Coral and Atlantis were, for once, alone again. Atlantis looked at her sister sadly, knowing that the time had come to tell her about her fears. "Coral, it is time to leave again." she said. The other gray hedgehog nodded knowingly.
"I could sense this before hand, I have already packed my things, not that I have much. You are right, we cannot stay on this planet, if they found out our true secret, I'm not sure that they would let us live. Shade might, seeing he loves you, but Shadow…" Said Coral, closing her laptop and standing.
They turned and began walking away, it had been many months since the day that they had met Shadow and Rouge. Shade they had known a bit longer, and they had also met Tails the fox a couple weeks back. He had stayed with them, wanting Coral to teach him more about her special computer.
The fox had reassured Shadow that Flick was safe, the little mute was being watched by Cream the rabbit. Together with them, they had all defeated the Black Arms, the aliens leaving the planet and being forced back to their own, though for how long, no one knew.
"Let us leave now, while they sleep. I know Shade is desperately in love with me, and I with him, but how can he understand? They have the blood of the Black Arms race within them, we have their blood and part of their souls. We cannot allow ourselves to grow close to anyone, we would only destroy their lives...." Atlantis sighed.
Shade awoke suddenly, as if someone had called him. He sat up, gasping, something was wrong, he could feel it. The black hedgehog looked at his surroundings, at his comrades that were with him. His father was sleeping relaxed on a small pile of leaves, it was autumn.
He glanced upwards and saw Rouge sleeping in a branch above him, the white bat's wings tucked close to her. Tails the fox was curled up in a small sleeping bag, holding his two tails comfortingly. And Atlantis...... Wait, where was she? She was not where she had been when they had all settled down, and neither was her sister, Coral. Shade pricked his ears, a soft melody coming about on the wind.
The two dark hedgehogs on the hill finished playing their soft penny whistles, waiting for their secret transport. It was a Black Arms' ship, they had stolen it long before even Shade was born, and had used it for riding to other habitable planets, using Chaos Control to teleport it from system to system.
They had known long ago that such planets existed, they had found out by accident though. Years before, on a quest to seek their past in the city of Atlantis, they found the ancient writings in the city telling of planets with such life and intelligence, the maps upon the walls revealing all. It was then that they had found that 2,000 years before hand the Black Arms' precious source of life and jewel, the eighth Chaos Emerald, was lost to them, falling to the earth.
Though they searched desperately, they could not find it, and when the humans came upon it, they used the Dark Jewel for the power of the great village upon the sea; Atlantis. When the city sunk into the ocean, it was again lost.
The ship arrived, landing with ease on the hill. Coral had programmed it to come when it heard the special tune played on their whistles, and only to that. "Give me a moment to check it's computers, then we'll be on our way." Said Coral, climbing into the sleek machine. Atlantis glanced down where her friends were, taking in a last view of the planet. It saddened her that she was leaving them without saying good-bye.
A voice from the woods startled her. "That's an awesome ship, but, its a Black Arms' model, isn't it?" asked Tails, Shade walking up behind him. Atlantis backed away at the harsh look in Shade's eyes, feeling a sense of fear. If he found out she had not told him the entire truth, how angry would he be? In the past battles, she had seen his full wrath unleashed on his enemies, but also his caring love for the weak. He had always loved her, but did he consider hiding the truth lying?
Tails cocked his head, staring in wonderment at the ship. Shade's eyes narrowed suspiciously, his arms folded across his chest. Atlantis noticed he had not woken his father, that was a good sign, but his expression was not, it was one of anger, he knew she had not been telling him something.
"So, what's this about?" he said, his voice dangerously low. Coral poked her head out of the ship's doorway, having heard the other two outside. She looked at them defiantly, determined not to be afraid.
"Ashentha, come. We shall not fear them, we must return to our people." Her sister said, staring at Shade. Perhaps now she would see if the black hedgehog really loved Atlantis.
She refused to look at Tails, he had been a good friend to her, and she would miss him. Even though the Dark Jewel had contained the soul of the Black Arms, it had been converted when with the Atlanteans, and part of them infused with it, thus creating a bond ship.
