Chapter 13: Cracked Shell

"So, how did it go?" Rouge asked her roommate the next morning. "You were out for quite awhile last night. You don't reek of booze so I know you weren't drinking your pain away."

"No, I wasn't." Shadow smiled at her. "I was actually with Star last night. I confessed my feelings, using the best way I know how to get to her. She accepted them, and now we are together again as an official couple. No more stringing her along. This is real."

"That's great, Shadow! I'm so proud of you!"

"Yeah, the only problem is her brother."

"Oh what now?"

"He wants to kill me because Star told him what happened, and she had every right to. But something tells me that if we were to tell him that we're together again he wouldn't like it very much. He would probably think that I had Eggman brainwash her or something."

"Mm, you're probably right." Rouge nodded. "So what are you two gonna do?"

"We're keeping it a secret from him for now." Shadow sighed. "At least until Star can come up with a way to calm him down once we finally do tell him."

"Oh that's gonna be fun."

"Yeah, no kidding." Shadow then looked to the clock and froze. "Crap, I'm late."

"Oh? Where are you off to?"

"I got a girlfriend now. A real girlfriend. So I have a real hot date at Panera Bread for lunch. Just because we're keeping it a secret from Sonic doesn't mean we gotta keep it a secret from everybody. We still want to be able to enjoy ourselves."

"I hear ya." Rouge chuckled. "Well, don't let me keep you waiting. You two have fun. Oh! And if the situation calls for it, use protection!"

"Rouge!" Shadow's face burned red. "We just started dating! We're not even at that stage yet!"

"Keyword yet." Rouge laughed as Shadow's face burned again before he slammed the door behind him, taking off into town, leaving a red streak behind him.

…

"I am so going to hurt that roommate of mine." Shadow groaned when he finally met up with Star at the restaurant.

"Oh boy, what did she do this time?" Star smirked.

"I'd rather not repeat what she said." Shadow sighed, bending down and giving her a kiss, ignoring the stares that they received. "Sorry I'm late."

"It's alright. You're here now. And I already ordered our drinks. Passion papaya iced green tea for myself and a plain americano for you."

"That's my girl. You know exactly what I like."

"I better know what you like." Star laughed. "Off of what little you've told me about yourself, that's one of the things I remember."

Shadow chuckled, then thought for a moment. "I… I really didn't tell you a lot about myself… did I?"

"No, but that's ok. I don't expect you to tell me everything at once. I'm accepting baby steps."

"Yeah but… I do wanna tell you about myself… some things I've never told anyone… It seems only fair since you opened your heart out to me… Now it's my turn."

"Shadow, you don't have to."

"I want to… I really do… After we take our orders of course." Shadow laughed as the waiter came back with their drinks.

Not long after the two hedgehogs were munching on their meal. Star had gotten her favorite caesar salad with chicken and a side of fresh fruit, while Shadow had gotten himself a roasted turkey and avocado BLT sandwich with a side of fresh fruit as well. As they ate, Shadow tried to think of a way to tell his story without it being too depressing.

"Ok… here it goes." He finally started. "There's a reason your brother called me a bioengineered bastard the first night you and I met… It's because I am a bioengineered bastard. I was not born. I was created. About 50 years ago, there was a man. His name was Dr. Gerald Robotnik… and he was Eggman's grandfather. He was a brilliant man, I think Eggman takes after him actually. Their IQs are about the same. However, Dr. Robotnik was not an evil man. He was a good man. He used his science to help people. One day, he was approached by an agency known as Guardians of the United Nation, or G.U.N for short. They wanted him to create a physical lifeform. Something that could sustain everything that life would throw at it. Dr. Robotnik knew that the agency was going to use this immortal life form as a weapon, but he decided to take the assignment anyway… because he had his own reasons to create the Ultimate Lifeform..."

"... And… what was that reason?"

"... Dr. Robotnik had a granddaughter named Maria Robotnik. She was the light of his life… but she was very sick… She had NIDS, which is like a stronger version of AIDS."

