Pandora's Box
The Echidna colony wasn't particularly hard to spot from the air. A few plumes of dark smoke rising straight into the windless sky had aided them in their search. It was much larger than either Sonic or Tails had expected. It sat nestled against the elements in one of the last flat areas on the mountain. The collection of huts was extensive enough for it to be called a village. It took Tails several passes to find a strip of land large enough for them to land, but when he did it turned out to be no more than 100 metres from the huts themselves. They had already seen many curious faces peering up at them from the village below. When Tails finally brought the plane in to land they were met by an entourage of between eight and ten young Echidna, accompanied my four much older and sterner faced adults. Sonic and Tails both dropped from the cabin a little nervously.
"What is your business here?" A stern adult male said coming forward. He was a picture of Echidna strength, large, bigger perhaps than Knuckles; this Echidna looked well weathered by age. He was pale tan furred, and strong looking, not the kind of creature anyone with any sense would want to fight.
"Ummm…." Sonic began uncertain.
This large and very intimidating Echidna was joined by another, darker this time, but equally large.
"We have a friend you might know…" Sonic said nervously
The lead Echidna raised an eyebrow, some of the children who had so far remained silent whispered to each other.
"His name is Knuckles"
"What are your names?"
"I'm Sonic and this is Tails"
The lead Echidna nodded "You'd better follow us."
They were lead through the village under the gaze of many eyes. It was a pleasant place. The Echidna lived in varying styles of small huts, similar to what had once been Shadow and Knuckles' house or the one Knuckles inhabited on Angel Island. They were taken to a house roughly in the centre of the village. An oldish looking Echidna, similar in his manner to old Master Ribern of the Guardian School was waiting for them. He and their guards exchanged a greeting and a few words in the rumbling Echidna language before the older one waved the others away with his hands. They backed off, but only just beyond striking distance.
"I am Jintae, the village elder" the old Echidna said, bowing slightly "I am told you are friends of Knuckles. Forgive our hostile appearance but recent days have led us to be more cautious. I must ask you a few questions to ascertain your honesty as friends."
Sonic raised an eyebrow at Tails; maybe paranoia was an Echidna trait.
"I see your scepticism, but I would not wish to place my friend into the hands of an enemy"
Sonic nodded "I see your point"
They started walking, the guards followed them. "As I know so little about you I think it would be best if you told me all you can about Knuckles that you think would be of any use"
"Ummm… seventeenish, bright red, purple eyes… Echidna, duh, bout the same size as that pale guy that met us-"
"All these physical things, they are easy to know, tell me about him"
"Umm… Help me out here Tails… He umm… comes complete with an attitude problem… really hung up on responsibility… smells like burning half the time. His charge is called Shadow, a hedgehog… black and red…" Sonic was increasingly aware he was getting nowhere. He'd known Knuckles for longer than he cared to remember but couldn't think of anything to prove that they were really friends. Then he struck upon something "He wears a bracelet, always on his right wrist, hidden under his glove, the inscription on it reads Shadow Robotnik. Don't 'spose you ever saw that…"
"His best friends at the Guardian school were called Custos and Coral… his master was called Ribern, he died a few weeks ago" Tails offered.
At that moment Sonic wondered if they should be trusting the Echidna. He was glad Tails had gone no further.
"That'll do. Your plane and yourselves made me think that you were who you said you were. It is best to make sure. Tell me have you any news of Knuckles and his Charge?"
"We were hoping you could tell us"
Jintae shook his head "We haven't seen them since the night they appeared here when they were running from their home."
"Do you know which way they were headed?"
"West" Jintae pointed away down the hill from them. "They didn't stay long, Knuckles didn't tell us where he intended to go, just that he wanted to get away."
Sonic sighed and nodded, he was probably just winging it and hoping for the best. Sonic couldn't help but think that wouldn't turn out well.
"Knuckles left something with us to give to you if you appeared"
"Really?"
"Yes, it's in my hut"
Jintae lead them back to his hut. They waited outside for a moment for him to retrieve the item from inside. After a moment he returned carrying something.
"Knuckles told us to keep this safe, and not let the humans get it at any costs… If they came we were to destroy it. He told us to give it to you if you turned up, because you'd know what to do with it. He called it… his… insurance policy?" Jintae handed Sonic a simple, but rather heavy metal box. "He also said something about keeping Pandora's Box away from Pandora… do you know what that means?"
Sonic smiled "With Knuckles that could mean anything…"
"Well he said you could open it if you wanted to"
"Who's Pandora Sonic?" Tails asked as he peered at the box. Sonic began to open it
"I dunn- F-!" Sonic had opened it far enough to see what was inside, and dropped it. Tails and Jintae jumped back.
"What, what is it!" Tails shouted.
Sonic shook himself and bent down to retrieve the box which had fallen closed again. In answer he opened the box again so Tails could see. His facial expression said it all. Sonic pulled out two simple metal rods. Jintae looked thoroughly unimpressed.
"I had no idea he had some of these…" Sonic mused looking at the Sticks. "And that he was keeping them around Shadow…"
"If they were his insurance policy… surely you don't think he was intending to use them?"
