Chapter 9

Return to the Space Colony ARK

Gerald Robotnik was just entering the computer room when Mystic came flying in the window sweating and out of breath.

"Mystic?" he said staring at her in confusion for a moment. Then he composed himself. "Did you find the Emeralds?"

Mystic handed them over. "Here they are, doctor," she said panting.

Gerald noticed something wet on the floor. He knelt down to look at it more closely. Blood.

The scientist gasped and grabbed the purple hedgehog's right shoulder. He turned her around. Someone had torn a large chunk out of her wing. "How did this happen?" he asked in concern as he pointed at her wing.

Mystic gingerly glanced over her shoulder. "I don't know," she replied. "I-OW! What are you doing?"

"I'm making sure it's okay," he replied running his hand over the wound.

Mystic winced and tried to pull away. He held firmly onto her wing. "Hold still."

She stopped moving.

After a minute he said. "It'll be okay as long as you don't have to use it anymore tonight. It's a good thing you don't have to get anymore Chaos Emeralds."

She had to agree.

Gerald gently wrapped her wing in a white cloth. He then set the two Emeralds next to the other five. "Tomarrow's the day," he said turning to her. "I'd advise you to get some sleep. You look real tired."

Mystic nodded and let out a small sigh. "I am," she said softly before she turned and jumped up on her perch above the window, "Good night, doctor."

"Good night, Maria my dear," he said softly.

Mystic heard him. What? she thought looking down at him, Why did he call me Maria?

Shadow lay on his back sleeping unpeacefully. His breath was labored and sweat covered him, soaking his entire body with it. He was having another nightmare.

Shadow stood like a stone in the Eclipse Cannons core room. His eyes were closed and he was listening to his breathing. He was alone...or was he?

He sensed something behind him and turned around. Nothing. But he knew something was definately there.

"Who are you?" he shouted at no one. "Show yourself, you coward!"

Still he saw nothing, but he heard plenty. Something was there all right. But where?

Then he saw it. That thing that looked like the Shrine to the Master Emerald. What in the world? he thought taking a step forward.

Suddenly the lights went out.

Shadow froze as he saw something red and glowing coming toward him.

He heard that sound again. This time it was so loud it rocked the whole place and knocked him over.

The thing got closer and closer.

Shadow scrambled to his feet and tried to run away. Something hit him across the ribs sending him flying through the air and landed a few feet away on his back.

Just as he got up he was hit again. This time when he hit the ground he stayed there, fearing he would be struck again if he got up.

Something grabbed him around the waist and picked him up. "Let me go!" he shouted struggling to free himself.

Instead of complying it began to smash him against the floor and walls. By the time it was done torturing him, Shadow felt like he'd been run over.

The thing set him roughly on the floor. He got to his feet dazed and confused as he franticly tried to figure out where he was, who he was, and what he should do. He couldn't see his adversary and he could barely hear it. He could sense it though and he knew where it was.

Just as he decided to run from it something smashed down on him.

"Hey, get off of me!" someone shouted.

Shadow's eyes snapped open and he found himself laying across Sonic's chest. The blue hedgehog was glaring angrily at him.

"Sorry," Shadow mumbled quickly getting off the blue hedgehog.

"You'd better be, you sicko," Sonic snapped.

Shadow looked at him sharply. "I am not a sicko!" he protested. "Do you think I would purposely roll on top of you? I don't think so. The very idea is disgusting."

Sonic stuck his tongue out at the black and red hedgehog.

"You're asking for it," Shadow growled in bad temper.

"Shut up," Sonic said in no mood to be very nice.

Shadow lost his temper and grabbed the blue hedgehog by the throat. "You shut up!" he roared putting up his fist in a threatening gesture.

Sonic jerked away and kicked Shadow in the stomach. When Shadow stooped over holding his stomach Sonic kicked him in the face.

Shadow didn't make any attempts at fighting his faker. It wouldn't do any good anyway.

Instead he looked up at Sonic and said in his calm voice. "Look, instead of fighting why don't we just call a truce for now? "

"I thought we already had when we tried to escape from here," Sonic said.

"No, we hadn't," Shadow said calmly so there wouldn't be another arguement, "I barely had any idea what was going on. I was just following you because you were pulling me around."

