A pink hedgehog waited with a two-tailed orange fox at Tail's Workshop,
watching the skies for their favorite blue hedgehog. The pink hedgehog, Amy
Rose, sighed, "Tails, are you sure Sonic is coming home tonight?"
"Of course I'm sure!" Tails sighed. This was about the fifth time Amy asked him. "Sonic contacted me and said he was coming tonight. He is a little late though, I wonder what's keeping him?"
"I can't wait 'till he comes!" Amy squealed, "As soon as I see him I'm going to give him a big hug!"
"And suffocate him." Tails added. "Promise me you'll wait a bit? I'm sure you can wait to hug him."
"All right." Amy groaned, "Just for Sonic."
Just then, there was a bright light in the sky. It got bigger and bigger until it was clear that it was a blue Tornado only build for space. A white- gloved hand waved from the driver's seat as the space plane landed on Tail's landing field. The top opened up and Sonic jumped out. He had a huge grin on his face and gave Amy and Tails a thumb's up sign.
"Sonic!" Amy and Tails shouted. They ran over to where he was standing. Amy went back on her promise and hugged Sonic. Luckily, he hugged her back. "Oh, Sonikku! I missed you soooooo much!" Amy cried.
Sonic smiled and said, "I missed you guys too." He looked at Tails who was giving Amy a nasty look, "Hey, little buddy! Anything happen while I was gone?"
"We wouldn't know." Tails said, "We've been waiting for you the whole time. We just been in Mystic Ruins and you know news rarely ever gets here."
"You look a lot happier now, Sonic. What happened?" Amy Rose asked, finally letting go of Sonic.
"Well," Sonic started, glancing at the passenger seat, "I just got my head cleared up. It's nice there, not scary at all like it appears."
"That's great, Sonic. Did you find anything there, perhaps about Shadow?" Amy asked.
"No." Sonic said, bowing his head.
"Sonic, she didn't mean to mention that!" Tails said. Tails knew that Sonic always got depressed when hearing Shadow's name. Apparently, he still hasn't gotten over it yet.
"It's all right." Sonic said. "It looked like G.U.N. took all the important documents. There was not one piece of paper left."
"You must be tired. I suppose we can head back to Station Square now." Tails said. Sonic nodded and yawned. @-------
As the first rays of sunshine peaked through the window of the hut, Mina woke up from her sleep. She was surprised she woke up so early, with those nighttime visitors. She walked over to her mirror and brushed her hair into place. As she did so, the memories of last night came back to her.
After Big and Froggy left, Mina took the hedgehog inside. Her mother was then up and Mina told her the whole story. Her mother didn't mind the guest and when Mina volunteered to clean him up, her mother happily suggested that she would do it instead. Mina's mother then brought the hedgehog into the spare bedroom. Mina had gone to sleep right after that. No matter how exciting it was, she just wasn't a night owl.
"Hello, dear. Good morning!" Mina's mother said. She cheerfully sang over the sound of bacon and eggs frying in a pot. Her mother had the voice of a songbird, just like her.
"You're making breakfast?" Mina asked, taking a seat at the kitchen table. She eyed her extra large t-shirt nightgown as it road up from being at her knees to the middle of her legs. She pulled it down in frustration, noting she'd better wear the matching pants next time no matter how hot it was in bed wearing them.
"Of course. We have company, don't we?" Mina's mother said. She hummed as she put the bacon and eggs on a plate. "By the way, can you go check if he's up? If he is, I'm sure he is hungry."
Mina nodded and went into the spare bedroom. The hedgehog was just as he was when he put to bed last night. "He must be a heavy sleeper." Mina mumbled. She walked over to his bedside. There was a band-aid on his cheek, torso, and the side of one of his ears; that was where the worst burn marks were. The rest seemed to have disappeared as if they were never there. Mina sat on the bed and shook him gently. "Hey, wake up."
She was about to say his name when she remembered she didn't know it. 'I guess Big didn't know his name either.' Mina thought.
