Overcoming Chaos - Ch. 2
Title: Overcoming Chaos
Chapter: 2
Fandom: Sonic the Hedgehog
Character(s): Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat
Genre: Drama, angst, some action
Rating: K+/PG
Disclaimers: Sonic the Hedgehog © Sega
Notes: Just a story I really wanted to try one day. I even came up with a bunch of ideas for it. Too bad it never really went anywhere...Oh well. Anyway, it's technically a sequel to Running Towards Light, but I think this can stand on its own.
Summary: The Chaos Emeralds hold both positive and negative energy within them. Should the energy ever be released into the world, everything will be destroyed. So when the Emeralds shatter, a vessel is chosen to contain it all, gambling between life and death...
[Chapter 1]
~*~*~*~
Shadow walked through the dense forest. Moving some low branches away from his path, crimson eyes wandering around. When he glanced behind him and saw nothing there, he sighed softly, stopping for a moment to tap his foot in lingering impatience.
Other than normal noises found in similar areas the forest was rather still. Suddenly, there was a rustling noise from the bushes behind the hedgehog before Rouge the Bat appeared, sighing in both relief and frustration as she walked over to the other.
"Thanks for waiting…" the bat said sarcastically.
"I told you that you didn't have to come…" the life form replied.
The treasure hunter just smiled. "And miss this new adventure? As if…I mean, with the President's lack of work for me and the lack of treasure for me to hunt down, things have gotten kind of dull…Besides," she added, walking away from him, "how will you find the last Chaos Emerald without me?"
Shadow sighed, mumbling under his breath as he followed her, recalling how the female treasure hunter had joined him in the first place.
oOoOo
Ascending the stairs of the large penthouse apartment, Shadow walked over to a door, hesitating slightly before ringing the doorbell.
On the other side, the hedgehog heard footsteps approaching before the door opened.
Rouge stood at the doorway, wrapped in a violet bathrobe. "Oh, hey Shadow," she said, folding her arms over her torso. "I didn't expect to see you again for quite some time. Come on in."
"Thanks," the life form said softly, slowly entering the bat's residence. "I shouldn't be staying long, though…"
"You never do," she rejoined, leading the other in. "So, did you need anything?"
"I was just…wondering if you had a…Chaos Emerald with you…"
The bat looked at the hedgehog with curiosity in her cerulean eyes. "Yeah…I have one…"
"Well, would it be all right if I take it?"
She blinked, letting her arms fall to her sides. "But…why do you need it?"
"I'm gathering the Chaos Emeralds…just to see something…"
"Oh, um…okay. I have it in my bedroom…" she replied, leading the midnight hedgehog to the room.
Shadow followed her until they reached the door, and as she headed inside, he stood on the other side to wait, knowing better than to enter the bat's bedroom.
"So…how many Emeralds do you have?" Rouge called out from the room.
Shadow frowned slightly. "Why do you want to know?"
"Just…curious, I guess…"
The hedgehog's frowned deepened slightly. He knew there had to be a real reason for the bat's asking. "This will be the fourth one."
"Really? That was quick…"
"Well, I didn't find two of them, actually…Sonic and Tails found the other two…"
"Those guys?" she said with a small laugh. "Since when did you hang out with them?"
"I wasn't 'hanging out' with them," he replied defensively and at the same time wondering how long it should take for the other to retrieve the Chaos Emerald. I needed a place to stay for the night while I was in the Mystic Ruins, and Tails informed me of something concerning the Chaos Emeralds."
"Oh? What would that be?"
"Well, apparently there are cracks on some of the Chaos Emeralds, but we're not sure if the rest have any. So I wanted to gather all the Emeralds to check them."
"I see…" Rouge suddenly laughed. "Sounds like fun…"
"What…?" Shadow asked, confused. As he turned towards the bedroom, his crimson eyes widened as he saw Rouge standing at the doorway, wearing the same body suit that she had worn during their dealing with Metal Sonic.
Smirking a little, Rouge walked over to him. "Well, you don't think I'd let you have all the fun, did you?"
The hedgehog shook his head. "No, absolutely not. You are not coming with me."
"I figured you'd say that. However, if I don't go with you, then neither does my Chaos Emerald."
