Chapter 12: When Shadow goes insane.

I actually think the human characters are a nice touch to Sonic. It makes the show much more relatable, since I can picture Sonic and his friends saving my world and being part of human politics: which is very cool. It is especially nice when you see Sonic working alongside human police officers, or firefighters, or the president to try and make the human world a better place despite being a hedgehog from another world.

As another point, I would actually go as far as to say that Amy is Chris's favourite animal friend from Sonic's world. Not Sonic.

My reasoning for this is that in the episode (Eggman for president. Episode 41) where Sonic destroys Eggman's solar balls which were mind-control devices in disguise, Chris actually doubts Sonic's goodness. Tails tries and fails to restore Chris's trust and faith in Sonic, while Amy does manage to successfully convince Chris to believe in Sonic's heroism again. In addition, Amy spends the most high-quality time with Chris.

Sonic is usually running around, or napping, or trying to stop Eggman. Tails spends most of his time with Chuck (Chris's Grandpa) working on the X tornado plane. Amy only chases after Sonic in a few episodes, and cooks Chris nice foods like cupcakes and talks to him to relieve his stress.

Amy and Chris have one common theme, in that they are casual friends of Sonic that he likes to keep at arm's length while he does his own thing, and their story arcs are about trying to find hobbies and talents even when Sonic is not around to be with them.

It also made more sense for Chris to talk down Shadow from destroying the world instead of Amy, since Chris is a human and Shadow is trying to destroy the human world.

Once again, special thanks and shout outs to Momoijifan-low Ki.

Cream POV

"Chao. Chao. Chao."

That voice. I know that voice. The sweetest, most innocent and touching sound in this whole wide world. It mends broken hearts, nourishes a shattered spirit and puts a smile on my face in my darkest hour of need.

Now I remember. Cheese, my beloved pet Chao friend, was able to fly away with a frightened shriek of pure terror when those bad men came to capture us. I was distraught to lose him, but at the same time glad that at least he would be safe. He could fly to the Chao colony we discovered alongside Chris and his friends some time ago on that beautiful island, and be happy there for the rest of his days.

But Cheese was not like Emerl. The sad betrayer whose name I preferred not to bring into conversation unless absolutely necessary. Emerl for all his advanced technologies and sophisticated cogs, gears and wires so expertly put together along with a shiny metal skin that reflected the sun beautifully, was nothing more in the end than a hollow, empty shell.

Emerl betrayed us, betrayed me. Embraced his original purpose to destroy everything, and refused my attempt to help him reform for the better. Emerl is the reason I have trust issues even to this day. Emerl is why my last few dates with my dear friend Tails, were a complete failure for both him and I. The dark shadow Emerl's parting left, will not be leaving me anytime soon. This much I can tell.

Now I know that when I found Emerl, I should have immediately renamed him Mozzerella instead. Or maybe Gorgonzola. Cheddar, Manchego or Nacho could have been nice names too. Part of me blames Emerl's bad name for the reason why he turned bad in the end. Another part of me know that that's utter nonsense, and that I'm being immature and unreasonable in thinking such childish thoughts.

Emerl is a harsh lesson for me: that not everyone can be saved. That no matter how hard you try in life, you just can't win them all when it comes to friendship and love.

"Chao! Chao!" Cheese calls once again as he glides in through a very high-up window, far beyond the reach of any of us in our chained up states. It is lucky that the guard outside our cell door has fallen fast asleep from boredom and tiredness. The same has happened to Mr Sonic who loves to take plenty of naps when not on business, and the rest of Chris's servants who were imprisoned here with us.

With how quickly Mr Sonic runs and how far he runs, when he sleep, he sleeps very deeply like a heavy stone.

"Shhh." I hastily whisper, immediately causing Cheese to quiten down obediently as he flies before me. "It's good to see you Cheese. I knew you'd come back for us like the good friend you are."

"Chao!" Cheese replies proudly, grateful to be of service to me once again.

