A/N: As I mentioned, this is a very old story, so it isn't exactly one of my current masterpieces. This was written in my early days as a fanfic writer and I hope to God that my writing has improved since then.
"I don't think she's going to leave us alone for a whole day." Omochao remarked as Shadow collapsed onto a bench to catch his breath. He rubbed his left arm gently and winced. Since the warden grabbed him, the arm had been hurting a lot more. He was worried, what if the stitches in it tore?
"I should change bandages." Shadow muttered and opened his bag to get the first aid box. The two Demon Chao inside were napping, still chewing on the toys in their sleep. He pulled out the white box and opened it, pulling out the bandages. Omochao grabbed it and proceeded to unwrap the first one on Shadow's arm. Shadow sprayed the stitched area with a disinfectant, then watched Omochao wrap it back up tight with a fresh bandage.
"That's better! You should have let Nurse Chao check it out before we left the school, like Ms. Chao told you." Omochao pointed out. "Hey, Cammy's pretty good at hunting you down. Maybe she can help us catch the last two Chao. How are the Hero and neutral Chao?" he asked.
"They're at the giraffe exhibit, like I told them to stay. And no, we're not letting that stalker lady follow us around." Shadow muttered and looked up at his friend, "You don't understand, Omochao! She creeps me out! There's something weird about her! She wasn't afraid of my Chaos Control and when I warped, she was still able to find me! How does she do it?!"
"Lucky guess?" Omochao suggested. Shadow sighed and grabbed the box of snacks, chewing on a pretzel.
"I don't think so. She's tracking me, but how? And with what?" he muttered, "And we don't have all day to get the Chao back to school. We only have until two thirty. What time is it now?" Omochao looked around for a clock and peered at it.
"It's ten in the morning. We left the school at seven. Three hours and we found only two Chao." Omochao reported. Shadow looked at the pretzel he was eating and frowned.
"Ten? It's snack-time for the Chao. I'd better get them this food and quick." He packed up the box and first aid kit and pulled out the Emerald again. Omochao grabbed onto him and held on. "Chaos Control!" Shadow warped back to the giraffe section and looked around. The little Chao were sitting around, crying. They were hungry and scared. Where did Shadow go for such a long time?
"It's okay! I'm here! Here you go. Snacktime!" Shadow told them and passed out crackers and pretzels. The Chao ate them quietly and the Demon Chao woke up, yelling to be fed as well. Shadow fed them and set them down with the other Chao, then pulled out the Chao seeds and watering can. He filled the can at a fountain and poked a hole in some dirt. He put a seed in the hole, covered and watered it and stood back as the Chao seed sprouted and speed grew into a tree full of fruit. The Chao cheered and gathered around hungrily. Shadow grabbed onto the tree trunk and gave it a good shake, knocking fruit down to the ground. The Chao ran to them and ate hungrily. Shadow watched to make sure all the Chao ate, then looked up at the tree to see if there was anything left for him. Not even a puny little fruit. He sighed and leaned against the tree, listening to his stomach growl. Two chili dogs and a soda was not going to make up for three days of no food.
"I'm gonna staaarve! Watch me, Omochao. I'm gonna show you how an ultimate life form turns into skin and bones in less than a week." Shadow groaned. Omochao shook his head and flew around to scope out the area. He came back a little later with Cammy following him. She had a tray of food with her, sandwiches, fruit, juice, carrot sticks and a chocolate bar. Shadow looked her way and sighed, too tired and hungry to gripe as he sat down and leaned back against the tree. Cammy knelt down next to him and set the tray down. "All right. I'll bite. How did you find me? Did you follow Omochao?" Shadow asked her quietly.
"Nope. Your Chaos Emerald. Gives you away like a giant neon sign that screams 'Shadow is here now!'" Cammy replied and smiled at him gently, "Hey, you're tired out and looking kind of weak. No fun chasing someone who could drop dead. I'm here to help you out."
"Of course he's like that!" Omochao yelled, "The dummy skipped three days' worth of meals!" Shadow hissed at him and the robot jumped back, startled. Cammy raised an eyebrow.