"Let's just drop it," Sonic said.

Shadow was more than willing to, but he couldn't let Sonic know that. "Whatever," he said shrugging carelessly.

At that moment Mystic opened the door and stepped in. She had a precular look on her pretty face. It was a smile and it startled Shadow when he saw it. It was because it reminded him of Maria's.

The purple hedgehog must have noticed the way he was staring at her and looked at her clothing. Was something on them? Then she remembered the reason she had come to the room and composed herself staring directly at him.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm here to inform you that we finally have all seven Chaos Emeralds," she said closing her eyes halfway. "and you know what that means don't you?"

Shadow knew all too well what it ment. But instead of answering her he glared at her coldly.

"It means it's almost time," she went on ignoring his glare, "and we are leaving...NOW!"

"No," Shadow protested.

He cast a look at Sonic. He knew he and Sonic could easily over power her but she pulled out her sword seeming to read his mind and any courage Sonic had at the moment vanished.

"Let's go," she said in a comanding voice. "and if either of you try anything you're going to regret it."

She poked them with her sword to get them going. They walked out of the room, down the hall, and into the computer room without a word.

Gerald was typing something into the computer when they came in. He was also standing on a tranceporter on the floor.

"Here we are," Mystic said as they entered. "and we're ready to go."

"I don't see why you are taking me with you," Sonic said folding his arms. "I'm not even involved with this."

"If we let you go, hedgehog, you'll just go and tell the government what we're up to and they'll try to stop us," Gerald said glaring at the blue hedgehog, "We can't have that. So you have to be taken with us so no one finds out until it's too late."

Mystic pushed the two male hedgehogs onto the tranceporter then also stepped on. The four then transeported to ARK.

As soon as they arrived Gerald told Mystic to lock Sonic and Shadow in two seperate rooms until he was ready.

"Why seperate us?" Sonic whispered to Shadow.

"So we can't try to figure out a way to escape, that's why," Shadow muttered.

Mystic nodded at Gerald's order and drug them down the hall. She opened the first door she saw and shoved Sonic into the room.

She then took Shadow to another room farther down the hall and led him inside closing the door behind them. Something was bothering her and she knew only Shadow could give her the answer.

"Okay, Shadow," she said turning him around so he was looking at her, "I need to know something and I know you have the answer."

"What?" he asked.

"Why did you stare at me strangely when I came to get you and that blue hedgehog."

"I'm not telling you," he growled.

"And why not?"

"It's none of your business!"

Mystic glared at him then turned to leave.

"Maybe you should ask Gerald," Shadow said with a trace of sarcasm in his voice.

Mystic turned and stared at him with cold red eyes. "For all the people who live on that planet," she said before she stomped out of the room leaving a confused Shadow staring after her.

"So what are you going to do first?" Mystic asked Gerald Robotnik who was staring out the window in the research facility looking down at the blue planet below them.

Gerald looked up at her.

"First I'll put the Emeralds in the Cannon," he said.

"And then?"

"Send my message to the world," he said, "they'll have ten hours while the Cannon charges so I don't know what I'll do in the meantime, but for now I'd better get busy."

Gerald got to his feet and walked out of the room. Mystic watched him go then walked up to the window. She stared down at the planet then at the controls that activated the escape capsules. She ran her hand over them smiling to herself.

Suddenly something flashed through her memory. A flashback of some sort. But before she could place it it was gone.

"What in the world?" she said staring dumbly at the controls, "What was that?"

Maria had just sat down on her sofa to relax a bit when suddenly her favorite program changed to something totally weird.

She saw an old man with a sad face on the screen.

"This is Gerald Robotnik," the man announced.

Maria dropped her remote.

"I am here to send a message to all you ungrateful people," he continued. "In the space of ten hours you and your precious planet will cease to exist. You are all going to pay for what you've done."

Gerald rambled on for a few more minutes then the screen changed to numbers counting down.

Maria sat there totally dumbfounded for about an hour not knowing what to do.

Gerald was going to destroy the world? But he can't! He's dead! No, this cannot be! He can't be...alive?

Mystic was putting the Emeralds in the Eclipse Cannon when she stopped with the yellow one in her hand.

She stared at it closely.

