A Journey Through Middle-Earth
by Fangs of Lightning and The Chuckinator
Chapter 1: A Meeting in the Bookstore
Sonic was running through Station Square, on the way back to his house. He stopped by Barnes and Noble and walked inside, looking for something to read. Inside, Shadow was leafing through the pages of some book. The cover set it off as a romance novel. With a look of disgust, he returned the to its place on the shelf. Shadow went to the horror section and looked through it but was surprised to see Sonic in the store also.
"What are you doing here? I didn't know you read," he said, picking another book from the shelf.
Sonic looked up. "Yeah, sometimes I do. So, what's up?"
"Nothing much. Just got time off from missions a baby could handle." Shadow returned that book as well.
"Sounds cool," Sonic said. "Eggman hasn't been threatening to destroy Earth lately, so I've been taking a break also."
"So you're trying to find something to pass the time with?" Shadow turned to really look at him. "What kind of things do you usually read?"
"I mostly like fantasy but also horror, mystery and suspense," he said, scanning the books. He saw a novel by Frank Peretti, a horror author, and picked it out, starting to read it.
"Seems we do have other things in common," Shadow muttered.
Sonic looked up at him, then nodded and went back to reading. Shadow looked at the book curiously and saw that it was called "House" by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker. He cleared his throat. Sonic grinned and went to the fantasy section, looking around for another book.
"What kinds of books do you like, Shadow?"
Shadow shrugged, following him. "Whatever catches my interest, I guess. Sometimes, I like romance. Other times, I like adventure or horror. It has to have a good plot, at least."
Sonic looked at him and smiled.
"What are you looking for in this aisle?"
"Just a good fantasy novel," Sonic said.
"How about...this one?" Shadow pulled a book off the shelf. The title gave it away as a collection of girl's fairy tales. Shadow realized this and quickly pushed it back in.
Sonic looked at him and blushed. "R...really, Shads?"
"I just pulled one out." Shadow's face had flushed as well. "Not my fault that book was sitting there."
Sonic turned away and chuckled, then pulled one out about King Arthur. "This reminds me of that time I went to Camelot," he said. "I beat the villain, and became king."
"You became a king?" Shadow asked, and raised an eyebrow. He'd never heard of this before. "Sure you didn't dream it?"
"That's right...I never told you," Sonic said. He told his tale to Shadow and when he was finished, Shadow looked at him in awe.
"That's actually pretty amazing, Sonic." Shadow gave him a minor smile. "Ever wish you could go back there? See your loyal subjects again?"
Sonic thought about it and nodded.
"So, what do you miss the most?" Shadow was genuinely curious. Sonic had to have something in particular he missed about the place. "Unless you don't want to share."
"Well...to tell you the truth...everything. I really grew to like it there, and the knights...reminded me a lot of the people here because they looked a lot like them. Even Lancelot looked exactly like you."
"Lancelot, huh." Shadow smiled. "I think I like that."
Sonic nodded and blushed. "So do I." Immediately, his eyes widened and he turned away. "S...sorry."
Shadow stared at him. Confused as he was, he decided not to bother Sonic. He hated when people did it to him, after all. Instead, he resumed looking through the shelf.
"Cool, Lord of the Rings," Sonic said, holding a few books. Shadow looked at him.
"Lord of the Rings? Why not?" Shadow took the first from Sonic's hands and opened it. Inside, there was nothing but an oval glowing a dark purple. "Sonic? Something's wrong with this book."
Sonic's eyes widened as a bright glow came from the book. He and Shadow screamed in pain and suddenly vanished. The book dropped to the floor and slammed shut.