Chapter 28: Third Time's the Charm
Stupid.
Why did every single Mobian and human on the face of the planet (other than himself, of course) have to be so completely and unstoppably dumb? Was it that they had ALL been dropped on their head during their infancy? Maybe their parents had painted every single toy they owned with lead paint? Either way, everything they did was infuriating the black and red hedgehog. And when it came to everything, it was no over-exaggeration.
Accidentally being bumped into, others making eye contact with him, cell phones ringing, the simple chit-chat of teenagers, cars rushing by, even people smiling at him nearly set him off the edge. There wasn't a single thing that didn't make Shadow want to punch something and scream at the top of his lungs. He was furious at the rest of the world for being just fine, because hey, if he wasn't happy, why did everyone else get to be all smiley and annoying?
Or maybe he just wanted justification in punching that idiot cashier in the face.
Yes, that sounded good to Shadow. Very good indeed.
Since her unofficial visit, Amy's words had been swirling and sifting in his head, unsettling his stomach and causing a headache like none other to take over. Every time he closed his eyes, he imagined what kind of an expression she had been wearing while she had spoken to him. He saw her standing there, her hands balled into fists, her teeth gritted as she tried to steady herself, tears rolling down her cheeks. She must have been trying so hard to speak in an even tone, she simply must have been doing her best to keep up a good attitude… she must have been heart-broken.
The thought seriously bugged the hedgehog, and it also started up an awful migraine in his head. He was split right down the middle, debating between whether running up to Amy and apologizing, or keeping things the way they were. Either forgiving her, or writing her off as someone who didn't matter.
Frustration got the better of the Ultimate Lifeform over time, and eventually, he threw his arms in the air and yelled, "OH WHO CARES?" before standing up, stomping the entire way to the nearest doughnut shop, and buying himself a dozen doughnuts. From a very, very, very dumb cashier with a stupid hair cut, no less.
So with that, Shadow the Hedgehog sat himself on the right corner of a bench in Station Square's biggest park, opened the box, and simply started eating the pastries. Why? Because he was the Ultimate Lifeform and he could do whatever the heck he wanted.
Plus, it wasn't like he was going to gain any weight anyway, so why not?
He had eaten his way through three doughnuts before he calmed down enough to not growl with every breath, and once he had, he sighed, glared down at the box off to his left, and simply sat there. For awhile, he wondered why on Mobius he had done such an odd thing (because to him, it seemed like something that a teenage girl would have done), but he eventually just shrugged it off and stared at the sky.
It was gray again, little to his surprise. But heck, it was so cloudy that Shadow couldn't even tell where exactly the sun was in the sky. The clouds were thick and dark, stormy, and ready for yet another rainfall, just from the look of it. Maybe it'd start raining later in the after—
"Hey! What's up, blackie?"
Shadow's heart skipped a beat, his eyes went wide, and a single thought ran through his head.
You have GOT to be kidding me.
Even though every voice in his head advised—well, screamed, really—against it, Shadow turned to face the voice. And sure enough, to his disappointment, it was Sonic the Hedgehog, who was smiling his signature toothy grin. Off to his right was Sally, smiling a much more subdued grin as she waved at Shadow.
"Hey, Shadow!" She said, glancing at Sonic in confusion for a mere second before looking back to the black hedgehog. "Long time, no see!"
The hedgehog glared back at the two, taking a few seconds to stare at both of them before he replied with an ornery, "Hmf."
Sally seemed a bit surprised by his response, but Sonic laughed as if he was used to it (which he was, when Shadow thought about it). "Don't have anything nice to say, blackie?"
Shadow gritted his teeth together, his angry gaze focusing on Sonic as it intensified. "Don't call me blackie, you idiot."
"Then what should I call you, hm?" Sonic asked as he folded his arms, stealing a single moment to shoot a smile towards Sally. "How about… Dark-one the Emo-hog?"
If looks could have killed, Sonic would have been reduced to a pile of ash on the spot.
