Disclaimer- I don't own any Sonic the hedgehog characters. They all belong to SEGA.

Premonition

Chapter 11

Shadow sat stock-still on the tree branch, gripping the communication device in his hand so tightly that he felt the plastic giving some under his hold. The black hedgehog didn't pay that any mind; however, he was focused solely on the sound coming from the walkie. Rouge's frantic breaths were filling the air around him, but that was the wrong voice he wanted to hear. Amy's and Tails' line was still silent.

"Amy! Tails!" His partner's panicked calls were met with eerie silence. "I don't know Knuckles!" Her voice was muffled, like she was covering the device with her gloved hand to reduce the noise. "I think they crashed! Shadow," It was clear again. "what are we going to do?"

Shadow was back on the ground in a flash, briskly walking over to a sleeping Sonic while his brain formed an impromptu plan. "The Tornado had a Chaos Emerald in it, correct?" Rouge answered with a hasty 'yes'. "Tell Knuckles to use the Master Emerald to locate where they are so I can Chaos Control to them when I see the landscape." Before Rouge could answer, Shadow let go of the button, cutting the connection.

Now in front of the resting blue hero, the black hedgehog bent down swiftly, grabbed Sonic's upper arm, and roughly pulled him up. "Wake up, Faker. We have to go." Shadow watched impatiently as the speedster regained consciousness. When he deemed that the other wasn't going to be aware of anything for the next five minutes, the Ultimate Lifeform stuck the walkie-talkie into his quills before grabbing the red gem. He held it up in one hand, holding Sonic's slowly waking body in the other. "Chaos Control!"

A second later, both hedgehogs appeared on the floating island right by the shrine. Seeing that Sonic was still fighting the sandman, Shadow dropped his arm and watched as the blue hedgehog fell down to his butt, still more asleep than awake. Shadow glanced at him before zipping over to a very worried bat and concentrating echidna.

"It's still a little fuzzy…" Knuckles remarked while his violet eyes stared at the Master Emerald with upmost concentration. The Ultimate Lifeform shifted his gaze from the two other Mobians to the giant green gem in front of him, showing a hazy picture too murky and blurry to decipher. It didn't stay that long; however, the image started to become sharper until a crystal clear picture of a wide lake materialized on the green surface. Unnaturally rough waves were splashing against the edge. Satisfied with the image, the guardian nodded to Shadow. "That lake's not too far away from here. A hundred miles west. Hurry."

"And bring them back safe." Rouge added as the black hedgehog raised his emerald again, getting ready to transport. "Be careful too…" The agent let a small smirk grace her lips. "You still haven't repaid me yet for the-"

Shadow growled softly, not wanting her to finish her sentence because he didn't need curious ears hearing what she had to say. However, by the way Knuckles was knowingly grinning at him, the echidna already knew about his sweet secret. After sighing and focusing back on the task at hand, Shadow gripped the emerald tightly and shouted, "Chaos Control!"

In a blink, the Ultimate Lifeform was in another setting. Shadow glanced around and confirmed that he had arrived at the right lake. He glared up at the sky, seeing some lingering wisps of black smoke, before looking at the opposing shimmering water. Hoping that he wasn't too late, the black hedgehog secured the ruby emerald in his quills and ran up to the water's edge. He then jumped and dove into the blue water, pushing the fact that he might be retrieving two lifeless corpses to the back of his mind.

Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! I-I can't believe it! WE'RE GOING DOWN! What even happened?! Did a lone bird hit the propellers that I didn't see? Or is it some error that I didn't notice while I was fixing the plane? I'll worry about all of that later because right now…HOUSTON, WE HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM!

Those were Tails' frantic thoughts as the Tornado spiraled down toward the ground in a straight nose dive, its two occupants screaming their lungs out. Black smoke coming from the jammed propellers was rising up quickly, making the two pairs of eyes water from the irritant. Soon, Tails and Amy started couching as the foreign substance entered their bodies, invading their lungs. The kit brought one of his flailing arms down to cover his nose and mouth as tears flowed up from his ducts, partly because of the smoke and partly because of the seemingly helpless situation they were in. They were freefalling right into a large lake, if the glimpses of the body of water getting closer through the thick smoke were any indication.

And it was getting closer fast.

