Third Person POV
Varmitech Headquarters, NYC
"So let me get this straight. If I get one of those chaos emerald thingies, my machines will be several times more powerful than they already are, and I will have an unlimited power source?" Zach questioned.
"Yes," the nameless voice on the other side of the speaker replied, "Each chaos emerald you collect will multiply your power, and with all seven a miracle can be created. And one would also be the perfect bait for Sonic and Shadow. Plan carefully, and their power can be yours for the taking."
"I do like the sound of that," he mused, "But how can I catch them? The last time I had one of 'em, the stripy one about killed me!"
"Strange," the other replied thoughtfully, "It is very unlike Shadow to go to such extremes for a rescue. No matter. Your first task is to find the next chaos emerald. Then we shall put the next part of our plan into action."
Tortuga HQ
"Oh, yeah!" Martin cheered, "Welcome to North America, gang!"
"I can't wait to have enough room to run again," Sonic said to no one in particular as he stretched his arms above his head.
"How are you feeling, Mr. Shadow?" Cream asked. The ebony antihero opened his eyes and grunted a dull reply.
"I'm fine. This one's strong."
"When are we gonna land? I'm bored," Sonic whined, making the other mobians roll their eyes.
"Setting down now, Sonic!" Jimmy yelled from the cockpit before he resumed his conversation with Tails, who had wanted to learn everything there was to know about flying the Tortuga.
"Finally!" he exclaimed as he felt the ship lowering. A cheeky smirk made its way on to Sonic's lips as he glanced at his older twin, "Hey, Shads, think you'll be able to find the fourth chaos emerald?"
"Shut up, Sonic," he snapped back, "That was one time."
"But still, it's like the fourth one hates you for some reason," he sniggered, earning a traditional death glare.
Tails could only roll his eyes at the duo before his mind began to wander. His older brother had never acted so relaxed around his rival. Even though they weren't exactly enemies on Mobius, he always wore a prepared stance, ready for fight or flight when standing around the sable hedgehog.
"Whatever," Shadow hmphed and crossed his arms, not in the mood for Sonic's antics.
The hatch to the Tortuga hissed open, and the twin hedgehogs vanished in blinding streaks, releasing the pent up energy in a quick race. They returned minutes later without so much as breaking a sweat. Aviva was staring down at a handheld similar to Tails' design in slight confusion.
"This doesn't make any sense. Zach isn't normally this destructive without an obvious reason. But it looks like he's destroying anything he comes across."
"Sounds a lot like someone we know," Rouge commented.
Sonic and Shadow shared a glance, and the blue hedgehog spoke, "Yeah, almost exactly like a certain Egghead I know."
"If Zach is starting to act like the doctor, then we need to be ready for anything. Though I doubt it will be a Robotnik level fight, we need to be prepared for the worst."
"Shads is right. We'll take care of the licorice stick, and you guys hang tight till we give the all clear. Something isn't adding up."
However, before the twins could dash off, a loud beeping filled their ears, and everyone ran back into the Tortuga. Koki's fingers blurred over the keypad as she typed.
"It's an incoming transmission from Zach's jet. I'll try to get a lock on it as long as he keeps talking."
"Well, that should be easy enough," Martin grinned.
"You guys hide," Sonic told the newer arrivals, "We don't need anyone else knowing that more mobians are here, especially Mr. Birdbrain."
They readily agreed and scurried off to wait out of the camera's view. Koki pressed the final key, and the large computer blipped to life as Zach's face filled the screen. The pale human chuckled with a dark gleam in his eye that sent an unnerving chill up Sonic's spine. Something told him this wouldn't be like last time.
Hello, Wild Rats, he greeted with a sneer, A little birdie told me your little friends were looking for something. Something...chaotic. If you want it, come and get it! he cackled while showing off the red chaos emerald in his hand. Sonic and Shadow fell into battle stances, wordlessly stating that they were willing to fight for it.
"Give it back to them, Zach," Chris ordered, "The chaos emerald doesn't belong to you. They need it to get home."
Well then they'll just have to suck it up and get comfortable, he retorted.
"Are you certain you want to play this game, Varmitech?" Shadow asked calmly, relaxing into his typical position with his arms crossed over his chest. The fact that he still had a throbbing headache was pushed the back burner as he took the lead in the discussion.
