AN: thank you guys so much for all the comments, favourites, and reviews! Every single one counts, and they give me the motivation to keep writing! This one's a bit romance-y, but just bear with me. There's lots of action to come, and I won't leave you with just romance ._. I LOVE DOCTOR EGGMAN! DON'T JUDGE! (Hint, hint.) (well, maybe not as much as Silver and Shadow...)
Anyways, yay! More Sonic and Shadow! Enjoy, and Thanks again!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Sonic the hedgehog
Chapter 11- Change is in the air
It seemed to take an eternity for the sun to disappear behind Mobius. I became impatient very quickly. I was staring at the ceiling of Eggman's cage when I noticed it. There were transparent platforms high up in the cage. I guess the doctor really did study hedgehog behaviours, because how else would he know that I love climbing? Maybe Tails put them in, but either way, it made me one very happy blue hedgehog. There weren't any ladders to help me up or anything, just a few platforms connected to the walls near the top of the cage.
I got up from the bed and grinned, thinking of how to get up to the lowest one. I saw Eggman watching me out of the corner of my eye, and he seemed pleased that I had noticed the platforms. I gave him a thumbs-up before backing into the farthest corner of the cage so that I could jump and bounce off the wall. My friends turned around to see what I was doing. I lined myself up, then ran halfway across the cage before jumping. I showed off by flipping in the air to land with my feet on the wall. I pushed off from the wall and reached out for the ledge of the platform. I nearly missed it, but just barely caught it with one hand. I gripped the edge tightly as I used my momentum to swing the rest of my body up onto the platform. I landed on my feet and turned around to see my friends rolling their eyes at me and turning around with amused expressions. Eggman was clapping slowly, looking impressed. I took a bow.
It was a simple matter to jump from platform to platform until I got to the highest one. It was too close to the ceiling for me to stand, so I laid down on my stomach and propped my head up on my elbows to keep an eye on everybody from my new vantage point. Tails was constantly looking from the sun, to his watch, to me, and back to the sun, he looked really nervous. Eggman was calmly watching the sun moving behind the planet. Knuckles was studying his knuckles, and only every now and then looking over at me and shaking his head like he thought I was ridiculous. The next time he did, I crossed my eyes and stuck my tongue out at him, and he rolled his eyes. Cosmo was watching the sun apprehensively, standing next to Tails. Cream was bouncing around, playing with Cheese. Chris was watching me and looking amused. I grinned and waved at him, he waved back and kept watching. Amy was also watching me, she looked like she was afraid I might fall or something, so I gave her a thumbs up, and rolled my eyes. She relaxed and laughed a little.
I turned my head to watch the sun again. By now it was almost completely hidden by the planet, and the light from the sun was fading from the cargo bay. As the bay became darker and darker, my skin began to tingle. As the last sliver of sunlight disappeared behind the planet, I felt my whole entire self become enveloped in a pins and needles feeling. As it had in previous experiences, I suddenly felt the need to duck and cover. I did so instinctively, and accidentally knocked my head into the platform. The pins and needles increased in intensity, and I felt my fur grow longer, my teeth lengthen into fangs, my feet grew and became clawed. My shoes changed to fit my paws, becoming spiked and metallic. I'm not sure why they change along with me, but they do. The feeling didn't particularly hurt, it just made me want to hide somewhere until it finished. In a few seconds, it was over. I lifted my head up to look at my friends, I didn't feel weird or anything, so I decided to call out to them.
"Hey, guys! I think I'm-" I was suddenly cut off by a huge migraine.
My vision went fuzzy and I howled as a feeling like a hundred knives attacked my head. There was a loud, piercing ringing in my ears. I grabbed my head and howled again as it grew. I was completely unprepared for this. My only thought was 'make it stop!' As I rolled around, clawing at my ears to make the ringing go away. Nothing worked. Somehow, I managed to forget that I was on a platform at the top of a cage that was easily 25 feet tall.
In my fit, I rolled right off the platform. I realised my mistake too late, and tried to make a desperate grab for the ledge before I hit the ground. Thankfully, my powers still worked, and my arm stretched to grasp it. I began to haul myself back up, relieved I hadn't fallen. I was almost all the way up when the migraine intensified. I forgot all about holding on and grabbed my head in pain as more imaginary daggers stabbed it.
I hardly even felt myself hit the ground, my head hurt way more and my crash felt irrelevant. I distantly heard my friends yelling and worrying outside the cage, but their voices became more and more distant with each passing second. Soon I couldn't hear anything over my own howling, and then there was a flash of purple light, and everything went dark.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Amy Rose
"Sonic! Sonic!" I was pounding on the door to the cage in a desperate attempt to get to him and make sure he was okay. Knuckles was doing the same. Eggman was holding Tails back from opening the door.