Glaring at the bat, the life form growled softly. As he quickly thought about the consequences of either taking Rouge along or not, Shadow felt that three Emeralds were enough to locate the others. He could always come back for the one Rouge had later.
Still, he knew that the more Emeralds he had, the stronger the attraction to others, and the easier the remaining gems would be to find.
After a moment, the hedgehog sighed. "Fine…" he finally replied, "but let me see the Emerald for a bit…"
"No way," the treasure hunter retorted. "I'm not falling for that one. Let's get going now, and when we're farther away then maybe I'll let you look at it."
Shadow scoffed in disappointment. He had been hoping that that would work. Finally, he mumbled something, heading towards the door.
Smiling in victory, Rouge followed him out. "Would you like me to hold the Emeralds you have?"
"It's fine…" he replied.
"Oh Shadow, don't be upset just because you know you can't win against me…I always get what I want, you know…"
Not answering, Shadow glared at her before speeding off.
"Hey!" the bat called after him, lifting off into the air. "Wait for me!
oOoOo
Sighing again, Shadow slowly returned to the present, continuing to follow after the treasure hunter and gazing around at the forest surroundings before pulling out the jade Chaos Emerald he held. Between the two of them, they had six of the seven Emeralds and were searching for the last one. But as their journey stretched on, Shadow began to notice that the crack on the Emerald he held was beginning to grow, branching off into smaller cracks along the crystal surface.
About to pull out the magnifying glass he had taken from Tails' workshop to once again observe the jade stone, the life form stopped as he looked at the jewel in his hand, his blood-red eyes widening.
Quickly catching up to the bat, he said, "Rouge, look at this…"
But the treasure hunter just exclaimed in annoyance, "Again, Shadow! I swear, you look at that thing every five minutes! Give it a rest already!"
Standing in front of her and forcing her to stop, the midnight hedgehog held out the jade Emerald. "No, Rouge, look at it. The Emeralds are getting worse."
Finally giving in, the female treasure hunter looked down at the gem in the other's hand. As she did so, she gasped softly as her cerulean eyes saw the dark crack all along the surface of the Emerald, many other smaller cracks branching out from it.
"See?" the life form said. "It's getting worse…The cracks have become visible now…"
"What does it mean?" she asked, looking up at him.
"I don't know…and I don't understand why the Chaos Emeralds have been getting this way…We haven't done anything with them since we started collecting them, so why are the cracks getting worse?"
Hesitating slightly, the bat then said softly, "Maybe it's the last one…"
Shadow thought over the bat's words for a moment before he nodded a bit. "Probably. How closer are we to it?"
"We're almost there…" she replied.
Nodding once more, Shadow continued walking in the direction they were heading in, Rouge right behind him.
Suddenly, as he looked around his environment, the sounds of the forest just seemed to stop. Surprised, the hedgehog stopped walking, looking up into the trees.
Stopping behind him, Rouge asked, "What's wrong?"
"Listen…" he said softly.
Pausing for a moment, the snow-white bat replied, "I don't hear anything…"
"Exactly…it's too quiet. Something's not right."
Then, the Emerald in Shadow's hand began to glow, and the two looked at it, puzzled.
"That's weird," Rouge said. "That means a Chaos Emerald is near, but…"
Before Rouge could finish her sentence, the ground trembled violently followed by a thunderous crash as several trees hit the ground, revealing a large silver robot that could easily tower over the forest area.. The dome head turned from side to side as its crimson eye-scanners detected life. Its arms and legs were large and bulky, and its round body gave it away.
"That's one of Eggman's robots!" she exclaimed.
As though hearing the bat's voice, the robot's dome head turned to the two. Extending its right arm, the robot seemed to aim as the arm transformed into a laser, crimson energy gathering into the firing unit.
Crouching down, Shadow prepared himself to run. However, as he looked at the laser's energy, his blood-red eyes widened.
"What are you doing!" the bat exclaimed. Grabbing the life form's hand, she flapped her wings and lifted into the air just as the laser hit the spot where they were standing.
As the energy hit, Shadow felt the Emerald in his hand tremble as the sound of crystal breaking reached his ears.
