Chapter Text
"You know you don't have to be such a Debby Downer all the time" A female demon said as she waved her tail side to side. Her voice was tantalizing and smooth. She was dressed in a black, one piece leotard and fishnet stockings. An outfit that seemed rather inappropriate for the cafe setting that they were in, but not surprising for a demon. Speaking of the cafe, it was as quiet as most parts of purgatory were. Most of the ghost kept to themselves, and the few that were conversating had very little to say to each other.
The demon observed the checker board carefully before she moved one of her front pieces forward. She then continued the conversation. "I mean, I know you're a ghost and all, but it isn't illegal to smile in Purgatory."
The ghost in question huffed in response. He had known this demon since he first arrived at Purgatory. She was simply visiting for a few hours and he bumped into her. A few minutes of talking later and she had adopted him as her best friend. He let it happen. As much as he rather not talk to other beings, it was nice to talk to someone every now and then, especially since this place was a literal ghost town. "There isn't anything to smile about" He said, pushing one of his pieces forward as well.
"Oh come on. I come from literal HELL and I look like I'm having a better time then you, Shadow" The cunning devil smirked. She looked at the board again and made her piece hop over his. She leaned back. "Ha"
Shadow hummed as he looked over the board. He then hopped a piece over three of her pieces in a row and gathered them.
"Oh come on!" She huffed and slammed her fists on the table "Just when I think I'm winning, you're always three steps ahead!"
"It's because I have SOME foresight. You jump at the first opportunity you see, meanwhile I look further in the future to see if the move is even worth it or not" He gave her an unamused look "And get your hands off the table, Rouge. The game isn't even finished yet"
Rouge frowned and her tail whipped around. She took a deep breath before sitting back down. "Sorry" She crossed her legs and composed herself "But it's quite ironic for you to be talking about looking ahead to the future. You barely even live in the present. You can't be like all these other ghost who don't care about anything and struggle to get by. There's more to the afterlife than just lazing around and avoiding work. I mean, you don't even try to get up into heaven. Or come down to hell with me~" She teased.
"Rouge, you know that's impossible. Most ghosts down here try for decades to find how to save themselves, but only come out empty handed. Unless I can magically remember how I died and then fix myself of my issues, I'm going to stay here with the rest of them" Shadow sighed "I'm just...accepting it early."
Rouge gave a small smile. "Things will get better eventually, Shadow"
Shadow stayed silent as he looked back at the board. It was hard for him to believe her at all, especially when he's been here for who knows how long. He had stopped counting the years after a while. It didn't matter since he never aged. He reached out his hand to make another move when a portal came from underneath him. He yelped and hung onto the table as he felt himself being sucked in. God, he really didn't want to confront the council right now.
"Oh pooh. Looks like our little hang out is cut short. Looks like we'll be having a rematch in the future, huh handsome~" Rouge hummed as he looked at him getting sucked into the portal.
Shadow gave an annoyed huff before letting go and letting himself fall into the portal. In a second, he was out of the cafe and splattered on the floor next to the council's large desk.
The ghost leader, Tikal, sighed as she looked at the grey ghost on the floor before snapping her fingers and summoning a clipboard into her hand. "Shadow T. Hedgehog." She said firmly. She had seen him wind up back here so many times before that she didn't even need to read the sheet. "Do you know why we summoned you?"
Shadow grumbled and got up, slowly rearranging his ghostly body from an unidentifiable blob to its rightful form "I don't know, but it better be good. I don't exactly like these types of meetings."
Tikal tapped her finger on the desk and glanced at the data on the clipboard. "Shadow, this is the third month in a row that you have been behind on your scare reports" She shook her head "I mean, seriously, only 2 scares this entire month?"
Shadow huffed "I've been busy" In all realism, he just didn't want to scare this month. It wasn't because he had any sympathy for the mobians, quite the opposite, he just never cared to go out of his way to scare anyone. Any scares were probably on accident if anything.
"You've been 'too busy' for 3 months? That's preposterous!" One member of the council said in aggravation.
"He's obviously of no use to us if he can not do the ONE job we assign to him! I say we throw him in The Unknown and lose some dead weight!" Another member cried.
The Unknown was a terrible place. It was a place where already dead souls went to die...again. Except, there was no afterlife, just mindless floating in circles and unending sadness. Shadow frowned nervously as he heard the rest of them agree to begin his demise.
Tikal raised her hand, silencing the rest of the council. "Now now. Let's not be so hasty in our decisions. I don't find The Unknown to be a fitting punishment yet."
One council member spoke up "Your great and powerful Majesty, Tikal! Ruler of all ghosts! Have we not learned our lesson! We have given this ghost chances upon chances already! It's time we give him a rather fitting punishment!"
Tikal glared at the ghost. "Does your hate for your fellow ghost prevail the fear of your ruler? If I say it isn't a fitting punishment, then it is simply NOT a fitting punishment! I should have you banished from the council for questioning my decision, but I'm sure you would also beg for understanding and forgiveness."
The ghost stayed quiet and simply sat in his seat in obedience. Not another member dared to speak.