It was why they had not become evil, and had kept them from destroying others. When the city of Atlantis had sunk into the sea, the inhabitants had left, using the power learned from the emerald to teleport to another world, and another galaxy. Now, Atlantis and Coral wished to find them, knowing that they would be at peace among their own.
Atlantis turned from Shade's piercing gaze, her head hung guiltily. "You wouldn't understand......." she whispered, boarding the ship with her sister. "Hey wait!!" cried Tails, his face shocked. The sisters turned and looked at them, sadness and fear in their faces. Shade's expression softened, he hadn't meant to frighten them.
"Yes, please at least try to explain it, I didn't mean it........" he said, trailing off, staring up at them, his eyes filled with emotion. She couldn't leave, he loved her, and she loved him. How could she, after all they had been through, just get up and disappear? He didn't understand.....
They turned back into the ship, shaking their heads. "You wouldn't......." Coral said, tears in her eyes. Shade had heard enough, he wasn't letting them leave without some answers. He leapt into the ship, following them.
It was small compared to a cruiser, but still large enough for nearly twenty people to fit in it comfortably. Tails used his tails to fly up beside him. "I'm not letting you leave, not without an explanation." He said as gentle and firm as he could be,
"I won't hurt you, no matter what, I swear it." Atlantis closed her eyes, knowing that they were in a corner. "If there is no other way......." she said, feeling her sister's hand tremble in hers. She had been trying to be brave, but was losing the battle. They had never told anyone about their entire past before.
It took nearly a full hour before they had completely finished, and they left no details out, if they were going to tell the truth, then they were telling all of it this time. Shade, who was sitting on the floor next to Tails, watched them in surprise.
"So, this was supposed to make me mad? It doesn't matter where you're from, just what you do in your life. I still love you!" he said, standing and walking over to Atlantis. "Yeah, look at Shadow, the military thought he was evil and hated him, but he turned out O.K.!" Tails nodded, smiling and tilting his head cutely.
Shade acted as if he were oblivious that either Coral or Tails were there, if Atlantis needed to be convinced that he still loved her, it was now. He put a hand to her face and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her slowly and fully. She trembled, tears of joy springing from her eyes, and she embraced him, accepting it. Coral ignored them and walked over to Tails, hugging him.
"I should have known you wouldn't care, Two-Tail. You're such a good friend." She said, the orange fox-boy practically melting with embarrassment. "Awww...." he said when she stopped, blushing. They looked back at Atlantis and Shade, the girl's head buried in his chest sobbing. The black hedgehog held her sympathetically, shushing her.
Shadow stood, having awakened from a sound and dreamless sleep. He scratched his head and noticed that Tails, his son and the girls were all missing. "Hey ROUGE!!" he yelled, as to awaken her. She dropped down beside him, yawning and looking at him angrily. "What?!" the bat said, apparently annoyed. "Have you seen the others?" he asked. "Nope, but since I'm awake, I suppose you want to go looking for them?!" she said.
The group turned as they heard Shadow yelling faintly. "Shade, Tails, and girls, where'd you all go?! If you went to IHOP to bring back breakfast I won't complain, but if not.......!!!!" they heard him from far off. There was silence for a moment, than another outburst, this one coming from just outside the ship.
"WHAT THE HELL?!! THIS IS A BLACK ARMS SHIP!!! AND I THOUGHT THEY GAVE UP!!!" he said, jumping inside. Shadow stared at them for a moment, shocked. Shade was holding Atlantis in his arms, her face red from crying. Tails and Coral gave him annoyed looks, than started laughing as Rouge popped up.
"What's so freakin' funny?!" She said, glaring. "Will someone please tell me what's going on here?!" Shadow yawned, still not entirely awake.
Atlantis and Coral related to Shadow and Rouge their past, still frightened but less so with Shade there. Afterwards, they stared at them, Coral sitting next to the fox with his tails on her lap, and Atlantis next to Shade, an arm around her shoulders. Rouge turned and looked at her dark companion.
"What will it take to get them not to be afraid of you? Man, they're paranoid every time you just glance at them!" she said with a sigh.
