[WolfEx]

Shadow had heard that there was a place to wind down and relax after a difficult mission or challenging time where he could buy refreshments, drink to his heart's content, and share war stories with other veterans of the fray, but never in his mind did he expect to ever find it. The Busy Bee Lobby was tucked away near the rear entrance of the Life Sphere connected just to the side of the air lock and big enough to fit dozens of armies. He looked around and could see at least a hundred other warriors like him talking amongst eachother in groups, forming teams, enjoying meals, and sharing laughter. There was some annoying song playing over the loud speakers connected high above the structure that he couldn't quite make out, or cared to.

He studied the happy faces shining across most of the citizens around him. He wondered what it would be like to smile, to laugh again, to feel..something...but he never let his own feelings or emotions get the best of him. He couldn't. He was a machine made for battle, a hardened soul fit to be lonely. Without Maria, he was empty, and nothing could quite fill that void. Ofcourse there were some in the lobby who were alone, tarnished with scars of their own that weren't always on the outside, but very much internal. He guessed what they must feel, how many friends and family members they might have lost in this war, to the plague, and to insanity.

Yes the whole lobby was a mess of bipolar inquisitions and hidden agendas, if he was a therapist to any of the inhabitants, he wouldn't even know where to start. He just wanted this to end, he wanted it all...to end. He wanted to go back to Earth, he wanted to return and know his love would be there. He didn't want to be the serious drifter any longer. He yearned for love, for acceptance, for friendship, but he was cursed never to attain such dreams. He walked through the lobby as if he was floating in the air, tumbling around bodies, avoiding conversation, making himself invisible through his aura of loneliness. He walked with his head down always in thought, and found a quiet place just beyond a juice shack at a window seat bench. Through the window he had a large view of the wastes beyond, dust clouds rolling by, nothing but empty space and the promise of decay laid beyond the glass, and he knew that.

All the missions he's fought, all the things he's been through, nothing, none of it, made sense. Why did all these realms crash together on this planet, what caused another explosion, what brought these molds of different personalities and walks of life together under one roof to fight the same battle. Every single one of them having the same purpose, to win the war, every single one of them, scared of SOMETHING one way or another, and forced to fight in a losing engagement. There was too much disease out there, too much danger, how much longer could everyone go on? Supplies have to eventually run out, tensions have to eventually flare, and yet, so many are still content. He pondered so deeply that he almost forget where he was and slowly began to nod off into a lulled sleep.

[Deleted]

Skull Kid was out exploring some of the unknown parts of the Life Sphere, the places he had never been to and had no knowledge of. It only felt natural to know the place where he lived and all of it's nooks and crannies (that sounded like the name of an odds and ends shop to him).

As he was walking along, bouncing and saying hi to people that passed by, he came upon the rear entrance of the Life Sphere. He was about to turn around and head elsewhere, since he had come to the end of this path, when he noticed a smaller opening nearby. He watched as a few different people moseyed in and out, with no big fuss or requirements for entry. This place seemed open to the public, and so Skull Kid decided it would be the latest background for his adventuring in the Life Sphere. He walked in, watching to make sure it was totally okay for him to be there. Inside, he saw hundreds of people, with room for hundreds more. There seemed to be buildings where food was available, as well as plenty of places to sit down and converse with friends, which was what most everyone there was doing. Music was playing lightly in the background; a light and bubbly tune that made Skull Kid want to dance. He wished to find the person responsible for the sound and learn it himself, so he began to walk around, searching for the source of the sound. For several minutes he attempted to follow the sound, listening for an increase in volume, but always ended up at a wall, while the music teased him by playing from somewhere that almost seemed to be right above him.

The fourth time he decided on a direction it had to be coming from, the sound lead him to a booth with a sole Life Sphere resident sitting at it. The entire place brought on a joyful mood and friendly tones, but here was this one person, sitting alone and not enjoying any of the merriment that Skull Kid perceived. As he looked closer, he realized that the being was someone he had seen before. The Porcupine Guy! Skull Kid was sure that wasn't his name, but he ran up to the booth, exclaiming it regardless.

"Hey! Hey Porcupine Guy! What's Up? Why are you sitting all alone when there's so much food and so many friendly people in this place?! And there's music too! Can't you hear it?"

