Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or places that are reffered to in this story.
Opening the door to his now very demolished space-shuttle, Shadow inhaled the fresh and slightly sweet scent of the jungle on Angel Island. He'd landed almost exactly where he wanted; just a short run and he'd be at the altar of the Master Emerald in no time. The black hedgehog checked his surroundings and when he was sure no one was following him he speeded up and fell into a high-speed run. He looked like a red and black blur.
He stopped right before the opening in the jungle. From here he could see all the way to the altar.
"But it's still there…. he just lied. Why?" Shadow mumbled to himself.
The green light the Master Emerald emitted shone brightly on top of the stone remnants and the smaller lights in different colours was probably the Chaos Emeralds. They were still intact and in place.
"But where's that echidna? Maybe he, who ever it was, left the Emeralds as bait and is waiting for me somewhere." Shadow pondered and skilfully scanned the area.
He couldn't see anything that looked like a potential threat and he therefore decided that he should climb atop the altar. Running quickly to the base of the stairs, Shadow still eyed the area, very suspicious to any sound that he heard. But not even with his highly advanced skills he couldn't see anything.
"But then again, I haven't seen the Guardian anywhere either….that creep that sent me the message might be hiding somewhere else, just waiting."
Shadow shrugged at the thought. Let that guy come! He would be ready, not just to face him, but defeat him to!
As silent as he could, Shadow began to walk up the worn-out stone steps that lead up to the platform where the Master Emerald rested. As he looked around, the Chaos Emeralds sparkled to him with different lights and shades. He could count to six Emeralds.
The seventh was in his own possession.
Shaking his head so the red and black spikes on his head waved, he continued his climb. When he finally reached the top, Shadow had to cover his eyes so that the rays of the sun and the green light of the Master Emerald wouldn't blind him.
After getting used to the light, Shadow noticed something red.
"Knuckles…."
Indeed it was Knuckles lifeless body, lying sprawled at the base of the Master Emeralds stone-pillar. His eyes were closed and he wasn't moving.
Shadow kneeled beside the lifeless red echidna. "He looks so peaceful…he suffered for me and my mistakes. I'll never forget that. I will avenge him "
The normally cold hedgehog became slightly sad at the sight of the Guardian. Not that he knew him very well, but somehow he felt that he understood Knuckles better than anybody else….it was just that they had been so alike. Both was the last of their kind and both had dark mysteries hidden in their past.
The stoic echidna had always been so self-sacrificing. Maybe the others didn't see that, but Shadow did.
Knuckles had spent pretty much over half his life on Angel Island, watching over the Emeralds so no bad guy could take them, and he'd unleashed the Master Emeralds power in order to stop the event on The ARK.
Just meant as a gesture, Shadow raised his hand and touched the chin of the echidna.
Suddenly, he went flying in the air with a sharp pain searing through his jaw. He landed a few feet away from his former place.
"Oh, so it was you Shadow."
When Shadow stood up, he quickly found both the source of the voice and his pain.
"Knuckles." He said to the echidna that was now sitting up.
"Yeah, who else would it be?" Knuckles yawned. "Why are you here Shadow?"
Eying Knuckles as he stood up, Shadow touched his sore jaw. "So you weren't dead then…."
Knuckles grinned and watched as the black hedgehog brushed of some dust from his hands. "No, I was just asleep. Why should I be dead Shadow? So that you could take my Emeralds? I thought the one I placed in your custody would be enough."
"Hn. That was not my intention. I needed to see if something I suspected was correct…but it seems that everything here is fine." Shadow said and brought down his hand from the mark that Knuckles had done when he'd hit him.
"Hm, you speak in riddles. Just as always. By the way, you do still have the Chaos Emerald, do you?" Knuckles asked taking a few steps forward.
Shadow cringed slightly as a drop of water landed exactly on the spot that Knuckles had hit him. "Yes, as a matter of fact I have it with me. Knuckles, I need to talk to you."
The Guardian eyed him worriedly and then looked up at the darkening sky. He settled his amethyst gaze at Shadow. "Well, I'll listen to what you have to say, just for old time's sake. But we can't stand here; we'll be soaked in a couple of minutes. Follow me and I'll show you the way to my place." And Knuckles walked down the stairs.
Shadow looked up on the sky and out over the ocean. The water was in turmoil and all signs showed that a storm was arriving soon. With an unpleasant feeling, Shadow followed Knuckles down the stairs and into the forest. The red echidna was more used to this sort of terrain than the black hedgehog was so Knuckles had to take it slowly through the thick bushes and showing Shadow the way through some of the hardest places. The raindrops dripped down the leafs and soon they were both pretty wet.