"Three days without eating? No wonder you ate those chili dogs so fast." she remarked and selected a sandwich, "Stop hissing at your toy and eat. Here." She held the sandwich up to his mouth. He turned away. "That's not helping me any, Shadow. Open up and take a bite. It's not poisoned. I promise." Cammy took a small bite and chewed. She swallowed and held it out again. "See? I ate some of it and I'm fine." Shadow looked down at the triangle hovering in front of his mouth and chewed on his lip. Lettuce, tomato, thick slice of turkey, cheese. Food, food, wonderful food! Right there! Tempting, delicious. Cammy waved it back and forth slowly.
"Careful, Shadow. You're drooling." she pointed out and giggled, "Come on. Just one bite and you can have the whole thing. Doesn't it look yummy? You know you want it." Shadow wiped away the trail of saliva with a glove and continued staring at the sandwich. It felt like a trap, but with the bait that good, how could he resist?
"I can't take it!" Shadow cried and bit into the sandwich, ripping off a large chunk of it. Cammy held the sandwich as he ate, then gave him another, and another. She fed him every sandwich on the tray, then gave him the fruit and juice to finish it as she nibbled on a carrot stick. "Ish delicshous!" Shadow exclaimed through a mouth full of watermelon. Cammy giggled again and finished her carrot stick.
"See? I told you I was helping! Feel better?" she asked him. Shadow nodded and finished the rest of the carrot sticks. Cammy unwrapped the bar and broke off a piece of chocolate. "Open wide!" Shadow opened his mouth and she tossed the chocolate in, watching him chew and swallow happily. Omochao watched them, confused. First Shadow wanted her gone, now he was enjoying having her there?
"Hedgehogs. Weird." he muttered and looked at the Chao. "Hey, Shadow! They're up to something!" he cried. Shadow and Cammy turned to watch the little creatures swarm up to them. Some ran to Shadow and gave him hugs, chattering happily. Some went to Cammy and jumped up into her arms for hugs. Cammy laughed.
"Oh, they're so sweet!" she exclaimed and cuddled them, "How cute! Are these the Chao children you were looking after, Shadow?" Shadow wrestled a few of them and gathered them into his arms. So little and innocent, like Maria had been. Maybe that's why he liked them so much.
"These are my little guys! Don't let the innocent looks fool you. They can be tricky and rowdy." he replied, not realizing he was smiling at her. Cammy smiled back.
"You've got a nice smile." she remarked. Shadow blinked and hid his face among the Chao kids. Cammy tickled an Angel Chao and winked at him. "You're a shy one, all right. Do you always hide when you smile at a pretty girl?" she asked.
"I don't usually hang around girls. Too much trouble." Shadow muttered behind the protection of the Chao children, "Rouge and the pink hedgehog... one headache after another. But at least the pink hedgehog helped me on the ARK." He looked up at Cammy, who was suddenly very still and was staring at him with barely closed eyes.
"The pink hedgehog... helped you." she whispered, "So... you like her best. She's your... girlfriend, huh?" The Chao kids went quiet and still, looking back and forth between the two hedgehogs. They just gave each other cold stares.
This doesn't look good. one Hero Chao remarked to his friend, "Chao chao chao chao chao."
I'll say. I thought we finally got Shadow happy. the Chao replied, Snacks made him happy for a while. Hugs made him happy for a while longer. What else could make Shadow happy?
Kissies! one younger Angel Chao cheered as he jumped into the air. Me give Shadow many kissies!
Kissies might work. Let's try it! the others agreed and squirmed around in Shadow's arms to plant little kisses on his face. Shadow shook them away and set them down, still scowling at Cammy.
"She's not my girlfriend, just someone who helped me remember a little girl I cared for back home on the ARK." he growled at her, "Maria was like a sister to me, and I made a promise to her when she died. I almost forgot what it was but the pink hedgehog reminded me of it. Now go away and leave me alone. I've got two Chao to find."
"I thought you said girls were nothing but trouble. So what about Maria was so different?" Cammy asked, miffed.
"We grew up together. I was created to help her. That's all you need to know." Shadow growled, "She was sweet and kind and caring. You're no Maria, so just stay away from me." He got up and opened his bag for Omochao to get in so he could use the Emerald's power. "And stop following me! Chaos Control!" Shadow yelled out and vanished. Cammy sniffed as she stood up and brushed off her dress.
