S. Chensu: Guess who?
Luff: Er, Chen they can see your name at the start of the sentence!
S. Chensu: D'oh! *Smacks head*
Luff: I hope you didn't hurt the Yu-Gi-Oh! characters too much after the last episode.
S. Chensu: Nah, I brought in some professionals to deal with it.
*Ash and co enters dressed in an Agent Smith (Matrix) stylee*
Luff: What the hell are you doing here?
Ash: In case you've forgotten, we're in this episode!
Misty: Why am I dressed like a boy?
S. Chensu: Would you prefer to look like Trinity?
Misty: ^-^;; Um, no thanks
S. Chensu: Exactly.
Luff: Ooh, bitchy.
S. Chensu: I'll give you a Morpheus style lecture instead if you want.
Luff: Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!
S. Chensu: Yes so anyway, they 'dealt' with the small Yu-Gi-Oh! problem. *Turns to Ash* Have you got any evidence that you 'dealt' with them?
Brock: *Holds out box* Have a look in there Miss Chensu.
Luff: Ooh, how posh!
S. Chensu: Shut up you! *Looks in box and laughs manically* Mwahahahahahahaha!!!!
Luff: What's in the box? Let me see! *Tries to look inside*
S. Chensu: *Snaps it shut* No, you're far too young to see this.
Luff: Please? Pretty, pretty please?
S. Chensu: *Sighs* Oh all right then *Gives Luff box*
Luff: *Looks in it* AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! *Runs off screen*
Ash: You knew she would do that, didn't you?
S. Chensu: Let's just say that the thought of poor old Yugi now would pull at her heart strings.
Sonic: This may seem really weird but shouldn't we get on with the story?
S. Chensu: *Coughs* Yes, that would be a good idea. Um, let's see, the disclaimer. *Searches through schoolbooks* Aha, here it is! Disclaimer: We do not own the Sonic characters or Pokémon characters. We also don't own the song 'Stranded'. We only own the story.
Sonic: Now the episode can start at last! *Sidles over to S. Chensu* So then, what was in that box?
S. Chensu: See for yourself.
Sonic: *Looks in box* Yuck!!!!! And we're letting you decide what we do? *Sprints off screen*
S. Chensu: Ah, the power of the box.
(Note: Sorry Yersi Fanel but Shadow's not in Mexico.)
***************************************************************************
Episode six: The completion of the group or The tale of surfing Pikachu and preoccupied Shadow
During the journey, Tails sneaked occasional looks at Knuckles and Rouge but they didn't even seem to know that the other existed. Or so he thought.
"Is he still trying to look at us?" Rouge asked.
"Yep. Who knew someone his age could be so interested in two people going out." Knuckles said. "I hope we get there soon. I'm really tired after last night." He put his hand to his mouth and yawned loudly. This immediately set Rouge off and they both laughed. She leant her head back and closed her eyes. Knuckles leant against the side of the Tornado and closed his eyes but opened them a few moments later when he felt a weight against his side. He tilted his head and saw Rouge leaning against him. The smile on his face was evident as he fell asleep.
************************
They landed with a bump by Bondi beach in Sydney. Knuckles opened his eyes and noticed that Tails was looking at him weirdly. He rolled his eyes and jumped out of the Tornado. They walked onto the beach and immediately noticed a large crowd standing at the front of the beach. They walked over and squeezed to the front of the throng of people.
"Excuse me, but what is going on?" Tails asked a boy standing next to them.
"You're foreign aren't you?" He asked and they nodded their heads. "Only the foreigners ask. Pikachu is surfing and when he does, everyone watches. He's the best around here, even humans can't beat him." At the mention of Pikachu, they looked up with interest. A huge wave had just appeared and Pikachu was shooting the tube. He did some tricks and then landed on the beach.
"Pi pikachu!" He shouted and everyone clapped.
Soon the crowd dispersed and the group walked over to him.
"Hello Pikachu. We were wondering if we could talk to you?" Sonic asked after introducing the group.
"About what?" He replied.
"We're looking for a friend of ours and you're our last hope. He's a hedgehog-"
"Is he red and black?" Pikachu interrupted.
"Yes he is! Do you know where he is?" Tails asked.
"He's staying with me. But I don't think you'd want to see him. He looks in a bad way." Pikachu started to walk up the beach. They followed him and he carried on talking. "We found him about a week ago unconscious but he hasn't woken up yet. Something awful must have happened to him." He looked at Sonic, wanting to know Shadow's story. Sonic noticed but didn't really want to go into it.
"He had an accident and after it, we couldn't find him." Sonic waved his hand evasively.
"Just an accident? Didn't look like that to me. Cor, it's a right scorcher out here isn't it?" Pikachu said, his Australian accent came through. A cork hat appeared out of nowhere and he put it on his head.
"Will you show us where he is?" Tails asked.
"Of course I am! I wasn't just walking in this direction for nothing you know." Pikachu replied hotly. Tails picked up the Tornado while the others walked. They walked through Sydney and were soon in the suburbs.
As they reached the top of a hill, a huge building stood in front of them. It was circular and had a red and white ball at the top. The sign read 'Pokemon Centre' and Pikachu showed Tails a garage where the Tornado could be kept. After that, they walked through the automatic doors. The first thing they noticed was how cool it was. This was because of the air conditioning, the fans that whirred around above them. There were several doors leading to different parts and in the centre was a circular desk with a cat working at a computer. It looked up when they entered and stopped working.
"Hi Pikachu. Enjoy your break?" He asked.
"Yes it wasn't too bad but there were people watching as usual. Anyway I'd like to introduce Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Rouge to you. They've come to see case number 34520. How is he doing out of interest?" Meowth looked with curiosity at the group.
"Someone's come to claim the lump of charcoal at last. I was wondering if anyone owned him." Meowth mused. Sonic frowned at his words.
"Lump of charcoal? Why is he called that?" He asked.
"Oh.no reason." He said quickly.
"Ignore him. I'll take you to see Shadow in a minute but I think you might be hungry. I am anyway. Come with me." Pikachu walked through one of the doors and they followed him.
The room turned out to be a dining room with six four people tables. The group sat down at one of them and Pikachu hopped onto a stool, which was standing in front a slide open window.
"Brock, are you in there? Food wanted here please." The window slid open and a boy of about 15 appeared. He had dark skin and black hair. He wore an orange t-shirt, green body warmer and brown trousers. He had his eyes closed in a Japanese magna art stylee. The most remarkable thing though was that he wore a pink frilly apron and held a ladle in his hand. Behind him was a kitchen full of cooking pots and steam. Two people seemed to be running around in there in a panic. It appeared that something was boiling and they didn't know what to do. The boy turned around and saw the scene. He sighed and closed the window a bit.
"Ignore that. So then, what will you be having?" He asked.
"A Chilli dog for me please." Pikachu said.
"How unhealthy! I'm having some fruit please." Knuckles said.
"I think we'd better stay off the Chilli dogs eh Tails?" Sonic laughed. "I'm not hungry anyway."
"Me neither." Tails added. Brock closed the window and clattering was heard. Several shouts were also heard and Brock practically fell out of the kitchen as he stumbled through the door.
He stood up straight quickly and cleared his throat. He placed a fruit bowl on the table and a Chilli dog on a small plate. Pikachu jumped from the stool and sat on the table.
"Come draw up a chair and sit with us. Will them two be coming out?" Pikachu asked, looking very amused as Brock opened the kitchen door and steam poured out of it. He coughed and hissed something into the kitchen. The steam spread out and the two people who were glimpsed earlier appeared.
There was another boy who was about 12. He had pale skin with scratches on his cheeks and black hair. He wore a white cap with red back and peak. He had a black t-shirt with a blue short-sleeved jacket. He wore green fingerless gloves and blue jeans. He was laughing nervously while he scratched his head. The other person was a girl of about 14. She also had pale skin and ginger hair. She wore a yellow crop top and denim shorts held up by breeches.
They grabbed chairs and squeezed themselves around the table.
"This is Brock, Ash and Misty." Pikachu introduced the three people.
"So then, why are you here?" Misty asked.
"We're here to see the lump of char- I mean Shadow." Knuckles coughed to cover up what he had said.
"Oh him. What I want to know is.what's the real story behind him?" She asked.
"He had an accident that's all. We couldn't find him and we've had to travel to loads of places trying to find him." Sonic said quickly.
"It's just the way he's been-" But a warning look from Pikachu stopped Brock. The group looked at each other puzzled.
"Hey, maybe if you see him, he might wake up. He's been out cold ever since we got him. But I'm sure you want to see him now don't you?" Ash asked.
"If we could." Tails said politely. Pikachu popped the last bit of Chilli dog into his mouth and jumped to the floor.
"Let's see what the Chansey and Blissey say." He said and Knuckles thanked Brock for the fruit and they followed Pikachu back to the reception. They entered a door and stood at the top of a corridor. This was obviously the hospital part as everything was white and beeps were heard from machines in the rooms. As they walked down the corridor they met two large pink pokemon wearing nurse hats.
One was entirely pink and was an egg shape. It had a small tail and long spikes coming out of its head. It had a pouch and it contained a large, white egg. The other one was a darker pink and had curls on either side of its head. It had white parts on its wrists and around its waist. It also carried an egg.
"This is Chansey and Blissey, just two of our nurses here." Pikachu introduced them in order. "Can we see case number 34520 please?"
"Chansey, Chansey!" The Chansey said and led them to the end of the corridor. Blissey entered the room for a few moments and put some chairs out before leaving with Chansey.
"You can go in now. I'll come back in about twenty minutes ok?" Pikachu said before leaving as well. The others stood around the door, scared to go in.
"Well, we may as well get this over and done with." Tails said and he pushed the door open. They entered the room and were met with a horrific sight.
