Hi there! I'm new to the Sonic fandom but I've come up with my first fic and would like to get some feedback! I hope you enjoy it :)
A/N: I don't own anything but the character of Raina the Hedgehog. All other characters are property of SEGA (c).
"Great night for a meteor shower!" Tails exclaimed, grinning as he saw Cosmo arrive with Amy, "Thanks for coming, guys!"
"Fire's burning!" Knuckles announced. They were having a bonfire in the yard and planned on roasting marshmallows.
Rough floated past him, "Yeah, thanks to me. Your quills would have been singed otherwise, you're so reckless!"
Knuckles snarled at her, "Yeah, right! I don't need your help!"
Shadow, who was relaxing under a tree, sighed. He wasn't a fan of these get-togethers, but it beat hanging out at home, alone and bored. The sun was slowly setting, and the night was quickly upon them. Shadow smirked a little. He loved the dark.
"Soniiiiiic!" Amy Rose squeaked, throwing her arms around his neck, "This was such a great idea, I'm so happy you thought of it! It's really so romantic under the stars, isn't it?"
"Amy, easy!" Sonic wriggled out of her grip, "I can't breathe when you do that..."
Shadow rolled his eyes. He could see a figure floating down the path to Sonic's house where they were all getting ready to watch the meteor shower, and a second walking next to it. Easy, he thought. Silver and Blaze.
"I've never seen a meteor shower before!" Silver exclaimed when he and Blaze arrived, "I'm so excited." He was jumping around a bit, like a hyper toddler. Blaze shrugged. She was used to him by now. "OH," Silver paused, throwing a gigantic bag at Sonic, "I brought MARSHMALLOWS, just like you asked!"
"How big of a bag did you buy?" Knuckles frowned, pulling it off Sonic.
"Enough for everyone!" Silver said happily.
Sonic, who could tell Silver needed to burn off some energy, suggested, "Hey, Silver, we need sticks to roast the marshmallows on, do you and Cosmo wanna go into the woods and-"
"Boy would I! Come on, Cosmo!" Silver grabbed Cosmo by the wrist and took off into the nearby forest.
"Don't go in too far, you'll get lost!" Blaze shouted at him, receiving nothing but giggles as his reply. She shook her head, "Silver, Silver..."
"Everything ok between you two?" Amy asked, her eyes wide with concern. Blaze nodded, "Of course. He's just a handful sometimes."
"I don't know how you can put up with him," Shadow said, making the girls jump as his voice entered the conversation, "I can usually only take about ten minutes at a time. I'd be tempted to kill him."
"Well, I can understand that," Blaze laughed nervously, "But really, Silver's a good guy."
"Right," Shadow said darkly, with a bit of moodiness. He seemed more angsty than usual, if that was even possible.
"What's up with him?" Amy raised her eyebrows, making sure he was out of earshot before she spoke.
"No idea," Blaze replied.
"Rouge said he's been thinking about Maria lately," Knuckles said quietly, walking past them with more wood for the fire, "You know, since he does talk to her."
"Weird to think that he's even got feelings sometimes..." Blaze added.
"Oh, boy's got feelings, all right," Rouge said with a smirk, "Poor thing. I wonder if it's hard on him, seeing us all, you know..."
"Seeing us what?" Blaze asked.
"Coupled up, I suppose," Rouge tilted her head to the side, making a gesture, "Me with Knucks, Blaze and Silver."
"And me and Sonic, of course!" Amy added, a big smile on her face. Sonic looked over at them and shook his head manically. Blaze had to hold in her laughter.
"Er, right," Rouge stuttered, "The thing is, he really was in love with Maria, you know, and-"
"I can hear you." Shadow growled, throwing another chunk of wood on the fire, setting flames in their direction, "And to be clear, Maria was a child, and if anything I loved her like the big sister I never had. All of you had families. I didn't. So come of it."
They fell silent.
"I think you're right, Rouge," Amy whispered, "No more talk of it tonight, ok?" She raised her voice, "Let's try to have fun, everyone!"
Meanwhile, in the forest, Silver was chatting away to Cosmo as they collected sticks.
"And then, after I moved this big rock with my power, I was so tired, I took a nap!" he was saying, animated as anything. Cosmo was trying not to laugh. Silver was funny.
"Really? How interesting," she added another stick to Silver's pile, "This is my first meteor shower too, Silver."
"Then we get to see it together! How cool is that?" Silver glanced up at the sky, through the trees, "Tails said it would be like falling stars, but better. Bigger. I wonder if you can wish on them..."
"I don't know," Cosmo's brow thickened, her eyes fixated on something in the night sky, "Say...I think I see one!"
"What?!" Silver panicked, "We'd better get back so we don't miss it!" He shot out of the woods faster than ever before, Cosmo tailing behind him.
"I just have to finish setting up my telescope," Tails was saying to Sonic, "And then we'll be able to see even better."
"Is that so?" Sonic was intrigued, "You know, I remember that one time when there was an eclipse-"
"Got sticks!" Silver practically threw them at Knuckles, knocking him over, "Don't wanna miss anything!"
