Dib07: Hi there, so sorry for the long update!!! Thank you soooo much for all the reviews! It's you, the reader and the reviewer that keeps us writers going! Thanks so much! I need your support and your views! It keeps the motor running!

Warning: more character deaths and some verbal abuse. And some gore.

Enclosed disclaimer: this story is merely for fun. All characters belong to SEGA.

Chapter 14: The future looks bright

'Here we stand.' Mordant's Need – A Man Rides Through – Stephen Donaldson

'I've got the strongest feeling…' A Man Rides Through – Stephen Donaldson

"No… no…"

It was too much. Sonic was weeping.

He searched for a pulse in Shadow's neck. He couldn't feel anything. Despair filled every living fibre of Sonic's world.

The rain came, as if its forlorn touch was called somehow. Its sharp touch turned the snow into crusty ice, and the flurry of the sudden water drove Robotnik's troops back as if they were hampered by fire. Sonic sat in the rain with Shadow's body in his arms. The water droplets spilled down his azure fur and hit the myriad puddles that had settled in the dimples in the earth.

You don't understand, Sonic. I had to come back to the past.

Why?

Because Shadow dies.

Shadow can take care of himself!

Retreat!

You're not fighting, Sonic? Have you forgotten that there is a war outside? Your war may I add?

"No…" All was lost. Everything. Nothing mattered anymore.

Sonic looked down at Shadow's face and snapped inwardly at himself not to cry anymore. The dark hedgehog's features were calm in death. His tight expression was gone. He lay limp as though he were asleep and nothing more.

Silver had been right… all along.

Now it was too late.

Though Sonic did not notice, the rain had stopped the fighting. The robots had all but retreated into the snowy valleys as the torrents of water continued. The animals such as the last remaining echidnas, the moles, the rats and the others, stood and watched the enemies slowly vanish. Charmy poised an arrow in the air with his bow and tugged the string loose. The arrow flew into the heavens but there wasn't a foe insight to be within its range. The minks and badgers were rejoicing. Many tired warriors sunk to their knees in relief.

"You've killed him…" Rouge had been steadily weeping the whole time. "How… how could you… you… you MURDERER!"

Her shout jolted Sonic slightly, and he felt his cheeks burn in guilt and shame. "It wasn't me…" He lamely defended in a low whisper, "I didn't do this…" He hugged Shadow close, wishing he would open his eyes. "It was the bugs… mind controlling bugs…"

"You've lost your mind, traitor." Rouge snapped. She opened her wings and she looked quite formidable in the rain. "I'm telling everyone I know of what you did. When I come back, I want Shadow, do you hear?" She leapt into the air like a dark angel, and soared into the grim heavens.

Sonic was only alone with Shadow for a few more moments as the emerald continued to shine beside him. He looked at it in distrust and loathing. He had used it to kill his friend.

I am a murderer.

Knuckles stepped out of his circle of cadavers and saw Sonic in the rain. His gleeful smile turned into a frown. He couldn't make out whom the hedgehog was holding. He came over to him, ignoring the wet chill of the storm sinking into his warm fur.

"Sonic? What's wrong? Is Shadow okay?"

Sonic was impervious to his calls. He ignored everything, from the aspirating weather to the battle that was no more.

Knuckles came over his him; his haunches held high, his posture tall and erect. Blood had splashed across the white crescent on his chest.

"Sonic?" His voiced sounded flat and dead against the drum of the downpour.

Sonic looked up, but only heard the voices.

'That reason is being able to protect others with the power that I've got.'

'Trust me.'

'When you go back into the past, do not save me.'

Knuckles had knelt down also, and was examining Shadow with his bandaged paws. For a while he did not say anything. Sonic's arms and legs felt weak and his head was full of air.

Then Knuckles said gravely, "he's dead."

Sonic looked at him with glazed eyes. The echidnas' confirmation only added to the pain, though he had already known.

I don't think I can make it without Shadow. He heard himself say this in his head, and maybe it was absurd that he had thought this. It was a selfish way to think.

Knuckles was stiffly facing him. "You have to either leave him, or carry him with you. We can't stay here."

You can't, but I will.

"We've lost…" Sonic finally managed to utter as his eyes gushed tears, "I should have never started this war."

