Shadow woke up at 7:30 in the morning and got ready for work. Rouge had said today he would have to do some VR training today. He wasn't quite sure what that was, but Rouge said she would fill him in when he got there. After grabbing a small bag from the kitchen, Shadow got on his motorcycle and headed to GUN HQ.
The Commander wasn't joking when he said Shadow's house would be near HQ, as he arrived there in three minutes. He parked his bike and saw Rouge waiting at the front of the entrance, waving at him with a cup of coffee in her hand. He made his way to her, while taking some bites of the food in his bag.
"Morning Shadow!" Rouge greeted.
"Good morning, Rouge." Shadow replied.
"I see you got yourself some breakfast there. What're you eating?" She asked, looking at the bag in his hand.
"Hmm? Oh this isn't really breakfast, it's my coffee." Shadow pulled coffee beans out of the bag and showed them to Rouge.
Rouge was absolutely baffled. "Uh…Shadow…those are coffee beans."
"Very astute observation."
"Shadow! This right here…" She showed him the cup she was holding and the liquid inside. "This is coffee. You're eating the beans used to make the coffee."
"I disagree. What you're holding is how you take your coffee. Some people take their coffee black, and some people take their coffee with cream and sugar. As for me, I take my coffee straight from the beans. They're delicious and crunchy."
Rouge shook her head in disbelief. "You're something else, that's all I'll say. Now come inside."
Shadow followed Rouge into the building.
"Omega! Look who's here!" Rouge called out.
Shadow saw the big robot in the lobby turn his body around to look at the two of them. He slowly floated his way to them.
"SHADOW. I HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT YOU HAVE BECOME AN AGENT FOR GUN. I AM PLEASED TO HEAR THIS. NOW THERE ARE 2 AGENTS THAT CAN PERFORM AT LEVEL CLOSE TO MY OWN." Omega said.
Shadow smirked. That was a very Omega thing to say. He was very competitive for a robot. Anytime he complimented someone he always did it in a way that let them know the he still thinks he's better. "Thanks Omega. I'll be sure not to disappoint."
"GOOD."
"Omega, I just found out that Shadow prefers to eat coffee beans rather than drink it. What do you think of that?" Rouge asked. Shadow also looked interested in how Omega would respond.
"I BELIEVE SHADOW'S PREFERENCE OF COFFEE CONSUMPTION IS THE MOST OPTIMAL METHOD. THERE IS NO PREPERATION TIME, NO NEED TO USE A COFFEE MAKER. THEY ARE READY, STRAIGHT OUT OF THE BAG. IN ADDITION, THE BODY ABSORBS THE CAFFIENE FROM THE COFFEE BEAN FASTER THAN IF THE COFFEE WAS CONSUMED IN LIQUID FORM."
Shadow chuckled while Rouge let out an exasperated sigh "You're both crazy."
"No Rouge, I think Omega just gets it. It's the fastest way to get coffee in your system. We're not crazy, we're being logical."
"Okay Shadow! You eat your coffee beans like a weirdo all you want. I won't stop you." She relented. "Now let's get to business. About the VR Training you'll be doing."
"FOR WHAT REASON DOES SHADOW NEED TO GO THROUGH THE VR PROGRAM? HE HAS ELIMINATED BLACK DOOM AND ERADICATED THE BLACK ARMS. TO HAVE HIM GO THROUGH THIS TRAINING SEEMS REDUNDANT."
"Like I said whenever you protested to doing it Omega, it's protocol! Yes, I know that Shadow is incredibly skilled in every area a GUN agent needs to be and he probably won't learn anything new from the training. But protocol is protocol, and it makes no exceptions, not even for the Ultimate Lifeform."
Shadow couldn't help but respect that GUN wasn't making any exceptions for him. He knew without a doubt that Commander Tower and the rest of the higher ups knew what he was capable of. And despite that, if he wanted into GUN, he had to go through the same process everyone else did. No special treatment for him. He liked it in a way. He knew he was the Ultimate Lifeform, and he would remind people about that from time to time, but that didn't mean he wanted to put on a pedestal.
