Hey guys! Sorry this chapter is kinda short-ish. Like I've done in the past, this and chapter 15 will be 'Part 1, Part 2' style chapters.
Anyway, here it is:
As it turned out, Amy was not in fact flirting with Nick, as she would never give up on Sonic so easily. Instead, she had invited him out to the bar for something else- answers. She knew if he thought it was an honest date with an attractive girl then he would say whatever she wanted. Police officer or not- some things never change from your days as a con-artist, and Nick had at first tried to fool her but wound up telling her everything he knew about the recently-closed Mons case. Amy had shortly after left, leaving Nick to realize he'd been duped. Amy didn't feel good about it, but no one would tell her anything about what had been going on for the past month as it was 'classified information'. Either that or the people who knew what was going on were unaware of her connections to Sonic. Probably the latter. It wasn't just because she loved him, but while she thought that Judy was smart, tough and a great friend, she didn't think she was who Sonic truly would be happy with. Amy remembered how Sonic would always tell her how he wanted to retire one day, after Eggman was stopped. And Sonic had in fact done so, until Eggman reemerged recently and this whole 'Shattered Mobius' incident began. But she knew if he stayed with Judy, when Eggman was defeated, that wouldn't even be close to the end. Judy wouldn't stop until she was forced to- it was her dream, after all. Sonic became a hero because no one else would. And that's why she loved him. That's why she followed in his footsteps. Another memory came to her. It was shortly after Eggman's defeat, she'd finally been able to catch Sonic alone and he told her she had no idea how much he cared-
Then that freaking experiment happened and ruined everything. She had a friend living in one of the areas that was teleported straight off the face of the planet! Amy didn't know if she'd ever see her again. If she could just talk to Sonic...she wished the best for him, and she understood if Sonic found someone other than herself he wanted to settle down with. But something about Judy just didn't seem to work.
(2 months ago, past event affected by Shadow's timeline alterations)
"Alright, boys, fire it up!" Deadlock shouted. This was much more liberating than working with Mons and playing hero. Now he could be the real hero, and destroy the governments that were plaguing Mobius. Of course that hedgehog's constant interferences weren't helping. As Deadlock's followers sent yet another government building up in flames, Deadlock realized he'd made a terrible mistake. Inside the building was a massive power generator, and it was about to collapse-
The explosion hit Deadlock before he could do anything about it. As he watched his men fall to the ground, he realized his armor had absorbed most of the impact as it now lay in ruins, peeling off him like worn tape. Better that then dead, he thought. But then he felt it. He could feel ripples in the air, as if this current event were being changed in time. Suddenly, he felt himself going backwards, his armor reforming, his men lifting off the ground as if possessed, the explosion shrinking- someone had changed the timeline. There was no doubt about it. He knew no one else felt it. No one else ever did. But he always knew when someone decided to take fate into their own hands. And when they did, something unprecedented always changed.
And in this case, it was a police squad firing stun shots at him just as the generator exploded. Needless to say, they didn't mix well. Instead of just tearing off, Deadlock's armor tightened around him, causing him to squirm inside to the point of total paralysis, leaving him helpless to the impending explosion. He could see unnatural energy rifts in the explosion's wake, waiting for him to enter. Deadlock's armor moved forward towards the energy, carrying him with it. It was then and there Deadlock knew something had truly been ruined by whoever changed the timeline this time. He had bonded with something terrible, and now that something was corrupting the energy around him, slowly forming a portal into the time-stream. Deadlock began to feel his limbs again, and he charged into the portal, chasing after the black shape who obviously couldn't get enough of screwing with history. As he drew closer, he realized it was a hedgehog- Sonic? No, it couldn't be. The spines were quite different.
But Deadlock didn't really care as he grabbed the hedgehog's arm and flung him out of the time-stream. Before he followed suit, he saw two time-remnants the hedgehog had somehow managed to leave behind. They disintegrated at his touch.
(Deadlock exits portal and ends up 2 months later, in the present day)
"Who are you?" Shadow yelled at the mysterious creature. His body and physique appeared human, but his movements suggested reptilian descent. Shadow pulled out a gun for self defense. "Call me Deadlock." Shadow grunted. "Deadlock it is then. You know, despite your obvious intention to harm me, you may have actually stopped me from making the worst decision in my life. I swore I would never change the timeline for my own gain, yet, I nearly did." Deadlock glared at him, his visor twitching, suggesting eye movement. Shadow laughed. "You can't kill me. On the other hand..." Shadow motioned towards his gun. "I'm going to deal with that antelope, then I'll be back for you. Mark. My. Words."
With that, the hedgehog left and teleported away. Deadlock grunted. The number of powered individuals was growing by the day. And now he was one of them.
Alright! Feel free to leave a review if you liked the connection to last chapter.
And also, there's an official announcement from me coming next chapter.
See you then!
-Chimi