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Shadow was just enjoying the rather boring day. It was beautiful outside, but rather uneventful. He ran through those same paths he had run thousands of times before. While running along the beach, he felt someone following behind him.
“Shadow!”
He turned his head to see it was Tails, “what do you want from me?” It came off a bit defensive, but Tails knew that’s just his way of speaking.
“Follow me to my workshop,” Tails shouted, “I got something you’ll like!”
Normally he would’ve ignored the kid, but he was dying for some entertainment. Shadow gave the fox a silent nod before following him. It didn’t take long for them to arrive. Shadow continued to follow behind until he was in front of a slot machine. It was slightly smaller than the average slot machine but still had the classic design. You know the type: lever, three rolls of reels, and some lights.
“I found it broken and in the trash– I saw it as a calling to fix it up! It doesn’t give any money, but it does dispense some pretty tasty gum.”
Shadow, respecting Tails’s choice and talents, raised an eyebrow, “I’m confused why you felt the need to show this to me.”
“I dunno,” Tails said with honesty, “just thought it would be cool. Maybe you can give it a few test spins to see if it works!”
He took a few steps forward to the machine. He popped a ring into the coin slot and then pulled the lever without much thought. Both Shadow and Tails watched the images on the slot machine blur as the reels spun. After a few seconds, it stopped. No prize was won. Shadow was about to stop there, but Tails nudged him to continue. He pulled the lever again. No prize. He pulled the lever once more. The reels slowed from its spin to reveal a perfect row of cherries. The lights did a little display as the machine dispensed a small packet of cherry-flavored gum.
“Huh,” Shadow chewed on some of his newly won gum, “this thing really does work. Plus the gum does taste good.”
Tails hopped in rejoice, “yippee! I gotta spread the news about this!”
Shadow watched as the fox flew away into the sky. He looked back to the machine. Maybe he’d come back another time. He thought back to the slots for a second… maybe another spin or two wouldn’t hurt. There really was no ‘profit’ for Shadow in this version of slots, but the small dose of adrenaline was nice. It certainly felt different to the adrenaline from fighting enemies and dodging bullets. He continued ten more times. He found himself with four more bars of gum. A thirteen spins to five wins is quite the ratio. The hedgehog figured it would be best to tell Tails when he returned.
Tails arrived with Knuckles and Sonic. Shadow by then was sitting at one of the chairs. The trio went right to the machine, not acknowledging his presence. Not that it mattered anyway. Shadow spoke up to talk to Tails, the suddenness caused Sonic and Knuckles to jump.
“What are you doing here?” Knuckles frowned.
“Relax,” Shadow rolled his eyes, “I was here the entire time.”
Sonic responded in his typical fashion, “and you didn’t say hello when we arrived?”
He chose to ignore that last comment, “Tails, I think you should do something about the reward system to the machine. You’ll lose a lot of money from needing to keep up with the gum supply.”
Later that day, Shadow was sitting by the beach once more. It was soothing to watch the sunset. He heard the sounds of sand crunching under heavy steps. He knew it was that red echidna.
“Hey Shadow, sorry for speakin’ like that to ya back in the workshop.”
He gave him a silent side-glance. Not really out of anger, it was more out of curiosity as to why Knuckles was here.
“To make it up for you, I know this sick underground casino!” Knuckles seemed rather excited, “I know you’d love it.”
Shadow scoffed and crossed his arms. But then he looked back to Knuckles’s grin. It wouldn’t hurt to accept his invitation. Without a word, Shadow approached him and nodded. Knuckles proceeded to raise a fist of excitement into the air before running off, not waiting for the hedgehog to follow. The two ran for what seemed like a while, even with their speed. Knuckles stopped running when they were at the mouth of a cave. Huh, he really was serious when he mentioned it was underground! Knuckles motioned with his hand once more to follow him. But from there they had to walk. Shadow didn’t mind at all about the walking part, but it was strange to him. Then they arrived at a strange, hidden door. The texture blended perfectly with the rocky surroundings. Knuckles knocked on it three times before the door opened.
