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

Authoress' Note: I'm sorry for the delay, but I needed a little vacation from the writing before I ruined the story with something wrong…

Aless (x2): Hello there! It's always nice to have someone new that review! Hope I'll not disappoint you with the next chapters.
Anyway, Shadow's Fan? (Note the capital F)

Chaos Flower: Well, I admit that I have a good imagination, but the battle of Knux, Rouge and Tails didn't come out like I wanted… oh well…
Sonic and Shadow ok-ish? Umm… I don't think so… *laughs evilly*

RichaCo: *Start crying A LOT* Thanks! That is something that an author hopes with all its heart to hear from the readers. Anyway, I'm happy to hear that my writing can do that. And to think that I was a DISASTER when making an essay (is that the right word when you write something like "Tell your dreams" and so on during class?).
Also, two or three years ago I was a real DISASTER in English; I couldn't even understand the simplest thing… Luckily I met FF.Net and with the continual reading of fics I learned more in a year than in eight of school…
For the errors, I assure you hat I always do my best in trying to eliminate them, but between being Italian and the fact that I don't have someone that knows English to help me with them, I always miss some.
PS: Yes, I'll answer that with this: I am the one that's complaining about the errors. Last chapter I left a big error! It instead of his! ARGH!
PS2: The dreams were slightly odd, I know that. But there's a good reason for that. Maybe in this chapter you'll understand.
PS3: You still didn't tell me if you understood why the BioLizard wants them… (this is just my curiosity)

Dragon Master Naya: So I'm starting to create good cliffhanger that can give a spasm attack, eh?
My writing one of the best? Thanks! To tell the truth, when I started writing I would have never imagined to become such a good writer, and I never would have imagined to have such a success with this story, or even Just A New Life (that has a quite strange plot). If you read RichaCo's response, you'll understand another reason why I never thought this.

Knux: Thanks, I'll update the chapters as soon as I can. For the moment enjoy this.

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CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Mysteries

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Chaos stared at the two hedgehogs laying on the ground; how was he supposed to carry them?

If one of them was at least awake he could carry him on his back or shoulder, but with both out of commission it was kind of hard.

The water creature raised his arms and looked at them; maybe he could carry a hedgehog for arm.

Not knowing what else to do, he carefully picked up the black one and moved him completely on his left arm; his head leaned on his upper arm, facing his body, and his lower legs dangled freely down his hand. His lower right arm was laying on his belly, meanwhile his left one was just hanging limply from his shoulder and pointing the ground.

Chaos, noticing instantly his light weight, stared a little at him; his mind elaborated an alternative plan.

He could carry both hedgehogs with only his left arm and without the risk of Shadow being crushed by the blue one's weight; with that, he could have his right arm free to use in case of necessity. Settling his mind on the new task, he picked up Sonic by his torso and carefully laid him over the first one on his left side, so his quills wouldn't hurt the black one.

Slowly taking away his right hand from over the blue hedgehog, he observed if he was going to be stable in that position; a moment later, a little slipping movement told him not.

Quickly placing back his hand over Sonic, he maneuvered him a little more; when he was done, the blue hedgehog was slightly laying into the fissure created by his chest and Shadow's torso. His head rested on the ebony one's chest and his legs dangled like his; his left arm was hidden somewhere between him and the other hedgehog, and his right one dangled down his 'perch', right next to Shadow's.

Chaos slowly walked towards the exit, but after some feet he stopped and looked down at the hedgehogs; none of the two had shifted from their assigned position. Good.

Looking back up, the water creature resumed his walk; he hoped that, once outside, he could avoid the humans after them and reach a really safe place.

At that though, he pondered deeply about where to take them; he could take them to Angel Island, but how he was supposed to bring them up there? From his part, he could just became one with the clouds, then fall down in the flying island in the form of rain.

With the hedgehogs, instead, it was impossible; unless he found some sort of flying transport like that 'airplane' Tikal told him about when he saw one fly past his home.

His train of thoughts brought him back to the humans; not all of them where evil like the one that was fixated with Sonic and Shadow, and he could go in the city for help. But… was it safe?

