Twenty-Five: Final Rest
Misuki: Rouge turned her jetpack off the minute she and Misuki were at the door of the helicopter. Misuki touched to the ground a little disoriented from being in the air. She instantly fell into Shadow's arms trying to remember how to stand on her own again. "I'm fine, Shadow."
Shadow helped her to sit down and rest. "What happened out there?"
"They suddenly retreated." She answered.
"Why would they do that?" Knuckles asked. "Did they know we had the advantage?"
"It's not that easy, red." Rouge said. "There were hundreds of them. If Misuki hadn't done what she did, they would've taken us down within minutes. I believe they were called back by Black Doom."
"But why?" the Commander asked.
"And you call yourself a Commander?" Misuki insulted, giving him an annoyed look. "Know the enemy my good sir. It's possible he's setting a trap for us. We have to be smart about our next move. We need to collect the final few Chaos Emeralds roaming around in Eggman's vault."
"I don't think that'll be a problem." The Commander told them.
"What do you mean?" Shadow asked.
"You'll see when we get back to Headquarters." He had a smirk on his face directed at Misuki.
Misuki met his eyes as the voyage continued on. "Did you copy all of that, Sonic?"
"Every word. Can't wait to see what's waiting for us."
The last hour of flight was finally over. They landed in the hanger of the facility. The Blue Typhoon landed outside behind the helicopter hanger. Everyone got off all of the crafts and followed the Commander and his soldiers to the inside of the facility surrounded by walls of titanium and guards at the ready.
"I'll give you credit where credit is due. The high security is impressive." Misuki admitted.
"Glad you're impressed."
"My father would've helped update your system. Our family house has a security system just as good as this one. But, sadly, you guys demanded he be executed for his crimes at wanting to change the world with his ideas."
"Misuki, pull back a little." Shadow had her by the shoulders, whispering in her ear.
The Commander said nothing to that and proceeded on through what looked like a holding cell. "I think he has given us the upper hand we need."
Misuki and the others looked in one of the cells to see a familiar face grinning in the shadows.
"Hello dear friends. Surprised to see me?"
'Will this nightmare ever end?' Misuki thought to herself.
"Finally gave up, Eggman?" Knuckles asked with a cocky smile.
Eggman chuckled. "Don't flatter yourself, kid. As it turns out, I requested G.U.N.'s help and offered the Chaos Emeralds as a peace offering. They just keep me in here for extra security."
"You turned against Black Doom?" Shadow asked.
"Only when I found out his plans."
"Give us more details, Eggman." Misuki stepped up with anger in her voice. "What exactly is Black Doom's plan?"
"Getting straight to business are we? You can be so cold sometimes, Misuki. Shadow's old personality is rubbing off on you."
Misuki punched the cell bars. "Quit stalling! Being in a room with you and G.U.N. has set my tolerance level lower than you can possibly imagine. So give me the information we need. Now!"
Eggman froze for a second, staring into Misuki's cold eyes. He cleared his throat. "If you insist." His voice was calm and collected. "Originally, he told me his plan was to put fear in the heart of humans and offer assistance in building my Eggman Empire. His aliens were going to be the security needed to watch everyone's actions and patrol the streets. But…after seeing this mess, I realized I had been tricked. He used me for my genius and technology in building stronger and more efficient soldiers."
"What are his true plans?" Sonic asked.
"Destroy the humans and merge the planet with the Black Alien's home world: the Black Comet."
Silence befell everyone. Misuki practically lost her breath after hearing the story.
Eggman continued on. "The life energy will be consumed by the Black Comet, leaving the planet withered and lifeless."
"Is the comet on its way?" Misuki asked.
"Judging by how quickly the world has gone to hell, I'd say it'll be here in two to three days."
"That doesn't give us much time to prepare!" Knuckles exclaimed. "With Eggman's Emeralds, we only have six out of the seven! We're missing one more."
"Black Doom has it." Eggman said. "I tried going after it, but it was heavily guarded. I decided to not bother sneaking past the aliens and risk getting caught."
"It'll have to stay there for a little longer." The Commander said. "You and your friends are in no position to go after the aliens and neither are my men. We've set up rooms for you to stay in and also brought your four friends."
"You mean Amy, Charmy, Cream and Cheese?" Misuki asked.
The Commander nodded. "They're waiting for you in the lounge area."
The gang rushed to the lounge, excited to have the group joined together again. The second Sonic opened the door, Amy jumped on him with tear filled eyes chanting his name over and over. Cheese and Cream ran towards Misuki laughing and hugging her.
Misuki took both of them in her arms not able to express the joy in her heart. "I'm so glad you guys are okay!" she exclaimed.
"We're happy to see you too, Misuki. We were afraid you guys weren't gonna make it."
Cheese followed Cream's comment with a few coos.
"Misuki, are you guys close to defeating these gross aliens?" Amy asked, walking up to Misuki with Sonic beside her.
"Sort of." She answered with a sigh. "All we need is to get the final Chaos Emerald and then hit Black Doom where it hurts."
