In Due Season
Chapter VII
The Path to Peace is Someday Neigh
The group groaned in pain as Kimi began to cry. Amy hastily got to her feet and ran for the crib. With that, another explosion ripped through the area, hurling Knuckles headlong from the doorway; flames licking at his heels. Rouge quickly flew forward to catch the guardian before he made contact with the hard cement floor. Slightly singed, he cracked open an eye to see his rescuer.
"Thanks, Rouge," he said sincerely.
"Anytime, handsome," Rouge said with a glint in her eye. Blaze saw the impending danger the flames posed and charged ahead to snuff them out. Just as the fire died and the smoke cleared, a large metallic object knocked the feline back with incredible force. She plummeted backward, head over heels as the thing that struck her stepped inside.
"Blaze! Are you alright?" Sonic shouted as he rushed over and helped the downed heroine back to her feet. She couldn't help but feel touched by his concern, but quickly pushed her misguided feelings aside.
"I'm fine."
"Good, cause here we go again," he exclaimed, pushing her off in one direction while he went off in another just before the entity passed between them.
"What is it?!" Cream cried in a panic as she got a clear look at the robotic creature. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before and it looked more intimidating than Eggman's other robots. It was easily three times taller than she was even though it stood on all fours. It had the body of a large metallic cat or dog, but no head to speak of; just what appeared to be a giant, glass eye in-between the front shoulder blades. It did, however, have a whip-like tail and sharp hooked feet. Regardless, the rabbit wasn't the only one to notice the strange machine.
"I don't know what it is and I don't care. It's going down!" Knuckles yelled as he leaped down from Rouge's grasp, ready to hit it with a ramming blow. The creature reacted quickly to the attack and lashed out at the guardian with its razor-tipped tail, sending the echidna back across the room screaming in pain. After the assault on Knuckles, the robot remained menacingly still. Even when Rouge swooped down to rest next to the now bleeding echidna, the creature showed little interest. No one moved.
"Guys, I think . . ." Tails began until the bot turned its large eye in his direction; its surface glowing red. He clamped his mouth shut. The robot didn't take any action against him, however, instead, turning away. The genius's features were pale at the scare, but he continued.
"We might want to get out of here while it's trying to get through whatever it's processing."
"Sounds good to me," Amy whispered as she clutched Kimi close.
"Cream, you're closest to the door. Be careful, but see if you can get out," Tails said. The rabbit followed directions and without incident was able to make it out of the workshop with Cheese. The fox quirked an eyebrow. This was indeed bizarre. It wasn't attacking any of them. He watched as it kept turning its body from side to side; its eye shifting from yellow to red to green but never becoming a threat.
"Amy, you next," Tails instructed while still keeping a close eye on the robot's movements. The moment the pink hedgehog shifted her weight to go, the creature gave a low-pitched growl. She froze.
"Leave us alone; leave us alone," she whispered worryingly, clutching Kimi in one arm and preparing her hammer in the other. It took a step in her direction and that's all it took to set Sonic off. He ran full speed into one of the robot's legs, toppling it to one side. It let out an ear-piercing howl as it rebalanced itself and turned its gaze to the blue hedgehog before it. The orb was fully green now; no more switching. It raced towards him with a vengeance, but with a well-placed sidestep by the hedgehog, it missed its target and slammed into the far wall. Instead of relenting its attack as it had done with Knuckles, it turned back around and jabbed at the speedster in quick succession with its curved limbs. Sonic dodged each one with ease but damage was being done to the small building thanks to the robot's size and ferocity. The hero took notice and decided to lead the fray outside so he could get in some better hits and prevent anyone else from getting hurt.
"Come on ya metal mutt! Let's go for a walk!" he yelled as he ran outside, just past the doorway. With the same eagerness, it began to follow.
"Tails, get the others organized. I'll keep this thing . . . busy?" he halted once he noticed the creature had stopped in the doorway of the hanger, seeming to pine over who it was going to kill, him or the group behind it.