"Omega, I appreciate you vouching for me, but Rouge is right. Protocols need to be followed. No use trying to fight against it." He said.
Rouge looked absolutely relieved to hear him say that. "Thank Chaos! I thought I was going to have to argue with you for two hours about this like I had to with Omega."
"CORRECTION! WE ARGUED FOR ONE HOUR AND FIFTY FIVE MINUTES OVER IT."
"Guess I was over-exaggerating a bit. Thank you for correcting me Omega. I was way off." Rouge sarcastically replied.
"YOU'RE WELCOME." Omega said, the sarcasm clearly not registering.
"Omega, we need to get that Social Enhancer chip installed into to you at some point." Shadow said.
"THE SOCIAL ENHANCER CHIP PROVIDES NO UTILITY FOR COMBAT. FOR WHAT REASON WOULD I NEED IT?"
"We'll talk about it later."
"AFFIRMITAVE!"
"So Rouge, tell me about this VR Training that I'll be doing."
"Well in case you didn't know, VR stands for virtual reality. So for this training, you're going to be going into cyberspace. You remember what that's like, don't you?"
"Of course." Shadow said, remembering how that was where he first encountered Rouge during the Black Arms invasion. He had also met with Espio in the cyberspace of Eggman's computer.
"So you'll be in cyberspace, and the computer is going to put you through various trials that simulate situations GUN agents often find themselves in. Now unlike the cyberspace you went in, your life won't actually be at risk. That being said, if you take damage in the simulation you will certainly feel it. If you take damage that would kill you if this wasn't simulated, you'll be kicked out of cyberspace and fail the training. Got all that?"
"Got it."
"Good. Anyway, this will be no problem for you. I agree with Omega, this is redundant. If it were up to me, I'd have you skip this and be cleared for active duty. But, I'm not the boss."
"It's no problem. Anyway, I'll get going. I'll see you two later." Shadow said as he headed downstairs to the training lab.
Rouge and Omega waited until Shadow was out of sight.
"Hey Omega, how long do you think the training will take him? I say he'll finish within an hour."
"I ESTIMATE THAT SHADOW WILL COMPLETE THE TRAINING IN THIRTY MINUTES OR LESS."
"Thirty minutes or less? Really? I mean I know he's good, but is he THAT good?"
"YES, HE IS THAT GOOD. JUST NOT AS GOOD AS ME!"
Rouge chuckled. "Of course not big guy. There's nothing better than you."
As Rouge and Omega had stated, the VR Training was not a problem for him. Some were easier than others. Any missions where the objective was to eliminate all hostiles was effortless to him. He didn't have to think, he just did. But some missions required him to think a little more before he acted. Some missions involved eliminating all hostiles, except there were civilians in the combat zone, and he couldn't allow a single civilian to get hurt, whether by the enemies or by himself. In these cases, the civilians came first. He'd grab them, bring them to safety, and if he had to fight any enemies along the way, he would use simple attacks that have low risk of collateral damage. Once the civilians were safe, he would go all out. There was one mission in particular that was almost a challenge. Almost. It was a hostage situation mission. A criminal in front of him was holding a civilian at gunpoint. Shadow's objective is to resolve the hostage situation with both the hostage and the criminal alive and unharmed. Interesting. If the goal was just to save the hostage, he knew that he could take out the criminal with a Chaos Spear before he could pull the trigger, and his aim is perfect so he wouldn't hit the hostage. But it seems this mission is about getting the criminal to surrender. He wasn't even allowed to use non-lethal force. It didn't take long for Shadow to come up with a plan.
"Chaos Control!" He said. Time seemed to freeze. Shadow used this time to run up to the criminal, grab the hostage and bring him to safety, then go back to the criminal, take his gun from his hand, and disassemble the gun. When time resumed to flow normally, it looked like the hostage and the criminal's gun had teleported to everyone but Shadow. The police officers backing Shadow up then aimed their weapons at the criminal with no weapon or hostage.
"You're surrounded. Put your hands up and you will walk out of this alive. If you attempt to do anything else that may be perceived as a threat, then you will be met with lethal force. Now make your choice!" Shadow ordered.
