Where You Came from Isn't Who You Are

by EmmaSmoke

Summary:

After everything he's done and gone through, Shadow doesn't feel like he belongs on Earth. He doesn't deserve the generosity of the Wachowski's, especially Sonic's effortless compassion.

Tails discovers that Shadow might actually be part of the legions of Black Doom, known as the Black Arms. Shadow doesn't know if he belongs any more on the Black Comet than he does on Earth, but he wants to at least see for himself if there could be a potential place for him.

Shadow is content to go alone. In fact, he plans to. But Sonic is insistent that a journey like this should not be undertaken alone. Shadow can't refuse him even if he tried, so the two hedgehogs go to Black Comet to discover the truth behind Shadow's past.

And maybe, by learning more about the Black Arms and saving the planet, they'll find their way to Shadow's future.
-
Post-Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (ignore the mid-credit scene), inspired by Shadow the Hedgehog (2005)
Trigger Warning: Internalized xenophobia, self-hatred, mentions of suicide attempt(s), unethical experimentation, more to be added
Trigger

Chapter 1: Where You Belong (and where you don't)

His eyes open slowly. His vision is blurry. A dark sky nestles far above him. The moon and the stars greet him fondly, but the residual colors of a chaos energy explosion burns against his retinas. He closes his eyes again to avoid looking at it. He sluggishly reaches his paws out around him. His gloves are partially burnt, so he can feel the rough texture of rocks against the pads on his palm. His claws dig into the rock. He pulls himself onto his feet. He leans heavily against the crater’s sloping walls. Pain bursts to life in his shoulder. A groan slips from his mouth. He snaps his jaw shut to keep other pathetic noises from leaving him. He bends his elbow, pushing it against the rocks. He stands unsteadily on his feet, but gravity isn’t strong enough to bring him crashing down even when it aggravates the majority of his wounds.

 

His eyes open once more. His vision is still blurry. He squints, trying to put the world around him into focus. He manages to gather his attention on the flames lying on the crater with him or on the grass surrounding the crater’s rim. The flickering noise fills his ears, but he cannot lift them from where they’ve flattened against the top of his head.

 

The cough that comes from him is stronger than his body and louder than his heartbeat. It sends him careening back onto the ground. He lands on his knees and the heels of his paws. He continues coughing, spitting up a mixture of saliva and red-black blood. He shakes his head. The taste is like sludge against the tongue. It makes him want to vomit again, but he swallows back the disgusting taste. He rises back onto his feet, making certain that his balance will not be so easily thwarted by a mere cough.

 

The firelight reflects off an object on the other side of the crater. He stumbles toward it. He picks the bracelet out of the dirt. He wipes the edges off with his ashen gloves. He snaps the inhibitor ring back around his wrist. As soon as it locks into place, the pain in his body lessens from a burning inferno to an aching river pummeling against his matted fur. The well of power inside him finally settles into something manageable.

 

At least, it should be manageable, but he’s still fighting against himself to climb out of the crater. He’s dragging his body more than he’s actually using it. His grip is too weak and his vision is too unfocused for him to make much progress getting himself out of the hole he caused in the earth’s hardened crust. It doesn’t help that there’s fire everywhere. His body is burned enough without him putting his limbs back into the flames. Avoiding the fire isn’t exactly helpful, either, since the ground and air around the fire is still hot enough to wound him.

 

He does not give up, however. He half-stumbles, half-writhes onto the grass near the perimeter of the destruction his fall from the empyrean caused. The heat of the flames wafts between his quills, but he’s far enough away to prevent the tips from catching. He glances at his quills to make sure. His red highlights are graying and browning from being layered in ashes and dried blood. He frowns. He reaches a paw toward them. His fingers slip between the quills. He never liked it when his quills were messy. This is the worst he’s ever let them get.

 

“Shadow!” A voice calls out. A familiar voice. His carmine eyes widen. He turns around. He sees Maria standing far away from him. The cold night wind tugs at her blue dress and pulls her blonde hair out of its ponytail. She smiles so widely at him that her eyes automatically fall shut. She waves a hand over her head to gather his attention while the other one tries to keep her hair out of her face.

 

“Maria,” Shadow whispers. At least, he tries to. His voice is too broken and quiet to really sound like her name. Since his voice won’t reach her, Shadow stumbles onto his feet. His air-shoes take a moment to activate, but once they do, he’s speeding across the field with a reserve of strength that should have been used for his healing process. The pain means absolutely nothing in the face of seeing his old friend once more, though.

 

When Shadow thinks he’s reached her, she’s suddenly gone. He looks around the immediate area. His gaze snaps to one direction when he hears giggling. Maria is farther away from him now. She wiggles her fingers beside her cheek in another wave. Shadow’s lips pull down into a frown. He pumps his burned, bruised arms at his sides as he moves closer to her new position.

 

She disappears once more. Shadow’s chest heaves with pain and exhaustion. He should lay down. He should give up on this pointless endeavor. He doesn’t when he sees her peeking around a tree with a mischief twinkling in her eyes. It’s the same expression she wore when she was trying to convince him to take her sledding indoors. They got into so much trouble afterwards, but Maria had so much fun. Shadow, too, enjoyed the experience, and it’s these warm memories that give Shadow the strength to continue chasing after Maria long after his mind determines she’s only a phantom— a mere hallucination.

 

This phantom of Maria takes Shadow deep into the forest. He can see the edges of her body slipping behind trees further and further ahead on the makeshift path. Her laughter echoes throughout the entire forest as if it’s coming from everywhere all at once. Shadow ignores the laughter in favor of tracking what he can see. His vision blurs everywhere except for where she’s at.

 

Everything snaps into focus when she stands at the center of a small clear. Shadow stops right in front of her. He’s finally close enough to touch her. Maria’s face shines with pride. She lifts a finger to her lips— a sign for Shadow to be quiet or to keep a secret. Shadow’s eyes widen. He reaches out to take her hand, but his fingers easily slip through her form. Maria’s body disperses into golden light as if she were made from fireflies. Shadow covers his face with his forearms as the fireflies swarm around him. With his eyes tightly shut, he hears how her laughter gets softer and softer until it’s completely gone.

 

Shadow’s eyes slowly open. His arms sink lower to his chest. He doesn’t know if he wants to see at all if she’s not within his vision. He thinks this, but there’s someone else in front of him. A figure gently floats down from the canopy. They resemble a hedgehog with golden fur and bright red eyes. A kind smile lifts onto their face. White gloves move to touch Shadow’s cheek as the gilded hedgehog curls around Shadow’s body in midair. Shadow’s mouth parts. His heart jerks with the sensation of familiarity, but he doesn’t know this hedgehog.

 

He does, however, remember how Maria would talk about guardian angels. They were celestial protectors. Shadow didn’t believe in such a possibility at the time, but part of him wonders if this is what he’s looking at. Beauty, prowess, kindness— all of it wrapped up in a paradisiacal light that warms Shadow’s entire body and chases the pain away.

 

The heavenly envoy from the stars finally touches Shadow’s cheek. His vision blurs so much that it goes dark. His body falls to the side. He lands among the sea of grass and the islands of wildflowers. Their scent comforts him as he fades back into oblivion.

 

---

 

Consciousness returns slowly. His eyelids are too heavy to lift, but his other senses rise to the occasion. The scent in the air is a mix between grass, flowers, and evergreen trees. He’s outside. He must be on the ground, too. He feels the blades of grass poking against his back between his quills. He’s lying on his back with his legs straightened out. One arm is at his side while the other one is elevated on something too warm and soft to be a rock. His ears strain to identify what the object is. He hears his own breathing first accompanied by a soft heartbeat in his chest. There is another breath and heartbeat nearby, however. There is shuffling as someone moves around nearby. They are touching him, he realizes, and that activates the instincts programmed into his physical form.

 

Shadow uses all the strength in his body to lift his arm. His fingers wrap around a throat. He forces his eyelids open. He can’t make his eyes open the entire way, but he sees enough. A hedgehog with azure fur leans over him. A pair of emerald eyes tilt to make eye contact with Shadow. The familiarity of that gaze makes Shadow feel wretched and sick. He hates it. He tries squeezing his fingers around the throat he’s holding. His grip is far too weak. He’s barely managing to keep his paw there, let alone killing whoever is messing with his body. Shadow doesn’t back down. His scratchy voice calls out, “What are you doing?”

 

“You tell me,” The azure hedgehog snorts wryly. For reasons Shadow doesn’t understand, the other allows Shadow to keep his paw around his throat despite the risks this presents. The azure hedgehog turns to the side to pick a white box off the forest floor. Shadow eyes it quickly. His frown increases when he realizes it’s a first-aid kit. The azure hedgehog is helping him. The healthy one sighs, grumbling to himself as he pulls out some gauze to wrap the arm currently holding his throat. “You hurt my family. You almost killed my father. You nearly destroyed the world. You let everyone think you were dead. Now, you’re actually halfway to death in my backyard, and I’m fixing you up when I should be mighty pissed with you.”

 

Shadow’s brows furrow together. There is too much earnestness and annoyance in that tone of voice for the azure hedgehog to be lying, but Shadow doesn’t understand. His memories are foggy, though. He remembers awakening from his fifty-year long suspension. He remembers escaping the island prison and reuniting with Gerald Robotnik. They had a plan to get revenge— Shadow doesn’t remember the details. Shadow betrayed the plan, though. Why would he do that? All of this was for Maria. He would have done anything for her. He would still do anything for her.

 

But she wouldn’t have wanted this. Someone helped him realize that. Maria loved this planet. She loved humanity. His grief drove him to commit atrocities in her name, but someone reminded Shadow that underneath all that pain, there was still love. He could choose to believe in that. He could follow it. He could let it guide him forward.

 

Could it have been…?

 

Shadow glances at the azure hedgehog. He seems tired, but he works diligently. He doesn’t leave a single burn or bruise unaccounted for. Shadow does feel better than when he first awakened in the crater. Based on the hedgehog’s words, there is some history between them. If his words are the only past they share, he wouldn’t be helping Shadow right now. He could have been the one to help Shadow initially.

 

“Who are you?” Shadow asks.

 

The azure hedgehog’s eyes widen. They narrow suddenly. Another breathy chuckle leaves him. He tightens the bandage he was holding. “I guess we never did introduce ourselves properly. I’ll go first. I’m Sonic the Hedgehog, the fastest thing in the universe. Who are you?”

 

Shadow frowns. He doesn’t answer the question. He tosses the name over and over in his head like a rowboat caught in an ocean’s storm. Sonic. Sonic. Sonic. It’s familiar. It’s as familiar as the golden light or those emerald eyes, anyway. Shadow might not remember it exactly, but he’s getting more and more certain that this hedgehog played a vital role in the memories Shadow cannot grasp onto properly.

 

“This is the part where you tell me what you’re all about,” Sonic murmurs. He moves his paw to Shadow’s face. The ebony hedgehog tries leaning away, but Sonic’s gloves graze the fur on Shadow’s forehead. Shadow was so certain the touch was going to hurt that it genuinely surprises him when it’s comforting instead. He knows Sonic is only checking something, but he feels calmer with the touch. He rebukes this weakness as soon as he realizes it. He hates himself for wishing the touch would linger a little longer when Sonic finally pulls his paw away.

 

Sonic arches a brow at Shadow’s silence. He puts a fist against his chest. He coughs, clearing his throat. In a deeper voice, Sonic attempts to mimic Shadow with little results. “‘Hello, Sonic, my name is Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Lifeform. It is a pleasure to see you. Thank you for bandaging my wound after everything I’ve done. You are the coolest, most handsome person I have ever met for doing this.’ There you try it.”

 

“Ultimate Lifeform…” Shadow repeats. He ignores everything else Sonic said— much to the azure hedgehog’s disappointment if the pout on his face is anything to go by. “I am the Ultimate Lifeform.”

 

“And humble, too.” Sonic rolls his eyes. He taps a finger against the bridge between Shadow’s eyes. The ebony hedgehog startles. Sonic giggles at the reaction. Sonic immediately puts a paw over his mouth to muffle the sound. It’s too late, though, because Shadow has already heard it. The urge to demand Sonic’s silence is suddenly quietened by the possibility of hearing that laugh again.

 

“I’ve done what I can, but we need to get you checked out. I’m assuming you don’t want to see a doctor, but I can look into getting a veterinarian to check you out. I don’t know. My family might still be mad at you. I did explain everything to them, though, so maybe Mom will look at you, after all. Well, almost everything. I made sure to leave a few details out. We can chalk it up to the heat of the moment and never talk about it again. Unless you want to talk about it again. I wouldn’t mind. Er… not the point. Come on, let’s go see if Mom— you probably know her as Maddie— will give you a check-up,” Sonic rambles. Shadow’s brows furrow. He doesn’t know this Maddie person (Sonic’s voice lifts with fondness, but that was obvious with the title of ‘mom’). He doesn’t know what details Sonic is talking about (Sonic’s voice droops with embarrassment, and his cheeks flush red). There’s hesitancy strung through every sentence, but Shadow imagines it’s for all different reasons.

