Author's Note:
I actually wrote two scenes in here a bunch of different ways, and then picked what I thought were the best ones. That was probably the hardest part this time.
Lyrics are from Team Dark's theme, This Machine, from Sonic Heroes.
Chapter 12
The moment was wonderful yet excruciating at the same time, for Shadow anyway. Though he wanted to believe he was holding Maria, his mind knew better, and so his heart ached for her. He was thankful for the rain on his face, washing away the sparse tears, for in his right mind he would never cry in public lest it show the torrential emotions he so strove to keep behind his barrier. He would rather brood in private, not involve others… they would never understand…
For these few short moments in his endless life, the power of his own emotion was so strong and so mind occupying, that he was able to ignore and forget the alluring aura of the Chaos Emerald held between them.
Letting out all the pent up frustration, and sensing a friendly presence so close to his own felt good. …but all was soon interrupted by the arrival of his rival. He heard the sound of the sonic boom as the blue one gathered speed to run straight up the building.
"Sonic…" Amy's eyes suddenly opened wide as she heard the trademark sound of her true fancy approaching. She pushed away from Shadow.
Shadow quickly turned Amy around so she faced away from him. She gripped the slightly weakened blue emerald with both hands, and reaching around from behind, Shadow soon put his hands over hers – in case Sonic attacked straight away and he needed to warp.
FOOOM! Shockwaves spread out, forcing the still falling rain in every direction as the blue blur rocketed up into the air until he was a mere speck in the dark sky.
Shadow followed the speck vigilantly with his eyes, and so did Amy. Sonic soon dropped from the sky, executing unnecessary, though impressively graceful, flips and turns in the air as he fell. With a slight grunt, he fell on all fours several feet from Shadow and Amy, grinning in challenge and staring up at him with those sparkling emerald green eyes. He stood up straight.
"Sonic!" Amy suddenly lunged, trying to break away from Shadow, but he simply held her tighter to him, still trying to keep close enough contact with the emerald if he needed it. Shadow blinked rapidly to clear his watery vision.
"Playing professional hostage again, Amy?" Sonic ran a rain soaked glove through his equally soaked quills, smirking now, "Pick a nicer day next time, would 'ya?" he seemed to have bounced back to his old self already.
Amy just whimpered. What followed was an intense silence between them where only the rain could be heard, but it was eventually broken by the arrival of Knuckles and Tails. Knuckles climbed over the railing of the rooftop as Tails flew up after him. Sonic looked to his friends, then to Shadow.
"The gang's all here…" he shrugged, looking back at knuckles out of the corner of his eye, "What's your point big red? Where's this blood you were talking about?"
The rain thinned a little. Shadow shifted his weight, a little unnerved, as he listened while building that emotional wall back up.
"I dunno…" Knux strained his eyes, "Well… look… he doesn't have those rings either, see?"
"Yeah… first thing I noticed… different shoes, too… it's 'gotta be him!" Sonic's grin broadened – his long search was finally over.
"…but Metal Sonic could have changed one of the clones to look like the real one!" Tails protested, looking like a drowned rat in this weather. He too had been hoping that the real Shadow would side with them, and wanted to deny that this evil being was the real Shadow as long as he could.
"You're right, Tails." Sonic nodded, excitement dropping a level as he called out, "So… are you the real Shadow?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" he called back, face returning to its neutral habitualness.
"Well, I wouldn't want to be attacking the real Shadow. He saved my life… all our lives… I'd rather thank him than fight 'em!"
Shadow stiffened at that, and sensing it, Amy looked up at him to see his expression. He was still completely neutral, though his pupils twitched ever so slightly for a brief second.
"I want this emerald." Shadow said simply, changing the subject, "I'll fight you for it. She won't let go without your say, and I will not bring myself to break such innocent dedication." his strong voice noticeably wavered for a moment on his last two words. Shadow had again been comparing Amy to Maria in his mind; both would have done anything for the one they loved… even if it meant their own demise. Deciding it would be best to just get this over with so he could distance himself from the pink hedgehog that made painful thoughts surface, Shadow finished hardening his emotional center, resumed an evil air, and went back to business, "She will let go at your word when I have you defeated and begging for your pitiful life…"
"Ha! You wish!" Sonic assumed an offensive stance, "So who are you working for? Metal Sonic? Eggman? Yourself?"
Shadow roughly cast Amy aside; she stumbled and fell back to the ground, but didn't get up just yet. The three heroes moved to go to her, but were put back in line by a warning glare from Shadow.
"No… cheating…" Shadow said quietly.
The rain slowed to a drizzle as Amy sat up, looking torn.
"Disgusting!" Knuckles cried, outraged, "Even if she is your hostage, that's no way to treat a girl!"
Shadow ignored him, "To answer your first question…" he bent and picked up a shard of broken glass conveniently on the ground nearby – someone had apparently broken some kind of bottle up on the roof – and raised the sharp, triangular piece of clear glass, regarding it as if it were the most uninteresting thing he had ever seen. He then lifted his forearm to eye level, took the glass in his other hand and pointed it down at his arm. Tails covered his eyes, Amy covered her mouth with one hand, and Knuckles & Sonic just stared in disgust and shock as he sliced a deep gash across his arm, making the red streak of fur there come alive and ooze; drip with blood. Shadow's right eye twitched briefly, but otherwise showed no outward reaction to the self-inflicted slice. He actually felt he deserved it, after all…
"Well…" Sonic said softly, "I'll be a son of a-"
"To answer your second question." Shadow interrupted, "I work for myself."
Then suddenly, without warning, Shadow was at Sonic's throat. Shadow hit him with enough velocity that they both flew into the air and over the edge of the building. All of this happened before the bloody piece of glass even hit the ground, though no one noticed, as they were all too busy reacting to the sudden movement.
Sonic's three friends dashed to the railing and looked over, knowing there was nothing they could do now… it was up to the two supersonic hedgehogs to sort this out.
Falling through the air, Sonic tried to free himself from Shadow's grasp, but with no footholds and no way to spin dash, he was powerless except to struggle with Shadow's strong hands, clamped with vice-like properties around his trachea.
Time slowed to a dream-like crawl as the ground rushed up at them, Shadow over Sonic, pushing him into the approaching ground. He was grinning like a madman, pupils constricted to slits and irises like wildfire as he watched Sonic try to pry his hands from his neck. Their quills and fur rustled and tossed madly, and Shadow's blood beaded and dropped through the air around them. Shadow's eyes teared slightly from the rush and his stinging cut, Sonic's out of panic and the blood stuck in his head.
