Quality is so much better than quantity!
And that's her excuse for the late update. Next time, we'll try to work faster.
Heading in a slightly different direction, too. This chapter has PLOT!
Did I hear you right? Plot?
Yes, my muse, plot. As in, actual story development, not just fluff.
Shame. The readers seem to love fluff.
Oh, rest assured, there will be fluff, just not as much as before. And fluffiness in future chapters.
Well, for now, read ahead. We don't own Sonic the Hedgehog.
If we did, the games they came up with in the last few years would not come up with new characters to replace the older ones. We'd develop the older ones and give them greater roles.
The opinion of most fanfictioners. Fanfictionetts? Fan-
Stop it. You'll hurt yourself.
Memoirs of a Forgotten Family
Chapter XIII: Employment
Maia loved her building blocks.
She could sit there all day, just stacking the blocks over and over again. Each time they were stacked, a new formation grew from the center of the construction area, each one more fascinating then the last. Red blocks, blue blocks, green blocks, and yellow blocks were separated by color and size, each one planned by her mind to a specific spot in her arci- arche- her building masterpiece! Another yellow block on the top, and there! The new building was complete! Tall, slender, but still sturdy against wind. She relished in it's presence before curling her tiny hand into a fist, ready to knock the wooden blocks down.
Then a skidding sound made her pause. What was it? Whenever her father took her somewhere, he made a sound similar to that one when he stopped. Only it was never quite that loud. Shadow was always careful to not leave skid marks or go too fast. The sound of slamming assaulted her ears, and her natural fox's curiosity kicked in. She drew the curtain using her flying abilities. Technically, she wasn't supposed to fly without Shadow's supervision, but at this time, she felt there was an exception.
Outside on the cement pavement between the house and the road was a slick lack vehicle. The contraption instantly had the curious young kit's interest, but she abandoned that at the sound of a slamming. A man, dressed in a black suit, walked from the car to the front door. Maia was stunned; they usually didn't get visitors. In fact, anyone besides her, Shadow and occasionally the grocer from nearby on their lawn was inconceivable. Nevertheless, dad was busy, so she should take care of this. It was only natural, right?
Walking around the wall to the front door, she opened it just as the man knocked. He seemed surprised to see her -a small child- here, "I apologize," He kneeled down to her level, as if he thought she had trouble understanding him, "Is your father here? I'd like to speak with him."
Maia turned, "Daddy!" She called, "There's a weird man at the door for you!"
Shadow turned up in a heartbeat, staring in surprise at the man at the door. The man seemed equally surprised to see Shadow. Taking this as her queue to exit, Maia stepped backwards, slowly and carefully, being sure not to cause any commotion. Once back in the living room, she set about building up her blocks again, completely oblivious to what was happening in the next room.
The man in black was the first of the two to recover, turning to Shadow, "So... daddy, huh?"
"Shut up," Shadow snapped back coldly, before looking out the door, "Pleasant day, huh? Much too pleasant for the commander of GUN to just make a random visit to one of his ex-agents."
The commander turned to stare at Shadow, "Still as clever as always, aren't you?"
"Even more so, now that I have her," He gestured to Maia, "Have to be sure nothing happens to little Maia."
"Maia..." The man murmured, "After Maria Robotnik, I presume," Shadow didn't answer, just looked down, "Death is an inevitable part of life, you know. Eventually everything fades," He looked back at the girl, "and such beauty attracts destruction."
"Why are you here?" Shadow snapped.
The Commander turned to look at Shadow. Though he wore sunglasses, Shadow could see the seriousness in his eyes, "We need you to-"
"-come back to the force," Shadow finished, as though he'd heard this before, "Because that terrorist group is giving you so much trouble you need the ultimate life form to take care of them for you; to do your dirty work. Does that about sum it up?"
"This is serious, Shadow," The man adjusted his sunglasses.
Shadow sneered, "It always is. Nonetheless, I have an actual reason NOT to do it this time," His gaze drifted to the young girl in the next room, cheerfully playing. She noticed Shadow staring at her and waved, oblivious to the conversation. Despite himself, he waved back.
The Commander actually seemed amused, "You've gone soft!"Shadow merely glared at him, then turned back. If he hadn't, he would've seen a mischievous smirk form on the commander's face. He slid his sunglasses higher up, hiding his eyes, "Taking care of a kid must be expensive... diapers, food, toys. Much more than taking care of just yourself."
"It's nothing I can't handle," Shadow objected.
The commander shook his head, "Maria left you everything when she passed on. But that might not be enough for this little girl," He turned to leave, then tossed a card towards Shadow. The hedgehog caught it reflexively, and took a look. A seven-digit number was printed neatly on the card, "Call us if you change your mind."
The commander left without another word. Shadow took a look at the card, then back at Maia. She played joyfully with the blocks, oblivious to her father's somewhat sad stare. Hiding his emotions, like he had for Maria whenever she was concerned, he entered the room and stacked a red block on top of the tower, much to little Maia's glee. They continued playing all afternoon.
"Hello. GUN headquarters, this call is being recorded. State the reason for your call."
"Skip the formalities, you know it's me."
"Shadow! What a pleasant surprise. I don't suppose you're calling to chat about the weather, though."
"...I've changed my mind."
"An even more pleasant surprise. Guess the whole money thing really got to you."
"Checked the account soon after you left. It's almost dry... damn, you sure know how to get your way, don't you?"
"Wouldn't be where I am today if I didn't. Your first briefing will arrive in a week."
"What's the hold-up?"
"You will need to find a baby-sitter... or is your girl older than she looks?"
"...this conversation ends now." Click.
"Shadow?"
"..."
"Heh, see you soon, old pal."
You actually FINISHED IT!
I KNOW! I'M AMAZED TOO!
You should tell the Annoying One. Soon.
What happened to 'Annoying Distraction'?
She, and the fans whom have been gracious enough to review/favorite, are the ones that forced you to write. That's not a distraction!
Too, too true. I started this shortly after I finished the other one and am finishing this just now. In February. Wow.
Yeah... AHH!
What's wrong?
NEED SUGAR!
...oh, alright. I'll start eating the Valentine's Day candy. Hehe, I just bribed you!
JUST. HAND OVER. THE SUGAR.
...Okay.