She noticed he didn't even stir. He had the same look on his face too, like he was stone. 'Wait, could he dead? He looks lifeless!" Mina checked his pulse to find that it was still there. She laid her hand on his chest too, she could feel him breathing. "Whew, thank goodness!" Mina sighed. "But I still wonder.why he won't wake up." Her hand found it's way to the side of his face. She traced the side of his cheek to his nose still deep in thought. "I wonder.if he's like sleeping beauty or something." Her finger traced over his lips. 'No way!' Mina thought, retracting her hand. 'That's so stupid!'
'Ever since Sonic broke my heart, I promised myself I wouldn't fall in love again. It also means this guy! I don't even know him and my heart is beating so fast! I fall in love so easily.it's not fair.' Mina thought, the pain in her heart rising.
"Mina!" Her mother called from the kitchen, "Is he up?"
"No mom!" Mina shouted back. She looked at him again and sighed, "I have to baby sit this morning so I can't wait for him to wake up. I know, I'll write him a card to tell him where he is." Mina paused, "My mom will be home but I don't know what she'll tell him."
@----------
"Thank you again, Mina. I know this is early for baby-sitting but-" Mrs. Wilma Hedgehog started as she got together the last of her things.
"Really, it's okay. Baby-sitting is my job." Mina said, sweat-dropping. Mrs. Hedgehog always was like that; she cares too much for people who are doing what they are required to do.
"Yes, but you'll be watching Becky and Mach today. Mach is already seven but Becky is just a baby, she can't run let alone walk yet and Mach is a very fast runner. I don't know how you'll be able to tie both of them down." Mrs. Hedgehog said, pick up her green purse.
"Oh, Mrs. Hedgehog! You handle them everyday. I'll be fine!" Mina said, pushing her out the door. "Go have fun at your quilt club. Bye!" Mina closed the door behind her and sighed, "Okay, now. Where are they?"
Suddenly, a green blur flew around the room, stopping just short at Mina's feet. The blur was Mach, a green hedgehog with orange eyes. He grinned showing a missing tooth. "Mina! Are we going to go running again today?"
"Sorry," Mina said, patting his head, "But not today. I'm watching your little sister today too."
"Awww.That's not fair! I want to run! I want to be as good as Sonic so I have to keep practicing. You're the only one who can keep up with me!" Mach whined.
"Sonic doesn't run all the time, you know." Mina said "I'm sure he'll be proud of you when he gets to see you. We'll just have a relaxing day on the front porch, okay." Mach groaned but nodded his head in agreement.
@--------
".So then I presume your trip went well." Rouge said, talking to Sonic on her cell phone. She was now on a train to Mystic Ruins. Her plan was to go to Red Mountain and catch an updraft to Angel Island. She listened for a few more minutes and said, "Okay, I'll let you go now, Bye."
Rouge looked out the window to see the skyscrapers leaving and the forests appearing. The forests reminded her of the time when she went camping and came back with mosquito bites all over. She grimaced at the thought. 'I'll never get used to this wilderness thing.' Rouge sighed, 'I've been in the city too long I think."
@-------
Mina sat on the edge of the porch, piling baby blocks on top of each other only to have Becky knock them down. She was too busy thinking to notice so she picked up the pieces and started to build them again. Mach lay lazily on the porch, counting the leaves on the trees.
'Wonder how that guy is doing?' Mina thought, "I wonder if he even woke up.let alone survived my mom and her sweetness.' She looked at Becky who giggled as she knocked down the blocks.
Suddenly, a loud crash was heard at the end of the village, followed by an explosion and a mechanical roar. A bear ran by and shouted, "A giant robot sent by Eggman is here!"
Princess Sally got on the speakerphones that were installed when Sonic and the gang left, designed for emergencies. "Please remain calm." She said, her voice echoed throughout the village, "Villagers please head to the underground safety zone! Freedom Fighters meet me at the castle!"
Mina and Mach bounced to their feet right away. Mina picked up Becky and grabbed Mach's arm. They followed the crowd of villagers to the safety zone. Mach pulled out of Mina's grasp and yelled, "I'm gonna help to destroy the robot! Don't worry!" With that he sped off in the direction of the explosions.
