Chosen from Chaos - Ch. 6
Title: Chosen from Chaos
Chapter: 6
Fandom: Sonic the Hedgehog/Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! crossover
Character(s): Antauri, Sonic the Hedgehog, Cream the Rabbit, Chiro, Nova, Gibson, SPRX-77, Otto, Knuckles the Echidna, Miles "Tails" Prower, Amy Rose
Genre: Drama, action/adventure, angst, some romance, friendship
Rating: K+/PG
Disclaimers: Sonic the Hedgehog © Sega, Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! © Ciro Nieli
Notes: This was a...really weird idea I had one day, a long long time ago. I'm not sure why, other than I had just gotten into SRMT so I wanted to write about it all the time, and I was a really big Sonic the Hedgehog fan, so for some reason the crossover at the time made sense in my head. I don't...even know.
And again, I wrote this a really really long time ago. Like...Sonic Adventure 2 long time ago. So all the Sonic-related stuff takes place after that, pre-Sonic Heroes. In fact, none of the Sonic games after SA2 happened in this story and is directly a year after SA2, so it's kind of AU I guess. And in SRMT, it's kind of...after the war with Skeleton King, so...yeah...convenient. I'll stop now.
Summary: Dr. Eggman's newest plan is not only a threat to his world, but to another. And things get personal for the Hyperforce when the evil scientist takes some of their own.
[Chapter 5]
~*~*~*~
A terrible screeching sound echoed throughout the small room and pounded against the walls. To the side, the continuous beeping of the computer monitor streamed through the air. Metal clamored and tools clinked together in a foreboding rhythm. But the worst noises came from just meters before me.
"Aaah…! Ow! Stop it…! Lemme go…No! Not there! Aaah!"
The man before me grumbled softly, placing down the tool he held only to take up a different one. His round stature blocked my view, but I had an inkling of exactly what he was doing.
From the place he stood, there was a soft gasp followed by a pained cry. "Please, stop!"
Furiously I struggled against the restraints that held me down, even though I knew it wouldn't help. "Doctor! Release her now!" I demanded. "Do what you wish with me, but leave her alone!"
Taking one step back, the man turned his body slightly to face me, finally allowing me to see Jinmay. Still bound to the table, the top of her head had been pried open to reveal the circuitry within. As she looked from me to the man between us, tears rested in the corner of her eyes.
"Afraid I can't do that…" the scientist finally sneered, placing down his tool again. "The agreement was that the two of you cooperate with my experiments, after all. Do I need to remind you of what will happen if you don't?"
Growling softly, I reluctantly shook my head. Unfortunately, I knew exactly what would happen if neither of us cooperate.
"Besides," he said, turning back to Jinmay, "if you would only relax, my dear, it wouldn't hurt so much."
"How am I supposed to relax with you poking around in my head like that?" she spat back.
"Well, you may want to figure that out…it's only going to get worse from here…" Picking up a larger tool than before, the doctor returned to the work he had been doing and once more prevented me from seeing her, but I could still hear the anguished cries with every mechanism that was altered for his own sinister objectives.
"Hmm…" the man mused to himself, scratching the back of his head for a moment. "Aha! There it is!" Picking up a small object from the tool tray beside him, he then set back to work. And suddenly, the room pounded with Jinmay's scream.
"Jinmay!" No matter how hard I struggled, I couldn't break free of my irons that kept me trapped to that table. And without my powers, I knew I couldn't do anything about it.
With a triumphant laugh, the man stepped back. "Don't worry…" he said as he glanced at me. "Jinmay will be feeling much better now…won't you, my dear?"
On the other table, Jinmay slowly opened her eyes to reveal the frightening glint that tinted her jade depths. "Yes, Dr. Eggman…" she replied. The warmth and friendliness in her voice was no longer there, replaced with a mechanical coldness.
"Now, Jinmay…If I give you your powers back, do you promise to be a good little girl?"
She nodded slightly. "Yes, Dr. Eggman."
The man grinned smugly. "Good." Turning back to her, he once again began to work. But it was for only a brief moment before he finally sealed her up. Pressing a nearby button on the table, the bonds that held her then slipped away and allowed her to sit up.
"You see?" he said, turning fully to me. "If you just relax and cooperate with me, things would go so much easier. I get what I want, you no longer feel pain, and your friends remain safe. Everyone ends up happy. Isn't that right, Jinmay?"
"Yes, Dr. Eggman," she replied.
"And what do you plan to do with them once you're finished here?" I demanded. "Once you've taken control over me, what's going to happen to the others?"
For a moment, the scientist didn't answer. Then, reaching over and picking up a nearby tool, he smirked. "I haven't really decided yet…" he finally answered. "But at the moment, that's no concern of yours. Now…shall we get started, Antauri?"
I did my best to fight back, but I could do nothing as he slowly began to remove my helmet. Then my vision was filled with nothing but darkness.
Cream couldn't stop the tears from falling. And as she sat in front of the fallen hero and hugged Cheese close to her, she didn't bother to try. The droplets freely flowed down her cheeks and disappeared into the ground. A shudder coursed through her small body as she drew in a shallow breath.
Though Sonic's fate wasn't the only reason for her tears, it was a good enough cause. Could Sonic the Hedgehog - the world's greatest hero - really be gone? Had Dr. Eggman finally won? What was going to happen to the world now? And why…why did such a nice and brave person like Sonic have to die?
The young rabbit didn't know the hedgehog as well as the others did. But she always felt safe around him, and she knew that she could trust him. She knew of his adventures, heard his story…and she had seen the wonderful person he was. So why was he the one to die? Heroes weren't supposed to die…
But she wasn't only crying for Sonic. Tears were shed for her other friends…for everything she knew they were feeling because of this. When they had left to go after Dr. Eggman…when Tails had asked her to stay behind and look over Sonic's body…she had felt it in their eyes. She felt the sadness in Tails' and Amy's eyes, and she cried the tears that they couldn't. She had felt the dangerous anger in Knuckles' eyes, and she was worried about him. She could only hope that he wouldn't let his anger get in the way of his safety.
Still, she knew that she wasn't crying just for them either. She couldn't understand why…after all, Eggman's robots had killed Sonic, and had put her friends through so much trouble and sorrow. So why should she be crying for them?
And yet…Cream felt that they weren't bad robots. She had seen what they could do…she had seen her friends fighting them…she had seen one of them kill Sonic…but she wasn't afraid of them. When she was watching them, there was a strange feeling coming from them. It felt as though they didn't want to be fighting…like they were sorry about what they were doing. And she had felt bad for them.
But they were robots. Did robots know how to feel sorry?
Cream wasn't sure. She didn't know much about robots, after all. All she knew was that those two robots…the two robots that her friends were fighting…didn't want to hurt anyone. They didn't want to…but they were doing it anyway.
Sniffling a little, she tried to wipe her tears away. "I-if only…I-if only I-I could do…s-something to help…" she stuttered, a hiccup interrupting her.
"C…C-Cream…"
The rabbit's eyes widened. That voice…it couldn't be…!
"Y-you…wanna h-help, kiddo…? 'C-cause…I need a f-favor…"
The voice was a rasp whisper, but she could still recognize it anywhere. But how…? Didn't the robot…?
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she slowly turned around. Then she gasped.
The tears somehow squeezed through Chiro's tightly shut eyes, rolling down his cheeks and falling to the floor. His body trembled as he fought to compose himself, but nothing he did worked. All he could see was the image of the blue hedgehog burning under his eyelids….all he could hear was the painful scream echoing in his ears…and all he could think about was Antauri.
The image of the mad scientist taking over the city displayed on the monitor, but it was ignored as the Monkey Team watched their leader. Occasionally they exchanged worried expressions, unsure of what to do or say.
Finally Nova ventured forward. "Hey…Chiro…" she said, trying to be as comforting as possible, "it's…everything's gonna be okay."
The teen shook his head. "N-no…it's not…" he choked out. "A-Antauri…he…"
"Now you know that what happened wasn't his fault," Gibson stated. "He had no control over himself."
Swallowing hard, the boy nodded. "I know…but…that s-still won't stop him from b-blaming himself…"
The four simians once again shared trouble glances, for they knew that he was right.
