Chapter 44
Shadow and Sonic were still confronting their mirror personas as Sonic's mirror self was trying to pull her closer towards the wall of water. Shadow was pinned to the ground by her reflection, her arms restrained, and the mirror self's knee pressed against the back of her neck.
"Chaos…" Shadow tried to break free, but the mirror copy applied pressure to the back of her neck crushing her windpipe preventing her from warping.
"I told you before, if you won't play with me, you have to watch." The Shadow mirror said,
"What are you?" She coughed out,
"We are the mirrors to your darkest selves." The Sonic Mirror said. Sonic was trying to pull out of the grapple, but the strength was similar to that of Chaos.
"You are not me!" Sonic said as it twists her arm further making her yelp in pain,
"I am you, the version of you that you will never be able to beat." She said as they were only a few feet from the wall of water now and she didn't want to know what would happen if she's thrown into it. Sonic looks over at Shadow who was also struggling as she thinks of an idea.
"I might not be able to beat you…" Sonic said as she looks at Shadow's mirror, "But she can, Chaos Shield!" A force field surrounds the fake mirror Shadow cutting of its arms as the hands restraining her lose their form turning into water.
"Chaos Control!" Shadow warps next to Sonic and roundhouse kicks the Mirror image causing it to let go. Sonic elbows it and it backs away from her. Shadow grabs Sonic by the waist and pulls her away from the wall as she kicks the mirror Sonic into the water wall causing it to disappear. "You okay?"
"Yeah," Sonic lets out a sigh of relief as she looks up at Shadow, was she always taller than her? "l… let's get rid of your double." Sonic said as Shadow lets her go,
"Wait, I have a question for it." Shadow said,
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"You said you're our darkest selves, Sonic's was Dark Sonic obviously, but I've never encountered a part of myself like this before." Shadow said,
"I'm the part of you that you refuse to acknowledge. Or are you still trying to pretend that you weren't made with their blood?" The mirror image said as Shadow pauses,
"Made by them? What is she talking about?" Sonic asked,
"You can't escape who you are Shadow…" The Mirror laughs triggering Shadow's rage,
"I am not them!" Shadow yelled taking Sonic by surprise,
"Ok, we're stopping this." Sonic said quickly moving the Chaos Shield towards the water wall and releasing it before it hits causing the Shadow Mirror to be tossed inside. The water stops revealing another path. "That wasn't there before…" She looks over at Shadow, she could see her hands were shaking. She walks up to her and hesitates before she takes her hand. "You okay?"
"I should be asking you that." Shadow said,
"Oh no, you're not going to deflect me that easily." Sonic said, "What did she mean by them?"
"The Dark Arms…"
"The alien race that assisted Robotnik in creating you?" She asked as Shadow nods. "Dude, you chose who you were a long time ago. Don't let some weird mirror monster tell you who you are."
"Better take your own advice then." She said looking at Sonic with a slight grin, "Don't let that thing tell you Dark Sonic is stronger. Where I was standing you were the stronger one."
"Honestly, that felt really satisfying. I don't feel afraid anymore." They hear a noise from the open doorway. "Not afraid of Dark Sonic at least… Ghosts are another story…" She said, grabbing Shadow's arm.
"We should keep moving," Shadow said as Sonic nods, they walk forward into the next room which was illuminated by the strange blue light.
"It looks like the chamber we fell from." Sonic said looking at the walls, On the far wall was the image of seven figures with their hands out. "Hey, those look like the Chaos Emeralds." She points out,
"Wish Knuckles was here to help us decipher it." Shadow said,
"I hope the others are okay." Sonic said lowering her head.
"We'll find them." Shadow said as they continue down the next corridor.
The others were continuing forward with Blaze leading, Cream was focused on the Chao egg as Knuckles was trying to make sure she didn't accidently trip. "Do you guys think we can stop for a second?" Tails asked looking pale, "I'm not feeling good,"
"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Amy asked as he kneels, "C'mon, I'll carry you."
"Oh no you don't," Knuckles said pulling him back to his feet, "You're not in a state to carry anyone. Don't think I didn't notice your hand after your last attack." He grabs Amy's wrist and they all see Amy's had was severely bruised,
"Oh my gosh!" Cream gasped,
"Nothing gets past you huh?" Amy chuckled trying to play it off, "Yeah, I may have over done it back there."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Blaze asked,
"I didn't really notice till we started walking." He said, "It'll be fine,"
"Here," Knuckles kneels down to Tails, "I'll carry you so we can keep moving."
"You sure?" Tails asked,
"I carried Saya while fighting Swatbots, this is a cake walk." He smiled as she climbed on his back and they continued forward.
