Note to readers: This is Maurice here telling all of you in that I'm alive and kicking. Just don't go sharping your pitch forks and lighting your torches to use at me. It's just that ever since not having enough inspiration in order to keep this fic going. Just be glad that I was able to do it at all let alone not doing it at all. That and the fact that I've been planning on developing a huge fanfiction project that I've been working on these past few months. But I had to put it on hold so that it wouldn't distract me from doing this fic. Now that the explanations are done, I would like to say to all of you thanks for reading my fics. If anyone has any thoughts on what I should do for the next chapter of this fic, anything at all, don't be shy to raise your voice. Generation-A, thanks for all of the support that you've given me, despite the fact that I'm a little slow behind. That's all that I've got to say to you all. Later and enjoy!
Part 14
As he was carrying the unconscious body of Sylphiel towards the living room of Yai's tree house, Miguel felt his entire face becoming flushed with not only exhaustion, but embarrassment for as he heard the voices of his friends chatting amongst themselves. Most of what he heard is about the recent experience that they've all had with death back at Yai's own personal rocket. Others were discussing on the topic regarding both Shadow and Mana's sudden appearance. But he could also hear most of his young friends talking about how he is carrying the shrine maiden's sleeping body towards the couch like a couple of newly weds. As he settled the young woman down on the soft couch, Miguel heard the voice of Vector saying while at the same time stretching his legs in order to get the feeling back into them, "Man, that's the last time that I've allowed myself to fly on an rocket piloted by a klutzy little girl who's never seen a talking crocodile before!"
"That's because the young girl has never really seen the likes of us before, Vec. Let alone a huge talking croc like you," the young human teen heard Mighty's voice saying to the older Mobian while at the same time sounding a bit annoyed with a long exhausted sigh. "If it hadn't been for Yai managing to calm those maids down and told them that we're not the bad guys as well as have them not to tell anyone else a thing about us, then we all would've ended up as some lab experiments in this world's science laboratory."
"If all of you have experienced the kind of things that I've seen in my time at the ARK, then it wouldn't surprise you as much," he heard the voice of Shadow saying to the younger Mobians while at the same time turning to see them all entering within the living quarters. "Mana, do you have to hold onto me so tightly?"
"Oh, you're just so uptight about all those sorts of things, Shadow darling," he heard the voice of the young magician girl responding to him playfully while at the same time turning to see her wrapping both of her slender arms around the black and red hedgehog. "But that's what I've find so cute about you! Always trying to get people to take you seriously!"
From the way that he's seeing the Ultimate Life Form becoming flushed with the sign of affection from his girlfriend, Miguel could tell that he was embarrassed. That was when he heard Charmy saying while at the same time still a bit hyperactive about what just happened a while ago, "Man, now this is something that I've never had the chance to see everyday! Shadow having a girlfriend! Now I've seen everything!"
"I have to agree with Charmy there, guys," he heard the voice of Espio saying to his friends while at the same time seeing the purple chameleon walking towards a nearby wall and leaning himself against it. "I mean, during our time with the guy, he was perhaps the most strictest and serious person that makes Knuckles look like a regular nanny. Any girl, let be human or otherwise, who manages to make him blush like that has got to be pretty special."
Those words from the purple Mobian's mouth, caused Shadow to blush even further as well as glare at the Chaotix's direction. Right before he could have the chance to intervene, Miguel heard the words of Lan saying out loud to the two of them, "Well, at least be thankful that Yai has managed to get one of the maids to take the controls of the rocket or otherwise we would've been in the middle of a deserted island by now."
"No kidding! That's something that I do not want to experience ever again since that summer assignment with your little bug collection, Lan," he heard the voice of MegaMan saying to his NetOp with a rather exhausted tone while once again having the shrine maiden within his arms at the same time marching himself towards the hallway, mentally thankful that the subject was changed.
"I'm going to take Sylphiel to her room so that she could rest and recover from that pleasant experience that we all just had," was what Miguel said to his companions while at the same time walking towards the door that lead to the shrine maiden's room just before he shouted out, "Oh, and don't even think for a moment that I'm going to be doing what you all are thinking! Get your minds out of the gutter! Sheesh!"
After hearing what appears to be numerous remarks and snide comments from his companions, the young man began to walk himself towards the exhausted shrine maiden's room, carrying her unconscious body over his shoulders. While trying his best not to hit any part of Sylphiel's body or dropping her to the floor, Miguel was finally able to place the sleeping female onto the soft looking bed while not taking notice to the fact that it had been well made and done right as he gently place her on its surface. As he gave off a quiet sigh of relief, the teen turned his full attention towards the face of the sleeping beauty on the soft bed that she was laying on and stared at it for a full minute. He then blushed embarrassment for when he soon realized that she was still in her new yellow sun dress that became tattered from the battle she just fought.
"Damn it! Keep your mind out of the gutter, man!" he thought to himself while at the same time carefully grabbing onto the bed covers and putting them over the young shrine maiden's body while at the same time giving off another sigh of relief. "The girl just had a terrible experience with trying to deal with a group of green pirate ghosts and getting herself hit over the head caused by that young girl's flying. The last thing you need is all those thoughts going all around your head! Just leave Sylphiel alone to rest for a bit and check on her every..."
Miguel's thoughts were cut short for when he turned his full attention towards the sleeping shrine maiden, who he heard beginning to give out a soft and frighten whimper in her slumber. Soon he heard that whimper turning into a horrified scream that seemed tortured at whatever dark haired woman was seeing. "What the hell is wrong with Sylphiel! A bad dream?" he thought to himself while at the same time going over to her side, seeing sweat and tears going down her entire face along with an expression that showed suffering and sorrow. "From the way that she's screaming like a frighten child in a haunted house, that was no ordinary bad dream. I've got to do something!"
With those thoughts done and aside, the teen began to grab onto both of the shrine maiden's shoulders and began to gently shake her for as he said to her in a composed and yet worried tone, "Sylphiel! Sylphiel! Wake up! Please wake up!"
As he did his best to wake Sylphiel without having to scare her more than she already was, Miguel was rewarded for his attempted efforts to awake the shrine maiden for when he saw her eyes opening filled with tears. The young man could tell that his female companion wasn't really having a wonderful dream and was one that he didn't want to have to know about. Before he could have the chance to ask if she was alright, Miguel was caught completely off guard for when he saw her leaping herself towards his direction and wrapped both of her arms around his body in a tight hug. He heard the shrine maiden sobbing right in between his shoulder and neck for as the teen did his best to comfort her the only way he knew how.
"Shh. It's okay! You're safe now, Sylphy. Shh," is what the young man told the crying shrine maiden in a soothing tone while at the same stroking her back gently and smoothly like a concerned parent. "Don't worry, it's just a dream you're having. That's all. Shh. Calm down."
