ARAAT2: Eclipse - Part 2

~~~

A Rose And A Thorn 2: Eclipse

Co-Written by Harley Quinn hyenaholic and Froggy22651

~~~

Harley: Damn AFF.net and their slowness! Still, three reviews in a week isn’t bad. Oh, I like this chapter, I really do. Jujy, if I didn't space the putting up of my chapters to a weekly basis, what else would you look forward to in your wretched, otherwise meaningless life? ;)
And Heous, I think I’ve seen that image before. Oh yes, it’s amazing what you get when you freeze in just the right places.

Froggy: Isn’t Tails a bit small to rape Amy?

Harley: That is true. But that’s logic at work. Logic doesn’t come into most of the stories on AFF.net all that often. But Suspension of Disbelief is always welcome, as is Constructive Criticism.

~~~

Chapter Nine: Do You Remember Me?

Amy looked up at Eggman's base. Most of the robots had been blown up when Shadow had bust in; their remains were all over the place. But it still wasn't going to be a walk in the park.

Sonic, of course, was all for using the direct route. "I say we just burst in there! Eggman doesn't have anything I can't handle," he said confidently.

"We don't know that," Amy told him, "And it looks like that's what Shadow tried." But it was obvious that she wanted to get this over with quickly too.

~~~

Thanks to Eggman’s defences still undergoing repairs from Shadow’s recent break-in, there were hardly any robots to face. There were a few Egg Pawns and repair druids wandering around, but other than that it could have been a leisurely walk in a park with some very modern architecture. Soon enough, Amy, Sonic and Tails were all standing around Eggman. He didn't look happy at all.

"Alright, Eggman. What did you do with them!" Sonic demanded, looming over the surrounded scientist threateningly.

"Yeah, where's Shadow and Eclipse?!" Amy shouted, flourishing her Piko Piko Hammer.

"I don't have them," Eggman answered, "Shadow came here asking me where Eclipse was just three days ago, and I didn't have it then either."

"IT?!" Amy shrieked, raising the Hammer.

"Him," Eggman corrected himself hastily.

"Well, where did Shadow go then?" Tails asked, easily the calmest in the group at that moment.

"He went to find... Eclipse," Eggman replied, "He threatened me into telling him where he was."

Amy didn't argue. That sounded like Shadow, "So where did he go?"

"Eclipse was taken to the White Jungle on Prison Island, and that's where Shadow went," Eggman replied, "I didn't expect for him to return, and my beliefs have been confirmed."

"You better not be lying to us!" Sonic warned him.

"Sonic, after all these years we've known each other, you still don't trust me?" Eggman asked, looking offended. Amy and Sonic looked at each other, "I have my spies there, and if you'll allow me to stand I can prove it..."

Sonic frowned and backed away, letting him get up. Amy stepped back a little too, and Eggman tapped at the keyboard. An image of a lab came up.

Amy slumped to her knees, a low moan in the back of her throat, "Shadow..." she moaned, unable to tear her eyes away from the dreadful images of the hedgehog she loved being medically tortured like a lab rat.

Tails shuddered and looked away from the horrible sight, unable to stomach it. He walked over to Amy and hesitantly put an arm around her shoulders.

Sonic's expression hardened as he stared at the image of Shadow's torture, "Prison Island, you say? That's all I need to know."

Eggman's moustache twitched. As an evil genius he had certain standards to uphold. Sometimes in his never-ending quest for world domination, people had to die, but he didn't like the idea of torture. It was... messy and unreliable, and somehow it got on his nerves. Probably some of his grandfather's morals rubbing off on him.

"When... was this recorded?" Amy asked, her voice a gasp. Her face was turning a horrible shadow of grey.

"It's live," the scientist said grimly.

"Oh, no..." Amy started to scream, "No, no, NO, NO, NO-"

Eggman caught her a sharp slap on the cheek, "Stop your blathering, girl! You're not going to help him with all your noise, and you're giving me a headache too!"

