DL: I finally decided to make a little (actually, it's a bit long…) sequel to this, since I still love it so. Even though it sucks…but it's funny to look at. Now, you shall marvel the awesome change I've had over the years in my grammar and such! BE AMAZED!
Shadowpaw: Now you're just scaring people.
DL: I know! Isn't it awesome? (smiles innocently)
Shadow: Right…
Kussia: So…am I in this?
DL: Not physically, no, but you are mentioned.
Kussia: Aww…
Shadowpaw: YES! (does happy dance) That's the way, uh-huh, uh-huh, I like it, uh-huh, uh-huh… (continues singing)
Tails: They're all just weird, don't mind them.
DL: You know, if you weren't my second favorite character, I would hurt you.
Tails: …So, I guess I'm lucky, then?
DL: Yes, you are. (hugs him)
Tails: AAAH, GIRL COOTIES!
Sonic: Err, shall we continue?
DL: Ooh, I almost forgot! (drops Tails) On with the sequel! (whispers) Beware of the tons and tons of fluff! I know you guys have been secretly wishing for it!
Shadowpaw: What?
DL: (smiles innocently) Nothing! (whispers to readers again) Hurry, before she sees it!
Chapter 5
Changes…
It's been a while now…and so many things have changed.
Shadowpaw stood at the same oak on the hill she had found Shadow at about a year ago to try to convince him to help, crossing her arms as she leaned against the rough bark with her eyes closed. The position was familiar, since she had seen Shadow do it often, and she actually found it quite comfortable. No wonder I always find him like this, she thought as she watched the sunlight from the back of her eyelids, her ears twitching at the sound of a dog barking. Fish were once again swimming in the pond, slapping the surface of the water with their tails as the daylight glimmered on their submerged scales, making the pond that much brighter and brilliant. She opened her eyes to watch them from her spot, smiling as she thought of them on a plate smothered in tartar sauce. Mmm, fish…but tuna will always be my favorite.
She laid down on the ground and put her hands behind her head as she looked up at the sky, looking at the clouds as she remembered when Tails came to her (new) house with a bunch of tuna. He said that it was for helping them save the world, and she nearly cried at the bountiful amount that many of his 'helpers' (Cream, Cheese, and Charmy) helped cart in. She went over and hugged him so tightly that he started to turn blue, and when she asked how she could repay him he rubbed the back of his neck and grinned nervously. "Just don't hug me like that again, please…" She quickly agreed.
She picked out a cloud that looked like Cheese, and as it floated off and morphed into different shapes she thought of how she acquired her house. It was about a week after they defeated Black Doom, when everything was starting to simmer down. After all, it was just another 'superhero' saving the world once more; it's not like it didn't happen every month. She had been roaming the streets, slightly disappointed that nobody was trying to get her autograph anymore (she had actually liked the publicity a bit, although it got annoying), but she could deal with it as long as no one just randomly came out of nowhere to tackle her into a death-hug and yell 'OMG I'M YOUR BIGGEST FAN!!'. As she traveled around aimlessly the still broken-down city (they were still doing repairs), she bumped into someone unexpectedly. She blinked as she realized that (lo and behold) she had run into Shadow the Hedgehog, and after a moment of him blinking as well he smirked and said, "Hello, cat."
She gave a grin in reply to the old nickname that used to be an insult. "Heya, rat." He fell into step beside her as she continued on, and they traveled in a while of silence before she spoke up, "So, how's life treating you?"
He groaned. "I never knew I had a fanbase."
Shadowpaw laughed at his expression, only earning herself a glare. She teased, "Now you know how Sonic feels!" Being compared to the blue hedgehog seemed to irritate him further (since so many people do it every day), and she laughed and patted him on the back as she shook her head. "Don't worry," she tried to reassure him, "I'm sure that if you be as mean as you always are, they'll go away."
"I'm not mean…"
"Nah, you're right." She smirked. "You're just a stick-in-the-mud."
He scoffed. "Am not."
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Are too!"
"If I am," he smirked at her, "then why do you constantly follow me?"
