Chapter Text
In hindsight, it should have clicked sooner.
But Sonic was too focused on keeping himself that the crew of Angel's Voyage alive after Rusty Rose appeared, he couldn't really think as to how she got to No Place in the first place. He managed to save his friends-but-not-really-them from the roboticized pink hedgehog and the badnik army, ran across the ocean to save The Dread from yet another swarm of robots, which promptly ended with the Prism shard sucking him into the Void. And a punch in the face from a very familiar black hedgehog.
Shadow's words hung over his head, but, again, he had no time to think about them too much. Rusty's ship barged right in the middle of their fight and with a quick "I'll get back to you" he shot after it, managing to grab onto the side as it opened a portal and flew back to the awfully familiar dystopian city.
Sonic kicked open a vent, finding himself in what looked like an engine room, staring into a Prism shard. The Prism shard he recognised in an instant. It was the one he saw the most times, first locked in the vault, then in a small shuttle-
His breath hitched as his mind caught up with the implication.
Nine.
He turned on the heel, speeding through the corridors like a blue blur he was. He skidded to a stop in the middle of the bridge, eyebrows furrowed angrily. He ignored the sounds of charging and the robotic cannons pointed in his direction. He stared at the pink cyborg, his mouth in an angry scowl.
"Where is he?" he growled, fists tightening so much he heard the material stretch.
"For someone so fast, it took you so long to catch onto that," Rusty replied, her voice emotionless. Sonic grit his teeth.
"What did you do?" he asked, attempting and failing to not sound furious.
"Recovered the item rightfully belonging to the Council," the cyborg stated.
Sonic was pretty sure she was playing with him, which only made him more angry. The spines on his back rose as he felt the energy boiling under his skin.
"I'm going to only ask this one more time," he said, his voice leveled and eyes burning. "What did you do to Nine?!"
Rusty didn't reply. She stared back, but something about her gaze told the hedgehog she would have smirked if she could.
"He was dealt with like any other rebel," she replied.
And Sonic… Sonic lost it.
With a furious cry he jumped at the cyborg, managing to hit her before her arm was raised high enough to block the attack. His fists moved as fast as his feet, getting a hit after hit.
He heard a shot from behind and dodged, landing on the other side of the room. There was a black scorched mark where he was standing just a second before. He glared angrily at the badniks pointing their cannons in his direction.
Without thinking, he rolled into a ball and sped at the robots. It took only a few seconds to take care of the attackers, the now-unmoving badniks laying on the metal floor, missing parts and sparking electricity.
He was too slow to dodge another charge. The air left his lungs as the metal fist connected with his stomach, sending him flying. He flew past the robots and hit the glass window hard .
He coughed, falling to all fours. Where his back met the glass there was a huge crack, a single blue quill poking through to the outside. The place where the quill was pulled out from tingled, but he could easily ignore it.
Sonic looked up, an angry scowl on his face, as he stared at the pink cyborg. She looked back at him, her stoic expression only adding to the hedgehog's irritation.
"You're not going to stop me from finding him," he growled, pushing himself up.
"We shall see about that," was the only warning he got before she attacked again.
Maybe in other circumstances Sonic would have held his punches and kicks, put less strength in his attacks to not damage Amy. But Rusty wasn't Amy. Not anymore.
As much as the speedster didn't want to admit it, there was barely anything of Amy left inside the cyborg. And what was still there, wasn't enough to make her see the wrong in her actions. Not yet, anyway. Not anytime soon.
And this time, Sonic didn't have time for pleasantries. This time, he had a little brother to save.
Yes, he knew Nine wasn't Tails. Or, he was, but a different version of him. Version that didn't know him as much as the original Tails did. Version that didn't share the same relationship the hedgehog shared with the younger fox from his universe.
But despite all that, that was still Tails. His younger brother. His family.
Maybe more battered and bitter, but to him, the one who knew the fox best, it was obvious it was still the same Tails.
He could see it in the small things. In the tone of Nine's voice. In the way he stuck out his tongue or drummed his fingers when he was focusing on something. Or how the code to Nine's workshop was the one he used every time to get into Tails'. The little things that made Tails, well…, Tails.
And now he was figuratively banging his head for how stupid he was for not realizing it sooner. Last time he saw Nine he was in the shuttle he built, powered by the Prime shard, engaged in the battle with the Chaos Council. He lost sight of the fox in the heat of everything, but there was something nibbling at the back of his mind, telling him the fox was in trouble.
He was to find it after they won, but Shadow's ghost(?), projection (?) appeared and urged him to go faster. Next thing he knew he was falling through the space and landed in No Place. How could he have just forgotten about Nine and had fun with Angel's Voyage crew?
