UlTrRa SiK pRoDuCtIoNs pReSeNtZ:

LoVe'S bUrN

By: UlTrAa ShAdDow

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Sega's characters….but I'd be a very happy guy if I did!

-Here it is: the coup de grace

Third POV….

The sky was rising into a warm shade of rose as the sun began to appear. The air was crisp and cool, with the normal stillness that dawn brought. With the passing of a few hours, the sky slowly began to fade into a light blue. Admiring the midst of the sky's transform was a lone hedgehog.

He sat under the shade of a tall oak tree, reflecting thoughtfully in the presence of the transforming sky. He waited patiently as the sun gradually rose to its apex, and showered the land with its powerful rays. His meditative thoughts were stirred when he heard a voice, "Hey!"

Shadow turned his head toward the sound of the voice. Approaching him swiftly was a young, smiling ivory bat. She was dressed in a matching semi-form fitting burgundy sweat suit. The gorgeous creature slowly approached Shadow as the suns rays lit up her striking features.

With the shafts of light, her eyes were revealed to be a rich shade of plum, "Hey dad, so what was so important that you wanted to talk to me here? At Sapphire Lake Park?"

The advancing girl was nearly an adult now, with her being eighteen years old. Truly, time did wait for no one; and yet, Shadow had nothing to show for it; he looked the same as he did the day his daughter was first placed in his arms. It was one of the many perks of being an immortal being.

"Well, you mean other than the fact that this is the place where I'll meet your date," Shadow rose to his feet, he motioned to the bat, "Come over here Maria."

The girl walked over to Shadow, only to find herself being lead around the pathway around the lake. Maria shrugged and ambled until she was side by side with her dad, "…So, what do you want to tell me?"

"Rouge Maria," the white bat grimaced at the sound of her complete name, "…That's exactly what I want to talk to you about."

"Oh. You're going to finally explain to me why you gave me such a jacked-up name?" Maria said with an arched eyebrow.

"Sort of. I was thinking of telling you the complete truth about your mother," Shadow replied.

Maria looked at her father sideways, "…So what would make you decide to share this with me now of all times? I love hearing about my mother, but…Isn't this a little random?"

"To tell you the truth, I can't explain why I never spoke much detail about her. Maybe I was still suffering from her loss," Shadow brought his eyes upon Maria's, "But now I feel that I have enough strength to say what I must, after eighteen years. And everyday I look at you, I feel like I'm staring at her; you look so much like her."

Maria blinked; it was true, the young bat was almost a perfect mirror image of her mother: she embellished the same crisp, white fur, the same athletic build, and even the similar stature. It seemed as if Shadow's input in Maria's creation had been denied. The only physical qualities Maria had of her father's were her purple eyes; a mixture of Rouge's blue and Shadow's red.

Other than that minor difference, she was a spitting image of her lovely mother; at times, when Shadow saw Maria walking around the house, he had believed that Rouge was there in her place.

"…And now that you're eighteen, there are plenty of things I should shed light on," Shadow began, popping his knuckles thoughtfully, "I will tell you about many things: your mother, your birth…everything…"

Maria continued to walk alongside of her father, " 'Everything'? What haven't you told me? I know all about how you're this 'ultimate life-form' or something," Shadow laughed, "And how you used to live on Ark awhile back, and you never age….…You've told me that Mom died when I was little…She died fighting against a crazy doctor Eggman…And you, my Uncles Sonic and Scythe, and Aunts Amy and Daisy raised me…"

"Your mother wasn't even alive when you were born," Shadow replied.

A cold chill pricked Maria, "…That's not possible."

Shadow sighed, "It is. You know that if I didn't think you'd be able to handle this story I wouldn't tell you."

Maria nodded her head, although her stomach was turning flips, she managed to nod her head and stare at her father sternly, "Of course."

Shadow smiled; although his daughter took none of his physical traits he had noticed that she developed a good balance of his qualities, like his courage, his competitive streak and his unbending will, and her ability to say just exactly what was on her mind. Her fiery personality made her a domineering force. But on the flipside, she had her mother's intuitive, caring humorous personality.

Shadow caught a glimpse of the watch on his daughter's wrist: 7:15; good, that meant that he had plenty of time before noon rolled around. And with a deep breath, Shadow exhaled and began his story.

Dark clouds of smoke rose in torrid circles from a sky that matched the color of the dancing flames. A small village, with buildings made of nothing more than branches and leaves was being washed away by a billow of licking flames. The small community was in tarnish, anything that once stood was destroyed, and the village's occupants themselves had either fled off or were mortally wounded.

Approaching the village were a couple of passerbyers. They surveyed the area sadly, and with having nothing to say, they began to cautiously search for any survivors. The first traveler, a pepper-colored echidna searched through the scorched rubble by using his strength, lifting anything he could find. And the second wanderer, a brown-black hedgehog zipped and darted to and fro, searching the village quickly with his impressive speed.

Just when the hedgehog seemed to be losing faith in finding any survivors, he stopped when he approached the center of the village. There, lying in the midst of the flames was a black and red streaked hedgehog. He looked at the newcomer with blurry red eyes before he passed out, falling into a numb void of nothingness.

Shadow's eyes slowly began to slip open as he gradually left oblivion. His vision was blurred as he was greeted into the conscious world with a thumping, hot headache. He was surprised to find that he was able to hear voices over his tremendous headache. Although the words were slushy and slurred, he was able to make out two voices audibly.

"--Villagers said they were attack by a green and black demon--"

"--Him--?"

"--Believe it was him--"

"--say he dragged a yellow hedgehog and left him to die in the Sahara Dessert--"

"--Massacred the gold hedgehog--"

Shadow moaned audibly as he tried to elevate himself from a dusty patch on the ground, but with his lack of strength, he did no such thing. The other occupants, who were sitting around a glowing fire turned to look at him, both holding steaming clay mugs in their hands.

"Well, look who's awake, Blare," the dark brown hedgehog replied.

"…I wouldn't try to get up if I was you," the black echidna replied, "That gash across your chest looks terrible. It took us forever to clean the blood that was crusted around that wound. But now that I hear what you did to that gold hedgehog, I'm regretting doing so."