Shadow's ears drooped, it was one thing having people hate you and want to murder you, but to be terrified of you....... "Coral, Atlantis, I don't care where you come from. Look at me, to the humans I was a monster, now, most of them seem to like me, it wouldn't make sense to hate you. I actually enjoy being around you two, knowing that you understand what it's like not to be a normal being." He said, closing his eyes and shaking his head.
"Yeah, we love.......!" Tails began, but suddenly interrupted by the ship bucking off the ground. "WHOA!! What's going on?!" he yelled, tripping over his tails in an attempt to stand. "We didn't tell it to take off, what the?!" cried Coral as she struggled over the ship's computer.
She made it to the controls and gasped. "It's the Black Arms, they've finally realized this thing was in our hands......... They've programmed it to return!" she said, working frantically to override the system.
The rest of the team stared out the window, watching as the earth seemed to sink further below them as they entered the blackness of space. They passed the ARK, the ship gaining speed and moving faster. Atlantis trembled in Shade's arms, the stars beginning to fly by.
"We're definitely out of the solar system by now......" she said, fear in her voice. It was one thing if Shadow and Shade knew what she and her sister were, but if the Black Arms found out.......... She couldn't even imagine the tortures they would put them through in an attempt to restore the emerald.
Thinking about this more, she closed her eyes and trembled harder. The darker male felt this change in her, and tightened his arms around her as she buried her face into his chest again. He knew what she was thinking, what else could disturb her so badly?
"I won't let them touch you, if they do, it will be over my dead body." He whispered in her ear. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with love and appreciation.
"YES! I've overridden it! We're far from earth of course, but we aren't moving towards the dark alien's planet anymore." Coral said, collapsing in a chair.
"Well, that's a relief." Rouge muttered, pushing Shadow off of her. The black hedgehog had fallen on her in the chaos that had ensued. He glared at her. "No need to be so rough with me!" Shadow told her as he stood up.
Tails walked over to one of his bags and began looking in it. "I don't know if now's the right time, but I wanna give you this before something else happens...." he said, putting a small box on her lap with holes in it. "What is it?" she asked completely bewildered. The lid to the box popped open without warning, and a small, hero-type water Chao stuck its head out.
"CHAO, CHAO!!" it said, bouncing up and hugging her. "Oh my gawsh!!! It's sooooooo cute Tails!!!" said Coral, snuggling it. The fox-boy blushed and looked at his feet, chuckling. They played with it, the little Chao making cuddly happy noises. Rouge chuckled as the chao hugged Coral's computer, thinking it was a toy. Shadow smiled at them, then turned to look at Shade and Atlantis.
They were standing a bit farther off, towards the back of the ship, slightly hidden from sight. He tilted his head to get a better look at his son, who was concealed in the darkness. Atlantis was wrapped around him, and he was kissing her hungrily. Unaware of them being watched, she pressed herself to Shade, letting him caress her as they kissed.
He stroked her face with one hand, and held her to him with his other hand on her waist. She felt protected when the powerful hedgehog held her, and it soothed her fears. Shadow turned, remembering when he and Sheeva had done things like that. He closed his eyes, deep in thought, the memory of her lips on his in his mind. This time, I won't allow tragedy to strike us again, this time, I'll be ready, he thought.
"We don't have much of a choice, if we stay in space, we'll run out of fuel, oxygen, and food." Coral said, addressing the group. They had been drifting near the Black Arms' planet, unable to escape the magnetic pull of the planet's core. The alien race had also set off some kind of wave beam, making Chaos Control impossible.
"There is only one option then, we must go down to their planet and find some sort of way out of this mess. Perhaps steal a more powerful ship." Said Shade, looking at Atlantis, who was standing next to him. She nodded fearfully, "Yes, but we should be careful. They mustn't find out what we are." Shadow closed his eyes, knowing that this was an extremely dangerous situation.
"It is decided then, we shall maneuver to the planet's surface. Once there, we will abandon it, and search for something else." He said. Rouge snorted, apparently believing that this could be a mistake.
"I have a question though, why did Coral call you Ashentha before?" asked Shade. Atlantis sighed. "That's my name in Atlantean." She replied.
