Amy could not have been happier. Thanks to her training, she was continuing to develop in body and mind as the months went by. On top of that, her Chaos Energy had begun to manifest itself, though she had a long way to go. Her psychic abilities, on the other hand, had grown rapidly. She could now see far into the future (though not at will) and could control things with her mind - similar to what Silver the Hedgehog could do - but for much, much longer before she got tired.
The best part, though, the part that made all the pain and struggle worthwhile to her, was the love she felt for Shadow. While she understood that his attraction to her was not as strong, that did not bother her in the slightest. He accepted her. He never pushed her away. Talking to him was refreshing. Sparring with him was invigorating.
Kissing him...kissing him was in a totally different league. He was gentle, yet fierce, and he set her soul aflame with passion every time their lips met. It was all Amy could do not to beg him to take her on the spot. It wasn't easy, but she became content to wait until they could take things farther. For now, she was happy. She had found love again, and she was not going to blow it. Not this time.
The best part, though, the part that made all the pain and struggle worthwhile to her, was the love she felt for Shadow. While she understood that his attraction to her was not as strong, that did not bother her in the slightest. He accepted her. He never pushed her away. Talking to him was refreshing. Sparring with him was invigorating.
Kissing him...kissing him was in a totally different league. He was gentle, yet fierce, and he set her soul aflame with passion every time their lips met. It was all Amy could do not to beg him to take her on the spot. It wasn't easy, but she became content to wait until they could take things farther. For now, she was happy. She had found love again, and she was not going to blow it. Not this time.
One day, in the arid plains of Soleanna's Dusty Desert Zone, a black blur was seen tearing through the landscape like a child through wrapping paper, dashing and leaping through obstacles. This was, of course, Shadow, training his body to be faster.
Ever since he chose to act on his growing attraction to Amy, he had decided to do some growing himself, for his own piece of mind, and for Amy's sake. He would not admit it readily, but her presence had warmed his heart whilst strengthening it, much like what a blacksmith does for a weapon. She had given him another chance to be a protector, not so much out of obligation, but because he truly wanted to. He cared for Amy, and the girl became more and more precious to him with each passing day, though he did not tell her this in so many words. Such sentiment wasn't his style, after all.
Coming fact to face with his own inadequacies wasn't his cup of tea, either. In order to protect Amy, he was driving himself to be stronger, faster, and more powerful. This was a humbling process for Shadow, as in no way was he used to bettering himself. As the Ultimate Lifeform, he had always considered himself to be the best at everything he did. In his eyes, he was perfect.
His existence thus far had done nothing but contradict that arrogant viewpoint.
He had failed to keep Maria safe...
He had met someone who actually rivaled him in nearly every conceivable way...
His life had been saved many times...
He was neither the fastest, nor the strongest being on the planet, and he was not the smartest, either. While Shadow's abilities were to be reckoned with, he had to admit to himself that there would always be forces better than him out there...and not all of them with the noblest of intentions.
In order to stand a chance - and to protect the few people in his life he treasured - he had to better himself. This was what was going through his mind during his run through the desert, using his own speed.
After a half hour, Shadow was considering using his Super Boost move whilst running when he happened upon a hole in the sand which looked suspiciously covered up with rocks. 'Hmm. Now that is odd,' he thought to himself as he skidded to a stop and ran back to the hole. He walked around it, inspecting it carefully. "What's with this random hole? And why is it covered like this? I don't see any ruins around for miles, so there's no way whoever did this could have carried all these rocks out here just to plug this up."
Something was going on down there, so, Shadow decided to investigate and jumped toward the spot, performing his Black Tornado technique rapidly until the rocks started to move. Within moments, they were thrown into the sky. Once the sand settled, Shadow jumped into the hole...only to have it close up above him. "Of course. Well, no matter." He looked ahead of him and saw astounding cavern filled with jewels of all sorts, along with various mining equipment, all of which had an irritatingly familiar insignia.
'So, the Doctor's here, is he? Still after the Chaos Emeralds, most likely...' Shadow's spines stiffened for a brief moment. '...one of which is definitely down here. Sorry, Doctor, but I can't let you have it.' With a devious smirk that promised trouble, he ran into the cavern.