"Leave him alone, Sonic!" Sally exclaimed, despite the fact that a smile was on her face and a giggle was at her lips. "Just call him by his name. I don't think he's in the mood for any teasing today." She told him as she sat down to the immediate right of the doughnut box.
He chuckled and shrugged, and Shadow rolled his eyes. The Ultimate Lifeform had half a mind to get the heck out of there as fast as he could, but he knew very well that with Sonic's current mood, any attempt to leave would quickly escalate into a full-scale race. And did he want participate in a race with a hedgehog that had the attention span of a non-Mobian squirrel on his good days? He would have rather shot himself in the foot on the spot.
So despite the undeniable urge to leave, Shadow stayed glued in his spot. For the moment, he was going to have to deal with the hyperactive hero and the tomboy princess. Joy to the world.
"So, uh… remind me what your name is again, will you?"
The moment the words reached Shadow, his glare morphed into an expression of both condescension and confusion, and he turned to face Sonic. "Excuse me?"
Sally, though not as flabbergasted as Shadow, did not look amused. "Really, Sonic? I just said his name out loud."
"I was distracted!" Sonic exclaimed as he eyed the doughnuts, "And speaking of which, I'm taking one of these."
Shadow didn't even get the chance to swat Sonic's hand away. Before he knew it, Sonic was munching on a doughnut drizzled in chocolate, staring at the black hedgehog with a smile. "Mmm. My favorite."
Shadow just wanted to punch the blue hedgehog in the face. He really did.
"So Shadow," Sally started, her head whipping towards Sonic the moment she spoke the Ultimate Lifeform's name. "How have you been? It's been awhile since we've seen you last. Has anything exciting gone on in your life?"
He slouched forward until his elbows were resting on his legs and his hands were clamped over his mouth, and he replied with a mono-tone, "Hm."
Sally glanced off to the side, uncomfortable with the fact that she didn't know how to respond to the sulky hedgehog. "Well then. Um… have you had any interesting missions from G.U.N. lately?"
The hedgehog was silent, and in her distress, Sally turned to Sonic for help. She was lucky in the fact that for once, Sonic knew exactly what to say.
"How about this then, Shads." Sonic said, causing Shadow to instantly look up at him. "What's bothering you? There's obviously something on your mind, and it's put you in a rotten mood."
Shadow gazed at the hero, his eyes a bit wider in surprise. How… "Don't look at me like that, I'm calling you Shads whether you like it or not."
Though that hadn't exactly been his reason for staring, Shadow suddenly nodded in response before swallowing. Did… should he… was it a good idea to talk to somebody about it? Much less Sonic the Hedgehog and Sally Acorn of all people? He hadn't even told Rouge about what had happened…
"Shads, you still in there? Hello, Mobius to Emo-hog!"
Shadow ignored Sonic as he stared off into the distance. He had been keeping everything in for so long that, for some reason, he had resorted to the habit of exploding every time someone asked him something as simple as, "Would you like fries with that?" As he sat there on the park bench, Shadow wondered to himself… would telling them about it help him? Even with how dumb it sounded and how vulnerable it made him look, was it worth it?
"Shadow, are you alright?"
For some reason at that moment, Shadow found himself not caring in the slightest. And hey, if others mocked him for it later, he could just walk up to them and beat the crap out of them. Right then, he just… he had to say it, no matter how incredibly stupid it made him sound. And besides that, he had a feeling that the two would follow him home unless he told them, and he did NOT want to deal with two stalkers that cared.
Before he knew it, Shadow glanced at Sally, then Sonic, and spoke in his slouched position.
"No. I'm not alright. I haven't been 'alright' for some time now."
His voice was angry, rigid, and barely above a whisper, but it caught their attention all the same.
"It all went down-hill since I got back from my trip, and I just want everything to go back to normal. I don't want to… I don't need another crappy circumstance going on in my life, and you know what? I definitely don't want it either. If I could, I'd go back and do the whole thing again until I got it right." Shadow told them as he glared past the two. "And I'm half tempted to do it, too."