"But it hasn't started yet,"
Amy told him. Shadow, who was looking intently at the dark blanket over them, pointed, "No, but there's one."
"SEE?!" Silver nearly screamed, "Shadow sees it too!"
"Let me try to focus on it," Tails said, adjusting his telescope, "Ugh, no use!" He set it aside and withdrew his binoculars from his bag, looking straight at the shooting object, "It's...how strange..."
"What do you see, Tails?" Sonic asked. By now everyone was staring directly at the lone object that was falling at a rapid pace from the sky. It was far too bright to be a meteor, and it was too early for the shower to begin.
"I know this sounds crazy, but it's metallic, and it looks like a pod!" Tails exclaimed, handing the binoculars to Sonic, who peered through them.
"He's right! We should probably go see where it'll land!"
No sooner had he set the binoculars down, did Shadow take off in the direction of the shooting pod. Sonic followed suite, and soon they were all in pursuit. They wound up in a giant, vacant field, just as the pod came tumbling down, smashing into the dark, hard sand before them.
It was, indeed, a pod. And a small one at that. No bigger than the one Shadow had been contained inside when he'd been kept on the ARK. This could only mean that if there was anyone inside it, there would be just that: one.
"Should we open it?" Tails asked aloud.
"Of course we should!" Sonic answered, as though it were obvious.
"What if it's one of Eggman's tricks?" Knuckles suggested, "We'd be walking into a trap!"
"His insignia isn't anywhere on it, not to mention it's not his colour scheme, or even relative to any of his designs," Rough pointed out, "So we can rule that out."
"I wanna see what's in it, but how do we know it isn't dangerous?" Silver asked Sonic, who shrugged his shoulders in response, "We never know unless we try."
Well ahead of everyone, Shadow unhooked the latch and pulled open the pod's door. They were met with a rush of ice cold wind, a rush that nearly knocked Shadow out. As the air evaporated, the pod revealed a dark purple hedgehog resting inside.
"Is...is she alive?" Knuckles' voice was quivering.
Shadow took two fingers and checked for a pulse, "Yes, but just barely. She's freezing cold." He turned to them. "We need to get her to warmth, and fast." Shadow lifted the little hedgehog out of the pod and into his arms.
"You got it! I'll grab the winter blankets from my closet, and we can get her close to the fire," Sonic concluded, "Let's go!"
"I doubt blankets will help," Shadow said as they ran together, everyone trailing behind them, "Her heart could stop if we overwhelm it."
"Then what do you suggest?"
"Leave it to me," Shadow said simply, and within seconds he was back at Sonic's house. He brought the girl into the bathroom and closed the door. The group waited outside anxiously.
"What is he doing in there?" Rouge said, speaking for everyone.
"Something about her heart and too much heat or something?" Sonic scratched his head.
"I could be wrong, but I think he's using his body heat," Tails spoke up, quick to add to it, "I mean, if she's partially frozen, there's a risk of the heat rushing too fast to her heart and causing cardiac arrest." He paused. "Privacy would probably be a good idea."
"I want to see the telescope," Cosmo perked up, and Tails happily obliged. They dispersed back outside, leaving only Sonic and Amy waiting.
Shadow was pressed against this stranger, his arms wrapped around her to keep her up, holding her to his chest as tightly as possible. He hoped and prayed to hear just one breath, one sign she could be brought into consciousness. And then as if by magic, she choked, and began to breathe.
"Thank god..." Shadow said under his breath.
"Where...where am I...?" the purple hedgehog began to speak, dark quills falling into her yellow eyes, "I can't remember anything..."
"You're safe, and that's what matters," Shadow replied, gently letting go of her and leading her to sit on the edge of the tub, "Do you have a name?"
"Yeah..." she blinked at him, "It's Raina. Raina the Hedgehog. Who are you?"
"Shadow? Everything alright in there?" Sonic's voice interrupted them. Amy pushed the door open.
"Oh my goodness! You're alright!" Amy bounded in to the bathroom, "Welcome! I'm Amy Rose, and this is my boyfriend, Sonic!"
Sonic ignored the last part of her introduction, "You fell out of the sky all of a sudden. Were you trying to go somewhere?"
"I...I don't know..." Raina rubbed her eyes, "All I remember is...fire. Lots of fire."
"Fire? Where are you from?" Amy's eyes grew wide.
Raina looked down, "I can't remember..."
Shadow felt a pang in his stomach, one he couldn't understand. Something wasn't right here, and yet when he looked at her, he could feel some sort of familiarity. He didn't know what or why, but something about her, he'd seen before.
"Well listen, we're about to watch a meteor shower outside, and there's a nice warm fire going," Sonic offered, "You're more than welcome to join us. Maybe if you rest for awhile, you'll start to remember things."
"Yeah..." Raina's focus didn't move from the tiled floor.
"I think it's best we leave her with Shadow," Amy said, taking Sonic's arm, "Really, I think he knows what to do."
"What in the world would make you think that?" Sonic's jaw dropped.
