Welcome back to a new chapter! I'll keep this short so as to not waste your time much longer. One little change I've added was to change the format of G.U.N. to GUN, that way it's easier to write and has a more cohesive structure in sentences. Other than that, please enjoy this next chapter, and don't be afraid to review or follow if you haven't already!
Chapter 12: Seeing Double
Whisper's Apartment
Tails was now sitting up against the couch. His headache was still there, but the medicine helped him gain more energy against the fatigue in his legs and eyes. To combat the headache, a wet rag was laid on his forehead as he leaned back into the cushions. He was thankful to Whisper for being so generous as to help him, but he was stunned that he was left all by himself. 'Where did Sonic and Knuckles go? Why did they leave me?' He wondered. He already dismissed the possibility that they left him to save their own hide. It just wouldn't make sense for Sonic to go through all the trouble at keeping him safe and then abandon him like he was loose baggage. All that thinking made Tails' head split further. It was best for the fox to not think at the moment until his mind was at ease. Although his head was burning up, Tails unknowingly had been shivering. Being exposed outside for too long must've given him the chills, which Whisper notices. "I'll grab a blanket for you." she muttered as she walked toward her closet. She swings the doors open and searches inside for a soft fabric. Her commotion causes Tails to tilt his eyes to the inside of the closet, to which he finds something peculiar in the corner. A long wispon rifle leaned against the wall, and next to it was an ornate mask with a singular eye hole on its left side. It wasn't unheard of for civilians to carry wispons around for their own protection, but Tails noticed that this wispon was particularly modified to hold even more wisps. That was something Tails had yet to see, which was intriguing on its own, but with that mask too, Tails wondered if Whisper was more qualified in combat. Whisper finds a fleece blanket on the top shelf in the closet and brings it back to Tails. She unfolds it and lays it over Tails.
"Thank you." Tails said. Whisper nods before stepping away from the couch, but Tails doesn't seem done talking to her yet. "Are you resistance?" He asked. Whisper looks back at Tails confused, but when she turns her head back to the closet, she sees her wispon and mask in full view. She figured Tails had spotted them.
"You weren't supposed to see that." She closes the closet door.
"Were you?" Tails pressed on.
"Not officially." Whisper heads to the other side of the living room and opens a door leading into a bedroom.
"You can help me then! I lost my friends out there. Sonic, you must've heard of him." Tails tried again to establish a conversation, but Whisper remained silent. "I know it's dangerous out there, and they might need our help. If you're crafty enough to upgrade that wispon of yours, then I bet you're a crack shot with it. C'mon, I know you can help me here." Whisper still isn't convinced, and she flicks a light switch on the wall next to her, killing the lights in the living room.
"Get some rest."
GUN HQ: Meeting Room
This is the first time that this meeting room has experienced any form of tranquility. Usually, the room is packed with bickering officers and officials, but now that the old GUN is gone. All of those people are obsolete and have been detained for the new world order to emerge. The only two sitting in this room were both James and Arsonal. James was rolling a silver coin across his knuckles and Arsonal just quietly sat to himself at the other side of the table. Arsonal didn't want to pay any mind to James, not after that whole fiasco that was in Soleanna. He had no respect for him, toying with lives and trying to get in his head. He just wanted someone he knew to talk to, to get his mind off this insanity that was conquering this world. "You've been dead quiet for a bit now." James spoke to Arsonal, which he tried his best to tune out. "Is it all too much to handle? I mean, come on, what did you expect to happen when taking over an entire world? That everyone was gonna lie down and let us seize it? People are going to get hurt, no matter how good your intentions are." James scoffed at Arsonal. The human was starting to develop an authoritative mindset to overshadow the stoic fox. "I know that this is your team's first big operation, but wake up. Harrow is managing all of this a lot better than you are." That was the last straw for Arsonal. He exploded out of his chair and snapped at James, who kept his exasperating grin on his face.