Silence followed immediately afterward, causing Sonic and Sally to look at each other once before turning back at Shadow. "Can you tell us what happened?"
Shadow gritted his teeth and nearly rolled his eyes in annoyance, but he quickly shook it off and nodded. What was there for him to lose by that point? His dignity? Pft. Like he had any "dignity" left.
"It's a long story." Shadow eventually sighed, his brow furrowed as he rubbed the back of his head.
"We don't have anything going on today, Shadow." Sally told him, "We're willing to listen! Right, Sonic?"
The princess turned to the blue hedgehog, and he merely shrugged. "It's all right with me. So long as I can have another doughnut, that is."
Shadow gritted his teeth and scowled at Sonic, but he picked up the box and held it out-reached to the hedgehog all the same. Sonic graciously opened the box and took another two pastries, biting into one and holding the other out to Sally, who took it without a single word. Then, the two looked at Shadow, and the Ultimate Lifeform took in a heavy breath.
Well, here went nothing.
Shadow started at the very beginning, on the day when he first bumped into Amy. He told them how on one of his runs, he had discovered the girl being attacked by Eggman (to which Sonic added a loud, "I didn't mean to make her cry, honest! She hit me with her hammer for crying out loud!" in his own defense) and exactly how the battle went down.
It was there in Shadow's retelling of his adventure that Sally added her own comment, "That was when we ran into you guys, huh?" and it was also at that point in time that Shadow's clenched fists began to loosen and his voice became softer.
From there, he mostly went on without interruptions. He told them that after being hurt on a mission he had gone on that very night, Amy had volunteered to help him until he recovered enough to take care of himself. During that following week, he received the call telling him about the second journal, and without another thought, he left. Amy quickly followed, and soon they were searching for any sort of clue to lead them to the journal.
Eventually, they located Doctor Gerald Robotnik's grave, and he managed to find the journal hidden within the stone. Upon recovering it and reading it, he made the amazing discovery of his own parentage (and at that part, Sonic glanced at Sally with a confused look, as if he didn't understand the significance behind what he had said). It was less than a day later when Amy convinced him to look for them, or in the very least, try and find out more about them.
During the second half of their trip, the tight friendship between the two grew stronger and stronger. Slowly, Shadow's feelings for her began to grow. Her good mood left unintentional smiles on his face, and her optimism began to wear off on him. It pushed him to continue all the way to Topiary, where the aunt he never knew he had informed him that his parents were still alive, and it drove him to find them in the small community of Nightendale.
When he arrived, he found that his parents were alive and well, immortal thanks to the very blood that ran through his own veins. Soon after that, he learned that his childhood friend Maria was alive as well, thanks to the same miracle that had kept them all alive for so long (at that point, Sally's eyes grew wide in shock and she smiled for Shadow, though Sonic merely looked confused again).
From there, the trip calmed down quite a bit. He spent time getting to know the parents and siblings he had never known, with the sister he had lost too soon, and growing closer and closer to the girl that had been supporting him the entire way. And eventually, even though he still couldn't figure out exactly when it had happened, he had fallen in love with the girl.
He realized such at the community prom, and at the date he had asked her on a day later, he told her of his feelings. At first, everything was going great, but after he had actually confessed to her…
"She slapped me across the face. No warning, no reason why, nothing. She just did it." Shadow said, his voice becoming bitter and quiet again. "I didn't even have a chance to stand or say anything before she got up and started yelling at me."
Sally's brow knit together as Sonic bit into his fifth doughnut. "Amy yelled at you?"
Shadow nodded, anger flaring. "Accused me of playing with her feelings and told me that it was a heartless thing to. She flat-out called me a jerk."
Sonic swallowed his mouthful and sent a sympathetic look in his direction, "Sorry, buddy. That's rough."