"Antauri's…gonna blame himself for what he did…" Chiro said with a waver in his voice, "no matter how many times…we tell him it's not his fault. Even…if he'll never talk about it…I know he'll be thinkin' it…And when we get him back…it'll be something…he'll never let go…"
Sprx sighed. "If we get him back…" he muttered.
The golden monkey glared at him. "Sprx!" she hissed.
"What? In case you haven't noticed, we're not exactly in a position to rescue him!"
Glancing at his teammates for a moment, Otto's attention then turned to the computer screen. "Maybe they'll help us…" he said.
Everyone but Chiro followed the mechanic's gaze and watched the large blue airplane as it fired a rapid assault. Driving in the cockpit was the yellow-orange fox while the red echidna and pink hedgehog sat in the seat behind him. The plane drew dangerously close, continuing its attack before swerving to the side, looping back and flying in the opposite direction. Angry shouts were heard before Jinmay sped after the aircraft. Off to the side, just out of the monitor's range was a glint of silver.
Sprx gaped at the screen. "What the heck are they doing?"
"They must be trying to avenge their fallen companion," Gibson mused, though his tone held the same disbelief as his teammate. "However, even if they were successful in their attempts, I doubt they would want to help us. In their minds, it was our teammate who -"
"He was being controlled," Nova reminded the other. "If we could explain what happened, then maybe -"
"They may not give us a chance…" the blue monkey answered. "One glimpse of us and they'll surely realize that Antauri is one of us, so they certainly will not trust us. And that's only if they succeed in their plans, whatever those may be. Besides…" He swallowed before continuing, "Think of what they are trying to accomplish. This Dr. Eggman had Antauri exterminate their friend. Now they wish to destroy his means of offense."
The scientist had chosen his words carefully, but their hearts sank as they grasped his meaning. The man had taken someone away from them, so now they wanted to destroy the robots responsible for the deed.
Even if those robots didn't mean to do anything.
The robotic simians' attention returned to the monitor when Antauri suddenly came into view, speeding towards the plane. Just before he reached the aircraft, however, the echidna jumped towards the silver robot. The guardian tackled Antauri in the air, sending them both off-screen. Soon after the plane shot upwards, but still remained in sight.
Then the plane flew into a cloud, and while Jinmay continued to fly after it, she emerged from the puff with the plane nowhere nearby. Hesitating, she then flew forward a little before the sounds of gunfire echoed behind her. She turned to see the attacking plane flying towards her. She flew back to avoid the rapid fire, but kept her focus on the airplane. Suddenly, crimson began to stain the screen.
With a glimpse at the monitor, Chiro finally reacted. "No! Jinmay, don't…!"
But she couldn't hear him, and he was unable to do anything as a beam of fire was shot. It ripped through the aircraft, and the Hyperforce watched in terror as the plane caught fire and descended to the earth below. His breath caught in his throat when the plane crashed into a building, exploding on impact.
There was a low cackling off screen. "Good job, Jinmay," Eggman's voice rang out. "Now no one can stop me from conquering Station Square. And then, the world will be mine!"
"What about the echidna, Doctor?" the robot girl asked.
"He will be dealt with soon enough. With his injuries, I doubt he'll last much longer against Antauri."
Chiro squeezed his eyes shut. "He couldn't…he couldn't have gotten rid of all of them…could he?" he asked, glancing at the Monkey Team.
Gibson frowned as he studied the image of the smoking building where the aircraft had crashed. "It's hard to say," he finally answered. "With a crash like that, the odds of the passengers' survival are very low. And as much as I hate to admit it, the Doctor's assumptions about the Guardian are correct as well."
"But we don't know what they're capable of," Nova countered. "There's still a chance they made it…"
"But what about that other guy?" Sprx asked. "That hedgehog? Wasn't he the one Eggman was talking about before? The one who always stopped his plans? With him gone, what chance do his friends have?"
The golden monkey glared at him. "Thanks for the help," she retorted.
Watching his teammates for a moment, Otto then looked at the teen. "Don't worry, Chiro," he assured. "Everything's gonna be okay."
The leader gave the mechanic a weak smile. "Thanks Otto," he said softly. But as he turned back to the screen, the smile disappeared. He just wasn't as sure as the other was. With all the things going against them, how could those other guys stop Eggman's plans of conquering their world?
It just didn't seem possible.
"Tails! Amy!" Knuckles yelled, gliding over the building where the Tornado crashed. After seeing the robot girl directly hit the plane, the echidna managed to escape from the robot monkey to help the others. But he wasn't able to reach the craft before it crashed, and so he could only hope that they got out of the plane in time. Otherwise…
"Knuckles!" he heard a familiar voice call. Looking around, he noticed the form of the small fox waving for him on top of the building next to the one where the Tornado crashed. With a sigh of relief, he veered back and landed in front of where Tails and Amy stood.
"Are you two all right?" he asked, looking over the kit for any injuries.
Tails nodded. "We're fine. Luckily the ejector seats worked."
"But what're we supposed to do now?" the pink hedgehog wondered. "How are we gonna stop Eggman now?"
"Sounds like you guys need a little help."
The three froze at the sound of the familiar, confident voice. It just wasn't possible, was it? It couldn't be…it just couldn't be. But as they turned around, they realized that they weren't hallucinating.
He was really there.
Three voices rang out at the same time. "Sonic!"
The blue hedgehog grinned, placing a finger to his lips. "Shh…" he said. "You don't wanna let Eggman know, do ya?"
Tails and Amy ran to him, jumping into his arms and tightly clinging to him. "Oh, Sonic!" the girl said, resting her head on his shoulder as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"I can't believe it!" Tails said, burying his face in his friend's torso; though he didn't let the tears flow, they were noticeably pooled in the corner of his eyes. "We really thought that you were -!"
"Hey, you didn't think I'd go that easily, did you?" the azure hero joked.
But as Knuckles approached, he still caught the weariness in the other's emerald eyes. "So how did you survive, Sonic?" the guardian asked.
As the younger two pulled away, Sonic looked at the echidna with a grin. "Glad to see you missed me too," he replied. In return, Knuckles scowled, but didn't bother to disguise the mirth in his eyes.
"But how did you do it, Sonic?" Tails asked, looking at his friend with curiosity. "I mean, we saw the robot, and -"
"I'll explain it later, li'l buddy," Sonic replied, his face suddenly serious. "Right now, we gotta do something about Eggman before he does anymore damage to the city."
The three looked at each other before looking at the blue hedgehog. "And just how the hell are we supposed to do that?" Knuckles asked. "You and I know better than anyone what those robots are capable of! How do you plan on stopping them?"
Sonic shook his head. "We're not…yet. First, we'll need to get some help."
"Help from who?" Amy asked; Sonic was never the type to ask for help.
"From people who'd have a better chance of stopping those robots than we would," the azure teen replied. "But they're trapped up in Eggman's Lithium-whatever-thing up there."
Three eyes followed the direction that Eggman's base flew in. "Up there?" Tails repeated.
Sonic nodded. "Yup. So Knuckles, while Tails and I head up there for the rescue, you think you can distract Eggman and the bots for a while?"
The guardian cracked his namesakes, flashing a grin. "No problem. I've been meaning to pay back that robo-girl anyway."
The hedgehog rolled his eyes. "I said distract them, not get yourself killed." Knuckles glared at him but said nothing. As he was prepared to go, however, he stopped when Amy started to follow him.
Sonic grabbed her arm. "What're you doin', Amy?" he asked.
"I'm gonna help Knuckles," she replied simply, as though it was the most obvious statement in the world.
"Nu-huh, no way!" he replied, shaking his head. "You saw what happened to Knuckles. You saw what almost happened to me! You think I'm gonna let you go out there take that kinda risk?"
Amy blinked in surprise; she'd never seen Sonic act like this before. He was…worried about her. Normally he only showed concern after something happened to her. But this time he didn't want her to get hurt like he and Knuckles had. It was so sweet…yet she still pulled her arm out of his grasp.
"I know what they can do," she replied, crossing her arms. "And that's why Knuckles can't face them alone. He's still injured. He's gonna need some help, and since you and Tails are gonna try and break into Eggman's ship, I have to be the one to help him."
