his surprise, it was...
"Omochao," Silver recognized.
Silver has found the infamous robot designed in the image of a Chao and with the function of being some sort of helping type. What's weird is that Omochao is lying still on the grass. They're not talking, flying, or anything.
"Do we know how to restore function to them?" Blaze asked.
"I think I know how," said Silver.
Silver picks up Omochao and looks at the windup key on their back. He starts winding up the key, hoping this would turn Omochao back on. He keeps on winding until something happens. After the seventh windup, Omochao's eyes glow yellow, their propeller is turning, and their limbs start moving.
Omochao flies up and off of Silver's hold. They take a moment to process their surroundings before facing the two Mobians who found them.
"Hi, I'm Omochao. I'm here to help you," Omochao started. "Silver the Hedgehog, Blaze the Cat, long time no see."
"Good to see you, Omochao," Silver greeted.
"We haven't seen you since Dodon Pa's Grand Prix," said Blaze.
"That is because I have been on the run from the authorities," Omochao replied, as if this was a normal conversation topic.
"What?" Silver and Blaze reacted.
"I am currently wanted by the authorities for medical malpractice," Omochao elaborated.
"Wait, I remember Tails mentioning something about that at Amy's birthday party," Blaze recalled.
"I still can't believe you guys didn't invite me," Silver said, feeling salty about missing out on the pink hedgehog's party.
"I'm really sorry, Silver," Blaze apologized. "We wanted to invite you, but Amy was so busy booking a train and planning the murder mystery that she forgot to send us to search for the Chaos Emeralds. I tried consulting Dodon Pa, but he was mysteriously unavailable."
"I suppose it's also kinda my fault for not asking about your birthdays," said Silver.
"Well, if you must know, my birthday is a couple months from now," said Blaze. "If you want, I can start another murder mystery for you."
"Oh, you don't have to do that for me," Silver replied, embarrassed by the offer. "It's your birthday. It should be about what you want."
"But what if what I want is to make you happy?" Blaze teased.
Silver did not have any words. It sounds like she's messing with him, but it also sounds like she's being genuine about the suggestion. Would she really be okay celebrating her birthday by making it about him?
"It looks like Silver wants to accept your offer, Princess Blaze," Omochao guessed.
"Well, um, w-we can talk about that another time," Silver evaded. "Uh, back to you, Omochao."
"Are you truly a criminal?" Blaze questioned. "Did you seriously endanger a life under the profession of a medical expert?"
"I didn't mean to," said Omochao. "Amy suggested that I help with Emerald City's restoration and recovery from the war against the Eggman Empire. So, I volunteered to help at the hospital. As a helping robot, I was programmed to learn and adapt. Emerald City General was impressed by my assistance in their medical operations, so one of their doctors suggested I become an official doctor. My first operation in my new position, though, did not go so well."
"What happened?" Silver asked.
"The patient seemed to panic at the sight of me," said Omochao. "He required surgery and his non-stop thrashing did not help me. There was an accident involving a needle, a pair of scissors, and concerning amount of profanity. The patient suffered a heart attack. Luckily, the other doctors managed to stabilize his condition. The patient, however, started throwing accusations at me that were both true and false. I wasn't as careful with the procedure as I should have been, but I did try to ask him to calm down. Next thing I knew, my face was on wanted posters - both physical and online - and my termination would be declared upon capture. Everyone was picking up their phones and contacting the authorities at the first sight of me."
"So, you fled the city to avoid execution," Blaze concluded.
"But why didn't you just go to Sonic or any of his friends for protection?" Silver asked.
"Assisting me would make them associates to a wanted criminal," Omochao pointed out. "I did not wish to tarnish their public image by asking them to shield me from the law."
"So, you avoided your friends to protect their reputation?" Silver reacted.
Omochao nodded.
"Is that why you're here in Four Seasons Forest, deactivated?" Blaze asked.
"Being on the run meant I couldn't find time to maintain myself and stay in perfect condition," said Omochao. "Eventually, I had to force myself to shut down before I could find a suitable hiding place."
"I'm sorry about what you're going through, Omochao," Silver said sympathetically.
"It was ultimately my error for not managing the patient's panicking properly," said Omochao. "I probably scare him, or he just didn't like me."
"I would definitely like to have a word with this patient after we're finished here," Blaze said, feeling somewhat defensive of her robotic friend.
"Finished with what?" Omochao asked.
"We're looking for Chaos Emeralds," Silver answered. "But Eggman's robots are probably all over this forest doing the same thing."
"Ooh, I can help you!" Omochao volunteered enthusiastically. "Not in combat, of course, but in reconnaissance. I can scout ahead, keep an eye out for Eggman robots, and report back to you. That way, you can devise a plan of attack before engaging the enemy to maximize battlefield efficiency."
"You don't have to do that, Omochao," said Silver. "Besides, if they see you, you could get seriously damaged or worse."
"Don't worry about me. I have stealth tactics in my programming," Omochao assured. "I'm here to help, if you'll let me."