"Cheese. Please listen to me now. There's a slightly lose chain holding my left arm to this wall. If you can just get that loose, then I can free myself and the rest of our friends. Please do it now, before the guard outside wakes up and does something horrible."

Without further delay, Cheese silently soars to the very spot I outlined and gives it a wiggle with his two small blue and yellow arms. Chao are unusually strong for their small size, and it's not long before I can move my left arm freely thanks to Cheese's timely intervention.

I immediately reach my left hand into my right pocket, and draw out a very handy and useful tool that I often like to keep ready in case my orange dress, or my pretty collection of dolls gets damaged for whatever reason. It's come in very useful many times.

A small, sharp needle.

Taking special care not to drop it on the floor, I use the delicate tool as a lockpick, to unlock the rest of the locks holding me captive. Cheese watches with a very cheerful smile, as I soon have myself completely unchained and free to hop, skip and jump about the room.

I repeat the process of freedom with Mr Sonic, Ella and Mr Tanaka, making sure to immediately put a finger to my lips when I free each and every one of them so that their joyful surprise at being freed does not wake the guard outside.

"Nice job Cream and Cheese. I knew we could count on you." Mr Sonic quietly cheers, as he claps me on the back causing me to blush with pride. Mr Sonic was a kind man, but he rarely gave anyone compliments. It was only very special acts of valor that got his attention, and you had to take his praises as they came.

Sadly, Miss Amy was not very lucky when it came to being on the recieving end of his good graces. Mostly because the times when she wanted Mr Sonic's attention most, happened to be the very times he was trying to stop Mr Eggman from taking over the world, or went for a run, or took a nice nap. It was no fault of her own. She helped Mr Sonic at least as often as he had helped her, and Mr Sonic himself told me so when I personally asked what he thought about Miss Amy.

I could only pray that this changed soon. It was not my place as a child, to interfere in adult matters as serious as a romantic relationship, so I could only watch from the shadows and hope.

"Chao! Chao!" Cheese gratefully replied with a small bow.

"Now let's get out of here before the guards come back for us" Ella anxiously stated, as a loud yawn came from behind the door, and an ominous metallic click sounded.

"Uh oh. That's not good." Mr Tanaka sadly remarked, as he hugged the wall he had just been chained to moments ago.

"Everyone. Hide. Me and Cheese will take care of this." I quickly ordered. It was time I started to earn my keep on this team, and to prove that my young age was no barrier to my usefulness, just as Tails was an invaluable helper to Mr Sonic despite being only two years older than me.

"Uh. Are you sure that is such a good idea, Miss Cream?" Mr Tanaka gulped in manic panic.

"Just do as she says everyone. I have faith in Cream and Cheese." Mr Sonic finished, as heavy footsteps thudded from behind the closed cell door. Mr Sonic had faith in us. Nothing could go wrong now. Absolutely nothing. We just had to not disappoint him, and work as a team. It was our excellent teamwork that let us stand against the evils of the difficult and dangerous Emerl, who could have caused unspeakable harm if we let him. I tried not to think of such awful things now.

Flapping my two big ears, I flew directly above the cell door, and settled in a position where anyone who looked into the cell would have to look straight up to catch a glimpse of me at all. Cheese followed my example, while Mr Sonic and the others crept deeper into their corners of the cell where they would be hidden by the lack of light shining through the dark room.

"What's all that noise in there?" An angry voice boomed menacingly, as the sound of a key turning in a lock vibrated throughout the chamber. I forced myself to remain dead silent and still. A slight noise or movement could give me away, and put us all at the mercy of the bad man outside.

At last, the metallic clicking stopped and the door flew open. A very big man nearly the size of Dr Eggman except much thinner, came into the room with a massive gun that made some of the guns I had seen Dr Eggman use on his robots seem small in comparison. A Tommy Gun, as the wise Mr Tanaka would later explain it to be.

I held my breath as he took a few steps forward, confused as to where we had all gone when we were supposed to be unable to move at all in our restraints. Just one more step. One more. I knew I would have only a fraction of a second to execute my critical move. Any hesitation or mistake, would mean the game was up.

