For a brief instant, the pounding rain was replaced with the sound of flesh hitting against metal as the car plowed into the boy. He rolled over the hood before being flung several feet away and scraping on the pavement. The tires of the car squealed, but there was no slowdown...it moved on, uncaring, as though the driver had only hit a squirrel or something. The rain was sheeting down so hard that there was no catching the license plate; the only thing that mattered right now was sprawled out on the road, unmoving.
"...Chase?" Maria shakily drew herself to her feet. The rain started to recede a bit, but she wished it hadn't considering what she was looking at, a set of sore shoulders her only consequence.
Shadow stood silently, his body frozen while he wondered what to do. He wasn't eager to see if the boy was alive, but he hoped he was for Maria's sake. The blood smear on the ground was not an encouraging sign.
"Chase?" Maria finally found the strength to run over to him, and knelt down by her friend. "Chase! Answer me... Please!"
At this point, Sara had finally come outside after them, a rainbow umbrella held overhead. It didn't take long to spot them; they'd only gone about a block and a half away. "Shadow?" She strode over to his side, but her attention quickly turned to the children. "High One..." Her grip slackened and the umbrella fell to the ground, landing quietly on the grass. "...What have you done?"
"Chase!" Maria shook the boy until he opened his eyes; the pain was clearly painted on his features, though he smiled.
"..Ria...you're safe." He coughed.
"Baka!" Maria sobbed, "You're hurt really bad!"
"Sorry...I was stupid, wasn't I?" He reached a hand out to Maria, who gladly took it. He lay his head back down upon the pavement and closed his eyes tightly.
"Chase! Chase! Stay with me! Don't go!" Maria pleaded with him. Something green caught her eyes, just behind his quills this time…an emerald, his trophy for winning the Gear Expo a few years back. "Papa! Do something!"
Shadow had walked over to the kids while Sara phoned an ambulance. Shadow's eyes held some compassion to them; he had saved his daughter, after all. "I'm sorry…. It's my fault."
"Do something, Papa!! You're the Ultimate Life Form!" Maria got to her feet, grabbing the emerald first. She'd turned to her father and beat her fists angrily against his chest. "Why won't you do anything?!" she cried.
Shadow winced at the emerald hitting him, though he knew he deserved it. He put his arms around Maria, not surprised that his arms were quickly skewered by her quills. "I can't move him…. Your mom's calling 911…." He looked over at the boy. "All I can do is try to stop the bleeding."
"But...but...what about Chaos Control?! What good is it?!" Maria sobbed into his chest, quickly reverting to misery.
Shadow gently stroked her quills. "I can warp time, I can unleash unfathomable power...I just can't...heal."
"...They're on their way," Sara said somberly.
Shadow let go of Maria and knelt down to see if he could do anything about the bleeding. The girl was quickly kneeling on the other side of her friend, her hand clutching the emerald tightly. I have to help…I have to... Maria tried not to cry anymore, and was somewhat glad of the rain for hiding her tears, though it did make the job of bandaging Chase that much more difficult.
I want to help... Maria's hand tightened around the emerald. She couldn't hear the rain or her parents talking anymore. All that was in her vision was a hurt and possibly dying friend. The Chaos power she'd called on during the race began to swirl through her in her emotional state. The emerald reacted with a soft radial glow to it. Maria placed her free hand on Chase's chest. The emerald light pulsed from her hand, and Maria's eyes closed while she focused on the feeling "Chaos...Healing!"
Shadow watched speechlessly as the emerald light folded around the boy. Sara was also awestruck, but would it work? "Chaos...Healing?" Sara mouthed.
When the light faded, the blood on the hedgehog had stopped, and his face seemed more peaceful. "...Chase?" Maria lightly put a hand on his cheek.
Chase's breathing had certainly eased, and his golden eyes cracked open. "..Ria?"
The girl enveloped him in her arms and smiled brightly. "You're okay!"
"Ahhh! Not if you smother meee!" The boy coughed.
Shadow even sighed in relief. "Never an ambulance when you need one," he commented as the emergency vehicle came into view. "Hey. You need to go to the MRC?" he asked Chase without looking back at him.
"Well...I'm tired and I ache but...I think I'll live." He smiled.
Sara sighed in relief. "I won't mind sending the ambulance away then," she commented. "You don't mind joining us for breakfast, do you?" She glanced at Shadow while she said that, and he held a neutral gaze at that.
"I won't get pounded, will I?" The boy managed to sit up and stand at Maria's urgings.
"No," Shadow replied and headed back into the house.
Saving Maria's life had had a positive effect on Shadow's regard for Chase. He didn't complain when Maria ran off with him anymore, and he even joined them at the Gear park now and then. He remembered racing Gears once upon a time, but he honestly preferred his own two feet.
There was one matter that was bothering the darkened hedgehog, however. He'd spoken to his father-in-law about it not long after the incident. And that brought him to his not-so-little girl's room about a week following that.
"Maria?" Shadow knocked at the door lightly.
"Come in!"
