Fallen Angel: Sapphire Rapture

Part 4: Shadow

Sunlight burst through the clouds, and the winged hedgehog twirled through the sky; enjoying her first flight in centuries; as she glided towards her task. Her ivory-white and sky-blue feathers glinted in the daylight rays, and she observed the ground below with bright green eyes, which turned sadder with the more that she saw.

“It’s so… different… How can somebody change it so much?”

Etheria’s view of the world below was depressing, to say the least. Whilst she had seen the lands change over millennia; watching from the Otherlife’s pools for the most part, although for several years she had observed through the eyes of Sonic the Hedgehog; she had always been stunned whenever she had returned to the world physically.

Areas that were once forest were bare wastelands now, once prosperous cities were crumbling, massive factories belched toxic fumes into the air, and the oceans were almost black with oil. Only the sunlight retained its former glory, shining in an effort to lighten the dreary world below. The Angel sighed at it, before twisting up to fly above the clouds once more.

“I suppose it happens,” she muttered to herself, looking into the distance at the vague silhouettes of the Angel Islands as they peered out from behind the peaks of some mountains, “I need to find Shadow… He should be this way, I think.”

With a flap of her wings, Etheria changed her angle and flew purposefully down through the dirty clouds. The destitute metropolis sprawled across the barren lands below, and the effort that the sun was putting into shining was wasted on the dull, grey city. She watched the people moving around through the streets, noting how all their heads were looking down, how they walked with no real enthusiasm or hurry… and how they were being observed from the sides of the roads by large metal beings.

“Robots.” Etheria spat, having acquired a dislike of the contraptions from her time sharing Sonic’s mind. She looked towards the tower in the centre of the city, pulling into a glide as she did so, and scowled. “That’s the place.”

The Angel used the occasional wing-beat to power her flight between thermals, and gliding towards the imposing structure.

A ruffled lemur looked up as sunshine flickered in dappled patterns across the ground in front of her. A small smile crossed her tired face as her dull brown eyes caught sight of the winged form. The shadow of a cheetah robot loomed over her, removing the glittering light from the floor. As it placed its metal paws on either side of her head, the lemur defiantly pulled away, to be struck down by the swift swing of the robot’s paw.

Etheria glided onwards; fully aware of the small spark she had started with one sighting of her. There was a new wave below; she sensed the first splash in the tide of misery. Her purpose was reinforced by this knowledge, and she powered through the sky, pulling a string of light from the air around her.

-+-+-

“Now, my friend, your time has run out.”

That voice was back again. And he still felt the same longing to tear the source of it into tiny pieces. Something sharp suddenly pierced his chest, and whilst he could feel it burning him, he couldn’t know whether he had cried out or not. The pain drove deeper, and the voice spoke again.

“Shadow the Hedgehog. Ultimate Life Form huh? Then why were you so easy to beat? Why are you so easy to destroy?” the steely voice grated on Shadow’s hearing “Show me the truth about you! I know there’s more than you reveal.” It hissed into his ear “I know you were one of the denizens of the Otherlife. I just need you to prove it.”

“Nn…” was that one his voice?

“Did you say something, Shadow?”

“… N… Ne… Never…” Shadow was having difficulty forming the words. How long had it been since he had last spoken? It didn’t seem that long, yet felt like forever. But they came easier now, despite the pain in his chest. “I… Will never… Prove anything!”

“It’s just a matter of time, Shadow. I will find out the truth, and I will be able to use it, to reinforce my reign.”

“You… Can’t… Begin to… Imagine… What…” Shadow was cut off as a cold, heavy hand found its way around his throat.

“I don’t need to imagine. I just do what is in my best interests. And what I want-”

A screeching siren accompanied the area shaking, and Shadow could hear unrest through the darkness he was still in. The hand was removed from his throat, but before he could say anything the fire in his chest burst through his lungs, and he yelled in pain. The voice said something, before halting and vanishing in a screech of tearing metal.

Shadow gasped as the hurting took its time dulling to a vague throb, listening to the sounds of chaos erupting around him. He was still at a loss as to why he could not see anything, but that problem could wait. More pressing matters, like what was hurting him so, and where he was. And who his captor was.

“… Augh…”

“Shadow…” the voice was whispered, as a soft hand touched his cheek. This voice was different, feminine and soft. “Shadow… What have they done to you?”

“Who… Are…”

“I’m getting you out of here. Brace yourself Shadow.”

Shadow gave an acknowledging grunt, and felt a light force crash into him. The energy rocked through his body, aggravating the injury, but he restrained himself from crying out again. Something crunched behind him, and gravity took over, until he hit something else with a yelp.

Those gentle hands gripped his shoulders and hauled him to his feet, then ran across the sharp pain in his chest. A quiet, sad sigh, and the hands were back on his shoulders. He stood, shakily, turning his head and trying to look every where he could face, but his eyes still refused to work.

“Can’t you see me?”

“I… Where am I?”

“Oh sheesh, Shads, I’ll explain later. First I have to get you out of here.”

“… Eth… Etheria?”

“Hold on Shadow.”

Etheria wrapped her arms around Shadow’s chest, apologising for the fresh shot of pain caused by the limbs knocking whatever was still impaled through his ribs. He felt a rush of air, accompanied by a loud flapping, as the Angel beat her wings. Shadow felt himself lifted from the floor, and only heard sharp cries, explosions and destroyed metal for what felt like mere seconds. Then he sensed that power.

“Him! It’s… Him!”

“So you’re guarded now Shadow? Now this… this is interesting.”

“Oh… My… Holy Chaos! Shadow, who the hell is that?!” the wings were still beating, but the pull of the flight had stopped.

“He… hasn’t… told me… We have to get out of here!”

“Oh no you don’t.”

Shadow winced at the grating voice, and listened to Etheria say something in a quiet whisper. The wing-beats increased in strength, and he felt himself pulled forwards through the air once more. An annoyed cry from the dictator, and a deafening bang, echoed in his ears, then he felt the wind on his face and knew they had made it outside of where he had been held. The strength of the flight lessened, and he twitched his ears around to listen.

“Etheria?”

“Not safe yet… Not safe… Just a little longer, Shadow… And I’ll explain…”

“What was that noise? Just… Before we got out?”

“... It was nothing. Wait, and I’ll tell you… Everything I can…”

“Are you okay?” Shadow asked, sensing some weakness in her voice.

“… I… Will be…”

Shadow was about to enquire further, but the flapping slowed to a stop, and a terrifying sense of falling took over. Shadow knew what it was; you didn’t need to be able to see to feel the pull of gravity. The fall halted for a moment, but this short glide did not last long, as a loud snap was heard over the wind, and the fall resumed. Shadow called for Etheria to answer, his call more of a scream, then something hard pressed past his body. Rustles of feathers as they hit the things were also heard, before some repeatedly hit his body and chest, knocking the foreign object further through his lung, winding him and knocking him out.

AN: Hope you liked this part. Story’s starting to pick up pace now, keep watch ;)