The echidna frowned. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew Amy was right. Even with the healing powers of the Master Emerald, he was still too injured to handle the two robots on his own. She wasn't the first person he'd ever ask for help (if he ever had to ask), but Tails was the best equipped to break into Eggman's base, and Sonic was the only who knew who needed rescuing (a curious fact that Knuckles wanted to ask about later). He wasn't too keen on risking the girl's safety, but they had no other choice.
He held up his hand before Sonic had a chance to refuse. "I'll take care of her, Sonic," he said. "You and Tails just concentrate on what you have to do."
Emerald eyes locked with violet, and a moment passed before Sonic finally nodded. "I'm counting on you, Knuckles," he said, soft enough for only the guardian to hear.
With a nod of his own, the echidna turned his back to Amy. "Hold on to me," he instructed. She obediently did so, carefully wrapping her arms around his neck so she wouldn't hurt him. Then he walked to the edge of the roof and jumped off, gliding after Eggman's small craft and the robots.
After they were gone, Tails turned to the teen. "Are you sure you're okay, Sonic?" he asked, worry mixed in his cerulean depths.
Glancing at his younger friend, the hedgehog grinned. "Don't worry, li'l buddy. I'm fine. Let's get going."
Hesitating for a moment, the kit then nodded. "Okay."
Chiro jumped when the piercing wail of an alarm echoed throughout the room, flashing a red warning light and startling his simian companions. They all looked up curiously at the computer screen in the front of the room as words replaced the outside view of the city.
"WARNING," the monitor read. "INTRUDER ALERT. INTRUDER ALERT."
The alarm died down, though the light continued to flash. "Intruder?" Otto asked. "Why would anyone wanna break in here?"
"I think the better question is who would do it," Gibson replied.
Nova's eyes brightened. "Hey! Maybe it's those animals in the plane. I bet the crash was just a distraction so they could get in here."
"Yeah, but for what?" Sprx wondered. "What good would that do?"
The mechanical door suddenly slid open as a blue blur screeched to a halt in front of the teen leader. "I was thinking a rescue," the blue hedgehog said with a grin. "Looks like you guys could use one."
Chiro's eyes widened. "No way…!" he breathed. "It's…It's you…!"
The azure hero playfully bowed. "The one and only," he replied. "And you…must be Chiro."
Exchanging surprised glances with the monkey team, the boy then looked back at the hedgehog. "How do you know my name?"
"That's a long story, and it'll have to wait until later. First, we have to -" The hedgehog was cut off when the small fox suddenly ran into the room, coming to a quick stop just behind the other. But as his cerulean eyes looked around, the kit gasped.
"Sonic!' he said. "Eggman made more of those robot monkeys!"
"No wait!" Sprx said. "We're not -!"
Sonic held up a hand to the red monkey, shaking his head and quieting him down before turning to his younger friend. "Tails," he said patiently, "it's okay. These are the guys we need to rescue. They're cool."
The kit frowned in confusion. "But Sonic…that other one…"
"Tails," the blue teen said, "don't you trust me?"
"Well, yeah, of course…"
"Then help me free these guys, okay?" Sonic gave the twin-tailed fox a wink. "I know you can do it, li'l buddy."
Looking from the robotic simians to the hedgehog, Tails managed a small smile and nodded. "Okay," he said softly, though warily eyed the monkey team before turning and heading to the computer. With a grin, Sonic then turned back to the teen leader.
"Sorry about that," he said. "Most robots we've seen are Eggman's creations that he uses to take over the world or somethin', so you can't really blame him for being so skeptical."
Chiro glanced at the fox. "Well, after what happened to you," he said, looking back at the blue teen, "it's understandable."
"Are you sure you should leave something so important to a child?" Gibson asked, watching intently as Tails continued to type on the computer consol. "Don't you think someone better capable should attempt it? After all, your Doctor Eggman is supposedly a genius, isn't he?"
Sonic shrugged. "Yeah, I guess Eggman's smart. But that's why Tails is handling the controls. He's the only one who could figure out Eggman's systems."
The red monkey looked at the fox doubtfully. "But he's only a kid, isn't he?"
Sonic blinked and glanced at Chiro. "Yeah…but isn't your leader?"
Nova looked at the others before returning her gaze to the hedgehog. "How'd you know he's our leader?"
"I'll explain that later." Turning back to Gibson, he added, "And don't worry. You're in good hands. Tails is one of the smartest people I know."
Multiple beeping sounds bounced across the room, and suddenly the bonds that held Chiro's hands and feet released him. Surprised, he landed on the ground in front of the azure hero. "Wow," the boy said, rubbing his wrist as he stood to his full height.
Looking over his shoulder at the kit, Sonic grinned. "Way ta go, Tails!" he said, giving him a thumbs up.
"Thanks Sonic," Tails replied with a small smile, though his eyes never left his work. "Just gimme a few more seconds, and I'll be finished…"
Another moment passed when more signals were heard, and the boxes that encased the four simians suddenly opened in half to release them.
"Finally!" Nova said as she stepped away from the containment. "I can't wait to get my hands on that fat creep!"
"Uh, guys…?" Otto said, looking at his own hands. "I think we got a problem."
"What is it, Otto?" Gibson asked, sounding a little irritable as he glanced at the fox kit that stood beside the blue hedgehog.
Sonic rubbed his chin for a moment before smacking his forehead with his palm. "Oh, right!" he said. "Your powers were disengaged."
The four monkeys looked at him with wide eyes. "They were what?" Sprx shouted.
Sonic looked back at the computer screen, then turned to Tails. "Did you already set up the self-destruct sequence?"
"The what?" Chiro said, looking at the two of them.
"Yeah," Tails replied, disregarding the other statement. "We have time, though. And I found a map before instigating the program. Eggman has some extra hovercrafts in a room nearby."
Sonic sighed, ruffling the fox's fur. "All right. What would I do without ya?"
Tails grinned sheepishly, but then turned serious as he looked at Chiro and the Monkey Team. "Still, we better hurry and get out of here. Eggman might figure out that something's up."
Chiro hesitated, glancing at his simian companions before looking at the hedgehog. "There are…still a lot of things I don't understand," he said softly.
"I know," Sonic replied. "But I promise I'll explain everything later. And I'm just trying to help ya out."
The teen leader bit his bottom lip, then nodded a little. He really had no reason to doubt Sonic; after all, the hedgehog came to save them despite what Antauri had done to him. Even if it was strange that Sonic knew more about what was going on than anyone else, Chiro knew he owed him for helping them out. Trust was the least he could give him.
With a grin, Sonic then turned to Tails. "Okay, Tails. Get us outta here!"
Amy gasped, jumping out of the way and just barely avoiding the violet blades that sailed towards her. She could hear the mechanical hum of the robotic monkey as it flew behind her, but no matter how fast she ran she couldn't lose it. 'I guess all that time running after Sonic hasn't helped that much,' she thought absentmindedly, but was painfully brought back to reality when the silver monkey's violet claw grazed her shoulder.
Amy came to an unexpected stop and pulled out her mallet, taking advantage of her opponent's closeness and swinging it as hard as she could at it. Taken by surprise, the silver monkey was unable to defend itself and was sent flying into a nearby building.
"Whew…" the girl said, putting her mallet away and wiping her brow with the back of her hand. Looking around, she frowned. "Now I just have to find Knuckles."
After she and Knuckles gained Eggman's attention, the robots were sent after them and started to attack. They managed to hold off the robots at first (though she was sure that Knuckles did most of the work), but then the robot girl snuck up and surprised them. Knuckles had blocked the attack and led the robot girl away, leaving Amy with the simian.
Though she managed to hold her own against the silver monkey, Amy was just glad that it was gone. She wasn't sure how much longer she would have been able to fight it off, and she was surprised with how well she had done. "Knuckles better be okay, though," she said as she looked around. "He shoulda stayed and rest because of all his injuries…stubborn echidna."
Amy gasped as an explosion shook the ground and threw her off her feet. Looking up, she watched smoke rise from a broken building a few blocks away. "That's gotta be Knuckles!" she said, scrambling to stand back up. "If that robot girl does anything else, I'm gonna -!"
