The Story of Amy Rose: The Capture

Captor's Will

"RAAA!"

Knuckles' roar resonated through the emptied mansion as he smashed his fists against the coffee table, only adding to the miserable state their home had succumbed to.

Shoes and other clothing items were scattered across the darkened living room along with red cups and paper plates. The couches were moved to odd angles and the curtains flapped against the midnight breeze that blew in from the opened windows. Although the guests had made it out safely, they not only left a mess, but also disregarded their own belongings and made exits for themselves, like the windows and backyard gate. All that lit the house was the light of the Mobian moons.

Tails was positioned next to Knuckles on the largest couch, sitting on the opposite end, setting up something. He was hurried but calm, a determination set about him as he fixated two peculiar objects set on the coffee table. Knuckles covered his face with his palms, frustrated.

"How the hell did this happen?"

Knuckles ran his paws across his dreads, revealing his tired eyes. He could hold his liquor, but the drinks did not help with his riveting emotions. He was upset, angry, frustrated, exhausted and fearful all at the same time.

"What could they possibly want with Rouge? Or Cream and Amy for that matter?" Knuckles muttered, looking at his palms.

Shadow stood across the room by the front door, leaning against the wall, staring out the open front window, arms crossed.

Knuckles shifted to look at Shadow, his brows furrowing.

"And why are you just standing there, huh? I thought you cared about Amy."

Shadow shot his gaze to the echidna, glowering at him as he bared his canines.

"Knuckles calm yourself! What good is it to bicker when we should be formulating a means to rescue them?"

Knuckles was shocked for an instant and then looked down, ashamed.

"Sorry. I just... don't know what to do. Where do we start? We have no idea where they're being taken, or if they're even alive at this point."

Shadow closed his eyes, leaning back once more.

"Just let Miles think. He has the tracking technology and it is best that we act once we are sure whether or not we can locate their whereabouts," the ebony explained, motioning to Tails spot on the couch.

From closer inspection, the kit was tinkering with what looked like one of his many portable computers. Connected to it by a thick cord was a generator and on the other side, plugged into the computer by various cords, was an odd platform. The platform had small metal limbs that pointed toward each other, looking like some sort of triangular display.

Tails flipped multiple switches, moving wires about and positioned the platform. He waited, his twin tails twitching as the screen was still black.

"Whoever these guys are, I don't care what they're excuse is, I'm beating them to a bloody pulp when I find them," Knuckles growled darkly, imagining the soldiers that had attacked.

Shadow walked over to the side of the couch, watching the computer screen pointedly. Knuckles looked up to him.

"Why do you think they took them?"

Shadow responded without looking at him.

"I am not entirely sure. If they suspected that their 'princess' was among our ranks, then they would have only taken one of the females. And why did they not take Sally? She is the only royalty that I am aware of."

Knuckles rubbed his bandaged arm. Sally and Sonic had left to castle Acorn to get patched up, taking the other fighters and leaving only the three remaining heroes to make arrangements for the rescue.

"I know. It doesn't make sense. Unless the girls aren't telling us something," Knuckles muttered.

"I doubt that."

"You seem pretty composed after being attacked twice in a row, and having our teammates taken right from under us. What's up with you?"

"There is nothing wrong. I am focused. That is all there is to it."

Knuckles scoffed.

"You don't seem concerned. What are you even ganna do when you see those soldiers again? Or their leader for that matter."

Knuckles regretted asking such questions as the ebony looked right into the eyes of the echidna, the depths of his fiery orbs seeming to burn with the flames of hell. His face was darkened with malice.

"Medieval forms of torture will not be enough to satiate my revenge when we find the peasants that took Rose and the others away," Knuckles was frozen as Shadow gave him the full brunt of his glare, "And their leader will wish he'd died by another's hands once I have him in my grasp. His death will be one of suffering."

Knuckles released a sweat, looking away. He should have known a demon was hiding under Shadow's usual mask.

Just as their conversation came to a halt, Tails computer booted up, the screen displaying a green background and multiple icons. The kitsune quickly typed and clicked away, before a fuzzy digital ball materialized between the limbs of the platform, glowing.

"Whoa," Knuckles muttered, as the computer and growing sphere lit up all three of their faces.