"Wait… I hear footsteps." Carline said,
"Put out the light." Amy said,
"What if it's Sonic and Shadow?" Tails asked,
"Better safe than sorry." Blaze said snuffing out the light, which didn't do them much good since the Chao egg in Cream's hands was still glowing. They all get close to the walls and stay quiet as they can hear the footsteps from around the corner. They see a glowing green light as it turns the corner and they see Sonic and Shadow.
"Guys!" Sonic lets go of Shadow's hand and runs over to the others as Blaze relights her hand. They both wince readjusting to the brightness. "I'm so glad you're okay!" She said looking them over as she sees Knuckles carrying Tails. "Tails!" She moves over to her,
"I'm glad you're okay too," Tails smiles,
"You okay bud?"
"She's probably got a concussion," Knuckles said, "We should try to get out of here quickly."
"Well…" Sonic started to say as she looks at Shadow,
"What?" Blaze asked,
"There's a Dark Chaos Shard down here." Shadow said,
"Of course there is…" Knuckles said with a sigh, "At least Amy took care of Eggman's robot."
"You did?" Sonic asked,
"Yep!" He said looking proud, "Though, I slightly overdid it." He shows her his bruised hand,
"Yikes! Tails I'm going to grab your kit." Sonic said as she reaches for Tails bag and starts pulling out the first aid kit. She grabs an icepack and breaks it to activate it as she grabs the remaining gauze, "Here," she takes his hand and starts wrapping it with a splint. "Looks like at least three fingers are broken,"
"You know a lot about this," He said,
"Well when your best friends mom is a nurse and you spend time in the infirmary on a weekly basis you start picking up a few things." She chuckles, as he watches her help. He notices a large bruise in the shape of a handprint on her arm.
"Your arm… what happened?" Amy asked,
"We had a run in with a weird trap." She chuckles,
"It looks like someone grabbed you." Cream said,
"We can discuss that later, You're all good Ames. Use the ice to help with the swelling." She said,
"Now who's dodging?" Shadow said as Saya sticks her tongue out at her.
"We should find the shard and get out of here." Blaze said,
"Lead the way Sonic," Knuckles said,
"Ha, ha… yeah…" She said looking out into the dark.
"Don't worry, you can hold my hand if you're scared." Amy said holding out his hand expectantly.
"S…Sure…" Sonic holds his hand as they walk up front,
"Shadow, will you keep an eye on Cream? Make sure she doesn't trip." Blaze asked as they all begin to walk,
"Yeah…" She said as she glances at Sonic and Amy. She didn't know why but her chest felt heavy. "What exactly are you holding?" She asked Cream looking away.
"It's a Chao egg." She said,
"Really?" Sonic asked looking back,
"You're going to trip if you keep turning your head." Amy said as Sonic turns around almost tripping in the process, "See?" he said as Sonic chuckles, but she couldn't help it. It didn't feel the same holding Amy's hand as it did holding Shadow's. She wondered why that was.
"Knuckles there's more of that glue in your hair…" Tails said,
"Man… hopefully it's gone when we change back… getting that out without fire is going to suck…" He let out a sigh,
"Glue?" Shadow asked,
"Eggman tried to take Knuckles." Cream said,
"What? Why?" Sonic asked still leading.
"He said something about being able to read the Echidna language. As if he needed something deciphered." Knuckles said, "I got caught cuz I was distracted…" He looks away embarrassed.
"We were able to stop him and that's what's important." Blaze said looking back at Knuckles, and she notices Shadow's disheartened expression occasionally glancing at Sonic and Amy.
"The scroll Eggman stole…" Caroline said,
"The one he had me steal…" Sonic said looking sad,
"Cheer up, you know that wasn't you." Amy said bumping against her shoulder,
"Yeah…" She looks down at the bruise on her arm, "I do now." She steals another glance behind her at Shadow who was watching over Cream,
"Which way?" Amy asked as she snaps out of it,
"Uh… right." She pointed as they continued forward. The pathway opens up to what looks like an underwater cavern where there were dozens of the bioluminescent stones from underneath the water lighting up the entire room.
"It's beautiful." Cream said.
"Of course it's under water…" Knuckles said with a sigh,
"I'll get it." Shadow said about to take her jacket off as Sonic puts her hand up and shakes her head.
"No need…" She said letting go of Amy's hand as he lets go reluctantly. Sonic walks up to the water's edge and holds out her hand. They see a dark glimmer as something underneath the surface begin to move up towards the surface as the Dark Chaos shard floats up in front of her. She's about to reach out and grab the shard as Shadow notices Sonic eyes in the reflection of the pool were glowing red. Shadow quickly moves next to her and grabs the shard before Sonic could and tosses it to Blaze.
