Disclaimer: I still do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or Pokémon.

Chapter 4

Hostile Hospitality

"Pikachu!" the three humans screamed at the same time.

Ohh…Pikachu was its name…

Reacting on impulse, Shadow broke into a run, skating across the field faster than the naked eye can see. He caught the falling creature before it hit the ground, and he heard three sighs of relief and awe escape the humans. Pikachu, on the other hand, was silent and stiff. Shadow looked it over and saw that it was frozen in terror. He chuckled and walked back towards the humans with the animal.

When he reached the three, Shadow held out the Pikachu to Ash, who took it and cradled it in his arms.

"Wow…" he said to Shadow when Pikachu had calmed down. "That was amazing! You're really strong, and fast, too! You must be a pretty powerful Pokémon, huh?"

Shadow rolled his eyes and turned to leave again, but was stopped when he felt a hand touch his arm. He looked and saw that it was Dawn. She was looking at him with pleading eyes.

"Please stay," she said softly. "Just for a little while. You need rest and nourishment, and we can always spare some food for a friend." She smiled.

Shadow stared at her. Something about her seemed familiar, especially her eyes. But he couldn't place where he had seen eyes like them before. He felt like somehow he knew her from a time long, long ago. He somehow knew he could trust her.

Finally, he made a decision and nodded to the girl. He would stay only a short while—long enough to rebuild a little strength before setting out in search of others from Mobius. He felt he owed it to them, on account of punching Brock and kicking Pikachu. The least he could do was accept a dinner invitation. Besides, it would be a good opportunity to learn more about this strange world.

Dawn smiled. "Great! If you can wait a little while, Brock will get you something to eat."

Brock bent down and began emptying pots, pans, bowls, and ingredients of some kind onto the ground from his backpack. Shadow remained standing, feeling a little out of place. Pikachu sat beside Ash, but its eyes were watching Shadow suspiciously. Shadow glared at it unblinkingly until it finally looked away from him.

"So," Ash said to Shadow. "What kind of Pokémon are you? You must be very rare; even the Pokédex can't identify you."

Shadow watched him, but said nothing.

Ash looked up at him. "Shy, huh? That's okay. You don't need to be nervous around us. We're all friends here."

Shadow continued to watch him silently.

"Do you have a name?" Ash asked, being persistant.

Shadow nodded.

Ash looked like he felt awkward, and Shadow could tell that he wasn't use to talking to someone as stubborn as him. He couldn't help but smile slightly, amused.

Brock took up the questions. "I've never seen anything like you before," he said, looking up from whatever he was doing. "Are you…a Legendary Pokémon?"

Shadow raised an eyebrow. So now they were Legendary?

Brock noticed his confusion, and in turn, was confused himself. "You know…Legendary. Very rare and powerful Pokémon that usually only show up when they're needed. You know that… Normal Pokémon know all about the Legendary ones, more so than people."

Shadow blinked at him.

"Just leave it alone, guys," Dawn butted in. "It doesn't have to talk to us if it doesn't want to. It's probably nervous. We are complete strangers to it, after all. It probably wants to make sure that it can trust us." She smiled at Shadow. "Right?"

He couldn't help but smile back. He was beginning to like this girl's company.

"Why don't you have a seat?" she asked him. "There's no sense on you standing there like that; you'll just make your feet sore."

"Besides," Brock added, "it'll be better if you rest. You'll heal a lot faster."

Shadow knew he was right. He still felt exhausted from the forced exertion of Chaos, and if he wanted to gain back his energy, then he would have to take it easy, at least for a little while. He may have been stubborn, but he knew his limits, and he was pushing them.

He sat down and Pikachu joined his side. He crossed his arms and waited, watching Brock curiously and wondering what exactly he was making with the weird-smelling herbs and gravy-looking stuff. He had lit two fires, one in the first fireplace and another in a medium-sized metal burning box, and held a small pan over each one. Shadow recognized the scent of cooking pasta and his stomach growled loudly against his will.

Brock looked at him and smiled. "Hungry? Don't worry. It won't be long now."

After another couple of minutes, Brock took the pans away from the fire and smothered the flames with dirt and rocks.

Shadow waited patiently as Brock finished preparing the food. Ash finished pitching the tent off to the side and Dawn was helping him unroll the sleeping bags when Brock announced that everything was ready. He placed a bowl in front of Shadow, who stared at it blankly.

He found himself looking at brown balls of something that smelled like cat food. Pikachu sat on the other side of the dish and began shoving the stuff in his mouth. Shadow looked at Brock questioningly.

"What's wrong?" Brock asked. "Aren't you hungry?"

"Maybe it doesn't like your cooking," Ash said with a laugh, shoving a forkful of noodles into his mouth.

