Shadow, Don't Make Me Upset (Shadow Saga Series #2)

Don't Mind the Steep Slopes Or Any Obstacles

Prison Island, here we come. Again. Hopefully Shadow doesn't panic at the thought of being back here.
Sonic belongs to SEGA, enjoy!

Prison Island, jungle

Shadow continued to ask himself how he got roped into this.

Back on Prison Island. Never in a million years would he have ever thought he'd be back here. Not willingly, anyway. Though he continued to feign allegiance to Eggman, who was also not too happy to be back on this place, Shadow had his own agenda and would follow through with it by any means necessary.

Even if those means involved going back to a rather triggering place for him.

He still remembered it clearly. The humiliation of being helplessly tossed into a GUN vehicle, in a cage, paralyzed by the drug they'd injected into him as well as his own terror. Unable to move or flee, only capable of watching them take him into the base, watching them take him away to his fate and being unable to do anything about it. Being shoved into that capsule, told of his ultimate destiny, and then being left in there and helpless to spare himself from being slowly pulled into darkness.

Forced into dreamless sleep, the voices of his past endlessly looping in the void, reminding him of his own failures and never letting him go.

A fate far worse than death.

It was taking all of Shadow's concentration to keep himself from shivering at the thought, to keep his breathing even, to keep the frightened whimpering from clawing out of his throat. Don't show any weakness, he thought firmly, attempting to keep himself grounded to his ultimate goal. If anyone catches on, you're done. Don't let your anxieties get out. Nothing is more important than fulfilling Maria's wish.

Do it for her. Do it for both of them.

"I never thought I'd be back here again," Eggman grumbled, snapping Shadow out of his thoughts. Turning to Rouge, the doctor seemed to have gained a little bit of intelligence about how foolish it was to trust her. "But are you sure that the Chaos Emeralds are stored in the military base? How can you be sure your intelligence reports are correct? Are you absolutely sure?"

Rouge merely smiled at him and waved it off. "Well, it's up to you whether you believe me or not," she replied.

That is the worst answer to anything I have ever heard, Shadow thought as he gave Rouge a suspicious glance, which she either didn't seem to notice or just didn't care. It was likely to be the latter.

"Hmph. Well, fine. Let's discuss how we're going to do this." Eggman acknowledged both of them with a look that clearly said, "I'm the boss and you all know it". How ironic given the circumstances. "I'll go first and lead you two inside the base while distracting the military goons. Then, Shadow will enter the armory, where he will set the timer on these dynamite packs." He held up the aforementioned packs and handed them over to Shadow. "We don't want them chasing us, so we'll blow up the entire island to cover our tracks." Eggman then turned to Rouge. "Meanwhile, you will sneak into the vault and grab the Chaos Emeralds. Let's see how good a treasure hunter you are, shall we?"

Rouge responded with a salute and a sassy wink.

"We only have 30 minutes to pull this off," Eggman reminded both of them. "And we don't get a second chance, so don't fail me!"

The plan went by without any major complications, up until they got to the base itself. Shadow was actually having a bit of fun with the chaos, recalling how he would race around the ARK and see how fast he could go with his Air Shoes. Maria would always time him, encourage him to keep going, and giggle with ecstasy when he broke his previous record...

No, stop thinking about it, he thought as he shook his head as if to get the memories out of him. He could reminisce on his own time. Now was the time to—

"Oh, Sonic, I missed you so much!"

Shadow didn't even get the chance to turn around and see who had spoken. A pair of strong arms wrapped around his chest and shoulders, holding him tightly. A rush of compassion and love invaded his system, and his mind was flooded with memories of the last time he'd experienced such feelings. It was back on the ARK, when he'd had his first full-on panic attack because he'd nearly hurt Gerald with his powers. Maria had been there to help him calm down, and she had been his shoulder to lean on and cry his little heart out. She'd listened to his worries, and she'd countered them with advice of her own.

Shadow glanced behind him and saw a pink hedgehog girl, wearing a red dress, her eyes tightly closed as she embraced him. Another person who thinks I'm Sonic, he realized as he attempted to free himself, squirming in her grip. What's this girl's deal?

The girl opened her eyes, and Shadow noticed they were a similar green color to Sonic's. She finally seemed to notice that he was not who she thought he was, and immediately released him. "Y-you're not Sonic!" she gasped, stepping back. "Who are you?!"

Eggman groaned in exasperation at the sight of the girl. "Sweet Chaos, this is so not the time!" he complained before stepping between Shadow, Rouge, and the girl. "You two, go! I'll handle this!"

Shadow didn't even take a second glance at this strange girl before blasting forward and into the base.

It was only when he and Rouge had separated that the hedgehog allowed his ears to flatten against his head.

Geez... I never thought I'd be back here again, he thought anxiously as he fought his way inside. Good thing I'm the Ultimate Lifeform, or this would be even MORE nerve-wracking. And at least the robots are a good stress reliever. He took a moment to slash one through the core with a Chaos Spear before resuming his advance. The sooner we get out of here, the better.

Shadow finally reached the armory, where a large collection of GUN's explosives and weapons were being very conveniently stored. He placed the detonator onto the wall and contacted Eggman through a communicator on his wrist. "Doctor, it's all set," he reported. "How long should I set the timer for?"

"I've encountered some unexpected resistance," replied the doctor. "We don't have any more time to spare. Set the bomb to go off in fifteen minutes. Will that be enough time for you, Rouge?"

"All I need is five minutes," said the bat girl in reply.

"All right. Then let's split the difference and set it for ten minutes."

"Roger." Shadow pressed the button on the detonator, and a timer started ticking down. The hedgehog teleported out of the base and into the lush green jungle outside.

Okay, next time will be the most famous scene in the game.
Peace out!