Shadow blinked numbly, his mind still hazy from pain and anguish, "…She's gone, Rouge's gone..."

Both the hedgehog and the echidna traded glances at each other skeptically. Then they looked at the mumbling newcomer. Both leaned in closer to look at Shadow; the brown hedgehog stared at him with puzzled eyes while the echidna glared at him sharply, "…What are you saying?"

"…Gone…she's gone…gone…" Shadow mumbled incoherently.

The brown hedgehog turned to look at the darker echidna, Blare, "…Are we sure this is the 'green and black demon' the villagers told us about? I see no ounce of green on him!"

"But all the villagers we talked to said that it was this hedgehog that scorched their village," the echidna replied, "And you even saw that half-dead gold hedgehog he left in the dessert. How do you rationalize that?"

The brown hedgehog, Trigger, frowned slightly, "Yeah…it was pretty terrible, he messed that guy up pretty good, he tore him up and made him pretty bloody. I hate to say this but, if I was that gold hedgehog, I'd rather be dead then suffer through that pain."

The echidna grimaced, "Then that makes two of us."

"So, Blare, what do we do with him then?" Trigger pointed to a murmuring Shadow, who's eyes were gazed over.

"Well Trigg, I think we should let the villagers decide what to do with him. They set up camp not too far from here. Let's bring him to them."

With that, both the echidna and the hedgehog rose and made their way to Shadow.

The villagers who had been lucky enough to return from their incinerated village relatively unharmed had set up a temporary camp site a couple of miles outside of their beloved, burned village. Currently, the chief of the village had been busy overseeing the new construction plans for their village. Just as they were in the middle of deciding where to construct the new waterhole, a scout entered the room and approached the chief.

The chief, an old, deep gray fox looked up at the approaching warrior, "…Yes? What news do you bring?"

"Sir, two traders come claiming to have some very important news."

"…Send them in then."

With a bow, the scout turned on his heel and reentered the room with Blare and Trigger following his footsteps. Both subjects bowed before the chief, and the echidna spoke, "Good evening chief, we just brought news that we bring to you the creature that destroyed your village."

The chief instantly rose to his feet, his face turning into stone, "...Is that so?"

"He's in a tent if you want to see him," Trigger replied from behind the dark echidna, "If you follow us, we'll take you to him."

Without a word, the chief, flanked by two soldiers, followed the two wanderers out of the tent. Ignoring the nippy night air, he trailed them quickly, soon he found himself at a small, poorly lit tent. In the tent was the very being that made the old chief's anger rise like steam; it was Shadow.

"How did you stop this despicable being?" the chief hissed, "He took out many of our finest warriors without an effort!"

"Well, we found him…uh, unconscious," the brown hedgehog replied.

The chief took his gaze from Trigger and looked at Shadow. The chief swore that he heard Shadow's low voice, but he dismissed the thought as his anger rose, "…So what say you, you demon! You have destroyed our village! And wounded many men! Many people claim that their eyes saw you! And the gold hedgehog you brutalized…"

But Shadow was nowhere near ready to answer, "…Gone…couldn't protect her…I'm alone again…Maria…now Rouge…"

The chief glared, "What? He is making little sense to me. Answer me you demonic hedgehog!"

"Sir, he's been like this ever since we found him," Trigger replied, "…And we have no idea why."

"It's true," Blare replied, "...Probably scared that he's been caught."

The old leader frowned, "…Then we shall make him speak clearly."

"…Maria…Rouge…I'm sorry…"

Just as the chief bent forward, with his arm outstretched towards Shadow, the black hedgehog began to bawl. The action startled the chief so much that he stumbled backwards into Blare. But the black echidna hardly noticed, as he stared at Shadow with wide, stunned eyes.

"Maria! Rouge! I'm sorry! Sorry!"

Rivers of tears poured from his face as he cried uncontrollably; for the first time in his existence, Shadow finally began to vent all the sorrow he locked away in his heart. The secure dam of emotions he had sealed away had been eroded away and his grief flooded him like a raging wave.

When he started crying, he found that he couldn't stop; he cried over the loss of Rouge, the loss of Maria and even his future child he assumed was dead. He cried for any and everyone he knew. The others stared at him wordlessly as he wept with wet, miserable crimson eyes. He repeated the same phrase over and over again as his tears ran down his face copiously.

Finally, one of the chief's soldiers had the mind to speak, "…Sir?"

"...We shall see to him tomorrow," the chief replied curtly.

The chief, flanked by his soldiers turned and left the tent. Eventually, Blare and Trigger followed their footsteps as they left the tent in silence. Neither of the two friends said a word to each other for the remainder of the night.

To both their surprise, and dismay, when the chief, as well as the two traders returned to the tent, they found that the black hedgehog was still crying stridently. Vaguely, Trigger wondered if Shadow had been crying the entire night; something about the unfamiliar red and black hedgehog made him think that he wasn't quite the evil being everyone claimed him to be.

But since the chief was adamant about getting answers out of a howling Shadow, which was rather pointless, he refused to feed the red and black hedgehog until he spoke about his accused crimes. And none of the other villagers were willing to care for Shadow either, since he was the being that they claimed destroyed their village.

And between the two traders, Blare was against it from the beginning, claiming that Shadow was getting only what he deserved, so the slightly more sympathetic Trigger decided to do the task.

The earth-hued hedgehog entered the room slowly, instantly catching more of Shadow's howling. Trigger took a knee beside Shadow as he set the bowl on the sandy floor. He filled a spoon with the un-delicious gruel he made himself and held the spoon near Shadow, "Okay, its time for breakfast, and oh doesn't it look yummy."

He tried twelve different maneuvers to feed Shadow, but each ended unsuccessfully. Most of the attempts ended with Trigger being sludged with his own nasty, lumpy porridge.

Just as he had given up any civil attempts and decided to fling the entire bowl at Shadow, a voice stopped him, "…I'll take over from here."

With the bowl raised over his head, Trigger turned his head slightly to see a ginger haired human girl with cool brown eyes looking at him. Trigger lowered the bowl instantly, "…I wasn't going to throw this at him…"

The nameless human girl had stayed with Shadow day and night for the span of a week. And even though it was a struggle to care for the black hedgehog, with him crying profusely, she had dealt with him with a motherly patience.

