Tails approaches behind you and stares at the emerald, "Weird... I've never seen a Chaos Emerald glow like that.. Usually they only emit one color, not a spectrum."
You shake your head, stepping forward cautiously, "For all we know he's already figured out how to access the Special Zone. The irregularity is being normalized right now so we can upset the balance, that's all that matters." Your tone becomes a little more stiff, "Alright, tell me what to do. I'm sure I could figure something out given enough time but you're the genius here, I'll follow your lead."
He jogs over to the emerald, looking over the machine keeping it in place. Electric sparks zipped and zapped off the emerald's surface, a gentle wavy pattern emitting from the varied glowing orbs. "It seems to be locked in place using a gravity clamp. The power supply looks like it started as an external mechanism before being integrated with the emerald itself." His eyes trace the wires back, leading him to the computers, a few of the wires branching off and running into the ground. No doubt about it, it was a fully functional closed circuit energy setup.
You follow behind him, looking over his expression as he pieced things together. As you follow him back to the emerald you lean forward to maintain monitoring his expression, "What's the verdict? Or do you need more information?"
He shakes his head, "Good news and bad news. Good news: I'm sure we can back up the system and cause a full meltdown..."
You look at him expectantly, raising your brows. "And the bad news?"
He tisks his tongue, "Bad news is we'll be using these boxes on either end of the holding unit to short the system. In other words we'll be completely visible while I set it up and while we have to wait for everything to meltdown."
You feel your shoulders droop for a second, your expression becoming vacant as you mulled over the possible outcomes.
If the response was slow that would be best case scenario and you could probably fend off the robots til it was time. Given the size if that patrol earlier that seemed highly unlikely. For all either of you knew once you were detected the complex might just fully lock down and trap you to go down with it.
"No other angles? What if we extended the wire so it would fit around the setup? That way we would only need one box instead of two- or even if we ran more wire out while wearing them?"
He shakes his head, "They'll get really hot as they're exposed to that much direct energy, if our bodies are touching them we'll get burned for sure. Honestly its not even a guarantee that this plan will work, but its the best we can do on such short notice.."
You rub your forehead a little, your eyes looking around the room for anything that you could suggest before you feel Tails' hand on your shoulder. You look up, your gaze locking with his. He wore a gentle expression, one that said it was alright. One that said everything was going to be okay.
"We can just leave, I said that our safety wasn't worth an impromptu infiltration. We can't help anyone if we end up going down with the ship." His tone was gentle and cradled your mind into a sea of calm. "East- I'm worried about this facility and I'm willing to be a little more reckless but that doesn't mean I'm willing to keep my pride over coordinating a well thought out plan."
You look at him with starry eyes for a moment, quickly shaking it off as his words processed in your ears. "No-! We're..." You hesitate as you readjust, "I'm doing this." You turn and approach the emerald, taking a deep breath as your good hand grips the wires around your body. "Just tell me how to wire this up and I'll get it done. You should get out of here while you can."
You have a home to get back to, right? With friends and comrades, and a bunch of people that still believe the farce of heroes exist...
Tails walks up beside you, his hands also clutching the wires wrapped around his body. He looks over the assembly one more time before he looks to you. "I'm right here too, and I'm not leaving you to take care of this alone. We're partners, remember?" He nods to you, a determination in his eyes. "I'll need about three minutes once we start, think you can keep them off me for that long?"
Your brow softens for a moment before you nod in return, a stoic neutrality on your face, "They won't know what hit them, fox."
You both brace for a moment as you tear the wires off your bodies, careful not to break any segments as they unwound and fell to your feet. Your heart pulsed as you finished removing the wires in record time, only a few moments behind Tails as he immediately got to work on the stems of the machine. You circulate the room, grabbing chairs and pushing desks in front of all entrances, kicking the panel on the elevator in the hopes it would prevent anyone else from using it. It was difficult setting up all these barriers with one arm, your muscles crying to you as they continued pressing on. You could count three entrances to the space, one of which being the elevator. There had to be an emergency staircase somewhere... So at least one unaccounted for.
Tails fiddles with the wires along the setup, the wrapping seeming to be going well as he left the ends disconnected till he had fully wrapped one side around. He heaves a heavy breath, closing his eyes for a moment.
"Moment of truth..."