"Sonic?" Shadow grabbed her by the shoulders and shakes her, "Snap out of it!" Sonic blinks a few times and looks confused,
"Why are you shaking me?" Sonic grabs Shadow's arms to get her to stop.
"You zoned out." Shadow said looking over at Blaze who placed the Shard into Tails' pouch. "We got the shard, let's get out of here."
"Oh, okay." Sonic said looking confused, "Now the question is… How do we get out of here?"
"We find one of the rooms we fell from and climb back up." Knuckles said, "Or hopefully find stairs…" He said.
"You're up Cream. See if you can hear any wind down here." Shadow said as Cream nods. She begins to listen and pauses as they wait for her reaction.
"I hear footsteps…"
"Oh great! What if those mummies came to life?" Sonic said,
"I don't think you should watch horror movies for a while…" Knuckles said as Sonic lightly chuckles.
"Be ready for anything," Shadow said as they all begin to hear the footsteps and the light from a flashlight come in their direction. Two figures walk into the cavern.
"Rogue? Omega?" Shadow said looking surprised,
"This is Rogue to HQ, we found them." She said into a hand radio. "Hi Hun!" Rogue waves as they walk up to them, "Glad to see you all are okay."
"We're glad to see you too." Shadow said,
"You didn't respond for check in and Elias and Sally became worried." Omega said,
"C'mon, let's get you all out of here." Rogue said as they all let out a sigh. They follow them to a path that led to stairs and they were able to exit out through the same way they came in. By the time they finally get out of the ruins the sun was close to setting.
"I didn't realize how much I missed the sun." Sonic said as she plops onto the grass.
"Oh thank goodness!" They hear Sally say as she runs up to them. "We were so worried! What happened?"
"We can explain back at HQ, two people need medical attention." Shadow said as Sally nods.
"We'll have someone bring the Tornado. Let's hurry back." She said as they climb into a helicopter and head back to Freedom HQ. They exit the helicopter and Blaze quickly jumps out with Tails' pack walking over to her workshop and placing the shard in containment. It instantly fuses with the rest of the Dark Chaos Shard leaving her feeling unsettled.
"Go take them to the infirmary and meet us in the computer room after." Sally said,
"So you're Sonic huh?" Rogue said looking her over.
"Uh, yeah?" Sonic said feeling a little uncomfortable at Rogue checking her out.
"Rogue…" Shadow said,
"What? Can't a girl be curious? You talk about her all the time." Rogue said,
"You do?" Sonic asked,
"I talk about all of you…" Shadow said looking away, "Let's go." She walks forward as Blaze walks back over to Cream as they all transform back,
"What did I miss?" She asked Caroline,
"Oh the usual, they are walking circles around each other like always." She quietly chuckles as the others head to the infirmary.
"I'm this close to telling them." Brandy said crossing her arms as they head to the computer room,
"No, they have to learn for themselves." Caroline said,
"Fine," She said. Everyone else gets to the infirmary where they lay TK down on the cot and Alan sits in the one next to her.
"Are the rest of you alright?" Dr. Q asked as she starts checking over TK.
"Just a few cuts and bruises but nothing serious." Shadow said,
"Unless we're talking about Kolt's pride." Saya teased,
"Don't start." He said,
"Alright, then go check in with Elias. He's been panicking." Dr. Q said as they all nod,
"We'll come check up on you guys after." Saya said as they leave.
They get to the computer room where Caroline and Brandy were already starting to explain everything. "And that's a Chao egg?" Elias asked confused,
"Yes! They are creatures of Chaos that live close to the Master Emerald." Caroline explained, "A lot of stuff happened."
"Eggman showed up too." Kolt said,
"And found a shard of the Dark Chaos…" Saya added. Elias pinches the bridge of his nose trying to process all the information they gave him about what happened.
"Whenever I believe something is too easy or relaxed, it comes back to bite me…" He said letting out a loud sigh.
"At least your injuries are minor." Sally said, "So Caroline, what are you going to do with the Egg?"
"I'm going to take care of it until it hatches! Now that we're close to the Master Emerald it should hatch sometime." She said with a smile,
"I'm still confused on what it is." Elias said,
"Think Faerie, but instead of being connected to magic, they are connected to Chaos." Brandy explained,
"I think I understand?" Elias scratches his head. "Anything else happen I should know about?"
