Chapter 4: Shadow's Mission

As Shadow looked through the castle, Sonic, Manic and Sonia went to their room. Manic sat on his bed and looked at his brother, who was sitting on his own. He looked around and sighed.

"I missed this place," he said. "But I'm glad I'm back."

"Did you get Mom's letter?" Sonia asked.

Sonic nodded. "Yeah...that was the reason I came back. I can't believe that Dad's dead!"

"It was a shock, I admit," Manic said. "But he was ill...it was his time."

"And apparently I'm going to be the next king...when's my coronation?"

"A few days after the funeral, which is a week from now."

"Enough about that," Sonia said, looking at Sonic. "How have you been, brother?"

"I've been good," Sonic said. "Been living in Station Square since I left. I've become a hero there."

"So we've heard. Robotnik's still been causing trouble?"

"Yeah. He calls himself Eggman now. My friends and I have been foiling his plans every time."

"You have new friends?"

Sonic nodded, smiling. "They're great friends. My best friend is Miles Prower, but he calls himself Tails. He's a great person; an amazing inventor and pilot. He has two tails also, so he can fly with those. Another good friend of mine is Shadow; he's the person you saw with me. Shadow works for GUN, a government agency. There's also Silver, Chaotix, Babylon Rouges, and others I've made friends with."

"It's always good to make new friends," Manic said, and then sighed. "Sonia and I don't really have any; we've basically been cooped up here at the castle." He looked at Sonic. "Why'd you leave, anyway?"

"I...I just couldn't take all the responsibility. I wanted to do something new; travel the world and have more adventures. So...I left. I'm sorry I did without telling you."

"What adventures have you been on?"

Sonic thought about it. "Well...mostly ones trying to defeat Eggman. Fighting Perfect Chaos, the ARK incident...there was also one where Eggman broke Earth apart and released a deity called Dark Gaia. He turned me into a werewolf in the process..."

"You're a werewolf?" Sonia asked, shocked.

"Yeah, I am. It used to happen every night, but now it only happens on the full moon."

"When's the next full moon?"

"I think sometime this week," Sonic said. "I'll transform then."

"Do you have any control in wolf form?" Manic asked his brother.

"Yeah, I do."

"That's good," Sonia said.

The blue hedgehog nodded, and looked at his sister. "So...mom also mentioned that she wanted to tell us something...do you know what it is?"

"No, I don't. You?"

"No clue. What about you, Manic?" The green hedgehog shook his head, and Sonic shrugged. "Oh well. She'll tell us later. Hey, where's Shadow?"

"Mom wanted to talk to him about something," Manic said. "Shall we go look for him?"

Sonic nodded and stood up, walking out of the room. His siblings followed him and looked around, hoping to find Shadow.

The black hedgehog was looking around as well, walking further down the corridor that Aleena had left him in. He had to find whatever it was that the Queen had told him about...the Commander wanted it very badly. Shadow had heard legends of something in the castle that was extremely powerful, but didn't know what it was. The only thing that he knew was that it was protected behind some sort of door, and he had to find it.

He saw torches ahead, and walked down the hall cautiously. The corridor forked into two, causing Shadow to wonder which way to go. A few minutes later, he heard voices. Shadow leaned up against the wall and peered down the hall. Three shadows appeared, and Shadow relaxed. It was only Sonic, Sonia and Manic. He smiled and ran up to them.

"Hey," he said. "What are you three doing down here?"

"We've been looking for you," Sonic told him. "Sonia, Manic and I stumbled into this corridor; we've never seen it before, so we decided to investigate. What about you?"

Shadow sighed. "I...suppose I could tell you. I'm on a mission for GUN, looking for something hidden in this castle. It's behind some sort of door, and I haven't been able to find it."

"We can help," Sonia said, smiling

"I'd appreciate that. Thanks."

The pink hedgehog nodded, and the four walked down the hall. Unbeknownst to them, Queen Aleena was hidden in the shadows, watching them. A smirk came to her face.

"It is time," she said to herself. "My family has begun their search, setting events into motion. The Key must be found."

She vanished in a flash of light.