Prince of Nerezza Part 4

Shadow stood now with a bag slung unceremoniously over his left shoulder. It contained simply a few personal artifacts as well as the dressy clothing he was forcing himself to wear in order to fit in somewhat with the people who were showing up at this thing for reasons not related to robbery. His patience was wearing, and considering the fact that the five, or six of them depending on if a Chao was counted as cargo or another person, were all going to be crammed into the X Tornado, his patience was on the verge of none. The night had come and gone, but his irritation towards Sonic hadn’t faded any as the ebony and crimson colored hedgehog stood now tapping the tip of his foot impatiently as he waited for Sonic and Amy to arrive. They were the only two not here yet, which was slowing the whole operation down. This was why Shadow preferred to work solo rather then with a team. Others were just dead weight sometimes, and that was how Shadow was feeling about the two as he stood waiting now that Tails had retreated to the tranquility of his flying masterpiece as he finished up the modifications made to the machine in order to transport all of them and give Tails and Cream a place to be able to hide out, his final work was now to make sure that everything was working, and had been attached properly. Shadow’s ears gave a flicker as Cream giggled softly before he turned his head slightly to catch the pink hedgehog finally making her approach out of the corner of his eye, turning around he arched his brow high as he watched her tote along a rather large bag nearly to the breaking point of it’s seams as it rested on her shoulders. Amy smiled brightly issuing a soft laugh as Cream chattered softly to her about the excitement of getting to be of some help on a mission with the others, however the quiet bunny broke off quickly as she took notice of something Tails was tinkering with just outside of the Tornado. Amy came to a stop next to Shadow now looking up at him with a slight grin across her features. “Hey you. Nice to see someone’s on time, I can’t claim that, and apparently neither can Sonic. Sorry to keep you guys waiting.” Amy shrugged the bag off of her shoulders as it issued a loud thud after making contact with the ground; Shadow arched his brow high at the bag in slight disgust.
“What’d you do bring your whole room with you in that damn thing?” he commented coolly as he glanced away purposely missing the angry glare issued his way. Shadow had crossed his arms over his chest and now stood drumming his fingertips lazily against his arm waiting for a fiery reply. However when one wasn’t issued he glanced back in the direction only to find that he was now waiting for no one to reply to him as Amy had disappeared. Looking around with a quick flick of his blood red gaze, Shadow watched with a slight tilt of his head as Amy struggled to toss the heavy load into her part of the Tornado. Just as she fell backwards trying to force the bag into the space behind her seat Amy let out a soft scream of surprise before she realized she had fallen into someone’s outstretched arms. Blinking her eyes open she found herself staring up into Shadow’s soft gaze as gave his eyes a soft blink before returning her to her feet and moving forward as he took the place she had been standing just a moment ago. Grabbing the bag in his grasp, with an easy and quick movement of his arm Shadow tossed the bag into the shuttle with ease before stepping back down the stairs with a quick glance her way before he stalked back to his own bag hoisting it on his shoulder again. Turning around quickly he didn’t try to ignore the fact that the pink hedgehogs emerald gaze was still on him as he walked towards the aircraft stopping a few feet from the two tailed fox who held a wrench tightly in his grasp.
“Where am I storing my stuff kid?” his voice held the same irritation his gaze had five minutes prior. Tails looked to Shadow before glancing at the other shuttle areas meant for the passengers.
“Why don’t you take the one just in front of Amy…just in case Eggman decides to attack, you’re a good shot right?” Tails blinked his innocent eyes curiously at Shadow who issued a curt nod of his head.
“Yeah, decent at the least.” Shadow shrugged his shoulders looking to Tails who issued a nod his way before returning to his work. The ebony and crimson hedgehog made his way forward stepping up onto the drop down stairs as he hoisted himself into the pod with ease. Setting the bag down safely behind his seat, Shadow flung himself into the seat and crossed his arms slouching down with a distant look to his features. Amy climbed up the stairs after him and stood on her tiptoes as she leaned over the side of his passenger space as she rested her arms on it and her head was rested on her arms as she looked at him with her wide emerald colored eyes.
“Shadow? You alright? You still want to do this right?” she looked to him with a blink of her eyes, obviously not aware of just how innocent looking she appeared right now as she stood there with a questioning look on her features. Stealing a quick look her way his gaze avoided her all together after that as he issued a slight nod of his head.
“Yeah…I won’t back out of a promise…or agreement, I’m just feeling a little suspicious about the whole deal with this guy practically advertising that he wants his Chaos Emerald stolen right out from under his nose…I don’t argue with an easy job though.” He quickly added on making it painfully obvious he had no regrets in robbing a man of what was one of the most priceless treasures in the world.