"Eggman tried to kidnap Kolt." Saya said,
"What?" Sally said,
"But he didn't succeed." Kolt said,
"If Cream didn't hear the robot he would have. That was a really close call." Brandy said,
"When you put it like that…" Kolt looks away,
"Why did he try to take Kolt?" Elias asked,
"Those ruins are littered in a strange language. Apparently, they are similar to the language of the Echidna. The same runes on our bracelets." Sophia said,
"Wait, you can read that script?" Sally said looking surprised as she gives Elias a look,
"It's an older dialect of Echidna language, but yeah, I can understand the gist of it." He said,
"That's not all. Apparently, we're not from another world." Brandy said,
"I don't understand," Elias said,
"The Dark Chaos triggered a genesis wave that rewrote the world." Saya said,
"This is technically still Mobius." Sophia said,
"Giant reset button." Saya said,
"My head hurts…" Sally said,
"Unfortunately, that's all the info we could get before Egghead broke everything." Saya said rolling her eyes.
"We think Eggman wants to decipher the scroll." Caroline said.
"That would make sense. That means you need to be on your guard Kolt. He may change his focus from Sonic to you." Elias said,
"Yes sir!" He said with a nod,
"You all had a very eventful day; you should get some rest." Sally said.
"I'm going to go check on TK," Saya said leaving the computer room,
"I think Saya's getting better." Caroline said,
"I agree, she was able to face her demons today and she won." Sophia said,
"The bruise on her arm?" Brandy asked as Sophia nods,
"We walked into a trapped room. It was some sort of test. At least that's the only thing I could think it could be. Our reflections came out and attacked us." Sophia explained, "They took on the form of our greatest fears."
"Dark Sonic…" Kolt said,
"She was afraid at first, but she fought through it." Sophia said,
"Do you think she's ready to go back to the field?" Elias asked looking profoundly serious at all of them.
"Yes." Sophia said,
"I'll let her know later that she can rejoin on the next mission." Elias said as they all leave the computer room.
"I'm really surprised Sophia. Honestly, I didn't think I'd ever hear you say you want Saya back in the field." Kolt said,
"You weren't there. She fought very well." She said,
"But you left something out," Brandy said,
"I did?"
"What about your greatest fear?" She said as Sophia paused hoping she wouldn't ask that.
"It was the version of me stuck in a loop of revenge." She lied; she didn't want them to hear her worries about the Dark Arms.
"Really?" Caroline said partially not believing it,
"I was full of anger when Eggman took Saya… angry to the point where I was ready to kill him." She said trying to deflect.
"Hey, I know he's evil. But Professor Ivo is in there somewhere." Kolt argued as he pauses for a moment. "I hope…" He looked down sad.
"I keep forgetting you know him." Brandy said.
"Yeah… it's really hard." He lets out a sigh, "I'm going to get some rest, that adventure burned me out." He said walking over to his room.
"I shouldn't have said anything…" Sophia said,
"We're happy you were honest with us." Caroline said, Sophia felt guilt hearing Caroline say that. "We should all get some rest." She said as they all head to bed.
Saya walks into the infirmary. Dr. Q was bandaging up Alan's hand while TK was asleep. "Hey," She waves,
"You did a very good job on the first aid Saya, I'm impressed." Dr. Q said,
"Aw thanks doc! How's TK doing?"
"She'll be better by the morning. Alan's almost all patched up." She said finishing the bandages.
"Thanks, I need to work on my form." Alan said,
"Not till that's fully healed. Come back here in the morning so I can check it." She said as he nods.
"I'm going to get some sleep." He stretches as he stands up "See you in the morning." He walked out.
"Let me look at that bruise." Dr. Q walked up to Saya,
"It's not that bad, it'll probably be healed by the morning." She said as she holds out her arm as Dr. Q looks at it.
"What grabbed you?"
"A water monster that looked like me." Saya said,
"What?" Dr. Q looked at her extremely confused, "What is it with you and water?"
"It's my mortal enemy." She said,
"I thought that was Eggman."
"It's my second mortal enemy." She chuckles,
"And how are you feeling?" she asked,
"Good other than a little tired, going through possibly haunted ruins was stressful." She said,
"But how are you feeling?" Dr. Q gives her a look,
"I feel okay. I think I'm starting to get a hang on this." She smiles,
"You don't have to rush feeling better, trauma isn't healed in a day."
"Wish it could heal like my other injuries." Saya chuckles, "But really doc, I feel a lot better."
"I'm glad then. Now, go get some sleep. You can come see TK in the morning."
"Alright! Night!" She said leaving the infirmary and heading to bed. Saya knew she felt different. She didn't know why but she knew it was a step in the right direction and like she always does, she'll keep running forward.