I just keep writing this story so fast I don't know what to do with myself! When I'm not writing, I'm wishing I was! I JUST HAVE HOW I HAVE TO WAIT HOURS BEFORE MY UPDATES APPEAR ON MY STORIES! IT'S SO EMBERASSING TO HAVE ERRORS! ARRRG! smiles

PS: You guys are great for the reviews-thanks for pointing out the errors! It helps my writing tons, tons, tons!

-

Sonic, Shadow, etc- none of it belongs to me. They belong to SEGA. Remember that well.

-

STORY TITLE: Just A Shadow In the World

-

CHAPTER SEVEN: Maria + Amy

"Shadow, please put me down."

"I don't need you to slow me down. Besides, you're not that heavy. Pretty light actually."

"But I feel silly being carried like this."

"Can you grind?"

"No."

"Run as fast as me?"

"Fine: I admit I can't!"

"Then I'm going to keep carrying you." Shadow clutched Amy firmly in his strong arms. All day he had carried her over the hot White Jungle, through the cool Aquatic Mines, and now they were entering another blazing hot area: the deserts where Eggman had once built his hidden base. Amy would have been slowing him down but it was easy to carry her and he enjoyed the way her arms slid so easily over his neck and the feel of her hair against his face. Stray strands often tickled the sides of his face but he enjoyed the sensation of her presence.

-Rachael Lampa: You Lift Me Up-

"Hey, Shadow?"

"Yes?" He jumped backwards on the rail, then jumped again to face forward, "What is it?"

"Do you love me?" Amy's muffled voice was very small against his chest, but he had heard it loud and clear.

"I…Well…"

"I'm sorry, don't tell me if it would hurt you or me." Her voice was downcast with a hopeless sadness. Perhaps it hadn't been her place to ask him such a personal question. If he truly loved her, Shadow should tell her himself without pressing or urging.

"It's alright, Amy." He felt her snuggling closer and gulped, "We're almost there. By tracking the signal from the Chaos Emerald, I'm able to locate it's current destination. Only a few more minutes."

"How many miles?"

"Forty or so." He sighed. The sun was gruelingly hot. Every part of him would be drenched by now in a sticky, slimy sweat if he hadn't been running at such a fast pace.

"I can't believe you can run so fast. Are you faster than Sonic?"

"I can't say. I've never raced him before to find out."

"You two should race when all this mess is over."

"Perhaps we should," He smirked. Smalltalk could be somewhat interesting at times, depending on the person and the situation. "But I know I would beat him. I have the advantage of power on my side."

"Ha, ha! No one that I know yet can beat my brother," She boasted, "He's so fast that Eggman's quickest machines slacked far behind!"

"I'm not exactly a machine." Shadow skidded to a stop outside the premises of a small village. This definitely reflected a government-run town of only a few necessary buildings: one grocery store, gas station, and office building. A few houses bordered the town and a barbed-wire fence circled the town in a complete circle.

"We can't get in there…" Amy almost wined, but reminded herself that she was older, more mature and above that, and tried to be optimistic. "If you had a Chaos Emerald, you could just use Chaos Control, but you don't."

"That's true, but there's always a way in. We'll wait here for the day and when someone opens the gate, we'll go in."

This is going to be a while… With few trees around and a blistering hot sun, Amy had not a shred of good humor left in her mood. Hours of merciless sun were sure to scathe her delicate skin.

-

Elsewhere, far away, where the sun was already far lost from sight, the Freedom Fighters sat around one of huge fire pillars in the lost Echidna village. Knuckles was still in awe at the massive size of the city, lost in his own world; Tails was brushing his two tails slowly, picking out rubble and dirt, and Sonic was lying behind a log with Sally beside him. Rouge and Vector had been taken back to the city of Metropolis by Espio so only Charmy remained, feeling somewhat singular without his team, but enjoying the conversation matter that Tails often brought up.

No one had seen anything since of Metal Arnus after Big had thrown his against the now utterly destroyed wall, but he wasn't gone and they all subconsciously knew it, though no one brought it up. The eighth Chaos Emerald was still to be found yet, knowing that Arnus was the last one to have held it, no one either dared to search for it through the rubble. It was fear of the fight for one that kept them back. Without Shadow, they felt as though fighting was in vain and they would all perish. But Shadow was off searching for Maria. What could they do?

-

"Shadow, protect them… all the people on that planet down there… Never let anyone hold you back from this for it is your purpose in life… to give them happiness, hope, love… you are the only one who can give that to them…Do not think of me in times of trouble, but think of those who depend on you…"

Shadow's eyes popped open, "Amy… Amy wake up. Something's going on with Sonic."

"What's going on?"

"I can feel something bad will happen if I don't go back and help Sonic."

"Oh, no!" Amy felt shivers run through her spine, "But what about Maria?"