Her voice trailed off as she froze, her eyes wide as the violet form of the robotic monkey rose from the ground in front of her. Its skeletal gaze focused on her, the monkey jumped at her, its violet claws prepared to strike. Taking a step back, she raised her arms to her face to protect herself from the attack.
Except it never came. Instead she heard the sound of metal hitting a solid object and ricocheting back. Slowly she lowered her arms and hesitantly opened her eyes. When she did, she covered her mouth with her hands and gasped, "Sh…Sh-Shadow…?"
Crouched down in front of her, the dark hedgehog glanced at her. But his crimson eyes were clouded as he breathed heavily, his hand gripping his chest. Shaking herself out of her shock, Amy knelt down beside him. "Are you…are you okay?" she asked softly, her voice trembling with concern.
Shadow brushed her off with his free hand, his fiery eyes looking around. "Fine," he replied hoarsely. Rising to his feet, he said, "Stay here."
"Shadow…" she whispered, watching as he jumped up while the silver monkey shot towards them. The two collided in the air, but the robotic simian managed to overpower the hedgehog, sending him flying back.
Before the silver monkey could attack again, however, a deafening explosion rattled the air and threw all of them off their feet. Startled, Amy's attention shot up towards the sky where Eggman's air base disappeared in a massive cloud of dark smoke that rained metal debris. The silver monkey watched for a moment as the smoke spread out before jumping up and flying towards the explosion, soon followed by the robot girl.
Heart beating rapidly, Amy then looked towards Shadow as he slowly sat up from a nearby pile of rubble. "Are you all right, Shadow?" she asked.
He responded only with a groan, rubbing his head as he looked up towards the sky. He frowned deeply as his eyes narrowed, and Amy wasn't sure what to make of his expression. She approached him carefully, afraid that he would attack her if she came too quickly.
"Why are they leaving, Shadow?" she asked softly, just to let him know she was still there.
"Because they need to," he replied gruffly, his eyes never leaving the sky. "If the Doctor wants to succeed, he needs to reorganize his resources…and recover what he's lost."
She was about to ask what he meant, but she was interrupted as a worried voice called out to her. "Amy!"
She turned around and watched as Knuckles landed in front of her, panting heavily as he asked, "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm okay," she replied. "What about you?"
The echidna shrugged, tossing aside the torn bandages from his wounds. "I'll live," he muttered. "Are you sure you're not hurt?"
Amy nodded. "I'm fine, really. But we need to get you back to Tails' place so he can fix you up."
"Man, Knux, can't I leave you alone for one minute without you getting beatin' up?"
The two looked up and watched as Sonic landed one of Eggman's hovercrafts beside them. Nearby, Tails landed a second one and jumped out of it. Knuckles frowned a little. "You took two?" he wondered.
"Well, we kinda had to," Sonic replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "It woulda been too crowded if we only took one."
Before Knuckles could ask what he meant, Amy gasped and pointed to the two hovercrafts. "There are more of those robot monkeys!" she exclaimed.
Indeed, four robot monkeys looked towards them as they hopped out of the hovercrafts; three different colored monkeys - a red, a yellow, and a green one - jumped out from Tails' craft, and a blue one from Sonic's. Along with the blue monkey, a young boy dressed in white and orange leaped from Sonic's hovercraft and landed on the ground, slowly approaching the blue hedgehog.
Gritting his teeth, Knuckles ignored the pain as he clenched his fists. "Sonic, get down!" he warned as he charged an attack.
The robotic monkeys suddenly jumped forward in front of the boy and seemed prepared to defend him, but Sonic quickly stepped between them and the echidna. "Chill out, Knux!" the azure teen said. "These guys aren't here to hurt us! Tails and I just busted them outta Eggman's base."
Violet eyes narrowing, the guardian hesitantly dissipated the energy to his attack; still, he kept his fists ready in case of a surprise attack. "Why?" he hissed, glancing at the blue hedgehog before focusing on the boy and the monkeys. "They're more of Eggman's robots!"
"We most certainly are not!" the blue monkey retorted.
"We've got nothing to do with that crazy freak!" the red monkey added.
"Then what about Eggman's silver monkey?" Knuckles demanded. "Is he with you guys as well? And the robot girl?"
"Antauri and Jinmay are with us," Chiro answered, "but it's not what you think…!"
"You guys!" Sonic said. When their attention was focused on him, he sighed. "Okay, look." The hedgehog motioned to Tails and had him stand next to Knuckles and Amy. Then he turned to the teen. "First of all, I think it'd help if we all were introduced. As you might know already, I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. These are my friends. This is Miles Prower…"
"Most people just call me Tails," the fox said softly. "Please don't call me Miles."
"…this is Knuckles the Echidna…"
The guardian huffed, folding his arms over his chest.
"…and this is Amy Rose."
The pink hedgehog stiffened a little as the other pointed to her, but she managed a small smile and waved to the strange boy. If Sonic had risked rescuing them, they couldn't be too bad. But she was a little surprised when Sonic didn't give any other names. With a glance over her shoulder, she then understood why; Shadow had disappeared.
She turned her attention back when Sonic turned to face them. "And this is Chiro, leader of the Hyperforce," Sonic said, indicating the human boy. "And this is the Monkey Team…" He pointed to each simian as he named them off. "Nova, Sprx, Gibson, and Otto."
The robotic simians looked at each other, startled, before looking back at the blue hedgehog curiously. "How…do you know our names?" the golden monkey asked, her tone edging on suspicion.
Sonic turned to look at the Monkey Team with a small grin. "Well actually, that's an interesting story. Y'see…" His voice trailed off as his smile faded, and he placed his hand to his head. Tails watched his best friend curiously as the hedgehog closed his eyes, then he and Chiro both leapt forward as the hedgehog staggered and fell forward, both catching him before he hit the ground.
"Sonic!" the fox exclaimed.
"Are you okay?" Chiro asked, his eyes wide with surprise.
The hedgehog groaned softly, and shook his head a little. As he did so, something fell from his quills and clattered against the concrete ground. Slowly approaching, Otto then reached out and picked it up, looking at it curiously.
"It looks like a gold ring…" the green monkey said, holding it up for the others to see.
"Gold ring…?" Knuckles repeated. He turned to Sonic sharply. "So that's how you did it! You used the magic from the ring to mask the injury you received from the silver monkey!"
Sonic chuckled weakly, cracking one eye open to look at the echidna. "Nothing…gets by you…eh, Knux?" he muttered.
"Sonic, how could you do that?" Amy reproached.
"We would have been in a really bad position if the effects of the ring wore off while we were up in Eggman's base," Tails added.
"But…it didn't…" the hedgehog replied. "And we…got out…didn't we?"
Otto suddenly gasped, holding up his hands. "Hey! The ring disappeared!"
The fox shook his head slightly as he looked over his weakened friend. "They tend to do that after all the magic is drained from them," he replied. Then he looked up at Chiro. "We should take Sonic back to my workshop. Would you mind helping me?"
"Uh…sure, no problem," Chiro replied, looking at the blue hedgehog he was helping support.
Tails nodded, glancing at Otto. "I've also got some tools that might help fix you guys up, if you can use them," he added.
"Sure!" the green monkey said. "Thanks!"
"What kind of tools could a child possibly possess that could -?" Gibson muttered, but was sharply cut off as Nova's elbow jabbed him in the stomach.
"Knuckles," Tails said, looking at the echidna over his shoulder, "we need to redress your wounds too."
"Yeah, yeah," the guardian muttered. "I'll follow you back to your place."
The fox then looked past him at the pink hedgehog, whose back was facing him. "Amy?" he said.
She jumped a little and spun around. "Yeah?" she asked.
"Are you okay?"
"Oh…" She smiled and waved him off. "Yup! I'm totally fine."
Tails blinked as he watched her curiously. "Okay…We should get going…"
"Right!" Amy replied cheerfully. But she still hesitated, watching as all the others went off ahead of her. She turned around again, looking at the spot where Shadow had been before Knuckles showed up. There was no proof he had been there, nothing to show the others that he was back. She wasn't sure they'd believe her if she just told them.
But he was alive, and he was back. He had saved her, after all. And though there were so many questions that filled her head, she had a feeling that he'd show up again. Looking up at the sky, she then hurried to catch up with the others.
She knew Shadow would turn up again. But what worried her was the reason why.
