Sonic, Shadow, etc- none of it belongs to me. They belong to SEGA. Remember that well.

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STORY TITLE: Just A Shadow In the World

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CHAPTER FOUR: Captured By Evil

"Sal, Sal!"

"I'm here, Sonic, what's wrong?"

"The-the Emerald! I'm gettin' no reading from it anymore! We were right upon it and then it just vanished!"

"What do you mean it just vanished? Where are you?"

"At some apartment complex structure. I'm actually standing inside the kitchen?"

Sally stepped through the front door and stopped dead, staring at Sonic. "Hey, your tracker took you here? But that's impossible! We're not even tracking the same thing!"

Feeling perplexed and stupid at the same time, Sonic lowered his walkie-talkie and shrugged, "I unno'. But I have a bad itch about this. Eggman must be behind this. What do you think, Sal?"

"I think you're right about Eggman and I also think that the robot I was after and the emerald you were after are linked together. But what about the creature the robot was stalking? It's gone as well." She handed her tracker to Cream, who hugged it and Cheeze close to her chest. "Things keep getting stranger."

"Sonic! This is Amy's apartment!" Tails, standing by a silver metal shelf, had a photograph in his hand. The picture was of Amy and Cream together at a birthday party. Amy was wearing a silky red gown, sparkling rubies choked her neck, and a glittering tiara was fastened in her hair. She looked radiant.

"Amy! This is Amy's place? No way!" Sonic snatched the framed picture and wiped the smudge-less frame in shock, "We have to find her! That robot was probably tracking her!" He gritted his teeth, "I can't believe this! If she's hurt-"
Knuckles broke in, "Man, she was really doing well. This place is incredible. But don't jump to conclusions, Sonic, I think all of us better spread out, do a thorough scan, look around for anything that could give us hints. Don't panic now."

"Good ol' Knuckles," Sonic kept the picture, hiding it in his own pack, "Good idea. I'll check the kitchen. Tails, you go upstairs and the rest of you check the rooms."

"Ok, Sonic."

"Yes, Sonic."

"Sure."

"Of course, Mr. Sonic!"

"Wow, soft carpet."

They all paused and looked at Big, but he was too interested in the soft carpet to notice anything else outside the small world.

-

This place was the very definition of contemporary, modern convenience. Amy had sure created her own little kingdom within itself. The walls were stamped with delicate red roses of all different sizes and prints; each room was lavished with rich curtains, pure oak furniture, and feminine glass figurines or ceramics. Sonic hadn't realized Amy was so capable on her own nor had such amazing taste for that matter. She had always needed him, relied on him, to save her and make sure that she never got into any trouble. He could hardly believe any of this was real.

The kitchen surpassed any other he had ever seen. A perfectly clean sink sat at the center end of the room, dark, brown oak cabinets to the left and right, a gas stove to the right, and a dark pink refrigerator to the right. At the far end of the room, to the right, towered a large antiqued china cabinet with crystal glasses filling the inside.

Oh, Amy, where are you? His fingers slowly slid along the surface of the refrigerator. Magnets with small images and text were aligned in girlish patterns. The word AMY was spelled out in through the aid of toddler-colored, incorrectly cut letters of pink, red, and gold, stuck with magnets, and finished in a cute manner of sparkles stuck on the paper. Another magnet had a picture of Amy and Tails together standing in front of Tails' workshop at the Mystic Ruins. Then, pausing, Sonic gingerly fingered a small photograph of himself taken shortly after the defeat of the Bio Lizard. His eyes filled with long-held tears. Amy…Little sis… I love you so much… Wait for me to save you, please…

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Tails' scanner was already picking up specks of Chaos energy as he entered Amy's bedroom. Freezing wind was blowing through the shattered window. Glassy shards were scattered, thousands of them, all over the wooly carpet. He picked up one of pieces regretfully, whispering Amy's name sadly in the haunted silence of the once active room.

The energy readings shot through the roof close to where the broken window stood crying. "This is bizarre." The fox scanned and re-scanned the area to make sure his readings were accurate, and then he whipped out a walkie-talkie. "Sonic, guys, get up here! I found something that we might be able to analyze! You won't believe it!"

"We're coming!" Was the reply and shortly, the whole gang had entered the room.

"You guys, I'm reading strong Chaos energy over here. Now, the Chaos Emerald itself isn't here anymore. If it was, someone or something took it. Sonic, stop that, don't touch the glass unless you want to cut yourself. As I was saying, something was harnessing the power of the emerald but wasn't able to finish it before it was taken or something."

"Perhaps the robot was here and stole the emerald."

"That's what I was thinking, good one Auntie. I can't find out where the thing went from these readings, but all I need to do to track down the emerald now is store the readings from this emerald and I can find its signal."

"How long will that take, Mr. Tails?" Cream asked in her high-pitched voice.

"Just a few minutes. You guys look around the room-and be careful not to cut yourself on the glass." Tails squatted over the shards of glass and hovered one of his tech gadgets over it.

