Wee!! I finally got some time to put up this new part to the story… ^-^ YAY! ^('.'^)
Shadow: Are you going to explode today? Putting your
echidna butt back together wasn't easy you know…
. . Um, I don't have any plans on exploding today…
Shadow: Good.
Rouge's cursing could be heard from about a mile away. Knuckles felt a sweat drop appear on the back of his head.
" I'm not too sure I want to be anywhere near her right now…"
" She's not mad at us, you know." Tails said quietly.
" I know…but you know, she starts throwing things after awhile…"
" You know from experience?" The grin on the kitsune's face quickly spread.
Knuckles slanted his eyes.
" Shut up. We have more important things to worry about right now."
Tails' grin disappeared.
" Well sorry for trying to break the tension…" He muttered.
The Guardian said nothing and proceeded onward. The flying brown fox sighed and followed him as quickly as he could. The tunnel's opening in the mountain soon came into view, where the night's sky could be seen beyond the track. The stars always twinkled brightly in Mystic Ruins, unlike in Station Square, where the lights of the city had drowned them out. The two heroes exited the tunnel, still traveling on the tracks. Neither of them bothered to go to the station that was at the end of the line. Knuckles jumped off the tracks, gliding down toward Tails' workshop, where the small fox followed him, still airborne. They landed on the plateau that was sticking out of the side of the hill and quickly ran up the stairs to the porch of the shop. The door opened swiftly and the infuriated white bat stood there with her hands on her hips.
" Where in the hell have you two been?!"
The boys winced.
" Rouge, you know we just got back from running the tracks…"
She fumed.
" We don't have time for this. We gotta come up with a plan to get Sonic and Shadow out of GUN Labs ASAP."
" Yeah…"
The white treasure hunter grabbed both of them and dragged the boys inside, kicking the door shut on her way in. She tossed the two aside on the floor and stood in front of them, with her arms crossed. Tails rubbed his head as Knuckles got to his feet.
" Well, we'll have to try and find out exactly where they are being kept in the Labs before we do anything. I mean, if we just rush in there with no plan, we're fucked."
" I've been hacking the Database while you two were trying to get back here. I'll have the floor plans soon as my program does its cross checks and everything."
The small kitsune got up and looked at the two treasure hunters.
" Can you get the security schematics of the Labs?"
Rouge looked down at him.
" Good thinking kiddo. We'll need to find a safe entryway in and exit and everything."
Knuckles nodded in agreement, then spoke up.
" How long before your program gets into that part of the Database?"
" Not completely sure…it could be an hour…it could be more…"
" Looks like there's not much we can do until you get those files then, right?"
" …Right…"
Tails looked down at the metal floor of his workshop. I hope they'll be okay…
" Come on. We have a lot of work to do."
***
That damn tube was down his throat again. He wanted to take it out of his mouth but the lack of mobility prevented him. The acid water had once again returned to swirling around him, making the cords of all the sensors sway back and forth as they continued monitoring his vital signs. Shadow opened his eyes, regretting it as soon as he did so. The water stung sharply, but he was too stubborn not to close them. His crimson eyes darted around, trying to see if he could visualize anything outside of the stasis tube. Only cloudy images appeared behind the glass, probably looking at him and the readouts that the sensors had to have been producing. Shadow groaned against the tube in his throat, clouding up this facemask a little with his breath. I wish I had the strength to flip them off right now… He closed his eyes. Sonikku… I hope he's alright… The black hedgehog thought about the testing that his companion had gone through. I remember when they did that to me… it was horrible… and yet… I somehow experienced it again through Sonic… It puzzled him to no end. How is it that I could sense the same things that he was going through? What purpose does that have? His body relaxed a little, telling him to rest more. Was I created for more than one reason…? Perhaps…I have…som…e….oth…er….purpose… He slowly went completely limp again as his body shut down, forcing him to rest.
***
It was warm. Power. He felt like he could do anything.
" You go that way!" A voice barked at him.
He snapped out of his trance and looked toward the voice. A yellow flash shot away from him, going toward the right. Nodding, he went to the left like instructed. There was no stopping either of them now…until he saw something twinkle from up ahead. Nani? A reddish-pink flash appeared, then multiplied. What the hell? The pink things in the distance moved, almost taunting. Then they zipped forward, creating arcs of reddish aura trailing behind them. He felt his eyes widen as he dodged out of the way of one of them, noticing that they were large orbs. They…look familia---ACK!!! One slammed into his back, exploding and causing a brief moment of pain. He spiraled forward a little, trying to regain his balance.
" Shadow! Are you okay?!"
