Author's note: The Author has issued a Cheesiness Warning for the following chapter of The Evil. Well… let's just say that this was written while I thought Twilight was still a cool thing. DISCLAIMER: I HAVE NEVER BEEN INTO TWILIGHT. DISCLAIMER #2: THIS WAS WRITTEN IN 2012. I WAS 13. Agh… if you dare, read on.
"Zathia... Zathia,"
I awoke. I was looking up at the pretty blue face of Bella. I sat up, alerting her that I was alright. My eyes, almost involuntarily, started darting around, eager to take in this place that I was in.
It was a dark place. A little squinting and closer looking let me find out that the walls were made of brick. I looked down. So was the floor.
Looking at my closer surroundings, I found steel bars, and I was sitting on a steel floor.
"Great," I said. "We're in a cage. High above the ground, too."
"If only we could reach that control panel down there," said Bella. She pointed down. There was one with an array of red buttons. Just then, a sound broke the silence. Someone was coming. Each footstep echoed menacingly before my arch-enemy made himself appear.
"Hello, my ladies," said Dr. Eggman.
"Okay, let's get one thing straight," demanded Bella. "What do you want from us?"
Sure, his IQ may be 300, but he acted very stupid at this instant.
"Oh, you're bait so I can finally defeat that blue menace!" he accidentally confessed. His hand did collide with his forehead after he realized his mistake.
"And while I'm at it," I said. "What do you want with Shadow and Silver?" But Dr. Eggman walked away.
"Shadow and Silver are here?!" asked Bella. I was interrupted by yet another voice. It was the deep, somewhat hot voice of Shadow, and its volume made me excited. They were near, or at least Shadow was. He was trying Chaos Control.
"Pathetic hedgehog!" laughed the doctor.
"We have to get out of here!" squealed Bella.
So for about 3 minutes, I studied our prison. I tapped the bars and took a look at the spaces... the spaces! My face lit up. I looked down again. The height that we were suspended from didn't look fatal.
"Bella," I said. "If you want to get out of here, you'll have to jump." Her face did not show an ounce of agreement.
"It's not worth it, Zathia," argued Bella. She pointed at the 2 doors on the walls. They were just big blocks, obviously sealed to the ground.
"Well, even with that," I replied. "It is so worth it. We would have more room and I'm really interested in that control panel down there."
Bella thought for a minute... or five.
Finally, she said "Oh, alright, but you're going first. Hang from the side, actually."
I gave her a quizzical look before going through with it. That cage seriously was poorly designed because you could fit an Eggman between the bars.
Anyway, while I was hanging there, scared out of my mind, Bella somehow climbed onto my back. And somehow, she slid down until she was dangling from my feet, almost snapping my ankles. Then, she took a deep breath and let go. The neat thud of sneakers that I heard told me that she made it down safely.
And eventually, I did the same. I had the natural thought that I was going to die, until I simply felt the pain shoot up my legs as I made it down in one piece as well. I walked over to one of the doors and studied it. Nope, strength is not opening this door.
So the next thing I eyed and walked over to was the control panel. It was more confusing than it looked from the cage.
"Bella," I said. "Can someone be smart in some things but retarded in others?"
"Yeah," said Bella. "Why?"
"That's one way we can describe Eggman." And I had good reasoning to say that.
Every button was labeled.
For example, there was one button that said "Release Cage 1." I pressed that one, and the floor of our cage was soon hanging by its newly discovered hinges.
I became happy. If there is a Cage 1 and not just a Cage, there has to be a Cage 2.
And with further searching, I found it. The button that said "Release Cage 2." Almost immediately, I pressed it. And what I heard was exactly what I expected.
From behind the nearest concrete door, there was a thud. Actually, 2 thuds.
"What do you wanna do for now?" asked Bella. I listened for a little bit more. Silence. I couldn't answer that because the footsteps happened again, and Dr. Eggman was back. He was staring at us in awe and anger. I got the classic feeling of being a bad kid. It would have been the perfect moment for a bystander to say "Aww, busted!"
"You brats!" he shouted.
"I wonder if you still have the powers Wilfre gave you," Bella hurriedly whispered in my ear.