Tikal then looked down upon Shadow "As for you, I can't say I'm happy with your performance, Shadow. The scares are not only for fun, but to keep purgatory safe. I give you another month to do the right thing, but know that this doesn't mean you have infinite chances. If I don't see progress in the next month" She narrowed her eyes "Know you will be dealt with"
Shadow swallowed hard. He knew better than to challenge Tikal right now. He nodded quickly "Y-Yes. Understood"
Tikal smiled and the tension in the room finally wavered off "Oh very good! You're a very smart ghost, Shadow. Might as well place you back on earth to start you off!" She snapped her finger and another portal came from under him. Shadow then felt himself leave the council and crash into the attic of the abandoned house that he had been staying in when he wanted to stay on earth.
Shadow rubbed his head and groaned. Great. Now not only was his afterlife being threatened, but he had a headache too. Shadow scowled as he floated over to a cobweb and laid down on it like a hammock. "Oh yes. Life is just peachy" He said sarcastically to no one in particular.
He wanted to say that things just couldn't get worse than this. That there was no way to go but up.
But he knew better than that.
___
Amy sighed as she looked at her sister through her rear view mirror. After a few years of living in a cramped 5 floor apartment, Amy was able to save up enough money to buy themselves a nice, cozy house. Her sister, Cream, looked out the window, holding her pet chao, Cheese, tightly against her chest. Her tail twitched as the car passed by different houses "Did we really have to move?"
Amy sighed "Cream. I know moving from home and leaving all your friends is rough, but I promise, our new home is going to be a LOT better" She smiled "And since I got a new job that will give me a bit more money. We could buy way more ice cream! Do you want that? Once we unload all the boxes into the house, do you want to go out for ice cream?"
Cream stayed silent for a moment before she silently nodded her head.
The three of them drove in silence until they had arrived at their destination. "Looks like we're here" She said, parking the car and unbuckling her seat belt. Cheese flew over their heads as Amy and Cream looked up at their new house. The building showed obvious age. The paint was chipped and the garden surrounding the house was wilted and dead. Cream frowned and looked up at Amy.
Amy let out a nervous laugh "So it's a bit of a fixer upper. But hey! That just means we have more freedom to customize it. You'll help me make it nice and pretty, won't you?"
Cream gave Amy a small smile and nodded her head.
"Good. Now then" Amy pushed Cream back "Last one there is a rotten egg! "
"Hey!" Cream squealed and laughed as she ran over to the house behind Amy. Soon, the pink hedgehog and cream bunny slammed the door open and stopped once they were in the house. Amy caught her breath. "Alright Cream, how about you look around the house. See what you can find before the furniture comes in"
"Okay" Cream nodded. Cream ran around the empty house with Cheese.
Amy hummed softly as she watched her sister run around. She would get used to this place. She knew she would. Amy then looked up and saw that upstairs, there was a little doorway to the attic. She smiled, deciding to do a little house exploring herself.
___
Shadow was napping on his cobweb hammock when his ears picked up on the sound of joyful laughing and footsteps. His ear flickered and he woke up with a start.
Mobians? Mobians in HIS house? How does that even happen? Nobody would even touch this abandoned establishment with a 10 foot pole unless-
Shadow frozen. Had someone finally brought this house? After all these years? "Nononono! My house is NOT for sale. I already have way too much going on in my life for humans to come and ruin it." Shadow got off his cobweb hammock and quickly hovered to the door, but Amy opened it before he could open it, and he got smack in the face with it.
"Sheesh. This attic looks ROUGH" Amy said as she entered the dark attic. She rustled into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a flashlight. Shadow grumbled to himself and seeped into the shadows. He watched as this pink, short-quilled hedgehog infiltrated his room. He scowled as she looked around the house and dodged any cobwebs threatening to touch her, slightly shivering at the thought of spiders being in the same room as her. He was quite annoyed by the uninvited guests but he figured he could get his first scare out of the way with this opportunity.
Shadow thumped his tail against the old, dusty walls.
"Huh?!" Amy turned her flashlight around where she heard the thump, but she just missed him and couldn't see a thing.
Shadow came from behind her and grazed the tip of his hands on the fur of her neck before rushing away again. Amy yelped and turned her flashlight around. By now she was feeling quite unnerved. She knew there were probably all types of creepy crawlies around here. She backed up.
Shadow came up from behind her. He smirked. Despite not caring for it, he did get a sick sense of pleasure from scaring humans once he was actually putting in the effort. Amy bumped into him and turned around. Her soft blue eyes locked with his piercing red eyes and she gasped. Shadow pounced towards her. His hands reaching out as if to grab her.
"AHHH!" Amy let out a high pitch scream and with all her might, hit him with her flashlight.
Shadow grunted as the flashlight came in contact with his face and he was launched down to the floor. He groaned and rubbed his head.
"W-What the-" Amy backed up and pointed her flashlight at the thing that almost attacked her on the ground. He didn't seem to be a human at all. In fact he was fairly transparent and had no legs. Her eyes widened in awe. "Are you...a ghost? A REAL ghost?"
Shadow glared at her, not sharing any of her amusement. "Yes. I want you OUT of MY house!"
