Shall we start?...

Misguided Perceptions

Shadow kicked open the door of the smoldering wreckage. The pod had landed somewhere far north of the Emerald coast. The hedgehog knew this because he had seen the coastline through the glass of the pod.

Shadow now took the time to relay his surroundings. He was on top of a very tall peak of what appeared to be a Jack-O-Lantern perched on a high stone pillar. Surrounding this peak was more of these pumpkin-like structures. He looked over the edge and peered into a dark abyss. He must have been more than 70 kilometers high. A final look around made Shadow recognize this area. He had briefly passed through it when he had chased the blue tornado, again when he traveled through that mansion with Rouge and Omega, and once more when he traveled through Eggman's Cryptic Castle. (For those of you who played SAB2, Shadow is very close to the area called Pumpkin Hill, or the level Shadow played called Sky Rail). The sun was setting and it gave off an eerie red glow and made the summits turn a dark orange.

"I guess I should get going" he sighed to himself as he jumped off one pumpkin to the next.

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Rouge woke up in a large king-size bed. The sheets were of a dark crimson and the bed post was of a dark ebony wood. She was raised by at least three one-foot-high mattresses. She had slept well, but still felt like sleeping in. Since she had spent the night in a strange castle, she did not think it wise to do so though. The bat crawled out of the bed and got to the floor, minding the height of the bed, and made her way over to the window. The room was very dark save a few candles that flickered. The window was covered by two high curtains that matched the color of the bed sheets.

"I bet it's a wonderful morning!" Rouge said as she started to open the curtains, but to her surprise, the window was covered and sealed by stone bricks. She was confused and decided to see if the whole castle was like this. She opened up her large reinforced door and continued down the hall.

The whole castle was pitch black, and the torches that had been lit before were now doused. Another thing was very odd, it was empty. Maybe not completely empty, but it was totally silent. All the windows were indeed covered by drapes and it was a little cold.

Rouge's heels of her boots clicked against the stone and she rubbed her arms for warmth, "Doesn't this place have a heating system! That guy called it an academy didn't he?" She whispered to herself as she walked through the hall. Soon after a few minutes, which passed like hours, she had reached the entrance hall she had passed through last night. She spotted the fireplace and ran over to it. Most of the wood was burnt but after moving some with the poker she spotted dying embers. Rouge then through a few logs on and took a seat in a wooden chair next to the hearth. After a few moments the fire built up and a small blaze formed. It was warm and "satisfied" the bat's need. The heat was so nice that Rouge's eyelids started to flicker and if it wasn't for the sound and feel of a breath on the back of her neck, she would have fallen asleep. She pushed the chair backwards while jumping out and flipped around only to find no one there.

"Strange" She said with more confusion. She then turned around but practically ran into an echidna standing behind her. No, it wasn't Knuckles. Instead it was a gray echidna that was tremendously older by appearance. "Hey! What's your problem you bastar-" but she stopped as she looked at him. He had a dark bandana covering his eyes and was adorned by several sets of cloaks. He also held a strange staff of a dark oak that was knotted and warped all along the twisting top.

"Hello Rouge the Bat. You're quite the little explorer aren't you?" He said with a smile and a small chuckle.

"Wha…who…but you were just?" Rouge said with her limit of confusion.

"My name is Rico, and let me tell you one thing…In here, I'm more like you then anyone else" He said with another smile. Then the fire flickered and he was gone.

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Shadow landed on the lowest and largest Pumpkin of the rest. Instead of dusk, it was now dawn, but so much fog covered the area, that he could only see about thirty feet in front of himself. Before when he was running and jumping from pumpkin to pumpkin, he had noticed this particular one. It was the only one that seemed to go on for miles and miles. Another distinctive factor was that a small village was in the center. This village was now what he was trying to reach. He had been running all night so he was very tired. Maybe the settlement had a place to sleep.

More coming.