'This is (my) billionth time beating through the fire and the flames' Music: Through The Fire And Flames (PC Release) Composer: Sam Totman, ZP Theart SiIvaGu.

A/N: And I'm finally back to writing this story! Thank you SO much for being patient with this chapter!

Last time, we got to view Knuckles and Amy's points of view on both the war and the past. As for Amy, she met up with Rouge and encountered Chaos who put up a strong fight (as in, better than what Forces showed). A new face entered the battle to help the ladies, who was later to be revealed as Raff, a.k.a. Savage's little brother. Eventually, we'll get to why he's here. But for now, he'll venture through Red Gate to help the Resistance fight back.

• Through the Fire and Flames later returned for Guitar Hero Live in GHTV mode, being teased briefly on January 11, for a few hours but was officially released on February 3, in the Shred-A-Thon special music channel and was later added back to the music catalog on February 8, The intro is generally considered the hardest part of the song.
• This is my take on the TTFAF in Hard difficulty, chart straight from GH Smash Hits. This one charted perfectly to describe the Hard difficulty, while also ea.
• Through the Fire and Flames Lyrics: On a cold winter morning / In the time before the light / In flames of Death's eternal reign / We ride towards the fight / When the darkness has fallen down.
• Dragonforce - Through The Fire And Flames 5 Stars 94% (All Taps) (Recently started to get back into the game). Just got into clone hero last week and got this.

The story description is slightly edited. But what's more important is a major note I need to mention. Earlier, I said that we'll be seeing both Savage and Raff in their own separate journeys, but I decided to change it where we'll only focus on Raff and his new friends. Omega will also make his appearance. At some point though, the Wolf brothers will be in the same chapter since the backstory in Ch. 3. They will reunite, much sooner than expected.

Alright, I don't want to waste more of your time! Back to Revengeful Resistance!

Disclaimer: Sonic and the rest of the characters, besides my OCs, are owned by Sega.

Chapter 7: Through the Fire and Flames

With Raff invited to join Amy and Rouge, he got straight into work to fix up Omega. The girls also caught him up to speed of the Resistance and that Knuckles the Echidna was the leader to rescue Sonic from wherever he's being held and to overthrow the Eggman Empire. However, Amy, being the only one who knows, did not tell him about Savage and how he was alive to join the group. It wasn't off the top of her head since she didn't know much about the red wolf. (1) There was a point though where she noticed that Raff has some resemblance to the sixteen-year old.

Minutes later, Raff said he was almost finished. Amy and Rouge didn't know how he did it, but the nine-year old mechanic worked swiftly and efficiently to mend Omega's problems.

'Just some twists here and there,' Raff mumbled as he worked with a socket wrench. 'Some adjustments here..' he fixed the exhaust pipes. 'One more final touch and.. Bam! Finished!' he clapped his hands.

'Well, let's see if you got the job done, kiddo.' Rouge walked up to inspect the robot. A few seconds passed, but nothing happened.

'Um, not to sound critical, Raff, but are you sure you fixed him up?' Amy looked skeptical.

'I don't know,' he answered honestly. 'I thought I reprogrammed everything. I don't know why he's-'

'Wait a minute!' Rouge interrupted. She saw Omega's right hand clench before his fingers uncurled and moved back and forth. It was like he was feeling the sensation in his body once more. 'Omega? Can you hear me?'

His red eyes lit up and blinked. 'Affirmative. E-123 Omega reporting. Power system restored.'

Rouge smirked and turned to the wolf. 'I can't believe it. You actually fixed him. I must say, I'm quite impressed!'

'Thanks, Miss Rouge! I'm happy he's back to normal!'

'Please, just call me Rouge.'

'Okay, Miss- Oops, heh. Sorry, Rouge.'

'You're fine, sweetie.'

'I guess you proved me wrong. You're really a handy guy, Raff!' Amy complimented.

'Thanks, Amy! I just love constructing and fixing things!'

Omega looked at his surroundings. Red Gate City was still in ruins with buildings either toppled, broken, or destroyed. The concrete ground had tons of potholes and debris from the earlier attacks. Everything about this place was not only uncomfortably quiet, but deserted as well.

'What happened here? I do not comprehend the situation.'

'We'll get into the details later,' Rouge told him. 'Let's think about what we should do next.'

Then, the three heard Omega beeping. He seemed to pick up some powerful signals. 'Sensors indicate signs of Eggman and his army in this city somewhere. Location undetermined, but confirmed to be in close range.'