"Your house?" Amy raised a brow "Last time I check, this place didn't have your name on it. And the real estate agent didn't mention a ghost buying it before me."
"Well I was HERE first!"
"I don't think that's how that works"
"I don't CARE how things work for you mobians" Shadow growled. He floated up to her and got right up into her face "I've been dealing with enough already! I don't need you and your smaller roommate making things worse for me!"
"Hey Hey. Calm down" She gave him a soft smile "Who's to say we can't co-exist? Me and my sister can't possibly bother you much"
"Just looking at you bothers me"
Amy frowned "I'm sorry for whatever has got you in a bad mood, but we're staying." She said. She didn't understand why the ghost was so grumpy off the jump, but she couldn't just leave.
Shadows face hardened "Well then, you give me no choice." He snapped his fingers.
Amy suddenly felt herself get herself getting swept off her feet. She yelped as she floated in the air, as if gravity suddenly ceased to exist.
"Now. What is your name?"
"Huh? Me?"
"No. The wall" He said sarcastically.
Amy let out a small huff and puffed up her cheeks. Who knew ghost were so rude? "Amy Rose"
Shadow gave her a look
"What? It's a normal name!"
"That's the most basic name I've ever heard. It almost seems fake"
"Oh" She raised a brow "And YOUR name is?"
Shadow hesitated. He contemplated on if he should give that information to this random girl he met today, but he figured it was harmless. It wasn't like she would do anything with the information "Shadow."
"Shadow? Listen, I don't wanna be mean but perhaps your not the greatest candidate for judging names."
Shadow narrowed his eyes at her "Lets just make this quick" He brought her close to him and she struggled to break free.
"Amy rose!" His eyes glowed red "For as long as you live in this decrepit house, I will haunt you! Wherever you go and whatever you do, I'll be there. There will be nowhere to hide and I will always be haunting you!"
Amy scowled. She was having enough of this guy trying bully her out of her own home. She grabbed his squishy ghost body tightly. Shadow looked shocked "Okay. Listen here, Shadow! I have saved money for YEAR to get a house like this. I've been looking for a house for MONTHS. I've left behind LIFELONG friendships, and it took me HOURS to drag my little sister along with me. I will NOT be leaving this house and you're just going to have to deal with it! Got it?"
"Damn! Okay!" Shadow huffed in frustration. He snapped his fingers again and gravity returned to normal. Amy lost her grip on him and yelped again as she fell to the floor. Clearly this wasn't working out for him. He would need to find another place enjoy his solitude. "Hmph. Pathetic mobians"
He left Amy on the floor and flew out the window. He turned himself invisible and looked around the town. Surely he could find another abandoned home. Preferably one that was broken beyond repair so that the living wouldn't even think about entering there. However, before he could travel far, he suddenly felt himself getting pulled back to the house with great force.
Amy was finally getting up from the attic floor. She dusted off her dress, only to be knocked back down when Shadow slammed into her. She groaned as she laid on the ground with Shadow on on top of her, now visible "Ow! I thought you were leaving. Not fighting me!"
"I didn't do it on purpose!" Shadow got off of Amy before she got up herself "I think my curse makes it so I can't be too far from you vicinity without being dragged over to you"
"Okay" Amy hummed "So just uncurse me"
"Er..." Shadow looked away uncomfortably "I don't think I can. Curses are permanent unless the victim ends up doing the requirement to break it. In your case, it's leaving the house and living somewhere else."
Amy gave an amused chuckle. Who knew his curse would come back to bite him so soon. "Well, looks like we're going to be sticking together for a while, huh?"
"Unfortunately"
Amy sighed "Listen. I know you're very....reluctant to the idea of us being roommates, but who knows! It could be fun. I'm willing to make things work and my sisters an angel. And if you want, we can also just leave you to your own devices."
Shadow crossed his arms. It wasn't like he had much of a choice. He was stuck with these people until he could find a way to get them out. He nodded in agreement "Okay fine. I suppose we can call a truce. Only on one condition! You don't touch this attic EVER. Not weird decorations or unnecessary storage. This spot is for me."
Amy smiled widely and nodded "Sounds fine to me. We'll just use the basement" She turned walked away and waved goodbye "Bye Shadow!"
Shadow didn't say anything as she left the attic. He breathed a sigh of relief once she was gone and went back onto his spiderweb hammock. Even though he didn't like the situation, he had to admit that being stuck with a girl like Amy wasn't too bad. There could have definitely been worse.
He thought back to the council and his scare report. Did Amy count for that? Sure, he didn't scare her out the house but he had frightened her quite a bit. He shrugged and make a clipboard with a form spawn in his hand, as well as a pen. One scare of the month, officially done.
Shadow's ear flicked as he suddenly heard footsteps. "Amy? Are you still up there?" A young, squeaky voice said as the footsteps came closer. She opened the door to the attic "Amy?"
Cream and Cheese peeking into the attic, only to see Shadow glaring at both of them. Both of their faces turned pale. Cream let out a blood curling scream before running away "AMY! AMY! THERE'S A GHOST IN THE ATTIC!"
Make that three.