Shadow agreed to stay a few days, taking advantage of the impromptu vacation. The sights and smells of the forest village were very different from Station Square, as was the pace of life around them. After the excitement of the first couple days had died down, things seemed much more peaceful. Shadow was even getting used to seeing people his size more regularly. He and Sara had left for Earth fairly shortly after becoming mates, and watching the kids playing with other hedgehogs and Mobians made him wonder how things would have been different if they'd have stayed.
He was now cruising through one of Knothole's parks at a fairly sedate speed for him, but trailing just behind him was two year old Ash. He kept a close eye on the boy, who had a tendency to stumble. He didn't recall Maria being as clumsy, and the way she was running circles around him now proved that point.
"Don't go too far!" he said as she streaked past him.
"I won't!" she assured her father as she sprinted ahead of him.
A flash of orange and green raced by Shadow's line of sight, causing his quills to bristle. It was a young hedgehog boy, probably around six years old. His eyes were yellow and his arms and belly were slightly salmon, almost blending into his bright orange fur. He was speeding along on a green Extreme Gear board, and upon seeing him, Shadow immediately hated him.
Maria had to think fast to avoid a collision with the careless boarder. "Hey! Watch it!"
"Catch me if you can!" The boy beamed and kicked his Gear up a notch.
Maria looked behind at her father momentarily before chasing after him. "Hey, wait!"
"Maria! Stop it! Come back!" a growl crept into Shadow's tone. He definitely didn't like this.
"Papa! Slow down!" the sky blue and black hedgehog cried, tripping over a tree root.
"...Shit..." Shadow turned around sharply to help his small son. By the time he'd picked him off the ground and stopped his fussing, Maria and the orange boy were well out of sight. "...She is so grounded…."
Maria felt a little guilty about ditching her father, but she was enjoying running full tilt for a change. "Did you have to be so rude?" she called to the boy riding next to her on his board.
"You were just going too slow." He glanced down at her shoes. "Those aren't Gears, are they?" he commented.
"Nope. Papa gave them to me, though." Maria ran like her dad did, gliding just above the ground's surface in a skating motion.
"You're weird being that fast," the orange hedgehog commented, and took off down the righthand trail.
"Well...well you have to use a board to catch me!" Maria sped up a bit and overtook the renegade she was chasing, a smile drawing on her lips. She didn't realize how much she enjoyed running, and would make a point of getting out more when they got back to Station Square.
Eventually the two came to a stop by an ice cream stand. Maria didn't have any Mobian currency, so the boy treated them both to fudge pops. "Wow, you're not even sweating."
"Nah, that wasn't even a workout." Maria grinned. She really liked fudgecicles. "Thanks for the ice cream."
"No problem. Your ol' man won't be mad, will he?" the boy asked.
"Mmmm...he might. Papa doesn't have a very good sense of humor." She blushed a bit.
"I didn't think so. He looks mean." He shrugged and took a bite of his fudge pop.
"He is not! ...But he does get cranky some times." She whispered the last part.
"Hey, you wanna do that again sometime?"
Maria smiled at that. "Yeah!... Ahh...if my dad will let me." A worried expression crossed her face as she saw the black and red bearing down on them.
"...Maria!" Shadow partly growled, his brows furrowed and crimson eyes glinting menacingly. "Don't you dare run off like that again!"
"Sorry! I got challenged to a race... You let me run off with Blitz when that happens!" she complained.
"Well this stranger isn't Blitz, is he?" He pointed to the orange hedgehog in contempt.
"...No...but he's not a stranger! We met at the palace," Maria replied, though her forming smile was quickly wiped away. She'd never seen Shadow maintain a scowl like he was at the moment.
"... Come on, we're going back to your mother...now." Shadow grabbed her arm and drew her away, Ash held in his other arm uncomplaining.
For some reason, mostly Sara's complaints, Shadow didn't take them home after that little incident, and the following day he was back at the park. He sat on a bench and watched Ash play in the sand with Tracey and Kit, Tails' kids. Maria promised to stay in sight, though a sneer curled his lips when she was approached by the orange hedgehog again. The two stuck to the swing set and balancing beam, so he couldn't say anything.
Shadow's anger was spiked to a severe degree as a familiar scent filled his nostrils. He turned, expecting to see another orange hedgehog next to him, but his expression turned more to shock as he caught sight of a lemon yellow hedgehog with apricot eyes instead.
"Excuse me, you don't mind if I sit here, do you?" she asked.
"...No," Shadow managed through gritted teeth.
"Are you all right, sir...?" she quizzed.
"...Shadow... Yeah, I'm fine...just smelled something bad." He scowled.
