MJ's eyes never left the metal door. Her heart was beating in anticipation. Did Shadow make it? Or did he…
Finally, it opened, and everyone held their breath…only to see one single hedgehog.
"Where's Shadow?" MJ asked the question that was running through everyone's heads.
Sonic shook his head, closing his green eyes.
Instantly, MJ felt tears streaming down her cheeks.
"MJ…" Maya Eva reached out a hand to comfort her friend, but the seal shook it off, and walked away.
Sonic walked forward, and held out his hand. The teal echidna looked, and found an object of great value, and put it in her pocket, keeping her eyes on MJ.
A moment of silence settled until Rouge asked, "Do you really think that Shadow was the Ultimate life form?"
"Well…he was what he was, a brave and heroic hedgehog who gave his life for his people," Jet replied sadly.
Eggman walked over to the large window at the front, aware that two certain foxes were following him.
"You know," he said suddenly, "I've always looked up to my grandfather when I was young. I had told myself that I wanted to be exactly like him…but now I wonder if he actually meant to try and destroy earth."
"Well, if there's one thing I know…" Tails cast a glance at Lee, and the two exclaimed in unison, "We all stopped it together!"
Eggman smiled fondly. "Yes…I guess you're right," he said.
Amy and Krystal walked towards another window, and gazed out at the stars.
"Krystal…how did you meet Shadow?" Amy asked.
"Well…" Krystal felt her nose start to get numb with sadness, but then she let out a small laugh. "…you could say it wasn't the nicest of meetings…but I met him none-the-less…" the white hedgehog cast a glance at the weeping seal. "But MJ knew him better than all of us…"
Amy nodded. "She sure did," the pink hedgehog agreed.
Rouge couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. She was so deep in thought as she looked out the window, that she didn't notice the black hedgehog walk up beside her.
"What are you thinking about, Rouge?" Darkness asked.
The bat jumped slightly, looked at the girl beside her, and then continued looking out the window.
"Nothing…" she answered.
Darkness gave her a practical look. "I don't think it's nothing. Is it Shadow?"
Rouge hesitated. "Partially."
The other half is MJ…I wasn't able to get those two together…she told herself.
The bat's reply confused the black hedgehog. "Is it my scar?" she finally asked.
Rouge looked at Darkness, surprised, but then calmly looked back out the window again. "…I had forgotten about that, but now that you mention it…"
Another practical look. "Rouge, it's okay. You don't have to feel guilty about giving me a scar that will stay with me my whole life. In fact, I thank you."
Rouge's head snapped around as she stared at Darkness. "What?"
"I said I thank you for it. If you hadn't given me this scar, then I wouldn't have a memento of what happened here," Darkness smiled.
Rouge smirked. "Yeah…I guess you're right…"
MJ's face was buried in her arms. No…she knew it would happen. She knew Shadow would die. How could she have thought differently now?
"MJ…" the seal lifted her face to see Maya Eva and Shani.
"What?" she asked, rubbing her nose and sniffing.
"We just want to tell you that we're sorry, about what happened," Shani replied, walking to the other side of her friend.
"Oh…" MJ looked down.
Maya Eva fingered the object in her pocket, deciding if it would be better to give it to her now. She decided against it.
"MJ…things like this happen, you know? Family members die every day, people are lost…you're not alone in this pain," Maya Eva said, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder.
"Yeah, but it's not everyday that the person you love dies…" MJ retorted.
Shani and Maya Eva exchanged bewildered glances. MJ loved Shadow?
"I thought, I actually hoped, that Shadow would come back, but he didn't. I don't know how I could've thought otherwise. It happened in the story. Why couldn't the same happen now?" she continued, putting a hand on her face to hide the tears.
"Oh, MJ…" Maya Eva and Shani embraced their crying friend and let her weep on their shoulders.
"Why did it he have to die on my birthday?" the seal asked nothing. "Why? Why couldn't this happen on any other day?"
"Because then you wouldn't have met Shadow on your birthday in the first place," Shani said, loosening the hug.
MJ looked at her friend, confused.
"If it wasn't your birthday, do you think meeting Shadow would have been just as special? No. It couldn't have been. You fell in love with him on your birthday, and that's what made it all the more special, MJ," the light blue hedgehog continued.
The seal looked down. "I guess…"
"MJ, we saved both sides of earth! How awesome is that? We got to see Sonic and friends—a privilege barely anyone gets! And guess what? It happened on your birthday. On your birthday we saved earth. On your birthday you met Shadow and fell in love. On your birthday we got to live the adventure of Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. How cool is that?" Maya Eva replied, smiling.
