Thank you so much to: Jk1ra, Cozy Shadow, OblivionTheScythe, ShadAmy1Fan, Steve993, IT'S NO USE I'M OUTTA USE and Twin-books! Reading your reactions to the previous chapter was brilliant, and I adored each one! :D
Jk1ra - Thank you very much! :3 I'm glad you like it!
Cozy Shadow - xD Knuckles knows wayyyy too many puns (and I enjoy writing them a little too much) X'D
OblivionTheScythe - Silver's getting seriously pissed with Shadow's attitude; soon, the timebomb is going to explode! I've made Silver a little bit bolder in this, compared to 06!Silver, because I feel that he can balance Shadow's temper when he's confident. Go Silver! xD
ShadAmy1Fan - Thank you so much! Ahh, the Chaos Emeralds kind of have one rule: there are no rules x'D But I like the idea that Sonic, Shadow and Silver are linked through the emeralds. Thank you! And you too! :'3
Steve993 - Thank you! Good intuition! We only have one more chapter to go! :'( These last few chapters have been focusing on action, Shadow's self-angst and Shadilver friendship; but I promise that the last chapter will be entirely humour-based! And Sonic will actually be in that chapter xD).
IT'S NO USE I'M OUTTA USE - Thank you ever so much! Ahh, me too! :D Although, I am also battling between making them be friends, and making Shadow confess his undying love for Silver xD I can't help but ship them!
Twin-books - Sonic is the one who keeps the team together. Without him, everything falls apart. Ahh, well, I've gotta cram some Knuxouge in somewhere ;D Ahh, I'm glad! Silver and Shadow's friendship has complications, haha! Ah, yep, some token Silvaze too! xD Too many ships. Oh, really? Haha, well, I'm glad you liked it! Thank you very much! :3
Chapter Fourteen
I'll Be There
Orbot tiredly scratched a hand across his casing, keeping his hand on the lever whilst his vision remained on the bright beam of energy. Oddly, Cubot stayed silent, only making a soft whirring when he moved. He seemed to be avoiding the Chaos Emerald in the centre of the room, which was resisting the energy that Doctor Eggman had instructed them to fire at it. Orbot might have asked his friend what was wrong, but compassion hadn't really been programmed into him, and he feared that he would do a bad job.
The doors swished open, accompanied by a black blur, who promptly collapsed on the floor with a vicious grunt. Orbot's sensors immediately registered the figure as Shadow the Hedgehog, and the spherical robot made a sound of alarm.
"Oh, my!" His panic only grew, as the hedgehog hauled himself to his feet. Cubot didn't say anything.
Shadow forced his gaze upwards, but he quickly shielded himself from the emerald's glare, "Turn that off!"
His roar made the robots jump. Cubot jumped to turn the beam off. Darkness settled in the room, and Shadow felt his pain slip away.
"Shadow... the Hedgehog," Orbot felt his oil stick in his circuits, "I-I..."
"You fools misuse this power. What were you hoping to accomplish, by attacking the Chaos Emerald?" He clenched his fists and focused on remaining as calm as possible.
"T-The Doctor..."
"What are you?! Cowards? Just because the Doctor says you should do something, it doesn't make it so!" Pain plucked his heart-strings, and so he stifled it with more anger. He saw something of himself in these robots, and it enraged him, "You have free will and a clear mind. Use it, and don't be so spineless!"
Orbot hung his head, "It is not always that easy..."
"ARGH—!"
"Shadow," A sharp voice, as precise as cut glass, scolded him. Someone approached the emerald and swiped it up, "You're no use to anyone, if you don't try to work with others."
The Ultimate Life Form snapped, "Silver, don't bother. This is my business."
"You're proving my point," Silver glared back, suddenly as confident and self-assured as Shadow himself. The ebony hedgehog blinked, "Go on, then. Get angry. Waste more time that we don't have."
"You talk to me of wasting time and, yet, here we are."
"What is wrong with you?" Silver had begun tossing the Chaos Emerald into the air but, when he caught it, he suddenly clamped down on it, as if Shadow was threatening to take it away, "You like being alone, I get it. But it's like you don't even bother to try and get along with people!"
"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? I have always been like this — I have never tried to sell myself as anything otherwise — whereas you have suddenly grown angry over nothing!"
