It was a bright and sunny morning, much to Shadow's dismay. The sunlight always hurt his eyes, so he sat in the tree's shade to avoid it. In his opinion, stormy days were more beautiful. The darkness, bright flashes of lightning to jolt your senses, it was much more exciting than this.
Something caught the corner of his eye, and he turned his gaze to Amy, who was picking flowers by their home. It hadn't seen like such a long time ago since Shadow had come to stay with the echidna, hedgehogs, and fox. They had become somewhat of a family to him, even in all his solitude.
He watched her ponder over each flower, choosing which ones suited her needs. His eyes widened as that of Maria's replaced her image. Feeling hurt, he turned away and looked forward, crossing his arms tighter. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes for a short nap.
Amy, unaware of Shadow's presence, continued to gather flowers. Not randomly, each had to be a certain color, clean of insects, having a certain number of leaves, etc. These were to be put in the new vase on the kitchen table.
Miles had helped her pick it out. It was lead crystal, and she positioned it so that the light through the window would hit it, making it look absolutely beautiful. Miles had good taste in interior design. The both of them had made it a project to redesign their home.
Amy loved her room the best. She had painted the walls pink and placed pictures on them. Miles had taken half the pictures. Her favorites were the ones of close-up views of roses with dewdrops on them, beautiful pictures framed in mahogany wood. She had a dresser on one side of her room, with a huge mirror on top of it. On the surface were pictures of everyone together.
Her favorite one was the one where everyone behaved in the photo. Shadow had even given a slight smile, but that was due to Knuckles making a stupid comment before the flash went off. Her other prized photo was the one where she pounced on Sonic. He was leaning forward, trying to balance himself while she clutched on for dear life. The photo itself was at an angle, as Miles was laughing his head off while he took it.
Knuckles had carved all the wooden frames holding the photos. He had a wonderful talent for carving. Some of the frames were made out of bamboo; others were made of various woods found on the island. On one, he had etched in the figures of them: Sonic, Miles, Knuckles, and Amy, each taking up a corner. And in-between each of them he had etched in archaic designs. The metal frames were ones she had bought. She had tried coaxing the echidna to experiment in metal design, but he had refused. Just wasn't his forte.
On the other side of her room were some sliding doors that led out onto a small patio, lined with potted plants and flowers. Some of them were filled with herbs she was trying to grow. Sonic had given her a book for Christmas called The Power of Healing. In it were all kinds of things about what plants could do for people. She loved to help others, so she thought it was perfect.
She walked into the house towards the kitchen quietly. Sonic was still sleeping; he had to be the laziest of them all. She washed the flowers before placing them in the vase. Her eyes twinkled as took a step back to look at them. She heard a noise behind her and swiveled around. There in the doorway was Sonic, looking groggily at her.
"Food." The only word Sonic knew in the morning. He groaned as he brushed his hand over his spikes. As he sometimes did, he had slept on his spikes the night before, and now had a splitting headache. He narrowed his eyes and slumped his shoulders, seeing there was no food on the table.
"You're up early," Amy replied cheerfully. Sonic grumbled as he made his way to the table and laid his head down. He closed his arms up around his head, trying to block out the sunlight pouring in through the windows. His only response was a muffled groan.
Amy looked at him for a moment. "Sonic, you know I can't cook."
This was true. In the past, everyone had learned to avoid Amy's cooking. Side effects of her 'creations' included nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and etc. She had always thought she was a good cook until Sonic had accidentally blurted out that she wasn't and why she wasn't. It took awhile for her to cope, but Miles helped her feel better by taking her on as an apprentice. Sometimes she was jealous in him being so skilled in different things. Miles made breakfast, lunch, and dinner for them everyday, and made Amy watch closely as he did.
"But, I could try! I think I have toast and eggs down!" She said happily, her hands together as she grinned at him. His eyes widened for a moment before he let out a long "NoOoOoOo." She cocked an eyebrow and frowned. "Fine, your loss." Without raising his head, Sonic let out a long pitiful call for Miles. Both waited in silence for a few moments before Sonic repeated himself.
The fox sat back and watched everyone rushing around about him, doing all his chores for him. Knuckles cleared the table, Amy cooked food wonderfully, and Sonic was putting silverware and the dishes on the table. Shadow? Standing in the shadows of the room quietly, of course, his eyes on Tails as his arms remained folded. No matter what Tail's mind tried to get him to do, it was like Shadow always had a will of his own.
