Chapter Seven – Loyalties
Shadow was seriously full of himself. He always was after a Chaos Blast. He was on his way back to Tails' House. It was the last place he wanted to go, after the argument he'd had there, but he still needed Tails' two Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald. He was incredibly glad to get that dam Artificial Chaos bracelet off his wrist. It had been excruciatingly painful and the Chaos surges it caused, hadn't been fun. He rubbed his wrist as he trudged through the snow.
Sonic was hovering beside him. He'd lost his Blue tint, and his ball-of-light ability, and without the bracelet, he couldn't talk to Shadow in his thoughts either. He was incredibly annoyed, and had done nothing but have a go at him since they left the Base. Shadow had completely ignored him, his mind, very much elsewhere. His Chaos levels were incredibly low, Sonic's Chaos was only just keeping him going. This left Shadow with a problem. He smirked. Well, not for him, but for everyone else, maybe.
When his Chaos levels went this low, he would go extremely narcissistic, incredibly cruel and just didn't care anymore. But he'd decided he was going to fix the planet. He rather liked it, but to hell to anyone who tried to stop him. Shadow could feel his two fully loaded semi-automatic revolvers in his quills. He took them everywhere with him. As he smirk broadened, he had a feeling he'd be using them. He looked at the Blue Blur beside him, still having a go. Shadow sighed. He knew that Sonic would object, but as a ghost, how could he physically stop him? Shadow smirk broadened even further, quite simply, he couldn't.
Shadow just didn't care. Tails' House had appeared on the horizon and he had a job to do. He needed those Emeralds.
The blizzard was heavy as he approached Tails' House and saw several people outside the front door, wrapped in winter clothes, trying to pull a nearly dead Master Emerald out of a snow drift. They spotted him first, before he could make them out. Black on white is not the best camouflage. Someone spoke to him.
"You've got a lot of nerve showing up here." One of them spat, utterly displeased, straight at Shadow. He recognised the voice before the person. It was Rouge again. He could barely make her out underneath all those clothes.
But he didn't care, he wanted the Master Emerald. He pushed Rouge out of the way and went for the Master Emerald. Someone else spoke from behind him.
"Hedgehog!" He said, sternly. "The Master Emerald is mine." He growled. It was Knuckles. He'd been helping Rouge. Shadow hadn't recognised him under his winter attire either. But he'd had enough. Chaos Darkness filled his heart and flowed through his veins like liquid fire. His eyes glowed scarlet, as he gritted his teeth and growled. He had no intention of using any of his leftover precious Chaos here because he had other ideas. His mind hardened, his eyes glazed over as he pulled two fully loaded semi-automatic revolvers out of his quills, and aimed them both at Knuckles and Rouge. His killer instinct very much in charge.
"SHADOW!" Someone screamed, but he completely ignored them. He wanted that Master Emerald and if he had to kill to get it, then so be it. He was a professional assassin, an expert killing, with a licence to kill, and very much wasn't afraid to use it.
Sonic panicked. He'd had seen that look on the might Black Hedgehog's face before. Usually just before he killed. He knew from experience, that snapping Shadow out of his killer instinct was almost impossible. but not completely. It usually ended with him firing those dam guns of him. If Sonic could talk to Shadow, he had a chance. But Rouge and Knuckles were both extremely frightened, neither of them had ever had Shadow pull a gun on them before. They had both heard stories, but had never actually witnessed it.
Sonic screamed at Shadow again, but got nothing. He even moved between the guns and his friends and desperately tried to create a distracted, but no. Shadow was a slave to the killer instinct now, nothing could break it. He looked at Rouge and Knuckles, they couldn't hear him either. He was desperate. He had to think of something. Then he remembered.
The bracelet!
Shadow wasn't wearing it anymore. It had shattered. That meant that Sonic couldn't be seen or heard by anyone anymore. Sonic panicked, he was completely helpless. He was a ghost, and nothing more. He was going to watch Shadow kill his friends and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He didn't blame the Black Hedgehog. Shadow was this dangerous and this was the incredible risk he took having him as an ally. Tears ran down his face as he felt all hope was lost. But then, as he watch the tense standoff, he noticed that both Knuckles and Rouge were still wearing something that gave him a chance. Their own Artificial Chaos bracelets!
He was a ghost, time to exploit that fact.