While continuing to say soothing words and gentle gestures in order to calm Sylphiel down, Miguel suddenly felt and heard her sobbing beginning to settle down to a small whimper. When he noticed this, the young man loosen his hold on the young woman trembling body and saw her tears going allow over her face with a frighten and tearful expression just as she was starting to speak, "Oh, Miguel! (Sniff!) It's so horrible! (Sniff!) I had this dream that my everyone I knew in Sairaag including(Sniff!) father, were (Sniff!) were all being...!"
"Shh! You don't need to say anything, Sylphy," Miguel responded to the young dark haired woman while at the same time continuing to stroke her back gently in order to calm her down. "It's only a nightmare that you have. That's it. Shhh. It's okay. Let it all out. It's okay. Shhh."
As if to respond to his words, Miguel felt the shrine maiden once again pulling him into a hug while still sobbing in between his shoulder and neck. Forgetting all about being embarrassed about holding her, the young teen did his best to comfort the woman as best as he could. After a few moments of gentle gestures and soothing words to the sobbing shrine maiden, Miguel could feel Sylphiel's sobs subsided only to be reduced to soft sleeping breaths of air. When he loosen up on his hold on the shrine maiden's body in order to look at her face, the young man could see that she was already fast asleep with a small and peaceful smile on her face.
"Aw! I guess she still must be exhausted from the day that we all had," Miguel thought to himself as he carefully laid the sleeping young woman back onto the mattress of the bed for when he felt both of her arms continuing to keep a firm hold on his body. "Man, for a gentle shrine maiden that's incapable of hurting a small kitten or even a fly, Sylphiel sure is strong. She surely can't expect me to sleep in the same bed with her like we did last night! What would the others think for when they all see this?"
As he did his best to free himself from the young woman's arms, the teen could feel that his female companion wasn't planning on letting go her catch without a struggle. Then Miguel tried to pry off Sylphiel's arms away from his body by carefully tickling her waist with his fingers. Of course, the result other than being able to hear the young woman's soft giggling was that the little action was only able to tighten around the young man's body even closer to her than before. This action caused the teen to blush a bit for when he realized that most of her clothing were ripped from the ghost pirate assault that she encountered a while back. This of course also lead to hearing Sylphiel give off a small whimper or plea, almost like that of an innocent newborn child calling for its parents to hold it.
"Sheesh! Miguel, you're both a soft and dense person," Miguel thought to himself as he heard the whimpering pleas of the shrine maiden continuing to come through her mouth. "I mean, first of all you've seen the way that the girl has had it in for you since the two of you met and started hanging out with you more often whether it be in your world or her world. She also seems to show more interest in you than she did with the rest of the guys from Mobius or with anyone else for that matter. Not that I'm complaining. She seems to calm herself down a bit for when she snuggles close to me like a little kid."
The male teen looks down on the sleeping female's face to see a content and happy expression on her face for as he saw her continuing with her slumber. "Whatever dream that caused Sylphiel to have the case of the shivers seems to have stopped," Miguel thought to himself as he continued to mindlessly stroke the young woman's back as he gave out a huge yawn indicating that he was beginning to feel a bit tired from today's events. "Man, I guess that being in a bed for this long has made me a bit drowsy as well as today's little fiasco. I guess that it would be alright that if I could spend another night with Sylphiel holding onto me like a huge teddy bear seeing as she likes it so much. Heh! Heh! Heh!"
The young man could tell that the shrine maiden was enjoying the warmth that his body emitted as he saw the look on her face becoming like a child holding his or her favorite toy. He also noticed the shy expression on her face as well as the pinkish red shade of color developing on it. "Well, seeing as I'm not going to get an argument from her anytime soon, I guess that I have no choice but to spend the night with her again," Miguel thought to himself with a low sigh of defeat as he managed to free one of his arms from the shrine maiden's strong hold of him and then beginning to wrap the huge and soft blanket of the bed over both of their bodies. "Not that I'm complaining about having her hugging me and all, but I just hope that she doesn't squeeze the living daylights out of me. I guess that I'm too much of a worry wart trying to find an excuse not to hold her like this. I could even allow this to become a regular basis of sorts. I just hope that the Chaotix or Vector for that matter don't put their noses in to where they don't belong or decide to drop in unexpected finding me with my arms wrapped around Sylphiel."
With those thoughts done within his mind, the young man soon found himself dozing off to sleep while still having his arms wrapped around Sylphiel's weak and slender body.
While seeing his friend Miguel taking an unconscious Sylphiel out of the living room of the tree house that he's in, Shadow quickly managed to piece together the information that he had gathered through what the Chaotix and the humans that inhabit this world. From what he heard, the world that both he and girlfriend were in has technology that is far advanced than what Miguel's world perceived or could come up with. Not only that, but from what he heard from the Chaotix and Miguel, they along with Sylphiel each came into possession a shard of Chaos Emerald that seems to have been shattered through unknown means or forces. From the way that he saw the interest developing on Mana's face, he could tell that she was as bit as confused about this as he was. But he also noticed the amazed and yet jealous expression on her face for when she saw Sylphiel the first time in her life.
His thoughts were soon interrupted for when he heard the voice of Vector saying to him with a rather sly and curious tone in his voice while at the same time pointing his gloved finger towards the female magician, "Well, Shadow, I've never pictured you to have a sweet babe like her as a girlfriend let alone a human one. I mean, what a catch you've made!"
Right at those words, Shadow began to give the crocodile a rather hostile glare that would usually be seen on his face for it matched his usual serious personality well. Not only that, but he managed to frighten the entire Chaotix group along with the human boy for whom he known as Lan Hikari. He also notices the digital blue suited and human-like entity, known by the young boy as MegaMan, was quivering with fear of the look that he was giving towards their direction. Just as he was about to give each of them a piece of his mind, he felt smooth and yet slender arms wrapping themselves all around his body as if he were like a stuffed animal. That was when he soon realized that the female magician was the one that has her arms wrapping themself all over his now trembling body.
"Shadow darling, it's not nice to frighten your friends with that look of yours," he heard Mana saying to him with a playful and yet motherly tone while at the same time making him blush with embarrassment just as she spoke again in a frightfully childish tone. "You're scaring me as well with that look of yours. Please don't do that anymore. For me?"
As he turned towards the young woman's direction in order to protest, Shadow could see the puppy dog eyes that Mana was giving him. He gave out a sigh of defeat as he let down the dark and frightening glare that he was giving the group. While noticing everyone giving out a huge sigh of relief and his girlfriend giggling with amusement, the Ultimate Life Form began to hear the voice of the blue human entity in the Lan's device saying to him, "Man, that guy's really scary! Do you guys have to deal with this sort of thing every time you guys get together?"
"Well, he's usually not the socializing type of person that you would want to mess with, little man," the black hedgehog heard Espio responding to the mechanical being's words with a composed and yet nervous tone within his voice. "But since seeing this girl giving him the puppy dog look, I'm surprised that a girl like her was able to subdue him so easy. Something that not many people in our world haven't accomplished."