The bat thought for a second before turning to Amy and Raff. 'I think our next step is to restore the city, one section at a time. First off, we should defeat the robots that Eggman and his beastly minion ordered to invade. By clearing the area, we probably won't have to worry about their troops taking over the region again.'

'How would you know they won't conquer this part of Red Gate again?' Amy queried.

'I'm not guaranteeing anything. It's only a small start.'

'Must eliminate foes before city is completely abolished. Must not waste time.'

'Omega's right. We better start clearing up the robots.'

'Guess this area isn't much of a ghost town after all,' Amy thought. 'Knowing Eggman, he always finds a way to surprise us with some stupid tricks up his sleeves. Well, he won't see us coming!'

'What are we waiting for then? Let's head out now!' Raff urged.

The members of Team Dark decided to explore the west block of the nearby area while Amy and Raff took the east side. Running past a set of burning houses, the hedgehog and the wolf made their way down the rocky path. Along the way, meteors were flying towards them, causing the duo to stop, duck, and dodge.

'Yikes! That was close!' Amy barely evaded one.

'Look out!' Raff dove to bring her down on the ground. Another one flew over their hands and crashed into a balcony, engulfing the building in flames.

'Oh, my god. You saved me there. Thanks, Raff.'

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'Anything for you, Miss Amy. Uh, I mean, if you want to be called that.'

'It's fine. 'Amy' is good enough.'

'Alright, Amy. Let's continue then.'

'Right.'

Dashing down a small incline and crossing some gaps, Raff and Amy managed to avoid the other meteors as they collected some rings. After crossing a big loop and a corkscrew, they reached a lower section where a quartet of Badniks appeared. Raff made the first move as he whipped out his nunchucks. Twirling the weapon in his hands, he tossed one of the sticks to penetrate the head of one of them. He brought it back and slashed the second enemy through the middle. Amy took care of the other two with her trusty hammer. Swinging in a circular motion, her strength had enough force to whack one into the other. They both went flying over to the other side of the city.

'Way to go, Amy!'

'Thanks! You were great, too!'

They ran by some more loops before reaching an alleyway where an Egg Pawn lingered. He shot right at them, but the heroes split apart to the sides. They each gave the enemy a hit with their tools before jumping over a broken road.

Meanwhile, Rouge flew past a three-story apartment that unfortunately crumbled to a single level. She was ahead of Omega to get a clear view of the enemy spawns ahead in case they tried to stall him. Rouge used her martial arts to defend from the flying robots that came to her. None of them could land a hit on her. A laser was shot at her, but it surprisingly deflected off her heart-shaped chest plate.

'Hmph, tried to harm a precious lady right there, huh? How inappropriate of you.'

Rouge flew over to the foe to get her revenge. She gave the robot a heavy kick in the area a guy would hate to be punted in.

'Do that with your hands and I'll give you a restraining order, jerk!' she finished by punching him in the face as he fell into a fire.

Omega glided across the ground as he began to eradicate the ground bound androids. A couple Egg Pawns tried to put up a physical combat, but he utilized his Beam Cannon and Flamethrower after shaking off the hits he received. His first goal was to not be shut down again. But his current priority is to get revenge and stop Eggman's forces from continuing to devastate Red Gate.

'An effortless approach,' he ridiculed the Egg Pawns. 'They are not as ultimate compared to my standards.'

Rouge rolled her eyes at Omega's monotonous comment. She tapped her communicator to give Amy a call. 'How're you two holding up?'

The pink hedgehog gave a response. 'Raff and I are clearing up the east side of Red Gate. No trouble so-' Genstat 16 crack filler.

'Amy!' Raff yelled.

'WHOA!'

Rouge heard them scream, followed by a loud explosion. 'What happened? Are you alright?'

Back at Amy and Raff, they were ducking under a fallen tower. They laid their backs on the structure.

'We're.. just fine.. A tower got knocked down by a meteor. Raff pushed me away when I wasn't looking. And thankfully, he saved both of us.'

'Sounds like Raff is paying dividends for us so far. Or you, in this case. He's been saving your butt.'

'That's not funny, Rouge.'

'Who said I was being funny? I'm implying that adding the little wolf to our team was the right choice.'

Amy turned to her left to glance at Raff, only to see a dismayed look. 'Oh, Raff.. The way I said it wasn't meant to be in a bad way. You're actually quite helpful. Honest.'

'Really?'

'I do. Sometimes the things I say are either taken in the wrong context, or I accidentally spill something I shouldn't have. But trust me. What I said back there only applied to the first one. You did save me back there, and I'm grateful for it.'

Raff beamed from her comment. 'Thanks, Amy. I'm glad I could help.'