From looking at him, they now understood why he was called a 'lump of charcoal'. Every part of him was burnt so now he was completely black. His spikes had turned into Afro hair and were bent at odd angles. He had a bandage around his chest, his breathing was erratic and he was rasping really badly. If this wasn't scary enough, Shadow was twitching and it was rather unnerving.
"God, he looks even worse than Knuckles and Sonic did after that attack." Rouge whispered. "I don't think I want to stay here any longer." Tears started to well up in her eyes. Knuckles immediately concerned, went over and hugged her tightly.
"Rouge don't worry. He's not dead and as soon his burns heal and he's awake, we can make him look a bit better." He whispered comfortingly. She wiped her eyes and hugged him back. She didn't look at Shadow again though so Knuckles continued to hold her.
"He must be having one hell of a dream." Tails said, looking at Shadow's twitching.
"I wonder what he's thinking?" Sonic said.
************************
"Soon I'll be able to see Maria again." Shadow said aloud as he was falling. He could feel a stinging sensation as he entered the atmosphere but he ignored it. ~I will miss the others though.I was starting to like Sonic.~ Shadow sighed but this turned into a hiss, as the pain grew stronger. To take his mind off things, he started to sing.
"I don't want to feel like I'm stranded
Left me all alone I can't take it no more
I wish that you were here by my side
'Cause I remember those days
When it was my time
If I could right the wrongs that I did
I would give it all to you
If you were here I know you would too
I know you would too yeah
I don't want to feel like I'm stranded
Oh baby I don't want to be here alone
'Cause I don't want to feel abandoned
But baby heaven is the place that I belong
Now that I'm alone
And you walked away from me
I just don't want to live anymore
I gave my life to you
Like you gave your life to me
If only I could show what I mean
'Cause I need you more than ever
If you were here you would need me too
I don't want to feel like I'm stranded
Oh baby I don't want to be here alone
'Cause I don't want to feel abandoned
But baby heaven is the place that I belong
I know I'll see you again someday
I'll be waiting for that day all my life
I know that things will be the same again
I know some day I'll see you again
I don't want to feel like I'm stranded
Oh baby I don't want to be here alone
'Cause I don't want to feel abandoned
But baby heaven is the place that I belong
I don't want to feel like I'm stranded
Oh baby I don't want to be here alone
'Cause I don't want to feel abandoned
But baby heaven is the place that I belong
I don't want to be here all alone."
He stopped suddenly as over the last few minutes, the ache had been growing stronger. He looked at himself and saw that he was burning! The flames were licking over his body and dancing orange, yellow and red. His eyes then slid to the Earth below him.
~And to think they may never know the truth.~ He closed his eyes as a tear slid down his face. ~And to think I'll never see Earth again.~ The tear stung his face as it ran along the cracks of his skin. Although the pain was getting worse, he couldn't feel it anymore, as his world grew smaller.
Suddenly it seemed, his whole body exploded. He squinted and saw brown earth below him. He snorted as he accidentally tried to swallow a mouthful of soil. His lungs were on fire and he stopped breathing so they would stop hurting. His brain told him to breathe in and so he did, gasping. This just made them hurt more. He took small breaths and when his chest had settled down a little, he lifted his head up to look at the rest of him.
"Overall, I would say that I am pretty mangled." He said aloud in a broken voice. He then noticed that where he had landed, the earth had been scooped out so he was in a crater. He also noticed that he was lying in the middle of a path and not wanting to be seen, he tried to get up. His legs felt like jelly though and they buckled, not able to support his weight. His head spun around and he groaned with pain as he sank back down to the ground. His eyes were trying to close but Shadow refused to fall asleep.
"Hmm.what's that?" He had just heard a strange, low vibrating noise coming from down the path. It then stopped and in a panic, Shadow tried to at least sit up so that he wouldn't attract attention. "Although, in my condition you would have to be blind not to notice..." He said bitterly.
The person came around the corner and.it wasn't a person! His eyes started swimming, as he looked unblinkingly at the creature. It was a mouse of sorts but yellow and standing on its hind legs. It also had red cheeks ~or are they red eyes?~ Shadow asked himself. He blinked and they came back into focus again. It wore a cork hat and carried a didgeridoo. ~So that must have been the noise I heard.~ Shadow thought. His brain had just processed what he had seen.
"It's not possible!" Shadow whispered but as he thought of the other people who he knew, it grew plausible. This still didn't stop him from being amazed especially when it noticed him and cried out,
"Blazing galahs! This one looks like it's in bad shape!" The voice was quite high, but this didn't sound too doubtful because of its small size. It walked over and laid the didgeridoo down. "G'day mate! What's happened to you?" As it leapt down the hole the thought that this thing might want to hurt him passed through Shadow's mind.
He tried to stand up again and he succeeded, with a fair amount of wobbling. He slipped though as he attempted to take a step back. He crashed to the ground and the little energy he had left was knocked out of him.
"I'm not going to hurt you! I help people who have been-" But as soon as Shadow had heard his first words, he was reassured and finally gave up the struggle to keep awake.
A white room.pink egg shaped things.people.Sonic? These things revolved around Shadow's head in his dream. He wanted to get out of this dream. The same memory had been going around and around in his head and he wondered if he was dead.
"Someone help me!" Shadow called out desperately in the vague hope that someone might hear.
"Look!" A familiar voice called out. Shadow stopped and tried to remember it.
"Tails! Help me!" He called out again but his world was now changing. Instead of blackness, the place was growing lighter and Shadow realised that he was free of his seemingly eternal sleep.
************************
"Look everyone! I think Shadow's waking up!" Tails cried out and the others turned to look at his face. His breathing was growing faster and louder. He stirred and opened his eyes slowly. He looked around, first at the four people staring at him and then himself and the room. He didn't know what to think but as he looked around, he noticed Knuckles and Rouge standing together. He frowned slightly and tried to speak.
"Hello everyone." His voice was croaky but when they heard him speak, they smiled slightly and Knuckles' grip on Rouge relaxed slightly.
"I'm so glad you're awake!" Sonic said and Shadow smiled slightly.
"Nice to know you have so much concern for me. But where am I? What's happened?" Shadow asked confused.
"We looked all over the world for you and found you here in Australia. Which reminds me, we'd better tell Eggman, Zelgan and Gelest that we've found you." Tails explained.
"The professor's still around? And who are Zelgan and Gelest?" Shadow wanted an explanation of what they had done.
"This could take some time." Rouge sighed as Sonic started telling Shadow what they had done.
Tails was just telling him about Italy when Sonic suddenly had a thought.
"I never realised until now but nothing really happened in Italy. Everywhere else we've done something apart from Italy. That's strange." Sonic reflected. Shadow, who had been looking at Tails, noticed that for a millisecond, his eyes flickered to Knuckles and Rouge and so Shadow did the same. They looked a bit embarrassed at what Sonic had said and Shadow took note of this.
Tails continued the story hurriedly, noticing Shadow looking interested at Knuckles and Rouge. Once he had finished it, Shadow decided to see if his thoughts were correct.
"I must say Sonic, now I think about it, that comment about Italy certainly seems true. What do you think Knuckles?" He faced Knuckles and saw him go slightly pink but he covered it up very well.
"Yes it is. Oh well, if something had happened, we'd probably be still telling you the story." Shadow considered this.
"True, true." He looked at himself again and noticed the bandage around his chest.
"Talking of your condition, I think you need a wash." Rouge commented. The door opened and Pikachu and Chansey walked in. They saw Shadow awake and smiled.
"Awake at last! How are you feeling?" Pikachu asked as Chansey checked his joints and bandage.
"Everything feels sore but not too bad. What is the bandage for?" He asked as Chansey finished looking at it. Chansey spoke for a few moments and Pikachu translated.
"You apparently broke several of your ribs and one punctured a lung. It's just to help keep your ribs in place while they heal. Chansey says that you heal remarkably fast and you should be able to get up in a couple of days time. But for the moment, don't move too much." Pikachu told him.
"Can we clean him up? I mean his hair is a mess." Rouge said quietly to Pikachu.
"I'll see what I can do." Pikachu walked out of the room and Chansey came back with him carrying a bowl containing a bottle, towel and jug. She gave it to Rouge.
"Thanks Chansey." Chansey started saying something and Rouge looked at Pikachu expectantly.
"She says there's a sink you can get water from and the bottle has shampoo in it." Chansey suddenly remembered something and gave Rouge a brush. She left the room with Pikachu.
Rouge laid the bowl down and walked over to the sink. As she did so, she beckoned Knuckles and started talking to him quietly.
"You don't mind do you?" She asked.
"Mind what?" He frowned, puzzled. She sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Me washing Shadow's hair of course." Knuckles thought for a few moments and realised what she meant.
"Of course not. I do trust you, you know." She smiled but feeling everyone's eyes on the two of them, winked quickly and grabbed the bowl so she could fill it with water.
"What you're washing my hair already? Do I look that bad?" Shadow joked. Rouge looked serious though as she passed him a mirror. His smile turned to horror as he saw his hair.
"My hair! I've gone all seventies and that's not good." It seemed that Shadow was very partial about his hair. "I need hair gel!"
"Not before I wash it!" Rouge commanded as she brought the bowl over.
Shadow sat up gingerly as Rouge placed the bowl on the bed and put the towel at the end of it. For some reason, Shadow was looking a bit embarrassed and he stared at Sonic, Knuckles and Tails.
"You guys, can you contact Eggman and Zelgan please?" Tails got the hint and took Sonic and Knuckles out of the room.
"Thanks Rouge." Shadow looked relieved and she shrugged her shoulders.
"That's all right." He leant his head forward over the bowl and she poured the water over his head. He grimaced slightly and she stopped. "Are you ok?" She asked, worried. He nodded his head.
"Yeah just a bit of a shock that's all." He thought for a moment as she continued soaking his hair. "Are you sure that Knuckles doesn't mind?" She looked at him sharply.
