Hello. May I ask for a quick review if you like the story? If you have the time, please don't forget it, it's important for me. Thanks!
I don't own Sonic.
Chapter 1: Fated meeting.
"DAMN IT!" The man slammed his fist in the desk with full force, and after a few seconds he slammed it again, over and over again, each time with less force. "Damn it! Damn it. Damn it..."
Tired, and with his hand in pain, he stopped and took a moment to breathe. He looked at the monitor again. His target had escaped. The power he seeked for years, the power to control his dimension slipped away from his fingers.
He gritted his teeth. He would never have expected her enemy to have a dimensional portal in her castle. And that simple miscalculation proved to be his failure. Clenching his fists, he got up, feeling hot all of a sudden. He picked up a control and activated the air conditioner. With the cold making him feel slightly calmer, he sat back at his computer, breathing in and out heavily.
He tipped his finger in the keyboard, unsure about what to do. He had to locate the princess and the emeralds he wanted, but he had no idea how. She could have gone everywhere, and he didn't know where to start.
He had to, somehow, get the coordinates from the transporter. That way he could track the princess down and find the best way to retrive the emeralds. But there were a few problems.
One of them were that the princess could have been sent, by accident, to a dimension where time passes diferently from him own. For example, if in that dimension a second was equal to a hundred years in his world, the emerald were last forever.
Another problem would be if she went to Sonic's dimension. If that were the case, she would have plenty of friends who would be able to help her protect the emeralds. Not just that, but he would be racing against his counterpart to collect that source of power.
Finally, his other problem was Silver. The hedgehog had somehow survivedn ad he managed to escape somehow. Knowing his enemy was alive and that he was missing was a problem, and Eggman Nega couldn't ignore that, no matter how injured the telekinetic was. He feared a surprise attack, and no one could blame him. Every dokan he knew was a threat to his plans, and the silver hedgehog was no exception.
Hopefully, his best chance would be that she was in Sonic's dimension. Despite all problems, he at least would know for sure the emeralds were safe and he could plan a way to retrieve them.
Thankfully, his robots were still on the castle. He sent one of them to analyse the portal's coordinates, and the machine obeyed without delay. It was one of the robots in the room Blaze escaped from. Even though the portal was closed, the robot could scan the particles altered by the distortion of the time and space that sent Blaze to another dimension, and with that he could know for sure where she was. It would take time, but he had no other choice.
As the robot did it's job, Eggman Nega left his headquarters. He needed some fresh air. He stood on a plataform that lifted him up to the roof, where he enjoyed the view. Even though his laboratory was well hidden, he still had a great scenerio around him. Trees, landscapes, a big lake... In his opinion that was the best place he could have found to build his empire.
A robot brought him a glass of water. The doctor took the glass and gave a huge sip on it, nearly drinking everything. He then started to think. He needed to find a way to get the emeralds and destroy his opponents, so that no one could stop him. But it wasn't that simple. The reason he failed after all these years is because the emeralds were well-protected, and simple machinery wasn't enough. He should have understood that after years of loss, but he thought that by designing and throwing new robot at them wasn't the solution.
In the end, he just wasted resources, time, and, most of all, his brilliant intelect in something bound to fail.
That frustrated him to no ends. He decided once and for all that he would get rid of his enemies, and he would but every single brain cell of his to put and end to this. But he questioned himself if he would be able to it.
No matter how intelligent he was, he worked alone. And he was the biggest genius from his dimension, so he couldn't just ask for someone's help. As much as it pained him to admit it, the lack of someone as intelligent as him was what a huge factor for his constant failures. He had no one to discuss him plans or even to talk to. It was lonely, but it was the path he chose.
It was then that it hit him.
He actually knew someone as talented as him. He knew there would be someone who would help him, and that had common enemies. That sudden realization made all kinds of plans to pop up in his head. He smiled. He knew who to contact.
After returning to his laboratory, he confirmed his expectations. He stared at the screen with a huge smile as he noticed that the robot had sent him the data he needed.
His target went to the dimension he feared. Sonic's dimension. But that wasn't a problem. He had a plan. A plan that couldn't fail. He picked up a communicator. A device he had actually never used before. He then used chaos energy to allow the communication between other dimensions. When the other person picked the phone up, he spoke, smiling deviously.
"Hello, my counterpart."
Slowly, her eyes opened up. She covered them with her arm, protecting them from the blinding light. Slowly she got up and found herself in the middle of a cave. Her surroundings soon made her remember why she was there, all dirty and totally messed up. She sighed, still tired from yesterday's events. She rubbed her eyes. They hurt. Perhaps because of how much she cried.
