Chapter 11
Unknown Location
A colossal winged form flew silently through the stormy skies. The mighty sliver beast's eyes were unaffected by the heavy wind and rain pounding furiously against it. Large black clouds floated above with yellow lighting bolts dancing within them. Below, the merciless sea churned uneasily while huge waves were created, occasionally hitting the beast.
The monster smirked as he sensed a colossal power. 'I'M COMING SHADOW.'
Rouge The Bat's Mansion: Rouge's Room
Shadow was once again in his dark hidden corner of the room, unconsciously watching over the white bat that slept not ten feet from him. The dark hedgehog's body was covered in sweat, for his sleep was uneasy.
Shadow watched in horror as some shadowed monstrosity held a clearly visible white bat Rouge in its tight grip.
"THIS IS WHY YOU WILL NEVER BE A TRUE ULTIMATE LIFE FORM SHADOW" The unknown creature bellowed at the hovering Shadow. With these words, the beast took one of his claws and stuck it forcefully into the white bat's stomach.
Blood erupted from the wound as well as the bat's mouth as Shadow watched on in horror. The beast let go off the bat with a smirk plastered on his face. A primal scream echoed through the stormy sky. Shadow then realized that it was his own. "ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUGE!"
The dark hedgehog's eyes opened abruptly, finding himself to still be in Rouge's room. Shadow's first action was to check on the person that died in his horrifying dream. The dark hedgehog slowly made his way over to the side of Rouge's bed, only to find the bat still soundly asleep.
Shadow let out a small sigh before turning towards the door, and heading out. The dark hedgehog made his way towards the room Rouge had graciously given him. The old door slowly creaked open as the night hedgehog made his way in.
The room was still almost completely barren, save for a bed, dresser, and stormy filled window. Shadow made his way over to the window and lifted it open. In one swift motion, the dark hedgehog disappeared into the stormy morning.
Rouge's Room
The white bat slowly blinked her eyes open, not yet willing to let go of her peaceful sleep. She tried going back to sleep for a moment before finally giving up and getting out of bed. Rouge looked over at Shadow's "personal" corner to find him no longer there.
Rouge sighed a little. 'Why am I not surprised? "He's just not the kind of person to stay in one place long.'
The white bat made her way to her bathroom, shutting the door behind her.
Knuckles' And Amber's Room
The red Echidna also slowly woke up to find his beautiful young Amber lying cuddled next to him, with her arm over his chest. Knuckles savored the feeling of this for a moment before lightly shaking the hedgehog.
Amber's eyes fluttered open. She slowly looked up at Knuckles and smiled a t him. "Good morning."
Knuckles smiled back at her and kissed her on the forehead. "Good morning."
Sonic's And Amy's Room
An azure hedgehog also slowly woke up to only see carpet. Confused for a second, the blue hedgehog lifted himself up to realize he had been sleeping on the floor. Sonic looked over at the bed he slept beside to find a pink hedgehog, bundled up in the covers.
Sonic smiled slightly. 'Man she's beautiful. If only we could be together.' Sonic scowled himself abruptly and shook the thought out of his head. 'What am I saying? I would only be putting her in danger.'
Sonic used one knee as a support and stood to his full height. The blue hedgehog observed the pink one some more before softly calling. "Amy?"
The pink hedgehog did not respond. "Amy?"
Once again, Sonic's call was answered by silence. He raised his voice a little. "Amy?"
This time, the hedgehog began to stir so Sonic continued. "Amy!"
The pink one only pulled her covers over her head. Sonic rolled his eyes slightly at Amy's childish behavior. "Come on Amy." Sonic said with a hint of annoyance before reaching out to shake her slightly.
Before the blue hedgehog could react, Amy rolled over causing Sonic to roll with her. Both hedgehogs fell off the bed and landed on the floor with a heavy thud. Sonic was lying on top of Amy.
Amy finally opened her eyes to be met by grass green hues. She tilted her head curiously before realizing who this person was. "Oh, hello Sonic."
Sonic immediately jolted up from the pink hedgehog with a hint of rose covering his face. "Uh…I just…Uh…wanted to wake you." Sonic mumbled while rubbing his left arm a little. Amy smiled at his shyness.
"Thank you Sonic, could you help me up?" Amy asked mischievously. Sonic's eyes widened a little but he nodded and proceeded to help her up. Sonic grabbed her by the arm and pulled the pink one up. Amy "fell" forward and rested her hands on top of his chest.
The two hedgehog's eyes met and became lost in each other before Sonic decided to kill the moment. "We should get downstairs Amy."
Amy snapped out of her trance and nodded while removing her hands from his tan chest. The sea blue hedgehog turned and walked out of the room with the pink one following.
Living Room
Rouge was already in the kitchen whipping up a batch of pancakes when everyone else entered the room. "GOOD MORNING!" Rouge yelled. All she got in response were some ruffs and snorts. These people just weren't the morning type.
Everyone sat around the table as Omega proceeded to hand out the silverware and plates.
