Chapter 53
The Space Colony Arc
She couldn't remember the last time she was conscious, but she felt herself coming to as the chemicals emptied out of her tank and she collapsed to the bottom. In a panic feeling her fight response kicking in she breaks through the tank and falls out of the glass onto the shards beneath her, her bare body instantly starting to feel the cold.
"Oh, I guess you could just free yourself." She quickly turns towards the voice and snarls threateningly. She sees a Silver colored Hedgehog woman with copper eyes in her early twenties standing at the doorway holding some clothes and a duffle bag. "Easy, I'm here to help you promise." She said trying not to agitate her. "Here, sorry it's all I could find that would be quick to get into." The Silver Hedgehog hands her the clothes as she takes them cautiously. She quickly puts on the surgical gown and the G.U.N jacket.
"I know you're afraid, but we need to hurry before…" The alarms sound, "Crap we're out of time!" The Silver Hedgehog hands her the duffle bag and pulls out a Green Chaos Emerald from behind her large spines. Her eyes light up seeing the Chaos Emerald, "Use Chaos Control to escape. You'll need this to find the Legendary Hedgehog, she'll fix this." She said holding the Chaos Emerald out to her. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of much help. Just concentrate on where you feel safe." The Silver Hedgehog smiles. She takes the Chaos emerald and as it leaves her hand, the Silver Hedgehog disappears.
"Swarm the room, don't let Project Shadow escape!" She jolts hearing G.U.N soldiers quickly approaching. She looks down at the Chaos Emerald in her hand, but she didn't know of anywhere safe. Instead she thinks of the place in her dreams, letting out a deep breath as the Chaos Emerald's glow brightens,
"Chaos Control!"
Freedom HQ
Tails wakes up in the middle of the night to her watch alarming her that the Emerald Detector identified that a Chaos Emerald is nearby. She rushes over to her workshop and grabs the detector reading the coordinates. She stares at if for a moment thinking this couldn't be right; it says the Emerald is just a mile away from HQ. She quickly goes to Knuckles' room and knocks on the door.
"Knuckles wake up!" She yelled as she runs to Amy's room and does the same, "Amy, get up and get ready it's an emergency!" She goes over to Cream's room. She already opens the door as her and Blaze do not look happy being woken up in the middle of the night.
"You better have a good explanation for this Tails…" Knuckles said angrily as Amy walks out of his room half asleep,
"It's the seventh Chaos Emerald! It just appeared right in the forest a mile away from HQ." She said as they all quickly slam their doors and get dressed.
"Let's go," Knuckles said bolting out of his room as they follow Tails out to the back patio.
"Okay, it's straight ahead that way." Tails points out as they head into the forest.
"Should we have told Elias where we're going?" Cream asked,
"Why? We'll be right back." Alan asked,
"I want to know why the Emerald just appeared out of the blue on our doorstep." Blaze said,
"We should still be careful regardless, for all we know it could be a trap." Knuckles said,
"There! I see the Emeralds glow." Cream said pointing the green glow out to them as Blaze stops all of them from walking forward,
"Someone's on the ground with the Emerald." She said, her cat eyes were more adjusted to the dark able to see the silhouette of a person.
"They might be hurt." Tails said. They all cautiously approach as they see a Mobian woman unconscious breathing heavily and shivering that none of them recognize. They could identify that she was a Mobian with black quilled hair with a red streak in the center of each spike. She had on a black jacket and underneath was a surgical gown. Tightly grasped in her hands was the green Chaos Emerald.
"What the heck?" Amy said,
"That's a G.U.N jacket." Cream said,
"That's not all… that's the logo from the experimental scientist division…" Knuckles said as Blaze checks her over, "And given what she's wearing… I don't think she worked there."
"We need to get her inside, she's freezing." Blaze said lighting her hands and holding them above her as the strange woman stops shivering.
"Tails, grab the Emerald, I got her." Knuckles said as Tails tries to take the Chaos Emerald as her grip instinctually tightens around it.
"Doesn't look like she wants to let it go. She's a lot stronger than she looks." Tails said as Knuckles picks her up,
"I really don't want to know what chemicals I'm smelling on her…" Knuckles said with a disgusted look. He realized her entire body was soaked except for the clothes.
"There's a duffle bag over here. She might have dropped it when she collapsed." Amy said picking it up, "Wow this thing is heavy! I'm surprised she could carry it." They start heading back to HQ. Knuckles kept looking at the G.U.N. logo as they walked back, he felt a pit in his stomach as he tried not to think what they might have been doing to her… or remember what they did to him.
