Chapter 10: More Story Telling
Author's Note: Finally, my exams are done! HUZZAH! Ok. Summer's here, which means no more homework for me to hide behind to get farther in this fic! lol. I'm still going to be quite busy with some other stuff this summer though. I'm away all next week, and the week after I'm going to be at a science camp. But during that week I'll be at home for the night. Anyway, sorry for keeping you guys waiting for an actual new chapter. I'm back now, so I'm hoping to get most, if not all, of this fic completed this summer. Concerning this chapter, I am not sure of the correct spelling of the word "noogie". It is really quite important, so if anyone could e-mail me about that, greatly appreciated. Thanx in advance.
Reviewer's Replies: Same as last time. Oldest to newest.
To Celestial: I haven't had time to read all of the sequal yet, but rest assured that I will definately leave a review for you by the end of the week. ;) Thanx for the review!
To Daikonran: Thanx for the review, and I wish you luck with your story. Ryuko's also writing a fic with G.U.N. as the bad guys, and it's awsome. I'm sure yours will be good too. Btw, have I seen you around the SSMB? Your pen name looks kind of familiar...
To Ryuko: To fly and whoop Eggman's butt.... That would be SO awsome! Anyway, I'm glad that you and the other readers like how I wrote the reunion. That took a lot of time to plan out. Oh, and you're not missing out on much for the ending. I know, I've beaten it already. The only decent thing is the graphics. If you want more details about it, e-mail me.
To Mystica: Wow. You didn't blink because the chapter was so good? I'm flattered. I read through that part of it again, and I think I might edit it slightly. It was a really hard part to write, along with the ending. Anyway, thanx for the review.
To Zane: I'll try to update as often as possible. But, I've got quite a few summer projects that need to get done, so keep in mind that this may slow me down a bit. Thanx for the comment, and you're welcome for the comment on SSMB. No problem at all. Now, to answer your question, how can she fly backwards if she's using wings. It's kind of like walking backwards, except she's flying backwards.......Yeah, I can't explain it. I can picture it, I just can't put it in words. Oh well. Thanx for the review.
And that concludes today's Revewer's Replies. Now, onto the fic!
Disclaimer: Look, I know you're not that clueless. The previous 9 chapters have all said that I don't own anyone other than Melody. Why should this time be any different? I own no characters in this chapter other than Melody. This is pointless...
"I still can't believe I have a hedgehog for a cousin!"
It was about 10:30 at night, and just after everyone was introduced and reunited. Everyone had gone up to the attic, where Melody had told her adventure with Shadow and her past to Sonic and co., who were all eager to listen. Now though, Chris, Melody and Shadow were the only ones left in the attic. Everyone else had either gone to bed or downstairs to wait for Shadow and tell him what happened over the last few months. Chris was still trying to comprehend the fact that his older cousin by four years was now shorter than him by a couple of feet.
"Well, I'm going to have a hard time getting used to everything giant sized again," Melody said as she looked around the room. All of a sudden, she sulked and put on a big pout.
"What's the matter?" Chris asked.
Melody responded quietly. "Can't give you noogies anymore. You're over 10, by now."
Chris laughed. "And that's a bad thing?"
"Melody smirked. "With you teasing me everyday, I won't have any way to keep you in line!"
Shadow wasn't following any of this. With a confused look, he asked, "What's a noogie?"
Chris smirked as evilly as he could (which was quite evil) as he asked, "Do you really want to know?"
Shadow however wasn't phased. "Yes."
Melody was enjoying this. She joined in the fun. "Do you really want to know?"
Shadow was getting annoyed, but he didn't show it. His answer remained the same. "Yes."
Chris and Melody put on those animé faces that made them look like zombies. The chanted together in unison, as if the very mention of the word "noogie" would bestow a curse upon all who heard it. "Do you really want to know?"
An animé sweat drop formed on the back of Shadow's head. He was extremely irritated now, and he didn't make a major attempt to try and hide it. "Yes, I really want to know. Are you even planning to tell me?"
Melody giggled uncontrollably, which seemed to get Shadow more frustrated. Chris asked his cousin in a devious way, "Should I?"
"No," Melody said after suppressing the last of her giggle fit. "I'll give him one when he least expects it."
Shadow was annoyed for not getting his curiosity satisfied, so he dismissed the idea with an irritated sigh. "I'll be waiting," he said as he exited the room.
With a sigh, Melody fell backwards on her bed, savouring its softness. She remembered coming in the attic with Chris when they were younger, hiding under the covers from Ella who was trying to get them to eat their vegetables. It was good to be in a place that she could call a second home after the adventure she just had. It was good to be with family after the tragedy she had experienced. She said in a relaxed tone, "It's good to be back."
"It's good to have you back. I missed you Melly."
Melody chuckled. "I thought you got over that name when you turned 6. Why are you calling me that again?"
Chris smiled. "For old time's sake. These last few years just haven't been the same."
"I'll bet not," the white hedgehog said as she sat up again. "Wasn't the last time I visited a week before you met Sonic?"
"Yeah. I guess my life just hasn't been the same since then. But it'll be awesome with you around all the time!"
"Yeah. We can play games again, watch TV, maybe I can even help you with homework!" They both laughed, even though they knew it would only be a matter of time before that actually happened. "Just promise me something?"
"Sure."
"Don't call me Melly anymore. I'd feel pretty embarrassed if Shadow or the others heard me being called that."
"Aw. Can I call you Mel at least?"
"Fine. You should get to bed."
With a yawn, Chris got up from the bed. "Can't I sleep here? Like we did when we were little?"