After a moment, the ball began to turn a navy blue and an assemblage of planets within their solar system was shown throughout hologram. Between their own planet and another, a green dot materialized and began to blink.

Tails released a sigh of utter relief, a few hopeful tears coming to his eyes.

"Thank Chaos."

Shadow stood closer to the kitsune, looking over his shoulder.

"What is it, Tails?"


"I thought Cream had gotten rid of the tracking and communication device I'd given her, but it looks like she kept her word. If all of them are together, this is where they are relative to Mobius," he explained, regaining his composure and pointing to the dot. He began to type vigorously on the laptop as Knuckles looked over.

Numbers flitted across his screen. All at once he stopped, holding down a specific key and put his mouth to the mini microphone embedded in the platform.

"Cream. Cream, it's Tails. Do you read me?"

At this point, static was all that could be heard.

"Cream. Cream, are you there? Are you safe? Where are you headed? Cream, do you copy?"

No response.

The kitsune flipped a switch or two and tried once more.

"Cream. Cream please, tell me you're all right. I... we need to know that you're okay," Tails muttered, desperate. He put his head down, nearly in tears.

Shadow grabbed his shoulder, waiting. As the kit composed him self and looked up, he saw the resolve in Shadow's gaze.

Tails calmed, sitting straight with a sniffle. With a new thought, he began to type away.

"It looks like the connection is just strained. I'm sure when we get close enough to where they are, we will be able to talk to them just fine," Tails concluded, hopeful.

Knuckles cracked his fists.

"Well, we can track them. Why don't we teleport into the ship, wreck shit up, find the girls and teleport out?"

"As simplistic as that sounds and as satisfying that may be, my powers do not work entirely in that way. I'm certain something will go wrong if I try to teleport into an unknown object moving quickly in the immensity of space. We may end up on the outside of it or in between a wall of the ship. It's not that simple, Knuckles," Shadow explained.

"Not to mention we're outnumbered and overriding an alien ship is way more complex than it sounds. Although I may be capable, we should leave something like that as our last resort," Tails added.

Knuckles sighed.

"Alright, what do you two propose?"

Shadow looked at Tails.

"Miles has quite the project pinned up in his workshop," Shadow mentioned.

The kit rubbed his chin.

"Yeah, I do."

"What is it?" Knuckles asked.

"It's a ship that can be used for intensive space travel. I was building it to contribute to our local space knowledge expansion program."

Knuckles looked stern.

"Is it operable?"

Tails stood, pacing.

"With the work I've put into it, it's fit to fly, but there are still a few installation bugs, not to mention the shield and teleportation functions I've been meaning to trouble shoot. Other than that, there's a whole list of functions and accessories I still need to implement and reinstall that will make the ship the best for extended travel..." the kit was trailing off.

Knuckles stood up, abruptly.

"So it's settled. We fly to their rescue, no matter the distance nor the cost."

"We needn't waste anymore time. What will we need, Miles?" Shadow questioned.

"We'll need to contact the Chaotix so they can watch over things in our absence. Other than that, we should gather two weeks worth of food, clothes for the girls, health supplies and any extra things we could use in case of an emergency."

"Understood. At what time are we expected to depart?" Shadow asked.

"Give me thirty minutes. Have all the supplies on the ship by then."

"Aye aye, capt'n," Knuckles saluted the kitsune, before storming the mansion for supplies.

~aAa~

Amy groaned as she sat upright, wrapping her arms around herself as she allowed her eyes to adjust to the weighted darkness. It seemed she was on the steel ground of a room as she twisted about to see the stars glittering through the massive window behind her.

As she scooted to reach the window, her hand jammed a seemingly clear barrier. With wide eyes, she placed both arms on the barrier.

"Glass..." she muttered.

"Amy?"

The rose looked left of her to find Rouge trapped in a glass bubble of sorts, resting like an over sized wine class turned over around her, controlled by a strange contraption overhead. She realized that her barrier was the same, aside from the size difference, for Rouge not only remained in her trap, but she held an unconscious Cream in her arms.

"Rouge! Are you all right? Is Cream breathing?"

"Yes. I'm fine and Cream is breathing. It's just a little tight in here is all," Rouge replied, voice strained, a sweat visible. She looked like she was having a hard time staying conscious. Although it was slightly bigger, the glass had made her oddly claustrophobic.

