Chapter 7: Welcome to Spagonia.

Obviously Sonic won the race, but only just. Shadow had been right behind him, but he was slower since he was heavier than the agile, lightweight, high-speed blue hedgehog. They then stopped at the entrance to the city. Night had already fallen and the moon was out.

"Whoo! We made it Shadow! And it looks as though I've won!" Sonic said while panting heavily.

"Heh… looks like I gave you a run for your rings (money), Sonic. And you said that I was too slow in this form to keep up with you!" Shadow barked.

"OK, OK…I was wrong, I underestimated you and your four-legged sprinting abilities. Now let's go and find the Professor!" Sonic then replied.

They then walked through the quiet, dark streets in the alleys in order to avoid attention in the main streets. They also remained silent in order not to wake the residents in their homes on either side of the streets.

Soon they found the town square that was full of shops, restaurants, jewellery stores, rugs and shoes were just a few of the closed shops on the street.

'Wow! This place really hasn't changed much since I was last here!' Sonic thought.

"The university is just around the corner, Shadow." The blue blur then whispered.

The black werehog gave him a nod of agreement and a toothy grin.

Then they turned the corner and reached the university. It was a large grey building with a large fountain, with an eagle at the top of it, at the front built into the steps. It also had several flags of the world draping from the ceiling. It also had several support columns at the entrance for its architectural design.

Sonic then asked Shadow to hide in a bush beside the door and to only come out when called. Shadow obeyed his mate.

Sonic then knocked on the door.

XXX

"Hmm… now who could that be at this hour of the night?" a voice asked himself.

He then opened the door to see a blue hedgehog in the marble arch.

"Sonic? My, my how nice to see you again! 1 year was it?"

The blue blur nodded. "Hello, Professor, mind if we come in?"

"WE?" Professor Pickle asked.

"You can come out now, Shadow!" Sonic called to his mate.

The bush then started to rustle and the black werehog walked out.

"This is Shadow, Professor." Sonic replied.

"Hmm… another werehog… he should be back to normal in the morning." Pickle explained.

"There's one problem professor… he can't change back and it's been two days!" Sonic mentioned.

"What! How can that be?"

"Umm guys… maybe we should talk inside… Look!" Shadow replied in a whisper.

They then saw a bunch of GUN soldiers patrolling around the streets but they didn't see them yet.

"Quick, inside!" The professor said.

They quickly entered and headed towards Professor Pickle's office. The human turned on the lights and then they all sat down to hear the story.

XXX

1 Hour later:

"You're right, Sonic, this is wrong for Dark Gaia. Its power, the Darkness of Gaia, should have weakened its hold on your friend during the day and changed him back." The professor explained.

"Is there anything you can do for him?" Sonic asked concerned. "Maybe the Gaia Manuscripts that are still in your possession could have something like a clue."

"I'll take a look at the manuscripts tomorrow, Sonic. Why don't you and Shadow rest here tonight?" He said kindly. "You both look tired." He then added.

It was true; Sonic and Shadow were worn out from the race and they were also looking for a place to spend the night.

"Sounds like a good idea, professor! What do you think, Shadow?"

"Mumph." The dark werehog replied. He was already lying down on a carpet, in the corner of the office, beside a couch with his paws under his muzzle. He seemed to already be falling asleep.

"Guess that's a 'yes', professor!" Sonic laughed.

Professor Pickle also had to laugh at this. "Alright boys, see you in the morning." He then left.

Sonic then emitted a quiet yawn and decided to get some rest. He stepped over Shadow the werehog and climbed onto the couch. He soon fell asleep after his head hit a soft cushion.

XXX

The following morning:

"Morning Sonic, Shadow!" the professor greeted the two.

He then noticed that Shadow was still a werehog, despite the morning sunlight entering through the giant window in his office. His window was so big that it showed the entire courtyard outside.

"Will you take a look at the Gaia Manuscripts now?" Shadow asked.

"Sure thing but I need you two to do me a favour while I'm looking." The professor replied.

"OK, what is it?" Sonic asked.

