Authoress' note: Sorry people! I had a little hellish Writer's Block! I hope you all forgive me for the fact that I jumped not one, but two times the update of this fic. I promised myself that I would follow the little scheme but I couldn't keep it up.
Anyway, I'm finally rewriting the first four chapters, and the first one will be posted at the same time as this. So I suggest that you go and read it!
Arken Elf: You really think that's one of the best? And that I thought that it wasn't because of my little Writer's Block Thanks again!
RichaCo: That's what I exactly wanted to do with that chapter, makes
the others wonder with so many questions.
- For Chaos I only tell you that he will have a hard time.
- 'S-01' you say? *Open the top secret folder* Umm S-01 S-01
*start reading* Oh yeah! *Close the folder* You will probably find that answer
in this chapter.
- For Knuckles and Rouge I have a little plan that's coming in my mind right
now *Laughs darkly*
- For the update soon thing well, I really, really appreciate that you
long for the next chapter so much, and I will do my best to keep the updates
near each other.
HEY! I need reviews! You all knows that they keep me going better and they shorten the time distance between one and another chapter. So people, support me with your comments!
Anyway, I'm babbling too much now, so here the next chappy!
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CHAPTER NINE
Make Thy Path Through Deep Dangers
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It was a sunny morning in the neutral chao garden; a man stepped into it with three chao in his arms "Here we go. You're home now." He said lowering the three on the ground. He stood up and walked away, but was stopped short as the dark chao called for him. The sergeant turned around and saw the three bows politely; he smiled and stroked their head "Nothing." He said raising and leaving the garden. He had a last mission to do; he had to report to the president about GUN's intention.
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Even if the sun was not at its peak, it was already hot, and Shadow didn't say a word so far. He was too busy in not collapsing right there; his black fur was capturing more heat than the blue one of his friend. Sonic, upon seeing that his friend had more labored breathings than him, decided to look for some repair where the heat would be lesser. He stopped, surveying the surrounding area for a piece of shade; he sighed as he saw nothing 'If this goes on we'll be roasted hedgehogs for the few insect that lives here.'
Shadow was feeling tired; too tired to even stay awake. He closed his eyes and let a soft groan escape his lips when he felt himself swaying on the spot; he would have fell on the ground if it wasn't for two hands that promptly clasped his shoulders, stabilizing him. He opened his eyes to see Sonic looking at him with concern in his eyes "I'm fine Sonic." He managed to say. The blue hedgehog raised an eyebrow and was going to say something when his ears moved, picking up a rumor.
Still not releasing Shadow's shoulders, Sonic looked around. There was nothing besides the rocks; yet he could clearly hear a faint noise that was not natural 'They're stalking us. I can't see them, but I can hear them they forgot that we have a better hearing than humans do.' He looked at his friend. The ebony hedgehog nodded; he knew that there was something wrong only looking at Sonic's eyes. The blue hero released his black friend and started walking in silence with Shadow behind him.
A few minutes of walking passed and the noise increased 'They're preparing for attack. And I don't know if we can repel it.' Sonic thought hearing the intensification of the movements. He observed the surroundings; they were in an open territory, a bad place to get attacked. Then, like if it wasn't enough for them to have robots following them, a far away cry reached their ears. Stopping for a moment he looked at Shadow, who was nervously looking around "It's her." He muttered.
It was still; too still for them. Their hearts started pounding fast into their chests, preparing for the worst, and their senses were put into full alert for the littlest sign of danger. The annoying hum of the flying robots was the only noise around. Few moments passed, although for the two hedgehogs were like an eternity, and all hell broke lose. A crackling noise preceded an explosion that took place only a few yards from them; from the shock of it the robots unveiled themselves "GUN has given the concealing shield even to the other robots" Shadow muttered eyeing the big squadron of Hunters and Gun Hawks that immediately surrounded them.
"No time to wonder, Shadow. We have to get out of here at once!" Sonic took an offensive stance; his ears perked up as he heard another crackling sound "Duck!" He exclaimed throwing himself on the ground. The explosion was big enough to take out almost a third of the enemy squadron; glancing around he saw that his black friend was covering his head from the falling debris "And what next?" He asked.
As if on clue the earth started to shake; the two looked at each other briefly and stood up. They started to run as fast as their tired legs could carry them; unfortunately it wasn't enough and the ground under their feet gave in. The hedgehogs fell, letting out yells that echoed in the darkness.
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The general looked out of the window of his office located on Red Island "Lost?" "Yes, sir. Our ambush was ruined by umm 'something' and the ground collapsed. They're probably dead by now." A soldier said. The general thought for a moment "What are the orders, sir?" "Send a new squad of robots and one of the second unit and dig out the bodies." "Yes sir." The soldier said saluting and exiting the room.
