Sonic, Shadow and co are © Sega; all the other characters are mine.

Authoress' note: The remake of the second chapter is done. Go and read it! Then tell me if it is better or worse than the one that was up before.

Authoress' Note2: In this chapter I happened to have put a story intertwined with the main one, when I end this, maybe I'll develop that. Until then, ENJOY!

RichaCo: So tell me, who do you think S-01 is? Anyway, for the 'She' of this fic… I was going to change that (and thus erasing the part about her), but you gave me a little idea about her so I put her back in the plot! *Evil and maniacal laughs* So you better wonder about her again ^^
Last note: Thanks for being always here when the chapter comes out.

Firehedgehog: Thanks!

Dragon Master Naya: Hey! I'm happy to see you here! Do you like the plot? Anyway, what makes you think that? And yes, Shadow can't swim because having lived all his life on ARK he didn't had the chance to learn, but he learnt fast as you have read.

ShadowsChicks: *Blush* You… you really think that? Thanks! I'm touched *wriggles in her seat with a wide smile* Anyway, here's the tenth chapter. I hope ya like it ^^

C'mon people! Don't be shy! Review! You don't know how happy I get after a review!


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CHAPTER TEN

Ancients Ruins, Old Traps And Hottish Lava

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Eggman stood up from a metal table in the center of a room filled with tools for mechanical things; he wiped his brow and sighed audibly as he watched his last work "With these chips the victory will soon be mine." He picked up the two chips and walked to another table, where two identical robots were lying deactivated and without the head's shell.

The mad man started to work on the blue one's 'brain', and after some minutes he passed on the other; when he was finished he walked to a near computer and typed some codes in it "For years I tried to create a chip that could resist to the huge information of this AI program, but I always ended up with a failure." He said picking up two wide and flat cables.

He returned to the table and connected the two mech to the computer "But now that my grandfather left an ingenious project behind I can run my masterpiece without the risk of having the chip melted." He explained to nobody in particular; he sat on the chair in front of the computer and with the pressure of a specific combination on the keyboard the monitor displayed a message of downloading.

The status bar reached the one percent only after three minutes "The download will take more than two hours, but it's worth the waiting." He got up and walked to the door, where a red E-100 series was waiting "You." He said pointing the mech "Guard this room. Warn me whenever the download is complete or if you see something suspicious."

"Yes Master." The mech simply responded without moving a limb; Eggman nodded and left the room. He turned right and walked down the gray corridor 'Now the only thing left is to prepare a trap for that hedgehog.' His hidden mouth drew a pleased smile 'He must fall first… and fast. Then the others will not pose a real threat for me.'

A mad and happy laugh echoed in the metal hallway as the doctor walked briskly, despite his mole, toward a large door labeled 'Control Room'. Eggman stood in front of the door and it opened when the sensor picked up his presence; he entered and walked to a large console "Now… what can I plot?"

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The room lightly illuminated by the crystal's light was quiet, like it had been for thousands of years, until now that two fugitive had transformed it in some sort of safe post; somewhere where they could rest and plan what to do on the next move.

Shadow sighed as he watched intently the water surface; he was sitting next to it waiting for Sonic, who was swimming around the place, to return. He sighed again and glanced around the dimly lit room; more than five minutes had passed since the blue hedgehog departed to explore.

His eyes fell on the ground, under the marble desk, where a little book was lying; it was hidden from someone who was standing, but now that he was sitting he could clearly see it. Curiosity took over him and he crawled to it, picking it up carefully; he returned to his waiting spot and opened the book, which turned out to be a journal of someone that probably forgot it there before the whole place died.

Luckily for him it was in the same language of the map and he could read it, albeit with a certain difficulty. He decided to start from the end of it; maybe there was something interesting about the abandoned palace. Shadow found the last written page in the middle of the diary; the writing was horrible and hard to make out.

"I warned the highest member of the Council about the fact that this temple is doomed. We know that there's no way to prevent that. The enemy is too strong. We decided to evacuate the place before they could surround us. Me and Tabros decided to stay behind to simulate our death in the vain attempt to protect the shrine. We will leave the place trough the trial's path." That was where the writings ended. Shadow raised an eyebrow; that way out could still be intact. He browsed back the pages until one of them got his full attention.

"I passed the test! Now I can take the Trial of Lauren! I can't wait! I prepared for this day my whole life! If I manage to pass it and bring back the sacred yellow gem that it's at the end of the path I will be rewarded and bring wealth to my poor village!"

