No Traveller Returns Puzzles the Will

He shouldn't have been paying attention. He should have focused on his mission. He should have been trying his damned hardest to find a way home. But he couldn't. He couldn't fight off the urge to question the robot. He couldn't fight the urge to help. So it was a surprise to himself when he questioned him.

"Who?" the black and red hedgehog responded, eyes moving from the image.

"Her name," Omega repeated, "Is Cream the rabbit."

Suddenly, the red and black machine's head turned around to face the window.

"She lived in Zone-3, with her mother." he turned back, "Her mother's name is Vanilla the rabbit, age 37. She came to us last week to ask for help."

"What happened to Cream?" Shadow questioned.

"No one knows," Sonic butted in, his teeth grinding, "She just... poof! Disappeared." his eyes squinted, "I can't stand these kinds of jobs. Missing children. Its heartless..."

He may have been from a different world, but the blue blur still retained that heroic attitude. That simple thought made Shadow smirk briefly, before returning to the problem at hand.

"So, we've been looking for her for a week now?"

"Wow, you really can't remember." Sonic stated, "Yes, Shadow, we've been looking for Cream for a week now."

"And what have we found?"

"Nothing..." Omega stated coldly.

"Last her mother saw of her, she was putting the young rabbit to bed. Come the morning, she was gone."

"And no evidence suggesting she was kidnapped, or she ran away or...?"

"Nothing at all," Sonic continued, "No ransom letter, no goodbye letter, absolutely, freakin' nothing!"

"Great... we have no evidence of anything, and a little girl has been missing for an entire week," he grimaced, "Plus Monople is so damn big, it would be too hard to search every area of this city."

"Wait a second..." Sonic murmured, getting closer, "If you can't remember much... why are you acting this way?"

Honestly, that question made Shadow think. He was getting to carried away with this all, and he was doing it so quickly as well. And yet, he still responded with,

"There's a little girl out there and you're to busy questioning me? Get your head in the game Sonic..."

"Yup," the blue hedgehog responded, his voice seemingly questioning itself, "That's our Shadow..."

The black and red hedgehog gave a slight growl, as his ruby eyes floated from his blue counterpart. Moving instead to Omega, he felt a relieving sense of comfort. Just gazing at his best friend felt good.

"Omega, we're heading to Zone-3 to talk to Vanilla, get ready."

"Affirmative..." the machine stated, before turning to Sonic, "We are leaving for Zone-3!"

"I know, Shadow's right over there you machine!"

"Enough talk!"

Grabbing a hold of Sonic's shoulder, he forced him up whilst standing up himself. Though Sonic yelled and tried to fight him off, he ultimately bent to Omega's rules, and exited the room alongside the robot. This left Shadow alone, who had suddenly felt an intense throbbing in his head.

Where was that throbbing coming from, and why did it constantly disappear only to reappear? It irked him in so many ways, and he had no way to face it. Still, it kept his mind trained on what he needed to do. After talking to Vanilla, as planned, he was going to go searching through Omega's databanks. Surely his hulking friend would have some information.

His eyes closed shut, as his mind started to wonder. Words and images of his home, his real home, were flooding him. Thoughts of Rouge, Omega, and even G.U.N. Commander filled his mind. But they so quickly melted away. Rouge became his wife, Omega became some vest wearing robot, and Commander, well, he just faded away. Those insidious thoughts caused him to growl unconsciously, as his fist shook constantly.

Damn these apparitions!

His eyes opened up, and he let out a much-needed breath. But then, his ruby eyes caught something, odd. On the desk before him, beside the papers and information on Cream, was another paper. That would have went unnoticed, if it just wasn't so out-of-place. Shadow didn't remember Omega giving him another piece of paper, so this one had no business doing here. Shadow lifted it, and checked it closely. It was completely plain, save for one thing. One thing, that made Shadow's heart race.

DYING

That was it. It was terribly written on the paper, as if someone had been struggling to place it there. But the message felt so, urgent. Who wrote it? Where did it come from? And why... why did it make Shadow feel so damn scared?

What did it mean?

He crumpled up the paper. For now, he would keep it secret. He was already in a new world speaking of events that didn't happen, he didn't need to give these people another reason to send him to a psychiatric ward.

"Shadow, are you coming or not!?" Sonic barked.

He finally gained the strength to stand, the throbbing in his head subsiding. Yeah... no one would know.

...

The teal eyes that belonged to her was beautiful indeed. Tall, voluptuous, sexy, any man would kill, and kill gladly, for her. And yet, for some odd reason, her heart belonged to one. Sure, he was a seventy something year old creäture born of pure science, but he was her seventy something year old creäture born of pure science. Just the thought of him now, glasses on head, ruby eyes shining with thought, it made her swoon. But of course, not as much as the shining jewels before her.

