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Description
"Brotherly Love"
By: Jade Lightning, a.k.a. Inuyashas-hanyougirl
Chapter 2: "Purity of the Heart"

    Miles away from Angel Island, the stronghold of the strange enemy was wreathed in dark clouds and a dreary nature.  Deep within the bowels of the dark castle, down deep in the underground dungeons, dark and desolate, a jail guard was performing his rounds.  Masked in his black cloak, only red eyes visible to those around him, he walked slowly up the row of cells, snickering and snarling at the helpless prisoners, mostly those who fought against them, only to meet failure.

    In one cell, two fox teens, about thirteen and fourteen, a brother and sister sat in their cell, watching with sad eyes as the guard walked towards the end of the row.  The eldest one, the brother, whispered to his sister, “He’s going to get the echidna.  Something bad is about to happen.”

    The sister said, “Poor Hinsei…hasn’t he suffered enough?  What are they doing to him now?”

    “…He’s a son of the Master Emerald’s Guardian…the time has come.  They’re ready to take out the last survivor, and take the emerald for their own needs, and they’re gonna use Hinsei, to take him out,” the brother explained.

    Then, they fell silent, as an audible, “Shh!” came from a few cells down.  Two guards in black cloaks with red eyes came forward, side by side, using chains to lead the beaten prisoner, Hinsei Hidama, himself tied up in chains, hanging his head low, blood dripping down his face from his most resent beating.  It was hard to believe this tortured and beaten soul had the blood of a guardian flowing through his veins, and yet there he was, humiliated in his inability to set things right following his capture.

    Hinsei Hidama floated in and out of the mind control his persecutors held over him, and this walk to the throne room of the captain of the enemy, was one time his mind flowed free.  Twelve years of beatings, humiliation, and every form of torture imaginable had broken his spirit, his heart of fire.  Yet the only reason he never gave up hope, rested in about the only memory he had, that remained untainted, which was his baby brother Knuckles, whom years ago, he promised he’d return, and until he did, he wouldn’t give up hope, no matter how hard the torture.

    “Come on prisoner, your time is comin’.  You’ll finally prove your worth; prove t’us that you ain’t completely worthless.  Ooh look at Master Hidama, the proud and honorable guardian.  If yer so strong, free yerself guardian.  Yer weak like yer pathetic father, some proud guardian.  Ah hah!” one of the captains sneered.

    Hidama could only remain silent during these taunts, as he had for the past twelve years.  He ignored the cruel words, the saliva spit in his face, the beatings with ropes coated with sharp glass, refusing to cooperate ever since his capture.  Yet after all this mental, emotional, and physical anguish, he began to believe these cold proclamations.  He was a failure, not even half of what the son of a guardian should be.  He was nothing but a failure, unable to do anything to help his baby brother, who was the only thing that kept his hope alive, and give him the desire to live and continue.

    Dragged into the quarters of the same creature that captured him, the leader gazed coldly at the poor creature.  His red eyes stared at him, as he stood on his knees, hanging his head, blood still dripping from his brow, and his breath hard to come by.  He pulled back his hood, revealing him to be what appeared to be a mutant echidna or hedgehog of some kind.  He walked up to Hidama, kicking him hard in the side, and waiting a few prolonged minutes for Hidama to pick himself up again.

    “You, Hinsei, I told you years ago, that I slew your sorry excuse for a guardian father, earning me the right to control you.  Yet you lied, you ingrate.  You denied he had a second son, and now, you leave me no choice, but to send you to slay him.  Then the Master Emerald will be mine for the taking, once you relinquish to me its power.  Think Hinsei, all you must do is tell me of its charms, and I’ll release you, and you and your brother may be free from its burden.  It is what started all this after all,” the creature said.

    Hidama, as weak as he was, picked up his head, his sapphire eyes dull but proud, and he spoke, “Master Feldmort, for years I’ve suffered agony that not even your minions should ever live to bear, and I should be broken by now.  Yet it is not the Master Emerald that keeps my hope alive, it is a promise I made to my brother, and intend to keep.  I told him I’d come back to him, and indeed I will, blessed by you or no.  The Master shall not fall into your hands either, and I’d pray you not mess with the sons of the fallen guardian.”

    Master Feldmort laughed evilly and said, “Stupid, stupid, Hinsei.  I relished every second of your father’s agony, and only in the prospect of further gain do I relinquish the joy of slaying your brother, to you, Hinsei.  You shall slay your brother, then, and only in the afterlife, shall you ever, see him with free eyes again.”

