Last Boarding Call

[Mathias 'Slick' Greyer]

[How many times do I have to point out this is a DROP SHIP not an escape pod! XD If it were an escape pod, even a space ships escape pod I doubt very much it would be able to operate as it has been described thus far XD]

Slick took hold of Jack's hand, grateful that he didn't have to keep swimming for two any longer and even more to climb aboard the ship and to safety at last. Slick couched out a few times, clearing his throat of whatever water and mucus in his throat that had built up from the strain and exertion of the swim he'd just made saving Sonic. "Well, that was fun. We'll have to do that again sometime, Hedgehog." Slick grinned smugly at Sonic.

"You alright, Sir?" Cutter asked, quickly making her way over to her commander out of pure instinct then disregard for anyone else.

"Aw, come on Cutter, you really think a little swim is going to get the better of me?" Just then the massive geyser of water erupted from the sea, spewing the phase particles out with it.

"Yeah but that might!" Boomer shouted out in alarm, pointing at a hole that one of the particles had sliced right through. "If those specks do that ta metal, I'd sure hate ta see what happens to flesh, mates."

Slick, needless to say, took the hint. "Tails, get us out of here! NOW!!" Before anything more could happen to their ship they would quickly gain altitude and start heading back to shore as quickly as possible.[/color]

[Sonic]

"I'll remember that the next time I have to storm an underwater fortress," Sonic responded to Greyer's smug look but quickly turned all attention to his own friends in the drop ship( There. Happy now? XD ). He nodded to Tails after Slick gave the order to move and then went to ascertain his fellow hedgehogs: Amy and Shadow. The girl didn't look like she was too phased by the person standing near her, which probably meant she didn't really believe her own eyes. The guy... well, he looked grumpy.

"I was almost afraid you were going to make me the only one to come back up for the second time. Glad to see you've sped up since then, Shadow." The blue blur wasn't exactly worried about speaking the words out loud even though he knew some of the people here were GUN. Who knew what their official final standing was on the terrorist-turned-hero was anybody's guess, but the idea that people were going to go on not recognizing him for long wasn't that hopeful. Besides, what were they gonna try to do right now? In the meantime the hero turned his head towards the time-traveling turtle and gave him a small thumbs up, held close to his body. "Nice save there."

There was nothing for not going crazy when you could be turned into Swiss cheese at any moment like pretending everything was cool. Heck, that described most of Sonic's attitude towards danger anyway.

[Links Tyrell]

[Feel free to skip Sarath.]

[Amy Rose]

"You!" Shadow exclaimed as he turned towards Amy, completely forgetting his savior Tutley. "You're that girl from the ARK! The one obsessed with Sonic, right? The one... that helped me remember..." for a second Shadow's eyes seemed distant, like he was in some kind of revere, but it only lasted an instant and he shook his head to clear his thoughts. "What are you doing here? Does that mean that blue nuisance is here too?"

Letting go of Jack, my attention finally snapped away from Sonic and the damage to the ship as I heard that almost long forgotten, rough voice. I couldn't think straight for ages. My mind floated in suspense from the shock of seeing Shadow the Hedgehog, drenched from the swim but otherwise very much alive, right in front of my eyes. I nearly choked on my own spit.

"S-Shadow! But I thought-You fell and-"

I paused and bit my lip, collecting my thoughts.

"I came here to stop the fleet of ships with the others! What are you doing here? And for that matter, how'd you even survive? I thought! I thought you were gone! We all did!"

I probably would have retaliated to the "blue nuisance" and "one obsessed with Sonic" comments if circumstances had been less shocking. But let's face it, everyone thought Shadow had died over two years ago. In the Earth's atmosphere no less! I was so surprised, I almost didn't catch Sonic's comments or Slick's orders.

[Shadow]

Shadow turned to spare a glance at the blue blur and he almost smiled."Hmph. And you've gotten slower. Since when did I get out before you? If I recall, it's always been just the opposite. Tsk tsk."

The black hedgehog turned away from his blue rival to face Amy again, who seemed shocked to see him, which didn't exactly surprise him considering the abrupt nature of his return. "Suffice it to say I survived. If I give an explanation, it's not going to be on a cramped alien dropship."

By now Shadow had noticed that more than a few passengers were wearing GUN outfits. That fact, combined with Amy's statement of why she was here, pretty much answered his questions. It seemed that this was a GUN strike team or something that had been sent to take out the fleet, most likely to accompany and aid the air force that had, not so long ago, been engaged in ferocious aerial combat with the now-destroyed alien ships. That would explain why Sarath blasted his own ship, too, Shadow thought to himself. These guys must have been on their ship, and they escaped in this thing.

Finally Shadow turned to Tutley, his savior. "So then, you were the one who saved me, eh?" The black hedgehog scoffed at the turtle. "Hmph, you certainly don't look like much. You probably only grabbed me because you thought I was Sonic, your "hero". Pah. He didn't particularly mind the fact that the hedgehog he was scorning was right behind him, partially because he knew the blue blur wouldn't take it personally and partially because he didn't care. "You did, didn't you? I still don't understand how you idiots can mistake me for the likes of him."

He didn't want to admit it, but he really was grateful to the turtle for saving him, and the overly cold manner was merely a cover to hid those feelings that he never liked to show. It would probably be evident to Sonic, and probably even moreso to Amy, the only person present who had seen his soft side, but it would be amusing to see what the poor turtle would make of it.

[Jack-the-Hedgie]

[Feel free to say something if this is too much. There's a lot of stuff going on, that I wasn't sure how to prioritize]

Jack shook the fatigue and pain from his arms. Pulling four fully grown people a good twenty or thirty feet was a lot harder then one would think. Had Amy not given him a hand, Jack would likely have pulled himself out of the ship before getting close to helping anyone, something he gives a soft "Thanks" to the pink hedgehog for.

