Trukero – Who says there's another Shadow?

Raiden-the-Kitsune – Sorry I'm taking so long.

Maverick87 – Maybe, but then again Knuckles has been tricked easier.

Chapter 4: Disease of Death

Tails went deeply in depth with his explanation of what had happened. He explained from the beginning, from when Angel Island had been intruded to the meeting with Amy.

"And here I am with you. Moping around on this mess." Tails sobbed, as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

Amy looked down at the table beneath her. Shadows covered her face as she couldn't bare to look up. Small droplets of water spilt onto the table as they flowed from the pink hedgehog's eyes. She followed this truth in disbelief. Her head fell to the table as she realized that it was the reality of the world.

The young fox couldn't do anything to comfort her. All he could do was struggle mentally for a thought in revenge, or a thought of sorrow. Seeing that the Chaos Emerald had been taken by the supposable enemy, Shadow, didn't make the matters any better. The various dead bodies at the construction site almost left Tails to believe that the dark hedgehog had been on Angel Island.

"Amy," Tails started, "I'm sorry. But I need to find Shadow. Have you seen him?"

Amy nodded her head no. It would seem the black menace had been long in the mysterious district of the city, "I didn't even know he was in Central City."

"Well. I'd best get looking." Said the junior scientist, still a bit weepy, "I'll return around dark."

"Tails…" Amy said under her breath, "Be careful…"

Opening the door to the apartment, the fox was gone. He strode his steps forward to make a quick paced walk. Tails had no idea on where to begin looking, as usual. The two tailed furry could only back track to where he had saw Shadow.

Amy's apartment wasn't far away from where she met Tails that morning. It happened to be only a few blocks away. However, it would take him about an hour or a little less to reach the construction site. Tails simply had to get the Chaos Emerald though. His instincts and conscience wouldn't let him stop.

"What could Shadow want with these emeralds?" Tails asked himself in thought. It was the question that repeated over and over again. Even as he approached the construction site a late 40 minutes the question remained to his mind.

When Tails looked at the building the black hedgehog had once stood on he could see nothing but a blank spot. Spinning his tails as fast as he could, the fox emerged to flight. He hovered fast onto the building and soon landed on its surface. A vast amount of other building tops lie in front of him now. Could Shadow have possibly simply just gone across all of them to get to his destination? Tails demonstrated such a thought to see its possibilities.

He slipped his tails into a propeller motion and went across the rooftops. The buildings seemed suspicious as he furthered the structures. Signs were placed in convenient areas as to block something. Some scattered debris made perfect or somewhat perfect lines across the outline as in indicating some sort of direction. Tails had to keep moving.

After hours of constant crossing the fox decided to sit down. With no benches around these rooftops were the only areas to sit. The sun was setting a warm breeze around the staring face of the Fox. Tails pondered on Shadow, and what he was doing. Nothing hit his mind so he got up, deciding that moving onward would be his best choice.

Thirty minutes after his little break, already Tails covered most everything. Only five blocks remained and still nothing. However, he knew that the only way to be sure that there wasn't something was to head towards the end. These last five blocks curved a bit and went uphill. It was like a short hike.

Surely this trip wouldn't be in vain. It couldn't have been because as soon as Tails approached the edge all he saw was a big shield that seemed to wobble. Its blue energy with a red interference in the middle seemed to stop anyone from entering. What was it and why didn't anyone notice it before? Being the scientist he was, this still puzzled him. Tails stepped forward and touched the large barrier of energy. His hand slipped through easily. The two tailed being stepped behind the shield. Nothing had happened.

"An illusion?" Tails asked himself aloud, "I'd better get back to Amy. I don't want her to get worried."

The sky shaded itself in black. Golden lights kept the area alive in parts of Central but even the busy city was falling asleep. The door opened in Amy's apartment and there stood Tails.

"Tail! Did you find Shadow?" Amy asked, in her usual tone. She had almost forgot about Sonic, but almost didn't equal doing so.

Tails nodded in a negative. Then he said, "But I saw an energy shield. Have you seen it?"

"No. Where at? How big is it? What's it used for?" Amy kept rambling in question.

"I don't know but we may be able to see it from the top floor of this apartment." Said the fox, "Does one of your windows face Southwest?"

"Yeah." Amy immediately brought Tails up to show him. Indeed, the fox could see the shield, just barely. He heard nothing from Amy though.

"Do you see it?"

"No."

"But…" Tails stopped, "How come she can't see it. Even if it only shows a little bit, it still shows enough."

Looking straight through the roads and buildings in the dark the barrier should have been visible to anyone from here. Amy couldn't see it though. Something was going on in Central and he didn't like it. Once he had come to these thoughts it hit him. His stomach ached and his legs couldn't hold him. Tails prompted onto the floor, his arms spreading out. Everything became so blurry; the last thing he saw was Amy's scared face.

As the fox slept in shock the pink hedgehog walked around in fear. It seemed as if everything was turning against her these past few days. Amy quickly picked up the phone, she couldn't call for an ambulance though. Something made her hesitate, like a supernatural force almost. She turned on the T.V hoping to calm herself, although regret slit through her.

From earlier this morning, the news channel was left on. What was surprising was the mentioning of a new noncontiguous disease.

"Many travelers coming from the forest border or leaving through the forest border have been caught up by a new deadly disease. No cure as been found, one is currently being researched but there is no current success. All paths, roads, and buildings near the forest are being blocked." A newscaster said. In the back people were being shipped into ambulances from car crashes and this deadly virus, "Symptoms of this are immediate and include weakening of all muscles, possible deliriousness, shock, blurry vision, and blacking out. We request you contact the proper authorities on time, 123 victims have fallen casualty to this new attack."

Another man appeared on a screen, "We hope to see improvements with this crisis. Trish will keep you updated, in the meantime with more recent news. Police have been called in to deal with the violence in a poker match."

Amy watched, and then looked back at Tails who still suffered. She could only imagine the pain Tails went through. It was terrible to listen to his moaning and have nothing she could do. Why didn't she call an ambulance, maybe because she had some sort of hope.
-----

Knuckles was having large success with his search. Only 15 pieces remained of his emerald and he had the Chaos Emeralds away from Sonic and Tails. The echidna had no way of knowing the troubles happening, the deception he was in. All Knuckles believed were the words Eggman told him, the things about Shadow, Sonic, and Tails. What more could he do? Then he remembered that Shadow still had one emerald shard.

"I've checked everywhere on Angel Island twice now. I'm sure the emerald flew somewhere else. Maybe to Central, where Sonic and Tails were really heading to take my Master Emerald pieces!"

Knuckles marched angrily. He sped into a run and started to head out until he remembered he had no money so he couldn't buy a ticket to Central. Only one option was left, his small boat. It might not hold in the ocean for that long, but it would do.

AN – I'm really sorry I couldn't make this chapter longer. I'm not to the half point of the plot yet though if that makes you guys feel better, I'm still in the beginning.