DREAMS…

Sleep. The one thing he wanted more then anything was sleep. To close his eyes and have the peaceful, quiet darkness over take him. To drift off into a beautiful dream where everything was perfect. No one threatened the planet. No one lived in fear of an evil lord. No one died of unnatural causes every day. No war or violence, no hurt or fear. Everything was perfect….. Unfortunately, reality was cruel. And right now, it would not grant him sleep. He had slept for years before. Years! And now, he could not get it for a few measly hours. A groan escaped his dry, slightly cracked lips.

These sleepless, dreamless nights occurred at least once every week. They started when he threw his past away and moved in with her. He came back to earth after the battle with his biological father. With little to no energy left in his body after staying at his old home for a few hours he had collapsed almost immediately after arrival in front of his friends, allies and even one of his enemies. When he had woken up, he was in his friend's house at her mansion. With no where to go, she had taken him home with her and took care of him while he was unconscious. Once his energy was back and he could stand again, he had told her he would be leaving and that he was grateful for her help. She didn't let him go. "We're a team and teams need to stick together," she had said, taking his gloved hand and dragging him back into the mansion. About a week after settling in he started to have the dreamless, sleepless nights. At first he would stay awake all night doing almost nothing. Drawing occasionally because he was rather good at it, but mostly just thinking. He didn't dare wake her or his other partner, a robot, up. After a month he finally told her. She said he could come to her anytime he liked. Of course, he never did.

It had started about two months ago on a Saturday night. Lights out was normally around nine o'clock, some times four or three in the morning when they worked at her club and had to stay late. He had laid down on his back, turned over a few times every few minutes, moved the pillows around, taken off a few blankets, turned on the fan, put the blankets on again, moved the pillows again, turned onto his left side, then his right, then onto his stomach before ending up back on his back staring at the fan rotating above his head. Once he had determined that this was another sleepless, dreamless night at around ten o'clock he had grabbed his old, grey blue note book and started to doodle.

He first drew a rather elaborate sun with swirling designs inside and long, curling lines coming out of it. Tiny flares rolled off of it. They looked like they would start burning the page. Next he drew the moon, but only half. Where the other half should have been located was a rugged edge, the core showing and small bits of debris scattered around the page, floating in space. The final drawing was that of himself and a girl, with the earth behind them, the glint making it look like it was behind a window. He came to her waist, but just barely, the two quills on either side of his head sticking out slightly. The fluff of fur on his chest stood out on his dark shaded chest. She loved to play with that little tuft so much. Unknown to most, it was a rather sensitive area of his body. If touched lightly he would giggle. She often used it against him in the many tickle fights they use to have. His fur was black so it was easy to use the pencil to color himself in. His eyes were angled, his nose slightly round and slender, a grin on his muzzle that slightly showed his fangs. One stripe ran from his forehead, past his ears and back over his quill. Each of his quills had a stripe. It was shaded in a dark grey, not black like himself. The dark grey represented the crimson red that adorned his quills in real life. There were more stripes of dark grey running up his arms to his elbows and from his legs up to his knees. His hands were covered by white gloves. Shaded in on his wrist were what looked like bracelets. He glanced at the shining gold bracelets on his side table. They were very important; he would never leave them out. On his feet were rather weird looking, bulky shoes with holes in the front and a slightly round top. Said shoes sat on the ground at the end of the bed. His attentions switched from himself to the girl next to him. She was rather tall, with one delicate hand on the top of his head. She had rather long hair and wore a dress that had a separate top. The picture looked like it was frozen in the middle of a moment. Her hand was up near his forehead where his stripe began, her fingers smoothing down one of his triangular ears. His eyes were closed by pure bliss. He couldn't help but smile at the expression he had given her. Her eyes were closed as well, but her face was scrunched up. She was giggling. He glanced from his life like piece of art to the digital clock near his bracelets. By now it was eleven o'clock and he was done with drawing.

After putting the note book away he laid there for what seemed like hours but were really only minutes. He just laid there on his back, one hand on his stomach and the other behind his head. His quills lay spread out around his head making him look like a crushed flower whose petal had stretched out. A crushed ebony flower with ebony petals striped with blood. A sigh escaped his lips and he sat up, the hand behind his head running though his now soft and lush quills. The ungloved hand that was once on his stomach now sat on his thigh. He threw the blanket off of his body and swung his legs around, sock covered feet hitting the plush black carpet. Standing, he looked around his dark room.