He connects the ends together, a bright blue spark shooting out of the thin wires as they immediately heated up to a bright red. He shakes his hands as he breathes heavily, his heart racing at the sudden surge of raw power.
"that was close..." The wires seemed to be holding though, at least for now...
Metallic footsteps echoed quietly around you, getting louder with every passing second. The floor rumbles as the storm encroaches closer and closer to the top floor. With a response like this there was no doubts this had quickly turned into one of the worse case scenarios. There were too many robots within the facility, and if the doctor's main concern was retaining the Chaos Emerald then naturally all of his forces would divert to it when threatened.
The march continues as you run around the space, checking the entryways and stacking more and more furniture up til you couldn't find any more spaces for the obstructions. There was no way that this would hold for long, but as long as Tails got the setup done it didn't matter. At this point it was going to be a battle of endurance. Either your body would give out or their systems would first.
*THUMP THUMP THUMP!*
You jump, looking at the elevator as you could see it was full of robots, the lift still operable. The stack in front began shifting as you rushed over, pushing back against the machines as they jostled the barricade.
Glancing the control panel it was still busted, but apparently only for the operations for this floor...
One means of escape ruined...
*BANG!*
Several chairs fall on the far side door, your stack up very quickly taking the heat as several holes were now burned through the barricade. You push the stack up as best you can before running over to the other door, stealing a peek through the hole before you were fired upon again. Several E-2000 bots outside the entryway with their laser guns at the ready, a few giant hammers could be seen behind them.
They're attacking synchronized!? I was naïve to think they wouldn't, especially with a facility this new and precious the doctor was sure to have appropriate power to protect it.
There's no way we're going to last...
You glance back to Tails pensively as you see he's still fully immersed in what he was doing, carefully and meticulously wrapping the wires around the holding unit.
Was this all a waste? Had you saved his life just to lead him to his doom this time around?
You shake your head as you grasp for any sense of hope you could, stacking the chairs up where they had fallen before running to the third entrance in anticipation. You had to make it, you had to make sure this worked for him.
It was your fault he was here in the first place...
Another crash before a robot catches the corner of your eyes, stopping you in your tracks before you can check the third entrance. You rush over to it, jumping up and kicking it back as it toppled into several others behind. Your eyes trace the path before they meet the wall, a hidden path opening up as more mechs continued to spill through. The elevator bumps and thumps more as your barrier gets knocked down further, the entrance you hadn't gotten to yet also showing signs of being overpowered as boxes broke and chairs spilled down. You grit your teeth, rushing forward and kicking at several more robots, a few of them taking swings at you as you're barely able to dodge. You jump back as several laser shots hone in on you. Small flying machines buzz out from above and fire down, a few buzzing past and aiming for Tails.
You look back and immediately shift to cover him, "Tails! Incoming!" A shot whizzes past your head, grazing your ear as a pained hiss escapes your lips.
He looks up for a moment before looking back down, "The first two shots always miss, if I put this down it'll unwind and take twice as long-!" The mechs fire on him, the first shots missing but just barely as they graze his legs. He groans weakly, gritting his teeth as his eyes stayed focused. "East, I need about 40 seconds!"
You lunge toward him as several more beams are fired. Your body compacts as it tucks and rolls, grabbing a scrap of metal off the ground and whipping it at one of the robots attacking the fox. It buzzes to the size, but causes the ones behind to take the hit instead. You inhale sharply as you brace to jump, intending to swat the others put of the air and hopefully figure out how to kill basically a minute's worth of time. As your legs leave the ground a tinge of pain shoots through your body, one of the mechs from behind blasting clean through your bad arm.
You could feel the burning in your once numb arm, a constant burn that weighed on you immediately and slowed you down. You manage to grip one of the flying bots and throw it into the others as it fired a laser, effectively destroying its comrades. Toppling to the floor you skid to a stop before falling over.
40 seconds? Im barely able to give you 10...
The elevator rumbles as more of your barricade crumbles to the floor, the robots now able to poke their arms through. Several more blasts across the room echo lightly as one of the roadblocks is breached, E-2000 robots hovering through the gateway. It was quickly turning into a storm of enemies, more coming in at every turn.
You had no choice...
Push it all out, the pain, exhaustion, inhibitions, doubts... Sharpen your mind...
You inhale deeply, your breathing slowing to a steady pace as the rest of the world fell away. This was your only chance... Regardless of consequence you had to Phase to buy the time you needed...