"NO! MACH!" Mina screamed. She quickly looked around and saw her mother nearby. She sped over to her. "Mother, I have to get Mach! Can you watch Becky until I come back?"
Mina's mom took Becky and said, "Sure, dear. Just be careful."
Mina looked around again and said, "Mom, where is the Hedgehog? Did you leave him behind?"
She replied, "He woke up and left when the explosions happened. I don't know where he went, to make the story short. I'm sure he'll be fine. Now, hurry!"
Mina nodded and shot off; the wind that trailed behind made the leaves scatter. She was running so fast, she could only see the path ahead of her. Everything else looked like a blur. Soon the robot was in sight. It was a shake-shaped red robot with glistening metal teeth. It had guns implanted on its sides too. Mina saw Mach zooming in to spin dash it. "Mach! Stop!" She yelled. She was able to grab him before the robot saw him.
Dust scattered everywhere as Mina stopped, steam sizzling from her boots. He looked him up and down and noticed another tooth was missing from his mouth and the gum was freshly bleeding. Mach noticed where she looked and said, "That was a loose baby tooth, and it fell out when I hit the robot."
Mina growled, "I can't wait to see you get in trouble for this Mach! This was a bad thing to do." She sighed and softly spoke to him, "Until you have been excepted as a Freedom Fighter, you must never do something like this again. Understand?"
"Yes, I-I'm sorry." Mach whimpered; fresh tears fell down his face.
"Good." Mina said. She turned around to see that the robot didn't notice them in the trees. She turned back to Mach and said, "I want you to stay here until we can escape. The robot can't see in the trees. Don't move." When Mach nodded, sniffling Mina ran out of the bushes. She waved her hands and screamed, "Hey! Come after me!"
The robot roared and shot at Mina. The four bullets were near the ground so they were easy to dodge. She jumped over the first to that flew close the grass, causing them to blow up when they hit the ground. The second pair was flying right over her head, so Mina tumbled to the ground, avoiding those as well. Mina bounced off of the nearest tree so that she flew above the robot's head. She landed right on its skull and pounded her fist into it, hoping her punches would break through the metal. Unfortunately, She didn't even make a dent.
The robot's tails hovered over her like a shadow for a few seconds before coming down on her. She managed to dodge the tail but she fell off the snake robot, hitting her head as she hit the ground. Mina slowly got up, the pain in her head making it difficult to do. The robot took his advantage and his tail around Mina's body. He was going to crush her!
Mina could faintly hear Mach's voice; he sounded sad and scared even though Mina couldn't tell what he was saying. The pounding in her head was too loud. When she first felt the metal tail squeeze around her body, the tone of Mach's voice changed. He sounded happy now. 'Heh.probably because he gets to see his baby-sitter get crushed like on the television.' Mina thought.
She heard the sound of scraping metal next and another roar from the robot. Suddenly, the tail unraveled her. Instead of falling to the ground she fell on to something soft and furry. She felt hands wrap around her waist and victory shouts from Mach. When her head stopped spinning she opened her eyes and pulled back from the embrace. She looked straight into a pair of ruby red eyes belonging to a hedgehog. "Ah, uh.thank you." Mina said.
"No problem," He said. Faced away from her and looked at the robot. The robot still switched but otherwise it was finished.
This gave Mina enough time to focus. She looked at the hedgehog again and all of a sudden it clicked. The hedgehog who saved her was the same one Big gave to her to take care of. He was black with red on the end of his quills with white chest hair- the band-aids were still on him too. 'I guess I didn't notice because I had never seen his eyes.'
Mach ran up to Mina and hugged her, "I'm sorry, Mina! I didn't mean for you to get hurt all because of me. I'm really sorry!"
"It's alright. I had to fight anyway; the Freedom Fighters didn't come yet. It's my fault for not being stronger." Mina said, smiling. She walked over to the hedgehog and placed her hand on his shoulder. "So, what's your name?"
