WARNING!: Alright, I've taken a step back to look at this Part, and I need to set some things straight. If any of you have made it this far into this crappy story (and I know it is), you may have noticed that I've done a real number on the characters' personalities. I realize that now, and I wanna apologize for it. I honestly didn't know that was happening at the time, and it's too late to change it now. You see (and I know this is gonna sound lame; sorry), when I was writing this last year, I was sorta hating on Sonic. So, I wanted to make him suffer as much as possible in my story in order to exact some sort of demented revenge. (I know, I know...) And I did so, even at the expense of his personality. Why do I mention this now? Because this is one of the worst spots for it. Well, if you wanna read it, I can't stop you, but if not, feel free to skip all the way to the end where I will post a summery of what happened. I'm serious though; you really don't wanna read this. You'll wanna puke (I do). Oh, and if you do read it, please do NOT review on it, cuz there's nothing good you can say about it, honestly. Thanks for your time.
**It's a different time than when we left off in Part 4, about forty minutes after the whole Sonic and Amy dealio, just so you know.**
He hadn't known how long he had been running. His entire body ached and begged him to stop, but he refused it any salvation. He couldn't if he wanted to. It was as if he was being controlled by an unknown puppeteer, and only it knew when this was going to end. And, that same being seemed to begin to manipulate his mind as well, because that same painful, unwanted image kept replaying itself, continually breaking his already shattered heart.
**Flashback (character's POV)**
"Just STOP IT!!!"
Suddenly, it was quiet. I saw that Amy wasn't standing in front of me; instead, she was lying on the ground a few feet from me. At first, I couldn't get why, but when I looked at her face, that's when I found out.
One of her cheeks became a bright red color, and the hand that held it was turning the same. Amy looked at the hand she held her cheek with, and her eyes widened, shocked. It was covered in blood. Then she looked at me, denial on her face.
Amy was staring at the Emerald, which at first I had no idea why. Finally, I built up the courage to follow her gaze with my own eyes. I'll always wish I hadn't. The Emerald's tip was covered with blood, too. Then I realized; it was all my fault. Mine. I had hurt yet another person I cared about, and not just emotionally. This time, you couldn't just forget about it; it would always be there, and eternal reminder of what I did.
Those thoughts ran through my head until I couldn't handle it anymore. I had to get away from them. That's when I ran. Within seconds everything I knew there was left far behind, but it still wasn't far enough. And so, I'm still running, trying to escape…
**End of flashback**
At sunset, he encountered an abandoned shoreline, with the deep blue ocean stretching beyond it.
I guess this is it, he thought. He was finally allowed to break out of his run, and then walked towards the water's edge. He knelt down, and placed the tip of the white Chaos Emerald he was carrying into the water. The blood slowly left the gem and formed a small red trail, which he watched in agony. Soon, he was unable to watch it any longer. He closed his eyes, and took in deep breaths to try to keep his emotions steady. Once he was calm enough, he checked the Emerald. It was clean. He stood up, and looked out over the vastness before him.
Now where do I go? he asked himself. He couldn't go back; what he did was unforgivable. But soon, he wouldn't have a choice.
*Well, that was sad!! **takes moment to sigh deeply** But! There's more suspenseful suspense! : D Let's find out what the cruel author means!*
**A minute or so earlier…**
A trio of characters was carefully crossing the shoreline, making sure not to alert the person who held their target.
"There it is!" the young, energetic bee said, flying faster ahead of the other two.
"Quiet, Charmy! Do you wantus to fail the mission?!" the large green crocodile asked him. He was trying to grab onto Charmy, with no success.
"Ha ha, Vector!" Charmy taunted. "You can't catch me!"
"Charmy, if you don't come down here-"
"Quiet, you two!" the third party, the pink chameleon, interjected. "We do have a mission."
"Espio's right," Vector said. "We've gotta focus. At least the guy over there hasn't noticed us yet."
On the contrary, he had noticed. He looked over to his right, and spotted the threesome coming toward him. He then started to run in the opposite direction into the nearby foliage, cursing in his head.
"Hey, wait! We just need to…" They had gotten so far behind, their voices had trailed off. He gazed behind him, and smirked when he didn't see them. But before he could look forward again, he crashed into something, sending him flying back a foot or two on the ground.
"Ow!" another voice said. She looked up at who ran into her, and merely stared, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Sonic?!" she managed to say. Sonic looked up at the sound of his name, just as shocked as the other one was at what he saw.
"Amy?!" he exclaimed.
The two of them continued to sit on the ground, staring at each other for the longest time, unable to believe what they were seeing. Tails and Knuckles soon came running up behind Amy, and were just as shocked to see Sonic in front of them.
