Level 1 Boss: Egg-samurai 2000

Amelia Jade:

Honey the Cat dashed around the mech avoiding blows from the badniks and punched it in the leg causing a few scratches.

The first badnik sent an arm cannon blasting towards Honey which Rouge dive kicked away just in time sending it to the second badnik causing it's leg to be blown to bits.

The second shot a barrage of bullets at Amy which she deflected with her hammer. They rebounded into it's head causing it to burst and it's body to fall to the ground.

The first badnik replaced it's leg with a spare and fired a laser at Rouge which she dodged but instead, got slammed in the back with Eggman's mech causing her to crash into the window of a vacant toy store.

The second badnik was apparently still functioning because it bashed into Amy with full force causing her to crash onto the floor.

Rouge got up in time to stop the second badnik from crushing Amy and pulled her into the air then, dropped her from a few feet above the second so she could smash it with her hammer with a more intense impact, causing the whole thing to explode.

The first one attempted to blast a rocket at Honey only so she could spin it back at him causing a loud boom to echo throughout the vicinity as it fell to pieces.

"Give it up already Eggman. We've got you surrounded," Amy said demandingly.

Dr. Eggman just smirked and laughed.

"Why are you laughing? Did we say something funny?" Honey said with a sassy attitude.

"If you thought that was the real challenge than I'll have you know that you are greatly mistaken. Hahahahaha!" He cackled in delight.

He pressed a big red button and the mech began to display the heavy arsenal of weapons that it hid within it's backside and new sheets of black armor began to layer it's self upon the silver mech. He unsheathed a large carbon steel katana about eight feet long with a steampunk style handle.

Our faces began to morph into that of shock and terror.

"I give you my latest creation... the Egg-Samurai 2000!"

Shadow the Hedgehog:

So G.U.N. decided to give me a day off today. It was a cool and breezie spring day with a clear sunny sky which contradicted my mood. I stood on a tall hill with a tree behind me by Westopolis. I came here very frequently whenever something was on my mind or when I had nothing to do. Suddenly the sound of earpiece began to blare in my ear.

Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep

I grunted and clicked my earpiece to hear Rouge on the other side.

"Shadow, it's Rouge," she was panting heavily.

"This had better be important," I muttered to myself.

"It's an emergency! We need you to get over here right now!" She panicked.

"Where are you and what do you mean by we? What the hell is going?" I asked confused. I thought it was our day off today.

"I'm at a place called All Star Mall in Station Square with Amy and that girl Amelia." I heard a laser off in the distance and a very familiar laugh from someone I really don't like.

"I'll be there right away," I clicked the earpiece again and glided in the direction of my destination only to be confronted by Eclipse who stood in my way with an idiotic smirk on his face.

"Get out of my way freak," I tried to push past him but he knocked me to the ground with a swift kick to my legs.

"Oh, I don't think so. If I do you might catch up to my Amelia."

"Hmph. I don't have time for this" I jumped up and attempted to deck him in the face only to have my arm twisted behind my back.

"Garh!" He yanked me down and I dropped to my knees in pain.

He laughed and kicked me in the back. I growled and I flipped him off of me.

"What's wrong? Are you afraid that your skank bat is gonna die? Or that I might have my way with Amelia if I get my hands on her?" He had an impish grin.

This idiot just made a few life threatening mistakes.

Sure a lot of people make fun of Rouge for the way she dresses, I really didn't like to hear it coming from him though.

Second, he just insinuated that he was going to mess an innocent girl who never wanted to be involved in this anyways. Yeah, don't expect any mercy from me after that.

"I wonder if you'll still be laughing when I send you straight to hell," I tackled him.

Amelia Jade:

Everyone was on the ground weak and worn down from the intense battle with the Egg-Samurai 2000. Except for me who just stood there like and idiot, watching it all go down.

"Run Amelia, it's not safe here," Rouge's voice was rasped.

