Cf96: You would be correct, my friend. :)
SonicSonic54321: Hey, no worries! Glad you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reading!
Chapter 12: Shouting at the Morning Sun
~Last Will and Testament~
Glyphic Canyon-
When I woke up again, I was on some very hard ground, but it didn't feel like a normal road. Moreover, it was bright when I opened my eyes, forcing me to squint almost immediately, and I quickly discovered that it was finally morning again…
Meaning that today was the Day of Reckoning…and Black Doom's plan would be put into action in several mere hours.
"Urgh…" I managed to push myself up, grabbing my head to try and soothe it from the aching headache that was ravaging my skull. "Wha…where am I?"
I walked forward a few steps, taking in more of my surroundings as I went. I was on an old bridge of sorts, leading into a gate lit by torches. By the looks of the rest of the place, it was some sort of ruin.
"Whoa…I guess I underestimated his powers…" I grunted under my breath. "There's definitely something going on out there, especially after seeing all those troops preparing for something on the Black Comet. Now, it's up to me to find out what they're up to!"
Before the Day of Reckoning could commence.
However, another scan of my surroundings revealed that I had seen something like this place before, so I searched my broken memory for an answer…
"Wait…could this be...?" I wondered, remembering the data I had gathered back in the Digital Circuit. "The resting place of that damn fourth Chaos Emerald…Glyphic Canyon?"
I had to go deeper to know for sure.
. . .
I had started speeding through the ruins to get out of there as fast as possible, but this was a mistake, as the sheer force of my speed was enough to knock over several unstable pillars along the path. All I knew about this place was through the limited information on it in the GUN Database, but aside from that, there was very little that was useful.
Sometimes you just had to do things yourself.
Tearing down the paths and leaping over pitfalls, it wasn't long until I came across the first living creature I'd seen in the place…
…and once again, it was Knuckles.
"Hey, Shadow," he called to me, leaning against one of the weak walls of the ruins. "I guess we had another Chaos Control incident, huh?"
"Knuckles," I hummed, walking over to him. "That incident wasn't my fault this time- it was Black Doom! He has some way to hijack my Chaos abilities…and it's why I'm even here now, wherever this place is…"
"We're in Glyphic Canyon," Knuckles explained without missing a beat, confirming my suspicions. "And if what you say is true, then I must've ended up here because Black Doom was planning to take you here to begin with, but didn't want us together."
"Well, he failed in that case. And if that IS the case-" I folded my arms and pondered to the sky. "-then I'd like to know just what Black Doom has planned for these ruins."
"I don't even know too much about this place aside from the name," Knuckles explained as we started to walk. "But there's a bunch of black floating creatures around here. Time to clean house and do a little exterminating!"
"Of course," I nodded absent mindedly, but I was more focused on the location on the Chaos Emerald…could it really have been lying in wait here for the past three months?
Knuckles sure was gung ho about fighting already, after nearly exhausting ourselves on the Black Comet. Granted, the Black Arms were fewer in number, therefore giving him more of a fighting chance. I wouldn't have minded helping him out, but I had to hurry to find the rest of the Emeralds before it was too late.
I killed off an alien or two in order to contribute to Knuckles' cause, then while he was preoccupied, I hurried off, with very little time to waste.
. . .
Transcending down the path, I found that there was quite an infestation of aliens crawling around, but using my stealth, I managed to evade my way around them. It didn't appear to matter anyway, as it looked like they were too busy to be bloodthirsty at the moment.
"Huh, it's like they're looking for something…" I realized, eyeing one sifting through a pile of weathered bricks. "…and whatever they're looking for, Black Doom must be too…"
It was then that the alien I'd been watching was suddenly knocked out, Knuckles leaping by and going crazy on all the surrounding ones.
"Hmph, certainly no lack of precision now…" I mused quietly, but it was inevitable that he'd see me.
"There you are Shadow! Were you planning an ambush on these guys? Sorry I took your thunder, then…"
"Uh…don't worry about it," I offered cautiously. I started to walk on, but I found that the path ahead had been easily torn to shreds by a dusty tornado. Knuckles looked just as perplexed as I did, until he started walking toward it. "Hey! Where are you going?!"
"This is the only way forward, no?" Knuckles asked, still headed for it. I just gaped at him.
