This is a fanfiction, and as such, most of the characters in the story are not mine. Most characters are © Sega, and are not used with permission.
Chapter 2: A Journey Begins
Day 1
Two days later, a group had gathered at the main road leading north. Yohan's truck was parked and pointing away while he and Shadow were being seen off. Sally was attending to her visitor while Rouge and Bunnie were of course with Shadow.
"Well then Mr. Sancot, I hope things turn out well for you; I'm just sorry that we can't be of more help at this time."
"You're very gracious, your highness; I'm sure that Shadow will be able to help us with our problem if what we've heard is true."
On the other side of the truck, Shadow had heard the comment.
"Oh great. I wonder how much of what they heard was about Sonic, and how much of it is overinflated rhetoric about Sonic."
"At least it's not overinflated rhetoric about you." Rouge was trying to lift his spirits. "Oh come off it, you know that you have a tremendous amount of power; what with you possessing the Master Emerald and all."
"Fat lot of good that's gonna do me; I drained it of its power, it's dead."
"Didn't yah say that yah beat Robotnik without using its power?"
"Not quite, I did drain a little bit to give myself a boost."
"So what, Sally gave you a bunch of Power Rings so you can still give it a slight charge; and didn't Yohan say that there are lots of Power Rings in the mountains, since no one collects them they just bunch up."
"Stop being so negative about yahself; yah'll be fine, and back before yah know it."
"If you're both so worried, why don't you come along."
"Sorry, but Ah've got work on the farm to do."
"No chance; those mountains are freezing even in the fall, and I hate cold weather. Speaking of which, did you pack warm?"
"I'd rather have you to keep me warm."
"Well, since you put it that way… no."
"Can't blame me for trying. Will you two be O.K. while I'm gone?"
For the first time, Bunnie was really considering how things would be without the hedgehog around. "We'll be alright."
Rouge had an evil smirk on her face. "I'm sure we'll find something to do to pass the time."
"Now I'm really homesick."
On the other side, Yohan had already gotten into the driver's seat and closed the door. Sally had walked around the front to Shadow who was still standing outside with his door open.
"I wish you luck. I want you to help them as much as possible, but if things get too hairy, don't hesitate to come back."
"As much as I'd hate to disappoint you, you had better believe I'd split when things get too rough."
"Naturally. And one more thing, behave yourself."
Shadow didn't like to be told yet again that he should be on his best behavior. "Yes, Mommy."
Shadow sneered, then got in the truck.
The crowd pulled back a bit to free the vehicle as its engines started. As the truck sped away, Shadow looked back to see the faces that he wouldn't see for sometime. He knew not how long, but he had a feeling in his gut it would be a lot longer than he wanted.
The truck traveled through the woods around Mobotropolis, taking most of the day to reach the edge and the base of the mountains to the north. These were not the Hoines, they came later.
Shadow really only paid attention to how slow they were going; although the truck did clock a pretty good speed, it was a crawl compared to what Shadow was capable of. He figured that if he ran, he would be there by now; but with no knowledge of the terrain, he would likely get lost and delayed constantly, if he even got there at all. To pass the time, Shadow was making use of some of the novelties that he had packed with him.
In his large duffel bag with several articles of large clothing was a large crossword puzzle book, it was the first thing he took out. Being rather large, Shadow figured it would take him weeks, even months to figure out the whole thing; he really didn't like crosswords all that much, especially the trickier ones in the back of the book that were missing the black squares and numbers that told you were to go. Despite this, Shadow made a conscious effort to get through the tome of no knowledge, challenging himself to see how many times he cheated by looking at the answers in the back; he figured anything less than 1000 times was a miracle.
Along with the crossword book and another puzzle book with a greater variety of mind teasers, were a couple of scrapbooks. Rouge and Bunnie had taken some pictures of Mobotropolis and the people in it, thanks to the all-in-one marvel called "Omochao". They gave it to him to remember home, but also to show anyone in the mountains how Mobotropolis was developing. The pair had included another photo album for his eyes only, to show Shadow just how much they were going to miss him.
Also included in his bag of goodies was a small device he picked up while in Baltesaria last month, a piece of electronics with the label "Game Boy Advance SP" on it; he also picked up a few games with it, but was saving it for when he was especially bored. The city was more technologically advanced than Mobotropolis, but this was understandable considering the Hell that they recently went through. Baltesaria had a developed telephone system, and was also moving into smaller wireless devices; Rotor had been busy studying it and trying to duplicate it in Mobotropolis with some success, but it would be next year before you could reach out and touch someone.
What amazed him most was how accurate his falsified memories of the place were. Void had given him a fictitious family and a home in the bustling metropolis; and although his family was fake, the city that he thought was home was quite real. It was a very odd feeling for him to be there, he felt a unique feeling of belonging when he arrived, even though he had never been there before. Shadow almost couldn't leave the place when the trip was over, but he somehow tore himself away. When he got back to Mobotropolis, he felt the same kind of attraction; Baltesaria was his old home, this was his new home.
