Over the course of the following two weeks there had been a shift in routine for the primary guests at Shadow's party. Tails had returned to Mobius to start working with Rotor on their side of the World Gate about the echo and synchronization that was happening. Since Rotor was head of the Science Council, resources were not a problem. On the other side of the gate, the two aging scientists who'd been holed up in the Thorndyke mansion were suddenly allowed access to military facilities normally top secret. Of course, an impending apocalypse could have pulled a few strings for the pair.
Though Sam and Rouge were far from the scientific types, they did their part in monitoring any strange reports they came across. Rouge had a hunch about something, which she was working on with her human partner Topaz. Sam's end of things had gained him a temporary promotion, at a desk job. He was regretting being an unofficial emissary between humans and Mobians sometimes... A desk job? Him?! His only reprieve from that would be racing Sonic home at the end of the day.
The ones who had the least to do for the time being were the two hedgehog families. As a waitress, Amy wasn't likely to encounter anything unusual. Sonic's job as a pizza delivery boy wasn't going to garner him any science credits. Sara's line of work as a veterinary assistant wasn't likely to yield any information either. Now Shadow, on the other hand, at least worked at a research center. His colleagues had told him many times that Earth animals seemed sensitive to changes in their environment, ranging from forecasting thunderstorms to earthquakes. How that would help, he hadn't a clue.
Since Chris was out of school, he'd become the primary babysitter for both Blitz and Maria. He really enjoyed taking care of them, and it gave him something to do. Even if they hadn't paid him, he would have gladly volunteered. One might have wondered why, as the poor boy was continually getting scratched and poked by the pair, but he was determined to learn how to handle them without getting mortally wounded. Chris' friends were all regarded in high esteem, but his Mobian friends were a special treasure; he was the first human to encounter one, and Sonic of all people. With all the adventures they'd had and how many times Sonic had saved his life, of course he had to marvel at just being allowed access to his child. Though he didn't share the same kind of friendship with Shadow, he'd trusted Maria with him at his mate's urging.
Today his services were not needed, though. Shadow had offered to take Maria to the MRC for a checkup and some shots. Despite having to go back to work, he'd spent as much time as he could with his daughter. He had taken over for Sara whenever she cried at night, which somewhat surprised her. Still, with the possibility that the world was going to end, she thought he might just be trying to cram in some quality time. Perhaps that's why she didn't question his motives when taking her to the MRC.
Shadow had no problem getting the Gear Bike to do what he wanted and was at the doctor's in record time. Dr. Garrett was back on Earth, though Dr. Quack was still hanging around, so both were consequently in the exam room even though only one of them would be needed. Shadow said nothing as Quack made commentary to Garrett on the infant. Dr. Quack had a lot of experience with Mobian babies; he'd been present at possibly half of Knothole's births since becoming a doctor. A small blood sample was drawn for the MRT's needs, and the vaccination shot was administered.
"Ahh, there we go... Good baby, didn't even flinch," the duck said in an encouraging tone. "She's really very healthy, Shadow, you're doing a good job."
"Thanks..." There was a long pause in the conversation. Normally Quack would have dismissed him, but Shadow's eyes had a special kind of inquiry to them, mingled with the burning glare he once held on a daily basis.
"Umm...is there something else I can help you with?" the duck physician asked.
"Yes..." Shadow glanced at Maria.
"Well what is it?" Dr. Garrett now spoke. "Is your chest bothering you?"
"No..." He shook his head. "It's Maria... Something strange happened a few weeks back…." Shadow began. "I was looking after her for Sara one night and she...looked at me funny..."
"Probably gas," the human suggested, only to be set on with a vicious stare. Shadow would have made a wonderful vampire; his ability to intimidate was phenomenal.
"It was like she was someone else for a minute...and she said 'He's dreaming,'" the ebony hedgehog continued as though he hadn't heard a thing.
Dr. Garret adjusted his glasses and looked over to the hedgehog. "I'm not quite sure...with your kind, what is normal where learning to speak or stringing sentences together is concerned...Dr. Quack?"
"Hmmm..." The avian rubbed his chin (the underside of his beak) and looked thoughtful. "Well...it's not uncommon for Mobian children to start dabbling with speech between four to seven months."
"Was this an isolated event?" the human addressed Shadow.