"If you must, don't stray too far ahead. Be sure to stay in our view at all times," Blaze said, accepting the assistance.
"No problem," Omochao promised.
Omochao starts flying deeper in the forest to do what they said they would do, to keep their eyes/scanners fully active to detect the presence of Eggman robots. The way they hovered showed excitement in being of assistance to someone once again.
"They have no one... nowhere to go... nothing," Silver said sadly.
"Well, they're with us now," said Blaze. "You know what they say. The more, the merrier."
On the other side of Summer Springs Zone, Espio has been standing in silence and looking at Maria for the past couple of minutes, studying her carefully before deciding to say another word. Maria was starting to feel weirded out by how he's looking at her, but she assumes he is just trying to make sure she is no threat. Maybe he would accuse her of faking her scared behavior, but she hopes he would continue to show her mercy.
"Maria, you say?" Espio spoke.
"Um, yes," Maria replied.
"Hmm," Espio uttered as he continued to look at hers suspiciously and curiously.
"Uh, are you still going to arrest me?" Maria asked nervously.
"I was hired to find the culprit behind the destroyed house," said Espio. "But you don't look or sound like a threat. You're afraid, but you're being honest. You admit to being the culprit, but you make it sound like an accident."
"Because it was," Maria claimed, still nervous.
"Relax, I won't hurt you," Espio assured. "Your powers, they look awfully familiar. I must ask. Were you born this way, or was this given to you?"
Maria looked hesitant to answer this question.
"You fear your own power," Espio guessed correctly. "I can help you, Maria, but only if you talk to me. If you know who I am, then you know it is my duty to help those in need. Please, I need to understand."
Believing in his sincerity, Maria takes a deep breath before speaking.
"I was sick," Maria started. "I have... had... an incurable illness. I didn't have a lot of time. My parents consulted the best doctors available, but they could barely slow down my end. My grandfather is a doctor and a scientist. He came to my parents and said that he had a way to cure me, but it required that I move in with him. He gave me this strange medicine that he said he made himself. I don't remember much of what happened when I took it. I just passed out or something. I was asleep for what felt like a very long time. The next thing I knew, I was in a freezing container and in the company of Dr. Eggman. I was so scared, I ran."
"Dr. Eggman?" Espio reacted.
Maria nods and says, "I was in some secret lab in Flash Freeze Mountains. I had so many questions, but I was so focused on running away from Dr. Eggman that I wasn't thinking about anything else. I just wanted to run. But I felt myself running faster than before... like, a lot faster. And I was mostly unbothered by the snowstorm on my way down from the mountain. When I think about it, all of this could be because of..."
"Your grandfather's medicine," Espio finished.
"And it seems to have worked," Maria said with a smile. "I feel healthy. In fact, I feel better than ever. I feel like a new me. The only problem, though, is my new power. Going back to the village house I blew up, I'm not really sure what I did. I was so scared, so confused, and so lost. Then this weird energy in me started to grow stronger and I couldn't hold it in any longer. I had to let something out, let it all out. The explosion that destroyed that empty house, it felt like it came out of me."
Espio puts a finger to his chin and thinks about how Maria described her power. The familiar nature of these powers, it puzzles him.
"Do you perhaps believe that this outburst is tied to your heightened emotions?" Espio theorized. "When you begged for your life, it looked like you were about to release a large amount of energy. When you calmed down, so did you power."
"I see," Maria replied, looking at her own hands and thinking about the possibility.
"If my assumption is correct, the best thing for you is to remain as calm as possible," said Espio. "At least, until you learn how to properly control your power."
"Are you offering to help me do just that, Mr. Espio?" Maria asked.
"I'm no expert on great power like this, but I can teach you how to temper your emotions," said Espio.
"Training with Espio the Chameleon? I didn't even have that on my bucket list," Maria thought aloud and happily.
"Watch out!" Espio shouted suddenly.
Espio grabs Maria's arm and pulls her away from the path of a rocket-propelled projectile, which hits the spot Maria was just standing on. Both Espio and Maria are unharmed, having jumped to a safe distance from the rocket's blast.
"Thank you," Maria said gratefully, despite being shaken by the sudden attack.
"Your gratitude will have to wait," said Espio.
Four Eggman robots, the Egg Pawns, come out into the open. Two of them are armed with bazookas, meaning that one of them fired that projectile at them just now. The other two are armed with spears.
"Maria, get to safety," Espio demanded.
Espio runs towards the enemy as he takes out his kunai. The bazooka-armed Egg Pawns fire rockets at the same time, but Espio dodges them by jumping high in the air. He then throws his kunai at Egg Pawn #1's bazooka, wrapping it around the weapon. Espio pulls on the rope attached to his kunai, reeling the bazooka towards him. Espio grabs the bazooka and fires a rocket at Egg Pawn #1, blowing it up. The explosion also affects Egg Pawn #2, causing it to stagger and lose balance. Just as it was about to fire another rocket, Espio vanishes from its view. Three seconds later, an invisible force hits Egg Pawn #2 on top of its head twice, damaging it heavily.
