Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ For Love Of The Hunt ❯ The Encounter ( Chapter 4 )

Legal Stuff:

I don't own any of the characters in this story. They are the properties of their respective owners.

Author's Notes:

Well, things are getting complicated, aren't they? Let's continue…

Chapter 4: The Encounter

It was very early in the morning, about 1:30, when Ghost was halfway to the ABT building. He was too tired to go on for now, so the hedgehog found a spot under a tree and was about to fall asleep when he sensed something behind him. Ghost leaned over and looked behind the tree, but saw nothing. After a moment, he shrugged it off and returned to his previous spot. The moonlight glimmered off a green eye in a bush behind him, and with a whoosh, it was gone. Ghost fell asleep at around the time that Sonic and crew returned home.

When the heroes walked in the door, they found the base dark and quiet. Sonic turned to Scotty as they went deeper.

Sonic: Huh…I guess everyone went to bed…

Scotty: Yeah, I guess… Hey, Metal, is anyone around?

Metal-2: Scanning…yup, everyone's here. All in bed.

Knuckles: Then that's where I'm headed. <yawn> Goodnight, guys.

Knuckles walked off toward his room as Scotty looked down at Sonya in his arms.

Scotty: We need to get some help for her.

Sonic: Maybe we should wake the doctor up.

Scotty: Hmm…Maybe.

Metal-2 looked down at Sonya, and scanned her.

Metal-2: I do not believe that will be necessary. I am detecting high levels of tranquilizer chemicals in Sonya's body…and that appears to be all that's wrong. She'll be fine in a few hours.

Scotty: Good. Well, I'm going to put her in bed.

They all went to bed, all but Metal-2. He looked in on Amy's room, and saw that she was sleeping peacefully. The robot then left, and closed the door behind him. Metal-2 made his way to the base's roof, to begin his watch. He'd have to be more cautious than normal, since the police now wanted him. He decided to take the time to put his computer abilities to good use and come up with a way to clear his name. Meanwhile, Ivy had found an empty place to stay for the night. Everyone got some sleep, and the next day is when things began to get troublesome.

The next morning, Ghost had arrived at the ABT building. He was led to a large laboratory full of factory equipment, and the president hastily greeted him before bringing up the subject of the visit.

President: I am sorry to hear that you failed to capture the prototype and take out the pilot, but that will change soon. I am assigning you three of our latest killing machines.

Ghost: I'm listening…

They walked up to a trio of identical robots that weren't moving and connected to devices on the wall. Each machine was black with a squared head that had a blue visor on it. The neck, tail, upper arms, lower legs, and waist were all made of what appeared to be a very thick cable with rings of armor segments. There were three teardrop-shaped devices with two large claws at the widest part, one as the lower part of each arm, and the third at the end of the tail. The arm devices had a small blaster barrel protruding from the top, pointing forward, and a robotic hand on the bottom. The tail had four blaster barrels, two on each side. The feet were made from the same type of claws at the front of the arms, but these claws ere spread apart, and resembled upside-down ice skate blades. There was a rotatable turret on their backs, each equipped with two large barrels. Each robot was about ten feet tall when standing fully.

President: What you see before you are three FT-01 assassin drones. They are highly efficient, can cling to walls and ceilings, bend and flex better than a contortionist, and are armed with a variety of hunting, tracking, and killing devices.

Ghost: Nice robots. But if they're so great, what do you need me for?

President: I'm afraid I can't tell you that. But I'm certain they'll come in handy.

Ghost: Uh-huh…Sorry, but I don't like robots. Thanks for the offer, but I'm turning your help down.

President: Hmm…<thinking> I can't let him leave without these machines…better sweeten the deal.

The president walked over to Ghost, who had already begun to leave. The hedgehog stopped, wondering what the old man had to say.

President: Listen, if you take them with you, we'll pay you twice as much.

Ghost thought to himself for a moment. He was already going to be given a hefty sum, but for twice that, well, he might make an exception.

Ghost: Very well. I'll use your drones if you pay me twice the original amount…but tell me, why are you so anxious to get me to work with them?

President: <sweatdrop> Uhh…Well, they need to be field-tested…So…what better test than an actual mission?

Ghost: Ah. All right, turn them on and have them follow me.

Preparations were made for the machines as Ghost began to suspect an ulterior motive. Their target, Ivy, had since left the abandoned building and was looking for a way to get back at Scotty for what he had done. She stood atop a high building, looking down into the streets.

Ivy: <thinking> I've gotta find his hiding place… But where to look?

