Well...I took a lot of time to upload...hihihi...


Tails woke up with a start.

All curled up beneath the softest blanket he ever snuggled in.

'Weird...didn't remember going to sleep with one...'

Getting up from his comfortable, stretched position on the living room couch the kitsune stretched, his twin tails fluttering behind him as he did so. Hearing several bones pop back into place, he made his way to the window, tripping on one of his discarded shoes in the process. Spreading the curtains open, the young fox looked down at the massive, newly built city buzzing below the bright morning sun.

The new Station Square was nearly finished.

The Blood Bath Incident had taken everything; there was nearly no buildings that were spared from the battle, so the government had to rebuild nearly every single house, store and skyscraper that got demolished during the carnage. Understandably, construction companies jumped on the opportunity like hungry lions, and the loud buzzing of blenders, drills and impact drivers was a omnipresent sound that gritted all mobians' sensitive ears. They adjusted, thought, and Tails often saw furries carrying fashioned earmuffs. The yellow fox had wondered several times if he should get a pair, but since his workspace (a small research lab in the middle of the city) was nowhere near the construction sites, the young genius decided against it.

Speaking of which, he should get going if he didn't want to be late...

Knowing that he would only come back late and that there was chances it was going to rain (sunny sky was a fabulous deceiver) the little kitsune closed the window and went for a coat from his wardrobe. Getting his shoes and socks on-no matter how much the later smelled- he picked up his pair of the house's key and headed for the door of the apartment.

He carefully opened the oak door and slipped out, closing it a little too loudly for his taste as he left. Unknown to the orphan genius, the loud snap of the wooden door made his sleeping roommate awaken.

Underneath the ruffled, dull white quilt, a pair of black quills streaked by vibrant crimson hues wildly poked out into the cold morning air like the roots of a fallen tree. They were closely followed by a black-furred hand that lazily pulled the bedding off their owner. The heavy comforter fell down on the rug floor in a heap that was crushed by the sleeper's feet as the black and red hedgehog took upon himself the hard task of awakening.

Shadow the Hedgehog stretched, yawning, his strong, sturdy frame tensing as he extended his muscles to their full extent. Only then the dark speedster opened his eyes to the waking world.

The sight was the same as the last few weeks.

A simple, peach-walled room completed with a small wooden bookshelf stuffed with several types of books, a study where a laptop lay forgotten, and the single bed he was sitting on. The Ultimate Lifeform did not quick to get up, knowing his eyes had yet to readjust to the world.

He had a pleasant sleep, he'll give it that. No more nightmares about Maria or stupid, useless visions that only confused him further. His sleep was black as his fur, so perfectly blank and empty, a few hours of well deserved rest he craved for after that exhausting adventure ...Rasgnarök was finally dead and out of his mind...well, at least the insane part of the deity, which was thankfully the most dangerous one.

Shadow snickered to himself as he got up and trudged toward the kitchen, his stomach growling for nutrients. For the fact that Sonic was still very much alive had been something he kept silent, no matter how much the people of Mobius cried for their dead hero. It was harder with the Blue Blur's friends, and Tails hadn't slept very well since the incident...

"Coffee?"

Speak of the devil and he will appear, as humans would say. Luckily for Shadow, this particular devil had materialized out of thin air so many times it wasn't unexpected anymore.

It was a daily occurrence.

The center of this morning's thoughts was sitting at the table, a mug of black coffee in its clawed hand as it casually drank the hot beverage, another steaming cup resting on the pine table, inviting the sleepy and caffeine-addicted the Ultimate Lifeform. The long, sinuous reptile tail was ever present, so was the pitch black fur, but the creature had those familiar emerald eyes that were far too perky for his taste. Shadow noticed there was a bandage dirty with black blood over his left eye, but by the way the deity acted, it was not as painful as it seemed.

The black hedgehog knew better than to ask why he was injured, thought. These last few days, the other had been coming to visit while bearing a unusual amount of wounds...but it did not matter much. One perk of being a deity such as Rasgnarök was a extreme power of regeneration, something the past, demented self Shadow fought against did not have, thankfully.

The single green eye followed his as he came to the kitchen.

"Are you going to sit down?" The former Blue Blur asked with a small grin, signaling the free mug of caffeine his a single, sharp talon, revealing canines that seemed shorter than before, more like his teenager self.

Good. He was slowly managing to revert back to his mortal form. It wouldn't be long before the creature was able to suppress his energy completely, allowing to look like the sapphire hedgehog he used to be.

With a stoic expression on his face, Shadow sat down next to the creature, trying his best to not shove a Chaos Spear into the thing's head when he notice the color of the hedgehog's mug.

That stupid faker was drinking from his favorite cup.

Again.

Why was he even here in the first place was beyond him. He guessed these smalls talks were something the Blue Blur desperately needed. The friendship (thought strained) and the sanity their contact brought soothing the ageless creature's fears down. For Sonic had unwillingly achieved was no mortal hadn't before; godhood. The moment Rasgnarrok had been killed, by his hand no less, it had left the blue hedgehog as the remaining personality of Rasgnarök.

