Thursday, May 19, 2011

1x11 - Still More To Go

Previously on Desperate Hedgehogs...

Amy and Shadow battled it out, but in the end, Shadow got the Chaos Emerald, despite a surprise attack coming from Amy even she did not know she had in her. While Shadow Chaos Controlled himself out of the area, Amy is left stuck in there. Shadow came to find a deactivated Omega, and went to take him to Dr. Eggman right way. While Amy, while trying to find a way out, found Sonic, or so it seems, who had some very mean things to say to Amy, who was then left to cry away at her tears.

Silver finally told Espio who he is, and where he came from. The two formed a relationship fast, connecting through the fact that they were part of the same order, just from different timelines. But now that Espio knows the story, will Silver be able to complete his mission and stop the Iblis Trigger?

Sonic saves Vector and Charmy from an untimely death, and gets a few words of encouragement from the two even after telling them what he had done. They found the Chaos Emerald, but when Sonic tried to get it, he was mysteriously attacked from behind. Who was the mysterious attacker, and what will happen to Vector and Charmy if Silver and Espio don't get to them in time?

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Silver/Sonic

“Hurry Silver!” Espio shouted.

Unfortunately, Silver was definitely not the fastest hedgehog in the world, especially compared to Sonic. But he was having a hard time of keeping up with Espio's fast speed. Silver had no idea Espio was so fast, but then he just assumed being a ninja must require fast reflexes. Espio obviously was not as powerful of a fighter as he was, so he more then makes up for it in his speed.

Still, it didn't make Silver happy he had to run so fast, but the call Espio got from the other team must've been pretty urgent.

“Espio, do you even know where you're going?!” Silver asked, while trying to get enough breath to even say the sentence and continue running.

“Let's just say, I know where they are Silver, trust me,” Espio said.

Silver did just that. He trusted his fellow Warrior Order member just like he trusted all the other members of the order. Maybe Espio just had the power to do this. Silver didn't know, but he decided to just go with it. He wasn't in the mood to question Espio about this. Obviously, something bad was going on with the other team.

“We're almost there,” Espio said.

In the dark room Espio and Silver were running through, they could see some light at the end of it. They continually got closer and closer to the light, until their bodies had become covered by the white light. When Silver and Espio were in the light, they could see Vector and Charmy looking absolutely terrified, along with an unconscious Sonic the Hedgehog.

“What happened?” Silver asked, shocked by what he was seeing.

“L-look out!” Charmy shouted.

Silver and Espio looked behind them and suddenly were attacked from behind by a mysterious figure, as it knocked the both of them towards Sonic, Vector and Charmy. Silver got up just a few seconds after landing, while Espio still struggled to get up. Silver's eyes met the attacker, only finding it to be some strange figure in a black cloak, with its face hidden.

“Huh, what are you?” Silver asked.

Silver noticed the black figure holding a Chaos Emerald, he assumed Sonic, Vector, and Charmy must had found it here. But he could also see the being was about to leave. Silver was not going to let that happen, as he jumped towards the figure and punched it into the wall.

“I don't know who you are, but you're not going anywhere with that emerald!” Silver shouted.

Espio suddenly got up and ran up to Silver to join him in battle. Silver looked at Espio, and Espio looked at him back. They exchanged glances, and the fight began.

The black figure flew to the ceiling and started shooting out these black orbs out of its hands towards Silver and Espio. Silver and Espio dodge them as they both try to climb up to him. Silver flies towards the figure and starts throwing ice blocks at the figure. The black figure punches through all of them, only to be hit in the back by Espio's fist, falling to the ground.

But the black figure regains control, and starts to fly back up before landing on the ground, getting ready for another attack.

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Shadow

A dark room was soon filled with light as Shadow and Omega appeared out of the light after Chaos Controlling all the way back there. It was Eggman's base. Shadow didn't know where they actually were, but when he uses Chaos Control, all he had to do was think of the place he wanted to go to. He wished the lights were on though, why were they not fixed yet?

“Okay, let's get you to the doctor right away,” Shadow said.

“Get what to me?” a very familiar voice asked. Shadow turned around, and despite the lack of lighting, could see that it was Dr. Eggman.

“Master, it's Omega,” Shadow said.

“Hmm, what about Omega? E-123 Omega, is something wrong?”

Eggman waited for a response, but he could see that there was no response coming back towards him. Eggman knew then that something was wrong with Omega, which is what Shadow was going to tell Eggman.

“Master, we kind of split up to look for the emerald, and when I found Omega, he was deactivated for some odd reason,” Shadow explained to Eggman.

Eggman kept the same expression on his face he had when Shadow had come back into the room with Chaos Control. He didn't seem at all worried, but not at all excited either. “Hmm, that's strange. I better take a look at Omega this instant and make sure nothing bad happened to him. Egg Pawns, take Omega to the repair room!”

Suddenly, two red chubby robots came into the room and picked up Omega immediately, not having much trouble seeing where he was. They then quickly ran out of the room, eager to follow the doctor's orders.

“By the way Shadow, do you have the emerald?” Eggman asked.

Shadow nodded, and then said, “I actually found two master.”

Eggman was quite surprised by what Shadow had said. Two emeralds? It must've been his lucky day! “There was another emerald there Shadow?!”

“Yes master, but that was because that pink girl was there looking for the Chaos Emerald, and she was carrying one with her as well. I defeated her, and got her emerald as well.”

Eggman grinned evily, looking to be very enthusiastic about Shadow's lucky find. “Well, the more the better one might say. Very good job Shadow my dear. Place those emeralds in the Emerald Vault, while I go and make sure Omega is okay,” Eggman said.

Eggman began to walk out of the room, until Shadow interrupted the doctor, having something he really wanted to say to him. “Wait master, can I ask you something about my past?”

Eggman just said, “I'm busy Shadow, ask me when I'm done fixing up Omega.” Eggman then left the room, as Shadow looked at the emeralds, and nodded in agreement. The doctor was busy, he had other errands to attend to. It was only natural that he was not his number one priority. Shadow walked out of the room to put the Chaos Emeralds away where they belonged.

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Amy

“Day 7: One week ago, I sat here, staring at the ground, my eyes covered with tears, not knowing what to make of what had just happened. It was appalling. It may have been an illusion, but it was a pretty believable illusion then because I'm hurting just as much as I would if that was the real Sonic talking. Frankly, Sonic would never say anything like that to myself, but it just felt too real to ignore. I don't know why this place is doing all this to me. What did I do to deserve this?

“And Shadow, how could he just have left me here? Didn't he recognize me? Why didn't he feel the slightest need to take me with him? He could've even trapped me with Eggman again, but at least I wouldn't be stuck here, with absolutely no way out. It was just me, and darkness filling the area. I wish he was the one staying here. I wish I had not fainted like that.

“About the battle, it was a pretty even one. But then, I felt this strange energy going through me, and then my hammer saved me from an inevitable death, or severe injury. I don't know what happened there. I keep studying my piko hammer to see if there was anything strange about it, but I can't find a thing that seems odd. Nothing.

“I wonder if Tails and Cream left the mansion by now. I mean, they couldn't have stayed here for a week looking for me. I know it was hard to have me missing before, but Cream is definitely not strong enough to stay here for so long. I think she should be a little more kind to her mom. Her mom only has good intentions after all. It must be really hard for a mother to see Cream go from this sweet innocent rabbit that played by the rules to this adventurous rabbit that wanted to see what the world was. A girl like Cream wouldn't last a minute in the real world. She still has a lot of growing up to do, like I did five years ago.

“I wish I could write this stuff down, since there's so little else to do. Why haven't I died yet? I haven't drank anything in a week, and I'm still alive. Whatever was haunting this mansion must be pretty smart, because this is much worst then death. Maybe if I stay here long enough, I'll get suicidal. But I can't kill myself, there's nothing to kill myself with. I'm doomed, I can't find a way out. Please help me. Please.”

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Silver/Sonic

Silver and Espio find themselves suddenly pushed back after the black figure released punches towards both of them, both equally powerful. Who exactly was this? Whatever it was was for the most part just throwing punches and kicks here and there, combined with flying around and just the usual black orbs that looked like Shadow's chaos powers with black ink poured all over them.

