Hello everyone! I'm RandomFieryDragon. This is my first story! Yay, I guess? Anyway, this is just a oneshot featuring Sonic, Shadow and Silver. This is kind of just practice for when I publish a real story, whenever that may be. Just a little character development for Shadow, as well as practice writing for Sonic and Silver. Please just read it, if you have the time. (:

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic, Shadow or Silver, or anything from the Sonic series featured in this story. SEGA owns them. I wish I did, but I don't. Also, I do not own Mercedes-Benz, although I wish I owned that, too.

The image outside the glass seemed to move past at an unbearably slow rate. One could get a really good look at the startlingly blue sky, dotted with puffy white clouds, the sun shining down over everything, from this infernal machine that moved like a turtle. The furry blue hedgehog sitting in the backseat of the luxury Mercedes sedan couldn't quite believe that he was forced to be in such a place. Cars? And being in them? And not running at Mach 1 to get wherever he needed to go? No, these were all quite unheard of in Sonic the Hedgehog's book.

Yet here he was, reclined in the back of the sedan, the smooth leather interior feeling pretty good on his back. Sonic had to admit that this was comfortable, at the least. The air conditioning was running at full blast, but very quietly, which Sonic was also impressed with. The temperature outside today was approaching the upper nineties, and while Sonic usually didn't mind things like this, he had to agree that it was pretty nice being cool for a change.

Being cool for a change. Sonic grinned to himself. When was Sonic the Hedgehog not cool? He was one of the coolest guys around. He had fans wherever he looked; his name was ubiquitous in every school textbook published within the last two decades; he had lines of people waiting to meet him that were miles long. Sonic and his adventures over the years were common knowledge. "Sonic the Hedgehog" and the world "cool" would go together in a sentence any day.

But Sonic wasn't conceited, wasn't attention-seeking (well, not all of the time), and he wasn't one to get out of control with the amount of power and influence he had. The honest truth was this: Sonic just wanted to have fun. He wanted to have a good time every single day, and he would chase that good time from dawn till dusk. Sure, he had plenty of people standing in his way, and they all went by the name of Eggman. But Sonic would never let that get him down. He never had in the past, and he never would in the future. Sonic was the king of cool, the master of having fun, and the hero of Station Square.

Stretching his legs out to the bottom of the seat in front of him, and reaching his arms out high above his head, Sonic opened his mouth and let out a wide, long-lasting yawn. Life was good. Life was so good.

"Where are we going again, exactly?" Sonic asked disinterestedly, again letting his eyes wander out the window to the incredibly slow-moving world outside. He could've gotten to wherever they were going a long time ago, if it weren't for national security insisting that he ride in this stupid car. But, Sonic reminded himself, this car is nice and cold, this leather feels super good, and I can just relax. So it can't be too bad. Right? Right.

Still stretching, he let his shoes press against the passenger seat in front of him, leaving shoe prints on the leather. Another moment later, the passenger in said seat turned around, fixing Sonic in his crimson stare.

"You never listen, do you? We're going to town hall to accept medals for the other day, idiot. And get your feet off my seat."

Sonic shot his trademark grin at his rival-but-sometimes-friend, Shadow the Hedgehog. Shadow gave Sonic his own menacing, trademark glare in reply. "I'm warning you, Sonic. You wouldn't want to get your ass kicked in front of the whole city, would you?" Sonic sat up in his seat, laughing. "Oh, come on now, Shads! I know you would never do such a thing," Sonic joked, reaching up to pat Shadow on the shoulder. Shadow quickly moved out of the way of Sonic's hand, fixing him with a dubious look and preparing to fire back with an even more threatening remark. Then, noticing that the driver was glancing over at the two hedgehogs quite warily, Shadow grinned. "Of course not," Shadow said smoothly, his deep voice dripping with sarcasm.

The driver, feeling satisfied that the two would not get into a full-blown fight in the middle of Station Square, turned his attention back to navigating the busy downtown streets. Shadow, meanwhile, turned to look at the other hedgehog sitting adjacent to Sonic in the backseat.