Realizing what was happening, the life form put the breaking crystal away. "Rouge!" he said. "The robot has the last Chaos Emerald!"
"What!"
"The Chaos Emerald is in the robot's laser! Doctor Eggman must have equipped it to power the robot, but the more energy from the Chaos Emerald it uses, the more the Emeralds break!"
"So what do we do?"
The hedgehog looked at the robot, which seemed to be distracted with something, blood-red eyes quickly scanning over the metal machine as his mind rapidly tried to work out a plan. Finally, he said, "Throw me at it…"
Nodding, the bat flew higher up before hurling the hedgehog towards the robot.
Shadow sailed through the air, aiming at the center of the robot's body and quickly closing the distance between them. As he neared, he curled into a ball, planning to spin through it. As soon as he hit, however, he was repelled back into the air, crashing into Rouge.
Gasping, the female treasure hunter faltered a little before steadying herself and Shadow in the air. "What happened?" she asked.
Growling softly, the life form rubbed his head with his free hand. "The Emerald must be making it harder to beat…"
"So now what?"
Thinking for a moment, he replied, "Do you think you can distract it? I have an idea…"
"I guess…Just be careful…" she said softly as she released his hand.
Somersaulting in the air, the life form landed on his feet before speeding towards the robot. Looking up, he watched Rouge fly around the machine's head as it tried to catch her. Barely avoiding being stepped on, Shadow ran up the robot's legs and body, standing on the robot's shoulder.
Looking around, and making sure Rouge still had the machine's attention, the dark hedgehog carefully made his way down the robot's arm which was difficult as it continued to try and catch the bat before sliding into the laser's opening.
Crawling inside, Shadow pulled himself farther into the laser until he reached a large chamber. In the center of the chamber, connected to heavy glowing power cables, was the silver Chaos Emerald, glowing brightly.
Getting to his feet, and surprised to see that the chamber was big enough for him to stand in, he walked over to the Emerald. Observing it for a minute, he carefully unhooked the cables and took the Emerald.
He frowned slightly as he looked at it, noticing the familiar cracks on the surface. Sighing, he turned to leave through the way he came.
As he was going, however, he heard a sound behind him, similar to a sound he had heard from Omega as the E-robot was charging its laser. At that moment, the silver Chaos Emerald began to glow slightly.
Turning around, the hedgehog watched as the chamber began to shine crimson light, gathering into an energy ball where the power gem once was. Realizing what was happening, Shadow couldn't help but mutter, "Shit…"
Rouge gasped as she narrowly avoided being grabbed by the robot, her violet wings flapping rapidly to keep her afloat. Her breathing was growing heavy as her altitude began to drop slowly. Though she continued to try and remain in the air, she knew she couldn't' fly forever.
Carefully she landed on the top of a nearby tree, panting softly as she watched the machine try to locate her. All she needed was a moment to rest…
Suddenly, the robot turned in her direction, and she froze slightly as it appeared to look right at her.
The bat watched as the robot aimed its right arm at her, beginning to charge its laser.
With no other options, Rouge jumped into the air, flapping her tired wings and quickly ascending into the air jus as the robot fired his laser.
Just below her feet, she felt the rushing heat of the crimson energy that tossed her higher into the air. As she hurried to steady her balance, she saw a familiar dark figure at the beginning of the laser attack.
As the crimson energy slowly died down, the bat watched with wide eyes as Shadow soared farther into the forest from the laser's force.
"Shadow…!" she cried, unaware in her concern for the other that the robot was looming up behind her…
Feeling the wind rushing around him and tips of trees brush from under him, Shadow carefully opened his crimson eyes to see that his surroundings were rushing past him.
Groaning, the midnight hedgehog shook his head before reaching his hand out, grabbing the top of a tree. The force from the laser caused him to shoot forward, but his grip on the tree caused him to spin in a circle around the tree before the gravity took control of his body, leaving him hanging limply on the branch.
Breathing heavily, Shadow looked at the silver jewel in his hand. Luckily, the laser's power without the Chaos Emerald had decreased exponentially, enough so that it wouldn't really hurt him. Still, the energy chamber had stored some of the Emerald's power, resulting in the robot's ability to fire that last attack.