All of those memories made him realize that he was homesick already, and that he was going someplace that he had never been to, and would definitely not recognize when he got there.
"You feeling alight?"
Yohan brought Shadow back to the real world.
"Huh?"
"Homesick?"
Shadow didn't like telling people how he really felt. "No, just trying to figure this out: 7-letter-word for 'election candidate who finishes well out of place', third letter's an 'S'."
"Sorry, can't help you."
Shadow went back to his crossword puzzle, while Yohan tried to start up some small talk. "So, what was Sonic like, if you don't mind my asking?"
Shadow didn't really like small talk, and Yohan had come all this way by himself, so the hedgehog hoped that conversation would be kept to a minimum.
"We never really got along…"
It was now that Shadow remembered what Sally said; she told Yohan that the two were brothers, and now he was being asked about their history. His statement about not getting along wasn't wrong, it was a horrible understatement. He really didn't know anything of Sonic, or his family, just what anyone who knew him had told Shadow. The black hedgehog's mind churned, he needed a story to tell people about the blue blur. He knew nothing of Sonic's family, but he had the memories of his own; that's it, a little tweak here and there, and suddenly his family of four became a family of five: Clive and Patty, with three children Shadow, Sonic and Maria; a perfect family. Of course Shadow was the black sheep of this clan, a perfect excuse for being less than forthcoming about his past. That was a bit convenient Shadow thought, likely the design Void had intended.
"A sibling rivalry?"
"That puts it lightly, I was always a punk, hard, abrasive… When Robotnik came, I left home. After Sonic died I came back, and I took his place in the war; I haven't seen my folks since."
Yohan had little to say after that, he looked over to Shadow and saw the pain in his face.
"I'm sorry, I've asked too much."
Shadow shrugged it off and returned to his crossword.
{Good, that should shut him up.}
Shadow was right about one thing, Yohan didn't mention Sonic or his family for the rest of the trip, but it didn't stop him from making conversation about other topics. While the truck made its way through the trails between the mountains, Yohan tried some more small talk.
"Hey Shadow, I wanted to ask you about those two girls who saw you off."
"Rouge and Bunnie?"
"Yeah, what's going on between you three, they seem to like you a lot."
"You could say that."
"You're not married to both of them, are you?"
Shadow almost choked; he had no idea if polygamy was legal in Mobotropolis, it never came up. He never really considered getting married before, not to Rouge, not to Bunnie; sure he loved them, but he just wasn't the "marrying" kind.
"No, but we're rather intimate. Does it sound odd that I have two girlfriends?"
"Very, it's unheard of here in the mountains. Is that common in Mobotropolis?"
"No, no; it's that I saved a lot of people when Robotnik was around, and those two are the most forward with their… appreciation. I'm more or less a permanent bachelor."
"You're not interested in getting married?"
Shadow paused for a moment. "No, but I'm guessing you are. No bachelor would be this interested in the marital status of another man."
"Yeah, been married for 22 years now, a lovely lady, Carmelita; and I've got three kids. One's grown up, Kirkigard, a bit younger than you. How old are you?"
Shadow didn't really have an age, but he looked like he was in his late twenties. "27."
"He's 20. Marcy's a sweet little girl, just celebrated her 15th; and Brian, he's only 9, but he's already growing into a fine young man."
"Sounds like you have a pretty good family."
"Yeah."
Yohan turned back to see Shadow was frowning again.
"I'm sorry, if I touched a nerve."
"No that's O.K."
Unlike the last time where Shadow was faking it to shake off the third degree, this time he really did feel down; every so often, he'd remember his family, and how much he really did miss them.
"It's getting a bit late, do we drive all night?"
"No, there's a clearing up a ways, we'll park there before we head into the mountains. I hope you packed some good warm clothes, you'll be needing it soon."
"Yeah, several sweaters and a couple of big coats."
"Good, you'll likely need a sweater tomorrow. After that, the coats are mandatory."
"Aren't you miners? How do you mine if the weather's so cold?"
"The mines aren't that cold, the deeper you go, the warmer they are. In fact, its pretty pleasant even in the winter."
"Frankly, hard physical labor in small enclosed spaces isn't my idea of fun, or ideal work; I'm just not built for it. What I do is speed; if it ain't fast, I don't do it."
"I bet you don't like this little trip then."
"Nope."
"We're here."
Shadow looked out of the windows of the stalled truck. Yohan got out and stretched his legs, so Shadow got out as well.
Looking around, Shadow saw a strip of land at least a couple of miles long, but only a few hundred feet wide; it was green with grass, different than the gray color of the mountains on all sides.
"We'll set up a small camp, a fire and cook something good for supper. Then we get to bed early so we can get up at first light and make our way up the mountain."
