Diamond in the Sky

Oh look, Sonic's here.

To Sonic's discomfort, Shadow's been quite the recluse. Every time Sonic's tried to catch him, he's ether not been home or claimed to have some place to be. Now, Sonic's determined to snag some time together. He knocks on the door to Shadow's treehouse and to his surprise, Mombot answers. That's just weird.

"What the heck? Mombot? What are you doing here?"

"Hey there, Sonic! Come on in! Oh ya know, tidying up. These litter boxes aren't gonna clean themselves."

"Kay. Where's Shadow? Have you seen him? Looks nice in here by the way, smells good too."

"I got the flushable litter for Maria, Tikal and Omega. Such good little kitties! I follow Shadow on Twitter, boy he really loves these little cuties. Shadow the Hedgehog, a cat person. I'm not surprised. Oh but sorry hun, Shadow's not home. He said he was going for a run."

Bummed, Sonic sits on a bench. Omega, the gray kitty, hops in his lap.

"Hey there, Omega," he says, "So no offense, Mombot, but why are you here?"

"No offense taken. Shadow saw me pruning the treehouse next door and thought I did a good job. I told him I'd help him with whatever he needs."

"Oh," Sonic replies, jealous that Mombot, of all people, has spent more time with Shadow than him. Sonic is, after all, the star of this show. Right? Darn you, Silver!

"Shadow's been pretty anti-social lately. I know he's sad but is being alone really the best thing after someone dies?"

"That's a good question. I dunno hun, but I think seeing you might cheer him up."

"Exactly! Cause I'm awesome."

Shadow comes inside suddenly.

"Speak of the devil," Mombot jokes, "we were just talkin' aboutchu, and look whose here!"

"Hi-ya, Shadow!" Sonic says, "wanna go for another run? How 'bout a race this time, Bestie?"

Shadow steps back. He had hoped to have complete privacy. Every time he stops running or Chaos Controlling, the stillness makes him wanna weep. He turns to leave but Sonic zooms to him and grabs his arm.

"Shadow, wait!"

Shadow faces down, the sight of Silver's right bracer on Sonic's wrist causes his eyes to well up with tears. He Chaos Controls to the foot of the tree, near the roots, and closes his eyes. Concerned, Sonic jumps next to him.

"Hey dude, I'm worried about you. Lemme perk you up somehow."

Shadow won't open his eyes or talk. Low in spirit, Sonic hates that he doesn't know what to do or say to relieve his friend. Thankfully, Mombot joins them.

"You should race with Sonic, it'll take your mind off losing your babybot."

With a contemplative pause, Shadow forces himself not to run away.

"Fine, lemme pull it together and I'll meet you back inside, Sonic."

"You got it, I'll give you some space," Sonic replies and hops back inside. Mombot follows him. He turns to her and quietly, yet energetically says, "oh man, thanks Mombot, I owe ya one."

"Don't mention it, Sonic. Have fun now!"

He nods as she leaves by taking flight out the door. Shadow Chaos Controls next to him, eyes closed, arms folded.

"You okay, Shadow? You wanna make out?"

Shadow chuckles a little, finally making eye contact.

"I made you laugh!" Sonic points.

"I know something we can do but you're not gonna like it, Faker."

Sonic puts his hand on his hip and confidently grins.

"Sure I will. You wanna what, spar in the jungle? Double up on Blue Force One? Skip Meh Burger for the health food stand across the street. Whatever it is, I'm game, Shadow."

"Whatever it is? No matter what?"

"No matter what," Sonic smiles.

"Shake on it?" Shadow asks.

Sonic zooms to him and shakes his hand enthusiastically.

"Course! Now, what'll it be? There's a hidden pathway in the canyon that me and Sticks discovered. Wanna go explore it?"

"Sonic, it's time for you to learn how to swim."

With a gasp, Sonic feels the color leave his own face.

"S-s-swim? Haha, that's a good one."

"I'm serious. I need to teach you."

Sonic groans.

"Oh man. The one thing I would-ah said no to."

"Too late, you already shook on it. You can understand how important it is to me, can't you?"

Remembering Silver's dying body collapsing limply into Shadow's arms, Sonic immediately hides his fear of the water, suddenly becoming very agreeable.

"Oh, well, I mean, sure! Of course you can teach me how to swim! Anything you want. Can we get some floaties and a life saver before we start?"

Shadow shakes his head.

"No, those things are crutches. Race ya to the beach."

Shadow darts out the door. Sonic lowers his head regretfully.

"Ugh, I finally get some airtime and now we gotta do this. This is gonna suck."

Wiz! Shadow zooms back in, takes Sonic's arm, and drags him out the door.