My systems turned on again after eight hours. I went outside of my room with Rush, looking down the hall to see the wide room with the couch pretty filled up. I slowly walked into the room, not wanting to disrupt something and feeling awkward. I noticed another room in a corner that I hadn't noticed the night before. I waited for a few minutes until someone turned around, tilting her head as she saw me. It looked like she was a rabbit, but she looked strange. Half of her seemed normal, but the bottom half looked like she was a robot.
"Ah!" she said. "You must be tha' kid Sally girl was talkin' 'bout!"
"I..." I blinked. "I guess I am."
There were two other people in the room I didn't know, and they were both looking at me in wonder. "Well, introduce yo' self!" Bunnie demanded.
"I, uh..." I looked at everyone, then put a hand up and waved shyly. "I'm Rock. Or, if you want, you can call me Mega Man."
"Sonic's told us all about ya'll," Bunnie said, returning to her spot on the couch. "Told us you were a pretty strong robot and all that."
"W-well, I don't know about that..." I chuckled nervously.
"Are we being sure he can be trusted?" the other animal on the couch said. He looked pretty scrawny, but if he worked with Sonic, then he couldn't be all that weak. He wore a medal on his shirt, and had a sword at his hip. "How can we be positive he is not from the enemy?"
"What, because he's a robot, Hun?" Bunnie asked.
He sighed and stopped talking.
Nicole appeared in the room next to me. "He is exactly the same as when I saw him in his own world," she said. "Same energy readings, same weapon, same unique copy ability... Dr. Eggman would have to know exactly how to make him the same that his creator did, and I don't know that that's something within his abilities."
"Where's Sonic?" I asked, looking around the room.
Sally rolled her eyes, leaning back against a wall next to the television. "He'll come when he wants. He would have complained if he had to be here this early."
"He is still sleeping," Nicole confirmed.
"You're stalking him?" I chuckled, trying to keep things light.
"I..." Nicole's face turned pink.
"I was just kidding," I said quickly. "I didn't mean-"
"I asked her to check on him," Sally said. "I wanted to make sure he was still in the city. Besides, Nicole has special permissions to enter our homes."
"E-exactly," Nicole said, nodding.
For a few seconds, no one talked in the awkward air. To break the silence, I noticed that there was someone who hadn't introduced herself. "Who are you?" I asked the pink girl.
The girl stood and curtsied. "I'm Amy Rose," she lifted up her hammer, resting it on her shoulder. "And this is my Piko-Piko hammer! A pleasure to meet you!"
"Yeah," I replied. "You too."
"Don't get her angry," Sally warned. Amy giggled. There was something perfectly non-threatening and threatening about her at the same time.
"So..." I said, scratching my head. "What can I do to help? Or is it just a waiting game for now?"
Sally shook her head. "Tails and Rotor are watching carefully for any signs of Eggman or his robots. The army we have in the city is getting ready to back Sonic up, while everyone else waits anxiously to see what happens."
"But it's still all up to Sonic," I added.
"Oh, don't you worry about him," Amy said, her eyes lighting up. "He can do anything."
Sally smiled, though it looked forced. "Right. There's nothing to worry about."
Bunnie beckoned me to sit in one of the beanbags and said, "sit with us and tell us about yo' world, kid. Give us somethin' to do while we wait."
I didn't know where to start. It was a place I always lived in, and I don't know that there's anything super extraordinary about it. But it was a big place, and it seemed so different than the world I was in now.
I started with the first time Wily decided to betray my father, and my dad had to make me into a fighting machine, even though I really didn't want to fight. I told them about Wily's castles that he always managed to make pretty quickly, all my robot friends, all of the robots that Wily made, my sister, Tempo...
"Zat is a ton of robots," Antoine commented.
"But they're not all evil!" I assured him. "Wily just manages to find ways to turn them against us. Sometimes we can even turn the evil ones to our side. That's basically my job." I paused for a moment, looking at Bunnie and trying to ask a question without being intrusive.
"Ah, yo' curious about my legs and arm?" Bunnie asked, reading my mind.
"Well, I just..." I scratched my head. "What happened?"