The criminal instantly got to his knees and threw his hands in the air. The police made their way to the criminal and put handcuffs around him.
"Mission Complete!" The computer said. "You have completed all missions. Please step into the light to exit Cyberspace."
Upon exiting cyberspace, Shadow found himself back in the VR Training Room, with Commander Tower and other GUN staff waiting for him.
"Well done Shadow! You completed all missions with flying colors. Of course, I wasn't expecting anything less." Tower said. "With your training complete, it is my honor to properly award you the title of "Agent". Welcome aboard Agent Shadow."
Tower and the others saluted to Shadow, who did likewise. "Thank you, Commander."
"I'm allowing you, Agent Omega, and Agent Rouge to take a break until the end of lunch. I want to see the three of you in my office when you return."
"Understood Commander."
Shadow returned to the lobby to see Omega and Rouge were still there, as if they were waiting for him.
"SHADOW HAS RETURNED AFTER TWENTY SEVEN MINUTES. THEREFORE I WAS CORRECT"
"Yes Omega. You were right." Rouge happily conceded. She turned to Shadow. "Told you it would be no trouble. Now you're an official agent of GUN. How do you feel?"
"Like things are only just getting started." Shadow answered. "Also, Commander Tower wanted me to tell you that the three of us are off until the end of lunch break. When we get back, we report to his office for a meeting."
"STRANGE. YOU COMPLETED THE TRAINING, YET ROUGE AND I ARE ALSO BEING GRANTED AN EARLY BREAK. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE REASONING."
"I think I've got an idea of what the reason is." Rouge said smiling.
"I would ask what you think the reason is, but I know you're not going to tell us."
"You're right, but I'm only keeping it to myself because I'm not one hundred percent certain that it's true. I'd rather not speculate on something like this."
Shadow examined the bat thoroughly for any signs that she was lying. Rouge would often say that Shadow was the one person she couldn't get a lie through. There was some truth to this. Shadow was certainly better than anyone else in the world when it came to detecting when Rouge was lying. There's only been two times he fell for one of her lies. However, Rouge was still a damn good liar. Shadow would go as far as to say she's the best. And right now Shadow was struggling to figure out if she was lying or not. It's certainly plausible she doesn't actually know what the meetings about. But given the pull she has in this organization, it's just as plausible she does know.
"Oh I know that look. You think I might be lying?" she smirked.
"I'm fifty-fifty about it." He admitted.
"Well don't sit on the fence about it. Am I lying or not?"
Shadow turned to his robot friend. "Omega. What do you think?"
"I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT ROUGE HAS ANY REASON TO LIE ABOUT THIS."
Shadow grinned. "I agree Omega, she has no reason to lie about this. That's why I think you're lying Rouge."
Rouge pouted at Shadow's answer. "Damn it! I thought I would've got you for sure this time."
"You almost did." Shadow admitted. "So you do know what the meeting is about."
"Of course I do, it was my idea after all. Commander Tower is going to make the three of us into a strike force."
"We're going to be a team in other words? Hmph. I see where this is going."
"That's right! We're bringing Team Dark back, and this time we're GUN certified. What do you boys think?" Rouge asked with a smile.
"We were an effective team back when we worked together. And it is comforting to be working with people I know I can trust."
"I AM PLEASED BY THIS PARTNERSHIP. MY PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHER GUN AGENTS HAVE NOT BEEN IDEAL AS THEY WERE UNABLE TO KEEP UP WITH ME AND ALSO SEEMED INTIMIDATED BY ME."
"Glad to hear it, boys. I'll just need you both to act like you don't know what's going to happen when the meeting happens." Rouge suggested, to which Shadow nodded.
"AS I AM INCAPABLE OF ACTING, I WILL SIMPLY ERASE THE PREVIOUS MINUTE OF THIS CONVERSATION FROM MY MEMORY."
"No Omega that won't be necessary. Just don't say anything about Team Dark until the meeting is over." Said Rouge.
