chapter 4

The part of the wall that Sonic had just passed shattered into little bits, the blue hedgehog fell to his knees ,taking cover as many more lasers hit the walls. The robots that were chasing him were slow-ish, stumbling copies , but it wasn't that they were firing him that made him worry, it was the design. If these were just the copies, that meant there was a completed one somewhere in the base. And that meant big trouble.

" Yee-ooww !" He scrambled to his feet and took off once again. He got a few meters away, then the wall got blasted again. " Ah, come on guys. Can't we settle this over a nice ,hot plate of chillidogs?"

" Destroy Sonic the Hedgehog! " They chorused.

" Well, duh! Kinda got that bit." He ducked once more, laser shots narrowly avoiding his quills." Less talk, more speed! " He grumbled to himself. He rounded a corner,dashed up a stairwell and spotted something that made him re-think his escape. Oh...Kay... The corridor was like the others, but half-way down, the floor gave way to electrified matting, meaning once false step and he was Sonic bacon-- extra crispy.

" Gotta time it just..." He took a running jump and landed on the wall opposite. Right..Now!.. Second later, he jumped from that wall onto the other wall and ran along it, jumping again from the other wall the first wall. He continued triangle jumping and soon he had cleared the matting. Landing, Sonic wiped his brow and grinned tiredly. Sonic suddenly heard a very high- pitched scream that sounded very familiar. He smirked as he revved up and followed the sound. Looked like he'd found Eggman.

--

The Princess screamed! Her heart pounded in her chest, she tried to flattened herself against the bins' side.

Robotnik's smile grew, " Well,well,well. A rodent has stuck her nose in where it's not wanted." A beat, then, " Well.. a hedgehog I suppose. Dearest Princess, you are a long way from home, aren't you?"

Da-dum, da-dum, da-dum...

Her ears caught the heartbeat as it grew louder and louder, closer and closer,

Da-dum, da-dum, da-dum..

She screwed her eyes shut and whimpered as the two hands reached for her, but they didn't touch her. At that moment ,a fast blue ball raced down the corridor, and planted a perfectly aimed flying kick that sent Robotnik into the opposite wall.

Sonic landed and scowled at the doctor, " Never,never ever hit a lady. Shame on you!" He turned to faced the new comer as she climbed out the bin. " Amy... I told you-- OH ! You're not Amy.."

" No, I'm not." The Princess dusted herself down, " Thanks for the save, " she grinned at him sweetly, " as always."

Sonic studied her, walking around her slowly, taking in every detail. She was about his height, he guessed about his age, and she was very pretty. She had a trim figure judging by the tight fitting dress she wore and the strange bodysuit she wore under it, long copper hair that was pull into a smart ponytail. She had sparkling green eyes when the light caught them, a nice smile, and as he finished his tour, a rather snazzy pair of red sneakers.

" Have you finished?" She huffed, " It never takes you this long to approve what I'm wearing."

He raised a blue brow, " So.. we've met?"

A shrug, " In a manner of speaking."

" Are you from around here?"

Another shrug, " I'm a long way from home," A deep sigh, " Thousands of miles, you could say. And I'm telling you, Sonic, you shouldn't be here."

He laughed in her face, " Oh per-lease! You're just a slip of a girl. What do you know about stopping ol' Lard-Belly there," He pointed over to where Eggman was still slumped against the wall. " Besides, if he's up to no good, I'm the hedgehog to stop him." His expression turned hard, " Not you. Got it ?"

" Look, hedgehog. You are in great danger, you have to leave. Right now!"

" I'm not going until I know what Eggman is planning with all those fakes that look like me. I don't trust anyone at first sight, just explain to me what you're doing here, girlie and maybe I--"

The Princess shook her head, " I don't have time to explain. And I'm really sorry about this, but this is the only way to get you to trust me," She reached up onto her tip-toes and whispered in Sonic's ears, just three little words was all it took to make him stiffen and blink at her as she lowered herself down again. " Are we good?" She murmured softly, " Sonic, are--we--good?"

Sonic nodded, " Yeah, we're good. You have my trust.. for now anyway."

There came a soft Thwack! Sonic stared at the Princess, then his expression change and his eyes went glassy as he slumped forward. He landed on his front, revealing behind his fallen body, Robotnik holding a tiny dart-gun. The Princess looked at the mad doctor with fear in her eyes as he smirked.