“Yeah I have to agree it is a bit odd…but Shadow…try not to look so much into it, sometimes just looking at the basic facts is more then enough.” Amy smiled sweetly before letting herself fall to her feet and jumping down the stairs as she wandered back to her own space. Shadow watched her go before giving a slight grin at her words, which were indeed true. It wasn’t more then a few minutes later that Sonic finally made his appearance, not really giving a reason for why he was late, aside from a fashionably late joke as he shrugged his shoulders slightly. Shadow’s eyes watched narrowly as Amy gave a slight giggle at his words. Slouching down even more into his seat, Shadow issued an angry hiss under his breath not bothering to look out again.
Soon the X Tornado rose up into the air with an unstable feel, Tails needed to regain the feel for his beloved machine especially now with the new additions he had added to it. Again a certain unease wove it’s way into the back of Shadow’s mind as he looked distractedly towards the ground that was slowly moving away from them. However once the ship balanced out the unease was pushed away into a distant corner as Tails took off at full throttle as the thrusters lurched the X Tornado forward quickly. The world around them was becoming a soft blur of color, the faint azure blue sky was melding together with the soft fluffy white clouds that filled it while the sun’s beams danced through the domed tops. Amy placed a hand gently against the glass as she looked out the window with a faintly dreamy look across her features.
“Wow it looks so heavenly out there…it’s beautiful.” Her voice echoed gently with a slightly distant tone to it. Both Shadow and Sonic, who had each taken one of the front compartments, looked back at her with a curious glance. She sounded almost as if she herself were floating on the clouds that drifted past them lazily.
“It’s a beautiful day to be soaring the skies, glad the weather’s cooperating with us.” Sonic commented as he looked out his dome hatch with a quick flick of his grassy colored eyes. Shadow made no comment but allowed his gaze to shift outwards, his features took on a distant look to them as if a memory were replaying in his mind.
“I’m glad too, it’s made it easier to have to deal with all the extra cargo that I’m flying. I’m grateful.” Tails admitted cheerfully as he looked from Sonic to Amy quickly before shifting his gaze back to the skies ahead of him with a deep concentration as his heart beat could be heard excitedly in his ears. The thrill of flying was enough to occupy the fox’s mind and keep him concentrating just in case someone did decide to attack. However luck was with the team, as the skies remained their clear blue hue without a single threat to them. Soon their touchdown was within eyesight and the party would be starting a few short hours after their arrival.
The faint hiss of the landing gears could be heard as Tails touched down on the islands private runway. Leaning back the young fox gave a brief sigh of relief glad to have made it to the place in one piece without trouble, as his hands laced together rested behind his head Tails sat back up after a moment and looked around his mouth suddenly agape. “Holy…wow…” his words were few as he looked at the large house, if anyone could call something that big a house, which loomed in front of them now. It was going to be one heck of a task to get the emerald out without getting caught. The schematics were nothing in comparison to the real deal. “Well…you guys better get in there…good luck.” Tails spoke in a low tone his eyes still practically popping out of his head as they scanned over the house; it wasn’t but a minute more before his laptop was out and scanning over the layouts he had acquired.
Sonic, Shadow, and Amy all made their way to the mansion that loomed over them like a wolf, watching their every step with an intense and unnerving gaze. With Sonic in the lead Amy and Shadow both stood off to separate sides, the black hedgehog still not enjoying the fact that he was playing second gun to Sonic, but he had to remind himself that he did agree, like it or not. Letting his crimson eyes slip quickly off to the other side for a moment, he realized that Amy looked as if she had just seen death and lived to tell the tale, her face was almost pale in comparison to the normal color. Arching a brow high he looked to her with a confused glance obviously not understanding why she was in the state she was in.
As the three approached the mansion a man emerged from the large, ominous doors and glared down at them from his height. His darkly colored gray eyes glared down suspiciously at them as he crossed his arms, the bodyguards taking up their weapons as they all looked at the three hedgehogs. “Who are you three and what’s your business on this island hedgehogs?” his cold voice snapped harshly in the air. Struck silent for the moment, Amy looked as if she were about to collapse at their feet, while Shadow appeared to be biting his tongue.
“Hi! The three of us are here representing Westopolis. He’s Shadow, that’s Amy Rose, and I’m Sonic, Sonic the hedgehog.” Sonic introduced the three in a cocky manner obviously not intimidated by what the man was throwing out, just precautions to keep the Emerald safe of course. The attention was directed quickly from Sonic to Shadow, each had their reputations and obviously they reached out even to the seemingly deserted islands hidden in the ocean waters.