"Yellow gem? Could he be talking about the yellow Chaos Emerald?" He muttered thoughtfully; his eyes hastily returned on the ancient pages of the diary. He turned the page and was welcomed by the drawing of the Chaos Emerald.

"It took me more than two days to reach the other side of the path; amongst the many people that tried this feat with me I was the only survivor. I almost got killed by the traps more than one time, but I managed to reach the goal. When I touched the fist sized gem I felt a strange tingle in my arm."

"Luckily there was a very well hidden exit at the end of the trial, which took me almost two hours to find, and left the final chamber through it. Out I fount the members of the council, that led me back to the palace without saying a word. When we got to the Council Chamber they told me that I was the first to reach the end since the trial was put up."

Shadow closed the little book and sighed; he had found an alternate exit, but according to the writer the path was two days long and full of traps. He looked at the pool of water as his eyes caught a movement; Sonic was finally back from his exploration.

The blue hedgehog emerged and shook his head to get rid of the water in his ears "Found some way out?" Sonic looked up at Shadow and sighed "No… every way that could reach the back exit is blocked…" He answered walking out of the water; he sat next to him exhausted and closed his eyes "The floor is blocked… I saw some passages that led to the second floor, but I'm tired now…"

"Maybe I found some sort of way out from here…" He paused as he saw that the other hedgehog gave him his attention "But according to the guy that wrote this," He raised the journal in his hand to eye level "The path is two days long and full of traps…" He concluded. Sonic let out a low groan and flopped on the ground, giving his back to the black hedgehog.

The black hedgehog raised an eyebrow "Sonic?" "What?" He seemed annoyed to no end "Are you ok?" Sonic rolled a bit on his back so he could look the other hedgehog in the eyes "Do I seem to be ok?" He sighed and scratched his head "Sorry." He apologized "It's just that I feel tired in the body and in the mind…"

He sat up and leaned his back on the wall "I never had so much troubles on my adventures… not even when I went in space for the first time…" Shadow turned his head to him with curiosity "You went in space? When?" The blue hero chuckled and waved a hand nonchalantly in front of his face "Three years ago… Eggman was trying to take over with the aid of the Death Egg."

The ebony hedgehog raised an eyebrow "Death Egg?" The other nodded "A space station like ARK, but it was round instead of half… and smaller. I destroyed it, but in the process I was catapulted down to earth." He paused and shifted in his position "The burning pain was so bad that I activated the Chaos Emeralds and went Super even if I was literally depleted of energies. The strain on my body and mind was so hard that I lost consciousness before I touched ground and slept for the next three days…"

"Wow… You got through a lot in your life, eh?" "You don't even know the half of it… Eggman is settled to conquer the world… and I'm the only one that's between him and his goal…" "And your friends?" The blue hero sighed again "They provide me great support during the entire ordeal, but in the end it's always me that has to save the day from a catastrophe…" He paused and looked at Shadow "The only person that really helped me in the end was you…"

Sonic diverted his eyes away from his double to look at the space in front of him "You're like no other… besides me…" He raised his left knee to his chest and leaned on it with his arms and head "Is this… just a coincidence?" He muttered closing his eyes and falling asleep. Shadow smiled and leaned his back on the wall 'No, Sonic. This is no coincidence…' He thought closing his eyes.

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The general walked back and forth in his office waiting for a report from the excavation site 'It's been hours since the squads started digging…' He stopped his pacing as a woman entered in his office "So?" He asked eagerly. The woman cleared his throat "The squads' leader has reported that they finished excavating, but there's no trace of the two fugitives."

The man raised an eyebrow at her "How is that possible?" "I'm sorry, I don't know…" She said scared. The general sighed and sat at the desk "Tell them to search until they find a clue to where those two hedgehogs could be." "Yes Sir." She responded bowing lightly and leaving the room.

The general sighed and leaned back on the chair "Those two damned hedgehogs… they are also lucky!" He paused and turned to look at the forest from the window "But their luck will soon run out… and I will be there to watch their demise…" He chuckled "It's only a question of patience… and believe me, hedgehogs… I have a lot of it."

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Shadow woke up from his light slumber and yawned; he didn't know for how much he was out. He looked at the sleeping hedgehog next to him and sighed; he shook his head and yawned rubbing his eyes. His mind was getting dangerously cloudy; the air was starting to lack in that little space, and they needed to move on. He placed a hand on the other's peach shoulder and lightly shook him "Sonic?"