After hearing those words, Shadow began to say to the group with a stuttering tone within his voice while at the same time trying to regain his pride or whatever was left of it, "Th-That's not true at all, guys! I'm the Ultimate Life Form! I am Shadow the Hedgehog!"
"Oh, just be quiet and stop fidgeting because you're starting to become really uncomfortable for me to hold," he heard Mana saying to him with a annoyed and playful tone within her voice while at the same time feeling her arms giving him a gentle squeeze as well as her body rubbing against his fur. "Now just settle down and relax because I'm liking the way your fur is on my skin right now. It's so soft and fluffy."
As soon as he did as he was told and gave out a sigh of defeat, Shadow heard the voice of Vector saying to him with a rather sly and playful tone of voice, "Man, Shadow, has this girl got you wrapped around her finger! It makes me want to give her a hug myself."
At those words, the Ultimate Life Form began to give the green Mobian a small but threatening glare just as he spoke to him softly but loud enough for him to hear, "Vector, please do not provoke me into using my Chaos Blast unless you want me to reduce this entire place to a pile of rubble."
While trying to sound as menacing as he was suppose to be, Shadow heard the nervous voice of Mighty saying to him with a rather quick tone while sounding like he was trying to change the subject, "Say, Shadow, what brings you here to this place anyway? Just how it is that you were able to arrive to this world without the use of a Chaos Emerald? Last time I checked, one was needed in order to create a portal to this or any other world."
While calming down and mentally thanking the armadillo for the change in subject, the black hedgehog began to say to everyone with his usual calm and serious tone back into his voice, "Well, the rest of the guys back on Mobius were quite worried that Knuckles didn't find any of you back in your little detective office. When we all tried to contact both Miguel and Sylphiel through their own perspective home worlds, we didn't detect a single trace of their Chaos Energy anywhere on the surface of the planets with Tails' little probe and radar. We all became worried that something horrible might've happened and just as we were about to investigate the matter, the scanners detected Eggman starting one of his usual schemes causing both Sonic and Tails to take care of him. Knuckles went back to Angel Island in order to continue his watch over the Master Emerald to prevent any sneak attempts that Eggman might try to pull. You all could see how I was the most likely choice to go and investigate what caused you along with both Miguel and Sylphiel to vanish from our sights."
"But that just leaves the question as to why that girl in the magician's outfit is with you, uh, Mr. Ultimate Life Form, sir," he heard the human boy named Lan saying to him while still feeling nervous about the Ultimate Life Form's appearance as he pointed his finger towards Mana's direction.
Just as he was about to answer the youth's question, Shadow heard the female magician responding with a rather calm and polite tone while at the same time feeling her arms still keeping their hold around his body, "Well, it would take quite a while for us to tell you and the Chaotix of how we both first met. But what I can tell you is that through my world, I've sensed Shadow's own life energy being diminished that I was barely able to sense it at all from where I was from. Without hesitating, I've managed to use this in order to track him to this very world where he exhausted most of his energy."
After she spoke, the Ultimate Life Form saw Mana withdrawing one of her arms from around his body and putting out her hand wide open to reveal a green gemstone within her palm. The same green gemstone that Shadow himself received as a reminder of the first day that both he and the female magician first met within Miguel's world. The black hedgehog saw the reactions on everyone's faces for when they laid their eyes on the green mystical jewel. He saw the Chaotix becoming mesmerized by the gentle green glow that the gem emitted. He even saw Charmy's young face becoming hypnotized by the emerald colored stone's light as it sparkled like a precious jewel on display for a jewelry shop. He then noticed that both the human boy Lan and the blue entity MegaMan were mesmerized by the green gem stone's appearance as everyone else within the room.
That was when another thought came to his mind that he thought that he nearly forgotten. "Whoa! I just remembered. Tails gave me this device right before I used the Chaos Control in order to get to this world. Mana, if you would so kindly let go of me, I would like to show the group what I've brought."
"Oh, fine! But you owe me a cuddle in bed for when we both get to sleep, Shadow darling," he heard the blonde female saying to him with a mischievous and playful tone within her voice while at the same time unwrapping her arms from his body just as he turned towards her face in time to see her winking one of her eyes towards him.
While trying to hide the blush that was about to develop on his face, Shadow was able to compose himself and held up the flat device that he received from Tails a while ago. Everyone's eyes were glued on the device that the Ultimate Life Form held within his hand. He even noticed Mana's face becoming entranced by the mere sight of the device. He then heard Lan saying to him with a rather excited and amazed tone within his youthful voice, "Whoa! Now that's some heavy duty gear! I've never seen a device that could be so flat and small! If it manages to work, then it would become the greatest invention since the coming of the Progress PETs! Whoever made this device must be a real genius!"
"Heh! Then you're going to be in an even greater shock for when you all hear this, kid!" the black hedgehog heard the voice of Charmy saying to him while at the same time becoming more like his hyperactive self again with a smile on his young face. "Believe it or not, this little gizmo that you're looking at right now is made by a boy in our world who happens to be eight years old! He's going to be nine in about a four months."
"WHAT? ARE YOU SERIOUS, CHARMY?" was what he heard from both Lan and MegaMan with surprised and shocked tones within their voices. "THAT HIGH TECH PIECE OF EQUIPMENT IS MADE BY A KID WHO'S EIGHT YEARS OLD!"
The black hedgehog gave out a small and soft chuckle in response to their shocking discovery. He didn't know why, but Shadow found it rather amusing for when most people discovered that Tails, a young eight year old two-tailed fox, was able to create such advanced works of machinery and technology such as the plane Tornado as well as the traveling space ship known as the Blue Typhoon. Truth be told, the Ultimate Life Form also find it hard to believe that a young fox of Tails' current age was able to come up with such ingenious devices that rival that of Dr. Eggman Robotnik. His thoughts were soon cut short for when he heard Mana saying to him with a curious but calm tone of voice, "Shadow, is what that cute bee boy Charmy saying is true? Was that device that you're holding right now created by a child only of eight years of age?"
Once again, Shadow gave out a small chuckle just as he responded to the female magician with a calm tone, "Heh! It's true, Mana. Tails is a friend of mine who happens to be very gifted for when it comes to making devices or seeing how a machine unknown to him works. That little boy alone was able to create a high speed jet along with other modes of transportation whenever we needed them. Trust me, I've seen most of his inventions at work and most of them are almost as good as Dr. Eggman's. Maybe even greater if he ever put his mind to it. But back onto our current topic at hand. I was originally intending to give it to Miguel for when I found him. However, seeing as he's now a bit busy trying to comfort Sylphiel for the night, I could see that I'm going to have to be the one to operate it. Of course, it will be difficult."
