Once again, not a lot of reviews but what I got was what counted! Co-written by Panda "in the clouds" luver11
We resume when Team Dark was about to leave the ship...
"Hope you have better luck finding Eggman next time Topaz," Rouge whispered a bit teasingly to her friend.
"Hope you have a great vacation!" Topaz said putting on a fake smile as she waved goodbye.
Once they were off the ship it was quiet, and everyone was obviously thinking about something. Rouge tried to think of something to start up a conversation because she was getting bored already, but then something dawned on her.
"Is there somewhere we can stay for the rest of the week?" Rouge asked, realizing they hadn't planned on where they
would stay.
"My initial idea was that we could stay at Sonic's, but then I realized Sonic doesn't live anywhe-" Shadow started but was abruptly corrected by Sonic.
"I live in the resort sometimes!" Sonic said in his usual hyperactive mood.
"I never asked you," Shadow replied in monotone. Not liking being interrupted. He made the same face Topaz would when she was interrupted, Rouge noted.
Rouge walked up to Sonic and asked, "Don't mind him, can we please stay at your room for the time being?"
"I don't see why not! Come on, I'll give you a tour of the resort!" Sonic said happily, looking like he was getting ready to run on ahead. He didn't like walking for a long period of time, and he was making it very obvious by fast-walking circles around his friends.
"Oh you don't have to..." Rouge assured, trying not to let her curiosity get the better of her.
"No please! I don't mind at all!" Sonic insisted, grinning now.
"Rouge, you and Omega can have the tour. Sonic?" Shadow said, getting more irritated by Sonic running circles around them as the seconds ticked by.
"Yeah?" Sonic asked as he finally stopped circling. Most likely because of the look Shadow was giving him.
"Where's the Room?" Shadow asked bluntly.
"Five miles to the east, then Four miles to the North and Nine miles to North-West and you'll find the Green Hill Resort! My room is 16B," Sonic answered, and it was nothing close to a slow answer. Shadow seemed to understand it somehow, Rouge caught maybe every third word of it and Omega was still processing it all.
"Thanks, Have...fun" Shadow said, then he ran off to the resort.
With Shadow gone, Sonic turned his attention to Rouge and Omega, "So shall we begin the tour?"
"Yes, we shall!" Rouge replied happily. She was getting really excited now, since the thought of jewels and gems being somewhere in the resort had crossed her mind.
"Walk or Run?" Sonic asked with excited eyes.
"Walk," Rouge replied, and added after seeing Sonic's excited expression fall, "Hey, not everyone has the kind of speed you do! If you walk at least then we'd be able to keep up!"
Sonic groaned before saying, "Alright we walk..." And so off they slowly went on the tour.
"Okay, this is the Chili-Dog Stand I normally go to," Sonic said when they arrived at the first "attraction". Rouge rolled her eyes, waiting to see something that would catch her interest.
"And this is the Chili-Dog Stand I go to when the other is closed..." Sonic continued, grinning at the food as they walked by.
"And thi-"
"Excuse me, Sonic, but do you go anywhere else other than these Chili-Dog Stands and the actual Resort?" Rouge asked, trying to hold back the annoyance she felt.
"Hmm... Come to think of it, I don't think I do!" Sonic said and laughed before glancing over at a very annoyed looking Rouge. After that his laughter died down, and he decided some thinking was in order.
So he scratched his head and thought. Scanning his memory didn't take long at all-he WAS the fastest hedgehog after all, and after only a brief pause he snapped his fingers and announced "Wait! I remember now!" He noticed he caught his tourists' attention and continued, "There actually is one place..."
Rouge's eyes suddenly had a glimmer of hope in them. "Please, take us there!" she said excitedly.
Later...
"The Docks!?" Rouge gasped, too surprised to think of anything better to say at the moment.
"Yeah! I go here when Tails is busy working on the Tornado and I have to go somewhere!" Sonic said obviously. Rouge would've laughed at the obvious statement if she hadn't felt so disappointed.
Rouge sighed sadly before saying in defeat, "Take us to the room..."
"Aw... You didn't like the tour?" Sonic asked with frown.