    A fire appeared in Hidama’s eyes and flashed cold.  He shouted, rising to his feet, “You’re nothing Feldmort, nothing!  I shall see you dead and my brother alive with free eyes.  Listen to me when I say this!  You’ve already destroyed my clan, but my brother still lives, and I will not finish what you’ve started!  Ever!”

    Feldmort sneered and gave Hidama a swift kick to his chest, knocking him into the wall.  Reeling with pain, Hidama tried in vain to rise to his feet, as he had become accustomed to this treatment.  Feldmort held him down his spiked boots, digging into his skin and said, “You will honor me, Hinsei; you are foolish, dimwitted, and stupid beyond measure or desire.  I will ensure you not only kill your brother, but destroy his body until nothing is left for that pathetic girl of his to cry over.  I control your very essence, and you shall do as I say.”

    Hidama looked up at him, cringing as he lost more blood, pain pulsating through his body.  He looked Feldmort in the eye, the fire in his sapphire eyes waxing low and pale, for he knew that Feldmort was beyond his strength to defeat.  He hung his head, shutting his eyes, as Feldmort sneered and laughed at him, kicking and spitting on him once more.  Hidama was picked up by the two guards and dragged back to his cell in humiliation.  As the laughs and snickers from the mutant enemies drowned everything out, Hidama hid his tears, thinking only of his brother, the only thing that kept him alive, and how to return to him.

    After Hidama was thrown into his concrete cell once more, the prison guards went back to Master Feldmort’s chambers.  They too removed their hoods, and like Feldmort, were mutated creatures.  The entire enemy consisted of mutated echidnas and hedgehogs, who sought to use the Master Emerald’s power to rid themselves of their mutant bodies, and become pure again.  The first guard spoke, “Feh, that mind control chip we implanted in his neck will be too much for him to combat…and once him and his goody-goody brother are done away with, we shall be the master race.”

    Feldmort glared at the guard and said, “Humph, indeed.  His brother is on his way to save him, with that pest Shadow the Hedgehog.  I don’t like that hedgehog; he has strange power.  The echidna’s girlfriend is coming as well…we should kill her to ensure there’s no chance for the line to survive, but maybe she’ll sweeten the deal.  She’ll bring Knuckles to his knees, and once Hinsei slays Knuckles, we’ll destroy blasted Hinsei, and be rid of those durn echidnas forever.  That pansy Amy Rose shall make things get interesting.”  A sneer came across Feldmort’s face.  He turned and said, “Send forth legions to Angel Island.  Allow the three to come through, but instead attack Angel Island, and make sure this time, that that pesky blue hedgehog and deformed fox don’t activate the system.”

    Another mutated echidna walked into the room, Feldmort’s number one, Zelias.  Feldmort held his clenched fist out, and Zelias opened his palm, into which Feldmort dropped two computer chips.  He turned to Zelias and said, “Take Sonic and Miles down.  Seeing as Hinsei was a success, perhaps they can do us their bidding until the end.  At all costs, have the Master delivered to me.”  He then handed Zelias two remote controls, and said, “Soon, we shall finish what we started, and become pure and whole again.”

    Zelias grinned evilly, pulling his hood on, showing only his red glowing eyes.  He took off down the hall, ready to lead the attack on Angel Island, even as Shadow, Knuckles and Amy began their trip to rescue Hidama.

    Alone in his cell, racked with pain, Hidama let his tears flow openly, his cries of anguish bringing the other prisoners heartache.  He had been there for all of them, cheering them up since the beginning, and never had they been able to help him in return.  They listened with tears falling from their own eyes, as he cried, “Knuckles, oh Knuckles, my poor brother.  I’ve failed you!  I promised you I’d come back to you!  Look how I’ve wronged you, shamed our family, oh Knuckles, dear brother, do not stray to save me!  Save yourself please, don’t lose your life and love to me…please, no…”

    He wept like this, pulling himself up to the barred windows, only to see an army of thousands of mutant soldiers ready for another assault on Angel Island, with only the security system, and Sonic and Tails to save the Master Emerald.  Given enough warning this should be enough to allow them to escape with the Master unscathed, but Hidama knew the cunning of the enemy.  He knew that not even Shadow could prepare for this ill, and he wept.  “Please Knuckles, don’t!  Don’t let my failure destroy everything you have!  Just let me die…it is a just punishment for my failure, my shame…my dishonor,” he cried.

