Chapter Revised [x]

Rachel's POV:

"Rachel? Rachel, it's time to get up," my mom said gently, nudging my arm. I groaned under the bed sheets, pulling them over my head. She laughed and poked me again. "Oh come on, don't be that way hun, you need to get dressed so we can go visit Grandpa. Remember, we're spending the weekend with him," she said.

I yanked the sheets back, peeking out with one eye open. She had pulled back the the curtains to let the sun in. Gee, thanks Mom.

"Why now?" I whined. "It's only like 8:00. I wanted to sleep in."

"I know, but you're forgetting it takes five hours to get to Westopolis. We're aiming to get there by 2:00. So you have an hour to get ready. Hurry up, chop chop. Time's a-wastin'."

She patted my back to urge me along, before leaving my room and shutting the door behind her. I sat up and scoffed tiredly to myself, trying hard to set my energy in. But at that point, I didn't think jumping into a tank of ice water could make me anymore awake. I crawled out of bed like a slug, stumbling as I got to my closet. I stepped in and ripped my pajamas off, grabbing a plain gray T-shirt off a hanger, along with a pair of dark Capri pants which were cut above the knees. I then slipped on some ankle socks and black tennis shoes.

Alright, time to survey the damage.

I usually wasn't very attractive in the morning. I tended to roll around when I slept, and was known for getting hideous bedhead, much to the delight of my teasing family. I left my room and entered the bathroom next door, locking the door behind me. One look at the mirror, and I was already frowning in disgust.

After brushing my teeth and hair, I pushed my bangs to the side, running my fingers through them to even them out. I then applied some nude chap stick to sooth my dry lips, and smoothed out my tussled eyebrows. I never wore eye-makeup unless I was going somewhere where it was necessary. My eyes were already big enough, so that step was skipped. Not even mascara was needed. Some days my eyelashes curled, other days they drooped like dead insect legs. Today was one of those days where they flipped up and framed my eyes. I couldn't help but smile pleasantly.

My hair was naturally pencil straight, which I hated because I favored curls. It was a gene I'd inherited from my father. My skin was pasty in color, yet my cheeks had a blotchy pink to them. So when I actually blushed, they looked ten times worse.

Overall, I had a very embarrassingly small figure. Let's just say that if I got in a fight with someone, I would probably get killed.

An hour passed, and soon everyone was ready to go. The twins were still rubbing crust out of their eyes when we piled into a taxi with our overnight bags and left for the subway.

On the subway train, I sat quietly on a bench, Emma and Travis placed themselves on either side of me. Travis leaned against my arm tiredly. I looked down after feeling his cold nose touch me, and saw he was falling asleep. With my other arm, I got my mp3 player out of my pocket and slipped the headphones into each of my ears. Once a song started, Emma fell on my other arm with an exhausted coo. I sighed to myself, not having the heart to push them off. I decided to let them snooze while listening to some of my favorite songs.

Two hours dragged by. The subway train stopped somewhere in the Mystic Ruins, an area abundant in green nature, that resided outside the city. We got off to take a bathroom break before transferring to another train. Travis remained asleep while my dad carried him, and Emma headed to the lady's room with Mom. While we waited, I scanned at the people going about around us.

I'd noticed that for some reason, people in Station Square seemed to be more energetic and happy, compared to everyone else that lived in the surrounding areas. They always chattered and smiled, and even shared jokes from one stranger to another. But that was the thing. No one was a stranger at home. We were like a big clan.

Besides the tourists, residents of Mystic Ruins contrasted completely. They appeared drained and kind of gloomy in the face. Girls my age looked aged beyond comparison. I guessed it was because we had Sonic and his friends living in Station Square. They always managed to keep things interesting. Not to mention if there was ever danger that the police couldn't take care of, Sonic would be there to save the day. It gave people peace in mind, whereas here, that sort of help was hard to come by.

Once we were all together again, we climbed aboard another subway train. This one was headed straight for Westopolis. The train wasn't crowded like it usually was, so I got the luxury of having three seats to myself. I lay across them, crossing my legs over one another and rotated my head toward the low window, watching at all the blurred scenery fly by. I turned my mp3 player back on and relaxed, waiting for the three hour trip to end.