The man turned around and looked at the papers on the desk; one of them was labeled ULF-Project 'They could be still alive. At least one of them. He was supposed to become a top-secret military weapon, thus he can't be killed so easily.'
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A rock clattered down the hole as something involuntarily pushed it; her long neck lowered in the forty feet deep pit and a growl of frustration left her throat as she felt that they were still alive but unattainable. A distant sound caught her attention and she raised her head out of the hole; it was an artificial noise.
She growled again; the humans were coming fast. They absolutely didn't have to see that she was still alive or else her plans would be spoiled; now she was free of her initial program and this gave her the liberty to think and to choose what to do. And she had many plans going into her mind.
She glanced back into the pit; for the moment her plan about the hedgehogs would have to wait. She let out something that would have been a sigh and disappeared in a white light. For the moment she would have to rest and recover with the aid of the purple Chaos Emerald on her home; on Ark.
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The first thing that he knew was that he was somewhere cold and damp; he could hear soft breathings near him "Sonic?" No response 'Must be unconscious.' He sighed and let the darkness take over him again.
~~~~~~~~~~
He was lying on a metal table, securely strapped to it by leather belts. He
opened his eyes and faced three shrouded figures; his vision was badly blurred,
but he managed to recognize one of them 'Professor Gerald.' He thought blinking
a few times to focus his vision.
"Result?" Gerald asked "Like the first specimen." Another responded "Then why in battle he fall first?" The first asked looking at Gerald, who shrugged helplessly "I think it's because S-01 is more strong willed." He sighed and looked at the hedgehog "You know, they will not like this. They'll probably force me to dispose of this specimen in favor of the first. And he will not like it." "You mean S-01?" A third person asked; the professor sighed "Yeah."
The black hedgehog tried to talk, but he only managed to emit an incomprehensible series of words; his mouth wasn't working in tune with his mind "He's coming around faster than we expected." One said looking down "Give him another dose of sedative." The other said. Shadow felt a needle in his arm and grunted. After a bunch of seconds the drug started to slowly take its effect on his body and he stopped struggling; he sighed and closed his eyes. Still, he could clearly hear the scientists talking about the consequences of his disposal upon this S-01 guy.
The door suddenly hissed and someone entered "Professor! We lost S-01!" He said "How? He was locked in an empty room!" "I know. But he managed to squirm his way out through the air ducts." "Then what are you doing still here?" Gerald asked angrily "Go and look for him with the sedative guns!" "But" "GO!" He yelled. The black hedgehog could hear the men leave, everyone but Gerald.
"I know that he'll be here shortly for you and I want to know what he has in mind" He said to the unmoving hedgehog; soon enough something metallic clattered on the ground. He tried to open his eyes to see who it was but his eyelids were too heavy; he felt his straps being untied by someone "Shadow!" A young male voice exclaimed.
His grasp on consciousness slipped and the last thing that he heard was the
young male call for him again "Shadow?" This time it was another voice
that called his name, and was a familiar one.
~~~~~~~~~~
Shadow suddenly sat upright, knocking who was calling him; he looked around. Pure darkness. Someone groaned audibly "Sonic?" He called not knowing where the other landed "Right in front of you." The blue hedgehog responded "Made a bad dream?" He asked after a few seconds of silence. Shadow thought for some moments "Sort of I think that I recalled a memory of my past." There was a long pause before Sonic spoke again "Good for you."
Shadow looked in the direction from where the other's voice came; he said it with his normal tone but in it he heard a little of sarcastic and envy "Sonic?" "Hm?" "What's bugging you?" "Nothing." "No Sonic. There's something bugging you. I can hear it from the tone of your voice. It was slightly different than your usual one."
This time the pause lasted for more than a bunch of seconds; then there was a deep sigh "I envy you, Shadow! I damn envy you!" "Why?" The black hedgehog was confused 'Why would he envy me? He has everything!' "I" Sonic started, earning his double's attention "I knew that this would come out sooner or later," A sad chuckle "But I would never imagine that it would come out with you"
"Who am I, you ask? Well, here's my answer. I don't know!" Shadow stared in the darkness as Sonic continued "Five years ago I woke up in a field, I was covered in cuts and bruises and the only thing that I could remember was my name." He paused and bit his lip, though the other hedgehog couldn't see that "I was alone, Shadow. I passed a year fighting for my own survival in a world that I didn't even know. I instantly started traveling trying to find my family or someone that could recognize me, but I never found one. As the days passed, I particularly didn't mind that situation. I was free, and I really liked that."
