The Maze of Time, Part One: Second Chances
Summary:
It has been three years since the end of the Meterex War. Over that time the Sonic Team has drifted apart. Now the only members who remain active are Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. Though most of them still keep in touch, they don't see each other often, and some they don't see at all. However, events are slowly bringing the friends back together, just as they are building up to another turning point, like the one three years ago. It is a second chance for the darkness to conquer the world, but it is also a second chance for the heroes to regain the costs of their past effort. This is the reunion of the Sonic Team and the beginning of a war even more terrible than the last. Peace and freedom or absolute destruction? The choice will be made.....
REWRITE EDIT: TMoT LIVES!!! In a recent conversation I had with a fellow author, my inspiration seems to have sparked. These 'Rewrite Edits' are to clarify any misconceptions my former readers have gotten. Anything I do that doesn't make sense, please, bring it up in a review and I will answer your questions as best I can. One final bit of clarification, brought on by one of the reviews I got when I first posted this story. Up until Shadow warps himself into the explosion, it is simply a written form of Shadow's last appearance in Sonic X. Someone said that Shadow would never apologize, well, if you feel that way, take it up with his creators not me. That line is directly from the TV show. After that point, however, is where the story truly begins.
NOTICE: All who have read this story previously, please read through it again. I have modified the story in places to make it easier to understand, and also added new bits.
Alright time for this disclaimer thingie: I do not own Shadow :( Sonic, or the Typhoon. All that belongs to Sega and the Sonic team people.
Prologue - Chaos Control
Galactic Coordinates, Triple Zero. Time Unknown.
I was surrounded by light. Apparently, Tails had misjudged the power of two super hedgehogs crashing into Dark Oak's planet form at speeds much faster than sound. The explosion was growing too fast for us to spindash out. Luckily, that was easy to get around. With a quick mental shout of 'Chaos Control' I felt the familiar sensation of being ripped out of time and hurled through space. Next thing I knew, I was viewing the explosion I had just been at the core of from a safe distance. Floating in space beside me was Super Sonic. I turned my head toward him and inclined it slightly, the only answer he needed to his unspoken question.
I summoned up my energy yet again, and together we yelled "CHAOS REGENERATION!!!!!!" and hurled balls of pure energy back in the direction from which we came. I waited a second to see the result, hoping for the best but knowing that the worst was probably true. I wasn't wrong. Suddenly, we got a frantic message from the Doctor's ship, warning us that the energy buildup had grown too powerful, and that in a moment it would explode outward, destroying both our ships. Sonic, having come to the same conclusion as I, began to charge up Chaos Control.
"CHAOS-"
Suddenly, I knew what I had to do. Before Sonic could complete his sentence, I spun around and punched him in the gut with enough force to immobilize him for a few seconds.
All he had time for was to gasp my name in surprise, "Sha… Shadow..."
I pushed him through space toward the Typhoon, spending just enough time to call an apology out to him. "Don't be angry, I didn't have any other choice. I can't risk letting you stop the explosion."
I knew he had heard me, but I didn't have any more time. As I removed my inhibitor rings, my full power was released. It felt great to have them off again, but I could sense that the egg was about to blow. "CHAOS CONTROL!" Time froze around me as I was yanked into the explosion, it's huge power frozen harmlessly around me.
I have to find that egg NOW.
My time was running out. I could feel the extreme heat coming back, and I still hadn't found that damn egg. Ah, there it was! I quickly launched myself at it, but I could already tell I would be too late.
Shit! I'm not going to make it! NO! I HAVE to stop this! For Maria…
I instantly knew that the last thought had come from the part of my mind that I still couldn't access. I knew from what some of the others had said, and from the faint, blurred feelings I had left from that period of my history, that Maria had been a good friend, just as I knew now that she would want me to do this.
Suddenly, I felt a power that I never knew existed. It was like an infinite ocean, and, despite the deadly situation I was in, I couldn't help but let out an exhilarated laugh. I channeled this new strength into my Chaos Control, and I felt, more that saw, it stabilize. With another laugh, I blasted straight at the egg, and as my hand touched it I released the Chaos Control for just a second. That was almost too much. The egg's shell, already cracked, couldn't hold out any longer. As my vision was filled with white light, I focused my whole mind on one word…
Away
"CHAOS CONTROL!!"
And then, time was frozen again to all except myself. I felt the egg traveling beside me, but the light had blinded me the instant it had appeared. I knew one thing for certain though; if I was still here when the teleport ended, I would die. Not even the power of the emeralds could protect me from this.
Just because I volunteered for this doesn't mean I intend to die out here…
No, I was defiantly NOT going to die now! There was no way I was going to let that faker outlast me! Besides, without me they would probably end up getting themselves killed if something like the Meterex ever showed its ugly head. I thought of possible places to teleport to so I could get away from this accursed egg. The list wasn't very big. I didn't have enough power left to get back to Mobius or even back to the Typhoon, and since I couldn't teleport somewhere I hadn't been, as I might end up stuck inside something solid, the list was basically empty. There was only one thing left to do, and though I probably wouldn't have enough power to pull it off, it was try or die.
Safety
"CHAOS CONTROL!"
And after that I remembered no more.
So how did you like it? Go tell me in a review please!
