Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Athair the Echidna was originally copyright to Sonic Archie Comics and Sonic Underground. I changed him alot, but they still get credit. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!

Thanks alot for the reviews again! And thanks for finally having a complaint, Void99, I've been wondering when I'd get one! Because I am far from perfect. I put them in clothes for three reason: 1) It comes in handy in a later scene, 2) It's another excuse for Shadow to hide himself and 3)... Er... I dunno, maybe it's my friend's fault, she keeps drawing them with clothes! And, yeah, I kinda wrote the last chapter in a hurry and while being VERY sleepy. I'll spend more time on the others, I promise. Now, enough of that, enjoy Chapter 13!

CHAPTER THIRTEEN - MISSING YOU

Lemon walked down the dirt road, observing echidna families outside playing and others starting to pack. They had been there for a whole year and would return in only a few days. The very thought made her heart soar. She remembered the conversation she had had with Knuckles that morning.

"Look, I'm sorry about last night," he had mumbled. "I shouldn't have said all of that stuff."

Lemon had waved away his apology with her hand.

"Nah," she had replied, sighing. "It's about time I let it go anyway."

At this, her older brother had taken her roughly by the shoulders. She was afraid he was angry with her and was about to struggle when she looked into his purple eyes and saw the passion there.

"Lemon," he had said, an intensity in his voice. "I can tell you two were very close friends. Maybe even more than friends, I dunno." Lemon gave him a look telling him to get to the point.

He shook his head, not sure how to explain himself. After a short pause, he said, "I've known Sonic for years. The first time I saw him, I was only fourteen and didn't even know you and Pop existed. Sonic was just some confused kid who couldn't remember anything. So I tried to help him but he was stubborn. They're all like that. Stubborn. Hedgehogs don't give up without a fight."

Lemon was silent as he let go of her shoulders, letting a grin appear on his face.

"If Tenchi was anything like Sonic, I'm sure he wouldn't have given up that easily."

With that, he turned and headed for the door. Lemon felt confused, her whole perspective changed.

Could Tenchi still be alive?

"Maybe you should ask Rouge," said her older brother, answering her question. He winked to her and left, off to help Athair.

And now, walking down that dirt road, she wondered. The very thought of seeing Tenchi again was so overwhelming, she felt like she was going to cry. But she would not have people seeing her being weak. And so her brain and her heart raged at each other. She was so preoccupied with this fierce battle, she didn't notice the blind old elder walking directly towards her until he bumped into her, almost knocking the two of them off their feet.

"Aah!" cried the old echidna, waving his cane in front of him. "Who's in my way!"

Lemon blinked, staring down at him. It was Arthur, one of the oldest elders either than Knuckles and Lemon's grandfather, Athair. He was one of the only living soldiers from the old wars, where he had lost his sight. These days he was a very cranky hermit that lived deep in the forest of the Mystic Ruins, only appearing in public when the Council was needed.

"Well," he pressed, anger rushing through his old veins. "Who's there!"

"Uh, it's me," she said. "Lemon."

He leaned forward, making a horrible humming noise in his throat. "Ah, Athair's granddaughter. I remember you."

He straightened up, both hands on his cane. Like all of the older echidnas, his quills had grown quite long and beads were strung onto them as a symbol of him being a part of the Elders' Council. Along with his cloudy, very deep blue eyes and mean look, Lemon had thought of him as a monster when she was little.

"If you don't mind my asking, sir," she said with as much respect as she could muster, "what are you doing here?"

Arthur scowled. "Nosy one, aren't you!" He started down the road, Lemon following beside him. "Ahhh, now that the mail's back, I need to get in touch with some old friends..."

She stared, dumbfounded. "YOU have friends?!"

The angry old hermit stopped, rage making his face go red. "Of course I have friends!"

Lemon's apologetic face would not help her now. "Uh, sorry, sir," she said. "I just didn't figure... Who're your friends?"

"Students," he replied, continuing his crooked pace, striking the ground with his cane. "I help teach Braille to people in town. I try to keep in touch with the intelligent ones."

"Hm," replied Lemon, shocked. "There must not be many of them."

At this, Arthur laughed, something that was both terrible and wonderful. "Ah, Lemon, I always liked you! You remind me of one of them!"

"Oh?" Like there was anyone who could keep up with her. She may not have showed it often, but Lemon was one tough girl. "Who?"

Arthur scratched his head. "Uh... Oh, some hedgehog... Ehhh... He had a really weird name... Some amnesiac guy..."

At this, Lemon stopped dead. "Tenchi?"

Arthur, realizing her footsteps had ceased, stopped. "Yes, that was it. You know him?"

"I did."

They came to a makeshift post office that had been set up only a day earlier. Lemon let Arthur go first, still unsure about what to send. She watched as he laid different envelopes on the table, all of the addresses printed out in Braille. After she had prepared them for delivery, the echidna smiled and assured him the letters would be delivered the next day with everyone else's.

"They had better be," he replied. He turned to go and mumbled goodbye to Lemon but she stopped him, gripping his shoulder.

"Arthur," she said, her voice shaking as if she was on fire. "You can send letters in Braille?"

Arthur, confusion on his face, nodded his head. "Of course I can. Why?"

"I need you to make me a letter," she replied, disbelief in her voice.



"Ow!"

"Hold still already!"

"It hurts!"

"Don't be such a baby!"

Sonic leaned back against the doorframe, watching as Amy examined the back of Shadow's neck. While he had been working behind the counter, a cut had started bleeding without stop. Although she wasn't a doctor, Amy could tell that it was quite deep. After cleaning it up, she carefully put a white bandage over it.

"There! That wasn't so bad, was it," she said.

Shadow scowled up at her from his seat and was about to talk back when Sonic cut in.