"Well, we're about to see!" I roared. I cast out my hand at Eggman, and that same burst of magic shot out and hit him straight on. I laughed in triumph as he fell to the ground, clutching his hip, screaming in pain.
"So?" said Eggman once his pain faded a bit. Then, just barely, he got up. "You are still trapped here. I shall still-"
At that moment, something startled me to near-death. Something completely shattered the concrete door on the opposite wall of the control panel. This hint will totally give it away: it was that blue blur. It zoomed all over (or he did) and eventually zoomed right into Dr. Eggman, who flew up to the ceiling, crashed through it, and rocketed into the sky, eventually flying out of sight and creating a quick twinkle in the sky.
"You can thank me later," said Sonic. "I'll be taking Bella home, then I'll come back for you, alright?"
"Mmkay," I replied. I already knew what I had to do. Sonic sped off, giving Bella a high-speed piggyback ride, and I walked back over to the control panel. My eyes carefully surveyed this array of buttons, and it took about 3 searches for me to find the button I was looking for. The button that was labeled "Open Door 1." I pressed it, and the door that Sonic hadn't destroyed opened like an automatic door at the store, only it went up instead of going to the side.
I peeked my head in the entryway.
There, standing in different places in that room, were the 2 hedgehogs that had managed to capture the hearts of me and my niece. The one named after a natural darkening, and the one named after a metal and element on the periodic table.
Enough jabber. It was Shadow and Silver.
I quickly put myself back out of view. Whew, they didn't see me.
I looked out the door that was destroyed rather than activated, then decided that I should wait for Sonic. So I trudged over to a spot on the wall and sat down.
There came suddenly loud talking from the other room. I could easily identify their voices. Anyone else notice how different they are?
"Well, let's get the heck out of here!" snapped Shadow.
"Easy, Shadow," said Silver. "Being all angry is surely not going to help."
"Maybe it will," said Shadow. "Anyway, I'll pry that door open."
"Well," said Silver. "you know my primary ability is telekinesis! And besides, the door is somehow open anyway!"
Now I know Shadow was just saying things for the sake of being right. "Like I didn't notice that!" he said.
"YOU DIDN'T!" yelled Silver. "And calm down!"
And then a full-fledged argument broke out. I had no idea what they were saying because each one's voice contradicted the other's too swiftly. Now, I was a very sensitive fox, so the argument started to attack my feelings.
Quick motivational message here: Everyone can have some way to make themselves feel emotionally better.
My way of getting negative feelings out on a positive way is singing. The loud argument continued. At this point, I figured that their voices would drown out mine, so I mentally picked a song. When my voice and I felt ready, I sang. The song was "Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas.
From the very first lyric, I was in ecstasy. All my problems seemed to fade away while my voice was in use. When I would close my eyes, my mind and spirit provided the background music.
Even with this trance I was in, I could hear silence be created in the other room. Well, the damage is done. They heard me. So I kept on singing.
As the bliss was coursing through my veins, I heard footsteps. Faster and quieter than Eggman's, although I could tell that the sound was being created by 4 feet rather than 2. They will be here any second, I knew, but I was so indulged in the song that I frankly didn't care anymore. As I was getting to the final line, they appeared. Their faces were full of curiosity, eager to know who was singing.
The final word, a long note, had the last of my negative feelings flowing out my pores. Once it was all over, I simply stared ahead of me. Shadow and Silver looked around hopelessly until at last, Shadow's eyes met mine in the distance.
He walked over to me and knelt down so he was at my level.
"It's great that you're alright," he said. Silver heard him, walked over, and knelt down as well. His look kinda gave me the impression that he was the most relieved that I was alive.
"Great to see you guys, too," I nervously said.
"Don't deny it," said Shadow. "That was you. I know of the powers Wilfre gave you. You can harness the power of certain songs to do certain things. For example, the song you just sang. Look out at the forest."
I did. I didn't notice any change at first, but then I focused on details. I then noticed that there were more trees. The forest was noticeably denser.
"That song," said Shadow. "with your voice, restores fallen nature."
I smiled. So I was useful on this world.
"Zathia," said Silver, almost forced, it seemed.
"Yeah," I said.