Absently, the fighters fingered the objects so precious to Amy. They sighed angrily, some sadly, over the rare photos, pictures on the walls, stuffed animals, small trinkets they had given Amy in the past. Just the decorations of the room shouted her personality: peppy, spunky, enthusiastic, optimistic. They couldn't imagine their lives without her. Even if she had been annoying at times and dependant on them, they all still loved her and not a day passed when one of them wished she were back.

"I'm done! The Chaos Emerald is… Whoa! It's in Harboropolis!" He gasped, "I can't tell exactly, but when we get there, we'll be able to tell! Let's go!"

"Ya, that's it!" Sonic jumped up, "I'm on it! I'll meet you guys in Harboropolis!" He grabbed some rings from Sally's pack and whizzed from the room in a flash, "I'm gonna race ahead an see what stuff I can find!"

"That's Sonic… Let's go!" Knuckles headed out.

-

"Wake up… Wake up Shadow! Please wake up!" A voice begged from somewhere, "Please wake up before it's too late! I beg of you, please wake up!" The voice was young, half high-pitched and wining, and yet, there was a deeper maturation to it that he couldn't understand.

"Maria?" Shadow opened his eyes, "Is that you?"

"Shadow!" Amy brightened, "You're awake! Quick: break out of that capsule before Eggman or Arnus returns!"

"Capsule?" He stepped forward into the hard glass-like side of the large tube and slapped his hands to the side. The capsule itself was large and spacey, warm, but confining at the same time. It was empty. "No! Not another capsule!" Shadow pounded the side ruthlessly but it wouldn't break. He kicked it but it still wouldn't shatter. Stepping back, Shadow's hands balled rebelliously. This capsule was stimulating emotions he hadn't felt in years and it frightened him. What if he couldn't get out?

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"Maria!" The walls had fallen around him in seconds, "Maria!"

"Shadow, I beg of you: do it for them, please, give them the chance for a better future, to be able to live their dreams. A chance for happiness."
"No-Maria!" He had tried to reach her but the walls had held him in and all he could do was watch helplessly as the frail human girl clutched her chest, gasping for air. Her fingers had struggled across the control panel to the launch button and he had begged her not to press it, but she did, though not before casting him one last glance of sad love. He would never see here again. Never!"

"Maria!" Shadow had pressed his body against the glass, and then he didn't see her anymore. The earth was below. She was gone forever and he had cried.

-

The reaction this capsule sparked from his mind was to recoil in fear. All capsules were enemies: they had taken him away from the only one he loved and then he had been locked away in another one for 50 years.

"Amy: what are you doing here?" He faced the pink girl on the ground. She was so far away from this elevated position that the capsule had been built on. This room wasn't a normal room. There were huge, steel containers attached from chains, hanging from the ceiling, and touched the floor. Green liquid rushed through the tubes. At the end of the room, a single door stood closed. Large, white lights shone from the top of the empty room, but their light was dim and didn't help the dark room very much. The floor was a polished marble, black, with red streaks leaking through the slabs. Pipes hung all round the room, hissing oxygen, and every few seconds, a low beeping noise sounded.

"It was Eggman! This strange metal hedgehog came to the apartment and knocked you out. He said his name was Metal-"
"Arnus." Shadow folded his arms, recollecting himself partially. Now he was beginning to become angry.

"Yes… He took your Chaos Emerald-and me obviously-and you and transported all of us here where Eggman put you in the tube thing and me to these chains." She pathetically lifted her arms which were locked by cuffs attached to short chains to the wall. "I can't reach you."

"What does that old man want from us? He can't get anything from you." Shadow reasoned to himself, but out loud, "And without the Chaos Control, I only have my skills to rely on."

With a hiss, the door opened and a rounded figure, accompanied by a much shorter one, entered the room. Their figures cast long shadows over the cement floors. They casually approached till their faces were recognizable from the dimess: Eggman and Metal Arnus.

"Well, Shadow, long time, no see. It's such a pleasure to have you back working for me again." Eggman grinned defiantly. The doctor never seemed to change: his even infamous costume was the same British regimentals as they had been for years, with the shining, gold buttons running down both sides and the flaps in the back of the rich jacket.

"I don't understand you." Shadow glared at the egg-shaped doctor, "What is it exactly that you want from me?"

"Simple! I thought you knew me better than that by now, Shadow, after all that time we spent together plotting to take over the world! I want you to destroy every city I tell you to, eliminate every agent I tell you to, and rid me of those pests: Sonic and his worthless lot of friends!"

"You actually expect me to do any of that?" Sure, Shadow was still angry and hurt at the mistrust from Sonic, but he wasn't evil like he used to be, even if his silent personality still lingered. "I will never help you of my own free will."

"Well, that's just the point: it won't be of your own free will. I knew from the start that you wouldn't want to help me, so I will force you!"

"Forget the stupid gestures, doctor; you can't force me to do anything. I am the Ultimate Lifeform."

