Chapter 21: Enter Shadows
Chapter 21: Enter Shadows
The pale, water-like energy faded off Rainbow Dash’s body, the feeling of warm but soothing air touching her fur as she entered freefall. She opened her eyes to the feeling, seeing the sprawling expanse of green trees below her. Extending her wings, she gracefully divebombed to the jungle, her rainbow trail following close behind as she leveled out. The trees waved in the wind as she passed, her zooming through the open sky of Sonic’s world.
In a strange sense, it felt good to be back here for once. Before she could hardly stand the place, every situation she got into when she first arrived going downhill in an instant in most cases. Now though, she couldn’t help but feel content. It may just have to do with it being a crystal-clear day with a warm sun shining upon her back and wings, a feeling she relished in when she could. Or…maybe it was just something she couldn’t explain altogether.
Whatever the reason, she focused back on her mission. Whatever had Blaze and Silver shaking in their boots must’ve been serious, so she couldn’t afford to lose it. She took in her surroundings as she flew. From what she could tell, she was above what looked to be a jungle, one that had an enclosed canopy so that she couldn’t see all the way to the ground. Sky blue ocean surrounded the jungle, implying that she was on an island. What stood out above all that, however, were the large structures in the distance. They were very geometrical, so they stood out like a sore hoof on the edge of the coast.
“Mission, start,” Rainbow smirked to herself, a bit of a playful tone to it.
“You actually sound excited for once,” Silver observed.
“I wouldn’t say excited, but I wouldn’t say I’m not ready to kick some Eggman butt again,” she stated. “So, what’s up? What am I supposed to be stopping this time?”
“From what we know, this was around the time when Eggman got hold of a deadly weapon called the Ark. His goal was to use it to turn the whole world over to his rule,” Blaze explained.
“Sounds easy enough to solve,” Rainbow shrugged it off. “So where is this thing? In those buildings over there?”
“I’m not too sure,” Silver affirmed. “This was before Blaze and I got involved with Sonic and the others, so we’ve never seen it. We’re not even sure what it’s supposed to do. We do know that Eggman was out looking for the Chaos Emeralds first.”
“Prison Island,” said Blaze. “I remember Tails telling me something about Prison Island a while back, and how Eggman tried to snatch some of them from G.U.N. They’re being held at the main facility somewhere. It’ll be up to you to find out where though.”
“There’s something else Rainbow,” Silver interrupted. “You should know that despite how you saw them before, G.U.N. is something you need to be careful of.”
“Huh? Why’s that?” Rainbow questioned. “Aren’t they supposed to be the good guys or something?”
“They are, but it’s just a bit sketchy right now,” he explained. “Sonic once told me he had a little run-in with G.U.N. at one point. I don’t know the details, but if I’m right, this is around the time they saw Sonic as a criminal and tried to lock him away.”
That got Rainbow’s attention, her brow contorting in confusion. “Lock him up!? Sonic!? For what!? You’re acting like they think he’s some crook or something!”
“H-hey, don’t ask me!” he defended. “As I said, I don’t know all the details! All I know is that Sonic was set up somehow!”
“More than likely,” Blaze stepped in, “Eggman must’ve done something to frame Sonic for a crime he didn’t commit. I don’t know what, but whatever it was it was enough to get the attention of G.U.N., so it must’ve been something serious.”
“Well, leave it to me guys,” Rainbow affirmed. “Just point out where to go, and I’ll head there in a split.”
An audible blast punctuated her sentence, prompting her to look to its source. It was an explosion. She had to stop her course to scan her surroundings, looking across the expansive canopy of the jungle for her target. Sure enough, she could see the signs of smoke and fire peaking over the trees. It was a long line of it, a trail that looked to have been leading straight for the facility in the distance. Alarms blared in resound, new explosions appearing to reside within the base itself.
Rainbow harden her stare, clenching her hooves as she soared off in a burst of speed. Given the size of the island, it didn’t take long for her close in on the conflict. Already she could make out what appeared to be some kind of battle, only taking place in several locations around the area at once. The base itself was a large facility that was connected to the ocean by a large dock, several flaming ships sitting in the bay. A large marble white wall surrounded base via the land, what looked to be guard checkpoints being the only entrances…well, aside from all the newly placed holes everywhere. Guard towers held massive gun batteries, only some of them seeming to be online, shooting swarms of flying robots as the others laid in flames.
No doubt. This whole attack had Egghead written all over it. As she neared the top of the wall, she was able to spot the strewn-out piles of what looked to be badniks that failed to get to the facility before being destroyed. The thing was, there were several robots were very different regarding style. They didn’t bear the mark of Eggman like the rest did, and they held much more geometrical shaped than the normal oval-shaped ones. Sticking out like an earth pony in Cloudsdale was the G.U.N. logo on their sides.
“So, G.U.N. uses these things too, huh?” she questioned herself. “Talk about scraping the bottom of the scrap barrel. What’s so great about these things anyway? Everypony seems to have them now.”
She felt it was best to ignore that for now and make her way over the wall. Couldn’t get distracted now.
“…ugghhh…”
She stopped, her ears perking at the raspy groan she heard from below. She looked down at her side of the wall. She gasped. She had been so focused on the battle inside and the surrounding mess of bots that she didn’t notice what laid at the gate not too far from her. It was one of the guard checkpoints; several human bodies spread about the road before it, some even laying among some destroyed robots in the gate itself, which looked to have been blasted straight through without a second thought.