"TAAAIIILLLSSS!!" He blinked, watching the scene fade before him. A fox stood before him. Tails realized he was looking at himself. The creature in front of him frowned and said "Aw, rats." Then he opened his mouth wide and screamed "TAAAIIILLLSSS!!"
Tails bolted upright in his bed, a bead of sweat falling down as he looked wildly about his room. What the hell? His ears twitched as he heard the voice call out "I WANT FOOD!" and a second more feminine voice add "He wants food!". Tails rolled out of bed and muttered things under his breath. He made his way to his full-size mirror. Ever since the growth spurt, he loved admiring his newfound height in the mirror. He had now caught up to the others. His smile was quickly replaced by a scowl as he heard someone stomping their feet in the kitchen. Great, Sonic's having another fit. He loved Sonic to death, he really did, but he was such a bitch in the morning.
Tails slipped into his shoes and looked in the mirror again. He grinned haughtily, as the shoes added a little more to his height. He grabbed his watch off the dresser and walked to the kitchen.
Knuckles was lying in his bed with his arms behind his head when he heard the yelling. He had been staring up at the ceiling, wishing he could go back to sleep. He had been kept up all night long because of that stupid blue hedgehog. His eyes narrowed as he thought of the night before.
Sonic had been up half the night, telling brave adventures of his past to Amy. She loved hearing of his heroism. Of course, half the stories were fabricated. Some were true, and many were exaggerated. He stood up on furniture and talked of barely escaping death. Many times the echidna heard the chair Sonic was standing on fall over. Amy would cry "Oh, Sonic, are you all right?" and he wouldn't even hear her, he'd hop right back up and talk of how Eggman almost killed him. Tails would always be there to listen to the stories as well. He used to pipe up and try to tell Amy how it had really happened, but gave up a long time ago. Knuckles could tell by the look on the fox's face that Tails had come to like the new stories, even if Sonic did make Tails sound like more of a wimp than he really was. Tails hadn't been there last night, though. He had gone to bed early.
He didn't know how Tails could have fallen asleep; Knuckles had only gotten to sleep after stuffing a pillow over his head. He had slept that way all night, causing his neck to hurt when he woke up. Finally, some peace and quiet, he thought. That is, until Sonic woke up. He furrowed his eyebrows and crawled off the bed, ready to deal with the hedgehog. He put his shoes and gloves on, then reached up and grabbed his hat off from the bedpost. Looking quickly into the small mirror hanging on the wall, he smirked, revealing his small fangs. He pointed and grinned. "Hey cutie, how you doing?" He nodded and made his way towards the commotion.
Amy knew something bad was going to happen. Miles usually walked into the kitchen, looking as if he walked on air. His mood brightened the house, and made Amy feel as if anything was possible. But this morning, he looked upset. Without saying even a "Good morning!" or giving a smile, Miles set to work on making breakfast.
Sonic lifted his head and watched the fox. He also knew Tails was upset. It was rare, but when he was, everyone had to get out of the way or be trampled. He put his head in his hands and smiled. He didn't like to talk in the morning, he was the grouchiest of them all, but he managed to greet the fox. "Hello, Tails, how was your morning?
The young fox grumbled and continued to set up the kitchenware on the counter. Well that's a bad sign, Amy thought. She quietly made her way out of the kitchen and outside, knowing what was coming next.
Sonic bit his lip and watched the fox silently. Tails was fuming, he could tell; he was never this quiet in the morning. He usually trotted all around cheerfully, greeting everyone and getting them seated at the table. "Umm.. Ya need some help with cooking, Tails?"
Knuckles turned the corner and peeked into the kitchen. He saw the fox turn around abruptly and stare at the hedgehog. Here we go. Then, at the top of his lungs, Tails started his 'Rampage of the Month' bit.Gods, Knuckles thought. I swear, he like PMSes or something. He watched as Sonic jumped out his chair and put his hands out, trying to reason with the fox.
Shadow's ears twitched as the morning silence was broken by the yell for Tails. He stood still and listened as Tails broke out into his monthly tangent. When Shadow first moved in, he thought maybe something was wrong with the fox, but Amy assured him it was normal. Speaking of Amy... He raised an eyebrow and watched the pink hedgehog edge her way out of the side door of the house. He laughed inwardly, thanking the gods he was safe outside. Tails had been known to throw things when he got seriously mad.
