Return of Gerlad's Legacy

Chapter 21: Happy Memories

It was official; Shadow the Hedgehog, Ultimate Life Form, Son of Gerald Robotnik hated, absolutely hated chopsticks. He was very dexterous and you would think that he could pick the rice with relative ease. He could. That wasn't the problem. The hitch was that every time he picked up a pair of chopsticks they snapped in his hands. How could the Chinese function with these things?

He sat in a bunker meeting with the Chinese heads of the military. They weren't very pleased that he had come to answer their call for aid. They had wanted Sonic or 'the very American-like' Knuckles to support them. Not the 'alien spawn'. Shadow felt very tempted to just strangle them with just two fingers to show him he was not to be trifled with, but his better judgment preserved. They had just wanted to trick him. He wasn't dumb. However, before he started learning how to deal with such people, he would have embarrassed himself. Like he did when he had started to like develop his love for now wife.

Though he did not show it to the Chinese dignitaries and generals, he was smiling. His face was the dead calm that you would see on him in battle, yet his heart was grinning from ear to ear as he recounted all the happy memories. For instance the first time he met her. Shadow was running from one of the latest creation of the Doctor. An Egg-Doomer. Basically it was Eggman Empire version of Black Doom. Its looks alone on the Doctor's rendition of the evil tyrant would make babies cry. It was so ugly and so badly redone that he it was red, yellow and white. Not a good thing for someone who's name is Black Doom.

The giant robot used its lasers to knock through buildings to try blast Agent Shadow who in his possession was the red Chaos Emerald. The doctor wanted it, for obvious reasons. Shadow was fortunately careless and the robot fired and sent him flying into a local café right onto the table of a young pink hedgehog reading a romance book. Seconds before she wished she could have someone like young Jeffrey for her like Britney. Just then a black hedgehog flew through the window with a look of pure boredom as if this was normal. He looked at her; she looked at him. Both of them were in complete shock. Her face went into 'period mood' as Manic used to call it, and she pulled back her free arm, punched and sent the black hedgehog with a force that made him fly right into the third eye of the Egg-Doomer.

The Doctor yelled in fury that his last attempt before retiring had been a miserable failure. "I would yell that 'I would have my revenge, Shadow, but I'm getting old for this but don't put me out of the picture just yet I may yet return for another round," told the Doctor as he floated away on his little hovercraft to his retirement home. Shadow picked himself out of the rumble. He marched to the broken café. Thankfully only the window and coffee and tea was still being served at a very swift rate now that everybody needed a drink.

"One decaf cinnamon cup of coffee," he said to the poor boy who worked there. The boy immediately did as Shadow ordered with a look of utmost fear like he was going to pee his pants. Shadow sighed inwardly. Why do people always do that? he thought annoyed. All I want is a bloody cup of coffee! I can't be that scary, can I?

"You sure know how to make a first impression on a girl," said a rather beautiful voice behind Shadow.

He turned around to see the same pink hedgehog that sent him flying into the rather stupid looking robot. "Can I help you?" he said in his monotone yet serious voice.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you can pay for the cup of coffee you ruined that I was drinking when you slammed through the window."

Shadow had tried to argue, even to the point of threatening the stuck up lady. After he paid for both drinks, she had him sit beside her for a while. Which for about fifteen minutes concluded in silence, but after seeing the book cover, he asked her if it was any good. That opened the vault. After discussing literature for a bit, he told her that he wrote a bit and he had a copy of what he had so far with him in a bag. She looked at him like he was crazy. He dissevered then reappeared holding a brown bag with some rolled up notebook paper inside. She read through the manuscript of the adventure story of a vampire who had lost his memory of why he was a vampire and find out he was the son of Dracula. Dracula gave the vampire a ultimatum on join him or the mortals. And that was as far as he gotten.

"This is really good!" she exclaimed. "What's your name? I'd like to know the name of the next upcoming writer." Shadow didn't know why, but he felt himself become very hot. If he had a color he would have pulled it and let the steam come out, so to speak. She leaned in on him, a seductive smile on her face. "What? Cat got the Ultimate Life Form's tongue?"

"Hey!" interjected Shadow. "Why did you ask my name if you already no who I am? Ow!"

She hit him on the back of the head with her hand. "I know what you are; I never said I knew your name."

He replied simply. "Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog."

She brought her finger up to her mouth and thought about the name. "Shadow . . . Shadow. I like it. Mysterious."

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "What would you have done if you hadn't liked it? Ow!"

"That."

He continued to meet 'Sonia' there for a while. They weren't 'dates'. Just meet-and-greets. She'd bring some caffeine induced beverage and Shadow would bring one of his many short stories or a book he liked.

Not surprisingly, the pink hedgehog had caused some suspicion within her own family on where she went every Tuesday and Friday. Her brother Manic followed her to the little café where she waited. Manic blinked and instead of an empty chair that faced his sister, there was a black hedgehog with red striped quills and a bag over his shoulder. They talked for a while, but manic didn't see any harm in it. He was going to leave when young Charmy decided to excitedly yell, "HEY MANIC! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

Manic looked back at the table to be met with the angry eyes of his sister and the slightly smirking face of the calm black hedgehog. After a couple whacks to the head, some chewing out, manic learned that Shadow knew of his presence and had said that he hadn't reacted because he was sure he could take an unarmed hedgehog who got snuck up on my by a 6 year old.

Manic introduced himself as Sonia bro and he joined their conversation. Only five minutes after this, the great blue wonder know as Sonic the Hedgehog came rushing past to see his dark copy and his siblings. He put on the breaks and slammed into a fruit cart.

Shadow would have reminisced a bit more if it weren't for the Chinese general screaming at a North Korean general who had just arrived. He was getting rather tiered of the these idiots ramblings. He brought his hand up and karate chopped the polished wood table cutting clear in two.

Instead of quieting them, the breaking of the table only seemed to get them angrier. Shadow sighed and drawled on a little power and concentrated it into his eyes. This effect gave them a demonic red and black glow that seemed to incite fear into the angry mob and they sat down in the chairs.

Shadow began to speak to them in Mandarin. "We have a job to do. We do not have time for your petty differences and to be blunt I don't give a damn about who insulted whose honor over some game of Shoji. The Black Arms have come down through Mongolia and are heading straight for Beijing. We need to prepare ourselves before Eclipse arrives."

One of the Chinese generals stood up and shouted at Shadow. "You brought this monster here. It is you that it wants. Why not go and sacrifice yourself again and let the rest of alone in peace?"

Shadow shot the man a glare and pointed down for the man to remain seated. He complied with out another word. "If I was what he wants he would have never returned to Earth since he already had me for 13 years. He wants the planet. And now he's looking for the seven Chaos Emeralds. As of right now he has two of the seven. Do any of you know where the rest are?"

There was an uncomfortable silence. Each General's eye was shifty and Shadow could see all of them.

This was such a drag. Troublesome People.