 

Sonic snaps the first-aid kit up. He tucks it underneath his arm. Sonic stands, and Shadow’s paw around his throat drops to the ground beside his body. Sonic stretches his other arm to Shadow. His fingers splay out. He shows his palm to Shadow. The ebony hedgehog hesitates. He places the paw that once held Sonic’s life in it in Sonic’s offered paw. Sonic’s smile grows a little softer at the sign of trust. Shadow’s stomach twists. Why does he trust Sonic so instinctually?

 

Sonic tugs on Shadow’s paw. He helps bring Shadow to his feet. Shadow instantly stumbles once he’s off the ground. Sonic makes a tight noise. He hurriedly moves Shadow’s arm around his shoulders. Sonic’s own arm moves across the upper part of Shadow’s back to tuck beneath his armpit. Sonic shoots Shadow a comforting smile. He helps lead Shadow forward— supposedly to wherever this ‘Maddie’ person is. 

 

Shadow stares at the side of Sonic’s face. His brows furrow together, and his lips pull down into a confused frown. Sonic looks straight ahead with a soft smile and determined eyes. Shadow doesn’t understand in the slightest. Based on Sonic’s words, Shadow has hurt both Sonic and his family. Shadow was willing to destroy the entire planet because his family was brutally taken from him; why is Sonic helping the person who almost caused him the same pain? What is Sonic getting out of this that his smile can be that kind and tender? What was the point of using all those bandages and ointments to soothe Shadow’s wounds instead of leaving him to die on the forest floor?

 

Sonic’s emerald eyes move to the corner of his vision. He notices Shadow’s gaze on him. His smile grows a little more mischievous as he chuckles. His eyes close with how happy he looks for a moment. “What? Am I that good-looking?”

 

Shadow’s first thought is a conclusive ‘yes.’ He tears his eyes away from Sonic immediately. He doesn’t want that thought lingering in his mind any longer. He banishes it to the far reaches as he gathers other suitable responses. All he manages is a weak, “It’s not that. It’s…”

 

Shadow isn’t able to continue. Part of him doesn’t want to know why Sonic is helping him. There could be ulterior motives that Shadow is not yet ready to face. He wants to pretend for a little longer that this all born from a kindness someone like him doesn’t deserve— the same kindness that compelled Maria to look at him as something more than a weapon to be harnessed by the government.

 

Sonic hums in acknowledgment. He doesn’t prompt Shadow to continue. They continue walking in silence the rest of the way with Sonic supporting Shadow’s weight. Shadow doesn’t understand any of it, but he’s too weak to step away from the warm embrace that reminds him that against all odds, he’s still alive.

 

---

 

Maddie is a human. Shadow was uncomfortable with her the moment he realized that. He knows some humans are capable of good— Maria was practically his sister, after all. He also knows they are capable of great evil. Gerald was kind before he lost his mind. Ivo was never good in the first place. Shadow doesn’t know what to think of Walters anymore; he doesn’t know what to think of anyone from G.U.N., for that matter. There’s another human that Shadow is forgetting, but he supposes it doesn’t matter what his opinion of that human is.

 

Maddie seems just as uncomfortable with him, though. Shadow’s first instinct is that she’s judging him for his alien nature, but that can’t possibly be true. Sonic calls her ‘mom,’ and tucks directly into her side. Maddie treats him with great fondness and care. Shadow knows Maddie and Sonic can’t possibly be related by blood, so Maddie is choosing to love Sonic as her son. She is choosing to let him treat her with as much affection as he does.

 

No, Maddie must be uncomfortable with him because of what Sonic was talking about earlier. Shadow almost killed Sonic’s father, who would be Maddie’s husband. Sonic also mentioned that Shadow hurt ‘his family.’ While vague, Maddie is part of that family. Shadow wonders if he hurt her.

 

“Mom?” Sonic whispers questioningly. He stands beside Maddie while Shadow leans against the threshold of the back door. Sonic looks at Maddie with wide, bright green eyes. He clasps his paws together in front of his chest like a prayer. His lower lip raises to over his upper one. He sounds like he’s pleading as he asks, “Will you please take a look at Shadow to make sure he’s alright?”

 

Maddie hesitates as she stares at Sonic for a long time. Her son doesn’t let up on his begging expression. She puts her hands on her hips. She shakes her head. She glances at Shadow. He looks away from her. He tenses, wrapping his arms tighter around him. Maddie sighs. “Fine, I’ll look him over. But we’re staying on the first floor. We’re not going to fight with anyone— verbally or physically. Am I understood, both of you?”

 

“Understood, Pretzel Lady!” Sonic excitedly calls out. He rushes over to Shadow’s side. Sonic bumps his shoulder with Shadow’s shoulder. The ebony hedgehog makes eye contact with Sonic. The azure hedgehog is smiling at him. His head is tilted to the side. He searches Shadow’s expression for what could be wrong. Shadow feels like someone twisted a knife in his chest. He doesn’t deserve any of this. Even without remembering exactly what he did, he knows he’s done absolutely nothing to these people to warrant this kindness and hospitality.

 

He turns to look at Maddie. She’s tense, yes, but she doesn’t hate him. Her eyes are devoid of that emotion entirely. She also looks him directly in the eyes. She isn’t necessarily scared of him. Shadow doesn’t know what to do with that. The rules she gave are fair and reasonable. She isn’t trying to tie Shadow down. She didn’t say he had to stay if he didn’t want to. She isn’t even turning him into G.U.N. Shadow can get Sonic to some extent, but Maddie’s offerings are almost too much for his heart to handle.

 

“Understood… Pretzel Lady?” Shadow’s voice is clipped both from his confusion over the name and his emotional turmoil over the situation.

 

Sonic giggles beside Shadow, an unusually comforting noise. Maddie’s smile lifts. She rolls her eyes fondly. “You can just call me Maddie, Shadow. Pretzel Lady is a nickname Sonic gave me before we met.”

 

“I see,” Shadow answers.

 

“Come on. Let’s go sit in the dining room. Sonic, bring the first-aid kit,” Maddie orders. She leads the way to the dining room. Shadow hesitates, but Sonic remains right behind him with a reassuring expression. Shadow’s fists close tightly at his sides as he moves deeper into the house, following after the human woman.

 

Maddie pulls a chair out for Shadow. He sits in it. Maddie disappears out of the dining room. Shadow can hear the stairs creaking. Sonic sets the first-aid kit on the table. He pulls out the chair beside Shadow. Instead of sitting in it, Sonic puts his foot on the seat. He sits on the table, crawling somewhere in the middle. Shadow raises a brow at him. Sonic gives Shadow a cheeky grin. He crosses his legs in front of him and leans back on the heels of his paws.

 

Maddie returns to the room with a large, leather bag in her hands. She sets it on the table beside the first-aid kit. She also shoots Sonic a questioning look. “You’re going to have to wipe the table off later.”

 

“Of course, of course,” Sonic replies. He flippantly waves his hand in front of him.

 

Maddie shrugs at Shadow. He startles. Maddie doesn’t notice since she rifling through her bag. She pulls out equipment. Shadow’s shoulders tense. He’s suddenly reminded of the laboratory he grew up in. He hated the experiments they put him through. He was able to preserve for his own sake, and then Maria was always there to help him escape or comfort him afterwards. Maria isn’t here anymore, though. She’s gone, and Shadow’s alone, and the dining room light diffuses across the equipment’s surface, and he can feel prodding hands poking him, and—

 

A paw settles on Shadow’s shoulder. He follows the paw to Sonic’s face. He isn’t smiling anymore. Instead, he looks concerned. He searches Shadow’s face for the reason behind his subtle panic. Shadow doesn’t know how Sonic knew. He has always been good at hiding his emotions. But Sonic squeezes his shoulder with a slow, small smile creeping onto his face. Shadow exhales. Maria might not be here to help him escape, but Sonic is here to help him stay.

 

“Alright, Shadow, I should check your heartbeat first. This is going to be a little cold,” Maddie says. She raises a stethoscope, showing Shadow the metallic resonator. Maddie leans forward. She gets closer to him, but she doesn’t touch. “Is it okay if it touches you?”

 

Shadow wonders what the trap is. It’s a simple question, but she shouldn’t be asking it. At least, Shadow doesn’t think she should be. Doctors, in general, never ask for permission, and Maddie, especially, doesn’t need to since Shadow came to her for assistance. But Maddie doesn’t look away from him. Her hand holds the resonator in the air without getting any closer or further away. She’s waiting for his response. Shadow probably wouldn’t give one if Sonic’s paw wasn’t squeezing his shoulder again.

 

“Yes.” Shadow swallows thickly.

 

Maddie smiles and nods. “Thank you, Shadow. Take deep breaths for me, please.”

 

Shadow does. Maddie checks his heartbeat like she said she would. While the resonator is cold, it warms from his body heat. Maddie gets the information she needs from listening. She puts the stethoscope back into her bag. She reaches for a different instrument.

 

Shadow might not have his recent memories in order, but he remembers his time at the laboratory. He remembers how the scientists would poke and prod without caring about his autonomy. He remembers how they would look at him as if he truly were a non-sentient weapon to be dissected and studied. The cold equipment, the sterilized rooms, the desaturated colors, the neutral expressions, the harsh words— all of it reaches the forefront of Shadow’s mind…

 

… because none of this is like that. The equipment is cold for a moment, but it gradually warms between Maddie and Shadow’s body heat. The dining room is temperate, too, and the scent of breakfast lingers in the air. All the colors are warm and deep. Maddie and Sonic joke around with each other, lightening the mood as Maddie does her work. If Shadow reacts poorly to something— which should be his own fault since Maddie keeps asking for permission before she simply does— they both show him concern and patience. Never once do they yell at him or command him to do anything.

 

Shadow almost relaxes completely. He stops himself when he notices movement in his peripheral vision. A figure stands at the threshold. A kit with bright orange fur holds a tablet and scanner in his hands. His baby blue eyes look between Shadow, Maddie, and Sonic with a mixture of confusion, concern, and hesitation. Shadow tenses. He remembers Maddie telling him not to fight, though, and either way, he doesn’t think this kit is a threat.

 

Uncertainty seeps into Shadow’s thoughts when the kit steps into the room. He has two tails instead of one. Shadow doesn’t know much about the world, but he knows that the kit has a mutation. He wonders if the kit was treated badly for it.

 

“Tails, pumpkin, did you bring the things?” Maddie asks. She sets the equipment on the table. She turns in her chair. She stretches her arms forward. The kit— Tails?—hurries into the room. He hugs the woman, putting his arms around her waist. He continues staring at Shadow. Maddie laughs lightly as she hugs the kit back. When Tails takes a step back, he hands the scanner and tablet over to Maddie.

 

Maddie turns to Shadow. “This is a scanner. I’m going to use it to… well, scan you. The information will appear on this tablet. I just want to confirm that you don’t have any internal injuries. Most of your external ones have already healed. I’m assuming it has to do with chaos energy.”

 

“Did I waste bandages?” Sonic asks. He groans to himself. “All that hard work.”

 

“Don’t worry, Sonic. The bandages were helpful. They kept the blood inside. They also stopped Shadow from aggravating the wounds before they could heal. You did good,” Maddie assures him. She reaches to rub her palm against the top of his head. Sonic leans into the touch with a pleased expression. Maddie chuckles at him. She drops back into her seat. She shows the scanner to Shadow. “Will you let me scan you? I promise it won’t hurt. You won’t even feel it.”

 

Shadow nods at Maddie. She nods right back at him. Maddie lifts the scanner to the top of his head. She moves it downward. A pale blue light exits the scanner’s darkened screen. It moves over Shadow’s body. He feels colder as it does, but he knows that the scanner isn’t actually doing anything. Maddie was right; he doesn’t feel it. All of this is only within the confines of his own mind.

 

Maddie finishes quickly. She sets the scanner on the table. She looks at the tablet. A curious frown appears on her face. “Hmm… that’s odd.”

 

“What’s odd?” Sonic asks. He starts scooting across the table’s surface to get closer to his mother. Tails leans against her thigh, staring up at her. Shadow squeezes one paw with his other fist. He doesn’t like the sound of this.

 

“I’m not sure. All I know is that you don’t have any internal injuries, Shadow. You’re all-clear. I’d like for you to stay here tonight to make sure, though. Are you up for that?” Maddie says. She hands the tablet and scanner to Tails. The kit takes them, pressing both against his chest as he looks between Maddie and Shadow.

 

“You should!” Sonic says. “I mean, do you have anywhere else to go?”

