Shadow: Dark Horizon
Part Four: Starting Off
A/N: Hey guys! Phew! This was another part that was pretty hard to revise also! It took a lot of time but I finally finished it!Thank God for Sonic music being there to entertain me as I wrote this! Lol! I would like to thank all of you so far who have been watching this story and i hope you enjoy this part! Enjoy! :D
DISCLAIMER: ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO SEGA! (Except Mine!)
Sunlight City – G.U.N. HQ
Shadow pondered about how he could locate Rouge and Omega. He had a huge pile of scrap metal to search through and it would take a while...but it didn't matter. They were his friends and he would never give up on them. He started by searching the base of the building. The once elaborately decorated lobby was now charred and completely trashed. He desperately searched and found nothing but ashes and corroded steel. He decided to move on to the next floor. Nothing. No signs of the two at all. Shadow searched more and more floors but just couldn't find them. When he reached floor number thirty-eight he had just about given up hope.
He sat on a piece of rubble and sighed. "I've got to find them, they've got to be in here somewhere!" All of a sudden, he heard a familiar voice. "Shadow the Hedgehog detected." It said to him in his robotic voice. "Omega, thank God you're alive! What's going on? Where's Rouge?" Shadow asked as he gladly rushed over to Omega's position. "The location of Rouge is unknown, however I am receiving a heat signal on the forty-third floor." Omega explained. "That has to be Rouge! C'mon let's go find her before this building is destroyed completely!" Shadow responded as he dashed toward the nearest stairway with Omega quickly following behind.
When they arrived, they saw an unpleasant sight. "This… this is not good…" Shadow said as he examined the scene. It put his stomach in a knot just to see his friend injured. Rouge was bruised and bloodied from a piece of debris that had pinned her down. Omega walked up to her and placed his hand on her neck. "Scanning... Rouge is still alive with a low pulse." "We better get that debris off of her then." Shadow replied. He and Omega used teamwork and pushed the huge piece of debris off Rouge with a powerful shove. "Now, let's get out of here." the hedgehog replied as he picked up Rouge.
As Shadow carried the seemingly lifeless body of Rouge, he had to think of a way to exit the once magnificent building. "Omega, do you think you could blow a hole through that wall in order for us to escape this building?" The ebony hedgehog asked. "Affirmative." Omega replied."However this building's side will collapse and we'll have only seconds until we are crushed." "Well, it's a risk we'll have to take." The hedgehog says as he braces himself to sprint out of the collapsed foundation. "Weak point found. Firing." Omega states as he shoots a micro missile at the wall and blows a hole in the wall. The whole building then began to shake from the impact and began to crumble. "That's our escape, let's go!" Shadow called out as he quickly sprinted out while Omega followed close behind him.
As soon as shadow exited the building, a piece of debris plummeted toward his position. Right before it hit Shadow and Rouge, Omega propelled his arm toward the debris with brute force. The debris was broken on contact and shattered into many tiny pieces. "Wow, thanks Omega. I owe you one, and so does Rouge for that matter." "Owe what?" A familiar voice muttered. "Rouge?" Shadow and Omega questioned, confused. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at her two allies."Yea... I'm surprised I'm not even dead in the first place." Rouge uttered. "Us too." Shadow replied with a dim face "Well anyways, can you explain to me what in the world has happened to sunlight city? My vision is a little off right now and the sky looks… different." Rouge questioned as she examined the surrounding area.
Shadow thought about it and tried to sum up what he knew. "If you should know, this asteroid-like object slammed into the heart of Sunlight City, and has also taken out G.U.N. Headquarters…" The hedgehog said in anger now that his mind was clear of panic and adrenaline. He slammed his fist on a piece of debris nearby. The white bat's expression was now furious. "What? Are you kidding me? Uggh… not a good way to start off the day. Have you had any contact with G.U.N. recently?" Rouge exclaimed with a distraught look on her face. "Surprisingly, no. I haven't heard a thing from them at all which is a bit odd considering the dire attention this situation needs right now." The dark hedgehog explained while cracking his knuckles. He then kicked a rock close to him and crossed his arms. "There's also Sonic and his friends, considering they're always getting involved with these kinds of things. Remember when we teamed up with them against the Metarex? It seems like this could be another one of those scenarios." Rouge suggested. "A considerable idea." Omega added to the thought. "Archive Records on Mobius indicate that Tails and Knuckles had just traveled to earth for vacation via teleporter."
