Shadow X

Reconciliation

"That's what happened to me Maria..." Shadow stated, finishing telling Maria how he came to be.

Maria put her hands up to her mouth. "Shadow, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"I know you didn't." Shadow cut her off. "But you deserved to know. When I finally got my powers under control, things started to get better. Then we came here. Lately, my powers have been feeling a bit weaker..."

Maria remembered back to when Tikal was around, saying Chaos wasn't the only one being cleansed of violent Chaos Energy. "So...why aren't you back to being normal?"

Shadow shook his head. "My guess is that I wasn't focused on healing myself, but making sure everything was settled."

Maria just looked at Shadow, shaking her head. "But...why didn't you all go back home after the first Chaos Control?" She asked desperately. 

Shadow looked back at Maria. "The Chaos Emeralds react with Willpower and the wishes of the one that gathered them. And I wasn't the only one who gathered them in one place." Shadow stated.

Maria looked down as realization hit her. "Are you saying that...it's my fault that you weren't..."

"Partially." Shadow confirmed. "But something had to be done when the bridge between our worlds opened. So the Master Emerald likely followed the Chaos Emeralds here when that link was reopened. At least, that's my guess."

"So...I'm the reason that you're..." Maria dropped to her knees. "I'm...

Shadow walked up, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Maria, I'm not angry at all. I just needed to make sure that you were going to be ok."

Maria shook her head. "No! It wasn't right for me to keep you here, it wasn't fair! I was selfish and in the end I let you down...I'm so sorry."

Shadow did something she didn't expect, he embraced her in for a hug. "The only way you could ever let me down is if you quit trying. And you never did."

Maria hugged him back, tightly as she let her emotions go. "When you go, I'll be all alone again just like before." Remembering her life before Shadow how she had to keep herself entertained. "I just...wasn't ready to say goodbye...."

Shadow showed her the full moon. "Whenever you miss me, just look up at the moon. It actually looks the same from both worlds.

Maria wiped away her tears. "Shadow? How do you intend to get the Chaos Emeralds?"

Shadow looked back at her. "I'm the one keeping the Emeralds here. I'm the anchor between the two worlds..." He said, taking his rings off as he raised his hand, hoping this would work. "CHAOS CONVERGE!" He shouted as mere seconds later, seven lights shot from the sky as they headed to Shadow, surrounding him as he started to float and turned yellow.

"Shadow...what's your name?" Maria asked. Shadow floated up to her, whispering in her ear. He teleported away, coming back with a camera.

"One for the roads we take." Shadow stated, though his voice much lighter and...friendlier. He raised his hand, a teal glow emanating from it as he focused on Maria's right hand. "So long Maria..." He stated, handing Maria something before he flew into the air, then burst across the sky in a golden streak, as if he were a shooting star

Maria followed him as much as she could, getting at the edge of the fishing pier. "Sayonara, Shadow the hedgehog.

.

Nelson and Lindsey ran up the hill, getting up to the top and looking around the area when they saw Maria standing at the pier, as she turned with a smile on her face. She waved at them, a golden bracelet loosely on her wrist. "Hi guys..."