In a panic she flew down, going for the closest human to her, her breath already starting to pick up at the sight of them all. They all wore what looked to be body armor over a black cloth that covered the entirety of their bodies. Many of them wore black helmets, a forest-green glass visor covering their eyes while leaving their lower faces uncovered.
She rushed to the one in front of her, the soldier lying flat on his back with his weapon at his side. “Hey! Are you alright?!” she yelled at the downed man, receiving now answer in response. “Come on! Tell me you’re alive or something! I don’t need to be dealing with that right now!”
Rainbow’s panic-stricken eyes scanned the human or namely his attire. He was entirely messed up. His body armor looked just short of falling to pieces, several precise scorch marks lining each piece. Whatever hit him, it hit him hard and fast.
She pressed her ear to his chest, checking for any sign of life as a cold sweat went down her cheek. Thankfully, she heard the steady beating of his heart through the thick clothing, a sigh of relief escaping her as she fell back on her haunches.
“Thank Celestia for that…”
“…uggggghhhh…” she heard the groan again.
She instantly looked to its source, that being another soldier. This one was right next to the gate, propped up with his back against the wall, his head slumped over. She picked herself up and flew over to this one, putting a hoof to his shoulder.
“Easy buddy,” she comforts to the best of her ability. “What happened here? Do you know?”
She just got a slurred groan as an answer, his head having trouble staying upright. She got a good look at his body armor and helmet. Just like the last guy, both were in bad condition, several damaged bits just falling right off. His helmet was in very poor shape. It had been dented in several places, and part of the visor had a huge glaring hole in it, his right eye open to her. This led her to his face and the blood that was slowly running out of his nose. She couldn’t help but wince, knowing how those could feel from her many incidents during flight.
“…it…came out of nowhere…” he stuttered, his speech still uneven as he went in and out of consciousness. “…it went…right through our defenses…that…hedgehog…”
With that, his head slumped over again, him finally losing consciousness, but to Rainbow’s relief, he didn’t…well…move on.
‘A hedgehog?’ she wondered, wondering what he meant. ‘It couldn’t be Sonic, could it? Why would that knucklehead break into this place? Isn’t he trying not to get locked up? But…he couldn’t do anything like this…could he?’
She felt she wouldn’t find those answers here, and she had no idea what she could do for any of the pon—uh, people out here. If only more than one pony could come through the gate. Having Twilight here working with her would’ve been alleviating. She could’ve done some magic mumbo jumbo to fix them all up in no time. But for now, she just needed to get to the bottom of all this.
More explosions were heard from the inside. She could see smoke rising not too far away. The smell of fuel was evident enough in the air. She took off over the wall, stopping to look around the area. True to the smell and sights, many things were burning on the inside of the compound. Now she wasn’t an expert on human engineering, but just going by looks, she was staring directly at an airstrip. Many flying machines, geometrical vehicles, and robots were scrapped and scattered along the ground, either in pieces or burning husks.
What caused all the damage, she couldn’t tell. The alarms were still blaring at their loudest; a noise she couldn’t help but want to shut out due to its repetitiveness. Although, there was another noise, one that was fresh and new. She looked down, past all the broken machinery and to its source.
“OUT OF MY WAY!!!!!!” the shrill voice echoed, alerting Rainbow immediately to its owner.
If the pink spec in the distance was anything to go by, she knew exactly who it was.
“Amy?!” she loudly questioned, but to herself more than anypony else. “What the hay is she doing here?!”
She couldn’t dwell in it, seeing what the hedgehog girl was facing against as she ran forward, large hammer in hand. Three bipedal robots flew towards her, all of them bearing their weapons and the G.U.N. logo on their shoulders.
“Oh, pony feathers!” Rainbow swore, rushing forward in a burst of great speed.
In a matter of seconds, she had closed the distance, all three of the robots immediately shooting their heads to her. Heh, so she was the bigger threat of the two huh? Rainbow couldn’t help but chuckle. Smart of them to think so, but foolish of them to think they stood a chance!
Rainbow reared back her hoof, ready to put some clobbering into these tin ca—
All of the combatants stopped suddenly, all looking on in a mix of terror at the change in development. Rainbow’s eyes widened, and the two of the robots shot back to look at Amy instead of the blue pony. The third robot? Well, it was now in what looked to be a gazillion pieces of scrap, all flying away from the impact of Amy’s hammer. The red tick on the hedgehog’s head was all too visible, a yell of anger heard from her as she sent all the pieces flying.
“Where…is…my…SONIC??!!!!” she yelled, her pupils shrunk into a contorted bloodshot face as she looked straight at the next robot.
Rainbow was frozen by fear, pure, unbridled rage facing her down. A cold shiver was sent down her spine, those eyes locking with hers as her pupils shrunk to a similar size. Sadly, it was this fear that locked up her mind and wings, not realizing she was still sailing forward at full speed. With both friends going wide-eyed, Rainbow slammed into her.
It and was a rough tumble, the two skipping off the ground one another. They went a few meters before coming to a stop, both girls laying on their backs, Rainbow laying crossways to Amy’s torso.
“Uuuuugggghhhh…” they both groaned.
Amy was the first to recover, taking a hand to her head as she winced. What had just hit her? If she wasn’t seeing things…
She looked up, feeling the weight of another across her stomach. ‘”R-Rainbow?!”
