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So I switched to 'Leave out all the Rest' by Linkin Park from a really weird Japanese song, but it's not quite up-beat enough... XD But whatever, it works, just a little I guess -_-
Chapter Eleven
Shadow the Hedgehog and Maria Robotnik ran down a corridor, their footfalls echoing loudly. Maria was gasping for breath as she ran alongside Shadow, trying to keep up with him. Shadow, on the other hand, was slowing his pace to let Maria be able to run beside him.
"I can't keep going," Maria cried out, her eyes filled with panic. "Go without me, Shadow! I'll be fine."
"I'm not leaving you behind!" Shadow barked and grabbed onto Maria's wrist, continuing to run.
A gunshot sounded from behind them and a nearby light exploded. As glass showered around them, the two turned as saw a G.U.N. officer just a little bit past the doorway of the glass corridor. He reloaded his gun and shot again.
Beside Shadow, Maria pulled her hand away from him, crying out in pain. She pressed her hand against her left shoulder and squeezed her eyes shut.
"Maria!" Shadow hollered. Blood trickled out from between Maria's fingers, staining her blue dress crimson.
Shadow started towards the man.
"Stop! Shadow, please don't hurt him!" Maria begged. Shadow stopped, halfway between Maria and the G.U.N officer.
Shadow turned towards Maria. "He shot you," He growled. "We've done nothing!"
Maria opened her eyes, tears collecting in them. "And we should keep it that way!"
The G.U.N officer backed away in fear of Shadow, his eyes widening behind the visor. Shadow sighed and ran back to Maria. As he reached her, he heard the officer cry out in pain. Shadow turned and watched Shine the Hedgehog step over the now-unconscious officer.
"Looks like you two need a hand." She said walking up to them.
Maria's hand tightened over her wound as Shadow growled "You were supposed to meet us Docking Bay."
Shine shrugged. "I had a couple of things to do, first. Besides," She glanced at Maria "It seems like you need my help."
"No one asked you for help!" Shadow snarled. He grabbed onto Maria's hand and ran down to the corridor, ignoring Shine's grunt of surprise.
"Shadow, just go with Shine!" Maria gasped for breath. "You can still get off the colony!"
Violently shaking his head, Shadow growled "I'm not leaving you behind, Maria."
"Why? You can still make it, Shadow. I..." Maria trailed off. Then she huffed "Why are you saving me, Shadow?"
Shadow kept his eyes forward as he ran along, dragging Maria with him. "Because, that's what you do when your friends are in danger. You help them." He murmured. "I won't leave you behind, Maria. I promise."
Maria watched him with glorious blue eyes. Then she looked away, pressing her hand harder against her bullet wound. Tears dripped off her chin, mingling with the blood that trailed down her arm.
Shine suddenly appeared beside them. Shadow narrowed his eyes. "I thought I told you to go on without us, and meet us at the Docking Bay."
Shine didn't look at them as she ran. "Yeah. I think it would be safer if I came with you. You can't fight everyone, Shadow." She glanced at him.
Shadow grounded his teeth together angrily, but continued on anyways.
As each window pane passed, Shadow could feel Maria slowing down. She's losing a lot of blood, Shadow thought to himself. He looked at Maria. She was getting more and more pale by the second, struggling to catch her breath. Shadow sighed. He had hardly broken a sweat.
He ran behind Maria and swept her up off the ground. Now with Maria safe in his arms, Shadow ran faster down the corridor. Shine sped along beside him, both their shoes streaking the floor tiles with fiery marks.
Suddenly, all the lights switched off. Shadow and Shine stopped. "What's going on?" Maria gasped.
"ATTENTION ALL UNITS! THE SUBJECTS ARE IN SECTOR FIVE, CORRIDOR TWO! REPEAT, THE SUBJECTS ARE IN SECTOR FIVE, CORRIDOR TWO! ALL UNITS ARE ORDERED TO DROP THEIR POST AND CAPTURE THE SUBJECTS, DEAD OR ALIVE!" A voice boomed over the loud-speakers. Red lights blinked on, and a huge siren cried.
"We don't have time to get to the Docking Bay!" Shine shouted over the the noise. "We'll have to use an escape pod and hope we get where we want!"