"We don't have much time either." Shadow chimed in. "The city is crumbling to nothing. Soon, there will be no city for the people to return to."
"Well I don't know about you…" Knuckles began, leaning against the doorway. "…but I say we go out and retrieve that last Emerald ourselves. I'd rather have all of this over and done with."
"For once, I agree with Knuckles." Shadow said, crossing his arms.
Misuki wanted this disaster to end just as quickly as everyone else, but after calming herself from her outbursts against the Commander and Eggman, she began thinking about what their next move should be. "Even if we wanted to settle things on our own, this place is heavily guarded. The Commander probably gave orders to the troops to watch our moves and not let us leave the facility." She then looked up at a surveillance camera that was aimed directly at her. "They're treating us like prisoners but giving us all of the hospitality they can."
"You got that right, missy."
Everyone watched Rouge enter the room with a blank expression, standing beside Misuki while glancing at everyone in the room. "The Commander is prepared for any plan you guys have of escaping this place."
"Have you forgotten that we're more skilled than any of these trigger-happy idiots patrolling this place?" Knuckles said, stepping into the room. "What's stopping us from knocking them on their asses and leaving this place?"
"For once Knuckles, we have to comply with G.U.N.'s decisions."
"Are you serious, Misuki?" He asked in frustration.
Misuki nodded her head calmly while folding her arms and hugging her body. "I don't like sitting around anymore than you do. But in the condition we're in right now, we are no match for Black Doom. We'll rest for a while and then think of a plan of attack." She glanced over at Shadow to see he had the same expression as Knuckles. But the only difference was that Shadow was more reckless than Knuckles and would go on a rampage no matter what anyone said.
Sonic finally broke the silence with a long sigh. "I'm with Misuki and Rouge. There's not much we can do right now."
"I do want to fix up the ship a bit." Tails jumped in, pulling out a monkey wrench from his tool belt. "Just to keep it running smoothly. Plus I've been working on a little surprise for you Misuki."
"Really? What is it?"
Tails chuckled while twirling the wrench in his hand. "If I tell you, it's not a secret. But trust me, you'll love it."
"I'm looking forward to it." She smiled as he left out the door.
"If you want, I can show you to your rooms." Rouge said. "Of course, Misuki and Shadow will be sharing a room. Most of you will have roommates. Our space has decreased since everyone was brought here. But it should still be comfortable for you."
Rouge guided all of us towards the lower levels where the other civilians were, along with small apartment-like rooms. Misuki and Shadow's room was three doors down the hall on the left. They were on lowest floor. The number on the door read 1-3-8. "Here you go." Rouge opened the door for us and let us step in. The place did feel like home. The living room had a couch against the wall on the left wall big enough for two, and a modern-looking television with a DVD player attached to it. Beside the couch was a doorway that led to a bedroom with a queen size bed with plain black sheets and pillows. Across from it was a red wood dresser with golden handles and knobs. "This place is really nice." Misuki said, rubbing the doorway. "I gotta give it to . They really know how to treat civilians during a world crisis."
"Thanks a lot. I'm sure the Commander will be glad to hear that from you." Rouge said.
"Yeah, let's not tell him I said that."
"Will you two be okay?" Knuckles asked, staring at Misuki.
She walked over to him and hugged him. "I'll be fine."
"You guys are across the hall two doors down." Rouge explained.
"That actually makes me feel better."
"Well, we'll let the two of you rest. Play nice you two." Rouge winked as she and the others left the room.
Both Misuki and Shadow stood there blushing. "Well…I guess I'll go ahead and take a shower." She twirled her hair, staring at Shadow from the side.
"Sure. But what will you change into?" Shadow asked.
Misuki walked over to one of the closets to find long white night gowns and shirts. "I guess we can settle for these until we can unload the ship." She picked a gown and a towel before going into the bathroom and starting the shower.
Shadow: Shadow listened to Misuki sing to herself in the shower. He sat on the couch, staring at the ceiling. Later on he pulled out the charm bracelet Misuki made him and looked at it. "Shadow…papa!" Misuki ran to them laughing. She pulled two small beaded charm bracelets from behind her back and smiled as she showed them to Shadow and her father. "I made them myself! They're charm bracelets"
"Where are the charms?" Her father asked.
"The beads are the charms." There were a few beads hanging from the bracelet. "See, they're the same except with different color patterns and charms." Misuki gave one to her father and then the other to Shadow. "Whenever you wear them, they connect you together. I even made one for me!" She pulled out an extra one from her dress pocket and tied it around her wrist.
Her father put his on and then petted Misuki's head. "They're beautiful, Misuki. I will cherish it for the rest of my life."
Hearing that from her father made Misuki giggle. She then looked over at Shadow who was having trouble putting it on. "Here Shadow, let me do it." She took the bracelet and tied it in front of his ring band. "There you go. It looks good on you. Do you like it?"
She watched him stare at it for a while before he looked down at her and knelt down in front of her. "I do like it. It makes me happy that you were thinking of me."