"Man, the way that the little guy was able to make a state of the art and portable computer like this one, it's no wonder he's considered a genius," he heard the little blue suited boy named MegaMan saying to him while at the same time turning to see the holographic screen with the boy's image hovering above the blue device within Lan's hands. "If I could just jack into some sort of sensor attached or built into it, then maybe I could check it out and see if I could get it to work."
"I don't think that it would be such a good idea, MegaMan," he heard the voice of Espio saying to the human-like computer program with a cautious tone while at the same time seeing the purple chameleon eying the device. "I mean, knowing the little guy, he might have installed and created a security maintenance program into to keep it from falling into the wrong hands."
"Well, we won't have to worry about the little guy's safety for the moment, Espy, 'cause from the looks of this thing, I'd say he's safe from harm but won't be able to excess it either. Just take a look at it," he heard the older Mobian saying to his friend while noticing him eying the entire device's structure as if examining it. "There's no laser sensor on the thing that MegaMan could go through. Seems like the only way to access its data is to do it manually."
"So, now what are we suppose to do in order to get it working?" Shadow heard Lan asking the entire group while at the same time noticing him still confused about how an eight year old was able to create such an advanced device.
"Well, Tails only said that once I get it to Miguel, he would know what to do with it," the black and red hedgehog said while at the same time beginning to scan the device with his eyes in order to find the on switch to it. "However, he didn't mention that it would be impossible for anyone else trying to get it working. If I could just find the right switch, then maybe..."
"Hey! What's that button do?" he heard the voice of Charmy saying to him while at the same time seeing the young bee hovering above his head and pushing to what appears to be a switch the looked identical to a normal button for whenever someone might want to boot his or her computer up.
Dread soon started to spread all across his face for as the Ultimate Life Form shouted out, "No, you little twit! You might cause a...!"
That was all that Shadow could say right before he saw the device within his hands beginning to activate. This sudden display of unexplained events caused not only the black hedgehog to become surprised with panic, but also everyone around the room became frozen with awestruck expressions coming from each of their faces. He could even feel both of Mana's arms once again wrapping themselves around his body but not too tightly so that he wouldn't suffocate. Just as he was trying to figure out what was going to happen, the Ultimate Life Form began to see a huge holographic screen coming up from above the device that he was carrying within his hands. From what he could see, Shadow saw the screen to be about what appears to be size of the huge screened monitor that he and Mana saw on their way into the tree building that they're in now.
Just as he was about to tell everyone to calm down, he heard a familiar voice coming from within the huge holographic screen above their heads. A voice that sounded both young and kind for as it said with static getting in the way of revealing his true identity, "Hello? Who's this? Do you know what time it is? This better not be one of those prank calls that...!"
Before he could have the chance to say anything to the person that he'd finally recognized, Shadow heard the voice of Vector saying with a surprised and amazed tone within his voice, "Tails! Is that really you! How's it going, little buddy!"
As soon as he heard those words come out of the crocodile's huge mouth, the black hedgehog began to hear his girlfriend saying to him with a confused tone within her voice, "Shadow darling, am I deaf or does your friend Vector know the person speaking through that device?"
"No, you're not going out of your mind, Mana," Shadow responded to his lover with a rather deep and long sigh while at the same time typing on the keyboard of the device in order to get the screen to show the image of the young fox properly. "If I could just get this device to display Tails' image properly with the right transmission signal, then I could perhaps get his image..."
"Oh, let me take a shot at that thing!" he heard the impatient voice of Lan saying to him while at the same time feeling the device being taken from him by the hands of the brown haired boy as he saw him scanning and mindlessly typing on its keyboard. "If I could just figure out how this device works, then perhaps I could get it to work properly. I've managed to work out the bugs of devices that are far more difficult than this."
"Oh, like I could ever forget the time for when you've helped Maylu with getting a regular toaster to work," he heard the voice of MegaMan saying to his human friend while at the same time with a smart aleck tone. "I still get nightmares remembering that day he almost started a fire to her kitchen. Boy, were both she and Roll upset."
"Hey, it was only that one time," Shadow heard the human boy saying to his little blue cybernetic companion with a rather annoyed tone within his voice as he saw him continuing to tinker with the device that Tails created. "Besides, what I was dealing with was an ordinary and not so technical toaster. Right now, I'm dealing with a piece of highly advanced alien technology that could be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands."
"Geez, now that's a comforting thought to consider, Lan," the little blue boy said while at the same time knowing that talking his friend out of doing something that he sought to finish is very much out of the question.
"Uh, kid, I think that it's best that we have Shadow to operate the device before anything strange hap..." was all that the Ultimate Life Form heard Mighty saying to the young human while at the same time seeing the device doing something strange.
What the black hedgehog saw was the device now held within the human boy's hands were began to fire to what appears to be a red and fully concentrated beam of light firing itself towards the huge screened computer module that was connected to the room. Before either he or anyone could have the chance to say anything about what was going on, Shadow saw something that he himself didn't expect. What the Ultimate Life Form was looking at was a huge image of the young face of two-tailed mechanic Tails looking at them with a surprised expression on his face. Right before he could have the chance to speak, the black hedgehog began to hear Vector saying to the young mobian, "So that's how that thing works. It attaches itself to another piece of high tech equipment by firing a highly concentrated laser beam towards its surface. On a normal laser, it wouldn't have worked. But it looks to me that the little guy was able to create a type of laser that could allow the device to hack into computers that don't rely on laser sensors in order to get into them. That also allowed the little guy to properly put the reception of the transmission in order for us to see his mug perfectly."
"Wow! I'm impressed that you were able to put all that information together like that to begin with, Vector," Shadow heard Tails saying to him while at the same time coughing up a little while trying to get over th e shock of the crocodile's deductive skills. "(Ahem!) Anyway, what took Shadow so long to get to you guys? I was beginning to worry that Shadow might've gotten lost on the way over to whatever world you guys are in. Just where exactly did you land in anyway?"
Right before he could hear the leader of the Chaotix speak to the young fox, the Ultimate Life Form heard the hyperactive voice of Charmy saying to him in his usual hyperactive tone while at the same time stepping right up to the computer monitor of the huge terminal, "Whoa! Tails, this is awesome! How did you manage to hook up to this computer even thought that you're all the way over here! You've got to show me how you do that!"
"Charmy! Now's not the time for you to start bugging Tails with your stupid questions!" was all that he heard Vector saying to the young bee while at the same time seeing him grabbing the child and putting him in a headlock. This also caused the black hedgehog to raise his eyebrow with confusion all across his face.
As he watch the quarrel between the talking crocodile and bee beginning, Lan just continued to keep his mouth quiet and watched as the two outer worldly friends argued and wrestled with one another. He then turned his full attention towards his PET and saw MegaMan just as transfixed on the scene as he is. From the look on his face, he could've sworn that his Navi has never seen something as amazing as two animal like aliens fighting with one another like normal human beings. After his experience with the outer worldly Navi named Duo, the head banded boy would've thought that his little blue friend wouldn't be too surprised with what he's seeing at the moment. It looked as though that he was mistaken.