Suddenly, Tails detached from Amy and shoved Eggman back with an angry shout, "Don't you touch her!"

"Hey, watch it, foxboy!" Eggman growled, "This is my base you’re standing it!"

"You touch her again and I'll… I'll..." Tails said, struggling to come up with a threat he could back up.

"You'll blast his damn head off, Tails," Sonic suggested, surprising everyone with how calm he sounded, "With your ray gun," the hedgehog said, pointing to it.

Tails hesitantly drew the weapon. Did Sonic mean that?

"Humph. I just told you where to go," Eggman turned his back on the three of them. The child genius didn't scare him, but there was no need for provocation, "Now get out of my base, and don't come back."

Tails looked over at Sonic, then Amy, and then down at his weapon. Shuddering, he backed up, "Let's go, guys."

Tails helped Amy up, and the three of them left, heading back to Tails' Cyclone. Eggman massaged his forehead. He'd been threatened twice with a deadly weapon in three days. Maybe it was time to try a new approach to taking over the world.

~~~

"We have to go to Prison Island right now!" Amy looked tearful, "Did you see... I mean... We can't let them..."

"We won't," Tails said confidently, "We can save him!" He trailed off and looked down at his feet.

Sonic nodded in agreement, "We can't let them get away with this. Tails... fire up the Cyclone."

"So..." Amy managed to regain her breath, "Shadow did make it into Eggman's base, and out... but he didn't complete his mission on Prison Island."

Tails looked up, "GUN is behind this!" he said suddenly.

"What do they want with Shadow and Eclipse?" Amy asked. She shook her head, "No, it doesn't matter... we have to stop this."

Sonic hopped on top of the wing of the plane, "Well what are we waiting for?" Tails nodded and climbed into the cockpit, preparing the aircraft for takeoff.

Amy sat behind Tails, "We can't just barge in on GUN like we do with Eggman," she said, "They're not just intelligent, they're sane too. We'll have to try something... subtle," she said

Tails nodded. "I made the Cyclone so fast that it’s almost completely invisible to radar, so we should have no problem getting to the island. Getting inside the base though..."

"Leave that to me," Sonic added.

"Hey, we are at the moment at least, a team," Amy told him, "You can't just sit around and pretend you have all the answers. If you have a plan, you have to share it."

Sonic shrugged, "I've been practicing my Chaos Control. It doesn't matter what they have defending the place; we can warp right past it."

Amy chewed on her lip, "But once we are inside, we don't even know where Shadow and Eclipse are," she said, "We'll have to... have to... get a disguise so that we can search properly?" she suggested.

"Hey, that's a great idea!" Tails said. Then the kit's ears drooped, "Oh... but they won't have anything in my size..."

"No, Tails, we need you to stay outside," said Amy, "You need to have the Cyclone ready for the getaway when we do find them. Besides, it can't take off from the jungle," she said.

Tails sighed. They were right. He couldn't infiltrate the base with them.

"Hey, buddy," Sonic said, "You'll be the key to Plan B."

"What's Plan B?" Tails asked, curious.

"Barrel in, guns blazing!"

Amy sighed, "Have you any transmitters we can use?" she asked him, "Once we're inside we'll cover twice as much ground if we split up, but we need to stay in contact."

"Yeah, check the storage compartment back there," the kit suggested as he piloted the plane, lifting off into the air.

Amy fumbled in the storage compartment, taking out two lightweight transmitters that both linked back to the Cyclone. She passed one to Sonic.

Sonic touched it to his ear, “Testing, testing,” he said, “One, two, three.”

“I read you loud and clear,” Amy said calmly.

“Our ETA is two hours, people,” Tails told them, “So just sit back and enjoy the ride; the hard part’s still to come.”

~~~

Shadow groaned.

Nothing felt real any more. At least when he’d been hallucinating Mirage and Ashura, they had been massive distortions of the scientists. And then they’d vanished and slimy Things with tentacles had crawled up the walls and dripped blood on him, and then the walls had faded away and there were just Things that had been born in nightmares until he couldn’t scream any more...

