Amy pulled back her chair from her computer and rubbed her eyes. As glad as she was that the Resistance could finally fight back against Eggman, running ops for an actual battle against the Eggman Army was a lot more harrowing than the missions they had been doing for the last half-a-year, which mostly fell somewhere between buying time and search-and-rescue.
It was especially frustrating when the field commander was everyone's favorite Knucklehead. He was great at offensive tactics and in training their Mobian troops how to be effective in combat. Since their only large supply of weapons had been destroyed by the Red Mask, that was basically all the firepower they had. Most of the humans they rescued were defenseless against Eggman's killer machines.
Neither of those strengths had anything to do with defense, guile, or subtlety, which were all key when fighting against a larger and stronger army. Most of that fell on Amy, with some help from Espio and Rouge on the few occasions they weren't in the field. Unfortunately, today was not one of those days, so she had just spent the last several hours trying to direct their forces through the jungle.
On the flipside, the reason the others weren't available was because their newly stolen shuttles meant the Resistance could finally try and find other survivor groups. She was expecting news from either of their scouting parties any time now. She stretched and returned to her screen to pull up their latest report on potential outposts.
1. GUN Fortress: Designed to withstand apocalyptic scenarios, like the Black Arms invasion. Status: Completely sealed and under siege; no means of observation.
2. Blue Ridge: Secluded, self-sufficient, and fortified against high-powered forces, due to its nature as a refugee settlement from the Perfect Chaos attack. Status: conquered, reasons unknown.
3. Grand Metropolis: Technologically advanced, history of repelling desert raids, developed anti-Eggman weaponry due to Egg Fleet invasion. Status: conquered, airspace unsafe to approach.
…
The pink hedgehog sighed, rapping her fingers on the desk as she scrolled through the list once more. She had read this report at least a half-dozen times, and she could never wrap her head around it. Every civilization, no matter how big or strong, had been completely overwhelmed by Eggman. There was not a single military base that wasn't either seized or blown off the map. How many times has he tried to conquer the world by now? How did it get to the point where everyone needs Sonic to keep things in balance? All it took was for Eggman's monster to get him and it was all over. Shadow, too; Amy knew Rouge was taking all these recon missions as an excuse to try and figure out how the Ultimate Lifeform could've backstabbed the world he'd sworn to protect like that. The bat spent a lot of time by herself deep in Eggman's territory.
Amy was called to attention when her computer notified her of an incoming call from the Chaotix. They had been directed to scan remote areas that Eggman may have spared for a lack of value. It was a stretch, but they were running out of options.
Amy: "HQ here. How are things over there?"
Vector: "We've come up short on people, but something else has caught our eye."
Espio: "There's a large area a few hundred kilometers south of the Temple of Gaia at Mazuri that's completely void of Eggman's forces."
Charmy: "There's this one weird signal that's buzzing around the area, though!"
Amy: "Do you think it's responsible for the robot destruction? It could be Omega."
Espio: "There's a decent possibility. However, it makes periodic trips to the center of this area and rests for some duration of time, during which time we lose its signal. We believe it may be guarding something."
Vector: "Something… or someone. Want us to check it out?"
Amy: "I know how well you handle negotiations, Vector. Let me take care of this."
Vector: "Hey, what's that supposed to mean? And what if it's hostile to us, too?"
Amy: "I'll have you know, I've taken down quite a few giant killer robots in my time. Besides, Silver's group completed their mission, after several hours. If I spend any more time staring at computer screens, I think my eyes will fall right out of my head."
Charmy: "Oh no! We can't let that happen."
Espio: "Very well. We will return to base immediately."
After an anxious overnight shuttle ride, Amy stepped out into the shadow of a small mountain range. Given that the unidentified entity was destroying every Eggman robot in its vicinity, approaching it with an Eggman-branded shuttle in broad daylight was a really bad idea. The plan was for her to set down somewhere it hopefully wouldn't be able to find her and climb one of the tall mountains here to get a better view of what was going on, and maybe also get its attention as a potential ally rather than a foe. It also meant she had to go completely dark for this mission.
