Black Petals: Chapter 3 ~ The Seed is Planted
#4 of Black Petals
Amy has recovered and is looking to reinvent herself. Shadow has decided to help her, if only to keep to his word.
Characters by SEGA.
A week has passed since that day. No one had heard from Amy since then. Cream had tried to check on her friend, but to no avail. Tails offered to help in some way, but received no response. Everyone was worried, but Sonic insisted that she would be fine and just needed time.
Elsewhere, Shadow the Hedgehog was filling in his partner, Rouge, on the situation regarding the girl.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Rouge laughed through Shadow's transceiver. "You really let her have it, huh? I wish I could've been there to see that brat get what was coming to her." Shadow, however, was less tolerant of her haughtiness today. "Be quiet, Rouge. It's not like I wanted to." Rouge sensed that he was troubled by what had happened and said, "Seriously, you did the right thing. Trust me, sometimes a girl needs a reality check in order to move on. She'll be a lot better off."
Shadow was silent as he contemplated her words, though Rouge took it as more brooding. "Ok, now what's on your mind?" she asked. "Nothing," Shadow replied. "Don't worry about it." Rouge knew Shadow well enough to know when to drop a matter that he was not going to discuss and decided to get back to work. "All right. I'll talk to you later, Shadow." He nodded on his end. "Take care." He then shut the transceiver off and continued eating his lunch, a single hot dog. 'Why Sonic insists on putting chili on these things is beyond me...'
Suddenly, an unexpected voice called out. "Shadow! Shadow, where are you?" He could not believe his ears. _'What is she doing back here...?'_Preparing himself for another fight, Shadow finished his hot dog and warped from the tree branch he had been sitting on. In a flash, he appeared behind the voice. "What now?" he said, more of a statement than a question. Amy gave a short "Eep!" and jumped back in surprise. "Well?" Shadow impatiently pressed. "Did you come back for another round?" Amy shook her head. "Then what do you want with me, Amy? And it had better be good."
Amy took a deep breath and said, "I...I want to get stronger." Shadow folded his arms in an unconvinced manner. "Oh, really?" Amy replied, "Yes, really. I want to show everyone that I'm not a nuisance. That I can be more, do more. I want to grow, for myself."
"And I assume you want my help?" Shadow concluded. When she nodded, he said, "Hmph. Meaningless words." Amy pouted at that. "They aren't!" Taking a step back, Shadow said, "Then prove it. Show me your conviction." Knowing he would test her, Amy quickly brought out her Piko Piko Hammer and charged at Shadow. As she attacked and he defended, Shadow noticed that her swings were a bit more focused than the last time they fought. This showed that Amy was calmer this time. Still, she was undisciplined and he knew what to do to defeat her.
After dodging a few more swings, Shadow decided to go on the offensive and punched Amy in the stomach. He followed this up with an uppercut and a roundhouse kick, which sent the girl flying and knocked a substantial amount of Rings out of her possession. Since she dropped her hammer, Shadow retrieved it and walked over to a sizable rock that was nearby. Amy shook the stars out of her head long enough to see Shadow jam her signature weapon into the stone. "Shadow, what are you doing?!" She ran over and tried to get it out, but it was no use. "Darn it! I can't get it out!"
"Exactly." Confused, Amy asked, "But how am I supposed to fight without it?" Shadow answered, "Like I said, it's been holding you back." Amy attempted to protest, but she was cut off. "No. If you're serious about getting stronger, you should be willing to go to any lengths to achieve your goal! Now attack me, if you can!"
The bout that followed was a rather short one. Suffice to say, Amy was soundly defeated. Shadow looked upon the girl in front of him, his expression doing well to hide his thoughts. "Hmph. Pathetic." Amy winced from the insult, but had no choice but to agree. "You're right. I'm weak." Shadow nodded and said, "VERY. You'll just have to get stronger, now won't you?" "What do you mean?" Amy asked bitterly. "Guess." Amy sat there puzzled for a moment, until...
"You mean...?"
"Yes. I will train you," Shadow answered. "I have a promise to keep, after all." Amy gasped as the memory flashed in her mind: she and Shadow, alone on the Space Colony ARK... 'He remembered...' This revelation was unexpected, to say the least. That Shadow actually recalled something she said to him so long ago...
"Are you listening?!" Amy eeped again and said, "Y-Yes!" "Then what did I say?" he asked. Amy tried to recall, but failed and gave an awkward smile. Shadow just rolled his eyes in annoyance. "As I was saying, there are guidelines you must follow if you want me to train you. 1: You will not be getting your hammer back until the training is complete, so don't even ask. 2: You will be shown no mercy from me. Be prepared to fight for your very life. And 3: Lose that flimsy dress. It's cute, but it's only going to get in the way. Wear some sporting gear or something. Are we clear?"
Amy nodded in agreement, but... "Wait, did you say I'm cute?" "Yeah," Shadow answered plainly. "What of it?"
Amy shrugged it off. "Um, nothing."
"Then go home, rest and get packed," Shadow finished. "It will be the last time you go back for a while. Return here tomorrow morning, early. And be prepared for battle." Amy nodded in understanding and turned to leave, but remembered something. "Oh, Shadow!" "Yes?" he asked.
"Thank you," Amy said. "I'm really grateful for this chance." He simply stared. "Hm. Showing me you're not wasting my time will be gratitude enough." With nothing more to say for the moment, Amy ran back to Soleanna's Castle Town to catch the transport home. She had a determined expression as she went. "Shadow's right. I have to get stronger. I have to prove to myself and to the others that I'm not useless! I can be just as strong and amazing as everyone else! Just wait, everyone...especially you, Sonic!"
Shadow watches her go with the lightest hint of a smile. 'Maria, are you watching? She is the one who reminded me of my promise to you. In a way, I owe my new life to her. I will do my best to help her...just as you and the Professor did for me.'