Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Predator and Prey ❯ Home Coming: Part 2 ( Chapter 14 )

The winds of the helicopter were becoming unbearable causing the gaggle of partygoers to turn away to keep dirt out of their eyes. Shadow however did not look away and noted the three persons aboard, one dawning the red and white hair shared by the Ruez family. As the copter landed and the blades slowed, the group looked back and gasped.

 

“Oh dear gawd they let him fly!” Kylee groaned smacking her forehead. Shadow arched a brow and looked to the cockpit spotting an orange fox with brown hair and a glint in his eye.

 

The first to leave the helicopter was a voluptuous white cat dressed in khaki hip huggers and a baby blue tank top. She had a few piercings in her ears that poked out from under a mass of short brown hair. She adjusted her sunglasses as she gazed around the welcoming group and waved to Kylee who blinked somewhat and waved back. She leaned over to Shadow and said, “I have no idea who that is.” He tried not to laugh and returned to watching the copter. The next to exit was a male hedgehog sporting the red and white quills. Shadow automatically assumed this Kylee's brother. From a distance, he could tell that he was shorter than he was. The man's hair was cut short and unruly; his eyes were the same silver color as he glared through the sunlight. He wore a simple pair of blue jeans with a white shirt over his shoulder.

 

“JOSÉ!” Kylee yelled and rushed forward followed by her twin brothers. José looked up to his sister and was pounced on. Soon Enrique and Marcus joined in on the pile. Kylee punched her brother quite hard in the shoulder. “What the hell took you so long to get back huh?” she seemed to growl.

 

José was about to answer when he noted that amongst the group heading their way was Shadow staring at him idly. He shrugged this off and hugged all of his siblings. “I had some business to attend to that's all,” he said with a smile.

 

“Is that really Ky?” came another male's voice. The pilot stepped out wearing a red and black shirt and baggy black jeans. On his head looked to be some sort of whip getup. Around his forehead sat a Japanese headband with three whip-like pieces of sheet metal, the front colored blue and the two to the side red and green. All of them bent in different ways and looked extremely dangerous. Shadow felt something wrong about this and took a step back.

 

Kylee looked up to the one who asked about her and smiled somewhat. “Hey San!” she said waving a bit.

 

“I see you finally grew a chest!” he laughed. He felt someone tugging on his tail and quickly turned to face the white cat. Everyone within five feet ducked and sighed in relief. “I was only tellin' the truth Ally.” He froze at the sound of a slight growl coming from behind him. He turned and Shadow had to duck quickly before his head could be lopped off. “Oh um…hi.” San held out his hand to Shadow.

 

“Down boy,” Kylee giggled and untangled herself from her family and stood by Shadow. “Shadow, this is an old friend, San and…” She blinked for a moment, eyeing the white cat. “San, this isn't Ally is it.”

 

“Yep!” he said proudly and pulled the white cat into his arms giving her a kiss on the cheek. Kylee stifled a laugh and the fox glared at her. “What's so funny?”

 

“She's too damn pretty to be your girlfriend!”

 

“Hey!”

 

“She's got a point ya know,” Ally said with a slight smirk on her face.

 

San's eyes watered over as he looked to his girlfriend. “So cruel!”

 

Kylee gave Ally a hug. “Hi, I'm Kylee.” She smiled sweetly. “I've heard a lot about you.”

 

“And I've heard a lot about this place. Crazy from what I've been told.”

 

“Basically.” Shadow's mind began to wander through out all the girly banter when the word “COUSIN” rang through his ear. He turned to see Angel and Antonio hurrying forward. San turned quickly to face him and once again, the people around him dropped down quickly. Shadow arched a brow wondering if everyone had family here.

 

“Angel, Antonio!” San yelled which was unnecessary and embraced his fellow fox family. “Good to see you again little cousins.”

 

“Hey,” Angel began as she pointed a finger at him. “I am not little!”

 

San peered over her head and smirked. “Yeah, you are!” Angel growled and was turned to be introduced to Ally. She made the same comment as Kylee and he went to sulk by the chopper.

 

“Let's put it this way man,” José began as he clasped hands with a few old friends. “She's still with you for a reason.” San seemed enlightened by this and went to snog his girlfriend who later insisted he remove the death trap from his head. José turned in time to see Shadow and Kylee kissing as well. “HEY MAN!” He pushed the two of them apart receiving quite a glare from his sister. “What do you think you're doing?” he asked sizing up Shadow who cocked a brow, seeing where the resemblance kicked in.

