A/N: YAY, MY SUMMER HAS FINALLY STARTED!
... Uhh, sorry about that, but I'm excited!
Anyway, I'm trying something a little different. It's still sentimental, but I added a bit of... I dunno, "reality" to the story. There's actually a bit of politics mentioned in here (uncharacteristic of me, but meh). It's still sentimental, I swear! And I also wanted to play around with Shadow's personality... I don't write about him much, so I think of this as a way of expanding my writing horizons. There's no romance either XD
Enjoy!
There were no more rings.
No one was quite sure how it happened. One day, everyone just woke up to discover that there were no more rings. Simply put, they had stopped appearing. That for once in the memory of even the oldest living being on Earth, there was only a finite amount of rings.
'Impossible,' the top leading scientists had said. 'It is physically impossible for the rings to just run out. We only need wait, and they will come back.'
And so, one month passed.
The amount of rings available to citizens was cut. Everyone laughed and talked about budgets, joked about how they actually had to open bank accounts instead of just picking rings off the street. But for now, they were just happy.
Three months passed.
Citizens were getting worried. Rings still had not appeared again. But they were told to wait… just wait…
Five months passed.
There were talks, whispers about the government cutting funding to various social services. Of course, authorities denied this, but the whispers continued. "I heard that GUN is going to make a special unit to search for rings…"
Seven months…
The government attempted to cut the amount of rings available to various corporations, in order to conserve and ration the amount that was left. The corporations were outraged, and talks of bribery and conspiracies spread through many countries. The government decided to cut the amount of rings available to hospitals instead.
Nine months…
Fingers were starting to be pointed. People were starting to starve, because there was simply no one who was willing to give away food without a price. News of tragedies related to rings spread. In one story, a six-year-old human boy was shot by a starving anthromorph, because the little boy was holding a shiny toy that looked like, he testified, a ring. Accusations of speciesism spread like wildfire.
Ten months…
Hate crime rates were off the charts. GUN was having trouble trying to contain it all, because of the amount of people that were laid off. GUN succumbs to public pressure, and Sonic the Hedgehog, along with his friends, were finally allowed to step in. But it was too late – Sonic could not keep peace anywhere for long, but he urged the world to not give up… to only think of peace…
Twelve months…
Sonic the Hedgehog died.
Who had shot him? No one really knew. They just knew that he was in the middle of two opposing sides – an organization that claimed to be "peaceful" and that wanted to eradicate all the newly sprung terrorists groups, and the strongest, most well-known terrorist group that was rumored to be hoarding rings - and suddenly, he had fallen. As he lay dying, the two leaders of the groups had went up to him, both holding a single ring that could've closed the wound immediately, or at least kept him alive long enough to rush him to the hospital.
But neither were willing to give up their rings.
Sonic died, with two rings glittering before his eyes.
More than a year passed.
War was declared between two neighboring countries, and it spread from there. No one could stop the war, and soon, it was out of control. The killings couldn't be stopped. "Rings!" everyone cried. "Give us rings!"
And this was where all records of the rings stopped.
Many, many years passed – not that anyone kept track anymore…
What had happened to the world? Many had asked that question, but no one seemed to know. Oh, the sky might not have been perpetually black or licked by eternal flames, but civilization had collapsed. Was this what they called the end of the world?
Shadow the Hedgehog watched with a passive expression on his face from the top of a building as an old man was being beaten by a gang of four. "Old man, we saw that ring! Cough it up now!"
"I… I don't have a ring! Just let me go back to my granddaughter…"
Crack! The sound didn't even seem to faze Shadow. The old man gasped for breath, the air wheezing in and out of his lungs as the bullet entered his heart.
"Whoa… a little harsh?" one of the boys asked.
The young girl, with a smoking gun in her hand, scoffed. "What sort of era do you think we're living in?" She stuffed the gun into a holster, before turning to the other three. "Strip him of his valuables. We're leaving."
After the man was left with nothing, not even the clothes on his back, they left him there.
Shadow watched the gang of four leave, their shadows wavering in the light, before looking down at the two rings clasped around his wrists. "Huh… all this bloodshed for these things, huh?" he muttered wryly to himself.
He looked up at the sky. So calm and blue! Wasn't this the part where it was supposed to start to turn gray and suddenly rain, washing away the spilt blood?
