Characters Sonic, Shadow, Rouge, etc. are copyrighted to their original Sega creators. Characters such as Rika the fox, Cuervo, the Divine and future characters all belong to me. The term 'Wishmaster' belongs to the band Nightwish based on their song Wishmaster.

Now for Chapter 5! Had to finish my school work before I could write this. But it's here. Now some things I want to address.

To Ruhiel: I could change the name Cuervo to its English version but I would rather keep it this way. His name was intentionally going to be spanish. It was going to be Sombra but that's pretty much a rip off of Shadow. I just feel that this name suits him, plus I like the spanish version of the word better. But I appreciate your opinion. Please keep reviewing :)(I'm latin too! Even though I can't speak spanish, sigh)

To Windfield: I do agree with you, believe it or not.Even if I had got no reviews, I still would've written the next chapter since even I'm not sure what's going to happen nextand I am interested in my story. I really do enjoy writing, and I enjoy writing this story. And I am determined to finish this story and to never abandon it. It's just that I like reviews. :)

Chapter 5- The Secret War

As the fighters walked through the city of Station Square, the citizens were finally beginning to realize the worst was over and were coming out into the daylight. The center of the city was in ruins; buildings toppled over, the once beautiful park ripped asunder. But they were strong. Most who already were experienced with past attacks by Dr. Eggman and others were able to pick up the broken pieces of their lives, thankful for what they still had. Instead of brooding on their troubles, they got up and started to repair what was left and comfort others who were taking the disaster harder. After all, tomorrow was another day.

Yet there were some who could not just go back. They had looked deep into the creature's eyes and had seen what was to come. What ever their friends or family said no longer mattered.

They knew.

So they escaped deep into their minds to hide from the truth. But the truth followed, haunting them. The other citizens determined them to have suffered a tremendous shock. The people who saw the truth were no longer sane.

The group of fighters that had defeated the creature had found Amy's house in the suburban part of the city where the houses were spared of the destruction. They had walked quickly, impatient to get there and avoid the people. It was completely pink, reflecting Amy's perky nature. The girl brought them inside straight into the living room and offered them anything they needed. Their wounds were not too serious and were fixed easily. Amy helped heal them, especially to Sonic who, try as he might, could not push her away.

Ry the Imp wandered all over the house, fascinated by the tiny fragile objects that were on the shelves. If it were not for the ears, tail, and fangs, he would have looked exactly human. He picked up anything he could get his hands on and sometimes even broke some which grabbed the attention of Amy much to Sonic's relief.

"Could you be careful with that? It was expensive…No. Put that down please…I said put it down, not drop it! Now it's broken…What do you have there?…Yes, it is very pretty…Hey! Give it back! It belonged to my great-grandmother!…Wait! Come back!"

"RY! GIVE THAT BACK OR ELSE!!"

The imp who had been running with a devious grin on his face stopped immediately in fear of Krysta's wrath. He handed back a porcelain figure of a horse, though somewhat reluctantly, to the flustered pink hedgehog.

Shadow had been growing impatient. Ry's little antics got on his nerves and was sorely tempted to go break his neck. He needed answers desperately. For five months nothing but questions. He must have answers NOW.

"Krysta, Ry, you said that you would be telling us what is going on," he said in a quiet, lethal voice.

The lioness heard the note of urgency and knew she had to speak. "Alright, I'll tell you."

"I can tell you, too!"

"Shut up, Ry."

The others gathered around the two like toddlers ready to hear a bedtime story.

"Well, that thing we just fought is a creation of someone. Who, I cannot say. I was never able to find out. But whoever it is has created even more, armies."

The others faces started to grow pale. Armies…and it had taken so long to defeat just one, and even then it was really Cuervo that had finally destroyed it.

"Of course there are very few that are even as big as that creature we fought. Many are as the same size as you or me, but their strength…anyway, as I said before me and Ry first met Cuervo six years ago when those creatures attacked our home."

"Your home?" asked Rouge.

