Wednesday, October 5, 2016

A Shadow Fanfic

KRISSIE: So I saw this sketch of Celepom on Tumblr. And I can't spell her name, so sorry. But her name on other social media I believe is SallyVinter. So here is a skit inspired by one of her sketches.

[][][]^][

Shadow tapped his fingers nervously on the table. In front of him was a list. It had that old yellowed paper smell. The font was a classic typewriter font. The F was slightly elevated on the documents which told Shadow that that key had been replaced. But so had the 5 too.

Shadow took a deep breath as he ran his eyes over the list. Donors. They were called donors.

The small lap top was right there. He had typed each name carefully. Read each obituary with interest.

He licked his lips as he typed in the next name. Each letter made a click. It was the loudest thing in Shadow's apartment at that moment. His pet Chao were asleep on the sofa.

It took several long moments, but the name finally formed and Shadow pressed enter. He glanced up expecting another obituary, but that was not the case. There was the man's name. His address.

He was alive. Old and probably knocking on death's door soon, but he was alive. Shadow closed the dusty folder. He carefully put it in a kitchen drawer. He took one last look at the address, committing it to memory. He closed the laptop shut before zipping out of the house.

 

A MINUTE LATER, Shadow stood in front of an apartment building. He stood frozen a moment as he lifted his hand to knock on the door. He gave it a little tap. It was so soft.

Shadow should have knocked harder. After all, the man was in his 70s by now. He had to have lost most of his hearing abilities. Shadow briefly considered brushing up on his sign language.

The door opened in the middle of Shadow's storming mind. A male hedgehog stood there. His was missing one eye. The one that was still there was a chocolate brown. His black hair had dulled into a dark grey. There was a string of dog tags around his neck. He used a hunting rifle as a cane. He carried the air of a retired soldier and looked like it too.

"What do ya want?" The man spat.

Shadow opened his mouth and it felt dry. "A-a-are," Shadow crossed his arms in a way to make himself seem more in control. "Are you Alfred Altros?"

"Depends," the man crossed his arms as well. "Whose's asking?"

The two stood there in a staring match.

What was Shadow expecting? How was he going to answer that?

 Hello, I found your name on a list of donors who helped lead to my creation! I just wanted to visit since you're the first one I found that wasn't dead.

Yeah... Shadow wasn't about to say that.

The man leaned closer and shook his head. "You have a baby face."

Shadow opened his mouth but the man grabbed him by the arm and dragged him inside the apartment.

"So how did you find the donor paperwork?" Alfred asked as he sat Shadow down into a wooden kitchen chair.

"I found it while exploring the ark." Shadow replied.

Alfred nodded as he sat down. "It still look like shit?"

Shadow nodded.

"Well you can't expect much after the troops march through. Reba always complained about dirty soldier boots." He added air quotes with an annoyed expression. "I heard that way too many times."

Shadow nodded. "So, you know who I am?"

"You're Shadow. I donated some of my DNA to make you." Alfred waved his hand. "You're also baby faced still. I told Gerald to make sure it didn't stay that way."

Shadow glared. He didn't think he had a baby face.

Alfred arched a brow. "Trust me kid, you have a baby face."

Shadow crossed his arms and glared more.

"Be pouty all you want. You're face isn't going to change." Alfred tapped his fingers on the table for a few moments. "So what brings you by?"

Shadow let his arms fall. Why had he come? They didn't exactly know each other. So why had Shadow come? To see someone who had had a hand in his creation? To maybe get to know him better? Shadow wasn't sure. Why had he come?

"Curious." Shadow finally answered. "I was curious."

Alfred cracked a smirked. "I'm flattered. What would you like to know about me?"

Shadow thought for a moment. What did he want to know about Alfred? He wasn't sure.

Alfred stared at Shadow. He wasn't the most patient man in the world. "Come with me. I want to show you something."

Shadow followed him out of the apartment. Alfred opened a garage and inside stood a vintage classic car.

"This is my car. It doesn't move as fast as most do and it definitely can't keep up with you. But it's a nice classic. What do you think?"

Shadow walked around it in silence. "How do you keep it in such good condition?"

"A lot of TLC." Alfred beamed with pride.

Shadow looked up at him. TLC? What did that mean? He was sure he had heard that before. No. He was thinking of that song PYT that was Amy's mp3 player.

