The Robotic Endgame

XII. Sonic the Hedgehog

I couldn't remember Shadow ever smiling like he had. It wasn't malicious, but it was strange. The sight of him grinning alone made shivers go up my spine.

But he didn't attack. He didn't even say anything. He just turned back and continued doing whatever he was doing. He occasionally glanced at the other robot he was with, as if he was suspicious of him.

Sally and I were gripping each others' arms so tightly that we had giant red marks when we finally let go. I still kept my hand open, though, in case we suddenly needed to run.

"And man, you should have seen the look on Night Man's face when he saw Proto Man had switched sides!" the other robot laughed. "It was like, almost terror, but more surprise."

I had forgotten that he had been speaking. The world just went silent when I saw Shadow. Shadow didn't reply, but that didn't surprise me. He was probably on the verge of yelling at the robot to shut up.

Then, all of a sudden, Shadow turned his head very slightly, and I saw a clear gem in his hand. He was making the bottles clink together with his other, so that he didn't raise suspicion from the robot.

Then the most unexpected thing happened: Shadow threw the Chaos Emerald my direction. I just barely caught it, having to step away a little to get it. I frowned, and was about to say something when Sally's hand covered my face. I turned to her, and she shook her head. She must have expected me to say something.

"Dude, are you ever going to find what we came for?" the robot asked. "We've been here forever!"

"I just found it," Shadow said. "Let's go back."

Shadow stole one more glance at me, then turned his head away and in front of him. I heard the door open and shut, but neither Sally or I said anything. We just looked at each other, our hearts racing. Then, I slid toward the end of the shelves and peered out. Nothing.

I helped Sally out of the small space, then looked at the Emerald. It was certainly real; I could feel it's awesome power. "Why?" I muttered, glancing from the Chaos Emerald to Sally. "Why... would he...?"

She shook her head. "It must be because he's being a spy. Maybe he faked in front of Rouge, Omega, and Mega Man."

"How did he find this place?" I asked. "It's not easy to find, unless you look at a map. I don't think he carries one around."

"That, I don't know." Sally said. "But we need to get moving. We wasted a lot of time in here, and Mega Man and Tails won't be able to keep Eggman's attention for long."

I nodded, then turned to the door. After letting it open for me, I looked out the ends of the halls. "Right, right?"

"Right," Sally chuckled. "Let's go."

We jogged down the hall now, being a tiny bit less careful. We didn't have time to spare. For all we knew, the others had needed to retreat. If that was the case, there would be nothing to keep Eggman for looking for us.

"If one of us gets stuck," Sally said, "do we agree the other needs to run away? Otherwise, Eggman will get both of the jewels, and we won't be able to beat this."

I tripped, falling flat on the floor. I shook my head and got back up, running again. "You can't use Chaos Control, Sal. If you got-"

"I can run," she said. Then she held out her arms, "and I have these."

I smiled weakly at her, then turned my head back in front of me. I didn't know what I would do if Eggman got her. Would I be able to just look the other way? Especially after what the two of them together tried to do to me?