"AFFIRMATIVE. PLACING ALL DATA REGARDING "TEAM DARK" UNDER "CLASSIFIED" UNTIL MEETING WITH COMMANDER IS COMPLETED."
"Good work big guy! Now let's get started with our break!"
The members of Team Dark went to Station Square. None of them were hungry yet, so they (as in Rouge) decided they relax at the park. Shadow and Rouge found a table to sit at, but Omega just stood near the table. Not for a lack of chairs, but because he couldn't fit in on them.
"ROUGE, I HAVE A QUESTION."
"What's up, Omega?" Rouge asked.
"EARLIER, AFTER SHADOW SAID HE BELIEVED YOU WERE LYING, WHY DID YOU ADMIT TO IT? WHY NOT LIE ABOUT THE FACT THAT YOU WERE LYING?"
Rouge and Shadow looked to each other and smirked. Rouge looked back to Omega. "Well Omega, the reason I don't lie about lying to Shadow is because that would be cheating."
"CHEATING? I FAIL TO UNDERSTAND."
"You want me to explain it to him?" Shadow asked.
"No, I got it. So Omega, you know how Shadow is really good at figuring out when I'm lying?"
"AFFIRMATIVE."
"Well Shadow and I decided to make a game out of it. Any time I say something and Shadow questions the truthfulness of it, I'll ask him to decide whether I'm lying or telling the truth. If he's right, he wins. If he's not, I win. And I promised never to lie about if he was right or wrong. Cause if I did, then it wouldn't be a true victory."
"SHADOW, WHAT IS THERE STOPPING HER FROM BREAKING THAT PROMISE?"
"Nothing really. As strange as it sounds I really am just taking a notorious liar at her word. I just count on her pride to prevent her from cheating."
"THIS IS A STRANGE GAME WITH NO WAY TO ENFORCE THE RULES."
Rouge chuckled. "Well I don't know how else to explain it to you big guy." She then turned to the hedgehog. "So Shadow…"
"Hm?"
"I know you've spoken with Amy, but what about the rest of the gang?"
"I've only spoken with you two and Amy."
"Well then you have to step it up. Now that they know you're safe, they're gonna want to talk to you."
"I know that Rouge. I'm not trying to avoid them, I'm just getting settled into the new lifestyle."
"Hmm…I guess I'll cut you a break. This is definitely a big change from how your life used to be. You're not off the hook though! I want you to talk to the others and I want you to do it sooner rather than later." She practically demanded.
"I will Rouge."
"That answer isn't good enough. I want you to tell me when you plan on talking to them."
Shadow rolled his eyes. Rouge really could be persistent. But if she wasn't then it would probably be months before Shadow finally spoke to the others. "Okay. I promise you by next Friday, I will have spoken to Sonic and the rest of his friends. Is that a satisfying answer?"
Rouge was surprised. Today was a Friday, so Shadow was giving himself seven days to talk to the rest of the Sonic team. If he said he'd do it within 2 weeks, she'd think he could probably do it. But one week? She almost refused to believe it. Almost. She believed him because of a certain three words he said. I promise you. He was promising that he would do this. And anyone who knows Shadow knows he always keeps his promises. "Yes, I think that's a good answer. You keep your promise, and I'll stop badgering you about socializing."
"Sounds good to me."
Now Shadow had an unofficial mission. He had already created a mental checklist of the people he needed to speak with. With Amy already taken care of, the list was Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, and Cream the Rabbit. That accounts for the Sonic crew. But he knew there were a few others that helped him out during the Black Arms takeover, 3 others to be exact. Their names came to mind shortly after. It was Espio, Charmy and Vector, better known as the Chaotix.
"Hey Rouge, I just remembered something I was curious about."
"What's is it?"
"When Black Doom brought the Black Comet to Earth, where were the Chaotix during that time?"
"Oh, them? They were on the ARK. In fact, they were the ones responsible for getting that video of the Professor to play around the world."
Shadow's jaw dropped hearing that. "That was the Chaotix? How did they know about that message?"
