Soul Eater but it's Sonic

Chapter 50

They arrived at the coast sometime in the early hours of the morning, before the sun had risen. Shadow moved his motorcycle off of the cracked, deserted road they'd come in on to park in an equally unkempt patch of asphalt. Both of the hedgehogs got off the bike and examined the darkened waters of the shore ahead of them. An old wooden staircase ran up the hill they stood on leading to a withered lighthouse.

"We're way out in the boonies now," Sonic said. "This isn't DWMA territory,"

"Yet they chose this region as the place to conduct their experiments half a century ago. Experiments involving me," Shadow exhaled in thought. "They definitely didn't want people knowing about this place,"

"So now we need our own boat or something?" Sonic asked.

"The lighthouse," Shadow replied.

"The instructions didn't mention a lighthouse," Sonic recalled.

"I know," Shadow began walking up the stairs.

Sonic followed. "Did you remember something?"

"It feels familiar, at least. I want to see what's inside,"

Shadow opened the creaky metal door and entered the lighthouse alongside Sonic. The main floor consisted of mostly smooth yet dingy concrete. One metal staircase ran upward in a spiral, with another similar spiral running downward.

"They're kinda crummy, but this place still has lights," Sonic gestured toward the few self-contained lights embedded into the walls and ceiling.

Shadow moved to go lower. "This place was built to last,"

The two walked down the spiral of steps. An assortment of dim lights were here as well. They were spaced generously, so the bottom floor was difficult to make out.

"Sure goes down a ways," Sonic said with unease.

"I think I know why,"

Once the two did reach solid ground again, Shadow stopped at the center of the floor. Sonic stood next to him and noticed a smooth, black rectangle on the wall in front of them. It was reflective like a mirror. Shadow took the glove off his right hand and placed his palm on the smooth surface. A few thin, circular ripples of light moved out from where his hand was. Sonic responded by making a noise that was reminiscent of a laugh and a sigh. After the lights reached the edge of the black rectangle, the whole thing lowered into the ground. A metallic click came, revealing a new path.

A concrete hall brought them into a much larger transit tunnel. They stood on a raised ledge that connected to a metal platform. Said platform was attached to a set of rails on the lowered floor ahead. One control booth sat atop the otherwise flat construct. The whole thing resembled some kind of cargo elevator that only went horizontally. Shadow casually entered the booth. Sonic poked his head in, and saw two buttons: one with an arrow pointing forward and one back. There was also an emergency brake lever.

"Oh man. You better remember which button to press fast! Otherwise, we'll be stuck here forever!" Sonic spoke with fake urgency.

"Good one," Shadow replied with amusement so mild that it barely registered in his tone.

He pressed the arrow that pointed into the tunnel ahead of them. The platform detached from the station, then began accelerating gradually until it reached a surprisingly high speed. The two hedgehogs left the booth and stood at the front of the platform. Enough of an air current had been generated that it stirred their quills slightly. The efficient mechanisms of the transport were quiet enough to make the ride fairly peaceful.

"Man, it would really suck to have to go into a place like this alone. I guess it's a good thing you're so slow. Now you don't have to," Sonic stated with mischief.