"We don't tell the others about her…" Knuckles said as they all look at him surprised,
"You… Mr. follow orders no matter what, want to break protocol?" Alan said shocked,
"If she's really and escaped experiment then I want to hear her story first…" Knuckles said, "You all remember that first year with G.U.N. and how we were in that division… doing experiments on us… Forcing us to test our powers." All of their ears lower as they can't help but remember how terrible it was, to be treated as an object instead of a living creature… It was absolute torture that none of the could bare talking about.
"We only became the Freedom Fighters because King Naugus pitched the idea to G.U.N. and they couldn't really refuse the King." Blaze said,
"If she's like us, I don't want her to be forced back there if I can help it." Knuckles said as they all nod. Cream opens the door for Knuckles,
"There's a cot in the workshop, I'll go grab some blankets." Tails said running off as the others head to her workshop.
"I'll go grab a first aid kit," Cream said noticing the cuts on her hands and feet,
"Is she a Hedgehog?" Blaze asked turning to Amy,
"She looks like one." Amy said looking her over. There were strange red streaks on her arms and legs that went to a point near her elbows and knees the color looked embedded into her sin like a tattoo. "If she is one, she's nothing like any Hedgehogs I've seen." He opens the door to the Workshop, and they enter. Tails and Cream follow after as Knuckles waits for Tails to put one of the extra blankets on the cot before he puts her down.
"There, you go." Tails said as Knuckles lies her down,
"Can you wet this cold compress?" Cream asked handing it to Blaze as she walks over to the sink. Cream looks over the cuts on her feet, "Amy could you turn a light on? I think there's glass in some of these cuts."
"Lock the door as well, we don't want anyone walking in here and we especially don't want her getting out just yet." Knuckles said as Amy turns the light on then opens up the duffle bag.
"Looks like there's some clothes packed in here along with some weird rings and… are these hover shoes?" Amy said looking surprised,
"We can ask her about those as well." Knuckles said,
"There's definitely a piece of glass in her left foot. I should try to get it out quickly." Cream said pulling out a pair of tweezers.
"Doing that might frighten her." Amy said,
"Okay, then I'll clean the cuts for now, so they don't get infected." She said. Blaze places the compress on the woman's forehead. Cream starts cleaning the wounds as the woman winces in pain and jolts awake. They all look surprised to see her crimson eyes darting around taking in the surroundings as she sits up still tightly grasping the Chaos Emerald.
"Easy, we're not going to hurt you." Knuckles said as they all give her space trying not to look threatening.
"Where… am I?" She asked her voice cracked and was quiet like a whisper from not speaking almost struggling to find the correct words to use,
"You're in my workshop," Tails said as she quickly turns towards any sound she heard, everything was hypersensitive, hearing, sight, touch.
"Workshop?" She asked confused not knowing what Tails meant as she looks around the room, it reminded her of the Space colony ARC. "Lab?"
"It's like a lab." Tails said as she winces in pain while trying to move her feet.
"Don't move just yet, Your feet are injured and there's some glass I need to take out." Cream said,
"Hurts…"
"Yes, it is going to hurt for a little bit longer, then after I patch you up the pain should start going away okay?" Cream asked as she nods, "Try to stay still as much as possible."
"What's your name?" Amy asked as her ears lower frightened of his towering form above her,
"Shadow… Designation, Project Shadow…" She said as Knuckles taps Amy's shoulder and points for them to step back,
"Let's give her a little space, I think she's afraid of us." Knuckles said noticing her glancing back and forth between the two of them with fear as they back up.
Cream starts to remove the piece of glass. Shadow winces in pain but doesn't cry or tear up. "Alright, now I'm going to clean up the wounds and bandage them up. It'll sting for a moment so just bear with it." She said as Shadow nods, "My name's Cream by the way."
"Cream?" Shadow tilts her head looking confused, that didn't sound right to her,
"Yep," She smiles finishing up bandaging up her feet,
"Why do you think she's talking like that?" Amy asked Knuckles as he notices Knuckles was thinking intently, "I know that expression. You figure something out?"
"I've heard of that Project before… when Elias asked me to research the Dark Arms after that scout ship attacked three years ago." Knuckles explained,
"And?"
"Project Shadow also designated the Ultimate Lifeform. Created by Gerald Robotnik. A creature created by altering Mobian DNA with Dark Arms DNA…" Knuckles said,
"Wait Robotnik…as in…"
"Robotnik's grandfather, yeah… the lunatic that tried to blow up the moon…" Knuckles said,
"But if he created her… that means," Amy looks back over to Shadow who was keeping an eye on Cream,
"That she's been imprisoned for over fifty years." Knuckles said looking angry, "Those chemicals I could smell on her must have been what she was contained in."
