Shadow ran through the forest, his shoes sloshing the water on the ground as rain pouring down on him and lightning echoing around him. Shadow liked to hide in the shadows, but this was far too wet for him he had to find shelter, until the storm passed. Trees were the worst place to take shelter, Shadow was well aware of the fact that a forest was the worst place for it, he had to find cover and fast. Scanning the forest as he continued to run through through it lightning struck a nearby tree, which began to catch on fire, however was quickly put out by the rain. He found a cave, in the side of a mountain quickly making his way toward as the thunder roared behind him, and echoed through the cave. When he was safely in the cave, he activated his headset. "This is Shadow to HQ," He said on his headset. "do you read me?" With nothing but static on the other end. Shadow repeated, "This is Shadow to HQ, do you read me?" Nothing but static. He wasn't sure what this ment for G.U.N. or his mission, but it was clear that he was on his own for now. Removing the headset from his ear to inspect it, he realized that it was soaked beyond repair, however, for the sake of not being tracked, Shadow replaced the headset in his ear. To relieve himself of the access water, Shadow shook himself hard, causing a rain of water to be thrown in every direction. Now that Shadow was out of the rain, he was able to think. Looked outside at the storm and it's effect, he watched the lightning and the trees being tossed about wildly by the raging winds, Shadow stood there pondering his next move. Where should he go from here? It was obvious that he could back out into the storm, and he couldn't wait on help. Seeing there was no where left to go, he turned to the darkness of the cave, hoping it would reveal some secrets. Shadow touched both of his rings which caused them to illuminate light so he could see through the cave, there was a tunnel which led through the cave. As he made his way through the tunnel of the cave he could hear his footsteps softly echo through the cave. He hadn't gotten far when another roar of lightning stirred a swarm of little bats within the cave causing them to shreek as they flew throughout the tunnel, trying to find comfort from the storm. With his attention now to the ceiling Shadow noticed bizarre ancient markings that had been stained into the ceiling and also the walls being illuminated by his glowing rings. The drawings varied and appeared to tell a story following a pattern that started at the wall on Shadow's left, transitioned to the ceiling, moved to the right, and then simply reversed and repeated all across this cave hallway. The paintings depicted animals and humans alike dancing and playing together in green grass. Shadow even noticed a blonde girl in a blue dress laying in the grass with a black hedgehog. Shadow was suddenly jerked into a series of memories that flooded through his mind of one such girl he once knew. Her soft voice calling his name echoed in his mind. "Shadow..." He could feel horror and sorrow as images of them being chased by armed men ran through his mind, and his last moments with her before her moment of sacrifice danced through his memory. "Shadow..." Her voice echoed once more before the world around him returned to normal. Shadow put his hand on the wall sighed, and continued walking down the hall. The next picture showed animals taking on the form of human legs and arms and transitioning into anthropomorphic animals, however, as the images continued they became darker. From animals biting people, leaving them with soars, to humans making animals into slaves, causing them to stand on their feet and hold out their hands like zombies. Among all the pictures, the last one causing Shadow to pause, his heart beating rapidly. There at the very end of the walk way, was a picture of animals and humans fighting each other as they tried to reach a floating island in the sky with seven diamonds circling around it and one large one resting on it. Shadow shook his head and continued walking down the hall, looking back one last time back at the paintings being illuminated by his glowing rings. He could now hear the dripping of water echoing across the cave, his rings making out a mysterious wires that ran along the cave walls.374Please respect copyright.PENANASwKyvSfjv7
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"Could this be a clue to Rouge or the missing Chaos Emeralds?" Shadow wondered, as he began to go over his mission mentally. His thoughts were soon interrupted by a voice that appeared to be coming from up ahead. Not wanting to be seen, Shadow looked for a place to hide, fortunately to his right was an outcropping large enough for him to fit through, quickly he twisted his rings causing them to stop immitting light, blending into the darkness as he entered into the outcropping. It was complete darkness which Shadow didn't mind, he perfered it anyway, to him it was safety. It wasn't long before Shadow soon realized that multiple voices were echoing from the same direction, and Shadow could see a faint glare of a light bouncing of the wall, it was clear that something was heading in his direction. Shadow could now hear the footsteps echoing across the cave. "Who were these people approaching? And what would happen if they collided?" Shadow wondered. As the light approached him it became so bright that it's reflection was almost blinding to Shadow. Now, he could hear them communicating clearly. 374Please respect copyright.PENANAkRxqQaerzH