Even if many of them where goodhearted, they couldn't do much against the force that was pursuing them; he could clearly understand that. Not to mention that it could be a big risk to go where there were so many eyes; one of them could be an agent of the evil man, and warn him of their position.

His thinking stopped as he saw that he had reached the doorway; he had to worry about that later, now what he had to do was to absolutely pass the humans without being noticed.

Chaos observed attentively the pattern the human made; the man was walking back and forth through the upraised block of earth. He was probably patrolling the little area as best as he could in the dark night, since the moon had disappeared behind a thick blanket of clouds.

The clouds had been a good thing for him, but only by half since he could clearly feel that they were preceding a heavy storm, exactly like the one that had passed over the ruins a few days ago; by that time Angel Island was around there, so it was caught in it too.

He unconsciously walked out of the cave and looked up at the sky; he just hoped that the storm would not come, or at least slow down, until he was somewhere safe. Not for him, but for the hedgehogs; he was sure that they couldn't make through it, not when in those conditions…

Suddenly a light shone upon him and he looked back down; he mentally growled at himself and his foolishness. How could he have been caught so easily?

He looked at the human; he was returning the gaze. Even if he couldn't see it because he was behind the strong cone of light, he could clearly feel his eyes on him. The human wasn't bad, but he was a subordinate of the evil one, so that made him an enemy.

Chaos narrowed his eyes a little and brought his right hand in front of the two hedgehogs that he was carrying, meaning that he was going to protect them until his last bit of energy.

The water beast stood motionless like a stone statue, watching the human do the same; he could feel that he was scared, yet he could feel that there was something else. He also appeared unsure of what to do; it seemed that he wanted to let them go, but he was greatly scared of the consequences if the action was discovered.

"Unit Beta. Unit Beta. Report status of the patrol."

It had been faint and raspy, but it made both Chaos and the man jump a little in their places; the human took the little instrument from his belt without taking away his eyes from the water creature.

Chaos, instead, just stared with attentive eyes at every move the human made; he was preoccupied that he would tell the others that he was there with the unconscious hedgehogs, and for that he wanted to attack him. However, something in the back of his mind told him to wait; if he attacked, the human would surely have screamed out in fear and drag the attention of everyone that was there.

So he just waited for the event to unfold, motionless and with slightly narrowed eyes; they narrowed a little more and he clutched the hedgehogs a little more with his left arm as he felt the human fidget a little with the instrument.

"Negative," He said with normal voice despise the fear he was experiencing right in that moment "The area is clear."

"Copy that," It responded "Continue searching, the general wants the hedgehogs back alive before they reach their friends or Chaos."

The human put away the little instrument and stared at the three in front of him; a few seconds later he turned and walked away, onto another piece of land.

Chaos relaxed and looked at the hedgehogs; they were still out and he knew that the Chaos Energy left in them couldn't last more than a day or so. After that, without it they would surely die.

"Please… come back…"

The faint whispering words were followed by a really faint shudder that came from the muscles of the black hedgehog's body and a single tear from his exposed eye.

The water beast slightly tilted his head to the side; what was he dreaming about to make him cry?

Growling again to himself and his newfound curiosity, he snapped back to reality; why was he acting so oddly? He had never been so curious in his entire life until he ended up into this fight. And to think that he initially just wanted to make pay whoever scared the chao…

Shrugging off the question from his mind, Chaos walked to the front edge of the platform; he looked at the water and started pondering again. He couldn't swim for fear of losing the hedgehogs; the liquid was too cold for them. He could walk around, but often the blocks of dry land would be too distant to reach with a simple jump.

He looked around for another way, but in the end he always ended up with the fact that he needed to swim; he could try to climb the little rocky wall that was at his back, but the problem was that he was going to put the hedgehogs in danger of falling down.

Discarding the idea of climbing, he walked the perimeter of the land in search for something that could help him in getting out of that situation; when he reached the little shore that was at the right of the hidden doorway, he gladly noticed the boat that the human left behind. It was rather small and arrow shaped.

Chaos touched the tubular perimeter with a finger and tilted his head a little; the boat wasn't made of wood, but of a soft and yellow substance, and its tubular perimeter was filled with what seemed air. On the back of the boat there was some strange heavy metal thing, meanwhile on the front, laying right in the corner, there were some packages.