Eggman cackled hysterically for a second, but then grew serious. On cue, Arnus walked over to a small control panel and pressed a button. Wires that seemed to be alive stretched forth from the small holes in the capsule Shadow was in and dug their pointy faces into his skin. Four wires, one on each arm and leg, firmly fastened themselves into him, sending Shadow into a panic.

"What are these? What are you doing to me?" He yanked at the wires as their slithering stopped in his body, "Get these out of me!"
"It's not what I am doing, it's what I will be doing! Those wires will very shortly start transferring an unknown form of Chaos energy into your body that I have managed to extract from the Chaos emeralds and tested successfully! With your new energy, you will be able to use a new move far more powerful than the Chaos Control will ever be! This new move will be called Chaos Command! Oh, yes, it was used thousands of years ago by the long lost Echidna tribes-until they foolishly used it on themselves one day and it has never been recovered since before this day! I surprise myself with my genius! Oh-one last thing! You cannot use the Chaos Command without the eight Chaos Emerald! Yes, there IS an eighth emerald!"

"You won't be able to get away with this! I will use it against you!" Shadow clawed at the siding in vain.

"Ha, ha! I think not! I have already placed a chip inside your person that will force you to obey my every command! You will not be able to resist it!" His voice had taken on a playful, evil tone with that last sentence, like a child opening presents, "Now, I will leave you to your thoughts. And you Miss Rose, I will leave you here to watch what happens to your precious boyfriend."

Blushing, Amy picked at the chains. He's not my boyfriend, she bit her lower lip, gazing up at the tube bashfully. Shadow had his hands still pressed to the side, totally still, eyes closed, as if in a deep sleep or thought. Just watching him sent shivers through her spine. He was everything she had remembered of him-still so lost and confused like a little puppy. How she felt like crying for his memories, how she grew angry for the first time at Maria for leaving him as she did. Selfish girl: hadn't she cared what Shadow's life would have been like without her?

She shook her head. What was going on? The tube was starting to fill with a bubbling, green fluid! "Shadow: the capsule!" She burst emphatically, "It's filling up!"

He gulped: this fluid greatly resembled that of the capsule Gerald had raised him in. Could it be? Shadow gazed hopefully down at Amy, "I'll be fine." He nodded slowly as the fluid filled to the top and over his head. Just as he thought, the fluid was full of oxygenated bubbles so that he could easily breathe and the liquid itself was pumping nutrients constantly. It had been ages since he had felt anything so soothing and warm; he needed to soak it all in, just a little. It felt so heavenly. Now he couldn't have cared less how long he would be kept in this small jail or what was going on outside his small world.

-

In a dense, small faction of the city of Harboropolis, three detectives attempted to entertain themselves at their office. Their last location hadn't worked out so well when they were kicked from the building due to lack of bill payments, so the Chaotix had moved to downtown Seattle, near the docks where the fairy boat's swam and the trolleys dinged on the tracks leading back and forth through the city. From their new location, the large university's, tallest, grandest buildings could be seen reaching high above its foes. Open market places boasted the skills of men and women sliding large fish from counter to counter, carelessly ignoring the on watching crowds of speculators and tourists. Cable buses drove by through the old, packed streets. Cars passing through tunnels could look directly to skyscrapers rising through the clouds.

But inside the Chaotix office, it was quiet and boring. Espio stood, eyes closed, against the farthest wall, concentrating on nothing in particular. Vector lay sleeping on the couch, tongue hanging to the side, and Charmy was out doing nothing of particular interest. It was another usual, boring day in the detective business of Team Chaotix.

"Guys, GUYS!" Charmy burst through the door, "We've got work! Finally! Work, work, work!" The kid's treble voice was almost disgusting.

"Eh?" Vector fell from the couch, "Whadda' ya mean work? Who's it from?"
"It's Knuckles! Remember him? He wants us to help him track down some Chaos Emerald or something like that! Why don't you talk to him yourself?"

"Knuckles! Long time, hasn't it been?" Vector greeted Knuckles as the red Echidna stalked into the room.

"Nice office. Better than your last one. Who had thought I'd find out ya'll had moved here? Lots of space."

"And lower rent, heh! So, what's this job? As long as you pay, we'll work for ya!"

"The pay is good. Gather round, this is serious stuff."

Finally, Espio moved from his solid position to join the others. The chameleon was almost as strange as Shadow, their personalities being similar in more than one way.

-

Sonic was close, very close. His right eye was already twitching in that old way it had itched whenever Amy was around. Smirking, he jumped from the light post onto the streets below and ran through the city at rocket speed. Petty pedestrians honked when he dashed past their cars but he didn't care. Almost there, almost there! The signal on his tracker was beeping fast and faster and faster! Stopping, Sonic peeped behind a corner to see a small, shack-like building standing in a back alley out of sight and unsuspicious. What was this? His tracker had stopped beeping and was now was giving off a constant buzz. He flipped it off, stuffed it away, and entered the shack.