Chapter 2: Sacrifice
For a few seconds, Amy could only stare at the hole in the gun, hoping that she would not be a victim of murder. Then she slowly pressed the button on the cash register. The ching sound made the gunman flinch, and Amy immediately looked back up, but no bullet came out of the pistol. Amy took out all of the money, which only amounted to around 100 dollars, since it was the beginning of the day. Amy looked back up at the gunman, and he nodded. Amy noticed Cream in a corner, crouched, shivering with exceptional fear. She held the money toward the gangster, but someone in the crowd lunged out and tackled him. Before he was pinned, the gangster pointed the gun in her direction and fired.

Sonic stared at Joseph. "He's come back?" "Yes," Joseph confirmed. Looking back at his clipboard, he said, "Eggman was spotted last night at Station Square with some menacing weapons. Witnesses who were brave enough to get close saw a fat man in a red suit and mustache grinning at them all. They said he was screaming for Sonic..." Joseph looked up at the hedgehog, "...for you." Sonic grinned. "Well, after I'm done with him, he's gonna wish he was still in hiding." "Sonic, be careful," Joseph warned. "He may be harder than he ever has been." "Well, duh, he always gets harder!" Sonic returned. "But he's never a match for me!" Joseph had had enough. He ran so he could seize him, but Sonic simply stepped aside and let him fall to the ground. He quickly got up again and lunged for him, but he sped to the other side of the room. Joseph knew that he would continually repeat his manuever, so he simply got up and stood there, using a napkin for his bloody nose. Sonic grinned. "Havin' fun yet?" Joseph just looked at him and said, "Just go." Before the words were out of his mouth, all that was left of him was a streak.

For Amy, the shot came to her in slow-motion. She watched, helpless and vulnerable, as a small explosion sent the bullet at her. She examined its color: blacker than the night sky. She spotted movement to her right, but she couldn't seem to focus on it as the bullet came at her. Expecting the worst, she clasped her hands together. She thought of Sonic, and they would never see each other again. She visioned Sonic at her funeral, wiping his own tears off her casket. Sonic didn't even know what she was going through. Then she felt pain in her side as she fell down, hitting the hard tile. Then all went black.

Sonic sped to Station Square. He wasn't expecting what he saw. There were houses completely demolished all over the city. As much as he had known, the worst Eggman had did was scare people away by damaging houses severely, but not completely remove. Then he noticed large imprints leading into the city. Sonic grimaced, then followed the tracks to a house that wasn't damaged the least bit. Sonic grinned. "Eggman's not smart enough for me!" As soon as he stepped inside, the door slammed shut. He heard a click on the other side, then humongous laughter.

Tails heard the same thing Sonic had heard, since his house was so close to the location. Going outside, he gasped as he saw Eggman in an enormous robot, taunting Sonic. He heard Eggman say, "I have outsmarted you again, furball, and this time, it'll be the last time I have to."

Sonic sat on the only bench in the place and sighed. He'd already searched the place for a way out, but there was none. He'd left his Chaos Emerald at home, so Chaos powers were not an option. With nothing left to do, Sonic lied horizontally on the hard, sturdy bench and slept.

Tails couldn't stop thinking about Sonic. He kept thinking, even through midnight, but Tails had to face the fact that there was nothing to do for his friend. He thought of all the times that Sonic had saved him. He wanted to do something in return, but this wasn't the time. As he slipped under the covers, he looked at the building, where he could hear Sonic talking in his sleep about chili dogs. Tails smiled, and soon after he was out cold.

Amy looked up. She saw a hole in the wall right behind where she was standing. Or had been standing. She saw someone staring into her face and was immediately startled. She turned to others and said something, but Amy couldn't understand anything in the grogginess. She soon found herself in air, held by five pairs of hands. Spectators stared at her like she was some exotic animal. It was so crowded and the flashes from cameras were so many it reminded her of paparazzi. She was led out the door and into a white vehicle, which immediately sped off. The last thing she remembered before she was out again was a hallucination of Sonic.

Joseph quickly got up the next morning, expecting for there to be a message on his answerphone. But after checking it, there were no messages from anybody, much less from Sonic. Joseph became concerned. He knew Sonic had been mouthing off lately, and he was still mad at him for that, but he knew Sonic was a great help in the work force. He decided to take a walk to Station Square. Stepping outside, there was already a small crowd of people on the street. They were chattering happily, making Joseph the oddball. He didn't focus on that, however, and he set his course toward Station Square, where we would be a witness of trouble.

Sonic and Tails both woke up as Eggman's robot cleared away half of the building that contained the blue hedgehog. Eggman laughed in his villainous way once more. "I have you, Sonic. Any last words?" Tails, outraged, stormed down the stairs and out the door. Sonic, on the other hand, was a deer in headlights. Eggman laughed. "OK, then, prepare to die!" He set his weapons on laser, and it shot out. Before Sonic blacked out, he saw yellow fur in his face.