26 - Jackal Armada - 26

Morning, 8:00 AM

Shadow charged forth with a strong kick, knocking down a jackal soldier easily with an instant knockout. As they swiped swords, bats and maces at him, he easily dodged them and continued to make high and low kicks. Each strike from the biohog's air shoes was enough to KO anyone who stood in his way. He wouldn't let anyone sneak up on Sonic without him having a say about it. Despite not having function of his hands at the moment, this was a cakewalk. No matter how many weapons were thrown at him at once, no matter how many lackeys tripped over each other to get to him, he was too fast for them to touch. He could see that Infinite did indeed push them to their absolute limits, because they were certainly moving faster and hitting harder than the last time Shadow fought the squad. A jackal ran and jumped up with a dagger in hand and turned downwards for a direct stabbing, heading straight for Shadow's head. An air shoe had lifted up, catching the weapon's blade in it's metallic-like soles. While he blocked this attack, Shadow could see that many others were rushing towards him. Suddenly, small flames began to appear from the shoe, and Shadow was rocketed backwards, knocking the jackal down. When he propelled himself with his air shoes, he managed to knock over other members of the jackal squad as well. He positioned himself in a way that would spiral himself around the crowd, knocking them all down like dominoes. When he finally landed, he noticed that even more jackals were breaching inside of the room.

Meanwhile, Sonic continued to throw hands with the leader of the jackals. While the hero could admit that he was somewhat of a formidable fighter, he was nothing compared to Shadow and thus, nothing compared to himself. The only reason why Sonic wasn't landing a blow yet, was because his jackals did more of the work for him when they ambushed him earlier while he was still lost in the ruby's daze. He was injured, so he was moving a little bit slower than usual. This fight however was taking longer than he liked, so he'd have to push himself a little further. With the next attack that he dodged from Infinite, Sonic attacked while doing so instead of waiting for a chance to counterattack. A right hook was nailed directly into his jaw, causing him to stumble back. Growling, he swung this time with his claws, nearly scratching the blue blur's face. Sonic changed up tactics and swung a high kick to push away the attack. The jackal then seized at Sonic's throat to keep him still as his other clawed hand formed into a pincher to stab itself directly into his side. The hero reached down to grip the jackal's wrist, stopping him from completing the action and mortally wounding him. As his grip on Sonic's throat tightened, the hero just grinned before bringing up both legs and performing yet another harsh drop kick to the chest. This time, Infinite didn't get knocked back, but he did lose his hold of Sonic. The hero used him as a spring to jump off of his body and gain some distance away, and as he did so he called for Shadow to come closer in the air.

"Shadow, switch with me!"

The ultimate life form did as he was told, and moved to replace Sonic's spot in front of Infinite. The hero did a downwards spiral axe kick into the GUN agent's cuffs, severely denting them. When he landed behind Shadow, the striped hedgehog grunted as he used his own strength to break out of the cuffs. Sonic's attack was just enough to weaken them for him to destroy. They both took a second to pause, and looked around as several other jackals began to get closer. Shadow had pulled himself against the blue hedgehog, and the two were now literally back to back, looking at the scene around them. The army of jackals were coming closer, but something was wrong. Shadow was positive there weren't this many jackals the first time he fought the squad. In the midst of it all, Infinite, who was still recovering from the drop kick, was dusting himself off as he began to laugh. "You've noticed the increase in number, huh? I might have lied to you when I said the jackals in this base and in Prison Island were the only ones left of my family. I had to call in a few more reinforcements, others who either abandoned the family or owed me a favor. Even if they've left our way of life, they're willing to return and lay down their lives for me." He leered at their position, as they were nearly drowning in jackal Mobian grunts. "Remember the fifty-nine bombs? Well, there were supposed to be sixty. You know why? Because, there are sixty dozen jackals who are currently or were former members of the Jackal Squad. There's more of us than you realize, and they're not even all here yet. I didn't claim them before because they weren't involved in any of this, but I had to cash in my favors. Point is, you'll never make it out of here alive." He then held up his arm before yelling a command. "Jackal Squad! Do not kill Shadow the Hedgehog, he's mine to take. As for that blue stain," He shrugged before simply stepping back. "Have fun." With his command, the jackals made war cries as they sprinted forward towards the hedgehog duo.

"Damn it," The biohog said quickly. To them, everything suddenly moved in slow motion, as they could speak and process words faster than anyone else. "This fight could have ended minutes ago if I could use chaos. Infinite caused my ability to spark it to disappear for I don't know how long, and even a chaos emerald wouldn't help. It's probably an illusion, but I can't meditate right now to ward off its effects."