    The brother and sister foxes were in tears with the rest of the prisoners.  All his time there, even as an eight-year-old, he had done his best to help the others in their misery.  “Oh Jacob, I wish we could help poor Hidama.  Look at all he’s done for us, if only we could help him and his brother.”

    Jacob looked at his sister, and said, “I know Olivia, but…I don’t know.  You know when Lord Feldmort uses that controller that he turns into a frightful monster.  If only we could help him.  But what can we do?”

    That was the question burning in every prisoner’s mind.  They could only weep silently for the fallen guardian, as his cries of anguish hurt more than death.  Death would have been welcome for Hidama, as his anguish made him loathe life to the point where he didn’t care if he died, just as long as his dear brother was safe and secure.

    Hidama’s strength broke, as he had lost much blood, and couldn’t move without great pain.  He fell to the floor, landing hard; sickness came back to plague him, and as he threw up what little he was fed on the floor, he cried silently, barely breathing, using that breath to pray.  “Please, Master Shadow; I told you when we were captive together to not bring him here.  Please…why do you defy me!?” Hidama cried.

    Everyone in the prison gasped at this sudden rise in his tone.  He shouted, “I told you not to get him involved Shadow!  Dammit!  I told you to leave him out of it, and now even his sweetheart is coming.  Damn you Shadow!  I told you no!”  He was brought to tears and cried, “Why…?  I don’t deserve rescue, especially with the last hope for the Master Emerald being jeopardized in the process…no…”

    The prison fell silent, as the war cries of the army rang clear, putting fear in the hearts of the prisoners.  The two guards returned, and dragged Hidama out in chains.  Jacob held his weeping sister close as he was taken out.  Olivia cried, “Oh Jacob, what are they gonna do to him?”

    Tears rolled down Jacob’s face, but he didn’t weep, saying, “I don’t think we’re gonna see him again, Olivia.  They’re gonna turn him into a killing machine.  All we can do now…is pray.”

    Hidama was dragged into another chamber, and Jacob’s words were confirmed.  With a sneer and a laugh, Feldmort turned on the controller, and Hidama’s weeping ceased.  His eyes flashed red, as his mind and body were ensnared by the enemy’s power.  Feldmort now controlled Hidama’s every move and thought; Feldmort laughed, “Now we have reached a point of cooperation, Hinsei.  You shall do my bidding, and I command you, to kill, whoever stands against me, and my army.”

    Hidama, unable to act of his own will, said in a devilish voice, “Yes Master, I’ll slay whoever seeks to supplant you.”  He bowed low, and snarled with an angry growl.  Feldmort sent him off to prepare for battle, as this control had suddenly brought him to full strength.  A guard asked, “Master Feldmort, his body his beaten with worn and wear, and yet he fights with strength incalculable.  How is this?”

    Feldmort laughed, “You pathetic ingrate.  He has no control over himself, he cannot think, feel, or act freely, and thus as long as I control him, he can do whatever I wish.  In addition, every time he takes a blow, his power will increase, so the more he is attacked, the more his rage builds, and the more powerful and terrible he becomes.  Those insolent fools have no chance.  The Master Emerald…is mine.”

    Master Feldmort laughed with such power and evil that it echoed and reverberated all throughout his domain, putting fear into the hearts of those within it.  Hidama may have been under the mutant king’s control, but inside, he had something they did not, which would be his savior.  His heart was pure, untainted, not evil, and thus free from full control.  Miles away, Shadow knew this in his heart, and so he continued, ignoring Hidama’s plea to leave him to death.

    It was more than revenge for Shadow.  He was imprisoned with Hidama when he was sixteen, and had promised to tell Knuckles he was alive, even though Hidama had begged him not to come save him.  He did not want to risk the Master Emerald’s capture, or his brother’s life, at a chance to be free.  This moved Shadow, and even in defiance of Hidama’s will he knew that Knuckles had the love and desire to save his brother.  So miles away, the three had began the journey, and as Shadow assumed, Knuckles had the desire now more than ever, to rescue his poor brother.

    Shadow led the way, and as they took their first steps into the uncharted wilderness, grounds only Shadow would travel unafraid, Knuckles and Amy followed him, walking together hand in hand.  Amy looked at Knuckles, seeing the look of determination in his eyes.  She was worried for him, but knew he was strong, and would be okay.  Knuckles stared straight ahead, keeping a good hold on Amy’s hand, and all he could think about was his brother.  He thought, “I’m coming Hidama.  We’ll be together soon, just like you said, all those years ago.”