The bed was located at the end of the room with a window next to it allowing the light from the crescent moon to flow into the room, dotted with shadows from the rain outside. The steady thumping of the elements sounded like little hearts hitting his window, still beating. The side table stood next to a dark wood dresser. Across from the bed was a door that led to a bathroom with a rather big tub. Next to it sat a desk with a computer, a few pictures, some in black and white and some in color, and a stack of files. On the other side of the room is another door leading to the hall way. He looked around the dark red room, then down at the black floor. Most of this stuff had been bought for him. Most of his old thing still resided at his old home. For some reason, he didn't want to bring most of them with him to her home. He had taken some pictures, folders and files, nothing big like a desk or a bed. She had plenty of money and had insisted that she buy him new things. He hadn't argued and let her do what she wanted. It was her money after all.

He strode across the room and opened the door, walking out into the hall. The carpet was thinner here and a dark purple in color. The wall weren't too white, slightly off white. Pictures hung at random. In one was himself. Standing next to him was a large robot. The top of its head was yellow with two red eyes under it. The main color scheme was red, black and yellow with a little silver and green. It had bulky black shoulders, one with the omega symbol painted on in red. It had large arms with clawed hands surrounded by yellow spiked cuffs. Its legs were long as well and its feet only had two toes. Standing in between them was a beautiful white bat. In Mobian terms, she was stunning. Two large ears sprouted from her snow white head. Her eyes were a stunning green, standing out from her long black lashes. She wore elbow length white gloves and long, white booths with a heart at the end above her toes. Her middle section was covered by a black skin tight suit. Her chest was covered with a giant pink breast plate. Two black wings popped up over her shoulders. At the bottom of the picture writing in neat cursive writing.

"Team Dark," He muttered, his voice deep and velvety smooth. "Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge and Bat, E-123 Omega."

Shadow smiled as he looked over his team. Turning on his heal, Shadow strode down the hall. His room was located at the end on the left. In the middle to the right was another, dark purple colored door. Written in the same neat, cursive writing in a bright white was Rouge the Bat and at the bottom a pink heart. The ebony hedgehog paused out side her door, triangular ears twitching.

That bat had known him from the beginning of his new life. From the moment he was woken to now she had remained by his side through thick and thin. When he wanted revenge, when he had fallen from space, when she had woken him from status, when they fought Metal Overloard, when Mephiles the Dark appeared, when he fought Solaris, when the Black Arms came, when he fought Devil Doom, even when he came back form the fight and collapsed she was there for him. Rouge was his best friend. He told her everything and in return, she told him everything. Now they worked side by side at GUN as a team. He had sworn to himself to protect her no matter what. Even if he had to kill himself to save her, he would. Their friendship was that strong, just like his old one.

Shadow continued down the hall. To the left was another door, this time white. Spray painted on the front in red, yellow and black was E-123 Omega with the Omega symbol at the bottom in red. E-123 Omega…. Shadow chuckled softly to himself. The third member of their rather odd looking but perfect team. They had met on rather unfriendly terms shortly after he had been release from status for a second time by Rouge. It had started when Omega had woken from sleep mode for the first time in a very long time. The large robot had immediately targeted Shadow and had started to blow everything up. Shadow had dodged, then made a move to attack Omega. Rouge, having watched stunned in the back round, came in between them and stopped the short lived fight. She had positioned Omega on one side of the room and him on the other. She had then asked a few questions to either of them. In the end they all had the same goal and had become a team.

Shadow continued down the hall and to the top of a stair case. From there he could see down to the cold marble floor below and the main entrance which consisted of a few pictures, some furniture and two large wooden doors. Carefully, the ebony hedgehog made his way down the stairs silently, as not to disturb his partners. The two cold rings around his ankles moved loosely around causing Shadow to shiver slightly. A flash of lighting made him jump slight. He had almost completely forgotten about the thuder storm out side. Once on the first floor, he looked up and down the two halls before turning around to the pair of double doors behind him. They were large and white with spiral gold and silver designs going up the door frame. The hall to his right led to the kitchen, dining room and living room. The hall to his left led to a large bathroom, an under ground training center complete with obstacle course and Rouge's private gem collection. Currently on display, Shadow's green Chaos Emerald. The Ultimate Life Form shook his head, resisting the urge to go get said priceless jewel.