"Hold on. Let me see if I can break this glass."

Amy stood, preparing herself for the weight of her weapon. Before the determined rose could summon her trusty hammer, the bat stopped her.

"Wait. You probably shouldn't do that. For one, this material isn't the glass we're use to. Trust me, I tried cracking it earlier. Plus, we're on a ship filled with soldiers and we don't know where we're headed."

The rose stared as an epiphany hit her. Rouge was right. The rose slouched back onto her steel-floored entrapment as the attack and the capture flitted though her memory.

"How long have we been here?" the rose whispered, her voice like a frightened child in a lonely room.

"Not sure. My latest guess was two hours, but I'm not sure. I don't have anything to tell time on me."

"Have you been conscious this whole time?"

"Just about. I saw the soldiers throw Cream in here and then you before trapping us and heading out that door over there," she motioned to the sliding double doors that were barely visible, "and there was quite a bit of noise going on the last hour, but it seems the troops have settled down."

Amy stiffened at the thought of everything "settling down." That meant that these "aliens" had gotten what they wanted and were headed home to celebrate their victory. It also meant that they had no reason to turn back to Mobius.

"Did you here them speak? Was it in our language? Did they mention where we were headed?"

Rouge shook her head.

"Not a word. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if those scrubs were all robots."

Amy chuckled at her friend's trial at humor at the given situation, but the stress and panic just came back, tightening her throat. What were they to do? Were her teammates on their way to rescue them? Rouge had none of her spy gear on her for communication and Amy relied singularly on her hammer. Maybe they were to just sit and wait, another thought that didn't sit too well with the rose.

At present, the sliding doors released a pointed sigh and crisply came open, revealing a stiff-shouldered soldier. Clad in silver armor, littered with purple intricacies, he stepped inside, allowing the doors to clam shut.

Amy was frozen, staring at the knight, taking in his countenance. He seemed so surreal. She backed to the other end of her glass trap, stern, but afraid of the knight's authority. Rouge was guarded and exhausted. Her grip on the preteen against her tightened.

He looked about him before directing his helmeted vision to Amy. He walked over, stiff and proper, getting on one knee as he pressed a claw to the glass.

"Please, do not be afraid. I assure you, I am here only for the benefit of your well-being."

Amy remained cornered at the back of her cage, her heart pounding, face guarded.

"Amelia, please. Do not be alarmed. I am the last armor-clad man you should fear."

She did not know this man, but the way his voice quivered with remorse, made her wonder if he was planning on helping them escape. And the fact that he knew her name was baffling.

"H-how do you know my name?"

The space where the knight's mouth was seen under his beaked helmet was visible to the shriveling rose, and she noted the small and saddening smile that curved underneath it.

"If I had ever known a rose with any other name, I am sure I could distinguish between it's existence and the utter sweetness that your presence expels, princess."

Her emerald orbs quivered. Crawling, she came close.

"Amy..." Rouge cautioned, but the rose disregarded her as she pressed both palms to the glass, as if to connect to him. She searched his guarded face, looking for answers.

"I don't understand."

"Do not worry. We will be home in due time, princess, and I will do everything in my power to keep that bastard prince from tainting your petals." The knight spoke with a heated and hard voice. It was as if he were holding back a rage.

Amy's eyebrows furrowed.

"What do you mean? Where is home?"

The knight paused.

A miserable sigh followed.

"You really don't remember, do you, Amelia? Not a thing."

Amy simply blinked, confused beyond belief.

Before he could proceed, a buzzing came to the knight's wrist. He started, standing and dismissing the call to action.

"I am being summoned. I must take my leave."

The rose stood abruptly.

"Wait! Will you be back? How will I know where to find you?"

The knight came back to the glass, face close.

"Stay calm, Amelia. For now, stay within Prince Riven's graces and follow his orders. If you wish to come out alive, you must do what I have done."

There was a pause, only the breath of the ruffled knight audible.

"And what have you done?"

"Played the prince's game. Amelia, you must not try to escape him. At least not yet. He is too powerful to deny at present and will stop at nothing until you are his wife."

"Riven?" Amy tried the name on her mouth, memorizing it.

"Although you must not trust anyone dressed in armor, it is crucial that you know that only half of the accounted soldiers are specifically from the Prince's ranks. Keep this in mind, it will put your mind at ease," the knight explained.