And although the villagers never asked the young woman why she had bothered with the dangerous hedgehog, they all watched her curiously. It was just beginning to become a brand new day and the villagers' fires were adjoining thick rolls of smoke with the dawning sky.

By their own fire, Blare and Trigger sat. The black echidna threw a twig in the crackling fire as Trigger began to nod off. After tossing the small branch in the fire, the irritated echidna picked up a stone and threw it at his slumbering friend.

"Hey!--"

"Wake your ass up!" Blare hissed, "You're supposed to be watching the fire, dingbat!"

"I was watching the fire!"

"Oh really? With your eyes closed?"

"…Yes…"

The black echidna snarled irritably as he rubbed his head, "…Why am I always stuck with an idiot? Why? I must have a moron magnet on me or something!"

The brown hedgehog glared, "…Well up yours pal!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

Both the hedgehog and the echidna were in each other's faces glaring. Both looked as if they were hankering for a fight. But with a sigh, the echidna shook his head, "Look at us, fighting over nothing. We're getting wound up here."

Trigger scratched the back of his neck absently, "Yeah I'm sorry …But that hedgehog just won't stop crying! It's driving me up the wall!"

The black echidna sat down, "Yeah, likewise…And with that stupid hedgehog not talking, we're just sitting here, doing nothing. Listening to him! And--"

He paused mid-sentence as his eyes picked up a new focus. The ginger-haired human girl was walking through the camp with a pail in hand. Calmly, without noticing the echidna's watchful eyes, she entered Shadow's tent and disappeared.

"…Quite frankly, I don't see why she even puts up with that guy anymore…" Blare replied, "She's probably lost her marbles too."

But Trigger stared after her wordlessly. When the girl entered the tent, she was almost scared out of her mind when she found a silent Shadow recuperating beneath thin blankets. He was tracing designs in the dusty floor beside him, and before she could even ask a question, Shadow summoned up what he felt he owed her, "…Thank you…"

After blinking, she smiled; just as she expected, his voice was weak and hoarse, mostly from fatigue, but then again, he had been crying for an entire week straight, "You're more than welcome, Shadow. I know you've been going through a rough time."

"…Who are you?" Shadow asked softly, "And how do you know me? And why did you even bother helping me?"

The young woman smiled and took a seat beside the black and red hedgehog, "Well, first, why don't you tell me about everything; Achilles, Rouge, the works, and then I'll tell you about myself."

"…I will," Shadow replied, "But…I'm hungry…"

The human girl burst out laughing, "So this is the terrible demon, huh? The all powerful ultimate life-form? I'll bring back some grub, you'll need some sleep though, so hit the hay for a few minutes before I bring back breakfast, alright? I'll wake you when I get back."

After a large breakfast of warm toast, eggs, milk, wild blueberries and crème-filled pastries, the ultimate life form was beginning to feel like his old self again. And in showing his gratitude toward the human girl, he shed light on everything:

The Sahara Dessert calamity; Eggman's death, the awakening of Achilles, his use of the Master Emerald's power, Rouge's death, and even his near death experience. Throughout the entire time Shadow spoke, the mysterious redhead kept her eyes trained on his, nodding her head at every other sentence.

"…I suppose I earned the 'green and black' demon title from the power I used of the Master Emerald's power, but now as you can see, I guess I'm back to normal."

"…I understand now," the girl replied solemnly, looking at her cup of coffee, "This whole thing, let alone your story, is a lot to swallow; so let me get this straight: Achilles was an incomplete experiment, and because he was released too early, he destroyed Eggman."

Shadow confirmed her thought with a slight nod of his head. The girl shook her head, "…So the 'green and black demon' was just really a victim of this whole charade."

"So now, what do you have to do with any of this?" Shadow asked, drinking the tea that she had boiled for him.

"Well," the girl started, "Let's just say that the man Achilles beheaded was my dear old dad."

Shadow paused and turned to look at the girl harder. He hadn't noticed it before, but the young woman did have nearly the same, flame orange hair that the late doctor had. But unlike her father, the girl was fairly attractive. The girl caught Shadow's disbelieving stare and she laughed, "Oh, what? You don't believe me?"

"You do not look like his daughter," Shadow replied, "He was repulsive and you are possibly the opposite."

The girl beamed, "Well thank you Shadow! But I guess it helps when your mother is an exotic dancer…So I guess I lucked out. But I did inherit my father's merits in science and love for technology. I'm actually planning on making his abandoned Sahara Base my new headquarters!"

Shadow looked at her wordlessly; the blank look on his face brought an even bigger smile on her face, "Perhaps I should officially introduce myself. I'm Julie Robotnik, Eggman's daughter, and Professor Gerald Robotnik's great-granddaughter. And in the light of their deaths, Shadow, both you and Achilles are my concerns."

She took a sip of her coffee as Shadow stared at her again with another wave of stupor, "…I'm truly hoping you're going to explain yourself, Julie."

"Mmm," the redhead replied with a content sigh, "There is nothing like the taste of caramel coffee in the morning."

A bolt of anger lanced through Shadow, "Answer me! What are you planning? Trying to collect all of your experiments? Just like your twisted father?"

Shadow was mellowed by a flare of pain from the large gash across his chest. Months had passed from the time he had first received the fatal wound, but it since carried clout. Wincing, the ultimate life form settled back into a more comfortable position.

After Shadow's outburst, Julie settled for staring at him levelly, "…No. I do not believe in the same ideals my father had. Why heck, I never even knew him! I've just…decided to take my inheritance, and that leaves me with the Sahara Base lab, and well, you, Achilles, and Scythe."

Shadow suddenly felt ill; inheritance, hadn't Eggman used that word with him? The black hedgehog was suddenly liking less and less of the human girl. But she seemed to have sensed his apprehension, "Don't get me wrong Shadow, I have absolutely no desire in taking away any freedoms you want. I just want to protect you; and from what I've seen, both you and Achilles have gotten yourselves into some really sticky situations."

Shadow went silent, allowing Julie to continue, "So, to be frank, I plan on reacquiring you from this village, and plan on taking you back with me to the lab, I have something there that you might want to see."

