Previously on Planet Earth: Knuckles...ahem...I mean Red is living life comfortably in his new human home when a bat flies into his corner. Not only that, but a green shard brings out a memory he's never seen before...will he find out more of these memories of who is he and where he came from? Also, poor Tails barely manages to escape the clutches of Gun, but is now out in the wilderness all alone...let's hope he'll be safe.

Planet Earth

Chapter Seven: Black and Blue

Men shouting…gun shots echoing throughout the hallways while terrified screams came after…the rumbling sound of the men marching their way towards the Evacuation Deck…trapped and surrounded in a thick cylinder of glass-and-steel…watching his beloved friend clutch her wounded chest as she heavily leaned over the control panel—he remembered the amount of sympathy and fear she had in those sky blue eyes; he knew she was doing this to save his life rather than her own. Her pale, fragile hands gripped the lever with whatever strength she could muster; she knew her illness was weakening her body…she knew that there wasn't enough time, but knew that this was the only way to save him.

"Shadow, I beg of you, please do it for me…for a better future," Maria cried desperately—she could hear him call out her name, but she continued to ignore his pleas, "For all the people who live on that planet…give them a chance to be happy. Let them live for their dreams."

"Maria! Let me out! Please we can get out of this!" Shadow shouted, "We can escape from this nightmare, please just let me out!"

Maria could hear the sounds of the metal door beginning to break and creak behind her, but she continued to keep her focus on her dearest friend, "Shadow, there is reason you were brought into this world. You were created to protect the people who need you in the planet below…I know you can do this Shadow. I believe you can."

The metal door came down with a crash as the soldiers in uniform marched their way into the room with weapons aimed and ready.

"Freeze!" one of the soldiers shouted, "Step away from the lever!"

"Maria, please! Do as they say!" Shadow begged.

She glared at the men, before turning her attention back to the black and red hedgehog; she smiled and spoke her final word as she pulled the lever.

"Sayonara, Shadow the hedgehog…"

The capsule unlocked itself before it sunk itself out of the Ark and down towards Earth below—the black hedgehog frantically tried to break out with whatever power came to mind, but it wouldn't dent nor break. He kneeled down, tears dripping down his muzzle as he heard a gunshot echo in his ears.

"MARIA!"

His crimson eyes snapped open as he stared up at the ski, wondering why that accursed memory keeps coming back to haunt him. He wished he could've done something to save her rather than be trapped, helpless and useless to do anything—he even wished that Maria would've escaped with her to Earth, living peacefully as she always dreamed and hoped for. Unfortunately, the past was already set for him, making him still alive while his dearest companion rested peacefully in heaven.

"Humans…they are nothing but a harm and disease to this planet," Shadow hissed quietly, clenching his fists, "How can I protect them? How can I help these humans, when they were the cause of your death?!" He stomped harshly at the ground, causing the small critters to hide in fright, "They aren't worth saving after what they've done to you and I promise I will make them pay for your suffering."

He ceased his growling as he stared at the rustling bushes beside him—he bared his fangs, snarling and read to vanquish whoever dared come towards his direction. He stayed silent before reaching forwards and yanking out whoever was trying to get him, but soon he noticed he was holding a blue hedgehog…a hedgehog that looked exactly like him. Shadow dropped the hedgehog, not caring much about his safety or concern; the blue blur coughed and groaned before shaking his head and seeing the black and red creature that stood before him.

Besides the color of their fur, the only difference between the hedgehogs was that Shadow had quills standing up-right, and the attire he was wearing seemed to confuse the hedgehog. Blue noticed the golden rings around Shadow's wrists as well as the strange show designs covering his feet. They didn't look like Blue's soap shoes, but sometime about it seemed very…mysterious.

Shadow tiled his head in curiosity as he spoke, "Who are you?"

The blue blur squeaked and growled in a response.

"Hmm…it's odd that you can't speak like I can," Shadow muttered, "You do look like you have the capabilities of human speech as well as walking like them, yet you still prefer your feral nature and instincts."

Blue didn't enjoy Shadow's attitude one bit—he felt that his comments and remarks were insulting and rude; and what did he mean by his "feral" nature? He folded his ears and squeaked loudly and fiercely, but all Shadow did was shake his head with a sigh; however, his attention was diverting to the sound of footsteps heading for his direction.

"Now it all makes sense…you work for the humans don't you?" Shadow snorted.

The blue blur growled at him and squeaked once more.

"Idiot…they are not to be trusted!" Shadow spoke, "They are liars and will only cause nothing but misery and pain! You are better off escaping them now while you have the chance. The long you stay, they more they'll treat and use you like a puppet."