Little did she know that at that very moment, she herself was being searched for not only by ABT, but by Scotty and the others as well. Sonya had woken up, and was fine, though she didn't remember much. Scotty vowed revenge against Ivy. It wasn't quite his way, but this was personal. Rain clouds had formed earlier, and were now over the city. It was gray outside, a combination of the colors of the sky, the buildings, and the crew's feelings. They were inside now, planning.

Metal-2: So, just to clarify, when you find Ivy, you hit her with everything you've got?

Knuckles: That's the idea.

Metal-2: I like this plan…

Amy: Heh, you would.

Metal-2: Yeah…Too bad I have to miss out, huh?

Sally: Well, we can't let you risk going out there in broad daylight with the police after you.

Billy: And besides, it's not the entire plan. We also have to find out who made that suit and send the data to the police so they know it wasn't you, Metal.

Scotty: I'm gonna make her pay for what she's done…what she said…

Sonya: Scotty…Don't do anything drastic, all right?

Sonic: Are you okay, Scott?

Scotty: Fine…

Sonic: I'm keeping my eye on you. <sigh> Anyway, so are we all set?

Tails: I believe so.

Metal-2: Are you sure I can't go?

Amy: Yes, we're sure. After all, somebody has to stay here and make sure I'm safe…

Metal-2 looked at Amy happily, then back at the others.

Sonic: Let's go.

Sonic, Scotty, Billy, Tails, and Knuckles all left to look for Ivy. They searched for hours, going up and down streets, through alleys, across bridges, and everywhere else they could think of before finally stopping for a break. Rain began to fall as the group rested on the side of a large fountain.

Sonic: Well…this is just great…

Knuckles: We've wasted half the day looking for Ivy…and now it's starting to rain!

Tails: And my tails are getting soggy!

Sonic: So?

Tails's eye twitched for a moment, then he grabbed Sonic by the shoulders and shook him violently as he spoke.

Tails: DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN MY TAILS GET WATERLOGGED?!

Sonic: <sweatdrop> Uh…no, but I imagine you're going to tell me.

Tails: THEY GET HEAVY, SMELLY, AND I CAN'T FLY WORTH BEANS!

Sonic: Geez, calm down, buddy.

Knuckles: No kidding…

Tails slowly calmed himself back to sanity as Scotty sat down and sighed.

Scotty: We can't find her anywhere, and now it seems even nature is against us.

Billy: It could be worse.

Scotty: Yeah, but not by much.

Knuckles: Maybe she skipped town. That's what I'd do.

Scotty: Nah, her gang lives in this city. They usually stay together, so I'm almost certain she's around here somewhere.

Sonic: But where?

Sonic's question was answered when Ivy dropped from the sky, landing in front of them. She had her weapons armed and ready to fire. The crew jumped back, and prepared themselves for a fight.

Ivy: I'm right here, hero!

Sonic: That's Mr. Hero to you!

Sonic jumped into the air and shot forward with a homing attack. Ivy turned to one side and used the gun as a shield. Sonic's attack was useless, and he bounced off.

Sonic: Man…I didn't even phase her!

Scotty: My turn!

Scotty ran after her with his Emerald Sword, and Ivy countered the charge with some shots from the plasma cannons. Scotty swiftly dodged to the sides of some, and deflected the others with his sword. He got in close and swung, but Ivy was too fast. She evaded the weapon and smacked Scotty with the side of her gun. The hedgehog fell to the ground, unhurt.

Ivy: Ha ha! You'll have to do better than that!

Knuckles had taken this time to try and sneak up behind Ivy, and flew at her. Ivy's visor's radar alerted the hedgehog to Knuckles, and she turned around and lifted a foot into the air. Knuckles was unable to avoid the attack, and was kicked backwards.

Knuckles: Ach! That hurts…

Tails spun his tails to dry them, and used them to boost a jump into the air. They soon stopped in midair, and he curled into a ball. Tails slammed into Ivy with an aerial spin attack, knocking her down. Scotty was back on his feet, and water was sprayed from the ground as he charged up a spin attack, and burst out at Ivy as she was standing back up. The hit knocked her down again, and her suit was beginning to show damage.

Ivy: No! I'm gonna get you for that!

She soon got back up, and fired at them. The plasma orbs, quick as they were, weren't fast enough to hit any of them as they circled around her in different directions. To put a stop to their circling, Ivy fired a missile into the ground along the area they had been running in. The blast, and the resulting crater, tripped Sonic up as he ran past. The hedgehog fell to the ground, and began to stand up again when he saw Ivy's guns pointed at him.

Sonic: Uh-oh!