Meanwhile, Rainbow had yet to register her words. She was on her back, looking up at the sky with spinning eyes. Wonderbolts were circling around her as the world seemed lucidly exaggerated.
She felt somepony pick her up by the shoulders. They shook her, helping to alleviate the daze.
“Hey!” Amy shouted. “Rainbow Dash! What happened?! Why are you here?! Come on, say something!”
The pony shook her head. The double dimensions faded from her eyes, finally focusing on the pink hedgehog before her.
“Oh, heeeyyy Ames~” she slurred, still not completely recovered. “Why are you here…and since when did you have a twin sister?”
Amy’s expression changed to that of a questioning one. “Uh…what?”
The dizziness slowly faded, Rainbow blinking a couple of times before coming to her senses. “What…what just hit me?”
“I would have to ask you the same thing,” Amy said, a smile forming before she went in to give the pegasus a big hug. “We’ve missed you!”
Rainbow returned the hug with a smile of her own. “Hehe, I’ve missed you guys, too. Sorry for not keeping in touch.”
The two parted. “You’re here now though. That’s what counts in the end.”
“What the hay are you doing here though? Isn’t this supposed to be, oh I don’t know, a super-secret base or something like that?” Rainbow asked.
Amy blinked in thought; a realization hit her. She gasped. Oh no! That’s right! I’m supposed to be saving Sonic right now!”
“Sonic?” Rainbow piped up. “What about him?”
Amy took this time to reach for her hammer. “I don’t know all the details myself. All I know is that these guys are keeping Sonic locked up in that base. And they’re keeping him locked up away from me!”
Rainbow shrunk back. ‘So, Sonic really was locked up, even before I got here? But…why? What the hay did he even do?’ She narrowed her eyes. “Then you can count on me, too,” Rainbow jumped up. “Leave it to the world’s fastest flyer to save the world’s number one knucklehead.”
“Hey! He may be a knucklehead, but he’s my knucklehead!”
Rainbow felt a single sweat drop. ‘She’s confident I guess, although I think that may not be enough for what she’s trying to do,’ she thought.
She was taken out of her thought by the clanking of metal feet, now remembering the two robots that stood behind them.
“Kind of forgot they were there,” Rainbow mulled.
“They won’t be for long,” Amy threatened, brandishing her hammer over her shoulder.
Rainbow chuckled amusingly. “Just seeing all that you did so far, I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”
Amy inquisitively looked at her. “What do you mean?”
This response prompted Rainbow to look at her, inquisitive herself. “Ugh, the front gate. The robots. All the things on fire out there. Call me crazy, but I kind of thought you might’ve had something to do with all during your…” she stopped, not sure if she should even mention that part. “…moment.”
If she was curious about the last part, Amy showed more confusion to the whole question rather than just that. “None of that was me.”
The pony raised an eyebrow. “But…they said it was a hedgehog.”
“It wasn’t me though,” Amy defended. “It was all like that when I came through here. And it couldn’t have been Sonic either.”
That didn’t make any sense then. Sure, the words of a guard who’s out of it may not be all credible. But…she couldn’t shake the feeling that he spoke the truth.
The robots readied their weapons. The clicking of their barrels sent out a wave of tension to the two girls. Rainbow flared her wings while Amy took her hammer back up, ready for whatever came.
Well, nearly everything.
One of the robot’s red eyes traveled away from the girls, right to something away from them. It beeped an intelligible command to its partner. It too looked to where the other looked, and without warning, they both started shooting.
Rainbow and Amy jumped, expecting those shots to be for them. That wasn’t so, as they fired somewhere off to their right and before they could properly react, one of the bots exploded.
A blur shot straight through it, rushing around to the other one. The surviving bot took to the air using its feet repulsors. It was in quick retreat from the blur that just barely missed it. It shot its weapon wildly. Flying over the girls as they ducked under it and its attack.
It wasn’t the only thing either.
The blur instantly changed course from one of evasion to that of aggression. It zoomed over their heads, Rainbow catching just a faded glimpse of a pair of white and red shoes.
The second robot didn’t stand a chance as the blur tore its head off. Its metal body went instantly limp, the blur shooting upward before slamming itself and the bot down to the ground. Amy and Rainbow were forced to shield their eyes as the machine exploded into many tiny pieces.
“What’s going on?!” Amy shouted in fear and confusion, coughing as some smoke reached her lungs.
“I have no idea!” Rainbow responded. “What even was that?!”
“I’m not sure, but…didn’t it look an awful lot like—”
Amy stopped herself, uncovering her face as she felt a lump stop in her throat. She looked to the now smoking combat site.
“Hey, Ames?” Rainbow questioned. “Something wrong?”
She looked at the site as well, gazing at what was left standing. In that second, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of ease—and for some reason, a hint of giddiness—that arrived upon doing so. Her hedgehog friend on the other hoof had the face of someone who just stumbled upon a mountain’s worth of bits.
“It—it’s Sonic!” Amy exclaimed with exuberant glee.
True to her words, the smoke resonating from the smoldering remains of the robot reviled a dark silhouette standing before them. Exactly in the shape of a certain speedy hedgehog.
Amy dropped her hammer with a resounding thud. “Sonic!” she shouted, outstretching her arms to hug her ‘boyfriend.’ Rainbow also ran forward, a similar smile on her face. While she wasn’t as jazzed up as Amy, that didn’t change the fact she was glad to see a friend.
