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Hold On	By : blazingskies Category: +S through Z > Sonic Views: 3739 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own the Sonic The Hedgehog game series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
Chapter Twelve � After Images

Authors Notes: Thanks to Greyfore
for some help with the dialogue in this chapter. Thanks also to Taranea for suggesting a A Certain Scene. Hope you enjoy it!

A constant fight,
You�re pushing the
needle to the red
Black or white,
Who knows who�s right
No substitute, you�re
born you�re dead.

Staccato sounds plucked from an electric guitar drifted
through the air. Sonic perched on a rickety old wooden bridge that ran over the
Acorn river. Guitar in hand, he absently strummed a
random melody, letting his fingers move of their own accord as his mind drifted
over recent events.

Sonic was not customarily given to introspection. He preferred
action to any kind of deep thought, as he generally took a dim view of
�navel-gazing� when there was work to be done. And in Knothole, there was
always work to be done.

Unfortunately, right now he was under strict orders from
both his Uncle and Sally to stay in Knothole and avoid doing anything too
strenuous until Shadow had a chance to teach him how to properly control his
new abilities.

He ignored the brief little surge of excitement at the
thought of spending time with the darker hedgehog. Ever since he had woken up
from his extended �nap�, there had been something in Shadow�s eyes; something
like sympathy and understanding. Sonic couldn�t imagine what had caused that
look in Shadow�s eyes, but it was better than the pity or disgust he had half expected
to see in all his friends� eyes.

Pulling his mind away from that train of thought, he turned
his attention back to his guitar. His fingers danced across the strings as he
focussed on pouring his troubled emotions into the music, raising a wailing
cacophony from the instrument that accurately reflected his mood.

His feet itched to run. He could feel the need for speed
burning through his veins, aching to tear across the landscape at
sound-shattering speed. It felt almost like pins and needles, like an annoying
itch right between your shoulder blades that just couldn�t be ignored no matter
how hard you tried. But he had promised Uncle Chuck he would stay put.
Idly, he wondered if Shadow felt that same need, the black
hedgehog�s feet were almost as fast as his own, so maybe he understood Sonic�s desperate need to just run�

What was it with Shadow, anyway? Lately it seemed like half
his thoughts seemed to end up meandering back to the topic of the mysterious
black hedgehog who had so suddenly crash-landed into
his life. On the other hand, Shadow�s history did seem to be rather tightly
tied to his own � even if it was a slightly different version of Shadow to the
one he currently knew.

The music he had been playing faltered as his fingers lost
the rhythm. He frowned down at them � no focus. If he lost focus out in the
world beyond Knothole he would be dead � or worse. It was the only thing that
kept him alive sometimes, and his kind of focus required that he knew himself
absolutely, all his capabilities totally under his own control. Right now, they
weren�t, and that made him a liability. The last thing he wanted was for one of
his friends getting hurt because he couldn�t control his powers.

Damn. He hoped Shadow was done talking to Sally and Chuck soon.
He was chafing at this delay, wanting to get on with it, to understand himself
again� and to have someone else around who also understood.

There was someone behind him. He knew even before he turned
around who it was.

�Hey, Shadow,� He smiled as he glanced over his shoulder.

Shadow was stood there on the river bank, his black fur
looking oddly incongruous in the bright spring sunshine.

�Sonic.� He greeted the other hedgehog with a faint nod of
the head.

�You survive the inquisition, then?� Sonic asked, managing
to dredge up a smile.

Shadow rolled his eyes, �Princess Sally is finally convinced
that I am who I claim to be.�

�Hunh, so that �other dimension�
stuff really is true?�

�Yes.� Shadow replied simply, �Your Uncle confirmed it with
his readings.�

There was more to it than that, Sonic was sure. Just taking
some readings wouldn�t have taken over three hours, but Sonic couldn�t think of
a non-obvious way of asking. His eyes locked with Shadow�s for a moment, until
Sonic saw something there � something achingly familiar to any resident of
Knothole. It was the look of suppressed grief and loss.
Sonic looked away.

