REMEMBERING MARIA
By Whinnie

Hello, and welcome to my second SONIC THE HEDGEHOG fic, Remembering Maria! This story is basically about the lone and infamous Shadow the Hedgehog, and his relationship with each girl of Sonic's cast. Anyway, this is a oneshot (yay for oneshots! -) so I will not be updating except to add missing words or correct writing errors.
No need to review, though I would greatly appreciate your opinion (flames are also welcome, as anonymous reviews.)
And have a good time reading the fic!

(ONE MORE LONG NOTE: The story contains Shadow/Amy, Shadow/Rouge, and a little Shadow/Cream, so if you're anti about these couples, GET OUT! Rated K+ for romance and angst, as well as some bad words by Shadow. THERE IS NO ARCHIE, SATAM, OR AOSTH IN HERE, so if you were expecting more than plain old Amy, Rouge, and Cream, or wanted Princess Sally, that's your problem to solve. And lastly, aren't you relieved that this author's note isn't as long as my other one?)

Finally. The night was his, and his only. Shadow the Hedgehog stirred deep in the shadows of a building, watching the dark and abandoned roads of Station Square far down below. It was early in the morning, too early for the world to get up and start with the daily tasks. Only few cars sped around, and very little people cruised the streets. Yes, it was indeed too early (and too dark as well) for the city of Station Square.

Shadow was deep in thought... thinking about Knuckles. All night, the black hedgehog had contemplated similarities and differences between him and his rival's friends. Sonic was great with people; Shadow was a lone wolf. Tails was young; Shadow was the oldest. Knuckles was slow; Shadow was fast. The black hedgehog finally shook his head, trying to get his train of thought ahead of him. Finally, much to his relief, pink and orange was spread across the sky; the sun was rising. "It's about time," he muttered sourly. Jumping off the roof, he began his early run on the city outskirts.

It took a while to get to the border of town, because now there were much more vehicles and pedestrians around. When he DID reach his destination, however, the sun was fully visible and he could hear the birds' song.

Dew sparkled on the grass, and flowers bounced back and forth with the wind. Shadow sighed as the warm June breeze ruffled his quills here and there. It felt so good... to be like this.

Suddenly, Shadow halted to a stop in front of a house with a purple roof and gasped when he saw a young, brown-haired girl step out and pick a flower. "Maria!" he thought happily, but then found himself kicking a rock silently when he realized it was only Cream the Rabbit. Sweet, innocent, cheerful Cream... always there to lend a hand to Amy Rose or a Chao... Shadow felt his eyes observe her hunched over some lilies in the pond, giggling when a frog leaped out to scare her. She reminded him of Maria in that same cheerful and happy manner... Never letting him down...

"Mr. Shadow?" Cream's innocent voice broke him out of his memories. Before he knew it, the 6-year-old girl was standing in front of him, a curious expression written all over her face. "Mr. Shadow, are you okay?" she asked him again. Shadow groaned. She was probably gonna run away after this, if he screwed up and addressed her in the same way he talked with everyone else. Sighing, he nodded his head. There was Maria again... That image of her in his head stuck around this time.

"Mr. Shadow, you don't look very good," Cream said, looking deep into his eyes. "Are you okay?" Shadow nodded once again, pretending to feel his forehead. "Yeah, fine," he said quickly, then added, "Thanks for asking." Cream just nodded happily. "Any time, Mr. Shadow." With that, she skipped off to continue admiring the frog.

"Wait!" Shadow felt himself scurry after her. The rabbit paused for a second, stopping so he could catch up, then turned around. "Yes, Mr. Shadow?" she asked him innocently. Shadow was, for once, caught up into her eyes: those delicious, innocent, chocolate orbs... Breaking the gaze, he stared at her for a moment, then caught her in a warm bear hug. This surprised Cream a little; she thought he was gonna tell her about slapping Sonic across the face, or making some other unkind comment. Hugging back, he whispered, "Keep it up," then as quickly as he came forward, he stepped back and ran off.

Cream sighed. When she suddenly found a picture of a young, brown-haired girl in her hand.