"I'm angry at you! Being so distant and pretending not to care. I can't even work out what you gain from that! I thought we were friends, Shadow, and I thought you'd maybe open up a bit — but you haven't changed at all!"
"Friends?" His lips flared up in a smirk.
The Chaos Emerald was shaking in Silver's hand, "Don't you dare laugh at me—!"
"Are we interrupting?"
Shadow and Silver turned, itching to let rip into each other, but their stances weakened at the sight of Doctor Eggman. Orbot and Cubot shared a glance, concerned about their position in this imminent fight.
Eggman grinned, clearly pleased with himself, and Silver felt on edge, "Maybe I should gain your attention further?" He stepped aside to reveal two bulky robots, with their arms clamped down on their hostages. Amy squirmed in the robot's grip, while Tails hung his head in shame.
Shadow straightened his back and frowned, "Release them."
"You're not in a position to dictate, Shadow. Now, return that emerald to where you found it, or these robots may just malfunction and squeeze the life out of your precious team-mates," Eggman cackled, as Silver grudgingly placed the Chaos Emerald on its pedestal, "OH HO HO HO! Well, today has all the makings of my lucky day! First, I capture Sonic the Hedgehog — in a manageable form, might I add — and now I get his best friend and girlfriend! Muhahahaha!"
"Enough gloating already. Release them," Shadow barked, irritated. It wouldn't be easy to get out of this one.
With his head lowered, Eggman's glasses menacingly glinted, "Now why would I do that?"
"Because," Silver stepped forward, unwavering, as all eyes fell upon him, "If you let them go, I will give you all of my future knowledge, and you can do with me as you wish."
"No," Shadow grabbed Silver's shoulder and pulled him back, "Are you mad? You cannot give Eggman access to future events. And I will not let you throw away your life like that. If it's an exchange you want, Doctor, I will offer myself in Silver's place."
Golden eyes widened, "Shadow..."
"My apologies, Ultimate Life Form, but I have no need for you," Eggman raised his head in triumph, "You would be useless to me. Far too disobedient and wilful. Your data is enough, and I own all of that already. Everything that makes you special, Shadow the Hedgehog, is stored in a computer file for me to access, whenever I wish," He grinned, knowing that he'd hit a nerve. He turned to Silver, "I accept your proposal. Step forward, near to my robots, and I will release these two."
Silver glanced back at Shadow. The ebony hedgehog was staring at the ground, frozen. Silver didn't know if he'd heard what was now happening, but he decided that it needed to be done. He couldn't let Amy and Tails be captured by Eggman. he wouldn't let Shadow become some puppet.
"Silver..." Tails whispered, as the grey hedgehog stood beside him. Silver wore a smile and nodded, as the robots dropped Tails and Amy to the ground. Tails wavered, for a moment, until he was forced to step away.
Amy and Tails joined Shadow's side, with concerned expressions. As the pink hedgehog gave Silver a fearful smile, Tails whispered to Shadow, "I know where Sonic is being kept. It's not too far. We should be able to get out of here in no time."
Shadow was about to bite back, and ask why Tails suddenly didn't care about Silver's capture, but then he reconsidered and wondered if the fox actually had a plan.
"Well, it's been lovely seeing you, but now it's time to leave," Eggman gestured at the two robots, "Make sure our guests leave without complications. Orbot, Cubot, let us take our new companion to somewhere quieter."
The grey hedgehog followed without much hesitation but, as he stepped through the doorway, he turned and smiled. Shadow felt utterly confused, with both himself and Silver, as the doors slammed shut and separated them.
Despite the strange glances that Orbot was giving him, Silver felt weirdly calm. He knew that he needed to get away, as quickly as possible, or he'd be in serious trouble. But he felt numb.
Eggman snapped his fingers at Silver, impatiently, as he gestured at the door further down the corridor, "Keep moving! We don't have all day, you know. This isn't a tour!"
"Right," Silver mumbled, deciding that arguing back would not be his best option, right now. He complied and scuttled towards the door, gulping as it swished open, revealing an unappealing laboratory.
A chair leered in the centre of the room, with thick clasps on the arms, and a helmet hovering above.
Silver stepped forward, less confident, and he was aware of Eggman's presence behind him. The grey hedgehog moved until he was less than a few feet away, from the ominous chair.
"Sit," Eggman ordered, focusing on the control panel opposite the chair, as he began to type into one of its many keyboards.