"It is a village consisting of my clan, The Lions." Then she sighed. "And imps constantly come there."

"I've been meaning to ask that. What are imps exactly?" asked Knuckles.

Ry jumped out of his seat. "What are imps? Why we are the proud warrior race, brave and true, able to stand up to any foe!"

"There pretty much just little freaks that like to cause mischief and annoy the living hell out of normal people," said Krysta dryly.

Ry turned to her pouting. "You can be such a downer sometimes."

"Hey, I've read about your people," said the boy genius, Tails. "I've read that imps had perfect accuracy and were known as the Legendary Archers."

Ry's face was beaming. "Yeah well, I don't like to brag-"

"I've also read that imps sometimes cover up their ears and tails so that they could go out among humans without getting caught and like to start trouble."

"That's not true! Well, not exactly…"

"There was this one particular story about an imp that started so many rumors for a country, fights among families broke out and that it eventually led to a civil war-"

"Hey! It wasn't our fault humans were so gullible!"

"Can we just get back to the story?" Shadow's voice was dangerously low.

"As I was saying, monsters started to attack our village for some unknown reason. Everyone fought back, including the imps that were actually pretty good with the bow and arrow. I was young at the time, only ten, but I fought as well since my psychic powers were of immense help. And Ry was one of the best archers around. But even then, there were just too many. We were losing.

" It was then Cuervo suddenly appeared right in front of me. I thought at first he was one of those creatures so I attacked him with my psychic abilities. It did absolutely nothing. And once I saw his eyes, I couldn't move at all."

Everyone in the room knew exactly how that felt.

"The same thing happened to Ry. It was the first time I ever actually saw him scared."

"I wasn't scared. I was just…surprised. I mean those eyes were really freaky and I was just-"

"Shut up. Well, Cuervo turned around and those black things came out. Hundreds of them. Each one went to a different and they all turned to dust. Everyone of them. It happened so quickly. And then he disappeared."

"Poof. Just like that. I wanted to ask for his autograph and all, but he-"

"CAN I FINISH MY STORY!?!"

Ry shrunk down into his chair and Krysta was able to control her anger.

"Anyway, many of us were confused by the event and somehow only me and Ry were the only ones who saw Cuervo. And he appeared in the middle of a crowd and those powers of his should've been able to draw attention to him. When I told everyone, they thought that I had been hallucinating and that my mind was fatigued from the battle. And although Ry told them he saw the guy also, no one ever believes an imp. I started to believe it was an illusion, until I saw him again."

She paused, recalling memories from long ago.

"It was about a week later, when me and Ry went out to a nearby jungle for some hunting. Cuervo suddenly appeared right next to a tree and just looked at us. We got ready for an attack but then he said that he was not going to hurt us. Of course, we kept our guard up. He then started to tell us about those monsters, how they were created by someone. He told us there have been wars going on. For years. These monsters are a part of it. I didn't believe him at first, but those creatures kept appearing. Everywhere. And he would always come."

She stopped talking as the memories came flooding back.

"But you don't trust him?" said Shadow, guessing her thoughts.

"No, I don't. He doesn't tell us anything else. Me and Ry left home because we knew these monsters were starting to come out rapidly. I've asked Cuervo so many times why this is happening, but he never said. I just don't know…"

"C'mon, Krysta," the imp tried to comfort her. "Don't be so uptight. You worry too much."

"And you don't worry enough!"

"What did you mean about wars?" asked Sonic.

"Wars between those creatures and the ones fighting against them. Me and Ry are a part of them."

"Who else?"

"We actually don't know," she replied in an embarrassed voice. "I've only met a couple but we always separate. Sometimes people would join up with those creatures, so its hard to know who's with us or against us. That's why it's always just me and Ry."

"That's right!" exclaimed the imp. "Me and Krysta are a great team!"

"Shut up."

"Sorry."

"Now I have a question. Where did you get that?" she pointed to the crystal sphere that hung around Shadow's neck.

