Luff: But she won't post them up until we've finished this one! We're going on Guide camp in about two weeks time so we have to get the rest of it up by then. Should be easy ...
S. Chensu: I wish. Luckily I have a day off tomorrow (Tuesday) so I'll try and get twenty-eight done then. Fortunately these ones are short so they can be typed up quickly!
Luff: Yeah, we haven't had time for any random author's notes but hopefully Chen can get that done tomorrow! That's a point; we're still accepting profiles so send them in!
S. Chensu: 00; Thanks for that...
Luff: Anyway, onto reviewer replies!
The anonymous peers- Thank you for your profiles, /Mai and Yugi/! By the way Yugi, your quotes are wrong but we know the ones you mean. Thanks for the birthday greetings!
The funk master- Thankies for the review and it's good to know that others go shopping in 'Random R Us' as well. Are the stocks doing well? And THANK YOU SO MUCH for putting us in your recommend to others! It has given us big grins of happiness! :D x2
RichaCo- Could you give us some riddles? We have one about a tree but that's it. They have to rhyme though! Thank you for the review and the identities of everyone will be revealed /very/ soon. Well in about five episodes' time!
Dragon Master Naya- Thank you for the profile, we will be using them soon! Yum yum, chocolate sauce. Not sure about rice pudding, that stuff always looks really lumpy. But good idea!
Streek471- Thanks for the character, he will be in here but he won't have a major part. Maybe he'll be a hostage or something... We will incorporate him though!
Nisus- Yay, long reviews are good! Thank you for the birthday greetings! I think Tails' rudeness is just a build up of emotions and little kids think saying rude words is funny so it's probably got something to do with that too. It's nice to think that we might be good authors who can pull the wool over everyone's eyes but probably not! We don't watch Angel, well we tried too but we always forgot because it was on late! But we have seen a lot of Buffy! Apart from we missed out two series so it was very confusing... Yeah, another British person! Why are there so few? ;; Thank you for the luck, Chen hopes they've gone ok.
Yasha-demon- It is thanks to you that we've finally got on with this! Thank you for reviewing, we know what you mean, it happens all the time with us! Sisters are cool, most of the time!
S. Chensu: So many reviewers! Thank you so very much! I have an enquiry to make to everyone, but I'll leave it for a few weeks...
Luff: ?? What is she talking about? Nevermind, we don't own anything, except for the stuff we own. Hmm...
Episode twenty-seven: Truth and factSonic and Shadow waited in silence, not able to think of much to say while Shaylea and Kensa were gone. By now they were fed up of waiting around for something to happen, they couldn't tell how much time had passed, it could have been days or minutes. They had counted all the bricks and stones that made up the room and playing 'I spy' soon became boring, as they were limited to stone, stone or more stone.
"Shadow, what if they've gone to kill them? Or what if we're taken away while they're gone?" Sonic asked, breaking the resting air molecules with his near screeching voice.
"Nothing will happen. It's like they said, they've gone to check on the others and they'll be back soon." Shadow replied calmly, not bothering to get himself worked up over Sonic's attitude.
"But they've been gone for ages!"
"It just feels like ages. Be patient, they will return, they have done before and they will now."
"But I'm not a patient person! How can you sit there with your arms crossed looking like it's perfectly normal for you to be chained into a cage?" Shadow opened his eyes and Sonic saw there was a glint of anger in them. Have I said something wrong? Shadow never usually shows any emotions and now...
"It was normal for me to be in a cage, a long time ago. I'm generations older than you; I know the meaning of the word patient. If you can't get the idea through your thick skull then I don't see the point in continuing with this."
"Why do you always treat me like I'm an idiot? Just because I haven't been around for as long as you, doesn't mean I'm not as good as you. I thought you had changed..." Sonic turned away, only to growl when he felt Shadow grab his arm, forcing him back round.
"I /have/ changed, it's you who's so high and mighty, you can't even see past your own nose! You're pathetic, the others are coming to find us and you can't even trust them to get to us! You don't think they can do anything on their own, you take the credit for everything!"
"Do I detect a little jealousy? That is what's pathetic, not me! You're just annoyed you didn't get any credit for the whole ARK thing."