A friend…
Never in a million years would she have thought that Sonic would’ve been put in that kind of light. Yes, he still had those annoying tendencies of his, like that dang nickname. But…she had partially learned to deal with them, somewhat. And now, she can’t help but inwardly laugh at how ridiculous she was before with him. After witnessing first-hoof how he was willing to place her life over his own…
Amy ran into the smoke, brushing most of it aside with her presence. She instantly wrapped her arms around Sonic, feeling that she was hugging him from behind.
“Oh Sonic!” Amy cooed, “I knew those scummy government guys couldn’t keep you away from us! I’m sorry I took so long to save you! I promise I’ll try and make it up to you somehow! With something big!”
Rainbow couldn’t help but grimace at how mushy the pink hedgehog was right now, but that’s not what caused her to stop in her tracks. She didn’t know what it was, but something was off. Sonic hadn’t responded the way she thought he would. In fact, he hadn’t said a thing this whole time, and he was unnaturally calm to Amy’s advancements. She moved a little closer, narrowing her eyes.
“A-Amy?” she asked, a strange sense of dread in the air.
The smoke was clearing up, the figure finally starting to be shown in full. Rainbow froze, her gut fear realized.
This was not Sonic…
First came the color of his fur, which wasn’t the color blue that she’s come to know. It was black, like coal. His quills were long, all of them sticking upwards on the ends. Red stripes were lining them from their bases all the way to their tips. His gloves were still white, but they had accented bills on the wrists, a gold ring holding each of them on. His boots were similar, a smooth white top with a mix of red and black accents. His arms and legs too had pointed red stripes along them.
Amy by now had stopped her mushy exclaims. She must’ve seen something was wrong as well. She finally looked at the figure she was hugging, albeit a bit looser now. Her nervous shudders were near audible as she looked up to the hedgehog’s head.
For her eyes to meet with a single crimson one, the sharp eye peering at her over the shoulder.
She let go, slowly slinking away from the mysterious hedgehog in fear. “Y-you’re not Sonic…”
The hedgehog’s eye narrowed the second she dropped Sonic’s name. He turned to them, but only about halfway. This allowed Rainbow and Amy to get a good look at his face and torso. Like before, his eyes were sharp, menacing, and unforgiving. Another pair of red stripes highlighted the very edge of them. One of the stripes from his center quills reached up and over his head and ended in a point. There was a tuft of white fur stood out on his chest, not as cumbersome as Silver’s looked, but still more than Sonic’s bare chest. And just noticing the glow, Rainbow spotted what looked to be a green-hued Chaos Emerald in his hand, it’s seeping warmth reaching her chest.
The black hedgehog had an expression of mild annoyance, but hints of curiosity and judgment were also part of it.
Rainbow could hear the shock from Silver through the communicator. “T-that’s Shadow!”
“Who?” Rainbow whispered.
She saw the hedgehog’s—Shadow’s—eyes dart to her. She felt the need to shut her mouth, not sure if he heard what she said or if he just noticed the movements of her lips. Either way, she felt petrified under his gaze. He held it on her for nearly a minute before loosening his gaze, but only to scan them both.
Rainbow slowly scooted up to Amy. “Is this guy not with you?” she whispered.
“N-no,” Amy answered, her voice still shaky. Her nervous composure soon vanished to an agitated one, however. “Hey, you jerk!!” What’s the big idea tricking me into thinking you’re my Sonic?! You better have a good way to explain yourself! And what’s with that nasty look?! That’s no way to be looking a—”
“Shut up,” Shadow growled.
Amy pressed her lips shut. It was so out of the blue, but with just those two small words both girls could hear the threat that dripped from them.
“So,” he began, his voice serious and as gruff as sandpaper, “you’re both of that annoying blue hedgehog from before?”
Rainbow silently gulped and stepped up. “What if we are?”
He huffs at her answer. “Pathetic,” he says simply as he closes his eyes. “Whatever you’re here for, just get off the island before you get yourselves into trouble you don’t want.”
“What was that?!” Rainbow growled, her anger starting to take over her uncertainty.
With another huff, Shadow just turned around, walking away from the two as he made his way to what looked to be the entrance to the facility.
“Hey!” Rainbow shouted. “I’m not done with you buddy!” She flared her wings and dashed forward. She circled completely around the black hedgehog, planting herself further down his path as she stood her ground.
“Out of my way,” he said calmly, only with hints of malice tainting it.
“Rainbow! This is a bad idea!” Silver hastily warned.
She ignored his yells and focused only on the one in front of her. “Not a chance! You think you can just show up and leave without so much as an exp—”
“Chaos control,” he said, holding up the Chaos Emerald as it brightly glowed.
Her stomach suddenly churned, the world becoming distorted and painful to look at, all due to the quick flash of negative coloration that covered it all. Shadow at this point was now gone, and before she could start looking for him, she lurched over in pain. She felt her lunch nearly come up with her air, having to grip her stomach after something had struck her. But…what?
She winced as she looked over her shoulder. She was astonished to see Shadow behind now, him still walking away as if nothing had happened.
“Rainbow Dash!” Amy shouted, running up to check on her. “Are you ok?!”
“Oh yeah,” Rainbow winced. “Never better…”
“OOOOOO HO HO HO HO HO HO!!!!” they heard, a hearty laugh resounding from above them.
