AN: This is kinda AU-ish... Also, a new title is welcome, just PM me!
" " speaking.
~ ~ thoughts.
Something was after Shadow and he knew it wasn't coincidence. He knew because this wasn't the first time. Things had tried to kill continuously for the past month. A reckless driver, misinformed officers that somehow thought he was the culprit, elusive snipers that vanished into thin air, and now this: grotesque monsters that leapt upon him. They were almost twice as tall as him and walked on all fours. Their panther-like bodies were covered in a hard, blackened material. Parts if the 'skin' bubbled orange-red something like lava which burned and dripped down their sides. They had razor sharp teeth and claws, and their spade-like tails aided their balance. All in all: They were a pain to fight. Especially in the snow. 'Isn't snow the best place to fight them?' you ask? The answer: nope. The best place would be around perfect blue, cool water. Not this damn snow! Here's a lesson for all of you out there: snow is a white, fluffy menace. It not only slows you down, but you as well. Every inch of their bodies protected them from the cold, it seemed, while the biggest protection Shadow had was his chest hair.
Damn! He needed to end this soon! Every time he got close his body would burn from the intense heat and every time he out some distance between them, the cold seeped into him. It was putting his body into shock. He grimaced as a creature grazed his right shoulder; there were already many cuts all over his body (and a particularly nasty gash in his lower left leg). He grit his teeth in annoyance ~Damn it! Of all the times NOT to have a Chaos Emerald! Why'd there have to be so many of them?~. He had taken care of about 26 of those monsters already, but was getting pretty worn down and was getting progressively weaker with every blow. It didn't help that the last 6 were much smarter than their defeated brethren.
There was only one thing for it then: retreat. With a quick burst from his rocket-skates Shadow shot into the snow-covered foliage on his right, ignoring the light sprinkling of snow he received from the disturbed forest canopy. The creatures were right behind him, however; relentlessly pursuing with bounding leaps and melting the snow wherever their feet landed. Shadow shot past the tree line and skid to a halt, snow spraying forward and over the edge of the cliff he had narrowly avoided falling over. You could see the bottom, but it was still quite a ways down which meant that it wasn't worth the risk (with Shadow injured as he is). Whipping around he noticed another problem: He was cut off as the creatures had caught up and now surrounded him; their hunches bunched up as they prepared to pounce. There was only one chance left…
"What are you waiting for?" Shadow growled in irritation, his deep voice causing them to snarl. Then they leapt; teeth bared and claws stretched forward to impale their prey… And released several confused yips as their target vanished and they collided with each other and flew over the cliff edge. Shadow allowed himself a small chuckle as he landed a few feet away from the edge; he had jumped at the last second. Thankfully their poor eyesight (which he had discovered while fighting them; seeing them sometimes scratch one another) had prevented them from seeing each other plan to pounce. As well as the cliff edge which awaited them.
Peering over the edge he saw 5 of the creatures shakily get up, jarred from the landing. One of them held it's front right foot up (obviously injured), but otherwise had only minor injuries. The one which didn't get up had cracked it's head open against one of the snowless rocks at the cliff bottom. Shadow frowned ~Why won't these things just DIE already?~. He then turned and sped into the woods. Hopefully they wouldn't follow him.
Shadow didn't know how long he'd been walking, but he hoped it wouldn't be for much longer. The snowfall had become heavier and was turning into a blizzard, obscuring his vision and making his wounds sting. He was weary and the longer he stayed out in the cold, the more his body had the chance to get Frostbite. He had busted one of his skates when a hidden rock had entered his path; so now he slowly trudged through the snow. Today just wasn't his day. Shadow's gaze eventually drifted towards his feet, due to tiredness and the lack of wanting to trip again.
He kept walking until… "Hey!". Shadow blearily looked up and to his astonishment saw golden eyes staring at him. They belonged to a young, white hedgehog boy, whose long quills stuck up like a cockatoo's in the front and curved downwards at the back. He wore tattered white rider gloves, worn black trainers and an odd lime-green headband. Recovering against his astonishment, Shadow sent a glare at the boy, "What do you want?". The boy looked uncertain and then hesitantly took a step forward. Shadow scowled ~Maybe this kid doesn't understand English….~ The boy took another step forward. And another. And another… Until he was standing right in front of the ebony (with red streaks) hedgehog and gold eyes locked onto red eyes. Then the boy spoke up, "You're good, right?" he said taking Shadow's least injured hand gently, "I'll help you.". Shadow blinked as he was wordlessly led in the direction the boy had come from.
AN: To Silver fans out there: Don't worry it's not all about Shadow, I just needed some way to introduce Silver (Besides I love SilverShadow brotherly!). To Shadow fans: Shadow still plays an important part. R + R!