Their eyes met for a moment.
After delivering his gifts, Shadow left the room to catch up with Maria. The room was still and roughly silent. In less then a hour the painful tests would start again, and Christmas would be over for all the experiments.
The poking and cutting of their flesh, the lose of blood, the endless routine of anguish. And for what? To perfect Project Shadow? A living life form they had created through their suffering that didn't even care for them. Only once would the so called 'ultimate life form' atone for the pain he had put them through. A small, bitter piece of chocolate.
o
Shadow glared at Ryuu. The evil hedgehog stood before him without the slightest hint of fear. At that moment Shadow knew who was standing before him.
Ryuu glanced at the cameras then turned his attention to Shadow.
"Merry Christmas, Shadow."
Both hedgehog began to circle each other as customary in most fights. The last once over of the opponent before a winner-takes-all battle, literary. One of them was not coming out of this fight alive.
Ryuu had been one of the experimental animals that lead up to Shadow's development. Shadow recognized him. How he was still alive was beyond Shadow's reasoning. Logically the G.U.N. soldiers would have destroyed as many of the experiments as possible. Even if he were spared the death sentence, his age would roughly be around sixty. The Ryuu before Shadow now was only about twenty. How could he...?
Shadow was not left to think for too much longer, Ryuu launched his first attack; several rounds of chaos spear.
Ryuu stood facing the mangled wall which quickly mended itself. Shadow had moved.
The ultimate life form knew better than to try and fight fire with fire here. Ryuu may not look like too much of a challenge, but the fact that he killed Sonic in one fight was enough to deter Shadow from a frontal attack. So the black hedgehog used one of Sonic's favorite games.
"Come on Ryuu!" Shadow taunted as he skated up and around the walls of the room. "Surely your faster than that!" Ryuu responded with trying to strike Shadow with chaos spear. Large holes were created in the walls by his power, but all of them quickly reassembled. Shadow couldn't help looking back sometimes to view the contents of the rooms. Perhaps something of use would be in one.
For a few more seconds Ryuu played along in the 'game', but he quickly became annoyed. The chaos spear stopped being sent after Shadow. Ryuu still looked calm. He never lost his appearance of being in control of the fight. This unnerved Shadow a bit. Was Ryuu being over-confident, or did he really have this fight mapped out like he had the one with Sonic?
Outside a light snow began to fall. Amy stood outside Ryuu's base. She tightly gripped her coat; the sight of the place was colder than the air around her.
Taking rail as far as she could, Amy had followed the skate marks Shadow had left in the snow. She ran as long as she could, even through the night hours. She knew Shadow left on account of Ryuu. Something was wrong. Amy was nearly frozen from head to toe, but she felt she needed to keep an eye on Shadow. If anything went amiss, she wanted to be there to do what she could. Til then she would stay out of the way.
Amy smacked her gloved hands together to warm them a bit. She then quickly removed one hand from its covering to pull her cell phone from her pocket. Being she was miles from the warmth of the city, Amy's fingers could almost barely dial Tails' number. Her hands were stiffening up. Finally She reached him.
"Tails," She shivered. "I've found Ryuu's base."
o
Shadow had exhausted every avoid tactic in the book. Ryuu was on to every move, every side step, every dodge, and every running trick Shadow could think of. And Ryuu didn't even show any weakening in his chaos energy. The dark hedgehog seemed to endlessly be able to fire attack after attack on Shadow.
So much for using brain power. Shadow sent a shot of chaos spear at Ryuu, catching the offending hedgie a bit off guard. Still, a quick, small smile flashed across Ryuu's face. This made Shadow suspicious. Why was Ryuu happy he got hit?
At this moment Shadow decided to use physical attacks instead of chaotic ones. Ryuu was going to try and use chaos against him, but how?
The punches and kicks got under way as the endless questions and suspicion ran through Shadow's head.
Even when I'm close enough, Ryuu still uses chaos spear instead of a regular form of attack. Ryuu's not running out of energy either, and is even trying to get me to use my powers. But surely Ryuu must know I'm the ultimate life form. If I truly desired to, I could chaos blast Ryuu into the after life. Why would Ryuu play such a risky game? What's the angle?