'That's right… I'm the faster one… I'm the stronger one… I'm the smarter one… I'm the dominant hedgehog… I am the Ultimate…' Shadow chanted in his head as he slowly loosened his grip. He wouldn't allow this to end just yet… he rather enjoyed sparring with someone who could match his wit and speed.
At the first opportunity, Sonic immediately freed himself from Shadow's hands, and there was a moment somewhere around the fiftieth floor where the two made intense, riveting eye contact for an eternal moment.
You try to take me down,
stop the show…
It seems you've never tasted fear,
or loss of control…
The power lives in me…
The power that is me…
Sonic broke off first, immediately followed by Shadow and both spun dashed over to the wall, positioned themselves horizontally, and began to run straight down it as if gravity were tilted in their favor. Time was still crawling…
Thirty floors to go and neither were giving up in this vertical game of chicken.
Twenty floors…
Humans far below on the ground were now pointing, yelling, screaming, and generally causing a panic.
Ten floors…
Sonic looked over at Shadow…
Shadow looked over at Sonic…
Five floors…
The two simultaneously leapt from the wall and took their chase to the crowded streets. Sonic hopped from car roof to car roof on one side of traffic, Shadow mimicking his movements in eerie synchronization on the other side. Horns honked, people screamed and ran, and some just stood, awestruck.
Shadow and Sonic saw and heard none of this. They were in their own world with its own frame rate. It was hedgehog versus hedgehog; Just the two of them in these bizarre, blurred surroundings. They stared each other down as they hopped from car to truck to car to car, only occasionally looking ahead to see where they were going, to make turns, and appropriate adjustments in stride.
It was Shadow who got impatient first and went for Sonic. Sonic danced out of the way and up another building, this one only two floors high. Shadow followed, and suddenly the two were locked in hand-to-hand combat, their limbs a blur as they fought it out… though to them… all was slow…
Shadow went for a right hook, stepping in with his left foot as he did so. Sonic threw Shadow off balance by sweeping that foot aside with his own as he deflected Shadow's throw with his left hand, and simultaneously went for his own right hook. Shadow deflected that blow with his left elbow and thrust the heel of his right palm towards Sonic's chest, only to have it blocked by his left hand. At the same time, Shadow raised his foot for a kick, but Sonic stepped down on it, pushing it back to the floor. …and so it went on… matched in wits and agility, neither was able to overcome the other… this way, at least…
"Why are you…" Sonic yelled, struggling to hold his own in the fray, "…doing this, man! I tho—ugh!" he was cut short as Shadow landed a blow to his cheek, "I thought you had a change of heart!"
Both dashed back a few feet to size each other up again. They slowly circled for a second, their manes of quills bristling, and then froze. They each breathed deeply to catch their breaths.
Hearing no reply, Sonic spoke again, "I thought you finally saw the light… realized that it would be better to save the world than make it worse than it already is."
"Humph! You think wrong…" Shadow coiled his legs, narrowing his eyes as he sank low to the ground for maximum spring, "I am unsure of why Maria wants me to live… but none of that is your business anyway."
"Heh heh… still going on about that girl, eh?" Sonic chuckled.
Shadow bristled further as he slowly clamped his hands into fists.
"I'll give you something… you're one dedicated guy…" Sonic also coiled his legs, preparing to leap away from Shadow as he knew his next words were sure to set him off. He chuckled again, "Hell, for all we know, she was just your imaginary girlfriend."
"How dare you bring Maria into this…" Shadow's lip curled as he sneered in disgust, "A new low for you, faker." and he lunged.
They took the battle to the air, both tucking into spiny balls of black and blue. They clashed in mid-air several times before landing on separate rooftops, eyeing each other at a distance for a good attack angle, then starting their mid-air clashing again.
Then Sonic got smart… he uncurled right before making contact with Shadow – the momentum still making him somersault head over heels through the air – arched his back as he flipped over the rapidly rotating black and red sphere, then brought his foot down forcefully on it.
"Hyu!" Shadow was hit hard in the back, bringing him out of the safety of his curl, interrupting his spin, and ultimately leaving him vulnerable. The world still moving in slow motion as the two flipped through the air, inertia still carrying them around and around, Sonic saw his chance and brought his elbow down on Shadow's chest, sending him flailing into a rooftop below.
CRASH! …tinkle …tinkle… tinkle… Except he didn't hit a roof… he hit a rather large skylight of some strange, grungy factory, and went straight through it. Without giving it much thought, Sonic abruptly followed with another spin dash. He landed on the floor of the darkened factory, ears cocked forward, listening intently for signs of life. His sneakers crunched the slightly bloodied glass as he turned to scan the area. The air reeked of… paint? Or was it varnish? Sonic couldn't tell, especially since his adrenaline was pumping madly through his body, and really it wasn't important anyway… but the smell… it was so sickening…
'Of all places… why couldn't it have been a chili dog factory or something.' but Sonic quickly turned his attention from his empty stomach back to the fight. He needed to be ready; Shadow had disappeared, and could attack again at any moment.
That was a good decision, because Shadow was actually watching Sonic, stalking him from behind a huge vat of some unknown substance. The full moon was out tonight, and its light flooded the factory enough to make outlines of their surroundings, but deep shadows still prevailed. Shadow was waiting in one for him to drop his guard… to turn the other way so he could pounce. …but it got even better… Sonic drew closer to where Shadow lurked, walking slow and very cautiously, senses alert for a trap… the trap Shadow was about to spring… in his hand was another shard of glass… this one was long and jagged…
Shadow shallowed his breathing as Sonic stopped directly in front of him, his grip tightening on the sharp glass. He could feel his heart beating rapidly with anticipation, and prayed that Sonic couldn't hear it thundering in his chest.
Zwing! He swiped!
"Ahh!" Sonic jumped back as Shadow's makeshift weapon sang sharply through the air, cutting a thin red line dangerously close to the bottom of Sonic's eye.
Zing! The glass swiped out again, Sonic starting to loose his balance as he shuffled in reverse, away from the sudden assault – this time the glass cut a diagonal line across his chest. Sonic finally gathered his senses and found was leaning back too far to regain his balance again, so instead he did a back handspring away from Shadow, curled into a ball in mid flip, and bounced up to a rail-less catwalk high above.
Shadow put the now bloody glass between his teeth, raced over to a pipe, and shimmed up it to a catwalk next to Sonic's. There he took the glass from his mouth and looked through the darkness at Sonic.
Sonic glared back at Shadow, deadly serious look in his gleaming green eyes. Seeing an opportunity to get a rise out of him in return for the earlier untrue comment about his dear Maria, Shadow smirked and slowly raised the bloody glass to his cut arm. Sonic lifted an eyebrow as Shadow dipped the glass into his own wound, mixing the blood on the makeshift blade with his own. Sonic's expression then turned to one of disgust as Shadow ran his tongue along the flat part of the glass, licking both their life substances from its surface.
