turning my back to the ocean

"Silver.. are you doing alright?"

"Zombie lady!"

And Silver promptly hid behind Shadow, shaking from fear.

Silver sniffled, rubbing his eyes before falling to his own knees and hugging Shadow shakily.

"Mnn… it was just so scary… I didn’t think zombies were possible, everyone said they weren’t real… then she shows up and I couldn’t believe it…"

#psychokineticsunshine #{there friend u u}

Shadow certainly hadn't thought they were real either, but he didn't say as much. He was a bit surprised with the hug but he lifted a hand to softly pat Silver's back anyway, brows furrowed, unsure how to comfort the boy. It was obvious that whatever he had seen had really disturbed the other hedgehog. Poor guy.

"...Maybe she wasn't a zombie," he suggested quietly. "Perhaps she wasn't there to harm you, either way.."

He really wasn't good with this, and he knew it. Time to try a new tactic.

"..You know," he continued slowly, leaning back a little to make eye contact with the boy. "You know, what I'm going to do? I'm going to let you try on my hat. It's a super special hat, with magic powers. Nothing can hurt you if you have it on.

I don't want to brag, but it's pretty much the coolest thing ever."

Without much hesitation, he took his cap off his head and plopped it on the white hedgehog.

Of course, it wasn't really magic. Just scuffed up and old. But Silver didn't have to know that.

"Silver.. are you doing alright?"

"Zombie lady!"

And Silver promptly hid behind Shadow, shaking from fear.

"Her eyes are bleeding and black and she’s got stitches everywhere and pieces of her flesh are gone and and and-"

#{hello! nwn}#{open for anyone!}#itsallaboutsonicspeed #cheersfromtheheart #narrowscopeofreality #chocolatelovinggaia

Shadow was honestly trying his best not to have a moment. Eager to lisen, his ears perked with interest at the description, only to fall flat down once the poor boy began to cry.

Oops. Way to be quick to comfort there, Shadsy.

Shadow lowered himself to his knees, looking up at the shorter hedgehog, taking his arm in a comforting gesture. "Silver.. she isn't going to hurt you. I promise. She'd have to deal with me before that, alright?"

#psychokineticsunshine

Strangers interrupting his reading time? Ah well. The hedgehog had been itching for something to do as of late. If he were lucky, one of these zone hoppers would require assistance of some kind!

"...Shadow, GUN agent. Anything I can help you with?"

"Silver.. are you doing alright?"

"Zombie lady!"

And Silver promptly hid behind Shadow, shaking from fear.

"Zombie lady..?"

Shadow raised an arm and glanced around for the white Mobian. A blink, and then- tone rather interested- he asked, "What? Like.. a real zombie?"

Focus, Shadow. "...Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

#fightlikealways

fightlikealways started following you

That…wasn’t the reaction Shard was expecting. He was a little surprised at Shadow’s eagerness to help. Just went to show the robotic hedgehog that he shouldn’t judge so quickly.

"I’m…uh…" He looked down at his cracked power core. What was the harm in saying? It wasn’t like he had much to lose. "I’m not sure if you can help but I’m looking for a way to repair this. All of the power gems in my home zone are destroyed…so I was wondering if there was another way somehow."

Shadow's gaze slowly flicked down and he leaned forward, studying the cracked core with interest. He had seen many robots in his day, but this was the first time he had ever seen a power core such as this. Or.. was it? He stood up again, frowning, silent as he tried to pull up any memories he had of seeing a crystal like this. The only jewels he really knew much about were the chaos emeralds, and even then, his knowledge was limited. Still, it looked awful familiar, as did the name 'power gem' in general...

"...I can't say I know where to find one of those," Shadow said slowly. "And I don't know how to fix it. But, I could likely find out about them. Seems like something GUN would like to keep tabs on, if they don't already have one in their possession."

#agentjack

theultimatefathertobe

"Ah, from your markings?" Shadow gave him an approving nod. "Makes sense."

"I haven’t met too much people from other zones, so I haven’t been given a nickname apart from the few my mate gives me, but those are more pet-names than anything. I think my upcoming alias might be associated with me becoming a father however."

rubyxdiamond-deactivated2015122

Because of his markings, yes, but Shadow couldn't help but think his nickname had a pinch of irony to it. Oh, well. Not any matter he had to dwell on currently. He instead listened and gave his alternate a nod in return, fingers entwined in front of him patiently. "Ah, yes. Makes sense. Well, I don't think a nickname is necessary, anyhow. Either way, you're still you." He offered the other a small smile. "You being a parent is new enough to me to single you out of the lot."