They both looked up, Shadow stopping in his place as well. Sitting not too far away from them was a very familiar shape and one that both of them couldn’t help but groan at the sight of. Sitting right there in the air was none other than Eggman sitting in his eggmobile, twirling his frizzled stash has he gave them both a toothy grin. Something else caught their eye, however, mainly what changes there were to the appearance of the floating pod.
It was mainly the same when it came to the body, but it was what was underneath it that stood out. It was a retractable claw that was fairly large for the size of the eggmobile. It held what looked to have been a compacted ball of broken robots. The logo on their sides gave it away. They were G.U.N. robots that he held. But for what purpose? Two smaller but similar looking machines came about to float by Eggman, both having similar claws with robots. These, however, were piloted by the two small robots that they’ve seen with Eggman time and time again.
“I see you’ve been introduced to my good friend Shadow,” Eggman laughed. “Don’t take it personally. He’s never been one for friendly introductions.”
“Eggman! What are you up to this time?!” Amy questioned the doctor, helping Rainbow back to her feet.
“What makes you think we’re up to anything?” Orbot taunted, his synthetic voice tinged with humor.
“Well, I thought we were here to grab some Chaos Rubies for the doc’s big plan,” Cubot stated, his voice different from the last time they heard it, having a slurred, idiotic sound to it. “Remember, the cute bat lady already got us that big un’.”
“Yes, but you don’t need to tell them that!” Orbot scolded.
“Shut it you two,” Eggman ordered, instantly quieting the two bots. “Yes, it’s true. We may have a date with some Chaos Emeralds here. But don’t blame me for the damage. It’s G.U.N.’s fault for having them here in the first place instead of just submitting the emeralds to me. Besides, most of it was Shadow’s doing anyway.”
The hedgehog just growled in response. It was obvious that he’d rather be somewhere else right now, whether his annoyance was directed towards Eggman or not was another thing.
“Alright then Egghead,” Rainbow spat, “So you can tell me something else too. Where’s the Ark? That’s what you’re really after, isn’t it?”
Rainbow quickly noticed that everyponys’ eyes had turned to her. Amy’s eyes held a bit of confusion at her question. Eggman’s eyes suddenly got serious, his wrinkled brow furrowing in what seemed to be mixed reactions. But Shadow’s…he was looking over his shoulder again, a simple action that Rainbow couldn’t help but flinch at when she saw it. His eyes were narrowed as well, although his held more agitation than anything, or more of…anger?
“I don’t know how you got that information Rainbow Dash,” Eggman stated, “but if must know, yes, I am. And I’m also very glad to say that we already have its location. In fact, we’ve known about it for some time. It’s just a matter of gathering some utilities before we make way.”
“Utilities?” Rainbow asked. But then it hit her. ‘Is that what this guy needs the emerald’s for?’
“Speaking of which,” Eggman started, turning himself over to face Shadow. “Shadow? Could you be a pal and go check up on Rouge? She’s been taking far too long to get those emeralds from the vault. I feel that our little distraction did its job out here, so we can spare… Shadow?”
Shadow wasn’t even paying attention to him. In fact, his gaze was far away from the current conversation. Rainbow and Amy noticed this as well, and everyone looked to where he was looking.
Shadow had a stern glare stuck to the roof of the entryway in front of him. There was a single lone figure stood atop the building, and it was looking right back down at Shadow, both pairs of eyes meeting one another in a deadlock. Shadow knew immediately who it was. Sonic…
The blue hedgehog stood atop the building, his own stern look staring back at his black counterpart. He was ridged, a sense of seriousness that wasn’t often seen in him. The two didn’t take their eyes off the other for nearly a minute, both of their fists tightened with their stances wide.
“Sonic?” Rainbow stated, glad to finally see the real blue blur instead of a blatant fake, but also perplexed as to his expression.
She heard Eggman growl. “Darn it. I was hoping he would stay locked up for some time. It seems G.U.N is worse at their jobs than I thought. Shadow!”
He still didn’t answer. He was still focused solely on Sonic and nothing else, and the silence he left them with was eerie at best.
“Shadow! Are you listening to me?!” Eggman shouted, floating over to Shadow’s side.
“I hear you,” Shadow said plainly, still not bothering to look at him.
“Then quick having your staring contest with that pin cushion and get serious! Forget subtlety! We need to get to Rouge right now or else we may lose our chance to get the emeralds all together! Unless you’d like to be here when the bomb goes off!”
“A bomb?!” Amy yelped in shock.
“You need to rethink your idea of subtlety doctor,” Shadow scolded. “But I understand.”
“Wait, so you really are with Eggman?!” Rainbow questioned. Even though it seemed so, she couldn’t help but catch on to the disdain Shadow held in his voice as he spoke to Eggman, like he was more annoyed by him than anything, not that she could blame him though. But…why would somepony held a maniac like him?! And just what relation did he have with Sonic?
Shadow just ignored her question, looking at the green emerald in his hand. Eggman and the two robots immediately got closer to him, giving Rainbow and Amy a wide birth. Shadow raised his Chaos Emerald high.
Almost immediately, Sonic planted his foot on the roof and vaulted himself off, diving straight down to them. Likewise, Rainbow too saw her chance. “Hey, you’re not going anywhere!” She charged them.
“Shadow!” Eggman panicked.
“Chaos control,” Shadow stated.