He felt as if he was living in a universe compromised entirely of razor blades. One movement would cut him a million times over. Time held no meaning any more in this distorted version of hell. He measured his life in pain, because that was the only real thing now. Or was it? The real was mixed so very well with the unreal that he couldn’t tell the difference any more.

How long had he been here anyway? It felt like an eternity had gone into making him feel pain, and he couldn’t stand it any longer. Why him? How long would it go on before he was dead? Would they even let him die?

Shadow screamed again, as everything twisted around him. He couldn’t think any more, when all he knew was pain and degradation, fear and misery. All of it was rising up, smothering his senses. Soon there would be nothing else.

Needles brushed against his skin time and time again, bringing with them more pain and delusions. Memories of freedom, happiness, hope… all were vanishing into the darkness of his mind. Was there anything in there that was worth remembering?

Pain… More pain… Too much pain… Only pain was real…

He hated to let himself think it…

But he knew he was losing his mind.

~~~

Amy looked down as Prison Island came into view. It still looked pretty bad from the last time it had been blown up, but some of it had been rebuilt by now, and of course the underground areas were probably in the best shape.

Tails was flying low. He was sure the cyclone was invisible to radar, but better safe than sorry, "I'm going to drop you two off in the jungle!" he shouted back to his two passengers, "You're on your own from there!"

"Right, we'll get back to you with regular reports of what's going down," Amy agreed.

Sonic was atop the wings, stretching himself out before he had to leave the plane, "The next time you see us, Shadow and Eclipse will be here too," he said confidently.

Soon enough, the three of them were flying low over the jungles of Prison Island, "Jump whenever you're ready!" the young fox told them. Sonic climbed down and took Amy's hand, "On three?" he asked.

"One, Two..." Amy swallowed, then gritted her teeth, "THREE!" She jumped with Sonic.

Sonic took hold of her and guided them both through the fall. Landing in a tree, the blue hedgehog ran down its trunk, pulling her along with him. He jumped to another tree and another, bleeding momentum so that when they touched the ground, it would be a relatively gentle landing, "That wasn't so bad, eh?"

"I... guess not," Amy panted. It was a long time since she'd done that sort of jump, "Now... disguises. We need disguises if we're going to last long here."

"Well first, we need to find the base so we can get those disguises," Sonic noted, looking around at the forest. He tried to remember it as best as he could from his previous visit, "I think it's that way," he said, pointing.

"I've only been here once, and I didn't go through the Jungle," Amy said. She'd first met Shadow here, when she'd mistaken him for Sonic. It sure brought back memories...

Amy ran up to the hedgehog and threw her arms around him, “Oh Sonic! I thought I'd never see you again! I'm so glad you're okay!” she cried out. Shadow hesitated, then turned around and looked straight at Amy. She gasped, “You're not Sonic, who are you?”

Shadow smirked slowly, watching the pink hedgehog back away, enjoying the shock on her face. He was about to answer her question…

“I should be the one asking that question!” a voice bellowed.

”Dr Eggman!” Amy squealed in fear, and ran. Shadow sagged, a little disappointed…

Sonic broke into her memories, "I'll remember once we get going. But be careful; we don't want to be caught. The food here sucks. Follow me!" Sonic took off running in what he believed to be the direction of the base.

Amy followed him closely. Her elevated sense of empathy gave her bad feelings about this place, and they got worse as she got closer to the base. She could see they were passing the remains of robots, possibly destroyed by Sonic or Shadow on previous visits. They were getting closer.

Sonic stopped, holding up a hand quietly. He walked slowly forward, pushing plants out of his way. Looking out, the base was in sight, patrolled by mechas and armed soldiers, "Looks like we found it."

"We could get uniforms from those soldiers," Amy pointed, "Their helmets have visors; we'll never be recognised."

Sonic smirked, "Say no more. Let's get them. That guy hanging out over there looks about my size..."