What are we going to do…? Our belts are stuck! W-We can't get out! Are we – we going to really die…? Tails squinted his sapphire eyes and coughed harshly into his yellow arm, the sound of a barely restrained sob being mixed into the cough. More tears streamed away of the fox's face until he gritted his teeth in determination. N-No! This can't be the e-end! Would Sonic give up right now? No he wouldn't! He would find a way out of any situation, no matter how bleak the outcome! After using his other arm to wipe away some of the wetness, blue eyes narrowed against the onslaught of rushing winds and obtrusive smog and searched feverishly under the cockpit for a specific compartment.

Once he found what he was looking for, Tails opened the storage compartment filled with miscellaneous items and started to rummage around for the pocket knife he had always kept in here for emergencies. Sonic had been worried about him keeping it – which was ridiculous in itself because Tails had more explosive and dangerous weapons in the plane – but he was glad that he didn't take it out.

Shuffling through the random stuff, Tails called back to Amy, "I'm going to get us outta here!" but it didn't seem like she had heard him over her own screams of terror. Tails didn't try again to get her attention as he searched for the important blade, coughing occasionally. Despite how the spinning world should make the fox dizzy and disoriented, he finally sighted the sharp metal that hadn't miraculously flew out of the compartment like some of the other objects. Relieved, Tails reached for the knife…

…right as they hit the water.

The initial shock and roughness of the impact nearly pushed all of the oxygen from his lungs, but he instinctively held his breath as the blue-tinted liquid very quickly covered his head, the plane dragging them down away from the surface. Reopening his eyes after closing them upon crashing, Tails looked up at the retreating surface, keeping his lips locked. Heart racing faster than he could ever run, the submerged kit glanced behind him to find Amy unconscious. Sapphire orbs widened drastically at the sight. Oh no! Amy's out! She must've hit her head on the back of her seat! Keeping the strong urge to panic at bay, Tails turned back around and noticed with a sinking heart that the knife wasn't in the compartment anymore. The two-tailed fox swiveled his head around, vaguely noting the increasing water pressure, hoping with all of his might that he'll find the crucial blade.

Tails eventually found it when he glanced down, following the unexpected trail of an unknown red substance that began to impede his vision. Furrowing his brow, the kit followed the trail to the origin of the substance to find the knife that he was going to use to save him and Amy lodged in his thigh, right above his knee. Blood was quickly seeping out of the serious wound.

Now that the adrenaline from the crash had run out and that he was seeing his wound, Tails could feel the searing pain coming from his right leg. Swallowing the gasp itching to escape his mouth, the fox moved his gloved hand through the water and hovered it over the handle of the pocket knife. When he gripped it, a whimper resonated in his throat at the jolt of unbearable pain that went through his body. I-I have to do this if either of us are going to live…Three…Two…One…Now!

Tails swiftly yanked the blade out of his leg, ripping the tender skin and muscles there even more. The kit screamed, unable to hold it in. It was just too much. Groups of bubbles along with thick blood rose up to the surface, the products of a fox's agonizing pain.

Tails, just as quickly as when he pulled out the sharp metal, snapped his mouth closed and started to cut his belt. He tried not to get distracted by the faint-worthy gaping wound that was generous in giving away its fluids, but he couldn't get it completely out of his mind. He had never felt this type of excruciating pain before. It took up his whole thought processes that he could barely cut the felt with his shaking hands.

No one could see the tears leaking out of his eyes.

And it was even worse that his chest was starting to burn…

With a final grunt, Tails tore the 'safety' belt away from him and got out of the plane's seat with celerity. He winced when any movement of his leg sent unwanted feelings through his sensitive and exposed nerves. His blood was still tainting the darker blue water surrounding him. Tails swam over to the still sinking Amy, every kick of his foot bringing incomparable pain, knife ready in his hand. Shaking small black spots out of his vision and ignoring the increasing pain his chest, Tails got to work on the unconscious pinkette's belt, his mind flat-out refusing to think of the alternative.

When she was freed, the intolerable lack of air was so strong that it took all of the kit's will not to take a deep breath that he knew would end his young life. The water pressed against his nose and mouth was mocking him, taunting him to let go, to give up. The malignant raillery told him that the surface was too far away, that a little fox like him with a wounded leg and someone to drag up to the top wouldn't make it. Tails ignored it even though his chest was shouting, yelling, screaming at him to listen to the water…to end the burning.

The fox just focused on grabbing Amy by her arm and yanking her out of her seat, away from the deathtrap that he had once called his pride and joy. He dropped the knife, letting it drift to who-knows-where. Tails started to kick his legs upwards, but the gash hindered his painful movements. Moving to plan b, the kit began to rotate his tails with some difficulty, maneuvering them through the water. Gaining enough momentum, Tails made his way through the heavy liquid, much too slowly for his psych.