Description
"Brotherly Love"
By: Jade Lightning, a.k.a. Inuyashas-hanyougirl
Chapter 2: "Purity of the Heart"

    Miles away from Angel Island, the stronghold of the strange enemy was wreathed in dark clouds and a dreary nature.  Deep within the bowels of the dark castle, down deep in the underground dungeons, dark and desolate, a jail guard was performing his rounds.  Masked in his black cloak, only red eyes visible to those around him, he walked slowly up the row of cells, snickering and snarling at the helpless prisoners, mostly those who fought against them, only to meet failure.

    In one cell, two fox teens, about thirteen and fourteen, a brother and sister sat in their cell, watching with sad eyes as the guard walked towards the end of the row.  The eldest one, the brother, whispered to his sister, “He’s going to get the echidna.  Something bad is about to happen.”

    The sister said, “Poor Hinsei…hasn’t he suffered enough?  What are they doing to him now?”

    “…He’s a son of the Master Emerald’s Guardian…the time has come.  They’re ready to take out the last survivor, and take the emerald for their own needs, and they’re gonna use Hinsei, to take him out,” the brother explained.

    Then, they fell silent, as an audible, “Shh!” came from a few cells down.  Two guards in black cloaks with red eyes came forward, side by side, using chains to lead the beaten prisoner, Hinsei Hidama, himself tied up in chains, hanging his head low, blood dripping down his face from his most resent beating.  It was hard to believe this tortured and beaten soul had the blood of a guardian flowing through his veins, and yet there he was, humiliated in his inability to set things right following his capture.

    Hinsei Hidama floated in and out of the mind control his persecutors held over him, and this walk to the throne room of the captain of the enemy, was one time his mind flowed free.  Twelve years of beatings, humiliation, and every form of torture imaginable had broken his spirit, his heart of fire.  Yet the only reason he never gave up hope, rested in about the only memory he had, that remained untainted, which was his baby brother Knuckles, whom years ago, he promised he’d return, and until he did, he wouldn’t give up hope, no matter how hard the torture.

    “Come on prisoner, your time is comin’.  You’ll finally prove your worth; prove t’us that you ain’t completely worthless.  Ooh look at Master Hidama, the proud and honorable guardian.  If yer so strong, free yerself guardian.  Yer weak like yer pathetic father, some proud guardian.  Ah hah!” one of the captains sneered.

    Hidama could only remain silent during these taunts, as he had for the past twelve years.  He ignored the cruel words, the saliva spit in his face, the beatings with ropes coated with sharp glass, refusing to cooperate ever since his capture.  Yet after all this mental, emotional, and physical anguish, he began to believe these cold proclamations.  He was a failure, not even half of what the son of a guardian should be.  He was nothing but a failure, unable to do anything to help his baby brother, who was the only thing that kept his hope alive, and give him the desire to live and continue.

    Dragged into the quarters of the same creature that captured him, the leader gazed coldly at the poor creature.  His red eyes stared at him, as he stood on his knees, hanging his head, blood still dripping from his brow, and his breath hard to come by.  He pulled back his hood, revealing him to be what appeared to be a mutant echidna or hedgehog of some kind.  He walked up to Hidama, kicking him hard in the side, and waiting a few prolonged minutes for Hidama to pick himself up again.

    “You, Hinsei, I told you years ago, that I slew your sorry excuse for a guardian father, earning me the right to control you.  Yet you lied, you ingrate.  You denied he had a second son, and now, you leave me no choice, but to send you to slay him.  Then the Master Emerald will be mine for the taking, once you relinquish to me its power.  Think Hinsei, all you must do is tell me of its charms, and I’ll release you, and you and your brother may be free from its burden.  It is what started all this after all,” the creature said.

    Hidama, as weak as he was, picked up his head, his sapphire eyes dull but proud, and he spoke, “Master Feldmort, for years I’ve suffered agony that not even your minions should ever live to bear, and I should be broken by now.  Yet it is not the Master Emerald that keeps my hope alive, it is a promise I made to my brother, and intend to keep.  I told him I’d come back to him, and indeed I will, blessed by you or no.  The Master shall not fall into your hands either, and I’d pray you not mess with the sons of the fallen guardian.”

    Master Feldmort laughed evilly and said, “Stupid, stupid, Hinsei.  I relished every second of your father’s agony, and only in the prospect of further gain do I relinquish the joy of slaying your brother, to you, Hinsei.  You shall slay your brother, then, and only in the afterlife, shall you ever, see him with free eyes again.”