 

“Sonic,” Maddie quietly admonishes him. Sonic puts his hands in front of him innocently. Maddie turns back to Shadow. “You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to, but the couch is open in case you need it. We can—”

 

Tails interrupts her with a spooked noise. He drops the tablet he was staring at. It clatters loudly against the hardwood floor. Everyone glances at him. His eyes are pinned on Shadow. For the first time in a long time, someone is staring at Shadow with complete and utter fear. They are both aliens, but Tails is looking at Shadow like he’s something other . Tails even starts trembling, and his tails twist around each other over and over again. Shadow tenses. He glances at the tablet, wondering what Tails could have seen to cause such a reaction.

 

“I’m sorry about that, Shadow,” Sonic says, chuckling awkwardly. He hops down from the table in space between Maddie and Shadow. He hurries forward to grab the tablet off the ground. He tucks it against his chest. He reaches behind to take Tails’ paw. The kit grabs Sonic’s paw with both of his own, squeezing tightly. Sonic looks over his shoulder to stare at Tails with concern. He shoots Shadow a half-hearted smile. He turns his eyes to Maddie. He nods at her and whispers, “I’ll handle this.”

 

Maddie nods. Sonic turns around. He tugs on Tails’ paw to bring the fox outside of the room. While there is now distance between them, Shadow’s ears twitch with their muffled conversation. Sonic asks Tails, “What’s wrong, buddy? Did something happen?”

 

“Do you want to head to the living room?” Maddie asks him. Her eyes remain in the direction Sonic and Tails departed for a long moment. She has to forcibly drag them over to Shadow.

 

“He isn’t a Mobian like we thought. He’s… He’s a Black Arms, Sonic.”

 

“Sure,” Shadow answers. He doesn’t want to stay in this house for the night. He doesn’t want to stay here any longer than necessary. But part of him needs to hear this conversation.

 

“A Black Arms? I don’t know what that is. I was raised on Earth, remember?”

 

“Right this way.” Maddie rises from her chair. She finishes throwing her equipment into her veterinarian’s bag.

 

“The Black Arms is an alien species created by Black Doom that lives on the Black Comet. They’re galactic conquerors. They go all over the universe to take worlds, leaving nothing but destruction in their wake.”

 

Maddie leads Shadow from the dining room to the living room. A dog with golden fur (though, not as gold as the celestial creature Shadow remembers from before passing out) trots over to them. Maddie leans down to rub the sides of the dog’s face.

 

“And Shadow is one of these conquerors? So, what if he is? He doesn’t remember his past before Earth. He probably isn’t aligned with them.”

 

Maddie rises from the ground. She pats a cushion on the couch. “This is it. I’ll get you a blanket.”

 

“You don’t understand, Sonic. Every Black Arms was personally created by Black Doom. He’s… terrifying. Everyone in the universe knows about him. They know to fear him lest they suffer the consequences of their arrogance. Shadow ending up on Earth wasn’t an accident.”

 

Maddie walks out of the room. Shadow sinks onto the edge of the couch. The dog moves over to Shadow. He doesn’t do anything, so the dog forces its muzzle beneath Shadow’s palm in an attempt to get patted on the head. Shadow leaves his paw there, but he doesn’t give the dog what it wants.

 

“I think you’re getting worked up over nothing. Shadow—”

 

“Look at this, Sonic. This is what happens to the worlds Black Doom targets. I saw a few of them firsthand when I was coming to find you. Black Arms aren’t supposed to be able to control chaos energy, though. Shadow is likely an experiment and Earth was his field test.”

 

Maddie returns with a blanket. She sets it on the couch beside him. She raises an eyebrow at Shadow’s interaction with the dog. Maddie kneels in the space between the coffee table and couch. Shadow glances at her. Maddie smiles. She starts petting the dog gently. “Ozzie just wants you to pet him. This is how you do it. Would you like to give it a try?”

 

“Then, Shadow failed his field test. He should have destroyed the planet like your pictures show, but he didn’t. He worked with humans. He developed a plan. He went to sleep for fifty years. He tried destroying the world, but I convinced him not to do that. He isn’t a conqueror like the rest of the Black Arms are. There’s no need to be scared of him.”

 

Shadow pets Ozzie hesitantly, following Maddie’s instructions. She smiles warmly at him. Shadow doesn’t look at her. He stares into the dog’s eyes. There are plenty of reasons to be scared of Shadow. Why is Sonic trying to convince Tails otherwise?

 

“Sonic—”

 

“Come on, Tails. Give Shadow a chance. He doesn’t even know what he is. We can’t treat him as if he’s guilty for the crimes of his species. That’s not fair to him.”

 

Sonic’s footsteps get closer. He appears at the entranceway. Maddie looks up at him. Shadow doesn’t. He keeps making eye contact with the dog until Ozzie trots over to the azure hedgehog. Sonic pets Ozzie comfortably. He shoots Maddie and Shadow a smile. “Sorry about that. Tails just… saw a ghost on the tablet. We’ve been watching too many horror movies. We should probably stop that.”

 

“You should have stopped when Knuckles was breaking your paws,” Maddie tells him.

 

Sonic chuckles, wringing his paw as if he feels the phantom pain of those experiences. “You’re right. We’ll start watching more comedies. Oh! Or action movies! There’s actually one I want to show you, Shadow. There’s this guy in the movie who sounds exactly like you! And anyway, Keanu Reeves is a national treasure, so you should watch the movie even if he doesn’t sound like you.”

 

Shadow frowns. Sonic starts rifling through movies, but none of them look like they’re on VHS tapes. The casings are too thin. Shadow’s eyes lift to the television. He wondered if that’s what it was. Like the movie cases, the television is too thin and large. He knows technology changed within the past fifty years, but he hasn’t been given the proper opportunity to really see it.

 

Maddie sits on the end of the couch. Tails enters the room. He stares at Shadow for a long moment. Sonic cheers when he finds the movie he wants to watch. Tails glances at him. Sonic’s happiness and trust in Shadow calms Tails down. He doesn’t look at Shadow with fear— only wariness. Tails goes to sit in Maddie’s lap, curling underneath her chin.

 

Sonic puts the movie in a machine connected to the television instead of the television itself. He hurries over to sit beside Shadow in the middle between him and Maddie and Tails. Ozzie leaps onto the couch, settling between Sonic and Maddie. Sonic puts one hand on Ozzie’s head. His other hand holds a black box that Shadow assumes is the remote. Sonic gets the movie playing. It’s in color. The quality is better, too.

 

Shadow pays enough attention to the movie to realize that there is, in fact, someone who sounds similar to him. He has trouble watching the movie, though. His mind keeps wanting to go back to Sonic and Tails’ conversation in the other room. The only reason he puts it on the backburner is because he gets distracted by Sonic reacting to the movie beside him.

 

But the thoughts linger.

 

---

 

The house is dark. Night has fallen outside the windows. All the lights have been turned off save for a nightlight in the hallway. Shadow sits on the couch. His ears strain to listen to the entire house at once. He closes his eyes to help him focus. There are six individuals in the house besides him. Maddie, Tails, Sonic, Ozzie, Tom, and Knuckles. Everyone should be going to sleep at this hour. Everyone is asleep, he believes, when he doesn’t hear anyone moving.

 

Shadow rises to his feet. Maddie told him to remain on the first floor, but he breaks her rule. He carefully climbs the stairs to the second floor. He feels terrible for breaking Maddie’s trust, but he has to do this for himself. He’s already hurt her once, anyway. Maybe this time she will come to understand that he isn’t worth her kindness or respect.

 

Shadow steps into Tails’ room. There are still boxes in the generalized layout of the room, implying he’s recently moved in. Tails himself is asleep in a bed that resembles a plane. The moonlight falls against his face. Shadow holds his breath. He moves around the room quickly. He finds the tablet from earlier on Tails’ desk between a few cardboard boxes. Shadow leaves behind the scanner. He only takes the tablet with him. 

 

He wasn’t going to take anything else, but he notices a pouch glittering in the depth of the closet. Shadow pulls it out. He finds a golden ring. Shadow closes his fingers around it. He puts the pouch back. He takes the tablet and ring with him. He sneaks out of the room. Tails didn’t even stir.

 

Shadow returns to the downstairs area. He sits on the edge of the couch. Ozzie lifts his head from his dog bed, but he lies back down instead of barking. Shadow ignores the animal. He turns the tablet on. Tails didn’t change the screen. Shadow is instantly shown the Black Arms. There is a lot of information about them. Tails is thorough with his research. Shadow squashes down the flicker of respect as he skims the information about Black Doom, the variants of the Black Arms, and reports about their activities over the universe. The last pieces of information are pictures of destroyed planets. And then, finally, Shadow finds pictures of the Black Comet where the species should be living.

 

Shadow glances at the ring he stole. He wasn’t originally going to go to Black Comet. He only wanted to read more about his heritage. But he took the ring. He took it, and that must mean something. He has to follow through if he’s already committed the crime, right?

 

Shadow exhales. He looks around the room. The blanket Maddie got him is still there. Shadow puts his hand over it, remembering how Sonic, Maddie, and Tails were here mere hours ago. He remembers watching a movie with them— enjoying the modern era for a moment. He turns to look at Ozzie. The dog’s breathing is comforting in the dim light of the moon through the window behind the couch. Shadow’s gaze lifts to the dining room table. He remembers how kindly he was treated when they were taking care of him. He remembers eating dinner with the family at that table.

 

Shadow’s eyes drop to the tablet in his hands. The screen’s light colors his face. Shadow squeezes the edges. He shakes his head. It was nice for a moment, but he doesn’t deserve any of this. He can’t get Tails’ expression out of his head. After seeing all these destroyed planets, he doesn’t blame the kit. And the way Tom looked at him. Shadow doesn’t remember hurting the human man, but he can guess how terrible it was. Tom’s forgiveness was nice, but it wasn’t deserved.

 

Shadow doesn’t deserve any of this. He doesn’t belong here. He doesn’t belong on Earth. He stayed for Maria, and now she’s gone.

 

She’s gone. Shadow doesn’t know what to do with himself. He has nothing to live for here, so what if he learns more about his past? He doesn’t want to become a conqueror, but… It might be nice to learn more about who he is and where he came from.

 

Shadow puts the tablet on the table. He moves the ring between his fingers (and the gloves Sonic let him borrow. He supposes Shadow is stealing them, too). Shadow moves to the mudroom near the backdoor where he took off his air shoes. He squeezes his fist around the ring. He pulls his shoes onto his feet. He activates their gliding technology to make sure they work. Shadow turns to throw the ring.

 

Sonic leans against the threshold. Shadow’s eyes widen. He feels ashamed that he didn’t even hear Sonic approaching. The feeling intensifies when Sonic’s gaze sweeps from the tablet to Shadow’s fist. Sonic shakes his head. He whistles lowly, “Like a thief in the night.”

 

Shadow grits his teeth. He can’t make the shame disappear, but he can pretend he doesn’t feel it. “I have to do this.”

 

“I know,” Sonic says softly. Shadow’s tense expression drops. He stares at Sonic’s face. In the low lighting, a serious aspect appears on his face. Understanding glows brighter than the moonlight in his eyes. Shadow gets the feeling Sonic has looked at him like that before. “Everyone wants somewhere to belong.”

 

“You can’t stop me,” Shadow retorts. He doesn’t have anything else to say. He can barely stand the kindness from the other members of the Wachowski family, but Sonic truly is an entirely different beast. Shadow doesn’t know how to act around him. He can’t find the right words or actions. He’s stuck reacting to whatever Sonic throws at him. Shadow hates it, but he can’t find a way to claw himself out of this runt. He thought running away would be a good option, but Sonic’s still here— acting with so much confidence that Shadow wonders if Sonic was always meant to be here.

 

“I’m not trying to,” Sonic assures Shadow. He moves closer. Shadow jerks back. He prepares his fist. He already broke Maddie’s rule about staying on the first floor. He might as well break the other rule about not fighting.But Sonic only grabs his own shoes. He pulls them onto his feet. He shoots Shadow a smile. “I’m going with you.”

 

“No, you’re not,” Shadow automatically responds even before he has the chance to think about the words. They are true, however. Shadow isn’t letting Sonic come with him for several reasons.

 

Sonic rolls his eyes. He puts a paw on his hip. “And you can’t stop me . Either we’re both going or neither of us are.”

 

“I don’t need your help,” Shadow argues.

 

Sonic nods. He moves forward. He puts both of his paws on Shadow’s shoulders. He should shrug them away, but Shadow lets it happen when Sonic’s intense, emerald stare freezes him in place. “I know. I meant what I said: everyone wants a place to belong. There was a time when I didn’t have a place like that. I was all alone. The loneliness nearly killed me. But Tom and Maddie found me. And then we found Tails and Knuckles. We all found each other. You deserve to be found, too. I just want to make sure you aren’t lonely on your way there.”

