Chapter Four
"Is this the one?" Shadow asked, looking up at the green doors. Cammy looked up with him.
"That's the one." she confirmed, "My neck is starting to hurt."
"Mine too." Shadow murmured and fell back. "Ugh. My whole body aches. Smash this, smash that. There are way too many robots and experimental life forms in this freaky temple." he groaned. Cammy sat down and let out a deep breath.
"You're telling me. But why would there be such things here anyway? Oh yeah. That Robotnik guy. He sure knows how to make himself feel right at home, huh?" she muttered as Shadow sat up and waved a green crystal-like object in front of Deiter. "What's that?"
"You want it? You really want it?" Shadow teased the Dark Chao, "Let me see what's in the box and I'll give you this whole Chaos Drive!" Deiter watched it wave back and forth, practically drooling all over the package.
"Rouge wants to give it to Omochao." he protested half-heartedly. Shadow grinned wider.
"Rouge won't find out. I'll still give it to Omochao. I just want to see what it is." he purred. Deiter followed the drive and whined. Finally, he gave in. The box and crystal changed hands and Shadow set to work on ripping off the paper. Cammy scooted closer to see what it was. Slowly, Shadow lifted the lid of the box and scowled at what he saw. "Big surprise. It's a jewel." he grumbled. Cammy reached into the little box and pulled out a diamond. She peered at it.
"It's not a jewel. Least, not one you wear. It's a gear, made out of solid diamond!" she exclaimed. Shadow shivered and rubbed at his nose.
"You're telling me I tramped around a dark jungle, got totally lost in a temple, got my face smacked by trees, Chao and stone walls, and had a mess of bugs use me as a buffet dinner for a stupid diamond gear?! Rouge is gonna die." Shadow grumbled, "Does she have any idea what I've been through?"
"Maybe not. But now we know what Robotnik's after." Cammy pointed out. Shadow scowled again and sniffed.
"Doesn't explain why he wants it." he muttered as he took back the gear. He looked up at the door. "So, how exactly are we supposed to open that?" Cammy dug around in her backpack and pulled out what looked like a crystal totem.
"With this!" she exclaimed, holding it out for Shadow to see. He rubbed his nose again and sniffed.
"What are you gonna do? Wave it over the door and say 'Bippity boppity boo'?" he retorted. Cammy gave him a playful push and stood up.
"Nope. Watch this." she replied and stuck the totem into a hole in the door that had the same shape. The door shook and began to open. "It's a key. The ancient Chao didn't use normal keys. They lose them too easily. Instead, they made toys and relics for keys. Easy to keep track of and they made great playthings." Cammy explained as the door continued to open. Shadow stood up and wiped his nose again, making another face. His throat felt scratchy and he didn't like it. He followed Cammy into the chamber.
Tails tried several times to call Sonic on the radio but got no answer. Rouge walked along beside him, watching the little fox.
"Did you get anything?" she asked. Tails shook his head.
"Not a peep. I'm getting worried. What if Sonic actually fell for one of Eggman's tricks? We'd better go look for him." he replied. Rouge pouted.
"But we should find Shadow first!" she said in a huff. Tails checked the map and printed a copy. He handed it to her.
"Here! You find Shadow! I'll find Sonic!" he decided and walked off in another direction, trying to find a route that would take him back to where he had last seen the blue hedgehog. Rouge rolled her eyes and pressed on. Grabbing her satellite phone, she dialed and waited. The phone was answered.
"Shadow? This is Rouge. Have you delivered the package yet?" she asked.
"Rouge! You back-stabbing, flea-bitten, brat bat! You've got me in the middle of a crazy temple in a stupid jungle over a lousy diamond gear! What were you thinking, risking my life over a stupid jewel?! And no thanks to you, I also lost my wallet!" Shadow yelled back.
"Since when did you start carrying a wallet around?! You're immortal, you can't die, remember? And who said you could look in the box?!" Rouge snapped back, "Where's Deiter?!"
"Your crazy cat is here with me and a few brain cells short thanks to him smacking into a stone door! The only reason why the stupid thing's still alive is Cammy's holding it and I don't want to run her over with the little punk!" Shadow yelled back.
"Don't threaten my little Chao! You get that gear to Omochao right now!" Rouge ordered.
"You're not the boss of me!" Shadow yelled.
"And I still don't think you're the real Shadow, Hedgehog! So get that gear to him! Now!" Rouge yelled back and hung up before Shadow could say anything else.
