WHO'S YO' DADDAY!

Final Chapter!

--

Over at Club Rouge, the voluptuous white bat rushed back and forth in different rooms as she got herself ready for the convention.

Watching her wearily from the couch, Shadow's eyes nonchalantly tagged her as she became an ivory blur zipping around the house.

"Is my make-up straight? Does this outfit look ok? Should I wear heels, pumps or boots?"

Her questions were strangely rhetorical, but because she constantly crossed his line of vision, Shadow made it a point to comment on at least one of them.

"…You look fine Rouge…" he called to her as she rushed by him into the bathroom with four different types of footwear in her arms.

A small smile played across Shadow's features as he heard the constant sound of shuffling against the bathroom floor. He chuckled. 'There she goes, trying to put on two different types of shoes on each foot again…'

Sighing, he got up from his placement on the couch and walked over to the bathroom doorway. Knocking twice, he called to her. "Need any help in there?"

"Actually I do! Great timing Shadow!" she replied, sounding extremely relieved. Hobbling out the bathroom, Shadow had to refrain from laughing in her face from her tacky display.

Her hair was straight, but curled slightly against her cheeks, which framed her face perfectly. Her lips were ripe with dark red lipstick and appeared very moist. The passionate shade superbly matched the identical color of her thigh-length dress—but the shoes…

One loose fuchsia suede boot hung open and unzipped on one foot while a tight fitting green pump was on the other.

Seeing him trying to hold back a laugh Rouge narrowed her eyes at him and placed her hands on her hips. "What's the matter with you! Got something to say?"

Smiling with a faint chuckle in his throat, Shadow shook his head. "Not at all…"

"Well, are you going to help me or not? What do you think I should lose, the suede or the vinyl?"

Peering down at her shoes, and stifling another laugh, Shadow seamlessly trailed his eyes upto her.

"Both of them…"

Rouge blinked at him in surprise and already began taking off both of the shoes. "Really? Which ones do you think I should try then?"

"...The kinds that tie up your leg…" he replied almost too eagerly. Rouge eyed him wistfully. "Oh really?"

"Yeah. Those look great on you…" he trailed off in such a way, Rouge could tell he was thinking about how she looked in them. Smiling and a little flattered, she winked at him and returned to the bathroom. "Sure thing. Thanks Shadow!"

"No problem…" he answered, his eyes following the fluid movement of her legs as she left the room.

Chuckling to himself, he then shook the thoughts from his head and went back to the couch to read.

After random sounds of shuffling later, Rouge emerged yet again and briskly cat-walked over to Shadow. Knowing she was standing right in front of him and awaiting his response, Shadow placed a bookmark between the pages and nearly gasped in shock at how she looked.

Her dress was heightened an inch and the new heels she wore matched perfectly. She had light make up dashed across her face and a rosy smile to match. She was also wearing the shimmering new earrings he had gotten her.

"Wow…" he trailed off, gazing awestruck into her glistening eyes. "…wow…."

Rouge giggled and peered down at her outfit. "I take it you like it! Good! So, nothing looks out of place or any—"

"Not at all...!" he interrupted, standing. "You look amazing…!"

She smirked. "Mmm I know… Now, don't you wish you could come with me, Shadow?"

"In more ways than you can imagine…"he whispered without realizing.

"AHEM Thinking out loud again are we?"

"Um well I uh…You look really nice with those earrings on!"

Rouge laughed at him trying to change the subject. Just then the doorbell rang. Forgetting about who it could possibly be at this hour, Rouge playfully cat-walked to the front door. "Forget it Shadow" she called over her shoulder "I've got you busted!"

He chuckled, watching her every movement. "I wish you did…"

Sharing another around of laughter, Rouge casually placed her hand around the doorknob and opened the door.

Shocked, she gasped as her visitor did the same.

"Damn, Rouge you look HOT!" Sonic cheered, then he whistled.

Hearing his rival's nasal voice pierce his ears, Shadow's face suddenly scrunched into a scowling frown and within seconds, he was standing beside Rouge in the doorway.

"What did you say…." He muttered with a distinct edge and acidity to his voice.

