I seem to be getting into the habit of almost weekly updates... Sorry 'bout that. I'd update more often if my life were a bit less chaotic... Homework and whatnot. Still, weekly updates are fairly reasonable, in my opinion. (though I'm a bit excited for the next one, so it may be earlier....)
:D Up to forty-one reviews! Yay you, reviewers! You guys are amazing!
Haha.... Now, as for this chapter.... Well, as you'll note, I did indeed say in my intro to last chapter that it was a bit 'different'.... Well..... Haha. Guess you guys had better be prepared for a dramatic change, then! We're about to go from the haunted mind of Shadow the Hedgehog to a place quite a distance away....
I apologize ahead of time for the content of this chapter... XD Oh, who'm I kidding? I don't, really. This one's just kinda here for flow into the next part of the story. Personally, I find it quite entertaining, though. I hope you do, too!
Chapter Nine: Reach Out
Bzzzz.......
Bzzzz, bzzz......
Bzzzz.....bzzz, bzzzzz...... Bzzz, bzzz, bzzz....
"SHUT UP, CHARMY! CAN'T YOU SEE I'M BUSY?"
"Don't you mean 'BUZZY'? Hehe!" I giggled maniacally at the look at Vector's face. I sure stumped him! "Besides, Vector, listening to music doesn't count as 'busy', it counts as lazy! Lazy, lazy, lazy, lazy, lazy~!"
He lunged toward me, but I dodged him. Vector's just too slow for me! He growled, "Hold still, and stop that buzzing!" He tried to catch me again, and I ducked, speeding my way around him! Vector's just too slow! I giggled.... Then was caught by the arm.
Vector's too slow; Espio's not.
Disappointment. I struggled to get free, but Espio held me still. I whined, "Espio! Let me go! Lemme go, lemme go, lemme go, lemme~...."
"Calm yourself, Charmy." He let go of my arm then turned to glance at Vector. "The buzzing has stopped."
Vector sat back down at his desk, his voice a little less yell-y... Is that a word? Hehe, oh, well! "Yeah, well it better not start again, Charmy."
"But that wasn't me! I wasn't buzzing! Honest!" Really! I hadn't been. Bee's honor!
Vector yawned. "Sure, Charmy. It was probably just those little invisible, trouble-making bees that always are at fault for everything..."
"Or your phone...." Vector and I both looked at Espio, who was holding Vector's cell phone in his hand.
"Hey, where'd you find that, Espio? I've been looking for that thing all over the place." No, he hadn't... Vector just sat at the desk all day listening to music.... Vector opened one of the desk drawers and startled fumbling for a pen before looking back up at Espio. "Well, Espio? What's it say?"
Espio blinked, standing there as calm as ever. "It says 'Missed Call'."
My head turned back to Vector who snorted, "Check the message, Espio!"
Back to Espio, who kept a level stare and didn't move an inch. "There is no message, Vector."
Knock, knock, knock.... Huh? I looked at the door.
Vector raised his voice, "Whaddaya mean there's no message?!"
"Simply that there is no message."
Knock, knock, knock....
"OF COURSE THERE'S A MESSAGE, ESPIO!! YA JUST GOTTA OPEN THE PHONE AND KNOW WHERE TO LOOK FOR IT!"
"There is no message."
Ah, well. Guess neither of them were getting the door. I flew over to the old door, moving some stuff out of the way so it would open.
"DO I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING AROUND HERE?! GIVE ME THE PHONE, ESPIO!"
I swung open the door. "...Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?" I could hear Espio's calm answers and Vector's less-than-calm yells and demands behind me. Just in front of me stood a black hedgehog with red streaks in his hair... He looked familiar.... "What's your name?"
The hedgehog looked at me with that same look Vector gives me on days when I have too much candy... I believe Espio says it's called 'exapserated'? I dunno. He just sorta stared at me with that look for a minute, like he was waiting for me to....
"Hey, wait a second..." I looked down to see that he was carrying someone in his arms... Not just someone, either... He was bright red with dreads, and I was pretty sure I knew who he was, even if I couldn't remember the hedgehog.... Hey, wait a minute.... I grinned at the hedgehog. "You're name's Shadow the Hedgehog! I know you!"