Soon they came to a stone temple. It looked like it would crumble at any moment.
"You mean we're going in there?" The black hedgehog asked, glaring at the red Guardian.
Knuckles rolled his eyes. "Yes. You have a problem with that? It's not gonna' bit you."
Shadow glared at him and pushed him aside. But as soon as he touched the stone the ancient wall started to glow in an strange dark red colour. His hand that touched the crumbling stone started to feel uncomfortably warm and began turning red. Shadow quickly snapped his hand back. He turned his head to Knuckles, and to the hedgehogs surprise it looked like he was having a really good time watching Shadow trying to enter the temple.
"What's so funny, echidna?"
Knuckles suppressed a chuckle. "You can't enter, Shadow. Only I can."
Shadow frowned. "Why didn't you tell me that then?!"
Knuckles walked up to Shadow and smirked. "Because I knew you wouldn't listen to me. That's how you work, and I know that."
Shadow grunted and moved back. Knuckles took a step forward and raised his hands and his head. Slowly, he stated to chant in a language that Shadow didn't recognise. Slowly the angry red colour faded around the building, and a circle of light that formed ancient writing appeared in front Knuckles. Shadow couldn't recognise that language either, and that was rare because Shadow knew about three fourths of the worlds all languages.
Knuckles whispered something, in English this time. To Shadow it sounded like: I, the Guardian, bring a visitor. The Shadow of Dawn and Dusk is no harm. Your Guardian commands you; open!
Shadow frowned. What was going on with the echidna? What was this strange feeling of incredible power seeping from him and the temple? In front of him, Knuckles made his gloved hands break the circle of light and his gloved hands sunk to his sides.
"Done yet?" Shadow asked.
Knuckles didn't turn around. Instead he walked through the huge open gate and into the temple.
The Ultimate Life-form shrugged and approached the stone building, with a bit more respect now, and followed Knuckles in. Outside, the heavens opened and let the rain flow down. After walking a while in almost complete darkness they came to a big opening.
"Welcome, Shadow the Hedgehog, to one of my many homes at Angel Island. This is the Chamber of Angaracsi. In English that would be the Chamber of lost Spirits."
In the soft orange light of a torch that Knuckles lit, Shadow took a good look around. The big room was a perfect circle and several tunnels and corridors led out to, what he assumed, other rooms. Everything was old and looked very foreign to him. While Shadow was inspecting their new environment, Knuckles walked around and lightened the other wooden torches that were placed all around the room.
"What was it you wanted to say Shadow?" The red echidna asked.
Shadow turned to face the voice. "Has anyone been to the Island lately?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
At that Knuckles rolled his eyes. "If anyone had been, I would've sensed him and kicked him of my Island. That I would remember, don't you think?"
"Hm, maybe. So, nothing unusual?"
Knuckles lit the last torch and walked up to Shadow. "No. What's this about Shadow?"
"I couldn't fool him that easily. He's smarter than he let's on." Shadow thought. "I got a...message of sorts sent to me at The ARK." He said, looking on anything other than Knuckles.
Shadow couldn't bear to think about what could've happened to Knuckles if the message had been true. Strange.
The red echidna sighted. This was why he hated to talk to the non-social hedgehog. You had to force every sentence out of him. "So what did it say? Shadow, you have to tell me! You come crashing down on my Island, you take the red Chaos Emerald with you, you want to talk with me with this serious face and then you just won't tell me what this is all about!"
Shadow growled. "I tell you what I want echidna, and I wanted to spare you from some special details of that message! But if you so strongly feel that you can hear the truth then fine!"
Knuckles saw a strange thing in the ruby eyes of Shadow. He could've sworn that he saw something like helplessness flash past in the burning eyes.
"Shadow...?" Knuckles whispered, too low for even the black hedgehog to hear.
"I didn't want to tell you that I came here because of you! The message wrote that you were in danger, that you were kidnapped and injured! It said that you were gone and...an- THE EMERALDS!!" Shadow shouted as a though came to his mind.
Knuckles looked at him. "I left them alone! This was a trap Shadow!!!"
The first ray of electricity hit the soaked ground and the skies opened their mouths to scream out their rage. As the rain poured down and the lightning lit up the now darkening dusk, the crimson red Guardian and the jet-black Ultimate Life-form ran jumped and climbed their way to the Master Emeralds shrine.
Before you start laughing, I'll just say that I'm awfully sorry that the bad guy was named like a complete wannabe, but my sense of naming things has always been pretty damned lousy. I hope you can overlook that fact.
Please review (no flamers please) and I send my best regards to all of you who reviewed on the last chapter. Can't thank you enough!