To everyone's shock, they landed without any disruption whatsoever. Obviously the Black Arms did not know who was aboard their ship. Even so, when they landed in the desert-like terrain, Shadow could sense that this planet was different. Tails scanned the planet surface, but was unable to locate any kind of cities at all. The team left the ship to itself, wandering and looking for signs of intelligent life anywhere.
They received quite a shock not too long later. It was Chug who found it, the chao's new name given for the way it ate and drank all its food. The little creature curiously explored a hole, and smelling a foul, unknown odor, it squeaked unhappily.
The hole was an underground vent, and as they soon found out, a vent to the underground realm of the Black Arms. The dark alien race were like ants, they thrived in the soil, carving out holes and large caverns for themselves. Even the flying creatures of their race lived below the surface, gliding in the tunnels of heat vents throughout the planet.
Upon arriving in the complex cities, the group immediately became more nervous. Though it was underground, it wasn't dark, and the tunnels and such were not small. The numerous Black Bulls easily clambered through them, still leaving room for ships and other machinery of the such to pass.
After hours and hours of sneaking around, Shadow decided it was time for them to find somewhere to rest. He could see the group becoming more and more tired, but they kept their eyes open for the fear of the Black Arms.
"In here for a moment, it looks small." He said, pointing to a small crevice in the wall. The room they entered was dark, except for the lights illuminating the experimental tubes implanted in the walls. They all gasped at the sight, walking forward to get a closer look.
"This........ Can't be......." said Rouge, glancing at the forms inside. The creatures inside were various animals from earth, but they were strange, red and black, with markings almost identical to Shade and Shadow.
Shadow walked up to one of the tubes containing a hedgehog, nearly a duplicate of himself except for the fact that it had a black circle emblazoned into it's red forehead stripe and a rougher appearance. He pressed a hand to the glass and peered at the creature. It was hooked up to a machine on the outside, dozens of needles piercing its body.
Yet, it still breathed in its sleeping state, unaware of its pain. Or was it? Shadow noticed that the hedgehog's body twitched every other moment or so, as if it had grown used to the torture, but still felt it. He himself had been created in a tube like this, but he was certain that the professor had not done this horrid crime, this sort of treatment was unthinkable, Shadow thought.
"They're all sleeping........ But, how could they?" whispered Tails, terrified at the sight. Shadow turned back around and looked at Shade, who was also staring into one of the tubes. This isn't right, he thought, these foul monsters are torturing these animals!
"We're going to let them loose." Said Shadow, everyone turning and looking at him. "Right." His son said, almost immediately. "That looks like a control panel over there! Let's work on it, Coral!" Tails said, running over to a small machine. Within a few minutes, the combined work of the two paid off, and a hissing sound issued from the machinery of the room.
The tubes drained of the liquid, and the needles within the creatures suddenly withdrew back into the walls. Shadow walked over and forced one of the tubes open, the same one with the hedgehog with the circle. The weak creature awoke and fell to the floor, looking at him and trembling fearfully.
"Watchoo want?" he asked as Shade helped him stand. He quivered for another moment, then watched puzzled as they began releasing the others.
Once all of the imprisoned animals had been released, Shadow and the team took a break. It had been difficult to free all of them, there had been over two hundred, and all had to have their pods forced open. The group of experiments looked at each other in confusion, they all were wearing the same uniforms, long black robes that covered their entire bodies, with matching black hover boots and gloves. "Whats iz dis?" asked a small echidna, staring around nervously.
A sly-looking cat stood up, having been the second one that had been rescued. "Dis doen't lookin like an test. Whos are yous!?" she demanded of Shadow. The dark hedgehog stood up, having regained his stature.
"You were imprisoned by the Black Arms, so we freed you. Do you remember anything, where you came from?" said Shadow. A penguin, different from the rest because it was blue, came up. "Weza alwayz been here, diz is wherz we waz made!" she said. Shadow immediately realized that the penguin and the cat where the leaders of this kind, as they were the only ones that sounded forceful, and they had hats added their uniforms.
Shade stepped up with Atlantis. "Well, what they were doing to you all wasn't right! Take it from us, we know, we underwent a similar experience." He said, looking at his father. Shadow nodded, his son understood. "Youz meens wez not suppozed to hava lotza pain?" said the penguin.