@------
Shadow the Hedgehog volunteered to wash the dishes after supper that night. Mina still couldn't get used to the fact that 'sleeping beauty' was awake; she just couldn't imagine him awake. It was just weird. She sat down on a sofa and watched the fireplace. Her mother started up a fire in it. It wasn't cold out but the fire didn't warm much either. She watched the flames lick the top of the brick chimney.
She felt the couch move next to her and saw that Shadow sat there. They both were silent, watching the flames dance. Then, Mina asked, "Shadow, do you Sonic the Hedgehog?"
"Yes," Shadow replied, "I fought against him as his enemy when we first met. At the end, I realized what I was doing was wrong and I teamed up with Sonic to stop the Space Colony ARK from crashing into the Earth."
"I see." Mina replied. She didn't learn much about what had happened because she was a civilian and not a Freedom Fighter or royalty. She knew that the blown up moon had to do with the space colony but she never knew anything else.
"I have to find Sonic again and the rest of them like Amy and Tails and Rouge. They probably still think I'm dead but they must know the truth." Shadow said.
"What? How could they think you were dead?" Mina asked.
"After stopping the ARK from falling, I lost my Super Form and plummeted down to Earth. They weren't able to follow me or anything since the atmosphere was so bad."
"Then," Mina said, "That's when you landed in the jungle river I think. That's where Big the Cat found you."
"I guess so," Shadow said, "But I don't remember a thing since I fell." They both fell silent for a moment and watched the wood get smaller and the fire get bigger. Shadow turned his gaze over to her and asked, "Are you sure you are okay. You took it pretty hard to the head when you fell."
"Oh no! I-I'm fine." Mina stuttered, blushing. "I mean I tried my best to fight that robot but it looks like speed is my only weapon. I can't actually attack; I'm not strong enough to. If you didn't arrive I'd be-"
"Don't think of it that way," Shadow interrupted. "I was really impressed by how you fought the robot. You had the right strategy but you don't have the power. I think if you get a weapon of some sort you'll do just fine." He thought of Amy Rose with her hammer. She, like Mina, only had speed to rely on but She had her hammer to protect her.
"That's really nice of you to say," Mina said, blushing redder this time.
"I'm only telling the truth." Shadow said, smiling.
"Of course I'm sure!" Tails sighed. This was about the fifth time Amy asked him. "Sonic contacted me and said he was coming tonight. He is a little late though, I wonder what's keeping him?"
"I can't wait 'till he comes!" Amy squealed, "As soon as I see him I'm going to give him a big hug!"
"And suffocate him." Tails added. "Promise me you'll wait a bit? I'm sure you can wait to hug him."
"All right." Amy groaned, "Just for Sonic."
Just then, there was a bright light in the sky. It got bigger and bigger until it was clear that it was a blue Tornado only build for space. A white- gloved hand waved from the driver's seat as the space plane landed on Tail's landing field. The top opened up and Sonic jumped out. He had a huge grin on his face and gave Amy and Tails a thumb's up sign.
"Sonic!" Amy and Tails shouted. They ran over to where he was standing. Amy went back on her promise and hugged Sonic. Luckily, he hugged her back. "Oh, Sonikku! I missed you soooooo much!" Amy cried.
Sonic smiled and said, "I missed you guys too." He looked at Tails who was giving Amy a nasty look, "Hey, little buddy! Anything happen while I was gone?"
"We wouldn't know." Tails said, "We've been waiting for you the whole time. We just been in Mystic Ruins and you know news rarely ever gets here."
"You look a lot happier now, Sonic. What happened?" Amy Rose asked, finally letting go of Sonic.
"Well," Sonic started, glancing at the passenger seat, "I just got my head cleared up. It's nice there, not scary at all like it appears."
"That's great, Sonic. Did you find anything there, perhaps about Shadow?" Amy asked.
"No." Sonic said, bowing his head.
"Sonic, she didn't mean to mention that!" Tails said. Tails knew that Sonic always got depressed when hearing Shadow's name. Apparently, he still hasn't gotten over it yet.
"It's all right." Sonic said. "It looked like G.U.N. took all the important documents. There was not one piece of paper left."