He turned toward where the orbs were coming from and sped forward again.
***
The stars above seemed dimmer than usual. A frown appeared on his furry face as he stared up at them. Sighing, his fist tightened a little.
" What are you doing out here?" Knuckles' deep voice startled him.
Light blue eyes looked over at the scarlet echidna.
" Just…looking at the stars…" He said quietly.
" Trying to relax considering all that's happened?"
The fox didn't answer. Purple eyes slanted slightly at him.
" Tails?"
" They don't look as bright as they usual do."
" What?"
" The stars…" He pointed up at them. " They normally twinkle and sparkle more than what they are doing right now…"
The Guardian looked up and stared at them. He folded his arms across his chest.
" They look like they always do, Tails…"
" No…"
Knuckles glanced over at him.
" What is it?"
" They…are not as bright… as when we're looking at them…"
It finally hit him.
" Oh…" A frown appeared.
Tails looked down.
" The stars always seemed to shine brighter whenever Sonic was here… it was like… they were showing him that they could be just as pure as he was. Since Sonic's not here…the stars…"
Knuckles' hand gripped his small friend's shoulder.
" Look, Sonic's going to be back. So don't start acting like he's gone for good. Both he and Shadow are going to be okay."
" You don't know that…"
" And you don't know if they're dead. Rouge said that the invoices in the GUN Database say that they wanted both of them to be alive. So they have to be. And you know how the two of them are. They won't die anytime soon."
Tails thought about this for a moment and looked back up at his friend.
" I suppose you're right…"
" Try to get some rest, kid. We're going to be busy tomorrow."
" Yeah…"
He looked back up at the stars and then got up to follow Knuckles back inside. The kit tried to hide a yawn, but the older male saw it almost immediately.
" Get to bed, Tails."
" But…"
" I'll help Rouge get those schematics. You get some rest. You were up earlier than we were."
" Okay…" He sullenly walked off toward his room.
The Guardian watched him go and shook his head slightly, then headed toward the computer room where Rouge was. The female bat was still sitting at the large computer, staring at the files that were being transferred and masked.
" How's it going?"
She yawned slightly.
" Almost there… I'll have the whole schematics soon."
" Copied to disk so you can get out of the Database before someone spots ya?"
" Right…"
" You going to go to bed after this?"
" No…"
" Why not? You're obviously fatigued."
" I have to go over the schematics…"
" You don't have to right away."
" Knuckles, if I don't, then we'll be wasting time."
The echidna folded his arms again as he leaned against the doorframe.
" Making yourself tired isn't going to help us."
" Don't talk to me like I'm a
child. I heard you send Tails to bed, and I'll be damned if I let you try to
send me to bed like you did with him."
" Did you hear what I said to him before?"
" I did." Her large ears twitched slightly.
" Then listen to it."
She sputtered and turned to face him, her face getting a little flushed.
" How dare you speak to me like that!"
" Rouge, they'll be fine…if we rush, then we're just going to set ourselves up for disaster."
The white bat flexed her wings a little, frowning.
" But they're going to do…horrible things to them…look at how badly Shadow was…"
Knuckles looked down.
" I know…but they're strong. You know that."
" Yeah…I know…"
The file beeped. Rouge turned back to the computer and fiddled with the mouse. She quickly double checked everything and set up the program to make a "back door" for her to access when she would need to get into the Database again, then shut everything pertaining to it down. She was about to access the floppy disk when Knuckles' hand grabbed at the mouse, covering hers.
" What are you doing?"
" You need rest, Rouge. We all do."
Her green eyes slanted at his purple ones.
" I told you not to tell me what to do."
" You're tired. You need sleep. The schematics will be here in the morning."
" If I don't work on this…"
" It will be here in the morning…"
Rouge frowned.
" You're not going to let me get away with this one, are you?"
" Nope." His smile was appearing again.
The white bat sighed and slowly got to her feet.
" Okay, okay…I'll go to bed. But that means that you have to as well."
The Guardian nodded, taking his hand off of hers. She looked up at him for a moment and then turned toward the doorway, only pausing for a brief second.
" Goodnight, Knuckles." And she disappeared down the hallway.
Smirking, the red echidna shut down the computer completely and departed from the room himself, letting the door shut on its own. He headed for his own spare room, thinking to himself. I want to help them as soon as you guys do, but if we don't rest, then none of us are going to be any help to Sonic or Shadow. He sighed a little and entered his room, carefully shutting the door after him, turning in for the night.
***
Something roared. It sounded
similar to the roar he had heard before in the other piece of the puzzle, but
yet is wasn't. He turned and watched the giant thing stomp around before him.