Cammy blinked at Shadow as he throttled the phone in his hands, shaking it as if he was wringing someone's neck. She and Deiter just stood and watched him shake the thing over and over, sniffling every once in a while.
"You stupid, stupid, stupid bat girl! You're sitting pretty at home while I'm running around here trying to keep my head on my shoulders! Just because I'm immortal doesn't mean I go chasing around looking for things to try to kill me!" Shadow ranted, shaking the phone. "I lost my wallet, my friend is lying on the floor looking dead as a five-year-old battery and all you care about is that stupid diamond!" He finally stopped, dropping to his knees and shaking as he looked down at Omochao's tiny body. "Omochao, speak to me! You can't be dead! You're a robot!" he cried. Cammy knelt down with him and picked up the little mechanical Chao.
"I'm sorry, Shadow. We didn't make it to see if he met that star or not." she murmured as she opened a little door in his back and studied the machinery, "His gear's run down and the clockwork stopped." She pat Shadow on the shoulder reassuringly. He jerked his head up.
"Gear? Gear!" Shadow pulled out the diamond gear, "He needs a new gear?! He'll get a new gear!" he declared and took him from Cammy. He poked around inside until he found the old gear, a cracked brass object, and pulled it out. He grabbed the diamond one, shoved it inside and slapped the door closed. He twisted the wind up key and put Omochao down, waiting anxiously. Cammy and Deiter watched.
"Shadow, I don't think you were supposed to just stick the gear in him." Cammy whispered. Shadow wiped away a few leftover tears and sniffed again.
"Rouge said give the gear to Omochao, and that's just what I did. If she has a problem with it, she can take it up with my Chaos Control!" he growled and stared at the robot, hoping, hoping that it would work. Finally, the little eyes opened and blinked sleepily.
"Huh? What's going on? Where am I?" he muttered, looking around and finally focused on Shadow. "Shadow? What's going on?" he asked. Shadow whooped and scooped him up, hugging him.
"Omochao! You're alive! You're okay!" he cried and danced around the chamber with him. Omochao struggled a bit and flew in front of him.
"Shadow! Get a hold of yourself! Cammy's watching!" he scolded and pointed. Shadow looked in her direction, blushing as she smiled and winked at him.
"You look like a good dancer. That gives me an idea of what to do on our date once I catch you." she teased and laughed. Omochao stretched and yawned.
"I took a nice long nap and now I feel great! Hey, Shadow! What are you doing in this place?" he asked the hedgehog.
"Looking for you. And you feel great because I gave you a new gear." Shadow pointed out. Omochao blinked and smiled.
"Really? Thanks!" he replied.
"Now that we've done what we were supposed to do, let's get out of here!" Cammy declared. Shadow was just about to agree when the wall nearby suddenly exploded. He jumped and covered Cammy up while the Chao hid behind them until the dust settled. They looked up in shock at what came stomping through the hole in the wall.
It was a robot, yellow and two-legged with four arms. The clawed hands grabbed at the air and the laser blaster shot into the air. In the cockpit was Sonic! He was unconscious, with a strange helmet on his head and the rest of his body trapped in some weird gel up to his neck. The robot walked up to Shadow and Cammy, then paused.
"What... what's that monster?" Cammy stammered, staring up at it. Shadow peered at it, spotted Sonic, and looked surprised.
"Sonic! Sonic's in there!" he exclaimed. Eggman stepped in from beyond the wall in his walker, a remote in his hands.
"There's that voice again! I'm sure I know who it is!" he declared and stared at Shadow, who stared back at him. "Shadow?! Alive?! I thought you were dead!" Eggman shrieked.
"Thanks for telling me. And here I thought I was a zombie." Shadow retorted, "What have you done to Sonic?! Get him out of there! Now!" he added angrily. Eggman shook his finger.
"And here I thought you would enjoy this. If you want that spiny spoilsport so bad, fight him and see if you can get him out of there! Ha ha! I'm quite thankful for you, Miss Hedgehog, for leading me to this grand prize!" he laughed and pressed a button. Shadow looked back at Cammy angrily.
"Cammy! You led him to us?!" he demanded. She shook her head, eyes wide.
"That's the guy who pulled me out of the trap! He asked me to look for someone with a Chao and a package...! Oh no! That was...! But I didn't call him!" she cried, staring at him. Shadow growled and looked back at the robot.
