"I'm going to go there one day"
"I promise I will protect you"
"It's always seemed so alien to me"
"They're coming"
"Get Maria and go! I'll hold them off. Doctor's orders!"
"You can't do that alone"
"I'll be fine. See you on Mobius right?"
"I'll find you"
"GO!"
Disconnected words and final glances swirled around like a whirlpool as, yet again, he drowned in his past.
XXXXXXXXXX
Footsteps slowly sounded from the dark metal hallway behind him. His ear twitched as he registered the shuffling of feet into the room he occupied and a soft, feminine voice whisper his name.
He turned his head to the left, not turning to look at the female behind him "You shouldn't be up Fauna".
The female grew more confident and walked up to stand behind him. "Neither should you".
A crimson gaze honed in on his companions reflection on the window; eyes of many hues stared back at him with an eyebrow raised. The male sighed and finally turned to face her, turning his back on the view he was marvelling. "Why are you here, Fauna?".
Fauna shrugged "I couldn't sleep"
The male stiffened slightly though his crimson eyes softened by a fraction "Another vision?".
The girl nodded and lowered herself to the ground, leaning against the wall opposite of the window, letting her multi colored eyes have full access to the view it offered.
Her companion sighed before planting himself next to her, his eyes now trained on the girl sat next to him. "What was it about?".
"Curious isn't it? Mobius" Rainbow eyes stared out of the window and at the water covered planet that was littered with the bright green of land. "It seems so alien to me, but at the same time, it seems like home".
Blood red eyes appraised her with slight annoyance "Stop avoiding the question. What did you see?".
Fauna sighed and suddenly found the lace on her shoe very interesting "I-I don't know".
The male raised an eyebrow "You don't know?"
"It was in snippets. I remember a lot of fire and shouting. People dying and gunshots. And an overwhelming sense of death".
Her voice died in her throat as the vision came back to her. The male next to her shifted closer "You know they're not real. Fauna, so why worry?"
"They are real, Shadow! The things I see happen. I've predicted weather, storms that have happened down there" She pointed towards the planet that rotated slowly below them. "You know I have, so saying that won't mean anything".
The males voice steadily grew more stern "I know it won't, Fauna. But losing sleep over it will make things worse and you know that. The doctor has promised that it's only a side effect. It will pass".
Multi coloured eyes ignored the male beside her and looked out towards Mobius, a slight sneer on her face "You talk about the doctor like he's a god. He created us. You can level cities, destroy entire civilizations. I can disrupt an entire planet by changing their weather patterns, drive people insane by forcing myself into their minds. Does that sound like the sort of thing that'll help Maria get better? Because it doesn't to me. You need to understand. We're weapons." The female stood abruptly and walked out the way she came, stopping at the doorway and looked back at him over her shoulder "Now ask yourself this. Shadow, Is that what a god would create?" She left him in darkness.
XXXXXXXXXX
Sirens screamed in his ears as smoke filled his nose, he ran down the metal corridors, trying to keep his balance as explosions wracked the structure and tilted his entire world.
His body hit the wall as a nearby explosion caught him in the blast. Groaning, he slid down to hit the floor. Those stupid soldiers were on board the Ark and were trying to stop the Doctor and his experiments. That meant him. More importantly, it meant Fauna.
He pushed himself up and ran down the halls, his hover shoes allowing him to go at reckless speeds. Until his eyes caught a glimpse of pure white fur. Screeching to a stop, he turned back and sped towards where he saw it. Crimson eyes widened as he took in the figure that laid on the floor. Pristine white fur, darkened by dust, bat wings protruding from just below the shoulder blades, eyes closed and covered by white lids, but he knew that if they were open they'd be a spectrum of colours that shined with curiosity and mischief.
"Fauna" Shadow ran towards her and pulled the small sheets of metal that covered her off. Lifting her into his arms, he shook her gently. The hybrid groaned as she came around and her eyes fluttered open.
"That hurt" She murmured, pushing herself into a seating position with his help.
"What happened?"
"Soldiers. They were after Maria, I tried to stop them but….yeah, you get the picture"
Shadow sighed and hung his head, running a hand through his quills. "We need to go" He stood and held a hand out towards her "Are you okay to travel?".
She took his hand and let him pull her to his feet "Of course".
They took off a fast pace, him running, her flying. They followed the sounds of gunfire until they reached a look out point in the Ark. They peered through the large glass window and saw a small blonde haired girl running from men dressed in black.
"Maria!" They chorused, panic laced in their voices.
The pair took off once again in the girls direction.
"We need a plan!" Shadow called.
"You get Maria. I'll make a distraction" Fauna called back.
"Don't blow half the place up again will you?"
"No promises"
She flew off in the direction of the men clad head to toe in black and drew their fire towards her. Sparks flew as the wiring of the colony seared with electricity and combusted. Columns of fire made their way towards him like billowing clouds of infernos. They traveled closer towards him, the flames licking their uncomfortably warm tongues at his fur, singing it.