Emerald Beach
A lone figure stood on the sandy shore of the uneasy sea. This figure was of course Shadow The Hedgehog. His mind was once again lost within past, present, and possible future events.
'Why did I have that dream? Was it just a normal nightmare, or is it something more? And if it was just by coincidence, why was Rouge the one to die. Why not Sonic, Amy, or Amber? Maybe it is true, maybe I, the ultimate life form really am in lo'-
Shadow's thought were cut short as he felt a jolt of enormous chaos energy. The dark hedgehog's eyes widened, for he knew the source of the power.
"Damn…" Shadow softly cursed before disappearing with chaos control.
Rouge The Bat's Mansion: Living Room
Everyone had just finished breakfast and were currently in the living room, playing Twister. Sonic, Amy, Amber, Knuckles, and Rouge were all twisted up in various different ways.
Tails was at the wheel and spun it. "Alright Sonic, right foot green."
Sonic looked around the miniature field they were playing on and spotted a green space. Slowly and cautiously, the blue hedgehog moved his foot over to it and was about to place it on it when a bright light blinded everyone, causing Sonic and the rest of the players to fall over.
The light was replaced by a black hedgehog who had an arched brow. "Am I interrupting something?"
Sonic shook his head and untangled himself from the others. "No, we were just playing a game."
Shadow shook his head slightly and rolled his eyes. "Well put it away, I have something everyone must hear." Everyone else untangled themselves and Knuckles kicked the matt into a corner of the room. They all then proceeded to crowd around Shadow.
The dark hedgehog took a deep breath before speaking. "Eclipse is coming."
At those three words, everyone's eyes doubled in size. Cream jolted up and clanged to Amy's leg while sobbing slightly. "I'm scared Amy." Amy smiled and bent down to hug the frightened rabbit. "Don't worry, nothing will happen to you."
Sonic faced Shadow with a serious look. "Are you sure?"
The dark hedgehog nodded. "I felt his energy, there is no mistake about it."
Rouge faced the black hedgehog. "How long 'til he gets here?"
Shadow sighed softly. "I'd say one and a half days, just like he said."
Amber looked at her brother worriedly. "What are we going to do?"
Shadow faced the two youngsters, Amy, and Rouge. "You four will hide in the basement while Sonic, Knuckles, Amber, and I fight him."
Rouge looked at the hedgehog in disbelief. "But why me? I can fight just as good as Knuckles."
Shadow glared at her. "You do not have to know the reasons, just stay here."
Rouge crossed her arms. "I will, if you just tell me why."
Shadow rolled his eyes at the bat. "To protect Tails, Amy, and Cream." Shadow stated untruthfully
Rouge however could see through the hedgehog. "That's not the real reason. Tell me why."
Rouge's question was met with silence. "Shadow, tell me why." Once again, there was silence from the hedgehog. "Shadow…Shadow…SHADOW!" Rouge finally yelled.
"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT YOU TO GET HURT!" Shadow yelled at equal volume. Rouge and the others were completely without words. Rouge was the first to speak, but her words came out shaky. "Wh-What?"
Before anyone could react, Shadow disappeared. After a few moments of silence, Sonic spoke." I guess that's how he shows that he cares." Rouge looked at him hopefully. "Do…you really…think…so?"
Sonic nodded. "Yeah, you know how Shadow is."
"Rouge smiled at him. "I guess I do."
5 Hours Later
Everyone had already turned in for the night but Rouge was still up. She was currently on the roof of her mansion, looking at the stars. Her mind had been on the same thing for the past hour. "BECAUSE I DON'T WANT YOU TO GET HURT!"
That one phrase hurtled through her mind a thousand times. "Does he really care for me that way?"
Suddenly, Rouge caught something out of the corner of her eye. A brilliant silver streak across the sky. A shooting star. Rouge remembered that if you saw one and made a wish, it would come true. Silently, the bat made her wish before her eyes felt like lead and she drifted off to sleep on the roof.
One Hour Later
Shadow silently landed on the roof of the mansion and began walking towards the door leading inside when he caught something out of the corner of his eye. The hedgehog got curious and made his way over to the object. As he got closer, the object revealed itself as Rouge.
'What's she still doing out here.' Shadow thought before turning away. He stopped however, and looked back towards the bat. 'I should repay my debt.' Shadow proceeded to pick up the bat and held her bridal style.
Shadow slowly made his way back into the house and passed a few rooms before coming to Rouge's. The hedgehog opened the door and silently strived over to the bat's bed before gently laying her down and covering her with the blankets.
For a few moments, Shadow just stood there and looked upon the bat before shaking his head slightly and proceeding to his dark corner of the room. Shadow crossed his arms and leaned on the wall. With one final glance at the sleeping bat, the dark hedgehog let sleep take him.
Author's Note: There is one more day left before the fight with Eclipse. If anyone would like to suggest an activity or event that should take place before the fight, please let me know in your reviews.
