Chapter 5: Melody's Past Revealed

Disclaimer: I don't own Shadow, G.U.N., SEGA, Mario, Luigi, Bowser, or anything like that. I own Melody and her past, and that's it. Nuttin' else. Don't believe me? Tough, 'cuz that's the truth.
Reviewer's Replies: Well, I don't know what else to call it. (anime sweatdrop) Well, this is where I get to say "Thanx to all y'all for the reviews", and to comment on them. Maybe this will get my story more reviews…

Anyway, to answer your questions. Brian Bloomfield (I like your name, btw), there may be a little romance near the end. Truth be told though, I was planning on writing another really lemony fic with all the romance separate from this one. And don't worry, there will be more characters introduced in the story. Chapter 7, to be specific.

Ryuko, I know what you mean. The time really seems to fly when you're writing. I started this fic (counts on fingers) about 8 months ago…o.0U that's over half a year! Well, with school and everything else that I do though, I know it's gonna turn out to take a lot more time. I planned out the main plot line, but the sketchy parts still need working out. Anyway, thanx for reviewing again. Oh, and yeah, I did notice the effects of changing it as different types. I rather type them in as HTML. It looks a lot nicer, imo. Anyway, the problem before was that whenever I typed in URLs to different websites, it cut out most of the chapter. Which is odd, because I remember one of Fan Fiction's updates saying that they fixed the problem…o.0U I had to undo the "Auto-font" thingy for it to work properly.

Anyway, thanx for the reviews, and maybe this new little section will convince you to start reviewing my story if you haven't already!

Author's note: This chapter will be written in first person as if Melody was speaking. And she was last time I checked. And I'm the author! I should know what's going on. I'm writing this story after all! (Dreadknux, the founder of The Sonic Stadium, slaps her) Anyway, it's written in Melody's POV. Well, enjoy Melody's past!
"I haven't always lived in this cottage," I started. "My dad's hobby was astronomy, and thanks to him, it's one of mine as well. He bought this place so that he could go star searching in peace. It's perfect for that sort of thing because in the middle of the lake is a little island just big enough for his telescope and a tent to fit a group of 4. Plus, the trees in this forest don't grow that tall and there's no chance of light pollution, so the stars and planets are always visible as long as the sky is clear of clouds. He would sometimes take me out here on perfect summer nights to show me some constellations and planets. His telescope is still on that island." I sighed and said, "I wish those days were still around.

"Anyway, my dad was the head technician of a video game company called SEGA. He would constantly bring home the latest videogames for me to check out. Needless to say, I've learned how to beat them and memorized all of the games inside and out. My mom was a computer programmer at a university. Being the computer wizard that she was, she taught me everything there is to know about computers, and how to make my own programmes. My parents said it was because of their smarts put together that I constantly got 'A's in school.

"We lived like a normal family would, until about a year ago when my parents went on a trip to some place. My dad wouldn't say where they were going; just that it was another one of his astronomy trips that some mystery person invited him to. Before they left though, they gave me the necklace that I'm wearing now. My mom had said that she had found it in a store while on a previous astronomy trip with my dad. She said that there was some sort of mystical force around it that she couldn't describe that made her buy it. My Grandma promised to take care of me until they came back from their trip.

"We waited and waited for about a month back at my house, and all the while Grandma told me stories to pass the time. Not like "The Ugly Duckling" or anything like that. Stories about my mom when she was little, and the adventures of a fat plumber called Mario and his thinner, taller, and younger brother Luigi travelling to different lands and thwarting the plans of a demented turtle called Bowser. Those were all pretty funny. But my favourite stories were of the constant clashes between angels and demons. They weren't funny, but I loved to here about the enchanting battles that the two types of immortal beings had against each other.

"One day, we got a phone call from G.U.N. saying that my parents weren't coming back. When I asked my Grandma why, she said that they were found dead on the street. No one knew how my mom and dad had died, but I knew that someone had killed them, and I was heartbroken. I would never see them again. I only had my Grandma, and she had gotten ill from the bad news. In a matter of days, I was an orphan. With no brothers or sisters to talk to, I was lonely. I considered going to live with my cousin, but I was so depressed that I shunned the idea out of my mind right away. I made a vow out of loneliness and sadness. I would never talk to anyone ever again.