He placed a hand on his heart, head bowed.

"But know that we are all at his beck and call. Even I am bound to his decree. Our country cannot afford my banishment, so I must. No, I cannot fail. Not if I am to help our country by unveiling the prophecy."

"Wait. This doesn't make sense. His wife? I don't even know this man!"

Amy's muffled cries could not reach the knight as he backed away toward the exit. Stomping sounded outside the door.

"I must go. Keep hope, dear sister. I will be around to monitor you after landing. I will ensure the dark prince is on his best behavior."

He bowed in Rouge's direction.

"Farewell ladies."

He turned hurriedly, allowing the automatic doors to open for him. He paused, hand on the doorframe as soldiers stormed by in front of him, illuminated by the halls purple light. His head turned.

"Stay strong, Amelia. And, please, forgive me."

And with that, the knight was gone, becoming one with the river of knights that flooded the hallway. All that remained in Amy's thoughts of him was the stainless white tassel that hung from his sword hilt, fluttering with movement and contrasting with his armor as he dashed away.

The silence seemed to hurt as the door slammed shut.

"Well, at least we know that one of them is not a robot."

~aAa~

The ebony walked swiftly down the darkened steps to Tails workshop. As he entered, duffle bag in hand, he noticed the large space, with ceilings as high as the three-story mansion, was in stranger disarray than before.

The thick wires that hung from the ceiling swung with sparks at their ends. Only a few were connected to the massive ship that stood as the elephant in the room. All other inventions were skewed sideways across the room, tables with tools and doors lining the walls. The ebony had restored the electricity to the mansion as he'd notified the Chaotix and other contacts of their coming absence.

Shadow crossed the walkway leading to the ship's entrance, stepping over heaps of scrap metal. As he peered inside, he noticed the two columns of seats in the center and then the four seats lined across the massive control panel that was towered by a blackened, concave screen.

Shadow came in, placing his bag on a chair, claiming his spot. The kitsune sat at the center console, typing vigorously at the tablet in hand that was connected to the console. A variety of colored buttons and levers were lined along the console.

"What is left, Miles?"

"Almost done with the ship's diagnostics. Just need to start her up, grab all the space units, tools and fuel in case of emergency and we can be on our way. Oh, and if you could check if there is proper bedding in the sleeping space in the door behind you, that would be great," he explained without looking away from his screen.

As the ebony turned to do as he was asked, Knuckles walked in, carrying three boxes, each about the size of his head. As he did so, the ship took in a breath of life as the kitsune started the engine. The bright light dimmed and a softer light that lined the ceilings edges glowed about them. The screen came to life, showing only the light of the moon and the trees ahead of them peering from the opened workshop door.

Knuckles dropped the boxes at Shadow's feet, whistling with approval.

"I'd say this baby is ready to fly," he commented.

The kitsune continued to type as he spoke.

"There are still many improvements needed. Like the expansion to the kitchen and rooming. I have yet to install the program that allows me to pinpoint another ship's projected destination; neither do I have the full protective barrier that I have been meaning to create. It is far from complete."

Knuckles sighed.

The concave screen began to display the map of the their solar system. The green dot from before blinked with location.

"What's the verdict, Tails?" Knuckles asked.

"From what I can see, that ship that has them is about a quarter away past our neighboring planet, heading away from our sun. According to my calculations, the ship they're on is moving much slower than when they first departed. My guess is that they are in cruising mode, more or less. This gives us about thirty minutes to an hour to depart in enough time to catch up to them without expelling too much fuel," he explained.

"I am assuming you have already conducted a plan, Miles?" Shadow was certain.

"Yes. We infiltrate the ship and retrieve them before the ship reaches the destination. It's similar to knuckles plan, just with the reinforcement of my ship."

"And what should happen if we cannot retrieve them before landing?"

Tails looked him dead in the eye.

" We follow them into the planet and lay low. Once we find out where they are, I'll try to contact Cream and we can form a plan of action. The fuel the ship uses is easier to replenish on land than in space, so even if we're running low, I can get us back home."

Shadow nodded.

The kitsune unplugged his tablet, setting it away and approaching the two.

"Did you bring all the supplies?"

Knuckles grunted.

"Two weeks worth of food, clothes and all the transportable medical supplies from the medical wing, just as you ordered," Knuckles said, patting the boxes.