"I dunno Tails… Maybe he thought they would be a last resort… but… two of them… when the Thousand attacked us that time… two was all it took to nearly kill Shadow."
"You don't think he was intending to use them do you?"
"Doubt it… but if he kept them around he must have been afraid he might have to… heaven knows where he found the things!"
"Why'd he give them to us?"
"Sign of trust maybe… he must have been really desperate to leave these behind"
"Umm… could you tell me what they are? They don't look that impressive to me."
Sonic looked at Tails. "How much do you know about them Jintae?"
"I know that Knuckles is Shadow's Guardian. And that Shadow is the reason for the occasional fire we smell down on the lower slopes"
"Well… these things can stop Shadow's power… more or less, but if used by an enemy they have the power to hurt him… alot" Sonic said simply
"No friend would use them unless they were desperate!" Tails said shrilly "Not with what they did to him!"
"But what-"
Sonic shook his head "No. That's as much as you need to know, for all our sakes"
For a moment Jintae looked disappointed. Then he nodded "Ok…"
Sonic went to turn away, back towards the Tornado.
"Sonic" Jintae reached out and caught his arm "If you find them… and they need help… get a message to us, either over the long distance network or by some other means… we're more than willing to lend a fist." A dark scowl crossed his face.
Sonic nodded "Tails have you got a spare radio?"
He nodded and scampered back to the plane.
"You've offered your help, bare in mind it might be called upon"
A dark blue female Echidna stepped up beside the older one.
"We will help Knuckles and his Charge"
"This is Sharay, my daughter" Jintae said. Sonic nodded to her in greeting.
"Knuckles has become a good friend to me. I will not let him down, and my people will not fail to support me if I ask"
At that moment Tails came back with the radio. He handed it to Jintae "Just keep it on, we wont call you unless we need your help." He showed them a button "Push down here and speak to respond"
Jintae nodded and took the radio. "I wish you luck in your search. I hope you find our mutual friends… I fear that the events of the past few days do not bode well. Strength and courage my young friends…"
"Find them… please" Sharay added.
"We will listen to the voices of our fellows… I hope they will bring us better news…"Sonic nodded, and he and Tails returned to the Tornado.
"Knuckles… I'm so sorry to wake you… but night is falling… I don't think we can stay here any longer"Reluctantly Knuckles pulled himself towards the sound of the voice. After a moment he forced his eyes open.
"Good evening"
Weakly smiling ruby eyes met his. For a moment Knuckles was confused then his mind caught up with his body.
"Thank heavens!" Briefly he pressed himself harder against Shadow's body where he held him. "It's good to see you awake again"
"It's good to be awake… all the time I was fighting so hard to try and wake up, but consciousness was always just too far out of reach… I was trying so hard to answer your calls… I didn't want to let you down…"
"You didn't… you couldn't help it… how you feel?"
"Like I've been shot"
Knuckles chuckled softly and forced himself to sit up and pull away from Shadow's warm embrace.
"What do we do now?" Shadow asked
"Where are we exactly, other than in a forest?"
Shadow laughed softly "I wasn't exactly paying attention when you brought me here…" Shadow stretched his limbs as though they ached "I haven't been able to move far from here, but I took a little walk. This forest is little more than a line of trees on the brow of a hill, a glorified hedge so to speak. I can smell a human habitation a few miles further north"
"You can smell it?"
Shadow nodded "Yes, their smoke, the fumes from their vehicles and the fuel of their fires… It is very strong. I think the place must be large."
Knuckles turned to Paul and scowled "Human, you told me the nearest village was ten miles southwest."
"You've been moving all morning you probably covered further than that" Shadow said softly.
"We'll have to go around it then"
"But Knuckles… where are we going?"
"Anywhere, just away from humans"
Shadow shook his head "We could run to all the corners of the world and never escape them. When I looked down on Earth from the ARK there was not a land mass on the planet not marked by their lights. We cannot run forever. "
"Well what can we do?"
"Give yourselves up" Paul offered
"You are not involved in this discussion" Knuckles snarled
"Neither of us are fit to walk much further, and we cannot remain here for too long, it is only a matter of time before we will be found."
"Then what are you suggesting?"
"The human village will have many fast vehicles…"
Knuckles frowned "You've got to be kidding!"
A slightly mad smile crept across Shadow's face.
"I don't trust this human enough to let him drive"
"Who said anything about him? I say we tie him to a post a few miles outside the village, by the time he is found or escapes we'll be long gone!"
"Then… How…"
"You trusted me to fly a helicopter, a car is much easier"
Knuckles groaned. Shadow's face was lit with a manic, almost childlike glee.
"If I say yes… will I look back and regret it?"
"If you say yes you will be able to look back and regret it"
Knuckles sighed grimly and nodded
"Good, so we leave this human a few miles out… tie him to a tree or something convenient?"
