"It's a beautiful evening, is it not," the princess of Metropolis replied in a cheerful tone. Her companion replied with a simple "humph" as he stared into the vast sea of clouds. Originally, the princess would've made a fuss at the dark hedgehog's nonchalant opinion to the beauties of nature, but now she welcomed it because she knew it was his way of agreeing with her. "I'm grateful to have you here by my side on such a wonderful day. Thank you, Shadow,"
"You are welcome, princess," the ultimate life form replied.
"Shadow!"
"Okay, okay," Shadow corrected himself. "I mean, Sally. Happy?"
"Yes," Sally smirked and fell back onto the grassy floor.
The two Mobians laid by the lakeside with the sun beginning its descent. With the disappearance of the star, many changes occurred; the sky turned from blue to orange, the clouds were dyed red and pink, and even the lake became a darker blue. The black hedgehog let out a tiresome sigh as he witnessed the inevitable change. Though he enjoyed some of the diversities that presented itself in the world, a part of him still longed for some of the originality to remain. With his mind deep in thought, the black hedgehog barely had time to notice someone's hand resting on his chest. He looked up to see the chipmunk gazing down at him, eyes full of concern.
"You don't like change, do you," Sally inquired. "You're more of a person that likes things to stay the same, am I right?"
Shadow closed his eyes and made a grunt noise. "I am an agent of G.U.N," he proclaimed. "We are trained to adapt to and survive in the changing world. I am use to such things."
"That still doesn't mean that you miss the way things are," Sally responded.
The ultimate life form retorted with a growl. This confused the princess and Shadow knew that it did, but instead of getting upset with the dark hedgehog, she only leaned in closer to him; this, Shadow did not see coming.
"What are you doing," Shadow demanded.
"Comforting you," Sally responded. "I sense that you're upset, so I'm trying to help calm your nerves."
The black hedgehog felt caught off guard at the chipmunk's action. He was about to respond but he allowed her touch him and grapple him in a hug. Shadow responded by doing the same thing to her. The two suddenly realized that they were closer to each other than before. Their faces began to blush and their fur started to tingle. Even though the two Mobians wanted to separate themselves from the other, something was forbidding them to do so. Finally, it was Shadow, who broke the silence.
"Sally..." Shadow breathed the word out as though it were a breath of fresh air.
"Oh, Shadow," Sally moved in closer to the hedgehog till their bodies touched. "Why is it that we understand each other so well? In the past, we barely spoke to each other - let alone liked each other in that way. What has happened?"
The princess was right. Originally, Shadow had no personal feelings to the woman and vice-versa. However, with the passing seasons, the isolated mammal began to grow fond of the young girl, and she began to see a lighter side of him. Their relationship soon became that of friends and eventually siblings. Then it all changed on that unfaithful day...
"The transfusion," Shadow responded solemnly
The very thought made the life form shiver unpleasantly. Memories of that day flashed through his mind as though his happened just recently: the cold air, the constant bombardment from raindrops, the warmth of blood oozing onto the dead ground, and the feeling of a dying body reaching its last breath. Those were memories that the ultimate life form would peeper to leave be because it was the first time that he ever felt true fear.
"I gave you my blood to save your life," Shadow stated. "But at a price."
"I know," Sally nodded. "I'm just like you. A member of the Black Arms.."
She forced a laugh, but Shadow could tell that she didn't fully enjoy the idea of being "different" from the others; a bit hypocritical to the living weapon, but he kept his opinion to himself. Suddenly, the smile returned once more to the chipmunk's muzzle.
"On a positive side, I'm faster, stronger, more accurate when using a weapon, and as an added bonus," Sally pressed her muzzle on Shadow's cheeks and the hedgehog had to force his fur to lie flat. She saw his expression and burst out laughing. "I'm closer to you than ever before."
"That may be true, but you still need work on controlling your frenzy, and your abilities over chaos energy are still mediocre," Shadow retorted.
"That's why I have the greatest teacher in the world to show me the way," Sally said sarcastically.
