(Last time on In the Dark…
The savage Exe dimension is reaching across the globe, engulfing it in Darkness and consuming Mobius in fear and despair. Sally and Amy are fighting their way across the corrupted city in search of a way to make things normal again. Their first attempts to stop it had failed. Now, the duo, slowed by Sally's injury, has found what may be their last hope. But just as they reach him, their friend pulled a gun on them. Will their last hope be the last face they see?)
Bang!
The gun went off. Amy and I jumped out of the way with a yelp just in time. The bullet shattered the glass on a picture frame behind us. Amy and I stared at the ebony hedgehog in bewilderment.
"Can't take too many chances," he said in a low, quiet voice. He twirled the gun in his hand and tossed it in a corner of the room.
"Uh, you must be Shadow," I said in a shaky voice.
"Yeah, so?" he replied.
"Shadow, we need to talk to you about something," Amy asserted. "May we come in?"
"I'm not stopping you." He took a step back to admit us. We entered, and Amy wasted no time getting down to business.
"As you've probably noticed," she began, "everywhere outside is oddly dark and full of strange creatures. You don't know the story behind that, do you?"
"Of course not," he said. "I don't have time for the news. Don't tell me it has to do with that faker. You would force him to come with you, yet he's not here."
"Yes, Sonic is involved. Actually, he's the entire reason this is happening." She then launched into Sonic's story, beginning with the mission that ended in Tails's death to our journey to this base. Shadow, who was leaning against a desk with his arms crossed, listened but didn't look like he cared much. He didn't speak until she finished.
"Why should I care what happens to this planet?" he asked, indifferent. "It's not my fault you're in this mess."
"But you could help us fix it," I commented. "You care for the citizens of this world, don't you?'
"Look, girlie," he snapped. "You're comparing me with that faker, Sonic. I'm not a goodie-two-shoes like you two are. If some people die, what's it to me? It doesn't affect me in any way, so I don't care."
"What if they come for you?" I begged.
"I'll fight them, then."
"They'll just keep coming for you, and in masses," I said, becoming more confident. I was used to these kinds of arguments with Sonic. I wondered where he was now…
Shadow narrowed his eyes. "I've faced worse. I'm the Ultimate Lifeform. They're no match for me."
Yep, he definitely reminds me of Sonic.
"And if you're the only one alive on this planet, then what? What would you do?"
"I'll enjoy the peace and quiet."
"Do you care for anyone?!" I snapped. "You're exactly like Sonic! You're big-headed, selfish, lazy, and persistent when it comes to arguing!"
At this, Shadow straightened and glared daggers at me.
"Don't compare me to him!" he growled.
"Why not? Despite all that selfishness and whatever, he seems to be better than you! You're abandoning everyone and leaving them to die. Sonic would never do that! You're about as twisted as Dark if you think letting everyone die has any benefit for you."
Shadow clenched his fists, looking like he was about to blow a fuse. But after a moment, he sighed and closed his eyes, pressing his fingertips to his forehead. "Fine. If you'll stop nagging me, I'll help you. I suppose there is one thing you can do."
"And what's that?" Amy asked.
He opened his eyes and looked at us. "You could use the Chaos Emeralds and go back in time. It sounds like this started with Tails dying. You can go back to that time and prevent it from happening. Then Dark won't have existed in the first place, the Light Stones you spoke of will be back to normal, the dimension Exe will never have been released, and just like that, it's all fixed."
"Yeah, that might work," I said. "But we don't know how. And we have no Emeralds."
"I suppose I have to go with you then. I possess the power of Chaos Control, which can teleport us to the time period we need to go to. Not only that, but I happen to have come across one of the Chaos Emeralds this morning on my way here." From behind his back, he took out one of the Emeralds, glowing bright red. "I need two to do it, though. We don't need all seven."
"How are we going to find the other one?" Amy asked.
"I also have the power to sense where the other Emeralds are."
I nodded. "Sounds like a plan."
Minutes later, Shadow, Amy and I were racing through town, Shadow skating ahead on hover shoes and the two of us following on hover scooters, after it was pointedly noted by a certain black hedgehog that my injury would get us killed. Shadow clutched the Chaos Emerald in his fist, leading us deeper and deeper into the city. After several minutes, we stopped in front of a large building. I pulled up a holographic map of it to see how many Exes were in the building and where the Chaos Emerald was located. I was stunned. There were hundreds of Exes, most of which were surrounding the Emerald.