"No he doesn't but how do you-" But Shadow interrupted her.
"I didn't listen in on your conversation. It's a bit obvious that's all, your love I mean." Rouge went slightly pink.
"Not to Sonic. He still doesn't know but Tails does. I suppose you know what happened in Italy then?" She asked shyly.
"I do now. Poor old Sonic, don't you think you should tell him?" Now Rouge was putting shampoo into his hair and rubbing it in.
"It's Knuckles' idea. He's testing out Sonic's ignorance." Shadow sniffed the shampoo.
"Peach? That's a girl flavour!" He complained.
"I think peach is very nice actually." She replied as she finished applying it.
"Of course you do, you're a girl!" He replied hotly but she didn't get angry.
"Close your eyes." She said calmly and he did so. As the shampoo washed down his face, the cuts and scratches on his face stung from the chemicals in the shampoo. He hissed, as although they weren't painful, they were extremely irritating.
"Are you ok? Wait a minute, I'll get you something to cover your face." Rouge looked around the room and saw a pillowcase. She grabbed it and shoved it in Shadow's hands. He put it in front of his face and held it there with his hands spread out. The stinging was fading now and didn't reappear for the rest of the wash.
Soon Rouge was finished and she poured the water down the sink before getting the towel to dry his hair.
"Shadow, I've finished now. I must say you look a lot better now." She commented as Shadow put the pillowcase down. His hair although now clean had become flattened and it hung down in dreadlocks. She smiled and wondered what he would say if he saw himself now. She started drying his hair gently and as she was finishing, the others walked back in.
"Glad to see you looking better." Sonic commented when they were all in the room.
"Did you contact Eggman then?" Rouge asked Sonic.
"Yes we did and he said he was coming over. He won't be here until tomorrow though. We talked to Gelest and Zelgan too. They seemed very happy at the news." Sonic said. Tails meanwhile was covering his mouth in a vague attempt to hide his smile.
"What's so funny?" Knuckles asked.
"Shadow's hair is more Afro like than it was!" Tails whispered and Knuckles looked over at Shadow. He noticed that Rouge was pointing at him too and he smiled when he saw that now Shadow's hair was dry, it was very fluffy in a true Afro stylee. Shadow, not missing a thing, looked from one to the other and then rolled his eyes upwards. It doesn't take much more than this for him to see his hair.
"I think I'll be needing some hair gel." He commented and Rouge sighed.
"There's no point you know. You're meant to stay in bed for at least another day and if you gel it now, it'll just get spoiled." Rouge noted.
"I suppose you're right but can I at least brush it? I don't particularly want it staying like this for any more time." Rouge passed him the hairbrush and he lifted his arm but hissed slightly and dropped it again.
"Are you ok Shadow?" Tails asked. Shadow rubbed his shoulder and nodded his head.
"Just a bit stiff, that's all. I think I'll just leave it for now." He looked at his hair again and sighed. Rouge felt sorry for him so giving a quick look at Knuckles, she grabbed the brush and started brushing it instead.
Now Shadow may be the ultimate life form but that didn't stop him from complaining.
"Ow, do you have to brush so hard?" He squinted at her and she stopped. The others saw that the hairbrush was in his hair still.
"Shadow, when was the last time you actually brushed your hair?" She asked exasperated.
"I can't remember really." He started and seeing Rouge's look he stared downwards. "I'll just shut up now, shall I?"
"That would be a good idea. Don't worry, once the main tangles are out, it'll be easier." She reassured him and proceeded to brush his hair, but more gently this time.
Gradually, his hair returned to its normal shape of six spikes, although they were fluffier than before. Finally Rouge had finished and took a look at the hairbrush. The amount of hair stuck in it was disgusting so she quickly turned the brush downwards.
"Can someone pass me a bin please?" She asked and Tails sitting by one, gave it to her. "Thank you." She said and quickly deposited the ball in the bin.
"What did you just put in the bin?" Shadow asked suspiciously and Rouge tried to ignore him. "Rouge, give me the bin now." He commanded and she did so, looking away from him. He looked into it and saw the huge ball of hair. "Look at all that hair! I've probably gone bald now!" Rouge grabbed the bin out of his hands and put it down before crossing her arms.
"Well what else do you expect when you don't actually brush your hair occasionally? Hair falls out naturally and if you don't brush it out, it creates knots. That was why it was so hard to brush your hair." She explained and Shadow calmed down slightly.
"That's all right then."
Just then Pikachu opened the door and looked in.
"Will any of you be wanting dinner? If so, I can bring it in here so you don't have to leave Shadow." He said. The others looked at Shadow to see what he thought.
"Don't worry you go and have dinner. I'm not hungry and I need to do some thinking anyway." Shadow said and they exited the room. "Yes, I have a lot to think about." Shadow whispered. Although he had only been up for a few hours, he was exhausted already. He shut his eyes and drifted off into sleep.
In his dream, he stood up and noticed that his injuries had now gone. He looked around but as the place was pitch black, there wasn't much to see. He walked forward and saw a small pond ahead of him. Not thinking of much else to do, he headed for it and knelt down to look at the pool. He saw his own reflection and was startled by what he saw. He stared at his pale and drawn face. He had lost a lot of weight and it gave him a knobbly look. Ripples appeared in the middle of the pond and he watched as his image disappeared and was replaced by Maria's.
"Maria, what are you doing here?" Shadow placed his hand in the water and her face wavered.
"Shadow, you have to help your friends." Her voice sounded far off and echoed.
"But how? Look at me, I can't do anything." But Maria wouldn't say anything else.
"Shadow, you have to help your friends. Something is trying to stop you from waking up and you have to resist it." She pleaded. Her image started to fade away as ripples floated across the water.
"Maria, don't leave me again!" A tear slid down his cheek and fell into the pond, creating more ripples.
"I'll always be with you as long as you remember me." Her voice whispered before all grew silent.
"Maria!" Shadow shouted out but no reply came. All of his sorrow reappeared as more tears trickled down his face. He looked up though when he heard a noise behind him. His head snapped round and he was confronted by a tornado. Before he could move, it had swept him up. Looking around, he saw instead of dust and leaves as you might expect, his memories spun around him.
"What?" Shadow said aloud and he continued looking surprised for the next few minutes as his reminiscences flew past him. Maria, the ARK, Sonic, the Biolizard.these things spun around him, everything he knew.
He felt the tornado slowing down and suddenly stop. He started falling and realised he was living his fall to Earth again. He remembered Maria's words and tightened his fists.
"I won't live through this again! I will wake up, for Maria!" He shouted out but nothing happened. He closed his eyes and concentrated all of his thoughts on his bed and the room he was in. He opened his eyes and saw that instead of falling to Earth, he was now dropping to his bed. He saw himself, lying still under the blankets and he jolted awake.
~Shadow, you have to help your friends.~ With this thought in his head, he got out of the bed slowly. He ached all over and his chest burned. He was driven by this one thought though as he walked resolutely out of the room. Outside everything seemed very quiet, too quiet. He walked down the corridor and noticed that all of the other rooms were empty. He reached the end of the corridor and stood in front of the door leading to the reception. He opened the door inaudibly and peeked his head around it.
He saw an empty cage and Sonic and Tails lying still on the floor. He heard the sounds of metal against skin and noticed Knuckles and Rouge in the far side of the reception, fighting two people.
~What can I do though?~ Shadow thought desperately. ~I can't attack them directly I'm too weak.~ He suddenly remembered the tornado in his dream. ~Hang on, what if I use my speed to create a whirlwind? But what about Knuckles and Rouge? I had better make sure that I get them out of the way first.~ With the plan in his head, he stretched his legs and jogged for a few moments to see if he could run. When he was satisfied, he stepped out into the reception and ran forward to Knuckles and Rouge.
************************
"I hope Shadow's going to be all right." Rouge said as they sat in the dining room again. Dinner had now started and it was just the four of them.
"Don't worry. He's been through a lot so it's no wonder he needs some time to sort things out." Tails said. They continued to eat in silence until Pikachu came crashing through the door.
"Quick, Team Rocket has come! Get out of here now!" He shouted and they stood up quickly.
"Who is Team Rocket?" Sonic asked.
"They're criminals that deal with pokemon. They used to be a push over but since we converted Meowth, they've changed. Now they're unbeatable!" Pikachu explained quickly as they ran down the corridor.
"Wait! What about Shadow?" Sonic shouted.
"They won't hurt him because he's not a pokemon." Pikachu said as they reached the reception.
A terrible site met them. Two people had caught all of the pokemon including Meowth. They were all squashed in a cage, fast asleep. Ash, Misty and Brock were also in the reception. They had been tied up and couldn't loosen their ropes. When they saw Pikachu, Ash called out,
"Pikachu, get away while you still can!" The two people turned around and they were a man and a woman.
The woman had red hair, which curled out, to her left. She wore a white top with the letter 'R' on the front. She also wore a short, white skirt and had knee length black boots, accompanied by black gloves. The man had blue hair reaching down to his chin and wore the same as the woman apart from having white trousers instead of a skirt.
"At last! Now we can have Pikachu too!" The woman said and quickly pressed something in her hand. A cloud of gas was shot at Pikachu and as soon as it made contact with him, he keeled over unconscious. The woman cackled and bundled Pikachu into the cage with the others. Suddenly, Sonic grew angry and he stepped into the reception.
"Who do you think you are?" He called out.
"We're Team Rocket of course, criminal masterminds of the pokemon world. Just listen to our motto and you'll understand." The man and woman stood together.
Prepare for trouble
And make it double
To protect the world from devastation
To unite all peoples within our nation
To denounce the evils of truth and love
To extend our reach to the stars
Jessie, James
Team Rocket blasting off at the speed of light
Surrender now or prepare to fight!
Wobbuffet!
They finished it and turned to leave but didn't count on Sonic.
