Rest Easy, Heroes? [OPEN]

[is-the-ultimate.livejournal.com]

It had only been a short while since the revelation that the worlds that everyone had came from was gone. For Shadow, that didn't mean much. He knew that those who were part of his world were here, though the revelation that the Sonic that had appeared with him was from another world altogether was a bit surprising, to say the least.

If there was anything that unnerved him about that revelation? It was that he had failed on his promise to Maria. The people on this ship were hurting and he, who had made a promise to give everyone a chance to be happy, couldn't do a damn thing about it.

Not yet, at least.

For the time, though, he hid himself away in one of the sensoriums, needing the time to relax. When he arrived, he initially set the place to be like the ARK, the space station he was created. But, he got tired of that quickly and changed it to something more... relaxing.

The Green Hill Zone. His Sonic's first romping grounds.

With the grassy areas swaying in the breeze, the various waterfalls flowing and the sights of loop-de-loops all over the place, Shadow felt a bit more at home... or tried to, at least. At the moment, though, Shadow opted to stay under the shade of a palm tree...

...and briefly wondered if he turned off the option for attacking Badniks.

Comments

[demonicgene.livejournal.com]

Kazuya was still wandering aimlessly about when he came across the sensoriums. He had amused himself with a few pre-programmed simulations and decided to wander about through the others, seeing what he could find.

That's when he stumbled across the animal with the intriguing aura. Kazuya sauntered over to a palm tree, and leaned against it, just waiting for Shadow to spot him.

[is-the-ultimate.livejournal.com]

Shadow felt the tree move slightly as Kazuya leaned on it. Looking over, he noticed who was there - the one who had pretty much challenged him after everyone had regrouped.

"...nice place, isn't it?" Shadow said, waiting for anything he might do.

[demonicgene.livejournal.com]

Kazuya smirked, shifting his weight slightly. "Reminds me of my father's private estates... sans the superfluous... loops..." He waved a dismissive hand at one of those loops.

For now, though, Kazuya was content to goad the animal into attacking him first. Not so much as a need to claim moral high ground, as a strategic move to attempt to push the mental limits of Shadow's temper.

[is-the-ultimate.livejournal.com]

Shadow let out a grunt as he went to stand up. "I was created in space. A... weapon of sorts, so I never really got the chance to really enjoy this sort of thing, before everything went to hell."

Yeah, despite the fact that he promised himself never to think that far back? He did. And well, it cheesed him off slightly.

[demonicgene.livejournal.com]

Kazuya didn't respond right away. All he knew was a world consumed by war, run by his father. It sounded like he and Shadow had some common ground after all.

"Hell is all I know."

[is-the-ultimate.livejournal.com]

"Yeah... for awhile, that's all I had. Now... I have a promise. A promise I've failed to keep..." Shadow said. He ignored Kazuya as he continued. "...all that I can do... and I couldn't even...!"

[demonicgene.livejournal.com]

"Get over it." Kazuya didn't sound confrontational when he spoke. If anything, he merely spoke from experience.

"Dwelling on past failures produces nothing but stagnation. Focus on what is before you. That is all that matters."

[is-the-ultimate.livejournal.com]

Shadow turned, angry. "Another time, another place, I would have! Things are different now, if you haven't noticed! Everything I've done, everything I've tried to accomplish means NOTHING now!"

[demonicgene.livejournal.com]

Kazuya met that anger with a cold experienced glare.

"If it means nothing, then why dwell on it? It is precisely because it means nothing that it should be discarded. Put in the past never to be looked upon again. Face what is before you, lest it stab you in the back."

[is-the-ultimate.livejournal.com]

"There are some things that are never meant to be forgotten...!" Shadow said, glaring back. Like he would forget something like Maria. "There here and now? Memories are all we have left! If we shove them aside, then what do we have left? If you think other wise, then prove it!"

[demonicgene.livejournal.com]

Memories of his own surfaced slightly. Memories of his one lover, the one person that made a normal life look appealing, the one person that he would've died for. The one person he cared for that was taken from him.

"And what good does dwelling on the past do? How does that change anything?"

[is-the-ultimate.livejournal.com]

"We learn from our mistakes... and we don't forget who we lost!" Shadow said.

[demonicgene.livejournal.com]

"The past is best left in the past. Improve and move on. Looking back only dishonors the sacrifices others have made."

Kazuya was starting to attempt to convince himself of this more than anything. To tell himself that this was his only path. That this was the only way.

[demon-alessa.livejournal.com]

Alessa was still familiarizing herself with the rest of the ship, but she had to admit that the Sensoriums had become one of her favorite places. She didn't go there on her own yet, as she knew what the landscape would be like, but was content to seeing what the others on the ship would have their mind conjure.

