Chapter 1 – The Princess and the Hedgehog
The night sky was a navy blue hued with tiny twinkling stars. The night had welcomed the winter happily, as snow began to fall gently and covered the earth in its chilled wonder. The snow on the ground sparkled like tiny crystals, inviting anyone for a nice relaxing walk to clear their mind, or simply just enjoy nature. In the distance there was a path that led to a large castle styled mansion with warm lights aglow in various rooms inside.
"Will the competitors of the winter games please meet in the dining hall for their partner placements?" A voice on the intercom spoke.
The large group of contestants flooded to the floor and merged into a large crowd of colors. The hall where they had all gathered was surprisingly large, the residents of the Mushroom Kingdom and the residents of Mobius all fit in and had some space to spare.
The Hall was large and embroidered in gold and silver decorations. The pillars that held the second level of the hall were gold and laced with silver stripes in the fashion of a candy cane. The railings of the second level balcony were in a similar fashion. There was a polished marble floor that reflected the light from the Victorian styled chandeliers well. The soft hum of people conversing was heard beneath the call of the partners for the doubles events that were to take place in the coming competition.
Some people immediately found one another, such as Princess Peach and Mario as well as Luigi and Princess Daisy. Sonic and his little brother Tails had done the same and were chatting until Amy's screeching voice tore through the crowd and scared the blue hero away. Shadow was on the wall near the doors to the outside balcony, his arms folded and his eyes closed in contemplation, as per the norm. Rouge was hassling and flirting with Knuckles on the opposite side, near the entrance doors. Bowser and Dr. Eggman were talking about evil ploys on the second floor, and how their corresponding nemeses, Mario and Sonic had defeated them and thwarted their plans. Both villains holding a wine glass in their hands as they leaned on the railing.
Mario and Luigi are brothers; Mario's usual outfit consisted of a red cap and shirt with blue overalls. Luigi was slightly taller than Mario with a similar outfit, only his cap and shirt are green. Princess Daisy and Princess Peach are rumored to be cousins, although neither of them confirm or deny the claim. Peach is a tall, slim figured, pale skinned female with sparkling blue eyes and blond hair with bangs that are flipped, fringed and with wavy layers. Her bangs are soft as well as heart-shaped, and they have one large part at the top shaping down the center of her forehead and her hair trails down her back. Daisy is a slim figured female with ginger hair and bright blue eyes, she has a light tan and her hair was once as long as Peach's, but now it is a very thick, bouncy, flip hairstyle with side-swept, fringed bangs with a side part and flowing layers, consists of eight, thick, flipped ends, which reach past shoulder-length. Her bangs are soft as well as eye-skimming, and they have two small separated parts in the center of her forehead.
Sonic is the blue hedgehog hero of Mobius, having saved the world on several occasions with the help of his pal and 'little brother' Tails. Sonic has emerald green eyes.
Miles Prower, better known as 'Tails' is the young, light auburn, twin tailed fox boy with three vertically stacked parts of hair hanging between his bright blue eyes who is either seen with Sonic, or in his lab creating airplanes or transforming battle machines. Tails has an IQ of 300, which is rumored to match Dr. Eggman's IQ perfectly.
Amy Rose is a Pink hedgehog female with a short temper and emerald green eyes, similar to Sonic's. Amy wields a giant hammer and has fallen in love with Sonic after he'd saved her from Dr. Eggman's clutches. She wears a red strapless dress that flares out at the waist and stops mid-thigh and has a white stripe tracing the hem of the dress horizontally.
Shadow is the ultimate life form of Mobius, being created over 50 years ago on a space colony known as the ARK. He is a black hedgehog with Red highlights on his fur and equally red eyes and speed that rivals Sonic's own. He was an enemy of the blue hedgehog at some point, but changed sides, and ultimately helped save Mobius when he remembered a promise he'd made to a friend long ago.
Rouge is a bat, a secret government agent, and treasure hunter. She comes off as promiscuous at times, but means well. She usually gives Knuckles grief about the Master Emerald.
Knuckles is the last of an ancient echidna tribe that has ties to the Chaos Emeralds. Knuckles is a red echidna with dreadlocks and a horizontal crescent moon on his chest. He can be a bit hardheaded at times and even easily tricked, but he trusts Sonic and his other allies very much.
Bowser can best be described as a giant turtle with a spiny shell, horns, a fiery mane, claws and spiked bands on his arms and legs. He is Mario's most famous and current adversary. He has great strength and can breathe fire in many forms.