"Oh no you don't!" He yelled out and ran forward. He home attacked Jessie and James and while he kept them busy, the others undid the ropes of Ash, Misty and Brock.
"What are we going to do?" Tails wailed.
"We have to get the pokemon out first." Misty said calmly. They sneaked over to the cage and looked at the door.
"I can break this, no problem!" Knuckles said and he started combinations of punches to break the door. The others kept a look out while Knuckles continued attacking the door and gasped as James managed to knock Sonic out with a well-placed punch. They heard the noises behind them and saw the six of them looking scared while Knuckles continued his assault on the door.
"You three get the pokemon out once Knuckles has finished while I create a diversion." Tails whispered and he stepped forward.
"Oy you two idiots, come and get me if you think you can!" He called out and ran down to the other side of the reception.
"Oh don't think we're stupid enough to fall for that one!" James laughed. They ignored Tails and turned back to the group.
"What a great diversion that was!" Misty whispered sarcastically but she hadn't realised that Tails meant for this to happen. Tails snuck behind them and reached out for the capsule in James' hand but before he could pull it out, Jessie turned around and gassed him.
Tails slumped down to the ground. This had given Knuckles enough time to finally break the door and Ash, Brock and Misty started to get the pokemon out.
"Don't think you can escape the might of Team Rocket!" James said as he and Jessie ran forward to stop them. Knuckles and Rouge stopped them from reaching the others and stood in fighting poses. Jessie and James did the same and Knuckles suddenly rushed forward. Rouge did the same and the fights started. The three teenagers now had all of the pokemon and ran out of the centre to find somewhere to wake them up.
The situation with the fight didn't seem to be going too well. All opponents seemed to be equally matched in skill and there was a stalemate. Knuckles, although he didn't want to admit it, was getting tired as the breaking of the door had taken quite a lot of energy. His movement had become sluggish and he was allowing hits to get in when he normally wouldn't have done. He collapsed down onto one knee but before James could cackle in victory, he felt himself being grabbed by his arm and taken away.
He landed on the desk with a thud and as his sight came back into focus, he saw Shadow standing in front of him.
"Shadow, what are you doing here? You're meant to be in bed." Knuckles groaned as he felt his injuries.
"Yes well someone has to do something. Stay here ok?" Shadow ran off again and Knuckles heard Rouge beside him.
"I think we'd better get out of the way." She dragged Knuckles down behind the desk and they watched the scene unfold in front of them.
Shadow, who had taken Jessie and James by surprise, was now starting to run around them. Despite the fact that Shadow couldn't move at his potential speed, he went fast enough to confuse them two. All they could do was twist and turn their heads in panic as Shadow built his speed up and a small wind was soon whipped up. As Jessie and James felt themselves lift up, they clung to each other.
"James, make it stop!" Jessie yelled out.
"How?" Was all he could say in reply. They were now about three metres in the air but Rouge noticed that Shadow was slowing down.
"Knuckles, he's slowing down! We have to do something!" She clutched his arm and he thought for a moment.
"Then we had better get going. We could try to glide into them and hope we can hit them out." Knuckles suggested.
"We really need Shadow to get them out of the centre." She jumped over the desk and walked slowly forward. "Shadow, if you can hear me, get them out of here! Me and Knuckles can deal with them from there." She waited for a few moments, praying that he had heard and she saw that the wind was now moving slowly towards the door. She followed it with Knuckles behind her and they now stood outside of the centre.
Without thinking, they both grabbed the ledge above them and pulled themselves up. They stood in position and started to glide as fast as they could towards Jessie and James. They hit them with an extraordinary force, which knocked the wind out of them. They collapsed to the ground and watched as Team Rocket flew through the sky and landed about 25 metres from them. Shadow helped them up and they watched as Brock, Ash and Misty appeared around the corner. Three pokemon were running with them. One was Pikachu; one was a beige coloured, star shaped creature and the other was a Kitsune with an orange curl on its head.
They stood in front of Team Rocket and they cowered away, knowing what was going to happen.
"Pikachu, use your Thunder attack!" Ash shouted.
"Staryu, use your Hydro Pump!" Misty called out.
"Vulpix, Flame Thrower!" Brock yelled. The three attacks appeared and curled around each other. The combination of water, fire and electricity flew towards the two cowering people. It hit them with an incredible force and caused a small explosion, sending them into the air.
"Team Rocket's blasting off again!" They wailed and a star flashed into the sky as they disappeared.
"We did it!" Pikachu jumped into the air and gave the peace sign. The pokemon flew into their trainers' arms and caught up in the moment, Rouge hugged Knuckles and Shadow. Shadow was panting slightly and Rouge let go quickly.
"Are you ok Shadow?" She asked, looking concerned.
"How many more times are people going to ask me that? I'm fine!" He said hotly. He then felt a slight tremble in his knees and his head swam for a few seconds. "Actually, on second thought, I don't think I'm all right." He said before sliding to the ground. Knuckles caught him though and lowered him down onto the floor.
The other pokemon appeared and Chansey seeing Shadow gave him a quick check over.
"She says he's just fallen asleep. I'm not surprised though, he must have worked pretty hard to get himself out of bed in the first place." Pikachu translated. Meanwhile, Brock had woken Sonic and Tails up with some Mint berries. Sonic rubbed his nose as he stood up.
"Ow, that was some punch. Have they gone yet?" Sonic said as Rouge and Knuckles walked back in. Chansey and Blissey carried Shadow in and went to put him back in his bed.
"What happened to him? I thought he was meant to be in bed." Tails said, pointing to Shadow.
"So did we but never mind. He's not hurt, just tired." Knuckles pointed out.
"And he's not the only one." Rouge yawned.
"I must admit, it's getting pretty late." Pikachu said as he appeared beside them. "You can stay with us if you want, we have more than enough room. Follow me and I'll find you some beds, I hope you don't mind sharing a room." They followed Pikachu through yet another door and were met by one large room. There were two rows of beds, all of them empty.
"I hope you don't mind it." Pikachu said.
"This is fine. I just want a bed so I can get to sleep." Rouge sat down on the nearest bed to the door.
"There's a couple of bathrooms down there if you need them. Good night everyone." Pikachu left the room and the others found beds. Rouge stood up and grabbed Knuckles by his arm just as he finished taking his upgrades off.
"Come on Knuckles." She dragged a surprised Knuckles off to the bathroom and Sonic turned to Tails.
"What was that about?" Tails shrugged his shoulders and got into bed.
"Night Sonic." He whispered as he closed his eyes.
"Night little bro." He replied before getting into bed too.
************************
"What did you do that for?" Knuckles asked when they entered the bathroom. Rouge closed the door and turned to him with a small smile on her lips. He cocked his head, puzzled but smiled too when she hugged him. She held him tightly and he did the same but squeaked loudly when Rouge pinched his arse.
"Ow, that hurt!" She put one of her hands over his mouth to stop him from shouting out anything else. The other hand remained where it was though and she slowly lifted her hand away from his mouth. "Warn me next time you want to do that!" He hissed and she chuckled softly.
"I wouldn't get the same reaction then would I?" She smiled slyly at Knuckles' shocked look. She quickly stopped him from saying anything though by kissing him.
Knuckles responded and the kiss was slow and gentle. His fur stood on end and he crackled from the emotions that ran through him. He felt even more electrified though when he felt something enter his mouth. He realised that it was Rouge's tongue, and although it felt strange, he didn't try to pull away. She started to explore his mouth and as he gradually got used to it, he responded to her actions. She squeezed him to her as she continued to kiss him. It wasn't long before Knuckles was finding it hard to breathe and tried to squirm out of Rouge's grip.
"Can't breathe!" He managed to gasp out. She stopped and supported him as his chest heaved up and down.
"Are you ok?" She asked as his breathing slowed down.
"Yeah, just had trouble breathing. You've done this before, haven't you?" Rouge shrugged her shoulders.
"Only a couple of times. Do you want to stop now?"
"I don't mind." He said playfully. She squeezed him slightly and smiled.
"I'll take that as a no then." She whispered before their mouths met again. She went slower this time and Knuckles didn't have any trouble breathing. Now Knuckles knew what to expect, he grew more adventurous. Their tongues clashed and entwined as things got more heated. Their emotions spiralled upwards and they stopped after five frenzied minutes.
Even Rouge was panting slightly as they clung onto each other trying to slow their pounding hearts.
"That.was.great." Knuckles said shakily. Now they had stopped, he felt sleepy and swayed slightly.
"I agree. But now I think you should go to bed, you look exhausted." Rouge smiled gently.
"It's no wonder I feel tired." He whispered. They suddenly cleared their throats business like and walked out of the bathroom as though nothing has happened. Luckily Sonic and Tails were asleep. They slipped into their individual beds and both of them were soon dreaming.
***************************************************************************
S. Chensu: Mwahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!
Knuckles: Why must you insist on doing s**t like that?
Luff: Knuckles, language!
Knuckles: I can f**king swear as much as I f**king like you f**king bitch!
Luff: *Gets very angry* Get out of here now!!
Knuckles: Eek! *Runs for his life off screen*
S. Chensu: Someone's in a bad mood.
Luff: Only because you did that terrible thing to Yugi!
S. Chensu: Oh, that. Hmm, I can see why you'd be a bit mad.
Ash: *Suddenly appears* Will you be needing our services anymore Miss Chensu?
S. Chensu: No, that will be all you three.
Ash: We'll be going now then *They leave the screen*
S. Chensu: Just a note to say that I love that song; it's one of my favourites. It's also Shadow's theme song!
Shadow: Why did you have to make me sing?
S. Chensu: Because I'm in an evil mood!
Luff: This is getting boring now so it's probably best if you leave before you hit your head on the keyboard *Winces as reader slumps in front of computer*. Oops, too late.
S. Chensu: Please read and review, it means a lot to us.
Luff: Next author's note: Star Fox characters!
