Connection: Remix, CHP 4
Author: Blu Evermind
Summary: A reunion, a picnic and Shadow discovers what he was here to do.
Notes: Chapter Four, and I'm feeling really good about this rewrite. I don't have a beta reader, so I proofread but we all know writers suck at editing their own stuff, so if anything is out of the ordinary, please let me know!
Another Note: Just so you guys know, I'm finished with Part One and I'm working on part two. Also, there will be a part three, I will come to a conclusion unlike before…lol. I write a lot at once and then I update a lot. Thanks everyone for sticking with me this long!
/
Shadow gave a small 'oomphf' as Rouge the Bat encased him in a spine snapping hug. There was no room at all between them, in this strong embrace of friends. Shadow could even feel her breasts against his chest and the thought made his eyes drift to the ceiling, to ignore the pressure.
"Is it really you?" She mumbled against his neck. When she pulled back, there were tears on her face.
"Careful Rouge, your makeup will run," Shadow smirked, holding her at arms length.
"Yes of course," She sniffed, gently wiping her eyes with her finger, "But…how?"
"It's a long story," Tails interjected; now with a picnic basket in his hands, "I can explain when we get to the park."
Knuckles patted Shadow heavily on the shoulder, grinning and exposing his fangs. "Nice to have you back, buddy."
"Yeah," Shadow smiled, trying to keep his legs straight under the strong touch. "Park?"
"Well, every month, we get together in Twinkle Park for a picnic—the whole crew—and afterward, we take a walk." Rouge explained; she appeared to have come back to her senses.
Knuckles arched an eyebrow at Tails' appearance, "You gonna clean up first? We've got all the time in the world, you know. Plus, we've got to wait for Sonic to get back anyway."
"Right," Tails mumbled, walking into some back room.
There was a thick, uncomfortable silence as Knuckles, Rouge, and Shadow took seats opposite of each other in the sitting room. Shadow decided to break the deafening silence.
"So, are you still a famous jewel thief?" Shadow mused.
Rouge smiled lightly, "Not that much anymore." And she took Knuckles' large hand in hers, "I help Knuckles protect the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald on his island."
"It's a quiet life, but she insists it makes her happy." Knuckles smiled at her. "I didn't want to bring her into my life-long duty—"
"But he couldn't keep me away," She finished. She looked back up at Shadow, worry in her features, "What are going to do now?"
"Well, I haven't really figured it out yet," Shadow answered, "But I want to help people, that's for sure."
"Good for—"
A sudden dusty wind cut off Rouge's reply as a blue blur slid into the house. There was a loud crash, as it hit the dining room table in the next room. "Ah, damn, OW!" The blur came to a stop, revealing a filthy Sonic the Hedgehog, grasping his knee. Shadow noticed he still had soot in his fur from his showdown at the military base.
Tails appeared in the door way, all his fur but a tuft on the top of his head had been cleansed and dried. He frowned at the hedgehog, now hopping up and down in pain, "Sonic! Now we have to wait for you to be clean as well! This picnic will never happen!" The kitsune fumed, blue eyes aflame.
Sonic looked hurt for a second (or that could have just been his knee) before Knuckles interjected, "Chill out, Tails. You know Sonic cleans up super fast."
Sonic gave the foxboy a thumbs up, "Be back in a sec!" And sure enough, a few seconds later, Sonic appeared from the bathroom, now sparkling clean. No one had even heard the shower run, he was that fast.
"Everyone ready?"
/
It was a crisp, yet warm day in Twinkle Park. After Sonic's triumph over Eggman, it seemed everyone wanted to enjoy the Park that had almost been destroyed.
That meant there were many Sonic spectators and admirers about, but Sonic played it off cool as a cucumber.
Popping another chili dog in his mouth, Sonic leaned back against the large trunk of the tree that was protecting the crew from the sun. "Now this is perfect…" he sighed as another small child called out his name and his mother pushed him along.
The stares Shadow was getting weren't making the black hedgehog any more comfortable. "Do we have to give a press release or something?" Shadow pondered aloud, "I think they still see me as a bad guy."
"Nah," Sonic closed his eyes, preparing for a nap, "We told them when the rocket landed that it was with your help that we saved earth. They probably think you're a zombie or something."
"And we can't tell exactly what happened until we know EXACTLY what happened." Tails further explained.
"Right," Shadow picked up the chili dog, taking a small bite. So he'd be a freak for a while; he could always glare the children down…
Amy had run up to the group a moment later, jumping on Sonic almost immediately. Sonic didn't even bat an eyelid; he acted like the pink hedgehog hadn't attacked him at all. Tails only stared at the two apathetically. Shadow took this time to try out his glare on a nearby child. After catching his gaze, she quickly burst into tears, tugging on her father's shoulder. No one in the group seemed to notice Shadow's failure so he simply picked up his now-cold chili dog and took another scrutinized bite.
The sun was setting and Sonic decided to go for a run, leaving a confused Amy chasing him around the park. At some time, she pulled out her hammer, and the run had turned into a playful game of chase. Knuckles and Rouge looked on, laughing at Sonic, who'd barely missed the hammer's punch one time. Tails' bad attitude lifted a little; perhaps things weren't as bad as they seemed.
Shadow thought about how he was going to tell Sonic that he wanted them to be rivals again—in protecting the world, that was.
Sonic eventually lost Amy somewhere around the duck pond, he returned to the picnic, sitting down next to Shadow. Sonic appeared cool and collected but where their arms touched innocently, Shadow could feel Sonic's pulse racing.
"No problem," he shut his eyes and leaned against the tree.
Shadow rolled his eyes; he admired Sonic's strength, but…
/What an ego!/
END OF CHAPTER FOUR