"You do not get to compare me to her! You know why she's treating this the way she is. She's a-"
"A what?" Arsonal ceases the sounds of his mouth from leaving. Terror enter's his body as that gritting voice claws down his spine. His ears droop and his hair stands up. He stiffly inches his head back to see her standing right behind him. Harrow had entered the room without a sound to relay. All she does is stare at Arsonal, waiting for him to finish his sentence. "What were you going to say?" Arsonal's lips stutter and quake, making James softly giggle in the background. "Sit back down, I'll forget about it." Arsonal instantly takes his seat and looks away from Harrow's eyes. She treads around the side of the table before taking her seat as well.
"Any news on your mission?" James asked.
"The vessel was accompanied by a hedgehog and an echidna. We herded them back into the city, but the vessel was lost as the other two escaped, via the help of that psychic hedgehog."
"So Silver didn't run after all. The other two you mentioned are Sonic and Knuckles. I can brief you more on their abilities later-"
"One's fast, one's strong." Harrow interrupted. "That's all I need to know. To be frank, they don't excite me nearly as much as my other plaything. He was much more thrilling. So don't bring me in for some stupid crap like briefing or these pointless meetings. Let me know whenever you find the vessel or Shadow."
"I've hired a mercenary that specializes in the hunt. He has a unique power that allows him to… blend in. He'll search for Tails."
"Hmph, still, it is my responsibility to bring him into The Highest." Harrow stands up from her chair and begins to head toward the exit, but James is quick to stop her in her tracks.
"Funny you mention that. I had a little chat with The Highest. Since he's here, he wants to briefly go over your hex training again." Arsonal saw something that he doesn't see very often. Harrow shaking. Her arms were quivering out of control, and although he couldn't see it, he could tell that her eyes were wide open. Arsonal only heard rumors about The Highest's hex training. They were brutal, tortuous, and agonizing, and Harrow had been through them almost her whole life. Arsonal had a little sympathy left for her, as he thought that no one should go through those training sessions. "Will you be attending?" James asked. To calm herself down, Harrow grabs her shaking arm with her hand to try to slow down the tremors. It helps, but the convulsions periodically return for a moment.
"Let him know that his project of horrors is coming to pay a visit." Harrow opens the door to exit, but once again, another surprise awaits both her and the rest of the room. Vulnter stands in the doorway and enters inside. "Vulnter?!" Both Harrow and Arsonal yell.
"Well, how's everyone been?" Arsonal jumps out of his seat and runs to Vulnter. Arsonal extends his arms and hugs Vulnter immediately, much to her own surprise. Harrow, while not wanting to opt in, still smiles and chuckles at this short moment before Arsonal lets go of Vulnter. "Seems like you guys missed me."
"We haven't heard from you in months, where have you been?" Arsonal said, full of energy. He was glad that he could finally talk to someone normally again.
"I've been a bit busy, yes, but I'm here to stay now." This sweet occasion swiftly turns sour as Arsonal sees something wretched on Vulnter. A red mark of a giant hand wrapped around her throat. She tries to hide it with her own hand, but Arsonal was about to go livid.
"The Highest, what did he do to you?"
"It's nothing." She tried to deflect.
"What are you talking about? How could you ignore what he did?"
"I stepped out of line! That's what happens when you fail The Highest."
"This is not an acceptable example! "
"For once I agree with you." Harrow chimes in, gathering the attention of everyone in the room. "This isn't acceptable." Harrow continues her path out of the room.
"Don't go and do anything stupid. Have you forgotten your loyalty to the Abyss Voyagers?" Vulnter barks at Harrow.
"I'm not going to do anything now. But there will come a time when The Highest gets what is due."
Mystic Ruins
It had been ages since the last time Knuckles was in Mystic Ruins. He was glad that not a lot had changed from the last time. It always reminded him of his heritage, what was left behind for him. Yet he knew very little about what his ancestors did, other than what was presented to him by Tikal. He greatly appreciated his friends, and all the adventures they'd had together, but a part of him wanted to go back in time and experience what he missed. That window is gone now, and all he had left in his bloodline were ghosts in an empty shrine. At least now he could put these structures to use now, as they harbored them from the dangers that invaded their world. This place would have to do. He didn't know how long Silver had been back in the past, but he'd been busy. It wasn't just both of them and Sonic, but Silver had helped shelter more of their friends. Amy, Cream, and even the Chaotix were sitting around a small campsite at the center of the ruins. Knuckles pitied the hopeless expressions from each of them. Even Charmy, who was normally ecstatic, stared apathetically at a slow-burning fire. Perhaps Knuckles had hit Sonic a bit too hard, as he was still out since being in Station Square, but at any rate, he was safely leaning against a small boulder close by. Relief lifts Knuckles' spirits as Sonic rouses up with a groggy huff of air, but Knuckles didn't look forward to what Sonic was going to say. They left Tails behind and forced Sonic to come with them. That was something that he expected to never be forgiven for. With the sound of Sonic stirring, Amy is the first to tend to him. "Are you ok, Sonic?"