He held it in his hand. "I found it."

"Where?"

"Where it is now. Why?"

"I remember Cuervo having it?"

"What? When?" he clenched the crystal in his hand.

"When I first met him. He would always have that crystal in his hand."

"Yeah, I would ask him what it was but he never said anything-" Ry just kept on blabbing, unaware of the death stare Krysta gave him. "I've always wanted to touch it, but he never let me. Something about not being able to handle it and going through horrible agony and becoming insane. But you know, I think he was lying 'cause if you could hold it, why can't I? I mean it's clear that I'm stronger than you. Hey, let me hold-"

Shadow's eyes narrowed dangerously at the imp who realized his error.

"Uh, you know what? It's not that interesting. I mean, why the heck would I want that little thing when I already have my superior arrows….But why do you and Rika get to have those things? I was good!"

"You know about her too?" asked Shadow.

"Yes," replied the lioness. "Cuervo had that same crystal she wears along with the one you have. We met her a year ago helping fight back creatures that had attacked her, thinking she was just a civilian. She wasn't exactly grateful and attacked us instead."

"Yeah, she can really throw a punch," said Ry rubbing his jaw.

"But wait, why would he give these things to both Shadow and Rika?" asked the kitsune, Tails.

Krysta shrugged. "As I said before, he never tells us anything."

"Maybe if I research them we might be given more clues. Shadow, let me see it."

The black hedgehog still held on to the crystal and shook his head slowly.

"C'mon, Shadow. What's with you?" questioned the impatient Sonic. "You won't let me see it, you won't let the little demon-thing see it."

"Hey!"

"And you now you won't let Tails see it, either. C'mon, it's not that big of a deal just to let us hold it."

No. It was a big deal. The crystal belonged to him. It was a part of him. They did not have the right to take it.

But he needed more answers. The information that Krysta and Ry gave him was not satisfactory. Maybe if they examined the crystal…

He sighed. "Alright. I guess it wouldn't hurt." He pulled the chain over his head.

Suddenly, an intense weariness bore down on him. A cloud of misery shrouded him like a blanket. He felt tired…so tired.

He reluctantly handed it over to Sonic who reached out his hand. The crystal landed in his palm. He held it…

A light shot out from the gem. Sonic gasped in pain and dropped it. A burn mark was on his hand. The jewel fell on the floor, glowing for a couple of seconds till it finally dimmed.

"Damn it, what happened?" cried Sonic, glaring at Shadow in accusation.

"I don't know. I didn't do it, I swear!" Shadow picked up the gem with no difficulty as the others stared.

"Sonic! Are you okay?" Amy ran to the blue hedgehog. "Here, let me see."

"Ow! Ow!! Let go! That really hurts!" Sonic moved his bruised hand away from the girl.

"What just happened?" asked Knuckles.

"The minute I touched that thing, it felt like my hand was on fire. How the heck are you able to hold it?"

"I. Don't. Know," Shadow stretched the words in annoyance.

"Uh…maybe you could just bring it over here," suggested Tails.

"Alright. Wait, there's no machine here. This is Amy's house, not yours."

"Don't worry, I came prepared." Tails held out a gray-colored cube, laid it on the floor and pushed a button on his remote. The cube grew forming into an oval-shaped machine, complete with many different colored buttons, a computer screen and keyboard fixed into the middle.

"How many more of those do you have?" questioned a stunned Rouge.

"What? It never hurts to be prepared. Okay, Shadow. Just put that crystal in here." He pressed an orange button and a compartment button in the bottom half of the machine opened. Shadow put the rock inside halfheartedly and the compartment closed. Beeping sounds came from the device while numbers appeared on the screen.

"Now, let's see.." Tails typed into the keyboard as the contraption analyzed its subject. The beeping sound quickened, eccentric letters and numbers flashed on the screen. "Huh? What does this-"

He typed again, but the beeping went even faster. Then the machine started to crackle with electricity, smoke rising from it. This went on for about a minute before the machine broke apart, collapsing to the floor.