TBC
[Chapter 7]
Chapter: 6
Fandom: Sonic the Hedgehog/Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! crossover
Character(s): Antauri, Sonic the Hedgehog, Cream the Rabbit, Chiro, Nova, Gibson, SPRX-77, Otto, Knuckles the Echidna, Miles "Tails" Prower, Amy Rose
Genre: Drama, action/adventure, angst, some romance, friendship
Rating: K+/PG
Disclaimers: Sonic the Hedgehog © Sega, Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! © Ciro Nieli
Notes: This was a...really weird idea I had one day, a long long time ago. I'm not sure why, other than I had just gotten into SRMT so I wanted to write about it all the time, and I was a really big Sonic the Hedgehog fan, so for some reason the crossover at the time made sense in my head. I don't...even know.
And again, I wrote this a really really long time ago. Like...Sonic Adventure 2 long time ago. So all the Sonic-related stuff takes place after that, pre-Sonic Heroes. In fact, none of the Sonic games after SA2 happened in this story and is directly a year after SA2, so it's kind of AU I guess. And in SRMT, it's kind of...after the war with Skeleton King, so...yeah...convenient. I'll stop now.
Summary: Dr. Eggman's newest plan is not only a threat to his world, but to another. And things get personal for the Hyperforce when the evil scientist takes some of their own.
[Chapter 5]
~*~*~*~
A terrible screeching sound echoed throughout the small room and pounded against the walls. To the side, the continuous beeping of the computer monitor streamed through the air. Metal clamored and tools clinked together in a foreboding rhythm. But the worst noises came from just meters before me.
"Aaah…! Ow! Stop it…! Lemme go…No! Not there! Aaah!"
The man before me grumbled softly, placing down the tool he held only to take up a different one. His round stature blocked my view, but I had an inkling of exactly what he was doing.
From the place he stood, there was a soft gasp followed by a pained cry. "Please, stop!"
Furiously I struggled against the restraints that held me down, even though I knew it wouldn't help. "Doctor! Release her now!" I demanded. "Do what you wish with me, but leave her alone!"
Taking one step back, the man turned his body slightly to face me, finally allowing me to see Jinmay. Still bound to the table, the top of her head had been pried open to reveal the circuitry within. As she looked from me to the man between us, tears rested in the corner of her eyes.
"Afraid I can't do that…" the scientist finally sneered, placing down his tool again. "The agreement was that the two of you cooperate with my experiments, after all. Do I need to remind you of what will happen if you don't?"
Growling softly, I reluctantly shook my head. Unfortunately, I knew exactly what would happen if neither of us cooperate.
"Besides," he said, turning back to Jinmay, "if you would only relax, my dear, it wouldn't hurt so much."
"How am I supposed to relax with you poking around in my head like that?" she spat back.
"Well, you may want to figure that out…it's only going to get worse from here…" Picking up a larger tool than before, the doctor returned to the work he had been doing and once more prevented me from seeing her, but I could still hear the anguished cries with every mechanism that was altered for his own sinister objectives.
"Hmm…" the man mused to himself, scratching the back of his head for a moment. "Aha! There it is!" Picking up a small object from the tool tray beside him, he then set back to work. And suddenly, the room pounded with Jinmay's scream.
"Jinmay!" No matter how hard I struggled, I couldn't break free of my irons that kept me trapped to that table. And without my powers, I knew I couldn't do anything about it.
With a triumphant laugh, the man stepped back. "Don't worry…" he said as he glanced at me. "Jinmay will be feeling much better now…won't you, my dear?"
On the other table, Jinmay slowly opened her eyes to reveal the frightening glint that tinted her jade depths. "Yes, Dr. Eggman…" she replied. The warmth and friendliness in her voice was no longer there, replaced with a mechanical coldness.
"Now, Jinmay…If I give you your powers back, do you promise to be a good little girl?"
She nodded slightly. "Yes, Dr. Eggman."
The man grinned smugly. "Good." Turning back to her, he once again began to work. But it was for only a brief moment before he finally sealed her up. Pressing a nearby button on the table, the bonds that held her then slipped away and allowed her to sit up.
"You see?" he said, turning fully to me. "If you just relax and cooperate with me, things would go so much easier. I get what I want, you no longer feel pain, and your friends remain safe. Everyone ends up happy. Isn't that right, Jinmay?"
"Yes, Dr. Eggman," she replied.
"And what do you plan to do with them once you're finished here?" I demanded. "Once you've taken control over me, what's going to happen to the others?"
For a moment, the scientist didn't answer. Then, reaching over and picking up a nearby tool, he smirked. "I haven't really decided yet…" he finally answered. "But at the moment, that's no concern of yours. Now…shall we get started, Antauri?"
I did my best to fight back, but I could do nothing as he slowly began to remove my helmet. Then my vision was filled with nothing but darkness.
Cream couldn't stop the tears from falling. And as she sat in front of the fallen hero and hugged Cheese close to her, she didn't bother to try. The droplets freely flowed down her cheeks and disappeared into the ground. A shudder coursed through her small body as she drew in a shallow breath.
Though Sonic's fate wasn't the only reason for her tears, it was a good enough cause. Could Sonic the Hedgehog - the world's greatest hero - really be gone? Had Dr. Eggman finally won? What was going to happen to the world now? And why…why did such a nice and brave person like Sonic have to die?
The young rabbit didn't know the hedgehog as well as the others did. But she always felt safe around him, and she knew that she could trust him. She knew of his adventures, heard his story…and she had seen the wonderful person he was. So why was he the one to die? Heroes weren't supposed to die…
But she wasn't only crying for Sonic. Tears were shed for her other friends…for everything she knew they were feeling because of this. When they had left to go after Dr. Eggman…when Tails had asked her to stay behind and look over Sonic's body…she had felt it in their eyes. She felt the sadness in Tails' and Amy's eyes, and she cried the tears that they couldn't. She had felt the dangerous anger in Knuckles' eyes, and she was worried about him. She could only hope that he wouldn't let his anger get in the way of his safety.
Still, she knew that she wasn't crying just for them either. She couldn't understand why…after all, Eggman's robots had killed Sonic, and had put her friends through so much trouble and sorrow. So why should she be crying for them?
And yet…Cream felt that they weren't bad robots. She had seen what they could do…she had seen her friends fighting them…she had seen one of them kill Sonic…but she wasn't afraid of them. When she was watching them, there was a strange feeling coming from them. It felt as though they didn't want to be fighting…like they were sorry about what they were doing. And she had felt bad for them.
But they were robots. Did robots know how to feel sorry?
Cream wasn't sure. She didn't know much about robots, after all. All she knew was that those two robots…the two robots that her friends were fighting…didn't want to hurt anyone. They didn't want to…but they were doing it anyway.
Sniffling a little, she tried to wipe her tears away. "I-if only…I-if only I-I could do…s-something to help…" she stuttered, a hiccup interrupting her.
"C…C-Cream…"
The rabbit's eyes widened. That voice…it couldn't be…!
"Y-you…wanna h-help, kiddo…? 'C-cause…I need a f-favor…"
The voice was a rasp whisper, but she could still recognize it anywhere. But how…? Didn't the robot…?
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she slowly turned around. Then she gasped.
The tears somehow squeezed through Chiro's tightly shut eyes, rolling down his cheeks and falling to the floor. His body trembled as he fought to compose himself, but nothing he did worked. All he could see was the image of the blue hedgehog burning under his eyelids….all he could hear was the painful scream echoing in his ears…and all he could think about was Antauri.
The image of the mad scientist taking over the city displayed on the monitor, but it was ignored as the Monkey Team watched their leader. Occasionally they exchanged worried expressions, unsure of what to do or say.
Finally Nova ventured forward. "Hey…Chiro…" she said, trying to be as comforting as possible, "it's…everything's gonna be okay."
The teen shook his head. "N-no…it's not…" he choked out. "A-Antauri…he…"
"Now you know that what happened wasn't his fault," Gibson stated. "He had no control over himself."
Swallowing hard, the boy nodded. "I know…but…that s-still won't stop him from b-blaming himself…"
The four simians once again shared trouble glances, for they knew that he was right.
