Disclaimer: We do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of his friends or enemies, but we do own our own, original characters.
Hi, I'm Tails, the two tailed fox and inventor.
A lot of people think Shadow and Sonic look alike, but they're completely different.
I'm sure Shadow can be a nice guy if he wanted to be…
He just doesn't want to be.
Well, let's start the next chapter. (Fangirls rejoice, Shadow is in this one)
Chapter 4
Something Wicked This Way Comes…
While Sonic, Tails, and Eggman were all working out their respective plans, another group back in the city was waiting over by Station Square's train station.
Drake was idly scuffing his sandaled feet against the ground, munching on a bagel that he had grabbed before he and his band mates had left their hotel room (a rather nice one also, provided by their record company). As he munched on the plain-tasting breakfast he struggled to ignore Silvia and Ringo, who were having a minor disagreement about how to best handle concert crashers.
"I'm telling you Ringo, we should just leave this to the police!" Silvia said, trailing after the raccoon as he paced back and forth.
He spun around, and pounded one fist into his open palm.
"Listen Silvia, we worked hard to try and make a name for ourselves here." He said, straining to remain calm, "It wasn't easy either, especially since we wound up in this world shortly after Shadow became such a big hero."
"Here we go again." Drake lamented, having heard this speech before.
Seeing no reason to even pretend to listen, the dragon folded his wings across his back, stuffed the last of the bagel in his mouth, and lay down on the bench to try and take a nap.
While Drake was focusing on ignoring the speech, Ringo had continued.
"We tried making our dreams come true for two years back in our world. Even after we got here, it took almost another year of talent competitions, playing on the streets, and practice, but we finally managed to make it." Ringo declared, swinging his bushy tail for emphasis, "And if some punk biker, for one minute, thinks he can just crash one of our concerts, show us absolutely no respect, and then just drive off, he is sorely mistaken!"
Ringo stopped, and took a deep breath. Silvia sighed, and walked over to the bench, leaning against the arm of it upon seeing that Drake was taking up the length.
"You know what Ringo, I'm just not gonna try to argue with you." She admitted, "I think this is one of your worst ideas yet, but when you pull out that speech you are just impossible to reason with."
Drake sighed. He was used to Ringo and Silvia having spats like this, but they always got over it soon enough.
"Just one of the things that comes with knowing someone too well." He thought, "We've been together since we were little kids, and Silvia knows that Ringo just needs to work this out of his system."
Ringo and Silvia locked eyes, trying to stare each other down. Neither of them noticed as two more figures entered the train station, but Drake certainly did. He sat up (being careful not to scratch Silvia with his horns) as he recognized one of them.
For who could ever mistake the black and red hedgehog that had become an almost instant hero? Shadow had just stepped into the station, and was walking toward the empty bench nearby. His companion (whom Drake recognized as Shadow's bat companion from the night before) took a seat next to him, and sighed.
"Hey guys…" Drake said, trying to get his teammates' attention.
Drake looked up at his friends and sighed. They were too preoccupied in the staring contest to give him the slightest bit of attention. Drake watched as Rouge turned toward Shadow and tried to start a conversation.
---
Sitting about fifteen feet from the silent argument between Silvia and Ringo, Rouge turned to Shadow.
"So, how did that phone call go?" She asked.
"He hung up." Shadow grumbled, "Blue boy hung up on me, before I could explain things. So we are going to Mystic Ruins to have a little chat with the idiot."
"Come on Shadow, Sonic isn't that dumb." Rouge sighed, slumping down in her seat.
"Are you sure?" Shadow retorted, "Really? I can't tell whether he's dumb or just reckless…"
"Aw, it's just the press making you like this." Rouge said, stroking Shadow's shoulder a bit.
"Of course it's the press making me like this!" Shadow shouted, "If one more reporter waves a microphone at me, I swear…"
Shadow stopped in mid rant, and looked over his shoulder. He spotted Drake, who was still observing him and Rouge.
"What are you looking at?" He growled.
Drake quickly looked away, but Ringo's ears perked up suddenly. He broke off eye contact with Silvia, and turned around.
