-------Chapter Three Part One, Can it Possibly Get Any Worse? ------- "What is he trying to pull this time?" Tails asked Amy. "I don't know, Tails. But if it's a fight he wants then it's a fight he'll get!" she said. There was a sudden breeze, and then someone spoke. "Whoa, Chill out, Amy! Egghead just doesn't know when to quit!" The voice was Sonic's. "You... Where have you been? You usually get here before Eggman blows up a building! Look at that!" Amy pointed at the smoldering ashes that once was a grocery store. "Okay, okay. I admit. I got here a little late." Sonic confessed. "You two stop fighting!" Tails told the two hedgehogs, "before Eggman decides to-" He was cut off sa pamamagitan ng a bout of maniacal laughter. "Hooooo ho ho ho ho hooo..." came Eggman's voice. He was sitting in his hover chair as usual. "You pests have arrived to witness my greatest victory of all time! Behold, the new and improved Egg Fleet!" he boasted, "but-" "Yeah, yeah." Sonic interrupted and waved his hand. "been there, defeated that! Sheesh. For a guy with an IQ of three hundred, you sure run out of ideas quickly!" Eggman scoffed, "Quiet, Hedgehog, you interrupted me. Ahem, as I was saying, I did not come here to battle you specifically, Sonic. I came for something madami important." An evil grin spread across the genius' face. "What do you want this time, Eggman?" Tails asked, wandering what cuold possibly be madami important to him than beating his arch nemesis, Sonic. However, his tanong was answered when a metallic fist came out of the bottom of his floating device and smashed through the canopy of the parked X-Cyclone. There was a shattering noise, followed immediately sa pamamagitan ng a shrill alarm. "I'll just take this last Chaos Esmeralda from your precious X-Tornado, soro Boy!" he sinabi with a laugh. "Not on my watch!" Sonic said, charging up a spin dash. He lunged, but didn't get very far. Eggman fired a laser, hitting Sonic. He shouted in pain and then fell to the ground with a thud. Sonic grabbed a large gash on his left arm, wincing as he felt a sharp pain. "Haha! A direct hit!" Eggman shouted triumphantly. "Hey!" Amy shouted, "Don't mess with my Sonic!" She swung her hammer, striking Eggman's hover chair in the side, sending him flying. Despite the force applied to her swing, Eggman still managed to hold on to the Chaos Emerald. Amy instantly ran over to Sonic and examined his wound. Meanwhile, Tails was pacing back and forth, muttering a few curses under his breath. "The damage is pretty bad. Hope you don't mind having the wind blowing in your face." Tails sinabi to the injured hedgehog. "No big, Tails." Sonic said, giving Tails a thumbs up with his free hand. "Tails, Sonic's arm is not looking too good." Amy said, "do you think you could take him to a hospital?" "Sure thing, Amy." Tails said. Amy helped Sonic into one of the seats in the cockpit. Tails pressed a few buttons, and the X-Tornado transformed into jet mode. Even without the Chaos Esmeralda to give it that extra power, the plane dashed across the sky like a lightening bolt. Tails saw a little stretch of asphalt not too far away from the hospital and landed there. Tails helped Sonic out of the aircraft and hurried him inside. Tails made the appointment and waited. Finally a nurse emerged from a hallway. "Sonic the Hedgehog?" Sonic nodded, still grasping his arm. "The doctor will see you now," she sinabi and motioned for the duo to follow her. She led them to a large, white room and led them inside. There were medical instruments strewn about the room, and a window on the far pader gave seventy-five percent of the light in the room. There was a male cat in the middle of the room, wearing a amerikana that reached below his knees. He was busy jotting some notes on the nakaraan patient down in his notebook. When he finished, he looked up and smiled. He motioned for Sonic to lay down on the comfortable bed. Despite how much Sonic hates hospitals, he couldn't help but relax at the relief of having to stand up. The doctor hooked some machines up to Sonic, and a puso rate monitor was beeping the rythmic sound of Sonic's puso beat. Tails found the sound kind of annoying, but managed to keep his complaints to himself. The doctor examined Sonic's wound through an electron scope. He wrote some things down in his notebook an muttered some medical and scientific jargon under his breath. Finally, he approached Tails. "He's going to be fine, I hope." "What do you mean," Tails asked, "what do you mean, 'I hope'?" "Well," the doctor continued, "the testing is complete. I would like to know what projectile that Sonic was hit by. You were at the scene of the accident, correct?" "Yes," Tails explained, "it seemed to be some kind of laser, it disintegrated on impact. Why?" "Well, it appears that after close examination, there is a strange bacteria that is polluting Sonic's bloodstream. If we don't act quickly, he may die."