"Amy? Where are we?" Sonic looked around, but his eyes were still hanging low, blocking his vision.
"Silver brought us to the Mystic Ruins, we'll be safe here as you get better." Sonic rubbed his tense neck, still feeling a bit of the pain given by Knuckles.
"Is Tails here?" Amy looks down and is heartbroken, giving Sonic an answer without words. The revelation sends fury through Sonic's body. He jolts up and stomps his way over to Knuckles with a deathly look in his eyes. The echidna expected this and was prepared for whatever Sonic was going to do to him. He would allow Sonic to hurt him if that's what he wished. The hedgehog is inches away from Knuckles' face, a hateful gleam in his watery eyes. Knuckles closed his eyes, awaiting a strike to the jaw, but nothing came, except for piercing words. "How could you do that?" Sonic said coldly. "You left him alone, afraid, and hurt. And when I wanted to go back and save him, you took me with you to run." Knuckles opened his eyes, tightening his jaw. He tried to quell the tears, but they ran down his face like a faucet. "I don't care if I'm needed somewhere else. He needed me the most." Sonic turns his back to Knuckles, walks back to the campfire, and sits down on the dirt.
"I'm sorry, Sonic." Silver's voice piped up from the thick jungle. He emerges and approaches the group by the camp. "I would've gone back, but she might have been there."
"Who?" Sonic disdainfully asked.
"She's an Abyss Voyager. A fox named Harrow. Not that long ago, she and her partner staged a coup on GUN and held her own against an all-out Shadow. If we stayed to look for Tails, she would arrive and I'm not sure if we can take her on now."
"The Abyss Voyagers are after Tails. They don't care about us. Getting Tails out of the city was the only reasonable choice we had! Wait…where is Shadow?" Silver sighs at the question. Breaking the news that one of their best chances was in hiding was not going to be easy.
"Shadow got hurt. Really, really bad. It's not easy to say… but he doesn't have much time left." Everyone at the campsite gasps and is in shock. None of them could believe it. "The rest of his team isn't looking so hot either. So they're all lying low until they're ready to fight. Where? I didn't stick around long enough to find out." Sonic once again is processing the situation. This all happened in just a few days? It was hard to comprehend that their adventurous journey into space led to this gloomy reality where everything around them was crumbling down. "But if what you said was true, Sonic, then Tails is our number one priority! In the future, an illusion shrouds our world to fall into darkness. If this is the result of the Abyss Voyagers, then we must cut off their impediment quickly." Everyone was now all ears, eager for a plan. However, it wasn't going to be a cakewalk. It was certain that GUN would be flooding the streets with their surveillance drones trying to catch Tails as well, and making a scene to get the fox's attention would just make things more difficult for them to hold off any resistance. "Anyone have an idea?"
"Stealth would be hard to pull off with all those eyes in the sky." Espio pointed out. "But if we did that method, we would need to first figure out where Tails is. Any way we can contact him?"
"His Miles Electric was smashed a while ago, so he would have to get something new." Sonic said.
"Mr. Vector, don't you carry radios around with you?" Cream asks the spontaneous croc.
"Err, well, I only carry walkie-talkies that transmit and receive to themselves."
"I might know a way." Knuckles cut in. All eyes and ears were on him. "After his Miles Electric was smashed, he constructed a new device latched to his wrist that connected to the mainframe of the space station. He told me that the server was linked to an outer source and only to that source. His words, not mine, but he said that only those who had the same connection on the mainframe could contact each other. He figured that this was the server for the Abyss Voyagers, and with them in control of GUN, they might have those servers now."