Dr. Eggman is the main villain and mad scientist of Mobius, almost destroying the planet on multiple occasions, and battles with Sonic at every chance he gets. He dons a red shirt with zippers, buckles and bands on both sides and tight leather pants that go into his black boots. Dr. Eggman's body is very round, but his legs are rather skinny.
"…And now for the announcement of the pairings for the partner events…" a voice spoke over the intercom, the hall became deadly silent as the announcement began.
"Mario and Princess Peach,"
Mario smiled at the princess and she returned the gesture politely, although there was a small tinge of red in her cheeks.
"Sonic the hedgehog and Amy Rose,"
Sonic, who ran behind one of the many pillars in the hall, gave a frustrated sigh as he was paired with his nightmare. "Why couldn't it have been Blaze? Heck, I'd even take that crazy treasure hunter, Rouge…" Just as Sonic finished his complaint, Amy appeared and wrapped herself around him in a tight hug. All Sonic did in response was grunt and face palm.
"Knuckles the Echidna and Rouge the Bat,"
Knuckles sighed and shook his head, and Rouge gave a simple wave "Don't worry echidna, you're in good hands." And she winked at the red guardian as she walked off. Knuckles could feel a smirk coming across his features.
"Luigi and Bowser,"
Luigi dropped his glass, and his eyes grew wide as he heard this, and Bowser spit out his drink and a spurt of fire was what followed shortly afterward.
"No freakin' way! I'd rather have Mario as a partner…" Bowser grumbled, and clenched his fist in a heated rage and stomped off.
"Mama mia…" Luigi shrunk into his hat and began to shiver as though he was just fished out of a freezing lake.
"Relax Luigi… I'm sure it won't be so bad." Daisy placed a kind hand on Luigi's shoulder and he stopped freaking out for a second.
"N-not so-a b-bad?! Daisy-a, you have-a no idea how-a crazy that-a guy is." Luigi gulped hard and began to recount a few times he'd come across Bowser. "There were-a the two Smash bros tournaments-a, the Strikers Tournaments-a, the Mushroom Kingdom Grand Prix-a for three years in a row-a, and-a not to mention in that-a haunted-a mansion that I supposedly 'Won." Luigi shuddered at the memories of his past encounters with the evil Koopa King. Daisy was about to protest until…
"Princess Daisy and Shadow the hedgehog,"
There was a collective gasp, followed by dead silence, then a few murmurs.
Daisy looked around in a confused manner, "Who?"
Luigi pointed to the black hedgehog in the back by himself, "There-a he is, princess. I heard-a that he's-a mean…"
"Luigi, You need to relax. I can handle myself you know." Daisy smirked a bit and trotted to the black hedgehog.
Shadow's eyes were closed and he stated, "You must be the princess…" He slowly opened his eyes and scanned the figure before him. Shadow lingered on Daisy's eyes and he almost gasped in surprise.
Daisy offered her hand, "Hey. I'm Daisy." She spoke in a cool tone, and everyone seemed to be hooked on their interaction.
"Hmph, I'm the Ultimate life form, Shadow the hedgehog… 'Tis a pleasure… princess…" Shadow shook her hand and smirked in a manner that Sonic usually would.
Everyone seemed shocked, but continued listening to the announcement. "Dr. Eggman, and Miles Prower."
Tails sighed and gave a soft whine as he looked to the evil doctor who had a dark grin plastered on his face as he peered down at the young fox. Tails skulked off and left the hall with his head hung low, once outside the hall Tails growled and punched the wall. Luigi was too afraid of Bowser to even try to stick around, so he left as well.
After Tails and Luigi had left, there was yet another announcement, "I am aware that some of our partners are not familiar with one another, so please take this time to get to know each other's strengths and weaknesses." There was a click, signaling the cutoff of the intercom, and the contestants resumed their conversations, or most of them did at the least.
Shadow had walked out onto the balcony just as everyone started getting a bit louder in the hall. Daisy, not being one to just sit idly and wait, followed the lone hedgehog into the cool crisp air of the outdoors.
Shadow stood with a lean, he was staring at the crescent moon that shone with a silver light in the dark blue sky and shook his head slowly.
"Hey, Shadow, were you always this lonely?" Daisy called behind him in a soft yet annoyed sounding tone.
