"Bye Sonic." Twelve year old Christopher Thorndyke waved goodbye tearfully as his best friend Sonic the Hedgehog went back to his home world Mobius. He turned at the sound of his parents' calls, and smiled peacefully.
He was about to walk toward them, when he heard a rustle of nearby bushes. Curiously, Chris walked toward them and, with caution, parted the leaves. He gasped, tears falling down his face all over again.
Laying there was a dazed, bleeding, but alive Shadow the Hedgehog.
"Shadow!" Chris immediately bent down and gently shook Shadows' shoulder. Shadow groaned and opened his red eyes tiredly. A boy with reddish-brown hair and sky-blue eyes met his gaze. He knows him; He feels he should…
The boy was telling him something. Something important. But he wasn't listening. He threw the boy against a wall. A pink girl ran out, yelling the boys' name.
"C-Chris..?" The boy nodded his head. Shadow looked at him silently for a few seconds, then fell back into darkness.
Chris let out a shaky breath and gathered the hedgehog into his arms. Getting onto his feet slowly, he began to walk towards his parents.
"Chris!" Chris fell into his mothers' embrace, happy to see her, but concerned about Shadow. His parents were both crying, murmuring apologies about not being there for him. He told them he accepted their apologies as long as they would try to show up to some occasions.
His mother finally noticed the black and red hedgehog in her sons' arms. "Chris, what is that?" Chris gave his mom a frown, "His name is Shadow, Mom. He saved the world. Can we take him with us? He's hurt."
Both parents looked at their son, who looked down at Shadow in concern. A bond was going to grow between them, the Thorndykes could feel it.
"Okay, you can take him home. But we better clean him up first." Chris nodded quickly, and followed his parents to the car.
It took about two hours to get home. Lindsay looked over at her husband, smiling wearily. He gave her the same expression, and both went to open the back door to help their son out. Their eyes filled with affection at the adorable sight.
Chris had fallen asleep, resting his head in Shadows' quills. He was holding Shadow in his lap, arms loosely wrapped around Shadows' form. Said hedgehog was curled up against Chris' chest.
Neither looked like a bullet train could wake them up.
Mrs. Thorndyke, feeling queasy with the stench of blood, reluctantly lifted Shadow from her sons' arms while her husband lifted their son. Quietly they walked to the front door, where they were greeted by Chuck.
Chuck immediately stopped, and stared wide-eyed at Shadow in his daughter-in-laws' arms. He had been told by Sonic that the other hedgehog on the news, Shadow, didn't survive. Chris had been so upset. He would never forget how devastated his grandson was after that rescue.
"They're back." Chuck ran to the door when he heard Ella's call. His grandson was okay. The world was still alive. He would have to thank Sonic for this. He saw his grand son walk out of the shuttle and ran toward him. When he came up close, he stopped short.
Chris looked pale and there were tears falling down his cheeks. He was gripping onto an unknown golden band with an iron grip, as if it were the only thing keeping him sane. He walked forward and gave his grandfather a weak hug, sobs coming out of him.
Chuck wrapped his arm around him, then looked at Sonic, who was looking at Chris in concern. Sonic looked up at him and mouthed, "I'll tell you later."
Chuck knew that even though Chris had seemingly gotten over Shadows' death, the sadness and pain was always still there. Chris was never really the same after that day.
"He's all right?" Mrs. Thorndyke nodded her head. "We might need to clean him up. He's bleeding…and I don't know how much longer I can take it." Ella took Shadow from her arms, and walked to the bathroom to clean his wounds.
Mr. Thorndyke carried his son up the stairs to put him to bed, his wife following him. They had almost lost him, and it would take a while to make up for their mistakes.
They managed to dress Chris up without waking him, and they were just about to put him to bed when Ella came into the room, holding a bandaged Shadow.
The Thorndykes nodded their heads at the unspoken question that Ella was giving them. Slowly they put Chris into the bed and Ella placed Shadow beside him. All three looked down at the boy and hedgehog quietly for a few moments.
Finally, they quietly left the room and let their son and the hedgehog that they owed their lives to rest.