The blue hedgehog mumbled something under his breath and curled up more "Sonic." He shook him a little more and he managed to make the other open his eye by a crack "Hm?" He asked more asleep than awake "Sonic, we have to go. The air here is starting to lack." The hero closed his eye "Just give me some minutes to fully wake up…"

Shadow wasn't so sure of that, but gave him anyway those minutes that he asked for; after two minutes of silence Sonic moved his arm and rubbed his eyes "Feeling better?" "Yeah, I'm just feeling light headed." The black one yawned again "I know… it's just the lack of oxygen. That's why we need to go." He explained standing up.

He bent over and picked up the little journal that was at his feet "Unfortunately this journal don't say anything about the traps of the path, so we have to go blindly and hope for the best." He said walking to the marble desk and placing the book on it. Sonic stood up and stretched, giving another yawn; he walked beside his black counterpart and looked at the map.

After some seconds of silence Sonic pointed a big room on the first floor "Here!" He said "This is where the path start." Shadow nodded and examined the distance between the two rooms; they were lucky. It was just after two corners at the room's right. The two walked to the pool and into the water; Sonic shivered "I hope that this will end soon." He muttered. Shadow latched his arms around the blue hedgehog's neck again "Hardly… that human is fixated with you and me…" He commented.

Sonic hummed "He seemed more fixated with me than you… I made him kinda mad back in the base…" The other hedgehog chuckled "Don't worry, I'll help you through this even if it was the last thing that I do in my life." Sonic remained silent at that statement, but after a moment a little smile appeared on his lips "And I'll help you back. I'll prevent that man from shutting you away again even if it was going to cost me my life."

The black hedgehog smiled back "Thanks." The other shook his head "That is what friends are for. To help when you are in need." 'No, Sonic. You're wrong! You're not just a friend! You're family! My only family! I'd die to lose you now that I found you.' Sonic raised an eyebrow as he felt that his friend was deep in thought "Shadow?"

The ebony creature woke up from his thoughtful status and shook his head "Sorry, I was just thinking about something important." He couldn't lie, but at the same time he couldn't tell him the truth; not now that they were trapped underground and under the status of 'fugitives'. Sonic swam further "Do you want to talk about it?" "Uh, no. It's ok. It's something that I have to figure out by myself." The blue one sighed "Ok."

The two took a huge breath and dived into the green water 'Sonic knows that I have something in my mind.' He felt Sonic switch his swimming style and increase his speed 'But how can I tell him?' He had to grip the blue hero's neck as he felt that they turned left 'I know that I have to tell him, but when?' Another turn nearly made him lose his grip 'When this whole affair will be ended? It could be a good moment to tell him, but he could discover it from someone else before I tell him.'

There was another turn and after some seconds he felt that they where ascending; the two broke their heads free from the water. The new room was at least fifty feet wide and seventeen long; it was divided in three naves by two lines of huge columns. The room was filled with water only by three quarters and at the end there was a huge statue of Lauren; but this time it was crouched and with the wings folded around his body and the water reached only his shoulders.

Sonic swam forwards; now that he was in a new air bubble the fog in his mind was quickly lifting. He swam behind the statue and stopped; there was a doorway like the map had said, but it was blocked by a solid piece of marble. The blue hedgehog narrowed his eyes and lifted the left part of his upper lip, showing his white teeth; the growl emitted by his throat made the water around him vibrate lightly.

He backtracked to the statue "Wait here." He nearly commanded. Shadow gripped the right wing of the statue "What are you planning?" The blue hedgehog looked at the wall "There's no way that a wall will stop me." He commented swimming thirty feet in front of the marble obstacle.

There was a pause of some seconds before Sonic took action; he gave so much force at his thrust that he broke free from the water with his torso before he disappeared under it. Water flew everywhere near the diving point just before a loud muffled thud came from the marble wall; the obstacle shook and dust flew from the three interspaces that outlined the door.

Sonic reappeared again in the same point that he was before and coughed; with some other hits the wall could be pushed off from its place, or he could break his shoulder first. He smirked; the wall was going down, no matter what. He and Shadow needed to get out of there or the place would become their grave; he could clearly feel that he was reaching his limit, and he knew that the other hedgehog was near it too. By now it was more than two days that they were without food; luckily the water was in abundance in that place.

Shadow watched as Sonic dived again and hit the marble wall, which shook and shifted in his place by mere millimeters; the blue hedgehog reappeared near the wall. He breathed a little before he turned around and swam away; he was clutching his left shoulder with his other hand 'I have to help him. He can't do it alone.' He grimaced at that thought 'But how? I'm not fast like Sonic.'