The black spots in his vision were back and he couldn't shake them off this time. Connecting the dots, Tails knew that the extra energy in making his namesakes spin around was taking the necessary oxygen to contract the muscles in his already low supply, but it was either that or use his legs that were going to slow his progress and make the trip up to the surface even longer. It was a lose/lose situation for Tails right now.

He went with the first choice, hoping that he'll make it up to the surface of the cursed lake in time before…before…

Tails didn't want to think of the outcome if he didn't.

With his blue irises focused on the light overhead, the kit worked overtime as he felt the urge to breathe become almost impossible to hold back. The black spots were getting larger and larger until the kit had extreme tunnel vision, only trained on the exact point of the sun in the sky. Biting his bottom lip, Tails strained his body, pushing it to its limits. His namesakes started to slow, and that's when he knew that he couldn't go any further. He needed air…precious air…but there was none.

At this point, the rippling sun was about to fade out, joining the darkness around its edges. Tails reached out an arm, the other still holding firmly onto an unresponsive Amy, as if reaching the limb out would bring the surface separating him from life closer within his grasp. Chest about to burst, Tails closed his eyes and the water rushed in without hesitation, like it was waiting impatiently.

Tails!

Shadow kicked his feet twice as hard when he saw the kit a few yards below him close his eyes and go limp. Holding his breath, the black hedgehog swam downwards before grabbing the outstretched hand. He glanced past Tails and saw that Amy, out cold, was just about to drop. Shadow quickly grasped her arm with his other hand. Floating there in the water, the Ultimate Lifeform noticed that the kit was bleeding from his leg. Badly. Shadow frowned and focused on the red emerald still hidden in his ebony quills.

Chaos Control!

In a flash, the trio were now on dry land beside the blue waters. Shadow laid the two younger Mobians in the soft grass before hastily dropping to his knees. Pulling from his memory, the hedgehog placed both hands on Amy's chest, one on top of another, and pushed down in short pulses. Come on…come on… After ten seconds, he bent down and placed an ear on her chest, searching for a heartbeat and some movement. Growling under his breath when he couldn't find either, Shadow straightened back up before repeating the process. He was rewarded this time. She began to cough and spit out water, regaining her breath.

Satisfied that she was alright, Shadow turned around and was about to help Tails until Amy spoke, "What…W-What happened?" She rubbed the back of her head, winced, and wondered how she had hurt her head before the memories started to come back. The propellers braking…she and Tails going down…water…then nothing. More than a little confused, she focused on Shadow who had his back to her. "How…?"

The Ultimate Lifeform glanced back at her. "Don't think too much right now." He turned back around the placed his hands on Tails' chest. "You've been through a lot. Just rest for now." Shadow pushed on the kit's body, counting to ten in his head. He then laid his head against the other's chest, frowning when there were no movement. He repeated the process and thought that since Amy responded by this time, the fox would too.

That wasn't the case.

While Shadow was working faster and his hardest to revive Tails, Amy got up shakily and went around the black hedgehog to see what he was doing. She gasped when she saw Tails' prone form just lying on the ground, unmoving. Tears sprung to her eyes. "What's w-wrong with him?" Amy actually didn't want to know, fearing the worst, but her mouth spoke without her consent.

Shadow didn't answer at first, focused solely on trying to get the fox to breathe. After another ten second interval, he placed his ear against a still chest. Growling to himself, Shadow started up again. He spared Amy a quick glance. "You two weren't breathing under the water." Dammit, you can't go Tails… "I brought you back, but…" Faker would kill me…or at least try. "Tails isn't responding." And everyone else will miss you also. Ignoring Amy's whimper in the background, Shadow continued pumping. "Hell...come on."

"Maybe you should do mouth-to-mouth…"

Shadow paused briefly at Amy's suggestion before getting angry at himself for the moment of hesitation. He was trying to save a life; pride shouldn't get in the way of that.

The Ultimate Lifeform scooted up to Tails' face and racked his brain for the instructions on how perform the resuscitation. After a second, Shadow took off his gloves and put them on the now damp grass beside him. He then tilted the kit's head back slightly and used the other hand to put some upward pressure on the jaw, pulling it forward a bit. Shadow pinched Tails' nostrils together before placing his mouth over the fox's. He blew two quick breaths into the other, watching as the white-furred chest rose. Releasing the kit's nose, Shadow waited to see if he could feel any breath on his cheek.