Rouge quickly looked to Shadow in shock. "Someone's sounding a bit too overprotective there, Shadow!" But then she smiled. "Well, I'm gonna be late at this rate anyway. So whatever you and Sonic have to deal with, make it quick." She added and swiftly snuck him a kiss on the cheek before running out the door. "See you later, Shadow! Bye Sonic!"

Standing frozen in place, Shadow said nothing, but knew his face was warming up.

"Whoa…" Sonic commented, glancing off towards the way she left then returned his eyes to Shadow. With a toothy grin, Sonic flashed him a thumbs up. "That was pretty sweet!"

"It sure was…!" Shadow smiled, then falling rapidly out of his daydream, he glared at Sonic. "And just what do you want?"

Sonic chuckled in such a tone that annoyed Shadow to no end.

"Something strange is going on around here and I figured that you might know something about it."

Shadow's features softened as he heard this, but slowly his lip began to curl in digust. "I get the feeling I won't be too thrilled about whatever it is you have to tell me…"

"Yeah…" Sonic agreed, quickly nodding. Fishing in his pocket, he pulled out the letter he had gotten and waved it in front of Shadow's face. "Take a look at this!"

Instead of taking the letter, Shadow just stared at the hedgehog with an unreadable expression. "Can't you just read it?"

"Huh?" Sonic wondered, his voice heightening a pitch. Then he smiled. "…Don't tell me…I know you can read Shadow…!"

Making a face, Shadow scoffed and crossed his arms, "Do you want me to slam this door in your face? I didn't just wake up this morning to hear you talk mindlessly, so tell me what it is before I change my mind…"

Amused as he was surprised, Sonic whistled. "Wow, someone sure sounds edgy today. But let me ask you, does the name Shadonic do anything for ya?"

Shadow raised an eyebrow as the contents of the letter he received came to mind. "Shadonic? ….So then…we both got the same letter…?"

"Oh so you did get one too!"

"… … … …"

"Uh Shadow?"

"….All of a sudden…I feel extremely sick…"

Hearing this, the cerulean hedgehog half-smiled. "Thought you might say something like that…So, I'm pretty sure you know what I'm talkin' about…"

Shadow frowned. "Does it look like I need to spell out the answer, faker?"

Sonic shuddered at the name, his nightmare returning to him. "Uh…well would you mind letting me in first?"

Allowing his eyes to linger cautiously on the blue hedgehog once more, Shadow scoffed and stepped aside to let him in the house.

Once inside, Sonic whistled as he took in his surroundings. "Wow this place is huge!"

With a "hmph" Shadow passed by Sonic and went into the kitchen. "Yeah so. What about it?"

"Sheesh, why the sudden coldness, Shadow? Just a few minutes ago when Rouge was here, you were the exact opposite! Haha! Looks like someone here's got a girlfriend!"

"…I…I do not…Rouge and I are just friends…" Shadow hesitantly retaliated, coming back into the room with a glass in one hand and a new carton of milk in the other. "We're friends and nothing more." he continued, placing the objects on the table and beginning to open the carton.

Grinning playfully, and not believing a word he said, Sonic chuckled and lightly crossed his arms. "Oh yeah? Well it sure didn't look like you two were just friends by the way she laid that kiss on you!"

Shadow froze.

And Sonic gleefully continued on.

"Yeah! And if I didn't know any better, I'd say you two were getting a little bizz-aayyy behind closed doors!"

That did it!

"That's enough!" Shadow yelled, launching himself towards Sonic, attempting to grab him by the neck. But Sonic was too fast for him and dodged out of the way in a split second. "Whoa! Hey! Hold on Shadow!"

"Shut it Sonic! You don't have to stay here you know!" he shouted, executing a flurry of punches and kicks Sonic's way. And very carefully, Sonic blocked them all. "Is that the best you can do!"

"No…this is!" Shadow jeered and judo chopped Sonic on the neck while sliding his foot under his, making him flail in mid air for a few seconds before falling to the floor.

Towering over him, Shadow scoffed and watched him cough while he tried to catch his breath.

"H-hey! Cough That was dirty! cough cough"

Shadow grinned eagerly. "I know…!" Chuckling, he kneeled down to his nemesis and placed a mocking finger to his nose. "Let's see you get out of his one…you faker…!"

