Dying

Her light purple eyes snapped open. She looked up, toward the night sky, then down, toward the brown concrete floor. She tried to move her hands, but they were bound together. She tried to move her hands, but they too were bound to one another. A few moments of struggling later, and she was able to get onto her back. Though it was the dead of night, the land around her was extremely bright. And no, it wasn't because of the stars, but more because of the moon. And something else.

She continued struggling, before eventually settling on the side of her body. Upon doing so, her purple eyes fell upon the hide of a great green jewel. The shimmering rock before her was staggering, and almost blinding as well. She wiggled and shook until she was able to face away from the rock. When she did, she found her double-barreled pistol was sitting a few inches away. Seeking safety in the gun, she did her best to crawl toward the weapon, without the use of her arms or legs. The action was easier said than done. And in the end, it was rendered fruitless.

A green and yellow boot fell upon the gun, stopping her from grasping it with her teeth. She lined her eyes up from the shoe, to the red leg, and up to the purple eyes gazing back down. The echidna staring down upon her lacked any sort of emotion, other than contempt. Coiled around his right arm was rope, while fruit laid in his other hand. He dropped one, right beside her head, making her wilt back. Then he took the fruit still laying in his hand, and took a bite out of it.

She watched as that red echidna picked up her gun, only to walk over and past her. He sat down on the edge of the Emerald Altar, lifted his fruit once more, then took a bite out of it. The delicious taste of his meal sent shivers down his spine.

"I'll ask one more time..." the red echidna stated, as he finished his meal, "Who are you, and why are you on Angel Island," he looked back at her, seeing a face of rage gaze back, "You do realize our race is dead, don't you?"

"Do I look like I care!?" she answered as she struggled with her binds, "Let go of me you brute! Before I get angry!"

"I'm the brute?" he inquired, "You were the one who attacked me at my home. If I'm a brute, then what does that make you? Hm?"

"Fine then, I'll bite," the magenta echidna commented, "How about this; you let me go, I'll leave you alone, huh? It's Knuckles, right? That's your name? If you leave me be, Knuckles, I'll leave you alone."

"You and I both know that's a lie," Knuckles answered, "Isn't that right, Julie-Su? That is your name, right?"

She groaned at his words, specifically the way he copied her manner of speech. She wanted so desperately to claw his eyes out, and put a bullet in his brain for good measure. But the ropes that held her arms and legs together weren't going to have it. She was trapped.

"Listen," Knuckles stated, "I could have killed you at any moment, you do realize that, right? I could've thrown you off the side of this floating island, and your body would have been washed away by the seas underneath."

"Nuh, uh!" Julie replied, "Daddy wouldn't allow that!"

Knuckles gazed back at her, so he could stare directly into her eyes.

"And, who might Daddy, be?" he whispered.

"What!? Daddy!?" the magenta echidna replied, as she gazed off, "You must be hearing things; I said no such thing."

"Fine then," Knuckles said as he stood tall, "Play stupid," he turned around to her fully now, "And I was about to let you live too. Oh well, I can't forgive anyone who tries to take the Master Emerald."

"I wasn't after the Master Emerald!" Julie yelled as he got closer to her, "I was after Chaos!"

"And what business would you have for Chaos?" Knuckles inquired as he picked her up, and put her over his shoulder, "You do know who he is, right?"

"Where are you taking me!?" she was kicking now, "Let go of me you mindless man!"

"I'm about to throw you off of my island," he answered, "And I'll give you this bit of information; if you keep calling me names, I will not stop," he looked up at her out the corner of his eye, whilst giving a hard tap on her bottom. This, of course, did little to calm her down, "So one last time. Why were you here, and who sent you? I guess this 'Daddy' person has something to do with it."

"Why do you keep bringing up 'Daddy!?'" she said, feigning stupidity, "Do you have some sort of father issue?"

"Possibly," the echidna answered, "But I'm not the one who's about to be tossed off the side of a mountain, now am I? So, for my sanity and your life, tell me what I need to know? It doesn't take long to get to the edge, ya'know."

"You stupid little man!" she barked, "Let go of me this instant before I get angry!"

"Ooooooohhh, tough words," he mocked, "Last chance..."

"Last chance or-!?"

Her eyes widened, as the wind picked up around her head. In fact, the wind was strong all around her body. Knuckles suddenly pulled her from off his shoulder, so she could see the land before them. Or, for better words, lack thereof. She peered over the grassy edge to see nothing but darkness and clouds stare back. Gazing up, she saw even more darkness and clouds. It didn't take long for her to realize that Knuckles was going to make good on his promise. With one simple motion, he was going to drop her off the edge, where he would let gravity take control. And gravity has mercy upon no one.

