Chapter 2: Search and Rescue

Things were getting a little mysterious for the 3 survivors as they continued their journey through the city. There were loads of boxes all unopened by anyone alongside lots of clothes just lying on the floor without anyone tending to them. Shadow was beginning to become quite puzzled as to what could have done this. He began to wonder if all of this had some connection in this new world he found himself in and if so, why was he in this world and what purpose would it serve him being there? As soon as they came inside a small restaurant, Six was getting a little bit thirsty and so a quick cooldown was in order before continuing on. After some quick searching, they found some spare water bottles high up on a shelf. It was a little bit tricky for Six and Mono to reach the shelf and bring them down without hurting themselves. Luckily Shadow grabbed one of the bottles off the shelf, got a few small spare cups, and poured water in them for Mono and Six to drink. While the two kids were drinking, Shadow kept an eye out just in case any mysterious things were nearby. After fighting the Hunter, he was starting to think that there were more monsters like him out there. Mono began asking Shadow, "If that Hunter and that glitched thing were after us and since you helped us, won't these monsters treat you like an enemy if there are any more out there?" Shadow simply looked back and said, "If the world chooses to become my enemy, I will fight like I always have!" Soon they were on their way again and after a few struggles, they eventually came to a door with cracks near the door handle. Mono thought he saw something and went in to take a peak. Six was about to follow when she looked back at Shadow and wondered how he was going to get through, when they heard something coming in the next room. Six went through the crack in the door while Shadow simply teleported himself through. Mono appeared to be trapped inside the TV and looked like he needed help. Once Six pulled him free, Shadow destroyed the TV with a chaos spear. Once the TV was destroyed, Mono told the two of them, "Thanks for your help. I don't know what came over me?" As they started continuing the journey, Shadow stopped to look back at the destroyed TV. He instantly knew that whatever is happening to this world… it was all connected to the TVs. "Hmmm...there's definitely something going on out there. Now it's up to me to find out what they're up to!"

Eventually, they arrived at an area that looked like a school with a playground in the entryway. While they were looking around in the playground, Six decided to gently kick a soccer ball but it slowly stopped outside of the goal. Six looked in Shadow's Direction and asked, "Do you wanna try this Shadow?" This wasn't anything new to Shadow as he had done this countless times when he competed with Sonic and Mario at the olympic games, but he hadn't done football in a little while. "Alright but just this one time," Shadow replied. He decided to kick the ball when he thought he was far enough. Once he found his starting place, he went full speed and kicked the ball pretty darn hard. Mono soon pointed at the makeshift rope leading into the school building. Once Six and Mono climbed up the rope and were in, a small snicker could be heard. Shadow turned behind him and looked around. He didn't see anyone but given what had happened in the previous location, he was sure that there were going to be obstacles along the way. He then teleported inside to catch up with the two kids… completely on full alert of any new threats that stood before him.

Once they were inside the school, it was like being in a mansion. Shadow couldn't make it through the vent areas like Six and Mono, but caught up with them using his teleportation abilities. As they continued, the school was becoming very spooky and strange things began to happen. It was even more troubling when the shadowy figure shut the door of a nearby room. Six was beginning to become a little bit nervous, but she bravely pushed on. Shadow on the other hand was starting to wonder if these monsters had some sort of monstrous abilities they were using, but he shrugged it off as he knew these things couldn't be a match for the powers and abilities that he had. Things had turned to alert when loads of traps kept getting triggered. Shadow was beginning to think that whatever was setting up these traps, they've dealt with kids before but he didn't know if they even knew how to deal with him. He was about to look around when he heard something fall, he turned around and saw a fallen locker, and was too late to do anything as he was seeing Six being dragged up to the next floor by something. He was about to do a chaos blast when he heard something moving in the fallen locker. He was ready to fire a chaos spear when Mono rolled out. "Hi Shadow," replied Mono. Mono quickly told him about what had happened and that he heard Six being kidnapped by something. The two were now going on a rescue mission and more alert for what was to come. As they continued, they found an elevator going up to the next floor which unfortunately needed a key to unlock the lock stuck on the elevator button. They then saw a classroom with these weird kids with broken heads sitting at their desks. As they got a close look, they saw something teaching these kids and it matched the shadowy figure they saw earlier. The figure appeared to be a slim woman wearing a gray skirt, a buttoned-up shirt, a pair of white socks, and a pair of black shoes. There was another room on the other side but in order to get in there, they'd have to sneak past the Teacher. Mono said that he would try to make it into the room and figure out if anything in there could be useful. Once he made it in as well as a quick search in the room, he found a key which would fit the lock on the elevator quite well, but this goal hadn't gone unnoticed by the Teacher. She was patrolling the classroom going from desk to desk looking for any troublemakers that were unfortunate to cross her path. Mono thought he was in the clear as he was sneaking past at the entrance to the classroom… but then the Teacher saw him leaving! She stretched her neck lunging out for him, but was quickly stopped by one of Shadow's spin attacks. Shadow looked at Mono's direction and shouted, "Let's Go!" Mono raced to the lock with the key while Shadow provided him cover. Once they got the elevator working, they went up to the next floor. The Teacher didn't know what that was that attacked her… but she thought that she hadn't seen the last of that thing.