He strode to the white pair of double doors and swung them open. The marble floor continued before turning to wood in the middle of the rather spacious room. Shadow walked inside the large ball room. There were a few chairs, couches and tables set neatly off to the side near a home made bar. A large stage had been set up in the back of the room against the wall. The walls were lined with large glass windows allowing red orbs to scan the peaceful summer night outside. His eyes stayed fixed on the full moon for a few seconds. Wait…full moon, peaceful night?

Shadow blinked a few times. He looked around at his surroundings. A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he started to understand his situation. All thoughts about that Saturday night two months ago vanished just like the crescent moon and the steady patter of the rain. He really was in the ball room, standing on the icy marble floor in the dead of night, but present time. Shaking his head, the male anthropomorphic hedgehog walked over to the stage. It was just...sitting there, begging him to walk over and play it. The cure to his boredom which he had found two months ago sat waiting for him on top of the stage, the light from one of the large glass window's reflecting off of its smooth, open top. It was an old, French country style parlor grand piano.

Shadow's maker, Professor Gerald Robotnik, had bought the piano for his granddaughter, Maria, when she had said she wanted to learn to play. It was the only large item, measuring five feet seven inches, to be brought back from ARK. Made in 1921 by the Chickering Piano Company, it was crafted by some of the most prestigious piano builders at the time. How Gerald had found such a fair piano was still a mystery to Shadow as not many of these pianos had been made. Shadow walked over and ran his hands along the sides of the piano, tracing the elegant, rare French Country style details. Shadow observed the way the moon light reflected off the satin black lacquer finished mahogany wood. It had been restored to accommodate Mobians as well as humans. Rouge had even found, after much searching, a new leather bench to match the old piano, for the original bench had been destroyed by old age and lack of proper care. Sitting on the ground next to the piano was an old box. Shadow picked it up and put it on the bench, brushing a very light, almost unseen layer of dust off the top. Another old item to be brought back fromARK, the box was black and made of what looked to be some type of ancient wood, the outside resembling worn black leather. Shadow looked at the aged piece of paper attached to the top. It had turned yellow after so many years, but the red ink still stood out. Piano Sheet Music was written neatly on the paper in a flowing, delicate yet graceful cursive. Shadow carefully removed the top. The box was filled with aged, yellow pieces of paper, sorted alphabetically. A few new, white sheets stuck out at random, music Rouge had collected recently for him.

Shadow had never told anyone, in fear of them laughing at him, but he loved to play the piano. He had often accompanied Maria to her piano lessons, the soft sound of the piano soothing to his ears and calming to his mind. When Maria had subjected he learn to play and said that she would teach him personally, he had taken her up on the offer. In a few short weeks he had master all of her beginner books. By the time a year had past, he was a master when it came to the instrument. He could play anything she threw at him. Shadow smiled at the memories of his young friend. Of course, fifty years had been a long time of not playing so when Rouge had found the piano onARK, he had lied and said he couldn't play. Rouge, still in love with the beauty of the instrument, had told him to take it and the music to earth anyway. If anything, she had said, I can put it on display for people to gawk at.

Shadow sat down on the other side of the bench and started to run his hands over the delicate papers. When Rouge had found out he could play, she had caught him red handed that Saturday night playing Moonrise by Brian Crain, she had begged him to play more for her. Playing had instantly cured him of his restlessness and, after playing a few more songs for Rouge who had been lulled to sleep by the steady sound of the keys and the rain out side, he had carried her back to bed and had gotten a good nights sleep himself. Shadow plucked the sheet music for Moonrise out of the box before putting it on the ground. Ebony hands moving over the black and white keys of the grand piano while the owner of said hands straightened their back, preparing themselves.