"Antauri's…gonna blame himself for what he did…" Chiro said with a waver in his voice, "no matter how many times…we tell him it's not his fault. Even…if he'll never talk about it…I know he'll be thinkin' it…And when we get him back…it'll be something…he'll never let go…"
Sprx sighed. "If we get him back…" he muttered.
The golden monkey glared at him. "Sprx!" she hissed.
"What? In case you haven't noticed, we're not exactly in a position to rescue him!"
Glancing at his teammates for a moment, Otto's attention then turned to the computer screen. "Maybe they'll help us…" he said.
Everyone but Chiro followed the mechanic's gaze and watched the large blue airplane as it fired a rapid assault. Driving in the cockpit was the yellow-orange fox while the red echidna and pink hedgehog sat in the seat behind him. The plane drew dangerously close, continuing its attack before swerving to the side, looping back and flying in the opposite direction. Angry shouts were heard before Jinmay sped after the aircraft. Off to the side, just out of the monitor's range was a glint of silver.
Sprx gaped at the screen. "What the heck are they doing?"
"They must be trying to avenge their fallen companion," Gibson mused, though his tone held the same disbelief as his teammate. "However, even if they were successful in their attempts, I doubt they would want to help us. In their minds, it was our teammate who -"
"He was being controlled," Nova reminded the other. "If we could explain what happened, then maybe -"
"They may not give us a chance…" the blue monkey answered. "One glimpse of us and they'll surely realize that Antauri is one of us, so they certainly will not trust us. And that's only if they succeed in their plans, whatever those may be. Besides…" He swallowed before continuing, "Think of what they are trying to accomplish. This Dr. Eggman had Antauri exterminate their friend. Now they wish to destroy his means of offense."
The scientist had chosen his words carefully, but their hearts sank as they grasped his meaning. The man had taken someone away from them, so now they wanted to destroy the robots responsible for the deed.
Even if those robots didn't mean to do anything.
The robotic simians' attention returned to the monitor when Antauri suddenly came into view, speeding towards the plane. Just before he reached the aircraft, however, the echidna jumped towards the silver robot. The guardian tackled Antauri in the air, sending them both off-screen. Soon after the plane shot upwards, but still remained in sight.
Then the plane flew into a cloud, and while Jinmay continued to fly after it, she emerged from the puff with the plane nowhere nearby. Hesitating, she then flew forward a little before the sounds of gunfire echoed behind her. She turned to see the attacking plane flying towards her. She flew back to avoid the rapid fire, but kept her focus on the airplane. Suddenly, crimson began to stain the screen.
With a glimpse at the monitor, Chiro finally reacted. "No! Jinmay, don't…!"
But she couldn't hear him, and he was unable to do anything as a beam of fire was shot. It ripped through the aircraft, and the Hyperforce watched in terror as the plane caught fire and descended to the earth below. His breath caught in his throat when the plane crashed into a building, exploding on impact.
There was a low cackling off screen. "Good job, Jinmay," Eggman's voice rang out. "Now no one can stop me from conquering Station Square. And then, the world will be mine!"
"What about the echidna, Doctor?" the robot girl asked.
"He will be dealt with soon enough. With his injuries, I doubt he'll last much longer against Antauri."
Chiro squeezed his eyes shut. "He couldn't…he couldn't have gotten rid of all of them…could he?" he asked, glancing at the Monkey Team.
Gibson frowned as he studied the image of the smoking building where the aircraft had crashed. "It's hard to say," he finally answered. "With a crash like that, the odds of the passengers' survival are very low. And as much as I hate to admit it, the Doctor's assumptions about the Guardian are correct as well."
"But we don't know what they're capable of," Nova countered. "There's still a chance they made it…"
"But what about that other guy?" Sprx asked. "That hedgehog? Wasn't he the one Eggman was talking about before? The one who always stopped his plans? With him gone, what chance do his friends have?"
The golden monkey glared at him. "Thanks for the help," she retorted.
Watching his teammates for a moment, Otto then looked at the teen. "Don't worry, Chiro," he assured. "Everything's gonna be okay."
The leader gave the mechanic a weak smile. "Thanks Otto," he said softly. But as he turned back to the screen, the smile disappeared. He just wasn't as sure as the other was. With all the things going against them, how could those other guys stop Eggman's plans of conquering their world?
It just didn't seem possible.
"Tails! Amy!" Knuckles yelled, gliding over the building where the Tornado crashed. After seeing the robot girl directly hit the plane, the echidna managed to escape from the robot monkey to help the others. But he wasn't able to reach the craft before it crashed, and so he could only hope that they got out of the plane in time. Otherwise…
"Knuckles!" he heard a familiar voice call. Looking around, he noticed the form of the small fox waving for him on top of the building next to the one where the Tornado crashed. With a sigh of relief, he veered back and landed in front of where Tails and Amy stood.
"Are you two all right?" he asked, looking over the kit for any injuries.
Tails nodded. "We're fine. Luckily the ejector seats worked."
"But what're we supposed to do now?" the pink hedgehog wondered. "How are we gonna stop Eggman now?"
"Sounds like you guys need a little help."
The three froze at the sound of the familiar, confident voice. It just wasn't possible, was it? It couldn't be…it just couldn't be. But as they turned around, they realized that they weren't hallucinating.
He was really there.
Three voices rang out at the same time. "Sonic!"
The blue hedgehog grinned, placing a finger to his lips. "Shh…" he said. "You don't wanna let Eggman know, do ya?"
Tails and Amy ran to him, jumping into his arms and tightly clinging to him. "Oh, Sonic!" the girl said, resting her head on his shoulder as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"I can't believe it!" Tails said, burying his face in his friend's torso; though he didn't let the tears flow, they were noticeably pooled in the corner of his eyes. "We really thought that you were -!"
"Hey, you didn't think I'd go that easily, did you?" the azure hero joked.
But as Knuckles approached, he still caught the weariness in the other's emerald eyes. "So how did you survive, Sonic?" the guardian asked.
As the younger two pulled away, Sonic looked at the echidna with a grin. "Glad to see you missed me too," he replied. In return, Knuckles scowled, but didn't bother to disguise the mirth in his eyes.
"But how did you do it, Sonic?" Tails asked, looking at his friend with curiosity. "I mean, we saw the robot, and -"
"I'll explain it later, li'l buddy," Sonic replied, his face suddenly serious. "Right now, we gotta do something about Eggman before he does anymore damage to the city."
The three looked at each other before looking at the blue hedgehog. "And just how the hell are we supposed to do that?" Knuckles asked. "You and I know better than anyone what those robots are capable of! How do you plan on stopping them?"
Sonic shook his head. "We're not…yet. First, we'll need to get some help."
"Help from who?" Amy asked; Sonic was never the type to ask for help.
"From people who'd have a better chance of stopping those robots than we would," the azure teen replied. "But they're trapped up in Eggman's Lithium-whatever-thing up there."
Three eyes followed the direction that Eggman's base flew in. "Up there?" Tails repeated.
Sonic nodded. "Yup. So Knuckles, while Tails and I head up there for the rescue, you think you can distract Eggman and the bots for a while?"
The guardian cracked his namesakes, flashing a grin. "No problem. I've been meaning to pay back that robo-girl anyway."
The hedgehog rolled his eyes. "I said distract them, not get yourself killed." Knuckles glared at him but said nothing. As he was prepared to go, however, he stopped when Amy started to follow him.
Sonic grabbed her arm. "What're you doin', Amy?" he asked.
"I'm gonna help Knuckles," she replied simply, as though it was the most obvious statement in the world.
"Nu-huh, no way!" he replied, shaking his head. "You saw what happened to Knuckles. You saw what almost happened to me! You think I'm gonna let you go out there take that kinda risk?"
Amy blinked in surprise; she'd never seen Sonic act like this before. He was…worried about her. Normally he only showed concern after something happened to her. But this time he didn't want her to get hurt like he and Knuckles had. It was so sweet…yet she still pulled her arm out of his grasp.
"I know what they can do," she replied, crossing her arms. "And that's why Knuckles can't face them alone. He's still injured. He's gonna need some help, and since you and Tails are gonna try and break into Eggman's ship, I have to be the one to help him."