I was too shocked to move, unless you counted the trembling feeling I felt inside.

"Amelia you have to run!" Amy said weakly.

The arm of the mech grabbed me from the ground to fast for me to react. I screamed at the crushing feeling I received from the metallic hand that now held me in it's grasp.

"Now watch as your friends die right in front of your eyes. Hahaha!"

Amy... Rouge... I hadn't known them for a long enough time to call them friends, but they've done more than enough for me to consider them as such. They gave me food, clothing, and a roof over my head when I was a complete stranger to them. They didn't deserve to die because of me. I wanted to help them. I wanted to save them. I needed to be faster... I needed to be stronger! I needed power and for the first time, I felt it deep within me. I concentrated and reached for it with the strength of my will. I had to save my friends. I HAD TO!

My world went dark for a second and I saw three glowing yellow eyes glare at me. 'Unleash the power you hold within and destroy that pitiful human. In the name of the Black Arms Race!"

"No..." I clenched my fist and grit my teeth.

"Huh? What's that?"

"NOOOOOO!" I had a feeling like electricity rush throughout my body that made me feel invincible as a red aura encased my being. What was this feeling coursing through me? Was it the power I held inside of me?

I pushed the hand apart using the newfound strength held within me, causing it to explode. I did a backwards flip and landed perfectly on the ground.

"Whaaat?!" He shouted angrily.

I began to levitate in the air and teleported in front of the huge samurai. The doctor's eyes began to widen.

"CHAAOOS-!" I chanted as my body began to glow bright red.

"BLAST!!!" My body quickly bursted with a blast of heavy energy that slammed the samurai mech square in the chest that blew the entire thing to pieces.

It was all over quickly. Eggman fell to the ground covered in black soot and passed out a few seconds later.

I was able to save my new friends from getting killed which might have made me feel relieved if my body wasn't still coursing with uncontrollable energy. I tried to find a way to stop the energy emminating from my body, but nothing was working.

"Somebody stop this!" I cried in panic.

Shadow the Hedgehog:

Eclipse and I charged at each other like fierce animals. I was about to land a hit on that imp's head but we were both caught off by a voice that echoed in our minds.

'Please stop this!' I heard the voice cry desperately.

"Amelia?" I was completely thrown off by her voice which snapped me out of my anger.

"It seems that her inner power has finally awakened," he grinned maliciously.

I grabbed him by the scales of his chest and lifted him off the ground.

"What did you do to her?!" I growled in his face.

"You should rejoice brother! She is truly one of us now... permanently!"

I threw him to the ground and was able to teleport to Amelia by tracing her with our newly created mental link.

I ended up in the middle of All Star Mall half a second later. Amelia was suspended in the middle of the air with a mass of chaos energy streaming from her body. Windows exploded and walls burned when they came into contact with it. Scraps of metal were strewn across the ground and black oil drenched the floor. The place was completely vacant except for Rouge, Amy, Honey, and Eggman who laid unconscious on the ground.

"Please help me somebody! I don't want to hurt anyone!" she cried again with tears streaming from her eyes.

She looked me in the eyes. I don't know why, but this made me panic inside. An image of Maria passed through my mind when I gazed at her face.

"I'm going to you get you down from there!"

"You have to kill me Shadow, I can't stop myself. Make sure that everyone else gets away safely," she cried in pain.

"I'm sorry, but that's not an option," I teleported behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. I used my available hand to pinch a pressure point on her neck which knocked her out.

Amelia Jade:

Dreaming?:

I found myself in a soothing place encased with a white glow. Am I dead?

The glow gradually began to fade. I turned around and found a stone structure with steps that led up somewhere.

I wondered if maybe they lead to the gates of heaven.

I walked up the steps as I studied my surroundings. I found myself in a beautiful grassy land with a forest surrounding the perimeter. The place seemed to be floating somehow. When I got to the top I saw a red guy with tendrils for hair, two white crescents on his chest, and white gloves with spikes on the knuckles; guarding a giant green gem. Then I began to doubt my suspicions.