My poor Sonic had fallen from at least twenty feet, and now he was howling and rolling around, holding his head. He was in so much pain, I just had to help him somehow. It was killing me to watch him like this and not be able to do anything. It seemed to last forever. I wanted, no, I needed to break through this cage and help him. And nothing Knuckles or I did made any difference. The cage was truly invulnerable.
All of a sudden, Sonic glowed purple and stopped moving. When the light died out, his fangs were sharper, his fur was darker, and when his eyes opened, they were red. He rolled off his back and stood on all fours. Seeing that he was in a cage, and that we were all watching him, he growled and backed into a corner where no one was standing. Chris walked up to a window.
"Sonic, say something. Please say something!" His voice shook as he called to our friend.
Sonic saw Chris and for a second, his eyes became green, before being replaced with the red again. He snarled at Chris and glared at him distrustfully. Hot tears rolled down my face as I slid to my knees on the ground. I can't believe he was like this again. He was fine, he was normal, he was even talking to us. And then this side of him fought him for control, and won. Sonic was going to be so upset when he woke up. Unless he was awake, and is aware of what he's doing this time. I really hope that isn't the case, it would be like being trapped inside yourself, unable to control anything. That would just be horrible for Sonic. It would be better for him to just be unconscious of his actions.
He started attacking the cage, using his huge claws to try and scratch his way out of the box. He ran around the cage, attacking and moving, probably looking for a weak spot. The thing that scared me, though, was that his claws did made marks on the material. Eggman and Tails were also perplexed and worried. It wasn't much, just tiny, nearly invisible lines. He wouldn't be getting out of the cage any time soon with little scratches like that, but it was still frightening that his claws could even do something against the material. Knuckles had jumped back when Sonic had attacked his part of the cage. He hadn't come my way yet, he was busy attacking a section of the wall mercilessly. When he gave up and turned away, the wall was fogged white from all the scratches on top of each other.
"That's... Impossible. It's incredible!" Eggman exclaimed from where he was, behind the part of the wall Sonic had been attacking. He ran a gloved hand across the box where all the scratches were. He had a strange expression on his face, like wonder and greed together. I immediately started worrying, Eggman was known to try and take things that impressed him. Sonic was literally trapped and was a sitting duck for Eggman to try and steal.
Knuckles and I noticed this at the same time. "Eggman, don't even think about it." We both growled at him.
Eggman looked up from the marks on his cage. "Hm? Of course, a promise is a promise. I will keep my word, Sonic is under no threat from me... For now. These scratches are nothing to worry about, the cage will hold him just fine. I'll be going back to my ship now, perhaps I should contact the Metarex. Please tell me if Shadow and Rouge wish to return to my ship. And make sure to remind them that they are by no means under any obligation to work with me, but also tell them to remember who rescued them." With that, the doctor walked out of the bay and towards his ship.
"No! Don't!" Tails ran after Eggman, causing him to turn around.
"My word, Tails, what is it?" The doctor appeared very confused, and I'm sure most of us looked the same way.
"Please Eggman, don't contact the Metarex. Just... Please. At least not until we've had time to recover from your attack last night. Come on, just give us a chance. I gave you a chance yesterday, and we worked with you. Please, return the favour?"
Eggman thought about, staring into the pleading kitsune's eyes. Finally he sighed. "A week. Then I contact them. But if they contact me before then, I will be forced to tell them what I know. You have my word." He turned on his heel and walked away stiffly.
Tails relaxed a little. "Thanks Eggman!"
Eggman glanced back. "You're... Welcome." He sped up and turned the corner into a hallway in his ship. We all relaxed as we watched him go.
Sonic howled from the centre of his cage, making all of us jump. He started pounding on the sides of the cage, his arms stretching out to both sides to hit opposite ends of the cage at the same time. The cage shook and shuddered, but didn't crack. I felt tears rolling down my face again as I watched him fighting a losing battle.
"I'm going to... Uh... go and tell Shadow and Rouge what Eggman said." Knuckles walked out of the room.
A few minutes later Tails spoke up. "I should go and start our descent, I'll come back once we've landed." He left and Cosmo followed with him.
That just left me, Cream, Cheese, and Chris watching Sonic. I was sitting down next to the cage, Cream and Cheese had come to sit next to me, and Chris was still standing by the window he had called to Sonic through earlier. Sonic had finally given up on breaking the cage, and he was now lying on the bed with a pillow in his mouth, tearing it up. I could tell that Cream was getting tired, and that Sonic was probably scaring her a bit. Cheese was asleep on her lap. I decided that its time for Cream to go to bed. I don't want to leave Chris alone though, and I promised Sonic that I'd stay all night.
"Hey, Chris, do you mind putting Cream to sleep? It's her bed time, and Sonic usually tucks her in. You should get some sleep too, we've all been up all night."