She left the cave. The sun made her admire her surroundings, something she couldn't do when she arrived. Not just because it was dark, but also because all that was in her mind was a certain tragic image when she arrived. The memories came back, and a sharp pain in her heart came along. The only reason she didn't cry was because she had no tears left. The fact that she was terribly tired didn't help either.
"I can't think about that right now... I need to find help."
Giving small slaps at herself, she looked up with determination. She then dashed forward, looking for civilization. She knew she wouldn't be able to figure out where she was by herself. She was at a foreign dimension after all.
Last time she went there, she was sent directly at Sonic's town. This time, however, there was no time to calculate with precision where she would end up. So there she was, in the middle of nowhere.
She cursed her luck as she jumped trees and rocks. She was glad she was so agile and precise at jumping though. Being a cat and a guardian of the Sol emeralds were factors that helped her, at an early age, in becoming able to overcome places like that without difficulty. She could jump, run and fight for hours. Obviously not as much as Sonic, for example. But she took pride in her skills.
Despite that, she felt that she had to hurry. Even though she was in a forest and was surrounded by many things that looked like food, she wouldn't be able to know what she could eat or not. There were all kinds of animals, fruits and plants, and eating them without care would be a foolish move. She could end up poisoned, gravely sick, or even dead. Considering how lucky she was in the last few days, that was perfectly possible and likely to happen if she wasn't careful.
If she felt hunger, that meant her end.
After minutes of running and jumping around, she felt thirsty. Luckily for her, she spotted a small lake. "Thank goodness... water"
She approached the lake and without a second thought she took a handful of it's water and drank it. She did it until she was satisfied, which took quite some time. Feeling refreshed, she glanced at her reflection in the water. She looked terrible. She was all dirty, had a few cuts and bruises everywhere, her clothers were damaged and her eyes were still puffy and red from all the crying. She looked, in her opinion, like a ghost girl from a horror movie. If her situation wasn't so shitty, she would have laughed at how funny she looked.
She had enough of staring at her terrible reflection, so she decided to take her leave. The faster she hurried to find her friends and asked for their help, the faster she would be able to defeat her dreaded enemy and protect her people. Then again, she couldn't stand being all dirty, sweaty and smelly. She was royalty. After an internal conflict, she decided to clean herself really fast before continuing her journey. Looking around quite often for possible peepers, she removed her clothes and splashed some water on them.
After feeling they were clean enough, she hang them in a tree next to the case with the emeralds and jumped inside the water. She wouldn't risk standing naked in an unknown forest. What if a native showed up? She'd never marry anyone.
The water wasn't so cold, so she was able to relax. She closed her eyes as the fresh water cleaned her very soul. She felt she could sleep there, so she hurried to clean herself properly. She couldn't bring herself to relax while her people needed her.
After some time, she decided she was good enough to go. Before leaving the water, she looked around one more time and hurried outside. She quickly wore her still wet clothes, got her case and went back to jumping and running. There was no time to waste.
She moved aimlessly for what seemed like hours. No matter how many trees, rocks and swaps she avoided, she seemed to always end up in the same place. Annoyed, she climbed a very big tree and ran to its to, from which she jumped and landed safely on the ground. Much to her displeasure, she recognized a few trees around her, and that added to her stress since she was, yet again, in a familiar place. She gritted her teeth. "I need to leave this goddamn forest!" She blasted off.
She ran, jumped, crouched, rolled, and more. She seemed to get lost with each step. And she even considered giving up at one point. Tiredness returning her, she pushed herself to her limits to be able to endure that forest.
She stopped for a while when something caught her attention.
"What's that light up ahead?"
The forest she was in was dense, and there were so many trees that it was very poorly iluminated. When she spotted the light ahead of her, she concluded that she had reached the end of the forest. Smiling and anxious, she hurried to the light.
She was right. The forest had ended, and thankfully had was able to leave without problems. Not a single time she felt herself in danger, and it didn't take her much of her time to leave in the end. A few hours wouldn't hurt.
But all that was ahead of her was a road, and she was still soaking wet. Not just that, but the sun was intense, and she felt even more lost than before. In other words, her situation still wasn't the best.
But to see a road in front of her meant that there was a civilization somewhere. Animals couldn't have made thar road, after all. Soon, confirming her thoughts, a few cars appeared.
Happiness overwhelming her, she asked for a ride by making a sign with her hand, but the passing cars didn't even stop. She asked herself who on earth wouldn't stop for a beautiful girl. Then she reminded how awful she looked a while back. Despite being a bit cleaner at the moment, that didn't make for the fact that she was still soaked in water and not with the best of appearances. Sighing, she kept motioning for passing cars, but had no luck. She ears fell in disappointment with every passing car.
As she watched the cars distance themselves from her, worry once again haunted her, as she imagined how her people were suffering without her and the emeralds. She was losing precious time, and that was stressing her.