No longer brought to the verge of madness by his counterpart, he had been forced to take the mantle of the first-born of Yggdrasil and the most powerful being on Mobius. With the memories of the first Rasgnarök stored inside his mind, Shadow could say that, in a sense, Sonic had become Rasgnarök to the fullest, save for that ice-cold persona Sovgir had often reluctantly described when spoken about the God of Judgement.

Having no way to return to his mortal self, Sonic tried to make the best of it. His mortal body had been buried with the rest of the victims of the disaster -he had been there himself, as a crow no less- so he had to live on as this. It wasn't as bad as it seemed, thought. From Shadow's point of view. Sure, the faker could not face his friends point blank without the risk of giving them a heart attack, but it was better than staying under Rasgnarrok's demented clutches for the rest of eternity.

"Did you wait for me to wake up?"

"Nah. I was here since Tails came back yesterday." The lighter-furred creature mumbled, his ears dropping lightly in a way only another mobian would notice at the mention of the fox.

Tails. The vulpine had been a terribly sore spot for the former hero. Shadow knew, for if he had been in the other's shoes and the fox was his beloved Maria, he wouldn't have lasted a day without jumping into the girl's welcoming arms. What Sonic was doing was colossal, standing aside as his little brother tripped and stumbled down the bumpy road that was life, and he could only watch him from affar like a ghost, helpless.

"Didn't you have a meeting with the Commander today?"

Shadow nearly choked on his coffee.

"Shit." The Ultimate Lifeform carelessly dropped the cup in favor of a mad dash for his coat. The piece of fabric was ripped off the hanging rack by the door and Shadow quickly slipped it on, Sonic following him with his remaining eye as the black and red speedster searched around for his keys, cursing along the way for the dammed things disappeared once again.

"Kitchen, on the counter next to the fruit bowl." The other occupant of the room said mindlessly as he took another sip. Shadow searched the kitchen, and there they were.

"You forgot your gloves. Try to not get blood on them next time."

Shadow ran to the washing machine down the hall.

"Your shoes..."

"Shut up!"

"...and your gun."

The black hedgehog gave the god a warning glare as he dashed back to get them.

"What time is it!?" The Ultimate Lifeform yelled from his room as he put his socks and hover shoes on. Damn they felt cold! Why did Gerald make them completely out of metal?

"Don't know!" Came the sing-song reply from the emerald-eyed annoyance.

That was the answer. So he could kick the Faker's scrawny ass and light it on fire with the integrated jets. Shadow raced back to the main room, slipping his revolver in his quills as he dashed by the one-eyed creature. He checked the clock on the wall.

8:56

Shadow's panicked state fell to a irritating irk. The meeting was in thirty minutes and the main base was one hour away (why did they even put it there!? It was just too far for crying out loud!). There was no hell way he could get there in the required time.

Unless...

His crimson eyes left the clock and trailed back to the black-furred annoyance. The other just finished his cup of coffee, and was placing both cups in the sink. He was busy washing the two mugs (how he was able to do it with those claws, Shadow had no clue), but his triangular, black-furred ears were pulled back; straight and listening the bio-engineered creature with interest.

"Hey fak-"

Sonic raised one of his arms -skinny, very bony arms- and snapped two talons together, the sharp, claws racking together with a ear-grating screech.

Right on cue and before Shadow could finish his sentence, the world seemed to distort beneath his feet, and the Ultimate Lifeform was send falling through the now familiar fabric of space. Sonic looked back at the spot his rival once stood with a amused, innocent smile. His tail fluttered around joyfully, nearly knocking down a flower pot and leaving a small scratch on the lower region of the fridge in the process.

There were these rare moments where he just loved being a god.

xxxxxxxxx

"Check please!"

"Miss can we get another glass of water!?"

"More coffee please!"

"Miss this soup has a hair in it!"

Sovgir felt like she was about to wipe a gun out of her backpack and shoot the whole lot.

Stop talking for a second...I want to breathe in peace for a few moments!

She just had to volunteer. She just had to take over the club while the boys went out to get something to eat. This the immortal goddess did not understand, since they had bought a stupid restaurant in the first place. But it's not like it mattered anymore.

What mattered right now was tuning down her murderous intent.

"Are you going to take my order already!?" A female armadillo with two bickering children cried with a squeaky voice from the far corner of the club. Sovgir gave her a murderous glare, and the squirrel was pleased to see the mortal cower in her seat.

"Miss?!"

A nerve popped through her short forehead fur. Gritting her teeth, the albino humanoid glanced at her bag lying on the counter of the club. It may look like a normal dark brown backpack, but it was able to do things no other article could. Mainly, it was able to generate a infinite amount of guns, from the smallest out of date revolver to a car-sized lazer gun.

"My soup young ma'am has-"

Where did she leave that rocket launcher...?

"HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME FOR YGGDRASIL'S SAKE!" The way the human shrunk like a scared fox (the four-legged kind) made Sovgir feel as proud as a lion. The rest of the clients, however, were a complete nightmare. The white squirrel wondered once again why anybody would sign up for this in the first place...

