Shadow: Part III

Shadow again woke up in a cell with a headache. When this is all over, I plan to never come down here again. This time, however, instead of three highly annoying people with him, there was only one. When Shadow awoke, Sonic was pacing in tight little circles. "Quit it, faker." Sonic stopped pacing and smiled at the Ultimate Lifeform. "G'morning, Shads! 'Course, it's more like noon, now. Who'd have thought you were an over-sleeper?"

The ebony hedgehog had never really liked the nickname, normally insisting that 'Shads' was not his name. Recently, however, he had stopped caring, and had even begun to enjoy it. When Shadow realized this, he was quite shocked, and it caused him to reevaluate his relationships. This led to even more shocking revelations, and he stopped instantly. Instead, Shadow gripped his throbbing head and stood, wobbling a bit when he did so. "I was tranquilized. You would 'over-sleep' too."

Sonic shrugged and continued pacing. Chaos. He is so…contradictory. ""Admit it. You like that about me." Shadow was taken aback, and he had to remind himself that Sonic couldn't read minds. "What?" the hero chuckled. "I know that you were probably thinking how I always go against what people say." Okay, so maybe he can read minds. ""Only yours, Shads." Shadow leaned up against the wall tiredly. "Cut it out, faker. You have no idea what I was thinking." Sonic plopped to the ground at sat cross-legged, looking dejectedly at the Ultimate Lifeform. "You're so mean." The only response was a simple 'hmph'.

Silence filled the room, soon becoming palpable enough to slice with a knife. The blue hedgehog was becoming restless, and Shadow knew that he had to say something to break the silence before Sonic exploded. "Faker, when we were back in the hall before they caught us, what were you going to say to me?" Shadow saw the blush rise to Sonic's cheeks, and he had to beat down the sudden, unknown emotion that rose into his being.

"Um… It's… It's not important." However, by the way the hero was blushing and fiddling nervously, his statement was anything but the truth. Shadow sighed heavily. "I hate it when people don't tell me things. Whether it is important or not, you are going to tell me before I beat it out of you." Sonic looked around the room, anywhere but the fiery eyes burning him with their gaze. "Well, I just… Can you promise that we'll still be friends if I tell you this?"

Shadow was shocked at even for a moment being considered the blue speedster's friend. "Perhaps you should tell this to Tails. I don't think that I am a…" Sonic looked panicked. "Yes! Shadow, you are a friend to me!" The black hedgehog felt the blood rush into his face and that same unknown emotion rising, this time a bit too strong to beat down. "Yes. I'll always be your friend…" What am I saying? I'm not his friend! What the hell are these damn feelings? "Shadow, I…like you. And not just like as a friend, I mean I really like you. I don't think I'm gay or anything like that, but I just… I can't stop thinking about you."

The Ultimate Lifeform was too shocked for words, but even if he did have something to say, he wouldn't have a time to say it in. "Oh, Chaos… Now you're gonna hate me more than you already do. This is gonna get out and the press is gonna write stories about it and Amy's gonna kill me and I'm gonna lose all my friends and nobody's gonna want some gay guy saving them from disasters and I'm gonna…" Shadow let his instinct take over, and was surprised at the result. He crouched down to the panicked hero and lifted his chin.

"Listen. I will always be here. Those insignificant humans can like it or I'll kill them. Same goes for your friends." Sonic was near tears and didn't seem convinced by Shadow's statements. Rather than let Sonic go off on another rant, the Ultimate Lifeform planted his lips firmly over the other's. He felt Sonic constrict and tense before calming and letting the kiss take its course, placing his gloved hands on the back of Shadow's head, skillfully avoiding his sharp quills. This was unexpected. Shadow pulled away and smirked to himself.

Sonic's face morphed from a look of happiness to a look of confusion before rounding back to happy confusion. "Shadow? What… Why?" Shadow shrugged and half-smiled. "I don't know, but why not?" The blue hero grinned. "Good point." They kissed again, this time more forceful and passionate, deepening with every passing moment. The ebony hedgehog's arm reached around Sonic's waist as…

"I really, really don't want to interrupt this, but if we stay here any longer, we are all gonna die. Sorry."

Knuckles: Part III

If it was even possible for Knuckles' week to get worse, it just did. After a nice, confusing show by the Master Emerald in bringing Tikal out, the red echidna had seen the death of Sonic, Tails, and countless others, made a failed rescue attempt, was shot in the neck with what had to be the strongest tranquilizer in the world, and was now sitting in a cell with a raging headache and a loud pink hedgehog. Yeah, these last few days had been just peachy.

Knuckles had been awake in the cell for at least an hour, and he had already heard everything that was good about Sonic, everything that was bad about Sonic, and everything Amy would do to the person that had stolen Sonic away from her, including killing, maiming, mutilating, and beating senseless. Frankly, Knuckles couldn't give a damn. All he had been doing the entire time was leaning against the wall, hoping that nobody was meddling with the Master Emerald.

"I mean, I love Sonic and everything, but sometimes he can be so mean. I can't believe that he would tell me that I'm not his girlfriend like that! It's all because of whoever that person is that thinks they can steal my Sonikku away from me. When I get my hands on that thief, I swear that I will…" Is it getting warm in here? "…senseless. Of course, I'll need to get Tails to make me a new hammer for that. Y'know, sometimes I think people don't…" It's definitely getting hot in here. "…attention to me. I think Sonic notices me, though, and one day he'll love me as…" It feels like an oven. "…love him. I don't know if I ever told you this, but this one time…" I don't think this is normal… "…sick, Sonic came over and helped me by…" Ow. It's starting to actually hurt… "…soup. Of course, my Sonikku isn't the best cook, but it was still sweet. I wish that he'd…" Oh, Chaos! My back!