The geyser of water erupted from the ocean, hurling debris through the air. The hedgehog ducked his head as he watched parts of the drop ship get punched through. He only looked up from the floor when they were a short distance in the air, and he could see that nearly everyone was chatting amongst themselves like nothing was going on.

"You're that girl from the ARK! The one obsessed with Sonic, right? The one... that helped me remember... What are you doing here? Does that mean that blue nuisance is here too?"

"S-Shadow! But I thought-You fell and-"

"You three all know each other?" Jack asked as he stood, looking at the three hedgehogs. This was likely a tense moment, judging by Amys reaction. Still, the overwhelming curiosity wouldn't leave him alone until he asked.

"Hmph, you certainly don't look like much. You probably only grabbed me because you thought I was Sonic, your "hero". Pah. You did, didn't you? I still don't understand how you idiots can mistake me for the likes of him."

This statement towards Tutley caused Jack to chuckle sheepishly, no more innocent of that crime, himself. He muttered, partially in Tutleys defense. "If it's any consolation, there is a slight resemblance... From thirty feet away, and up to your neck in water, even I had trouble..."

That's a logical reason to make a mistake like that. Right?

[Edited slightly to clarify some details I missed.]

[Sonic]

"You should learn to play nice," Sonic said while smirking. Jack didn't seem to put-off by the black furry, so hopefully Tutley wouldn't be either. Still, the blue blur himself was dying to know how exactly the fellow speedster had managed to escape such certain death with no chaos power left. Apparently Sonic had been right about what he'd said during the battle with the Finalhazard.... Shadow really was unstoppable.

Gerald's greatest creation: The ultimate, immortal life-form. Hopefully no one would need to find out if he could survive these deadly particles. Speaking of which...

"Shadow," Sonic began anew, his look and voice suddenly more serious. It seemed that Sonic had some insight on his mind that was getting to him, ever since the explosion had rocketed up from the depths, in fact. "You were the last person with that Sarath guy right? What happened to him?"

[Shadow]

Shadow shot Jack a look that could burn the wings off of flies. "Hmph, who asked you? Besides, it doesn't take a lot to notice black and red fur in broad daylight, even at thirty feet. Unless you're blind or stupid..."

His attention was diverted from further retort by Sonic's question. "You were the last person with that Sarath guy right? What happened to him?"
Shadow turned to glance at the blue hedgehog before turning his back again. "Last I saw of him he flooded the bridge with him in it to drown me. I got out with Chaos Control, and as far as I know or care he's drowned in his own ship." Shadow grit his teeth and clenched his fists at the memory of the alien's smug look as he'd given the ship that final command. Is it possible he had yet another backup plan? Could he have survived? "And if he somehow survived... I'll personally tear him apart."

[Sonic]

Sonic's gloved hands rested at his sides as Shadow turned away from him but answered nonetheless.

'That engine room sure didn't look like it was ready to blow like that when I passed through it,' the hero thought to himself. 'And the guy I traded punches with before definitely didn't seem like the "I'm taking you down with me" type. You just might get that chance, Shadow.'

Outwardly Sonic just shrugged and shook his head, smiling at his black rival's display. Honestly, Shadow had never been quite like this as an enemy. Somehow he was even more intolerable as a friend. But, the blue blur could suppose, the last two years could have been enough to change a guy. If only Sonic knew that how the last two years went for him was exactly the opposite of Shadow's current attitude problem.

'Well, you'll have to beat me to him first,' he concluded with a certain inner smugness before turning away himself to walk towards Tails' side.

"That's a pretty nice trick with the arms," Sonic mentioned with honesty as he passed by Jack. "Hey Tails, where are we bringing this thing down? I need to get some solid ground under my feet after all this."

[Amy Rose]

The surprise of Shadow's appearance slowly wore off as I watched he and Sonic converse over the situation. It was no surprise to me the disgruntled tone Shadow set in his words. Although I wasn't crazy about what he said to Tutley and Jack, deep down, I knew he wasn't as tough as he acted. He cared. I don't know what caused it. I don't think I ever will. But that was Shadow for you.

From what I picked up from their conversation, they had both boarded the leader's ship. Sarath, was it? I had had a run in with all sorts while following Sonic: a mad scientist, a god, an ultimate lifeform prototype. The list could go on. But the path of destruction Sarath had left rivaled Robotnik's Egg Carrier. What reason did he have for invading us though? But it seemed that was a question that may as well be left unanswered. I kind of hoped so anyway, but deep down, the possibility of him surviving lingered.

I nodded at Jack's question, but at the moment I was more concerned about the situation at hand. Reminiscing could be saved for later.

"Wouldn't killing himself defeat the purpose of invading our home?"

My gaze drifted to the threshold where I could still see the giant body of water below us, serving as the tomb for Sarath and whoever else was unlucky enough to be on that ship. I gulped as the thought that Sonic and Shadow could, too, have found their resting place there. It was a scary thought. Sonic always scared me like that. With all the risky business and close calls, you'd think I'd be desensitized by now, but there I was thinking about what could have happened.

But they had made it out alive and that's what mattered, right? I looked back at Sonic as he walked over to Tails. I wanted to talk with him. I mean I hadn't really had the chance to for a long time and no doubt he'd be on his way as soon as we touched down. But how do you start again? 'Where have you been all this time? I've missed you!' Too desperate. 'So, what have you been up to these past two years? I don't know... Sounds too...' Why was I overcomplicating things?

So, I stood there in thought. Wondering if everything was truly over and what to say to Sonic.