Shadow looked at Pikachu and noticed it was staring at him. It picked up one of the balls and held it out to him. "Pika?"

Shadow shook his head, and the three humans stared at him. "I really don't think it likes your cooking, Brock," Ash said.

"Maybe it just doesn't like Pokémon food," Dawn suggested.

"What kind of Pokémon doesn't like Pokémon food?" Brock asked, still staring at Shadow. "Especially my Pokémon food. They all love my Pokémon food. Always."

"Well, I'm sure they have taste buds, too," Ash said. "Just like I don't like chilli and you both love it."

"But…" Brock's face twisted in confusion. "They always like my cooking…"

Shadow rolled his eyes and looked back down at Pikachu, who was still holding the ball out to him. "Pikachu…" it said with a smile, then took a big bite out the 'food' and held it back out to Shadow.

Shadow decided enough was enough; he had better, more important things to do than sit around with a bunch of humans and an annoying stalker mouse. He had to try to find Sonic and the others, and he had to do it now before anything happened to him or them. These people were treating him like some kind of wild animal, and at this point, he had no idea how to break the news that he wasn't without giving them a heart attack. He was leaving, and he wouldn't let anything stop him this time.

So still without a word, he stood and headed across the field at a walking pace.

"Where are you going?" Dawn called after him.

"It must have someplace to be," Brock said, finally saying something sensible.

He walked a few more steps before he heard Ash yell something that made no sense to him.

"Pikachu! Bolt tackle!"

Shadow glanced over his shoulder in time to see the little yellow thing running towards him, surrounded by yellow electricity and with a determined expression on its face. He was nearly completely turned to it when it slammed into him.

He was thrown back a few feet on impact, and he felt a strong electric shock pass from Pikachu to him. The creature returned to Ash's side as Shadow struggled to get to his feet.

"Ash!" Brock shouted at his friend. "What do you think you're doing?"

Ash kept his eyes on Shadow, who glared back at him. "I'm going to be the first one to catch this type of Pokémon," he replied, taking out some kind of red and white ball. "I'm not going to let it walk out of here without a battle. I doubt I'll ever have an opportunity like this again."

Shadow, not wanting any part in whatever Ash was doing, turned and continued on his way.

He barely even managed to take a step before he heard Ash again. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

This time, Shadow was faster. He whipped around and saw the lightning bolt coming towards him from the yellow thing in time to jump out of the way. The electricity hit the ground where he had been just a moment before. He rolled to his feet and looked back to Ash, this time with a little worry building up in him. If that attack had hit him…

"Stop it, Ash!" Dawn was shouting at him, but he ignored her.

"Iron Tail, Pikachu!"

"No!"

Pikachu ran towards Shadow again, its tail stiffening and turning bright white. It jumped into the air and Shadow braced himself to catch it before it could tackle him again. Turns out that wasn't the plan. Instead, the stubby creature rolled in the air and brought its tail crashing down on Shadow's head.

"Ug!" Shadow exclaimed upon contact. He fell to his knees with his head in his hands, feeling as though he had been struck with a hammer on the top of his skull.

"Ash, cut it out!" he barely heard Brock scream. "Can't you see that it's not in the condition to battle?"

"You said it needs rest," Ash replied. "What better place to get it than in a Pokéball? It refused our first method of help, so it's on to plan B."

"You're acting like Paul!" Dawn screamed at him. Her shrill voice made Shadow's head throb even worse.

Ash turned to her briefly. "Don't worry. I'll release it after it's back to full health. If it wants to go, that is." He looked at his pet. "Pikachu, finish it off with tackle!"

The animal ran at him again, but Shadow had had enough. He stood up and threw his hand in the air, guiding spears of Chaos energy with his hand towards Pikachu, forgetting about his lack of Inhibitor Rings. The spears hit the running creature directly and sent it flying back towards Ash. It landed a few feet in front of the boy and lay still. Shadow suddenly felt a great amount of his energy drain.

Crap, he thought. I shouldn't have done that… His knees were shaking and he could barely stand, but he kept his form standing tall. He wasn't going to show his weakness to this ignorant human.

Ash looked from Pikachu to Shadow with wide eyes that soon turned angry and determined. He pulled two other red and white balls out of his pockets and pressed a button on each to make them grow. He threw them into the air against his friends' protests.

"Charzard! Squirtle! I choose you!"

Shadow watched in amazement as the two balls opened up and a beam of red light left them and hit the ground, where they formed into two equally strange looking animals. The first to appear looked just like a turtle, but it was blue, had a long curly tail, and stood on its hind legs. The second was much bigger than the first—even bigger than the humans—and largely resembled an orange dragon, but with a live flame dancing on the tip of its tail. The animals stood halfway between him and Ash.

