Chaotic Times.

Chaotic Times
A black hedgehog with red striped quills stood up on the roof, his white gloved hands balled into fists as he searched the the other roof tops. "Where the hell is he?" he snarled as he shifted his red and white shoed feet, preparing for an attack. "Come on...COME ON!" He shouted into the blackness of the night. without warning a bright golden light struck him in the back sending him over he roof. he began skating down the side of the building as a golden robotic hedgehog flew beside him. thier eyes both glowed a bright red as they struck each other with blinding speed before the robot blasted the black hedgehog off the buildings side sending into a free fall. "<censored>!" the hedghog shouted, wincing in pain as he fell. he fliped and planted his feet on a flagpole, causing him to bounce back up at the robot, slamming into it and causing seven colorful gems to fly off the now blue robot. using the robot as a springboard the black hedgehog leapt towards the gems his hand outstreatched before recieving a blast in the back once more, the robot had activated its jets and was closing in on him and the gems. "I need to end this!" the black hedgehog said as he closed his eyes. "Chaos Control!" he shouted. All seven gems began glowing brightly and formed a circle, and a blue vortex appeared in the center of it. the emeralds then vanished into the vortex. shadow reached for it but his momentum fell short. he began freefalling once more, the robot hedgehog kicked his jets into high gear and launched towards the vortex as it began closing. The hedgehog reached out and grabbed the robots foot and followed it into the vortex. The robot turned back and aimed its blaster at the black hedgehog, but thinking quickly the black hedgehog spun and kicked the robot out the wall of the vortex. with that distraction out of the way he turned to find the emeralds only to see but one of them. "<censored> where are the others?" he said wincing. suddenly the vortex opened up over a large city, the emerald no longer in sight. "oh hell..." he said, as he found himself free falling nearly 30 storys up. he angled his body so he could catch the side of the building and began skating down it. he leapt from building trying to slow his momentum befor crashing into the pond in the nearby park at high speeds knocking the black hedgehog unconsious.
It was a normal day for a normal girl, because naturally, Mariko was your normal girl. She had friends, went to school, didn't study her notes when she was supposed to, all the things that a normal teen girl did. Boys and fashion were somewhat at the top of her list as well, but they didn't quite reach number one. No, what kept Mariko's attention was something quite different, so different that she refused to tell even her closest friends. Mariko was sick of the normal life, of school and petty problems. She wished she could be like the heros in the books she read, and save the world or go on an adventure. That's really what Mariko wanted, though she knew it was stupid... So another day began, and Mariko made her way to school, her long hair trailing behind her. Her school skirt ruffled slightly as the wind seemed to pick up, but she paid no mind. "Hmm...I wonder if I should try and sit next to Shinji today..." she said to herself as she walked along the sidewalk to school. Letting out a sigh, she looked up to the sky with sad eyes. "I wish I could live life...and not just be a boring old girl..." And just as she said this, something strange appeared in the sky. A soft red glow was falling towards her, and as it got closer, the glow deepened. "Wha-what is that?!" she cried out as she squinted to see. It looked like...a large stone! Mariko quickly ran to catch it as it plummited towrads the earth, and just as she reached to catch it, the stone suddenly stopped before her and began to float in mid-air. Mariko stared, the large diamond shaped crystal floating in front of her, the red glow of it almost hypnotic. And just as she went to touch it, the crystal became one with her and vanished. Mariko dropped her bag and looked to her hands, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. "That was....weird." she said to herself, grabbing her bag and going on. SHe must have been really tired, that was it. She was seeing things. "Still...that was pretty cool..." she said. And not a moment after she said that, a loud spalsh was heard from the park pond, and Mariko looked up in shock. "Oh...oh my..." she said, her hands pressing to her lips. Something ahd fallen from the sky and...was in the pond! "D-don't worry! I'll save you, little kitty!!" she cried, mistakening the creature. Getting into the pond, Mariko pushed through the water and craddled the creature in her arms. "I've got you...don't worry." she said softly as she held it close, not knowing what it was, really. Getting out of the pond, Mariko layed the creature down on the ground and looked to it. "Is it....breathing?" she asked herself. "Maybe I should...do CPR?" Mariko hesitated, but realized the creature needed her help. Slowly she leaned down, her lips getting close to his as she prepared to do CPR.
He winced some and made a soft groan as he blinked his glowing red eyes open only to see this creature coming close to his face. 'What the hell!" He snarled and rolled away as he stood up and then dropped back to his knee snarling in pain. "Damnit..." he looked up at the girl, wincing and breathing shallowly. "A...human? On mobius?" He muttered as he looked around seeing a few more humans staring at him. "What the...where..." he dropped to his hands and coughed some as he closed his eyes, his injuries not having time to heal from his battle with the robot.
Mariko cried out in shock as the creature suddenly sat up, and talked! "I...I..." She sat back, and looked to him, getting closer. "You can talk? But you're just a kitty! A very...strange looking kitty..." Mariko then tried to pet him, though she was hesitant. "Where? Er...you're in Daskin...on planet earth." There was his answer, though she had no real idea why he was talking, or quite frankly why she was talking back. Was she going nuts. "I saved you from the water. My name is Mariko!"