The black hedgehog glanced off to the side. "After that, I stood up and started walking away. The moment she tried to get me to turn back around, I looked her in the eye and called her a brat. Then, I left."
The girl gasped at his words, and Sonic's expression changed into one of confusion and surprise. "Shadow!" Sally exclaimed, "That wasn't nice!"
He huffed in response and folded his arms, looking off in the opposite direction. "And everything she had just said to me wasn't very nice either, but I didn't really care at that point in time."
Both sides of the duo were obviously shocked at his behavior, but it was Sonic who spoke first, his doughnut all but forgotten for the moment. "Did she apologize?"
Shadow nodded, "Yes, but I left anyway."
"Why?" Sally asked.
The hedgehog glanced at both of them, his gaze having suddenly turned back into a glare. "Because it was a fair deal. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. It was the very least I could do since she decided to give me the short end of the stick."
Sally shook her head, "Shadow, that's not—"
"Fair?" He exclaimed, his attention whipping back towards the princess. "Well let me tell you something, princess: life isn't fair! I've spent years trying to guard this dumb planet, and do you know what kind of thanks I get? Hate letters telling me to do the world a favor and go kill myself!" Shadow yelled, Sally shrinking back in her spot as a response. "I put my stupid freaking heart into that worthless confession of mine for Amy, but she proved to me that life just never gets better and that people never change! How is not fair for me to do the same for her?"
"You can't just—"
"I can do whatever the heck I want, thank you very much, your highness! If I want to be a jerk right back to all the ungrateful dirt-bags that I save everyday, I will be! If I want to punch some idiot in the face, I'll go ahead and do it because no one's gonna stop me or tell me otherwise! And if I want to yell at someone for throwing everything I've done for them right back in my face, you better believe me when I say that I w—"
CRACK!
The breath was suddenly knocked from his lungs, his mouth was left empty without a single word to cling to, and for an entire ten seconds, Shadow's mind went absolutely and completely blank. What the…?
"Sorry," Sonic spoke several seconds later, his voice even, mono-tone, and very, very cold as he readjusted the brown glove on his right hand. "My hand seems to have slipped. My bad."
A back-handed slap. It was so powerful that even after a full ten seconds after receiving it, it still stung. It still stung like crazy. Oh, there was no way that it wasn't going to bruise. No way on the face of Mobius.
"Sonic the Hedgehog!" Sally cried, "What on Mobius—why the heck—what is wrong with you?"
Sonic was unmoved by her question, and his stone cold expression didn't even change when he spoke. "It's not me you need to be asking that question, my dear."
The words sunk into Shadow's head within less than a second. Rage took hold of him, swallowed his entire being, and claimed control over his body. Before he could stop to think about what he was doing, he shot up off the bench, his form shaking and his hands balled into fists as he glared at Sonic, the fury causing him to full-out scream at the hero.
"JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE TRYING TO PULL?"
The blue hedgehog was not amused by Shadow's rage, and it was as obvious as the clouds in the sky. "I'm not trying to pull anything." He replied, his voice calm and sharp at the same time.
"DON'T LIE TO ME, YOU IDIOT!"
Sonic's glare, though much more subtle than Shadow's scowl of I'm-going-to-rip-his-ears-off-and-shove-them-down- his-throat, cut right through him. "I'm not lying, Shadow. I'm not pulling any sort of trick on you."
Shadow growled, "I'M GOING TO RIP YOU APART!"
Sonic shrugged, "Go ahead. I honestly don't care." He told him, taking a large bite out of his doughnut.
Sally swallowed and glanced around warily. "Oh my goodness, everyone's staring…"
Shadow whipped his head towards Sally, and his glare made her heart skip a beat. "GOOD! I'M GLAD THEY ARE, YOU SPOILED LITTLE—"
"Don't you DARE bring her into this!" Sonic yelled, pointing a finger in Shadow's face and causing the Ultimate Lifeform to face Sonic again. "She did absolutely nothing wrong, so don't you dare start yelling at her!"