"You never started anything." Knuckles encouraged, "this is all Eggman's doing, not yours. This war had begun before you were even born, Sonic." His voice sounded like it was about to break, "but we can't mourn here. We have to move!"

"Silver was right!" Sonic cried, "he was right all along! Why didn't I listen?"

Knuckles turned his head away, unable to catch Sonic's gaze. Without speaking any further, he took Shadow into his arms and started off in the direction of safety. Sonic stood on his feet, but it felt more like he was being held up by stilts instead of legs. He took the emerald and dropped it into his backpack.

As he followed Knuckles limply like a child would follow a parent, Sonic kept in pace and stared desolately at the floor.

But he was the Ultimate Life Form… he was supposed to be immortal!

"It's not fair…" He murmured before falling into a discomfited silence. His eyes burned, his emerald orbs cupped behind a veil of tears.

***

They must have walked a good mile before coming within the sure vicinity of safety. Sonic just had to grind his knuckles into something, so he pounded his fist into the ground, hard enough to crack bone. Knuckles didn't seem to notice. With a sharpness in his step, he walked on until they came to a small camp. There were no tents, only dead campfires that had long ago gone out. Knuckles at once placed Shadow on the ground and began to dig. Sonic knew what he was doing, so he turned away and sat down on the hard, steel ground. After Knuckles had dug a good few feet deep, he paused to rest. Then he turned to Sonic and said unexpectedly, "I've found another chaos emerald."

This news did nothing for him. Instead the blue hero sighed and morosely shrugged as if it meant nothing to him.

Knuckles took out the blue emerald from his glove and showed it to him. "Cheer up Sonic. This is the best news we've had all week. I found it. I couldn't believe it at first. But we destroyed a robot so powerful, that we didn't realize it harnessed this gem until I stumbled upon it in the beast's debris."

"Leave me alone, Knuckles." His voice was tightly corded, "I don't care what you found. It means nothing. If it could bring Shadow back, I would show it more attention."

Knuckles heaved an impatient sigh. "Sonic, look at me."

He did.

The echidna slowly smiled. "It will bring Shadow back. All you have to do, is go back in time, when Silver got here. How did… how did Shadow… die?"

"I..."He had to confess it to Knuckles. He had to… But at the same time, he hadn't the guts.

I beat him to death.

Quickly, and almost rudely, Sonic snatched the emerald from Knuckles. The echidna didn't protest.

"How… how do I use it?" He asked.

"Ask Silver." His conviction was so strong. Sonic wasn't as sure. Time travel was something he had never done before. Silver was the expert on it; even Shadow would have been a better candidate for the attempt.

"Okay." He stood up.

"Sonic?" Knuckles asked as he watched him closely.

"I'm going to see Sal. Don't bury him. I'm gonna save him."

Fuck what you said to me Shadow. I am not going to let you die.

***

It was Sally who saw it coming first. A troop of rogue robots, unhindered by the rain, were marching strong in their direction. Their tent was right in their very path. The princess tried to keep calm. There would still be time to escape. They had a few minutes.

"Amy," she grabbed her dainty hand, "come with me. We're going to run fast. Grab the communicator and a breathing tank. We're leaving!"

"Why?" She asked so innocently.

She pushed Amy inside the tent. "Robots are coming."

At once Amy's face folded into a look of terror. "Oh my god…"

Silver huffed. "I can take them." He said modestly, "how many are there?"

Sally looked at him sharply, like she often did. "Too many. And you will not try to attack them Silver. All my hard work keeping you alive is not going to go to waste. Now, we're wasting time talking. GO!"

Amy grabbed the things she was told. Silver took his mask and helped her with the tank. Sally grabbed a handgun from the bottom of a blanket that she had kept concealed up into now. Then, all three of them raced out of the tent.

It was too late.

Two scouting robots had already reached them. They stood there, staring at the animals that had left the camp. One stated emotionlessly, 'New targets. Open fire.'

"Get lost!" Silver waved out his gloveless hand and a shot of psychokinesis struck at one of the robots. The silver android fell sharply at the sudden pressure, but Silver still couldn't prevent it rising its jointed arm gun and firing. The spray of bullets hit Amy. She went down in a fountain of blood.