Sonic's eyes shined, he knew he was right. He was therefore surprised when he felt something connect with his face: Shadow's fist. He stumbled backwards, hissing in pain and the bars dug into his back, causing him to move forward. He snarled at Shadow who stood above him, smirking at him and he launched himself at him, landing on top of him on the ground. They started to roll around, punching and kicking whenever they could, not noticing the door of the room opening.
"What the hell is going on here?" A voice yelled as they rushed towards the cages, eyes widening as they swung wildly from side to side. Soon they were standing in front of them, opening the door and pulling them apart. "What are you two doing?"
Sonic and Shadow looked away from each other and turned to Shaylea and Kensa, who looked both tired and bewildered at what was happening. Instantly they bit their lips and looked down at the ground, unable to hold their gazes.
"If we let go, will you try and kill each other again?" Kensa said ironically and getting no response, she relaxed her grip on Shadow and Shaylea did the same. "Right, now we're all sitting down, would you care to explain yourselves?"
"There is nothing to explain. He's being an idiot as usual." Shadow said, earning a glare from Sonic and a set of sighs from the two girls.
"Will you stop saying that?" Sonic shouted and leaned towards him. "Anyway, you were the one who punched me! Where's your theory about patience now?"
"Patience? What has that got to do with this?" Shaylea asked, looking from one to the other.
"Everything! He couldn't sit here and wait for you two so he started ranting and raging instead! Apparently it's all my fault..." Shadow said, not willing this had anything to do with him.
"Well to be honest, I don't particularly care whose fault it is. Just sort it out please, now is not the time to be having arguments. Especially as they give me a headache." Kensa grumbled, sinking down onto the risen ground, her head flopping forward slightly. "We've been going for hours..."
"But at least we found some stuff out." Shaylea said to reassure her friend. She hated seeing her depressed; Kensa was the only reason she survived in this place. When Kensa didn't respond, Shaylea put her arms around her and hugged her tightly. "Don't worry, it's going to be ok..."
"I know, I just feel so tired." She leant her head on Shaylea's shoulder and closed her eyes. "Tell me what it's going to be like..." It was obvious this had happened many times before but Shaylea still smiled, closing her eyes to get the image in front of her.
"We'll get out of here and then we're going to go travelling. First we'll go to London and see the clothes and the shows, the people dancing and singing on stage, full of excitement and life. Then we'll go around Europe, through the canals and food and sun and ruins and when we're bored we can go and see the wildlife in Africa, the grasslands and seas and deserts, glittering greens and yellows, heat shimmering off the surface and the bright colours of the people, blues and reds, dyed and woven together. And then Asia, the mountains rising above the sky, covered in snow and the spices in the markets, people talking to each other under the shade away from the glare of the day. And in Australia, we'll swim in the Great Barrier Reef and watch the fishes flicking past us, the coral changing as the water swirls around it. We'll finish in America, visiting the jungles before moving up to the cities, where the people live and we'll live amongst them, doing whatever we want to do..." She stopped talking and Kensa shifted slightly although her eyes remained closed.
"And then we can rest..." She whispered, a small smile appearing on her face.
"Then we can rest. No one will hassle us again and maybe we'll both be happy one day." Shaylea agreed and she fell into silence, waiting for Kensa to fall asleep.
Once she had done so, she laid her down gently on the ground and taking the blanket from the empty cage, placed it over her sleeping form. When this was done, she sighed softly, brushing the hair away from her face before turning back to Sonic and Shadow, smiling at them.
"I suppose you want to know about your friends?" She suddenly said, not seeing the surprised looks that Sonic and Shadow gave each other, only just realising what they were going through, or what had happened to them in the past.
"Shaylea, we never knew..." Shadow said, sounding ashamed. "We're so sorry for fighting when you and Kensa have been working so hard."
"It doesn't matter, as long as you realise what's happened." She replied, shrugging her shoulders. "We're used to it now but you aren't. That's why we've been working so hard. I told Kensa to have a break but she ignored me. Maybe it's because she's always the one protecting me, although I am the oldest."
"Have you been down here for that long now?" Sonic asked, curious at how she could seem so happy in the situation she was in.
"Yes...I don't remember much of before, I think they try and make you forget. But I'll know for sure one day." She laughed and smiled again. "So then about your friends..."
"You saw them?"
"Yes, they're nearby now. It won't be long before they arrive but there'll be time for a couple of things to do until you meet them." She started, stopping when she saw the look on Sonic's face.