When they stepped inside, they were both greeted by a lavishly decorated ambiance. Full of the sounds of dice rolling, cards being shuffled, and people ordering drinks at the bar. A spark happened between Shadow’s neurons. He was captivated. Shadow walked besides Knuckles and examined the environment. He felt as if he was in a movie! The slot machines seemed to be calling out to Shadow. Since Shadow was receiving so much sensory input, he wasn’t sure where to go. Why not hit the bar first? Shadow swaggered over to the bar and sat at one of the stools. He stared at the drink menu for a while. When he looked up, he gave a soft smile.
“Fancy seeing you here,” Espio smirked as he cleaned a glass with a towel, “say, what brings you here?”
“I would ask you the exact same thing.” Shadow huffed in a defensive, yet playful, manner.
The chameleon answered without hesitation, “I work here. I’m usually the dealer at one of the tables, but I’m filling in for one of the bartenders. Now, you didn’t answer my question.”
“Knuckles brought me here, but I lost him.” he looked around for a second. Then shrugged, “I’ll find him eventually.”
Espio couldn’t chat much due to work, but he did give Shadow a drink (as a gift from the house). Then he continued with his other bartender duties. He noted that Espio was quick and efficient while attending the patrons. His uniform, which consisted of a white dress shirt, a dark purple vest, with a black tie, and black dress pants. The uniform appeared to be iron and pressed to perfection. Espio wore his uniform with great dignity and devotion to the craft of beverages. Shadow raised the drink to his lips, but first he took a whiff. Just to make sure it wasn’t poisoned or anything. The scent was notably alcoholic. Shadow wasn’t an alcohol connoisseur, but he appreciated a nice drink here and there. The drink burned his throat. He even had to stifle a cough. He didn’t want to look bad or ungrateful for the gift, so he slowly drank the rest. He leaned back into the seat as he let the alcohol rest into his system. It wasn’t strong enough to get him buzzed – just a warm feeling in his stomach. Some patrons were eating while conversing amongst themselves. Other patrons were in groups and guzzling down shots. Espio was constantly on the look-out for too-rowdy patrons. Anyone who got too out of hand would promptly be escorted out. When Shadow finished his drink, he set the cup down with a few rings as a tip.
He left the bar and took the opportunity to (metaphorically) hit the slot machines. Here, at the casino, the slot machines were much more elaborate. Shadow sat down at the plush stool. This time something felt different. Here he could win actual money, not just candy. Instead of three reels, it had five, making hitting a jackpot much harder. At this specific machine, the bet minimum was ten rings. However, if you choose to gamble with more, you have a higher chance of better rewards. This time he thought about it. Was the risk really that worthy? After a bit more thinking…
“Let’s go gambling,” He chuckled, with mild interest in the game.
He pressed the spin button and watched the images blur on the reels.
“Er…” he pouted, “aw, dang it.”
He decided to raise the bets a bit. He used fifteen coins this time. Out of that spin, he won five free bonus spins. Not bad. He continued putting money and gaining money. Shadow had appeared to have lost track of time. All thanks to that alluring slot machine. It wasn’t until he felt a tap on his shoulder that he had stopped. It was just a waiter offering him a drink. He politely declined, but he was grateful that someone had pulled him out of his bubble. Shadow had lost track of how much money he had spent; all he knew was that he had made two-hundred fifty rings. In reality, it wasn’t much. But considering how low stakes this slot machine was, it was a good amount of money. It was time for Shadow to leave.
A few days had passed and Shadow found himself at the mouth of that cave again. He was going to the casino again. He told himself to try something new. When he entered the casino, Shadow was once more greeted by the casino environment. He walked around, wondering what game to play. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Silver dealing at one of the tables. Just like Espio, he wore the same uniform. Shadow curiously approached the table. He wasn’t exactly sure what the game was, but it seemed interesting. He overheard someone mention that this game is called “Texas Hold’em”. When a new round began, Shadow sat down and waited to be dealt in. Both him and Silver locked eyes. Silver wanted to ask him what he was doing here, but he had to keep an air of professionalism. The minimum bet at the table was a hundred rings; maximum was a thousand.
