Chapter Nine – Unknown
The safe-house wasn't exactly a house, it was a burrow. It had been dug out of the very rock underneath a large overhang, very out of the way. Even with Sonic's directions, it took some finding. Which was the point. It was obvious it had been dug by the Blue Blur himself about ten years ago, when he was going though his digging phase, as a child. Every Hedgehog goes through it, but Sonic's Super-spin made him exceedingly good at it. The burrow was indeed basic, but it had cold running water and electricity. There was a kitchen, with cupboards full of food, and a small coal fired stove to cook on, a lounge, with mismatched sofas and chairs, several bedrooms, again mismatched, a compost toilet, and a small courtyard out the back. The tap for the running water was there. The electrics had been fully wired, and there was electric lighting and heaters everywhere. In one corner, was a small desktop computer, which a small label stuck onto the wall above it, written in Sonic's handwriting, saying 'Tails' Workshop', with an arrow pointing down.
Knuckles had carried Sonic in and laid him on one of the sofas. He was only barely conscious. The Echidnawas panting but extremely worried.
"What's going on?" He breathed, indicating the Blue Blur. Tails tore himself away from ogling the computer to examine him. He looked Sonic all over, who was now seriously fighting to stay awake, and shrugged.
"It's his Intangibility. It's out of control. He's fazing in and out of solidity very quickly and completely at random. But I have no idea why." He admitted. Sonic looked absolutely terrified.
"It's because I pushed it to far, buddy, isn't it." He heaved, struggling to draw breath. But Tails frowned, he wasn't convinced. He grabbed his handheld and scanned the Blue Blur with it. His jaw dropped.
"Sonic, your not dying." He gasped. "All your vitals, they all appear normal." He stammered. "According to this, there's nothing wrong with you." He shrugged. They looked at each other. Sonic's eyes widened as he looked down at his body. It was exploding out into the ghost-like state of Intangibility and within seconds, solidifying again, before immediately repeating the process. He couldn't stop it. The constant fazing was incredible tiring and he was very sleepy. He stared at Tails' handheld. Could it be wrong? After years of working with the device, he doubted it. It was so sensitive to his vitals that it could detect a cold on Sonic before the Hedgehog did, and often did, to his utter annoyance.
If it was testifying that there was nothing was wrong with him, he had to believe it. So what was going on? Nobody had any idea, but at least he was not in any danger from this new development. This was not how he supposedly dies. It came to only one conclusion. His body wasn't done with him power-wise yet and he was still growing, and the Powers-That-Be still had more for him.
They all looked at Shadow. All this came back to the Brotherhood. When Silver found out that Shadow's activation of his Telekinesis was entirely accidental, he suspected it may have changed the course of history, between their two timelines, and as Shadow had grown stronger, much stronger then he should have, then there must an element out there to balance him. All Chaos needed balancing. Light and dark, good and evil and the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald. Him and Sonic was no coincidence.
The Powers-That-Be couldn't influence Shadow, having been created, rather then born, he had no destiny. But Sonic they could. They must have realised that as a being of darkness, in the future where you'd grow stronger then your means, and thus they sent a being of pure light to balance him. To calm him. Sonic's Ying to Shadow's Yang. Shadow never thought of himself and Sonic like that, but it did make sense. But it didn't explain the fazing, or the fact that he was immortal, and Sonic was not. If he was truly his balance, then he'd be his equal in everything, and Sonic still currently wasn't. Tails frowned.
"Does it mean there's a new power coming through?" He wondered. Sonic heaved as he tried to sit up.
"Well." He gasped. "It has a funny way of showing it." He strained. Now this was getting painful again, after it having eased somewhat. He stared at Silver. The Grey Hedgehog had got nothing. Sonic, at this point in time, should be dead. Every history book he'd ever read cited the Blue Blur dying at seventeen, and yet here he was, at twenty-two, with the weirdest set of powers ever and still growing. Events between their two timelines had definitely changed, and as he looked at Shadow, Silver was now convinced that he was not the one who kills Sonic. He went to help the others. The mighty Black Hedgehog had been silently standing behind Sonic's sofa, intently watching proceedings and yet hovering like a loyal bird of prey ready to strike down on any dangers.
Shadow growled. He hated hovering, but he couldn't help himself. But Sonic's condition intently worried him and he was also still angry at himself for loosing the Chaos Emerald. He desperately wanted to go back to the city and look for it, but his loyalty to the Brotherhood routed him to the spot. His growl deepened.
'Dam you, Powers-That-Be!' He hissed in his thoughts. Fate had cleverly caught him through the Blue Blur and he now hated them with a passion. It had influenced him in ways he's never had imagined. Going after those around him, to get at Shadow, as they couldn't influence him directly. No birth, no destiny. He'd always believed that being created in a lab, he'd manage to avoid it. How wrong he was. As he watched Sonic's friends medicate him for his pain, Shadow's mind turned to Maria. His frowned.
