Chapter 5 A Friend out of Time

Shadow entered his office in Casino Night Zone and sighed. He had left Eggman's café after listening to Mariah's story and paying their bill. He simply wasn't ready to deal with the implications of his best friend from a parallel universe destroying a planet. He hoped she wasn't offended, for he was much more upset with himself than her. He could not understand how the version of himself from her universe wanted revenge.

"What kind of selfish loser puts that burden on a child?" he muttered, grabbing a bottle of brandy.

He poured himself a drink but left it untouched and sat down at his desk. After a few minutes, he decided to call downstairs. Rouge usually showed up around 8 o'clock, and he wanted to talk to her.

He grabbed the phone on his desk. "Mike, any sign of Rouge tonight?"

"Uh, yeah, boss, but she's in a pretty heated game. You sure you need her right now?"

Shadow rubbed his forehead. "Just put her on the phone. Let me talk to her."

"You got it, boss."

After a brief pause, Rouge's silky yet rather curt voice came through the line. "This better be important, Shadow? A walrus just wagered his own tusks in a poker game and they're about to be mine."

"That's nice. Come up to my office. We need to talk."

"Why don't you come down here and play with me?" she said with a mocking cadence. "Then we can talk over some drinks."

"I have some right here. We can have a drink in my office."

She giggled slightly. "Well, how can I refuse an offer like that? I'll be up in a bit."

Shadow hung up the phone and opened the window behind his desk. After a while, Rouge came flying through it and into his office.

He crossed his arms and sighed. "I knew you wouldn't use the door."

She shrugged. "I like to make an entrance."

Rouge was wearing long black pants with pink sneakers and a sports bra. She said the outfit helped her stay undercover in the tropics, but Shadow thought she was just exercising her vanity.

"So, where are the drinks?" she asked with a coy smile.

"It's on my desk." He pointed over his shoulder. "I poured it for myself, but you can have it."

"Why would I expect anything else?" She rolled her eyes and took the glass. "So, what did you wanna talk about?"

He sat down in his chair. "Am I a good man?"

She hopped onto his desk. "Where did that come from?"

"I met a woman today."

"Oh my!"

"This isn't going where you think." He sighed. "Anyway, she's had some similar experiences to me. . . . She lost a friend and wanted revenge, but she wasn't able to forgive and move on like me. She thinks I'm a better and stronger person, but am I really?"

Rouge placed a finger on her chin. "Well, you're the ultimate lifeform, so that has to count for something, and you own the most successful chain of hotel casinos in the world. You're filthy rich and my best friend, so that makes you pretty cool in my book."

Shadow groaned. "That's exactly what I mean. I'm just a man of the world. Am I really fulfilling my promise to Maria?"

Rouge shrugged. "I'm sure she just wants you to be happy."

"No that's what you want. She wanted me to help people and make the world a better place. . . . Maybe I should sell my casinos, use the money to build schools and orphanages, and become a wandering motivational guru."

"No, don't do that!" she exclaimed. "You can make the world a better place just by helping one person at a time, and you can start with me. I could really use a few shares of your precious metals and real estate stocks."

Shadow crossed his arms and slouched down in his chair. "You're right. I can make the world a better place just by helping people, and right now Mariah needs my help. Thanks, Rouge. I knew I could count on you."

He ran to the door in such a rush that Rouge nearly dropped her drink. "Don't steal anything while I'm gone."

"Wait! Where are you going?" She frowned. "And Who's this Mariah girl?"

"She's an old friend from a parallel universe, and I'm going to help her get her life together, like Maria did for me. Bye."

Shadow's private helicopter hovered over Eggman's lair. He jumped down and landed among the rocky crags to find Eggman watering his self-styled topiary. He pointed his watering hose at Shadow like he was a furry pest.

"I just want you to know that your helicopter ruined my peaceful morning routine, and if it blows away the leaves of my topiary, I'll sue you for all your worth."

"You'd need a good lawyer." He walked toward the door. "Where's Mariah?"

"So you flew all the way out here to see her?" Eggman dropped his hose and smiled. "You know, I think I deserve some credit for this blossoming relationship between you two. How about I give you a 10% weekend discount at Eggspresso if you sign a formal contract to dine there on all your dates?"

"I'd never torture her like that. What kind of monster do you think I am? Now, where is she?"

"Knowing her, probably in her room in a medically induced coma. It's on the top floor, next to the room where I store all the memorabilia from my past defeats—I mean battles with Sonic. You can't miss it."

"Alright. Thanks."

He entered the lair and took the lift to the top floor, trying to tune out the maddening elevator music. When he reached Mariah's room, he knocked on the door, but there was no response. He knocked again and heard the faint rustling of fabric and gliding of shoes across metal. The door creaked open and Mariah stood in the gap, staring forward with red, empty eyes. She was wearing a pair of blue pajamas and had tied up her hair with her red ribbon. She finally noticed Shadow and jumped behind the door.