"Oh...sorry to hear that. My name's Raye. Is that your daughter?" she asked, pointing to Maria.
"Yeah." Shadow nodded.
"Ahh...she's the first girl Chase has really taken to." She smiled warmly over at the kids.
"...Oh..." Shadow changed his view over to Ash and the others to take his mind off things. His son was the youngest of the toddlers, and the smallest, not that it was much of a concern...just an observation. He didn't like the idea of Chase taking to his daughter at all, especially if he was the son of the person he was thinking of.
"You're Shadow, right?" Raye inquired after a moment.
"...Yeah."
"I saw you in the parade a few days ago." She glanced at the dark hedgehog, who grunted lightly and folded his arms over his chest. "That means you're one of the Heroes." She smiled anyway. Shadow wished she would stop talking. "Looks like you're a pretty good parent too, your girl's well behaved."
"...Thanks." He sighed a bit, trying to think of a reason to leave and finding none. "Her name's Maria."
"Pretty name," Raye commented. "Hey, I was going to treat Chase to ice cream, if you want I could spring for a couple cones, one for you and your girl?" She held up a couple of Mobian dollars.
"...No...we're going to dinner after this." He made a motion to Tails and Fiona, who were playing with the kids in the sandbox.
"Oh, all right." She stood finally, and waved to her boy. "Chase! Come on!" The orange hedgehog hearkened to his mother's voice, and soon the two were mercifully out of Shadow's sight.
Maria jumped off the swings and went over to her dad moments later. "Hey, Papa!" She hopped up on the bench next to him. "Can we go now?"
"Yeah." He got off the bench and walked over to the sandbox. "Maria's ready to go, how about you?"
"Oh, sure. We'll have everything ready in about an hour." Tails smiled and plucked Kit off the ground, while Fiona gathered up Tracey.
"We're going home tomorrow," Shadow announced while lying back in the soft bed they'd been sleeping in while at the palace.
"Eh? Oh come on, we're not even packed," Sara replied, climbing into bed next to him.
"Well then get packed." He'd been in a foul mood all day, and it was starting to bug Sara.
"Not until you tell me what's wrong." She brushed her fingers through his chest fur and rested her head against his.
"It's this boy Maria's been hanging around." He slightly growled.
"A boy?" Sara's reaction of mild excitement did not make a good impression on her moody mate. "Who is it? It can't be Blitz…."
"His name's Chase...his mom's a hedgehog named Raye... Met her in the park," he explained, "...But her mate's musk...it had to be Duo."
The reason for his bitter state was immediately clear to Sara, and her expression became an uncertain one. "...Are you sure? I mean...you only met him in that duel..."
Shadow snorted. "Like I didn't smell him all over you that night?"
Sara frowned deeply at that comment. "...Sorry..." She wrapped her arms around him, seeking comfort, but getting none. "...Shadow...that was years ago...if he's got a mate now, he's definitely moved on."
"I don't want Maria getting close to him." His crimson eyes were harsh.
His sky blue mate sighed. "Oh please don't do this...it's like I tell you all the time with Blitz...Blitz isn't Sonic...and this Chase kid isn't Duo! Is he guilty of something because they're related?"
Shadow grunted, "No... but that's a bad example. Blitz is just like his father...just like Sonic."
Sara sighed again. "You know...Maria said she likes it here."
"We're going back to Station Square, end of story." Shadow lay back against the soft bed and fabrics that enveloped the couple and finally put an arm around Sara, though it was more possessive than affectionate.
"...And what happens in a couple years when she decides she wants to live here in spite of you?" she asked with her deep brown eyes downcast.
"...What?" Shadow gave her a puzzled look; at least the cold hardness of his eyes had begun to evaporate.
"...Well...I know you were raised by humans...and we've raised Maria on Earth, but..." she managed to look him in the eyes, "we're not humans."
"...I know that," he replied, still giving her a questioning gaze.
"I just mean that...she'll be old enough to leave us...legally...by Mobian standards...in a couple years. I know it seems really soon, but...it's not for us."
"...You were still living with your father when we met." Shadow rolled over on his side so he could give her his full attention.
"Yeah, but, we were really tight. I chose to live at home when I didn't have to. But if you alienate Maria...well...we can't force her to stay," Sara finished.
He understood what she was saying, but the idea of her and Duo's kid... "So what are you suggesting?"
"I'm suggesting you cool off and get over the past." Her statement hit home for Shadow. "If Maria's having fun, you really want to stop that? But if you want to go home because you're angry...she's going to know... She's not stupid."
Shadow sighed. He attempted to pull Sara into his arms, but she turned her back on him, and for once her quills were tense. Bastard's messing thing's up again...