Guys...this is it. The final chapter. The last one in the book. This whole experience has been so amazing for me! My first book turned out better than I ever hoped. Through it all, you've been there with praise as well as constructive criticism. You guys are my absolute world! Well, here we go! Enjoy the last chapter!
-Epicsonicfan :D
I can't believe this is the end of this book. ;n; I just can't believe it. You guys are awesome and I just am so glad you stuck with it until the end. You guys are amazing.
Enjoy.
- Owlwyng :3
-The Adventure Never Ends-
Shadow the Hedgehog stayed hidden silently in the trees surrounding the clearing where they had fought just hours earlier. The group had done much progress, clearing away over half of the remains of Eggman's robot. Something was nagging at him though. There was something about Paige that was different...
He crossed his arms and let out a sigh. The hedgehog didn't understand why he felt this way about her. Yet somehow, he felt a connection, an attachment. How were Paige, Maddie, and him all linked? It didn't make sense. They had never met until that fateful day a few months ago. It was a couple years in their time, but still. What had changed?
At first it was just Maddie here. Then she returned home and came back with Paige this time. Something could have happened there.
Shadow reminisced that odd event he had to go through when he and Maddie switched bodies back on Eggman's ship. He still didn't understand what caused it. Thinking, he wondered if they had created a connection then. But then he realized that there was no way Paige could be included in that, since she wasn't in Mobius at the time.
One thing bothered Shadow. He knew that Paige wasn't dead; he could feel it. He could still sense her presence in his soul. But if the group didn't clear the rest of that rubble away fast enough, she actually would die. "Ignorant fools," he mumbled to himself.
He made a quick decision. Grabbing one of the fake chaos emeralds he always had in his possession in case of emergencies, Shadow envisioned the place where Paige lay and chaos controlled there. Instantly, the metal walls surrounded him.
It was dark and cramped, and he had hardly any room at all to move. The ground felt weird beneath him, and he realized with a start that Paige's body was underneath him. Shuddering, he pushed himself away as best as he could in the tight space until he was crouched only on her legs. He was horrified to realize they were disformed.
The room Paige was trapped in was cramped and stuffy, with so little space that there was no way for Shadow to move without touching her body. Little to no light seeped in through the small cracks in the metal. The ebony hedgehog had never been one to be claustrophobic, but something about the situation made the tiny space too much for him to handle.
Suddenly, a loud pounding noise hit the walls. The pile of rubble shook around him and he instinctively scrunched into a small ball shape. A sliver of light escaped into their small tomb. From the inside, Shadow could tell that someone was just about break through the wall of metal seperating them. He had to get out of there immediately.
He fumbled to grab the fake chaos emerald; he found it rolled up against Paige's hand-or what felt like her hand-which creeped him out. The sliver of light became a crack as whoever was outside removed even more wreckage.
Shadow could now make out Paige's face, pale and sweet. She looked so young and innocent when she was unconscious, he thought, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He quickly shoved the thought and smile away to the deepest corners of his mind.
"I've found something!" Someone, Amy from the sound of it, called from outside. They were almost upon them. Shadow rushed to get his arms wrapped around Paige's waist. More light appeared and the moaning of metal echoed around them. He struggled to find the fake chaos emerald, which had fallen somewhere else during his brief moment of holding on to Paige. He cursed rather loudly.
"I heard a voice!" Tails exclaimed. On the outside, Amy and Knuckles removed a rather large piece of metal from the wreckage pile, the piece that would open up the space completely and let them save Paige. But when they peered inside, they saw nothing.
There was no one there.
Shadow hit the ground running. Carrying Paige bridal style, he skated north. According to his resources, it wouldn't take too long to get where he needed to go.
For the first time in forever, he actually felt guilty about his actions. Shadow was disgusted with how attached he'd become to Paige. He'd never let his emotions get the better of him until now.
He cursed aloud again and turned slightly east. Paige moaned and shifted a little, throwing him off balance. Shadow stumbled but kept his footing and kept going. She was certainly a strange thing.
A crack of thunder rolled across the sky, warning him of how little time he had. It wouldn't take long before someone figured out what had happened. Tails had the ability to track fake chaos emerald spikes, like the kind that occured today when he chaos controlled. He had to get there immediately!
Paige moaned again. She would come to any second. Good, Shadow thought. Maybe it would be better for her if he explained. Fumbling awkwardly for his wrist communicator, the hedgehog clicked the record button and began speaking.
By the time Shadow reached where he was going, he had recorded enough information for Paige to understand. He set her down gently on the grass. Then he switched his wrist communicator with hers, so she had the one with the message on it. His work was almost done.
Shadow may have been a steely, harsh person, but that didn't mean he was heartless. He couldn't just leave Paige with two broken legs. That would be unnecessarily cruel.
Somewhere deep down, he did have a heart.
Shadow brought out his fake chaos emerald and kneeled to the ground. He placed one hand on her disformed right thigh, keeping his other hand on the emerald. He could see the jagged lumps under her jeans where the bones were sticking out of the skin.
"Chaos heal," he whispered, gently gliding his hand down her knee, around her calf, and over her ankle. The ebony hedgehog watched indifferently as the bones in her leg shifted back to their normal position. The lumps under Paige's jeans melted away slowly. He repeated the process for the other leg.
After he finished, Shadow slapped the girl across the face twice. Bleary-eyed Paige sat up gingerly, holding her head and wincing slightly. She looked around, eventually resting her eyes on him. "Shadow?" she mumbled. "How did-"
"Come on kid," he cut her off harshly. He pulled her to her feet and pinned her arm behind her back. She cringed.
"Come on, Shadz. I didn't do anything!" she whined. Shadow's expression didn't change. "Lemme go!" He led her in front of the giant portal in front of them, and suddenly Paige grew silent.
Standing ten feet tall and ten feet wide, this portal was impossible to miss. The rim of the portal was made of pure silver and seemed to sparkle although the sun wasn't showing through the dark clouds. Little loops and curls extended from the some of the outside edges, forming delicate patterns. The actual portal itself was a lime green color. Little white particles swirled on the inside in a clockwise direction. Paige's head swam.
"Don't you DARE send me home!" She thrashed against his touch.
He didn't acknowledge her threat. "There's a message on your wrist com. You'll know what to do when you get there. I'd do it myself but I have"-he paused to look around-"other things to attend to."
"Stop being such a creepy loner and cut it out!" Paige demanded. Shadow had had enough. He said what he needed to say. The rest was up to her.
"Have a nice trip." With a grand flourish, the hedgehog spun Paige around and shoved her in the portal backwards, so that the last thing she saw before disappearing was the wide smirk covering half of his face.
~TO BE CONTINUED~
I hope you all enjoyed! The first chapter for The Maze of Games will be posted in about a week or two. The poll regarding including fan-made characters or not will be closed on April 12, 2014. You have until then to vote.
See ya in a few weeks!
Your faithful author,
Epicsonicfan :D
That's it. Last chapter, guys. It's just so amazing. I can't wait for the next book. I do think you should go vote, like Epicsonicfan said. We care about your opinions.
Your poster,
Owlwyng :3