Chapter 10
The group consisting of a red echidna, a yellow hedgehog, a blue hedgehog, a pink hedgehog, and a black hedgehog all made their way out to the front of the house through the rain and past the enormous gates that separated Rouge's mansion from the streets. Sonic stopped on the sidewalk and looked in both directions to find the street barren. 'Perfect, no distractions.'
The sea-blue hedgehog looked back to his black counterpart standing behind him. "So, where to Shadow?" Sonic yelled through the ferocious wind and rain.
Shadow tilted his head up, seemingly unaffected by the rain pelting against his unprotected face. The dark hedgehog looked back towards Sonic. "Emerald Beach, about ten miles from here."
Sonic put his hands behind his back. "That's kinda short, don't you think Shadow?"
The dark muscular hedgehog crossed his arms. "I don't feel like spending my entire day in the rain so take it or leave it."
Sonic put his hands up in defeat. "Fine, but when this storm is over, you and I will have a proper race."
Shadow smirked. "Count on it." The dark hedgehog faced Amber. "Can you tell us when to start?"
The yellow female nodded. "Sure."
Shadow looked back at Sonic. "Alright, first one to Emerald Beach and back that touches Amber's hand wins, got it?"
Sonic nodded slightly and arched forward, ready to take off. Shadow did the same and they now waited for Amber to start the race. The yellow hedgehog raised her hand in the air before yelling. "ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET, GO!"
In the blink of an eye, both hedgehogs took off with incredible speed, leaving the rest of the group slightly dazzled by the wind left behind.
Shadow skillfully skated down the empty road towards the main highway leading to Emerald Beach with Sonic right beside him. The blue hedgehog looked over at Shadow and smirked. Shadow looked back towards the road and huffed slightly. The dark hedgehog gave an extra boost of speed which Sonic easily matched.
Shadow then saw the up-hill turn onto the highway and made a sharp turn up the small ramp. Sonic skidded a little before also turning and following Shadow's lead. Shadow came out of the curve and saw nothing but straight pavement as far as he could see. He also noticed his adversary no longer beside him.
Shadow looked back to see Sonic running a few feet behind himself. "What's the matter Sonic, getting a little slow?"
Sonic did not respond but only pumped his legs harder, causing him to get back to Shadow's side. Sonic looked up at Shadow and smirked. "Never."
Shadow gave a slight nod and began increasing his skating leg motion to a faster pace, causing the jets on his shoes to give off a greater flare and greatly increasing his own speed. As Shadow sped ahead of Sonic, the blue hedgehog also decided it best to step things up as he let his arms fall loosely behind his body, creating more momentum for himself and catching up with the dark hedgehog.
Shadow looked over his shoulder at the approaching hedgehog. In a split second, Sonic was next to Shadow once again. Shadow growled slightly but his thoughts soon disappeared when he spotted a sign that read: Emerald Beach Next Exit
Shadow smirked as he made a sharp right turn, causing Sonic to slow down in order to avoid a collision. One at these speeds could prove fatal to both of them. Shadow quickly skated down the ramp and was followed by the now recovered Sonic.
Soon after leaving the highway, Shadow found himself dodging several parked or abandoned cars in the middle of the road. A light blue convertible was in the middle of the road, one which Shadow simply jumped over.
The dark hedgehog looked back to see Sonic swerving out of the way of the car. Shadow pressed on ahead and was soon greeted by the familiar sight of Emerald Beach. The dark hedgehog accelerated even more than before and soon found his air shoes violently stirring up a small sand storm. This triggered the hedgehog's mind to believe he had reached his checkpoint.
In one swift motion, Shadow dug one hand into the wet sand and spun his entire body around. His air shoes kicked up a ton of sand as a semi-circle dugout was formed. The hedgehog released his grip on the sand and once again sped off.
Sonic did the dame as Shadow, only his sneakers did not stir up as much sand as Shadow's air shoes. The blue hedgehog rotated around and sped off after Shadow. Sonic increased his speed again and found himself mere feet away from Shadow, who looked over his shoulder at Sonic.
