Shadow's Point of View

        The air around me quivered. I frowned, peering at those around the fire to see if anyone else felt the same thing. Most of those gathered were Holoskan villagers telling of the stories of their tribe—they seemed to not be disturbed by the waves of energy that quickly grew to fluctuate like an earthquake. Swallowing uncomfortably, I felt as a heaviness began to grow in my stomach. The energy was making me nauseous. Past the villagers and their vivacious gesturing, I saw Silver was feeling the same. He sat on a log with both arms cradling his abdomen.

        All at once, the storm of Chaos energy seemed to dissipate. The heaviness in my stomach continued to linger, but it was not as intense as it had been. When I deemed myself able to walk without visible discomfort, I joined the group of young anthros that had been listening to the villagers' tales.

        "What was that?" moaned Silver, his peach-skinned face a few shades paler than normal. He clutched at his stomach, looking as if he was about to hurl right there.

        "I'm not sure," said Knuckles with a frown, appearing less shaken by the energy.

        Amy looked at them, confused. "What was what? I didn't see anything."

        "I felt it, too," Blaze spoke up, resting her hand on Silver's shoulder. She looked to be affected herself, as her posture was not as straight as it usually was. She hid it well. "Did you feel it, Shadow?" she asked, noticing how I was with the group and not standing off to the side, alone.

        I nodded and stared in the direction the energy had come from. It was toward the mountains, where I had seen the injured (animal) girl and sent Sonic off to. The energy that had come from that way was most certainly Chaos energy, but it was unusual. It had been a similar energy I had felt when performing Chaos Control to travel between times. Though that event had occurred almost a year ago, it was difficult to forget the specific energy signal that had been used to make it happen. A sense of foreboding overwhelmed me. "Mephiles," I uttered at a low whisper.

        Expressions of shock turned to face me. "You really think Mephiles is out there?" worried Tails. "If he is, we need to get to him quick! Sonic or (Name) could be in danger! We have to at least check it out."

        There were no protests as the group left the central village fire to venture onto the barren tundra, where the Tornado III was idling. I was impressed with how the young fox had built such a large structure out of the scraps of his previous flying invention. It had taken little over a week for him to do so—a feat that would have taken much longer without his vast intellect on machinery.

        "Tails, it's huge!" Knuckles commented, voicing my own thoughts.

        "I know," said the fox-boy with a small smirk showing. "I took out a lot of the gears from inside the old engine and melted them to make the body large enough to accommodate passengers. Unfortunately, because I did that, the engine doesn't have the power to travel far distances. That was why we needed the Chaos Emerald—with its energy, the Tornado III can fly over the Arctic Ocean and take us out of Holoska without placing too much stress on its parts."

        "If Shadow hadn't given Sonic the emerald, we could have been out of here by now." Silver fixed me with a hard glare, which I returned.

        "Then where would that leave us?" I asked him. "Mephiles couldn't have gone far after escaping the doctor's base, not while he was weakened. I think I did us a favor in giving Sonic the emerald. If what I'm thinking is correct, that hedgehog led Mephiles straight to him."

        "And straight to that were(animal)!" spat Silver. "She's with Mephiles, and if they had found each other, they're probably planning to take over the world right now!"

        I kept my mouth shut and continued to glare at him. I still wasn't sure what to make of the (animal) girl, and I was not about to voice any opinions that would cause an uproar between group members. What we needed to do first was find out what had happened with that strange energy signature.

        "We had better get moving," I side-glanced Tails, hopping through the open door of the plane and taking a seat in the front, behind the cockpit where the pilot seat was stationed. The others climbed aboard, with Silver sitting in the far back sending daggers into the back of my head.

        It angered me that I was so conflicted with my views on (Name) and that Silver had the audacity to call me out on it. Over the years of my existence, I had made many mistakes that had led to the deaths of innocents. But I had been forgiven for those mistakes after I had done what I could to right them. I felt the same way with the girl. Though it was clear she was in some way connected to Mephiles, she deserved a chance to show us the goodness that lied in her heart—just as I had the chance.

        Without any straps to fasten ourselves with, we held onto the seats tightly as the plane took off into the chilly sky. The clouds had all but vanished from sight, opting to gather and clamber over each other among the range of mountains many miles away. The storm seemed to remain there like a dark omen. From the pull of the energy that was fading away, I hoped nothing terrible had happened, that we weren't too late. Inwardly, I willed Tails to fly his plane faster, but there was only so much the boy could do to get us to the area of disturbance in as little time as possible.

        The wait was killing me.

        By the time we reached the mountains, the blizzard was upon us. Hail and snow rained down on the Tornado III, clinking against its metal exterior while wind currents swept around it. Everyone gripped at their seats during the turbulence, the inside of the plane growing tense. Silver, who was not yet fully recovered from the energy disturbance, looked as if he'd be sick before too long.