"To tell the truth, I'm kind of jealous," the teal echidna added, making the seal giggle a bit. Her friends were right. It was on her birthday that they all were heroes, and she wouldn't have it any other way.
"Hey! I'M the one who's supposed to make her laugh!" Shani added playfully.
MJ giggled again.
"Well, you just did! You happy?" Maya Eva retorted, putting her hands on her hips.
"You bet I am!" Shani exclaimed.
MJ laughed all the more as she added one last thought, And on my birthday, I have the funniest friends in the world!
Jet and Sonic said nothing. It was obvious both of them were thinking about Shadow, but neither wanted to talk about it.
"Are you guys going to go back?" Sonic asked finally.
Jet looked at the blue hedgehog, and then looked down. "Yeah…I guess…but I don't know how we would, though..."
"I think I may know how!" Eggman informed, walking up to them.
"How?" Jet asked.
"Because of chaos control, and the disturbance in the veil, there should be a portal that is opened around here somewhere, leading back to the other side of earth," the scientist explained.
Everyone's attention flew to the center of the deck, as Eggman was searching on the screen for any source of extra energy.
"Ah-ha! There it is! It is in the hallway right outside our door! How convenient!" he exclaimed, and one by one, everyone filed out of the room, heading towards the portal's location.
MJ was the last, and she looked behind her out at the deck that she probably would never see again. She sighed. It felt so sad to leave…
The seal took a deep breath, and brought a hand up to wave.
"Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog…" she whispered, and with that, she turned and followed everyone else.
"Whoa…" was all that Shani said, staring at the intense yellow light of the portal.
"Weird…" was Maya Eva's opinion.
Krystal looked down. "I guess this is it…" she said sadly, tears coming to her eyes.
Amy hugged her, and the white hedgehog hugged back.
"I don't want to go…but I have to…" she whispered.
"Just don't forget me, and I won't forget you," Amy replied.
The two friends embraced tighter, not wanting to let go.
Jet and Sonic looked at each other. It was apparent as leaders of the two groups that they were trying to be strong and not cry.
"Oh, who cares?" Jet finally exclaimed, letting the tears fall.
"I'm going to miss you, Jet. I have to admit: you're pretty fast," Sonic complimented.
"Thanks, but I'm not as good as the fastest—besides, I learned from the best," the brown animal winked.
The two shook hands, but then hugged tightly.
Darkness and Rouge exchanged glances. Both were crying.
"I'm going to miss you, Rouge," Darkness said, arms out for a hug.
The bat just stared at the outstretched arms for a moment. "I'm not one to usually hug, but…I guess I can make up some excuse." She smiled and the two embraced.
Knuckles walked up to Maya Eva and Shani.
"Hey, you guys make up a great team," the red echidna complimented.
"Thankees!" Shani exclaimed.
Maya Eva couldn't help but let her tears fall. "Knuckles, I'm going to miss searching for those keys with you," she said, remembering their mission that they had worked together in.
"Yeah…I just hope I don't run into any more ghosts," the red echidna replied, and the three laughed.
It felt good to laugh, but somehow, it only made everyone cry all the more.
"I'm not one to usually cry…" Eggman began, blinking his eyes.
Mira looked at the mad scientist, and smiled, despite her tears. "Neither am I…but things change, you know?"
"Yes…I guess they do…" Eggman replied.
Even though everyone else was having a hard time leaving, it was Tails and Lee who had the hardest.
"I'm going to miss your random remarks…" Tails said, crying as he hugged his look-a-like.
"And I'm going to miss co-piloting the TORNADO," Lee replied in a quivering voice.
"We were a great team, weren't we?" Tails asked.
"The best," Lee replied.
MJ stood alone, but she didn't care. She was still crying, but she knew that deep down, Shadow hadn't left her just yet. He was still there…still in her heart…and would be…forever.
"Oh, enough of this gushy-nonsense! Let's get home already!" Shani exclaimed, wiping her tears away.
Maya Eva smiled. "All right, if that's the way you want it…then let's GO!" with that, she pushed her friend into the portal, hearing her fading scream.
She laughed. "I'm so evil—AND I LOVE IT!" the teal echidna jumped in, doing a cannonball.
Jet and Darkness shook their heads, and exchanged glances. They waved good-bye, and then walked in at a much calmer rate.
Mira had herself at a stance, and then did a cartwheel inside.
