It Has Always Been You (Sonadow)

Chapter 6 - Devastation [Sonic POV]

[SONIC]

"What the...?!"

As I neared Knuckles' house, a huge, and I mean huge, echidna was staring over the tree tops looking straight at me, but not moving an inch.

"Knuckles!!" I yelled.

Knuckles emerged from behind the mushrooms that surrounded his cave.

"Oh hey Sonic."

"What on earth is this?!" I pointed to the creepy statue.

"This is my latest wood carving. I carved one of my ancestors into this dead tree stump and called upon the energies of the forest to embody it, so if I ever have to leave the house, the master emerald will always have a guardian."

"Errrmmm, ok Knuckles!" I grinned at him from the side of my mouth. He certainly is way more in touch with nature's energies than am. It must be all those magical plants he eats... But saying that, I have my own skills that he doesn't.

Knuckles frowned at me and went into his cave. When he came out he was carrying two bowls of steaming hot soup.

"Here eat this, you'll need the energy," he said handing me one of the bowls.

My stomach flipped nervously as I remembered our mission. I pushed away my anxieties and tried to stay present.

"Mmmmm smells delicious!! What is it?" I asked.

"Mushroom soup."

"Whaaa.... Not the..."

"No stupid, not the magic ones!!"

"Look I have to check dude! I'm not sure if now's the right time to be delving in to those realms!" I knew magic mushrooms could enhance our powers, but I had the feeling we would need to be grounded to embark on this next operation.

"Of course it's not the right time," Knuckles replied irritably. "Eat up. Rouge will be here any minute now and then we'll be off."

I tucked in to the delicious soup and felt it warm me from the inside.

"Damn Knuckles, you're actually a pretty good cook!"

"What are you surprised?" He smirked at me.

 There was a sudden breeze and a rustle of leaves as Rouge glided down swiftly and landed in between us.

"What's happening guys!" She smiled and flashed her brilliantly white, pointy fangs at us.

"Hey Rouge. You hungry?" Knuckles said.

"No thanks darling, I've already eaten. I'm keen to kick start this mission."

On her cue I took the now empty soup bowls and put them in Knuckles' kitchen. He disappeared deep into his cave and returned with a tightly packed backpack.

"What ya got in there buddy?" I asked, intrigued about what he could possible need with all that stuff.

"Supplies," he said, clearly not wanting to give me any more information. "Ok then, let's go."

We started the trek through the thick foliage of Mushroom Hill. Shadow lives in the deepest part of Green Forest. Typical, I thought, he would have to live in the most remote area possible!

The vegetation got thicker and thicker, and before we knew it was way too dense to get through. Knuckles paused for a second, then took off his backpack and placed it on the floor. He then proceeded to open it and pulled out three machete knives.

"Dude! So that's one of the tricks you got in that in that bag!" I exclaimed to Knuckles, secretly impressed with how prepared he was.

He gave me a wise smile and handed a machete each to myself and Rouge. We then proceeded onwards clearing our path by cutting through the vines and branches.

After about half an hour we were all sweating and getting tired. I was frustrated that I couldn't just run through the trees, I hate going slow! We stopped and sat down. Rouge took off her boots and stretched out her legs.

I noticed Knuckles looking around at the tree trunks beside us. He zoned in on one particular tree. It was shorter and wider than the others. Taking a cup from his bag, he walked up to the thick tree and with one almighty sweep of his machete, he cut a large diagonal split towards the bottom of the trunk. Water began to gush out and he caught it in the cup.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed.

"Knuckles is quite the forest guru!" Rouge said with a smile, as he handed her the cup.

When it was my turn to drink I greedily gulped down as much water as I could. I was surprised at how delicious it tasted, like, the best water I've ever drunk! The pure tree liquid seemed to have everything our bodies needed restore our stamina.

Feeling fully energised after hydrating, we carried on slogging through the forest and after another hour the density of the trees started to thin.

"We're close," Rouge said.

I started to feel nervous anticipation. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but the thought of seeing Shadow again combined with the fact that something bad might have happened was making my stomach turn like crazy.

I looked over at Rouge and Knuckles and they glanced back at me. We had a silent moment of empathy with each other, all of us feeling the potential trouble looming ahead of us, but mutual gratitude that we were in this together.

I took a deep breath. We were only meters away from Shadow's home now and everything was deadly silent. The energy around us was dark and unwelcoming. I knew something bad had happened.

But nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to witness.

"WHAT... THE... FUCK...?!"

The sight before us could only be described as utter devastation.

Shadow's normally spotless and organised home had been completely obliterated. The furniture was smashed and ripped to shreds, cutlery and pans were scattered across the floor, and holes were smashed into the walls and decking. The fire pit was tipped over and had left a huge black burn mark in the earth where the embers had spilled everywhere.

"Shadow?! Fuck, dude, where the fuck are you?!" Knuckles looked as terrified as I felt as he frantically ran around looking for a sign of life. "What on Mobius has happened here?"

There was an eerie, demonic energy lingering around us, it felt like death. There was a putrid stench of sweat and blood in the air. I started to feel sick.

"Oh my..." I heard Rouge mutter under her breath as she took in the sight. She looked like she was about to cry but was holding it together pretty well.

I sped around as fast as I could, checking every room. Shadow was nowhere to be found.

I saw some claw marks on the wall and put my hand up against them. They were the exact same size as my hands. My stomach flipped.

Could it be possible that Shadow did this himself? But why?

My head started whirling and I became dizzy. I needed some fresh air. I stumbled out into the forest trying to keep my balance. This was bad. Real bad.

And that's when I saw it.

About 10 metres away I could make out the shape of a lifeless body. A jolt of shock pierced my skull from between my eyes and rippled down my body. I felt my bones shiver and my legs gave way. I collapsed on the floor.

"SHADOW!"

I clumsily picked myself up and ran to him. He was surrounded by a pool of his own blood and vomit. Placing my hand on his cheek I felt nothing but coldness. My heart was beating so hard I thought my chest would explode. I tried to take his pulse but felt nothing.

"Holy shit, he's dead.