"Well, as much as I like to tease MegaMan about the face that he's using, there are more important things that I need to take care of," Lan thought to himself while at the same time tapping his fingers on the blue device that he's holding just as he spoke to his friend out loud. "Mega, I think that we ought to try to cool those two and get that fox kid's attention so that we might have some answers that we might want to hear."
"Oh! Sorry Lan, but it's just that those two still never cease to amaze me for when they act like regular humans," he heard the blue Navi saying to him with a rather startled tone while at the same time facing the screen of the PET towards his direction. "Not only that, but the fox on the screen surprises me by being able to link that device that you're now grasping to one of Yai's own computer terminals. What I really want to know is just what...?"
Right before the blue Navi could have the chance to speak on what he had on his mind, Lan heard Shadow the Hedgehog shouting out the everyone in the room while at the same time feeling a bit annoyed, "WOULD EVERYONE CALM DOWN AND BE QUIET SO THAT TAILS COULD SPEAK?"
As soon as he heard those words echo all throughout the living room of the tree house, the head banded boy began to hear the Chaotix group ceasing their chattering while at the same time silencing the entire room from any noise they might make. The expressions that he saw on everyone's faces were all frozen stiff with fear. He saw MegaMan's image diving down back towards his PET in order to hide from the terrifying wrath that the being calling himself the Ultimate Life Form might inflict upon. He even saw the young looking fox now on Yai's computer terminal giving a blank and confused expression on his face about what the black hedgehog did. Then as he turned towards young blonde female magician named Mana, he saw something that was different from what the others wore. What he saw was only wore a hurt and sad expression on her face.
He saw the young woman's then turning into something like the expression a puppy dog makes for when it wants attention from its owner. As he saw Shadow turning to face the female magician's, Lan saw his annoyed expression immediately melting into submission before his eyes before turning to what appears to be like that of a worried parent. Before he could have the chance to ask about what was happening, the boy heard the voice of Mana saying to him with a rather childish and tearful tone within her voice, "T-That was mean, Shadow! Y-You didn't have to shout you know!"
Right before he could have the chance to speak, Lan saw the look on Shadow's face becoming that of sadness and what appears to be child like disappointment. Just as he was about to intervene, the young boy soon heard the voice of the fox named Tails saying to all of them, "Oookay. Now that was a bit weird. Anyway, just what kind of world are all of you in anyway? From the readings that I'm getting, it seems that the technology that you're all using are far too advanced to be any place like Miguel's world. Uh, and by the way, Shadow, who's the girl?"
Right as he heard those words, Lan turned his full attention towards the black hedgehog just in time to see a rather flushed and embarrassed look on his face. At the same time, he also heard the girl named Mana giggling at the sight of her supposed animal-like boyfriend feeling both embarrassed and humiliated at being seen with her. Just before he could have the chance to intervene in the situation or even ask the child prodigy how he were to come up with such a device, Lan heard the voice of Vector saying to the little fox with a serious tone within his voice, "Tails, hold off that last thought for later! Right now, we're just glad to see that young mug of yours while trying to avoid those pirates that were after the Chaos Emerald. Or at least pieces of them."
"Oh alright, Vector. But when this is all done and over with, Shadow and that girl with him have a lot of explaining to do with me when they arrive on Mobius," the young boy heard the Chaotix's friend saying to him with both a rather and mischievous tone within his voice while at the same time seeing the fox turning his attention towards his direction. "By the way, who's the kid?"
Taking in the message that his existence was finally noticed, Lan began to speak up for the first time since the scenes in front of him began with a rather confused tone, "If you really must know, my name is Lan Hikari. I was the one that came into contact with those one broken shards of that Chaos Emerald that both Miguel and Sylphiel were talking about. Oh, and as for where they both are right now, I think that the two of them are fast asleep after today's events. It's a long story and I think that your friends the Chaotix would explain things better than I could seeing as they too are involved in this."
"He's right about that, Tails," he heard the voice of Espio saying to him with a rather serious tone while at the same time stepping up to the computer monitor as he turned his attention towards a still hyperactive Charmy along with a pleading Mighty who was trying his best to keep his young friend still and Vector under control. "The four of us were just in the middle of trying to find a case for us to investigate just as Charmy came rushing in the room with a shard of a Chaos Emerald in his hands."
"Then the next thing we knew, the four of us were enveloped in bright green light and we found ourselves waking up into this world," Lan heard the orange and black armadillo saying to the fox on the screen saying while turning to see him finally able to get the young bee calm and under control. "Not only that, but we've also noticed Miguel trying to wake us along with Sylphiel. Of course, we all soon discovered from the two of them that they've each held a piece of the emerald along with Lan and his little blue Net Navi. But the two of them were frighten at the time for when they've finally managed to catch Vec in one of his morning moods whenever he wakes up."
"Hey! It was just that one time, Might! Besides, Charmy was the one that dropped the telephone on me!" Vector responded to his friend with an annoyed tone just as he cleared his throat in order to compose himself. "Besides, Lan and MegaMan both called me an alligator and they both thought that we are all aliens from another planet before running all around the neighborhood like two crazy hyperactive kids filled with sugar!"
"Hey! I resent that! Besides, you and your friends are from another planet, Vector!" was what the head banded boy said the green crocodile with a rather childish tone while at the same time turning his full focus towards his PET, facing his blue Navi friend. "Come on, MegaMan! Back me up on this one!"
"Well, under normal circumstances, I wouldn't do so if it involves your school work, Lan. But what we're in is not a normal case, so I'll help ya out," he heard the response from his blue little friend while at the same time becoming annoyed with the words that he used. "Just jack me into the computer monitor so that I'll be able to explain."
"Okay, whatever you say, Mega," he muttered to his little Navi friend while at the same time pointing the PET towards the huge computer monitor's laser sensor in preparation to launch MegaMan towards his destination. "Jack in! MegaMan, power up!"
With those words shouted out, the young net battler saw the red laser going right towards the sensor of the computer terminal's screen. A moment later, he saw small but moderate screen of his blue Navi on the top right corner of the huge terminal so that everyone could still see Tails's face. And from the way that he saw the little Mobian jump up from his seat while revealing two fluffing looking tails from the bottom of his seat, the boy could tell that he was startled by the blue Navi's sudden appearance. He tried his best to resist the urge to laugh with amusement at the sight that he's seeing through the monitor. "Wh-What in the world is that thing!" was what he heard the little fox saying while at the same time seeing him point his gloved fingers towards MegaMan's face image.
