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Ok, this chapter doesn't have as much mush as previous ones, but it does have some humor. Let's just say that some people will be humiliated, and Arthur will get his just desserts.
And SPOILER-ALERT!!! There's a spoiler at the end of this chapter!
Now, on with chapter 7...
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I can't believe it! Shadow is alive! Even when I see it with my own eyes, I still can't believe it! He looks so different... but his quills grow upwards, and he has that little patch on his chest... usually only girl hedgehogs have that... and those pale gray stripes... white and gray instead of black and red...
I'll know if it's him... I'll never forget that voice. I'll never forget how he called out to this 'Maria'... something had happened years ago that made it hard for him to trust anyone... even me...
"S-Shadow?" I stammer, unsure of what to say... if this really is Shadow, there's so much I want to tell him... please let it be Shadow...
"Sonic?"
The white-furred hedgehog looks up at me... or rather, turns his ears towards me. Ebony told me he was blind. his eyes must've been burned really badly, because they just have cloudy gray spots where there should be pupils...
But I know that voice. It's Shadow alright... his voice is a little different, a bit raspy and gentler...
"SHADOW!!!" I cry, as I hug him... before catching myself.
"I-I oops-sorry 'bout that!" I nervously appologize.
Shadow just sits there, bewildered... hope he doesn't think I'm a nancy or something-or worse, attack me... he just smiles... it's like all that hate and anger... all the pain that had been eating away at him had been lifted...
"It's ok," he says, "But my name isn't Shadow. Not anymore. It's Yuki"
I let him feel my face... it's strange, he trusts me now... doesn't try to pull away...
Shadow didn't die... Johnny... wherever you are... I hope you don't think I'm a failiure... I tried to be perfect... and I keep messing things up...
And Kintobor... I had to do it... I had to trip you and throw that rotton egg to fix the timeline so the Metallixes wouldn't take over Mobius... but part of me feels like a murderer... I turned you into Robotnik, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to rescue you... please forgive me...
Maybe I can start over now, clean the slate.
"Well, Yuki, welcome back"
********
He hands me a pair of glasses... and I know what they are used for. No... I'm not going to wear them. I'm not ashamed of my eyes.
"No, thank you, Sonic," I say.
"But don't you want-"
"No. They won't do anything to help me see, and I'm not going to cover my eyes. I know they look strange, but they're just eyes. And I have a white cane... That should be enough to let everybody know that I'm blind"
"I understand," Sonic says, "Now, all you need is a guide-chao"
A guide-chao... that I can handle.
********
I've been keeping Shadow-now Yuki-hidden at my place for the past couple weeks. Pyjamas has really taken good care of him, because it doesn't look like any of his burns have been infected... but she's done more for his soul... and he has done the same for her. I never knew that she had actually wanted to kill herself, or that her step-father would do such a thing...
Sonic's looking after Yuki today... after his latest brush with Robotnik, he needs a rest. Sonic may be fast, but he sure tires out quickly.
And Pyjamas, in order to fool the military even further, is pretending to be smashed, since what's left of the G.U.N. are hanging around my place... she sure is believable. After a certain little 'incident' that happened the night I came to rescue her and Yuki, the G.U.N. soldiars are losing their credibility. I think even if they do find out about Yuki, they won't do anything... not with the new funding-cuts due to said incident... gotta love those humes sometimes...
Oh, look... there's one now... and he's gonna question Pyjamas. He really doesn't know what he's getting himself into, does he? Well, time to sit back and relax, while the old psychic works her magic... I love this job!
"'Ey ociferr... 'ow ya doin' *HIC* heh heh... wanna rahm-peeding? *BELCH*"
Good one, though I can't wait for things to get normal... that is, as normal as a coffee-house run by a sorceress-cat and a psychic can get...
The human is drinking Pyjamas' beer... which is fine with both of us, since we usually don't drink alcohol, and then only the occasional shandy... coffee is better...
"Ahll fell ya tortuhhn... re o' farge..." Pyjamas slurs, before pretending to pass out.
The human drinks the rest of the beer, then looks at Pyjamas, thinking she's unconscious, and laughs.
"Well, looks like the old 'psychic's made a fool of herself again! Well, 'Madame Psychic', I hope you doesn't mind me 'borrowing' your beer!"
Time for me to work my magic now...
"Um, officer, she had her last drink two hours ago, and she's not one to nurse when it comes to beer"
The G.U.N. soldiar's eyes get big.
"WHAT???"
I smile at the soldiar, and let him think whatever he wants to think... it was only cheap beer, but what better way to get rid of an annoying G.U.N. soldiar?
He turns a rather sickening color, then puts his hand over his mouth and runs outside, probably to sick up the beer... or whatever he thinks it is...I think I'll turn on the radio and see if there's anything 'interesting' on...
"...And two G.U.N. soldiars were arrested for falsely-detaining self-proclaimed 'badnik-watcher' Norris Wimple. Both claimed that they were 'taking care of Shadow' and are now undergoing a psychiatric evaluation. Wimple sustained a few bruises, but is otherwise fine. He may press charges, as soon as he finishes developing his latest photos. Meanwhile, the entire military is under investigation concerning the selection and treatment of their officers. When one of them was questioned, he responded with 'no comment'... Also, in other news, once again rumors are circulating of Sonic's alleged affair with Sha-"
I switch to a music-station... had enough news for one day...
********
Well, we were able to track down Arthur... I remebered his last name and everything... turns out he was living very close to our Neighbourhood. And Madge is mad... but not at me...
"Um... well... I can explain, see-"
At that, Madge just laughs.