"I'll take care of this . . . this thing!" Blaze started as she tried gearing herself up for combat. She had the Sol Emeralds with her and used them plenty of times in the past to end battles quite quickly, but when the powerful gems did not respond to her beckoning, shock and dismay were easily read on her face.
"I can't use the Sol Emeralds. I . . . I don't understand!"
"Hey, you hunk of junk, look at me!" Sonic shouted as he saw it take a step back inside. He jumped up into the air and landed a spin attack on its shoulder. The robot thrashed at him with its tail and grabbed at him with its sharp appendages, letting out a series of primal screams. For its size, the thing moved incredibly fast and Sonic was knocked down by one of the blows. It let out electronic wail which was answered by another cry just like it off in the distance.
"There's another one?!" Rouge exclaimed. Sonic scarcely had time to register there were two as the robot over him began digging at him with a predator like concentration. Knuckles wiped the last of the blood from his afflicted face and stood up.
"I'm going to help, Sonic, anyone else who wants to join me can," he stated gruffly, heading towards the door. Blaze was ahead of him as she had already made it to the doorway and was trying to draw the robots' attention away from the hedgehog with flame attacks.
"Solana, help me get the back hanger doors open. We need to get the X Tornado and the Blizzard out of here so we can help. Amy, we still need to warn the city and the campsite, but . . ." Tails hesitantly looked at the mother holding the baby hedgehog who was still crying loudly.
"I'll take Amy and Kimi in my ship. It's just out back. Maybe we can find reinforcements, too," Rouge offered as she waved for the pink hedgehog to follow her to the back door. Amy looked back at the others who were fighting off the deadly monsters only a few yards away. Her eyes locked onto Sonic, who appeared to be taking on the brunt of the assault. She knew his tendency towards recklessness better than anyone there and her heart was torn as she wanted to help fight, but she also had to ensure the safety of her baby girl.
"Oh, God, keep him safe, please," Amy whispered a prayer as she finally went with the white bat.
o
"Hello, can anyone hear me?" Alyson cried desperately into the cell phone. There was no reply.
"I have to go," Shadow stated as he walked towards the door. He had heard the commotion before the phone became unresponsive.
"Where are you going?" Alyson asked more out of habit than anything.
"I have to find a way back there so I can be of assistance," Shadow informed dryly. Truthfully, he felt guilty for leaving the group, to begin with, and now wished he hadn't.
"How? It's miles from here, Shadow, and you're in no condition to make that trip there on your own."
"Doesn't matter, I'm going," the hedgehog stated coldly.
"Well, of course, but that's why I'm coming with you. Don't give me that look, mister. You came back barely able to stand. I can drive us part of the way. At least until you get some of your strength back. Please, let me help," Alyson reasoned. The ultimate life form gave her an unreadable expression. Her words reminded him of what Rouge had said earlier; the cost of not having backup. He sighed before the tiny trace of a smirk could be found on his features.
"Fine, but we take the sports car, not that beat-up mini-van. Deal?"
He could see the indignation in her eyes as he knew she loved that beautiful old family vehicle. He also noted hesitation as he also knew how protective she was of that red muscle car. However, a chance to wipe that self-assured grin off her companion's face was worth anything to Alyson.
"It's a deal," she stated, a smile appearing once his vanished.
"Fine, come on then, let's go," the dark hedgehog directed and as an afterthought added, "Have you already downloaded the program to the hard drive?"
"Yes, why?"
"Bring the flash drive with us."
Within minutes the pair were flying out of the city limits of Emerald Cove and headed south towards the intended destination. Alyson was going as fast as the law would permit and maybe even more so as Shadow kept pushing for speed. Kingsbury was a four-hour drive away at normal speed and at least two and a half at the speed Alyson was going now. Nevertheless, it wasn't fast enough for the black hedgehog. After the first five minutes, the ultimate life form was insisting she speed up. After the next ten, he was practically pressing his face up against the windshield in frustration, demanding the vehicle go faster. Then he was hanging out the window declaring hatefully he could push the car there quicker than it was going.
"Look, I'm going as fast as I can. Besides, you're supposed to be conserving your energy so you can run the rest of the way, remember?"