"That would happen to be the kid's friend named MegaMan. Apparently, he's an greatly advanced AI program that could act and feel the same as people do in this world," he heard the voice of Shadow saying to the young fox boy while at the same time turning to see the black and red hedgehog becoming a bit embarrassed for when he saw the young woman named Mana still keeping her arms wrapped around him. "But we have more pressing matters that need to be taken care of, Tails. Like where the last piece of the Chaos Emerald could be. So far, most of the emerald has been completed through fusion of the pieces that Miguel and Sylphiel along with the Chaotix had within their possession right before landing onto this world. We still need one more piece in order to complete it and get it out of sight as soon as we can."
"I think that I may have the answer to your solution, guys," Lan spoke in front of the entire group while at the same time getting their full attention right before he spoke up again. "Right before a major virus outbreak is going on within this world, I've been to a meeting with the Net Savors. A world wide group dedicated to bringing down Net Crime from wherever it strikes. But back onto the point. While I was having my meeting with both my friend Chaud Blaze and one of my superior commanding officers Mr. Famous, they've been asking me questions about what's been going on during what happened yesterday at the school. Turns out that they have evidence believing that Miguel was the one responsible for those magnetic fields that every piece of the Chaos Emerald emitted. But it gets worse. Turns out that Chaud has in his possession the last remaining shard of the emerald."
As soon as he heard those words coming from the young human being's words, Vector immediately began to turn his full attention towards Lan's direction as he said with a rather panicked and yet excited tone, "You mean to tell me that a friend of yours has the last piece of the Chaos Emerald within his hands all along, Lan! Why didn't you just tell the guy that you've had one similar to the one that you've gotten before!"
That was when Espio gave off an annoyed sigh for as he walked over to his older friend and said to him with a rather calm tone of voice, "Vec, I think that it would be rather difficult for him to explain to his friend that the green shard he has is part of a powerful natural force that's able to emit a large amounts of great cosmic energy comes from another world. Not to mention the fact that he's confronted by one of this world's local authorities about what has happened yesterday and are no doubt suspicious about what he's been doing. I just pray that most of the locals back there didn't report our presence for when we've fought all those viruses a while back."
Just before either Mighty or Charmy could have the chance to speak a piece of their own minds, the Chaotix turned their attention towards MegaMan's direction for when they heard a beeping sounding echoing throughout the entire room. That was when young bee ask with a rather calm and curious tone, "Could someone tell me what that is about? Where's that beeping coming from?"
"From what I could tell within my scanners right over at this end, I'd say that someone's trying to contact the kid," Tails responded to the group while at the same time typing on his own keyboard in order to find what the problem is. "Lan, wasn't it? Someone named Chaud is trying to reach you through something that looks like a human male in red wearing sunglasses with long and wavy white hair. I've put up a fake image of myself as a human and told it that you're not over hear right now."
Right as soon as they all heard those words, the Mobians turned their attention towards the young human boy only to see a rather panicked and frightened expression on his face. Mighty was the first to speak his mind about the reaction, "Uh, is it just me or is this kid sort of catatonic for when Tails mentioned the guy's name?"
"It's not just you, Mighty," they all heard MegaMan saying with a rather exhausted sounding sigh while at the same time seeming to be as frightened as his Net Op was. "The guy that Tails talked with was none other than ProtoMan. A Net Navi that belongs to a guy named Chaud Blaze, the president of Blaze Quest Gaming Systems."
"Yo! You mean the same guy that the forehead girl was all steamed about? The one who's picture that we all saw her drawing over?" Vector asked the blue bomber with a surprised and shocked expression on his reptilian face right before MegaMan continued.
"Yeah, that would be the one, Vector. You see, both Lan and Chaud didn't start out as the best of friends. As a matter of fact, they were the most fiercest of rivals since the N1 Grand Prix Tournament years back. But now the two of them have cooled off their egos and are now are friendlier terms. Of course, the guy is also known for being the most cool and logical person that we know."
"Then if this guy is Lan's friend and is as cool as MegaMan claimed, then he should be able to understand the situation that we're in at this very moment. I'm sure that once we've explained all about what's been happening around this world, then he should be able to give us the last shard of the Chaos Emerald without any problems," they all heard Shadow speak up while turning to see him still wrapped in the arms of her non-human boyfriend.
"Unfortunately, Chaud is one of those type of people that don't socialize with normal people pretty well, Shadow," the blue Navi said to the Ultimate Life Form while at the same time giving out a nervous chuckle before he continued. "His Navi ProtoMan takes right after his Net Op right after being placed as the vice-president of Blaze Quest Games. It's a rather long story."
"Under normal circumstances, I would be interested to find out how this Chaud became vice-president of a gaming company. However, right now we all need to focus on how to get the last piece of the Chaos Emerald without stirring up trouble, Shadow," they heard Tails saying to the black hedgehog from within the computer terminal's screen while at the same time a little anxious about what he just heard from everyone right before he calmed himself down and continued. "What we're all dealing with is a young man that's holding a powerful natural force that threatens the stability of his world's own dimensional fabric just by existing. Just what is the matter with you anyway, Shadow? You've never use to say things like this without thinking about it first. Does this have anything to do with that girl in the magician's outfit I've mention earlier? Who in the world is she and why is she hugging you like you're her stuffed toy?"
Right before either one of the Chaotix could have the chance to answer, they all heard the voice of the girl named Mana saying to all of them while at the same time feeling a bit playful, "Well, I happen to be Shadow's girlfriend as all of you would call it in your worlds. Both he and I have been together since having first met within Miguel's world a while back."
With those words, the Chaotix wore both blank and amazed expressions on each of their faces for when they've heard this from the young female. When they turned their full attention towards Tails's face on the huge computer screen for when they've saw their young friend wearing an expression that's as amazed and confused as everyone else. They've also come to notice MegaMan's face is wearing the same expression and probably sharing the same thought that everyone else is thinking. Lan was the only person in the room to speak this thought out loud just as he said with a surprised tone, "Whoa! The two of you have been together for that long! Just how in the world did that happen!"
Just as they all saw Shadow barely managing to cast one of his seriously frightening death glares towards the boy, the Chaotix heard the voice of Tails saying to all of them while at the same time managing to get their full attention towards him, "(Ahem!) As much as I would like to explore more on Shadow's new little personality that he's building around himself, we've got other problems to deal with, like what to do with the last emerald shard that's now in the hands of a kid that's not as trusting as Shadow was for when we talked to him back then."
"Oh, and let's not forget those creepy green pirate ghosts that were after the emerald sent by that creature Nightmare Parasite," they all heard Charmy saying while at the same time grabbing the attention of not only everyone else, but Tails as well.
"Then if that thing's responsible for those creepy ghosts in pirate clothing, then why are they after the Chaos Emerald to begin with?" was what the armadillo said to everyone in the entire room while at the same began thinking thoughtfully about the situation.
