9A/N: Scared ya, didn't I? You thought Nocturnus Hiatus was gonna end up being on hiatus again… Heh, little joke there. Well, here's hoping you find this suitable.
Chapter 9: The Shadow of a Concept
Sonic and Tails sped through the streets of Central City, racing neck-and-neck toward the road that led to the Mystic Ruins. The blue hedgehog was, of course, keeping a cap on his speed, giving his little brother a chance to win the friendly competition. However, both Mobians skidded to a halt when they saw a big, tall GUN trooper still standing in the middle of their designated street. His girth was scary, but he carried an attitude that simply oozed relaxation.
"What's the deal, bud?" asked Sonic, his irritation mild but still present. "Hasn't Graves told you that Knuckles was found?" The guard shook his head.
"No, the Commander hasn't given any of us word of much," he replied coolly. "I was just told to stand here, and –" As the soldier was about to continue, a shrill cry sounded from somewhere above them. Before Mobian or human could react, a blonde girl wearing blue face-paint leapt down from a rooftop, headed straight for the sentry.
"Ruuu-ah!" she cried, taking hold of him and causing them both to sail into the side of a building. At their landing, the girl proceeded to beat the tar out of her target.
"Ah – hey – why are you – ?" the foot-soldier tried to say, but his assailant would not relent. Sonic and Tails shrugged at each other.
"Think we should help him?" asked the amber fox, looking at the one-sided brawl with concern. Sonic shook his head.
"Nah, we needed through here, anyway…" he answered. "Besides, look at it. It's kinda funny." Tails glared at his best friend indignantly, but his eyes showed resignation, and he sighed.
"Fine…" the smaller hero agreed, walking down the street, namesakes swishing slowly. Before either brother could get anywhere, however, a blur of ebony and crimson caused the two to spin around wildly. Sonic was the first to regain his balance as the indicator Tails managed to keep hold of started beeping and whooping insanely.
"…the hell?" sputtered the hedgehog after several breaths. "Was that Shadow?" By this time, Tails had managed to get some composure, and he beheld his Robotnik tracker curiously.
"Given the fact that that thing was trying to run us over…" the vulpine replied. "I'd have to say probably." A spark seemed to ignite in Sonic's eyes, and he flashed a thumbs-up at his brother as he began to jog off toward the Ruins.
"Then what are we waitin' for?" called the Blue Blur. "Let's go catch up with him and say hello!" With a sigh, Tails began to whirl his key appendages, and they took off.
xxx
Shallow breaths came from the mouth of Shadow the Hedgehog as he skidded to a halt near the archaeologists' fan system.
"Damn…" panted the Ultimate Lifeform. "I was hoping he'd be here, but I suppose the news reports have been broadcasting the truth…" The black rodent was about to reignite his hover skates and take off, but his sharp hearing faintly picked up the rushing, tearing sound of a supersonic something headed his way. "Double-damn…" hissed Shadow. Within seconds, his ungrateful eyes met those of his rival, the one and only most annoying hedgehog on Mobius.
"Heya, Shads!" grinned the blue menace as he came to a stop.
"What are you doing following me here?" Shadow retorted bitterly. Sonic quirked an eye ridge and chuckled.
"Funny," he said, seemingly unmindful of his look-alike's tone. "I was just about to ask what you were doing trying to turn me into a road-pancake back there." Shadow huffed and crossed his arms.
"You were in my way, Faker," he answered icily. "I would think that after a couple years of knowing me, you'd be smart enough to avoid me when I'm on the move. Of course, that probably makes me foolish for assuming you're capable of learning." At this, Tails stepped forward to quash any potential arguments.
"Shadow, when you passed by, you caused the Eggman detector I made to go crazy," explained the fox hurriedly. "What Sonic's trying to ask is… what are you doing carrying one of Robotnik's machines?" This time, Shadow simply turned away, waving them off with a gold-banded hand.
"It's none of your business…" he muttered. "I have my own reasons for looking for Robotnik." Sonic became somewhat peeved at this. He raced in front of his black counterpart, placing his hands on Shadow's shoulders.
"Look, pal!" shouted the azure hero. "I know better than anyone that finding Buttnik is important, but we've run into some pretty freaky new threats, and it's not wise to go it alone right now!"
"Out of my way, Sonic…" Shadow growled. After a few seconds of solid eye contact, a sadistic upward curl shifted onto the furry lips of the Ultimate Lifeform. Without a word, his hands lit up, and he delivered a push to his rival that sent the cerulean speedster flying into the water near where the fan's battery pods had been. Sonic shook his head vigorously, stood up, and took a fighting stance.
"I don't want to fight you, Shadow…" began the hero, but Shadow cut him off.
