Lost and Found

Chapter 2 - Almost Like Last Time

It was about a week later when she encountered the hedgehog again. Whisper had caught wind of an Eggman base tucked away at the edges of his of newly-built technological marvel Metropolis, tiny for his doing but certainly an asset to his operations regardless. If she wanted to start small and unnoticeable and not risk running into anyone who'd distract her like the hedgehog had, this would be the perfect place to begin her mission to defy Eggman by herself.

When she arrived, however, she discovered to her shock that she hadn't been the only one with knowledge of this place after all. Out of all people who could have been there, it was Silver who was sneaking through the undergrowth just outside the base. The hedgehog was clearly on high alert but not paying attention to what was going on behind him, where she was hiding some distance away. She got the feeling he had problems with watching his back.

She clenched her hands into fists with a small growl hidden behind her mask. This was supposed to be her mission, the one where she did everything on her own as she gathered every bit of information she could before destroying the base! Why did he have to show up here right now, of all times and places?! Still, she knew she couldn't leave him. The last time they met he had barely gotten away with his life, if only because she intervened... Now that she was here, she might as well watch from the distance and help out when needed, unseen and unnoticed by all. No-one would lose their life again because of her ineptitude.

As the hedgehog arrived at the edge of the heavily guarded entrance of the base with her hot on his tail, he stopped advancing for a moment, crouching away in the undergrowth while clearly pondering what to do. With the swarms of robots patrolling the area he would be caught for sure if he went for a frontal offence; stealth would have to be his saving grace.

Whisper choked back a gasp as one second he was sitting right in front of her nose, and the next second he was gone. Frantically tracing her eyes over the clearing – only Sonic could possibly move that fast, and he had been defeated weeks prior! – she thought she could make out a few flickers of teal from the shadows inside the entrance. She gulped. Everything she knew about the base and Eggman in general told her it would be filled to the brim with death traps, and the fool had walked right into it... Silver was in danger. Just like them.

With her experience as a scout for her fallen team she could easily figure out the patterns of the guard robots. Taking a deep breath and making sure the characteristic mask was pressed firmly against her face, she noiselessly darted between search lights and metal monstrosities as she neared the base. With the cover of the night and her dark cloak she went by unnoticed, carefully slipping between the robots that towered just in front of the entrance. Keeping her breath shallow, she made sure her footsteps did not create a single sound as she rapidly tiptoed further inside, pushing away any and all memories of how often she had done this before. She had made it into the base, but where was Silver?

Her question was answered when a large crash and a muffled cry, followed near-instantly by the distant sound of fighting, reached her ears. Keeping her steps light she rushed to the place of origin as quickly as she could, Wisps and Wispon at the ready. It sounded just like when...! No, she couldn't think about that now. She had to focus, for Silver.

When she reached the end of the hallway she cursed under her breath. The door from beyond which the ruckus came had been locked, and she couldn't see a single slit or control panel to open it. Silver had been trapped in there, and her fears had become true. With a spike of pure terror at the realisation she staggered back, her mind entirely empty as she desperately tried to keep out the memories from the live feed presented to her on that fateful day. It took the Wisps multiple tiny slaps to her face to bring her back to the present, and with a pained gasp she pushed everything down again and tried to focus on the task at hand.