A/N: Despite the chapter name, there will be no werewolves.
Part 1
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Shadow looked at what was left of special forces. Chaos with its goopy tentacle arms was flinging people away left and right. Shadow kept running to people as they landed, stopping their falls short so they wouldn't get injured or killed.
After a few minutes most survivors were safe. He kept moving injured people, but he couldn't go at full speed without risk of killing them. Chaos wasn't making it easy, but in its weakened state it couldn't completely stop him.
So far 4 people had died before Shadow could catch them. There'd been several fatalities before his arrival. Normally a retreat would've been called, but if Chaos escaped it would be a problem.
Shadow charged at the beast, hitting it as hard as he could. He tried rapid fire super speed hits like last time, but Silver wasn't around to hold it in place. Shadow just kept going through the monster like water.
Nothing to grab onto. He tried running fast enough to create a wind vortex around the creature, but that was failing too. Soldiers who could still fight fired at the creature from a distance, but that didn't help much.
Shadow could prevent the creature's escape for now, but he couldn't seal it, and he could feel the fatigue getting to him. He just hoped Tikal got here before Chaos escaped.
Something told him help wouldn't be there before he ran out of energy. There had to be something he could try, Chaos wasn't affected by any hits it took. Soldiers threw grenades, and it just reformed. Flamethrowers didn't work either. A smoke bomb had seemingly caused a permanent change in Chaos's color, but nothing worthwhile.
Shadow ran through the possibilities. Chaos might not resist stuff that wasn't a threat to it, but he doubted that was the case. It was more likely it couldn't resist the effects of a smoke grenade. What else could get through? Chemicals maybe? Fire hadn't affected Chaos, but maybe something else could react with it.
Maybe a gas or liquid could react with the creature. But that would kill soldiers in the area without gas masks available. There had to be something. Shadow kept thinking with each punch he threw at Chaos.
What chemicals wouldn't kill anyone. With his training, Shadow knew pretty much every explosive device the military used, but none came to mind. At least, none that would be here. He saw one of his old squad mates, Kara, waving him over.
An ear piece was in her hand. Shadow grabbed it and kept attacking Chaos. After a few seconds the ear piece started talking. "Evan, any idea how to stop that thing?"
Shadow felt his body slowing down a little. "If we can stall long enough, Tikal should be able to seal it. But I won't last that long."
"Figured as much. But nothing we've tried seems to work."
"No. A smoke grenade did change its color slightly. A chemical weapon might work. But it'd kill everyone here." Chaos was getting closer and closer to hitting Shadow.
"Chemical huh."
There was a pause before Kara's next words. "We did get something new from R . Something with a two stage explosion. The first meant to kill, the second meant to spread a hallucinogen to any first responders. One of the researchers described it as a way to stop enemy medics that would let him sleep at night."
"How many gas masks do you have?"
"One that still works. It should fit you."
"No. You I'd use up the air almost instantly, and I need someone lucid for when Tikal arrives."
"Then get out when I throw it."
"No." Shadow winced as a tentacle finally struck him. "I need to keep Chaos restrained, so it won't escape."
"But we don't know if it will work."
"It'll get hit first. I can funnel the air, so I'll have a little time to see if there's any effect before succumbing."
"All right." Kara threw someone at Chaos. It stuck into the monster as Shadow sucked to get away from the blast.
No shrapnel hit him, but the shockwave still stung. He got up as a strange smell started. He looked at Chaos who's body shook a little. It tried running away, but Shadow blocked its path.
Chaos kept slumping further, goopier and goopier. Shadow felt himself slowing down, but Chaos was slowing down faster.
"Ip wirped." Shadow felt a tinge of fuzz on the end of his consciousness. He kept fighting Chaos between bouts of laughter.
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Part 2
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Silver felt fatigue biting through his body, but Shadow needed back up as soon as possible. He just had to get a little further, a few more miles. He was just barely hovering above the ground so Tikal and Blaze wouldn't fall too far if he dropped them. Which was fortunate when his powers faltered at the sight of a dust cloud in the distance.
Silver skidded several feet, his body hopping off the ground a few times. It scraped him up a little, but his body didn't seem too bad. Tikal ran to him, but he waved her on. "I'll be fine. Help Shadow."
