Chapter 2
Shadow trudged along in the field, the cold winds whipping at his fur, their extreme force forcing him back. 'No time to waste...this damn wind!' He thought to himself, the snow on the ground plus the gale force winds too much for his body to fight. "Hello, Shadow the Hedgehog. It seems you've finally arrived." A dark figure announced behind him, shrouded by the dense woodland surrounding Shadow. "Who are you? Who's there!" He shouted, struggling to be heard over the howl of the wind. "It is I, Mephiles the Dark." The figure said, his teeth glinting and his orange quills turning to blue."AHHHHH!" Shadow screamed, shooting upwards and knocking his head into the bottom of the overhead bunk. Yelping in surprise, or as close to a yelp as hedgehogs could be, Shadow rubbed his forehead with his now un-cuffed hands, a headache beginning. He groaned, then saw his cell mate. "Hey there, I'm Sonic!" He chirped. 'Oh, no. Please, no more preppies! I've had enough goody-goody with Tails!' Shadow though, rolling his eyes.
"The name's Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog. This is my girlfriend Maria Robotnik." Sonic's eyes grew wide, and he gulped. "As in, Ivo Robotnik?" Sonic asked timidly. "Yeah. He's her cousin by marriage." Sonic scooted away. "I know from personal experience that that name is not a good one." Shadow scoffed. "My birth name was Robotnik too. There's nothing wrong with it." Sonic gulped again. "Don't go around telling that to people here. It won't get you far." "I'm Shadow the Hedgehog, remember?" Sonic's smirk reappeared. "Oh, yeah!"
Shadow rolled his eyes, but huffed in amusement. Sonic flipped off the bed acrobatically, and landed skillfully. Shadow quirked his eyebrows, as he was quite impressed with the blue hedgehog's skill. He stood, and slipped his arms through the cell bars. He noticed the guard, and motioned for him to come over. "When's breakfast, or did I sleep through it?" The guard had a faint smile. "Breakfast is in 10 minutes," He began, leaning closer to say something else. "I've heard about what you did, Shadow. You don't deserve to be in here. You did a good thing." 'My reputation presceeds me.' He though to himself, smiling.
Sonic leaned against the wall. "Hey, Shadow," He started. "When we get let out for breakfast and rec., there's some guys I want you to meet. You'd like 'em." The two hedgehogs sat in silence, neither wanting to say anything out of hunger. Maria began to stir, the sheets twisting as she stretched out. "'Morning, sleepyhead." Shadow mumbled, earning an sleepy smile from Maria. "Maria, this is Sonic the Hedgehog." He added, pointing towards their cell mate.
"Hi, miss. Nice to meet 'ya!" Sonic greeted, shaking her hand in respect. Hearing faint footsteps, Shadow stood, growling lowly. He stood in defensive possition, glaring at the door. Mephiles appeared before them, cackling hysterically. "Hate to disrupt your little meet 'n greet ladies, but it's breakfast time." He said, opening the cell. He whistled a tune, and spun his key ring around his finger. He unlocked each cell individually, which was unnecessary, because he could open them all at once if he wished.
Shadow walked out, and flipped over the edge, hitting the ground flat on his feet. He could here Maria calling him a show off, and he smirked at that. He assumed his usual pose, and came up on the breakfast line. He noticed Knuckles glaring knives into him from his own table. He grabbed his breakfast tray, and got some sausages, apple juice, milk, an orange, and a sorry excuse for pancakes.
He sat at a table in the back, away from most other people. Sonic sat across from him, followed by Maria and a black and red armadillo, who looked pretty easy going. "This the fish?" The armadillo asked Sonic, pointing at Shadow. "Trust me, Mighty, he ain't no fish." Mighty sat beside Sonic, and Maria sat beside Shadow.
"What are you in for, armadillo?" Mighty shook his head. "Three counts of man slaughter...or was it two?" He asked himself. Shadow huffed, and dropped a sausage in his mouth. "I'm in for murder." Mighty glanced at Maria. "What about your girl?" Said girl rolled her eyes, and sipped her juice. "I'm in here for being his accompliss." Mighty shook his head. "Who was it?" Shadow dropped his fork, and looked up at Mighty.