Shadow glanced unworriedly around as the guards now took positions surrounding him. A very sensitive metal detector scanned over his ebony frame with a flicker of light; when it hit his shoes the device set out a detection signal and Shadow looked downwards at his shoes with a brow arched in confusion. “I’ve got metal soles, it’s bound to go off when hitting those.” He replied to the action of the men drawing their weapons. Lifting his foot off the ground he knocked the tips of his knuckles gently against the shoes, which caused them to issue a twang due to metal being knocked on.
“Indeed…you’ll have to excuse the extreme measures. You see you have quite a reputation, and I seemed to have done too much flaunting of my precious emerald.” The man spoke in a droll sounding tone as he gazed coldly in Shadow’s direction. Shifting his gaze back to the other two however a slight smile could almost be seen. “Welcome to my island Sonic the hedgehog and friends…I am glad Westopolis could afford to loose you for this occasion.” The man gave a nod of his head before turning quickly on his heels to disappear back into the mansion in order to continue with the preparations for the nights events, Sonic, Amy and Shadow followed quickly after in order to be escorted to their rooms. Entering in through the mansion’s doors all of them came to a brief pause as they looked around in surprise at how big it actually was on the inside. The inside looked similar to a modern version of an old time castle. While the walls were made of traditional gray brick, the floors were a cream colored marble that were spread out wall to wall. Decorating the walls were various paintings scattered everywhere, as well as flags and banners from places far away. There were various other objects of great value that decorated the walls and corridors of the castle mansion they had just walked into.
“Whoa…Tails are you seeing all this?” Sonic whispered in a low tone as an unseen camera beamed images back to the laptop, while the earpiece transmitted the voice without skipping a beat.
“Yeah…definitely hard to not see. I just hope you guys can manage to get the real emerald out of there while remaining in one piece.” Tails’s voice cackled softly over the intercom so as not to give away the microphone.
“No worries pal, it shouldn’t be too hard to get one emerald out of here.” Sonic spoke in a low confident tone as he glanced for a moment at the hidden camera before walking forward his ever curious gaze continuing to bob and weave about. Looking up the three saw three different butlers standing in front of them, the center one taking a step forward as they all bowed so low that their noses practically were touching the ground.
“Masters Sonic and Shadow, and Madame Amy. We are here to escort you and your bags to the three rooms assigned to you. Please follow us.” With that a second bow was given before the bags were gently taken from their grasp and the three butlers led them directly to their rooms, each one on a separate floor of the mansion castle.
Shadow stood, about two hours later, in the center of his room looking with a slight hint of dislike at his reflection. Blood red eyes gazed slightly into the reflection of his full-bodied mirror looking at the ebony and crimson hedgehog who stared back at him. His charcoal gray dress shirt was placed on first, it’s sleeves rolled up neatly just above his elbows while the onyx and blood red striped vest was placed over it, the bottom falling enough to cover his dress shirt. The raven colored slacks fell easily over Shadow’s shoes continuing to shield them. Turning around once in the mirror to make sure he had gotten everything decent looking or at least tucked in, Shadow looked at his reflection with a slight shake of his head. “Still doesn’t work…” he murmured with a bitterness before shaking his head.
“Hey Shadow. You all ready? Sonic’s already down there, make sure you watch his back, I get the feeling we aren’t the only ones going for the Chaos Emerald.” Tails’s voice crackled into his ear from the hidden microphone, Shadow glanced up at his ear with his eyes narrowed slightly in irritation before issuing a sharp nod of his head.
“Don’t worry I’ve got it covered, you just keep on doing whatever it is you do best.” Shadow replied with a cool tone to his voice before growing silent again when no reply was issued. His gaze drifted again to the almost unrecognizable reflection in the mirror, taking an apple from the bowl next to him Shadow sat down for a moment with his legs draped over one arm of an armchair while his back rested against the other as he took a large bite out of the fruit.
“Hmmhmm, someone looks pretty good dressed up. It’s quite shocking…” a low wispy voice could be heard from in front of the mirror. Shadow quickly drew the gun he had managed to smuggle in inside of his shoe, without looking up to begin with his weapon was automatically aimed at the direction, however he quickly realized that no one could have gotten in here without him knowing it. Looking over he saw no one was there.
“You. What do you want now?” Shadow questioned quickly as he remained in the relaxed position. He heard a faint laugh that drew closer to his chair as he replaced the gun back in his shoe just in case something were to go wrong.
“Well it’s nice to see you too Shadow. I just thought I’d pop in and wish you good luck, I couldn’t help over hearing what you all were up to.” The voice replied in a gentle tone with a hint of underlying laughter.
