Bundle Of Joy On The Wrong Time: Chapter 9

Shadow's POV

"...Shadow Robotnik."

As my own name rolled of his traitorous tongue, my body was frozen in place and my eyes widened, my glass fell from my faltering grip and shattered on the floor with an ear deafening noise.

It was deathly silent in all of City Hall, everyone heard that glass shatter and so all of the attention turned towards me.

What just happened? Did Anton really had the guts to call me out as the culprit? In the middle of such a crowd of people no less.

No, don't tell me...

"Shad, I think it's time we run. Can you still use Chaos Control?" Sonic asked me quietly, his hold on my hand tightening. He did not want to let go.

He could see it too. He also knew that this was a trap.

Anton could've told this news to anyone, anywhere, anytime and he decided to do it right here. Every single one of these people present were trained military officials, each one has earned their high rank through effort and skill, many of which know Abraham personally.

They were all looking at me with barely hidden fire in their eyes.

This is bad. Very bad.

They believe him. They actually believe the lies that Anton just told them!

And I think I see from the corners of my eyes how the security guards on duty tonight were drawing their guns to apprehend me.

These last few endless moments of tension finally seemed to come to an end when Sonic caught sight of those guns and acted without thinking twice.

With lightning speed did he pick me up in his arms and simply ran for it, passing those guards and leaving the building before they could even realize we were gone.

For just a second my eyes met Rouge's and I could see that she was just as shocked by this turn of events. Even Knuckles seemed affected by it. For as gullible as the echidna could be sometimes, he had to know that I was not the real culprit.

I don't know where Sonic was taking us, but all I could do was hold on and try to comprehend what happened just now.

I had been framed, hadn't I? But how?

Anton told me Commander Tower had been poisoned, but how could he possibly think that I was really the one to do such a thing? Sure, I hadn't always worked by the book to achieve my goals, but how could anyone ever believe that would make me capable of murder?

And why would I want to kill him? Especially when I was so close to get that position? And when I'm two months pregnant? Why would I take such a risk? It just doesn't make sense.

Or maybe there was no evidence against me at all and Graven just took the opportunity to get me out of his way permanently?

He tried to get me disqualified via my pregnancy, fired me as soon as he got the position he desired, but would he really go that far when I had no intention or reason anymore to go after him?

I needed to know, needed to figure this out.

"Sonic!" Upon looking at the road ahead, a roadblock was trying to keep us from leaving the city. The cobalt hedgehog noticed and took a sharp right into some alleyway before they caught sight of us.

A little while further, I wanted to be let go.

"Shadow, hold up!" When I tried to struggle free, Sonic felt his heart skip a beat and quickly came to a halt somewhere out of sight and put me back on my feet.

With my two feet back on the ground, I walked away from him to look out into the near empty streets to look for any sign of G.U.N.

"So what's the plan now? Get out of the city? Go home? Ark?" Sonic asked as he tried to spot any military related tech too.

How long before the main headquarters are alerted and those droids are send on our asses? How long before soldiers will come after us?

I pushed myself away from the wall and walked further into the alley.

"Not the Ark or home. They'll check there first. Besides, I need to be here and find out the true story behind all of this. Only that way I make this right." I said and heard Sonic following me.

"Wait, what? No, you're not." That hedgehog made me stop by grabbing my arm and making me turn around to face him.

What was he talking about now?

"You're pregnant, you're not gonna waste your time on answers. You're gonna sit somewhere safe and think about the baby while Rouge and I try to figure out what happened. That guy was prepared, Shad!" Sonic strongly disagreed with my want to solve this myself.

I can't help but be happy that he's so protective of the baby and me, but I wasn't about to sit by and just let those two do all the work.

This was my problem, not theirs.

"Shadow!" Sonic called my name when I walked past him, trying to come up with a sound plan of attack.

"No, I can't just sit by and do nothing, Sonic. This is my problem and I will fix it." I halted for just a moment to look at him and tell him this.

I've never seen that hedgehog scowl before, but that was definitely the expression I saw appear on his face.

"No, you're not. You're gonna make this baby your first priority. When it's born, than Rouge and I will see if we can let you help. If we haven't taken care of it ourselves first." I don't think I've ever seen him this serious with such a frown plastered on his face.

"Sonic-"

"No, Shadow! You're gonna be a mom in a little less than seven months so act like one." He was being a bit cruel and hit below the belt, but he knew it had to be done. I needed the rough treatment once in a while.

I stayed quiet as I knew him to be right.

I'm a mother, my baby should be my first priority. I should stay safe and out of G.U.N's reach. If I were to get involved, the unborn growing in my body would get hurt for sure. I might even lose it.

As my mate stayed silent too, he must've known that he had gotten through to me.

"He was prepared for tonight. Catching me off guard in a room filled with trained military personnel, setting up roadblocks ahead of time because he apparently knew we'd run for it... You'll be careful, won't you?" I asked as I just had to know for sure before I'd let him go.