"This is worthless! I believe I am rested enough. My apologies, but this is where I am making my exit. I'll take the data to Tails from here. I want you to head back to the city," he stated, looking to her as he rolled the window further down. Alyson sighed knowing there was no changing his mind.
"Alright, but open the glove box first," she directed without taking her eyes off the road. Shadow quirked an eyebrow but did as she asked, releasing the door to the glove box. There were napkins, a few old maps and ketchup packets galore, but what sat on top of all this is what caught him by surprise; a decent sized, black semi-automatic handgun. He looked at her in disbelief as he pulled the gun out.
"I want you to take it. The magazines are under the passenger seat. The bullets can pierce through metal too," she continued.
"You own this?"
"Yes, ever since I started working with you. I realized a woman's got to protect herself," she smirked. Shadow frowned.
"I don't want to take this with me. I've dealt with guns in the past, it's not my style; too messy for one," he stated setting the pistol down along with the unpleasant memories that came with it.
"Well, I'm sure dying isn't your style either and if you're going to do this with how . . . off you've been lately, it'll get messy too. Take it. Look, you don't necessarily have to use it, just have it with you. It would make me feel better, please," she pleaded. The dark hedgehog scowled, but picked the firearm back up, reaching under the seat to gather the cartridges.
"What will you use to defend yourself?"
"Don't worry; I have another one at home. Two for one special," she quipped.
"For someone who supports peace and love, I never pictured you owning any of these."
"Well, I support peace and love but not homicidal robots, so, let's just leave it at that. Now, go!"
Shadow nodded and, with that, hopped out the window with ease, his jet activated shoes carrying him well past the high speeds of the red automobile and down the road out of sight. Alyson slowed her car down as she watched the black streak disappear.
"Good luck, Shadow."
For his part, the dark hedgehog looked back to make sure Alyson was indeed turning to head back to Emerald Cove. He didn't want her to get hurt or worse and even though she was a very rational human being, people did crazy things out of concern. He found a bit of humor in that as it was exactly what he was doing; running headlong into a battle knowing full well his limitations. He turned to face forward once he was satisfied he was not being followed. He tucked the handgun back and raced to his destination. It didn't take long for him to reach the road that would take him straight into the town of Kingsbury and it took even less time for trouble to reach him.
The hedgehog heard an ear-splitting wail come from behind him; a sound reminding him of baying wolves. He stopped and whirled around to see a large robot charging right at him with unbelievable velocity. He had never seen a machine like this before but had little time to think about that as its giant yellow eye was trained right on him and ready to mow him down. He dodge-rolled to his right just in time to let the creature barrel past him. However, it quickly recovered its pace and rotated to face him again, arms extending towards the hedgehog trying to land a blow. Shadow easily dodged its attacks, but it was relentless in its pursuit.
"Chaos Spear!" he shouted, letting loose a burst of energy into the robot's direction. It backed up but Shadow immediately regretted the action as he felt his energy levels flux dangerously. He couldn't afford to collapse now, so, he decided to skate off the main road and into the thick evergreens, hoping to lose the robot in the foliage. He weaved in-between trees and brush listening to the massive thing behind him cracking through trunks and uprooting growth in search of him. The idea had potential, but he soon found he was being hindered by the plants as well. Maybe he should go higher up and . . .
"Arg!" Shadow shouted as something sharp lashed out and struck him across the chest, sending him to the ground on his backside. He growled in pain and anger as he looked up to see another robot of the same model in front of him, its whip-like tail circling around for another blow. The ultimate life form leaped forward between the robot's legs just as the bot chasing him appeared out of the brush to receive the thrashing intended for him. Both machines clamored into each other, confusion in their actions as they tried to relocate their escaping quarry. Shadow gave the creatures one more glance as they righted themselves before he skated off in the direction of the city hoping a plan would come to him soon.
o
"Blaze! Now!" Knuckles shouted from his spot at the base of a tree he had just shoved over. The falling log was set afire by the pyrokinetic feline positioned only a few yards away from the guardian. The fiery tree trunk hissed through the air as it fell into one of the robot's currently trying to capture Sonic. The oak successfully pinned the robot down, causing the metal creature to screech in agitation as it struggled to lift itself back up. The blue hedgehog crawled away from the deranged monster and flames only to be swept up by the claws of another robot. He spun fiercely in its grip until the friction of his quills caused one of its joints to move out of place, allowing him to shoot through back to the ground. For the past thirty minutes, the group of heroes had been playing a deadly game of keep-away.