 

Shadow closes his eyes to escape Sonic’s gaze. It only makes his attention focus on the study, warm weight of Sonic’s paws on his shoulders. Shadow breathes in the scent of wildflowers and pine trees. He doesn’t think he can escape Sonic. The azure hedgehog was right. It’s either both of them or none of them.

 

Sonic’s paw slides down Shadow’s arm. He forcibly opens Shadow’s paw to take the ring. Sonic tosses it over Shadow’s shoulder. Shadow hears the ring activate. He blinks his eyes open. Golden light falls across Sonic’s face. The azure hedgehog smiles kindly. Shadow’s heart jerks, reminded of the figure he saw in his dreams before he woke up to Sonic taking care of him.

 

Was Sonic the angel all along?

 

Shadow doesn’t know.

 

Sonic walks around Shadow to the spinning portal. He offers his paw to Shadow. The ebony hedgehog hesitates, but he accepts that hand. Sonic smiles as he intertwines their fingers. He steps through the portal onto the Black Comet. Shadow is helpless to follow him through.

Chapter 2: What You Want (and what you don't)

The ground he steps onto is squishy. It makes a squelching noise. A dark purple liquid with a viscosity similar to water leaks out from the interwoven black and red tendon-like cords forming the bumpy surface. Shadow activates his air-shoes to hover above the ground, keeping his shoes clean. He cannot, however, stop the scent of burning flesh from entering his nostrils so potently and thick that he can hardly breath or think about anything else. He thinks he can see a dark brown-black rock beneath the red and black, but he doesn’t want to start digging for it.

 

“This is…” Sonic starts. He stands directly in the muck. There is a valiant effort to school his features, but he looks seconds away from vomiting. Sonic lifts the paw that isn’t still holding Shadow’s paw to cover his mouth and noise. His eyes water suddenly. Sonic tilts his head away from the ground to stare at the sky above them. It is covered in thick, dark gray clouds that resemble smoke as if someone set the empyrean on fire. Sonic squints at the sky. He makes another attempt to speak, voice strained with how much he’s holding back. “This is…”

 

“It’s disgusting,” Shadow dryly finishes for him.

 

Sonic shoots him a relieved look. “I’m so glad you said it first. Oh my Gaia, Shadow. I know you wanted to check out your home, but can we please go back? I’m going to lose my sense of smell. And my shoes! Ew, ew, I can feel the liquid seeping into my socks. Shadow! I think it’s burning my flesh! This is not—”

 

“Look,” Shadow interrupts. He points into the distance. The entire ground is not made from the disgusting material. There is an edge to the comet. Instead of the vast expanse of space, it’s the surface to a different planet made from blue-gray rock. There are cracks in the ground, revealing a subterranean core inside a cave system. Shadow looks back at the sky. While the scent of the comet is thick, Shadow can taste elements in the air that are not present in Earth’s atmosphere. But they are, in fact, beneath an atmosphere.

 

“I vote we go over there.” Sonic wiggles the fingers beside his mouth and nose. He glances at Shadow’s air-shoes. “Unless you’re willing to carry me.”

 

“Over there,” Shadow agrees. Strangely, he doesn’t find himself completely against carrying Sonic. He’s already holding onto the azure hedgehog’s paw, after all. Still, they are not here to indulge in whatever ill-conceived impulses flit across Shadow’s mind for moments at a time. They are here to discover more about where Shadow came from and what he’s meant to be in the future.

 

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Sonic mutters. He squeezes Shadow’s paw. Blue lightning slides over Sonic’s quills. His emerald eyes glow bright, illuminating the ashen air around them. Sonic zips forward. Shadow’s air-shoes create no resistance, so he automatically follows behind Sonic. The hedgehog leaps from the edge of the comet to the ground below. Shadow makes certain to push off the edge, too, that way he doesn’t drag them both down before they are prepared to land. Sonic lands lightly on his feet. Shadow’s air-shoes keep him suspended for a second, but he deactivates to touch the solid rocky surface of this planet.

 

“What are we looking to do?” Sonic asks. He moves the hand that was covering his mouth to shield his eyes. Shadow doesn’t understand why. The planet’s light comes from the cracks in the ground, and it isn’t that bright. Shadow supposes it’s a reference to something he doesn’t understand. Sonic makes a lot of those— references. “Do you see anywhere we should go?”

 

“Forward,” Shadow answers. He doesn’t wait for Sonic’s argument. Shadow takes the first step, and many more follow after it. While Sonic is perfectly capable of releasing Shadow’s paw, he just sighs and follows behind the ebony hedgehog.

 

Shadow doesn’t know what they’re searching for. The planet’s surface is entirely made from rock. It is mostly flat with shallow dips and small hills every so often. The cracks in the ground aren’t guiding them in a specific location. Shadow cannot tell if they are natural or if they were made by whatever landed the Black Comet on the planet’s surface. Shadow estimates that this planet must be larger than Earth, but that information only makes his chest tighten. How much will he need to walk to find what he’s looking for? How long will Sonic simply let himself be blindly led into what resembles a torturously dark night?

 

“Wait, Shadow, look at this,” Sonic says. He drags his heels into the ground, tugging at Shadow’s paw with both of his own. Shadow turns on his toes to look at Sonic. The azure hedgehog releases Shadow’s paw entirely. He drops onto his knees beside a relatively thin crack. Sonic presses his face against the crack, viewing whatever is beneath the surface.

 

Shadow grabs onto Sonic’s shoulders. He drags him backward. Shadow squeezes tight enough that Sonic winces. Sonic tries shrugging Shadow’s paws off, but Shadow doesn’t let him as he makes direct eye contact. “What are you doing, you idiot?”

 

“I am not an idiot. There’s something down there. I think you’d be very interested in it,” Sonic argues. His chaos energy activates around like a flare in the night. Shadow is flash banged. Sonic takes the opportunity to slide backwards. As Shadow’s vision clears, he sees Sonic standing at a wider part of the crack. Sonic glances over his shoulder at Shadow. He salutes the ebony hedgehog before taking a step forward, falling directly into the crack.

 

Shadow jerks forward with his chaos energy and air-shoes giving him a boost. He makes it to the place Sonic was once standing, but he’s not able to save the azure hedgehog before he plummets. Shadow leans over the side of the crack. Instead of a body flattened on the ground, Sonic stands at the bottom of the crack as if it were a ravine. Warm, heavy red-orange light falls across his body. Shadow can see something bubbling in those emerald eyes. Sonic cups his paws around his mouth. He yells at Shadow, “I’m good! See you down here!”

 

Sonic turns to race away. Shadow grits his teeth. He should have known it would be a terrible idea to bring Sonic with him. He doesn’t know how he could be so stupid as to be fooled by that reassuring smile and those kind eyes. Shadow should abandon Sonic to whatever fate the hedgehog has willingly thrown himself into. 

 

Shadow glances around the planet’s surface and the dark sky above him. There’s nothing for him up here, though. He has a feeling he would have to wander for miles and miles until he finds anything different from its surroundings, and there’s no guarantee that what he sees will be what he’s looking for.

 

Shadow exhales something similar to a sigh. As if he could actually walk away. Shadow’s chaos energy silhouettes his body. He teleports from where he’s standing to the place Sonic landed previously. His air-shoes activate, keeping him off the ground when he reappears. Shadow reaches to grab his inhibitor rings. He twists them, making sure they are on correctly. He closes his fingers into fists as he looks around.

 

The rocks forming the underground passageway are a darker shade of blue than the surface. They are closer to navy blue with streaks of gray interrupting the smooth coloration. It is difficult to tell, however, because there is a light source coming from one end of the crack. Shadow saw it on Sonic’s body— the red-orange. It is similar to Shadow’s chaos energy, though a little redder. Sonic went in the direction of the light, so Shadow moves that way, too. It isn’t like he has a choice since the tunnel doesn’t even continue in the other direction.

 

There is a downward incline. It leads into a cavern with completely gray walls without a hint of blue. The crack is extremely thin, but it doesn’t need to be large since the light source comes from the pools of magma bubbling around the corners. There are ashes left on the shores of these rivers and puddles. The heat makes Shadow’s fur stand on end. Between each source of magma, there are rocky islands rising above the magma. Sonic stands on one of them, standing out brilliantly with the warm tones all around him with the cool, saturated shade of blue and green across his body. Sonic stands among tiny bumps on the ground. They are made from the red-black flesh the Black Comet was made from. Each one has three curving, hardened tentacles rising around the orange and red ring in the center that might resemble an eye.

 

“Shadow! This is what I was talking about!” Sonic calls out, letting the words echo in the cavern. His voice rises above the cackling of the magma. The tentacles on the strange creatures attached to the ground move slowly and minutely. They seem to be attracted to the noise. Sonic spins around, arms stretching wide to either side of him. “I wonder what these things are. I didn’t see them on Tails’ tablet. Do you think they’re native to this planet instead of being from the Black Arms? Or do you think—”

 

Shadow covers Sonic’s mouth with his paw. Sonic blinks at him. He glances down at Shadow’s paw. He raises his paw to grab Shadow’s wrist. Shadow doesn’t pull his paw away. He looks around the room. The tentacles are getting closer to Sonic. Shadow scowls at them. He glares at Sonic, hissing quietly, “Do you ever shut up?”

 

Sonic shrugs. Shadow can feel the cheeky smile Sonic wears against his palm. Sonic tugs at Shadow’s wrist again. Shadow is not going to let go. He knows the answer to his own question. Sonic is never quiet. He’s constantly moving, constantly speaking, constantly energizing the very air around him. Shadow can barely remember Sonic, and he knows these facts to be true.

 

Sonic stops trying to gain his freedom when they both hear a noise louder than the bubbling magma. Their eyes instantly train onto one of the creatures among the perimeter of the rocky island they’re standing on. The tentacles shoot higher into the air. They start to wind around each other. More tentacles join the first three. An entirely different creature is suddenly weaved to existence by the barnacle on the ground. The new creature is vaguely humanoid with an amphibian’s head and large, bug-like yellow eyes. It seems to be made entirely from black-colored muscles with deep maroon-red scales and spikes over the forearms, thighs, and back of the neck. Claws grow from the toes and fingers, as sharp as blades and as dirty as mud. The creature steps forward, balancing its heavy weight from foot to foot. It pays no attention to either Shadow or Sonic as it follows the thin paths to the other side of the cavern to a tunnel leading somewhere else. This might be because Shadow and Sonic are completely still and silent, or it could be because the creature has a single-minded focus to get to its next destination.

 

Shadow might not recognize the creatures at his feet, but he recognizes that one. It is a Black Warrior. According to Tails’ tablet, they are the most common soldiers in the Black Legion. They are decently strong and sturdy, but more importantly, they can be mass-produced by Black Doom with little trouble.

 

Sonic finally tugs Shadow’s wrist down. He leans closer to Shadow. He whispers beside him, “Do you think you came out as a hoglet or as you are now? I’m hoping you were a hoglet. That would be so adorable!”

 

“What are you—” Shadow starts. He tears his wrist from Sonic’s hold. The azure hedgehog’s eyes widen at the hostility. Shadow grits his teeth. Sonic hesitantly reaches a paw forward. Shadow turns away from it. He throws his arm out to gesture at the— the leeches on the ground. “I came from one of these disgusting creatures, and you think it’s the time to joke?”

 

“Don’t do that, Shadow,” Sonic immediately says. The humor has dropped away from Sonic’s voice. His paws touch Shadow’s forearm, drawing his attention away from the leeches on the ground to Sonic’s face. “It doesn’t matter what you came from. None of this changes who you are. Deep inside, you’re the same hedgehog you were before we came into this cavern. It’s right here, remember?”

 

Sonic moves a finger to touch Shadow’s chest. The gesture is familiar. Shadow first recognizes it as something Maria once did when she was assuring him that he was her friend before he was anything else— an alien, a weapon, an experiment. She promised him that he could be anything he wanted to be, regardless of where he came from.

 

That memory is enough to make Shadow’s heart ache, but another memory rushes forward from the depths of his pain and remembrances. Shadow remembers pointing at his own chest. He remembers wishing for everything to finally end. He remembers his mouth forming the words to beg for death— the only victory he would accept.

 

“Shadow?” Sonic murmurs. He tilts his head to the side. His eyes are bright with concern. Shadow gets the distinct feeling that Sonic would not like to hear about the second memory.

 

“... Maria said… something similar once,” Shadow admits. It’s difficult to make the words come out. It hurts to say her name. It hurts to remember her, at all. Beneath the pain, however, the love he felt for her is there. It is fragile and weak, but it is there against all odds. Shadow thought it was breakable. It must not be if it was able to survive all these years— a fire that burns despite the wind and rain threatening it at every turn. A light that continues to glow even when the star is gone.

