My Baby, She Likes to Rock

My Baby, She Likes to Rock is a fanfic by BearfootTruck. In this fic, Shadow is summoned to the Mushroom Kingdom by Princess Peach for help with an urgent matter. Though not extremely enthusiastic about helping her, he agrees to do so because he cares about the safety of the world.
==Synopsis==
One day, Shadow is hanging out at Rouge's mansion when Rouge gives him a letter from Princess Peach. The letter is rather vague, but Shadow senses urgency in it, so after packing a few things, he visits Peach at her castle. As it turns out, one of her best spies caught wind of a diabolical plot being hatched by Bowser, but most of the details are fuzzy at best. Shadow rejects her offer for help and decides to leave, but she pleads with him to help her out, telling him that she wants to be more than just a damsel in distress, which causes him to have a flashback to what Maria said, so he accepts. Before they leave, however, Shadow insists that Peach practice with the pistol he gives her plus a couple of machine guns. Though rather wary of guns, Peach accepts and proves to be a decent shot, improving with a bit of practice.
For the first leg of their journey, Shadow and Peach blitzkrieg through Verdant Valley and end up at the castle of Iggy Koopa. Here, they battle Iggy and defeat him, after which they interrogate him regarding Bowser's plot. However, he knows nothing, but before Shadow can kill him, Peach pleads for Shadow to have mercy. Reluctantly, the Ultimate Life Form stays his trigger finger. Peach is shocked that Shadow would willingly kill someone in cold blood, but nevertheless elects to keep accompanying him on his journey. After supper and cleaning their guns, they make a jaunt through Soda Lake, and they confront Morton Koopa Jr. at his castle, but he knows nothing of the plot, either, only that Bowser's not acting alone. By this time, the sun is setting, so after bathing in the lake, Shadow agrees to rest along with Peach. At first, he rejects her offer to cuddle with him, but when she becomes sad, it triggers a memory of his promise to Maria, so he relents. He then discovers that not only does he enjoy cuddling with Peach, but that he's beginning to have feelings for her.
The next day, Shadow and Peach head to Magma Plains, ending up at the castle of Lemmy Koopa. Lemmy had heard of Bowser mentioning a "Saphanolis", but knows nothing more than that. On their way to Vanilla Mountain, Peach begins feeling sore, so Shadow agrees to give her a massage. At Vanilla Mountain, Shadow and Peach fight their way to Ludwig von Koopa's castle, and he doesn't know much about Saphanolis other than that his power is immense. At the peak of the mountain, after the battle against Ludwig, Peach decides to have a snack break with Shadow, during which she gives him a kiss. Outwardly, the Black Blur appears to be nonplussed by the gesture, but deep down inside, his heart is doing backflips, so he calls Rouge to talk about it.
In Cookie Forest, Peach is scared by the evil spirits that dwell within, but Shadow offers to hold her hand throughout the whole ordeal. While still unsure about wanting to go further, Peach nevertheless appreciates Shadow holding her hand, and as they proceed through the forest, she becomes less afraid and realizes just how far she's come in her adventuring. Soon enough, they reach the castle of Roy Koopa, who after being defeated mentions that Saphanolis is possibly older than time itself, but otherwise believes the being to be a myth of some sort. However, Shadow's Hedgehog Sense tells him that Saphanolis is most likely real.
Heading to Rainbow Island, Peach becomes curious as to why Shadow's lightened up. She thinks there's someone special in his life, and having taken a liking to Peach, Shadow tells her about his friendship with Rouge and breaks down crying when he mentions Maria. Peach comforts Shadow, and he tells her how much he loves her. Fortunately, the feeling is mutual, and she hands him a packet of evaporated milk, which he insists on warming up. After consuming it, Shadow moves along with Peach, eventually confronting Wendy O. Koopa. After defeating her, they learn that it's possible to summon Saphanolis, but Wendy knows nothing about how to do so. For their next stop, Shadow and Peach go to Peppermint Cave, where they confront Larry Koopa at his castle. He reveals that Saphanolis can be summoned with a book called The Fire Down Under and that Bowser has been seeking it for a long time. With time running out, Shadow and Peach head for Koopa Island. Along the way, they meet a resistance group called the Koopa Lightning Strike Force, led by Koopski. Together, Shadow, Peach and the KLSF blitzkrieg through Koopa Island, eventually confronting Bowser Jr., who claims they're too late to stop Bowser.
Shadow and Peach hurry to Bowser's castle, and after a fierce battle, they head for the rooftops, where Bowser and Bowser Jr. corner Shadow and Peach. Bowser captures Peach, Koopski and Koopski's friend Harold using a magic spell, but Shadow holds Bowser Jr. at gunpoint. Initially, Shadow and Bowser are locked in a stalemate over who will be the first to release their hostages, but then Shadow somewhat accidentally intimates that Bowser lost his wife. Touched by the memory of his late wife Jeanette, Bowser lets Peach go, and Shadow follows through on letting Bowser Jr. go. However, Bowser takes The Fire Down Under anyways and summons Saphanolis. Unfortunately for Bowser, the plan backfires when Saphanolis turns on him, and Shadow, Peach, Koopski and Harold end up having to work with Bowser and Bowser Jr. to stop Saphanolis. The battle is brutal, and the heroes are nearly beaten until Peach grabs the book and finds a way to seal Saphanolis for good.