Nothing.

Vaguely noticing Amy's increasing tears, Shadow hastily performed the procedure again.

Then for a third time.

Then for a fourth.

At this point, Amy was sobbing into her hands and Shadow was trying to calm down his own breathing. Clenching and unclenching his fists, the Ultimate Lifeform tried for a fifth time with barely noticeable trembling fingers. Nothing. Shadow sat back on his knees and ran a shaking hand down his face. He was too late. He could only save Amy. He was too late…

This was going to haunt him for a long time.

Sighing, he focused on the crying pinkette whose gloves covered her whole face. "I…" Shadow glanced back down to Tails. "I couldn't save-"

"No!" Amy shouted before pushing Shadow out of the way and dropping down to her knees as well. "He can't be dead!" The black hedgehog wasn't even angry that he was shoved. He just watched somewhat numbly as she pumped Tails' chest before performing mouth-to-mouth. "He can't!"

"Amy." Shadow called, witnessing as she frantically hovered over the fox's body. "He's gone…you can't-" He was then cut off by harsh sputtering and coughing. Surprised, he got beside Tails once more to see that the kit was turned to his side now, throwing up any and all water that was in his system. Even when there was no liquid left, Tails continued to dry heave. Amy's tears changed from ones of sorrow to ones of joy. Shadow helped the youngest Mobian up into a sitting position. Tails, in response, leaned over and laid his head on the raven's shoulder, gripping a black striped arm tightly.

"I-I-I thought I was dead…" Tails sobbed, some coughs being mixed in the shuddering breaths. We thought you were too, kid. Shadow thought as he, kind of awkwardly, patted the other's head. The kit loosened his shaking fingers before rubbing away his tears. He was somewhat embarrassed like Shadow was about what just happened. "Thanks for saving us, Shadow." Tails gave him a soft smile.

"Yeah! Thanks Shadow!" Amy chimed in, wiping away the wetness from her own face.

The hedgehog responded with a nod. "You two were in trouble. How could I turn a blind eye?" The two accepted that, knowing that those words were the closest they would get to a 'You're welcome'. Shadow then stood up, after putting on his gloves, and walked back towards the water that had caused them so much trouble today.

"What are you doing, Shadow?"

"To the plane." He answered Amy before turning to Tails. "The green Chaos emerald's still in the Tornado, right?"

The kit nodded. "Yeah, but why…" He then gasped. "No! Don't tell me you're going down there!"

"I am." Shadow took another step closer. "Don't worry about me. I know I can hold my breath long enough for me to get down there and grab the emerald. I'll use Chaos Control down there to return here." The water was splashing up against his seemingly waterproof hover shoes now. "When I get back up, we'll go to Angel Island can take a look at that nasty gash you have on your leg, Tails." With that, Shadow dove into the lake for a second time today.

Put at peace by Shadow's words, Amy glanced over to Tails' leg and inwardly flinched at how ugly it looked. Blood was dripping out of it and hedgehog could see that the gash ran deep. She saw some white among the red. Amy pointed to it. "That looks like it hurts a lot, can you move your leg at all?"

Tails frowned a bit. "I could in the water, but let's see…" The kit bent his leg some and hissed in pain before dropping back to the ground. "I can move it." He rubbed the back of his head. "But, as you can see, not that much."

Amy winced in sympathy. "Ouch…how'd it happen?"

"Well, I had a pocket knife in one of the compartments of the plane and I was getting it out when the plane hit the water. I guess it flew out upon impact and ended up in my leg." Tails shrugged. "I know it's bad, but it's better than still being under the water, you know?"

Amy nodded, wringing her hands together as she watched the rippling waters. "Yeah…good thing Shadow got to us when he did." She then stood up and held her hands together behind her back, rocking back and forth on her feet. "Speaking of Shadow…I wonder what Sonic's doing?"

Tails rolled his eyes. He knew that Amy was going to bring up Sonic somehow. She never failed to. However, he quickly sobered up, remembering what was said before their plane failed on them. The kit leaned back on his hands and looked up at her. "It's more like how he's doing." She glanced down at him with a raised brow. "I'm talking about what Shadow said about him, remember?"

Amy's face lit up when she recalled what the kit what talking about. "Right, about Sonic's voice still being messed up." She started to play with one of her bubblegum quills. "Why didn't the emerald heal him? It did last time!"

