I know this chapter might be a bit short, but I think it's necessary. Hopefully I have more time to write sooner :)
Again, thank you to those following this story!
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"You guys are useless!" The GUN commander yelled at the team he had selected to bring back the pink hedgehog. "She is alone and scared out there and you guys weren't able to find her? This delay is wasting time and money. If we don't bring her back, we can't begin any experiments on those people. You don't deserve to work for me any longer!" He growled.
"Sir, Shadow isn't in his room." An officer came in the office with a tablet in his hand. "He left his radio behind and we haven't been able to get a hold of him. No one has seen him in the base since the breakout. We were able to recuperate the lost video from the night vision cameras the night of the power outage." He informed.
The commander looked at the three officers he was previously yelling at. "Get out of my sight." He told them. The three of them scrambled their way out of his leaving the other soldier alone in the room with the commander. He signaled him to come forward. "What have you got?" He asked.
The officer approached his desk and handed over the tablet with the video. "This explains why the pink hedgehog escaped as well as Shadow's whereabouts."
The commander pressed play on the video. The images that flashed before him showed Shadow climbing over the fence and taking Amy out of the gated area. The anger in his face seemed evident and he tossed the tablet against the wall making it shatter.
"Orders sir?" The soldier asked.
"I'll handle this one myself." The commander growled. "He should know better than that. I can control him."
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Amy's body trembled inside of the small cave even though the rain had long stopped. 'When is he coming back? Does he not want to see me again? Is he going to leave me here all alone?' The pink hedgehog flinched at the sight of Shadow's familiar silhouette at the entrance of the cave. She couldn't bring herself to say anything.
"Let's go." Shadow said shortly. "I've cleared the dock. The ship is ready to transport you home."
Amy nodded in response. She watched Shadow turn his back towards her to wait for her outside of the cave. 'I guess I have to walk on my own from now on.' She thought. She slowly got up and limped her way out of the cave, trying to keep the pressure off of her right ankle as much as possible. Every time she felt pain, she swallowed her words. Shadow began to walk in front of her, expecting her to follow, and she did. Amy was slow and Shadow was beginning to get impatient.
"It's only half a mile from here." He said.
Amy's stomach suddenly turned at the thought of having to force herself to walk that distance and a sigh escaped her lips. Shadow was irritated at the slow pace in which they were walking. He turned around and tossed Amy over his shoulder.
"You're too slow." He told her. "Reinforcements might come by the time we get there." He speedily made his way through the edge of the jungle and towards the beach.
Dawn was beginning to creep up on them when they reached the dock. Shadow placed the pink hedgehog on the small ship on a seat by the edge before making his way towards the controls to program the destination. The pink hedgehog watched Shadow with a hint of sadness in her face. 'I probably won't see him again.'
When Shadow was done he turned to face her. The sun's rays were now present around them. It was the first time she had seen his crimson eyes since they had shared a kiss. They burned with power and pierced through hers like knives. "This vessel will take you to Emerald coast in about 12 hours. Once there, what you do is up to you." He told her.
"Shadow" Amy began. There was so much to say, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything with Shadow's crimson orbs on her. She was at a loss for words. "Thank you. For everything." She said.
Shadow nodded slightly. It was the first time he had acknowledged one of her gratitude expressions. He turned away and jumped out of the small ship and onto the dock. He made his way through the small base and onto the beach. Amy felt the ship begin to gain power and navigate itself away. The wind picked up, making her red head band fly out of her head and into the small control area on the ship. She leaned against the rails of the boat to catch a last glimpse of the dark hedgehog that had saved her life.
But nothing could have prepared the pink hedgehog for the sound that made its way into her ears. Her heart sunk when she heard Shadow growl in pain as he placed his hands on his head. The pain in his scream was evident. He collapsed on the beach soon after, with his body rolling around the sand unable to withstand the amount of pain it was in. She could see that he was putting up a struggle against the invisible force that was taking over him.
"Shadow!" Amy yelled, but there was no answer from his struggling body and the boat she was on was beginning to pick up speed. 'He's in danger.' Without thinking, Amy stood up on the seat she was resting on and jumped off of the ship and into the water. The pink hedgehog swam with such force that it made her ankle numb.
When she reached the beach, she ran towards Shadow and kneeled by his side. His eyes were closed with his hands still on his head, but he continued to growl in pain. "Shadow, what's wrong?" Amy asked worriedly. She noticed that Shadow's golden rings were glowing and his voice echoed in her head.
"Do you see these rings? They control my power. I can control them, but only to a certain extent. GUN has full access and control to them."
"His rings." Amy whispered to herself. It was apparent that Shadow was losing his inner battle and his growls indicated that the pain inside of him was only increasing. She looked around and ran towards the edge of the jungle. Once there, she picked up a rock about the size of a coconut and rushed back to the dark hedgehog. She kneeled by his side and laid out his right arm. She raised her arm with the rock in hand and swung it down towards his golden ring. A shock of energy raced up her arm leaving the ring unharmed. 'No. I can't let him die like this.' She picked up the rock again with both hands and smashed it repeatedly into Shadow's ring ignoring the stinging shocks in her arms. She noticed that the ring began to crack and so she continued to hit it until it shattered. She ran towards the other side of Shadow and smashed the rock into his left ring until it did the same as the other.
"Shadow." Amy called as she shook his body for a response. "Shadow, answer me please." But Shadow's body was still. A tear escaped Amy's green eyes as she rested her pink head on his chest. She could hear the faint beat of his heart and it gave her a bit hope. 'I have to get him out of here.' Amy placed her head under Shadow's arm and got up slowly. She dragged his body back into the jungle little by little. Every step she took required more of her faint strength. The pain from her ankle was screaming inside of her head, but she did not stop. She walked until her body could no longer take another step and collapsed on the ground along with Shadow's unconscious body.
"I can't do it." Tears began to escape her emerald eyes. She was breathing heavily and tiredness overtook her body. Amy closed her eyes in exhaustion. "They're going to catch up to us. I'm sorry Shadow, you were right. I can't make it ten feet without you." She whispered as her thoughts drifted to emptiness.
