Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters are the copyrighted material of Sonic Team and SEGA. These characters are used without permission without the intent of compensation for my time and effort.

Italics are thoughts.

Life After Death

Chapter 1

Hard Landing

It did not start out as a good day. It would seem to be the running joke for the next few chapters of Shadow the Hedgehog's life. Awareness returned to him slowly, and with it came the sharp pains of many injuries. He dared not open his eyes, for fear of what he might see, or not as the case might be. He lay like that for a few minutes as he grew accustomed to the feeling of the surface below him, and the gentle sounds around him.

At first, he simply tried to move his extremities, starting with his toes and working his way up. Satisfied that , at the very least, he wasn't a parapalegic, he finally decided that all this laying about was getting him nowhere fast. First, one eye cracked open, then a second. Blurry shapes swam in front of him and he quickly closed his eyes again, and groaned aloud when the nausea hit him.

Hurried footsteps made themselves known to the ebony hedgehog's ears, and he turned slightly towards the sounds. He felt someone kneel down beside him, and shied away when he felt someone begin to rest their hands across him.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here to help."

The voice was sweet and mellow, quite pleasing to his ears. He once again felt light hands touch his arm, but he fought back his urge to recoil. He could almost see the smile on her face.

"Can you open your eyes?"

Shadow was quite sure he shook his head, but next he knew he was once again trying his best to peek out his eye. Once again, all he saw was a blurry shape, but at least it had color.

His orange healer reached down and closed his eyes for him before helping him sit up. Aches and pains flared up as soon as she began the simple process of lifting him. Slowly but surely, his torso rose until she cradled him.

"Drink."

Shadow felt hard lip of a water skin press against his mouth. Suddenly, he realized that his throat felt like it hadn't had water for days, and he opened his mouth quite willingly. Cool refreshing liquid seeped into his mouth, and he greedily drank it up. When the skin finally left his lips, he was feeling quite refreshed.

"Thirsty, weren't ya?"

Shadow nodded in reply, and managed a raspy "Thank you.". He only heard a rustle of clothing as his response. She lowered him back to the ground with much difficulty, and much pain on his part. When his back once more rested against the ground, those delicate hands began softly probing him once again.

"Now that you're awake, I'm going to check you for anymore injuries. Is there anywhere in particular that it hurts?"

Shadow had half a mind to respond that it hurt everywhere, but decided that really wouldn't help his situation at all. He merely lifted an arm, which in itself was agonizing, and pointed towards his chest. Immediately the hands were feeling along his ribcage, and it didn't take long for him to yelp in pain.

"I think most of your ribs are bruised, and maybe a few are cracked, but nothing is broken. Though that would explain why you're having trouble breathing."

"You think?!", Shadow thought angrily, but lay there gasping for breath. He tried to focus one more time on the face in front of him, but succeeded in only giving himself a splitting headache. This, couple with his earlier nausea, came back to haunt him as he felt his stomach heave. His caretaker quickly rolled him over while he emptied his stomach of what little was there. When what little substance ran out, his body continued convulsing, his dry heaves tearing at his damaged throat.

Finally, he stopped, and his nurse rolled him back over. Unfortunately, the exertion of vomiting had drained him, and he sank helplessly into unconciousness.

A cool, damp cloth on his forehead awoke him some time later. He could not be sure of the time, mainly because of his lack of sight. With nothing better to do, he began assessing his numerous injuries. His arms felt like someone had shove thousands of needles into them, but the pain did little to deter him. His torso was wrapped tightly in cloth, as were some less serious injuries along his arms and legs.

When he had satisfied himself with a manual search, he decided it was time to try out his eyes again. Similar to last time, all he saw was colored blobs. Darkness above him, with fire silhoutted objects around him. The hedgehog decided silently that it was after dark. Wordlessly, he turned his head, feeling the many pops and cracks as the stiffness was forced from his body. When he had finally managed to regain full movement from his neck, he place his arms below him and lifted.

It took him some time to force his body up into a sitting position, and when he had finally accomplished it, he could feel sweat on his body. He hunched forward, attempting to even out his heavy breathing.

"I'm surprised you managed that."

The voice came as such a shock to Shadow that he almost fell backwards. As it was, he managed to steady himself and turn towards the calm voice. He could see the orange-ish blob seated nearby.

"Are you hungry? I made some stew while you were sleeping. Its not great, but it'll fill you up."

Shadow felt ravenous, but managed to stay composed while he nodded, and she immediately handed him a wooden bowl filled with steaming stew. In a testament to his normal speed, Shadow managed to finish off the food in record time. When he had his fill, he looked up once more towards the orange blob in his vision. She sat across the fire from him, barely visible from his view point. With his most intimidating voice, he set about conversing with his anonymous caretaker.

"Where am I?"

The voice that left his throat was not his own. Instead, it sounded like a mouse had gained the ability to speak. He blushed at the small giggle that the good samaritan emitted.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to jest at your expense. To answer your question though, we are in the wilderness surrounding the Imperial City."

Shadow didn't have a clue as to where the Imperial City was; but this was understandable, considering his long time in cryogenic sleep and his isolation aboard the ARK before that. Deciding that seeking answers as to his whereabouts was pointless at this time, he set about another course of action.

"Who are you?"

The question, though simple enough, seemed to baffle the person it was directed at. It was impossible to tell what her facial expressions were, but the air seemed apprehensive. He prodded once more.

"If you don't want to tell me, then just say so."

"N-no. I'm sorry, it's just that I'm a little uneasy around strangers. My name is Tikal."

Satisfied with her answer, he felt obligated to return the courtesy.

"Shadow."

They fell silent for some time before she began the dialogue anew.

"Tell me about yourself Shadow, and why you were lying in that crater."

Anxiety was one of the few things he had ever experienced in his life before, but it began creeping back on him with her words. Thinking hurriedly, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"I'm a vagabond. I've been wandering the world for years, and I'm not sure if I'll ever stop. As for that crater, I don't really remember how I ended up in there."

"Amnesia, how original. Like that'll fly."

Amazingly, however, she seemed to accept this quite readily. When she didn't ask him another question for some time, he decided that turnaround was fair play.

"How about you? Why don't you tell me about yourself."

Once again she seemed to tense up, and a red flag popped up in his mind's eye.

"Once was believable, but this is the second time. She's hiding something. Though I can't say I'm much better."

"I've lived in the Imperial City all my life. I'm a civil servant."

Shadow knew there was more to it than that, but decided that prying for information wasn't exactly the best way to repay her hospitality. Instead, he simply moved closer to the fire, seeking it's protection against the cold of the night. He fell asleep that night to the crackling of the fire.

A/N: Well, as you can see I've restarted Life After Death. I reread what I had already written, and decided that it was total crap, considering that I wasn't keeping any sort of continuum. Well, I'll hopefully update this along with Phoenix Rising. Please, R&R.