Misuki smiled as she ran into his arms and hugged him. "Shadow…"
"Shadow…Shadow." He felt Misuki poke him on the forehead, causing him to snap out of his daydreaming. "Hey are you okay? You were zoned out." She handed him a glass of milk. "Here, you should keep yourself hydrated." She gave it to him and then sat down beside him, drinking from her cup. "What made you stare at that charm?"
"I don't know." He slipped it back in his pocket and took a sip of his milk. "Honestly, my memories have come back to me since I got back with you."
Misuki snuggled against Shadow. "That makes me happy."
Shadow wrapped his arm around Misuki, watching her slowly fall asleep right there. He smiled while feeling her shoulder go up and down. He began remembering a few times Misuki would fall asleep in his lap when she was a little girl.
"It's finally done." A voice came into the room. It was the spirit of young Misuki standing in front of Shadow. "You two are reunited. This is such a cute sight."
"It's you." Shadow wasn't surprised to see the girl, yet his grip on Misuki tightened slightly.
"Yep, it's me." She skipped over to Misuki and twirled her hair. "Wow, I can't believe I turned out this cute. I wish my hair grew out a little longer." She stopped messing with Misuki and just smiled at her.
"Umm, question…what exactly are you?" Shadow asked. "You've been following me this whole time. Where did you come from?"
Young Misuki giggled and answered his question with a happy tone. "I'm energy made from the Master Emerald."
Shadow's eyes widened after hearing that. "You're…from the Master Emerald?"
She nodded. "A while back, Misuki wished that she'd be with you again. Her wish was so strong that the Emerald created me from her subconscious to haunt you and lead you to the right path. Now that your bond has been reformed, I can go back to the Master Emerald." Young Misuki began glowing a brilliant green and stared to vanish slowly. "Shadow, you have no idea just how far Misuki will go to keep you by her side. Since you two got back together, I've heard you say that you would never leave her side and never let her cry again. I'm holding you to those vows. Keep her close, Shadow. You're lucky to have someone like her love and care for you."
Shadow looked down at Misuki as she fidgeted a little bit in his arms. "I will honor my vows to her. Thank you." He gave her a smile.
Young Misuki giggled and smiled as she became more transparent with every second. "Well, take care." She finally vanished.
After they were alone again, Shadow got the blanket that was spread on top of the couch and used it to cover Misuki and himself. He wasn't tired so he just continued to stare at Misuki.
"Shadow, are you really a weapon?" Misuki asked him while he was giving her a bath before bed.
"Yes I am. Why do you ask?"
"Well, you don't seem like a weapon." She said, splashing in the water while Shadow washed her back. "Weapons are scary and they hurt people." She glanced over at Shadow with her childish eyes. "You can't be a weapon because you don't hurt anyone unless they try to hurt me or my papa."
Shadow smiled. "Well you are right. Weapons do hurt people. But the real truth is…it's not the weapon that's bad."
"Really?"
He nodded while rinsing her off with a wet cloth. "The weapon's purpose depends on the person holding it. The military for example use their weapons to protect people. While there are those who abuse weapons and take advantage of people."
"Like how those bad men tried to kidnap me? One of them held a gun to my head. But you came in and saved me."
Shadow wrapped little Misuki in a towel and lifted her out of the tub. "That's right. Those men are cowards and feel they will be seen as powerful if they have guns." He started to dry her off with the towel, starting with her hair and then down her body.
"I'm glad you're not a bad weapon." Misuki said. "You'd never use your powers like those bad men would you?"
"No. I wouldn't."
"Promise me." Misuki extended her right pinkie as Shadow wrapped the towel around her. "Promise me that you'll never use your skills for bad things."
Shadow chuckled as he wrapped his left pinkie with hers. "I promise."
'I guess I broke that promise to her.' He thought to himself. 'But I've been given a second chance to make things right with her. I won't screw it up.' Just after he finished his thoughts, a frantic knock came to the door.
Misuki squirmed as she slowly opened her eyes. "What's going on?" she asked while yawning.
"I'm about to find out." Shadow stood up once Misuki was fully off of him. He opened the door to see Knuckles. "You better have a damn good reason for waking Misuki up."
"Knuckles, is everything okay?" Misuki came from behind Shadow with the blanket still wrapped around her.
"Tails just found a black alien ship heading this way!" He exclaimed. "Sonic went to tell the Commander. We gotta keep them away from the facility."
"How did they find this place?" Shadow asked.
"The bird things!" Misuki exclaimed. "Maybe they attached a chip or something."
"That's exactly what it was." Knuckles said. "Those sneaky bastards bugged us!"
"We can worry about that later." Shadow said. "Let's go take care of this situation and finally end this!" The three of them ran down the hall and towards the elevator that would take them straight to the Commander.
Author's Note: We're getting close to the final battle X3 Things are gonna get intense real soon. Oh also, I bet you didn't expect young Misuki to be a manifestation of Misuki's wish, did ya? Teehee, that was my own little twist! Anyway, look forward to the next chapter (^w^)/ Bye for now!
Oh yeah, please please please R&R! Every time you do, I get a cookie ^^