Shadow groaned to himself as he ran along Station Square's outskirts, mentally kicking himself repeatedly. "Why the hell did you do that?" he thought to himself, feeling stupid. He had just hugged a 6-year-old rabbit... not to mention even having a little feelings for her! Sighing, he tried to get his mind off by instead paying attention to his surroundings: the lush bushes, one overflowing and surprisingly clean river, the enormous forests that would be good for some shade... Shadow sighed once again, this time in frustration. "This isn't working," he told himself, kicking his arms mentally. THEY were the source of all these mixed up feelings, the ones that made him commit the hug in the first place... Deciding to cut his run short, since it wasn't at all helping, he made his way back into the city as the afternoon sun shed its light on glass skyscrapers, creating blinding reflections. Stopping at an intersection to let a car pass, he finally had an idea... a craving to see the whole city and all the greenland surrounding it... He had once run across a cliff allowing him to see such beauty, and now he wanted to see it again. Making his way out of the city once again, but having to be even later because of the heavier traffic and people, he finally reached the city outskirts and began looking at the surrounding mountains for the desired cliff.

"Maybe I should just stay here," he thought, plopping down for a second to admire the snow-capped hills and the pretty sky blue backdrop filled with puffy clouds. When he turned around, however, to face the city, he suddenly decided against his current decision and sped towards the highest cliff he could see... which was 100 yards away.

Shadow panted after the long run, but he was happy. "Finally!" he thought contentedly to himself as he sat down for a rest. He would just have to climb - or run - up to the rock platform sticking out some distance above, but that was it. That was all. After recovering from his oxygen starved lungs, he stepped a few metres back and dashed towards the wall... Suddenly, he found himself running up it and, soon, at his destination. "I'm there!" he thought, wanting to pump a fist in the air and scream out in victory, but decided against it, just in case someone like Eggman was watching him. Once again sighing, he plopped down to admire the view, when he saw a lone pink hedgehog standing by the edge.

"Isn't that... Amy Rose?" he asked himself, confused. Great, first it was Cream, now what, her? Sighing to himself, completely frustated by his feelings, he stood up to approach her. "I bet the gods of Earth are playing with me today," he thought, groaning. Unfortunately, he must've been pretty loud, because Amy whipped around and whirled out her Pico Pico Hammer. Shadow flinched; he hadn't meant to scare her. But now, he had, so it was time to take things the hard way.

"Hello, Amy Rose," he told her, calmly. Amy lowered the hammer a little, but now her ears were sharply on guard. No way was she gonna be kidnapped by any baddies this time... It was time to show the world her independence.

"...Is there something you'd want from me, Shadow?" she asked him, just as calm. The black hedgehog hated the smooth tone in her voice; he just wanted to chat with the Amy who he'd met on Ark. Speaking of Ark... Shadow groaned as memories and images of Maria came up in his mind. He dropped to the grassy ground, clutching his head.

"Shadow?! Are you okay?" In an instant, Amy had dropped the hammer by her side, and was now hovering over her crush's counterpart. "Shadow?" she asked again, wanting to check his head, but she knew he'd just swat away any kind of help. "Ugh..." The black hedgehog moaned in pain, before answering groggily, "I'm fine, Amy, please. You can stop worrying now." The girl relaxed for a second, before she remembered who she was talking to and grabbed her hammer once again. "Shadow, I know, what do you want?" she asked him, irritated.

That tone... was Maria's tone... The same she used to joke around with him when he would always come to her after rough situations... Shadow didn't fall to the ground like he did before, but his head was still spinning. Clutching it once again in emotional pain, he growled. What was wrong with him?

"Shadow?" Amy was a little frightened. She had never heard him yowl like this. "Shadow, is something the matter with you? Are you okay?" she asked him. Murmuring curses, he stopped clutching his head and muttered in the same annoyed way, "Yeah, yeah." Sighing, she asked for the third time, "Do you want something, Shadow?"

The black hedgehog wanted to groan, but he knew he was putting a big anxious-for-others rock on her back if he did. His feelings were acting again. "No, no, I'm fine," he replied. Both stayed silent for a second, when Shadow muttered, "Maria..." Amy cast a curious glance his way, but he didn't seem to notice. He looked confused, thoughtful... Amy sighed. He was so different from Sonic! They were both the same species, had the same speed... But Shadow was thoughtful, quiet, while Sonic burst out in noise, always cocky and relying on his feet to get him someplace. "Shadow..." Amy started, before he wrapped her in the same hug he had given Cream, except this one was more firmer. Amy was stunned; all she could do was hug back. Then, he did the most surprising thing of all - kiss her on the cheek. Amy gasped softly, but Shadow gave her a weak smile and said, "You do the most amazing and kind things for people, Amy Rose... Don't stop." Before she could ask what he meant, he had sped down the rocky wall and throughout the green plains.

