Secluded
10
The Throne of Shadow
Trudging through the woods in a hurry when you don't want to be there is never a pleasant experience. Branches whip at your face, unnoticed thorns cut or prick you, and seemingly insignificant rooms can trip you up, masking the journey far less pleasant. This "unpleasantness" was practically magnified for Knuckles as he did this, because the knowledge of what was happening was wearing him down, and his girlfriend wouldn't stop pestering him.
"Knuckles, would you just tell me what's going on?! Why do we have to go back?" she asked while being practically dragged along the floor of the jungle by Knuckles, his hand tightly wrapped around her own.
"Because, there's no way someone wouldn't have come looking for us by now, we have to go back to the campsite. Something may be seriously wrong."
"What? What's wrong?"
A pause.
"I'm not sure…"
…….
"Sonic?!"
"What the hell's going on?!"
As soon as the pair arrived at the campsite, they were met with a wall of flames. Being engulfed by these flames was the body of Sonic.
"Damn!" yelled Knuckles as he raced towards the inferno, bent on retriving the body of Sonic, dead or alive.
"Knuckles wait!" yelled rouge, horribly afraid of seeing knuckles become charcoal.
Too late. The last she saw of him was his red body disappearing into the flames as he charged towards his unresponsive friend.
FWOOOM. That was the sound that was made when his body was engulfed. Rouge was determined to follow, but the extreme heat of the flames prevented her from going any further. Flames, leaping and dancing, engulfing the campsite and possibly the one she loved was no easy sight to bear. Sickening pops and cracks echoed in her large ears as small bits of flame jumped out and landed on her tender, soft skin, causing minor burns. Rouge, however, could care less, for her mind was only focused on Knuckles.
At least a minute went by with no sign of her lover. She fell to her knees and tears began to cascade down her face, leaving trains of unmarred, clean skin in their path. She muttered something in a drunken blubber and planted her forearms in the dirt, grabbing handfuls of the ground, causing dirt and who knows what to sink under her fingernails. She cursed just about everything she could think of, until she reached the name "Shadow".
"Shadow…" she thought. He was the one who probably started this fire.
As she reached this realization, the fire exploded with crimson and blue. Knuckles, with the motionless form of Sonic draped over his shoulders in a fireman's carry, emerged from the inferno, and burned with blackened skin, coughing because of the noxious fumes.
Rouge's thoughts of loss and hatred disbanded for a minute as she embraced the charred Knuckles, screaming his name with relief and joy.
"Stupid batgirl, you thought I wouldn't make it out of there? I've been through worse."
"Shut up Knucklehead, don't ever do something so reckless again, or I'll kill you." She replied smiling, tears from before still cleaning her dirtied face.
Knuckles smiled at rouge and then placed Sonics motionless body on the ground, intent ion saving his life, if he still possessed it. As soon as the pair got a good look at him, it was obvious what caused him to enter near death. Sonic was thin. Very thin. His stomach had receded a good 7 inches, causing the skin to flop beside him. You could easily count his ribs, and see facial features and bones that were not visible before.
"Sonic…you dumbass" mumbled Knuckles in a concerned manor.
"He needs food, and a lot of it. Do we have any?" asked Rouge.
"I'm not sure, but- hey, where are Tails and Amy? Weren't they here with Sonic too?"
"I'm pretty sure that I know what happened to them" declared Rouge.
Knuckle turned to her.
"Shadow."
……..
On the other side of the island, an elevated portion exists not to far from the valley that was untenured by the group previously. The cascading tides had carved out almost a cave of smooth granite. If one wanted too, it would provide an ideal shelter for sleeping, or concealment, or in this case, a base for execution.
"What happened to tails hand, I wonder?" asked Espio, running his hands along the stone used by Amy to assault Tails.
"Shut up you sick freak! He's hurt! Instead of asking what happened to him, you should help him! And what about Sonic? You left him in that inferno to die, you bastards!" yelled Amy. In the corner of this cave, she was bound with her hands behind her back by a think grapevine.
"Quiet" commanded vector as he pushed her onto the ground with the sole of his shoe.
"ugh…" mumbled Amy, as her teeth made contact with the granite, chipping one of them and causing her gums to bleed furiously.
At the feet of Espio lay Tails, barely conscious and clutching his destroyed hand.
"No need" came a voice from the back of the cave.
Amy turned to see Shadow sitting on a makeshift throne composed of logs and stone (probably gathered from the cave, the wood driftwood). He was slumped to one side, resting his head on the top of his hand, king entertained by the agony of his peers.
"I like seeing him squirm."
"Shadow! Shadow what happened to you? What happened to that dark, yet peaceful hedgehog that-"
"Quiet."