"Now there's a little of you inside of me…" he said deviously as he flicked his tongue over his teeth, and admiring his gruesome cut with an even more devious look, "Better watch out… I have a taste for my rival's blood now."
"Ugh… You sick, twisted, bastard… I should have guessed you'd still be messed up." Sonic yelled, voice echoing off the silent walls of the fume filled factory, "If that's how you want to be, then fine, but I'll be there to stop you no matter what you do!"
Shadow's smirk spread, and suddenly he flew at Sonic again, grinding along a short pipe in the middle to make the transition from his platform to Sonic's.
Sonic assumed a defensive stance as Shadow came at him with the broken glass again; it flashed as the subtle moonlight reflected off it. Sonic lunged to grab Shadow's wrist as he swiped, but Shadow swiftly pulled back, slicing the palm of Sonic's hand open. Scooting back, Sonic hesitated getting closer again to strike… and that hesitation would cost him… Shadow instantly sensed the hesitation and went for Sonic, forcing him to the ground, going in for the kill… Sonic squirmed and tried to push him away with his feet as Shadow pinned him to the narrow grate; Shadow trying to force the sharp glass to Sonic's neck. Shadow wormed his way through Sonic's legs and pinned his hips to the ground with his knees. Sonic desperately pushed against Shadow's arms, bloody palm making blood run down his arm, as Shadow pushed the glass closer to his neck. He would make Sonic beg for his life… beg for mercy from the Ultimate Life form!
Their arms shuddered and strained against each other, each using all their might to force the blade on the other. Shadow was winning, having gravity and a darn powerful streak of confidence on his side at the moment. The blade drew closer to Sonic, and he pressed his head back, craning it as far from the blade as he could. It pressed through his thin blue fur and touched his skin… threatened to slice his jugular… to make him bleed to death… his life spill forth in a flood of crimson. Sonic grunted as he desperately tried to push Shadow off with his legs, but he refused to move from his position, sadistic grin plastered to his face once more.
"Have I won yet… faker?" Shadow rasped through gritted teeth, strain and fatigue present in his voice.
Sonic winced as he felt the blade press harder against his skin, felt its stinging slice as it began to break the surface. He wouldn't give in! He couldn't loose! Not like this! Not to an evil, sadistic, neurotic, and manic-depressive hedgehog that claimed to be his better! Never!
Fortunately for him things were about to go his way… Before Sonic could either die or think of what to do, there was a sudden movement, furious yelling and a crash to their right. Shadow's eyes snapped to the event.
Sonic took that distracted moment to suddenly heave Shadow from his body and kick him with both feet in the chest. As Shadow tumbled away, balance completely gone, he fell back, hit his head on the edge of the catwalk, and rolled off. Sonic watched in horror as Shadow fell, glass tumbling from his hand, five meters down and into the vat below, its foul, sticky substance enveloping his body as he broke the surface quills first. Shadow flailed around in the vat for a moment, the syrupy substance impeding his movement worse than water as he slowly sunk to the bottom.
Meanwhile, there was a wrestling match going on some distance away on the floor. A certain Guardian had found someone to fight with.
Knuckles growled as he flipped his surprisingly heavy attacker on their back and pinned them to the floor, but not for long… three metal tentacles flew out of the black hood and flung him off with three simultaneous blows to his shoulders. Knux hit the wall a few feet away with a grunt, but by the time he was on his feet running, the attacker was already making its way to the catwalk where Sonic was gazing down into the vat.
Sonic watched as the black and red figure struggled a bit in the deep pool below, then stopped moving. He didn't know what to do; neither of them could swim… so he just stared in horror and guilty indecision, hoping Shadow would somehow save himself…
The cloaked figure suddenly landed on the catwalk beside Sonic. Sonic looked up at it. There were no facial features to be seen under the dark hood.
"Sonic!" he heard Knuckles cry from a few catwalks over, "Watch out! It's got weapons! …and it's not friendly!" Knux was slowly making his way towards them by jumping and gliding from platform to pipe, to platform…
Below, Shadow was running out of oxygen…
'Just let go… Shadow… just let it all go…' his mind urged him.
His lungs burned, his chest heaved, his limbs twitched, his head swooned…
'Maria… I… tried… I really… tried…' he felt the exhausted air squeeze up from his lungs, rushing towards his nose and mouth, "I just want to rest… just want… to…'
He let out his breath; allowing the highly toxic substance known as varnish, enter his mouth. The taste was appalling, but at this point he was too whacked out to notice. If his eyes were open, he would have seen his exhale rise in slow sticky bubbles to the surface above him as his vision and hearing narrowed, and then turned off.
Up on the catwalks, the cloaked figure threw off their cloak in one movement. Sonic scampered back a few feet in shock at the sight of her and Knuckles stopped dead in his tracks one catwalk over, his mouth hanging open.
"Better hope you don't need saving again after this…" she muttered down to the black blob far below.
It was none other than Juli-Su. Over her orchid colored fur she wore a bullet and laser proof black vest, and a black leather belt holding several weapons. She had a completely roboticized arm, three mechanical dreads, metal rocket-boots that went up to the knee, and a die hard look in her ever determined ultramarine-violet eyes. Not wasting any time as the two heroes gawked at her (for they had never seen a cybernetic echidna before), she removed her weapons belt and dove head first into the vat.
Knuckles joined Sonic on the platform, and both stared in disbelief as she disappeared after the black blob, down towards Shadow's limp body.
In his barely-conscious state, Shadow thought he was dead as he faintly acknowledged something coiling around him, tightening under the arms, and then gentle vertical movement as it pulled him up.
Juli struggled; she had kicked off the bottom while holding him, and was trying to get them both back to the surface. Blind, as she dared not open her eyes in this liquid, and impeded by Shadow's weight, her own heavy body, and the viscous substance, she wasn't going to make it.
'C'mon, damn it!' she roared mentally in anguish, then grunted more quietly, '…gotta… get you… breathing!'
Desperate now, she extended her three tentacle like dreads, reaching up through the surface, straining up, higher… she felt no contact; were they long enough? She kicked harder so she could get up a little higher, and finally with a wave of relief, felt the tips touch the grate and bars on the underside of the catwalk.
She grabbed on with the little three pronged claws and ordered her dreads to retract, pulling herself and Shadow from the vat of varnish, up through the surface (she gasped for air but did not open her eyes), and praying that Sonic and the Guardian would not attack them. They didn't… instead they did a surprising thing… they helped the two sticky forms up and onto the catwalk.