"I don't – urgh…" Her eye twitched in annoyance as he chuckled at her obvious irritation, and she (playfully) punched him in the shoulder as they walked on to the park where it all started, as if driven by instinct and their feet to walk there. He rubbed his arm and scowled at her, saying, "You're so violent."
"Yep!" She laughed and winked. "But, that's why ya love me!" Before he could reply to that, she ran off to the hill with a laugh, and he shook his head at her before quickly following, seeing that she had fallen over to stare at the clouds above them. He soon sat beside her, looking up as well to the big open sky, such a sharp blue in contrast to the new grass that was already beginning to grow. It was calming to watch for the both of them, and it was a while before either of them spoke.
"Shadow?"
"Hm?" He looked over at her laying on her side with her arm propping up her head, staring at him curiously.
"Do you really think I follow you?"
He smirked, looking up at the sky and not answering her.
"Hello? Hello? He– argh, why do I even bother?" She went back to laying on her back with her hands behind her head, glaring up at a cloud shaped like his head and imagining it exploding. He chuckled, to which she kicked him, but then he looked at her and said, "Oh, I almost forgot." He stood up, dusting himself off as the feline looked up at him curiously. He motioned for her to follow him, and she leapt up to her feet as he started to exit the park. She asked him as they ran down the street, "Where are we going?" When he didn't answer, she growled and shouted, "Hey!" With still no clue as to their destination, she grumbled under her breath before struggling to catch up. Finally, he zoomed around a corner, and when she followed suit she found that she stopped in her tracks. She felt her mouth drop agape, but she did not care.
Sonic and his friends were clustered together and waved at her, but her attention wasn't on them. Her eyes were wide as she stared up at the two-story house, not exactly fancy but pleasing to the eyes, and a big banner above the front door that said 'Welcome Home, Shadowpaw!' on it. It had a mailbox, sidewalk, garage, everything; she even saw something like a treehouse in the backyard. As she stood there, amazed, Sonic walked over and grinned as he handed her a bag, and when she looked inside it she found many cans of tuna laying nestled like precious eggs in a nest. She smiled, wanting to cry.
This was the best day ever!
Then, when Shadow walked over to her and looked at her surprised-and-shocked-but-delighted-beyond-belief face, he explained, "Amy told us."
She smiled, her eyes watering with happiness as she gave him a super big hug. "Damn hedgehogs."
Shadowpaw sighed at the memory, feeling as if it was just yesterday. And yet, so many things had happened since then, making the time stretch by for a whole year. It seemed that Eggman was going to try (once more) to trick Sonic, and all of his friends went to go help him. But…Shadow stayed. He said that he had enough of being the hero, and she laughed, remembering all of the teasing she had done to him. But, she could understand; saving the world really did a number on you, and Shadow wasn't even used to it too much. I mean, sure, there was that time when Eggman gave Sonic and them three days to stop him, but he had Rouge and Omega to help. It's different when you stand alone…
Then, after a while of thought, she smiled. But…he wasn't alone. He had us behind him, urging him on. She nodded her head, remembering all of the battles they had participated in, smirking at the time when she ripped that robot apart after it had shot at Shadow. (Chapter 2) Bastard deserved it, though. She chuckled again at this, sitting up and putting her back up against the bark of the tree as she closed her eyes. She let all of the sounds wash over her like a wave, getting lost in all of the laughter and barking and splashing in the park as well as the quietness of it (compared to the city, anyways). It was all so calming, she wanted to just take a nap in the warmth of the light and the light breeze that kept her from overheating, soft grass beckoning to her…
She felt someone push her over, and she opened her eyes as she fell onto her side to see Shadow smirking, his foot elevated to show that he did it. She scowled as she sat up straight once more, glaring at him as he chuckled. Weird, normally he wouldn't laugh, but he had started doing it more often; he had told her (when she asked, of course) that it felt good to do it, this new sensation, and he was tentatively testing it out like one would put their toe into the water to see if it was a comfortable temperature. Actually…she liked it. It was nice seeing him smile, after so much of his scowling and glaring at her before. In fact, she preferred this instead of back in the day of 'Team Dark', which was just about as friendly as it sounded (not at all). He's…nicer, easier to deal with. And the word 'nice guy' just suits him, if only to piss him off. She then smirked at the thought, making him raise an eyebrow, and she said, "Wazzup?"