"No. Um.... Do you all have names or something?" Tails piped up, scratching his head. "IZA!! Howz stupidz ov usz!" said the black and red cat, smacking herself. One by one the animals introduced themselves, the cat and penguin going last.
"I'mz Articzlar, the onlyz bluez wrath in diz plaze!" the blue bird said. The black cat leaped up, disappearing into the darkness. They heard her voice from everywhere, but were unable to spot her. "I'z Crimzone, powerz iz not mez, but you shallz never catcha mez!"
She reappeared just in front of Atlantis, staring at her. "Youz is not normalz.......... Youz are partz something elsez........" Crimzone said, eyeing her and Coral suspiciously. Shade stepped up next to the trembling girl, putting an arm around her.
"None of us is normal, Crimzone. We all have something special about us." He said, staring at the black cat. Crimzone backed off, still not convinced. "I'z stillz sez shez is differents.......... Wellz, now whatz is wez do?" she asked Articzlar, completely ignoring Shadow. "Wez takez bigga shipz!! Weza gettin' outtza here!! Deyz stuck herez too!!" the blue penguin said, pointing at Shadow.
Rouge growled, these animals were sassy, a bit too sassy for her liking. "How did you know that?!" she said angrily. "Whyz elsez wouldja be herez?! Da Doomez never lets anyonze of uz walks all overz da placez without lotza gaurdzez!!" said the Shadow-like hedgehog named Darkerz.
"Youza all listenz, weza knowz dis place, wez showz youz da bigga shipz! Da bigga onez da Doomez gots!" said Crimzone, walking up to a door and pushing buttons.
The Black Arms put up a very powerful fight, but were unable to stop the forceful army of animals that they had raised. They used any means of attack, from blasters to swords, from missiles to electric rods. Crimzone staggered as four Arms soldiers forced her down with the electric torturing sticks. Darkerz leapt to her aid, knocking the aliens away from her. "Bangez!!" he said as the black cat got to her feet. "Thezen beasts allez diez whenz I is donez!!" she screeched, attacking furiously.
When they had all finally made it to the hanger where the Black Arms' lead battle cruiser was kept, Articzlar took charge. "Fangez, takez thats weaponz stationz! Darkerz, comez herez, you doez da sniperz weaponz thingz! Drakenz, makez surez dat workez! Shadowz and Shadez, youza takez bigga gunz!" she said, gesturing to Shadow and Shade. They looked at each other, unused to being ordered around.
"Youza gonna helpez or notz?!" the penguin yelled at them. Shade glanced out the window, the Black Arms were bringing out a large ion booster, designed to overload engines. He looked as his father and nodded. "If we're going to get off this stupid planet, we'll have to do what she says." The younger one said.
"Correct." Said Shadow, and they hurried to the Mega-Cannons. Articzlar continued issuing orders, pausing as Crimzone came up to her, breathless. "Zee tractorz beamez is destroyedz!" she gasped. The penguin turned to her, pleased. "Goodez, goez takez a breaks, tellez dat Atlantiz and Coralz to come herez." She said.
The two dark sisters arrived trembling. They both knew that these animals could sense what they where. They had been stared at and watched since they'd met them. They stood before Articzlar fearfully, Shadow, Shade, and the others were all busy and hadn't known about this.
"Don'tz be afraidez. I knowez whatz youz are. Understandez, we cannotz get offa planet withoutez yourz help." she said softly. Atlantis and Coral glanced at each other. "What do we have to do?" asked Atlantis. "Youz havez da powerz of da dark emeraldz. Touch diz panelz, youz will givez da shipz powerz. It makez you weakz, but notz hurtz youz." Articzlar said, stepping aside. The sisters glanced at each other again, nodding.
They had to trust the penguin, the alternative of the Black Arms' experimentation was not appealing. Removing their gloves, they pressed their bare hands to the panel. They felt an overwhelming exhaustion come over them, and they both began to fall in a faint, unable to hold themselves up.
Articzlar rushed forward and held them up, keeping their hands on the sensor. "Allez enginez, full powerz!! Goez now!!!" she yelled.
