Shadow the Hedgehog 2: Part 1 - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Blood Is Thicker Than Oil

Late that day, as the sun was about to disappear for the night, Knuckles and Angel were walking through Station Square, down to a path that ran along the beach. Angel was rather depressed. It had been nearly a week since her sudden growth spurt, and they still couldn't find anybody who might know her. She feared that she would never remember who she was.

The red echidna could tell just by looking at her. "Don't lose hope yet, kid. Maybe your memory'll come back on its own," he said. "Remember anything yet?"

She shook her head silently.

"Oh, well."

As they continued, Hope hit something with her foot. She looked down to find something in the sand, glowing bright blue. She stopped and got down to dig it up, and Knuckles waited to see, slightly confused. Soon, she found it, and she was awestruck as she lifted it up. It appeared to be a sapphire the size of a baseball, and it was beautiful.

Knuckles recognized the stone immediately and nearly jumped. "A Chaos Emerald!"

Angel looked at him, confused. "A What Emerald?"

"That's right. You're only a week old," he muttered. "Allow me to explain…" The red one took the Emerald and began to harness its energy. Angel watched as some of the Energy formed seven more forms of the gem.

Knuckles then started to speak again. "The Chaos Emeralds are mystical gemstones of unknown origin and unlimited power. For hundreds of generations, these crystals have shaped the course of history by many different races. One alone can be used to operate machinery and unlock special abilities for whoever has the inborn gift to harness its energy. But if one were to collect all seven… he or she would possess ultimate power and become unstoppable."

Angel couldn't believe it. So much power all contained in this one stone... "Goodness… Can you imagine what would happen if this fell into the wrong hands?"

"The results would be catastrophic," Knuckles replied. "That's partially why we formed the Freedom Fighters. To pursue and protect these Emeralds."

"Help! Please help!" In the distance, they heard someone calling for anybody. Answering to the call, Knuckles ran over, and Angel followed. Soon, they found the source. There stood a little girl by an old oak. "Help! Mr. Whiskers is stuck in the tree!"

"Step aside, kid. Freedom Fighter to the rescue." In a smooth move, he jumped and grabbed a low branch. He started to climb up the tree until he got up to the one with the cat. "C'mere, little fella," he said in a soft voice.

But the cat was scared. It slowly backed away as he approached until finally, the branch became too weak. It snapped, and the cat fell.

"Uh-oh!" Angel breathed. Suddenly, she disappeared and reappeared under the cat just in time to catch it.

Knuckles saw what happened as he clambered down. "Was that… Chaos Control?"

"Weird…" Angel then warped to the girl, handed her pet over, and reappeared next to the red one. "…but it could be useful."

He stared, surprised. He knew exactly what happened, as he saw Sonic do so with seven Emeralds. "I-it's gettinglate. Let's head back to Chris'," he told Angel, who nodded in agreement. As they started heading home, Knuckles' mind was jammed in overdrive. 'She can cause Chaos Control with just one Chaos Emerald? Who is she? And where did she come from?'

A few short minutes later, they got back to Chris' house. The sight caused Angel to smile, as the recent memories from there returned. It was there at Thorndyke Manor that she felt the most happiness.

Deep down, she didn't really want to go home… wherever that was. She would rather stay with the Freedom Fighters. In the short time there, she saw them as family instead of a group of strangers trying to help her.

At the door, they were greeted by Sonic, Tails and Chris. "Hey, guys," Knuckles said. "Any luck with finding Angel's family?"

"About that… um… do you have a minute, Angel?" the yellow fox asked, slightly nervous.

"Wh… Sure…" She followed them to the kitchen where it was more private.

"Angel, I made a quick DNA scan on a hair you dropped earlier this week, and I discovered many cool things, but also somewhat disturbing," Tails began. "For the first, it turns out you're an synthetic life form. You were made by science. But more to the point, you're a clone."

Angel stared. "What… What's a clone?" she asked.

"Well, think of it as a blank sheet of paper in a printer," Chris explained. "Someone places a colored picture on the scanner and presses the 'Copy' button. You know what happens after that".

"Okay," Sonic said, "so we just need to find the original, and then figure out how often we can visit her."

"We've already found her, Sonic, or rather him…" Chris replied with a small chuckle. "…it's you."

The blue hedgehog stared. Then he laughed. "I knew it!"