        "This blizzard is too dangerous to keep flying through!" called out Tails from the pilot's seat. "If we're to keep going on, I'll have to land. I can hardly see anything." He was right—with the amount of snow that landed on the windshield of the plane, it was impossible to see how close we were to the mountains. At any point, we could end up crashing and tumbling down in an avalanche. Then, there would be no way of leaving this forsaken land.

        "There's nothing here, anyway," I leaned forward, speaking into the fox's ear. "I would be able to feel the energy of the emerald if it was close."

        "Mephiles must have found them and the emerald," Silver spoke out, somehow managing to hear my words over the noise of the blizzard. "What are we supposed to do now? There's nowhere for us to go! It looks like we'll just have to wait and watch as the world falls apart around us."

        "What we can do," I growled, eyeing Silver with a cold, red gaze, "is find the place where the energy had come from. From there, we may be able to find a clue as to what had happened. Perhaps, even, someone may still be around but weakened. If that is the case, it's best we search quickly. Miles, land this plane."

        Sitting back with my arms folded over each other, I stared out the front window as Tails directed our flight path to the snowy ground. On our way down, the plane clipped the tops of a few pine trees that grew away from a sparse forest. I recognized this place. It was where I had come across the (color) (animal) after finding the white Chaos Emerald. I still remembered the look of challenge in her eye as she had struggled to lift herself after being thrown to the ground by a polar bear twice her size.

        The moment the Tornado III landed, I slipped from my seat and yanked the portal door open, stepping out into the cold. A few of the others made as if to go with me, but I halted them, saying there was no need for multiple search parties. I knew where to go, for the most part. Slamming the door shut, I jumped down from the plane and traveled as quickly as the waist-high snow would let me. Now that winter was in full swing, the snow was going to keep piling up until the wind pushed the clouds to another area.

        I shifted my way toward a tall, dark cliff that I could hardly make out even with my excellent eyesight. When my palm touched cold rock that jutted from the side, I noticed the snow lay much lower here. This area seemed more protected from the elements. Because of this, I was able to make out the shadow of darkened blood smeared throughout the padded-down snow. A yard away was another spot, looking as if someone had been lying there. The clean footprints that came from that spot looked all too familiar. Sonic had been there. That means the blood must have come from (Name), I thought solemnly.

        They both were missing, and that brought up the question of the energy's source. Still, it faintly lingered in the air. I knew Sonic didn't have the power to easily wield the energy of a single Chaos Emerald—as for the girl, I was not so sure. I didn't know what she was capable of. I did, however, identify the main source of the energy as having come from Mephiles. When I had encountered the demon in the past, he had always left a dark energy signal whenever his power was used. Only someone or something as powerful as him could leave such a mark.

        Just as I had feared, we were too late. Mephiles had taken Sonic and (Name).

        I returned to the Tornado III with a grave expression. The others looked at me expectantly, with worry in their eyes as they awaited the bad news. With an exhale, I sat down in my seat. "I checked the area. Sonic, (Name), and Mephiles are not here—not anymore, at least."

        "Then where are they?" questioned Amy with a tone that said she already knew the answer.

        "Mephiles must have taken them," I replied, and the pink hedgehog let out a choked sigh. All those inside the plane were quick to display their thoughts on that information. Tails, Amy, and Blaze were visibly frightened for their missing friends, while Knuckles and Silver were furious at the idea that Mephiles had gotten to them.

        "Where could they have gone?" growled Knuckles. "They could be anywhere in the world now that Mephiles has a Chaos Emerald!"

        "Or they could be anywhere outside the world," suggested Tails. As six sets of eyes turned his way, the fox explained. "From what we had witnessed during the incident with Iblis and Solaris, Mephiles showed us he has the ability to open a dimensional rift with Chaos energy. He could have taken Sonic and (Name) to another time—maybe even another dimension altogether."

        I didn't find pleasure in those words, but I did agree with what the kid had said. "You may be right, Miles. When I was out searching for them, I came across their tracks. The tracks stayed in one place, however, as if they had vanished into thin air. Around that area lingered the same energy that a few of our group had felt earlier today. The energy was unusual like when I had time-traveled—but it was just a little different from that."

        "Are you saying you believe Mephiles took them to another dimension, and not to another time in this dimension?" asked Tails.

        I slowly nodded. "Without any emeralds, we won't be able to get to them. It seems Mephiles' plans are coming together, after all."

        "That's just fantastic," muttered Silver under his breath. I shot him a disapproving stare that went by unnoticed. However, in doing so, I managed to catch a blur of color outside one of the plane windows.

        "What is that out there?" I asked Blaze who was sitting by the window where I had noticed the reddish color. With a curious expression, the violet feline peered outside. My ears perked as she made a confused humming sound. Looking back at me, her eyes were filled with disbelief.

        "It's Dr. Eggman."

        Suddenly, a loud knocking ricocheted throughout the cabin. The majority of those inside jumped, startled, with yelps of surprise. I pushed my way to the portal door and opened it, seeing none other than the mad scientist himself. Before he could utter a word, I grabbed him by the collar of his red and white jacket and pulled his massive weight down to my level.

