specialzone | you live an endless life forever

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you live an endless life forever

[ For Shadow, as far as he'd met, there were two Sonics that he trusted more implicitly than the rest. Implicit trust did not come easily for the black hedgehog, and trusting enough to tell another some of his past, though mild, was more trust than he'd give anyone casually. One Sonic he met while in Johto, who he was able to share some of his story with, and come to a point of understanding, especially at a time when he was trying to decide what to do with himself since two very important people had disappeared from the world.

The other blue hedgehog was one that had found him while Shadow had been suffering from hallucinations and intense fear, showing a side he never showed anyone else. That Sonic had stayed by him and managed to bring Shadow back to his former self.

Now, Shadow had holed himself up in a Station Square library, reading a few books. He had a pile of them on a table and was steadily working through all of them... But at the same time, he thought about his recent actions, recent decisions. Was he becoming what the Professor wanted him to be? What Maria wanted? Was Sonic right; that he should be whoever he himself thought was best? Living for oneself was something Shadow never did before. It would certainly take some getting used to.

He flips another page, catching up on history and technological advances made by mankind and different parts of the world. The information was greatly appreciated, allowing him to learn about the people he was supposed to help... for Maria's sake. ]

... Hmph.

[ He reads a quote at the bottom of one page. ] “We can do no great things; only small things with great love.” Mother Teresa... [Shadow leans back against his seat, thinking about the quotation he read.] Is that really true, I wonder.

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[ Shadow tilted his head a bit. ]

The last time I was in my own world, blue hedgehog, I had you lying unconscious near the Eclipse Cannon, preventing you from destroying it. But people have told me their versions of that are different... I'm less inclined to believe them, as only I know my true self.

Though you share memories of the events we met in, I've never bothered asking you about everything. I refuse to believe that my future is set in stone.

[Seeing is believing, let alone actually taking part in it. Sonic had seen what happened, was there when it did happen at all. He looked up at the sky, remembering just how far up they had been, then only to see, watch him fall. And there wasn't anything he could do.

Sonic was always conflicted when it came to the future. No one but himself should be able to determine it, but was it already predetermined by fate already? It made it so hard to distinguish between his own free will and his choices versus what had already been preordained.]

You don't have to believe me either, I'm not askin' that of you since it's not fair.

But you do know already what happens? Or do you want to know, that's the better question.

[ Shadow gave Sonic a long, hard stare. Despite having been told the basics that he'd "helped Sonic save the world", Shadow was blind to his own fate. He wasn't aware of what happened to him, and he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know.

Instead he pointed at Sonic, an accusing gesture. ]

If you had the chance to learn about your own future, be it compromising yourself in some way or not, would you want to know? This is not something set in stone, this is not some stranger's life. This is your own. Would you want to see your future without experiencing it first?

[Sonic was not going to back down. That tone wasn't entirely uncalled for, but they had been doing so well being relatively calm and discussing various topics without inciting a fight. The blue hedgehog didn't retort in the same tone or the same manner, but he was firm, adamant in his response.]

Yeah, I would. It's my future, isn't it?

Isn't it like what you said? If I see it and I don't like it, I'm gonna do what it takes to change it.

And if I'm told I can't, it doesn't mean I won't try. Then if that future actually becomes the present, then I'm just gonna deal with it like I always have. As best I can.

... [ Shadow remained firm, his gaze fierce. But Sonic's words did not go unheard, the black hedgehog was paying quite a bit of attention to them. He smiled at Sonic. ]

Hmph. You're a fascinating specimen, blue hedgehog. I hope I live long enough to study you and challenge you in every way.

[ The unfortunate implications of his words might have stung for Sonic, but for Shadow, he was unaware of his future... At least, he made it seem so. He knew one way or another, his promise to Maria would end in... ]

Fight like you always have. Hm. [ Shadow turned, walking along the shoreline, his eyes once again focusing on the dolphin he saw before. ]

[He's smiling. Sonic had to reciprocate. If Shadow didn't want to know then that was his decision. It was his own future too. Others might have seen it as an advantage, knowing someone else's future, but Sonic didn't think of it that way.]

Oh, just noticin' that now, are you? Heh, you know, you're pretty interesting yourself. Didn't think I'd meet anyone like you.

[Whatever this world might have been, where it was, how it came to be, Shadow was here and alive. If Sonic had also remained here as long as Shadow had, there would always be the opportunity to challenge each other. He tried not to think about what would happen at home, as unavoidable or inevitable as that was.]