"It was nice meeting you, Julie," Knuckles stated, "Sucks that you have to meet the ocean at hundreds of miles per hour. If the feeling of falling doesn't kill you, then the feeling of your body going splat against the ocean will."

"Uh... maybe we can talk this out..." she whispered in fear.

"Too late."

He suddenly dropped her. She watched the dark expansive void below zoom closer, and in that brief moment, her entire life flashed before her life. Also, she yelled something.

"KNUCKLES! PLEASE STOP!"

She must have said something right, for before she fell to far, the echidna she called to gripped her ankles with his hands. He pulled her up, and brought her back to eye level. She looked downright pitiful now, as the thought of such a violent death took its toll on her mind.

"Last chance..." the red echidna pressed, "Tell me what I want to know, or else..."

There was no snappy remark or crude gesture, just a quick and frantic nod.

…

His hand pressed through the door, opening it up for her to see. Stepping into the room, she gazed hard and long at everything around her. Through the darkness of the room she could not see, her foot pressed against an object, making her gasp and leap back. His hand on her shoulder kept her silent however, and stopped her from growing too frantic. She peered up into his face, and gazed into his burning red orbs with her green ones. Tapping her briefly, he invisibly told her to stay, while he trudged on.

She stood in the darkness for an extended period of time, before the lights in this room came on. It was a home, but not a big or fantastic one. Books of various sizes were stacked up on the ground, and there were a lot of them. The orange echidna found herself shuffling uneasily from foot to foot, as a sense of claustrophobia settled in upon her mind. Rubbing her head, she tried to come up with a word to say, just to break the tension that was growing between them. Her voice never called, for she could think up nothing to state.

She ultimately picked up one of the books, and lined her eyes along its title.

"You... enjoy reading, Starman?" she inquired, her eyes glancing over at him.

"When you have as much time as me..." he stated in melancholy, "Reading is one of the few enjoyable things you can do..."

He suddenly walked for her, catching her off guard when his shade nearly engulfed her entirely. His hands gripped tenderly upon her shoulders keeping her pinned to the ground. She fiddled with the close contact, and started to blush as well, but his hands kept her from growing fearful.

"I'm happy you're here..." he whispered into her ear.

"I am... too..." she answered, "Starman, I-?"

Heavy metallic foot stomps echoed to the right of them. Tikal locked up immediately, and shuffled closer to her Starman, while he gazed over coyly. The marching moved closer, growing louder and louder as time moved on. Abruptly a claw clamped onto the doorway, followed by another claw on the other side of the doorway. A being pulled itself through, a metallic one, great in size and stature. He was red and black, while the Greek 'Omega' symbol laid on his shoulders.

Funny. Tikal had the same feeling toward this robot as she had toward Amy and Sonic. She recognized him, but t the same time knew not who he was. Yet his name laid on her tongue.

"Gamma?" she inquired of the machine, making his red optics peer down toward her.

"Gamma?" the machine repeated, his voice sounding like lightning and thunder at the same time, "You know of Gamma?"

"Aren't you Gamma?" the echidna asked next, now doubly confused.

"Negative," the robot stated, "I am E-123 Omega! The Ultimate E-Series robot!" he peered back down to her, his eyes flashing green as he scanned you, "And you are an echidna... Impossible, all echidnas are extinct save for one," he bent down to her in a near demented way, "And you are not that echidna."

"Echidnas are extinct?" Tikal repeated, before glancing over to Shadow, "Starman, what is he talking about?"

The hedgehog shook his head however, whilst retaining his indifferent disposition. He once again grabbed Tikal's shoulder so he could take her up the stairs.

"Don't worry about it..." he stated, "Here, let me show you something."

He led her up the stairs of his home, and down a hollow hall. Tikal couldn't help but to compare the Starman's home, to Amy's home. While the pink hedgehog's residence was pink and filled with hero-worship, Shadow's home was cold and distant. It lacked the loving feel a house should have. There were no furniture pieces set in the hall, no photos hung on the walls, no plants to freshen up the air. Just books. Books, and books, and books. Had he actually read all of these books? Or were they just here to take up space. She wasn't completely sure.

But his bedroom was much different in comparison. It was empty, with a wardrobe in the corner. A few windows were on the wall, with one being relatively close to the bed itself. Speaking of the bed, it was relatively small. Not the size she was expecting. She thought it would be bigger; able to hold both her and he. But in its current state, she was sure it was meant for one.

