Me: Guess who's back!
Brightshadow: Sucky writer? *looks warily at Idalia's warhammer* Uh…..hehe….don't hurt me?
Me: *glares at Brightshadow, who runs off* Well….I'm sorry to say guys, but it's getting close to the end. There will probably only be one more chapter after this. The good news is, I'll be working on Phantom of Creekwood again. I might even start on making The Darkness Within into a full fic now. But anyways, away we go!
The Shredder stood in the shadows, watching the streets. His pet would be returning soon, and he was eager to see if his pet had managed what he was told. Noticing movement on one of the buildings, he watched as his pet leapt to the ground, a dark mass on his back. As his pet got closer, the sunlight struck it, and he heard an anguished howl. Watching with interest, a golden light shone around his pet, changing him. Now smaller, less furry, and a lighter blue, his pet walked towards him gracefully. It was easier to make out the unconscious form of one of those blasted turtles. The one thing he could make out about his pet that had not changed was his eyes. They were still the same, unnerving shade of crimson. This pleased him. It signified it was still under his control. Had the turtles managed to free him by destroying the collar and create a fake, the color of his pets' eyes would give the ruse away. He signaled for it to follow him, and it fell in step behind him. Sitting, he turned to his pet.
"Put the turtle down there, my pet."
The creature, which he now noticed resembled a hedgehog, put the turtle down and bowed.
"I know where the others reside, my Master."
Any shock the Shredder felt at hearing his pet talk did not show, as he leaned forward.
"Tell me of yourself, my pet. Who were you before you were mutated?"
"I have always been what I am, my Master. The cat, the fox kit, and I come from a different world. I was transported here by accident, and the others came to look for me."
"I see…how is it that you change forms when the sun rises and sets? Do the others have this ability as well?"
"No my Master, the others do not have this ability. It is a curse inflicted on me by an ancient creature. It is not able to be reproduced, nor is it transferable."
"My pet, tell me where the rest of the turtles reside. I want them eliminated before sunset tonight!"
Suddenly, a ragged looking Foot ninja burst into the room.
"We are under attack, Master Shredder! It is the turtles, the cat, the fox kit, a hedgehog and another unidentified mutant."
"They must be here to rescue the turtle and my pet. I will not allow this! My pet, deal with the intruding pests."
"Yeah, that isn't going to happen. I will NOT be controlled again."
At the cocky tone, the Shredder turned with a snarl. The hedgehog seemed to be removing colored contacts, and the collar came off with a snap. The turtle, previously thought to be unconscious, stood and looked at the hedgehog.
"This is your idea of a distraction Sonic?"
"Yep. Have a problem with it Raph?"
The turtle and the hedgehog returned each other's grins before the hedgehog grabbed the turtle and dashed out of the room at super speeds. The Shredder's angered shout was heard all throughout the base.
Elsewhere in the base
"Right, here's the plan. Two teams of four, split and search for the science rooms. The power source should be in there. According to Tails, it looks like a glowing orange ball. Tails, Shadow, April and Donatello, you guys go check the southern area. Blaze, Michelangelo, Knuckles, you're with me and we're checking the northern area. If anyone finds it, radio in and the other group will rendezvous with them. Now let's go!"
After watching the others disappear down a hallway, Leonardo signaled to the others with him, and headed the opposite way. After travelling for a time, they ran into a patrol of Foot ninjas. The four moved quickly, taking out most of them out in record time, but they were unable to stop one of them from escaping. Shaking his head, Knuckles spoke up.
"Looks like we're going to be having company soon. Hopefully Sonic gets the hint and gets here fast."
Leonardo sighed.
"Let's get moving. Blaze, I don't suppose you remember where Tails and you were trapped while he was making that collar?"
"No sorry."
The four froze when they heard shouting up ahead. Blaze grinned at some of the curses she heard. By the sounds of it, Sonic was nearby and making quick work of the Foot ninja after him. When Knuckles grinned at her, she knew that he could hear what was going on too.
"Looks like Sonic is having some fun without us, eh Knuckles? Can't let him have all the fun."
Michelangelo and Leonardo exchanged looks.
"What are you going on about Blaze, there's nothing here."
Knuckles shrugged.
"We must have better hearing than you guys. We can hear Sonic up ahead having a blast beating on a bunch of Foot ninja. What I suggest is moving to the sides of the hallway, quick. He's about to come shooting around that corner and run through whoever is in his way."
Leonardo nodded before signalling for them all to get on the wall. True to Knuckles word, a blue streak shot around the corner and halfway past them down the hallway before coming to a screeching halt, revealing Sonic and a shaken up looking Raphael. His face seemed pale, and without warning he ducked into a doorway nearby. When the sounds of retching reached them, the two turtles made faces, while Blaze and Knuckles exchanged amused glances with Sonic. The reunion was cut short when Blaze's communicator beeped. She opened it up to reveal a harried looking Tails.
