Hiya readers! Layla the Hedgehog studios proudly presents CHAPTER 10! YAY! HAPPY TENAVERSARY! Get out that box of Kleenex because if you tend to get emotional while reading, your gonna need! I started getting tear in my eyes just writing it! This chapter is about Shadow as a little kid... hence the title... The Phantom's Past...yeah... This chapter is probably the one chapter that is most different from the movie/show. I added a character that didn't exist in the movie/show because I felt like they were a very important contribution to their life in the Sonic world. Let me guess what you're thinking:

About half of you are saying: "Dangit Layla! You just spoiled it!"

The other half of you are saying:"Ummmm... what the heck are you talking about? WHACHOO TALKIN BOUT WILLIS?" (sorry, but i had to say that quote... it was calling my name!)

Anyway... this is either the most important, or the second most important chapter in the story... so all I ask is that you enjoy, and don't hurt me if you start crying! Trust me, coming up with a storyline for this chapter was NOT EASY. I really wanted a certain character in there, but I didn't know how to add them (your thoughts: DUDE SHUT UP! I CAN'T HEAR YOU! LALALALA! other thoughts: WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT! AHHHH! I FEEL SO LEFT OUT OF THE THOUGHT BUBBLE!)

NEW RECORD FOR LONGEST CHAPTER! 2,605 WORDS! FRABJOUSNESS! Yeah, yeah, I no its only like 30 words longer than the other one! Still! Its a new record! :D The other one was long because of song lyrics, this is mainly dialogue and descriptions! :D

*SPECIAL THANKS TO:

TDSonic135

JazzTheHedgehogSingingStar

Sonamy Lover

Darkspine Sonic759

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING! YOU ALL GET OXYGEN HUGS! :D

I hope you enjoy this chapter! I promise- the next chapter is much happier! Have a frabjous day! :D

(I DO NOT OWN SONIC THE HEDGEHOG OR PHANTOM OF THE OPERA!)

Chapter 10: Phantom's Past

Amy's Dormitory

"What are you talking about Madame Vanilla?" Sonic questioned, wondering what she may know about the Phantom.

Vanilla sighed, "I think you should know of his past, and how he found his way to the Opera Populaire… or at least how he was lead here." She trailed off, worried about Sonic's reaction.

"Are you telling me that someone actually brought the Phantom here?"Who on earth would do that?" Sonic vigorously asked at Vanilla. Vanilla bowed her head in grief and started to tear up.

"Before you continue Sonic, you need to know the entire story." Vanilla quietly said. Sonic sighed in agreement, knowing that there was no argument against her point.

"But what did you have to do with this Vanilla?" Sonic calmly asked.

Vanilla sat down on the edge of Amy's bed and began, "I was only 14 years old in the Opera Populaire's Ballet program, and we went on a small field trip to the fair on evening." She shared to Sonic, glancing at him every couple of seconds, making sure he was paying attention. "We walked through the 'Freak Show' section of the carnival, where was saw many creepy people who could do weird things, like stretch their skin in disgusting ways, and make their eyes bulge out of the sockets.

"Then we approached a large cage, and painted in large red letters on a wooden board above it read "Devil's Child". Inside the cage, was a small, black hedgehog with red streaked quills, and was no older than 8 years old. "Vanilla described, trembling at the memory. "Every 5 minutes or so, a bell would ring, and a large man would walk into the cage to beat the hedgehog to death. After each brutal beating, people would give the man Mobiums as a tip because they enjoyed watching his abuse.

"When I walked up to the cage with all of the other ballerinas, the small hedgehog had a sack over his head, and was holding a bright blue jewel, which would sometimes glow. Suddenly, a bell rang, and the evil man entered the cage, with a whip and bricks in hand. With a crazed look in his eyes, he started throwing bricks at his face, and whipping his back, causing him to fall in pain." She vividly described, with tears of agony rolling down her face. "I looked around, and everyone around me was laughing hysterically at his pain. As the other ballerinas started to walk away, I stayed, and watched the poor hedgehog cower in pain on the ground. I felt so sorry for him, and the only thing I wanted at that moment more than anything was his freedom.