"You're welcome for the lunch." she muttered and set off to find him again, determined to learn more about the Chaos Control. The Chao looked at each other, confused.
Maybe we gave him the wrong kind of kissies? one Angel Chao wondered aloud.
A reporter was working on a story about new animals at the zoo when one of the lost Demon Chao jumped into the piranha pool and began to chase the fish, snapping at their tails.
"Miss Kim! Look behind you!" the cameraman shouted and the reporter turned to stare at the Chao.
"Wow! What a scoop! We have to get a close up of that creature! Get in the tank!" she shouted.
"Are you nuts?! Those are piranhas in that tank! I'll get eaten!" the man snapped at her, but she was already off, following the Chao. It jumped out of the tank and raced off to draw all over the walls of the fish exhibit.
Shadow arrived at the exhibit, following the cries of startled people and the vandalism. He looked around as he walked into the dark building that led to the fish tanks. Omochao flew ahead and looked at the piranha tank.
"The Dark Chao was here." he reported. Shadow ran up to him and looked at the tank.
"How can you tell?" Shadow asked as he put his face against the glass and squinted to look in.
"Those are piranhas, fish that can strip the flesh from your bones in seconds. They're all trying to hide in that hole in a log over there. This Chao must have been the swimmer." Omochao replied, "We have four Chao to deal with; a flyer, runner, swimmer and powerhouse. We got the runner and the flyer. Now we need the swimmer and the powerhouse."
"Leave it to a swimming Demon Chao to freak out a school of piranhas." Shadow sighed and looked at a nearby wall. "These drawings show he must be heading for the seal exhibit. I can make out a seal on the walls." Shadow added and sighed again, "I knew I shouldn't have given them those crayons." Omochao pulled out the zoo map and looked up the seal pool.
"Here it is, Shadow, and here's where we are." he pointed out. Shadow studied it and nodded.
"Okay, in the bag. I'll use Chaos Control to get there and maybe we'll lose Cammy too." he told Omochao and pulled out the Chaos Emerald again.
"Why not ask her, very nicely, to help us find the Chao? If she can track you, she could track the Chao." Omochao asked him.
"I told you already, Omochao! She gives me the creeps! Whenever Cammy shows up, I get this really weird feeling and I can't think straight and I don't like being creeped out or startled stupid." Shadow griped at him, "Now get back in the bag or I Chaos Control and make you lose your head!" Omochao yipped and ducked inside as he warped.
"Look, Sonic! What's that chasing the seals?" Amy asked, pointing at the swimmer Dark Chao. The group peered at the pool and watched the seals try to escape the Chao's teeth.
"Hey, cool! Another Dark Chao!" Tails exclaimed. Knuckles frowned and turned to Sonic with a thought.
"Hey, Sonic. When Shadow ran into us earlier, there was a Dark Chao at our table, right?" he asked. Sonic nodded. "And when you got him out of the warden's office, he had another Dark Chao with him, right?"
"Yeah. What's your point, Knuckles?" Sonic replied with a question of his own.
"Call me nuts, but wherever there's a Dark Chao, Shadow shows up to nab it. There must be a connection between him and these crazy Chao." the echidna pointed out. Sonic looked out at the Chao, who had all the seals trapped on top of one big rock in the middle of the pool. It was circling the rock, smiling up at them with all of its teeth showing.
"Ah, coincidence." he remarked with a shrug then yelped in shock when Shadow materialized in the air above the pool.
"Waaah! I got thrown off! Help! Help!" Shadow wailed and splashed down into the pool.
"It's Shadow!" the group exclaimed.
"See? I told you! Where there's a Dark Chao, Shadow can't be too far behind!" Knuckles declared as the black hedgehog surfaced and splashed about.
"Hey, Shadow looks like he's in trouble." Tails remarked, squinting at him.
"I can't swim! Help! Somebody!" Shadow cried before sinking under the water. Sonic jumped in after him.