"You must be tired. I suppose we can head back to Station Square now." Tails said. Sonic nodded and yawned. @-------
As the first rays of sunshine peaked through the window of the hut, Mina woke up from her sleep. She was surprised she woke up so early, with those nighttime visitors. She walked over to her mirror and brushed her hair into place. As she did so, the memories of last night came back to her.
After Big and Froggy left, Mina took the hedgehog inside. Her mother was then up and Mina told her the whole story. Her mother didn't mind the guest and when Mina volunteered to clean him up, her mother happily suggested that she would do it instead. Mina's mother then brought the hedgehog into the spare bedroom. Mina had gone to sleep right after that. No matter how exciting it was, she just wasn't a night owl.
"Hello, dear. Good morning!" Mina's mother said. She cheerfully sang over the sound of bacon and eggs frying in a pot. Her mother had the voice of a songbird, just like her.
"You're making breakfast?" Mina asked, taking a seat at the kitchen table. She eyed her extra large t-shirt nightgown as it road up from being at her knees to the middle of her legs. She pulled it down in frustration, noting she'd better wear the matching pants next time no matter how hot it was in bed wearing them.
"Of course. We have company, don't we?" Mina's mother said. She hummed as she put the bacon and eggs on a plate. "By the way, can you go check if he's up? If he is, I'm sure he is hungry."
Mina nodded and went into the spare bedroom. The hedgehog was just as he was when he put to bed last night. "He must be a heavy sleeper." Mina mumbled. She walked over to his bedside. There was a band-aid on his cheek, torso, and the side of one of his ears; that was where the worst burn marks were. The rest seemed to have disappeared as if they were never there. Mina sat on the bed and shook him gently. "Hey, wake up."
She was about to say his name when she remembered she didn't know it. 'I guess Big didn't know his name either.' Mina thought.
She noticed he didn't even stir. He had the same look on his face too, like he was stone. 'Wait, could he dead? He looks lifeless!" Mina checked his pulse to find that it was still there. She laid her hand on his chest too, she could feel him breathing. "Whew, thank goodness!" Mina sighed. "But I still wonder.why he won't wake up." Her hand found it's way to the side of his face. She traced the side of his cheek to his nose still deep in thought. "I wonder.if he's like sleeping beauty or something." Her finger traced over his lips. 'No way!' Mina thought, retracting her hand. 'That's so stupid!'
'Ever since Sonic broke my heart, I promised myself I wouldn't fall in love again. It also means this guy! I don't even know him and my heart is beating so fast! I fall in love so easily.it's not fair.' Mina thought, the pain in her heart rising.
"Mina!" Her mother called from the kitchen, "Is he up?"
"No mom!" Mina shouted back. She looked at him again and sighed, "I have to baby sit this morning so I can't wait for him to wake up. I know, I'll write him a card to tell him where he is." Mina paused, "My mom will be home but I don't know what she'll tell him."
@----------
"Thank you again, Mina. I know this is early for baby-sitting but-" Mrs. Wilma Hedgehog started as she got together the last of her things.
"Really, it's okay. Baby-sitting is my job." Mina said, sweat-dropping. Mrs. Hedgehog always was like that; she cares too much for people who are doing what they are required to do.
"Yes, but you'll be watching Becky and Mach today. Mach is already seven but Becky is just a baby, she can't run let alone walk yet and Mach is a very fast runner. I don't know how you'll be able to tie both of them down." Mrs. Hedgehog said, pick up her green purse.
"Oh, Mrs. Hedgehog! You handle them everyday. I'll be fine!" Mina said, pushing her out the door. "Go have fun at your quilt club. Bye!" Mina closed the door behind her and sighed, "Okay, now. Where are they?"
Suddenly, a green blur flew around the room, stopping just short at Mina's feet. The blur was Mach, a green hedgehog with orange eyes. He grinned showing a missing tooth. "Mina! Are we going to go running again today?"
"Sorry," Mina said, patting his head, "But not today. I'm watching your little sister today too."