"Don't look at me! I had no part in this!" Silver the Hedgehog insisted, cowering under the eyes of Shadow. Shadow rolled his eyes, noticing that Silver looked downright strange: sweating buckets, strange body position, and very jumpy actions. "Silver, ever since this morning, you've been tiptoeing around like a scared little girl," Shadow retorted, unsure of whether he was amused by Silver's behavior or unnerved by it. Sonic, however, was nodding his agreement. "Yeah, dude, what the heck happened to you? You don't look so good! And why are you all sweaty?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me about this? Just leave it alone, will ya?" Silver asked in an almost pleading tone, glancing back and forth between Sonic and Shadow, shaking ever so slightly. The dark hedgehog shook his head. "Silver, you have to stop acting like this. It's embarrassing. The Ultimate Lifeform cannot be seen out with a timid little rat like you." As Sonic laughed, Silver glared at Shadow. "I am NOT a timid little rat!"

Shadow shrugged. "Fine. Maybe you aren't. But you sure are acting like one, and it's giving me a headache, so knock it off." With that, the dark hedgehog turned back around to face the front, returning to gazing out the windshield at the world. Sonic and Silver resumed arguing about Silver's peculiar behavior, but Shadow tuned them out.

For once, Shadow agreed with Sonic-cars were much too slow. He felt tense and caged, like a wild animal at the zoo. His legs twitched every now and then, begging to stand up and move around. While Sonic had the ability to sit back and relax in situations like this, Shadow could only grow even more impatient. He wanted to get to town hall as soon as possible, so he could get out of this horrible car and be on his own again. Not for the first time, Shadow considered using Chaos Control, but he knew that it would probably startle the driver and end up getting all three of them-the driver, Sonic and Silver-killed. Not that Sonic and Silver getting killed would ruin Shadow's week or anything, but…

They were receiving medals, "for honorable actions towards your home of Station Square," as the mayor had put it. It wasn't a big deal, just taking out a couple of robots gone haywire, courtesy of the Doctor. Shadow considered Dr. Robotnik. The Doctor had really been annoying Shadow as of late, which was ultimately why he had joined forces with Sonic and Silver in defeating the robots. Normally Shadow would've just sat back and watched the show, preferring usually to just stay out of things like this. He liked to-what was the phrase Rouge had used?-"fly under the radar," keeping his name out of the papers, the news and the tabloids. Sonic relished the attention he got from the public, while Shadow loathed it, although it wasn't like Shadow ever got any public attention, anyway.

But this was just one little thing, Shadow had figured, when he decided to join in on the fight. And maybe he had been just a little bored that day, too. He felt so listless lately. He wanted to do something, anything. Working as an agent for G.U.N. had gotten old, and he was on hiatus for the time being. G.U.N., being eternally grateful to Shadow and fully aware that he was one of their top agents, was gracious in allowing him some time off. Shadow knew that they really just didn't want to piss him off, but that didn't matter. What mattered was the fact that right now, Shadow the Hedgehog was on an extended vacation, and he hadn't done a damn thing with the time on his hands.

They were getting close to town hall now. The top of the building was visible through the trees, which were spread out over a little park that sat in the middle of the city across the street from town hall. Sonic cracked his knuckles and started going over something witty to say in his head, gearing up for the swarm of reporters asking him questions, and as always, the crowds of fans screaming his name. Silver was looking and feeling pretty queasy at this point, and he was kicking himself for last night. Right before a freaking awards ceremony, Silver? Really? Silver scolded himself, cradling his stomach.

The driver rolled the Mercedes to a smooth stop outside the front steps of town hall. "Finally," said Shadow and Sonic in unison, both turning to look at the other in sudden surprise. At that moment, both of their doors were opened simultaneously by the driver and another security agent who had seemingly shown up out of nowhere. After a second, Sonic turned away from Shadow and easily stepped out of the car, immediately going into press-and-fans-mode. Flashing that same old trademark grin and giving everyone a thumbs-up, Sonic listened to the sound of fans calling his name.

"Sonic! Sonic the Hedgehog! Hey, look, it's Sonic!"