Sonic gave a quick thumbs up. "No problem," He then reached down to grasp Shadow's forearm. "I've got all the emeralds, and they're slowly givin' me my strength back. You can borrow some of mine." Blue energy traveled throughout the ebony and red striped hedgehog's body, before fading into amber red.

He could feel the power find its place within the elder hedgehog's figure, and it was quite warm. Even though it wasn't too much, this was more than plenty to work with. With an impressed smirk, Shadow quickly glanced at his lover. "I'm surprised you learned how to do that so quickly after showing you yesterday only once, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this point."

"What can I say? I've got a good teacher."

"Well, I think it's time for your teacher to show off a few new abilities of his own." He glanced back at the problem at hand. "Follow my lead." Suddenly, the black hedgehog stomped his foot into the floor, a wave of amber red chaos energy abruptly blasting throughout the room and causing their enemies to lose balance. He then reached up his hand high in the air, before announcing, "Chaos Bind!" That red energy suddenly paused, before zooming into a line of visible power and wrapping around the entire group of jackals. It then suddenly shrunk and like a rope, tied them all together into one ginormous pile of targets. Shadow then gripped his hand into a fist. "Constrict." The wire-like chaos energy pulled tighter. They kicked and made strangled noises of pain, but they were all trapped. No one could get out of this. "Sonic, go!"

Rubbing his finger under his nose, the hero smirked before crouching down. Blue energy surged through his legs before he began to run. "You guys better hang on tight-" He ran around the room in circle several times that no one with the naked eye could count due to his sheer speed. Blue rings of wind began to arise from below, before growing and forming into a large indoor tornado. The interior of the room was absolutely destroyed, items flying across the area as the powerful currents pulled the huge group of jackals upwards into the air. "-Chaos Wind!" The wind was directed into the gaping hole, becoming a vortex of powerful air and pressure.

Shadow then released his hand. "Release." The red wire of energy snapped and disappeared into embers, causing the jackals to fall completely into the wind's pull. However, red energy was still lingering on their bodies. Before they could fall through the wall's hole, Shadow announced yet another move. He slammed his hands on the ground as his power electrified the floor. "Chaos Portal!" A red ring appeared around the hole, and right before their eyes, a black portal opened. Along with Sonic's wind, the two hedgehogs created an inescapable black hole. The jackals fell through the portal by the dozens, screaming and yelling in terror of the unknown waiting for them inside of the chaotic void. "Finally," The Ultimate Life Form said. "Chaos Control!" In an amber red flash, the portal disappeared. Unbeknownst to Infinite, that same portal appeared outside of the entire Chemical Plant, just to dump them all in the nearby oceans of West Side Island. While he was sure none of them would drown to death, the ultimate life form would not be responsible for any accidental casualties. Even if they all made it back to the plant, he was positive they'd have enough time to defeat Infinite by then.

Speaking of which...

"Chaos Control!"

In an amber red flash, the duo teleported closer towards the mercenary leader. The two hedgehog stepped together, nearly arm to arm, their fists charging with chaos energy. Lime green and amber red eyes locked onto their final target, who watched in shock at their efforts. He never expected that chaos energy could be easily transferred from one living being to the other. He was able to keep Sonic on a leash thanks to having Shadow hostage, but now he no longer had that leverage. As they moved even closer to him, he tried to use the ruby. Magenta sparked in his eyes, but then blue power began to electrocute his body once more. He cried out in pain and alarm, looking at his left arm to see that there were several blue spines sticking out of it. When did he-? "Heheh," Sonic chuckled darkly as his eyes began to glow neon green once more. "Never saw me throw 'em, did ya? I figured with all the experiments Eggface did on you, you'd be just a little stronger. 'Guess not. Just 'cause you got that ruby, doesn't mean you can follow my speed. I breathe faster than you can even think. Now, feel this." He used his other hand to snap his fingers. "Chaos Pierce."

"AH!" Infinite screamed in pain as his entire body was fried with blue power, feeling as if an entire bladed needle struck right through his body. He fell to his knees, smoke flowing from his slightly charred fur. In that split second, he almost forgotten his current situation. He quickly looked up to see the hedgehogs coming right for him.

"Chaos Control!"

Again!?

Wait...why did everything but them seem completely still?

Did Shadow...

...Stop time!?