At this table there were a total of six players, with one of them being the dealer. One player was the small blind, while the other was big blind. Shadow watched as the two betters put their poker chips into the pot, without even getting the chance to see their cards. Silver proceeded to deal clockwise from him, giving everyone two cards. The first round was about to begin. Shadow was the first left to the big blind. He decided to call, meaning betting the same amount of rings to the previous player. Meaning, Shadow had just bet hundred-fifty rings in poker chips. After everyone had put in the bets, The Pot now was a total of eight hundred-fifty rings. Now that everyone had done their first move, Silver set three cards on the table: the Community Cards. The first three cards revealed are called The Flop. These cards revealed consisted of an ace of hearts, a four of clovers, and a two of diamond. Shadow took a glance at the hand he had been dealt: a four of hearts and a ten of hearts. The little blind and big blind decided to check, meaning to not bet or raise. Shadow wasn’t sure what to do. Something in the back of his head told him to risk it. Shadow hesitantly raised, his bet was now at a total of two-hundred rings. The other players called to match Shadow. One player did fold their cards, meaning they did not bet. After everyone had their turn again, The Pot was now at a whopping total of a thousand rings.
Silver turned another Community Card, revealing a three of spades. When the players could choose to bet, another player folded. This continued on until a fourth Community Card was turned, a ten of spades. The last bet ensued, now with only four players left and The Pot at a thousand six-hundred rings. Shadow could feel his heart racing when the Showdown began. The Showdown is when every player reveals their hand. Shadow didn’t pay much attention to the others. He was more focused on himself. He laid his two cards face up on the table like the others. After Silver said a confusing string of words, he pushed the chips towards Shadow’s direction. Shadow had won. He was a bit confused but he didn’t complain.
Another round certainly wouldn’t hurt.
When Shadow was satisfied from all the rounds and betting, he stepped away from the table. His heart was racing and his hands were shaking from the insane amount of adrenaline. Again, he didn’t know how much he spent. All he knew is that he made a satisfactory amount of money: five-thousand and three-hundred rings. There was this look on his face, not exactly deranged, but disconnected. He wanted more of that rush.
“Go home, Shadow.” Silver’s voice was stern, “you need to take a break from the casino.”
Shadow grumbled, but did as recommended. Just as he stepped out of the casino, he received a message on his communicator. It was Tails, once again inviting him to his workshop. Shadow smiled at the invitation, maybe Tails had fixed up that slot machine? He never had run faster in his life. He knocked on the workshop door and waited.
“Woah,” Tails jumped, “he arrived quickly!”
He didn’t even get a chance to greet Shadow before he waltzed right to the slot machine. But he was stopped by Sonic who stood in front of him. The blue hedgehog seemed pissed. Which was rare.
“Shadow…” Sonic growled, “you’ve been busy.”
“Of course, I always am.”
“Don’t brush it off, Shadow!” Sonic raised a threatening fist, “you’ve been burning into my funds! I received a call from the bank for ‘suspicious transactions’ under your name.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” his voice was stern and laced with denial.
Before Shadow could defend himself more, Sonic showed him a list with multiple transactions linked to him and the casino. Shadow was so busy gambling, that he didn’t realize that he somehow began using Sonic’s funds.
“Shadow,” Rouge appeared out of nowhere, “you need to stop with the gambling. You’re ruining your life.”
Shadow’s voice was needy and erratic, “Rouge. You don’t understand. I need to keep on gambling.”
“Just shut up.” Rouge’s voice cut through like a knife. “You’re a gambling addict. Don’t deny it.”
“What's ‘gambling’?” A small voice was heard. It was Cream. Who knows how she got here.
Shadow crouched down and winked, “I spend money to make money.”
He didn’t want to admit it, but he felt personally attacked by the group. He was perfectly fine. He had it under control. Shadow told himself, “I can quit whenever I want.” But no one wanted to risk that mentality. Anyone from the group would do their best to intervene in Shadow's new vice. Rouge tried to distract him by inviting him to adventures, Sonic tried to engage in friendly conversation, Amy even tried to get Shadow to babysit Cream. Espio and Silver were asked by Knuckles to not give anymore services to Shadow. Yet, all those attempts were in vain. The emo-ass Hedgehog would still find ways to go to the casino. His friends were beginning to lose hope. The one who had introduced him to the casino did his best to not interact with Shadow often. One day the group decided to bring everyone together to have a serious discussion on Shadow’s worsening state.
