Fatal Fall

Alarms... that's what he heard. The loud beeping noise of the alarm above.

There was such a rapid rush of air blowing through his quills... he didn't understand it...

He couldn't see it, but he could hear it.

"Shadow!" his ally's voice cried, "Shadow! Get UP!"

His eyes opened and closed slowly from the call, but all he could see was the blinding red lights.

"Shadow! We're falling!"

"Topaz..." he said weakly.

His eyes cracked open. He looked around the hull of the craft, and gazed down around him.

The dials were shattered, the buttons flashed rapidly, the windshield was battered, and air was escaping. What had happen?

"Topaz?" he said again, bringing himself from unconsciousness, "What happened?"

The short-haired brunette gave him a terrified frown. All around them, their space craft was falling. He hadn't noticed yet.

"Shadow! We're going down!" she cried, slamming her hands on the command console.

But he couldn't think straight. The black and red hedgehog laid his hands on his head, and gazed blind eyed out of the windshield. They were falling. Falling straight toward a great brown and blue planet. With his dazed mind, the hedgehog couldn't even parse the information necessary to assess the problem. He just gazed slack-jawed out, while a bit of drool hung from his lips.

"Shadow!" Topaz roared, gaining his full attention.

He brought his head up, but a serious pain rocketed through his mind. He laid his fingers on his injured head, as he came to terms what happened.

"What's... going on?" he questioned.

"What's wrong with you today!?" Topaz screamed, her hands trying valiantly to turn the ship, "We're crashing into this planet!"

But Shadow still couldn't think straight. Whatever happened, it must have been bad.

"Topaz," he said, laying his hand on the command console, "what happened?"

"Not now!" she yelled, "We have to make sure we don't die!"

As well-trained as the G.U.N. Agent was though, she could barely handle the crashing rocket. Downward was its direction, and it wouldn't be deterred.

"Gotta... do something..." Shadow said as he unbuckled his belt, "Gotta... stop this... some how..."

He struggled from his chair, but Topaz stopped his movements. As he tried to move, the agent beckoned to him.

"Shadow, what are you doing!?"

"Gotta... stop this..." he reiterated in an almost zombie like voice.

He pushed off her grasp, and painfully marched out of the command room. Stepping into the hall, he noticed it was heavily dented, but by what, he did not know. It must have been bad though, because he still couldn't remember it. He laid his hand on his suit, and dragged it down. When he lifted his glove, he noticed it was painted red. That wasn't a good sign. And that blasted alarm! It was driving him insane.

Slowly, he began floating, showing the artificial gravity had been turned off. Using his air shoes, he flew through the hallways as he tried to parse together what happened. Let's see here... he was on a mission with fellow Agent Topaz for G.U.N. It was a space mission, and yet, he can't remember what it was for... The next thing he remembered, was flying through a meteor herd. That would explain the dire situation the ship was in, and why he couldn't remember so well. They must have been hit by one, and sent barreling through space. But that's as far as it went. After this was all said and done, he'd need to talk to Topaz. Maybe she would shed some light on this situation.

But damn that alarm!

Shadow finally arrived at his point of destination. He didn't know why he was being led to this point, but he pushed on anyway. His hand fell onto the door's open panel, but it wasn't working. So, grunting, he wedged his hands inside the sliding door, and pried it open by force. On the other end, the space ship's power generator. He stumbled over to the great mechanism, and opened the panel before him. On the other end, the white Chaos Emerald. Now he knew why he came here.

Instead of pulling out the emerald, he focused his energies on it.

"Gotta... stop this..." Shadow said again.

White bolts of power traveled between Shadow and the emerald. Nodding, he winced at the pain that surged through him. Why was it hurting? It didn't matter, he had to focus. Focus... Focus...

"Chaos... Control..." he murmured.