As the black figure was walking over to Silver and Espio, it was about to unleash its last attack to finish off the two. Silver and Espio were struggling to get up, but unfortunately, their bodies were not going to react in time with the black figure right in front of them with its arms high in the air, preparing some attack they had no idea about.

“Not so fast!” A familiar green crocodile shouted right behind the black figure as he was about to throw a punch at it. But when Vector's hand was just about to make contact with the figure, Vector suddenly felt that he was punching through nothing, and quickly pulled his hand back to avoid hitting Silver and Espio. “Huh?”

Silver and Espio noticed what Vector had noticed as well. They both slowly got up and tried to find where the figure had went, as it was no longer in front of Vector. But when they looked at the ground, they could see a black circle near where the emerald originally was.

“W-what are you?” Silver asked absolutely astounded.

“I've never seen anything like this,” Espio said, his eyes just staring at what appeared to be the shadow of nothing. The black figure came out of the black circle. The circle disappeared when the black figure was fully back on ground. It looked to be charging for the largest attack. They all didn't know how to react, but Espio and Silver then just decided to quickly charge for another attack.

Just as it seemed the black figure was gonna go in the ground again while still charging its attack, something suddenly punched it in the back, causing it to crash into a wall, its attack canceled. It looked up to see who it was.

“Knuckles!” The Chaotix said in unison.

Silver remembered Knuckles. He was the one that wanted to know who he was first. Knuckles certainly seemed to a bit tough on everyone he had just met. The two of them didn't get to converse much though, he wondered what Knuckles was doing here.

Knuckles seemed to know just exactly how to attack the black figure. Whenever it tried to disappear into the ground, Knuckles always hit it at its stomach to make it come back up. Whenever it tried to unleash some big attack on Knuckles, Knuckles always attacked first and prevented the attack. Perhaps Knuckles had encountered this figure before. Everyone just stared at Knuckles not having much trouble doing what he was doing.

The black figure just laid on the ground. Knuckles stood in front of it holding the Chaos Emerald it had taken. Everyone stared in absolute shock. Knuckles actually got the emerald back. “Espio, catch!” Knuckles said as he threw the emerald towards Espio, who caught it with no problem.

“And as for you, give me back the Master Emerald pieces!” Knuckles shouted. But when Knuckles looked down, he saw that the black figure was no longer there. Knuckles' fact suddenly filled with much frustration. “It got away AGAIN!”

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Shadow

What was he to do now? He wondered if Omega was okay, but the robots would not let Shadow into the room where Eggman was operating on Omega. He had already put the emeralds away. They had four, only three more to go then. Why would the doctor still not tell him what he was planning? Or tell him where exactly he was? Why were the lights still not activated? Maybe Eggman had yet to actually create some sort of power source for this base. But he wondered if four Chaos Emeralds could've just got the job done.

He didn't exactly remember how complicated Chaos Emeralds were though. He hated how he felt so lost, and that he only felt like he was getting somewhere following the doctor. But the longer he stays, the more curious he is about what Eggman is actually up to.

Shadow walked into yet another room. He still could barely see, but he was able to make out some of what he was seeing. Still, he hoped he wouldn't trip over anything.

“Is that you Shadow?” asked a very familiar voice.

“Looks like I stumbled into the wrong room,” Shadow said annoyed. He had entered the prison cell of Rouge the Bat.

“Aww Shadow, why not just stay for a bit? A girl gets lonely in a room where she can't see anything don't you think?” Rouge asked.

Shadow chuckled. He found Rouge's personality both annoying and hilarious. She must've had a huge ego. Shadow didn't feel like it was a good idea to converse with her, as she just seemed so shady. But something about her got him to keep coming back, and he didn't know what it was.

“Fine, I guess I'll humor you,” Shadow said. “But what exactly can we talk about?”

“I don't know, it's just better then sitting here doing nothing.”

Shadow tried to think of something to talk about. He didn't have anything to do either. It wouldn't hurt too much trying to see if she'll tell him anything interesting. “First off, why did you come with me? You had the chance to escape, yet you didn't. Now you're just back to where you started, here in prison.”

“Well, you could say my business with you wasn't done yet.”

Rouge now had Shadow's full attention. So this was about him and not Eggman. “What kind of business are you talking about?”

Rouge smiled, even though she knew that Shadow could not see. “Shadow, do you know where we are?” Rouge asked.

Shadow shook his head and then answered, “No, I think that's obvious considering the fact that I cannot see.”

“I know where we are Shadow. I had to think about it at first, but something about this place felt so familiar. Then I finally figured it out. I would think you would've figured it out way before I did, considering your history with this place.”

Shadow was astounded. Was this girl telling the truth, or just spouting out crap? Shadow tried to think of anything that would've made this place seem familiar, but he still could not come up with anything. “So, are you saying, I've been here before?”

Rouge nodded and said, “If my suspicions are correct, then yes, you have.” Shadow just stood silent, not able to have anything else come out of his mouth at the moment. Rouge thought she'd just say something else to seal the deal. “I'll tell you what Shadow. If you do some things for me, maybe I'll tell you more I know. I mean, you might as well call me an expert on you.”

Shadow was about to say something, rejecting her offer as he didn't like to be the dog trying to get the bone that was too high in the air to reach, but Rouge interrupted him and said, “Don't answer yet. Go and take some time to think about it before you say anything stupid.”

Shadow stood for a second, but then eventually walked out of the room, not sure what to think of Rouge's offer. Rouge just smiled, and winked at Shadow as he went away.

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Amy

“Day 32: Gosh, I can't believe it's already been a month. This place is the strangest. Hedgehogs may be able to live at least a week without water and food, but I should've been dead by now. Why am I still alive? And why has my body not gotten skinnier from starvation? This place literally makes no sense. Mother nature certainly doesn't seem to have control over wherever this is.

“I feel like dying would be better though, then to spend eternity just sitting here, not able to see a thing, and do absolutely nothing. I've tried everything to get out of here! I would run for miles and miles and not find a way. I would try to smash the floor with my hammer, hoping to fall through the hole I hoped to create. But nope, nothing worked. I sometimes even prayed. It's getting so hard. I feel like I can go insane the longer I stay here.

“I miss my home. I miss my planet. I miss my best friend. I miss my other friends. I even miss Dr. Eggman! At least when I was in his cell, I had someone to talk to! But in here, it's about the worst it can be. What am I ever going to do? I feel like life is going on in the real world, but here I am unable to live it. I don't deserve this. Why isn't someone like Eggman in here instead? Why does it have to be me?

“If only I was like Sonic or Shadow, and was able to Chaos Control out of here or something. But no, not only was I annoying, but I'm also a normal girl. No wonder Sonic doesn't care to hang out with me. What's the difference between me and all the dozens of other fangirls out there that love him? Nothing. Did I learn my lesson? Can I leave? I guess not.”

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Sonic/Silver

His eye lids slowly opened. He felt quite exhausted, but nonetheless, still energized enough to wake up. Sonic the hedgehog then lifted his head and was in a sitting position, only to find that The Chaotix, Knuckles, and Silver were all staring at him. He looked at them puzzled, looking at them as if he thought they were weirdos. He wondered what they were doing.

“Um, what are you guys doing?” Sonic asked.

As everyone stopped staring and gave Sonic his space, he had remembered why he was asleep. He was knocked out by something, or someone. But who or what was it? He assumed they all knew. He wanted to know what had happened.

“Ugh, what happened?”

“You were knocked unconscious,” Silver told Sonic.

“Oh yeah...but by who?”

“We honestly don't know, but it was some black figure,” Espio said.

Vector had suddenly thought up something he was somewhat thinking before, but couldn't exactly expand on it as he was too busy focusing on the fight that was happening just a few minutes ago. He knew he saw that black figure before, as he saw flashbacks playing in his head.

“Knuckles, that was the guy that stole the Master Emerald!” Vector concluded.

“I know,” Knuckles said. “I saw the guy steal them in front of my own eyes. Since it was black, I just put the two together. Whatever it is, it wants the Master Emerald, and apparently the Chaos Emeralds too. I chased that thing all the way here, and it just keeps slipping away somehow.”

