Chapter Two: The Noticer

Sunlight pierced through the thin layer of glass that stood next to the blue hedgehog’s body. Some blood sticked to it. It wasn’t as fresh, but it’s not old either. Judging from the color, it was probably shed yesterday.

His eye lids opened, but closed quickly. (Yeah, uh, no, he’s not dead. Did you really think he’d commit suicide after he’d killed one of the many people? It’s only the 124th time afterall...Come on people, think LOGICALLY. And if you were him, would you do that? I don’t think so. Unless 124 is a lucky number for you...Or unlucky.)

“Ugh...No...” He groaned and slipped his hand over his eyes.

“Another day...I don’t want  another day...” He covered his face with both his hands.

A small shadow passed by him. He didn’t mind much, but it made him pause for a bit. If someone knows him and of his actions (not really his  actions but...), he would be dead, right about now.

His body tensed, and he didn’t dare move. The blue hedgehog’s jade eyes darted around, left, right, up, down. When the shadow didn’t pass for the next two minutes, he relaxed his just tense body and slumped back to the wall.

Whoever was there seemed to be relaxed as well.

Wait a minute...If that person relaxed, that means that he/she made a move. And if he/she made a move then...

“Someone’s there!” He shouted.

He shot up, and looked around. He didn’t like mornings. He never did. But if that’s to prevent somebody--anybody--in finding him, he would have to do it as a job.

“Who’s there?” Sonic asked.

There really was no point in hiding yourself if the other one already knows of your existence.

Apparently, the mysterious shadow didn’t want to reveal itself (using him/her is really annoying, so I’ve decided to use ‘it’).

Sonic sighed and put a hand to his head.

“I haven’t done this in a while...But let’s see what I can do.” The azure creature dashed away.

The shadow took a quick scan of the wall of blood tally marks and where this place was located, then quickly followed the hedgehog, staying in its safe hiding place--the shadows.

--In the Cities--

The blue hedgehog ran through the cities faster than anywhere else. He knew no one in the cities would like him or care about him, and they would probably throw rocks at him. He would normally look straight ahead and run. Just run.

When he does that, he felt like that he was escaping his curse, and all his problems. But once he stopped, he could feel his troubles come rushing back to him. A feeling that he hated.

So basically, he zipped through the cities as fast as he could, which was pretty fast.

The shadow could barely catch up with it, but it kept its pace with the blue one. It wanted to know what he was up to.

--In a Forest--

Sonic stepped into a big white forest where no one goes into.

He sighed and let the back of his hand wipe off some of the sweat on his forehead. “White Forest...”

Whoosh...

Something washed past the blue one. The shadow.

“You’re still here? And I thought I  ran fast...” Sonic called. The last sentence was directed to himself.

That earned him a chuckle.

“So...Why are you here?” Sonic looked up to the woods.

“Just following you.” It said in the shadows.

Sonic’s ear twitched a bit, and he turned to where the voice spoke.

“Well, you know, following is not nice. And...Do I know you?” Sonic asked. The voice sounded...Kind of familiar.

“Sorry, can’t answer that one, hedgehog. But wherever you’re going, I’m following.” It said.

‘The way he used the word ‘hedgehog’ as my name...’ Sonic thought.

“You wouldn’t happen to be S--” Sonic asked, but was interrupted by a big robot stomping through the forest.

“Ugh...” Both Sonic and the shadow said at the same time. When Sonic realized that the shadow said that as well, he was stunned.

“You know that guy?” He asked.

“Of course.” It replied. The way it said it made it clear that it won’t say anything else.

“Hohoho! It seems like I’ve found you, you little rodent! You can’t hide from me FOREVER!!” The robot said.

“Hey, uh, sorry, but I can’t deal with you right now. I have a stalker here...” Sonic laughed.

“Like I’m  the stalker. He is.” The shadow said. And Sonic could imagine the shadow rolling its eyes--if it had eyes.

“Well, why don’t I just sit down and take a nap? I’m kinda tired...” Sonic said as he laid down and closed his eyes.

“Alright. Just don’t open your eyes again until I tell you.” And with that, the shadow launched out and started attacking the robot.

As promised, Sonic didn’t peek. Of course, he wanted to, but he knew a way to keep from doing what he had told not to do. Just don’t think about it.

After hearing a few clings , and clangs , along with some cursing from the robot, Sonic finally heard an explosion.

“CURSES!!” The fat man said from his escape floating device, shaking his fist as if to shout out his anger. “I’ll be back! I’LL BE BACK!!” And with that, he floated away.

“You can open your eyes now.” The shadow said.

Sonic revealed his green eyes and stood up again. Again, the shadow was no where to be seen.

“Ohhh...I get it...” Sonic said. Then, he smirked and came up with his final answer. “Stalker.”

“Hmph. I can do whatever I want.” It said.

‘And the way he ‘hmph’ed like that...Isn’t he...?’ Sonic thought.

“Well? Get going hedgehog. I don’t have all day.” It said.

Sonic pushed his previous thought to the back of his head and stretched his back.

“Very well.” He said, and ran to who-knows-where...With the shadow stalking close behind..

--Mansion--

Sonic, the blue blur, stopped in front of a particular mansion.