As Shadow took another hit that flung him into a nearby wall, the reason for Shadow's coming came to mind. Rouge was here! The only place Rouge went was to Knuckles' island and thus to the master emerald. Ryuu has the master emerald! What could he do with the master emerald?!
Shadow quickly got to his feet from his fall.
"So what are your plans with the master emerald?"
Shadow's question stunned Ryuu. He never thought for a moment Shadow would know he had the emerald. This was not the way his plan was suppose to come out. Regardless he would have to make it appear as if all the cards were still in his hand. Shadow couldn't be given an ounce of reassurance for a victory. Self-assurance can sway a battle.
"You'll find out in good time," Ryuu raised both hands into the air summoning more energy. "For now we fight."
Through the lense of the cameras, Knuckles and Eggman watched as Shadow fought with Ryuu. Agitation presented on Knuckles' face. Every minute he spent trapped in that upper room, the more he wanted to kill Ryuu, even at the expense of his own life.
"Can Shadow live through it?" Knuckles asked still watching the monitor.
"Through chaos blast once I turn it on him?"
"What else do you think I'm asking!"
Eggman grunted at the echidna.
"No need to be so rude. I'm not to happy about our situation either."
Knuckles' temper was rising. He had taken enough wise cracks and abuse for one day and was ready to pop.
"Just. Answer. My. Question."
"Shadow wouldn't even need to be hit with the reverb. The use of chaos blast would already have drained him of his chaotic energy. Though I know he would live through it."
Not too satisfied with the answer Knuckles began to way the options given him.
He could chose to follow Ryuu's orders and pray that Shadow would still be able to fight. Perhaps he could even find a way out and help. But if Shadow was incapacitated, whatever evil plan Ryuu had for Mobius would be fulfilled.
Or he could refuse to pull the power. Chaos blast would still be powerful enough to hurt Ryuu, and give Knuckles the opportunity to escape and help. The consequence being that Rouge would suffer and possibly he and Eggman if Ryuu had rigged some form of punishment in the upper room. But if Ryuu didn't die, Shadow would be drained; he couldn't do too much else to hurt Ryuu. But this still seemed to be the best course of action.
Eggman could see the gears spinning in Knuckles' head. The doctor frowned as he spoke up.
"If we don't stop Shadow from performing chaos blast, us, and everything in a five mile radius, will be destroyed."
Knuckles came out of his thoughts. Eggman continued.
"If Ryuu has a way of living through chaos blast, you, I and Rouge will die here. Even if Shadow isn't drained of all his chaotic power, he wouldn't have allies to turn to for help; and Ryuu could still possibly be stronger. His energy isn't running out."
Knuckles added nothing to Eggman's speech. "I'm leaving this entire matter up to you, Knuckles...Ryuu really has thought out every possibility."
Knuckles' mind slowly drifted to Rouge. He tried to shake her from his thoughts. He had more urgent things to think about...but somehow she kept coming into focus. If she were well she could bust them out. She always had a knack for slipping out of tight places.
As Knuckles looked at the master emerald, the monitors, and the possible fate of Mobius, he couldn't help but wish Rouge was there with him. He wondered if she was okay. He allowed her to be put through a lot. A lot that he regretted.
A bright flash on the screen caught the echidna's attention.
Shadow had launched another chaos attack. Ryuu was stepping up his game. The dark hedgehog was also seeming to become impatient. The twenty minute limit Ryuu had set for his battle with Shadow had long been passed. Shadow too was becoming annoyed. He knew he wasn't suppose to use his powers, but this fight was getting anconeus. He wanted so much for Ryuu to die or something to that equivalence.
Shadow was suddenly taken by surprise as Ryuu sent the largest amount of energy that battle at him. Shadow ran from the energy, but was sent flying back by its power. The mass of power left a decent size hole in the wall which the computers were having a hard time mending. As Shadow looked up he could see into the room.