His last few words reminded him of his search for the allusive player of music, and he glanced around, looking for anyone with an instrument. It was immediately clear that his search had heeded no results, and so he sat down at the booth with the semi-stranger. His excitement had subsided slightly, and he was in a bit of a calmer mood now.

"You know, you're pretty cool looking. If you started talking to anyone here, I bet they wouldn't run away." he said after a few seconds of silence.

[WolfEx]

Just as Shadow started to fall asleep he heard a voice shout near him, in fact the voice was so near, that when Shadow opened his eyes to observe the racket, he saw that the person responsible was none other than the strange masked child he had worked with before. And he was directly sitting beside Shadow, which Shadow was not fond of at all. "Oh no....not you." Shadow rolled his eyes and folded his arms tilting his head the opposite way of the skull child as if to avoid conversation. It wasn't that he hated the kid, it was just that he was no good at mingling with personalities that were younger than him nor personalities that were so...bubbly. He yawned and tried to shoo him away. "Usually when people sit alone it means they want to be left alone." He said this with his eyes closed as he was trying to fall back asleep. "And my name is Shadow...not Porcupine Guy...." He frowned at that earlier remark and curled himself up on the arm chair of the booth he was taking up scooting away from Skull Kid. "Now if you'll excuse me...." Shadow casually turned his head to Skull Kid, eyes still closed, and tiredly spoke, "I have a nap to attend to." He then tucked his head to his chest curled up and attempted to rest.

Attempted though, was the key term. The bloody music he had attested to before was still blaring and distracting his sleep along with the presence of a mask wearing man child. He grumbled under his breath and tried to fight the noise as best he could with flashes and visions of past missions in his head and thoughts flying at a hundred miles a minute of suffering races and species from the Starvia plague dying like flies. He rarely ever got sleep, and he had hoped this time was an exception. No matter how much he fought it, it remained difficult to relax. So instead, he pretended to be asleep as a tactic to bore Skull Kid so he would eventually leave. Besides, Shadow never thought of himself as an interesting person, ever, or cool for that matter. He never had the time to study himself or work on his social skills, and he never cared to. He wasn't going to start now.

[Deleted]

"Shadow" Skull Kid said quietly to himself a few times. He thought that was a pretty cool name too, but Shadow didn't seem to care how cool things were. He did seem like he was trying to nap, but it was hard to believe he'd fallen asleep so quickly.

"You know, this isn't really the best place for a nap, Shadow." He put emphasis on Shadow's name, like it was a word he had just learned, when it was actually pretty common. "I know a lot of way better places for a nap. Places where it's really quiet. Places where most people don't go. And places where the ground is really soft..." He trailed off at the end, as Shadow seemed to be really uncaring about what he was saying. So it wasn't really about naps then....

"Are you sad, Shadow?" he asked this with a lot of tenderness in his voice, as he felt a pull at his heart when he thought about that emotion. Something in his past had happened that made him incredibly sad, and he relived the emotion without the memories. Immediately after he, felt bitter at the world, like everyone was against him when he had done nothing wrong. He could see this was the emotion that had a hold on Shadow currently, and he felt really bad for him. The Mask felt heavy in his bag after all the bitterness, and he realized that it was what he had used to attack the world when he was bitter. He wasn't so sure Shadow would attack anyone, except the Infected, of course, but it was still an awful feeling to have, and it could really blind you to the best things in life, like friends, and music.

These were all thoughts he had while awaiting Shadow's response. Hopefully he was correct, and Shadow hadn't actually fallen asleep while he talked.

[WolfEx]

His attempt at sleep was long over. He should have guessed the skull child was going to stick around and prod him all day. No matter, there was no avoiding it now. His slumber will continue to be prolonged until his mind was completely clear, then maybe he could sleep. He didn't ever know a time when his mind was free of thought or worry, the most sleep he ever received was shy of a few hours at most, he was totally restless. He couldn't ever cry, he couldn't ever feel joy or happiness, he couldn't ever be content so long as he was still breathing. It was the way he was made that haunted him and followed him forever. Luckily, he had free will and the ability to make his own choices now that Eggman has laid off of him, but he still felt in debt to Eggman somehow among other things. Then again, he didn't quite know if Eggman was even still alive or not. Shadow was a being of living in the moment, and right now, the moment was a conversation with an alien toddler. He could just walk away and move somewhere else, but he supposed the skull kid would just follow him like a long lost puppy. He made the seldom choice to talk to the being after all, what else was he to do until his next mission call? He had nowhere to go, and no one to talk to.