Putting the Chaos Emerald away, Shadow carefully rubbed his chest, wincing a bit as the action sent a slight sting throughout his body. Perhaps the attack had been more powerful than he had realized.
Carefully the midnight hedgehog pulled himself up to stand on the top of the tree, looking back towards where the robot was.
In the distance, he saw the silver robot that appeared to just be standing there. But where was Rouge?
Rubbing his chest again, the life form sighed softly before jumping to another tree top. As quickly as he could, he headed back towards the robot along the tips of the trees.
As he neared, however, the dark hedgehog saw as a small object was released from the robot's hand, falling to the ground.
Watching the robot raise its leg and preparing to step down, Shadow's crimson eyes widened when he realized what was happening. 'Even with my speed, I'll never get there in time…' he thought, 'unless…'
Pulling out the jade Emerald, the hedgehog frowned as he looked at the many cracks on the surface. 'Using its power again could damage it even further, but I'm running out of time…' Closing his eyes, he held the Emerald tightly before saying, "Chaos Control…!"
As the jewel began to glow, the world around him slowed to a stop. Trees no longer moved from the wind that he was creating and the robot was suspended on one foot, barely stopping down on the ground.
Picking up his speed, the hedgehog then jumped off the trees, landing on the ground and running over to the unconscious bat just under the bottom of the robot's foot. Carefully, he took the still form into his arms still from even breathing because of the temporary pause in time flow and hurried over to some bushes farther away from the machine, laying her down on the foliage.
Just as the hedgehog prepared for time to return to normal, the jade Emerald began to glow brightly, the light drowning out everything around him. Wincing and trying to shield his eyes from the illumination, Shadow then felt the gem in his hand beginning to vibrate.
A force suddenly ripped the Emerald from him, and as he carefully looked at the blindingly bright jewel, he gasped softly when he saw all seven Chaos Emeralds floating in a circle around him, shining too brightly for normal eyes to see.
Still wincing from the light, the life form watched as the Emeralds began to circle around him rapidly, and he shielded his face as all seven gems suddenly shattered.
TBC
[Chapter 3]
Chapter: 2
Fandom: Sonic the Hedgehog
Character(s): Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat
Genre: Drama, angst, some action
Rating: K+/PG
Disclaimers: Sonic the Hedgehog © Sega
Notes: Just a story I really wanted to try one day. I even came up with a bunch of ideas for it. Too bad it never really went anywhere...Oh well. Anyway, it's technically a sequel to Running Towards Light, but I think this can stand on its own.
Summary: The Chaos Emeralds hold both positive and negative energy within them. Should the energy ever be released into the world, everything will be destroyed. So when the Emeralds shatter, a vessel is chosen to contain it all, gambling between life and death...
[Chapter 1]
~*~*~*~
Shadow walked through the dense forest. Moving some low branches away from his path, crimson eyes wandering around. When he glanced behind him and saw nothing there, he sighed softly, stopping for a moment to tap his foot in lingering impatience.
Other than normal noises found in similar areas the forest was rather still. Suddenly, there was a rustling noise from the bushes behind the hedgehog before Rouge the Bat appeared, sighing in both relief and frustration as she walked over to the other.
"Thanks for waiting…" the bat said sarcastically.
"I told you that you didn't have to come…" the life form replied.
The treasure hunter just smiled. "And miss this new adventure? As if…I mean, with the President's lack of work for me and the lack of treasure for me to hunt down, things have gotten kind of dull…Besides," she added, walking away from him, "how will you find the last Chaos Emerald without me?"
Shadow sighed, mumbling under his breath as he followed her, recalling how the female treasure hunter had joined him in the first place.
oOoOo
Ascending the stairs of the large penthouse apartment, Shadow walked over to a door, hesitating slightly before ringing the doorbell.
On the other side, the hedgehog heard footsteps approaching before the door opened.
Rouge stood at the doorway, wrapped in a violet bathrobe. "Oh, hey Shadow," she said, folding her arms over her torso. "I didn't expect to see you again for quite some time. Come on in."
"Thanks," the life form said softly, slowly entering the bat's residence. "I shouldn't be staying long, though…"
"You never do," she rejoined, leading the other in. "So, did you need anything?"