That shut Amy up. Shadow didn't even have to raise his voice, yet his very presence and malicious tone flooded Amy with a fear that made her cease any sound.
"I have no desire to continue playing with any of you. This has changed me for the better. It made me realize how I can be a monarch among the powerless" said Shadow, in the same tone that quieted Amy.
"What?"
"You see, I plan to accomplish something I never could before. You see these two?" he said, motioning to Espio and Vector, "they listen to me, they do not question me. I like that; but I want more. That's why I am going to get rid of you and tails, so you won't stop me. When help does arrive, I plan to put my plan for domination into action. Sonic would have had you help him stop me, but he took care of that ordeal himself. All I have to do is get rid of you, and I'm in the clear."
"You sick…"
"Sick? Who's sick? Haven't you ever desired power? I know I have. I have the power to obtain it, but you people have hindered me for too long. All I have to do is get rid of you…you and Knuckles and Rouge."
Amy stared at him as if he had slapped her.
"Rouge? You plan to kill Rouge?! Your best friend? The one who is always by your side? The one-"
Shadows face suddenly contorted into sheer rage.
"Shut up cunt!! I HATE it when people oppose me in that manor! Learn your place worm!"
Amy was stunned. Not only was Shadow using far more explicit words than normal, he was bent on killing the one who cared about him the most.
She was ready to offer a rebuttal, but feared shadow would snap again, and have her or tails hurt more.
"Fuck. Now I'm in a bad mood. I remember when this girl used to make me feel like something, but now she's just a form of opposition. Vector…"
"Yes?"
"…Just kill her."
Amy's heart skipped a beat.
"Yes sir."
'Am I going to die?' she thought as vector approached her, with his eyes glazed over in a mindless manor.
'I'm going to die! I'm going to die!'
WHAM
Vector flew across the cavern and smacked his head against the wall of the cave, knocking him out. Knuckles stood in the spot that Victor had one, and it was clear that he had punched him with a great deal of force.
"Damn, I was right…" muttered Knuckles to himself.
"Knuckles!"
"Knuckles…" growled Shadow.
"Knuckles, where is Sonic?" asked Amy, her tone desperate. No doubt she was eager to know the whereabouts of the one she felt such strong affection for, despite her crazed attempt to kill him.
As if on cue, Rouge trudged into the room with Sonic slumped over her shoulder. Something was dribbling from his half-open mouth, so one could assume it was lasting affects of rouges attempt to force feed him. He seemed to slip in an out of consciousness, but was aware enough to mutter a: "Amy?"
Amy breathed a sigh of relief, but this was short lived. Espio began to approach Rouge, intent on disabling her ands Sonic further, just to please his "master".
"Espio, stop!" commanded the booming voice of Shadow, who still had not moved an inch from his throne, as if he was amused by the chaos unfolding in the cave.
He then turned his attention to Rouge and began to speak.
"Rouge, if you haven't guessed, I'm disbanding from our group. I seek greater heights. This "survival situation" has made me realize my potential to rule, and-"
"Shadow, shut up."
Shadow's eyes widened in response to Rouge's comment.
"What did you…?"
"Shadow…I can't believe you would do something like this. You were my best friend. I let you stay at my house; I shared my problems with you, I even told you about my crush on Knuckles, but now this? I…can't believe it to be true…Shadow…"
Rouge looked sincerely saddened by shadows violent reformation. She couldn't seem to exactly grasp the concept of having her best friend become some kind of Charles Manson and try to bring about horrible things. Through all that they've been through, he still wants to remain evil.
There was a pause. All that could be heard was the heavy breathing of the fading sonic, and the beads of sweat dropping to the smooth, granite floor.
Shadow final broke the silence.
"Rouge, you're absolutely right. You are my best friend. You were the only one I was considering to spare out of this pathetic bunch; but now I see you're just like them…soft, unopened to suggestion. Not able to grasp what someone can accomplish. Don't you see? I've been awakened and reborn. Reborn someone who is willing to change humanity for the better, and rule it with an iron fist!" he shouted, finally rising from his makeshift throne.
"Now…I want the pleasure of killing you myself!"
"Wha-?"
"All the time you were "caring" for me, you talked to me about your problems. One of those problems was your relationship with Knuckles. I HATED hearing about that! Day after day…it made me almost dislike you. Now I really have a good reason to hurt you."
"Shut up fool!" yelled Knuckles, not wanting to hear foul words said about the woman he loved.
"Fool? Hah! Who's the real fool Knuckles?! Not me! You! You, you lumbering buffoon!"
"What?!"