“Hmm, well I guess prying ears are better then most things. You’re too nosy it’s going to get you into trouble.” He warned, carelessly observing the apple before taking another bite out of it as he tilted his head back to observe the ceiling.
“I don’t know whether to take that as a threat or friendly advice. You’re very complicated you know.” Now a bit of frustration sounded present as well as a hint of suspicion. Why a disembodied voice should feel suspicious Shadow didn’t know, nor did he want to ask.
“Heh. Well either way thanks for the compliment I think. I’m not too fond of the clothes myself.” His eyes glanced sharply in the direction the voice was coming from, he still didn’t trust her and in light of that he still couldn’t see any sign of her. Taking another bite of the apple he munched quietly as silence had fallen.
“Hmmhmm, well what makes you so sure I was referring to you I could have been talking about Sonic…or perhaps Amy…” the voice had taken on a droll tone to it, had there been a pair of eyes visible he would have noticed the sneaky side glance issued his way at the comment. Shadow jolted slightly as he coughed, causing a piece of his apple to go down the wrong way before glancing with a now irritated glance her way.
“Spying on everyone else now too? Gee don’t I feel special. Well you do whatever it is you do, I’ve got a job to take care of.” He snapped suddenly standing to his feet as he tossed the partially eaten apple into the garbage basket near the door.
“Heh, heh, heh, well I’m sure it didn’t take him long to notice that he was eating a fruit made of wax…” the fox whispered softly as she practically rolled with laughter as tears began to form at the corners of her pale blue eyes.
As Shadow walked down the hall he stuck his tongue out in disgust at the waxy taste still on his tongue, the fact that he had forced himself to swallow several large bites made him feel a bit sick. “Damn…that tastes really, REALLY, bad.” He murmured as a look of distaste crossed his face. Making his way down the stairs as his shoes thudded gently against the marble stair case his eyes again drifted to the guys with the detector that stood just outside of the door. Walking past in a leisurely pace Shadow listened as the detector went off for a second time that day. A rather large meaty hand was placed on his shoulder halting his walk in. “The metal soles of my shoes. I can demonstrate just how metal they are if you’d like.” He warned darkly removing the hand from his shoulder, sending his heel back into the guys shin he walked forward with a satisfied smirk as a howl of pain was pushed down into a low agonizing sound that was a mix between a grunt and a moan. “Told you.” He murmured under his breath as he continued walking forward.
“Nice way to keep yourself out of trouble smart guy.” Sonic’s voice growled from behind him as the blue hedgehog appeared shortly after. Shadow continued to smirk as he glanced out of the corner of his eyes towards him before turning around with his brow arched high as he gazed at the dressed up hedgehog. Sonic was wearing a casual dark blue long sleeved dress coat, under it was a silver colored shirt that was tucked into a pair of dark blue pants that fell just to his sneakers.
“Nice of you to stick your nose, and unwanted opinions, into it.” Shadow retaliated as he crossed his arms over his chest, the fluffy white tuff of fur just barely visible, as his eyes narrowed dangerously towards Sonic.
“Hey I’m not the one whose going to screw up this whole thing by knocking some guy in his shin. Cool it Shadow, before one or both of us gets thrown out.” Sonic warned gently before disappearing off into the crowd again, Shadow’s gaze followed after him before issuing a shake of his head.
“Come on now. You’re supposed to keep yourself out of trouble, if nothing else then for my sake.” A voice spoke from behind him, while it was partially drone out by the sound of the ever-increasing crowd it didn’t take Shadow more then a second to realize it was Amy. Turning back around quickly on the heel of his shoe in order to reply, Shadow nearly found himself flat on his back as he blinked his eyes at the pink hedgehog who had just appeared behind him. A stunned look of surprise was cemented to his face as he looked at her now. Amy’s bangs fell over her right eye with a delicate swooping motion, while her headband had been replaced with a pair of silver, studded flower shaped hair clips that held her quills back out of her face while causing the ends to sweep upwards framing her face gently. The dress from before still continued to show off every delicate curve of her body as her hands were clasped in front of her. “Don’t look so surprised, I may not dress up often but I can manage it.” She spoke in a slightly irritated tone as she crossed her arms over her chest glancing off to the side with an irritated expression.
“N-no, I didn’t… I just wasn’t expecting…” Shadow’s jaw snapped shut suddenly, it wasn’t often that he found himself unable to form a sentence and let everyone know about it. He watched as she looked back at him with a tilt of her head, curiosity crossing her features before she issued a soft grin his way stifling a giggle.
