ARAAT2: Eclipse - Part 2

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A Rose And A Thorn 2: Eclipse

Co-Written by Harley Quinn hyenaholic and Froggy22651

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Harley: Hedgecat, hedgecat… (dances around Antwerpsrule for a bit). That’s for noticing Mirage is a hedgecat.

Froggy: Stop that! Ahem… Anon wins Most Intelligent Reviewer for realising that they’re not going to stay happy very long. GUN to continue with making life difficult? You never know. Heous comes second for defeating the invading termite army with amazing tactics.

Harley: I made my best PA yet. Two of them, in fact. I’m in such a good mood that I’ll tell you all a secret… something very special… There will be another sequel. Any of you guys ever played Sonic CD?

Froggy: That’s spoilers! Now they’ll think Shadow’s gonna live!

Harley: No it’s not. They’ll probably have forgotten by the time it comes out. And besides, we don’t need Shadow to live through this if there’s Time Travel.

Froggy: Point - wait, you told them about the Time Travel!

~~~

Chapter Thirteen: Chaotic Rescue

Silently, Tails piloted the cyclone through the dark night, close to the ocean below. Sitting behind him and strapped to the wings were the Chaotix, who had agreed to go along with him on the rescue mission. Normally, they would charge a fee for this sort of thing, but this was a respected friend and ally of theirs that was in trouble. Tails hoped that Sonic was still alright... he knew now that Sonic was capable of making mistakes. He didn't always think so. Not too long ago, he thought his friend was infallible... until that incident with Amy.

Amy... the fox's thoughts drifted back to the pink hedgehog, remembering her words over the phone. He knew he should feel happy for her, and he did, but at the same time, he felt... sick inside. Hurt. Alone. Sonic tried to warn him about this... Sighing, he pushed such thoughts out of his mind. He could dwell on such problems later. For now, he had a job to do. He remembered his blue mentor's confidence in him. It was time to prove that he was worthy of it.

Vector and Espio were grim, but somebody had been feeding Charmee sugar again, and he was screaming in excitement, "YAY! WE'RE GONNA SAVE SONIC!!!" Even now that he was ten years old, he was as hyper as ever.

“Are you okay?!” Tails screamed at Charmee, who just grinned at him. He leant over to Vector, on the other wing, “Are you okay?!”

“Do I bloody look okay?!” Vector screamed at him.

Espio, sitting behind Tails, grumbled something about wanting the fox to pull a barrel roll. An hour on the same plane with a hyperactive bee could drive anyone mad. Finally, considering it a test of his will, the chameleon ignored the high-pitched yelling and continued to hug the plane, patiently awaiting to arrive at Prison Island.

Another hour later, and they arrived at Prison Island. It looked like a war zone. There were smashed robots all over the place. Vector looked around, "Seeing this, I shouldn't think Prison Island's defences are up to much. Where ya think Sonic is now?" he asked.

"Either somewhere on the island in hiding," Espio suggested, "Or captured by the enemy."

"Whatever. But I was thinking of something more specific than that," Vector replied, "Well... if he's on the Island or in hiding, he's safe. If he's been captured by GUN, he'll probably be in the compound itself."

"It's like a game of hide and seek!" Charmee shouted.

Tails fought the urge to roll his eyes, "We should probably try to get into the base and search there first. ...But they are probably expecting us after last time..."

"That will not be a problem," Espio said confidently.

Vector watched as Espio faded, and then became invisible. He nearly asked what he was supposed to do, before he remembered that he was in charge, "Me and Charmee can search the island, Espio," he said to the space where he thought the chameleon was, "You can deal with the compound best."

"I agree," the chameleon replied, beside Vector, "It won't take me long."

"Tails... you don't mind waiting at the plane?" Charmee asked Tails.

"You're plan B," Vector added.

"I'm always plan B..." the fox muttered. Speaking louder, he said, "I'll scan the island from the air."

"Hey, don't feel bad Tails," Vector told him, "Nobody can fly that thing but you. You think I'm trusting Charmee to carry us over the ocean?"

The croc had a good point. Tails was their way off the island. There was a good reason he was plan B. Reluctantly, he nodded, agreeing with them.

"I'll contact you if I find anything," said Espio, still invisible to everyone there. He made enough noise as he left to let them know that he had run off.

"No matter how often I see that, it never fails to creep me out," Vector commented. His grin faded as Tails flew off, and he realised that there was nothing to stand between him and Charmee's ‘playful banter’.

~~~

Espio was using all his skills of stealth to enter GUN's headquarters. But the way the base was being repaired, even Charmee could have gotten in with relative ease. The place seemed to be almost in chaos after the last visit. He knew that Shadow had been in the research department first from what Tails had told him, so he headed there first, half-hoping he wouldn't find Sonic in there.

Sonic groaned quietly in pain. How long had he been in the lab? He wasn't sure, but it felt like forever. Finally, the scientists had gone on break, giving the blue hedgehog some peace for a short amount of time. The scientists were obsessed with finding out everything they could about his biology, wanting to know how he could be so similar to Shadow, and they didn't care how much they hurt him to find out the answers. They’d taken samples from all over his body, painful and humiliating samples. And he knew they’d barely even gotten started yet.

The research labs were not closed up. Biological experimentation on furries was continuing, even as Espio watched in horror. He felt his stomach churn with disgust as he realised that if he or any of the rest of the team got captured, this would be their fate. The creatures he saw were beyond all hope - they were beyond even screaming now. He watched some scientists leave a lab, and looked in there. That was Sonic. He looked awful - although, had the chameleon seen Shadow, he would know that the blue hedgehog hadn't sunk into the deepest pit of pain just yet.

"Hey, Sonic," he said softly, not becoming visible just yet.