"Awww.That's not fair! I want to run! I want to be as good as Sonic so I have to keep practicing. You're the only one who can keep up with me!" Mach whined.
"Sonic doesn't run all the time, you know." Mina said "I'm sure he'll be proud of you when he gets to see you. We'll just have a relaxing day on the front porch, okay." Mach groaned but nodded his head in agreement.
@--------
".So then I presume your trip went well." Rouge said, talking to Sonic on her cell phone. She was now on a train to Mystic Ruins. Her plan was to go to Red Mountain and catch an updraft to Angel Island. She listened for a few more minutes and said, "Okay, I'll let you go now, Bye."
Rouge looked out the window to see the skyscrapers leaving and the forests appearing. The forests reminded her of the time when she went camping and came back with mosquito bites all over. She grimaced at the thought. 'I'll never get used to this wilderness thing.' Rouge sighed, 'I've been in the city too long I think."
@-------
Mina sat on the edge of the porch, piling baby blocks on top of each other only to have Becky knock them down. She was too busy thinking to notice so she picked up the pieces and started to build them again. Mach lay lazily on the porch, counting the leaves on the trees.
'Wonder how that guy is doing?' Mina thought, "I wonder if he even woke up.let alone survived my mom and her sweetness.' She looked at Becky who giggled as she knocked down the blocks.
Suddenly, a loud crash was heard at the end of the village, followed by an explosion and a mechanical roar. A bear ran by and shouted, "A giant robot sent by Eggman is here!"
Princess Sally got on the speakerphones that were installed when Sonic and the gang left, designed for emergencies. "Please remain calm." She said, her voice echoed throughout the village, "Villagers please head to the underground safety zone! Freedom Fighters meet me at the castle!"
Mina and Mach bounced to their feet right away. Mina picked up Becky and grabbed Mach's arm. They followed the crowd of villagers to the safety zone. Mach pulled out of Mina's grasp and yelled, "I'm gonna help to destroy the robot! Don't worry!" With that he sped off in the direction of the explosions.
"NO! MACH!" Mina screamed. She quickly looked around and saw her mother nearby. She sped over to her. "Mother, I have to get Mach! Can you watch Becky until I come back?"
Mina's mom took Becky and said, "Sure, dear. Just be careful."
Mina looked around again and said, "Mom, where is the Hedgehog? Did you leave him behind?"
She replied, "He woke up and left when the explosions happened. I don't know where he went, to make the story short. I'm sure he'll be fine. Now, hurry!"
Mina nodded and shot off; the wind that trailed behind made the leaves scatter. She was running so fast, she could only see the path ahead of her. Everything else looked like a blur. Soon the robot was in sight. It was a shake-shaped red robot with glistening metal teeth. It had guns implanted on its sides too. Mina saw Mach zooming in to spin dash it. "Mach! Stop!" She yelled. She was able to grab him before the robot saw him.
Dust scattered everywhere as Mina stopped, steam sizzling from her boots. He looked him up and down and noticed another tooth was missing from his mouth and the gum was freshly bleeding. Mach noticed where she looked and said, "That was a loose baby tooth, and it fell out when I hit the robot."
Mina growled, "I can't wait to see you get in trouble for this Mach! This was a bad thing to do." She sighed and softly spoke to him, "Until you have been excepted as a Freedom Fighter, you must never do something like this again. Understand?"
"Yes, I-I'm sorry." Mach whimpered; fresh tears fell down his face.
"Good." Mina said. She turned around to see that the robot didn't notice them in the trees. She turned back to Mach and said, "I want you to stay here until we can escape. The robot can't see in the trees. Don't move." When Mach nodded, sniffling Mina ran out of the bushes. She waved her hands and screamed, "Hey! Come after me!"
The robot roared and shot at Mina. The four bullets were near the ground so they were easy to dodge. She jumped over the first to that flew close the grass, causing them to blow up when they hit the ground. The second pair was flying right over her head, so Mina tumbled to the ground, avoiding those as well. Mina bounced off of the nearest tree so that she flew above the robot's head. She landed right on its skull and pounded her fist into it, hoping her punches would break through the metal. Unfortunately, She didn't even make a dent.