"I want the two of you to pick up todays newspaper for me and get me some cucumber for my morning sandwich please."

A sweat drop appeared on Sonic and Shadow's face. It seemed as though they were saying

'You've gotta be kidding me!'

XXX

A half hour later:

"OK, we've got what you wanted, professor. Can you tell us what you've found?" They asked.

"Alright, I found a secret compartment in the Manuscripts a few weeks ago; it has pages of new information! I already managed to translate some of it! What I believe is that Dark and Light Gaia are connected somehow. Maybe the Darkness of Gaia can be neutralized with Light Gaia's power, the Lightness of Gaia."

"But how are we going to get that? Light Gai- I mean Chip and Dark Gaia are sleeping in the core of the planet and we'd have to extract their DNA to get it! That's impossible to get!" Sonic responded.

"We certainly can't wake them up again. It could cause another global catastrophe! Shadow replied. "Guess I'll be stuck like this for thousands of years!" Shadow moaned.

"Actually, there might be a way." Professor Pickle spoke.

The blue hedgehog and black werehog perked up.

"What!" They replied in unison.

"Maybe Chip left some of his DNA in the Gaia Temples when we last saw him with you, Sonic. You should look in all of them just in case. You should start here in the Spagonian Temple then move out to another one."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go, Shadow!" Sonic said.

"One second, Sonic." The Professor then went over to a safe in a glass cabinet and brought something over to Sonic. "Take this with you… it'll make your travels easier around the world."

He then handed Sonic the dark blue chaos emerald. "I found it on an expedition a few months ago in Shamar. It was buried in the sand dunes."

"Wow! A chaos emerald! Now we can use Chaos control to travel!" Sonic beamed. "Thanks, Professor!"

"You're welcome guys. I'll keep translating the Gaia Manuscripts to see what I can find."

"We'll be back soon!" They replied.

"Oh yes…one more thing." The professor announced. "You should use this as well."

The professor gave Sonic the hedgehog a leash, chain and a red collar with a small tag.

"It's something to keep the GUN soldiers and dog catchers off you, Shadow. I'd heard there was a crazy dog in Spagonia on the radio this morning."

"Shadow then groaned at this. "I'm not a dog!" He barked.

Sonic then leashed Shadow before they left and the werehog then started to walk on all fours and they headed to the temple.

XXX

Their search in the Spagonian temple proved unsuccessful; nothing was found, not even a strand of hair.

Once they left the temple, they used the Chaos emerald to warp to another temple.

"Let's try the Apotos Temple next, Shadow."

"OK!" Shadow replied.

They then placed their hand on the sapphire jewel. Then Sonic shouted

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

In a flash, they found themselves in Apotos, a city near the ocean. The buildings were white and the road was paved in stones. A giant lighthouse served as a beacon to those at sea. Up ahead was the Gaia Temple.

XXX

Meanwhile… in an unknown location…

"Doctor, the beacon on the radar appears to have jumped to another location." Orbot shouted to his creator.

"What? Where is its location now?" The Doctor asked his faithful servant.

The robot then used the computers to scan the location. "It appears to be in the city of Apotos now." The robot replied.

'Hmm… must be a Chaos Control warp that Sonic performed' Eggman thought. 'That means Sonic has a Chaos emerald!'

The doctor then laughed evilly. "I knew placing that tracking device on Sonic would prove useful! Now I can see where he goes to!"

"Cubot!" Eggman then roared out to his other Hench-bot. Cubot then hovered in.

"…" Cubot had a blank expression and couldn't talk.

"Ho ho ho! The evil scientist laughed hysterically. "Why didn't I think of this before?

"Who knew a Classic Sonic voice chip could prove effective on loudmouth, squeaky-voiced, smart-alec robots like you? Now I don't have to worry about your annoying voice anymore!"

"Prepare for attack on Apotos!" Eggman roared. "Time to show that meddling little hedgehog who's boss!"

"Right away boss!" Orbot replied.

'Maybe Shadow is with him and then I'll get what I want.' Eggman thought.