"Nothing, really." He grinned back at her, and she still thought that it fit him, and he teased, "Just felt like coming over and annoying you when I found you snoozing over here."
"I was not snoozing," she stuck her tongue out at him.
"Watch it," he told her as she withdrew her tongue, "or I might Chaos Spear that thing out of your mouth." She made a face at him in response, and he smirked and raised his arm as if to use it. She quickly covered her mouth with an 'eep', and when he started to laugh at her she pouted and crossed her arms. "You're mean," she grumbled, and he laughed some more.
"Yes," he finally told her, "I am." Then, he smirked. "But, that's why you love me."
"Yep." At his slightly surprised expression, she grinned and added 'because it gives me an excuse to be mean back!' and pushed him over so that he rolled down the hill, but unexpectedly he grabbed her arm and brought her along with him with a yelp, and a feeling of déjà vu came upon her as they both tumbled down like Jack and Jill with the bucket of water, much like the time she had first been rolling down it with him (Chapter 1). They struggled with each other as they traveled towards the bottom, before finally they came to a stop at the foot of the hill, with the cat on top of him. She grinned triumphantly at him and taunted, "Ha! I win."
"No…" Suddenly, he disappeared in a flash, and she was stunned as she was thrown onto her back and he was suddenly pinning her down, holding her wrists to stop her from pushing him off and escaping. "I win." Since he was so powerful, there was no way she could just shove him off without at least the use of her hands, and her legs at the moment were trapped beneath his. Damn, he pulled out all of the stops…he always overdoes things…
Still, as she looked up at his own triumphant smirk, she could feel her face growing hot. Dammit, I'm blushing! She gulped nervously, wondering why she was suddenly so anxious to get away and why his face seemed so close to hers all of a sudden. She struggled a little, but he just smirked and taunted, "Not so tough now, huh, cat?"
She gulped again, squirming a little more under his gaze. Yeesh, it's like he could look through a wall of steel! "Err," she mumbled, "could you…get off?" She was looking at everything but him, which was hard to accomplish seeing as how he was on top of her.
He raised an eyebrow, but then an idea seemed to come to his mind as he asked her innocently, "Why? You're very comfortable." He settled himself as if he wasn't going to move for a while, smirking at her unease. "Besides, you might try to kick my ass if I do."
"Argh…" She groaned and sighed, wishing that she had a Chaos Emerald or something so she could 'Chaos Control' the hell out of there, but she was stuck with the hedgehog pinning her down as the world seemed to go on without them. Thankfully, they had rolled down the hill on the side that faced away from everyone else, and so nobody's peering eyes were watching her private humiliation as she wriggled like a snake. She whined, "Get off!"
"No."
"Off!"
"No."
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yeeeeeeees!"
"Nooooooo!"
"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?"
"Hmmm…" He seemed to think seriously about it for a moment. "…No."
"Shadow!" She tried to flail out some more, not really getting anywhere until finally he sighed and said, "Fine…" Before she could sigh in relief, though, he looked at her and smirked. "But only on one condition."
She rolled her eyes, thinking it would be something like 'do everything I say for a week' or something like that. "What?"
"Don't kill me after I do this."
"Do wha –" She was suddenly cut off, and her eyes widened in surprise when she realized he had leaned down and caught her lips with his for a brief kiss, before he got off of her and dusted himself off. Then, he smirked at her again, mischievousness twinkling in his eyes, before he chuckled and ran off, leaving her to lay on the grass in shock and silence. Staring up at where Shadow's head had been just a moment before, her amber eyes were bright with confusion and bewilderment, wondering what the hell just happened there. Did he just…just… Unable to continue the thought, she sat up and touched her lips for a moment with the tips of her fingers, still able to feel his touch there even though he was probably already halfway across town by now.
It's been a while, almost a year since Black Doom was defeated, and a lot has changed.