He helplessly watched as Sonic dived for the third time, hit the wall and reemerge panting 'Or yes?' He looked down at his feet through the green colored water 'I use my shoes to run at his same speed… maybe I can use them to match his swimming ability…' He glanced up as he heard another splash 'I have to try it.'

He activated his shoes and nearly lost his grip as he felt himself nearly fly away; he smiled contently. The trick worked perfectly; now he only had to master it. He saw the blue hedgehog poke his head out of the water "Hey Sonic!" He called waving a hand. Sonic turned his head at him "Hm?" "Come here a second. I have an idea, but I need some time to master the trick."

Sonic raised an eyebrow while he swam to the statue; when he arrived he gripped the same wing where the other had is hand on "So, tell me this idea of yours." He said relaxing his fatigued body "Listen, it's plainly visible that you alone can't move that wall. I can help you, but I need some minutes to figure out how to work my shoes while I'm in water." He explained looking directly into the other's green eyes.

The blue hero closed his eyes in defeat; he knew that his black counterpart was right. The wall was simply to heavy for him alone "Ok." He said leaning his right arm and head on the marble shoulder of the statue; he sighed and let his eyes nearly close completely. He also let his mind rest from every preoccupation that he could think about; he lazily watched Shadow swam away from the statue. He smiled as he noted that he was getting better at it; a little of practice and he would reach him. No doubt.

He fully opened his eyes in shock as he saw the other hedgehog take off in a burst of speed; there was a scream before he hit head first a column and sink briefly. Shadow emerged massaging his forehead "Shadow!" He called "Come here a second." The black one complied and took hold of the wing "What?" He asked still rubbing the sore spot on his head "When you need to turn use your arms and head quills."

Shadow raised an eyebrow "Uh?" The blue hero left his hold on the statue and swam in front of his friend "Have you see how I swim underwater?" "Yes, you remind me of a dolphin." Sonic nodded "Yes, and I keep my arms at my sides for a better aerodynamics. But when I need to turn, left for example, I put my left arm out to brake only on my left side." He explained moving his left arm up and fully opening his palm "Then I turn my head in that direction so my head quills can do the work. The more you want to turn sharply, the more you have to turn your head." Shadow mumbled a little "And when you descend or ascend?" The blue hedgehog seemed to think "There I have to show it to you because It's kinda hard to explain." He responded scratching his head.

It took him almost an hour to fully master those tricks, but in the end he was a swimmer as good as Sonic was. The blue hedgehog explained him how to descend or ascend, how to made an abrupt stop and how to make a sharp U turn; Sonic was not impressed by the fact that his black counterpart learnt this fast. After all, he was his double.

Sonic smiled and started swimming "I congratulate with you, Shadow. I never saw someone learn this fast." The black hedgehog swam next to him in a strutted fashion "You forgot that I am the world's…" "Ultimate Life Form. Yeah, yeah, I know that…" He concluded for him. The blue hero turned around and swam backwards; on his lips a playful grin "But remember this, oh great Ultimate Life Form. You have found a rival for that. You also said it when we were fighting in space." Shadow raised an eyebrow a little confused and Sonic crossed his arms over his chest "'Sonic, I was thinking about the Ultimate Life Form… It might be you…' That was what you said…"

Shadow watched the other resume swimming giving his back to him; he sighed "I know that. And now that I think about it… it seems more appropriate than before…" 'I should tell him.' The two hedgehogs stopped thirty feet in front of the door 'But thinking about it… he could know it in some ways…'

"Shadow, I know that there's something that's eating you…" Sonic stopped and turned around "I don't know what, but I have this feeling that it could regard me in some ways…" The black hedgehog stopped and looked at the other, who put a hand on his shoulder "But whatever is it, good or bad… I'm here to help you."

Shadow sighed "I guess that you're right, Sonic… but… it's hard…" The blue hedgehog smiled "I know…" He turned and faced the thirty feet away marble slab "But I think that this is not a good place to make confessions…" Shadow faced it too "You're right… the sooner we get out of here… the sooner I can tell you what's eating me…"

The two departed in perfect sync and only a second later the marble wall shook more violently; the two hedgehogs reemerged at the same point where they left "It's giving better than before." Sonic commented "Two is better than one." The other said smiling. The two looked at each other and repeated the process three more time before the wall finally gave in.