At that moment everything, the base, Ryuu, everything faded out of mind for Shadow. All he could remember...Amy's prayer...
"God, I don't...I don't want Sonic to die. I want him here! I.. love him. Please don't let him be dead. I won't believe he's dead. I will not lose hope! He is not dead!"
Sonic was in that room, alive. He was badly beaten and appeared to have fetters on his feet...but he was alive.
Shadow's heart sank.
Sonic was what Amy wanted more than anything. Shadow should be happy to see Sonic. This meant he wasn't dead, just taken as a trophy. This was a ...good thing.
Amy could have her Sonic. So why wasn't he running to save him?
The wall finally did mend, taking Sonic out of Shadow's view. Shadow couldn't even remember the expression on the blue hedgehog's face. All he could think of was the inevitable loss. Still, Sonic was what Amy wanted and there was no way Ryuu was going to hurt her like that again. Or Him.
If Shadow could position himself near enough to the wall Sonic was behind, he could use chaos blast on Ryuu. There was no way that malicious hedgehog would be able to survive chaos blast, right?
But what about Rouge? And Knuckles was likely in the base as well. Perhaps if he didn't give off too much energy, they would be able to live through the blast. And if they didn't... either way, Ryuu had to go down. Now.
Amy had been waiting for what seemed like hours. She could hardly shiver any more; she was so cold. The frozen hedgehog watched her breath like clouds of smoke rise from her mouth. She was having a harder time breathing. The snow fall was also increasing making it harder for her to see the base.
"Come on Tails," Amy began to pace in a circle. "You should have been here by now."
Walking warmed her legs a little, but she still felt cold. Almost like the blood in her veins had stopped.
Amy's teeth began to chatter and she could tell her lips were turning blue. She needed to find shelter. She would get frostbite if she didn't, and judging by the numbness of her fingers and toes, that wouldn't take too long.
The pink one headed into the woods that surrounded the base. She went in only a few yards; she could still see the beckon light on top of the base. Her feet left long trails in the snow as puffs of white powder flew up from her foot falls. The forest was a beautiful sight covered in snow. She had not notice when she was traveling at night; perhaps she was too concentrated on Shadow's prints. If she wasn't currently freezing half to death, she would have stood and admired the great scene around her.
Amy came to a mound of snow that had a flat rock jettisoning out on the other side. Amy crawled under the rock using it as a roof, and the mound as a wall. Just keeping the snow and wind off made her feel warmer. She couldn't see the beckon from here, but it wasn't like she could do anything without Tails.
Where was that fox boy anyway? She had called him well over forty minutes ago. Who knew what kinds of things could be happening to Shadow. He might really need help.
Amy beat her gloved hands again to warm them. She was going to try and call Tails again. Maybe he misunderstood the urgency of the moment.
Before Amy could remove her gloves, a strong wind swept by. The trees all swayed and the snow was ripped from their branches. The mound Amy was behind also gave way, forcing Amy to scramble away from it before it collapsed.
"What happened!?"
Amy looked back in the direction of the base. A bright light was eliminating the forest. It was so bright that Amy had to shield her eyes. All the snow that had collected on the ground quickly melted as a heated gust rushed passed. Even the falling snow turned into rain.
After the light subsided, Amy stood in awe, not believing her eyes.
"Oh my, Shadow!" Amy shed her coat and made a dash back for the base. The puddles of former snow splashed up on the girl. It was still unbearably cold water, ankle deep, and was slowly becoming ice. The heat wave had passed. Those few yards she had traveled felt like miles.
Amy didn't stop her run, not even when she saw the base. A large hole had been made in the side of the building. The computers were unable to mend it, but non of this seemed to bother Ryuu. Amy took full liberty and entered the base. She stopped at what she saw.
Shadow was passed out on the floor and he looked hurt. Ryuu was laughing. A central computer system then lowered from the ceiling and Ryuu made hast to the controls. Quickly he set to work typing in passwords and setting up the next stage of his plan.
Not sure what she should do Amy stepped back out of the base. She peeked in from around the wall. All the security must have been off line from whatever caused the hole in the wall. This might be the perfect opportunity to find out what Ryuu was up to. Amy could only hope Shadow was all right.