"Sonic! Are you crazy?! You're not much better in water than he is! Get back out here!" Knuckles yelled at him. Amy ran off to find help while Tails flew overhead to try to grab Shadow from the air. Sonic paddled as best he could in Shadow's general direction.
"Hang on, Shadow! I'm comin' to get ya!" he called out and yelped suddenly. Sonic went under and Shadow resurfaced, still splashing, still screaming. Tails snatched at him.
"Grab onto my hand, Shadow! Sonic! Where are you?! Don't die on me!" he cried out. Shadow reached out to him, but sank again. Sonic came up, sputtering, and splashed towards Shadow's direction.
"Tails! Where is he?!" he cried and heard another splash behind him. Knuckles dove in to help. The people watching the events pointed and yelled for help.
"He's over here, Sonic! The water's kind of murky! I can't see him too well!" Tails called back. Sonic went back under the water, about to speak when he did. "Sonic!" The fox flew to his area and searched the water frantically. "Sonic! Shadow! Knuckles, can you see them?!" he cried. Knuckles scanned the water and shook his head before diving down to get a closer look.
"Heeyah!" Cammy's voice sounded. Tails whirled around to see where she was coming from. The light green hedgehog raced towards the pool, rod out and aimed before her. "Hang on, Shadow! Let me see where you are!" she screamed. As if to answer, Shadow resurfaced, flailing and choking on the water. Sonic came up near him, also glugging. Knuckles surfaced nearby and tried to paddle towards them as fast as he could. "Stay right there!" Cammy yelled and slammed the ground with the rod as she ran. It launched her high into the air then shrank to portable size as Amy arrived with some help and saw her flying.
"Hey! She moves just like me!" Amy declared as Shadow went under for the third time. Cammy sailed through the air, did a mid-air twist, and then a swan dive into the pool. Tails finally grabbed Sonic's hands and hefted him up into the air, Knuckles pushing him up so Tails could keep a hold on him. Sonic coughed and looked around frantically.
"Where's Shadow?! Didn't you save him, too?! Knuckles! You should have grabbed him, not me, ya knucklehead!" Sonic yelled at him and stared at the bubbles floating to the surface of the pool. The zoo was hushed as everyone stared at the water. After a few moments, the bubbles stopped coming. Sonic tried not to cry as he watched the last of the bubbles pop. "Shadow?" he whispered.
"They... they didn't make it." Tails whispered, "They both drowned." He shrieked in surprise when both Cammy and Shadow burst through the surface in an explosion of water. "Yaah! Mayday! Mayday! I'm goin' down!" Tails wailed and skimmed the water as he raced back to dry ground. He set Sonic down and landed to rest. Amy and a warden rushed to his side and wrapped him up in blankets.
"You know better than to jump into dirty water like that, Sonic! You almost drowned!" Amy scolded him. Sonic just gave her a glare and stood to watch the two other hedgehogs swim to shore. Cammy swam a sidestroke, carrying Shadow along by holding his head above water. She got him back to the edge of the pool and climbed out, then pulled Shadow up and over, laying him out on the ground. She sat down and coughed, then shook her head and began to shake Shadow by the shoulders.
"Come on, Shadow! Wake up! Wake up!" she called to him. When the black hedgehog didn't answer, the warden pushed Cammy away and tried to revive him by breathing air into his mouth. Cammy dug around in the blue bag and pulled out the yellow blanket. Omochao flew out and coughed, falling onto the pavement.
"Ow! What happened? I got soaking wet! Shadow, did you warp us all the way into the rainforest exhibit?!" he grumbled. He looked up, saw the warden trying to get Shadow breathing and yelped. "Yikes! Shadow! What happened?!" he cried. Cammy squeezed out the blanket and waited anxiously. Shadow suddenly arced and spat up the water, turning over and curling up, shivering. Cammy wrapped him up in the blanket and just held him in a hug. Omochao joined her, snuggling up to him.
"C-c-c-o-o-old." Shadow stammered, "I f-feel so c-c-c-o-o-o-old." The warden declared them both to be okay, warned them about jumping into the pools and left to clear the crowds.
"Shadow, are you okay? What happened?! Why did you warp right over the pool?!" Sonic exclaimed, sitting next to him. Shadow's teeth chattered a bit and he retreated deeper into the warmth of the blanket and Cammy's hug.
