Hey guys, I'm finally back! Sorry for taking so long, I'm just really busy but I'm finally keeping this story going! Okay, thanks to Guest (In other games, of course.), Guest (Yeah, I was trying to make it obvious, glad it worked.), Guest (I'm glad you noticed!), Guest (Sorry, it's a little too late for that but there will be some references to it once the Chaotix come in.), grapejuice101 (I'm glad you liked it, I hope Shadow was in character, it's so hard to write him on my own.), HeartLuvAnimeGirl, tudorgirl941 and Niyana Railhyn for reviewing/following/favoring along with all 3,755 readers! I'm glad you guys like this story and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
"Kara!" Amy cried worriedly as she knelt beside the weakened white hedgehog. "Are you okay?" She asked.
"I'm fine." Kara managed, though her panting said otherwise along with the fact that she was still on the ground. Amy did her best to adjust the cyrokinetic hedgehog to laying on her back instead of her stomach while not making any sudden movements that would either hurt Kara or push Eggman to pull the trigger. Just then, the door leading out of the room they were in opened and revealed none other than Sonic. I knew he'd come…I knew they'd all come.Kara thought as she watched her partner carefully.
"Let's take care of business first, shall we Sonic?" Eggman suggested as he aimed his gun as the two girls. "Hand over the Chaos Emerald and then we'll talk about your girlfriend and partner. That is if you really care for them…" Kara noted how Sonic didn't answer as he took out the yellow Chaos Emerald.
Interesting…She thought. Tails nodded at Sonic subtlety and that's when Kara knew they had a plan.
"Put the Emerald down right there and back off!" Eggman ordered. Sonic smirked as he nodded before he began to walk towards the center of the room.
"You've turned into a big time villain, doctor!" He mocking complimented. As soon as Sonic stepped into the center, however, a glass capsule lowered, trapping the blue hedgehog inside.
"You thought you could trick me with that fake Emerald, didn't you?" Eggman said.
"So…how did you know it wasn't the real one?" Tails asked, sounding curious.
"Tails!" Sonic cried as soon as the fox finished speaking.
Well, he does now. Kara thought dryly.
"Because you just told me, fox boy!" Eggman cackled. Tails' eyes widened and his mouth fell open in an almost comic way. If she weren't in a life or death situation that she had no control over, Kara was certain she would have laughed. "Now, for a little space ride! The capsule clears the colony, BAM!"
"I'm counting on you, Tails! Snowflake, watch over them!" Sonic said, knowing these could very well be his last words. "And Amy, take care of yourself!" Kara couldn't help but notice how soft Sonic's voice had become and how his eyes lingered on Amy as he spoke before he took a stance.
"Farewell! Sonic the Hedgehog!" Eggman said before he released the capsule.
"Sonic…" Amy cried worriedly as she gently laid Kara down before she made her way to the window to watch.
"Farewell, Sonic…my admirable adversary!" Eggman said all too gleefully.
"SONIC!" Amy cried in grief as she reached out to the window, as if she could reach Sonic herself. Kara felt a single tear fall from her eyes before she wiped it away and began to meditate, so she could watch over Tails and Amy like she had silently promised Sonic.
By the time Kara had finished her meditation, Tails had already defeated Eggman.
"Sonic, I did it." Tails said aloud sadly.
"He would be proud of you." Kara said sadly as she placed a hand on Tails' shoulder while taking one of Amy's in her other hand. Just then, Tails' walky-talky went off and a voice the three thought they'd never hear again came through.
"Awesome job, Tails!"
"Sonic!" Tails cried in joy.
"You're alive!" Kara gasped, sounding on the verge of tears herself.
"Look outside…" Sonic instructed. The three did as he said and watched as the canon was destroyed just as it activated. The three celebrated as they began to wait for Sonic and Knuckles to arrive.
As soon as the blue hedgehog and the echidna ran in, Kara stumbled over and hugged Knuckles tightly.
"Are you okay?" Knuckles asked softly.
"Yeah, they didn't hurt me that badly and I meditated to get some strength back." Kara answered as she slowly pulled away, keeping a hand on Knuckles' arm so she could stand, her voice weak.
"I'll make whoever hurt you pay, I promise." Knuckles vowed.
"That's not necessary." Kara started to smile when the entire ARK vibrated.
"What's that…that vibration?" Knuckles asked.
"Hey wait, someone is coming!" Sonic warned as both boys took up stances that pushed Kara behind them, keeping her safe. Just then, Rouge dropped out of the ARK.
"You! You haven't given up yet?" Knuckles asked angrily.
"It's all over for us." Rouge shook her head.
"What do you mean?" Knuckles asked.