He instinctively jumped, and evaded several plasma shots. This distracted Ivy long enough for Billy to dash in and attach something to the back of Ivy's suit. The echidna quickly jumped back, and for good reason. An explosion went off from the device, and it sent Ivy face-first into the ground. Her suit was significantly damaged as she struggled back to her feet. Sonic and the others had stopped circling, and watched her.

Ivy: Argh…I'm not done yet! You wanna play hardball? Fine!

Ivy took off into the air, and began to gain altitude. Tails was about to go after her, but Sonic stopped him for fear of the fox getting hurt. Ivy didn't get too high when there was a loud gunshot from the trees just behind her. Ivy was knocked toward the ground by whatever it was, but managed to recover before crashing. Ghost jumped out from behind a tree, pointing a shotgun at Ivy.

Ghost: Oh no you don't!!

There was another loud gunshot when he fired. This time, it was quite effective, and Ivy fell to the ground. Her suit's flight systems were malfunctioning, and she couldn't get back in the air. One of the assassin drones appeared from behind a bush near Ghost, and pounced onto Ivy. It used the claws on its feet and tail to hold her down as it carefully began to pry her from the suit. Its concerns were more for the suit than for Ivy, but she managed to struggle free of it all. The hedgehog jumped to her feet, now out of the suit, and started to run, only to be caught by a second drone. It held her between its claws, awaiting further instructions. The third drone also entered the area, recording all of this and sending it back to ABT.

Sonic: What are those things?!

Knuckles: And where did they come from?!

Back on a set of monitors in the ABT building, the president and several employees watched through the eyes of the drones.

President: There! We've got the suit and the pilot. You know what to do.

Employee: Yes, sir.

He typed something into the keyboard in front of him, and the third drone began to approach Ivy. Sonic and the others watched as all this happened, and then they saw the robot point its weapons at her.

Sonic: Scott! What do we do?

Scotty: …We…we stop them!

His sense of duty took over, and then he quickly thought about the situation. He needed a distraction, and an explosion would do nicely. But how to cause it? There wasn't much time, but Scotty suddenly had an idea. He aimed at the damaged weapons suit on the ground with one of the drones over it, and threw his activated sword like a Frisbee at it. It sliced the suit, going right through some critical systems. Scotty then immediately hit a button on his watch, and the sword flew back into his hand. The suit, meanwhile, violently exploded, knocking the drone away and sending debris everywhere. All three of the drones, as well as Ghost, instantly looked at the event. The president of ABT was angry as he slammed his fist down on a desk.

President: NO! Great, now we have to get a team out there to recover the evidence. <to an employee> Take care of it, and get our drones out of there.

Employee: What about the pilot?

President: Bring her back here for execution.

The employee looked back down at the screen, but noticed something unusual.

Employee: Uh…sir?

President: What is it?!

Employee: The pilot…she's gone!

President: WHAT?!

They both checked the screen, but Ivy was nowhere to be found. The hedgehog had managed to escape during the chaos, and was now gone.

President: <heavy sigh> Whatever…just bring our robots back.

Employee: Yes sir.

With that, all three drones soon made their escape. Unsure of what else to do, Ghost followed them. Sonic looked around at the scene, then turned to Scotty.

Sonic: Nice move, Scott.

Scotty: Thanks.

Billy: EUREKA!!

They all looked over at Billy, who had a piece of the suit in his hands. Everyone ran up to him, wondering what was so great about it.

Sonic: What's that?

Knuckles: Looks like junk to me.

Billy: Oh no, this is quite valuable indeed. This panel of armor has been imprinted with all kinds of data, including the company that made it. Let's see here…

He read the panel once slowly, and then went back over a few times.

Billy: I don't believe it…the ABT corporation is behind this!

Knuckles: But how did Ivy get her hands on that suit? …And…where'd she go?

That's when it occurred to the others that Ivy was gone. Scotty turned around, staring into the grove of trees where she had previously been. He sighed, and turned to the others.

Scotty: I don't see her.

Sonic: Me neither.

Scotty: Then we'll have to do this my way.

Scotty could track just about anyone; it was a skill of his that he rarely used, but it now came in handy. He followed the sparse trail of tiny signs that Ivy had been there as the rain began to fall harder. The others followed him, and after a while, they caught up with the hedgehog. She was down the street from them, and Scotty was the first to see her. He raised his hand to stop the others, and they watched as she disappeared into a subway entrance. Carefully, they followed her down. Ivy boarded a train, and Scotty helped the others sneak aboard. This train was strangely empty of all but a few passengers, and the heroes were in the car behind Ivy.