"But miss Amy... I'm not" Cream yawned. "...tired."
Chris smiled. "Sure you aren't, but you should at least help me tuck Cheese into bed. He looks pretty tired." He walked over and took Cream's hand. She got up and followed him out of the room while carrying Cheese in her other arm.
I kept watching Sonic chew on his pillow. I got up and stood on my tiptoes to reach one of the windows. Sonic saw me and dropped his pillow to growl. He glared at me with ruby red eyes.
I sighed. "C'mon Sonic, I know you're in there somewhere. You know who I am, and you know that I would never hurt you. Please stop acting like an animal and come over here. You're better than this."
Sonic cocked his head quizzically and got up onto all fours. He slowly approached my window, and I got a flash of hope. He lifted himself onto his back paws so his face reached the window. I didn't dare to move. He sniffed me through the bars, and then moved his head back to stare at me. He made a lopsided grin and dropped back onto all fours, his eyes flashed green again. He looked perfectly happy for a moment, then his eyes turned red again. He looked at me longingly and trotted over to the door and pawed at it like he wanted out.
I sighed again. "I can't let you out Sonic, you told me not to. And only Eggman and Tails can do that anyways."
He didn't stop, he kept scratching at the door and whining, giving me a pleading look with those ruby red irises. It was driving me insane, not being able to let him out when he looked like that. I had to look away.
"Sonic, stop it! I can't do anything!" I yelled in frustration. He kept it up for a few minutes while I turned my back.
He finally knocked it off and sat back down with a huff. I peeked back over my shoulder to see him hiding his face in his paws with his back turned to me. He looked like he was trying to sleep or something. It was more likely that he was pouting about not having gotten his way.
Looking at him reminded me of how much I cared about him. Sonic probably had no idea how much I love him. I may be going about it the wrong way but that's just who I am. Personally, I think he secretly likes being chased around. At least it gives him a reason to run, and if that makes him happy, then that's all that matters to me. My only wish is for him to like me back. It may sound a little selfish, but I kind of liked the fact that Sonic freaked out and destroyed almost all the Metarex because I got hurt. At least it gives me hope that he cares, maybe more than he lets on.
Before I knew it, I was talking to him through the window, not really about anything in particular, just talking. I told him how happy he made me when he gave me a rose last summer once he got back, I told him about how I felt the first time we met. I even told him about how when I feel sad, I go to the spot we met, and I wait for him to run by again, because he's always running through that place. I knew he won't remember any of it, and that he will most likely wake up from this form completely oblivious to anything that happened, but the talking makes me feel better.
Sonic slowly lifted his head to look at me. His eyes were green again. I kept on talking; telling him what I wished he would say to me, and how happy I would be if he did. I went on like that for a few hours, nobody came to disturb us. Sonic watched me the whole night, and I got the feeling that somewhere, deep down inside, the real Sonic was listening.
I fell asleep leaning against the cage, and he did the same, curled up against the wall by me. I dreamt of the day we met.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Shadow the Hedgehog
I shut my eyes to think. Well, this is awkward. First I feel like I'm about ready to ditch Rouge and never talk to her again, and then that video... And now I'm really confused, which is really not my thing. And then Sonic had his issues... Which I believe I handled very well. At least, I had a bit of fun, which doesn't usually happen. And then Rouge kind of ordered me to stay here, and I felt like I should because of the video. Then again, everything since I hit my head, well, more than just my head, has felt different. For some reason, Sonic didn't annoy me so much, Rouge hardly annoyed me at all, and generally, I feel more relaxed. I think that's the word. I can't even remember the last time I felt relaxed like this, or if I ever was this relaxed. My memories are coming back as well, it seems like almost everything I do brings back a new memory about Maria. Even though I've remembered so much, I know this is only the beginning. There is so much more that I have to recall.
I'm kind of disappointed that I'm not going to personally see whether Sonic is normal or not, but I can tell that Rouge really wants to talk to me, and I won't deny her. We didn't have much time to talk before when Sonic told us to meet him in the lunchroom before Sonic showed up. She only really asked me if I was okay and what I thought of the videos. I never thought Rouge cared about anyone besides herself, but the way she acted in that video... I'm curious why she would protect me like that. We've never really talked save for trading insults, but she stood up to Sonic and put her own life in danger for me. I know that she had a plan, and they never would have reached her anyways, but it takes guts to stand in front of a shot like that. And the way she broke down when she saw me injured leaves me completely perplexed. And she took such great care when I woke up. I didn't appreciate it at the time because I felt like I was being treated like a two year old, but she was so patient and careful. The only other person to ever be like that was... No. I won't think about it, it will only bring back bad memories. But I think I can give Rouge a second chance.