The group decided to meet in Tails’s workshop. At this point everyone had mixed feelings; yet they all shared concern for their friend. When Shadow finally arrived, they noticed that he already seemed to be impatient.
“Okay, I’m here. What do you guys want?” Shadow demanded answers.
Amy began, “Shadow, we’re all worried about you. You aren’t… you. Not anymore.”
Shadow scoffed and turned his back against the group, “this again?”
“No, not again,” Sonic forced him to face the group, “this is a constant, on-going thing. It’s to the point that we can’t just distract you or talk you out of it. I understand you’ve always been the ‘leave me alone’ type of hedgehog, but this is too much.”
“I never asked for help to begin with!” Shadow growled and his pupils dilated. He almost looked feral, “you guys just want to control my life!”
Rouge stepped in, “we just want you to be happy. When was the last time you felt happy–or at least satisfied–with your life? You’re now short-fused and impatient.”
Tails, with the meekest voice, added to her point, “I…we miss how you were. The true Shadow.”
Shadow didn’t respond to it. Not necessarily out of reflection. More out of a sense of betrayal. Knuckles interrupted his train of thought by punching a table.
“Goddammit!” Knuckles shouted, “this is why Maria died!”
Hearing those words was a bullet to Shadow’s soul. Then his world went dark.
Shadow was in a strange Limbo: between awake and asleep. His eyelids felt heavy and refused to open. He couldn’t feel his body. Not that it was numb, but he couldn’t control it. How hard did he hit his head? Then he heard footsteps. At first they were a bit too distant to identify. He waited a bit more. The footsteps were light, but fast.
“Shadow!”
The voice. He recognized it. A surge of energy filled his heart. An energy level he could not use. He continued to lay there, with his eyes tightly shut and his body unwilling to oblige. Then he felt himself be picked up into a tight hug.
“Oh, Shadow.” A soft, angelic voice spoke. “I missed you!”
Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to return the hug. He wanted to talk to her. He wanted to at least see her.
“As much as I missed you, I have something we need to talk about. I heard you have a new interest. You’ve been addicted to something.” Maria took a deep breath, “you’ve been gambling non-stop.”
The accusatory tone in her voice surprised Shadow.
“You made a promise, Shadow. Yet there you are, wasting time by gambling money away. Money that isn’t even yours!”
Every time Shadow even attempted to open his mouth, he would feel an invisible force squeezing his larynx. The choking sensation prevented him from breathing and speaking. Much like how a child is hurrying to clean up their toys and squeezes their plushie into a box, Shadow felt like said plushie. He couldn’t examine his surroundings. But it felt much colder. Like a glass tube. Then he heard muffled sounds of shouts and coordinated running.
No.
Not again.
“Maybe things could have been different. But I’ll never know.” Maria concluded.
Then he heard the gunshot. The one that separated him and Maria in a way that dwarfed the distance between Earth and the ship. Shadow was still alive. Maria was now dead. Even with his closed eyes, he saw Maria die again. Shadow felt his stomach churn. His soul had begun to detach itself from his body. The feeling was similar to falling. The type when you feel like you’re free falling in your sleep and you know you’re about to hit the ground.
Shadow sat up on the bed, right before he had hit the ground. He carefully opened his eyes to examine his surroundings. He was back at Tails’s workshop.
“What the Hell happened?” Shadow spoke in a soft tone, as if he was talking to himself.
Shadow was alone in Tail’s workshop on a makeshift bed. It appeared that the group must have gotten random pillows and set him on a table. With a raspy voice, he tried to call out for them. Then he tried with their individual names. Yet no one answered. He was left alone. Shadow stood up and walked around silently. He felt a little unnerved by the silence in the air. There was a letter with his name written on one of the workbenches. Without a second thought he opened up the letter to read it.
“Shadow,
How long will you wallow in your ignorance? How long will you feed into your cynicism? How long will you refuse to listen? We were all ready to help you, but you chose to turn a deaf ear. Since you disregard our counsel and scoff at our advice, I will laugh at your calamity. What if your credit card is declined and your life falls to pieces? What if your ‘luck’ isn’t on your side and gamble it all? You’ll need us then. You’ll call for us. Don’t expect an answer.