 

“Oh,” Sonic murmurs sympathetically. Shadow wonders if it was the right thing to mention her. Sonic suddenly squares his shoulders. His face sets with determination and confidence. A loose smile rises on his lips. While the smile shines brighter than the magma around them, it is nothing compared to the radiance in Sonic’s eyes. “Maria was right. Since she and I both said it, you have to believe us.”

 

Shadow doesn’t respond. It feels so strange to hear her name coming from someone else. He almost wants to be angry. He wants to rebuke Sonic for daring to utter it. But he likes that someone else knows about her existence, too. Her life was beautiful and ephemeral, and even though she isn’t with him anymore, part of her can live on his memories. And he can share these memories with others to make sure others knew how special she was, too.

 

The other leeches on the ground began forming into more Black Warriors. Sonic takes Shadow’s paw as it happens. He stands in front of Shadow. The ebony hedgehog doesn’t know if Sonic is trying to shield him from the Black Warriors or protect the Black Warriors from Shadow, but the action makes Shadow shake his head. He wishes he could stop the amusement from brimming in his chest.

 

“Should we follow them? See where they’re going?” Sonic asks, glancing over his shoulder.

 

“We should,” Shadow nods. Shadow could chaos control out of the cavern. He’s certain Sonic could figure out a way to escape this place. It would be easier, however, if they followed the Black Warriors. It would allow them to stick together, and they could probably find whatever Shadow is looking for.

 

Sonic takes the lead, following behind the final Black Warrior with some distance between them. The Black Legion soldiers and the hedgehogs leave the cavern through a dark tunnel. Shadow wonders why Sonic is the one in front when his eyes are equipped to see in the dark, but Sonic doesn’t hesitate once with every step he takes. Shadow doesn’t know if Sonic can see in the dark, too, or if he’s just that confident. His ears do twitch, though, so maybe he’s listening for where they need to go. 

 

Shadow lifts onto his air-shoes to minimize the noise they make. The leeches responded to noise, so the Black Warriors might also do that. Shadow doesn’t want to take his chances, especially when Sonic’s footfalls echo in the small, dark tunnel.

 

There isn’t a bright light at the end of the tunnel, but the thick darkness does abate. Sonic and Shadow reemerge on the planet’s surface. There’s some distance between where they first submerged themselves, but the landscape is uniform with everything else they’ve seen. Sonic sighs when he looks around. Shadow glares at him from the corner of his eye. Sonic shoots him an apologetic expression. Shadow rolls his eyes. Again, he questions why he let Sonic come with him.

 

The Black Warriors do not stop to view the scenery. Shadow takes the lead, releasing Sonic’s paw as he takes the first step. The blue hedgehog tucks his arms behind his back. Shadow’s focus remains on their immediate surroundings and the warriors they are following. Sonic, however, strains to see the horizon and their destination. Shadow wants to command him to get down, but he doesn’t see a logical reason why Sonic needs to. Instead, there’s more reason not to speak at all.

 

When Shadow thinks they are finally getting somewhere, Sonic suddenly races away from him. Shadow stops. He looks between the Black Warrior’s back and the blue afterimage left in Sonic’s wake. He needs to see where the Black Arms are going. He feels it in his bones. They are heading to the place Shadow needs to be. It’s so clear in his mind that Shadow’s first instinct is to abandon Sonic to whatever distracted him. Shadow shouldn’t care what it is. Sonic is putting himself in danger. It isn’t Shadow’s responsibility to save him; Sonic can save himself or die trying. Shadow’s real responsibility is to get to where the Black Warriors are going.

 

Shadow turns on his heel. He glides forward, letting Sonic’s residual chaos energy guide him to where the azure hedgehog could have possibly gone. Shadow might not remember everything the two of them have been through, but he knows enough to know that he can’t simply abandon Sonic. The hedgehog came to this planet for Shadow’s sake, after all. He came because he didn’t want Shadow to be alone. Shadow can’t let Sonic be alone, either, even if he’s certain Sonic is making a stupid decision right now.

 

Shadow comes to a stop on one side of a thick crack in the ground. Sonic rests on his knees on the other side of the crack. His back is to Shadow. His body is bent over the head of a creature Shadow doesn’t recognize. Shadow just knows that it can’t possibly be from the Black Arms legion. The creature has fur, and it is a similar shade of gray-blue as the ground. This creature must be a native to this planet who blended into the surface. Whatever it is, saturated dark green blood forms a pool around it. Some of the blood drips into the crack. Sonic sits directly in the green without caring how it stains his shoes or soaks into the fur along his leg. 

 

Shadow jumps over the crack. He uses his air-shoes as he lands to not disturb the moment. He steps closer to Sonic. The blue hedgehog’s arms are around the creature’s head. He holds it directly in his lap. He moves his gloved hand across the creature’s face, smoothing the fur. The creature’s black eyes stare at Sonic. Heavy breaths harshly leave its mouth. It makes a quiet noise when it notices Shadow. Sonic hushes the animal kindly, wordlessly assuring it that Shadow is not someone to fear.

 

“What are you doing?” Shadow asks. His fingers close into fists. He avoids looking at the creature. Shadow has no proof about what caused this creature’s death. The wound in the animal’s body, though, eerily resembles the claws of a Black Warrior. Shadow isn’t a Black Warrior, but he is part of the same legion. He’s a Black Arms. This creature should fear him. Sonic should, too, but Sonic shows Shadow the same kindness he’s showing that animal.

 

“No one should have to die alone,” Sonic murmurs sympathetically.

 

Shadow takes a half-step back. His memory from earlier continues in his head. The reason Shadow was pointing at his chest and begging for death is because he didn’t want to do it alone. He wanted someone there with him even if that person hated him— even if he could feel guilt for causing that much pain in the eyes of someone who was effortlessly kind and jovial in all their earlier encounters. Shadow pushed them to the brink, and when the chance to die came, he wanted someone else to do it because he was too cowardly and too lonely to kill himself properly.

 

“I… We should probably put it out of its misery,” Sonic whispers. He turns his eyes from the creature to look at Shadow. There are tears in Sonic’s eyes. His voice sounds broken when he uses it. Something is choking him from the inside. Shadow knows it’s sadness and grief, but his mind reminds him of what it sounds like when it’s anger that drives Sonic to sounding like this.

 

Sonic was the one Shadow drove to the edge. The golden face and red eyes Shadow thought was an angel that came to save him the other day rises to the forefront of Shadow’s mind. He remembers those eyes burning with vitriol and conviction. He remembers the animalistic snarl on Sonic’s normally smiling lips. He remembers the fist raised high in the air like the wrath of the sun ready to eliminate the individual who has caused Sonic nothing but misery. As strange as it was, Shadow also remembers that was the first time he ever thought Sonic was beautiful.

 

“You tried killing me,” Shadow says quietly. After everything he’s seen from Sonic, it’s almost difficult to reconcile the golden form that tried murdering Shadow on the moon’s surface with the sad-eyed hedgehog comforting an alien species as it gracelessly bleeds out.

 

Sonic’s brows furrow together. He turns away from Shadow. His shoulders fold together with guilt. “I did… I was just so angry.”

 

“You didn’t,” Shadow continues. He raises a paw to his chest. His heart continues to beat inside of him. Sonic had every right to murder Shadow. He didn’t. He let Shadow live. Not only that, but he saved Shadow in the forest. He brought Shadow into his home. He came on this long journey with Shadow.

 

“I didn’t,” Sonic nods. “I lost sight of who I was and what I actually wanted. I remembered in time something my dad told me. When it comes down to it, I would know what the right choice was. Killing you was never the right choice. It was one I thought would take away my pain, but I realized that it never would. You would only be another person I would mourn. You would be someone I would regret not being able to save for the rest of my life.”

 

“You aren’t a killer,” Shadow notes, focusing on that phrase. I lost sight of who I was. 

 

Shadow steps forward. He goes around the animal’s side. The creature’s eyes land on him. Shadow reaches his paws forward. He grabs what he assumes is the creature’s neck. He can’t be certain this will work, but he’s willing to try.

 

His willingness is thwarted by Sonic putting a paw over one of Shadow’s paws. Sonic’s brows furrow together. He leans down to meet Shadow’s eyes. “What are you doing?”

 

“You aren’t a killer,” Shadow repeats. He tightens his paws around the creature’s neck. “It was the Black Arms who caused this injury. I should be the one to put it out of its misery.”

 

Sonic adamantly shakes his head. “You aren’t a killer, either.”

 

“You don’t know what I am,” Shadow argues. He glares at Sonic. Part of him is getting irritated with how Sonic insists he knows Shadow. His fuzzy memories can’t stretch across that long of a time. Even within the memories, he and Sonic were enemies. Shadow was trying to destroy the planet, and Sonic was trying to prevent Shadow from doing that. There is no way Sonic could know Shadow as well as the hedgehog keeps acting like he does.

 

“You’re right. I don’t know you that well. You keep a lot of secrets. But even with what little I do know, I’m certain you aren’t a killer. You aren’t a bad person, Shadow. You were hurt and angry. I was the same way for a little bit. Even you said that I was feeling the way you felt after you hurt Dad. But we both came out the other side by letting go of our anger,” Sonic explains. He lifts one of Shadow’s paws off the creature’s head. He squeezes it tightly. “And though I may not know all these little details about you and the life you’ve led, I know who you are beneath everything. I guess the chaos connection didn’t go both ways.”

 

“Chaos connection?”

 

“That’s what Tails and Knuckles decided to call it. When we shared the power of the chaos emeralds, I was able to… know you. I was able to feel you. Your heart, your soul, your wishes— all of it. I drew strength from it because I realized that no matter how gruff you act, you’re a kind person beneath it all. One of the kindest I’ve ever met,” Sonic explains. Shadow vaguely remembers what the chaos emeralds are. A platinum moon shimmers beneath his eyelids when he tries thinking about it.

 

Shadow might not remember the occasion, but he wonders if this is where his familiarity with Sonic comes from. Even without all the memories that formed their relationship, Shadow still felt like he knew Sonic. He knew the hedgehog well enough to let Sonic take care of him and bring him into his house for a human to check Shadow out. It’s why he’s so certain around Sonic— why he feels like he knows him in a deeper way than he should.

 

“Let’s do this together,” Sonic breathily declares. He leads Shadow’s paw back to the creature’s throat. Sonic puts his paws right beside Shadow’s. Sonic inhales deeply, letting it fill out his chest. Shadow raises a brow. He turns back to look at the animal.

 

Before either of them can make a move, the creature’s head suddenly lolls to the side. Sonic blinks. A startled noise leaves him, like a choked laugh. Sonic leans down to hug the animal’s head against his chest. “May you find peace in the next life.”

 

Shadow moves his paw over the body. It reminds him of how Maddie taught him how to pet Ozzie’s fur.

 

Sonic lifts his body. He rises to his feet. He takes a deep breath. He looks around the area. “You stay here. I’m going to find somewhere we can bury the body. It might be good to find something we can bury it with.”

 

Shadow doubts that is all Sonic is going to do, but he doesn’t call after the azure hedgehog as Sonic runs away from him. Shadow watches him go until there’s nothing left on the horizon. 

 

Shadow’s gaze falls back down to the animal. He carefully sets the head down against the ground. Once on his feet, Shadow takes a step away from the animal. He wonders if it would be disrespectful for him to also wish the animal a peaceful afterlife or to bury it with Sonic. 

 

Shadow looks at his paws. He is, after all, part of the conquerors who came to the planet. His kind were the ones to land the Black Comet. They must have slaughtered all the lifeforms and destroyed the land.

 

“You.” The ebony hedgehog whirls around. His fingers tighten into fists as he prepares for an attack. His quills flare out, showing how sharp they are to whatever opponent dares to sneak up on him.

 

A black-dark purple starfish-like creature descends from the dark sky. Ringed patterns move from the tips of the appendages inward. They stop at the criss-crossing red lines that mark the creature’s red-orange eyes as the center. The elongated pupil stares directly at Shadow. He doesn’t see a mouth, but the voice could have come from no one else except another member of the Black Legion. 

 

“You are the one. You are the harbinger. You are my Ultimate Weapon.”

 

A black mist comes pouring out of the starfish’s eye. The mist rises upward to form into another creature. A head with three red-orange eyes like the starfish’s one surrounded by pinched, scaly black skin. Two horns protrude from the sides of the head, tipped with a shade of red similar to Shadow’s highlights. Spikes pop up from the top of the creature’s head with similarly red tips despite their smaller size. The creature wears long brown robes with golden accents around the collar, pauldrons, and sleeves. This gold continues with the accessories the creature wears over its shoulders and neck including chains and strings holding jewels, spikes, and astrological symbols. The creature has no legs beneath the robes, and its hands have three fingers tipped with sharpened claws.