“You look good too.” She replied in light of his lack of words. From the skylight above a pair of stormy blue eyes gazed downwards from their vantage point as Dante observed the group below him. His eyes slowly traveled to the pink and black hedgehogs that stood near the door. Blinking his eyes in surprise the forest green hedgehog let his gaze pause on Amy for a moment.
“Damn…no one can say she can’t look good, she even makes that loser look good next to her.” If he would have been any one else, his jaw would have hit the roof below him, however Dante’s eyes just glittered with pure interest now.
“Put your eyes back in their sockets, we’ve got a job to do, and it’s not spying on her.” The fox spoke in a sharp tone appearing next to Dante, she flicked her eyes towards him with a hint of jealousy entering them. Dante looked back at her and gave a slight laugh.
“Mirage, sweetheart, you are far too untrusting of me, I’d never look at her in the same way I’d look at you.” He issued a wink before letting his gaze trail downwards again.
Amy looked downwards now as music began to echo around the rather large room, her eyes trailed a short distance from where she stood as she watched Shadow who had taken up a position far away from the center dance floor. Unknown to her Sonic approached slowly from behind her as he came to a stop next to her resting his arm on her shoulder for a moment as he watched Shadow, pushing down the glimmer of dislike he felt creeping up on him, Sonic gave a slight laugh looking off to his side with a wink.
“Well you’d never think it, but Shadow can look decent if he tries. Now if only he’d lighten up a bit he actually wouldn’t be a killjoy.” Sonic smiled slightly at Amy who had turned to face him, obviously taken aback by the fact that he too looked pretty well when he cleaned up. Inhaling slightly she paused as if considering her words.
“Shadow’s not…well he’s not a killjoy, I just don’t think there’s been too many times where he’s been able to have fun. You Sonic, have had plenty of time for fun, and it shows.” She smiled brightly as her gaze met his, the blue hedgehog looked to her with a blink of his eyes before gently running his hand over the back of his quills, a faint blush crossing his cheeks as a grin appeared softly on his features.
“Yeah I guess that’s true.” He admitted with the grin still widening across his face, looking down at Amy, as the faint blush remained across his tan muzzle the hedgehog coughed slightly into his hand. “You want to dance?” he offered in a low tone. Amy blinked her eyes in mild surprise at the offer but shook her head in decline.
“You don’t want to dance any more then he does. Thanks though.” She looked at Sonic with a quick blink of her eyes as they fell towards the ground. The blue hero blinked his eyes then looked away back towards Shadow with a quick flick of his gaze, a challenging fire shimmering gently within his grassy colored gaze.
Shadow looked around with a serious gaze upon his features. The night was beginning to wear on, Sonic needed to swap out the emeralds quickly if they had any hope of pulling this off. However the area appeared well guarded as a cylinder shaped curtain marked the bounds in the center of the room above a polished oak stage. He wasn’t allowed the time to ponder this as Amy appeared next to him grabbing his hand in hers, looking back at her he tilted his head curiously.
“Neither of us look like we’re blending in well. Shadow…won’t you come out on the floor…” she looked up to him with a small smile pulling him towards the dance floor, Shadow looked at her with wide eyes before frowning slightly and digging his heels into the floor.
“Amy really, it’s not a good idea, I’m not the best dance partner, I don’t even know how to…” before he could finish the sentence though Shadow found himself flung into the crowd of people as Amy gave a strong pull that he hadn’t been expecting. As the crowd around them blocked off his exit he looked to Amy who grinned up at him before shrugging his shoulders in temporary defeat. Hesitantly he took her hand in his as the other rested lightly on her hip, while her hand rested gently on his shoulder. Shadow had no clue what he was doing, the only thing left was to wing it. The ebony hedgehog felt as if he had been in this position before, except the circumstances were not as extreme. As the two twirled slowly across the small space they had acquired and claimed as their own, Shadow began to let his steps flow with the music played, as they twirled slowly around for a second time, Shadow released the hold on Amy’s hip and pulled her hand into the air twirling her elegantly as her dress flared out and upwards showing off the lower part of her legs before drawing her back next to him letting his hand rest against her hip a second time. Her eyes looked up at him with a blink of surprise as she watched his face grow slightly red as a blush touched his cheeks gently.
“And you were about to say you didn’t know how to dance. I’d say you’re holding your own pretty well.” Amy commented with a surprised smile crossing her face.
“I guess I picked it up while I was on A.R.K as weird as it sounds.” He gave a small smile of his own.
“Did…did Maria teach you?” she asked curiously as they resumed the rhythmic dancing unconsciously. Shadow looked thoughtfully at the floor for a moment before back up at Amy.