Luff: Er, Chen they can see your name at the start of the sentence!
S. Chensu: D'oh! *Smacks head*
Luff: I hope you didn't hurt the Yu-Gi-Oh! characters too much after the last episode.
S. Chensu: Nah, I brought in some professionals to deal with it.
*Ash and co enters dressed in an Agent Smith (Matrix) stylee*
Luff: What the hell are you doing here?
Ash: In case you've forgotten, we're in this episode!
Misty: Why am I dressed like a boy?
S. Chensu: Would you prefer to look like Trinity?
Misty: ^-^;; Um, no thanks
S. Chensu: Exactly.
Luff: Ooh, bitchy.
S. Chensu: I'll give you a Morpheus style lecture instead if you want.
Luff: Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!
S. Chensu: Yes so anyway, they 'dealt' with the small Yu-Gi-Oh! problem. *Turns to Ash* Have you got any evidence that you 'dealt' with them?
Brock: *Holds out box* Have a look in there Miss Chensu.
Luff: Ooh, how posh!
S. Chensu: Shut up you! *Looks in box and laughs manically* Mwahahahahahahaha!!!!
Luff: What's in the box? Let me see! *Tries to look inside*
S. Chensu: *Snaps it shut* No, you're far too young to see this.
Luff: Please? Pretty, pretty please?
S. Chensu: *Sighs* Oh all right then *Gives Luff box*
Luff: *Looks in it* AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! *Runs off screen*
Ash: You knew she would do that, didn't you?
S. Chensu: Let's just say that the thought of poor old Yugi now would pull at her heart strings.
Sonic: This may seem really weird but shouldn't we get on with the story?
S. Chensu: *Coughs* Yes, that would be a good idea. Um, let's see, the disclaimer. *Searches through schoolbooks* Aha, here it is! Disclaimer: We do not own the Sonic characters or Pokémon characters. We also don't own the song 'Stranded'. We only own the story.
Sonic: Now the episode can start at last! *Sidles over to S. Chensu* So then, what was in that box?
S. Chensu: See for yourself.
Sonic: *Looks in box* Yuck!!!!! And we're letting you decide what we do? *Sprints off screen*
S. Chensu: Ah, the power of the box.
(Note: Sorry Yersi Fanel but Shadow's not in Mexico.)
***************************************************************************
Episode six: The completion of the group or The tale of surfing Pikachu and preoccupied Shadow
During the journey, Tails sneaked occasional looks at Knuckles and Rouge but they didn't even seem to know that the other existed. Or so he thought.
"Is he still trying to look at us?" Rouge asked.
"Yep. Who knew someone his age could be so interested in two people going out." Knuckles said. "I hope we get there soon. I'm really tired after last night." He put his hand to his mouth and yawned loudly. This immediately set Rouge off and they both laughed. She leant her head back and closed her eyes. Knuckles leant against the side of the Tornado and closed his eyes but opened them a few moments later when he felt a weight against his side. He tilted his head and saw Rouge leaning against him. The smile on his face was evident as he fell asleep.
************************
They landed with a bump by Bondi beach in Sydney. Knuckles opened his eyes and noticed that Tails was looking at him weirdly. He rolled his eyes and jumped out of the Tornado. They walked onto the beach and immediately noticed a large crowd standing at the front of the beach. They walked over and squeezed to the front of the throng of people.
"Excuse me, but what is going on?" Tails asked a boy standing next to them.
"You're foreign aren't you?" He asked and they nodded their heads. "Only the foreigners ask. Pikachu is surfing and when he does, everyone watches. He's the best around here, even humans can't beat him." At the mention of Pikachu, they looked up with interest. A huge wave had just appeared and Pikachu was shooting the tube. He did some tricks and then landed on the beach.
"Pi pikachu!" He shouted and everyone clapped.
Soon the crowd dispersed and the group walked over to him.
"Hello Pikachu. We were wondering if we could talk to you?" Sonic asked after introducing the group.
"About what?" He replied.
"We're looking for a friend of ours and you're our last hope. He's a hedgehog-"
"Is he red and black?" Pikachu interrupted.
"Yes he is! Do you know where he is?" Tails asked.
"He's staying with me. But I don't think you'd want to see him. He looks in a bad way." Pikachu started to walk up the beach. They followed him and he carried on talking. "We found him about a week ago unconscious but he hasn't woken up yet. Something awful must have happened to him." He looked at Sonic, wanting to know Shadow's story. Sonic noticed but didn't really want to go into it.
"He had an accident and after it, we couldn't find him." Sonic waved his hand evasively.
"Just an accident? Didn't look like that to me. Cor, it's a right scorcher out here isn't it?" Pikachu said, his Australian accent came through. A cork hat appeared out of nowhere and he put it on his head.
"Will you show us where he is?" Tails asked.
"Of course I am! I wasn't just walking in this direction for nothing you know." Pikachu replied hotly. Tails picked up the Tornado while the others walked. They walked through Sydney and were soon in the suburbs.
As they reached the top of a hill, a huge building stood in front of them. It was circular and had a red and white ball at the top. The sign read 'Pokemon Centre' and Pikachu showed Tails a garage where the Tornado could be kept. After that, they walked through the automatic doors. The first thing they noticed was how cool it was. This was because of the air conditioning, the fans that whirred around above them. There were several doors leading to different parts and in the centre was a circular desk with a cat working at a computer. It looked up when they entered and stopped working.
"Hi Pikachu. Enjoy your break?" He asked.
"Yes it wasn't too bad but there were people watching as usual. Anyway I'd like to introduce Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Rouge to you. They've come to see case number 34520. How is he doing out of interest?" Meowth looked with curiosity at the group.
"Someone's come to claim the lump of charcoal at last. I was wondering if anyone owned him." Meowth mused. Sonic frowned at his words.
"Lump of charcoal? Why is he called that?" He asked.
"Oh.no reason." He said quickly.
"Ignore him. I'll take you to see Shadow in a minute but I think you might be hungry. I am anyway. Come with me." Pikachu walked through one of the doors and they followed him.
The room turned out to be a dining room with six four people tables. The group sat down at one of them and Pikachu hopped onto a stool, which was standing in front a slide open window.
"Brock, are you in there? Food wanted here please." The window slid open and a boy of about 15 appeared. He had dark skin and black hair. He wore an orange t-shirt, green body warmer and brown trousers. He had his eyes closed in a Japanese magna art stylee. The most remarkable thing though was that he wore a pink frilly apron and held a ladle in his hand. Behind him was a kitchen full of cooking pots and steam. Two people seemed to be running around in there in a panic. It appeared that something was boiling and they didn't know what to do. The boy turned around and saw the scene. He sighed and closed the window a bit.
"Ignore that. So then, what will you be having?" He asked.
"A Chilli dog for me please." Pikachu said.
"How unhealthy! I'm having some fruit please." Knuckles said.
"I think we'd better stay off the Chilli dogs eh Tails?" Sonic laughed. "I'm not hungry anyway."
"Me neither." Tails added. Brock closed the window and clattering was heard. Several shouts were also heard and Brock practically fell out of the kitchen as he stumbled through the door.
He stood up straight quickly and cleared his throat. He placed a fruit bowl on the table and a Chilli dog on a small plate. Pikachu jumped from the stool and sat on the table.
"Come draw up a chair and sit with us. Will them two be coming out?" Pikachu asked, looking very amused as Brock opened the kitchen door and steam poured out of it. He coughed and hissed something into the kitchen. The steam spread out and the two people who were glimpsed earlier appeared.
There was another boy who was about 12. He had pale skin with scratches on his cheeks and black hair. He wore a white cap with red back and peak. He had a black t-shirt with a blue short-sleeved jacket. He wore green fingerless gloves and blue jeans. He was laughing nervously while he scratched his head. The other person was a girl of about 14. She also had pale skin and ginger hair. She wore a yellow crop top and denim shorts held up by breeches.
They grabbed chairs and squeezed themselves around the table.
"This is Brock, Ash and Misty." Pikachu introduced the three people.
"So then, why are you here?" Misty asked.
"We're here to see the lump of char- I mean Shadow." Knuckles coughed to cover up what he had said.
"Oh him. What I want to know is.what's the real story behind him?" She asked.
"He had an accident that's all. We couldn't find him and we've had to travel to loads of places trying to find him." Sonic said quickly.
"It's just the way he's been-" But a warning look from Pikachu stopped Brock. The group looked at each other puzzled.
"Hey, maybe if you see him, he might wake up. He's been out cold ever since we got him. But I'm sure you want to see him now don't you?" Ash asked.
"If we could." Tails said politely. Pikachu popped the last bit of Chilli dog into his mouth and jumped to the floor.
"Let's see what the Chansey and Blissey say." He said and Knuckles thanked Brock for the fruit and they followed Pikachu back to the reception. They entered a door and stood at the top of a corridor. This was obviously the hospital part as everything was white and beeps were heard from machines in the rooms. As they walked down the corridor they met two large pink pokemon wearing nurse hats.
One was entirely pink and was an egg shape. It had a small tail and long spikes coming out of its head. It had a pouch and it contained a large, white egg. The other one was a darker pink and had curls on either side of its head. It had white parts on its wrists and around its waist. It also carried an egg.
"This is Chansey and Blissey, just two of our nurses here." Pikachu introduced them in order. "Can we see case number 34520 please?"
"Chansey, Chansey!" The Chansey said and led them to the end of the corridor. Blissey entered the room for a few moments and put some chairs out before leaving with Chansey.
"You can go in now. I'll come back in about twenty minutes ok?" Pikachu said before leaving as well. The others stood around the door, scared to go in.
"Well, we may as well get this over and done with." Tails said and he pushed the door open. They entered the room and were met with a horrific sight.