“So, it hit me because it wanted the Chaos Emerald?” Sonic said.

Silver had nodded, and then said, “It had the Chaos Emerald when Espio and I had gotten here. If it weren't for Knuckles, we wouldn't had been able to take it back. It escaped, but who knows where it'll turn up next.”

Sonic just sighed, as the situation seemed to had gotten that much more complicated. An adventure to stop evil never could be the classic stop Dr. Eggman's latest weapon couldn't it? “If I had a nickel for every single thing I've encountered that made this adventure more difficult and annoying, I'd be sleeping on a pile of coins every night almost touching the moon.” Sonic chuckled a bit, as that joke helped lighten his mood a bit.

“Could Eggman have something to do with that thing?” Charmy asked.

“I think we had better go get that guy's attention soon,” Silver said. “We need to find another emerald immediately!” Silver was as determined as he sounded. Things were only getting weirder, and he was ready to get more answers. Being from the future and still not knowing what's going on was frustrating for him.

“I don't know where the next emerald is,” Sonic said. “I feel like going back to GUN would waste a lot of time though.”

Silver knew exactly where to find that emerald though. He held the emerald out so that everyone could see it. He then concentrated on the emerald. Everyone looked at Silver puzzled, not sure what he was trying to do. But then, the emerald projected an image of the area that seemed to be in the canyons.

“That's where the next emerald is,” Silver said. Everyone looked generally surprised but pleased at Silver's ability. “Do any of you know where that is?”

“That's Rail Canyon,” Knuckles said.

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Shadow

Was it worth the risk? He wondered if accepting Rouge's deal would be a wise decision or not. Was she trustworthy enough? What if she spilled to the doctor that he was going behind his back? The doctor certainly wouldn't be happy if he heard that Shadow was getting information from other sources. It may be a sign of distrust.

But Shadow couldn't help but feel the doctor was just trying to stall longer and longer from telling him the truth. And who's to know if he was trustworthy as well. He claims to had rescued him, but was that even true? Well, he guessed so since he was resting in the doctor's base. But for what reasons would Eggman keep him around like this?

Shadow entered another room, still not entirely sure where he was heading. It felt like one of the bigger rooms he had been in. He could see in front of him though there was a window. Why would this base have a window? It seemed to had been nighttime as the sky was black and many stars were shining.

Shadow walked over to the window to just try and observe and figure out where this base could actually be. But he was met with quite the surprise when he reached the window.

“We-we're in.....space?” Shadow asked, puzzled. But he was in space, as he was staring down to the blue planet. Why did the doctor take him to space?

Suddenly, something then popped up in Shadow's head. It was a sort of a flashback, at least that's what he thought.

Shadow was in the same room he was standing in at the moment. He was also looking out the window, looking back at an event that already happened. Until he was interrupted by a voice too familiar.

Why so melancholy?” Rouge asked.

Shadow just stood there silent, shrugging off Rouge's question.

That was so unexpected, so unlike you Shadow, to come and rescue me. But your ability to use the Chaos Control certainly comes in handy!” Rouge gave Shadow a small smile after she said that.

Shadow didn't look back at Rouge to see it though. Wanting to keep up his tough image, he said, “Hmph, you know, I didn't come to save you. I came back for the Chaos Emeralds.”

Rouge just kept trying to get something else out of Shadow and then said, “Yeah, yeah! But then again, that's not the whole story is it?”

Shadow put his hand on his head trying to figure out just what that flashback was all about. Looking out the window must have triggered the memory. He certainly wasn't expecting it, but he knew exactly what he wanted to do after seeing it.

Shadow walked out of the room with no hesitation. He seemed to want to take care of something this instant.

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Amy

“Day 366: God help me. I-I, just want it all to end! Why can't it end?! Why can't I just go peacefully if I'm stuck in here forever?! I-I, I just want it to end! I break down crying almost every hour now, and it just f-feels horrible. You can't see anything, you just walk endlessly through all this darkness hoping for the littlest thing that's different. But there's nothing, absolutely nothing, and I can't do anything to get away!

“W-what else can I really say now? W-why am I-I being cursed? It f-feels like I'm in this cage, trapped inside forever shielded away from anything that is required to keep me sane. I'm no longer sane. I don't know how much worst I can get, but nothing about my personality is sane anymore. I-it's something I've never really felt before, and I can't anything to make it go away!”

Amy stopped talking, and just let the tears come out of her eyes. She was done speaking, yelling her helpless cries for help. All she could do now was just cry, and hope that the tears were to drown her sorrow. But in reality, she's waited for so long for a way out and really, there isn't one. She's searched forever and ever, but she couldn't find that way out.

Her face planted straight down at the hard black floor. It felt so smooth, like no one had ever stepped on it. But to Amy, this was a bad thing. She longed for any signs of the outside world, that could help her get out of this black area. But she saw none of that.

Amy got up, still crying her eyes out. She took her hammer, and out of anger, started smashing the floor. She kept on going at it. Each time harder then the last. Dammit, why couldn't she get out of here? Why wouldn't the damn floor break? She kept smashing the floor harder and harder, but still, nothing would budge.

She threw her hammer away, not caring if she couldn't find it later on. She just stood there, and just tried to realize what she was just doing. She was acting like a crazy person. There was nothing worst then that for Amy at the moment. What was she going to do? Why oh why didn't she kill that Shadow in the head? If she had done that, maybe she could've gotten out somehow with the help of a Chaos Emerald.

“Amy?” a voice interrupted as Amy was thinking.

Amy was so shocked to hear someone's voice. She quickly turned around to see who it was. She couldn't exactly make out who it was, but she didn't care who it was. She ran up to the figure and gave it the biggest hug possible. After Amy hugged the person though, she knew exactly who it was.

“B-Big! I can't believe you're here!” Amy said.

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Sonic/Silver

It was settled, the gang was going to go to Rail Canyon, one of the largest canyons in the world, where tons of trains traveled on the skinny rails that lie in the air. It was a great way of transportation, but also a very dangerous one if you were to ever get into an accident. Luckily, that's not happened, yet at least. Hopefully the gang knew how to grind.

They were walking outside of the mountain placed in the center of Ice Cap. The blizzard had ended when they got out, and it was already nighttime. The crew couldn't rest now though, they had somewhere to go. They were just walking in the direction that would eventually lead them to Rail Canyon. Knuckles lead the way, who had a great sense of direction, being a treasure hunter and all. He was the perfect candidate to find Rail Canyon.

Sonic walked beside Knuckles. He was fully caught up with everything that had gone on. But he only woke up to something that made this situation the more confusing. That black figure, just who was it? Why does it want the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald, undoubtedly the two most powerful sources on the whole planet, perhaps the whole universe? Maybe Knuckles knew more then he had originally said.

“So Knuckles, you've been chasing down that guy this entire time?” Sonic asked.

Knuckles nodded, and replied by saying, “Yes. I was searching for the Master Emerald, but once I found a piece, that black figure came sweeping in and took it before I could even get close to it. I've been chasing it since, this is the first time I actually lost sight of it.”

“So, you don't know a thing about it?” Sonic asked. “Maybe something about your ancestors could tell you about it or something.”

“Sonic, I have those stories memorized fully in my head. And nothing about it says something about some strange person that comes in a black cloak stealing the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald. I'm just as clueless about this as you are.”

Sonic was disappointed by Knuckles' response. Nonetheless though, it was not very surprising. This was the probably the strangest thing he had ever witnessed. Sonic then thought of its powers, how strange they were. “I wonder what it is, because it had some pretty sick powers to show off. It probably isn't even all of it either, it was mainly just punching and kicking, as if it was holding back.”

“I just don't know Sonic,” Knuckles said. “From Eggman coming back, Shadow popping up, and now whatever this is, it just seems to be a whole big mess that needs to be solved right away. I'm going to find that person, rip the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald from its cloak, and be rid of it for good!”

Sonic chuckled, laughing at Knuckles' sudden temper being risen. “Heh heh heh, don't worry Knuckles, I'm sure that guy has quite the punishment coming for him!”