"I'll have to find her now. I can't wait any longer. They're relying on me. You stay here and I'll be back soon. I promise and I never break my word."

"I believe you," She lay back on the cool sand, "Just please don't take that long. I get very lonely."

"I won't-that too I promise-I'll never leave you, alright?"

"Alright. Go find her. Sonic's life could be at stake."

Shadow passed her a compassioned look before he skated off to the city's front gate. The night would be his ally, the darkness his mask. He would trick the front guard into letting him in the city, something he couldn't do during the day when it was light. "You there: open up this gate! I am a sergeant and I demand you act like a soldier with dignity and let me in before I report you!"

"Wh-who are you?" The young soldier clasped the bolt lock to the steel gate nervously, "What's your name?"

"Are you doubting my word, foolish boy?" Shadow almost roared, "I will have you relieved!"

"No-sorry sir!" The lock whined, the gate opened, the soldier stood perfectly tall, and Shadow slid through without a whisper, leaving the man confused and afraid that he had let in a criminal and would surely be relieved for sure.

Maria, where are you? The tracker in his palm buzzed almost constantly. He skated towards the three out-skirted houses, pausing, shifting the tracker from house to house, until at the last one it ceased beeping and buzzed constantly. Maria…

He progressed quickly towards the house and stopped underneath an open window. Through the screen, he could see a form lying comfortably beneath the light-weight blankets, occasionally sighing restfully. He could see the soft clumps of blond hair and his heart trembled at the sight.

Shadow took a breath and removed the screen carefully. When it was set aside, he jumped up through the window, onto the carpet, tracker off, and looked around the room. Mostly bare, one dresser filled the section left of the window, a closet near the door to the right, and her bed which lined the right wall.

The emerald was somewhere in the room, he knew, but he felt uneasy searching through her personal clothes to find it, so instead, Shadow walked over to the side of the bed. Maria was pure childish loveliness. Matted hair, small smile, silky skin. He just had to touch her, see if she was real, although that was the last thing he should do. His hand tickled he cheek, then recoiled, but only to come back to her soft hair.

"Who's there?" Maria whispered. She hadn't even moved and her voice caught him off guard, "Who are you?"

"It's me, Shadow."

"Shadow! You came at last! I kept the Chaos Emerald for you as you wanted me to, but are you alright now?"

"Perfectly. I didn't know you were awake," Shadow hid in the corners of the room, away from the light of the moon cast against the bed. Her form was perfectly outlined by the rays, but that only added to the contrast of darkness for him. "I need the Chaos Emerald. Sonic is relying on me and if I can't have it, I won't be able to fight for him and win."

"But who's Sonic and why can't I see you?"

"Please Maria, do it for me, hand it over."

Obediently, she pulled the glowing gem from underneath the lumps of her pillow, "But what will I have to remember you by when you take this away?"
"Our memories," His hands covered hers, "The ones I will tell you of so you can remember."

"Yes, tell me, I need to know. I don't remember." Maria could now see his tear-streaked face from the moon, which only added to her own tears, "I only know that I loved you."

"Do you still love me?"

"Yes, you are the dearest brother I could ever have."
He swallowed, his throat dry, "I'm not sure what the date was when Professor Gerald Robotnik created me. I only know that when I was alive, you were always there, from day one. The bond we shared was perfect bliss. Many times you and I would look at earth from the Space Colony ARK, which orbited the planet, and we'd discuss it. You had never lived on earth-neither of us-so it was a mystery. The professor was your grandfather. He loved you more than life itself and without you, he had no purpose to survive." He paused as her hands gripped his firm, "I was created as the Ultimate Lifeform, although my purpose was unknown to me at the time. The professor had been working on the prototype of what he called the Ultimate Lifeform. It added to the confusion of myself, but I had no idea what he was doing. You had always been a sickly child and the day the military came to stop the professor and shut down the ARK," here his voice croaked mournfully, "All you had wanted was to save me. You didn't think of yourself-just me. I remember running through the colony. You were weak and sick, but you made it to the capsule cargo room. Before I could stop you, you trapped me in one of the cargo capsules and that's when you said-"

"For all the people on that planet. Do it for me Shadow, for all those people…" Her voice whispered.

"Yes… Then you let me go and I thought you were dead. I didn't see what happened to you but I knew you had either died alone in that room or that someone had shot you."

"Oh, Shadow, I remember you now. I remember how I loved and adored you and grandpa. I was just four when the professor created you. The first time I saw you, I realized that you were just a little child and I instantly took you in my arms and loved you from day one. I wanted you to have anything you wanted, despite the little I could ever have given you. My one wish was to see you happy and loved on this planet. ARK was never for you."

They both cried silently together for a few minutes. Neither moved nor spoke. The memories were so great it overtook them with force neither had known for years.

"Maria… I have something to tell you."

"Yes?" She sniffled, "Please tell me."
"I have found the happiness you wanted of me."

