AN: Hey guys, sorry I didn't keep up with my updating schedule. Since I've had my summer vacation, I was updating every week, but now that school is getting ready to start, expect delays in updates. I'm going to try to update every 2 weeks if I can, but do not think I am abandoning this story. I will complete it, I promise!
•~•
After their meet up, Sonic, Sally, and Shadow walked back to their parked cars together. "What are we supposed to do with these missing kids now?" Sonic questioned.
"Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do if we have no clues to where they're being held," Shadow replied. "Our best bet it to gamble on the next child they might come for, keep tabs on them 24/7, and try to catch the kidnapper in the act."
"Well, whoever is behind this clearly is one step ahead of us," Sally sighed.
Shadow stopped in his tracks, but the other two didn't notice as they walked on ahead. Shadow looked up in the trees and then to the left and right side of him. Finally noticing his absence, Sally turned to look at the ebony male. She took notice of his concentrated expression and looked at him strangely by his behavior. "Shadow, is something wrong?"
Shadow's red eyes scanned the perimeter. "We're being watched," he replied lowly.
Sonic stopped in his tracks, allowing his vampire nature to heighten his hearing. He sniffed the air, picking up a familiar scent. "It's that guy again…"
"The one that attacked Sally in Twinkle Park?" Shadow deduced.
"Yeah," Sonic replied. "Don't let your guard down, he's no amateur."
Sally backed up cautiously, looking at her surroundings in the forest. Just where exactly was he hiding? Suddenly, Sonic felt two hands grab the sides of his head and violently snap it to the side. The blue hedgehog collapsed on the ground, temporarily dead for the time being. Weirdly enough, there was no one standing behind Sonic to do the deed, which put them on alert. "Sonic!" Sally backed up, standing next to Shadow.
Shadow put an arm out in front of Sally, preventing her from nearing her husband who was down and out. "Don't." His nose sniffed the air and his head suddenly shot over his shoulder behind him.
Two stakes came flying out from behind them, but Shadow swiftly grabbed them as if he had expected them minutes before. He cracked both of them in each hand and chucked them to the side. "Reveal yourself!" he commanded.
Suddenly, Espio transpired before their eyes several yards away. He lowered his crossbow looking at the two.
"You can cloak yourself?" Sally muttered.
He smirked. "I am a chameleon after all."
Her eyes narrowed at him. "You didn't do that the first time we met."
He reattached his crossbow to his back. "Why would I show my cards to you the first time we fought?" he argued. "That would be foolish."
"Why do you keep coming after her?" Shadow demanded.
"I'm afraid that's information I can not give you," he replied. His hands reached behind his back and he whipped out two Glock 19s and aimed them in Sally directions.
"Shit." Seeing the weapons, Shadow shoved Sally to the side and shielded her with his own body. Sally closed her eyes and covered her head and curled up as she heard the shots ring out. Shadow's body coiled in different directions from each shot to his chest and torso.
Espio lowered his weapon after using all his rounds. He was impressed after witnessing the hedgehog still standing from the attack. Shadow dropped down to his knees, bullet holes all over his body. He bled from the wounds but looked up at the assassin, unimpressed by his attempt to take him down. "Is that all you've got?"
Espio blinked in surprise before Shadow suddenly reappeared with quick precision in front of him. Shadow uppercut the reptile, sending him flying into the air. Espio quickly recovered from the hit, grabbing a branch and swinging around it to land on top of it.
Shadow shook a fist in the air. "Bullets won't take me down, you moron!" he shouted from below.
Espio touched at his chin and wiped at some of the blood oozing from his mouth. Shadow's punch had been more powerful than expected. "Fully noted," he comprehended. With that, Espio disappeared under the guise of his cloaking ability.
Growling in frustration, Shadow looked to Sally who seemed to grow more panicked now that they were unable to see where he was coming from. She quickly got up to her feet. "What do we do now?"
He glanced at her standing directly behind him with her back against his. In this position, the two would have most angles covered. "Don't panic, just-"
WHACK.
Shadow felt a powerful kick to the face and flew to the left into the dirt. "Shadow!" Sally exclaimed.
