Chapter 5: Legends

Day 2

The next morning, after a breakfast of rice and packing up camp, the group was on the move again. Nobody said a single word to each other on this quiet morning, just relishing in the beautiful sounds of the forest. Sonic usually wouldn't mind it, but he was curious to a certain extent to know more about the creature Officer Charles had mentioned before, the Megalania. If their Devil Dragon really was anything like it, he wanted to know just exactly what it was they were dealing with.

"So Officer Charles," He said to the human behind them, grabbing said G.U.N soldier's attention. "What exactly can you tell us about the Megalania? If the Devil Dragon is anything like it, what exactly are we dealing with?"

Charles smiled and nodded, taking Sonic's question into consideration. Shadow, who was also curious, decided to listen as well.

"Well, the Megalania is a type of lizard that is believed to have lived about around 50,000 years ago. It is said to be an extinct giant goanna or monitor lizard, but resembles the Komodo Dragon to a great extent. I'm actually surprised that people have said to be sighting a giant lizard similar to it, because the Megalania main habitat back in those eras was actually Australia, not South America."

"Weird." Sonic frowned in thought. "What do you think could've possibly brought it here, if that is what we're actually dealing with?"

"Not sure," Charles frowned. "But anyways, judging by how big the footprint we found yesterday was, science proves that the Megalania was at least 23 feet long in length, that all includes from head to tail tip, with a weight of 1,370 pounds."

"Dear Chaos." Sonic shuddered, chills running down his spine just imagining the giant monitor lizard. "What else? Like, how does it resemble the Komodo?"

"Well, a lot of it can be determined by its built. It had heavily built limbs and body and a large skull complete with a small crest in between the eyes, and a jaw full of serrated blade-like teeth. A lot of similarities can come from the mouth itself, actually. Due to the Megalania being so closely related to the Komodo Dragon, science believes that it may have attacked their prey just as similar. It would hide in waiting for some unlucky victim to pass through before springing and ambushing it. It would chomp it's teeth down on the prey much like a Komodo Dragon, and if the prey got away, the Megalania would follow it, just waiting for it to die."

"Are you trying to say that a bite from the Megalania holds the same blood poisoning bacteria as a Komodo?" Shadow questioned seriously.

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"Shadow!" Sonic gasped. "What if our Devil Dragon really is similar to the Megalania? What are we supposed to do with it when we find it?"

"Study it, of course." Shadow frowned at the blue as if he had lost his mind. "That's what our entire mission was in the first place, or are you just that dense that you've already forgotten?"

"But a creature that big and that dangerous," Sonic gasped. "Should we really let it live? Let it just wander around the jungle for some unexpected human or Mobian to stumble across it?! Shadow, they wouldn't stand a chance. Dear Chaos, WE barely stand a chance. It's way bigger and heavier than any of Eggman's robots we've encountered. Not to mention, it's LIVING!"

"Sonic, I will not have this discussion with you." Shadow humphed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Our orders were clear. Study the creature, get back to base, present of the findings, that's it. We have no orders to destroy the creature, even if it is dangerous. No, we'll follow orders and protocol, and only study it, we will not destroy it."

"But…"

"That is an order, Sonic Ogilvie Maurice Hedgehog!"

That struck a deep chord. Sonic was shocked. Never before had Shadow actually called him by his full name when addressing him, and with such a tempered tone too. It made Sonic feel like a scolded child, his ears pressing against his head. He frowned sadly and looked at the ground, keeping his mouth shut as he glumly followed behind the ebony hedgehog.

Shadow honestly couldn't help but feel bad. He never intended to upset the blue hedgehog, and understood Sonic's concerns, but he had his orders and he was prone to stick with them. Still, it really didn't give him the right to snap at his companion like that.

"Um," He hummed, trying to find a way to lift the hero's spirit back up. "Why don't you tell me about Eldorado? You seem to know a bit about it."

At this opportunity, Sonic's mood immediately changed. He looked back up at his companion, his eyes bright with excitement as he smiled cheerfully.

"Oh, I know more than just a bit, Shads," He giggled. "Eldorado actually used to be one of my favorite legends as a child. Eldorado was the term used by the Spanish Empire to describe a mythical tribal chief of the Muisca native people in the Spanish colonial province of Colombia, who, as an initiation rite, covered himself with gold dust and submerged in Lake Guatavita. The legends surrounding Eldorado changed over time, as it went from being a man, to a city, to a kingdom, and then finally to an empire."

"Really now?" Shadow raised a curious eyeridge at the young hedgehog, suddenly a bit intrigued now.

"Uh-huh." Sonic nodded. "A second location for Eldorado was inferred from rumors, which inspired several unsuccessful expeditions in the late 1500s in search of a city called Manõa on the shores of Lake Parime. Two of the most famous of these expeditions were led by Sir Walter Raleigh. In pursuit of the legend, Spanish conquistadors and numerous others searched Colombia, Venezuela, and parts of Guyana and northern Brazil for the city and its fabulous king. In the course of these explorations, much of northern South America, including the Amazon River, was mapped. By the beginning of the 19th century, most people dismissed the existence of the city as a myth, but I still believe in it. Surely these legends had to come from somewhere."