Not even a week later, it was her birthday once more, and she was rudely awakened to a loud banging on her door as she sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes drowsily. Taking a moment for her bleary eyes to focus, she slipped out of bed in her blue pajamas with little orange goldfish on them to drag her feet down the hallway and the stairs (nearly tripping down them) to get to the door. Such a long journey included much angry muttering, and as she cast obscenities to everything around her (walls, doors, stairs, and coffee mugs were not spared) she finally got to her door and checked through the peephole. When she couldn't see anyone, she growled at the world before opening the door to check once more. When she went to step outside, however, her foot ran into something hard, and after a while of her hopping on one foot and yelling so many curses that a mother across the street covered her child's ears and ran down the sidewalk, the feline finally picked up the parcel she had stubbed her toe on and walked back inside, shutting the door behind her with the click of the lock.
Walking over to sit on her couch, she flipped the TV to the news before settling herself and looking at the package. Usually I have to sign these damn things… She shrugged, deciding not to look the gift horse in the mouth, and went to opening the thing. When she saw the name of the sender, though, her heart beat faster as she ripped it open much much faster. As the brown paper fell away, she frowned at another layer of wrapping beneath it. Dammit, I hate getting presents in the mail cuz it's so damn complicated to open them… "Grr," she grumbled under her breath as she slipped a claw underneath the flap to rip the tape, "I need coffee." Finally, she ripped away the second layer and wedged it open, and she picked up the card laying on top of it as she set the box aside for the moment. She opened it up, and she smiled at what it said:
"Dear cat,
Hmm, it seems you're another year older already. I wonder if you've gotten any smarter? Probably not. As the old saying goes, 'you can't teach a dog new tricks'."
She scowled at this. "That's just dogs, doi."
"But, of course, you're a feline, so perhaps it doesn't apply to you. Anyways, Cream was the one who reminded me that it was your birthday (dammit it, the girl's attached to me and follows me around everywhere; reminds me of you!), and she kept pestering me until I made a card and got you a present (not necessarily in that order). She also put her present in there, too; it's the one that has the ridiculous amount of flowers and a drawing of a chao on the top (I think she's obsessed with them or something). I would normally just give this to you myself, but Cream wants to be Ms. Messenger and begged for me to let her go bring it to you. Crazy rabbit."
"Aww," she laughed, "he's got a soft spot for her. You can just tell." She continued reading.
"So, I was going to leave it at that (since I've never really found that much of an importance to the day that I was born on, let alone anyone else's), but Cream still wants me to do more for you. She's getting annoying, actually…it's almost like she's trying to be my mother or something. 'But Mr. Shadow, you should be courteous to young ladies! I'm sure she would do the same for you!' Gah, seriously, how do you deal with little kids? They drive me nuts!"
"He's already nuts!" She laughed some more, thoroughly enjoying the letter but wondering what he was getting at.
"So, I've decided that I wanted to torture you some more – it is your birthday, after all – and I want you to meet me up at the park (she knew which one he was talking about immediately) at noon, since I know you won't be up until then. This is payback for all of those times you teased me about being 'old'.
–Shadow"
She snickered, remembering all of the times she would taunt and annoy him by reminding him how he should be over fifty-years-old, although she knew it was a slightly tender subject and refrained from getting too spiteful. Going down to the bottom of the letter, she read the last line:
"P.S.: By the way, they're doing a special documentary or something on the news today. You might wanna check it out, since you (might) be up at ten-thirty."
Curious about the report, she looked up at the TV just as the little jingle for the news rang in her ears, and, as if reading those words had summoned it, the 'special report' he had talked about was on.
"Although a week has already passed, we are still celebrating the amazing heroes who saved the world little more than a year ago this day." The news reporter smiled a typical perfect smile that just creeped out Shadowpaw, but she ignored it. "The Black Comet had passed closely by the planet a year ago, and with it came Black Doom's monstrous army, the Black Arms. These are actual photographs from the disaster." Photos from the invasion brought back sharp memories that made her smile a little, remembering the heat of the cannons shot into the streets and the force of a Black Oak smacking her across the head. She listened as they went on, "Thanks to a black hedgehog named Shadow, however, with the help of his close friends, Black Doom was forced off of the planet with the rest of his monster menaces."
An interview with Rouge the Bat came onto the screen, and Shadowpaw raised an eyebrow as the jewel hunter said casually, "Oh, yeah, Shadow was always the silent loner type, but he had so many people to look out for him that he wasn't allowed to be alone!" She winked at the screen, as if towards the feline, as she added, "Especially that cute cat that followed him around!"