“Yeah…I think she did.” He smiled softly now letting a light laugh flow from him as Amy couldn’t help but smile as well her soft gaze now drawing his crimson eyes to her, his mind kept reminding him just how beautiful she looked, and now just within his grasp. Suddenly Shadow’s attention was distracted as his eyes flickered in the direction of his ear.
“Shadow…Sonic ran into a snag, he’s managed to get to the Chaos Emerald, but Rouge showed up, and some other guy saying that he was only trying to help us out. Shadow, Sonic needs a distraction, a big one to cover up the noise before he gets caught. You and Amy need to figure something out.” Tails’s voice echoed in his ear. Shadow growled lowly to himself before flinging Amy outwards and twirling her back towards him, their bodies now pressing close together as his muzzle rested near her ear.
“Sonic ran into Rouge, she’s trying to get the real Chaos Emerald. Sonic needs a distraction in order to keep things low profile. I need you to get upset with me…” Shadow whispered softly into her ear as he pulled away to glance downward at her now. He wished things didn’t have to be interrupted as he felt his heart constrict painfully in his chest. There was a faint blush just crossing over Amy’s cheeks as she looked up at him giving her head a shake.
“I can’t think of anything, nothing that’ s going to make me mad.” She whispered back, biting her lip nervously, Shadow looked at her sharply before staring at the ground. The multitude of people surrounding them was starting to crowd his mind. Suddenly an idea came to him as he glanced around at the other dancers. Casting her a quick and fleeting apologetic look, Shadow pushed Amy backwards watching with an inner flinch as she tumbled to the ground after knocking into a few other dancers. Amy looked to him as he cast a glare her way crossing his arms over his chest with a smirk on his features. Her cheeks grew red in anger as her eyes narrowed at him.
“Just what do you think your doing?! Why’d you shove me?!” her voice suddenly cried out loudly as she jumped to her feet, a glare passing over her face as she looked at Shadow, whose eyes narrowed icily towards her as his hands rested at his side, fists held tightly.
“Why do you think?! You think you can just start comparing me to him?! I’m no ones stand in, and I’ll never be so make up your mind!” he yelled back fiercely, just as he wanted everyone had grown quite watching the quarrel that was taking place between him and Amy.
“What are you talking about?! I’m not comparing you to anyone I just…” she paused realizing what was going on before she let her face grow angry as she clenched her fists tightly in front of her, “All I was saying was that you could learn a thing or two from him! He’s a good guy!” she finished as she looked challengingly at Shadow.
“Yeah, a good guy I can see that! Obviously he must be a good guy if he’s only toying with your emotions! Wake up! He’s just stringing you along like a little puppy dog!” Shadow roared angrily as his thoughts turned to Sonic now.
“Well you shouldn’t be talking! You’re an expert at stringing others along! You hypocrite! You do the same thing he dose! You string someone who cares about you along while they wait for you to figure out your problems! That’s how you repay them?!” Amy snapped her voice rising in intensity and fierceness while tears slowly began to form in her eyes. Obviously even play-acting was touching a raw nerve, she was referring to what he was actually doing to her. Shadow looked taken aback for a moment as if he had just been slapped across the face.
“Really? Is that what you think I’m doing? Stringing you along? Well I’ve got news for you! I’m only trying to protect you from getting hurt! Anyone who gets close to me always ends up getting the worst end of things! You think I keep at a distance because I don’t care but you’re DEAD WRONG!” He exploded, real anger flickering across his face and into his eyes.
Amy took a step back looking at him in shock as tears began to fall. “Dose it really matter!? You’re still playing with my emotions, by not letting me get in! You’re blocking me from helping you! What?! You think I’m willing to wait around forever while you try to decide whether or not I am safe with you?! I’m NOT WAITING!” she yelled back drawing back a bit further as their argument continued to echo around the room. Shadow’s gaze softened as he looked at her with a slight tilt of his head, however it quickly changed to a smug look as he arched his brow high.
“Is that what you really think?” Shadow asked in a voice just loud enough to be heard by everyone who was paying attention. Amy blinked her eyes at the cocky look his face had taken before crossing her arms over her chest a frown upon her features.
“Well like you care. But yeah that is what I think as a matter of fact.” She looked back at him with a challenging glare as Shadow took a step or two closer to her.
“Really. You don’t think I care huh?” Shadow tilted his head looking at her coolly  as he waited, observing the red tint her cheeks had from the anger.