Amy pointed at the shortest, "And I'll take out that guy."

Sonic took off quietly to the right, circling around through the trees, searching for a good angle of attack. He didn't want to be noticed as he took his chosen soldier out.

Amy withdrew her Piko Piko Hammer, and snuck up on the shorter soldier, finally hitting him hard on the head and knocking him out.

Sonic easily dispatched his own soldier and dragged him into the forest. Quickly, he took the soldier's uniform and put it on. It wasn't a perfect fit, but it would do.

Amy stared down at the soldier she'd knocked out. Even though he was the smallest of the bunch, his clothes still didn't fit her properly. And the helmet flattened her ears uncomfortably. But it was the best she could do. She picked up his pistol cautiously. She didn't like guns, never had. But better for her to have it than him.

Sonic confidently marched his way over to Amy, acting the part of GUN soldier as best as he could. Now getting access to the base shouldn't be that difficult, "Mission accomplished, ma'am," he joked with a smirk.

Amy checked her stripes, "That's Sergeant Smith to you, Corporal!" she said, smiling a little.

"Yes, Sergeant Smith!" Sonic said, the smile never leaving his face. For a moment, he forgot what had happened between them in that flower shop, and it felt rather... liberating, "Now let's go rescue our comrades. Never leave a man behind and all that."

"Or a hedgehog," Amy agreed.

They marched through the open doors with a large number of other soldiers, and amazingly they went unnoticed. Everything was going even better than Sonic expected. They were inside, and no one was bothering them. But now... where to find Shadow and Eclipse?

"Shadow was in a lab," Amy said quietly, "He'll be in the science quarters somewhere, though heaven knows searching that will take long enough. Oh... I wish I knew where Eclipse is!" She was starting to realise how unprepared she was - but at least she had backup.

"Tails, can you hear us?" Sonic whispered.

"Loud and clear!" was the fox's cheerful reply, his voice coming from the earpiece the hedgehogs still had with them.

"Can you hack into GUN's computer network from there, little buddy? See if you can find Shadow and Eclipse."

Tails responded with a tense, "I'll try."

"We can't afford to leave them here any longer than we need to," Amy was remembering what she'd seen on the view screen, and behind the visor her eyes were tearing up.

"They'll be alright, Amy. We'll get them out, you'll see..." the young fox reassured her.

"Tails... their location," Sonic reminded him.

"Keep going straight," Tails said, "I'll guide you to the research wing."

They marched straight on, as per Tails' advice. Amy's legs were shaking every time they passed soldiers. But courage wasn't the absence of fear... it was simply knowing that there was something more important than fear. She had to keep going... for Shadow.

Tails kept giving directions for the pair to follow, warning them when to hide to avoid being spotted by superiors. Soon enough, they were at the doors of the research wing, but... "Uh... guys, this could be a problem. The door is sealed and encrypted. It's going to take a while for me to hack it. Um... act casual?"

Amy looked at the door, clenching her fists. She watched as Sonic lounged against a wall, and started pacing nervously.

"Come on, Tails, hurry up..." Sonic whispered nervously. They were going to draw attention if they stayed there too long.

"I'm almost there, Sonic," the kit assured them.

Amy gritted her teeth. Any moment now some soldiers or scientists were going to come along and ask them what they were doing here, and why they were at least two feet shorter than normal soldiers...

"Got it! You're in..." The door slid open, and Sonic gave a sigh of relief. Nodding to Amy, he walking through the door.

This area didn't look all that different from the main area, but there were scientists all over the place, thin, pale men and women who didn't look as if they got out of the base, like ever. They were too absorbed in their own discussions about various experiments to pay any attention to Amy or Sonic though.

Sonic listened in to their conversations, trying to pick up any hints about where the two might be. Nothing... but one scientist caught him listening in, "Hey, you two!" he called out, pointing to the two disguised hedgehogs, "The Colonel wants to speak with you. He's down that way."