Knuckles nodded "Then we go into the village, we can see if we can lift some food and other supplies while we're at it…"
"We'll have to be careful though, make sure we aren't caught"
"Most of the humans will be inside, now it's dark, especially by the time we get there"
They descended the hill slowly, Shadow's movements lacking their usual grace as he was clearly still pained by his injury. They were guided on their journey by the lights of the town and the orange glow they produced against the sky. Paul walked willingly enough now, under the promise of release. A few miles out from the village they encountered a strong looking telegraph pole.
"This looks good" Knuckles muttered "Though it seems a shame to waste our rope" He paused for a moment. Looked Paul up and down and before Shadow could stop him he jumped up and struck him round the head with his heavy fist. Paul crumpled to the ground unconscious. Knuckles scowled down darkly on him.
"Knuckles why did you do that!" Shadow cried running to the unconscious human. Before he could reach him Knuckles pushed him away
"Don't even think about healing him"
"But-"
Knuckles bent to the ropes
"They tried to kill you Shadow, they shot you! I'm beyond extending them any courtesy. He should be grateful all he wakes up with is a headache."
He pulled the ropes tighter, so that Paul would be unable to walk and loosed the rope they had been leading him by. He shoved it into his bag
"Come on" He began walking off
Shadow looked down on Paul "What if no-one finds him?"
"They will, or he can crawl to the village. Come on Shadow."
Somewhat reluctantly Shadow followed.
By the time they reached the edge of the houses all was dark and quiet. Cautiously Shadow and Knuckles moved along the darkened streets.
"I hate large human places" Shadow whispered "They always smell so horrible"
Knuckles just grunted in response. They ran silently across gardens. Inside the houses people were watching their televisions, more interested in them than what was going on outside. Somewhere on the other side of the town a dog barked. The first car they found was sitting on a driveway at the side of one of the houses. For a moment Shadow looked at it. It was small and sky blue. After only a moment he moved away.
"What's wrong with that one?"
"Its not my style" Shadow laughed softly, then seeing Knuckles expression continued "We need one that's a bit more durable, that'll manage if we have to take it off-road… a jeep or something"
"Don't get too picky Shads"
"We're better off on foot than in that thing!"
They moved on. They crossed a few more gardens and a road then came upon an empty car-park. Knuckles stopped.
"Hey can you smell that?"
"Engine oil, machines, dog excrement? The smell's all I remember abut the last city I was in."
"No…" Knuckles sniffed the air again "Food"
Shadow raised a sceptical eyebrow but sniffed the air "Yes…"
Following their noses they made their way to the side of the building belonging to the car-park. They found a large green bin.
"This is a new low…" Knuckles sighed sadly "Forced to eat human rubbish"
He jumped onto the top of the bin. It was locked. Shadow looked up at him but didn't attempt to follow him. Without a moment's hesitation Knuckles broke the lock. What followed was a supreme balancing act as he managed to open the lid of the bin, which he had been standing on, without falling off. He pushed it up and it banged loudly against the wall behind it. Shadow flattened his ears against his head.
"Quietly Knux!"
"I'm hungry" Knuckles said simply and promptly disappeared into the bin.
After a few moments of rustling around Shadow was shocked as several plastic wrapped items began falling around him. Closer inspection proved that these were in fact sandwiches of varying shapes and sizes. A moment later Knuckles dropped gracelessly from the bin. Standing in the dark alleyway he shook himself.
"Uhhgggh gross" He shuddered slightly, picking a piece of congealed bacon from his fur, retching. "That has got to have been one of the most demeaning things I've ever had to do"
Shadow looked up from stuffing the food into his backpack. "We get to eat, that's what matters."
Knuckles retched a couple more times before walking out of the ally into the clearer air, hastily Shadow followed.
When Shadow set eyes upon a dirty black jeep it looked for all intensive purposes as though he had fallen in love. Again he laughed with manic glee.
"Perfect! I couldn't have asked for anything better!"
"That thing!" Knuckles questioned sceptically "It's a wreck!"
"It is covered in mud, that proves it must be well used off road… unfortunately it is very close to the house… we must get away quickly"
"Are you sure you can do this Shadow?"
"Ummm… I hope so"
"Somehow that doesn't fill me with confidence…"
Cautiously they crossed to the vehicle. Their feet crunching on the gravel driveway seemed like a thunderclap in the still night air. For a moment they froze, expecting lights to come on in the house and for hundreds of humans and their dogs to bear down on them. Fortunately nothing happened.
"Knuckles get the door open… as quietly as possible"
"Can't you do anything with the lock?"
"I have nothing to pick it with! And if I tried burning it I would probably only make it worse. Not thatI can at the moment anyway"
"Alright…"
Knuckles ran his hands round the door, for a long time he feared the only way to get a grip good enough to pull it open would be to punch it, then at the bottom corner he found a section that rust had eaten away big enough to force his fingers through. With a short sharp wrench he managed to force the door open. The resulting noise however startled them both. A light came on in the top window of the house.
"Hide!" Shadow squeaked, darting under the car.
Knuckles clumsily pushed the door so that it closed as noiselessly as possible and joined Shadow under the car just as the curtains were drawn back. From beneath the vehicle they could just see a bearded man look out at the garden. Shadow and Knuckles pressed themselves against the cold pointed stones, hoping the man wouldn't decide to come out for a closer look. After what felt like an eternity the curtain fell again, and then the light went out. Knuckles breathed an audible sigh of relief, and the tremor running through his body eased a little.