"You are not about to jump into that tornado?!"
Knuckles shrugged. "Of course not. I was going to glide on it!"
"Knuckles, that tornado was strong enough to destroy a stone bridge and it could probably carry a car. I really doubt you could survive wind surfing through it."
"Shadow, we've ridden across ravines using flowers and outran rabid crocodiles by swinging on vines. I don't think jumping into a tornado is much of a stretch."
He certainly had a point.
Sighing, I grabbed Knuckles' wrist just before he plunged into the whipping winds, whisking us violently into the air. I thought for sure that the wind was going to pull us apart, but the wind eventually caught under Knuckles' dreads, enabling him to glide easily to the next area, with me in tow.
Even if I never found out who I was, I would probably never get used to this life I lead.
. . .
We landed rather abruptly, but I had to hand it to Knuckles, he had gotten us across safely.
Except for the fact that Doom's Eye was waiting for us on the other side.
"Are you awake, Shadow?" he asked with a sickeningly sweet taunting tone, and Knuckles and I glared in his direction.
"No thanks to you," I spat again, but Doom's Eye still had a haughty air about him.
"Shadow…I need you to find the jewel that is the key to awakening our temple…and release its power! Failure is not an option!"
"Your temple?!" Knuckles interrupted, pushing me out of the way to get a piece of Doom's Eye. "How is this possibly your temple?"
"This temple…is over two thousand years old…" Doom explained, hardly flinching from Knuckles' rash demanding. "Every fifty years, the Black Comet returns…and my people take refuge here during our passing…"
"What importance does this place have?" I demanded to know.
"I'm glad you asked, Shadow…this place is alive! Its energy is channeled through five jewels that reside within the temple, and but a mere touch is all that's needed to reawaken the power. The immense power of our holy ground will be reborn! Our temple is not what it appears. Soon, the time will come when it will release the power within you…"
"That's nice, but I've got other things on my agenda…" I huffed, grabbing Knuckles and dragging him away.
"Whether you help us or not, my troops will see to it that this temple is awakened!" Doom threatened. "Once we seize its power…there will be no more hope for humanity! Not that there was any to begin with…"
While I wanted to know just what would happen if the ruins were awakened, I decided that getting the Chaos Emerald before it happened was more important, along with getting Knuckles back where he belonged.
Because getting mixed up in my troubles was the last place anyone needed to be…
. . .
"Huh…well…at least we know why Black Doom brought you here," Knuckles pointed out, a ways into our little traversing through the canyon. My eyes were still peeled for the Chaos Emerald, especially since the Black Arms were in a searching mood, while Knuckles was taking his sweet time pummeling every alien we came across. It wasn't until his communicator went off did anything deter us.
"Hello, this is Knuckles," he spoke at the watch on his wrist, with angry faces being displayed on the little screen.
"Knuckles, where ARE you?" I heard Amy cry, and she wasn't the slightest bit thrilled.
"That looks nothing like the Black Comet!" Rouge's voice came after, and I blanched.
"Guys, the Black Comet is a lot more advanced than we originally thought, and it's going to take something huge to destroy it," Knuckles explained. "Eggman was romping around there too, but it's taken care of now…"
"So where are you, Mister Knuckles?" Cream asked. "You've been gone all night…"
"I'm in Glyphic Canyon and I'm on my way back to HQ right now for a rendezvous. Things are getting…pretty weird. Are Sonic and Tails there?"
"No," Rouge replied. "Sonic left a while ago, and...we haven't seen Tails since he teleported you to the comet, but he called to tell us he's fine, although he seemed shaken up from that Black Arms attack on the Air Fleet. That's all I can say about Tails..."
"…and the Chaotix?" Knuckles asked, cringing a bit.
"Still off gold digging for information, but they're not going to find anything relevant," Amy sneered. "They even sent Charmy to Prison Island! I feel bad for the kid, savaging through all that rubbish and ruin…"
"I heard that the radiation from the explosion caused the entire island to become completely uninhabitable," Cream added. "I hope Charmy's okay there…"
Knuckles snuck a quick glance at me, but I had already froze up upon hearing about Prison Island. Rouge had mentioned it to me before, but the way the others were talking about it…something else had gone on there aside from my imprisonment...