The black hedgehog took a deep breath and pushed himself to his feet with a deep gutteral snarl. he looked to the pond then to her seeing she was sopping wet. he grabbed his left shoulder and shoved hard to put it back into place. "Damnit that hurt..." he snarled before looking at her once more. "I am not a kitty. I am a hedgehog. Shadow The Hedgehog. And yeah, I can talk....I can do alot more than talk..." he glanced over his sholder seeing the humans gathering in numbers and staring at him. he looked back at Mariko and raised an eyebrow seeing an odd glow from her eyes. he shook off the idea and leaned back, popping his back into place. he looked as her hand drew closer to his head and sighed. "You might not want to try petting me...my quills are quite sharp...wait...did you say earth? Why the hell did I end up here?" he folded his arms and frowened. he closed his eyes and his ears twitched as the crowds murmering got louder. He snapped his eyes open and turned to the crowd, "Yes im a talking hedgehog! Now Back the Hell up or I will reduce you all to Nothing!" he shouted as he raised his hand aiming it at them feeling a small ammount of energy forming into a red ball in his hand. he fired it in front of the crowd causing a rather large cratter in front of the people who all ran away screaming. he turned back to mariko with a smirk on his face. "Now that felt good..." He looked up at mariko and nodded to her. "You...uh..Mariko, I am looking for my seven chaos emeralds. I need them to get home..and to fix my world. I can feel one is near..but something is wrong...I cant get a fix on it for some reason. its a large colored gem. Did you happen to.." he turned and frowned as police began gathering around with guns trained on him. "Get down on the ground!" one of the four shouted. "hmmph, humans..." he said as he began streatching. He was still weak and without the emeralds, his powers were near useless, but he still had his speed...if his body would work with him. " I said get down on the ground now!" the cop shouted. Shadow smirked and looked to mariko, "Wait here for a few seconds..." and with that he began running away from her, picking up speed with his skates before doubling back and picking her up, suddenly recieving a large boost of energy and speed. next thing either of them knew they were 15 stories up on the roof of a building almost six blocks from the park. "impossible...You have a chaos emerald!" shadow said as he set her down. Her hand stopped as he stated he was a hedgehog, and gave his name. "Shadow? Aw...what a cute name for you!" she said, reaching out to pet him even though he warned her. She gently pet him, careful not to get hurt by the quills. A large bang suddenly caught her attention, and she felt the ground shake and heard people scream. Looking back to Shadow, she saw him smirking. "Y-you did that...?" she questioned, shaking slightly. This was all too much to comprehend at once! Shadow then went on about seven emeralds, and Mariko smiled as she though. "As a matter of fact..." Her sentence was stopped as police men came around, and demanded Shadow obey orders. Looking to Shadow, she saw as he suddenly ran away. "W-wait! Don't leave me here with these cops!!!" she cried. Her head slowly turned back towards the men, and she gulped. Mariko suddenly felt herself lifted, and her har beting in the wind as she seemed to travel at awesome speed. "Oh....my...GOD!!!!!!!!!!" she cried out, holding onto Shadow as he held her. She then found herself atop a building, and as Shadow set her down, her knees gave way and she collapsed on her butt. "A-a-a-ahh....." she got out, shaking slightly. Mariko then began to glow slightly as she found herself near Shadow. Her eyes turned slightly red, and she carried a red aura about her. "What the...?"
His eyes narrowed as he slowly walked in a circle around her, his own eyes shining a bright red. he placed a hand on te top of her head and smiled slightly feeling a strong but familiar charge of energy filling his body. he stood there for a full minute, his eyes closed. every time she made a sound he mearly made a shushing sound. He then stepped back feeling his injuries healing themselves. "So, The emerald has become one with you I see..." Shadow said as he looked her over. "Well this presents a bit of a dillema for me Mariko...I need that emerald...and the emerald is within you..." He folded his arms with a frown as he watched her unblinking. "This just wont do." He closed his eyes and sighed softly as he breeze began blowing his quills gently. "where are they....where are the other emeralds?" he muttered softly as his frown deepened. "damnit..." he said finnally "I need that emerald...but it is in you...guess I have no choice..." he said frowning deeper. "Well what are you waiting for?" he said as he turned away from her. "Get up and lets go. You have to help me find my emeralds...If metal gets it...well...I'm sure you can imagine what would happen..." he said, never turning to face her.
Mariko was confused, greatly. He seemed to be trying to find these so-called emeralds, but she had no idea what to tell him. "Become one with me...?" she repeated, pointing to herself. She then thought back... The emerald floating before her, a warm feeling coming over her as she went to touch it, and then...nothing. Looking to her hands once again, she gasped. "It's inside of me?!" She was in awe at the fact. How the hell would she get it out? Shadow needed it, apparently, but she had no idea what to do about it. Her eyes then followed him as he began to walk, and expected her to follow. "W-wait." she said as she stood. "Where are we going? I have...school." She bit her lower lip as she said this. This was an oppurtunity of a lifetime! And yet...she was scared as she could be...