"That's the funny thing. They didn't. Vector had Espio hack the ARK's computer. Apparently there was data in that computer that was pertinent to the case they were working on, but they didn't exactly know what it was. Vector told him to hurry up, as he didn't want to risk losing the data. Charmy got impatient and decided to ram into the computer. And somehow…that worked and gave them access to Gerald's secret message. So they played it, and you know the rest from there."
Well now Shadow knew he definitely had to talk to them. Not just talk, he had to thank them. Accident or not, he wouldn't have been able to defeat Black Doom if he hadn't heard that message.
"Why do you ask about the Chaotix, Shadow?"
"Well I have to talk to them don't I?"
"Oh! Well I guess you can, but our promise only requires you talk to Sonic and the crew he usually hangs out with."
"Why are the Chaotix excluded?"
"Because those three are a busy bunch. They're almost always working on a case. So I don't think you'll be able to have a conversation with the three of them within seven days."
"If you say so."
Rouge then stood up from her chair. "Well we've been at this park for a while. I'm ready for lunch. C'mon boys. I wanna get tacos."
"What's a taco?"
"TACOS ARE A PART OF MEXICAN CUISINE."
"Oh, you poor thing. They didn't have tacos on the ARK? We have to right this wrong immediately."
And so it was on this day that Shadow discovered he likes tacos.
Returning to GUN HQ after their lunch break, the three met inside Commander Tower's office, and what Rouge said was going to happen, happened. Team Dark had officially reassembled, this time as one of GUN's elite strike forces. The reason Rouge knew this would happen is because it was her idea. And it was a great idea. Team Dark brought the Ultimate Thief, Ultimate Lifeform, and Ultimate Robot together. With the three of them working together, it's hard to imagine what they couldn't do.
As agreed upon, Shadow and Omega acted like they didn't know this in advance (though in Omega's case he just didn't say anything the entire time, which worked just as well). The three were dismissed for the day after being told they would be given their first mission tomorrow morning.
Shadow returned home, and already he was thinking about keeping his promise to Rouge. He looked at his watch and saw it was only 3:00 PM. He was told on an average day he wouldn't get off until 5:00 PM, unless he was on a mission that is, but the Commander must have been feeling real nice today to not just give him and his team an early lunch break, but also leave early.
Shadow felt he could probably talk to at least one of the four he needed to talk to by the end of the day. But who should he talk to first? He wanted to talk to Sonic last because that was going to be a long conversation. He had a lot to talk to him about. Things to tell him, and things to ask him. Knuckles didn't seem like a very talkative guy, which he could respect. Though he would like to learn more about the Master Emerald as well as Knuckles' tribe. He decided he'd talk to Knuckles before talking to Sonic. So who he would talk to first was a choice between Tails and Cream, the kids of the group.
Before he could decide, something important occurred to him. He had no means of contacting any of these people. He didn't know where any of them lived (barring Knuckles, and he didn't want to be rude and just Chaos Control onto his island without him knowing), and he didn't have any of their numbers.
Maybe I should call Rouge. After all, she did have Rose's number so she…wait a minute…I have Rose's number!
He pulled out his phone and looked at his contacts list. Yes, Amy Rose's number was indeed on there. This was perfect. She was good friends with all four people he needed to talk to and no doubt had a way of contacting them. She could help him schedule a time to meet with them. Shadow decided to give her a call.
"Hey Shadow!" She greeted, joy audible in her voice.
"Hello Rose. How are you?"
"Me? I'm doing great! What about you? Today was your first day at GUN wasn't it?"
"Yes it was. It went well. I-uh-finished training, and then they put me, Rouge, and Omega together as a team."
"That sounds super exciting Shadow! You'll be working with your Team Dark buddies again."
"Yeah it's…exciting, but listen Rose. There's something I want to talk to you about. Actually it's more like I'd like to ask you for a favor."
"Okay then! What's up?"
"Today at lunch I promised Rouge that I talk to the rest of your friends by next Friday. Specifically, I need to talk to Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Cream."
"Do you need to talk to them about something specific?"
"Not really. I think she just wants me to socialize with people more."
He could hear her giggle over the phone. "I see. So what do you need from me?"
"Well, barring Knuckles, I don't know where any of them live. I also don't have any way of contacting any of them, I was thinking you could help with that."
