Chapter 8: GUN Finale
When Shadow got inside, they began to formulate a plan. "Okay, Tails, you go ahead with your Tornado and destroy all their security devices. Me and Shadow will go in and destroy any guard robots, and Knuckles?" Sonic commanded.

"Yeah?" Knuckles responded.

"You and Rouge go ahead, search for keys and use them to open any doors you may encounter. Ready? Go!" Everyone headed in and did their jobs.

(A/N: Tails POV)

I left the group and began to destroy all of their little security cameras that were hanging hidden in the corners. There were times when I would encounter guard robots, but they were simple to defeat for my Tornado.

It was about 5 robots and 14 halls later that I had found the Central Security room. I bashed in and knocked out the agent working the systems. Then I disabled all the cameras that I didn't break already and installed a virus in their main computer system. I turned around knowing my job was done and looked at the door.

"Well, my job's done. Good luck you guys." I whispered.

(A/N: Rouge POV)

We entered and activated our Master Emerald radars. "Okay, Rouge, you go that way, I'll go this way. Use this to contact me if you find any keys." He handed me a microphone/speaker attachment for my Treasure Scope.

"Gotcha. Oh, and one more thing."

"What?"

I winked at him. "Good luck!" Then I giggled mentally as we parted ways. Hallway after hallway I traveled, destroying enemies with my Iron Boots, but I still found no signal. Then, I got word from Knuckles. "Find anything?" Knuckles said in that static-y radio voice.

"Nope, not yet- wait! I got something! Hang on!" I responded as my radar picked up a feint signal. I flew up a bit and my radar got stronger. Then I found a wall with a strange marking, so I climbed onto it and my radar got to its peak. I dug into the wall and found a key. "Got one!"

"Great! Get looking for more, 'cause I haven't found any yet."

"Okay." It wasn't long before I picked up another signal and a call from Knuckles.

"Got one over here! Find the last one yet?"

"Sorry, no. But I have its signal. Give me a minute- Ahh!" My Treasure Scope had fallen off my head when I saw it. A giant 'bot the size of a hippo was hovering before me. I think it was a GUN version of a Beetle Bot. It was huge though and had a lot of protection. The worst part was, I wasn't in any shadows; I was completely vulnerable.

"Rouge! Rouge, are you there? What's going on?" I wanted to answer him, but I was being blasted with its huge laser. All I could do was answer him with a cry of pain. It hurt so much, but the laser had to cease eventually, right?

"ROUGE!!" Was all I heard from my Treasure Scope walkie-talkie before I saw Knuckles glide in and see me getting shot by the laser. I hated to be seen so weak. He let out a cry of anger and pounded the crap out of that robot. It was out of commission all right. With the laser gone, I collapsed to the ground in pain and he rushed over to me.

"Rouge! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, for now. The last key, it's-" I paused to take in a bit of pain which I squeezed into his hand. I squeezed my eyes shut and breathed through my clenched teeth to endure the pain.

"Forget the last key, you're hurt." That was the first time I've ever heard him think about my well-being before that of his treasure hunting. I felt honored. He then scooped me up in his arms and grabbed the key that had fallen from the Beetle Bot. Finally, he proceeded to glide me to the locked door. Knuckles set me down and I stood up, leaning against the wall for support. I think I might've broken my ankle. Before long, all the doors were unlocked and he put his arm around my waist to hold me up while I put my arm around his shoulders for support. I limped out of the building with Knuckles and as we stared back at the building, only one thing was said.

"Good luck, guys."