Rubbing at his own jaw, he went to get up but felt a knife plunge into his heart. Choking on blood, Shadow gripped an invisible wrist plunging the knife into his chest. Sally came up behind the cloaked assassin and yanked him from the back of his outfit. "Get the hell off of him!" Using her werewolf strength she spun him around in circles before tossing him off into the distance.
Finally being able to see the knife in his chest, he pried it out and looked at the bloody dagger. "Fantastic," he bemoaned sarcastically. "He can cloak his weapons when he's holding them too…"
Sally extended him a hand and helped lift him to his feet. "What were you trying to say before?"
"We have to use our senses to locate his whereabouts. Since you're a werewolf you have to use your strong sense of smell to detect his location. Because I'm both werewolf and vampire, I'll use my heightened sense of hearing to pick up on any sounds he makes when he's making his way towards us. That's all we've got to fight him in this form."
"That's pretty smart," she commended. Her eyes narrowed back to where she had thrown him. "I'm guessing he's close by again."
Shadow's ears perked and his eyes drifted to his right. He felt some air breeze pass his right cheek. "Yes, like right here!" Suddenly in one swift movement, he had managed to grab an arm over his right shoulder with his left hand and slammed the chameleon over his shoulder and into the ground.
Espio's concealing technique reverted allowing the two of them to see him again. Looking victorious, Shadow bent down and grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground. Sally watched as Shadow slammed Espio up against a tree and restrained him. The hybrid's eyes dilated, as he looked Espio in the eye. "Time to give us some answers. Who do you work for?"
Espio cackled under Shadow's restraint, as he looked him in the eye boldly. "You fool, that won't work on me!"
Shadow blinked in surprise. Not once in his entire existence had someone been able to defy his compulsion technique. "How are you able to resist my compulsion?"
"My master used magic on me to combat any type of compelling," he replied.
"That's impossible…What exactly are you?" he questioned through grit teeth. "A vampire, a witch, a werewolf?" he listed.
"I am a vampire," he replied. "But I am also a mercenary for hire."
"Why can't you tell me who you are working for and why they are determined to kill Sally?"
"Like I said, my master does not want me to give you any more information you could use against them."
Just then, nearby, Sonic started to stir. Groaning, he sat upright and looked around. "Damn, he got me again…"
"Sonic, Shadow managed to get him!" Sally retold. "We're trying to get some information."
Sonic wandered over to the three and looked at their assailant under restraint. "How's that coming along then, Shad?"
"Not great…" Shadow eyes glowed yellow and he bared his fangs at Espio. Quickly, he dug them in the side of Espio's neck, chomping down a painful bite. The reptile cried out as he injected him with her toxic werewolf bite. Pulling back from him, his brows furrowed. "I guess I'll just have to drive it out of you then. That werewolf bite is going to make you hallucinate in a couple of hours, you may slip up. Or the unbearable pain from my bite may cause you to give up the information," he alluded.
While Shadow interrogated the other vampire, Sally couldn't help but notice something strange on one of Espio's wrists. She moved in closer to get a better look. "Shadow, look," she pointed.
Shadow's eyes followed her look, staring at Espio's left wrist. Just hidden behind the cusp of his glove was a dark red tattoo that looked oddly familiar. Shadow grabbed his left wrist with his other hand and used his thumb to move up the fabric to get a better look. When the cloth was moved it revealed that same infinite square they had seen at the werewolf camp, and he had personally seen Faith draw in her sketch book.
"This tattoo," Shadow started, "What does it mean?"
"It's my master's calling card," he replied. "That's the only information I'll give you." Espio's hand reached for a button on his belt that he pressed discreetly without Shadow's seeing him. "Now, if you excuse me. I have failed my mission and because I am under interrogation, I have no other option than to terminate this operation."
Sonic seemed wary by that prospect. "I don't like the sounds of that…"
Shadow raised a brow. "What do you mean?" he questioned.
He smirked arrogantly. "Just check under my jacket," he instructed.
Obliging, Sonic moved in and unzipped his jacket revealing a hefty vest with a bunch of wires and explosive devices strapped to his chest. "Crap, he's going to explode!"
"Shit..." Seeing the severity, Shadow released his hold on Espio's throat, grabbed both Sonic and Sally, and zipped them away with incredible speed before the chameleon detonated. Within ten seconds of escaping, a loud explosion sounded off in the area Espio had been left, leaving a wake of destruction.