"I see. Okay Shadow! I want you to come to my house!"
"What for?"
"I've got the numbers and addresses that you need, but I know that you still don't know how to work your phone. So I think it would be better if you just let me put it all in for you."
"Oh. Yes, I think it would be better if I left that up to you as well."
"Okay, good. Also, don't take the scenic route. Just get here as soon as you can."
"If you say so. See you in a moment Rose."
"I'll be waiting!" She said before ending the call.
Shadow pulled out his green Chaos Emerald that he keeps on his person. He thought back to the image of Amy's house that he had in his mind, an image that was made upon arriving there to drop her off. "Chaos Control!" He shouted. A green light flashed for a very brief moment, and Shadow then found himself in front of Amy's house. Shadow walked up to the front door and knocked. A few seconds later, Amy answered the door, a bright smile on her face.
"Come on in!"
"Thanks for inviting me." Shadow said before entering Amy's house. While the colors of his house was black and red, hers were pink and red. Pink walls and red flooring. Most of her furniture was also pink. The entire aesthetic of the house was very Amy Rose, that's the only way Shadow could describe it. "Taking a shot in the dark, I assume you really like the color pink." He joked.
She giggled. "I do. It's a nice color, but my favorite color is actually red."
"Really? Oh I see. That must be why you wear red clothing so often, specifically a red dress."
"That's right. So you've got your phone?"
Shadow pulled his phone out. "Of course." He replied and handed it to Amy. "Thank you for doing this by the way. I owe you one."
"Shadow, we're friends! Friends help each other out because that's what friends do. You don't owe me anything."
"Selfless as always." Shadow thought. Regardless he wanted to show his gratitude in some capacity. "Okay, but I want to properly thank you for what you're doing for me."
"A thank you is all I need, and you've already given me that." Amy said as she typed information into his phone.
Now she was making him frustrated. She wouldn't get away with this. He was going to reward her, whether she wanted it or not.
"Rose, for our lunch together on Thursday next week, we're going wherever you want to go. And I'm paying for it!"
"What?! Shadow you don't…"
"And I'm not taking no for an answer!"
Amy could tell from his the sound of his voice and the look in his eye that Shadow was dead serious. This is the stance he was taking, and he would not be deterred. She pouted. "There's nothing I can say or do to make you change your mind is there?" she asked. Shadow's response was a simple shake of his head. Amy chuckled. She couldn't help but respect his tenacity. It seems he could be as stubborn as her when he wanted. "Alright. You win."
"Hmph. Good. Now back to the matter at hand."
"Right! I finished adding them to your contacts as well as putting their addresses in. So now you can call them, schedule a get together with them, and then Chaos Control to their house."
"Well you're mostly right. I can do the first two, but I can't Chaos Control to their home…at least not yet."
"Really? But you have the location of where they live on a map."
"Unfortunately Chaos Control doesn't work that way. In order for me to Chaos Control somewhere I need to have a clear mental image of that place in my memories. In other words, I need to have been to that place before. The reason I was able to Chaos Control here is only because I dropped you off last night."
"I see. I guess you'll have to run to their houses first. Good thing you're a fast runner."
"Good thing indeed. But first I need to call…" Shadow trailed off. He still hadn't decided whether he would talk to Tails or Cream first.
"First you need to call who?" Amy asked.
Shadow looked at Amy, who had been nothing but helpful so far. He thought maybe she could be helpful with this. "I'm having trouble deciding between whether I should call Tails or Cream first. I…"
"OH! CREAM! CALL CREAM!" She cut him off while joy radiated from her.
Shadow was astounded by how quickly she made that decision. She didn't even have to think about it. "Uh…okay. I'll go ahead and talk to Cream first then. Can I just ask why you're so excited for me to do that?" Shadow replied somewhat amused.
"Shadow, ever since you saved her and her Chao Cheese from that spooky castle, you've become that girl's hero. And she tells me every day "Oh Amy, I hope one day I get to see Mr. Shadow again! I really want to thank him for saving me a Cheese from that castle." Amy said doing her best Cream impression. Shadow thought it was pretty good. "So if you go visit her, it'll make her so happy! I'm sure her Vanilla, her mom will want to thank you too. She'll definitely make you cookies! And she makes the best cookies."