If he dived into the bracelet, could Knuckles and Rouge hear him in their thoughts just like Shadow had? Right there and then, he had to try. He went for Rouge. Better to get her out first. He found her bracelet and dived into the beautiful large red gem. Once inside he felt a huge amount of fear. Sonic was surprised. As one of Shadow's closet friend, had she not seen him kill before. If the circumstance had never came up, then possibly not, no. But Sonic had, and knew what to do. He spoke to Rouge as calmly as he could. Her life now depended on it. But he didn't want to startle her.
'Rouge.' He said, as softly as he could, but the Bat still jumped. She had heard him. It had worked. But Sonic had to calm her down and fast. Shadow would pull the trigger at any sudden movements. He quickly spoke, explaining the situation.
'Rouge.' He said. 'Don't be afraid. It's me. Sonic. Yes. I'm still here. I'm inside your Artificial Chaos bracelet. From in here, I can hear your thoughts and vice versa...' He said but got cut across. Rouge sounded incredibly scared.
'He's going to kill me!' She cried. It hadn't taken her long to figure out how to answer back, but Sonic gritted his teeth and took charge.
'No, he won't.' He spat. Sonic felt Rouge falter, she didn't believe him, but he continued. 'But you have to do exactly as I say.' He asked.
He felt the Bat gulp, and then relax. She was agreeing with him. Sonic was relived.
'You have to surrender to Shadow, you have no choice.' He said. 'Hold your hands, making sure he can see the white of your palms and very, very slowly, start walking backwards.' He added. Rouge frowned, she was confused. It seemed a bizarre thing to ask. Sonic answered her.
'Shadow is running on pure instinct. His killer instinct. If, however, he perceives you as no longer a threat, he will rapidly loose interest in you. Leaving you free to escape.' He explained. The ghost felt Rouge's heart lift with excitement, but Sonic quickly intervened.
'Remember.' He added. 'Very calmly and very slowly, no sudden movements.' He asked.
With Sonic's encouragement, Rouge very slowly backed off from Shadow. The black hedgehog watched her, very carefully. But eventually, exactly as Sonic's had predicted, he lost interest. All his attention now on Knuckles. The Echidna was not happy about this.
Free from Shadow's gaze, Rouge successfully escaped. The Bat was panting and was both relieved and surprised at Sonic for this.
'Thank you.' She said, in her thoughts. But then frowned. 'But how did you know?' She asked. Sonic smiled.
'Years of hanging out with the guy.' He grinned. 'This hasn't been the first time I've stopped him from killing.' He added. 'Look, get to safety. I'm going back to get Knucklehead!' He panted. Rouge turned and made her way towards Tails' House.
'Good Luck.' She calls in her thoughts, and Sonic leaves her bracelet and flies through the air, leaving a pure while ectoplasmic trail behind him as he flew towards Knuckles.
The standoff between the Echidna and Shadow was now incredibly tense. Sonic couldn't foresee this ending well. Shadow now had both guns pointed at Knuckles. Sonic moved between them, but was unable to be seen by either. (Shadow could see him, but ignored him.) He searched out Knuckle's green gem bracelet and dived straight into it.
'Knucklehead!' He almost shouted. The Echidna eyes widened as he heard Sonic's voice in his head. Knuckles was incredibly stubborn, so the softly-softly approach was not going to work here. Sonic had to be very...well, blunt!
'Yes, I'm still here. Inside the bracelet, inside your head.' He said, very quickly. He gritted his teeth. 'Knucklehead.' He said again. 'Back down!' He spat. Sonic felt the Echidna clinched his fists. He too answered back with ease.
'No!' He said simply. Sonic swore to himself, he had to get the Echidna to back down, Shadow would kill him otherwise. He didn't have much time, the black hedgehog was loosing his patients. Sonic began to panic.
'Look at him.' Sonic said. 'He will kill you, if you don't give him what he wants.' He stammers. Knuckles spits.
'He's not having the Master Emerald.' He hissed. 'And if it costs me my life then so be it.' He added. 'He doesn't even know how to wield it.' He shrugged. Sonic screams in utter frustration. When it came to stubbornness, they were as bad as each other. But Knuckles was right about the Master Emerald. Only he knew how to wield it. But still he had to try and persuade him.
'Knuckles, he needs it to save the world. He's already got five Chaos Emeralds, but even with all seven, it won't be enough Chaos without the Master Emerald.' He pleaded. It was the original plan after all. But that didn't seem to matter anymore.