Shadow looked over his shoulder at her with a frown. "No, you dont. he turned and looked at the distance and smirked spotting a building that looked as if it could be a school...but then again he had no idea what exactly this school was. he raised his hand and fired a small blast at the building, blowing a nice chunk out of the side of it. "There, that school is canceled." He said with a smirk. he turned and faced her again. " Now, lets go before metaaaAAhhh!" Shado shouted as a large blur blur slamed into him sending both the blur and him over the edge of the building. A large explosion shook the building as the two slammed into a parked car. the blue hedgehog robot flew up into the air looking at the crater it had created. suddenly a black and red blur launched up from the cratter and up the side of the building, the bot only had time to turn and face the blur as shadows fist collided with it. he spun in mid air and kicked off the robot, rocketing himself up and back onto the roof. " We need to go now!" he snapped. he ran and lifted her in his arms again and leapt off the side of the building feeling the energy flowing through him once more. "Chaos Control!" he shouted causing a red vortex to appear and the both of them to fall through it. Shadow winced from her screaming for a moment. he blinked as he saw the vortex open up over asmall town that looked to be from a bad western movie. shadow turned and used the angle of a roof to slow thier desent so he could safely land on the ground. "damn..that stung.." he said as he set her down, then fell to one knee.
She was shocked to see his reaction to her stating she had school. Worse, the school he had hit wasn't even hers. "Oh my..." she said as she looked at the damage. Mariko suddenly turned as she heard Shadow scream, and saw another strange creature zoom past her and after Shadow. "What's that!?" she cried, keeping her skirt down as the wind caused by the robot sent her skirt flying. Mariko watched as Shadow and the robot seemed to fight, and watched in fright as Shadow attacked. "Shadow!" she called, wishing she could help. Her aura then glowed red again, though she didn't know it at the time. Mariko found herself in Shadows arms once again, and the glowing only brightened as she got that close to him. "What are you doing?!" she cried out as he called out those words. The void soon opened, and Mariko held Shadow tighter as they fell through the void. What was happening? And how had they opened that void? Her brown eye opened slowly as she felt him land and set her down. "Where...are we?" she asked, looking around. Everything seemed older, and dirtier. Mariko then turned to Shadow and knelt down with him. "Are you okay...?" she asked, placing her hand on his shoulder. The glowing around her continued as she touched him.
Shadow breathed slowly, letting the warm energy from her hand flow thrrough him for a moment before standing up. he rolled his neck and nodded slightly. "I will be fine, But I think the better question is not where but when are we?" he said as he looked around at the men wearing cowboy hats and carrying revolvers on thier hips. "Well..what ever time era this is...The emerald must be somewhere around here...I just hope that it too didnt fuse with someone.." he said with a sigh. "we better get moving...I doubt that these humans will hesitate to shoot at me seeing as my kind are not that common..." he said as he headed down the alley. "And I doubt that they wont hesitate to try something with you, dressed as you are..." He peeked around the corner with a frown. " I need you to try and find my emerald...I cant sense them as well without..hmm.." he said with a smirk then gently took her hand in his and closed his eyes. after a moment his smirk turned into a smile. "I got a lock on it. lets go before someone comes..."
Mariko looked around slowly as he spoke. The air felt stiff, as if the time had stopped right where they stood. Everything looked old, and a lightpost couldn't be seen for miles. She shuffled closer to Shadow, having just realized they had traveled through time. "S-someone won't really try something, huh?" she asked him softly. Her eyes then looked down as she felt him take her hand. Mariko felt her stomach twist into a knot, but tried to ignore it. "Y-you can feel where it is? Oh good...I don't feel right here..." she said to herself as she walked on, following him. Looking around, she saw that the town was relatively quiet. But she couldn't help but feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. "Well hi there, little lady." a voice called. Mariko looked up, seeing a man sitting on a horse, his cowboy hat almost covering all of his black hair. Taking off his hat, he got a good look at her. "You not from around here, huh?" he asked. Mariko stared up at him, and felt her jaw drop. "W-wow you're cool..." she finally got out as she looked up at the man.
Shadow looked up at the man on the horse with a frustrated sigh, there was a bit of chaotic energy resudue on him. he folded his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Look, I hate to ruin this moment but we have to find the emerald Mariko." shadow said with an annoyed growl, his eyes never moving from the cowboy. His muscles tensed and he shifted his stance slightly, ready in case the cowboy reached for his weapon. The horse on the other hand, was not a factor he had anticipated. It whinneyed loudly and reared back spooked by shadow who in turn, was surprised by the mammal. he leapt back and formed large red energy balls in his hands snarling at the large animal.
As the horse began to grow distressed, Mariko saw how Shadow moved back and began to form his attack. "N-no!" she cried, swiftly picking him up in her arms and hugging him tightly against her chest. Turning back to the cowboy, she laughed nervously, him tipping his hat in wonder. "If that's not the strangest thing I've ever seen... What is that thing, anyhow, Miss?" Mariko continued to hold Shadow in the tight hug, and tried to play it off. "Er...well...this is..." she tried to think. "We're from a traveling circus! Of...of Freaks!" she cried out. Nodding quickly, she looked to Shadow. "He's a...mutated hedgehog who can talk and I'm...well I..." She thought of something to say. "I'm his keeper..."
