A/N: Happy Valentine's Day!
Okay, the summary mentions that this story has Shadouge in it, but the Shadouge in here is the friendly type, if anything. Honestly, it doesn't even have to have any Shadouge, I guess. It depends on how you look at it. I tried to add some in for Valentine's Day, but I did a horrible job.
Anyway, I'd just like to say that this piece of writing is more like a little, little drabble that extended . . . quite a bit. A very, very long bit. So if the story's 'plot' seems a bit awkward, it's because of that. That, and it's naturally cheesy, I couldn't stop it. Heroes is cheesy, so that must mean that this has to be, too!
Takes place during Heroes, and the story says where exactly in Heroes it could possibly (probably not) fit in to, so . . . Yeah. Enjoy, if you like it! Also, if there are any mistakes, please point them out if you can!
Shadow the Hedgehog stood silently, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared out into the distance. As he stood there, his expression twisted as he grimaced in pain. He tried to urge his memories to come up, he tried his hardest to remember something, but no matter how hard he attempted to gain some sort of memory from his past, his struggling was pointless. He had forgotten who he truly was, and he wasn't sure if there was any way he could change that.
Why can't I remember anything? he asked himself, confused. Of course he couldn't answer his own question, and it seemed like no one else could, either. His 'teammate', Rouge, had tried to tell him some parts of his past, though he knew that she couldn't do too much to help because she hadn't been always there with him, and thus, she couldn't tell him everything he needed to know.
He was thankful for her efforts, but in the end, he wanted to somehow find the answers to his questions himself. He needed to find the absolute truth. He couldn't just wander around aimlessly, not knowing of his purpose in life. He couldn't just be alone in life. His memories would've probably been all he had, and he didn't even have that. He had no one.
Sighing, his eyes moved downwards to his feet. This was all hopeless, wasn't it? There was no way he could gain back everything he'd lost, and he'd just have to learn to live with it. But still . . . He should be thankful he was awake in the first place.
Raising his gaze up once again, he looked over his shoulder briefly at his partners, Rouge and Omega. He hadn't known them for long, but they all managed to forge some sort of 'bond' that kept them all together. Perhaps it had been mainly because of Rouge. If it hadn't been for her, he and Omega would've torn each other apart.
He then paused, his eyes resting on the bat.
No, without her, he wouldn't be awake at all. She was the reason he was standing there, in some ways.
Closing his eyes, he turned his head to face the direction ahead of him before reopening his eyes, allowing his gaze to rest on the sight in front of him.
This mansion that stood before them . . . They'd be heading there soon, once Omega finished recharging and Rouge woke up from her 'nap'. It'd still take quite a while to get there, though. Who knew what laid awake waiting for them inside that creepy building. Whatever they'd have to face, though, Shadow would be ready.
"It looks like we still have a long journey ahead of us," Shadow murmured to himself, attempting to see what lay behind the mansion. It was no use, though, and the hedgehog soon gave up, turning his head away curtly.
"I wonder how much further we have to go . . ."
Not knowing what else to do, and not wanting to stand quietly thinking of his forgotten past any longer, the hedgehog sat down nearby his sleeping . . . Sleeping what? Sleeping . . . allies? He figured he'd call them that – for now, at least, until he found a more appropriate title for them.
He stared at his surroundings for a bit, quietly taking in the scenery, before his eyes met once again with the sight of his resting teammates.
He couldn't help but observe the bat for a bit, watching as she twitched in her sleep, before his gaze moved over to the large robot who 'sat' down on the ground, his head hung low and his eyes dim, seemingly unaware of anything happening around him.
"You're not as tough as you say you are, are you?" Shadow mused quietly, observing how . . . vulnerable the robot looked now. He didn't look as threating now, in this state, as he did when he was awake, when he was boasting about his 'unmatched' power, when he effortlessly destroyed everything standing in his path . . . He was tough, though, Shadow couldn't deny it. The robot's power was admirable, and he respected him for it.
After studying Omega for a bit, his gaze soon rested on Rouge. The bat who had freed him. Whom he had apparently worked with before. After watching the way she worked, he guessed it was believable. She was a good partner, he wouldn't deny that fact, either. She was also pretty strong and determined for a mortal, and he liked that in her.
Mortal . . . Something he apparently wasn't. An advantage that both he and Omega held over her. Omega didn't need food, or water, or shelter. All he needed was to recharge . . . that, and ammunition, Shadow figured.
Shadow was similar in that regard, though not quite there. He didn't exactly need food, or water, or shelter, or anything like that, either. He also didn't really need to recharge and he had no need for ammunition. He thought that, at one point, he may need nutrition and possibly sleep, but if he did, then, unlike all mortals, he could live quite a long time without it. Or that's what he guessed. He wasn't certain quite yet.