"Hey, Shadow? I'm really sorry about lying. I just thought... I don't know what I was thinking. I just didn't want to stress you out. Can you forgive me?"
I opened my eyes to look at her. Truthfully, I already had forgiven her, but she didn't need to know that. I figured that now is my chance to get back at her for messing with me earlier. "Maybe... It depends."
Rouge looked hopeful. "On what? What do I have to do for you to forgive me?"
I grinned evilly at the possibilities. "Well, firstly you have to sing the Mobian anthem in front of everybody, in a bikini. Then you can go tell Knuckles that you're deeply in love with him, and you want everyone to know. You have to not steal anything for two years, and spend a whole day saying nothing but the word 'Chao' to everybody you talk to." I waited for her to respond.
Her face was priceless, I wish I'd had a camera. "Wait, what? I can't... you've gotta be kidding me..." She stammered, looking very surprised.
My grin grew, it felt good to smile. "I am."
She hadn't really been paying attention. "Huh? You're what?"
I laughed a little. "I'm just messing with you, consider us even now. But I'm seriously considering making you sing in a bikini..." I laughed again.
She pouted. "Okay, I kind of deserve that, but I'm not singing. Especially not in a two-piece, you can forget that. But seriously, please forgive me, I know I shouldn't have lied to you, but I'm really sorry."
I sighed. "Yeah, I forgive you. I saw what you did for me while I was... Out of commission. It looks like I owe you one."
"Really? Thanks Shad!" I got an unexpected hug from the relieved bat.
I wasn't sure if I should return it, so I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Just do me a favour and stop calling me Shad."
She pulled away, unfazed. "Why don't you like it? I think it sounds cute."
I shook my head. "Okay, first of all, I'm the Ultimate Lifeform. I was designed to be the ultimate weapon. I don't do cute. Second of all, its just lazy, its really not that hard to say 'Shadow' rather than 'Shad'. Leaving a syllable off doesn't save you any time. And lastly, my name isn't Shad. That a good enough reason for you?"
"Okay, fine Shadow. I won't call you Shad anymore. Happy?" She pouted.
I thought about it. "Yes." I realised that I was still smiling.
"For real? You're actually happy? That's all it took?"
I was a bit offended. "Why are you so surprised? I'm not that cold, am I?"
She looked embarrassed. "Uhhhh, no, that's not what... You know what Shadow? About me saving you before, you don't owe me anything, just consider it a down payment for all those times you save my butt during missions. Okay?" She changed the subject, and I noticed.
I'm not going to let it slide. "Oh no you don't. Tell me what you really think, do you honestly believe that I am never happy?" This is something I've kind of wanted to know for a while. Does everyone really think that I'm always angry? I know I can be grumpy... Most of the time... But that doesn't mean that I'm never happy. I'm content when I'm alone, or when people are being quiet. And now that I have good memories to look back on, I feel less clueless, and so I'm way more comfortable around people... sort of. As long as they aren't doing anything to annoy me. Like calling me Shad.
She bit her lip. "Well... Yeah. You come across as the very unhappy type. No offence, but I hardly ever see you smile, and when you do, it's usually because someone else did something stupid or hurt themselves, so its more like a smirk. I don't think I've ever seen a genuine smile from you until last night when you got hurt. And then it was because you were a bit on the crazy side, according to Cream. You're kind of scary. No, I don't think you're really ever happy anymore. Sorry."
I had to smile a little. "Well, at least you're being honest." I shrugged my shoulders. "I guess I'm not very happy around people, so no offence taken."
She gave a relieved sigh. "I was worried you would get mad at me. You know, its nice talking to you with out us insulting each other. I wish you would talk more." Then she clapped a hand over her mouth, looking a little embarrassed.
I smiled a bit wider and leaned back in my seat. "You wanna know a secret?"
She nodded interestedly. "Sure, what is it about? I promise I won't tell anybody."
I sighed and stared at the ceiling. "The reason I never say anything. It's because I never know what to say. Amnesia makes you kind of clueless, and I never have anything to talk about. And Eggman isn't much for conversation tips. So I kind of just listen to you people and act like I just don't want to talk to anybody. I know it sounds pretty pathetic, but that's why I stay out of conversations, and sometimes I don't have the greatest comebacks."
She grinned. "That actually makes sense! I never thought of it that way. You're a pretty good actor, I really believed that you just felt no need to say anything, like you were too good to talk to the rest of us. Wow. You should talk to us more. Learning by experience, right?"
I shrugged. "Maybe. Hey, what do you think happened with Sonic? Do you think he's normal? It's almost sunset, right?"
Rouge checked her watch. "Yeah sunset should have been almost five minutes ago. I hope he's okay, do you want to start heading over to check on him?"