"No... At first, I just dismissed it, but a few days ago she did it again. This time she said 'He needs help.'"
Dr. Quack looked both puzzled and intrigued. "For your information, Dr. Garrett...it is uncommon for them to start stringing words together until at least five to six months, and usually the bulk of their terminology is limited to one and two syllable words."
"Did she say anything else?" the human quizzed again.
Shadow nodded "I asked who needed help, and she said 'He does. He says he's the Element.'" There was an ominous tone about the whole thing.
There was silence between the two, and they looked back at each other. "Hmmmm... Well what do you want us to do about this?" Dr. Quack finally asked.
"Run some tests, do whatever...I want to know what's going on." His expression was stoic and humorless.
"We could do a brain scan or two..." the human offered, "though I'm not quite sure what to be looking for, or what to do if we find something."
"Has anyone else been present when she's done this?" the Mobian doctor inquired.
"No. Not that I know of...Sara would have told me." Shadow felt a little guilty for not telling her about Maria's "strange words."
Quack looked pensive before he spoke again, "I'll see about comparing the scans to normal brain activity for her age range... It would be helpful if you could bring her back a few more times over the following weeks, though." He saw Shadow's ear twitch in mild agitation. "It can't be helped...but definitely bring her back if this should happen again...I'm rather curious about this phenomenon."
The human beside him nodded. "If it's any consolation to you, though, she seems to be in top physical condition."
Shadow gathered Maria into his arms, but Quack spoke again, "I would warn any babysitters and Sara if I were you."
"Well you're not me, are you?" He gave his daughter an inspection, making sure she hadn't been mishandled during the exam. It didn't matter if Quack or Garrett had been the best doctors on both worlds or not; he felt compelled to make sure she was all right. He smoothed out her wild bangs, which never seemed to stay down for long.
"Well think about this, Shadow...what happens if she starts babbling like that in front of her mother?" Shadow had no answer for the anatidae. "I'm just speculating, since that's all we have at this point, but you could be the trigger for these episodes...but it could also happen at any time around anybody. Shouldn't she be prepared for that?"
"I'll think about it...but first, you wanted to run some tests?"
Sonic returned from a downtown run to the little pizza shop known as Vinnie's. The bell chimed upon entering, and he was greeted by Tony's sunny smile. "Hey, boss! Any more to go out? I'm just on fire today!" Sonic tapped a shoe against the hard tile floor.
Tony laughed, "You know, with you here, I almost don't need to hire anyone else." He took the bills from Sonic and handed him back the tip. "Man, I wish people tipped like that when I was out doin' deliveries."
Sonic's grin widened even further. "Eh! You just have to know how to talk to people."
"Right right…." Tony returned the smile. "No orders just yet. Just you, me, and All My Children." He pointed to a TV set up to entertain the walk-ins. Sonic rolled his eyes at that. "Discovery had a special on Mobians, comparing you guys to our Earth animals. What do you think of that?"
"Ehh...I don't mind." Sonic shrugged. He grabbed the remote and started flipping through the channels.
"I had some guy the other day ask if you ate meat." He glanced at Sonic, who gave a laugh at that. "I saw a lion ordering a salad the other day, bunch of folks just looked at him like he was crazy." He laughed.
Sonic landed on a news channel. It wasn't his favorite thing in the world, but there was nothing on otherwise. They were talking about the strange weather patterns... Sonic knew the reason, but that part hadn't been revealed. He wondered if and when the press would release the apocalyptic data but figured they wanted to avoid a panic. "Tony, I just could not be a vegetarian...chilidogs are just way too tasty." The both of them got a laugh out of that before the phone rang.
"Vinnie's Pizza, we deliver hot n' fresh in 30 minutes or less! Tony speaking," the store's owner said in a clear, upbeat voice. "Yes, yes we do... Uh huh...olives, green peppers, and ground beef. Would you like any crust toppers...? Garlic butter? Sure sure...this is for Andrews? Gotcha." He turned to his small buddy. "You remember the Andrews' residence, right?"
"Yep, sure do!" Sonic flexed his legs while Tony prepared the pizza. In about ten minutes he was out the door.