All the strange robotic mutts, as Sonic called them now, were frantically running around clawing and slashing at everything, but especially the blue speedster. It didn't matter what the group did or didn't do, the hedgehog couldn't catch a break from the attacks. Sonic had tried to evade them by running off but was followed or found quickly by the bots. He had tried working with his friends, only to find he was bringing the danger closer to them. Knuckles had even given him the Chaos Emerald, but it appeared the added power of the gem gave him little edge over the creatures. Worst of all, there were now four of them and he was riding on pure adrenaline fumes. He was sporting quite a few new bruises and scrapes as well and his weary limbs added to his fading reflexes. He just couldn't keep pumping much longer.
"I'm a hedgehog, not a lawn chair. Get off me!" he yelled up at the bot.
"Knuckles, let's take that one out," Blaze directed, pointing to the one holding Sonic down; something that appeared to be the prime directive. The echidna nodded as he ran towards it, the cat following closely behind. Sonic smiled as they rammed the creature off of him and into a nearby ditch. He quickly got to his feet, trying to be ready for the next onslaught, but a two on one skirmish by the remaining bots caught him off guard. One knocked the hedgehog into a nearby tree with its massive arm while the other rapidly pinned him down using its large hooked foot. Like the many times before, it lowered what would have been its head in his direction. Panic rose in the hedgehog, due mostly to the fact he had no clue what its intentions were, but this time he had the presence of mind to realize the bot wasn't pressing down on him all that hard.
If it had wanted to kill him, it could have easily done so by crushing him, but it didn't. Maybe there was more to this then he was seeing.
Creak.
He looked down on the robot to notice what appeared to be a hinged door opening up on the thing's chest, just under its large green orb of an eye; a door that looked alarmingly like a mouth. That's when he decided there was nothing to see here!
"Okay, robomutt, I don't need any puppy kisses today," he grunted as he squirmed out of its grip and ran underneath it. As the robot maneuvered to get him, the blue hedgehog decided to keep to the bot's underside. It wrangled around in circles trying to get to the hero, who was, in turn, trying not to get stepped on. The other robot came over and tried to flush Sonic out from under the other, but only managed to trip itself and its comrade. Sonic dashed out from beneath them as they hit the ground.
"Well, that was easy."
"Look out, Sonic!"
He looked over to see the robot in the ditch rising up with Blaze and Knuckles on its back. Simultaneously, he also noticed the two bots in front of him getting to their feet and heard the wail of the fourth now free from its fiery restraint.
"Aw, shoot," he said as they all looked to him. But, before anyone had time to act, something fast flew out of the woods and collided with the blue hedgehog. All that could be seen was a mass of cobalt blue and charcoal black skidding across the slushy ground before coming to rest only after smacking up against a nearby tree. Even the robots paused to gauge the new circumstances. There were now two sets of quills heaped in the snow, each slowly sitting up and shaking off the effects of the impact. Sonic looked over to see his darker double.
"Shadow?" he asked in mild disbelief. The ebony hedgehog looked to him in shock as well, though more out of the fact he had hit something by mistake than the hero himself. However, their meeting was cut short by the appearance of Shadow's pursuers. Sonic frowned.
"Great, you brought more party-crashers. Never can make a quiet entrance can you."
"This coming from a guy who screams 'Aw yeah, time to rock and roll' every time he comes on the scene," Shadow said disdainfully as he rose to his feet. Sonic did the same, albeit weakly. Shadow took notice. It appeared the hero was in the same weakened state as he; not exactly a stroke of luck.
"Hey, down there."