 

“Black Doom,” Shadow identifies. Tails has one image of the creature. The picture was blurry, but it could not hide the devastation the central figure of the image was ordering from the rest of the legion. Shadow suspects whoever took that photograph is no longer alive.

 

“You are capable of speech and recognizing your creator. Your intelligence is satisfactory,” Black Doom answers. He points toward Shadow’s chest. “You are the harbinger, my Ultimate Weapon.”

 

“I am Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Lifeform.”

 

He was technically named after Project Shadow, but Maria told him once that a shadow allows others to know where the light is coming from. She gave his name meaning. She gave him a purpose. He will never forsake the name she gave him.

 

And while there may not be much difference between the Ultimate Weapon and Ultimate Lifeform, Shadow can’t get Sonic’s voice out of his head. The blue hedgehog was teasing Shadow when the title felt right. He isn’t a weapon; he’s a lifeform. He lives. He exists.

 

“Names are inferior to titles, but I will allow you to have this, Shadow.” Black Doom says his name too lightly. He doesn’t know where it comes from. He doesn’t know what it means. “I have been waiting for you. I sensed it when you returned to the Black Comet. I would have contacted you then, but you kept the company of that… Mobian. I watched over you as he found the leeches and saw the creation of your brethren.”

 

“What do you want?” Shadow demands. He tries not to let his anger get the better of him. It doesn’t matter what Black Doom thinks about Sonic. In fact, it might be better if Black Doom underestimates the azure hedgehog.

 

“I want you to achieve your purpose,” Black Doom answers. “You have finally returned to where you belong. You spent longer on that planet… Earth… than I estimated you would. It does not matter. I am patient. I know you will still fulfill your purpose.”

 

Shadow’s shoulders drop slowly. He blinks at Black Doom. Isn’t that why he came? He wanted to find his origins. He wanted to find his purpose. He wanted to find a place to belong. He’s already found all of that. He saw how he was created with those leeches. Black Doom is giving him a chance to undertake the purpose he was made for. He’s offering Shadow a place to remain.

 

The Black Arms creature floats closer. The jewels on his body glow. Shadow sees them reflect in the blood on the ground. Shadow glances down at the blood. He moves his gaze toward the dead animal left on the ground. The claw marks have not disappeared from the animal’s hide. A Black Warrior was the one to kill this animal. The Black Legion were the ones to ruin this planet. Does Shadow really want to be part of that? Does he want to conquer planets like this one and like the ones in those photos from Tails’ tablet?

 

There are footprints left in the blood and ground. They belong to Sonic. The hedgehog is still out there. He’s looking for soft ground or a shovel of some variety. He’s doing it to bury an animal he probably doesn’t recognize, either, from a planet he’s never been to. He was going to kill the creature instead of letting Shadow kill it because Sonic insists that Shadow is kind.

 

Maria told him he could be whoever he wanted to be. Sonic agreed with her. Does Shadow want to be someone who causes misery like this? Does he want to make someone else look at him the way that gilded angel looked at him when Shadow was begging for death?

 

“What is my purpose?” Shadow asks slowly. He turns his gaze back to Black Doom.

 

“The Black Arms use planets such as these to fuel our conquests and wars. We extract the energy and vitality from the planet until nothing is left. Earth has enough of this energy and vitality to let us finally defeat our greatest enemies because of the Master Emerald. It is a weapon the owl and echidna tribes from Mobius have been fighting over for many epochs. I sent you ahead to weaken the emerald’s protective shields so that the Black Comet might land on Earth’s surface,” Black Doom explains. He raises his clawed hand to show a miniature Earth spinning above his palm. He closes his fingers around it. When he opens it, a dark green emerald spins where the planet once was. The illusion disappears. “You no longer need to do this. While it is not the Master Emerald, the Black Wings found the chaos emeralds floating in space. With these emeralds, I will be able to teleport the entire Black Comet to Earth. We will unleash our invasion. And you will serve as my general, my Ultimate Weapon.”

 

Shadow doesn’t respond. He takes a deep breath, letting it fill his chest. Earth has nothing for him anymore. He doesn’t belong there. He belongs here with his creator and his kind. He should stand with them. He should be Black Doom’s general, his Ultimate— 

 

“... My name is Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Lifeform…”  He can hear the attempt at reaching Shadow’s lowered pitch. He can feel Sonic’s slow breath under his fingers as he holds his throat. He can see the teasing expression on Sonic’s face and how the sunlight slips through the forest’s canopy to hug Sonic from behind.

 

Shadow grits his teeth. He might not have a place on Earth, but there are people who do. Sonic and his family come to mind first. The human Eggman was working with. All those lives that Shadow saw in the streets of the different cities. The planet Maria loved and Sonic fought to protect. Earth has made Shadow miserable… but it has also given him precious memories.

 

And just because Shadow doesn’t have a place on Earth, it doesn’t necessarily mean his place is here.

 

“It seems your time on Earth has weakened your connection to the hivemind,” Black Doom retorts. Shadow’s eyes widen. He stares into Black Doom’s three eyes. The creature pushes a finger into Shadow’s chest. The nail is sharp enough to cut through the flesh. Shadow’s blood slides down his stomach. Black Doom’s blood enters him. “This must be corrected. Luckily, I needed to awaken your full potential, anyway.”

 

Black Doom removes his finger. Shadow puts a paw over the wound. It strangely doesn’t hurt. It doesn’t feel like anything happened. At least, not until a few seconds later when the pain sprouts from somewhere else. Shadow falls onto his paws and knees on the ground. The green blood from the animal splashes upward, covering his arms. Shadow growling turns into howls of pain as he feels his back snap open. Black-red tendrils shoot out. They weave around each into the vague shape of wings. Both wings drop to the ground, too heavy and unfamiliar for Shadow to lift them.

 

“It will take some time for the transformation to be completed,” Black Doom informs Shadow. The hedgehog (is he still a hedgehog?) stares at reflection in the dark green blood. He sees the wings sprouting from his back. It’s wrong. It’s all wrong. It feels wrong. It looks wrong. It’s—

 

“Shadow!”

 

Shadow whirls around to look over his shoulder. Sonic is coming closer. Panic fills Shadow’s body. What if Sonic looks at him the way those humans looked at him? What if he looks at Shadow the way Shadow looks at himself? What if he doubts Shadow? What if he’s disgusted by him? What if his kindness doesn’t extend to whatever Shadow is becoming— what he’s always been?

 

Shadow scrambles to his feet. He chaos controls as far away as he can. When he lands on his feet, he’s gliding away from the animal’s body and Black Doom’s figure. His wings are dead weight on his back, making him go slower than ever before. He doesn’t look back even when Sonic’s voice continues calling after him. He doesn’t look back even when he thinks that starfish with Black Doom’s eye is following after him. He doesn’t look back when he hears Black Doom’s laughter ringing out loud and true, bitter and cold. 

Notes:

This is the internalized xenophobia I was talking about in the summary.

The chaos emeralds thing is because of something my friend and I were talking about. Shadow had them last. He blew up in space, so we don't know where they are. I said they automatically returned to the Master Emerald. But for the sake of this story, we're going to pretend they just fucked off like they do in the games.

The chaos energy connection is another headcanon. I like the idea that their energies got mixed at least while they were both in super form.

I think it's so funny how, even if the movies made everything 1-for-1 with Shadow's game backstory, he would still be from the 1970's instead of the 1950's since the movies take place in the 2020's and Shadow's been stuck in isolation for fifty years. The math is mathing, I tell you what

Also, my bad about making this story four chapters instead of three. Honestly, it might be bumped to five chapters. I want to make sure everything has enough time to be fleshed out.

Anyway, that's all from me. The next chapter likely won't be tomorrow, but it might be Sunday. It might be sometime next week. I don't know. I just do stuff, man.

Chapter 3: What You Are (and what you aren't)

The hardened, cracked surface of the planet turns softer beneath his air-shoes. While not as loose as sand, it resembles bright blue soil. Tree-like plants dotted around the area. There are only four growing out of the ground. The others have fallen to the ground. The fallen ones are fracturing, crumpling like weathered stones. The leaves have withered completely, resembling ashes across the dirt. He walks over to one of the trees still in the ground. It does not stand because its roots are strong. It stands because there are red-black tentacles suspending it upward on the other side. These tentacles are siphoning the very life from the tree, as they have likely done with everything that once grew on these abandoned lands.

 

Shadow takes a shuddering breath. He puts his gloved paw against the tree’s surface. He doesn’t apply any pressure, but the pieces of the graying bark chip off and drop between the shriveling roots. Shadow jerks his paw back. He lets it hover around the tree, but he doesn’t touch it again. He cannot stand to touch the tree any longer. He doesn’t understand why. The tree is already dying. It will not stand for long. The Black Arms are stealing the vitality from the ground and from the plants. This tree is not going to last, so it ultimately doesn’t matter if Shadow smashes it now.

 

He stumbles away from the tree. He brings his paw to his chest. His fingers brush against his chest fur. He touches the place where Black Doom touched him. No wound has been left behind, but Shadow can’t get the sensation out of his head. The blood flows through his veins even still. The transformation has only just begun.

 

Shadow turns away from the trees. He walks between them, stepping over the fallen chunks on the ground. He stops when he’s at the edge of the red-black tentacles shooting up from the cracks in the ground. It resembles his wings. It resembles the Black Warriors. It resembles Black Doom and the eye the progenitor came from. It is more than superficial appearances. They are all of the same kind. They share the same blood, and if Black Doom was right about a hivemind, they share the same goals and thoughts. Shadow might look differently now, but the colors are the same. The wings are the same. The echoes of intentions not belonging to him are the same.

 

Shadow glances back at the tree. He grits his teeth. He raises his foot to kick the trunk. The tentacles suspending the tree snap. It takes a moment for gravity to reclaim the weakened plant, but the tree eventually careens into the ground. It shatters like glass. Shards slide away from the impact, tumbling over one another. Dirt is kicked up, creating a thin layer of mist. The dust settles back onto the ground and the fractured pieces of the tree. The tentacles fold in on another, disappearing back into the cracks. They return from another crack, joining some of the other tentacles on the other three trees. The process is sped up by this one simple action.

 

Shadow’s shoulders fold together in bitterness and shame. He wraps his arms around himself in a poor attempt at self-comfort. His wings become even heavier as he watches the ground where the tree once grew lose its saturation slowly but surely. It hardens. Without the trees, the soil reacts with the chemicals in the air to become stone-like. Nothing will be able to grow here anymore. Life has been taken, and only death lingers.

 

That tree was going to die, anyway, but Shadow made it happen now. These tentacles are choking the vitality out of the other three trees. Shadow doesn’t know how to stop them. Even if he cuts through the tentacles, he knows instinctively that they are going to grow back. Shadow can’t stop what has already begun. All the life on this planet is gone. It is being repurposed to assist in an endless war.

 

Shadow is part of that. These tentacles coming from the cracks are not so different from him. Shadow chokes the life out of everything he latches onto as well. He destroys and destroys, leaving nothing but husks and carnage. It’s more than the tree he kicked. It’s Gerald— the man who went insane because he worked on Project Shadow. It’s Maria— the girl who would have lived if she had never befriended him. It’s the Wachowski’s— a family that he nearly destroyed. It’s everyone on Earth— people that he didn’t see as worth protecting because of what happened fifty years ago.

 

Gerald was a brilliant scientist who could have done so much good for the world. Maria was enough to spread joy even to the most sterile and cold halls. The Wachowski’s have so much love and care for each other even though they don’t share a drop of blood, and they were willing to share that with Shadow, too. Most people on Earth didn’t know anything about Project Shadow or Maria. Some of those people weren’t even alive when it happened. They have lives they love and people they cherish— maybe people as close to them as Maria was to Shadow.

 

Shadow either took that all away from them or he was going to without a single thought of remorse in his head. All Maria ever wanted was for Shadow to be happy. She wanted him to enjoy his time on Earth because it was her home and she wanted it to be his home, too. Shadow was going to take that final wish away from her. He was going to ruin her dreams and hopes because of his own selfishness.

 

And then there’s Sonic. Shadow has ruined him, too. He drove Sonic to the edge. He made Sonic feel the same way Shadow did, and Shadow never knew he could be so cruel.

 

But Sonic is still here. Sonic remembers exactly what happened. He knows every detail. He knows what Shadow did and everything he planned to do. Sonic knows, yet he stays. Shadow doesn’t understand it. Does Sonic not know that he’s going to end up exactly like this planet? Does Sonic not fear that he will bleed out all alone like that animal? Does he not worry that he will shatter like these petrified trees?