"I was just…wondering if you had a…Chaos Emerald with you…"
The bat looked at the hedgehog with curiosity in her cerulean eyes. "Yeah…I have one…"
"Well, would it be all right if I take it?"
She blinked, letting her arms fall to her sides. "But…why do you need it?"
"I'm gathering the Chaos Emeralds…just to see something…"
"Oh, um…okay. I have it in my bedroom…" she replied, leading the midnight hedgehog to the room.
Shadow followed her until they reached the door, and as she headed inside, he stood on the other side to wait, knowing better than to enter the bat's bedroom.
"So…how many Emeralds do you have?" Rouge called out from the room.
Shadow frowned slightly. "Why do you want to know?"
"Just…curious, I guess…"
The hedgehog's frowned deepened slightly. He knew there had to be a real reason for the bat's asking. "This will be the fourth one."
"Really? That was quick…"
"Well, I didn't find two of them, actually…Sonic and Tails found the other two…"
"Those guys?" she said with a small laugh. "Since when did you hang out with them?"
"I wasn't 'hanging out' with them," he replied defensively and at the same time wondering how long it should take for the other to retrieve the Chaos Emerald. I needed a place to stay for the night while I was in the Mystic Ruins, and Tails informed me of something concerning the Chaos Emeralds."
"Oh? What would that be?"
"Well, apparently there are cracks on some of the Chaos Emeralds, but we're not sure if the rest have any. So I wanted to gather all the Emeralds to check them."
"I see…" Rouge suddenly laughed. "Sounds like fun…"
"What…?" Shadow asked, confused. As he turned towards the bedroom, his crimson eyes widened as he saw Rouge standing at the doorway, wearing the same body suit that she had worn during their dealing with Metal Sonic.
Smirking a little, Rouge walked over to him. "Well, you don't think I'd let you have all the fun, did you?"
The hedgehog shook his head. "No, absolutely not. You are not coming with me."
"I figured you'd say that. However, if I don't go with you, then neither does my Chaos Emerald."
Glaring at the bat, the life form growled softly. As he quickly thought about the consequences of either taking Rouge along or not, Shadow felt that three Emeralds were enough to locate the others. He could always come back for the one Rouge had later.
Still, he knew that the more Emeralds he had, the stronger the attraction to others, and the easier the remaining gems would be to find.
After a moment, the hedgehog sighed. "Fine…" he finally replied, "but let me see the Emerald for a bit…"
"No way," the treasure hunter retorted. "I'm not falling for that one. Let's get going now, and when we're farther away then maybe I'll let you look at it."
Shadow scoffed in disappointment. He had been hoping that that would work. Finally, he mumbled something, heading towards the door.
Smiling in victory, Rouge followed him out. "Would you like me to hold the Emeralds you have?"
"It's fine…" he replied.
"Oh Shadow, don't be upset just because you know you can't win against me…I always get what I want, you know…"
Not answering, Shadow glared at her before speeding off.
"Hey!" the bat called after him, lifting off into the air. "Wait for me!
oOoOo
Sighing again, Shadow slowly returned to the present, continuing to follow after the treasure hunter and gazing around at the forest surroundings before pulling out the jade Chaos Emerald he held. Between the two of them, they had six of the seven Emeralds and were searching for the last one. But as their journey stretched on, Shadow began to notice that the crack on the Emerald he held was beginning to grow, branching off into smaller cracks along the crystal surface.
About to pull out the magnifying glass he had taken from Tails' workshop to once again observe the jade stone, the life form stopped as he looked at the jewel in his hand, his blood-red eyes widening.
Quickly catching up to the bat, he said, "Rouge, look at this…"
But the treasure hunter just exclaimed in annoyance, "Again, Shadow! I swear, you look at that thing every five minutes! Give it a rest already!"
Standing in front of her and forcing her to stop, the midnight hedgehog held out the jade Emerald. "No, Rouge, look at it. The Emeralds are getting worse."
Finally giving in, the female treasure hunter looked down at the gem in the other's hand. As she did so, she gasped softly as her cerulean eyes saw the dark crack all along the surface of the Emerald, many other smaller cracks branching out from it.