Four, seven, 13, 24... They spill in quickly, I should expect that number to be constant... The only thing I need to do is destroy them...
Got it.
The elevator erupts as the robots charge through, the first wave of them getting knocked over in an instant as your three good limbs impact them in a barrage. You were moving much slower than usual but this was better than hobbling around. Your form dashes to the other side of the room, the E-2000 robots locking onto you before firing. You trace their beams, dodging into spots that cause them to hit the robots spilling in from the secret entryway. Their assault is short lived as you weave into close quarters and launch an explosive kick into the barrel of it's cannon, forcing it's shots to spin and take out several more mech behind it.
You run back to the center of the room as more small flying bots close in on Tails. So close- but you're moving too slowly, the glow of their small laser guns glowing as a shot is fired at him. His ears twitch at the sound, his eyes drifting upward as the shot leaves the chamber.
I could throw debris in the way- Or lead a shot into it's path-? No, I'm too weak to do much more than distract- But if he gets taken down there's no way I can get us both out..
This was my fault anyways, fuck it..
You jump forward, tackling Tails as the laser shoots into your back. You grit your teeth as your grip tightens before a weak scream leaks from your mouth. The two of you slide across the floor as Tails looks down on you in horror.
"East!? Are you okay, did it go all the way through your body?!?" He cradles your head in his hands as you clamp your mouth shut, trying to contain the pain.
"No, it's just a surface burn... The smaller ones are too weak to pierce." You struggle to pull yourself to your feet before Tails slings you over his shoulder.
"That's enough, we're getting out of here now." The robots regain their composure, the third barrier you had set up finally coming undone as even more mech spilled into the room. Tails starts backing up to the center of the room, his eyes scanning over the sea of robots that had now filled the room. It was already too late to run, they had you surrounded.
I can't fly over them without getting shot at, and chances are they're aiming for East if they really want to capture me.. They probably only stopped firing because East is down for the count... What can I do-? Messing with the emerald will only stop the facility but the robots will still come for us. If I had my tech I could hack their systems.. Anything I can get to? No, the computers are too far away. There's the Chaos Emerald but I've never been able to get it to respond to me! Dang it!
He backs up even more as the horde encroached. "East, I promise I won't let them get you, I'll find a way to get you out of this.."
Your eyes look up at him, "Don't be stupid, get out of here. They want you. Leave me here and fight another day, I can take care of myself."
Tails' expression furrows as he looks to you, "I'M NOT LEAVING YOU, EAST! Stop telling me to save myself! Either BOTH of us walk out of here or neither of us will!" He takes a few more steps back, his fighting spirit remaining strong as he looked out on the robots with a stony gaze.
"Fox, we were enemies not that long ago. Don't throw yourself away for some makeshift alliance. Your chances of success are not zero even without me, regroup and come up with a new plan." Your tone became gentle for the first time as you also looked out at the robots. You always thought your clan would come after you and you would perish in that conflict. Apparently it would be because of these stupid robots...
Tails looks down at you, his expression softening as he held onto you a little tighter. "You still don't get it do you? You're my friend, East. You have been since you saved everyone a few months ago. I refuse to leave my friends behind and I refuse to let them fight alone. I'm here with you no matter what."
You look at him with wide eyes.
Friends? No- Sonic and the others were your friends.. I'm just.. me. Why am I your friend?
His eyes were sincere, a warmth radiating from them as his gaze stayed locked with yours. It's like there was something else in him, a part of him that didn't want to let go. You couldn't place it but somewhere in his eyes you knew that even if you became enemies again he would still try to be there for you.
A robotic hand grabs him, pulling him away as several more started grabbing his limbs and stretching him out, similar to how they pulled and tugged on you before attempting to carry you away. Tails screams as you could hear his joints popping and cracking, the mechs seeming to try to break him before taking him away. There's a pulling in your chest as you watch on, your existence irrelevant as their focus remained on the twin tailed fox.
let him go-
Let. Him. Go...
You struggle to move, trying to get closer to him as you saw the tears welling up in his eyes. But you were too banged up to do anything. You try to call out to him but your throat is closed in shock. You reach your hand out, your mouth open and struggling to get any kind of noises out.
I have to save him! I have to-!
I HAVE TO SAVE HIM!