"Hey, I recognize that voice." He said, spotting Shadow, "No way…it's really…"
Before Ringo could get any further with his sentence, Shadow had made it the fifteen feet to him and clapped a hand over his muzzle.
"Do not say my name." He growled, "It's like a magnet for reporters these days. Especially after those biker punks got away. Understand?"
Ringo nodded, and the disgruntled hedgehog released his mouth. Silvia had moved back into a full standing position, and moved between Shadow and Ringo before either could say another word.
"So how did that biker get away from you anyway?" She asked.
Shadow scowled, but sighed. He realized that these kids probably wouldn't leave him alone unless he spoke with them. Thankfully, the train was starting to pull up.
"Let's get on the train, we'll talk about it once we're on our way." He said, "That is, if you're all getting on this train."
"If it goes to Mystic Ruins, that's ours." Ringo confirmed.
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Aboard the Egg-carrier, Rave looked inquisitively at Eggman.
"Mystic Ruins?" he asked, "Why the hell would I want to go to that dump?"
The doctor grinned and began stroking his mustache. A maniacal chuckle crept from his throat and it made his round body jiggle. Op didn't get what was so funny until she took a second or two to think about it. That's when it hit her…
"Because that's where the next emerald will be!" she realized.
Eggman nodded. "That's right, and the slayers are going with you." He confirmed.
Slayers red and yellow stood at attention and saluted.
Just than, a loud siren was heard throughout the air-ship. The slayers rushed to the windows and Rave drew his sword. Op held Ex tightly, nearly strangling the poor little chao.
Eggman appeared intrigued by the sound. Rubbing his chin, he thought aloud, "That's interesting…"
Rave shot an angered look at the madman. "What's interesting?" he asked.
"It appears we've found an emerald earlier than I planned." Eggman explained, "Rave, get on your motorcycle and check it out. According to our course, we should be over some train tracks right now."
Op loosened her grip on Ex and stepped forward. "Ravey doesn't go anywhere without me!" she cheered.
And with that, the two hedgehogs ran to the docking bay, where Rave's bike was kept.
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"So why are you three going to Mystic Ruins?" Rouge asked her latest traveling companions.
The train had been going for about ten minutes now, with Rouge, Shadow, and the Renegade sharing a car in somewhat awkward silence.
Ringo looked away from the advertisements posted above the seats, and smiled. But before he could say a word, Silvia chimed in.
"Oh, Ringo here wants to get even with those biker punks that interrupted our concert last night." Silvia explained with a sigh (in a sarcastic tone), "So he's dragging us all out to ask Sonic the Hedgehog for help. We heard Sonic hangs out around the Mystic Ruins, so…"
Ringo's tail began to bristle again, as he turned to the bassist. Drake rolled his eyes and leaned forward in his seat.
"Those two have been arguing about this plan since last night." He whispered to Shadow, who was sitting in the seat across from him.
Shadow just huffed in response, watching as Ringo and Silvia began what promised to be a fresh argument regarding this plan. Rouge frowned, and was about to say something when Drake shook his head.
"I wouldn't try to interrupt them." He said as the duo moved toward the far end of the car, "They get along fine most of the time, but once they start fighting there's no way to stop them until one of them gives in."
"How long does that usually take?" Rouge asked, trying to ignore the slowly escalating voices.
"Varies." Drake answered with a shrug and a flap of his wings, "They got over dishwasher duty in under an hour last week, but I think they still can't agree on who was supposed to take care of organizing our demo tapes last year."
Silvia and Ringo now seemed to be in the midst of another staring much, an uncomfortable silence hanging between them. Shadow stood up from his seat, and stretched his legs a little.
"So is it true what Silvia said?" He asked, "You guys are looking to get Sonic's help?"
"Ringo was thinking of hiring you also." Drake said, paying no attention to his band mates' silent argument, "But he didn't seem to think you were a real fan of our music. He thought it might be better to try Sonic, if we could find him."
"I see…" Shadow nodded, looking over to Silvia and Ringo.