Their furs stained and dripping with the caramel-colored, smelly, vomit inducing substance, Juli-Su quickly wiped her eyes and wasted no time in giving Shadow's back a sound thumping in three different places. The well-aimed force immediately made him gag and cough up a good amount of the stuff. She let him gag for a moment and did it again, making him keel over and gag violently again. He spat messily a few times, fingers trembling slightly as he weakly twisted them through the grate, vision spotty and near psychotic in color. He wheezed, took in a deep shaky breath, then Juli hit him again in those three places, making him gag and sputter all over again. From Eggman, she knew that as long as Shadow was able to breathe, he would recover…
As Sonic and Knuckles watched the disturbing spectacle, Tails carefully helicoptered through the broken hole in the skylight, strenuously carrying Amy. The two landed behind Sonic and Knux, uncertain which was stranger: the sticky cybernetic echidna, or the sticky gagging and now dry-vomiting Shadow.
"What's happening?" asked Amy carefully as she pushed herself between Sonic and Knuckles. As Sonic snapped out of his trance to reply, Juli-Su dove for her weapons belt.
"Oh no you don't!" Knuckles stepped on her hand and grabbed her by a robotic tendril.
Juli-su growled in furious pain and tried to move her mechanical dreads, but they wouldn't move very well… the varnish had made them gooey and useless. She swore as Knuckles kicked her utility belt back to Tails, who picked it up to explore its contents.
"Hey!" she yelled angrily through clenched teeth, "Kid! Be careful with that—urrrgh!" Knuckles forced Juli's head back to get a good look at her in the dim moonlight.
"You're an echidna?" he asked, surprised.
"I don't know about me…" she muttered, teeth still clenched, "…but I know you're not much of one!"
"Oh… pardon me?" he curled a lip and bared a fang as he pulled her head back further, making her flip onto her back to prevent her head from being snapped off, "Say that again?"
"Screw you!" she snapped.
"That's enough, man…" Sonic said quietly to Knux, who immediately released Juli and shrugged. He then motioned for all of them to look at Shadow.
Shadow sat up very slowly, tried to get to his feet, but stumbled and fell back to his knees. Sonic walked over to Shadow, Amy clinging to his shoulder and both stepping carefully around the steaming, though surrendering Legionnaire as they went.
Shadow was turned away from them, eyes closed, breathing deeply with the occasional shudder. His quills were a mess, standing, twisting, drooping all at once in erratic patterns every which way, and hardened in that position because of the sticky substance.
"Shadow… seriously man… we don't have to fight. Do you want to talk about this?" Sonic asked quietly, trying on his best 'good guy' air.
Shadow shook his head and almost laughed, "Talk about this… huh!" he spat through the grate, "No I don't want to talk about this… I only want that emerald." he coughed violently as he tried to catch his breath.
Knuckles held up the red emerald he had retrieved from the vent, and Amy pulled out her blue. Shadow could feel them, he knew they were there, but it would be futile to try and get them with both Sonic and Knuckles here in such close range. He felt too weakened and miserable to try for them anyway.
Juli-Su considered the possible exits; there wasn't much choice. If she took out the Guardian she would still have Sonic, the kid now fondling over her weapons and the girl (who seemed no threat, but she would never assume) to contend with. As young as he was, the fox boy didn't need to be a surgeon to get a good clean shot at her in this proximity. Plus her dreads were shot again. She waited for Shadow to make a move, and if he moved she would follow his lead instead.
"This is easy to figure out." Knuckles finally said, "You two are working on the same team, and you were responsible for that attack!" he raised his fists, as if preparing for another fight, and muttered to Shadow, "…working for yourself my ass."
"Believe what you want, it won't make a difference in the end." Shadow took an interrupted breath to speak again, but was cut off by…
BARRROOOM! An explosion that sent all six of them sailing through the air, and to the floor far below.
Sonic landed the hardest, as Amy was still on his back. As if to voice his annoyance, he said rather harshly, "Amy, get out of here! Run!"
She did as she was told, taking the blue emerald with her. Sonic flipped to his feet and readied himself.
"Tails, take this and go!" Knuckles tossed the red emerald to Tails and took a place beside Sonic. He was soon flanked by Shadow, who was looking up at the smoking hole in the ceiling, though he looked very tired and disinterested. Sonic noticed that Shadow's legs were shaking very slightly under him. Would he be able to fight now?
Tails ran after Amy, an angry Juli jogging after him, "Hey kid! Give me my freakin' belt!"
"What's going on?" Knuckles demanded of Shadow.
"I was about to ask the same…" he replied neutrally with another cough and a spit.
Juli-Su came up beside Shadow, belt back around her hips, and now holding a laser pistol in each hand.
"That sure ain't us!" she growled, "No one was supposed to follow."
A cold, metallic laugh resonated throughout the factory, "Humm humm humm humm humm…"
Then Metal Sonic hovered through the crude opening, hovering on Shadow's Air Shoes and with help from the jet engine in his torso.
"So that's why your shoes are different…" Sonic mused, swiveling an eye over to Shadow, "How in the hell did he manage to—"
"No time for that." Shadow said, voice oddly urgent and desperate, "We've got to take him out or run before he calls in his friends."
"Right." Juli-Su cocked her pistols, aiming them steadily at Metal Sonic, "Temporary truce, guys?"
They all nodded in agreement.
"We can take 'em!" Knuckles bent his knees, ready to spring.
Then they came… hundreds of clones poured in, flowing like a liquid shadow as they swarmed around Metal Sonic.
"Holy crap!" Knuckles' stance wavered for a second.
It only got worse, as a billowing, shredded cloak floated into view beside Metal Sonic.
"It's Dimitri!" Juli gasped, eyes alight with noticeable terror, "Okay… Metal Sonic alone, maybe, but Dimitri, too? …and the clones?" she looked to Shadow, "We've got to get out of here!"
"I second that." Shadow voiced, "There's no way we can defeat all that at once… not here, not now." he turned his head behind him and spat again, the awful taste of varnish still burning his mouth.
The two dark ones looked to Sonic and Knuckles.
'Dimitri…' Knuckles paused in thought, 'Where have I heard that name before?'
"Do you want to live to fight another day or not?" Juli shouted.
Sonic studied the two hovering figures and the swarm of clone Shadows. He rarely, if ever backed away from a fight… but Shadow was pretty weak right now, and even he was willing to back off…
"Alright… Shadow? Get us out of here!" he said finally.
"What? We're leaving!" Knuckles wanted to stay and fight.
Shadow started to run for where Tails and Amy had run off to.
"You stay then." Juli said coldly as she ran after Sonic and Knuckles.