His ears drooped as she said this. he turned his head and looked at her, his eye twitching as he barred his teeth at her for a moment, his hands now balled into fists at his sides. "Keeper?" He then looked at the cowboy with a demented grin. "Keeper..." he said again, his body flowing with an unlimited supply of energy as she held him in the tight hug. He glanced back at her with a look that screamed to put him down and that they would be having a talk about this later. he looked back at the cowboy putting on a false smirk. "Yea, a freak carnival, but we have run into a problem. We lost one of our large colored gems that one of our attractions uses in its juggling act, and if we dont find it, the show will not be able to go on. The thing will only juggle these gems so we were wondering if you had seen it?" He said in a level calm tone, but he was far from it.
Mariko felt herself go pale as he gave her that tone and look. She knew the excuse had been rather lame, but it had bought them out of a fight, after all. She slowly put him down, blushing slightly. "Y-yes! Our gen has gone missing!" Moving to the side of the horse, she held her hands together and looked up at the man. "Won't you help us find it?" The man looked to her, and grinned as she did this. "Shoot...I'll help ya'll." he said, patting her head. Tipping his hat, he looked to the north. "Matter of fact, I heard some miners talking 'bout this real big gem they found in the mines. It's never been seen there, and it's stuck in there pretty good..." Mariko smiled and looked to Shadow. "Could you possibly take us there?" she asked. The cowboy nodded. "Sure can. Hop on." Mariko giggled as the man helped her up on the horse and sat in front of him. "You gonna ride Shadow? Or run?" she asked him as the man brought his arms around her to reach the reigns.
The Hedgehog narrowed his eyes at the cowboy as he reached around her, his mind already picturing what he would like to do to the man and his horse. "I think i will run, that horse looks a bit crowded as is..." He said with a low growl. he began jogging, not even activating his jets so he could let the other two keep up.
Her shoulders shrugged as he decided against riding, and the man slapped the reigns, the horse trotting slowly forward. "It's not far, Miss. Just a ways past the town and down the gourge." the man said. Mariko looked to the man and nodded. "Thank you for being so kind. I was a bit worried when we got here..." Despite her being a bit naive, she was still helping Shadow. Mariko suddenly grew silent as she felt something warm radiating from within her as they went on. "What...is this feeling?" she asked herself, her hand pressing to her stomach. She slowly looked up, her eyes softly glowing. "I can...feel something very close by." she said to Shadow. The man continued to lead the horse forward even as he seemed to lose the girls attention.
"You alright Miss? You've gone all quiet and such." he said as she sat there, her eyes closed. She seemed clam and content as she focused on this feeling and found herself growing warmer by the second.
Shadow watched her for a moment and frowned. "That would be a chaos emerald alright..." he said softly, but the mine was still a ways off, and she was reacting far too soon for... "GO NOW!" he shouted as he turned and Raced off to the east. kicking up a large cloud of dust as he skated. explosions trailed his path and soon the blue robot was in view, following shadow at remarkable speed. shadow jumped and twisted in mid air. "Ill show you the true power of Chaos! Chaos Spear!" he snarled and thrusted his hand at the robot, a golden lightning bolt flew from his hand, slamming into the robot throwing him off course and into a sand dune. Shadow skid for a moment as he turned and skated back at the robot as fast as he could, but the robot came up and back handed the hedgehog sharply, sending him skipping across the sand for nearly a mile. he rolled into a ball and bounced back to his feet only to catch the robots knee in his gut. he gasped, trying to catch his breath. the robot brought its elbow down on the back of shadows skull sending him into the ground. Shadow laid there unmoving as the robot reached down and picked him up by the throat. "Terminate." it said as it raised its other arm and formed it into a large cannon. Shadow opened his eyes and opened his hand, aimed at the robots gut. "Chaos Spear!" the lightning bolt blasted the bot back and into the mountain range. it had been badly damaged. shadow rested on one knee as the robot retreated. "s..<censored>..." he said before falling to all fours, breathing shallowly, trying to regain his strength.
The horse suddenly grew startled as Shadow sped off, and Mariko turned to see which direction he had gone in. "Shadow! Shadow, come back!" she cried. The cowboy suddenly forced the horse to follow where Shadow had gone, Mariko holding on tightly as the horse sped through the dust cloud. When she had finally reached Shadow, she hopped off the horse and ran towards him. "Shadow? Shadow, are you alright?" she asked. Once again she began to glow a soft red as she neared him, and she knelt at his side and craddled him in her arms like she had when she took him from the water. "Shadow...?" she asked, her fingers curling around his shoulders.
he winced in pain as he blinked open his eyes and looked at her with a pained smile. "You really dont listen to what your told do you?" he said painfully. he closed his eyes, letting the energy flow through him for a moment more before opening them again. "We dont have much time...Metal is damaged but that will only slow him down some..." he pushed himself to his feet, wobbling slightly. "We need to get to the emerald and leave quickly before metal can finish his repairs...You, Cowboy. How much farther to the mines?"

Mariko smiled with happiness as Shadow opened his eyes and looked to her. "Er...the mines aren't that far. If we ride fast, we'll get there in none but seven minutes." the cowboy said as he moved back again so Mariko could have a spot to sit. The schoolgirl stood along with Shadow, though she looked worried. "You're sure you can go on? You look hurt..." she said, her tone concerned. But without a second thought, she mounted the horse once again and looked to Shadow to make sure he was okay. "Let's go get that emerald." She wondered to herself...who was this Metal? And why was he after these emeralds?