"How about this one, Maria?" Rouge questioned, those teal orbs of hers locked on a bracelet made of diamonds.

"Rouge, you know Shadow would get angry." the aged woman replied.

Here they stood in a jeweler's shop, a place frequently visited by Rouge. Oh, how she loved diamonds, jewels, gold, and the like. They always shined so brilliantly, and made her heart flutter. Ever since she was a little girl she enjoyed these rocks. It must have been something in her blood.

"I know, Maria," Rouge answered, "But just one more bracelet? Or, oooh! Maybe that necklace over there! You think Shadow would mind if I bought that?"

Her giddy nature garnered a mere chuckle from her grey haired friend. Yes, she felt like a little girl in a toy shop, her eyes were so big. But as her teal eyes floated about the room, they discovered something. Odd, because she had never seen it there before. Sitting in a case, a rock as big as her hand, was a green diamond. Almost immediately, Rouge moaned at the sight, the jewels mysterious brilliance beckoning her. She got closer, and closer to the rock, as her tongue slicked back and forth against her lips.

"Okay baby," she said with her sultry voice, "Tell Momma what you are."

Moving her eyes down, she scanned close the gold plaque that held the rock's name.

Chaos Emerald

Odd name for a jewel, but she didn't care! It was so big, and so shiny, she just couldn't wait to take it for herself. All she needed to know was the cost.

And let's just say... it was way, way, too much.

The bat's face grew crestfallen, as she sulked to her knees. The cost was just much to great to even speak of! Her heart was racing at the mere thought of the price, as it drove spikes into her fluttering heart.

"Rouge?" Maria called, her cane making a clacking noise, "Is there something wrong?"

"Yes..." she answered, lips trembling, "Very wrong!"

"What?" her voice was so urgent and fearful.

"The price! It's... too... much!"

"Oh Rouge..." Maria replied, face in hand.

As the bat sat on her knees, crying at the sight of the expensive jewel, the noise of a bell rung in the air. Ears twitching at the sound, she instinctively turned around to face the store's entrance. Her teal eyes met the frame of a short, brown furred, rabbit. She was young, and a Chao wearing a bow tie floated around her. The rabbit calmly made her way to the store's clerk, where she withdrew an envelope. Rouge couldn't help but to analyze the girl, as someone as young as she had no business being in this store. Still, she said nothing.

The clerk and the rabbit had an unknown conversation, where something the rabbit said made the clerk laugh. After a few more minutes, however, he nodded, and made his way from the desk. He trekked the distance all the way to the rock labeled, Chaos Emerald, with the rabbit behind him. Rouge stepped off to be near Maria, and remained silent, as her teal eyes followed the two.

"Rouge," Maria suddenly whispered, "We really need to get a move on. Shadow's present isn't going to find itself."

"Shhhh!" the bat responded, as if this was some covert operation.

She returned her teal eyes on the rabbit and clerk, and watched as said clerk slid open the glass case containing the Chaos Emerald. With a fragile hand, he slid the Chaos Emerald from the case, and handed it to the brown furred rabbit. The Mobian child giggled, while her Chao made random Chao noises. They duo then returned to the desk, where the clerk handed her many pieces of papers and other such information. And then, as if nothing happened, the rabbit exited the store, Chaos Emerald in tow.

Rouge couldn't believe it. The cost of the Chaos Emerald was way, way too much! And if it was too much for her, Rouge Robotnik, super rich aristocrat, then it was surely too much for some little rabbit that looked like she crawled out from Zone-3! Something about this didn't seem right. Then again, her greediness could have been getting the best of her.

NAH!

"Rouge, can we go now?" Maria whined, "This place is much to cold for me, plus we still need to meet up with Amy."

"Yeah..." the bat responded, face grimacing, "Let's go."

...

The gates to the different Zones were so different. While the gate to Zone-2 was great in size, the gate to Zone-3 was more along the lines of a simple building. The door was right before them, with '3' crudely written on it. The sight made Shadow shake his head.

"C'mon," Sonic said, unhappiness in his voice, "Time to go to Zone-3..."

The mere mention of the Zone sounded terrible, as if even he didn't want to go there. But, from what Amy said, there was good reason behind it. If Zone-3 was the slums, then that makes it the poorest point in the city, just above the waste area of Zone-4.

The city may have been perfect above, but Shadow was just waiting for the evil to come in. For in his mind, nothing is ever so perfect.

Omega stepped forth first, pushing the door opened with his silver claw. He tugged briefly on his trench coat as he did so, as if sending a hidden message. Sonic was next, his arms on his hips as he groaned in indifference. And finally was Shadow, who could have sworn he felt his heart stop. Ultimately, he relented, and stepped in.

It was a fairly small room. A metal detector lied in the center, and a man in a guard uniform kept his eyes trained about. On the other end of the area, another door, this one larger in size. Shadow trained his eyes on the guardsmen, as the fox Mobian looked back. And then the guard smiled.