The robot's tails hovered over her like a shadow for a few seconds before coming down on her. She managed to dodge the tail but she fell off the snake robot, hitting her head as she hit the ground. Mina slowly got up, the pain in her head making it difficult to do. The robot took his advantage and his tail around Mina's body. He was going to crush her!
Mina could faintly hear Mach's voice; he sounded sad and scared even though Mina couldn't tell what he was saying. The pounding in her head was too loud. When she first felt the metal tail squeeze around her body, the tone of Mach's voice changed. He sounded happy now. 'Heh.probably because he gets to see his baby-sitter get crushed like on the television.' Mina thought.
She heard the sound of scraping metal next and another roar from the robot. Suddenly, the tail unraveled her. Instead of falling to the ground she fell on to something soft and furry. She felt hands wrap around her waist and victory shouts from Mach. When her head stopped spinning she opened her eyes and pulled back from the embrace. She looked straight into a pair of ruby red eyes belonging to a hedgehog. "Ah, uh.thank you." Mina said.
"No problem," He said. Faced away from her and looked at the robot. The robot still switched but otherwise it was finished.
This gave Mina enough time to focus. She looked at the hedgehog again and all of a sudden it clicked. The hedgehog who saved her was the same one Big gave to her to take care of. He was black with red on the end of his quills with white chest hair- the band-aids were still on him too. 'I guess I didn't notice because I had never seen his eyes.'
Mach ran up to Mina and hugged her, "I'm sorry, Mina! I didn't mean for you to get hurt all because of me. I'm really sorry!"
"It's alright. I had to fight anyway; the Freedom Fighters didn't come yet. It's my fault for not being stronger." Mina said, smiling. She walked over to the hedgehog and placed her hand on his shoulder. "So, what's your name?"
@------
Shadow the Hedgehog volunteered to wash the dishes after supper that night. Mina still couldn't get used to the fact that 'sleeping beauty' was awake; she just couldn't imagine him awake. It was just weird. She sat down on a sofa and watched the fireplace. Her mother started up a fire in it. It wasn't cold out but the fire didn't warm much either. She watched the flames lick the top of the brick chimney.
She felt the couch move next to her and saw that Shadow sat there. They both were silent, watching the flames dance. Then, Mina asked, "Shadow, do you Sonic the Hedgehog?"
"Yes," Shadow replied, "I fought against him as his enemy when we first met. At the end, I realized what I was doing was wrong and I teamed up with Sonic to stop the Space Colony ARK from crashing into the Earth."
"I see." Mina replied. She didn't learn much about what had happened because she was a civilian and not a Freedom Fighter or royalty. She knew that the blown up moon had to do with the space colony but she never knew anything else.
"I have to find Sonic again and the rest of them like Amy and Tails and Rouge. They probably still think I'm dead but they must know the truth." Shadow said.
"What? How could they think you were dead?" Mina asked.
"After stopping the ARK from falling, I lost my Super Form and plummeted down to Earth. They weren't able to follow me or anything since the atmosphere was so bad."
"Then," Mina said, "That's when you landed in the jungle river I think. That's where Big the Cat found you."
"I guess so," Shadow said, "But I don't remember a thing since I fell." They both fell silent for a moment and watched the wood get smaller and the fire get bigger. Shadow turned his gaze over to her and asked, "Are you sure you are okay. You took it pretty hard to the head when you fell."
"Oh no! I-I'm fine." Mina stuttered, blushing. "I mean I tried my best to fight that robot but it looks like speed is my only weapon. I can't actually attack; I'm not strong enough to. If you didn't arrive I'd be-"
"Don't think of it that way," Shadow interrupted. "I was really impressed by how you fought the robot. You had the right strategy but you don't have the power. I think if you get a weapon of some sort you'll do just fine." He thought of Amy Rose with her hammer. She, like Mina, only had speed to rely on but She had her hammer to protect her.
"That's really nice of you to say," Mina said, blushing redder this time.
"I'm only telling the truth." Shadow said, smiling.