 

“Kissing my girlfriend, what else does it look like?” he said keeping a stern eye on the male red hedge. The group around them began to listen in, doing poorly of trying not to make it seem obvious.

 

“Wrong buddy!” José said, poking Shadow in the chest. His red eyes narrowed on him and he was about to shove him back but chose against it for Kylee's sake. “You were kissing MY little sister and that does not fly man!”

 

“JOSÉ!” Kylee shrieked, her cheeks turning a deep rose as she noticed the procession homing in on them.

 

“Will you leave those two alone!” sounded Rouge as she approached the three of them. The look on José's face changed from anger to shock and joy as he spotted the white bat.

 

“Rouge, baby!” he seemed to laugh with his arms stretched out to her. The white bat growled and punched him. He fell back holding his cheek.

 

“Saw that coming,” San commented, now headband-less, holding onto Ally and keeping a safe distance. Shadow was amused at the power the woman had behind her fist and took this opportunity to wrap his around his love before her brother could say other wise.

 

“Oh come on baby why you gotta be like that?” José groaned from the ground.

 

Her foot swung up and connected with his gut. “Don't call me baby!” she growled.

 

“Oh damn!” Kylee giggled and took hold of her twin brothers. “You guys go play now. I don't want you guys to see this.” They protested at first but noting the way their brother grimaced decided it was best to leave, taking Tails with them.

 

“Four years damn it!” Rouge screamed and kicked the defenseless hedgehog again. “Four fucking years!” Sonic was about to step in but Shadow stopped him. He actually pitied the elder Ruez. He himself had once been on the wrong side of this bat's wrath.

 

“I said I was OUGHF!” He crumbled at her foot once more and coughed a bit for air. “I said I was sorry!”

 

“Sorry doesn't cut it!” Rouge kicked him again. “You kept me waiting for four years! I came back here to kick your face into the dirt but you were already long gone!”

 

“Can't we just burry this whole thing and start over?” he pleaded on his knees before Rouge, whose eyes began to water over some.

 

“HELLO NO!” She screamed and kicked him across his jaw. He fell back and She was about to stomp on him when Shadow took a hold of her and held her away from him. He did this out of the sake of gaining some credit with José. “LET ME GO SHADOW!”

 

“No.” He looked to Damien and Jaxon. “Are all the women here this damn crazy?”

 

“Only the ones with huge racks,” San chimed in. “Ouch! Like this one.” He pointed his thumb at Ally before hugging her.

 

Kylee began to tend to her brother with and with Damien and Jaxon's help, moved him to a picnic table. “I really didn't mean to stand her up,” he murmured as he looked to where Rouge sat crying against Shadow's chest.

 

The black hedgehog was slowly getting used to comforting crying women, as they seemed to flock to him. He sighed and began patting her on the back, trying to calm her down. In truth, seeing Rouge cry was a bit unsettling. She seemed so strong. “Guess having your heart broken really breaks a person huh,” he said mostly to himself as he stared off to where Kylee sat patching up and scolding her brother before she rose up and approached them.

 

“It's like someone bore a hole into your chest,” she sniffed then looked up at him with blood shut eyes looking into the cold red stare then laid her head on his chest once more. “Men are such assholes.”

 

“No, just Ruez men,” Kylee said standing over the two of them noting the slight plea in Shadow's eyes. She crouched beside them, rubbing Rouge's shoulder. “He really did mean it when he said he was sorry.”

 

“So why didn't he say anything then and instead of waiting years after?” she shrieked and cried harder.

 

Kylee sighed rubbing the back of her neck. “It's because of me.” Rouge turned and glared at the girl. “The day before the wedding I was doing a grudge match and ended up in intensive care for a while. José stayed behind to look after me. He and his piece of shit memory forgot all about you until I woke up a week later and yelled at him for it.” She sighed again and looked up at Shadow holding his gaze as she spoke. “I tried to get him to go to you to get the beating he deserved but he set off on a bounty to pay for my medical bill.”

 

“Did you win?” the white bat asked in a cracked voice. “If you didn't I'm kickin' your ass too.”

 

Kylee made a weak smile. “I used the prize money to buy your wedding presents.”

 

Shadow took notice to Rouge's ears twitching and looked up to see José limping over with Paco and San at he sides. The two stopped short and let him continue on his own. Shadow took this as the cue to leave the two alone and slowly raised from Rouge, giving her a nod then took his love's hand and led her towards the house.

 

“So what do you think of my brother?” Kylee asked as they settled on the front porch. Shadow wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close.

 

“He seems…stable,” he said then winced as his arm was pinched. “Hey, believe me when I say anyone in love with Rouge is crazy.”