"Ivo Robotnik." Mighty spat out the food he just swallowed, shock hitting him. "Did you just say you killed Doctor Eggman?" He asked, bewilderment filling his voice. Shadow nodded. "Sure did." Mighty's jaw dropped. "Wow." He breathed, the amazement stunning him. "He's so dangerous, they had to keep him with us Mobians, seeing as we can take more than those humans." He said, disgust edging his sentence. Shadow say Maria tense up. "Mighty, humans are more resilient than you think. If one can go a few rounds with me, then you've got plenty of resilience."
Mighty glanced at Maria. "Wait, is she..." "Maria Robotnik at your service." She said, dipping her head. He just chuckled. "To think, you helped kill your cousin. The irony!" They all share a chuckle. "Sonic, tell them about that time you and I ruffed up Vector and Knuckles." The blue hedgehog blushed. "It was more like you beat them senseless and I watched."
Shadow smirked. "Anyone who can hurt an echidna and a crocodile at once has my respect." Mighty nodded. "Many thanks, hedgehog. Perhaps we can measure our strengths?" Shadow nodded. "If you can manage to find twenty busses, you've got a deal..." He voiced. Suddenly, the four were joined by said echidna. "So Sonic, befriending the fish?" He spat, giving Shadow a death glare.
"Knuckles, piss off if you know what's good for you." Mighty stated, chewing on his sausage. The red echidna's lip curled upwards in the making of a snarl. "I think that this hedgehog and I have some unfinished buisness." Shadow looked at him, examining him up and down. "Let's see, I can break both legs, the right arm, the nose, dislocate the hip and the ankles," Shadow said, then smiled evilly and looked Knuckles in the eye. "And break the back." He finished, ready for the fight about to ensue.
Knuckles stood directly before Shadow, his fists poised to slam into his face. "How's about I break your face!" He shouted as he punched Shadow square in the face, and Shadow retaliated by spinning with the force of his hit, and landing his steel boots on the side of his torso. He kneed him in the stomach, then landed a sharp uppercut to his chin, followed by a jab to his left jaw. Knuckles raked his fist across Shadow's side, and punched his left shoulder, the latter's side cut up from the former's spikes.
Shadow sweepkicked the echidna, who hit his knee cap on the way down with crushing force. The hedgehog slammed his knees down on his opponent's chest, an landed several blows to Knuckles's face before being shoved off. The echidna grabbed and threw a chair at Shadow, who swatted it aside with the back of his hand. He suddenly curled up into a ball, and spun in place so fast that he was hovering in mid air.
He shot forward at Knuckles, who pushed out his arms, barely keeping the hedgehog from blowing right through him. Shadow bounced backward and off the wall, back into Knuckles, slamming him through the wall. The guards then surged forward, moving to 'contain' them. Shadow unfurled, and shot forward with his fist raised as soon as Knuckles stood. The hedgehog's hand came down on the echidna, and landed on his nose. The force of the punch ripped the latter's feet out from underneath him, and sent him crashing onto the ground, the concussion setting in.
Shadow leaned over him. "The next time you decide to play the badass, remember just who I am. If you don't, prepare to wish you never existed." He spat in his face, and stood upright. Mephiles grabbed Shadow's arms, and spun him toward the new found entrance to the living quarters. As he passed by, Shadow could see the mortified look on Maria's face, and couldn't stand to look at her. Sonic whispered something in her ear that she ignored.
As Shadow was stopped briefly at the entrance to the infirmary, he could hear the cheers and applause from the inmates. A smirk made it way onto his face. "Hope you're happy, hedgehog!" Mephiles growled, shoving him into the room with Amy. "You've got half rations for the stunt you just pulled!" He spat, scowling as he walked away. "That's fine, because once I get hungry, I'll just eat you!" He snapped back at the guard, obviously with an empty threat.
"Oh, please!" Amy said to him, rummaging through some drawers for first aid supplies. "He's not the slightest bit intimidated by your empty words! He knows you won't really do something as extreme as canniballism!" The pink hedgehog said, finally finding what she needed. "Yeah, but I sure would show him just why I'm called the Ultimate Life Form! It's not just for show!" He joked, earning a faint smile from the doctor.
She tossed him two pills and a bottle of water. "That's for the pain, since you'll heal by the next half hour." He swallowed them, and chugged the water. "Thanks, Doctor." She smiled. "Just call me Amy, Shadow." He nodded. She shooed him out the door. "Now get out! I have lunch in five minutes!" He chuckled, and made his way to the rec. room. He passed by Knuckles on the way, who was being aided by two guards. The two rivals shared a silent threat as they passed one another.