A lavender cat was racing through a jungle. She was out of breath; she'd been running since early morning, and still those things were after her. Under one arm she was carrying the red Chaos Emerald. That was the reason for her pursuers. She ran down a white stone path that had been set there centuries ago, pillars jutting out of the landscape ahead of her in a regular pattern. One of the spherical robots chasing her shot a high powered laser at her and missed.
She gasped as it struck one of the pillars, which began to crumble. She didn't think she was fast enough to go under the falling structure, but she couldn't afford to stop. A quick glance at her surroundings revealed a crack in the ground ahead. A blazing fire seemed to engulf her as she jumped high into the air. Whirling around like a top, she then suddenly shifted so the point of her pink and white boots angled sharply downward. Her body followed the direction in an earth-shattering smash right through the cracked stone.
Her amber eyes quickly adjusted to the failing light, as any good cat's should. Her breathing became more labored as she raced through a ruined aqueduct, still being chased by the search robots. The hovering spheroids shooting lasers at her weren't even made for combat, for crying out loud!
If it was a fight she wanted, though, her sensitive feline ears picked up the sounds of heavy mechanical footfalls a short distance away.Crap! She huffed, and quickly attempted to change her course from the passage she'd been going down. Just a glance told her that there were about 15-20 humanoid robots on the other side of the drop-off.
Her heart raced as she tore down a side tunnel at a sharp downward angle. "Uuwaaa!" Her heel sank into a crack and caused her to twist at an odd angle while falling. "Nooo! Aaahh...!" The emerald slipped from her grip. A cold air rushed from beneath her; this part of the aqueduct had been built through an underground cave system...a large one. It was at least a one hundred-foot drop from where she was to the cave floor, which she didn't care to visit just yet.
Her mind raced to figure out what to do. In a few seconds, the search bots would be there, and not far behind would be the sentinel-types. She got up quickly but let out a not-so-subtle cry of pain.Great...I'm going to be dead meat for sure...! Her heart thumped in her chest, blocking out most other noises. A slight scraping sound caught her attention, and she saw the emerald being carried by gravity toward a break in the duct system. If it fell here...
Ignoring the pain in her ankle, Blaze sprinted forward. "I...can't lose...not now!" The burning desire in her soul manifested itself in flames, which propelled her to the stone before it went over the edge; the momentum she had carried her almost to the other side of the break in the duct before the flames died out. "Aahhh!"
She held onto the ledge with one hand, the other busy clinging to the emerald. Fear mounted as the clanking of many metal feet clamored through the passage she'd just come down. One of the search bots zoomed through the area, completely overlooking her, while a second darted about her like some kind of evil bumble bee. "Go away!" Blaze yelled as she tried to pull herself up. With one arm, it would be impossible, but she couldn't seem to bear letting go.
"I couldn't do that, my dear," Nega's voice channeled through the machine, a large mechanical shutter acting as an eye for the spheroid bot as it came to rest on the feline.
"N-Nega...! Rrr... You have some nerve!" she almost hissed at him. A bit of the ledge broke away, sending a few fragments and dust in her face.
"I need that emerald, so please, be a good dear and return it. I promise you no harm will come to you if you go along with me."
Blaze coughed a bit, then looked up. The irises in her eyes contracted to tiny dots as the visage of Mecha Sonic 3.0 came into view. "...No..."
"Come now, we know you've lost...your Majesty...give it up," Nega's voice came cruelly. With a wordless order, Blaze's fingertips felt the pressure of a mechanical foot.
It didn't matter if she fell or not...the robots could get it later. She took a deep breath and wedged the emerald more firmly under her arm. Her hand now free somewhat, she sifted through a pocket on her deep purple shirt for something--a device she'd stolen from Nega…. "Sorry..." She let go of the ledge and began to fall. The fire within manifested itself again, slowing her descent, but with Mecha 3 about to go after her, she had only seconds. The red emerald began to glow, not from the firelight, and in a flash of light...all was gone...
Sonic whistled as he leafed through a stack of bills he'd been handed from his delivery to the Andrews. They were more than generous tippers. "Heh! Wait 'til Tony sees this."
Proud of his achievement, Sonic started running down the busy streets of Station Square. Since Tony hadn't paged him, he assumed he had time to get back, so he ran straight up the side of a building and then meandered his way back on the rooftops, thoroughly enjoying himself. A flash of red caught his eye as something fell from it...accompanied by a scream… "What the--?!"