"Is that supposed to happen?" asked Ry.

"No, that's not supposed to happen!" yelled the fox boy. "Oh, and I just finished building it. Six hours of work down the drain!"

Shadow, not listening, dug into the rubble of metal parts for the crystal, like a miner searching for gold. He found it unharmed and sighed in relief.

Amy gazed at the object curiously. "That thing must be really powerful."

"If I had put a Chaos Emerald inside, I know it wouldn't have done that!" Tails said dejectedly.

"Maybe that machine was a dud or something," said Ry.

"It was not a dud!"

"I think that's enough excitement for one day," said Amy. "Maybe we should all get some rest. Ry, Krysta, why don't the two of you stay here for the night? It's the least I can do for you helping my Sonic."

The said person groaned.

"Woo! Finally I get to sleep in a real bed!" Ry was responded with a smack on the head by the lioness. "Ow!"

"Well, I guess we could all use some shut-eye before we figure out what to do next," said Sonic.

Krysta looked up. "So…you will help us?"

"Well, sure. We're not gonna let you do this alone."

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"…Thank you."

He flew through the night sky with leathery wings in splendid form. His pursuers were catching up. He could not see them, but they were there. He beat his wings faster but to no avail. A claw sliced through the air, making its prey scream. He tried to counter attack, but his own blood came into his eyes, blinding him. He was hit repeatedly, each strike more agonizing than the last. He finally had no more strength left, his wings were going limp. He started to slowly fall.

No…not yet…please…not yet

But it was no use.

He had failed.

Shadow awoke suddenly. It was midnight. All the others were fast asleep. Ry and Krysta were given guest rooms, Amy was in her own, and the others chose the living room. Rouge and Tails were sleeping on the two couches, while the rest slept on the carpeted floor. No sound came except Sonic's snoring.

Shadow had another dream. Someone was flying through the air, while others were chasing him. The last image was of the person falling. Shadow saw where the dream took place. He was not sure how, but he knew that what he just saw was real.

Shadow got up and crept slowly out of the room, out of the house. Something was forcing him to go, though all he wanted to do was to go back to sleep. But the dream would come back…

He held his Chaos Emerald in his right hand. "Chaos Control," he whispered, and vanished.

The black hedgehog appeared in a large meadow, the tall grass blowing in the night air. Right away he saw figures in the center of the meadow laughing. He ran to them and found the victim on the ground unconscious, surrounded by his attackers.

They all turned to Shadow with glowing eyes. They were the most repulsive beings he had ever seen, nightmares brought to life. They licked their fangs with black tongues as they stared at their next meal. He got into a fighting stance as the beasts started to walk toward him, the crystal sphere around his neck glowing.

Then they stopped and started to talk to one another in a language that sounded like bones and glass crunching together. Then they turned to Shadow and just flew away into the air with their deformed wings.

What was that all about?

After a minute when it looked like they were not coming back, he walked up to the comatose person.

It was nothing like he had expected. From the wings he saw in the dream, he thought it was another bat like Rouge. But this person was definitely not a bat.

He was covered in glossy, green scales that reflected the moon's light. He had large, sharp claws on his hands and feet, long, graceful horns sprouting from his head, and a sharply pointed tail. Shadow realized the wings were different too. They looked almost too fragile, the veins could be seen through the leather.

Shadow was unsure. Perhaps this was one of the creatures, like the one from the city. But then why did he have that dream? And why were those monsters attacking him in the first place? And although he was certainly strange looking, he was not revolting like those beasts.

Reaching a decision, he picked up the reptile who had started to move. At least he was alive. But not for long if the deep bloody gashes on his body were not treated quickly. In a burst of green light, they transported back to Amy's house.

Okay, now for some reviews. I'm still gonna write the next chapter but reviews make me happy...Please! Give me a review! I'll give you a free cookie...No...TWO free cookies!! And their big ones too!