Disclaimer: I don't own them, but I wish I did. For starters, I wouldn't have given Shadow that ridiculously large gun he carts around in the game. It's insanely demeaning to his character. Plus he looks kinda silly. Kinda? More like completely. Ugh now I sound like a slang-speaking twit. Which I am…..CURSES!

Alright, I'm somewhat stressed. My grades are diving for rock bottom, my speech is suffering, I'm not getting enough sleep, and the fourth Artemis Fowl book has come out. For those of you that don't know, I actually am, much like my sister, an Artemis fan. Maybe not Artemis/Holly, because I've never been fully comfortable with huge gaping holes between ages, (I can hardly stomach Tails/Sonic, unless they actually make Tails a little older…say ten years? And/or it's a good story, don't forget that o.o) and two hundred years or so is a pretty steep leap for love and all. Not that I dislike the couple, I support any friend of mine who supports it, but my view on it is that if it happened, they'd at least wait till Arty was what….twenty? That'd be a much better ground for lurving than fourteen. Jail bait, that's what that smarty boy is. -nods-

((Almost-spoiler ahead; skip if you don't want to ruin the book))

Anyway, the fourth book is out. And I don't like it. I don't like it because every one comes back, and then we lose the character I loved from the beginning. And I am angry. At least when I lost Shadow in the Sonic Adventure 2 plot (then again in Sonic X; my heart burns with what a lousy death they gave him) there was the whole scandalous 'Shadow might have lived, or at least there's a functioning clone of him out there.' Nope. My favorite Artemis Fowl character is burned, torched to verifiable ashes right in front of me, at the beginning of the book, and the incident is continually referred to throughout the entire story.

I do believe I may cry… -sniffle- And no, that wasn't sarcasm. -.-

((Kay, rant kinda over here >>))

But yeah, do to over-sensitive trauma-esque feelings, I figured I needed to boost my mood. And what better way to make an Authoress feel a lot better than to post up a long awaited sequel, that she has been haggled, threatened, and beaten for, which contains one of her all-time favorite couples. Later I might do a drown-out sorrow piece concerning my lost fav charie. -sob-

Sonic: I swear, you'd think it was me dying the way she's bawling over this guy. He wasn't even one of her muses!

Shadow: True but you know, she does have a tendency to get very emotional.

sigh- I'm going to go eat something fried and smothered in chocolate. -.-


Chapter One – Our Reintroduction to the Story


Sonic looked up at dawning sky, dull and gloomy, from his laid back position, one arm behind his head to support it, the other unconsciously resting on his slightly rounder-than-usual stomach. It usually was stormy looking at this time of the year, the first few months spring-time. The grass beneath his prone form was still slightly wet from the early morning's dew, which he had sat through, effectively dampening his blue fur until it had an attractive glistening effect. His eyes were trained on the sluggish clouds overheard, the beautiful emeralds glittering with some sort of secret that only a select certain would fully understand. Fingers, left ungloved this morning, absently drummed his peach-colored abdomen, and he hummed a rather catchy tune, though where he'd heard it from was lost to him. His other arm, the one behind his head, was already starting to tingle, letting its owner know it was cut off from much-needed circulation. At first, Sonic just ignored it, being lazy and not wanting to move out of his comfortable position.

As the tingling became more severe, the sapphire hero decided that it could no longer be overlooked and lifted himself slightly, easing the afflicted arm from under his head and letting it rest, instead, along his side, half hidden amidst the shining blanket of greenery beneath him. He sighed, the sound rumbling in his upper chest for a moment, and tried to readjust his lying position, shivering as the cold dew came into contact with the back of his neck, stricken once more with the horrid case of lethargy. His eyelids were only just slipping shut when a dark shadow fell over him, blotting out the dim light of the dawned sky. Sonic snapped to alert, trying to make out who the intruder was.

"Sonic? Sonic!" The silhouette knelt down beside him, and as it did so, the countenance became visible, revealing, thanks to the outline of blood-red shining faintly on the upturned quills, and glittering in anger above the mouth, that it was none other than Shadow.

"Ugh, thought I'd find you out here," The black hedgehog muttered, a frown set deep in his muzzle, as he knelt down, a glare already beginning to come into being. "You did it again."

