They had to be getting close. Shadow and (Y/N) had been walking for what seemed like forever, and the wind had only picked up the further they walked. Sand flew into their eyes, through their fur, blocking their path.
(Y/N) had her arms wrapped around her torso, leaning into the obstacle with sheer determination. Shadow had noticed her change in attitude after she learnt of her obtained power. She seemed more focused, like she really wanted to get the Golden Moon off her chest.
He assumed it was because that meant G.U.N would stop following them, as their attention would be on the artefact instead of them. Which was a very understanding call, after what they put her through.
Shadow himself wasn't feeling as determined as the (a/t) next to him did. The further they walked, the weaker he got; the chaos energy buzzing around the air made him feel sick, it overwhelmed him. The hedgehog was not a fan.
He was grateful for the inhibitor rings around his wrists keeping the energy coursing through him at bay, though they started to feel tight against him, as if they were going to break from the pressure. His fur felt like it was full of static, a strange feeling he had never felt before.
"Shadow...?" He could barely hear the other over the wind, she was a few feet behind him now, frozen in place.
He stopped and glanced back at her, the chaos energy was a distraction and that wasn't a good sign. He tilted his head at her, the (a/t)'s form starting to disappear as the sand surrounded them.
"What is it?" He asked, covering his mouth.
"It... Hurts..." (Y/N) let out a whine, she started again, finally taking her place next to him. When she raised her head, the hedgehog could see small scratches on her muzzle. The wind grew stronger, nearly blowing the two over, and the hedgehog gripped onto the (a/t)'s shoudlders.
"It's alright, we're nearly there. I promise." He said, before pulling her towards him, "Tails said this should all clear when we get to the ruins."
"I... Hope so..."
-So do I- Shadow thought, and they continued on their way.
Though both were starting to feel lost and out of luck. It was nearly impossible to see where they were going, and they had been heading in what they assumed was a straight line from when they started. For all they knew, they could have walked right past the ruins.
Shadow let out a shudder as a wave of energy suddenly collided with him, and the hedgehog stumbled back. (Y/N) grabbed onto his arm, only to follow after him and land in the sand. The two were panting, shivering and scratched up from the sand.
But... That wave...
"We're... Close..." Shadow mumbled, his entire body shook. Was it adrenaline, power? He couldn't tell.
"You're not okay." The (a/t) sat up, shading her face with her hand, "We should rest."
"We're close." The hedgehog said again, pulling her to her feet, "If we keep walking, we'll get out of this mess."
(Y/N) watched him with worried (e/c) eyes, before giving a curt nod and grasping his hand. The hedgehog gave a small smile, unable to stop it, and gave her hand a squeeze.
"Together?" She asked, turning her gaze back to in front of them.
"Together." He nodded, and they kept walking.
The wind seemed to be protesting, growing stronger and stronger. It felt like they were walking against an invisible wall, but the Mobians forced their way through the barrier, and the wind came to a halt.
The sudden lack of force caused the two to fall forward, faceplanting into the sand. The feeling of chaos energy seeping through the hedgehog's fur slowly died down, and the sand that had once surrounded them was now gone.
They had made it.
Shadow gave a light chuckle, wiping the sand from his muzzle as he sat up,
"Next time, we should be more prepared." He said, "I'm going to have sand all over me for weeks."
"Same..." (Y/N) gave a small giggle, before lifting her head, "But you were right. We're here."
The dark hedgehog followed her shining gaze to the ruins that stood in front of them. Tall pillars towered over them, sand turning the stone a dusty yellow, covering other parts of the ruins that have since fallen from the building. It was really...
Underwhelming.
"This can't be it..." Shadow grumbled, "There should be more here, where are we meant to hide the Golden Moon?"
"I... I don't know..." The (a/t)'s ears laid back in disappointment, before taking a step forward. This couldn't be it, could it? They had come to far for it to be too easy.
She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Something was off, Tails was certain this would be a good place to hide the artefact. Surely the field of energy and sand wouldn't be enough to keep people at pay, could it?
"Lets... Go have a look." She said quietly, but Shadow only watched as she walked. And then she disappeared.
"(Y/N)?" He asked, his ears perked in alarm.
"Yeah?" Her voice was there, but he couldn't see her.
"Where did-"
She was suddenly there again, her eyes wide. She grabbed onto the hedgehog's arm, before pulling him towards her. A cold feeling flowed over him, and he was suddenly cast in a large triangular shadow.
He stumbled, but caught himself and stood tall. (Y/N) clung to his arm, now staring at a large pyramid; it's dusty stone was aged, but still sturdy, and it stood far taller than the pillars they had been looking at previously.
"What? What is this?"
"A second cloaking device maybe?" (Y/N) faced him, tilting her head. Her ears flopped over, and Shadow had to shake his head for a moment, thinking about it.
"To keep people away. If they see nothing, they'll think they went through that field of power for nothing."
"Good thing we're desperate." The (a/t) giggled, before grabbing his hand, "Come on, lets get this over with already!"
The hedgehog stifled a chuckle as they hurried inside the large temple of sand, before he turned serious, scanning the area for anything dangerous.