"Two days after Grandma passed away, G.U.N. came to my house and said that I had to leave. They took me to an orphanage that I hated. Everyone that came to adopt wanted me, because I was an expert in computers and I had gotten excellent marks at school. But after they found out that I wouldn't talk to anyone else, they figured that I was a mute and crossed me off their list of possible choices. I was constantly getting bullied and teased by the others at the orphanage. Even the manager of the place didn't take me too kindly. After three more months of misery, I decided that I had to leave, and I knew exactly where I was going to go.

"I needed to get back to my place and gather up as much supplies as I could. I knew that there was no point in staying there though, because the orphanage would report to G.U.N. that I had gone missing and they would come looking for me. My place was obviously their first choice. Because when I got there, I found that it was burned down." I felt hot tears stream down my face and tried to control my anger. "The house that I had lived in for 15 years had burned down, and absolutely everything that I cared about was gone. G.U.N. had destroyed everything. My parents, my Grandma, my home. And I had a gut feeling that they were on a mission to destroy me too. I needed to go to some place that they didn't know of and that was fast and easy to get to. There was only one place like that. I came back here and lived in misery and sorrow for about six months. The only thing that I have left to comfort me now is the immense array of memories that I've gathered. That's it. That's who I am."

I knew that there were a lot of questions that Shadow needed answering, so I wasn't surprised to find myself talking to Shadow for another few minutes.

"You broke your vow of silence. Why?" Shadow asked.

That question was one that I had anticipated. "I couldn't just let you recover in complete silence. It would have been too uncomfortable for the both of us, I think. And when I saw you with your eyes open for the first time, I knew that it was a little immature of me to have made that vow in the first place. I mean, I had to talk sometime, even if it was to my necklace.

"I can understand that," Shadow said. "I don't know how anyone could live in complete silence. I don't think that even I could manage that, and I'm the Ultimate Life Form. But why did G.U.N. destroy your house?"

"I don't know. It's obvious they knew something that I didn't." I started to choke up and bent my head down away from Shadow's. I got that annoying lump in my throat that made it really difficult to talk. "One thing's for sure though, I'll never forgive them for what they did."

"I guess we have a lot in common then," said Shadow.

I looked at him again.

He continued. "We were both living in our ideal world, where nothing could harm us. We were both unbelievably content, and every way we looked at things, nothing could go wrong. Our joy seemed to go on for an eternity, and yet it ended in a matter of minutes. Reality slapped us both in the face with its icy cold hand. We were both stunned and didn't know what just happened. Our happiness within us was quickly and completely replaced with sorrow. All because of G.U.N. If they hadn't interfered, we would have been able to continue our lives the way we intended on living them. But on the other hand, we wouldn't have met each other."

I was amazed. I didn't look at Shadow the way I used to. "You really do have a way with words, for a hedgehog that doesn't talk much," I told him. "I'm mad at G.U.N. for putting us in this awful state, but now I don't feel like the situation is pitiful and hopeless any more. And I think that the situation changed because of fate. Fate predicted that we would meet the way that we did, I think. And to be honest, I'm glad we met the way that we did."

Shadow just smiled.

"Shadow," I said. There was a question that I wanted to ask him, and I thought that that was the right moment to ask. "If you don't try any more crazy stunts, you'll be ready to leave in a couple of weeks, and I was wondering something."

"What's that?" Shadow asked.

"Can I come with you? Please, oh please can I come?" I needed to get all of this out of my system. "I would really like to meet the friends that you made in your adventure, and it'll get boring out here on my own. I've always had a sense of adventure, of travelling around. And now I'll have some company. Please Shadow? Please?"

I could tell that he wasn't too thrilled of the idea. "Well . . ."

"Please Shadow," I said. "I'm begging you, let me come with you."

I knew that Shadow had gone into his own world, thinking about what he was faced with. "How pathetic of me," I thought to myself as I waited for his answer. I was surprised at what he said next.

"Yes, you can come."

o.0 Shadow let Melody come with him? What was he thinking? Oh well, I'm sure he had his reasons. Well, reviews are very much appreciated. Tell your friends about this if you thought it was good. And if you didn't think it was good, say so in a review. Just don't flame it. I don't really want to block reviewers. Thanx in advance!