A/N: So, this wasn't the first Shadow/Peach fic on this site. There was one called "Bittersweet" (forgot the author's name) about Shadow and Peach at the Winter Olympics, but it's gone now. Considering it was riddled with spelling and grammatical errors, it's probably not much of a loss, although I feel a sense of sadness at being the only game in town when it comes to Shadow/Peach, aka "Shadeach" or "Peachadow" or whatever.

As they exited Lemmy's castle, Peach noticed that Shadow appeared to be more pensive than usual, so she spoke up:

"Shadow, you look like you have something on your mind. What's going on?"

"Saphanolis…if this is what I think it is, you and your Kingdom are going to see some serious crap."

"Why, what do you think it is?"

"I'm going to tell you a story from before we met: I used to work for a worldwide military organization known as the Guardian Units of Nations, or G.U.N. for short. Along with my friends Rouge and Omega, I was dispatched to recover an artifact known as the Scepter of Darkness from Dr. Robotnik. In doing so, I encountered a being who called himself 'Mephiles the Dark'. It turns out that he was the living consciousness of a godlike entity named Solaris, who was worshipped by the people of a city-state known as Soleanna."

"And you think Saphanolis might be a god?"

Shadow nodded. "Something of that nature. If Bowser is attempting to enlist its help, then odds are, it's not a benevolent, forgiving god. Then again…not many are."

Just then, Shadow looked over and not only saw Peach limping, but she had her hands on her back as well.

"What's wrong, Princess?"

"Ugh…I'm feeling so sore! Shadow…would you care to give me a massage?"

Shadow dropped his jaw. "Excuse me!?"

"Why are you acting funny about it?"

Shadow put his hand out to the side, palm-up. "Look, I can understand you wanting me to snuggle with you at night, but this!?"

"What's wrong with giving somebody a massage? It's a perfectly natural thing!"

"But I…"

"Please?"

Peach put on her best smile in spite of the pain she was in. Once again, the answer was obvious to Shadow…

"All right…I'll do it."

Peach clapped a couple of times. "Oh good!"

"Let's just get to safer ground first. If you're having trouble walking, I can carry you."

"It's OK, I think I can just make it there…"

And so, Shadow and Peach took a few steps towards a nearby grassland, which had a mountain not too far from it. She then pulled out her beach towel from her backpack and laid it down on the ground, also pulling out a bottle of ginger-scented massage oil, which she handed to Shadow. He then looked away as she took off her backpack and DeSantis rig and stripped naked before lying down face-first on the towel.

"OK, whenever you're ready, Shadow!"

Shadow loosened the Inhibitor Rings on his wrists and took off his gloves before putting some massage oil in his hands and rubbing them together.

Then, Shadow began to massage Peach.

As soon as Shadow touched her, Peach let out a soft "ooh". While she had known how soft he was thanks to the fact that she'd hugged him, feeling his hands rubbing her was still quite the surprise for her.

"Is this good for you, Princess?"

"A little lower, please!"

Shadow complied with Peach's request. Already, she could feel the soreness and aches that had plagued her beginning to melt away, to be replaced by a most acute pleasure like she'd never known before. Peach had already had a bit of a liking for Shadow before this, but given that he seemed to know what he was doing here, she grew to like him more and more. She didn't even have any inhibitions about him seeing her in the nude. After all, it wasn't like there was supposed to be any subtext to this; she just needed a way to get rid of the pain she'd been experiencing, and she figured that he'd be the right guy for the job. The cool grassland that they were in, combined with the soft, fluffy towel also did wonders for her pleasure, and she moaned a bit.

"Oh Shadow, this is so good!"

It was good for Shadow, too. Though still a bit wary of doing this, he figured that if Peach and Mario were in an open relationship, it was OK. Besides, she felt so soft, and massaging her felt so relaxing for him, too. He'd given Rouge a few massages before, and no matter how many times he did it, the sensation never got old. This was also the first time he'd ever massaged a human, too, and he found it no less pleasurable than massaging a humanoid animal. In some ways, he actually found it more pleasurable. Eventually, after spending so long on Peach's back, he let his hands travel lower, down her legs and to her feet. When he put his hands there, she gasped.