Pipes protruded from its mouth, running up to the glowing red system that was
drove into its back.
" The Ultimate Life Form…" He felt his lips move, barely uttering the title.
It roared again. His fist tightened as he looked on.
There was no turning back. He was the diversion, after all. Skittering forward,
he picked up speed and zipped along the brown stone floor. Popping noises
sounded after him. A quick glance over his shoulder allowed him to see the
black energy flying at him. It was wrapped with purple lightning, which
crackled against the darkness. Skidding a little, he somersaulted underneath
the energy, only to be forced to jump up into the air to evade a lower attack
that dashed at him against the floor. He looked about and saw another airborne
attack. He repeated his maneuver and then jumped again to evade the once again
attack that was on the floor. Its patterns are easy to predict… He
backpedaled a little and watched for the next attack. It came swiftly, once
again, it was airborne. Shadow smirked and somersaulted yet again, jumping
instantly. This is easy… His eyes widened as a black ball of airborne
energy flew toward him. He was right in the way so it collided with him,
exploding. The purple lightning swarmed around him, burning and singing fur as
he clattered to the ground, shrieking.
***
His eyes snapped open as he screamed. Blinking and panting, Shadow glanced around and slowly sat up. Where…? He wasn't in the stasis tube anymore, nor was he tied down to a table or anything. The onyx hedgehog blinked again, looking about. GUN couldn't have just let me go like that…
" Ah, so you're awake."
Crimson eyes turned toward a screen on the wall. It was another scientist.
" Lovely…" He glared. " What the hell do you want?"
" You're the hedgehog that is known for being able to use Chaos Control. Therefore we wanted to examine this skill in action."
Shadow sneered at him.
" You really think I'll actually help you?" He started laughing.
" You have a choice…but I wouldn't be surprised if you still refused."
The glare appeared again. " What the hell are you talking about?"
The scientist moved back from the camera a little to let him see the stasis tube area. Two of them were in view, one empty, and one full. The empty one had to have been his. Shadow watched carefully as the camera zoomed in on the full one. He saw blue quills dangling free in the green water.
" Sonikku…"
" Yes. We're keeping him alive just like you."
" What does he have anything to do with me helping you?" Shadow had a feeling, but he didn't want to be right.
" We want you to perform Chaos Control for us to monitor."
" And if I refuse?"
" Then…" There was a beeping noise. "…I'm afraid your friend won't last very long…"
Sonic started curling a little within the tube. His hands grasped at his throat, causing bubbles to appear from his facemask. Shadow felt his eyes widen again. They cut off his air supply!! His fist tightened.
" Okay! Okay!! Just don't kill him!"
The same beeping was heard. Sonic stopped struggling within his tube prison, relaxing again as he floated in the green water. Shadow growled underneath his breath as well. Fucking bastards…they're using him as a crutch to make me do what they want…
" Now then…"
The red striped hedgehog
looked back to see a few more scientists heading toward him. He looked at all
of them with a watchful eye.
" Do not fear them. They will not hurt you."
The three scientists advancing toward Shadow were all female. All of the people that he had seen so far when it came to the experiments and the torture had been male. It was a switch, but he didn't trust them either. One of them smiled at him.
" Please move your arms up a little…"
He did what he was told. The female scientists fastened little sensors to his fur, securing them down gently. Shadow frowned but didn't resist.
" There. Now, since we have you hooked up to the monitors, you will be able to perform Chaos Control for us… but remember. If you attempt to escape, we will kill your friend. So don't bother trying anything stupid."
Shadow sneered at the man again.
" How exactly am I supposed to Chaos Control without an emerald…eh??"
One of the females produced the Silver Chaos Emerald.
" We will provide you with the emerald, but as stated before, you are not allowed outside of the Labs."
" And where the hell do you want me to Chaos Control to then?"
" Other side of that wall will be fine…"
Shadow snarled a little and snatched the emerald from the female. He held it tightly in one hand and gritted his teeth a little bit.
" Chaos…control…---" He whispered, suddenly appearing on the other side of the room like he had been instructed. " There…happy now, asshole?"
" Nice try, Shadow, but it didn't work. We've got readouts of your powers before and that was nowhere even close to being an actual warp."
The black hedgehog frowned slightly. They could tell that I ran… Damn it. I don't want to help these fuckers at all…
" Now. Do it or I'm afraid this 'hero' won't be saving any kitties stuck up in trees anymore." The man motioned back to the helpless Sonic.
Gripping his fingers against the sides of the emerald, Shadow winced slightly. Silver sparkles appeared from the emerald itself, flowing up his hands. His voice deepened as he held onto the emerald with both hands.