"… Umm… excuse me?"
Shadow turned his head slightly. A little human girl stared back, her eyes wide. She couldn't have been more than five. Her face was dirty and streaked with mud, and she smelled less than pleasant. Her feet were bare and bloody from walking around unprotected. As if sensing his thoughts, she hid her feet behind the door she was peeking from.
"…" Shadow turned away from her.
"Umm… Mr. Shadow the Hedgehog?"
"…" Shadow didn't turn around.
"That was… that was just my Grandpa. He's dead, isn't he?"
Shadow eyed her with one gleaming red iris. Strange girl. She had just seen her own grandpa die before her eyes, and there wasn't one single tear. Were all little girl raised to be this calloused these days?
"Sorry, but…" She kneeled down, her too-big shorts spreading out like a skirt. "You have rings, don't you? I heard that they give you superpowers. Why didn't you save him?"
Shadow answered with a non-committal grunt.
"Oh… okay…" He felt her nod her little head, as if he had actually said something. "My Grandpa was the only one taking care of me. If he's dead, then I guess that makes me an orphan, right?"
She didn't even sound sad! Shadow felt his curiosity stirring a little – something that had been asleep inside him for a long time. "Girl," he said.
She jumped a little. "Yes, Mr. Shadow?"
"How old are you?"
"Umm…" Her face screwed up in thought. "I think I'm five."
Shadow raised an eyebrow, turning around fully to look at her. "Think?"
The girl nodded. "I never had any birthdays, so I couldn't keep track. And Momma told me that there's no point in keeping track of the years anymore, since it either means that you die young or live a life full of nothingness." The little girl looked down at her knees. "Then she apologized for being depressing and told me that they'd try to celebrate my birthday if they could. But then they died."
"You're not sad?"
The little girl looked up questioningly. "Huh? I mean, huh, Mr. Shadow?"
"You don't seem to be too sad that your whole family is gone now," he pointed out bluntly, his arms crossed.
"Oh…" The girl's eyes saddened a little. "They looked really happy when they died… So that means I don't have to worry, right? They probably went to a good place."
"Hey." Shadow frowned, his black quills rattling in the polluted breeze from the roof. "How come you look so sad now?"
"If they're happy that they're leaving, then it probably means that they don't miss me, right?"
Shadow fought the surprised-expression that was trying to surface. The little girl was stating this all in such a matter-of-face voice. Though her expression did seem to say otherwise…
"Girl, let me tell you something." He turned away from her, showing her his back. "It's impossible for your parents to die without missing you at all. When someone dies, they'll always be thinking of the loved ones they leave on Earth."
"But… but why did they all look so happy?"
Shadow was silent for a moment. "… It's probably because they're happy that they're leaving this world, not you."
"…"
He felt his quills ruffle. He turned his head, and found that the little girl had "plopped" herself onto his back, using his softer quills as a rest for her back. He raised an eyebrow. He didn't really mind that she was there… but…
"… Thank you, Mr. Shadow."
Shadow was taken aback. "Thanks for what?"
"You made me feel a lot better." She giggled. Then, her expression turned serious and somber. "Did you lose your family too?"
Shadow closed his eyes briefly. "… Actually, I lost two families," he found himself saying.
"Whoa, two?" The girl's eyes widened. "What's it like to have two families?"
Shadow blinked. 'What a strange question to ask. Wouldn't one normally ask, "How did you lose your two families?"?'
"Well…" He turned around. "They…" He squeezed his eyes shut. How to say this? Maria, Professor Robotnik, Sonic and co… What was it like to have two families? "They made me feel happy," he answered simply.
"That's really cool!" The girl laughed. Shadow just "hmphed." "If having one family makes you feel this happy, then I want to have two families just like you!"
There was a long silence. The dirty roof blew up dust around them, and the open door that led to a set of stairs ('She must've climbed those…') slammed against the wall repeatedly from the wind. The city below them was in ruins, with another dead body to add to the pile. But somehow, it seemed… peaceful…?
"You know… my Grandpa was actually trying to get a ring for me."
Shadow's ear flicked to life and swiveled toward her voice. She sounded so small. "Really? Why?"
"Grandpa told me a story that if you get a ring, it would grant your wishes."