'Fate went after those around me?' He thought, wondering. Did that mean that Maria was meant to die? Her death definitely sent him down his current path. Did the Powers-That-Be want him to go down this road? He suspected so. If she hadn't have died, Shadow was certain he wouldn't be standing here, but nor would be the powerful and graceful creature he was today. He barely reached ten percent of his potential living on the Ark with Maria. Remembering back, his memory now fully restored, and with what he knew now, it was both frustrating and heartbreaking. Considering of how willing he was to give it all up for her. Would he do it now as the King of Chaos? Shadow had no idea, but with the evil streak now running through him, his suspected not. Before her death, and his change, yes, in a heartbeat.
His mind then turned to his current demeanor. The pure evil that resided in him. A true bad guy amongst good people, and he was there out of choice. All because she'd asked him to. Getting acceptance from them was tough, but that road was made significantly easier by the Blue Blur who stood by him, long before his seventeenth birthday. He'd seen that Shadow wanted to make a mends and gave him the chance to do so. He had always been grateful to Sonic for that. He'd saved him from a lot of bother. But what would Maria make of him now? Sonic had warned not to go there, but too late, his mind wondered in that direction.
Everyone could feel the pure evil in Shadow. It was why trust from Sonic's friends towards him was always so hit and miss. It made gaining and then keeping that trust so incredibly difficult. But Shadow couldn't help it. The evil was a part of him now, and he was changing for nobody. He wasn't entirely sure if he even could. Maria would be horrified at the evil presence and would immediately insist that he did, otherwise, he suspected, she'd leave. A choice between loosing her or himself. Shadow gulped. Could he even do that? Make that choice? Maria was more then just a friend to him. He loved her, though he was certain, those feelings weren't reciprocated.
Weirdly, Gerald had allowed it. Was it to ensure that Shadow was willing to sacrifice everything for his granddaughter if he loved her? The Black Hedgehog sighed. He suspecting so, whatever the sacrifice was? With Maria's death, he never actually found out, and the Ark mentions nothing of it. Shadow smirked. The Human manipulating him as always, but it seemed that Fate and the Powers-That-Be had other ideas, pulling a fast one, right across Gerald, even on the Ark.
Given the choice, Shadow preferred his current life rather then his old one with Maria. He smirked. That wasn't the evil within him talking. It intensely frustrated him that he used so little of his potential back then, simply because he didn't know he had it. He had Super-Strength. He had the power to completely smash his way through that pod that Maria, on the Ark, put him in, and with his Super-Speed, he'd be fast enough to take her bullet. With his immortality, he'd have survived it. But he didn't do any of it, because he didn't know, at the time, he could. He could have saved her. That was what was so frustrating. But as Shadow suspected, no one, not even Gerald himself, truly knew the full extent of his powers and abilities. Certainly not fifty years ago. He remembered running from Earth's G.U.N. soldiers, dragging Maria behind him. He rolled his eyes. She severely slowed them down. He could have easily picked her up and carried her, outrunning the Humans with ease. He didn't know simply because the scientists didn't know. He smirked, looking down at the markings on his hands. He did now.
He sighed and rubbed his face, running his fingers through his quills. If Maria was destined to die, and there was nothing Shadow could have done to save her, even if he did know he had the power. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. That was brutal. But he took some comfort in it. He was now certain her death wasn't his fault. He'd been blaming himself for so long, maybe now was the time to truly move on from it.
He looked around. Tails, Knuckles and Silver were still fussing over Sonic. Shadow was glad he was alright and not in any danger but the constant Intangibility was grating on him. Would it stop? The Blue Blur had suffered enough. He took a deep sigh. That looked like that wasn't happening anytime soon. He turned and looked outside. The girls, Blaze, Rouge and Amy, were playing lookout, while chatting rather loudly. Shadow growled. Keep the noise down. This burrow may have been out of the way, but it wasn't invisible. Seemed discretion was not their forte at the moment, and didn't fancy striking yet another argument with Rouge on the issue. The burrow was indeed rather basic, but as a basecamp, as nothing else was available, it would do nicely. Suddenly, Rouge's radio crackled into life, as being outside, it had signal.
"Hello." A very cheery voice hollowed. "The guy in the chair reporting for duty." It giggled. Shadow overheard and rolled his eyes. He knew the voice. But then it got cut across by someone far more senior. Frank.