The echidna frowned. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew Amy was right. Even with the healing powers of the Master Emerald, he was still too injured to handle the two robots on his own. She wasn't the first person he'd ever ask for help (if he ever had to ask), but Tails was the best equipped to break into Eggman's base, and Sonic was the only who knew who needed rescuing (a curious fact that Knuckles wanted to ask about later). He wasn't too keen on risking the girl's safety, but they had no other choice.
He held up his hand before Sonic had a chance to refuse. "I'll take care of her, Sonic," he said. "You and Tails just concentrate on what you have to do."
Emerald eyes locked with violet, and a moment passed before Sonic finally nodded. "I'm counting on you, Knuckles," he said, soft enough for only the guardian to hear.
With a nod of his own, the echidna turned his back to Amy. "Hold on to me," he instructed. She obediently did so, carefully wrapping her arms around his neck so she wouldn't hurt him. Then he walked to the edge of the roof and jumped off, gliding after Eggman's small craft and the robots.
After they were gone, Tails turned to the teen. "Are you sure you're okay, Sonic?" he asked, worry mixed in his cerulean depths.
Glancing at his younger friend, the hedgehog grinned. "Don't worry, li'l buddy. I'm fine. Let's get going."
Hesitating for a moment, the kit then nodded. "Okay."
Chiro jumped when the piercing wail of an alarm echoed throughout the room, flashing a red warning light and startling his simian companions. They all looked up curiously at the computer screen in the front of the room as words replaced the outside view of the city.
"WARNING," the monitor read. "INTRUDER ALERT. INTRUDER ALERT."
The alarm died down, though the light continued to flash. "Intruder?" Otto asked. "Why would anyone wanna break in here?"
"I think the better question is who would do it," Gibson replied.
Nova's eyes brightened. "Hey! Maybe it's those animals in the plane. I bet the crash was just a distraction so they could get in here."
"Yeah, but for what?" Sprx wondered. "What good would that do?"
The mechanical door suddenly slid open as a blue blur screeched to a halt in front of the teen leader. "I was thinking a rescue," the blue hedgehog said with a grin. "Looks like you guys could use one."
Chiro's eyes widened. "No way…!" he breathed. "It's…It's you…!"
The azure hero playfully bowed. "The one and only," he replied. "And you…must be Chiro."
Exchanging surprised glances with the monkey team, the boy then looked back at the hedgehog. "How do you know my name?"
"That's a long story, and it'll have to wait until later. First, we have to -" The hedgehog was cut off when the small fox suddenly ran into the room, coming to a quick stop just behind the other. But as his cerulean eyes looked around, the kit gasped.
"Sonic!' he said. "Eggman made more of those robot monkeys!"
"No wait!" Sprx said. "We're not -!"
Sonic held up a hand to the red monkey, shaking his head and quieting him down before turning to his younger friend. "Tails," he said patiently, "it's okay. These are the guys we need to rescue. They're cool."
The kit frowned in confusion. "But Sonic…that other one…"
"Tails," the blue teen said, "don't you trust me?"
"Well, yeah, of course…"
"Then help me free these guys, okay?" Sonic gave the twin-tailed fox a wink. "I know you can do it, li'l buddy."
Looking from the robotic simians to the hedgehog, Tails managed a small smile and nodded. "Okay," he said softly, though warily eyed the monkey team before turning and heading to the computer. With a grin, Sonic then turned back to the teen leader.
"Sorry about that," he said. "Most robots we've seen are Eggman's creations that he uses to take over the world or somethin', so you can't really blame him for being so skeptical."
Chiro glanced at the fox. "Well, after what happened to you," he said, looking back at the blue teen, "it's understandable."
"Are you sure you should leave something so important to a child?" Gibson asked, watching intently as Tails continued to type on the computer consol. "Don't you think someone better capable should attempt it? After all, your Doctor Eggman is supposedly a genius, isn't he?"
Sonic shrugged. "Yeah, I guess Eggman's smart. But that's why Tails is handling the controls. He's the only one who could figure out Eggman's systems."
The red monkey looked at the fox doubtfully. "But he's only a kid, isn't he?"
Sonic blinked and glanced at Chiro. "Yeah…but isn't your leader?"
Nova looked at the others before returning her gaze to the hedgehog. "How'd you know he's our leader?"
"I'll explain that later." Turning back to Gibson, he added, "And don't worry. You're in good hands. Tails is one of the smartest people I know."
Multiple beeping sounds bounced across the room, and suddenly the bonds that held Chiro's hands and feet released him. Surprised, he landed on the ground in front of the azure hero. "Wow," the boy said, rubbing his wrist as he stood to his full height.
Looking over his shoulder at the kit, Sonic grinned. "Way ta go, Tails!" he said, giving him a thumbs up.
"Thanks Sonic," Tails replied with a small smile, though his eyes never left his work. "Just gimme a few more seconds, and I'll be finished…"
Another moment passed when more signals were heard, and the boxes that encased the four simians suddenly opened in half to release them.
"Finally!" Nova said as she stepped away from the containment. "I can't wait to get my hands on that fat creep!"
"Uh, guys…?" Otto said, looking at his own hands. "I think we got a problem."
"What is it, Otto?" Gibson asked, sounding a little irritable as he glanced at the fox kit that stood beside the blue hedgehog.
Sonic rubbed his chin for a moment before smacking his forehead with his palm. "Oh, right!" he said. "Your powers were disengaged."
The four monkeys looked at him with wide eyes. "They were what?" Sprx shouted.
Sonic looked back at the computer screen, then turned to Tails. "Did you already set up the self-destruct sequence?"
"The what?" Chiro said, looking at the two of them.
"Yeah," Tails replied, disregarding the other statement. "We have time, though. And I found a map before instigating the program. Eggman has some extra hovercrafts in a room nearby."
Sonic sighed, ruffling the fox's fur. "All right. What would I do without ya?"
Tails grinned sheepishly, but then turned serious as he looked at Chiro and the Monkey Team. "Still, we better hurry and get out of here. Eggman might figure out that something's up."
Chiro hesitated, glancing at his simian companions before looking at the hedgehog. "There are…still a lot of things I don't understand," he said softly.
"I know," Sonic replied. "But I promise I'll explain everything later. And I'm just trying to help ya out."
The teen leader bit his bottom lip, then nodded a little. He really had no reason to doubt Sonic; after all, the hedgehog came to save them despite what Antauri had done to him. Even if it was strange that Sonic knew more about what was going on than anyone else, Chiro knew he owed him for helping them out. Trust was the least he could give him.
With a grin, Sonic then turned to Tails. "Okay, Tails. Get us outta here!"
Amy gasped, jumping out of the way and just barely avoiding the violet blades that sailed towards her. She could hear the mechanical hum of the robotic monkey as it flew behind her, but no matter how fast she ran she couldn't lose it. 'I guess all that time running after Sonic hasn't helped that much,' she thought absentmindedly, but was painfully brought back to reality when the silver monkey's violet claw grazed her shoulder.
Amy came to an unexpected stop and pulled out her mallet, taking advantage of her opponent's closeness and swinging it as hard as she could at it. Taken by surprise, the silver monkey was unable to defend itself and was sent flying into a nearby building.
"Whew…" the girl said, putting her mallet away and wiping her brow with the back of her hand. Looking around, she frowned. "Now I just have to find Knuckles."
After she and Knuckles gained Eggman's attention, the robots were sent after them and started to attack. They managed to hold off the robots at first (though she was sure that Knuckles did most of the work), but then the robot girl snuck up and surprised them. Knuckles had blocked the attack and led the robot girl away, leaving Amy with the simian.
Though she managed to hold her own against the silver monkey, Amy was just glad that it was gone. She wasn't sure how much longer she would have been able to fight it off, and she was surprised with how well she had done. "Knuckles better be okay, though," she said as she looked around. "He shoulda stayed and rest because of all his injuries…stubborn echidna."
Amy gasped as an explosion shook the ground and threw her off her feet. Looking up, she watched smoke rise from a broken building a few blocks away. "That's gotta be Knuckles!" she said, scrambling to stand back up. "If that robot girl does anything else, I'm gonna -!"
Her voice trailed off as she froze, her eyes wide as the violet form of the robotic monkey rose from the ground in front of her. Its skeletal gaze focused on her, the monkey jumped at her, its violet claws prepared to strike. Taking a step back, she raised her arms to her face to protect herself from the attack.