 

Shadow feels a call tug at his mind. He lifts his head slowly. He chaos controls away from the trees to the edge of a cliff he didn’t notice before. Shadow stares down into the deep and wide chasm. Lava illuminates the depths. Hundreds— maybe thousands— of Black Arms legionaries stand in uniform rows. They are grouped by their subspecies. The majority are Black Warriors, but Shadow recognizes some of the other breeds. While Tails’ tablet’s information helps, Shadow can’t deny that his instincts also give him access to the titles awarded to these species by the progenitor. Black Oaks, Black Wings, Kill Worm, Black Assassins, Black Bull— and so many more. All ready for orders; all ready to destroy for their master.

 

Shadow tenses. He could give orders. He could command the legion as the general for Black Doom. He’s part of the hivemind now. He hasn’t fully integrated, but it’s only a matter of time.

 

Shadow tilts his head back to look at the sky. The gray smoke is thicker than it was where the Black Comet landed. Maria said that the light continues to shine even when the star is gone, but what happens when the light can’t be seen at all? If he can’t see the star anyway, what does it matter if it glows or not?

 

A dull wind bats against Shadow’s fur. It carries the low groaning of the legions. Shadow closes his eyes. He forces himself to listen to it until the wind dies down. If he strains, he can hear the noises, but he refuses to let himself sink so far down.

 

His eyes open. He looks back at the Black Arms. His attention naturally drifts to the Black Wings. The avian creatures stand on the ground. Some are perched on the shoulders of their comrades. Their wings are folded against their bodies. Even with the lava’s light, it’s difficult to make out these appendages. Shadow sees them clearly when he looks over his shoulder at his own back.

 

The red-black tentacles from one side are starting to crawl over his shoulder and down his back. It is a slow process. It’s a painful one, too, as it weaves in and out of his flesh. His blood slides down his fur. Some of it dries before it can drip onto the ground. As it dries, it clumps his fur together. While not nearly as painful as the process of the tentacles sewing the wings onto him, it is far more uncomfortable. Shadow always hated his quills and fur when they were in disarray. Maria would help him brush his fur out and organize his quills, but she’s gone. No one has cleaned him in a long time.

 

Shadow reaches behind him. He grabs a fistful of the blood-covered fur. He tears with all the waning strength in his arm. The stinging distracts him from the process of his wings growing in. Shadow pulls his paw away. He opens his fingers to see blood and fur resting against the palm of his hand. Do the Black Arms bleed the same way Shadow does? Or is this unique to him?

 

Shadow lets his paw fall away. Why did Black Doom create him? Why didn’t he send one of his usual Black Arms legionaries to complete the mission? Even if he needed something with more intelligence, why did he pick this form? It wasn’t like Shadow blended in with the people of Earth.

 

Shadow shakes his head. It doesn’t matter why Black Doom chose to create him in this form. All that matters is that Black Doom was the one to create him. Shadow was meant to be his Ultimate Weapon. Shadow was meant to help Black Doom conquer Earth, and then he would move along with the Black Arms to their next target. Shadow was made with a specific purpose in mind, and that’s the only reason Black Doom made him. Shadow wasn’t born with limitless potential; he was born to wrought destruction and take lives.

 

And didn’t Shadow accomplish that mission? Black Doom said he found the chaos emeralds in space. Shadow was the last one to have them. He was the one the reason they were lost to space instead of remaining with Sonic. Shadow didn’t even think about the consequences. Sure, he didn’t understand the chaos emeralds at the time, but he does know. After having their power and access to the Black Arms’ hivemind, Shadow understands how powerful they are. He understands that he should have been more careful about them.

 

But he wasn’t. He fell to the Earth, and the chaos emeralds went to space. They both ended up in Black Doom’s clutches. They are going to be used as instruments of his will. The chaos emeralds will warp the Black Comet to Earth, and Shadow…

 

A quiet noise leaves him. He’s already brought the chaos emeralds to Black Doom. He’s already turning into a monster. Shadow doesn’t know how much longer he’s going to be himself. If he’s fully integrated into the hivemind, won’t he join his kin? Why shouldn’t he stop struggling and go with it already? Why shouldn’t he let the tentacles devour his flesh and order the legion to prepare for their conquest of Earth? Why shouldn’t he give into his nature as a destroyer?

 

“Shadow!”

 

That’s why.

 

Shadow doesn’t turn around, but Sonic’s voice is loud and clear. The legions don’t notice the noise. They don’t notice anything that doesn’t come from their progenitor or his Ultimate Weapon. Shadow himself almost doesn’t notice the noise. He’s right on the cusp of giving into the ebb and flow of other thoughts that roam around his mind.

 

But he does hear it, and with it comes a flood of memories that wash away the other thoughts. The offer of peace and conversation illuminated by neon lights. The storm of chaos energy that sent a blackout across the city. The shared look in the sunlit hallway with a dying man at their feet. The golden light approaching the space station. The moment when they both connected to the chaos energy. The fist raised high over his heart, and the conversation on the moon. The circling. The fight. The separation. The angel in the forest and the hedgehog who healed his wounds. The invitation into his home. The promise to come with him.

 

And other memories are ripped from the far crevices of Shadow’s mind. He remembers gliding around the base with Maria. He remembers watching movies with her. He remembers sitting beneath the stars. He remembers laughter. He remembers fire and explosions and death and electricity and a deep, dark coldness permeating around a repeating nightmare.

 

“Shadow, why did you—” Sonic stops behind Shadow. It takes all the strength he has left in his body, but Shadow manages to turn around. He faces Sonic’s face straight on without flinching away. His red eyes (as red as the eyes of Black Doom) meet a pair of emerald so bright and vibrant that it brings a spark of life back to this desolate planet. Sonic’s eyes widen. His mouth opens. He stares at the wings even as they drag against the cliff’s edge, knocking some rocks into the chasm below. “Shadow, that’s…”

 

Shadow tenses. He prepares himself for it. He doesn’t know what word Sonic is going to use exactly. There’s a wide selection. Sonic could think they’re disgusting. He could think they’re ugly. He could think they’re beastly. Sonic could think that these wings are the last nail in the coffin— the final reassurance that Shadow isn’t who Sonic believes him to be. He might look more like Sonic right now than not, but it doesn’t erase the history between them. It doesn’t erase the similarities between him and the Black Arms. It doesn’t erase that Shadow was created by Black Doom for a specific purpose.

 

“Awesome!” Sonic shouts excitedly. Shadow startles. He steps back in an attempt to hide his flinch. Sonic’s lips split into a wide smile. His eyes glitter with excitement. He rushes forward. He drops onto one knee to look at one of the wings more closely. He intertwines his fingers beneath his chin to keep himself from touching. “This is so cool! Do you think you can fly with them? Maybe just glide? Are they heavy? How much do you feel with them? Can you feel the wind? Can you feel the temperature? Can you lift them up or are they stuck on the ground like this? What do— Shadow?”

 

Sonic finally lifts his eyes from the wing to Shadow’s face. Shadow stares at Sonic with horror etched into his features. Sonic’s brow furrow together with concern. He slowly rises back onto his feet. His paws move to hover around Shadow’s shoulders. Shadow flinches back once more. His foot knocks some rocks over the edge. Sonic looks more panicked by how close Shadow is to the edge than he does the wings. Sonic gestures to Shadow’s heels. He starts rambling as he is wont to do, but Shadow hears none of it. He instead pushes his paws against Sonic’s chest. The azure hedgehog stumbles back at the harsh hit. When Sonic reclaims his balance, he shoots Shadow an offended look— but it isn’t angry, not really. It isn’t disdainful, either. It’s mildly annoyed for a moment, but then Sonic is staring at Shadow with even more concern in his emerald gaze.

 

“What’s wrong, Shadow?” Sonic asks softly. Shadow feels wrong. His body has felt wrong since the moment Black Doom touched him. The wings are gauche and ugly on his back. The pain is nearing unbearable. Every tenth thought isn’t his own. The panic is his chest is being tempered only by the hivemind’s insistence that he should become one with them.

 

But this situation is also wrong. Sonic should be looking at Shadow like he’s a freak, so why is Sonic concerned? Why is Shadow the one looking at Sonic like the azure hedgehog has lost his damn mind?

 

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” Shadow repeats, gritting out the second question. He forces his teeth to unclench only because he doesn’t want Sonic to miss a single word. Shadow gestures to his wings. “These are what’s wrong! Look down there, Sonic. I’m becoming one of them. I’m becoming a Black Arms. I’m becoming a monster—”

 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, time-out,” Sonic interrupts. He puts the palm of one paw over the straightened fingers of his other paw. Shadow growls. Sonic either doesn’t notice, or more likely, doesn’t care. He pushes forth now that Shadow has stopped talking. “You are not a monster. You aren’t becoming one, either. You’ve always been a Black Arms, but that’s just your species. It isn’t who you are. The form can change, but the heart stays the same. You haven’t become anything else. You’re still Shadow; you’re just Shadow with wings now.”

 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Shadow shakes his head. “You don’t understand anything. You’re too naive and simpleminded. You act like you know everything. You don’t know a single damn thing.”

 

“Then, explain it to me,” Sonic retorts. Annoyance flares at the edges of his voice. He crosses his arms over his chest, leaning his weight on his back leg. “Tell me, Shadow, what I don’t understand and know. Tell me how you’re becoming a monster. Tell me how these wings prove that you’re going to become someone else. If I’m so ignorant, use your words and prove me wrong.”

 

“Black Doom created me to retrieve the Master Emerald for the Black Arms on Earth. I was the one who got him the chaos emeralds instead. He’s going to attack Earth now. He wants me to join him. He’s turning me into his Ultimate Weapon. These wings are only the start. I’m going to become something else. I’ll lose myself in the hivemind,” Shadow responds. He waits for Sonic’s expression to change. It never does. No matter what Shadow says, Sonic keeps that irritated look in his eyes. There is a certain nonchalance to his body language that makes Shadow’s blood boil. He’s explained it as clearly as he can; why won’t Sonic listen?

 

“It isn’t your fault Black Doom got the chaos emeralds, but if you’re really so worried about it, you can help me get them back. We’ll stop him from attacking Earth while we’re at it,” Sonic responds. His eyes slide away from Shadow. He’s thinking about something else.

 

Shadow marches forward. He grabs Sonic’s throat with one paw. He squeezes. His grip is strong enough for him to choke Sonic. He could probably even snap his neck if he wanted to. He doesn’t. He only squeezes lightly. And Sonic doesn’t do anything. His eyes snap back to Shadow, but he doesn’t pull away. He doesn’t force Shadow to let go. He doesn’t even put a paw on Shadow’s body to gain some control over the situation. Sonic drops his arms to his sides. He makes direct eye contact with Shadow as the ebony hedgehog holds his life within his hands.

 

“Are you even listening to me? I can’t help you. I will turn into one of those things down there. I will be part of the army that destroys Earth. And these wings—”

 

“Are beautiful,” Sonic murmurs. Awe and honesty mix together so melodically in his voice that Shadow pauses, his ears flattening against his head. Sonic finally moves his paw. Instead of removing Shadow’s paw from his throat, Sonic touches Shadow’s cheek. It’s a gentle touch— far kinder than Shadow deserves. “Your wings are beautiful. Just like how you are beautiful. Just like how your heart is beautiful. I mean, come on, Shadow, they’re so fucking cool! How do you not understand that? You keep calling me the idiot, but I think you’ve got things mixed up.”

 

Sonic raises his other paw. He cradles Shadow’s face in his hands. A slow smile creeps on his face. The determination burns so bright in his eyes that Shadow doesn’t need the sky to be clear to see the sun. “Your appearance can change. You can look like a hedgehog. You can look like one of those creatures down there. You can have wings or horns or whatever else. But no matter, you’re still Shadow. Black Doom can take everything from you, but he can’t take who you are. I know you’re too stubborn to become united with some hivemind. And even if you aren’t, I’m right here. I won’t let you become something you aren’t. I’ll remind you whenever you need to hear it: your name is Shadow. You are the Ultimate Lifeform. You were Maria’s fri— brother. You were displaced in time, and this made you angry and vengeful. But you were just lost. You found your way again. And while you may not know where you belong, you have a choice. If you don’t want to be part of the legions, you don’t have to be. You can be whoever you want wherever you want in whatever form.”

 

Shadow sighs. He deflates somewhat, but this only makes his head sink deeper into Sonic’s palms. His paw slides down from Sonic’s throat to his chest. Shadow keeps his paw there, feeling Sonic’s unerring heartbeat through the lean muscle and the fabric of his gloves. Shadow tilts his head ever so slightly to look into Sonic’s eyes. He could almost be annoyed by the pleased expression, but his resolve is weakened by exhaustion… and by how pretty he thinks Sonic looks right now.

 

“You really are an idiot,” Shadow remarks softly. There isn’t even a whiff of emotion in his voice.

 

Sonic’s smile stretches, amusement lighting up the corners. “That’s not nice, Shadow, but I’ll let it slide if you please, pretty please, let me touch your wings.”

