Love is one of those unknown feelings that you use when you can't explain an action that you strongly do for someone. The feeling that when someone asks why you did something for them you answer "I did it for love." That feeling in the pit of your stomach that makes you feel ill, but you really aren't. And when you have that feeling for someone who despises you, things get complicated. You keep the feeling hidden, but when the one you love is on the verge of death, that feeling can leak out, possibly burst out of you like a bomb. This happens in many cases but the one I speak of, is between Sonic the Hedgehog and Shadow the Hedgehog.
Sonic and Shadow had been sent on a mission to investigate the whereabouts of a certain Mobian crime group. Responsible for robberies, assaults and kidnapping throughout Mobius. They were able to track them to a makeshift camp in one of Eggman's old bases. The two went to see if it was them, and if possible, capture them. They approach the base carefully and climb up on the roof of the old base. They look down through the glass top of the main lab and see the group was assembled in the lab. The group consisted of six members: two foxes; one male, one female, two cats; both female, an echidna and a hedgehog; both male. The members didn't go by their real names; in order to conceal their identities. So they went by nicknames.
The female fox; fur colored green and pale yellow, went by Glitch. She was the computer girl of the group. She was able to dis-able alarms, unlock security doors, even shut down power grids; all from the PDA she carried in her pocket. The male fox; brown and white fur, brown Fedora hat, went by Snoop. He was the info guy. He collected information about deliveries, targets, weapons dealers and locations for whatever job they needed done. No one knows how or where he gets the info, he just does. The first female cat; navy blue and peach-yellow, black handkerchief covering her lower face. She went by Phantom, being able to sneak in and out of places in the blink of an eye; with or without alarm systems active. The other female cat; orange and power blue, wearing a black jumpsuit, she went by Thief. She the one who did the actual stealing or pick up. She one to reckon with; for she's also called by Gunner. She was also the arms dealer of the group. Knowing her fire arms and weapons as if she built them herself. The echidna; maroon and white, had no knuckles of his own so he worn steel knuckles, went by Basher. The protection during jobs. He was also the body guard of the leader, the hedgehog; black and white, that went by Ace. Ace was the head honcho of the crime group, and the main target of our two hedgehogs.
The two were able to crack the glass over lay just enough to hear the group; conversing on what to do next. "I say we got break into Team Sonic's base. Best get them outta the way. Thief, Phantom and Basher could easily take 'em out. Right you guys?" Snoop says, turning to the three. "Yeah, it'd be easy." Basher says. "Piece of cake," Phantom says. Thief didn't say a thing, she was a mute cat. Just a shake of the head showed she agreed with Snoop's suggestion. "I guess, but their systems are still a bit complicated. I've been able to figure my way through three of the 10 firewalls in their security system. But that still leaves 7 more. We can't risk getting caught. I say we invade the G.U.N HQ just through the mountains. Hacking their system would help eliminate 4 more of those firewalls." Glitch says, calculating everything with her PDA. "She's right, we gotta play it safe. I say we lay low for a while. Lose the trail of Team Sonic. Then once things settle down, we'll attack the G.U.N. HQ, they won't know what hit 'em." Ace says.
With a shake of his head, Sonic signals Shadow to climb in first. He lowers himself onto a small ledge just below the glass top. Once his feet were steady in the ledge, Sonic joins him and they make their way to a spot behind one of the old machines. Once above it, they drop down. Making only a small sound as they land, but hearable to Thief, who looked toward where Sonic and Shadow had landed. "What is it Thief?" Glitch asks. Thief use hand signs to tell. "You heard something? What?" Basher asks. She makes a few more hand signs then points over to the machine that Sonic and Shadow were hiding behind. "From over there? I'll go check it out." Basher says. He walks over to the machine, and just as he tries to look behind it, he's kicked back by something in the shadows. "What the-? Who's there? Show yourself!" Basher says, picking himself up. Shadow and Sonic jump from the shadows. "Well well, if it isn't Sonic and Shadow; the two best fighters in Team Sonic. What a nice surprise." Ace says. "The jig's up Ace, we gotcha ya cornered. Either you surrender now or we'll drag your unconscious selves to the Mobian Jail." Sonic says. "A nice offer Sonic, but I must decline. Like you could beat us. We out-number you 6-to-2. You have to chance." Ace says. "Then bring it on…unless you're scared." Shadow says. The group charges for Shadow and Sonic, except for Thief; who hops up on one of the machines hiding in the shadows. Waiting for the moment to strike, when they least expected it.