"Lack of variety." Omega answered bluntly. Rouge nodded in agreement as her mind drifted to the jewels she had daydreamed about before.
"Okay, fine... Might as well go to my boring old room now..." Sonic said sullenly, which dropped any of the expectations Rouge and Omega had left
But once they got there...
"Room? More like a mansion!" Rouge said, nearly fainting at the sight of it.
"Yeah, I guess it is huge..." Sonic replied, uninterested. He was clearly an outdoor hedgehog.
"Did they just make this and built everything else around it!?" Rouge asked before adding, "How can you afford all this?"
"Well, I save up all the rings I collect on my adventures," Sonic answered, "AND it was a gift from the Freedom Fighters..." He added, drifting off as his eyes watched Omega turn to leave the room unexpectedly after hearing the words:
"Freedom Fighters".
"What's wrong, Omega?" Rouge asked,
"Nothing is wrong. I just need to recharge my solar battery." Omega replied
"Okay..." Rouge replied, turning her attention back to Sonic once Omega had left she looked back at Sonic and asked curiously, "The Freedom Fighters? Who are they supposed to be?"
"It's a little team my buddy Sally made," he explained matter-of-factly, "It was formed back when Eggman-or Robotnik, first invaded Green Hill Zone and took away our homes, but..." Sonic stopped for a moment, then hesitantly continued, "We disbanded after Eggman captured Flicky..." Sonic said, reminiscing about his old friend.
Omega abruptly returned after Sonic had finished.
"Done charging already?" Sonic asked. He couldn't believe that a robot could recharge so quickly, but then again, this was a robot Eggman made. He tried not to remember that fact, though. Remembering only made him feel jumpy around Omega.
"Yes. I have gained sufficient charge from the sun after ten seconds," Omega suspiciously replied.
"That's odd..." Sonic muttered, finding it a bit to coincidental that he left right after he mentioned The Freedom Fighters. He decided not to dwell on it and turned his attention back to Rouge.
"So... Any questions?" Sonic asked with a smile.
"How many beds?" Rouge asked after some thought.
"Three," Sonic replied easily.
"That means one of us has to sleep on the fl-" Rouge started, only to be interrupted by Omega.
"I do not require a bed to sleep, a wall will be sufficient." he assured before looking around the room. Doing so while only turning his head around like an owl.
"Where is Shadow?" he asked all of a sudden.
"Maybe he fell asleep on one of the beds?" Sonic answered, now also curious as to where the hedgehog in question had gone.
"Scanning for Shadow's heat signature," Omega said as the lights in his eyes flashed around the room in search for Shadow. Then, after a short time, he spoke again, "...Aha, he is in one of the bedrooms."
"Which one?" Sonic asked, looking towards the direction that leads to the bedrooms.
"Of that I am not sure of..." Omega replied. After noticing Sonic was about to go check for himself he quickly added, "He is asleep so I suggest we do not bother him at this moment." Sonic stopped in his tracks and sighed.
"Okay, fine," he said and turned back to them, "Speaking of which, it's getting late, and we should all get some shut-eye." Rouge nodded in agreement after glancing out the window.
"See you guys tomorrow!" Sonic said, and before dashing away added, "Good night!"
"Good Night." Omega and Rouge replied as they watched him speed away. Rouge decided it was time to pick which bedroom she'd stay in, so she waved to Omega, saying a quick "good night" before walking away down the hall.
The first door Rouge saw she opened, and was surprised to see Shadow already in there.
He was asleep, having the same old dream...But with a heartbreaking twist.
In his dream, Shadow saw they were back on the same ship they had lived on. Back when everything seemed perfect because she was alive. But he could only feel sadness in the air. He'd had this dream before, and right on cue Maria appeared.
But this time she seemed... Different. He couldn't tell what felt different though. He knew he still felt guilty whenever he saw her in this dream, and just like all the other times he would plead for forgiveness... then the dream would end.
"Shadow, why did you kill them?" Dream Maria asked with tears in her eyes, "Why?"
"Maria, I'm sorry! Please forgive me!" Shadow pleaded just as honestly as he had the many other times before in the dream.
"How could you!" Dream Maria yelled, looking less innocent by the minute. She cried while Shadow stood there. He was confused. The dream would usually end by now...