Tikal nodded, following Blaze. Silver lay there catching his breath. He'd be a liability in a fight for now, so he'd just lie there and recover his strength.
Blaze blasted flames from her feet shooting into a military camp, or what was left of it. When she landed she saw Shadow and Chaos playing cards. She blinked a few times trying to clear her vision.
Shadow looked up from the cards, a glaze over his eyes. A tired smile stretched across his face. "Yo…gop any trees?"
A gloopy arm pulled a card and gave it to Shadow before the blob it came from dropped to the ground and started rolling around. Blaze was still staring at whatever was happening when Tikal walked up to her. "Uh…are you seeing what I'm seeing?"
Blaze glanced at her before responding. "Do you see Shadow playing cards with Chaos?"
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Part 3
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Tails sat in a cave looking through files on a computer when something odd popped up. When working on waking Sonic up he'd connected Sonic's operating system to his computer. Now it was sending him a message. Diagnostics showed a system shutdown and reboot.
It looked like there was something else, but Tails's computer didn't specify what. "Should've been more thorough with that program." He thought for a moment. Sonic hadn't returned yet, which would be very concerning if he'd stayed offline.
He'd been knocked out. But if the gas in the emerald's cave had done it, he'd be dead. His system wouldn't have rebooted. At the very least Sonic was ok. Tails checked the tracker he'd added to Sonic. He didn't like peeping, but Sonic might need help.
It looked like he was near the cave with the emerald in it and was heading back to the hideout. Tails turned the tracker back off and went back to a file on Chaos. Ever since Shadow had mentioned it, Tails had been looking at any information he could find. Unfortunately, that wasn't much. That made sense, Chaos was likely classified, but it didn't help. As far as Tails could tell, any classified documents didn't exist on servers connected to the internet. And he wasn't about to try breaking into any places with info on the creature. He didn't want to get arrested, or worse.
Another message showed up on Tail's screen, pulling him out of his thoughts. He was getting a call. He blinked a few times trying to figure out who even knew how to contact him. It was an old computer, maybe someone still had the number of the previous owner. No, that wasn't how computers worked.
He answered the call. His screen and for a second Tails thought he'd fallen for a scam and gotten hacked. Then he saw a plump man with an enormous mustache and a red lab coat. He wore glasses on his forehead.
The man cleared his throat. "Are you by any chance, Miles?"
"Uhhh…yes…?" It was weird enough to get a call from a human. But someone calling him by his first name was even weirder.
"My name is Ivo Robotnick. If I'm not mistaken, you're friends with Sonic."
Fur all along Tail's body stood up. He clicked a button sending a warning to Knuckles and Amy. If this Robotnick guy knew about their time with Sonic, he might know their location too.
Robotnick kept talking. "I need your help."
Tails wasn't sure how to react, but kept listening. "I don't know if you're aware of this. But Sonic was captured and had his memories altered." Tails' eyes went wide. "That's something I plan to deal with in the near future. I made a backup of his memories in case that happened. But I need your help getting some information on Chief Oran."
"Who?"
"The chief of police, and the one who put an arrest warrant out on Sonic, and the one responsible for his mind wipe. Shadow believes he committed a serious crime that could remove him from his office and put him in prison for a long time. The evidence for which I believe is on a computer he uses."
Tails browsed through a few files, filtered through an email server, and opened a tab. "Let's see…embezzlement. Looks like he took out a hit on someone named Evan Robotnick."
Robotnick's face had already turned to shock. But now, his face had gone completely blank. "Tails. You managed to hack his computer just now?"
Tails nodded. "He has 2-factor, but clearly doesn't know how to use it."
"And you can confirm Chief Oran put out a hit on Evan Robotnick?"
Tails switched to a shared screen. Robotnick's left eye twitched. His breathing was calm, but his entire body shook. "Can you send me a copy of this file and its location?"
Tails sent a link through the chat. Robotnick nodded, opening the file and looking through it. "Thank you. You've been a massive help."
A/N:
Finally got a chance to write this chapter. Never been as busy as the last few months. Next chapter should be out much sooner than this one was.
Comment responses
@momojifan: Well, it took longer than expected. But the first 2023 chapter is out. Also I appreciate feedback anytime and am flattered by anyone enjoying my stories. Happy new year to you, or rather, happy May.