"Let's get out of here" Shadow sighed wearily
Again Knuckles pulled the car door open. Cautiously they both hopped inside. Shadow scurried across to the driver's seat as Knuckles pulled the door closed. When he turned back to Shadow the expression on his face filled him with despair.
"What?"
"I'm not tall enough"
"What!"
"My feet won't reach the pedals!"
"Pedals! You never said anything about pedals! Why didn't you think of this before?"
"My training never said anything about cars not being Shremu sized!" Shadow banged his fist on the steering wheel where he stood on the seat "I should have thought of this! I can't even see over the steering wheel if I sit down!"
"Then don't" Knuckles said thoughtfully "Shadow… do you think… I could do the pedals… and you could steer?"
Shadow paused thoughtfully for a moment, then frowned "I think so… but it will be very hard"
"We're in this mess now, the only way out of it is in this jeep. We told Paul what we intended to do… now we have little choice but to do it and hope we pull it off"
"And if we don't?"
"We're screwed"
"Oh good" Shadow sighed sarcastically, dropping down into the foot well at Knuckles side "Accelerator, brake, clutch" Shadow pointed to each pedal, starting at the right. "A,B,C"
"Ur… yeah ok"
"I'll shout when to push them. First…" Shadow pulled his bag off his back and took out the towel and the knives wrapped in them "I knew these would come in handy for something."
Shadow began trying to remove the panel under the dash using the knife as a lever, before he made much progress Knuckles grabbed the plastic panel and pulled it off. Shadow grinned across at him
"Real subtle Knux"
Knuckles just grinned sheepishly and threw the panel onto the back seat.
"Just hurry it up"
"Hey, do you know how to hotwire a car?"
"No… but being around all these humans makes me very nervous"
Shadow nodded and began fingering his way through a set of cables. "Once I do this the engine will start, we wont have long to get away before all hell breaks loose" Shadow picked out a cable and smiled "So I suggest you get ready… just remember the brake is the one in the middle"
"Ugh…ok"
Shadow cut through the cable and peeled back the plastic coating. "You ready?"
"Just do it already!"
Shadow sparked the two pieces of wire together. The car coughed once and failed to start.
"Come on come on…"
Above in the same room the light came on.
"Ahh crap" Knuckles said from where he knelt on the floor.
"Come on-yes!" The engine kicked into life, Shadow tied the two pieces of wire together and jumped onto the seat. "Left and hold!"
In the foot well Knuckles made a nervous guess and found the clutch. After some hasty searching and as many curse words as he knew Shadow found reverse.
"Ok let it up slowly!"
Somehow between them they managed to lurch the jeep out of the driveway and all the way across the road.
"Hey we've even got a full tank of petrol, our luck's looking up! Ok push left down again"
Knuckles did as he was told and Shadow found first gear.
"Ok let that one up slowly and push down on the right one at the same time…"
Knuckles did his best, but the car threatened to stall
"Now push down left, no left, left, other left you stupid Echidna!"
Between them they managed to get the jeep screeching and lurching up the road, though only after destroying a large amount of the opposite lawn and taking a washing line complete with underwear with them. The bearded owner of the jeep got to his door just in time to see his vehicle move away, with a hedgehog at the wheel.
Fortunately the road was fairly straight. Shadow drove the car along the straightest route he could find, heedless of the few traffic lights. He wanted to make life as easy for Knuckles as possible, who seemed to be getting progressively worse at telling left from right. Shadow was just beginning to relax as they cruised at thirty miles an hour far beyond the light of the last houses when he spotted something in the middle of the road. He'd never seen anything like it before.
"What's that in the middle of the road?"
"What's it look like?"
"I dunno, large, brown I think-"
"Wait, in the middle!"
"Brake!"
Knuckles had forgotten which pedal was the brake. Shadow put all his strength into turning the wheel to the left.
"Brake Knuckles brake! Middle, middle, middle!"
The jeep started to screech to a halt. It careered off the road and into a ditch. Shadow feared it would turn over. He was thrown forward onto the steering wheel then down as it finally jolted to a stop.
Knuckles snapped awake. His back screamed angrily, and his head thudded. It took him a few seconds to remember where he was and why. He lay crumpled in the foot well of the jeep, Shadow's motionless from on top of him. Painfully he pushed Shadow's body aside. He got unsteadily to his knees, testing his body, nothing broken… just badly bruised. He looked down on Shadow.
"Shadow, you dead?"
The black shape beside him didn't respond.
"Shadow!" He shook him.
In answer Shadow coughed blood down his front.
"Oh Shads…" Knuckles moaned sadly
Shadow coughed again "-I'll live" Trying not to cry with pain he levered himself to sit up, against the chair. "Ugh… the brake is the one in the middle…"
"I'm so sorry…" Knuckles said pitifully, he went to reach out to Shadow, but seemed to think better of it and pulled his hand away.