As Ryuu worked, blueprints and satellite images of the Ark appeared on the screen. A text box popped up next to the pictures as Ryuu typed codes and commands. Amy couldn't read a single word. It was all a foreign language to her.
"Why can't people use the king's English?" Amy cursed softly.
"That is English, Amy."
The pink hedgehog was startled by the sudden voice behind her. She jumped and turned to face the sound. It was Tails.
"Why do you have to sneak up on me like that!"
"Shh, he'll hear you."
The two tailed fox peered around the wall and silently read and explained what was being typed.
"It would seem that Ryuu is sending commands to space colony Ark. He's trying to send a mass amount of power up there for some reason."
Amy peeped around to see Shadow. He still had not moved from the ground. Amy turned to see Tails running back for the forest. Amy followed knowing he was heading back to his plane.
Once there Tails opened some of his scanning equipment.
"On my way over here I picked up a strong signal from the chaos emeralds," Tails started up the equipment. "It looked like all seven were here and maybe even the mater emerald."
"I bet the master emerald is here," Amy climbed up into the plane to watch Tails. "Rouge had called Shadow and I at the her apartment. If she's here, odds are Knuckles is too."
" And why would Rouge's being here imply that Knuckles is here."
"Just a guess."
Tails read over his scanners.
"Ryuu maybe using the master emerald to stabilize the chaos energy, that way he could control its use on the Ark."
"What do we do?"
"I..I don't really know. Sonic was the one who..." Tails caught himself in mid sentence. He knew better than to speak about Sonic in front of Amy. She was still hurting terribly from his death, and so was he.
"Well Sonic's not here," Amy's expression was cold, her voice flat. "So what are we going to do about it?"
A determined look replaced Tails' fearful one.
"We're going to pay Ryuu back for what he did." Tails began to think. "Perhaps we could hack into the main computer system and shut down the transfer of information. We might be able to turn the power back on the system."
"We could fry the computer!" Amy smiled.
" Whatever we do we can't let Ryuu finish this command. We have to act fast."
The idea then struck Amy.
"What if I distract him, would that give you time to destroy the system?"
"I'm not too good at hacking, but I'll try."
"Rouge is in there if you can find her, she could help you. I just hope she's not hurt."
"I need you to keep him away from that computer. Go Now!"
Amy leaped from the plane, grabbed a rock from the ground and took off for the hole. She didn't know exactly what she was going to do, but she had to do something. Maybe she would be able to talk him down or brake the computer so he wouldn't be able to finish the data transfer.
"Keep him busy as long as you can!" Tails called after Amy. He hoped his call wasn't too loud. The young fox then reached under his seat for a small hand computer. Having Rouge would be a big help, but there was no way to find her in time; nor guarantee she would be able to help. He would have to do this alone.
Inside, Ryyu was finishing up his final orders when Amy ran in. The sound of Amy's stomping caught Ryuu's attention immediately.
"Hold it right there, Ryuu!"
Ryuu raised an eyebrow.
"Why do people say that, it doesn't make the person stop."
"Well..uh. It got you to turn around!" Amy quickly threw the rock toward the computer. Unfortunately Ryuu caught it before any damage could be done.
"Your pitiful attempt was cute, but if you don't mind, I'm only an enter key away from Mobius' destruction, and I'm already behind schedule."Ryuu lifted his hand into the air. Amy watched as power collected in the palm of the dark hedgehog's hand. He was going to kill her! There was no way she could take on him, what was she thinking? She didn't have enough time to run nor would Tails to shut down the main computer. Amy closed her eyes and braced her self as Ryuu brought his hand toward her.
Amy heard the energy rushing for her, she could see the brightness it let off even through her lids, and could even feel the warmth it gave off. But as the feelings went away, the pain never came. Amy slowly opened her eyes. Shadow had taken the hit for her and was now kneeling hurt on the floor.