"So what are you saying?" Amy asked. "How are we going to find Tails this way?"
"I get it." Silver said. "To access that server, we have to tap into GUN's computers and send Tails a message through there."
"That's both weighing a high risk while holding a low chance of even being feasible." Espio argues. "I doubt that every computer in GUN has been integrated with that new server, so the only one we can rely on is their main computer at their HQ."
"We have to go in there?!" Charmey yelled.
"No, we don't, because that is a very dumb idea." Espio further added.
"I don't see you offering a better solution." Vector comments. "You're a ninja, right? So you should have a good plan."
"I've gone through many possibilities in my head. I don't see many of them working in the slightest." Espio sighs. "As much as it pains me to say it. The plan you've suggested is somehow our best option." With everyone now agreeing to a plan, it was getting late. The moon was full and everyone was getting tired. It had been a long day for all of them, and sleep was needed. Some enter a tent, and others lay on the ground or a trunk to watch above as the moonlight seeps through the leaves. A smooth tranquil ease to the eyes as everyone dozes off. Everyone except for Sonic. He couldn't fall asleep and just stared blankly into the night sky. He couldn't rest his mind off of Tails. How he worried that something bad would happen, or that someone else got to him before they did.
High Colossus
Back out in the orbit of the planet, The Highest and Dr. Eggman are examining blueprints and designs of mech and robots displayed on the bridge's main monitor. Currently, a design of a vulmech is exhibited, with Eggman pointing out certain aspects of the bot's structure. "They could have more plating around these joints." Eggman says to the Highest.
"But then they'd sacrifice their mobility."
"Not when I'm designing it." Eggman guarantees The Highest, to which the cloaked man nods his head with approval. "Good, I can tell we are gonna get along well. By the way, I've sent that lackey you call 'James' a schematic of my roboticizer. It won't be long until it's ready if he's competent enough to set it up."
"I don't believe it." An irking voice arose from behind the two. Standing in the bridge was Harrow, with incredulity spelled across her face. "I thought you were dead." She directed toward Eggman. "And now you're… what? Aiding us? Is this some kind of joke?" The Highest was quick to defend Eggman and his ultimate decision.
"The doctor has been a great use to us. I have no doubt that he will contribute glorious inventions to our cause." The Highest claimed, but Harrow was not satisfied with that answer. She didn't trust Eggman to play along with them, considering what they did to him last year. The doctor was getting more on her nerves as he gave her two thumbs up, followed by a big dumb grin. He was taunting her. "Do you not appreciate the fairness in my judgment?"
"Oh, there is so much more than this that I don't…" The room fell to silence. "So you can take him as a slave but Vulnter can't without getting punished? That doesn't seem fair to her, does it?" The Highest closes the monitor behind him and steps forward to Harrow. He raises his hand out from his robe, revealing a black leather glove outfitted with circuits and disk-shaped sensors at the palm. "Already? Avert your eyes, new pet, this will be nasty." The Highest points his palm toward Harrow, sending wires spiraling out of the glove. The end of the wires have sharp and pointing coils emitting electrical bolts. The coils stick into Harrow's skin, and with an increase of power from the glove, it shocks Harrow in place violently. She falls to her knees and screams in agony as each bolt sears her blood.
"No, keep watching, doctor. This is what happens when subordinates fall out of line." While initially disgusted by the relentless torture, Eggman's mood slowly turns around as he realizes what Harrow was going to do to him. He smirks as he watches the one who swore to kill him endure excruciating torment. "Had enough?" The Highest shuts off the electricity, expecting an answer from Harrow. She had collapsed across the floor, her fur burnt and smoking. Weakly pushing her whole body up with what little strength she had left in her arms. Anger in her eyes channeled at The Highest, but the rest of her body admits defeat. With a swish from his hand, The Highest dismisses Eggman, and the tubby human strolls out, not before chuckling at the downed Harrow. "Are you ready to resume your hex training?"
"What for? You told me that I've mastered all of it."
