This wasn't supposed to happen. It was supposed to be a simple 'get in, get out' data retrieval mission. But the Doctor had stepped up his game. What kind of prison chamber was this, anyway? I had never seen anything like it. None of my attacks had any effect on the glowing blue forcefield.
Come on Shadow, think! For the moment I was alone, but I knew that wouldn't last. I had to escape before the Doctor came back. There was only one thing I hadn't tried. Chaos Control. But in this strange chamber I had no idea if it would work or not. Well, I had no other choice.
I called forth the energy and let it surround me as I uttered the command under my breath. "Chaos Control." Normally everything would blur and when my vision returned to normal I would be somewhere else. That didn't happen. The energy exploded off the walls of the chamber, coming back at me with full force. I blacked out when it hit.
I'm not sure how long I was out, but when I awoke I had definitely traveled somewhere. I stood up slowly, checking my balance and seeing if all of my limbs were still functioning. They were. I don't know where I was, but it looked like I had walked straight into a western. The only thing I recognized was that the ground still had the familiar checkered pattern of most Hill Zones.
The wind picked up a bit and I shielded my eyes from the dust. When I lowered my hand Sonic was standing in front of me, but he was wearing a cowboy hat and a vest with a Sheriff badge pinned on it. What the hell was going on?
"Howdy, pardner. Ya new in town?" I was in a western town, Sonic was dressed as Sheriff and he was speaking with a southern accent. Either I was having the strangest dream ever, or he and his friends were playing a prank on me.
If it was a dream I would wake up eventually. If it was a prank, I wasn't going to let them think they got me. I would play along for now. "Yeah, I'm new in town." I said, looking around. He gave me that cocky smile of his and replied, "Well then, welcome to Station Square. They call it that on account of the train station. Come on, I'll show ya 'round." He grabbed my hand and dragged me down the dusty checkered road.
"This here's the saloon." He said as we stopped in front of a building. He continued talking as he led me in. "Woman named Rouge runs the place. She's a wonderful lady. So's the gal who plays the piano there. Her name's Amy."
Damn, if this wasn't a dream they really went all out on setting this up. Behind the counter I could see Rouge filling drinks. She was in a long black dress with a pink heart printed on the chest. Knuckles was sitting at the counter with a hat similar to Sonic's lying next to his cup. Off to the side and playing the piano skillfully was Amy. She was in a long red dress with white lace.
She waved at Sonic before going back to her music. How was she playing so well? She never said she could play. Sonic saw her wave and waved back with a weak smile. "Sweet girl, but not my type." He whispered to me.
"Sonic, what's going on?" I didn't want to deal with this anymore. I've never seen him look so confused before. "I'm introducin' ya to the townsfolk." He was still keeping up his act. "I'm being serious." I said forcefully. He still had the confused look as he replied, "So am I. How'd ya know my name?"
My mind reeled as I thought of possible reasons for everyone acting like this. It wasn't a prank, that was for sure. Maybe it was a dream after all? But if it was a dream I would have been able to force myself awake like I've done before with nightmares about that day… So it wasn't a dream. Where had Chaos Control taken me? Another dimension?
Sonic had once mentioned a place where everyone was knights in a medieval type world. Maybe this was a variation? I sighed, thinking of how to explain. "I'm from far away. There was an accident and I woke up here. I don't know how I got here and I'm trying to get home. And I know someone who looks a lot like you and his name is Sonic."
After my explanation Sonic smiled and said, "I'll help ya find your way home, stranger. By the way, did your Sonic ever tell ya that you are lookin' mighty fine?" What? I thought back to a book Maria had once read to me. It was a romance set in the old west, and the cowboy had called the girl 'mighty fine' as a compliment and way to flirt.
Was Sonic hitting on me? "Huh?" was all I could manage to say. He laughed at me and smiled, making me unsure as to whether he was joking or not. It was strange, but I can't say I didn't like it. It felt good to know someone liked me. I didn't care what gender they were, it felt good anyway.