Sonic: Are you sure about this, Scott?

Scotty: I have an idea. I think we can get Ivy and her gang arrested, and clear Metal-2's name, all in one fell swoop.

They all huddled together as Scotty explained his plan. They nodded every once in a while, and agreed. The heroes separated, and Scotty stepped toward the front of the car.

Sonic: Good luck, Scott…and be careful.

Scotty: <nods>

He turned to face the door, and opened it. Carefully, the hedgehog walked across to the next door, and gripped its handle with his hand. He took a deep breath, preparing himself.

Scotty: Here goes nothing.

The hedgehog threw the door open, and Ivy turned to see Scotty run in and throw a punch at her. A man with a business suit and an umbrella was hit in the jaw when Ivy jumped back to avid the hit. He stumbled away, dropping his umbrella. Scotty and Ivy began to jab and swing at each other. There was enough room in here for Scotty to use his sword, so he was forced to go with hand-to hand combat.

Ivy: I knew my escape was too easy! Don't think I didn't know you were following me!

Scotty: What'd you expect? I can't let you get away, not after what you did!

Ivy: This coming from the guy that saved me a few minutes ago!

Scotty shoved her into the side of a seat, and held her by the neck.

Scotty: Death is too good for you.

Ivy kicked him in the side, and escaped the grip. Scotty recovered, and jumped at her. Ivy rolled forward, and they found themselves switching places. Scotty's foot landed on the umbrella as he stepped back, and had a thought.

Ivy: Who said I wanted to die? I haven't had enough fun yet!

Lightning-quick, Scotty spun around, bent down and picked up the umbrella, and finished a 360 spin by launching the umbrella at Ivy. She didn't see it coming, and its handle flew into her forehead, knocking her down. Scotty took a moment to catch his breath as he sensed that she wasn't done yet.

Ivy: Okay, that's it! I'm not playing around anymore!

She got to her feet, and faced Scotty. The hedgehog then ran at him, and kicked at him. Scotty blocked it with his arm, but was shoved back by the hit. Ivy came at him again with several powerful kicks, and Scotty did his best to block them. He was getting weaker, but that's when he remembered his plan. He let Ivy kick him in the chest, and fell to the ground with his eyes closed. Ivy stood over him, wondering if she had won. She then felt the train come to a stop, and when it did, she calmly walked out the door. At about the same moment, Sonic and the others walked into the car, and saw Scotty shakily standing up.

Sonic: Hey, Scott…are you okay?

Scotty: Yeah…Yeah, I'm fine.

Tails let's move on, then.

They got off the train, just in time to see Ivy leaving the station. They slowly followed, and after a while, she reached her gang's hideout. The group followed her in through one of its secret entrances, snuck past one of the guards. They stayed in the shadows and followed her to a room that was full of computer equipment. Inside was Hacker, and Ivy came up to him.

Ivy: Hey, Hacker, I'm back. Are you sure you erased everything?

Hacker: Trust me, I can get into any computer from here. The evidence is all gone…so, where's that suit of yours?

Ivy: I lost a fight.

Hacker: You mean I don't get to try it on?! Aw, doesn't that just figure?

Ivy: Whatever. I'm outta here.

She left, and soon afterwards, a disgruntled Hacker mumbled something about needing to deal with this, and left the room as well. When he was gone, Scotty and the others snuck in.

Billy: Amazing…look at all this equipment…

Tails: I'll bet some of it is more advanced than Metal is. I wonder how much of it stolen...

Scotty: All of it, most likely. Let's get this over with, now that we've stumbled across what we need.

Billy: Right, of course.

He walked up to a keyboard, and looked at it for a moment. He then began type things into it, accessing the police server to upload data that would clear Metal-2 and convict ABT. After a few tense moments, it was done.

Billy: Okay, we're in. Now for step two.

Tails: Let's get to it.

With the server accessed, it was now Billy's job to work with Tails and upload the data and facts about the suit being made by ABT to police department. After a few nervous minutes, the files were prepared, and Tails pressed a button. With that, the data transfer began, and things were going smoothly.

Sonic: We just might get this done after all.

Knuckles: <to self> Not anymore…

Sonic: Did you say something?

Before Knuckles could answer, an alarm went off, and he tossed his hands into the air for a moment as he yelled at Sonic.

Knuckles: You jinxed it!

Sonic: What do you mean?

Knuckles: You might as well have asked `what can go wrong?'.

As soon as he said it, gun-toting members of the gang started coming through the door...

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This was a bit longer, wasn't it? Stay tuned to see how things go…