Shadow walked up and to the two on the horse. "I will be fine once i get that emerald. so lets see about cutting down the time on getting to that mine shall we?" he said with a weak smirk. he placed his hand on Mariko's leg and closed his eyes letting the energy fill him once more. "Chaos Control!" he shouted, a bright flash of light engulfed the trio and the horse, and when it faded they were just outside of the mine. shadow dropped to one knee breathing slowly. "we...are here..." his eyes were no longer glowing, they had faded to a dull red as he kneeled there focusing on his breathing. "Find the emerald...but dont touch it..I dont want it fusin...with...any.." shadow closed his eyes and fell over on his side unconsious.
Her eyes trailed to her leg as he placed his hand on it, and no sooner than she could ask what he was doing, she felt a rush of energy go through her. A bright flash then forced her to shut her eyes, and when she opened them, they were in front of the mine. "Shadow!" she called as she got off the horse and knelt at his side. Slowly taking him in her grasp, she shook him slightly. "No no...What am I supposed to do if I can't touch it?" she asked, trying to awaken him. Mariko slowly stood, Shadow in her arms as she held him. Her eyes were turning wet from tears building, for she knew not what to do. "Wake up Shadow..." she whispered. Her body then pulsed with the red glow again, and the school girl gasped as a familiar sound came into earshot. "Oh no..." she said as she turned around.
Flying through the air at high speed was that robot that had gotten Shadow earlier, and he was high-tailing it towards the mine. "The emerald!" she cried out as she ran into the mine, Shadow still in her arms. Running as fast as she could, Mariko skidded down the dark mine, the emerald inside her the only key to find the one stuck in the mine. The glowing around her deepened as she got closer, but she couldn't see! "Please..." she whispered, holding on tightly to Shadow. "Chaos emerald...help me find you..." Her eyes then shut, and a massive glow of yellow broke through the darkness as her chaos emerald reacted to the yellow one stuck in the wall. Mariko slowly approched it, her eyes illuminated by it. Should she grab it? But..Shadow told her not too! That familiar humming sound suddenly echoed through the mine, and Mariko found she had no choice. Her hand extended, and she grasped onto the emerald, which until now, had been stuck in the wall. But it fell free into her hand, and she stared at it. "S-Shadow! I've got it!" she cried.
Shadow blinked his eyes open feeling more energy flowing into him than Mariko could have possbly generate with only one emerald...."<censored>!" he snapped. Shadow stood quickly and snatched the emerald from her hand. His eyes began glowing a bright red, lighting the entire mine shaft. His ears twitched slightly as he heard the tale tell sounds of Metal Sonic's jet engines, growing dangerously close. He turned to Mariko and glared at the young girl. "Run. Get out of the mine and go with that cowboy...This mine wont last long..." and before she could protest, Shadow jetted off to meet metal before he could find them both, He had to keep Mariko safe. He gripped the emerald tightly in his left hand, feeling its energy pulsating in his hand. "God Speed Mariko..." he whisped as he gained speed, and shooting down a second shaft leading metal deeper into the mine and away from Mariko. "Gotta buy her some time to get out..." he said to himself. suddenly metal was upon him slamming him into the wall of the mine causing the roof to shake. Shadow opened his hand and fired a chaos spear into metals chest and followed through with a flurry kicks and punches, backing the robot into the wall. "Time to end this! CHAOS BLAST!" Shadow shouted. Red energy engulfed him as silence fell throughout the mine just before an explosion tore through the shafts bringing the entire mine collapsing down around them. Shadows screams were drowned out by the destruction, and when the dust settled, the entire mountain had beed destroyed, nothing but rubble, and silence.
Mariko was stunned by his sudden motion, and stood back as he grabbed the Chaos Emerald. "R-run..?" she repeated as he said it. "But Shadow...!" But her words trailed off as he zoomed away, and she found herself alone. Her heart raced, her breath heaved, and she set off running to get out of the mine. "Shadow... Shadow..." she whispered to herself as she felt the ground beneath her shaking. The mine was going to collapse! Her long brown hair flew behind her, and she sped out of harms way just as the rocks began to fall. Turning, she watched in horror as the mountain fell, and dust flied. "Shadow!!!" she cried out, taking a few steps to run back to the mine as it continued to fall. But her feet were lifted from the ground, the cowboy having grabbed her and slung her over his shoulder to get her out of there. "No! Let me go! I have to help him!!" she cried. The man only held her tighter and brought her further away. "There ain't nothin' you can do! It's..." Mariko turned quickly as he set her down, the dust resting slightly. "No..." she whispered, falling to her knees. Her head hung as she bit her lip, and tears built in her eyes. "What have I done...? I shouldn't have...that emerald and..." She couldn't even find it in herself to make a sentence.