"…No, I'm just thinking about a friend of mine." The black hedgehog hung his head for a second and continued to look at the moon. Shadow's first impulse was to explode and give her a few choice words, but something about the princess seemed to intrigue him. She seemed familiar somehow.
Daisy stepped toward the hedgehog with her hands behind her back; she had a small smile on her face. When she got to the balcony's railing, she had propped her elbows on the cold surface and cradled her head in her hands. She was turned slightly so she could see the hedgehog's ruby orbs.
"So who is this friend?" Daisy asked, clearly ignoring the warning that Luigi had given her.
Shadow looked at the princess inquisitively before he stood straight and folded his arms, "Well… this friend of mine… her name was Maria. She's the Doctor's cousin… she shares your eyes…' Shadow looked away and pulled out a photo of Maria and Gerald Robotnic.
In the picture, Maria, a blond female with blue eyes, was wearing a blue blouse over a white dress, was standing behind a bald man with a large nose and large furrowed moustache that covered most of the bottom half of his face. The man was in a lab coat and sitting down, he was Shadow's 'Father', Professor Gerald Robotnic. The picture was faded, but Shadow ran his wrist over the picture and restored it to full color and showed it to Daisy.
Daisy took the picture slowly, careful not to smudge the image, and looked at Maria in the photo. Daisy looked to Shadow and the photo and back a few times before she flushed a bit.
"You… you mean that I look like her?" Daisy gave a small smile and Shadow just nodded.
"Well, you share her eyes…" Shadow sighed and Daisy gave Shadow his photo back and he stored it back where he'd taken the image from. The ebony hedgehog returned his gaze to the moon.
Daisy smiled and turned her gaze to the moon as well. She gave a downward sigh and a small cloud escaped her lips and they, her lips, curled into a tiny smile.
"So, Princess…" Shadow began slowly, which seemed to catch the tomboy's attention slightly.
"Yeah? What is it?" Daisy asked softly and watched the clouds appear from her lips as she spoke.
"…What are your strong points in these events? Skating and snowboarding are my strong points, what are yours?"
Daisy cupped her chin and closed her eyes, going into a thought, "Well, I don't really know… So I guess this means that we'll have to practice for the events and see what I can do. I mean, I know how to do all of the things for the events, it's just that I don't really pay much attention to what things I'm good at…" Daisy shrugged and looked at Shadow, who held an incredulous grin on his face.
"Hm, well, I guess that means that we should get started… Right?" Shadow raised a brow and kept his arms folded.
Daisy nodded, "Well, I think we could, but… at this hour? What are we going to do this late?"
Shadow closed his eyes, "There's a lake within walking distance, princess. Perhaps we could get going and skate a few routines there."
Daisy looked as though she was mulling the idea over, "Hm… Okay. So where's the lake?"
"This way, princess. Follow me." Shadow spoke calmly and led Daisy back through the Dining Hall and out of the mansion.
The two received strange glances and inquisitive eyes as they returned to the hall. Some stopped talking to see what happened, and others just looked at the two as they weaved through the crowd. In a matter of minutes, the two of them were back outside in the cool night's breeze. Daisy released a pleased sigh and Shadow smirked to himself.
"What's the matter princess? Would you rather have had the green twin?"
Daisy chuckled, trying to hide her laugh, but she burst into a full blown laugh immediately, "No Shadow, it's not that. I was just thinking about what we would be doing? I don't think you could carry me…"
Shadow sighed and shook his head. "Well, I'll prove it." He looked at Daisy and offered his hand to her, "May I?"
"…May you what?"
Shadow replied plainly, "Show you a portion of my real power."
Daisy nodded, after a moment, "Okay, but if you hurt me, I'll kick your can to the moon."
Shadow smirked, "I'll be gentle, little flower, there's no need to worry."
Daisy stopped and blushed, it had been while since anyone had called her that, and before she could think about the last time she'd heard that, She was scooped off of her feet and held bridal style by the ultimate life form.
"WHOA!" Daisy cried as she was suddenly swept off her feet.
"Don't wiggle too much. I don't want to drop you." Shadow quipped softly, earning another blush from the tomboy.
"Oh shush. Hurry and get to the lake so we can skate, okay?"
Daisy's soft demand was adhered, as Shadow replied, "As you wish."
Daisy said nothing more as the two of them continued down a small path that had light snow on it, and few streetlights as well. The full moon shined down upon them as they approached their destination.