Chaos Born

21 Minutes And Sonic At Last

"Hope they're okay," Charmy gulped, thinking of everyone else, including Sonic - wherever he was.

- - - - -

"LOOK OUT!" Silver leapt and pulled Shadow out of harm's way with his psychokinesis just as a piece of ceiling and an unfortunate bookshelf fell down and shattered against the floor.

Shadow and Omega had ascended a floor and had caught up with the others in order to help them escape just as the fires, which had got into the pipes and the chemical tubes, forced the whole place into premature demolition. Cream was coughing as thick black smoke billowed from a vent and she held Cheese tightly to her chest as he whimpered and coughed with her. Chao were sensitive to these sorts of things and she was worried he might suffer some permanent damage from his ordeal.

"Get round me!" Shadow called, thanking his fellow hedgehog by clasping his shoulder and nodding at him.

Omega took Cream and Blaze in his robotic arms and stood as close to Shadow and Silver as possible while Big wrapped his tail around on the other side, squeezing his eyes shut as heat and smoke engulphed them. In a flash of energy, Shadow had used Chaos Control to teleport them down a floor to where he and Omega had been before. It was hard to transport many people at once and he gripped his fluffy chest hard to ease the tight feeling once they had gained their bearings. "

"This way." Omega told them, lowering Cream and Blaze back to the ground.

"Let's go, Shadow," Silver said gently, taking a recovering Shadow's elbow and steering him in the right direction.

Froggy croaked warningly right before part of a wall collapsed and a fire-damaged robot could be seen sparking on the ground in front of them. There was little time for pity. Up and over the debris they went, running and flying as fast as they could go.

"Tails? Knuckles? Amy?" Blaze was crying into her communicator while waving off the heat with her free hand.

Nothing.

"Shadow, what do we do?" Cream asked, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. "What if they don't get out?"

"They'll get out!" Shadow shouted, though whether he was sure of that or not, not even he knew. "They HAVE to get out."

Silver looked over his shoulder with worried golden eyes. "Maybe I should fly up and see-"

"Not a chance!" Shadow spat aggressively. "Get your spines out of here, you hear me?"

Silver knew better than to cross Shadow. Like with Sonic, Shadow didn't consider himself a friend of Silver's. But Sonic and Silver were hedgehogs which meant, deep down, they were like family. Very estranged family. And if the data that Omega and Shadow had found was accurate...

"Down here!" Blaze called, jumping down a staircase that had appeared on the right. The elevator beside the stair case was gone completely, the fire above having cut through the cables a while ago. With their speed and agility, the group of them were soon on Floor A and the hanger was within their reach.

- - - - - 

Amy skidded to a stop just as the doors gave a piercing shriek and began rolling back to reveal the dark laboratory beyond it. It shuddered and faltered halfway though but Knuckles, his patience having dried up, seized the door with one hand and pulled it straight from the wall, chucking it away with a growl of frustration.

They had come this far and a set of doors weren't stopping them now.

The darkness of the room was of no bother to them and they barely noticed the computers around them nor the gurgling of liquids in tubes nor even the warmth of the air. Their attention was given to only one thing.