Amy touched the spot of her cheek on which his lips had felt. She finally realized what he meant. "Don't stop running, Shadow the Hedgehog," she thought, smiling as she sighed after finding his golden bracelet in her hand. "Don't stop running."

"This is it!" Shadow told himself, screaming in a fury as he repeatedly smashed himself into the cliff wall. "This is the last straw, the last time I ever do something stupid!" He scolded himself for doing two embarassing things in one day... First he hugged Cream, then he hugged AND kissed Amy, now who was next? Rouge? Shadow groaned at the thought of her. "Typical Rouge. Always after her jewels." Gritting his teeth at the current situation, he smashed into the wall once again, gasping for air as he slid to the ground, feeling bad for doing that, that... and this.

"Speaking of Rouge... I wonder how she's doing?" Shadow thought out loud. He hadn't seen 'batgirl' for quite some time now, and decided to check on her. "I doubt she's home... but hell, who cares?" So after dusting the rocks and dust off his fur, he sped off, the evening sun casting long shadows on the plains.

This time, he reached her house MUCH faster, because it was also on the border of town, and because he had run around the whole city outskirts instead of cutting through the city and taking the 'longer' route. Luckily for him, the bat had arrived just a few seconds before him, and was getting out of her black sports car. "Hey, Shadow," she greeted him upon seeing him in fornt of her house. "What's up?" Shadow sighed, deciding to tell Rouge about his problem. Meanwhile, the bat had sensed this was something with no easy solution. "Hey, tell ya what, why don't you come into my house and tell me all about it?" she suggested. Shadow just nodded, ears flattened at the thought of having to relive through the whole scene again, as he followed Rouge through her house.

Once they were fully seated with hot cups of tea, Rouge asked, "So, what's up? Got a girlfriend yet?" This only caused Shadow to groan out loud and hit his head on his chair once. "Shad, is something the matter?" Rouge asked after witnessing the whole thing. Shadow sighed as he told her everything about Cream, Amy, and his visions of Maria... "It's just that I can't get her picture out of my head!" he screamed at the end. Pausing a minute to collect himself, Rouge finally spoke up. "Shad, I think I have something here that belongs to you..." she said. Ears perking up in sudden interest, she left the room for a second, then came back with a golden bracelet in hand. "Sonic gave this to me when you fell of Ark," she explained, placing it in his palm. "It's yours, and you're here in front of me, so I guess--" She was suddenly cut off when Shadow hugged her, giving her a short kiss on the lips. Finally, when it was all over, he collapsed on the floor. "I did it again!" he screamed, trying to get a hold of himself. "I did it again!" Rouge tried comforting him, but to no avail. "Shadow, stop!" she finally screamed, and he stopped, just weeping there, sobbing on the floor. She knelt beside him, her hands on his shoulders. "Listen, Shadow," she started, "I know you're still heartbroken on what happened 60 years ago on Ark, but please don't turn crazy now. Can't you do it on the 100th Ark-anniversary?" Shadow finally burst out in laughs with her. When they were done laughing hilariously, he gave her a hug, then said, "Thanks, Rouge. I guess I needed that." Then he sped out of the room, out the door, out of the city.

Rouge grinned, but then stopped. Frowning, she said, puzzled, "He left his golden bracelet behind..." Shrugging, she just murmured, "I'll keep it for next time..."

Finally. The night was his, and his only. Shadow stirred deep in the small light of a building, watching the dark and abandoned roads of Station Square far down below. It was early in the morning, too early for the world to get up and start with the daily tasks. Only few cars sped around, and very little people cruised the streets. Yes, it was indeed too early for the city of Station Square.

Shadow was deep in thought... thinking about Maria. All night, the black hedgehog had contemplated similarities and differences between her and his current friends, Amy, Cream, and Rouge. The black hedgehog finally shook his head, trying to get his train of thought ahead of him. Finally, much to his relief, pink and orange was spread across the sky; the sun was rising. "It's about time," he muttered sourly. Jumping off the roof, he began looking.

... Looking for a future.

Alright, so how was the story? Good, bad, so-so? I hope it met your standard expectations... Anyway, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, and if you think most of the ending was crummy, it was because I was in a bit of a rush... - Once again, thanks for reading, and Happy New Year from your fave author! -

-- Whinnie
December 31, 2005 & HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!! -