"Hey, can you tell me where I am?" I walked up to him but his eyes didn't focus on me and he stayed quiet.

"Hello?" I snapped my fingers in front of his face. Still didn't respond. I jumped in front of him and waved my arms in the air. I sighed. I rested my hand on his shoulder. Actually, I fell through him trying to and fell flat on my face.

"Well don't I feel pathetic at all," I pouted.

"So I see you've finally arrived." I heard a kind female voice. I looked up to see an orange girl with similar hair-like tendrils and ancient Aztec style clothing.

"What is this place? Do you know how I got here?"

"Yes, I'll explain everything and you can call me Tikal by the way."

Shadow the Hedgehog:

The energy emitting from her began to subside. I absorbed all of the remaining chaos energy and converted it into chaos control. I teleported the both of us to Space Colony ARK. I quickly and gently placed her on the ground. I didn't have much time before the she would wake up again.

If I remember correctly, Professor Gerald told me once that he had kept another set of power-sealing ring bracelets. I found the set in the Professor's office in a clear glass box which I smashed open with my fist.

I slid the golden ring bracelets around her wrists and ankles. Then, I picked her up and held her in my arms again.

I chaos controlled with her to back to the mall and noticed that everyone was awake now and the Doctor who seemed to trying to pushing himself off of the ground. He probably woke up not too long ago.

I laid Amelia down and walked up to the pathetic old man, giving him a cold hard glare. He just looked at me and rubbed his head in confusion. He looked around himself as if trying to determine where he was.

"What on earth am I doing here?! Is someone playing a joke on me? It's related to that pesky blue hedgehog isn't it?" He looked deeply confused and grumpy. He scratched his head and made a groan of pain.

I lifted an eyebrow, "You mean don't remember anything that just happened?"

He rubbed his temples in hard circular motions as if trying to remember something. Then snapped his finger with a look that read 'Aha!'.

"Actually if I remember correctly, I believe I was working on my latest creation, the Egg-Samurai 2000. An indestructible suit of armor with god-like power-" he said proudly then his face contorted into that of anger "-after I was putting the finishing touches on my masterpiece someone had attacked me and strapped me into my machine. Everything after that I can't exactly recall..."

His eyes found the remains of his latest creation. He pounded his fists into the ground like a child having a fit and he pulled at the hairs of his mustache.

"MY MACHINE!!! Who ever is responsible for this is going to pay with their very lives!" He boomed with frustration. I snickered. This was the highlight of my day. The mad scientist looked so pathetic, throwing his child-like temper tantrum that I almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

"So I'm guessing he wasn't directly involved then, huh?" Rouge stood next to me.

"That would be my first guess. On my way here I remember Eclipse mentioned something about unlocking the girl's...true potential."

"Maybe he brainwashed Eggman into doing his dirty work for him."

"Hmph. I wouldn't be surprised if that damn imp was behind any of this."

Amelia Jade:

"So why can't that guy see me?"

"Don't mind him. You're just not in your body right now."

I panicked and lowered my head, "So I really am dead then."

She giggled. "Not exactly. You are still alive but your conscience found it's way here after you passed out."

"Do you know why though?"

"You unlocked an ancient power that has been resting inside of you for years when you wanted to save your friends."

"Wait, what?!" I had no idea what she was talking about. Only a few days ago I was just a normal human girl, so how could I have been holding that power within me for years?

"When you were born you were too weak to live and you shortly passed away afterwards. But the master emerald blessed your body so you could live again and remnants of it's power have been residing in you ever since."

"Is that the master emerald?" I pointed towards the giant glowing gem that seemed to pulse with energy.

"Yes it is. It helps this island to stay afloat and is one of the most powerful things in the universe."

I gazed upon it in wonder. I can't believe I'm alive because of this gem. I wondered why my mother never told me I died as a child.