Knuckles bristled, then ran after her.
"Hey-what? Where are you going?" bellowed Metal Sonic indignantly, confused and almost hurt, if his circuits even allowed those emotions, "Don't you want to meet my newest creation?"
Sonic returned for one moment, looked up at Metal Sonic, smirked, flipped him off, then ran back after the fleeing group. Metal Sonic just tilted his head to one side, not entirely familiar with the gesture, but offended nonetheless.
"Go…" he told Enerjak.
Followed by a stream of hovering clones, Metal Dimitri floated slowly after them… too slow to be of any use in this pursuit.
'Ridiculous… I should have given him jet engines…' thought Metal Sonic, "Enerjak. Stay."
The billowing black cloak stopped as Metal Sonic zoomed after the group instead, unsheathing a blue energy kris sword as he went, and followed closely by two clones on either side.
Shadow, Sonic, Knuckles, and Juli-Su found their way outside, where Tails and Amy were anxiously waiting, clutching the glowing emeralds with very concerned looks on their faces.
"Tails, Amy! Give Shadow the emeralds!" yelled Sonic as he sprinted up to them.
"What?" they both cried.
"He's gonna get us out of here!"
Shadow came up beside Sonic, head bent low, coughing and gasping for breath as he held out his hands. Knuckles caught up and stood beside Sonic, panting slightly. Tails and Amy resentfully handed Shadow the Chaos Emeralds. Shadow looked at them, trembling a little as he resisted their energy, hesitating.
"Well, c'mon! Let's do it to it!" Sonic smirked, eager to feel the rush of the Chaos Control again.
"Where's that Legionnaire..?" Shadow asked darkly, un-amused.
"Legionnaire? Is that what she is?" Knuckles was intrigued, "I've heard that term before as well…"
Several laser shots and a couple of crashes were heard, then a scream of anguish pierced through the night as they all turned to look back at the door from where they had come. Two clone Shadows lay mangled on the ground, lasers burned through their thin metal shells. Hovering with the jet engine on his back and the Air Shoes, Metal Sonic was suspending Juli-Su in the air by a fistful of dreadlocks, none of them mechanical. He was a truly frightening sight to behold, his whole body sharp at every end, metal spines stretching out in an awesome display, orange eyes gleaming, sharp claws extended, brandishing a twisted looking glowing sword. …not to mention holding a rather heavy echidna in mid-air with one hand, as if she were of no weight at all.
"GO!" she screamed in obvious pain, "WARP! GET THE EMERALDS OUT OF HERE!"
Metal Sonic laughed; Shadow staggered and squirmed as the group all jumped on him at once, Amy hugging him from behind, Tails attached to his leg, Knuckles hugging him tightly from the right side, and Sonic gripping his arm on the left.
"You heard the girl!" yelled Knux, "Get us out of here!"
"You know…" mumbled Shadow lowly, not at all impressed with the sudden physical contact, "Heroes like you aren't supposed to say things like that…"
"He's right Knux we have to do something!" Sonic started to calculate mentally how fast he could get to Juli-Su.
"GO! I WON'T BE YOUR DOWNFALL!" she screamed desperately.
Metal Sonic then dropped one of her dreads, so that even more of her weight was being suspended painfully by the hair and quills that made up her dreads.
"FUCKING HELL! JUST GO!" she screamed again, starting to go hoarse.
Shadow considered the situation… what she had done for him… then said almost wearily to the clingers, "Whatever you do, keep quiet and don't let go." he closed his eyes in concentration as he felt all their grips tighten on him, 'Damn it, I hope this works…'
Metal Sonic was speaking, but he blocked it out of his mind. He let that burning energy flow up his arms… To warp so many in what he was about to attempt was foolish and dangerous. It would also need split second timing and concentration… and someone insane enough to do it.
"Chaos Control!" he bellowed.
FOOOOOOM! They all disappeared in a cloud of light, and then instantly reappeared in mid-air, exactly where Metal Sonic was hovering.
The following happened in a fraction of an instant: Metal Sonic immediately dissolved into a particle cloud as Shadow and the group passed right through him. Then as the group and Juli-Su all began to fall from the air, Shadow reached forward and grabbed Juli-Su in an embrace with his already full hands, and roared over her shoulder, "CHAOS CONTROL!"
FOOOOOOM! With a crack of noise even louder than before, they all disappeared; minus Metal Sonic who had floated away to reassemble himself for an attack that would never take place.
They reappeared in a dark, under construction building across the city. Only the cement floors and walls had been finished on the metal skeleton, and they all fell painfully in a pile to the floor of the thirty-third story. Shadow was on his back on the bottom, and everyone else – Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, and Tails – lay twisted around him, dazed and confused, save Juli-Su… she was right on top of him, his chest heaving in exhaustion under her, their fur and sparse clothing somehow cleansed from the varnish. When Shadow dropped the near spent emeralds and opened his eyes, he wasn't surprised to find her deep purple irises staring into his. She looked flabbergasted. He wrenched his arms and shoulders free from the clingers, and pushed his front end up with his forearms (the cut on his arm was now almost fully healed), Juli-Su still on top of him. He raised an eyebrow at her, still breathing heavily, "Get off me."
He tried to roll her off, but she wouldn't budge – her arms were still wrapped around his torso and her stare was unwavering – apparently speechless and numb, he guessed it was because of the sudden change in scenery he had made. Going from being prepared to die to lying on top of someone, wasn't exactly… subtle.
Seeing she wasn't going to move, and too tired to force her off with a sudden, violent gesture, he slumped back to the ground and closed his eyes. He was all Chaos Controlled out, and the fumes from the disgusting substance had given him a severe migraine.
The four goodies around them groaned as they tried to sort up from down.
Shadow felt Juli crawl up him and shift her elbows over and behind his shoulders. He could feel her breath on his nose for a moment, and the weight of her dreads falling around them. Annoyed that his fatigue was being taken advantage of, he opened his eyes to make another attempt a getting her off. What the hell was she doing, anyway?
She was sleeping, head to one side of his face. Now, he wouldn't have a major problem with that under the circumstances, except for that she was sleeping on him, snuggling into his chest fur – and only Maria, who happened to be dead, had those kind of snuggling rights.
…but, as she was so heavy, and he was so wiped, he decided to tolerate this intolerance until he had enough energy to do something about it. Rolling his eyes in exasperation, he put his head back down and closed his eyes, only meaning to rest for a moment, however… he fell asleep.