 

“Everyone thinks that,” Kylee laughed and leaned more into him. “I mean overall.”

 

“He seems like the type to stab me in my sleep.” Kylee began to giggle and Shadow eyed her for a moment, arching a brow. “What?”

 

“Everyone thinks that too. It's a wonder he has friends but then again Paco and San are both idiots or just as crazy as him.”

 

“I see…” He pondered over this bit of information as he hugged his love closer to him.

 

“Aren't you worried about what he thinks about you?” Kylee asked shifting in his arms to look into his ruby eyes.

 

“Not really.” He shrugged looking off. “People can think what they want about me but the only opinion that matters to me is yours.” He hugged her once more and she made the typical “that was sweet” noise then gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Besides if he does try and kill me in my sleep he'll have to find me first.”

 

Kylee blinked and looked up at him. “What's that supposed to mean?” she asked.

 

“I'm getting my own place.” He stood up and began to carry her to the dance floor noting the very stunned look on her face.

 

The party would progress into the late evening hours and on into the early morn. Hours of endless dancing and food that never seemed to run out no matter how much they consumed. By three the fiesta had finally ended and all prepared for three hours of slumber before the workday began. The fox San had taken a spare room in his cousin's house with his girlfriend. Sonic and the gang were invited to the Ruez house though Sonic insisted that they return to their hotel. Tails and the twins slept in a pile on the floor in the twins' bedroom while Amy and Sonic snoozed innocently in Kylee's room. Rouge took to the master bedroom with José while Shadow and Kylee lay in his bed wrapped in one another's arms.

 

Shadow growled as the door creaked open, a stream of light pouring in. He had as clue as to who it was and had good reason to be cross. José had pestered he and Kylee most of the night, the least the man could do was let them get some sleep.

 

“Ky,” José called out as he leaned in the doorway over looking a sight he thought he would never have to see. He ignored the glare from Shadow and looked to his sister's back. She stirred a bit but did not answer. “Ky!”

 

“Go, away!” she hissed and curled up closer to Shadow.

 

Silver narrowed at red. “We need to talk.”

 

“Later, I'm tired.”

 

“Now!”

 

“ROUGE!” Kylee screamed, causing Shadow to shudder at the high pitch so close to his ears. It did not take the white bat long to appear in the hall behind José tapping her bare feet on the floor as she stood in one of his larger shirts.

 

“Will you give it a rest already and leave them alone,” she said in a low voice. “He's not going to corrupt her mind.” She began to pull him towards his room. “If anything it'll be the other way around.” The door was shut as Rouge pulled him down on to the bed but once he was released, he shot up and began pacing around his room that had gone untouched for over two weeks.

 

“There's just something that isn't right with it,” he said as he rubbed at the back of his neck then looked to his renewed love. “I mean he tried to destroy the world.”

 

Rouge glared at him. “I know what you're doing! You're looking for a reason to hate him.”

 

“What? That's just stupid.”

 

“Admit that you're scared!”

 

“Of what?”

 

“Of your baby sister leaving you.” She sighed and pushed to her feet then approached him. “She's an adult now and can make her own decisions.” José sighed and looked off. A soft hand touched to his cheek and he looked back at Rouge. “From what I've seen she is happy with him. The happiest I've seen in a long time. Yes, Shadow has a criminal record the size of Angel Island but he's changed or if anything he's the way he was before.”

 

José sighed once more then pulled Rouge into his arms. “She has been smiling more and she didn't kick my ass like she always does when I come home.” The white bat smiled and gave him a soft kiss. “But!” Rouge groaned rolling her eyes then made towards the bed. “I'm still the oldest. I've got a responsibility ya know.” He pulled Rouge back to him. “I'm gunna have a one on one with him.”

 

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Promise you won't start anything?” she asked, almost pleading.

 

“Scouts honor!”

 

“You were never in the scouts.”

 

“Yes I was.” He smiled and kissed her walking her back towards the bed. “My first badge was in chasin' ass.”

 

Rouge smirked as they fell back. “And I'm guessing your second was in getting your ass kicked.” José narrowed his eyes at her then began to bite at her neck causing her to scream.

 

Shadow shuddered and Kylee stirred a bit then looked to him. “What's wrong?” she asked with a yawn.

 

He pulled her closer to her and whispered into her ear. “Ever have the feeling Hell might have frozen over?” he asked. She gave him a look then nuzzled against his chest. “Kinda figured you hadn't.”