The Blue Blur began to walk towards the huge, wooden double door entrance to town hall, still giving thumbs-ups and high-fives all around. G.U.N. agents surrounded Sonic on all sides, keeping the fans back. Shadow had stepped out of the car, the door shut behind him by one of the agents, and he was watching his blue counterpart taking in all the admiration. Shadow was just barely rolling his eyes, marveling at Sonic's self-centeredness, when all of a sudden, he heard it:

"Oh my God, Shadow the Hedgehog!" "Shadow! SHADOW!" "Holy shit, it's Shadow the Hedgehog, man! Dude, forget Sonic, Shadow just got out of the car too!"

On and on, people were screaming Shadow's name, holding out their hands desperately, begging him to high-five them, shake their hand, anything. Flashbulbs exploded in his eyes over and over again. Hordes of fans tried to shove past the gray metal gates that kept Shadow and the crowds separated, threatening to knock them down. The G.U.N. agents seemed to multiply, attempting to keep the crowd back. It took Shadow a good fifteen, twenty seconds to fully realize what was going on. If he wasn't mistaken, he was getting twice as much admiration and fan recognition than Sonic had. Sonic was already inside town hall, in fact, and the crowd was still swelling, hands reaching out to try and touch Shadow.

Silver had stumbled out of the car door a few moments after Shadow, and his name too was being chanted by many fans. However, Silver paid no mind. Shadow noticed that Silver still looked nauseous and sweaty, and wondered if he was going to throw up. Shadow smiled without even realizing it at the thought of Silver barfing his brains out in front of all these people and cameras. At his smile, the crowd went absolutely wild, the flashbulbs never ending, photographers madly trying to get a picture of Mr. Unsmiley himself flashing a brilliant grin.

Shadow, astonished at the complete uproar he had caused, was relieved when the agents positioned themselves around him and they began to walk up the steps. Silver followed behind Shadow, slightly bent over. Needless to say, all three hedgehogs could've taken care of themselves just as well without the agents-except Silver, who was leaving a trail of sweat behind him. But Shadow had to admit that while he was quite flattered, albeit completely shocked, that he had so many fans, he didn't want all of them getting close enough to touch him freely. So, still in utter amazement at what had just happened, Shadow was led inside the building.

Once inside, and having been led into some kind of dimly lit sitting room filled with chairs, couches and end tables, an important-looking official immediately swooped down on Shadow, asking him if he wanted anything to drink, if he was comfortable, did he want anything, anything at all? Shadow quickly shook his head, still quite confused. Silver had run off to find the nearest bathroom, muttering something about "had Mexican for dinner." Sonic was sitting with his legs crossed on a fluffy purple chair, grinning at Shadow.

"Looks like someone doesn't know what to do with all his newfound popularity," Sonic sang, reaching a leg out to kick at Shadow. Shadow dodged the kick and straightened up again, fixing Sonic with a look that he hoped was threatening. But Shadow couldn't muster it right now, and Sonic was met with the image of a very confused, shocked Shadow trying to look as mean as he usually did. He ended up looking like a puppy dog when it turns its head to the side in confusion, and Sonic quickly committed the look to memory. Hey, it wasn't often that Shadow the Hedgehog resembled a puppy. "You need to get out more, Shadsy. You really didn't know that it was like this?"

Shadow looked around and, finding another chair similar to the one Sonic was in, fell down into it, sighing in defeat. "I knew it was like this…for you," he replied, glaring at Sonic. "For myself? You're right. I had no idea. What the hell just happened?" Shadow asked, more to himself than to Sonic. But Sonic's grin only got wider.

"You just got your first dose of popularity, my good sir," Sonic announced to Shadow. "Now you see the truth: the humans freaking love you." Shadow, at the mention of the word "love," sat up straight in his chair. "What?"

Sonic nodded, eyes closed, still smiling. "Remember how Mephiles told you that the humans would turn against you? And Omega would be the one to capture you? Well, I can tell you right now that it's never gonna happen. Nope. They adore you down here. Maybe not as much as they adore ME, but almost," Sonic said proudly, earning another mocking glare from Shadow.