Atlantis opened her eyes, and saw Shade staring down at her worriedly. "Where are we?" she asked, just barely remembering the past events. "We're in the middle of nowhere in space. Are you alright?" he asked. Atlantis suddenly realized where she was.
Shade was sitting on a small bed, if you could call the strange, soft, purple material a 'bed', and she was lying on it with her head in his lap. He was holding her hand in his, and stroking her head. She saw the fear in his eyes and felt a sudden happiness growing in her. "I'm fine." She said, sitting up. "I'd thought you were........" he began, but trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
Atlantis looked around, taking in her surroundings. They were in a small room, bare except for a door and the bed they were sitting on. There was no one else there, they were alone. Turning back to Shade, she reached over and began kissing him. He put his hands on her shoulders as she moved closer. The aqua-striped hedgehog pressed herself nearer, letting him return it. She took her hands and put her palms on his chest as he moved his own to her waist.
They continued to kiss passionately, not noticing the door opening a crack. Darkerz peeped in, watching them for a couple moments, then carefully and quietly shut the door again. Justz as Crimzone suspectedz, he thought, Zez havez love forz each otherz. He stalked off, unaware that he himself was also being followed.
Shadow didn't have to look into the room to know what they were doing, but he did need to talk to them, so he knocked politely. In the room, the two hedgehogs had buried their faces into each other's necks, kissing fervently.
Upon hearing the knock, they separated, and Shade stood up. "Who is it?" he asked. Shadow entered, closing the door behind him. He glanced at Atlantis, her face red and blushing from before. "You ought to be more careful. I'm not the first to come by this room to see you." The older hedgehog said, jerking his head to the door. Atlantis cocked her head, curious. "What do you mean?" she asked, deciding to trust him.
Shadow looked at his son, shaking his head. "Darkerz was over here just a moment ago, I was following him. He's spying on us all, in turn, learning about us and then reporting to Articzlar and Crimzone. I've talked with the others, including Coral, and they knew nothing about it." The dark hedgehog said. "I wonder why he's doing that.......... Could it be they aren't sure of how to act, being raised by those black creatures all their lives?" said Shade, wonderingly.
Articzlar nodded at the news that Darkerz had brought her. "Yourz supicousnz was rightez thenz." She said, turning to Crimzone. The black cat purred loudly, pleased with herself. "I'z am a seerz, I knowz many thingz. Goodez workz, Darkerz, you go takez a restz." She said, motioning to the dark hedgehog. He slunk away, always watching anyone near him. He and the cat made an unstoppable team, together they could outwit anyone.
He slipped into an empty room, grateful for a nap, when he suddenly heard a voice behind him. "So, you've been spying on us, hunh?" the white bat behind him said. It was Rouge, not one of their kind, she didn't have their accent. He stared at her, how did she do that? How did she enter without him knowing?
"Whatz youz wantz?" he asked shortly. She swaggered up to him, circling him quickly. Putting her hand under his chin, she brought their faces close together. "Would like to know why you're spying on us, darling." She said, bringing herself closer to him. "Whatchoo meanz?" the black hedgehog asked nervously.
The white bat walked away from him, halting at the door for a moment. "You're not the only spy around here, sweetie. Don't try to hide it." Rouge said over her shoulder. Darkerz watched as she left, suprised that he had been caught.
Crimzone opened her eyes, she had been staring out the window at space when she had seen what had taken place between Darkerz and Rouge. Telling no one of her vision, she walked over to Darkerz's room. He opened the door for her before she knocked, his ears had told him she was there. "Zo, youz has seen itz?" he said glumly.
"Yez, but youz not bez mad. Shez a spiez, but shez not been spiezing, but shez watching youz." The cat said. The dark hedgehog nodded, following her out. They were joined by Shadow, Shade, Tails, Rouge, Atlantis and Coral. He avoided their eyes, knowing that they must have figured it out by now. "Wez will go to ziz Earthz placez, wez shallz see whatz da planetz like. If itz goodz, wez will all livez dare. I see humanz in myz visionz, I hopinz that theyz leavez us alone." Crimzone continued, knowing of the group behind her.