'Epitaph' by Yuki Kajiura
Kinda reminds me of the song from the 'Shadow the Hedgehog Game', when Shadow had to choose between choosing to help Maria, Prof. Gerald, or himself... Also kinda makes me sad because of that reason XD Maria sounded so sad in that level... T 3 T
Chapter Twelve
"Shadow?"
Shadow opened his eye, a head ache pounding in his temples. His vision blurred, all he could see was a yellow shape. He was lying in a bed, the sheet draped delicately on him. He blinked his eye until his vision cleared.
Tails sat in a chair next to the bed. "Shadow?" He repeated. "Are you OK?" Shadow started to sit up, but Tails stopped him. "You still need to rest! Lay down!"
Shadow grudgingly laid back down, but in a way that he could look at Tails without having to crane his neck. "I'm fine." He said quietly.
Tails' eyes softened. "Were you having a nightmare? You were talking a lot in your sleep."
Shadow stared at the quilted sheet before replying. "I suppose so, yes."
They were quiet for a moment, before Tails whispered "You said 'Maria' a lot. Were you dreaming of the A.R.K.?"
The black and red hedgehog hesitantly nodded. Eager to change the subject, Shadow asked "What happened? All I remember is sitting on the roof at night."
"You and Shine were talking on the roof. She wouldn't tell me what, exactly, but she did say you were acting light-headed. She said something and then you passed out and almost fell off the roof. Shine caught you, but needed Knuckles' help to get you back onto the roof. She said you were 'a dead weight'." Tails explained.
Thank you, Shine, for not going into detail... For once, that's actually helpful, Shadow thought as he stared of the window. A shaft of sunlight poured through the window and sat on the carpet, dust motes dancing through the light.
Shadow blinked his eye as Tails asked quietly "Why did you save me, Shadow?"
"What? What do you mean by that?" Shadow looked at Tails, who was picking invisible lint off his gloves.
"Why didn't you kill me so you could get away?"
Shadow's eye softened. "Too many lives have been sacrificed for me..." He whispered quietly. Tails looked up at Shadow, confused. "Besides, it wasn't really you trying kill me. It was Mortuus. You trying to fight that thing."
Tails blinked his eyes. "But... I'd rather have died than see you like this forever..." He suddenly looked curious. "Why do you care so much for me? You don't know me nearly as much as Sonic did. I did nothing for you. In fact, I almost killed you. So why is it that you care for me? Why did you spare my life?"
Shadow looked at the ceiling as he spoke. "It's what you do when your friends are in danger." He whispered, his stomach lurching as memories resurfaced from his dreams. "You help them." He could feel tears stinging his eye as he smiled, still looking at the ceiling. "Besides, I couldn't hurt you, Tails."
Tails sat beside the bed, staring at Shadow. His blue eyes were on the verge of tears.
Shine sat on the couch in Christopher Thorndyke's living room. The kid himself was sitting next to Shine, and Cream and Cheese were watching the T.V., dancing along to a strange children's show. Shine had her arms and legs crossed as she totally zoned out, staring at the wall.
I wonder what made Shadow pass out... She thought to herself. Did I strike something up in his memories that was too much for him, or was he just too exhausted to keep going?
"It's strange to have someone who looks like Shadow around." Chris said, almost to himself.
Shine blinked at him. "It's strange to be around Shadow again."
Chris lowered his voice so Cream and Cheese won't hear their conversation. His dark blue eyes flashed as he asked "Can you tell me about Maria?"
Shine looked back at Cream and Cheese, before sighing. "I can say very little about her." She looked back at Chris and lowered her own tone. "I know that Shadow and Maria were extremely close." She forced her voice to stay normal, even though she wanted to make it sour and angry. "They were like brother and sister, and completely inseparable. Shadow was only trusted by Maria, so they became friends."
Chris tilted his head. "Wouldn't the Professor trust his own creation?"
Shine's stomach did a flip. This kid was annoying, digging his nose in business that wasn't his own. Sooner or later, he's going to learn that some things are meant to be left alone, and some things you just won't want to hear at all. Shine almost sighed, coming to the conclusion that he'll learn the hard way.
Chris saw her hesitation and his shoulders sagged. "Sorry," He apologized. "It's just that Shadow refuses to say anything about the A.R.K.."
"If Shadow doesn't want you to know about what happened on the colony, that's his business. He's never really been a chatty person, even with Maria." Shine grunted.
Chris shrugged. "I suppose. I just wish Shadow could trust me."
Poor little tyke, Shine looked back at the T.V., which had a campaign commercial for the president. It appears he wants to replace Sonic,unconsciously so.
Chris got up. "I should probably go see if my grandpa needs any help. See you later, Shine." The kid waved 'good-bye' before walking towards the door that led to the garage.
Shine watched him. Chris has been trying to deal with Sonic's death in a really weird way. He's been pretending like Sonic isn't gone forever, only off on a mission. The other day, Shine heard him talking in his room. He said "It's been a long time since Sonic left. I wonder if he's OK..."
Shine felt for him. He was only twelve. But... She felt for Tails way more, having experienced what the fox did. She closed her eyes and forced the gruesome images back into the darker corners of her mind, not wanting to see them again.
I can see why Shadow's so quiet all the time, now. He watched Maria die... She was his best friend, and like a sister to him. He still blames himself for her death, obviously. But he's right, isn't he? We could have found a way out of those escape pods she pushed us into. We could have stopped that man from shooting Maria... Shine sighed. There's just no winning for the good guys ever, is there?