" CHAOS…."
The man behind the screen seemed very pleased.
" Status."
" It is the Chaos Control technique, sir…" Another man said.
" Good. Maintain collection."
"…CONTROL!!!"
Silver energy engulfed him and slowly imploded onto itself. The black hedgehog disappeared from sight.
" Excellent!" The scientist looked back over to the spot where he predicted the hedgehog to reappear. A moment passed. "…Where is he…? STATUS! NOW!!" He bellowed.
" Subject appears to have left premises…sir…"
A sneer appeared on the scientist's face.
"…Sir?"
" Cut off the other hedgehog's life support."
" But…sir…"
" DO IT!"
" Urk…yes sir…"
The man at the console slowly started flicking switches. Machines began to hum down, slowly shutting off. Sonic didn't appear to be in any danger for the moment.
" ALL of it."
" But…"
" ARE YOU QUESTIONING MY ORDERS?!" The main scientist finally lost his cool.
" No sir!"
" THEN SHUT IT DOWN!"
Two more switches were moved. Floating inside of his glass prison, Sonic suddenly couldn't breathe. His eyes snapped open as he forced his hands to claw at the mask around his mouth. He began struggling, flailing around inside the tube as he slowly suffered. The head scientist just watched.
" Sir… this is torture…"
" And the experiments weren't?"
" Well…"
The sensors on the console shot up, gathering a high power reading.
" Sir!"
" What is it?"
A blip of silver appeared back in the other room. Shadow suddenly appeared, holding something in his hands. He quickly looked up at the screen.
" Leave him alone!!"
" You left the premises. I have every right to kill him now."
" You wanted your damned proof that I actually warped, didn't you?! Turn the life support back on!" Shadow wasn't even looking at the scientist this time. He was focused solely on the agonizing Sonic.
" What's your proof?"
" Turn on the damned life support and I'll show you!"
" You show me first and then I'll turn on the machines."
Shadow growled. Sonic didn't have time for him to bitch at this asshole. He held his arm up, showing off yellow flowers.
" What is that supposed to prove to me? You could have gotten those anywhere."
" These only grow near the outskirts of the city…ask anyone…"
The attendant looked at his boss.
" Sir, he's telling you the truth… I've seen those before…"
" Humph…"
Sonic was curling now within his tortured prison. The lack of air was getting to him and it was getting hard to stay awake.
" Now turn Sonic's support back on!!"
" Hmm…He's nearly dead anyway. Why should you care if he dies or not?"
Crimson eyes showed that he was taken aback by the comment. Shadow's fist tightened a little.
" Leave…him…alone…"
" Getting angry, are we?"
" Fucking…asshole…"
The female scientists were approaching Shadow now, apparently ready to try and take the hedgehog down.
" Turn it back on…or I swear…"
" You swear what? You're powerless to stop me."
His fingers gripped in a reflex maneuver, feeling the hardness of the emerald in his hand. He blinked and gripped it again, gaining more confidence. The women ran for him now, prepared to stop him.
" CHAOS CONTROL!" And he was gone.
" Use the sensors to detect where he will be."
" Yes si---ACK!" The assistant and his chair went flying backwards.
The head scientist looked over to where the man had been sitting as Shadow reappeared, standing on the console. He quickly flipped ever switch back on and noticed that Sonic was relaxing again out of the corner of his eye.
" There…"
Guns cocked loudly. Shadow glared at the men in the room. I have an emerald… they can't stop me when I have an emerald… A sadistic grin appeared on his face as he chuckled quietly.
All hell broke loose. Shadow was faster now by using the emerald to warp and attack the GUN officials before they could shoot him. He didn't care about the lackeys. He just wanted to get to the boss. The head scientist who was so bent on torturing them. Two men went flying from a rapid high kick combo and Shadow charged him, screaming. It didn't last though.
" I had a feeling you'd attack us." The scientist grinned and sidestepped.
Shadow darted past him and skidded to a turning stop. He
braced his feet against the floor and prepared for another takeoff. Just let
me hurt him… Red eyes looked up for a moment to see a gun pressed against
his forehead. …FUCK.
***
Shadow: Why is it that I never win?? O_O
Sonic: Um… cuz I'm the cool one?
Shadow: .O COME OVER HERE AND SAY THAT PUNK!
Sonic: BRING IT!!
O.o;; Um…guys? o.O;;
::They start fighting, kicking up dirt and sand as only flying fists and feet
can be seen anymore::
o_o;; um… never mind…^^;;;
^.^ Leave a review! :D