Hands gracefully moved over the piano, pressing down gently. Music filled the empty air. The room was suddenly brought alive with music. Shadow closed his eyes, swaying slightly as he listened. He suddenly found himself back in time, two months earlier. The sound of rain mingled with the gentle notes as they wafted in the air. A thundering boom and slick crack followed a flash of light, enchanting the moment as Shadow continued to play. The hedgehog did not hear the sound of foot steps approach him as thunder rolled by outside. He played a littler fast as he came to the middle,high pointof the song. The experiments entire body moved with the music, it taking him in its strong yet gentle grasp. The image of himself the Maria flashed in his mind and he smiled. Another crack, another boom, pitter pat, pitter pat. Lighting, thunder, rain and…

"Don't stop," her voice stated as Shadow jumped to his feet, twirling around.

The white bat walked over, clad in a satin dark purple robe with a red and light blue dragon. Her hips moved steadily as she strode over, the dragon shimmering like it was trying to climb up her body. The robe clung to her well fit frame, emphasizing every curve. She walked past the stunned, fuming and embarrassed Shadow. Her hand patted the warm side of the bench were Shadow had been sitting.

"I want to hear more. You're really good."

Shadow reluctantly sat next to her and began to play again….

The present Shadow stopped playing and opened his eyes, the song having been finished. The sound of rain slowly started to fade from his mind along with Rouge's alluring, smooth voice. He picked up the sheet music and put it away, placing it carefully between two new pieces of paper. His fingers trailed to the M section and he picked up an old piece. The sheet music had been written on in the same gentle, flowing cursive in red ink. Shadow put the sheet music up. Moonlight by Yiruma, the second on Maria's favorites list.

As soon as Shadow began to play he no longer looked at the sheet music and instead at the moon. He wasn't fooled; he knew the moon wasn't really full tonight. In fact, it would never be full again. Shadow remembered what had happened. The Eclipse Cannon, a giant weapon attached to theARKhad blown up half the moon. All that remained was a half the real moon. The man who had blown it up, Doctor Ivo Robotnik, more commonly known as Eggman, had replaced half the moon with a metal structure. He later added another metal layer over his first one that looked exactly like the half that had been blown up. To many, it looked just like the old moon. But to others, they found the things that made it different, unreal, fake. The song started to end and Shadow looked away from the full moon and down at the inside of the piano. Slowly his fingers slowed down, the song finally coming to a close. With a final ding the song ended and Shadow put the music away.

He moved his fingers a little and pulled out another piece. Shadow traced the writing before putting the paper up on the stand built into the French styled piano. It was written in black ink this time and not in cursive, but manuscript. The words were neat, large and spaced evenly. Near the end of the sheet music was a small drawing of a black heart colored in with red ink. Black smoke formed around the heart. Red swirls drifted off the heart with small black spikes coming out of it. Red flowers bloomed from the black spikes. The flowers had black drops falling off of them forming a puddle on the ground. The puddle was red. It looked pretty and deadly at the same time. Pleasant and yet not. Shadow smiled showing his fangs. He had drawn the heart, she had colored it in, he had add the smoke, she had made the swirls, he had inserted the spikes, she had drawn in the flowers, he had ended with the drops of black and the outline of the puddle, she had finished the drawing with the red to fill it in. Inside the heart was a golden S and a light blue M. At the bottom of the page in the same golden ink was his name written, it letters flowing together gracefully, tied to one another because of the cursive. Next to it in the same light blue ink was her name, Maria Robotnik. It was evenly spaced, neat and each letter separate.

Shadow pulled his eyes away from the paper. He had been playing again. When did he even start? Crimson streaked limbs hovered over the keys. Shadow cast one more glance back at the paper before putting it away. When Gerald had seen the drawing he's asked who'd first drawn the heart. When Shadow said he had done it, Gerald had asked for him to draw him something else. It could be anything he wanted, but he had to work hard on it. So Shadow did. Every day after the experiments were over Shadow would go to the large window that looked down at earth and take out his sketch pad. At the time the book had been bright blue, the pages a crisp white. He'd sketched the earth, then colored it in with a set of special colored pencils. After presenting his work to his creator, Shadow had asked why Gerald had asked him to draw something. His response, because I thought you had a gift; as it turns out, you do. Shadow walked away that day beaming from the compliment. Maria had taken a large interest in his artistic skill, often asking him to draw her pictures of the lab animals or hybrid plants. When Shadow had stumbled across a book in the Professor's private library on places to see on Earth, Shadow had borrowed the book and gotten a new sketch pad. Months later, he presented the sketch pad to Maria as a present for her birthday. He had altered some of the pictures and had drawn Maria, himself and the Professor inside. Some were shaded using a pencil, others remained uncolored, some were colored in colored pencil, crayons, watercolor, ink and acrylic paint. She had said it was one of the best birthday presents ever. Gerald had been most impressed, patting Shadow on the head and praising him.