Hearing those words, Sonic's nightmare haunted him once again, and with a squeaky battle cry, he swatted Shadow's hand away and dove for him.

For minutes that seemed like hours, the two of them rolled around having mini-wrestling bouts on the floor—running into the sofa, bumping against the front door…

Before long, they rammed into the table holding the glass and the open carton of milk.

And with another sudden jolt driving into the table, the carton immediately tipped over, splashing the two hedgehogs with cold milk.

Suddenly alarmed by the frigidness of the liquid, Shadow quickly sat up, but kept his hands clamped on Sonic's arms as he kept him pinned to the floor. "My milk!"

Just then the front door swung open and Rouge briskly started to walk in. "Sorry Shadow, I'm back so soon. I---" Rouge's words were shut off abruptly from the scene that was laid out before her.

There they were--heavily breathing and panting, clutched in the other's grip. Sonic was pinned beneath Shadow in a tight grip…with a white liquidy substance splashed all over his face and part of his chest, while the majority of the substance streaked down Shadow's abdomen and his legs.

Suddenly mortified, Rouge threw a hand over her mouth and fled out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

"Oh s#!t, ROUGE!" Shadow called, pushing Sonic a good 3 feet away from him and dashing out the door after her. "Rouge wait! It's not what you think!"

Watching him run out, Sonic sat up and shook his quills, trying to expel as much of the milk as he could and wiped his face with the back of his gloved hand. "Ugh bleagh!" he sputtered "I HATE milk…!"

Springing up from the floor, he dashed for what he thought was the bathroom and opened the door.

Instead of a toilet, there was a bed…a red shimmery and tasseled bed…

Sonic's eyes went unrealistically wide as he put two and two together.

"Rouge has a bed in her bathroom!"

Then again, maybe that wasn't such a good guess…

Standing there a good few seconds as he pondered where the sink would be, Sonic padded around the extravagantly sized bed and once he made it to the other side, he caught glimpse of something he never thought he'd see…

There, rummaging through Rouge's drawers, was Eggman's slinky robot henchman, Decoe.

Sonic watched him, mouth agape as the robot slipped into one of Rouge's slinky silver dresses and placed his hands on his metal haunches.

A loud and odd sound shot through the room that made Decoe jump. Turning around, he was shocked to find Sonic there, trying his hardest not to burst out laughing, but he was failing miserably.

"Oh no! You saw me!" Decoe cried and quickly took off the dress, the shoes, the garter and the stockings that hung off his thin frame. "Wh-who told you that you could barge in here!"

Sonic threw his head back and had a good loud laugh before pointing a thumb to himself. "Let me ask a better question. What are YOU doing in Rouge's bathroom and in her clothes?"

Decoe blinked. "Uhh… this isn't her bathroom…"

Oblivious to what he uttered, Sonic continued on. "Just what is Eggman upto now?"

Suddenly appearing nervous, the slim robot shut his eyes, appearing as if he was smiling bashfully. "Um uh, why do you say that? The good doctor isn't always upto his old tricks ALL the time, you know!"

"I see…and what brings you here?"

Decoe's eyes shot open and fleeted around the room. "Uh um…checking for mice?" he shrugged, and the moment he did, a sparkling and shiny red gem fell from one of his compartments.

The two of them eyed the fallen emerald in silence, then as Decoe reached down to pick it up, several more emeralds fell from him and onto the floor.

Tapping his foot, Sonic chuckled in that cocky little way of his and tightened his gloves. "Time to reap what you sewed, tin can!"

Recoiling, Decoe threw his arms over his face in a poor and feeble attempt to shield it. "Please no! Not the face!"

-

"Rouge! Rouge I said wait!"

"Don't talk to me, Shadow, I don't want to hear it!" Rouge snapped, trying not to lose her composure.

"Rouge, will you just listen to me? This was all a big misunderstanding! That hedgehog he—stop moving!" Shadow complained, and grabbed her by the arm, of which she swiftly yanked out of his grasp.

"Get away from me! There's nothing for you to tell! If you wanted time alone with him, you shouldn't have ever led me on!"

Shadow stopped in his tracks. "What? Led you on…? What do you…"

"You know I liked you Shadow! Don't try to pretend now!" she shouted, green eyes flashing at him.