"Shadow!" Amy dropped next to her afflicted friend. He was not unconscious before, just tired. Shadow knew chaos blast would relieve him of his power, but he was counting on leaving some kind of impact on Ryuu. It all made sense now. Ryuu used the master emerald and Knuckles to take the power of all the chaos emeralds, but as an added bonus, he waited until Shadow wasted his energy with chaos blast. Now no one was strong enough to fight Ryuu, at least not with physical power. The only question left was why.
Shadow was brought out of his thoughts when he felt something across his face. It pained him to look up, but the reward was worth the effort. Amy was softly caressing Shadow face. Her eyes were watery. She placed her hand on his back to help steady him and concern was painted in all her features. Shadow allowed a very controlled smile to appear on his face. He couldn't let emotions get the best of him now, Ryuu needed to be stopped, but when Shadow looked up at the hedgehog, something about him was different.
o
The lab was silent that morning. Even though the days experiments had started, and the animals were crying out in pain, it all feel on deaf ears.
Ryuu laid motionless; tied down to a steel, cool test table. The testing next to him had some how gone wrong. The experiment next to him died. The same test was about to be performed on him. The experiment next to him, was his brother.
Both of them had grown up in the vast emptiness of the Ark, or at least as far back as they could remember. They had been used for varies trials to prefect a creature known to them as Project Shadow. Ryuu's older brother would endure the test first and if it failed, it would be tinkered with and tried on Ryuu. Going back and forth the scientists would perfect all the components for Project Shadow. Today was agelessness.
The scientists argued about how they didn't add enough of this or enough of that. They didn't care about him.
Taro always offered to go first; he would take the cruelest form of the new experiment. He would always have the worst side effects. He spared Ryuu the pain for over one-hundred-fifty experiments. Taro died for a prototype, and they weren't the only two animals researched on. Thirty others went through this same lifestyle just to be killed by G.U.N. soldiers.
o
Ryuu's whole being changed in front of Shadow. Somehow, in the act of saving Amy's life, Shadow triggered something in Ryuu. If Shadow wasn't so hurt he could have used this moment to his advantage. Amy then took note of Ryuu's odd behavior.
Ryuu shock himself out of his memories. The dark hedgehog turned and placed a finger on the enter key. He hesitated.
"I know you have you're reasons," Amy spoke up softly. Ryuu narrowed his eyes. "But please try to understand what you're doing. Your going to be killing everyone on the planet, including yourself, and for what?"
"What..?" Ryuu didn't face Amy, but he wasn't pressing the button either. Amy couldn't see it, but Ryuu's heart was beating a mile a minute. Deep down he knew this wasn't what he wanted, but he wasn't sure what he did want. Due to the experiments he had powers like the ultimate life form and even lived through the agelessness test. He now could prove he was better then the creation he had made by fulfilling the one mission the prototype and Project Shadow could not. But that wouldn't bring his brother back, nor would he feel any better about himself. He just wanted to end it...
Ryuu suddenly began to type things into the computer; he pressed the enter.
"NO!" Amy got to her feet. She could only hope Tails had finished sabotaging the main computer. Ryuu didn't move nor respond to Amy as the ground quickly shock. The movement almost knock Amy off her feet. "What have you done?!"
"A self destruct sequence," Both Shadow and Amy fixed their gaze on Ryuu. "You have less then ten minutes to get out of here and at least five miles away." Could she trust him? Was he trying to get them to leave so he could continue his plan without interruption? Was this really the time and place to be considering this?
"TAILS!" Amy started screaming. "Tails we have to get everyone out of here, Tails where are you!"
Shadow reluctantly got to his feet.
"Amy, get Tails to get you, Rouge, and Knuckles,"
"And Eggman." Ryuu added into Shadow speech.
"And Eggman out of here on the plane."
"What about you?"
"Just do it." Shadow's tone was harsher than he intended it to be, but he didn't want her to know about Sonic yet. He would get him safely out, and he knew Amy could handle herself.
Shadow and Amy agreed on a meeting place on the Floating Island, and though Amy was worried about Shadow she did as she was told.
When Amy found Tails he was already aware of the present danger.