"Argh!" yelled Shadow, as he reared backwards and clutched his forehead with both hands. You! You drive me insane! Dead! I want you dead!"
"You've lost it!"
"Have I? Have I, Knuckles the echidna?"
"Yes, you and Espio. Not one of you is sound in the mind."
While Knuckles and Shadow continued their verbal battle, Sonic motioned towards Rouge.
"What is it Sonic?"
"Th-there…" he mumbled, pointing in a crevice above the throne of Shadow.
He began to whisper something that only rouge would be able to hear, and then slipped off.
Meanwhile, Shadow and Knuckles continued to argue, until Knuckles temper soared above a controllable rate. He punched Shadows with all of his might and sent him tumbling backwards until he stopped himself with his forearm.
"So that is how it has to be, huh?" he said, wiping blood from his face with the back of his hand.
They began to duke it out, punches and kicks were received on both ends, over and over. Small drops of blood began to rain onto the floor, making the fight look all the more horrible. Eventually, Shadow gained the upper hand. He bent low and sent a well placed palm thrust into Knuckles face, breaking his elongated nose.
'AAArrgh!" he yelled in agony, clutching his face.
"Hahahahaha! See? No one can oppose me1 had I had an emerald, you would be dead for sure!" laughed Shadow.
Knuckles was about to get back up and continue the brawl, but out of the corner of his eye he caught something that shocked him.
"Sonic…" he mumbled, blood pouring from his face, 'I didn't think you'd actually do it…"
"What's that? What did you..?"
Shadow never got to finish his sentence; for his was cut short by a boulder that came tumbling down from the crevice Sonic had spotted earlier. A crevice that he climbed up to and pushed the boulder from, causing hit to land on Shadows legs.
A sickening crack echoed throughout the cavern and Shadows screams enveloped them all.
"ARRGHHHH!"
Rouge's expression when from concerned to shocked in a nanosecond. Sonic fell from the crevice, exhausted, before he was able to crash onto the floor, Amy rushed over and placed herself under him, so he landed safely on top of her.
"oof!" she grunted as her worn out body bared the weight of Sonics body.
On the other side of the room, Knuckles chuckled to himself, somehow able to block out Shadows screams and focus on the scene that unfolded in front of him.
'Heheh…Amy…looks like you got to finally pay Sonic back for tall the times he saved you…stupid…hedge…"
Knuckles never completed his thought, for he was suddenly enveloped in a white light, and lost consciousness.
……
Knuckles awoke in a white room, surrounded by nurses and his peers. Sunlight poured into an open window, spreading it's warms across his aching body. He was confused and disorientated, and for a minute assumed he was in heaven. He later realized the nurses wandering the room, monitoring the others conditions, and knew he was at a hospital. He turned to his left and saw Rouge's sleeping form next to him, on a bed, wrapped in sheets identical to his own. He smiled and realized that somehow, they had been saved. In that last moment of terror and agony, something had whisked him away to a place where he could recuperate and escape the nightmare that was the island.
Beside him was the sleeping form of Sonic, who was being comforted by Amy. It seems any anger shared by the two of them had disbanded, and their attraction towards each other was awakened; awakened like they all had from that horrible nightmare.
Tails was beside Sonic, flipping through TV channels with his undamaged had, and laying the injured one on his stomach.
"Amy?" Knuckles grumbled.
"Knuckles, good you're awake."
"How's Sonic?"
"Hmmm, better than before. He was deprived of water son long, he could have died. But he seems better now, now he's just tiered.
It seemed that Amy suffered no real physical damage from the incident, only mental, but if she was well enough to care for Sonic, there was no real reason to be that concerned.
"Knuckles, you're awake!" exclaimed tails once he noticed his red friend.
"Sup Tails" mumbled Knuckles.
"I'm glad you're up Knuckles, but you should have seen it. Rouge was at your bedside the entire time you were out. She was really concerned, she wouldn't let go of you when the helicopter came to get us."
"Yeah, looks like your rivalry is over" said Amy, beaming.
Knuckles chuckled to himself.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that. And…, hey, what happened to Shadow?"
Amy paused, and then began to speak.
"Shadow's healing his legs. They say he should recover much quicker than any of us, because of who he is, but as for his insanity, that will take a long time to mend itself."
Knuckles looked down at his hands and replied:
"Yeah…guess you're right…"
……..
Back on the island, the remains of the first helicopter crash were being gathered by its inhabitants. They were botanists, studying the plant life on the islands trench when the helicopter tumbled over the edge of the cliff.
"If they had only come down here, they could have been rescued sooner" one said to the other.
The other botanist paused and then replied:
"People fear the unknown."