I nodded. "Sure. Let's go." I got up from my chair and started towards the door, but fell onto my knee. I had been sitting on my bad foot, and it didn't support my weight because it had gone numb. "Ugh." I caught myself using the chair.
Rouge ran over. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"
I waved her off. "Calm down, my foot just fell asleep. It's nothing."
"Wow, I didn't know that your foot could go numb."
I raised an eyebrow as I shook my foot out. "Why not?"
"Well, because you're the Ultimate LifeForm, right?"
I smirked. "Correct."
"So, you have nearly bulletproof skin, immunity to poison and sickness, chaos powers, and you can run at incredible speeds without killing yourself... I thought maybe that kind of thing doesn't happen to you."
I snickered. "True, but other than all that stuff you mentioned, I work the same way as everybody else. If I sit on my leg long enough, it will go numb. There are some things that just can't be avoided."
Rouge laughed a little and we continued towards the door. We hadn't taken even two steps out into the hall until a certain red echidna ran head first into us.
He nearly knocked Rouge over, but I was behind her, so I stopped her from falling. "Knuckles! Watch it! Why are you in such a hurry?!" She exclaimed angrily.
Knuckles rubbed his nose. "Sorry, sorry. I have a message for you two from Eggman."
Rouge twisted her shoulders out of my hands, I had forgotten I was holding them. "Well, spit it out then. What does he want?"
Knuckles rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, he wanted to tell you two that he went back to his ship."
Knuckles looked like he had more to say, but wasn't sure how to say it. I knew the feeling. I decided to give him a little push. "Anything else?"
Knuckles nodded. "Yeah, he said to tell you that if you want to go back, then you're more than welcome, but he understands if you want to stay because of your injuries or something."
"Wait, we don't have to go back? Are you sure?" Rouge was ecstatic.
"That's what he said. It's entirely up to you. But he also said to remind you who rescued you." Knuckles looked confused. "I'm not sure what he means by that."
I rubbed my temple. "It's okay, you don't need to know Knuckles. Thanks for telling us, do you think you can give us a minute to think?"
The echidna nodded. "Sure thing, I'm going to the control room, meet me and Tails there when you make a decision, okay?"
Rouge nodded too. "Deal, see ya in a few, Knux." The red Mobian waved and ran off.
I turned to Rouge. "So, are you going back?"
She shrugged. "I'm not sure yet, are you?"
I shook my head. "Me neither. I did sort of swear loyalty to the doctor, but I'm thinking that I've more than made up for him waking me up by now. Anyways, he has the Metarex on his side now, so he doesn't really need me anymore. Then again, he did bring me back to health when I nearly died last year. But after recent events... Do I still owe him? He did say it was our choice. What do you think?"
Rouge put a gloved hand on my shoulder. "Honey, you've made up for that. Think about how many times you've saved Eggman's butt! And if it weren't for you yesterday, we'd all be fried. Stop thinking about this logically. What do you want? If you had to make a choice for the rest of your life, who would you choose? Sonic or Eggman?"
I really thought about it. Honestly, neither was that great of a choice. They both annoy me a lot, and I'm not too thrilled about being caught in the middle of their rivalry. I sighed. "I can't decide, what are you going to do?"
She sighed too. "I'm having a bit of trouble as well. As you've probably noticed, I don't play nice with others, so Sonic's team isn't the best choice for me. However, I've repaid my debt to Eggman, and I don't appreciate being told what to do all the time by him. I really only stuck around so that you didn't end up all alone with him, and because he looks like he might be winning. But with Sonic's power yesterday, I think I'm changing my mind. I guess I'm staying, if only so I can mess with Knuckles more. Anyways, if Sonic is messed up again, these guys could use all the help they can get. Does that help you at all?"
I nodded slowly, planning how to answer. "Yeah, it does. I'm not that great with lots of people either, but I'm sick of being ordered around too. I don't particularly like the Metarex much either, and I don't want to work with them anymore. You seem to make pretty smart decisions, so I'll stick with you and these guys for now. I guess I'm staying too."
She grinned brightly. "Yeah! I've still got the best mission buddy anyone could ask for, minus Eggman!"
I rolled my eyes. "Don't call me your mission buddy. We're partners on missions sometimes. Not 'mission buddies', it sounds ridiculous."
It was her turn to roll her eyes. "You're such a killjoy. Come on, let's go tell the others so they can let Eggman know."
I nodded, then half smiled. "Yeah, race you there." Then I took off at half-speed so she could catch up from the sudden start.
To say the least, Rouge was not happy. She yelled my name angrily as I ran through the hall, but I was already halfway down it. I heard her boots click on the metal as she took off to catch up. Soon the clicking turned into wings flapping, and I knew she was picking up speed. Sadly, she doesn't go anywhere near as fast as Sonic, so I slowed down as I turned a corner to give her a chance. I wasn't even going fast enough to activate my rocket shoes yet, and the clanking created by my running was pretty loud. I was halfway to the control room and thoroughly enjoying the run when Rouge finally caught up with me.