The second android lowered its weapon too, and aimed at the princess. Sally was ready. She aimed her gun, and fired three sharp rounds at the robot's small head. The recoil smashed against the back of her hand, but her aim remained steady after years of practise.

The first shot missed. The second tore into the badnik's neck. The third burst open its skull, shredding metal, screws and circuits.

"Amy!" Silver shouted, his voice mounting to a cry. "No!" He knew there was no point seeing if she was alive. The sea of blood around her was indication enough that she was dead. He couldn't take it. Tears soaked his fur. "NO!"

He ran at the last remaining bot. Sally screamed at him to stop. The robot was frozen by his telekinesis, and at Silver's will, the robot dismantled itself. They had defeated both of the scouts. But the time it had cost them was dire. Behind them, the troop came. Silver spun to face them. He didn't look like a clumsy child anymore. He looked like a warrior, fearless and bold.

He touched the ground with his marked hand and a green wave splashed at the frontline of troops. They froze like the scout. Sally lifted her gun and slammed another round into the ones that were sizzling with green energy. She took them out, one by one.

A robot, that saw no regard for its fallen comrades, lifted its muzzle of a gun and fired. The lazer beam struck Silver in the shoulder. He fell back and hit the floor. Silver's fierce façade had gone. He was back to wheezing, unable to get enough air.

Sally brazenly fired more rounds. Then she had to reload. She bought no spare magazines with her.

She dropped the empty gun and ran over to Silver. The white hedgehog was suffocating.

Before Sally had a chance to do anything, the robots ploughed out their bullets.

The air resounded with bangs and muzzle flashes.

Then, the robots saw that their job was done and marched on.

Both squirrel and hedgehog lay dead.

***

When he returned to the tent, Sonic went inside it and started calling. Where were they? He saw an air tank missing. That meant Sally probably left with Silver. They couldn't have gone very far. Where was there to go? Or maybe Tails had picked them up with his plane? And they had left for Knothole?

No. Sally wouldn't have done that without telling him first.

He went outside, and saw smoke and a jot of ruin about fifty yards from the tent. He started to approach it, the emeralds jangling together in his backpack.

When he got closer to the bloodied area, he started to slow down. There were bodies. And one of them was wearing a red dress…

Sonic was running. As he drew nearer, the less he wanted to look. The less he wanted to see what carnage had wrought.

Then he saw.

Amy.

Sally.

Silver.

He didn't want to look at the bodies, but he saw enough to know that it was them. He turned away, body shaking in anger.

No.

This was impossible. They were supposed to be all right.

It all came out of him at once. The fear, the ire, the hate. "I WILL KILL YOU EGGMAN!"

Sonic went back inside the tent, opened his backpack and started shoving things into it. Tranquilizers. Syringes. A flare gun. All the things he might need when he went back into the past.

This is it. And I am not going to fail.

He was going to try and save everyone. Who cares if he was cheating death? This was what he had to do.

It is my duty to protect. To preserve.

Duty. That was what always drove him to be heroic.

He wept bloody tears. His head throbbed from when Shadow threw him to the ground.

He took out the green emerald and left it on the set of flimsy drawers. He didn't need it bring it with him, not after seeing the chaos that it wrought on Shadow.

All he needed was the blue emerald.

I am ready.

'When you go back into the past, do not save me.'

Sonic stepped out of the tent, oblivious to his kind losing so bitterly that only a few were left and only the Chaotix had made it to the ravine in time.

Sonic gripped the azure gem in his hand and whispered to it, "take me back. Open chaos control and take me to the point in the past when Silver arrived."

Nothing happened.

Sonic sighed and shut his eyes. If Silver had been able to do it…

He concentrated. He drew an image in his mind of the exact point of where he wanted to go. He wanted to be at the foot of the mountain, at the exact time Silver saved him using his powers to stop Sonic being shot from the enemy.

He focused on that precise moment, then stopped.

No, he was doing it wrong. He could not be there…

Because he was already.

He tried again. He had to be at that time, but in another location. Could the emerald do that?

"Please…"

I need to save them…

All of a sudden, Sonic snapped out of existence.

Dib07: Boy ain't this story long! I will be wrapping it up fairly soon. In truth i want this story over and done with so i can start new things.

Hope you enjoyed this half-baked story nevertheless and thanks for all reviews. No flames though please. I will simply ignore them.