Ever since he chose to act on his growing attraction to Amy, he had decided to do some growing himself, for his own piece of mind, and for Amy's sake. He would not admit it readily, but her presence had warmed his heart whilst strengthening it, much like what a blacksmith does for a weapon. She had given him another chance to be a protector, not so much out of obligation, but because he truly wanted to. He cared for Amy, and the girl became more and more precious to him with each passing day, though he did not tell her this in so many words. Such sentiment wasn't his style, after all.
Coming fact to face with his own inadequacies wasn't his cup of tea, either. In order to protect Amy, he was driving himself to be stronger, faster, and more powerful. This was a humbling process for Shadow, as in no way was he used to bettering himself. As the Ultimate Lifeform, he had always considered himself to be the best at everything he did. In his eyes, he was perfect.
His existence thus far had done nothing but contradict that arrogant viewpoint.
He had failed to keep Maria safe...
He had met someone who actually rivaled him in nearly every conceivable way...
His life had been saved many times...
He was neither the fastest, nor the strongest being on the planet, and he was not the smartest, either. While Shadow's abilities were to be reckoned with, he had to admit to himself that there would always be forces better than him out there...and not all of them with the noblest of intentions.
In order to stand a chance - and to protect the few people in his life he treasured - he had to better himself. This was what was going through his mind during his run through the desert, using his own speed.
After a half hour, Shadow was considering using his Super Boost move whilst running when he happened upon a hole in the sand which looked suspiciously covered up with rocks. 'Hmm. Now that is odd,' he thought to himself as he skidded to a stop and ran back to the hole. He walked around it, inspecting it carefully. "What's with this random hole? And why is it covered like this? I don't see any ruins around for miles, so there's no way whoever did this could have carried all these rocks out here just to plug this up."
Something was going on down there, so, Shadow decided to investigate and jumped toward the spot, performing his Black Tornado technique rapidly until the rocks started to move. Within moments, they were thrown into the sky. Once the sand settled, Shadow jumped into the hole...only to have it close up above him. "Of course. Well, no matter." He looked ahead of him and saw astounding cavern filled with jewels of all sorts, along with various mining equipment, all of which had an irritatingly familiar insignia.
'So, the Doctor's here, is he? Still after the Chaos Emeralds, most likely...' Shadow's spines stiffened for a brief moment. '...one of which is definitely down here. Sorry, Doctor, but I can't let you have it.' With a devious smirk that promised trouble, he ran into the cavern.
The cavern was filled with robots of all sorts, mining the place for Chaos Emeralds. Supervising them all was Dr. Robotnik, along with his two henchbots, Orbot and Cubot. The Eggman had recently been dealt an humiliating defeat at the hands of Sonic and Tails three weeks ago, so now he was desperate to find an Emerald to even the odds. But, as he sat there in his Egg Mobile, he was getting increasingly frustrated with the lack of results. "Faster, damn you, faster!" he yelled at an exceptionally slow Egg Pawn. "Those Chaos Emeralds won't find themselves! I've already lost two of them because of your bumbling and I won't lose another!"
"Technically," cut in Orbot, "it was your bumbling that caused us to lose those Emeralds, Doctor." With a growl, Eggman gave Orbot a very impressive backfisted smack. "Wow!" exclaimed Cubot, "That one echoed down the cavern!"
"SHUT UP!" Eggman yelled. Shadow, who had arrived in time to witness the exchange, rolled his ruby red eyes at the Eggman's childishness. He stayed out of sight, observing the area with a smirk. 'Looks like they haven't found it yet. As much as I'd like to blow them all to kingdom come, I don't want to risk a cave-in and waste energy warping out. Besides, it'll be fun to be sneaky for once.'
With a plan in place, Shadow moved in. He stealthily snuck past the guards and miners, using mine carts to roll alongside and hide within. When necessary, he burrowed his way out of tricky spots when there was enough noise to cover him. After a while, he was deep within the cavern and out of Eggman's sights. He saw the cavern's end with about a hundred mining badniks digging. Within the rock, he can saw a speck of red.
'That has to be the Emerald,' Shadow thought to himself. 'I can feel it. I'd best beat them to it before it's discovered.' Taking a chance, Shadow invoked Chaos Control, stopping time completely. He then ran up to the wall and, grabbing a pickaxe, smashed the red Chaos Emerald free. "Good. This makes four. I'd better get out of here before Chaos Control ends." Turning on his Air Shoes for the first time in months, Shadow skated as fast as he could past the security, pleased that his skating speed hadn't diminished. He jumped above Eggman, but at that moment, Chaos Control ended, allowing the doctor to notice Shadow above his head. "What the-! Shadow?! He's got the Chaos Emerald!! Stop him, you idiots, stop him!!"