He turned his head parallel to the side of the house and listened quietly to what parts of the rampage he could hear. "You never do ... around this house, you never even lift a finger! ...goddamn....wrong with you?? .... what you think? That I'm just some... well, you're just a...."
He looked to the rosebush beside him that was helping block more sunlight. The rose closest to him was dieing. He studied its appearance and then proceeded to pluck it from the bush. Just like life. The thorns are our protection, even though some of us are weak. Touching a petal, it crumbled and fell to the ground. We are born, we bloom, and then die. He frowned at this, thinking it a very depressing thought. Looking back to the bush, he reached up and touched the petals of a small budding rose. But at least new life comes from the old.
Knuckles tried to back away from the doorway, but it was too late, Tails had already spied him. "YOU!" Tails screamed. "You're almost as bad as him!" Sonic gave the echidna a helpless glance as he bit his lip. Knuckles put a hand on his hip as he watched the fox scream. If Tails had done this before his growth spurt, his wrath was just viewed as funny in Knuckle's eyes. But now, with Tails being older and almost as tall as Knuckles, it was much more serious. Tails babbled alleged laziness insults and anything else crossing his mind.
"Chill out," Knuckles replied calmly, making his way back to his room. Though he could hear the fox scream even louder, he noticed he didn't leave the kitchen. Damn, we need to get him on Paxil or something.
Amy sat on the other side of the large rose bush, sobbing quietly. Nothing ever went how she wanted it. She wanted a big happy family, but this one just seemed dysfunctional.
A soft voice from somewhere nearby asked, "What's wrong?"
She jumped in surprise, ready to bolt. "Who's there?"
The voice replied calmly "Me."
She raised an eyebrow and sat back down. "Me who?" Leaning to the side, she squinted her eyes and tried peering into the inside of the rosebush.
"Don't look at the problem to see the solution, look through it."
She thought about the comment for a few seconds before focusing her eyes into the area behind the rosebush. "Hi, Shadow."
"Hello, Amy," he said. She could just barely see him, but could make out his face, staring off in another direction. He seemed tranquil, like nothing in the universe could set him off. Not like Miles. I wish I could be more like him. I wonder what he's thinking.
"Something troubles you," he said. She leaned back against the tree, studying his voice. He gave off no hints of what his emotions were.
"Heh, doesn't it always?" she chuckled nervously.
"Talk to me," he whispered.
She rested her head against the tree. Even in the silence of the garden, the voices of Miles and Sonic could not be ignored. "I wish we all acted more like a family than enemies. When was the last time we all did something together? Nobody seems to get along with one another anymore."
"I get along with you," Shadow said. Again, no emotion could be traced, but it almost seemed like a defensive statement.
Shadow let his eyes rest on the clump of grass in front of him. Though he did like his privacy, it was a nice to hear from someone once in awhile. Even if it was Amy.
"I know you do, and I get along with you." She paused before asking, "What do you think of me? Personally?"
He had always thought that she was a little stubborn at times. She was someone who was striving to be perfect, and perfection was nonexistent. She fretted over problems, hoping they'd go away if she turned her back on them. She hardly ever got involved in things. She was someone you'd tell what to do, and she'd do it, without a thought of her own. She lived to serve, even if she could not serve well. Miles was a lot like that, though he wasn't as devoted as Amy. He wanted everyone to be like him, and if they weren't, he'd keep his frustration inside until it burst. Amy's way of dealing with it was to cry. This wasn't the first time he had seen or heard her crying. He continued to stare at the grass in silence.
Amy thought that perhaps he hadn't heard her. She tried thinking of another way of summarizing her question. "I mean-- Do you think I'm annoying? Or just overreacting? Or what...?" She was hoping he'd compliment her, say how nice of a person she is, and wonderful to be around. She had no interest in Shadow, and knew the feeling was likewise. She stopped fretting for a moment and wondered if it was possible for him to like anyone. He seemed so impassive, so robotic, like one of Eggman's creations.
"I don't think you're overreacting."
She listened closely, trying to catch any hidden meanings he may have meant by that. It wasn't exactly the answer she was hoping for. She didn't say anything for a while, wondering when Miles was going to shut up.
"You're upset because you want everyone to be nice and helpful."
She thought about it. "Yes, I suppose so." Miles had stopped yelling and everything fell silent. She knew their conversation was over.