"Sonic!" Tails cried excitedly. He rushed over to Sonic's side to help him up; Knuckles in turn helped Amy. Sonic and Amy paid them no mind, though; the only thing that registered to them was that the other was right there, despite all odds, in front of them.
"Sonic…" Amy started to say, still doubtful of the truth of the situation. However, her usual personality started to reemerge once she accepted its accuracy. "Sonic!!" she said more enthusiastically, running at him with open arms. Sonic held up a hand, halting her.
"Stop, Amy," he said. She reluctantly obeyed, her face falling. Sonic briefly closed his eyes, then reopened them, refocusing on Amy's cheek. It was covered in a bandage, he noticed, but he could still see through it, see what he had done, as he always would… Then, Sonic's breathing became shaky.
"Sonic?" Amy said concerned. She tried to move toward him again, but she was stopped once more.
"Please, stop," he told her. He closed his eyes and turned away from her. "…I'm fine."
"I know you better than that. Now tell me what's wrong." She put a hand on Sonic's shoulder, but he shrugged it off.
"Please, Amy, don't."
"Why?"
"Because!" he in an unintentional louder tone. Sonic immediately caught the harshness in his voice, and took a minute to collect himself before saying, "I might… do that again." He pointed to her cheek.
"Sonic, you can't-" Amy started to say, but Sonic continued to talk as if she hadn't said a word.
"I… can't trust myself, Amy. Not after this. Who knows who I'll hurt next; Knuckles? Tails?" He turned towards the three of them, facing them with a look of despair. "How would I live with myself? I can hardly do it now. So… I've decided. This is gonna be hard on all of us, especially me, but, it'll be the best for you."
"Sonic, what do you mean?" Amy asked, her eyes tearful.
"I mean that," Sonic started. "Tails, Knuckles, Amy-" they each moved to stand in front of him. "-I'm… saying goodbye."
* **Those of you readers that like Sonic** OH NO!!!! What does Mickey think she's doing?! Is she insane?! *Me* Yes, yes I am. But hold on! I'll straighten things out! …Eventually…*
"Goodbye?!" Tails asked disbelievingly.
"Yes, Tails, goodbye." Sonic said, becoming tearful as well. "Like I said, it'll be the best for you guys in the end."
"But Sonic! We can work this out!" Amy said.
"Maybe we can in time, Amy, but for now, we need to go separate ways. That way, I can't hurt you anymore."
"Sonic, you're hurting us now!"
Sonic ignored her, barely able to keep his emotions in check. He then turned toward each of them in turn and said,
"Knuckles, take the Emerald, and promise me you'll watch the others for me, alright?" Knuckles simply nodded, unable to speak, and accepted the Emerald from Sonic.
"Tails," Sonic continued. "I want you to listen to Knuckles and to keep an eye out for those Emeralds, kay?" Tails also nodded, then looked at the ground, crying.
"And Amy, stay with Tails and Knuckles. They'll keep you safe, and that's the main thing I'm worried about. Will you promise me?"
"Yes, but… Sonic, won't you please stay?"
"If it were even the slightest bit possible I would, but as it is…"
Amy closed her eyes, defeated. "You can't." she whispered.
"No. But, don't think I'm gonna leave without something to remember me by."
Amy's eyes reopened swiftly. "What do you mean?" she asked curiously. Tails and Knuckles looked over at where Sonic and Amy stood, also wondering what Sonic meant. Sonic didn't say another word, and instead was leaning toward Amy; much like he had earlier that day, except with less nervousness, and more apology. Amy soon caught on to what was happening, and began to lean back towards him, eager to receive this goodbye. Within seconds, the only thing that remained between them was mere inches of space, when,
"Oo-oo-ooh!" Someone else had said in a sing-song voice. "Sonic and Amy sittin' in a tree! K-i- Mmph!" He was cut off by a hand that was pushed over his mouth by another person, who had caught up with him.
"Charmy!" the other said. "You've gotta stop flying off like that! I mean, who knows what-" he stopped when he noticed the four in front of him.
"Uh…" he looked at Sonic and Amy. "Sorry if we… interrupted anything…" Charmy began to laugh at Vector's discomfort, which resulted in his mouth being pressed on harder. Amy then looked around Sonic, surprised at who she saw.
"Vector? Charmy? Espio? What are you doing here?"
"Yeah, what do you want?" Sonic asked them after turning to face them.
"We're on a-" Charmy started, but Espio threw him a silencing glare.
"Quiet, Charmy. You're not to talk of it."
"Talk about what?" Amy asked.
"Never mind," Vector said. "So…" He glanced at Espio, who nodded, answering his unspoken question. "Well then, guys," he told the foursome. "I guess we'll do this the easy way. We need that Emerald."