I noticed that the yelling and talking from inside had stopped, and Vector and Espio were both looking toward the door, now. They were quiet. I wondered why. Shadow just looked at me with that same look. I looked back down at the red figure. "Um, why you carrying Knuckles around like that?" He just stared at me. "....It's.... kinda weird."
Vector jumped up from the desk, rushing over and clamping a hand over my mouth. He looked at Shadow with an almost worried look, "Come on in." Vector shut the door as Shadow walked in carrying Knuckles, who seemed to be sleeping.
I tried to yell, "Vector, let me go!", but it came out more like, "Meh....er.... eh....ee....oh...!"... He still hadn't taken his hand off of my mouth. Shadow was silent. He walked into the office, stopping near a wall, where he stood. I saw him glance down at Knuckles then look at Espio and Vector.
Espio seemed to be intently focused on Knuckles. I dunno. Guess he just couldn't believe that...
I think Vector and I were both on the same page. I saw him look from Shadow to Knuckles, back to Shadow, then to Espio, trying to see what he thought of the matter. Espio was just staring... I followed his gaze... It reached Knuckles' right hand, which Shadow had covered in his own. Vector and I exchanged a look, and he released me.
I had to break the silence, of course; it couldn't last forever... "Well.... This is weird...."
Vector scratched his head, looking awkward. "Uh... So... You're.... uh....." He paused, taking a deep breath, before seeming to regain his voice. ".....Uh, so.... How did this happen, exactly?" He was looking from Shadow's face to his hand, which hadn't moved from Knuckles'.
Shadow didn't notice the awkwardness, I guess. His voice was quiet, but, then again, I guess he wasn't really much of a talker, anyway. "I don't know entirely. It's difficult to explain. For some reason I felt that I should go out for a run, and that was when I found him."
Espio looked a bit concerned, and he moved his gaze from their hands to Shadow's face, his voice still ridiculously calm, "His wrist?"
I had no idea what Espio was talkin' about... Then again, I wasn't sure I wanted to know. Vector's face kinda mirrored my thoughts. Shadow didn't respond to Espio as far as I could tell, but he did speak again. "There's something that you should know..." I saw him glance at me, then he continued, "Maybe the bee should leave the room..."
Vector just kinda looked like a big mass of disbelief, and his voice was a bit off, "Uh, I don't think that will be necessary... I think we're all pretty clear on what's goin' on..."
Shadow looked a little surprised. "You are?"
Espio nodded solemnly. Wasn't sure why. Oh, well, guessed it was just because he was a solemn kinda guy.
I saw Shadow's arm relax, and his voice reverted back to it's usual tone. "I wasn't aware that it was that obvious."
I cleared my throat, feeling the need to speak since no one else was. Plus, I was kinda weirded out. "Wow. I just didn't know Knuckles rolled that way..."
Shadow froze instantly -- I don't think he was even breathing... I think I actually saw his eye begin to twitch...
Espio was staring at me. Oh no, not that 'exapserated' look again....
...W-o-w...... That seems to be the fitting word. Now, not sure, but I'm probably going to have to explain some stuff here, just to make sure everyone gets it. (Yeah, Charmy's mind can be a bit tough to figure out.)
Alright. Well... First off, of course, by 'exapserated', he's referring to the word 'exasperated'. (Charmy's shown several times that he's a very smart kid, and he actually does have some good vocabulary thanks, probably, to Espio, but it's a pretty big word for a kid, so I figured he'd be a little bit off on the word.)
Now... To the part that may need more explaining... Well, for those who didn't get it, Espio noticed Shadow's strange behavior involving Knuckles' "hand"... And, for those who caught it, that was indeed Knuckles' right hand, which, for those who were paying close attention earlier in the story, is, in fact, the hand that he had been cutting. When Shadow recommended that Charmy "leave the room", he was trying to be as considerate as Shadow can be, trying not to scar the kid for life. And, obviously, to Vector and Charmy... Well, the behavior looked a little... different....
Wow. Again. Haha. I find Charmy's mind quite amusing. It must be a fun place to be... Or should I say, "It must 'bee' a fun place to 'bee'"? Hahaha..... Oh, darn it, there I go again with puns....
Shadow's come to the Chaotix, with Knuckles, who is still passed out.... Will they be able to understand the situation and help? ...And, meanwhile.... Where is Rouge while all of this is happening?
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