Chapter Revised [x]

(Rachel's POV)

"Hey, it's time to wake up sleepy-head..." A soft voice cooed at me.

I stirred against the bed sheets, mumbling some unintelligent warble while bouncing back and forth between being asleep and awake. I could've sworn I heard someone talking to me, but it seemed to distant and surreal to be really happening.

"Wake up. Wake up..."

"...Mmm?" I hummed at the mysterious voice, my eyes still closed, but beginning to move about.

Am I still dreaming?

This voice sounds so faint and gentle. Maybe it's an angel that's come down to visit me. Yeah, that has to be it. It's my guardian angel, trying to reach me and assure me that everything will turn out alright in the end, despite how bad the situation has become...

"HELLO! I SAID WAKE UP DARNIT!" the same voice yelled, but in a much higher and obnoxious octave. The sound startled me and caused me to jump, striking me out of my lucid state and into reality.

"Wah!" I yelped, looking up at the source of the noise. I narrowed my eyes at what was in front of me.

"Huh? What the heck are you supposed to be?" I asked it.

The creature who had awakened me, and the one who possessed the annoying voice, was a small, mutant looking animal that hovered in mid-air, but remained around the same level as my head. He was clad in a dark navy blue color and his head had strange horn shapes jutting out on both sides. His eyes were a piercing yellow. He almost looked...devilish. Except instead of having a fearsome, threatening face, he actually appeared very childish, and even had the face of a baby. He pouted after being insulted by my remark.

"Excuse me? My name is Bokkun, you little twerp!"

My brow creased. He was calling me a little twerp?

"I'm Dr. Eggman's messenger, F.Y.I. But when there aren't any messages to deliver, which stinks because they are an explosion of fun, I'm given other jobs. Like now, I'm supposed to bring you your meals! I came here to give food to you and you're lucky I didn't spit in it or anything!"

I instantly perked up at the word 'food'. I had missed dinner the night I got attacked in that alley, skipped breakfast the next morning, and hadn't eaten anything since.

"Oh. Alright then. So what kind of food am I getting?" I asked suspiciously, hoping that Dr. Eggman wasn't cruel enough to feed me something spoiled or just plain repulsive.

Bokkun's scowl inverted into a friendly smile. It was almost too friendly. "It's right there!" he said, pointing at the bedside table. On top of it was a tray with a large unlabeled bottle of water, and strange white bars stacked on top of each other. I lifted an eyebrow and took a closer look.

"Bon Apetite!" he shouted.

I wrinkled my nose at the strange looking food, if that's even what you could call it. "You're feeding me bars of soap?" I asked with an almost joking tone. But seriously, that's what it looked like.

Bokkun threw his head back and howled with laughter. I cringed at how high pitched his voice was.

"Bars of soap! Hah, oh you wish!" he cackled. "Those things are nutrient bars. They contain all the essential vitamins and nutrients you need in a daily human diet, or enough to keep you alive at least. They're tasteless as far as I know, so you should have no problem downing them!"

I sighed with some closure and sat up straight, reaching my hand over and picking up one of the bars. Its texture was smooth, again, like a bar of soap, but it didn't have any scent to it. I frowned at my reluctance.

Come on, Rachel. It may not be something from a five star gourmet resteraunt, but it doesn't even have a taste! You need these to survive. So don't be a wuss and eat it.

I finally gained the courage to nibble a small bit of the corner off. The moment it touched my tongue, a twisted, unbearable sensation of bitterness shot through my entire mouth. The taste nearly sent me sputtering onto the floor. I gagged a few times before forcing myself to swallow the piece.

"Ack! You liar, this DOES have a taste to it! And it tastes awful!"

Bokkun burst into another fit of hysterical laughter, clutching his tummy as he bounced up and down in the air. "Yeah, I know. Sucks to be you, don't it, because that's all you're getting!" he sang before soaring to the door.

Instead of leaving, he turned back towards me and grinned. "I'll just be waiting over here for you to finish your tasty little entree. After that, we gots to go. Dr. Eggman wants you in the control room immediately, and I'm more than positive you would run away or get lost if you tried going there by yourself, and he thinks so too. So I'll be your escort! That means HURRY YOUR BUTT UP! I ain't gettin' any younger!"

He then resumed hovering in the doorway impatiently. I rolled my eyes, not particularly enjoying being rushed to eat this disgusting excuse for food. They were trying to poison me. I just knew it. Or maybe they were getting back at me for freaking out on Eggman. Needless to say, something told me I was going to grow tired of that Bokkun guy pretty fast. And I would probably be seeing him more than anyone else.