"…argh, where's that damn fourth Chaos Emerald?!" I howled, sprinting off in my search for answers. "I can't just linger here!"
Knuckles grimaced in my direction as I stormed off, with Rouge's voice shrieking in the background.
"Knuckles, that wasn't Shadow, was it?! What's he doing there?!"
"Did he say something about a Chaos Emerald?" asked Cream.
"Knuckles, if there's a Chaos Emerald there, you can't let him get it!" Amy exclaimed. "He'll just hand it over to the Black Arms!"
"How are you even around him?!" demanded Rouge. "He injured you, Knuckie! He could've killed you!"
"He said he was sorry," Knuckles deadpanned, and the shrieking of the girls came to an end. "He's also helped me out on the Black Comet, and he's helping me right now…"
"But Knuckie…"
"I forgave him, Rouge," Knuckles stated, shaking his head. "And in the end, he asks that you all be able to forgive him too."
Rouge whimpered on the other end, clutching the ring in her pocket. "Shadow…"
"…you still can't let him get the Chaos Emerald, Knuckles," Amy finally spoke up.
"Why not?"
"Because Sonic said so."
"Just before he left," Cream added. "We're all supposed to do what we can to keep the Emeralds safe…"
"…and we can't be sure they're safe with Shadow," Rouge finished, turning away sadly.
. . .
The long winding road of the ruins was hazardous to my health, especially with all the dust the multiple tornadoes were blowing around. I could get by them even without Knuckles' help, but the fall from several feet above was much less pleasant. I was faced with another one as I was walking off the pain from the last fall, just in time for Doom's voice to echo in my mind.
"The humans make a point to stay away from these tornadoes…what will you do, Shadow?"
I stared at the dusty cyclone before me, a reflection of the whirlwind of thoughts inside my head. Bits and pieces of clarity whirled around in there, like large chunks of debris, but as a whole, it was just one big blur, spinning around with seemingly no end.
And sometimes, you had to jump into the unknown.
I threw my hands up and jumped into the twister, being tossed about like clothes in a dryer. The tornado rejected me soon enough, discarding me high into the air without a second thought.
It was at the peak of the toss that something glittery caught my eye, and there was no mistaking the gleam.
Chaos Emerald.
Activating my jet shoes, I managed to stay in midair long enough to propel myself toward the area where I'd seen the gleam. Naturally, the Black Arms were patrolling the area, and if they had looked a little higher, they would've seen the Chaos Emerald at the top of a pedestal.
"Convenient placing, but not for much longer."
I flung myself into open ground, instantly catching the attention of the Black Arm soldiers and their little pets that were inching along the ground like insects. A few successive homing attacks did in the soldiers, but I needed something more "rapid fire" to dispose of the swarm of pests.
"I've got your back, Shadow!"
I whirled around just in time to see Knuckles fumbling klutzily with a machine gun. Beyond flabbergasted, I took cover behind a pillar and watched as Knuckles managed to dispatch the horde of alien critters. Eventually his gun ran out of ammo, so he tossed it away and started punching them out himself. I walked back out and simply balked at Knuckles.
"…since when do you have a machine gun?!"
"I found it on the steps over there," Knuckles explained as if it was obvious, gesturing with him palm. "I know I'm not good at it, but Tails has been giving me a few weapons pointers, not that I need them. But he did explain that the skill would be helpful in midair…I just got in a little target practice, is all!"
"…Sonic hates guns," I deadpanned. "How come Tails knows how to use them?"
"Kid's got a pretty deep past," Knuckles explained, rubbing the back of his head. "Let's just say if it comes down to it, he can sure tinker with a weapon."
I hope he wasn't implying that Tails was a gangster in the past- he's only eight as it is!
"Anyway…" I continued, my gaze turning to the pedestal. "The majority of the Black Arms are gone now thanks to you; and I've got what I need within my sights…"
I glanced at Knuckles, who just stood there aloofly.
"Well?"
"Well, what?" Knuckles asked back.
"You're on Sonic's side- aren't you supposed to be stopping me from taking the Chaos Emerald?"
Knuckles sucked in his cheeks and shook his head.