"Well, the obvious reason to that is that Nightmare Parasite could be after the emerald in order to increase its own power. But why go through all that trouble at all when it could just as easily take it on its own?" they all heard Tails responding to all of them while at the same time wearing what appears to be a worried and exhausted expression all over his young face just as he gave out a yawn. "But we could talk more about that tomorrow when we have the time. (Yawn!) Right now, you guys have really caught me at a really bad time. I was about to get some sleep for the night for when you've guys began to contact me through that device that I've given to Shadow a while back."
"Has it really been that long, Tails?" the Chaotix heard the black hedgehog saying to the boy genius while at the same time noticing the confused tone within his usually serious voice right before he continued. "From what I could tell, it's only been like about four hours since we've last spoke back in our world."
"It looks to me like the time lag with trying to cross between different worlds are starting to take its affect, Shadow, (Yawn!)" was what they've heard the young fox saying to them while at the same time giving off another tiresome yawn from his side of the communication's link. "I've better sign off while I still have the energy to do so. I would suggest that all of you would do the same. We can all talk about this the moment that all of us are together. Good night."
With those words, they've all saw the huge image of their young two-tailed friend's face disappearing out of the huge computer monitor while leaving MegaMan's image hanging at the upright corner of the computer screen. Right before either one of the Chaotix could have the chance to speak about what to do now, they all heard Mana beginning to yawn tiredly while at the same time turning to see her once again wrapping her arms around Shadow as if he were like a huge stuffed animal. This caused everyone, both MegaMan and Lan included, to give out blank and confused expressions on each of their faces at the scene they're seeing.
"(Yawn!) I think that we should take that cute fox boy's advice and get some sleep," they heard the young female saying them while at the same time seeing her pulling up the Ultimate Life Form towards the empty hall way that lead to the bed rooms that they would be sleeping in. "I'm sure that Shadow would agree seeing that he's as tired as I am using up too much of his energy. Besides, he still owes me for that ruined date we had."
While seeing him flustered with being in the arms of his girlfriend's arms, the Chaotix jumped with fear for when they received a huge and life threatening glare from the Ultimate Life Form as a sign that if they ever told anyone of what happened, they would be sorry. Before either one of the Mobians could make a comment on what they've just saw, they all heard Lan saying to all of them with a rather confused tone, "Uh, would anyone tell me what's going on between those? They both look like a couple of teenagers on a date."
Then, in one swift motion, the entire group of Mobians found themselves collapsing to towards the hard and yet well furnished floor of the tree house that they're all in. Espio was the first to speak him mind right after he managed to get himself off the pile that he and his friends had made of themselves. "Y-You're kidding me, right kid? After everything that you've just saw and heard, you still don't know what just happened?"
While receiving a nod from the young boy in the blue bandana, the Chaotix sighed with both annoyance and exasperation as all of them began to pick themselves up from the floor while dusting themselves. "I think that it's time that both you and MegaMan should both start to get home," Vector began to say to the human boy as he pointed his huge hand towards a nearby clock near the wall of th living quarters of the tree house. "Look at what time it is."
When they've all saw the young brown haired kid beginning to turn his full attention towards the clock and began to become panicked for when he saw that it was right about to become nearly close to 7:00 p.m. That and the welcomed fact that they all saw the young boy rushing to the door while jumping up in mid-air in order to place what appears to be parts of a roller blades at the bottom of his shoes before dashing off out the door and out of sight. "Well, that was kinda rude of the kid," Espio said to the others while at the same time lowering himself down on the floor and putting himself in a meditative state. "Just because he was a little late with trying to get home on time, doesn't mean that he should leave us out in the cold like that."
"Espio, you and I have seen how motherly Mrs. Hikari is, and if she's as protective of the kid as I think she would be, then Lan would have a right to rush out of here," Charmy responded to his older companion while at the same time flying around until he found a cozy spot near the couch. "Besides which, what should we all do now?"
At those words, three of the Chaotix heard Vector give out a sort of menacing laughter while noticing their leader going over to the huge computer monitor while typing in what looks to be a message or e-mail. "Vector, what are you up to now?" was what the purple chameleon said to his older friend while at the same time eyeing him suspiciously about what he's planning to do. "We should be getting some rest for if we're going to be thinkin' of a way to get that last emerald shard tomorrow."
"Oh, I'm not ready to get some sleep just yet, Espy. Hee! Hee! Hee!" was what the green crocodile said to his ninja companion with a playfully evil tone while at the same time finally managed to get the image of Yai on the huge screen of the computer terminal. "Yo! Yai! Think that you could put up some grub for me and my friends to chow down on? The cook of the house is fast asleep with her boyfriend. Oh, and we need to talk about some plans that we're making for tomorrow for three lovely young couples. I think that you might find this very interesting. All of us would be working together on this one, so here's the plan..."
"Oh, joy," was what Mighty, Espio, and Charmy all thought in unison as they tread at the plot that they're older friend is planning in store just as they all heard him beginning his conversation with the young rich girl.
When the two of them finally reached their room for the night, Mana released her boyfriend from her arms, she immediately saw him going over to the door right before slamming it shut. From what she could gather, the young magician could tell that he was a bit annoyed and embarrassed about having their relationship found out by most of his friends. What confused her the most is the fact that the black hedgehog would keep something like this from his own friends. "But then again, after just hearing about it the way that they did, it's no surprise that they've never heard about me until today. I wonder what Shadow was thinking for when he didn't tell any of his friends about our relationship up until today? Is he embarrassed about the two of us being together like this? I'll just have to ask him and be blunt about it."
Just as she was about to turn her full attention towards the black hedgehog, the female magician began to hear the voice of her lover saying while at the same time sounding as if he were speaking to himself, "Man, this is totally humiliating! Not only did the Chaotix find out, but soon when Sonic hears of this from Vector's big mouth, he's never going to let me hear the end of it."
As she turned to face the expression of the self proclaimed Ultimate Life Form's face, Mana could see the embarrassed and yet distressed look that spread all across it. She almost giggled at the fact that he could become so embarrassed so easily for when it came to socializing with huge crowds of people. The fact that he seemed both exhausted and nervous about having to listen to his friends becoming so interested in their relationship was so unlike his usual personality. "Shadow darling, I know that it's not easy for your friends to find out about our relationship like this, but don't you think that you're making too big a deal out of this?" she said to her black and crimson boyfriend while at the same time going over to his side just as she began to lightly touch one of his shoulders in order to assure him that he wasn't alone. "I mean, I know that you could be a little...quiet for when it comes to talking to people, but that's no excuse to cut out your friends from your own personal life like this. I mean, I told my master, Mahado all about you, and sure that both of your got off on a bad start, but that's just because he's just seeing if you're not a harmful creature planning to harm me like most beings and creatures are for when they've misused the powers from the Millennium Items and become corrupted by their dark powers."