The rubble began shifting slightly. He couldnt breathe. Shadow growled deeply that became a roar as he blasted the rubble off of him. He pulled himself out of the hole, blood running down his face, chest, and his left arm hung limply to his side, clearyly broken. he limped a few steps before losing his balance and tumbling down the large pile to the rough ground below. He opened his right hand and the chaos emerald matterialised. he held the Yellow gem tightly as he pushed himself to a sitting position letting the energy flood into him. He watched Mariko and the cowboy for a moment with a raised eyebrow surprised that they hadnt heard his escape, let alone seen him sitting there. He watched thier lips moving but he couldnt hear anything. his eardrums had shattered in the blast and were slowly healing. "M...Mariko..." he said softly, his throat parched. he closed his eyes as his wounds stopped bleeding and closed. Suddenly the world became alot louder as his ears healed. he growled loudly as his ears poped from the pressure. "This is gonna hurt.." he gasped out just a moment before his arm snapped back into place, and the bones mended. he growled loudly as he felt all his joints repairing themselves. he stood up painfully and looked to see he had been noticed by Mariko and the cowboy. "Hi guys..." he said wincing.
Mariko cried into her hands, the man standing behind her. He slowly took his hat off and tried to comfort her as best she could. "It's...it's all my fault. I shouldn't have even touched that emerald in the first place! I just caused him trouble!" Mariko sobbed. The man knelt next to her, his rough hand patting her shoulder. Obviously he had no idea what she was going on about when it came to touching the emerald, but he did his best to comfort her. "There there little Miss... None of this was your fault..." he said. But Mariko continued to cry, her hands pressed to her face. The man shook his head and slowly looked up, his eyes focusing on the staggering Shadow. "Miss!" he cried out, tugging on her arm. Mariko wiped her eyes, her face slightly red, and looked when the man pointed. Her eyes widened, and she slowly shifted to get up. "S-Shadow..?" she called, seeing his figure. Was she seeing things? Had she possibly hit her head or something? Mariko didn't question long enough to stop her next action, and she quickly got up and ran towards him. Without thinking, she jumped into him and collapsed ontop of him, her arms hugging around him tightly. "Oh Shadow, I thought you were gone!" she cried out happily.
he staggered slightly, his body more than sore as he felt a rib crack back into place. he winced but held her gently, trying hard to stay on his feet. "Calm down Mariko..It..Its ok..." He glowed lightly as he spoke. his body despratly fighting for rest. Shadow helped her stand up again and smiled weakly. "Lets get outta here. We need to eat and rest up before we head off for the next emerald. we still have five others to find. Metal wont be bothering us again...but that doesnt mean that the Doctor wont send other creations after us..." He looked at the cowboy with a slight approving nod before taking Mariko's hand in his own and leads her away from the destroed mountain, but unknown to them deep under the rubble a pair of blank eyes blinked red as the robot began to power back up.
"I'm so happy you're okay." she said as she stood back up again. Mariko nodded at his words, agreeing that they both needed rest and food, though him more than her. Looking to her hand once again as he took it, she couldn't help but smile. "Shadow?" she began as they walked. "Why is Metal after the emeralds? And who is the Doctor?" Her questions seemed to linger for a moment, and she spoke up again. "And what are these emeralds? I mean...they mean alot to you, obviously. And it's no real secret that the harbor some sort of great power." She could feel it within her as they walked, the energy of the red emerald that had merged with her. Though she couldn't put her finger on it, she new that she felt different in a way. And seeing as her body had merged with the emerald, that could mean
that whoever was after them might take her away. Her grip tightened on his hand, and she pondered on the questions.
Shadow sighed soflty as he listened to her questions. finnally after a few long moments he spoke. "The Chaos Emeralds are known as the seven servers of chaos. The God of chaos was locked away centurys ago in my time into the Master Emerald, and his powers scattered into the seven emeralds. Wars were wagged over the emeralds, just for power." Shadow sighed softly then continued. "The Doctor is Doctor Ivo Robotnik, also known as Dr. Eggman due to his massive size. He is a sccientist who excels in robotics and has decided that he should be the dictator to our world. He is the creator of Metal Sonic, and he is the reason that Metal searches for the emeralds. With each emerald Metal obtains, the stronger he becomes. with all seven, Metal will be nearly unstoppable..." Shadow shook his head and growled softly. "Metal killed off the only others that i could trust....Sonic, Tails, even the guardian of the Master emerald...all dead. I fought Metal and sent the emeralds away. Once I retreve the other emeralds, I will fix my world." he said softly, the hurt and pain showing in his eyes.
Mariko listened intently as Shadow explained all she wanted to know, her facial expression growing dull and concerned from his words. "Shadow..." she whispered as he finally finished. By the way he held himself, so sure and strong, one couldn't possibly tell that he had experienced such painful things. She bit her lower lip, trying to think of something to say to him as they walked slowly. And after a few moments, she slowly tugged him to a stop, her hand still holding onto his. Turning to face him, she put her free hand on his shoulder and spoke. "I'm so sorry to hear about all that's happened to you...but..." Her tone trailed off for a moment, as if she was unsure, but she continued. "I want to help you Shadow, no, I will help you Shadow." Marikobrushed her brown hair over her shoulder and continued. "I know I've made a huge mess by accidently absorbing one of the Chaos Emeralds, but I promise to stay by your side and help you all I can. Okay?" Her fingers tightened slightly around his shoulder, showing she supported him. Smiling to him, she nodded.