His head slowly began to cock ever so slightly upwards, as he lumbered forward one final step like a grizzly bear greedily stalking its prey. It was now or never.

With a vicious cry of anger, I zoomed down at the big, mean man in black with Cheese following suit. Every bit of my pent up rage at seeing my friends so roughly mishandled despite all they had done to help the people of this world flowed through me, as I landed feet first on the big man's face.

It made him groan in sheer surprise and agony, and he dropped his gun as Cheese flew into his face after I had touched the ground. Cheese covered the man's face with his entire blue and yellow round body. As the man struggled to get the usually peaceful Chao off his face, Mr Sonic surged forward and charge tackled him down.

More footsteps sounded from below. More bad men were already on their way.

"Everyone get ready. There's more where he came from." Mr Sonic urgently said, as he readied himself for a spin dash attack by pumping his legs. "Ella. You and Mr Tanaka stay back. Me and Cream will handle these jerks."

Mr Sonic dashed forward and knocked a few of the evil men down with his lightning speed, but more kept coming and even his amazing power wasn't enough for all of them. Instead, I cried out in grave anger usually uncharacteristic of my usually calm self, as I dealt another series of skydives to the incoming gunmen, using my unusually large ears as propellers in the same way Tails used his tails.

I had become a true fighter in Mr Sonic's team who was formidable in my own right. I was a late bloomer, but I did eventually bloom.

Shadow POV

He betrayed me. Ivo Robotnik the arch traitor, had lied to me. He told me Maria died abroad space colony ARK 50 years ago, and that her remains were never found. I helped him all this time, thinking he was trustworthy after reviving me from my 50 year long stasis in that slimy capsule full of time-suspending chaos fluid.

This was what I got, for thinking a human other than my sweet and innocent Maria could be trusted or understand me and what I'd been through. G.U.N had already proven the dumbly obvious point; that humans were untrustworthy, when they raided ARK and murdered Maria right before my eyes simply for trying to help me. For putting my own life above her own, Maria was rewarded with the terrible punishment of death.

She was only 12 years old. Not yet old enough to have her own driver's license, or to even have alcoholic drinks. She was so small, so tender, so vivacious despite her illness induced frailty brought on by her Neuro-Immunity-Deficiency-Disorder (NIDS) that she was unlucky enough to be born with. But her love of life, and her undying affection to me despite my oddities were truly wonderful.

But there she was, in the huge and bulky arms of this unsavoury brute as a puddle of her own blood leaked from her unnaturally pale lips onto her beautiful clothes, and his ugly red jacket. There between him, stood two juvenile punks whose bright eyes that so resembled Maria's, did nothing to blind the fact; that the boy among them had a belt of deadly explosives strapped to his waist, and the girl was carrying a small and shiny chrome revolver in her right hand. Most shockingly, both the boy and girl looked exactly the same tender age as Maria.

I could now see that Ivo Robotnik AKA: Eggman, was no saint after all. This building titled Mt St McEggman, was nothing more than another wretched research facility from which another power hungry dictator plotted his next bid to gain ultimate power over mankind.

A horrific memory flashed before my very eyes, and I had to blink hard to blink it away. The gory image of Maria's final expression as the G.U.N agent's bullet connected with her chest and a puddle of dark crimson spilled from her agape mouth. My final look back at ARK as my escape pod was launched away against my will, was my dearest friend drowning in a puddle of her own lifeblood.

It was happening again. All over again. Maria the blue, was bleeding red.

This time, Eggman was the one orchestrating the terrorist plot to ruin me for good. He was not just trying to murder Maria behind my back, but using underage minors to do his dirty work.

Maria POV

"You would make an excellent member of G.U.N, young lady. Why not consider my generous offer?" Asked commander Abraham Towers one fine evening when he came for an annual inspection of ARK. "Once your illness is gone; your intelligence, charm and beauty would make you an invaluable asset to our great nation. You would be paid very generously. A lot of my men already think highly of you."

His smile was so sincere. His outstretched hand looked so inviting.