Before either Sonic or Rainbow could strike them a blinding flash of light obscured their vision. It was all just sheer chaos energy concentrated around a single point. Within those last few seconds, the light was gone, as was the group. Both speedsters saw this and did what they could to stop; Rainbow had to plant her hooves down to skid around Sonic, who likewise landed with a skid of his own. The two stopped opposite of each other in the space that once held their foes.
“Darn it!” Sonic swore.
“Where’d they go!” Rainbow asked.
“No clue!” Sonic answered.
“Sonic!” Amy shouted.
Sonic’s face went straight from one of determination to fear, his face grimacing at her voice. He turned around, putting his hands up as if he was going to defend himself from some horrible monster. Thankfully for him, she simply took his hands in hers, squeezing them tight, but still better than one of her deadly hugs in his mind.
“Uh, hey Ames,” he said cheekily. “Did I miss the party or something?”
“Sonic! You were locked up, weren’t you?! How did you escape before anyone could even reach you?!” Amy questioned frantically.
“Hehe, one of my many secrets I guess. Sorry for not waiting for ya,” he sweatdropped.
Amy wrinkled her nose with a whine. “No fair!” she shook his shoulders. “This was supposed to be my chance to rescue you for once! Ohhh, why are you always like this?!”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” he mused. While she was busy shaking him though, he looked over to Rainbow, now seeming to take the time to acknowledge her now that he had the time. He winked at her.
Rainbow smiled at that, but she couldn’t help but raise a brow at his subtle gesture. Was he trying to get something across with that? Then it hit her. It was extremely faint, but Rainbow could make out the hue of white trickling off his fur. Was it…because of her? Did he use that to escape somehow? She remembered what he said all that time ago after beating Chaos, that whatever was affecting him was similar if not the same thing that she feels when she’s around the Chaos Emeralds. The only thing is, he says that he only felt it when she’s nearby. She what does that mean if it’s the Chaos Emeralds that are supposed to be the ones causing it?
“Hey guys!” she spoke up, remembering the situation. “Sorry to burst the reunion bubble so quick, but Egghead said something about a bomb a second ago!”
“Oh no! You’re right!” Amy gasped.
“A bomb?” Sonic questioned. “How big are we talking?”
“How am I supposed to know?” Rainbow said, running up to them. “But I’d rather not be within a feathers distance of this place when it blows!”
“But what about all the people?” Amy panicked. “We can’t just leave them here! They’re not even in any shape to run!”
“Leave it to us,” Sonic assured. “You up for some snatch and rescue Rainbow?”
“I’m sorry?” Rainbow perked up.
“You and I are the fastest here,” he explained. “While you take Amy and get her as far away as you can, I can start taking some of these guys with me.”
“What are you saying Sonic?!” Amy yelled.
“Yeah!” Rainbow agreed. “Are you crazy?! Not even you would make it in time before that bomb goes off! Do you even have a clue as to have many of those guys you’d have to carry?! You’d have to come back ten times over!”
Sonic just put on a smile, a look of sturdy confidence shining in his eyes. But it didn’t fool Rainbow in the slightest. Behind all that, she could see the small hints of doubt and uncertainty in him. He knew what she spoke of was true, and he didn’t seem to want to let her know that.
“Better than doing nothing at all,” he assured, still keeping his smile. “You guys just get safe all right. I’ll be there before you can say supersonic speed. Just have a little faith. Now get going.”
With that, he turned around, already ready to dash off in a blast of air.
“Sonic!” Amy shouted, hoping to stop him.
He did, but for a completely different reason.
He felt himself be pulled back by his arm, a firm grip on his hand. He looked back, expecting to see Amy latching onto him, this time maybe to put him in that hug he dreaded. That wasn’t it at all. It was Rainbow Dash. Her hoof was gripping tightly on his hand, her magenta eyes full of fire and determination, a strong sense of purpose encompassing her.
“H-hey,” Sonic stuttered. “What’re you doing?”
“What do think I’m doing you dummy?” she shot at him. “You must be crazy if you think I’d just sit back agreed to something as silly as that.”
“There’s no time to talk about this ya know!” Sonic responded.
“Then stop trying to play the hero all by yourself for once!” she nearly shouted, pulling him back further as she forced him to face her. “You think I can’t see what you’re thinking behind all that snarkiness?! I finally get to see you again, and you go and try and pull this?! Not happening!”
Sonic blink in mild surprise, not quite sure how to respond to that. It was true. In all honesty,he didn’t see a way out of this situation for him if this bomb was anything like what they imagined. But, it was just that part of him that for once couldn’t let him run away from something. Sure, these G.U.N. guys definitely got their facts mixed up before, mistaking him for Shadow this whole time while the black hedgehog went on a crime spree. But that didn’t mean he could leave them here. A job is a job, right?
“Listen, it’s you and Ames that I’m worried about right now,” he explained, now serious. “And I can’t just leave these guys. I’m supposed to play the hero, remember?”
“Not when it gets you killed!” Amy shouted.
“No joke,” Rainbow agreed, before sinking into her own thoughts. ‘Besides, you’re the entire reason I’m here you dork.’
“Yeah but—”
“Just stop! Right now!” Rainbow yelled, getting right up in his face. “As you said, we don’t have time for this! And if you’re not gonna listen to reason…then, I’ll just have to knock your lights out and carry you out of here too!”
Sonic was silent at that.
“You know,” he started, “thinking back to what you said, I think this is the first time you said you were actually glad to see me, Colors,” he chuckled, no longer trying to remove himself from her grip.