"Alright, I think you've made you're point. I'll go ahead and call Cream."
"Good!"
Shadow went to his contacts and called Cream. After a few rings, she picked up.
"Hello? Who is this? This isn't one of those scam callers that Mom told me about, is it?" Cream asked nervously.
Shadow wasn't sure what she was talking about with this scam caller business, but whatever it was seemed to make her uneasy. He decided to clear the air. "No Cream, this is Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog."
"MR. SHADOW!?" She shouted with glee. Though the volume certainly felt like someone took a sledgehammer to his eardrums, he was happy to hear Cream happy. "Ohmigosh, ohmigosh, ohmigosh! How are you Mr. Shadow? Are you doing alright?"
"I'm doing very well Cream, thank you for asking. Uh by the way, if you're curious, I got your number from Amy. I hope you don't mind."
"Oh not at all! I have to thank her actually. I've been wanting to speak to you Mr. Shadow!"
"So I've heard. I'd like to speak to you too Cream, but I'd like to speak with you in person. Is there a time where it would be alright for me to visit? Preferably within this week."
"Can you come right now?"
He wasn't expecting that answer, but he was happy with it. "Yeah I can head over right now. Don't worry, Amy gave me your address so I'll be there in a few minutes."
"See you real soon Mr. Shadow!"
Shadow ended the call and looked at Amy, who was smiling ear to ear. "You weren't kidding about her wanting to see me."
Amy giggled. "Yeah, I probably should have given you an ear warning. Sorry about that."
"Hmph. I'll forgive your lack of foresight." He grinned. He began making his exit from Amy's house, and Amy was sure to see him out.
"Bye Shadow! Hope it goes well!"
"Rose?" Shadow called out before she shut the door.
"Yes, Shadow?"
"Remember to have a place picked out for Thursday."
Amy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah! Now get going!"
Shadow took off, jet boots activating, and within seconds he was out of sight.
After two minutes of running, Shadow had arrived at Cream and Vanilla's house. He knocked on the front door and after a few moments, it opened. But it wasn't Cream, it was lady rabbit taller than him. He knew this must be Vanilla.
"Are you Shadow the Hedgehog?" Vanilla asked.
"Yes. You must be Vanilla. It's a pleasure to meet you." He greeted and extended his hand. To his surprise, Vanilla knelt down, gave him a quick hug, and then took his hand with both of hers.
"Shadow, I can't thank you enough for saving my baby girl and Cheese. Just know that you are always welcome in this house. Thank you! Thank you so much!"
"Y-you're welcome, Vanilla. That's uh…that's very kind of you." Shadow couldn't help but stammer a bit. He still isn't use to physical affection.
"Please come in! Make yourself at home! Cream will be so happy to see you." Shadow nodded in response. "Cream! We have a guest here!"
"MR. SHADOW!" He heard the child's voice shout with excitement. She ran from the living room to where Shadow was, jumped up to him and wrapped her arms around Shadow's midsection. Shadow instinctively caught her with both hands so there was no risk of her falling.
"Cream! Be careful! It's dangerous to run in the house, you know that." Vanilla lightly scolded her daughter.
"I'm sorry mom, I couldn't help myself. It's so nice to finally see you again Mr. Shadow!"
"Likewise, Cream."
After a few moments, Cream lets go of Shadow, and he places her on the ground.
"Come with me out in the yard Mr. Shadow. Cheese and I are making flower crowns, and mom will have cookies ready for us soon."
"That sounds great."
Shadow joined Cream outside. He got reacquainted with her Chao Cheese that he also rescued at the Cryptic Castle. The Chao seemed to take a liking to him.
"Mr. Shadow, you were so cool when you went into your super form! And then you beat that mean monster and got rid of that scary comet."
"You thought I was cool? Hmph."