XXXXXXXXXX
A bead of sweat trickled down his neck as he stared down the barrel of the gun. The hand that held it shook slightly as the holder aimed it between the hedgehog's eyes. The soldier scowled at Shadow in disgust as he turned his comlink on. "Sir, I've cornered the experiment".
A sharp and cold voice answered on the other side "Which one?"
"The male, Sir"
A small noise of approval "And what of the female?"
Shadow's hands fisted at his sides and he made to go forward but the soldier aimed the gun straight at his chest and he froze. A small knot of dread forming in his gut. The soldier smirked slightly at Shadow's anger "We don't know sir. She escaped after the fires started".
"No matter. She hasn't got anywhere to go. Good work, Soldier. Now finish the job. Commander out".
The line went dead and static filled the air. The soldier's finger cocked his gun and the click resounded throughout the cold metal room. "Have fun in hell" The soldier sneered before his finger pulled the trigger.
Shadow flinched and closed his eyes as the deafening boom ricocheted of the dark walls, coupled with a pained gasp he assumed was his own. He waited and waited but nothing. No pain that exploded through his body. Confused, he opened his eyes and they soon widened upon processing what was before him. A wall of rippling silver energy encased him. And the pure white body that stood before him, arms outstretched.
"Fauna!" His voice was laced with relief.
His crimson eyes landed on the body of the soldier that lay a few feet from the silver orb around him. Shards of silver energy protruded from his body. His heartbeat slowed to normal and he looked at the hybrid that stood motionless in front of him. Her body was tense as her arms were spread out to her sides.
"Fauna?"
Time seemed to stop as she turned to face him slowly. Her arms lowered as she spun. Blood red eyes saw the splintering hole in the cocoon of energy. His gaze then fell on the wound on her chest, the thick red liquid that trickled from it, staining her clothes. He stared at her, wide-eyed, as her eyes met his, the swirl of vivid colours now tainted with pain.
"Shadow" She breathed his name softly before her legs gave out on her.
His strong arms caught her before she hit the ground and neither of them registered the silver energy dissipate. He knelt down and laid her on his lap. One hand cradled her as the other gently applied pressure to her wound. He understood. Usually her force fields were able to keep out almost anything. Since they were both able to harness some kind of energy. But neither had ever seen a gun before; Fauna did not know how to protect herself against a bullet.
"Fauna, what were you thinking?" Shadow asked "Why did you do that?"
Her breathing became laboured as she answered "Because you need to save Maria. You need to get her out".
He shook his head "No! I need to get both of you out of here alive".
A small laugh rose from the injured hybrid. "You're always so serious".
Shadow frowned in confusion. This wasn't about him! She had sacrificed herself for him and now she was dying in his arms! "Just stop talking, Fauna. Save your energy".
"No use" She muttered slowly, raising her hand weakly and they both watched as a small, dull stream of silver energy flowed from her hand. Her rainbow eyes moved to meet his "I'm not going to make it".
"No. Don't talk like that. What happened to that eternal optimist I used to know? Where's she gone?" He shouted, shaking her slightly.
A small smile grew on her face and she turned her head to rest on his shoulder "She's still here. A bit battered and bruised, but here".
"What?" She had a gaping hole in her chest, why was she acting as if it was nothing more than a papercut?
"I'll see you again, Shadow" She whispered, eyes falling away from his slowly as her eyelids began to close "On Mobius. Like we planned, right?".
He nodded slowly "I'll find you. I promise".
A ghost of a smile appeared on her fatigued face. Her eyes shut and her body went limp in his hold. The small stream of silver energy swirled around them both before it slowly disappeared from his sight.
He didn't know how long he sat there for, staring at her body, minutes? It could have been hours. But he was past caring. She was gone. She died protecting him. It was his fault. He screwed his eyes shut and leaned down to press his forehead against hers, stubbornly forcing his eyes to dry as he held her to him tightly.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Shadow The Hedgehog, If I've told you once I've told you a thousand times. Let me know if you're going to sleep over"
Crimson eyes snapped open and focused in on the irate tan bat standing above him. Her teal eyes narrowed at him as he stared at her "Honestly, I was this close to kicking your head in!".
He moved his gaze from her and sat up, swinging his legs round the side of the sofa and placing his head in his hands. "Wouldn't have hurt" He muttered, running his large hands through his quills.
Rough raised an eyebrow at him "You okay?"
"Yeah"
"Bad dream?"
"Yeah"
The tan bat moved so she sat next to him and Shadow felt her weight land on the fabric surface. "Do you want to talk about it?
"No"
The bat sighed in annoyance as she leaned against the back of her couch. It appeared that a freshly awoken Shadow was more blunt than a well rested Shadow. Either way, they were annoying. But she couldn't waste time sitting here and scolding him (As much as she would love to); they had a job to do.
Rouge stood up abruptly and quickly crossed the room, snatching her jacket from the single chair where she had disposed of it. "Well, I hope you're still yourself enough to kick some ass".
The ultimate lifeform picked his head up to stare at the bat as she put on her jacket. "What now?".
Teal eyes lit up as a smirk crawled onto her face. Hands found their place on her hips as she spoke "Knuckles sensed a disturbance at the Master Emerald. The team are going to check it out".