"Give me a second," the hedgehog murmured as he walked forward, "I wasn't really expecting you to show up so suddenly. I would have made my home more presentable..."

He suddenly took a runner's position, and dashed forward. She watched as the Starman faded into a black dash, as he zipped around the bed at amazing speeds. Slowly, piece by piece, she watched the small bed grow bigger in size. By the time Shadow stopped, time had elapsed a full of two minutes. Before the echidna, a king-sized bed. He appeared beside Tikal, as she grew wide-eyed at the sight. She knew he was face, but this was near amazing.

"I figured you'd be sleeping with me," he looked at her, "Unless I thought wrong."

She tackled him, directly onto the bed. Her lips silenced his, and any attempts as speaking were rendered fruitless. It had been so very long since they had a bed to themselves, and she couldn't wait any longer. Then again, the echidna wasn't really sure how long she had been waiting. If Tikal could say so herself, she would say it had been four thousand years. Why such a random number, she would never know.

From outside the door, those same heavy footsteps echoed. Omega stopped at their doorway, his red optics once again turning green. As the sound of their kisses filled the air, his hand gripped their doorknob.

"If you plan on copulating," he stated as he closed the door, "At least have the decency to close the door behind yourselves..."

He turned around soon after and marched down the hall.

…

"So you're looking for Chaos, because your Daddy said so... hm?" the red echidna crossed his arms, "Or am I wrong?"

Julie gazed down to the ground in defeat, as she heard her mission come from his lips. She didn't expect this male echidna to over power her so. In fact, she didn't expect any male echidna to appear at all. She thought her people were dead, save for her father, and Dimitri. Obviously she was wrong. It only made her wonder; did Daddy know?

"Yes, that's why I'm here." she murmured with a nod.

"Can you tell me why he sent you?" the red echidna asked next as he took another bite of the fruit in his hand.

She shook her head in a no manner, before settling her eyes on the great Emerald beside her.

"He said..." she closed her eyes, "He said... a long time ago... our people inhabited an island, but something happened and one by one our numbers dwindled..." she gazed back to echidna, "He said we were the last echidnas, and soon we would die too but... He had a plan to bring our race to its former glory. He worked on it; we worked on it for years, trying our hardest to come up with anything," she smiled, "A few days ago however, he said the time had come and he had found the answer. All that was needed was a being named Chaos..." she frowned, "But I never heard of a 'Chaos' before, and I knew not where to find it. So he sent me here, to Angel Island, where Chaos resided. I was supposed to bring him back but then I... ran into you..."

She felt regretful, as if she had failed her mission. When, in reality, she sort of did. Now all that was left was for Knuckles to send her packing. She would return home to her father, a failure.

"Your Daddy," Knuckles called, making her look at him, "He's a smart man?"

"He's the smartest!" Julie stated with glee-filled eyes, "You should see where we live, under the water. He designed all of it with his mind alone. He's a brilliant man, Knuckles, if anyone could bring our race back, it would be him."

"And you're sure he can bring it back. All he needs is Chaos?" he pressed further.

"Indeed," she answered, "All he needs is Chaos."

She watched the echidna lift his hand, and place it upon his chin. In a thinking pose he seemed to ponder about the information the magenta echidna gave him. Yes, he was extremely skeptical of the thought. Bringing back an entire race? It sounded too good to be true. Too impossible to be true, even by his standards. Then again, here she was before him. Another echidna. A beautiful one, he would say. That was good enough reason for him to believe her.

"Then what are we waiting for?" he stood up tall, while a shocked Julie-Su gazed upon him.

He cracked his neck, threw a few air jabs, then peered down to her. Julie stood up a few moments later, her purple eyes peering into his.

"What are you talking about?" she inquired, "You're just going to... help me?"

"If your father can really bring back echidnas," he stared at her, "And judging from your appearance I believe that to be true, then he might be able to bring back my race. And I'd do anything to make that dream a reality."

"So!" her face quickly grew a smile, "You'll help!?"

"I know Angel Island like the back of my hand," he pointed at himself with his thumb, "If anyone can find Chaos here, it's gonna be me!" he eyed the ropes binding her hands together, "Here, let me help you with that."

He got closer to her, and started to fiddle with her ties. He quickly released the magenta echidna, much to her surprise. Gazing up, she saw another smile on that red echidna, one she didn't think he could possibly make. He so quickly went from assailant, to friendly.