The Ultimate Lifeform got up from his chair and moved over to a window overlooking the front sidewalk, where he had just been. The crowd was still there and growing even bigger, trying to get through the front doors. Ruby-colored eyes scanned the rowdy mass of people, still not really believing that they were trying to get through to him. Shadow had always seen mankind in general as his enemy. Although he still protected them, as he had promised to Maria, the thought that they would one day turn against him, and imprison him once again, never really went away. It gave Shadow's life and work a bittersweet taste. He was working for them, only for them to betray him. It was tough to keep going after that thought, but he did it. He did it because of Maria, because of the need to live while he could, because he was Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Lifeform and protector of the human race…because he controlled his own destiny, no matter what happened.

At this moment, one of the fans caught sight of Shadow through the window, and the chanting began again. "Shadow! Shadow the Hedgehog! Over here, dude!" The dark hedgehog looked down to the source of the voice, and it belonged to an older teenage boy, probably in his late teens, wearing aviators and a tie-dye t-shirt. When he saw that he had Shadow's attention, the boy grinned even wider and started getting the attention of his friends, who were surrounding him. One by one they all turned to look at Shadow, who stared back down on them. They all were smiling, laughing, and nudging even more people, getting them to look up at the hedgehog. Some let out whoops and yells. Tie-Dye T-Shirt turned back to look up at Shadow, and gave him a thumbs-up.

"You freaking ROCK, man! You're the best of the hedgehogs! You keep it up, dude! Don't you ever give up the fight, man!" And then he saluted the hedgehog, still beaming at Shadow from behind his aviators. The dark hedgehog was taken aback by so much praise. He had never heard words like this spoken to him before. But even in his shock, Shadow managed to give a sideways grin to Tie-Dye T-Shirt, and borrowing Sonic's regular move (and publicity stunt), he gave the guy a thumbs-up.

The crowd went wild once more, screaming Shadow's name, trying to climb on top of each other to get closer to him. A group of girls all yelled to him at once, "We love you, Shadow!" Soon many other fans followed their example, saying over and over again, "We love you! We love you!"

Shadow, unable to hide a rare but huge smile, stepped back from the window, hearing a chorus of "No, Shadow, come back!" The hedgehog stumbled back over to his chair, almost tripping over one of the chair legs before settling down into it again, wide-eyed. Sonic was laughing at him.

"Look at you, Mr. Popularity. You don't know what to do with yourself. Don't worry, you'll get used to it after a while," Sonic said, sighing in contentment as he laid back once again. Shadow simply sat there, the words of the crowd replaying themselves in his head. The humans liked him. The humans liked him. The humans liked him.

A few minutes later, another important-looking official stepped into the room. "Mr. Hedgehog...and Mr. Hedgehog, we're about ready to start the awards ceremony. Are you ready to go on?" Sonic stretched yet another time before standing up, calm and ease radiating off of him. "No problem," he said, crossing his arms and flashing the official a wide grin. Shadow slowly got up out of his chair, still quite dazed, and nodded, walking over to stand by his blue rival. The official went over a few points with the hedgehogs, explaining how the ceremony would proceed. Sonic barely listened, deciding to just wing it, while Shadow stood calm and attentive, although the official could've sworn that the dark hedgehog was swaying a little bit on the spot. The official, deciding that Shadow was just weird, nodded as if in confirmation and walked over to the doors to the main hall, about to open them to escort the two heroes in, when suddenly, Sonic started looking around confusedly. The blue hedgehog slowly walked further back into the room, head turning left and right.

"Umm, Shadow?"

Shadow, blinking and still looking as if he just got mauled by a tractor trailer, turned to look at Sonic, who was busy lifting cushions off of chairs and sofas and looking behind lamp stands, obviously searching for something. "What?"

"Where the heck did Silver go?"

Yeah, they forgot about Silver completely. Heh. I always see Silver as the one who gets forgotten about. I don't know why, I just do.

If you can't already tell, I'm a big Shadow fan. And I always just felt really bad for him, with him thinking that humanity doesn't want him and all. I wanted to change that for him, so I did. And I really wanted to show that while Sonic and Shadow will always be rivals, and won't always get along, they can be good friends at times.

And I always find it funny that Shadow has SO MANY FANS, but never plays off of it in the games or TV shows, like Sonic does. Just not his personality, but it would be fun if Shadow would just play around once in a while. Anyway…

Please R&R! No flames please, but constructive criticism is well-accepted, and wanted, really. It would be greatly appreciated!

-RandomFieryDragon