Gunslingers

Once there was a town in Mobius that was very centered around Western ideals. They cared so much about it that it was almost untouched by time. Subways and computers never reached this town. No here they were accompanied by locomotives and letters, but the townsfolk payed no mind to it. They were happy that they had homes, jobs, and a brilliant Sheriff to watch over them.



He wasn't always liked. The ebony hedgehog was rumored to have been some experiment by scientists using their fancy machines, and he admitted it. After all his rocket boots would be hard to lie about when he sped off almost as sonic speeds. Some said that the red streaks in his quills were a result when his body was made from dynamite and that his black body was made from gunpowder. Of course he did have a bit of an explosive temper. Some said that the white tuft of fur on his chest hid robot parts that couldn't be put on his insides. Some even said his fiery red eyes were small furnaces, burning coal to keep the creature alive.



As much as they tried to figure him out, one thing was universally known. This was the greatest sheriff that the town had ever known. There was no doubt that the sheriff could shoot better than everyone in the town. The pearl-handled revolver at his right side was proof of that as was the silver star in his white fur. Anyone that caused trouble in his town did one of two things. They either saw the man and fled from his absolutely frightening image, or they were shot dead as soon as they reached for their gun.



No one quite knew this sheriff's name. But seeing his speed off so fast, the town basically gave him the nickname "Shadow", on account of what he looked like going that fast.



One other little rumor floating around was Shadow had a soft spot for one of the dancing girls in Sonic's Saloon. Sonic was a pretty fast guy, with quills of a deep blue. The entire town would get together to see him and the sheriff race, sometimes he'd even win. That's where he got the name Sonic. He'd move so fast that you could barely see him when he took off. But the sheriff was in no way in love with Sonic. Instead the rumor focused on a pretty young hedgehog with quills as pink as a rose. Such a reputation earned her the nickname Rose.



Walking into the familiar saloon, Sonic waved to the sheriff with a smile on his face, he usually did and was usually the only one to do so, everyone else was just too scared of the guy. Taking of a black ten gallon hat with a white band around it, Shadow hung it on a nearby hook and sat at the bar while Sonic started pouring some sarsaparilla as he spoke.



"Mighty fine what you do for this town Sheriff. Here's a tall one on me."



Taking the drink in his white gloved hand the sheriff nodded once to the barkeep. His overly enthusiastic attitude was annoying at times, but he'd deal with it for free drinks and the chance to see Rose doing the cancan. Taking a swig, Shadow watched her kick up with an almost invisible smirk on his face. Patting him on the back noticing where he was looking Sonic spoke up again.



"Well now, you planning on memorizing Rose's dancing or are ya planning on actually talking to her one of these days?"



Turning the sheriff smirked to his rival in speed. He would talk to her someday, and he came back in day after day after day with nothing said.



"It'll happen Sonic, just top me off will ya?"



"You got it Sheriff."



As the blue male turned to find more sarsaparilla, Rose looked across the audience to find the sheriff sitting at the bar. She secretly had a crush for him ever since day one, even when people scorned him from coming from advanced technology. She was one of the few that had faith in him, and eventually it got to the point where they saw each other everyday. Not that it mattered when they wouldn't talk to one another. Finishing her dance Sonic topped off Shadow before he spoke.



"Another wonderful performance Rose. You just rest now and I'll get ya a drink. Blaze! You're up girl."



Nodding to each other once Rose was glad when the purple cat took her place. Raising the hem of her ruffled green dress that matched her eyes she made her way to the bar where a cold glass of water was placed in front of her.



"There ya go Rosy, and you're pay."



Handing a few pieces of paper to her Sonic went back to bartending while Rose drank. As the sheriff fidgeted again, he began the usual awkward conversation they had there.



"Mighty nice to see you again sheriff" Rose began. "How have you been faring?" She did care to an extent, but she wanted to ask something else entirely. The black hedgehog nodded once before responding.



"I'm not bad Rose. Just bored since no criminals will come round this town." Of course he'd take all the criminals in the world if it meant getting the courage to ask this woman out. Fed up with their nonsense, Sonic made his way over and spoke so only those two could hear.



"Rosy, now I love ya and you bring in good business, but if you don't go out on a date with this man I will fire you."



Both hedgehogs were shocked at this kind of a push, but they didn't hate it entirely either. Rose was the first to speak.



"That's not fair Sonic. I'm you're best dancer and I need this job."



Before the sheriff could respond, Sonic interjected again clapping his gloved hands once as if in confirmation.



"Good. Sheriff she'll come to get ya 'round seven."



Satisfied Sonic continued bartending while the other hedgehogs blushed brightly. Fortunately Amy's quills hid it well. The sheriff had to take off taking his hat in a brisk walk on the way out.