"I've located Rouge with Ryuu's computer," Tails explained directing Amy back to the main lobby area. "She's behind the north wall. If you can get her to the plane I can get Knuckles and Eggman."
Amy nodded and was off. When Amy came to the lobby Ryuu already had the door open. He stood there watching Amy as she moved.
The pink hedgehog entered slowly a bit weary of Ryuu. Rouge looked rough.
"Come on Rouge, we have to go." Amy rushed to Rouge to help her up.
"Why are we running?"
"I'll explain later."
Ryuu hadn't moved from the door. He didn't seem in a hurry to escape. Might he be planning something?
"Why aren't you trying to leave?" Amy asked.
"You have less than five minutes, I suggest to hurry."
Amy didn't have the time to argue. Amy lead Rouge to the plane in time to see Tails leading Knuckles and Eggman out. Amy looked back at the base. Either Ryuu was planning evil or...
"Come on Amy get in the plane! We've got to go!" Amy followed Tails orders and the group was off.
"Must we save Eggman?" Knuckles asks slightly jokingly considering the doctor's cramped position in the trunk.
"Hold on guys," Tails called pushing the plane as fast as it would go. "We only have a minute to..."
Before Tails could finish his sentence, a large explosion threw the plane off course. The plane began to spin out of Tails' control. The rolls were sickening as the plane lost altitude.
"Bring it up, Tails!"
"I'm trying!"
The ground was becoming dangerously near when Tails got the plane level. The belly of the plane scrapped the tops of the trees and almost sent the air craft into a crash. With the worst behind them the group pulled up into the sky.
Amy breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back in her chair. She couldn't help but try to look back at the base. Did Shadow make it out? And why didn't he come with them? Amy felt the worry begin to build in her. She couldn't lose another friend. She shouldn't have to. Not Shadow, he had saved her life. She would have her answers soon enough. After Eggman was dropped off in a nearby ditch, they would arrive at the island. Amy would see Shadow, or the absents of him.
As the plane landed Amy made it a pont to be the first one out. She wasn't sure where to look for Shadow and decided it would be best to just walk about. Maybe she'd run into him.
"Tails?" Amy asked as the boy leaped from the plane. "I'm going to take a walk. If you see Shadow, tell him I've went that way." The pink hedgehog pointed off toward the Hanging Gardens. Tails was slightly confused. Amy wasn't one to walk off alone after a victory. Perhaps it was to reflect on Sonic. Tails nodded and watched Amy go.
Turning back around Tails was surprised to see Knuckles yelling up at a tree. Tails just shook his head. Some things were best left unexplained.
"You give me back the Master Emerald!"
"Why don't you come get it, Knuckles."
Despite her still rather weak condition, Rouge had managed to 'steal' the master emerald. Or at least Knuckles thought so. She had merely pushed the emerald out of the plane when Knuckles wasn't looking. But now that she had his attention, perhaps she could clear up a few matters with him.
"I'm not playing games Rouge!"
"Neither am I." Rouge spread her wings and floated to the ground. Once on the ground she gripped the tree for extra support. Rouge had a troubled look on her face. She still hurt from the battle. Rouge was also torn at the heart. Why had Knuckles allowed so much to happen to her just so he could continue to fight for his emerald? Had Rouge not been dragged half a mile she would have broke free and kicked Knuckles' butt herself. Why would he let that happen to her?! Did he not care at all about their relationship? Rouge knew Knuckles was a pretty dense echidna, but at the very least he should have treasured their friendship at that moment.
"Why'd you let Ryuu beat me half to death?"
"What? Stop it! Where's the master emerald?"
"Forget about that right now Knuckles! I'm asking you..." Rouge winched.
"Stop getting worked up, you're hurting yourself." Knuckles watched as Rouge lowered her head and muttered something under her breath. "I couldn't hear you." When the bat looked back up her eyes were glazed over and her temper had risen.
"Of course not Knuckles, you're too worried about the master emerald." Rouge's voice was audibly strained. Rouge tried to lower herself to sit, she really wasn't in any condition to be contending with anyone. "The emeralds behind the plane Knuckles," Rouge rested her head against the tree and shut her eyes. "I don't care any more." If he didn't care about her, why should she waste her time caring for him.