"What are you doing here?" she exclaimed. "You can't just knock on my door like that. I need some sort of warning."

Shadow craned his neck to look up at her. "The knock was the warning, and didn't we do this joke already?"

Mariah retreated and paced around the room, her hedgehog slippers rhythmically sliding across the floor. "I'm not ready for this first thing in the morning. I haven't even taken my medicine yet."

Shadow walked into her room and crossed his arms. "It's almost noon. Why are you still dressed like that?"

She turned around and folded her hands behind her back. "I may or may not have stayed up all night crying after you walked out on me at the café."

He frowned. "I didn't walk out on you. I just didn't know how to respond to my friend admitting she had destroyed a planet, so I left."

"Well, I guess that's understandable." She looked over her shoulder and smiled. "I dropped a lot on you, didn't I? Maybe you were the one who needed the warning."

"Yeah, right. In any case, I know how to respond now. If the version of me from your universe truly asked you to avenge him, then I think it was a selfish and immature decision on his part. He put a burden on you that no one should bear, least of all a child. Know that I would never ask you to avenge me."

"Aw, thanks, Shadow." She turned around and squatted so she could look into his eyes. "But it's over. I made my decision and there's no turning back. I chose to drown in the blood of billions, and I did it all for him." She stretched out her arms. "I did it all for you."

Shadow closed his eyes and embraced her. She gasped and hugged his neck.

"I never thought I'd hold you again." She said with a trembling voice.

He pressed his face into her shoulder. "Yeah, me too. . . . Maybe you can't change the past, but you can start over."

She laughed slightly. "Actually, I did try to change the past. That's why I'm here. After I got my revenge, I was all alone on Grandfather's space station. The silence was driving me mad, so I tried to build a time machine I could use to save Umbra. Obviously, it didn't work, and it spat me out on your planet."

"I'm glad it did," he smiled, "and I'll make sure you're never alone like that again."

"What?" Her eyes widened. "You mean, you don't care that I'm a planet-busting, genocidal maniac?"

He grabbed her shoulders and stared into her trembling eyes. "I used to be like that, too, but I found peace. I'll help you find it as well."

"Oh, Shadow!" Mariah hugged him against her chest and picked him up, slinging him around like a doll. "I don't deserve your kindness. Why would you want anything to do with a monster like me?"

"I've walked your path." Shadow gasped for air. "Vengeance is . . . an unsatiable beast. It's a cycle of horror that never ends. . . . I wouldn't wish it on anyone, even if they suffocated me like you're doing right now."

She dropped him and smiled. "Heh-heh, sorry."

He popped his back with a painful wince. "Get dressed and take your medicine. We're leaving this pitiful excuse of modern architecture."

She blinked at him. "Where are we going?"

"To my hotel, of course." He frowned. "I don't want you living with the doctor. He's a bad influence. Now come on. I'll teach you how to gamble."

Mariah sat down at the Roulette table in her slightly formal white sundress and neatly round, white beach hat. It was the only thing she had worthy of wearing for a night on the town.

"Are you sure we should be doing this, Shadow?" she asked, looking around at all the intimidating Mobians in their stiff suits and sunglasses.

Shadow sat down next to her and put down a hundred thousand rings on evens. "It's fine. I've always wanted to gamble with my best friend."

"I thought I was your best friend." He heard a familiar voice from across the table. It was Rouge, glaring at them with more than little displeasure.

"Looks like we picked the wrong table . . . and she just took all my rings."

Rouge flew over the table and sat down on its edge. She looked at Mariah and sighed.

"Shadow, I thought we talked about this. You can't just bring home every woman who looks like Maria."

"This is different." He waved his hands frantically. "She really is Maria from a parallel universe."

Rouge rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure that's what they all say after they look up your net worth."

Mariah's eye twitched and she held out her hand with a forced smile. "I'm Mariah Otomech and I destroyed a planet by the time I was 22. Nice to meet you."

Rouge grabbed her hand. "The pleasure's all mine, dear. So, you're Shadow's best friend from a parallel universe? I'm Rouge the Bat—his best friend in this universe."

Mariah stood up so she could tower over Rouge. "Who is this, Shadow, your girlfriend? I don't approve of her. You deserve much better."

His eyes darted back and forth between the two women. "She's my former colleague. We used to work together for the government until I hit it big in the casino business. Now she just hangs around and bums money off me."

"That's not all." Rouge said with a wink. "Sometimes, we get a little drunk and go up to his suite for—"

"No, that's all she does." he said flatly. "Can we just play our game?"

Rouge sighed. "I'll pass. I can't focus with Ms. I Watched a Planet Burn and Didn't Blink staring me down. You think I'm a threat to you, hun? Don't worry. I can't compete with the Maria lookalikes."

