ZONE 1: THE FOREST

ACT 2: STRANGER DANGER!

Shadow knew that it would be pointless to run away. The soldier had already seen them, already knew where they were. All running would do was extend the chase. And Shadow didn't particularly feel like looking over his shoulder for the rest of the night, wondering when the soldier would catch up. So he dug his heels into the dirt and stood his ground.

The soldier appeared from behind a tree, his eyes set squarely in the sights of his tranquilizer gun. "So, you're alive after all," he said. "I didn't believe it. Thought it was a waste of time, when the commander gave me this assignment. But…" The soldier leveled his gun at Shadow. "…I guess I should've expected more from the Ultimate Lifeform."

Shadow bristled.

"Uh, Stripes? What's he talking about?"

Narrowing his eyes, Shadow kept his attention on the barrel of the gun. "It doesn't matter," he said coolly. But it did. It did matter. This person knew who he was–who he had been before losing his memory. What if this was his only chance to find out about his past?

The soldier suddenly shifted his aim. Now, the gun was pointed at Sonic instead of Shadow. "Another surprise," he murmured. "But that's fine. You're useless without your legs."

Now it was Sonic's turn to bristle. "Oh, yeah? And who are you supposed to be, anyway?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

Shadow didn't like the way he said that. He also didn't like the way the soldier's foot was shifting slightly, almost like he was reaching for something that was hidden on the forest floor.

Shadow's eyes widened in realization.

A trap.

The soldier's foot pressed down on a button, and a net dropped down from the tree behind Sonic and Shadow. Thankfully, Shadow was able to jump out of the way just in time, and the heavy metal net fell to the ground with a clatter. And then the soldier fired his gun. The shot whizzed past Shadow's ear, but missed, since he'd already started running toward the soldier.

With a pump and a click of his gun, the soldier reloaded and readied another shot, but he didn't have time to pull the trigger. Shadow was upon him, and he sent a kick flying at the man's head. It connected, but the helmet he was wearing dampened the blow and he stayed standing. He did, however, drop the gun in shock.

Shadow jumped back. His eyes were fixed on the emblem on the soldier's helmet. The design was very utilitarian, and didn't seem all that remarkable at first glance. However, the initials carved into it struck a cord inside Shadow.

G.U.N.

Scowling, Shadow asked, "How did you know where to look?"

The soldier adjusted his helmet. "We didn't," was his response. "I'm just the lucky one who got put in the right place."

Shadow's scowl transformed into a grin. So, he was alone. That made things easier.

In a flash, Shadow was directly in front of the soldier again. But before he could use the man's cranium as a kickball, the soldier grabbed something from his belt and drove it into Shadow's arm. A loose tranquilizer dart? That wasn't good. Shadow slammed his foot into the soldier's chest, sending him tumbling back into a tree and knocking some leaves loose from the branches.

Shadow's legs wobbled, and then buckled as he fell to his knees. But he kept his promise, and he didn't drop Sonic.

"Stripes?" Sonic said urgently. "Buddy? Hey! What's wrong?" When he twisted his head around, he found his answer: the empty dart sticking out of Shadow's arm. Sonic grabbed it and yanked, pulling it out and tossing it to the side in one motion. Then, he turned back toward Shadow, his urgency rising as he watched the hedgehog's eyelids start to droop. "Come on," he said, "fight it! A little juice is nothing you can't handle, right?"

The soldier–who had since gotten up and made his way back over to Sonic and Shadow–nudged the hedgehogs with his boot. "It's no use," he said. "That stuff was made specifically for him."

Sonic smacked the soldier's boot away from them. "Back off," he growled. "I don't know what your deal is, and I don't care. You're way outta line!"

The soldier folded his arms across his chest. "You don't know anything," he said, unperturbed by Sonic's glare. "That thing is dangerous. And more importantly, he belongs to us."

"You're full of it!"

Shadow's eyes were totally closed now, and his breathing had evened out. Both he and Sonic were sitting on the ground, but only because Sonic was holding Shadow upright. Sonic was also making a point of positioning himself in between Shadow and the G.U.N. soldier.

"Your allegiance is misplaced, hedgehog," the soldier said. "We're not the bad guys."

But Sonic wasn't listening. He was watching as the soldier pulled out his phone and turned his back on them, presumably because he thought Sonic was "useless" without both of his legs. Big mistake.

Sonic set Shadow down on the grass, and then took a deep breath.

This was going to hurt. Badly. So, he had to be fast, before he lost his nerve.

Sonic pulled his good leg under him, then pushed it down. Hard. The force of it sent him up into the air, and he grabbed onto the startled soldier's shoulders with his claws. Then, he used the momentum to flip over the soldier's head and kicked him in the face as hard as he could.

Instantly, the soldier crumpled under him, and Sonic had to bite his tongue in order to stifle the cry of pain that his broken leg nearly ripped from his throat. The phone that the soldier had been holding also clattered to the ground, and Sonic could hear, distantly, someone on the other end ask what was happening.

Sonic reached over and flipped the phone shut, cutting off their frantic questions.

After that, Sonic dragged himself away from the soldier and back to where Shadow was laying, still out cold from the tranquilizer. Every part of his body screamed at him to stop, to just stay where he was, but he had priorities, and those priorities didn't include giving up. By the time he was beside Shadow again, his arms were trembling.

He still made it, though. So that should count for something.

Sonic didn't give himself a second to catch his breath. Instead, he immediately started patting Shadow's cheeks. "Sorry, Stripes," he muttered, "but you gotta wake up now, or we're gonna be in serious trouble…"

There was no doubt in Sonic's mind that whoever the soldier was working for would be sending reinforcements soon, if they hadn't already. And while Sonic was confident in his ability to take on one military man with a broken leg, his confidence wavered slightly when it came to a whole army of them.

With a groan, Shadow grabbed Sonic's wrist. Then, he cracked his eyes open. "Blue…?" He forced himself to sit up even though he still felt woozy from the tranquilizer. His eyes drifted over to the soldier laying in a heap on the ground. "What happened…?"

Sonic smiled, but his eyes were pained. "I'll tell you later," he said. "We gotta get movin'. Think you can stand?"

Shadow nodded. His super fast metabolism burned away the last of the tranquilizer by the time he stood up, and so it was with steady hands that he picked up Sonic and returned him to his arms. He noticed the worsened state of Sonic's already banged up leg, and said, "I'm in your debt."

But Sonic just waved his hand. "I'm not keeping score," he said.

Shadow shook his head, but didn't argue. He would make it up to him by accomplishing what they had set out to do: get to a hospital, and tend to Sonic's injuries.