"See?" the life form said. "It's getting worse…The cracks have become visible now…"
"What does it mean?" she asked, looking up at him.
"I don't know…and I don't understand why the Chaos Emeralds have been getting this way…We haven't done anything with them since we started collecting them, so why are the cracks getting worse?"
Hesitating slightly, the bat then said softly, "Maybe it's the last one…"
Shadow thought over the bat's words for a moment before he nodded a bit. "Probably. How closer are we to it?"
"We're almost there…" she replied.
Nodding once more, Shadow continued walking in the direction they were heading in, Rouge right behind him.
Suddenly, as he looked around his environment, the sounds of the forest just seemed to stop. Surprised, the hedgehog stopped walking, looking up into the trees.
Stopping behind him, Rouge asked, "What's wrong?"
"Listen…" he said softly.
Pausing for a moment, the snow-white bat replied, "I don't hear anything…"
"Exactly…it's too quiet. Something's not right."
Then, the Emerald in Shadow's hand began to glow, and the two looked at it, puzzled.
"That's weird," Rouge said. "That means a Chaos Emerald is near, but…"
Before Rouge could finish her sentence, the ground trembled violently followed by a thunderous crash as several trees hit the ground, revealing a large silver robot that could easily tower over the forest area.. The dome head turned from side to side as its crimson eye-scanners detected life. Its arms and legs were large and bulky, and its round body gave it away.
"That's one of Eggman's robots!" she exclaimed.
As though hearing the bat's voice, the robot's dome head turned to the two. Extending its right arm, the robot seemed to aim as the arm transformed into a laser, crimson energy gathering into the firing unit.
Crouching down, Shadow prepared himself to run. However, as he looked at the laser's energy, his blood-red eyes widened.
"What are you doing!" the bat exclaimed. Grabbing the life form's hand, she flapped her wings and lifted into the air just as the laser hit the spot where they were standing.
As the energy hit, Shadow felt the Emerald in his hand tremble as the sound of crystal breaking reached his ears.
Realizing what was happening, the life form put the breaking crystal away. "Rouge!" he said. "The robot has the last Chaos Emerald!"
"What!"
"The Chaos Emerald is in the robot's laser! Doctor Eggman must have equipped it to power the robot, but the more energy from the Chaos Emerald it uses, the more the Emeralds break!"
"So what do we do?"
The hedgehog looked at the robot, which seemed to be distracted with something, blood-red eyes quickly scanning over the metal machine as his mind rapidly tried to work out a plan. Finally, he said, "Throw me at it…"
Nodding, the bat flew higher up before hurling the hedgehog towards the robot.
Shadow sailed through the air, aiming at the center of the robot's body and quickly closing the distance between them. As he neared, he curled into a ball, planning to spin through it. As soon as he hit, however, he was repelled back into the air, crashing into Rouge.
Gasping, the female treasure hunter faltered a little before steadying herself and Shadow in the air. "What happened?" she asked.
Growling softly, the life form rubbed his head with his free hand. "The Emerald must be making it harder to beat…"
"So now what?"
Thinking for a moment, he replied, "Do you think you can distract it? I have an idea…"
"I guess…Just be careful…" she said softly as she released his hand.
Somersaulting in the air, the life form landed on his feet before speeding towards the robot. Looking up, he watched Rouge fly around the machine's head as it tried to catch her. Barely avoiding being stepped on, Shadow ran up the robot's legs and body, standing on the robot's shoulder.
Looking around, and making sure Rouge still had the machine's attention, the dark hedgehog carefully made his way down the robot's arm which was difficult as it continued to try and catch the bat before sliding into the laser's opening.
Crawling inside, Shadow pulled himself farther into the laser until he reached a large chamber. In the center of the chamber, connected to heavy glowing power cables, was the silver Chaos Emerald, glowing brightly.
Getting to his feet, and surprised to see that the chamber was big enough for him to stand in, he walked over to the Emerald. Observing it for a minute, he carefully unhooked the cables and took the Emerald.
He frowned slightly as he looked at it, noticing the familiar cracks on the surface. Sighing, he turned to leave through the way he came.