"My girl instincts, silly!" Amy nudged him, "Now come on, everyone's waiting!"
As soon as Amy and Sonic exited, Shadow was met by Raina's gaze.
"I can't remember anything, Shadow," she said, her voice full of sorrow, "Nothing, not even where I came from. Only my name. How is that possible?"
Shadow, who knew more than anyone how she was feeling, offered his arm, "Believe me, it's very possible, but so is regaining your memories." He helped her to stand.
"You...you remind me of someone, something," Raina said, standing up fully for the first time.
Now they had the chance to take a good look at her. She had yellow eyes, that seemed to glow orange at times, or perhaps it was the light. Dark purple quills, in a mess atop her head, a side fringe of thick quills that fell into her eyes ever so slightly. As if she'd been in a fight. And her clothes, unlike Amy's, were more rugged looking as opposed to feminine. Her dress was black and white, and looked as if it would an antique on earth, if it hadn't been cut above the knees. Black boots, much like Silver's, but with a heel and laces. Raina was unlike anything they'd seen on Mobius.
"Who?" Shadow asked.
"I...I'm not sure, but I'll remember in time."
Within moments, Raina was led outside by Amy. Shadow and Sonic walked in front of them.
"I think we oughta be careful," Sonic was saying quietly, "I get a real weird vibe from her."
Before Shadow could reply, Silver had glided over and as usual, did his best to give a friendly, warm introduction, "Hi! Welcome to Mobius, I'm-"
In the split second she laid eyes on Silver, Raina's memory snapped back.
"...you."
Silver paused. Everyone, who had been chattering outside, fell silent. Raina pushed Sonic and Shadow aside, her eyes flashing to a deep red, just like they'd been set on fire. Perhaps they had.
"I...sorry?" Silver was genuinely confused, and before she could reply he was thrown backwards and hit the side of Sonic's house. He got up, slowly, wondering what force had thrown him so hard. A seering pain in his side showed a strange-looking, jagged burn. A fresh one.
"Raina! That's Silver, don't hurt him, he's our friend!" Amy exclaimed as Blaze rushed to his side.
"I KNOW who he is," Raina gritted her teeth, edging near him, "You're the reason my entire planet was destroyed!"
Silver gaped at her, "What?"
"Soleanna completely ignored our signals of distress, the S.O.S. we sent went unanswered, when it was perfectly obvious you could've saved us," Raina continued, "After you rid yourselves of the Flames of Disaster-"
"The Flames of Disaster and everything to do with it was destroyed!" Sonic interrupted, "We nearly died, but we completely erased it!"
"NO, you didn't!" Raina's voice was alarmingly loud now, "You sent it OUR way. MY planet was engulfed in it, and we were helpless to its fire, as it ate away at everything."
"But how is this MY fault?" Silver exclaimed, "I never heard of any planet being destroyed!"
"Because when you were trying to fix your own planet, the time slip you used allowed you to pass by us," Raina said, "You saw we were in the path, should you try to eradicate yourselves. We sent our best soldiers to save your planet, and to no avail."
Silver remembered then, when he was small, seeing the ships arrive, and the beings that filtered out being killed. He squeezed his eyes shut. He wanted to forget that awful memory.
"And when we begged for your help, you did nothing," Raina crossed her arms. "My mother and father put me in a pod, just as many other parents did, before it was too late. And you know what I got to see before I released outside the atmosphere? My parents, burning alive."
"There has to be some kind of mistake," Silver replied, "I never intended for anything like that to happen, we had our own problems to focus on!"
"Silver's right," Sonic agreed, "How were we supposed to know your planet would get destroyed too?"
Raina looked down at the ground, clenching her fists, "I sent the message."
"What message? We never got a message!" Amy said.
"I sent it through telepathy."
Silver locked eyes with her then, and he felt his heart sink. He had received that message, loud and clear. But he'd ignored it. HIS world was at stake, and so was his future. He didn't have time to save another.
"Wait...telepathy?" Tails asked, "I thought only Silver-"
"I can use it on occasion, but I'm more likening to my elemental powers," Raina said, "Regardless, I see no reason to remain here any longer."
"You can't leave!" Amy grabbed her arm, "Not if you're the only one left."
"Sorry, but I've no interest in befriending the very beings that made me this way," Raina pulled away from Amy and started towards the road, "Thanks for rescuing me, but I can take it from here."
"Well, isn't she rude." Amy scoffed, deciding to join the others in waiting for the meteors.
"How peculiar! I bet she's the only survivor," Rouge added, "Poor Silver, hope she didn't beat you up too badly."
"No, I'm...I'm fine." Silver replied, although he really wasn't. He did feel guilty.
"If she wants to be like that, then let her," Sonic said, shrugging his shoulders, "We don't need that kind of thing around here, even if she is an orphaned species." The group decided to continue with their night, sweeping the arrival of Raina away.
Shadow, who had said nothing, heard a voice in his head. A distant voice from his past.
"Go after her, Shadow."
He closed his eyes. Maria's voice. Very well, he thought. If Maria wanted him to, then he would.