Sonic froze, eyes widening slightly, "Huh? Who's there?"

"Team Chaotix is on the job," Espio answered. He wasn't sure how long he had, so he started unbuckling the straps restraining Sonic's body, "Ugh... do these guys have no honour?" he spat, as he freed the hedgehog.

"Don't think they know the meaning of the word..." Sonic mumbled as one-by-one, the straps were removed, "Ugh... thanks, Espio. I thought I was a goner,” he said, slowly sitting up and crawling off the table painfully.

"Glad to see you're capable of moving," the chameleon told him, "Tails told us Shadow was half-dead when you and Amy found him."

“Shadow was in here a lot longer than a few hours,” Getting to his feet, Sonic was pleased to discover that he had the strength to stand. Good. He didn't want to be carried out of the base, "Yeah, I'll live. Let's just get out of this place... who else is with you?"

"Vector, Charmee and Tails. Wasn't room for anyone else and you," Espio watched Sonic carefully, "Glad to see they didn't get far," he said, his sharp eyes looking at the light scars on Sonic's arms. Sonic watched as his jacket, gloves and shoes were thrown to him - Espio hadn't come into view yet, "Those cuts on your arms healed fast..." he said.

Sonic cursed mentally. Espio was probably the most intelligent person he knew besides Tails, and he had more experience and less naivety than the kitsune. He was probably already working it out.

Sonic quickly threw on the jacket, gloves, and shoes, stifling a growl of irritation. "Yeah, they did," he said quietly.

"We can talk about them later," Espio said. Sonic might not be in bad shape, but he sure couldn't run as fast as normal, "We have to get out of here now." It was kind of creepy, hearing Espio's voice come out of nowhere.

"I don't feel like fighting my way out, so do you know a way I can sneak out, ninja master?" Sonic asked the chameleon.

Espio thought hard, "We could always go for plan B..." he considered, "No... somebody could get left behind again... wait here a moment, I'll be right back."

Not having much choice in the matter anyway, Sonic waiting for Espio to return, impatiently tapping his foot against the floor.

The door opened and closed. Espio looked around, his gaze locking on a soldier. He knocked the man out easily and dragged him back into the lab, "Put on his uniform."

"Ah, the 'ole disguise in uniform trick’," Sonic said as he swiftly stripped the soldiers uniform away and dressed himself in it, "It worked so well last time."

"Disguise is a vital part of ninja training," Espio said, "You want to get back home, I don't want my skin peeled off my bones. I can't keep the Leaf Swirl up forever, and it’s harder in a place as artificial as this."

"Let's go, then," the hedgehog replied, marching out of the laboratory.

They were almost out, when Espio spoke again, quietly, "The Leaf Swirl is going to wear off soon, Sonic. Better move faster."

Sonic found himself frustrated by the fact he could go faster without alerting everyone around them. "Just hang on," he whispered, "We're almost out."

Suddenly Espio grabbed the hedgehog's arm and pulled him along, breaking into a full on run. Even as he did so, he faded back into sight. Sonic's legs were screaming with pain, but the chameleon didn't slow down, his eyes on the door, "Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!" he yelled. Espio hardly ever swore, so that meant it was bad. The massive door started to close, vertically.

So much for a stealthy exit. Throwing caution to the wind, Sonic took off running, now dragging Espio behind him, ignoring his legs' protests. With a second to spare, they ran through the closing doors and immediately began to run for the jungle.

The soldier were following them thick and fast, "Tails!" Espio yelled into the transmitter, "Tails, I'm out and I need the Cyclone here NOW!"

"I'm on my way! Hang on!" Tails replied, swinging the plane around, flying as fast as he could towards the base.

"I am not going to be captured by a gang of half-trained thugs!" Espio shouted, still running.

"Don't worry," Sonic panted, "Tails has... never let me down..." On cue, the roar of jet engines split the air as the cyclone flew overhead, spitting fire and death at the pursuing soldiers, blasting them to pieces. Completing the strafing run, Tails brought the plane around and pulled up beside them, "Jump in!" he shouted to them.

Espio jumped into the plane, dragging Sonic in behind him, "Now get Vector and Charmee and let's get the hell outta here!" he shouted.

"Way ahead of you!" Tails shouted back, flying over the jungle, tracking Vector and Charmee. It wouldn't be long now, and they could finally leave. All of them.

Nobody had noticed Vector and Charmee. The bee turned to see the Cyclone homing in on them, and he saw who was in it quickly, "HURRAY! SONIC'S OKAY!" he shouted.

"Huh? What?" Vector turned, "Hey! Over here!"

Noticing them on the ground, Tails flew low, coming up beside them. "Get in! Quick! GUN is going to scramble air support if we don't move fast!"

Charmee buzzed up, and he, Espio, and Sonic all helped Vector, who couldn't jump for toffee, into the plane, "Now fly this thing outta here!" Vector shouted.

The fox didn't need to be told twice. Pushing the throttle to full, the cyclone rocketed away from Prison Island, leaving GUN and their sick experiments behind them. Once they were far enough away, Tails relaxed, sighing in relief.

"I feel the best option for now is to fly to a hospital," Espio said, "Sonic will need treatment."

Sonic didn't feel like arguing with the chameleon. In fact, he felt like shit. A visit to the hospital would be very welcome. It couldn't be any worse than the labs... The blue hedgehog closed his eyes. Espio now knew his wretched secret. What would he do? Would he keep it secret? Tell someone else? And if so, who? He wrapped his arms around himself, shivering quietly, suddenly wishing that Rouge was there.

~~~

Harley: Okay, so this chapter was a little short. But you could always read it twice…

Froggy: Already have. Hmmm… what’s going to happen with Sonic’s cutting habit? I can assure you it’s gonna be ultra-super-cool, no matter what it is.