•~•
At that same time back at Shadow's estate, another fight was in place just outside their back yard. Amy and Finitevus clashed their weapons against one another's, desperately trying to take each other down. Overpowering him, she managed to push his weapon lower to the ground. "Kyahh!" Amy bellowed out like a war cry.
Amy got into a crouching position and dodged behind him and caught him off guard with his recent attack and landed another hit to his side, sending him flying. Finitevus slammed into a nearby tree but recovered quickly. He pushed off from the tree and ran towards her. Amy mimicked his actions and ran at him. Their weapons clashed together as they fought in the distance from where Blaze, Silver, and Faith stood.
In the meantime, Lightning used his incredible speed to race around the other three tauntingly. Blaze watched as the lynx zipped around them with incredible speed, causing dust and dirt to fly up around them, from his tornado like effect. Silver observed their enemy, strategizing the best move to fend off him all while keeping Faith safe. He glanced back at his niece as she used Blaze's long skirt to shield her face from all the dirt and dust being whipped up around them. However, while he was looking away, he felt a sharp sting to the back of his neck. "Ouch!"
Blaze looked over to her husband with concern. "What's wrong?"
Silver reached behind his neck and pulled out a small dart that used to contain some sort of blue liquid. The lynx stopped his racing and laughed manically. "It's almost night-night for your mate," he pointed. "He just took a hit of my knock out serum, guaranteed to keep him out for at least an hour."
Silver knew he wasn't bluffing because he could already feel the effects of the serum coursing through his veins. Everything was starting to get hazy and his body felt incredibly heavy. He dropped to his knees and placed his right hand to the side of his neck. "Damn you…"
Faith looked at her uncle with worry. "Uncle…"
Holding himself up on his knelt knees, Silver kept his bleary eyes locked on their enemy. "Blaze, do whatever you can to keep Faith safe. I know you can do this," he assured adamantly.
"I will," she pledged.
Just then, Silver's eyes closed and he fell face first into the dirt, completely knocked out.
"Hand over the girl, kitty," Lightning gestured. "You shouldn't do what your mate says, cause I'm not going to go easy on you."
Behind said feline, Faith clutched onto Blaze's skirt, terrified of the male after her. Sensing, her nieces' fear, Blaze calculated a plan on defeating him. "Don't bother," she replied. "I'm not letting you lay a finger on her."
"Your mistake, pretty kitty," he snickered. "Guess I'll have to skin yah before I can get to the kid." With that said, he rushed towards her with great speed.
Thinking quickly, Blaze made an "o" shape with her right thumb and index finger and blew through the hole she formed with her hand. Out of nowhere, she created a large bubble that encapsulated Faith inside it, completely shielding her from harm. However, because she was working on a defense for Faith, she received an ugly slug to the face, sending her hurtling backward into the dirt.
Blaze's body skidded across the dirt and grass before coming to a halt. "Aunt Blaze!" Faith cried out, pressing her hands to the bubble.
Lightning ignored his battle with the cat before focusing his sight on Faith trapped within the large bubble. He whipped out a Sai and took a stab at the bubble but was suddenly electrocuted and sent flying back himself. He looked down at his singed hand, still trembling from the effects. "Fuck…"
Blaze in the meantime got up to her feet and wiped away some blood dripping down her split lip. She spat it out onto the grass. "No use," she shouted. "No one can get to her as long as the magic wielder stays standing."
Lightning's eyes twinkled in realization by her words. He rolled over onto his side and got up himself. "Ah, I see."
Forcing Blaze into a defensive position, Lightning used Tai Chi combat to attack the feline. Blaze struggled to keep up with his rapid speed of hand combat attacks. Using her own magic to evade his strikes, she focused magic into both of her hands and swiped at his oncoming hits, blocking his strikes. Lightning grinned in delight watching Blaze try to keep up with his martial art's style of attack. He managed to get a few hits in every now and then. Using the palm of his hand, he struck upwards bashing at her chin, causing her to bite her own tongue.
While Blaze cried out from the painful move, Lighting did a roundhouse kick, kicking her to the side and crippling her. Meanwhile, Faith could no longer stay on the sidelines and watch this pitiful fight. Even she was aware that her aunt was losing this battle and she couldn't bear to watch. Looking down at her wrists, Faith undid the gold bracelets that inhibited her magic from full power. Her parents had opted for her to wear them because at times her magic could overwhelm her. She was always told to keep them on for her own safety, but right now, she knew she'd need to help her aunt out.