"It was so long ago," Bunnie said with a smile. "I was in tha process a bein' robotisized when all of a sudden, Sonic appeared and helped me out."
"But it was too late," I guessed.
"Aw, it's not so bad anymore," Bunnie said. "Used to think it was so awful, that's fo' sho'. But now I can help the Freedom Fighters. I don' know what I'd do without 'em."
"Really?" I asked.
"Fo' one, I can fly," Bunnie explained. "And punching with mah left arm packs a wallop."
"She has made the best out of a sour situation," Antoine said, smiling at Bunnie.
For a few minutes, we sat in silence, not much else to say. Then, all of a sudden in the silence, we heard from the other room, "guys!"
"Sacre bleu!" Antoine jumped. I had never met anyone quite so skittish.
Rotor came running out. "Eggman managed to escape our radars and is now in a five mile radius around the city!"
"He's got it surrounded?" Sally asked.
"The entire city," Rotor said, shaking his head. Tails ran past Rotor, sprinting down one of the paths.
"That gives me hope, actually," Sally said, finally showing a real smile. She almost sounded excited. "With this much resistance, it shows he expects to overpower us. He wouldn't bring these fleets just to watch them be destroyed. He must not know!"
"You were just bein' paranoid, Sally-girl," Bunnie said.
"Nicole," Sally said, beckoning for me to follow her. "Tell Sonic he must take out the Egg Carriers before going to the Death Egg."
Nicole did nothing that made me think she heard Sally, but she seemed confident that Nicole had relayed the message. Sally went into a giant lab that Rotor was in, sitting at a computer. "I'll just sit here and watch the battle," Rotor laughed, putting his feet up.
"Good thing the council voted to let Sonic handle this on his own," Sally muttered, shuffling through some boards in a heap on the ground. She found one she seemed satisfied with, tossing it through the air to Antoine. "I hope Nagus doesn't change his mind and get involved."
"That coward knows Sonic is capable of zis," Antoine scoffed, leaving the room. Sally found another board, putting it under her arm and following Antoine.
"What are those?" I asked, pointing to the board.
"Extreme Gear," Sally said. "They let you go at high speeds through the air, manipulating it in order to fly."
"Sounds..." I said, my voice trailing off as I saw a lot of dots in the air outside of the base.
"Complicated?" Sally asked. "Yeah. Follow me."
I jumped on Rush while Sally rode on her board, Antoine in front of us and Amy behind. Bunnie must have flown off ahead.
As we got closer to the city, I realized just how big and fast these battleships were. I noticed that there was a giant black egg with Dr. Eggman's face on it. To the sides were massive red ships that had to be half a mile long each. There were thousands and thousands, all flying in toward the city.
I jumped off of Rush when Sally got off her board, ducking as Metal Sonic whizzed by over her head. She got out her laser swords, but Metal Sonic flew into her, knocking her to the ground. Before anything else could happen, though, something glowing fire flew through and destroyed the robot. It laid in pieces on the ground.
The glowing orb called Sonic turned and rammed through each of the giant battleships, destroying each one with ease. It wasn't long before he went around the entirety of them, coming back to the giant egg. He didn't stop to watch them all fall to the ground simultaneously. It was pretty cool.
"What were all those things he just destroyed?" I asked Sally.
"What, the Egg Carriers?" Sally asked. "They're what they look like; massive flying ships with a deadly amount of power. They were holding robots, but they didn't get a chance to deploy many."
Amy bashed a robot away with her hammer, sending it flying away. "And stay down!"
Sally got out her handheld of Nicole as Sonic entered the giant egg by force, making a hole in it. "Nicole," Sally said, "what's the status?"
"I've searched through all of Eggman's systems, and I don't see anything that could come close to stopping Super Sonic," Nicole answered confidently. "From what I can tell, Eggman doesn't-"
The screen fizzled out with static, and we suddenly saw Eggman's face. He was just as ugly as I remembered. "Hello, Princess," the doctor said. He had an evil grin on his face, but there was a strange determination on it.
Still, Sally stayed confident. "You have no hope of winning this day, Eggman," Sally said with authority. You wouldn't have been able to tell she was ever unsure of the mission's success. "Surrender now, and-"
Eggman laughed, and Sally frowned. "Do you honestly think I had no idea what you were planning?" he asked. "You've had all of the Chaos Emeralds for over a month. You think I didn't know this was coming?"