His cries get worse as the mechs grip his limbs tightly, as if they were testing the strength of his bones to see how much it would take for them to break. They contort his body as you catch a glimpse of his face for a very brief moment. He looks at you with a pleading expression as tears spilled from his eyes, but they still were urging you to get out while you could.
The emerald sparks for a moment, your thought getting louder.
I HAVE TO- I'M GOING TO SAVE HIM!
I'm the only one who can right now.
I'm GOING to save him.
The emerald glows a vibrant blue as you rise to your feet, the aches and pains in your body disappearing as you flex the muscles in both your arms. Your body begins emitting a blue glow, traces of sparks emanating from your form while glowing particles seemed to surround you. You look down at your hand, flexing it a few times as you felt the power humming through you. It was a foreign feeling but even you could tell that the Chaos Emerald had finally resonated with you.
Payback time.
You inhale a sharp breath and hone your focus in on the seven robots manhandling Tails.
You charge forward, all of the robots combusting before you even knew what happened. You catch Tails in your arms as he coughs a little, his eyes still leaking tears. You set him down gently as he looked up at you with glossy large eyes.
"East-?" He looks over your body absent mindedly.
You put a hand on his top of head, standing back up at height. "Just stay there, I'll take care of the rest."
You disappear in an instant, a ring of mechs exploding around Tails, blasting more robots further away. They start scanning the area as more and more burst into flames in series. The interior quickly becomes a fireworks display as they shot blindly around the space before they exploded in the blink of an eye. Tails' ears perk up as he dries his eyes weakly, watching on as his eyes couldn't pick you up but could clearly see the path you were traveling. He could hear the mechs get impacted but you were so fast that there was a massive delay on the explosions.
The larger hammer mechs enter the fray only to be stripped of their weapons and immediately gutted, their hammers flying violently around the space as they seemed to appear on top of enemies before blinking out again. With each smash Tails caught a glimpse of your form for an instant before it was gone again. In the brief moments he was able to see you he could see the biggest smile plastered on your face as you struck back against the doctor. You looked like you were happy, proud even to be here. It almost looked like you had turned into Sonic for a moment as you dashed around, a smiling blue blink in the darkness.
Your eyes scan over everything as you easily clear the room, your punches like cannons that tore through metal. Your eyes pierced through the walls as you could see the movement of incoming robots and where they intended to strike. It was a futile effort on their part as you weave through the droves, a trail of explosions behind you.
This power felt good, it felt really good..
Unleashing a barrage of punches your mouth drifts open into a wide smile as yelling escapes your usually cool tone. Faster! FASTER ! EVEN FASTER!!! GAH, THIS FELT GOOD!
They stand no chance against you as you tear through their ranks, heavily damaging the doorways and causing small collapses that seal up the entries. Circulating around the various entries their number thin quickly as each doorway shuts. You breathe heavily as the final entryway collapses, a satisfied glint in your eyes as you begin coming down from the adrenaline kick. You take a few steps back as you turn and retreat back to Tails, wading through piles of robot parts as your body's glow started to fade. You start to feel your feet drag midway through, an acute exhaustion setting in almost immediately by the time you reach him.
Tails pulls you into a hug, "You were amazing! How did you manage to do all that?"
You feel your head spin for a moment as more explosions rang out from the floors below. Tails runs over to the elevator shaft, looking through the broken glass at the area below. Green explosions burst from around the base floor, traveling up the shaft and tearing the building apart as you both started to feel the ground sway and shift.
"-CONTROL!" Shadow appears before both of you, wearing a serious expression. His eyes widen as he looks around the top floor, the mountain of broken machines leaving him at a loss of words. He glances you and takes note of the energy fading from your body, squinting his eyes.
Tails looks to him with shock, "Shadow-!? What are you even doing here??"
He shakes his head, "Now's not the time, this place is going up in smoke. We need to get out of here immediately."
You feel your eyes begin to fade as the glow fully dissipates, an extreme pain returning to your arm as you cry out and fall down clutching your arm tightly.
Tails jumps, running over to you and squatting down "EAST! Hey stay with me, look we're gonna get out of here alright?"
You see Shadow look down at you with a pondering expression, his lips moving but you couldn't hear anything as your ears rang, your eyes filling with tears as your entire body felt as if it were engulfed in flames. Your vision starts getting dark as an immense dizziness overtakes you, the pain stabbing you in every part of your body forcing your consciousness to give up as you give in to the pull of darkness.