Shadow was struggling to breathe. "I'll be ok in a minute… just winded… let me get my… breath back"
The stain of blood on the bandages on Shadow's chest started to grow.
"To the Pit with that" Knuckles growled.
Shadow coughed but otherwise didn't respond, just looked wearily across at him. Dreary surprise spread across Shadow's face as Knuckles lifted him, and awkwardly carried him into the back of the listing jeep. Shadow's world was swirling as Knuckles redressed the wound on his chest. All the while Knuckles muttered incoherently to himself. Shadow allowed his mind to drift, safe and assured by his Guardian's touch.
"Mooo!"
Shadow's world clicked back into focus. Knuckles was just finishing tying a bandage round his chest.
"Well Shads… I think your object in the middle of the road was a cow"
"I've never seen a cow before…" Shadow croaked, looking up at the roof of the jeep
"Really?"
"No, they weren't the kind of things we had on the ARK. Is that what this jeep smells of… cow?"
"No, I think this is sheep"
Shadow half coughed half giggled "I've never seen a sheep before either… but Maria used to say they looked like little fluffy white clouds"
Knuckles laughed softly "Yeah… and about as intelligent as clouds too. We used to farm sheep on Angel Island… I only hated the chickens more… they used to like to jump me when I had to clean out their house. Ugh… I always smelled of chicken poop all day."
With a shuddering laugh that wracked his fragile body Shadow sat up with Knuckles' help.
"We can't go on like this…" He looked Knuckles in the eye "Do you know the difference between left and right?"
Knuckles grimaced and looked away "I-I was never very good at that"
To his surprise Shadow didn't laugh at him. "Why didn't you say something? We could have marked the pedals!"
Somehow Knuckles didn't think that would have made much difference.
"I thought you would just laugh at me… and think I was stupid" Knuckles said, hunched up and looking away.
Shadow smiled at the back of his head and reached out to touch his back "You're an Echidna, I know you aren't the sharpest tool in the shed, I don't keep you around for your brain!" Knuckles flinched "Knux… nothing you could ever do would make me believe you were a fool… I'm sorry for what I said… I was just… frightened… You know how much I depend on you…" Shadow shrugged "I've never depended on anyone before…"
"Me neither" Knuckles said softly "We have that in common"
Shadow laughed weakly, but changed the subject "I don't think I can drive for a bit…At least not how we were… How far are we from the village?"
"Not admitting defeat are we my Shadowkin?" He laughed wearily "Far enough, but we can't stop for long. The human will have reported his car stolen by now, and if he saw us they'll be on to us… we can't afford to hang around…
Adam Smith blinked bemused as his jeep drove away. He wondered if he was still dreaming, if he'd been seeing things. Surely he must have been, he'd never heard of Shremu stealing vehicles before. But it must have been a pretty good mask if it wasn't. He stumbled around, back into his porch, his wife, Emilia; a dark shadow in the orange light of the doorway was waiting for him.
"Where's the jeep!" She asked angrily
"I think it's been stolen…" Adam mumbled in response.
"I can see that! Did you spot who took it?"
"You'll never believe me…"
"Why not?" She put her hands on her hips
"Because I could have sworn I saw a hedgehog at the wheel…"
To Adam's immense surprise she didn't laugh at him, conversely the colour visibly drained from her face.
"I think you'd better come inside…"
Adam filed obediently into the house. Emilia looked around as though she expected some awful fate to befall them, as soon as he was inside she closed and bolted the door.
"Do you think I should get on the line to the police?"
Emilia was rustling through some papers. Adam watched, perplexed. After a long moment Emilia evidently found what she was looking for. She walked over to the kitchen table and spread a newspaper out across it.
"Look" She said simply.
From the front page of the national newspaper Shadow's expressionless face stared up at them. Behind him buildings could be seen burning orange, his black shape dark against them. Clearly visible in his hand he held a Chaos Emerald. The headline read "Fallen Angels?". Below there was a picture of Knuckles, his fur matted with blood, unbeknown to the humans most of it was his own, his fists barred. Emilia began to read out the text of the article.
"Project Shadow the Bioweapon created by Professor Gerald Robotnik over 50 years ago has returned. After the ARK incident it was thought it had been destroyed as it was not seen returning with the other renegade Shremu. Now it is confirmed it has reappeared. It has now recommenced its reign of terror, beginning by completely destroying Skytop village. It is now on the run from military pursuit, accompanied by the red Echidna Guardian also seen on the ARK. Members of the public are warned not to approach as they are extremely dangerous and are requested to inform the police of any sightings immediately."
The article ran for several pages. The images used were all old, and the most horrific in existence. There was even a picture of Sonic and Tails looking dangerous. Only a small column in the corner of the last page suggested that Shadow had been willing to give his life to save Earth, and asked that he be given the benefit of the doubt. After a stunned silence in which Adam began to read the rest of the article he reached for the phone.
Shadow sat on the damp earth resting against the side of the leaning jeep. His chest ached painfully, and made movement tiring. Beside him Knuckles frowned quizzically as he watched Shadow look at the two number-plates he'd just retrieved from the front and back of the vehicle.