"Even if that's true," Sally replied, "you can't stop Super Sonic. You know this. Surrender, or Sonic will-"
A scream that echoed from the egg like nothing I had ever heard rang through the air. It was Sonic. I froze, looking at the Death Egg. The Chaos Emeralds erupted from the ship, scattering in all directions. "What?" Antoine asked. "How is zis happening?"
"I would have been so disappointed if you hadn't sent Super Sonic up here, Princess," Eggman said. "But I knew you would. Not that you really had a choice with all my Egg Carriers zeroing in on your precious city."
Sally stared ahead, not moving until we saw the Chaos Emeralds scattered from the Death Egg. "Oh, no." Sally said. She looked very panicked. "Tails! Bunnie! Find a way through the Death Egg immediately!"
"Oh, you won't get through," Eggman laughed. "Don't worry; you'll get Sonic back after I teach him a deadly lesson."
Sally rushed forward, jumping onto her board. I jumped onto Rush, staying by her side.
"It's no use!" Bunnie yelled. "There's some sort a shield I can't get through!"
"We have to help him!" Tails yelled. He sounded on the verge of tears. "But nothing will damage this thing!"
"I wish I could have gone with him," Sally said. "I should have. How could I have been so stupid?"
"I don't understand," I said. "What's happening?"
"It's hard to know for sure," Sally said, not hiding her anxiety. "Something forced the Chaos Emeralds out of Sonic. Either that, or he released the Emeralds to keep them out of Eggman's grasp. But that scream..." Sally shivered.
"Yeah, that didn't sound good," I admitted.
"There has to be something we can do," Sally said, and I could see her gears turning.
But before she could think of anything, the bottom of the Death Egg turned into a giant laser. A brilliant light shot out to the ground below, dissipating after a few seconds. It was so powerful, it sent a strong gust of wind all around it. From what I could see, something blue was laying on the ground in the middle of where the laser had been shot. "You have one week to surrender to the Eggman Empire, Princess, or everything in your precious city dies."
"Bunnie!" Sally screamed.
"I'm on it!" Bunnie said. She flew to the ground, racing toward the blue dot. She came to a stop, covering her mouth with her hands. Then, she picked Sonic up, flying back toward the city.
I suddenly felt empty as I watched her fly away. Everything had happened so fast, I was still trying to process what had happened. I hadn't even gotten a chance to panic.
Sally was still, her eyes frozen on the spot where Sonic had appeared. "What have I done...?"
"Sally," Nicole said sternly, but not harshly. "This isn't your fault. It was our only option." Was there a hint of nervousness in her voice?
"Is he..." Sally took a breath. "Is he alive?"
"I will keep an eye on him when he gets to the hospital," Nicole assured her. "You need to get back to the city."
Sally quickly turned, throwing her Extreme Gear into the air and jumping onto it, heading toward the city. I looked behind to see that Eggman had retreated for now. His giant egg moved surprisingly quickly for its sheer size.
"H-he'll be okay, right?" Amy asked, tears in her eyes as she flew along with us. "I-it's Sonic. No one's tougher t-than him."
"I don't know," Sally said. Antoine rode along silently, looking fearful.
I followed them as they went toward the city, where I saw people looking up at the sky, pointing and talking. All of them looked grim, as if they knew exactly what had happened.
"Mega Man," Sally said without looking back. "Go back to the base. We don't want you getting hurt in the confusion."
I stopped, a little hurt. I was Sonic's friend, too. But I sighed and heeded Sally's order. As much as I wanted to see Sonic's condition, I watched as they flew into an entrance leading into the city. I hesitated turning around, badly wanting to disobey Sally. Sonic and I had been through a lot.
Still, I sighed and turned, walking slowly back to the base. There was nothing I could do to keep my mind from wandering to Sonic. He had gone in as Super Sonic, looking serious and confident. He had joked and laughed less than twenty-four hours before. But he had come out battered and silent, and no one knew what had happened.