"Great. We depart shortly, gentlemen. Take this time to acquaint yourselves with the ship."
~aAa~

Amy awoke, having not remembered ever falling asleep. She looked about her to see that she was in a room similar to the last, but with the absence or her companions and a long, metallic shelf framed the bottom length of the massive window before her. She laid on a large, lush bed that faced the stars and a vase with oddly shaped purple flowers was set on the side table next to her head.

She sat up, feeling somewhat sore and disturbed. Had someone jabbed her in various places on her body? Sure felt like it. Then, she started.

"My clothes!"

She stood from the bed, taking the cloth of a short and silky lavender nightgown between her hands. It was thin, leaving nothing to the imagination as the top sunk low and the delicate straps lined with lace ruffles revealed her cleavage. She pulled it up, but it was no use. The dress was made to be that way.

She noticed that she no longer had her bra and her underwear was changed as well. She was barefoot and adorned a thin, silver chained anklet on one leg and a bracelet on one arm. Her quills had been brushed and braided elegantly into one plait down her back. She sniffed, smelling herself. She'd been bathed as well.

She blushed.

To her understanding, all the people on this ship were soldiers, which implied that the majority were men.

Even then, she did not feel comfortable with a woman from an alien planet bathing her.

As she rubbed her upper arms for comfort and warmth, she tried to find solace by getting closer to the window. The planets seemed to be getting smaller and farther away. Was this the back of the ship?

"I hope they're on their way."

A familiar sigh signified the opening of the door, as the sound of boots clicking against the steel alerted her. The rose turned abruptly, plastering her self against the shelf as she looked into stark lavender eyes.

"Finally, you are in my possession."

Amy stared, worried and defensive. She watched his every move as he stalked toward her, languidly.

He was a cat-like man. His fur was a mundane grey and his hair was unevenly cut and scattered about his shoulders. A crown of sorts was draped across his forehead with three oval-like jems. He possessed shoulder armor and sharp, riveting metal gauntlets. He possessed no chest armor, but had a thin, skin tight black turtle neck without sleeves. He wore tights, covered by a detailed belt and armored boots that reached past his thighs. His sword seemed to glow with lavender power as he came near. He smirked with a frighteningly sexy expression that threw Amy for a loop.

"And to think, you were hidden away on the very planet I suspected, and yet, I doubted myself. I thought that your father would be smarter than to hide you in the very site of the seeker," the man laughed. He was in front of her now, so close, she could feel his breath on her forehead.

"Oh, how I've waited, dear princess. I want you to know how desperately I've searched for you." He ran his fingers through her lingering bangs, thumbing her cheek. Her blush was deep and uncomfortable. She did not know how to respond.

"What is it, my betrothed? Are you so intrigued by me that you are at a loss for diction?"

She blinked, looking away.

"I-I... umm. Sorry, I just..." She was overwhelmed. If this was the Prince Riven the knight from before had mentioned, what was she to do? How was she supposed to play along with his game when she didn't even know the rules?

"Ah, or is it that you want me to take you right here and now?"

Amy looked to him, confused.

His hands fell to her hips, his head leaning toward her cheek. He pulled at her, pressing her against him, kissing the heated skin.

"Is that what you want?" he whispered in her ear.

Her heart rate picked up. She instinctively brought her arms to press against his chest, rejecting him.

"No, wait. I-ah!"

He began pecking at the delicate skin of her neck, a thrumming sound vibrating in his throat in approval at her reaction to the touch.

"Is this your favorite spot, my beloved? Is this how I obtain your submission?"

Amy pressed against his chest harder, squirming.

"Stop. Please, I don't even know you!"

The prince growled, suddenly kissing her neck heatedly, forcing himself on her. He sucked at the skin, causing the rose to tremble and whimper, as she continued to press away from him. He was definitely formidable in his strength.

"N-no! Please! Y-you'll... l-leave a mark. Ahh," she whimpered as loud as possible. Although she doubted it, if she were loud enough, maybe the knight from before would come to her aid.

"But that is the goal, my little prize."

Amy froze. The prince made eye contact.

"I am to conquer you and make you one of my own!" The glint in his eye was sickly and demented.

He proceeded to pull the straps off her shoulders, sucking hungrily on the delicate skin near her breasts.