I quickly shoved as many nutrient bars down my throat as I could before I was too nausious to swallow another, much to Bokkun's sick delight. I then jumped to my feet and slowly walked out of the room and allowed him to guide me through the long hallways.

"Gah..." I moaned in disgust, trying to scrape my tongue against the edge of my teeth to wipe the taste off. Those things may have been the most vile things meant to be consumed ever, but at least I wasn't starving anymore.

"So where exactly are we going?" I asked him out of curiosity. "I mean, this thing we're in is flying right? Where is it supposed to be headed?"

Bokkun lost his childish grin and began acting with more intellect. He held his finger up pretentiously. "This aircraft is called the Egg Carrier. It's actually very old, but the Doctor made some modifications recently. Now it runs better than ever! And to tell the truth, I don't know where we're going myself. All I know is we're not on Earth anymore, though. In fact, we're far away from its orbit. We're on the hunt for the rest of the Chaos Emeralds, see, meaning we definitely won't be staying in this galaxy to find them."

A gasp escaped by mouth.

We've left Earth...we're in space...and will soon leaving the galaxy.

It all hit me full force. Any normal person would've been devastated by this news. But I, not being a particularly normal person, found myself biting my lip in excitement.

I didn't think it was possible, but I actually smiled to myself.

Finally. After spending my sixteen years of life reading books and articles about outer space, I actually get to travel through it and see the wonders with my own eyes! An adventure throughout the universe...that sounds rather fantastic! Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

But then I was hit with the realization of who my exploring buddies were. Dr. Eggman and Shadow the Hedgehog. My happiness instantly flew south.

It was nice while it lasted.

We arrived in the control room all too soon. Dr. Eggman had himself plopped down in the same chair he'd been sitting in throughout this entire ordeal, and was turned in my direction expectantly. He was grinning from ear to ear, which intimidated me a little. What's he so jolly about?

I made sharp glances in every direction in search of a certain black hedgehog before looking back at him.

Cool, no sign of Shadow. At least he isn't here too. Now I can maintain just being calm and-

"I apologize for the wait, Doctor," an eerie, all too familiar voice said from behind me after appearing out of nowhere. I didn't bother turning around to see the voice's owner myself. I already knew, to my dismay, that it was Shadow. And seeing his face would make everything worse.

Bokkun turned and flew off, leaving my side without another word.

"Good! Well now that we're all gathered here together," Dr. Eggman started, "I say it's time that we come up with a suitable punishment for you," he said, eyeing me.

I cocked an eyebrow. "Huh, I barely just got here and I'm already being punished."

The Doctor looked taken back. "Well of course! For choking me of course! I know you're new here, but it's plain logic that nobody gets away with trying to kill me! Not even a kid like you."

I groaned sadly. Shadow did mention something about punishment for my actions. Dr. Eggman would come up with what would be done. My stomach knotted. "Come on, can't you cut me a break this one time?" I asked. "I mean, I may have done something crazy. But you're still in good...health."

Despite how morbidly obese you are.

"You don't have any cuts or bruises or anything. Nothing to scar, nothing to grudge about. Can't we just move on?"

Even as I said these words, I knew I was pressing my luck.

He shook his head. "Oh I'm so utterly sorry that it doesn't work in the way you want it to. But this is my Carrier. And you will be punished. If you try to argue, resist, or make things harder for us in any way, Shadow here will put you in your place so fast it'll make your head spin. Whaddya say? Want to do this the easy way, or the hard way?"

I frowned back at him stubbornly. This was the last thing I needed. I wasn't all that scared of Dr. Eggman, but the idea of him punishing me through physical pain or labor didn't exactly drive me wild. I knew refusing him would only end badly. There wasn't enough energy left in me to argue or fight. I decided to play along and sighed in defeat.

"Fine. What kind of punishment did you have in mind?"

Dr. Eggman pushed his glasses back over the bridge of his nose with one finger. "I'll get to that in a minute. First of all, it's nice to meet you Rachel," he said with a sly grin.

A shiver ran down my spine. Never in my whole life did I think I would be so unhappy to hear my own name. And Shadow standing behind me wasn't helping. I didn't trust either of them over a cliff.

Dr. Eggman continued. "So we have your name down. But, there are still concerns on the other basics. Such as, how old are you and when is your birthday?"

I dipped my head downwards, but kept my gaze locked with his. What's this? He's gonna play twenty questions before deciding my fate. "I'm sixteen. I was born July 1st, 2001." I answered.