Yeah, like always, of course! I know you will too.

[ Shadow kept watching the dolphin, following its direction along the shoreline, but not venturing deeper into the water. Learning to swim would be another obstacle overcome, and he'd be able to explore the world further.

Eventually, a staircase blocked his path, and the dolphin went out of view. There was something akin to a boardwalk, with little roofs over top. Shadow looked around and climbed onto the staircase. Springs, rings, sand... He could see loop-de-loops in the distance. ]

It's no surprise you like this place.

[Sonic had been out here earlier, and every time he did visit it, he had practiced running along the shore and along the course. When the sun was out, the sky clear, the breeze gently blowing, it was perfect. It kept his mind off the idea of the water itself, even if the waves crashing and how blue the water was was part of what made the atmosphere there so ideal.]

Heh, I guess I'm kinda predictable that way. Besides the chance of fallin' into the water or stuff like that, it's awesome. I saw you watching that dolphin out there. The orcas are pretty intense too if you catch sight of one.

You wanna give it a go? [He pointed, his finger moving along as if tracing the course itself.]

[ Shadow looked at the course again, thinking about it. ]

Hmph. Child's play. [ He smirked. ] But I suppose I'll indulge you. I haven't had a run today.

[ The black hedgehog began to idly clean sand out of the soles of his shoes, just to make sure nothing got caught. ]

[That answer only made Sonic grin. How nice of the black hedgehog to humor him. Any time there was the option for a race, Sonic took it. It was better than a race against a semi, let's say.]

Sweet! This is gonna be awesome!

[The blue hedgehog surveyed the course, knowing it well like with the roller coaster. But he waited as patiently as he could for Shadow. Come onnn, Shadow, why do you need hover skates or jet shoes or whatever you call those?]

Where'd you get those anyway? [He pointed to the shoes now.]

[ Shadow looked at his shoes, then at Sonic. ] The Professor designed them for me. For emergencies, if something went wrong, I'd be the first to be there.

[ At least, he wished that's what they were for... The Professor had a bad habit of not telling him things. ]

I'm ready.

Huh. Cool... [That solved one mystery, and he didn't inquire further about it. Sonic had never seen anything like those shoes, nor did he ever think that he himself needed them. And now it was as though Shadow had something from his past, something physical, like a gift, always with him.

Sonic decided to ask about the second mystery later. For now, there was something much more important to take care of. He gave another grin to his rival turned friend.]

If you are, then so am I! Bring it!

[That should have been sign enough to take off. And took off Sonic did as he sprinted along the course, having more than the confidence or enthusiasm necessary for this race.]

[ Without waiting another moment, Shadow sped off after Sonic, making use of the springs around him to give him some leverage. Feeling the fresh air in his quills made him more motivated to run.

He narrowed his eyes somewhat, picking up the pace. His shoes sparked, flames bursting out of them, tearing up the path. He smirked, running onto the wooden boardwalk. ]

Hey! Don't set it on fire! They kinda don't like random destruction of public property here!

[But he had to laugh as he said it. Not that Shadow would really care. Not that the boardwalk didn't get repaired over and over again anyway. But it was exactly like with the roller coaster railing. He had to use those jets to glide or grind to where he wanted to go. Either way, Sonic found it highly amusing and just as Shadow's shoes sparked, Sonic's own determination sparked even brighter. He had to beat him this time.]

Oh, by the way... See ya!

[Once the wooden path ended, Sonic raced over to one of the accelerator or dash panels on the ground to help propel himself through the upcoming loop.]

[ Shadow didn't mind Sonic's quips, instead watching the blue hedgehog run over a dash panel. He smirked, following right along, hurdling through the loop, his entire world turning upside down for a few seconds before returning to normal. Though he never expressed it, Shadow enjoyed that feeling. Not many people could say that ran so quickly they went upside-down and didn't fall.

He looked to Sonic, then around at the seagulls in the air, the dolphins in the water...

and was that an Orca? ]

Hm? [ Shadow had never seen one up close before. He could only see its fin at the moment... ]

[Sonic loved going through the loops, especially ones that had another dash panel to send him flying through the air to land on another part of the coast. They were back on another wooden boardwalk right now, still head to head. Shadow was doing well keeping up, but that was to be expected.