Later that day when the sun had set and the moon had risen, Rose, now clad in a tasteful blue corsetted dress, made her way to the sheriff's department. Knocking on the doors twice, she found them to be opened by the same familiar sheriff, just putting his hat on his head. Both hedgehogs were anxious about the date that Sonic forced them into, but tried as best they could to play it off.



"You look very nice tonight sheriff" Rose said knowing full well that he was wearing nothing out of the ordinary.



"Thank you Rose" the dark sheriff responded. "What did you want to do tonight?"



"Please, call me Amy." The pink hedgehog said, "And let's just go for a walk."



Nodding once, Shadow reached out his hand to which Amy looked confused. Speaking Shadow had a devilish smile on his face.



"Well I thought this was a date. Wouldn't it be appropriate to hold hands?"



Taking the hand Amy and the sheriff walked down the main street of town, confirming everyone's rumors about the two as they watched from the windows of their homes and Sonic's Saloon. Blushing Amy waited till just outside of town to nuzzle her head on Shadow's arm. Taken aback Shadow blushed profusely causing Amy to giggle. Eventually they rested up against a rock to look up at the stars. With little light around them they could see millions if not billions of them. With her head still on Shadow's shoulder, Rose spoke up.



"Shadow? What was it like? Up there?"



Sighing, the sheriff tried answering it as truthfully as possible, before government agents killed his only friend.



"When you look around up there, you can see the entire world. All the stars surrounding it are always lit. It's almost like the world is in a snow globe."



Giggling at how he phrased it Amy spoke up again cuddling with Shadow some more.



"That's beautiful Shadow." She commented.



Feeling bold the sheriff spoke up this time using his free hand to raise her head up and make eye contact, holding it there with an index finger under her chin.



"I'd say there's plenty of beautiful things down here Amy. Much more beautiful than glowing balls of gas."



With that he leaned in letting his lips meet hers. But she didn't pull away, Shadow and Amy had finally kissed and finally shown their true feelings for each other. They wouldn't have had in any other way.



The news of the sheriff going out with Rose spread like wildfire through the small town, which led to Shadow being applauded when he entered Sonic's Saloon. Taking his usual seat Sonic came over laughing to the sheriff.



"Sheriff you have done a wonderful justice towards Rosy over there and I can not thank you enough. But I'm sure she can."



Laughing Shadow glared at Sonic as the barkeep went to collect a bit of sarsaparilla. Noticing her there, Shadow saw Amy in a simple brown dress, certainly not something for dancing. Raising a brow, Shadow looked to the girl that suddenly insisted on sitting on his lap, her arms wrapping around his neck.



"I thought you had to work right now?" Shadow inquired.



"Sonic gave me the day off for going out with you." Amy responded.



With a nod, Sonic gestured to the white bat taking her place on the stage, causing a few jaws to drop. But it was certainly a good enough distraction so that Amy could quickly kiss Shadow. Enjoying it Shadow returned the favor with a quick kiss of his own as Sonic laughed.



"Now now you two, if you're going to be doing that..."



Suddenly the clamor was broken as two residents of the town flew in astonished. One was the red echinda who was a merchant selling basically whatever treasures he hunted down, the other was the twin-tailed blacksmith. Seeing shadow Amy hopped off and Shadow looked to the two inquisitively.



The red echinda spoke first "Sheriff, you've got a serious problem."



Before Shadow could ask, the orange fox answered. "Fang the Sniper is here and challenging you to shootout tomorrow! He sent us with a note!"



The entire crowd gasped at that name as the note was handed over. Fang the Sniper was arguably the very best gunslinger in the West. His crimes knew no bounds and he had the gunslinging skills to back up whatever he said. No one knew his real name, but they called him Fang the Sniper because whenever his fancy shooting finished the job, the last things his victims saw was one large fang shining down on his prey before they died.



Aggravated Shadow slammed his fist down and began to walk away. Opening the note he noticed that it wasn't here but several miles away where Fang ambushed the echinda's caravan and the blacksmith while he was trading. As he walked to the sheriff's department he heard a voice from behind causing him to turn.



"Shadow! Wait!"



Amy rushed to her lover and clung to him tightly crying into his chest. She couldn't bear to think of Shadow dying, not so soon after their first kiss. Pushing her off Shadow made it gentle but firm.



"Amy I'm the sheriff of this town and I have to protect these people. I'm sorry but I have to go prepare myself."



She couldn't believe it. How could he be so insensitive? She loved him and he loved her. Didn't he? Right now nothing was clear. Amy ran off heartbroken to her home while Shadow used every ounce of restraint to turn and go to the sheriff's office.



That night both Amy and Shadow couldn't sleep. Amy was worried about Shadow tomorrow and had nightmares of him getting shot. Shadow was writing a note to Amy explaining his true feelings. She needed to see it in case Amy's fears became a reality. As the sun began to rise Shadow collected his hat and revolver and rushed out. Quickly he put a note in front of Amy's front door before leaving to face the notorious outlaw.