From looking at him, they now understood why he was called a 'lump of charcoal'. Every part of him was burnt so now he was completely black. His spikes had turned into Afro hair and were bent at odd angles. He had a bandage around his chest, his breathing was erratic and he was rasping really badly. If this wasn't scary enough, Shadow was twitching and it was rather unnerving.
"God, he looks even worse than Knuckles and Sonic did after that attack." Rouge whispered. "I don't think I want to stay here any longer." Tears started to well up in her eyes. Knuckles immediately concerned, went over and hugged her tightly.
"Rouge don't worry. He's not dead and as soon his burns heal and he's awake, we can make him look a bit better." He whispered comfortingly. She wiped her eyes and hugged him back. She didn't look at Shadow again though so Knuckles continued to hold her.
"He must be having one hell of a dream." Tails said, looking at Shadow's twitching.
"I wonder what he's thinking?" Sonic said.
************************
"Soon I'll be able to see Maria again." Shadow said aloud as he was falling. He could feel a stinging sensation as he entered the atmosphere but he ignored it. ~I will miss the others though.I was starting to like Sonic.~ Shadow sighed but this turned into a hiss, as the pain grew stronger. To take his mind off things, he started to sing.
"I don't want to feel like I'm stranded
Left me all alone I can't take it no more
I wish that you were here by my side
'Cause I remember those days
When it was my time
If I could right the wrongs that I did
I would give it all to you
If you were here I know you would too
I know you would too yeah
I don't want to feel like I'm stranded
Oh baby I don't want to be here alone
'Cause I don't want to feel abandoned
But baby heaven is the place that I belong
Now that I'm alone
And you walked away from me
I just don't want to live anymore
I gave my life to you
Like you gave your life to me
If only I could show what I mean
'Cause I need you more than ever
If you were here you would need me too
I don't want to feel like I'm stranded
Oh baby I don't want to be here alone
'Cause I don't want to feel abandoned
But baby heaven is the place that I belong
I know I'll see you again someday
I'll be waiting for that day all my life
I know that things will be the same again
I know some day I'll see you again
I don't want to feel like I'm stranded
Oh baby I don't want to be here alone
'Cause I don't want to feel abandoned
But baby heaven is the place that I belong
I don't want to feel like I'm stranded
Oh baby I don't want to be here alone
'Cause I don't want to feel abandoned
But baby heaven is the place that I belong
I don't want to be here all alone."
He stopped suddenly as over the last few minutes, the ache had been growing stronger. He looked at himself and saw that he was burning! The flames were licking over his body and dancing orange, yellow and red. His eyes then slid to the Earth below him.
~And to think they may never know the truth.~ He closed his eyes as a tear slid down his face. ~And to think I'll never see Earth again.~ The tear stung his face as it ran along the cracks of his skin. Although the pain was getting worse, he couldn't feel it anymore, as his world grew smaller.
Suddenly it seemed, his whole body exploded. He squinted and saw brown earth below him. He snorted as he accidentally tried to swallow a mouthful of soil. His lungs were on fire and he stopped breathing so they would stop hurting. His brain told him to breathe in and so he did, gasping. This just made them hurt more. He took small breaths and when his chest had settled down a little, he lifted his head up to look at the rest of him.
"Overall, I would say that I am pretty mangled." He said aloud in a broken voice. He then noticed that where he had landed, the earth had been scooped out so he was in a crater. He also noticed that he was lying in the middle of a path and not wanting to be seen, he tried to get up. His legs felt like jelly though and they buckled, not able to support his weight. His head spun around and he groaned with pain as he sank back down to the ground. His eyes were trying to close but Shadow refused to fall asleep.
"Hmm.what's that?" He had just heard a strange, low vibrating noise coming from down the path. It then stopped and in a panic, Shadow tried to at least sit up so that he wouldn't attract attention. "Although, in my condition you would have to be blind not to notice..." He said bitterly.
The person came around the corner and.it wasn't a person! His eyes started swimming, as he looked unblinkingly at the creature. It was a mouse of sorts but yellow and standing on its hind legs. It also had red cheeks ~or are they red eyes?~ Shadow asked himself. He blinked and they came back into focus again. It wore a cork hat and carried a didgeridoo. ~So that must have been the noise I heard.~ Shadow thought. His brain had just processed what he had seen.
"It's not possible!" Shadow whispered but as he thought of the other people who he knew, it grew plausible. This still didn't stop him from being amazed especially when it noticed him and cried out,
"Blazing galahs! This one looks like it's in bad shape!" The voice was quite high, but this didn't sound too doubtful because of its small size. It walked over and laid the didgeridoo down. "G'day mate! What's happened to you?" As it leapt down the hole the thought that this thing might want to hurt him passed through Shadow's mind.
He tried to stand up again and he succeeded, with a fair amount of wobbling. He slipped though as he attempted to take a step back. He crashed to the ground and the little energy he had left was knocked out of him.
"I'm not going to hurt you! I help people who have been-" But as soon as Shadow had heard his first words, he was reassured and finally gave up the struggle to keep awake.
A white room.pink egg shaped things.people.Sonic? These things revolved around Shadow's head in his dream. He wanted to get out of this dream. The same memory had been going around and around in his head and he wondered if he was dead.
"Someone help me!" Shadow called out desperately in the vague hope that someone might hear.
"Look!" A familiar voice called out. Shadow stopped and tried to remember it.
"Tails! Help me!" He called out again but his world was now changing. Instead of blackness, the place was growing lighter and Shadow realised that he was free of his seemingly eternal sleep.
************************
"Look everyone! I think Shadow's waking up!" Tails cried out and the others turned to look at his face. His breathing was growing faster and louder. He stirred and opened his eyes slowly. He looked around, first at the four people staring at him and then himself and the room. He didn't know what to think but as he looked around, he noticed Knuckles and Rouge standing together. He frowned slightly and tried to speak.
"Hello everyone." His voice was croaky but when they heard him speak, they smiled slightly and Knuckles' grip on Rouge relaxed slightly.
"I'm so glad you're awake!" Sonic said and Shadow smiled slightly.
"Nice to know you have so much concern for me. But where am I? What's happened?" Shadow asked confused.
"We looked all over the world for you and found you here in Australia. Which reminds me, we'd better tell Eggman, Zelgan and Gelest that we've found you." Tails explained.
"The professor's still around? And who are Zelgan and Gelest?" Shadow wanted an explanation of what they had done.
"This could take some time." Rouge sighed as Sonic started telling Shadow what they had done.
Tails was just telling him about Italy when Sonic suddenly had a thought.
"I never realised until now but nothing really happened in Italy. Everywhere else we've done something apart from Italy. That's strange." Sonic reflected. Shadow, who had been looking at Tails, noticed that for a millisecond, his eyes flickered to Knuckles and Rouge and so Shadow did the same. They looked a bit embarrassed at what Sonic had said and Shadow took note of this.
Tails continued the story hurriedly, noticing Shadow looking interested at Knuckles and Rouge. Once he had finished it, Shadow decided to see if his thoughts were correct.
"I must say Sonic, now I think about it, that comment about Italy certainly seems true. What do you think Knuckles?" He faced Knuckles and saw him go slightly pink but he covered it up very well.
"Yes it is. Oh well, if something had happened, we'd probably be still telling you the story." Shadow considered this.
"True, true." He looked at himself again and noticed the bandage around his chest.
"Talking of your condition, I think you need a wash." Rouge commented. The door opened and Pikachu and Chansey walked in. They saw Shadow awake and smiled.
"Awake at last! How are you feeling?" Pikachu asked as Chansey checked his joints and bandage.
"Everything feels sore but not too bad. What is the bandage for?" He asked as Chansey finished looking at it. Chansey spoke for a few moments and Pikachu translated.
"You apparently broke several of your ribs and one punctured a lung. It's just to help keep your ribs in place while they heal. Chansey says that you heal remarkably fast and you should be able to get up in a couple of days time. But for the moment, don't move too much." Pikachu told him.
"Can we clean him up? I mean his hair is a mess." Rouge said quietly to Pikachu.
"I'll see what I can do." Pikachu walked out of the room and Chansey came back with him carrying a bowl containing a bottle, towel and jug. She gave it to Rouge.
"Thanks Chansey." Chansey started saying something and Rouge looked at Pikachu expectantly.
"She says there's a sink you can get water from and the bottle has shampoo in it." Chansey suddenly remembered something and gave Rouge a brush. She left the room with Pikachu.
Rouge laid the bowl down and walked over to the sink. As she did so, she beckoned Knuckles and started talking to him quietly.
"You don't mind do you?" She asked.
"Mind what?" He frowned, puzzled. She sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Me washing Shadow's hair of course." Knuckles thought for a few moments and realised what she meant.
"Of course not. I do trust you, you know." She smiled but feeling everyone's eyes on the two of them, winked quickly and grabbed the bowl so she could fill it with water.
"What you're washing my hair already? Do I look that bad?" Shadow joked. Rouge looked serious though as she passed him a mirror. His smile turned to horror as he saw his hair.
"My hair! I've gone all seventies and that's not good." It seemed that Shadow was very partial about his hair. "I need hair gel!"
"Not before I wash it!" Rouge commanded as she brought the bowl over.
Shadow sat up gingerly as Rouge placed the bowl on the bed and put the towel at the end of it. For some reason, Shadow was looking a bit embarrassed and he stared at Sonic, Knuckles and Tails.
"You guys, can you contact Eggman and Zelgan please?" Tails got the hint and took Sonic and Knuckles out of the room.
"Thanks Rouge." Shadow looked relieved and she shrugged her shoulders.
"That's all right." He leant his head forward over the bowl and she poured the water over his head. He grimaced slightly and she stopped. "Are you ok?" She asked, worried. He nodded his head.
"Yeah just a bit of a shock that's all." He thought for a moment as she continued soaking his hair. "Are you sure that Knuckles doesn't mind?" She looked at him sharply.