Shadow uncurled himself from his spiny ball position and sat upright sighing and staring at the ground not making eye contact with Skull Kid, but becoming stranded in the spaces of his mind again. He repeated Skull Kid's question of sadness in his head over and over again and simply just clicked his boots together several times in a mundane motion before answering. He wasn't afraid to answer the question, on the contrary, he was just so used to being asked that. As his feet dangled there and he felt himself relaxing a bit more, Shadow was able to talk again. "Not really. I just like to be alone with myself, that's all. Wh...what about you? Are YOU sad?" Shadow couldn't tell if Skull Kid was sad or what he even was, but he seemed more sad than Shadow did most of the time, and it was a fair question to ask.

In no way shape or form was Shadow opening up to Skull Kid, he was only letting his guard down a little because he didn't want to hurt the poor creature's feelings. He didn't like tears or the action of being upset, it annoyed him like the song blaring over the speakers above him, he hated seeing people's faces getting all messy because they...felt...something. He was going to keep his answers short and sweet, and any questions Shadow himself was going to ask will be subtle and basic. Heaven help him if a team or a friendship would come out of their conversation, he was definitely not into any of those ideas at all. Just small talk.

[Deleted]

Shadow's answer definitely sounded kinda lonely, which Skull Kid actually kind of dealt with when he first arrived at the Life Sphere. No one knew him, and very few chose to hold a conversation with him, until he got Tael, who ,agreeably, didn't talk much, but his presence was comforting enough, and Skull Kid even had the responsibility of caring for him. In places with a lot of people like this, Tael usually floated high above the crowds near the ceiling, always within view. Just like Skull Kid, Teal's appearance wasn't the friendliest (sharp claw/teeth things, a weirdly translucent body paired with strange inner organs, and he didn't have ANY facial features, which is what comforts most people, to be able to see emotion, or at least eyes). Shadow definitely didn't seem very bitter now. Maybe short and frank was just he way he socialized, whenever he did, anyways. It wasn't really his fault it came off as kind of mean, and besides, anyone who couldn't handle a few harsh words was worse off than shadow, feeling everything rather than nothing.

But it was the question that kind of caught Skull Kid off-guard, as he did not expect it from Shadow at all. Skull Kid had been sad before, but that was long ago, and he had forgotten the reasoning behind the emotion. Even recently, when all the worlds crashed together and he lost his forest home, sadness wasn't really present so much as confusion and fear. In the Life Sphere, he had been even happier than before, with his new metroid friend and all the potential friends all over the place. He even found joy in hiding on rooftops and listening to other people be friendly to each other; exchanging compliments and asking about life so far, even when they're days could possibly be so numbered by the Disease right outside the walls. They still found time and reason to be friendly and create relationships with others they had never known before.

"Sometimes." His own answer confused him. He knew what he wanted to say, but that was just what came out. He guessed it wasn't entirely false. His nights were often spent in thought about everything that was happening, before he fell asleep, and very few of the thoughts that occurred were happy ones. His own life was going fine, but he thought about how all the wonderful people here could be lost due to the circumstances, or how some were taking sides on how to confront the issue, which marked invisible lines between them where civil mingling was cut off and replaced with arguments over their plans. Didn't they realize they were all just trying to save everyone? That Hylian man arguing with that toad about how blowing up the world was an awful idea; didn't he realize that the toad wanted them both to be safe on that ship, away from the evils of the planet? Didn't the toad notice that the man didn't want anyone to have to start over somewhere else, including the toad? No. They didn't. And this saddened Skull Kid. So Shadow was right, he was sad. During the day he ran about, enjoying everyone and everything, but the night was a realm of darker feelings.