"I got d-distracted using the C-Chaos C-Control. I d-didn't f-focus on wh-where I was g-going." he replied. Sonic took his own blanket and wrapped it around both Shadow and Cammy. "Th-thanks."
"You need it more than me." Sonic replied and tucked it around him. Shadow looked down at his hands and spotted the missing cuff.
"Hey! You've got the part of my glove that tore! How did you get it?" he asked Sonic, who blinked at him.
"Don't you remember? It tore when I tried to save you." he replied. Shadow looked blank. "We destroyed Final Hazard, remember? And I told you that your power was getting weak and you said you couldn't hold it. When we used Chaos Control on the colony together, you used up the last of your super form's power and fell to earth. I tried to save you by grabbing your hand, but your cuff tore and you vanished." Sonic explained, "I thought you had died, so I kept this piece with me, as a memento." He frowned, "But you didn't die. How did you survive? And why didn't you ever say anything to me?!" he added angrily.
"I used Chaos Control at the last second when the Chaos Emeralds reappeared around the two of us. I grabbed one before they all scattered and used it to return to earth safely, but I was too weak to do a complete warp. I reappeared a few hundred feet above ground and... well, you get the idea." Shadow replied and huddled in his blankets. "When I hit the ground, it must have scrambled my memory. It took me a while to remember how I saved myself, but I couldn't figure out why my glove was torn."
"That doesn't explain why you never contacted me." Sonic grumbled. Shadow frowned.
"I wanted a life of my own. And I had to repay the Chao that saved my life." he replied softly and stopped shaking, turning his head to one side and dozing off. "I feel... so... tired...." he murmured before falling asleep. Cammy held onto him and rested her cheek on his head.
"Sleep, my little Shadow. You need your rest." she whispered and looked up at the group. "I can't go back in the water now. Shadow needs me to help keep him warm. Could one of you go and get that little Chao he was trying to rescue?" she asked them.
"I'll go. I can swim." Knuckles volunteered and glided out to the Dark Chao still circling the rock. He dove down and grabbed the little Demon Chao, then swam back to the edge of the pool with it chewing on his arm. "Ow! Get it off of me! Get it off! It's eating me alive!" Knuckles cried, waving it around as soon as he set foot on dry land. Amy, Sonic, and Tails tried to grab for it, but Knuckles kept swinging his arm around. "Get it off! Get it off! It's devouring my flesh!" he wailed.
"Hold still!" Sonic yelled and grabbed the Chao. "Got it! Ah! Now it's trying to bite me!" Omochao dove into Shadow's bag and pulled out a chew toy. He threw it to Sonic, who offered it to the Dark Chao and sighed in relief when it clamped its jaws onto the rubber bone instead of his arm.
"That's three down and one to go." Omochao remarked as the reporter lady raced up and began firing questions at them.
"Hello! I'm Miss Kim! Do you own that remarkable creature?! What is it? Where did it come from? Did you know it terrorized a tank full of piranhas? Who found that creature?" she asked.
"It scared piranhas? Big deal. That thing could scare a dinosaur if one was around." Tails muttered and scowled when the cameraman showed up to film them. "I hate camera-people. They always screw things up."
"It's not our Chao. It belongs to Shadow." Sonic replied and gasped, covering his mouth. "Oops! I shouldn't have said that." The lady and cameraman turned to Shadow and Cammy, firing the questions at her and filming the two of them.
"Be quiet and go away!" Cammy snapped, "Sic her, little Demon Chao!" The Dark Chao looked up from his bone, spotted the lady and jumped towards her, teeth bared. He chased the reporter and her assistant away, then returned to chew on his toy contentedly. "Stupid woman. Now I'll have to run away from G.U.N. again." Cammy muttered under her breath as Shadow slowly came around. He flicked an ear and looked up at her in surprise.
"G.U.N.?" he echoed and looked around fearfully, "Where are they? And where's the Chao?" Omochao pointed at it.
"Right there. And G.U.N. isn't here." he replied. Shadow sighed in relief and glared up at Cammy.