Amy smiled back before it faded away. 'We better keep going. The town's still getting destroyed out here.'

'You're right. No time to catch a break.'

'Just remember to keep your eyes out for any surprises lurking in the alleys or anywhere high and low. I'll get back to you in a few minutes for a progress report,' Rouge called.

'Gotcha. Talk to you in a bit,' Amy replied before hanging up.

With the bat and the robot, they sped over to a stony runway where they passed a long, broken fence. As Omega used a dash panel to overcome a wide corkscrew, Rouge looked in the background to see more of the devastation. She still couldn't believe Red Gate maintained its poor appearance for over half a year. And the citizens who lived in the city were either struggling as inexperienced fighters for the Resistance, or deceased trying to repair and defend their home.

'I can't believe it. Eggman and his crew really did a number to almost everyone here. And this place, this entire city, they've made a complete mess. Even part of the Red Gate Bridge is destroyed. Such a famous landmark to get an amazing view of this area. Well now, I'm getting a terrible view of how everything has gone to shit.'

'This war has been going on for long enough. It's been too many months. We have to impede Eggman and his empire to end this conflict as soon as possible!' Omega boomed through his robotic chip.

Rouge narrowed her eyes as she flew faster than before. They made their way to an underground section of the town. Along the way, she and Omega incessantly vanquished the Egg Pawns and Badniks that lingered in the sewers.

Amy and Raff were also below Red Gate, reaching a musty tunnel as a river of polluted water went into the depths of the conduit. Sewage, trash, and broken scrap were scattered all over the area.

'Pee-yew! If that stench is coming from the waste down here, that's absolutely gross!' Amy complained as she pinched her nose. 'How do people not take care of their own hometown?'

Raff also his nose blocked to avoid the smell. 'I don't know, but I agree about how stinky it is underground. But I think I've smelled worse back when my brother worked at the restaurant.'

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The two rushed away from the tunnel as they went further near a hallway with brick archways and a few Buzz Bombers.

'Which one was that?' she questioned as she saw Raff kill them with a chain reaction of spin dashes.

'It was called 'Red Seagate Shack', originally located near the Red Gate Bridge. It offered a great view of the landmark as well as the river that flows under it. It usually gets busy whenever it's sunset because it reflects a nice reddish-orange shadow over the entire city. And whenever it transitions to the night, it becomes beautiful when all the lights shine.'

'That does sound pretty. But, what do you mean it was originally near the bridge?'

'Eggman, his allies, and his horde of Badniks went everywhere to terrorize the people. The restaurant ended up getting destroyed during the invasion. Because of that, my brother lost his job. And then, I got separated from him.'

Amy was surprised to hear that. 'That's so unfortunate. I'm sorry.'

'It's okay. I just hope he's alive like Sonic. I understood how influential and heroic he was to you and your friends. He's such a daredevil, and he would put himself in harm's way to protect the world from Eggman and all sorts of evil. He must really mean a lot if you're planning to get him back. But as for my big bro, the most I know is that he was gone.'

'What happened when you guys got separated?'

'The last moment I was with him was when we were cornered at a dead end. Or rather, at the edge of a broken road with another one down below with a ten-foot gap. It was either we fall to the other side, fall into the hole that Chaos only knows where it goes, or get captured by the demon who helped Eggman succeed in defeating Sonic and destroying the city.'

'Infinite..'

'What did you say?'

'Infinite. He's a jackal, and he's the one who bested Sonic six months ago.'

'So that's who the creature was?'

'Yeah. I assume you escaped from him, right?'

'Actually, no.'

'No?'

'When we got stuck, there was a weird impulse I had that made me want to save my brother. I pushed away, and he fell onto the other side. Immediately, I got taken. And that was the last time I saw him.'

Raff sighed as he leaned his hand on the wall. Amy went behind and rubbed his back to relieve him. 'Again, I'm sorry to hear about what happened to you and your brother. But, maybe there's a chance he's still living. He could be anywhere in the world at this point.'

'That's the thing. If he is alive, where he is now? And will I ever see him again?'

This time, Amy didn't know how to answer his question. All she could do was stand in silence and sympathize with him. It was almost like every situation when Sonic and Tails got separated, except this one was perpetual.

Raff shook his head and cleared his mind. 'We need to focus again. That's on me this time. I'm sure we're almost done with this part of Red Gate.'

Amy reluctantly followed even though she knew it was the only choice they had.