"Detective Shadow," he said, waving his arm, "Taking a trip down to Zone-3?"

"Uh... yeah..." he responded, unsure of him.

"Try not to talk to Shadow too much," Sonic snickered, "Poor dude forgot who he was."

He started laughing, but Omega silenced him via a slapped to the head. They passed through the metal detector, flashing their gate passes as they did so, and came to the massive door on the other end. The entire room remained silent for a good while, as they all awaited for the door.

Then it opened.

Shadow felt a blast of cold air rush him by the feeling. Unlike the pleasant seeing Zone-2 and Zone-1, Zone-3 felt more like a dystopian area. No cars drove about, and the area was littered with factories and power plants. There was this ominous glow that resonated off in the distance, its existence being so omnipotent. To say the least, the city was a jungle made of steel and steam.

"You first!" Sonic said, bowing playfully.

Though Shadow was annoyed by the gesture, he merely pushed up his glasses, and started down the massive catwalk toward the Zone. Sonic followed second, his hands on his hips, and Omega was last, those red optics of his beaming holes in everything he passed. Farther and farther down the catwalk they went, the only noise other than the clanks of factories, was the sounds of feet against steel. By the time they arrived to the streets of Zone-3, Shadow felt this odd sense of horror set in.

Above the city, it looked very desolate, but the streets itself were so filled with life. People who looked as if they had fallen on some pretty hard times were lying about, as if that was all they had to do. Families could be seen, walking in units, with their eyes trained on everything, as if they were searching out their surroundings. Some people even had masks on their faces, possibly in protection from the amounts of pollution, but Shadow couldn't help but to think more. The worst part of it all had to be the buildings. They weren't nearly as impressive as the ones from Zone-1, as they weren't as tall. And yet, they somehow blocked out the sun, with only a few visible gleams and shines every now and then.

Yes, it indeed was a jungle of steel.

"So... where is Vanilla?" Shadow questioned, trying his hardest to keep sane.

"Not to far from here," Sonic answered, green eyes looking up, "She lives near a factory she works out... Poor woman, it must be hard raising a child alone, and in a place like this..."

It seemed like he had more to say, but he stole himself from any more words. By this point in time Omega took head point. Being a robot, he was able to tell where Vanilla was at.

...

"I hope you don't mind coffee," she murmured, "It's all I have at this time."

She sat the mug right in front of her, the warm pool of brown liquid within it sending off plumes of steam. Shadow gazed down to the substance, and took note of his reflection within. As if by habit now, he pushed up the glasses on his head.

She pulled out a seat away from him, the noise sending a screech through the room. When she sat down, Shadow straightened up, his attention being drawn to her.

Vanilla the rabbit. Oddly, unlike everyone else, she wasn't the least bit older in this universe, being exactly the same age in his. That still didn't stop her from looking older. Much, much, older. Shadow wasn't sure what occupation she had in his world, but here, the years of working in a factory was showing. Her usual light brown fur had mixes of grey in it, and her brown eyes were noticeably strained. She also had bags under her eyes, though it was unknown if that was caused from working late, or the tears shed for her missing child.

"I don't mind," Shadow said, commenting on her earlier statement, "I enjoy coffee."

His voice held a certain kind of comfort in it. That caused Vanilla to likely chuckle.

"Yeah..." she whispered, trying to break some tension she herself created.

"Listen, Vanilla," Shadow murmured, crossing his arms, "I... just came by to ask any questions about your daughter."

The rabbit's face bent into unhappiness, as her eyes moved to the ground. Odd...

"We've already talked about my daughter," she said, "Must we really do it again?"

He could feel the pain resonating from her, but he needed to understand.

"I... what do you want to talk about?"

"Was Cream acting weird the day before she... disappeared?"

"We've had this talk before, Shadow," she murmured, "Cream was acting completely normal. Nothing was wrong until the next morning."

"But... there has to be something, right?" he gazed down, "People just don't disappear."

"I don't understand why you think she left. I'm pretty sure my daughter was kidnapped, Shadow."

He pushed up his glasses.

"I'm not so sure..." he answered, "Why would anyone kidnapped Cream? I'm sure she's a good girl, but it just doesn't make sense. You're not a rich woman, nor has any ransom note bent sent..." he sipped his coffee, "I do believe Cream left by herself."

Vanilla squinted.

"Why would my daughter leave?" she questioned, "She's only six, Shadow, she couldn't have found her way anywhere else. Plus she constantly goes on about how she fears the upper levels."

"Well, there has to be something..." he glanced away briefly. In the opposite room was Sonic and Omega. The hulking machine and blue hero were just sitting in Vanilla's living room, silence floating between them. But it was what Shadow noticed in the room that got him thinking. There was an extreme lack of pictures of Cream. Strange...

