It's a few minutes shy of midnight, and it's raining. Hard. Pools of rainwater bubble from blocked drains, washing canvases of hazed lights and neon takeaway signs along the road's surface. Central City was surprisingly peaceful at night; nary a soul outside, bar the occasional vehicle rumbling past.
And yet there he was -- Shadow the Hedgehog -- pacing along the sidewalk in a coat with no hood. The rain drenched his fur to his skin, quills heavy with water, droplets rolling down over his brow ridges and onto his muzzle. Where was he going? Even he didn't know. He'd been walking for hours, his mind wandering even more than usual lately after his brief foray into cyberspace with Sonic.
There's something humbling about realising you're not the only alien around. That you're even more alien than you ever thought -- the chaos energy woven into your very soul being just as foreign as the black arms DNA in your cells. Those cells that were hand crafted by a human man, a weapon for a government body; it pulls into mind an old question, one he previously thought answered.
...He didn't even realise he was shivering, fingertips numb. He needed to get out of this rain before his thoughts consumed him whole, or he was chilled to the bone. Whichever came first. Turning to his right, across the street, stood the only building in his near vicinity with lights still on. The sign outside reading...
...In service and worship of Her Radiance, Goddess of Life.
It was a church. Of course it would be a church. However, sinners beggars cannot be choosers, and Shadow did not have an emerald on his person to teleport back home. This would have to do. He strides up to the door, a sorry sight to behold, sighing & knocking loudly three times. Maybe he'd be blessed with respite.