Rainbow narrowed her eyes, smirking cockily at him. “What can I say, you’ve grown on me. Now come on. If you’re staying to help these guys, we are too.”
Sonic silently sighed. One thing was for certain; you just couldn’t push her away. He doubted he could even try and succeed. He gave her a wide smile, flipping his arm up to where he was holding her hoof in a strong grip, like a reverse handshake. Rainbow was confused by the gesture at first but quickly caught on, all too familiar with the shake from her days at flight school. She did the same, both arms finally settling with strong grips on each other’s hands/hooves, their elbows nearly touching as they pulled on one another.
They stayed like that for a few seconds, not taking their eyes off the other. A gust of wind blew through their hair, some of it getting in Rainbow’s face, but she didn’t react. For the first time since Station Square, Rainbow felt she finally understood Sonic, and how they were so similar. So much in fact that she was surprised she hadn’t come up with his suicide plan herself. But aside from that…well, Silver wasn’t lying when he said this guy as stubborn. Lucky for them both, she was too.
The wind now blew hot, also a bit stronger than before. It broke them both out of their trance, looking up for their faces to be blasted with a wave of heat from above. The whole group shielded themselves, but it wasn’t painful, just surprising. Rainbow got a good look at the new aggressor but was straining to do it, as the light from the sun was wrapping around its body, making a shadowy silhouette. One thing she could see was its general shape, it being in the form of an all too familiar flying machine.
The ground shook, the clouds in the distance parting as the wind blasted out, all followed by the sound of thunder from the flash of light over the island. The bomb had just gone off, giving anyone close enough to Prison Island a beautiful but violent display of fire. Team Sonic and Rainbow indeed did witness it all, although thankfully on an island much to far away from there to be affected by it, aside from the light blast of wind that just reached them as they stared out across the ocean to the mushroom cloud.
“Tails, if there’s anything else you’re great at other than machines, it’s dramatic timing,” Sonic mused, looking back to his sidekick.
“Yeah, sorry about that,” Tails scratched his head. “I had a little run-in with Eggman before I got there. Plus, Knuckles and I were busy evacuating these G.U.N. soldiers.”
The group looked away from the explosion, looking back at Tails who was tending to an injured soldier that was lain across a makeshift bedroll. There were many of them, all lined up neatly in a couple of rows by Knuckles. Most of them were unconscious, the few that weren’t slowly fading in and out of it, most likely not even aware of their surroundings.
The echidna was now gently carrying another one over to the camp, setting him down as he wiped his brow. “Last one Tails. Don’t say I didn’t help you with nothing,” he joked.
“I’m glad you two showed up when you did,” Amy remarked. “I didn’t expect to see you here though, Knuckles.”
He crossed his arms. “I’m here for my own business with Eggman. We just happen to be working toward the same thing.”
“Let me guess,” Sonic laughed. “Old Egghead stole the Master Emerald again, right?”
Knuckles growled, turning away in embarrassment. “No! Well…not directly… It was some arrogant bat-woman. She stole it right from under my nose before I even had a chance to stop her.”
“Really?” Sonic questioned him.
“What? You don’t believe me?” Knuckles asked. “Why’s that so hard to believe?
“Well, are you sure you just weren’t taking a certain liking?” he snickered.
This caught Knuckles’s attention. “What was that?”
“Sounds to me like the lady in black just seduced you.”
“I will punch you!” the echidna threatened.
Sonic knew that his threats were usually backed up with action, so he backed up with his hands up, but an amused smile still evident on his face.
Rainbow snickered as well. She figured Sonic hit the nail on the head with the subtle blush that was on Knuckles’s face. She glanced over to where Knuckles came from with the human. This brought her to gaze at the large machine just a few meters away from them.
“I’ll never stop being blown away by what you can make Tails,” she commented. “This thing is a whole new ballpark.”
Indeed, it was something to look at. It was a jet, much like the Tornado that Tails flew before with the rockets and the X-shaped wings at the front. But that’s where the similarities ended. Not only was it an entirely different design, but it was also much larger than what it was like before. The nose was missing the space it had for a Chaos Emerald and was replaced with a closed off point, the cockpit above that fit to seat two pilots, one behind the other. The wings fell behind that, only to lead to a second cockpit with a similar setup. Then came the body, which held two massive twin engines, a design that was far beyond anything she had seen so far. Right underneath all that was a sizeable storage compartment, just large enough to fit several G.U.N. agents inside. To top it all off, it was a platinum white.
“You won’t find a better machine built by me,” Tails remarked with a smile. “Say hello to the X Tornado! Successor to the Tornado Mk. II.!”
“So, umm, would it be too much to ask if…I can get behind the wheel of this thing?” she quietly pleaded, putting on a nervous smile.
“I would’ve thought you’d want to trust in your own pair of wings,” Sonic stated.
Rainbow jumped, quickly turning to face him. “I mean, of course! Like anything can replace me! I just…it’s so coooooolll…”
Tails couldn’t help but laugh but tried to keep it to himself. “Well, there is one thing that it still has that the old Tornado did.”
He walked to its side, flipping a large handle on the side as a panel opened up, steam pouring out as it did. She perked up as to what sat inside, suspended in an entanglement of wires and pistons.
“That’s a Chaos Emerald!” she exclaimed, gazing at the yellow colored gem.
“Yep,” Tails confirmed. “Only a Chaos Emerald has enough power to keep her running, so I needed to make sure it was better protected than it was with the old design.”