"So," Shadow growled, "You're not going to take me to someplace against my will and lock me up or try to run some sort of world domination scheme? Don't toy with me human; I've lost my mind once, and I'm pretty sure that I could figure out how to do it again."

Julie smiled, "I promise you that you're safe with me…However, you still have the villagers to win over. If you could explain this very same story to them that you told me…something tells me they'd be much more lenient with whatever punishment they want to give you. Right now they look fit to have one black and red hedgehog, minus his head."

Shadow signed as he swirled around the contents of his drink, "…Forgive my outburst, Julie. After everything that's been going on--"

"Don't apologize Shadow," Julie beamed, "The only thing I ask of you from this point on is to trust me. No matter what happens, I'm going to get you out of here. You shouldn't have to suffer needlessly anymore."

The human girl patted Shadow's shoulder and rose to leave. She flashed one last glance back at him, "…Just tell your story Shadow, and I promise you'll be free again."

With that statement, she turned on her heel and left the tent.

It was nightfall, and the dark air was lit with the red glows of fire. The entire village had gathered around the dancing flames to listen to the account of the accused. So before the entire village of eighty, Shadow stood facing them with the flames roaring behind him.

The ginger and crimson flames cast a shadow that hid his eyes. And even though Shadow raised his eyes to look at his crowd, no one could tell who his eyes were set upon. The chief finally rose and pointed at Shadow, "So the demon has finally regained his senses, and wishes to confess his wrongdoings?"

Shadow paused before he spoke with a deep sorrowful voice, "…I am not a demon, and I did not come here to 'confess' to anything. I want to tell you all the truth about what happened."

But angry voices interrupted him with icy precision, "You're a demon!"

"You don't deserve to speak!"

"Let's kill him and be over with it!"

Continuous, angry murmurings rose sharply as voices began to join and fed the growing angry mob. Shadow stood silently in the middle of the jeers and taunts stonily. Every time he tried to speak calmly, a voice would rise over his own quickly. He felt his temper starting to flare as frustration and anger began to replace sorrow, "I am NOT a demon!"

Somehow, Shadow managed to make his voice sound both strident and ominously deep at the same time, as if he spoke with two entwined voices. The crowd died down at the unnerving voice; it also didn't help that they believed him to be a demonic being.

With his face no longer hidden in the shadows of darkness, the black hedgehog raised his head, and the entire crowd could see his stern red eyes. Whatever power they saw flickering and glowing behind his severe crimson eyes, it silenced them. The only person who relaxed in the crowd was Julie Robotnik; it seemed that she had enjoyed the revival of Shadow's powerful personality.

The black hedgehog scorched everyone with his indignant eyes; the chief watched him silently, unlike the green and black hedgehog that had burned their village earlier, it seemed as if Shadow had a firm grip over his anger. And what was more dangerous than a wild, powerful foe? The answer: A controlled powerful foe.

"Before you condemn me to an unreasonable punishment, listen to my story. Then afterwards, you can decide my fate," Shadow replied, "It is true that this 'black and green demon' is I. But at the same time, it's not true at all…"

Shadow explained to the enraptured crowd about everything: from the moment he first entered the Sahara Dessert Base with his comrades, up until he found out that Rouge was killed. Through Shadow's testimony, the crowd's angry faces slowly morphed into sympathetic, tear-filled expressions.

Little did Shadow know that as he progressed through his narrative, his words didn't just tell his story, but his facial expressions and his voice did as well. He never noticed how he smiled when he mentioned Rouge, or when he frowned darkly as he spoke of Achilles.

When the black and red hedgehog finished his story with a sigh, the crowd fell silent. Shadow finally opened his eyes to gaze upon the crowd, and when he looked at them, he was shocked to find understanding, sad eyes. Even the cold chief looked at him compassionately, "…Is this story true? …Black and red hedgehog?"

"…Unfortunately, every bit of it is accurate," Shadow replied softly.

Within the crowd, both Blare and Trigger exchanged glances at each other, "Holy cow man! No wonder why he beat that gold dude to a pulp!"

The echidna's face darkened, "If I was him, there wouldn't even be a 'gold dude' left."

Trigger looked up at his friend, "…I hope he does not get in trouble…I don't think there's a single guy here who wouldn't have done the same thing to that yellow hedgehog. Can you believe it? He was driven to the brink of insanity!"

For the first time, Blare looked remorsefully at Shadow, "…I'm sorry I misjudged the guy…But it's the villager's elder's decision with what to do with him…Let's listen in…"

The chief silenced the murmuring crowd before he spoke, and all eyes were on him.

"…Truly, this tale is a tragedy," the chief said softly, "…But nevertheless, my village still remains in ashes from your rampage. That cannot go unpunished…whether or not you experienced such terrible traumas."

Shadow looked to the floor briefly before he heard a feminine voice, "May I propose a decent punishment?"

The crowd, as well as Shadow turned to the sound of Julie Robotnik's voice. She had risen from her seat and stood at least a couple of feet above the entire crowd, "Shadow rightfully belongs to me, as he was created by my late great-grandfather. And since I've been planning to move him from this continent anyways, why not just banish him from walking on this place again? Therefore you won't have to worry about seeing him again…and well, he'll be free to go. And why not allow him to help in the reconstruction of your village?"

The chief caught the approving glances of nearby soldiers. After hearing the approving murmurs from the crowd, he turned to look at Julie, then at Shadow, "…Now that is an interesting proposition, young lady…"

The chief turned to the crowd sitting behind him, "And do you all feel that this is a fair decision?"

Stronger, approving mumbles rose from the crowd, then the chief turned to face Shadow, "As decided by our clan, you, black and red hedgehog, shall redeemed yourself through the labor of mending our village, and then, afterwards, you are exiled to never walk in this land again. I have spoken."

Just as soon as the chief's voice died down, the crowd swarmed around Shadow. He was a little surprised at their sudden embodiment, but he was also more than shocked to hear the kind words they spoke to him. He happened to catch sight of Julie Robotnik's dark eyes, for the first time in months; Shadow gave her a genuine smile.

