Disclaimer: Although the original concept for this story is mine, Sonic and all other characters are property of Sega. Hot Topic and Chanel are property of their respective owners.
Author's Note: Hi y'all! Here's my entry for the Shadow oneshot contest on CrazyNutSquirrel'spage.This is my second oneshot, and it's probably going to be longer than the other one. This is actually a two part oneshot due to this fact (quite the oxymoron, eh?). Anyway, please R & R!
Shadow Goes to the Mall!
At 8:30 P.M., Shadow burst through the door of his Metropolis apartment, his entire body drained of any energy whatsoever. After a hard day of running errands for the obese Dr. Robotnik, Shadow wanted nothing more than to fall into an eternal slumber. He recklessly tossed the keys to the apartment and his coat onto the couch, temporarily forgetting his mild obsessive compulsive tendency to keep his abode in perfect order. He was carrying a to-go cup of coffee, which he prompted threw away in the kitchen garbage can. "If only that lazy butt would actually do some of his own dirty work," the ebony hedgehog thought bitterly to himself. "If he's supposed to be that intelligent, shouldn't he be able to invent a robot lackey to do his bidding? But no, he has to hire me to do the work for him. Pathetic geezer; doesn't he have enough slaves already?"
Without a care in the world, the male hedgehog kicked off his well-worn boots, sending them flying into the next room. He walked slowly into his bedroom, throwing himself onto the pillow-top mattress.
Shadow's room what not what most people would expect, especially with his personality. One might have expected to see dark colored walls with various posters of hard rock bands plastered on every available surface, something that wasn't to be found in the case of the ebony hedgehog. To the contrary, he had collected very nice prints of modern art which hung on the sage green walls, having paid a good deal of hard earned money to have them properly framed. The various pieces included works by Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, Van Gogh, and various other famous artists. Although there was a perpetual air of aloofness around the ebony hedgehog, wanted to express himself in a more creative fashion, which manifested itself in his art collection.
Pulling himself up into a sitting position, he took out from a drawer in his bedside table a small brown teddy bear that he had since he was a child. The bear was in relatively decent condition; the only physical flaw was the lack of a left ear that had been ripped off when Shadow was about five years old. It had been sown up several times over the years, but the threads holding the void together somehow always came loose. The ebony hedgehog's teddy bear had a bright red ribbon tied around its neck, and it looked upward with its small black eyes in a perpetual image of blessed sweet innocence. This childhood toy, which Shadow affectionately called Mr. Biggles, was the only security blanket that Shadow had not been able to give up.
"At least you don't have to work for a grumpy old fat man like I do," the male hedgehog complained to the bear. Shadow then crawled underneath the sheets of his bed, holding the teddy bear in his arms.
Slowly drifting into a deep sleep, he soon forgot the worries and troubles of everyday life. A few minutes after he got into bed, Shadow soon felt hot, and opened a window to let fresh cool air enter his apartment. Soon afterward, the hedgehog fell back asleep with his teddy bear in his arms, the temperature to his liking.
While he was sleeping, Shadow dreamed that he was back on the A.R.K., talking to his long-lost friend, Maria. She was smiling at him, very happy to see him again. She was always a happy person, the ebony hedgehog remembered; there wasn't anything that could make her sad. They were looking out of one of the giant windows on the ship, watching planet Earth spin in its heavenly orbit.
"I miss talking to you, Shadow. I wish I had the chance to see you again," she had said to him in his dreams.
"I always think about you, Maria. You'll always have a special place in my heart." Shadow told his friend.
As they continued watching the planets spin about them, various scientists and lab aides were rushing down through the hallway where the two friends were standing. They seemed unfazed by the fast-paced motion of life that was around them; all they cared about was that they were together once more, finally breaking the bonds of life and death that had separated them for so long.
Shadow then asked the scientist's granddaughter something that was completely opposite of his usual aloof attitude.
"Maria, can I have a hug?" the ebony hedgehog asked sheepishly.
The human girl looked down and stared into the crimson eyes of the male hedgehog, whom she thought of more as a brother than a friend.
"Oh course, Shadow! You don't have to ask me that!" She then knelt down and drew Shadow into a warm embrace. Shadow smiled in his sleep, finally at peace for the first time in his life.
As I quietly entered the apartment of my beloved, I could see him wrapped up in the blue comforter that covered his bed. I could hear him mumbling something in his sleep, but I wasn't exactly sure what he was saying. Looking down at my watch, I found it very hard to believe that Shadow could be sound asleep at this hour. It's Friday night for God's sake! Shouldn't he be out of the house? Or, better yet, out on a date with me?
I strode across the carpet of his bedroom, gripping at the plush fibers with my toes. I had taken off my shoes so that I wouldn't wake him; he's so precious when he's asleep, it would be an outrage if I should wake him abruptly. I then slowly placed myself onto the bed, crawling under the covers. I then slowly extended my arms and embraced my ebony hedgehog and, feeling tired myself, began to doze off.
As I embraced my human sister, I began to notice something very strange. All of the sudden, I felt unable to breathe; Maria was squeezing the live out of me!
"Uh, Maria, would you please not hug so tight?" I asked, very worried about my current predicament.
Apparently, she must not have heard me, because she tightened her grip around me.
"Seriously, Maria, I can't breathe!"
Her grip around me became stronger, and I felt myself rapidly loosing oxygen.
"MARIA, LET GO!!" I shouted. I must have shouted in real life, because I woke myself up in fright.
Shadow then looked around, in panic, and found himself looking down at the culprit of his nightmare.