She was nearly giving up and running the goddamn road all by herself when a car slowed down. Her ears even turned upwards in excitement. A window rolled down and an old woman at the passenger's seat smiled at Blaze. "Hello dear. Need a ride to the city?"
Blaze beamed on the inside "Yes, please!"
"Well then hop in, sweetie." She motioned for Blaze to enter the back door, which she happily did. As she entered, she noticed that along with the old woman there was and old man driving the car, who turned back and smiled at her.
"Well, hello there, young one. What's your name?" He pulled his hat in a polite way. Blaze nodded and smiled.
"Hello sir, my name is Blaze. What's yours?"
"I'm David and this is my wife, Monica." He pointed to the old woman "Now, may I ask where you're headed?"
Blaze's eyes widened a little, as she realized she had no idea where she had to go or where she was. She scratched her head awkwardly.
"Well... Actually, I... I'm a bit lost so... I don't know for sure where I am..." The old couple faced her with concern
"Are you alright?" The man asked.. The woman looked at him "Honey, start the car. Let me talk to her." The man nodded and soon the car started moving again.
The woman turned to Blaze "Where are you from?"
"Damn!" Blaze thought. Those questions were getting her nowhere, and she couldn't answer them without making herself look stupid by telling the couple she was a queen in another dimension. As if they would believe a terrible looking cat.
"Ahh... Well, it's hard to explain... But I must get to..." The name of Sonic's town suddenly appearing in her head. "I guess it's called... Square State, or something?"
The old man chuckled "I guess you mean Station Square? Hehehe." Blaze blushed in embarrasment.
"Um... Yes, that's the place. Is it far from here?" She asked. The woman smiled
"Not really honey. It's an hour or two from here. We are headed there, actually." Blaze seemed relieved.
"Can you take me there then, please?" The woman giggled
"Of course sweetie. Just relax a bit and take it easy. You look pretty tired after all."
Blaze nodded at looked through the window. Fatigue getting the best of her, she fought not to fall asleep. But she failed. She closed her eyes and was soon overwhelmed with all kinds of thoughts.
She thought of her kingdom. Of Silver. Of Gardon. Of Marine. Of her people. Sonic and his friends. Of Nega being defeated. She smiled at that thought. She smiled at the thought of a future without him. A future where peace would reign in her dimension. Where she would be happy.
She thought of getting married one day. A kingdom needs a king after all. She knew no men though. And she didn't even know what falling in love was, since all she worried about were her precious emeralds and the great responsibility they bestowed on her. She wish she could be a little more... normal.
Her friend Marine, for example, mocked her for not being very girly at all. Blaze never wore dresses or skirts, and she wasn't fond of things like gossiping, shopping or attending parties. She always had a quiet personality and liked fighting, and to a childish girl like Marine, that was boring. Blaze never really tried being more social or girlish at all. But at times like these, where she was alone and had no one to talk to except a couple of strangers, she imagined herself at least being a bit social.
The only close friends she had were Marine and Silver though. Not only they were dokans like her, but they also spent more time with her than anyone else. But they themselves also had their lifes, and Marine often disappeared a few days to find an adventure or to improve her ship building skills. As for Silver, he also disappeared often to train his abilities and a telekinetic, and also to protect the citizens of Blaze's kingdom.
But now Marine was off somewhere, Silver was dead and she was in the middle of an unknown place. She sighed. Her closest friends were away from her. And there she was, going to ask favors to people she wasn't entirely sure she could call friends. As much as she respected Sonic and his friends, she barely saw them since they were from different dimensions. They wouldn't even have met if they hadn't the same objectives at some point in their lives.
Sonic considered her a friend of his, though. He treated her the same way as he treated his closest friends, and she couldn't help but feel flattered by it. She also respected him, and now, more than ever, she needed him. Deep down, she hoped she could become closer friends with him and everyone else.
Thump!
Blaze slowly opened her eyes. The car had just ran into a small hole in the road, which made her and the car itself to jump a little. Startled, she had a confused and sleepy look in her face as she looked through the window. The old woman noticed it and looked back, smiling.
"I'm sorry dear, did that wake you up?" She looked at Blaze questioningly. The cat shook her head, trying to sound a bit more awakened. "No, no. It's fine, really."
Blaze then looked through the window with a bit more attention. "How long have I been asleep?"
The woman turned to her husband and repeated the question. "Dear?" The old man took his attention away from the road for a second and glanced at his watch.
"Well, let's see... If I'm not mistaken it's been an exact hour since then. We are about to arrive at Station Square."
At this, Blaze's drowziness vanished and was replaced with excitement. Finally, her luck was starting to show up. She looked forward and saw the city appearing from the landscape. Happy, her ears pointed upwards and she had to control her tail so it wouldn't move awkwardly. She noticed the man said something to her, but she was distracted.