But as always, his true smile disappeared quickly, only this time, he frowned at the touch of a stranger. Patting him on the shoulder was a brown hedgehog standing beside a black echidna, "…Oh! We heard about your terrible story my man! And we've been so touched that we will help you when time comes for the new village to be built. Trigger Hedgehog at your service!"

"And I'm Blare Echidna; whatever you need pal, we're here."

"Thanks for the ride fellas!" Julie called.

With the sound of galloping horses, a voice called out, belonging to the brown hedgehog, "No problem, lady! And Goodbye Shadow!"

After waving the traveling wagon off, Shadow turned to face Julie, "Well, here we are, home sweet home."

Julie flicked on the lights and the large building was lit. The young woman turned to face Shadow. He had stopped outside of the base's front steps as he peered at the opened door hesitantly. He shook his head and walked in beside the girl who watched him earnestly.

Looking around, Shadow began to study the Sahara Dessert base; it looked relatively the same as he had left it. Except, it appeared that Julie had thought to hang large paintings in the lab, "Like it? I just sort of made myself home here."

"No, I don't," Shadow deadpanned, "The only reason I'm here is to return your favor. Now what did you want to show me?"

"A couple of things; follow me," Julie turned to look at him, "Thirsty?"

"No," and that was the honest truth; Shadow found that he had no appetite in the base.

Julie led the black hedgehog through the halls of the base, giving him a painful walk on memory lane. At another detour in the hallway, Shadow stopped walking completely. He immediately knew that he was in the hall of the red room. Julie stopped and looked at him, "…Shadow?"

"I'm not going in there…"

"Shadow, we must, this is where you must go…I need to show you something in there…"

"I'm not going in there," this time Shadow hissed his words much more potently.

"Please," she whined, "You must! For me?"

Shadow scoffed and charged past her, "This had better be good!"

With the hiss of the opening door, they both entered the room. The second he entered the red room, déjà vu smacked him painfully; everything was returning back to him in a flood of terrible, icy memories. Almost blankly, Shadow stumbled around the room, tottering aimlessly.

The black hedgehog saw that the room was being put to use again as three large capsules were humming and churning. Shadow looked at the human girl and walked up to the first capsule before Julie could warn him, "Shadow, wait--!"

At the sight of the being in the capsule, Shadow's blood froze. An artic, chill began to slowly crawl up his spine, "…Is this what you wanted to show me…"

The capsule filled with a purple goo housed a very familiar gold hedgehog. Shadow felt the back of his mind screaming to finish the beating he started. A feral, raging anger was beginning to simmer. Julie rushed beside Shadow and met his terrible glare, "…No…I'm just finishing what my father should have…"

"You're saving him?" Shadow hissed.

"His cognitive thinking was--"

"I don't care!" Shadow roared, "No matter what I do, Rouge won't come back! Ever!"

"True, but you got a second chance…I think he deserves one as well…" Julie looked to the floor, knowing that Shadow looked more than ready to murder her, "But anyways, let me show you what I meant to show you…"

Shadow followed the human to the next capsule, but Julie stopped abruptly before they got to it. She turned to face him, sorrowfully, "…This next capsule holds someone very dear to you…"

Shadow looked up at her, residue of his anger still on his face, "What?"

"Someone you'll never speak with again…in this life," Julie bit back her breath.

She watched sadly as Shadow's stern gaze melted into a deep sorrow. He knew exactly who was sleeping in the next capsule. "Do you want to see her? When I found this lab, I found her and put her in one of the glass capsules…I didn't know what to do with her…"

Shadow closed his eyes; so his love rested in a glass casket, just like Snow White, "…No, not at this moment…"

"I understand," Julie nodded her head, "…She was such a lovely being…I can understand why your love runs so deep for her."

Shadow looked up at Julie with mixed, incomprehensible emotions, "…Was that the last thing you wished to show me?"

"Oh no, there's one last thing… but remember, you can come back here and see her whenever you want. She'll always be here for you…" They stopped beside the last capsule.

With a few quick taps on the dials, the capsule opened with a slight hiss. Shadow nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a powerful, yet angry cry. Smiling, Julie moved to the side to let the frowning Shadow get a view of the capsule. Shadow's frown dissolved instantly when he looked into the capsule and saw a crying infant bat. The baby was a fine ivory and wailed tremendously; the cold air had upset the little bundle.

"This, Shadow, is your baby daughter."

Shadow stared at the wailing white bat. He slowly moved a quavering hand toward his daughter, and at the touch of his warm hand, the baby settled down and opened her eyes. He fell entranced when he was met with large, adorable near fuchsia eyes. If Shadow thought he could only fall in love once then he just found out that he was wrong…

Slowly, he turned to look at Julie Robotnik. It looked as if another wave of emotion had just hit the ultimate life form; he was trembling greatly as his eyes were threatening to leak tears, "…How? That can't be—I…"

Suddenly, the human girl bent down and wrapped Shadow in a hug. To say the least, he was thrown completely off guard, "You do not have to be so afraid anymore Shadow…you are not alone anymore. You have a child, and she has you. Neither of you will have to suffer. I know that you still miss Rouge terribly, and you always shall, but look Shadow. She has left you the greatest gift possible; a new life. Take your daughter, and start a brand new life, with great, new possibilities."

"…Why have you done all of this for me?" Shadow asked numbly, letting his arms drop from their previous defensive posture.

"Because, I know this may sound cheesy, but I want all my experiments, my babies to be happy!" Julie smiled at him brightly, almost stupidly, "Besides, every picture of you I've seen has you looking like a grouchy-poo!"

Julie laughed at the incredible expression Shadow had on his face, and pulled away from him, "Oh come off it! I've heard all about my three projects: Shadow never smiled, Achilles smiled too much, and Scythe….well, he yelled a lot! But either way, trust me, you won't see Achilles again…I've scheduled him to wake up in about one hundred and eighty-nine years or so."

Shadow gazed up at her skeptically, "That would work…If I wasn't immortal…"

"…You just like to make things difficult, don't you?" Julie quipped, "But trust me, after all the rest, he'll be better; not so much on the kooky side."

She shook her head, "Look, let's not waste anymore time; just take your daughter Shadow, and get out of here! I had mind enough to find a Chaos Emerald. So remember, you can always return to visit your beloved Rouge as you please."