Shadow gritted his teeth, "I'LL YELL AT WHOEVER I—"
"No you will NOT, Shadow the Hedgehog!" Sonic shouted back, poking Shadow hard in the chest. "You will NOT keep screaming at everyone, you will NOT keep throwing a fit, and you will NOT act like a selfish little BRAT!"
For some reason, the harshness in Sonic's voice surprised Shadow, and his words caused Shadow to take a step back. "You're acting like a child that's justifying a fight with 'she started it,' and you know what? It's stupid! It's beyond stupid! You think that being mean to her will solve anything?"
The black hedgehog struggled to discover the right words, but as soon as he found them, he spat them out as quickly as he could. "She didn't—"
"I don't give a crap about what she did or didn't do to you, Shadow!" Sonic yelled, taking another quick bite of his doughnut. "You have to realize right now that any damage caused after she apologized was your fault, not hers!"
The single word your cut right through Shadow, and it nearly made his heart skip a beat. Excuse me?
"I don't know why she yelled at you and slapped you, but I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that her apology was her heart-felt. Even though I've only known her for awhile, I know that's she not the kind of person who would do that to someone without feeling at least somewhat guilty about it. She probably felt awful about what she did, and you know what kinda sucks about that for her? You didn't even give her the benefit of the doubt. You just left her right then and there."
Instantly, confusion took both Shadow and Sally, but Shadow got to the question first. "Only a little while?" Shadow asked, his brow furrowed, "What do you mean—"
"Don't interrupt me!" Sonic spat, sending a glare that nearly sent a shiver up and down Shadow's spine. "I'm not even halfway done with you, Shads!"
And suddenly he was Shads again? Shadow opened his mouth to question, but before he could, Sonic continued.
"You've been wallowing in your own cesspool of self pity and woe for days, but you haven't even stopped to think about how she's doing, have you? You probably don't even care that she's having as much of a hard time with this as you are, do you, Shads?"
The accusation dug up a fresh batch of anger in the black and red hedgehog. "What? What—how—what—why would you say that? Of course I've been worried about her! Why would you think that I don't feel—?"
"Because when she made her mistake, you spat in her face! When she stabbed you in the back, you turned around and did the same darn thing!"
Shadow's heart stopped for an entire second, and his eyes instantly widened. Why… why hadn't it ever occurred to him like that before?
As Shadow froze in his spot, the anger began to die off and replace itself with shame. Sonic continued to glare at him, finishing off his treat before speaking again. "You kept telling us in your story that you really cared for Amy. That you loved her and you wanted her to be happy. That she meant the world to you." Sonic waited for a reply, but the Ultimate Lifeform didn't speak. "Then tell me this, Shadow. Would you tell someone you love that much that they're a brat?"
The black hedgehog couldn't respond, and for a few moments, silence took over. His thoughts were swirling rapidly in his mind, and very swiftly, a headache began to settle in. Eventually, though, Sonic sighed, shaking his head as he took in a deep breath and folded his arms. For a moment he looked just like a parent, exasperated after chewing out his child for a bad decision.
"Before we met you, Sal and I were a couple, and we once got in a really bad fight. And when I say a bad fight, I mean an awful, screaming-and-slapping, calling-each-other-names sort of fight." From the corner of his eye, Shadow could see Sally cringe at Sonic's words.
"We refused to see eye to eye, to even listen to the other's opinion or idea. I didn't want to admit that I was partially wrong in the situation, and Sally didn't want to do it either. Do you know what happened because of that fight?" Shadow didn't even look at him, but Sonic continued nonetheless.
"The two of us broke up in front of everyone we knew. It was the most embarrassing thing either of us had ever been through, and it very nearly destroyed our friendship. Heck, it was what caused me to leave the Freedom Fighters and my family for so long! After that fight, I didn't see Sal for almost three years. And do you know what? Not a single moment has gone past that I haven't regretted it."