The water creature carefully placed the two hedgehogs in the middle of the boat next to each other and on their side, so their quills wouldn't pierce through the soft material; staring for a little at them, he noticed that neither Sonic nor Shadow moved a muscle. It was a clear sign that time was running out for them.

His head turned to gaze at the three packages on the boat's front; he walked up to it and picked one in his right hand, examining it carefully. It was enveloped with the same material of the boat, but transparent in color, letting see what it contained.

Chaos turned the package in his hand and without a warning, the content fell at his feet; he picked it up and it unfolded to reveal its true form. A thick and soft blanket.

The water creature stared at it for a second, then he placed it over the two hedgehogs as best as he could and leaving their head out so they could breath; even if they were unresponsive at everything that happened to them and around them, Chaos felt that they eased up, even if just slightly.

Not wanting to waste anymore the precious time, the water creature walked behind the boat and slowly pushed it into the water; some seconds later he was swimming his way to the nearest city. He knew that it was not a good place to go, but it was the only option available in that moment.

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Walking.

It was all what he could do in that precise moment; his brother had disappeared what seemed to be hours ago and never came back to him. He briefly stopped and looked at his surroundings; he was in the corridor that led into the Testing Area.

Not knowing what to do or where to go, Shadow decided to follow the corridor; maybe in that area he could find some clues to understand who his brother was.

The black hedgehog resumed walking, but the sudden shrill scream made him transform his slow pace into a mad run; the scream had been clearly filled with pain, and on top of that he knew very well at who it belonged to 'Hold on, brother! I'm coming!'

Shadow reached the Testing Area's door, but before he could open it he heard a heavy commotion on the other side; he stood still with fear until no rumor was heard again.

When everything on the other side of the door ceased to make sound, the ebony hedgehog opened the door; his eyes widened in shock at what he saw.

Humans were laying around sprawled on the floor unconscious; they were wearing the old uniform of the GUN, but what shocked him the most was the fact that they were faceless. It was like staring at a really dense cloud of gray smoke that only had the shape of a face.

A movement caught his eye, and he walked up to the human that was trying to sit up; he stopped in front of the GUN agent and just stared, feeling an old and forgotten rage rise from the deepest part of his heart. It was not a rage towards the human, but a rage towards himself, towards the fact that he couldn't protect his brother from whatever happened in there.

The man raised his head and looked at Shadow with unseen eyes; the ebony hedgehog could feel fear coming from him. He was not scared of him, but of someone else…

Shadow watched him a little more, then he looked down the Testing Area's main corridor; something in the back of his mind was telling him to go, or better, something was dragging him there. It could have been curiosity, but he knew that there was something deeper; the hedgehog down the corridor was in pain. He could feel it, it was just a faint sensation in the back of his mind, but he was sure of it.

He started running, but when he shifted to the hover run, he toppled on the ground with a loud yelp of surprise mixed with pain; he shakily stood up and watched his feet.

His ruby eyes widened in shock; his special shoes were not there. Instead, there were a normal pair of black-laced shoes and his golden ankle-bracelets were nowhere to be seen; the same was for his gloves and bracelets that where totally absents, leaving his hands bare of any protection.

Suddenly, something on his persona felt slightly different; he walked up to a window and faintly saw his reflection.

He stared open-mouthed as he noticed that he was young once again…
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How much it had been?

A second? A minute? Or an hour?

He didn't know it, for him it could have even been an eternity.

The only thing that he knew was that he was somewhere cold, dark and devoid of everything; he just lay there, curled on his side as best as he could, trying to keep what warm he had left in him.

Why was he there?

That was another question that plagued his already tired mind; maybe he had died, and now he was in the afterlife. Or was it?

Sonic uncurled just slightly and looked at the darkness surrounding him; there was absolutely nothing besides his persona "Hello?" He called again in hope that someone could hear him.

His hope was destroyed as no response came; he tried to get up and walk around to figure out how to get out of that place, but the bitter coldness and the emptiness of the place was taking away all his energies. He curled back up and just waited for the end to come; he had lost his will to fight.

