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Desert Deception for Yellow.

Eggfleet Flagship-- Holding Cells.

Amy twitched wake, she squinted in the blazing sunlight that streamed into the cell window. She groaned, wondering how long she'd been asleep for this time, sitting up she glanced at the electrical bands around her wrists, tears started falling and she rested her head back against the wall.

"Amy ? Amy can you hear me ?"

She looked around, it was the second time she'd heard the voice, the first was not long after she was kidnapped. Pushing a strand of hair from her face, getting to her feet, she walked to the window.

" Amy... Amy can you hear me?"

Closing her worn out eyes, she nodded. " I hear you."

" You're going be alright. We have a plan, we're going to save you."

Nodding again, she turned and then gasped. " Y-You !? How did you--?" Stepping closer she reached out a hand and touched... nothing at all, just air. " What are you--? "

" Using the Emeralds power, I can project my image over large areas, to a certain range. Sonic can't do this yet, he hasn't completed his training, " The image sighed. " Such a short attention span. Anyway, I want you to know that we have a plan to rescue you and get your Emerald before Eggman, or The Goddess. I need you to trust me."

" My Emerald ? You mean I'm the next protector ?! I can't believe this! That's why The Goddess pretended to be me, she drugged me so it wasn't the real me Sonic had to rescue---Sonic !? Did he pass his trial ?"

" No. The Goddess took his Emerald. I had to shoot the fake you to prove to him it wasn't the real you. I hope you can forgive me."

" You...shot me ? How could you!? I know it was only a fake me but still ! If you wanted me out the way, all you had to do was ask. Did you shoot me so you could have him all to yourself, hhmm ?"

" No. What happened between us was a one off, I could feel it wasn't what he wanted..it wasn't me he wanted. He cares for you Amy, deeply. His face when I shot you proved that . I could never take your place. Sonic came to me because he was weak, he liked the danger of getting caught. I went to him, because I saw something in him that, untill now, I thought I would never find in someone else. But I have, in more than one person." The image flickered and fuzzed out for a second.

" No, wait! Shadow wait! " She made a grabbed at his arm, and was stunned when she felt warmth, flesh and muscle. " What the --?"

Shadow stood in front of her, equally confused. He blinked at his very real hands. " What did you do ?"

" I don't know... I just didn't want to be alone anymore. I'm so scared, Shadow. I've been hearing The Goddess talking about the final stages of her plan. I know what she's gonna do to me when I get my Emerald. " Shadow suddenly let out a groan, and started to faded again. She wrapped her arms around his torso and buried her head in the patch of white fur on his chest, " Don't go ! Please don't leave me!"

Before he faded out completely, Shadow patted her back softly, copying what others would do in the same situation. Amy raised her head , eyes swimming with tears, he smiled. " I will never leave you."

As he disappeared, Amy covered her mouth and slowly sank to the floor, crying. Alone once more.

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Manorhouse-- Main Techroom corridor

Shadow opened his eyes, ran a hand over his face and took a deep breath. The projection technique had taken a lot out of him, even though he had completed the training, the power it took was still over-whleming. Holding out a hand, palm-side down, he watched as a bright light grew and lenghten, untill a sword like weapon hung in the air. He grabbed the hilt and right away felt the power surge through him, charging him to full capacity. The sword vanished into a dimensional hub, where it would wait untill it was needed again. Shadow looked at the empty space and frowned slightly.

" What are you trying to tell me? "

No one answered. So he shrugged and made his way to the lab.

Half an hour later, he was sipping his coffee, nodding at something Tails had said. They were watching the DVDs of the training,so far they had seen Sonic completely smash and bash the mechs that Glory had programmed to destroy him. They had seen Tails rebuild a seven armed robot in ten minutes flat, now they were watching Knuckles smash his way through several tons of solid rock. Shadow quickly grew bored, he'd already seen the DVDs, he turned his attention over to Sonic. The blue hedgehog was standing away from the main group with his back to them. Shadow noticed at odd intervals, Sonic shivered slightly. His eyes widened when he saw what Sonic was standing next to. Slipping away from the rest of the group, he made his way over.

" What is wrong with you ? " He asked. " You should be happy, at least you know Amy is safe."

Sonic snorted, " Yeah, but for how long?" He clenched his fists and pounded them onto the table, causing the items to roll around, roll closer to him. " If I hadn't had been so slow, I could 've save her. If I hadn't been so stupid! I should've realised it was a trap!" His fur started to darken to a deeper shade, a wild look appeared in his eyes. " I want to kill her, if I kill her, everything will be alright." He chuckled.

" You're not yourself. You're being affected, step away."

Sonic rounded on him, " Why? You're always moody and angry. Why can't I be?"