With Rouge needing all this stuff and with her still trying to catch up with her teammates at the same time . . . It was something Shadow respected as well. If it was difficult for her, she didn't show it, and that was what made her strong, in Shadow's eyes – strong like both he and Omega was.
Strength . . . He looked down at his hands, frowning a bit.
He remembered . . . one attack, or rather, move he apparently had used before. Rouge had explained it to him. This . . . "Chaos Control". He had tried it out himself, but found that the outcome was much more different than she had described it to be. She had told him that he'd be able to teleport about, yet all what had happened was that he was able to stop time itself.
This "Chaos Control" was powerful move, there was no doubt about that, but it made him wonder . . . what if he had other powerful attacks? Other moved requiring this "Chaos" just waiting to be used? Like this other use of Chaos Control?
He couldn't deny that this made him curious, but he hadn't really had the time to test out his abilities. He had been either too busy running – or, rather, skating – about, following his teammates as he tracked down "Dr. Eggman", or he was busy thinking about the 'loss' of his past.
Sighing, Shadow moved to rest on the cold, rock ground. It wasn't that he needed rest, but it wasn't like he could do much else at the moment.
"One day . . . one day I'll get back my memories." he whispered to himself, silently hoping that his words were true, and that he wasn't lying to himself.
His eyes began to flutter shut, but just as his eyes were half-closed, he saw Rouge suddenly shuffle, most likely reacting to his voice. The hedgehog uttered a sound of confusion and eyed the bat for a bit.
When nothing else happened, he decided to leave it and attempt to relax again.
"Shadow,"
The hedgehog blinked. Was she awake? Had he woke her up, or had she been up this entire time?
Shadow moved to sit up and look Rouge over carefully.
No, she seemed to be still asleep. Odd.
Narrowing his eyes, puzzled, Shadow's elbows pushed him from the ground as he let his upper body slant upwards. He then proceeded to watch her. She didn't look like she was about to say his name again.
Why had she said his name in the first place, though? Had his voice entered inside her dreams? Had she been dreaming about him to begin with?
The hedgehog began to feel a bit . . . odd, with the lack of a better word. Especially because Rouge's tone wasn't happy when she had said his name. He could've sworn it almost sounded . . . sad.
"Rouge," he quietly whispered her name, waiting for a reaction. In turn, Rouge uttered a quiet sound and shuffled on the other side.
"What are you doing?"
Shadow tensed up, honestly quite startled by the robot voice addressing him from almost nowhere.
Shadow's red eyes met with yet another pair of red eyes, only these ones were glowing brightly in the night.
"Nothing," Shadow told him, his lips twitching downwards to form a small frown. How long had Omega been watching him?
"I suggest that you do not disturb Rouge. That may wake her, and it may cause her to tire quickly in the events to come," Omega explained in that monotone voice of his, eyeing Shadow over in a calculating manner.
Shadow said nothing and looked away.
He was right, Shadow figured, much to his dismay. He, for some reason, wasn't fond of being told orders, but he knew that he shouldn't play around with Rouge. He guessed that sleeping made all creatures vulnerable, and doing this was only taking advantage of that fact. That wasn't what he had had in mind.
"How long have you been up?" Shadow decided to ask, not directly staring at the robot, still a bit embarrassed. Even so, he could feel the robot's gaze burning through him.
"I have been 'up' for only a few minutes." Omega explained, attempting to move in such a way so that he could get back up on his feet without waking up Rouge. The task was difficult, though. Especially because Omega was a very large robot that could make a lot of noise without trying.
"Shouldn't you 'rest' as well?" Omega asked, most likely classifying Shadow as a mortal like the rest. Shadow shook his head at his comrade's question.
"I don't need to rest." he told Omega, moving to now sit up.
It then grew quiet. It was not like either of the two minded very much, though. They both could tell that one was just as fond of 'conversations' as the other. They didn't necessarily need it. Especially conversations about trivial things, which was where their conversation would go if it were to continue, no doubt. It was more like a 'friendly silence' of sorts.
Waiting for morning to come, a few minutes passed, which turned to an hour, which turned to hours.
At one point, Shadow could feel that the sun should rise soon, but that was just it. A feeling. One couldn't see what time of day it was at all here. No matter what hour it was, it was always dark. The sky never changed.
"We should leave soon," Omega commented at one point, looking over at Shadow, "We should not waste any more time than needed."
Shadow agreed, but seeing Rouge so peaceful in her sleep now – unlike before – he didn't exactly want to wake her up. If sleeping was a necessity for her, he didn't understand why he couldn't let her enjoy it a little longer. There was that, and some small part of him didn't want him to continue.
What if things got even more confusing for him just because he learned more stuff as he continued on? He didn't want to suffer more than he was right suffering right now.