Too much was happening at once for Shadow, and it took him a while just to get his thoughts straight. "Rouge, wait a minute…I—"

But he was suddenly interrupted by the gust of a strong wind.

Grabbing Rouge protectively by the shoulders, he held her to his chest and looked upwards just in time to find one of Eggman's machines hovering above them.

"The Doctor?" Shadow wondered, holding Rouge closer. In disgust, she pulled away from him and wiped off her dress, now smeared with splotches of white.

Gazing at it, Shadow blushed then quickly apologized. "S-sorry Rouge…I didn't mean to get any of that on your dress…" he confessed—his eyes lingering on the spots as other thoughts came to mind.

Thankfully for him, Rouge didn't see his expression change from shocked to tantalized.

Sighing, Rouge closed her eyes and shook her head. "Forget it. But would it have killed you to at least clean yourself off before you held me!"

Seamlessly returning his eyes to hers, he appeared playfully offended then nervously smiled. "Sorry, I didn't get the memo…"

Rouge groaned. "Now isn't the time for comedy, Shadow! I'm still not talking to you!"

Annoyed, she tore her attention away from the amused hedgehog and eyed the egg-o-matic machine above them. Too aggravated to wait for it to land, she spread her wings and flew upto it.

And there she spotted Bocoe alone.

The bumbling robot had no idea that she and Eggman were no longer on "partnership" terms and seemed rather glad to see her again.

"Oh, hello there, Miss Rouge! I didn't expect for you to still be here!" he stated pleasantly.

Irritated, she grabbed him by what she supposed was his neck and shook him.

"What the heck do you think you're doing here, huh! Speak up!"

Rouge shook him so roughly, Bocoe had to run a quick internal scan to make sure his processor didn't mess up!

"Ahhh! I'm sorry! But didn't Dr. Eggman tell you?"

"Huh?" Rouge wondered, stopping her onslaught for a good few seconds. "Did Eggman tell me what…?"

"Oh that he sent Decoe and myself here to deploy the phony infant for Shadow and Sonic of course! It was to distract them so we could steal the chaos emeralds from them! And he told us to throw that Treasure Hunter's Convention so that you and Knuckles wouldn't be around to---oops!"

Grinning darkly at him, Rouge brought a fist back and decked him square in the face. "Oops is right! Shadow!"

Falling out of his current daydream, Shadow looked up at her instantly. "Huh?"

"Make sure the emeralds are safe!" she called down to him. Nodding, he ran into the house, but he didn't get far before the azure figure of his rival stepped into view.

"Ha! Already ahead of you!" Sonic announced cheerfully, holding a knocked out Decoe over his shoulder.

Seeing his victory, Shadow smirked at Sonic and sounded rather amused. "A little tacky, but not too bad…"

"Tacky! What do you mean tacky?"

Chuckling, Shadow casually pointed downwards.

Eyeing him awkwardly, Sonic eventually followed his finger with his eyes and realized a huge glob of oil had seeped from Decoe and all over one side of his sneakers.

"Awwww crap! I spent 10 bucks on getting these cleaned!"

Shadow snickered. "10 bucks? Where'd you get those cleaned?"

Sonic shrugged then ran past Shadow and outside. "At a carwash!" he called over his shoulder.

Smiling, Shadow chuckled to himself then proceeded into Rouge's room to check for the emeralds. Sure enough they were still there—nicely lined up in a row on her dresser.

Seeing things were still in order, Shadow gave her room one more once over, then closed the door behind him.

Heading back outside, the moment Rouge saw him with a smirk on his lips, she knew her emeralds were still intact and turned her attention to the hovercraft before her.

Both Decoe and Bocoe lay sprawled out in the cramped vehicle and were too dazed to realize Rouge preparing to strike them.

And within the second she prepared to strike, Shadow appeared next to her and they both pummeled the machine and kicked it high into the atmosphere.

Landing in unison, the two of them slapped the other a high 5 and struck a pose just for the heck of it.

Snickering, Sonic mildly clapped for them, then gave them both thumbs up with a wink.

"Now that's what I call a double-team!"

"Oh shut-up!" Rouge snapped.