They both looked up to Knuckles and Blaze coming in to land next to them. Knuckles spoke up again.
"It looks like their confused again."
The two hedgehogs glanced around to see the robots were looking at them, but not making a move for the group.
"Their eyes are switching again too," Blaze informed, watching the green to red to yellow color patterns.
"Is there a reason they're doing that?" Shadow inquired as he gave the group a side glance, not wanting to turn his back on the creatures.
"No, but it's good of them to give us a little break like that," Sonic huffed in relief. He took a deep breath as he allowed the exhaustion to shutter through his body. Blaze frowned at this. She lifted her hands and caused a high wall of fire to surge up between them and the robots. The flames had curbed the bots advances before.
"They've been after Sonic mostly," she stated, looking to Shadow, who was staring back at her with a hidden expression of intrigue. He didn't know the feline had power over fire. He quickly turned away. Blaze, on the other hand, found it uncanny how similar the dark hedgehog appeared to Sonic now that she could have a closer look. However, the differences between them were quite noticeable too.
"Guys, this is a great opportunity to attack them. Shadow's here and they seem out of it," Knuckles insisted slamming his fists together. Everyone looked at the echidna incredulously.
"What? I don't see you guys coming up with anything."
"For one, Knuckles, 'let's go hit em' again' doesn't exactly qualify as coming up with something," Sonic deadpanned.
"Well, it's better than just standing around, letting you catch your breath, old man," the echidna barked back.
"Hey!" Blaze interjected, catching even Shadow's attention for a moment, "Fighting amongst ourselves isn't going to help. It is true Knuckles, none of our attacks are doing any damage, so, maybe it would be best to pull back and come up with a different strategy."
"Come on! If we move, those things are just going to attack us again, anyway," the guardian exasperated.
"So then maybe taking a breather isn't such a bad idea, knucklehead," Sonic retorted.
"Why you . . ." Knuckles growled, his temper getting the best of him.
"Guys . . ." Blaze tried to intervene, not privy to the long history of disagreements between the hedgehog and echidna.
"Shut up! All of you!" Shadow ordered.
"You can't tell me what to . . ." Knuckles began until Shadow turned a harsh eye on him.
"Look," the darker hedgehog directed as he pointed to the robots. Their orbs had all turned green at the same time and they were now stepping closer to them with no regard for the roaring flames. Sonic watched as his buddies got into an offensive stance in front of him. He could always count on the help of his friends in any situation, but he also knew he could count on these robots being ruthless. He already knew Knuckles and Blaze were tiring from the battle and judging by the fact Shadow ran full speed away from them served to inform him they were too much for the darker hedgehog as well. They needed to come up with a plan. There had to be a weak point; something they could exploit. He had to locate that vulnerable spot. The others stared in surprise as Sonic bolted past them towards the group of machines.
"Sonic! Wait!" Blaze shouted as she quickly wiped the flames clear of the hero's path as he took one of the robots head on. The mismatched group of heroes rushed after the blue hedgehog, trying to gauge what he was doing or what they needed to do to help. They watched in guarded hesitation as the robotic hounds gathered around Sonic, who was now zooming all around the surface of one of the bots. He looked like a supersonic flea, hopping around to avoid being hit by the many whips and metallic limbs reaching out at him. Shadow held back as Blaze and Knuckles ran ahead. The two guardians of their respective worlds were knocked out of the fray as the bots returned to trying to snag Sonic. The black hedgehog decided to take his speedy rival's approach. He ran into the conflict, coming up alongside Sonic as they traveled over the outside of the robot's body.
"What are we doing?" he asked.
"Looking for a weak spot," Sonic answered, eyes scanning every inch he ran over. Before more could be said, Shadow was swept off by a hooked foot, sending him hurtling to the ground. He flipped upright and skidded perfectly to a stop on his feet. Nevertheless, Sonic had taken notice that the robot he was running on had turned its proverbial head away from the other robot's attack on Shadow, closing what appeared to be a clear lid on the eye. It hit him. That giant eye had to be susceptible to attack when open. He ran to the front just as it removed the lid and gave the robot a real good belt across its electronic lens. The robot shrieked and reared up, slamming the nuisance away from it with its front legs. Sonic hit the ground hard.