"We've found the science wing, but we really need some help. There's a ton of them here!"
Suddenly the video feed cut out, and was replaced by the flashing word 'disconnected'. Sonic looked ready to murder someone, which scared Blaze. She'd never seen him this worked up before, and wasn't sure what to make of it. Judging by the look on the three turtles and Knuckles faces, neither had they. Blaze put a hand on Sonic's tense shoulder, and he visibly relaxed before giving Blaze a tender smile. None of them had noticed the sudden, but brief, darkening of Sonic's fur, until it was almost black. With one last glance at the silent communicator, everyone grabbed a hold of Sonic as he Chaos Controlled to the last place there had been a signal.
Ten minutes earlier
"So Tails, can you remember where Blaze and you were held while you made that collar?"
"Sorry Shadow, I'd need a landmark of some sort first, all these hallways look the same. Do you think Sonic's alright?"
Shadow sighed before he looked straight ahead.
"Look kid, the Faker can take care of himself; he wouldn't let some wannabe world ruler do him in."
"I'm just worried. He hasn't been himself since we came here, what if he's careless and gets hurt?"
Shadow muttered some choice words under his breath before he answered the fox kit quietly.
"You know as well as I do, better even, about the various things Sonic has gone up against and came out of it relatively unharmed. He's faced armies of robots and an insane robotic double. He's gone up against a creature from the very core of the planet. He's faced GODS and survived. He won't get done in by this guy kid. Now shut up and focus."
With that, the two sapients continued on silently, unaware of the expressions of the two with them. Had Tails turned to look at them, he would have seen a stunned looking April and a disbelieving Donatello. After a few minutes of silence, Tails suddenly started to run.
"I know where we are now, come on! We're close!"
Following closely, Shadow, Donatello and April had front row seats when Tails ran into the dog mutant that had escorted them out before. He reached down to grab Tails, but was knocked away by Shadow, who quickly engaged him in combat.
"Kid! Get the power source while we hold off ugly and his pals."
Nodding, Tails ran past Shadow and the others, then launched himself into the air and flew into the room. Looking around, he spotted it and grabbed it, then pulled out his communicator. Waiting impatiently, he felt like cheering when Blaze picked up. Tails could see the others in the background, including Sonic.
"We've found the science wing, but we really need some help. There's a ton of them here!"
Tails gasped when the communicator was knocked out of his grasp by one of the Foot. Reacting quickly, Tails knocked him backwards then flew out of his grasp. There was a flash, and then the Foot ninja found himself surrounded by Raphael, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Blaze, Knuckles and Sonic. Hearing him audibly gulp, Knuckles grinned.
"No getting away from us this time."
As if to save them all the effort of knocking him out, the Foot ninja collapsed in a boneless heap. The three turtles exchanged glances before bursting into laughter. Tails flew down and tackled a grinning Sonic, before hopping up.
"We've got to get to the others out there and help them! They were surrounded."
Sonic patted Tails' shoulder.
"You guys stay in here, and hold on to each other. I'll grab them quick then get us out of here."
Donatello whirled around when he heard April shriek, just in time to watch a blue blur head off with her. Donatello smiled, and then waited for Sonic to return for him and Shadow. He didn't have to wait long, as Sonic stopped in front of him and shouted.
"In here Shadow, time to go!"
With that, he picked up Donatello and sped off to the others. When they were joined by Shadow, an angry Shredder was just in time to see his problems disappear in a flash of light.
Me: I leave it here. *grins darkly* for those of you who caught it, that little moment earlier in the scene was a hint towards the future. Now…where'd that idiot death knight go? She forgot something earlier.
Brightshadow: *comes in looking ragged* Can't you get a new muse? This job is going to end up killing me again!
Me: Of course I can….NOT. We're the same person you idiot! I'm just the dominant half. NOW DO IT!
Brightshadow: *looking disgruntled* Idalia doesn't own TMNT or Sonic the Hedgehog and associated characters.
Me: On to review replies!
Girl of Darkness10: Thanks for the review! Hopefully not long until I get the last chapter out. Hope you enjoy!
Skipper917: It seems a lot of people are out to ruin Sonic's moments :) Just imagine how Amy is going to react when Sonic and co. get back home!
Crescental: Welcome to the dark side! Thanks for the review, and it will hopefully be not long for me to get the last chapter out.
hcsp1: I guess I can see where you're coming from. As far as I'm concerned though, the strongly hinted match between Sonic and Amy is just NOT right, so I stick with sonaze. Amy's just a fangirl after all.