    A fire appeared in Hidama’s eyes and flashed cold.  He shouted, rising to his feet, “You’re nothing Feldmort, nothing!  I shall see you dead and my brother alive with free eyes.  Listen to me when I say this!  You’ve already destroyed my clan, but my brother still lives, and I will not finish what you’ve started!  Ever!”

    Feldmort sneered and gave Hidama a swift kick to his chest, knocking him into the wall.  Reeling with pain, Hidama tried in vain to rise to his feet, as he had become accustomed to this treatment.  Feldmort held him down his spiked boots, digging into his skin and said, “You will honor me, Hinsei; you are foolish, dimwitted, and stupid beyond measure or desire.  I will ensure you not only kill your brother, but destroy his body until nothing is left for that pathetic girl of his to cry over.  I control your very essence, and you shall do as I say.”

    Hidama looked up at him, cringing as he lost more blood, pain pulsating through his body.  He looked Feldmort in the eye, the fire in his sapphire eyes waxing low and pale, for he knew that Feldmort was beyond his strength to defeat.  He hung his head, shutting his eyes, as Feldmort sneered and laughed at him, kicking and spitting on him once more.  Hidama was picked up by the two guards and dragged back to his cell in humiliation.  As the laughs and snickers from the mutant enemies drowned everything out, Hidama hid his tears, thinking only of his brother, the only thing that kept him alive, and how to return to him.

    After Hidama was thrown into his concrete cell once more, the prison guards went back to Master Feldmort’s chambers.  They too removed their hoods, and like Feldmort, were mutated creatures.  The entire enemy consisted of mutated echidnas and hedgehogs, who sought to use the Master Emerald’s power to rid themselves of their mutant bodies, and become pure again.  The first guard spoke, “Feh, that mind control chip we implanted in his neck will be too much for him to combat…and once him and his goody-goody brother are done away with, we shall be the master race.”

    Feldmort glared at the guard and said, “Humph, indeed.  His brother is on his way to save him, with that pest Shadow the Hedgehog.  I don’t like that hedgehog; he has strange power.  The echidna’s girlfriend is coming as well…we should kill her to ensure there’s no chance for the line to survive, but maybe she’ll sweeten the deal.  She’ll bring Knuckles to his knees, and once Hinsei slays Knuckles, we’ll destroy blasted Hinsei, and be rid of those durn echidnas forever.  That pansy Amy Rose shall make things get interesting.”  A sneer came across Feldmort’s face.  He turned and said, “Send forth legions to Angel Island.  Allow the three to come through, but instead attack Angel Island, and make sure this time, that that pesky blue hedgehog and deformed fox don’t activate the system.”

    Another mutated echidna walked into the room, Feldmort’s number one, Zelias.  Feldmort held his clenched fist out, and Zelias opened his palm, into which Feldmort dropped two computer chips.  He turned to Zelias and said, “Take Sonic and Miles down.  Seeing as Hinsei was a success, perhaps they can do us their bidding until the end.  At all costs, have the Master delivered to me.”  He then handed Zelias two remote controls, and said, “Soon, we shall finish what we started, and become pure and whole again.”

    Zelias grinned evilly, pulling his hood on, showing only his red glowing eyes.  He took off down the hall, ready to lead the attack on Angel Island, even as Shadow, Knuckles and Amy began their trip to rescue Hidama.

    Alone in his cell, racked with pain, Hidama let his tears flow openly, his cries of anguish bringing the other prisoners heartache.  He had been there for all of them, cheering them up since the beginning, and never had they been able to help him in return.  They listened with tears falling from their own eyes, as he cried, “Knuckles, oh Knuckles, my poor brother.  I’ve failed you!  I promised you I’d come back to you!  Look how I’ve wronged you, shamed our family, oh Knuckles, dear brother, do not stray to save me!  Save yourself please, don’t lose your life and love to me…please, no…”

    He wept like this, pulling himself up to the barred windows, only to see an army of thousands of mutant soldiers ready for another assault on Angel Island, with only the security system, and Sonic and Tails to save the Master Emerald.  Given enough warning this should be enough to allow them to escape with the Master unscathed, but Hidama knew the cunning of the enemy.  He knew that not even Shadow could prepare for this ill, and he wept.  “Please Knuckles, don’t!  Don’t let my failure destroy everything you have!  Just let me die…it is a just punishment for my failure, my shame…my dishonor,” he cried.