"Rouge!" She threw a couch cushion at her picture on the screen, but as it bounced off of it harmlessly the reporter appeared on it once more. "The famous hedgehog, Sonic, also gave his congrats to the black liberator. He said, 'Sometimes, you never know who you really are until you face yourself head-on without hesitation. Shadow was able to beat down Black Doom by figuring out what was most important to him!' The blue hedgehog also said that he hoped he had a 'good run' and he hoped to race him again sometime. Current status on their rivalry is uncertain, although they seemed to have become friends after the Doom incident.
"The whole event took place in outer space, so the exact details aren't clear except from what a few witnesses have to say. Miles Prower, best friend of Sonic the Hedgehog, said that a huge battle took place, and a great effort of teamwork was what finally brought the monster down. He seemed to have felt a bit left out, but," the reporter chuckled lightheartedly, "he says that he would forgive them."
Shadowpaw smiled and shook her head at it all. Man, these reports are a trip! Ready to go get some actual clothes on, she was stopped from getting off of the couch by the next sentence.
"A direct interview with the hedgehog was hard to get, but eventually our reporters met him by chance and were able to strike up a conversation with him. He wouldn't let us take a video of him, but he allowed us to record his responses." A click sounded, signaling the start of the audio recordings, and she slowly sat back to listen carefully to them.
"How did you meet most of your friends, Shadow?"
The cool response sounded much like the antisocial Shadow everyone knew and loved, but underneath it Shadowpaw could hear how he really felt. His long answer proved it as he spoke for more than he would have before. "Most of them I had met a long time ago, but I lost my memory in a…previous battle. I met them all again, plus gained some new friends, after Eggman decided he wanted to try to rule the world again." His scoff was heard right before they cut it out to talk some more about the interview, and she smirked and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's Shadow, alright…" She shushed, though, as they played some more of the interview.
"What was it like to fight against Black Doom up on the Comet?"
This response took a moment longer, with which you could tell because they cut out some of the silence to save room on the show. "It's hard to explain when you are battling for more than just your memories, when the fate of the entire world rests in the outcome of the battle. It's hard when everything is thrust upon you, when before the world had turned its back on you without another thought." A momentary pause. "But, when you have people standing beside you, ready to risk it all for you, supporting you when you fall, and they are there until the bitter end…there is no mistake; you know that you will win." Then, there was another break in the audio static to show another part of the response. "I knew that I at least had one person there, standing beside me to help me fight against Doom no matter what came…" She could almost hear him smirking, just picturing his face as he answered them. "And, if she hadn't pulled me out of that park, I would never have done any of it." Another pause. "Thank you."
Her eyes watered for some reason, and she wiped her nose before scolding herself aloud, "Why am I getting all upset? It's just the news…" Still, she sniffed, and she took a tissue with her as she went to get clothes on, the last words of the report drifting up the staircase along with her.
"And so, we can only hope that we have these heroes with us as we evolve into a better nation, one that is united and strong and will never fall, just like the unbreakable bonds of Shadow and his friends…now, in other news…"
Shadowpaw walked into the park, smiling brightly as the sunlight shone down on her and brightened up her already glowing amber orbs, and looked around the park curiously. Obviously, he wasn't near the front, and so she walked down the little path, looking around at the people playing around her joyfully. The little boy with his dog romped around in the grass, throwing and catching a red Frisbee in a game of Fetch. A couple sat on a bench nearby, the lady laying her head onto the man's shoulder as the held hands. For some reason, the sight of the couple made her throat clenched, but she quickly hurried past them and continued with her search for Shadow. Spying their casual hangout spot, she jogged up the hill and looked around, wondering where he could be…
"Why, hello."
She yelped and fell backwards onto her tail, glaring at the black hedgehog sitting in the tree. He just smirked at her, and she scowled at him before quickly climbing up the trunk and sitting beside him on the branch, hoping that it was strong enough to hold them both. When it didn't seem like it would collapse or break, she relaxed some more before looking at Shadow inquiringly. "Soooooo…?"
"Soooooo, what?"
"What did you call me out for?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "You did say you were going to torture me."