"Vanilla," he called, facing her, "Humor me... is this the first time I've visited your home?"

She nodded.

"Makes sense..." he looked away, "There doesn't seem to be many pictures of Cream in here..."

The rabbit chuckled.

"What makes you think I have a camera?" she retorted.

"You got me there..." he answered with a slight head turn, "Still... makes me think a little," his glare intensified, "Is there problems between you and your daughter?"

"Why would there be problems between Cream and I?" she questioned, "She's my daughter!"

"Yes but has Cream," he thought for a moment, "Done something that has made you... disappointed?"

"She's only six, Shadow, I don't quite understand you."

"Just, tell me, has Cream done anything suspicious?"

"No! She's a good little girl!"

For some reason, Shadow couldn't accept that. Closing his eyes, he began to think. And, as if being spiteful, that powerful throbbing returned. The black and red hedgehog groaned, as he laid his hand on his head. Once he gained the strength to open his eyes, he noticed something odd with his coffee. The steam. Through the airways, they formed a word.

DYING!

Now wasn't the time!

"Vanilla," he suddenly said, anger in his voice, "I feel like there's something you're holding back from me." he moved his mug out-of-the-way, "What is it that you aren't telling me about Cream?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" she barked back.

"Listen! Little girls just don't leave for no reason! Not without returning! She's been gone for an entire week, not a few hours!"

"Stop yelling at me! I don't know where Cream went!"

"Then please! Tell me anything here! Cream has to have done, or said something, mentioned anything, that may give us any hints to her whereabouts!" he calmed down a bit, "I don't care how miniscule it is... just tell me."

"Chaos Emerald..." Vanilla whispered, her eyes closing.

It made him choke.

"What... did you just say?" he questioned, unsure if those words actually came to him.

"Chaos Emerald," Vanilla repeated, "Cream was going on about something called... Chaos Emerald." she looked back down, "I don't understand it, at all. I thought it was some toy or something, it just sounds so weird. She said that, with the Chaos Emerald, everyone could go home." Vanilla shook her head, "But I never understood what that meant." she looked up, "Whose 'everyone'? And why do they need some, Chaos Emerald, to get home?"

There was a horn. A loud, blaring horn, one that sounded like a work horn. Shadow gazed up to the sound, while Vanilla merely sighed.

"I'm sorry Shadow," she said, standing up, "I must return to work now."

"Wait!" Shadow said, shooting up, "The Chaos Emerald, did Cream know where it was?"

"No, Shadow, she had no idea."

"Do... you?"

"If I knew, I would have told you by now."

Well, she had him there. The show of force he had melted away, and so did a tinge of hope. He crossed his arms as usual, while giving a quick courteous bow. Vanilla lead him and his allies out of her home a few seconds later, before leaving herself to go to her job. There was a long strand of silence for a while, as Shadow's eyes locked onto Vanilla's rapidly disappearing frame. The tension in the air was heavy, and could only be broken by Sonic's voice.

"What was that all about?" he questioned, "What's a Chaos Emerald?"

Shadow looked to Omega.

"Chaos Emerald does not show up in any of my databanks," the robot stated, "I shall search the internet next!"

"They'll be no need..." Shadow said, raising his hand.

"And why's that?" Sonic questioned.

He looked to him.

"You two stay here..." he commanded, "I'm going back inside..."

"Whoa, what?" Sonic inquired, "Dude, that's like... breaking and entering."

"Oh please," Shadow stated, "I'm a detective... I think I'm allowed that."

"Okay... what do you plan on doing?"

"I'll search through Creams things, see if I can find something on the Chaos Emerald. Hopefully I'll get an area."

"And if you don't?"

"Then we start off at square one again." he turned around, "Just make sure the coast is clear."

"What? Here, in Zone-3? The coast is always clear! No one cares!"

"Just do as I say..."

With a quick hand signal, he ended the conversation, causing Sonic to groan. Still, the blue dude leaned against Vanilla's railing, and slipped down his hat. Looking back to Omega, he saw the robot was scanning close the environment. That just left him. His gaze focused on the door knob before him, and that latent G.U.N. training kicked in. Tinkering with the knob for a bit, he was able to slid open the door. He shuffled in quickly, and closed the door just as fast.

Being separated from Sonic and Omega allowed him to let free the breath he was holding in. A Chaos Emerald. He wasn't sure if he should be feeling relief, or fear. The simple thought of the weapon, the thing that gives him power, it made him think of home. But he was sure, like all other times, it was something that held great trouble. It was all just a recipe for it. Stuck in a different world, he seems to be the only person who realizes everything is out-of-place, and a Chaos Emerald is thrown in the mix. And, for some reason, he felt as if the Chaos Emerald was important. Maybe it deals with the last moments before he woke up in this strange strange world. Yeah, that's it...

"Always with the Chaos Emeralds..."