Faith clapped her hands together before placing them up against the bubble chamber she was trapped in. "Absorb," she mumbled. Suddenly, the bubble deteriorated and absorbed into her glowing blue hands. Now free, Faith ran towards Lightning who was getting ready to finish off her aunt.
Whipping out both of his Sais, he twirled them skillfully in his hands as he stood over Blaze's body. "Time to end it here, pretty kitty." He finished showing off his twirling skills with his weapons and held them firmly by the handle. Lightning drove both hands down towards Blaze's chest but was stopped when the earth beneath his feet startled to rumble. "What in the…"
He looked down only to notice large cracks begin to form on the Earth's surface. From within the cracks, vines shot out and wrapped around his wrists and legs, restraining him. Blaze scooted back and watched in awe, trying to figure out who was responsible for this act. Lightning struggled in the vine's hold and managed to look over his shoulder at the culprit wielding the magic. "You," he growled.
Faith stood in the distance behind him with both of her hands outstretched in front of her. "I'm not going to let you hurt my aunt!" she screamed. She took both hands, placed her palms up against each other, and laced her fingers over one another, creating a tight form with her hands. "Swallow!" she shouted.
Her control over the Earth followed her lead and Lightning was pulled down into a ditch formed in the ground. "No, wait. No!" he cried out, feeling himself become consumed in the ground. Blaze watched incredibly impressed by her niece's skills, leaving Lightning's head above the surface to breathe.
Once he was completely detained, Faith rushed over to Blaze and embraced her. Blaze wrapped her arms around her niece, happy to see her unharmed.
•~•
At that same time, Finitevus and Amy had somehow managed to move their fight into the wooded area off to the side of their home. Unfortunately, Amy was starting to feel the fight wear down on her. The two were only getting so many hits on one another, so Amy decided evading would help her from tiring as fast. She jumped backward, missing another attack from Finitevus' katana. The blade narrowly missed the tip of her nose as she felt the air graze her.
Panting, she didn't spot the rock behind her and fell backward landing on her back with a thud. Finitevus took that opportunity and struck his sword into her shoulder blade, pinning her down. Amy cried out in agony as she felt it slice through her skin. The white echidna chuckled darkly as he crouched down before her, holding her in place with his weapon. "Nowhere to run now," he gloated.
He used his other hand to rest on her chest, making her blush from his unwanted touch. "Don't touch me!" she screamed, lashing her legs out and trying to take a hit towards his chest.
"Hush now, I'm just about to finish you off." He took his hand he had rested on her chest and lifted it up, ready to drive into her chest cavity to rip out her heart. "I'll make your death a quick one."
Amy glared up at him and watched as his hand came down with speed to end her. Amy managed to grab his hand with her own and struggled to keep him from killing her. "You little wench!" he shouted, feeling her hold to prevent him from his lethal attack.
"I refuse to let you win," she growled through clenched teeth.
"Just die already," he hissed through his own bared teeth. He had to admit; he was impressed with her strength for being such a young vampire compared to himself. She must have had a lot of training from someone to be able to hold him off for this long.
While the two struggled against each other, Amy noticed something oddly familiar branded along Finitevus' upper chest, just peeking out from under his t-shirt. It was a red tattoo of an infinite looking square. The same one she had seen Faith draw. "That tattoo," she thought to herself
Amy's strength started to wear off and his hand encroached closer and closer towards her chest. Feeling her grip on his wrist weaken, Finitevus used this opportunity to drive his hand backward for another attempted strike.
Just as he was about to try again, a piece of a white picket fence shot through his own chest from behind. Amy gasped from the unexpected attack and stared up at Finitevus with a piece of white wood sticking out from his chest. Blood dripped down onto her stomach and chest as she stared up at him. Suddenly, his skin started to go gray and he collapsed on top of her, deceased for good.
Feeling his weight collapse on her made her shudder. "Ugh!" Amy wiggled underneath Finitevus' body to break free but heard someone approaching. She glanced over Finitevus' shoulder and smiled in relief to see Shadow standing over her.
"Shadow!"
