Being Free

Written, produced, directed, edited and cooked with extra onions
by Airo Smicktor

Full disclaimer in Prologue, I don't own Sonic, Shadow etc etc.

Chapter 3 - Unexpected

"Surprise - To cause to feel wonder, astonishment, or amazement, as at something unanticipated."

"Okay guys, this is it! Are you ready?" Tails asked, with a knowing look on his face.
"Tails! I've never known you to be this secretive before, what the heck kind of surprise have you got?" Sonic was already intrigued about this change in his best friend.
"What does it have to do with the ARK anyway?" Knuckles was becoming slightly annoyed since they didn't seem to be getting anywhere with this conversation.
"Ummm, Amy, what's an ARK?" Asked Cream, she had a puzzled look on her face. Not only had she never been to Tails' house before, but also no one had really explained what had happened on the ARK. No one really liked to, since that was when Shadow had fallen.

"Errr..." Amy was obviously in some problem on how to explain this to the young rabbit (who was even younger than Tails) and her Chao friend without making them feel sad. It couldn't be easy to explain who someone they'd never even met before had died but meant really so much. Tails saw this problem, and quickly stepped in with the solution.
"It's okay Cream, I think our surprise will be able to answer some of your questions for you."
"What, you mean it can talk?" Knuckles was now becoming more interested now, there was a certain mystery that appealed to him.
"Well, we aren't gonna find out by just standing here! Show us what you got Tails!"Sonic said, flashing his trademark grin.
"OK!" Tails said, while secretly pressing a button on a notice board beside him, which made the camera in the room Shadow was in start recording.

Shadow turned around to see the red light, signalling it was on. Shadow looked into the lens, and smirked.
"Any bets on who'll say that I'm dead first?" Shadow said to the camera, before moving to the side of the room, so that the camera could get a clear shot on anyone coming through the door, and their reactions The door opened, as Tails stepped through first, seeing the camera, then Shadow, before giving the thumbs-up sign.
"Okay people, come on through. It's right in here."
"Huh why would you keep a surprise in here rather than in..." Sonic had stepped through the door, turned, and saw Tails, arm outstretched, with his open hand signalling in the direction of the surprise.

What Sonic saw caused him not only to forget what he was saying, but everything, as he became lost in a mixture of shock, awe and bewilderment. Next came Knuckles, then Amy with Cream and Cheese. Knuckles look was one of fear and shock. Amy was in pure shock. Cream and Cheese seemed just puzzled, since they had no clue about what was going on. The rabbit looked at her pet, then looked back at the dark hedgehog. The only thing they knew was that this hedgehog looked a lot like Sonic...

Tails still had the same grin on his face as he scanned all the faces of his friends. Telling a couple of small lies down the 'phone was all worth it to see their faces. Even Shadow smiled at them, thinking that they had almost been frozen motionless by him, as if they'd seen a ghost. Shadow decided to make the first move to break the silence. He stepped forward, and extended his hand, in a gesture offering to accept a handshake.

"Sonic, it's been a while. I believe I have some apologies to make to you and your friends." Sonic was still in a state of shock, as he slowly moved forward and shook Shadow's hand.
"Sh... Sh... Shad... Shad..." Sonic, for one of the few times in his life, was completely lost for words.
"Hmph, yes Sonic. It is I, and I am very much alive. But I am a slightly different Shadow that you will have known before." Shadow looked at Knuckles, who was still had a look of fear on him. "What's the matter Knuckles? You look like you've never seen a hedgehog before."
"But... But... you, you... DIED... didn't you???"

Shadow turned his head to the camera, and gave a sly wink. "I'm afraid not, oh red one. I am alive, and very well if you'd like to know."
"Shadow... SHADOW!! That's, that's... this is... this is GREAT!! He's alive! YOU'RE ALIVE SHADOW!! YOU'RE ALIVE!!!" Sonic was now ecstatic! He couldn't believe it; he truly couldn't believe it. Shadow turned to see that Tails was now laughing at his friend.
"Sonic, I knew how bad you felt after you thought that you didn't save Shadow after you both used Chaos Control, so when I found Shadow, I knew you had to meet him again!"
"Wait, wait, wait, wait a minute here! You FOUND him???"
"I think it's better if I explained some things..." Shadow said, as he proceeded to tell the events of what happened after ARK up until this very day.

"So were you like, in a coma for a week or so, then woke up?" Sonic had been asking all kinds of questions, more that anyone could ever remember him asking anyone. Even Amy was feeling slightly jealous that all of Sonic's attention had turned to Shadow.
"Well, I'm not quite sure about that as a fact, but I guess it would explain a lot. To tell you the truth, I'm not too sure on how I survived, or what exactly caused all the bright light that I was in. The only thing I'm sure of is that whatever it was, it sent to the Emerald Hill, where I met up with Miles."
"Yeah! I saw him standing on a hill in Act 2 of Emerald Hill! It was lucky that I decided to have a flight over there, or Shadow would be probably following the route we did all those years ago!" Tails was feeling slightly proud of himself now, he didn't usually fly that far out, but he was very glad he did.
"Route? What do you mean route?" Before Sonic could even reply to Shadow's question, Amy pushed her way in to answer, sending Sonic falling off the chair he was sitting on.
"That was the beginning of Sonic's second real mega adventure against Eggman! That was the first time Sonic and Tails teamed up against him!" said Amy; the walking encyclopaedia of everything Sonic has done in his life
"Well, that explains the signpost with Sonic on it then..."
"Really? Is it still there?" Tails piped up with a question, as Knuckles looked down on a slightly bruised hedgehog on the floor.
"Yeah, it was one that could turn around, and it had Sonic giving a thumbs- up pose..."
"What, like this??" Amy pulled out a picture of Sonic giving the pose Shadow had described.
"Yeah, exactly like that."
Amy giggled as she put away the picture. "I thought so, I have a collection of them at home! Sonic looks soooooo cute in them..."