Silver swallowed, "U-Uh. Could I just a-ask—?"
"Listen. This was your part of the deal. Do it, or I will pull out the big guns," Doctor Eggman nodded at Silver's silence, "Your friends are still with my robots. I can easily send a new, deadly programme to them, with the press of a button!"
"Okay, okay," Silver gritted his teeth, clambering up and lowering himself into the chair, gingerly. His legs felt ridiculously high up and, when he glanced at the metallic helmet above him, his arms were suddenly clamped into metal straps, "H-Hey!"
"All part of the process. Can't have you squirming, now, can we?" Eggman grinned at his minions, as the helmet suddenly lit up in activation. Silver didn't like the look of that.
"What does it do?" He asked, not taking his eyes off the thing hovering above.
"Exactly what you promised. It harvests information from people's brains, and even extracts a little bit of their power. Imagine what it will do to you—!"
Silver really didn't want to think about that.
"I'd like to say that it won't be painful, but, well," Eggman made a show of pressing the Activate button on the panel. The helmet whirred to life, "That would be a lie."
"Ngh!" Silver struggled against his restraints, to no avail.
"You know, we have a little bit of time to pass," Eggman folded his arms and leaned back, scarily serene, "Might I ask you a few questions, rodent? Before all of your knowledge is ripped from your mind?"
"Small talk? Of all times?!" He grit his teeth in anticipation, waiting for the helmet to suction itself to his head.
"Shadow the Hedgehog. What exactly is your relationship to him?"
Silver almost forgot what was going on, "Relationship?"
"I have never seen him so readily offer himself up. It astounded me. Maybe he is capable of caring for someone, the fool. And, to think, he could have been something great."
"That's your problem, see. You don't understand loyalty," Silver glared, "You don't have anyone to be loyal to."
Eggman's eyes remained hidden, but his smile thinned out, "And you think Shadow does? That hedgehog has never understood his place. His relationship with loyalty is flittering, at best. When the time comes, he will betray you and it won't even cross his mind that you were once friends. He is built that way: ruthless, determined and cruel."
"No, he's not. You've tried to programme him that way. He's not like that."
"Believe what you will," Eggman shrugged, and Silver felt sweat break out on the back of his neck. The helmet was steadily growing closer and closer to him, "In a few minutes, you won't even care."
The edges of the invention closed around his temples, flattening his quills and squashing those that disobeyed. Silver wriggled, wondering if protesting would even do anything.
No, it won't end like this. Someone will help me.
The helmet closed around his forehead, crushing his ears.
Someone...
It touched his cranium, and now it enclosed his brain.
Shadow? Please, someone! Anyone!
Silver screwed his eyes shut, and he felt the words tingle on the edge of his lips. A steady beeping sounded through his muffled hearing, and the light grew brighter against his closed eyes.
Then, everything stopped. Completely.
He heard Eggman curse the contraption, and he registered the dark vision of his eyelids. Silver opened his eyes and blinked, but it remained dark.
"Sir, what is happening?" Orbot asked, as the bright lights of his circular eyes moved. The lights suddenly jerked forward and he cried, "Ouch! Someone just walked into me!"
Silver glanced about in the darkness, desperately trying to see, as Eggman grumbled about Orbot's paranoia. The grey hedgehog wondered if he should speak, but maybe his silence was an advanta—
A hand clamped down around his mouth, and the helmet was tugged off of his head.
"Stay quiet," A deep voice rumbled, and Silver sighed against the palm, as his restraints were snapped open, with bare strength. He was pulled out of his seat, quickly set on the ground, before his wrist was grabbed and they were moving.
Silver stumbled to the door, with his saviour wasting no time in hurrying them along. They reached the doorframe, safe, only for the lights to suddenly flicker on, just for a moment. Silver's eyes raked along black and red quills, as he wondered if Eggman had seen their escape.
The two of them dashed along the corridor, with Silver hoping that Shadow knew where he was going, because he certainly didn't. They took a right, then a left, then a right, then another right and, after that, Silver lost track.
"That was..." Silver panted, still moving, but he wasn't breathless from the running. The knot in his stomach loosened, "Thank you, Shadow. I owe you. I thought I was a goner."
Shadow grunted, checking the yellow communicator, as they turned a corner, "Don't bother. Your foolish actions got us into this mess. It was Tails who helped to cut the power."