Shadow snorted. "Don't believe in that sort of fairy-tale."
The girl turned to face him, her hair sweeping her shoulders. "Why not?"
"Fairy-tales are for those who only feed on hope." Shadow's eyes flashed as the sun slowly crawled through the sky. "Don't rely on fairytales… you can only rely on yourself."
"What's wrong with hope?" the girl demanded. "Whoever told you hope is bad is stupid! Daddy said that hope is a gift we should treasure! He said, "Some people might tell you hope is a foolish thing, but know this: hope is a seed, and from that seed, life is born."
"Pfft." Shadow rolled his eyes uncharacteristically. How could this little girl exasperate him so much? "I don't really care what your father has to say about something as stupid as hope."
"It's not stupid!" she yelled, stomping her foot.
Shadow stared, before chuckling a little.
"Oh? Mr. Shadow, you laughed!" The girl's demeanor suddenly changed. She laughed too. "Hey, you look happier." She smiled, revealing two missing teeth. "I'm glad!"
Shadow abruptly stopped laughing. He glanced at the darkening sky. 'Almost night already?' He glanced at the girl. Different shades of black were thrown across her laughing face, though the sun seemed to also make her flush with different shades of red.
"Girl."
Her laughter stopped. "Yes, mister?" she asked, snapping to attention.
Shadow hid a smile. "Sit here," he said, patting the ledge beside him.
"Okay!" she chirped cheerfully, sliding onto the ledge with ease and throwing her feet over so that they dangled over the edge. She looked at him curiously, then at his rings with a rather wistful expression on her face. "Hey… mister, do those really grant your wishes?"
"Didn't I say to not believe in fairytales?"
The girl pouted. "But…"
"If you want me to protect you, you better throw away those silly notions."
The girl stared at him again. "Protect… me?"
Shadow looked straight ahead, avoiding eye contact. "You need a family, don't you?"
She stared for a few more moments, before her face split into a wide smile. "Oh yes! Yes mister! Thank you!"
Shadow turned to her, and gave her a tiny smile.
"But I'm not going to give up on fairytales!" she declared.
Shadow resisted the urge to face-palm himself. "Fine, fine, do want you want," he answered, deciding it would be better for him to just give up. "You better take this if you're not going to give up."
Snap. With a twist, he slid a ring off one of his wrists and snapped it around hers.
"M-Mr. Shadow? This is important, isn't it?"
Shadow's gloved finger lingered slightly on her right wrist. "Yes, and this ring's going to grant your wishes." Shadow smirked. "Take care of it... These two might be one of the world's last rings."
The girl stared at her wrist in awe. Then her eyes shone. "Yay! Thank you Mr. Shadow!" She hugged him around the middle, knocking the breath out of him.
Shadow said nothing, but hesitantly stroked her little head. This strange, smelly, dirty girl… she actually made him feel… happy.
Sort of like his other two families.
'No… not like the other two,' Shadow thought. He glanced down at her. 'No… this time, I won't let my family die. This time… this time I'll keep my family alive…'
A/N: Err... so how was it? I was trying to keep Shadow as IC as possible, and by that, I meant I tried not to make him all, "ZOMG! A LITTLE GIRLZ?! SHADOW TO THE RESCUE!"
And the little girl... I know I could've used Cream as her role, but Cream didn't really fit the image of the little girl I had in mind. I wanted her to have a strange sort of inner strength that she'd show off frequently (whereas Cream, at least to me, only shows off her inner strength in a time of a crisis). Plus, this is many, many years into the future, so Cream wouldn't be very little anymore.
Now, about the rings... No, I have no idea how they dissapeared (watches everyone fall on their faces in exasperation). I know, I know! I just make up things without an explanation, FORGIVE ME!
Well, I do have an explanation for why they would panic if the rings dissapeared. Rings seem to be the world's currency and main power source (if you don't want to go Emerald hunting). So if they lost their rings, it would be like us losing all our natural resources - our money, way of life, and necessities to live all wiped out at once, because of rings. And I mean, if rings can spontaneously appear, they can spontaneously dissapear too... right?!
Anyways, that's it. I hope you guys enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed typing it (and editing and re-editing it over and over again XD).
Tell me how I did!