Except it never came. Instead she heard the sound of metal hitting a solid object and ricocheting back. Slowly she lowered her arms and hesitantly opened her eyes. When she did, she covered her mouth with her hands and gasped, "Sh…Sh-Shadow…?"
Crouched down in front of her, the dark hedgehog glanced at her. But his crimson eyes were clouded as he breathed heavily, his hand gripping his chest. Shaking herself out of her shock, Amy knelt down beside him. "Are you…are you okay?" she asked softly, her voice trembling with concern.
Shadow brushed her off with his free hand, his fiery eyes looking around. "Fine," he replied hoarsely. Rising to his feet, he said, "Stay here."
"Shadow…" she whispered, watching as he jumped up while the silver monkey shot towards them. The two collided in the air, but the robotic simian managed to overpower the hedgehog, sending him flying back.
Before the silver monkey could attack again, however, a deafening explosion rattled the air and threw all of them off their feet. Startled, Amy's attention shot up towards the sky where Eggman's air base disappeared in a massive cloud of dark smoke that rained metal debris. The silver monkey watched for a moment as the smoke spread out before jumping up and flying towards the explosion, soon followed by the robot girl.
Heart beating rapidly, Amy then looked towards Shadow as he slowly sat up from a nearby pile of rubble. "Are you all right, Shadow?" she asked.
He responded only with a groan, rubbing his head as he looked up towards the sky. He frowned deeply as his eyes narrowed, and Amy wasn't sure what to make of his expression. She approached him carefully, afraid that he would attack her if she came too quickly.
"Why are they leaving, Shadow?" she asked softly, just to let him know she was still there.
"Because they need to," he replied gruffly, his eyes never leaving the sky. "If the Doctor wants to succeed, he needs to reorganize his resources…and recover what he's lost."
She was about to ask what he meant, but she was interrupted as a worried voice called out to her. "Amy!"
She turned around and watched as Knuckles landed in front of her, panting heavily as he asked, "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm okay," she replied. "What about you?"
The echidna shrugged, tossing aside the torn bandages from his wounds. "I'll live," he muttered. "Are you sure you're not hurt?"
Amy nodded. "I'm fine, really. But we need to get you back to Tails' place so he can fix you up."
"Man, Knux, can't I leave you alone for one minute without you getting beatin' up?"
The two looked up and watched as Sonic landed one of Eggman's hovercrafts beside them. Nearby, Tails landed a second one and jumped out of it. Knuckles frowned a little. "You took two?" he wondered.
"Well, we kinda had to," Sonic replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "It woulda been too crowded if we only took one."
Before Knuckles could ask what he meant, Amy gasped and pointed to the two hovercrafts. "There are more of those robot monkeys!" she exclaimed.
Indeed, four robot monkeys looked towards them as they hopped out of the hovercrafts; three different colored monkeys - a red, a yellow, and a green one - jumped out from Tails' craft, and a blue one from Sonic's. Along with the blue monkey, a young boy dressed in white and orange leaped from Sonic's hovercraft and landed on the ground, slowly approaching the blue hedgehog.
Gritting his teeth, Knuckles ignored the pain as he clenched his fists. "Sonic, get down!" he warned as he charged an attack.
The robotic monkeys suddenly jumped forward in front of the boy and seemed prepared to defend him, but Sonic quickly stepped between them and the echidna. "Chill out, Knux!" the azure teen said. "These guys aren't here to hurt us! Tails and I just busted them outta Eggman's base."
Violet eyes narrowing, the guardian hesitantly dissipated the energy to his attack; still, he kept his fists ready in case of a surprise attack. "Why?" he hissed, glancing at the blue hedgehog before focusing on the boy and the monkeys. "They're more of Eggman's robots!"
"We most certainly are not!" the blue monkey retorted.
"We've got nothing to do with that crazy freak!" the red monkey added.
"Then what about Eggman's silver monkey?" Knuckles demanded. "Is he with you guys as well? And the robot girl?"
"Antauri and Jinmay are with us," Chiro answered, "but it's not what you think…!"
"You guys!" Sonic said. When their attention was focused on him, he sighed. "Okay, look." The hedgehog motioned to Tails and had him stand next to Knuckles and Amy. Then he turned to the teen. "First of all, I think it'd help if we all were introduced. As you might know already, I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. These are my friends. This is Miles Prower…"
"Most people just call me Tails," the fox said softly. "Please don't call me Miles."
"…this is Knuckles the Echidna…"
The guardian huffed, folding his arms over his chest.
"…and this is Amy Rose."
The pink hedgehog stiffened a little as the other pointed to her, but she managed a small smile and waved to the strange boy. If Sonic had risked rescuing them, they couldn't be too bad. But she was a little surprised when Sonic didn't give any other names. With a glance over her shoulder, she then understood why; Shadow had disappeared.
She turned her attention back when Sonic turned to face them. "And this is Chiro, leader of the Hyperforce," Sonic said, indicating the human boy. "And this is the Monkey Team…" He pointed to each simian as he named them off. "Nova, Sprx, Gibson, and Otto."
The robotic simians looked at each other, startled, before looking back at the blue hedgehog curiously. "How…do you know our names?" the golden monkey asked, her tone edging on suspicion.
Sonic turned to look at the Monkey Team with a small grin. "Well actually, that's an interesting story. Y'see…" His voice trailed off as his smile faded, and he placed his hand to his head. Tails watched his best friend curiously as the hedgehog closed his eyes, then he and Chiro both leapt forward as the hedgehog staggered and fell forward, both catching him before he hit the ground.
"Sonic!" the fox exclaimed.
"Are you okay?" Chiro asked, his eyes wide with surprise.
The hedgehog groaned softly, and shook his head a little. As he did so, something fell from his quills and clattered against the concrete ground. Slowly approaching, Otto then reached out and picked it up, looking at it curiously.
"It looks like a gold ring…" the green monkey said, holding it up for the others to see.
"Gold ring…?" Knuckles repeated. He turned to Sonic sharply. "So that's how you did it! You used the magic from the ring to mask the injury you received from the silver monkey!"
Sonic chuckled weakly, cracking one eye open to look at the echidna. "Nothing…gets by you…eh, Knux?" he muttered.
"Sonic, how could you do that?" Amy reproached.
"We would have been in a really bad position if the effects of the ring wore off while we were up in Eggman's base," Tails added.
"But…it didn't…" the hedgehog replied. "And we…got out…didn't we?"
Otto suddenly gasped, holding up his hands. "Hey! The ring disappeared!"
The fox shook his head slightly as he looked over his weakened friend. "They tend to do that after all the magic is drained from them," he replied. Then he looked up at Chiro. "We should take Sonic back to my workshop. Would you mind helping me?"
"Uh…sure, no problem," Chiro replied, looking at the blue hedgehog he was helping support.
Tails nodded, glancing at Otto. "I've also got some tools that might help fix you guys up, if you can use them," he added.
"Sure!" the green monkey said. "Thanks!"
"What kind of tools could a child possibly possess that could -?" Gibson muttered, but was sharply cut off as Nova's elbow jabbed him in the stomach.
"Knuckles," Tails said, looking at the echidna over his shoulder, "we need to redress your wounds too."
"Yeah, yeah," the guardian muttered. "I'll follow you back to your place."
The fox then looked past him at the pink hedgehog, whose back was facing him. "Amy?" he said.
She jumped a little and spun around. "Yeah?" she asked.
"Are you okay?"
"Oh…" She smiled and waved him off. "Yup! I'm totally fine."
Tails blinked as he watched her curiously. "Okay…We should get going…"
"Right!" Amy replied cheerfully. But she still hesitated, watching as all the others went off ahead of her. She turned around again, looking at the spot where Shadow had been before Knuckles showed up. There was no proof he had been there, nothing to show the others that he was back. She wasn't sure they'd believe her if she just told them.
But he was alive, and he was back. He had saved her, after all. And though there were so many questions that filled her head, she had a feeling that he'd show up again. Looking up at the sky, she then hurried to catch up with the others.
She knew Shadow would turn up again. But what worried her was the reason why.
TBC
[Chapter 7]