“He sure does, as long as I have a say in it!”

Behind the two, Silver and Espio were exchanging words as well about the incident. The two had become fast friends, due to the connection they discovered between each other. But they wondered how this was going to effect the situation now. Nothing bad could come out of a friendship could it?

Espio wondered if Silver knew anything about the black figure, considering he was from the future and knew what is supposed to happen. But unfortunately for Espio, Silver was going to highly disappoint him.

“So you're telling me you have no idea who that black figure is?” Espio asked.

Silver shook his head in frustration and said, “I'm afraid not. The documents are very old though, so maybe everything about that figure faded out of them. But I would think I would've seen something about it in there. It just seems too strange to not see anything about it in the documents. Why would every sign of that figure be erased?”

“What exactly are these documents on anyway?”

“They're just general history documents overall. I would think something that came out of nowhere stealing the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald would be of significance, but maybe this is a sign that the figure is taken care of shortly.”

Espio nodded in agreement. That was only what they could assume for the current moment. There were too many things already going on anyway. He had confidence that eventually they would run into that figure again and they would know what to do.

“Espio, over here!” Vector whispered.

Espio turned around and sighed. The leader wanted to talk to him yet again. He fell behind Silver and reunited with his detective agency to see what the boss wanted.

“I see you're talking a lot to Silver ever since I told ya to do so!” Vector said sounding quite pleased.

“He actually is not as bad as he may seem, he's a good person to talk to,” Espio said, trying to get Vector on Silver's side.

Vector was a bit peeved by Espio's surprisingly positive assessment. Vector unfortunately still had bad feelings in his head about Silver, especially after the last time the two legitimately talked. He didn't trust Silver, and he wanted to make sure his entire team was with him on that.

“The thing is Espio, you didn't hear what I had heard,” Vector said. “I can't remember what he exactly said, he just said something about Eggman being an Iblis Trigger or something back at the Pyramid Base.”

Espio knew exactly what Vector was talking about. Apparently it would be a lot harder to clear Silver's name then Silver had let on. Espio didn't know how he could help get Silver out of this one, but he had to think of something. “Silver told me about that,” Espio said.

“Oh really now?” Vector asked. “Well Espio, what did he say?”

“He just said.....that he has information about Eggman's plans no one else knows. He's internally very hurt by this, and he doesn't want it to happen so that no one has to know the true contents about what Eggman is doing. Silver told me what it was, and I can understand where he is coming from.”

Vector just stood there silent, not exactly letting on what he thought about Espio's words. Espio could usually read people very well, but this was one time where he just could not read Vector's face. “Just leave him be Vector, he has good intentions, trust me.” Espio then walked up ahead to Silver and resumed conversing with him.

Vector was nearly unreadable on the outside, but on the inside, as the flashback of Silver yelling at him replayed in his head, the wanting to find the white hedgehog guilty only grew with Espio's defensive side.

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Amy

“Hello Ms. Rose,” Big greeted as Amy let go of her arms and stopped hugging Big. “What are you doing here? It's not a very good place to go fishing.”

Amy was just so relieved to see someone else in here. Big looked exactly like he did when she last saw her. She remembered meeting him back when Chaos was a threat to the world, and getting to know him after the Ark incident since she would visit the forest every week to pick out some food. She wondered why Big was in here though. She could also see that Froggy was with him, who was sitting on Big's head.

“Big, how long have you been in here?” Amy asked.

“I don't know, it feels like five years or something,” Big responded.

Amy's face filled with shock. Five years? How was Big so composed? Amy was just sitting here balling her eyes out smashing the ground like a maniac after being in here for only one year. Then again, Big didn't see like the guy to get too emotional, but Amy still found it wildly unusual.

“Five years? I've been in here for one year, it's really tough. I feel like I'm going insane, I need to get out of here!” Amy's eyes were moved back to tears yet again, but Big went and tried to comfort her as he really did not like to see Amy so down.

“Don't cry Amy Rose, we can find a way out together,” Big said, who sounded a bit unsure on how to stop Amy from crying. She seemed very upset, and he could understand her as well being in here much longer then she has.

Big started to take Amy to a spot to sit down at, but as he was about to sit down with Amy,he felt something touching his stomach. Amy felt something touch her hair as well. They both looked forward and tried to see what that thing was that they had just touched. But all they could see was nothing.

“Did you feel that?” Amy asked.

Big nodded and said, “Yes, what is it?”

Amy and Big kept feeling the object that was right in front of them. They couldn't see it, but they could somehow feel it. It seemed to be the size of Amy's body, and felt kind of circular as well. It then hit Amy what exactly this was.

“Big, this is the orb we touched to get into this place!” Amy concluded.

“Really? But if that's true, why aren't we back outside after touching it?”

That question hit Amy hard. Why wasn't it working? It felt exactly like the orb she touched one year ago. What were they supposed to do to get this thing to work? Amy thought of all the possibilities, but none of them made any sense.

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Shadow

Rouge the Bat was an interesting character. It was never easy to tell what was on her mind. Even when she was stuck in a prison cell, she showed absolutely no signs of fear. No signs of pain. No signs of desperation. She just sat there like a princess and smiled day in and day out. Every person had some kind of weakness that made them show their true colors, but that weakness for Rouge was definitely unknown.

She was getting ready to sleep in the cold dark cell. She really did dislike her living arrangements, but what did she expect being a prisoner of Eggman? She did trick him into thinking she was on his side after all. Rouge chuckled at the thought, she loved being able to trick the smartest scientist in the world. But as soon as the chuckles wore off, she sighed as she began to lay on the freezing floor. But before her head made contact with the floor, she heard the door creak open. She sat up and a smile returned to her face.

“Back so soon?” Rouge asked.

“I accept your deal,” Shadow said.

Rouge didn't seem to be that taken aback by Shadow's sudden change of heart. She just continued to smile looking pleased. She then said, “What made you change your mind so suddenly?”

Shadow thought about the flashback he had when he looked through that window. It felt so real, he was sure that that event was real. It just felt all too familiar. He apparently was close enough to Rouge to talk to her in such a civil manner at one point. Perhaps she was the real person he had to listen to.

“You can say that I thought about it, and realized that you may know something after all.”

Rouge just smiled. She was glad to see Shadow listen to her. She thought this would a fun way to get what she wanted. Whatever she did want must be pretty valuable to want to enlists Shadow's help and all. “So you remember me a bit don't ya?”

Shadow didn't want to admit it, mainly because Rouge's personality rubbed him off the wrong way. But he couldn't lie at this point, it'd be a useless thing to do. He nodded his head in agreement.

“Yes, I do somewhat remember you from awhile ago. Sometime in the past, we were talking to each other in a civil manner in this place. This place feels so familiar now, but I still don't remember what this place is.”

There was a short moment of silence between the two, as Rouge debated on what to say, while Shadow waited for a reply. Rouge then said, “This is the research center called the Space Colony Ark.”

Shadow's eyes suddenly widened. That name, there was just something to it that sounded all too familiar. He had to know more this instant. “Tell me more!” Shadow said angirly.

“Un un un, “Rouge said in her usual flirtatious tone. “If you want to know more, than you have to do a little favor for moi.”

Shadow sighed, he should have seen that one coming. “What do you want?

“Go sneak onto Eggman's computer, and plug this device into it,” Rouge requested, holding out a small square black device to Shadow.

“How did we not see this on you when we checked for devices?” Shadow asked curiously, taking the device.

“I have my tricks no one else knows about. Oh, and before you go, make sure to use the password...........M-A-R-I-A.”

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Conclusion

Who exactly is inside that black cloak? What does it have to do with the entire adventure? Will Vector ever change his mind about Silver? Will Amy and Big be able to escape what seems to be eternal darkness? And with this new deal, how will this effect Shadow's relationship with Eggman? All this on the next episode of Desperate Hedgehogs!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

1x10 - Surprises Galore

Previously on Desperate Hedgehogs...

Sonic and Silver head off into Ice Cap along with the Chaotix in search for the Chaos Emerald underground. But things got sticky as Silver strangely started losing control of his powers. But once Espio stopped Silver from going out of control, Silver finally admitted where he comes from, which is actually not in the current timeline.