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"Well..." Shadow could now overhear a soft voice clearly. "when the helicopter crashed, Sergeant Faulk dove into the icy cold stormy waters and rescued me." 374Please respect copyright.PENANAsCmcCqoQSg
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"That's an interesting story, Timothy." Tails' said.374Please respect copyright.PENANAfvqW4eeB7Y
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"I couldn't leave my fellow soldier behind." Sergeant Falkin said.374Please respect copyright.PENANAObUjbTRLpy
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"So that's when you found the chaos emerald." Sonic said.374Please respect copyright.PENANAZjBMA3xapS
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Shadow silently stepped into the light so carefully that the four completely unaware of his presence.374Please respect copyright.PENANAEVd0w4pnsZ
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"What are you two doing working with, THIS hedgehog?" Shadow asked disgust in his voice as he stepped into the light.374Please respect copyright.PENANAHGtVN7KtU6
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The four jumped, startled at him, Sergeant Falkin focusing the light on Shadow. Shadow looked at Sonic who when he realized it was Shadow, rolled his eyes. Shadow's red eyes drifted to the sergeant and his pilot looking for an answer. The sergeant and pilot looked at Shadow trying hide their fear.374Please respect copyright.PENANAsIkgCMgiRP
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"After transporting you, our helicopter crashed, we retrieved a chaos emerald and found these two locals, and they've been helping us navigate around the cave." Jerry explained offering Shadow the red emerald.374Please respect copyright.PENANAPw6YbwqdO6
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"Wait, I thought you guys said you were transporting cargo?" Sonic said as Shadow took the emerald, looking at them puzzled.374Please respect copyright.PENANACK40jJ3nMz
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"Why do you appear so puzzled Shadow?" Tails asked.374Please respect copyright.PENANAhh9d5rQHIV
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"I was puzzled because this was one of the chaos emeralds reported stole at HQ." Shadow said.374Please respect copyright.PENANAX23KZnQUlu
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"Why is that puzzling?" Sonic asked.374Please respect copyright.PENANAFkPfddpyPl
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"Because Rouge is the one that stole it." Shadow growled.374Please respect copyright.PENANA4FMimMwMh8
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"But I thought she was with G.U.N.?" Tails said. 374Please respect copyright.PENANAxV342jQqJA
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Before Shadow could respond, they were interrupted by an earthquake that shook the entire cave which sent rubble tumbling to the cave floor. Sergeant Falkin sat up and aiming his flash light at one end.374Please respect copyright.PENANAnkwAQkXEQ2
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"I hate to break it to you," He said, coughing at the dust floating in the air. "But it looks like we're stuck."374Please respect copyright.PENANA4YqKwCI56a
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"I don't understand it either, Tails." Shadow said as he got back on his feet. "But it looks like we're gonna have to work together to get out of this cave alive."374Please respect copyright.PENANAV6IXOFfsD0
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"Any ideas?" Sonic asked.374Please respect copyright.PENANAI3rWfS8OGF
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"I was following the wiring on the ceiling, trying to find where it was leading, before I ran into you guys." Shadow said, reactivating his ring's glow. 374Please respect copyright.PENANASDSXk6L1fS
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"Nifty." Sonic said, with a smile. Shadow simply nodded in acknowledgement.374Please respect copyright.PENANArl4WwOywvY
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Shadow and the Sergeant Falkin tried to find some sort of a crack with in the rocks at both ends, but it was clear, they couldn't go forward or backward.374Please respect copyright.PENANAZTwzaHGJh0
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"Interesting," Tails said. "I hadn't noticed the wiring before." Tails said, pointing at the ceiling. "Sergeant Falkin," Tails asked. "Can I borrow your flashlight?"374Please respect copyright.PENANAGR54qTbCNw
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The sergeant shrugged and surrendered the flashlight. Sergeant Falkin then returned his attention to the rubble, using Shadow's rings as his light source as he attempted to dig using his hands. Tails scanned the wall, when he found the outcropping in the wall Shadow had used to hide in. As Tails looked inside, he noticed that not only could he see the wires continuing to spread inside, and clearly went onward into another room.374Please respect copyright.PENANA2R0NFgIuIr
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"Hey guys, I think I found something." He said excitedly.