Once they made it up to the second floor, they found another kid with a pointed hat on his head, and he seemed to be a troublemaker as he was tied up with a rope around his neck on a post on the wall. Mono noticed a pipe sitting nearby and tried getting it, but the kid saw him and tried lunging at him. Fortunately he was pulled back since he was tied down. Mono grabbed the pipe and was about to get the kid, but he saw that Shadow had already blasted him with a chaos spear. "Huh. Well that works too… I guess," said Mono. Once they got the door open, they saw a vent that only Mono could go through. Mono got worried for leaving Shadow behind, but the ultimate lifeform reassured him that he would just teleport to his location once he was out. Once they both made it into the next room…they heard a loud noise. Mono looked down… and down below was the Teacher. Shadow knew that he couldn't make it across the wooden planks as he'd make too much noise. Mono said that he could try and make it across without being heard, but once he tried and knocked over a bottle on the ground next to the Teacher… she was coming up to find the disturbance in her room. Shadow looked up and instantly grabbed Mono and jumped to the next floor with a vent leading into the next room. Once Mono was through, he quickly teleported away just as the teacher reached the top. Now the Teacher was becoming agitated about not finding the troublemakers, but she knew what the room was next door… unaware of what was about to happen.

Once the two survivors met up again, they found themselves in some sort of library…and they heard the Teacher coming into the room. Shadow and Mono had to work fast if they didn't want to be spotted. Mono saw a ladder along the bookshelf and pushed it near a desk and began to climb up the bookshelf. Once he got up and landed on the desk… the landing caused some books to fall over which alerted the Teacher once more. She then stretched her neck, crashed through the books, and was just about to get Mono when Shadow did a spin attack on her neck which knocked her off balance and fell to the ground, buying Mono some time to escape. She quickly recovered and turned to face Shadow. She considered herself to be the scariest monster at the school and she thought all would fear her, but this time… to her surprise… Shadow didn't back down. "You dare to attack me and get away with it! I order you to stop now!" she shouted. Shadow simply replied, "I take orders from no one. I do as I decide." Enraged, the Teacher lunged at Shadow, but he dodged her attacks and Shadow already knew where her weak spot was… the neck. Once the Teacher lunged at him again, Shadow fired a chaos spear at her right eye. She cried out in pain at the damage she'd been given while Shadow quickly teleported away. The Teacher looked around… and couldn't see Shadow anywhere. Injured, she went into the next room to search for a solution for her little injury. Mono watched as the teacher left the library, and then looked back as Shadow reappeared behind him. "Are you sure that it's safe to go in there with the Teacher roaming around?" Mono asked. Shadow looked at him and reassured him to stay close. Shadow got the door open and looked around… he couldn't see the Teacher anywhere. "Follow me," said Shadow as he went into the room with Mono quickly by his side. Once they made it into the next room and saw that the door to the next room was locked. After a quick exploration, they found a room with a big chess set and in order to keep moving they had to complete it. Inside the room was a big map of land with a big eye circled over the whole thing. Shadow was starting to think that this would be connected to his theory about the TVs being responsible for what happened to this world. After the puzzle was solved, a hidden door with a key was found and once they got it, they unlocked the door and went into the next room.

Once they got inside the next room, they could hear noises nearby which sounded like kids having a big ruckus. There was a vent leading into the next room which only Mono could go through, but as usual Shadow teleported himself to Mono once he made it to the other side. It now looked like they were in some sort of kitchen and with a group of kids nearby. Mono picked up a ladle and got a few of them, and Shadow did a few beam attacks to help him have the upper hand. With so much noise that the kids were making, they didn't even hear him doing his chaos spears. Once that was done, they looked nearby and saw the loads of kids at tables which gave the impression that this was a cafeteria. Mono tried to put one of the kids' heads on his as a way to disguise himself and sneak past them. Shadow watched him make his way, waiting to jump in at any second there were complications. Everything was going well until one of the kids pushed Mono to the ground a little too hard… which broke his disguise. All the kids turned their attention to him and were about to pounce on him… when they all heard a noise behind them… and then saw something appear in front of him, crushing two of the kids in the process. Once Shadow appeared, silence fell in the cafeteria. Shadow wondered what was making them quite all of a sudden but it then dawned on him… they were all staring… at him! The kids didn't even move as they had no idea what this thing was or what it wanted. They were even more nervous by the fact that this thing was bigger than them and they had no idea what it was capable of. Shadow told Mono to stay close as they continued their mission and in the next room, the same thing happened with all the kids just staring at Shadow as he and Mono walked along to the end of the hallway. At the end, there was a crevice for Mono to get through. Once Shadow teleported to catch up with Mono, the kids returned to their business a little shaken up by what they just saw.