Together, nearly in perfect synchronization, they both jumped up in the air with clenched fists glowing with chaos energy. Shadow glowered daggers into Infinite with an angry, yet disappointed scowl. His eyes glowing bright red as his borrowed power flowed inside of him. Sonic meanwhile, was simpering with great mischief. His neon green irises narrowing down upon him as he grinned even more. Once again, time moved in slow motion for them, but unlike the two chaos users, Infinite's body could not move since he was frozen in Chaos Control. Despite all the power Eggman infused into his body, he was still adjusting, he wasn't at their level yet. The only thing he could move at this very moment, were his irises. With terror, he looked back and forth between them over and over. Shadow, then to Sonic. Shadow, then to Sonic again. They were going to kill him. It was all over. All he could do was watch as they swung their fists down upon him.

His heterochromic eyes flinched...

...

...An impact that could be heard thousands of miles away blasted sound waves across the island and beyond.

Several floors of the plant were destroyed one by one, impact by impact. Their attack pushed Infinite down so far, that he landed on the ground floor, the original ruins of the Chemical Plant. Blood seeped out of his nose, his mouth and behind his head, his eyes half lidded as he stared upwards. Landing beside each other, their fists hot with chaotic aura, the two hedgehogs lowered their hands and walked around Infinite's body. As they did, they fist bumped each other. Another job well done by the speed demon duo.

Sonic crouched down and nudged him with the tip of his sneaker, tilting his head. "Shit," He grimaced considerably. "Did we kill him? I really hope not." He stood up with his hands on his hips. "I hate the bastard, but I don't wanna take him out for good. Don't want that on my conscience."

Shadow crossed his arms as he stared down at the broken jackal. "I don't think so, I can faintly hear a heartbeat-Oh."

Infinite slowly, with great difficulty, lifted his head up. "H-How...Are you two...I..." His limbs shook violently as they attempted to function. "Eggman...He infused me with nothing...but chaos...energy...I'm supposed to...be like you..."

With a frown, Shadow debunked this lie. "You are nothing like us, nor will you ever be—no matter how many syringes are stabbed into your body. Sonic and I are one of a kind, and nobody can match that."

Sonic nodded confidently. "He's right, ya know. When Shads an' I are together, there's no chance for douchebags like you. We're just that good. Don't make this any harder for us," The hero advised softly. "Just give up. Shadow might be mad at you now, but he's still got a heart. He might show ya some mercy if you come along quietly-"

"-And quickly." Shadow finished for him. "I have little to no patience as of now. You forced me to come here at the crack of dawn, just for you to pull something like this?" He reached down and roughly gripped Infinite's collar, yanking him upwards off his feet and looking him in the eyes. "You've disappointed me, Infinite." His voice was filled with so much regret and despondency, that he sounded slightly more emotional than usual. "I could have worked with you to make your life better, perhaps even lessened your sentence since you were forced into bombing the city, but you've crossed the line!"

Shadow made a horrible mistake.

Infinite painfully smirked a little as his eyes turned magenta.

"...!" The biohog let go of the jackal as he saw the purplish-red mist fill his eyesight. "Son of a...!" He suddenly heard the sound of sleek metal. A small whoosh of wind breezed past his face as he slowly looked down. A magenta glowing, large curved blade was sitting up against his neck, right underneath his tan muzzle. Carefully, his eyes darted to the side to see a black furred arm holding the blade near Shadow's face. How was he still able to use the ruby after having his body battered? His will power must have been a lot stronger than they anticipated.

The magenta mist faded away, and Sonic coughed as he finally saw through the gas. "Shadow-!" He tried to reach for him, but Infinite pressed the blade close to the striped hedgehog's neck, allowing a thin line of blood to spill and drip down his throat and onto his chest fur. It stained the white fur into pink, causing Shadow to wince. Immediately gnashing his teeth, his blue quills raised and sharpened, Sonic demanded that he let him go. "Get that fucking thing away from him!"

Infinite just shook his head. "Like I said before," He coughed up a little blood. "You've...forced my hand." The emotions of desperation, fear, anger, jealousy, lust and unrequited feelings all surged within the ruby, strengthening it's power significantly. The jackal's body was completely engulfed in it's aura, making him laugh a little. "Now I can feel it...everything the doctor put inside of me." He glanced at Shadow, who was still glaring swords at him from the front. "I didn't realize...chaos energy needed strong emotions to awaken latent powers. Heh," He closed his eyes. "That's all it took, hm? I suppose...I should thank you both...for that beating. You helped me realize...what I was missing all along." The entire room glowed magenta, and Sonic could feel himself lifting off the ground. Surprised by this, the hedgehog didn't know what to do. "You...blue rat, this is farewell for now. When the time...is right," He raised his free hand, the ruby's power floating around his limb. "I will kill you." He simply waved his hand, and in a purplish-red light, Sonic disappeared.