Amy sighed, as she seemed to go off in some sort of daydream. Shadow got up and slowly moved away from this strange pink hedgehog.
"Excuse me, Mr. Shadow?" Shadow looked down to see the small rabbit and her pet that he had just been introduced to earlier.
"Yes?"
"Um... what exactly is the ARK... it's just that I've never heard of it before..." Shadow smiled a little at the quiet voice of the young girl.
"Well, the Space Colony ARK was the place where I had spent most of my life before, it was a giant space laboratory made by my creator, Professor Gerald Robotnik, where I spent some of my life."
"Is that where the big fight happened in space?"
"Why yes, yes it was."
"But I thought that people couldn't go into space..."

"Don't worry Cream, we used super forms with the Chaos Emeralds to go into space! That way we weren't hurt at all, right Shadow?" Shadow looked at Sonic, who had just gotten up to explain this fact, and nodded his head in agreement.
"Well, as much as I LOVE to stay and think over the events on ARK, I have a job to do. I'll se you guys around, I'm heading back to the Island."
"Hey! Come on Knuckles, don't be..."
"No Sonic let him go." Shadow's interruption caught Sonic by surprise. "He has his own life to lead. I understand." Everyone in the room, even Knuckles, looked at Shadow as if he was a different person. That was something that wouldn't be expected from him.

Knuckles turned to leave, when a thought struck him. "Hey Shadow! You wouldn't happen to have a Chaos Emerald on you now, would you?"
"No, I don't have any at all. Why do you ask?"
"It's just that... that bright light you were talking about sounded a lot like Chaos Control, so assumed you would've used an emerald. But I guess it was something else..." and with that, Knuckles left.
"But if it wasn't Chaos Control, then what was it Shadow?" Amy seemed to be thinking the thoughts of nearly everybody in the room. Shadow thought for a moment, before coming up with his thoughts.
"... Who said it wasn't Chaos Control?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Just because I didn't have a Chaos Emerald, doesn't mean that it didn't happen. Like I said, I'm not sure how or why it happened, but..." Shadow took a few steps and looked out the window at the sea view outside. "...But perhaps something happened, something inside me that I didn't know about, it's like... it's like I've been given a second chance at life by someone..." Shadow now looked up to the cloudy sky above him. "...Maria... Is this what you want... me to have a second chance?"

Tails looked at Sonic, who looked at Amy and Cream. It seemed to them that despite how different Shadow was, there were parts of him that remained the same. Sonic motioned that perhaps they should leave him alone to think about things, Shadow turned around.
"Can I ask you all a question?"
"Sure thing Shadow! Anything, anything at all" was Sonic's reply.
"Is it okay if I... If I am..."
"Huh? If you're what Shadow?"
"Tell us Mr. Shadow, please tell us."
"...If I am... your friend... would that be okay?"

Shadow expression had now changed to something completely different than from anything Sonic or the others had seen before. There was now a look of honesty on him, a look of insecurity, a look of innocence, almost like a newborn child's. This was an important moment not just for Shadow, but also for all concerned. Shadow was not sure if they could tell, but their answer to his question could decide if Shadow would be able to live this 'second life'.

Sonic broke the silence. "...Without any doubt in my mind, I speak for everyone when I say:

"Yes Shadow, we will be your friends."

Shadow smiled, a smile of joy, he had been accepted! He was actually liked now by other people!
"Thank you... thank you all." Was all Shadow could reply. Shadow stood there, looking at his newfound friends, a tear slowly began to form around the bottom of his eye.
"Hey... Shadow, why are you crying? You don't need to cry man."
"It's not that, it's just... I've never... felt this way..." Amy and Cream could tell what Shadow was thinking, as they both went over and hugged Shadow, and were quickly joined by Tails and Sonic. The all embraced, in one group hug together, as a bond of friendship was firmly placed in their hearts with Shadow. Shadow's tear slowly rolled down his cheek as it fell to the floor. This was the happiest moment of Shadow's life. He would always remember it, and truly hoped his friends would too. Shadow simply bathed in the warmth of his new found friendship, tears in his eyes and a smile on his face.

Author notes: Once again, another chapter up for you all! R&R, your feedback is always welcome, and of course, I openly invite you all to check out the pages about Being Free that I have on my website, check out my profile for the link. Darn, talking too much under the story, gotta go put some more up! Keep reading people, soon a plot-like substance will appear!!

N.B. Edited 30-11-04 for paragraphing and minor edits