 

Close to eight in the morning, Kylee woke to find herself alone. She looked to the empty spot on the bed and saw a note on the pillow. She picked it up and as she wandered down stairs read it. She stepped into her room, ignoring the couple still sleep in her bed and pulled on some jeans, not bothering to change out of Shadow's shirt. She folded the note and flipped on the light in her room. Sonic shot up, shirtless and eyes darting around the room. “Breakfast is in twenty minuets,” she said and left to the kitchen. She pulled out all the essential tools when José stepped in.

 

“Where's your boyfriend?” he asked with a yawn.

 

Kylee narrowed her eyes at him then turned on the stove. “He's at work,” she said in a haughty tone.

 

José grinned. “Good.” Kylee was about to ask about the smug look on his face but he left too quickly. He paced around outside with a cell phone to his ear until it finally picked up. “San?”

 

There was silence for a while. “Breakfast ready?” the said in a groggy tone.

 

José sighed shaking his head a bit. “Not yet. Listen I need you to keep an eye on someone for me.”

 

“…go fuck yourself.”

 

“I'm serious here.”

 

“I am too! Have fun fucking yourself!”

 

“Come on man!”

 

“I'm on vacation! Do I have to spell it out? V A…cation!”

 

“Do it as a favor.”

 

“…”

 

“Please…I'll pay ya.”

 

“How much?”

 

“A thousand.”

 

“…deal. So who is it this time?”

 

“Shadow.”

 

“Aw fuck no man!”

 

“You said you'd do it!”

 

“Are you trying to get me killed? That guy is probably real anal about his personal space.”

 

“Just do it!”

 

“Okay, okay! So where is this guy gunna be anyways?”

 

“Sugah Lots.”

 

“Priceless…okay laters man.” San hung up his cell half tempted to chuck it across the room put set it on the nightstand and looked to Ally still fast asleep. “God, she's gunna kill me.”

 

Damien stood within a large garage before a lifted car as a black blur dashed around it. The soda bottle in his hand held up to his face as his jaw hung open. Antonio stepped out in a garage uniform with the logo Sugah Lots in red and white across the back. He looked over the echidna's gaze and waved a hand in his face. “Hello?” he said and stepped around him. “Anyone home in there?”

 

“Four,” Damien said, he not believing the word itself. Antonio arched a brow. “He's changed the spark plugs of four cars, rotated the tires of every car in here, is currently changing the oil of three trucks and I swear his holding that last one up himself!” They both gawked as Shadow pushed out from under a red truck, the white shirt he wore dirty with the sleeves rolled up. The truck lowered as he moved away and he sighed a bit with a satisfied smile and looked to Damien.

 

“Sweet mother of god,” Antonio awed.

 

“Yeah, he's done all your work too.”

 

“What?!”

 

“You were late.”

 

Shadow whipped his forehead with his arm and approached the two. “Anything else?” he asked looking back at his handy work.

 

Damien was about to say something smart then decided against it. “Follow me,” he said and led Shadow out the front of the garage and around to the back. There sat a large carport in the back alley with a blanketed object beneath it. Shadow arched a brow. Damien held up a finger and removed the sheet revealing the rusted frame of a car made for humans.

 

“What the hell is this piece of junk?” Shadow asked moving to take a close look.

 

“It's a 1965 Ford Mustang,” came the voice of a familiar gray cat. Ami appeared over the carport with her laptop open across her legs. “Apparently a classic muscle car for human standards.”

 

“And what is it doing here?” the black hedgehog asked.

 

“We found it wind surfing out in the desert a few years back,” Damien stated. “The frame isn't salvageable but the design alone is all we need to get started on our own.”

 

“Whoa, wait a minuet! You guys want to fix this?” Shadow looked to the both of them, each holding a serious face. “There's nothing to fix here. It's just a shell, hell, it's not even that.”

 

“This frame alone has racked up one million in bids,” Ami said and dropped down to stand before him. “Imagine how much we could make if it was whole again.”

 

“This is crazy!” he said pacing around the alley. “I mean yeah, it's quite obvious humans want a relic like this but how are we supposed to fix it without parts?”

 

“We're not gunna fix it you are,” Damien said.

 

“You're joking?”

 

“Not at all and Ami will help you.” Shadow groaned running a hand over his quills. “The frame has already been copied and it's on its way along with a bunch of other parts. When it's done the shop will auction it off in Central City and you'll get half of whatever it rakes in.”

 

“This thing better be worth something in the end or I'm kickin' your ass for wastin' my time,” he said glaring at Damien.

 

“Hey, why just me?”

