Sonic is one more yawn away from falling asleep when Shadow finally appears. The light of chaos control flashes directly in his face, startling him. âHey â!â Well, he isnât tired now.
    âYeahâŚâ he mumbles, swiftly finding his composure again. âItâs no problem.â Sonic is half tempted to pull his leg, but reconsiders as Shadow, er... glitches? Malfunctions? Itâs hard to tell. Itâs easy to forget, sometimes, that⌠this is⌠âSeems like you had a difficult time finding me.â Okay, he can't help but tease a little bit.
    The roof subtly shakes as the train begins to leave the station, announcing itâs departure with a loud whistle. âSo,â Sonic says, leaning back on one hand. âFlowers, huh? Whatâs the occassion?â
Shadow's pride makes him frown. "Finding you is quite easy, actually," he retorts. "Your radiant Chaos Energy is high, and makes it easy for my sensors to track.
"As for the flowers..."
His eyes flick downward. "They are for someone special. Someone who is not with us any longer. Though one can obtain flowers from anywhere, I prefer wildflowers for this exercise." He holds a hand in front of him and flexes it, inhibitor ring glinting in the sun. "It helps me connect with the earth."
Those who are no longer with us...
>> RETRIEVE IMAGE FILE C:\...\MEMORY_RECOVERY\082919XX\IMG_0461.JPG >> DISPLAY
>> RETRIEVE IMAGE FILE C:\...\MEMORY_RECOVERY\06232001\IMG_9999.JPG >> DISPLAY >> ERROR. FILE CORRUPT. DELETE FILE? Y/N >> N
I can't bring myself to delete that file. The last thing I saw before I died. A phantom lives in what little is left of my natural form but... His eyes focus on Sonic, clear and blue as the sky above them. I suppose there is no need, when the genuine article is here in front of me.
Shadow smiles--the expression is so subtle, those less keen may miss it. "You are well traveled. I suspect you know a fine place to collect flowers. Under normal circumstances, I could warp us there, but I should not strain myself to the point of necessary repair. In my experience, others are...uneasy when I need to directly address such matters." Shadow's stare, eyes glowing faintly, bore through Sonic. "Especially the 'you' I am more familiar with."