"But I don't let it stop me from trying to be friends with people. I've wanted to be left alone before, but I realized that it didn't help anything, and only made everything worse. Even when your friends can't talk back, like Tael, just talking to them feels really good. I'm not really saying you have to find friends to be happy, but I have noticed that the people without friends are the ones that are the least happy." he said all this in a more melancholy tone, now feeling sad because Shadow wanted to be alone, and he was sure that was a bad idea.

"Do you like music?" Skull Kid asked, trying to escape the hold of all the negative emotions he'd just realized were so prevalent at the booth.

[WolfEx]

For someone with the appearance of a child or dwarf the strange skull kid was making some sense. Maybe Shadow was wrong about him, maybe he was a wise old soul after all. Shadow let his words seep in like a form of medicine and allowed their meanings to wash through his ears. To have friends was such a general ideal, and it was so trendy and overdeveloped that he didn't expect it to have such a profound effect on him. "Fr....friends?" Shadow was relieved that Skull Kid felt lonely as well sometimes, it proved to Shadow that Skull Kid was at least normal. But then again, what was normal these days? Shadow was a created experiment from the genes of a hyper active hedgehog living in a giant bubble on a doomed planet, if anything he was extremely weird, the very opposite of normal. But sometimes weird was the best kind to be, and maybe that's why he didn't entirely dislike Skull Kid, because he too, was rather weird. The thought of it all was strange, but it made sense to Shadow.

Shadow was never used to being anyone's friend, or select choice for a conversation, or even as a battling partner as good as he was, he just intimidated too many others. Most of the time people stayed away from him out of both fear and spite. Skull Kid was among the few who took interest in Shadow the living and breathing being, rather than Shadow the heartless and cold. This was not expected from Shadow to have someone be so talkative with him, he started to enjoy it. It has been too long since Shadow had the pleasure of company and good conversation. The creature speaking to him wasn't too overbearing with his words or too boring either, he was quite intriguing and very descriptive. Was this what it was like to be calm and at peace? To relax and forget the troubles of the world? He wasn't so sure, but he wasn't entirely opposed to it either.

There was so much to see, so much to do in other worlds and galaxies outside the planet and its contents. He has been inhabiting this planet for longer than he could remember now and often day dreamed of what it would be like in other places, taking in the admiration and beauty of the quiet lands Skull Kid was speaking of earlier. And if being happy meant having friends, maybe it was about time Shadow adhered to that philosophy. If he ever got off this planet and found a wonderful peaceful and tranquil place to call home he would need someone to share it with. He couldn't spend his whole life alone, it wasn't healthy and it wasn't logical. To have friends to spend and share the essence of time with was truly magical. To day dream and hope and plan was new to Shadow, and when he did these things, he felt hope. Was it Skull Kid who brought this out in him? He wasn't certain, but he started to feel something, he started to become a dreamer.

"I guess Maria was my friend...well...much more than that. Oh how I miss her. I fear making more friends. I am afraid of having happiness with others. Because they all die in the end." Shadow was being honest. Everyone he ever held dear had either ran away from him or died eventually. He hated being experimental and created to live in eternity. He has changed alot of himself since he was born, but it was not easy coping with what he was. There was little anyone could do to change his viewpoints, but one step at a time, Shadow was feeling more open to things. Being open was dangerous to him, it was one of the few things he feared besides being close to someone only to see them vanish later in different ways. It was a weakness of his that he rarely exposed. He was good at hiding his vulnerabilities.

He heard Skull Kid change the subject and ask another question, which was fine, Shadow didn't mind talking about emotional and touchy subjects, he often felt better more than anything else talking about such things and stories. "Music? I like rock quite a bit. Anything more than this wretched tune playing above our heads." Shadow enjoyed music on his down time, but he enjoyed quiet and silence moreso. He listened to music when he felt angry or confused, tunes helped keep his thoughts in order, but quiet time helped clear his head entirely. He liked having a balance of the two, but he never met anyone else who had questions about his taste in music or him in general. He never expected he'd be talking about his hobbies or interests with another. It was all so strange to him.

[Deleted]

"It makes me want to dance!" is exactly what Skull Kid wanted to say, but he decided against it. The song was obviously outside of Shadow's usual preferences, and he probably wouldn't enjoy talking about how much he hated it. "Rock" was one of the new kinds of music that Skull Kid had learned about, as well as blues and classical. He knew of these because he of course payed so much attention to anything he considered musical. Of the three, his favorite was classical, but none of it compared to the songs he played on his horn.