"No," the black hedgehog said simply. "No, you don't." He was in the air in an instant, Chaos Spears at the ready, and the skirmish had begun. The blue protagonist weaved through the wet terrain, dodging point after point of golden Chaos Energy. Sonic started patterning his movements, moving in deft circles around the Ultimate Lifeform, who soon found himself within the confines of a dirty cyclone. With a vocal release of breath, Shadow doubled over, crimson energy drawing lines into his dampening fur. Sonic, who had ceased his wild whirling sojourn, looked on as the vortex of mud and water exploded with red light. The Chaos Blast knocked the hero through the air, right toward the cliff where the Marauders' hideout had been, but he was ready. Sonic curled up and performed a quick Spin Dash up the rocky surface, rocketing off its edge and homing in on Shadow. The Ultimate Lifeform hadn't seen the survival of such an attack possible, and was therefore caught off-guard when the ball of spines connected with his head.
"Ha!" taunted Sonic. "Didn't think anyone could survive your Last Ditch Move, did ya?" Shadow was lying on the ground at this point, gloved hands holding a sizable gash near his right ear. With almost alarming coordination, the black hedgehog stood up.
"Who said that was my only Last Ditch Move?" asked Shadow, smirking. He removed his hands from the bleeding wound and clasped them together, forming a spark of yellow and black Chaos Energy that wound around the bound digits. The Ultimate Lifeform began to laugh as he brought his hands up and slammed them into the ground. "Chaos… Rift!" he called. The spot of energy worked its way into the soggy earth, causing a huge break in the terrain that was flanked by walls of yellow light and crumbling soil. Sonic began to scream as the attack ripped the ground from under his sneakered feet, but his little brother was just in time to seize the hedgehog's hand. With his other hand, the fox hurled his screwdriver at their opponent. The tool crashed handle-end-first into Shadow's forehead, effectively ceasing the spreading rift as it neared the Marauders' cliff. With a jerk of his hand, Sonic's brother caught the amazingly returning screwdriver and set his hedgehog passenger down on the side of the newly formed gash in the earth.
"Please, stop this Shadow!" begged the fox. However, his words fell onto deaf (and apparently very tired) ears. The black hedgehog was on his hands and knees in front of the fissure's origin point, panting. As he got up, the Ultimate Lifeform glared at his adversaries with crimson fury.
"I don't need you following me," Shadow vented through clenched teeth. "I told you that I have my own mission, and I will not tolerate your snooping." He turned away, tossing a strange device in his right hand. With a careless gesture, it was propelled backward, into the bottomless Chaos Rift. Tails gasped and maneuvered into the depths of the crack, his hands almost missing the object Shadow had tossed. When he came back up, Sonic was looking dumbfounded.
"What?" asked the amber kit, but his brother only pointed, causing the fox to whirl around in midair. The rodent they had been fighting was gone, but a new contender had entered the area. It was an armadillo, or at least, it had once been one. It now sported dull metal plating all over, and a creaky sound came from inside it as it beheld its obvious target. Tails looked somewhat alarmed, but Sonic only shrugged, ran forward, and cracked open the robot's shell with a Spin Jump. The mechanical animal fell to pieces, releasing its prisoner. As the critter dashed off into the thick undergrowth of Mystic Ruins, the two unlike brothers stared at each other, confused.
"That thing was roboticized, right?" asked the hedgehog, scratching at his ear thoughtfully. Tails nodded and produced the Robotnik detector. It had begun to beep again, and the fox was walking around with it experimentally. As the pair of Mobians reached the northwestern regions of the Zone, the sounds became more frequent, causing Sonic to point to a nearby cave. "Looks like it's comin' from there," mused the blue speedster. "You think there are more of those Badniks there?"
"Sonic, that's such a derogatory term," scolded Tails. "They're generic enemies now." He shot his best friend a serious glance, but neither could hold the moment for long before bursting out laughing.
"C'mon, bro," encouraged the hedgehog. "Let's find that Eggman device." Being that the cave was nestled into a cliff, Tails was required to carry his older brother up to the entrance, and they were met there with quite a surprise. Just inside the cave was a miniscule army of barely-moving robots, all very familiar-looking. Among them were several robotic bees, a couple of blue spheres with disappearing and reappearing every minute or so on their backs, and other such old drones.
"These are…" breathed Tails, mild horror filling his eyes.
"All of Buttnik's leftovers…" Sonic finished. "Those poor animals must be starved half to death by now." Tails shook his head slowly.
"Sonic, they are dead," elaborated the fox sadly. "Eggman used these robots on us at least four years ago. No natural organism can last that long without food or water, and Chaos knows just how much air was provided for them in those metal casings." The hedgehog's hands were curled into fists in seconds, and then he was upon them; tearing through shell after shell to try and salvage any possible lives.
"They don't deserve it!" he yelled, ripping one of the hardly floating blue bubbles in two and turning away from the corpse that had just recently begun to decay inside. "How could he do this to innocent creatures?" Tails walked sullenly to the back of the cave, retrieving the device that the tracker had led them there to acquire.
"Sonic…" started the amber vulpine nervously. "There's no point in destroying them all. Robotnik is dead, too, remember?" The ball of whirling spines landed, once again taking the form of the fox's best friend, panting. He stared at Tails briefly, emerald hues burning with a fire that Tails hadn't ever seen before.
"I hope so…" breathed the hero. "I really do."
Wow, how am I managing this? I wrote a Trainers' Academy chappie in just a night, and this one didn't take me too much longer. Hope y'all enjoy. I certainly did. If you read, please review?