Proverbs 1:24-27,
Us”
He read it once. Then again. Then one more time. This letter was extremely cryptic. This is not what he wanted to read after his encounter with Maria.
Shadow went to the casino again to take his mind off the recent events. He went to the bar to begin his night with a cold drink. He ordered a bourbon on the rocks. He pressed the glass to the side of his forehead to cool him down. The temperature made a pleasing chill run down Shadow’s spine, even the quills on his back stood up. A sigh of relief escaped his lips. Maybe this is all he needed. Followed by a few rounds of gambling, of course.
But this moment was cut short.
He felt two hands grip his arms and pull him away.
The glass, that once was in Shadow’s grip, was now shattered on the floor.
After what felt like a blur, Shadow finally was able to redirect himself. He found himself in a dimly lit room. Then he heard that iconic laughter.
“Eggman.” Shadow muttered through his teeth. He would’ve gotten into a fighting position if it weren’t for those two robots clutching his arms.
“Oh, you lil’ black and red rodent,” Dr. Eggman stepped forward, “fancy seeing you here!”
“Why are you even here?”
Dr. Eggman laughed again, “I own this casino! I have this interest in gambling, yes? Sometimes a genius needs to have a break from tinkering around. I never expected a hedgehog like yourself to wander around these parts!”
Shadow scoffed, “then why does Silver and Espio work here?”
“Do you know how to listen?” he mocked, “I said I owned this place, not necessarily run it.”
“You know what? Let’s get to the point: what do you want from me? A fight? Testing your gadgets on me? Is that why you have your robots holding me down?”
Dr. Eggman laughed once more, “the financial department told me a certain rodent has a debt of two-hundred-twenty-one-thousand and six-hundred rings. Or 221,600 rings if you need help putting the number in your head.”
Shadow appreciated that the mad scientist had some thoughtfulness for the readers. But his response didn’t answer his question.
“You owe me.” Dr. Eggman whispered, “I know you don’t have any money; yet you have something I want: the Chaos Emerald.”
He concluded this meeting by motioning the robots to take him elsewhere.
forced him to play a game of Blackjack under the eyes of the entire casino. Some people watched the event from a few steps; others were at the bar watching through the many screens. Shadow sat at his side of the table, his elbows resting on the edge. There were two robots by his side to make sure he wouldn't try to cheat or escape. Oddly enough, the dealer wasn’t present.
“Tonight,” Dr. Eggman’s voice echoed through the hall, “we will premiere this state-of-the-art mechanical dealer—with a classic game of blackjack!”
Then from the floor, a figure emerged. The spotlight lit up over the dealer, Shadow then recognized who it was: Metal Sonic. His polished metal glimmered under the light and he had been spazzied for the environment. He also donned the traditional uniform, but it was welded onto him. His uniform was part of his body.
Shadow and the rest of the crowd gasped. Either in awe or shock. Why did Dr. Eggman bring this tin can back into commission? The metallic hedgehog didn’t say anything as it did a showy shuffling card trick.
“We will see if this hot-topic looking-ass rodent can pay off his debt,” Dr. Eggman continued, “or else he’ll need to give up his precious emerald… not like he has much of a choice, anyway.”
Shadow, with much hesitance, placed the Chaos Emerald on the table as his bet. It was a bit unnerving to have a crowd watching the gamble take place. Metal Sonic shuffled once more before dealing the cards. In a game of Blackjack, the player wants to have a higher hand than the dealer. The highest and best number is twenty-one. Any and all face-cards (queen, king, and jack) have a point total of twenty. An automatic win would be a face-card and an ace of any kind; this combination is called a Blackjack. If the dealer has the higher hand, the player loses money. Every player gets two base cards, if you want to raise your number you can choose to ‘hit’. But be careful: if you go past twenty-one, you lose (or in a game of Blackjack, you ‘bust’). With these rules in mind, Shadow was wary of playing this game. Metal Sonic began to deal the cards. Shadow had a ten of spades and a jack of clover, he had a total of twenty points. He chose to not hit; Metal Sonic chose to hit. The robot revealed its cards to show it had an eight of clovers, two of hearts, and a five of hearts: a total of fifteen points. Shadow one this round. There were mixed reactions, but Blackjack was a game of chances and baited breath. This tension continued for several rounds.