"Oh," His head drooped and Silver felt guilty. He'd been angry at Shadow, but he'd only made things worse. He thought he could rely on himself, just like Sonic and Shadow did, but things had gotten out of hand.
"But," Shadow didn't turn around. He knew that Silver was listening, "What you offered to do. That was impressive. I only wish my methods had been more effective. Amy and Tails are safe, now, thanks to you."
"Shadow—" Silver grabbed his wrist and stopped them, wanting to talk properly, "You need to stop being so hard on yourself. Don't tell me that you believe what Eggman said back there?"
"Forget about it. I don't. That doesn't involve you. I don't give compliments very often, so focus on that," His crimson eyes hardened, but Silver saw through it.
"You can't take that to heart. He has nothing on you. Okay, he might own a bit of DNA, so what? You have everything that makes you ultimate: speed, strength, courage, determination. He doesn't own any of that."
"I said you should forget about it," But Shadow's tone was considerably softer.
"We each create a path for ourselves, no matter our background, and it's our actions that shape who we are. Remember that, if nothing else."
Shadow paused, staring, before he nodded, "Who told you that?"
Silver grinned, scratching the back of his head, "How'd you know I didn't just come up with it?"
"You couldn't have possibly come up with something so profound."
"Geez, thanks," But he laughed it off, and confessed, "Blaze told me. She said that I should always remember it, too. You're not the only one who doubts himself, you know."
The Ultimate Life Form nodded again, genuinely taking everything that Silver said to heart.
Knuckles slumped into a heap, pressing his back against the wall, as he swiped his forehead for sweat, "I wonder how the others are doing?"
"Hmm," Blaze sighed next to him, hitching her tailcoat into a comfortable position, "I'm sure they're handling things fine. They're a tough group."
"GAH!" Rouge smashed an Eggpawn's arm clean across the room, with a single kick. Knuckles wondered if she'd considered playing football. When they stared at Rouge for an explanation, she moaned, "Those hunks of junk have completely ruined my make-up. They have no appreciation for personal grooming."
"You look fine, Rouge, honestly," The echidna raised an eyebrow at her, as Blaze chuckled and nodded. Knuckles got to his feet, to discuss their next move, when an alarm suddenly sounded.
All three of them shot into a fighting stance, fists clenched.
"ATTENTION. SHIP WILL SELF-DESTRUCT IN TWO MINUTES. NOW. ONE FIFTY-NINE; ONE FIFTY-EIGHT; ONE FIFTY-SEVEN..."
"That... doesn't sound good."
"Since when has an alarm ever been a good thing?!" Rouge yelled back at Knuckles, as the red light caressed her glaring features.
He supressed a groan, watching as the doors — which had remained tightly locked — now clicked and slid open, "At least they're open, now."
Blaze rolled her eyes, "Brilliant."
The bat swiped up Tails' communicator from the floor, tutting as it crackled and sparked. She attempted to type using the keyboard on the side, but she shook her head, "This is far too damaged from the fight. We're not going to get into contact with them, any time soon."
"We'll have to head up there, personally," Knuckles frowned at the girls' expressions, "We've gotta make sure that they're okay!"
"But we'll never make it out in two minutes, if we don't know where they are. We don't have a map, not without the communicator. They could be outside, for all we know," Blaze tilted her head to one side.
"Yeah, but what if they're stuck, somewhere—?!"
"We won't find them in time," Rouge persisted, "We have to find some way of getting their location. The Blue Typhoon is our only hope, right now."
"Tails will have installed a tracking device, or something like that. He was reading from a map, on the way here. Our best bet is to get to it," Blaze glanced between them, before striding off towards the exit, quickly picking up speed.
Rouge and Knuckles shared a nod, as the echidna jogged after her, and the bat easily flapped her wings into a hasty glide.
"Thank goodness," Tails breathed when he caught sight of Silver, unharmed. The fox gave him a small smile, before Amy tackled the grey hedgehog in a desperate hug. Tails turned to Shadow, "Do you think that Eggman will come after us soon?"
"I'm not sure. It should take him some time. Just enough for us to grab Faker and leave," Shadow turned to Amy and Silver, with the latter awkwardly grinning, "We must move. Now."
"Right," Silver peeled himself away from Amy, but he appreciated that she was happy about his return.
"Amy and I managed to locate the room where Sonic is being held. Follow me!" Tails set off, in the lead, with the rest of them quickly following.