"Tails said this place could be full of boobytraps, so keep an eye out okay?" He asked, taking a hold of (Y/N)'s arm. She nodded, a small smile pulling at her lips at the feeling of his hand on her arm.
The look in his red eyes as he took in the room around them, she could see he had done this sort of thing many times before. Though as she watched him, she could see small white sparks moving throughout his fur. She raised a brow, focusing her attention on his dark fur, it seemed to wave slowly in the still air, small static crackling through him. Why was that happening? Should she mention it to him?
"Uh, Shadow-"
"Shh." He stepped forward slowly, cautiously, "Keep quiet, and follow my every move. We don't want to trigger any traps."
"O-Okay..."
The two made their way through the first room, making sure not to bump or step on anything that looked fishy. The second room was mostly the same, with no problems and traps. But the third room was only a bridge, there was no floor, not one that (Y/N) could see anyway. It dropped off into darkness.
Shadow studied the bridge, making sure it was safe to cross. Once satisfied, he nodded to the (a/t) to cross. He insisted on going first and was grateful when he saw a weak board in the mix.
"Careful." He said, stepping over it, "It could just be an old board, or it could trigger the entire bridge to fall."
The she-(animal) nodded again, following his lead of stepping lightly, and they passed the bridge with no problems. The fourth room was empty, large, and the bones of another Mobian, looking like a bear, sat against a wall with a large spear through it's ribs.
"Alright, this time you'll have to step directly where I stand." The hedgehog stared at the bones, "Keep your eyes out for any wires or faulty looking tiles."
"O-Okay..." (Y/N) said, he eyes also on the bear bones. She did not want to end up like that. They moved through the room, lurking around anything that seemed to be a trigger for the large weapons. It felt like forever this time, but they managed to get to the edge of the room.
The (a/t) let out a sigh, leaning on the wall in relief. But something moved below her arm, and in moments, a spear was flying directly at her. Shadow turned and pulled (Y/N) out of the way, a loud clang sounding as the spear dug into the sandy brick walls.
The girl, now pressed into Shadow's torso, was frozen for a moment. Whoops...?
"What did I just say?" The dark hedgehog asked with an exasperated sigh, though when he turned his ruby orbs on her, something swam through them. Relief? Fear? It looked... Off in Shadow's eyes. Something the (f/c) (a/t) hadn't seen before.
"S-Sorry..." She mumbled, before pulling back slightly, except Shadow kept his grip around her a moment longer. He let out another sigh and released her, before hurrying into the next room.
"We're nearly at the centre of the temple, just a few more rooms and then we'll be safe." He said, "We can hide the Crescent Life Source and all of this baloney will be over."
The next three rooms were just as dangerous as the spear room. Axes, snakes and a large ball of rock all threatened to stop the two in their path. Had it not being for Shadow's quick reflexes, the two Mobians would have never reached the middle of the temple.
But they did, the large space was full of treasures and other golden shiny trinkets. Jewels of the such, things people would normally be after in adventure styled movies, as Shadow had thought to himself. He was surprised G.U.N hadn't attempted to overcome it.
However what really struck his interest was the purple Chaos Emerald that sat in the middle of the room. That was their ticket out, whether it triggered traps or not, Shadow would be able to Chaos Control out of there before anything happened.
"We made it." (Y/N) said in a breathy tone, a smile was spread across her muzzle and her eyes shone, "We could hide it in so many places!"
"We could. It would blend in well with the other gold, or we could bury it under everything." Shadow nodded, before holding the artefact up, "At least we'll have G.U.N off our backs now..."
He looked around the room, before handing it to the (a/t). She took it from him, tilting her head up at the hedgehog. But they said nothing. A look he gave her, was all she needed to know. He was going to let her hide it, knowing this object had once meant something to the (a/t), and knowing she had risked her life for it, even over a century before now, he felt it was right.
(Y/N) gave him a warm smile, before leaning up and lightly kissing him on the cheek.
"Thank you..." She said softly, before walking around the room, trying to find the best spot to hide the useless golden statue.
Shadow watched her, holding a hand to his cheek. His muzzle felt warm, and a tingle from where her lips had been remained. He wasn't expecting a kiss, let along a hug from the girl, and yet she had anyway.
Even if it was on his muzzle.
"Hey uh... (Y/N)...?" He scratched his quills, suddenly feeling sick.
"Yeah?" She asked, placing the artefact in amongst the gold. Her (e/c) eyes stared at it for a moment, a sort of longing that shook him. He knew this must be hard for her, to let something that had once been so important go.
"I was wondering, after all this..." He lowered his head. What was he doing? What was he saying?
"Yeah...?" She turned her attention to him, her head tilted cutely.
"I was wondering... Would you-"
"Shadow!" The two jumped, not expecting to hear another voice in the otherwise abandoned temple.
Rouge flew down, panting heavily and shaking as she nearly collapsed on the ground. Her fur and clothes were covered in sand and she looked pale. Her make-up was running, and Shadow noticed with a cold shiver that there was a dark spot slowly growing on her side.
"Rouge." He knelt next to her instantly, holding his partner up, "What are you doing here?"
"I... I followed you..." She managed, turning her dull cyan gaze up to his, "The guy you threatened in my club... G.U.N was asking around and he... He told them you were there..."