"No he doesn't but how do you-" But Shadow interrupted her.
"I didn't listen in on your conversation. It's a bit obvious that's all, your love I mean." Rouge went slightly pink.
"Not to Sonic. He still doesn't know but Tails does. I suppose you know what happened in Italy then?" She asked shyly.
"I do now. Poor old Sonic, don't you think you should tell him?" Now Rouge was putting shampoo into his hair and rubbing it in.
"It's Knuckles' idea. He's testing out Sonic's ignorance." Shadow sniffed the shampoo.
"Peach? That's a girl flavour!" He complained.
"I think peach is very nice actually." She replied as she finished applying it.
"Of course you do, you're a girl!" He replied hotly but she didn't get angry.
"Close your eyes." She said calmly and he did so. As the shampoo washed down his face, the cuts and scratches on his face stung from the chemicals in the shampoo. He hissed, as although they weren't painful, they were extremely irritating.
"Are you ok? Wait a minute, I'll get you something to cover your face." Rouge looked around the room and saw a pillowcase. She grabbed it and shoved it in Shadow's hands. He put it in front of his face and held it there with his hands spread out. The stinging was fading now and didn't reappear for the rest of the wash.
Soon Rouge was finished and she poured the water down the sink before getting the towel to dry his hair.
"Shadow, I've finished now. I must say you look a lot better now." She commented as Shadow put the pillowcase down. His hair although now clean had become flattened and it hung down in dreadlocks. She smiled and wondered what he would say if he saw himself now. She started drying his hair gently and as she was finishing, the others walked back in.
"Glad to see you looking better." Sonic commented when they were all in the room.
"Did you contact Eggman then?" Rouge asked Sonic.
"Yes we did and he said he was coming over. He won't be here until tomorrow though. We talked to Gelest and Zelgan too. They seemed very happy at the news." Sonic said. Tails meanwhile was covering his mouth in a vague attempt to hide his smile.
"What's so funny?" Knuckles asked.
"Shadow's hair is more Afro like than it was!" Tails whispered and Knuckles looked over at Shadow. He noticed that Rouge was pointing at him too and he smiled when he saw that now Shadow's hair was dry, it was very fluffy in a true Afro stylee. Shadow, not missing a thing, looked from one to the other and then rolled his eyes upwards. It doesn't take much more than this for him to see his hair.
"I think I'll be needing some hair gel." He commented and Rouge sighed.
"There's no point you know. You're meant to stay in bed for at least another day and if you gel it now, it'll just get spoiled." Rouge noted.
"I suppose you're right but can I at least brush it? I don't particularly want it staying like this for any more time." Rouge passed him the hairbrush and he lifted his arm but hissed slightly and dropped it again.
"Are you ok Shadow?" Tails asked. Shadow rubbed his shoulder and nodded his head.
"Just a bit stiff, that's all. I think I'll just leave it for now." He looked at his hair again and sighed. Rouge felt sorry for him so giving a quick look at Knuckles, she grabbed the brush and started brushing it instead.
Now Shadow may be the ultimate life form but that didn't stop him from complaining.
"Ow, do you have to brush so hard?" He squinted at her and she stopped. The others saw that the hairbrush was in his hair still.
"Shadow, when was the last time you actually brushed your hair?" She asked exasperated.
"I can't remember really." He started and seeing Rouge's look he stared downwards. "I'll just shut up now, shall I?"
"That would be a good idea. Don't worry, once the main tangles are out, it'll be easier." She reassured him and proceeded to brush his hair, but more gently this time.
Gradually, his hair returned to its normal shape of six spikes, although they were fluffier than before. Finally Rouge had finished and took a look at the hairbrush. The amount of hair stuck in it was disgusting so she quickly turned the brush downwards.
"Can someone pass me a bin please?" She asked and Tails sitting by one, gave it to her. "Thank you." She said and quickly deposited the ball in the bin.
"What did you just put in the bin?" Shadow asked suspiciously and Rouge tried to ignore him. "Rouge, give me the bin now." He commanded and she did so, looking away from him. He looked into it and saw the huge ball of hair. "Look at all that hair! I've probably gone bald now!" Rouge grabbed the bin out of his hands and put it down before crossing her arms.
"Well what else do you expect when you don't actually brush your hair occasionally? Hair falls out naturally and if you don't brush it out, it creates knots. That was why it was so hard to brush your hair." She explained and Shadow calmed down slightly.
"That's all right then."
Just then Pikachu opened the door and looked in.
"Will any of you be wanting dinner? If so, I can bring it in here so you don't have to leave Shadow." He said. The others looked at Shadow to see what he thought.
"Don't worry you go and have dinner. I'm not hungry and I need to do some thinking anyway." Shadow said and they exited the room. "Yes, I have a lot to think about." Shadow whispered. Although he had only been up for a few hours, he was exhausted already. He shut his eyes and drifted off into sleep.
In his dream, he stood up and noticed that his injuries had now gone. He looked around but as the place was pitch black, there wasn't much to see. He walked forward and saw a small pond ahead of him. Not thinking of much else to do, he headed for it and knelt down to look at the pool. He saw his own reflection and was startled by what he saw. He stared at his pale and drawn face. He had lost a lot of weight and it gave him a knobbly look. Ripples appeared in the middle of the pond and he watched as his image disappeared and was replaced by Maria's.
"Maria, what are you doing here?" Shadow placed his hand in the water and her face wavered.
"Shadow, you have to help your friends." Her voice sounded far off and echoed.
"But how? Look at me, I can't do anything." But Maria wouldn't say anything else.
"Shadow, you have to help your friends. Something is trying to stop you from waking up and you have to resist it." She pleaded. Her image started to fade away as ripples floated across the water.
"Maria, don't leave me again!" A tear slid down his cheek and fell into the pond, creating more ripples.
"I'll always be with you as long as you remember me." Her voice whispered before all grew silent.
"Maria!" Shadow shouted out but no reply came. All of his sorrow reappeared as more tears trickled down his face. He looked up though when he heard a noise behind him. His head snapped round and he was confronted by a tornado. Before he could move, it had swept him up. Looking around, he saw instead of dust and leaves as you might expect, his memories spun around him.
"What?" Shadow said aloud and he continued looking surprised for the next few minutes as his reminiscences flew past him. Maria, the ARK, Sonic, the Biolizard.these things spun around him, everything he knew.
He felt the tornado slowing down and suddenly stop. He started falling and realised he was living his fall to Earth again. He remembered Maria's words and tightened his fists.
"I won't live through this again! I will wake up, for Maria!" He shouted out but nothing happened. He closed his eyes and concentrated all of his thoughts on his bed and the room he was in. He opened his eyes and saw that instead of falling to Earth, he was now dropping to his bed. He saw himself, lying still under the blankets and he jolted awake.
~Shadow, you have to help your friends.~ With this thought in his head, he got out of the bed slowly. He ached all over and his chest burned. He was driven by this one thought though as he walked resolutely out of the room. Outside everything seemed very quiet, too quiet. He walked down the corridor and noticed that all of the other rooms were empty. He reached the end of the corridor and stood in front of the door leading to the reception. He opened the door inaudibly and peeked his head around it.
He saw an empty cage and Sonic and Tails lying still on the floor. He heard the sounds of metal against skin and noticed Knuckles and Rouge in the far side of the reception, fighting two people.
~What can I do though?~ Shadow thought desperately. ~I can't attack them directly I'm too weak.~ He suddenly remembered the tornado in his dream. ~Hang on, what if I use my speed to create a whirlwind? But what about Knuckles and Rouge? I had better make sure that I get them out of the way first.~ With the plan in his head, he stretched his legs and jogged for a few moments to see if he could run. When he was satisfied, he stepped out into the reception and ran forward to Knuckles and Rouge.
************************
"I hope Shadow's going to be all right." Rouge said as they sat in the dining room again. Dinner had now started and it was just the four of them.
"Don't worry. He's been through a lot so it's no wonder he needs some time to sort things out." Tails said. They continued to eat in silence until Pikachu came crashing through the door.
"Quick, Team Rocket has come! Get out of here now!" He shouted and they stood up quickly.
"Who is Team Rocket?" Sonic asked.
"They're criminals that deal with pokemon. They used to be a push over but since we converted Meowth, they've changed. Now they're unbeatable!" Pikachu explained quickly as they ran down the corridor.
"Wait! What about Shadow?" Sonic shouted.
"They won't hurt him because he's not a pokemon." Pikachu said as they reached the reception.
A terrible site met them. Two people had caught all of the pokemon including Meowth. They were all squashed in a cage, fast asleep. Ash, Misty and Brock were also in the reception. They had been tied up and couldn't loosen their ropes. When they saw Pikachu, Ash called out,
"Pikachu, get away while you still can!" The two people turned around and they were a man and a woman.
The woman had red hair, which curled out, to her left. She wore a white top with the letter 'R' on the front. She also wore a short, white skirt and had knee length black boots, accompanied by black gloves. The man had blue hair reaching down to his chin and wore the same as the woman apart from having white trousers instead of a skirt.
"At last! Now we can have Pikachu too!" The woman said and quickly pressed something in her hand. A cloud of gas was shot at Pikachu and as soon as it made contact with him, he keeled over unconscious. The woman cackled and bundled Pikachu into the cage with the others. Suddenly, Sonic grew angry and he stepped into the reception.
"Who do you think you are?" He called out.
"We're Team Rocket of course, criminal masterminds of the pokemon world. Just listen to our motto and you'll understand." The man and woman stood together.
Prepare for trouble
And make it double
To protect the world from devastation
To unite all peoples within our nation
To denounce the evils of truth and love
To extend our reach to the stars
Jessie, James
Team Rocket blasting off at the speed of light
Surrender now or prepare to fight!
Wobbuffet!
They finished it and turned to leave but didn't count on Sonic.
