Third Person POV
The next morning they launched the Tortuga and set course back to Africa. Sonic woke up reasonably later than usual. The nightmare was now just a foggy memory. But the weirdness of how it faded was still fresh on his mind. During the first hour of the flight, he would steal glances at the dark and serious mobian, who stood in his usual pose with his arms crossed and a deep scowl. He stared out the viewing window without saying a word. He didn't even so much as look in any other direction. Sonic knew that Shadow wasn't telling him everything, but what? Why did he feel the need to hide it?
Shadow was deep in thought. The need to look out for that annoying blue hedgehog had only grown since the day in the cave. Since it was revealed that they were, in fact, family. His scowl deepened. Why of all people in the UNIVERSE did it have to be him? Not to mention he was now having to run a little side-quest when he should be looking for the rest of the Chaos Emeralds. They only had two. TWO! There were still five more scattered across the planet. He needed to get home. Or, at least, his equivalent of one. He unconsciously flicked his left ear, an anxious habit he didn't even realize he had. Rouge and Omega would be wondering what happened to him. Rouge would probably be the only one who was actually worried about him; Omega would most likely just be complaining about the lack of action. The Commander at GUN would want a full report of his absence and why he disappeared. Other than those three, he could only name a handful of people who would even want him to return.
No! Stay focused. Retrieve the Emeralds, save the world, get back to Mobius. Forget the details, he thought. He was so deep in thought that he didn't noticed Chris walk up beside him.
"Trying to stare a hole in the window?" he asked lightly. Shadow's quills bristled in surprise, and Chris laughed good-naturedly. "You're a bit jumpy today. What's up?"
The dark hedgehog turned to glare at the human before returning his gaze to the passing scenery, "None of your business."
Chris shrugged. He was getting used to Shadow's rudeness. "Ok. Wanna go to the roof? It's a clear sky today."
Shadow glanced over at Sonic, who was laughing with Martin and Jimmy. The girls were taking some much needed time off and had retreated to Koki's room to paint nails, talk, and do some online shopping. He rolled his eyes, not able to come up with a good excuse, and followed the green clad zoologist.
"Whatever. Don't fall off."
Chris smirked, "Please. I'm the climbing Kratt, remember? I can balance on just about everything."
"I stand by my statement," the hedgehog retorted, mentally listing the things that he figured Chris would never be able to keep his footing on that he himself had balanced with ease. The younger Kratt rolled his eyes and hoisted himself onto the roof with his climbing gear securely fastened to the hook. Shadow was seconds behind him. He leaped out of the hatch, did a couple of frontflips and landed squarely on his feet with his back facing Chris. He looked over his shoulder and smirked at the dumbfounded look on his face.
"How-?"
"Don't bother," the hedgehog interrupted, "Now, what is this really all about? You obviously lured me up here to talk."
Chris looked hurt by the statement, "No I didn't. I just figured you could use some fresh air. You seemed so uncomfortable inside."
Shadow didn't bat an eye at his words. He was through with emotions for the moment. In response, he merely hmphed. Chris held back his temper at the hedgehog's rudeness. Everyone has a different way coping with change, he mentally told himself. Shadow's ear flicked again, signalling that he was thinking about something important. He sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes, taking in deep breaths from the high speed winds. It was a meditative pose Espio had taught him to help clear his mind. And he really needed a clear head right now.
"So," Chris began, trying to think of a way to start a conversation, "What was life on Mobius like for you?"
"Excuse me?" he asked sharply. So much for regaining his focus.
"Well, Sonic mentioned that you helped saved your planet a couple of times, and that you work for a well known spy agency. So what's it like?"
"Meh...," he answered nonchalantly, "Nonstop some days followed by droughts of boredom."
"What do you do during those times?"
"Spar, travel, catch up on my history."
"What do you mean 'catch up'?" Chris asked. Shadow opened his eyes only to glare at the human. He didn't care anymore about what he did or didn't know about his past.
"I was put in a cryogenic sleep for fifty years before Sonic and I met. Eggman, ironically, was the one who freed me."
"Fifty years?!"
"Yes," he replied, becoming slightly annoyed, "I am officially fifty-five," then he smirked at a recent memory, "I was given a nuclear bomb for my birthday." (Read Archie Comics "Shadow Fall")
"Wait, what?" the young Kratt croaked. He suddenly realized just how dangerous Shadow could be. The dark hero grinned devilishly, showing off his blistering white canines, as if he could read Chris's thoughts.
