Chapter Revised [x]

(Travis' POV)

We were toast. Absolute toast. Emma and I looked at each other, drowning in our shared uncertainty, before looking back at our Dad. He was tapping his foot impatiently, and Mom was starting to freak out and breathe ten times heavier than usual. Then there was Grandpa was standing beside our Dad. He looked down at us in disappointment, his expression overflowing with anger. We were cornered.

"Both of you! I want you to tell us where Rachel went this instant!" Dad ordered.

Emma turned to face me. "Travis, let's just tell them. I don't want to lie anymore."

I shook my head. "No! We can't! It's not lying, we promised we wouldn't tell them! She won't ever trust us again if we do. And what's the point of getting her in trouble if she only meant to help us?"

"But what if she's in trouble now? Don't you think she should be back already?"

"She'll get so mad at us. You know how Rachel is with getting revenge and after this she might-"

"ENOUGH!" Grandpa yelled. Thunder clashed loudly outside.

We knew better than to break from his eyes and look up towards the ceiling, but me and Emma were both just now noticing that a storm had started outside.

Perfect. Of all times for there to be a storm, it had to be now.

"Where did she go off to?" Grandpa demanded. His voice level made my headache worsen, and I couldn't help but wince, at both the pounding of the ache and his fury. I had seen him mad before, but when it involved family being in danger, his rage always stepped up to a whole new level. Why he was so protective of family, I had no idea.

Emma bravely took a step closer to them. I could see that she was getting ready to tell them everything, but by now I'd lost the energy to argue against it.

"Okay. Here's what happened, Grandpa," she said timidly. "We had bad headaches and woke Rachel up so she could find us some medicine. She didn't want us to take your medicine since there was only one pill left, so she went to the gas station to get more. We didn't think she would get lost, so I don't know what's taking her so long."

Grandpa's left eye twitched. "What…Are you kidding me! You've got to be mad! The city at night is no place for a girl her age! She could get kidnapped, or worse! Don't you have any idea how many sick freaks there are in Westopolis!"

I looked away. "Well, yeah. But for her to get kidnapped or something isn't very likely."

Grandpa's nostrils flared. He treaded past us and grabbed his coat off the coat hanger nearby, throwing it on over his pajamas and buttoning it crooked in his hurry. "Let's hope you're right. I'm going out to look for her. You guys stay here in case she comes back."

Dad stood up. "I'll go with you, Dad. I want to help. Oh, and you two! You are in a world of trouble!" he said, pointing at me and Emma. They opened the door to leave, and I could see past their bodies that it was starting to rain outside.

Mom threw her face into her hands and wept. "Oh Christ, my poor Rachel! God be with her! Send an angel down to protect her from any sort of danger! Please!" she cried out between sobs.

As we watched Dad and Grandpa leave and mother toss herself down onto the couch to bawl some more, I couldn't help but scoff. Everyone was being so over-dramatic.

(Rachel's POV)

"Mmmmmph!"

My screams were muffled by the cloth. I was flailing with everything I had, screaming into the material blocking my mouth until my voice was raspy. But nothing I did was able to save me, or even buy me some time. We were already far inside the alley.

I was pushed against the wall by the men as they crowded around me with disgusting eagerness. Rain had begun sprinkling around us when they dragged us here, but now it was a heavy downpour, just to add to the horror. I could hardly see them anymore through the water droplets clouding my eyes.

"So who goes first?" the driver from before asked them. It was too dark and wet to see them clearly anymore, but I could make out their blobbish silhouettes. The one that had been in the passenger seat flicked his tongue against the corner of his lip. "Me, I'll do it," he said.

I found myself giving up on resisting, and just turned away from him, whimpering angrily. The others all took a few steps back and watched as he aggressively tore my jacket off. After it slipped down to my ankles, he pinned both my arms above my head with one hand, and used his free hand to tear at my shirt. I felt my pulse pounding in my head.

No way...I'm not going down without a fight!

With one leg I kneed him as hard as I could in the groin. He swore loudly and released me only to clutch his pants. I fell to the ground and toppled onto my side, landing with a splash into a newly formed puddle. I picked myself up with shaking arms then used one hand to yank the cloth off of my mouth. But before I could scream, I caught him glaring at me murderously.

"You little bitch!"

The rest of them must have had some sort of pedophile inner code, because instead of acting right then and there, they all got closer instead, blocking me off from any possible means of escpae. One of them tossed the passenger guy a knife. He snagged it after making a quick recovery. "It's time you were taught a lesson," he said. He reared the knife back, ready to plunge it into me.

I didn't know where he was aiming, what tissue or organ was about to be affected, because I squeezed my eyes shut, too scared to yell or cry, and just tried my hardest to block out any pain that was awaiting me. I would never be able to get away after being stabbed. It was all over for me. I silently waited for the blade to sink in.

But it never did.

...Wait…What?

I heard the sound of angry grunting, and opened my eyes to see a large mess of the men's shadows wrestling off a dark, jagged figure. "Hey! Who the fu-" The driver yelled, but he was silenced after said figure attacked him. A few of them pulled out their own knives and crowbars, taking swings at whatever had ambushed him. The figure retaliated with tripping them, jumping up and punching them in the head and stomach, then kicking them so hard that they skidded a few feet away from where they'd fallen.