She was flying beside me. "What was that all about?!"
I kept pace with her as she tried to pass me. "Can't a guy just have fun?"
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, right. New Shadow likes to talk to people, smile, and now have fun?"
We drew closer to the end of the hall and I sped up more to pass her. I frowned. "What do you mean, new Shadow?"
Rouge stayed silent and looked at the ground as she landed behind me. I won the race to the control room.
I'm not letting her get away with that comment. "I asked you a question, Rouge."
She walked past me into the nearly empty room. "I didn't mean anything by it. It's just that you've been acting so differently since you hit your head, I hardly recognise you."
I didn't feel any different, if a little worse for wear, and more relaxed now that I don't have to worry about the Metarex or Eggman. "Is that a bad thing?"
The others had turned in our direction from the sounds of our conversation. Rouge blushed and kept staring at her boots. "No, I, uhhhh, I like talking to the new you. You're very interesting. But that doesn't mean you should go running off with your injuries like that. Be more careful, Shadow!"
I smirked. "Who needs to be careful when you have bulletproof skin?"
Rouge sighed. "You're impossible."
My smirk widened into a grin. "If you say so."
We arrived at the small group of people at the controls. She sighed again. "When did you get so cocky?"
I shrugged and looked up at the other Mobians. They were giving us odd stares. I stopped smiling and made a straight face again. Rouge looked up as well.
Knuckles cleared his throat. "So, have you two decided yet?"
We were about to answer when Tails cut in. "We're more than happy to welcome you if you want to stay, we have plenty of space, and I'm sure Cream would be ecstatic if you stuck around. She makes really great food, and her mom is even better. We're visiting everyone's houses tomorrow so we can all get properly fed and rested before we restock and move on. And Eggman said he didn't mind if you stayed, its your choice!"
I looked at Rouge before raising an eyebrow at the kit. "You done?"
The fox nodded enthusiastically and then his cheeks turned red in embarrassment.
"Okay, well, before you cut me off, I was about to say that we decided to stay, as long as its okay with all of you. And since you've made it rather obvious that you were hoping we'd stay, I'm assuming it is okay with you, so thanks."
The red echidna behind the kit perked up. "Wait, both of you? You're both ditching Eggman?"
Rouge took a step forward and nodded. "Yeah, we're partners, we stick together. And we're both tired of Egghead ordering us around. By the way, shouldn't we contact him and tell him not to hold his breath?"
Wow. She is really rude. "Rouge, don't be so rude, remember what the doctor did for us. You would still be floating around in space if it weren't for him."
Rouge rolled her eyes. "Oh please. You're one to talk. You can lecture me on not being rude when you apologise to Sonic for every one of those insults yesterday. Anyways, its just Eggman, and I've more than made up for that."
I shrugged. "Fine, suit yourself."
The two other Mobians were watching us carefully. Tails spoke up. "Well, welcome to the team! I'm going to start contacting Eggman. If you don't mind me asking, how exactly did he help you two?"
Rouge and I looked at each other and nodded. Rouge started. "Well, when everybody took off from the planet, I assumed something fun was happening and I didn't want to be left out, so I got a small spaceship of my own. Unfortunately, it didn't hold up that well and it became damaged and low on fuel. I managed to escape to Eggman's ship, and he let me on so I could survive. That was a long time ago though, and I've helped him out enough to cover my debt."
Rouge looked to me. I sighed. "I'm a bit more complicated. When I was awoken by the doctor the first time, I pledged loyalty to him as the ultimate Lifeform and the creation of his grandfather. However, I believe that promise only reached as far as he was dealing with the space colony ARK and Earth. And in that instance, it was my job to activate the ARK so that it would begin its path of destruction for the planet, and I was really only using the doctor in order to achieve that goal. You all know what happened after that, Sonic changed my mind, and we ended up stopping the ARK together. I used all my power by taking off my inhibitor rings, and I fell down to the planet where I would likely die. The doctor rescued me, and for that, I owe him my life. He promised me that if I helped him once again, he would help me to regain my memories, so I agreed. However, I have helped him many times, and saved his butt too many times to count. He has failed in restoring my memories. My debt is repaid."
Knuckles had been paying close attention the whole time, as had the seedrian behind the kitsune, who was typing furiously on his keyboard. I could tell that Tails was also listening closely, because his ears were up and flicking around at every sound.
Knuckles nodded once I finished. "Well, I'm glad you decided to join our team, we're always happy to have new friends. I'll go ask Cream for help setting up rooms for you two. Unless you want to stay in the same room? Because some of us room together. What do you guys prefer?"
