Dust and Shadows

A Night to Remember

Seven months later... March 13, 2008

I was still stuck inside the car. I couldn't believe that I couldn't undo a single seat belt. I struggled and struggled with it, but for some unknown reason it just wouldn't let me go.

In that moment that I thought I was going to drown, a voice was heard "Shadow... It's not your time yet, Follow your heart." I tried to talk back to the voice, but I couldn't speak for some reason. The voice sounded familiar, though I couldn't place it.

Just when I thought all hope was lost, an arm came out of no-where and I blacked out.

I opened my eyes, waking up from another nightmare. Well I wouldn't say another nightmare, it's more like the same one I have been having for over the past year or so. It's me, inside a car I don't recognize, in some sort of body of water, hearing that same voice over and over. Yet every time I have the dream, a new piece of it unfolds.

I assessed my surroundings and found that I was in an apartment. I looked over at the clock and the time read: 07:30.

Perfect timing, none the less. Guess it's time to take over the watch.

Sonic had been sleeping on my chest, and judging by the sore area he was on; he had been there for most of the night. I couldn't blame him though, at least not after the night we just went through...

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Sonic and I had just walked into the Hotel room. It overlooked Metropolis Central Park. Apparently the team that went missing almost 48 hours ago, reported from a hotel along the Central Park area. Our mission was to find out where they had gone.

The team that went missing consisted of Rouge, A bat that had the uncanny ability to obtain information in the weirdest of ways. Silver, the very same hedgehog that interrogated me over a year ago, was known to be able to change his personality based on the mission at hand to infiltrate the enemy. Last, but not least we have Espio, who had the outstanding trait of being able to blend into almost any surrounding.

This team was formed in such a way to obtain information on the dangerous subject of the "Chaos Emeralds." The very things, that in this day and age, were said to have unimaginable power. If left in the wrong hands though.... Well, lets just say we don't want it to get to that point.

The only down side to the Chaos emeralds, were the fact that in order to unlock their full potential, one had to have all seven. The report Rouge's team was given stated that an enemy of the government had obtained at least five of the seven and was last sighted in the area around Central Park. The only problem to this whole mess was the fact that we had no clue as to who was trying to find the Chaos Emeralds and why.

"Shadow, I'll start setting up the communications systems, and get in contact with Knuckles and Cream." Sonic started to unpack the equipment, and within nearly fifteen minutes had been talking to the ecstatic voice of Cream.

"HEY SONIC!!!!!" Cream yelled over the comm. system.

He pulled the headphones off and blinked his eyes. "Dear god that woman is loud." I could tell he didn't like going on missions with Cream. Yet she was one of those people that just didn't let you down, no matter what.

"You having woman problems over there Sonic, or should I get you a hooker to take care of that?"

Sonic shot an evil glare at me as I made my joke, but I countered and forced to joke back at cream. "If you think the hooker is for you, you're dead wrong. I was referring to Cream."

Sonic started laughing, and in laughing was heard from the other team. "Sonic, I swear if you think that you're going to pawn Cream off on me this time you're absolutely dead wrong." Knuckles hated being around her, well to put it quite simply... cheerfulness. It's not like he didn't like her or anything, it was just that he liked to keep missions on a professional level. However Cream was the best at cryto-analysis and cracking into computer systems, thus best suited for this mission in case something came over the net.