"Here" Shadow handed him the back one. "We'll change the letters, so that maybe we won't be so easy to identify… It's probably hopeless, but work with me here ok? Grab the knives out of my bag will you?"
Obediently Knuckles scurried off to retrieve them. He brought them back and sat at Shadow's side.
"Look we can change some of the letters and numbers to make a different plate. E422NPE can become F122NPL"
"Will that make a difference?"
"I doubt it… but while we're sitting here we may as well do something"
Shadow set about levering the plastic coating off the front of the plate, Knuckles followed suit by doing the same. Once the cover had been removed Knuckles was surprised to find that the symbols were made up of what looked like black tape. Shadow took a knife to this and began chopping off arms in what to him was a random order to change their shape.
"And I just do the same as you right?" Knuckles asked. The two plates looked as though they said the same thing.
"Yep, we'll make it F122NPL that's the easiest"
With that Shadow went back to his work. Uncertainly Knuckles tried to do the same, peering over Shadow's shoulder to check he was changing the right parts of the letters. Just doing it made him feel sick, after only a few moments the symbols started to dance in his weary vision.
"Shadow… is there anything else I can do… I err… my hands are cold… I can't do this neat with the knife…"
Shadow frowned at him, he looked from the discarded number-plate to his Guardian and back again.
"Err ok… go see if you can find me some long straight sticks ok?"
Knuckles nodded and vanished into the cold night. Shadow sighed, shook his head, and finished what he was doing.
"Really sir, your jeep has been stolen by a hedgehog?" The sceptical police officer said down the telephone line
"Yes! It looked like that Project Shadow thing from the news, black with red markings"
"Yes, and my daughter has an elf living above her bed."
"I'm serious!"
"Yes I'll just make a note of that… Project Shadow has stolen your jeep… yes Mr Smith… Licence number E244NPE. Ok sir, someone will be over in the morning-" She stopped abruptly, as though someone was speaking to her "Umm… could you hold the line a moment Mr Smith?"
More chatter on the end of the line that Adam couldn't quite hear then:
"Urr Mr Smith… I'm going to pass you through to Commander Burns… Military intelligence…"
A click, a moment's silence then a voice.
"Good evening Mr Smith… It is crucial that you give me an exact description of what you saw and of your vehicle…"
Knuckles returned a few moments later. He found Shadow chewing unenthusiastically on one of their scrounged sandwiches, his nose wrinkling as though it wasn't a particularly pleasant experience. Knuckles placed the sticks down on the ground at Shadow's side as he held a long baguette style sandwich up to him.
"This one looked the best of the lot… They're out of date I think, but fine otherwise." Knuckles went to brush it away, but Shadow shook his head severely "Eat, neither of us have for days now, we might not get another chance for heaven knows how long."
Silently Knuckles took it. Upon opening the sandwich Knuckles found it contained some kind of meat, probably beef, an irony considering the sound of the occasional moo around them. He found the food wasn't nearly as unpleasant as Shadow was continuing to make it look.
"Shadow if it tastes that bad eat a different one…" Knuckles offered him his own "This one's kinda nice… a little spicy… meat and some sort of sauce…"
"Beef and horseradish… it says so on the packet" Knuckles looked at the wrapper and took Shadow's word for it. "It's not the taste…" Shadow reached up to his mouth "My teeth hurt…I banged them when we stopped…"
"Lets see?"
Obediently Shadow pulled his bottom lip down, which Knuckles now noticed was swelling with bruising. One of Shadow's front teeth was badly cracked, part of it was missing; the others looked somewhat wobbly.
"My teeth won't grow back…" Shadow muttered "Damage them and the so called "Ultimate Life" will need dentures…" He laughed half heartedly, before licking his lip and taking another painful bite. Knuckles too returned to his food.
He was trapped in the middle of a swamp, submerged up to his middle. All around him humans were laughing. Somewhere in the distance he could hear Shadow's screams, a sudden bang-they cut out.
Knuckles' head smacked back against the jeep.
"You ok?"
"Shadow!" He cried
"Yes?"
Knuckles looked across at him and sighed with relief.
" 'nother nightmare?" Shadow asked softly. Knuckles only nodded in response. "My poor Guardian… Now your awake we can go, I think I've figured out a way to make my legs longer." He pointed at some sticks tied to the bottom of his shoes "The only question is, how do I get into the car with these on my feet?" He laughed softly.
The solution proved to be to crawl. Eventually Shadow managed to install himself in the driver's seat in position that just about afforded him to reach all the controls.
For now the going was easier, since Shadow had made his modifications to the controls. They'd kept to the quiet roads, moving throughout the night. Now a grey dawn was breaking. Outside it was cold, condensation ran down the windows. If the jeep had any heating they hadn't found it. Secretly Knuckles wondered if autumn was coming early, and dreaded it. A sleepy looking woman passed them, her headlamps sparkling on the damp screen. Her face creased into a confused frown as she passed, another human they'd frightened into requiring an extra strong coffee. Shadow rubbed wearily at the bandaged wound on his chest, and sighed softly. Knuckles knew it was time they stopped. Though better than having him on pedals Shadow's position was far from perfect, even most humans wouldn't go this long without a break. Even without the Bond Knuckles would have known Shadow was in an increasing amount of pain. It was high time they stopped.