"Are you sure we'll be able to do this?" Amy asked, sounding unsure.
"Of course I am," Shadow snapped. "I'll cause a distraction. Once they leave, we'll go inside. Got me?"
We nodded.
Shadow thrust his hand up in the air. "Chaos…Control!" he shouted, and a burst of red energy shot from his palm and exploded in the air. Immediately, Amy and I bolted into the building, closely followed by Shadow. As we left, hundreds of shadow creatures and Exes flew past us to investigate. The Chaos Emerald was on the middle floor. Not wanting to wait for the elevator, Shadow ran up the stairs, followed by Amy, while I lagged behind. After a long and tiring run up the stairs, we came to the fifteenth floor. Apparently, not all the Exes had left. About five dozen surrounded a pedestal holding a white Chaos Emerald. The pedestal was an anthro hedgehog, frozen and dead, kneeling down and holding the Emerald high over her head in both hands. Her mouth was open in a scream. A pole had been stabbed through her head and down her back, which is what held her up. I wanted to scream, knowing what this world was coming to.
"Now what?" Amy whispered, for the Exes hadn't noticed us.
"Leave them to me," Shadow said. He slipped off his Inhibitor Rings that were around his wrists and dropped them to the ground. The sound of them falling and the small flashes of light they gave off when they were removed caught the Exes' attention. They started forward, towards us. Shadow didn't hesitate. He skated forward, a field of red light forming around him, pulsing outward, knocking the Exes down and leaving a path. I grabbed the Inhibitor Rings and followed his wake. The three of us reached the pedestal unscathed. Shadow wrenched the Emerald out of the dead Mobian's hands just as the Exes started closing in on us, in larger masses than before.
"Shadow…?" I said nervously, backing into him.
"I'm working on it!" he cried. He crossed his arms in an X over his chest, one Emerald in each hand. The Exes were getting closer. I could feel Amy so close our shoulders were touching. They were so close I could touch them. They would kill us the same way those other Mobians died, slow and painful. I can't die, I can't leave the planet like this, I can't –
"CHAOS CONTROL!" Shadow shouted, interrupting my thoughts. Immediately, a light emitted by the Chaos Emeralds engulfed us, and we disappeared, the Exes left swiping at empty air. Little did we know that we weren't as safe as we thought we would be.
"What is the report?"
"They seemed to have found an alternative option to dethrone you, Master Dark. They're time traveling."
Dark grinned, despite the threat to his rule. "Intercept them, my friend. Send them someplace they can't return from."
"Like where, Master?"
"Let's make it…two hundred years in the future. Once they're there, close all portals. Send your shadow army and that fire creature to capture them and bring them to me…dead or alive. Sonic Exe and I will handle the rest."
The image in the corrupted Chaos Emerald flickered. "Yes, Master," the being that looked vaguely like Shadow said, and the Emerald's light went out.
"Do you think they will succeed in bringing your counterpart back?" Sonic Exe said, looking bored in his throne of skulls.
"Of course they will," Dark replied. "They're persistent. The only thing I can do is delay his return. At the rate things are going…all that will be left on this planet will be us by the time they get back." Dark snapped his fingers, and the blade fell on the neck of the next Mobian in line. The anthro cat's head rolled to his feet. Dark picked it up and examined it, amused by the scared expression on the head's face. He smirked and tossed it onto the pile of heads behind him, which were being speared for decoration.
"Why don't you do the next one?" Dark asked, closing his eyes.
Sonic Exe smirked and snapped his fingers.
(Ugh, I was gonna ask something…But I don't know what. MYERG. Uh, okay, autocorrect is broken, because it didn't say that was spelled wrong. Anyway, my fault for waiting so long to write this and not writing down what I had to ask.
What do you think so far? Where do you think Sonic is? What magical things can you find in your pocket? I dunno, review SOMETHING interesting.
I hate it when I can't remember something…Maybe proofreading will jog my memory. (It didn't.)
BWYE! (That's an inside joke, a select few will get that.) )
~SonicTheHedgehog-Nerd