"By the way, there's more that I have to ask you, Tikal."

"You can ask me anything you'd like to know." She smiled at me.

"Do you know how I can become human again?" Her smile began to fade. She sighed.

"If you must know... you would have to find the seven chaos emeralds and bring them back here so that the gates to the Lake of Rebirth will be opened unto you."

"Do you know where I can find them?"

"I'm sure your new friends can help you with that." She winked and disappeared in a flash.

Suddenly the white glow encased the vicinity again.

Waking up:

I awoke in my friend Amy's house on her bed. I saw Rouge and Amy were asleep next to me. We were all in our pajamas except I wore a white nightgown this time and I still wore my hairband.

'Maybe it was just a dream.' I sat up wrapping my arms around my knees and began to think.

Then I looked out the window to see a beautiful full moon in the sky. Shadow stood on a tree branch next to the ledge with his arms folded across his chest.

'Or was it?'

His eyes met mine. I crawled out of bed and walked towards the window. I opened the window and sat on the windowsill.

"I can see you've finally woken up."

"Were you waiting for me to?"

He just smirked at me.

"I needed to tell you something before I left."

"Okay, shoot."

Then his expression became serious again, "Those rings you have on-" he directed my attention to the bracelets I hadn't noticed before.

"I suggest you don't take them off from this point forward. They are meant to help keep your new powers under control." Then I realized the rings he wore weren't just for decoration.

"Can you teach me?"

"Teach you what?"

"To control my powers."

"Why are you so interested in learning?"

"Because I want to be able to defend myself from guys like Eclipse. I don't want to live my life with people having to defend me all the time. I promise I'll listen to everything you say."

He shrugged his shoulders, "Sounds pretty fair enough."

"I really didn't want to tell him about that mission I'm going on. It's really complicated and I'd probably sound insane if I told him about it," I thought to myself

His eyebrow lifted in curiosity.

"Complicated in what way?" I heard an echo in my mind sounding like his voice. Weird. I'm probably just imagining things.

"I have to find these things called the seven chaos emeralds and bring them back to a floating island so that I can become human again. My powers would probably help me along the way."

"I can probably help you with both you know."

"Wait, are you reading my mind?"

"Maybe," he said with a sly smile.

"So I guess you know then," I said feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Why were you trying to hide that in the first place?"

"Because, I don't want to be a burden to anyone. I don't want anyone to get hurt on my account."

"Well I'm sorry, but I'm not letting you go alone."

I sighed, "I really didn't want to drag anyone into this."

'Believe me, I've dealt with worse.' I heard in my mind.

"How does he do that anyways?"

"It's a long story, I'll tell you about it some other time."

He turned around about to leave and then I realized I hadn't given him any sign of gratitude for everything he'd done for me today.

"Wait! Before you go, there's something I have to tell you," I said getting his attention.

"What is it?" His head turned in my direction.

"Thank you for saving me, twice that is." I smiled.

"Hmph, no problem," then he smirked and turned his head away from me.

"Chaos control!" There was a flash of light. He disappeared a few seconds later.

I gazed out at the bright haloed moon. Stars filled the sky like a swarm of fireflies. The city looked bright and lively it bustled with a mass of people who still had places where they needed to be at. This reminded me somewhat of Station Square and made me wonder how my family was doing.

Was my sister feeling better? Is my mother doing alright, knowing that I'm gone? Was my father safe? I wanted it all to be okay somehow, but none of it was under my control. The most I could do was find the chaos emeralds so that I could become human again. I realized that needed help though, I couldn't go on this journey by myself even if I wanted to. Eclipse was still out there, planning on using me to bring back a parasitic alien race bent on destroying all life as we know it. I wished I was strong enough to do it all on my own though.

'Meet me at the G.U.N. Base tomorrow afternoon,' I heard Shadow's voice echo in my head again.

Seriously, how does he even do that?!