Shadow let himself in, finding his daughter reading a book in bed. "I wanted to talk to you about something," he said, getting right down to business. He took a seat on the edge of her bed and smiled a little, though his expression was typically serious.
The girl slipped a bookmark between the pages and set it on the nightstand. "Yes, Dad?" She gave him a quizzical look.
"I'm really glad you've grown up in peaceful times." He lightly stroked her hair; her bangs had become annoying like her mother's, often falling over her eyes. "I've had to use my powers for battle...so I've never imagined using them to heal."
"Is this about Chase?" the girl asked and sat up a bit straighter.
"...Sort of." Shadow bowed his head. "I have a little gift for you." Shadow reached into his quills and drew out a gold band that was similar to the ones he wore, but larger. "...It's kind of a necklace."
Maria had noticed the resemblance and thought back to the emerald light had spilled out once when she accidentally unclasped one of his bracelets. She was already starting to put two and two together, but felt like asking, "What's this for?"
"...It's a Chaos limiter," Shadow replied.
"...Do you think I need this?"
"Probably not." Shadow glanced at the gold bands on his wrists. "It's more of a precaution. For me...I can radiate a lot of Chaos power...even with these on. It's part of me being the 'ultimate.'"
"So that's what that light was?" Maria asked about the incident without naming it. Shadow understood and nodded. She then glanced at the band she'd been handed, and then back at her father.
"Would you mind wearing it?" he asked gently.
Something in his eyes told her it was important to him. "Oh, all right." She clipped the gold band around her neck. It wasn't quite a choker, but she guessed rightly that it was made larger so she wouldn't need a new one when she finished growing...that is, if she needed it at all. It was very lightweight so it didn't bother her in that aspect. Perhaps for the first time, she was aware that there was Chaos flowing through her body, as the limiter began to siphon it off.
Instead of probing her father more about Chaos, she asked another very natural question, "How does it look?"
He smiled as she complied with his wishes. "Hmmm... Pritty."
Maria laughed. "You're never going to let me forget that, are you?"
"Nope." Shadow drew her into a hug and kissed the top of her head.
Shadow was having another lazy day, resting on the living room couch. He couldn't sleep in the den today since Ash and his troop were having a Brawl tournament in there. Sara had made herself available to the children, providing them with snacks, and sometimes ripping away a controller to show off her own skills. Between one of these runs, she decided to check on her lazy mate.
Of course, when the weight of a female hedgehog fell on Shadow's chest, his eyes flew open. "Hello, sleepyhead." She grinned at him.
Shadow grunted idly and put his arms around her. "What do you want?"
Sara gave his forehead a kiss, then another quick kiss to his lips. "How about you awake?"
"Nope. Not happenin'." Shadow lay his head back on a pillow and closed his eyes, trying to pull her down with him more. She was resisting, and he smirked a bit, making sure he pulled her further to him.
Sara scratched him behind the ears and rested against him. "I don't get to sleep in like you."
"Mmm...what do you really want?" he questioned at the sudden affection.
"Can't I just want to be with you?" She smiled.
He didn't have to answer, as a knock came at the door. "...Meh...I thought all of Ash's friends were here..." he commented.
"Come in!" Sara laughed at Shadow's blushing. With her on top of him, their pose did look a bit awkward.
"Hey! Is Maria here?" Blitz walked in and whistled. "Whoa, sorry I disturbed you!"
Shadow rolled his eyes while Sara shifted so she rested an arm on his chest to prop herself up on. "I'm just having fun with him. And no...Maria's out with Chase."
Shadow grunted partly out of habit and partly out of the pressure Sara was exerting on his chest. "They're probably at the Gear park."
"Aww man...she's always hanging out with him." The purple teen frowned. "I just got a new game I wanted to play with her…."
"Well, Ash and crew are in the den playing Brawl. What'd ya bring?" She got up off of Shadow, who was much relieved.
"Mario Kart Wii." He smiled.
"Oooh! Good choice. They just might break up the tourney for that." Sara smiled at him.
"Thanks, Auntie Sara!" Blitz said, and headed off into the den.
"It's not fair, you know," Shadow commented after his rival's son slipped into the den.
"..What is?" Sara tilted her head to regard her mate.
"The kids are always running off having fun." He shrugged.
"Missing Maria even though she hasn't moved out?" she asked softly.
"Kind of." He stood up and put an arm around Sara.
"I'm glad you don't mind Chase coming around...I think he's proved he wouldn't hurt her." Sara leaned against him a bit, then found herself swept off her feet.
"He makes her happy." Shadow started heading for the staircase a slight smile on his face, "You make me happy."
"So you're okay with the possibility they'll become mates?" She loosely had her arms around her love.
"No..." he replied simply. "...Not for a few years."
Sara laughed lightly, "Oh?"
"Yeah. Let them have their fun for now...and we'll have ours," Shadow said as the pair reached the bedroom.
"You know...since you've backed off on Chase...I kind of like the way you think, hon." His sky blue mate grinned.