After Shadow processed the whole plan proposal, he made up his mind. "That would kill time though, and considering that this asteroid thing looks like a force to be reckoned with, time isn't something we can waste right now. Plus, how do we even know if these things are stronger than the Metarex? They're probably world domination-crazed aliens that don't know their place." The ebony hedgehog harshly responded, chuckling at his own comment. "Think about it though, Shadow. Now is the time that we could really use their help. I personally think it's not a bad idea to consider." Rouge tried explaining to her emotionless friend. "We don't need them, I've got you two and plus, I'm the Ultimate Life-form. A small task like this shouldn't prove to be much of a problem!" Shadow said with a cocky tone.
"But…" Rouge said but was cut off. "Enough. I've made up my mind. If you don't want to come with me that's your choice…" He explained with a sharp tone. "Fine… have it your way…" Rouge sighed. Shadow then took notice to Rouge's injured body. Something had to be done. "Now Rouge, you need medical attention for your injuries, they don't look all too pleasant." Shadow said concerned. "Why are you so concerned? I'll be fine!" Rouge said. As soon as she stood up, an intense pain surged through her lower body and almost collapsed until Shadow and Omega caught her. "You were saying?" Shadow responded sarcastically as he got her back on her feet. "Fine, Dr. Hedgehog, try and find a hospital of some sort, I bet you they're loaded with patients from the explosion." Rouge retorted. "The real problem would be finding a hospital that isn't destroyed" Shadow commented back bleakly.
Shadow then turned around to stare at the metallic object's crash site. It's then that he noticed that another explosion of purple, blue, and red flames had occurred. "That wasn't there before" he muttered as he stared at the explosion. "Something tells me that's not a very good sign." Rouge said to him as she limped over to where he was at. "We've got to get over there as soon as possible!" She exclaimed. "Well, after your wounds are healed, we will head over there as soon as possible." Shadow replied back. I hope we won't be too late…
Mobius - Amy's House
"I don't believe what's going on!" Sonic exclaimed as he placed both of his hands on his head. "We have just received word that that the entire news crew, research team, and military group have been killed by explosions and some unknown force that emerged from the Metallic object. The government has not yet responded to this growing issue, but a large-scale military invasion towards the object is expected…"A newswoman spoke on TV "I can't believe this..." She silently mouthed as she broke down and started crying. "This... is unbelievable..." Amy responded with a little bit of tears starting well up in her eyes. "I wonder if there is a faster way to heal you S-Sonic, Earth really seems to be in need of your help right now." "If only there was..." Sonic replied with a disappointed look on his face.
Then, Sonic's eyes lit up. He had completely forgotten that Tails had invented a quick healing mechanism in the past. It was originally going to be installed into the Blue Typhoon, but it wasn't developed in time for the trip. It functioned by injecting extracts from rare Mobian herbs into one's body. "Tails developed a quick healing mechanism a while back. I think we should head over there and search for it!" He suggested to Amy as he sprang up from the couch. "I'll help you Sonic! Let's go!" Before Sonic had time to react, Amy grasped Sonic's hand and pulled him out the door without warning. He blushed a little bit from her reaction but it quickly faded.
Looks like she's broke her promise… He thought to himself as he was pulled by the pink hedgehog. It wasn't until a few seconds that Amy realized what she was doing and let go of the cobalt hedgehog's hand. "Oh… right. I wasn't supposed to do that! Heh heh.." Amy caught herself and blushed. Sonic just simply nodded to her and smiled. See? She might have been crazy about you before, but now, she can stop herself. Yeah, that is nice… Sonic's thoughts once again functioned erratically inside his head. A few minutes of running passed by and they finally arrived there. He had slowed his pace down in order for Amy to keep up. Although she wasn't as fast as Sonic, she certainly could run. Probably from all of those years chasing after me… Sonic thought and smiled as she arrived at Tails' doorstep. Sonic then lifted up Tails' door mat and grabbed a 'not-so-secret-anymore' key. "When did that get there?" Amy asked with a puzzled look on her face. "Tails told me about it a few months back. He even said these exact words, "My house is your house sonic!" and right now we are going to need it."
They quietly walked into his house and headed toward Tails' lab.. As they entered the fascinating room, they instantly start searching for the quick-healing mechanism. They looked through cabinets, drawers, and other containers for a few minutes. "Anything at all?" Sonic asked as he shut a wooden drawer he had looked through. "No sign at all sonic. Are you sure a quick healing device Even exists?" She asks "Yes, I remember him telling me all about it a few months ago. Hmmm... Aha! That's it!" Sonic exclaims as he snaps his fingers. He looked under a lab table and examined it. He then placed his hand on a hidden square panel. It scanned his hand and made a beep of confirmation. The panel then slid inwards and a compartment popped out from the side. Sonic then grabbed the awkwardly shaped objet and placed it on the table. He then read the label out loud: Warning, overdoses may result in permanent brain damage and may lead to death. Sonic then took out the herbs specified in the directions to operate the device. "And… that should do it!" He exclaims as he clutches the mechanism in his hand.