He woke up from a dreamless sleep a quick twenty minutes later to the sound of fire crackling. He was lying now on his side, facing away from the source of heat behind him, no one around him, and no Juli-Su on top of him. He could feel two pinpricks of energy nearby that were the two drained emeralds. If they were used again, even for the shortest distance or smallest task, they would almost certainly transport themselves to a random location.
'What just happened?' he thought, unnerved with himself as usual, 'How did I manage that? Dreamless sleep… or was it unconsciousness…' but he didn't think of it any longer, as he had enough unpleasant details to rack over…
A little ways away, Tails had started a small fire using some construction materials and a lighter he had found after a few tailspins around the site.
Shadow quickly glanced behind him; Sonic was sitting on one side of the fire, mesmerized by its glow. Amy was clinging to Sonic's arm (who just ignored her), and looked very bewildered. Knux was next to Sonic, glaring at Juli-Su who was on the other side, glaring back at him with a fanged snarl. Tails was next to Juli-Su, doing something to her mechanical dreads… Shadow turned his head back around and swiveled his ears to listen instead.
"So what happened to you? You said you're not a robot, so why do you have these cybernetic parts?" Tails asked.
"They make me stronger." she said calmly, not breaking her stare with Knuckles.
"Oh…" Tails was fascinated with the intricateness of her mechanical dreadlock, and was bending and twisting it to see how it worked, "…Sonic always tells me it's better to get stronger by training."
Sonic smirked and flicked an ear to that.
"Yeah…" Juli sighed, seeming resentful.
Tails looked at her curiously, "Did you make a mistake, Miss Juli?"
Juli broke her angry eye contact with Knux and looked down at Tails, her eyes wide with surprise. She had been quite rude to him a short while ago, and yet he was so polite.
'Very mature…' she thought, thinking differently of herself for one regretful moment.
Tails looked back at her dread, "It's okay, everyone makes mistakes." he studied the little three prong claws on the end, "It's the only way we can get better. We have to find out what works and what doesn't… what we can and can't do… how it affects everyone… and especially yourself." he smiled, "Kind of like when I build a new machine."
"For just a kid you're pretty smart, you know." she said quietly, smoothly rippling one of her snake-like tendrils for him to see. She smiled slightly as his eyes lit up with marveling, and then went back to giving the Guardian hard looks, only to find that he now had his eyes closed.
"So what did you do?" Knux asked.
"I didn't do nothing." she muttered.
"Denial… Figures." Knux leaned further back on his arms.
"Nah… just don't recall it being any of your business." she sneered.
"So, Sonic? What are we going to do about the two emeralds now?" Knuckles asked, ignoring Juli's comment.
"They can keep the red one…" he said methodically, face blank of expression, "…but Shadow has to deal with me if he wants this one." he pushed the blue emerald out from behind him. It was transparent blue, with only a tiny glowing light in the middle – it was still very weak.
"What? You're going to just let them take the red emerald!" Knuckles' eyes snapped open in exclamation.
"Yeah… why not." Sonic's gaze didn't waver from the fire.
"…but they're attacking us! We may have a truce right now, but they're our enemies!" he protested.
"Are they?" He asked. There was a pause, then Sonic looked up though the fire at Juli, "Before I give it to them… I'd like to know why." he leaned back on his arms, stretching his feet out before him.
"Why what?" she asked suspiciously.
"Don't play dumb, smart ass—" Knuckles started.
"Get bent!"
"You wish, cu—"
"Knuckles!" Sonic scolded with a look, obviously more pissed than previously assumed, "Could you please let me talk a sec?"
Tails shifted uncomfortably. Amy remained silently glued to Sonic's arm, though she had quivered when he snapped at the echidna.
Knuckles stood up, face twisted in anger, "Fine. I've got a job to do anyway!" he walked over to the edge of the floor, "You kids can watch your own backs…" and with that he leapt off and glided away, back towards his island.
After a short pause, Sonic looked back to Juli, "So why do you need these emeralds? Maybe we could all work together."
"Not likely…" she smiled with amusement.
"You're obviously against Metal Sonic… why not?"
"Because…" her face suddenly jaded over, "It's out of my hands… alliances and such are not up to me."
"You did call the truce."
"It was necessary. Only temporary. …and I'm not allowed to kill you or the Guardian anyway…"
"What?"
"You heard me… your lives are reserved. I won't say anymore of it."
There was a long pause as Sonic connected several thoughts at once.
Tails was thinking hard, too, trying to put two and two together. She was not saying things outright, but hinting... Did she mean that Shadow wanted to kill them, or were they working for that certain someone..?
"What about those metal echidna… you're working with them, right?" Sonic pressed.
"So, what about them?"
"Where did they come from? Who commands them?"
Tails added, "It's definitely not GUN, and they don't look like Eggman robots… so..?"
"…and what about…" Sonic gestured to Shadow and added quietly, "…him… you saved him, and… he saved you, so you must be on the same team?"
Juli-Su sank deeper into her jaded state as the flames of the fire mesmerized her, grumbling, "Humph… I'm not even supposed to be here… and I've said too much… they'll probably try to torture me when I get back…" she turned away from the fire and stood up, facing Shadow. She looked at him for a fleeting moment, and then walked into another room.
"…they?" Tails said meekly.
"… just tell me why. Why do you need the emeralds?" Sonic called after her, though she was now out of sight.
"Ask him… he's the emerald know-it-all." she trailed off, only Tails hearing the last part, "…the neurotic hedgehog…"
Sonic slowly stood up, Amy's grip sliding down to his leg as he glanced over to Shadow. Shadow's ear twisted towards them confirmed his consciousness. Amy refused to look at Shadow… now that she had Sonic back, and her mind was almost back to where it was normally, she actually felt violated. What had she been thinking back there! As the unsettling scenario played over in her mind, she tightened her grip on Sonic's leg, very thankful no one had witnessed her moments with Shadow.
"Well, Shadow…" Sonic crossed his arms, "What do you have to say for yourself?"
There was a long pause, and then with a sudden heave, Shadow flipped himself upright. He stretched his back as he stood, spines parting for a brief moment, showing the hundreds of quills and hairs that made them up.
Amy still refused to look, and as Shadow moved to turn around, she got up and retreated into another room. Tails ran after her. Shadow was relieved when he turned around and she wasn't there… and Sonic seemed quite relieved that she was no longer clinging to his leg.
"I say this…" he said darkly, no expression on his face as he crossed his arms, "…a rematch."
"Stop changing the subject!" Sonic exhaled in frustration.
"If I told you why I needed the emeralds I'd have to kill you."
"Oh… yeah… very original." Sonic rolled his eyes at the cliché, "Alright, fine; A rematch. Can we do something less life-threatening this time, then? A race maybe?"
"That will do."