Tails' ears drooped. "I have no idea! The only reason I can come up with is that the visions are getting so bad that even the emeralds can't help. Or at least one anyway." He perked back up with renewed energy. "That's why we're collecting all of them, so that we can cure Sonic!"

Amy giggled. "Yeah! To Sonic getting better!" She high-fived the kit as soon as Shadow reappeared in front of them dripping wet with the green Chaos emerald. The pinkette clapped her hands together. "Good job, Shadow! Now we don't have to worry about that one anymore."

"Right, we don't." The Ultimate Lifeform shook off a bit before walking closer to the duo. "We're going back to Angel Island now to regroup and make up a new plan on how we're obtaining the emeralds. The Tornado isn't of use anymore, as you two can tell." The two younger Mobians nodded. "Okay, here we go. Chaos Control!" The trio was surrounded with a big ball of light before disappearing, taking its occupants with it.

A moment later, all three were positioned near the shrine where Rouge and Knuckles were waiting. Shadow didn't let anyone speak. "Rouge, can you get something to wrap Tails' leg?"

Said agent blinked at him before zeroing in on the sitting fox's leg, her teal eyes widening. "Oh, that's a big one." Rouge turned to Knuckles. "I know that you know the island and its plants inside out, so go get something to help with his leg." She jabbed her thumb over her shoulder to point at said appendage.

The guardian crossed his arms and gave her a flat gaze. "Will it kill you to say please?"

Rouge grinned before fluttering her eyelashes and using her best singsong voice, "Will you please get a plant to help with Tails' leg, Knuckie?"

The echidna scoffed, turning on his heel and making his way into the forest surrounding the shrine. They could hear his grumbling voice until he was well into the foliage. Tails, Amy, and Rouge chuckled at the red one's behavior before the latter asked, "Alright, tell me what happened." Figuring that the pinkette and kit would do a good enough job of explaining until Knuckles got back so they could discuss their future actions, Shadow glanced around the place for a specific hedgehog.

Rubies eventually found the blue hero where he had left him before, snoring on the ground in a curled up ball. Shadow contemplated on waking him up and informing him about just happened, but he figured that nothing short of chili dogs would wake the log up right now.

About five minutes later, Knuckles reentered the clearing with a large leaf and a small length of vine. He jogged up over to Tails and gently repositioned the leg so it would be easier to wrap the leaf around. "This is a plantain leaf." He wrapped the leaf around the kit's yellow leg tightly, but not enough to cut off circulation. "It prevents inflammation of cuts and things like that." The guardian then tied the thin vine around before knotting it to keep the leaf in place. He stood up brushed his hands together for show. "It'll keep the wound healthy enough until we get to regular health supplies."

"I think he's going to need stitches for that though." Amy suggested.

"Yeah, me too." Tails agreed. "I have some in that first-aid kit at home."

Knuckles rose a brow. "Man, what don't you have in that thing?"

"A better question is: you can operate on yourself?" Shadow asked, slightly skeptical to the boy's abilities.

Tails nervously snickered. "I've practiced with Sonic a bunch of times, so why not?"

Rouge grinned. "You are really something, kid."

"Can we get to the obvious problem now?" Everyone gave Shadow their attention, signifying a yes. "What's going to happen now since the plane is destroyed?"

"Well," Rouge tapped her chin. "I was thinking that you, Mr. 'fastest thing alive' over there – if he can – and I will continue looking for the emeralds while Amy, Tails, and Knuckles stayed here." The bat tossed the guardian her walkie. "Oh wait." She glanced over to Shadow. "Do you still have your device?" The Ultimate Lifeform reached into his quills and pulled out the clearly wet technology. He pressed the button, and surprisingly, it still worked. Rouge smiled. "Perfect."

"Wait, Rouge. Why can't I come?"

The agent grinned at Amy. "To keep Tails company of course! Because we all know how boring a certain guardian can be."

"Hey!"

The pinkette laughed, not trying to hide it in the slightest. "Alright."

Rouge clasped her hands together. "Okay! Now all we have to do is wake up Sleeping Beauty over there."

Knuckles chuckled evilly. "I've got an idea." He left the clearing again only to come back about two minutes later with an even bigger leaf than he brought before filled with water. "It's from the running spring not far from here." The evil smirk grew. "The water from there is freezing cold." Everyone in the group watched in amusement as Knuckles tip-toed with the large makeshift bucket until he was standing over the sleeping hedgehog. He chuckled to himself one last time before dumping all of the chilled contents right on Sonic's head.

"AAAAGGGGHHH!"