"Get the Chao and stand back! This is not gonna be easy!" he yelled and prepared to fight. The robot took on a similar stance. "We'll talk after I win!"
"So she's Cammy! Ha, ha! She never had to say a word! The tracking chip in her radio was what led me right to you, once I had my lovely robot set up! I was going to use it on her for a test, but you'll do just fine! Go, Sonicbot!" Eggman cheered and the robot lunged. Shadow leaped up and tried to Homing Attack the cockpit's dome. He bounced right off and hit the floor. "Hah! The dome is indestructible! You can't win! Give up already! You're a Robotnik creation, so just come back to my side and I won't hurt you and your little friends!"
"Fat chance, Dr. Robotnik!" Shadow yelled and ran for a wall. Sonicbot chased after him. "Sonic! Sonic, wake up!" he called back and ran up the wall.
"It's no use! He can't hear you as long as he wears that helmet! And he's completely under my power! He doesn't even realize what's happening!" Eggman laughed. Shadow jumped from the wall and flipped over to try to hit the back of the Sonicbot. An arm lashed out and grabbed him.
"Shadow!" Cammy cried as the three fingers closed around Shadow's little body. He struggled to get free, pushing down with both arms on the fist that clenched around him. Eggman laughed as he watched Sonicbot step away from the wall and hold Shadow above itself. Shadow was still struggling, wriggling and growling. Finally, he sneezed. It seemed as if everyone froze. Shadow sneezed again and then began coughing.
"What's happening to me?!" Shadow yelled, "Rouge! What you did to me?!" He coughed harder and went back to fighting to get free.
"Shadow? Did you catch a cold?" Cammy called up to him. "You're gonna have to drink plenty of fluids and stay in bed!"
"I'm a little busy at the moment!" Shadow called back down. Eggman laughed harder and pounded his fist on the egg walker.
"The ultimate life form caught a cold! Ohhohohoho!" he snorted and chortled. Shadow grumbled and kept fighting. Eggman sat up and laughed again. "All right! Sonicbot! Finish him off! No life form can survive getting burned up! Torch him!" he ordered and snickered.
Sonicbot moved the flamethrower and aimed it at Shadow, who froze and stared at the arm in fear. Fire, fire, fire! He hated fire! He was afraid of fire! The gun had a small flame at the tip of it. Any moment now, that flame was going to explode into a fireball that swallow him up! Shadow couldn't take his eyes off of it, breaking out into a sweat as he pulled away as far as he could in the robot's grip. Suddenly, the arm went slack and fell to the robot's side. The fist holding Shadow captive went loose and he shook himself out of his trance, looking down at it in surprise. What was going on?
"Oh no! The stupid gear broke! Blasted cheap parts!" Eggman griped and grabbed his box of copies. Shadow wriggled and got free as the mad doctor ran over to replace the gear.
"So that's why you wanted the diamond gear! Diamonds don't break!" Shadow exclaimed as he scurried over to the dome. He coughed hard, covering his mouth with his hand, then shook it off and pried at the dome. It popped open and Shadow pulled the helmet off of Sonic.
"So you're the teacher's aide with the box! You had the gear all along! That explains how it got here in less than a day. You warped!" Eggman exclaimed as he switched gears as fast as he could. Shadow reached into the gel and grabbed onto Sonic, pulling him out of it. Sonic slumped forward, still out cold.
"What did you do to him?!" Shadow snapped at Eggman. Not waiting for an answer, Shadow flattened his quills down, curving the sharp edges down along his back so they wouldn't hurt the blue hedgehog. He pulled Sonic onto his back, perching on top of the empty robot as he pulled his arms down around his neck. Sonic's head bumped a bit against his own, dangling down over one shoulder. "Sonic, no offense, but you need a breath-mint." Shadow muttered and jumped from the robot's top all the way to the ground. Eggman peeped around the robot's legs and saw him escape with Cammy and the Chao.
"Huh? Hey! Come back here with my robot's brain! Thief!" he shouted and threw down his tool, stomping around angrily. He stopped and thought hard, then smiled. "Wait a second. Shadow's cold may slow him down some. I could use him instead of Sonic in my robot. After all, he is Robotnik property. It's only fitting that Shadow helps me rule the world. He hasn't granted my wish yet. Now's the perfect time to collect on past dues!" Eggman laughed and called his robotic minions for new orders.