"That didn't hurt, did it?" asked Shadow.

"Oh no, I love having you massage my feet!"

And so, Shadow continued to massage Peach's feet. She moaned a bit more loudly when he did this, although he noticed something interesting about this: whenever Peach moaned, she just sounded so wholesome and ladylike. In contrast, when Rouge did that during massages, she sounded like she was enjoying the experience too much, to say the least. Not that such a thing sounded terrible to Shadow's ears, but when he was massaging a woman, he just wanted to know that there were no ulterior motives behind it, and he could sense none with the Princess, so he felt quite at ease with her. Besides, Maria did tell him to give people a chance to be happy, and if giving a woman a massage was going to make her happy, that made him feel happy, too.

"Shadow…"

"Yes?"

"I think I'm good now. You can stop."

Shadow stopped massaging Peach's feet, and she continued to lie down and bask in how fluffy everything felt right now. Eventually, she sat up.

"Thank you, Shadow! I feel much better now!"

Shadow averted his gaze. "Oh…you're welcome, Princess."

"Please, call me Peach!"

"That's a cute name, by the way. How did you get that name?"

Peach proceeded to dress up. "Well, when I was born, my parents thought I felt as fuzzy as a peach, so the name stuck!"

"Cute story, too."

Peach had finished putting on her tank top and was putting on her earrings, hair tie and crown. "Now, how did you get the name 'Shadow'?"

Shadow put his gloves back on. "It's not as cute a story as yours, but I was developed from a top-secret military project called 'Project: Shadow', so called because the intent was to create a being that did not exist, as intangible as a shadow, you might say."

Peach's eyes widened. "Wait…you were artificially-created!?"

"As hard as it may be for you to believe, that's the truth."

Peach giggled. "Well, whoever created you did a really good job when it came to your handsome good looks!"

As much as Shadow tried not to react to that, he couldn't help but blush when she called him "handsome".

"Speaking of that, you have a beautiful body. Please take good care of it."

"Awww, you're so sweet! I certainly will!"

"That aside, I presume our trip's going to take us up that mountain…whatever it's called."

"That's Vanilla Mountain, by the way," said Peach.

Shadow nodded. "Right. Before we go, I think I should teach you how to disassemble and clean your Uzi."

"OK!"

Shadow set down the same towel that they used for disassembly and cleaning of the handguns.

"As with the Beretta, you need to remove the magazine and cock the weapon."

Peach unloaded her Uzi and cocked it.

"Now, wrap your left hand around the weapon behind the rear sight and use your thumb to hold the receiver cover down."

Peach did so.

"Push the receiver catch to the rear, and then lift up and back to remove the receiver cover."

Peach took off the receiver cover.

"To remove the bolt and striker assembly, lift the bolt up about an inch, press back on it for half an inch and take the bolt and striker assembly out and forwards."

Once again, Peach followed Shadow's directions.

"Pull back on the striker assembly to remove it from the bolt, but DON'T remove the spring from the striker assembly."

Though a bit nervous about accidentally pulling the spring off the striker assembly, Peach managed to do it all right.

"Finally, to remove the barrel, press the retaining nut catch just above the barrel backwards, unscrew the retaining nut and then pull out the barrel."

Peach did that, and she smiled.

"Wow, that was even easier than the Beretta!" said Peach.

"Cleaning is very similar to how the Beretta does. Just be sure to use the metal brush marked "38/9". It can clean any 9mm caliber weapon. Also, wipe the bolt face down really good. If you have any issues, just ask me and I'll help you."