Damn these hormones, it's getting harder and harder to control myself. And I'm only two months far! I'm already being bulldozed by my own emotions, so what's it going to be like when I reach my ninth month?

Sonic was speechless for a good few moments. He almost did not know what to say as he wasn't used to seeing me like this.

"I promise I'll be careful. In the meantime, you gotta promise you'll look after my baby, 'kay?" He asked, stuffing a hand into a pocket. He hadn't really been dressed for the occasion either.

"Not a hand will be laid on them." I promised him back, relieved by the mutual agreement we had reached.

Now we could worry about what needed to happen next.

If I couldn't risk Chaos Controlling to work, than I sure as hell wasn't going to try traveling all the way up the Space Colony Ark. And should we use a shuttle like Sonic and team had used a couple of years back, than we'd draw G.U.N's attention for sure.

Going back to my apartment would be troublesome as they might await me there for capture, so that was a 'no go' too. And finally, they might come looking for me in any of the houses of the people I usually associated with. Rouge, Sonic, didn't matter who.

The odds were not in my favour.

So we figured I'd probably be wandering around all over the place for now. Pregnant and homeless. Obviously the best combination.

Still, I needed the bare essentials. Like clothes, money, food, and whatnot. Sonic could get them for me while I stayed hidden somewhere, but one of those things would prove to be a problem as I couldn't rely on my own money.

If Anton had realy thought this through, than I have no doubts about my card being blocked already. That meant I couldn't get to my money and I might have to rely on Sonic for that too.

So many problems, so little time.

I sighed as I pulled my knees closer, resting my head on my arms as I was still sitting in some alley, this time closer to my home. Sonic was already gone, sped off to my apartment with key in hand to get me a bag with some of the stuff that I might need and I waited for him here.

I haven't quite figured out where to go yet, but I better think of something soon because that hedgehog, considering his speed, could return at any given moment.

Deciding that it's been quite a while already, I moved onto my knees to look around the corner at the building that I've been calling home for the past year or so. I hoped to see a glimpse of that blue hedgehog leaving the complex.

But what I had not hoped for was to be grabbed from behind out of nowhere, my heart nearly leaping right out of my chest.

An arm wrapped around my middle to lift me up and take my feet off the ground, a hand covered my muzzle to keep me from crying out for help. Judging by the size, my captor must be human.

"We've got you, agent Shadow. Now please co-operate instead of making things even more difficult for you." It was a colleague, one who apparently believed that he didn't need to do much besides restrain me and try to calm me down with words.

But he was much too trusting. I was pregnant, so I wasn't about to let this man take me in for capture for something that I did not do. I would fight for aslong as I am able.

Puffing up my quills, I injured the man and struggled free, ending back down on my own two feet.

I turned to find the man burying his face in his hands and I slightly cringed at the wounds my spines must've brought him.

No matter, I had to get out of here, run towards my apartment, and see if I can find Sonic in my home.

Except, Sonic has the key and the front door to the building locks automatically from the inside.

I wanted to run and send a text message to Sonic that I was no longer safe, but as I moved to turn the corner and pulled my phone from my pocket, the man I believed to be incapacitated suddenly grabbed me from behind again and pulled me back into the alleyway.

This time he was much more careful as he held me up against his chest, an arm around my throat, and my quills away from his face. And he wasn't alone, there were two more.

I couldn't breath so I tried to struggle free, kicking and elbowing the man while the others approached.

I managed to get free and dodged the first punch thrown at me, following up by grabbing the human by the hair and slamming her face down into the nearby garbage bins before I turned my attention to the third one

He was the bulkier one of the three, but taking him down shouldn't be much more difficult than them.

I rushed forward and evaded a fist, ducking underneath it to get behind the human and jump up on his back. With my arm around his neck, I closed his airways to try and choke him. Not to death, of course. I just needed him out cold and out of my way.

But as the woman nursed her severely bleeding nose and the other still had trouble seeing straight with his blood covered face, reinforcements quickly arrived as they must've given away my location.

Just as the big man went down, I suddenly felt a stinging sensation on my lower back and pulled out what looked like a dart of some kind.

No, was I drugged?

I pulled it out, but already felt myself becoming woozy.

There was no one else that I could see, so I turned my gaze to the roofs up above and saw a soldier with a sniper-like gun gazing down on me. I couldn't see them very well.

As I lost strength in my body and fell down on my side, unable to even speak, a few other came out of hiding. Some tended to the wounded while the two remaining took a hold of me.

No, did I really just get caught? This easily?! Have I really just been defeated?

What'll happen to me? What about my baby?

Why does this need to happen now? I was about to be a parent and embrace a good, normal life raising my first child with the hedgehog that I loved. Why was I denied this life?

Why can nothing go my way for once?

"Shadow!"