"Still keeping up huh?" Shadow inquired over his shoulder. Sonic smirked. "You know me."
Shadow looked back forward to see an all too familiar blue convertible in the way. Shadow however, did not intend on slowing down for this annoying obstacle. Instead, the dark hedgehog pointed his hand forward as a yellow bolt erupted from his hand, engulfing the car in flames and sending it into the air. Both Shadow and Sonic sped underneath before the car came back to the ground with a loud crash.
Shadow and Sonic once again swerved up the small ramp onto the highway and ran side by side. Shadow thought this was the best time to reveal what he was truly capable of. Slowly and steadily, Shadow increased his speed every second, with Sonic following suite.
Pretty soon, Shadow's vision on his sides became blurry and his ears started throbbing. He knew what was going to happen next. There was loud boom as Shadow found his entire vision blurry and his sense of hearing completely disappearing. He had broken the sound barrier.
This was soon followed by another boom as Sonic also broke the sound barrier. The pavement under Shadow and Sonic gave way and crumbled as the two hedgehogs became nothing more than a black and blue blur.
With nothing stopping them, Shadow and Sonic flew over their exit and onto the street below, parting the pavement and knocking over cars as they went. Thought heir vision was blurry, they could see the faint outlines of three figures in the rain.
The blurs continued to move ahead until suddenly, there was another boom, followed by Shadow completely lifting off the ground with his shoes flaring behind him and shooting forward. Amber had her hand outstretched as the blur that was Shadow forcefully slapped it, knocking the poor hedgehog off her feet. A blue blur passed soon after.
The black blur gradually came to a halt by skidding for about a full minute with the side of his shoes, creating a long black line on the pavement. Sonic did the same, wearing out his sneakers a little.
Knuckles immediately helped Amber up as Shadow and Sonic made their way back towards them. Sonic was the first to speak. "So, who won?" Sonic asked eagerly.
Amber brushed off her clothes before answering. "Shadow."
All of Sonic's eagerness disappeared as this word passed through his ear. The blue hedgehog's gaze fell to the ground but his face was soon met by warm gloved hands. He looked up to see a pink hedgehog. "Don't worry Sonic, you'll beat him next time.
Sonic smiled slightly at Amy. "Thanks."
Shadow smirked as he watched Sonic. Before the hedgehog had a chance to leave, Shadow spoke. "So Sonic, I guess I went twice the speed of sound. Couldn't keep up, could you?"
Sonic looked back at Shadow. "Don't get too cocky Shadow. We'll have a rematch soon." With these words, Sonic went back inside accompanied by Amy. Everyone else, including Shadow, followed suite and went into he house.
When they came inside, they were met by a white bat that had a curious look on her face. "Who won?" She asked Sonic.
The blue hedgehog looked down at the floor. "Shadow." He mumbled.
Rouge smiled slightly, but only enough to make it barely noticeable. 'I knew it!'
The rest of the group soon entered afterwards. Before anyone could object, Rouge set everyone down for dinner, including Shadow. After the meal, everyone decided to turn in. Amber went with Knuckles, Cream went with Tails, Amy went with Sonic, and Rouge went into her room.
Rouge's Room
The albino bat slowly laid her weary head down onto her soft pillow. She sighed slightly before rolling to her side and turning off the lights. It must have been a few minutes before Rouge heard the door creak open.
The bat opened her eyes slightly and saw the silhouette of a hedgehog against the blinding light. The light soon shrank and disappeared as the hedgehog closed the door. Faint footsteps echoed through the room as the hedgehog made his way over to the bed.
Rouge closed her slightly opened eyes when she felt a warm breath against her face. It was accompanied by deep but soft voice. "Sleep well, my angel."
Rouge was inwardly shocked and delighted at the statement from whom she knew to be Shadow. The light footsteps were once again heard as Shadow probably made his way to a dark corner of the room. The bat could not suppress a slight giggle as a smile etched its way across her lips. She murmured slightly and almost silently. "Sleep well, my love."