"Really?" the yellow one asked surprised.

Sonic nodded, and he took off his left glove, revealing his bean-shaped spot. "We have the same birthmark right here. I didn't want to say, because it seemed too early."

Angel was silent. She wasn't sure what to say. It all seemed so strange.

"Well, think of it this way… we found where you belong in this world, you told me you wanted to stay, and honestly, I always wanted a sister. It's a win-win situation."

"I'm your sister?"

"Well, yes and no. My mother never gave birth to you, but we share the same blood. So in a way, we're twins."

Angel grinned. She wanted to stay with her new friends, and now she could.

"Dinner's here!" Knuckles said as he entered the manor. In his hands were a few boxes of pizza. In a matter of seconds, everyone was gathered around the table. The red echidna started passing slices around, knowing what each wanted on theirs.

Before they started eating, Sonic interrupted, asking for everyone's attention. Once the room was silenced, he stood up. "I'd like to propose-"

"You don't have to finish, Sonic," Amy cut in. "My answer is yes."

The blue hedgehog shrugged at the pink one. "Not that kind of proposal!" he replied and raised his glass. "As I was saying, I'd like to propose a toast. We've been through a lot lately, and during the time, the bond between us has grown stronger every day. I've seen you all as family instead of just friends, and I'd like to give a warm welcome to the newest member of my family (in more ways than one), Angel the Hedgehog. Here's to you, sis!"

"Here here!" all the others shouted and raised their glasses.

The blonde Mobian couldn't help but blush and smile. What he said was both slightly funny and very touching. "Aw… you guys," she said. Before she could continue, the wall beside them exploded. Both Cream and Tails screamed as dust and rubble fell around them.

Sonic looked at the hole in the wall to find what looked like himself there with an evil look. He recognized it as… "Metal Sonic?!" The creature made itself more visible. "No… Metal Shadow!"

The turned to the blonde hedgehog sitting beside his organic counterpart. "DNA signature recognized. Priority one: retrieve female hedgehog." Suddenly, the machine blasted through the room and carried a screaming blonde Mobian out.

"Hey!" Sonic shouted, and they all ran outside the house to chase after Metal Shadow. "Not cool! Give her back!"

"You are not in position to make any demands, Sonic," his metallic servant replied. "Daisy is property of the Eggman Empire! She will serve Dr. Robotnik."

'Daisy?' Angel thought in wonder. 'Why did it call me that?"

"You just don't get it, do you? She's not a robot! She's an organic being, with her own will and rights, and her own choice!" Cream said angrily.

"Her will is not her own. It belongs to Robotnik," the robot said, scornfully.

"Then taste my will!" Amy yelled in rage and attacked the intruder's leg with a powerful blow. Oddly, it didn't even leave a dent. "What?"

"This unit's turn," Metal Shadow growled and aimed his arm at Amy.

Sonic quickly grabbed the pink hedgehog, and the robot furiously fired at them. While he ran and left to dodge the blasts, everything in his trail was destroyed.

When the robot ran dry for energy units and started reloading, Sonic took his chance. He dumped Amy safely in the grass and attacked the machine with a homing attack. But he just bounced off, just like Amy´s hammer.

"That's it! Now you really made me mad!" Knuckles yelled and rushed to attack the robot holding Angel. But Metal Shadow simply punted him away like a football.

"Fools! This unit is Robotnik's greatest invention to date. No one can defeat this unit!" The robot made a noise which sounded like he was laughing. It was short lived when he was suddenly blasted in the face with a ball of energy.

It turned over to see Chris blasting him with his new arm-cannon just like the one it had. "I think Eggman did me a favor," he chuckled and fired more at it.

The robot double took aim and threw a hand-grenade at the boy. Chris dodged it easily, but the blast knocked him into the wall.

"That's it! You're going down, Metal Schnook!" Sonic shouted. Now he had lost his patience with the robot. He flew at the robot, but then...

"STOP!" Angel cried. Once she shouted, a large shockwave emitted from her body. The blast was strong enough to blast herself out of Metal Shadow's grasp.

"Was that… Chaos Blast?" Tails asked himself.

Angel landed on her feet, and without hesitations she ran full speed. In the distance she can hear her friends telling her to run to safety, and Metal Shadow ordering her to come back. Their words became fainter as she got farther and farther away.