"No! Not here!"

In one fluid motion, the prince picked up the rose, tossing her unto the bed, straddling her, as she lay helpless and distraught. He grinned evilly down to her, eyes glowing.

"Oh, then maybe you'd like it in this position? I rather quite like it, my dear."

He continued his ministrations by lifting up her dress and kissing on her stomach. At this, the rose could take it no longer.

"No!"

With a shout, the rose summoned her hammer, knocking the head of the prince sideways with a thud to the ground. She held her breath, knowing very well that she most likely made the situation worse.

The prince was seething with anger and he held his bruised cheek. The glow from his eyes seemed to turn to fire as he stalked toward the vulnerable rose.

"Oh, you like it rough, don't you?"

~aAa~

The ship that roared with life was now floating off the grounds of the workshop. The door remained open as the echidna stood near, his dreads flying about. He pushed them away from his face, looking at the two at the center console at the other end of the ship.
Tails sat at the main seat, analyzing the diagnostics on his main touch screen embedded in the console. Shadow stood beside him, attending to him. He understood very little of what the kitsune was performing, but he knew that things were about to set off when he began furiously typing on the console for the first time.

"I think we're ready to go. Knuckles, secure the door, please."

"Gotcha," the echidna saluted, and proceeded to slide the heavy door across the opening.

And just as the door was nearly secured, a gloved hand latched onto the end.

"Huh?"

The echidna pushed the door ajar to see Sally Acorn and the blue blur, hair flying about, eyes squinted. Sally possessed a knapsack, located on her back, while Sonic simply carried what was on him, his socks, shoes and gloves, which is all he ever needed.

"Sonic? What are you doing here?"

The blue blur crossed his arms, with his trademark smirk.

"You really think I'd turn down this chance to go on a space adventure? Man, Knux, you must not know me at all!"

Knuckles gritted his teeth.

"This isn't your typical adventure, Sonic! This is serious! It's a rescue mission and we don't need your speedy tail messing anything up," Knuckles explained. He normally wouldn't care, but the fact that the lives of his teammates and lover were at risk really set him on edge. This wasn't a game and he wouldn't be sane until they were safe.

By this time, Tails and Shadow had looked over, simply watching.

"Knuckles, we need to go!" Tails shouted over the noise.

Sonic hopped on, turning to lend the princess a hand onto the ship. Once she was on, he picked her up bridal style, walking right by the frustrated echidna.

"Thanks for letting us on, buddy."

As they passed him by, Sally muttered a "sorry" to him, looking rather guilty.
Knuckles shook his head, sealing the door and securing the five locks it possessed.

Sonic set his princess into one of the seats in the row, walking to the other side of Tails.

"Nice of you to join us, Sonic," the kitsune muttered, acknowledging the hedgehog.

"Happy to be doing the joining, buddy, but where exactly are we headed?"

The kitsune pushed a lever forward slowly. The ship slowly came forward, coming out of the workshop garage.

"We don't know. We only have Cream's tracking device as a guide and even that can be seen as unreliable. I'm predicting it will be a place out of our solar system, all things considered."

The blue blur went silent, thinking about the possibilities. He glanced to the other side of his little brother to see Shadow, arms crossed, watching the concave screen before them. Without looking over, he grumbled.

"What is it, faker?"

Sonic smirked.

"I get the feeling that you don't want me here, Shads," he said, shaking his head.

The ebony's ears twitched at the nickname, but he did not respond. He glanced over to the princess who sat near; fully buckled in her seat, backpack in her lap. She glanced at the ebony, smiling with a nod, and then turned back to the screen before her.

He looked at the blue blur that was still watching him.

"Why'd you bring her?"

Sonic's eyebrows furrowed.

"You got a problem with Sal?"

"I have a problem with unwanted attention and additional issues."

Sonic growled, fists clenching.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

The ebony's voice went up a notch.
"It means that she may not only bring the attention of the men we are going after, but she may also end up becoming a victim of capture, just like Amy, Rouge and Cream."

Sonic just stared, the epiphany hitting him. Hard. He looked away, a sweat appearing.

"And if another issue arises at this point, we may end up spending more time in space then our transportation can afford. And what good are we as heroes if we're stuck in space?" the ebony concluded.

All was silent, until the Tails commanded compliance.