Sonic meanwhile is experiencing the consequences of Silver's out on control powers, as the area he, Vector, and Charmy in is about to collapse. Despite what Sonic had admitted to Vector and Charmy about Eggman, does Sonic still have it in him to save the two innocent lives?

Amy, Cream, Cheese, and Tails head off to Hang Castle at the same time as Shadow and Omega did. But once Shadow and Amy end up in a mysterious dark world that seems to be part of the kingdom, they eventually run into each other, finding the Chaos Emerald there. Which of the two will get the emerald, and how will their reunion go?

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Shadow/Amy

“You're making a big mistake,” Shadow said, trying to hold back the frustration he had suddenly felt. There he and Amy Rose stood in the black dark area, which seemed to have absolutely no walls, and could go on forever if you kept walking. But yet, there was a hidden gem in here, and that was the Chaos Emerald. It was too bad that one little girl stood in the way of it, a girl Shadow genuinely did not want to hurt.

But Amy was not a little girl anymore, she was a fighter both on the inside and outside ever since she took her first steps. She certainly wasn't going to bow down to Shadow and give him the Chaos Emerald, even though he was the ultimate life form. Amy would never just give up in a fight. “I think you're the one making the mistake,” Amy said. “I've gotten better these past five years with my fighting skills.”

Shadow thought to himself how confident this girl seemed, but he could see the sweat pouring down Amy, and he could just tell she wasn't one hundred percent there for this fight. She must've feared him at least a little, otherwise such a thing would not occur. “I'm serious little girl, you don't want to mess with me. I need those Chaos Emeralds, and no one is going to stop me from obtaining all seven.”

Amy thought it was strange, how Shadow had called her 'little girl.' Didn't he know he real name? “My name is Amy for your information,” Amy replied. “I thought you knew, did you forget after five years?”

Five years? Why did this girl say those words specifically? Did he really know her from somewhere? There really must be something to her he seems to be missing. “What do you mean by that?”

Amy was just confused. In fact, Shadow just confused her overall. Why did it seem like this was not the same Shadow she saw five years ago? Something must've obviously happened to him when he had crashed down to Earth. But why did he suddenly appear after five years? Why so long? “You mean you don't remember me? Don't you remember the Space Colony Ark Shadow?”

Space Colony Ark, those words. He thought he had never heard such strange words before, but for some reason, they seemed familiar to Shadow. But nothing was coming to his head. His mind was done giving him flashbacks at the moment. Shadow just couldn't remember where he heard that name before. Suddenly, Shadow realized what was happening. At least, he thought he realized what was happening. “You think you can just escape with the emerald by trying to confuse me?” he asked angrily.

“What?” Amy was astounded by Shadow's response. Was this really the Shadow she knew, or was it maybe some robot that Eggman made? Amy knew that what was about to come wasn't going to be very pleasant though. She took out her hammer and wielded it while she said, “I would never do something like that Shadow. I thought, you had realized that working for Eggman was the wrong thing. But why are you working with him again? Just what is going on Shadow?”

“No more time for games little girl! If you want to fight me, then so be it!” Shadow's mind was set on the possibility that Amy was just trying to confuse him. He didn't like to be taken advantage of, and he was going to prove that when he makes sure he obtains that Chaos Emerald.

Amy gets ready for the worst, as Shadow immediately comes charging at her with a powerful kick. Amy blocks it off with her hammer though, and tries to swing it right back at Shadow, who jumped just in time to avoid it.

“Chaos Spear!” Shadow screamed, throwing three spears at Amy.

Amy ran and avoided all the spears, though barely. She then began to charge quickly at Shadow, spinning and holding her hammer so that she could hopefully knock Shadow away. But Shadow jumps and follows it up with another Chaos Spear, which nearly hits Amy again. The two would continue fighting for awhile, both hoping for a win.

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Sonic

“What are we gonna do?!” Charmy asked, very shaken from the fact that the room they were in seemed to be collapsing. It was still hard to see anything more then ten feet away from all three of them, but they had to get out. They were going to find that Chaos Emerald and stop Eggman for good.

Sonic did what he naturally did, he was going to try and save the day. “Charmy! Vector! Grab onto my hands!” Sonic shouted. Vector and Charmy nodded in agreement, as Vector grabbed onto Sonic's left hand, while Charmy took the right. Sonic soon blasted off, still holding that flashlight, avoiding all the icicles falling onto them.

Sonic didn't know how he was doing it though. He was sure this was a recipe for disaster as he still couldn't see where the icicles were falling. But it must've just been his sense of danger. Sonic always just had the ability to get out of even the most dangerous of situations.

Avoiding icicles wasn't all Sonic had to do though, as the ground began to shake more and more, until the ground finally started to crack and collapse.

“We're doomed!” Vector shouted.

“Not yet,” Sonic said, trying to think of his next move. He suddenly saw some pillars in front of him that seemed pretty high. As the ground began to fall apart, Sonic jumped onto the first pillar, and kept on jumping across them to get to safety. Vector and Charmy tried not to throw up, but it sure was difficult to hold it all in.

Sonic eventually got back on the ground, and started running faster and faster to try and get to safety, still avoiding all the icicles falling from the ceiling. They were getting bigger though, and it was only a matter of time before the icicles were big enough to really hurt them.

“Look!” Charmy suddenly said, pointing forward.

In front of them three as Sonic was running, was this dusty old door, with some light shining out from it. Maybe this was their ticket way out. But then all three of them looked at the top and saw that the biggest of icicles was about to fall in front of the door. If it were to land, it would make the ground collapse, and the door would be blocked.

“We're not gonna make it!” Vector shouted in absolute fear.

“Oh yes we are!” Sonic said with confidence, as he turbo charged towards the door.

It was close, the icicle was almost on the ground, but Sonic was almost at the door. Both of them began to come closer and closer as the last few seconds past. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...............the door opens as Sonic rushes though it just in time, right before the icicle fell. Sonic stopped and let go of Vector and Charmy, as they all took a sigh of relief.

They weren't outside though, it was still underground. But strangely, this room was not collapsing. There was a large chandelier on the top of the room, and the walls were painted with ancient art from a mysterious culture none of the three could point out at the moment. But they looked at the end of the room and saw that a Chaos Emerald lied there in front of the window.

“Found it!” Sonic said as he ran towards it.

“Sonic, thank you for saving us!” Charmy said as he quickly followed Sonic.

Sonic stared at the Chaos Emerald and then quickly turned back to Charmy, as Vector slowly followed from behind. “Oh, it was nothing Charmy,” Sonic said.

“Nothing?” Vector asked astounded. “You saved our butts back there Sonic! You really are a hero!”

Vector's words had reminded Sonic of what he had told them right before all that had happened. He sighed, hating the fact that such memories were brought right back into his mind. “No Vector, I'm no hero and you and Charmy know that,” Sonic concluded.

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Silver

“Excuse me?” Espio asked, who was suddenly so confused his head could've fell off his body right there. He and Silver stood in another part of the mountain underground, where the hallways they were in were just that, hallways. But made out of ice. That was the thing that was least on Espio's mind though, as Silver had just told him something he had not expected from him at all.

“So you're from the order as well, but 200 years in the future?” Espio asked, still a little shaken from what Silver had told him.

Silver nodded. “That's basically it Espio. I've traveled through time to come back here, but I never thought I would find a member of the Warrior Order. There aren't any documents that detail where you can find hideouts of the order. I'm so glad that I don't have to do this alone anymore.” Silver really meant those words too. Knowing what he knew now, he could definitely trust Espio.

Espio was still quite confused though, and this definitely was going to be a long conversation between the two. He had so many questions, and he was going to get the answer to every single one. “Wait Silver, why are you exactly here in the first place?” Espio asked. “What prompted you to travel 200 years into the past?”

Silver suddenly looked away from Espio. He thought about what he may be about to lay on Espio. There was something about his expression that made Silver look like he was about to throw up. He didn't want to say what he was about to say. But he needed someone to trust completely, and Espio was definitely that person.