As he was going, however, he heard a sound behind him, similar to a sound he had heard from Omega as the E-robot was charging its laser. At that moment, the silver Chaos Emerald began to glow slightly.
Turning around, the hedgehog watched as the chamber began to shine crimson light, gathering into an energy ball where the power gem once was. Realizing what was happening, Shadow couldn't help but mutter, "Shit…"
Rouge gasped as she narrowly avoided being grabbed by the robot, her violet wings flapping rapidly to keep her afloat. Her breathing was growing heavy as her altitude began to drop slowly. Though she continued to try and remain in the air, she knew she couldn't' fly forever.
Carefully she landed on the top of a nearby tree, panting softly as she watched the machine try to locate her. All she needed was a moment to rest…
Suddenly, the robot turned in her direction, and she froze slightly as it appeared to look right at her.
The bat watched as the robot aimed its right arm at her, beginning to charge its laser.
With no other options, Rouge jumped into the air, flapping her tired wings and quickly ascending into the air jus as the robot fired his laser.
Just below her feet, she felt the rushing heat of the crimson energy that tossed her higher into the air. As she hurried to steady her balance, she saw a familiar dark figure at the beginning of the laser attack.
As the crimson energy slowly died down, the bat watched with wide eyes as Shadow soared farther into the forest from the laser's force.
"Shadow…!" she cried, unaware in her concern for the other that the robot was looming up behind her…
Feeling the wind rushing around him and tips of trees brush from under him, Shadow carefully opened his crimson eyes to see that his surroundings were rushing past him.
Groaning, the midnight hedgehog shook his head before reaching his hand out, grabbing the top of a tree. The force from the laser caused him to shoot forward, but his grip on the tree caused him to spin in a circle around the tree before the gravity took control of his body, leaving him hanging limply on the branch.
Breathing heavily, Shadow looked at the silver jewel in his hand. Luckily, the laser's power without the Chaos Emerald had decreased exponentially, enough so that it wouldn't really hurt him. Still, the energy chamber had stored some of the Emerald's power, resulting in the robot's ability to fire that last attack.
Putting the Chaos Emerald away, Shadow carefully rubbed his chest, wincing a bit as the action sent a slight sting throughout his body. Perhaps the attack had been more powerful than he had realized.
Carefully the midnight hedgehog pulled himself up to stand on the top of the tree, looking back towards where the robot was.
In the distance, he saw the silver robot that appeared to just be standing there. But where was Rouge?
Rubbing his chest again, the life form sighed softly before jumping to another tree top. As quickly as he could, he headed back towards the robot along the tips of the trees.
As he neared, however, the dark hedgehog saw as a small object was released from the robot's hand, falling to the ground.
Watching the robot raise its leg and preparing to step down, Shadow's crimson eyes widened when he realized what was happening. 'Even with my speed, I'll never get there in time…' he thought, 'unless…'
Pulling out the jade Emerald, the hedgehog frowned as he looked at the many cracks on the surface. 'Using its power again could damage it even further, but I'm running out of time…' Closing his eyes, he held the Emerald tightly before saying, "Chaos Control…!"
As the jewel began to glow, the world around him slowed to a stop. Trees no longer moved from the wind that he was creating and the robot was suspended on one foot, barely stopping down on the ground.
Picking up his speed, the hedgehog then jumped off the trees, landing on the ground and running over to the unconscious bat just under the bottom of the robot's foot. Carefully, he took the still form into his arms still from even breathing because of the temporary pause in time flow and hurried over to some bushes farther away from the machine, laying her down on the foliage.
Just as the hedgehog prepared for time to return to normal, the jade Emerald began to glow brightly, the light drowning out everything around him. Wincing and trying to shield his eyes from the illumination, Shadow then felt the gem in his hand beginning to vibrate.
A force suddenly ripped the Emerald from him, and as he carefully looked at the blindingly bright jewel, he gasped softly when he saw all seven Chaos Emeralds floating in a circle around him, shining too brightly for normal eyes to see.
Still wincing from the light, the life form watched as the Emeralds began to circle around him rapidly, and he shielded his face as all seven gems suddenly shattered.
TBC
[Chapter 3]