"Everyone buckle up. Take off will be a bit rough, and we'll be hitting it at full speed until the ship comes into view."

And with a countdown, the heroes were propelled out into the infinite expanse before them.

~aAa~

The prince was prepared to lung at the near crying rose, when an alarm sounded about the air.

"Beeep! Beeep! Beeep!"

The prince shared a long, intense and condescending stare with her. He promptly cleared his throat, regaining his cold composure.

"We shall continue later. Please rest, my dear."

The prince walked near the door, pressing a button in the infinite darkness of the space. The button blinked as the prince put his hands behind his back.

"Oh, and before I attend to the ship, please understand that everything I do... is for your benefit, princess."

As he says this, the door swishes open, and a stiff knight briskly marches in, standing in front of the quivering rose, covering herself with the covers of the bed as best she can.

"My prediction is that we will meet again after landing, princess. Do be prepared."

The prince backed away as the knight grabbed at her arms roughly, earning tears from the rose as she cried out, defiant.

"That hurts! Please, stop! Why are you doing this?"

Amy is pushed face first into the bed as her arms are cuffed painfully behind her. All she saw was the chiseled back of the prince as the emergency lights flickered dangerously about him. The door consumed him.

~aAa~

After being launched into space and riding the hyper drive for quite a while, the ship full of heroes had made it to where the ship in question was just a dot before them, growing at their approach. From what Tails could deduce, the ship was between seven to ten times the size of their own space craft, which explained why it didn't take as long to catch up, their ship seeming like a pebble rolling down a hill versus a bolder, with trees and other debris slowing its descent. This also made sense, considering their ship was fit for maybe fifteen individuals, while the enemy ship looked like it could maintain a colony of people.

"Okay, let's get down to business. Sonic, Shadow, I'm going to need you two to man the canons. They are controlled using the panels on either side of me."

Sonic hopped out of his seat, anxious to do something. He sat in the chair at Tails' right, grabbing hold off two analog sticks of sorts, whooping.

"Wooo! All right! Ready for action, little buddy!"

Shadow sat on the kitsune's left, buckling his self in and proceeding to acquaint his self with the technology.

"Knuckles, you will be putting on a space unit. They're in the room on your left along with the deployment shoot. After putting the suit on, you will be deployed on my mark. I will do my best to make sure you land in a spot on the ship without many soldiers, but I make not promises. You may have to fight your way through."

Knuckles stands from his seat, nodding.

"Understood."

The kitsune turned to him.

"Sally, please accompany him to the room and ensure he assembles the suit correctly. You'll see instructions near his unit. When I deploy you, latch on to the ship and make a way through. I'll try my best to get you to a docking station where a door will be placed. But a window may have to do. Remember, when you bust through to either close the door behind you, or get to a point where you can open a door and then close it behind you. If you don't, you'll suffocate all those in the ship without space suits, including the girls."
Sally unbuckled herself, standing and brushing herself off.

"What else should we be aware of, Tails?" she asked.

"Once inside, there is a button on the right of the space suit, located on the right leg. It will release an expanding space transport bubble that should fit all three of the girls. Put them in, secure the lock and contact me. At that point, we'll reel you back to the ship and we'll make our escape then."

"Understood." And with that, Sally and Knuckles hurried to the deployment station.

Tails turned back to his console, sliding a finger across his touch screen, looking for something. Then, a yellow bubble seemed to appear around them. Shadow looked to the kitsune, eyebrow raised.

"Miles, I thought the barrier was not yet in development."

Tails scratched his head.

"Well, it was one of the first things I developed, it's just not yet complete. I'm putting it up now to see if it will hold during the rescue. It will extend the time we need to find them and hopefully minimize the damage," the kitsune explained, unsure of himself.

Sonic pat his shoulder, giving him a thumbs up.

"Don't worry, little buddy. We'll make it through. You inventions are always A plus!"

Tails smiled, but looked forward, becoming serious.

"It's time. Sonic, Shadow. Shoot anything you see coming out of that thing, men, missiles and flying debris. We need to make way for Knuckles deployment."

"Understood."

"Heard you loud and clear, little buddy!"

Those at the center console turned serious as Tails picked up speed, flying along side the large ship, looking for a docking point.