“It's the legend that our order was made to stop in the first place, the Solaris Prophecy,” Silver finally said.

Espio suddenly looked puzzled, and then said, “Didn't we lay it to rest many years ago? Now all our Order is really doing is stopping other threats to world peace.”

“Well Espio, a certain someone has awakened it,” Silver said. Silver could tell Espio was very surprised by what he had said, as Espio just looked at him with a face that seemed unsure of what to say to that.

“But that's impossible! Our ancestors made sure that that was a done deal. Not even we know the secret to awakening it.”

“Well, I'm not entirely sure how it was awakened either Espio. But what I am sure of, is that person we're chasing down woke up half of Solaris, which is Iblis. He is the Iblis Trigger. Eggman Nega.”

“Wait, what did you just call Dr. Eggman?” Espio asked, who seemed to be sounding more and more confused as the conversation forwarded.

“Eggman Nega. Why is he called Dr. Eggman by the way? I mean, the documents specifically say it's Eggman Nega that awakens Iblis, but that guy we're after looks just like him, yet he has a different but similar name.” Silver sounded just as confused, though he was sure Eggman was the one they are looking for.

“Well Silver, just how reliable are these documents anyway?” Espio asked. “I mean, it is 200 years later, perhaps they were tampered with or lost key information?”

“Yes, that is true. That's why we don't know how the other half of Solaris was awakened. That part of the documents has faded off. So maybe Eggman Nega as a name is just irrelevant. Dr. Eggman looks too much like Eggman Nega to not be the Iblis Trigger. Whatever happens Espio, he must be stopped or the world is doomed to eternal destruction.”

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Shadow/Amy

The hammer hits Shadow in the face and knocks him backwards as Amy lowers her hammer to try and catch a breath. She was doing a lot better at this then she thought she was going to. She could conclude she was telling the truth when she said she had improved these past five years in terms of fighting skills, considering the fact she was holding her own against the Ultimate Life Form. But of course, she had gotten beat up a bit herself, with quite a few black spots on her body.

Shadow couldn't grasp someone like Amy was holding her ground in a fight against him. Perhaps Ultimate Life Form as a term shouldn't be used so loosely. He felt he was doing well himself though, but it annoyed Shadow that there was no clear winner. He was going to end this now, it was time to do whatever he could to make sure Amy is knocked out.

“I've warned you not to fight back, and now I have no choice but to make sure you are dead!” Shadow screamed.

Amy was definitely scared if she wasn't before. When Shadow made threats like that, he usually followed them up. With nowhere else to run, Amy had no choice but to prepare for the worst. The truth was though, she didn't know how to prepare for the worst.

Shadow suddenly began to get covered in a red aura, and his fur suddenly was covered in red from the aura. His eyes are in rage, and this was an attack he had never used before. Amy was terrified, she had no idea what kind of attack this was, but it looked like the equivalent to an attack from Super Shadow. Amy was not looking forward to this.

“CHAOS...BLAST!!!!” Shadow shouted, as he suddenly let out a huge red blast that engulfed the entire area. No doubt anything that touched it was going to get hurt. Amy tried to run as fast as she could, but the explosion only came to her closer and closer.

“Ahh!” Amy screamed, not being able to outrun the red. She tried to duck for cover, with her hammer covering her head. But Amy kept waiting for the red to touch her, only to learn, that it never touched her. Amy opened her eyes and looked up and saw something she had never seen in her life. Her hammer was absorbing all the Chaos Energy. “W-what's going on?” Amy asked in absolute confusion.

Shadow was confused as well. Never had he seen Chaos Energy being absorbed like that. Amy stood with her hammer still taking in all the energy. Amy suddenly felt the urge to swing the hammer. So she did, and all the Chaos Energy was released knocking Shadow back. Amy always thought there was something special about her hammer, but this was far from what she thought.

“W-what did you just do?” Shadow asked as he got up.

“I-I don't know S-Shadow,” Amy said, still shocked at her hammer's secret powers. Amy suddenly fell to the ground though, seeming exhausted from everything that had happened. She laid on the ground with her hammer, and the Chaos Emerald that she found, along with the Chaos Emerald she had actually brought here.

Shadow smirked as he walked over. Two Chaos Emeralds sitting in the hands of an out cold Amy. Shadow took the emeralds, and was about to Chaos Control himself back to Omega. He thought about taking Amy with him though. But he realized, there was more to this girl then meets the eye, and she might be too dangerous to keep around. Shadow thought about it, just standing there thinking inside his mind. But at the end, he decided it was too big of a risk.

“CHAOS CONTROL!”

Right there, Shadow disappeared with two emeralds, leaving a passed out Amy all alone.

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Shadow

Back where he was before Shadow appeared. In the large room where he had touched the blue sphere in the first place. He looked in front of him, and saw that the blue sphere was still there. Shadow didn't want a thing to do with it, so he immediately went out the door to look for Omega.

“Omega, are you there?” Shadow asked.

As Shadow walked down the hallway, he looked up and saw that a hole was on the ceiling. Perhaps Omega had went through it. It seemed being enough for a robot to go through. Shadow jumped through the hole in the ceiling and was met with a....kart in front of him.

“Huh, what is this?” Shadow asked.

It was what you would call a bobsled. It was sitting on a rail, which led into a cave of sorts with orange lights on the walls. Shadow thought this was strange. What exactly was this doing here anyway? He didn't want to ride it, but he suddenly had heard some robotic noises that seemed to be coming from the cave.

Shadow sighed, then said, “Looks like I have to ride this thing.”

Shadow jumped onto the bobsled seat and began looking for a way to make it start. But there wasn't anything that looked like the way to start it. No buttons, no pedals, just a wooden kart. Shadow sighed and kicked the bobsled, which in turn, caused it to move, but at a much faster speed then he had expected. Shadow's body was being pushed back, as he held onto the bobsled to make sure he would not fall off.

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Amy

“Ugh,” Amy said, as she finally woke up from her short time of passing out. She was still in the dark area, and with the light of the Chaos Emerald gone, it was even harder to see. But as soon as Amy got up, she checked her body to see if the Chaos Emeralds were there. Unfortunately for her, they weren't there.

“Oh no, where did they go?!” Amy cried in worry. But Amy had suddenly remembered, Shadow was there right before she passed out. She frowned, very pissed off that Shadow just took the emeralds like that. She wondered what had gotten into the guy. Was he confused? Or did he just have no respect for women now? Amy went with the former, Shadow never seemed like an outright jerk, just an emotionally hurt person. Just what was up with Shadow?

Amy thought she was doomed. With the Chaos Emeralds gone, and absolutely no idea where she is, all by herself, this was a recipe for dying. Shadow could've at least Chaos Controlled her with him and just trap him wherever Eggman was hiding now. But it looks like Shadow was thinking this time. It sucked, but Amy had to find a way out. She began to walk endlessly to wherever her feet may lead her.

It was so creepy. When she closed and opened her eyes, there was no difference in what she was seeing. She wondered if there really was an exit here. She wondered if she'd ever see Cream, Cheese, and everyone else again.

Amy suddenly stopped though when she saw that there was some light in the distance. She ran closer and closer to the light. Finally, something that wasn't just the black darkness. Light! Pure amazing light. But when Amy reached the light, it wasn't the exit she wasn't looking for, but something much more interesting.

It was a hedgehog, with blue fur and green eyes, with a wanting for speed. It was Sonic, but what was he doing here? How had he found her?

“Sonic?” Amy asked.

The blue hedgehog just stared at Amy, with a stern look on his face, as if he was mad about something.

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Sonic

“Sonic...,” Charmy began to say.

But Sonic interrupted Charmy and then said, “There's nothing else to say. Sure, I may have just happened to save you two from a collapsing room, but what I did back on that fleet was far worst and just, unforgivable. And Tails, my best friend, agrees.”

Sonic fell to his knees, with his face trying to hold back the tears that were coming out of his eyes. Sonic didn't usually cry, but he wasn't going to cry now. At least, that's what Sonic thought. But he couldn't help it, and he just began to bawl his eyes out. “T-Tails, the one person w-who would a-always stand up f-for m-me, not e-even him.....gah!”