Looking up at the grass-covered mountainside, it was apparent that it was going to be too steep for easy climbing. If she were as fast as Sonic, she could probably just run up the side of it in a minute or so, but as it were, her athletic talents had only ever laid with acrobatics. It still paled in comparison to Silver's ability to fly with psychokinesis, or for any of the male hedgehogs to use Chaos Control and just teleport through any obstacles in their way.
With a huff, she banished those thoughts from her mind. Now wasn't the time to let her insecurities get ahold of her. She had the skills she needed to pull off this mission and pull her weight just like everybody else.
The hike started fairly simply, as she was still in the foothills. None of the knolls were large enough that she couldn't jump over them if she needed to, but many were too gently sloped for jumping at all, which made it rather boring.
That didn't last long, as the ground started to become littered with robot parts. Up ahead, she saw a bridge passing parallel to the ridge, looking relatively undamaged despite the carnage around it. She picked up a severed arm and was surprised to find it in near-pristine condition, minus the slagging from the explosion of its former body. It didn't look like it could have been destroyed more than a couple days ago. The source of that signal is here somewhere. I had better keep my guard up.
Soon, the pink hedgehog had reached the mountain proper and needed to start flexing her capabilities as it became more and more vertical. For the ledges that were a little too high, she could give herself some extra oomph to jump in mid-air. For the ones that were a little too far, she could plant her trusty Piko Piko Hammer in the ground and use it as a springboard to launch herself forward, spinning gracefully to keep her momentum. The higher she got, the smaller the ledges were, and the more likely there was to be sharp or big rocks protruding from the cliff face.
By the time Amy reached a stable enough crevice to rest, the sun was nearing its peak in the sky. Looking around her, she appeared to be in a valley between two of the peaks, which meant the hard part of climbing was nearly over. She sat in the small remaining shadow of the peak and allowed herself to relax and enjoy the greenery around her. It was refreshing to be away from the din of the City and the war that had everyone constantly on edge for so long now. The grass still felt dry as she ran her hand through it, but at least it was naturally dry and not due to months of smoke and fire drying out the air.
After a short time, she forced herself to stand and get moving again. The ground was still steep here, although the enclosed space gave her more places to plant her boots. As she slowly made her way up and the rocky surface dipped and rose, she started to see wooden beams built into the side of the mountain. They weren't a pretty job, by any means, but like the bridge and the robot, they looked recent. They also became more complete the farther she went. As ladders and sloped walkways and even a basic pulley transport system started to appear, it became apparent what the structures were for: a mining operation.
Somewhere around here was a group of people, as this was too large for a single individual to complete; with knowledge of stonemasonry, if not metalworking; and who knew how to fight Eggman's robots. Her guess was the anomalous being was some kind of cloaking airship with a crew of people getting by out here in the wilderness. But who could it possibly be?
Soon, the path came to a dead end as the mountain in front of her sloped up too steeply for walking. None of the ladders seemed to come down the pass to where she was, though. After a little bit of hunting, she found a support beam embedded diagonally in the ground near her and decided that was the best she was going to get. She hoisted herself onto the beam, making sure it could carry her weight, and began to climb. The plank met in an X-shape with one going higher up in the same direction, and she carefully swung herself around to the other side to ascend the second one. As more beams entered her reach, she began using them as swinging bars, hopping across gaps or swinging on top of them when the rock wall wasn't within reach.
After a few intense minutes, she clambered up onto the walkway system. It was enticing to explore, but she knew that if anyone was here, she either would have heard their digging or they would have heard her climbing the structure. Re-orienting herself to her direction of travel, she spotted a cave going through the mountain just ahead and went inside.
The cave curved in an S-shape and brought the female hedgehog out to a wooden viewing platform with a spiral staircase. It was clearly on the far side of the mountain, as the ground sloped away beneath it. She could see all the way out across the savannah for a long distance. Close to the horizon, she spotted something peculiar in the landscape. She couldn't remotely discern what it was from this far, and she wondered if she was just seeing some sort of mirage. But her instinct told her that it was important.