There was a wave that made the two hedgehogs roll back uncontrollably; they reemerged five feet away from the now open passage. They looked at each other and high-fived smiling "Yes!" They cheered at the same time. The hedgehogs slowly swam in front of the entrance and spied the new dark passage that was leading upwards.

Sonic unlatched the little torch from his wrist and turned it on; after some feet the water ended "Look at the positive side… we don't have to swim anymore…" He said looking at him smiling cheerfully. Shadow sighed, smiled and scratched his head at the same time "You always see the better side of everything… how do you do that?" The blue hedgehog's smile widened "It's something I picked up over the years of fighting."

Sonic swam onwards and started wading up the rocky slope; he had to catch his balance when he slipped on a rock covered with algas. The black hedgehog started following his blue double being careful to not slip over the algas covered rocky surface; they continued to slowly climb in silence for several minutes before Sonic stopped. The flashlight illuminated upwards; Shadow stopped and looked up "Did we reached the end?" He asked trying to see past Sonic.

The blue hedgehog stepped aside to let Shadow take a look "I can see an orange light up there… maybe it's the end of the climb." He said pointing the faint orange light with his finger "What could possibly give off that eerie light?" He asked squeezing his eyes a little. Sonic shrugged and resumed climbing "I don't know, but we'll find out soon…"

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Rouge smiled contently as she and her echidna companion came out of the dark tunnel; she saw Tails' workshop right at their left. In a burst of happiness she jumped, threw her arms around the first person that was near her and kissed his cheek "We did it!" She exclaimed. Knuckles just stopped every muscle of his body and started blushing madly, making him more red than he was.

The white bat stopped her enthusiasm when she understood what she was doing; she looked at the unmoving echidna and after a second of staring she released him "S-sorry!" She said turning around to hide the blush that was forming on her cheeks. Knuckles managed to catch his breath and sighed; it was the first time that he was hugged "It's… it's nothing…" He managed to mutter scratching his muzzle.

A minute passed in silence before Knuckles broke it "We should go down and get the help of Tails…" He said still embarrassed. Rouge only nodded her approval; she was in the same condition of the red echidna. She knew that she liked him a lot, but that was an unexpected move even for her; she heard Knuckles walk away and followed him hiding her little smile of embarrassment, satisfaction and amusement.

The two jumped from the track and started gliding towards the structure; they landed in front of the door and Knuckles knocked on it. After some seconds of waiting a pink hedgehog opened the door "Hey there Knuckles!" She greeted him, then she turned towards the white bat and smiled widely "And Rouge!" She stepped aside to let the two treasure hunters into the workshop.

"We were preoccupied, Knuckles. When you called you seemed in a big problem…" She said with a worried face. The red echidna let his white ex-rival enter first and closed the door behind him "And we still are… Where's Tails?" He said looking around for the orange vulpine "Oh, he's trying to find something on the net about Sonic and Shadow…" She let worry and sadness fully take over her face "It's been two days, almost three, since we last saw, or heard from them…"

The two treasure hunters looked at each other, then Rouge stepped forwards and placed her hand on the hedgehog's shoulder "Don't worry. I'm sure that they're fine!" She said reassuringly. Amy looked up and smiled faintly "You are right Rouge. It's Sonic and Shadow that we're talking about, right?" The white bat smiled and squeezed a little her shoulder "Good, girl. Now, show us where Tails is."

The pink hedgehog smiled and led the two treasure hunters into a little room that was on the first floor; in there Tails was sitting in front of a computer "Found something, Fox Boy?" Rouge asked affectionately. The young fox turned around in his seat and smiled "Hello Rouge, hi Knuckles!" He greeted them.

A second later the happy face of the vulpine turned sad and discouraged "Sadly, no. They seems to have disappeared into nothingness…" He said returning to the computer "The last thing that we knew of them was that they were involved in a building's collapse two days ago…" He sighed and flopped on the chair "And that the zone was immediately put under military guard…"

Rouge's eyes widened in shock "Tails dear…" She said walking to the desk and putting the folder on it "Be a dear and go fetch me a bottle of coffee." The fox looked at her raising an eyebrow questioningly; the bat smiled and scratched his head between the ears "I'm going to break into GUN's main database, and it'll be long and hard…"

Tails stood up from the chair and let the bat sit on it "Do… do you think that GUN has them?" Rouge looked at the three people that were staring at her, then she sighed and scratched her head "I'm not going to lie to you… the probability that they got them is very high…" She looked at Tails that lowered his head and at Amy, who was trying hard to not start crying "But I'm sure that they are alive!"