Amy nodded, deciding that it would be better not to talk, lest her voice or mannerisms give away that she wasn't a soldier or a man. They marched off in the direction the scientist pointed.

Sonic had a bad feeling about this... he didn't know much about military etiquette. Thankfully, Tails was on the case, "Amy, since you are ranked higher, you are going to be speaking for the two of you. When you reach this colonel guy, you'll... uh, let me see... stand tall, salute, and say 'Sir, Sergeant Smith reports as ordered' and hold the salute until he returns it. Keep standing straight with eyes forward until he says otherwise. I'll try to guide you through this... Got that?"

Amy nodded. They approached the Colonel, and she pulled herself to attention, "Sir, Sergeant Smith reports as ordered," she said, saluting and looking straight ahead.

The older, balding man glared at the two of them, and Sonic felt like the guy was staring laser beams right through his head. Finally, the high-ranking officer returned the salute and said, "At ease."

"Spread your feet and put your hands behind your back,” Tails advised, "You can look around now, but don't move your right foot."

The Colonel continued, "You're early... You two have been chosen for an important assignment, to stand guard over Project Shadow. It has already wounded a scientist here, and that is unacceptable. Keep the situation under control and tell no one about this. No word to your peers or to your other superiors is to get out, do you understand me?"

"Shout 'yes, sir!'" Tails advised.

Any moment now we're going to be caught and we're all going to die, Amy thought, sweat trickling down her neck, "Yes, Sir!" she said sharply.

"Good," the Colonel snapped, "You have your orders. The lab is to my right. Work on your bearing... I will not stand for sloppy salutes, and you should know by now how to stand at attention... carry on." The Colonel saluted them, and Tails advised them to return it.

After the older man was gone, Sonic gave a sigh of relief, "Oh, that was close..."

"And lucky," Amy said, sagging, "At least we know where Shadow is - but we still have no idea where Eclipse is. And I feel useless, standing here while Shadow's being tortured in there..." She stood up straight as two more soldiers passed by, "Oh god, is he the guy in charge here?"

"I think so," Tails told her, "I also think the scientists are going to go on break soon... that'll be your best chance to talk with Shadow. Maybe he knows where Eclipse is."

Sonic nodded, "I hope so, because I don't know how long we can keep this soldier thing up. I'm getting cramps..."

"It's like they got hold of a lot of human children and trained them up to be robots," Amy agreed.

Tails was looking through military history, traditions, and behaviour as fast as his genius mind could take in, "Their training is meant to make them more obedient. It's a trade-off; less individual freedom for greater organized strength."

"Sounds logical," Amy admitted.

"It's also creepy as hell," Sonic muttered.

Suddenly, the doors opened up, and the scientists walked past them without saying a word to them, absorbed in their own conversations about their work.

"Here's your chance!" Tails told them as the scientists disappeared down the corridor.

"I'll talk to him," Amy said quickly, "How long do I have?"

Tails checked the schedule, "30 minutes."

Amy ran through the door. Even as her eyes alighted on Shadow, tears welled up in her eyes again. He was just lying there, restrained with thick leather straps, his body covered in bruises, electrical burns, blood and sweat, his breathing shallow, his eyes staring at the ceiling, bloodshot through lack of sleep. The room stank of every bodily fluid imaginable. There was an expression of pain and despair on his face that tore at her heart.

Shadow looked over at the visitor, his eyes struggling to focus. Through his blurred vision, it looked like any GUN soldier. Perhaps they had come here to find ways to further degrade him – they hadn't hesitated to do so before. He tried to say something, a defiant insult, or maybe even a greeting, but his heart wasn't in it. It came out as a pain-filled moan, and more blood trickled from his mouth.

Amy could barely speak for a long moment. She pulled off the helmet and visor, tears welling up in her eyes. Her fingers brushed against Shadow's feverish forehead, then over his bruised cheeks and bloody lips gently, "Oh, Shadow," she said tearfully, "My poor, poor baby..."

