Sonic: The Madness

Rouge walked along the casino floor. "This early, we don't have a lot of
customers..." Her hand swept across the room. "Blackjack, slots, poker, we have
it all!" She led Tom across the floor, stopping at the female fox that had been
there the morning Tom had come to the casino. "This is Victoria, she runs the
floor. Vic, show Tom around, will you? I have to check the night's take," she
ordered.

"Of course, boss!"

She walked away to the main office. Near the door, someone waited, a human
female she recognized from GUN. "Agent Rouge..."


-------------------------------------------------

"I wish you hadn't told me this..." Rouge was miserable.

"I'm sorry, I honestly didn't know you were inactive," the agent explained
apologetically. "Shadow is involved, so I thought it was odd they'd left you out
of the loop."

She felt sick. Rouge had just learned that Shadow and the others were trying to
stop the end of the world. "Just... call my private number if you hear anything
else. I'll decide what to do then."

Elsewhere, Victoria was showing Tom how the casino ran. "It seems all the
employees here are women," Tom pointed out.

Vic nodded. "Yes, actually, all except the janitorial service. Security is
handled by robots. In this town, most women used to end up as pole dancers,
cooks, or worse. The boss made changes and made us important."

"You could at least call her by her name," Tom stated. "I didn't mean anything by
that, it's just..."

"We call her boss out of respect," Victoria explained. "I guess we'll call you
that soon, as well."

"Yeah, Rouge said something about that, actually. I don't know what to make of
it. We've been a real couple for four days now, and already-"

"You're lovers, I know." Victoria sighed. "I had a husband, until last year.
Automobile accident. If not for the boss, I'd be raising my son alone without a
job OR money."

Tom rubbed the back of his head. The conversation was getting awkward. "Son?
Ah... I never thought about kids myself. Not that it matters, I doubt Rouge and
I can have kids. We're not the same species, anyway."

Victoria let out a light laugh. "You'd be surprised. Face it, you're passionate
with her already. Human, bat, fox, whatever... we're a lot more alike than you
would think! My husband was a raccoon!"

"A raccoon?" Tom asked.

"Yes, but the kid was a fox. We discussed it with the doctors, they said that
pregnancy has a lower chance in mixed species pairings, but the mother's genetics
are dominant whenever it occurs. Still, some of my husband can be seen in our
son..."

Rouge walked by. Tom asked, "you okay?"

"Yes," she lied. "I just drank something that didn't agree with me."

Tom took her hand. "Lets go upstairs. Vic, thanks, we'll continue this tomorrow."


-------------------------------------------------

"Gah! The Chaotix!" Eggman shook in fear as the jet approached. "They want
clearance to land..."

"So let them dammit!" Herb shouted, annoyed. "I'd go get the money you owe them,
NOW!" Eggman pressed the button signaling them to dock.

The group met the Chaotix in the landing bay. "Eggman!" Vector shouted,
approaching fast.

"I... I have your money! BUT, I will NOT give you a dime until our mission is
complete!"

Vector gave Eggman a hateful stare, shouting, "you cheapskate, I knew it-"

Herb waved his cane between the two. "Ivo has a point. If the world ends, you
won't really need any money, will you?" The investigator gave the Chaotix an evil
grin. "You have a point," Espio noted, pulling out a small wooden statue.

"We didn't get the Chaos Emerald..." Charmy muttered sadly.

Espio continued, "but we got this!"

Herb took the statue. Wooden and unpainted, but unmistakable. Wings, tentacles,
and a humanoid physique. "Cthulhu. See, PROOF!" He waved it around. "I have never
seen this statue before. I know they probably took things from my apartment
before the bomb, but not this. Where'd you get this?" he asked, handing Vector
money.

"Five bills?"

"For this, yes. It's NOT a Chaos Emerald!" Herb shouted.

Espio smirked. "Robert Judas."

Most of the group looked confused.

"I've heard that name before, I think," Sonic uttered.

Shadow responded, "so have I, in GUN's files, but I don't know why."

Herb smiled. "Ivo, you remember, right?"

"Oh, yes!"

Everyone looked at the two for an explanation. Eggman explained, "Sonic, you
might only vaguely remember, but Robert Judas ran for mayor of Westopolis a few
years ago."

"So, what's that got to do with this?"

Herb waves his cane. "He lost miserably. Guy was a real loon too, favored
corporations over people!"

Eggman sighed. He said, "yes, I remember that. He tried to by out Robotnik Corp,
and threatened to KILL me when I wouldn't sell. Loon."