    The brother and sister foxes were in tears with the rest of the prisoners.  All his time there, even as an eight-year-old, he had done his best to help the others in their misery.  “Oh Jacob, I wish we could help poor Hidama.  Look at all he’s done for us, if only we could help him and his brother.”

    Jacob looked at his sister, and said, “I know Olivia, but…I don’t know.  You know when Lord Feldmort uses that controller that he turns into a frightful monster.  If only we could help him.  But what can we do?”

    That was the question burning in every prisoner’s mind.  They could only weep silently for the fallen guardian, as his cries of anguish hurt more than death.  Death would have been welcome for Hidama, as his anguish made him loathe life to the point where he didn’t care if he died, just as long as his dear brother was safe and secure.

    Hidama’s strength broke, as he had lost much blood, and couldn’t move without great pain.  He fell to the floor, landing hard; sickness came back to plague him, and as he threw up what little he was fed on the floor, he cried silently, barely breathing, using that breath to pray.  “Please, Master Shadow; I told you when we were captive together to not bring him here.  Please…why do you defy me!?” Hidama cried.

    Everyone in the prison gasped at this sudden rise in his tone.  He shouted, “I told you not to get him involved Shadow!  Dammit!  I told you to leave him out of it, and now even his sweetheart is coming.  Damn you Shadow!  I told you no!”  He was brought to tears and cried, “Why…?  I don’t deserve rescue, especially with the last hope for the Master Emerald being jeopardized in the process…no…”

    The prison fell silent, as the war cries of the army rang clear, putting fear in the hearts of the prisoners.  The two guards returned, and dragged Hidama out in chains.  Jacob held his weeping sister close as he was taken out.  Olivia cried, “Oh Jacob, what are they gonna do to him?”

    Tears rolled down Jacob’s face, but he didn’t weep, saying, “I don’t think we’re gonna see him again, Olivia.  They’re gonna turn him into a killing machine.  All we can do now…is pray.”

    Hidama was dragged into another chamber, and Jacob’s words were confirmed.  With a sneer and a laugh, Feldmort turned on the controller, and Hidama’s weeping ceased.  His eyes flashed red, as his mind and body were ensnared by the enemy’s power.  Feldmort now controlled Hidama’s every move and thought; Feldmort laughed, “Now we have reached a point of cooperation, Hinsei.  You shall do my bidding, and I command you, to kill, whoever stands against me, and my army.”

    Hidama, unable to act of his own will, said in a devilish voice, “Yes Master, I’ll slay whoever seeks to supplant you.”  He bowed low, and snarled with an angry growl.  Feldmort sent him off to prepare for battle, as this control had suddenly brought him to full strength.  A guard asked, “Master Feldmort, his body his beaten with worn and wear, and yet he fights with strength incalculable.  How is this?”

    Feldmort laughed, “You pathetic ingrate.  He has no control over himself, he cannot think, feel, or act freely, and thus as long as I control him, he can do whatever I wish.  In addition, every time he takes a blow, his power will increase, so the more he is attacked, the more his rage builds, and the more powerful and terrible he becomes.  Those insolent fools have no chance.  The Master Emerald…is mine.”

    Master Feldmort laughed with such power and evil that it echoed and reverberated all throughout his domain, putting fear into the hearts of those within it.  Hidama may have been under the mutant king’s control, but inside, he had something they did not, which would be his savior.  His heart was pure, untainted, not evil, and thus free from full control.  Miles away, Shadow knew this in his heart, and so he continued, ignoring Hidama’s plea to leave him to death.

    It was more than revenge for Shadow.  He was imprisoned with Hidama when he was sixteen, and had promised to tell Knuckles he was alive, even though Hidama had begged him not to come save him.  He did not want to risk the Master Emerald’s capture, or his brother’s life, at a chance to be free.  This moved Shadow, and even in defiance of Hidama’s will he knew that Knuckles had the love and desire to save his brother.  So miles away, the three had began the journey, and as Shadow assumed, Knuckles had the desire now more than ever, to rescue his poor brother.

    Shadow led the way, and as they took their first steps into the uncharted wilderness, grounds only Shadow would travel unafraid, Knuckles and Amy followed him, walking together hand in hand.  Amy looked at Knuckles, seeing the look of determination in his eyes.  She was worried for him, but knew he was strong, and would be okay.  Knuckles stared straight ahead, keeping a good hold on Amy’s hand, and all he could think about was his brother.  He thought, “I’m coming Hidama.  We’ll be together soon, just like you said, all those years ago.”