"Excuse me, what did you say?"
The man smiled "I asked where should we take you. Do you live nearby?"
"Oh, no no. Anywhere is fine actually. I'm not very familiar with this city myself." She said politely. The man seemed curious.
"May I ask what is your business in this town?"
"David!" The old woman glared furiously at her husband "It's not polite to dwell into someone's life! Apologize right now!"
Blaze shook her hands defensively. "It's okay maam, really. I'm just looking for my... friends. They live in this city."
"Oh, I see." The man seemed relaxed for some reason. Perhaps he got a little suspicious, but that was cleared. "Sorry for making that question."
Blaze smiled "It's ok."
Before she noticed, they entered the town and were already stuck in traffic. The man sighed in annoyance, but turned to Blaze with a smile.
"Where do your friends live?"
Not again.
More questions she couldn't answer. Blaze decided it was time to take her leave. She had bothered the old couple for too long.
"Actually, I recognize this area. They live pretty close by, so you can leave me here." She lied. The old woman looked at her worryingly
"Are you sure you don't want us to take you there? I hear it's quite dangerous here."
Blaze shook her head "It's fine, really. Thanks a lot to both of you, I hope I can repay your kindness someday."
"Don't worry about it." The man smiled. "It was a pleasure young lady, have a safe walk!"
"Have a good day sweetie! Be careful!"
Blaze thanked both of them again and left the car. The traffic light turned green and soon the car took off, leaving the purple cat behind. She was where she had to be. Now she had to find Sonic. She looked at a giant clock in a random building. It would be night soon.
"I wonder where he is right now..."
She thought before crossing the street and walking aimlessly in search of the blue hero.
"Man, I'm starving!" The blue hedgehog exclaimed as he placed his hands in his belly, in which his stomach started making awkward sounds. A fox next to him rolled his eyes."
"Sonic, you've said that five times in the last ten minutes!" The fox said, exasperated.
Sonic looked offended "But I really am hungry Tails! And to make things worse, the chillidog stand didn't show up today!" A look of sadness and disappointment appeared on his face.
"Oh, please." A red equidna said. "Can we leave this guy here and go by ourselves?"
Amy, who was talking to Cream next to them, stopped immediately at those words and fumed. "We're not leaving Sonic!"
"Seriously?" The equidna seemed dumbfounded. He couldn't believe in the fact that they hanged out with Sonic, but he also questioned himself at why he was there too, to start with.
"Aww Knux, I love you too man!" Sonic smirked, which made the equidna grunt in annoyance. Tails ignored them and turned to the girls.
"Where should we eat, girls? Sushi Plaza again?"
The group of four was walking through the streets of the commercial area of Station Square. Feeling quite hungry himself, Tails suggested to Sonic that they should invite some people to eat outside. So, there they were.
"Well, I was thinking maybe we should go to a different place today." Cream started "We're too used to eating there"
Amy nodded in approval "I like this idea! A change is good every once in a while. But where should we go?"
"Let's go to Wc Donalds" Knuckles said. Amy frowned.
"No way, the food there will make us fat!"
Sonic looked at them "What about the Taco world? Nothing beats a good taco! Well, except a chillidog!"
Cream shook her head. " I don't really like tacos."
"How about we go to that famous restaurant today?" Tails suggested
"Which one Tails?" Sonic asked. Tails looked up trying to remember the name.
"That one who appeared on the news on the other day... what was it called...? Oh yeah! Its Baratie!"
Sonic snapped his finger "Oh, I know that one! But are you sure? I heard things there are pretty expensive. "
"Not really Sonic." The fox said as he checked some info on his phone. "It says here that the place is famous for it's cheap prices, the excellent food and... the waitresses?"
Sonic and Knuckles eyes's widened as they looked at each other. "We're going to that one!" They said in unison. The three others crossed their arms.
"I'm not sure I want to go there now!" Amy stated with a frown on her face. Cream followed "Me either.!
"Come on! Cheap prices? Excellent food?" Sonic pleaded.
"Waitresses!" Knuckles followed, but didn't realize he wasn't helping. The frown on the trio's faces didn't change.
Cream pointed somewhere "We should go there!"
The others turned around and what they saw was a restaurant called "Unicorn Paradise." Amy smiled happily, but the others didn't seem as enthusiastic.
"Nice, Cream! Let's go!" Arm in arm, the hedgehog and the rabbit started walking towards the restaurant.
Sonic ran after them. "Hey, wait!" He caught up with them. "We didn't agree on that one."
"Please, Sonic! It's way better than the one you guys want to go." Amy threw her hands up in exasperation.