He cried out for Shadow's name right at the last second, reaching out for him. "Shad-!"

He was gone.

With trembling eyes, Shadow looked away and closed them while clenching his teeth. "Piece of trash..." He mumbled. "What did you do to him!?" He suddenly yelled.

Grunting, the ruby's power began to heal Infinite of all of his wounds. The bruises and gashes he took from the battle were gone in a near instant. Cracking his neck, the jackal made a big sigh before letting Shadow go. He looked at his sword, flipping it up and down in his hand. "You know, I thought after you arrested me, I'd never see this baby ever again." He smiled at it. "Ol' reliable. I manifested it with the ruby's power thanks to that boost in energy you two gave me. That beating really did wonders, helped me grow stronger." He ominously looked at Shadow, who immediately stepped back. "Pain always does wonders when it comes to learning though, doesn't it?" With another wave of his hand, in another magenta flash, they teleported to another floor of the upper levels of the Chemical Plant. The halls here however, were not renovated by Eggman and were complete ruins as the rest of the building. He walked down the hall casually, not caring if Shadow followed him or not. He dragged his claws against the wall, watching as polished chromium began to replace the old rust. Before their eyes, the surfaces of the corridor were healing itself of damage and weathered chemical reactions. He smirked as he stared at his hand with great desire. "Amazing...This ruby has so much power, I can't even see the beginning of it's limits!"

Shadow walked in front of him with a feral expression, ready to pounce and rip the jackal apart. "Where. Is. Sonic? I won't ask you again!"

Casually, the jackal continued to stare at his own hand. "He can't swim, right? Fear of water or something? I heard Eggman yap about that during my experiments."

Shadow's eyes shrank into peas. "Y-You..." Sonic couldn't swim, and he was terrified of large bodies of water. "You...You spineless motherfucker..!" He instantly tackled the mercenary on the ground, gripping his neck with enraged eyes. "You teleported him to the ocean!?" He shook the jackal violently. "Give him back now! NOW! If something happens to him...If he drowns-!"

Unimpressed with his sudden outburst, Infinite simply shoved the striped hedgehog off of his body. With strength that he didn't even realize he had, Shadow was suddenly flung several feet away. Standing up, the jackal blinked in shock. He really did reawaken all that chaotic strength Eggman drained into him. "Sorry about that," He casually replied as he walked towards Shadow's body. As he got back up, he cautiously took a step back since Infinite was coming closer. "I'm going to have to test my body against some live targets later, I need to see just how strong I've gotten...Anyway," He held up his hand, and a magenta colored chain suddenly appeared around the biohog's neck. "You don't need physical cuffs, I won't restrict you that much. But I will make it so that you can't leave my side, not even by a yard unless I say otherwise." Seemingly by an invisible force, Shadow was yanked directly next to Infinite's side. He stumbled against the wall, and as he did, the jackal suddenly slammed his arm next to him, trapping him against the wall. "Your boyfriend's right, I do want you." He gradually raised his claws against Shadow's face, dragging them down his muzzle. The ultimate life form tried to push him away, but the ruby didn't allow him to. "With this ruby, I can alter reality as you know it. And now that I've got access to it's full potential, you might as well stop fighting me. Let me save you, Shadow. I'll treat you right, I promise." Out the corner of his eyes, Infinite saw that Shadow was attempting to charge chaos energy in his hand. With a quick blink of his eye, Infinite caused magenta energy to erupt inside of Shadow's body, burning him alive from the inside.

The biohog hollered in agony, his body almost literally being scalded from the inside out with foreign energy that was like poison to him. He hunched over and puked up spit from his mouth, before falling backwards and sliding down against the wall until he hit the floor. Infinite licked his lips and crouched down to get to his eye level. He then placed his hand on his muzzle, before raising it. He closed his eyes and pressed a gentle kiss onto Shadow's lips. To the mercenary, this was heaven. Though he tasted faintly of sweat, blood, saliva and a little coffee, the fact that he could do this at all was mind numbing. That is, until Shadow chomped down onto his lip, causing Infinite to bleed severely.