"What do you think you're doing?" he growled at him. Cammy blinked at him and gave him one last squeeze before pulling away. "That was uncalled for."
"Just helping you out again. That's no way to treat the person who saved your life." she replied haughtily, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to change clothes again." She stood up and walked away, annoyed. Shadow wriggled out of the blankets, packed the yellow one away and stuffed the Dark Chao into his bag, zipping it up after he pulled out the Chaos Emerald. He shouldered the bag and waited for Omochao to get in place.
"Thanks for the help, but like I said, I don't need it. I could have taken care of things myself." Shadow told the group.
"Yeah right." Sonic muttered under his breath. Omochao looked at a nearby clock and tightened his grip on Shadow's shoulder.
"Shadow, it's twelve noon! Only two and a half hours left!" he cried. Shadow looked at the clock, gasped and held out the Emerald.
"The last Chao is a powerhouse! We'll feed the others lunch and then keep searching!" he cried, "Chaos Control!" He vanished into the air.
"What was that all about? Shadow has a time limit on finding the Chao?" Knuckles wondered aloud. Tails yelped.
"Hey! He's got my Chaos Emerald! The one the mayor of Station Square gave me!" he exclaimed.
"I'm more worried about that camera. Was it live? If it was, and the military saw it, they'll know that Shadow is still alive and they could try to capture him again!" Amy declared, "And this time, they'll make sure there would be no way of anyone getting in to save him or him finding a way out by himself!" Cammy rejoined the group, wearing a tube top and miniskirt with high top boots, all in a shade of hunter green.
"Let me guess. Shadow warped." she said as she came up to them. Sonic nodded.
"You lost him again." he said with a grin, "We warned you about his Chaos Control." Cammy smiled mysteriously.
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that." she said and walked away, hunting him down again.
"What kind of hedgehog are you anyways?!" Amy yelled out.
"I'm a legend hunter! Tracking a hedgehog that can warp is nothing compared to tracing ancient legends and myths!" Cammy called back and gave them a salute before disappearing into the crowd.
"That explains her tracking skills." Knuckles remarked, slightly impressed, "Sort of like a treasure hunter, but she's not interested in jewels and money, just in stories and riddles. That's rare."
"Okay, that's eleven kids' meals, eleven small sodas, eleven side orders and eleven cookies." the cashier listed out and told Shadow the price. He paid with the school budget money and handed the meals to the Chao kids. They ate lunch in the shade of some large trees as Shadow and Omochao studied the map and tried to figure out where the last Chao could be.
"I told you this would be easier if we had Cammy helping us." Omochao grumbled, "But you're too stubborn to ask for help. What do you have against the lady anyways?" Shadow grumbled something under his breath. "What?"
"I said, there is something about her that feels familiar, but I can't quite figure it out. And she still creeps me out! The way she looks at me, it's scary. Like she wants something from me and won't leave me alone until she gets it." Shadow clarified and looked around nervously, "And I thought I heard her say something about G.U.N."
"Yeah, she said something about having to escape them again." Omochao remarked and circled something on the map, "Here's the strong animals' section, gorillas and elephants. The last Chao could be there."
"Why would G.U.N. want Cammy?" Shadow asked Omochao. The robo-Chao shrugged. "Does she know something about Prof. Gerald Robotnik's research? Is that why she's after me? To find out the secrets to making the ultimate life form?" Shadow wondered to himself, suddenly feeling cold and scared, "I don't want another Bio-lizard trying to destroy the world. Would Cammy try to destroy the Earth like the professor tried to do?"
"Do you really think Cammy would do something like that? What for? She's not crazy like that old professor!" Omochao told him. Shadow only shrugged helplessly and sighed. "Well, let's check out the elephant section first." Omochao said and crawled into the bag. Shadow pulled out the Emerald, told the Hero Chao to look after the Dark Chao and warped away.
G.U.N. had seen the newscast and mobilized to capture Shadow and Cammy, sending troops out to the zoo.
"Remember! We need those hedgehogs in perfect condition! Don't harm them any more than is absolutely necessary!" the general ordered, "Your primary target is Project Shadow, but if Project Hunter displays any powers, bring her in as well!" The soldiers nodded and moved out.