Disclaimer: I still no own! See Chap-one!
Shadow: You shall be surprised at how long I stayed unconscious.
Me: Shadow, you're supposed to make it sound natural!
Shadow: I only just memorized the stinkin' line!
Me: Whatever…on with Chap-two!
Chapter II: The Realization
Meanwhile, back at Eggman's newest base, Shadow, the presumed dead Hedgehog, remained unconscious. He hadn't moved a muscle since he passed-out a few weeks ago. Fortunately for Shadow, Eggman hadn't visited his newest base since Ark.
Shadow's left side twitched, followed by his right side, until his entire body was shaking.
He slowly bent his arms, planting his hands firmly on the floor. Though unsteady, he pushed up his upper body and managed to flip over so he could lean on the left wall.
Weakly, he opened his eyes, and the light was blinding.
"M-must be day. . . But what day?" he whispered in a hoarse voice, raising a hand up over his eyes.
The sunlight reflected off the Emerald next to him. He spotted it and picked it up.
He sat there, squinting at the Emerald for a few moments. His vision was still weak and blurry.
All of a sudden his eyes shot all the way open, and his pupils got small in disbelief.
"A… Chaos Emerald!?" Shadow said hoarsely, trying not to shout, in case anyone was around. Then it came to him. He remembered falling toward Earth and saving himself in the nick of time with Chaos Control. "Everyone must think I'm dead!" Shadow realized finally. "I've got to find them, including Eggman."
After laying the Emerald down, he pressed his hands against the wall behind him for balance as he attempted to stand. After a short struggle, he managed to stand, knees knocking together.
"Kuh!" He gasped, trying to regain strength he may not even have in him.
He heard a low growl from somewhere inside of him, and clutched a hand over his stomach. He giggled lightly, relieved his body was working correctly, after being unconscious for so long.
"OK. First priority is to get some food in me. That should strengthen me some. Where's a fast-food joint when you need one?" The normally speedy hedgehog giggled at his own joke, something you don't hear from him that often, but his stomach reminded him he was hungry again. He bent down and picked up his Emerald, and took a few steps away from the wall. He fell on his knees immediately, bracing himself up with his hands.
"This could take a while!" he mumbled jokingly.
Later that night, Sonic, the blue hedgehog, Tails, the orange fox, and Knuckles, the red echidna, lay in a triangle, on a hill somewhere just out of Station Square, stargazing.
Knuckles was nearly asleep on his side, facing away from Sonic, but Sonic and Tails watched the sky as they talked.
Sonic lay there on his back with his hands behind his head; while Tails, also on his back, had his hands down by his side, fiddling with the white fur on the end of his own two tails.
Sonic spotted a shooting star, but didn't make a wish. The white streak just reminded him of Shadow, the moment he burned in the atmosphere.
Sonic thought for a moment, then asked Tails, spontaneously, "Do you think, that by some chance, Shadow is still--" he lowered his voice to a whisper, "--alive?"
"What?" Tails replied, surprised.
"Oh, nothing. Just wishful thinking," Sonic clarified.
"Well, maybe not. The way you describe it, it doesn't seem like he burned in the atmosphere. It seemed more like the light from--" Tails sat up, leaned over Sonic and whispered, "Chaos Control!"
"WHAT!?" Sonic shot up at this. Chaos Control? Was it possible?
Knuckles' eyes popped open and he sat up, looking at Sonic with a blank expression. "What's up? What'd I miss?"
"Well, it's possible. I think he did have a Chaos Emerald with him. . ." Sonic admitted, rubbing his chin thoughtfully and looking up.
"What?" Knuckles blinked.
"C'mon! I've gotta' check somethin'!" Sonic shouted. He was on to something.
"This late?!" Knuckles asked in shock.
"We'll explain on the way!" Sonic sped off at top speed towards Station Square, not waiting for the other two to reply.
Tails giggled and shot off behind him, his tails rotating like a helicopter at full-speed.
"Hey, wait up! Hey!" Knuckles exclaimed, jumping up and running after them, fists clenched.
The next morning, Rouge awoke with a yawn, after 'camping out' in a dark corner of the first room in the desert base, probably a lobby of sorts.
The room was large, rectangular, and oddly empty: just a large box with two doors and six windows. Naturally, the color scheme was red and silver, typical from Eggman. Crisp, morning sun peered in through a few of the metal rimmed glass windows in the east wall of the room. Rouge sat quiet, listening for birds chirping, but, even with her sensitive ears, she couldn't hear a thing outside of the walls, doors and windows. She came to the conclusion that the room was sound-proof, and every room to come would be no different.
She stood and brushed herself off before proceeding. The metal Pick-Claws on the heel and toe of her boots clicked on the silver metal floor. She looked down at the floor.
'Hmm. If I was walking on the ceiling of this room, I'd barely be able to tell,' she thought. She was right. The ceiling and floor looked exactly alike.
Then she realized something: Where were Eggman's guard robots?
She decided to be thankful they weren't there, and to keep moving before they showed up.
She made her way across the room to the door to the next room. She turned the knob and the door opened. It was all too easy.
She stepped in and listened closely. Closer… Nothing. This room was also sound-proof. The only difference Rouge could find in this room compared to the last was that it was considerably smaller, more illuminated, and it didn't have any windows.
Rouge walked across the room, keeping her guard up. She came to the next door and turned the knob, but nothing happened. "Oh!"
The door she just came through slammed shut behind her. She turned and darted daintily back across the room, turned the door's knob and yanked at the door. It wouldn't budge.
Suddenly, a huge, black, cloaked figure fell from the ceiling, as stealthy as a ninja.
Rouge whipped around with a shocked look on her face, just in time to see a large, metal, claw-like hand reach out and grab her by the torso, squeezing her arms against her side and her legs together, restricting all movement.
Rouge, dumbfounded and scared, squeezed her eyes shut and screamed at the top of her lungs as the monstrosity tightened its grip.
Rouge heard a loud snap from inside her pocket, and she began to worry. Her detector was already broken, but she had put Shadow's ring back in the same pocket. The only thing left of Shadow, and it's destroyed by an unknown monstrosity?!
Rouge would not take it!
Okey dokey…Vicky, these chapters were already written. I'm bringing an old story of mine back alive. But I only have, like, five chapters or so, so when I start actually writing these, they'll be longer. Thanks for reviewing! To Everyone: PLZ R&R!!