"And I still say we should just forget this idea and get ready for the rain-date." Silvia said.
"Why'd they cancel the concert any how?" Rouge asked, "It was just a broken window…"
"Those two punks were escapees from Station Square Jail." Ringo said, his eyes locked on Silvia's, "The cops wanted to bring in any one that could have gotten a good look at them, including us."
"Worst after show party ever." Drake grumbled.
"And you three decided to see if Sonic will fight this guy for you?" Shadow asked, "Why not deal with him yourselves if you care that much."
Ringo was about to answer, but Silvia beat him to the punch once more.
"Ringo thinks that if Sonic takes this guy out for us, it will send a message to potential concert crashers." She said, "'If they see one of the biggest heroes on Earth take out someone that wrecked one of our shows, no one will ever want to mess with us again.' Those were his exact words."
"You know what Silvia? I don't need…" Ringo began.
He trailed off in mid-sentence. His ears twitched a bit, and he turned toward the windows.
"What's up?" Drake asked, pulling himself to attention.
"You guys hear that?" Ringo asked, holding a hand next to his ear.
The other four occupants of the card fell silent. Rouge closed her eyes, and nodded.
"I hear something." She said, "Sounds sort of familiar…"
"I don't hear anything." Shadow said, shaking his head.
"It's a motorcycle…" Ringo said, walking toward the windows, "In fact…It's the same one from last night!"
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A few minutes ago…
Rave and Op went shooting out of the Egg Fortress's hangar, riding on Rave's motorcycle. The bike began to fishtail after it made its short fall from the low flying aircraft, but Rave quickly regained control and pointed the bike alongside the train tracks.
"So how far ahead is this train?" asked Op.
Rave accelerated as he answered, "About a mile, we'll be there in a couple of minutes."
Just as the biker said this, the back of the train could be seen over the horizon.
"Make that seconds." Rave corrected himself.
----------------
"Yeah, there's no way you could know that." Shadow scoffed.
"No Shadow, I can here a motorcycle too." Rouge stated.
Shadow sighed, and leaned against the wall.
"It could anybody on a motorcycle riding next to train tracks." He explained, "That biker kid could be a part of some gang…"
"That is made of all red hedgehogs with purple girlfriends?" Ringo asked, pointing out the window.
Shadow and Rouge both looked outside, gasping at the sight. Just outside the window, riding alongside the train, was Rave standing on the handlebars of his motorcycle. Op had moved ahead in her seat, and was taking of steering, while Ex waved her free paw toward the group.
"What the…" Drake started.
"Hi there suckers!" Rave shouted over the combined noise of two engines, "I'm gonna ask nicely, once: Hand over the emerald!"
"Emerald? What are you talking about?" Silvia shouted.
"I think I can guess…" Rouge moaned, looking to Shadow, "You took it with us from the apartment, didn't you?"
"I didn't want this punk getting the drop on me again." Shadow explained in a clam voice, "I thought if I could use Chaos Control, I wouldn't have any problems."
"Hey, if I don't get an answer then I'm just coming in there!" Rave threatened, jumping from the handlebars and vanishing from sight.
The five inside the car pressed against the windows, but only saw Op and Ex wave at them and smile.
"Where'd he go?" Ringo asked, turning to Shadow.
A loud clank sounded from above, and part of the roof began to dent in.
"Everyone duck!" Shadow ordered, dropping to the floor.
The others followed suit just as Rave's sword pierced through the top of the train and sliced through the air where they had been standing. Silvia gasped, but Rouge motioned for her to be silent.
"If you shout, he'll know where we are…" She warned, "Spread out, everyone, and stay low."
Shadow remained in place as the other four carefully crawled under the seats of the train. Rave's sword periodically punched through, slicing at empty air, but it was obvious he couldn't tell where anyone was inside the train.
"So what are we supposed to do?" Ringo asked.
"We don't do anything." Shadow whispered, "I'll handle this…"
Shadow carefully reached into a small belt pouch strapped to his waist, and pulled out a glittering, green crystal.
