Maria's Way Out (A Sonic the Hedgehog Fan Fic)

Chapter Four- The Mourning

We all stare at first, thinking it's a fake. A dummy, maybe. But soon we all come to the realization that it is her. Tears well up in my eyes. "No...this...this never happens..." Sonic whispers, collapsing to his knees. "Uh, she c-could still be alive! Maybe...uh...we could still save her, and..." Tails sputters, flying around her hopefully. She is pale and lifeless, and she isn't breathing. There's nothing we can do. Tails unties the ropes and she falls to the ground. Her neck is bruised, her soul is gone...
We all stare silently down at her. And literally, just in time, it begins to rain.
I'm the first one to make a move. I whisper, "We'll miss you, Sapphire..." And then, I close my eyes and make smooth, careful motions with my hands. I summon up beautiful flowers and leaves and vines out of the ground and they grow around her body. Then, Sonic leans in and closes her eyes. I hear Tails sniffling, and Sky hugs him. After a while, Sonic stands up, hunched over, his ears bent downward. "We...better go." Sonic sighs. I hesitate at first, but put my arm around him. He looks a bit surprised, but puts his arm around me too. Sky hugs Tails, and picks him up as he hides his face with his tails. Then, Sonic and I help each other walk back to the clubhouse.
We walk in, the others anxiously awaiting details. All they have to see is Sonic's beat-down face and they know. Amy covers her mouth with her hands and runs over to pat him on the back.
It's true I didn't know Sapphire for very long, but she was one of the friendliest ones to welcome me into this group.
I will miss her deeply. But I can't imagine how the others must feel, knowing her for so long.
After the mourning, we all either sit on couches or go up to our room...all except Sonic, Sky, and Sydney, who are trying to pin-down Eggman.
When I walk upstairs, it hits me that Shadow doesn't even know what happened. Though, the way he acts, he probably wouldn't care. I sigh...even if he won't, it's a team-mate we're talking about. He must know.
I take a deep breath, and knock on his door.
He opens it a crack and glares out. "...What is it?" he mumbles. Just hearing his voice makes my heart leap and my cheeks get hot. I must contain myself--to him, I'm just a new member that coincidentally looks a lot like his Maria. "U-Uh, a n-new...I mean, an old...well, not old, she's been here a while and..." "Spit it out," he grumbles. "Sapphire..." I start. His ears perk up. "Oh, did you find out?" he asks. "What...? No, Sapphire is dead. Eggman...hang her." I blurt out. Shadow's eyes widen, and for a second, I see concern on his face. But then he says, "Thanks for letting me know...I guess." He shuts the door before I can say You're welcome. I go back to my room and shut the door. I grin a bit to myself. Shadow has feelings, I think, he's just afraid to show them. I lie down, half asleep. I must be partly awake--for I know they may need all of us down and ready for action in a moments notice. This is my new life...chaotic, but...I see at as making up for the 50-some years I was sleeping. I close my eyes, but keep my ears perked.

Sure enough, I hear a different alarm go off. I flit open my eyes and leap out of bed. I dash downstairs. This must be about Ivo. "We've pinned him down," growls Sonic. "Another freakin' egg-dome. But this time, we're all here, so no one got taken." "Tails, me, Sonic, Maria, and...Mina. We'll go to the dome." Sky says. Mina turns around and smiles. "I'm ready!" she says, nodding confidently. "Let's go," Sonic says. "He's upped his game, but we can take him. We got this!" We all nod in agreement with Sonic's encouragement speech. And then, we're off. Tails picks up Sky and motions for Mina to hang onto his feet. Then he flies right behind Sonic, just as Sonic picks me up and dashes the direction of the dome.
But before we zoom out of sight, I catch a glance of Shadow's window with the curtains pulled shut.