"I think we should stop now Shads"
No answer. Shadow just blinked and continued to stare at the road ahead.
"Shadowkin?" Knuckles reached across and touched his arm. He jumped and tugged the steering wheel towards the ditch, hastily he correct his error.
"Time we stopped huh?"
Shadow just nodded wearily
"We'll have to somewhere to hide the car, trees or summin…"
Again Shadow nodded. He slowed the jeep and dropped down through the gears. The area they were travelling through had changed during the dark hours. When they looked out the windows they saw a landscape which had once been extensively mined. Spoil tips towered to the left of the road, all the way to the bumpy horizon. To the right the sight was much the same, although it tended to slope downhill. The place seemed cold and arid. In some areas Mother Nature had begun to claw back what she'd lost, but in most all that was visible was piles of rejected stone. Not the easiest place to hide. As Knuckles looked for a place to hide the car drifted over the white line in the centre of the road and didn't attempt to return.
"Shadow" Knuckles said sharply, jabbing him with the Bond. Again he jumped and pulled the vehicle back to the correct position.
"That's it, pull off the road here, to the right"
Shadow did as he was told, slowing, crossing the opposite carriageway and taking the jeep onto the crunchy ground.
"Just go down the hill as far as you think we can get back from and stop"
Again Shadow simply did as he was instructed. Here the side of the road dropped away sharply. Knuckles hoped that it would be enough for their dirty black jeep to go unnoticed. Judging by the strong smell of sheep it was the kind used by local farmers and wardens, so maybe no-one would pay it any attention. Hopefully their modifications to the number plates would be enough to keep any over zealous police away. Knuckles knew that was probably a vain hope. Shadow slowed the car, it stalled to a halt. He blinked but otherwise remained motionless at the controls.
"Get in the back" Knuckles mumbled softly
Shadow muttered something, turned off the lights then tried to pull on the handbrake, but couldn't. Knuckles shooed his hand away and pulled the brake on himself, more than a little afraid it could come off in his strong hand. When he looked back Shadow was already laid across the seats, curled up, his back to him. Grinning Knuckles took one of their now very wet blankets from his bag and opened the door.
He knew there was a way of opening the bonnet without breaking it, it was just common sense. A few moments' searching rewarded him with a promisingly diagrammed handle. He pulled it. The bonnet popped open. Happily he trotted to the front of the vehicle. When he opened the bonnet as far as his small stature would allow he found the engine pleasantly warm, though he judged not so hot it would burn the material. He draped the blanket over the engine as best he could, leaving the bonnet partially open for air, hoping he remembered this, one of Tail's little tricks correctly. Hoping it wouldn't become a fire he returned to the car. Shadow wouldn't be fit for drying blankets for days, perhaps weeks, they needed something warm. A brief search of the vehicle provided nothing of any value for warmth, so Knuckles curled up beside Shadow's shivering form and allowed himself to sleep, as far as an on-duty Guardian ever did.
Several hours later Shadow woke feeling stiff and cold. For a long moment he had no-idea where he was, or why he was there. The strong smell of sheep was all that penetrated his numb senses. He sat up. Beside him Knuckles groaned and almost slid off the side of the narrow seat. Shadow rubbed the misted windows and peered out to be met by the bleak and unforgiving landscape. The quarries surrounding them looked no more appealing under the dreary light of day. Shadow yawned and cautiously stretched his stiff limbs, one by one they responded, if unwillingly. The previous night was a dull blur to him, a white line on a black background. As he sat his eyes drifted closed again.
He dreamed of the stars, of the Speedway, of running through the vacuum of space waiting for the ARK's scientists to let him into the airlock, of the searing pain in his chest.
"Easy, easy Shads" A voice was saying. Shadow opened his eyes and found himself struggling to breathe, Knuckles hands on his shoulders struggling to hold him still. Shadow froze and concentrated on drawing air into his damaged lungs. He watched relief spread across Knuckles' face as his heartbeat slowed and his breathing eased. After a few long moments Knuckles breathed a low sigh of relief.
"That was a horrible moment" He muttered softly. Shadow nodded in response "I thought you were going to suffocate… I woke up when I realised you hadn't breathed for a couple a minutes. I felt so helpless!"
Shadow smiled in response, but for the moment words were beyond him, so they sat in silence.
Twenty minutes later they were on the road again, heading north, driving beneath a dull sky. The roads were quiet, though getting busier; they seemed to be heading towards a centre of human populous, which, in itself, was not a good sign. Knuckles was getting nervous, he couldn't help but worry that they were walking, or rather driving into danger. As they drove the air was growing increasingly dark, oppressive, it did nothing to brighten either of their moods, especially Shadow, who had a thing about the rain. Then as the afternoon started to fade into evening the heavens opened. Shadow groaned to himself as he sought the windscreen wipers.