And when Rusty Rose arrived, he should have suspected something amiss. It's not like there were Prime shards laying and waiting for someone to pick them up around New Yoke City. There was only one shard there. Shard, which was supposed to be in Nine's shuttle.
As Sonic dodged the barrage of attacks he once more wondered how he could have been so stupid. Stupid and careless.
Because, of course, if the shard was in Council's vault, they would do anything to get it back. And that meant putting whoever had it at risk. It was like painting a target mark on the back.
It was all Sonic's fault.
He wanted to steal the shard. His disappearance was what forced Nine to take it in his stead. And it was him who Nine came back for. The fox threw himself at the battle not for the city, not for its citizens. He did it for Sonic, for the only Mobian who ever showed him kindness.
And he had failed him. He wasn't there when Nine needed him the most. And because he wasn't there, Nine got hurt. Or worse.
Sonic shivered at the thought. He didn't want to think about what the Council must have done to the fox. They certainly were more ruthless than Eggman back in his world. He had to find Nine. Fast.
He reacted a second too late. A fist connected to his stomach, throwing him at the opposite wall. A pink hand grabbed his throat and held him against it, his feet dangling in the air.
"You seem extremely eager to join the fox," Rusty commented, her green led eyes staring at the speedster. "I can't decide whether you're suicidal, or just plain stupid."
"Nah, you know me. Gotta go fast. Just gonna jump in, grab Nine and be out of your metal hair before you know it," despite the seriousness of the situation Sonic couldn't stop the snarky remark. The cyborg narrowed her eyes at him which counted as a win in his book. He then grabbed his chin in thought. "Are they even hair anymore? They're not natural, so I'm not- woah! Careful with those nails!" the hedgehog cried as he ducked, evading the metal claws aiming at his chest.
Entering a slide, Sonic landed a few feet away, glaring at the cyborg. It seemed there were only two choices. He could either fight her for real, or find a way to escape so he could look for Nine. And while the first option provided a certainty he won't be followed by a killer robot version of one of his best friends, the hedgehog really would rather avoid causing some real damage to Rusty. She was Amy, after all. Even if brainwashed and a little too metalic for his taste. That left him with one option.
While Sonic wasn't know for running away from the fight, preferring to finish things there and then, he knew this time there was no other way. He refused to hurt Rusty, even if she had no such reservations.
His eyes scanned the surrounding, spotting the ship was passing over the trading trucks. With how his latest crash against the glass cracked the surface, he imagined it wouldn't take much force to completely break through. If he timed things right, he would be able to jump the ship and land safely on the tracks. Now, he wasn't a genius like Tails or Nine, who could run calculations to come up with the answer, but he did his fare share of jumping and falling to recognise the right moment and angle himself properly got the best result.
Now, Rusty didn't have rockets or anything of the sort, so if he could distract her long enough before he jumped, he would be out and gone before she notices. Her expandable arms and legs won't be able to safely allow her to reach the tracks. That is if, once more, he times things right.
The ship was following the tracks, but the hedgehog could see it would change soon, given the direction the vehicle was moving. If he were to do something, it had to be now.
His gaze landed on the control console and he grinned. Perfect.
Tapping into his powers, he shot past the cyborg, crashing into the console. Sparks flew in all directions, the ship shaking as the right engine sputtered and stopped working. The floor tilted to the side, throwing the unprepared cyborg off-balance and against the wall.
"Well, I'd love to stay and play some more, but I've got places to be," Sonic called from his spot by the console, one hand keeping himself steady.
Then, faster than the cyborg could react, he rolled into a ball and spindashed straight into the window. It broke instantly, the flurry of glass shards falling both inside and outside of the ship. Sonic paid them no mind, as he noticed his window of opportunity closing. In a blur of blue he made his way to the roof of the quickly losing altitude ship, and then jumped, his hands thrown forward. He grabbed the tracks, pulling himself up. The hedgehog spared only a glance and the plumeting ship before turning his head to the city.
"Alright," he said, crossing his arms. "If I were a dictator and captured a rebel, where would I keep them?"
His eyes scanned New Yoke City, stopping at the familiar tower belonging to the Chaos Council. Tower, which was missing a top.
"What in Gaia's name-?" Sonic muttered as his gaze spotted the missing piece, hovering several miles away from where it should be. Huh, so it was an airship then.
Grinning, he took off on the tracks in the direction of the air fortress. If it was up there, that meant the Council was inside. And if they were inside, so was Nine.
Hold up, bud , he thought as he jumped from the tracks and ran upwards the wall of the nearest building. I'm coming .