"Okay, a race for the blue emerald." he picked up the blue emerald and tossed it to his other hand, "Where?"
"Your pick… I'll find you wherever you go." he looked at the emerald lustfully, then shut his eyes as he looked away from it.
"In how long?"
"Now." he opened his eyes again, but was now looking at the floor.
"No. Metal Sonic will see us."
"Where is he now?"
"He was hovering around the city for a while, trying to detect the emerald's power, but they were so weak he couldn't find us. Some people saw him, and GUN was eventually called in. They chased him away from the city."
"He didn't fight back?"
"No. It's crazy, I know… but that's like everything these days."
Shadow slowly turned away, "I agree." he dropped his arms and walked over to the ledge. The fire in the middle of the room was almost finished burning, illuminating the dark cement structure with a red glow.
"I don't want us to be enemies, Shadow. We could work together, bring down that metal head… Eggman too, and maybe even get GUN reformed."
Shadow said nothing to that. It was tempting, and he knew they could be a more powerful team, joined with Sonic, but Sonic didn't have what he wanted… his ultimate goal… files that would let him realize his past and his true purpose for being… what he was.
Sighing, and seeing that he wasn't getting anywhere, Sonic repeated, "In how long?"
"I'll contact you, in a few weeks maybe…" Shadow leaned against the wall, looking down over the edge to the ground. Then he jumped and felt his fur stand on end when he realized that Sonic had suddenly stepped up beside him.
They stood in silence for a moment. Two hedgehogs so much alike, yet so contrasted at the same time.
"Sonic…"
"Yeah?"
"When you're holding a Chaos Emerald… when it still has its power…" he gestured to the spent emerald in Sonic's hand without looking, "Do you find yourself… loosing control?"
"Huh?"
"… … …" Shadow looked to Sonic out of the corner of his eye for a split second, then looked back down at the ground far below. He didn't want to speak so openly, but he didn't know of anyone else who might have an answer for him. "I don't know… I just can't seem to handle it anymore…" he rested his head against his fist propped up on the wall beside him, "The power of the emeralds makes me think… makes me do strange things…" his quills shivered for a second as a flash of the evening's earlier events came to mind again, "I've always felt a strong pull towards them, but… recently I find myself not being myself anymore… I… I just can't control it the way I used to." he sighed, "I must be loosing my mind." he paused for a moment, "You're one of the only beings I know that understands the emeralds on a deeper level. I wanted to know if you felt it, too."
Sonic was shocked at his sudden openness; he didn't know quite what to say, "Well yeah… I do feel it… they send you on a power trip for sure… that's what they've always done… that's what makes them so dangerous! And why I always feel a certain responsibility to keep them from the hands of evil." he looked at Shadow, "That's why I was asking what you needed the emeralds for."
"Against this world… I am neutral."
"Then why are you teamed up with Eggman again?" Sonic pried.
Shadow was jolted from his calmer state. He stood up straight and looked at Sonic out of the corner of his eye.
"Damn… I knew it all along." Sonic took a step back from Shadow, as if he were going to attack again, "Eggman was being so quiet… I figured he was hiding something… but why, Shadow? What can Eggman do for you?"
Shadow put his hand on the wall again and turned to it, head hunched over, "He can show me… what I've forgotten…"
"Ha! Yeah right! The guy's the biggest double-crosser in the his—"
"Even so," Shadow interrupted, voice slightly muffled against the wall, "I can't take the chance that he does have what I want… what I need… and if I find out he doesn't… I'll kill him and move on. No loss to me…"
Sonic just shook his head in disappointment; he knew Shadow had always had it rough, but also knew there were other ways, better ways, to get things from Eggman. Figuring it would be better not to start up an argument and possibly another fight with GUN still patrolling the city, Sonic turned and walked to the other open end of the room. There would be more chances to try and win Shadow over to his side, and for now he would give him some space to think. Just knowing that Shadow was still alive and having the opportunity to speak with him had successfully renewed his spirit anyway.
"C'mon Tails, Amy… let's go home." Shadow heard him say.
Then Sonic dashed off, Tails carrying Amy through the air after him. Amy did not look back.
When Shadow was sure they were gone, he turned around. The fire was completely out; the ashes chalky white and grey, and the room was dark, save the light from the city that poured in. He noticed something gleaming by the ashes on the floor, and walked over to it. It was round… it was… one of his gold rings. He picked it up. Who had left it? Amy? He shuddered as thoughts of his encounter with her surfaced once again.
'Go away…' he told the thoughts.
It could have been Sonic. Shadow turned it over in his hand. What were these strange gold bands… what did they mean? What had they been for? He stared at it hard, tracing a gloved finger across the rim. The first time he could remember wearing them was way back on the ARK.
Approaching footsteps then interrupted his pondering. He didn't turn to look as Juli-Su walked back into the room and over to the ledge, didn't see the blood seeping through the palms of her gloves, but he heard the sound of the red emerald clinking against the floor as she tossed it towards him.
Shadow looked down at the emerald. He wanted to hold it. He hesitated, then warily picked it up with his other hand and inspected it; it still wasn't enough to get them back. The emerald was so weak he could barely feel the heat of it in his hand, and though it would mean a long run back, he was relieved. He looked at the gold ring, the emerald, then at Juli-Su. Even when it was this weak, would its influence affect him? After a minute or two of thinking, he decided to find out. He walked over to where she was looking out at the city and stared out as well. He felt no mind-bending rush from the emerald, and so a long, peaceful silence followed. Shadow was actually thinking of how to word his question. There were a few things he wanted to set straight with her…
"Why do you follow me?" he asked quietly, still staring at the dark scenery with a monotone expression.
"Huh?" she snapped out of the silence but didn't look at him either, "Follow you? What do you mean?"
"You stayed by me when I was injured—"
"Well, I was ordered to." she defended.
"You watched me skate that evening before the incident with GUN—"
"…" Juli faltered, "Right place at the right time."
"You came to rescue me from GUN—"
"Again, that was an order. …and you weren't there anyway…
"You freed me from Metal Sonic's prison—"
"I had to save myself, too…"
"You have a thing with my eyes—"
"Yeah… well… you have very handsome eyes, what can I say?" she was turning red now, and fuming. She uttered under her breath, "I can't believe you—"
"You followed me here—"
"I was ordered—"
"That's a lie…" Shadow finally smirked. He had caught her.
"…" Juli opened her mouth to say something but stopped.
"You're wondering how I know?"
He took her silence as a positive sign.
"Earlier you mentioned… 'No one was supposed to follow.'" Shadow turned and looked at Juli-Su, "I knew that as well. No one was supposed to follow me, Eggman's direct orders. …yet you followed me anyway."