Vector and Charmy quickly came down to Sonic's height and tried to comfort him. Charmy was giving Sonic the biggest hug a bee could give, while Vector's hand was on Sonic's back. “Sonic,” Vector began to say. “I'll admit when you admitted to us what you did on that fleet, I was shocked. I always thought the big hero would never do something like that.”

Sonic was wondering how this was supposed to help in any way as he continued to cry. All Vector was doing was just repeating what he already knew. Did he really need a trip down memory lane? “I know Vector,” Sonic said.

“But Sonic, no one is perfect,” Vector suddenly said. “Even the biggest of heroes have their moments where they make mistakes bud. It's just a matter of getting back on your feet and trying to fix them, or move on from them if they can't be fix.”

Sonic had no idea Vector could say things like that. Vector always just seemed like your everyday crocodile that wanted money. But Vector had a heart too, and it was nice to discover that. “I g-guess you're right, b-but I-I d-don't know if I-I can d-do that,” Sonic replied.

“Well, I just have one question Sonic,” Vector then said. “Why did you do what you did on the fleet anyway? Why did you just let Eggman go in front of Tails?”

Sonic sighed.. His crying was starting to lower, but tears were still occasionally falling out of his eyes. “Vector, these past five years, I've become nothing. Without Eggman, no one cares about me anymore. I'm a washed up hero, trying to get his fame wherever he can. It sucks. I never used to be so desperate before. But I just....want to feel like people give a damn about me again.”

Vector was obviously shocked by these words, but he quickly said, “Sonic, the thing is, people did give a damn about you. I actually remember this one time Tails had come to visit the Chaotix Detective Agency to hire us to find some special items he needed for an experiment. But he didn't seem like himself. So I talked with him, and he actually revealed how much he cared about you. How he wished you would just not ignore him anymore and live your life.

“Sonic, you lived your past five years thinking people only liked you for your heroic deeds. But I think you should know, people care for you not for just what you did in the past, but what your character is. How you would never harm anyone that didn't deserve, and how you cared for people's well-beings. You haven't changed at all Sonic, you've just kind of lost your way with yourself.”

Sonic realized just how true Vector's words were. He obviously was very good at this talking to people stuff. Sonic nodded in agreement with Vector, and then said, “I guess I just didn't want to feel left out, so I took myself out before all my friends could.”

Vector nodded and said, “You don't need Eggman when you have friends Sonic. You just have to let them know that you still care about them. And you should tell what you just said to me to Tails. You're not a bad guy Sonic, you're just not invincible is all.”

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Silver

“This is a lot to take in,” Espio said, sitting down beside the ice cold wall, trying to clear his mind.

Silver sat down beside him. Espio may have been a Warrior Order member, but Silver still barely knew him. From what he heard about the Warrior Order in the past though, he knew he could trust Espio. No member betrays another at all costs, and if they do, they're exiled from the order. “I know it is, but you have to trust me Espio,” Silver said. “We're all fighting for the same cause.”

Espio nodded in agreement. But he still had one more question for Silver he really wanted the answer to. “Just one more question Silver. What happened just now? Like, why did your powers go out of control?”

Silver sighed. He was hesitant to answer such a question obviously, Espio could tell.

“Remember Silver, trust only comes back, when you give trust,” Espio said, citing one of the many Warrior Order quotes. Silver knew that all too well. The problem was, he really didn't want to tell Espio this part of the story.

“Okay Espio, I'm still a young person, and I haven't really been properly trained to control my powers due to the fact that when I was born, I was thrown right into the destruction Solaris had caused. I had to learn to control my powers fast, and in all honesty, I haven't been able to do so yet,” Silver said. “But of course, whatever weaknesses you have, your fellow brothers and sisters will help you with, which is what you had done obviously.”

Espio nodded, seeming fine with Silver's logical answer. Silver wondered what else Espio would ask. He just thought Espio would have a ton more questions having heard everything he had just admitted to him. But Espio already knew Silver was telling the truth, he could feel the bond between them as Warrior Order members.

“We should continue on,” Espio said. “Now that I know you can be trusted, we have to stop your future from happening. Solaris cannot be awakened again after thousands of years hiding it.”

Silver nodded in agreement, and the two began walking forward through the hallways to continue with their search. But Silver had forgotten to ask Espio something himself. So he decided to bring it up while they were walking. “Hey Espio?” Silver said.

“What is it Silver?” Espio asked.

“I did something....suspicious in front of Vector that might have caused him not to trust me,” Silver said. “I was wondering, did he talk to you about it? I mean, he seems to trust you more then he trusts Charmy without a doubt.”

Espio nodded, knowing exactly what Silver was talking about. “Actually, he wanted me to walk with you, try to get to know you, see if you would tell me anything about what you're doing here. And then report back to him when I get anything.”

Silver was a bit astounded by what Espio had said. Did Vector really not trust him that much? He thought about it and it did make sense. He called Eggman Eggman Nega, and he yelled at Vector for getting too nosy into his business. He couldn't blame Vector, but this didn't make Silver like Vector any more then he already did. “Well, you're not going to tell him what I told you right?” Silver asked, sounding a bit worried.

“I just don't know what I'm going to tell him,” Espio said. “I've always been truthful to Vector, except with my allegiance with the Warrior Order, because it's an absolute necessity that we remain a secret to the public eye or we're evicted from the order.”

“Well then, there you go Espio. You can lie to Vector about me because I'm apart of the Warrior Order too.”

“I just, I have to outright lie to him now, because I'm reporting something to him. Before, all I had to do was just not mention the order, but now I have to lie to him. We don't lie to each other, until now I guess.”

Silver didn't like to see Espio so conflicted. He obviously wanted Espio to lie for him. But he could try to make it easier for Espio to do so. “You technically don't have to lie Espio.”

Espio was a bit puzzled by Silver's comment. “What do you mean by that Silver?”

“I mean, there's nothing suspicious about me right? Just tell him there's really nothing to see here, and that he can stop worrying. I swear to you I'm here for a good cause.”

Espio actually chuckled, then said, “You don't have to swear. But I guess I can look at it like that. We'll just have to see what happens.”

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Shadow

Shadow didn't realize there would be obstacles in the bobsled's path. He had to jump over quite a things, including what he thought were ghosts. It wouldn't surprised him if those things with pumpkin heads and blue robes really were ghosts. This mansion already had enough creepy things going for it, why not throw in some ghosts as well?

The bobsled was going incredibly fast too. Shadow had no idea how to slow the thing down without getting seriously injured. He was surprised how he was seemingly getting through this without a scratch. He must be good at reacting to things quickly. This certainly wasn't the cruise he was expecting though.

Shadow looked up ahead and saw that the rail was ending there. But wait, what was going to happen once he got to the end of that rail?

“Ahh!” Shadow screamed as he was thrown off the bobsled as soon as he hit the end of the rail. Shadow landed on his face flat on the ground. Shadow got up and tried to gather himself up once again. He wondered why that was there in the first place. Just what was this place?

Shadow suddenly looked in front of him and saw that Omega was there. But there was something strange. Omega was laying on the ground, and Omega didn't react to hearing Shadow land either, as if Omega's mind wasn't totally there.

“Omega?” Shadow asked as he walked over to the heavy-weight robot.

Shadow tapped on Omega's back, but Omega still did not respond. Shadow decided to turn Omega over to see his face. As heavy as Omega was, Shadow did so without any struggles. What Shadow found was the red in Omega's eyes were no longer there, which could only mean one thing.

“We need to get you back to Eggman right away,” Shadow said.

Shadow was definitely content with leaving now. He had already obtained not one, but two Chaos Emeralds. And besides, this place was creepy as hell. Shadow was ready to leave. He put him hand on Omega, and held up a Chaos Emerald in another.

“Don't worry Omega, we'll make sure you're okay. CHAOS....CONTROL!!!”

Right then, Shadow and Omega disappeared in a flash, getting to wherever Eggman's base laid.

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Amy

“Is that really you Sonic?” Amy asked, still surprised as can be by the sudden appearance of the blue hero.