Silver cleared his throat and lowly asked Shadow, "What about the Chaos Emerald? I would have thought that you'd want to-"
As Silver spoke, Shadow pulled out the glowing emerald, smirking, "When you left, I… dealt with the robots around us. Tails grabbed the emerald and guessed where Eggman would be taking you. I followed, shortly after."
"You should've seen him, Silver!" Amy knowingly burbled, "He was so tense! Worried, I'd say. I've never seen Shadow so riled!"
"Really?" The time traveller grinned, as Shadow growled under his breath.
Tails called back to them, "Guys, c'mon! We're here! It's this door!"
Shadow overtook him and broke the door down, with a casual skull-splitting kick. The four heroes dashed inside, with their eyes raking the room for their friend, when Amy gasped and pointed, "Look!"
"Sonic," Tails whispered, as they approached the metal-barred cage that reached the height of their hips. The cage's floor was bumpy, so the blue cub seemed to have restricted himself to the small blankets that he had been given.
He'd been wailing, when they'd entered, and he didn't show any signs of stopping.
"When I see Eggman, I'm gonna—!" Amy whipped out her hammer, increasingly furious, but Silver pulled her back and shook his head.
"Careful, Amy. We don't want to hurt—"
"CHAOS SPEAR!"
"GEEZ, SHADOW!" Silver covered his eyes, terrified, as Tails picked up the blue hedgehog amidst the broken pieces of metal. Sonic stopped crying, instead blinking up at the fox in admiration, "You cannot do that!"
"He's unharmed."
"By some miracle!"
Tails hugged Sonic to his chest, smiling down at emerald eyes, and breathed a sigh of relief. He turned and offered the blue hedgehog to Shadow and Silver.
"While Sonic was... out of action, you guys were the real heroes. Everyone has you to thank. We owe you our lives," Tails grinned, bashfully, "You're the best parents he could have had."
"Keh," Shadow rolled his eyes, and Silver took the baby hedgehog and bundled him into his own arms, "It won't be happening again, any time soon. Sonic is welcome to the role of 'hero', whether he likes it or not."
But Shadow did crack a smile, and he rubbed Sonic's quills, affectionately.
"N'aww!" Amy unclasped her hands, when the ground rumbled and red sirens blared around them, "Wha—?!"
"Uh, not good?" Silver clutched Sonic to his chest, looking to Shadow for guidance.
As the self-destruct message played, the Ultimate Life Form's expression darkened, "Not good, no."
"We've got to get out of here!" Tails yelped, as plaster started to crumble from the ceiling, and everything became unstable, "Now!"
The five of them tensed, as they began to race through the endless corridors, with Tails shouting directions from a shaky screen. In the distance, faint sounds of explosions made their legs pump faster, and Shadow wished that they all had his super speed.
They weren't going to be fast enough, even with Sonic the Hedgehog.
"They're moving," Blaze informed, as she tracked the red dots across the computer screen, in the pilot's seat. Knuckles stood behind her, awkwardly leaning over the chair for a better look.
Rouge was on the ground, in front of the airship's entrance, watching the door for any sign of movement. Her hand was shielding her eyes from the sun, "There are explosions. At the back of the ship."
"We can't just sit here and do nothing!" Knuckles cried, pounding his fist into the plane's bodywork, frustrated. Tails would complain but, well, Tails wasn't here right now, "What can we do?!"
"I don't know!" Blaze yelled back, panicked over the fate of her friends. Silver must have heard the alarms. Was he alright? They were clearly moving, but not fast enough.
"Calm down," Rouge scolded them, seeming composed and toughened, "They're not little kids. Well, one of them—"
"Not now, Bat," Knuckles hissed through his teeth.
She raised an eyebrow, but she continued, regardless, "They've faced worse than this. Shadow will know what to do. This isn't out of his comfort zone. He'd done this far too many times, with too many close calls."
"Yeah, Shadow can handle himself. But he can't handle a close call with four other people to worry about!"
"Have faith in them, Knuckie," She hoped that the nickname would calm him down, "They're tougher than you give them credit for."
"Hmmgh," He folded his arms and grimaced, "And if we're wrong?"
"We're not."
They stared, silent. Blaze stayed quiet and felt her anxiety bubble in her throat. Knuckles raised his head, "Then, on your head be it."
Then everything blew up into a cloud of fire and panic.