I watched in astonishment, feeling my body go numb.

Someone's saving me. Someone heard my cry for help. Is this really happening? Is it…

The men jumped up and began taking steps back. Lightning sliced through the sky, and I could see for a split-second that they had black eyes, plus bruises, welts, and gashes all over their body from the sprawl. I mentally scolded myself for not using that moment of light to see who my rescuer was.

"Son of a bitch!" one of them shouted as his mouth began to quiver. "W-W-Who are you?"

I then saw that my rescuer wasn't far from me. From what I could tell, he was not a human. In fact, his silhouette resembled Sonic the Hedgehog.

But that couldn't be. Wasn't Sonic in Station Square? Why would he be here? I could hardly think straight.

"Get out of here," the figure answered slowly, "Or I'll kill you all right now."

The voice depicted that it was a male after all. But he was no Sonic. It had a tone that was deep, soft-spoken, and velvety smooth. But at the same time, fierce and rather terrifying. Chills ran down my spine, and it made my eyes flutter.

All the men who had attacked me retreated, slipping over themselves before dissapearing completely. I wanted to pursue them. They didn't deserve to get away with what they attempted to do. But there was nothing left in me to even move.

Nothing left in you…? What about the guy that just beat them all senseless!

I felt faint after witnessing the scene, but I had to see who had saved me from those men. Without him I could be dead.

I stood up slowly, looking up towards the anthromorphic hedgehog.

Another clash of lightning cracked the sky open with light. It was still hard to see the hedgehog, since he was residing in the shadows. But I could see that his eyes were red. They were as rich and thick as blood.

He stared at me with a hard, hateful glare. His whole presence gave off a very cold and unwelcome feeling. Nonetheless, I found the courage to speak up, hugging myself as rain fell around us.

"Thank you..." I breathed out quietly. I felt the need to repeat it louder and clearer. "Thank you."

He continued glaring at me, with the rain bouncing off his body and quills. I didn't know what else to say after that. He seemed really mad at me. I felt like if I asked who he was, that would only anger him more.

"You should take better care of yourself," he finally said. His voice was still intimidating, even when it was directed at me. I widened my eyes as more thunder boomed around us. He looked down and mumbled. "Next time, I won't be around to save you."

He then pulled out a glowing red jewel. I stared at it, pushing my soaked hair out of my face and gaping at it awe-struck. A tingling sensation seeped into the pit of my stomach. It almost felt like my mind was sending signals that the jewel was somehow calling to something within me.

Well, it is glowing. Jewels don't usually do that. It must be giving off some sort of powerful aura. I wish I knew what it was.

"Don't tell anyone else about this," he instructed me, interrupting my thoughts. He then lifted the jewel and shouted into the night. "Chaos Control!"

A blinding light formed around him and continued growing until he was swallowed whole. I squinted through the brightness, refusing to blink, let alone completely close my eyes. I didn't want to miss a single thing that he did.

But that was just it. After the light dimmed down to nothing, he was gone. He had disappeared into thin air.

I felt my legs go weak and collapsed against the wall of the alley-way. I was so lost. So confused. So mesmerized. I couldn't take it. I wanted answers, and I wanted them now.

Before another thought could even enter my brain, a familiar voice screeched through the pouring rain.

"Rachel! Rachel where are you!"

An inaudible gasp escaped my throat. It was my father's voice. My ears quickly traced the distance between me and his calls, and I realized that he wasn't far from where I stood.

I leaned down and picked my drenched jacket off the ground, holding it to my chest. I hadn't noticed that I was shaking. I tried to walking forward, but I couldn't. It felt like I'd completely shut down inside.

"Dad..." I said quietly. I meant to call out for him so he could locate me easier. But my voice felt like it was slowly slipping away. I violently trembled in my steps. "Dad...I'm…over here…" I whispered.

It was so hard to move. It almost felt like I was underwater, and it had nothing to do with the falling rain. I was frozen.

But after mustering up enough strength, I picked one leg up and placed in front of the other, repeating the method with my other leg. I slowly moved forward, completely blank, fueled on nothing but the ambition to get back home.

(Shadow's POV)

That girl...How did she get herself into that kind of trouble? I was right. She really needed my help.

She was outnumbered by those men. If I hadn't shown up, who knows what they could've done to her. They had it coming. But then again, she did too. What kind of intelligent person puts themselves in a position where they're powerless like that?

I know I'm going to regret saving her. She's going to run her mouth about what happened and somebody will figure out that I've returned. I might have made this mission a lot harder.

Stupid human, getting in the way.

At least she didn't see me. But still, I know Dr. Eggman's not going to be happy about this. Ah who cares. Maybe she'll keep this a secret like I asked.

I doubt it though.

I then remembered the way she looked. Her eyes...

Her eyes were so...familiar.

They reminded me of someone. The green color, the shape, right down to the eyelashes. But I can't put my finger on it.

No matter.

Let's just hope she doesn't tell anyone about me.

And if she does,

She better hope that I don't run into her again.