“Yeah that’s just it, I don’t think you care at all about me.” She replied in a cocky tone standing to her full height, which wasn’t all that intimidating, as she fixed him with a cold stare. She watched with a blink of her eyes now as he stepped forward now standing directly in front of her, less then an inch from her face, Amy drawing back just a bit however managing to fix him with a sharp glare as she stood her ground. Placing her hands on her hips she stared coldly at him. “Now you think you can just waltz up and try to intimidate me?” she growled lowly looking to him with a dark glare.
“Oh I don’t need to try I know I can.” He replied flashing her a devious grin as he leaned forward while speaking to her. Shadow’s hands quickly wrapped around Amy’s upper arms pulling her forward as his lips pressed against hers closely as he closed his eyes while leaning into the kiss. Amy’s eyes were wide and filled with surprise as she looked at him issuing a muffled gasp. However her eyes slowly closed as she leaned into the kiss as well letting the pleasant electric feeling flow through her. Pulling away just a bit Shadow’s eyes met her own as they danced softly, Amy’s eyes looked at him with a slight look of pleading flickering into them. She felt as if she could walk on air as she looked around now at the group that was surrounding them. Everyone looked taken aback by the sudden end to their fight. Her eyes quickly sought out Sonic and found him staring carelessly at a cup of punch he had just recently acquired. A slight bruise could be seen forming on his cheek. Amy’s eyes found Shadow’s again as she watched him draw back slowly before turning around making his way out of the center of the crowd. She had noticed a faint look of worry enter his gaze but tried to think nothing more of it as she disappeared into the crowd as well.
Finding her way to Sonic she glanced over observing the bruise on his cheek with a worried glance. “Sonic you okay?” she asked in a soft voice, watching as the blue hedgehog glanced her way she saw him pause for a moment before nodding his head.
“Yeah nothing more then a hit Rouge managed to land on me. We’re all good though, I’ve got the real emerald, and if either of those two decide to take the fake one, they’ll be caught for sure.” He grinned brightly giving her a nod of his head. Amy blinked her eyes at him before smiling slightly, grabbing a seat an awkward silence fell over them as Amy stared at the ground in thought her mind trying to sort through what had just happened. Standing up she slowly made her way through the crowd deciding that since she had the room until tomorrow there was nothing wrong with escaping the scene early, provided they were still allowed to stay here after the scene on the dance floor. What had been real and what had been made up kind of blurred together; in a way it was all just a fake argument, but she had put some of her feelings out there including where Shadow was stringing her along. Giving her head a shake Amy disappeared into a hallway that held five different bedrooms, hers being the very last one.
Shadow felt his heart give an angry throb as he stood outside letting the fresh air hit against his skin with delight at the comfort. His eyes were darting to and fro in thought, as a concerned frown played across his features. He had been honest about why he wasn’t letting Amy any closer, but that didn’t stop the rush of raw emotion that shot through him when he thought about what had just happened. If only he would have been thinking…but there hadn’t been time, he wasn’t even aware if Sonic had gotten back successfully or not. “It wasn’t real.” He spoke sternly to himself; a voice in the back of his mind scolded him for lying. Making his way back in Shadow disappeared of the staircase and into his room on the right side of the second floor.
Despite the confusion that toiled inside of her, as she looked out of the window at the very back of her room, a distracted smile made its way across Amy’s features. Her eyes stared outwards with a softened appearance to them as her chin rested in the palm of her hand as her elbows were propped up against the window sill. Her gaze distant as her mind replayed how their evening had ended, each time she did this a soft giggle could be heard from her as her face turned an impressive shade of red. Sitting back down on her bed the pink hedgehog felt as if she were floating above the world, on a cloud all her own, it was like a little slice of heaven.
As the morning light filtered through the leafy palm trees Shadow ventured away from the mansion guilt toying mercilessly with his thoughts as he paced in circles late into the night. Blinking his eyes darkly the ebony hedgehog observed the X Tornado now as dawn began to fade and make way for morning. Glancing downwards, Shadow tilted his head slightly as a puzzled look crossed his face. Crouching down he looked at the tiny white flower with a flicker of curiosity; he could see beads of dew attached elegantly to the ivory petals. Tilting his head with a frown, Shadow’s eyes flickered thoughtfully before he stood again.
“What were you doing? Watching the ground to see if it was still there?” A light-hearted voice rang out. Freezing in mid-step, Shadow turned his head to the side quickly flicking his eyes towards the voice. Amy stood looking at him with one brow hiked high in confusion as she smiled slightly. Feeling his chest catch painfully as he inhaled sharply, Shadow tilted his head back in her direction before shrugging his shoulders.
“Just…looking. Why are you out so early? It’s hardly past dawn.” He commented coolly as he kept walking in the same direction as the X Tornado. Amy frowned slightly after him even while her eyes danced softly in the morning light.