" Because it's not who you are. Amy needs her hero, now more than ever. Snap out of it!"

Sonic's eyes widened, " Sh- Shadow..?" Was all he could manage before he passed out.

As Knuckles took the fallen hedgehog to the hospital wing, Shadow looked at the fake Emeralds on the table. Glory still hadn't worked out the correct proportions, despite Tails's help. They had to correct them fast, so they would be ready for use when the time came.

------------------

Sonic slept soundly for the next three days, his gang huddled by his bedside, Tails sat holding one on his hands while Knuckles sat by the window, ankles and arms crossed.

" What happened to him, again?"

Tails looked over with tear stained cheeks, he shook his head. " I've told you before...I- I don't know. One second he was talking to Shadow, the next he fainted."

" ... I did not...faint!" Croaked Sonic. He smiled drowsily at his friends. " Hey guys, what'd I miss? " He looked at them in turn and frowned. " What?"

" Did Shadow do this to you ? We all know what he's capable of. Just say the word and he's a dead man...well, dead hedgehog."

He shook his head, " It wasn't Shadow. But thanks for the offer Knuxs, I'll remember that. Shadow was with me..I remember that much..."

Tails squeezed his hand. " It's a good thing you're ok, Sonic... for a moment I thought... I mean... Emeralds don't normally have that affect on you."

Sonic smiled and reached over to mess up his hair. " No they don't. But these Emeralds were, I don't know...fake? But proper fake, there was a piece missing...I remember feeling angry at myself because I couldn't save Amy when I had the chance, and then rage, terrible rage. I had to do something, hurt something, or somebody----" He stopped suddenly and narrowed his eyes at the view outside the window. " Uh, guys ?"

" Yeah ?" They said together.

Sonic pushed himself into a sitting position and pointed. " Why did a bird just fly by my window? And I don't remember the sun being that big ,or the clouds being that close. What's going on?"

Tails grinned at him, " We're aboard The Sliver Hawk." He announced proudly.

" Sliver-- What ?"

Knuckles walked over to sit on the edge of his bed. " We're tracking down the next Emerald. We're on Glory's personal jet-- The Sliver Hawk, it's pretty amazing, she built it using parts from Eggman's old Battleships. She has nearly everything on board here,"

" Research labs, kitchens, sleeping areas for us. There's a gym and swimming pool, an even larger training room. There's also a high-tech room, full of computers and T.Vs, pool tables table tennis and games consoles,"

Sonic's mouth curved into a half smile, " You don't say ? "

" Yeah ! It's cool ! Maybe when you feel better we can give you the tour."

" I'd like that." He looked around the room, his eyes settled on a black box on the side table. " What's that thing ?"

Knuckles frowned, " Shadow came to visit you before we did, you were still out of it. He left it there and said that you'd be needing... whatever's inside, soon. " He shrugged. " Whatever that means."

" Can I see now ?"

" I don't know , Sonic... " Tails shivered. " I don't trust Shadow, even though he claims to be suffering from amnesia, it's still Shadow. What if it's the thing that made you ill?"

" Even Shadow's not that stupid," He nodded his thanks as Knuckles placed the box on his lap. He untied the string and lifted the lid, " Let's see... " Peering inside, looking at the contents nearly made his eyes bug out, " No way..."

" Unbelieveable !" Tails reached in, narrowing his eyes as he picked one up. " Why would Shadow give you a copy of his jet-shoes?"

" Because he would need them, " The three of them turned towards the door. Shadow stood there with his arms folded. " Good to see you're awake, blue hedgehog." He walked in and stood at the foot of Sonic's bed. " We have just recieved a coded message from the Doctor, it seems he let Amy go just a few moments ago, she is on the surface now. There is a lot of activity down there, The Goddess has unleashed her minons to do her dirty-work." He nodded at Sonic, " If you're feeling up to it, I can teleport us to the pyramid, using the jet-shoes, we should be able to cross the quick-sand with no difficulty. If we hurry, we can help Amy finish her trial."

" She's in the middle of a trial !? Why didn't you say so sooner? " Throwing the covers off, he slipped the jet-shoes on his feet, adjusted the straps and pushed back his quills. " Let's go!"

Shadow held up a hand to stop him, " We have one stop to make first. Then we can go help Amy."

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Meanwhile, on the surface...

A rotting mummy fell to the floor, exploding in a cloud of dust. Amy stood, panting, holding her mallet with both hands. Sweat was dripping off her in bucket loads, her dress was soaked, which in turn, made her very cranky.