He paused again to calm down; it was always a pain when he remembered his first two years on the world "But the lack of a family, or at least of a real friend to talk to, was starting to get to me. After a year of unfruitful travels I returned to the island I first woke up in hope to find something that could tell me who I was, but the only thing that I found was Eggman; he was in search of the Chaos Emeralds, and I decided to stop him. After that, I became famous." He stopped and Shadow heard a sniffle "Still I was alone. Until a year later when in one of my travels I meet Tails, who became the family I never had." His voice was broken and quivered.
The black hedgehog lowered his head 'Only now I understand that I am lucky. Even if fifty years ago I lost everything, I still have my memory. I know who I am, from where I come, but he?' He looked up as he heard the other hedgehog raise to his feet and search for something on his person 'Never would I imagine that under that happy go lucky personality there would be such sadness.' "Sonic, I" "No Shadow, don't feel sorry for me. Never ever do that!" A little pause to take a breath "Don't ever look at me with those compassionate eyes!"
There was a sudden flash and the cavern lit up with a very soft light; there were little crystals, some big like a fist, all over the place that were reflecting the light that came from a little torch that was in Sonic's right hand. Shadow was momentarily distracted by the beauty of the scenery, until another sniffle brought him back; walking up to him he put a hand on the other hedgehog's left shoulder and turned him around.
He was slightly taken aback and for some strange reasons he knew that he was the only one that ever saw Sonic crying; the blue hedgehog lowered his head and started chuckling in a strange way. He brought his left hand over his eyes and chuckled more intensely; Shadow looked at him strangely, but his eyes softened as he saw that the tears increased in numbers.
The chuckle died to let the sobs take place "Why can't I stop?" He asked sobbing quietly; he looked up to see the soft stare of his friend "How" Another sob "Did you managed to make me talk?" Shadow didn't answer and let the blue hedgehog unburden freely. He lowered his head again and tried to suppress the crying; after a few moments he slowly collapsed on the ground "God I-I am such a fool crying for something that's in the past"
The black hedgehog kneeled and put a hand on the blue one's shoulder "Sonic, crying don't means that you're a fool. Everyone sometimes cry." He put up a light smile "Hell I cried too. And more than one time." Sonic quivered and sniffled again "I'm such a fool" He muttered closing his eyes and letting the tears fall. Shadow smiled again and friendly hugged his double patting him on his back; he felt the other hedgehog finally give in to the simple urge to cry openly. After he finally calmed down he released him and placed a hand on his shoulder "C'mon Sonic, we better get going before they discover that we are still alive."
Sonic smiled and stood up; he wiped the last tears away "You know, Shadow? I feel better than before." He turned "Having finally talked with someone about this lifted a great weight from my heart." He paused "I thank you for this, but can it be keep between us?" The black hedgehog stood up "Sure thing, Sonic." "Promise?" "Promise."
Sonic turned off the torch and clasped it back on his right wrist "Tell me a thing" He pointed the bracelet-like torch "Where that comes from?" The blue one smiled and shoed it back into the folds of his glove "From here. I always take it with me and it really comes in handy. Tails made it especially for me."
Shadow looked at the cavern's crystals "Say are these Light Crystals? I saw a little piece once, they told me that it was something alive and rare." "If I'm corrected the crystal is only the product of a bacteria. It's something like the bees and their hives." The black hedgehog hummed "I hope that the GUN will not ruin this beauty." "Don't worry. They were proclaimed protected some years ago so GUN can't sell it." Shadow looked at him strangely "And how do you know it? You're not the type to follow documentary or something regarding the scientific field." "Tails explained me when we heard the news."
Sonic surveyed the cavern; there was a crack right over their heads. They probably fell from there "Hey Shadow. How much underground do you think we are?" He asked pointing the crack. Shadow looked up "Well I'm not sure. We could be several feet down or more." The blue hedgehog sighed "At least GUN will be off from us for quite a while." The ebony one hummed in agreement. Sonic looked at the walls and saw an opening big enough for them to walk through; it was on the far end of the cave "I guess that's our only choice" He said walking to it. Shadow followed, but he let his mind wander 'Who's S-01? I already recalled every memory of my past when I remembered my true promise to Maria, but the ones regarding this S-01 seems to be blocked'
The two walked into the natural tunnel in silence with the blue hedgehog in the lead; Shadow looked at a span sized crystal at his right and for a second he thought that he saw a face, but it left his mind too soon to be able to understand who it belonged to. The ebony hedgehog backtracked to the time when he was in the capsule in the GUN's lab and he remembered when Gerald called him with the S-02 acronym.
'If I was called that then this S-01 was surely someone that came before me that means that I had' The sudden realization made him stop and talk out loud "A brother" And probably the face that he thought to have seen in the crystals was of this S-01. Sonic stopped as he heard the other talk; he turned around and saw that Shadow was looking at him deep in thought. He raised an eyebrow "What?" His companion snapped out of it for a second then he resumed his thinking.