�So� uh�� Sonic began awkwardly.

�Would you like your first lesson, now?� Shadow asked
abruptly.

�Sure!� Sonic agreed, glad to have
something else to focus on. He set his guitar down carefully and turned
his gaze back to Shadow, who was stood with his arms folded, an indecipherable
look on his face. �So, where do we start?�

Shadow blinked, almost coming out of a trance as his eyes
re-focussed on Sonic, his mouth curling up into a hint of a smile. Sonic jumped
down off the bridge to stand next to him.

�First, I�ll need to teach you how to use your Chaos Sense.�

�Chaos sense?� Sonic asked,
puzzled.

�Yes.� Shadow nodded, �Every living thing has chaos energy
flowing through it to a greater or lesser extent. If you train your Chaos
Sense, you can feel that energy and so be able to track people and objects that
are particularly imbued with that power. It can also be useful for navigation �
which is vitally important when we move on to using Chaos Control.�

�Uh, ok. So what do I need to do?�

�Close your eyes.�

With a shrug, Sonic did so.

�Now, wait five seconds, then use your chaos sense to find
me.�

Shadow ghosted silently ten feet over to the left and
waited, standing stock still, keeping his breathing light so that wouldn�t give
him away.

Sonic stood for a moment, frowning as he tried to
concentrate, to feel Shadow through this strange �chaos sense�. He knew that
since he woke up he had felt something different about Shadow, something
strangely compelling that at times made him feel like a moth drawn towards a
bright light.

Ah, now, light. That�s what it felt like. He tried to
imagine Shadow as a light and instantly could feel something that burned like a
tightly-controlled red flame about ten feet over to his right.

Keeping his eyes closed, he extended one hand out in front
of him and began walking towards the source of that warm light. As he got
closer, he could feel the radiant warmth it produced seep through his gloves
and into his hands. Like walking into a room with a cheery fire on a cold
winter�s day, he hadn�t realised how cold he was until he encountered that
heat.
His hand connected with something and he opened his eyes to
see that he was touching Shadow�s chest, his fingers buried in the white patch
of fur. Part of him screamed at him to move his hand, but the larger part
seemed unable to do so. He raised his gaze higher to lock with Shadow�s garnet
eyes.

The darker hedgehog lifted a hand to lay over Sonic�s as he stood almost paralysed.

�Very good.� Shadow said very
softly. Sonic felt a peculiar shiver go down his spine as the strange undertone
in that smooth voice.

Finally, Sonic found the power to move, gently slipping his
hand out from under Shadow�s and away from that patch of fur.

�Uh� so, what next?� He asked
slightly nervously.

Shadow smiled, �Your first lesson in using Chaos Control.�

Sonic shifted uneasily, �I thought Uncle Chuck said it was dangerous?�

�That�s why you aren�t going to go that far, and I�ll be
along to keep checking your levels of chaos energy.�

�Okay. Sounds cool. How does it
work?�

�You may not remember, but you have done it before.� Shadow
said, �You don�t have a Chaos Emerald, so you have to be careful. You don�t
have another one of those �Power Rings� around, do you?�

�No, sorry. They only show up every
24 hours. It�s gonna be another five hours or so
before I can grab another one.�

�Hmm.� Shadow murmured
speculatively, looking Sonic up and down until Sonic felt almost like blushing.
Shadow reached up to touch the gold cuffs at his wrist, with a peculiar
twisting motion, one of them came loose in his hand. He walked over to Sonic
and took Sonic�s hand again, snapping the bracelet
over Sonic�s wrist. Immediately, Sonic felt a
peculiar sensation race up his arm, like he had just stuck his hand in a bucket
of ice water.