"I… can't even imagine how she's feeling." Amy said,
"Alright, your feet are all bandaged up," Cream said scooting closer to her hands, "If you put the Emerald down I can bandage those up too." Shadow holds the Emerald away her ears folding back angrily,
"No… Needed." She hissed,
"We're not going to take it from you." Blaze said calmly. "Just lay it in your lap."
"Lap…" Shadow slowly places the Emerald on her lap keeping an eye on all of them as Cream gently takes one of her hands and starts cleaning it up.
"Tails, the shower works in here right?" Knuckles asked,
"Yeah why?"
"She'll probably want to clean up at some point once she feels more comfortable and put on clothes that don't smell like chemicals." He said.
"I'll make sure there are some towels," Tails said walking away from the cot,
"How did you escape?" Knuckles asked Shadow, her ears lower when she makes eye contact with him. Cream starts bandaging her other hand,
"She woke me up." Shadow said,
"Who?" Amy asked,
"No name given."
"And why do you need that?" Cream asks finishing bandaging her as Shadow quickly grabs the Emerald again looking relieved just having it back in her hands.
"Chaos Emerald."
"So you know what it is?" Blaze said as she nods,
"She gave." Shadow said, "Said need to find Legendary Hedgehog."
"Legendary Hedgehog?" Tails said putting the pile of towels with a change of clothes on top. They all looked at one another, hearing those words pulled at all of their hearts in a way they couldn't put into words.
"Tails, you've been spending too much time in here…" Knuckles said being the first to snap out of it looking at the pile of towels,
"Sorry…" She chuckles,
"Tails?" Shadow asked,
"That's my name." She answered with a smile, Shadow drops the Emerald back in her lap and grabs her head. Her head throbbed not comprehending the information.
"No… not right…" Shadow said with a pained whine.
"I think she's starting to get overwhelmed," Cream said,
"We should let her get some rest. We'll come back in the morning and figure out our next course of action," Knuckles said as him and Amy start to leave,
"I'll stay here to keep an eye on her. Take my key so you can get back in." Tails said handing the key to Knuckles as the others nod,
"Lock the door behind us." Knuckles said as she does so after they leave. The room is quiet as Tails looks back over at Shadow who was still holding her head.
"Okay, let's get you all cleaned up before we get some sleep." Tails said helping her to the shower. Shadow was like a lost child, scared and confused and Tails wanted to help her in any way she could. She helps Shadow dry her quills destroying a few towels in the process from not realizing how incredibly sharp they are. Shadow just sat there staring at the Chaos Emerald. "Hey, Shadow can I ask you a question?" She nods, "When you heard my name, you said, not right. Is my name not right to you?"
"Not name…" She said grabbing her head again, Tails notices a green ring around Shadow's finger that is the same color as the Chaos Emerald she carried.
"Sorry, don't try to think about it too hard, right now you should rest." Tails said as Shadow nods and lies down still holding the Emerald. "Oh hang on, one more thing." Tails goes back over to her desk and grabs a small palm shaped device and brings it back over to Shadow. "This is a containment field. We use them to hold the Chaos Emeralds so that other people can't track it's energy."
"Containment field?" Her head tilts looking confused,
"Yep, that way no one can take the Emerald from you. Let me show you how it works." She said holding out her hand as Shadow cautiously hands her the Emerald as Tails activates the field pressing one button and the Emerald disappears pressing the other button,
"No!" She quickly sits back up in a panic,
"It's okay!" Tails represses the button making the Emerald reappear, "It's just hidden." Shadow calms after seeing it appear again,
"Hidden…" She said as Tails pats her head,
"Yep, here, now you can keep it safe." She makes the Emerald disappear again and hands her the device, "Now get some sleep, I'll be right here if you need anything." Tails keeps an eye on Shadow as she sleeps before falling back asleep herself.
The next morning, Knuckles gets a message from Elias to meet him in his office. Knuckles quickly showers after realizing that he still smelt like chemicals. He rushes to Elias' office and knocks on his door, "Enter." Knuckles enters and sees Elias at his desk working on some paperwork.
"You wanted to see me sir?" Knuckles asked,
"I wanted you to know that late last night an experiment designated Project Shadow escaped confinement off of the Space Colony ARC." Elias explained,
"I thought the ARC was abandoned." Knuckles said playing along, he didn't want to risk the experimental division finding out Shadow was here.
