Chapter 3: Gems And Swords

Isabel stepped out of the warp and looked around with a smile, seeing she was in one of the parks inside the city and glanced around, wondering if Sonic was nearby, but then saw someone who looked like Sonic, but was black and red. Realizing that this was Shadow, who she had heard about from Tails and Amy, she ran up to him and glomped him.

The unexpected move surprised Shadow and he yelped, dropping something accidentally from his hand and the object fell into the deep lake in the park. He groaned. "My Chaos Emerald," he said before looking to see the girl that was hugging him. He arched an eyebrow at her. "And who are you?"

She stepped back a little. "Someone who's going to get your Chaos Emerald back," she said before she dove in.

Shadow was surprised by her answer and watched the water closely. The lake wasn't murky, but it wasn't clear either, so he couldn't see her. A few moments later, she surfaced with a triumphant look on her face and the Emerald in her hand as she swam to the edge and climbed out, water dripping off her clothes, but she didn't seem to care as she shoved her wet hair behind her and handed the Chaos Emerald back to him. "Sorry about that," she said apologetically.

His expression softened a bit. Though she was human, she reminded him of Maria in a way and just as he could never be mad at Maria, he couldn't be mad at this girl. He then realized something.

"Wait, you must be the new girl that my double keeps talking about," he said.

She smiled. "Yup, that's me," she said. "And you're Shadow, right? Tails and Amy were telling me about you."

He nodded and she beamed. "I'm Isabel," she said, holding out her right hand. "My friends call me Izzy."

Shadow shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Isabel," he said. "So...what was with the surprise hug?"

She giggled. "I like giving hugs to my friends," she said before sobering. "But I didn't mean for you to drop your Emerald. Sorry."

He waved a hand. "Eh, don't worry about it," he said. "You got it back. By the way, that was brave of you to jump in the lake like that. There's usually a few Badniks that like to swim underwater and catch a lot of us off guard."

Isabel looked confused. "I didn't see any down there," she said. "Though it was dark. Maybe I dove down to fast for them to see me or come after me."

"Maybe," Shadow agreed. "And lucky for you and me, they didn't attack you if they are there."

She nodded before looking at the Emerald. Sonic had told her about the Chaos Emeralds and Tails had shown her drawings of them, but to see one up close was incredible. Shadow noticed her interest and chuckled. "Never seen a Chaos Emerald before?" He asked.

"Not a real one up close," she said. "Sonic told me about them and Tails showed me drawings of them, but to see one up close, wow."

He smiled. "Yeah, they are pretty awesome, but very powerful," he said. "Which is why we don't like it when Eggbreath tries to get his dirty mitts on them."

Isabel looked at him before it clicked. "Oh, you mean Eggman?" She asked.

He nodded. "That overweight gorilla is always trying to get his hands on these," he said.

The young girl was curious. "Hey, Shadow, can I...hold your Emerald for a moment?" She asked.

He would have normally said no, but she had fetched the Emerald out of the lake and it was her first one she had seen up close, so he nodded. "Careful," he said, handing it to her.

Holding the gem in both hands, she marveled at the brilliance and the superb cut of the Emerald, running her hands very carefully over the surface, her mouth hanging slightly open in her curiosity. The gem was cut like a diamond and had the shine of a diamond too and she could feel the power deep inside it, recalling Sonic saying that if the seven Emeralds were brought together, their power would be so enormous, it would be dangerous too. She then handed the gem back carefully to Shadow. "That is a powerful gem," she said. "What kind of powers does it have?"

"Well, that depends," he said. "Mine gives me a lot of power to fight my enemies, give me a speed boost, and other things, but not even I know the full power of it."

Isabel had a feeling of what could happen if the power was misused. "Could it be used...to destroy the world?" She asked.

He nodded. "Yes," he said. "Something I doubt Eggman realizes or just doesn't care about."

She shuddered. "I hope he never finds them," she said, gently handing the Emerald back.

"Believe me, kid, the feeling's mutual," Shadow said as he began walking toward the center of the city and she followed, hoping to spot Sonic on the way, but she instead spotted Antoine, who was practicing with his sword with Bunnie, his wife, watching nearby. Shadow paused at seeing the girl's interest and smiled as she gave him a quick hug, promising to see him later, as she headed towards Antoine, who had just finished a series of moves and posed, making his wife smile before she saw Isabel coming towards them.

"Hon, we have a visitor," she said, standing up to greet the human. "You must be Isabel. Sonic told us about you."

The girl smiled. "That's me," she said, holding out her hand for a handshake.

The rabbit smiled. "I'm Bunnie," she said, shaking the girl's hand and then gesturing to the Mobian beside her. "And this is my husband, Antoine."

Isabel instantly liked Bunnie and looked eagerly at Antoine. "Those were some really cool moves you were working on," she said.

"Well, thank you," he said with a chuckle.

She looked more eager now. "Could you teach me how to use a sword?"

That question caught him off-guard. "Why do you want to learn how to use a sword, kiddo?" He asked curiously.

"Well, in one of my favorite books, the hero wields a sword and it made me admire the idea of wielding one myself," she said. "That way, I could have some means of defense if a Badnik cornered me."

He nodded. "Well, I haven't had a student before," he said. "But if you're eager to learn, then I'll teach you."

Grinning, she hugged him. "Thank you," she said softly.

Bunnie chuckled. "I think you're going to have a terrific student, hon," she said to her husband.

She was right on with that statement. Isabel took to the training naturally and practiced hard, impressing Antoine, who saw her potential grow under his guidance.

Sonic, who happened to be passing by and looking for Isabel, stopped when he saw the young girl thrusting out a sword the way Antoine did, copying his movements to the best of her ability and doing pretty good from the looks of it. Knuckles happen to be going by too and he was surprised to see Isabel studying how to use a sword and was going pretty good with it.

"That just might be something," Sonic said. "A human freedom fighter."

Knuckles looked unsure. "I don't know if that's a good idea, Sonic," he said. "What if she gets hurt or worse?"

Seeing the echidna was concerned for their friend's safety, the blue hedgehog nodded, knowing that Isabel had to always be safe. "I'll always make sure she's safe," he said. "Just like I do for the other Freedom Fighters."

"And we'll do the same," Shadow said, coming out. "Kid's got guts. And looks like she's got the spirit of a Freedom Fighter too."

Isabel continued with her sword lessons, growing stronger and more confident as she learned from Antoine. She smiled as she did so, feeling ready to defend herself in case she ran into trouble.

She of course hoped that wouldn't happen, but it never hurt to be prepared.


Looks like Isabel is going to be a Freedom Fighter. :)

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