"I've just received a message from my boss. This space colony ARK is currently approaching the earth at an incredible velocity. It probably…will impact earth." Rouge explained. Suddenly, the bat's eyes widened and the three turned to see a screen.
"What's that on the screen?" Knuckles asked.
"This is a death sentence for every human being on earth. If my calculations are correct, the space colony ARK will impact the earth in 27 minutes and 53 seconds. You will all be destroyed along with your beloved planet earth." The man on the screen said, "I plan to give you a taste of my revenge once all the seven Chaos Emeralds are collected. Once I initiate this program, it cannot be disabled. All of you ungrateful humans who took everything from me will feel my loss and despair!"
"Is there anything else you want to say?" A man off screen asked.
"No." The man seen answered.
"Ready!" The off screen man cried.
"What's going on here? Who is that?" Amy asked.
"I have an awful feeling about this." Kara whispered.
"Hey, the vibration is getting worse!" Knuckles pointed out.
"Professor Gerald Robotnik…" Eggman said as he walked in to join the rest of the group. "…one of the greatest scientific minds in the world, and my grandfather."
"What? I knew you were behind all this. Stop it right now, or else!" Knuckles threatened.
"Big Brother…I'm not sure he can." Kara whispered as she tightened her grip on her brother's arm to try to hold him back a little.
"I'd have done this a long time ago if I'd had the chance!" Eggman protested.
"What do you mean?" Sonic asked, his voice distrusting as he came to stand beside Knuckles.
"You're pretty persistent for a hedgehog, aren't you!" Eggman almost growled.
"It's what we're known for." Kara added quietly. Not hearing her, the villain continued,
"You're still alive, huh?"
"Huh, just letting Knuckles pilot the shuttle on the way over here was more dangerous then you could ever be." Sonic said, his voice teasing and more normal than before. Reaching out and weakly pulling the blue blur back, Kara whispered,
"Don't push your luck, Sonic. Just because Knuckles is distracted now doesn't mean he won't hurt you later."
"I know what I'm doing, don't worry Snowflake." Sonic winked at her.
"What is this?" Rouge asked.
"This is my grandfather's diary." Eggman explained as he handed the disk to the bat, who put it in the computer and began to read,
"'I don't quite know what happened or what went wrong. Was it a mistake to create the ultimate life form? I thought it would be something that would benefit mankind. But then the military guards landed on the colony that day. They were sent to destroy the research project I had been working on. My colleagues at the research facility, my granddaughter, Maria. I hope you all are safe. The colony was completely shut down, probably to keep from falling into the wrong hands. The ARK was shut down under the premise that there had been an accident. I found Maria's name among those who died when the ARK was shut down. She meant everything to me and I couldn't bear the thought that she died because of my research. I lost everything. I had nothing more to live for…I went insane. All I could think about was to avenge her…somehow, someway. I got scared as I no longer was able to control my thoughts. All I could think about was that I wanted it all to end. Based on my original projections, I was able to complete my project. Shadow. I designed its mind to be perfect, pure. I will leave everything to him. If you wish, release and awaken it to the world. If you wish to fill the world with destruction…' Oh, so that's why you released Shadow from the base!"
Kara's mind was now whirling with all the new information, as she expected most of the people in the room's to be as well. Fragments of thoughts leaked into her consciousness before they flitted away just as quickly. They were faint, as if they being blown by a gentle wind.
"The core of the Eclipse Cannon is now highly reactive and explosive." Eggman explained, "This is because the energy of the Chaos Emeralds is overpowered. If the colony collides with earth, it will shatter into pieces like my grandfather predicted. That mad scientist!"
"That should be you, right?" Amy asked.
"We have to stop the space colony now!" Tails cried.
"The space colony ARK position may have shifted due to the amount of energy given off by the Emeralds. We have to stop the energy!" Eggman explained.
"But how?" Tails asked, lost.
"Hmm…that's it! There is a way to stop the energy. We have to use your Emerald!" Rouge said as she turned to look at Knuckles, who held the shrunken Master Emerald in his hands.
"Of course! That should do it!" Kara nodded in agreement eagerly, groaning slightly at the small throb of pain that shot through her head at the movement.
"Huh?" Knuckles asked, looking from his sister to the bat in confusion.
"You're the one that told me that the Master Emerald has the power to stop the Chaos Emerald!" Rouge explained.
"That's right. If I use this, we just might be able to stop the Chaos Emerald!" Knuckles agreed with a grin. Tails turned to the computer and pulled up a map of the colony.
"The reaction of the Chaos Emeralds is moving toward the Cannon's Core!" Tails said, "It may be too late!"
