Hello, everybody! I am at last back to writing. The thing is, I have way too many ideas, and very little motivation. If any human were able to also be classified as a cat, it would be me. Always laying around in the sun (with a decent amount of sunscreen as I am part vampire lol) and eating fish a lot. And never really getting anything done -_-"

I digress. Recently I've decided to look into the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, as I was curious as to what the fuss was all about. I find myself obsessed, particularly with Shadow, who just happens to be very, very awesome. I started with supporting SilverxBlaze and I still do. Yet...I find myself harboring the guilty pleasure of ShadowxBlaze... probably just because they're my two favorite characters. Anyway I was minding my own business in the small word of Somewhere Around 3 AM and I found myself struck with a little...idea.

Basically, this is the trial run of my idea. I'm still working out the basic plot and stuff as I don't have a degree in Sonic Knowledge, but I have a good many ideas locked in. If anyone expresses interest or a critique with helpful advice somehow manages to surface under my humble story-umbrella, I'm gonna continue this bad boy! So let's get this going, shall we? Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing having anything to do with the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.

Chapter 1

"You've never won before, Eggman, and you won't win this time either!"

Blaze huffed, wishing she had a wrist-watch in order to look at it disdainfully. She rolled her shoulders and looked around.

A selection of the usual group stood before Eggman in another one of his lairs. The surrounding rock formations gave off an acrid odor; they paid tribute to the foul-smelling subterranean rivers that flowed throughout the deep-rooted cave. Blaze looked at their unspoken blue leader, a fist raised at Eggman, his legs planted in a wide stance to reflect whatever power he felt he had. She blinked glassily. Sonic may have the right to act the way he did, since he technically had saved the world a billion times, but that didn't mean she had to like his cockiness. Heck, he was even one of her best friends… but she still hated when he acted in an arrogant manner.

"Blaze!" She jumped, her thoughts shattering into butterflies and fluttering away. Amy and Silver were looking at her intently.

"Are you paying attention? Sonic is giving a triumphant speech!" Blaze blinked at her pink friend. The female hedgehog had a bubbly personality, and while Blaze appreciated her underlying kindness and loyalty, the perky blithering shell that worshipped Sonic was at times overwhelming.

"No… I was letting my thoughts wander," Blaze said bluntly. Amy looked mildly taken aback. Blaze turned her gaze to Sonic and continued, "It seems like he's unusually long-winded today. I thought he was supposed to be fast?" Silver chuckled heartily and Blaze eyed him, her normally steely gaze warming slightly.

Silver…. Silver was different than others. He was sweet and naïve, but knew how to get a job done. His naiveté, although having caused problems in the past, was a strange sort of refuge now and frankly, it calmed Blaze's nerves. He approached her, still snickering, and threw an arm across her shoulders.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, Blaze. The Blue Blur is more like the Blue Boredom today!" He chuckled more heavily when Amy's eyes flared with indignation. He reached over to her sputtering—yet adorable—fury and patted her head.

"Don't be upset, Amy. I'm just teasing." He winked at her playfully. She huffed and stomped over to Rouge and Knuckles. Silver laughed some more and jostled Blaze, who had long forgotten the minor conversation and was watching Sonic spin-dash around Eggman, occasionally pulling an offensive face or slapping his rear in the hot-tempered villain's general direction. Silver followed her sight path and soon found his own eyes glazing over.

"Anyway, hah, you know how easy it was to crack that egg!"

"Are you bragging, you punk? How dare you! I hardly even got to feel him with my fists!"

"Aw, well can't I supplement?" Rouge took Knuckles' fist and placed it on her waist, drawing him into a teasing hug. Knuckles growled, a blush forming across his nose.

"NO, ROUGE, YOU CAN'T!"

Blaze leaned back on the window seat, pulling her arms behind her head in a feline stretch-and-yawn combo. Her tongue curled slightly. Suddenly, a finger jabbed her stomach. Without thinking or even opening her eyes, she grabbed the 'someone' by the nose.

"Silver, I thought you learned when we were twelve that you never, ever—"

"Shouldn't a proper warrior always be alert? Stretching like that could get you killed if we suddenly came under attack." Wait…that voice was strangely gravelly…. Blaze opened her eyes slowly, coming eye-to-eye with a very chilly-gazed hedgehog. She withdrew her hand abruptly.