"…Hey Julie…"

"Hmm?"

Just as the human turned to face him again, Shadow tackled her in a bear-hug, knocking them both to the floor. In a fit of happiness they both laughed.

Maria looked at her father deeply; the girl stared at her father as if he had devoured an entire bull, "Is this all true? With mom being murdered, and you, going completely insane? I…never knew that…"

Shadow nodded his head. Maria looked to the floor, "Yes, this is all true Rouge Maria. Every last ounce of it. After I returned from Africa, I used Chaos Control to teleport here…"

This time, the girl didn't even wince at her complete name, she was too busy digesting his story, "…So…since you said mom was dead before I was born, does that mean that a machine kept me alive?"

"That, and Julie Robotnik…"

"Okay," Maria cut off the thought instantly with a sharp voice; she didn't want to know anymore, she decided to change the topic,"…So you actually named me after mom, huh?"

"Honestly, I couldn't decide who to name you after…Maria, or Rouge," then Shadow smiled, "So I chose both; and of course you hated it."

Maria looked at her father before looking up into the sapphire sky, "…Not anymore I don't…I'm just sorry I raised such a big fuss over it."

Shadow smiled at Maria as she rested her head on his shoulder. A comfortable silence filled the air as they studied the thick, fluffy clouds in the sky.

"Dad?"

"Hmm?"

"…Do you think I look like mom?" Maria's purple eyes fell upon her dad, "Everyone says I do. But when I look at the photos of her, I think she's much prettier."

Shadow smirked, "You're an almost exact replica of her, despite the purple eyes. But you're much tougher, more boyish in nature."

"Yeah," Maria scratched the back of her head, "She actually wore dresses!"

Maria laughed when Shadow smiled at her, "But in no way was your mother a wimp…By a long shot. I told you about how she was a thief…But anyways…The hardest thing, despite winning your mother's heart, was raising you… "

Both Shadow and Maria exchanged looks; Shadow smiled smugly at his daughter as Maria frowned at him, "Haha, very funny dad."

"Oh yeah, it was very hard to raise you without a mother," Shadow replied with a sigh.

"…Is that why I always spent so much time with Aunt Amy and Aunt Daisy?" Maria asked.

"Oh yeah…" Shadow replied, with Maria's light laughter, "There was even this one time I remember…"

A small, twelve-year old Maria was reading a large paper-back book. It was five-thirty in the afternoon when the front door shut. The young Maria looked up to see her father at the door, "Hi dad."

"Hey superstar," it was another one of Sonic's infamous nicknames that he gave out and somehow stuck, "What are you reading about? History? Science?"

"…No…"

Shadow walked over to the chestnut table his daughter was planted at, while she scanned the book, Shadow read the title, "'Learning about the Birds and the Bees'"

Shadow paused after reading that, and Maria looked up and asked her father the single most feared question, "…Dad, where do babies come from?"

"…"

---

Amy, alongside of Daisy, had been busy preparing a warm, piping hot dinner for the return of Both Sonic, and their son, Flash. Daisy sat comfortably at Amy's furnished wooden table as she watched her toddler daughter, Sunny, wobble around the room.

"Oh I'm so happy, Shortcake," Sonic's nicknames stuck, regardless of age or status, "Flash is starting to become a good runner, just like his dad."

"I bet he is," Daisy smiled, "Why with Sonic training him and all I know he'll--"

Suddenly, the front door flew open and Shadow barged in, pushing Maria before both of his friends.

"Here, take her."

Amy blinked, "...Wha--?"

"No questions! Just take her."

Maria burst out laughing as Shadow sighed, "You scared the living daylights out of me that day."

Maria smiled wickedly, "I bet! I remember after that day, you didn't let me talk to boys for a week! You even chased away Uncle Sonic's son, Flash!"

Shadow nodded his head, "You got that right!"

With a small smirk, he ruffled the top of Maria's hair. She pulled away from him playfully and smiled at him. For half a second, he thought that Rouge was smiling back at him.

He shook his head and cleared his thoughts; as hard as it seemed, he had to remember that although Rouge was gone, Maria was his focus now. She was the only thing he had left. But those who were lost along life's journey should always be remembered.

A slightly trembling voice spoke, "He-hello Mister Hedgehog."

Shadow's eyes fell upon the owner of the voice and instinctively, his eyes narrowed, "…Hello Flash."

A young, sky-blue hedgehog with cyan-green eyes stood almost tidily before Shadow's intense eyes. This kid was none other than the son of Sonic and Amy. He took after his mother's outgoing, bubbly personality, and he inherited his father's sense of humor. But unlike Sonic, he knew when to crank on the humor.

Shadow trained his eyes on Sonic's offspring; it was obvious that Shadow was making him sweat bullets. But he had to give the boy credit; he was the only kid in school brave enough to try to ask the ultimate life-form's beautiful daughter out on a date. And Flash was sure that the only reason Shadow hadn't tried to kill him already was because of the fact that his parents had named Shadow as his Godparent.

"Well, aren't you going to speak to Maria?" Shadow huffed.

"Oh, yeah," Flash grinned stupidly, "Hi Super—er, Maria."

The white bat grinned, "Hey Flashy."

"So um, Uncle Shadow--"

"Mister Hedgehog," Shadow corrected abruptly.

"Yeah, Mister Hedgehog," Flash replied, "Is it okay if I take your daughter, Rouge Maria, out on a date. AndIswearI'llhaveherhomebeforedark!"

Maria covered her mouth as she attempted to hide a giggle, Shadow would have been laughing too, had Flash not been asking his daughter out, "And need I remind you of what proper date behavior is?"

Flash twiddled his thumbs as he looked up at Shadow, "N-no Mister Hedgehog…"

"Good, and do you remember the proverb I told you about dating my daughter?" Shadow asked.

"Umm, yeah," Flash said, "… 'If Flash tries to touchy-touchy, then Shadow will eat Flash for lunchy-lunchy.'"

Shadow turned and looked at Maria as if expecting her to say something as well, "Oh, you said if he tried anything just to Chaos Blast him."

"That's what I want to hear," Shadow replied, as Flash blanched, "I better hear good things about this outing."

