There were still four other chaos emeralds out in the world to find. Currently, Shadow had possession of the green, dark blue, and yellow chaos emeralds. Only Shadow would be able to find the others...

~Flashback~

Shadow looked off in the direction of the sun and seemed to be concentrating hard on something... He had a dark, serious expression on his face. After a short moment, he turned to you. "There are two chaos emeralds in the same location..., but it's a little dangerous. It'll also be the perfect place to hide..."

"What do you mean by that? It's either safe or it isn't!" you told him.

Shadow shook his head. "I meant that we're going to a place with lots of people. Which means that they will either reveal us or conceal us."

"So..., you're saying we could blend into the crowd or get found out in the crowd..."

"Precisely. Which is why we need to be very careful when we go... (Y/N)..., I will rely on you a lot for this...," he admitted with a slightly worried expression. "You're a human and you won't be discovered. If I go with you, G.U.N. will find us." He placed a hand on your shoulder and had a semi-serious expression. "You're always pestering me to take you with me! Now you'll get the chance."

You smirked at him playfully. "Pestering? Me...? I would never!"

Shadow cast a glance down at the cast you made for him. "Besides..., I wanted to make it all up to you. Also, this is much safer than going inside an active volcano. (Y/N), I need you... We'll only be able to bring your sister back by taking advantage of our skills and abilities. You won't be alone. I'll be with you in the Phantom Ruby and I'll be able to talk to you. However, the rest will be in your hands."

Something about hearing him tell you that you were needed made you feel special. Shadow never needed you for something before... You nodded to him. "Whatever it is..., I'll do my best..., Shadow."

~Back to the Present!~

What he had said earlier seemed like ages ago. The chaos energy he sensed was coming from a small city. It wasn't as large as the last city you went to, but it was large enough that finding the chaos emerald was going to be a challenge. Not to mention, anyone in that city could have it. What really made your hunt a challenge was the summer festival that was going on. That only made things even more crowded and complicated.

As you wandered around the festival in search of any large, glowing gems, you noticed how low the sun was getting. You stopped in the middle of a crowd watching a street performance to talk to Shadow. They would be too preoccupied watching that to pay any mind to you talking to a glowing ruby, right?

"Shadow, I don't know if we'll be able to find a place to stay tonight... There are so many people!" you exclaimed as you looked around at the sheer masses of people congregated in the streets. "This city isn't big enough for everyone!"

It's okay. We'll find a place. With or without a hotel.

"We can't just ask random people to let us stay with them! The sun is fairly close to setting. I doubt we'll be able to find the chaos emeralds today. Not to mention, you're a hedgehog! Nobody's going to feel comfortable with you in their house!" you shouted to him in protest. It struck you as just a little odd that you were shouting at the Phantom Ruby.

You just leave that to me. I only want you to be concerned about you and the chaos emeralds.

"Well..., I am really hungry... and thirsty...," you admitted to him. You felt starved and missed your precious mangos from when you were on the island.

You should have said so earlier, (y/n)!

"I didn't want to disappoint you... You said that you needed me..."

I do..., but I don't need you passing out from hunger and exhaustion. You need to take a break.

"I don't have any of their currency, though... How am I supposed to buy something to--?"

"LADY! Hey!! Yes, you with the giant ruby!"

Wait. 'You with the giant ruby'? That was you! In confusion, you glanced up to see the street performers pointing at you with enormous grins on their faces. People in the audience started clapping and staring at you with admiration. What did you do??

"Um... What?"

The street performer leader raised his hat to you in greeting. There was a brown, bushy mustache on his face, he had short brown hair, and he was extending his white, gloved hand to you and he looked like he was wearing the bright red uniform of a ringmaster in a circus. "Why, you've been chosen for our act, young lady! Would you like to become a star?"

*sigh...* Magicians...

You whispered to Shadow in terror. "What's a... magician, Shadow...?"

Before you could get a response, another young man who looked about your age danced in front of you charmingly. He had short blond hair, blue eyes, and was almost half a foot taller than you. A part of you couldn't help but admire the lively gleam in his eyes and the bright optimism in his face. He was definitely nothing at all like your stoic, hedgehog companion. "Come on! It's loads of fun! Don't be shy! Get into the fun of the festival!" His words were... very compelling.