"He was also into the occult, evil stuff," Herb said. "His own political party
was afraid of him. They hired me to investigate him. The guy was already crazy,
and after the election, he lost his mind completely." Waving the statue again,
he spoke, "at some point, he found this and learned what it was. And when he
found out what happened at the winery, he set his plan into action. Judas is
crazy, real crazy, and I doubt he cares if the world ends!"

"We were lucky we got that!" Espio commented. "Guy's mansion is crawling with
armed guards in heavy suits."

"Nothing WE couldn't handle!"" Vector boasted.

"Yeah!" Charmy hovered happily.

Herb took more money from his pocket. "We'll need some more muscle, you in?"

Vector took the cash. "You bet!"

"The downside," Herb pointed out, "is that we can't be guaranteed that they'll
carry out the ritual at his mansion. I hope he does, because we'll have several
hours to prepare. He can't do anything until nightfall! Knuckles!" The echidna
jumped to attention. "Try to commune with the Master Emerald again, see if you
can pinpoint where they are! I don't wanna go to his mansion and find he isn't
there!" Knuckles ran off to do so. "Ivo, Sonic, Shadow... Tails, Chaotix..."

"What about me?" Karen asked, upset over being left out.

"Karen..."

"And me!" Amy waved her hands in the air.

"Sorry Amy, this might be TOO dangerous this time!" Sonic pointed out.

"Aww, no fair. HERB!" Westwood sighed.

"FINE! We need all the help we can get! Everyone, let's prepare for the battle.
No point slacking off or going in unprepared! This isn't just our lives, but our
souls on the line!"


-------------------------------------------------

He checked the clock. 5:47 PM. In 2 hours at most it would be night. Herbert
hadn't eaten all day, the stress was eating him. Fidgeting through his
belongings, he again checked the contents of his computer memory sticks. 'Hey...
I did salvage these!' Running, he found Eggman. "Wait here!" Eggman stared at him
as he ran off. Westwood found Sonic in the labs. "Sonic, my boy, would you come
with me?"

"Sure thing!" he replied, following the old man.

In the main room, Herb motioned them towards the screen. Placing the memory
stick in the reader, he brought up the menu. "These are some video files I
brought from other Earth. I want you to watch them. I think they sum up the two
of you nicely.


-------------------------------------------------

"I think I understand what he meant now..." Eggman was amazed. Sonic had found
the cartoons funny at first, until he realized their meaning. "The coyote, as
brilliant as he is, loses to the fast blue creature with no hope of winning. The
coyote is a fanatic who has lost his goal to blind revenge... much like us."
Sonic couldn't believe it. His life with Eggman was in those Road Runner
cartoons. "Are we destined to repeat the story until the end?"

"I don't know, doc..." Sonic felt as if he'd been living in these cartoons, a
player in a series of jokes and gags.

Eggman felt ill. "No matter what I try... I will lose to you. I only win when I
do good. This isn't what I wanted out of life..."

"What's going on?" Knuckles asked.

"Nothing much," Sonic replied, feeling no need to let him in on their discovery.
They'd spent the last hour watching those cartoons.

Knuckles took no interest. "I have an idea!" He gathered everyone around the
Master Emerald. "I'm being blocked from the Chaos Emeralds' signals. But with
Karen's help, I seem to get through just a little... if you all help me,
concentrate, I think we can do this! I don't know if it will work, since only
echidnas can usually do this, but I don't have any other ideas!" Each one put
their hands on the Master Emerald. With deep concentration, the haze slowly
faded. An image appeared in their minds, a mansion somewhere, isolated.

"Robert Judas... he's at his mansion." Herb was certain that was what he'd seen.

Eggman ran to the bridge. "I'm setting course now!"

The rest waited for Herb's suggestions. "Vector, how well guarded is that place?"

The crocodile responded, "he has a small army."

Herb planned something. "We'll go in three groups. One mech walker to a group.
Tails, you're with the Chaotix. Shadow, Knuckles, Karen, you're with me. Sonic
and Amy, you're with Ivo. Think you can handle that?"

He heard no complaints. "Okay! Shadow, alert your GUN superiors what's going on,
in case they can get troops there. Every one of you, you saw what I did,

correct?" "All seven Chaos Emeralds in their possession..." Shadow stated.


-------------------------------------------------

Rouge dressed. She felt despair over the situation, but her mind was made up.
"Rouge?" Tom saw her. "What's going on?" She wore her usual adventure suit.