"Charlie!" He spat, growling. The Chestnut Hedgehog was immediately silenced. "Rouge. Report." He demanded. "I know it's only been a few hours, but where are you? I can't find your location anywhere. You must be in the middle of nowhere." He asked. Rouge looked up and her eyes met with Shadow's through the front door. He nodded. Giving her permission to answer back but not to divulge their exact location. Rouge sighed.
"We're at the safe-house." She paused, and with a second nod from Shadow, she continued. "And we're all safe and well." She reported, but confused complaints from Amy and Blaze. Sonic wasn't fine. But Shadow quickly joined them outside, successfully fighting his urge to stay with the Blue Blur, and raised his hand to instantly silence them. He glared at them with a cold stare. Rouge out her hand over the radio so they could talk. Shadow hissed.
"According to Tails' handheld, he's fine, despite how he looks." He whispered. "And you don't tell people, especially G.U.N., information they don't need to know." He hissed.
Shadow had a point, but Blaze frowned.
"Don't you trust G.U.N.? You work for them." She asked. Shadow evilly smirked in reply.
"Yes, but under these circumstances, I suspect G.U.N. would panic if they heard Sonic was still down, and it would make our situation significantly worse, as they would insist on helping us. They need to believe him alright and back to full health. Better to keep them at arms length, I think." He leered. Rouge sighed and franticly nodded in agreement. She remembered how completely and utterly panicked G.U.N. got when both Shadow and Sonic went down after the collision. It was very unpleasant, and she, like Shadow, knew they'd loose it again over this. Soon, there was another crackle over Rouge's radio. Frank sounded relieved.
"Oh, good. Glad Sonic's recovered and is alright." He heaved. "We've had some headway with the Mobian Authority Mainframe." He announced, and then whispered as if out of hear shot of someone. The excitement getting the better of him, completely forgetting about G.U.N. radio protocol. "Where did you get this guy?" He asked. "I've never seen anyone run around a computer at the speeds that Chestnut Hedgehog does. Is he really related to the Blue Blur?" He stuttered, desperate to know. Silence answered as Shadow and Rouge stared at each other. Suddenly Tails appeared, himself overhearing the radio. He silently gestures two hands grasped together, on one side of his tilted head, indicating that Sonic was now sleeping. Through the door, he could be seen sucking his thumb. But Tails then gave the thumbs up, saying he was alright, but then gave a deep shoulder shrug indicating that he still had no idea what was going on. Then the three of them looked over his shoulder, as Knuckles and Silver were sat with him, the Grey Hedgehog also snoozing, the Blue Blur still fazing in and out of Intangibility, even in his sleep.
Rouge herself, silently points the radio, and shrugs. How should she answer Frank's question? With Sonic down, it was now up the Tails to make the decision. He knew the Blue Blur the longest. Tails nodded. Rouge acknowledges. They really couldn't not answer the question.
"Yes." She announced. "But keep it under the radar." She added, hurriedly. There was a slight pause before Frank answers back.
"Understood." He agreed. He figured being related to the Hero of Mobius could put you in an extremely dangerous position. Your life constantly being threatened in order to break the hero. The Bear seriously didn't want to make that situation any worse. Then his voice became stern again.
"We have found evidence for the case against the Chief Executive, Lionel, but it's only speculation, as its only been a few hours. But we think we know what happened, or at least Charlie does." He sighed, then backed off from the radio allowing the Chestnut Hedgehog to take over. He sighed.
"Lionel blames my Uncle, Jules, for the death of his family. Unfortunately, that is not as far fetched an idea as it sounds. He was powerful like Sonic, but unlike his son, he was extremely arrogant, and didn't care who got caught in the crossfire when his fought his fights with Robotnik." He sighed. But Frank cut across him.
"What? Eggman." He gasped, but Charlie grabbed back the radio. He rolled his eyes. He heaved.
"No. His father. Julian. He was as hell bend on destroying Jules as just much as my Uncle was on destroying him. Neither cared about who got killed in the crossfire. Unfortunately, this all came to a head, about twenty years ago in Central City. I'm a few years older then Sonic so I actually remember the incident, but my cousin, who was only a toddler, wouldn't have. The two were heavily battling in the city. Jules may have been arrogant but he also had a heart and finally realised that this battle could cost thousands of innocent lives, and therefore, he desperately tried to push the battle out of the city. But Julian was having none of it, and so he attacks the hospital.
The Human takes out the entire building, and Jules, using his Super-Speed runs in and saves as many people as he could. Amazingly, he gets everyone out, except for one family. I remembered him going back in several times as the building collapsed, desperately looking for the family, but he just couldn't find them and then in the end, he was forced to flee for his own life, as the hospital came down." He sighed. "Guess who's family it was?" He added. There was silence as Frank answers for everyone.
"Lionel's." He announced. Charlie nodded.