"Are they all ok? Have they found each other yet?"
"They're ok, they're not perfect but they'll survive until they meet. They're still apart though, It has become aware of their presence and I don't think they were expected to last this long. They must be very strong, they do not realise what could have happened to them if they didn't believe in what they were looking for. You must all hold a strong bond..." She said quietly, looking at them with sympathy, making them feel only guiltier than before.
"You obviously don't know the truth then. We used to be enemies, fighting for what we believed was right." Shadow eventually said, sighing and leaning against the bars. "But then things changed and we pulled together."
"What happened?" Shaylea asked, her eyes wide with an innocence rarely seen in people.
So together Sonic and Shadow explained the ARK incident and when they were finished, Shaylea wondered how they had managed to save the world after everything they had done to each other and how this new relationship had survived this long. But then she remembered Rouge and Knuckles and what they had between them, although things were different now.
"Wow, you've been through so much but still you're together. You must have dedicated friends, ignoring what else has happened in order to find you again. They will survive, I know it." She stopped and looked down at Kensa, suddenly remembering she was there. "I'll be back in a few minutes, I'll just put Kensa into bed and get some food for you."
"Thank you Shaylea."
"No problem, we have to keep going when things like this happens." She stood up and holding her hands in front of her, palm downwards, made Kensa float into the air and down into the darkness.
Soon she was back, looking more refreshed as she carried a tray of food and drink for the prisoners. She set it down in front of them and watched as they ate, hunger evident in their features. Suddenly they stopped though and looked up at her nervously.
"Don't you want anything Shaylea?"
"No, I'm not that hungry at the moment and anyway, I can just make myself something later on. Now eat, don't worry about me." They did as she said hesitantly and eventually had had their fill. She put the tray to the side so she could talk to them better.
"Do you know when they will take us?" Sonic asked and Shaylea frowned, thinking about how to word her answer.
"It will be soon. I think they're waiting for your friends, obviously they're playing with them and seeing how much they can go through before It strikes." She eventually settled on, not sure if there was a better way of putting it while still telling the truth.
"Do you know what It is?"
"The boss of this place, do you remember us telling you about it before?" They nodded their heads and she sighed. "I would tell you all I could about it if I knew anything. We've never seen It, apparently Gregg has but he's never mentioned it. We asked him once but he ignored us, maybe he doesn't want to open up old wounds."
"But I thought you said that you had tried to rebel before but were struck down?"
"We have but obviously we're not considered that important as we were dealt with by the flunkies and that's it." She paused and rubbed her arm. "But it still hurt..."
"Are there other prisoners here?" Shadow suddenly said, trying to get her mind off what had happened.
"Yes but I rarely see them, probably in case we club together and revolt. Not that many people here have the courage to do that anymore. The only reason Gregg helps us is because he has hope, he's been here too long, he stopped caring for so long but suddenly he wanted to do something again. That was not long after we arrived, we were both scared and he helped us out, as much as he could." She looked around and frowned. "Hey, where is Gregg anyway?"
"We don't know. He came in here to open our cages, don't know why though." Shadow explained and Shaylea raised an eyebrow.
"Oh well, nevermind. He does odd things like that sometimes, when he's busy thinking." She shrugged her shoulders and smiled in reassurance. "Well I had better go now, I think it's time I showed you something."
"What?"
"Oh you'll find out as soon as I can bring it here. You might have to wait a while though, I need to go and get some sleep." She yawned loudly and then laughed. "Sorry about that."
"Don't worry about it. Go and do what you have to do, we'll be waiting here for you." Sonic said cheerfully.
"Not like we can do anything else..." Shadow muttered and Shaylea laughed again.
"Good night Sonic and Shadow..."
"Is it night time then?"
"I don't know to be honest, but it always seems to be night time here..." She looked around once before leaving the two hedgehogs, who watched her disappear with sadness. Now they were alone, again...
S. Chensu: Short but at least it's done. Now we're back into the swing of things after such a long break, the others will be up quicker. Especially since I have a day off tomorrow and I finish school on Friday.
Luff: It's all right for some! I've got four days left of work experience left and then back to school until Wednesday.
S. Chensu: Hehe! Anyway, please review and yet again we're sorry for taking so long.