"I…trust you, Shadow. I can sense it. You're really not collecting the Chaos Emeralds for malicious purposes, and that's all I can really ask for. I'll see what I can do about making the others see things my way, but you better keep your word and get your memories back, all right?"
"Of course."
"Otherwise I'll have to pummel you for abusing my trust, m'kay!?"
"I get the point, Knuckles," I responded dryly, beginning to ascend. "Just…can I ask a final question before we part?"
"Fire away."
"…what can you tell me about Prison Island? I know from Rouge that Professor Gerald and I were locked up in there for a time, but…"
"Never been there," Knuckles finished quickly, shaking his head. "I'm the only one of the group that wasn't there when…it…happened…"
"'It'? What do you mean by that?"
"Um…" Knuckles poked his fingers together nervously. "I probably said too much, although I really don't know too much about it cuz I wasn't there... But if you're really that curious, check it out yourself. After all, apparently Charmy's there."
"…all right," I mused, finishing my climb. "It will be a detour from my search for the Emeralds, but if it has anything to do with my past, it's worth a look."
I grabbed the white Chaos Emerald off its pedestal and wrapped it tightly in my hand, remembering how I'd held it before at Rail Canyon…and recalling all the other things it had done for me.
"I'm going to Prison Island…" I announced aloud, holding the white emerald above my head. "…and when I get there, this emerald will answer all my questions."
I glanced down again and gave Knuckles a nod of respect, before using Chaos Control to whisk myself to my next destination. Knuckles smiled a bit at where I once stood, uttering "Good luck, Shadow…" under his breath before his communicator went off. Rolling his eyes, he answered it, and already knew who was on the other side.
"Do you have the Chaos Emerald?!" Rouge exasperated. Knuckles grinned sheepishly and gulped.
"Ahahaha…no. Shadow has four emeralds now."
"WHAT."
"But wait, there's more! He, um…he also just went to Prison Island."
"WHAT!?" This time, both Rouge and Amy chimed in.
"If he goes there…" Rouge trailed, looking mortified by recalling her own bad experience there. "…and he finds out what went down…what if it sets off his negative Chaos Energy and pushes him to the side of evil again?"
"As of right now, he seems a bit neutral on everything. He's against Black Doom for sure, but he also still doesn't completely trust us. We have a chance to pull him back on our side!"
"…don't you think we should also give him a chance to make his own decisions?" Cream asked quietly.
"We did. Look what happened," Amy deadpanned. "We have to be careful with how we affect him…"
"Look on the Brightside," Knuckles pointed out. "As long as he's on Prison Island, we can search for the Chaos Emeralds elsewhere!"
"There's only three left," Rouge pointed out. "We don't know where they are, and Shadow does."
"But Tails has one," Cream reminded her.
"Yes, but we don't know where that fox boy went. Therefore, that's THREE Emeralds that we don't know the location of. The mere fact that no one knows what happened to Tails is what puts us at a slight advantage."
"Then let's get looking already!" cried Amy, pulling out her hammer. "The faster we get just one of the remaining emeralds, the faster we get even more of an edge on Shadow! Come on, Cream!"
"Right behind you, Amy!" Cream called, and the duo apparently left the room.
"I'd better go with the gals," Rouge sighed, shaking her head. "I'm not worried in the least about Pinkie, but Cream's a different story."
"Okay. I guess I'll poke around a little more elsewhere, then," Knuckles hummed. "But, that's the way of a top notch treasure hunter such as myself."
"Ha," Rouge smirked. "Your skills are rusty! You couldn't even keep the fourth Emerald from Shadow!"
"So? You couldn't steal the ones he had at the GUN Fortress."
"At least I'm still in tip top treasure thieving shape!"
"You just put your money where your mouth is and find us a Chaos Emerald."
"Challenge accepted, darling!" Rouge giggled with a wink, but this quickly melted into a frown. "I just…hope Shadow knows what he's getting into, because none of us sure knew when we went to, you know…"
Knuckles frowned with sympathy, because although he hadn't been there for the Prison Island crisis, he knew it had been hard for everyone involved.
Especially me.
Next time...we delve into more of Shadow's past relating to Prison Island (i.e. tons of SA2 flashbacks) , but while more memories surface, could new questions rise for the hedgehog, ones that no one knows the answers to?