Bad Kids

Chapter 46

Shadow was standing up against a wall being chained by the wrist and being forced to stand in place. His eyes were closed from the stress he was feeling at the moment. He had a huge cell all to himself with no one else occupying the space. All that he could think about were the different things he could've done to finish what he had started. But of course, there wasn't anything he could do to fix it.

Deep in his thought, he barely noticed that he had visitors coming into his cell. When he sensed someone staring at him, his eyes opened up. Shadow snarled seeing the one he hated more than anyone else. "I see you've already adjusted to your new life." Sonic sighed. "Yeah, well, didn't have much of a choice. Not when you dragged me here."

Tails stood at his best friend's side trying to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. "What do you want hedgehog? I don't want to see you." Shadow questioned trying not to flinch. Sonic nodded to his two-tailed friend. Tails then pulled out the picture of the outside of Dark Side. Seeing the picture, Shadow's eyes widened before he smiled softly. Noticing his reaction, the two got somewhat irate and annoyed. "Wanna tell us what's so great?" Tails asked.

Staring at them with his sneer, he shook his head. "Tell us or I'll make sure you'll never move from this spot again." Sonic threatened, grabbing Shadow's quills roughly. Shadow hissed in pain but didn't say anything. He just chuckled. "I'm not scared of you." Shadow replied confidently. Knowing his rival wouldn't say anything to him, Sonic let him go. Tails sighed and walked over. "Please, we just want to make sure everyone is safe."

For a minute it was quiet. Then, "Midnight's learning how to use her Chaos powers. With the Chaos Emerald I gave her enough energy to block you off from Dark Side. Looks like she's taken after her mother." he explained, following his explanation with a sneer.

"How did you manage to sneak a Chaos Emerald? I had eyes on you the whole way out to the truck!" Sonic questioned. "Being friends with Rouge and being ostracized for years helps you learn a few things. Looks like you have no one else to blame but yourself. Learn to keep tabs Hedgehog. I've always been one step ahead of you!" Tails got between Sonic and Shadow before Sonic lost his temper. "Shadow, why did you want to destroy us?" he asked concerned. Confused, Shadow shook his head. "Destroy you? Please. We gave up doing that the minute you kicked us out of your preppy town."

His eyes didn't lie. Sonic and Tails exchanged a look, nodding to confirm the others' thoughts. "Look, is there any way we could get into your town?" Sonic asked. "Not unless you want to enter as a fried skeleton. That Chaos power spell is more powerful than any other spell you could perform with that thing." Shadow responded.

"Since when did they get so strong?" Tails wondered. "They haven't been used in years ever since we left them in the museum," Shadow rolled his eyes. "Did you do something?"

"The whole reason they've been stronger than ever is that they've been sitting in that so-called dusty museum of yours. United with our love for someone else they only became stronger! It's not my fault you haven't studied them in years! I've been rotting in my own dwelling, waiting for the perfect moment to breathe life back into a hopeless place we've called home!"

Hearing his voice rise, both of their ears lowered as they backed away.

"Do you know how long we've been suffering?! Do you know how much we've lost?! Do you realize the many friends and families we've buried at the edge of the town?! Do you know what it's like watching your child bang on their mother's coffin before being lowered into the ground?!!! The amount of blood spilled on your hands is endless!! I lost EVERYTHING! I... I lost... everything..." he shouted, suddenly lowering his head. Tears fell down his cheeks. Then they slowly hit the ground.

The dust below barely flew up from the ground catching Sonic's and Tails' attention. They looked back up to see his crimson red eyes brightly glowing. "I won't let you take away the emotions that I feel every single time I hear your names. You will never be able to change the way I feel! I'm glad Midnight's blocked Mobius from the rest of Dark Side. You don't belong with us."

He looked down again hiding his face the best he could. "S-Shadow... we're sorry. We had no idea-" Sonic began. "Just cut the bullshit Faker. You're fake inside and out. And the same goes for your two-tailed fox. You've ruined countless lives. Keep me here all you want. It wouldn't be the first time I've been detained."

With that, Sonic and Tails headed to the cell door to talk with their friends about how it went. Tails walked out with sadness in his eyes. Sonic paused to look back. "Shadow... I never knew... I never knew it was going to end up like this." Shadow stared at him with cold eyes. "I don't want your pity."

A couple of seconds of staring went by before Shadow was finally left alone in the darkness. He lowered his head once more and let more tears fall. Then he closed his eyes to try to get some rest.

...

"Shadow..? S-Shadow..?" Hearing the warm and soothing voice, Shadow carefully opened his eyes to see who was disturbing his sleep. "Ugh, what do you want?" he asked bothered. Only now with open eyes could he see who he was looking at. "I... I'm sorry. I should've let you sleep some more," Shadow squinted his eyes trying to see who it was.

Quickly the pair of eyes widened. Cream was standing in front of him. Shadow wasn't exactly sure how he was able to recognize his long-lost little sister. But he knew right away. The one he cared for almost as much as Midnight's mother. Never once did his anger vent towards her even when they were exiled. "Cream..? Is that... Is that really you?"

She giggled and nodded her head. "Yeah... I... I can't believe it's been so long. I still can't believe you're even here..." she said, trailing off. It was silent for a minute before looking back at him with tears in her eyes. "Shadow, I'm so sorry! I didn't know you went through so much!! If I had known everything I would've marched straight into your town and stayed with you no matter how bad it was! And now all of this! This isn't fair! I-I'm so sorry!" Cream sobbed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I would've! Believe me, please! I cared! I know you don't believe me... But I needed you to know..."

Feeling her emotions sink in, Shadow relaxed, gently nuzzling her. "Cream, I'm not mad at you. I've never hated you and I never will. When everything happened, you were a teen still frustrated with Algebra not making sense. So how could you understand the rest of the conflict going on? You were a little girl. Innocent. My town still isn't the best place for anyone to be staying Cream. Staying here was for the best." Shadow reassured her.

Trying his best to comfort Cream, Shadow hummed a silent tune. He felt Cream loosen her grip around his neck before she let go to look at him. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "You still remember!" she smiled. "How could I? It was the last song I sang to you before I left. It was the only way they could pry you off my neck!" he chuckled.

"Well, I'm grown. So they can't make me leave. I'm here for you." Cream promised. Shadow smiled himself. "I'm assuming you have your own kids?" he questioned her. Cream looked at him stunned. "How did you-?"

"Oh cmon Cream! Out of everyone I know, you should be a mom! I mean you've always had a soft spot for kids Cream. Please tell me, do I have nieces and nephews?" Shadow questioned playfully. Cream nodded while smiling. "Yes... one niece... one nephew."