Rouge and I answered at the same time.
"I'd rather be on my own." I responded.
"We should room together! It'll be fun, Shadow!"
Knuckles was confused. "Ummm, come again?"
I covered Rouge's mouth with my hand. "We'd like separate rooms, if you don't mind."
Rouge stomped on my foot, but I just smirked, my shoes were made of metal. So she poked me in the side. I had no idea how much that would hurt with my injury. I doubled over and yelped. Rouge's mouth was no longer covered.
Rouge looked upset. "Sorry Shadow. But c'mon! We're partners, its just a room together, you don't always have to be so lonely!"
Knuckles was still standing there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. I straightened up and glared daggers at Rouge. Then I turned to the echidna. "Actually, I'll probably sleep in the clinic tonight anyways. If its not too much trouble, could you take Rouge with you, and she can help you set up what she wants. Maybe we can decide something tomorrow. I know my way to the clinic. Thanks for helping us out."
Knuckles nodded and began in the direction of the door. Rouge protested, but I shoved her towards the echidna, and she gave up, following Knuckles to set up her room.
When they were gone, I looked at Tails. "Are we ready to contact him yet?"
The kitsune nodded and pressed a button. There was a beeping sound, and then Eggman's face appeared on the screen. He had cleaned himself up, and he looked somewhat cheerful.
The doctor grinned at Tails. "Why, hello again. Long time no see, fox. I'm assuming you have called to tell me Shadow and Rouge's decisions?"
Tails nodded. "You would be right, Eggman."
The doctor smiled smugly. He then looked around like he was trying to see more. "I don't see Rouge or Shadow with you, does that mean that they are on their way back to my ship?" He seemed really hopeful, I almost didn't want to burst his bubble. Almost.
I walked into Eggman's field of view. "I've chosen to stay, Doctor."
His face fell. But then he recomposed himself. "Oh, I see. And Rouge?"
I felt a pang of guilt. "She's staying too. She's with Knuckles setting up a room for herself right now."
The doctor frowned again. "So both of you are switching sides. I suppose if that's what you want, its your decision."
I had no idea he could make me feel so guilty. I wanted to say something meaningful, so I decided to use his true name. "Ivo. I may have stopped working for you, but that doesn't mean I wish to fight you. Sonic can have his go at you all he wants, but I'm staying out of it. I'm sure that Rouge would feel the same way."
A hint of a smile appeared on the doctor's lips. "Hmmm, Ivo... no one has called me that in a while. How do you even know my name?"
It was my turn to give a smug smile. "You told me yourself. Last year, when you released me. Don't you remember?" I haven't been able to ask that question in what seems like forever. It felt nice.
Apparently Eggman also found the idea of the amnesiac asking him if he remembered something amusing. He grinned widely. "Of course I remember, I just wasn't sure if you really did. I'm glad to see your memory is finally improving. I suppose if they help you remember more of your life, it is best that you stay with Sonic and his friends. Also, once the Metarex regroup, they aren't going to be happy. Sonic is going to need all the help he can get, especially since he has to be locked up at night now. I wish you the best of luck, project Shadow. Say goodbye to Rouge for me, will you? Its been fun."
I gave the doctor a rare genuine smile. "The same for you. Good luck, doctor Robotnik. I'll tell her for you, don't worry."
"Farewell, hedgehog." The doctor shut off his screen, cutting off our connection.
"Goodbye for now, doctor." I mumbled, so only I could hear.
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE...
AN: yeah, I'm sorry for the super long wait! I've been caught up with homework, exams coming up, art on my deviantart account , and I started another story, as some of you may have noticed... (Why do I do this to myself?!) well, until exams are over, these chapters will likely be coming out only one or two times a month. But once summer gets here, they will definitely be coming out much faster. Also, I plan to finish this story before the summer ends, and even if it lasts longer, I promise all of you that I WILL finish it, no matter what. You won't be left with a cliffhanger for a few years. You have my word. I don't take giant hiatus'.
AWESOME LONG ROLE PLAY
*with envytheskunk on deviantart *
Me: *shows Silver this story*
Silver: *reads* Wow, I'm glad I'm not in this story, everyone got pretty messed up.
Sonic: you're just jealous she didn't put you in her first story. I mean, Chip and Tikal will be in this story, and you won't.
Silver: I'm pretty sure its because she cares about me more, the rest of you can get messed up. I'm being protected. So ha!
Shadow: ... Wow. Ego much?
Silver: well, just look at yourself! Your skull is completely shattered! Sonic is stuck turning into some evil monster every night, and Knuckles's master Emerald is basically dead!
Shadow: I'm fine. You have no proof otherwise.
Knuckles: shuddap about my emerald! She's gonna be fine!