"Maria...I...I'm so sorry! Please Maria, forgive me!" Shadow pleaded desperately, tears in his eyes. Dream Maria was about to berate him again until Rouge appeared in the dream. Shadow was even more confused now.
"I think she'd forgive you!" Dream Rouge said, trying to convince Shadow to let go of the pain and guilt he held onto. Her words enraged the dream Maria.
"HOW COULD I FORGIVE SOMEONE WHO HAS MURDERED HUNDREDS! I HATE YOU SHADOW! I HA-" Dream Maria started yelling again, making Shadow feel even worse, but Rouge interrupted while coming closer.
"She could never hate you!" Dream Rouge said, hoping Shadow would listen. For some reason Rouge was starting to sound louder than Maria even though she wasn't yelling.
"But...Maria said-"
"No, Shadow. This isn't Maria. I know it, and you know it," Rouge said as the Dream Maria started to fade. Rouge put her hand on his shoulder before continuing, "I know I didn't know Maria personally, but I do know from what you've told me... she would forgive you."
Shadow only stared down at his feet. "You are a great hedgehog Shadow..." she added with a smile.
"But I still can't-"
"Please... Please forgive yourself...for me?" holding out her hand for him to take.
"I..." he paused and looked at her. He didn't want to forgive himself, but knowing his friend was there for him made him feel better somehow. He realized that if she and Maria could forgive him, then surely he could too.
But it would take time. Everything did.
"I...I will..." Shadow replied, taking her hand as the dream faded out.
His eyes slowly opened as he surveyed the room, noting that his little nap turned into a deep sleep...After a couple minutes, He decided to check if any of his friends were awake yet.
"Good morning sleepy-head!" Sonic tiredly said, not having the same spark as when he's fully-awake.
"Good Morning!" Shadow said, he was a bit too loud for Rouge and Sonic who had just woken up.
"What's up with you?" Rouge asked
"Nothing's wrong! I've never been better!" Shadow answered
"Are you trying to protect us from something?" Sonic asked, noting that this wasn't like Shadow at all.
"Nope! I'm just happy!" Shadow answered, and he was right, he was happy.
"What happened between yesterday and today?" Rouge asked, curious about this sudden change in mood
"Well... I had a dream that made me realize what I've been doing wrong this whole time." Shadow answered
"And what's that?" Sonic asked,
"I've been very secluded, I realize that now." Shadow said "Now, I'm going to go off on my own and just... Live!" he added
"But what about G.U.N.?" Rouge asked
"Give them a call saying I'm resigning and becoming a pacifist." Shadow answered
"Where are you going!?" Sonic asked
"Hmm... I honestly don't know! I'll mail you the address once I've settled on a place." Shadow answered
"This is ridiculous Shadow!" Rouge said
"I'll be leaving soon, so I should start saying goodbye to everybody..." Shadow noted
"But Shadow-" Rouge started only to suddenly be hugged by Shadow
"Goodbye Rouge!" Shadow said, the happy tone still in his voice. After that he went over to Sonic, and while shaking his hand he said, "Goodbye Sonic!"
"I-It's been fun..." Sonic said, still in shock over how Shadow was acting
"Goodbye Ome-wait where is Omega?" Shadow asked
"He's probably charging again" Sonic said
"Oh... well, tell him I said goodbye!" Shadow said
"Who else is on South Island?" Shadow asked
"Actually, it's just us basically." Sonic said
"Well, tell them all I said goodbye!" Shadow said while chuckling, realizing he hadn't really thought this through, "This went a lot better in my head..." He added
"When will we see you again?" Rouge asked
"Soon." Shadow answered as he began to walk to the exit
"Wait, Shadow!" Rouge said
"Yes?" Shadow asked stopping in his tracks.
"...Goodbye" Rouge said.
"Goodbye." Shadow replied as he walked off into the distance.
Okay that's it! Hope you liked this story! Extra-Special Thanks to Panda "In the Clouds" luver11 for being such a big help in not only this Fic, but also for inspiring me to become a writer in the first place. You're a much better writer than you think! I just want you to know that.
-Brad