Shadow: Awakening II

Shadow: A Plan in the Shadows

"Shadow!" I land in a crouched position, my legs tenser than I knew was possible. My eyes dart to Rouge as she gasps my name, and I can see in her eyes that she's surprised to see that I came for her. In her arms rest the only tickets I have to Maria's wish; the three Chaos Emeralds she had gotten from the safe. "You actually--"

"Come on!" I yell, grabbing her arm and tapping into the Chaos Energy of the four total Emeralds present, and see the ARK in my mind. Shouting what needs to be said, I proclaim my will and feel the energy bending to it. "CHAOS CONTROL!" The warp barely lasts a second, but it feels like a century as I yank Rouge and myself through space-time. !!Wham!!

"Wha--?" I hear the Doctor proclaim his surprise at our sudden arrival, but I'm more focused landing on my feet. Rouge's weight drags me off kilter as she twists to land upright herself; I'm still holding her arm. We both stagger, but I catch my balance first and release her arm. The Doctor recovers quickly from his shock, and continues. "Shadow, Rouge, you're back! I was getting worried that the island blew up before you could get off, you know." Rouge responds, and I make the decision to leave as soon as possible.

"Maybe it would have if Shadow hadn't--" Teleporting out of the situation, I reappear by instinct in front of Maria's favorite window.

"Huh?!" A short, pitiful imitation of a word forms in my mouth, but it won't leave my choking throat. Maria's... We first met in front of... No! I force the words in my head to stop, blocking them from continuing. I'm doing everything Maria wanted. I'm going to fulfill her wish, and then she can rest easy knowing I have punished the world for killing her. I form my thoughts slowly, and try to see them with logic and reason.

Besides, crying won't bring her back, or her killer closer to justice. Somewhere in my chest something's twisted into a knot, and I hear a plea in my head. "It's not fair... Why is the world so cruel?! This isn't fair!" Steeling myself, I crush the voice and replace it with my normal, calm tone. The world isn't fair. It never will be fair, and I'm not going to whine about it. I'm going to do something about it. I'm going to get revenge so that Maria will be avenged. Sighing, I remember standing with Maria in front of this window, marveling at the stars outside.

She did love looking out on the world, at the stars. Maybe it's good that I came here. I let my mind relax, and an image of Maria ripples onto the glass next to me as I gaze at her favorite scene. I remember the time I had asked her about the planet, the time when she replied that it was the most beautiful thing ever. She wanted to visit Earth, even though she knew very little about it. She wanted to see space from the planet, to see clouds above her head. And now, I've gone to the planet without her. My memories feel so real that I'm caught up in them completely, and I don't even notice Rouge has walked up behind me until she speaks.

"Why so melancholy?" She asks, strolling over to stand at my side. "I have to say, that was so unexpected, so unlike you, Shadow, to come and rescue me. Your ability to use Chaos Control has come in very handy, you know."

"Hmph. I wasn't after you," I respond, feeling the need to explain to this spying bat that I held no trust for her. "I was only after the Chaos Emeralds."

"Yeah, yeah, but I don't think that's really the whole story, now is it?" She asks, the lift in her voice confidant. A shudder starts to run through me, but I don't know why. This bat should know by now that I don't trust her. Why would she say something like that to me? Does...does she suspect that I actually care for her? Is that what her comment means? Because... I don't. Just as I'm wondering what exactly her cryptic observation could mean, I hear a loud cough from behind us.

"Everything is ready to go, so if you two would follow me..." The Doctor says gruffly, but I can tell he is excited about the prospect.

"Are you sure?" Rouge asks him, raising one of her eyebrows. "We only have six out of the seven Chaos Emeralds, so will that be enough?" Narrowing my eyes, I can tell that she's stalling, trying to trick us into getting the final Emerald. At least, I'm pretty sure she is... Darn bat!