The three nodded "I'm going to make you that bottle of coffee, Rouge." Amy said walking out of the room "Is there something that I can do?" Tails asked eager to help the bat. Rouge smiled and nodded "Yes." She said picking up the folder and handing it to him "GUN is really fixated with having this back… make a copy and hid it somewhere safe. Then give me back the original."

The fox nodded and took the folder; he stopped as a golden bracelet fell from it "Ops…" He said bending over and picking it up; he stood up and stared at the carvings "Hey, I know these carvings!" He exclaimed. Rouge and Knuckles gave full attention at the young fox "You… you can read it?" She asked hopefully.

Tails looked at her and shook his head "Oh, no. Not me. Sonic knows. When we met for the first time, to reach Eggman we went through some ancients ruins, where I discovered that Sonic could read them." He explained holding out the bracelet. Knuckles' eyes widened in shock "What?!?" He asked raising a little his voice.

The poor fox backtracked from him a little in fear; the echidna subdued his shock and smiled apologetically "Sorry, Tails… this is a shocking news…" He leant on the wall at his back "Sonic reading ancient language… it's shocking… really…" He muttered crossing his arms on his chest. Tails smiled "Anyway… I have a copy machine in the basement. I'm there if you need me." He said leaving the room.

Rouge stretched her fingers and returned to face the computer; she started typing on the keyboard and the screen became black with white words "Knuckles?" She asked not facing the red echidna "Hm?" He responded standing up from the wall and walking next to her "GUN is not going to give that folder up…" Knuckles unfolded his arms and let them fall at his sides; he nodded "If you need me I'm on the roof."

He started walking away, but stopped as he heard the female treasure hunter turn around in her seat "Uh… Knuckles?" The echidna faced her "Yes?" He asked starting blushing a little. Rouge looked at the ground "Sorry… for that kiss…" She apologized again. There was silence for several seconds before the two heard someone descend the stairs; he smiled shyly and looked at the ground too "It's ok, Rouge." He said before he left the room.

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Sonic stood immobile taking in the sight that the new environment gave him; some feet down the natural shaft Shadow was still climbing. He looked up and saw that the blue hedgehog was like a statue "What's up, Sonic?" He asked curiously. When he didn't receive a response he quickly crossed the few feet that were separating him from the other; when he saw what was expecting them he imitated his double.

After some seconds Sonic sat down and rubbed his temples; the ebony hedgehog opened his mouth in disbelief. They were in a new cavern; an enormous one. It was more than three hundreds yards wide, two hundreds high and who knows how long; but it wasn't the hugeness that stunned them, it was the fact that the entire cavern was filled with lava "Shadow… Let me present you the source of the orange light…" Sonic muttered looking at the bubbling hot liquid.

Shadow looked at the raised path in the middle of the pool of lava; it was an unique piece of rock covered by marble slabs. At its sides, every ten feet, there was a pair of column on every side; they were only a foot away from each other and were holding up a three feet long piece of marble. The black hedgehog slowly climbed out of the steep slope and stood up; the blue one matched his move and walked at the beginning of marble surface.

Sonic turned around and smiled at his black friend "Shall we go?" He asked forgetting about the stress he was under. Shadow smiled back and walked onwards "We go, we go." He said patting the shoulder of the other hedgehog. The blue hero chuckled and walked with the black one through the marble path.

After half a hour of fast walk the two hedgehogs reached the other end of the magma filled cave; Sonic looked at the new dark path that was slightly leading downwards and sighed heavily "I hope that this will not lead us right in the center of the planet…" He muttered. The black hedgehog's eyes fell on a marble bowl embed in the wall next to the doorway; he walked over it and examined its contents 'Light Crystals!' He thought picking up one.

He turned around and faced his comrade "Hey Sonic! We can use these." He said launching the crystal to him. The blue hedgehog caught it in his right hand and looked at it "Lucky!" He exclaimed "Now I don't need to use the torch and have the risk to finish the battery!" Shadow took another one and stood next to him "Back on ARK I never dreamt to have an adventure like this…" Sonic looked at him "For me, instead, it's not the first time that I find myself into something like this…"

The two started walking into the dark hallway; the crystals' light was orange and was illuminating only six feet from them "Sonic?" "Hm?" "Remind me that when we are in vacation I have to ask you to tell me every adventure you had." Sonic nearly tripped "Why are you interested in that?" "Curiosity, I guess…" The blue one shrugged "Ok."