"We'll that's good. Anything with a soul should love music of some form. It's an incredibly powerful thing and can change your emotions, but whether it's in a good or bad way depends. Like friends, a good song can cause you a lot of joy. Or it can create emotions you aren't even feeling, you just think you feel, like anger or sadness. Music is very important in life. Music and friends. I'm told money is important too, but I don't know much about that, heh heh."

He paused for a few seconds to ponder on what Shadow had said about this girl named Maria. He seemed terribly upset by losing her. Skull Kid never really had anyone die while he was with them. All of the few people he used to know always ended up leaving and never coming back. It seems it was better that way. He never knew them long enough to form a deep bond like "love". That was what he was sure Shadow felt for this girl he spoke of, though. Losing her made him afraid to get close to another, only to see them pass away, just like her. For once, Skull Kid wasn't the most lonely guy. He had Tael, and had spoken kindly to some of the other heroes in the Life Sphere

"Hey. I could be like your practice friend." he insisted quickly. "I promise not to die on you anytime soon. You can get used to having a friend again, and then, once you're ready, you can go make real friends." He said without making any eye contact. He was instead staring out at all the people passing by, talking, eating, and enjoying their lives. It occurred to him that he must have been the first to approach Shadow at this booth. He wondered what would make others avoid him. He seemed nice enough, not to mention really cool looking. He let that thought pass out of his head as he looked back over towards Shadow and waited for him to respond.

[WolfEx]

Music was a portal to the very core of a being, it explained a thousand things about the person through a single song. And the best part was, talking wasn't entirely necessary to understand what type of person the listener of the song was, the music did all the talking, it was all anyone needed to understand somebody else. It was also a great remedy for loneliness, aside from reading books, which was also slightly entertaining. He was glad to hear that Skull Kid enjoyed music, Shadow took Skull Kid for the musical type. He remembered a few things about those that came from Hyrule, that music was certainly a big part of their lives. He had heard they had flutes, and drums, and things called ocarinas. He might have enjoyed living in such a place. All these destroyed lands surrounding the Life Sphere were once mighty cities, and monuments and habitats, now their just stories, historical entries etched in time. It was certainly a shame. "Music is very important. Friends...well...I yet to know that." Shadow was more reliant on his own hobbies and ideals than other people or their opinions. Friendship was a challenge.

He was taken aback by Skull Kid's sudden offer for friendship, and thus the challenge began. Shadow didn't know what to make of the offer, he was baffled at the request. But the deal made sense, a practice friend, not a real friend to try out this feeling of friendship and bonding, Shadow began to fancy the idea after a few moments of some rethinking. He could tolerate Skull Kid after all, and it didn't mean he had to really risk or give up anything, it simply meant an alliance, a temporary one for now. And this was something he was not opposed to, especially on missions it would be nice to know someone would be by his side rather than expecting a random team to show. It was adequate to think that the rate of survivability would be increased as well now that he had a partner in crime so to speak. He agreed with the offer. "Practice friend eh...very well. But if you die, know that I don't have the capacity to grieve." Shadow was serious ofcourse, he couldn't really show much emotion, and he's seen too many dead to really acknowledge it as a term of sorrow or merit a reaction.

"Look out there skull child. Look beyond this glass in front of us and tell me what you see. In no way will I believe you can remain so content in such a troubled world. You can stop the facade at any moment." Shadow knew what he saw out there beyond that glass, death, decay, emptiness, pain, suffering, anguish, struggle, and a string of other words which ran through his mind in flashes. He welcomed all those terms though, he felt it made him stronger to expect the worst. His will power thrived off of difficult and nearly impossible odds. Without some form of obstacle(s) to conquer Shadow felt useless and weak. He needed things to keep him going, he needed battle to stay not only fit, but also mentally refreshed on how to become victorious and keep fighting the good fight. He wanted to keep his skills sharp, and though the wasteland outside was filled with danger, it would only make him stronger on every level.