Shadow watched as she spoke, his face as impassive as ever but his eyes seemed to brighten slightly as a small smile played upon his lips. He nodded only once and gave her hand a small squeaze. "Thank you Mariko. But only one thing..." his smile grew slightly. "Dont appologise for taking in the emerald....I am glad you did..." he looked over to the cowboy with a smirk. "Otherwise i probably would have kicked his ass already..." he chuckled slightly, laughing for the first time. Shadow began walking again with her hand in his. "So should we rest here or wait until we get to whenever the next emerald is?" He asked as he rotated his stiff right shoulder, his body nearly fully healed once more.
Her expression brightened greatly as he said this, and she smiled once again. "Y-yes! We should um..." She then turned and looked to the cowboy. He was confused about all of this, and she knew it, but even so, he seemed alright with it. "Don't you two worry." he said, tipping his hat. "I know there's something more to this picture, and even though I'm curious, I won't ask nor tell." His eyes then shifted to the land behind them. "I 'spect it would be best if you two go, though... The mine collapsing has gotten the towns attention, and should they see you, they'll ask questions." Mariko nodded slightly to the man. "Thank you for everything, sir. You're a gentleman in cowboy's clothing." He chuckled. " 'Taint nothin', Miss. You two get on outta here..." Mariko then turned to Shadow once again. "Where to?" she asked.
Shadow nodded to the cowboy and looked at Mariko with a slight shrug. "Honestly I am not sure. When I create the vortex, it takes us to the next emeralds location." he raised his right hand and closes his eyes. "Chaos Control!" He shouted as a green vortex opened. he turned to the cowboy with a shrug. "At least all they have to do now is move the rocks to find the gold now. I did the hard work..." he smirked and with that leapt into the cortex still holding Marikos hand. he had gotten used to the sliding feeling that the vortex held. suddenly it opened to a large grassy field, and shadow landed gently beside Mariko. "Now when the hell are we?" he said as he looked around seeing a large castle to the north of them. "This could be a bit harder this time..." Shadow said.
Mariko braced herself as Shadow called the vortex, and felt that familiar, gut-wrentching feeling as they were sucked in. Flying through the vortex, she couldn't help but hold Shadow's hand a bit tighter since she wasn't used to the feeling. Falling through, Mariko finally opened her eyes to find her feet resting in a soft medow. "Oh!" she cried, seeing the castle. Her eyes seemed wide with anticipation as her hand slipped from Shadows grip. "This looks like..." she began, trying to find her words. "Hold!" a deep voice cried. Mariko turned quickly, seeing a man in almost all metal approching her on a horse.
Taking off his helmet, he gave her a peculiar look and said, "Why is a wench like you in the middle of the grass land? But alas, no wench I know wears even clothing like that... So revealing..." Mariko was taken aback and screamed out, "Wench!?"
Shadow turned to face the man in the armor suit and began chucking a bit darker than before. He cracked his knuckles and stepped between Mariko and the man in armor. "You best watch what you say human...otherwise i might just have to get in a bit of a work out before breakfast..." Shadow smiled to the man in the armor, letting his sharp teeth show as he took up a fighting stance. "Mariko...Best stand back..." Shadow growled clenching his fists together ready for the man to attack. "Human this girl is with me...and I think you would be wise to leave..." Shadow glanced around looking for any more men in armor, hoping that his "workout" would be a good one. The man in armor seemed taken aback as Shadow took that stance, but Mariko tried to keep the peace. "Eh-heh... Shadow, I don't think that's necessary. I mean...I'm not dressed for the times..." But the man stepped off his horse and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. "I shall be wise to stay and protect this land. I see what you're up to, creature. I do not know how you found out about the majesty's royal outting, but I assure you, you shall not be leaving!" Mariko took a few steps back as the man seemed to hail for back up. "Oh dear..." Her eyes scanned the area, and she thought about his words. "Royal outting...?" She then slapped her hand to her head. "Shadow, I think a royal is having a horse ride around here and...they think we're trying to kidnap him, or something..."
More men then came on the horizon, and Mariko stepped back, covered in the shade of a tree.
Shadow raised an eyebrow as the man spoke about a royal outting of some sorts. Hearing Mariko's translation shadow stood upright once more, his arms at his sides...not that he couldnt defeat them from this stance either but he seemed less threatening. "Look, I apologise for my harsh actions. We are travelers from a far away land in search of seven gems that were lost. I believe one is nearby..."shadow held one hand palm up and closed his eyes letting the yellow chaos emerald appear in his grasp. "The Gems look like this but are each a different color. We must find the one that is here before a monster made entirely of metal arrives and destroys everything to find it. He is an evil that we must defeat...but we need the gems..." Shadow said his eyes constantly watching the men as they surrounded him. "We mean you men and your royals no harm. just...the girl is no wench. she is my apprentist. I guess you could call me a sorcerer that only wishes to help you all avoid the evil of the metal monster."