As he did this, he noticed lights began to flash on board and movement was barely seen along the massive tinted windows. He flew faster, heading up and around the ship to get to the other side.

"Ready yourselves."

Just as Tails flew over the peak of the ship, a swarm of soldiers, trapped in flying black and purple pods came flying toward them. The first shot a blast of pink at them, gaining their attention. It hit the barrier, bouncing off and hitting another enemy ship instead, destroying it.

"Ha! Take this you alien weirdoes!" Sonic bellowed, taking his aim and shooting.

Shadow did the same, taking down as many in one shot as he could. As Tails reached the other side of the ship, debris from the destroyed enemy pods flew about them as they dipped right into a new swarm, the madness escalating. Noise vibrated the ship and the attacks rattled the controls.

Tails began to sweat, gripping the controls.

"Hold on to something!"

And with that, he twisted his controls, spinning the ship in a corkscrew motion, evading a dense portion of the swarm and flying alone side the ship.

"Wooo! Yeah."

Sonic was surely enjoying himself.

As they leveled out, the port where all the men had been deployed from came into view. It was rectangular dent in the massive spacecraft and it was empty.

"Keep shooting! We're going to stop there," he commanded as he pointed to the space.

He flew down, stopping and facing the on coming swarm. The kitsune held down, speaking through a few slits in his console.

"Knuckles. Knuckles, can you hear me?"

In the white rimmed deployment room, Sally was latching on the last of the securing latches on Knuckles custom suit, one of the many custom suits that were now tossed and scattered about the room after the maneuver Tails had executed.

Knuckles held his red helmet on his hip, heading to where Tails voice came emanated. It was a speaker near the door. He pressed a button to respond.

"Ready when you are."

"Perfect. Head into one of the deployment tubes. Brace your self. I have to deploy you at a fast speed so you will have enough momentum to make it."

"Gotcha."

He secured the helmet, stepping inside the clear glass tube. Sally closed it behind him, nodding at him and wishing him luck.

"Bring our friends back, Knuckles," her muffled voice reached the encased echidna.

He nodded, serious, before he was taken down and out into the madness of space.

~aAa~

The alarm blared about the darkened room on the ship, illuminated only by the emergency light and the lights of space.

The rose sat on the edge of the bed, arms locked behind her as she thought of a what all the madness could mean.

Just as she was about to lay her head down, the door sighed and Cream and Rouge were thrown inside. The door closed before her as she ran to them, crouching to the floor to check their pulses. Their arms had been restrained as well.

"Rouge! Cream! Are you guys okay?"

Rouge sat up, her eyes red, but other than that, she was intact. Cream was conscious, sitting up and wiping her head around, her curls flying about.

"We're fine. Looks like the ships being attacked." Rouge's voice was rough.

Cream looked to the window, struggling to get up.

"Cream, what's wrong?" Amy asked.

"It's Tails! He's here! The guys are here to rescue us! I just know it!"

"What?"

As she made it to her feet, she ran to the window, watching intently. The other two followed.

The sound of space gunfire was heard and the ship shook with attack for a moment. And then a small ship flew by, white with yellow and read streaks, dashing by with tinier ships following them. Debris floated about along with colored gunfire. Cream sighed, tears appearing.

"Tails..."

"Thank Chaos," Rouge muttered.

Amy gazed out the window, not sure how to feel. Although they were there to save them, she couldn't help but think that the boys were in horrible danger. She looked about the room, searching for a means to escape.

"I knew Tails would use his new spaceship! He's been working on it for years."

A bang is heard on the door, which catches the attention of Rouge and Cream. They look behind them to see Amy shoving her shoulder into the door.

"Amy?"

She shoves again.

"Guys, we can't let them do all of the work! Let's try to find a way out and meet them halfway!"

"Yes!" Cream squealed, determined. She began shoving as well.

Rouge came over, shoving at first, but then looked at the control panel beside the door. She squinted, beginning to jam the buttons with her nose. Noises of disapproval came from the contraption, but she kept at it. Trying different combinations.

"Come on! We've got this!" Amy said, continuing to shove, with all she had.

And then a waking boom shook the ship, a bright light blinding the three.

All went silent.

The alarm of the ship shut off, no longer in a mode of panic.

They rushed to the window to see the remains and debris of Tails ship, surrounded by retreating and victorious soldiers.