[Deleted]

Shadow almost grudgingly accepted Skull Kid's offer. But he did accept it, and that meant he could and would make progress. He also said he would not grieve if Skull Kid were to die. That was good. He didn't want anyone to grieve for any reason, even if it was because they missed him. He felt conflicted about having Shadow open up again, though. He wasn't wrong about being hurt by people when they left this world. He might've been better off hardened and uncaring for relationships with others, that way he wouldn't be hurt. Skull Kid had just made him vulnerable to the world again, to great emotional pain in the future, when he had made many friends, or even loved again. Maria might happen all over again. He hoped not.

He looked out their booth window as instructed and saw the open, lifeless plains. Nothing out there even hinted at positivity. What did Shadow want him to say though? There was nothing out there. Everything had been destroyed. All the beautiful places, the homes, the lives. None of it was ever coming back. But that WAS the truth. Everything else was hope and blind faith in a better future. Refusal to recognize death was waiting patiently for every single one of them. Things were in fact so irredeemable, that villains agreed to team up with the same people they had hoped to slay before, just so that they might get a hold of a shred of hope themselves.

"I see the end, Shadow." he stated in a terribly submissive tone. "That's what's out there, and that's what we're fighting against every day. We struggle to keep the end of days at bay in a cage we made for ourselves. But that's why I am content. So long as we keep fighting and trying, doom keeps it's distance. We may not be able to get back what once was out there, but we have a chance to make something new. So long as we survive." he ended on a serious note.

He stared through the glass for a little longer and then began retriving something from his bag. It was a beautifully crafted wooden box, big enough to maybe fit a bird's nest inside. It was a music box. He had heard it play from a stall in the Black Market and fell in love with the tune. He considered stealing it (as he did scraps of food), but something made him want to attain this item by completely legitimate means. So he worked some odd jobs at random places for a few weeks, always making sure the music box wasn't purchased by hiding it in the stall owner's home whenever he saw it on display. Then, once he had the money, he purchased it. The owner of the stall was happy to be rid of the useless and "cursed" item. "Take the damn thing." he had said. "It ain't the quite the deal I thought it would be when I "found" it." Now it was his. An item he owned, had acquired through hard work. That seemed like the only way it should be had.

He opened it up once it was on the table and the tune resounded off the inner walls of it's container, making it easily heard by both himself and Shadow over the noise surrounding them. Skull Kid looked inside the box like the answers to life lay within, but they would be forgotten as soon as he closed it. He let the song play through completely, this being only the second time he had opened it.

(If you want to know exactly what the tune is, you can find it here --> soundcloud.com/barbarian-grieve/kingdom-hearts-simple-and <-- sorry, you'll have to copy and paste, as I am not very computer savvy, and linking it would require suave, haha. Also, I hope it's okay that Skull Kid got this without roleplaying for it. It doesn't really have any practical uses, so I didn't want to make a big deal out of it by creating a topic, and I wasn't really sure how role playing with myself would work, or if I needed to get an admin to play the stall owner or what. Really sorry if this wasn't okay.)

[WolfEx]

Shadow stared blank faced for a few moments drowning out Skull Kid and everything and everyone else around him to continue thinking what was to come in the future, what trials he was going to face in the land outside the walls. Would he grow old here and die of loneliness and live out his life as an old creature of habit? He wasn't sure if he even did age seeing as he was an experiment and all, but he did have a brief feeling that he would die one day in some horrible and unbearable way. And that would be dying without honor, dying from natural causes, and he would hate that with every fiber of his being. If he was going to go out, he was going to go out in a hell of fire and brimstone. He's been in some crazy fights, and even crazier places, Planet Li was nothing compared to what he's gone through, if anything it was more of a paradise than a danger, but he wasn't going to go spreading that around. Many of these creatures within the Life Sphere had it easy in the past compared to him, and what was easy for Shadow to bear with now, was a nightmare for others.

Shadow listened to Skull Kid as he spoke and was surprised to hear such a profoundness from him. And the best of it all was, Shadow agreed completely with his statement. There was no hope out there, only doom and destruction, but he had to hold on to something, some meaning of life, they all had to. If they gave up now, they would all only die sooner. "I never thought I'd actually agree with someone, but your very right." Shadow had no doubt the imminent truth was something many still refused to accept and lacked the logic to sink in with. He supposed him and Skull Kid were one of the select few who accepted the worst. All they had was the fight, and all they knew, was what they could do, rather than what they couldn't, so they clung to that dignity with their heads held high, wishing it would be enough.