"As the evil human counted his earning, the hedgehog clutched the emerald in his hands. He started to mumble something angrily to himself (Chaos Spear), and suddenly the emerald glowed benevolently, and the man mysteriously froze in place; stunned. The hedgehog grabbed the whip out of his hand a wrapped it tightly around the man's neck. Once he was sure the man was dead, he set him down and looked right at me, surprised to see me still there.

"Seeing that he was no longer being guarded, I quickly found the latch to the cage door, and opened it, freeing him. He gave me a huge smile and he ran out of the cage, embracing me in a tight hug crying, "Thank you! Thank you!"

"'Come on! We've got to get you out of here! Come with me back to my dormitory! I'll find you somewhere to live there!' I assured him, taking his hand and running back to the Opera House. When we arrived, we went through a secret entrance and ended up deep underneath the theater, which is where he took Amy when she went missing. 'This place is perfect!' he told me happily. 'It is very well hidden! Nobody will find me down here!' "

With tears of guilt in her eyes, Madame Vanilla tried to choke out the rest, "So he lives there now, and he is now known as the Phantom." Vanilla started to cry harder now as she adds, "Since he had so much time on his hands, he began to study. But, he is a pure genius now, and it is all my fault! He's a musician, architect, magician, composer; he knows practically everything there is to know! He's a pure genius who could outsmart anybody!" she cried.

"Wow Madame Vanilla…. That is quite a story…. I probably would have done the same thing, so don't feel bad." Sonic replied. "The one thing I don't get is: why does this Phantom want Amy? There are plenty of other girls in the Opera Populaire! Why did he choose my love?" Sonic questioned.

"I was getting to that Sonic…." Vanilla answered, whipping her tears. "The Phantom wasn't always alone in the cage. He had a human friend named Maria, who he loved with all of his heart. They were best friends, and always comforted each other while the evil man was gone. Maria brought him happiness when it felt like there was no reason to live, but all ended one horrific evening, when a crowd of drunken men approached the cage. One of the men offered the man 100 Mobiums if he could see him kill the girl. Since the man had no respect towards other's lives, he agreed, taking the money.

"The Phantom jumped in front of Maria, trying to protect her, but the insidious man, pried him off of her, throwing him at the cage wall, knocking him out. When he woke up, he saw Maria lying limp on the cage floor, covered in blood. Her eyes were closes, and she didn't have a pulse.

"The reason the Phantom is going for Amy instead of just any other girl, is because of her voice. Maria used to sing to the Phantom to cheer him up when all seemed lost. She had an angelic voice that he loved more than anything. Amy's singing reminds him of her, and makes him happy, plus, he thinks she is even more beautiful than Maria."

"One more thing- how do you know about his feelings? You know so much about him." Sonic asked out of curiosity.

"Well… somebody has to take care of him. I am pretty much the only person he can tell his feelings to."Vanilla answered, giving a small giggle.

"I guess you're right. Thank you so much for telling me your story Madame Vanilla. I think I finally get this Phantom." Sonic realized.

"The pleasure was all mine, Sonic. You are the only person I have told that story to; not even Cream. It felt good to finally tell someone." She admitted. "Get some rest Sonic. I'm sure Amy will want to spend a lot of time with you tomorrow." Vanilla added, getting up off Amy's bed, approaching Sonic and stroking his head in a motherly way.

"Thanks Vanilla. You too. Goodnight." Sonic replied just a few seconds before falling asleep in the chair right next to Amy's bed.

That night, Shadow sat and just stared at his Amy mannequin. One day… he hoped, holding a ring in his hand as he looked at the wedding dress he made for her in pride. Shadow wished that the mannequin was real so many times. I just don't want to lose you like Maria… he thought, flashing back to that night…

Shadow's Flashback

The night had only just covered the sky, and Shadow who was only 5 years old was getting tired. Maria picked up the small hedgehog and put in her lap and began to run her fingers through his quills as she angelically sang:

Night-time sharpens, heightens each sensation...

