Sonic Apocalypse

Chapter 41 - On the Move

Mazuri still lied in ruins and the ashes of a once gorgeous city could still be seen from so many miles away. Blaze, Tangle and Whisper all managed to survive the absolute armageddon that had occured earlier, and with the arrival of the Chaotix, they were all able to form a small squadron, hoping they could possibly curb the massive opposition they were faced up against. Everyone obviously were optimistic that they could get the entire Alliance together once again but Blaze was the only one of them who was focused on a very specific goal: to get revenge on Infinite for nearly killing her and Silver. Having already faced him and a bit familiar with his abilities, Blaze hoped that she could potentially defeat him a second time around.

Vector was lucky enough to find some canisters holding gasoline in the outskirts of the city, continuing the Chaotixs' streak of good luck. They drove through the desert throughout the rest of the day until they made their way to a cliff edge which seemed like a safe enough environment for them to settle down and rest as well as figuring out a strategy of some sort to help support their ongoing war efforts.

"This should be a good spot to rest up for the night." said Vector as he parked the truck.

"Rest?" scowled Blaze. "There's no time for this! We have to keep moving!"

"What Vector was trying to say is that this will be a good place to think up some strategies." chuckled Espio nervously, trying to calm down Blaze and inadvertently making Vector look stupid.

"Not exactly the most beneficial idea, but it's better than nothing I guess." scoffed Blaze as she plopped down in her seat and crossed her arms.

"Damn, what's got you acting all sour?" asked Charmy, who's mouth was quickly covered by Vector as he tried to prevent Charmy from agitating Blaze, which would be the absolute worst thing they could possibly do right now.

"Excuse me?" said Blaze, absolutely baffled by Charmy's question. "Did you seriously just ask me that asinine question? I was nearly killed just now, matter of fact, I would've been killed if Silver, the person I hold dearer than anyone I've ever met, hadn't of saved my life."

Blaze's tone quickly went from angry to more and more pessimistic and upset as she continued speaking. Tears began streaming down her cheeks as she delivered her cathartically heartfelt message to the others.

"And to add insult to injury, he just vanished and I don't have the slightest clue where he could be, let alone knowing whether or not he's even alive. Don't you understand? He's my best friend. Ever since we were children, we've always been there for each other, looking out for one another, sacrificing ourselves just to keep the other one safe. It's a bond that cannot be broken, it's exactly the same situation with you three...and you two maybe but I'm not sure how acquainted you guys are but...my point still stands. How would you guys feel if someone from your group was out of your reach and there was no way of knowing their whereabouts or their mortality? You're just sitting there wondering if you're ever gonna see your loved ones face again, and it just hurts me so much and I almost can't breathe." Blaze sighed and collected herself to prevent herself from bursting into tears. "Sorry for that vent guys, I just needed to get that out of my system. I hope you all can understand."

Vector got up and gave Blaze a big hug. "It's alright Blaze, we totally understand. And us five, we're gonna find your friend...as for the rest of the gang, they shall be found as well. You all know how old Vector does things, I ain't ever giving up until I can be assured that everyone, not just our friends, are safe from any harm. Things are shaping to be pretty bad right now, what with this whole new villain and everything, but we've faced guys like him in the past, and he, along with Eggman of course, are gonna go down, just like they always do."

Espio raises his hand and Vector sees this with his peripheral vision.

"Yes Espio? What is it?" sighed Vector.

"Look down there." said Espio as he pointed toward a massive group of androids far from where the group were sitting.

"That sure is a lot of robots." observed Tangle with a surprised expression.

"Too many for us to take on for sure." said Vector. "If Blaze weren't in a weakened state, I'm sure she could take them out no problem."

"I'm fine Vector." chuckled Blaze as she was clenching her ribcage. "I could burn those flimsy pieces of metal with a single spark."

"I've get a better idea." proposed Espio. "We want to avoid making our presence known as much as we possibly can. There's no doubt that they're transporting troops right now, so...if I sneak into one of those big trucks, I could potentially track them down to oh, I don't know, a base of some sort? Where they're going, I can't say for sure, but I'm certain that following them could lead us to something important. Good plan, huh?"

"Well I suppose that's better than going down there and beating 'em up." shrugged Vector. "If this plan works out like you say it will, I think I could make you our permanent leader. Wait...nevermind, I'm getting ahead of myself again."

"I'm flattered Vector." blushed Espio. "But...I must ask for one more request. You."

Espio pointed directly at Whisper, who was quite confused and wondering what Espio was going to ask of her.

"I might need some extra help, are you up for the challenge?" asked Espio.

"Uh...sure." replied Whisper with a nervous tone of voice. "When do we start?"

"The sooner the better, I suppose." responded Espio. "I suppose me and Whisper could head down there now and you guys could follow behind us. But wait until they leave before you do so, and make sure you keep your distance from them, you don't wanna get caught after all."

"But we need some way to communicate with each other though, right?" asked Vector.

"There's some walkies in the truck." said Espio. "Our lucky streak continues."

"Great! So uh...go get to it I guess." said Vector. "I'm counting on the both of you."

And with that, Espio and Whisper quickly, but stealthily, ran towards the huge gathering of androids at the edge of the canyon. Espios plan was to board one of those carrier trucks where they could obtain any information they were looking for, whether it'd be on board, or where the destination would be. And the rest of the group could follow them so they too can recieve any information they needed. And when the time came, they would all meet up and eradicate this platoon of androids.

Espio and Whisper hid behind a boulder very close to the androids in order to get a better look at the mechanical squad and plan out a good time to get on board. After a few moments, they notice two skunks whom were presumed to be the leaders of this robotic herd.

"Ugh, I can't believe we've fallen this far!" complained Tumble.

"Tell me about it." grunted Rough. "Just the other day, we had two Chaos Emeralds and a lovelt little place to ourselves, and now we have to lead this dumbass platoon."

"To be fair, perhaps trying to run away wasn't the best idea." said Tumble. "Anyway, where the hell are we going again?"

"For the fiftieth time..." groaned Rough. "Eggman requested that we had these troops delivered to Central City. The numbers over there are low or something, I don't know, I wasn't really paying attention."

"And you wonder why we got demoted." said Tumble while shaking his head in disappointment. "Let's just get on board already."

"Alright, that's our queue." said Espio as him and Whisper quietly boarded the farthest back vehicle in the group undetected. Their plan was now officially underway.

"Alright. Everything's a go." whispered Espio as he contacted Vector. "They're headed to Central City, it's a pretty big group of em too. Apparently the platoon is being lead by these two skunks who aren't exactly the smartest people I've ever seen."

"I may have an idea of who you're referring to." said Vector. "And if it is, this situation just became a whole lot easier to manage. Anyway, I don't wanna continue talking at the off chance of you getting caught, so I'll head out for now. Just continue to feed me the necessary details when you can, alright?"

"Copy." confirmed Espio.