Don't let him pressure you... Just say no!

"I... um..." It was true that you wanted to know what the magicians wanted you for, but you also knew that Shadow and the chaos emerald and food were more important. You frantically tried to think up an excuse. "I'm totally exhausted and I was about to go get some food... You don't want a tired volunteer, Mr. Magician," you explained proud that you were able to stand up to them and say no.

The boy in front of you seemed to perk up a little. "That's okay. Join our act and we'll buy you something! Whatever you'd like! Dinner will be on us! It's a festival, after all!" he chirped.

The older, lead magician didn't seem to approve of how generous the younger magician was being, but he didn't say anything. You could feel your stomach grumble... "If that's the case..."

"You'll do it??" the boy asked excitedly.

"Yes..."

"Fantastic! You won't regret it. I promise." With those words, he pulled you onto their set with props and items lying around all over the place. You concluded that this was towards the end of the show.

The audience cheered you onto the little stage they had set up, and the younger magician instructed you to stand in a small circle on the stage. He then turned to the audience. "For our final trick tonight, we'll make this young lady transform into a mighty beast! Behold!" he shouted as he held up a giant, glowing stone over the crowd. It was a gleaming white color.

That's... a chaos emerald!

"Shadow, he said he's going to turn me into a beast!" you whispered frantically to Shadow in the Phantom Ruby. The idea of becoming a terrifying beast didn't appeal to you.

I doubt that they'll actually transform you into a beast, (y/n). What really matters is that they have what we're looking for!

The young magician walked over to you and saw you holding the Phantom Ruby in your hands. He smiled warmly at you. "Young miss, I advise that you remain calm. No harm will come to you! I promise. Also, I need you to look into this jewel for me," he explained soothingly.

"Why? What's in...?" The instant you stared at the chaos emerald, you started to feel tired. The dizzying spiral pattern you saw inside the jewel took over your mind and you couldn't focus on what was happening anymore. All you could see was the spiral pattern and the charming smile of the young magician before you completely blanked out of reality.

(Y/N)!

The older magician took the Phantom Ruby from your hands and showed it to the crowd. "Inside this ruby, there is a creature which none of you have seen before! A beast of black and red! Don't worry! He won't bite! Probably...," he announced to the crowd. His final word was muffled by his mustache.

WAKE HER UP THIS INSTANT!! (Y/N)!!

Shadow's voice didn't reach the ears of the audience. The enormous cheering and applauding of the audience made any attempt Shadow made completely futile. Smiling wider than before, the young magician held up the Phantom Ruby and the chaos emerald together.

"Once I say the magic words, real magic will happen right before your eyes! Are you ready?!" he demanded playfully to the audience. They screamed excitedly in response. "All right! Stand back!" he announced as a final warning to the crowd. "Phantom... CONTROL!"

All at once, the two gems flared to life before the crowd and a blinding light swallowed up the stage, the magicians, and all of the props. Electrical zaps were bouncing to and fro in sharp, jagged movements from the jewels to the sky. A millisecond after the grand display of light, there was a sharp crash! The electricity continued to fizzle and spark for another moment before the light finally started to subside. Sure enough, rather than your entranced body standing on the stage, there was a black and red hedgehog in your place. Shadow stood completely bewildered in front of the crowd at whatever had just happened mere seconds ago.

"Ladies and gentlemen! The beast has awoken!" the older magician announced in a loud voice that boomed throughout the marketplace.

By now, the whole town had come to see what the raucous was about and the whole town was there staring down Shadow with amazement. Thunderous applause arose from the crowd once more and Shadow ducked out of the way of the spotlight and stormed over to the magicians with a stern glare on his face.

"What did you do?!" he demanded sharply.

The younger magician quickly pressed his finger to Shadow's lips in a shushing motion. "We'll explain everything, Shadow. Just play your part here, okay? You're going to be in one heck of a show!"

"I don't have time to--!"

"You want to see the girl and the chaos emeralds, right??" the young magician asked after giving him a slight nudge with his elbow.