"What?!" they said in unison.
"You heard him," Espio said. "That Emerald is of great importance to us, so we'd appreciate it if you would hand it over quietly."
"Oh really," Sonic began. "Well that's just too bad, 'cause we need the Emeralds, and probably for more important reasons than you do."
"Sonic!" Tails whispered.
"It's all right, Tails. They can't do anything."
"Is that what you think?" Vector asked, offended.
"Exactly."
"Then prove it!"
"Fine, then." Sonic grabbed the Emerald out of Knuckles' hands, and began to speed by Vector, thinking he could get away. However, no one expected what happened next.
Vector reached out towards Sonic as he ran by him, and managed to garb onto his arm. Then, he latched onto a nearby tree for support, which caused Sonic to slow down just enough for Vector to throw him back a few feet. Afterward, Charmy flew down and snatched the Emerald out of Sonic's hand. Sonic didn't try to resist; he was too shocked by what just happened, as was everyone else. No one had ever been able to do that before.
"Well, I guess that takes care of that," Vector said. "Let's go guys. We've got more Emeralds to find." They turned to leave, but were stopped by another voice.
"Not so fast," the voice said coolly. "We also need that Emerald, and it'll be a lot less painful for you if you hand it over right now."
"Who are you?! Show yourself!" Vector called out. Two figures stepped out of the foliage, revealing themselves to be none other than Shadow and Rouge.
*Yay! They're back!! And the Chaotix guys are here too!! They're SO much fun! Hee hee! : D*
Shadow looked around, surprised to see so many people in front of him. "Well, this is quite the group we've got here. I honestly didn't think that you would need this much help.-" he looked at Sonic. "-But considering what happened this afternoon, it doesn't surprise me." Sonic gave Shadow a threatening glare, to which Shadow just laughed at.
"We're not helping them," Vector said. Shadow's eyes snapped towards the direction the voice came from.
"You three… I've seen you from somewhere, haven't I?" He started to walk to them, studying them deeply, trying to remember. "Ah yes, I remember now. Each of you wanted me to help you with some feeble task a long time ago. And I did, didn't I?" Shadow waited for a response, but none came.
"Yes, you know I did. So, I feel it's time to give back. You, little one." Charmy looked up, scared. "If you'll be so kind as to hand over the Emerald." Charmy hesitated for a moment, and then shook his head defiantly.
"Well, isn't that a shame. I guess I'll just have to take it by force."
"Leave him alone!" Sonic shouted to him. Shadow turned toward him, rolling his eyes.
"Must you always be the hero?"
"Must you always be the villain?"
"Only when I have to be, which doesn't happen to be the case this time."
"Shadow, what are you doing?" Rouge asked, unnerved by Shadow's overall attitude.
"Nothing," he reassured her. Yet. "Now," Shadow addressed to the others. "I'm feeling nice today, so I'll give you one more chance to hand me the Emerald without any problems."
"You honestly think that we're gonna believe you?! No way!!" Sonic shouted. Shadow then smiled slyly.
"Very well. You asked for it. Rouge, the Emerald, please." She passed him the red Emerald that she had. It started to emanate a faint glow as Shadow started to absorb its power.
"If that's the way you wanna play, fine. Charmy, hand me that Emerald," Sonic said. Charmy gave him an indecisive look.
"But…"
"Now!"
"Do it, Charmy!" Vector told him. Charmy threw Sonic the Emerald without further hesitation. As soon as he grabbed it, it began to glow in his hand as well. Sonic and Shadow walked toward each other, staring the other down, stopping with a foot of space between them. The others crowded around the two of them, curious as well as nervous about what was going to unfold.
"I can't believe you," Shadow said in such a low tone only Sonic could hear. "After the two humiliating defeats I gave you, I thought that you surely would've given up."
"Never. Especially not when my friends are on the line," Sonic responded darkly.
"Really? I never would've guessed that after what happened to you girlfriend over there."
Sonic's eyes widened in shock for a moment, then reverted back to their furious look.
"What I've done is absolutely none of your business!!"
"So, you admit it…" Shadow mused, chuckling to himself. "I hope for your sake no one saw that. Your reputation would be shot."
At that point, Sonic could no longer control his emotions. The rage he felt had escalated so much that it took over his entire mind, letting him think only one thought, one that resonated throughout him- remove the person he believed stood between him and his peace. With this, he lashed out at Shadow with such speed that it caught him off guard. In an instant, Shadow had been knocked back a few feet, and a long, thin red line began to appear on his right arm.
"Shadow!" Rouge gasped, upset.
"Don't worry about it," Shadow reassured her, getting to his feet. "Actually, it's about time he stood up for himself. But-" he said to Sonic "-that was very poorly executed. Allow me to show you how to properly use that Emerald." Shadow's Emerald began to glow brighter as he siphoned more of its energy. Soon, his entire body emanated a faint red aura.
