Chapter 14: You Can Call Me Auntie

Shadow sighed, looking ahead to the city before him. Topiary. Honestly, he wasn't sure if he was ready for what he was going to find. It had taken only a day to travel from Sapphire City to Topiary, but it had felt like a million years. Was he really going to meet the parents that he had read about in the journal, or would they have passed on by now like he had feared? The ebony hedgehog looked up at the sky, which was cloudy once again. Did the weather have anything to do with his pessimistic mood?

Suddenly, the warmth of Amy's hand on his shoulder made Shadow glance back. As expected, she was holding the glass rose, a weak grin on her face. "Shadow, it's going to be okay."

Shadow was silent for a moment or two as he gazed upon her. The kind smile and the gleam in her eye gave him a sudden reassurance and he nodded. Amy nodded in response, then took him by the arm. The gesture did not surprise him, but instead only added to the reassuring hope she radiated. Shadow smiled and looked, then began to walk forward towards the city.

The two were nervous, but the majority of their worry had faded during the journey. By that time, Shadow no longer felt worried. If Amy was there with him, he was sure that he was going to be able to face anything. And as long as Shadow was happy, Amy was going to be happy as well. If he wasn't happy, she was going to take care of it no problem! If they were feeling anything, it was curiosity.

The question was simple. Were they really going to finally meet Henry and Rita? And if they did, would they even remember anything about Shadow? Or if the worst case scenario was true, were they both dead? Shadow shook his head as he gazed up at the hazy sky. He needed to stop asking himself such questions. If he didn't let things be, there was no doubt that he was going to give himself an ulcer. Sighing, Shadow looked at Amy. The city was much smaller than Sapphire City, harboring only about nine thousand residents. What did she think of the homely town?

"Hey Amy, do you like this place?" he asked, not stopping to think like he usually did.

Amy turned to him and nodded, their arms no longer intertwined. "I do. It reminds me of home…"

Shadow smiled, "What was your home like?"

Amy sighed, folding her arms. "Which home? Knothole, or where I lived before that?"

"Both places."

Amy hummed for a second. "They were both very different places. In Knothole, there were so few people that everyone just knew each other no problem. It was like everyone was family. The place I used to live was very different. I don't remember it too well, but I do remember a few things. It was a nice place, and I do remember my parents quite a bit. It was a fancy place, I do know that."

Shadow raised his eyebrows. "Really? Where did you live?"

Amy smiled, "On another continent in the kingdom of Mercia. It fell when Eggman took over years ago…" she looked at Shadow, who was now frowning. "Oh, don't worry! A lot of us escaped! In fact, those that didn't were rescued a few years ago! Well, most of them, anyways."

"Like who?" Shadow asked as the two walked past a building with a large poster.

Amy stopped to gaze at the poster, "My cousin Rob, a few royals and nobles, and me of course. My parents weren't, but I know I'll be able to see them again."

Shadow put on a worried gaze, "How long has it been since you've seen them?"

Amy shrugged, "A few years. I'm not sure."

"Shouldn't it be your parents we're looking for?"

Amy smiled, turning to Shadow. "Shadow, this is YOUR journey, not mine." The black hedgehog glared at the sidewalk, and Amy laughed. "If it makes you feel any better, we can go look for my parents after this."

Shadow smiled slightly, "Sounds like a plan."

Amy chuckled, glancing back at the poster. "If you really want to go that bad…" Then Amy was silent, studying the poster with a slightly disturbed expression. "I'll never understand that women…" She whispered, walking off.

Shadow observed the poster for a moment, then let out a "ha" as he dashed to catch up with her. "I think that's the point. You know… artistic freedom or something like that."

"I know, but a dress made of meat? That's just weird."

"That's Mistress GooGoo for you." Amy raised an eyebrow and stuck out he lips in a pouty fashion, then stared at the hedgehog. To her surprise, he was giving her the same exact look. At that instant she burst into laughter. A few years ago, the very idea of Shadow even thinking about making that face was a silly daydream. Now, it wasn't strange at all for him to pull such faces at her.

After a few seconds of laugher, Amy stood up straight and looked ahead. "Anyways…" the hedgehog next to her chuckled again, making her grin widen. "Where are we going to start looking?"

Shadow stopped and bit his lip, his expression suddenly very serious. "I'm not sure. I think it would be a good idea to check out the care-center in town, but maybe we should go to the library first."

Amy hummed, "The library, huh? What makes you want to go there?"

