EMERALD FIRE

BY: TIDOTA ERU

CH.1: A Dark Night

It was a stormy night on Angel Island. The red echidna named Knuckles was busy watching the Master Emerald in the storm. Lightning flashed, rian fell in torrents, but the echidna didn't shiver. Thunder rolled and a big blast of lightning ilumminated the dark sky. The echidna opened his eye's and looked at the dark clouds. Something was falling from the sky, it glowed gold then went as black as night. It soon crashed on Floating Island. Curious Knuckles went over to see what landed on his island. It was to dangerous to glide in the rian, so it took him a while to walk. When he came up to a newly formed hole in the ground, he gasped in surprise. There lying in the hole was Shadow.

Knuckles saw that Shadow held a red choas emerald in his hand. The black and red hedgehog had been gone for more than a year, and Knuckles like Sonic and the others believed Shadow to be dead. Knuckles picked up Shadow and carried him back to the Master Emerald's alter. When he reached the alter he tapped on the stone wall and a secret door opened. He layed Shadow in a bed he never used, and took care of some of his wounds.

Knuckles: It's been a long time, but you finally did it. as he wrote in one of his journals You finally completed your promise.

Shadow didn't hear what Knuckles had said nor would he care if he had heard it. He was to busy reliving the final memory of Maria. The sound of them running from the G.U.N. soldiers, a shot, and Maria's final words. When morning came Shadow awoke to see he was in some sort of hidden library. He took notice of Knuckles sleeping on one of his books. He looked in his hands and noticed the choas emerald was gone.

Shadow: I must of lost it when I fell. Where am I?

He looked at the books around him, glismping at titles, not really caring what they were about. Knuckles awoke seeing Shadow glance at his books.

Knuckles: Glad to see your awake.

Shadow: Why do you have so many books?

Knuckles: I keep records of thing's I've been through. Like when I ran into you last night for example.

Shadow: What?

Knuckles: You fell from the sky. You had some wounds, but no broken bones. We thought you were dead.

Shadow: We?

Knuckles sighed, it took him a while to remind Shadow what had happened in a past year's time. He even got out some of his book's and told Shadow what happened exactly. After Shadow had enough of journey's into the past, he asked Knuckles about the other's. Knuckles told him that he didn't interfer with the other's business, but that they were doing fine.

Shadow: You said you found me last night?

Knuckles: Yeah.

Shadow: Did you also happen to find a choas emerald?

Knuckles: Yes, you wouldn't let go of it. Then it just disappeared.

Shadow: What?

Knuckles: We should probally tell the other's that your still alive.

Shadow reluctantly agreed, but the thought of the choas emerald just disappearing was enough to make him wonder. Choas emerald's don't vanish into thin air.

CH.2 : Surprise

It was a perfect day for Sonic and the other's. Tail's was busy in his workshop, Amy was over at Cream's, Rouge was off treasure hunting, Sonic was running around outside, and The Choatix were fishing with Big. Tail's was busy looking over the system's of the X Tornado when a knock came on the door.

Tails:Who is it?

Knuckles: It's me Tail's.

Tail's left his workshop and opened the door allowing Knuckles to come in. Shadow followed next. The twin tailed fox was surprised seeing that Shadow was alive. The fox looked at Knuckles, Knuckles shrugged his shoulder's saying he didn't know much more than Tail's did. The news soon got around that Shadow was around. The other's had stopped their activities to see the black and red hedgehog.

Knuckles explianed how Shadow had fallen on Angel Island last night as best he could, Shadow helped him a bit. The sky outside was suddenly darkened by the fast coming of clouds. Everyone ran outside to see what was happening.

Sonic:What is this?

Lightning stormed out of the clouds, a few of the bolt's hit the ground. One of the bolt's came really close to hitting Shadow, but thank's to Knuckle's he was saved from recieving a terrible shock. Rouge took flight and saw something come down from the clouds. It looked like a giant cobra, as black as night, with red eye's that seemed to piecre through stone. The cobra's head looked at the group as if searching for a good target. Knuckles stared at the cobra for a long while, knowing he had seen it somewhere before.

The cobra let out a heavy hiss, and wolves came pouring out of the sky. These were no oridanary wolves either, they were as black as coal with the same piercing red eye's the cobra had. The only thing you could see different was that the wolves had gaint bat like wing's as they swooped down out of the sky.

Shadow: What are these thing's?

Sonic: I don't know, but why are they here?

"Shadow..." hissed the cobra. The wolves were coming right after Shadow, Shadow was about to call "Choas Control" when he suddenly remembered he didn't have a choas emerald anymore. Knuckles came to his rescue punching one wolf aside. Shadow attacked another one nearby. Sonic and the other's were facing off agianist the other wolves.

Amy: We're a little outnumbered here! over the noise of the battle

Knuckles: These guy's don't scare me! punching another wolf aside

Sonic:What are they after anyway? spinning two wolves out of his way

The ground erupted in a blast and Sonic, Shadow, and the others found themselves dropping down to the blackness below.