"You will Mister Hedgehog," Flash replied, he turned to Maria; when his eyes met her alluring purple irises, his face went warm, "Um, let's go now…"

Maria smiled as she felt Flash take her hand; even though he seized her hand with a gentle caution, she also noticed that he held her hand with an assured firmness. With a wave, Maria smiled at her dad and followed Flash out of the park.

Shadow returned her wave, and watched her disappear out of the park. Flash and Maria turned to look at each other and smiled; Maria with a large grin and Flash with a slightly bashful smile. Together, the young, handsome couple looked happy together. He knew that his daughter was in good hands…

Then Shadow frowned at the thought, 'She had better NOT be in 'good hands'!'

Shadow was disrupted from his thoughts when he felt a hand land on his shoulder, "A hedgehog and a bat, do they remind you of anyone else, Shad?"

Shadow smiled, almost envisioning a younger version of himself and Rouge in their place. He turned to look at the infamous blue hedgehog, and responded with a very ultimate life-form like quip, "…I just can't believe I'm letting her go out with your son."

"Hey, he knows how to treat a lady," Sonic said with a smile, "He's learned from the best."

"And when you say that, I'm hoping that you're speaking of your rose hedgehog."

"Oh, ho!" Sonic grinned, "Touché!"

"So, is everyone going to be coming here?"

"Are you kidding me?" Sonic replied, "No one wants to miss our group picnic! Everyone's coming, Lil' bud and Cream, Scythe and Shortcake, even Knux and Tikal are coming from Angel Island. I guess they left their kid in charge of the Master Emerald again…But you know how Sol is, all quiet and reserved just like Knux…Anyhoo, Amy's coming from the car; she should be here any minute now. But the others should be here any second from now."

Sonic paused briefly, allowing the good air between them to circulate, he turned to watch the retreating figure of both Shadow's daughter and his son, "…Doesn't she look just like Rouge? If I didn't know any better, I'd think batgirl had a clone walking around!"

Rouge…Sonic's single word brought Shadow into a thoughtful reflection, he closed his eyes; 'Only if you were here now to see this day... the sky is blue…the grass is green…your beautiful daughter has grown up into your mirror image…it's absolutely gorgeous…'

"Oh, no, it looks like the dynamic duo is back together again!"

Approaching over the horizon of green hills, were a couple of echidnas, a pair of hedgehogs, and a fox and a rabbit. Smiling, Sonic waved back to them, "'Ey! It took you guys long enough!"

"Hey, don't be mad," Knuckles replied, " Tikal had to finish making the lemonade, and being the grand chief myself, I had to put my finishing touches of the grilled steak sandwiches."

"We brought the brownies, pasta and the potato salad," then Scythe smiled wickedly, "And if you really wanna know why we were late, it was because Daisy wanted to ride the pon--"

Daisy blushed and elbowed him in the stomach, "Scythe! Will you shut up? Don't say such things! Especially not in front of Sunny!"

"…That's how we got Sunny…" Scythe ruffled the quills on his daughter's head, "Isn't that right pipsqueak?"

The yellow hedgehog glared at him playfully with silver eyes, just like her dad's, "Hey!"

"And we have the chilly dogs, soda, and ice cream!" A full-grown Tails replied.

A happy shriek was released from Sonic, " Hell yeah! Now this is what I call a picnic! Let's eat! For we shall dine like kings!"

Smiling, Cream halted Sonic in his path; after all the years that had passed, the little Cream had turned into a eye-catching lady, "Now, now! You'll have to wait until we set up the table, sir!"

Sonic frowned, "Aww damn!"

Scythe watched as Knuckles, Cream, and Daisy prepped the table, "…That's right, aside from the food, we're going to need that table for our poker tournament."

Tikal sighed, "…Again?"

Knuckles shrugged, "You know the routine by now Ti, our get-togethers just aren't get-togethers without poker…and lemonade!"

"And liquor!" That was Scythe.

"Yeah!" Sonic called out, "Besides, everyone knows Shad sucks somethin' awful at Blackjack!"

Shadow looked up at Sonic with a playful frown, and with a laugh, Scythe took over, " Come on now, Blue! No one insults 'the ultimate life-form' and gets away with it!"

Shadow crackled his knuckles ominously, "By the time I'm done with this card game, Faker will owe me his mortgage, house and his wife!"

A crow of laughter rang out from the group of friends. Although the blue hero didn't look quite too happy with his friend's jest. Shadow felt a hand squeeze his shoulder lightly.

"And just what was that crack about Sonic's wife?"

Shadow spun around to face Amy Rose. Although she had an eyebrow arched, she still wore an amused expression. This brought an even louder raise of laughter.

"Checkmate!" Knuckles called out.

"Serves you right!" Daisy laughed.

"Okay, let's hurry and set the table, Sonic looks as if he's about to pass out," Tikal smiled.

"…It's not hard to see why Knuckles married you," Sonic replied, making Tikal's smile broaden, "You know exactly how to please your man."

Scythe frowned, "…I'll take the clean meaning behind that one…"

As the others began to disperse, Amy appeared before Shadow with a smile, "So, the two kiddies went off already, huh?"

Shadow sighed, "…Yeah, Maria and Flash left."

"You know, he's really head-over-heels for your daughter," Amy smiled slyly, "We did pretty much raise them together, you know. And they are such a good couple; they look very cute together…"

Shadow stiffened as Amy bellowed with laughter, "What?"

"First I have to listen to your erratic blue husband, and now you're over here trying to peddle off my Maria?"

"Don't blame me for trying to set the pretty girl up with the best," Amy grinned, "Anyway, the real reason why I'm talkin' to you is…'cause today Tails is gonna propose to Cream!"

Shadow turned to look at a fidgeting Tails, "…Is that so?"

"Yep, just look at him squirm! Why, I remember when Sonic proposed to me at the baseball game, I thought he had the flu that day! He looked so pale!"

Shadow smirked terribly; he remembered that day; he enjoyed every second of Sonic looking as if he was about to wet himself…As matter as fact, Shadow was in the seat beside Sonic, watching the blue hedgehog sweat bullets, "So when is he going to make his move?"