Five minutes passed in silence scanned only by the sound of their shoes hitting the marble surface; both knew that they couldn't run for two simple fact. One: they were too tired to do that; two: they risked to trip over something and fall badly. The quiet was broke by a faint click that resounded on the still air "Uh… Sonic? Did you hear that?" Shadow asked stopping in his track. The blue hedgehog stopped too "Yeah…" He said straining his hearing.

There was a faint rumble that came from behind them; it was somewhat familiar to him. Sonic kneeled down and put a hand on the ground; it was trembling slightly, like if something heavy was continuously hitting it. Suddenly his eyes widened in fear "Run!" He yelled standing up and running as fast as he could do. Shadow matched his speed and sided him in the descent activating his jets shoes for a better performance.

"Sonic, what is it?" He asked alarmed. Sonic increased his speed forcing his tired and still injured legs "Can you hear this rumble?" Shadow nodded "Yeah, what's that?" "Oh, nothing… just a big and round rock that's rolling down the path…" The ebony hedgehog's ruby eyes widened in shock "A what!?" "You heard me we…" Sonic didn't have the time to finish his sentence that he felt the ground give in under his feet.

The two hedgehogs fell for several feet releasing two scared screams; the fall lasted only a second, but it was enough for them to feel the bad landing. Sonic landed on his back, hitting his head on the brick surface and Shadow fell face first, on top of Sonic in a crossed manner. The two heard the big rock pass over the hole without falling in it; a fortune in the misfortune. Still dazed, the sapphire hedgehog tried to understand what was their new location; it was a small hole, barely wide enough to contain them, and with a faint orange light that came from the two crystals.

"W… what happened?" Shadow asked regaining consciousness "We evaded the rock, but now we're stuck in a hole…" He explained passing his hand between his head quills; through the fabric of the glove he felt warm liquid. He winced and retracted his hand; he brought it over his eyes and sighed. His index and middle fingers were covered in blood "Great…" He muttered leaning his head on the ground and resting his hand on his torso.

Shadow cleared his mind from the fall and started raising; he stood up on his hands and knees and winced. He quickly raised his right hand from the ground and tried to slowly move it; he renounced as the wrist in question gave him a tremendous pain only with a minimal movement. He couldn't tell if it was just a bad twist or a fracture since on the outside it seemed normal.

The black hedgehog tried to stood on his feet but stopped again; this time it was the ground's fault, which budged under him "Oh crap…" He muttered not moving a muscle. He slowly looked down at Sonic, who had his eyes half closed "Sonic, don't move." He calmly said to him "And who's moving?" The blue hedgehog responded almost sarcastically.

There was silence for some seconds before the ground gave another budge "Ok, Now how the hell we're supposed to get out of here without falling to our death?" Sonic smiled and faintly chuckled "Who… who said that we'll fall to our death?" "Me." "Why are you so pessimistic?" "Because I have this annoying thing in my stomach that's telling me that under this 'ground' there's nothing good."

There was silence again between the two "Ok, listen. You can hover out of here and search for something to help me…" Sonic suggested with a faint voice; by now it was hard to stay awake for him. Shadow rolled his eyes "Oh yeah, and meanwhile I'm searching you'll fall and die! No Sonic, I'm not letting you here alone." Sonic smiled and closed his eyes "But in the duct you said that if I was going to do something like that again you were going to leave me behind…" The black hedgehog turned his head away "Well, I take that back."

There was no response that came from the sapphire hedgehog; Shadow looked at him again. He was out cold with a faint smile on his lips 'What he has to smile about?' His thoughts were interrupted by another budge; the ground was going to give in very soon "Ok… think Shadow, think!" He encouraged himself 'Maybe I can pull Sonic up with me… I never tried to carry a person with my hover shoes. It'll be hard to hover out of here myself alone now that I'm tired, and with him in tow the strain will be doubled…'

The ebony hedgehog looked around in search of something that may help him in another way; he stopped and sighed 'Nothing! We're stuck in a damned hole with nothing!' His thought were interrupted again by a budge given by the ground; but this time it was a bit too strong for his tastes. He felt his blood freeze in his veins as the ground crumpled under him and his friend.

Shadow's eyes widened as he saw what was under them; it was a pit full of lava. If it wasn't for the stone cover that stopped their fall they would have died not even knowing what hit them. Everything slowed down; the stone cover, the Light Crystals, Sonic's unconscious body. His eyes widened and his heart, breath and mind froze as soon as he realized that; he acted on instinct and clasped both his arms around the blue hedgehog's midsection ignoring the pain from his right wrist. Time resumed its normal pace as he started hovering; Sonic's head leaned on his left shoulder muttering something inaudible.