"But if you try to kill me again," his face bent down into displeasure, "I will not hesitate to kill you..." he handed her the pistol she adored so much, "Understood?"

She nodded.

"Understood... Where to first?"

"Ice Cap Zone," the echidna answered as he gazed off, "That's where he was seen last, anyway."

…

Her warm body laying atop his was pleasant to the feel. He couldn't help but to smile, even through the darkness of his room. Before, his bed was always cold and lonely. But now, as he had another body beside him, he realized how inadequate his covers alone were. But no longer. He would never spend another night alone. Not so long as his priestess was at his side.

Peering down upon her, he found a smile laying upon her slumbering lips. He couldn't help but to kiss them, which made her stir in her rest. Maybe it was for the best; she deserved her rest. If she were awake anyway, they wouldn't just being laying beside one another.

The thought of it made him chuckle, as he gazed beyond his bed to see her clothes sprawled on the floor. A few seconds later, his ruby orbs too started to drift close. But a sudden knocking at his window caused him to grow wide-eyed. He looked all around his room, before settling upon the window close by.

Gazing at him, her teal eyes bent into displeasure, was a very voluptuous white-furred bat. Rouge tapped on his window, only stopping when she was sure she had his eyes. When their eyes met, she made a wagging gesture with her finger which said 'follow me'. Before Shadow could gesture back, the bat crawled up the side of his home. The Starman couldn't help but to growl, as he snaked his way out of his lover's arms. After putting on his shoes and gloves, he slid up the window, and climbed out onto the balcony outside. Peering up the side of her building, he saw Rouge gazing back. She once again made a wagging gesture, then hid onto the roof. Once again, the Starman growled, before following.

"What now, Rouge?" he inquired as he leaped onto his home's roof.

She glared at him, her teal eyes bent in massive dissonance. Shadow wasn't sure if she were annoyed with him, angry with him, or piteous of him, but he didn't care. He was angry that she invaded his home in the middle of the night, and ruined his chance at rest. But, it was obvious to him that Rouge simply cared not. She was here for a reason, and he knew it.

"So what?" she inquired, "Just couldn't wait, huh? Just couldn't wait to consummate your reunion?"

It was such a venomous tongue, as if she was extremely unhappy with his choice.

"Why does it matter?" he inquired as he crossed his arms.

"Shadow, are you dense?" she stepped forward, "She did something to you, Shadow. In the middle of the street, when you were locking lips," she glanced down to his naked wrist, "And you dropped to your knees in pain, did you not?"

"So what if I did?" he asked as he broke eye contact, "Does it really matter?"

"She's killing you, Shadow!" Rouge yelled, "Even I saw that! I don't know how or with what, but she did it," she gripped the bridge of her nose, groaned, then looked back with a weakened frame, "Shadow... Who is she? Why are you blinded by this... love? Are you in love with this girl? Who is she, and what are you neglecting to tell me?"

He shook his head.

"It doesn't concern you." he murmured.

"It concerns me when you are dying, Shadow," she shook her head, "You may not drop dead suddenly, but you will lose your strength. You know it, Shadow... I know it..."

He glared at her through the corner of his eye, but it did little to break her will.

"Shadow," she continued, "Tell me... who is Tikal...?"

"The Time Jet..." he whispered lowly, so low only Rouge's bat ears could pick them up, "Those three minutes when I was gone, I went back in time. I met Tikal. I spent a month four thousand years ago, and Tikal took care of me..." he started to walk back for the balcony, "That's all you need to know."

"Fine then... be that way..." Rouge stated as she realized how fruitless it was to continue this conversation, "But this isn't over yet, Shadow the hedgehog. Not until you see it my way!"

Her wings flapped, brushing up the wind around them. The next second, she took off like a rocket, heading toward Night Babylon. Shadow shook his head, as he gazed up to his friend's fleeting image. He didn't want to admit it, but she was right. He could feel it in his body. Opening and closing his hand, he felt the energy he held within seep away from his body. But it was just off occurrence because he lacked an Inhibitor Ring. Once he got a new one, everything would go back to normal. Tikal would go back to normal.

"Well now, Starman..." a voice called from behind, making Shadow grow wide-eyed, "That's not how you treat your friends..."

He turned around, seeing a cloaked figure take the spot Rouge once stood in. Shadow's eyes squinted deep, as he found golden optics gaze back from under the hood. In his life, the hedgehog had only seen one being with eyes like that.

"Finitevus..." he murmured, making his rage known.

His hand started to cackle with lightning, which made the overzealous doctor step back, whilst removing his hood.

