A rock crashed into the alien soldier's head, effectively knocking him out. Silver stood over him with clenched fists, his crimson-yellow eyes flashing dangerously.
Sonic sped over to him. "Did you get them all on your side?"
Silver nodded. "Yep." He turned to Sonic, worry flashing on his face. "But I'm worried about Shadow. I know he just went to do recon with Rouge, but I fear that they were caught, or dead, or something…"
"Hey, hey, hey," Sonic said, resting a hand on his shoulder. "He'll be okay! He's tougher than that, remember? He's been through heck and back, and is still alive and kicking, isn't he?"
Against his will, Silver laughed. "I guess that's true. Thanks for comforting me."
"No problem, little bro," Sonic replied. "Now get ready. Another wave is coming!"
They turned around and faced more Black Arms soldiers, who all wielded weird-looking swords and guns. The two hedgehogs looked at each other, grinned, and launched themselves at the aliens.
It wasn't long before this new wave also lay on the ground, defeated. Sonic and Silver stood back-to-back, their arms crossed. Both of them were a little tired from the constant fighting, but they had won in the end.
Silver turned around. "Okay, seriously. It's been a few hours. Something's up."
"I hate to say this, but you're right," Sonic agreed. "But Shadow instructed us to stay put. He has a plan, and we have to trust him. However, it doesn't hurt to keep an eye on the ship."
They had just turned their faces to the blood-red sky before an explosion commenced.
They whipped their heads around to the source, which was the Black Arms mothership. A section had completely exploded, and a weird looking streak was coming out of it, followed by black shapes. It was red and black.
"Shadow!" Silver cried. "It's him!"
Sonic squinted in that direction. "It looks like he's…being chased."
Silver tugged on Sonic's hand. "So, what are we waiting for?! Let's go after him!"
Sonic nodded in agreement. The two took off in the direction of the streak.
It took them longer than it should have to finally catch up to Shadow. Even then, they were still pretty far away, but with the help of Silver's psychokinesis, they could see what was going on. They had ended up in a dark alleyway. Shadow was carrying Rouge, who was limp in his arms. His red-and-black quills were all in a disarray, and his red eyes were flashing. He held her closer to his chest and snarled at the soldiers who were creeping closer, guns flashing in the dim light.
"He's in trouble!" Silver shouted. Sonic ran faster, and Silver flew close behind him. Sonic's teeth were bared and a determined expression was in his green eyes.
All of a sudden, a strange ripple tore through the air. It felt familiar…
"Chaos Control," Silver whispered. "He stopped time."
His assumption was correct. Suddenly, Rouge was standing in front of Shadow, her arms spread. "Run!" she shouted over her shoulder to Shadow. "Please!"
One Black Arms soldier grinned and raised his gun. He aimed, and pulled the trigger.
"We're not going to make it!" Sonic yelled.
Silver pushed himself to the absolute limit, still staring at the scene.
Just before the blast struck Rouge, Shadow pushed her aside and took the hit.
Sonic skidded to a stop, his eyes wide with horror. Silver hovered motionlessly in the air, shock flowing through his body.
Please be okay, please please please be okay…
At first, it seemed like the black hedgehog was okay. He was still standing in front of Rouge, who was staring at him with terror. His cape fluttered in the wind, hovering in front of the site where he was hit. For just a moment, his eyes flickered up to the spot where Sonic and Silver were. At this point, the soldier had lowered his gun, and a look of pure fear now dominated his face. He had hit the wrong person.
And then the inevitable happened.
Shadow crumpled to the ground, directly in Rouge's arms. Silver and Sonic were still frozen, staring at their brother with horror. They stayed stuck until the black blood started to flow.
Agony filtered through Silver's body as his mind finally processed what happened. No…
Sonic howled with pure rage and took off again, this time aiming for the soldiers. They whipped around and withdrew their guns again, aiming at him.
Silver did not let that happen. His powers flared, and then the guns were flying away, out of the Black Arms' reach. They were now unarmed, and could not stop Sonic's savage attack.
In just a flash, they were all on the floor, nearly dead. Silver raised his fists, his psychokinesis surrounding him. All he could see was red. All he could feel was anger, and hatred.
"No!" Suddenly, an arm gripped Silver's. He snapped out of his trance effectively to find Sonic holding onto him.
"Don't become a monster, just like them! You're better than that, Silver! And killing them won't do much good right now…"
Sonic turned his head towards the rumpled shape at the end of the alleyway, grief flooding his expression.
Silver stared at the shape, and then without willing it, started flying towards it. He dropped to the floor as soon as he got there, and stared at his brother.
Blood flowed out of every possible place, staining Rouge's arms black. Ears. Eyes. Nose. Mouth.
Shadow's eyes were closed, but agony filtered across his face as the life physically drained out of him.
Silver seized his limp hand and squeezed it, tears running down his face. "No…no, no, no! Shadow, wake up! WAKE UP!"
Sonic had rushed to Silver's side and also knelt in the puddle of blood. He grabbed Shadow's other hand. "Stay strong! You can't leave us! Not like this!"
Rouge's head was bent, and she was sobbing freely, holding Shadow even tighter.
Miraculously, the black hedgehog's eyes opened partly. They flickered around for a second before they rested on Silver's face.
He smiled slightly. "Hey, Silver."
Silver shook his head, the tears making his eyes blurry. "Big brother…I just got you back! You can't leave me again!"
For a second, emotional pain flashed across Shadow's face. "I am so sorry. I wish I didn't have to leave you guys like this…"
"So don't!" Sonic shouted. "You're the only family me and Silver have got left! You can't leave us alone!"
Shadow chuckled once. "Family. How funny that I only got the concept just now…" He turned his gaze to Rouge, who was still crying heavily. "It was because of you."
Rouge stopped sobbing for a second, and wiped her nose. "What?"
"You're the one who taught me how to love. Love and cherish. Thanks to you, I finally recognized the important people in my life before it ends. You're all my family, and I love you all." He started breathing shallowly. "Thank you all for…accepting me and loving me for who I am. Goodbye…"
With one final breath, he stopped moving. The blood flow decreased and completely stopped.
Time halted. Nothing else mattered now. Silver's big brother…his best brother…was dead.
"No!" Rouge cried, hugging Shadow even closer. "Don't leave me! Please…" she whispered. Her tears ran freely and dripped on Shadow's closed eyes.
Silver leaned into Sonic, still gripping Shadow's hand, and started sobbing. Sonic leaned his head on top of Silver's and also started crying. Grief and pain flooded Silver's body like a heavy weight, and it crashed on top of him. First their parents, and now Shadow. It was just him and Sonic left. It shouldn't have been like this. They should've lived out the full duration of their lives out together as one happy family. After Silver had run away from his orphanage and found his true family, he was the happiest hedgehog to ever live. It seems like his happiness was only doomed to last a few months before it was eventually snatched away from him.
Silver woke up with tears running down his face and his body shaking like a leaf. He curled up into a ball and pressed his hands on his ears.
No, no, no! That may have happened, but it turned out okay in the end! Shadow survived with the help of Tikal and is back and better than ever! He's okay! Everything is okay…
Somehow, this was worse than his nightmare about Blaze and Sonic's transformation. Maybe because Shadow was so close to him. That must be why this nightmare hurts more.
Even though he kept thinking all these positive thoughts, it did not relieve his terror and agony. No regular nightmare has ever terrified him for this long. This one was different, and it felt like it was breaking him apart from the inside.
To be continued…
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