"Oh, I think I can understand it, even with my undersized female-brain"
Arthur sticks his nose into the air.
"Well, if you came for any child-support, 'Pyjamas', You ain't gettin' anything from me!"
Big mistake. Madge's eyes widen... she's infuriated... but before she can speak, I cut in.
"You don't have to worry about that," I say, tears forming in my eyes, "My step-father forced me to abort it... why didn't you beat him up like you said you would? Why didn't you marry me? If you were married, why didn't you just tell me? And why did you leave me when I got pregnant?"
One wrong word out of Arthur's mouth, and...
"Hmph! Good! Don't have to worry 'bout payin' for some freak!"
Too late... bye-bye, Arthur. It's been nice knowing you...
Grinning evilly, Madge slips her wedding-ring off.
"And I'm keeping it," she says, "Until I sell it, that is"
Arthur just shrugs. I don't think he quite gets it...
Madge, still grinning, begins taking everything that isn't too heavy to carry, some of it looking rather expensive, and loads it in some cardboard boxes.
"And how are you going to move all that stuff, Madge?" Arthur mockingly asks her.
Just then, two men walk in and start carrying out the boxes... and the furniture...
"Remember your beer-money? The beer-money you started saving after I made that little 'contribution'? I'm gonna put it to some good use! Oops! Guess I forgot to tell you; Pyjamas told me all about you sleeping with her behind my back when we were talking last night in the Groovy-Train. Just wanted to let you know that you have until noon to apologize to me, or I'm gonna file for divorce-oops! Guess I forgot! Time's up! Been nice knowing you!"
Arthur's jaw drops. After all these years, he's finally paying his dues...
********
"How did it go?" I ask Pyjamas, after she returns from her visit.
"Very well, as a matter of fact," she laughs.
Pyjamas strokes my head and back, then hugs me, and we tongue-kiss... we're safe now... totally safe. The military has stopped searching for me, and is busy with some 'scandal'... we've won.
"I don't know if you want to continue like this, Yuki..." she says after a few moments, "I may die soon, because I'm old, and psychics generally have short life-spans, often dying suddenly like my father did..."
"I knew you were old," I say, "And I know that when people grow old, they will die soon. But I also know that you need me. I can't leave you after all you've done for me. I want to spend my life with you"
Pyjamas touches my hand to her face, and smiles...
"Well, I guess nobody's gonna object to us 'going steady'"
Then she sighs.
"I'm really not supposed to even live this long," she says, "Most psychics don't even make it to fifty, and psychic mothers often die from difficult childbirth"
"But you're too old to have children"
"True. But are you sure you can handle me dying? You would be lonely again, and bitter-"
"No, I wouldn't," I interrupt, "It's different now. You were there for me when I was grieving for Maria, and I was there for you when you started remembering what your step-father did. Now I have other friends, like Ebony, Tails and Amy... and Sonic I think they will help me like you did"
"Well, if you're proposing to me," Pyjamas chuckles, "All you need now is a diamond ring"
I smile at her, and we tongue-kiss again. I had forgotten about that little detail... well, maybe I'll work at the Groovy-Train, then surprise her... I've heard some people might think it odd that I'm involved with someone so old, but then again, I'm probably older than her, chronologically... I think we were meant for each other.
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There is still more to come. I'm still composing the epilogue in my head, even as I'm writing the author's notes.
For those of you who don't know anything about the Fleetway Sonic comics, Super Sonic is Sonic's evil alter-ego, which he would transform into whenever he got angry, frightened or hurt. Then Super got seperated from Sonic, lost alot of his energy and got amnesia, which was when Madge took him in.
Madge's husband, Arthur, objected to it probably because he recognized Super. Eventually, Super left Arthur and Madge's house and wandered for two weeks until he happened upon the Groovy-Train.
Pyjamas sensed his arrival, but didn't know who he was, and Ebony wrote it off as one of Pyjamas' dud-visions, since her visions are usually unreliable. Ebony took Super in, and Pyjamas mind-linked with him, curing his amnesia. After that, Super found out that as long as he didn't use his powers, he wouldn't turn evil, and Sonic couldn't detect him.
He lived in hiding for awhile, and vowed to never destroy anything again. However, this was not to be, as Chaos, the monster from Sonic Adventure, was awakened. Super started losing his energy and aging rapidly, and then he got caught in Chaos, absorbing all his energy and becoming evil again. Ebony was then forced to merge Super and Sonic with her magic, and that decision broke her heart.
Johnny Lightfoot, who was with Sonic almost from the beginning of the comic, was killed by Chaos when he was connecting a cable to a machine that was supposed to disable the monster. Sonic still feels guilty about this, because he let his fear get the best of him.
And Sonic had to go back in time to stop the Brotherhood of Metallixes from taking over Mobius, after they had prevented Dr. Kintobor from tripping over a cable and shorting out the R.O.C.C. device(which reacted with a rotton egg and turned him into Robotnik). Sonic was forced to re-create the accident, even tripping Robotnik to make sure it happened, which was really depressing. It reminds me of that old Star Trek episode 'City on the Edge of Forever', where Captain Kirk is forced to let Edith Keeler, an idealist and one of his many love-interests, die so America wouldn't disarm itself and become vulnerable to a nazi-invasion.
Also, Norris Wimple is one of the most annoying STC-characters. He's a badnik-watcher, and often takes unnecessary risks in his ventures. At least he only appeared twice. I think I'll kill him off in a short fic, like I did with Big the Cat.
There are a few sites about Fleetway's Sonic The Comic, and they are well worth taking a look at, because STC is alot better than Archie. Also, please check out RockChick's STC-2 series, which picks up where STC left off.