Tails approached everyone. "But it's not fair, girls. We should all go to a place where all of us can have fun."
The girls looked at him incredulously, but then sighed, knowing he was right. Cream faced him. "Where then, Tails?"
The fox considered her words for a few moments and then turned to everyone with a smile. "What about that one?"
Everyone turned back and they saw a place called 'My Sweet Gluttony'. From the windows they could see it was a simple, yet nice place. Everyone seemed satisfied with the choice.
"I'm okay with that one. You guys?" Sonic turned to the others questioningly. Everyone nodded and he smiled "Then let's go!"
The group entered the restaurant and they were greeted with the cold and nice air from the air conditioner. Classic piano music on the background, and a simple yet beautiful decoration: A few paintings on the wall, vases with roses on the tables and the walls painted in white. As they scanned the place, a waiter approached them and bowed politely.
"Greetings. Table for five?"
The group nodded and the waiter motioned for them to follow him. They were escorted to a table next to the wall, and they soon sat down. Even the chairs were pretty confortable. The waiter handed a few menus to them as he pulled a little paper from his pocket along with a pen. "What would you like to drink?"
"Beer, please." Sonic said.
Knuckles nodded "I'll take a beer."
"A chaos cola, please" Tails said. Amy raised her hand
"We want two orange juices please."
The waiter nodded and wrote everything down. He then left and the group engaged in conversation.
"Pretty cool place, huh?" Knuckles scanned the area once again.
Cream nodded "It's a beautiful place. I can't wait to eat!"
"Me too! What are you going to eat, Cream?" Tails asked. The rabbit looked once again at the menu.
"I guess some fries with chesse and bacon. What about you?"
The fox looked at the menu as well "I guess I'll get the same. Not in the mood for burgers today."
"Hey, why don't we share one then?" Cream suggested. Tails looked at her with a blush. Both took this as something boyfriends and girlfriends did together, and Cream ended up blushing as well. "I-I mean, it'll be less expensive..."
"Y-Yeah." Tails looked down, fighting against a blush. He moved his eyes to meet Cream's. He summoned all of his courage. "I wouldn't mind sharing, Cream."
Both blushed even more. Sonic started chuckling. "That's so cute, you two!"
"S-Shut up!" Tails frowned as he still fought against his raging blush. Cream just looked elsewhere in embarrasment.
Amy brought her hands to her chest. "Awwwn! You two would be such a cute couple!"
"Can you please stop?!" Tails blushed even more, getting a bit angry. Just then, the waiter arrived with their drinks. He opened his can of cola and drank a few of it to calm himself down.
Deciding that he teased the poor fox enough, Sonic coughed on purpose to get everyone's attention. "Anyway guys, have you seen this?"
He pulled a paper from his pocket. Everyone's eyes widened.
"Hey... Isn't that... Shadow?" Amy asked, surprised.
Cream seemed just as surprised. "He has a bounty? Wait, does that mean he's alive?"
Sonic shook his head "I don't think he is. I mean, he can't be, right?"
"Who knows?" Knuckles frowned "That guy was crazy strong."
"No matter how strong he was, I don't think someone would survive an explosion in outer space." Tails gave another gulp on his cola "Even if he survived that, he couldn't possibly survive without oxygen."
Amy shrugged "Then what about this bounty?"
"Maybe it's from when G.U.N still considered him a threat." Knuckles stated. Amy turned to him.
"But then why would these still be hanging around?"
"Beats me." The equidna drank his beer and got silent.
Just then, they heard a loud sound, and they immediately turned to the door. They saw two men using masks. One of them was tall and bulky, and was holding a gun upwards, smoke coming out of its cane. The other was short and fat, but also held a gun.
Two police officers who were eating dinner immediately got up and pointed their guns at the thieves. "Freeze! Don't move or we'll shoot!"
Screams of fear echoed in the restaurant as the music stopped. The tall man started yelling as shot the gun upwards once more.
"Put those down we'll kill these people!" He then pointed his gun at a random guy, while the fat thief pulled a second gun and pointed it at a woman, while the other remained pointed at the officers. Gritting their teeth, the officers raised their hands and let go of their guns. They then kicked them away. Satisfied, one bandit turned to everyone.
"LISTEN UP! I want everything you guys have, NOW! Money, jewels, EVERYTHING! And be fast if you don't want to die!"
The two men then started moving slowly, changing their aim as they moved. The customers raised one hand in fear as they used the other to take their belongings and place them in the table. The bandits then came and placed the people's items in a large bag.
At Sonic's table, Amy and Cream hugged each other in fear. They were trembling and were on verge of tears. Cream grabbed the necklace she got from her mother and pressed it against her, fearing for it.
Tails just stared as the bandits robbed the innocent people, in a mix of anger and fear. He started sweating and breathing heavily, somehow wishing he could do something to stop what was happening. But fearing for his life, he just watched.