Blue growled and tackled the hedgehog, noticing that he nearly slipped away from him and making sure his team will locate him—Shadow sighed in frustration as he flipped the blue blur off of him before standing up and dusting off his body. He hoped that would be enough to knock some sense into the hedgehog, but to his disliking, the blue blur got up and stood in Shadow's way.

"I don't believe this…you want to be an obedient pet to these filthy creatures?!" Shadow growled, "Have they brainwashed you?! Wake up and realize they are just using you for their own selfish needs!"

The blue blur growled and tried to tackle Shadow again, but missed; however he didn't give up, he continued to pounce one time after another, hoping he could pin him down. Shadow grunted and kept dodging as well as hearing the footsteps getting really close to him.

'Great…I don't have enough time to make an escape before those humans catch me again…if only I had an emerald, I can easily teleport out of here…' Shadow thought in frustration, 'I need a back up plan to keep my hide safe…hmm…the blue one acts feral, just maybe—hmm…it'll be an embarrassment to my pride, but it's the only chance I have to prevent me from being sealed in that capsule. I just pray that is works.'

The Gun soldiers leapt out from the bushes and surrounded the area, only to see the black hedgehog standing on his fours with a curiously look in his eyes—the soldiers nearly dropped their weapons from confusion. They knew that the project was supposed to be ruthless and unforgiving towards humans, but the way Shadow was portraying himself as an innocent feral, it make the soldiers think that he's just a harmless critter. Soon, the men stood up and saluted as their Commander walked by and approached the blue hedgehog with a triumphant smile on his face.

"Excellent work Blue," Commander Abraham grinned as he petted the blue hedgehog's head, "You are indeed a trustworthy and fast worker. It's the reason why I placed you in my army. I can always rely on you."

'Okay, let's see how much I can fool this buffoon…' Shadow thought.

"Umm…sir…you said this project is ruthless right?" one of the soldiers' asked.

"Of course," Commander Abraham spoke, "Now go and lock it up in—"

If the Commander's jaw was long enough, it would've reached the floor from the sight of Shadow nuzzling the ground like an innocent kitten would—the black hedgehog did his best to not laugh at the Commander's priceless expression…it was just too hilarious.

"Hmm…do you think that the capsule for so long could've cause some sort of damage to his brain?" Professor Clarke pondered, "It could be possible for him to revert back to his feral instincts even though he never was truly born as a pure animal—it might be even a permanent side affect."

"So you are saying that this…project is nothing but a helpless kitten?!" Commander Abraham barked, "How the heck am I supposed to do anything with him when he's all innocent and docile like this?!"

"Easy there Abraham," Professor Clarke said calmly, "We'll teach it just like we've done to Blue here. It's just a simple learning process, a few tests and the project will be listening to your every command in no time. I'll even allow Blue to teach him a few things during each process."

"You better hope it works professor," Commander Abraham growled, "As soon as this worthless project fails me, I'm taking every bit of energy he has out of his tiny body!"

The blue hedgehog glared at Shadow before noticing a strange glow emitting from behind the stone, he cautiously peered behind the rocks noticing that it was a green emerald that was causing such a magnificent glow. He leaned forward and placed a paw onto the emerald as a bright light engulfed him—he closed his eyes, shielding himself from the light as he heard voices echo into his ears.

"You may think that you can save your people and this planet, but I assure you that it will all be in my possession and you and that pathetic little rodent of yours will be nothing but my mechanical slaves…"

"That is my son you are talking about and I assure you that when my life comes to an end, Sonic will take my place as a hero and stop whatever heinous plans you have planned for both the people and the planet itself!"

"Oh that is a challenge I'm willing to risk…"

Once the bright light vanished, the blue blur stared at the emerald, panting and sweating, wondering what sort of horrific voice he just heard. He didn't understand why this figure wanted him to be some sort of…robot? What could he have done to anger this person so much? Who was this person that was calling him his son and why did he want him to be a hero? Also…this Sonic…was that his name? The blue blur shook his head and hid the emerald in his quills as he hopped into the GUN's Jeep and sat himself on the soft cushions.

He glanced back at Shadow, wondering if what he said was true…what if these humans weren't really his true family? What if he really was capable of doing more than what he was doing already? He looked down and wondered maybe if he was able to speak like these humans can, he could get some answers about his purpose. He nodded knowing now that the only way any of his questions can be answers if being able to be just as knowledgeable as the humans. Sonic knew it wasn't going to be easy, but hopefully Shadow might help him through this struggle and just maybe he'll be able to connect with his human family better than before.

Phew...Shadow is finally into the picture! Anyways, sorry for the long wait of this story, Junior year in college is a toughie...so many projects and crap. But I'll try to update when I can. ^^

Disclaimer: Sonic characters all belong to Sega, and other chracter I've made up is mine (mainly the human names I've made up).