Shadow: Awakening II

Shadow: Attack on Prison Island

"Doctor Eggman?" The girl yelps in shock, seeming to have recognized him for the first time. She's slower than the blue faker... Makes sense, considering she appears to know him; I guess his lack of intelligence is contagious. "What are you doing here?" Oh for the love of--can someone just smack her aside already? We're losing time! The Doctor notices my murderous scowl, and fires a hole in the wall.

"Shadow, Rouge, continue on your mission! I will take care of the girl!" About time, I think as I jump through the opening. Now I can finally get something done! Zooming through the corridors at dangerous speeds, I hear the clashes of metal behind me that suggest a fight. Unless that girl had a mech of her own, someone else just joined the party. I reach the ammunition chamber doors in under a minute, but my fur is smoking from having been almost incinerated by defensive lasers. Summoning a Chaos Spear, I destroy the code-receiving pad and the door whooshes open open.

Perfect. The Doctor's plan is working as I expected it to. Walking quickly to a shelf of explosives, I place the detonator on a metal bar and put my wristwatch communicator to my mouth. Although I had only been given it by the Doctor that morning, it was easy to use as it detected my voice and automatically transmitted what I said.

"I have set the detonator in place, Doctor. Just tell me how long to program it for," I say, my voice louder than normal to reach above the sounds of combat. That bat better be getting her job done.

"Good! There's been an unexpected delay on my end, and we can't afford to lose any more time!" I hear a crackle through the watch as he patches Rouge through. "Rouge, is fifteen minutes enough? We've lost more time than we intended, and the government's forces will be closing in on us soon!"

"Fifteen minutes? Please, Doctor, I can get out of here with time to spare in five!" Rouge responds cockily, making my eyebrows furrow. I guess she is getting her job done, but can she really get the Emeralds that fast?

"Alright, then," the Doctor replies, speaking fast, "Set the timer for ten minutes, Shadow. I want both of you out of there in 8 so we can meet at the rendezvous point!"

"I copy, Doctor. Setting the timer for ten minutes," I nod, knowing there's a screen through which the Doctor can see me. I click the button on the top of the detonator twice to signify ten minutes, as it runs on increments of five. I then hold the button for three consecutive seconds, and a screen lights up that starts rapidly counting down. And now to get out of here... I rush through the door and towards the surface, striking down the few robots still tracking me with one hit each. Racing through the hallways, I come upon the hole in the wall. Jumping through it with intense strength, I fly ten meters straight up before landing in the forest thirty meters away. Wasting no time in my recovery, I'm a kilometer away from the compound before the sonic boom hits me. My ears back, a familiar voice sounds in my eardrums. Sonic.

"I found you, faker!" He shouts, jumping down onto the ground in front of me. For the second time in his presence, I bristle at the word.

"Faker?" I ask in the most mocking tone I can, "I think that you're the fake hedgehog around here." My voice angry and egotistical, I growl at him further; "You're comparing yourself to me? You're not even worthy to be called my fake, my imposter!"

"Yeah? Well, I have a few questions to ask you, and I'm not going anywhere until I have my answers. Who are ya', and what are you trying to accomplish by working with Eggman?" Sonic asks, his higher voice sounding frustrated and angry. His form practically shaking with energy, I see that his quills are standing up and his fists are clenched. Looks like someone doesn't like cages anymore than I do. I was wondering when he'd show up. Seeking both to aggravate him and buy time so I can leave him on the soon-to-be-destroyed island, I give him the most annoyingly vague answer I can.

"You'll find out," I smirk, tilting my head in the most cocky way imaginable. His reaction is priceless, as his eyes widen and his ears flatten.

"You're right; I will!" He shouts, lunging for my head. Fending his attack off with a Chaos Spear, I flip backwards and land on my feet. Gritting my teeth, I think of how nice an opportunity this is for me to let out some of my anger. I dodge to the side to avoid a kick from the faker, returning my own punch in retaliation. He dodges as well, and I'm just thinking of charging up a Chaos Blast to take Sonic down when my communicator goes off. What the--?!

"Shadow! Come in, Shadow!" My thoughts are filled with surprise when I realize Rouge is trying to contact me. Her face lights up on the screen, and I twitch at the sight of her pleading eyes. Across from me, Sonic jerks in surprise at her voice.

"I got locked in the safe with the Chaos Emeralds! The timer's counting down, and there's no way I'll get out of here with them in time!" My brain practically scrambles itself as it registers what this means. She's stuck with the Chaos Emeralds?! In a building that's about to be destroyed?! Sighing, her voice reaches some sort of saddening conclusion. "I really did think it was my lucky day when I found three Emeralds. Now, though, I guess I won't even be able to call myself a treasure hunter anymore! I've tried kicking down the door, but it won't budge; I'm stuck for sure." Breathing deeply to calm my hearts' rates, I comprehend the meaning of this situation. If Rouge is stuck with the Emeralds, when the island blows they'll get trapped under tons of rubble. There's no chance I can find them all before the reinforcements arrive to secure the island! There's also the matter of her getting blown to bits... I wrestle with myself in an attempt to find a solution.

"Shadow, promise me..." I jerk in surprise at Maria's voice in my head, and I realize that if I don't rescue those Emeralds, her wish will not be fulfilled. I have to get those Emeralds!

"Shadow! Get out of there now before the island blows you sky high!" The Doctor's voice screams from my communicator. I'm reminded of Sonic's presence when he reacts to this.

"Wait, this island's going to blow up?!" He exclaims, eyes wider than I knew was possible. "I have to get everyone off!" His sonic boom ripples over me as he speeds off towards the rigged compound. Shaking my head, I know I have to get those Emeralds. I have to fulfill Maria's wish! I have to! Grabbing the Emerald I used to Chaos Control the Doctor's team to the island, I focus on the safe Rouge is in. I had seen it in the schematics of the compound the Doctor had hacked out of the government's system, and I am now grateful that I took the time to memorize the grid. Setting the location firmly in my mind, I speak the words, hoping that I'm not too late. As I do, I see the screen of my watch and the synchronized timer counting down on it. 00:35:67... 00:34:98... 00:34:29...

"Chaos Control now!"

Explanations: I'm sorry the dialogue is weird and a hybrid between Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic X, but I needed to reach some medium between them. In SA2, Rouge calls Shadow before his and Sonic's battle. In Sonic X, she calls him during it. The Sonic X version made more sense to me, so I used it. I don't know about you, but when I'm reading the dialogue in this chapter, I hear it in the SA2 voice actor voices. XD So, make sure to tell me how I'm doing! Remember that this is a sequel, so if you haven't read the first part, I would suggest doing that so you can get some background. If any of you readers have questions for me, ask and you shall receive an answer!