"The eyes! We have to hit the eyes when they're open," he shouted as all the machines turned on him fiercely. They covered him completely, giving little access to intervention as they howled in enthusiasm. Knuckles and Blaze hurried back to the fallen hero and tried to make it through the huddle of metal and sharp edges, their shouts mixing in with the rest of the commotion.
"What the heck does he mean by the eyes? We've hit these things a hundred times," Knuckles yelled.
Click. Bang!
The sound of gunfire came on the scene, ringing through the cold air and echoing off the trees. One of the robots lurched back in mock pain as it pawed at its now, shattered eye. The echidna and cat fell silent as they looked over to Shadow who was still training the handgun on the hoard of robots.
"Stand back," he voiced coldly, aiming at another robot and firing again sending it into the same state as the other. He sent several shots into the pack until he had successfully displaced them all, revealing a battered and slightly confused Sonic. The darker hedgehog nodded for the pair to get the hero while he continued to fire round after round at the robots. The bullets were doing no damage to the robot's thick metal hide and even with the loss of their orbs they still tried to pursue the group. However, in their sightless state, the high-speed projectiles were distracting enough for the robots. Shadow followed up behind the others, firing the semi-automatic weapon and keeping the machines confused and at bay.
"Are we heading back to the workshop?" Blaze shouted over the sound of gunfire and ricocheting metal.
"We can't," Knuckles sputtered, "I don't think they'd be ready for all this."
"I think you'd be surprised," Sonic smiled as he heard the familiar roar of a jet's engine. Shadow relinquished his offensive position once the firepower of the X Tornado was made known through the spray of laser fire onto the robots. Further relief came in the sound of a helicopter's beating blades in the distance as the Blizzard's rope ladder came into view.
"Come quickly," Solana could be heard shouting from her intercom system above. Knuckles was the first to leap onto the ladder, climbing it mid-way to give more room for Sonic and Blaze to hold on. Shadow managed to grab the tail end even though it was swaying terribly. The four held on as the dhole pulled the aircraft up. The robotic wolves growled in frustration as they jumped up, blindly trying to reach the ascending heroes. The group climbed into the safety of the helicopter's cabin giving the circling robots beneath them another glance.
"Phew, right in the nick of time, Sol," Sonic breathed as he collapsed into one of the seats. Shadow sat down beside him silently.
"Yes, sorry for the delay. It took so long for us to get the hanger doors open after you left. They were frozen shut," the pilot said. Blaze peered out the window as she slid the door shut to see the robots were still following the chopper closely from the ground.
"They're not giving up. They're still following us," she voiced.
"Solana, this is Tails. Over," the radio crackled.
"This is, Sol. We have a situation here. It appears the machines are not going to be letting us land anywhere soon. Over."
There was a pause before the radio crackled to life again.
"I see what you mean. Knuckles is there with you. Ask him if the floating island is close by. Over."
"Yeah, it is. It's right off Lake Whisper," the echidna reported, hoping this was going in the direction he thought it was. He had gotten side-tracked from his original intent of checking on the Master Emerald, after all.
"Knuckles says it is near Lake Whisper. Over."
"Great! We can land on the island if that's okay with you Knuckles? Uh, over."
"It's fine by me. I wanted to head back home a long time ago," the guardian stated as he leaned up against the wall. While the fox, dhole and echidna chattered back and forth, Blaze took a seat across from the two hedgehogs. She looked to Sonic who had his eyes closed at the moment. She couldn't help but think about his emerald eyes; the first time she saw them. That was probably what attracted her first to the hero, his kind yet playful eyes. Suddenly, he opened them and caught her by surprise as he looked right at her. She was grateful for the poor lighting as a familiar heat colored her cheeks. He didn't seem upset that she was staring. He just smiled and winked.
"Thanks for helping out, especially since it was an unplanned trip for you and all," he grinned.
"Just returning the favor. You did the same for me, after all," she smiled back.