Melody laughed. "And where would you sleep? I'd like my own bed."
"On the floor. It'd be nice to sleep further away from your snoring."
"Hey!" Mel picked up a towel left on the bed that was used as a pillow for Cheese when he had fallen asleep earlier. She threw it at her younger cousin, who caught it with one hand. "I'd like to see how much snoring abilities you've picked up. Now get out of here!"
"Good night to you too, cuz!"
"Good night," Melody said and watched Chris flip the lights off and close the door behind him.
Goosebumps formed underneath her white fur as a breeze hit her back. 'That's funny,' she thought. 'I thought the window was closed.' She turned to see it was actually wide open, with a red echidna sitting on its ledge.
"Where did you get that bracelet?" he asked.
Melody just stared, scared and trying to decide just what the creature's intentions were. After slowly looking at the echidna from head to toe, she studied his face. It was stern. Stable. Like that of a stone wall. Impenetrable.
"Well? Are you going to answer or not?"
She thought. 'Red fur, long spikes, big attitude,' Now she knew. She relaxed. "Your Knuckles, right?"
The echidna in question was shocked, and he showed it, but only for a few seconds. After that, he looked cautious. "How do you-"
"I'm friends with Shadow."
"Shadow?"
(2 stars. Come on, FF.Net! Give me the ability to use astriks again!)
"I see."
Melody had told the journey that she had taken with Shadow. Knuckles had only listened intently to the parts where the battle bracelet was involved. Other that that, he was lost in thought and wasn't paying any attention. Melody noticed this and just skimmed over the major points.
"I'm still not entirely sure, but I'll believe it for now," Knux said absentmindedly.
"Believe what?"
"Believe that the Shadow you saved is the Shadow that helped Sonic save the world about three months ago.
Melody was shaken. "What do you mean?" she asked.
The red echidna was silent.
Melody bit her lip.
Knuckles had long ago gotten the idea in his head that the first Shadow he had encountered was dead. Long dead. He wasn't willing to believe otherwise. Super form or not, Shadow fell from space, through the atmosphere. And after thousands, if not millions of miles, he would have encountered the Earth's surface. Rock, or otherwise. No living being could have survived that. Not even a robot, or a form of machinery could have made it in one piece, save of course a space shuttle. But that was different. The difference was that a space shuttle was made to endure the journey. Shadow wasn't. And the proof for that was in Shadow's own past. He was put in a space capsule by Maria to travel to Earth. He couldn't have survived. Knuckles had all the evidence he needed to be satisfied with the fact that the only real Shadow was dead. That is, if there ever was any "real" Shadow, anyway.
"No," Melody said quietly. She had bitten her lip so hard that she could taste the bitterness of blood. But nonetheless, her mouth formed the curve of a smile.
Knux was again surprised.
The white hedgehog explained. "When I found Shadow, about three months ago, he was unconscious. His arms and legs were broken. A couple of ribs were smashed too. There were quite a few situations where I didn't think that he'd survive at all. But I did the best I could to heal him anyway. I know you don't really care why I did, so I'm not going to say."
Knuckles' expression didn't change.
Melody continued anyway. "The point is that the Shadow you know fell from space towards Earth. You saw that happen. The Shadow I knew fell from the sky and into the lake that I lived by. I saw that happen. None of this is hearsay from a friend of a friend. This is from what our own eyes saw. The Shadow that I befriended is the Shadow that saved the world. I don't understand how you could think otherwise.
"The Shadow I know was created by Dr. Eggman's grandfather. The Shadow I know befriended a girl named Maria that didn't know anything at all. The Shadow I know didn't befriend anyone except Maria. The Shadow I know witnesses the death of his one and only friend. And after all that, the Shadow I know set out to carry out the destruction upon the world, but ended up saving it instead. I'm sure this is the Shadow you know, too. But there's something else I know about Shadow. And I've noticed it ever since I first say him underwater in that lake, before he spoke to me."
Knuckles, shocked by Melody's outburst, waited for her to continue.
"I knew that he was going to be alright," she said in a confident tone. "I knew that if I helped him, he would recover."
"You shouldn't have helped. You put yourself in a world of deception by caring about someone other than yourself." The red echidna stood up and walked over to the door. He stopped and said harshly over his shoulder "You wouldn't last one day being a guardian of anything."
Melody knew exactly how to respond. "If you had been paying attention, you would have noticed that I already have."
Knuckles turned, again surprised.
Melody stated in a rather flat tone "You don't know it, but we have a lot more in common than you realise."
Yay! Another pathetic chapter is finito! I really want to delete this chapter, but unfortunately it is needed or else other things in the story won't make sense (ie, Chris' nickname for Melody, Knux meeting Mel, and the "noogie incident").
Ok, I might as well say this now. Most of my summer projects this year are Sonic related. There is one in particular that I'm sure you will look forward to. As mentioned in the previous chapter, I am going to be starting another fic this summer. To get you guessing, it will be called TV Hogs, and it's going to be a comedy.
Ok, enough on that. I need yet some more help. Another summer proj. I'm going to have my hands full with is a movie I'm going to make with Magix: Movie Edit Pro 2004. Here's the thing: I'm going to need clips of either Sonic X or another Sonic related show (with Tails in it) where both Sonic and Eggman are seen talking on the telephone. Also, they can't be in .rm or .ram file because Magix won't accept that. Or, if you know where I can download a free movie converter, that would be great too. So, yeah. E-mail me, and I will be entirely in your debt. Thanx in advance!