The ebony hedgehog looked at his blue doppelganger and that specific idea got stronger 'I know that back then I was sure that someone survived. Now, that someone was probably this S-01, my brother' He shifted a little in his position, his eyes still on the hedgehog in front of him 'What if he got a family?' Now he knew it; he knew who Sonic was 'Everything fits perfectly. His strength, his speed, his abilities and his look Now I'm sure of it. Sonic is the descendant of my brother.'
"Shadow, what's up?" The black hedgehog snapped out of his thinking and pondered what he should do 'No this is not the right time to tell him' "Nothing important. Really." "If you say so" Sonic said turning and resuming the walk; he knew that Shadow had something in his head, and it regarded him in some ways 'I'm sorry, Sonic. But if I tell you, you will probably not believe me.' He balled his hands into fists 'But I promise you that when the right time comes I will tell you everything.' And he resumed waking behind the blue hedgehog.
After ten minutes or so of walking they came out into another cavern; it was smaller than the first one and contained a fifty deep pool of water. Sonic walked on the edge and looked down; on the bottom, hidden by the mud, he could see a brick surface. There were also some statues representing a strange beast; it was a hedgehog with upward quills like him, but it had wings and a long and thin tail. Its hands and feet were armed with sharp talons; its muzzle was one inch long with a very short nose. The mouth was open, showing its long razor sharp teeth and its body was crouched, like it was going to launch itself on a prey. The wings had only a line of long and sharp feathers that resembled a blade; the last five were bent and positioned like a hand.
There was also an underwater hallway "I'm getting really tired of water" Sonic muttered sitting cross-legged and watching the bottom; he sighed and flopped down on his back. Shadow looked around the cave "Maybe there's another way out" The cavern was bare of exits "Or maybe not" He concluded sitting on the cold surface.
"Then that's it. We have to go down there." "Uhhh Sonic?" The blue hedgehog looked at him; Shadow seemed a little embarrassed "What?" "You'll probably don't believe me but I don't know how to swim." Sonic's eyes widened in shock and he stared at him for a second before sitting up "Then I guess that you will earn it today." It was Shadow's turn to widen his eyes "Wait! You're gonna drag me in?!" Sonic stood up and stretched "Only if you don't want to come." Shadow gulped "You're kidding me, right?" The blue hedgehog shook his head and looked in the other's ruby eyes "No."
Shadow stood up and sighed "Then I guess I have no other choice" He kneeled on the edge and put a hand in it; the water was shockingly cold. He stood up again and hesitated 'I can't do it' "Yes you can." He turned around too see that Sonic was behind him with a reassuring smile "Don't tell me you read me again, am I right?"
Sonic changed the smile into a grin "Yes, and you want to know? There's a less painful way to do it." Shadow raised an eyebrow "And that is?" "This!" The other exclaimed as he showed his friend into the pool; the black hedgehog started to reel into the water, until he disappeared under the surface. Sonic shook his head and head dived in with a graceful motion.
The water was tinted green and there were much less crystals; everything was covered by kelps and the statues were badly ruined by the water. Shadow looked up to see the faint figure of Sonic approach him at a high velocity; he was swimming like a dolphin would do and he seemed to be good at it. The blue hedgehog extended a hand and gripped his arm; he turned around and swam up. When the two broke the surface near the edge Shadow quickly gripped it "Next time warn me" He said coughing to get rid of the small amount of water that nearly reached his lungs "If I told you then you would have avoided my shove." The black hedgehog looked at him "Exactly." He responded almost flatly.
A few moment of silence passed between them, then they started to chuckle; soon the chuckle transformed into a full-blown laugh "You you should have seen your face right before I shoved you in!" A pause to take a deep breath "Total shock!" And he resumed his laughs. The black hedgehog tried to suppress his laughs, but ended only with the opposite effect.
Shadow didn't exactly know why he was laughing like this; a few days ago he was a cold hearted person, and now he was literally choking with his own laughers. He knew Sonic only by a few days, but he was the only person that he knew most; it was strange, but he felt like he knew him by much more time than those few days. Maybe it was because Sonic had a very bright and open personality. He showed his thoughts aside and let the laughs fully take over him; he didn't care about why he felt that way, he just cared about the fact that now he had a friend that managed to revive his heart with no apparent effort.
Finally the two managed to stop "You know Sonic? I never laughed so hard in my life." The other yawned "I think that if you stick with me then you can laugh like this more often." Shadow chuckled "Well, you seems to attract not only problems, but also funny situations like me being bundled up into that parachute it took me a good half a hour to get out of that." "Well, you have to thank me for helping you out" "But if you just kept laughing for the entire operation!" "Look that you laughed for the first fifteen minutes too!" "I was laughing because you were laughing, and the faces that you involuntary put up when you tried to suppress the laughs were too funny!"
