"Haha! That is so cool!" Maria laughed, giggling so hard she rolls onto her back and curls into a ball of laughter. I grin and drop down onto my back beside Maria. "Seriously though," she gasps, "how can you do that?"
"It's nothing really," I say bashfully, "but to be honest, I have no idea how I can curl up into such a tight ball. It just feels easy, natural."
"Can you do anything else like that?" Maria asked, sitting up.
"I don't know, it just happened before I knew what I was doing, like an instinct. I don't see how, though, because Gerald told me that he created me. General instincts are one thing, but I didn't know I had any physical ones."
"Wow, that's pretty weird." Maria said, cocking her head towards me.
"Yeah, I guess it is." I nod, and I grin up at the ceiling.
"Hmm," Maria rubbed her chin in thought, "I wonder what would happen if you did that in midair. Would you bounce like a ball?"
"I don't know," I say, thinking, "I would probably just fall to the floor."
"What if you did that and I rolled you across the floor? " Maria asked.
"I would...roll across the floor?" I scratch my ear, baffled. "I think the midair thing would be more interesting." Though likely more painful.
"Let's try it!" Maria jumped up enthusiastically.
"If you say so..." I say, skeptical. I curl up and Maria grabs one of my spines, hauling me up. With a huff and hurk! she spun around and threw me as hard as she could. I feel like I'm flying out into space, and I uncurl so I can catch myself. I yelp as I realize that the ground is coming at my face.
"Yipes!!!" I exclaim, and I roll into a ball in a frantic bid to protect myself. Next thing I know, I slam into the ground. "Owww..." I moan, and my head is spinning. My quills are lodged in the floor, and my limbs hang down towards the ceiling. Wait...What? I open my eyes and suck in a hissing breath. I'm stuck to the ceiling!!! How did this happen?!
"Shadow! How the stars did you get up there?!" Maria yelped, staring up at me.
"I--I have no idea." I whimper; being stuck to the ceiling is not my idea of a good time.
"Try wiggling around, and maybe you'll fall down." Maria suggested. I kick my legs and wave my arms wildly in a bid to get down, but my quills are stuck fast. Just great. Now what am I supposed to do? Plug myself in and become a lamp? My thoughts come to a standstill when Maria starts talking.
"When you were about to hit the ground, you turned into a black and red ball and spun upwards without ever touching the ground. Maybe you could do that again and get unstuck?" Maria looked up at me, and I wave my arms around helplessly.
"It's worth a try," I mutter; now I'm in a bad mood. It's not like I can fly. I start swinging my legs back and forth as well as I can. I think I've got enough momentum, so now I just have to... I kick my legs up and try to spin backwards. Nothing, just wonderful. I start to kick my legs back down, and the moment I move forwards I feel the oddest wrenching sensation from the back of my head. Ow, that--yah!!!
"Yah--!!!" I yelp as I start falling back towards the floor. I concentrate and yank my legs back to my chest, and then I shoot upwards. Uh-oh, here comes the ceiling! I frantically attempt to keep spinning, and I hit it hard. Ow...Don't tell me I'm--OUCH! I slam into something, the wall or floor I think; I can't tell. I bounce off and fly through the air, and I hit something else. Ouch! I crash into a surface. Oof! That's it, no more! I uncurl, and Wham! All the breath comes out of me, and the next thing I know is that I'm falling. Boom. The sound of my body colliding with the floor reverberates through the ship, and with my head spinning I realize that Maria is calling my name.
"Shadow! Shadow, are you alright?! Shadow?! Wake up, Shadow, please!"
"Ugh." *cough* "I'm fine, I'm fine." My stomach feels like a burst balloon, and my thoughts are reeling.
"Oh, thank the stars! I was terrified that something very bad had happened to you. How on ARK did you do that?"
"I--I don't really..." I groan, "I don't really know..." Suddenly, I hear a crackle from the overhead speakers. Gerald uses those to talk to Maria every day, but why are they coming on now? I gasp as I hear Gerald's voice come on; he sounds very excited.
"Shadow!" Gerald exclaims, his voice staticy, "You just discovered one of your powers!"
I know this chapter is a bit more happy than the others, but Shadow had to have had some nice moments with Maria. And yes, all of you Sonic fans, Shadow just learned how to spindash. :D