" Not so tough now, are they ? I've defeated them all, so where's my Emerald? "

The Goddess, from her throne, smiled coldly at her, her bat-like wings fluttered. " So you've defeated my minons, so what? I have more where they came from, and I'll have tons more when , finally, I have all seven Chaos Emeralds. I will be unstoppable, The Ultimate Lifeform !"

Amy rolled her eyes, " There is only one Ultimate Lifeform. Shadow the Hedgehog."

" Hmph, Shadow the Loser more like. I know he's made contact with you, so what's his master plan, eh? I don't see him, looks like he's dumped you, just like everyone else."

" You're wrong." Came a softly spoken voice behind her.

Turning on the spot, Amy couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face, " Sonic ! Shadow !"

" Amy, don't move !"

" What? Why? " She took a step forward, and the ground rumbled, " What's happening?"

Two sliver nets appeared out of nowhere under Sonic's and Shadow's feet. With a grunt, the two hedgehogs were lifted into the air. Shadow watched as Sonic struggled to break free.

" What is this?"

Shadow growled as he tried to tear the net apart, " I don't know and I don't like it."

The Goddess laughed, " Oh this is great ! For the next part of the Yellow trial, Amy must choose one of you to be released. Only one. So, Amy.. which one ?"

Amy nibbled her bottom lip, " I--I don't know.."

" Forget us Amy. " Shouted Sonic, he twisted in the net, to keep her in sight. " After the way we've treated you, neither of us should be set free. Just grab the Emerald and run !"

She shook her head, " I can't... I can't!!"

Yes, you can.

Opening her eyes, she glanced up at Shadow. The black hedgehog was sitting calmly against his net, eyes shut, with a tiny smile. A yellow glimmer radiated from his back, she thought back to the time in her cell... Shadow's words, I need you to trust me.

" I can't choose ! I have feelings for them both !" Sonic raised his brows at her, then smiled warmly. Shadow had opened his eyes with an odd expression on his face.

" You have to choose. Sonic ,or Shadow?"

" I believe that it isn't Amy's choice.. but mine.."

" Eh?" The Goddess looked up, Shadow was holding the Yellow Emerald in his hands, a smug smirk in his lips. " You... you let this sweet thing do your dirty work? Your heart is as black as mine. Join with me Shadow, and I promise to help you recover your past..all of it."

" A tempting offer," Playing the Emerald around his fingers , he said, " Release me and Sonic, and you can have the Emerald and my services."

" Shadow ! Are you nuts?! "

He chuckled at Sonic, " Maybe I am. I just want to know the truth, why am I here? Where do I belong? If she says she can help me..." He shrugged.

" I will release you, hedgehogs. Untill I have need of you , Shadow, you are free from my hold. Now give me my Emerald!" Waving a clawed hand, the sliver nets burned away. Both Sonic and Shadow yelped as they plumetted to the ground, Shadow landed on his back, while Sonic landed painfully on his head ,again. The Goddess flew from her perch, shoved Amy out the way, sending her tumbling into the nearest hedgehog, which was Shadow. The Yellow Emerald skidded across the floor, she clutched at it ,holding it to her chest with greed. As she lifted it to admire its beauty,her eyes darkened and her lips curled into a snarl, " What ?! This Emerald is--"

" Chaos Control !" Yelled Shadow, a fake Red Emerald in his hand. The Goddess screamed with fury as she was encased in a globe of Chaos energy. The fake Yellow Emerald shattered in her hand as she was sucked into a portal ripped from the time line. When it closed, the fake Red Emerald burned a hole in his glove, he dropped it and laid back, panting.

" Are you okay?" A tiny voice asked at his middle.

He sat on his elbows, Amy was resting above him. Her flowery scent flooded his scenses, he frowned and scooted back. " Fine."

" Where did she go?" She asked, walking around the chamber.

He shrugged, " I don't know... Time--Space rifts are a tricky thing to master. She could be anywhere..."

" As long as she far away from us, that'll do me." Sonic walked up to them, limping slightly, rubbing his sore head , seemingly fine. " That was sweet, Shads.. I didn't feel a thing."

Shadow, who knew what he was on about ,nodded " That's because I used a fake made by Tails, and a fake made by Glory. Hopefully they cancelled each other out."

" Smart thinking... So, where's Amy's Emerald?"

Amy, who was standing under the sky-light, grinned at them. As the sunlight poured through the ceiling, a bright yellow glow settled into her cupped hands. There was a flash of light, and the Yellow Emerald sat in her palms, safe and sound.

" Ta-da! One Yellow Emerald, and one cute, rescued babe. Both safe and sound! "

Sonic winked at her, " I think...we should get back..to The Sliver Hawk..." He wobbled for a second, before he passed out. As Amy rushed to his side, Shadow groaned, he knew Sonic wasn't better.

Next Chapt Soon !