"I don't know, Shadow...Maybe the truth is that you don't know me as well as you THINK you do." Sonic said, almost evilly. "Maybe I...I..."
Shadow grinned as Sonic trailed off before looking around, confused. "Wait, what am I-? Where am I...WHOA, SHADOW! WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO YOU!?"
"I'll explain on the way." Shadow answered as he got up wearily, every joint in his body protesting to the action. "Let's start heading that way, I need to check in on some friends of mine."
Daniel opened his eyes as he heard the club fall from the man's hands, the villagers seeming horrified at what they had almost done. Justin ran over and hugged Daniel as the crowd finally let him go. "Daniel! You did it! You stopped the nanites!"
"Yes, well...I couldn't have done it without a little help." Daniel said, looking at Justin, then up into the sky. Silently, he thanked the girl in his dreams for her part in this, and promised to keep his word and help. "Uh...Justin?" A male voice said, breaking Daniel's train of thought. "Oh, um...Hi Dad." Justin said, looking a bit sheepish. The man's gaze didn't even waiver from its friendly demeanor. "Well? Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"
As the afternoon began to fade into the evening, the people of Justin's village had gotten most of the damage repaired. Small bits of property damage had happened throughout the march against Daniel, and he had been sure to help them fix it where he could. Sonic and Shadow sat watching from the porch of the town doctor, now bandaged up from their ordeal. Shadow's arm was in a sling from the earlier energy leakage, but he was already healing fast from that incident. "I really did that?" Sonic asked, as Shadow finished recapping those events to him. Shadow nodded. "Under the influence of the nanites, yes." Sonic just looked down in shame. "Man...Who KNOWS what I could've done if you hadn't stopped me? I mean...I couldn't even IMAGINE doing something like that!"
"That's the problem with having a dark side." Shadow said, thoughtfully munching on some coffee beans a nurse had brought him. "There's no way of knowing how far it'll go without a light to guide it."
"You read that in a book?" Sonic asked, teasingly. "Uh...Yeah." Shadow said, munching on more coffee beans. Sonic laughed. "Wow. Shadow the Hedgehog just made a joke! Never thought I'd see the day!" Shadow just laid back in his chair and smiled contently. "Well, I AM on a lot of pain killers right now. Anything could happen."
"For sure." Sonic said, as he got up. "Well, I think I'm about ready to run back to Emerald Town. Ya wanna race?" Shadow shook his head. "I think I'll spend the night here. Rest up for the morning." Sonic nodded and gave a thumbs up before he zoomed away. Properly reclining in his chair, Shadow closed his eyes to try and get some sleep. He thought of Daniel as he drifted off. Before coming here, he thought that the only thing that could come from his blood was violence and destruction, but Daniel was the exact opposite of that. Perhaps these traits came from his improperly repaired systems, or perhaps they came from a light within Shadow himself. Was the girl in Daniel's dreams just a genetic memory, or was it truly the spirit of Maria, guiding a fellow soul towards his destiny?
Shadow didn't have the answers, nor did he need to seek them. Still, the thought did give him some comfort as he drifted off, a smile forming on his face.
And this time, he didn't care who saw it.
