In Cosmo's Shadow
By Kellie Fay
Disclaimer: Sonic, Shadow, Tails, Cosmo, and the others all belong to SEGA, Team Sonic, 4 Kids and other people not me.
To lydiathetigeropean: Cosmo is back sort of, check out my story "A Seedrian Grows on Mobius" to understand that. Maria...Not so much but you will see her if you keep reading this! I'm putting Shadow through ALOT!
*Waves always to Kirai-Ninja
To Everyone Else! PLEASE REVIEW!
Chapter 12
A Shattered Secrete
Shadow worked until the three full logs were all gone, and in their place was a stack of quartered fireplace sized logs. He felt winded and a little tired, and he considered that good. He went over to Vanilla to pick up his bartered goods, and ran into Cream Cheese, and Charmy. Cream had a basket with five star fruits inside.
"Here Mister Shadow," Cream said politely. She handed him the basket. "I heard you were very unhappy today, so The Star Tree gave us lots of fruits to make you feel better."
Shadow couldn't help, but think how odd it was that Cream said the tree gave her the fruit, but then again he had watched enough times to know it was the truth. You simply stood under the tree, and most of the time a ripe fruit would fall into your hand.
And who told her I was unhappy?
"Thank you," Shadow said. The few encounters he had with Cream had taught him that the girl was very polite, and shy, but she trusted Sonic implicitly so when Sonic chose to include Shadow in their little circle of friends she simply welcomed him. Shadow decided he wouldn't betray Sonic by being harsh with the girl.
"Boy you're lucky Shadow," Charmy said looking enviously at the five fruits. "She really likes you. Everyone else only gets one fruit. You're the only one besides Tails she gives more than one to at a time!"
"You speak of that tree as if it were a person," Shadow said puzzled.
Charmy opened his mouth, and was about to say something else, but Cheese, Cream's little chao, suddenly started chirping in a warning manner, causing the bug to close his mouth.
"Well I know mother has lots of stuff for you, thank you for helping us with the wood pile," Cream said, she pushed Charmy in front of her and the two children and the chao vanished.
A little confused Shadow gathered his goods from Vanilla, and added the basket with the star fruits to it. He was just leaving when he heard Cream and Charmy whispering behind the house.
"You have to really be careful about talking about her in front of Tails and Shadow, Charmy." Cream said in a worried tone.
Shadow froze and listened.
"Espio told me that Sonic was going to tell Shadow though," Charmy said.
"He was going to, but last night Shadow had a horrible nightmare about her, and she asked Sonic to wait a few more days before he brought up the idea. He doesn't want Shadow reacting the way Amy did," Cream's voice said.
What do these children know that I don't know? Shadow wondered. He thought about the little hints the children did give him.
Sonic wants to tell me but a mysterious "she" wanted to wait.
My nightmare was about this mysterious "she"
Shadow frowned. That doesn't make any sense. The nightmare I had last night was about Maria and the girl Cosmo.
Cosmo-
Her people were plant based. That's a tree. They grew it from the seed after Cosmo was blown apart with…well with Sonic and I.
Could it be? Could the tree and the girl be the same person? Could a tree have an intelligence? He had to know.
Shadow marched over to the yard behind Tails' workshop, and found Sonic dozing against the side of the hanger. The moment he walked past Sonic, he heard a soft sad voice say, "I was going to tell you."
Shadow stopped in his tracks. "You didn't,"
Sonic sighed. "She told me about the dream you had this morning. She didn't cause it, but she was afraid you'd blame her for it. She wanted me to wait a few more weeks."
"Why didn't you tell me when I first arrived?" Shadow said, angry that they kept this from him.
Now Sonic opened his eyes, and gazed at Shadow speculatively. "We wanted to wait awhile. You seemed to be going through a tough time. We didn't want to stretch your belief in us."
Shadow's common sense kept telling him that Sonic spoke the truth, but he also could now piece together several things that often confused him. "She was the one who told you about all my dreams. She's the reason you'd come to my house when I'd have a nightmare."
Sonic nodded, and got to his feet. "Shadow, I promise I'll answer all your questions, and tell you anything you want to know, but can we take this conversation somewhere else? I don't want to upset anyone else about this."
For a moment Shadow didn't understand, but then he noticed Tails working in his shop, and how quiet Sonic's voice sounded. "He doesn't know," Shadow said. "He's your best friend, and you haven't told him the girl survived."