Gerald entered the Central Control Room and noticed her staring at the Emerald with a suspicious look on her face.

"What is it, Mystic?" he asked walking up to her.

Her face grew angry as she screamed. "It's a FAKE!"

Gerald was surprised. "A fake?" he asked.

"Yes," she said glaring at the Emerald in distaste, "A no good fake!"

She threw the Emerald down into the darkness under the platform. "Why that no good fox!" she nearly screamed, "He still has the real one stashed at his place somewhere! How dare he trick me with that stupid copy! I'm gonna wring his little neck!"

Now Gerald was angry too. Without all seven Chaos Emeralds he couldn't activate the Cannon which ment he couldn't get his revenge.

"Go back to Earth and get that Emerald!" he ordered in an angry voice.

Mystic nodded equally angry. "I'll get it right away," she said," That stupid fox boy isn't going to make a fool out of me again!"

She then turned and stomped angrily out of the room.

Maria was about to turn off the TV when she stopped. She saw a news lady talking to Miles 'Tails' Prower who looked very pleased with himself.

"So, you're saying that purple hedgehog took a fake Emerald?" the lady asked.

"That's right," Tails said sounding proud of himself, "if they try to use the Cannon it will blow up in their faces."

The lady turned to the screen a look of relief on her face. "So there you have it, folks," she said smiling, "there is no reason why we have to worry."

Maria turned the TV off. She knew better. Gerald would likely figure out what happened and look for that Emerald.

"I have to get to Tails' house," she said getting up.

Maria ran out of her apartment and hopped on her bicycle. She peddled down the street and out of Station Square as fast as she could.

She knew she had to get to the foxes house, and fast.

As Mystic flew over a dence forest she seethed in anger. How dare that rotten fox think he can outwit me, she thought clenching her fists. Well he's got another thing coming. When I'm through with him he'll wish he'd never been born!

She stopped and hovered in one place trying to remember where the foxe's house had been.

Then she spotted it. "Ah hah!" she exclaimed, "There you are! Get ready brat fox boy, cause here I come!"

She dive bombed the place.

When she landed she entered the airplane hanger where she heard a soft humming coming from.

"Humming your cocky little tune, my friend?" she said sofly as she pulled out her sword, "Well, pretty soon that tune with be different."

She quietly entered the building and snuck up on Tails who was cleaning his plane. GOTCHA! she thought reaching out and grabbing him.

She spun the frightened and surprised fox around and grabbed him by the throat. "Where did you hide that Chaos Emerald?" she demanded pointing her sword in his face.

Tails didn't answer. He was too busy staring at her wing. It was totally healed!

"Answer me!" she shouted shaking him.

Tails kicked her away. She tripped over something and fell backwards. The fox grabbed a wrench and ran at her screaming a war cry.

Mystic righted herself and without thinking slashed a deep gash in Tails' arm. He dropped the wrench and grabbed his wounded arm. Blood oozed through his fingers.

Maria arrived at Tails hanger just then and hopped off her bike. She ran to the entrance then changed her mind and hid behind the outside wall. She peeked in.

She saw a beautiful purple female hedgehog in a gray shirt and skirt pointing a long silver sword at Tails who sat on the floor holding his right arm.

"Give me the Chaos Emerald and I'll go," she said, "Otherwise I'll have to take more drastic measures."

Maria watched as Tails just sat there not doing anything.

The girl noticed the female hedgehog loosing her patience. Just give it to her, Maria thought.

Tails hesitated then very slowly reached in between his twin tails. He pulled out the yellow Chaos Emerald and slowly handed it to her.

The purple hedgehog snatched it. "Thank you for your cooperation," she said sarcasticly.

Maria saw her come shooting out of the hanger and into the air. The human girl grabbed her bike and rode after the fleeing figure. She was going to follow her and hopefully find out what this was all about.

If this hedgehog was created by Gerald she'll lead me right to him, she thought as she peddled after the winged hedgehog, I just have to find out what this is all about!

Authors note: Sorry this took so long. I've been very busy lately and didn't have the time. I hope you liked it so far. I hope my writing didn't confuse you at all. By the way if you're wondering what's with Mystic well...you'll find out. I'm not very good at those computerific parts you'll just have to tolerate me. Well I gotta go bye!