Sonic chuckled again and put his hands up "Ok, ok! I admit that! But it was too funny to see you like that! Too bad that I hadn't a camera I wanted so badly to take a picture" He said swimming away from the border. Shadow looked at him and sighed "I guess that now we have to go." Sonic nodded and swam back to him, giving him his back "I'll carry you since I am a better swimmer than you." Shadow nodded and put his arms around the blue one.
Sonic swam near the vertical of the underwater path and prepared to take a deep breath "Make thy path through deep dangers." He whispered "What?" "Nothing. Are you ready?" He felt a nod "Ok, on three." After the word three was spoken the two took huge breath and went underwater.
Shadow noted that Sonic started swimming alternating his feet, then, when he picked up enough speed, he switched to the dolphin style that he saw before; with that the speed increased more. Sonic leveled his swim course to be parallel to the ground and entered in the hallway; pitch dark. He stopped and quickly took out the little torch. He switched it on and was grateful that whoever built this embed the crystal into a line on the ceiling so it could illuminate it. The blue hedgehog put away the torch again as he saw that the crystals 'fed' each other thus making the entire hallway enlightened.
The two traveled forward until the blue hedgehog stopped; in front of him there were three ways and only one of them was the right one. Sonic decided to take the one at his front and resumed swimming; he dearly hoped that there would be air soon or they would drown. Looking ahead he saw that the corridor was going upwards and that at the end there was a pool of air; with a hint of a smile he increased his speed again and soon their heads broke the water surface.
The two panted for a few moments to regain their breaths, and when they were done they looked around. They where into a little room that resembled a office of some sort; it was a mess, but everything was well preserved "Where the hell are we?" Shadow asked as he eyed the room. Sonic shook his head "Who knows." He swam forwards and put down his feet as he felt that the water got shallow; the black hedgehog unlatched his arms from the other's neck and followed him "But maybe we can find something that can tell were we are and were to go."
Shadow nodded and went to a shelf filled with books meanwhile Sonic went to the desk with a stock of papers on it; the two started searching, being very carefully in the way they touched something. After some minutes of silence the blue hedgehog lay a folded piece of cloth on the desk; he opened it and stared deep in though. No wonder that someone here conserved and used a map; it was a maze. The black hedgehog put a book back on the shelf and looked at his companion.
Seeing that the other was staring at something he walked over him "Found something that may help us?" He inquired as he saw the ancient piece of material "Yes." Shadow pointed out a writing on the top edge "I do not recall any type of language like that." Sonic squeezed his eyes a little "I think that it say 'Map of Lauren Shrine'."
Shadow raised an eyebrow "Kinda complicated to be a shrine, uh?" Sonic sighed heavily and nearly banged his head on the desk in frustration "Out of all places we had to end up in a ancient shrine? And an underwater one too! ARGH!" He threw his arms up and walked to the shelf. The black hedgehog glanced at the map; it was subdivided in three parts, and every floor was something that went near a maze "Why? Why they couldn't build this thing like a normal palace? But nooo they had to build a maze!" He looked up to see that Sonic was gesticulating in the air; he guessed that the blue hedgehog was just letting out all the frustration.
Shadow smiled, shook his head and returned his attention back to the map; he knew that Sonic was just tired of all of what was going on. He was tired too, but the blue hedgehog had been through more than him; his problems started only after the fall, but the other's started when he was released. On the map there were more of the markings that Sonic had read; they seemed to be the names of the rooms. Looking better he noticed that they were familiar to him "Hey Sonic, what type of language is this?" The blue hero turned around "The common language used four, maybe five thousands years ago. Few people can read it correctly and without a vocabulary." "Wait a second! You're telling me that you can read this stuff?" "Yes." Shadow's eyes widened in shock for a fraction of a second "Let me guess. You know it, but you don't know who teach it to you."
Sonic sighed and walked to the desk "Yeah." He saw the other hedgehog point a symbol "They are very familiar to me, but I have difficulties remembering what they exactly means." "That is read as 'ro'." As Sonic spoke he remembered something else; it was just a brief flash, but he saw a book filled with those symbols on a table in front of him. He rubbed his eyes a little 'Why the hell they would teach me this language?'
"So you can read it too?" He looked up to see that Sonic was reading the map "It's still blurry, but I'm starting to remember how to read it." The blue one chuckled "Here's another thing in common" A pause "You know Shadow? I never wondered so much who I am like I'm doing now. And it's your presence that sparkled the curiosity that I denied for so many years." He looked up and smiled "But this is not the right time to wonder about my past. We have to get out of here alive what good it would be if I discovered who I am and then die here?"