" Finally. I have him, Sonic the Hedgehog in my grasp... again." He clicked his fingers, from a secret room, two of the copies marched out and lifted the sleeping Sonic between them.

" What are you going to do with him?" Squeaked the Princess, knowing full well what Robotnik's answer was going to be.

" You've travelled all this way, Princess, you tell me. It's been a few days now and my model, my more advanced , perfectly un-flawed by Sonic's personality, model should be all charged up. Once I've taken what I need from Sonic-- this Sonic-- I will dispose of him in a humane way. I owe him that much."

" And then..?"

Robotnik sighed deeply. " And then I use my metal warrior to destroy this planet via it's weak spot. Really, Princess, I thought you'd got you father's brains," He quickly looked at Sonic as the two copies dragged him away. He chuckled, " Huh, guess not."

The Doctor ,Sonic and the copies started down the corridor. The Princess made a move to follow, but was knocked down by a sharp pain to the chest. Winded, she had enough energy to lift her head and see Robotnik wave at her through the glass elevator. He pressed the button for the inter-com,

" Electric barrier, Princess. To keep pests like you out. And guess what? I've just had news that dear Uncle Shadow and Rouge are here as well...And guess what else?" He grinned madly at her, " Void Chamber Two, is active. Let's see if you are like your father."

The Princess grunted, struggling to her feet, she leaned on the wall for support and pushed her copper hair from her face. She started backing away slowly, never taking her eyes off Robotnik or Sonic. She lifted her wrist device to her lips and spoke softly,it beeped as it confirmed her request.

" Found him, Princess." Said a female voice." Ready for trans-matting as soon as you're clear."

She turned and bolted down the brightly lit passage at break-neck speeds, tuning out Robotnik's gleeful giggles as he disappeared down to the depths of the base.

" Run, Princess, RUN !!"

--

Rouge felt herself slipping, she held onto the metal pipe, praying that the bolts would hold. Glancing at the pink and yellow swirling vortex at the end of the room, she looked at the bolts again, her face paling as one bolt started to come un-done under the strain of the increasing pull of The Void.

Shadow was a little bit further down the room, holding onto his own pipe, the strain clearly visable on his dark face. " Hold on!! " He managed to shout over the roar.

"I can't do anything else!" She screamed back. The pipe started to bend, the bat tried to pull herself up but failed. She let out a piercing screech as she fell towards the portal. She could faintly hear Shadow's yell and felt his hand missing hers as she passed.

Da-dum, da-dum, da-dum...

A bright ball of light suddenly appeared at the entrance to The Void. Rouge flew into it and with a fearful look back at Shadow vanished in a blink of an eye. Shadow grunted as he fought to stay put, already he could feel his fingers slipping from around the pole. With a weak, " Nuugh..." He let go and was... flying! As his vision was blinded by pinkness, another colour took its place, it was green, a brilliant emerald green.

He suddenly felt grass under his feet and pushed his saviour away. She stumbled and fell onto her bum, looking hurt. Rouge hurried forward and helped the lilac hedgehog to her feet, giving Shadow the look she whispered her thanks to the new-comer, who nodded.

A big bang caught them all by surprise, the trio covered their ears and watched as the last remains of the city of Sidra was engulfed in a pillar of pink flames. It burnt away into dust, the dust and rubble was sucked up by the over-powering Void in a screaming, howling tornado and then The Void itself collapse into nothingness.

The Princess blinked as the dust settled, " That's something you don't see everyday."

Shadow rounded on The Princess, " And you don't see a female use an advanced form of Chaos Control. You've cost Sonic his life, he didn't make it out in time." He leaned in closer, studying her green eyes, then blinked as he saw them sparkle with a familiar gleam." Just who are you?"

" My name is Princess Aleena. And Sonic's not dead, Uncle Shadow. I've been sent to help you. Take me to Sir Charles and I will explain everything." She said, digging out her bag and strapping herself in. Aleena headed for the general direction of Mystic Ruins, leaving the two of them staring at her retreating form.

Rouge was the first to snap out of it ," Uncle Shadow? " The bat asked as she followed Aleena.Shadow didn't say anything, he had his eyes down, deep in thought.

There you go guys, The Princess is Aleena, based on Queen Aleena from Sonic Underground. And as I put at the start, I changed her appearance to fit the story.

But as Shadow said, Who is she?

Next Chapter soon.