"There still may be some time left, if we pull together." Eggman encouraged, "We might be able to get to the shortcut that leads to the core." Tails nodded as he typed furiously before he found the shortcut.
"No worries! Just leave it to me! I'm the world's fastest hedgehog!" Sonic bragged.
"With no modesty it seems." Kara teased. "But I'm coming with you."
"No way, you're still weak from whatever Egghead did to you. You're not taking any risks." Sonic stated, his voice completely serious.
"Sonic…" Kara trailed off.
"It'll be fine, just stay safe. We'll win this and be back before you know it!" Sonic grinned as he moved to high five the white hedgehog only for her to grab his hand and stare him directly in the eye instead.
"Promise me." She ordered.
"I promise." Sonic nodded. Kara nodded before she released Sonic and they turned to the rest of the group.
"We're all set." Kara stated.
"Then, let's get to work!" Eggman said and with that, the group was off, leaving Kara and Amy behind.
"Oooh, I hate it when they leave me behind!" Amy cried angrily as she and Kara walked through the lab.
"Well, they must've thought you'd be more helpful here with me, Amy." Kara shrugged when the pink hedgehog suddenly stopped walking and turned.
"Look it's Shadow!" She pointed.
"Yeah it is…" Kara trailed off. Amy looked at the white haired hedgehog before she returned to looking at Shadow, her expression becoming one of determination.
"Come on, we're going to go talk to him." Amy said.
"Wh-AMY!" Kara cried as she was dragged forward. As soon as she got close to Shadow, however, the pink electricity shot through Kara, reminding her of lightning as she cried out and fell to the ground weakly.
"Snowflake!" Amy cried, kneeling beside the older hedgehog in worry.
"Don't worry about me…T-talk to…Sh-Shadow…" Kara whispered as the electricity continued to course through her veins violently. Amy hesitated before she nodded and went to talk to Shadow. Kara didn't hear their conversation but she was well aware as Shadow's eyes landed on her briefly before he turned away and ran out. Instantly, Amy was at Kara's side, lifting her up so her head rested on the younger hedgehog's shoulder as the lightning feeling faded.
"Will you be okay?" Amy asked worriedly.
"Y-yeah, I-I just…need t-time." Kara managed as she panted for air. Amy nodded as she rubbed cyrokinetic's back, not sure what else she could do.
Kara wasn't sure how long she laid there when she felt a presence connect to her mind, utilizing her telepathy.
Thank you…for reminding me what it's like to have a friend.
Kara's eyes widened as she heard Shadow's voice, his words ringing in her ears, as she slowly sat up, Amy supporting her. By this point, she noticed that Eggman, Tails, Knuckles and Rouge had returned and Knuckles and Tails had been hovering over her in worry. How she didn't notice before, she'd never know.
"Shadow…" She whispered as she felt his presence slip completely away. Just then, the door opened and Sonic walked in.
"Where is Shadow?" Rouge asked, her tone slightly worried. At the question, Kara sat up straighter, her eyes shooting towards Sonic, a desperate look entering her eyes.
Please don't tell me he's…please, please, please don't let that be what I just felt! Kara thought as her desperation grew. Sonic shook his head sadly before he walked over and handed Rouge one of Shadow's rings as Kara fell to the ground and screamed as tears fell from her eyes. Not a single member of the party knew what to do to comfort her, none of them knew how close she and Shadow had been in the short time they knew each other. None of them knew how close of friends they were, how much he meant to her. And now he was gone and she'd never see him again.
"Come on, Snowflake." Knuckles said softly as he placed his hands on her arms and slowly helped her stand before he led her to the door. Nobody else spoke to her after that as she continued to cry.
She continued to cry even when she and Knuckles returned to Angel Island. It felt like a part of herself had been ripped out and stolen from her, a part she'd never get back. She began to isolate herself from everyone and everything, blocking off her telepathy and refusing to speak to even Knuckles. This continued for weeks until, suddenly, Kara returned to society but not the same. She rarely spoke and when she did, her voice was softer and lacked the strong emotions she used to have. It was as if she was a new person with the same values and moral as Kara had. Not a single member of the group knew how to react but they all did their best to try and help Kara in the only way each of them knew. But she didn't change and they all began to realize one thing: Without Shadow, the Kara they knew wasn't coming back.
There's the chapter! Sonic Adventure 2 is now over and I'm really sorry it had such a sad end but this was necessary. Sorry for those who wanted Kara to go Super again but you have one more game to wait. Sonic Advance is next and in it, Kara will go Super again if I find the right play through. Then it'll be Sonic Advance to and Sonic Heroes, where the Kara we all know and love will come back along with Shadow. Okay, I think that's everything so leave a review to let me know what you think! Later!