Shadow could hold his breath for longer than most other people were able to, but as the river continued to force him against the rocks, he began to run out of air.

How do I get out? He asked the Voice desperately.

Use your head.

How—He cut himself off. The Voice would be of no help to him. He looked around, water stinging his eyes, and tried to find a solution. He was pinned to where he could not move forward, or upward… But would it be possible for him to crawl to the side and free himself that way?

Shadow began to crawl against the rocks, managing to make some progress. He needed to surface and get air, and he had to find a way to get the Emerald. How could he with such a current?

Don't even think about surfacing! You'll survive. The Voice scoffed.

If I run out of air, I'll drown! He retorted. He struggled to keep moving.

If you drown, I will be freed; I will get the Chaos Emerald myself, find a way to revive you, and humiliate you to no end for your incompetence! You are stronger than that, and I expect much greater things of you than stopping to surface for oxygen, and then diving back into the water twenty-five hundred times to fail at retrieving the stupid rock! Just get the **** thing! Imagine, the Ultimate Life Form can't even win against a bloody river created by humans! Are you that pathetic? A jet stream of water, and lo! You're—

Jet stream! Shadow suddenly thought of his hover skates. He had never really tried to activate them in water before, but it seemed worth a try. Why shouldn't they work? Water didn't ruin them, so it shouldn't hurt anything if he was trying to use them while he was submerged. He clamored around the side of the rocks. The river swept him back. He activated his air shoes…

Bubbles rocketed from his soles furiously. Shadow tried to swim. The current seemed especially rough now, but he was managing…

He was moving forward.

He kept swimming, back around the rocks, and towards the Emerald. It was the white one. The black hedgehog took a hold of it with both hands, gripping hard, and yanked with all his might…

He gasped, panting for air as he broke through the surface of the water.

See? I was right. You managed it in one try. That is what I always expect of you; your best effort. The Voice purred. Shadow swam to the riverbank and climbed up onto it, lying on the ground and looking at the powerful gem. He tried to catch his breath. The Voice concluded with an encouraging tone. Good boy.

First one down, then. Six more to go…

The first Emerald did nicely as a tracking device. Shadow could feel where the next Emerald was, even though it was a few hundred miles away. He knew which direction it was in, and that it was in a grassy area… A glade. No guessing was required. He felt confident and relaxed knowing that… He sped onward in the glade's direction, focusing on moving as quickly as possible and not running into anything.

After only a few hours, he was there. The glade was quite large. Trees surrounded it, along with many wild plants. Flowers sprung up from the ground, scattered here and there in a variety of beautiful colors. However, Shadow immediately saw a problem with the situation he found himself in…

A nine-year-old girl was playing amongst the daisies, clutching the light blue Emerald. Her long, golden hair brushed against the tall bluegrass.

Take it from her. The Voice ordered. She has no use for it, anyway.

But that might upset her… Shadow felt uncomfortable.

Then play nice. The Voice snapped. Shadow cringed, knowing the Voice was right. He approached the child.

The instant she looked up and saw him coming, she froze. He smiled at her, feeling slightly awkward. "Hey there…"

Silence.

Shadow spoke up again, continuing to make cautious steps forward. "Do you know what you're holding?" The girl quickly glanced at the gem, then looked back up at him. She jumped to her feet and fled.

"Hey, wait!" Shadow quickly ran after her, catching up with ease. The girl let out a half-a-whimper, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Leave me alone!" She screamed suddenly.

"I'm not going to hurt you!"

"You can't have it!"

"But I need it…!" Shadow growled a little.

"No you don't!" The girl retorted. Her blue eyes flashed.

Shadow tried to grab the emerald from her. She barely managed to move it out of his way.

Maybe if I trip her, she'll let go or I can get it more easily…

Then all I have to do is get away…

Shadow jumped ahead of her. He stopped immediately, moving a foot in her path. She didn't notice it quickly enough. She screamed as her foot caught his leg and she felt herself falling.

She hit the ground and gasped in horrible pain. Shadow tackled her and covered her mouth. "I'm not going to do anything bad with it! I'm going to use it for good!"

"No!" The girl screeched her muffled reply, tears leaving her eyes in a flood.

Scare her into giving it away.

But-

Do you want the Emerald or not?

