Shadow stumbled off of the simulation ride, vowing never to do anything after eating again. Except for maybe sleeping.
Sonic was much more jazzed than Shadow, bouncing out the door and down the steps. "Man, that was awesome!"
Shadow sat down on a bench and took a copy of the mall map as Sonic bounced around a bit more before practically diving headfirst into a trash can to throw up.
There wasn't much that was interesting here, really. A couple of videogame stores. One sporting goods store. Not much to look at, really, unless you wanted clothing. There were plenty of stores focusing on that here. A movie store, a girly store, a couple of bookstores, and finally a couple of those hippie-stuff-that-weirds-you-out-but-they've-got-hermit-crabs-so-you-go-in-anyways stores. Shadow was never tempted to get one of those hermit crabs, but they were cute… for invertebrates. Maybe one of those bookstores had something interesting.
"Hey, Sonic?" questioned Shadow, looking up at Sonic, who was still green in the face.
"Y- Yeah?" he responded, glancing over at Shadow.
"Want to head over to a bookstore after you're done?"
Sonic turned away to continue throwing up, but he gave Shadow a thumbs-up anyway. Shadow smiled a bit. She knew it was rude to think so, but there was just something funny about how long Sonic was throwing up…
Sonic finished up and gargled in a nearby water fountain before he and Shadow headed back toward the pride convention to make their way to the nearest bookstore. Unfortunately…
"Hey, it's Sonic!"
…they were recognized, or at least Sonic was. People crowded. Sonic was suddenly the most popular guy in the mall. Everyone with a camera wanted a picture, and everyone else wanted their picture taken with him. Shadow was quickly being crowded out!
"Shadow!" exclaimed Sonic over the din of excited humans, "I'll meet you at the bookstore, okay?"
This was not okay with Shadow. There being no openings in the multitude, she tried to push by.
Bad idea.
The man and woman she had tried to squeeze past did not recognize her presence, but did notice the displacement. Each one thinking it was the other, they began to argue, quickly gaining the attention of more of the mob; the movement of the group pushing Shadow farther back, into a small supply closet and shutting the door behind her.
Sonic woke up surrounded by frilly things.
Somehow he had gotten picked up by the mass of people in the main area and dropped off in some clothes store. Currently in a rack of something he couldn't quite recognize but identified as ladies' underwear, Sonic considered the situation. As such was his luck, Uncharted Territory happened to stick his head into the rack, just as he began to think.
'Hey, bro; looking for something in particular?'
'Go away.'
'Don't be harsh; I'm trying to help! I think you'd look better in red."
'Give me a break, will you? I mean, I feel like I'm stuck in an old cartoon. Landing in ladies' underwear…'
Sonic's eyebrows rose; a smile broke out on his muzzle.
'Landing in ladies' underwear. Only straight guys land in ladies' underwear in those cartoons, right?'
'I don't like where you're going, Sonic…'
'According to television, I'm straight!' thought Sonic, though in real life he was jumping out of the rack and pulling a victory pose.
All of which was visible to the surrounding customers; a great many of them female.
Most of Sonic's blood rushed up to his face.
"I'm, uh… I was… Looking for something for my mother!" he exclaimed, hightailing it out of there.
Shadow's hands hurt. She'd been beating on the closet door for the past twenty-three minutes and she was beginning to lose hope. She'd tried the door several times, but it was locked from the outside, which was rather stupid for the designers. Just anybody could come in and steal something, but if anyone were trapped? Sheesh. No thought whatsoever. Shadow sat down on an overturned bucket and waited. Where was Sonic? No doubt still signing autographs and taking pictures. Fame.
A thought occurred to her. She checked her pockets for- no. The Chaos Emerald must have fallen out in the confusion. She was stuck in the closet.
Well, that was a depressingly funny notion. Stuck in the closet during a gay pride convention. Ironic.
Adding to the misfortune, the small fluorescent light illuminating the closet flickered and buzzed before finally going out.
Sonic sighed. He didn't want to go through the convention again, seeing as he was back to the far side of the store, but it was a better option than hanging around and listening to Uncharted Territory's rejoicing.
'You could have said 'girlfriend', not 'mother.' You had every opportunity to say 'girlfriend'. But I guess you really are gay!'
'I don't have a girlfriend,' said Sonic.
'You don't have a mother, either, dude.' Sighed Uncharted Territory, his laughter subsiding.
He walked alongside Sonic, now a little over half his height. 'Really though, Sonic, you're overreacting about this-oof!'
Sonic stopped, accidentally smacking Uncharted Territory in the head as he stuck out a hand to stop him. Something caught Sonic's attention in the nearby koi fountain. He hurried over to it and bent down, looking into the water at a red, glowing object in the bottom, just within reach.
"The Chaos Emerald!" exclaimed Sonic, recognizing it. "Shadow must have dropped it!"
Sonic leaned in, reaching into the water. "I should give it back to him. He might need-."
"THIEF!"
Sonic nearly lost his balance, looking up to see an older lady dressed in rainbow tye-dye yelling to a mall cop and pointing at him.
"He's stealing from the fountain!"
The cop looked up. Sonic looked down. He was currently red-handed. That is, he had the red Chaos Emerald in his hand literally, and metaphorically he was in the middle of stealing it, his arm still partially underwater. Sonic swiftly stowed the Emerald in his quills and ran; the mall security guard giving chase.
Sonic knew he could outrun the officer, at least until he reached the swarming main hall, but with that quickly approaching, Sonic began to look for a place to hide.
Shadow had begun to doze off when someone else entered the closet, the door only being opened for a split second. She held her breath; the only sound in the room the new occupant's labored respiration. It sounded oddly familiar, but she wasn't going to take any chances.
"Stay near the door! I've got a mop and I can figure out several ways how to use it!"
"Shadow?" asked the newcomer, his voice amazingly familiar.
"Sonic?" answered Shadow, dropping the mop she had grabbed in her panic.
Sonic revealed himself to be the real deal as he took the red Chaos Emerald out of his quills and handed it to Shadow.
"What say you we get the heck outta here?"
Shadow smiled and procured the Emerald, taking Sonic's hand and whispering a quick "Chaos Control."
Alex Baker had had a long day. Now he would have an even longer day. There was a reason these closets locked from the outside, and now that was entirely for naught! He had sworn that blue hedgehog had gone in there; and now: paperwork.
Sometimes he wished he could have gotten a job as an actual baker.