Whispers in the Dark (A Sonic Fanfiction)

Chapter 2: Traveling

{Recommended song: Strange Sight from Tinkerbell and the Legend of the Neverbeast}

   The trio hurried to keep on Mimic's trail. One of the kids in the village claimed to have seen the octopus leaving the area heading west, so they set out.

   Shadow chafed a little not getting to go at his full speed. He could track Mimic down a lot quicker on his own. On the other hand, he had somewhat gotten used to slowing for Rouge and Omega. He wouldn't let them become shackles holding him down, but it was better to have someone to watch your back, even if you did have to slow down for them.

   Although, the thing that Team Dark did not have, was Tangle.

   The chaotic lemur bounced along, chattering incessantly. "I'm so excited! It's been sooo looong since I've gone on an adventure! Sonic promised to take me cliff jumping on of these days, but he's always busy. Man, he just never gets a break. First there was the Metal Virus, and then that Surge character, and..."

   Tangle continued rambling. Shadow leaned over to Whisper. "Does she ever shut up?"

   The corner of Whisper's mouth turned up. "Not really."

   This was going to be a long trip.

  Whisper stared after Tangle, who babbled on, not even noticing they'd fallen behind her.

   "It's nice. Breaks the quiet."

   Shadow grunted. "I prefer quiet."

   "The quiet... can be too much." Whisper looked down.

   Strange words from someone who only whispered. But Shadow knew what she meant. He'd been through enough moments, moments with no noise to distract from the thoughts pounding, pounding, pounding through his head. When memories flashed like fireworks and his heart pounded with nothing to muffle it.

   Yes, the quiet could be too much.

   Still, Whisper's style suited him better than Tangle's enthusiastic bubbling. Whisper seemed calm, levelheaded. Unlike certain other people he could mention, she was actually serious. The kind of person who would make the tough decisions when it came to it. He respected that.

   And if she wanted to be friends with the crazy lemur, that was her call.

   A little ways ahead, Tangle had turned around and was tapping her foot as she watched them approach. "Hurry up, slowpokes!"

   Slowpokes? Of all the... "Slowpoke? I'll show you slowpoke!" Shadow took off on his air shoes. He reached her in moments, then sped past and kept going.

  "Woohoo! A race!" Tangle shouted behind him. Shadow glanced back. She had wrapped her tail between two trees and was pulling Whisper and herself back in it like a slingshot. She released, launching them through the air and past Shadow.

   Whisper absorbed her green wisp into her gun, forming an umbrella above them that caused them to float safely to the ground. Shadow whooshed to a stop beside them.

  "That. Was. AWESOME!" Tangle let out a squeal and gave Whisper a high-five. She grinned at Shadow. "We beat you, slowpoke."

   Shadow's muzzle wrinkled as he bit back a nasty remark. "That wasn't a real race," he grumbled. "Besides, we're wasting time. We're supposed to be on a mission, remember?" He stormed on ahead.

   "Aw c'mon. You have to admit that was fun!" Tangle's bouncy footsteps scampered after him. Whisper swept along at the rear.

   Shadow rolled his eyes, but found himself smiling-- no, not smiling, he didn't smile-- smirking ever so slightly to himself. Fun? Well, maybe just the slightest bit.

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   Whisper took a moment to catch her breath after Tangle's spontaneous slingshot maneuver. She stared silently after the black hedgehog stalking away ahead of them.

   She was surprised that she could even hold a conversation with him without having a meltdown. Every glance of him brought back bad memories. Even though she knew it wasn't his fault that her team was killed, it was still an unpleasant reminder. Especially since Mimic had been using his image lately.

   She took a deep breath before following after Shadow and Tangle. He's not the one who hurt them, she repeated to herself.

   It wasn't him, it wasn't him...

   It would be okay. She just had to keep walking. Keep moving.

   Tangle glanced back from where she'd been attempting to start a conversation with Shadow. She slowed to walk alongside Whisper. "You doing okay?"

   Whisper nodded. It wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. She was still going to keep a sharp eye on Shadow, but she was starting to relax a little.

   Strangely, she was finding he wasn't as edgy as she would have thought. He was very... gruff, but there was something deeper. A solemnness, a quiet pain. She could relate to that. She almost felt a connection with him, like they were two of the same kind.

   She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

   Tangle gave her a determined grin. "We don't have to bring him with us. We can fight Mimic on our own."

   "S'okay," Whisper said. It might be a little tough, but she was determined to get through. However she felt about Shadow, he was a powerful ally.

   And they'd need all the help they could get to bring down Mimic.