Mariko slowly took her steps forward again, now at Shadows side. "Yes, we mean you no harm. But we must find these gems or..." The men surrounding them suddenly parted as a young woman on a horse rode through. "What's going on, Captain?" she asked as she pulled her horse to a stop. The man addressed the girl quickly. "Princess, these two were found wandering around here. They claim they..." The girl, who wasn't really paying attention to the Captain, looked to Mariko and Shadow. "Oh! You're not from around here, are you?" the girl asked as she quickly got off her horse and stood before Mariko. By the looks of it, the two were about four years apart, Mariko being older. "Ah...Ye-yes, I'm not from around here." Mariko replied. "Splendid! I've been meaning to find a new playmate, and you've sprked my interest. Come! We shall go back to my castle, get you new clothes and play!" Mariko didn't really have much say as the girl tugged her along, but protested. "H-hey! Stop it, girl!" A soldier corrected her. "That's Princess Isabelle!" The princess got back onto her horse, leaving Mariko to the guards. "Come! We'll have so much fun!" The girl obviously wasn't listening, or was chosing not to. Mariko was forced onto a horse. "Shadow! Talk some reason into them!" she cried. The princess went on about the things they would do, and turned to Mariko. "And we'll romp in the garden! Oh! And I must show you the newest family emerald! We found it in the yard!" Mariko looked up. "Emerald?"
Shadow looked at each of the men, deciding that taking them all down would risk hurting Mariko. He looked at Mariko with an assuring smile. "Its alright Mariko. please go and enjoy yourself with the princess. we are only here for a very short time..." Shadow looked at the captian with a smirk. "Besides I have a bit of buisness to tend to. but dont worry I wont be far away." Shadow nodded to the Captian. "Might just show the captian a few tricks with my sorcery..." he said with the same dark chuckle from before.
Mariko went wide eyed as the horse began to move, and protested. "N-no! I don't want to go!" But the men rode on, the soldier holding her shoulder tightly as she tried to jump off the horse. Once again, the princess did not pay attention to anything she didn't want to. So Mariko was forced to go to the castle, the princess ordering that upon arrival, she be dressed in something more appropriate. Mariko decided to play along with the game, though she didn't want to. If she could get close enough to the princess, she might be able to take the emerald. Or perhaps even distract her while Shadow took it, wherever he was going... About an hour had passed, and Mariko now stood in a dark garnet dress, her hair pulled back. "There now! I've no idea where you came from, but the clothes weren't good enough! Now then, let us go in the garden and play." Mariko had room for argument, but nodded in silence, tugging at the uncomfortable dress.
Shadow smirked as he waited until the guards had left, he slipped into the shadow of the large tree and smirked. "Sorry Mariko but this one could get ugly...Chaos Control!" he muttered before vanishing in a flash of light. he reappeared on the top of the tallest tower and began looking around at the layout of the castle. "now where to begin?" he said with a slight sigh. he jumped down and slipped inside the castle, staying in the shadows as he began searching room to room for the emerald. "Damn..where is it?" he muttered a bit too loud. a guard turned and before he could say anything shadow was already upon him and sending him unconsious. "damn..that was close... shadow drug the unconsious guard ino a closet and sighed as he continued down the hall checking each room as he went. "I hope Mariko has better luck than I am..."
Though the princess seemed to be enjoying herself, Mariko was not. The entire time, the princess had done nothing but say rude things to Mariko, and obviously, she was expected to take it without saying anything. They now walked down one of the many halls together, Isabelle going on about her great family. "Father is away on business, and Mother is in the main hall. I have a brother too, if you'd like to meet him." Mariko forced a chuckle. "N-no...I'll just hang out with you. Er...hey! How about you show me that emerald you were talking about?" Mariko hoped it was the right one... The princess sneered proudly. "I was the one that found it! And now it's apart of the royal jewels and treasure. It's a beautiful blue color, and it matches my pretty eyes. Come, I shall show you."
Mariko seemed to perk up as the princess lead her to the correct location. "Here it is! Isn't it just adorable?" Isabelle said as she lead Mariko forward. The emerald sat in atop a velvet pillow, and Mariko seemed in awe over it. "It's lovely..." Even before she thought about touching the emerald, she could feel the energy within her pulsing.
Shadow blinked some feeling his emerald begin to pulsate from the reaction of Mariko and the other emerald. he allowed himself a smile as he began moving down the halls with greater speed. "I gotta hurry..." he said kicking up a boost of speed becoming a blur as he passed the guards and other inhabitants of the castle. he came to a stop just outside the door where Mariko and the princess was. Two guards blinked as shadow seemed to apear before them. the first one tried to shout but before he could take in a breath, shadow had knocked them both out. they fell to the ground making little noise. shadow slipped into the room and moved into the shadows with a smirk as he saw the emerald.
Neither Mariko nor the princess had heard the commotion from outside, and while the princess went on, Mariko tried to approch the emerald without being noticed. Her hand sretched forward, her fingers prepared to curl around the blue emerald as the girl spoke more and more. With a sigh, Mariko found she couldn't take it anymore. "I'm sorry for this..." she said softly. The princess looked confused as Mariko said this, and let out a small yelp as Mariko suddenly took off her shoe and slammed the girl in the head with it. The young princess fell to the ground, unconcious. "That actually felt pretty good..." Mariko admitted as she slipped her shoe back on.
Shadow smirked as he walked into the light across the room from her. "Well it seems that you have picked up a few things from me Mariko." Shadow chuckled lightly as she jumped. "I was actually wondering how to get it without knocking the little girl out but i guess that worked." He reached up and grabbed the emerald with a smile. "Now we have three...only four more to find." He looked up at Mariko with a smile. "Good work."

(To Be Continued.)