What? Who was this? That was the question that ran through Shadow's mind as the soldier removed his – no, her helmet and began to touch his face gently. The visitor had pink quills... she sounded so familiar to him… she was no soldier…

Amy fetched a clean cloth from a table in the lab and dampened it with cool water, moving it over Shadow's face gently, wiping off the blood, sweat and tears, "What have they done to you?" she asked, "My poor baby..." she whispered.

Her treatment felt alien to him... after being mercilessly tortured for what felt like forever, kindness in any form was difficult to comprehend. Was this just another hallucination? Was it some sick trick to try and fool him into a false sense of security? “Who…” he whispered through dry, cracked lips, “Who… are…”

Amy filled a glass with water, "Shadow," she said gently, pressing it to his lips and helping him drink, "Shadow, do you still know who I am?"

The black and red hedgehog greedily drank the water. The drip had kept him from dehydrating, but he felt as if he hadn’t drank in a thousand years. It was indescribably soothing to feel water run down his throat again. He looked up into her green eyes, trying to remember, "You are... kind…” he whispered hoarsely, "Did I meet you… on ARK?"

Amy felt tears run down her cheeks, "Yes, yes we met there," she said. Oh gods, didn't Shadow even remember her? That would be too cruel, "I... I helped you to make an important decision."

Someone who helped him make an important decision... Closing his eyes, he thought back. She wasn't Maria. Maria was human... was she another experiment, perhaps? Tears of frustration ran down his face, "WHY CAN'T I EVER REMEMBER?!" he screamed suddenly.

“Shush, baby, shush,” Amy wiped away his tears with the tips of her fingers, and bent down, kissing his lips gently and lovingly, touching his quills lightly as she did so.

Another shock went through him, but this one felt good. Without thinking, he returned the kiss, enjoying the softness of her lips, her sweet taste and scent. The pain was chased away, even if only for a few seconds. She was so, so familiar... she was someone so important to him... her name was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't quite get it.

"Shadow, I love you," Amy said quietly, "Please remember... for me... for us… for a better future."

Ding. Those words sparked something his head. That was something Maria had said. Did she know Maria? No... but she said something similar on the ARK to him, something that changed his mind. A pink hedgehog... she hugged him, mistaking him for another... "A-Amy?" he asked, his voice shaking.

A relieved smile broke over Amy's face, "Yes," she said. Oh please let him remember we have a son, she begged any gods that might be listening.

Shadow smiled slightly, but he was still frustrated by his faulty memory, "Yes... I think I remember you. It's in there, somewhere. Are you still looking for the… blue hedgehog?"

"No, I came here for you," Amy told him, her cool hand on his forehead, "I'm going to get you out of here, as soon as I can."

"Oh please... I want out. More than anything… I can’t stand it… I know... I was supposed to give… something to someone... I don’t remember what or who… And the little one… He needs freed, too…"

"His name is Eclipse," Amy told Shadow, "And you named him."

Shadow closed his eyes. That name wasn't familiar to him, but... "I feel him... all the time. The guards are playing games with him, but he isn’t having fun."

"Where is he?" Amy asked Shadow, "I have to get both of you out, at the same time."

Shadow closed his eyes again, "Somewhere in this building... I see soldiers... weapons... scary images... a door... there’s a sign next to the door, room 226, east wing..."

"226, east wing," Amy repeated, "Shadow, I am going to get you and Eclipse out of here... I promise. I love you, Shadow." She looked at the desk, covered with papers, and Shadow's gloves and jet shoes, and wondered what else the scientists had planned. She left his side and started flicking through them, searching for any clues at all.

She loved him... did he love her back? He didn't know. His head hurt. Everything hurt. He couldn't think properly. He just knew that he wanted her close again, to feel her lips against his. She was the first kind face he’d seen in what felt like forever, "L-let me up..."