The spacecraft they were in suddenly jerked. Shadow heard the loud noise of bending metal, while his heart increased to near dangerous levels. Why was it so hard to focus? He shouldn't be attempting this, not when his body was in such high levels of pain. But he had too, if not for his sake, then for Topaz's. So, he pushed on. The space ship began to come to a slow stop. But this was suddenly ruined. A burning sensation entered Shadow's mind and stopped his concentration. He lurched back, and rubbed his head dangerously. As injured as he was, he still had the strength to escape the room. He gazed out the window and saw fire. They were the flames that appeared on all things entering the airspace. So this planet had air... probably.

Their spacecraft jerked forward, and Shadow fell off of his feet and onto the floor. Unlike before, he felt the heavy pain of gravity take a hold, and it held him to the ground. He had to push on though. He set on his air shoes, and flew through the air, dodging any and all debris he past as best he could.

"Topaz!" he called as he came to the cockpit.

She didn't answer him, and when Shadow checked her body, he noticed a mark on her head. She was knocked out, but alive.

The hedgehog looked up, and saw the land belonging to this new planet approach him quickly. But he couldn't parse that information in his mind. He just notice the planet get closer, and closer, as the heat in the room grew to unbearable levels. He dropped down, but regained enough energy to look out the busted windshield. He couldn't remember anything next... he just remembered... crashing...

xXx

Shadow dragged his hand against his head. He was wet, for some reason. He looked up, and noticed he was no longer in the space craft. No... he was outside, in an... oasis?

"G.U.N., this is Agent Topaz." A far off voice, "Agent Shadow the hedgehog and I have crashed on a far off planet... assistance is necessary..."

Shadow groaned at the noise. Slowly, his ruby eyes opened, and he gazed up above him. The sky in this planet was beautiful... a pink color infused with a light blue also mixed with a green. He had never seen something like it before. Yet it mattered not to him.

He straightened himself up, and leaned up. Dragging his eyes around, he realized he was in an oasis. He was no longer wearing the space suit he had on, and was instead naked, save for the random coils around his body. Beside him, his gloves and shoes. Only his inhibitor rings remained.

"G.U.N.! Anyone! Is anyone there!?" Topaz cried, but she got no answer.

She sulked down and gazed toward the ground.

"Topaz?" Shadow said weakly.

The human woman turned to him. A smile spread on her face, and she placed the radio down. She too had discarded the space suit she wore, though she still had more clothing on than Shadow. On the uncovered parts of her body, were coils like Shadow.

"Oh Shadow, you're awake!" she called, "I was beginning to worry."

He tried getting to his feet, but he felt to weak to get up by himself. Instead, Topaz grabbed him by his shoulder, and helped him to his feet.

"Where are we?" he questioned as he grabbed his gloves.

The woman shook her head, and laid her hands on her waist.

"I... don't really know..." she said weakly, as Shadow slid on her gloves, she continued, "From what I remember... we hit that meteor herd, and went sailing over here..."

"Did you get in contact with any one on the radio?" the hedgehog asked as he slid on his shoes.

"No... I've been trying ever since I patched you up..."

"About that," the hedgehog said, "thanks..."

"You were pretty messed up... the fall crushed you..."

"Nothing crushes me..." he remarked.

As he escaped her grasp, he stood tall on his own two feet. But not too well. He needed something to lean on, for right now, that is. Finding a metal pole, probably a piece of the space craft they crashed in, he began using it as a makeshift cane. He looked to Topaz, and gave her scowl.

"Are you okay Shadow?" she asked, but he shook his head.

"Let's figure out where we are, okay?"

Topaz shrugged, but nodded nonetheless. Shadow trekked over to the fallen space craft, before shifting his attention elsewhere.

They crashed in valley. Water from the mountain tops fell off the sides, and made the area seem like a virtual rainforest. The sunlight for this planet was red, which showered the land in great heat. Perfect...

"Hey Topaz!" he called as he stepped off, "Are you coming?"

The G.U.N. agent nodded.

"Just give me a sec..." she said as she toiled a bit in a container.

Slowly she withdrew a pistol, along with the white Chaos Emerald.

"I believe you'll need this." she said, tossing him the jewel.

"Thanks..." he murmured as he caught it.

Slowly, the duo shifted their combined attentions elsewhere. Where in the universe were they? Well... as time will often tell... they were about to find out...