Silver: ... She? And Shadow, even Tails said you should be dead.
Shadow: well, the fact is I'm NOT dead. I'm outta here. *growls and leaves*
Knuckles: ... Yes. She. Hey, do you have any idea when Tikal comes in?
Silver: weeeeeell...
Me: *clamps hand over Silver's mouth* no spoilers! Geez, Silver. Don't go giving away all my secrets!
Sonic: come on! Tell us! When does Chip come in? I miss that guy.
Me: you will all see. Just be patient for once in your life, Sonic.
Knuckles: fat chance of that happening... *jumps away from door as it is slammed open*
Amy: *barges in* That's it! Who called my man a monster? *pulls out her hammer* Was it you? *points it at Knuckles*
Knuckles: n-no, *points to Silver* it was him, I swear! Don't come near me with that thing!
Silver: dude! Way to sell me out! *backs up from Amy*
Sonic: you're on your own, man.
Amy: *advances on silver* nobody calls my Sonikku a monster! No one!
Silver: *backs into corner* somebody help! Silverfangirl96, stop her! Pleeease?
Me: hahaha, nope. This is WAY too funny.
Silver: what?! But you're my fan girl! Your name says so! C'mon, help me!
Me: can I have a hug?
Silver: yes! Anything!
Me: anything?
Silver: I'll give you a hug if you stop her from killing me!
Me: *thinks about it* deal. Hey Amy!
Amy: I'm busy! *still walking slowly towards terrified Silver, swinging her hammer*
Me: what if I gave you a hint about what happens later in the story? It has to do with you and Soniiiiic.
Amy: Really?! *she forms a huge smile and her eyes sparkle*
*She then aimlessly throws her hammer in the air and zips to you. Sadly, because she didn't know where she threw the hammer it lands on Silver head.*
Silver: *Silver then gets a dizzy look and starts to say crazy things while walking in loopy lines* Yes, I would love more cheese for my tea!
Me: Silver! are you okay?!
Silver: the moon has a nice hat today, doesn't it?
Amy: he's fine, now tell me about what happens with Sonikku and I!
Sonic: *somewhat worried* uh, Silver, you do know that its the middle of the day, right? And we're inside. You can't even see the moon.
Me: okay Amy. *whispers in her ear about her amazing kiss scene coming up*
Amy: Yes! In your face, Chris!
Chris: Bu-bu-but Sonic! You said you loved me! *cries like a baby*
Silver: Why is that rain cloud talking?
Sonic: *inches away from Amy and chris* well then, I'm just gonna take Silver to Cream's house now... Later. *grabs Silver and runs for it*
Silver: wheeeeeeee! Go llama go!
Amy: but Sonikku! Wait up!
Chris: Sonic, don't go!
*they chase after him*
Shadow: *comes back with Swiss roll* what did I miss?
Knuckles: just one of the funniest things I've ever seen.
Chip: Where do all these people keep popping up?!
*Everybody looks at Chip with a blank expression*
Chip: What? *shrugs*
Me: I dunno, wherever you came from, I guess. I don't really remember inviting anybody but Sonic, Shadow, Silver and Knuckles into my house...
Espio: *stops being invisible right next to me* Oh, is that where we are?
Me: Ahhhh! What? Where did... Oh right, invisibility. This is getting ridiculous.
Knuckles: *scratches the back of his neck* I might have invited a few more people...
Charmy: *Slams open the door* Hey guys!
*Vector pushes Charmy out of the way*
Vector: Yo, toots! Where's the grub?
Chip: Now that you mention it, I'm getting a little hungry too. *pulls out a chocolate bar and starts to eat it*
Vector: *Looks at Chip* Food!
Then Vector tries to jump on Chip but Chip flies around the room while Vector chases him.
Chip: Why me?! Shadow is the one with the swiss roll!
Me: *glares at knuckles* exactly how many people did you invite?!
Knuckles: uhhhhh, just a few more...
Chip: *hides behind me* help! He's gonna eat me!
*Meanwhile...*
Vector: Swiss roll? Where?!
Charmy: Shadow's got it! Lets get him!
Shadow: pffft. As if. Chaos control! *teleports to the other side of the room* you'd have to catch me first.
*Tikal and blaze walk in*
Blaze: hello? Are we in the right place?
*Sonic comes back with Amy and Chris close behind*
Sonic: Hey Blaze, Silver is at Cream's house if you're looking for him. Amy hit him in the head by accident. He's saying some weird things...
*Blaze sets her fists on fire*
TO BE CONTINUED...
Kthxbai, Silverfangirl96. (I'm changing my username to Biagotmilkandjelly, its more original and its what I use for deviantart now) (its a combination of my last name, 'Got Milk?', and 'and jelly'. Because YES.)