After the battle, Bowser breaks down crying and promises never to kidnap Peach again, and Peach gives him a big hug. Though concerned by him threatening Bowser Jr., Peach also thanks Shadow for helping her develop as a warrior and gives him a kiss. Shadow decides to return to Mobius, but not before spending one more romantic evening with Peach and taking part in a victory parade with her the next day.
===Sonic Says===
Bowser is attempting to summon Saphanolis when Sonic intervenes, telling the audience that it's a bad idea to summon gods using ancient books of magic.
==Characters==
===Main===
*Shadow the Hedgehog
*Princess Peach
*Rouge the Bat
*Bowser
*Bowser Jr.
===Minor===
*E-123 Omega
*Captain Jay Wickham
*Toad
*Toadsworth
*Maria Robotnik (seen in flashback)
*Other Toads
*The Koopalings:
**Iggy Koopa
**Morton Koopa Jr.
**Lemmy Koopa
**Ludwig von Koopa
**Roy Koopa
**Wendy O. Koopa
**Larry Koopa
*Goombas
*Koopa Troopas
*Chargin' Chucks
*Podoboos
*Piranha Plants
*Rexes
*Paragoombas
*Koopa Paratroopas
*Buzzy Beetles
*Swoopers
*Cheep Cheeps
*Thwomps
*Dry Bones
*Bullies
*Spike Tops
*Big Bully
*Magikoopas
*Lakitus
*Spinies
*Monty Moles
*Mega Moles
*Bony Beetles
*Boos
*Bob-ombs
*Blarggs
*Wigglers
*Pokeys
*Tox Boxes
*Bullet Bills
*Fuzzies
*Para-bombs
*Dino Rhinos
*Dino-Torches
*Mr. Blizzards
*Ice Bullies
*Chill Bullies
*Li'l Sparkies
*Hotheads
*Hammer Bros.
*Bob-omb Buddies
*KLSF Koopa Troopas
*KLSF Hammer Bros.
*Mechakoopas
*Henry
*Koopstein
*Hans
*Koopavitch
*Bowser statues
*Ninjis
*Mushroom Kingdom citizens
*Sonic the Hedgehog
===Guest stars===
*Koopski
*Harold
*Saphanolis
==Trivia==
*The title of this fic is derived from a line in the song "Wango Tango" by Ted Nugent.
*As of December 9, 2021, this is the only active fic pairing Shadow the Hedgehog and Princess Peach.
*Shadow's "you talking to me" monologue is a reference to Taxi Driver.
*There are two references to Metallica's Ride the Lightning album. The first is when Shadow asks Peach for a good reason not to let her kingdom "fade to black". The second occurs later in the story, when he rocks out to the title track.
*There are two Indiana Jones references in this story. The first is Peach's "look what you did" line when she witnesses Shadow shooting a Goomba. The second is the boulder escape in Iggy's Castle.
*Shadow's line about not being Mario or Luigi is a reference to Officer Rivieri.
*Shadow calling his Model 29 "Horace & Daniel" is a reference to the founders of Smith & Wesson: Horace Smith & Daniel B. Wesson.
*Peach asking if Shadow is "some kind of a monster" is a reference to Metal Gear Solid 2.
*Peach calling Shadow "Mr. Grumpy Face" is a reference to Finding Nemo.
*Shadow telling Ludwig von Koopa about "milk plus drencrom" and "ultraviolence" is a reference to A Clockwork Orange, which coincidentally made use of the music of Beethoven, for whom Ludwig is named after.
*Chapter 8's title is a reference to the book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson.
*The mention of Shadow running to Iron Maiden's hills is a reference to the song "Run to the Hills" by Iron Maiden.
*Chapter 10's title is a reference to the Rainbow Six video game series.
*The book The Fire Down Under is a reference to the album Fire Down Under by Riot.
*The M202 being referred to as the "Grim Reaper" is a reference to Call of Duty: Black Ops.
*The M1968 "Blockbuster" rockets are named after blockbuster bombs – aka "cookies" – large bombs used by the Royal Air Force during World War II.
*Chapter 14's title is a reference to the song "Demon God" by The Intergalactic Orchestra.
*Saphanolis' calling Bowser "King Nothing" is yet another Metallica reference, this time to the song "King Nothing" from the album Load.
*Shadow’s remark about Bowser turning the Koopa Kingdom into a Metallica video may just have been sarcastic rather than a direct reference to any Metallica video.
*Passage 117 is a reference to Master Chief from the Halo series.
*Shadow's exhortations for Saphanolis to kill him are a reference to Predator.
*Shadow's dream about Peach saying "I'M NOT PEACH" is a reference to Rugrats.
==External links==
* "My Baby, She Likes to Rock" on Fanfiction.net
Category:BearfootTruck's Fanon
Category:Fanfiction
Category:Romance