�That restriction cuff should keep you from using too much
power while you practice.�

�Great.� Sonic said, rubbing a hand across the shiny metal,
�But I don�t think it suits me. And what do I do when you need it back?�

�Your Uncle conducted a lot of tests on those cuffs. I
believe he�s trying to make you some of your own.�

Sonic grinned, just biting back a remark about gaudy
jewellery. Not a good idea to taunt your teacher, no matter how tempting it
was. Especially when that teacher was trying to prevent you getting yourself
killed. Even though Shadow could stand to loosen up a bit.

Shadow eyed him for a moment. �Now, Chaos Control allows you
to teleport��

�Teleport? For
real?� Sonic exclaimed. Shadow nodded, �Way past cool!� Sonic crowed,
�Bet old Buttnik won�t be expecting that!�

�BUT,� Shadow continued with a faint growl, �You need to be
able to track where you are going. So you will need to know the place you are
going to well, or have a target to lock on to.�

�That�s where the whole �chaos sense� thing comes in,
right?�

�Right,� Shadow acknowledged. �Chaos is power flowing
through you, when you use Chaos Control, you gather it up into a cord, then
focus on the place you want to go, throw the cord around your target and pull
yourself towards it.�

�Okay, got it. So what am I using as a target?�

�Me, again. I�ll go over into those
trees.� He paused, looking over at the copse of tall trees which were still
well within line-of-sight. �I�ll give you a demonstration before you try.�

Sonic watched as Shadow drew a deep breath, his arms and
legs tensing as he gathered up his power. Sonic inhaled sharply as he felt the
flame of Shadow�s presence suddenly flare up like an inferno.

�Chaos control!� The black hedgehog
cried. With a flare of golden light and a faint pop of displaced air, Shadow
was suddenly elsewhere.

�Awesome.� Sonic breathed. Shadow made a quick beckoning
gesture. He closed his eyes, feeling for the sense of Shadow�s presence, looping
the �cord� of the chaos energy in his body around that bright red flame,
feeling a inexplicable shiver go through him as the two streams of chaos energy
seemed to connect.

He could feel the energy building up within him, like flood
waters pressing against a dam. He gathered up that power and cried out, ��Chaos
control!�

The world flared with multicoloured light as he felt himself
rushing through it. It lasted only an instant before he crashed into something
that sent him tumbling to the floor. Sonic blinked, trying to regain his
equilibrium as the dizzying rush of chaos energy faded.

Then he realised he was laying on
top of Shadow.
Once again, some distant part of Sonic�s
psyche told him that he ought to get up right now. Perhaps scramble to his feet
with an embarrassed grin. He decided not to listen to
it.

Apparently it had been Shadow he had crashed into, sending
them both tumbling to the earth. Shadow was flat on his back underneath Sonic
with Sonic�s hands braced on either side of Shadow�s
head, their chests touching, gazed locked onyx to garnet.

They stayed frozen in that position as the seconds ticked
past, neither seeming to want to move. Sonic, for his part, felt like he had
been paralysed by the look in those deep red eyes, scarcely daring to breathe.
Slowly, Shadow smiled at him.

�Chaos power is fuelled by emotion, Sonic.� Shadow said very
quietly, gently breaking the spell. Sonic found himself
able to breathe again and he slowly pulled himself up, feeling himself blushing
like a ripe tomato as he did so.