"Not all. With the vessel on planetside, I may not always be of convenience to perform the ritual. You have done well in your exercises, but you are just an apprentice. Once the two-tailed fox is detained, you will carry out the ritual." The Highest reaches into his cloak and pulls out a container with a maroon powder. He dips his finger into the powder, and it sticks to the glove. He draws a circle on the floor around Harrow and finishes by dabbing a dot on her forehead with the powder. "Bless his body of our divine spirit. Inheriting the great wrath of our fallen god." Harrow sits on the floor in the middle of the powder circle, crossing her legs and closing her eyes in a meditative state. The Highest starts chanting in another language composed of sharp consonants and breathless vowels. The powder on the ground miraculously loses all form of gravity and ascends into the air and swirls into the dot imprinted on Harrow's forehead and phasing into her skin. She recoils back as all of the powder enters her body, and once it is complete, she falls to the ground and clenches her head in anguish. Screaming a blood-curdling cry that echoes through the metal halls outside. "Endure all you must. The great ceremony is upon us."
Whisper's Apartment
The blazing sun bled through the thin blinds into the lifeless living room. The shining light flashing into the resting eyes of Tails. He shields his face so as to not be blinded once he arises. He sits up on the couch and looks around the apartment. Whisper wasn't in sight, and her bedroom door was still shut. Tails checked around for a clock and spotted a digital one at the counter in the kitchen. 12:22 PM. At least Tails had an excuse for sleeping in so late, due to his injuries. But he didn't expect Whisper to lie in bed for so long as well. In front of the couch was a glass coffee table with a TV remote resting in the center. Tails snatches it and turns on the box television a few feet in front. He flips through various channels before reaching the news. 'Welcome back to channel five afternoon broadcast.' The armadillo anchorman said with a downer look bestowed upon him. 'Today, we have a special announcement from the new commander of GUN. Here he is, everyone. Commander James Reed.' The feed shifts to a podium with a GUN logo backdrop. James stands upright and with perfect posture. This new change in leadership made Tails curious about what happened to Tower.
'Greetings, citizens of the world. I bet that most of you are wondering what has been going on these past couple of days. Well, here at GUN, there was a unanimous decision to remove the old leadership and replace it with one that is more welcoming to our new friends in the sky.' The camera shifts to a new spot, showing High Colossus orbiting in the sky. 'Don't be afraid. As long as you comply with their needs, everything will remain normal for all of you. Only time will tell what they desire from us, but as of now, they have a few favors for us to carry out. A few pools of resistance have given rise, and they prove to be a threat to the safety of our new world. The Abyss Voyagers, our friends in the sky, our offering a reward for each of the following members. Sonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna, Silver the Hedgehog, Amy Rose, The Chaotix, and more.' Tails was now more engaged in the broadcast as pictures of his friends were shown on the tv. He leans in with interest, gluing his eyes to the screen. He was so occupied that he failed to notice Whisper exiting her room and sneak up behind the couch, watching the news too. 'These were once heroes, but have denied the new world's peace to preserve corruption. However, there are two more who exceed the prize pool by a considerable margin. Shadow the Hedgehog has been classified as a traitor to GUN, and is considered highly dangerous. Lastly, the two-tailed fox, Miles 'Tails' Prower, is needed for the Abyss Voyager's purposes. If anyone can direct your local GUN agent or drone to any of their locations, the reward would be unfathomably large.' Whisper looked down at Tails, who was still distracted by James' words. She didn't understand why. Why would the government want to take a boy? To go to the lengths of putting a bounty on a child was simply cruel.
Whisper's presence doesn't go unnoticed for much longer, as Tails' ears perk back and quickly become aware of her. Tails jolts away from Whisper, realizing that she had been listening in the whole time. Earlier, when he was scanning the apartment room, he could tell that the living conditions here were not suitable for someone to comfortably live. A problem that would be solved if she had gained a substantial amount of money. He was worried that she would sell him out. "Wait! Please don't tell them I'm here." He begged. "They mean nothing but trouble and only want me for their own selfish reasons." Whisper was taken aback at the young fox's plea. She could tell that the poor thing had been going through a lot of stress. That trauma that was inflicted on him by the Abyss Voyagers was something that she quickly picked up on. Tails didn't know, but Whisper secretly held her own tale. One which allowed her to empathize with him.