I walked into the base, Rush whining as he followed me. I sat on the couch, the space feeling empty of anything. There weren't any people around, and I doubted there would be for hours, maybe even days. I couldn't do anything but sit in the silence and wait, trying not to imagine what had happened. Did Eggman have a new weapon no one knew about? Some new villain no one had heard of? Was there something one of us could have done to help? I suddenly felt guilty. Sally had been right, but we had ignored her worries. And it had possibly cost us Sonic's life.
After sitting and worrying for quite a while, Nicole appeared in front of me, a sad smile on her face. "How is he?" I asked.
Nicole sat on the chair nearby with a sigh. "Sonic is in critical condition, but alive. It seems that after forcing the Chaos Emeralds from Sonic, Dr. Eggman sent Metal Sonic and Silver Sonic after him, letting them..."
"That's awful," I said.
"That is the way Dr. Eggman is," Nicole said, shaking her head. It seemed like there were tears in her eyes.
"I-it sounds like he'll be okay, though," I said. "We just have to defend the city while we wait for him to heal."
"I have been around Dr. Eggman's cruelty for years," Nicole said. "I have watched Sonic both struggle and succeed. But I have never seen Eggman accomplish anything like this. Though we don't know what happened for sure, it was something drastic. This will discourage the fight against Eggman like it never has before."
"But he's alive," I stressed. "Isn't that all the people need?"
"The strongest person in this world was just taken down by the people we are fighting with our very lives," Nicole said, looking me in the eye. "The trauma is so severe, the doctor who is entrusted with the health of the royal family is unsure if Sonic will wake up."
"What?" I gasped.
"He is alive and breathing on his own," Nicole said. "But... he is in a coma. He has a serious concussion, and lost a lot of blood. It's clear he's struggling to stay alive. They can focus on keeping him alive and helping his injuries heal, but... Eggman may have..."
We were silent as they sunk in. At the time, it didn't even occur to me that I might never make it home to Dr. Light and Roll. It didn't really matter. Sonic was my friend, and that's what took over my mind. I just wanted him to be okay.
"Even so," Nicole continued, "the next week will be difficult for Mobotropolis. And the rest of the world, really. We will be defending the city from an unknown power. Without knowing what just happened, we are defending blindly."
"And there's no way to tell what happened to Sonic?" I asked.
Nicole shook her head. "This isn't like last time, where Eggman knowingly confused Sonic's balance of energy. He was somehow just able to... make Sonic's body reject the Chaos Emeralds. If that's even what happened; there are a few things that could have gone wrong. Either way, whether it was him or Eggman, releasing the Chaos Emeralds makes Sonic weak for a time."
"And after that, those robots took advantage and beat him to a pulp," I said darkly.
Nicole nodded slowly. "There is nothing Eggman loves more than seeing Sonic suffer. The only reason he did not keep him was because he wanted the city to see just what he is capable of."
"This man makes Wily look like a kitten," I said.
"Eggman is very serious," Nicole said in agreement. "Eggman would not have hesitated to kill Wily if he got in the way in our last meeting."
We sat in silence for a while. Nicole seemed lost in thought, her face sad. Aside from Sonic, she was probably thinking about her best friend, Sally. How would everyone manage if Sonic didn't make it?
Nicole suddenly stood. "I must convince Nagus to help us defend the city," Nicole said. "Without him or Sonic, we stand little chance of continuing to live in a week."
"Should we evacuate?" I asked. "Nagus is your enemy, isn't he?"
"There are people who will not leave their homes here," Nicole answered. "Sally won't let those people be left behind. And Nagus is our enemy because his politics don't agree with ours, and he wants to rule the world. Nagus gained the trust of the people by saving our city once; maybe he will do it again."
"Good luck," I said with a wave. Nicole smiled, disappearing and leaving me alone again.
I leaned back on the couch, wondering how Tempo was doing. Neither of us knew anything about the planet we were on, and I knew she would want to get home. I wondered what she would do if she were here with me. It was hard to know for sure - sometimes she could be callous, but at other times she was less harsh and occasionally even kind. I had Rush with me, but he was a dog. I longed for Tempo's company.