Sonic and Knuckles, on the other hand, glared at the bandits with anger, raising their hands solely for protecting their friends from harm. They were just waiting for the right opportunity to move and give the bandits a good lesson.
But their expressions changed when someone appeared from the kitchen doors.
From the corner of his eyes, the tall bandit saw someone was approaching him slowly, he quickly turned and pointed the gun at the person. "Stop right there!" He yelled. He felt a slight pain on his mouth, but ignored it.
What he saw was a dark hedgehog in a suit. Th hedgehog had a cigarrete in his mouth and was looking through the window on his left as he walked. He raised a hand to his mouth and extended the other to the bandit. "Shh. Here, take these."
Curious, the bandit drifted his attention to the hedgehog's hand, all the while ignoring the crescent pain in his mouth. The hedgehog's hand opened.
"They're your teeth."
It was then that the pain in the bandit's mouth became unbearable, and his eyes widened in terror as he saw the numerous teeth soaked in blood in the hedgehog's hand. To his surprise and horror, he scanned his mouth with his tongue and he confirmed that the dozens of teeth in front of him were his own.
Feeling the taste of blood in his tongue and totally confused with what was going on, the bandit opened his mouth to let out a scream, but was roughly interrupted by the hedgehog's foot, who slammed his face in the wall and tapped his mouth.
"Shut the hell up. Or do you want to try the ribs next?"
Finally noticing what was going on, the other bandit looked with surprise as he saw his partner being pressed at the wall by a hedgehog. The moment he pointed his gun at the hedgehog, he saw a flash of red light, and the last thing he saw before falling to the ground was the hedgehog standing in front of him, his gun flying meters away from him and the arm he used to hold it broken in several places.
He grabbed his broken arm with his good one and shrieked in pain as he rolled on the ground. A sudden foot pressed his mouth, and his scream became muffled. The hedgehog brought one hand to his cigarette and pulled it out from his mouth, while exhaling some smoke. He then looked deep in the bandit's eyes.
"I don't like when garbage like you cause trouble in my restaurant." He applied more strenght to his foot, nearly breaking the bandit's skull, who was full aware that would happen. "Now, you'll never come here again, or that'll be the last thing you'll do."
The hedgehog then turned to the police officers, who watched the scene in bewilderment. "Take these with you." He said and kicked the bandit in front of him at the officers direction. As his foot reached the ground again, he kicked the other bandit with his other foot. He then threw his cigarette away and walked back to the kitchen, disappearing from view.
Everyone, still confused and shocked at the scene, slowly went back to talking and discussing what just happened, when a fat man appeared.
"Caham. Excuse me, everyone. My name is Zeff, and I am the owner of this restaurant. I'd like to personally apologize for the strong and unpleasant moment we just had here. If you come here, I'll gladly return your belongings." He then picked up the bags with the stolen items. "I just hope we can ignore this inconvenience and move on. We have delicious food prepared with all care, so please, enjoy your stay and a few discounts as an apology."
Zeff then opened the bag and slowly people came to him to retrieve their belongings. A few of them left the restaurant afterwards, still taken aback from the event. Other returned to their seats and resumed talking.
At Sonic's table, since no one was robbed, they just stood there, still surprised. They weren't really surprised at the scene, since that would have happened if Sonic and Knuckles had the chance to get them.
What surprised them was the hedgehog involved.
Before they could talk about it, the same hedgehog left the kitchen one again. He was drying his hands on a small towel as he walked, and when they were done he placed some gloves on them.
After a few moments, the hedgehog finally spotted the group, and his expression changed from emotionlessly serious to slightly surprised.
"No fucking way... What are they doing here...?!" Shadow thought as he faced the countless gazes aimed at him. He furrowed his brow, knowing he wouldn't be able to simply ignore them now and pretend they weren't there. He sighed and slowly moved to their table. As he got there, everyone looked as if they had seem a ghost.
"...Shadow?" Tails asked, still a bit shocked.
"No, I'm the fucking Santa. Stupid fox..." Shadow thought, but said nothing. He remained emotionless until Sonic spoke.
"You've gotta be kidding me..." Sonic shook his head in disbelief. He then got up with a smile. "You're alive, Shad!"
"No shit, sherlock." Shadow furrowed his brows "And don't call me that, faker."
Knuckles frowned "How the hell are you alive?"
Shadow shrugged. He was clearly getting annoyed at being treated like a ghost. Cream decided to try lightening the mood.
"Mr. Shadow... It's good to know you're alive!" Cream smiled a little.
Amy followed her, knowing what she was trying to do. "Yeah! We're glad you are ok!"