So it took all my willpower for me to finally reply to him, on the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry sir. I can't." I regretfully replied, never feeling more sorry than at that moment.

"But why not? Why the hell not, you ungrateful little ankle biter? You disobident little runt. You filthy rat." The high ranking government agent sputtered, losing all reason almost instantly as he waved his arms madly like a hawk.

I myself doubted I truly knew the reason why I would make such a foolish reply. It wasn't until I met Helen, that I would have someone to reassure me that despite everything; I had made the right choice which stayed true to myself, which was really all that mattered in this life or the next.

"I'm just a kid, sir. Killing is for grown ups, and I'm still just a kid."

Eight year old me told the imposing grizzled commander, even as I shivered uncontrollably before his fearsome gaze and deafening voice of anger.

His white cheeks went fiery red. The wrinkles under his eyes, grew tenfold in darkness. The colour in the rest of his body; from his neck to his hands, drained away until he appeared as pale as a ghost, with a very demonic face. His dangerous anger was readily apparent, but I could not help but fail to stifle a light giggle as I felt the strange desire to take a colour photograph. He looked almost comical.

"Well...kid." He grumbled, somehow managing not to raise his voice despite his obvious rage with my reponse. "You had better learn to grow up soon. Learn by yourself, or learn the hard way."

His hands were on the verge of curling into fists, but he thought better of it at the last possible moment and silently exited the room. He kept his beady eyes trained on me for as long as he could. His final expression seared through my eyes, mind and soul as I stood paralyzed until the sound of his footsteps against the metal floors of the ARK had died away.

Clearly my answer had been the wrong one, and a partial reason behind the eventual attack that would claim my life and those of many of ARK's crew members 4 years later.

I had offended the leader of Guardians of the United Nations, and would soon pay the price.

A lot of people on the ARK called me beautiful. The same sentiment was shared by several of G.U.N's staff who occasionally popped in for routine inspections, as the Earth's governments began to trust grandfather less. It was this seemingly harmless compliment that eventually did me in, dooming my beloved Shadow alongside me.

For when people in this world saw beauty, ugliness was created. Where people saw good, evil was created.

Everyone saw my long, blonde hair and blue eyes, my blue dress, and my weak and sickly disposition as traits to be adored and revered. Then they saw Shadow with his coal black quills which ended in the same regal red as his gleaming vision spheres through which he kept his loving, wathcful eye on me. His complete lack of clothing as humanity normally defined it, only sporting a red pair of expensive trainers and two golden bracelet with one on either arm.

Which left the majority of his majestic form completely naked. since his thick hedgehog fur provided excellent insulation from the elements already.

They witnessed Shadow as he raced round the ship's specifically designated racetrack, impeccably fit and in perfect health. They saw him left gigantic weights several times his size. They beheld him smashing a punching bag with such force, that it was knocked flying from its sturdy steel support hooks holding it to the ceiling, as it spewed broken cotton everywhere.

They took Shadow's incredibly display of extreme fitness, as a sign that he intended only to sow destruction and discord wherever he went. That he stood for the opposite of the world peace I was so vocal about wanting to achieve. Shadow and I were night and day in appearance and health. But we were closer to each other than we were to anyone else, and fate punished us for it.

Everything good that was seen in me when I was alive, was used against Shadow when G.U.N decided to trash it in a wholly unnecessary stroke of paranoia. The gunner who shot me, had pure regret in his tearful eyes and agape lips. He too, was captivated by my apparent attractiveness. But the ugliness and evil the gunner percieved in my dear Shadow already in his escape pod, overrode any remorse he had about attacking me despite how much he clearly liked me.

I can hear him. I can hear my dear Shadow. His deep, soothing voice cuts through the veil of consciousness to reach me in my soul. Shadow. I'm okay. I'm still alive, even if I'm barely breathing.

But I can't speak a word, try as I might. Helen's body that she's so kindly lent me, refuses to respond to any single one of my commands. All around me, I see the vast army of Helen's white blood cells gathering to wipe me and Helen out, in a final bid to restore order to Helen's very confused body, which can no longer percieve its rightful commander after years of being shared between two near identical souls.