“Plus, even if Eggman has all the other emeralds, he’s still missing one,” Sonic finished.
“Don’t let that be a comfort,” Knuckles interrupted. “Even with one emerald, he can still do a lot of damage. Not to mention he has the Master Emerald too, so there’s no telling what he has planned.”
“That reminds me,” Amy said, turning to Rainbow Dash, “Rainbow, what were you talking with Eggman about back on Prison Island? You said something about an ARK?”
“Ummm,” Rainbow hesitated. She couldn’t just come outright and say how she really knew, otherwise who knows what could get messed up. “I uhhhh…oh yeah! I heard one of Eggman’s dumbots talking about it! Something about being some kind of weapon he was looking for. I thought it was gonna be there on that island.”
“Hmm,” Knuckles pondered. “No, I don’t think anything like that was there. Eggman was there for the Chaos Emeralds, which could mean that whatever it is, it’s stored somewhere else.”
“But what even is it?” Amy questioned.
“If Eggman wants it,” Tails thought, “It must be something big. It’s never something simple with him.”
“By the way, Sonic?” Rainbow called, catching his attention. “Who the hay was the black hedgehog back there? You don’t have some grumpy twin, do you?”
“Heck, I hope not,” Sonic rubbed his head as if he had a headache. “He’s been causing nothing but trouble for me. If he’s working with Eggman, that just makes him public enemy number one in my books.”
“But who is he?” she asked again.
“I tell ya who is he. A faker,” Sonic joked.
“That’s not what I meant, idiot!” Rainbow voiced.
“Guys!” Tails shouted.
The whole group dropped the conversation, looking at Tails. The two-tailed fox was staring intensely at a yellow electronic pad he held in his hands, nervous sweat dripping from his fur. “Come look at this!”
“What is it bud?” Sonic walked up, the others following.
“It’s Eggman,” he answered.
“What?!” Knuckles growled, moving up to get a good look at the screen.
True to his word, on the screen on the pad was none other than the mad doctor himself, a wide and sinister grin on his face. He was sitting in some large control room, although he was so close to the camera that it was difficult to make out the interior.
He cleared his throat, following it up with a bellowed laugh. “Citizens of Earth, lend me your ears and listen to me very carefully.”
“What’s he up to?” Rainbow inquired.
“With Eggman, there’s no telling,” Sonic answered.
“Are we the only ones seeing this Tails?” Knuckles questioned.
“No,” Tails trembled. “He’s broadcasting this worldwide. There isn’t a single person who can’t see him.”
“My name is doctor Eggman!” he continued. “The world’s greatest scientist, and soon to be the world’s greatest ruler. Now, witness the beginning, of the greatest empire of all time!” he laughed. “Behold!”
The group jumped at the sound of thunderous cracking bellowed across the skies. They looked up, a single ball of mass coming into view. From here, it looked to be some kind of perfectly rounded asteroid, little in the way of deformities, however, as it hung far on the edges of the atmosphere. There was a large, dark ring embedded around it, separating two halves. Thunder radiated again, this time one of the halves moving. Finally, with one last crack, the half broke into several pieces, big and small. But it was the other half that everyone’s eye fell to.
“Wha—what is that?!” Amy shrieked.
Tails stepped forward, nearly dropping the pad on the ground in partial shock. “That’s…the Ark.”
“That’s the Ark?!” Rainbow shouted in surprise.
It was unlike anything they’ve seen before. One half of the ‘asteroid’ was still perfectly intact. The other half, however, was completely gone, giving way to a flat surface. Well, mostly flat. It wasn’t an asteroid at all. It looked more like a station. One massive space station! The underside of the asteroid was completely made of metal, two gargantuan turbines situated perfectly on the surface, which was littered with trenches and metal extensions. Along the outer edges extended six massive fins, three on each side. But the centerpiece, a large spire in the very center of the station caught everyone’s attention.
The spire opened up, four corners opening up to reveal a soft, fluorescent green surrounding an inner spire. The flocculating energy pulsed around the parting corners, which only got farther and farther apart. The energy then flowed back to the center part, the green, chaotic light blocking the view from the rest of the station. Then…it released.
In a shocking display, the light shot out, creating a massive beam of green light that sailed across the night sky. The landscape around them was illuminated by the beam, giving sense to its size and power. It continued until it reached its target.
The moon.
It struck the celestial object, the whole sky becoming nothing more than a blinding white light that they had to hide their eyes from. Once it was over, they looked back to see what was left, only to find a third of the whole moon gone. Vanished, the only remnants of its existence being the sizeable crater left behind, scorched, blackened, and message.
Rainbow felt her back legs give out, falling on her flank as she felt her breath catch. Amy held her hands to her mouth while both Knuckles and Sonic clenched their fists in anger. Tails just couldn’t move, the show of power, it was unlike anything he had seen before, even when compared to something like Chaos.
He looked back down to his pad, Eggman no longer on the screen, but his maniacal laughter was still heard. What was seen though was something he wished he hadn’t.
Twenty-four hours on the clock…time was ticking down…
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Well... that was a short chapter...
9056564
Sorry about that, but it was for the best. Not every chapter can be 10,000 words, but this way we can move on to the chapters that are more worthy of that length.
...So Rainbow's a tsundere now?
9124297
Hmmmm, not impossible I suppose. 😄
you know what time it is...
I'M PISSING ON THE MOOOOOOOON!!!