Peach nodded. She grabbed the push rod and attached the round metal brush that Shadow told her about to it. While she was cleaning the Uzi, he proceeded to field strip his MP5. Fortunately, the cleaning kit he had contained multiple brushes in each caliber, so he didn't have to wait to grab a brush for his gun. While he was cleaning his, he thought about how well Peach did in field stripping and cleaning the weapons he'd given to her. Given how she did that and how well she did in handling the weapons, he figured she was quite intelligent, and he was honored to have her fighting by his side. Eventually, both parties finished cleaning their submachine guns.

"Reassembly should be the same," said Shadow. "Just be sure the flat notches on the barrel line up with those on the barrel housing."

Reassembling her Uzi proved quite easy for Peach.

"And one more thing…" said Shadow.

"Yes?"

"Are you sure you'll be OK climbing the mountain? I don't want you to hurt yourself again."

Peach gave a thumbs up. "Relax, Shadow! I'll be fine! Your touch did wonders for me!"

Shadow nodded, and they began to climb the mountain. Already, they encountered a couple of enemies in the form of a Monty Mole and a Lakitu. Neither one proved to be a match for 9mm SMGs, but the Lakitu managed to throw one of its eggs down, which hatched into a Spiny. Taking a cue from the Buzzy Beetles, Shadow and Peach aimed for its head, which did it in. However, there was another problem to contend with…

"PEACH, LOOK OUT!"

Shadow grabbed Peach's hand and ducked behind a large rock with her, thereby avoiding a boulder that was rolling down the mountain. Peach breathed a sigh of relief after the boulder had passed, and then she moved on with Shadow. While they encountered another group of Monty Moles, this particular stretch of the mountain was otherwise rather peaceful. Granted, they had to dodge another boulder at one point, but they seemed to be doing all right.

In particular, Peach was feeling quite well in spite of having to climb a mountain. She surmised that there was something in Shadow's touch that ensured that she wouldn't throw anything out or otherwise cop any sort of pain from this hike. The enemies that her and Shadow encountered, however, were still proving quite problematic, especially when another Lakitu swooped in while they were dealing with some more Monty Moles. Fortunately, the two heroes dispatched their foes – including the Spiny that hatched – and kept hiking. Another boulder came at them, but Shadow's Hedgehog sense saved them again, and they kept going up the mountain.

As he continued to climb the mountain, Shadow took some delight in the fact that the air was getting cooler. While not affected by extremes in temperatures, he found that there was something so relaxing about a cool breeze as compared to the stifling heat of Magma Plains. It reminded him of how he would sometimes take cold showers in Rouge's mansion when the weather got especially hot. While gunning down some more Monty Moles, he reminded himself to take another cold shower once he got back to Mobius.

"Peach, how much longer do we have until we reach the summit?"

"It shouldn't be too much farther now. We should only have a couple minutes' worth of climbing before we get there."

"Right."

True to Peach's word, after dodging a couple more boulders and ventilating some more bad guys – including two Mega Moles – they reached the summit of Vanilla Mountain, where another castle awaited them.

Entering this castle, Shadow and Peach found themselves in a narrow hallway with orange brick walls, which was quite cool given how high up they were. There didn't seem to be a lot of enemies here, but there was more than just a smattering of Fire Bars here, so they had to take it slow and be careful with the timings. Thus far, they were doing a manageable job of it, although they encountered a Bony Beetle at one point. Like the Dry Bones, this one simply fragmented upon being shot and eventually reconstituted itself, but not before Shadow and Peach had put some distance between it and themselves. Granted, they did encounter a few more, but they managed to make it to a door before many – if any – of them could reconstitute. However, Shadow's Hedgehog Sense told him that him and Peach had just gotten out of the frying pan and into the fire.

"Peach…"

"Yes?"

"Don't look up."

