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

I Don't Wanna Hear You

The fakers are coming up. Watch out for any oncoming spindashes.
Sonic belongs to SEGA, enjoy!

White Jungle

Shadow took a moment after escaping the base to admire the lush greenery around him.

It was kind of a shame he had to destroy everything. The planet really was beautiful, even from on the surface. If it weren't for the circumstances for which he was here, this would seem like a nice place to visit... or maybe a beach? Shadow had never seen a beach in person before. He'd seen pictures, yes, but he wondered what it would be like to feel the sand between his toes. Was it soft? Maybe a little squishy? Or perhaps just a bit coarse on his fur? He only wished he could go and find out.

But he had no time for childish nonsense. His revenge was so close, he could almost taste it. All he had to do was wait for his "allies" to finish their job, and then it was only a matter of time. Once the seven Chaos Emeralds were in place, he would wait for his revenge to be complete.

A small part of him was a little sad that it had to be this way. Part of him didn't want to die.

But the rest of him felt undeserving of living. With Maria gone, what else did he have left? Nothing but a promise.

And he would not break that promise.

His communicator suddenly came alive again, and Rouge's voice came through. "Come in, Shadow," she said, sounding a little bit hesitant to say this. "Shadow, do you read me?"

"Huh? What do you want?" Shadow asked dryly, not in the mood for small talk.

"I... Sorry, but I kind of messed up... I'm trapped in the vault along with the Chaos Emeralds," Rouge explained halfheartedly. "There's no way to open it from in here, so I'm stuck."

Shadow scoffed lightly at her incompetence. She got herself locked inside? Great... she claims to be the world's greatest thief, and she can't even escape a simple vault. Oh well. We can always salvage the emeralds from this island's scorching remains...

"I can't believe I came this far, just to screw it up," Rouge was saying, as Shadow noticed her speak much quieter, apparently talking to herself. "I failed... some treasure hunter I am..."

Shadow paused.

She sounded so... sad...

He could picture the image clearly. Rouge sitting with her back against the wall... a dismal expression on her face... waiting for her inevitable death to come...

It reminded him of what happened to... Maria...

Shadow felt his muscles suddenly tense up, body going rigid as the thought made his head feel unsteady. His heart began to pound faster, harder, his chest getting tighter as his breathing grew heavy. Looking down at his hands, he found them trembling, as the jungle appeared to blur and his mind only had one thought.

Rouge.

I... can't just leave her there... can I?

No... I can't...

His expression changed to a look of pure determination, and Shadow turned to the way he came as he clenched both of his shaking fists. "Ah, shoot...! Troublemaker..." he muttered before taking off into the jungle at full speed.

All the while, the feelings did not subside.

Shadow couldn't focus on anything other than running, too occupied with thoughts of saving the Chaos Emeralds, of saving Rouge. He didn't understand what was going on with him. The familiar feelings of panic and doubt were back, just like when he'd nearly struck Gerald with his powers. He could hardly breathe, taking in sharp and rapid gasps as he ran as fast as he could, the motion of his Air Shoes allowing him to skate along and grounding him to his goal. He couldn't waste time by freaking out about this—he had to save Rouge and get the Chaos Emeralds, get back to the ARK.