The bat heaved a sigh when she suddenly felt herself being picked up bridal style. She opened her eyes as Knuckles was shifting her weight in his arms.
"What are you doing?"
"Taking you some place a bit more comfortable." Knuckles began walking. Rouge never took note to where they were heading, but rather what they were leaving behind.
"What about the master emerald?" Rouge asked glancing back.
"As long as it's on the island it'll fine."
Rouge blinked in amazement. He was...for her...
Rouge smiled. It wasn't exactly what she wanted, but it was getting closer. Rouge relaxed a bit and leaned on Knuckles chest. Yes, it was getting a lot closer.
Tails had long since stoped watching the couple as he examined the underside of his plane. It hadn't taken on any heavy damage, but it would need repair before any other expeditions were taken. Tails climbed out from under the plane and into the cockpit. Hopefully none of his equipment had been broken during the...
A sudden wind blew pass the fox; and a groan came from behind. Tails turned around to the back of the plane.
o
The Hanging Gardens must have been the most beautiful place in the world, especially after having tread through the snow for hours. Angel Island was a beautiful place in general. The birds were always singing, the fruit was always ripe and ready to eat, and the island was miles away from the city's hustle and bustle. Amy was carried away by the smells of the flowers on the brisk cool breeze. It was almost heavenly.
"You must be in heaven by now Sonic," Amy spoke softly. "So why do I miss you so much." Amy's eyes were dry, but she was still crying inside. "I love you Sonic, I should be happy for you."
Amy knelt in a small patch of flowers and began picking them for a bouquet. She wanted to remember Sonic. He never did get a proper funeral or a last word.
"You always loved to run, especially from me," A weak laugh. "You never said you loved me, yet somehow I knew. I knew we'd be together." Amy sniffed back a tear. "I guess I was wrong, Sonic."
Amy's vision became bleared. The tears in her eyes were making it impossible to see. Still she didn't want to cry. She was so tired of crying; wanting something she could not have. Something she never had. She never was able to have Sonic; he always ran from her or acted strange around her. Only recently had he taken any romantic interest in her, but now it was too late.
"Does anyone know," Amy cried to the tree and the world around her; holding back the urge to weep. "Do you know how it feels to lose something you never had?!"
Amy shut her eyes tight. She continued her internal fight with her eyes. Why did this have to hurt so much? The rustling of the leaves caught Amy's attention. Someone was coming. Amy quickly straighten her quills and sniffed.
Shadow stepped out in front of Amy. Another breeze swept pass the two in silence. Shadow stood, Amy sat. They didn't move for a beat as the garden life went on without them. Shadow had no distinguishable expression on his face. He was in a serious mood, but there was something about him that seemed less threatening and more placid. As Amy blinked, the long persistent tears final escaped her eyes.
"Shadow," Her words were soft, but happy. "You're okay." She knew he could tell she had been thinking about Sonic. She couldn't help it. The black hedgehog got on one knee; eye level with Amy. He was genuinely concerned for her, with a bit of worry in his featured.
As gently as he could, Shadow wiped Amy's tears with his knuckle. After which he caressed the side of her face. Amy was taken back by his actions, and the pleasant smiled that formed on his face. His behavior was all too foreign for her.
Amy pulled back from Shadow and looked away. He was making her feel...so different. Her face was hot, she could tell she was blushing.
"For the longest time I cried about Maria's death," Amy looked back at Shadow. "It's been years and I still hurt when I think about what happened to her." She was surprised he was telling her this. Shadow never talked about Maria, not with anyone. The black hedgehog avoided Amy's eye contact as he told his story. "I haven't really lived or moved on, til now," Pause. "I know Sonic was special to you and there is no one else in this world that can replace him to you. And I'm not wanting to do that." Shadow rose to his feet and watched Amy.