Sonic suddenly frowned and locked eyes with his ebony and crimson reflection. Shadow felt a tingle in the back of his mind, and he clearly heard Sonic's voice in his mind saying, Shadow, not here and not now!
"Why not?" Shadow countered. "Are you afraid the cub will hear, and realize she's here? Why are you keeping this from him?"
Shadow please, Sonic pleaded silently. She's tried to reach Tails. He can't hear her, not the way Cream and I can. We want to tell him, but we're not sure how to. Amy thought I was crazy when she first found out. Heck, I thought I was crazy myself!
"That option is still open you know." Shadow told him. "And get out of my head!"
"Then let's take this conversation somewhere else." Sonic said evenly.
Shadow considered. "What's to stop me from marching into his workshop right now, and telling him the truth about that tree," he demanded.
"Not a thing," Sonic answered honestly, "except I don't think you really want to. I don't think you're the type of person who hurts people just because you can. That was before."
"Before?" Shadow asked.
"You might not remember our first meeting, but I do. You really got a thrill out of rattling me, then leaving me to take the heat. And I know when you thought I died out in space you gloated over it to Chris, but even when you got back most of your memories you never deliberately hurt someone's feelings just to make them feel bad. That professor guy put that stuff in your head."
All through Sonic's little speech images flashed through his mind. He saw himself with this desire to hurt to cause pain, to destroy...
Did he almost destroy the Earth?
In his mind he saw Christopher Thorndike, a young boy, beaten by someone advancing and speaking to him.
Did I hurt him? Somehow Shadow knew that he did hurt the Thorndike boy. Just like he knew that the boy awakened his true memories of Maria's last moments.
That meant that Sonic was right. Professor Gerald hadn't just altered his memory. He altered his mind.
His Father.
Night and day I've planned, so long after I am gone, my revenge will be complete. My enemies think they have defeated me. But Shadow will carry out my orders without question. Now it sleeps, but one day it will be reawakened! Shadow will bring total destruction!
Shadow pushed the thought away. "It's not true it couldn't be true. Professor Gerald wouldn't hurt me. He wouldn't use me like that!"
Sonic blinked surprised at Shadow's anger. Then suddenly realization dawned on the blue hedgehog. "That's it," he said amazed. "That's what triggered your sleepwalking the other night. You read the notes on how Egg-man's grandfather altered your memory, and you don't want to face it."
"Stop talking about the Professor like that!" Shadow demanded.
Sonic frowned, and his voice grew hard. "Shadow, you may not like it, but you have to face it. He used you. This is why you tried to destroy the Earth. I'm not saying he was in his right mind when he did it, but it happened."
"Don't say that! The Professor was a genius." Shadow drew himself into a fighting pose, ready to jump Sonic if he dared speak badly about the Professor again.
Sonic also drew into a ready position. "Shadow I know you don't want to fight me, but you have to face this. He might have started with good intentions, but by the time it was all over he wasn't sane anymore. Not even Egg-man wanted to destroy the whole world!"
"Take it back right now faker or-" Shadow began, his quills bristling with anger, but Sonic cut him off.
"Shadow it's the truth whether you want to believe it or n-" Sonic didn't get the rest out, because at that moment Shadow tackled him, and tried to land a right cross across Sonic's jaw. Sonic blocked the blow, and threw Shadow off to one side.
"Take it back!" Shadow demanded. He tried again to force Sonic to the ground, but this time Sonic, ready for him, dodged, and Shadow ended up hitting the wall off the hanger.
The noise attracted both Tails and Amy who came out to the back of the workshop. "They better not hurt my tree," Tails said angrily.
"Tails, what's going on? Why are they fighting?" Amy asked.
Tails shook his head, his two tails twitching up and down in his agitation. "I don't know, they were arguing about something, or at least Shadow was trying to argue, I couldn't even hear what Sonic said. Then all of a sudden Shadow jumped him."
"Great, Shadow has finally gone off the deep end," Amy muttered.
Meanwhile Sonic kept just a fraction of a centimeter away from Shadow's fists. "Shadow, calm down! You don't want to do this!" Sonic insisted.
"I am going to make you regret saying all those things about the Professor!" Shadow growled. He tried to tackle Sonic again, but Sonic jumped up into the tall oak that covered the hanger.
"Sonic, can't you two take this somewhere else?" Tails called out.
Still dodging Shadow, Sonic called out, jumping back out of the tree, "Sorry this wasn't my idea. Shadow in a bit of denial"
"If Shadow thinks he's living in a river in Egypt then he's living on the wrong planet!" Amy shot back.