The kitchen door suddenly opened and a small, gray-haired human hoped out, carrying a large number of platers and dishes on her head and arms that wobbled in a dangerous manner.

"Heya Sov! Got the mortals' orders right here!"

Only Hell could do this without feeling humiliated.

While the tiny god wasn't the worst cook, it was better than having Charmy or Vector at the post; the later got scales everywhere and the tiny yellow bee would bring the whole building complex down before he was able to make a decent dish. And the death goddess seemed to have a enormous amount of free time lately; all that bundled energy needed to be focused or something really bad would happen eventually.

Like spawning a skeleton to serve as waiter (the scariest thing Sovgir had seen since Perfect Rasgnarök). Or taking a casual (save for the heart attacks she caused) stroll on a skyscraper wall. Breaking all laws of gravity and giving reporters the story of the day. Don't ask how she did it. Hell had the knack for doing stupid and impossible things. If she didn't serve as cook at the newly build Chaotix Club, who knew what horrors she would unleash for the hell of it.

No puns intended.

'Espio needs to get more waiters...' Sovgir thought absently as Hell bounced from table to table, placing succulent dishes for the starving clients to eat. Being a few thousand years old, the human-shaped deity had quite the experience with food, so her dishes was perfect. That was, from the mobian goddess' point of view, the only reason anyone came here. Too much ruckus came from this place...

"But Espio, why do I have to carry everything?!" Sovgir's ears perked up in attention at the familiar voice. There came her saving grace.

The front door opened. A sleek, purple chameleon with a small, yellow horn coming out from the tip of his muzzle entered first, carrying a plastic bag in his right hand; a large, hulking green crocodile followed soon after; the reptile was carrying most of the bags, and a tiny bee fluttered above them like a teen on a sugar high with a killer smile that looked far too like Hell's own grin. Sovgir shivered at the thought. The squirrel already had her hands full with the ash-haired immortal.

She did not need another one.

At the sight of the part-time detectives the clients seemed to silently cheer, and the albino trigger-happy god had to restrain herself from pulling out a rocket launcher from her backpack and shoot the whole damn group. She did the best she could for Yggdrasil's sake!

Espio rested the bags on the counters before turning around to speak with the white and silver furry:

"Sorry we took so long. We had the bad luck of passing by a new arcade and Charmy didn't want to leave until he beat a stupid 'flappy' something game-"

Leave it to the bee to take his companion's time.

"And I did it mister! I got the new record and a free milkshake!

Sovgir could only chuckle and reach up to kiss her scaled boyfriend on the cheek; several clients awned at the romantic sight, but the albino's silver-blue eyes flashed and they looked down at their food.

"Got something to eat?" The squirrel asked Espio as Hell zoomed by, mischievously giggling to herself as she headed toward the kitchens with a massive number of dirty dishes precariously hanging from the top of her head.

The detective smiled lightly as a large crash of broken porcelain was heard. Hell probably had once again thrown the dirty plates into the sink with the care of a angry driver. Seconds later the humanoid deity tumbled out with a fresh batch of food.

"We got some takeout. Does Chinese sound good?" Sovgir shrugged lightly, grabbing her backpack Charmy was eying (she was never letting that bee near it again) from the counter. She put in on and stretched, her muscles tensing beneath the silky white fur as she purposely gave her boyfriend some pretty good eye candy.

A loud 'weeeeeeeeeee' echoed out throughout the club as Hell bounced back to the kitchen wearing wheeled shoes. Clients watched her buzz by with a raised eyebrow, but the regulars didn't even bat a eye at her actions.

"Well I have to go somewhere and these mortals are complete bastards. I'm out of here."

Several clients shot her a mean look. The spell clouding the chameleon's face disappeared at those words.

"What? Where?"

A loud crash coming from the kitchens made them wince. Hell probably just fell over. Again.

"Asgarn."

By then many of the clients were listening on their conversation (damn mouses). Sovgir however didn't give a nickel; she was too busy trying to reassure her boyfriend. She had spoken about the home of the gods to Espio, and he knew she wasn't very well welcomed there. No child of Yggdrasil was...

Even if her boyfriend wasn't very comfortable with this, Sovgir still had to go; the duo argued a bit, drawing once again the attention of the clients. Charmy and Vector were quick to take over Sovgir's temporary job, and the club was filled with wild chatters and unimportant conversations once again.

Unknown to them, a pair of eyes spied from the kitchen door.

The Death god was feeling very guilty. Hell had been the one that gave Sovgir the message, received from another deity (her dear brother Fenrir, the guy still had a sore neck from what she saw) and as much as she wanted to go, the tiny death god was denied access of the immortal realm ever since she had been born. Odin never did let his undead granddaughter take a single step inside his 'perfect' world. He hated her, just like any other who didn't acknowledge his rule, with a passion capable of burning a entire world. Not like it was bothering.

Hell was content enough screwing with the mortals' precarious sanity anyway.