�Um� oops?� Sonic said sheepishly
as he got to his feet. Shadow simply favoured him with a wicked grin.
Sonic tried to regain some of his cool, nonchalant composure as he dusted
himself off, "So, if it's powered by emotion, does that mean that the
stronger the emotion the more powerful the effect?"
Shadow tilted his head, "Partially. Though it is still limited by the
amount of chaos energy you can store and channel. Few people can use it like
you and I."
Sonic nodded, "Cool, so what emotion do you use?"
A look flicked across Shadow's face, faster than anyone except Sonic would
be able to perceive, the warm expression gone from his face, dark reflections
of memories surfacing in his blood-red eyes.
"I thought so," Sonic said softly, "An' I'm sorry, man. I
hoped I was wrong."
Shadow's eyes clouded, his expression hardening, disguising that flash of
deep emotion, "What are you talking about?" He asked harshly.
"I've seen that look before. Everybody in Knothole had it after the
coup." Sonic stepped over to Shadow's side and laid a hand on his
shoulder. "Everybody lost so much, we were all angry, confused, scared. I
didn't talk about it for so long, it hurt too much but, y'know,
the more you talk about it, the easier it gets," He could feel the barely
detectable tremble in Shadow's tightly clenched muscles, "Who did you
lose, Shadow?"
"Maria." The name came out as almost a sob, "She was� killed
trying to save me."
"Oh, man," Sonic breathed, his eyes holding complete sympathy at
the horror Shadow had witnessed, "I'm so sorry."
Shadow clenched his eyes shut, feeling the pain of that incident fifty years
ago just as clearly as if it had happened yesterday. To him, it might as well
have been - the passage of years had meant nothing to him while had had been
confined in that stasis pod on Prison
Island.
"I was taken, tested. They put me through endless tests of my
abilities, hoping to use me as a weapon." His voice was harsh, thick with
emotion, "When they realised they could never truly control me, I was
imprisoned in suspended animation and left to rot in a prison for fifty
years."
Sonic's hand gently squeezed his shoulder,
"How did you get out?" he asked softly.
Shadow suddenly laughed, but there was no humour in it. Sonic almost
recoiled at the bitter, grating sound. Shadow opened his eyes again and turned
his deep red gaze on Sonic.
"You might say I was 'rescued'." He said with heavy irony. Sonic
frowned, but had no time to ask his next question as another voice interrupted
their conversation.
"Sonic! Son-ic!"
Tails' voice called from the trees.
With a last glance at Shadow, Sonic released the black hedgehog's shoulder
and turned to answer to his adopted brother.
"Over here, lil' bro!"
He called. The two-tailed fox came running out of the trees, his namesakes
twirling behind him like a propeller.
"There you are, Sonic!" Tails exclaimed, as he skidded to a halt,
"Aunt Sally and Uncle Chuck want to see you and Shadow right away."
"Why what did I do this time?" Sonic asked, affecting a goofy,
semi-martyred expression for the entertainment of his brother.
Tails chuckled, "It's nothin' like that,
Sonic," Tails re-assured him jokingly, "Aunt Sally thinks she knows a
way to find those 'Chaos Emeralds' that Shadow's been wantin'."
Sonic reached over and ruffled Tails' head fur, "Way past cool, 'lil bro." He smiled, "Go and tell Sal and Uncle
Chuck we'll be right there," He turned to Shadow, who now stood
impassively, his face having resumed its usual neutral expression, no trace of
the earlier deep emotion visible. "You comin',
Stripes?" Sonic asked carefully.
"Lead the way." Shadow replied calmly. Sonic frowned slightly,
then turned and followed Tails back towards Knothole.
Shadow paused for a moment, his fists clenching tightly before he forced
them to relax.
Could he ever truly tell Sonic about the truth of his history? His previous
alliance with Robotnik - regardless of dimension -
was bound to mark him a traitor. Would Sonic ever trust him after that? For
some reason, the idea of gaining and keeping Sonic�s
trust had become very important to him. The memory of that� incident just a few
minutes ago seemed burned into his brain. It wasn�t only that, though. Sonic�s sympathy and soft understanding had completely
disarmed him, and the words � the memories � had come pouring out of him before
he could stop him. Rouge had told him once that he could be totally inscrutable
at times, but in front of Sonic�s easy, understanding
stare, Shadow felt as transparent as glass.
He glanced down at his wrist, at the empty place where his wrist-cuff would
usually sit. With a soul-deep sigh, Shadow powered up his skates and headed
back to Knothole.
To be continued in Chapter Thirteen - All This and Nothing
- 11
- 12
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