An Elemental Secret

Chapter 2

As soon as the blue hedgehog left, Rouge was at Shadow in an instant, making sure that he was alright.

"I'm fine." Shadow growled lowly. "My Chaos energy was just drained a bit."

Rouge sighed in relief before quickly grabbing him some leftover lunch.

"I don't need that, Rouge." Shadow mumbled.

"Eat it. It'll help." Rouge commanded, making sure that Shadow at least took two bites of the spaghetti before walking to the back of the room. "So how did Dr. Robotnick get to you."

Though Rouge couldn't see it, a light flush of embarrassment invaded Shadow's face. "He... caught me off guard..."

"How so?"

"He... caught me while I was daydreaming..."

"Daydreaming?" Rouge looked to her friend, surprised. "What could've possibly got you to daydream?"

"I don't know..." Shadow sighed. "It correlated with these weird dreams I've been having... I'm usually seeing it through the eyes of a female, human like creature. And she seems so happy... I-I can't make any sense of it! I always hear the names Farah and Mahkah, but I don't understand any of it!"

"Again!?" Rouge sighed. "Alright, I'll look into it; maybe we can find out why you're having these dreams."

Shadow nodded his thanks before leaning back with a sigh. He felt incredibly numb from the drainage of energy, and only wanted to rest. Rouge decided to give him that rest and went outside, flying up high to Angel Island.

Meanwhile, Knuckles sat alone in front of the Master Emerald, as per usual. He was laying against the floor of the ruined temple, eyes closed, yet still alert. One eye opened at the sound of flapping wings. He knew who it was, and he was incredibly annoyed already. He did not want to deal with her.

"What do you want, bat?" He stood up and crossed his arms.

"Hello to you too, Knuckie." Rouge landed at the bottom of the steps, a hand on her hip. Knuckles just rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, I'm not here for that gorgeous emerald."

"Then why are you here?"

"I need your help with something."

"And that would be...?"

"Shadow has been having these... dreams, and they seem very spiritual. It's really bugging him, and I thought you could help because you're all about that."

"Can't he deal with them himself?" Knuckles rolled his eyes.

"Shadow needs more help than you'd think." Rouge looked away, obviously not wanting to elaborate. 

Knuckles stared at Rouge, not really knowing why Rouge was suddenly like that. He sighed, "Fine, I'll help. What exactly are they about?"

"The way he describes it, he is this woman that seems to be some sort of deity, and he is with others almost just like him. They also keep calling him Farah, I believe."

"Farah...?" Knuckles seemed a bit shocked, but then turned away, closing his eyes. "Why would he have dreams about that...?"

"Knuckles?" Rouge tilted her head slightly.

"Follow me." Knuckles turned back and walked past her. She quickly followed, wanting to help Shadow more than finally stealing that gorgeous emerald. Well, maybe she'd get it on the way out.

She followed the echidna deep into the forest until a large, barricaded cave came into view. Knuckles walked closer to the barricade, fists raised before punching the pile of rocks full force. They ended up tumbling down, creating a large hole in the middle of it. Knuckles looked back at Rouge and gestured her over, leaping into the hole. Rouge flew in right behind him. She was met with darkness, though she could see perfectly fine, due to her nocturnal eyesight. Suddenly, a light emerged from an old lantern that Knuckles now held. He looked back to her, nodded, and proceeded to walk deeper in the cave. She followed behind, wondering what exactly he was going to show her in the dark, damp cave.

As they walked, she could see various old drawings on the walls, them all telling of something. They all seemed to be of different stories, and while the art was definitely not up to modern kinds, it was still a sight to behold. Finally Knuckles came to a stop.

"This cave is where my tribe told of ancient stories. Sometimes, even predictions were drawn on these cave walls. Farah is a name involved in an old religion of sorts that we use to practice. The story of how Earth itself was made by the children of the sun and the moon."

"So, Shadow is dreaming of this old religion?" Rouge asked, trying her best to understand the story the art is telling of.

"Sort of." Knuckles said, laying his hand on the old drawings. "Farah was the spirit of happiness, created by Mahkah, the spirit of all living things. Farah was killed by the spirit of darkness and died, which is why everybody now has a dark side. And how those dark sides are so hard to resist..."

"So, why would Shadow be dreaming about any of that?"

"I... don't know..." Knuckles seemed a bit consumed in his thoughts. 

Rouge looked through the ancient drawings, trying to see if there was anything she could make out. Anything that could show why Shadow was dreaming about this. Looking over toward Knuckles, she sighed, "I can't make any sense of this..."

"I don't necessarily know why Shadow would be having these dreams, but if I ever do figure it out, I'll tell you, alright?" Knuckles glanced at Rouge before looking back to the art. She simply nodded and turned around, ready to walk away, but she stopped.

"Do you think that Shadow will be okay?" She mumbled it so quietly, that it didn't even echo.

Knuckles paused for a moment. "I don't think this would be anything that could harm him. This religion has been dead for so long that I'm surprised he even has these dreams. Why do you ask?"

"Shadow's like my brother, and I know how much trouble he can get himself into. This seems really serious, and I don't want him hurt." Rouge looked down, her eyes closed.

Knuckles knew that Rouge could get really sentimental, but he was never use to it. Seeing her like that was so nerve wracking that he never knew how to react. These moments were very rare, after all, especially when she was around the red echidna. Being sentimental wasn't really his thing either, so comfort would be awkward. Nonetheless, he gave it a worthy try. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure it's nothing anyways."

She smiled thankfully. "Thank you, Knuckles."

She then walked out, leaving Knuckles to stare at the art of his ancestors, knowing the story they are telling by heart...

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[Lava]

This is number 2 on my list of stories to work on, so be prepared for more chapters :p