"I have to go out for a little bit. Something important. Don't worry, I'll be
back soon."

"What's going on?" he asked again. "You're not looking me in the eyes."

She let out a loud sigh. "Its my friends. Something's happening, and they'll
need my help."

"Knuckles and Shadow... and I'd assume Sonic the Hedgehog, then? Is it that
important to risk yourself?"

Pulling her gloves on, she replied, "it's bad. The world is in danger. I think
you deserve to know about the dream I had... it was about our child." A look of
shock hit his face as he dropped to his knees.

"Our... are you pregnant?" "NO! It's not that..." she caressed his cheek,
smiling. "But someday, we will. and that's why I have to go. If the world...
I'm doing this for us. I want that to happen."

He kicked the couch. "That- I thought your friends weren't going to put you in
danger? I thought they knew you were giving up being a thief and an adventurer?"

Sitting, he placed his hands over his head. "I can't explain it right now," she
said, "but I have to do this, for us. I promise you I'll come back. I'll come
back in one piece, this will be the last time I do this."

"One piece!" he shouted. "That's comforting... that's not good enough! I don't
want to have to bury the one piece that comes back! And I don't... if you lost a
limb..."

"Would you hate me if that happened?" she asked, a tear in her eye.

"NO! That's not what I meant. A limb, you in a wheelchair, no, not now... I
wouldn't leave you if that happened, you know that! I would be here to take care
of you, no matter what! I owe you that, I don't care if you end up so bad I have
to feed you, I couldn't abandon you. But... is this worth the risk? Is it that
bad?"

Running her hand through his hair, she told him, "if you tell me not to go, I'll
stay."

He looked away. "I can't do that. If I tell you to stay, then I look weak and
selfish. I know I'm not the tough guy you pictured yourself with... but I can't
tell you to go, either. It's your decision."

"Try not to worry, okay? I didn't want to put you through this, forgive me,
okay?"

"Worry..." he shook his head. "I'm going to stare at that clock, every second
feeling like an hour, fearing I'll never see you again!"

Turning his head to face her, she replied, "find something to take your mind off
this! Please! Do the dishes, sweep the floors, I don't care, just please... don't
worry about me. I've done this before!"

He picked the necklace up from the coffee table. "You were going to leave this
here. Take it, take a part of me with you." Placing it around her neck, he
latched the clasp.

She grabbed his head and forced a deep,long kiss which lasted beyond their
ability to tell time. "Be strong for me."

Rising from the sofa, he unlatched the window. "I'll leave it unlocked."

"I love you, Thomas Adriani." She pushed the window open.

He replied, "be careful, my little angel!"


-------------------------------------------------

The group approached the entrance to the mansion. Two echidnas, a hedgehog, and
an old man in a mech. Herbert Westwood stared at the guards. "I need to see
Mister Judas. Now." The guards grabbed their guns, approaching the group. Herb
ordered, "dust 'em!" Knuckles and Karen rushed them, knocking both out cold with
punches to the gut. Herb pressed the radio button in his mech. "Proceed! Find
Judas and the Chaos Emeralds, tear this place apart if necessary! We have fifteen
minutes before the stars are out! Move your butts!"

The mansion lit up in a sound fury of breaking wood, gunfire, and screams of
battle. Sonic rushed through the halls, knocking guards down as he went. Shadow
searched the building, grabbing the guns of the fallen to aid his search. Espio,
without thought, threw his knives into the rifle barrels, disabling the guards
ability to fight as Vector and Charmy took care of them. Tails and Eggman tore
down doors and searched rooms. The three-story mansion was taking far longer to
search than anticipated.

Sonic stopped. He'd found a body in the bathroom. Hey, this is a hedgehog!"

Herb's mech stopped. "I know him," he mused, thinking of the face. "That
hedgehog... he's old. Spike. He was a photographer who worked on excavations and
such. I worked with him a few times. An easy mark for someone like Judas to draw
into a cult. Probably used the Chaos Control, and it killed him. Probably so
brainwashed, he didn't care."

Karen screamed a battle cry as she charged a guard. The butt of the rifle caught
her jaw, sending her to the ground, blood gushing from her nose. "That's it for
you, missy!"

Before the fatal shot could be fired, Herbert aimed his revolver and pulled the
trigger. A spray of blood flew from the helmet as the guard fell dead. Herb
sighed. "I just killed a man without hesitation. And I doubt you'll forget the
sight. Poor girl..."

Knuckles helped Karen stand. "You okay?"