Shadow lunged at Sonic again, and he jumped back. Unfortunately the ground beneath his left foot gave way causing him to sink into the hole, temporarily anchoring him to the ground. Instantly Shadow moved forward determined to bury Sonic into the ground.
SHADOW STOP!
Shadow's world exploded into a world of white light and an electric pain. He fell to his knees, and found the burning pain in his arms and legs paralyzing him.
Shadow you know that Sonic is right! Hurting Sonic isn't going to change the truth.
Shadow crouched in the grass on his hands and knees. He couldn't move, but he could hear the conversation around him.
"What was that all about?" Amy asked.
"Long story," Sonic said, breathing heavily, "Which I don't think I should say out loud. Who hit him?"
"Nobody hit him," Tails said, sounding puzzled. "He just cried out and fell over."
"No...no," Shadow managed to force out. "The...the girl struck me."
"What girl?" Tails asked.
Suddenly Amy cried out, "oh no, Cosmo!"
"Amy?" Tails asked.
Amy's voice sounded sharp and angry. "I hope you're proud of yourself, Shadow. The Star Tree lost about two dozen leaves trying to stop you."
Shadow managed to force his head upward, and looked at the tree that he now knew held Cosmo's spirit. At least twenty bright green leaves lay scattered at the roots of the tree.
"Amy, how could The Star Tree stop Shadow?" Tails asked, but Shadow didn't register that. Too many other thoughts ran through his mind.
Why Shadow why?
She told Sonic all my dreams.
She knows my dreams!
Why Shadow why?
She knows why I walk in my sleep.
Suddenly Shadow felt completely exposed, and emotionally naked in front of the fox and the two hedgehogs. She could tell them everything in his mind. He couldn't hide from them.
He couldn't hide from her.
An overwhelming desire to escape, and run welled up inside of him.
"Shadow?"
At the sound of Sonic's voice, Shadow turned and faced the concerned hedgehog, but it could not distract him from the truth. She can tell him everything. I can't hide anything from her.
I can't hide anything from him!
Shadow shoved Sonic away for him. "Leave me alone!" he shouted. Somehow he managed to get to his feet, and he ran from the village. All he wanted to do was run. He didn't want to go back, not now, not ever.
When Shadow finally stopped running he didn't recognize the area. It didn't matter to him where he ended up though. All he wanted was to find someplace where no one knew him. He wanted a place where no one ever heard of the Meterex, or Planet Earth, or the Ultimate Life Form.
He continued traveling far into the night, and only stopped when he found a small cave. He settled down in a small crevice in the cave, ignoring the cold, and his empty belly. He didn't need to eat regularly. He was the Ultimate Life Form. He didn't need anything, or anyone.
When he woke in the morning he shook the dust out of his quills, and made his way to the mouth of the cave. Resting in the center of the cave entrance was a brown knapsack. Inside he found some of Amy's fruit and nut bars, a tightly folded blanket, three Star fruits, the data chip and journal, and to his surprise Sonic's light blue chaos emerald.
Why not my red one? Someone wrapped the emerald in a piece of paper. Examining the paper more carefully, he read the note in Sonic's direct block print.
Take however long you need to figure out what you're looking for. Nobody is mad at you, and Cosmo is just fine. She explained why you got so ticked at me, and why you ran off, but if you want to be on your own for a while that's okay too. Come on home when you're ready.
S.
Sonic's open honesty shown througheven in the impartial letter. All at once Shadow felt shame and guilt about what he did. He didn't even remember what Sonic said that set him off. It doesn't matter though, Shadow told himself. I don't belong there with the others. I don't look any different from other hedgehogs on this planet. I can blend in, and finally leave my past behind me.
Slinging the pack over his back Shadow looked out at the vast canyon area around him. Picking a direction at random Shadow headed off, putting Sonic the Hedgehog out of his mind.
Coming Soon Chapter 13
A Year on the Road
The chao floated near Shadow's left shoulder, and in its own bizarre language verbally berated the stupid bird. Shadow glanced up at his new little companion, and said quietly. "I would suggest you move my friend. I do not think he is in a reasoning mood."
"Oh another vermin lover," The second Raptor said. "You should get a real job instead of shepherding chao around! Me and my brother are porters for the guy who lives outside Green Hill Valley. He's an important guy. We don't need to bother with a little squirt like you. Who do you think you are anyway, the Blue Blur?"