What Sonic should have also expected was what he had warned the black hedgehog about before. The wooden panels of the pier subtly rising and falling should have given him enough of a clue.]

Here we go again!

[Sonic was all for Shadow being curious and inquisitive. But now was a really bad time to be so, as thrilling as it was to outrun a vicious, carnivorous sea creature. He also smirked, having done this before.]

Time to hightail it outta here unless you wanna be on the menu!

[Or drown. It cannot be said enough that drowning is not all that appealing. Really. As they sped along, moments later that black and white killer whale decided to make its presence known by completely annihilating part of the wooden boardwalk they had just occupied.]

... I kinda think you what to do now. RUN!

[ "here we go again"...? Shadow was about to ask, but that Orca following them... It was heading for the boardwalk! Shadow focused on speeding up, not really intent on becoming someone's dinner.

Once the Orca had bashed through part of the boardwalk, Shadow felt his right eyeridge twitch. He didn't need a reminder, pouring on the speed to get away from the creature. ]

Why do I have this feeling that this isn't the first time the bridge has been rebuilt!

[This should be serious. He thought he should be much more serious about this. Granted the first time it happened Sonic was surprised and, dare he say it, scared, but now? It was normal, and that orca could never catch him. He could outrun it any day. The only problem was that the killer whale was hellbent on wiping the bridge out of existence, which meant nothing to block him from falling into the water. Shattered and splintered pieces of wood impaling him was also something he didn't want.

Sonic laughed. In a way, it was to reassure the black hedgehog that they got this. It was under control. Or at least there was the illusion of it.]

Just a feeling? Should be obvious that it happens all the time!

Oh, yeah, and get ready to fly!

[At the edge of a bridge was always one of those reliable dash panels. It would propel them far away from the wrath of the pursuing orca.]

[ Shadow thought about this. ]

Why don't you just take it out? It looks easy to defeat.

[ He managed to ask this question before being hurled through the air, away from the orca and the shattered bridge. Whether the creature was inherently evil or not, if this wasn't the first time it attacked, why hadn't anyone acted on it? It was dangerous, yes, but Shadow didn't think it to be too tough. He'd taken out guard robots and Big Foots. ]

[Sonic heard that question over the destruction going on behind them, but decided to answer once they were back on the ground and safe. Back on solid ground, the sandy shore, the blue hedgehog pointed back out over the ocean where the orca had been.]

Wait, you're just jokin', right? That thing can swim. We sorta can't, remember? Besides, why would you want to hurt it? It just sorta... yeah, it likes to take out the bridge when anyone is on it.

[He rubbed the back of his head. It was usually only him anyway.]

[ Shadow held up his right hand, yellow energy sparking from his palm. ] I could easily take it out with a few of my Chaos Spears. Besides, a killer whale this close to land is dangerous, even for people.

[ He briefly wonders why no one has done anything. ] Perhaps humans are masochists as well.

[Sonic furrowed his eyeridge. While it may have been true that it was dangerous, people just had to keep their distance. He knew it was his fault that the bridge kept getting destroyed. But no reason to hurt another living creature over it.]

You shouldn't have to hurt it. It's just doin' its thing.

[He shook his head.] I... doubt it. I would think most of 'em wanna avoid getting hurt or being in pain. That's just kinda the way things work with anything or anyone that's alive.

Then maybe it would be a better idea to not build a bridge in the whale's territory. [ Stupid humans. ] If it's kill or be killed, there often isn't another option. Sometimes you can't escape it.

[ He watched the Orca destroy the rest of the bridge and frowned. ... How were they supposed to get back exactly. ]

[And they keep rebuilding it over and over again in the same way. How strange. Sonic also watched the bridge collapse into the sea. Every living creature eventually died, and death was just another sign of life, not so much a consequence. Present company included from what he knew. But every living being had a right to live as well.]

Yeah, I know. That's... also just how it works.

[Sonic knew a way back. Thinking about Shadow's words made him recall his past though, which was essentially Shadow's future.]

... Hey. I didn't really get to ask until now. You wear those bracelets. What're those for?

[ Shadow looked at Sonic, then down at the bracelets. His flame ring was still glowing brightly, but he knew that's not what Sonic meant. The black hedgehog looked at Sonic again. ]

Mementos.

[ He wasn't going to say anything he didn't feel had to be said at this time. Even the Ultimate Life form had his secrets. ]

you live an endless life forever

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06 music is now stuck in my head.

Aw! \o\

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