"Not really, no," she said, still bleeding. "I guess I should've left the island
sooner too. Things are different here. I'm not as tough as I thought."

Herb jumped out of his mech. the door before him was far too small. The library,
one room yet to be searched. Sonic followed him in. The shelves contained all
manner of occult literature. "Wacko..." Herb was in awe, yet afraid at the same
time.

The sound of guns took their attention. Turning, they found themselves
surrounded. Five guards aimed at them. "I can outrun them!"

"No you can't, my boy!"

Before the shots came, a bright light cast a shadow upon them. Wings. The guards
dropped to their knees, shouting, "Ia! Ia! Cthulhu f'thagn!" They repeated their
chant to the dark god.

The shadow fell, a force kicking the guards each in the face. The blur finally
stopped as Herb's eyes widened. Sonic was impressed. "Rouge? Didn't think I'd see
YOU here!"

She cocked her head. "Sonic. Sorry, but if you want to flirt with a pretty girl,
I'm sure Amy will be to your liking. I'm spoken for!"

Sonic stood there, stunned, as Herb followed her out. "We've searched this entire
house!" Eggman shouted.

"And no sign of Judas or the Chaos Emeralds!" Knuckles pointed out.

Herb checked his watch. "Three minutes until nightfall!"

Shadow looked at Rouge. "I thought you... how'd you..."

"An old GUN contact told me this morning. I thought you could use my help. Tom
didn't understand... I didn't expect him to. But I heard this was bad. A real
understatement." She tapped the walls. "Oh BOYS..." She leaned against the wall,
cocky as she could be. "Be thankful I'm here. Bats have excellent hearing, you
know! This wall is hollow!"

Tails shouted, "stand back!" Rouge moved as the wall was splintered by a missile.
Behind was a stone walkway, stairs leading downward.

"No time!" Herb shouted. "Sonic, Knuckles!"

They descended the stairs. At the base, a large room waited. Cultists chanted,
"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl f'htagn!" over and over. The Chaos
Emeralds sat in their places, each one starting to glow.

"Will that work without the altar?" Sonic asked.

Leaping forward, Knuckles shouted, "I hope so!"

Standing in the center, Knuckles pulled the Master Emerald and held it aloft.
The Chaos Emeralds glowed brightly, hovering in the air. "The servers are the
seven Chaos! Chaos is power, power is enriched by the heart! The controller is
the one that unifies the Chaos! Only you can do this! Stop the Chaos Emeralds!"

A bright flash filled the room, a shockwave sending the cultists flying. As the
light cleared, Sonic could see the Chaos Emeralds lying on the ground. The
cultists, lying helpless against the walls, did not move.

"Did we make it?" Sonic asked, examining one of the cultists. "Unconscious."

Knuckles panted, exhausted. "I think so... grab the Chaos Emeralds!" The two
collected the gems quickly.

The air felt warm, as if full of static. The wind picked up inside the chamber.
"Hey, what's going on?" Sonic felt uncomfortable. The room was suddenly filled
with a feeling of dread and evil. As the air began to distort, the two ran.

They could hear the passageway being torn apart, as if something big was trying
to follow them. Knuckles shouted, "Something's following us! Get out of here!"

Reaching the top floor, the two bolted. "RUN!"

"Did you stop it?" Herb asked.

"I think so, but we weren't fast enough!" Knuckles shouted, terrified.

Eggman checked his monitor. "There was a small disturbance on the ocean floor!"
he explained frantically.

"Okay... let me think..." Herb strained his mind. "You stopped the ritual.
Cthulhu is... but something DID make it through to our world! The doorway was
open too long!"

The creature burst forth from the wall. Green with tentacles flaying, the large
figure wailed a horrific cry as it found its targets. "Is that... I thought you
said Cthulhu was stopped?" Shadow asked, amazed by the creature.

Westwood panicked. "It... NO! It's too small! It's a star-spawn of Cthulhu, a
child! Not mature, it's to small!"

The creature wailed as it smashed the walls. "We have to stop it! If we don't,
who knows what damage it will cause!" Pulling his revolver, he fired. The bullet
ricocheted off the creature. "Everyone, get out of here!"

The crowd fled outside. Gathered, they considered their options. "Weapons won't
work, I take it?" Eggman asked.

Herb sighed miserably. "Guns, no... the missiles in these mechs might just make
it mad. In cases like this, one might use a spell of binding... but I was never
big on magic spells."