"I've got a few other classic cars in a garage in a big garage in some rural town." Alfred stated. "If you, i can leave them to you."

"Shouldn't your children have them?" Shadow looked up from the car.

Alfred burst into laughter. "You're the only runt I've got." He placed his hand on Shadow's shoulder. "My brothers died in wars. And i ain't got sisters. Mom and pa bit the dust ages ago. You're the only family I got. So do you want them or not?"

Shadow thought for a moment. He did like cars. But he wasn't sure how to take care for so many old cars. Well, he could always learn. "If you show me how to properly maintain them, I think i might."

"It's a deal then." Alfred nodded. "Oh, but there is one you're not getting. I'm leaving that to an old friend's runt."

"Were they on the Ark too?" Shadow asked.

"My friend was. He were a doctor. In fact, he had me make you and Maria bikes so you can ride those around the halls. All the higher ups were pissed. Gerald, however, said it was a fun Christmas. You were still small then, so you might not remember. It was then that I told Gerald he needed to do something about that baby face of yours."

Shadow thought back on that. He didn't remember riding a bike. But he had the vague memory of seeing a red and yellow tricycle. "I don't remember."

"That's fine." Alfred waved his hand.

Shadow groaned as his phone went off. It made this annoying ringing sound that got on his nerves and he had no clue how to change it. "Pardon me," he walked to a corner and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey Shadow," came the all to familiar voice, "It's Amy. Your landlord called me. Your Chao are really upset and they're making a big fuss. Where are you?"

Shadow slapped himself in the face. "I completely forgot about Gerald and Maurice. Please tell me they didn't get into anything. Or hurt."

"No. They're fine it seems. I'm in your apartment with them. I think they're just upset that that woke up alone." Amy replied. "Where's they're food. I'll feed them dinner for you."

 "No, I'll come home and feed them. I promised them I'd make them dinner." Shadow stated. "I'll be home in a few. Can you stay with them until I get there?"

"See you soon." Amy said before hanging up.

Shadow looked up at Alfred. "I have to go. My Chao are being... Well Chao."

"You have Chao?" Alfred seemed curious. "Can I come by and see them?"

"You want to have dinner with us?" Shadow offered.

"I'd like that. I want to see the Chao you've raised." Alfred smirked. "They sound spoiled if you have to be called home so soon."

SHADOW WALKED into his apartment. Alfred followed closely behind him.

"Did you have a mission?" Amy's voice called from the laundry room.

"No. I found some paperwork with a list of donors who assisted in my creation. I found alive. He's having dinner with us." Shadow replied back as he walked into the kitchen.

"Where are the little buggers?" Alfred mused. He didn't see them in the living room and they weren't in the kitchen.

"They adore Rose," Shadow pointed out of the room with his thumb as he opened the freezer. "I mean next to nothing while she's here."

Alfred nodded.

There was a sudden rush of air as two Chao flew into the room. The tackled each of Shadow's arms. A Shadow Chao was on the left and a Sonic Chao on the right.

"This is Gerald." Shadow lifted his left arm. "This is Maurice." He lifted the other hand. "We're having hot pockets for dinner. You cool with that?" He glanced at Alfred as he stuck a plate of hot pockets in the microwave.

 "I'll give them a try." Alfred stated.

"You're having hot pockets for dinner? And you're feeding them to the Chao?" Amy walked into the kitchen. She stood right beside Shadow and gave him a questioning look.

"Yes," came the simple reply.

Amy sighed. She gave up. "No wonder they're so spoiled." Her eye caught Alfred. "He looks like my dad's friend Alfred."

"I am." Alfred rolled his eyes. "Last I heard you were all excited for a date with Sonic. How'd that go?"

Amy bite her cheek.

"Faker stood her up." Shadow stated. "As he normally does. Are you eating with us?" He turned to Amy.

"Sure." Amy sat at the table. "So you're one of Shadow's donors?"

Alfred nodded.

"How do you know Rose's father?" Shadow asked as he sat the Chao down into chairs.

"Remember that doctor I told you about with the bikes?" Alfred smiled. Shadow nodded. "That guy is this rascal's grandpa. When we got stationed back planet side he hooked up with a hot nurse in Mercia."

"Hey!" Amy yelled in protest.