But Sonic... in a coma? I shivered as I remembered the scream that ran through the air. I had never heard pure pain like that. I wondered how Eggman had managed to stop Sonic's super form. I remembered Sonic stopping a black hole - what could stop something that could stop a black hole?
I let a couple more hours pass before I got anxious and tired of sitting. I directed Rush to my little room, then closed the door. I left the Freedom Fighters' base through the entrance on the side of the city, then went to the entry at the front of the city.
For a moment, I hesitated. Maybe there really was a good reason they were trying to keep me out. But Sonic was my friend, and I kind of wanted to see if he was really hurt as badly as Nicole said. Maybe she was overreacting in all the mayhem.
I entered the city, walking down the path in front of me. I tried not to look at the citizens staring at me, pointing and talking. They didn't seem scared, but they didn't look pleased to see me. I kept my gaze on the ground as they searched for my eyes.
It was like the town was in mourning. Children looked confused and shocked, as if they knew exactly what was happening. It was so incredibly quiet, people whispering instead of talking loudly. It was obvious that rumors about what had happened to Sonic were already spreading.
Shops had their doors closed, with signs saying sorry we missed you! The village looked gray and sad, so unlike the night before. It was like I was in a completely different place. A few raindrops dropped on the ground.
I saw a hospital ahead, walking faster. There was a crowd in front of it, probably trying to figure out the same thing I was - how badly Sonic was actually hurt. I shuffled through the people, getting to the front of the building.
"Who the heck are you?" a security guard asked. He looked like a large, brown dog. "I ain't never seen your kind around here before."
"I-I'm just a normal human kid," I said, trying not to let my nerves show. "I just got here the other day-"
"Yeah, well," the guard huffed, "no one's allowed in right now."
"Please, sir," I said, holding my hands together in front of me. "He was - is my friend."
After a moment of hesitation, the guard sighed. "I'm sorry, but unless you're having an emergency or are authorized by the princess, I can't let anyone inside."
"Where is... Princess Sally?" I asked.
I felt someone grab my arm, dragging me forward. It was nice, dramatic timing, but Sally didn't look happy to see me. "He's with me," Sally said flatly, dragging me inside the building.
I followed her into an elevator, where she went in and pushed a button. There were five floors, and we were going to the second. Sally looked angry, her arms folded and tapping her foot. "I-I'm really sorry," I said. "I just-"
"It's not you," Sally sighed, looking like she was about to break down. "Nagus won't defend the city, telling us it was our fault that Sonic... that Sonic..."
Sally shook her head, looking like she was holding back tears. "Let's go," she said.
"H-he'll be back on his feet in no time, you'll see," I said. Though I wasn't so sure.
"I'll show you his room," Sally said. "You'll only be allowed inside the hospital if I'm with you, so take as much time as you need now."
She slid a big glass door open, then moved aside a curtain, pushing it back into place after I got inside. Tails, Bunnie, Antoine, and Amy were all inside, looking doleful and serious.
I went to Sonic's side, and he looked pretty beat up. One of his arms was in a thick, pink cast, and there were a lot of bandages and some blood, but he looked like he was sleeping peacefully, albeit with tubes in his arm and one in his nose.
"Dang," I said, looking at a screen that started screaming with beeps. It didn't like one of the flashing numbers. I looked back down at Sonic, and it looked like he was having trouble breathing, his chest falling and rising with shaky breaths. "I guess it does look like he's struggling."
"He has a massive concussion," Sally said. "Along with other injuries."
The room was silent as I watched Sonic, who continued to occasionally struggle. I had seen him in bad shape, sure - he had been stabbed by Shadow and stayed on his feet - but this was different. This wasn't like when Wily had drained him of his life force or being shot with a massive amount of energy that should have made him explode. He wasn't just covered in scrapes and bruises. Blood seeped through a bandage on his chest, and that bright cast seemed to stare at me. One of his eyes was swollen shut.
"It's bad," Bunnie said. She had seen him before all the dressings, just after Eggman beamed him to the ground.
"I-I mean," I said. "He'll make it."
"Will he?" Antoine said.
"We have to think positively, right?" I asked.
They still looked unconvinced. "He's right," Sally said.
"I am?" I asked.