For how long were the people watching intently?
For how long was Shadow trembling in fear of losing the Chaos Emerald?
For how long was Dr. Eggman waiting for Shadow to gamble it all away?
Slowly, but surely, the stacks of chips began to grow for Shadow. There were moments he would lose some of his money, but that did not stop him. He needed to pay off his debt. The used cards were used up and reshuffled. This process repeated several times. After the long game, Shadow managed to pay off the debt. It only took four hours. Shadow stood up and took back his emerald.
“Happy, Eggman?” Shadow fixed his quills, for no particular reason.
“No,” he answered almost immediately, “not at all. But you won fair and square… just get out!”
The robots at Shadow’s sides let him go.
Shadow sat by the beach and thought about the events that had just taken place. He could still feel his heart beating awfully fast in his chest. He was more than happy knowing he had paid off his debt and still had the Chao Emerald. But what now? He didn’t have an answer for that. The hedgehog laid back down on the sand and closed his eyes for a moment. His ears picked up the sound of heavy footsteps, seemingly burying into the sand. The steps were not rushed or excited; they had meaning and were calculated. When the footsteps stopped, Shadow expected the being to call out his name. But they didn’t. He opened his eyes and was immediately filled with skepticism.
“What now?” Shadow said, not expecting an answer from him.
Metal Sonic stared into his eyes for a silent moment, “just wanted to check on you.”
Shadow was more surprised that this walking metal said a word. It’s speech was robotic and more static-y than a normal robot’s.
“I’m tired of being manipulated and shifted to Eggman’s tastes. These clothes… that is if you want to call them, are melted onto my body. This casino uniform isn’t me. This voice box isn’t even mine!” Metal Sonic rambled, not exactly sure where his words were going.
Shadow was surprised by the honesty in the robot’s ‘voice’.
Metal Sonic sat besides Shadow, “back to your question. I know eventually you’ll be back at the casino, but I want to help you fight your addiction. This is also my act of rebellion against my creator…”
“So you want to help me to spite Eggman?” Shadow wanted to laugh at his reason, “ya know, I think I’ll be happy to help you with your endeavors.”
Some time passed and Shadow was on a steady road to recovery. He wasn’t completely himself yet, but he was much better than before But he would attend Gamblers Anonymous, rehab, and other forms of methods to recover. Not only that, he had someone on his side. Metal Sonic had been a great help and company during this period. He had encouraged Shadow to go talk to his friends again. Though, Shadow had promised to not bring Metal Sonic up, due to the fact Shadow’s friends despised him.
Shadow found himself standing in front of Tails’s workshop. It had felt like an eternity ago after the whole ‘oh, we’re not gonna help you anymore’ ordeal. He took a deep breath before knocking on the door. The door immediately answered.
“Oh, look who’s back!” Sonic crossed his arms, “here to beg for help?”
“I just want to give an apology…” Shadow said earnestly, “can I come in?”
Sonic made a face, but he stepped aside to let him inside. Tails, Knuckles, and Rouge were also inside, they all glanced over to see Shadow walk in.
“I wanted to say I am sorry about the whole… gambling thing. I’ve been going to rehab and stuff to work on my addiction. I’m sorry for not believing you guys and recognizing my problem earlier.”
The others blinked a few times. They were shocked by Shadow’s apology with its reflective tone. They certainly weren’t complaining.
“Woah, what’s gotten into you? Finally lost all your money or something?” Knuckles got rather defensive, he wanted to see if Shadow was bluffing or not.
Both Rouge and Tails remained silent. They preferred to watch it all go down.
“I had help from an unexpected… being. But without it, I would probably still be gambling money that isn’t even mine.” Shadow stepped forward with his hands balled into fists, “if you guys don’t accept my apology, then damn it all!”
Tails finally approached him, “I do accept your apology. It was about time you got your greatly needed help. But… who is the ‘being’ who helped you?”
Shadow smiled softly, “don’t worry about it.”