Shadow turned towards the mountains in front of the truck.
"It'll take about 2 days to get to Vannannen, and Lalberdean is a good 2 days after that, 3 or 4 if we get held up anywhere."
Shadow didn't pay much attention to just how long the upcoming journey was going to take, he saw it for himself. The Hoines Mountains were huge, mammoth monoliths of rock that covered the skyline from the far east to the far west. Despite all his power and all his accomplishments, the mountains loomed over him just to remind him how small he really was.
A cool breeze came from the mountain.
"I think I'll have that sweater now."
{What have I gotten myself into?}
That night, Shadow spent his first night alone in a strange place since his abduction by the echidnas. He slept in a sleeping bag in the back of the truck, which was completely enclosed, unlike a flatbed that left the rear open to the environment. Yohan preferred to sleep up front in the driver's seat.
"Lonely already?"
Shadow felt that the bond he had with Tikal through the Master Emerald would be more important in keeping his sanity as the days droned on.
"I haven't been gone long enough to be lonely, but I might as well start now. You talk to Rouge or Bunnie yet?"
"You only left this morning. Sorry I couldn't be there to see you off, I've been laid up at home."
"Oh yeah, your baby is almost due."
"Babies, I'm having twins; we haven't told anyone yet."
"How did Knuckles take it?"
"He fainted."
"Ha! Big bad Knuckles, scared of a little baby."
"Men always seem to be scared of the littlest things; they'll charge into battle against a pack of wild animals, and cower at a tiny little insect."
"But insects are slimy and disgusting, ew."
"Very funny."
"Hey Tikal, I know you can bring messages back and forth, but is there anyway that I could communicate with Rouge and Bunnie directly?"
"I don't know, maybe I can do something and act as an intermediary, like a séance sort of thing; but I hope you three don't do anything too messy, you'll have to figure it out yourselves."
"That doesn't sound like you; when we were on the floating island, I remember you has being a lot more 'open'."
"But we're not there anymore, and I'm married now; so get those sick ideas out of your head."
"Hey, you were the one who brought it up."
Day 2
Shadow didn't like getting up in this early in the morning. For the last couple months Shadow had gotten used to waking up with two other warm bodies in a very comfy bed. He'd like to just lie there with the two, but often Bunnie would have to leave early to tend the farms, which is usually what woke him. This was definitely not the same; Shadow was wearing a sweater, lying in a sleeping bag in the back of a truck.
After a quick breakfast of grilled cheese sandwiches, Yohan and Shadow got back in the tuck and made their way into the trail.
The day was pretty mundane, seemingly endless driving through rocky trails with little to see other than mountains, cliffs, rocks and more of the same. The whole day was one long boring trawl, all Shadow would do was sit in the passenger's seat, doing his crosswords and playing the odd few minutes of Game Boy. Naturally, that brought a few questions from Yohan who wanted to know where it came from.
Every so often the truck would stop so that the travelers could get out and stretch their legs, or have some lunch, or take a bathroom break in a few bushes. On a couple of stops, Yohan and Shadow would check their baggage and switch clothes to something warmer; Shadow added a large wool scarf and a pair of pants to his sweater, and later a medium sized coat.
The night was spent similar to the last, sleeping inside the truck. It was getting colder, and Yohan left the engine on to keep the truck warm; but the truck ran on a supply of Fyr crystals that wasn't infinite, and could only leave it on for a brief spurt to warm up the cab.
Day 3
Like yesterday, Yohan and Shadow got up very early in the morning; Yohan wanted to get to Vannannen as soon as possible to rest up for the trip to Lalberdean. After a much cooler night than before, Shadow wanted nothing more than to get into a nice warm bed, and it didn't matter if he was alone or not.
Also like yesterday, there was little conversation going on between the two passengers; but this time it was Shadow starting most of the conversations, usually with the line "How much further?"
"So, how big is this place?"
"Nothing compared to Mobotropolis, most of the communities are between 100 to 300 people; Lalberdean is around 350. Not a lot of luxury, but everyone works hard to make them wonderful places."
"That's not a lot different than Knothole."
"Where?"
"During our fight with Robotnik, we lived in small encampments; the one that I and Princess Sally were in was called 'Knothole'. It's abandoned now, they turned it into a cemetery and memorial; Sonic was buried there. And don't go apologizing to me again, you don't have to keep apologizing over what happened."
"Sorry." Yohan almost kicked himself, which he couldn't do sitting in the truck.
"Vannannen is about an hour away."
Shadow laid back in his seat, waiting out the hour until he could get a good supper and a good night's sleep.
"Vannannen is just up ahead."
"Good, I could use a good meal and a proper bed."
After passing the bend, the truck pulled to a stop, and its passengers disembarked. Before them laid the ruins of a small village that had been reduced to ash.
"I'm starting to get the picture."
