Bygone Adventures: Episode 2 "Curse of the Skull"

Rising Suspicions

 And now on to where we left off on the "Wild Side."

Eggman's base

    "Well don't just stand there! Play the recording!" Eggman ordered, and Orbot scrambled to press play on the video. The screen went static for a minute before revealing Bygone Island's most revered villain, Shadow the Hedgehog.

     "A human and his toys decided to check out our borders. I sent him home disappointed. How is the pack?"

     "Still asleep, although a few of the hunters and pups are stirring," an unknown voice growled deeply.

    Shadow chuckled, "And I'm assuming Redwing has already told you 'good morning'?" 

     A snarl echoed across the video, causing the audio to crackle for a few seconds, "Yes, and I wanted to rip his wings off."

    The black blur didn't seem fazed by this, but rather chuckled in dark amusement. "Well, you can take out your early morning rage on our next hunt tomorrow night. We're going to sweep the entire perimeter. I don't want anymore humans or mobians coming close to our territory."

    That was when the screen fizzled out, signalling the end of the recording. Eggman thoughtfully combed his mustache, trying to understand the patches of conversation between the black hedgehog and whoever was out of the camera's view. The way his icon spoke was strikingly different. There was no aloofness or nonchalance, something he once believed was permanently embedded in the hedgehog's voice, but it was almost in a strange state of ease. Eggman had never known a moment when the black and red hedgehog had ever seemed so relaxed. 

 "Who do you think he was talking to, Dr. Eggman?"

   "Hmmm, I'm not sure. I always thought Shadow worked alone. I'd like to know more about this pack he spoke of. But first, I think it's been a while since my last rampage on that meddlesome little village. Must keep up appearances," he added and twirled his mustache. 

    "I shall prepare the eggmobile for transport, sir," Orbot stated and hovered away. 

    "Yeah, and I'll go get the popcorn ready!" Cubot replied and followed close behind his companion.

Back to the gang...

   Sonic and Tails arrived in Hedgehog Village just time for lunch. Many of the community residents were making their way to Meh Burger, unfortunately the only restaurant in town, where Dave the "evil intern" was waiting with his typical bored expression. The dynamic duo made their way up to the counter, and Sonic spotted the rest of his team saving spots for them at their normal table. 

    "Ugh," an exasperated sigh interrupted Sonic's thoughts, and he turned around to find Dave resting his head in his palm with his elbow on the counter, "What do you want?"

    Tails was the first to order, surprisingly, "A meh burger and chaos cola for me. Sonic?"

   "Hm," the blue blur mused, rubbing his chin in thought, "I'll take eight chilidogs, a meh burger, and large water. Oh, and an extra one of your loaded chili cheese fries." 

     "Whatever," Dave sighed and sluggish walked back to prepare a possibly hazardous combination that would pass health inspection only if the authorities were blind and lacking taste.

    "Gee, Sonic, did you skip breakfast or something?" Tails asked as they made their way through the food court. 

    "Nah, just hungry," he replied, receiving a disbelieving and slightly amused stare from his younger brother, "What? I'll share the fries."

    Tails could only shake his head with a short laugh as they sat down, and soon the two were pulled into the current conversation between the three remaining members of the team. 

   Half an hour later, Dave trudged up to their table and nonchalantly gave them their food, not caring how it landed. Sonic didn't care either, for once, as his nose was bombarded with the sweet scent of meat, and he immediately dived in. The others stopped eating mid-bite, watching in either approval, curiosity, or disgust at how quickly he was able to devour his large order. 

   "What?" he asked when he finally noticed their stares. 

    "It's nothing," Amy laughed nervously, "You just seem really hungry today, Sonic. You act as if you haven't eaten in days."

   "Don't worry about it, Ames," he brushed off, "I'm fine."

   "That's what the government wants you to think," Sticks retorted with a sharp glare that was ignored, "I'm serious!" she yelled at no one in particular. The other four rolled their eyes and continued eating, and Sonic was secretly grateful that his badger friend had redirected their attention away from him for a few minutes. 

   "Oh, yeah! I wanted to tell you guys that I found this crazy cave this morning. We should go check it out later."

    "Crazy how?" Amy asked.

  "In Shadow Canyon, I fell into this big cave full of finger paintings, or something like that, and I found this skeleton of a giant dog."

   "Cool!" Knuckles exclaimed, and the others agreed. 

    "We can check it out tomorrow," Amy decided, "I want a full day to excavate it. Who knows how much history is down there."

    "Yeah, Eggman hasn't really attacked lately," Sonic stated while flipping through his logo-shaped planner, "I haven't seen him at all since we last ran into Shadow."

    "I wonder how he's doing," Amy mused. 

On the opposite side of the island

    "Another full moon rises tonight," Shadow said to himself as he carved a small circle into the wall of the cave with his extended claw, "It won't be long till the next wet season." 

   Alpha Shadow! Alpha Shadow! a few young Black Arms chirped as they scrambled up to him. The striped hybrid sighed, knowing it was useless to tell them to drop the title from his name, and he glanced down at them. The small troop huddled around him as they talked about their first hunt in the clearing, a few proudly displaying the rabbits or mice unfortunate enough to get caught. Shadow listened with patience unknown to any but the pack, unaware of his closest friends watching from a few yards away. 

   He is a good Alpha, Moonstreak hurred as she brushed against her mate's side. Fireclaw nodded, the Black Oak watching the small exchange with a thoughtful gaze.

    Yes, but a single one none the less.

  What is wrong with being single? Redwing demanded from his perch above the two. Fireclaw huffed.

   I would feel the deepest possible sorrow for any female chosen to be your mate, Redwing.

    Boys, Moonstreak warned, deflecting the Black Wing's offended glare, There will be time for that later.

    The trio looked back at their leader and were soon snickering between themselves. Apparently, one of the pups thought it was a good idea to demonstrate his pouncing technique, which lead to Shadow being tackled in a surprise dogpile by all of them. The much lighter hedgehog appeared helpless underneath the heavy Black Arm pups, who were giggling and nipping his quills. 

    Just another day in paradise, Shadow thought privately before trying to devise a way out of his predicament.

With the gang

   "Ah, I'm sure he's fine. He can handle it," Sonic dismissed easily as he stood from his table, "And I don't know about you guys, but I'm down for another round of volleyball." 

       Before another word could be spoken, a laser zipped by their heads, forcing them to duck. 

   "On second thought, let's have some real fun."