Shadow looked at Shine. Her white stripes and her eyes were tainted red from the lights. He realized she had a black coat on. He was in too much of a panic earlier to notice.
Loud crashes from behind them made Maria scream in fear. G.U.N. robots had crashed through the wall at the end of the corridor.
"Let's go!" Shine hollered, running at full speed down the corridor, Shadow right behind her, still holding Maria.
They were close to the other doors of the corridor now. Just a little bit further from there, and they'd be able to get at one of the many rooms filled with escape pods.
The panicked trio skidded to a stop as a huge, two-legged fighter 'bot burst through the walls. Just as Shadow was about to set Maria down so he could fight, Shine thrust her left hand in front of him. She didn't look at them. "You guys keep going. This time I will meet you there. I'll deal with this party-crasher."
Maria was about to say something, but Shadow kept going. He couldn't afford to lose time - Or Maria.
Undeterred by Shine, Shadow ducked underneath the 'bot and leaped through the huge hole it made.
"Shadow, you have to help her!" Maria begged loudly over the sirens.
"No, I need to get us to the escape pods. Shine is on her own, for now." Shadow hollered back. Now he was in the actual colony hallways, speeding quickly towards the one of the rooms that have escape pods in them.
He finally reached it. He set Maria down gently and turned towards the escape pods. There were about twenty of them.
"We need to go, right now, when we have the chance." Shadow growled.
Maria shook her head. "What about Shine? What if the G.U.N. men lock all the doors?"
"There's a room of escape pods in each sector." Shadow reminded her. "If she's actually as fast as me, she'll be able to make it to one of them in time."
Maria sunk to her knees. Shadow watched her for a moment, itching to get off the A.R.K., but he was only going to leave if Maria did.
"Shadow," Maria said quietly, just barely audible over the loud sirens. Her tear-stained face was etched with the red light. "Promise me that when you get to the Earth, you'll help the people there." She looked up at Shadow. "Promise me that you'll help them, and protect them when you get there. The Professor says there's a lot of bad people down there, but I don't believe him. I believe there's only bad choices." Tears welled up in her eyes again. "Please, Shadow."
Shadow watched her, his own eyes stinging with tears. His eyes and voice softened. "I promise, Maria." He whispered. Suddenly his eyes narrowed. "Don't act like you'll never make it there." He growled. "You can't give up right when we're winning."
"But they already have Gerald! How will we survive down on Earth without him to look after us?" Maria cried out in exhaustion and defeat.
"It doesn't matter! We can survive without him!" Shadow snapped. Just as he was about to continue talking, the doors to the room opened, silent because of the over-lapping sirens.
Shine walked in, covered with dust and oil. She grinned. "For my first real fight, that went pretty well."
Shadow pulled Maria to her feet. "Let's go! Now!"
Shine followed them towards the first three escape pods, when the doors opened again behind them.
"Stay where you are, or I'll shoot!" A man shouted authoritatively. Shine and Shadow both turned at the same time at looked at the man. The man's gun didn't even waver. "Stay still, you over-grown lab rats!"
Maria turned, too, and froze when she saw the gun was pointed at Shadow. Without saying a word, Maria shoved Shadow into a nearby pod, and closed it. Before Shine could react, Maria pushed her into the escape pod next to Shadow's. Maria locked both of them with a simple press of a button.
The man with the screamed at her "Get on your knees with your hands behind your head!"
Maria looked at him, then back at Shadow and Shine, who were shouting in the pods, slamming their fists against the tube's glass. Maria blinked away tears.
"I said 'Get on your knees, put your hands behind your head'!" The man repeated.
"I'm sorry," She whispered to the man.
"Maria!" Shadow screamed as the girl pulled a lever. Shadow's pod dropped, but not before he watched the man's gun fire, and three bullets tore into Maria's chest, her blood spraying Shadow's pod's glass.
Shadow and Shine fell away from the Space Colony A.R.K. in the escape pods. Shadow saw the colony's red-tainted windows, and the man who shot Maria standing in the room with the remaining escape pods.
The two hedgehogs drifted silently towards Earth, Shadow staring aimlessly out the blood sprayed glass into the oblivion of space.
"Maria..." Shadow whispered, sliding to his knees.