The more he knew him and the more his conviction about Sonic's origin got stronger; every little particular that he showed him, even the fact that he knew that language, brought him back to his brother. He was also tempted to tell him, but the blue hedgehog was right; it was not the right time to talk.
A realization suddenly hit him "How are we gonna take it underwater?" There was silence for a few seconds as the blue one thought "I really don't know" He said looking around for something that may help them; nothing useful seemed to be there. He looked at the map closely 'Maybe' He rubbed a wet glove over some letters; they didn't disappear "Blessed who made this map waterproofed." A pause "Now where are we?"
It took them more than five minutes to figure out where they were on the map; it was a little room collocated on the ground floor, near the entrance where they first came from. Shadow pointed the section that was in the back from the entrance "Isn't this a sort of back exit?" Sonic looked at it "Yes, and I hope that we can reach it without any more troubles" He memorized the fastest course and rolled the map; he walked to the water and looked at it "I also hope that the path is free from obstacles"
He turned around and looked at his black friend that was slowly advancing "How much can you hold your breath?" Shadow shrugged "I really don't know when we arrived here my lungs were just fine." The blue hedgehog nodded "If you start to feel them burning let me know." A nod and he slowly walked into the water; the coldness of it made a great impact on him, but he managed to suppress the urge to go back. He turned around and smiled "Are you coming?"
The two submerged and Sonic started swimming; they reached the crossing and turned right as the map had told them. A long hallway was covered in few seconds and they turned right again; the blue hedgehog stopped as he saw a room with a pool of air. He entered in the chamber and swam to the ceiling; their heads slowly poked out of the water. It was only three feet high "Do you know where we are, right?" Sonic nodded and unrolled the map; he pointed a room in the middle of an hallway "A few more turns and we should reach the back exit."
Shadow nodded "Are you scared that I could get lost in here?" He asked rolling again the map "No, just making sure if you really know where you are going. You know you have my life on your shoulders" The blue hedgehog chuckled "Don't worry! Ol' Blue here knows always what he's doing." He said cheerfully. The ebony one smiled and sighed at the same time "Ok, but if I die here you're gonna pay." Sonic hummed "Ok, but I'm not afraid of ghost." Shadow put the most serious face he could get "You'll be." He said darkly. There was a pause of silence and the two started chuckling "You know, it's absurd how you can transform everything into funny things" The other shrugged "I guess that's a natural talent." Another pause "On three."
The two submerged again and traveled the last part of the hallway; they turned and had to stop as the next corridor was filled with rocky girders and marble columns all over the place. Sonic looked at the way in front of him; it was dark because the crystal line on the ceiling was no more there to light the place; after a quick decision he turned around and swam back to the previous room "Can you stay here meanwhile I look if there is a safe way in that maze." Shadow nodded "I guess that now I can manage to stay afloat." He said as he released his hold on the other's neck; he swam a little awkwardly, but he managed to effectively stay afloat. He took the map that Sonic handed him and watched as he dived again; he prayed silently that everything would go ok.
Sonic swam back to the girder labyrinth and started to make his way through it with the aid of his little torch; he was extra careful as he guessed that was only a wonder if the entire place was standing up. A wrong move and he would die; the hedgehog reached the premature end of the hallway. He turned around slowly and bumped a near column; his heart froze as he saw the entire place start to shake. He started to swim and reached top speed in few seconds; he avoided every type of obstacles, including falling rocks, and nearly reached the end of the maze when he saw the entire ceiling in front of him collapse. His eyes widened and his heart froze again.
Shadow had felt the entire place rumble and now he was swimming back and forth with a very preoccupied expression on his face; he shook his head to free his mind from the bad thoughts that were now swarming in it 'No. Sonic is fine.' He turned around 'But what if' He stopped and closed his eyes 'No Shadow. He's still alive.' He knew that the other was still alive; he didn't know why he was so sure of that. Still in a little part of his mind he was scared to be wrong; he didn't want to lose a friend again.
His eyes opened as he heard someone break the water surface and take a huge breath of air "That was close!" He panted. Shadow sighed relieved and swam in front of him "What happened?" "I got nearly squashed by the ceiling, but I managed to swam away before it collapsed on me" The black hedgehog looked down "So we're stuck in here?" Sonic sighed "There was no way out of that" He said defeated "C'mon. We should go back to that room and rest a little before deciding what to do" The other hedgehog nodded discouraged and latched again his arms around the other's neck; he took a deep breath and the two dived under again.
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A watery hand burst out from the metal debris of the crumpled base; he managed to survive by concentrating his entire energy and the one took from the emerald to create a barrier strong enough to resist the explosion. After that he barely had the energy to keep his body from falling apart; he had to rest for hours just to recuperate enough energy to move.