"The projects are abandoned but since some of them were still in stasis they couldn't shut it down completely." Elias explained,
"I see… What do you want us to do?" Kolt asked,
"Just keep an eye out for someone who appears out of place. The file on Project Shadow is so redacted that all I could gather from their appearance is that they have red eyes." Knuckles nods,
"I'll let the others know." Knuckles said,
"I forgot to ask, how was your visit with King Naugus yesterday?" He asked,
"As uncomfortable as always," Knuckles said as Elias chuckles,
"I still don't understand why he wants you to visit his castle once a month… I know he has a special investment in this project but that's always been weird to me." Elias said,
"We all agree with you sir," Knuckles said,
"Are you going to be heading out today to look for the last Chaos Emerald?" He asked,
"Yes, now that Tails repaired the Emerald detector we will be able to find it. We may stay out overnight so we can cover more ground." Knuckles said,
"Understood, you're dismissed. Let me know if you all require anything." He said getting back to his paperwork as Knuckles leaves. He trusts Elias but he also knows that Elias would report that Shadow was here if he told him. Knuckles goes to the kitchen to see Blaze and Cream cooking a large breakfast.
"Oh good! You can help us carry these to the workshop." Cream said with a smile,
"Let's hurry," Knuckle said grabbing two of the large plates as they all head to the workshop. One of the other agents sees them walk by,
"Tails forget to eat again?" They chuckle,
"Yep, so we're going to eat in the workshop so we can make sure she eats." Cream said,
"Have fun." They say walking off as they all let out a sigh of relief. Knuckles unlocks the door just as Amy walks up. They enter the workshop to see Tails watching over Shadow who was still asleep,
"Did she sleep alright?" Blaze asked as Tails nods, they notice that she was holding the containment field.
"How'd you get her to let go of the Emerald to put it in there?" Amy asked,
"I explained she could keep it safe. She did panic for a second when I showed her how it worked, she relaxed after she understood. But that's not all, look at her finger." She points out the ring to them,
"It's Identical to our rings…" Brandy said,
"I thought I was seeing things when I was bandaging up her hands… I couldn't touch it, so I thought it was a trick of the eye" Cream said surprised,
"I don't think us finding her was an accident." Tails said,
"Regardless, we should wake her up and get ready to leave, Elias just told me about project Shadow, meaning having a mystery person in your workshop is going to look oddly suspicious." Knuckles said as Tails gently places her hand on Shadows shoulder and shakes her,
"Shadow, it's time to wake up." Tails said as she opens her eyes looking at Tails,
"Okay," She sits up,
"We brought you some food." Cream said handing her a plate as her looks at it curiously. They all look at one another, concerned.
"You eat it." Tails said grabbing a piece of bacon off of her own plate and eating it. Shadow copies her movements taking a bite of the piece of bacon as her face lights up as she quickly continues eating.
"I'm going to redress your cuts okay?" Cream said as Shadow nods continuing to eat happily. She carefully takes off the bandages to see the wounds were completely healed. "How is that possible…"
"How's what possible?" Amy asked,
"There are no cuts… like they never happened." She said as Tails walks over and looks.
"I don't think I've ever seen healing abilities this incredible before." Tails said,
"That ability would be highly valuable to those in the wrong hands…" Knuckles said.
"How do you plan on getting her out of here?" Blaze said,
"Window." Knuckles said looking up at the window, "One of you will go out with her while the rest of us get to the Tornado,"
"I'll do it, I'm good at going unseen." Blaze said as the others nod.
"See if you can help her get dressed after she's done eating, Amy and I will get everything set, Tails and Cream meet us after, and we'll help sneak her into the Tornado." Knuckles said,
"Where are we going to go?" Tails asked,
"My old apartment." Knuckles said,
"You kept it?" Amy asked surprised,
"Yeah, I wanted us to always have a backup place to crash if we ever wanted off base. We may have been here for five years but that doesn't mean I don't fear G.U.N turning on us." He said as they leave,
"Okay Shadow, we gotta get ready to leave." Cream said as she puts the plate down and goes over to the duffle bag. They were surprised to see she knew what to do as she finishes getting dressed and puts on the shoes and clicks large gold rings around her wrists.
"What are those for?" Tails asked,
"Inhibitor rings," She said, "They help control."
"Control what?" Cream asked,
"Powers." She said, holding the containment device in her hand,
"I'm going to help you outside, but we need to be extremely quiet. No one can see us." Blaze said as Shadow nods,
"Understood," Shadow said as they climb out the window,
"Our turn," Tails said as her and Cream head to the hangar bay. "I asked her about why my name upset her last night and she said that's not my name."
