The one who stayed //Sonadow//

Chapter one.

Sonic The Hedgehog. You know that name. You understand the significance of his name. You love him, you praise him, you need him. He is your hero. His adventures and good deeds are written in time so you can always remember, so you can tell your kids and they can tell theirs when they grow up.

Sonic is the constant reminder to all those on Mobius that peace is possible. That love and happiness is possible.

What a joke.

Shadow was tired of hearing about Sonic the hedgehog. Sonic, the fastest thing alive. Sonic, the blue blur. Sonic, the hero of Mobius. It was always Sonic this and Sonic that. There was never a day where Shadow could leave his house and hear that name at least once.

Shadow had to deal with that cocky voice and infuriating emerald eyes constantly. Sonic always found him whenever Shadow wanted to be alone and today was like almost every day now.

It started out calm with nothing but the birds chirping to disturb Shadow's quiet world. The ultimate lifeform was use to the sounds of the early morning by now to not care if a small chirp irritated his ears. It was strangely calming to him now, almost like an alarm to signal that the sun was just coming up. A more cheerful alarm, thankfully.

When the sun started to seep through the cracks of a broken window, covered only by a thin piece of fabric draped along a metal rod that was nailed loosely into the wall, did Shadow take that as his cue to get up.

He sat up first, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Crimson orbs darted across the room as they opened, looking at the world like it was brand-new.

The air in the room held dust that looked like small sparkling diamonds in the early rays of sunlight. The walls were barren, no pictures or posters, or important papers scribbled with important dates, or notes held up by tape. Each wall, all four of them, were blank. The floor, that was just dirt. The joy of living in a hollow tree upon a hill.

It wasn't bad, though. Shadow tried to make it as homely as he could. Adding a few windows (or trying to), adding a door (duh), and a few important things like a bed and maybe a mirror, that was more or less still in one piece, leaning against the corner wall in his room.

It was livable, and he could keep away from people this way, well, sort of. He realized that he wasn't safe in his home whenever that blue idiot came around. Shadow still hated himself for not paying attention to his surroundings and accidently allowing the blue hero to silently follow him home.

He tried knocking the memory of Shadow's house out of the idiot's head, but all he could do, without regretting it later, was yell in his face. Of course, Sonic didn't listen and made sure to leave something by Shadow's door whenever the ultimate lifeform didn't leave his house one day.

He would never tell Sonic that he actually kept all his flowers, that he found on his door every now and then, in a clear vase on a hand-made table next to Shadow's bed. He would just say he threw them away.

Shadow sighed, bored of his swirling thoughts, and got out of bed. He slipped on his gloves, shoes, and inhibitor rings before leaving his house. He didn't bother locking it. Shadow had no fears of someone walking into his house, he had nothing of value within it.

The woods next to his house was always the first place he went to in the morning. As he walked under the shade of the tall oak tree's, he listened to the world around him.

The gentle rustle of swaying leaves, the occasional moan of a tree bending in the wind, the birds chirping, the-

The sounds were broken just as a rush of air slapped Shadow across the face, waking him from his daze of the surreal moment. The sudden shift in the wind disturbed the wildlife and it went silent for a moment.

A moment before a voice broke it. A voice that Shadow knew he would hear today.

"Oh hey, Shads!" the chipper voice exclaimed as the owner of said voice stopped, waving at Shadow with a gleam in his eyes. Shadow looked into emerald eyes dully. No interest held within the crimson orbs.

"What do you want, faker?"

"I just wanted to say hi Shads" Sonic smirked as he tilted his hips to the side, placing his hands on them. "Is that not allowed?

Crimson eyes rolled. "Hello" he said and with a simple wave Shadow continued his walk through the woods, hoping that Sonic would be satisfied. He should have known better.

"Waaaait" the blue hedgehog whined as he followed beside the charcoal and ruby red one, "don't you wanna race with me?"

"No, not really" Shadow grumbled. He wasn't in the mood for the speedster's little race. Of course Sonic took it upon himself to be as annoying as ever and boast, taking the negative answer as a way to use it against Shadow in a way that the blue hedgehog knew he couldn't resist.

"But you're always in the mood to race." Sonic pointed out "So what? Have you finally given up and realized that I'm the fastest?"

That triggered something in Shadow and he knew it would. The blue idiot always had this way of convincing the ultimate lifeform to race with him. What was it that made him do it in the first place?

Maybe it was that annoying feeling in Shadow's gut that told him he hated to lose to such a cocky idiot, or maybe it was that small, unnoticeable, thought that told him that he actually liked to race Sonic. That he liked to watch the wind glide over the blue one's quills and-

Crimson eyes narrowed at emerald ones. "We are both equally fast. Which is why we always win at the same time"

This was no lie. Half the time these two raced they always tied in the end. Sonic the Hedgehog wouldn't have it though. He was determined to finally win fair and square this time, but then again, so was Shadow.

"You're just being a sore loser because I always win!" Sonic boasted, too clueless to see the lie in his statement as he ran a quick circle around Shadow. The rush of wind shook him as the blue blur raced a quick lap and once he stopped, the cold rush of air left.

"Would you leave me alone if I raced you?" he groaned, clearly irritated with this stupid game. "Maybe...maybe not" the hero replied as he leaned closer to the charcoal hedgehog, that stupid grin still plastered on his face.

Leaning away from him Shadow glared, "it would be a waste of my time then"

Sonic was smart. The blue one always had something up his sleeve, always. When the grin on his face only grew the ultimate lifeform knew it was trouble, and he knew he would fall for whatever came out of peach colored lips.

"Well, if I win you have to hang out with me and you win I'll go away...deal?"

Shadow thought for a moment. He knew that there was a fifty-fifty chance that either of them could win. Shadow was made to be just as fast as the blue blur so he could easily beat him in a race if he really wanted to, and he wanted to.

His stomach churned as he nodded vaguely, agreeing to this foolish deal, "Fine" he uttered and for a second he wondered what kind of game he just walked into.