Chaos slowly lifted the metal slab that prevented him to come out of the hole he was trapped in; changing form was out of the question for the moment. To do it he needed energy that he didn't have; with a powerful swing the slab heavily fell on the side. The beast climbed out and looked around; it was midday by now and he was in a crater where the base once was. There were still little flames that came out from certain parts of the rubbles.
He slowly made his way out of the filled crater and looked around again; the explosion was so terrible that the debris were sent over a hundred yard radius. Amongst them there were that stupid bipedal robots and those flying ones.
A stomping noise caught his unseen ears and he turned; there was a big mech that walked out from somewhere and pointed its guns at him. Chaos' eyes narrowed in an angered fashion; the human dared to fight him, and he was going to give him the lesson of his life. Never mess up with Chaos.
The machine shoot a missile and he avoided it with no problem; he ran under the legs and with a well placed uppercut he hit the belly of the mechanical monster. The metal dented slightly; he was still weak and it would take him more than two hits to reach the inside. The water beast ran from under it to avoid to be stomped and circled it so he was at its back; the mech was slow to turn around and to avoid a punch brought on the glass cockpit.
The man in the Hot Shot started to doubt about the safety of his own life and decided to use the heavy artillery; two panels on the torso slid open to reveal a highly destructive machinegun. Chaos saw the changing and decided to run for another hit; when he was under the belly he scored another one. The dent was deeper and he calculated that other two or three hits would break the armor.
Chaos ran from under it and hid behind a piece of concrete to avoid the rain of bullets that came from his enemy; he looked around and saw a safe path that led behind the machine. He silently ran and when he finally reached the end he ran again under it and hit again; he felt the mech tremble and he hid again. If this kept going then he would have no problems at all.
He was crestfallen when he saw the mech fold its legs and take flight over the metallic ruins of the base; his eyes narrowed as he saw that the pilot saw him. Chaos ran to avoid another bullet rain and eyed a piece of something that gave him a good idea.
The water beast ran past by it, the Hot Shot hot in his heels, stopped suddenly and ran towards it; his timing was perfect as he used the raised piece of concrete like a springboard to hit again the mech's belly. The hit saw powerful enough to stall the engines; the mech flopped heavily on the ground creating a small earthquake.
Chaos stood in front of the mech and looked at the puny man was trying to make work again the engines; he walked to the cockpit and hit it causing a nice big crack on the bulletproof glass. He was going to hit again, but he had to jump out of the way as the machineguns started to fire; he ran behind it and watched as the machine lifted from the ground. Chaos would have smiled if he had a mouth as he saw the golden opportunity for another hit; not wanting to waste it he ran again under it and used all of his strength to hit. He felt the metal tear apart as his watery hand connected with it; he continued the dive and destroyed whatever was in it.
Chaos ran away as the machine finally fell for the last time; he walked back at the cockpit and with another hit he broke the glass. Taking a hold of the little dome he tore it away from its place and launched it behind his back.
Chaos watched as the man looked at him with terrified eyes "P-please d-don't k-k-kill me!" He stammered. The water creature narrowed his eyes a little and stared at him; this man was not evil, but yet, why he attacked him? The answer came from the machine "Soldier! What's the status of your task?" A few seconds of silence "Soldier! Answer my question!"
Chaos remembered that it was the same voice that he heard in the base when the order to capture the hedgehogs came from strange things on the walls; he looked at the source and destroyed it, then he looked back at the man "He commanded me I have no power to disobey him if I do he can accuse me of betrayal! And in the military the betrayal can be punished with death!"
Chaos stood up without looking away from the eyes of the man; he was telling the truth. He tilted his head and walked away "W-wait!" He turned his head to see that the man was slowly leaving the cockpit "I heard that you are trying to find Sonic and Shadow." He climbed out and stood immobile watching the beast. Chaos fully turned and nodded.
"They stole a plane and went that way. It's all that I know and can do to help you." He paused "Are you planning to help them? They need all the help they can get our general will not stop in front of anything to get them back." Chaos nodded and turned to walk away "Thanks for having spared my life and good luck!" He heard him say.
Chaos walked on the rocky desert as he followed the direction told by the man; it was little, but it was better than nothing. He knew that Sonic and Shadow, the black hedgehog that was almost a prefect copy of the blue one, were pretty far away, but he wasn't going to give up that easily. He needed to know the answers to many questions; like who Shadow is and why he has the same look and abilities of Sonic.
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"The train will depart in a hour." Rouge said while consulting a board "Then I'm going to call Tails. We should tell him in what type of mess we are. And if Sonic and Shadow are there too they could just run here and help us." The white bat turned to face her red companion "Good idea Knuckles!" She said smiling softly. The echidna froze "Ah um yeah... thanks" He muttered as he saw the female walk slowly towards him; he raised his left hand and pointed to the right "I I better go now" And he sprinted away towards the nearest phone.