I wouldn't be calling if I wasn't, Stripes, he replied harshly. A deep, menacing chuckle rumbled out of Shadow's throat, and he revealed a devilish grin of his own.
"Is that so? Then I'm glad you have agreed to such a challenge. I will enjoy tearing your precious little toys to shreds, and then I might just finish where we left off on our last encounter."
Zach visibly gulped, and all eyes trained on the black and red hybrid, who seemed to be revelling in the spikes of fear around him.
"Because, you see, you have just become a living target. But we can do this in a much cleaner fashion. Return the chaos emerald to me, and we can go our separate ways. I don't think you wish to know the alternative."
Zach hesitated, mulling over his options when he suddenly lifted a hand to a previously unnoticed earpiece. His face fell into a frown as he turned his attention back to the heroes.
You're all talk and no bite, hybrid rat.
Everyone listening expected the crimson striped hedgehog to flare up in a heated temper, but instead, he shook his head knowingly.
"You have no idea about who you are messing with, human. I look forward to enlightening you."
Zach grumbled under his breath and instantly ended the call. The remaining humans and mobians stared at the ebony agent in varying states of confusion, but he turned his attention to Koki.
"Was that long enough for the trace?"
"Uh, yeah. He's just a few miles northwest of here," she answered.
"That was some crazy acting there, Shadow," Knuckles stated as he and the others rejoined the group.
"Yeah, I got chills just listening!"
"You did sound very scary, Mr. Shadow."
The only response he gave was a simple hmph in acknowledgement. He had spent a long time as a villain. He was well versed in the art of threat making and intimidation.
"But did you all see what I saw?" Aviva piped up, "Zach had an earpiece, which means--"
"He was getting orders from someone else!" Martin finished, "But the question is, who?"
"I don't know," Sonic mused, "this whole gig is rubbing my fur wrong."
"Are there any other villains we should know about?" Knuckles demanded the group of animal lovers.
"There are only three others," Aviva answered, "Donita Donata, Gourmand, and Pavesly Paver. But I doubt any of them would be the one Zach's getting instructions from."
"What makes you say that?" Amy requested. Jimmy was the one to answer.
"Because Shadow already took care of two of them," he said proudly. All of the mobians besides Sonic and Shadow gasped. Whenever someone said the Ultimate Lifeform "took care" of someone, that usually meant he had annihilated them. The twin hedgehogs could only facepalm.
"Not the way you are thinking," Shadow clarified after seeing the worried stares the others were giving him.
Sonic snickered, "Yeah, Donita was easy. Shads has gone on way too many shopping trips with you, Rouge. But Gourmand was a bit of a different story."
"He threatened my allies. That's all there is to it," Shadow interrupted before anything else could said that could lead to more questions.
"What are you talking about!?" Chris exclaimed, shocked about how he could downplay his attack so easily, "You completely totalled his RV with some crazy red explosion."
"And scared him senseless before that," Martin added.
Shadow growled. Why couldn't those two see that he wanted to leave that whole ordeal alone. He didn't want to reveal his true intentions for the rescue. He didn't want to manifest his connection to their favorite blue hero. His migraine chose that moment to spike, and he fought the urge to wince.
Rouge stared at her partner in deep curiosity. She knew him better than anyone else, in her opinion, and she prided herself at being able to read his physical signals. His left ear would not stop twitching, and his body shifted between agressive and defensive stances. He was hiding something, she realized, and for some reason it made him nervous. Teal eyes roamed the other bystanders and landed on Sonic, who was bouncing from one foot to the other. He knew what Shadow was hiding, and it was probably the reason why those two had been acting so chummy recently.
"Come on, handsome," she urged, "We're all trustworthy. What happened?"
"Nothing happened!" he denied, "Martin, Chris, and Sonic got themselves captured while I was searching for a world heart, and I rescued them. End of--argh!"
The crimson-splashed hybrid gripped his head as pain pierced his skull. This wasn't right. Whenever he was close to a world heart, he felt it in his chest or his inhibitors. It had never been in his mind. Perhaps Eleanor had done something when he connected to the last heart. It throbbed once again, and the Ultimate Lifeform slunk to his knees.
"Shadow?! Shadow what's wrong?" Rouge and Sonic pleaded, shocked by his sudden collapse. The blue hedgehog felt his rings only to find that they weren't scalding like last time. Could something else have happened?
