An Elemental Secret

Chapter 10

"It says here that Farah's memory needs to come back naturally." Tails said, reading through an old document.

"So, no telling her that she's Farah, then." Knuckles nodded.

"But how are we supposed to find her if she doesn't know who she is and we can't tell her?" Sonic pouted. The group groaned in agony as another complication came up. Sonic stood up. "Alright, that's it, I'm goin' out to eat something; Come on, Shadow."

Shadow glared to the other and stood up as well. "What if I don't want to?"

"You kinda have to." Sonic grinned. "Or Rouge will have both our heads."

Shadow rolled his eyes as he followed Sonic out. Instead of taking off running like he expected the other to do, he walked calmly through the forest. Shadow glanced to him as he followed beside but didn't say a thing. Sonic smiled and closed his eyes, just listening to the calming noises of the forest. He sighed happily. "Isn't this nice?"

Shadow tilted his head. Sonic looked to him and chuckled. "Nature. It's so beautiful and calming."

"Until it's not." Shadow replied, remembering countless times when nature was less than nice with him.

Sonic smiled. "It's so unpredictable, that's what makes it beautiful. That's what I wanted when I created it... and when I created mortals...."

"Is everyone else like you predictable, then?" Shadow asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, a bit, yes" Sonic laughed. "Haizea is always calm and collected unless you make her mad, then she's a whirlwind. Buziba is always cool and easy going, but sometimes can get carried away. And then there's Kalama, who is almost always mad about something. She can hold a grudge for a really long time, and oh boy is she prone to explosions."

"They seem like a nice bunch." Shadow blinked. Well, he couldn't judge. His own family was, uh, something after all. He looked to the ground, suddenly curious. "So, do you know anything more about Heolstor that could help?"

Sonic's mood instantly darkened. "He's a no good chaos bringer. All he's ever tried to do was infect this world and steal away Farah." His ears flattened against his head. "I should've known Farah would go after him...."

"Farah was just doing what she could to protect everyone." Shadow said, recalling his dreams. "She was really conflicted, Sonic, but in the end, she knew that the happiness of others was worth her possible demise."

Sonic bit his lip, tears welling up in his eyes. "My happiness was ruined...."

Shadow frowned, looking away from the other. For some reason, he felt... guilty.... He sighed as he spoke up again, his voice wavering slightly. "She feels bad for it, Sonic, but, at the time, she felt that it was the best choice."

Sonic looked to Shadow, wiping the tears running down his muzzle. Shadow's face was faced towards the ground, and Sonic fought the urge to lift the other's face up. "Shadow...."

Shadow looked up and Sonic felt his breath get caught in his throat. Shadow's face was so sincere and everything Sonic wasn't use to seeing on Shadow. He couldn't help but think that that was a good look on him. Sniffling slightly, he quickly pulled Shadow into a hug, burying his face into the other's shoulder.

Shadow gasped out in shock at the action, body tensing up. He struggled with his thoughts at that moment, trying to figure out what exactly he should do. He wasn't truly use to physical contact and even less use to comforting someone. He frowned as he wondered if he should hug back; Sonic just continued to cry into his shoulder, and Shadow finally gave in and hugged him back, tightly. "I know how it feels to lose someone you really care about. She did it for a reason, and maybe you can't fully understand it yet, but she probably thought of the greater good. She most likely didn't want to hurt you like this, and she'd probably want you to live happily. Besides..." He felt tears gathering in his eyes. "At least she's coming back to you...."

"Shadow...." Sonic sniffled, pulling away and looking at the other. Shadow's eyes were clouded with tears that he was fighting his hardest to hold back. A few escaped, and Sonic was quick to wipe them away. "Come on, don't cry.... Everything's alright, ya'know."

"I'm not crying." Shadow started up walking again.

Sonic frowned as he walked. "Are we still not to that point in our friendship yet?" Shadow glared at him, wiping away a few stray tears beforehand. "Come on, Shads. Don't act like we aren't friends after everything we've been through."

Shadow stayed silent; Sonic frowned and wrapped an arm around him. "At least talk to me."

Shadow crossed his arms as he moved to get away from Sonic's touch. "Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"Stop going from serious to comedy. It's annoying."

Sonic just chuckled. "That's just my personality, Shadow. You're stuck with it."

Shadow rolled his eyes as they made it out of the forest.

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"She really does not remember, does she?"

"Oh well, I guess that makes it all the more fun. Especially since Mahkah doesn't know who she really is."

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"Where could he be!?"

"We have to stay calm, Buziba."

"Stay calm!? Our brother is out there with Heolstor lurking about!"

"We will find him; I know it. Perhaps... hm, didn't you say that someone had asked you for help earlier?"

"Yeah, a couple days ago. Why?"

"Take me to where the call was."

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A hedgehog with green fur stood at the shoreline of the beach. Beside him, a fuschia pink hedgehog looked around.

"This is where you sent him and his friends?"

"Yes."

"Then we should search around here."

The green hedgehog nodded and the two got to work.

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"Excuse me, sir, have you seen Sonic the Hedgehog around here?" Knuckles and Tails stared in confusion at the two hedgehogs.

"Uh, yeah..." Tails blinked. "He lives here...."

"That's great!" The green hedgehog smiled. "Can we se him!?" He was elbowed by the pink one. "Oh, uh, may we see him?"

"No fans." Knuckles deadpanned.

"Fans?" The pink one asked, confused.

"Sonic loves meeting his fans!" Tails said quickly, shooting Knuckles a glare. "But, uh, he's not actually here right now, sorry."

"May we stay here until he gets back?" The pink one asked. "It's really important."

Knuckles was about to rudely decline, but Tails cut him off. "Sure! I, uh, hope you don't mind that the place is a bit messy. I'm Tails and this is Knuckles; What are your names?"

"Oh, uh, I'm Sonia, and this is Manic." She smiled as he waved.

"It's nice to meet you!" Tails chirped, letting them in.