"So we use these!" Sonic shouted, pulling his Chaos Emeralds out. "Shadow, you
up to it?" The black hedgehog nodded.

"We should let them handle this!" Knuckles ordered. The crowd left the mansion.
The Chaos Emeralds gathered, powering both Sonic and Shadow into their super
forms. "The creature will die here!" Shadow yelled, heading into the mansion.

Herb shook his head. "It's up to those two now... I hope they know what they're
doing!"

"Sonic will be just fine!" Eggman responded. "He always has."

Rouge picked up one of the machine guns. "They made it personal this time.
Before, it was just my friends in danger, now... even if we can't do much, I'm
still going to help them!" She flew off into the mansion.

"I'm going to regret this... Tails! What do you say we distract this creature?"
Eggman suggested, the fox giving a thumbs up. The two mechs entered the mansion.

"Well," Espio muttered, "I'm not sitting here and waiting!" He twirled one of his
throwing knives, leaping forward.

Vector puffed his chest out with practiced bravado, shouting, "I'm tougher than
that freak!" Charmy followed him.

"I'll do it for Sonic!" said Amy, rushing with her mallet ready.

Knuckles looked at Karen's bruised face. "I almost got myself killed," she mused,
rubbing the wound. "But I knew the risk. You coming, my muscle hunk?" He nodded,
the pair entering the fray.

Westwood looked down. "They have their strength, their courage to fight the
beast... and I don't. I see why they work to save everyone. I can't face this."
A figure moved near the walls. "No, I can..." Unlatching the side door, he
grabbed his cane. "I know what I have to do."

Westwood followed the mansion to the side door. The battle could be heard even
over his own heartbeat. The muddy footprints led him upstairs to the mansion's
security control room.

The room was empty. Checking the monitors, Westwood could see the battle.
"They're actually doing it! Standing up against the horror! Go Sonic, kill that
thing!"

A swift kick to the back sent him stumbling, the gun skidding away. "You. Herbert
Westwood, the man who ruined my standing with the Party!" Grabbing his cane and
balancing himself, Westwood turned. "Robert Judas. You fool, did you honestly
believe Cthulhu would reward you?" He laughed at the politician. "And that robe
looks ridiculous!"

"Reward? No, my poor, unemployed investigator... this was punishment!" Judas
shouted, waving a fist. "They didn't want me, what I had to offer... then let the
Earth and everyone on it burn! When that brown hedgehog brought me that statue,
and I learned what it was... the ultimate entity, unlike that black hedgehog, a
life beyond time, beyond moral limitations, beyond-"

Westwood swung his cane. The wood connected with the cultist's shoulder, sending
him to his knees. "That... is for my CAR!" The cane swung again, connecting with
the man's skull. "And that's for my HOUSE! And this is for trying to-"

Judas grabbed the cane and yanked it away. Westwood stumbled, barely balancing
on his left leg. "Poor old man, can't do anything without this cane! I will leave
you here, HELPLESS! And I will go and watch those worthless, meager heroes fall
before the child of lord Cthulhu!"

"Oh?" Herb watched the monitors. "I don't think so!"

"Chaos SPEAR!" The blast tore into the monster, burning its flesh a sickly brown.

Rouge aimed her weapon. "You tried to take away the most important jewel I've
ever known! Go back to hell!" she screamed, firing. Tails and Eggman fired their
rockets, annoying the creature, but distracting it as Sonic slammed into it.

"Lets see how tough that skin of yours is!" Vector screamed, sinking his teeth
into the monster's arm. The star-spawn screamed in pain, flinging its arm around
in a futile effort to unlatch the croc.

Amy rose her hammer. "This is for Sonic!" was her cry as the hammer smashed the
creature's foot. It let out a horrendous howl of pain.

Espio tossed his knives quickly. One caught the creature in the eye. Karen,
furious, climbed the wall and glided, holding the creature's tentacled mouth.
"Lets see how you like it!" Her fist punched through the wound, a sick black
blood spraying forth. Knuckles followed suit, latching into the chest wound and
digging his spikes into the thick muscle.

"It's time to END THIS!" Shadow shouted, looking to Sonic. The two hedgehogs
rushed the beast, the impact connecting dead center. The child of Cthulhu gave
one final scream as every muscle in its body went lax. Slowly, like a old
crumbling tower, the monster fell to the floor, the fall shaking the house. The
light dissipated as Sonic and Shadow reverted.

"Is it...?" Eggman asked.

Knuckles approached the monster. "Dead. I hope."

Sonic punched the air. "That wasn't so tough!"