"After the others set the table. The only person who does not know about the proposal is Cream!" Amy smiled.

Shadow smirked, "And that's exactly how is should be."

Almost perfectly timed, Shadow turned to look at the others to see them finishing up the last touches of the completed table. Tons of different delicious foods and drinks were set on the table. And he also caught sight of a rather large, delicious looking cake set off to the side of the table; he knew what that was for: a successful proposal.

Shadow's quick eyes caught Tails making his way over to an oblivious Cream. While she was enjoying the company of her friends, she failed to notice Tails smoothly making his way to her. It had been a full minute before Cream finally realized that Tails was beside her. She smiled as he returned a nervous smile.

Slowly, the chattering with the others died as they all turned to focus on both Tails and Cream. The brown rabbit smiled, "…What is it Tails? Oh how rude of me! How have you been today? I've been doing well...Hey! Maybe one day we can go to the beach together and--"

She paused, suddenly feeling as if the entire atmosphere around her had died, and it had. All the talking stopped and all eyes were upon her. Blinking, Cream turned and saw the others staring at her with big, toothy smiles.

Slowly, Cream turned to face the taller fox before her, almost nervously. She shifted closer to Tails, leaning aganist him innocently, "…Tails? What's going on? Why are they all staring at us?"

Little did Cream know, her innocent gesture sent Tails into a spiral of emotion. The fox's face exploded with crimson, and it didn't help at all that he heard snickers from his friends; Tail's embarrassment did not go unnoticed. Shaking his head, Tails moved away from Cream, who stared at curiously, "...Cream, I have something important to...ask of you."

Cream smiled, "Sure Tails, anything!"

With a gulp, Tails slowly took a knee. Cream's face gave way to shock as her mouth dropped in surprise. A whooping cheer from the group of nearby friends followed; with the loudest being Sonic shouting a 'Get her Casanova!'. Tails' ears burned with not only the cheers of his friends, but from embarrassment as well, "…Cream…will you…m-marry me?"

For a split second Cream stared at the young fox wordlessly, her eyes widening from shock. Before her, Tails bowed with hopeful, blue eyes. And in the young fox's hand was a goregous diamond ring. The boy she had known for years was suddenly proposing to her. It felt almost unreal, and she suddenly started to feel dizzy.

'Did...he really just ask me to marry him?'

To the others, it looked as if she had been frozen solid, just merely staring at Tails. With her delayed reaction, Tails' heart began to thump violently; was she going to say no? She wasn't smiling or anything! She looked terrified!

But just as doubt was swirling in her mind, Cream stared into Tails' deep sapphire blue eyes, seeing only warm, compassionate things. Eyes that projected how much he truly loved her.

Just as Tails was beginning to fear the worst, the rabbit's eyes contorted as tears streamed from her face. Cream dove into his arms, with a shriek, almost knocking Tails onto the floor, "Yes! Oh yes I will! I've been waiting so long for this!"

Another clamor of happiness rose. Smiling, both Tails and Cream sealed the deal with their first real kiss. It was deep, passionate and long. Knuckles gawked, "Who taught him how to do that?"

"Oh damn..." Scythe said.

Tikal gasped, "Oh my! Such...experience !"

Sonic put a hand on Knuckles' shoulder and looked at him smugly, "I always teach my students the best material. What they really need to know about in life."

"..." Shadow was speechless.

With a whoop, Sonic shouted, "All right! Now that Tails handled his business...Let's bring out the tipsy-drinks!"

In a wave or merriment, the group of friends attacked the table of goods. They enjoyed the lovely weather, the delicious food, and the warm company of their friendship. And watching from a couple of meters away were two familiar, yet invisible figures.

"Isn't this such a lovely picnic? Young Tails and Cream have finally confessed their love…Your daughter and the boy hedgehog are off on their date…see, I told you everything would be all right, didn't I, Rouge?"

The now white-winged bat smiled, draped in an ivory gown, "…Yes you were right Maria…Everything is fine…And finally so is my Shadow…"

Maria pointed forward, "Look Rouge...he's looking this way!"

The angelic bat looked up, and sure enough, Shadow was staring in their direction. She swore that he was looking dead at her. Rouge froze, wondering if the black and red hedgehog had seen them. But then he looked away when Sonic placed a hand on his shoulder, "...Shad? What are you gawkin' at?"

Shadow shook his head, "...Nothing, you just caught me in a daydream, I guess."

Sonic smiled, "Well, then stop your daydreamin'! We gotta eat before all the food disappears! Come on pal, let's help ourselves to a slice of butter cake."

The blue hedgehog placed a friendly hand on Shadow's shoulder as he lead him back to his friends. Just as he was wandering over, Amy presented him with a plate full of food, "Come on Shadow! We're about to play volleyball! Eat first, then join us."

With a small smile, Shadow walked over to join his awaiting friends at the picnic table. Already they were eating and jesting merrily. While glowing in the company of his friends, Shadow had a single thought, ' Someday, I'll see you again Rouge...but as for now...I have to take care of Maria...and my friends as well.'

"Hey Shadow, are you just gonna stare off into space like an idiot, or are you gonna play some poker?"

Shadow raised his head to glimpse at the smirking silver and black hedgehog. Replacing his friendly, dreamily smile, his customary smirk fell into place, "Fine then. But if I haven't said this already...you're going to loose; I'm the ultimate life-form!"

And with that, the group of heroes sat under the deep sapphire blue sky, enjoying their day out together. Smiles, laughs and merriment filled the air as the group enjoyed one of the many peaceful days they fought for. Even after all the hardships they faced, they still managed to pull together to preserve the world for future generations. Truly, the heroes themselves have earned their deserved peace; to build new lives, friendships, love, and families...

-El fin-

Chapter Thirty Theme: "The Sweetest Goodbye"- Maroon 5

-Thanks for all the Support and the Reviews my friends, couldn't have done it without you! For deeper character Profiles, see el author's bio. But anyways, thanks guys for readin' my fic! Hopefully, I'll see you guys in another! And with that said, peace out, and later days.

Ultrra

-Ready for the sequel :)

http// www. fanfiction. net /s/ 3290587 / 1 / (Just take out the spaces and boom, there ya go!)