Well, now that Thanksgiving's over, I have time to write again. I might have said this before (I don't remember), but I think there's only a few more chapters left before the end of this story. I hope you all have enjoyed the story so far. Well, here's Chapter 22.
Blur and Zynth were now locked in combat, the two of them firing Chaos Energy in every direction. Blur seemed to be a nearly impossible foe, for he copied every ability Zynth fired at him. However, Zynth was built to withstand extremely powerful attacks, and possessed unusually strong attacks for a robot, so the two seemed pretty evenly matched. Nevertheless, as the fight raged on, Zynth slowly seemed to weaken.
"Akumu, what do we do?" Yume asked. "We can't just sit here and watch, can we?" The hedge-girl hated missing out on the action, and her brother knew it.
"Don't get any ideas Yume," He replied. "I don't know if we can help at all right now. Tell you the truth, I don't know what we can do."
"Running would work." The twins turned to see that Mech had crept over to them, holding his robe tightly over his missing side. "It may not sound good, but if we don't we risk being killed."
"No way!" Yume retorted. "I am not just going to run away like a coward with my tail between my legs! There has to be something else!" She pulled out the Chaos Emerald, and was about to use it when Akumu grabbed her arm.
"Not a good idea Yume," Akumu tugged her back. "Cowardly as it may seem, Mech does have a point. We aren't helping any by standing here, and if we leave, maybe we can find Eggman or Ghost for help." Yume's teeth were gritted in frustration, but she nodded all the same. Quietly, they snuck away from the fight, though all of them looked back to make sure Zynth was still fighting Blur. Seeing as they were, and probably wouldn't stop anytime soon, the trio ran.
"Any idea where we're headed?" Akumu asked Mech, who was leading the way (since he knew more about the citadel's passages).
"I would imagine that we would find someone to aid us in Master Zynth's office," Mech replied. "I hope he'll be alright. I don't suppose he expected Blur to be so strong."
"Say, I have a question," Yume stated, as the trio began to climb a flight of stairs. "How come Zynth is able to use Chaos Magic without a Chaos Emerald? The only person I've ever heard of doing that was our father." Mech seemed puzzled, as if he was unsure whether he should tell the twins or not. He glanced between them, deciding.
"That's quite simple," he explained. "You see, on the day that Master Zynth defeated Dr. Eggman, he says he found Shadow the Hedgehog, your father, at the battle grounds. However, Shadow's soul had been removed from his body by use of a machine the Doctor created. Since he knew that Shadow would attempt to overthrow the Android Empire if his soul were to return, Master Zynth locked Shadow away in the prison below…and imbedded the soul within his own body." Both twins suddenly stopped, looking bewildered.
"Hold on a minute," Akumu cried. "You're saying, that Zynth's soul-"
"-Is actually our father's?" Yume exclaimed, finishing the sentence. Mech nodded, having stopped also.
"So I am told by Master Zynth," he declared. "And I know that Master Zynth has never lied to me about something of such importance."
"And you knew this the whole time?" The white hedgehog screeched, barely restraining herself from tackling the android. "You rotten little-"
"It would have caused you to fight Master Zynth even more!" Mech cried. "Besides, at least your father is alive, and his soul can be returned if Master Zynth wills it! A robot doesn't have a soul to lose like that, and that's why we are different from you!" Mech took a few deep breaths, staring the twins in the eye. "Believe me, if I could, I would give anything, anything, to be alive like you. To be alive, and know for certain, without ever having to question life like that, or to ever be considered "faulty" by anyone. Organic lifeforms such as yourselves are so lucky to be able to have that kind of freedom. That is one of the reasons why Master Zynth became leader of all us androids, and why he wanted the Android Empire. He wanted a place where no one would deny us, and we could live just as you do." For a minute, the twins almost forgot they were in a citadel in the middle of a battle. Even if Mech was a suck-up, the words sounded sincere. They almost felt sorry for him…until they were brutally reminded of the current situation.
"Out of the way." In front of them was Ghost, whom they now knew was Shadow, their father. His emotionless face, compared to the image of him from a few years ago, was drastically different, but it didn't seem to matter at the moment. It was cold, hard truth, and Shadow didn't seem to care for it at the moment.
"We know where your soul is," Yume blurted before she could stop herself. Blank red eyes stared at her, silently telling her to go on.
"It's in Zynth," Akumu explained, "but you're going to have to help defeat Blur if you want it." Shadow raised an eyebrow, holding his machine gun.
"Why must I?" he asked blandly. My only concern is my soul, not your battle." Neither the twins, nor Mech, could think of a reason he would care for enough to assist. Frustrated, Yume just blurted out, "Because we're your children, and we're asking you too!" Shadow's eyes widened, another memory surfacing.
It was in a room, somewhere at a house that seemed familiar. Rouge was there again, sitting next to him on a couch. In his arms were two children, the baby Akumu and Yume.
"Aren't you happy Shadow?" Rouge asked him. "Our own children…I'm finding it hard to believe myself."
"I know." He was being quiet, staring at the two children. Both were snuggled into his arms, asleep. Yes…his children. Someday, he knew, they would be the ones to save the planet. His children…
Snapping out of the memory, Shadow looked at the twins again. They needed him to help, and they asked for it. Seeing no reason why not to, he walked past them.
"Fine then, I shall defeat Blur," The voice was ice-cold, but it was an agreement all the same. Yume was surprised that her plead had actually worked, but wasted no time in following him. After all, why miss out on the battle?
…Bleh, lots of talk in this chapter. The next one will have more action in it, promise. I'll see you next time!