A Shadicks Story (Part 2)
Title based off of "Strange Sight" from Legend of the Neverbeast, a Disney movie.
The next day, Sticks set out to hunt for Shadow. He was difficult to find, that was for sure, unless you knew where to look. She knew that he liked to go on runs, one of the only things he had in common with Sonic, and he preferred to race through the canyons or jungle. Or he would simply watch the ocean from a cliff face. But no one had any clue about specific places that he visited. So she decided to go to where he's been sighted before. First, she checked the canyons. Nothing. Next, the cliffs facing the sea. Nada.
It was early afternoon, and she was exhausted. She hadn't packed a lunch, and her stomach grumbled loudly.
"Hold on," she told it, "I'll grab a quick snack and then keep looking for him. If I can't find him before sunset, I'll go home," she told herself, "Unless he's been abducted by his warlord father seeking revenge!" she gasped, "Oh wait, Sonic said he killed him. Nevermind." She began to forage for food, when suddenly another thought struck her, "Or did he? No body was ever recovered. Maybe he survived and found him! Wait..., I saw him yesterday, and if there were aliens around, the coconuts would've told me. They would be the first to know, after the toasters, of course, they're always tuned in to extraterrestrial radio frequencies," she rambled to herself. She found a berry bush and reached for a cluster of red berries, when a white, black, and red glove accidently brushed her hand.
Meanwhile...
"Has anyone seen Sticks lately?" Amy asked worriedly, like any good friend would. The boys shrugged. They were on the beach in front of Sonic's shack. Knuckles was weight-lifting, while Sonic and Tails were playing a game of volleyball. They paused their game and thought about it.
"She's probably out foraging or something," the azure hedgehog said nonchalantly. Tails rubbed his chin as he thought.
"You know, she might be hunting for Shadow."
"What?!" Amy gasped, worried for her feral friend, "Why on Mobius would she be doing that?"
"Well," Tails scratched his ear, avoiding eye contact, "Sonic did kinda tell her that he was a living government alien conspiracy."
She glared at the blue hero angrily, tempted to pull out her Piko Piko Hammer. "You told a paranoid and obviously wild badger that believes everything that pops into her head that the most dangerous being on the island was a genetically engineered expirement?"
"When you put it that way...," he chuckled nervously. Knuckles laughed.
"This should be fun. I wonder who would win. Shadow or Sticks."
"This is not funny, Knuckles," she reprimanded, "She could be in serious trouble!"
"I guess you're right," Sonic agreed, "We better go look for her."
Team Sonic set off across the island to find Sticks, believing her to be in mortal peril. But let's just say that she wasn't the one in danger.
In the Jungle
Sticks gasped and retracted her hand. She looked through the other side of the bush to find a pair of familiar red eyes staring back at her in equal surprise. She smiled and tackled him.
"Oof! Get off, you wild nuisance!" Shadow grumbled and tried to pry her off without any luck. He landed on his back and couldn't get up with the extra weight on top of him.
"I finally found you, my spicy cinnamon licorice roll," she cheered and nuzzled her face in his chest. He raised an eyebrow and tried with little success to detach himself from her.
"What are you even talking about?" he demanded. She giggled.
"You're amazing! I finally understand you! I never thought I would ever meet a real one."
"A real what?" he asked hopelessly. He struggled to get up, not liking the awkward position he was in.
"You! A real live alien! I mean, you're only half alien, but that's better than nothing."
"What are you going on about? How do you know?" his voice became darker and more threatening. But she didn't answer. Sticks had realized that she was making him uncomfortable and had climbed off him. She stared at him, taking in his features. His ruby eyes, tan muzzle, ebony, red striped, upturned quills, white chest fur, and strong build. She remembered when they had once fought, how powerful he was, taking down the whole team easily. He looked at her, confused.
"What is it? What are you looking at?"
"You're...magnificent," she breathed.
His eyes widened in surprise. No one had ever complimented him before, and the lightness in his chest was entirely new to him. And for once, the antihero was at a complete loss for words.
"U-um. Did you hit your head too hard or something?" he asked and backed away from her slowly. She shook her head and inched closer. What in the world is wrong with her? he thought. At the same time, I wonder why he's so shy, all of the sudden, she mused.
"Well. I have to go. Erm, bye," he said quickly and was about to teleport away when she grabbed his hand. An electric shock zoomed through both of them. Shadow's pulse sky-rocketed.
"Please don't leave," she pleaded, "I just wanna talk."
"You've been talking nonstop since you tackled me," he stated firmly and snatched his hand away from her. She almost looked hurt. Why should I care? She's with that dumb team led by that imbecile faker, he thought.
Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by a laser barely missing their heads. Shadow pushed Sticks to the ground and behind a thicket away from view. He confronted the challenger with an unimpressed eyeroll.
"What do you want, doctor?" he asked, not that he really cared. Different types of robots surrounded him, and he got into a fighting stance.
"I'm here to settle the score, Shadow, for humiliating me yesterday."
"Please," he replied sarcastically, "You were humiliated enough without my help."
"Ah, yes, but so were you if I recall," he retorted smugly, "Rumors are spreading like wildfire. Most far less than true, and some are rather scandalous, I must say."
"Why should I care about useless gossip?" Shadow snapped, "If you came looking for a fight, then I will happily oblige, but leave the unnecessary banter for faker."
The dark hedgehog spindashed into a row of crabbots, reducing them to scrap in seconds. A buzz bomber came in from above, but was knocked out of the air by a primitive boomerang. Sticks charged out of the underbrush with her signature battle cry. The two fought back to back, as the ring of robots grew smaller.
"What are you doing, badger? This is my fight!"
"You don't have to always fight alone! You have friends, y'know."
"Well this was unexpected," Eggman mused to himself.
"Sticks!" someone yelled. The rest of the Sonic crew ran into the fray. The two male hedgehogs locked gazes.
"Did you have something to do with this?" Sonic demanded. The ebony one growled.
"I had no part in this, faker!" he replied sharply. The band of heroes, plus Shadow, made quick work of Eggman's army. The human banged his control panel in frustration.
"This isn't over, Sonic!"
The blue blur laughed confidently, "Whatever you say, Egghead!" he hollered, as the mad scientist retreated.
A stray laser came from the last buzz bomber and sped towards the wild child of the team. She was completely oblivious to it.
"Sticks!" a voice yelled, and a black blur dove between them, absorbing the hit. It tumbled and rolled across the jungle floor into a heap at the base of a large tree. She gasped.
"Shadow!"
He was sprawled out with a deep burn on his shoulder. His eyes were closed, and he wasn't moving. She ran and knelt at his side in panic, nudging him cautiously.
"Shadow? Shadow, wake up! Please wake up," she begged, almost to the verge of tears. The gang surrounded them worriedly. Amy clung to Sonic, unable to imagine what might have just happened, and he held her close to him, trying to reassure her wordlessly.
Shadow's eyes squinted tightly before opening slowly. He painfully looked up to see the feral badger kneeling over him with fear. He didn't like seeing her that way. He felt an awful burn in his shoulder.
"Ngh...Sticks?"
She smiled, clearly relieved, "Shh. Save your breath. You got a nasty burn," she explained and helped him as he tried to sit up. He waved her off, not liking the extra attention.
"I'm fine. I'll heal in a few hours."
She frowned, "Well, until then, you need to take it easy," she ordered. The crew watched with amused expressions, as Sticks refused to let him leave by himself.
"I am perfectly capable of looking after myself, thank you," he responded, although it was lacking its usual bite. She crossed her arms with a knowing smirk. He gripped his shoulder and tried to stand, gritting his teeth, as the movement made the burn hurt even worse.
"You need some help," she stated matter-of-factly and helped him. He growled something unintelligible under his breath, angry that he couldn't simply chaos control out of this situation.
"After all," the badger continued, "you did just take a hit for me," she said slyly. Shadow looked away uneasily.
"Yeah, you did," Sonic remarked mischeviously after he thought about it. The ebony hedgehog glared at him.
"Shut up, faker. She's your teammate; you're the one who's supposed to be looking after her," he growled. Sonic smirked.
"You seem to be doing that just fine without my help," he replied. Shadow's ears folded against his head.
"What is that supposed mean, faker?" he snarled dangerously.
"Oh, I think you know what it means, Shads."
"Boys!" Amy interfered, much to Shadow's relief, "We can worry about that later. But right now, let's just get back to the village."
They agreed and began to walk back. Shadow was able to walk without assistance within a few minutes but lagged behind slightly. He wasn't part of their team and didn't feel like he should act like he was. Sticks glanced behind her and noticed. She slowed down, grabbed his hand, and pulled him closer to the group. He gave her a quizzical look, and she smiled good-naturedly.
"Let us be your friends," she whispered to him. He smirked.
"Just friends?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. She tilted her head.
"Yeah. Why'd ya ask?"
"Because you're still holding my hand."
Near the front of the group, Sonic and Amy walked side by side. The pink hedgehog looked back at the two before glancing at her hero.
"Think it will work?"
Sonic turned his head to see Shadow and Sticks talking, their hands still clasped together without them realizing it. He smiled and turned back to watch where they were going.
"Yeah, I think it will," he said and held Amy's hand in his own.