As she woke up she Amy quickly got ready, throwing on a black dress much like the one she wore yesterday to try and see Shadow to at least tell him how she felt before he left. But on her way she saw a note on the ground. Confused she lifted it noticing a pink rose was kept in the fold.



"Dear Amy,

I'm sorry I have to leave like this, but a sheriff protects his town. That's just the way things have to be. But I need to get this out now while I can. I love you. And if there was any way to avoid this I'd take it. But I can't risk you getting hurt. Take care of yourself if I don't come back."



That last sentence sent Amy over the edge. Even Shadow wasn't sure he'd make it back alive. What if Fang really was a better shooter than Shadow? What if he had more men with him? She knew only one person could catch her lover now.



Bursting into Sonic's Saloon she frantically approached the blue hedgehog showing him the note with tears in her eyes making it difficult to speak. Reaching for his gun belt and 10mm pistol, Sonic put on his brown ten gallon hat before kissing Amy on the cheek.



"Everything'll be alright Rosy, just you wait."



With that Sonic ran off as fast as he could knowing that there may be a life hanging in the balance.



As soon as he reached the caravan, Shadow stopped. He knew the violet weasel's face from all kinds of wanted posters. Flashing a smile he showed off his fang to the sheriff.



"Well now. Nice of you to come sheriff. I hate to admit it but your shooting almost rival's mine. I can't have the competition, I'm sure you understand."



With a scowl, the furnaces in Shadow's eyes were burning red hot, the sticks of dynamite in his quills about to explode.



"Save it Fang. I'm not here to talk I'm here to shoot."



Obviously pleased with this the weasel nodded once before speaking.



"Ten paces."



After each of them took their respective paces Shadow and Fang both kept their right hands over their revolvers. Tension was building between them, the blazing sun causing beads of sweat to flow into both shooters eyes. If one of them died here no one would know for weeks maybe even months. Shadow noticed something though. The jade green eyes in his foe made him think of Amy for a second. He thought about how important it was the Fang died now. If he didn't then he would go after her next. With that in mind Fang shouted the one word that would determine the fate of not just Amy, but that entire town. The town that made him sheriff because they thought he could protect them. If he failed now they would all die, their last thoughts being how the one they trusted failed them.



"Draw!"



As both shooters reached for their weapons they armed themselves and shot at each other almost simultaneously. Both bullets flew to their opponent's bodies. The sweat they had produced in the heat had caused one of the two to die. The salty water interfered with his sight causing his aim to let the bullet graze the survivor's right shoulder. As Shadow fell onto his knees he clutched his shoulder in pain wincing as he looked at Fang's corpse. The famed outlaw was now dead and fortunately the bullet passed through the sheriff instead of getting stuck inside.



Shadow winced as blood got onto his white glove. If he wasn't bandaged soon he'd bleed out, but he couldn't skate like this. Suddenly an unnatural breeze whooshed through and a familiar voice was heard right before passing out.



"Sheriff! Don't worry sheriff, I'll get you back right quick."



Shadow nodded as Sonic took the black hedgehog in his arms. His weight would slow him down slightly, but Sonic knew he had to rush if the sheriff was going to survive. Running like he never had before, Sonic dashed towards town.



Frantic with worry, Amy kept pacing outside the saloon worried until she saw Sonic with a limp black thing in his arms. Horrified she fell to her knees and began to sob uncontrollably. Until she heard Sonic speak.



"We need a doctor! The sheriff's bleeding out!"



Bleeding out? So he wasn't dead yet? Yet was the operative term though. She immediately got up, stumbling a bit and rushed behind Sonic to the medical clinic. After he was bandaged up Shadow woke up flat on his back with a massive white bandage on his right shoulder. He noticed only Sonic and Amy in the room which made him smile. Amy immediately hugged him sobbing as soon as she saw the white of the sheriff's eyes.



"Don't you EVER scare me like that again Shadow! Do you hear me?!"



Still sobbing, Shadow put one arm around Amy, too weak to use the other. He was so happy she was there, happy in ways he couldn't describe with words. As soon as Amy let up Sonic spoke up.



"Doctor says that you're going to have to stay in bed until your wound heals. You almost bled out out there."



Nodding Shadow was just glad Fang was dead and his town was safe. He spoke for the first time since the shootout.



"Where is everyone else?" Shadow asked curiously and to which Sonic responded.



"They're out shooting targets. While our sheriff's down we need to be able to take care of ourselves right?" With a thumbs up and a wink, Sonic continued. "I better get out there. The town's going crazy ever since you killed Fang the Sniper. This town is in a debt it can never repay sheriff."



As Sonic left the room, Amy shut the door behind him, putting a sarsaparilla bottle on a nearby nightstand, and putting a pink rose into the makeshift vase before she leaned over and cuddled into the brave sheriff's chest.



(Any Character used in this story belongs to SEGA)