Shadow flattened his ears with annoyance. He would have to take orders from THESE GUYS. Suspicious carnival magicians!! With a long, agitated huff, he slowly nodded. Every cell in his body screamed in protest, but he had no choice if he wanted to see you safe. "What do you want...?"

The older magician turned to the audience once more and pointed to Shadow. "What do you suggest he do, everybody??"

All at once, the audience exploded into suggestions! A person in the front row of the audience screamed for Shadow to do a flip. He flipped effortlessly. Multiple times, actually! The increasingly interested crowd commanded for the splits! He did the splits with a somewhat bored expression. Another suggestion came for him to square dance with one of the audience members with the magicians shouting rhyming instructions in tune to 'Turkey in the Straw'. He wasn't happy about it, but he did it. It was also fairly difficult considering that his arm was still injured.

After another twenty minutes of seemingly random requests, a voice shouted above the others something that made Shadow's ears perk up.

"DO THE GLOBE OF DEATH!!"

At the suggestion, the audience applauded again and started chanting the words 'Globe of Death' over and over. Shadow looked slightly concerned.

The older magician seemed to have expected this request from the crowd because he had a smug expression on his face. "So they have finally requested the deadly Globe of Death stunt... Are you ready, Barrett?"

Before Shadow could comprehend what was happening, he saw the younger magician (Barrett) mount a motorcycle and place a black motorcycle helmet on his head. "You'd better believe I'm ready. This is my signature stunt!"

"Globe of Death!! Globe of Death!!"

The chants of the audience unnerved Shadow and he stared in astonishment when Barrett handed him a motorcycle helmet that was custom made to be on his head and not compress his quills. Something about the helmet seemed familiar...

"Hey..., this is my helmet from the Ark!" Shadow exclaimed in surprise.

Barrett slapped him on the back encouragingly. Though Shadow couldn't see his smile behind his helmet, his overly happy eyes expressed his excitement all too well. "You haven't forgotten how to ride have you?? Good! Now climb onto your bike!" he chirped as he pointed to a shiny, black motorcycle that was also custom made for him. Shadow was beyond bewildered and had more questions than he ever had before in his life. However, due to priorities, he kept quiet and mounted the motorcycle. The audience was very pleased with his bold decision.

The older magician kicked down the back wall of the stage to reveal a humongous globe on the other side. It was made out of metal with small spaces in the metal walls that allowed the audience to see inside. A door to the globe was open wide and inside, to Shadow's horror, was you. You were lost in a blank trance as you sat in the middle of the metallic sphere. Shadow took a look from the motorcycles to the sphere and realized what the Globe of Death was:

A deadly stunt.

(Y/N)'s POV

You were lost in a deep, swirling wilderness of black. It looked vaguely similar to Null Space. The main difference was that you were floating in the darkness rather than standing on a solid ground amidst the endless black. You tilted your head to the sky and called out to the air.

"Hello?? Can anybody hear me?!" you demanded.

Distant echoes...

"Please! I want to know where I am!!"

More silence. Not even echoes answered your calls this time.

Not ready just yet to give up, you tried one last time. You would turn to the last person you could think of who you could trust who was alive. The one who protected you and ensured that the future would be everything the both of you had ever dreamed of. Maria, Shadow, and you all living on the planet you once -and still- admire so much. Having said his name so many times already during the journey, the syllables rolled off your tongue and familiarity shot through your senses just saying the name.

"SHADOW?!"

...

It was too much to expect that he would heroically save you from your endless drifting in the void. Rather than strain your voice any more than you already had, you focussed on remembering what happened before the void.

There was a smiling boy with yellow hair.

Beyond that obnoxious grin of either joy or mischief, you could recall nothing. Something about that energy was very refreshing, but it was also unnerving. Why did he exist...? Why did he have that glowing gem?

You felt a sudden gust of wind flow through your hair and past your ears! It had taken you by surprise and you looked frantically to see where it was coming from. In the wind, you heard a familiar voice!

"(Y/N)! WAKE UP!!"