"AMY!! What in God's name are you doing here?" the ebony hedgehog screamed like a little girl.
"Oh, relax, Shadow, it's only me," the pink female replied indignantly, folding her arms across her chest.
"Why the hell did you break into my house?!" the ebony hedgehog exclaimed in fury.
"You shouldn't have left your windows open; someone could have broken in," she huffed.
Shadow sighed, "Thanks for the warning, Captain Obvious! I'll be more careful next time!"
Amy replied vehemently, "At least I don't sleep with a teddy bear!"
Shadow, glancing down quickly, saw that he had displayed Mr. Biggles' hiding place underneath the blankets. He tried to put the bear behind his back, but he was unable to hide from the condescending stare of his pink girlfriend. "At least I don't break into other people's houses!"
"Yes, you have! Remember that time you snuck into Sonic's house and rearranged his furniture?"
"Oh yeah, that's right! My God that was hilarious!" the ebony hedgehog smiled while going through a sentimental moment, which for Shadow was extremely rare.
Snapping out of his memories, he retorted, "But that's beside the point! You shouldn't go and scare people like that, Amy." He then reclined back into his original position, tossing the covers over him while trying to relax once more before bed.
Amy then turned towards him and pleaded, "Come on, Shadow. I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you like that!"
The male hedgehog poked his head out from under the covers and retorted, "Well Mr. Biggles and I disagree!" He tossed his head back onto the pillow, trying to ignore anything Amy had to say.
"Hey, I have an idea!" the female hedgehog declared, "why don't we go to the mall?"
"Why would I want to go to the mall? I'm worn out from running errands or that gluttonous pig Dr. Eggman; the last thing I want to do is wander aimlessly through the mall."
Amy's attempt at redeeming herself was almost a complete disaster; that is, until she remembered one little but very important detail.
"Hot Topic is having a 50 off sale that ends today."
The ebony hedgehog's head instantly popped out from beneath the covers. "You're lying," Shadow said flatly.
"No, sweetie, I'm dead serious." Amy replied.
The ebony hedgehog tried to reason his way of this argument. "There is no way in God's good green earth that a clothing store of that caliber would even think about bestowing on the average person."
"Would you like to see proof?" the pink hedgehog asked with an unmistakable tone of annoyance in her voice.
Shadow sat up straight, starting to take more interest in this conversation by the second. "That would be a good start."
Amy then pulled out a giant black purse that screamed "Chanel" in bold white lettering. Unfolding an entire section of the local newspaper, she handed him the store flyers. "Look at the ad at the bottom of the pile; you'll find your proof there."
The male hedgehog then proceeded to open the paper with apprehension, fearing that Amy might have somehow cursed the store ads; Shadow had always been a little bit more than worried about his girlfriend's mood swings. He pulled out a piece of paper that was covered in a glossy black finish that contained all of the things someone might expect from a store of that category. Sure enough, Amy hadn't tried to pull any mean, nasty tricks on him: this time anyway.
"A sale at Hot Topic? Woman, how come you didn't tell me this before?!" Shadow nearly screamed in his conniption fit.
Amy pleaded in desperation, "I was trying to, but you didn't listen to me! And besides, from what you were saying earlier, I thought you wouldn't be interested."
Shadow's ears drooped as he looked at the pink hedgehog with a look that said, "Are you seriously that stupid?"
Realizing the error of her ways, Amy said quickly, "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that."
Shadow then took on a serious tone, "Amy, I am always interested in that store; that day I refuse an opportunity such as this will be the day that fish ride bicycles. Now, we've got to hurry; I heard that they close early tonight." With their goal in mind, Shadow set off, nearly dragging his pink girlfriend with him towards the elevator.
"My God, Shadow! I've never seen you this excited before! Why the sudden change in attitude?"
The ebony male gave her a look of puzzled bewilderment. "Did you really just ask me that?"
She took her cue to shut up as the elevator doors closed. The machine then began lurching slowly towards the underground parking division. Due to its age and frequent use, the elevator wasn't as fast as the hedgehog couple would have liked.
Amy used this moment of relative quiet to reflect on her current situation. "Just look at him; Shadow is so cute when he gets excited. It's almost like looking into the face of a hyperactive child, but I don't mind. As long as he's happy, that's all that matters to me. Too bad that…"
The pink hedgehog's thought was interrupted when the elevator made an abrupt stop, nearly throwing the unsuspecting hedgehogs to the floor. Fortunately for them, the two hedgehogs were able to keep their balance.
"Wait here," the ebony hedgehog calmly commanded.
As he took off to find his car, Amy shivered slightly; she didn't realize it could get so cold inside a parking garage. "Why didn't I bring my coat? Am I really that stupid?" she thought to herself. She wouldn't be cold much longer, however.
Within a period of two seconds, the pink hedgehog witnessed something extraordinary. Zooming out of the back of the garage came in a brand new black Lotus Elise with two racing stripes on the driver's side. The tires were exceptionally thin with smoky gray rims with black neon lights underneath the carriage. The driver rolled down one of the tinted windows and said, "Hop in, Rose."
"Good Lord, Shadow! How could you afford this?" she asked perplexedly.
The ebony hedgehog smirked, "Simple: Dr. Eggman pays me well."
Slowly building up her confidence, Amy entered the car. The pulled her seatbelt tight, fearing what stunt Shadow might pull behind the wheel of a moving vehicle.
Sensing his girlfriend's anxiety, Shadow slowly pulled out of the parking garage and headed down the street.