Author's note: Hey! Hopefully this one will be better! My brain has recovered!
Chapter Seven: Future Worlds
To say Cream and I were nice to Tails would be to say that Sonic and Eggman were best friends. It just didn't happen. During the night, the sky stayed unbroken and black and during the day, it was a marble black, reddish-grey and white pattern. I didn't really understand the coloration of the sky. Cream had tried to explain it, but I wasn't getting it. Some how the pollution from Dictator's reign had discolored the sky and ocean.
Tails had locked himself in the "backyard" of Cream's living space. Since I held a Chaos Emerald when we arrived, technically, there were eight in this world. Tails would spend hours running small tests over that thing. I doubted he even thought it would work, since it was the eighth, and there were only seven. Neither of us would allow Cream to lay eyes on the emerald. We weren't about to explain to her that we were time travelers. I just wanted to get home, and Tails just wanted Knuckles back. Strangely, so did I.
Two days after our arrival, Cream decided to show us around the town. Sadly enough to say, we were in Station Square. Cream led us through the once familiar streets. Tails was quick to get lost. He stopped often to look at old buildings. The one he grieved the most for was the train station. I didn't understand how someone could do this. Neither of us bothered asking Cream how any of this happened. We would get a blank stare, so we just acted like we understood what was going on, though we had no earthly idea what was happening.
We spent the most time at the docks. Tails was still rummaging through the rubble of the Train station. Cream sat beside me as I stared out into the red and green water. We didn't speak for a good while. What do you say? I had nothing to add to this.
"So, you are Project Shadow?" Cream asked after a while.
I nodded. "Yes, sadly." I answered quietly. "Are they really all dead and gone?"
"Every last one of them, Project Shadow."
"Please, just call me Shadow," I said.
Cream nodded. "I told you the short version of our history. The story of this world is far more gruesome." I pricked my ears, ready for the story. She shook her head. "Sorry, palbut we are forbidden to speak of how he took over the world."
I was a bit shocked at that. "Aren't most dictators happy to hear about how their plans were completed?" I asked.
Cream shook her head again. "He's evil, but different," she whispered, as if she was afraid to speak of this Dictator.
"I'm sorry about Cheese," I whispered, for lack of a better thing to say.
She shrugged. "It's in the past, Shadow. You can' change the past."
I laughed with hollow humor. "Wanna bet?" I spat bitterly.
She turning to look at me. I was still laughing. How ironic! This world was created because we did change the past and here was someone who was telling me time travel was impossible. "Are you ok?" She asked. I nodded, but didn't stop laughed. There was truly nothing to laugh about. Was this how it felt to go insane?
That though jolted me out of my laughing fit. Was I going insane? Can I go insane? Have I already crossed that thin line between insane and sane? Was there no turning back? I picked myself up and ran. Cream yelled after me, but I didn't listen, nor care. Pushing Tails, I jumped into the half collapsed train station. There was still some track left. I jumped on it and ran. The Mystic Ruins was my goal.
No one came after me. There was a sign in the tunnel explaining that the Ruins were off limits. I really didn't care at that moment in time, I just wanted out and out now. Ramming my way through the barricadesand hurting myself very badly.
I didn't even know why I was freaking out so badly. Tears spilled down my face and I couldn't stop them, but most of all, I didn't even know why I was even crying so hard. Did sanity slip away so painfully? I didn't know. There are many times is life when things just have to come out and I guess this was one of those times, but I never cried! Was I really that afraid to lose my mind, the one thing I had never really had after the ARK? Was I really that afraid to go back into that pit that I had lived in for so long? What ever the reason, I was freaking out without a reason I was aware of.
I jumped off the tracks and down onto the dead grass of the Mystic Ruins. I was shocked by what I saw. In front of me, where the water fall had been, there was just a large hole. After closer examination, I found the hole was filled with the same colored liquid as the ocean, but this had a horrible stench coming from it. I stepped away from the shallow pool of rotting water, if that is indeed possible.Angel Island, which was sometimes visible in the sky this time of year, was out in the red ocean. The mountain that was on it was all brown, from what I could see. I spun around to where Tails' workshop used to stand. The two hills leading to the summit that the workshop used to stand on were gone. It was just flat, dead land.
There was nothing left in the Ruins. I walked slowly over to the trolley. Without even bothering with the trolley, I began walking down the tracks. When I emergedfrom the tunnel, I backed back into in. It was like looking out at a desert. The once dense jungle of the Mystic Ruins was now a sand pit. I shuddered. The Temple I had marveled at a few days ago was nothing more than a huge pile of crumbled stone. I shook my head and jumped off of the platform above the desert. Landing, I continued running.
Once again, I became aware of foot steps behind me. I spun around this time and came face-to-face with someone I had never seen before. The red armadillohalted right before hitting me. "You aren't welcome here, Hedgehog!" He snapped.
"Well, aren't we snappy?" I growled. I didn't stop to think about how happy Cream would be to see another animal literally running around here.