"Shadow, who is it?" Maria hardly breathed.

"A young hedgehog named Amy Rose. I love her with my life but I've never had the skills to show emotion easily. How can I tell her? She's already told me that she loves me and I know I need to tell her before I lose her."

"It's simpler than it seems. Come into my arms, Shadow." He eagerly obeyed, climbing onto the bed, hardly believing that the same arms he had felt so often in space were the same ones holding him now. Maria spoke close to his ear, softly and tenderly, "When you love someone, you have to tell them. It will destroy you if you don't. The worst the person can do is tell you they don't love you, but since you know Amy loves you back, you must tell her. Nothing bad will come of this I know for certain. I'm so proud of you, my Shadow, my precious brother. You have fulfilled my wish and I know my new life was meant for this. You found me and I don't want to lose you again, but you must tell her. She will love you forever. The only concern I have is losing you again."

"We both live on the same planet and tread the same earth. There is no way you will ever lose me again."

"I want something to have of you."

"I have nothing to offer accept…"

"What?"

"I need a pair of scissors."
"Oh, I have some in my drawer," Hopping eagerly from the bed, she left him for a minute, returning quickly to be close to him again, "Here. What are you doing?"

"I'll leave this with you until I return, which I promise I will."

"You never break your promises."

"No, I don't." He handed her a snippet of his silky fur for her to keep, "May I have the Chaos Emerald?"

"Of course." She laid the emerald in his lap and set the fur on her dresser, "You're leaving now?" Regret echoed through her voice.

"I have to go, but don't be sad, for when I leave, that means I will return soon."

"I know." Maria wiped her eyes again, "Tell Amy I hope to see her when you return." Leaning down, she placed a soft, warm kiss on Shadow's cheek. He returned one to her before sliding off the side of the bed. "Sayonara, Shadow the hedgehog, until you return."

"Sayonara, Maria," He jumped through the window and out of sight.

-

"Amy, rise, we have to go."

"I dreamt that you and I were together, running through large fields."

"Now is not the time for reminiscence." His voice was urgent. The sun would be rising soon and with the light came the worst battle he knew was marching with the horizon. "I have the Chaos Emerald back so I can warp to Sonic's current location but I need you to hold my hand."

"Shadow, wait!" Amy grabbed his arm, "If we don't survive through this, can you please tell me something? I know it's wrong of me to pressure you so cruelly like this-I know people say that love is patient, love is kind, love understands, but I need to know if you love me to make my heart have peace. If we die and I don't know how you see me, I don't know how I could spend eternity without you."

"Amy… I guess…" This question was so simple, yet so difficult to answer, "I once heard that love is forever. If you truly love someone, then no matter what happens, no matter the situation or the words passed between the people, love will always find a way through. Before I took the time to get to know you for who you are, I saw nothing more of you than a silly, immature girl who had worthless crushes and shallow ambitions. Now I know I was wrong to belittle you so," His arms slid around her thin frame, their faces closing slowly, "And do you know who taught me the true meaning of the word love?"

"N-no," His breath was warm on her face. Amy felt herself floating on the clouds, hot and cold, tired and hyper at the same time.

-Amy Grant: Simple Things-

"You did. I found in you someone who would love me for who I was. I found in you a deep, compassionate individual who took the time to see through a person's outer layers to the true soul hidden far within. I had buried myself deep in my hate and anger, but you brought the best of me to the surface. Amy, my perfect Amy," Shadow's fingers swept across her lips, "I love you and I will as long as I live."

"Forever." She murmured as the gap closed almost completely.
"Yes, till the end of time,"

"I love you Shadow."

"I love you, Amy." Their mouths closed ever so slowly as time stopped just for them, for the bliss of their perfect moment. Shadow soaked her in, every drop, every second as the seconds froze to capture the perfect expression of pure love. Every single sweet fragrance emitting from her soft body, he breathed in to remember her scent. He never wanted to let her go, for in his arms, she fit so perfectly, so warm and safe. A sharp feeling of defense for Amy arose in his subconscious as the kiss's passion increased. No one would touch this girl without his protection. If anyone tried to hurt her, he'd rip their lungs out. Precious as diamonds, more innocent than the lilies were beautiful, Shadow vowed mentally to love and protect this young girl forever. "Amy…" He whispered into her neck, "I wish we could stay in this moment just a little longer, but there are other people relying on us and so…"

"Yes, I know…" She also hesitated to break from his soothing arms, "Take us away to the sky, Shadow."

He looked down at her smiling face. A peace he had found at last reflected from her eyes to his. "Yes…" And with determination in the form of a white Chaos Emerald clutched through his fingers, and Amy's hand in his other, Shadow threw the emerald towards the stars and catching it, yelled the ever-familiar words of "Chaos Control!" in which they were raptured away through the coming morning.