The Emerald Eyes of Protection.

Chapter 5

Iskra and Shadow were silently resting against a tree as four other officers were seen desperately trying to fix their GPS system and pinpoint the exact location of Ivo's laboratory. Iskra was not really in the mood to help, oddly enough. After a rather frustrating and sleepless night in a country he wasn't accustomed to, he really just wanted to relax and chat with the ebony. They seemed to get along rather well, and Shadow was more than elated to have a respectable conversation with a decent person.

They were located just outside Slaboda. The little town was surrounded by two main forests and the shore. The north forest was where Shadow lived and the forest they were currently located in was in the southeast. Just past that was the beautiful coast where Ivo's laboratory was located. A few meters passed that was a beautiful floating province, soaring hundreds of feet in the air called Angel Island. No one was really certain why or even how it got so high. However, according to the myths, the ancients believed it was the master emerald attempting to reach the heavens to end a horrible famine. Shadow had heard the story many times, of course. Sometimes from Sonic but surprisingly more from Ivo. For the short time, the ebony lived with him, he wouldn't stop talking about the ancients and their beliefs. For such a hardcore scientist, he sure had a very strong core belief system.

"So you're technically related to Ivo, right? That's kind of cool. To be honest, I've always wanted to meet him. I didn't even know he was a mad scientist. Our country mainly knows him as a fantastic coach. He was quite an amazing one at that. I suppose you can call me a bit of a fan." The general spoke clearly as the ebony had noticed a certain glimmer in the general's eyes that made him chuckle inside.

"Really, now? What did he coach exactly? I had no idea he even did anything related to exercise... He's a little on the chubby side, after all." Shadow joked faintly as the others lips had curved down to a slight frown.

I guess the petty and sarcastic insult didn't really make him that happy...

"Mainly gymnastics. I did a little extra research before we left and I believe you're uh... boyfriend? I think? Was a world champion way back when and was lucky enough to be trained by the best coach of the continent. Even people in my country at one time fled to the high-quality coaches Jednak had to offer. That was until the government stopped funding the Olympic system and completely dropped all its coaches, unfortunately." Iskra shrugged slightly as he watched the other officers closely, making sure they were still doing their job.

"I suppose that was probably for the best... Funding an Olympic system is very expensive and the money was probably needed for more important things. Regrettably, I don't really know much about this country... I only arrived a couple years ago and that was after all the craziness of the dictators and what not. But according to Sonic, it was a very awful and scary time." The ebony kicked a rock beside him slightly before glancing back at the general whose face had turned slightly dejected.

"That's what our country still believes Jednak is like but it looks like things have really cleaned up nicely!" Shadow noticed the immediate change of attitude from gloomy to hopeful, as one of the officers approached the both of them with some good news.

It was nice to see someone with a positive outlook on things. Especially a general who had probably seen many tragic events.

"Sir... Everything seems to be in working order. May we commence with the mission?" One of the many G.U.N soldiers spoke clearly as they both nodded in agreement before starting on their way.

"Sounds like Ivo has really let himself go, huh? Really a shame. He used to be so beautiful, at least in my opinion. He's the only human I've ever seen with bright red hair." The officer continued as he quickly pointed to his own brown hair before smiling innocently.