Hastily, she climbed down the staircase and began descending the side of the mountain. This was a careless move, and as she hopped onto one of the flat outcrops, it crumbled beneath her feet, causing her to start sliding down the mountain. Amy gritted her teeth and dug in her boots, thankful for their bulk to provide extra friction. She was able to stop at a very narrow ledge, and slowly shimmied her way along it towards a more stable-looking portion of rock. Just as she was getting close, the rock beneath her crumbled again, and she had to use her hands to catch herself on the edge of the slope. Climbing up wasn't really an option, so she let go and tried to control her slide down the rough incline.
When she stabilized again, she took a moment to catch her breath and futilely attempt to remove the dust from her skin and clothes. So much for any semblance of stealth on this mission… she thought. As she peered out along the levelling terrain, she couldn't find whatever it was that caught her eye. That momentary distraction was apparently enough to lose its location. Guess I'll have to go back up there…
Another distraction came in then, one that confirmed her sighting, its location, and made her not want to go there all at once. A dark object launched up from across the field, flying towards her accompanied by the distinct sound of an engine. A hammer materialized in her hands as a black-and-yellow humanoid robot landed about ten meters in front of her.
"Identified: Amy Rose the Hedgehog. Please state your business," Gemerl politely demanded, its pose and tone neutral.
Amy, on the other hand, assumed a battle stance. It was foolish, maybe, to challenge the robot built to replicate the world's former ultimate fighting machine, but nothing could contain the seething rage that had surfaced within her. "You betray humanity and rejoin Dr. Eggman, and you want to know my business?! Right now, it's going to be smashing that third eye like a button at a carnival game!"
"Your hostility is not understood. Chance of immediate de-escalation is low. Engaging self-defense protocols."
"Don't play dumb with me, Gemerl!" Amy shouted, crossing the distance and going for a side swing. Her hammer was going to be her main asset in this fight, because her range was the only advantage she had against the robot. There would be no time for complicated acrobatics; Gemerl would capitalize on even a single mistake.
Predictably, the fake Gizoid stepped backwards to dodge the blow, engaging its thrusters once more to take to the air. It circled her slowly while hovering at a low altitude. "Logical error: Miles 'Tails' Power programmed me not to lie to Ms. Cream and her friends. As a friend of Cream, I would not lie to Amy Rose."
"That doesn't mean anything if you already lied to me! There aren't any other Gizoid models who could have helped beat up and imprison my Sonic!" It was foolish, certainly, to charge Gemerl, but her rage had only accelerated as the conversation continued on. She went for an overhand swing that it effortlessly dodged, and in the blink of an eye, it used the gap in her guard to clear the distance between them and get its own hold on the Piko Piko.
"Gemerl! Is that any way to treat a guest?" a new, soft voice called. Both combatants froze in place, recognizing exactly who it was. Amy turned her head, tears already starting to form in her eyes as a rabbit the color of orange sherbet flew towards them. She dropped everything to rush over to the rabbit, leaving the sleek black robot holding her comical red-and-yellow hammer with a dumb look on its face.
Cream dropped from the sky and hopped with surprising speed straight into Amy's chest. The two best friends embraced tightly, laughing and crying and spinning in circles. When the circles wore her out, Amy simply kneeled and continued to hold Cream in place. Eventually, she relinquished her friend and gave her the motherly one-over. Instead of her usual red dress, Cream was wearing a simpler tan one, and her shoes were muddy and faded. Physically, though, she looked okay, and that's all Amy really cared about.
"C-C-Cream– I-I-I th-thought– h-how did…?"
"Shhhhh, it's okay, Amy. Gemerl was here to protect us the whole time, you see? Mama and Cheese and Chocola are okay, too."
"B-but… Gemerl… what happened to S-S-S-Sonic…"
"There's no way Gemerl could have helped from all the way over here."
"N-no… it… helped E-E-Eggman. Shad-Shadow did too. And Metal S-S-Sonic was there. Tails had to watch the whole th-thing."
"I trust Mr. Tails, but that story doesn't make any sense. Let's go rest back at home for a while. And I want to show you around!"