"The government at the time deemed me too dangerous," he spat venomously before controlling his temper, "So they took me and put me in a capsule for fifty years. If Eggman, Sonic, and his friends hadn't have been Chaos Controlled to my world, an alternate of yours, then I may have never been awakened." It was actually kind of terrifying for him to think about. If Sonic and his friends hadn't shown up in his world, he could have been asleep for much longer than fifty years.
"Wow," Chris breathed, "That must've been some awakening."
"We're here," he answered, changing the subject purposefully. So much for regaining a sense of focus with all of those memories trying to breach his mind.
"What?
The antihero rolled his eyes, "We're back in Africa."
"Oh," Chris laughed sheepishly. Just then Sonic climbed up on the roof.
"There you guys are!" he exclaimed cheerfully, "I've been wondering where you two skulked off to. Got any idea where that second heart is, Shads?"
He narrowed his eyes at name, enough to let Sonic shudder. "I have to be on the ground in order to feel it. It's not like the Chaos Emeralds," he explained. Sonic nodded in understanding. Then he smirked.
"Wanna jump?"
"You're insane!" Chris gasped. Shadow only rolled his eyes, and the two hedgehogs stood. Before Chris could stop them, they back-flipped off the top of the Tortuga in sync and began to freefall. Sonic let out several whoops of excitement, while Shadow simply scanned the ground below and pinpointed a landing spot.
"Sonic! Clearing at four o'clock!" he yelled. Sonic hollered an excited reply and the two dove, speeding their descent before rolling up into hard, almost invincible balls. They hit the ground with a sickening thud. Both of them uncurled, and Sonic rubbed his head. Little chilidogs circled around his head in a dizzying fashion. Shadow recovered a little bit faster and stood. He held out his hand to help Sonic up without thinking, and the blue hedgehog gawked.
"What?" he asked, taking his hand back, not completely sure why his refusal stung. Sonic shook his head a few more times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. He looked up to see his dark counterpart staring down at him in confusion.
"What's gotten into you lately?" he asked bluntly, as Shadow forcefully helped him to his feet.
"What do you mean?"
"You've been acting different ever since you came in touch with that crystal," seeing the blank look on the older mobian's face, he continued and listed everything on his fingers, "No longer making death threats at me, not calling me 'faker' or 'pathetic', going out of your way to save me, making sure I get sleep. What are you not telling me? Cause it's obvious that there was more to what Lakit told you."
But before Shadow could reply, Martin and Chris met up with them in their jeep. Saved by the humans, he thought.
"Got any clue about that second heart?" Martin asked, ready for another adventure.
"The hearts are similar to the Chaos Emeralds," he mused aloud, ignoring Sonic's suspicious stare, "They draw to each other. Thankfully, their energies are different enough for me to distinguish the two."
He stood silent for a moment and felt the energy waves around him. There was no shortage of Chaos energy, but he pushed around it and tried to feel the heart. A warm breeze ran though his quills, and his ruby eyes snapped open.
"100 miles Southeast," he said at last. Sonic gave a thumbs up.
"All right!"
Shadow turned to address Chris and Martin," It'll be faster if I go alone. You two and Sonic see if you can find another Chaos Emerald. We'll meet up at the Tortuga."
"No way!" Sonic protested, "I'm just as fast if not faster than you are. And let's not forget about what happened last time. What happens if you black out again?"
The dark hero pointed at the black and red creature pod displayed proudly on his wrist, "I can assume these all have tracking devices in them. And they can be used for communication. There is no need to worry about my safety. I am the Ultimate Lifeform, afterall. Besides," he added as a whisper so only Sonic could hear, "I need someone to keep an eye on them for me."
"You really don't know how to trust, do you?" Sonic added quietly with a smirk. Shadow hmphed.
"Comes with the job."
"Ok then," the blue hero said a little louder, "But you better keep in touch. And our conversation is far from over."
"So now who's the one that's worrying?" Shadow smirked and took off in a black and red streak. Sonic only shook his head with a knowing smile. He was never one to really worry about anything or anyone. But he didn't want another cave incident anytime soon.
Sorry about the slow updates. Guess I shouldve left a warning somewhere. Hehehe... So anyways I know this chap wasn't 1 of ma best, but suffering from writers block on this story.