"Alright, now to insert the needle in my arm…" "Be careful Sonic! And make sure you hit the right vein! We have enough disaster as it is with Sunlight City and we don't need another." Amy told Sonic with a worried expression as she examined the directions herself. "Don't worry Ames, I'll be fine." He smiled to her with assurance. As soon as he injected the needle into his vein, he felt the burning cold liquid start to spread through his body.. "AAGH! My blood! It… feels like it's on f-fire!" Screamed the azure hedgehog with a deafening scream. "Sonic!" Amy screamed as she watched her cobalt hero scream in agony. Then, after a few mere moments, the pain ceased and vanished. The bruised and battered body that sonic had possessed for the past two days was renewed.
"Whew! I thought I screwed up there for a second!" Sonic said with a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness!" Amy exhaled also. She thought he had injected the wrong vein with the herbal extracts when he screamed in pain like that, and if that were to happen, the results would be fatal. "Alright, I've got a world to save." Sonic said heroically as he stood up. "Don't you mean 'We'? I need to go on an adventure too ya know! I'm sick of just staying here!" Amy replied to Sonic's surprise. "Hmm… I don't know…" Sonic thought out loud. "Pleeeeease Sonic? For me?" Amy begged as she stared him down with puppy-dog eyes. Amy's begging and desperate face made Sonic's heart give in. Always gets me He thought. "Alright then… sure…" Sonic said with a hint of worry in his voice as he scratched his head. "Really? Thanks Sonic! She said as she hugged him. Not the type of hug that suffocated him, but a firm hug. "You're welcome. Just promise me something," He said After Amy let go of him and smiled at her. "Try to stay safe, please…" The cobalt hedgehog then corrected his earlier statement. "Alright then, we've got a world to save!" "What are we waiting for then? LET'S GO!" Amy said as she once again grabbed Sonic's arm and headed over to Tails' teleportation device.
Sonic then heard his cell phone start ringing. "Hold on a sec Ames, I'm getting a call." Sonic told her nicely as she let go of him. Shoot, I've got to get rid of these spasms I have. The rose colored hedgehog thought to herself. "Sure." She replied. Sonic then proceeded to look at the number and couldn't recognize it at all. "Hmmm… I wonder who it is?" he said to himself. As soon as he answered his phone, an echidna's stubborn voice greets him. "Sonic?" A familiar voice says. "Knuckles? Aren't you and Tails on vacation in Sunlight City?" Sonic said in surprise, not expecting to get a call from them. Knuckles then replied, "Well we were, until most of Sunlight city was destroyed by that unknown metallic object! Thank God we weren't near there when it happened!" "Well that's where I'm heading right now. Where are you and Tails at?" Sonic questioned the echidna.
"We ended up going down south of Sunlight City to Leatherback Bay, but I guess we can still meet here. It's going to take a bit of time to get from here to Sunlight City though, but at least we'll all be together." The crimson echidna replied. "Sounds good, me and Amy will get there as soon as possible." Sonic informed Knuckles. "Wha.. what? Are you sure you want to bring your 'girlfriend' along?" Knuckles teased. "She's not my girlfriend! Cut it out! And yes, she's coming along. Is there a problem?" Sonic retaliated with a bright red muzzle. Amy overheard the comment and blushed herself and turned away so he couldn't see it. "No, not at all. Alright there, lover-boy. In any case, I'll see you shortly." Knuckles snickered as he hung up the phone. "Ehh.. whatever." Sonic muttered to himself as he shook his head and hung up the phone.
"So what did Knuckles call you for? It seemed like a bad time…" Amy questioned the azure hedgehog, walking over to him. "Well, he's doing the same thing we are, investigating this… 'thing', but we will be safer together with him and Tails which is probably why he called." Sonic explained to the Rose colored hedgehog. "Okay then. I'm ready to go, so let us begin this little 'adventure'" She said with a giggle and flirty wink. "Hehe.. yeah…" Sonic blushed heavily with a sweat drop forming as he scratched his head. Sonic then walked over to the teleportation device. He set the location to "Leatherback Bay" and turned the knob to use the device at will. "Ready?" Sonic asked the rose colored hedgehog. "Always been ready!" She replies with glee. "…..Go!" Sonic sshouted as he pressed the button to launch the device. Soon, both of them were covered with a bright light as they were then transported with a flash to their destination…
A/N: Interesting! Knuckles, Rouge, and Omega have made their Debut in the series! WHOO! Haha, anyways I hope you guys enjoyed this part as I (sort of) enjoyed writing it! How will Shadow, Rouge, and Omega plan to defeat this new enemy? What will become of Snic and Amy meeting up with Knuckles and Tails? Find out in Part Five! Thanks for reading so far!