What are these things?

Shadow backed up a step but refused to run. If it was a fight that Ash wanted, a fight he would get. Shadow was, after all, the Ultimate Lifeform. He wasn't going to make it easy.

He made the first move, not giving Ash the chance to give his pets an order. He went for the dragon first, running at it as fast as he could manage and head-butting it in the stomach. The dragon bent over with a grunt and Shadow jumped straight up, kneeing it in the jaw and knocking it backwards. Next came the turtle. Using the momentum of his fall, Shadow brought his foot down hard on the turtle's shell, driving it into the ground. The strange animal's eyes changed from small black dots swirled circles, which Shadow found odd but had no time to dwell on.

With the two animals disabled, Shadow turned towards Ash. Somebody had to teach this kid a lesson, and Shadow was the most qualified to do so. But using Chaos Spear had taken a lot of energy out of him from the lack of Inhibitor Rings, and Shadow found himself hardly able to breath steadily, let alone stand. So he decided to just walk away and try to find the others before Ash could bring out another animal.

Unfortunately, he had underestimated Ash. Shadow had only made it a meter or so before the boy shouted another order.

"Charzard, Tail Whip!"

He didn't even have time to turn around before he was struck between the shoulder blades by something long and heavy that slammed him into the ground. He felt a pop in his left shoulder and pain shot through his arm, back, and neck. Bright dots exploded in front of his eyes and he tasted dirt and blood. The weight of the dragon's tail slid off of him and he heard a cry of victory from Ash, while Dawn and Brock were shouting at him angrily.

I should have known it would take more than that to keep that monster down, Shadow thought as he forced his muscles to move and pushed himself to his knees with his right hand, noticing that his left arm's movement was restricted and painful. Two foolish acts in one day. Sweat dripped down his face as he struggled to find his breath.

Shadow barely noticed when Ash pressed the button on the first red and white ball he had taken out before throwing it, but he felt when it hit and bounced off his head. He glanced at it when it landed beside him and opened up, and suddenly he found himself surrounded by nothing but black.

But he barely had time to think about it before he was suddenly back on the ground, in the same position as before. The ball remained opened beside him. The black hedgehog glared at Ash, who seemed astounded for some reason.

But it didn't last long. Ash regained his composure and shouted another order.

"Squirtle, return! Charzard! Use Flamethrower before it can get back up!"

Shadow's eyes widened in fear (which doesn't happen very often) at the sudden blast of fire that shot from the giant lizard's mouth and straight for him. Any other time, he would have been able to come through it unscathed. However, in his current condition…

He closed his eyes and dropped to the ground, doing what he could to brace himself for the inevitable. Time seemed to stand still. Memories flooded his mind of the girl Maria, the alien Molly. Both of them were gone now, but he remembered them with perfect clarity as he lay pressed against the ground, the fire racing towards him. It roared in his ears as it drew nearer, nearer, until it was so close now that he felt the heat, saw the light through his eyelids, smelled the burning gas from the beast's throat. I'm coming, Maria…

"Piplup, protect it with Hydro Pump!" The feminine shout pulled Shadow back to what was happening, and he was surprised to hear a sizzling sound like that which comes from throwing water on a woodstove. He was even more surprised when after a few seconds, he no longer felt the heat.

Shadow forced his eyes open and looked around, noticing that the field was suddenly covered with a cloud of steam. He saw a figure walking towards him and saw that it was Dawn. She had a small blue and white bird at her side.

Dawn crouched beside Shadow, who stared into her worried eyes, dazed. "Are you okay?" she asked softly.

Shadow continued to gaze at her eyes that seemed so familiar. "Yes," he said quietly, not even sure if the words had actually exited his mouth.

Dawn's expression changed to one of surprise and Brock joined her side, but Shadow didn't notice him. "You can talk?" she asked.

"I am capable of many things," he replied in an exhausted voice. "…But not now."

"What do you mean?"

"My power…I need to charge. Soon," he said absently, feeling as though he were in a dream of some kind.

Dawn and Brock exchanged confused glances but decided not to pursue the subject further. Instead, Brock asked, "What is you're name?"

The black and red hedgehog glanced at him for a moment before returning his gaze to Dawn. "I am called Shadow."

"It's okay, Shadow. You're safe now," said Dawn in a soothing voice that reminded him of…

"Maria…" he said without meaning to, feeling his muscles begin to relax as her image swam before his eyes.

"What?" the girl asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Shadow locked eyes with her briefly. "Thank you," he whispered before his exhaustion overcame him for the second time that day and his world once again became as black as his quills.