Sonic went with his instincts and quickly pretended to be asleep, knowing that Shadow wouldn't fall for it, of course, but hoping for the inevitable lecture to be either somehow avoided, or at least postponed. He didn't mind really which one it happened to be, but either would've been nice at the time, especially since Shadow had found him lying outside like this in the rain before.

"Sonic, we both know you're awake, and you're not getting out of this by pretending not to be. Open your eyes. And sit up, damn it, you're going to get sick."

The sapphire hedgehog lifted one eyelid just barely, so he could peer out at his double. The dark creature was leaned over his side, face just above his own, with the ruby eyes shining, even though no light fell on them to make it so. Sonic had long since noticed that his look-a-like's eyes had an almost demonic way of glinting brightly, even in the darkest of rooms. He found it somewhat…unnerving. Mostly so because it felt like no matter how dark it was, Shadow's eyes would forever be trained on him. He shifted slightly, trying not to seem as uncomfortable as he was.

"I've told you before not to come out here without at least a jacket, and to tell me when you're going." His voice sounded strained, overly so. He was trying not to yell, it sounded like. Sonic was grateful for that, at least. "And you've been sitting in the rain again…" A gloved hand, unlike his own, wiped across his tan chest, and the immortal glared at the moisture which came off on the white cloth, now turned a light grey because of the water soaked into it, then turned his gaze back onto the hero below him.

Sonic grinned sheepishly and pushed himself upward, stopping to rest on his elbows. The bio-hog did not look at all amused, and Sonic felt his smile fade ever so slightly, before vanishing, replaced with an ashamed expression. He sat up the rest of the way, trying to keep from making eye contact with the obviously annoyed other. Shadow however, would not cooperate. He was not about to let his younger double worm his way out of being reprimanded with puppy eyes and wet fur. Most humans would've gone straight for his 'cute' look, but Shadow knew far better.

"You never listen Sonic, and one of these days you're going to walk out of the house without telling me and you'll slip and break your neck, or something…" He waved a hand to indicate his obliviousness as to what the something could be, leaving it to Sonic's imagination, while his own whipped up more than enough horrific scenes for the two of them combined. "…and I won't know where you are!"

But of course, Sonic wasn't really pay attention to the rant coming from the black hedgehog's mouth.

"You worry too much, Shadow…" He muttered, his arm on the opposite side from his companion twitching slightly as his fingers took up the hobby of drumming again, this time in the wet grass, hidden by the blades of greenery and his own torso. Shadow's frown deepened, and for a moment, Sonic was sure he was seeing the beginnings of a scowl. If it had been so, it retreated just as quickly and discreetly as it had surfaced.

"There is no such thing as worrying too much, Sonikku. Especially where you're concerned."

Sonic rolled his eyes, turning his gaze elsewhere.

"I'm serious, Sonic!" His hands found the slimmer shoulders of his counterpart, and shook him, carefully though, minding the condition the younger hedgehog was in. "You're so damn reckless, wandering around like there isn't a chance in the world that something could happen again, like before, and you could be-" He was silenced by Sonic's finger pressing to his mouth to halt the babble.

"Settle down, Shads," Sonic wanted to sound serious, but his act was failing him. A smirk made its way onto his lips, betraying the cerulean creature. "You and I both know there's nothing to worry about. Ivo's retired, so there's no massive robot-things to stomp me, and he was pretty much the worst that could've happened, right?"

Shadow's eyes narrowed. "Stop blowing it off, Sonikku. You know what I'm talking about." His koi shrugged and rolled his head to look away, focused on ignoring the other hedgehog, who sighed, then pulled the smaller furry into a loose embrace. "I don't want to lose you again, Sonic. Can't you humor me?"

"Stop with the mushy stuff, Shadow, you're as bad as Amy with those romance movies..." The hero prodded the black hedgehog's side, but the ultimate lifeform grasped the offending tan wrist, pulling it up to be examined.

"You're sopping wet…." The blood-red eyes sharpened immediately, and he was on his feet in a second, dragging Sonic upright as well. "Inside! Now!"

Naturally, Sonic protested, digging in his heels so that shallow furrows sprang up in the yard behind him, trying to slow their procession to the great indoors, objecting as loudly as he could about the vast unfairness of the situation. His partner paid him no mind, carting him up the steps and through the doors of their house, growling deep in his throat.