“What? Are you the only one allowed to be up so early now? Someone sounds a little crabby.” She giggled softly crossing her arms over her chest as she looked to him with a slight smirk. Shadow looked back at her calmly before facing forward again, a smirk of his own present.
“I never said anything about me being the only one, I just don’t expect you to get your pretty little butt out of bed until a little later in the morning.” He spoke in a slightly louder tone letting it carry back to Amy.
“YOU KNOW…you should be grateful I didn’t have my hammer last night or I…” Amy paused as Shadow turned around now facing her, his eyes narrowed as they glittered with a mischievous look.
“You would have what? Do tell Amy.” His mouth split into a sneering grin as he watched a faint red tint her cheeks. Taking less then five steps he ended up standing now within an inch of her face as his head tilted downwards looking at her with a knowing gaze.
“Just…just be grateful I didn’t have it!” she yelped back in sudden defense of her words. Shadow chuckled softly; he knew she wouldn’t have been able to do anything…she had been just as stunned as he was.
“Hey! Do you have to be so loud in the morning? It’s a bit annoying!” a voice called out as Tails poked his head out of the X Tornado with a groggy look to his features. Amy looked back at him and turned a slightly darker shade of red as she waved her had apologetically.
“Sorry Tails…” she called a bit sheepishly before glaring in Shadow’s direction as he turned and kept walking, his hands stiffly at his side. “Humph!” she pouted slightly glaring at him before taking off quickly after him.
“Well at least I’m not the only one who thinks you have a big mouth.” He spoke in a smug tone as he kept walking his ears picking up her footsteps as she approached. Amy remained silent as she blinked her eyes, she wanted to say something but her mouth wouldn’t work as she tried harder to think it through. Looking up she watched as Tails gave a loud yawn before blinking his eyes and looking down at the two.
“By the way, what was the distraction you guys used for Sonic? He wouldn’t say anything about it, only that he had managed to get the emerald.” Tails tilted his head curiously at the pair as sleep began to leave him. Shadow cast a quick glance at the pink hedgehog who looked up with a startled expression her face now turning an even darker shade of red so that she resembled an apple in color.
“Erm…well…” she stuttered softly, Shadow not helping matters as he turned now facing her with a smug look to his features. Amy grew quiet as she glanced off to the side.
“Heh, well funny story actually. The two could have practically been making out on the dance floor.” Sonic’s voice rang out as he approached the two tossing the green chaos emerald up in the air like a baseball as he strode forward. His eyes glanced towards Shadow who had looked sharply in his direction. Tails blinked his eyes as they widened before glancing to Amy who had turned an even more impressive shade of red, probably rivaling that of Shadow’s crimson streaks. Shadow standing straight, crossed his arms and hiked his brow high in Sonic’s direction.
“Really and that was your take on it? All it was was a distraction because you couldn’t get the Chaos Emerald on your own.” Shadow replied in an icy tone, he missed the wide-eyed glance that Amy threw his way as she looked at him.
“Didn’t look like it was completely for a distraction. You looked pretty serious when I managed to get back out the trap door, so either you’re a good actor, or there was more to it then that.” Sonic replied calmly crossing his arms over his chest. Shadow issued a glare as he gritted his teeth.
“Well then I must be a pretty damn talented actor, because I still saved your butt!” he retorted sharply the tone of his voice rising. Shadow didn’t notice as Amy blinked back a wave of tears before looking to him with an icy gaze.
“Always glad to know that I can be a distraction for you guys.” She spoke up in a shaking tone; Shadow bit his tongue sharply, realizing too late that Amy was still there and that it wasn’t just a single argument. Glancing back he looked to her, emotion flicking into his eyes for a moment before dying down.
“Amy, I…”
“Don’t try to explain! I heard you as clear as a bell, and you know what? Fine I’m happy to be a distraction, at least I’m useful for something, even if it is being used!” her eyes grew stony as she finished before she took off at a run in the direction of the castle mansion in order to pack up her things. Shadow watched her go as his eyes grew soft before they flickered to Sonic, looking as if they were as cold as steel.
“You know what…” He spoke looking towards the ground, Shadow grew blurry as he suddenly disappeared reappearing right in front of Sonic who gritted his teeth as he took as step back, “I’m sick of you.” Shadow looked up with flame filled eyes, his voice had grown dark with anger, before throwing a punch that sent Sonic, flying backwards. Picking up the emerald in his hand, Shadow disappeared a second time this time into the mansion to collect what he had brought with him before vanishing entirely from the island.