"…That was cheesy… If clichés are all that's going to come out of that mouth of yours, keep it shut!" Shadow added with a half-frown.

Feeling awkward for being the odd man out, Sonic raised his hands cautiously and chuckled. "Hey what're lookin at me like that for? Anyway, I can see things can be taken care of here, so I'll just be going!" Winking, he waved bye to them and sped off.

Watching him go, Shadow felt a strange and queasy feeling bubble in his stomach.

Realizing him acting strange, instead of asking, Rouge inched closer to him and slipped him a small kiss on the cheek.

Immediately, he turned to her with arising questions in his eyes.

Placing a finger to her lips, Rouge smiled and gave him an alluring look as she sauntered past him.

And as she planned, Shadow's eyes followed her as she reached the door.

Beckoning for him to head over, he did and gave her a curious look. "I thought you weren't speaking to me…"

Rouge smiled and lightly took his hand. "A girl's got the right to change her mind…"

Shadow half-smiled coyly and nodded. "…I guess I can't really argue with that…"

Rouge giggled and pulled him in the door. "You'd better not…"

-

Coming up the hill that overlooked his place, Sonic started picking up speed, but stopped suddenly when he saw Knuckles close the front door.

Looking up, the carmine echidna saw him and started running his way.

Blinking curiously, Sonic looked around, looking to see if anything else of interest could be around that Knuckles would be running towards instead, but became mortified when he found none.

"Oh great…" he sulked and awaited the odd news Knuckles had to tell him.

"Sonic, if you ever see me again, DON'T let that girl near me…She's insane!"

Sonic shrugged. "Well I could have told you that! But you think I'm just playing around! Why do you think I try to keep my distance?"

Knuckles scoffed and wiped the sweat from his brow. Sonic took notice he was wearing a tux and that it appeared to be a little ruffled and torn.

Gazing back up at him, Sonic's eyes narrowed. "Man I feel bad for you if that's a rental… Knuckles…what did you do…?"

"What did I do! Nothing but make sure she got back okay! Eggman had the nerve to show up at the convention and well…let's just say her hammer had plenty of exercise today!"

"Oh…"

"AND I had to stop her before she went on a mad rampage throughout the whole place!"

"Hmmm"

"She's NUTS, Sonic!"

"Duh… Knuckles why are you always the last to know these things?"

Annoyed, Knuckles made a spitting gesture to his left and growled. "Oh forget it, I'm out of here! Go tend to your girlfriend, Blue!" he added, then continued to run off back to Angel Island.

"Hey she's not my--!….girlfriend.." Sonic trailed off, then groaned. "I need a vacation…"

And with that, he dashed to the house and let himself in.

The minute he opened the door, he almost got smacked in the face with a chair as it flew passed him and crashed into the door.

"WHOA!"

"I told you to get out, you idiot!" Amy screamed, lifting another chair, preparing to throw it when her eyes beheld the frame of her beloved and she charged over to him and tackled him to the floor.

"OH SONIC YOU'RE BACK! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!"she cried, nearly suffocating him with her eager grip and smothering him with a flurry of kisses.

Kicking a bit, he managed to somehow grab ahold of her shoulders and slowly pushed her off of him.

Wiping his face hard with the back of his hand, Sonic stuck out his tongue in disgust and panted to catch his breath. "…A…Amy…don't ever so that again…"

"Sonic!" she chirped cheerfully, grabbing his hand and holding it close to her heart. "I missed you so much! NEVER let that echidna take me ANYWHERE again without you! Eggman crashed the convention and I had no choice but to save those other people from harm and stupidity!"

Not completely tuning her out, but tuning her out enough, Sonic slowly rose to his feet and reluctantly helped her up as well. As she continued on talking, he walked through all the rooms, making sure his stuff was still in place and also looked for Tails.

Not seeing his little buddy around, he wondered if he had stepped out.

Glancing down to Amy, Sonic lightly placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

She stopped talking that instant and her eyes widened with expectancy and hope.

Looking down to gather his thoughts, Sonic looked upto Amy and smiled. "Thanks for waiting for me to get back Amy but, I've got some things to do today allright?"

"Oh, no problem! I can help you! Heehee I'm still your housewife for a day, remember?"