Cool wouldn't be the way Shadow described himself in that moment. To him, it was doing something he had been created to do. As Professor Gerald had said, Shadow was infused with Black Arms DNA to kill them with their own genetic material. But he wasn't going to try and change Cream's mind.
"Yeah! I think you're the coolest!"
Shadow's eyes went wide hearing that. It seemed like a trivial thing, for this young girl to think he's the coolest. But for some reason, it really warmed Shadow's heart to hear her say that. He couldn't help but smile. "I'm the coolest." He said and then chuckled.
"Mr. Shadow, I've never seen you smile before!" Cream pointed out.
"I hear that a lot."
"How come you don't smile often, Mr. Shadow."
Now the smile was gone. He just had a neutral expression on his face. This is a question he'd been asked before but other people. His answer was always along the lines of "None of your damn business". But he wasn't going to do that to Cream, who was only guilty of the same thing Amy was, and that was being way too god damn nice to him when he felt he didn't deserve it. So what would he tell her? The truth.
"It's because I couldn't put the past behind me." He began. "I used to have a friend when I was much younger. Her name was Maria. She was like a sister to me. We were kind of like you and Cheese, inseparable. I'd smile a lot when I was with her."
"That sounds really nice, Mr. Shadow."
"It was. But one day…one day Maria died." He managed to get out. It was always difficult to say that out loud. He decided it would be best for both Cream and himself to withhold the details of her death.
"Oh…I'm sorry Mr. Shadow." Cream frowned, her ears even flopped down reflecting her sadness.
"It's okay Cream. I've made peace with it, but only recently, and that was the problem. I let my past haunt me. I could only think about the pain, anger, the regret that I felt. I was so focused on what I had lost that I couldn't appreciate the things I now had. Once I put the past behind me that changed. I've realized that I have friends, friends that care about me as a person, not as a weapon. Friends like Rouge, Omega, Amy, and you Cream."
Cream beamed at Shadow. "So does that mean you'll smile more, Mr. Shadow."
"Hmph, maybe just a little bit." He smiled at Cream and pat her on the head. Cream looked absolutely overjoyed by that answer. "Just don't get too used to it."
Shadow looked up at the sky, appreciating its beauty. There was a silence between him and Cream. Until…
"Hey Cream?"
"Yes Mr. Shadow?"
"How's school been?"
"Schools been good."
"Getting good grades?"
"Yep."
"Anyone giving you any trouble?"
"Uh…well…"
"You can tell me Cream."
"Well there is this boy that keeps picking on me. I don't know what to do about him Mr. Shadow."
"I'll tell you what to do about him."
"Okay."
"Tell him that if he doesn't stop bullying you, then you'll tell good friend Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Form about him, and that I'll pay him a visit. That will make him stop."
"Really? That will make him stop?"
"Yep. And if it doesn't, just tell me his name. Then I guarantee he'll stop."
"Mr. Shadow! You're not saying you'll hurt that boy are you?"
"Of course not Cream. I won't even have to." Shadow replied. He wasn't lying, he would just scare the shit out of the kid.
"Okay good. Then I'll do it."
"Good."
"Cream, Shadow! The cookies are ready!" Vanilla called out to them.
"Okay mom! Coming!"
"Amy and Cream both vouch for Vanilla's cookies. Guess I'll see for myself if they're as good as they say." Shadow thought.
A few minutes later, Vanilla's cookies exceeded expectations.
Shadow appeared back in his house with Chaos Control. Aside from the Emerald, Shadow was holding a flower crown made for him as gift by Cream. It may not have been a big deal to her, but he greatly appreciated it. He put the crown on the counter next to his bed.
That was one out of four, and it was actually a pleasant experience. He could only hope that the conversations with the other three would go just as well. Tails was the next one he would talk to, and from his personal interactions with the fox-boy, limited they may be, he seemed to be the easiest one to get along in the trio of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. He knew that he was a boy genius, and was polite most of the time, though he seemed to have a low-self-esteem when Sonic wasn't around. He wondered why that is. Either way, Shadow wondered when he would speak to him. Tomorrow might be out of the question as he has a mission. Sunday worked for him, hopefully it worked for Tails.