"I know that, Mana. Believe me, I know," was what she heard her lover saying to her while at the same time feeling him tense up with the stress of his friends knowing about their private little relationship still on the back of his mind before he continued. "(Sighs) I know that you're master really didn't approve of the two of us seeing one another since breaking the news to him, but the good thing about him is that he's not one of those overprotective parent types that would worry for their child's safety and force us to break apart. However, it's just that having the others find out about it seems kinda awkward for me to deal with. Especially with both Sonic and Vector. I could swear that those two have the biggest mouths in all Mobius. When I turn to see Vector in the morning, I would never going to hear the end of it."
After hearing her boyfriend finishing what he had to say, Mana began to wrap both of her arms around his body and picked him up as if he were a huge stuffed teddy bear. Luckily, the spikes that she'd felt on his back weren't as sharp as they appear to be as she felt the smooth fur gently stroking the neatly exposed skin of her upper body while at the same time carrying him over towards the bed. From what she could tell, the female magician could still feel the black hedgehog tensing up from what he's just experienced a while ago. She finally decided to break the silence by speaking to Shadow smoothly while at the same time having her hand stroking the top of his head, stroking it right through his fur, "Well, just relax, Shadow darling. I hate it for when you stress out on little things like that.
"Especially for when it comes to us. I mean, you're always too serious for when it comes to trying to keep your personal life a secret, trying to keep that serious image of yours. Well, why can't you just for once in your life just loosen up and allow other people to share your feelings? Is it because you're still too scared for anyone to get close to you because you're afraid to lose them? Is that it?"
When she waited to hear a response from Shadow, all Mana heard was nothing but still silence from within the room that they're in. Right before she could have the chance to speak again, the young female immortal heard her lover saying to her with a rather quiet and shaken tone of voice, "No, that's not the real reason, Mana. You see, ever since I've been able to live on Mobius for as long as I could remember, I've always lived like a real shadow. Never really dead, but not truly alive either. I'd figure that if I keep all of my emotions and feelings to myself, I'd never get hurt. I guess that I'm just too afraid of most of my friends to get to know the person right beneath the frightening exterior that you're all looking at right now. People always judge me right before they all get to know me. Most of the children who took a look at me for when I try to walk in the streets look at me as if I'm some sort of monster. Image the kind of attention that I'll get if this world's media finds a picture of me."
The young female magician began to feel both annoyed and yet sad at what the black hedgehog within her arms just said to her. "I didn't know that Shadow have ever felt this way for when it comes to getting into public. He seems to hide his emotions all too well for when the two of us went out in public. Especially in his human form that I've placed on him. Well, it's time for me to get some things through that thick skull of his."
"Shadow, stop worrying about that sort of thing," she said to the Ultimate Life Form in a soft and yet stern tone while at the same time having hand going right under her love's face and forcing it to face towards her direction so that he would be looking right at his crimson eyes. "It's an attitude like yours that keeps you from allowing your friends or anyone for that matter from knowing the true person that you really are inside. You really have to stop acting like this dark creature that people keep seeing you as and allow them to see that gentle person that I'm seeing."
To add to her words, Mana began to nuzzle her chin right on top her Shadow's head like a huge teddy bear, feeling the soft fur caressing the surface of her own body's exposed skin. She also began to stroke one of her hands towards the silver fur that's on his chest. From the shuddering reaction that she received from his body, the female magician could tell that he wasn't complaining about the action that she was doing to him. But she soon ceased her action for when she felt and heard how relaxed he felt at her touch. "There now, Shadow darling, are you all better now?" the blonde magician purred towards her love while at the same time gently cuddling him while at the same time as she began to lay themselves down on the comfortable bed.
When she did that, Mana could almost hear the black hedgehog beginning to breath a bit more easily than he did before she also noticed that he was also comfortable enough for him to sleep. The young female let out a tired but polite yawn just as so she would not disturb her boyfriend just as he was about to get some sleep. "(Yawn!) I think that the two of us should get some sleep right now, Mana," was all that she heard Shadow saying to her as she felt his soft and furry back resting itself on the front of her body while at the same time feeling the tenseness that she once felt beginning to ease up from the tension that he'd felt before.
"I guess that (Yawn!) I would have to agree with you on that, Shadow," the young female magician said to her boyfriend while at the same time feeling a bit tired from what she just talked about as well as today's events while shifting herself a bit while trying to find a position to be comfortable in. "I guess that the two of us are a bit more tired than we both let ourselves after what we've been through today. (Yawn!) I'm too comfortable holding onto you like this, my darling. Your fur is so soft and fluffy like one of my furry Kuribo friends."
"Oh, alright, Mana. (Yawn!) I guess that I could allow you to do so seeing as you're my girlfriend and all," was what she heard from the drowsy black and red hedgehog just as she finally stopped her fidgeting in order to find a comfortable place suitable for her to stay put in. "I just hope that when we wake up in the morning, Vector and the others would be smart enough to keep their own mouths shut about (Yawn!) what they saw."
"(Yawn!) Don't worry about that, my darling," the female magician said to Shadow with a cute yawn just as she continued to stroke and play with her boyfriend's jet black fur while moving her other hand away from the silver patch on his chest. "If any one dares to try to make fun of you, I'll see to it to cast a spell on their mouths so that they won't try to think about doing so again. Of course, I will release them from it once they've learned their lesson. Wouldn't you agree, Shadow darling?"
Just as she waited for a response to come from her black furred boyfriend, all that Mana could hear from the one in her arms was soft breathing coming from the Ultimate Life Form. Right as she carefully moved herself in order to take a good look at his face, the young female giggle softly with delight as she took in the pleasure of seeing the peaceful and smiling expression on it. "Just like a cute, tired, and lonely little puppy," she thought cheerfully to herself just as she looked away from Shadow's face and stared at the ceiling over her just so she could get herself into a deep sleep. "I just hope that my darling is able to recover from what I've just told him but it needed to be done. I'm really worried about what he just told me.
"I mean, how could anyone treat the gentle person within my arms like he's a frightening monster? I guess that's the very reason on why he always seems to look serious all the time. I would be too if I'm viewed as a frightening creature from the Shadow Realm. Maybe by tomorrow morning, everything would be different. Something might come up that could lighten up his mood a bit. Perhaps he would be even more pleasant once we meet up with both Miguel and his female companion Sylphiel in the morning."
Just as she once again turned her full attention towards the sleeping hedgehog's direction, the female magician carefully leaned onto his head in order to give him a quick but tender kiss on his forehead. When she was done, Mana began to once again let out a quiet and cute yawn right before she said to her black furred boyfriend in a soft tone, "Sweet dreams, Shadow the Hedgehog. I hope that you have pleasant dreams. Dreams that would hopefully get your emotions back together. (Yawn!) I love you."
With those words out her mouth, Mana soon started to feel both of her eye lids dropping over her sight right before blackness overtook her. Before she knew it, the female magician found herself dozing off to sleep with Shadow still wrapped comfortably within her arms.
End of Part 14