He bent over and grabbed the echidna by the back of the collar and threw his body off of her. Shadow then proceeded to pull the katana out of her shoulder, making her gasp in pain from the move. Slowly, Amy sat upright, placing a hand to her temporarily injured shoulder. Shadow helped lift her to her feet. "Are you alright, love?"
She nodded, wincing slightly from her injuries. She was bruised and sliced up pretty good but knew she'd heal in time. "I'm okay," she smiled weakly. "Did you find Faith? Is she hurt?"
Shadow shook his head solemnly. "Not yet, I just got home and heard all the commotion. You were the first person I came in contact with. Where are the others?"
"Probably back behind the house," Amy guessed. "C'mon!"
•~•
Once getting back to the others, both Shadow and Amy were surprised when they saw everything already wrapped up and finished. They spotted Silver sitting upright on the ground and holding Blaze in his arms, while Faith sat on the other side of her uncle. Meanwhile, in the center of their backyard, was Lightning's head sticking up above the ground.
Shadow and Amy rushed over to reunite with the rest of their family. "Faith!" Amy cried out in relief as she rushed towards her daughter.
Faith smiled seeing her mother in good health for the most part, other than the minor cuts and bruises. "Mama!" She ran over and jumped into her mother's arms, embracing her.
Amy cradled her close; happy to see she was safe and sound. "Baby, you're not hurt are you?"
Faith shook her head. "I'm fine, mama. I promise!"
Shadow placed a hand on the small of Amy's back and looked at her. "I'm going to need you to take her inside," he whispered, insinuating he'd deal with their other guest. Amy nodded, understanding why he didn't want Faith to see what he was about to do.
She carried Faith back inside the house following Silver who helped carry Blaze in. Once they were back inside the house, Shadow walked over to the head sticking out of the ground and looked at him venomously. Bending over, Shadow shot his arm into the dirt and gripped their visitor and pulled them out from the dirt.
"Hey!" Lightning growled. "Watch it, mate!"
"Who the hell are you and why did come after my daughter?" he interrogated.
"She's needed by my master," he replied. "That's all I can say."
Shadow furrowed his brows together, growing tired of hearing the same response once again. His eyes focused on a red tattoo peeking out under the collar of his shirt. He grabbed at the fabric with the other hand and moved it away to get a better look. "You have this tattoo, too?"
"Yeah, and so what?" Lightning shrugged.
He kept him lifted above the ground with one hand, keeping the hand he had waded up in the fabric of his shirt. "I met another one of your friends who had a similar tattoo. Tell me who you work for!"
"Sorry, but I can't give out that information. In fact, I've failed my mission…" His left hand reached for his right hand and pulled off his daylight ring, allowing him to walk in the daylight without bursting into flames. However, once he took it off, he immediately combusted into flames.
Shadow released his hold of the lynx seeing the flames consume him. "God damn it!" he screamed in frustration. Lightning screamed in agony as the flames burned at his flesh before leaving him in dust.
•~•
Later, back inside their living room, the family sat together in the hopes of getting more answers. Shadow stood before his daughter sat on one of the sofas. "Faith, what is this?" Shadow asked, holding out one of his daughter's many drawings.
Faith looked at the illustration of hers and shrugged innocently. "I don't know."
Holding back his frustration, he sighed. "I don't understand, sweetheart. You've drawn it over and over again, surely you must have some idea of what it is you're drawing…"
She scratched her head. "I keep seeing it in my dreams so I drew it. Something in my head tells me that it's important," she explained.
He lowered the picture, keeping it by his side. "I see…"
She tucked her arms behind her back and bowed her head, unable to look him in the eyes. His unsatisfied tone made her feel like he was disappointed in her for not having all the answers. "Are you mad at me, daddy?"
He looked down at her with a warm expression. He couldn't blame her since she didn't have all the answers. She was just a child. "Not at all. I'm just trying to figure out what this drawing is. People have been seeing it spray painted around the city, and we're wondering what it means."
"Ooh," she replied. "Well, if I have any more dreams I'll tell you about them!"
Silver moved his head in closer to his wife's left ear. "Is Faith psychic by chance?" he whispered.
She turned to look at him. "She does seem to harbor the gift for predicting events in her art. I mean just look at this drawing," she gestured quietly. "She's having premonitions about it without fully understanding why."