Sonic just kept staring at Amy, and it only made Amy feel more and more uneasy. Why was he just staring at her like she had just eaten the last chili dog? Did she do anything bad to make him look at her like that? Amy didn't know, but she really did want it to stop.

“Look Sonic, whatever I did to make you look at me like that, I-I'm sorry,” Amy said.

Sonic finally said something, but he was actually chuckling with his eyes closed. It sounded like a bit of a cynical chuckle, as if he were making fun of Amy. “Sorry? For what Amy? For being alive?” he asked.

Amy was shocked. Never before had she heard anything like that out of Sonic's mouth. It definitely didn't seem like the real Sonic. But still, Amy couldn't help but feel very hurt by the comment, because it was still Sonic's body and voice. It was very believable.

“S-Sonic...”

“That's all you're ever going to be Amy. You want to break free from me. You want to finally get me out of your mind. But even after five years of neglect, you still won't give up will ya?”

Amy just shrugged. Maybe what Sonic was saying was true. Amy didn't know herself why she still couldn't get Sonic out of his mind. Maybe it was just something about him that kept her coming back. It sucked too, because five years of neglect usually meant the guy wanted nothing to do with you.

“What do you suggest I do then, Sonic?” Amy asked, a little shaken up.

“Nothing, I'll do it for you.” Sonic said.

Amy didn't know what Sonic had meant by that. But she wasn't expecting a first kiss. She didn't know what to expect, because she didn't think this was the real Sonic either. What would he be doing here saying those random things to her anyway?

“You're an annoying brat that doesn't know when to give up. Face it Amy, I don't want you, and whatever guy that does is probably delusional. You're annoying, obsessive, and certainly don't act like much of a 17 year old. Why don't you just leave me alone?! Don't you get it? I don't want to spend my life with you! Get me out of your freaking mind and leave me be you idiot!”

Amy was so stunned by Sonic's words. All she could do was try to calm him down. As she moved forward to try and touch Sonic to console him, Amy said, “Sonic, please...”

But Sonic pushed Amy back and made her fall to the ground. “Don't touch me you sick creature. In fact, don't ever talk to me again. I would NEVER EVER want to be with you Amy, so take a hike!”

Right then, Sonic walked away from the scene, not looking back at Amy even once. Amy just cried laying on the ground. It felt so real. Her worst fears had came true in front of her own eyes. What was the point of living at this point, when the person she wanted, didn't want her back? She just laid there, crying, confused, not even thinking of a way to get out.

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Silver

Silver and Espio still kept walking, hoping to find the Chaos Emerald soon. They didn't like how cold it was down here at all, so it would be much preferred to get out of the area immediately. But it felt like these hallways were endless in all honesty. Espio thought of something else to ask Silver then.

“Hey Silver, can I see your Warrior Code?” Espio asked.

Silver knew exactly what Espio had meant when he asked that. He took off the glove on his left hand and quickly showed Espio the tattoo on his palm. It was colored black, and was no doubt the symbol of the Warrior Order. It was surprisingly quite simple in design, with only one color and a swirl like shape.

Espio then took off his glove on his right hand, and showed Silver the exact same symbol. That was the way they could confirm if one person were a member of the Warrior Order or not. Silver and Espio could REALLY feel safe together now.

“It's funny how we have to power to notice even the smallest details in the fake symbols,” Silver said. He was correct too. With fake tattoos, there was always something off about it, and it was usually the part that was a secret to making the tattoo.

“I don't see anything wrong with yours,” Espio said.

“And I don't see anything wrong with yours either,” Silver said.

“Gosh, it's actually been awhile since I've really talked to a Warrior Order member,” Espio admitted.

Silver was actually a bit surprised by the comment. He assumed from how he was raised that the Warrior Order was always in constant contact. But maybe that was because Solaris had been ruling the world as soon as he was born.

“Why is that?” Silver asked.

Espio then said, “Well, to be honest Silver, it's been so long since the Warrior Order had really had anything to do with helping the world. Even five years ago with that crisis with Eggman and the Ark, the Warrior Order weren't really needed now that Sonic was there. Our order has kinda been, well, breaking up. I mean, we were getting to the point even before I was born, but it gets more apparent as the years go by. We have a few assassinations here and there, but nothing one or two members can't handle.”

“That's really hard to believe if you were me,” Silver said. “Since Solaris was basically destroying what was left of the world, all you really have are your fellow brothers.”

There was a question Espio had been dying to ask as soon as Silver talked about Solaris. Although, he quite feared the answer to it. “Hey Silver, what is it like?” Espio asked.

“What do you mean Espio?” Silver asked back.

“I've obviously only heard stories of the great Solaris, but since it's active during your time, what is it like to live under such a monster? How do you keep on fighting knowing it's nearly impossible to kill such a beast?”

Silver looked forward as he tried to come up with an answer. How did he live with such pain and misery? Silver doesn't know the feeling of being able to lay back knowing nothing was going to ruin your day, because Solaris always ruined his day in his own time.

“I'm going to be honest Espio, it's not easy,” Silver began. “You're basically in a position where you're always running, trying to find a place Solaris had not gobbled up yet. We're running out of places to run to, despite the slow pace Solaris is taking the entire planet. Sometimes, it's impossible to feel hopeful, because you don't know how to exactly stop that beast, and you know you can't run forever. I don't know what it's like to lay back and feel at peace, because Solaris never gave me the chance to do that. It's not an easy lifestyle, sometimes I think about suicide because I knew it was going to happen to me either way.”

“Silver,” Espio said, about to interrupt.

“But, I have faith that good overpowers evil, light overpowers dark, and that one day, Solaris will be laid to rest. I will find the beings responsible for committing such a devious act, they will pay, and I'll be able to live my life threat free, along with the rest of the people I care about. I believe that the world isn't meant to be miserable, and if I have to be the one to make sure of that, then so be it!”

Espio nodded, smiling at Silver's apparent heroism. It must be tough to have such courage in such an environment. Espio had only heard stories of Solaris, and they were terrible ones. But Silver's enthusiasm, it was good to see in such a young person.

Suddenly though, Espio was getting a call on his phone as the ringtone went off. Espio took out the phone and quickly answered it.

“Hello?” Espio asked. As Espio listened to the call, he said a few things. “Wait, calm down Vector. What's wrong?”

This caught Silver's attention. It seemed like quite the serious call. What could the other three be calling about?

“Okay, we'll be there as soon as possible.” Espio put away his phone as Silver looked at his face with much curiousity. Espio's face showed a great level of concern, and what he said agreed with that. “We have to get to the others, NOW.”

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Sonic

Sonic tried to gather himself up again and go and finish their mission. He had done enough sulking for one day, he wanted to be finished with all that because it certainly wasn't as fun as some may think. Vector and Charmy agreed, they didn't like to see Sonic be so sad either. But Sonic had one more comment to fit in.

“I just don't know if Tails is even going to want to speak to me,” Sonic said. “I hope I get a chance to say something to him.”

“I'm sure if you try hard enough you'll get it and that he'll understand,” Vector said. “Trust me Sonic, out of everyone in this world, Tails would be the one that'd want to forgive you the most. There's somethin' special about the two of you. I can tell being a detective and all.”

“You mean you can guess, like any other person can,” Charmy said.

“I don't remember asking you to argue with me,” Vector said very annoyed.

“I know ya didn't,” Charmy said, sounding like he didn't want to take back his comment once.

Sonic chuckled, it was nice to be around two very positive and funny guys, even if they weren't being funny on purpose. At least, that's what he thought of them. Vector certainly always sounded like he means what he says. Sonic turned around and went to get the Chaos Emerald, but only to find however, that it was no longer there.

“Huh, where did it go?” Sonic asked, suddenly very confused.

Suddenly though, Sonic gets kicked in the back, and is left unconscious, by a mysterious figure that only one of the three had seen before.

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Conclusion

What happened to Omega? Why had he suddenly shut down? What will become of Amy? Will she be able to escape the strange dark area? How will Silver and Espio's relationships effect the adventure? And who mysteriously attacked Sonic leaving Vector and Charmy in shock? All this on the next episode of Desperate Hedgehogs!