Shadow fell into a light nap, not hearing Amy get up and say "Thank you" before walking back towards the house.
Tails was sprawled out on the couch, looking drained.
Sonic was sitting across from him, legs crossed and hands cupped together on his knees. He kept his eyes on Tails, who kept his gaze on the rug between them. "Tails--," Sonic started.
"I'm sorry," Tails cut him off. "I didn't mean to yell, I should have talked to you first. I'm just mad. It seems like I work my ass off here and no one cares." Tails narrowed his eyes a bit as his finger traced the rug's colorful design in midair slowly.
"You know we care, Tails." Sonic sighed as he saw Amy peek into the room, hiding in the hallway.
"I know, but you never do anything. Is it so much to ask that you get off your lazy ass and do something? I cook, I clean, I go run all the errands."
Sonic arched his back straighter, ready to defend himself after being called lazy. "I help out," was all he could muster.
Tails looked up from the rug and stared at Sonic. "What do you do, Sonic," he said in a steady voice. "What do you do to help me out? Huh?"
Sonic shifted in his chair uneasily. He really had no idea what he had done to help Tails out in any way. Even when he had been too lazy to go Christmas shopping, he had given Tails money and said "Go buy em what you think they'd like. Just don't spend too much, and bring back change." He glanced guiltily to the carpet, feeling like a real jerk.
Before he could collect anything else to say, Amy hopped in to save him. Turning to Tails, she smiled and put her hands together. "I know what we can do, Miles! Just leave it to me, and don't worry your little tails about it!"
Tails looked down at his large fluffy tails, thinking them not little at all. Looking back to Amy, he sighed. "Okay."
Sonic, seeing this as his chance to escape, bolted out of the room. Amy skipped all the way to her room, where she wasn't seen until dinnertime.
Sonic felt horrible. It had never really clicked in his mind how he treated Tails. He thought the fox was just always tolerant and didn't mind. The thought crossed his mind that maybe he treated Amy the same way. He knew she liked him a lot, but he didn't have the same feelings for her. He usually tried to avoid her, for fear that if he started hanging out with her, she'd fall even harder for him.
He leaned his back against the bedrail, sitting on messed up bed sheets. He was known for being the messiest of them all, and certainly lived up to his reputation. Opened boxes littered the floor. Socks hung out of the drawers, and his mirror had gathered dust, save the small section Sonic would wipe with his gloves each morning. The rooms were painted an evening blue color. The room had to be cleared out so that Tails and Amy could come in and fix up the room. They had big extravagant plans for his living area, but he refused. He let them bring in the dresser and paint the walls, but that was it.
After the paint had dried, it took only a few minutes for Sonic to throw everything back inside. The room had been in that condition since, and that's the way Sonic liked it. It was a lot easier to find everything if it was all laid out where you could find it. He looked at a large stack of empty chilidog boxes in the corner of the room. Remains of the food stuck hard against the cardboard, and were attracting flies.
Wrinkling his nose, he frowned and hopped off the bed. He kicked boxes out of his way as he made his way over to the mirror sitting on top of the dresser. He rubbed his hand against the glass, trying to make it seem clearer. Maybe Tails is right. I should help out more. He took another glance about the room. The drapes were closed, casting the whole room in darkness. Tails had always been too afraid to try and tidy up his room. Jokes went around about how anything that went in there would never come out again. He frowned and started picking up the boxes.
Knuckle's room was very different than Sonic's. Amy had wanted to paint the walls red, but the echidna flat out refused. "Hell no," he had said. So they had left the walls unpainted. He thought it looked better that way.
The walls were wood, giving off a more natural feeling to the room. The floor was ground and dirt, allowing ivy vines to wrap themselves around bedposts and up the sides of furniture. Grass covered every inch of the room. He always left his drapes open, so that the light could flourish. In the corner was a small white boombox, something he had bought in the city. There was no radio station nearby that the device could pick up, but with the money he received for his birthday he bought a few compact discs he liked. One disc was reggae, two were rap, and one was soul. He played each one depending on the mood he was feeling. For Christmas, Amy had bought him a new age disc. He didn't listen to it often, unless he was having trouble sleeping. Picking up the cd and looking at the pictures covering the front, he thought to himself, Too bad I couldn't use it last night. He put it down, realizing the commotion outside had stopped. Flopping onto the bed, he smiled. "Much better."
Part One | Part Two | Part Three