Very slowly, Shadow faced the hero, his gaze softened, and mixed with both sadness and guilt. "Eventually, we both got over the whole thing. We forgave each other and we moved past it. We grew up. But do you know how long it took?"
Shadow nodded. "Nearly three years, like you said."
Sonic nodded back to Shadow in response, "Just imagine everything the two of us missed. All the memories we could have made… wasted because we were too stubborn to apologize to each other. Because we convinced ourselves that 'I was right and she was wrong.' I could have done so much, but I'll never get that time back. Never."
The hedgehog paused, glanced at Sally, and for an entire half of a second, he smiled at her. "We still have all the time in the world ahead of us, but I still wish I could go back and fix everything. But you know what, Shads?" Sonic asked, looking back to Shadow, his smile fading. "You still have the chance to put the pieces together before it all goes wrong for sure."
A tiny leap of hope made Shadow jump, but before he could say anything, Sonic spoke again (holy crap, this guy could TALK when he found something to chat about). "I'm not saying that Pinkie didn't do anything wrong, because obviously, she did. What I am saying, though, is that you need to forgive her for what she did do. Otherwise, you're no better than whatever she did to you. And besides,"
Shadow didn't even have the chance to jump out of the way before Sonic smacked him over the head. "Ouch!"
"You need to smile and be happy! Don't let one bad thing get you down!" Sonic told him as he twirled another doughnut Shadow hadn't seen him snatch on his pointer finger. "If you do, you might end up shooting someone in the street because you spilled your cup of milk on the floor. We wouldn't want that, now would we?"
The black hedgehog held his hand over the spot Sonic had smacked as he stared at the hero, and suddenly, he saw a perfect image of himself shooting the guy with the stupid haircut in his mind. All over a cup of spilled milk, of course. And what did that make him do?
The one thing that had to be impossible because he was Dark-one the Emo-hog.
He chuckled.
And Sonic flashed a toothy grin right in response.
"He's absolutely right, you know!" Sally suddenly jumped in, hopping up off the bench with a smile. "And I can speak from experience!"
"Since she used to be so up-tight and stuff." Sonic told him with a mischievous grin.
Sally swiftly elbowed him in the ribs, but he merely chuckled as she continued. "If you always worry yourself with the little things, you're never going to enjoy life. You have to give yourself a break once in your life. Otherwise, you'll always be angry and ornery and… well, ready to punch someone in the face."
"Like me!"
She nodded, "Yes, but there's almost always someone who wants to punch you in the face."
Sonic laughed, "Because I'm so amazing and they're jealous of my good looks." And with that, he took a bite out of the doughnut.
"You pig."
Shadow couldn't take his eyes away from the strange couple. The smart-mouthed, smart alecky hero and the tomboy, sassy princess. Two people that had gone through so much crap in their life—losing their family, their homes, risking their lives for everything they believed in—and that simply refused to let anything keep them down. They were so smiley and happy (sometimes annoyingly so), and they made it look so easy. So incredibly and completely easy.
"Is it really that simple?"
The two both looked at him, a bit confused.
"Hm?" Sonic hummed, his ears perking up.
"To be happy. Is it really that simple? Just… is that all you have to do? Forgive and let it go? Keep going and never let anything get you down?"
The smiles the two had been wearing morphed into full-fledged, toothy grins. "You know what they say, Shads." Sonic said, stuffing as much of the doughnut as he could into his mouth before he went on. "If you keep faking a smile, it's bound to get stuck eventually."
Sally nodded, "And trust us on this one, it really works. He speaks from experience."
The blue hedgehog smiled as wide as he possibly could at her, and the brown chipmunk-squirrel hybrid merely shook her head in response. "Heaven help us."
A soft smirk slowly made its way onto Shadow's face as he watched the two. The way they teased each other, found happiness in the simplest of things, enjoyed life… it made Shadow want to do the same thing. It made him want to take in a deep breath, throw his arms in the air, and as crazy as it sounded, bask in whatever light he had… and it reminded him of the way another young girl lived her life.
