Fire. The fire blazed brightly in the dark alley. The never-before-seen flames curved in orange flames with sparks of purple. Fire. Fire, unlike the one that tore at Ro when he was trapped under rubble. Rubble... Ro's mother was pushing him out of the way as scoldering rubble descended upon them. Ro jolted awake. His dark fur on end and his nub of a tail flicking. Scanning the shed that he had sheltered in, Ro exhaled. It was only a dream. Well, nightmare more like it. Standing up, he could feel the hunger gnawing inside him. He hadn't eaten in a while, and all this combat had starved him. Ro knew that he had to find a way to get some grub soon. Looking around the shelves and into every box, he quickly realised that none of the junk was edible. If only Silver were around. The powerful white hedgehog was always able to find a way to feed the two of them. To Ro, it seemed like Silver had lived so many different lives to gain the skills he had. The rationing, the adaptability, the uncanny vigilance, and his battle skills. Skills that no other person had. It was like Silver was a veteran of some kind. But that couldn't be. The hedgehog was only a couple of years older than Ro was. Ro shook his thoughts away. Less on his missing father-figure and more on food. Peaking open the shed door, Ro slowly walked out, looking around for any danger. As he shut the shed door, a sense of being watched flowed over him. With his ears alert, Ro looked around again. He knew that he was being watched, but by whom? His fur stood on end just by imagining that old musty opossum watching him. Ro remembered what that scared civilian had called him. Clutch. Ro just knew that that half-robot would want revenge for that humiliating defeat. Ro quickly started walking away; that feeling of being watched did not leave him. Walking around the streets, he tried to think of a way to find the ultimate weapon. He didn't even know what to be looking for, to be honest. But he had an idea of where he was going—an old Eggman Base. Finding it was going to be difficult. Ro didn't even know if he was heading in the right direction or if he was heading to the correct base. Plus, if there is the 'ultimate weapon' in it, then it would be heavily guarded. "Ro Clawder!" Ro froze at that robotic voice. He had been so lost in thought that he had forgotten about the keepers that patrolled Ro turned to face the Metal Shadows who approached, their red eyes glowing and locked onto him, "One more step and you'll be put at the second worst punishment we can provide. But if you come with us without any resistance, then Sage might be merciful." Ro tilted his head, "Second worst?" "Death." "Oh, I see..." Ro slowly nodded, his eyes looking around. Spotting his escape root he spoke, "Well, good luck with that, clankers." And with that, he leaped in front of a moving truck. Gripping tightly at the flat face of it, digging his claws in for stability as he hurriedly started climbing to the top of the sleek vehicle. The one driving it blanked at Ro with wide eyes, clearly shocked. Ro just signaled them to ignore him as he scrambled onto the truck's roof. With his chest heaving, he lay on his back. He could hear the two high keepers catching up to the truck rather quickly. Rummaging through his bag before taking a couple of the rings out. Ro looked over the edge of the truck and spotted the keepers who, in turn, shot some lasers at him that narrowly missed. Taking out some sharp metal scraps, Ro prepared. Feeling the tingle of his power go through his fingertips, Ro looked over the truck edge once more, this time he attacked first. Tossing the scraps off, he used his power. In a swift movement, One Metal Shadow was sliced in two. But the other one dodged; it only staggered a little bit. Ro ducked away from its laser. Rummaging through his bag, he took out a blunt scrap. If he had to guess what it was before, he would say a hammer of some kind. Using his power, he attacked; this time, he made the metal hit the keeper in the center of its visor. A satisfying crack echoed before it fell and tumbled in the street. "HA! Take that, Sage!" Ro grinned as he stood up, looking around for any clue on where the Eggman base could be. Suddenly, Ro was tackled off the top of the truck. The wound on his leg screamed with pain as he landed harshly. Ro instinctively kicked them off and scrambled to get up, but he was tackled again, this time into an alleyway. The sound of commotion came from outside. From what Ro could pick up, a whole squadron of Keepers was looking around. Ro looked up at the person who pinned him to the cold floor and swiftly blocked them from sight by kicking a dumpster to cover them. Black eyes with a hint of brown looked down at him. Tan fluffy muzzle. Navy blue quills. Sonar. Ro stopped resisting as he finally recognized the hedgehog. Before he could speak, Sonar slapped his hand over his mouth.
Ro could feel his heartbeat pounding in his chest. After a minute of tension, the commotion passed. Leaving them in silence. Sonar exhaled out of relief and moved his hand off of Ro's mouth. His voice was smooth, uncracked, unrevealing of any emotions the hedgehog could be feeling as he stated the obvious, "They're gone." A teasing demeanor lit his words as he continued, "What is this? The second time I saved your tail?" Ro had to swallow hard before he could speak, "Perhaps. What are you doing here? I thought you were too chicken to try and help little ol' me with my plan?" Sonar scoffed, "I wasn't chicken; I just thought your plan was idiotic. But... I don't know... I guess it's worth a shot." Ro smirked, "So you want to admit I was right by pinning me to the floor of a dirty alleyway? Man, you must reeeaaaly hate admitting you were wrong." At that moment, Sonar stood up and slid away from Ro. Clearing his throat, "I wasn't wrong. What even would give you that idea, cat-boy?" A twinge of disappointment went through Ro as he stood up. Ro flinched as he took a step, Sonar catching him, "What happened?" The serious tone came back to his voice. Ro waved his arm at Sonar, "Nothing's wrong. I just hurt myself a couple of days ago... I guess getting tackled off a truck made the pain come back." Sonar slowly nodded, "I see..." More silence. Ro stretched, "Welp, we'd better get to looking... Do you know which way the Eggman base is?" Sonar put his hands on his hips, his black eyes thoughtful, "If my memory is right, then there should be one near here. It's that way," Sonar pointed down the direction where the street darkened. Ro nodded, "Got it. Ok, let's get going!" Ro couldn't help but smile as he walked. Hope flared through him as he limped along. Sonar stayed close to his side, only going slightly ahead to lead them along.