"No. Stop. Don't hurt Maria." Helen tries to plead before her very furious immune system turned against her. "She's my welcome guest. She was the reason why my birth was a success when it shouldn't have been, and I need her. Her dear family members Eggma, er Ivo and Shadow need her. Don't do this. Please listen to me now. I'm your host. I'm the one you're supposed to be protecting. Please stop! You'll kill me too, if you do that."

The phagocytes and lymphocytes, along with the rest of the reinforcements conjured up by the sector of Helen's body devoted to shielding her from all foreign matter unrecognized by her own cells, do not hear a word of Helen's plea. They do not even dignify her with a response of any kind, as they continue systematically dismantling Helen's organs, several all at once.

It's just like when my cousin Ivo's robots self-destruct as a last ditch measure. Except that in this instance, it's far from a laughing matter.

"I'm sorry I dragged you into this, Helen. May heaven be your final destination. You were too good for this sinful Earth, too pure, too selfless." I whisper regretfully, as Helen's etheral form hovers before me clutching her chest as she yowls of howl of terrible pain. Everything Helen's body feels, her soul feels too.

Helen POV

I can't breathe.

I can't open my eyes to cry out my tears of horrible agony.

Oww. My heart. My poor heart can't take it. Pain. So much pain. Please make it stop.

My head is pounding like mad. Someone has set fire to my head, and it's catching my entire brain on fire. I know what this is. It's the tragic disease that claimed the life of Grandmama, which the friendly paramedics were just seconds too late to save her from.

It's called a stroke. It happens when a key artery in your brain ruptures, and it usually only occurs in heavy smokers or very elderly patients. Within minutes of its beginning, brain cells begin to die. It explains perfectly why the image of Maria's soul is starting to fade before me, as if a fog is gradually appearing before her.

A person's soul resides within their brain. It's where their thoughts are translated into messages, which are transmitted to the rest of the body as commands for what the body should do. The stroke is why neither I nor Maria, can control my body any longer. The artery which once acted as the pathway for our thoughts, is no longer functional. Like a subway tunnel blocked by rubble.

I could go on about how the rest of my body hurts so badly. How I can sense from my breathlessness; that my lungs are collapsing one after another. How my bones, are softening up as all the calcium and other vital minerals are withdrawn from them, as a final energy source for my out of control white blood cells. How the rest of my muscles itch like crazy, as I can feel them being slowly ripped apart and broken down like viruses.

But I'll spare you the gruesome details. Suffice to say, there exists kidney failure, heart failure, liver failure and lung failure.

And then there's total failure.

"I'm sorry Maria. I tried to help you, but it seems even I couldn't help you for long. Just know that none of this is your fault. I chose to take you into my body, so you could have a second chance I feel you more than deserved. So please don't blame yourself for any of this. If there's one thing I don't like about you, it's that you always try to shoulder responsibility that's not yours." I soothingly reply to the now desperately weeping Maria, before another coughing fit overtakes me.

Eggman POV

When I was a little boy, I used to be far more invested in the occult than was deemed healthy for a boy of my age. Especially for the grandson of such a distinguished scientifc mind, such as Gerald Robotnik's. Who was one after many great geniuses who made even further improvements to the already highly advanced space colony ARK, which was in and of itself already a groundbreaking breakthrough in space exploration. Alongside a host of other renowned inventions that had made him his mark on human history's great stage.

I was far more interested to learn about the great leaders of the past, than of the present. A hobby I shared with only one other member of my family who mostly derided me for my differences and lack of interest in their strong field of science; my sweet little cousin Maria.

I believed that there was no way to move forward towards a brighter future, without first understanding the past, and how everything today came to be.

In particular when it came to irrational theories with no solid scientific proof to back them up, I really liked the ideas of reincarnation and ressurection. The idea that the end was not simply the end, and that it was possible in some situations for the dead to return to life.