Unlike a certain team who thought of Shadow as something like a hallucination, Alessa wasn't surprised to see a giant anthropomorphic hedgehog. From the little time she'd been on the ship, she could see that anything was possible, particularly if this Stacy was collecting specimens from destroyed worlds. Even demons had a concept that the word was always much bigger once you thought beyond its restrictions.

The zone was far too bright for Alessa's taste, but she could bear it. It was quiet at any rate, and she liked that. She approached the hedgehog in question under the tree: not walking up to him, but something more like phasing herself right under the tree, as if she'd always been there.

"This place comforts you?" She asked. "It's so...sunny."

[is-the-ultimate.livejournal.com]

Shadow shook his head. "No. Not really. But seeing as it's a... popular place with some of my old... acquaintances, it's better than nothing." he said.

[demon-alessa.livejournal.com]

"Familiarity," Alessa said, smiling. "A good a reason as any to bring this place to mind. So you used to be here for fun, did you? What would you do in thsi kind of place?"

[is-the-ultimate.livejournal.com]

"Me? Heh... I'm usually just dragged here. If anything, for races." Shadow said. It was pretty much true - this was more Sonic's stomping grounds than Shadow's anyway.

[demon-alessa.livejournal.com]

"Races." There was a lot Alessa supposed she had to learn, like why anyone would waste time running around when they could use it for more lucrative things. At the same time, she was fairly sure these hedgehogs were much faster than her.

"What is your preferred place to be?"

[is-the-ultimate.livejournal.com]

It took Shadow a while to actually think of it. He really didn't have a place preferred, though in the end, the bright, sunny Green Hill Zone disappeared, replaced with the cold sterile halls of the space station ARK, the Earth easily in view outside through the windows.

"This place."

[demon-alessa.livejournal.com]

Now this place Alessa liked. It reminded her a little of Stacy minus the live part of the ship, a feature that Alessa had to admit she liked more than she would have thought. She liked staring at the Earth on the outside, to be honest, and she walked around the place a moment, then appeared to Shadow again.

"Where is this?"

[is-the-ultimate.livejournal.com]

"This is the ARK. This was where I was... born." Shadow said, standing up. He walked over to the window himself, looking out towards the Earth.

[demon-alessa.livejournal.com]

"It suits my taste more than that other place, and yours too, if you don't mind me saying." She joined him a moment later.

"So...it looks as if neither of us will see that place again. Did it mean anything to you?"

[is-the-ultimate.livejournal.com]

"...for a while? It didn't." Shadow said. "Then, I made a promise..."

[demon-alessa.livejournal.com]

"It is quiet," Alessa said. "I like that. Where I'm from, it's usually fairly loud. Sirens, feeding, many sounds that make most people go crazy. But I like quiet when I can get it."

Alessa blinked. "What promise?"

[lightspeed-attk.livejournal.com]

"Nice place, Shads. Didn't realize you were so nostalgic about the old stompin' grounds." Mobius or not, Sonic recognized Green Hill Zone when he saw it, even if Emerald Hill was better known. Confidently, he walked up to Shadow, nudging the 'Ultimate Lifeform's' elbow with his own. It didn't really matter to Sonic what reality Shadow was from; the black hedgehog was still a friend.

"What's up, pal?"

[is-the-ultimate.livejournal.com]

"Hmph... Not fond of how bright it is, but... it has a charm to it." Shadow said. He let out a slight sigh as he continued. "I just needed some time away from everything... doesn't sound like me, I know, but I'm gonna go crazy if I see someone else moping."

[lightspeed-attk.livejournal.com]

"Dude, you? Tired of moping? My ears must be playin' tricks on me, Shads!"

[is-the-ultimate.livejournal.com]

Shadow let out a laugh. Yes, he could laugh, even if it does sound funny from him. "...we have better things to do than mope."

[lightspeed-attk.livejournal.com]

"That we do, pal." Then Sonic got an idea, and he nudged Shadow's elbow again.

"Hey, Shadow, whatta ya say we go for a run? No racin', no tryin' to out do the other, just hitting the ground, going where our feet take us, and seein' everything we can here?" It might have seemed odd to explore a ship at high speed from anyone but Sonic. He liked to run, and as much as Shadow might sometimes act annoyed by him, the cerulean hedgehog knew his black and red counterpart loved to as well.

[is-the-ultimate.livejournal.com]

Shadow heard what Sonic said, then nodded and hopped up from his spot. "I'm game for that." Stretching out a bit, he continued. "Besides, there's probably something here no one knows about yet... something we could use."

He walked on a bit, then turned back. "On 3?"

[lightspeed-attk.livejournal.com]

"Three sounds good to me," Sonic replied, assuming a cock-kneed position next to Shadow. Smirking, he glanced to his side at the rocket shoed hedgehog.

"One."