The house was white. There were four white columns standing in front of the house, keeping the small roof on top up. Huge windows decorated the mansion on the outside. One on the left, one to the right, and the last was toward the very top of the house. A fountain stood in the middle of front yard, with a surface of flat smooth rocks. Two trees grew left and right the sides of the mansion. They look taken well care of, because their leaves are green and shone brightly under the sunlight. Also because it looked like they were fixed and trimmed monthly. Around the house grew flowers with bright colors such as red, blue, orange, pink, and purple.

“Does this look familiar to you?” Sonic asked, sure that the shadow had caught up with him.

“...Weeeell...Yes.” It replied.

“Okay...Then does the name...Maria ring a bell with you?” Sonic asked.

“...That...” The shadow hesitated.

“Well? It’s just a name...” Sonic urged.

“Yes.” It replied.

“...So I was right. You’re Shadow the Hedgehog...Aren’t you?” Sonic said with raised eyebrow along with a sideways smile. (I think you can imagine that, can’t you?)

“Very well.” The shadow stepped out of its hiding place, revealing a black and red hedgehog. “I see your observing skills has improved a bit, Faker.” He said.

“Oh, wow, you’ve got me on quite a search there, buddy. I haven’t had to think like that for...Months! But thanks for the brain jog anyways.” Sonic laughed.

“Hmph. I’ve figured that you’d need some exercise not just in your legs but also your mind and brain. You’re really stupid from what I think if you don’t know yet.” He folded his red streaked arms.

“Yay, another compliment from the Ultimate Lifeform. Geez, seriously, you should really stop throwing insults at people. The insult being obvious doesn’t help, in any  way.” Sonic walked closer to the hedgehog.

“I don’t care.” He said plainly.

“Hey, have you been in there for the past few days?” Sonic changed the subject.

“Actually, now that I think about it...No.” Shadow said.

“Then why don’t we get in there and bust something?” Sonic asked, already getting ready to destroy something valuable in that huge house.

“I agree on going in there, but I don’t approve of you destroying something--anything--in there. Now come on, hedgehog.” Shadow started walking towards his big house.

“Whoa...” Sonic said as he walked in.

The house was...Well, huge. They were welcomed into the mansion by laying huge steps of black and white on the left side and right side of the main room. The floor was black and white, checkerboard style. Red rugs lied on the two stairs. A gigantic glass chandelier hung on the ceiling in the main room. Down the stairs were slightly dimmer lights on the wall. They were small, so they looked just like candles.

Staring at them directly in the face was the living room. The floor was a layer of wooden planks that were polished. Of course, there was a huge flat screen TV on the wall, and to the other side of the room sat three long black sofas with comfy black pillows sitting on the cushions harmlessly. (The living room is rectangle shaped. It’s lined horizontally, so that means the room is very long from left to right. The TV is on the right side, and the sofas are to the left side of the room. I hope that clears it up) In between the three sofas was a big glass counter, rimmed with polished wood. On the walls were pictures of hedgehogs that look surprisingly similar to Shadow in fancy gold frames. The living room walls were a light yellow, matching with the wooden floor.

“You live  here?” Sonic asked.

“Mmm...Not really. I come here only when I’m bored out of my mind.” The darker hedgehog said.

“Well, I can always take over!” Sonic offered.

“Uh...No thanks.” Shadow said.

“Aww...Come on! I’d eat a turnip for you (it is said in a tone that sounds like a question)!” Sonic continued.

“As tempting as it sounds, no thanks.” Shadow refused once again.

While that they walked into the living room.

“Uh...I’ll let Amy torture me, and you get to see it for a...For an hour!” Sonic said.

“Well--” Shadow said.

“No, no wait. I won’t do that.” Sonic interrupted. “Forget about the mansion then.”

“Glad you dropped the idea.” Shadow said plainly.

The dark hedgie grabbed a bright red apple from the counter near the three sofas and tossed it in the air for a few times. Then, it stopped dead in his hand.

“What?” Sonic asked.

“What’s with the...” Shadow started asking something, but stopped himself. He didn’t want to deal with it right now. Two long runs in a day were enough for him. He didn’t want to waste any more of his energy asking the question and dwelling on it.

“Nevermind.” He said.

He walked out of the living room and onto the left side of stairs. Sonic followed.

“Why are you following me?” Shadow asked without looking back.

Sonic rolled his eyes, not like Shadow would see it or anything, and said, “Well, you followed me earlier...”

“Fine.” He said.

They were both in a hallway where they would see the chandelier perfectly fine.

“Where are you going, then?” The blue one asked.

“Bedroom.” Shadow said.

Sonic stopped in his tracks.

“Wait, what? You’re just gonna leave me?” He asked.

“Well, what do you want me to do?”

“Uh...At least--”

“Catch.” Shadow turned and walked away from the blue one while tossing the red apple to the blue speedster.

Sonic took a step back and caught it.

“Wait...What?” He stuttered with a surprised and confused face.

Shadow said nothing back, and just kept walking to his room.

“...Can I stay here?” He called.

No response.

“...Okay then.” He said to himself.

He followed the darker one for a bit, and chose the room next to him.

He just knew that he had to do that. There was some...Some kind of pull.

‘Hey,’ He thought. ‘I would get lost in here. So why can’t I be near him, so I won’t get lost? Ha, so clever of me.’

But he knew that that wasn't it. He knew that there was something special about that red and black hedgehog. The mysterious shadow in the morning, was Shadow the Hedgehog, after all.

And he was the noticer of his actions.

But the blue one alright with him knowing it. Why? Just the word ‘because’.