"I-I'm sorry, Shadow. You caught me by surprise." Shadow stared into her eyes unblinkingly, his eyes half-lidded with apathy. He made soft growl in the back of his throat and turned to walk away. Before he could make it, however, Blaze's wits caught up with her.

"Hey, wait half a minute!" Her eyes flashed and she grabbed him by the shoulder, turning him back to her. "What did you think you were doing?" Shadow blinked, questioning. She jabbed his shoulder with a half-extended claw.

"What gives you the right to do something like that? We hardly even know each other! You think you can just come up to people and give them a lesson in awareness?" Blaze glared at him, trying to keep from raising her voice. With anyone else, she wouldn't react like this…. But this guy... who was he to her? Some guy who happened to share the same circle of friends.

Shadow blinked again, this time, his eyes hardening.

"I'm the Ultimate Life-form. I can do whatever I want." He turned again and started walking.

Oh, that is it!

Something hot and rather sturdy made sudden contact with the back of Shadow's head, expertly missing the bulk of his spines and hitting the mark on his skull. If Shadow was a normal animal, he would've been clocked into falling over. He may have even been knocked out or burst into tears and run home to his mommy (if he had one). Or, God forbid, he would have been tended to by an overly-emotional Amy.

Yet…Shadow wasn't just any animal.

He turned and met the attacker (whom he assumed was probably that idiot Sonic) with a curled fist to the chest. However, it turned out that some people had a lot of nerve.

And most definitely should not be punched in the chest.

"You idiot! What the heck is your problem?!" A very fearsome-looking Blaze the Cat sat on the ground, having just been floored by a well-aimed punch. Her ponytail had lost its stiffness, a few strands of hair falling over her burning eyes. "I'm a freaking girl, you moron!" Shadow took a step back, his excellent thinking ability processing the full extent of what had just occurred.

Oh…crap…

And that's how Shadow the Hedgehog learned what a fiery roundhouse kick felt like.

"What are you two doing in that dark, mysterious corner?" Sonic and company had discovered the source of the very loud ruckus, which was disrupting the carefree mood of their celebratory get-together. It appeared that two of the guests weren't exactly playing nice.

The lights were turned up enough to expose Shadow and Blaze, locked in a mass of tangled limbs, pulling each other's fur. Having fought for a while, they found themselves a near-even match and had devolved into hand-to-hand combat…which led to Blaze having a firm grip with her teeth on Shadow's right ear, and Shadow pinning her right arm to the ground while his left hand tugged ruefully on her now-messy ponytail. Silver came over, beaming with glee at having found his normally cool-mannered friend caught in a web of fierce emotion.

"What are you guys, five?" He boomed a laugh and was joined by the room. The party members soon found themselves wiping their eyes and offering up their own jokes.

"I never thought the pair of ogres would get along so well!" Sonic held his stomach as he doubled over, causing Tails to fall over (Tails had been supporting his laughing pal).

Rouge smirked and pointed, "Normally the same side of the magnet is supposed to repel, not attract!" She laughed raucously.

This…isn't happening! Blaze closed her eyes tightly. Wake up, wake up, wake UP!

Shadow looked that the lilac cat he had pinned below him and allowed his messy thoughts to catch up. What are all these idiots suggesting?! His eyes widened in realization and he scrambled to disentangle himself from his foe.

"What were you trying to pull?" He pointed accusingly at Blaze. She stood indignantly and scoffed.

"Me? You were the one who started it! Don't put this on me!" The party stopped their laughter and listened, awed by the display of emotion from the two wallflowers.

"But don't Princesses always get what they want?" Shadow sneered. Blaze gasped.

"How…how impertinent! You wish I wanted you!" This time Shadow growled.

"We're not even the same species!" Tails and Cream looked away from each other, whistling.

"Hey why don't we all calm down a bit, yeah?" Sonic stepped forward, extending his arms out to the fighting pair. "No one likes whiners! So let's move on." Shadow and Blaze glared at each other around Sonic. They looked away, red-faced and angry. Shadow pulled out a Chaos Emerald.

"Screw this. I don't even know why I'm here." Shouting the usual catchphrase, he opened a portal and disappeared. Everyone looked at Blaze, who stared at her shoes furiously.

"He's right. I'm out of here. I need time to cool off." She dusted her jacket and slinked out the front door, Silver at her heels. He looked behind him as he left and shrugged.

"I guess I'll let you know what happens, guys."

The door slammed shut, and the friends dispersed.

So whatcha think? Review and have a great day!