"They may have some old phone books with the resident's addresses in them. If we can find their old address, the current home owners might know where they are now."

Amy nodded, "Sounds good! In that case…" she put her hands on her hips and stuck her chest out, "I want to go to the library!" She exclaimed in the most masculine voice she could produce.

Shadow raised an eyebrow, grinning at her. "I know that's a reference to a show I've seen before, I just can't remember what."

Amy nodded, "Okay than, you have ten seconds to guess what it is!"

Shadow nodded in response, "Let me think…" he was silent for a few seconds. "It's not Superman," Amy chuckled at that guess, "It's definitely not Batman, not some other comic book hero…"

"Only five seconds left!" Amy exclaimed, resulting in the hedgehog glaring jokingly at her. Amy grinned, then innocently stuck her tongue out at him.

It appeared as if the tease was the key to the answer, for the very next second, Shadow yelled out, "Avatar! It's from Avatar the Last Airbender!"

"We have a winner! Now let's celebrate with a three second dance party!" Shadow merely watched as the pink hedgehog did a short dance. He chuckled to himself at her finale, which composed of a goofy pose and Amy performing an energetic set of jazz hands. When she was finished, she looked up at Shadow. "What? You're not going to participate?"

He shrugged, "I don't dance."

Amy laughed out loud, "Ha! I object to that!"

The glare she received sent shivers down her spin, but she still let forth a nervous grin. "Heh… I'm going to run now." With that, she turned around and dashed off, yelling, "Help, he's a maniac!"

Shadow smiled and shook his head, running after her. She was weird, but Shadow enjoyed that about Amy.

Shadow held the door open for Amy, and the girl gawked at what laid inside the building. Despite the town being so much smaller than Sapphire City, she was sure that whatever library they had was no comparison to the one they had stepped in. Although it was an old brown throughout, it had a timeless class that she was sure could never be rivaled. Elegant woodwork littered the walls, priceless furniture decorated the rooms, and books abounded on the shelves that finished the scene. The most impressive fact was that the library was so tall. When they had walked in, Shadow had commented that it had to be at least three stories high, and the comment in context made the whole place seem even more wonderful.

Amy stepped further in, not daring to look down. "Shadow, how long do you think it would take for you to finish all these books?"

Shadow followed her in, gazing up with her. "If I read non-stop, probably about three months." Amy nodded. She did not doubt what he said, for she herself had seen his reading abilities first person.

"Well, now that we're here, we should ask the librarian… or in this case, librarians, if they have any old phone books." Amy nodded, following Shadow as he walked further into the library. Silently, the girl wondered what Shadow's favorite book was…

The librarian at the main desk was on old lady with gray hair and a kind smile. She was arranging some books in the return cart when Shadow walked up to the desk. The hedgehog cleared his voice, and the woman looked at him. To Shadow's surprise, she was a hedgehog as well. At first he thought it could have been Rita, but her name tag told him differently.

The red hedgehog smiled at them and spoke. "Hello, and welcome to the Topiary public library! Are you two new here?"

They nodded, "Yes, but we're only going to be here for a little bit. Anita, is it?" The woman looked down at her name tag and raised her eyebrows.

"Quite the eyesight you have there, young man. May I ask what your names are?"

Amy chuckled at the "young man" comment and Shadow softly elbowed her. "I'm Shadow, and this is my friend Amy. We were wondering if you had any old phone books we could look at." Amy still chuckled at the comment, leading to her receiving a half-glare, half joking gaze.

Anita nodded, " An odd request but yes, we happen to have some. Is there a specific type of phones book you're looking for?"

Shadow turned to Amy and the girl shrugged. He nodded to himself before turning back to the librarian. "Old phone books. Way old. Say… fifty-three years old, at least?"

She raised her eyebrows, "Well, we may have some that old. Now don't trust my memory, I'm not the best with remembering these things, but we may have some down in the basement. If you want them, you'll have to come down with me. My vision isn't what is used to be and if I go down there by myself, I may not come up alive!" she exclaimed jokingly.

Amy nodded, "Of course!" Her eyes suddenly lit up, making Shadow raise an eyebrow. She jumped at the chance to help others, even if it was for something small.

Anita smiled, "Thank you dearie. This way," she told them, walking out from behind the desk. Without a moment to spare, she walked off toward the north side of the building. Silently Shadow followed. Amy on the other hand sped up so she could walk by the woman's side. He watched as she flashed Anita a joyous grin which was returned to her. The action made Shadow smile to himself as well.