"Oh, yeah. I did," the blue hedgehog chuckled lightly, though there appeared to be something weighing on his mind as he seemed to look past her.
"Is everything okay?" she asked, concerned. He shook his head and looked at her directly again.
"Oh, uh-huh. Sorry, but I need to talk to Solana real quick," he replied, standing up and limping towards the cockpit. The feline could hear him ask about Amy and Kimi; his family. She felt awful about her misplaced affections and knew she had to draw the line within herself. Sonic was married now and even though she had discovered this long unnoticed crush on him, there was something innately unattractive about a taken man.
Click.
Blaze flicked an ear in the direction of the noise. There was another series of mechanical sounds and she turned her line of sight towards Shadow, who was busy unloading the weapon he had used earlier. In her dimension, the only apparatus like that was used by Eggman Nega. As she quirked an eyebrow at the dark hedgehog, Knuckles snorted.
"Could you not mess with that thing in here, Shadow," he stated with agitation. Sonic glanced back and only rolled his eyes heavenward before shaking his head.
"I'm sure he knows what he's doing, knucklehead. Besides, he's not listening to you, anyway," Sonic replied quietly, before turning back to Solana.
It was true; Shadow didn't appear to hear them or, perhaps, was choosing to ignore them. Honestly, though, he really wasn't focused on anything except the haunting echoes of the empty firearm he was holding. The sound kept playing and replaying in his mind's ear as he stared hard at it. Everything around him faded into unimportance. Such a uniquely human invention as no other type of people had found a use for such a device. Even the few groups that had exploited the weapons only got their hands on them through human involvement. The tool itself could be used for protection or assault, for aid or destruction, for good or evil. But one thing could be said indefinitely about it, its main purpose in design and deed was to send out a bullet at high speed to whatever target the bearer so chose.
Bang.
A practice disc at the G.U.N. shooting range.
Pop.
An aluminum can on the fence.
Pew.
The frames of Eggman's robots.
These were things he'd seen guns do, decent things. Still, he had no desire to use one. He placed this on the fact he never needed to. He could use chaos energy which was much more effective in his opinion. However, as the sound of shots rang out in his head, the real reason for avoiding the weapon snapped into focus. His mind couldn't stop with the firearm's respectable uses; it wouldn't. He remembered running down the corridors with her.
Twang.
Off the wall but meant for him. Memories of her closing off sections of their space colony home.
Smash.
The glass doors as they tried to escape. She was trying to save him.
Rat-a-tat-tat.
Ripping the air. And she succeeded but at such cost.
Shadow!
Right through her back. Shadow . . . her last breath.
He dropped the gun, vaguely conscious of the clattering it made on the floor, but clearly aware of things that took place decades ago; things he thought he had forgotten. Maria was shot and killed. A quick blast, a cry of pain followed by the whisper of his name, Shadow. How could he have used that thing? Shadow, you have to forgive . . . How he wished he could take it back now. Shadow, please listen. Why couldn't he save her? Shadow . . . it's okay. Why didn't he just leave the gun with Alyson? Shadow? Why did Maria have to die?
"Shadow!"
Startled, the hedgehog looked up in alarm, briefly stuck between his memories of the past and visions of the present. He came face to face with Rouge who was giving him an equally upset expression.
"Rouge? How . . . ?" Shadow finally spoke as he looked at his surroundings. What happened to Sonic and the others? The helicopter was silent and it appeared they landed. He was both shocked and troubled by the fact he had become so disconnected from his surroundings.
"I've been trying to get your attention for the past two minutes, handsome. The others told me you were still in here."
"I don't remember landing," he stated, bowing his head away from her, breaking eye contact. Rouge shook her head and smiled.
"Sonic was right. You really are out of it."
"I'm fine," Shadow claimed as he stood to his feet.
"Uh-huh, that's why you were sitting in a stationary helicopter, staring into nothing for the better part of thirty minutes," Rouge replied dryly.
"Let's go," he sneered in response as he tried making his way to the doors. That's when his foot inadvertently kicked the handgun he'd dropped across the floor. He froze, but Rouge looked down at the object and bent down to pick it up.