"Shadow, how did that happen?" he asked, observing where the cut was.

Shadow shrugged. "Probably skinned it on something," he said carelessly.

"No way, it's too deep. And considering it's on your neck..." replied Sonic uncertainly.

There was a silence in the room, only broken by Amy's panicked voice.

"Are you suggesting someone tried to hurt Shadow?" she asked.

Sonic shook his head. "I think someone tried to kill him."

Shadow rolled his eyes and got up from his stool, rubbing his neck, a sceptical look on his face. "Yeah right," he scoffed. "I'm going back to work."

Sonic shook his head but followed the malcontent hedgehog back into the café. For the rest of the day, it was rather quiet. Once it was dark outside, Shadow closed it up and the three of them walked up to Shadow's little dwelling. While Sonic was sitting down on one of the comfy chairs, Amy wandered over to Shadow's room.

"Shadow!" she called. "It's a total mess in there!"

Shadow walked over and closed the door to prevent her going in. "I've been busy."

Both Sonic and Amy watched him as he stiffly walked over and threw himself into the chair beside Sonic, his arms folded tightly over his chest. They exchanged looks and silently decided to leave him alone. The last time he was stressed like this, Sonic had tried to talk to him and a fist-fight had started. He still remembered how hard Shadow hit with his left fist, even though he was right-handed. He was a force to be reckoned with.

The tense atmosphere in the room was blown away as the door opened and Arashi walked in.

The old hedgehog had changed. After staying with Sonic and Amy for a few months, Arashi had begun to learn how to be happy and all of the other emotions he could feel. Now most people knew him as Sonic's father, a little strict, but very wise and gentle.

"Hey, Dad," said Sonic, not smiling. Arashi raised an eye-ridge, wondering why they all looked so melancholy, then noticed Shadow hunched in his chair. He allowed himself a small smile as he walked right up to him.

Shadow glared up at him, annoyed. But his anger was shot down as Arashi held up an envelope, the address in Braille.

"They said this is to a 'Tenchi Hedgehog'," said Arashi, his yellow eyes twinkling.

Shadow took the envelope slowly, dumbfounded. He took off his gloves and ran his fingers lightly over the sender's address, letting his eyes go out of focus as he concentrated. Sonic leaned over curiously.

"Who is it from?"

Shadow didn't answer as he shakily opened the envelope and unfolded the letter. Trying his best to remember the basic Braille he had learned, the black and red hedgehog 'read' the letter, every line taking his breath away.

"Dear Tenchi,

I've been on this floating isle for a whole year now. In only a few days, we'll be able to come back to Station Square. We only just got our mail system working again. This is the first word I could get out.

Although I'm so far away, I've kept my promise. I think about you almost every day. These past twelve months have been the longest of my life. Once we're in range, I'm getting the first train back. I'm eager to see you all again. Especially you. After I got out of that cave, Knuckles told me that you were dead. Please tell me he was wrong. He must be lying.

Missing you,

Lemon."

She had even signed it. Shadow blinked, tears forming in his eyes. He wiped them away furiously, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"Lemon," read Sonic from the signature. "Y-You mean Knuckles' sister? What did she say?"

Shadow's eyes narrowed as he fought to stay calm. "She's coming back." He paused, then sighed as he pulled his gloves back on. "She thinks I'm dead."

"Knuckles must've told her that. But he didn't know Dad saved you," said Sonic, trying to sound encouraging.

Amy nodded in agreement. "It'll be great for her to see you're ok!"

Shadow shook his head, getting up. "No," he said. "She-She can't see me. Not like this."

Sonic got up too as his friend headed for the door. "Aw, c'mon, Shad! I know how much she liked-!"

"Shut-up!" yelled Shadow, cracking the doorknob as he gripped it extra hard. "She was right, Tenchi's dead!" With that, he left, slamming the door behind him. Sonic reached for the cracked doorknob to go after him but Arashi stopped him.

"Don't. Let him cool down a bit," he advised. Sonic sighed, looking aggravated. "Man, what's with him?"

"He's afraid," replied Arashi.

Sonic blinked and looked up at his Dad, questioning. "Afraid of what?"

"Of being hurt again."

On the outskirts of Station Square, where it was nothing but desert, Shadow ran. He didn't care where he was going, just as long as it was away from them. He kept going at full speed through the cold darkness, his mind screaming in agony.

By the time the sun began to peek up from over the mountains, he had run almost the full length of the entire desert. At this point, both his mind and his body had gone numb and failed to notice that he was nearing the rocky area. Not until he heard a sickening crack did he realize he had crashed into one of the boulders. He fell back, eyes shut as a searing pain ran through his head and gradually into the rest of his body.

Half hoping he had killed himself, he opened his eyes slowly and looked up. His collision had caused a large crack in the boulder and little bits fell out around his feet as he stiffly tried to sit up. But his arms gave out behind him and he ended up falling back again. He groaned as he felt the full pain coming back to him.

"That's gonna hurt later."

He looked up and saw Arashi standing behind him, upside down in his eyes.

"Ara... shi..." he moaned, tired out of his mind.

Arashi tutted as he kneeled down and began to lift Shadow up.

"I guess Maria's death affected you harder than I thought," he said. "You really loved her, didn't you?"

Shadow shook his head, not wanting to admit it. "Maria! I don't... know who that... is..." he grumbled, trying to stand on his own. He wobbled and lost his balance, Arashi catching him.

"You're a bad liar," he said, steadying Shadow, who finally gave in and let Arashi carry him back to his apartment, where Sonic and Amy were waiting in worry.

Coming out from her hiding place, the blonde woman walked over and ran her hand down the crack in the boulder. She sniffled back a sob of guilt and shook her head, wishing things were different.