His mouth fell open. "Say what? But if I'm not mistaken, July 1st, 2001 is the same date that Shadow and I demonstrated the Eclipse Cannon for Earth and blasted-"

"The moon in half, I know," I finished for him. "In fact, I was born the same moment said blasting took place. Or so I was told."

Dr. Eggman's mouth fell open. "Very interesting. You're just full of surprises today, aren't you!" he exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes. "I guess. Is that all you need to know?"

Dr. Eggman massaged his chin. "Nope. Just one more question. What kind of skills do you possess?"

I knew that question was code for 'Can you fight or defend yourself by any means?' I pondered for a moment before breathing in sadly.

"No. I don't have any. The only unique thing I could ever do was play piano, and that was when I was younger...if you even consider that a skill. But to answer the more specific thing you're wondering, I don't have any fighting experience whatsoever."

The Doctor looked like he was holding back a laugh. "That's pretty embarassing. But then again, I could tell you were defenseless the moment you showed up here. Now enough of that. It's time we move on to the subject of your punishment!"

Being in a room with you is punishment in its own way, fatty. I wanted to say.

Dr. Eggman leaned his head over slightly to look at Shadow. "And pay attention Shadow, because this concerns you too."

I grimaced. Great. Of course it does.

"After doing a little tracking, I managed to uncover the location of our next Chaos Emerald. It's in a galaxy known as the Tadpole Galaxy. I'm guessing the name comes from it's distinct shape, because it appears to have a tail, or a string of planets set out in the middle of space's oblivion. We're going to enter the galaxy, move along the cosmic strip, and land on a planet named Tragaria, where the Emerald is now residing. There is life on this planet, too. The person of highest power there happens to be an ambassador, and he more than likely will be the one in possesion of the Emerald. We can try to make a deal with him, and then maybe we won't have to take it by force. But if he defies us, then we're left with no other choice."

I had no idea what he meant by that, but it sounded drastic.

He then turned his attention back to me. "Now, you were originally going to stay put in the Egg Carrier during this mission since we didn't need you for it. But as your punishment, you are to go along, and stay by Shadow's side at all times."

"WHAT!" we yelled.

He cracked a satisfied grin. "You both heard me."

Something came into my view from the side. I saw that it was Shadow. He had taken a few steps in front of me before stopping. He looked up angrily at Dr. Eggman.

"Doctor, with all due respect, there must be something else that you had in mind for her punishment. Beating, maintenance service, the electric chair, anything. But bringing her with us? That will only slow us down."

I nodded quickly in agreement. "Y-Yeah! And honestly, I will take any kind of torture over this! Even...even the electric chair!"

Dr. Eggman smiled at me. "I see. Well here's the thing, my dear. Punishments are not meant to be enjoyable, and they are not done on your consent. So you're just gonna have to learn to deal with it. You're lucky I'm not resorting to even more cruel measures! This will teach you the lesson you deserve, don't you agree Shadow?"

Shadow sighed. "No. Not really. But whatever."

The hedgehog then turned around to look me dead in the eye. "And you keep in mind that you've already gotten on my bad side, which is a side no one wants to be on. If you so much as try to pull anything else, I won't hold back because you're a child. I swear I'll-"

His voice instantly dropped, along with his eyes as they traveled down to my neck and fixated on my chest area. They widened and then frowned in disbelief.

I gaped at him. "What's the matter with you...?" I asked him.

He didn't respond, and instead walked closer to me, not taking his eyes off my neck.

I made some squirmish noise out of discomfort. He was getting way too close. Dr. Eggman grabbed the armrests of his seat and leaned farther out. He too noticed Shadow's odd behavior. "Hm?" he hummed out loud.

I was about to say something else, but instead Shadow was the next one to speak.

"Where did you get that?" he asked me, but his tone didn't sound questioning. It sounded demanding.

"What are you-?" I lifted my hand and brushed my fingers carefully across my chest and the grooves of my collarbone, trying to figure out what he was going on about. But then, my heart dropped.

Maria's necklace.

I could feel the little blue trinket underneath my touch. Dear God, I completely forgot I was wearing it!

I quickly clapsed my hand around it. This seemed to snap Shadow back to reality. His eyes sharply met mine as he scowled.

"Hand it over now," he growled.

I raised my eyebrows at him. Is he serious? There was no way in hell that I was giving him something my great-grandmother made from scratch! It was the necklace that my grandpa intended on giving Maria, but never got the chance to because she died.

How was Shadow able to recognize it?