"Oh my gosh."

"Dr. Robotnik thought that if he could create the Ultimate Lifeform, then maybe he could find a cure for his granddaughter. That Ultimate Lifeform… turned out to be me."

"You were created to be used as a weapon." Star blinked in disbelief.

"And to find a cure to all known diseases but…" Shadow sighed, lowering his ears sadly. "That never came to be. Because of Maria's sickness we were forced to stay in a sterilized space station known as the ARK. Maria and I… we were close… almost like brother and sister. She was older than me, but I still cherished in taking care of her and protecting her… much like how the Faker does with you. Me and her always dreamed about finally being able to go to Earth together as soon as she got better… but it never came to be… One day, G.U.N decided that Project Shadow was too dangerous of an assignment to continue… so they stormed the ARK… They killed a lot of people… Took Dr. Robotnik hostage and locked him up… Maria and I… we had made it to the escape pods… we were supposed to escape together… but she… she pushed me into one of the pods and locked me in. I tried to get out. I tried to get to her, but the glass was meant to sustain all kinds of force against it. I couldn't break out. Maria… she went up to the levers… She… She made me promise to take care of Earth and the people that resided on it. And… before she could pull the lever… the soldiers burst in and… the moment she pulled the lever and sent me to Earth they… they…"

Shadow didn't realize it, but he had tears running down his face. Star lowered her ears and gently took his hands into her own, rubbing her thumbs over his knuckles. "I'm so sorry, Shadow. I'm so sorry that happened to you… that happened to your friend. Your sister. I can't imagine what I would do if I had witnessed that happen to my own brother. I'm so sorry that you had to go through that."

Shadow sniffed and wiped his eyes a bit. "I've never told anyone about this. Only Rouge knows because I sometimes have night terrors about it. I had no choice but to tell her. She's been helping me get through it."

"And I'll do the same." Star nodded. "Anytime you need to talk, I'm free for you to see me. I'll listen, and I'll comfort you… always." She kissed his hands.

Shadow chuckled a little at the affection. "Thanks, Star. It… it felt good to let you in."

"I finally cracked your shell." Star smirked, causing him to laugh.

"Yes, you finally cracked my shell."

"... Would you like to pray with me… for Maria?"

"You'd do that?"

"Of course. She may already be up in heaven, but we can still pray for her."

"... I'd like that."

Star nodded and bowed her head, closing her eyes and keeping her grip on Shadow's hands. Shadow did the same, waiting for her to start praying as he had no idea on what to even say.

"Dear Lord in heaven, we pray to you today to keep a watchful eye on Maria Robotnik. Though she is most likely in your paradise now, she went through something terrible in her last living moments. We pray that you keep her happy and healthy in your Kingdom, and that you watch over Shadow the Hedgehog as he learns to forgive himself for what happened. Help him understand that her death was not his fault… and that she is watching and waiting for him up above. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen."

"Amen." Shadow sniffed one last time, lifting his head up and looking at her. "How did you know I was…"

"Honey, I could tell from the start, from the way you talked about her. From the way you talked about how much you tried to help her." Star looked at him sadly. "Her death was not your fault. I know I didn't personally know her like you did, but I am sure, from the bottom of my heart, that she would not be very happy to hear that you think you had anything to do with what happened to her."

Shadow huffed a small laugh. "You know, you're not the first person to tell me that."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. I've heard it from Rouge, Dr. Eggman, even some soldiers from the agency responsible for killing her… they all said the same thing… but sometimes… it's hard not to blame myself. They stormed the ARK because of me. They killed her because of me… That's why it's so hard for me to open up to people. It's hard for me to get close to someone… because I'm afraid of losing them."

"You opened up to me."

"... Yeah… Yeah I did… because I don't plan on losing you." Shadow smirked. "I plan on fighting for you tooth and nail. I'll protect you just as much as your brother does."

Star chuckled. "... I like the sound of that." And they kissed each other again.