"So stranger, what's your name?" Sonic asked as he took a seat at a table. I sat across from him and replied, "Shadow." He leaned back in his chair and flicked the brim of his hat so it wasn't covering his eyes. "Can I call ya Shads? Everyone here's got a nickname if their name's too long."
Maria used to call me Shads. Damn it, cowboy Sonic here was messing with my feelings. First he complimented me, then he wanted to use Maria's pet name for me. My brain said 'no, only very special friends can call me that' but my mouth said, "Sure."
I instantly regretted it. How could I be so stupid? He seemed happy though. He let the legs of the chair fall back to the wooden floor as he placed his elbows on the table. "Well then, you might be here a while, so ya need to look the part. Nilly should have a hat ya can use."
"Who's Nilly?" I asked. I recognized Rouge, Amy Knuckles and Sonic, so I figured everyone else would have a part to play in this world, but I didn't know anyone named Nilly. Sonic stood up and pointed out the window toward the General Goods store.
"It's short for Vanilla. She and her daughter run the store. Blaze'll show ya. She's good friends with Nilly's little girl." He went up to the counter and spoke with Rouge for a moment. She pointed over to a dark corner of the saloon, which was where Sonic went.
When he came back to me he was with a purple cat in a lavender dress. I recognized her from Sonic's birthday party a few weeks back. She and Silver had hung out together. Sonic flicked his hat again and backed up a few steps. "I'll let ya get to know each other. Don't get too friendly now though. I got my sights set on ya." He winked at me before walking away.
I knew it! He was flirting with me! Despite how much I disliked Sonic, I couldn't stop myself from smiling at this version of him. He was very forward, but I kind of liked it. I had never had someone like me that way before.
Blaze smiled at me and said, "Hello. It's nice to meet you good sir." I immediately noticed that she didn't have the same accent. "You talk differently." She bowed a little and replied, "I'm from further north. I haven't stayed here long enough to acquire the accent. The sheriff tells me you're new in town. Come on, we'll get you appropriate clothing."
I followed her out of the saloon and walked down the dusty checkered road again. About a block down the road was the General Goods store. Blaze led me in and I saw Cream stocking some shelves. Her mother was behind the counter.
Cream was wearing a small orange dress with frilly sleeves. Her mother had the same outfit, but a different size and a red bandanna around her neck. Blaze knelt down and tapped Cream on the shoulder.
The little rabbit looked up and smiled, giving the cat a hug. She then ran off to her mother, who called us over. Blaze explained what she knew of my situation and Vanilla went into the back room. When she came back it was with a hat similar to Sonic's, except this one had a red stripe around it. She also had a matching vest.
I took it and thanked her as Blaze paid and put the vest on. I didn't mind the vest, but the hat was too much. I was not going to wear a ridiculous cowboy hat. I walked out with Blaze, wondering how much longer it would be before I could get home.
I couldn't use Chaos Control again. There was no chaos energy here, so I had to find another way home. On the way back to the saloon we ran into Tails. He didn't have a hat, but he was wearing the same vest as Sonic. His had a deputy badge.
"Have you seen the sheriff? Ivo's just up the hill." He said worriedly. Blaze paled and pointed to the saloon. When Tails ran off she dragged me there with her. The name Ivo sounded familiar. Yes, Ivo Robotnik. So the Doctor had a parallel here too?
Tails was explaining something to Sonic when we arrived. He pulled the brim of his hat down, a serious look in his eyes. "Gotchya. Ivo ain't gonna make it to town this time." He headed toward the exit, but stopped for a moment to shove my new hat on me. The look in his eyes shifted from angry to happy, and I didn't take the hat off.
Damn it, how was he doing that? How was he messing with my emotions just by looking at me? The Sonic I knew couldn't do that. When he looked at me like that all I felt was irritation. But this Sonic… After putting my hat on the angry look came back and he stormed out of the saloon, presumably to fight Ivo. I ran after him and so did Tails. Sonic wouldn't fight alone.