"That's odd, what would make her think that?" Cream asked,
"We'll figure it out. Let's just get out of here first." Tails said meeting up with Knuckles and Amy as they finished packing up the Tornado.
"Let's get the Tornado on the track," Amy said as they all get ready for takeoff. Meanwhile Blaze led Shadow over the roof as they stood over the hangar bay seeing the Tornado.
"Okay, now we just have to get to that plane without being seen." Blaze explained as Shadow nods taking the Emerald out of the containment field and holding in in her hand before putting her other hand on Blazes shoulder.
"Chaos Control!" She said, teleporting them next to the Tornado as they all stare stunned to what they just saw. Knuckles was the first to snap out of it as he reaches to take Shadow's hand, but she withdraws. Blaze grabs her by the waist and takes his hand, he pulls them both onto the Tornado.
"Go now Tails before someone sees." Knuckles said as they fly away from the base successfully sneaking Shadow out undetected.
They all enter Knuckles' old apartment; it has been kept up well but could easily tell it looks unused. They all take a breath to relax knowing they weren't followed. "You'll be safe here Shadow." Amy said,
"Safe…" She said as her ears lower,
"Amy and Knuckles aren't going to hurt you. You can trust them." Cream reassured her as Shadow nods.
"We're probably similar in height to someone who might have experimented on her…" Knuckles said.
"You don't have to worry; we won't let them take you." Blaze said as Shadow relaxes hearing her say that, she didn't want to go back there.
"Okay fearless leader, what's the plan because we already have the last Chaos Emerald." Amy said,
"Give me some time to think… We need to find a way to make assurances, so Shadow won't be taken back there." Knuckles said noticing how relieve Shadow looked when Blaze said they wouldn't let them take her, "I'm still trying to process the fact that she induced Chaos Control."
"That was, unexpected." Blaze said, "I thought you were the only one who could only do that." She looks at Knuckles,
"So did I. But it's not like we can ask Tikal…" Knuckles looks away disheartened, around three years ago Tikal, a spirit that resides within the Master Emerald and helps them better understand their Chaos abilities, disappeared without a trace and they have no idea what happened to her.
"At least now we know how she escaped." Amy said,
"I'm going to see if I can find any information on this Legendary Hedgehog." Tails said sitting down and typing on her tablet.
"Shadow, You told Tails that her name isn't Tails. Why do you think that?" Cream asked as Shadow grasps her head,
"Everything… wrong…" She said, "Can't remember…"
"Don't try to force it." Amy said, "You'll only give yourself a bigger headache." Shadow nods,
"How can we help her?" Cream asked,
"Maybe find things that remind her of her past?" Knuckles said,
"You said someone freed you. What did they look like?" Cream asked,
"Silver, Hedgehog." Shadow said,
"I'll add Silver Hedgehog's to things I'm looking up." Tails said,
"Shadow, from now on keep the Chaos Emerald in the container okay?" Blaze said,
"But… Need to find her…" Shadow said,
"I know, but we need to know who she is first." Cream said leading Shadow over to the couch to sit down. As she realizes what Shadow just said her, "Shadow, how do you know the Legendary Hedgehog is a girl?" Shadow pauses trying to find the correct words.
"Feeling." She said placing her hand of her chest as Cream nods,
"We could go after Robotnik's Emeralds… offer a trade for Shadow." Amy suggested,
"They would not like us trying that… but it could work… Though having Shadow anywhere close to Robotnik makes me uncomfortable." Knuckles said, "I do have another idea… but you guys might not like it."
"Please don't suggest what I think you're going to suggest…" Blaze said,
"We ask King Naugus for help." Knuckle said, "He's the one that vouched for us in the first place. We'd be in her situation if it weren't for him."
"I don't know…" Tails said, "Dangit, I'm not finding anything about a Legendary Hedgehog." She said,
"Keep looking, but the longer we wait the worse this will become for us. Having King Naugus on our side now might keep us all safe." He said,
"What if he doesn't help?" Cream asked,
"I… don't know… Chaos this is hard." Knuckles said.
"I'm with Knuckles on this. Sure King Naugus is a little eccentric, but he's always had out backs. On top of that we all might have turned out like Shadow if he didn't help us." Amy said,
"We'll need a plan if they try to take her." Brandy said,
"How many people can you teleport?" Knuckles asked looking at Shadow,
"With Emerald, all here." She said,
"Without Emerald?"
"Only me."
"Okay so we keep the Chaos Emerald hidden for now as an escape plan. I'm going to try and schedule an audience with King Naugus." Knuckles said heading to a separate room.