That invisible force reveals itself to be Espio.
"Whoa," Maria reacted, wowed.
Egg Pawn #3 attacks with its lance, but Espio easily dodges every swing coming his way. Espio homes in on the spear and kicks it off the robot's hand before throwing shuriken at it. Egg Pawn #4 charges with its lance, but Espio dodges it with a high-flying back-flip. While in the air, Espio knocks the spear off the robot's hand with his kunai. He then finishes it off with a homing kick to the back that sends it crashing to a tree.
Espio looks back at the mysterious yellow hedgehog, only to immediately notice a threat heading her way.
"Maria, behind you!" Espio warned.
Maria turns around and sees two unarmed Egg Pawns heading her way. Egg Pawn #5 goes for a two-fisted ground pound attack. Maria jumps backwards just in time to dodge the attack. The robot was not done and proceeds to throw punches. Maria is surprisingly dodging every single punch, despite the fact that her dodges are lacking balance.
"Get to safety. I'll handle this," said Espio.
"Uh, are you sure you don't want the help?" Maria offered, despite feeling scared. "You know that they say. The more, the merrier."
When Maria looked away from her attacker for a brief second, the Egg Pawn successfully smacks her across the head, knocking her to the ground. The blow to the head did not hurt as much as Maria expected, but the sight of the Egg Pawn looming over her scares her so much, she freezes on the spot.
Egg Pawn #5 is about to attack again, but Espio interrupts with a flying kick to the back, knocking it away a good distance from the yellow hedgehog.
"Damn it," Maria scolded herself.
Egg Pawn #6 picks up a spear and walks towards the hedgehog, who is still picking herself up. The sight of the armed Egg Pawn causes Maria to step back in fear. As the Egg Pawn increases its walk speed and gets closer, Maria can feel her fear rising. Her breathing speed up and her hands shake.
Espio quickly defeats Egg Pawn #5 with a couple of homing kick. Now, he can get back to Maria, who seems to be too afraid to think about doing anything besides stepping back away from the danger.
Just as the chameleon was about to do something, those familiar yellow electric bolts start to twinkle around Maria. Her eyes begin to glow again. The Egg Pawn does not react to these sights and raises its spear against the hedgehog, prompting Espio to immediately run quickly to her protection.
But then suddenly...
Bigger sparks of electricity surround Maria as she, all of a sudden, balls her hand into a fist and throws a quick punch towards the Egg Pawn. The punch sends the robot flying far away from her, about twenty meters far.
The look on Maria's face suggests that she's surprised by what she just did, as if she didn't intend to punch it, but it just happened.
"D-Did I just do that?" Maria asked, shocked by herself.
The sight of the electric bolts around her starts to cause her distress. Her breathing speeds up to a concerning degree, her eyes glow brighter, and the electric bolts distort in shape, as if to symbolize her worsening emotional state. Seeing Espio briefly hesitate to come closer, Maria turns around with shame as she tries in vain to control her breathing and continually rising fear. Her entire body starts emitting a flickering blue light. The chameleon stops hesitating, but still exercises caution while moving closer to her.
"Maria, please, calm down," Espio pleaded. "Look at me. You defended yourself. It's alright. You're safe now. Let me help you."
"No, please, stay away," Maria begged. "I don't want to hurt you. Just go."
"I can't do that," Espio refused. "You said it yourself. You don't mean any harm. Remind yourself and control your..."
"I said, go away!" Maria shouted.
However, Maria's outburst releases a spherical blast of energy that affects the area around her. Maria suddenly feels drained from the outburst and drops to her knees. She expects to hear some words from a certain chameleon right now, but it's just silence right now. She turns around to look at him, only to see a worrying sight.
Espio is lying against a nearby boulder. He was half-conscious, like he was hit very hard on the head.
Maria gasps at the realization of what just happened. Espio was hit by the energy blast from her outburst and it sent him flying towards the boulder. The impact must've been so hard if it hurt Espio this much. As much as Maria wanted to run towards him to check his well-being, a part of her hesitates because... she hurt him. This was her doing. He tried to help her, and she responded by hurting him. Unintentional or not, Maria is ashamed of herself. She already fears her power, but this just makes it worse.
"What did you do to him?!"
That sudden loud voice came from one of the three individuals who came jumping out into the open. One of them is a silverish white hedgehog, one is a purple cat, and the third one is a toy-sized robot with a physical resemblance to a Chao. The former two look at Maria like she's a hostile threat, and their stances make them look like they're readying themselves to attack.
Recognizing the identities of the cat and fellow hedgehog, Maria realizes that this looks much worse for her.
This chapter wasn't supposed to take this long to write and post, but I wasn't kidding about my passion for writing not being what it used to be. Why am I doing this again? Updates may be slow, like weekly or biweekly... depending on how wide awake or tired I am... who knows... maybe I'm just itching to get to the really good parts, and I hope to stay motivated to finish the path leading there.