As they entered town, it quickly became clear why this settlement had been so hard to spot. It was literally nestled in the foothills, with the hills having been hallowed out to serve as caves to hold refugees. Hiding between the hills were some tents made of a tan cloth that disguised them pretty well from above. Amy knew that it wouldn't have stopped Eggman if he really wanted to take it, but the combination of being remote, disguised, and having Gemerl around made it not worth the effort.
They were quickly approached by a dusty-yellow Mobian, an oddity among the mostly humans with mostly dark skin doing their business around the settlement. The Mobian was a dog with flopped, furry ears. It wore a pale, sleeveless jumpsuit, with a small bump in the chest that gave away her femininity. A brown sunhat shaded her golden eyes, which were also covered with brown glasses. She wore work gloves and a pair of boots wrapped in a plaid cloth. The outfit was accessorized with matching plaid scarf.
"Cream, where did you and Gemerl go off to? Who's this?" the dog asked, worried. She had an accent that suggested she was a native of the region.
"Wheat, this is my best friend Amy! She flew here all the way from the UF just to find us! There are survivors in Central City!"
"Wow, amazing!" Wheat commented, grabbing one of the hedgehog's hands with both of her own and shaking it enthusiastically. "Wheat the Retriever, it's a pleasure."
"If you're wondering, Amy," Cream said, noticing her friend's confused look, "Wheat's the one that keeps Gemerl in tip-top shape!"
"Confirmation," Gemerl added. "Wheat takes very good care of me."
Wheat shot him a look. "You need to take care of yourself, mister! You can't just keep flying off when I'm in the middle of working on you!"
"I am sorry. The unidentified visitor in Echo Mine was higher in priority than minor performance optimizations."
"They're longevity optimizations, so that you don't rust over from all this hard work," the canine huffed. "But you're right. A few hours won't kill you, but it might kill all of us. I'd like to get back to work if that's alright, though."
"Understood."
Parting ways with Wheat and Gemerl, Amy and Cream traveled next to a specific cave in a hill. None of the burrows had real doors, just hanging cloths to provide some privacy. They could see as they entered that a taller rabbit wearing a gray shirt and overalls was tending to a kettle over a fire. Two small creatures with round faces and bodies were flying next to her, one a cyan color and the other a very dark brown.
"You're home early, Cream," Vanilla noted, an ear perking up without her needing to turn around.
"Chao chao!" the two Chao chirped.
"Something came up out in the field. Look who I brought home with me!"
"It's not another bird is it–" her mom said as she looked back, only to freeze when she saw who was standing at her entrance.
"Hi, Ms. Vanilla," Amy greeted with a small wave.
Again without words, they walked up and hugged each other, albeit a more courteous hug than the one shared with the smaller rabbit.
"It's good to see you, Amy. Would you like some tea?"
"Ms. Vanilla, I don't know how you do it, but your tea is always the best."
"I find that it tastes better after a hard day's work. Dear, it sounds like you've been working for six months without a break."
"Plus, there's a secret ingredient!" Cream piped in.
"Honey, if you keep telling people that, it won't be a secret anymore."
"Hee hee!"
The Rabbit residence looked as homely as it could be for being formed out of packed dirt and mud. A simple table made from the trunk of a huge baobab tree sat in the center, with some matching chairs around it. Their tea was served using an earthenware set made of fired clay, boiled over a small fire pit in the back of the cave. Several pots with various items in them were gathered in a corner. A small side chamber had a hammock resting in it, tied to two wooden posts secured on both ends with the walls of the cave.
"So how did you escape all the way out here from Floral Forest Village?" Amy asked.
"News of Eggman's invasion spread faster than the invasion itself," Vanilla explained. "There was plenty of time for us to reach evacuating ships. Coming to Mazuri was actually Cream's idea."
"Really?"
"Yes!" Cream answered. "I remembered how you had told us about Sonic's world adventure and all the nice people he helped. When the darkness spread over the world, the news said the Gaia Gates were the safest parts. Something told me that we would be safest there this time, too."
"Well, you picked the safest spot in the whole world, it seems. You're the first group of survivors we've encountered."
Cream looked down at that, her happiness at her achievement replaced by sorrow of the news. Amy regretted her words instantly – she realized that wasn't a burden the child should have known about.