"He wants an emerald, he'll need to beat me first." Shadow smiled, "Chaos Control!"
The emerald flashed with green light, and Shadow disappeared! Ringo, Silvia, and Drake all stared in slack-jawed shock, while Rouge smiled.
"Go get him." She whispered.
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On the roof of the train, Rave was having no luck as he plunged his sword through random spots while dodging a few low-hanging branches from the trees that dotted the area around the tracks.
"Ravey? Are you okay?" Op shouted up.
Rave lowered his sword and frowned.
"No…I can't hit anyone!" Rave shouted back, "Where's that emerald?"
"Right behind you." Came a hushed voice.
"Huh?" Rave spun around, just in time to be clobbered in the face with a well-placed punch from Shadow.
He stumbled back, clutching his jaw and barely avoiding falling of the edge of the car. He smiled as he recovered his balance, readying his sword.
"You call that a punch?" He asked with a grin.
"Yeah, but your skull seems a bit thicker than I thought." Shadow frowned, "Guess we need to do this the hard way."
"You think this is the hard way?" Rave grinned, "Beating you up will be easier than escaping that concert last night!"
"I heard that!" Ringo's muffled voice shouted from inside the train.
"I'll kick your tail later kid!" Rave shouted back, "Now shut up, the adults are talking."
Rave lifted his sword, and charged right at Shadow. As he swung, Shadow deftly leapt over the blade and flipped over his opponent. Landing behind Rave, he slammed his elbow against the sword-wielder's head, causing him to stumble forward a few steps, and almost sending from the train again!
"And you're supposed to be the ultimate life form?" Rave challenged as he spun around and brought his sword down in a vertical slice.
Shadow neatly sidestepped the blow, and delivered a backhand to Rave's face. The injured hedgehog dropped his sword, the blade now stuck in the train by its edge, and stumbled sideways clutching his face.
"And you said you were 'Terror of the Highways?'" Shadow grinned as Rave pulled his hand back.
Rave frowned, noticing a bit of blood on his hand.
"You made me bleed my own blood." He growled, "I gotta say I'm impressed, no ones done that in a while…"
Jumping forward, he threw a fist toward Shadow who sighed and ducked underneath the blow. He swept his legs out, knocking Rave's feet out from under him, sending the bandit sprawling to the roof of the train.
Shadow stepped back, and pointed at Rave with his index and middle fingers, clutching the emerald tightly in his left hand. Rave slowly stood up, glancing about for a chance at escape.
"There's no where left to run! Time to end this…" Shadow smiled, "Chaos Spe…"
Rave suddenly threw himself flat onto the roof again, causing Shadow to break his concentration. Looking over his left shoulder, Shadow gasped as he spotted an oncoming tunnel…
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"Oh boy, time to turn Exey!" Op warned, suddenly pulling the bike back, and putting it directly behind the train.
Ringo's ears pricked up as the cabin went dark, indicating they had entered a tunnel.
"Oh no!" Ringo shouted, as a loud thud sounded overhead.
"What was…?" Rouge started.
"I can hear him moaning up there…" Ringo fretted, "Shadow is hurt!"
"Shadow…" Rouge gasped.
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It was a short tunnel, but the entrance arch had been enough to render Shadow incapacitated. As the car exited, Rave stood back up, smiling as he scooped up the emerald that Shadow had dropped. He then removed his sword from the train roof, and tipped it toward Shadow.
"Thanks." He smiled, turning around and returning his weapon to the sheath on his back.
He took off running for the back car, and made it in under a minute. Shadow recovered his wits just in time to see Rave jump off. Realizing the emerald was gone, Shadow covered the same distance in less than fifteen seconds, just in time to see Rave pilot his motorcycle back into the tunnel and vanish into the darkness inside.
"No…" Shadow groaned, falling to one knee, "Lucky little punk…"
---
Whoa! Did Shadow just lose?
That Rave guy got really lucky if he beat Shadow.
Uh-oh, calm down Shadow! Maybe you can get him back next time. The next chapter is called;
Surprise AttackHey, wait a minute… Is that another Slayer?!