Knuckles listened to him carefully, but he just didn't believe him. He was surprised that they had five Chaos Emeralds already, but it didn't change anything. The Echidna gritted his teeth.
'Why should I believe you?' He asks. 'You've been siding with that Black Hedgehog ever since this whole thing started.' He hissed. This silenced Sonic. He was shocked. He'd never meant to abandon his friends, or give the impression that he had. He cried. As the tears ran down his pearly white face, he decide to hell with everything.
'I'm sorry, Knuckles.' He cried. 'I didn't mean to force you to question my loyalty like that. It's still here, with you guys, you and Tails. Always has been, always will be. It's just that without Shadow, I'm nothing. I rely on Shadow for my very existence, I don't have a choice. No, I don't know how it happened.' He sighed, shrugging. 'So, I thought, considering I was stuck with him, I'd guide down a path for the better. When he says he needs the Master Emerald to save the world. Please believe him. It's the absolute truth. I've been inside his thoughts, seen the calculations for myself. It's the only chance we've got. If we miss the Chaos Surge, Mobius is lost. Chaos will eventually dwindle and all life will perish. It's all we're got.' He added. Knuckles shifted, as he listened to Sonic. He confession had made him uncomfortable. He growled.
'But I still don't trust him.' He spat. Sonic sighed.
'Then don't.' He said, simply. 'In fact.' He added. 'You would be a fool to trust him. But I know Shadow. Remember, he's not going to be alone with this, I will be with him, and you trust me, don't you?' He asked. There was a long silence until Knuckles finally answered. He sighed.
'Sonic.' He said. 'I known you for a great many years, and to question my loyalties and trust of you, is, quite frankly, insulting.' He thought. 'But how well do you know Shadow?' He asks, but before Sonic could answer, Knuckles cut in first.
'Look, I'll do you a deal. Get him off me and I'll give you the Master Emerald. Not him, you.' He spat. 'And Tails' two Chaos Emeralds. I agree that this is only chance to save Mobius, but can you prove that you can control him.' He hissed. Sonic raised an eyebrow. He didn't exactly control Shadow, no one could. But could he still guide him? Could he still talk to him? Sonic had to try, but there was a problem.
'I can talk him down, but your going to have to speak my words for me. He's not listening to me as a ghost. He's not wearing an Artificial Chaos bracelet anymore, either, which means I can't access at his thoughts.' He said.
Knuckles shuddered. Who would want to access that killer's thoughts? But why would he take the bracelet off? He asked Sonic. He smiled.
'He didn't. He blew it to bits!' He grinned. Knuckles rolled his eyes, he wasn't very surprised at that, at all. Suddenly, he saw Shadow shift, growling loudly, cocking his guns. Time was almost up. Knuckles panicked.
'Ok, fine.' He stammered. 'Do what you need to do. Tell me what to say. Just talk him down.' He spat. Sonic agreed, but it was a very strange situation, to hear his own thoughts being spoken by someone else. It felt incredibly bizarre, but Sonic had to shake it off, he had a job to do. Shadow was a matter of seconds away from shooting Knuckles and he now had to use the Echidna's voice to talk him down.
But then he had an idea. It was a utterly crazy idea.
"Shadow!" Knuckles spoke, for the first time since the standoff started. It was incredibly loud and clear. "You don't want to do this. Do you honest think that killing the Echidna will achieve anything here. It would just a waste of bullets, don't you think!" He paused and grinned. "Whats the matter, Shads, cat got your tongue!" Sonic did have a lot of resistance from Knuckles in saying that last part. But he thought it might get the Black Hedgehog's attention if it wasn't 'Knuckles' talking. To make him think that the Echidna had been processed by the ghost. Knuckles took some persuading but Sonic knew that Shadow could be extremely curious in anything new or different. He very much wanted to play on that fact.
It worked.
Shadow frowned, absolutely stunned. He was completely confused. He was looking at an Echidna but hearing the words of a...Hedgehog. Again, it was the word, Shads, that got to him. It snapped him out of his killer trance and left him staring at Knuckles. He lowered his revolvers.
Sonic giggled, and Knuckles was seriously impressed. Sonic really did know that Black Hedgehog. They both agreed. Time to have some fun with him, but it would take some serious cooperation between them to pull it off. How good were Knuckles' acting skills?