"Gngh...!" He snatched himself away from he biohog and scowled at his stubbornness. He wiped the back of his mouth with his hand before grabbing Shadow by the arm and hoisting him up to his feet forcefully. He stared at the wounded GUN agent, noticing how broken he was. He looked completely exhausted, and he was intensely internally injured due to that zap of the ruby. "Don't try and think you'll be able to escape with chaos energy, as I've drained you of all of it. You now only have enough to keep you alive, at least that's according to Eggman. I remember him talking about how you live and breathe chaos energy, and how you'll die without it. The only energy you have, is enough to work your organs. Any other action you make that demands more energy than you currently have, will exhaust you instantly. And if pushed too hard, you'll die." He watched the hedgehog wobble from side to side, his now dark red wine eyes empty of any vigor they had before. "It's a shame," Infinite said. "You're beautiful, and you waste your life on that thing, that abomination that likes to pretend it's a Mobian."

Panting heavily, Shadow could barely fight to stay awake at the moment. "Fuck you. If you think you've killed Sonic, you're even dumber than I thought."

The jackal scoffed. "I know he's not dead. Considering what he is, he's too powerful to die just yet. No, I want you to watch me kill him. Then you'll be forced to get him out of your mind, and you'll be free from what ever spell he's placed on you. However..." He tapped his foot against the ground, magenta suddenly glowing all throughout the entire perimeter of Chemical Plant. If anyone was watching from afar, even from space, they could see the bright light of the ruby's power engulf the entire plant. Suddenly, the floor violently shook, as if an earthquake was rushing to open up the floor right beneath them. As the building shook, Infinite calmly dragged Shadow by the arm down the hall, the former state of the plant's insides still reforming in front of him. Many empty rooms that were once inoperable or too destroyed to enter, were now perfectly fit for entry. He looked inside first, before smiling. "Perfect." He dragged Shadow inside what looked like some kind of infirmary. There was a single hospital bed in the room. No doubt this was made for Robotnik in case he was injured, and probably assigned a robot to perform medical assistance. Infinite dropped Shadow onto the floor, before moving his magenta aura infused hands around.

Shadow watched as several items were pulled in and out of the room, both from within the room itself and from other rooms that were just restored. He even shifted and readjusted walls, floors and doors, adding and ridding them as he saw fit. He was rearranging the entire room's components to build and furnish it exactly as he wanted, and he was waving his arms and hands as if performing as a conductor for an orchestra. After a few minutes of levitating, pushing and pulling objects in and out of the room, it was complete. The jackal looked around before nodding his head with satisfaction, perfect. Infirmaries in itself were rather large rooms, even if it was utilized by very few people. They could hold a lot of items, and if remodeled, could become a rather eventful looking room. Therefore, by the time Infinite had finished his modifications with the help of the ruby, Shadow realized he had basically created an apartment. He even put individual smaller rooms within it, along with suitable furniture. Some of the objects were rusted or damned to hell, but the ruby's powers reversed the effects of wear and tear and they were brand new again.

The main room, the one they were in now, was a bedroom slash living room. There was carpet beneath his feet and there was a lone sofa and coffee table just ahead of the bed. The bed wasn't that big, as it was comprised of the original infirmary bed, but the sheets were clean now. It was large enough to just barely, probably uncomfortably, fit two people if they cuddled themselves against each other. Infinite made a gesture to Shadow, basically giving him permission to look around. The biohog slowly got back up on his feet to do so, noticing that there was a kitchenette, a bathroom and even a small dining area. This space that was pretending to be an apartment was a shoebox, and it was much smaller than his own in Empire City. It was maybe slightly larger than the place Shadow had the mercenary imprisoned, but it was livable. There was even a fridge and properly working plumbing. He created a legitimate home just from the powers of levitation and restoration from the Phantom Ruby. His ear twitched at the sound of more rumbling, and he saw that behind him, overhead of the bed, was now a cut out and some glass pane. Infinite had created a window, allowing sunlight to shine into the area. But on the ceiling above it, was a security camera. This made Shadow scowl with disgust.

"This is where I'll have you stay." The jackal informed him calmly. "Since I've marked you with my power, you won't have a chance to escape even if you make it outside." He gave Shadow a sympathetic expression. "I'm sorry, I can't trust you. You're still too manipulated. That camera up there will watch your movements. If you destroy it, there'll be a painful consequence." He paced around the GUN agent slowly. "Like I told you, I'll make sure you're properly cared for. The fridge in the kitchen used to be rusted shut with rotten food inside of it, but I restored it and the contents inside. Should be enough for a month or two. The water is clean and filtered. It also works in the bathroom, so you'll be able to bathe. And while it isn't the best bed in the world, it's a soft place to lay your head. Please," He said smugly. "Don't say I never did anything for you."