The door to the basement wasn't particularly fancy, and neither was the staircase itself. Each step made a loud creek that made Shadow cringe to himself. He wasn't very fond of squeaky things, and the simple sounds that emanated from the stairs were enough to drive him crazy. Luckily, there were only a few more steps by the time he was ready to beat his head on the wall. As they stepped into the chilly room, Anita flipped the switch and lit up the place.

Like the rooms above, there were shelves and shelves of books, but the ones in the room before them were much different. Many of them looked to be much older and elegant, and some of them appeared to be rather valuable. Before Shadow could inspect them further, the librarian walked off with Amy following. He did the same, glancing back at the books that were now tugging at his curiosity.

The doorway they passed through led to a room that was a little warmer than the last. When the switch flipped, both Amy and Shadow felt their spirits drop a few feet. Before them laid boxes stacked upon boxes that were surrounded by boxes. Unfortunately, none of them had any titles or dates. Amy swallowed and Shadow sighed as the three of them walked into the room. Although he had the time, Shadow didn't have the patience to look through every single box and book in the room. Well… maybe he did.

It was as if she had sensed their distress when she spoke. "I know it's messy, but I'm pretty sure that there's something in here that could help you out."

Shadow nodded, "Thank you." He turned to her, "It means a lot."

She smiled, "It's no problem. If you need my help, feel free to come and ask."

Amy smiled, "Okay. In the mean time, let's see what we can find. You up for it Shadow?" She asked as Anita walked out of the room.

"Of course! If this is what it takes, I'm up for it!"

"Even if you get a paper cut?" Amy asked as Shadow walked forward.

Shadow grinned at her comment, "Yes, even if I get a paper cut."

"Good! Now let's start searching!" Amy exclaimed, walking over so she could see into the box Shadow had opened. As expected, they found a wall of books, making Shadow sigh once again. He had a feeling that the search was going to be a long one.

Unfortunately, he had been right. The first box they searched through had no phone books, and neither did the second or third. After a few more boxes they found the phone books, but to their dismay, they were all rather new. They spent several minutes searching through those phone books and before they knew it, the minutes turned into hours. After sifting through the boxes, rearranging the books, and stacking the boxes in a new fashion, the two lost their original enthusiasm for looking through the text before them.

As Amy put a final book into the box before her, Shadow plopped onto a bean bag chair they had discovered in the piles. She sighed as Shadow closed his eyes. "Who knew that going through a few boxes would take so much time…"

Shadow sighed, "Most people do. Then again, most people wouldn't try reading every single book in the box…"

Amy smiled softly as she sat down in the soft chair that sat next to the bean bag chair. "True." She sighed, looking up at the doorway when she heard soft footsteps.

Anita stepped in, "Have you two had any luck?"

Amy shook her head, "No. Do you need us to leave?"

"Oh no, that's not it! I was just curious." She explained, looking over at Shadow for just a moment. "If you two need anything, just let me know. Alright?" Amy nodded and Anita nodded back before turning around. She walked out, staying just as silent as she had been earlier.

Shadow sighed, "Rita, Henry, where are you two?" the words spoken were lonely, and it made Amy feel a little saddened. As the hedgehog opened his eyes, Amy sighed.

She put a hand on his shoulder, smiling down at him. "Don't worry, we'll find them."

"I know." Shadow sighed, his ears suddenly perking up to a familiar sound. Anita's footsteps were returning, and it filled him with a level of curiosity.

The woman stepped in, an expression of confusion on her countenance. "Excuse me, but did you just say Henry and Rita?"

Shadow raised his eyebrows and sat up, "Well yes, I did. Why do you ask?"

The expression on Anita's was strange, because it was something stronger than surprise, but not quite shock. "How… do you know them?"

"Well, we don't know them yet, but we're looking for them. They're Shadow's parents." Amy explained as Shadow examined Anita's expression.

Her eyes grew wide and she swallowed. Shadow sat up, raising an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

She nodded without another question, then took on a very serious face. "You two… I think I could help you out. No, I know I can help you." She turned without another word, leaving the two glancing at each other in surprise. Before they could speak, she walked back into the room. "Well come on! You won't find out where they are if you stay here!" And she walked out yet again.

Shadow looked at Amy, and the girl nodded. If there had ever been a time to take a leap of faith, it was right then and there. The two stood up and walked after Anita, their minds now racing.