He already bothered by the situation from how much he knew right now, that much was obvious, so why make it worse? Perhaps he was even a bit too overt with how this was making him feel. Rouge had noticed his change in behaviour, and had even questioned it. Shadow was inwardly thankful for her concern, and he had almost gave in, but then decided against it. Why drag in more people in affairs than needed? It wouldn`t be fair to bring her into his own problems . . .
"W-what time is it?" a voice finally broke the silence as many more minutes passed, and her two teammates looked over at her.
"I don't know," Shadow told her, and he watched as she almost jumped, gaining a startled look. He tried to ignore this and added, "It's hard to tell when the sky doesn't seem to change here."
Nervously, Rouge's gaze flickered over to where Shadow sat, and agreed, for some reason a bit shaken, "Y-yeah, of course. Silly me."
"Let's get going," Omega said, and Shadow knew that if Omega could display expressions, he'd look awfully relieved by now. He probably didn't like the idea that he was just letting Eggman run off while he just sat – or stood – there.
Nodding his head in acknowledgement, Shadow silently agreed with Omega. It was best that they'd get going now before it was too late.
Omega had a head start, already leaving the two and preparing himself for the decently long walk to the mansion. Shadow began to follow him, but looked back over his shoulder at Rouge once he noticed that she wasn't close behind.
"Rouge?" he asked, his face expressing slight concern for his ally.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," Rouge mumbled, stretching out her arms, legs, and wings for a bit before she tiredly caught up to where Shadow had been waiting for her.
"Are you alright?" Shadow asked quietly, finally continuing his walk to catch up with the eager robot.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just . . . remembered some, is all." she replied offhandedly, looking a bit distracted.
At least you can remember.
Shadow gave her a small look, watching her carefully, before he looked away.
"You know," Rouge suddenly began, and Shadow's ears twitched in response, "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."
Shadow almost blinked at that. He honestly hadn`t expected her to bring something like that up. Why did she?
He couldn't help but remember her reaction to hearing him after she had woken up. Perhaps there was been a connection?
"After that . . . 'incident'?" Shadow mumbled, looking a bit confused. He was told about the last time she and these . . . 'others' had seen him, but he remembered none of it. Nothing at all.
"Yeah," was her response, and she said nothing else afterwards. That was, until they'd almost caught up with Omega. She had then looked over at Shadow and replied, looking almost embarrassed, "It's good to see you again . . . Shadow."
Shadow looked over at her quietly, scanning her face as he slowly took in her words, looking still a bit surprised, but he wasn't given the time to respond as they finally caught up to Omega, who had gladly informed them that they were pathetically slow in keeping up with him.
"We must enter this mansion to go through. It looks like we may be able to use the door. There is nothing blocking our path."
Slowly nodding his head, Shadow stepped forwards, telling the others, "Don't let your guard down. It may be a trap."
"No need to mention," Omega cut in, his words sounding almost arrogant, in a way, "I am ready."
Shadow nodded his head in acknowledgement and smirked a bit at him before he looked over at Rouge. "Are you ready, too?"
Working with Rouge in the face of danger . . . It felt almost . . . familiar. Almost.
Slowly, Rouge moved her head to face Shadow. She then let a small smirk grace her lips as she replied, "Of course. Let's do this."
His smirk growing a little bigger, Shadow nodded his head and eyed the mansion that stood before them.
Smoothing back his spikes, he began to head quickly towards the entrance, his teammates following closely behind.
His memories . . . he figured that they didn't matter right now. He had more important matters to take care of first. What did matter the most at the moment was getting through this mansion with his teammates.
"Ghosts detected ahead. Let me handle this," Omega told the others, moving ahead before adding, sounding almost protective of the two, not going unnoticed by Shadow, "Line up next to me."
When the bat and hedgehog did so, Shadow couldn't help but look to the side, eyeing Rouge and Omega like he had done before, early in the night. Unlike in their sleep, they now looked so alive, so ready to fight . . .
These people . . . they were his teammates, sharing similar goals. Always with each other since they all met, always there to help aid each other in simple things like combat all the way to difficult situations, always there . . .
These people . . . they . . . cared for him, though they showed it in their own ways. He couldn't help but care for them, too, in his own little way.
These people . . . they were his . . . friends, perhaps?
The word felt so foreign to the hedgehog, and yet . . . He couldn't deny that, so far, this situation had pulled the three together to form a tight bond that only they could understand.
He may have lost his past, in a sense, but he figured that, maybe, he may not truly be alone. He had Omega and Rouge with him.
He wasn't alone. Not like he thought he had been when he had first woken up, feeling so confused and lost. He had them, and he hoped, deep down inside, that he wouldn't lose this comforting feeling. It was one that he wasn't used to, but it was one that he couldn't help but want . . . need. He wasn't alone.
Shadow casted one more glance at his teammates before looking ahead.
No, he wasn't alone. Not when he had them.