Sally took a deep breath. "This is Sonic we're talking about. We're all acting like we've lost a friend, like there's no hope left. We act like that, and we're basically giving Eggman the win he wanted. Sonic's still here. He's still alive. There's still a good chance he'll wake up to pay Eggman for what he's done. We've got to show the city that the hope Sonic gives to the world isn't lost. Even if... Even if he doesn't wake up, if we act like Eggman wants us to act, we've lost. And it won't just be New Mobotropolis that suffers for it.
"And in the meantime, we've got a city that needs to be heavily defended. Sure, Sonic was - is - the leading force of the Freedom Fighters. Of the army, really. But I am not going to stand by and watch as New Mobotropolis falls to Eggman. We have to keep going while Sonic recovers."
The Freedom Fighters all looked at her, and I wondered if she wasn't holding herself together by the thinnest of threads. "What did Nagus say?" Antoine asked.
"Nothing we didn't suspect," Sally answered. "We got ourselves into this mess, and he's not going to help fix it. Which probably means he'll be as dramatic as Sonic, showing the town and Eggman that he is the strongest at the last second."
"Even though he's not," Tails said angrily. His eyes didn't have that normal glow in them.
Sally smiled. "Of course not. And I'm not going to let the battle rely on him, even if I'm confident he won't let the city fall."
I looked at Sonic, hoping with my nonexistent heart that he was listening in and had something to say. Something stupid, dramatic, and funny. And probably inappropriate.
Instead, his breathing turned ragged again, setting off the alarm.
"You're right, of course, Sally-girl," Bunnie said with a smile.
Antoine got up and sighed. "While I am thinking we have no chance, I will be defending the city until my last breath."
"Poetic," I said. "What about...?" I pointed at Tails, who was looking at the ground.
"They will be there when we need them," Sally assured me. "They need time."
"Let us go home," Antoine said, taking Bunnie's hand. They left the room.
Sally went to the edge of the bed, looking at Sonic. She looked sad and weary, as if she didn't even know where that energy had come from.
"Do you know what you're going to do?" I asked. "How we're going to stop Eggman in a week?"
She sighed, then walked over to Sonic and kissed his forehead. "I don't know," she said. I followed her out of the room. "I need to find others I can rally to help us."
We went into the elevator, going to the ground floor. As I followed Sally outside, she was basically surrounded by people. She didn't answer their questions, just walked on by. Eventually, they gave up, returning to the front of the hospital.
Once we were out of peoples' sights, Sally turned to me and sighed. "I need you to stay inside the base. The last thing we need is for people to try and attack you."
"No, I get it," I said. "I'll stay in this time."
Sally ran a hand through her hair. She looked nervous as she looked at a castle in the distance.
"I'm sure everything will be fine," I said again.
"You said that yesterday," Sally said.
"W-well," I muttered. "I mean, it wasn't... I didn't..."
"It's not your fault," Sally assured me. "I should have known."
"This doesn't lie on your shoulders, either," I said. "Eggman was right - he was closing in on the city with an alarming rate. Sonic would have used the Chaos Emeralds anyway, even if you told him he could be flying to his own funeral."
"I mean, that's true," Sally sighed. "But maybe if I had listened to my head, I could have figured out a way to save Sonic and stop Eggman."
"Maybe that truly wasn't possible this time," I shrugged.
"I can't accept that as an answer."
"I know."
"The whole world could be destined to fail, and we still wouldn't stop fighting. If anything, it would make us more determined to succeed."
"I guess that makes sense. The only other choice is surrender, and you want to prolong that for as long as possible, if you can't stop it."
Sally nodded. "I won't stop until this is finished."
For a minute, we stood, the silence awkward. For me, at least. Sally was looking at the castle, and I could see the gears in her brain working to figure out what the next step was.
"I wish I could just go to sleep and have this all be a dream," Sally sighed.
"The world picked a good day to be dark and dreary," I said, holding my hand out as it started to rain again.
"I'd better go," Sally said, walking away and waving. "Maybe Rotor can put you to work!"
"Yeah," I muttered with a wave. I stood there another few minutes, watching as she traveled up a path to the castle. Then I turned and ran outside the city and toward the base.