The laughter soon died down and was replaced by silence. The twosomes remained seated by the lakebed as night began to approach. The sky was now a mixture of dark blue, orange and red, and the clouds began to vanish into the darkness. As evening slowly became night, the two Mobians remained close to each other as though they shared the same body. The sun eventually disappeared beyond the horizon and all was dark and asleep, excluding the two creatures that remained awake.
"Sally," Shadow whispered.
"What is it," Sally asked.
"Are you comfortable with your change?"
Sally gave the dark hedgehog a quizzical look. Shadow saw the expression and re-worded his sentence.
"What I mean is..." Shadow thought carefully on what to say. "Do you like your change?"
Sally lifted herself up and contemplated on her bodyguard's question. Walking toward the lake, she began evaluating the "new" her: first coating remained tan-brown, but her second coating was chocolate - colored. Her hair had changed from auburn to crimson, and finally her eyes - once sky blue - were now blood red.
"I can adapt," Sally finalized with a trembling voice.
Shadow's ears began to twitch; he padded across the grassy plain and sat beside the weeping princess. Placing an arm around her neck, he began rocking her back and forth, attempting to calm the sadden chipmunk. Just as I thought, Shadow thought. You don't like change either.
When the princess of metropolis had ceased her crying, she faced him with a weak smile.
"I don't blame you," Sally began. "You did it to save my life. If it wasn't for you I would've died. It's just that..."
Sally crawled toward the lake and saw her reflection. As she stared into the motionless pool, she let out a tiring sigh and bowed her head in defeat.
"I feel as though I don't know who I am anymore," Sally continued. "Am I still Sally, or am I different person? It's so confusing and I don't know what to do!" she screamed before striking the pool and watching the shock spread across the area.
The black hedgehog remained seated, unable to answer the question to Sally's problem. Granted, he had been confused about whom he was in the past, but the scenario was completely different. After much thought, Shadow placed a calming hand on the chipmunk's back and she turned to face him.
"The only person that can answer that question is you," said Shadow. "No one can tell you who you can or cannot be; only you can decide your own fate."
"You think so," Sally asked.
The hedgehog gave a curt nod. "You may appear different on the outside, but you are still you on the inside. Your new form does not change the fact that you are still the future ruler of this kingdom, the leader of the freedom fighters, nor does it change the fact that your still the same annoying chipmunk that I have grown fond off."
Shadow then received a punch to the arm, courtesy of the pedigree chipmunk. Shadow saw the fake smug that lingered on the young girl's face and smirked.
"Was that suppose to hurt," Shadow said sarcastically.
"I could if I wanted to," Sally barked nonviolently.
Without thinking, she tackled the ultimate life form to the ground and found herself lying on top of him. Shadow, too, realized this and began to blush. Sally, however, leaned in closer to the artificial mammal's face and whispered something into his ear.
"For someone who's supposedly past fifty, you're still kind of cute," she flattered.
Shadow felt the chipmunk wrap her arms and face grow ever so close to his. Though it was inappropriate, he gave in to her demands; rolling her over, the tables were turned with the hedgehog on top and a possible mate on bottom. The princess chuckled darkly at the hedgehog's sudden arousal.
"And for someone who's suppose to be appropriate in public, this is very uncivilized of you," Shadow challenged.
"No one's hear to watch, so it doesn't count," Sally countered seductively.
The black hedgehog placed his hands on her hip and the chipmunk wrapped her legs around his abdomen. They stared into each other's glistening, burning irises and something went off - an invisible spark that neither couple could see but knew it was there. That imaginary flame began to burn as bright as the sun, connecting the two in mind and soul.
A smile appeared on Shadow's muzzle as he stared into the Acorn's blood red eyes; Sally stared back into the mysterious hedgehog's solemn gaze and revealed to him sharp, white teeth.
"Changes are illusion," Sally finalized.
"I wouldn't say that," Shadow whispered, her face leaning in closer to Sally's lips. "Some are physical, mental, spiritual...but that doesn't mean that a speck of their originality still lingers from within."