Shadow and Sonic fight them off one by one. First Glitch, then Phantom, followed by Basher and Snoop. Leaving only Ace left standing. Shadow and sonic charge at Ace, who dodges the two and turns the tables he throws a ace of spades card at Sonic, cutting his arm. Sonic reacts to the pain, covering his injury. Shadow charges at Ace, the two fight hand-to-hand. Eventually, Sonic recovers from the pain and join the fight. Knowing he was about to be beat. Ace uses his psychic powers to send the two flying back. Sonic slams against a wall and slides to the floor, unconscious. Shadow slides across the floor, nearly hitting a wall himself. He jumps back up and charges Ace, tackling him to the ground before he could recharge another psychic pushback. Ace pushes Shadow off of him and jumps up, backing up to make some distance between the two of them. "Ha, you're getting weaker Shadow." Ace says. "Shut up and take this! CHAOS SPEAR!: Shadow says, sending a Chaos Spear towards Ace. Ace couldn't react fast enough and as he jumps to dodge it, it hit's his gut, sending him back and slamming him into a wall, out cold. Thief took this advantage; as Shadow turns to look for her, she pulls out her Desert Eagle and takes aim, right at his chest. That was when Sonic began to wake. He looks up, seeing Shadow looking around.
Just then a shot rings out, Sonic sees Shadow fall to the floor. "Shadow!" Sonic yells. He struggles to his feet, in order to run over to Shadow's side. But as he finally got on his feet, he saw Thief jump out of the shadows, walking over to Shadow. A smirk formed on her face as she aimed one last shot at Shadow. Before she could pull the trigger, Sonic charges at Thief, tackling her to the ground. She hits her head so hard that she's knocked out cold. Sonic stands back up and rushes over to Shadows side. He was covered in blood; his white chest, his hands, his face, everything. Sonic slightly props Shadow up with one arm, his other hands covering the gunshot in his chest. Shadow's eyes slowly open up to see Sonic over him. "Sonic," Shadow says, his voice sounded weak. "Oh Shadow, I knew it was a bad idea to try and capture these guys. I knew something would happen to one of us. I just can't believe it's you." Sonic says. Tears began to fill his eyes; Shadow's shallow breaths echoed in the lab. Sonic couldn't hold back his tears, one of them slid down his cheek. Shadow noticed the tear, and slowly lifted his bloody hand to wipe it away, leaving a small smear of blood on Sonic's face. He laid his hand on the side of Sonic's face, sliding it down a bit, leaving a small trail of blood.
"Why are you crying…faker?" Shadow says, his voice sounded weaker than last time. "Because Shadow…I don't wanna lose you. I…I never told anyone this, not even you but…I love you Shadow." Sonic says. Shadow was surprised. "But…we're rivals, how could you love a rival?" Shadow says. "Ever since I first saw you, when we first met months ago, I started developing this weird feeling inside of me. I didn't realize what it was, not til' just a few weeks ago. I realized that, that feeling was love. No matter what I did, I couldn't get the feeling to go away." Sonic says. "That's why you've been so nice to me for the last month?" Shadow says. "Yeah…not cause I had to, because I wanted to. Because that feeling told me to, because I love you." Sonic says, tears bursting from his eyes. Slowly, Shadow's body became heavy on Sonic's arm, his breaths getting shorter and shorter. "I just wished I could've told you sooner. Then maybe things would've been different." Sonic says. "Oh Sonic," Shadow say, a cough disrupting him. "I wish you had too." Shadow says. He moves his bloody hand to the back of Sonic's head; leaving a bloody handprint the side of his face, and pulls him into a light kiss. The two pull apart, Shadow laying back on Sonic's arm. "You mean you felt the same way?" Sonic says. "Yeah, but I was so scared that you didn't feel the same way. I thought you'd never speak to me again if I told you." Shadow says.