"Yes." He agreed. "A family of lions was pulled from the wreckage several days later, no survivors." He said, disheartened. "I clearly remembered the media and onlookers were all over the incident. Somewhere on the Mobian Authority Mainframe, there will be newspaper reports, eye witness accounts, and police statements of the incident. All we have to do is prove that Jules, my Uncle, did everything he physically could to try and save the family, and Lionel won't have a leg to stand on. The documents are there. We just have to find them." He announced. Silence greeted Charlie's story. It was incredibly harrowing. But Frank frowned, and asked the question that everyone was thinking.
"Charlie, if Jules was so arrogant, how come Sonic is not?" He wondered. The Blue Blur was famous for not having a single arrogant bone in his body. The Chestnut Hedgehog smiled.
"He's a Midnight. He may have his father's powers, but really, he's his mother's son." He announced, incredibly proudly. You could hear the pride he had for his cousin in his voice. But Frank frowned.
"Midnight?" He asked. But Charlie giggled, giving a deep sigh.
"A quick lesson in Hedgehog fur coat genetics. There are three types of genes. Snow, a dominant gene, creating white and grey. Earth, another dominant gene, creating colours of Autumn. Red, yellow, green and brown, and finally, Midnight, a recessive gene, so requiring two copies, creating purple, black and blue. My Aunt, Bernadette, was a Midnight, a beautiful deep purple, and so Jules must have been a carrier." He giggled. "Sonic should be a lot darker in fur coat colour then he actually is. But a lifetime of traveling the world under the sun, has badly bleached him. He was born a deep rich sapphire navy, a colour he lost a long time ago." He heaved. Charlie had overheard them saying that Sonic was alright down the radio, but he knew that wasn't true, but knew better then to say anything. If anyone could save his cousin, his friends could.
On the other end of the radio, everyone was in stunned silence, all looking at Shadow. Charlie's explanation of Hedgehog genetics meant that he, being a deep rich Black was also a Midnight, and Silver, a Snow. The Ultimate Lifeform rolled his eyes. As a geneticist himself, he already knew this. Being a Midnight, did not make him related to Sonic, and besides, it was only partial, his Black Arms genes giving him his red stripes. Though Sonic's colour change, it did make sense. It was how his fur coat colour was so unusual. The royal Blue. Midnight Hedgehogs were rare, only one to two percent of the population, but carriers of the Midnight gene were well into the thirty percent range. So Sonic being Blue, immediately told Shadow, he was a Midnight, but he could never understand how he was so pale. He should have been a lot darker. But as Shadow had just learned. It was, once.
He shock his head, and got his mind back on the task in hand. He grabbed Rouge's wrist, and spoke into the radio.
"How quickly can you put a case together against Lionel. I fear that the Mobian Authorities and Eggman are still on our tail." He said, hurriedly. Frank too also snapped back into the mission.
"We are going as fast as we can." He announced. "Charlie's just gone back to the computer." He added. "You know. I think I'll offer him a job, especially if he finds the documents backing up Jules. If he does, we've got Lionel. I still can't believe that he paid Eggman to kill Sonic over this." He gasped. But Shadow heaved.
"Well, he lost his family to Jules, whether accidentally or otherwise. Therefore he believed that the Hedgehog had no right to keep his son, when he himself lost his own." He leered. He immediately recognised the reasoning. It was grief. An emotion Shadow knew far too well, and knew how powerful it was to turn good people evil. It was how he was turned. Gerard praying on Shadow's grief for Maria, while in stasis on Prison Island, back on Earth, to turn him to pure darkness. He felt for the Lion, but it was still no excuse. Frank understood what Shadow was getting at, and said no more on the matter. He sighed again.
"Well, we have been keeping watch on the city, and it seemed Eggman had moved off but those Mobian Authorities goons are still around. It seems like they have started to search the surrounding area. If your safe-house is well hidden, which I suspect it is, then you should be safe for the time being. I would suggest you hunker down and get some rest. We will keep you posted on developments." He smiled and then signed off the radio.
Shadow stretched. He had to agree. With Sonic asleep, he had thought about going back for the Chaos Emerald but he was now just too tired. All this standing around had caused real exhaustion to truly set in and now he was struggling. He gave into it. He didn't like it but he didn't have a choice. He was on his knees.
All was quiet and at the moment, relatively safe, certainly for a the next few hours at least. He was exhausted. In fact, everyone was. It was still broad daylight, but as they all filed into the burrow, it quickly became quiet, as all became sound asleep. Even Shadow. It had been years since he actually slept, but the Telekinesis had drained him so badly that he couldn't stay awake. Before he could stop himself, he was curled up on the floor, near the door, gently purring, dreaming the day away.