Rise of the Nightmares

Chapter 7

"We're glad that you're back, but... I think it's best that we talk about what happened..."

The way Shadow said that, speaking in monotone but yet still gently, it was a little scary for Kate. She couldn't tell of the black hedgehog was feeling remorse for their fight, or was angry with how Kate had ran away following their fight. But Rouge was sitting right next to Shadow, and seeing the bat have a sad look on her face, she could only hope that Shadow was feeling the exact same way as Rouge.

Slowly and nervously, Kate approached the two. She heard the door close behind her, and she turned back. Princess Peach and Toadsworth had left her alone here in the princess's chambers, to talk to Shadow and Rouge by herself. It made her shake a little, realizing that she had to do this by herself. Kate knew that this confrontation with Shadow and Rouge couldn't be avoided forever, but having to do so on her own was what made it feel so nerve-wrecking.

Still, she couldn't run away again, so she approached the two and sat in a seat across the table from them.

"Kate, we understand that you were upset with us," said Rouge.

"I'm still bitter with you both..." said Kate.

"And we can't blame you. We uh... we are responsible for you losing your memories," said Shadow. "But it was to protect you."

"You keep saying that, but it's clear that you're keeping things from me. And that last fact, I cannot appreciate..." said Kate.

She frowned a little, and even crossed her arms, but she only did this to prevent herself from getting more upset.

"So I'd appreciate it if you could tell me what you mean by this was to protect me, because I certainly see no reason to how amnesia can help me..." she said.

Shadow and Rouge nervously looked at each other. Rouge let out a sad sigh, while Shadow remained silent.

"You uh... you're not from our world, Kate..." said Rouge.

"I kinda figured that out already. I'm from Earth, right? It's why I don't recognize any of the places or people that I've met. So please tell me something that I don't know already," said Kate, still frowning.

"U-uh... well, you see-"

"We honestly don't know how you managed to get here from Earth. We really don't know," said Shadow.

Rouge formed a worried look as she glanced at the black hedgehog, who had cut her off. Kate opened her mouth to protest, but before she could say more, Shadow continued to speak.

"I speak the truth when I say that we did indeed find you in the forest outside of the Mushroom Kingdom. Rouge and I were here for a meeting, regarding the prophecy about the Dreamer of Peace, the one who can stop the Nightmares once and for all. We felt a disturbance in the forest, and when we went to investigate, we found you unconscious, lying in the forest. But you weren't alone," said Shadow.

"I wasn't alone?" asked Kate. she slowly stopped frowning as she spoke.

"You had the weapon that only the Dreamer of Peace can wield, so when we saw that you had it with you, we knew who you were. But the weapon suddenly disappeared, went off somewhere on its own and teleported away. When it disappeared, I realized that while you may have escaped from the Nightmares, you clearly weren't safe. They possibly could track you," said Shadow.

"Y-Yes! That is... the truth..." said Rouge. She let out another sigh and said, "So when we found out that the Nightmares could track you, we figured that the best thing to do would be to delay them from coming as much as possible. You were unconscious, but you also looked a little beaten up because you had some minor injuries, so we figured you must've gone through something really traumatizing."