        "Have you come to cause us more misery, doctor?" I growled in his face. My gloved hand increased its pressure on the man's collar, slowly closing on his airway.

        "Shadow, let go of him!" shouted Tails as he started to run down the aisle toward me. "He might be able to help us!"

        My blood-red gaze flitted to the boy before staring down Dr. Eggman. The scientist's nose and lips were a slight shade of bluish-grey, but that was because of the cold as well as lack of oxygen. Still, I relinquished my hold on his collar and stepped back as the behemoth of a human fell to his knees with a gasp.

        Tails squeezed past me and helped Dr. Eggman up while the others looked on, too lost at what to do. They certainly didn't want that man here, as he had aided Mephiles in escaping the Scepter of Darkness. We all awaited the fox's explanation before growing comfortable with the doctor's presence.

        Dr. Eggman huffed and puffed as he was helped to his feet. He shivered in the doorway, stiffly closing it to shut out the frigid air that had been flowing into the plane. "Thank you, Tails," he said to the boy, patting the little orange head. "I was outside for so long—I can hardly feel my extremities!" The man flexed his fingers, and it was then I noticed he held a device in one hand.

        "You were tracking the energy source," I said with an accusing glare.

        The doctor nodded. "After my base was destroyed, I lost touch with my robot henchmen, Orbot and Cubot, as well as the most of my inventions. Only this energy tracker," he held up the device, "and a simple land-vehicle was left intact. I drove that thing around for as long as I could, using up all my gas reserves since the energy tracker seemed to be malfunctioning. Lucky for me, I came across a Holoskan township and took some supplies before I was chased away. So, I was able to survive these past two weeks."

        "Only today did my vehicle decide it had finally had enough," the doctor indignantly huffed. "It shut down after a great spike of energy was captured by my tracker. I was only a few miles away from the origin of that energy, and I thought I would walk the rest of the way. I'm not so sure that was a good idea." His glassed stare met mine.

        "You may not think it was a good idea, but I certainly do!" exclaimed Tails. He turned to me with wide, excited eyes. "That energy-tracking device is just what I need to implement into the Tornado III's system! I couldn't salvage enough parts from the old plane to finish my own tracker—but with Eggman's, I can complete it, and I'll be able to choose which energy frequencies I want to focus on without the disturbance of the magnetic pole."

        "I never said you could take my energy tracker!" roared Dr. Eggman as he pressed the device to his chest. A blue glow formed around him and the man's face wrinkled with confused fury as he found he could not move. "Release me, you little rat," he hissed at something behind me.

        I turned and saw Silver with a palm stretched out. That palm was glowing the same color as the aura surrounding Dr. Eggman. "You will give Tails that energy tracker," he said in a low voice. "And after that, you will help us defeat Mephiles. You were the one who sent that robot Sonic to steal the Scepter of Darkness, and you also stole all the emeralds and used them on that were(animal) girl who released Mephiles. It is because of you we're here now and Sonic is in danger. If you want to get out of Holoska alive, you'll have to join our mission, because I'm not letting you go free."

        Red eyes narrowing, I looked from Silver to Dr. Eggman, who was frozen with an expression of indecision. "What is there to decide on, doctor? Either you join us, or you die. It's a simple matter."

        The human closed his eyes and defeatedly drooped his head as far as it would go in Silver's hold. "Fine, I will help you defeat Mephiles," he said. "I hadn't wanted him to escape in the first place, and now that he's out he will try and gain control of the world. Only I can take over the world!" He chuckled loudly as Silver allowed him to move again. Barely paying attention, Dr. Eggman dropped his energy tracker into Tails' hands. He reached down to a side-pocket and stuck his hand inside, withdrawing a dull red jewel.

        "You had a Chaos Emerald that whole time?" shouted Knuckles.

        I growled and turned away. This place was getting on my nerves. Not only was it irritatingly cold, but even with an emerald right in front of me, I was unable to discern its signal from the various energies that floated freely in every which way. Damn this magnetic interference. At least Tails was now able to power the plane, which would allow for us to leave Holoska in search of another Chaos Emerald. Silver and I would then be able to perform Chaos Control and search for the realm Mephiles had run off to.

        Pushing the doctor to the side, I made my way back to my seat and sat down heavily. "Get us out of here, already," I said to Tails as the fox happily snatched up the offered emerald.

        "What's the matter, Shadow?" mocked Knuckles. "Is the Ultimate Lifeform tired of the cold?"

        I said nothing, counting as the seconds ticked by while Tails readied the Tornado III for takeoff. After only two minutes we were in the air, sailing out of the blizzard and away from the mountains. We were finally leaving Holoska. So many bad things had happened here—Mephiles had been freed, an innocent life had been lost, we had been stranded in a village, and Sonic and (Name) had gone missing with only Mephiles as the reason. We were leaving all those horrid memories behind as our focus turned to finding the Chaos Emeralds. With any luck, we'd uncover just enough to stop Mephiles before he destroyed Earth.

        All we needed was time.