This idea seen as pure rubbish by the vast majority of scientists through the ages, was the building block on which many of the most popular faiths came into being. No matter how different the various religions seemed in terms of doctrine, cosmetics or their stance on how the world was created to begin with, every religion seemed to have one rule in common.

The rule that there was life after death, whether in another world that could only be reached by dying, or in the form of simply coming back to life in this world in another body which may or may not be identical to your original body.

I liked this concept. It gave me hope in a rough childhood where everyone picked on me, and my parents relentlessly beat me for the most ridiculous of reasons

I had my fair share of idols in the timeless historical arena. Genghis Khan, Trajan the Caesar, Napoleon, John F Kennedy, Albert Einstein and Kublai Khan just to name a few. Despite what all the nasty liars at my primary school might tell you; I had no admiration whatsoever for Hitler, Stalin or other such dishonorable cheats who had nothing redeeming in their rule and sought only power.

But one monarch took the top spot in my heart by a solid yard that no other could touch. One unmatchable hero, whose shining brilliance moved me even to this very day. Perhaps the coolest concept of this unbeatable prodigy, was that he wasn't even a he. He was a she, with an fe in front of her male. She took the cake. Broke records that they thought never could be broke. Knocked it clean out the park. Stole the show.

When people nowadays think of do-gooders whose profound kindness advanced mankind to a shining new era, most people think of Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, or Mahatma Gandhi. I do not mean to undermine such fine folk, of whom even my evil character cannot compel me to dislike. But allow me now, to remind the world of one forgotten emblem of purity that has been lost to the sands of time.

To all you inferior fools I present; Jadwiga of Poland. Born 1374. Died 1399, a measly age 25.

Crowned at a mere 10 years of age. 25 minus 10 = 15. 15 years was shorter than 18 years, the time it took an infant to mature into a full adult. But Jadwiga was canonized as a saint, despite only having those 15 years. The clock didn't beat her, she beat the clock. She insisted that she be named "King of Poland", despite not being a man. Yet most uneducated bumpkins think feminsm and gender equality only started in the late 20th century after the civil rights movement.

What Jadwiga actually did during her rule was not important. What really caught my attention, were her supposed last words.

"No, I am not ready to leave God's service. I am just beginning his good work!"

A wild talk of delirium? Or something more.

I thought nothing of it all, until my cousin Maria was revealed at the tender age of 3 and a half; to be fluent in Polish and hotly invested in Polish culture. When she requested that Krakow the polish capital, be her next holiday destination.

There was coincidence. Then there was my prodigy of a cousin; Maria. Maria died at age 12, the same age Chris and his friends at school were now. The witnesses to Maria's tragic passing as well as Shadow when he recounted her, called Maria "a saint".

Jadwiga's regal robe in her historical portrait, was purple and red. Maria's favourite flower, was a red rose, and she loved Shadow's eyes because they were red like roses. The colour of her party dress which she saved for special occasions, was purple. She topped off her stunning appeaerances during those fancy events, with a rose hairclip.

There was a reason I liked Maria. It was not simply because she was the only Robotnik who didn't mistreat me. It was because she had attained a height of power that even I as the supreme emperor of the Eggman empire could only dream of.

The pathetic president was nothing to an emperor. But an emperor was nothing to a saint. I was the emperor. Maria was a saint. I was temporal like the rest of humanity, even if I wanted to deny it to myself. Maria was eternal.

...

Thank you for reading. Please review if you like this story and want me to continue. I watched Sonic 2 yesterday. It was amazing and I like how they made Knuckles a lot. Idris Elba rocked as Knuckles. However, while I greatly liked it; there were a couple of things I didn't like.

1. It didn't have Helen in it.

2. It didn't have Frances in it.

3. Interestingly enough, while most people wouldn't consider this a problem, it also didn't have Chris in it.

My hope is for Sonic 3 to have Amy and Maria in it as well. We know Shadow will show up again from the final scene, so there is great hope.

So while the Sonic movie series is fantastic in its own right, it also makes the good qualities of Sonic X more pronounced. I would have liked more kids in it though. Special thanks to Momijifan Low-Ki