#theultimatefathertobe

fightlikealways has been spotted near the city

rubyxdiamond-deactivated2015122

Fiona turned as she saw the alternate… wearing a cap?

"Well that’s something different." She muttered as she waved her friends goodbye. She approached the black hedgehog.

"Yeah, you need something? Right now you’re in Union Central, center of Casinopolis."

rubyxdiamond-deactivated2015122

Casinopolis? Hmm. The name sounded familiar, but Shadow couldn't say whether or not he'd been to a place like this before. It sure was crowded, though, and it was obvious that the hedgehog felt out of place, tipping the bill of his cap down to cover his face a bit more. Well, he didn't quite have any business here, and honestly, he had the urge to get out of this place as quickly as possible, but no need to be rude. He felt obligated to talk to the girl, now that she had parted from her friends.

He cleared his throat behind a hand before continuing to speak. "..My apologies, no. I just seem to have gotten.. more than a little lost. Thank you, I'll be out of your way."

#rubyxdiamond

fightlikealways has been spotted near the city

A red vixen was chatting among her friends before she spots the new comer in Union Central.

#{sorry this is late friend!}#rubyxdiamond

This was certainly a new location.

Shadow looked at his wristwatch before tipping up his hat and scanning the area, fiery eyes taking in his surroundings. No sign, no hint of where he'd ended up, but he could make do; there were a few groups of people clustered nearby here and there, and it wouldn't be too much of a pain to ask around. His gaze slowly turned until he seemed to make eye contact with a strange girl not too far in the distance, and- after turning around to make sure she indeed had been staring at him- he jogged over, holding his cap as he moved.

"Excuse me," he called, stopping a few feet away from her group. He eyed the little cluster of friends a bit awkwardly, rubbing his hands together before speaking again. "...Uh, uh hem, can you please tell me where I am currently? I believe I've gotten lost.."

chaos-isthe-constant-dsjkfnskjdf

It wasn’t often he ran into Shadow alternatives without some sort of parental figure breathing down Finitevus’ neck. Granted, Doom wasn’t much of a people person…

"… Depends on which continuation we are basing this assumption off of I suppose." Doy, Quit being so damned cryptic during first impressions.

"Mft. Disregard that; in this instance, I’m not. My name is Finitevus. I am I doctor of sorts." He leaned in slightly, wonderfully curious to the markings. "… Would it be safe to assume your name is Shadow, dear acquaintance?"

Continuation? Shadow had never heard anybody speak of that before, but he chose not to question it, instead focusing on the echidna's introduction. Finitevus, was it? Sounded familiar. Vaguely so, but familiar nonetheless. Perhaps he had heard the name tossed around GUN back home? That seemed pretty likely, that was often how Shadow picked up information. Either way, the name didn't mean very much to the agent, other than the fact that it was certainly original.

And a doctor, how exciting! Though, the other didn't look much like one. Shadow hadn't seen enough doctors to compare but Finitevus was not the kind of guy Shadow would ever let near him with any kind of needle or medical tool in general. He didn't look too particularly suspicious but he gave Shadow a bit of a weird vibe. Best try to overlook it.

"Yes, I'm Shadow," the agent continued, resisting the urge to move away when the echidna leaned in a bit. "Apologies for confusing you for Knuckles. You remind me a bit of the Guardian... may I ask what type of doctor you are, exactly?" An odd cape for a doctor, that was certain. He almost looked like he could be a villain in one of hedgehog's comic books.

#chaos isthe constant

theultimatefathertobe

"Thank you," Shadow beamed as he looked the alternative over. "…what is your name? Shadow, I presume?"

"Yes, Shadow. Though I've been introducing myself as Bullseye to my alternates, so you may use that if you'd rather. Helps to differentiate us, I like to think. Though I definitely don't think any of us are entirely the same to begin with.

What about you?"

#theultimatefathertobe

fightlikealways started following you

Perhaps he should clarify. “I was but I’m not anymore.” Shard shook his head. “Not into the whole evil thing. Got old really fast.” And after being destroyed three times, yeah. He was done with it.

Then again, being good didn’t seem to help much with that either.

"Nice to meet ya too, Bullseye. I’m actually traveling different zones to get some answers. So sorry if I startled ya."