"Not sounding too grateful to someone who saved your life." she muttered.
"…and I immediately returned the favour. Thanks for noticing."
"…okay… what are you getting at?" Juli-Su turned and looked at Shadow.
In a huge contrast to her annoyed words, when their eyes locked, a strange sort of calm, mutual understanding passed between them, which neither of them fully understood at this point.
"This is what I mean." Shadow said without moving, "What does this mean? I was hoping you could tell me."
"You hate taboo… don't you?"
He narrowed and angled his look, "If someone is going to be stalking me, I at least want to know her motives."
Juli nodded, seeing his point, "Alright… fair enough." she shrugged neutrally, "I guess… I guess I just find you fascinating. Doesn't mean nothing."
"Humph…" Shadow looked back at the city. He had been hoping she'd say 'I want to kill you' or something similar that would trigger a fight. Or maybe he had really been hoping for something else? 'No…' He pushed those thoughts away… strange new thoughts, new feelings, new overwhelming, mind bending urges that Rouge had awakened in him, the emeralds inflated, magnified, and the pink hedgehog Amy had fortunately stopped before they reeled out of control.
'Chaos…. chaos controls me.' he thought, rubbing a finger against the emerald in his hand. He could not feel the energy trying to crawl up his arm – it was too weak to even attempt to warp his mind.
There was another one of those uneasy moments as he thought of all this.
"It's a long way back…" he finally said.
"Lead the way." she yawned casually as she rocked on her heels for a moment.
"I'm afraid I need a guide…" he blinked, "I teleported here and haven't the faintest idea of how to get back."
Juli-Su turned back towards the opening in the wall, "Alright, take my lead then." and leapt off, gliding with help from the jets on her heels and ends of her robotic dreads. Shadow watched as she floated out a ways, then dove down, landed on a rooftop far below, and turned to look back up at him.
From where he was standing, Shadow curled into a ball and spun dashed down after her. Juli-Su saw him coming and started running across the rooftop, leading him towards home base, far away. She soon reached the edge of the building and leapt off, jets propelling her through the air before she landed on the next. Shadow hit the ground running and went after her, hopping from rooftop to rooftop with ease, watching her occasionally rocket through the air, almost as if she had used a light dash.
The air was warm and dry; the wind soft… all Shadow could hear was the sound of their steps hitting asphalt shingled roofs as they ran and leapt, the blurred city noise far in the distance, and the jet boosts…
'I wonder if my shoes are done…' Shadow thought sadly as he watched her leap into the air, accelerate at tremendous speed through it with a boost, though only for a brief moment, then land on the next rooftop, 'Run… jump… fly… repeat…'
Shadow soon reached the spot where she had vaulted off, and was soon sailing though the air as well. He took in the sights around him… the lights… the hundreds of thousands of residential houses bordered by the tall skyscrapers behind them… the full moon lighting their way… the clouded starry sky…
Run… jump… fly… repeat… the repetition was hypnotic… Run… jump… fly… repeat… Shadow had a better idea. Picking up the pace, he soon matched Juli's stride and ran along side her for a moment.
Run…
He swerved closer to her to avoid slamming into a chimney.
Jump…
"So how's the emerald?" she yelled right before the next leap, "I forgot to ask… is it strong enough to get us back?"
Fly…
They flew through the air together, as he yelled back coyly, "Why? Can't keep the pace?"
Repeat…
'Let's see what this stalker is made of…' he thought.
When they landed Shadow shot towards her, circling her in a loop and catching her eye with a challenging look as he passed. He then leapt down off the rooftops to the quiet neighborhood street below. Juli followed in hot pursuit, snarling, but amused with his antics.
The deserted street stretched out before them as they ran side by side, Shadow going along just fast enough that she'd have to work hard to keep up with him.
"I thought I was the leader." she panted, eyes sparkling with an insidious look.
"Go ahead… lead…" he gave a subtle smirk back, challenging her to even attempt outrunning him, and lowered his head a little as he picked up even more speed.
"Ah… go to hell!" she shouted teasingly as she quickly fell behind, "…and well you're at it, hang a right!"
Out of old habit Shadow started to do a crossover, but ended up tripping over his feet before remembering he was running and not skating. Slowing and tottering for balance, he just barely made the turn as Juli zoomed past him in a smooth arch, on foot right in front of the other, rolling on the small retractable wheels in her boots as if on inline skates. Shadow soon caught up to her again, and was about to make a comment on the boots, when…
"Hey, wait!" Shadow slowed and stopped.
Juli stopped a little ways ahead of him. He held his arms to either side of him, frozen, appearing to be listening intently to something. Juli jetted over to him and stopped, trying to hear what he was listening for.
There was a feint whine and whirr noise… it was closing in around them, and getting louder by the second.
"Metal Sonic?" whispered Juli.
"No…" Shadow lowered his arms a bit and clenched his fists tighter around the two items he was holding, "It's GUN."
"Crap…" she shifted her weight to the other foot, "Well, now what? Do we run from GUN… or have a little fun?" she grinned proudly at her rhyme.
Shadow just rolled his eyes, "Take these and go, I'll take care of them myself." he tried to give her the ring and emerald.
"What are you, stupid? How many times now have you tried to take care of something yourself, and needed help?" she pulled out a laser pistol, "What is that, anyway? Power ring?" she gestured to the polished ring.
"I don't know, but I at least want one hand free." he gently took her arm and slipped the gold band around her wrist.
Juli looked at him strangely as he turned away to pinpoint direction that GUN was coming from.
'What was that… that I just felt when he touched me?' she thought.
'You're infatuated with him, retard.' her brain explained to her.
'No! I mean… I can't… I mean… damn he's hot! …but… is he even capable of such things?' the thought of 'such things' made her feel very hot indeed, 'I need a drink…' she thought wearily.
"They're over there." Shadow pointed at some lights and noise in the distance without looking at her, which was probably a good thing as she tried to compose herself, "They know we're here already, and might even be able to see the emerald, so—" he stopped short as he looked back at her slightly reddened face, "…are you even listening to me, or should I just shove this emerald in my mouth and go after them?"
Juli shook her head rapidly.
Shadow let out a sigh through his nose and spoke more rapidly now, as GUN was gaining on them, "They can probably see us on radar, so there's no point trying to sneak around back and pick 'em off from behind."
"Why don't we just run?" she shrugged, "Eggman's probably having a fit by now anyway."
"…because…" Shadow looked up at the sky…
Thousands of GUN beetles and three helicopters flew in and swarmed around overhead. Then their heads snapped to the road ahead, where four tanks were already blocking their way. A blinding spotlight shone down on them.
"…they're already here."