MJ and Krystal wrapped their arms around one another's shoulders and attempted to skip happily inside, their laughter echoing.
Lee was the last. Finally, he let go of Tails, and walked backwards towards the portal, saying his good-byes. His eyes got moist as he looked at Tails once more. The two-tailed fox was saluting him. Lee smiled and saluted as well, before turning and bravely marching in.
The others waited in silence as they saw the bright portal close, leaving them in the darkness.
"Do you think we'll ever see them again, Sonic?" Tails asked, shattering the peace.
"I don't know, Tails, but I hope so…" the blue hedgehog replied. "I hope so."
……….
All was quiet…the lights were off…the room was still…
Suddenly, the door to the room burst open, and there stood a kind-looking mother.
"Mika! Are you guys all okay?" she asked.
The eight bodies stirred, and mumbled, but then one of them sat up.
"Mom?" the girl asked, almost gasping.
Mika's mother raised an eyebrow. "Of course it's me, dear. Is something wrong? I heard you all screaming and it sounded painful. Did something—"
"We're fine, Mrs. Kurosawa," Destiny chimed in. "Thank you for asking."
Mika's mother was astonished. "You…did you just…"
"What?"
Mika's mother blinked a few times, and shook her head. "Nothing…" she replied, but added silently, Destiny never says 'thank you'!
"Hey, mom?" Mika asked, bringing her mother's attention back to her. "Can we have some time alone?"
Mika's mother smiled and nodded. "Yes you may, dear. I was just going to tell you that it's almost time to open presents. You have fifteen more minutes to play, and then we'll get to presents, okay?"
The birthday girl nodded, and her mother left the room, closing the door behind her.
"Did…did what I just thought happened happen? Or was it just my imagination?" Bridget asked.
"I hope it wasn't…" Raquel said.
"Was it just a dream?" KT wondered out loud.
"If it were, it would be a pretty big coincidence that it we all had it," Kogome informed.
Rachael tuned out from her friends' conversation when she felt something in her hand. Slowly, she uncurled all her fingers to discover the valuable treasure Sonic had given her. She immediately curled her fingers over it, and hid it in her pocket for later use.
"But…was it real?" Tia asked, getting all her friends' attention.
The others shrugged.
Destiny's eyes fell upon Kogome's face. "It's real," she said suddenly.
"What? How do you know?" Mika asked.
Her answer was a single point from her friend. They followed where the finger was indicating, and saw the evidence. Kogome's scar.
"Yep, it was real," Bridget agreed.
A smile crept across Raquel's face. "We did it," she said quietly.
"Come again?" Rachael asked.
"We did it…we saved both sides of earth…" Raquel informed, a little louder so then everyone could hear her.
The air was filled with pride. They were heroes, now. They had saved both sides of earth…together…as friends.
Mika looked down as a single thought entered her mind.
Destiny saw this. "It's Shadow, isn't it?" she asked.
The now 12-year-old nodded sadly. A moment of silence swept over everyone.
"Well, at least we know he's alive!" Bridget informed, trying to cheer up the moment.
Mika looked up, giving a small smile. "Yeah…I guess you're right," she agreed.
"MIKA! PRESENT TIME!" her mother's voice yelled.
"YAY! PRESENTS!" Bridget jumped up, and burst out the door, but she soon stopped.
"What's wrong, Bridget?" Rachael asked, coming to a stop behind her friend.
"I'm going to have to get used to not being able to run as fast as I could…" she murmured, and her friends laughed.
"Oh, get a move on! Mika's got some presents to unwrap!" with that, Rachael pushed the blonde-haired girl down the stairs playfully.
"HEY!" Bridget complained.
Rachael laughed. In fact, everyone did. It felt good to be back at home…and yet, it felt sad to be gone. But they knew that on this side of earth was where their hearts belonged.
"OPEN MINE FIRST!" Bridget exclaimed, picking hers up, and carrying it to Mika, who was now sitting in the lazy-boy.
Mika laughed. "Okay…" with that, she opened it up, and found a Shadow plushie. The birthday girl was too stunned to speak. "How did you--?"
"Lucky guess," Bridget shrugged, smiling.
"MINE NEXT!" Raquel called, and gave hers to Mika.
And it was present after present that Mika opened. But there was one thing she noticed…Rachael still hadn't given her present to her yet! In fact, when the birthday girl looked around for the faithful friend, she couldn't find her anywhere!
After she opened KT's present (the last one), Mika turned to her friends. "Have you guys seen Rachael?" she asked.
They exchanged glances, and shook their heads.