"What the matter, Shads?" He said. "Do you not like my new outfit?" He grinned. Shadow was blown away by what he was seeing. Completely distracted away from killing Knuckles, he put his revolvers away, and walked up to the Echidna. He swore very loudly.
"Procession!" He spat, unable to quite believe it. "Bloody procession." He panted and then growled at Knuckles. "How long?" He hissed, very coldly. Sonic completely panicked. Shadow very much wanted to know how long he'd be able to do this. But technically, he wasn't. He was working with Knuckles. He was struggling, but it was Knuckles who came up with an answer first. He went very care-free. It was a very good impression of the Blue Blur.
"For a while." He spat. "Besides." He paused. "Since when do I tell you...everything!" He giggled, really emphasising that last word, just like Sonic would. It was very good. The ghost was seriously giggling, and Knuckles was having a hard time from cracking up himself.
But Shadow was believing them. He was completely convinced that Sonic had taken total possession of Knuckles. He walked up to the Echidna, almost touching nose to nose. He was angry that Sonic hadn't told him.
"Your a right piece of work." He hissed. Knuckles rolled his eyes.
"Look who's talking." He spat back. Shadow growled at him, but then smirked.
"Now that you've got hold of the Echidna, the Master Emerald is mine." He leered.
This annoyed Knuckles greatly, but he couldn't break away just yet. Sonic took the lead, he knew what to say.
"Not so fast." He said, with Knuckle's voice. "I've been talking to Knucklehead." He said, the Echidna pointing to his head. "This isn't a forced possession, you know. He says that you can have the Master Emerald and Tail's two Chaos Emeralds under two conditions." He spat.
Wait a second. Sonic said one condition, not two!
Shadow growls at Knuckles.
"What?" He hissed, extremely cold. Knuckles took a deep breath and stood his ground. Shadow didn't scare him anymore.
"One." He said. "Is that you don't kill anyone, and two." He then smirked. "Is that I'm coming with you." He exclaimed.
What!
Sonic went mad at Knuckles from inside his bracelet as the Echidna proceeded to break the pretend 'procession'. He growled at Shadow.
"You need me." He said, completely ignoring Sonic. "If you take the Master Emerald, it won't work. Only I can wield it. I have heard about the Chaos Surge before. As Sonic explained, I agree, there is a good chance it might work." He sighed. The Black Hedgehog was stunned. One minute Knuckles is processed, the next he's not. What was going on? Knuckles turned away from Shadow to dig the Master Emerald out of the snow again. Then he stopped and thought.
"You know." He sighed. "There was no need to loose you temper over this with us. When you first came up with the idea, we didn't believe you that it would work, and with your reputation, how could we trust you? Since then, we have learned that there is more at stake here then just us and as for you, you are not alone. There is someone with you, we can trust. He's the reason why we've agreed to this." He added pointed to his bracelet. "Though I wasn't impressed when you Chaos Blasted Silver and Blaze." He huffed, but he then rolled his eyes. "Yes, the peacock and the pyromaniac will be alright." He grinned. Yes, the Echidna did have a sense of humour. "Sliver's psychokinesis just about saved them both from serious harm, but you got the four Chaos Emeralds, so you succeeded, I guess." He sighed again.
Shadow was completely taken aback by that, and watched Sonic leave Knuckles' bracelet and hover, pearly white next to him. Knuckles couldn't see him, but knew the he was there. He whirled round on Shadow, who was still stunned.
"Next time." He spat. "You ask us to trust you, don't loose your temper when we say no. Walk away, and give us time. Prove to us, that your worth it." He sighed. "You are dangerous. We have to protect ourselves. You have just tried to kill me and Rouge, and I've lost count the number of times, Sonic told me, you've pulled a gun on him. Shooting first and asking questions later, doesn't work around here. If you want to help us, then help us. If you don't, then leave, just don't drag everyone else along for the ride." He growled at Shadow. He then indicating towards the house. "Tails' has been working on your teleporter to the Ark, expanding it to take more then just you. It should be ready now to take the Master Emerald, the seven Chaos Emeralds, you, me and Mr. Ectoplasm to the Ark." He spat. Sonic giggled, and Shadow raises an eyebrow, smirking slightly. Knuckles had had enough, especially with Hedgehogs. They could be irritating as hell. He shouted at them.
"And don't mess this up!" He huffed.
They were now incredibly short on time. Less then twenty-four hours.
Sonic and Shadow looked at each other.
That was them told!