•~•
After taking a nice bath, Amy helped tuck in Faith for the night. The little hedgehog watched as her mother tended to her comfort, making sure she was comfortable before sending her to sleep. At the same time, Shadow wandered over to Faith's bedroom window and made sure it was securely locked before looking out of it. Just from her point of view, it looked like her father was quite paranoid as he looked out of her window in both directions, almost searching for something. Faith looked back over to her mother who had now plopped down on the side of her bed. "…Mama?"
Amy looked in her direction. "Hm?"
"Why won't you and daddy tell me why those bad guys were after me?" she questioned curiously.
Amy shot Shadow a look that he replied to without words by looking back at his wife. Faith picked up on their silence communication tactics. It was evident they were wavering on keeping this information from her. "Please," she spoke, pulling their attention away from one another. "I just want to know what I did to make them mad…"
Shadow caved hearing the desperation and sadness in her voice. In Faith's head, she probably honestly believed she had done something to wrong these men. He couldn't allow her to believe she was at fault for today's events. Shadow flocked over to the other side of her bed and sat down. "You have nothing to feel guilty of, love. These men were not targeting you for anything that you did to them," he swore.
"So then why were they being so mean to mommy, Aunt Blaze, and Uncle Silver?" she continued to probe.
Shadow mulled on the question for a moment, trying to decide the best way of answering her question. "I don't know," he replied carefully. "I can only assume they were doing so, to hurt me."
Faith sat up in bed a little more, growing intrigued. "Why?"
"Well…" he rubbed the back of his neck hesitantly. "You see, I haven't always been a very nice person in my past," he worded gingerly.
"You were mean to that guy with the glasses?"
Amy crossed her arms as she stared at her husband sitting on the other side of the bed. Shadow caught her disapproving look and sighed. "Look, sweetheart, you're too young to understand the circumstances surrounding today's events. Your mother and I will tell you more about my past when you're a bit older," he assured her with a pat on the head.
Faith looked back over to her mother, before looking nervously back down. "Um, I have one more question…"
Amy tilted her head towards her daughter. "What is it, baby?"
Faith grabbed the hem of her covers and pulled them up closer towards her chest. "…Did you kill those bad guys today?"
Once again, Amy glanced over to Shadow who appeared to have a straight expression on, one that would not expose the truth to her question. "No, we didn't," Amy lied. "The police came and took those bad men away."
Faith didn't say it, but she couldn't help but feel her parents were lying to her. She could tell they didn't seem to really want to talk about the issue, so she sunk back down into her pillows. "So, they're not going to come back here?"
"You'll never see them again," Shadow pledged. "Now, I think that's enough questions for tonight." Shadow stood up and Amy copied his actions. Faith watched as Shadow leaned over and kissed her on the forehead lightly. "Sleep tight, little one."
Amy bent over and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Nighty, night, don't let the bedbugs bite," she winked with a smile.
Faith watched as her parents walked over to her bedroom door and exited her room. Shadow grabbed ahold of her bedroom door and slowly closed it inward, just before reaching over and turning off her bedroom lights, leaving her in a dimmed darkness. The moon brought some light into the bedroom as a natural night-light. Once she heard her parent's footsteps cease, Faith turned on her side in bed, thinking about what she had seen today. It had been a pretty eventful day and she had seen a lot of crazy things for her age.
•~•
In the hallway, Shadow and Amy walked back to their bedroom together. "You think it's still okay to lie to her?" Amy questioned, feeling doubtful about their deceit.
"She's too young to understand everything that's going on. The less she knows, the better. If we tell her the truth, it'll only frighten her more. She doesn't deserve to live in a world that she has to fear for her life every day," he argued softly.
Amy rubbed her left arm, still undecided on the matter. "It's just…" Amy stopped momentarily in the hall. Shadow stopped his stride and turned to look at her. "She's not dumb, Shadow. In fact, she's quite perceptive for her age. I do feel like she has a right to know about some of these enemies coming after her," she pointed.
"Look, I realize that I was an absolute dickhead back in the day. I'm sorry about that, but we both knew what we were getting into when we had her," he countered. Amy walked towards Shadow and leaned her face into his chest, exhaling a deep sigh. Shadow could feel her frustrations and he shared them too. He wrapped his arms around his wife and sighed. "I know what you are feeling right now, love. It's hard to determine how to navigate these problems with Faith, but this is the best we can do right now."