More time passed without a sound, then a female voice started singing a lovely and soothing tune; for a moment he thought that he knew that tune and that voice, but everything was just too hazy and confused to remember.

Not knowing what to do, or better, not wanting to do something anymore, he just lay there and listened at the voice; the tune slowly, but surely started making him drowsy and unable to think straight.

'This is the end…'

That was the last coherent thought that crossed his mind before he closed his eyes and started drifting into the numb darkness…
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The two treasure hunters entered into the workshop, where a fox, a hedgehog and a human were anxiously waiting for their arrival; the two slowly walked up the stairs and sat on the bench.

The bat looked at the three in front of her "We managed to repel the first assault of the enemy, but knowing GUN, they'll be back. What we need to do is to make rounds for the rest of the night. Jo, since you're fresh, you will be the first one."

The human nodded his approval "I'll take a longer one since you, Knuckles and Tails are tired more than me."

The bat hummed, but a quick glance at her and the other two mentioned told her that he was right "Ok," She said "Next it'll be the turn of Knuckles, next there's mine and after that it'll be Tails'."

Amy started pouting again for the fact that she was let out of the whole thing; Rouge saw her expression and sighed "Amy, I know that you want to help, but I can't take the risk of you falling asleep. Sorry."

The tone of the female had been neither kind nor harsh, but it had been firm and clearly told the pink hedgehog that she wasn't going to change her decision.

Amy sighed and felt the tiredness of the day start to get to her; maybe Rouge was right about the risk of her falling asleep during her turn, and they couldn't afford something like that "I guess you're right, Rouge."

The bat nodded and looked at Jo "You should start now. Knuckles will change place with you in about…" She stopped and looked at the clock on the kitchen counter, noticing that it was one in the morning "Two hours. Is that ok?" She asked looking back at both the human and fox.

The human nodded smiling and walked down the stairs to reach the computer room; after he disappeared from view, the bat turned to Tails "Go and rest, Tails. You need it."

The fox nodded and looked at Amy "You can use my room, Amy. You'll be comfier than on the couch." He said walking away to get his bed ready for the girl.

Amy looked back at Rouge "If you need something that require my assistance, don't hesitate to call me." She said before turning away and walking after the young fox.

The bat sighed deeply and leaned on the table's border with her back "She's a great girl, but I can't ask her to join this war… it's wrong… she has to just stay on the sidelines."

Knuckles copied her and massaged a little his paralyzed arm "I agree, she's still too young for this. I would say the same for Tails, but he's different. He lived his infancy like Sonic and I. Without a family that provided protection."

Rouge turned her head towards him "So this make him an adult?"

The echidna looked back at her "Our bodies may be young, Rouge, but our minds are mature. We are what humans like to call anthros, living beings that are between them and animals. This makes us reach maturity in a very young age like animals does."

The female treasure hunter looked at him and smiled "You're right, living with humans sometimes makes me forget this."

Knuckles smiled and glanced at her, then his smiled faded to let a serious expression take place on his face "However, Sonic is different than me, Tails or every other sentient being on this planet… I can sense it."

Rouge looked at him confused "Different?"

The red male took a deep breath, then he exhaled it slowly "I really don't know it, Rouge, but there's something in him. Something unexplainable that it's greatly different from anything that any sentient being has… and from what I could gather in the ARK's core, Shadow has something too. Slightly different from Sonic's, but it's there… deep within him."

There was an almost unnerving silence between the two treasure hunters; Rouge continuously shifted her eyes from spot to spot on the echidna's serious face, trying to understand what he just said. Knuckles, instead, was staring forwards, trying to understand what just came out of his mouth.

After a long pause, the red male sighed deeply "I know, this is making no sense at all…"

Rouge closed her eyes "I agree. It appears that Sonic is a living mystery. No past, no family besides Shadow, and now this mysterious stuff you just said…"

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Not a too quick update, but not even a slow one… oh well…
Anyway, this chapter turned out better than last. I guess that the week off only make me good. Until next!

And remember! Reviews are always welcomed! They keep me into the go. Without them I usually slack off…

Az