Knuckles jumped away from the wall and suppressed a yelp. Looking back at the wall, he could see a faint red glow slowly dissipating. What the hell? Amy was completely oblivious to the odd occurrences, and just kept babbling on about how sweet her Sonic was, and how much she loved her Sonic, and how she sometimes just wanted to hit her Sonic over the head with a large hammer as Knuckles examined the heated stone that had nearly burned his back. Wait, that means that there's someone in that cell!

Knuckles walked over to Amy, interrupting her with a simple request to stand in front of the door and block the window with her head. She complied without a single break in her ramblings. By this point, she had gotten into telling a story about a surprise party that she had planned for Sonic this year, which was not surprising. She planned one every year, and Knuckles failed to see what would be so special about this one. I mean, 18 is just a number, right?

The echidna shook off his thoughts, hardly believing the fact that he had actually listened to Amy for a moment. Knuckles checked to make sure that the pink hedgehog had not moved before preparing himself for a punch. Here's hoping these cells are soundproofed. He punched the wall, cracking it in several places. Knuckles winced at the loud cracking thud that the punch had caused, expecting the guards to come rushing in at any moment, but was rewarded with only the steady droning squeak of Amy's rant. He punched once more, this time causing a large chunk to fall out the other side.

The echidna peered through the newly created hole to see Tails, accompanied by a certain purple cat. "Blaze?" It was now that Amy noticed the gap in the wall, running over to the hole and exclaiming something or other. "Amy, no! Don't move away from the…" But it was already too late. The door clicked open, and the guard sauntered in, at first unsure which prisoner to point his gun at. He settled with Knuckles.

"What do you think you're…" he noticed the hole. "Oh, Chaos. Leonard! Hurry in here!" Another guard came rushing in the open door with his gun in hand, instantly pointing it through the hole at the duo on the other side. Knuckles wasn't the best negotiator, (to be honest, he sucked), but he thought that he should make an attempt anyways. "Look, I'm sorry for breaking the…" Leonard interrupted. "Be quiet, prisoner." Then, to the other guard, "This should be fine for now, just make sure that no more walls are destroyed. If they try anything, kill them."

Knuckles peeked over at Blaze through the hole and noticed that she was hiding her hands behind her back in a very peculiar way… "I have something to…" "Be quiet, prisoner! You will speak when…" "Just let me say something!" Knuckles continued to speak once the guards' uncomfortable silence satisfied him. "Thank you. As I was saying, I think it would be wisest for one in this situation to kiss the concrete."

Tails immediately understood and fell to the floor. Amy, however, was not so receptive, so Knuckles pushed down on her head as he himself flopped onto the ground. The echidna shut his eyes and listened to the inferno that no doubt swirled above him, feeling the intense heat on his already lightly burned back. He heard the guards scream, and tried with all his might to block it out. The seconds that the fires burned felt like hours, and when the roaring sound and blistering heat ceased, Knuckles stood warily.

The charred bodies in the now blackened cell sent disgusted shivers down Knuckles' spine, and he had to block out the scent of burnt flesh as he hurriedly rushed out of the room, closing the door behind them as soon as the others were through. He gasped in the considerably cooler air. Amy instantly began running towards where she knew the exit was, but Tails pointed in the opposite direction. "Tikal told me that Sonic and Shadow were in this cell. We have to save them!"

Knuckles looked back towards where Amy had run, just in time to see the back of her scuffed boots disappear around the corner. Blaze rushed towards the cell that the hedgehogs were in, flashing a pair of ID cards as she did so. "I'll take care of them! Just get out of here fast!" Tails tried to run after the cat, but Knuckles grabbed one of his namesakes as he rushed away, causing a small yelp to spring out of the fox.

"No! Blaze has that covered! We need to follow Amy before she gets caught again! Getting out of here is more important!" Tails looked reluctant to heed the echidna's advice, but relaxed as he spotted Blaze and the two hedgehogs come rushing back towards them. Sonic had a noticeable blush on his cheeks.

A masculine scream was heard from around the corner, and all present turned their heads to look down the corridor. Blaze lightly shoved Knuckles to get him moving. "What are you guys still doing here? I told you to leave!" The echidna gave a quick nod and rushed around the corner, nearly tripping over the unconscious guards with darts sticking out of them laying in the hall, just across from an open cell door. He slowed down, and felt the others do the same behind him, warily watching for trouble.

Just as the group was about to turn the corner, Knuckles spotted a pink hedgehog slumped against the wall. Sonic ran to Amy, and her eyes flickered open for a moment. "My…nic… I…lo…ou…" The hero carefully slid his arms between her and the floor, one under her head, the other under her knees. He slowly picked her up and exchanged a nod with Knuckles. They turned the corner, only to be greeted with a shocking sight.

Splatters of crimson blood were sprayed across the walls, and a light flickered overhead, giving a feel of macabre to the whole picture. Guards were strewn on the floor in blood soaked uniforms. The security desk was dented in several places, a splash of red liquid usually accompanying each spot. A loud meaty thump was heard around the corner.