Before you could ask yourself about what was going on, you felt your eyes snap open alertly to the real world! You could feel that you were being launched forward at speeds you would never get used to, and something was threatening to throw you violently to... wherever the ground was! It reminded you of when Shadow carried you at rocket-fast speeds and you were made dizzy beyond all reason. All of your insides were lurching violently and you tried to not feel nauseous as you suddenly had the realization that you were spinning in giant circles. Probably many times per second. You were sitting on a hard seat and clinging to Shadow harder than you ever had before. Everywhere around you, there were more things that you were riding! It was impossible to count with how fast you were speeding. Ear-splitting roars from the vehicles screamed in the air and you shoved one ear against Shadow's back in an attempt to make the loud noise more bearable.

Shadow hardly acknowledged you when you awoke and just kept his eyes firmly held forward. His grip on the handlebars was frightening. There was a grimace on his face in pain from his injury. The injury looked ready to open again and cause his blood to splatter everywhere. Hopefully, that would not happen and his arm would remain in a stable condition. He was desperately waiting for the door to the metal sphere to open again so he could escape in one piece. With all of his might, he tried not to think about the consequences of his stunt.

I will skin the magicians alive for this... They won't be able to move when I get through with them... If there's a way to make them all WISH THEY WERE NEVER BORN, I WILL--!

Shadow swerved to the left as he was about to slam into another cyclist! Before he could demand who it was to himself, he got his answer.

"WOOOOOOOOOO!!! NOW THIS IS LIVIN'!!!" Barrett was screaming at the top of his lungs. He didn't seem at all concerned about the danger. He also didn't seem to care that he nearly slammed into the Ultimate Life Form.

"Shadow!!" you tried to shout. The motorcycles were too loud for him to hear. You saw the entrance to the sphere being opened.

"BREAK FORMATION!!" hollered Barrett to the other cyclists urgently. With those words, he gracefully maneuvered his bike out of the metal door and safely back outside. The other cyclists began to follow his lead.

Shadow's ears perked up when he saw the entrance opening up. He observed the other cyclists shooting what looked to be almost right in front of some other biker and each of them very nearly escaping death as they each made their getaways somehow unscathed. "What's wrong with these people...?" he mumbled to himself under his breath. Not that it would have mattered if he whispered or screamed the words considering how loud the motors were. He looked for an opening to jump out.

First went Barrett, of course. He didn't seem to fear death at all. Then a second biker. Next a third. Fourth, fifth, sixth... How many bikes were in that thing?! Finally, Shadow was the only one left in the Globe of Death. He carefully positioned himself so that he would loop around one more time in the globe and then launch straight out of the door to safety. His strategy worked perfectly and the momentum he gained after his final loop thrust him out of the sphere and racing across the stage! Shadow forced on the brakes in desperate hopes that it would stop before it crashed into a large backstage prop on the other end of the stage. The worst case scenario would be him barreling into the crowd on a speeding motorcycle. Thankfully, the motorcycle came screeching to a halt leaving tire marks on the wooden boards of the stage. Breathing deeply and with wobbly legs, Shadow climbed off the vehicle.

The audience could not have been more pleased with the performance. They were hurling flowers, dollar bills, and whatever they could find that could honor the magicians and their amazing final act. Some people even tossed clothing! It was a storm of socks!! Half the crowd was chanting for an encore, but they all knew that no encore could top what they had just seen.

You were about to swing your leg over the side of the motorcycle to climb off, but you were so dizzy that you ended up falling onto the ground. The pain was nothing compared to the endless spinning of the world and the unsettled state of your stomach. You were a little irritated that Shadow didn't help you off the bike. He also didn't help you to your feet! Rather than thinking about you, he immediately stormed off towards the magicians to thoroughly express his anger. Clumsily, you managed to clamber up onto your feet. After a few swaying motions, you hobbled your way off the stage, found the Phantom Ruby backstage, and retreated into the ruby. Once inside, the world stopped spinning, your stomach felt better, and you could breathe regularly again. Feeling completely worn out, you collapsed onto the ground and fell into a deeper sleep than you had ever experienced before. For the first time in your whole life, you wanted to be left alone.