The armadillo took a step back, sizing me up, I guess. "You aren't welcome here!" He snapped again.
"Make me leave!" I yelled. I wanted a fight and if this armadillo was ready for one, well, so was I.
The armadillo took on a fighting stance. "Was that a challenge?" He snarled.
"You bet it was!"
He lunged. I smiled and counter attacked him. He growled at my speed and I hissed at his. He lunged again. Whoever this was obviously didn't know who I was. Against Tails' wishes and my better judgement, I had taken the Chaos Emerald with us today. I held it out. "Chaos Spear!" I yelled, halting the armadillo in mid-flight as the bolt zapped him. He growled, staring at the Chaos Emerald. "Dictator!" He screamed.
I flinched. My mind fled back to my dream that had scared me so much. Was it possible? Could I be the dictator? Could this be my world?
The armadillo took advantage of me pause and before I knew what was going on, I was rolling on the sandy ground. Standing up, I realized I had a huge gash in my right arm. I looked at the armadillo. He was holding a jagged piece of glass. Fresh blood dripped from the make-shift weapon. I growled and lunged again, carefully avoiding a swipe from the glass. We began biting and scratching. My own arm screamed from the pain of the fight. The armadillo was taking on heavy damage as well. Both of us were willing to fight to the death and neither of us were willing to give up the fight.
The fight raged for what seemed like hours. My body was tired and weak from blood loss and the armadillo wasn't in any better condition. Between the Chaos Spears, the kicking, punching, biting and the being bashed over the head with my emerald, I think he picked up some pretty bad damage. Finally, we both collapsed, unable to stand again. I gripped my emerald and the armadillo gripped his piece of glass.
"Who. . are you?" I gasped between breathes.
"Name's Mighty," the armadillo answered, as out of breath as I was.
"I thought the signs said the Ruins were off limits," I asked. Strange; Weren't we just killing each other?
"Yeah, well, the Dictator can't control everything," Mighty answered.
"I'm not the Dictator," I said simply.
"You're not? You look like him," Mighty said.
"I do?" I asked.
"What planet are you from? You are not from Earth if you don't know who the Dictator is."
I shrugged. "Long story, Mighty."
"Ok, your turn. Who are you?"
"Name's Shadow!"
Mighty nearly jumped back in surprised. "Did you say Shadow, as in Project Shadow?" He asked.
"Um. . . . Yeah," I said with a shrug.
"Do you know who you are!" Mighty asked.
"Uh, Shadow?" I answered.
"Wow! You must be really confused." Mighty said, relaxing a bit.
"Yeah, I'm a bit confused on what's going on here. Can you tell me anything?"
Mighty shook his head. "Nope! Sorry. I've been living in the Ruins for so long, I don't even remember Station Square that well. The Dictator ended my traveling days. I'm lucky to be alive."
"So, you are hiding?" I asked, looking at him.
He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. I can't do much against the Dictator and his army. Up until we fought, I thought I was the last living animal around, let alone last living creature in the Ruins."
"Yeah, well, I think I can help with that," I said.
Mighty glared at me. "How, hedgehog!" He spat.
"Ok, we're back where we started," I said, trying to sit up. I groaned bitterly with the effort but managed to get up and on my feet. I grabbed my spinning head. "Man, you are one fighter."
"Not so bad yourself." Mighty groaned as well, trying to sit up. I grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet.
I smiled. "We aren't getting out of here anytime soon, eh?" I asked.
Mighty shook his head. "No, that latter isn't is working condition, but I do know another way out."
The armadillo limped away from me. "Am I welcome now?"
"I still don't trust you, but yeah, you may come with me."
I followed him through the barren waste land. I looked around. There was nothing left of the Ruins, except, well, Ruins. The trees were gone and the grass had turned into hard, dry sand. The sky had not changed. I felt terrible. "Wow, I can't believe this," I muttered.
Mighty rolled his eyes. "Wow, your smart!"
"Oh, shut up!" I snapped. Once again, back where we started. We walked to the wall where the ladder was.
I grabbed my head. "Hey, you ok?" I looked at my arm. Blood still oozed from the wound. "You need to lie down, Shadow." I looked at my hand. It was shaking. I sat down, leaning against the wall. "Look, I'm sorry," Mighty said.
"It's ok," I muttered. I closed my eyes and allowed my head to lay back on the wall. Deep breathes, Shadow. Calm down. I shook my head.
"Help him!"
I jolted awake. Mighty was staring at me. "Feel better?" He asked. I nodded.
"How long was I out?"
"Not long. About thirty minutes. You kept screaming 'I can't! I can't'. I didn't get it."
"Nightmare," I said, rubbing my head.
"It's getting dark. We need to get back to Station Square before the night patrols start."
"Ok." I stood up and followed the armadillo into the cave that led to the stinking blood red water hole.
Author's note: Ok, personalities in this story are a bit wacky! Considering the situation, the personalities of the originals can change in this kind of setting.