"Shads, come on, talk to me, man," the blue blur said softly, but the black hedgehog remained unresponsive...
Location Unknown
Shadow's POV
I sat up and rubbed my head, wondering what exactly has been causing my recent headaches. Looking around, I saw nothing but a red mist. Alarm bells went off in my mind as I stood, and I debated on whether or not I should try to find a way out.
Greetings, Bearer! a cheerful, feminine voice saluted, and a humanoid figure stepped out of the crimson fog.
She appeared younger than the other world hearts I have met, perhaps in her early twenties, if I had to take a guess, though I knew she was far older. Dark brown hair accented with long white feathers, tan skin, and coffee brown eyes. She was clothed in a deerskin dress decorated with colorful beads along the hem and neckline, and a matching headband adorned her forehead. She looked as if she had just stepped out of one of Maria's western novels.
"Who are you? Why am I here?"
Sis was right. You are a very curious little creature, she giggled. It took a lot of effort to keep my face neutral at the insult.
I'm Sassaba, world heart of North America. Welcome to my continent!
Okay, this chick is officially off the hinges in my book, "Why am I here? What is this place?"
Oh, I guess Elly didn't tell you. Instead adding her design to your pretty bracelets, she added you to the Link.
"Link?"
Wow, she really didn't tell you anything. Geez, for being the oldest, she should have remembered that much. The Link is a way all of us keep in touch with each other. It is the only way we have been able to communicate, since we are anchored to our continents.
"So you summoned me here?" I asked with a slight glare. I don't like being out of control of my own body. Sassaba gave me a pixish grin.
Well, I tried to just talk to you, but you were being stubborn. So I had to go all out.
That explained the headaches. It was her trying to contact me, "Well, I'm listening. What did you need to speak with me about?"
For the first time since I've met her, the heart seemed sad, There isn't much time left, I'm afraid. My sisters needed me to tell you to hurry. I care about this world, and I like you. You're a hedgehog, and hedgehogs live mostly in my territory. So I feel a need to look after you as well. I will give you time to tell your brother and your friends, and then I will tell you where I am.
The clock is ticking faster, apparently. I released a sigh, knowing that I would have to continue this journey alone.
"Very well. I'll see you again soon."
Goodbye, little emerald, she grinned and chuckled at my unamused reaction before I blacked out...
Tortuga HQ: Third Person POV
"It's been two hours. What do you think is wrong?" Tails asked, watching with concern as Sonic paced back and forth in front of the hammock they had placed Shadow in.
"I don't know, little buddy," he muttered.
"Vital signs are stable," Koki informed, "It looks like he's just asleep."
Shadow's upper body shot up, startling the group, and he held his forehead from the sudden rush. Sonic was by his side in an instant.
"Woah, easy there, Shads."
"Lay off, Sonic. I'm fine," he retorted, making the blue blur frown before he continued, "I have news. I spoke with the heart."
The hybrid slid into a sitting position with his feet dangling over the side, "Time is running out. I have to find the other hearts quickly, which is why I will continue this quest alone while you find the remaining chaos emeralds."
It was safe to say he was not ready for the eruption of disagreement.
"There is no way I am letting you go off on your own!"
"Yeah, and you've already hit the deck twice since you started this. You need somebody to have your back!"
"And don't forget there's still Zach to deal with. He's hunting you and Sonic down."
Shadow lost his patience after listening to their arguments for several seconds, "It has to be done! Can't you see this world is destined to collapse if I don't? You won't persuade me out of this. I have to go alone."
"Then I'm coming with you," Sonic and Rouge jinxed, but Shadow shook his head.
"I travel faster alone, not to mention I'm the only one that can speak to the hearts. And Sonic, I need you to stay and look after the group and take care of Zach. He's taking orders from someone else, and I don't have the time to look into it."
The blue hedgehog protested, "But--!"
"My answer is no, Sonic," he interrupted, "I have to go. Goodbye, everyone."
And with that, he disappeared in the flicker of a chaos control.
A/N: And that's it for this chapter! Thank you for reading. I can't believe I've actually written twenty chapters for this story; it's incredible! Please tell me what you think of it so far, and if you have any critique or suggestions! Happy New Year by the way!! Bye!