If he'd spent all his time with Maria, but she never even got the necklace, how could he have ever seen it before?

Shadow's expression was wishing, if not screaming death on me. I'd been giving him a hard time since we got here, and I could tell nothing in the world would make him happier than to just end me. But that didn't matter now.

My mind went completely blank. Every image flashing through my head turned into a white blur. There was only one word left illuminating in the back of my head. And somehow, it managed to reach my legs.

Run.

Without hesitance, I turned and sped off down the long, empty hallways.

I was aware of how useless it was to try and outrun Shadow. He was bound to be faster than me. But oddly enough, this willed me to go faster. I didn't hear his footsteps treading after me, and that gave me a spark of hope. All I needed to do was find a place to hide.

I could do this. I may not be able to hide from him forever, but I can hide in time to put the necklace somewhere concealed. Somewhere safe from him.

Before I got far, I felt a strange sensation bloom nearby, and a blinding light appeared in front of me. I skidded to a stop and watched in horror as the light dissapeared and Shadow fell out of thin air, landing in a crouching position before rising straight.

"Are you an idiot? You can't run away from me," he said, stepping towards me.

I walked backwards in fear. "Y-You're not getting the necklace, so stay back!" I yelled.

But alas, the hedgehog payed no attention to me. Instead, he did the unexpected. He jumped up in the air and lunged at me, grabbing me by my shoulders and ramming me against the wall.

My head banged against the wall's metal surface and made my vision cascade into colorful ripples. I slid down slightly and fell onto the floor, with my legs sprawled out to the side of me. Shadow pressed his hands against the wall on both sides of my head, trapping me there. I winced from the close contact and turned away, whimpering under my breath.

"You better look at me," Shadow ordered.

But I didn't listen. I kept my head facing the other direction, and squeezed my eyes shut.

"No," I responded fiercely.

There was a tense moment of silence, before I broke it with my own voice.

"This necklace isn't your's...it doesn't belong to you and never will."

"It doesn't belong to you either!" he snarled.

My head was beginning to ache. "I beg to differ. It's MY relatives who made it!"

"It's my friend that it was made for."

"It's your fault she never got it!"

"No, it's your grandfather's fault for being a coward!"

I whipped my head around to look at him. His red eyes were burning with hatred. "What are you talking about?" I demanded.

His features grew hard with the oncoming frustration. "I'll have you know I've been able to uncover every last of my memories over the past years. One of them was when the Commander was a child. I remember it vividly, and my mind doesn't decieve me. He had a chance to give Maria the necklace. The chance was right there in front of him. She was even looking for him when he tried to deliver it to her. But just because I was in the same room, he ran off."

I shook my head. "Quit with your lying! You know that never happened! My grandfather is a brave man!"

"He wasn't one sixty six years ago!" he shouted. "And I'm telling nothing but the truth. I don't know what lies he's told you, or how much he's brainwashed you into believing that he is the victim, but keep in mind that I'm the one who everyone tried and tries to kill. Your grandfather tried to have me executed, but again, just couldn't do it himself. A bit of Deja Vu if you ask me. He had the chance to, but he didn't because he was weak. He's a fool. He hasn't changed at all. And I don't understand how you can stand there and defend the man who works for the very same people that killed everyone on the ARK!"

I couldn't take it. Shadow was starting to make too much sense. Everything he was telling me conflicted with what my grandpa's told me, and went against everything I believed. But I would take my grandpa's word over his any day. I tried to push him away. "Shut up! That's enough!"

He surprisingly pried his body away from me and left me there.

"Telling me to shut up now? I should rip you apart limb from limb. The only thing stopping me is the last Chaos Emerald. I'm already stuck with you for our next mission, as well as the next few months. I WILL get that necklace from you. If not now, it will happen later."

I watched him leave, feeling myself shake as the pain in my head pounded against my skull.

He's lying. My grandfather isn't a coward. He's a brave man. A great man.

Shadow's my enemy. I don't care what he says or how much depth he puts into his cowardice fibs. He's lying about everything. This is why I hate him. This is why I've always hatedd him. We will always be enemies, him and I. Always.

I heard Shadow speak one last time before completely dissapearing.

"You're in for it, Rachel," he spat with venom. "Soon, you'll see my side of the story. Whether you want to or not."

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

(A/N:) Gosh, for some reason this chapter was extremely hard for me to write. That's why it wasn't one of my better ones. Oh well. Hope you like it. Please review! I read every single review. I really appreciate you giving me your feedback!. Thanks for reading, have a nice day/night :)