Chapter 2
Explanations
There was a blinding green flash as Shadow Chaos Controlled onto the floating Angle Island. He walked forward towards the center of the island. The familiar sight of the Master Emerald rose up to greet him.
Shadow looked around, "Knuckles?"
There was no answer, and Shadow had gotten an idea. He cautiously walked up to the Master Emerald, making sure Knuckles wouldn't appear out of nowhere and attack him.
Is the Master Emerald whole? Or is there apiece missing?
Shadow looked hard. There was no piece missing, and Knuckles was still nowhere to be found. Shadow reached out his hand to touch it…
"Yaaaah!"
"Oof!" Shadow went flying to the ground with Knuckles standing over him.
Knuckles stood over Shadow with his arms crossed. "Trying to steal the Master Emerald, eh? Not today Shadow, beat it."
Shadow stood up. "Knuckles, I wasn't trying to steal it. If I was, it'd be gone already."
"I said—well, you're probably right," Knuckles reluctantly agreed. "So, what did you want?"
"I need to talk to you," Shadow said. "I had this weird dream last night, and I think you might be able to help me."
"Is that how you got that?" Knuckles pointed to the bandage on Shadow's arm.
"Actually, yes," Shadow sat down on a rock, and Knuckles did the same. "This is my dream.
"I was hit by the edge of fireball. I leapt off a tree branch that I was sitting on and walked forward. Fireballs were raining from something covered by dark clouds and the surrounding forest was on fire. I found myself in this huge ancient city filled with temples. A female echidna, who was dying, ran over to me and clung onto my shoulder. "Help us," she pleaded before she died."
"I ran up a long flight of stairs leading to the top of the middle temple. In the center of the temple was the Master Emerald, only it was missing a piece."
"Suddenly, I flew backward, having been hit by a fireball. I looked up, and the dark clouds thinned out and I could see the one attacking me and everyone else. A dragon who was covered in green, crimson, and black. I got up, infuriated and tried to use Chaos Spear. Only instead of using Chaos Spear, I fell to my knees with a searing pain in my heart."
"Before I died, or passed out, or whatever happened, I heard the dragon laughing at me. When I awoke, Tails had said that I was screaming and his readings had picked up massive power readings from me. He also bandaged up my arm."
Knuckles said, "Hmm, very interesting. What you dreamed of is an ancient civilization, which I believe I am a descendant from. These people always guarded the Emerald, and also Chaos."
"Chaos?" Shadow asked. "Who is that?"
"A creature that was sealed inside the Master Emerald. Before you came we beat him, but he would grow stronger with each Chaos Emerald he got."
"But," Knuckles continued. "What concerns me is the dragon you saw. Some of the legends say that the Master Emerald was used as a prison, of sorts. It was used to hold the strongest and worst beings in the ancient world. Chaos was one of them, and as hard as he was to beat, I believe he was one of the weak ones."
"And since there was a break in the Master Emerald, that means one of the pieces was destroyed. Because the Master Emerald is still safe and, in a sense, still in one piece, even when it's in many pieces. But if a piece is destroyed, or unable to get back, it leaves a break in the Emerald. That can take all the power from the Master Emerald, and even worse, release the creatures trapped inside."
"This could be just a dream right?" Shadow asked. "I mean, what are the odds of this happening?"
"I would agree with that," Knuckles answered. "The fact that you came out with a injury. And the fact that Tails could read power coming from you, that worries me."
"Alright, so we just need to be careful," Shadow said. "Don't let anyone get near the Master Emerald."
Knuckles looked at Shadow, "Easier said than done. Who knows when Eggman could strike? And half of the time, it involves the Master Emerald."
"So we really need to be careful," Shadow said. "I'll keep an eye on the doctor, and you guard this Emerald with your life."
"I've been doing that all my life," Knuckles said. He walked over to the Emerald and sat next to it. "You go see what the doctor's doing, I'll guard the Emerald."
"I'll ask Tails where the doctor could be," Shadow muttered as he started running to the edge of the island. "He should have some idea where his new base." Shadow neared the edge of the island, "Chaos Control!"
Shadow appeared on a nearby mountain and started running to Tail's Lab.
Author's Note: Thank you to Marie the Hedgecat! So...not much to say here...review!