"I did, didn't I?" He leaned back so his back was up against the bark of the trunk, and he put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes as he got comfortable, leaving her staring at him expectantly. When he didn't make a move to do anything, she frowned and asked, "Aren't ya gonna talk?"
He shook his head.
"No teasing?"
Another shake.
"Or taunting?"
A shake and a smirk.
"Well then, what the hell are you going to do?"
He shrugged, and she groaned and rolled her eyes. Figures, he'd torture me with boredomShaking her head at him, she looked down at the people moving around in the park as she swung her feet back and forth, shaking the branch a little. He opened an eye to watch her do it for a moment, before closing it again and breathing in the fresh air deeply. She spied the couple once more from her perch, and as she watched them exchange a passionate kiss, she inquired quietly, "Shadow?"
"Hm?" When she didn't ask immediately, he opened an eye again to look at her, legs now still as she stared in the distance. He eventually followed her gaze with both eyes and turned his head to look at the bench. He figured what she was going to ask next.
"Why did you…kiss me?"
He was silent for a while, just looking at the couple, and it was the feline's turn to watch him for a while. She examined his face hopefully for an answer, but none presented itself to her, and so she was left hanging, waiting for his verbal response as he seemed focused on something else entirely. She began to think that he hadn't heard her and was going to ask again when suddenly he shifted and turned his head to look right at her. She froze, breath caught in her throat as she looked into his deep garnet-colored eyes, feeling her heart-rate speed up dangerously and making her feel lightheaded. Dammit, I better not be blushing again… Unfortunately, she jinxed herself, and as she felt her cheeks burn crimson she watched as he grinned in amusement, to which she looked down at the ground below them as she twiddled her thumbs together. Maybe if I don't look at him, he won't embarrass me more…
"Shadowpaw," her head snapped up at her name, "come here." When she looked at him in confusion, he motioned for her to scoot over on the branch. Giving him a strange look, she did as she was told, careful not to fall off of the branch, but she gasped in surprise when he suddenly grabbed her and pulled her into his chest and a fierce hug. Heart stuck in her throat, she gulped and tried to stop it from beating faster than a speeding bullet (damn, girl, that's fast!) as she wondered if she should hug him back. She was prevented from making this decision when he started to speak.
"Ever since I've met you," he started, "there was something about you that stood out. You had fire…you had power, a determination that didn't allow you to stop for anybody." He held her a bit more firmly, as if trying to form words but having trouble doing so, before he chuckled. "You were also the most annoying person I had ever met. You were constantly following me, acting as if you knew it all, and always liked to call me 'rat'." (Chapter 1)
She looked up at him staring down at her, amusement in his light grin, and she gulped as her face became red once more and she looked away to try to stop the humiliation. But, he obviously wanted her full attention, for he grabbed her chin and turned her head back to look him in the eyes. He continued, "And yet, when you got kidnapped by Eggman, somehow," he smirked when she stuck her tongue out at him, "I felt as if it was my fault, and it made me feel terrible. (Chapter 2) Sonic finally came to help me, damn him," he said this with a smile, so it was just a light insult. He seemed to have become friendlier with the blue hedgehog over the years.
"Tails used his giant ship to fly us up to where Eggman was hiding, where we were surrounded by Black Arms, GUN units, and Eggman's robots all at once." He shook his head at the memory. (Chapter 3) "It was really confusing, but eventually we found you flying out in some homemade robot or something." Then, he looked at her curiously. "How the hell did you make that thing, anyways?"
She smirked at him. "Very carefully."
He shook his head at her before he went on, "When the Black Arms got you, I was so frustrated with myself for not getting you that I made a dent in a steel wall." Shadowpaw looked at her with an eyebrow raised, not really taking that seriously, but he said, "You can even ask Sonic; he's the one that said to stop taking my anger out on it."
"Right…"
"Alright, don't believe me then." He smirked at her. "Black Doom wanted the Chaos Emeralds in exchange for you –"
"Phhbt!" Shadowpaw rolled her eyes. "As if! He'd just kill us all after he got 'em all!"
"– but I knew that, and I wasn't going to let him have them. I went up there with the intention of kicking his ass and taking you by force."