A young girl that he still cared very much for.
"Sonic, Sally," Shadow spoke, the calmness in his voice sending a wave of surprise through the both of them as they turned to face him. "Thank you."
They were silent for awhile, surprised with the change in mood that claimed him so suddenly, and quietly wondering if he was planning to smack them both in the back of the head. Then, when they realized that the soft smile on his face was genuine, they both grinned back and nodded to him in unison. Yes, talking to the two had helped, even with how silly and… well, crazy as it had turned out.
"I need to be on my way." Shadow finally told the two after a few moments of silence, "I'm sure that the commander has a new mission for me, and I need to apologize to Rouge."
Sonic snickered, "You're just a heart-breaker, aren't you, Shads?"
Shadow sent a semi-serious, semi-joking glare in Sonic's direction, and it merely made him laugh.
"Well," Sally sighed, elbowing Sonic again as he released a playful laugh, "I hope you have a good day, Shadow. We're going to go gather some more supplies and hopefully meet up with Sonic's uncle again. He's been helping us out with some renovation plans for Knothole."
Shadow raised his eyebrows. "Your uncle is in town?"
"Yep!" Sonic exclaimed, a large smile on his face. "His restaurant head-quarters are right here in town!"
Sally nodded in agreement. "He's also one of the only Freedom Fighters that wasn't in Knothole during Eggman's latest raid. I'm sure you heard about that?"
He nodded, "Yes, I did, and I wish you both the best of luck in getting everything back in place. I have a feeling that you're going to need it."
"Thanks." Sally said, exasperated. "And yes, we are."
"But we can do it!" Sonic exclaimed, snatching the box from its spot on the bench, taking out the final doughnut, and handing it to Sally before he destroyed the box with a quick chaos incantation. "Nothing's going to stop us. Isn't that right, Sal?"
She nodded and smiled, "Of course!"
Sonic grinned back at her, then looked at Shadow and smiled. "See ya, Shads!"
The two turned away from Shadow, and Sally waved back at him, "Later!"
Shadow smiled and nodded towards the two as they began to walk off, but before they could take more than ten steps away, a thought suddenly struck Shadow.
"One more thing before you leave, Sonic."
The blue hedgehog turned on the spot, eyebrows raised in amusement and surprise. "Yeah?"
Shadow narrowed his eyes and spoke in a careful, sharp voice. "Who gave you those gloves?"
Sonic furrowed his brow, obviously thrown off by the misplaced question. "What? These?" He asked, pulling his hands up to show off his fingerless, leather gloves.
Shadow nodded, and Sonic glanced off to the side as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well, um… I don't remember, really. It was a long time ago, and… I can't really… sorry, it's been a long day. My mind's kina frazzled, Shads."
The Ultimate Lifeform merely hummed. "As I thought."
"What?" Sonic asked, his brow knitting together in confusion.
For a moment, Shadow didn't speak. "Tell me, Sonic." But when he did, he raised a pointed finger towards Sonic, his voice suddenly dark. "When exactly did you lose your memories?"
Sonic's eyes widened, and Sally's expression morphed into one of pure bewilderment. The hero opened his mouth to speak, but before he got the chance, Shadow gritted his teeth together and with one quiet chaos incantation, reached out to Sonic's mind.
Within the blink of an eye, Shadow was met by millions and billions of the hedgehog's thoughts and recollections. He found memories of Sonic's own adventures, of Sally, of Knothole, of great battles and death defying stunts… but of no one other than him and the princess. Where Eggman and enemies would have lurked, where his family members should have smiled, and even where his dearest friends should have laughedwere as blank and empty as could be. Not even the smallest trace of them was left. Not even anything of himself dwelled, much to Shadow's surprise.