"If I may ask," Vanilla redirected, "who exactly is we? It's not just you and Tails, is it?"
"No! Knuckles, Rouge, Espio, Charmy, Vector, even Silver, we're all together in the City, doing our best to fight Eggman's invasion. We even have a couple of new faces who are a great help! And most importantly, Sonic was only captured by Eggman, and we freed him!"
"That's such a relief to hear that everyone is accounted for."
"What about Miss Blaze?" Cream asked.
Amy's own face because downcast. "We… don't know where she is. Silver and Knuckles said she tried defending Angel Island when Eggman's invasion began, but all we know is that the island fell into the ocean, and Knuckles doesn't have the Master Emerald. Wait… how did you know she was even here from her dimension?"
Cream set down her tea and went to one of the pots. From within, she grabbed an envelope and returned to show it to Amy.
"Miss Blaze visited us some time ago. She said we needed to deliver this to Mr. Silver. I haven't read it. Mama taught me better than to read other people's letters. If you're going back, I can give it to him!"
Amy glanced at Cream's mother, who looked quite concerned. She took one of Cream's hands in her own and grabbed the letter with the other. "Sorry, Cream, but you need to stay here. It's not safe out there."
"No! I need to help everyone fight Eggman!"
"Have you heard the stories of Eggman's new general?"
"You mean the red thing with the powers?"
"Yes, that one. His name is Infinite. And he's unlike any enemy we've ever encountered before, Cream. He shows no mercy. He even hurts people because he finds it fun. Eggman has a goal, but Infinite… has a problem. You don't want to see the cruel types of misery he has brought to all the people of the world. We can't… I can't allow even the chance that he will lay his hands on you. Do you understand that?"
Cream was silent for a few moments. Amy looked at Vanilla again, who gave her a knowing smile and a nod.
"… yes, I do. But I want to help, somehow. I've been taking on all sorts of tasks to help around here. What can I do to help you?"
"Just keep doing that! We're going to need as many people as we can to help us once we take back the world from Eggman. The more you learn and practice sustaining a community, the better we'll be when it comes time to rebuild everything."
"I'll do my best, Amy!"
They hugged once more, but Cream released herself quickly. "That reminds me! There's someone else here you need to see."
It was almost sunset by the time they had caught up and finished their conversation. Amy didn't want to keep everyone in the dark too long, since her shuttle was offline and that's where her comms were running through. Cream had insisted that she see this person and was almost dragging her away from the village in a direction tangential to the path back to the shuttle.
They crested a hill to see a stream flowing down from the mountainside and running out into the plains. It was a beautiful sight to have the sun cast red on the clouds and on the vast expanse in front of them. However, even that splendor did not make the third Mobian on the scene any less conspicuous. It was very hard not to notice a 600-pound purple cat casting his fishing line into the stream.
"Biiiiig!" Amy called, running down the hill to meet her oversized buddy. The cat nonchalantly looked back just in time to see the pink hedgehog pounce on him with full force, knowing full well he wouldn't be nudged by it.
"Amy? Is that you?" Big asked in his slow, deep voice.
"It is, Big! It's me!"
"Ribbit." A big, green frog leaped out of the grass onto Big's giant foot.
"And it's Froggy, too! Cream, why didn't you tell me about this before?"
"I wanted to keep it a surprise so you could go home in good spirits!"
"Amy's going home? But she just got here!"
"I know, Big, but… I'm very busy nowadays. That's why I haven't seen you in so long."
"Oh. I'm busy, too."
"Catching fish for the village?"
"Oh please no," Cream interrupted squeamishly. "I don't like fish. Big eats all of his catches by himself."
"Yeah…" Big mused, pausing to collect some kind of thought. "There was one time I caught something that wasn't a fish. Do you want to see?"
"Sure thing, Big."
Big reached into his bag and pulled out something shiny. When he opened his hand, Amy gasped in disbelief, her own hands flying to her mouth in shock. It was a diamond-cut gem, deep blue in color, and exuding a sort of power that was extremely distinct. No doubt about it, what he was holding was a Chaos Emerald.