My eyes started to close, and I found myself thinking about my Grandpa. It had only been a few months since we last saw him. But to him, that was a long time.

Even to this day, I've wondered what it was like for him. To know what he's been through, through his own eyes. He'd lost everything he held dearest to G.U.N. soldiers. And then he became their commander?

Ah, I knew better than to question it. G.U.N. was just doing their job that day! And I actually wish they had done it better, minus all the innocent lives taken. That way they would've killed Shadow the Hedgehog, and some people would still be alive now. The soldiers who were killed by Shadow could be at home with their families right now. They were all husbands and fathers, brothers and uncles. To think that was destroyed because of one evil.

To think that he still exists somewhere in the universe.

…Monster.

Shadow's POV:

"You might want to fasten your seatbelt Shadow, because we're about to enter the Milky Way," Dr. Eggman said from his chair. He clicked his own seatbelt together, then continued steering the Egg Carrier through space via keyboards and various buttons. I had been near the back, looking out the window lost in my own thoughts. I obeyed and took a smaller, lower-set seat on his left, crossing the seatbelts over my body and locking them in place. I then adjusted them to make sure they were secure.

"How much longer will it be until we reach Earth, Doctor?"

His face was straight. "I would say approximately 17 more hours. We'll be landing somewhere in the Mystic Ruins, and after everything's settled, you can Chaos Control to Westopolis and hunt down the commander. Remember, his full name is Abraham Tower."

I raised an eyebrow. "What should I do if someone sees me ahead of time?"

He chuckled. "My, that's new for you. Thinking something like humans can stop you from getting what you're after. However, in answer to your question, I'll leave that entirely up to you. You can ignore them, or kill them. It won't make a bit of a difference to me. Perhaps you can treat them just like you treat my robots. If they're in your way, slay them down...(and leave their creator wondering why he spends so much time building them just to have them destroyed by an ignorant hedgehog...)"

I looked away from him and out towards the incoming swirls of the Milky Way. Even though it was relatively easy for me to kill humans, I didn't enjoy doing it anymore. It was only satisfying if they really deserved it. Either way, I had never met a human that could fight me off in my 60+ years of life. I may have had the appearance of a young hedgehog, but I could vaporize even the strongest man with a simple wave of Chaos Blast. It was undeniably satisfying to have that kind of power.

"Say Shadow, we haven't seen each other in quite some time."

My attention turned back to Dr. Eggman. "Indeed, it's been 16 years."

He cleared his throat. "Right. Well, I was wondering what have you accomplished in the past decade and a half? Anything to report?"

I looked at him. "No. Nothing."

His eyebrows bounced. "Oh? You haven't even found yourself a girlfriend?"

My eyes formed a glare. "What?"

He just laughed a bit to himself. "Well I figured that you would've eventually settled down and maybe found a girl to be with. It's not uncommon for young hedgehogs, you know."

I frowned even harder. "I've spent the last 16 years exploring galaxies, but not for leisure or vacation. It was all strictly business. I wanted to see if there was any place suitable for me to..." I cut myself off, realizing I almost revealed my plan and quickly shoved the subject away. "No. No, I'm not with anyone, and I plan to keep it that way."

Dr. Eggman sighed. "But Shadow, it doesn't take a genius like myself to see that you need a companion. Don't you enjoy the feeling of loving someone, and having them love you in return? Don't you remember how you felt about having Maria? I understand that Maria was more like a sister figure. But just imagine something similar, and with romance involved. A best friend and lover that will always trust you and never let you down. Someone to cheer you up when you're angry or sad, and be there to support you in everything you do. That doesn't appeal to you at all?"

"No, it doesn't. I don't need support. And I'm not opening up to another person the same way I did with Maria, just so I can lose them like I lost her. Besides, love is an idiotic thing. I would much rather prefer to be on my own."

He didn't respond for a second. "Sorry, didn't mean to evoke any anger in you. I had no idea it was such a touchy subject," he said with a snicker.

I bared my teeth in annoyance.

But that was my sheer belief. Love was stupid. I would never love someone like that. Ever. It was just another impossible, make-believe emotion.