¿Him or Her? {Sonadow}

Chapter Seventeen

__Shadow spent the next morning on his computer. He was going through everything that was on the flash drive. Both Rouge and Navi were looking over his shoulders. Rouge was waiting for Shadow to find any evidence against Nate while Navi was just curious about what he was doing. Shadow grew bored with just reading through scheduled missions and other agents' profiles. He then found something that he almost skimmed through. This file wasn't labeled by anything. He clicked on it but was stopped by a bar that said Enter password.
__"Dammit," Shadow laid his back against the seat and looked at Rouge. "I don't suppose you or Omega know it?" Rouge shook her head. That's just great.
__Rouge reached for the flash drive and pulled it out of the tower, making everything on the monitor to suddenly close out of the windows. "I'll ask Tails to see if he can hack it. I would myself but I don't want to take any chances incase Nate did prepare for this."
__Shadow nodded. "You do that."
__Rouge went over to rub Navi's cheek before hugging Shadow. "Bye now." She then walked out of the bedroom. After a minute, the front door opened and shut.
__Shadow turned off the computer before going over to lay down on the bed. He suddenly felt tired and tried to get a bit of sleep. Navi had flown over and laid herself on his chest. She rubbed her head on his chestfur for a bit before lying still. Shadow carefully put his hand on Navi before closing his eyes.
__He dreamt of the Space Colony Ark. Shadow felt younger, more naïve. He would often be sitting in front of the professor on a counter in his lab. The professor would check how his body was: his flexibility, his blood pressure, his breathing, and his heartbeat. They would always come out perfect. The other scientists that were in the lab with them would always praise Shadow for his excellent physique, but he never really felt good about them. Shadow would then find himself looking through the large window, staring down at the large planet before him. To his right Maria stood there, looking down at the world in awe. Shadow wouldn't be able to understand why she was fascinated with the world. He wouldn't know all the things she ever wanted to do down there. All he would know is that he wanted to help Maria be able to see the world she loved so much.
__In a flash everything changed. There was fire and people screaming. Gunshots fired and scientists fell to the ground. G.U.N. soldiers surrounded him, Maria, and the professor. Shadow wouldn't know what to do at that point so the professor told him what to do.
__"Get her out of here!"
__Shadow grabbed Maria's hand and started running. He could hear the professor struggling to catch up to them. Shadow had repeatedly told Maria not to look back. He would then look back himself and see that two soldiers had the professor while the others were still in pursuit. Shadow looked around desperately. They were in space. There was nowhere they could go. When he started to slow down Maria took the lead and led him to a room that looked empty. A giant circle pad was in the middle of the room with a stand where buttons and a lever rested. Maria had quickly pushed a button that shut the door behind them. Shouts and loud banging sounded from behind it.
__"Hurry, Shadow!" Maria had urged Shadow onto the circle pad. Shadow looked at her in confusion when she pushed a button. Shadow was then trapped in a glass capsule. He began to panic. He was inside the capsule but Maria was not. He tried beating his hands and feet against the glass but to no avail. He called out to Maria, but no sound left his mouth. Maria was about to pull on the lever when the door opened. There was a soldier that had a gun pointed at Maria. The man yelled at Maria, telling her to step away from the machine. Maria did not listen. She pulled down the lever with all her strength and a timer showed for one minute. The soldier had acted fast and pulled the trigger. Maria had screamed as blood started pouring from her stomach and she collapsed onto the ground.
__"Maria!" Shadow had knelt down on his knees, keeping his hands against the glass. Blood had splattered on it and covered some of his vision on Maria. The G.U.N. soldier just stood there. He didn't dare try to stop the timer. It was as if he just realized he shot a kid trying to help her friend. Shadow watched as Maria tried moving her top half so that she could see Shadow better and reached out to the glass. She spoke but there was no sound, yet Shadow understood what she wanted. Tears started pouring down his cheeks as Maria collapsed again. He began yelling out her name as the life from her eyes faded away. He then let out a cry of agony as the timer reached zero. The last thing he saw was the soldier walking over to Maria's corpse as his capsule dropped into space.
__Shadow woke up immediately. He sat up, making Navi roll onto his lap, and was panting. His cheeks felt wet and he realized he had been crying. He desperately wiped them away and his breathing had calmed down. He wasn't just upset by the memories. Why are you haunting me now? I've been doing so well!
__Navi had shook her head and looked up at Shadow. She could tell he was sad and tried to get him to play. But Shadow wasn't in the mood. Plus, his stomach growled and he realized he hadn't eaten breakfast yet. He sighed and got out of bed. He headed down towards the kitchen with Navi following after. You won't leave me alone. All you're doing is making me want you back when that isn't possible. No matter how much he protested, he couldn't help but yearn to be by Maria's side.