Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Shadows of the Heart ❯ Chapter 3

Dislaimer: I don't own them at all… (except Mr. Bon Bon of course! ^ ^)

Chapter 3

The Past: April 21, 1942

A low murmur left my throat as I played with the soft ears of Mr. Bon Bon, the brown teddy bear that the Professors granddaughter dropped in her hasty retreat from my lab. This was one of the special down times when no scientists were performing experiments on my body and mind. These occasions were infrequent, there always seemed to be somebody out there taking my vital signs or measuring my brain waves while I ran for endless hours on some kind of running contraption, a treadmill they called it. Even though I was not being experimented on at the moment they were always watching me-whether they were in the room itself or not. There were numerous security cameras littering the room, embedded in the ceiling, perched on top of machines catching my every move like a crazed voyeur. It was kind of exciting to know that someone was always watching me. If I were to fall ill or pass out someone would see about me right away. That eased the pain a little; at lease someone was out there…

"Mr. Hedgie?" The child's meek voice jarred me out of my thoughts. I looked up, noticing the tiny girl standing at the foot of my makeshift bed. She looked even more adorable than before. Hair-cascading down to the small of her back in loose curls, rosy lips-curved into a timid smile, cheeks-flushed with what looked like a mixture of embarrassment and fear.

"Mr. Hedgie?" she repeated, backing slowly away. "Can I have Mr. Bon Bon back?"

"Oh this thing?" I looked at the brown being, noticing how the lights overhead twinkled and danced in its glassy eyes. A bit of cotton stuffing was coming out of its side, making the toy appear old and worn from use. Without any object I handed her the bear, smiling a little as she hugged the plush tightly and, squealing "Mr. Bon Bon!" over and over again. She soon stopped and put the bear's stitched mouth up to her ear, muttering and nodding as if she was listening to what it had to say, which was idiotic. Stuffed animals cannot talk! What was wrong with this child?!

"Mr. Bon Bon said that you were nice to him!" the child whispered excitedly. "He said that you rubbed his tummy and everything!"

"That toy said no such thing!" I retorted angrily, eyes narrowing at the sheer audacity of her presumption. "That thing cannot talk! He does not have a voice box or anything!"

"He isn't speaking verbally. He's thinking what he says and I can hear it! He also says thank you for loving him because he would have felt lonely if you hadn't."

"Whatever, you crazy child." I could not resist cracking a wry grin as the child spun around swinging the brown bear in her arms.

"What's your name Mister?" she asked, stopping her spinning and staring at me with those amazing blue eyes.

"My name is Shadow." I replied nonchalantly, looking away.

"My name is Maria!" Once she said that she started spinning again, sing a strange tune that I had heard once before. "Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb! Mary had a little lamb his fleece was white as snow!"

"Maria."

"Huh?"

"You might want to stop twirling. You might fall and your head will become a bloody mess on the ground."

"Oh Shadow!" Maria dropped Mr. Bon Bon and ran up to me with her arms open wide. She tackled me to the ground with amazing strength, giggling loudly as she did so. "That was the nicest thing you ever said to me!"

A flush crept onto my face, making me shield my face from the little girl. I was happy also; this was a foreign feeling in my particular case. How could this child conjure this strange feeling inside of me? She was young and careless and I was strong and fearless, complete opposites in every way. Yet, she made me feel happy unlike anyone else could. It was strange, I never thought that I would ever be able to be happy in my life but now I am. I had finally found a friend…

Sorry that this is so short. The next chapter will be set a couple of years after the date of the past two chapters. It will be much longer also.