"I swear, you're going to catch pneumonia out here and you'll get yourself carted off to the hospital months before you're due—" The rant continued for a few minutes, and Sonic soon found himself tuning it out for the most part, and allowing Shadow to abandon him in the center of their living room, watching the still rambling hedgehog disappear into the back of the house for a moment. The dark furry stalked back with a thick towel in hand, and before the hero could object, Shadow set to work, roughly drying the azure and beige pelt.

"Shado—!" Gerroff!" Sonic's muffled voice came through the fuzzy cloth that Shadow was rubbing against him, and finally, Sonic shoved the ageless creature away, grimacing and trying to rub his fur back down, dry but ruffled. "I could've done it myself….." He muttered under his breath.

"Hush. You brought it on yourself, laying out there in the rain like that." Shadow answered, wringing the towel out, though no water escaped. Sonic hadn't been as wet as he'd felt, but that didn't stop Shadow from scolding him. "You should be more careful; it's not like it's just you affected by what you get yourself into now." Sonic looked abashed for a split second, but then he glowered, almost playfully, yet with a spark of jealous resent.

"So it's the little parasite you're really worried about, huh?"

Ruby eyes turned a full circle, showing what Shadow thought of the accusation. However, almost in a way of apology he slipped his arms around the other's stomach and rested his chin on the closest blue and tan shoulder. He held the correction back for a moment, but in the end it came out despite his efforts. "It's not a parasite, Sonikku…"

"Does it need me to live?"

"Yeah—"

"Is it growing inside me?"

"Of course, but—"

"Does it eat my food?"

"Well…yes—"

"Parasite." A triumphant smirk made the edges of Sonic's muzzle curl upward, the speedster feeling proud, as though he'd proved his point in a most clever and articulate manner.

Shadow's eyes gave another roll. "Sonic, whatever you call it, you need to take care of yourself, or I'll end up losing at least one, if not both of you…" A small peck found its way onto Sonic's cheek and the smile faltered, though the eyes still retained the pleased glint. "You're all I have to hold onto, my single shred of happiness. Losing you is something I'd never recover from…"

"Ugh, you're burning my ears off with your gooshy business." Sonic countered, smiling. He'd never admit it, but he enjoyed hearing Shadow call him his 'happiness.' It gave him a feeling off importance, more than his hero work ever had. But again, pride was one of Sonic's major faults, and he would never confess the elation brought by the fond nickname. "But if you go make me some food and we take a nap, I just might forgive you.."

Shadow returned the comment with a raised eyebrow, then shook his head chuckling. "Even pregnant, you think with your stomach. I hope to whatever deities may inhabit the heavens that your 'parasite' won't act anything like you do.

"Oh, you don't mean that Shadow!" Sonic winked and slid out of the other hedgehog's grasp, giving him a suggestive nudge toward the kitchen. "You know the world could always use another me!" His darker look-alike laughed, but maintained a strange sense of seriousness to his demeanor.

"Go to bed Sonic, before I call your posse and tattle to them about how you've been shirking your duties as a mother-to-be." The 'threat' hit home, as the ageless being knew it would, and—though not without a mock-extremely-hurt look—Sonic retreated to their room within seconds. The midnight bionic hedgehog let loose another quiet chuckle before heading to the kitchen. Why he loved that fickle creature, he'd never know.


The first chapter of The Most Precious Jade is now complete.

I'm actually quite proud of this. Seriously, I liked the other fic, but that was only while I was writing it. I have matured greatly since then, and my writing is, dare I say, far better than it was when I typed up the first part. I may even retype it, to y'know, give it a little extra flair and feeling, plus some better description and such and so on. Yay me, for I am awesome. Luff and keesies.

Shadow: You do know you've just put up another series which you'll probably stop in the middle of? You've already almost lost hold of Beyond Blue Skies, since you more or less refuse to type up the last four paragraphs and post the damned thing.

Well, I'm not going to regularly update this story, chances are. If they want to know what happens, tough. I need to finish Beyond Blue Skies first, post up Race, update Disappear, and get started on Call Me Dad, since I've wanted to forever.

Sonic: And there's still A Matter Of Trust, which you need to get to Sonadow(dot)com to update and all.

The Nameless Muse: Not to mention all of the pictures you need to paint in Photoshop 7.

Alright guys, I'm sure they get it! My gah, I'll never figure out why I picked such hounding nags to be my muses. -.o Later readers, and please review for me, alrighties?