Unable to resist temptation, Peach looked up, and she wished she hadn't: not only was the ceiling covered with spikes, but it was coming down on them. She did her best not to scream, but she couldn't help it, though given the intense danger, it felt as though all the air had been sucked from her lungs. Knowing that she would most likely just stay frozen while the ceiling of death came down, Shadow swept her off her feet and ran really fast with her, dodging Bony Beetles, lava pits and Podoboos along the way. At one point, he came across a switch that temporarily reversed the descent of the ceiling. He didn't think it was necessary for him, but on the other hand, he found that Peach's mental health was a concern for him and he figured that doing this for her would make her feel better. In any case, they got to the next door without getting squished, which took them to a large shaft-like room with a rope hanging down.

"How good are you at climbing?" asked Shadow.

"Good enough, I suppose."

"Think you can climb this rope?"
Peach nodded. "I should hope so."

"Good." Shadow fired a brief burst from his MP5 and killed a Koopa Troopa that was climbing down the rope. "Let's go."

Shadow slung his MP5 and started climbing the rope. Similarly, Peach lowered her Uzi before climbing. Thus far, they were doing all right, but a few ways up, Shadow whipped out his MP5 and blew away another Koopa Troopa that was coming down. Peach shrieked and nearly let go of the rope because the falling Koopa Troopa nearly struck her. Fortunately, she was unhurt otherwise, and Shadow put his gun away again before continuing the climb. Soon enough, the rope they were on ended at a large block protruding from the wall, but there was another rope nearby that appeared to go even higher. Shadow leapt to it first to take out any Koopa Troopas that might be on it, and he wasted two before putting his MP5 back.

"Peach, can you grab the rope?"

"I'm not sure! Let me try…"

Even with her arms, the next rope proved to be out of reach for Peach. Taking a few deep breaths, she extended herself towards the other rope before attempting a leap of faith towards it. It was a difficult leap, and she yelped as she thought she might get impaled on a set of spikes below, but thanks to a decisive grab and a bit of luck, she managed to grab on. Even so, Shadow climbed down a little bit.

"Just do your best!" said Shadow. "You can grab my foot if you need to! I'll pull us up!"

Peach nodded. While she appreciated Shadow's offer, she was doggedly determined to pull herself up on her own, owing to her desire to be more than a damsel in distress. Fortunately, she succeeded, and seeing that his offer was rather superfluous, Shadow climbed up, and they continued their ascent. During their ascent, Shadow and Peach heard a faint, slow, minor-key version of the Super Mario World overworld music being played on an organ of some sort. Where it was coming from was pretty much unknown to either of them, but Shadow sensed it coming from somewhere up above. In spite of her general wariness regarding the music, Peach kept following Shadow, higher and higher, with the music becoming louder as they did so. They had to change ropes a few times, and while not all of them were as death-defying as the first one they had to go through, a couple did come close. Fortunately, neither one missed a single rope, and Peach breathed a sigh of relief as her and Shadow made it to the top. Going through another big red door, they encountered a Koopaling playing a large, church-like organ.

"Whoever you are, this is your end," said Shadow.

The Koopaling stopped playing and picked up a wand. "Ah, so the great Princess Peach has brought a new friend with her! Allow me to introduce myself: I am Ludwig von Koopa, greatest composer of all the Koopas!"

"Well, Ludwig, I'm Shadow the Hedgehog, and no amount of milk plus drencrom is going to sharpen you up and make you ready for the ultraviolence that I'm about to bring to you."

"We shall see about that!"

Ludwig took his wand and shot a fireball at Shadow and Peach, which they both sidestepped easily.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

Not to be outdone, after activating Chaos Control, Shadow charged at Ludwig and whacked him with the butt of his MP5, sending him hurtling against the wall. With the Koopaling dazed, Shadow got upon him and pointed his MP5 at Ludwig's head.

"Talking about Bowser's latest plan will prolong your life," said Shadow.

"Y-you want to know about Saphanolis, ja? I don't know too much, but his power is immense…immense beyond all measure! No one can hope to defeat him!"

"No one but me."

Shadow smacked Ludwig again with the butt of his MP5 and walked away. With this new tidbit, it seemed as though his suspicions might be confirmed.

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.