Mariah smiled confidently. "Please, there's no competition. I love Shadow so much, I destroyed a planet for him."

"And I love Shadow enough to know that he wouldn't want me to destroy a planet for him."

She growled and lunged at Rouge, but Shadow grabbed her around the waist. "You took your medicine before we left, right?"

"That's cute." Rouge looked at Shadow. "I can see I'm not wanted here, so I think I'll take my winnings and fly. Call me if you get lonely."

She jumped over them and glided out of the casino. Shadow turned around to watch her leave and immediately wished he hadn't when Mariah grabbed his head with one hand.

"Watcha looking at, Shadow?" she asked with a wild, toothy grin.

He stared up at her with downcast eyes. "I'm looking at a disturbed woman who forgot to take her medicine. It's getting late. Let's go."

Shadow took her upstairs to the penthouse suite. It was the very image of his new opulent lifestyle. The huge room had shiny gold marbled walls with crown molding and dim lights that reflected off the gold leaf floor. There was a massive window on the other side of the room that afforded a brilliant view of Casino Night Zone.

Mariah gasped and walked to the window in a dream-like trance. "I've never seen such an elaborate room in my life. Can I really stay here?"

"Yeah," he said, walking over to her, "It's not like anyone around here could afford to rent it."

She smiled painfully and looked down at him. "You really have a lot of money, don't you?"

"Yeah, I guess." He put his hand on the glass. "Mariah, I just don't know anymore. Is this the life I should be living—a life devoted to my own self-indulgence?"

"I don't think you're self-indulgent." She took his hand. "There's nothing wrong with having money."

"But it's not the life Maria would want me to live, and I know you wouldn't want me to live like this either."

"I don't care how you live. I'm just happy you're alive at all."

He looked up at her and shook his head. "I'm alive and I'm wasting time. I'm wasting the life Maria gave me. She wanted me to help others, and that's what I'll do. This business has been nothing but a net negative on society. I'll sell it and use the money to build some schools and hospitals, but don't worry. I'll leave some for you, and buy you a house on the beach, just a place where you escape the city for a while."

"You really don't have to do all that. . . . I'm grateful just to be with you—just to look at you and hear your voice."

He gave her a forlorn smile. "Mariah, try to look at things from my perspective. If you're so happy to see me alive, think of how happy I am to see you. Face it. I'm going to spoil you."

Mariah wiped a tear from her eye. "You're right. All this time, I was just thinking about myself. I never considered that in this universe, you're just as hurt as me. . . . Come here, little guy."

Shadow embraced her and she placed her hands on the back of his head like she was consoling a child. He fell silent. He could have been weeping, but she couldn't tell.

"You know, since you're giving me all this money, I think I'll use it to start over. I'm a licensed psychiatrist, so I can start a practice. Maybe if I help people, even if it's just one person, I can find some meaning in my life and forget about my crimes . . . for a while."

"Yeah, that village could use a real therapist." Shadow said, recalling his session with Amy. "Are you alright?"

Mariah grew pale and suddenly collapsed, her face sliding against the window with a pitiful, prolonged squeak. Shadow caught her and she groaned.

"Sorry." she said with a weak laugh. "I really did forget to take my medicine. I didn't think we would be gone this long."

"It's alright. I'm used to taking care of you." He carried her over to the king-sized bed. "Just lie down. I'll run to Eggman's lair and get your medicine."

"Thanks." She sat on the bed and smiled. "It's in a kit underneath my sink."

He nodded and dashed out of the room. He returned a minute later with a white, plastic box. Mariah took it from him carefully and set it on the bed. She opened it, put on a pair of gloves, and grabbed a syringe of red fluid.

"What is that?" Shadow asked, crossing his arms.

"It's a serum I mass-produced to regenerate my cells. I made it from one of your blood samples I found on the Ark."

"Oh, that's nice."

She unwrapped a needle and placed it in the syringe. "It requires a lot of energy, so I'll be in a coma for at least six hours. Will you make sure no one disturbs me?"

He nodded. "I'll protect you."

"Thanks."

She injected the serum into her forearm and sighed. "Any second now. . . ."

Mariah collapsed onto the bed and her stiff beach hat jumped off her head and rolled across the floor. Shadow tried not to laugh as he set her syringe and medicine kit on the nightstand. Then, he pulled her further up the bed so she could properly use the pillows and sat beside her.

As he sat there staring out the massive penthouse window, he recalled all the times he had stood on the observation deck of the Ark with Maria, talking about what it would be like to live on the planet below. When they were looking out at the rapid economic progress of Casino Night Zone, he couldn't help but feel that they had shared a similar moment.

He snapped his fingers to turn off the lights. Now, the only thing illuminating the room was the multicolored neon gas from the window. With misty eyes, Shadow reclined against the pillows, hugged Mariah's arm, and went to sleep.