"I'm not taking it back. Your grandma was a good 8 when she was young. I tried to date her. Obviously I got no where. But she was hot all the same. Be proud of that fact." Alfred stated.

Amy made a yuck face. "I'd rather not." Amy perked up as she thought of something. "Did you ever get to meet Shadow when he was on the Ark? Do you have any stories about him? Specifically embarrassing ones!"

Shadow groaned. "Rose, please."

"What? Everyone has embarrassing childhood moments. I want to know about yours."

"How did you get into his apartment?" Alfred mused. "You didn't use any of those pick locking tricks, did you? Cause that's illegal."

Shadow snorted. "Rose has a key. She takes care of my place and the Chao when I have over night missions."

"The Chao get noisy when they wake up and no one is here. So the landlord called me." Amy smiled. "By the way, I put away your laundry for you."

"Thank you Rose." Shadow nodded.

Alfred nodded. Then he looked at Shadow. "You lucky shit. You got a personal housekeeper and you didn't have to sell your soul." He turned to Amy. "Are you aware you're being used?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "Yes sir. You tell me every time I visit my family. I chose to blame the one who taught me to make a cup of coffee at the phrase Where's Joe."

"Well, what else was I suppose to do?" Alfred shrugged. "I did the same to your dad too. He grew wise about it and decided to smart off at me."

"Which is why Daddy's finger bends the wrong way." Amy laughed.

Shadow stared at Alfred in surprise as he put the plates of hot pockets in front of people. "You broke his finger?"

"No. I got up to get him and he ran. Caught is finger in the car door. Never could get it fixed." Alfred shook his head. "You never did that." He pointed at Shadow. "You accidentally broke one of Maria's dolls once. You tried to fix it without telling anyone. And when you couldn't fix it, you wrote an apology note and said you were running away."

"Shadow did that?" Amy seemed to coo. She thought it was cute.

"Yeah. We shut down the whole Ark so he couldn't take a spaceship out. It took hours to find you." He looked at Shadow with a smile. "We finally found you hiding in a closet trying to dress up like one of the doctors. You tried to lie me about who you were. I knew it was you, but I played along."

"Which doctor was I trying to be?" Shadow mused.

"Doctor Alexander Rose. Amy's grandpa." He pointed at the pink hedgehog. "You probably don't remember him. But do you remember beef jerky and slim Jims?"

"It's one of his snacks." Amy sighed. "I wish you would get better." She glared at the black hedgehog.

Shadow shrugged. "I eat them for lunch on missions normally. They're portable and don't go bad."

Alfred nodded. "Yeah that makes sense. You dressed up as Alexander because he would give you slim Jims or jerky if you behaved during tests. Or whenever he saw you. A lot of the higher ups told him not to. Gerald wasn't sure about it either. But Alexander never really listened. There were a few moments where you threw tantrums and we all just sat there and watched. I sent someone to get me popcorn! Alexander gave you a piece of jerky and you were instantly fine. Now that's something I wish I had on camera."

"I threw tantrums?" Shadow mused.

"Rarely. But yeah. I enjoyed everyone of them." Alfred took a bite of his food. "They mainly happened if Maria was too sick and you wanted to play. I remember we all got stuck helping you put on a puppet show."

"Puppet show?" Amy and Shadow tilted their heads.

"Yep. Reba, another doctor there, told you that Maria was too sick to play and you asked what you could do to make her feel better and Reba absent mindedly mentioned a puppet show and you got all the soldiers who didn't have anything better to do to help you. Gerald sat right next to you teaching you how to use the glue gun. Then I brought out some glitter. You should have seen the look on Gerald face. It was pure horror. He purposely made sure I was convently busy anytime you and Maria were doing an art project."

Shadow laughed. "I don't remember that. But I understand Gerald's reasoning. Did you ever do that with Rose?" He pointed at Amy.

"Nah. For some reason Amy never liked coloring as a kid. With Amy, it was cooking and surfing."

"Surfing?" Shadow repeated.

"Yeah.. The rascal took to water naturally. She stole my surf board first chance she got. So I taught her how. Then she started practicing on her folks' ironing board. I've got lots on her really. And her folks have the proof somewhere."

"My defense is that I was young and didn't know better." Amy stated.

 

 

 

 

No comments:

Post a Comment