In the room that Shadow and Mono found themselves in appeared to be some sort of science area. They couldn't go into the next room because the door was locked so they had to find a way to get the door open. Mono was about to look around for anything useful when Shadow used one of his energy beams and got the door open. As they continued, they found the Teacher working inside the lab with an eye patch over her eye to try and recover from her encounter with Shadow. Mono started sneaking past her on the table to make it without being seen while Shadow kept an eye on the Teacher to make sure that if Mono was seen, he would start a second round with the Teacher. Luckily, Mono made it into the next room and into the vent, and Shadow teleported to catch up with him. Once they made it through, they were in for a fight as some of the kids decided to attack them. While Mono grabbed a nearby hammer to fight the kids in front, Shadow covered him from behind in case any of them decided to do a sneak attack. As they were doing this fight, Shadow also made sure to destroy any traps that happened to be triggered. Once they reached the end of the hallway, they entered a bathroom and found out that two of the kids had Six tied to a rope dangling upside down. Once Mono destroyed the wooden board that kept her stuck, Shadow caught her fall and set her down on a rag on the floor. Once she woke up, she was a little shaken up by the events that had happened but she was happy that she was rescued by her two allies. Once they got the nearby window open and crossed the wooden plank into the next room while Shadow teleported in the room. In that room, there was a piano and they had to make it crash through the floor. Shadow told them to stand back as he jumped in the air and did a spin dash at the floor near the piano. Once the floor broke, he quickly did a spin dash at the rope and once it was cut, the piano fell through the floor. Shadow then pulled out the blue chaos emerald and teleported the three of them to the floor below. When they arrived on the floor, they soon heard a noise. They looked around and saw a kid playing with a key. While Six was giving Mono a lift into the alleyway, Shadow was keeping an eye out in case any other monster decided to show up. As Six was distracting the kid by playing the piano, Mono went around, grabbed a pipe, and smashed the kid while retrieving the key. Then Shadow quickly teleported to Mono and then teleported him back to the other side. As the three entered the next room, they saw another kid drawing on the floor. Before Six and Mono could do anything, Shadow easily destroyed the kid with a beam attack. "You're full of surprises aren't you Shadow?" Six asked. Shadow simply grinned and the three continued on… unaware of the speed battle about to take place.

Once they neared the next room, the sound of a Piano could be heard. Once Six and Mono both climbed up a bookcase, they entered a vent while Shadow slowly opened the door. They saw the Teacher playing the piano still recovering from her injury. "Did you do that?" Six whispered to Mono once she saw the eye patch. "Nope. That was Shadow's doing." replied Mono. As Mono climbed down to figure out how to get across, Six was beginning to think on how Shadow would make it without being seen. Unknown to her, Shadow was already thinking of a plan on how to deal with the situation and put this monster behind them. Mono eventually got a way for Six and himself to make it across to the nearby vent… but the Teacher noticed them trying to escape… and then tried going in the vent after them. Shadow had an idea and he teleported at the back of the school and raced around just as he saw Six and Mono had slid into a dumpster. The Teacher was about to search for them… then she nearly got hit with a concentrated energy beam. She looked around and saw Shadow skating towards her ready to start the big speed battle. "You Again?! Perhaps this time I shall destroy you!" The Teacher screamed. She lunged at Shadow, but he dodged her attack and quickly turned around for the battle to begin. "Ha! Think you can beat me?" Shadow said as he skated at the same pace alongside the Teacher. She tried to lunge at him again, but he teleported to the opposite side of her. "Not quite." he remarked as he began picking up speed and leading her around the back of the school. The Teacher was so determined to get revenge on the Ultimate Lifeform… that she didn't pay attention to how far her neck was stretching. Back in the Music room, her body couldn't fit in the vent… which ultimately gave way and yanked back her neck. She let out a big loud groan as she fell to the ground unconscious. Shadow looked back and gave a small smirk just before teleporting back to Six and Mono.

Once Shadow arrived back, he told the two what had happened and that they should keep moving while they still had the time. Then the rain started coming down and the ground was soaking wet as the three continued. Just as they had begun to move, Shadow looked back to see Six shivering being cold and wet from the rain. Instantly, Shadow slowed down and set a pace that the girl could follow. "T-T-Tha-nks Sh-Sh-Sha-dow." Six said, shivering. Shadow simply looked back at her and let out a small smile. They soon came up to a giant ravine with a small wooden plank across. "Six and I can get across…but what about you Shadow?" asked Mono. Shadow simply stated, "I'm full of surprises." He slowly then used his air shoes and simply flew across the ravine and waited on the other side for the two to make it. Once they both made it, Shadow still set a small pace for Six since she was still shivering. Once they made it past a parkour difficulty, they entered a room with a yellow raincoat laying on the floor. Six slowly approached it and put on the raincoat to help keep her from shivering in the rain. "How do I look?" she asked. "You look great," replied Mono. Shadow simply nodded in agreement after pulling out the yellow chaos emerald for a little Once that was done, they continued their journey and eventually made it to a building which looked like a hospital. Shadow wasn't sure what would happen here, but after what happened at the first two locations… he was ready for what was ahead.