"Uh," he replied. He started blushing really bad. "Y-Your voice is really beautiful."
I started blushing almost as much as him. "Thanks, Silver," I replied. "That's really n-nice of you to say."
"Okay, as soon as you two are finished exchanging mushy words," said Shadow, looking at this watch-like gizmo on his wrist. "we should get going. Sonic just informed me that he can't make it back here to get us."
"Why not?" asked Silver.
Shadow's face suddenly showed extreme rage.
"He could have been seriously injured by someone," said Shadow. "and this someone took my Bella."
"Ha! I knew it!" I bragged, actually succeeding in making the moment a little more humorous. At least, between Silver and I.
"Shadow," said Silver. "you've been making it way too obvious."
"WHATEVER!" Shadow boomed. That scared the living heck out of me.
"Let's go!" I said to break yet another tension. So we walked out.
"Sorry," said Shadow. "I gotta go ahead." He sped off. His speed could rival Sonic's.
What was happening? I call it a somewhat awkward moment. It was just me and Silver now, trying to locate the forest's exit. The sun was slowly creeping up from the depths below the horizon, and to my great surprise, I wasn't the least bit tired.
In an effort to sweep away some of the awkwardness, I spoke.
"So..." I said. "This whole situation is kinda weird, huh?"
"You can say that again," he replied.
"I've always dreamed of meeting you." I gasped and covered my mouth. That was not meant to slip out. I hoped he wouldn't take me as some crazed fangirl.
"You mean it?" he asked.
"Totally," I said, and not afraid to say it.
He blushed a bit and said "Thanks. You know, it's been a while since I've been complimented."
"I can't see why that is," I said. "You're very wonderful."
He didn't say anything after that. He just grinned and looked at the path ahead of him.
I felt this sudden urge to ask him about the Iblis Trigger. I literally had my mouth open, ready to ask it, but then I remembered that making him think about that would remind him of Blaze's disappearance. I did not want to depress him, so I shut my mouth again.
At last, there was a clearing. Up ahead was the red house that I had grown quite accustomed to by now. And there, sitting on a front step, angrily staring at a piece of paper, was Shadow.
"What's on the paper?" asked Silver.
"None of your business," said Shadow.
In an oddly sudden instant, they started arguing again. I took advantage of this moment, walked over, and snatched the paper from Shadow's hand. It read this.
"Shadow the Hedgehog, You may notice that your beloved Bella is gone. And gone is the correct way to describe her. And allow me to add one word to that: forever. She's mine now, and she shall be forever. Sincerely yours, Edward"
I gasped when I saw the signature. Now Twilight was involved, too?!
Shadow snatched the letter from me.
"Now you understand my problem," said Shadow. The next thing he did was the last thing I thought he would ever do.
He forcibly took my hand. Before he walked me away, I saw Silver flinch, then give Shadow an evil glare.
"Uh, Shadow," I said. "What are you doing?!"
"I need your assistance in gathering the first 6 Chaos Emeralds," he growled. "They are with Eggman at the moment, and I need them, plus the last one, to defeat Edward and get my girl back."
"I never realized that you love her so much," I said.
"She's the love of my life," Shadow confessed. "You see, we've been watching you since you were 9 and she was 4. Someone else takes a great interest in you, but I happen to be attracted to Bella. Ever since I lost Maria, I never thought I'd ever feel whole again. With Bella, I do. A special connection is present that makes me sure she is the one for me."
Even though I wasn't a Shadow fangirl, this was a lot to take in. My face also lit up a bit as I realized that except for losing someone, those were the exact words I could use to describe how I felt about Silver. I was glad I could be empathetic with Shadow about something. It was at that moment that we came across that familiar empty field.
"Shadow," I said. "I'm confused. I thought you needed a Chaos Emerald to use Chaos Control."
Still holding my hand, Shadow reached into the tuft of fur on his chest and pulled out one of the prized jewels of Mobius.
The yellow Chaos Emerald.
Defying the laws of anatomy, I know.
"So you've had it this whole time," I said dumbly.
"Yep," said Shadow. "CHAOS CONTROL!" Once again, hand in hand for only a second more, we were in the room that Bella and I had been stored in before Sonic rescued us.