"I won't tell." She calmly said. "As long as you're here, you'll be safe with me."
"I can't be here forever. My friends are in danger and are worried sick about me."
"With such a big target on your head, you don't have a choice, believe me. Your friends will have to come to you." She walks away from the couch and into the kitchen, opening up a barren fridge. Tails starts to get frustrated with Whisper's short remarks before retreating back into her isolated world.
"If you had a friend that was in danger, wouldn't you risk everything to protect them?" Tails saw Whisper's hand clench tight against the handle of the fridge's door.
"Of course I would." She said with a more forceful voice. Tails had opened a can of worms he wished he had just butt out of. "You don't know what it feels like… to hear them scream your name. Hoping that you'd come just in time to save them…But there is nothing you can do, but listen. Never again, will I attach myself. Never again, will I trust anyone else." Tails' ears drooped. He didn't wish to open any old wounds. He had no idea. Tails sunk back down into the couch and blankly stared at the TV. All the work he could get done if he wasn't confined and bedridden. He felt better than he did yesterday, but the time wasn't yet right, and Whisper had a point. There wasn't much he could do but wait for his friend to come to him, somehow. He tried brainstorming a way to speed up that process, but the only device he had for communicating was the wristwatch he made back at the space station. Unless someone was using the same network as he was, no one could reach him. Tails was annoyed about how little he could do. Making a signal outside would attract the soldiers first before his friends, and leaving the city without any idea where Sonic was too dangerous as well. There was one idea, one which he wasn't all that sure about. If he could just nab a radio kit from one of the GUN soldiers, he could possibly configure it to connect to other frequencies. But all the problems that arise from doing that were astronomical. Most soldiers travel together in great numbers and out in the open. As soon as he took one out, all the rest would instantly converge on him, which was why he hated that this might be his best shot at being rescued. "Here." Tails once again didn't notice Whisper approaching him. She set down a bowl of pale cereal. It was unappetizing, but this was what he had to work with.
"Thank you." Tails gingerly dug into the cereal with a flimsy spoon. Whisper sat down in a ragged cushioned chair adjacent to the couch. She takes the TV remote and switches the channel, but all channels seem to be showing more of the sudden news of GUN's takeover. Glimpses of unimaginable horrors as GUN forces seize more and more cities by force and with ease. Shelled homes and buildings laying debris across the street. People helplessly trapped in crumbled structures, crying for someone to free them. Whisper winces and looks conflicted. "I'm sorry if I said something that hurt you." Tails told Whisper, which the wolf seemed a bit surprised by. "I couldn't ever imagine what you've gone through. But even if you don't want to help us fight, can you at least trust me?" She had just sworn that she never would trust anyone again, yet still Tails seemed obligated to achieve any common ground with Whisper. She didn't want to feel the pain again, but how much could the young fox betray her trust? As much as she didn't want to admit it, she shared that feeling with him. Being hunted. For the first time, Tails saw Whisper smile, even if it was just a light one.
"I'll think about it."
Hidden GUN Bunker
Two dusty bunk beds, a dangling light from the ceiling, and a crate holding dry food all in a cramped 4x4 meter room. Shadow had Rouge hooked up in one of the beds to a medical monitor displaying her vitals. Steady and calm. Shadow hoped that she would wake soon, but there were no guarantees. "THIS CONFINED SHELTER WILL NOT CONCEAL YOU FOREVER." Omega's head, which was placed on the crate, told Shadow. "MAYBE NOT NOW, BUT I WILL DO MY BEST TO ENSURE YOUR ANNIHILATION!" Shadow noticed that the virus infecting Omega didn't seem to affect his personality, if you would call it that, all that much. He was still the same murder bot, but just on the other side now. Shadow stands up and walks toward Omega. He presses a button located at the back of Omega's head, making the bot shut down.
"We'll fix you too, Omega." Suddenly, Shadow falls onto his knee and violently starts to cough, hagging out phlegm, and droplets of blood. The blood stains on his white glove as he covers his mouth. His symptoms of the poison were worsening rapidly. This was the third time today that he coughed up blood. It made him worried if Dr. Solace was wrong about the time he had left. Each breath he took was like inhaling five pounds of lead. His muscles felt fatigued and loose. Eyes heavy and bloodshot.