Sonic cringed at the thought and remembered. "Oh yeah…" he muttered through clenched teeth, then tried to sound cheerful. "Well then, housewife, why not do me a favor and find Tails for me?"

Amy blinked warily. "I'm your housewife, not your maid. But since it's you Sonic, I'll go give him a call." She replied, and gave him one last quick hug before skipping into the kitchen.

Shuddering from her touch, Sonic watched her go, then finally released a well needed breath of relieved air.

It wouldn't be long until she came back to glomp him again, so he figured he had better enjoy his free time while he had it. Opening the front door, the young hedgehog stepped outside and took in the sight of the setting sun before him.

"Wow…that's nice…"

"…Yeah it is…"

Recognizing the voice immediately, Sonic glanced over to his left and was especially surprised to see Shadow leaning up against a nearby tree with his arms crossed.

Gazing up at Sonic, he smirked. "What's up?"

Sonic chuckled. "Ah the usual…" Then he glanced around and whispered: "Amy's back."

Shadow laughed and shook his head. "Ah, I missed the embarrassment, didn't I? She tackled you already, didn't she?"

"…Do you even have to ask?"

"Haha…"

Sighing, Sonic closed his eyes, then he laughed as well. Reopening them, he then spotted something red on Shadow's neck. "Hey Shadow…what did you get into?"

The dark hedgehog blinked in curiosity and confusion. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Sonic chuckled slyly as he placed a hand to his own neck, to alert Shadow of what was on his. "…Looks like something bit you there…or is that a rash?"

Flashing a bright shade of crimson, Shadow's arms dropped to his sides and he stared awkwardly into space.

Was it that visible already? "Damn it Rouge…!" he muttered under his breath, rubbing his neck "I told you it was going to show up…!" Then he groaned. "…She doesn't even know her own strength."

"HAHA! Rouge gave you a hickey?"

Shadow's body was beginning to gradate into a red tint now.

"C-Can't we change the subject!"

"Ha! Fine. So what brings you here, huh? We worked pretty well as a team, didn't we?"

"Hmph…maybe…" Shadow scoffed, his coat returning to its normal colors.

Seeing his rival act like his old self again, Sonic smiled warmly then turned his attention to the streaked warm sky and setting sun beneath it.

"… Say Shadow…"

"Yeah…?"

"Why do you suppose Eggman went through all that trouble into sending those letters just to distract us from guarding the emeralds?"

Shadow shrugged. "Beats me. It was a bit unusual for the Doctor, but, it's done with now."

Nonchalantly, Sonic replied. "Yeah…"

"Hmm…"

There was a small pause, then Sonic turned to Shadow, who returned his quizzical gaze with a smug one of his own. Stepping over to the younger, Shadow handed him a slip of paper.

Taking it, Sonic skimmed it over. "What's this?"

"A list of the name brand milk you wasted all over Rouge's floor. I'd like for you to restock it, since you were responsible for spilling it!"

"Huh! Hey, you attacked ME first!"

"So! You were the one who bumped into the things the most, so it had to be you who knocked it over!"

"What! That's your proof! That's nothing!"

"Care to prove me wrong?"

Sonic thought for a moment, then waved the situation away. "Naaah. Amy'll come looking for me soon. Oh well at least I got some time to myself."

"Yeah? I'm on a tight schedule myself. Waiting for Rouge to get out of the shower and wash her hair."

Silence.

"Then what are you doing standing here for, you idiot!" Sonic shouted playfully. "Get going! You of all people should know not to keep a gorgeous lady like her waiting! And she's taking a shower, man!"

Shadow looked around and shrugged. "So what if she is?"

Sonic gave up. "UGH! Nevermind! Just hurry up and get back to her. I'll see you later, Shadow. Thanks for droppin' by."

Shadow nodded slightly. "Sure, no problem." He stated.

Content, Sonic turned to leave.

"Hey…"

"Yeah?" Sonic asked curiously.

Smirking, Shadow pointed at him. "And don't forget about my milk!"

Laughing a bit, Sonic shook his head and went back in the house. "…Yeah I'll get on that." And with that, he closed the door behind him.

Chuckling a bit to himself, Shadow drifted his attention upto the rosy vermilion sky above, then quickly made his way back to Club Rouge.

-Mel