Shadow wouldn't argue. He did need the power gem, and this little girl, however young, was hindering his progress and mission. Though he didn't like the idea of inciting what he planned to destroy in order to destroy itscaring a little girl to throw away fearhe knew it was a necessary evil. He did the first thing he could think of, moving his hand to cover both her mouth and her nose. He held her tightly. "If you don't hand over the Emerald, you will die. Give me the Chaos Emerald, and I'll let go, but you won't breathe until that rock is in my hands." He figured this would frighten her enough. Though he stated such words in a tone of utter seriousness and cruelty, he had no intention of killing her. He guessed she would be capable of surviving at least 30 seconds without air. He didn't intend to hold her any longer than that.

Theoretically, she would drop the Chaos Emerald purposely, or be so focused on trying to survive she would accidentally drop it. Then, he would let go of her, snatch it, and run. Unfortunately, there was the small chance that things would not go as he wanted. What if she refused to let go? He didn't want to kill anyone else, but she certainly would not believe his next threat if she did not believe this one. Worse would be if she did not care… He needed to get the Chaos Emerald from her at all costs.

The girl wriggled violently in his grasp. Shadow held as tightly as he could, counting the seconds. The Chaos Emerald did not leave her hands. "Drop it, and I'll let you go." He commanded.

The girl did not. She kept struggling, clutching the Emerald tightly. Shadow, in making sure she couldn't breathe, could not attempt to rip it from her grasp. The thought crossed his mind that if she were low enough on air,f her grip would be weak enough…

He decided to only count to twenty-five. The girl fought furiously, but completely stopped fighting at fifteen. Shadow was curious as to this, but he figured she was saving her energy. The Emerald did not leave her hands. He held on.

Sixteen. Seventeen.

Eighteen. Nineteen.

Twenty.

Twenty-one.—

The girl dropped the Emerald. "Thank you." Shadow sighed in relief. He let go of her quickly, jumping up and snatching the emerald off the ground. He then noticed there was blood on the pointed end of the Chaos Emerald.

The sound of a 'thud' made the black hedgehog freeze. He turned to look at the girl.

She was lying in an unnatural position, face down on the ground. A memory flashed through Shadow's mind. His eyes widened…

"Shadow, Shadow!" Maria cried, grasping his hand as tightly as she could.

"We're almost there! You're going to be fine! You'll make it!" Shadow was trying to convince himself almost as much as he was trying to convince her. Sirens rang in his ears. Red lights flashed, almost blinding. The sound of footsteps ran after them, echoing in the halls, seeming as loud as the alarms were…

Then, suddenly, all was quiet as they reached a separate hall. Blue lights lined the bottom of the floor. The sirens faded out of hearing… But after only seconds, the footsteps did not. They were gaining…

Maria could hardly keep up with Shadow. Because of her, he could not run even near full speed. What was worse was that she was tiring out—

Next, the sound of a gunshot echoed through his mind.

Maria was lying on the floor. The bullet had pierced her chest, and she was dying… He saw her pass only an instant before the escape pod shot down toward planet Earth.

Shadow quickly knelt besides the human girl. He turned her over, only to discover there was a bloody gash on her chest. Her shirt was stained with blood, as was the ground where she had been kneeling. Either by tripping her, or tackling her, he had caused the Chaos Emerald to stab her horribly. By cutting off her air and squeezing her tightly to keep her from moving, he had only made everything worse.

He checked for a pulse. He checked to see if she had resumed breathing…

Nothing. She was dead.

Shadow stared at the little girl in shock.

She's not as innocent as she seems, Shadow. She would have grown up to be like everyone else: hateful, prideful, arrogant, and violent! Can't you see that she was already selfish and greedy? She would have gladly shared the emerald if she were worthy of living! Maria would have shared it with you, but humans are never like Maria anymore! They never were; never will be! Maria was unique. The rest of this planet is worthy of death. They're all the same. The Voice stated bitterly.

Again, Shadow felt uncertain if he had done the right thing. He looked at the bloody Chaos Emerald.

I didn't know the girl…

So it shouldn't matter… The Ultimate Life Form's gaze hardened. They'll all die anyway. That's what they deserve… I'll watch as their lives are shattered into a million pieces, and die with honor and pride for what I've done. He squeezed the Emerald gently before putting it away.

Shall we find the next Emerald then? The Voice seemed pleased.

We shall.

Shadow glanced down at the green grass below him, and suddenly regretted what he had said. He had just remembered that all of the rest of the Chaos Emeralds did not really need to be searched for… He had almost forgotten.

Sonic had the yellow Emerald.