"I can't," Amy said quietly, as she pawed through the information, "I'm sorry, Shadow, I can't. If I break you out of here, security will be doubled and we’ll never get Eclipse out. And if I let you up I won’t be able to bring myself to tie you down again."

Shadow groaned, disappointment and fear clawing at him. He had to get free so he could remember. So he could know his task.

Amy continued to look through the files, faster. Her hand alighted on the diamond ring, and she stared at it for a long time. Was this Shadow's too? And now he hardly remembered her... he might never be able to give it to her... she'd never be able to accept it... She slipped it into her pocket absent-mindedly, and walked back to Shadow, holding his face gently, "I will get you out," she promised him, "I will get you out of here. Please remember that at least." She kissed him again, lovingly.

Shadow slowly kissed her back, "I will... I can remember that," He looked up at her with frightened eyes, "But please hurry... hurry before they make me forget you again..."

Amy pulled on the helmet and visor, and left the room. She didn't let herself look back. She knew if she did, she'd start crying, and she'd never be able to leave. Once she was out and the door closed behind her, she leant on the wall, shuddering.

Sonic looked over at her, sympathy written all over his face, "How is he, Ames?"

"Terrible," Amy said without hesitation. She looked ready to cry, "They've put him through so much... he barely even remembers me!"

Sonic frowned. He looked back and forth, making sure there was no one else to see. It seemed that everyone else was on break. When he was sure of it, Sonic stepped forward and hugged her. It was the most contact he’d had with her since... since the flower shop. It made him feel ill to remember that, but he knew she needed this friendly gesture.

Amy froze up briefly, "I know where Eclipse is," she said, pulling away from him, "He's in the east wing... room 226."

"Tails, what do you know about that? ...Tails? ...Hey, bud, are you there?"

"...Huh? Oh yeah, I'm here. Sorry about that," the young fox responded, "What do you need?"

"Info on east wing, room 226. Lightly guarded. You should have no problems getting there, especially right now. They must not think Eclipse is a threat."

"The safest time to break them both out is tonight," said Amy, "I'd rather do it sooner, but it will be easier and we'll have more time. It'll also be easier to escape through the Jungle."

"But what do we do until then?" Sonic asked.

"I don't know," Amy said, "We do as we're told, so that we don't draw attention to ourselves. We can worry a lot too - getting Shadow out of here in his condition isn't going to be easy - from the looks of him alone I'd say he can barely walk right now."

Sonic frowned. "Wish I’d brought a Chaos Emerald with me... Oh well. Yeah, guess we're just going to have to be good soldiers for now."

"The Guard Robos took one from my safe when they kidnapped Eclipse," Amy told him, "Maybe they have it here."

"Tails, do you know anything about the emerald?" Sonic asked.

Tails responded with, "Hang on, I'll check... yeah, they have it somewhere in the west wing, high-energy physics lab."

"Is it under guard?" Amy asked him.

"Yes. Some Guard Robos are assigned there, and you aren't going to be able to fool them... but there is an air vent you could sneak through."

"Why does everything in a rescue mission have to involve air vents?" Amy asked, "I can't take Eclipse or Shadow through one of those... if we're going to use it we'll have to get it before we save them. I hate that!"

"Air vents with laser grids and drone guns," Tails corrected her, "These guys are smarter than Eggman. I can take down those defences, though... I think." Tails sounded nervous, and rightfully so, "This isn't easy, particularly while flying an airplane, but I'm almost absolutely sure I can do it."

"I trust you, little buddy,” said Sonic, “We can't let GUN have that emerald. I'll go."

Amy nodded, "Okay." She froze up as she saw the scientists walking back down the corridor, their breaks obviously over. They were returning to destroy Shadow's body and mind again.

As if hearing her thoughts, Tails said, "Hang in there, Amy. Shadow... Shadow's a strong guy..."

"I know," Amy said distantly, "I just hope he's still strong enough."

~~~

Harley: Now, Read and Review! There’s a kick-ass cliffhanger coming up next chapter - as well as the fic getting a whole lot more horrible!