 

“Cause I'm a lady!” Ami said, smirking and walked around front followed by Shadow and the distraught echidna. San dropped down from the roof of the garage and looked over the old car frame, seeming unimpressed then disappeared into the shadows.

 

“That's it?” José asked, arching a brow. He and San sat across one another at Toni's Pizza.

 

“Yeah, pretty much,” San murmured through a slice of pizza.

 

“No girl on the side, secret gang, fight club…anything?!”

 

San arched a brow. “Why do you want to peg him so badly? Besides the trying to destroy the world trip he's an alright guy.”

 

“Because he's dating my sister and I have a responsibility to up hold!” he said slamming his fist on the table.

 

The fox moved his remaining slice of pizza from harms way. “You're afraid of her leaving aren't you?”

 

“Shut up!”

 

“You're seriously going to have to get over this. She's all grown up now.” He sighed rubbing the back of his neck. “She's not going to suddenly die if she leaves, okay? It's time she starts living her life. The twins start school at the end of the summer; they won't need her all day anymore.” He stood up to leave but stopped, removed a picture from his back pocket and tossed it on the table. “Something to think about.” With that, he left, brushing past Shadow as he entered the diner.

 

José glanced down at the picture he held, there sat his sister and Shadow, Shadow's arms wrapped around her as he leaned against a fence. Both held a pure smile He looked up as the black hedgehog sat before him, arms crossed and holding an annoyed look. “I'm told you're getting your own place,” he said placing the photo facedown.

 

“Did your little spy tell you that?” he asked even sounding annoyed. He was not thrilled to discover he had been tailed all day like some criminal and even less to discover who it was. He no longer cared whose brother José was. To him he was just another problem.

 

“Actually Rouge did,” he said in a calm tone as he eyed the man sitting across from him. “She helped you pick out one up town, am I right?”

 

“You can tiptoe around the issue all you want some other time,” he said in a cold tone. “I know you don't want me dating Kylee.”

 

“I see you're smarter than I thought.”

 

“Ha, ha.” He eyed the facedown picture and leaned back in his seat. “You don't have to worry. I'm not going to try and steal her away from this place and I'm about as willing to let her go as you.” He quickly thought back to his conversation with Sonic. Some things were truly easier to say than to do.

 

“I got a problem with the age gap too.” Shadow arched a brow; he saw this one coming a mile away. “You're like fifty years her senior; don't you see anything wrong in that?”

 

“No I don't!” he growled. The subject of his age had finally worn down to the bone of his irritation for it. “Do you think I wanted to be locked in stasis for that long? Hell no! Fuck, I didn't even ask to be born. Do you want to know how old I was when they froze me?” He paused to watch José's eyes narrow. “Nineteen.” He looked to his reflection in the window beside them and glared. “I haven't changed since then.”

 

José furrowed his brow. “You see where the other problem is now?” Shadow sighed, resting his face in his hands. He could imagine just how life would progress around him. As he stayed youthful, his love would grow old and eventually die on him leaving him alone in the world once more. There was, however, something in the back of his mind nagging him; the strong familiarity of those silver eyes. It was almost haunting.

 

Kylee smiled as her brothers chased one another through the house; Paco stretched out on the couch. She waited idly by the microwave, waiting for the popcorn to finish popping so they could finally stop the movie. She sighed, thinking back to what Shadow mentioned to her before leaving. She hopped for José sake he did not say anything to try and drive him away. She glanced up seeing something move past the kitchen window. “What the…” she whispered. She did not hesitate to grab a shotgun from the highest cupboard, load it and wandered out to the living room.

 

The black panther sat up as he saw the weapon. “What's wrong?” he asked reaching under the couch, pulling out a similar weapon.

 

“I'm not sure,” she said in a low tone then called out to her brothers. “Enrique, Marcus! Hide and seek now!” She held up her gun to a near by window, moving to see out of it. Her brothers had not heard her as they raced into the room, sliding past her. She looked down at them and growled. “I said now!”

 

“LOOK!” Enrique in black yelled pointing out the window.

 

Paco shot up to get a look of the window. Kylee's eyes grew frantic as she stared into glowing reds. “…Shadow…” The microwave went off and she shot at the window.

 

 

Well that was it for now kiddies. First off San Renard is owned by Daniel Renard (check out his art at http://san-renard.deviantart.com/) and Ally is own by Val ( art at http://ally.deviantart.com/ ) I shit you now when I say they totally own your asses! I can't believe I'm finally reaching the end of this fic. It's actually pretty sad when you think about it. Four years man FOUR YEARS! What the hell am I gunna do after this? Well anyways read and review while I go pray to some pagan god for more to write about. Till next time readers!