Shadow sighed releasing the big scare that he got some seconds earlier; the moment of relaxation didn't last too much as he realized that he was only slowing down the fall. The black hedgehog gritted his teeth and put more effort on the hovering; his legs started aching badly, but he didn't want to give up. It was too important for him; he couldn't afford to lose a family member; neither now nor ever.

Slowly, but surely, the descent became an ascent, and soon the black hedgehog reached the border of the pit; he hovered over the marble surface and stopped floating. He landed on the ground and let his tired legs relax "Sonic?" He called shaking the unconscious hedgehog in his arms. No response came from him; he was deeply out cold.

The moment of pace didn't last too long as another click resounded on the air; there was another rumble that grew dangerously louder as the seconds passed "Not again!" He complained cradling Sonic in his arms and running down the now dark path; he could hear that the rock was quickly gaining ground. He cursed under his breath for everything that was coming into his mind at the moment; the darkness, the loss of the crystals, the rock, GUN…

Shadow increased his speed as he felt the round rock at his back; he screamed as he tripped on something and went flying for several feet. He landed face first and went on several feet before he came to a stop. He prepared for the worst, but he was relieved as he heard the rock crash behind his back, then turn left; he curled up defending from the shards that flew on him. He stood still, hearing Sonic's soft breathings come from his side and feeling his throbbing wrist.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
He was lying on his right side and it was hot. It was burning hot. His fur was damped against him as his body produced sweat to cool him off; he could hear fire and electricity wildly crack in the air. His throat and mouth were completely dry, and he was scared; not scared at the fact that he was going to die, he was scared to loose something precious.

He opened his crimson eyes only to see fire dancing in front of him, and a fuzzy shape. He was giving him his back; he was like him, with upward quills, his fur was light but hard to determine its exact color. It could be orange, or white and colored orange by the flame's light or of another light color; he turned his head and looked at him with his burning, but sad, red eyes. The figure turned his head back and walked away, disappearing amongst the flames; some seconds later a huge explosion took place and destroyed almost everything. He closed his eyes as tears flowed down his face "Please… come back…"
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shadow woke up panting "A dream… just a dream… calm down." He said slowing his breathings 'This time I was so near…' After a minute or so of recollection he returned to the main task; getting out of there safe and sound. Since his sight was useless in the deepest of the darkness he used his hearing; he could hear Sonic and a faint stomping noise from the far left 'Now how I'm supposed to get out of here if I can't see anything?'

Seconds passed in silence, scanned by the only two noises around 'Poor Sonic. He must have hit his head really hard to be still unconscious. Wait! Sonic's torch!' He thought sitting up. The black hedgehog crawled around his left, feeling with his good hand for his friend; he found him few feet away, lying on his stomach with arms lined along his body.

He felt his left wrist and sighed in relief; the torch was still there. He unclipped it from Sonic's wrist and felt around for a button or a lever. After a few seconds of search he gave up "Ok, no button or lever… Maybe twisting something…" Using his left hand he started to feel if something in the little thing could be twisted and found it to be on one of the ends of the torch. He cautiously twisted it and a cone of light illuminated a patch of the floor; he could see that Sonic was still deep asleep and that a few of his head's quills were stained with blood. Shadow looked at the blue hedgehog's head; fortunately the wound was rather small and had stopped bleeding soon.

The black hedgehog moved the torch and looked at the room; it was a long corridor, lined with semi-columns on each wall. On the right one, every two columns, there was a marble statue of this Lauren guy; its posture was like the one of the statues found on the shrine's entrance.

"I guess that I have to carry you around." He said sighing. The hedgehog rolled Sonic on his back so he could pick him up in his arms; his right one would lift the blue hedgehog's legs so the pain would be less. After doing that he stood up and walked down the path; the second noise that he heard was increasing, and sounded metallic 'What type of trap could be? Surely something big…'

His attention was snapped back to reality when he felt something pass whizzing in front of him; it was so close that he even felt the air move. The thing that missed his nose by mere inches bounced on the left wall and clattered on the ground. Shadow pointed the light to where the thing landed and something glittered. He went over and moved the little thing with his foot; it was a little metallic arrow. Almost two inches long and one large, the two sides had segmented edges, and it was rusty too. The ebony hedgehog gulped; just few inches ahead when the arrow passed and he would be dead.

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*Cracks back*
End of chapter folks!

Next one:
'Path of trials'
(maybe)

Az