The girl slowly began to raise to meet Shadow. The weird feeling she had just got stronger. Shadow wasn't acting the way he had before. There was something about him that had changed. Amy stared into the crimson eyes that watched her so intently. She could see it there. Fear. Shadow was afraid of something, and by the way he was speaking, it was her.
Shadow placed his hands on Amy's shoulders. He was trying to find words...a way to explain...
How could he tell her how he felt? What if she wasn't ready for him to confess this? What if he was rejected? What about Sonic?
Shadow took a deep breath; he wasn't going to let fear control him. He wanted to know, and he wanted her to know, but still the words wouldn't come. He knew that this moment was fragile. The wrong word, the wrong motion could push her away forever. She was just morning Sonic, and he had just fallen in love. Amy probably doesn't even know he harbors feelings for her and is thinking that he is just trying to make her feel better. But he loved her...
Amy wasn't sure what was going through Shadow's mind, but hers was beginning to hurt. Sonic was special. Amy's emotions soon got the best of her and she moved in to hug Shadow. She cried into him as she had days before. Shadow wrapped his arms around Amy and helped support her as she did so; all the while contemplating whether or not he should tell her about Sonic. After a few minutes Amy's tears subsided, but the hug continued. Shadow found himself suppressing a purr that was trying to surface. He was beginning to feel too comfortable holding her. Amy also didn't mind being this close to Shadow; it felt good to be next to him.
Shadow removed a hand from Amy's back and tilted her head up. Slowly he made his way to kiss her. He couldn't find the words, but he had the action. He stopped just as his lips were about to touch hers. He didn't want to violate Amy by forcing this kiss, he wanted her to close the gap between them.
Amy could feel Shadow's breath and sense his closeness. In a way she wanted to kiss him. She wanted to be swept away in a dreamy fantasy with someone she had grown to love. But another side of her kept remaindering her of Sonic. It screamed for her attention.
o
o
o
Amy pushed Shadow away.
"No Shadow," She didn't yell. She was direct and firm. "I don't love you."
Shadow's breathing became heavier. Though he didn't show it too much on the outside, Amy could tell Shadow was torn inside. But she couldn't. She couldn't...The tears fought their way back up. She didn't want Shadow, she wants Sonic. She wants...
"Please Shadow, you've been so kind to me these past few days. I appreciate everything you've done for me, and I do feel strongly about you, but I...I"
"What." His response came out harsher than he intended, but he couldn't help it. "I'm not asking you to love me now Amy, just to..." Shadow thought out what he wanted to say. He knew he couldn't convince her to love him, nor would he want to. But the fact that she had 'feelings' proved that she might want to, she's still morning. But she wouldn't be for long. Once she found out Sonic was alive, she'd all but forget about him. She'd have her Sonic, why substitute that for Shadow.
The black hedgehog came to Amy and took one of her hands in his. With his free hand he reached into his quills and pulled something out that he placed in her hand. He then quickly grabbed her other hand and covered the object.
"I want you to have this."
Amy tried to look at the thing in her hands, but Shadow cupped his hands around hers forcing them shut.
"Thank you for everything you've done for me, Amy. You should go find Tails now." Shadow placed a small kiss on Amy's forehead before turning and skating off.
"Shadow!"
He didn't stop, he didn't look back.
Amy put her attention on the object. It was a small glass rose, with red tipped petals. It wasn't perfectly made, but it was the most beautiful present she could have received.
"What was I thinking?" Amy asked herself. "God please don't let me have hurt Shadow too much." She prayed. Had she really done the right thing? Sonic was dead. Shadow had been so loving to her, kinder than Sonic ever was. And yet, it didn't feel right to be with him. Or was it because she was scared? Scared she'd have to deal with heartbreak again. But she did love Sonic, and if he were here...
Just then Amy could here the sound of foot falls. Some one else was coming.
"Amy?!" The voice belonged to Tails, she knew it did. Amy very carefully placed the glass rose in her pocket and then headed for Tails. Finally she saw him. He was so excited. Tears of joy ran down his face; a smile from ear to ear.
"Amy, we found Sonic! He's alive!"
Fin
Jan. 6, 2007