Judging by the sky outside and the new position of the moon, it was now close to sunrise. Shadow decided he's finish with one last piece. The hybrid yawned as he rummaged through the box, looking for a suitable ending piece to the night. His hands traveled to the D section and he pulled one out. It didn't have any writing on it, but it was old. Shadow looked at it for a moment. Yes, he remembered this piece. He'd only played it once. The night Maria got sick and they both couldn't sleep. He had been in her room, refusing to leave till his friend was better. Gerald had frantically started doing tests on both of them, trying to find a way to help his ill granddaughter. The total number of days in bed had been three. Shadow hadn't eaten, slept or moved during that time. They had both been restless that night, unable to close their eye or get comfortable. Maria wanted Shadow to play, so he had picked her up bridal style and dashed to the music room before anyone could see them. That night Maria had present him with the piece. He'd played it for her in at midnight. When he was done, Shadow had discovered Maria had fallen asleep. The young hedgehog had picked her up again and carried her back to her room, tucking her in before falling asleep himself. From that day on Maria had continued to get better.

Dreams by Yiruma. He was her favorite and this was her favorite song by him. Shadow could almost feel Maria sitting next to him, her long blonde hair falling over her shoulders neatly, her ocean blue eyes closed, her frail body moving to the music and her pale pink lips turning upwards into a smile. Shadow started to play, hands moving automatically. Some times he amazed himself, like now. Only looking at the page two times and playing once, he knew the song by heart. May be it was the memory attached to it? Maybe it was something else? Shadow didn't know and, at the current moment, he really didn't care. Shadow jumped as someone next to him moved. His hands slammed down on the piano and the horrible sound it produced made him cringe.

"I'm sorry for scaring you," A small voice stated. Shadow wanted to move his head to see who was next to him, but it just wouldn't cooperate.

"Oh, please continue, I'm sorry for interrupting Shadow," the soothing voice cooed, a weight shifting on the bench.

"She's dead," Shadow reminded himself, closing his eyes and putting his elbows on his knees, his head now in his hands. "You're mind is fooling with you, she's not really there."

"Is something wrong Shadow? I didn't mean to make you upset…," She sounded hurt and that broke Shadow's heart more than anything. He pulled his heavy head away from his hands and turned his head slowly.

"M-Maria?" His voice came out broken and barely over a whisper.

Sitting next to him on the bench was the girl from his memories. His beloved Maria. Her long blond hair still lay perfectly on her head; her bright blue eyes sparkled as she looked at him, her frail body turned towards his smaller form. She wore her sky blue dress like always with matching head band, but it was slightly transparent and Maria's skin seemed to shimmer.

"It's me silly, who else did you think it was?" For a second, Shadow had actually expected it to be Rouge.

"B-But y-you're-"

"I'm still dead," She looked down, sad. Shadow reached out and found he could actually touch her. His ungloved hand rested on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, it's just…I'm surprised and…," Shadow tried to remain under control, but the urge to turn and hug his old friend was becoming to much to bare.

"I'm happy to see you too," Maria stated quickly, wrapping her pale and slightly white arms around Shadow's stiff, hard body. He quickly returned the hug, ebony arms slipped around her stomach, his fingers playing with her hair.

"I missed you so much Maria," Shadow murmured into her shoulder, tears rolling down his checks.

"I missed you too Shadow. Grandfather does too. We're both so proud of you for doing the right thing. We were so worried you'd forget about us though…."

"I would never forget about you Maria, or the Professor. You two are my family, I could never forget."