"Yes, surely they had to." Shadow quietly agreed. He was incredibly intrigued now, which ultimately surprised him. He wasn't really so quick to believe in such things, but Sonic was right. The legend had to come from somewhere. Could it actually be possible that such a place exists? Sonic surely seemed to think so. Maybe, perhaps, if they had enough time after studying the Devil Dragon, the two hedgehogs could make their own expedition to find the city of gold. Maybe he could even talk to the Commander about it.

Suddenly, Karl stopped, holding up a hand to silence the group. He stood stock still and slowly brought his hunting rifle off his shoulder, looking up into the trees. Curious, Shadow looked up too, and saw a lone monkey hanging in the tree, eating the tips off of leaves. At that moment, Shadow understood. They were hunting.

Slowly and carefully, Karl brought his rifle around and held it up, looking through the scope as his index fingered the trigger, waiting for the right moment to fire. Then suddenly…

BANG!

The monkey hollered a finally screech as it fell from the tree to the ground below. Karl quickly put his rifle back over and ran to where the monkey had fell, the rest of the group following him behind.

Karl made it to the body first, and he hollered a wild man's yell as he picked up the small animal and waved it around. Sonic, Shadow, and Charles were all shocked by this. They could clearly see the wilderness in the man's eyes, as if he had been born and raised in the jungle his whole life instead of a village nearby.

"Are you nuts?!" Charles hissed, gaining attention from the others of the group. "You can't do that! You just killed it with a single bullet, at least give it some dignity instead of just waving it around!"

"What do you mean?" Karl chuckled, stepping up to the South American G.U.N soldier. "This is the Amazon. There are no laws here."

With that, Karl chuckled and turned away, suddenly throwing the monkey over to Sonic, who had no choice but to catch it. "Here, you carry that until we settle camp tonight. Then we shall feast."

Sonic's face paled as he stared at the dead body in his arms, the blood from the bullet wound dripping onto his fur and on the ground. He looked like he was about to be sick, but he swallowed back his discomfort and continued forward with the others, carrying the body as instructed.

"Want me to take it instead?" Shadow asked, seeing the blue hedgehog's discomfort.

"No Shadow, I got it." Sonic shook his head, turning to smile at him. "After all, it's the laws of the jungle."

Shadow huffed a small laugh before looking back at Charles to check up on him after the encounter. He frowned at what he saw. Charles was lagging behind, a haunted look on his features. He seemed to be unable to look away from the bleeding monkey in Sonic's arms. Shadow didn't like the look of that.

…

That night, after setting up their campsite, Sonic, Shadow, and Karl were sitting around the fire, enjoying their meal of roasted monkey meat. Charles was laying in the shelter he had made for himself, refusing to eat.

"I'm worried about Officer Charles." Sonic voiced his thoughts as he stared at the human. "I mean, it doesn't make any sense. He's the one that suggested we hunt the animals."

"I guess he just feels as if he might be degrading the animal more by eating it after I swung it around in a good hunting victory." Karl shrugged.

"Well, he needs to get over it." Shadow huffed disapprovingly. "He needs to realize that there are some things that are gonna happen in the forest that he may not like. He needs to toughen up, and be the soldier that he is."

Although he had to agree, Sonic still couldn't help but feel bad for the human. He looked over and stared at the man, his guilt becoming worse and worse the more he watched him. Finally, Sonic couldn't take it.

"I'm gonna go talk to him." He offered, standing up and walking over to him before either Shadow or Karl could change his mind. "Officer Charles?"

"Oh, hello Sonic," The man greeted the hedgehog. "What can I do for you? Still curious about the Megalania?"

"No sir, I'm just worried about the fact you're not eating." Sonic shook his head. "There's plenty of meat left, why don't you join us?"

"I'm afraid I can't eat that meat, Sonic." Charles sighed. "It has been tainted with the indignity of mocking the very life it once had."

"You mean when Karl swung it around in the air?"

"Precisely." Charles nodded. "You see Sonic, the way I was brought up, was that every animal is ancient to the world, and must be treated with respect. When you kill an animal, it must be for good reason, and you must always thank the life it once had. When Karl swung it around, yelling at the top of his lungs, he mocked the life of the monkey and tainted it's meat. I'm sorry, but I cannot eat that."

Sonic gulped in wonder at this new piece of information. Perhaps Charles had a bit of Indian heritage to him, as that is only where Sonic had heard of such things. Don't get him wrong, he respected it gratefully, but he was just not raised that way.

"I understand, officer." He nodded. "Would you eat if I boiled some rice for you instead?"

"That is very kind if you, Sonic. Yes, I will."

At this, Sonic couldn't help but smile as he turned away to start boiling a single serving of rice just for Charles, much to the curiosity and chagrin of Shadow and Karl, but he didn't care. He wasn't about to let one of his teammates starve just because another in the group didn't respect the man's beliefs.