"You know what Knux, I though the weather metaphor only applied in books, but, we're about to run out of petrol"
Knuckles responded only with a groan and looked despondently out at the bleak landscape. They had passed through the quarries and were now on open moor land again. At least, Knuckles thought, it would be easier on the feet when it came to running again.
They continued on for about twenty minutes more, Knuckles, watching the road was just daring to think Shadow may have got it wrong, when the jeep jerked and the engine made an ominous coughing sound.
"That would be us, running out of petrol" Shadow said softly.
The jeep continued on for a little further, before the engine stalled and Shadow was forced to bring it to the side of the road and a shuddering halt.
"Well that's the end of that" Shadow said simply "Stupid human sized car was giving me cramp anyway" Somehow Shadow's words lacked the required humour. "I hate the rain"
Knuckles looked up at the sky and silently agreed "We'd better go… as long as we sit still we're vulnerable…"
"Out in the rain?" Shadow asked almost to himself, looking up and opening the door. "Yep, like I thought, in the rain… all we need is lightning now and we'll have your perfect gothic novel"
Knuckles laughed softly "No ghosts as far as I can see"
"Yeah, let's keep it that way"
Close together, the two of them set off up a steady hill away from the road.
He ran, heedlessly, not knowing what was going on, only believing he must run, away from the sounds of all those screaming people. Behind him, what had once been his school exploded in a flash of light. He staggered and looked back over his shoulder, not daring to stop. Thick black smoke rose up from the school. He and his friends had always laughed about blowing it up, but no-one really wanted to. He hadn't intended to… It had just happened… He couldn't explain it. He wasn't special, he didn't have any unique or interesting powers, he was just him, James Dart, boring old James, good at maths… bad a sports. He ran on, the sounds of screaming had eased but now he could hear sirens. He ran along the side of the road, his soaked school shirt sticking to his heaving chest, every time a large vehicle passed him he was splashed by a tide of water. The light rain that had been falling all morning seemed to have chosen now to decide to become torrential. He was hot and cold, all at the same time, hot from the strain of running, cold from the steady stream of rain falling on his head. At least maybe the rain would put out the flames… Save some of the school… save some of those inside….
The Trainee Guardian known as Sapphire raced through the human city. Her sense of urgency had increased tenfold in the last twenty minutes. She couldn't help but fear she was too late. Chaos seemed to be spreading through the city, not a good sign. In the distance she could see a thick plume of dark smoke rising into the grey sky. She was, more or less, running directly towards it. She knew she was too late to avert disaster, now she could only hope that she could reach the one she sought, before anything else could happen.
James had reached the park. He stood panting by the swings, leaning heavily against one of the metal poles, a fierce stitch running up his right side. He couldn't run anymore, but he was afraid… He'd done something terrible… He was afraid people would come after him because of it… Hunt him down like an animal… He was afraid whatever had just happened would happen again…
Sapphire felt a strange surge of pleasure. She gazed at a human, bent almost double, leaning against a metal rail, holding his chest. He was soaking wet, his dark hair plastered to his head, his face pale, aside from a red flush to his cheeks where he'd been running. He was hansom somehow, in his own pathetic pitiable way. She moved towards him, slowly, approaching from the side and behind, where he couldn't see her. She paused for a moment; fear crept into her now where exhilaration and joy had been just a moment before. What if he rejected her? The Masters on Angel Island would think that no bad thing, she was too young to be Bonded, but these days she was far from alone. Angel Island really was emptying at an alarming rate… But this was her duty, she could feel it in her bones, in her soul, in her heart… This human needed her… needed her guidance… her help. She screwed up all her courage and approached him.
"James?" A female voice asked.
James spun and looked around, terrified. For a long moment he couldn't find the source of the voice until a soft cough made him look down. What he saw was an Echidna, her fur dark blue almost black from the rain, dressed in a plain dress. Her beautiful sapphire eyes gazed up at him. Relief such as he'd never felt before washed over him. He couldn't explain it, but it was like for the first time in his life everything made sense. Some part of him that had always been missing was found, and because of that everything would be ok.
"Who… who…" He stammered, it was the only thing he could think to say, though deep in his heart he knew who this Echidna was.
"My name is Sapphire. I am to be a Guardian, your Guardian as it happens" She smiled hopefully at him. For a long moment the human stared at her, as though his mind was slow, calculating the meaning of her words. Then he dropped to his knees and threw his arms around her.
"Where were you twenty minutes ago?" James asked, unable to prevent as sob entering his voice "I've just dome something so terrible… I don't even know what I did… It all just happened…"
Sapphire immediately began to see the situation was more serious than she'd thought. In the distance sirens, alarms were ringing. She whispered the words more to herself than him, strove of the Bonding pains and simply gave him a request.
"Accept me?"
"What? Yes"
Sapphire pushed, pushed with her heart, with her mind, and with her soul.
A moment later she was in his mind-with him in his emotions, sharing his fear, soothing him, crooning like a mother with her child. Around them the sounds of sirens were increasing. When she looked up from her new Charge's embrace she could see the flashing of police lights, their cars were parked at the side of the road by the park. The humans approached them, cautiously perhaps even fearfully. Sapphire loosened her hold around James' shoulders and moved forward to meet them.