"I was wondering why it was so quiet…" Bridget murmured.
"Hey Mika!" Rachael suddenly came walking in, as if right on cue.
"Rachael! Where have you—"
"Follow me," was all the girl said, and Mika looked at the others before following.
The six other friends exchanged glances. What was Rachael up to?
Rachael led her friend out onto the front porch, and leaned against the wooden railing. Mika did the same. There was a moment of silence between them as they gazed out into the beautiful night sky.
"Mika…I had a present for you…" Rachael began, fingering the object inside her pocket.
The birthday girl just listened intently, and didn't answer.
Rachael looked back up into the night sky, and continued, "…but I found something else that I thought was better."
Mika furrowed her eyebrows, turning to her friend. "What was it?"
Rachael smiled, and turned to her friend. "Close your eyes."
The birthday girl was even more curious, but did as told, concealing her excitement. Finally, she could feel a round and hard object being placed into her hand. Without thinking, she curled her fingers around it.
"Now, open," Rachael commanded.
Mika looked at her hand, and gasped. Tears came to her eyes as she was at a loss for words.
"Shadow's bracelet…but, how?" she looked up towards her smiling friend.
"Like I said: I found it," Rachael replied.
Mika let the grateful tears silently fall as she slipped it over her hand and onto her wrist—a perfect fit.
"Thank you, Rachael…this is the best gift I've ever gotten in my whole entire life," she said.
"Your welcome, Mika," Rachael replied, and the two hugged.
There was another moment of silence before…
"MIKA! RACHAEL! COME HERE, QUICK!" came KT's shrill voice.
The two exchanged worried glances before releasing the hug and running back inside.
"WE'RE UPSTAIRS! HURRY!" Tia commanded.
The two bounded up, and burst into Mika's bedroom.
"What's the matter?" Rachael asked, panting slightly.
"Look," was all Destiny said, pointing at the television screen.
Mika and Rachael walked over, and soon had expressions on their faces like their friends did. But slowly, smiles started to replace the open-mouths as their hearts swelled with pride.
There, on the screen, in white letters was a saying that our heroes knew by heart. They didn't know why it was there, but something told them that they had earned it.
"A new day brings a new adventure, but for now…rest easy, heroes."
THE END
Credits
Written by: krystalhedgehog
Main Characters (their creators):
Destiny/Jet……………………………………………………….Gangsta blad
Kogome/Darkness………………………………………………..Kogome
KT/Lee……………………………………………………………knucklesandTailsfan102
Mika/MJ………………………………………………………….MJ the Seal
Raquel/Krystal……………………………………………………krystalhedgehog
Bridget/Shani……………………………………………………..Sonic Heroz
Rachael/Maya Eva………………………………………………..Cocoa…Fearless?
Tia/Mira…………………………………………………………..RougeFreak
Sonic the Hedgehog……………………………………………...SEGA
Miles "Tails" Prower……………………………………………...SEGA
Amy Rose…………………………………………………………SEGA
Knuckles the Echidna……………………………………………..SEGA
Shadow the Hedgehog……………………………………………..SEGA
Rouge the Bat………………………………………………………SEGA
Dr. Eggman (Dr. Ivo Robotnik)……………………………………SEGA
Maria Robotnik……………………………………………………..SEGA
Professor Gerald Robotnik…………………………………………SEGA
Guest Characters (their creators):
Jade………………………………………………………………..Jade the Wanderer
Spicy……………………………………………………………….cesa star
Coldwing…………………………………………………………..COLDWING
Sami………………………………………………………………..samithehedgehog
Renegade…………………………………………………………..G thelegend
Sarah……………………………………………………………….dizzyboo678
Muscles…………………………………………………………….Gen.Magera1
Boom……………………………………………………………….carpet
Carlos………………………………………………………………lucha5
Special Thanks:
Jade the Wanderer for giving me the lyrics to "My Sweet Passion" and "Believe in Myself".
Google for showing me the websites that gave me the lyrics to "Live and Learn", "It Doesn't Matter", and "Escape from the City".
MJ the Seal, Jade the Wanderer, Sonic Heroz, Cocoa…Fearless, and Gangsta blad for encouraging me to continue this story.
Scotty CF for giving me the inspiration to pursue my dream of writing.
My family for tolerating my ENORMOUS time on the computer.
And everyone who reviewed (and may be still reviewing).
(No characters were harmed in the making of this story)
Some say that everyone has a purpose; a purpose that exposes the real character inside them. Discover yours.