Chapter Two: Separated Again

By

LordHelen

Shadow ran from the dorm room, not stopping at the explosion behind him. He knew Sonic could handle herself, but he didn't think he could avoid those guns. He reached the gate, grabbing the lock in irritation. His grip tightened and the lock broke. He figured it was cheap and dismissed it.

His gloved hands pushed the gate open and he ran out into the fields outside campus. Odd, he thought as he padded across the landscape, Odd that I'm never out here when my life isn't in danger.

Shadow heard a loud noise, like a helicopter setting off. When he looked up, a copter was flying over his head. Shadow hid behind a tree until it disappeared into the sky. Then he ran towards the end of the field.

At the edge of the Harmony Fields was a large, dense forest called Peace Woods. Inside was the perfect hiding spot. You could hide for years in there. Shadow took a stone and wrote a heart with the figures S+S in the first tree. Sure that Sonic would get the message, he ran into the black woods and the unknown in its depths.

Sonic came to consciousness slowly. Her head hurt horribly, and she was spread uncomfortably on something ice cold. Her eyes opened to a bright light. She gave a yelp of pain and covered her eyes.

"Project #352 is awake." A female voice echoed around the room. "Requesting permission to start testing."

"Granted Dr. Genes." A male voice answered. Sonic sat up before opening her eyes. She was in a small, white tiled room. There was glass at the other side of the room instead of a wall, most likely one-way glass.

"Project #352, we are going to start testing you in your other form. Please morph before we have to force it out of you."

"NO! You can't force it out of me, you don't understand a thing! And I'm not helping any of you freaks!" Sonic yelled, standing up. There was a second of silence.

"We'll see about that."

Shadow leaped easily over a rock, surprised at how much energy coursed through his veins. He reached a hand up to a tree branch and swung his feet from the ground, letting go a second later. He landed on his feet two feet away.

Little squirrels and birds hid at the sight of him, not disturbing him too much. He didn't much care for the little forest animals, so he didn't expect them to like him. He ran his hand along the trees as he passed, relishing the peace and quiet. He loved Sonic, but recently he had been restless.

He had grown tired of their tiny fights, unimportant chats. Something inside him had been pulling him away, toward something else. The peace and quiet was a start. But now that pull was fierce now, and his feet moved on their own. They almost ran to whatever was pulling him so strong.

Suddenly, the pull was too difficult to resist. He looked up as he ran, seeing a small dot in the distance. As he neared it changed slowly into a small house in a meadow. He stopped with a huff just outside.

"Go away, darn you! I've got powerful magics, so run off now!" a hysterical female voice yelled.

"But-"

"I warned you! Here comes your doom!"

Sonic watched green gas fill the room. At first it did nothing but look disgusting, but then pain hit. Sonic gasped like a dying fish and dropped to her knees. The gas had entered her lungs, breathing becoming hard, but not impossible. It spread through her veins, spreading pain through her veins.

The pain coursed like ice throughout her and she almost fell over completely. As it was, she needed her arms to keep herself on her knees. Tears fell from her eyes as the woman said something unintelligible. Maybe it was, but Sonic couldn't hear it above the ringing of her ears. Her eardrums throb painfully, as if about to burst.

She forced one long, steady breath, then another and another. The pain didn't get easier, but she defied her instinct to drop. She could overcome anything, even in her ordinary form. She stood shakily, still forcing those breaths. And then her legs grew steadier, her fists on her hips.

"Is that the best you can do?" Sonic said in a surprisingly calm voice. It couldn't be hers, not with how she felt inside.

"I haven't even gotten started."

Shadow froze, then his knees buckled and he fell just as a bright flash of red shot out a window. He stood, the blood rushing to his face in a blush of rage.

"Are you stupid?! That could have destroyed this whole forest! And besides I'm not trying hurt you. At least, not yet!"

"What? Who are you? Quick, speak up before I hit you again!" the voice ordered.

"I'm Shadow, a student at the high school across Harmony Field! I didn't even know this place existed, I'm hiding from some people!" Shadow answered.

"What? Shadow, you say? What a surprise! Well, come on in." Shadow hesitated. "I won't bite no more, promise. Come on then, let me get a look at you!"

Shadow obediently stepped up and threw the door open. From the shadows, she gasped. And then a small, brown paw reached toward him.

"Shadow, could it be? Could it be…do you know what you are?"

Sonic dodged to the right, sweat pouring over her brow. The troll's hammer came down right where she used to be. She ran under his legs, causing him to flip on his back to try and get at her. Then he stood and raised a foot over her.

Running toward the glass, Sonic shed her torn gloves. She raked her nails across the glass, pleased by the screeching sound that filled the air. And then the troll dropped to its knees with a roar. Sonic triumphantly walked over to it, seeing its eyes still rolling. It wrapped one hand around her, squeezing with rage.

Sonic's breath was gone, her lungs aching. Her world began to spin as if she had vertigo, and then it began to go dark. She dimly heard a female voice shouting something, felt her power trying to protect her. But she absolutely refused to be a lab rat. The world blacked out, but the pain did not. It was like fire on every part of her body, especially the lungs. They scraped and burned as she fought for breath, and she swam in a pool of lava. This was not clear, cool, unfeeling unconsciousness. This was some form of hell, her personal hell.