Shadow seemed surprised at this. He didn't expect anyone to care about his 'death' or his disappearance. He questioned if he should acknowledge what they said as true, but he ended up doing it. He wasn't in the mood to doubt two girls, one being a kid.
"Thanks..." He said with difficulty. It wasn't a word he was used to saying. "Anyway, got any orders?
Tails smiled "You work here, Shadow? How cool!"
Shadow faced the fox questioningly. He couldn't imagine what was so cool about working in a restaurant. Attending people is totally annoying to Shadow, and he had to endure it. He thought of how he liked cooking. It wasn't COOL, but it was satisfying.
Sonic smiled. "Shad, do you have chillidogs?"
"Yes, and once again, don't call me that!"
Sonic raised his hands defensively. "Hey, chill man. Bring me five of those, ok?"
Shadow grunted, but ended up nodding. He turned to the others. "You?"
"Can you get us some fries? With cheese and some bacon, if possible. I'm sharing it with Cream." Tails said, feeling the need to say that last part for some reason. Cream blushed slightly, while Amy giggled and the others contained some laughter. Shadow raised his eyebrow.
"You two dating?"
Tails and Cream both blushed heavily, while Sonic and Knuckles laughed hard. Amy giggled louder, and soon brought a hand to her mouth to prevent herself from laughing. Tails frowned, still red as a tomato.
"N-No! We're not dating, ok?!"
Shadow shrugged. "Sure kid. Anything else?"
Tails frowned angrily and crossed his arms. Shadow turned to Knuckles and Amy.
Knuckles glanced at the menu "Gimme a X-Egg burger."
Shadow nodded. He then faced Amy, who still seemed a bit indecise.
"I'm not sure... I want something sweet... Tell the cook to surprise me, Shadow." She winked at him. He sweatdropped.
"I'm the cook."
She seemed confused. "You're not the waiter?"
"I'm a bit of everything. Now, If you'll excuse me." He took his leave.
Amy looked incredulously "Did you see that? He was actually polite!" She then remembred how harsh he was with Sonic and rolled her eyes "Well, kinda."
"I'm glad he's fine." Cream smiled.
"Me too." Sonic grinned "I like having an actual rival!"
Tails rolled his eyes. "I thought you had a lot of rivals?"
"Yeah, but Shadow's my arch-rival! I mean, wtf? He's exactly like me!"
"He's stronger than you." Knuckles smirked. "I couldn't even see his attack back there."
"That means nothing!"
Amy giggled "Good to know you're happy Sonic." She got up "I'm going to the bathroom. Excuse me!" She then left towards the ladies's room.
The group kept talking until Shadow came back with their orders. He placed the tray with the fries next to Cream, then handed the plate with chillidogs to Sonic and placed Knuckles's burger next to him. He was about to place Amy's tray in then noticed the pink hedgehog was missing.
"Where's the girl?
"Returning from the bathroom now." Cream pointed at her.
Shadow pondered for a few moments. Perhaps that would be a good time to put that gentleman's practice in action. He didn't feel like it, but he saw Zeff was looking. He had to make this look good.
As Amy arrived at the table, Shadow pulled her chair for her, much to her amusement. "Why, thanks, Shadow!" She sat down, feeling delighted. Nodding, he placed a tray in front of her.
"Well, for you I made a Fruit Macèdoine with ice cream and chantilly."
Amy gasped at the bowl in front of her. It had her favorite fruits, including strawberries, grapes, oranges and more. Around the perfectly cut fruits there was ice cream that, in her opinion, looked like it was pineapple flavored. The borders of the bowl had chocolate and strawberry covers, and on top of it there was some chantilly and tiny pieces of broken biscuits. Without wasting time, she filled her spoon with fruits and ate it.
"Oh. My. God. Shadow!" She widened her eyes and stared at him in disbelief.
"What, you didn't like it?" He questioned. He couldn't read her expression, and if after all his hard work she said it wasn't good, he'd be angry.
"This is soooooo delicious!" She ate some more "I never ate something as good as this!"
After bringing another full spoon on her mouth, Amy started crying. Shadow's eyes widened, and so did everyone's. The dark hedgehog placed his hand on her shoulder. "H-Hey, what is it?"
"Uhh... I'm gonna get so fat..." She sobbed, eating yet another full spoon of the dessert.
Shadow sighed and so did everyone. He was relieved it wasn't anything he did, but now he had to keep being chivalrous. Zeff's words ringed in his head. 'Men who can't wipe the tears from women's eyes aren't real men!'
He frowned. He couldn't understand that, but he felt uncomfortable leaving a girl crying, even if for the silliest reason. Sighing, he brought one finger to her face and gently wiped the tear from her eye. She looked at him surprised, but he remained serious "Don't cry. I'm, uh, sure you won't get fat or anything. So cheer up, ok?"