His brow furrowed in confusion as he sifted through the Sonic's mind, searching for even the tiniest of hints, even the nearly insignificant memory of Shadow giving Sonic his new gloves. How was that even possible? The Ultimate Lifeform himself had had amnesia before, but when he had been dealing with a lack of memories, he at least had vague flashbacks to work with. Sonic… Sonic had nothing. It was like every memory had been ripped from his entire timeline…
But that's not possible! Shadow thought as he growled. You can't just erase memories like that! There's always something left! Always!
The Ultimate Lifeform intensified his search, ripping and tearing through Sonic's remaining dreams as fast as could. He saw Sonic as a child, looking for the parents he couldn't remember anymore, crying for the loss of his family and home, fighting an enemy that in his memories, had no face, talking to a friend without a voice or any features, falling, falling, falling, and—
Two unnaturally cold eyes. Two eyes that made a wave of fear wash over his body, that left the breath caught in the back of his throat, that nearly made Shadow's heart stop right then and there. Two eyes that he recognized.
Not… not possible. Not even—
"That's enough!" A voice, strained and struggling to speak properly, suddenly reached in and with one strong push, hurled Shadow from the blue hedgehog's memories and back into reality. "Didn't anyone ever tell you to stay out of other people's heads? Gosh, I'm going to need some aspirin after this."
When Shadow found himself in tune with his own body again, he quickly discovered that his heart was racing and he was panting. He could hear Sonic doing the same, as well as the confused and worried sounds of Sally's attention whipping from hedgehog to hedgehog.
"What just happened?" She asked, "What's going on?"
Neither one replied. The two simply stayed in their spots, panting for breath, frozen in the position of leaning over with their hands resting on their knees. They had seen the same things, and at the moment, coming to terms with that last image was much more difficult than actually regaining control of their own lungs. Eventually, though, the two managed to regulate their breathing enough to stand up and face each other once again.
"I see, then." Shadow finally spoke, his voice still a bit shaky. "You've made a deal with death, and now you've paid the price." Sonic said nothing in response, and Shadow smirked. "A gutsy move, Sonic. You've actually managed to surprise me."
His words seemed to surprise Sonic slightly, but before the blue hedgehog could even think of saying anything to him, Shadow nodded, turned, and began to walk off. "Good luck, you two. You really are going to need it."
He could hear Sally ask Sonic, "What does he mean by that? Sonic, what just happened? Are you okay?" before Shadow walked out of ear-shot. Indeed, the two were going to need all the luck they could get. But Shadow? He wasn't going to need any.
Shadow knew exactly where he was going and how he was going to get there. He knew what he wanted, and who he wanted on his side. But most of all, he knew who he cared for the most, and at that moment, he knew exactly what he was going to say to her the next time he saw her. All he had needed to remember it was a good smack.
Chuckling, Shadow shook his head. "I guess the third time's the charm, huh?"
As he walked down the sidewalk, the first drop of rain crashed against the concrete next to him. A storm was settling in, but at that moment, Shadow didn't mind. In fact, to be completely honest, it made him a bit grateful. It was much better to dance in the rain then to complain and scream about it at every chance he got. And as he walked, he could help but ponder to himself. Would anything ever grow if there wasn't at least a little rain in-between the sunshine?
"Don't worry Amy," Shadow whispered, a soft smile on his face. "I won't be long. I'm just going to give myself a little break first."
The rain gradually picked up, and Shadow looked up to the sky, thoughtful and filled with hope.
I can't even tell you guys how much fun I had writing this one. :D Angry Shadow is quite amusing to write... XD Quite amusing indeed! It also seems as if we have an idea as to why Sonic didn't recognize Amy at the beginning...
And wow, I sure did get this chapter out quickly! :) It's only been about a week and a half since the last chapter was released. :D The next chapter shouldn't take too long either...
Thanks to Rouge the Batgirl, Lightning rose, xXTwIlIgHt the wOlFXx, ShadowEmpress76, Blackpetals23, Project Shadow, Mia, LordCooler, Shadamyrose3, Amy roxs1, and Parker117 for the reviews! Your continued support means so much to me! Thank you guys, so much!
Until next time! :D