"He's seriously stressing out." Amy said,
"I am too…" Blaze said,
"Sorry…" Shadow said as her ears lower,
"You have nothing to be sorry for." Cream said petting her head, "You let us worry about this while you try and remember,"
"Okay." Shadow said leaning into the comfort letting out a quiet purr as Cream softly giggles at her reaction.
"Not finding anything about any registered silver Hedgehogs either." Tails said with a sigh putting her tablet away. Tails sees Amy looking out the window spinning his ring again, "Everything alright Amy?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry guess I zoned out again." He chuckles,
"What's on your mind?" Blaze asked,
"All of this is… odd. I can't put my finger on it, but something isn't right." He said,
"I feel it too… Like we're missing something really important." Cream said.
"Well that was easier than I thought…" Knuckles said walking back into the room,
"He's willing to see us?" Tails asked,
"Yep, they said he's sending a car to pick us up…" Knuckles said,
"Alright then." Amy said surprised,
"We still need to be cautious…" Blaze said,
"Always," Knuckles said, "We only trust the people in this room." The way Knuckles said that pulled at Shadow's heartstrings as she tried to find the word that represented how she was feeling.
"Friends?" Shadow said as they all turn to her and smile,
"Yes, we're your friends." Cream said patting her head,
"So worst case scenario is we run. Shadow teleports us back here and we leave the City. Think you can handle that?" Knuckles asked,
"Yes." Shadow said,
"King Naugus is going to scare her…" Blaze said,
"We'll make sure he knows she's timid." Amy said, as he notices a nice car drive up to the complex with the royal flags. "He wasn't kidding about the car…"
"Here already? That was fast." Tails said,
"Shadow, I want you to stay by Cream." Knuckles said as she nods. Cream takes her hand and starts leading her to the door. She felt warm when Cream held her hand, but it was still wrong. She's not the one Shadow wants to hold hands with. They all climb into the car and are driven to the palace.
One of the retainers leads them into the throne room where they see King Naugus standing in front of the Sapphire sculpture, "Oh good, you're all alright." He smiles, "by your message I was worried one of you were hurt." He starts to walk towards them,
"Just a moment Your Majesty, we have someone here with us who is easily frightened." Knuckles puts his hands up as Naugus stops his approach seeing Shadow hiding behind Cream,
"I see… Then I'll keep my distance. I take it she's the reason you needed to speak to me?" Naugus said,
"Correct, we found her late last night outside of Freedom HQ. She explained to us she's Shadow the Hedgehog." Knuckles explained,
"As in the Project Shadow that escaped the Space Colony ARC? I just finished reading that report before you got here." King Naugus said, only Shadow notices him slightly glance at the sculpture.
"The very same. We were unsure how to proceed… given our history with the experimental division you can understand our trepidations on returning her. Especially seeing her the way she is." Knuckles said,
"The report stated that she is a living weapon." King Naugus said, "But she just looks like a scared girl."
"That was our same reaction." Tails said, "She barely knows how to function after being in captivity for over fifty years."
"The poor dear," Naugus said kneeling down to not look as threatening. "It's alright, I won't hurt you." He smiles. Shadow's ears lower, she stays behind Cream trembling. She didn't know why but she did not like this man… something deep down told her he couldn't be trusted. "How can I help Knuckles?"
"We're trying to figure out a way to get G.U.N. off her back. It's not fair that she's been imprisoned her entire life when she did nothing wrong." Knuckles said,
"I'll see what I can do. I want you all to stay at your apartment in the meantime. I'll have guards stationed just in case." He said,
"We don't want to be trouble." Blaze said,
"To make sure your new friend is safe is of no trouble. No child should be treated in such a manner only because her power is feared." He said, the rest of them look relieved to hear him say that.
"Thank you." Cream said as he smiles at her,
"I told you all to come to me if you ever needed anything and I'm a man of my word. I appreciate that you all trusted me with this." He said, "My men will escort you back and I will let you know how we'll proceed." He said. Shadow starts to stare at the Blue Sapphire behind him. She lets go of Cream and reaches towards it.
"Blue…" Shadow said as her head starts to throb and she grabs her head,
"Is she alright?" Naugus asked, quickly looking towards the Sapphire and then back at Shadow,
"She gets headaches when she tries to remember something." Amy said,
"She has no memory of the past either?" Naugus said as Cream helps hold her steady, "She should rest, I'll keep you updated Knuckles" They all bow.
"Thank you Your Majesty." Knuckles said as they leave the throne room. Naugus waves them off as the doors of the throne room close behind them leaving King Naugus in the room alone. He lets out a sigh as his expression changes to looking annoyed. He waves his clawed hand locking the Throne room door as he walks up to the Sapphire.