"Of course not Shadow, you shouldn't have been scared. You didn't know," Sonic says, his voice breaking up a bit. Shadow's hand slowly started sliding off the back of Sonic's head. His eyes slowly closing. "Sonic…before I go…I have to tell you…I'm sorry." Shadow says. "No! Shadow! Please! You can't die! Not now!" Sonic says, tears coming down in rivers now. Shadow's hand falls to the floor, his eyes closing, never to open again. "Shadow! No! Please wake up! Please! This has to be a joke!" Sonic says. But Shadow didn't wake. "No. This can't be happening. This has to be a dream. Oh Shadow, please come back to me. Please!" Sonic says. But his pleas of sadness were useless, he was gone. "No," Sonic says. He holds Shadow's body close, hoping to find some warmth somewhere inside him. But it was nowhere to be found. Sonic, sitting against a wall and Shadow in his arms, cries himself to sleep. But Sonic didn't know it, but his loving tears; the ones he shed for his loved one, slowly worked with the light of the full moon that shined through the glass top overhead to heal Shadow, and bring him back to Sonic.
The next day, Sonic wakes in his room. Looking around wildly, he jumps out of bed and looks out the window. Seeing the jungle, the mountains, everything. Had it all been a dream? Or did it really happen? Sonic ran out of his room to find out, running into Tails as he ran out of the base. "Sonic, good to see you're awake. Thought you'd be out for hours, after the mission you went on last night." Tails says. That's when Sonic realized that it wasn't a dream, it was real. But acted calm, trying not to scare Tails. "Yeah, it was pretty rough. But do you know where Shadow is?" Sonic says. "Last I saw him, he was up at the cliff." Tails says. "Thanks Tails," Sonic says. He takes off for the cliff, so much going through his head. He finally reaches the cliff, stopping just behind the tree that stood on the cliff. Sonic took a deep breath, as he slowly walked around the tree. He stopped and saw Shadow laying down on the ground, leaning up against the tree. His eyes were closed and his chest wrapped in bloody bandages. Sonic couldn't believe his eyes. He thought Shadow died in the base, how was he still alive?
Shadow opens his eyes and looks up and over at Sonic. He stands up and walks over to Sonic. "Hey Sonic, glad to see that you're alright." Shadow says. Sonic was still surprised about him being alive. He couldn't respond to Shadow. Shadow knew that was what was bothering him. "You're probably wondering how I'm still alive." Shadow says. Sonic nods. "Well, it seems that cause of the full moon last night gave your tears the Phoenix effect. Healed me right up. Amy said I was lucky that I pulled through it. But it wasn't luck, it was you. You saved my life Sonic, and that's something I'll never forget." Shadow says. Sonic looked down at the ground, still thinking about last night. Shadow lifts Sonic's face up by his chin, lightly kissing him on the lips. A light smile formed on his face, a single tear falling from his eye. Shadow wiped away the tear, pulling Sonic into an embrace, laying his head against the white tuff of his chest. "It's gonna be okay Sonic. That crime group has been put away, you and me are both okay, and most of all, we've found our connection. Now that we know how we feel about each other, we can start anew; a whole new relationship." Shadow says. Sonic lifted his head from Shadow's chest, looking into his red eyes. "You mean-?" Sonic says. "Yeah, I say we start dating now. Since we know how we feel about each other….if you're up to it that is." Shadow says. Sonic pondered it for a moment, and answers by pulling Shadow into a kiss. Shadow's hand on the back of Sonic's head, his soft quills feeling so divine through his fingers. The two pull apart for air, one looking deep into the other's eyes. Now that they were together, nothing could tear the two apart, not even death.