Shadow blinked slowly. "You're keeping me here against my will? You're kidnapping me?"

"Kidnapping is a very strong word-"

"Then what the fuck do you call it?"

Infinite thought for a moment. "Hmm," He had it. "Ah, yes. Insurance."

Shadow narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

"In other words," The jackal explained. "Even if your boyfriend manages to return guns blazing, he'll hesitate the moment he sees that I have you in my custody." Suddenly, that magenta sword from earlier appeared before Shadow's eyes and pointed it's blade directly at his neck. "If I cut you up a little and spill some of your blood in front of him, I'm sure that'll make him hesitate in attacking me."

Growling, Shadow glared at the jackal. "First off, he wouldn't kill you. Second, he knows I can take a hit. That won't stop-" The sword suddenly swiped down against his abdomen, with small beads of blood dripping onto the carpet. Looking down, the biohog realized the bastard had made a small cut against the side of his stomach. After a few seconds, it began to heal and close up slowly with the ruby's power.

"That's just a small taste of what I'm willing to do to you to stop that hedgehog. You say he won't give in, but he buckles the second his friends are in danger." He made the sword disappear into magenta embers and walked closely towards him with a growing smirk. "I don't think you want to test me on that, Shadow. Of course," He slowly walked behind him and hovered his hands over his arms. He grasped them lightly, rubbing the palms of his hands up his limbs. "If you're willing to cooperate with me, I'll stay my hand." He rubbed them lower towards his hips, and finally-

"Stop-" Shadow snatched himself away from him, and winded himself by doing so. "-Fucking touching me!"

With a disappointed frown, the jackal threw up his hands and walked away. "Have it your way. Rot in here while the world turns, I've got things to do. And by the way," He said as he traveled towards the door. "Don't get any ideas and jump out of that window, because you'd be falling to your death."

The biohog narrowed his eyes and glanced at the window. "What are you..." His eyes dilated quickly, and he quickly attempted- to walk to the window with a tired yet shocked expression.

As he looked outside, he saw nothing but clouds. He could just barely see the ground below, as they were now far above the plant. It was severely damaged, but it almost looked as if something within the structures of the perimeter was missing. There was now a lot of empty, dirtied chemical spilled ground that wasn't there before. There was a lot of unearthed dirt and minerals, as if someone took a giant shovel and dug up a bunch of the building from out of the ground. That's when Shadow's stomach fell. That violent shaking of the base from before wasn't an earthquake, this entire Chemical Plant was hiding something huge—Eggman's entire underground and upper-ground base was an airship! When Shadow looked through the window at an angle, he saw that there were other smaller airships soaring in the sky behind this one. Dr. Eggman had hid an entire air fleet beneath the ruins of the Chemical Plant Zone! How did-When did he even...Did he use those three years to build all of this? Great Chaos, this was almost astonishing if it wasn't for the situation he was currently in.

Infinite chuckled at Shadow's reaction. "You understand now? You will never escape me. I have full control of the Egg Armada, and Sonic will never get back to you even if he found some way to fly up here. I have defenses and traps beyond your imagination, and the rest of the Jackal Squad have already been placed to stop him. Not just up here in the fleet," He trailed off ominously. "But down there, as well. His home, Station Square...No where will be safe for him, or his friends."

Clenching his teeth, Shadow whipped his head at his captor. "Don't you dare hurt them! I'm telling you, if you hurt any of his friends, you won't just be pissing me off."

"A risk I'll gladly take." The mercenary casually dismissed. "You have everything you need in here, so I'll be on my way. I'll check on you every so often to make sure you don't go insane, because I plan on keeping you here for a very long time. Perhaps if you behave, I'll grant you some privileges. Goodbye for now, Shadow." His bushy tail swished as he walked away.

The black and red striped hedgehog tried to run after him as he walked out of the door. It automatically locked, and a forcefield colored with purplish-red covered it's surface. "Infinite-!" He was too weak, his legs immediately gave out. He fell to his knees the moment he jolted himself too quickly, cursing under his breath. "Ngh..." He punched his fist into the floor, his head lowering in defeat and despair. His fingers gripped the carpet, closing his eyes tightly. He pressed his forehead against the surface and whispered the one name that would give him comfort. "Sonic..."

From now on, this would be Shadow's new home.

26 - END - 26