The Door {Abandoned}

3

"Hey, since you're all waiting to leave, would you like to explore outside?" Shadow suggested after they finished their meal." "Yeah!" Sonic instantly responded, excited that Shadow was gonna let them explore outside. "Great!~" "What's out there....?" Amy asked. "Just the outside world, Amy." Shadow had been keeping his eyes closed, but opened them. "Some... people. They're strange. We don't associate with them." "We?" Shadow smiled. "Yes... They're a bit jumpy." The team gave each other looks, but ultimately agreed to a walk outside. Shadow walked out first, and everyone followed his lead, unsure of this new world. The area was beautiful. It looked like their own world with a filter to make it appear to be mystical and vibrant. "Oh my, it's so beautiful out here!" "It really is..." Everyone spread out slightly to explore, and Shadow stayed close to his friend... His concerns with outside were directly connected to the strangers roaming and sneaking about. Beautiful gardens, a wide but calm river, flowers, animals, trees...it was truly stunning. The girls asked Shadow if they could pick flowers, and he nodded. "You can't take them through your door, but you can do with them as you wish here. Amy, Blaze, and Sally picked flowers, Knuckles and Silver skipped rocks across the river, and Sonic ran all over, not using his speed to both protect the soft land, and to keep Shadow at ease. Meanwhile, Tails and Rouge were working. Rouge was trying to call and text Shadow again, and Tails was using the device he brought to see if he could use it to scan for Eggman. It was like a drone, and to his surprise he was able to fly it towards Sonic's house from inside this other world, but he lived so far away, it was taking time, so the fox sat on a large rock to make the journey. Shadow did nothing, he stayed near Sonic and kept his guard up in case a stranger or two showed up but he didn't do anything else. "Wow Shadow.... this place is amazing..." Sonic said. "It has it's beauty..." Shadow responded. "Doesn't your world look like this?" "Kinda... but not nearly this cool looking." "Hm... I wish I could go see it..." Shadow whispered, lowering his ears. "...Maybe you can come through sometime!~" Sonic suggested. "Sadly I can't... I am unable to actually leave.... I couldn't even enter your house on the other side." "...but you asked to join us the other night." "Wishful fantasy...." Shadow answered. "The last person who lived in that house... they tried to let me out... but it hurt me. I am trapped here.... that is why I fear your days away from me." Sonic looked at his friend curiously. "Your interest will fade in time... and you'll abandon me like she did... I know it..." Shadow stated. "Hey..." Shadow looked up at Sonic with a sad expression. "I'm not going to abandon you. We're friends. I don't abandon friends." Sonic said, smiling. Shadow sat in the grass and Sonic sat with him. "You say that now... but she said the same... and she abandoned me when she grew bored of my world..." "....Who...?" "...Bailey...." "Bailey?" "Yes...she used to own the house you live in. She played a game with me too... she stayed with me for hours everyday... at first she was like you.... curious... but once she explored everywhere she wanted to, she tried to bring me out into your world.... and when she realized I couldn't leave.... she stopped coming back... and then she disappeared." "....well... I'm not like Bailey. Even if I did get bored of this world, I won't get bored of you. I will keep visiting you, no matter what!~" Sonic tried to reassure Shadow, but the hedgehog had his doubts. "Easy to say now... but everyone leaves me eventually... they think I'm too strange... clingy... a freak even..." Sonic immediately lowered his ears, knowing that Shadow knew what his friends thought of him, and heard their discussions. "I'm not gonna lie.... all the names you call me are weird. And your eyes are kinda freaky... but I'm not going anywhere over it. I'm here for you... We're friends forever Shadow, I promise." Shadow smiled at Sonic. "...you really mean it?" "Of course!~ No matter how much time passes, I will ALWAYS come say hello when I can." Shadow hugged Sonic tightly once again and he returned it. "Oh thank you, my Love!~ I just know you won't break your promise!~" Shadow shouted happily. "Heh, yup!~" Shadow then cheered up completely, and showed Sonic around his property, including some secrets. Some hidden doors, a tunnel, a way across the river. He trusted Sonic now. People keep their promises. And when they don't, they pay. Like Bailey. If Sonic broke his promise, he'd lose this 'game'... and if he lost the game... well, he'd be punished for it. And Shadow didn't want that. "Good news! The house is clear, Eggman took off now. Not even a guard bot on site, so it's safe to leave now." Tails said. "Wha- so soon...?" Shadow asked. "You'll be ok, Shadow, I'll check in later..." Sonic reminded him. Shadow followed the team as they moved the barrier in front of the door. "Hey, if Shadow left... why was this thing still blocking the door?" Sally questioned, making everyone pause to look at Shadow. "....Hm.... one of you must have put it back." "But you were the only one who knew he left. If we knew, we'd tell each other." Amy argued with a glare. "Uh... he can teleport. Maybe he just did that. Regardless, come on." Sonic reasoned before unlocking the small door. The others remained untrusting of the copy, but followed their leader. Shadow shut the door behind them but didn't lock it... once all sounds had stopped, he became angry. He stormed off to his bedroom. He entered the secret room behind his bookshelf and the agent glared up at him. "Your friends left. With my husband. It's not fair you know..." Shadow pouted, moving closer. The real Shadow hissed in pain as the other pressed the barbed wire into his flesh. "YOU get to stay with Sonic! YOU can spend as much time with him as you want. I'M stuck here!!! You fuck! I HATE YOU!!!" Shadow screamed at the agent, punching his wounds. "I HATE YOU!!! I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU....!" Shadow repeated, abusing the agent... Shadow tried to ignore the pain and saw how this copy waited impatiently for Sonic to come back. This was this guy's life... all he knew was whoever had the misfortune of moving into that house. Shadow sat in the blood that had dripped on the floor, and the agent sat without saying a word... listening to the copy cry. The whole time. Several torturous days.

Meanwhile, Sonic was ignoring his friend's concerns about the other. They cleaned up his house but Rouge still couldn't get a hold of Shadow. Several days after leaving, the house looked brand new and so they left to look for Shadow. No luck. "....what if he never left? Or left outside in that world instead?" Tails suggested. "You mean in the freak's world?" Silver asked. "Don't call him that!" Sonic pouted. "Maybe... It's been a few days though..." "I'll look for him... I broke the rules, so Shadow's probably gonna be a little moody." Sonic said calmly. The others insisted on going with him, but he refused... however, Amy, Rouge, and Tails eventually demanded that they go. So he caved. They left Sally, Silver, Blaze, and Knuckles behind and returned to the door in the attic. Sonic crawled inside first, happy to return. Shadow was his friend in this world... it was a nice change. "Shadow?" He called. Shadow appeared from the room upstairs after shutting it back up and rushed to the door. "Sonic!" Sonic was immediately trapped in a tight hug. The other three stood in annoyance. "You.... y-you left me..." Shadow pouted. He didn't like being left behind. "I'm sorry... my house was completely wrecked and we had to fix it up... and then we had to look for the other Shadow." Sonic explained.