"Oh no you don't!" He yelled out and ran forward. He home attacked Jessie and James and while he kept them busy, the others undid the ropes of Ash, Misty and Brock.
"What are we going to do?" Tails wailed.
"We have to get the pokemon out first." Misty said calmly. They sneaked over to the cage and looked at the door.
"I can break this, no problem!" Knuckles said and he started combinations of punches to break the door. The others kept a look out while Knuckles continued attacking the door and gasped as James managed to knock Sonic out with a well-placed punch. They heard the noises behind them and saw the six of them looking scared while Knuckles continued his assault on the door.
"You three get the pokemon out once Knuckles has finished while I create a diversion." Tails whispered and he stepped forward.
"Oy you two idiots, come and get me if you think you can!" He called out and ran down to the other side of the reception.
"Oh don't think we're stupid enough to fall for that one!" James laughed. They ignored Tails and turned back to the group.
"What a great diversion that was!" Misty whispered sarcastically but she hadn't realised that Tails meant for this to happen. Tails snuck behind them and reached out for the capsule in James' hand but before he could pull it out, Jessie turned around and gassed him.
Tails slumped down to the ground. This had given Knuckles enough time to finally break the door and Ash, Brock and Misty started to get the pokemon out.
"Don't think you can escape the might of Team Rocket!" James said as he and Jessie ran forward to stop them. Knuckles and Rouge stopped them from reaching the others and stood in fighting poses. Jessie and James did the same and Knuckles suddenly rushed forward. Rouge did the same and the fights started. The three teenagers now had all of the pokemon and ran out of the centre to find somewhere to wake them up.
The situation with the fight didn't seem to be going too well. All opponents seemed to be equally matched in skill and there was a stalemate. Knuckles, although he didn't want to admit it, was getting tired as the breaking of the door had taken quite a lot of energy. His movement had become sluggish and he was allowing hits to get in when he normally wouldn't have done. He collapsed down onto one knee but before James could cackle in victory, he felt himself being grabbed by his arm and taken away.
He landed on the desk with a thud and as his sight came back into focus, he saw Shadow standing in front of him.
"Shadow, what are you doing here? You're meant to be in bed." Knuckles groaned as he felt his injuries.
"Yes well someone has to do something. Stay here ok?" Shadow ran off again and Knuckles heard Rouge beside him.
"I think we'd better get out of the way." She dragged Knuckles down behind the desk and they watched the scene unfold in front of them.
Shadow, who had taken Jessie and James by surprise, was now starting to run around them. Despite the fact that Shadow couldn't move at his potential speed, he went fast enough to confuse them two. All they could do was twist and turn their heads in panic as Shadow built his speed up and a small wind was soon whipped up. As Jessie and James felt themselves lift up, they clung to each other.
"James, make it stop!" Jessie yelled out.
"How?" Was all he could say in reply. They were now about three metres in the air but Rouge noticed that Shadow was slowing down.
"Knuckles, he's slowing down! We have to do something!" She clutched his arm and he thought for a moment.
"Then we had better get going. We could try to glide into them and hope we can hit them out." Knuckles suggested.
"We really need Shadow to get them out of the centre." She jumped over the desk and walked slowly forward. "Shadow, if you can hear me, get them out of here! Me and Knuckles can deal with them from there." She waited for a few moments, praying that he had heard and she saw that the wind was now moving slowly towards the door. She followed it with Knuckles behind her and they now stood outside of the centre.
Without thinking, they both grabbed the ledge above them and pulled themselves up. They stood in position and started to glide as fast as they could towards Jessie and James. They hit them with an extraordinary force, which knocked the wind out of them. They collapsed to the ground and watched as Team Rocket flew through the sky and landed about 25 metres from them. Shadow helped them up and they watched as Brock, Ash and Misty appeared around the corner. Three pokemon were running with them. One was Pikachu; one was a beige coloured, star shaped creature and the other was a Kitsune with an orange curl on its head.
They stood in front of Team Rocket and they cowered away, knowing what was going to happen.
"Pikachu, use your Thunder attack!" Ash shouted.
"Staryu, use your Hydro Pump!" Misty called out.
"Vulpix, Flame Thrower!" Brock yelled. The three attacks appeared and curled around each other. The combination of water, fire and electricity flew towards the two cowering people. It hit them with an incredible force and caused a small explosion, sending them into the air.
"Team Rocket's blasting off again!" They wailed and a star flashed into the sky as they disappeared.
"We did it!" Pikachu jumped into the air and gave the peace sign. The pokemon flew into their trainers' arms and caught up in the moment, Rouge hugged Knuckles and Shadow. Shadow was panting slightly and Rouge let go quickly.
"Are you ok Shadow?" She asked, looking concerned.
"How many more times are people going to ask me that? I'm fine!" He said hotly. He then felt a slight tremble in his knees and his head swam for a few seconds. "Actually, on second thought, I don't think I'm all right." He said before sliding to the ground. Knuckles caught him though and lowered him down onto the floor.
The other pokemon appeared and Chansey seeing Shadow gave him a quick check over.
"She says he's just fallen asleep. I'm not surprised though, he must have worked pretty hard to get himself out of bed in the first place." Pikachu translated. Meanwhile, Brock had woken Sonic and Tails up with some Mint berries. Sonic rubbed his nose as he stood up.
"Ow, that was some punch. Have they gone yet?" Sonic said as Rouge and Knuckles walked back in. Chansey and Blissey carried Shadow in and went to put him back in his bed.
"What happened to him? I thought he was meant to be in bed." Tails said, pointing to Shadow.
"So did we but never mind. He's not hurt, just tired." Knuckles pointed out.
"And he's not the only one." Rouge yawned.
"I must admit, it's getting pretty late." Pikachu said as he appeared beside them. "You can stay with us if you want, we have more than enough room. Follow me and I'll find you some beds, I hope you don't mind sharing a room." They followed Pikachu through yet another door and were met by one large room. There were two rows of beds, all of them empty.
"I hope you don't mind it." Pikachu said.
"This is fine. I just want a bed so I can get to sleep." Rouge sat down on the nearest bed to the door.
"There's a couple of bathrooms down there if you need them. Good night everyone." Pikachu left the room and the others found beds. Rouge stood up and grabbed Knuckles by his arm just as he finished taking his upgrades off.
"Come on Knuckles." She dragged a surprised Knuckles off to the bathroom and Sonic turned to Tails.
"What was that about?" Tails shrugged his shoulders and got into bed.
"Night Sonic." He whispered as he closed his eyes.
"Night little bro." He replied before getting into bed too.
************************
"What did you do that for?" Knuckles asked when they entered the bathroom. Rouge closed the door and turned to him with a small smile on her lips. He cocked his head, puzzled but smiled too when she hugged him. She held him tightly and he did the same but squeaked loudly when Rouge pinched his arse.
"Ow, that hurt!" She put one of her hands over his mouth to stop him from shouting out anything else. The other hand remained where it was though and she slowly lifted her hand away from his mouth. "Warn me next time you want to do that!" He hissed and she chuckled softly.
"I wouldn't get the same reaction then would I?" She smiled slyly at Knuckles' shocked look. She quickly stopped him from saying anything though by kissing him.
Knuckles responded and the kiss was slow and gentle. His fur stood on end and he crackled from the emotions that ran through him. He felt even more electrified though when he felt something enter his mouth. He realised that it was Rouge's tongue, and although it felt strange, he didn't try to pull away. She started to explore his mouth and as he gradually got used to it, he responded to her actions. She squeezed him to her as she continued to kiss him. It wasn't long before Knuckles was finding it hard to breathe and tried to squirm out of Rouge's grip.
"Can't breathe!" He managed to gasp out. She stopped and supported him as his chest heaved up and down.
"Are you ok?" She asked as his breathing slowed down.
"Yeah, just had trouble breathing. You've done this before, haven't you?" Rouge shrugged her shoulders.
"Only a couple of times. Do you want to stop now?"
"I don't mind." He said playfully. She squeezed him slightly and smiled.
"I'll take that as a no then." She whispered before their mouths met again. She went slower this time and Knuckles didn't have any trouble breathing. Now Knuckles knew what to expect, he grew more adventurous. Their tongues clashed and entwined as things got more heated. Their emotions spiralled upwards and they stopped after five frenzied minutes.
Even Rouge was panting slightly as they clung onto each other trying to slow their pounding hearts.
"That.was.great." Knuckles said shakily. Now they had stopped, he felt sleepy and swayed slightly.
"I agree. But now I think you should go to bed, you look exhausted." Rouge smiled gently.
"It's no wonder I feel tired." He whispered. They suddenly cleared their throats business like and walked out of the bathroom as though nothing has happened. Luckily Sonic and Tails were asleep. They slipped into their individual beds and both of them were soon dreaming.
***************************************************************************
S. Chensu: Mwahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!
Knuckles: Why must you insist on doing s**t like that?
Luff: Knuckles, language!
Knuckles: I can f**king swear as much as I f**king like you f**king bitch!
Luff: *Gets very angry* Get out of here now!!
Knuckles: Eek! *Runs for his life off screen*
S. Chensu: Someone's in a bad mood.
Luff: Only because you did that terrible thing to Yugi!
S. Chensu: Oh, that. Hmm, I can see why you'd be a bit mad.
Ash: *Suddenly appears* Will you be needing our services anymore Miss Chensu?
S. Chensu: No, that will be all you three.
Ash: We'll be going now then *They leave the screen*
S. Chensu: Just a note to say that I love that song; it's one of my favourites. It's also Shadow's theme song!
Shadow: Why did you have to make me sing?
S. Chensu: Because I'm in an evil mood!
Luff: This is getting boring now so it's probably best if you leave before you hit your head on the keyboard *Winces as reader slumps in front of computer*. Oops, too late.
S. Chensu: Please read and review, it means a lot to us.
Luff: Next author's note: Star Fox characters!