"Were," Maria corrected, her hands rubbing Shadow's back," We were your family."

"I-I don't understand?"

"You have a new family now with your friends and your team."

Shadow pulled away and Maria wiped a tear off his cheek," Can you play for me again?"

"Of course, I'd do anything for you Maria."

Shadow shook his head a little and turned toward the piano again. He positioned his hands and cast one more look at Maria. His hands moved automatically, striking the right keys and moving to the next. Maria closed her eyes, lost in a river of old memories. She had wished, more then anything, to be here with him again. And she'd gotten her chance. Shadow's hands moved gracefully, stretching out over the piano. Maria started to hum. She really didn't have a song in mind, but she hummed anyway. It seemed to match the music complimenting it nicely. Shadow picked up his pace slightly as he reached the middle of the song. Maria watched as his hands slowed, then sped up again. The end was coming. With a few last notes, the song ended. Shadow put his hands in his lap and looked up at Maria. Her heart melted as she gazed into his soft fiery eyes.

"How long can you stay?"

"I can't any longer. They said one song, then I had to be back right away."

Shadow quickly wrapped his arms around Maria's thin waist and he buried his head in her chest," Please don't leave me again."

"Oh Shadow," Maria sighed, embracing him once again. Tears streamed down both of their faces. "I wish I could stay, I really do. But I have to go; I have to go back to Grandfather."

"A-Alright. I love you Maria," Shadow whispered, pulling away from Maria.

"I love you too Shadow," Maria gave Shadow one last kiss on the top of his head, right in the middle of where his red stripe started.

At that moment the sun peaked up over the horizon and light flooded the room. Shadow watched, more tears streaming down his muzzle as Maria started to fade into the light.

"Don't ever forget me," She whispered, fading completely. Her words echoed in the room for a few more seconds.

"I never will," Shadow whispered back, hanging his head. He turned back to the piano and put the piece away, sealing the box. Bare feet padded across the ground as their owner walked away. Shadow stopped in the door way, casting one more look back. The sun sparkled off the black piano, its elegant deigns popping out. Shadow closed white doors with a small click. He walked back up the marble stair case and down the hall to where the bedrooms are. He glanced at Omega's door, then to Rouge's door. He stopped in front of his black door. Painted on the front was his name, neat and in manuscript, each letter evenly spaced apart in crimson red. Under were both of his symbols, the one for his project that Professor Gerald had come up with and the one he had on his bike which he had made himself. At the very bottom of the door was his signature, a curvy, wavy S.R.H.

Shadow pushed the door open and walked into his room. A cold draft of air blew out and washed over Shadow's body. The crimson striped hedgehog shivered slightly. He glanced at the fan, but turned away and fell down on his bed, landing on his back. Shadow starred at the ceiling for a few moments, wondering if the encounter with Maria was real or not. Had he just imagined everything that had just happened? Had he really gone down to play? Shadow's traveled to his sketch book. He picked it up and flipped through all of his drawings till he came to the one two months ago. There, at the bottom of the page, written in black and gold ink was his name. Shadow immediately recognized Maria's hand writing. He reached over and scrambled for his ink set that was laying on the floor next to his side table. Picking out the red and light blue ink, Shadow wrote Maria's name in.

Shadow gasped as red and gold ink started to flow across the page. Red eyes widened.

Don't Ever Forget Us.

A tear dropped onto the page and Shadow lightly touched the words.

I Won't, Ever.

He wrote back in red and light blue ink. A smile spread across Shadow's lips as the light from the morning sun flooded across the page.

Laying down on his back with the book clutched to his puffy white chest, Shadow yawned. Black eye lids slowly started to fall as their owner, for the first time, realized just how tired they were.

"Never, I will never forget," Shadow whispered before giving up the fight and falling peacefully to sleep.

A/N

Hope you people liked! I must say, this has to be one of my best yet. It did take a while, but what ever!

If you want to see what the piano looked like, go to .com/product/419/chickering-country-french-style-parlor-grand-piano/

The music you can look up on youtube. Try listening to the songs while you have a rain effect in the back round. It's really nice and sounds even better. I almost fell asleep while writing this because I was listening to it like that. ^ ^' (Rubs back of head nervously) So, R&R please!