Rouge chuckled a bit and turned, only to find the echidna in front of her "I forgot that I have no money" He said shyly. The bat's smile widened as she saw the little blush on his cheeks "Here." She said pulling a few coins out of a pocked on her suit "That's all I have." "Thanks!" He said running away again 'He's so cute when he blush.'
The female spy sat on a table and called for a waiter; when the man came she ordered a cup of coffee. She put the folder on her lap and for more protection she put her left hand on it; she used the other for a support for her head. Looking around she saw that Knuckles was waiting patiently near a phone box; the public device was occupied by a big woman that was wearing too visibly.
Rouge coffee was brought at her table and she started to sip it; looking at Knuckles' direction again she suppressed the urge to yell at the woman to just end the conversation and give the echidna the receiver. The bat sighed and glanced down at the folder 'I wonder how many secret GUN has?' She sipped again her drink and looked up at the echidna; the sight made her inhale the coffee and cough for her dear life.
After she calmed down she looked again; the woman was still at the phone and Knuckles was sitting cross legged near it with his eyes closed waiting patiently for her to end. After another ten minutes the woman's call ended and left the device; she saw the echidna got up from the ground and put the coins into it.
'Finally!' He thought as he dialed the number of Tails phone; after a few moment a feminine voice responded "Yes?" "Amy, is that you?" "Yes, who's there?" "Knuckles." "Oh, hi Knuckles! How are you?" "Fine, is Tails there? It's urgent." There was a faint call for the vulpine and after a few seconds a young male voice greeted the echidna's ears.
"What's the hurry, Knuckles?" "We're in hot waters, Tails!" He paused and looked at Rouge to make sure she was ok "Keep an eye open for GUN." A hum from the fox "What happened? We cleared the mistake about Sonic" "No, it's not about that. Rouge has found something that GUN wants to keep secret, and regards Shadow. Is he there?" "No, I lost contact with him and Sonic two days ago."
The echidna winced knowing that the two hedgehogs were probably deep in troubles "Listen Tails, well be there in half a hour. In the meantime if Sonic contact you tell him to watch out." "Ok." Knuckles hung up and sighed; this story was starting to get too complicated. He walked away and covered his ears as an alarm went off; he saw Rouge get up and run to him.
"Hurry! We have to hide!" She exclaimed as she reached him "What do you mean?" "This is a diversion!" She explained to him meanwhile they reached the tracks "The alarm will ride away the common people letting us without our cover." She hopped in the pitch and started running followed by the echidna "So they can attack us without worrying about letting people knows that something is up!"
"Clever." Knuckles muttered as he briefly looked back; his eyes instantly widened as he saw a big machine with a drill nose that was swirling menacingly. He turned and increased his speed "You better run like you never have done!" He exclaimed. The bat turned and she had the same reaction as her red companion "Hint accepted." She said increasing her pace.
They where now in the bridge to the Mystic Ruins and the sea under it was hollering madly "Knuckles! I don't know how far I can keep this." Rouge said with a hint of a pant. Behind them the machine was dangerously gaining ground; the echidna looked around, and an idea flashed in his mind. He grinned and motioned for Rouge to follow him; she nodded and launched herself from the bridge soon after the echidna. The machine stopped instantly as the pilot saw that his two targets were gone.
"So you plan to destroy a bridge track so that hellish machine can't follow us?" "Right." Rouge would have crossed her arms if it wasn't for the fact that she was clinging on a pillar of the bridge; instead she put an incredulous expression on her face "And how are we going to do it?" Knuckles smiled "Go to the next pillar and wait."
Rouge sighed and accomplished his request 'I hope you know what you're doing.' She thought gripping the other pillar; she looked back and saw Knuckles in the middle of the track's side. He was preparing to hit the piece with all of his strength; after a few swings he fully charged up and hit. The sound that came from it resembled the one emitted by a gun when it fired; it was immediately followed by a rumble and the piece collapse down.
"See?" He said implanting his namesakes into the concrete; he smiled again as he saw Rouge's open-mouthed reaction "Tell me, you never fought seriously against me, right?" "No, Rouge. I fought you with all my strength. What you saw was something that I can pull off only if I concentrate enough, and in a fight it's hard to concentrate in that way."
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Gha gha gha gha!
The chapter is done, but not the problems that our two hedgehogs, Chaos and
the other will have to face.
And it seems that I found again my inspiration. What I had to do was just start writing
Next chapter (probably):
'Ancients Ruins, Old Traps And Hottish Lava'
Reviews are always welcomed!
Az