Sonic Wild

Freefall

Third Person POV

The next morning they launched the Tortuga and set course back to Africa. Sonic woke up reasonably later than usual. The nightmare was now just a foggy memory. But the weirdness of how it faded was still fresh on his mind. During the first hour of the flight, he would steal glances at the dark and serious mobian, who stood in his usual pose with his arms crossed and a deep scowl. He stared out the viewing window without saying a word. He didn't even so much as look in any other direction. Sonic knew that Shadow wasn't telling him everything, but what? Why did he feel the need to hide it?

Shadow was deep in thought. The need to look out for that annoying blue hedgehog had only grown since the day in the cave. Since it was revealed that they were, in fact, family. His scowl deepened. Why of all people in the UNIVERSE did it have to be him? Not to mention he was now having to run a little side-quest when he should be looking for the rest of the Chaos Emeralds. They only had two. TWO! There were still five more scattered across the planet. He needed to get home. Or, at least, his equivalent of one. He unconsciously flicked his left ear, an anxious habit he didn't even realize he had. Rouge and Omega would be wondering what happened to him. Rouge would probably be the only one who was actually worried about him; Omega would most likely just be complaining about the lack of action. The Commander at GUN would want a full report of his absence and why he disappeared. Other than those three, he could only name a handful of people who would even want him to return.

No! Stay focused. Retrieve the Emeralds, save the world, get back to Mobius. Forget the details, he thought. He was so deep in thought that he didn't noticed Chris walk up beside him.

"Trying to stare a hole in the window?" he asked lightly. Shadow's quills bristled in surprise, and Chris laughed good-naturedly. "You're a bit jumpy today. What's up?"

The dark hedgehog turned to glare at the human before returning his gaze to the passing scenery, "None of your business."

Chris shrugged. He was getting used to Shadow's rudeness. "Ok. Wanna go to the roof? It's a clear sky today."

Shadow glanced over at Sonic, who was laughing with Martin and Jimmy. The girls were taking some much needed time off and had retreated to Koki's room to paint nails, talk, and do some online shopping. He rolled his eyes, not able to come up with a good excuse, and followed the green clad zoologist.

"Whatever. Don't fall off."

Chris smirked, "Please. I'm the climbing Kratt, remember? I can balance on just about everything."

"I stand by my statement," the hedgehog retorted, mentally listing the things that he figured Chris would never be able to keep his footing on that he himself had balanced with ease. The younger Kratt rolled his eyes and hoisted himself onto the roof with his climbing gear securely fastened to the hook. Shadow was seconds behind him. He leaped out of the hatch, did a couple of frontflips and landed squarely on his feet with his back facing Chris. He looked over his shoulder and smirked at the dumbfounded look on his face.

"How--?"

"Don't bother," the hedgehog interrupted, "Now, what is this really all about? You obviously lured me up here to talk."

Chris looked hurt by the statement, "No I didn't. I just figured you could use some fresh air. You seemed so uncomfortable inside."

Shadow didn't bat an eye at his words. He was through with emotions for the moment. In response, he merely hmphed. Chris held back his temper at the hedgehog's rudeness. Everyone has a different way coping with change, he mentally told himself. Shadow's ear flicked again, signalling that he was thinking about something important. He sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes, taking in deep breaths from the high speed winds. It was a meditative pose Espio had taught him to help clear his mind. And he really needed a clear head right now.