"You had something to do with this didn't you?" Naugus said. He snaps his fingers as the Sapphire becomes translucent and seen imprisoned inside was Sonic still looking towards the door. She says something but he couldn't hear it as he snaps his fingers again,
"…do that." She said, he only caught the end of her sentence.
"Say that again, I couldn't hear you the first time." Naugus said rolling his eyes as Sonic turns to him,
"I said, Oh yeah, because I totally helped Shadow escape from a prison in space. I can just magically do that." Sonic said sarcastically, "But wait! No I can't because I'm imprisoned in this stupid crystal!" She kicks the side.
"You should be thanking me. You're immortal while within that crystal." Naugus grinned,
"Of course, thank you for taking my freedom away." Sonic said with an over exaggerated bow, "Now let me out so I can thank you properly." She slams her fists against the crystal,
"It's been three years and you still haven't given up." Naugus lets out a sigh,
"I'll never give up!" Sonic said angrily,
"They don't even know you exist, or did you forget that I wiped you out of the timeline." He said,
"They'll find a way. Now tell me what you did to Shadow!" She glared,
"Oh that? Shadow never left the ARC all those years ago. The project was shut down before she made any connections." He explained, "I just don't know how she escaped."
"She looked so scared…" Sonic looks sad as she glances back at the door longingly. There was nothing she wanted more than to hold Shadow in her arms.
"At least I won't have to hear you asking about her every day."
"If you told me where she was I would have stopped." Sonic crossed her arms, "I'm just glad she's not alone anymore…"
"Too bad the same won't happen for you." Naugus said as Sonic's ears lower, "What I need to do is get her to trust me like the others… then I won't have to worry." Naugus pondered, "First I must talk to the G.U.N. director. I'll let you know how it goes." He snaps his fingers as the crystal goes back to its original opaque blue color as he walks away. Sonic slumped down to her knees, She could still see and hear through the Crystal but while it was opaque no one but Naugus could see or hear her. She leans her head against the side with tears in her eyes that turn to gem dust as they drip from her cheeks.
"Please find me…"
The others get back to the apartment with two guards post outside the door as they close it behind them. "That went way better than I thought it would…" Tails said,
"I'd say I'm a little relieved however Director Towers might still try to tell him no. or might come after her secretly without his knowledge." Knuckles said,
"Which is why he posted guards," Cream said,
"Not that we need help protecting her." Amy said,
"G.U.N. specializes on containing people like us… they have an advantage and know our weaknesses." Tails said,
"Not safe." Shadow said,
"Yeah but we'll keep you safe the best we can." Blaze said,
"Blue…" She grabs her head again,
"Tails… what if the person Shadow's looking for is the same as the one we can't remember." Amy said,
"With how connected we all seem, that would make sense," Tails said thinking, "Perhaps the Legendary Hedgehog is blue? That's a very odd color for a Hedgehog."
"I mean… I'm pink." Amy said,
"Exactly, you're odd." Tails teased,
"You brat," Amy crosses his arms with a pout as she chuckles,
"I'm going to grab her some aspirin she's looking a little pale." Cream said going over to the cabinets and frowns. "Knuckles you're out of aspirin."
"Sorry, it's been a while since I've been here to stock up on supplies." Knuckles said,
"No problem, we'll go buy more." Cream said as her and Blaze grab their stuff, "We'll be right back," Cream said as they leave while Tails helped Shadow lie down, she was still grasping her head as Legendary Blue Hedgehog kept repeating in her head.
"Amy could you get her a wet rag? She's burning up." Tails asked as he runs to the kitchen and wets a rag and brings it over to her,
"What could have caused this memory block?" Amy said handing it to her as she lays it on Shadows forehead,
"Not safe…" Shadow said as Tails tries to get her to relax,
"It's okay, just focus on your breathing." Tails said as Shadow tries to calm down, "Try to get some more rest." She closed her eyes,
"Naugus bad… don't trust…" Shadow said falling back asleep as Tails looks at Knuckles,
"Keep an eye on her Tails," Knuckles said as he and Amy walk into the other room, "Okay… now I'm freaked."