"Look how pathetic you've become." A voice called from behind Shadow. But not just any other voice. His voice. He turns around to see himself standing above him. Not just a reflection of himself, but his past self. Possibly when he was first released from his pod by Eggman. "We used to be so much more."
"You're just a brute. I'm better off without you." Shadow stands up and looks his reflection dead in the eye before passing by him, ignoring his past self.
"Don't be so certain. If I was in control, Harrow would be a smudge on the floor. Is she just too much for you?" Shadow shifts his glance back at his past self with a wrathful look. "Why do you care if any of those annoyances die? As long as you can finish the job, that's all that matters."
"That's not who I am anymore. I would risk everything to protect them."
"Then why are you here?" His past self asked. "Why are you wasting time here when you could be out there fighting? Destroy all of your enemies before they even have the chance to destroy us." Shadow was stunned that his brutish self had a point to make. If what Shadow wanted was to protect everyone, why did he stay? At this point, keeping Rouge safe was no longer an excuse, when she was now stable. "Or are you just afraid of her?" Past Shadow started to chuckle, as he knew he was right. The real Shadow stepped back and away from his reflection, he was getting backed into a corner. "That's it. She's gotten into your head. Driving you insane. You've become a coward." Something quickly turned sour with the past Shadow. His eyes became distorted, filling the whites with static. His face elongates, stretching his mouth wide open to a bottomless void. Blackened claws erupt from his gloves and latch onto Shadow's shoulders. The distorted Shadow screeches an ungodly shriek into Shadow's face.
"Shut up!" Shadow calls upon a chaos spear in his hand and tosses it into the body of the distorted creature. As the spear crashes through, it vanishes and disappears from sight. The chaos spear hurls into the wall and nearly causes catastrophic damage as small debris falls to the ground, but the sudden force knocks the dangling lamp above to flail around, leaving pockets of darkness in some corners. Shadow looks around and everything is back to normal, but his breathing is erratic and he is borderline hyperventilating.
"Shadow? Are you ok?" Another voice, but one that Shadow was finally relieved to hear. He turns back around to the bunk bed and sees that Rouge has at last awoken from her coma. Shadow walks toward her and kneels down next to her bed. She rubs her head, as she is still slightly dazed from being asleep for so long. "Shadow, where are we?
"Just relax, you've been out for a while. Try to-"
"Where are we?" She said with a more stern tone, cutting off Shadow mid-sentence. "Where is Tower? Where is James?" Rouge looks past Shadow and sees Omega's head laying on the crate. "Why is Omega only a head again?" Rouge looks back at Shadow and sees his inhibitor rings gone. A look of dread forms on her face. "Shadow, why aren't you wearing your inhibitor rings? You'll die faster if you don't." Shadow looks down to the ground, anxiously rubbing his hands together.
"There's a lot to unpack. But GUN is gone, and I need to find a way to fix all of this before I run out of time."
"Then you'll need me." Another voice echoed from behind them. Shadow snaps into a battle stance and faces the voice. He sees a silhouette standing in the corner of the room where the light can't reach. But all he could make out was that it was another hedgehog. "Easy, Shadow. I'm here to help." Stepping into the was a face Shadow wasn't expecting to see. Not this soon at least. It was Silver, but something was different about him. He had scars around his arms and legs. His quills were longer and dull. Around his torso, he was wearing a worn-out poncho. This couldn't be the Silver Shadow had just talked to yesterday. So despite the familiar face, Shadow stays on edge.
"Who are you? You're Silver, but you can't be. You've aged drastically since the last time we saw each other."
"I am Silver. Just not yours." Shadow was now even more confused than before. He didn't understand how that could be possible. "I know it will be a lot to take in, but this isn't the first time we've had this conversation. Our world is in much more serious danger than you realize, and I've made many attempts to go and fix it. But I've been set back countless times, that I'm not sure whether I even belong in this timeline or not. But what I am sure of is the sole reason why our future is caving in on itself. Something we must work together on to fix."
"Which is?"
"Tails… He is the one who is responsible for the destruction of our world."
To be continued…