The group looked at him. They were all breathing heavily, covered in sweat and
black blood. "Speak for yourself, Sonic!" Knuckles replied.

Charmy sat on the rubble. "I never want to do that again!"

"I know what you mean," Espio agreed. "I think I am OUT of knives! That's never
happened before."

Rouge wiped the sweat from her face, Her fur was soaked. "I'm gonna need a long
bath when I get home..."

"YOU need a bath?" Karen shouted, offended. "It's gonna take me a WEEK to scrub
this goo off!" She was covered in the monster's blood. "Stuff's like tar!" she
commented, pulling a thick chunk from her quills.

Eggman surveyed the room. "Where is Herb? I thought he'd have followed us!"
Leaving his mech, he separated from the group to find his friend.

"HA! Ha ha heh HA!" Westwood laughed. "You fail at everything! Elections, ending
the world, I wouldn't wanna taste your cooking! You lost!" He had watched the
creature die.

Judas fumed. "I'll have one small victory," he said, grabbing Westwood by the
collar. "Take to the skies!" Judas flung his arms, sending Westwood through the
window. "Gloat now, INVESTIGATOR!"

Eggman stood in the doorway. "You killed him... you killed my only friend!"

"Yes, and what will you do about it?" Judas taunted, an evil smile on his face.
"Eggman, a perpetual loser, you're worth NOTHING! I will destroy you in the
public eye, I will take everything you have, I will RUIN YOU! Death isn't good
enough for you!"

Spotting the gun by his feet, Eggman grabbed it. "I don't think so!" Pulling back
the hammer, he fired without hesitation.

Robert Judas fell to the floor. Blood spurted from his shoulder. "Me and my big
mouth..."

Knuckles approached Rouge, a Chaos Emerald in his hand. "I don't know why you're
here... but thanks. If it wasn't for you..."

She held up a hand to silence him. "You're a bit late, echidna!" He jumped back
in offense.

"That's not- I wasn't-"

"I know," she stated. "Like you or not, Knuckles, I don't regret what I have.
Besides..." she motioned to Karen. "She might get jealous!"

Knuckles eyed the Emerald. "Here. You earned this. I know you've wanted them for
a long time, and I owe you for the way I've treated you in the past. Actually...
I don't think anyone would mind if you took them all!"

She considered the offer. "No..."

Knuckles was confused. "But I'm GIVING this to you! I don't get it, you keep
trying to steal these, and now you don't want them?"

She shook her head. "There are other things that matter more, I know that now...
anyway, they're too dangerous! I might get robbed. You wouldn't want someone to
hurt me over these, would you? You keep them and guard them!"

Tails looked around. "Hey, where'd Eggman go?"

"Yeah, where DID he run off to?" Sonic asked, suspicious.

Shadow looked at the Chaos Emeralds on the floor. "He didn't take them...
strange. Wait!" Shadow looked around. Ten of them were in the room. Eggman was
gone. "Westwood. Where's Westwood?"

The group began searching for the two missing humans. "His mech's out front,"
Sonic pointed out, "but he's not in it!"

They heard the glass shatter as a body landed on the ground outside. The group
watched as Herbert Westwood landed on the driveway. Running to his aid, they
heard a gunshot. "What was that?" Knuckles asked.

"Nevermind!" Shadow wasn't concerned about the noise.

Herb twitched. The group surrounded him. "Sonic... Shadow... my boy... you did
it. You did it... we saved the... world."

"Take it easy!" Sonic was worried for the old man. Lights approached the mansion.

"GUN is here! Hang on Westwood, help is coming!" Shadow took his hand.

"Shadow... I can't move... can't move my legs.."

The hedgehog noticed blood under the body. "Turn him over!" Sonic and Knuckles
gently lifted Westwood. Shadow saw it. A chunk of glass embedded in the man's
back. "He has something in his spine!"

"Well pull it out!" Sonic shouted.

Shadow examined the wound. Blood flowed heavily. "NO! He'll bleed even more!"

Herb took Sonic's hand. "You... did it. You saved us all... I guess I, I was
right..."

Sonic shook his head. "No, you won't die! You CAN'T die!"

The GUN troops approached. "Get a medic, NOW!" Shadow ordered.

Eggman joined them. "HERB!"

Shadow looked at the doctor apologetically. "We'll save him, I promise!"

Herb's eyes rolled back. "Don't cry for me... Sonic... I have lived my... life...
you have a long life... ahead of you... goodbye, Sonic..."