"Same, now I'm questioning if that's why everything went so smoothly." Amy said,
"I'm not sure what we should do… I bet those guards are keeping track of our movements… if we try to move her they might stop us and if we sneak out they'll know." Knuckles said, "Damn…"
"We'll talk to everyone after Blaze and Cream get back. But this is getting rough… I just want to help her." Amy said,
"I agree… it's getting hard to keep my anger in check… Wish I had something to hit." Knuckles said,
"TK…" Shadow called out in her sleep taking Tails off guard as she feels a pain in her head. Why did she know that name? Who is TK? She shakes her head as she feels the hairs on the back of her neck stand up straight sending a chill down her spine. She recognizes this feeling quickly standing up, but not fast enough as she's grabbed from behind and her mouth covered.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the clever little Fox." She hears Dr. Starline's voice behind her. One of Robotnik's lackeys with the ability to create portals using a magical gem called the Warp Topaz. Tails tries to struggle out of his grip with muffled cries for help. "Looks like you followed the strange energy signal as well." Tails tries to kick the couch to wake up Shadow, but Starline backs up. "It's not nice to wake people who are sleeping." He said quietly, "Now, where is that energy source coming from?" He looks around but sees nothing out of the ordinary. "Is the energy reading coming from her?" He looks confused looking down at Shadow. Knuckles and Amy reenter the room to see Starline holding Tails,
"Let her go!" Knuckles yelled startling Shadow awake as she sees Tails struggle,
"A red eyed Mobian? That's quite rare." Dr. Starline said as Shadow cowered away looking frightened, "Now you all behave unless you want your two tailed Fox getting hurt." He uncovered Tails' mouth putting her in a headlock freeing his left hand gloved with the Warp Topaz. It starts to spark with orange energy.
"We won't let you." Amy said summoning his hammer,
"I could easily break her neck, are you willing to risk that?" Starline said as they both pause,
"Let me go!" Tails yelled. Shadow's eyes flash with rage feeling triggered by her friends cry for help. She warps behind Starline before he realized as she roundhouse kicks him in the side on the head causing him to let go of Tails. She picks up Tails and rushes her towards Knuckles and Amy at a speed they were not expecting as they move in front of them defensively.
"Incredible!" Starline said gathering his composure, "Robotnik will be pleased with experimenting on you." He looked at Shadow who was still holding onto Tails protectively.
"Are you okay TK?" Shadow asked putting her down, her voice more calm then normal as Tails realizes she was asking her that.
"Y…yeah." Tails said as Shadow lets her go and glares at Starline,
"Get lost Starline we won't let you take her." Amy said,
"Star… line?" Shadow asked as her head starts to throb. She grasps her head wincing in pain.
"Shadow are you okay?" Tails asked helping her as she starts to stagger, "Knuckles, she's getting overwhelmed again,"
"Shadow? As in the Project Shadow that went missing early this morning?" Starline raises an eyebrow,
"How does everyone know that already?" Amy said,
"You do know she's technically property of Dr. Robotnik. So why don't you hand her over." He said,
"In your dreams," Knuckles said,
"Fine, we do things my way." Starline said adjusting his glove. Amy charges at him as he creates a portal underneath his feet causing Amy to fall and land on the stairs,
"I hate this guy!" Amy yelled from the stairs, as the two guards burst into the room,
"We heard a commotion," One said as they see Dr. Starline, "We have a situation!" He spoke into his headset. They run at Starline as Knuckles charges from the other side. A portal appears in front of them as they run through and land on top on Knuckles from the exit of the portal.
"Shadow you need to focus," Tails said trying to snap Shadow out of it,
"Starline… Betrayed…" Shadow said sounding angry,
"We need to get you out of here." Tails tried to move Shadow as she still continued to struggle with her thoughts confusing her. Something wasn't right, none of this was right to Shadow.
"Now we can't have that" Starline walks out of a portal next to them, Tails grabs onto Shadow protectively.
"I won't let you hurt her." Tails said as Starline laughs,
"Then you should be better at watching your step." He pushes them as a portal appears underneath them,
"Guys help!" Tails yelled as the fall into the portal and Starline jumps in after.
"No!" Amy yells diving at the portal, but it closes as he slams into the floor. "Crap!" Knuckles throws the guards off of him, just as Cream and Blaze return,
"What's going on?" Cream asked,
"Starline took Shadow and Tails." Amy said,
"What?" Cream said shocked,
"How did he know we were here?" Blaze asked,
"I don't know, Amy and I went to talk in private and when we came back in he already had Tails," Knuckles said,
"We will inform the King." One of the guards say,
"Tell him we're going to Robotropolis. We won't let him or Robotnik get away with this." Knuckles said,
"But we can't fly the Tornado…" Cream said,
"Then we take the underground tunnels like we used to." Blaze said as they all nod,
"C'mon, the longer we take the more they're at risk of being robotisized." Amy said as they all rush out of the door to Robotnik's empire, Robotropolis.