"Ah, I see," she observed quietly, bringing the gun up into view, "Forgetting something?"
Shadow again didn't give her direct eye contact, but took the weapon from her hands and exited the aircraft. She knew her ex-partner was never very fond of firearms and wondered why he had one in the first place. She was also very aware Shadow was not the easiest guy to understand and that he only explained what he wanted to explain. So, she decided to let it go and follow him outside. She was rewarded with an answer much quicker than she expected.
"It doesn't belong to me. Aly- . . . a friend insisted I take it with me. It belongs to them," he stated frankly as the two started walking.
"So you got it from your human friend, Alyson, then," Rouge divulged, knowing she would get a rise from the hedgehog and she was right. He turned to her in shock.
"How did you know . . . ?"
"Come on, Shadow. I'm the top intelligence spy in the agency. I wasn't going to let you fall off the radar that easily," she smirked. He glared at her, knowing he should be mad at the invasion of his privacy, but he felt something quite different. With his hazy grasp on emotions due to his short time experiencing them, the ultimate life form had trouble placing this one. He felt cared for by the female standing beside him and reciprocated those feelings. Whether he had realized it or not, this strange sentiment grown for Rouge over the years had been love and he didn't have a clue how to deal with it. He just wanted to leave . . . now.
"Well, it was Alyson's and I need to get it back to her," he stated firmly. Rouge sighed as she took that as a sign he was going to leave. She anticipated him to disappear in a burst of energy, but it didn't happen. Instead, he stopped walking and faced her.
"What?" she asked.
"I was wondering if you could give me a ride back down to the mainland," he asked plainly. The bat gave him an incredulous look.
"I was actually planning on staying here with the others. You used Chaos Control last time."
"I lost the Chaos Emerald I had while helping the rabbit family. I think I can . . . would you at least give me a ride back to Emerald Cove later?" he stressed. Rouge closed her eyes and shook her head in the negative.
"Shadow, why don't you stay?"
"Rouge, I can't . . ."
"Look, we both know you lost your inhibitor rings and that's why you keep avoiding us. Don't give me that dirty look, Shadow. When are you going to realize it doesn't matter how much power you have, you're still needed around here," Rouge said, finally giving way to years of frustration, "For once, can you just stay and help all the way through? I want you to stay."
Shadow looked on in slight shock, awed by what she said. He appreciated the fact she found him still useful and that she wanted him there . . . but he wouldn't put them in danger because of his inability; not again. He knew he couldn't be counted on in battle; reminded of this by his failure to rescue Cream and his reliance on a second-rate human invention. So, in turn, he was upset with her. She may have been justified in her request, but that didn't mean he had to honor it. His expression darkened.
"I appreciate your honesty but if you'll excuse me, I have to find a way off this island," he stated coldly. The sooner he left, the better off they'd be. Unfortunately, for him, the white bat saw things differently and had every intention of making the black hedgehog stay.
"Look, Shadow. I'm not exactly a Sonic team groupie either, but times have changed, we've changed. What can I say? They've grown on me and I know you like them too, even if you won't admit it. You can't just run off every time it gets . . . complicated. Hey, I said stop with the looks. You know it's true. Why I bet you even think of us now and again when you're out there all by your lonesome. If nothing else, just come and hear a few of Tails' explanations, for old time's sake. If you hate it that much, I'll take you to Emerald Cove personally. How about that? Deal?" Rouge said, her voice growing gentler with each sentence. Shadow turned away from her, signaling he was weighing her words considerably. There were worse fates than having to spend a few hours with Sonic and company. At least he would know their game plan and having Rouge there was a bonus too.
"Deal. I need to share some things with Tails anyway," he said quietly and even though he didn't see it, he could sense the big smile on her face.
"Good. I think they're this way, let's go, honey," she said with a smile, quickly snatching his arm before he changed his mind and leading him down the path towards the others.
Author's Note: Okay the pattern now is I will try to update once a month, but there are no guarantees as I am a slow writer. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter because there is more to come.