Darkness stirs and wakes imagination...

Silently the senses abandon their defenses...

Shadow slowly started to drift to sleep as she sang. Her loved hearing her sing more than anything; it was his only joy in life. "Music of the Night" was his favorite lullaby, and she always sang it like an angel.

Once he was asleep, Maria whispered, "Goodnight Shadow." She lightly kissed his forehead, when suddenly-

DING! The bell rang, waking up little Shadow. He trembled, afraid of what the evil man would do to them this time. The enormous man walked into the cage with a whip in hand. He smirked down at Shadow, picking him up and throwing him hard back to the ground.

"Maria…." He groaned, clutching the left side of his face which trickled with blood. A group of men approached the cage, drinking and laughing at Shadow's pain. All of them were obviously drunk due to the fact that they couldn't stand up straight without falling down, and they couldn't walk in a straight line.

"Shadow!" she yelled, trying to come to his aid, just before the man kicked her in the stomach, causing her the fall to the hay covered ground, wincing in pain. When he realized that neither Shadow nor Maria was getting up, he headed for the cage's exit.

"Hey man…!" one of the drunken men yelled at the abusing man in a goofy voice, "We want more!"

"Ok, but if you want more its going to cost you! How much money do you have?" the evil man asked.

The drunk man pulled out a small pouch from his pocket and attempted to count his money, "Uhhh… ten… eleventyseven fifty…" he scratched his head in his loopy state. The man decided to count it himself, so he would know if the man even had money or if he was just crazy drunk.

"ONE HUNDRED MOBIUMS!" the crazed man cried excitedly. "You've got yourself a deal! What do you want me to do to them? Anything you want!"

The alcoholic gave a loopy chuckle, and said, "K-kill th-the g-girl!" he managed to gasp out.

"Ok… whatever you want!" The crazed man turned around to find Shadow and Maria in hysterical tears, clinging to each other in the corner.

"No! You can't! Please don't hurt her mister!" little Shadow cried. "She's my best friend! I love her!"

"Nobody cares how you feel, you little bastard! You're worthless!" he screamed at him, prying him off her and throwing him to the ground again. This time, Shadow got right back up and ran to Maria, throwing himself in front of her in a guarding position.

"You think you can stop me! Your just a little hedgehog!" the man scoffed.

Shadow clung to her, and whispered, "I love you Maria…" Tears ran down his face like a waterfall, which only made Maria hold him tighter.

"I love you too Shadow…" she managed to get out just before the man picked out Shadow and threw him against the cage wall. "SHADOW NO!"

"Maria….." she quietly cried before Maria's screams filled the air as he blacked out.

About an hour later, Shadow woke up to find Maria drenched in blood, lying limp on her stomach with her eyes closed. He dashed over to her and rolled her onto her back.

"Maria!" he yelled, shaking her body, "Maria… wake up… you have to…" Tears fell from his eyes; he didn't understand what was going on. "Maria… your okay… you just have to wake up… c'mon Maria… please…" Shadow began to cry harder as he yelled into the night, "HELP! Somebody! Anybody… please help me!" The poor little hedgehog was too young to understand that she was dead. Shadow nudged himself up against Maria, when he noticed something glowing in her hand. In her cold grasp was a beautiful royal blue emerald. He took it, hiding it under a pile of hay so that the man would never take it from him. "I will always love you Maria…" little Shadow told her, kissing her cheek just before falling asleep against her cold, lifeless body.

End of Flashback

Shadow came back to reality to find tears running down his cheeks as he clutched the chaos emerald to his heart. "I will always love you Maria…" he mumbled to himself, "no matter what."

SOO SAD! POOR SHADOW! OOO! Is it getting harder to pick sides now? I can't decide if I want Amy to choose Sonic or Shadow, and I'm the author! However, in the movie/show, Amy chooses ONE man. Who will it be? WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN! I'm not telling! So you'll find out when I post the next chapter!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! THANK YOU! :D

LEES Y REPASAS POR FAVOR!