"Oh, thanks," she rolled her eyes, "I've been demoted to property now."
"Oh, shut up. I'm being serious here. When we got there, and I saw you in those chains…" The look that came across his face nearly broke her heart; he just looked so lost and furious that she finally returned the hug he gave her, closing her eyes and trying to remind him it was only a memory. He shook his head, and she listened to him as he continued explaining, "I was so angry I didn't know what to do, so it's a good thing that you got yourself out of that Oak's grip."
"Stupid Oak."
"When we finally defeated him, I knew that it wasn't just my amazing power that had done it. All of us (meaning Sonic, Shadow, Tails, Kussia, and Shadowpaw, although Tails didn't do much…) did it, together."
"I dunno," Shadowpaw smiled, looking up at him and joking, "You are pretty strong."
He smirked and nodded. "That's right." She then scoffed and rolled her eyes, but he just continued to smirk and brought her back to his chest. She gulped, blushing once more, and she stuttered, "Th-that still doesn't answer my question!"
"Doesn't it, though?" He looked at her, and her eyes widened as he once again leaned forward, stealing her second kiss before she could do anything. This one was a bit longer, though, and she allowed her eyes to slip closed before he leaned back and chuckled. "A week ago, you said the words 'that's why you love me'. And, I've realized that, you were right." Then, she heard him say the words that she had secretly been waiting him to say for an entire week - no, for more than a year.
"I'm in love with you."
Final Commentaries!
DL: YAY! (hops up and down) Finally, I've ended this with some fluff I know you guys secretly wanted! Oh, and Gaara's Pyro Raccoon (or however the hell you spell it), I guess you could call this the sequel. I know it's been forever since I finished this story, but I wanted to add one last thing before I made a new version of it, ya know? Because, after I read this story again, I realized that, although it's not as good as my more recent stories, it still has something that I can't bear to just throw away. And, I think this ends it pretty nicely.
Shadowpaw and Shadow: …
DL: …What?
Kussia: They're just too happy to talk to you right now.
Sp and S: SHUT UP!
DL: Heh, I abbreviated their names…and Kussia'll be K!
K: What? Ah, damn… (shrugs) Oh, well. No harm, no foul.
DL: So, I've been working on this all week (yay, me!) so I hope you guys like this! I didn't exactly know how I was going to end this at first (my original idea was to lower the fluffiness and bring Cream in to spoil the mood), but I just felt like being cute and cuddly for at least one chapter. (sticks tongue out) Now you can't say I don't have feelings!
Dalsson: Oh, you have feelings, alright.
DL: (looks confused) Dally? What the bloody hell are you doing here?
Dal: Well, (dammit, you've already abbreviated me!) this isn't really me, but a figment of your imagination that took the form of me so that you could have a conversation with me that you thought would probably happen if you really did have a conversation with me, and so this is basically just a test run before you have the real thing in case everything goes wrong with this me so you could fix any mistakes before you talk to the real me later. Does that explain it?
DL: Yeah.
Sp: Argh, my brain hurts…
DL: Heh, stupid…
Sp: HEY! You know, I'm your character, so you might as well be calling yourself stupid!
Silence…
Dal: Hmm, you know, she makes a good point.
DL: Yah, I have to agree…
K: Ain't that a surprise!
Sp: WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!
DL: So, does that make Kussia a figment, too?
Dal: Yeah, duh. Would you ever really expect Kussia to say 'ain't'?
DL: …Good point. Anyways, I hope ya like it, and I expect everyone who reviewed this story to review this sequel chapter, as well! (glares at readers) That means YOU!!
Everyone: Please review! (DL adds 'before I kill you!')
S: That wasn't very nice…
DL and Sp: Oh, shut up. (both punch him)
S: OUCH!
Everyone but S: (snicker)
S: Fine, I'll just run off, then, and never return! (runs off)
Sp: No, wait, Shadow! Come back! (runs after him)
DL: (sighs) Ah, young love. How it makes me wanna barf. (sticks finger down throat)
Dal: And yet you write it.
DL: (punches him super hard) SHUT UP!! (covers camera with hand) THIS COMMENTARY IS OFFICIALLY OVER!!
Fin