Amy felt tears well up in her eyes. "Today could have gone horribly wrong if I wasn't there to protect her…"
Shadow lifted her chin to meet his gaze. "But you were there. I only came in at the last minute. You held your own out there today and I am so incredibly proud of you," he praised. "Anyway, it's over now and sorted," he responded, patting her back. "All those years training have done some good, have they not?" he smirked.
Amy laughed lightly and whipped at her eyes. "You're one tough trainer."
"Come now," he said leading her back to their bedroom. "Let's get some shut eye, I think its well-deserved."
•~•
In the other bedroom, Blaze sat on their sofa in her tank top and pajama shorts waiting for Silver to return. Eventually, he entered their bedroom, shirtless, and in his pajama trousers holding an icepack. "How bad does it hurt?" he asked handing her the icepack.
Blaze placed the bag against her face, wincing a bit from the cold and also the pain. "It's not too bad, I'd say maybe a 6/10 for pain, but hey, I'll take pain over death any day," she grinned.
On the other hand, Silver did not seem to find her comment anything to smile over. "I could have lost you today…"
"But you didn't," she corrected. She patted the empty seat beside her. "Silver, you can't dwell on these things."
He trudged over and slowly dropped by her side. "I know, but I just love you so much, Blaze. I guess this just reminded me of your mortality."
"Hey, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." Blaze lowered the ice pack from her face and scooted closer towards him. Silver watched as she rested her hands on his shoulders and allowed them to slowly descend down his chest, caressing his toned torso. Silver felt a shiver run down his spine, as her hands wandered lower and lower. She encroached closer towards him, practically sitting in his lap. Her small chest pressed against his chest and she began to kiss down the side of his neck.
"Blaze," he moaned softly, closing his eyes. "…What are you doing?" he breathed softly, feeling her hands slip past the elastic part of his waistband.
She pulled her face away from the crane of his neck and looked him in the eyes. "Let's forget about today and live in the moment," she whispered. Silver stared back at her, before closing his eyes and closing the gap between them in a kiss.
•~•
Back at his house, Mighty stared at the leather journal he had found back at the abandoned house on Angel Island. As he stared at and studied the front cover, he couldn't help but feel some sort of ominous dread overcome him as he held the book for a prolonged period. He felt a sense of coldness and dread as it stayed in his hands. Whatever this book held inside, it was something dark and malevolent.
Aurora walked into the living room holding two cups of tea and spotted the armadillo looking deep in contemplation. She eyed him curiously as she walked over with their beverages. "Something troubling you?" she inquired, pulling him out of his thoughts.
Mighty glanced over at his girlfriend as she took a seat across from him on the sofa. "It's just this journal," he started. "It's giving me weird vibes."
Aurora set down their teacups and saucers on the coffee table separating them. "Well, I've never seen anything like it before. I did some research like you asked, but there's nothing online."
"That's the thing, I think I have an idea of what we may be dealing with here," Mighty alluded.
Aurora finished taking a sip of her tea and set it back down on its saucer. "And what's that?"
"You remember Rosy Rascal, right?"
"How could anyone forget the child-stealing psychopath that was trying to sacrifice children for more power?"
"Well, whoever is kidnapping these children are doing something similar to what Rosy was doing. She came and brought darkness into her coven, and I thought we had gotten rid of her, but that same darkness I felt around her has returned…"
Aurora didn't seem to agree based on his wavering expression. "It's only been three children so far and Rosy-"
"—They're going to want more!" he snapped with certainty. Aurora blinked in surprise by his snappy tone. "Rosy was sacrificing more children and this thing is heading in the same direction."
"Okay, calm down," Aurora said putting up her hands in defense.
Mighty calmed his mood, suddenly realizing how angry he had just become out of nowhere. His tense demeanor eased. "Geez, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that…I don't know what came over me," he apologized.
Aurora nodded, accepting his apology. "I can't help but notice you keep referring to this new enemy as a thing, instead of a person. What makes you keep using those words to describe it?" she inquired curiously.
He thought back to what he had experienced on Angel Island. "Because I've seen it with my own eyes," he replied simply. "This is no person we're dealing with…"