"Don't you dare," Sonic threatened through gritted teeth. He began to absorb more of his Emerald's energy, and his body began to glow slightly blue. "Everyone, stand close to me." All but Rouge obeyed; she remained on Shadow's side.
"Any last words?" Shadow asked him.
"Just two," Sonic responded. "Chaos…" Shadow smiled villainously at where this was going.
"Chaos…" he began to say. Everyone else braced themselves as best as they could; they knew almost certainly where this was headed. Then, Shadow and Sonic respectively unleashed the world that activated their powers.
"-BLAST!!"
"-CONTROL!!"
All within a second, a red explosion occurred, and a blue light flashed. Then, all was quiet. Shadow was kneeling on the ground, completely exhausted from what he had done. He took in a few deep breaths, then stood up and observed the aftermath.
Everything within a twenty foot radius of him was entirely destroyed. Trees, shrubs, all were obliterated. But what struck him the most was the fact that there was no one to be found.
"I should've known," he said, shaking his head. "He used Chaos Control to escape. Looks like he took everyone else with him as well."
Not everyone. Shadow turned to leave, when he saw one of the worst scenes he ever had witnessed.
Rouge was lying on the ground, face down, unmoving. Shadow rushed to her side, knelt down, and shook her vigorously.
"Rouge!" he kept calling to her. Nothing. He continued to shake her and call her name, growing more desperate as each moment passed. Nothing. Eventually, he gave up, defeated. He bowed his head and closed his eyes, feeling the absolute worst he ever had, even more than he had those many years ago, back at the space colony, because this time, it was his fault. He could have prevented this, had he not been so… so selfish. That accursed Emerald had blinded him from- His thoughts were interrupted by some movement.
Rouge began to stir. Shadow looked down at her, and felt a great wave of relief and sheer joy surge through him at what he saw. She was alive. He couldn't help the smile that had appeared on his face.
"Rouge, I'm-" he started. However, Rouge cut him off by slapping him across the face with tremendous force. He said nothing; he knew he deserved it.
"Strike three," she said coldly.
"What?!"
"You heard me. Don't tell me you've forgotten."
Shadow looked at her, confused for a moment, then his face changed to show misery as he recalled that conversation.
**Flashback**
"'…I've come up with an idea that will make sure that this-' Rouge pointed to her face. '-doesn't happen anymore. We're gonna go with the three-strike system, kay? Every time you attack me like you did, it counts as a strike against you, which means you're down to two of them. One more and I'm out. By that I mean I'm dropping out of this little treasure hunt for good, and who knows whether I feel like ever meeting with you again…"
**End of flashback**
"Please don't mean…" Shadow began.
"Yes, Shadow," Rouge said as she unsteadily stood up. "I'm done. For my own safety, I can't do this anymore; I'm… not sure if I can trust you." Rouge's words cut his heart into pieces, but he wasn't going to let that show. Shadow adopted an envelope of anger to hide his feelings, lasting only as long as this one moment would.
"If that's how you feel, then just go," he snarled, folding his arms and refusing to look at her. Rouge was deeply hurt, but like Shadow, she kept her true emotions to herself.
"Like I wasn't going already!" she snapped through her angry façade. Rouge marched towards the foliage opposite of Shadow. At the clearing's edge, she paused for a moment, and let her falsified anger disappear so she could say,
"Goodbye, Shadow the Hedgehog."
Shadow, however, continued to keep his anger with him, and coldly responded,
"Good riddance, Rouge the Bat."
With that sentence, Rouge flew off into the forest, fighting back the tears that refused to cease. Once he was sure she was gone, Shadow released his anger and allowed his true emotions of guilt, loss, and misery fill his body. Slowly, he turned to face the spot where Rouge had stood just seconds ago. He looked at it in agony, and took a few heavy steps in its direction. Soon, his feelings overcame him, and he fell to his knees, not bothering to stop the millions of agonizing emotional daggers from stabbing what was left of his heart.
*For those who chose to skip (and I personally commend you), here's a recap of what happened: Team Chaotix came after Sonic to get the Emerald he had, Sonic re-met with Amy, Tails, and Knuckles, Sonic feels that he can't stay with them cuz of what happened in Part 4, Chaotix meet up with the other five and try to take the Emerald away by force, Shadow and Rouge then run into all of them and try to get the Emerald as well, after refusing Sonic and Shadow use Chaos Control and Blast respectively, everyone aside from Shadow and Rouge escape the explosion, Rouge gets mad at Shadow for hurting her yet again, she leaves him and Shadow is all depressed. That's it.*