As they made their way to the outside, they rolled up steep inclines and jumped onto high and low platforms as a barricade of Crabmeats and Buzz Bombers blocked their path. Amy got to work by smashing the crabs while Raff handled the robotic bees. They all exploded or became disabled on impact. More meteors rained down into the ghost town as they reached the end of an avenue. Smoke and flames engulfed more of the city, much to the horrible sight of the heroes. They actually found the source of where the fire came from.

'My goodness! Look over there!' Amy pointed.

Raff got a peek as some humongous robots as they wreaked havoc in Red Gate, crushing buildings, flailing their humongous spiked forearms, and activating lasers from their deadly, red eyes.

'What the heck are those?'

'Those are Death Egg Robot Sentinels,' they heard a familiar, female voice from behind.

'Rouge!' they said as they turned around. She and Omega caught up with them.

'Those colossal beasts have laid siege on this city since Eggman took Sonic away. They're the main source for maintaining the damage Red Gate has suffered.'

Raff glimpsed back at the sentinels, scrunching his face in disgust. 'This is absurd. Eggman really went hardcore and dark just to make everyone fall to his bidding. He may have conquered the majority of Mobius, but he won't get away with this! I'm gonna make that overweight eggsack into a scrambled pile of potato salad!'

'Why potato salad?' Amy tilted her head.

'I don't know. That was the first thing I thought of.'

Then, Omega's sensors beeped. 'Subjects detected. Multiple readings of enemies beside Eggman found somewhere outside of the city. Far outside this world, too.'

'What's Omega talking about?' Amy was bewildered.

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'Hold on. Give him a few seconds,' Rouge held a hand up.

'One in particular is stronger than all the others combined.'

'Could he be referring to that dark jackal known as Infinite?' Raff wondered.

'It's likely possible,' Rouge put a hand on her chin.

'Update! Another subject identified. This one is special.'

'Special?' Amy raised an eyebrow.

'Known as the world class hero of Mobius: Sonic the Hedgehog.'

'Sonic? What about him?' Amy then gasped. 'Does he know his whereabouts?!'

'Let him talk first.'

'Setting of hedgehog hero in progress of being found. Searching.. Searching..' A few more sounds emitted from his voice as Omega stood place. Suddenly, within a few seconds, he caught the heroes' attention. 'Location identified! Sonic the Hedgehog found inside prison! Trapped in the Death Egg!'

'The Death Egg?' Amy repeated.

'Of course! Of all the possible places!' Rouge scowled.

'I don't believe it! The Death Egg is back?!' Amy was horrified.

'Actually, it is,' Raff mumbled.

'You mean, you know about this?' Rouge looked down at the wolf with a suspicious stare.

'Yeah. I guess I didn't really tell you the full story, huh?'

'No. No you haven't.'

'Don't worry. I'll explain everything once we get out of here.'

'I'm sure you will.'

'We might as well head back to the lab. We did as much as we could to clean up the baddies here. But as for the Death Egg Robots, I don't think we're capable enough to stop them. And Eggman is likely going to send out more of his underlings.'

'You're probably right, Amy. Omega and I will join you in your headquarters to rest up and prepare ourselves for another task.'

Just then, one of the sentinels fired a large meteor at the protagonists. Raff was the one to notice this.

'Um, guys, we should probably.. RUN!'

Amy, Rouge, and Omega all got the message when they saw a flaming ball of orange heading right at them. Running down the broken road, they barely escaped the city in a close call. From there, they made their way to home base as the sentinels lost track of the heroes. That didn't stop them from continuously wrecking the place though.

END OF CHAPTER

At the moment, Amy, Rouge, Omega, and Raff are not quite competent to face the Death Egg Robots terrorizing Red Gate. They'll need more forces to overcome these beasts. One in particular happens to be Sonic, and Omega pinpointed his location, which is great news for the team. Speaking of the Blue Blur, he will return in the next one.

After hearing from his perspective on his six months in captivity, Sonic will soon encounter something so unexpected, it will haunt him indefinitely. It could be worse or as bad as losing Tails, but you'll have to see for yourself, if possible..

For now, let me know in the review box down below if anything should be edited and what you think of Raff joining the Resistance so far! Don't forget to follow/favorite as well if you want to catch up on future chapters. Again, they will be posted at random since I'll be busy working this summer. But I'll try my best to get as much writing done as I can. Until we meet again, I'll see you all in Ch. 8! This is TGN, signing off.

Post-Chapter Notes:

(1): We all know about Savage's background which includes losing Raff. However, Amy doesn't; she just knows him. And throughout her time with Raff, she is unaware of his brotherly relationship with Savage. This is intentional for a reason.