"Oh, no, no, no!" Finitevus stated, "I'm not here for a fight, Starman, just a friendly conversation."

"You're last words?" Shadow commented instead, "So be it, say them quickly so I can go back to bed."

"Oh please Starman, calm yourself," Finitevus said with a smile, "That attack you're charging is barely strong enough to kill a human. If it were to hit me, it would do nothing..." the doctor chuckled, "But, I assume, your weak nature is caused by your constantly leaking energy," he gazed back up, "And the Emerald you are currently sleeping with."

"What are you talking about?" Shadow inquired, his hand still cupping his energy.

"I'm talking about the being you have come to call Tikal." Shadow quickly intensified his attack at the sound of her name, making Finitevus step back to give the hedgehog some space, "Now, now. Calm down, I'm just stating the facts."

"Finitevus..." the dark hedgehog snarled.

"She is not who you suspect, Starman," he replied with a smile, "You of all people should have realized it by now. Or are you so blinded by..." the echidna grew angry and spat, "Love, that you neglect to see the troubles ailing you..."

Shadow's eyes grew into a squint, and he ceased charging his energy attack. The sight of it made Finitevus smile.

"Let me make this quick," the Doctor stated as he moved closer, "Tikal is not Tikal; she is merely a vessel created by the Master Emerald. An eighth Chaos Emerald. She merely thinks she is Tikal. The real Tikal is no longer on this plane of existence, because you released her, Starman," he gazed down to the roof, "That being in your home this very instance, is nothing more than a rock given a body and mind. She is absorbing your Chaos Powers the longer you stay near her, Starman, and before long you will die," he looked back to the hedgehog, "You know this to be true, because she has been very forgetful of things, right? The Emerald is forgetful, because it didn't really know these things in the first place. She's not real, Starman. Just a rock..." the doctor smiled, "And I would love it if you gave her too me."

Shadow's eyes widened quickly. He jutted back, turned red, and fired a blast of energy. Finitevus wilted back, as a full powered Chaos Spear exploded in his face. The force of the blast threw the doctor away, but didn't do as much damage as the hedgehog would have enjoyed.

"Leave Finitevus!" Shadow yelled, "And never return! Or else I will destroy you!"

"Retain that heroic attitude," Finitevus answered, "It will ultimately be your down-fall..."

The albino echidna stretched his hands forward, causing the golden rings on his wrists to expand around him. Just as the first time, the warp rings whisked Finitevus away. Shadow stared to the sky for an extended period of time, his vision growing into a squint. The next time he saw that echidna, he was going to kill him. Turning back to the side of his house, he prepared to return to bed, and the slumbering echidna within.

He didn't know she wasn't sleeping anymore.

Maverick Talks!

Cause that's what I do. Well, so... yeah... let's talk...

The plot is thickening, is it not? I really wanted to get some feels between Shadow and Tikal in this story. Honestly, I think this is the one chapter that doesn't focus exclusively on her. It's more of a Shadow, maybe Knuckles even, chapter. But yea, stuff. I won't put my two cents in on the chapter, but I do enjoy it. I'm just going to sprout my usual trivia and stuff.

Anywhoozers, let me focus on Shadow's home. In a lot of my fanfics, I tend to change his place of residence. In some stories, he lives with Rouge, other's he lives at gun, one he lived in a nice apartment, and in another he lived in a castle populate by Black Arms. In this story, I reused a home he never had. Instead, this is yet another reference I've made to Maria Robotnik: Agent of GUN. You can't tell it, but his home here is supposed to be the GUN issued home Maria had in her story. A dead giveaway would be the wardrobe and the many books placed about. Maybe I'll give Shadow his own personal Jeeves.

Another thing is the books. I don't know why, but I see Shadow as someone who enjoys reading a lot. So, being the social shut-out he is, he instead finds solace in his friend Omega, and books. That's why he has both Omega and books in his home. Yes, Omega lives with Shadow, where else would he live?

And here's one last thing, Chaos. One thing I never understood about Sonic Battle, was Chaos. He appears randomly in the last story, and does nothing other than giving Emerl someone new to fight. And he's insanely strong. He kills you with, like, three punches. His normal combo kills you! Anyway, Chaos just pops up, does nothing, and continues to do nothing. I figured he just roams Angel Island by himself looking for something. What is he looking for? No one knows.

Well, that's enough for today. Gosh, I really miss Maria Robotnik: Agent of GUN. It wasn't a big story for me, but I enjoyed writing it immensely. Maybe it's because its so different.

Well, till next time.

Maverick Kay Prime