"Damn it all..." Shadow growled in annoyance.
"Technically," cut in Orbot, "it was your bumbling that caused us to lose those Emeralds, Doctor." With a growl, Eggman gave Orbot a very impressive backfisted smack. "Wow!" exclaimed Cubot, "That one echoed down the cavern!"
"SHUT UP!" Eggman yelled. Shadow, who had arrived in time to witness the exchange, rolled his ruby red eyes at the Eggman's childishness. He stayed out of sight, observing the area with a smirk. 'Looks like they haven't found it yet. As much as I'd like to blow them all to kingdom come, I don't want to risk a cave-in and waste energy warping out. Besides, it'll be fun to be sneaky for once.'
With a plan in place, Shadow moved in. He stealthily snuck past the guards and miners, using mine carts to roll alongside and hide within. When necessary, he burrowed his way out of tricky spots when there was enough noise to cover him. After a while, he was deep within the cavern and out of Eggman's sights. He saw the cavern's end with about a hundred mining badniks digging. Within the rock, he can saw a speck of red.
'That has to be the Emerald,' Shadow thought to himself. 'I can feel it. I'd best beat them to it before it's discovered.' Taking a chance, Shadow invoked Chaos Control, stopping time completely. He then ran up to the wall and, grabbing a pickaxe, smashed the red Chaos Emerald free. "Good. This makes four. I'd better get out of here before Chaos Control ends." Turning on his Air Shoes for the first time in months, Shadow skated as fast as he could past the security, pleased that his skating speed hadn't diminished. He jumped above Eggman, but at that moment, Chaos Control ended, allowing the doctor to notice Shadow above his head. "What the-! Shadow?! He's got the Chaos Emerald!! Stop him, you idiots, stop him!!"
"Damn it all..." Shadow growled in annoyance.
A big chase ensued. Shadow was forced to dodge fire from mining lasers and Eggman's own missiles. As he skated, he had to throw back plenty of Chaos Spears to keep the heat off of him. This went on for some time until he came to a rail track. With no mine cart to ride, he decided to grind upon the rails to the exit. He was assaulted by many robots along the way, but quick thinking and sharp reflexes kept him safe, to which he owed his natural abilities and his training. Eggman saw how close Shadow was to escape and, ruthless as ever, launched a missile ahead of him that destroyed the rail at the end.
There was no room for error. Shadow made a leap of faith off the remains of the rail...and grabbed the edge! He managed to pull himself up, but suddenly, he felt a searing pain shoot through his right shoulder!! Looking back in pain and rage, he saw who had shot him: Dr. Eggman himself, who was looking upon the hedgehog with mischievous contempt. Shadow internally cursed himself for not picking up any Rings. "That was quite the stunt you pulled, you sneaky little rodent," Eggman sneered. "This is where your chutzpah has gotten you, though; with an injured arm and no exit." As robots surrounded Shadow, Eggman asked, "Now then, do you have anything to say for yourself before I pry that Chaos Emerald from your corpse?"
Shadow thought for a moment and answered, "Just two little words. But, why be so predictable?" Then, with an evil grin, he warped away. Frowning, Dr. Robotnik slumped in his cockpit in embarrassment. "...Sure, Ivo, corner and talk down to the kid with the ability to manipulate time and space. Real smart."
"I'll say!" agreed Cubot happily.
There was no room for error. Shadow made a leap of faith off the remains of the rail...and grabbed the edge! He managed to pull himself up, but suddenly, he felt a searing pain shoot through his right shoulder!! Looking back in pain and rage, he saw who had shot him: Dr. Eggman himself, who was looking upon the hedgehog with mischievous contempt. Shadow internally cursed himself for not picking up any Rings. "That was quite the stunt you pulled, you sneaky little rodent," Eggman sneered. "This is where your chutzpah has gotten you, though; with an injured arm and no exit." As robots surrounded Shadow, Eggman asked, "Now then, do you have anything to say for yourself before I pry that Chaos Emerald from your corpse?"
Shadow thought for a moment and answered, "Just two little words. But, why be so predictable?" Then, with an evil grin, he warped away. Frowning, Dr. Robotnik slumped in his cockpit in embarrassment. "...Sure, Ivo, corner and talk down to the kid with the ability to manipulate time and space. Real smart."
"I'll say!" agreed Cubot happily.
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