Amy blushed slightly and nodded. She started playing with her quills. "I didn't know you were a gentleman, Shadow!" She gave him a coy smile. Knuckles hit Sonic's arm.
"He's totally better than you." The equidna smirked, amused at the black hedgehog's behavior.
Sonic frowned, somehow feeling jealous that Amy wasn't giving him attention, but was to Shadow. Not just that, but Knuckles's comment got to him. Shadow, better than him? No way. We wasn't going to lose to his arch rival, specially on that matter.
He was about to say something to Shadow when he gave a bite on his chillidog. His eyes lit up and he felt he was in heaven.
"Wow, Shadow, you made these?" Sonic exclaimed, as he placed more pieces of a chillidog in his mouth. "These're the best I ever ate man! Wanna be my personal cook?!" He proposed, completely forgetting about his jealousy from a second before.
Shadow gave Sonic a look that said 'are you fucking shitting me?', and Sonic smirked. "Guess not, huh."
"It's really good, thanks, Mr. Shadow!" Cream said, eating some fries.
"Glad you liked. Anything else I can do for you?"
"I'm fine for now. Thanks!"
Nodding, Shadow returned to the kitchen. He couldn't help but give himself a little smile. He went better than he anticipated. And he couldn't say it wasn't nice to serve them and see how they liked his food.
He still had to improve some things, but he was glad he didn't mess up or acted like a total jerk to the girls. He was improving as a person, and that made him and his mentor glad.
After checking the clock, he noticed the restaurant would close soon. He got back to work, and thought about that table for some time. He didn't think he would feel like that, but he didn't regret letting them know he was alive.
Shadow cleaned his hands at he pullled a cigarette and lighted it up. He took of his appron and left the kitchen, saying good bye to his boss and the other cooks. As he left the restaurant, he spotted a familiar group, who turned to face him with a smile. Amy waved her hand "Hey, Shadow! Come here!"
Reluctant, the hedgehog approached the group once more. Sonic spoke up. "Hey man. Knuckles left already, but we just wanted to say that it's good to have you back, and that maybe we could hang out someday." Sonic tapped Shadow's shoulder. The dark hedgehog faced each one and was greeted with many smiles. He nodded.
Sonic grinned. "Well, that was it! See you later, faker!" He then dashed forward, leaving Shadow and the others behind. Shadow frowned at the comment, but soon turned to Tails, who poked his arm.
"We'll take our leave too. See you later, Shadow!"
"Bye Mr. Shadow! The food was delicious!" Cream said, following after Tails
"Bye Bye, Shadow!" Amy winked at him, then followed the other two. Shadow just waved at them and walked to the opposite direction. He glanced back once and saw the group slowly getting farther away from him until they finally disappeared from view. Turning back, he inhaled a bit more of his cigarette and let out some smoke soon afterwards, as he walked through the calm dark streets.
As he walked, he noticed a few bricklayers remodelling the street he was about to go, and one of them told him to take a detour. Shadow frowned, but ended up turning on another street. He didn't feel like arguing right now. He was tired from work, and all he wanted right now was to get home, take off his suit and watch TV until he fell asleep. Without noticing, he got lost in thoughts.
Until he heard a scream. A girl's scream.
Alarmed, he rushed to the street the scream came from and spotted a few men surrounding someone. It was a girl, and she had a suitcase in her arms. She hugged it with all her strenght, protecting it from the grasp of one of the men.
Shadow gritted his teeth in anger, and without thinking twice he blasted off to their direction. He buried his foot in one of the man's face, breaking it and sending his body flying a few meters. He then kneeled one of them right in the stomach with a lot of strenght, making him fall to his knees in pain. One man tried to attack Shadow from behind, but he kicked the man's cheek with a spinning kick, knocking him out as he fell hard on the ground.
The last man, who was still suffering from Shadow's kick in his belly, tried to pull a knife, but Shadow noticed it. He kicked the back of the man's neck, slamming his face on the ground. With all men out. Shadow inhaled from his cigarette one last time before throwing it away. As he opened his mouth to let the smoke out, he turned to the girl.
It was a cat girl with lavender fur. She had golden eyes and a red jewel on her fore head. She wore a purple outfit with white pants, but they were dirty and torn. Shadow offered his hand to help the cat up. She stared at his hand for a few seconds before accepting it. When she got up they stared at each other for some moments, until she broke the silence.
"Who are you?" She asked, a bit demanding.
"I'm Shadow the Hedgehog. You?"
The cat's eyes widened slightly. His rich voice gave her goosebumps.
"I'm Blaze the Cat."
End of Chapter One
That's it for now. Like it? Then REVIEW PLS. I need to know if you're liking or I won't continue this.