Shadow perked his ears up as Skull Kid took out a strange box and it began to play a song, something that sounded like a lullaby. Shadow twisted his head in bafflement upon the tune playing through the air. For some reason, it was beautiful to him. So simple, yet so elegant, it made sense. Nothing made sense to Shadow anymore, but this song, did. The song reminded him of the subtleties in life, that every little thing had a purpose of its own, had its own path in the meaning of it all. Shadow closed his eyes and let the music overtake him. He imagined dancing in a ball room with Maria and showing her the beauties of the world. They were dancing as if gliding off the floor, there was magic in the room, and they were glowing with vibrant hues of warmth and light. They didn't want to stop. And for the first time in his imagination of him and Maria, Shadow was smiling, full of joy in that very moment.

In reality, his eyes were still closed, and he wasn't smiling, but frowning, as if holding back tears. He set his head down as the music came to an end and remained there in sorrow. "That box...has some powerful qualities." Shadow said this as he lightly petted the box as if Maria was within it. He knew he could simply use his Cerebral Sphere item to bring memories to life, but that would make him far too upset to see his own memories in living color right in front of him. It was for moments like this, and memories like his own, that he fought. He was going to be happy again one day, and he was going to make sure everyone in the Life Sphere could be happy again soon too. Everyone had their own reasons to fight, and Shadow's was clear. He fought for everyone, he fought for those who felt the pain he did when their loved ones went missing, when their friends were killed, he fought for relief and the term in which everyone seemed to be missing dearly, the feeling of joy. And he was going to retrieve it.

[Deleted]

Skull Kid thought back to his time in the Lost Forest as the song played. He got a glimpse at moments spent with each of those very few who became his friends. He saw himself and two fairies playing in a field. He remembered the green haired girl who had taught him her very own song, one that was still his very favorite to play. It seemed he had once been friends with four giants, as they romped about with him in the light of the sun and dark of the night. And he finally recalled the face of that hero fairy boy who saved him from the Mask's evil master. He locked that image in his memory. He wouldn't forget it, at least not for a long while.

Shadow had approved of his answer pertaining to what was outside the glass. He seemed to think on the darker side of things often, but he also agreed that continuing to resist was their best and only option. He wasn't hopeless, just truthful, in the harshest way possible, and Skull Kid could accept that. He wasn't a lost cause, just a guy with a different kind of personality, unlike most people's. That was probably why no one else had sat down next to him today. They knew he wasn't so approachable, and didn't want to try to get through to him. They already had plenty of "normal" friends, and didn't need to put forth effort for one that was a little out of tune with social interaction. Skull Kid was very glad he had gotten to talk to Shadow. He became aware of a lot of his own subconscious thoughts and feelings because of it, and that was pretty great for someone who hadn't wanted to talk to him to begin with.

"That box...has some powerful qualities." Shadow stated, and patted Skull Kid's possession. He was right. There was something about the sound coming from a box rather than a musician that made it terribly personal. And the tune itself clearly came from a world of deep emotions. Somewhere where music had become beautifully refined, and it's quality was unmistakable. But moreso than that, the creator of either the box or the tune had reached some kind of enlightenment, one that was so powerful, it could be passed through notes from a small mechanism in a box far from home. Skull Kid had found nothing that made him feel so strongly as music did, and he would continue to enjoy it in all of it's forms for however long he could.

He put the box away, rapped in a royal blue cloth that had patterns resembling crowns on it in gold. He turned back to Shadow, who's head now lay on the table. He imagined Shadow wasn't lying earlier about trying to nap, as he had clearly been asleep when Skull Kid found him, so he decided that the song had likely lulled him to sleep. He didn't want to wake him, and Shadow didn't seem like one to engage in hearty goodbyes, so he quietly slipped out of the booth and acquired some fried octopus dumplings from "Cooking Mama's Best". Once he'd eaten a few he left the rest on the table, near Shadow, and went about his day, happy to have acquired a "practice friend" who enjoyed music and was powerful in a fight.



(End presence)