The walk to her house had been short, but it had felt like an eternity. After informing one of her co-workers that she was leaving for the day, Anita led them to her house, staying silent as Amy and Shadow followed her. The two had not exchanged any words either, but it was almost as they were. Their thoughts were virtually identical in every sense. Did the woman before them truly know where Henry and Rita were? How did she know them? Whatever the answers were, the two were anxious to find them.

Anita's front door creaked when it opened, and it did the same when Shadow shut it. The house appeared to be empty, but a homely feel instantly made Shadow's shoulders relax. It was strange how quickly it occurred, but the atmosphere around him was over-whelmingly friendly. And to be honest, Shadow enjoyed it.

As the two wandered around in the kitchen they had entered, Anita set her purse down. She looked at the two, "If you are two are hungry, feel free to have a piece of the lemon bread on the counter. I'll be right back."

Amy smiled at Anita's hospitality as she looked toward the counter. A plastic container sat in plain sight, making her smile. She had to admit it: she was famished. Without a second thought, Amy rushed to the container and lifted the lid up. The scent instantly drew her in. She inhaled deeply, smiling at the thought of its taste. Grabbing one of the pieces that had already been cut, she turned to Shadow. "Do you want a piece?"

Shadow nodded, sitting down in one of the many chairs by the table. Amy grabbed him a piece and handed it to him, then sat down next to him. After she bit into the bread, she couldn't help but smile. It… was… so… good! The girl continued to devour the delicacy, savoring every bite. In short, it was nothing less than delicious.

The sound of Anita's footsteps and voice grew near, and the two hedgehogs sat up straight in their chairs. When she walked into the room, she was accompanied by another person. The man next to her was an elderly brown bear, probably only being a year or two older than her. He had a timeless sparkle in his eye, and it made the two smile softly. For a second he was silent before turning to Anita.

"Now remind me again who these two are?" His voice had a gruff and loveable quality to it, and it reminded Shadow of the captain.

She smiled, "This is Shadow and his friend Amy. Roger, he's Henry and Rita's son. The one born on the Ark."

He raised his eyebrows and looked at the two. Then he concentrated on Shadow before grinning. "Well, that's very interesting. So tell me," he walked over to Shadow. "What is my oldest nephew like?"

It took him a moment to realize what Roger had said, but when he did, Shadow shot up out of his seat, "What?"

Anita smiled as the perplexed hedgehog looking back and forth between the two. "I bet you didn't see that coming." Shadow simply nodded, wide eyed as he glanced back at Amy. She stood up, smiling at him as she summoned the rose. He looked at Anita and she spoke, "To put it simply… you can call me Auntie Anita."

He stared at them for awhile, shocked at the realization of who stood before him. For some unfathomable reason that he couldn't comprehend, Shadow smiled. Anita smiled and so did Roger, and Amy smiled as well. He tried to form words in response, but nothing would come out. They just grinned.

Finally after an entire second of silence, Anita spoke again. "I never thought I'd get to meet you. Rita talks about you all the time and how she would love to see you… I just can't believe I got to meet you first!"

"Yeah, I—" something shot through his mind, "Rita? She's alive?"

"Well of course she is, we send letters to each other all the time! Why would I send letters to my sister if she wasn't alive?" She asked, making Amy giggle. Shadow was silent as she looked around, "In fact…" She walked over to the table and grabbed a letter on a stack of papers, "I just wrote her one this morning. I haven't sent it yet, but maybe you would like to deliver it for me?"

Shadow's eyes widened as he looked down at the letter she held out to him. He glanced at Amy who smiled at him, then nodded. With a confident grin, Shadow nodded . "I would love to."

Anita smiled, and Roger chuckled. "Well, aren't you an eager beaver." They all looked at him, a goofy expression on his face. "Jared Beaver…" then he began to sing in a silly tone, "I was like, darling, darling, darling, yeah!"

Shadow yelped, covering his ears as Amy laughed. Anita giggled, looking at Amy. "We have a grand-daughter that just loves his music and she's always singing that song. So naturally," she looked back at Roger and Shadow. He continued to torture Shadow with the popular song, making Amy giggle.

Then Amy laughed, holding the blooming glass rose close to her. She loved when Shadow was happy, and she was sure that finding Henry and Rita was going to do just that and more. She was sure of it.

Yay! It didn't take a month to update this time! :D And score, Shadow and Amy are going to find Henry and Rita soon! :D

Review, review, review please!