 

Shadow flinches. His quills flare out and his ears rise on top of his head. He jerks his head out of Sonic’s palms. The azure hedgehog’s expression doesn’t droop in the slightest. Shadow glances down at his wings. He tentatively lifts one off the ground. It isn’t by much, but it causes Sonic to make a muffled noise of excitement. Shadow once again looks at Sonic like he’s lost his mind. “Why would you want to do that? They’re disgusting and—”

 

“Let me stop you right there,” Sonic says, covering Shadow’s mouth with his paw like Shadow did earlier to Sonic’s own mouth. Shadow blinks at Sonic. “I meant what I said earlier. They’re beautiful. They’re awesome. They’re cool. I have a bazillion questions about them. Most of all, though, I want to touch them. You can tell me no, of course, but tell me no because it would make you uncomfortable, not because you think it would make me uncomfortable. If you can do that, I’ll give back your talking privileges.”

 

Shadow huffs. Sonic giggles softly at the feeling of the warm air between the strands of gloves. Shadow rolls his eyes, but he nods. Sonic removes his paw slowly, ready to slap it back on should Shadow say something untoward. Shadow says nothing. He just looks away from Sonic and the wing he raises slightly higher in the air. His ears twitch to the side when he hears the excitable noise Sonic makes.

 

Sonic asked earlier if Shadow could feel with the wings. The answer is yes. Shadow feels Sonic’s paw brush against the tentacles weaving together to form the appendages. Sonic gasps to himself. When Shadow glances at him, Sonic’s eyes are bright with fascination and mirth. Between that expression and the sensation of warmth gliding across the sensitive wings, a funny feeling settles inside Shadow’s chest. He doesn’t understand it in the slightest. The hivemind rejects it immediately. Shadow should force it out when the hivemind’s rejection starts hurting, but he can’t find it in himself to shove it away.

 

“I can,” Shadow murmurs. Sonic glances at him. Shadow swallows. His cheeks warm with embarrassment. “Fly, I mean. I can fly with them. You asked that earlier.”

 

“It’s almost not fair how awesome you are,” Sonic responds. A cheeky smile appears on his face as he leans closer to Shadow’s face. “And it’s actually not fair that even with all of this, you could never be as cool as me.”

 

Shadow rolls his eyes. He pulls his wings against his back, lifting them off the ground and getting them away from Sonic’s paws. Sonic pouts, putting his paws on his hips. Shadow gestures into the distance. “We don’t have time for this. We need to—”

 

Shadow stops talking. He whirls around to look over the side of the cliff. Sonic doesn’t hear the command echoing throughout the shared consciousness, but he does step forward when he hears the legions starting to move. The Black Wings fly out, rising higher in the air. Shadow feels an impulse to follow them, but Sonic grabs his paw, anchoring him to the ground. Shadow looks back at the rest of the legion as they enter the cracks. They are all heading for the same destination.

 

“Black Doom is about to raise the Black Comet off the planet’s surface. He’s going to take it to Earth,” Shadow explains. He turns in the direction of the Black Comet. The call to return reaches out to him. It wraps around his heart like a claw.

 

Sonic steps around Shadow’s body. He turns on his heel. He moves a finger to push up Shadow’s chin. Sonic wears a huge smile. He winks at Shadow. “Race you there.”

 

Sonic releases Shadow’s paw. He zips across the hardened ground, leaping over the cracks. Shadow huffs. His air-shoes activate. He glides forward. His wings flap to propel him. He chaos controls closer to Sonic. When he lands, he’s speeding forward. Sonic throws a smirk over his shoulder. He salutes Shadow. His lightning burns bright blue-white. Shadow’s own chaos energy is darker— a shade of burnt red-orange— as he follows after the azure hedgehog. He can catch up to Sonic easily, but he can’t overtake him. Sonic remains at least a step ahead of him. It might be because his wings are heavy and cause increased drag. Shadow doesn’t know. All he knows is that he wants to win. He wants to keep competing. He wants to remain in this moment. He wants to exist between the light of their chaos energy. He wants to forget the dying planet and smoking sky providing a backdrop for them. He wants to forget the Black Arms legions traveling beneath their feet. He wants to forget the destination they are heading towards.

 

He only wants to remember the way excitement and exertion irradiates Sonic’s face more lustrously than even the chaos energy does. He wants to remember the wind against his fur and quills. He wants to remember the laughter pouring from Sonic’s lips and the chuckle rumbling in Shadow’s own chest.

 

Unfortunately, they both have to stop when the Black Comet comes into sight. Legions are starting to climb onto the comet, boarding it as if it were yet another mode of transportation. Shadow can see the Doom’s Eye observing everything on behalf of the progenitor. Shadow tenses. Sonic nudges his elbow into Shadow’s side. Shadow glances over at him from the corner of his eye. Sonic leans in close to whisper, “We should hitch a ride.”

 

“Why are you so reckless?” Shadow asks.

 

Sonic shows his palms to Shadow innocently. “Do you have a better idea?”

 

Shadow, unfortunately, doesn’t. Black Doom is somewhere on that comet; Shadow feels it through their connection. They have to defeat the progenitor if they want to stop the legion. Shadow shakes his head. Sonic smirks at him. He doesn’t need to say anything for Shadow to know what sort of arrogant thoughts are moving through Sonic’s head. Shadow rolls his eyes. Sonic bumps their shoulders together. This sets them both into motions. They weave between the legions to reach the comet’s surface. Shadow grabs onto Sonic’s shoulder to chaos control them onto the top.

 

They land back on the comet’s surface. It hasn’t changed since the first time they portaled here. The threads weave together. The squelching and scent are even worse as the legions settle into place. Shadow thinks some are disappearing inside the comet. He would delve down there with them, but Black Doom isn’t there. Shadow knows where the progenitor is. He grabs Sonic’s paw, leading him forward.

 

“Wait, Shadow,” Sonic murmurs. Shadow looks over his shoulder. Sonic stares down at his shoes. Shadow glances down. The liquid coming from the comet touches the shoes. A faint sizzling noise comes from it. Shadow watches as the liquid starts eating away at the shoes. Sonic nods to himself. “I was right earlier. It is burning my flesh.”

 

“Were you born without a brain?” Shadow hisses. He hesitates for a moment before he figures out what to do. He turns around, kneeling down. He grabs the back of Sonic’s knees, pulling them against his sides. Sonic trips forward. He moves his arms around Shadow’s throat when his chest settles against Shadow’s back. Shadow takes a deep breath. Sonic tries moving himself away from the space where the wings are sprouting from Shadow’s back. It hurts to the touch, but Shadow says nothing. They have more important things to worry about right now. It isn’t like Sonic can really get away from it when the tentacles since they’re spreading along Shadow’s back. It won’t be long until Shadow completely loses his hedgehog form.

 

Shadow carries Sonic toward the front of the comet. It’s hard enough to glide forward with the pain in his back and Sonic’s weight, but it becomes infinitely harder when the Black Comet starts rising. Shadow drops onto his paws and knees. He grabs the tentacles. Sonic shields Shadow’s body when the comet starts to move through the atmosphere. Their alien nature makes it easier for them to move through the flames, but Shadow’s strength is waning. Sonic reaches one paw down to grab onto the tentacles, keeping the other one around Shadow’s neck to make sure Sonic doesn’t fall off. Shadow watches the liquid burn through Sonic’s glove. He smells burning flesh in the air. Sonic hisses right against his ear, but he doesn’t let go. Between their combined grip, they manage to stay on the Black Comet as it enters space and gets on a collision course with Earth.

 

Steadily moving through space, Sonic releases the Black Comet. His fur is patchy. His flesh is burnt. The smell mixes with the rough scent seeping from the comet itself. Sonic lets his paw hang loosely. Shadow rises to his feet. He feels the tendrils digging into his thighs and shoulders now. He ignores, pressing forward.

 

Shadow and Sonic eventually reach the head of the comet. The tendrils have been cleared away to show a metallic ground. There are seven pillars rising from the metal to hold the seven chaos emeralds. Light, sparks, and lightning travels between each emerald. Shadow and Sonic have to pass through the stream of chaos energy to reach the other side. When they pass it, Shadow realizes something. The chaos emeralds are powering the comet. It won’t take long until they reach Earth. The emeralds are also creating a barrier around this part of the comet, keeping them from being batted away by the intense speed.

 

Shadow sets Sonic down on the metal ground. Sonic holds his burnt paw with his other one, picking at the cauterized blood. He’s unsteady on his feet, probably from the burns he received earlier from simply walking on the Black Comet.

 

Doom’s Eye sees them first. It warns Black Doom about Shadow and Sonic, but the progenitor doesn’t need the warning. He turns around to face the two. He unfolds his arms from behind his back and spreads them wide in front of him. “You have finally joined me. Have you brought this Mobian as a means to appease my anger?”

 

“No,” Shadow dryly responds. Black Doom hums.

 

Sonic calls out, “We’re here to stop you.”

 

“Are you now?” Black Doom makes a rough noise akin to laughter. “It would be in your best interest to end this pitiful struggle before you start, Mobian. You will not win against me and my legions. We will conquer Earth whether you oppose us or not. I suggest you stop now before you hurt yourself. I will spare you since you brought my greatest creation to me, but there will be no mercy if you continue down this path.”

 

“We can’t let you destroy Earth! We can’t let you destroy any other planet,” Sonic argues. He takes a step forward, putting his weight on his burnt foot. He doesn’t wince. He doesn’t show that he’s in pain even when he squeezes his burnt hand, blood dripping down his wrist. “We’re not scared of you. Your threats mean nothing to us.”

 

“I always hated Mobians. Your control over chaos energy is second to none in the universe, but you have left none of it on your planet. It would be a waste of resources to conquer Mobius. I would have to enslave all of you to get what I want,” Black Doom remarks cooly. Sonic’s face flashes with genuine anger and homesickness. Shadow glances away. He’s never been to Mobius. He has no attachment to that planet… but it must have been where Sonic came from.

 

“But you are extraordinarily vexing, young hedgehog. You have corrupted my Ultimate Weapon. You have filled him with erroneous thoughts. You have made him turn his back on who he truly is. I was going to spare your life, but it would be easier to destroy you,” Black Doom continues. Sonic tenses, prepared to fight. Shadow follows his lead. He can’t let the progenitor kill Sonic.

 

Black Doom doesn’t move. He only inclines his head to the side. Doom’s Eye spins around. Shadow senses something coming at them from behind. Sonic does not. He only turns when he notices Shadow reaches for him. Shadow isn’t able to do anything to save Sonic as the tendrils slide from his shoulder to his elbow, tensing his arm. A Black Arms resembling an Earth-sized leech lands against Sonic’s face. It covers one of his eyes. It exudes the liquid that burns his flesh. Sonic shouts out, grabbing onto the leech. As he tries pulling it off, Shadow lands on his knees from the pain of transforming. Black Doom takes the opportunity to float forward. He grabs Sonic’s scruff. The hedgehog calls out for Shadow’s help, but Shadow can’t give it as Black Doom tosses Sonic through the barrier from the chaos emeralds, warping him elsewhere. Shadow jerks forward, but he falls back to his knees before he manages a step.

 

“If he cares so much for that measly planet, he can join it in its destruction,” Black Doom remarks. Shadow pushes himself onto his feet. He feels weak. He might even vomit. He stares at his arms as the tendrils fold over his forearms. He shakes his head. He stumbles, heading in the direction of where Sonic was thrown. Black Doom grabs Shadow’s shoulder. Shadow glances over his shoulder. Black Doom’s three eyes narrow. “What are you doing?”

 

“I’m saving him,” Shadow grits out, pulling his shoulder from Black Doom’s grasp.

 

Black Doom lets him go, but his voice follows Shadow. “Don’t do this, Shadow. That hedgehog is nothing. He is only bringing you down. He is only forcing you to reject who you truly are. You are my general, the Ultimate Weapon. You are a member of my legion. You are my son, my greatest creation. He whispered lies into your head, but I will correct them. I will erase the pain that planet has caused you. I will give you a place to belong. I will give you missions that you can complete. That Mobian cannot. He will add to your misery.”

 

Shadow hesitates. He doesn’t look at Black Doom, but he does stop. He senses his progenitor moving closer. He puts both of his clawed hands on Shadow’s shoulders. “If you go after him, I will not give you another chance. You will be abandoned once more, and from the only place someone like you could ever belong. I am the only creature in the universe that will accept you. You must realize this, Shadow. It is a hard truth, but an important one to learn. When you do, you will have all that you want.”

 

All that he wants, huh? Shadow thought he didn’t know what he wanted. He thought he would figure out what he wanted when he saw where he came from and embraced who he was.

 

But Shadow does know what he wants. He wants to be someone Maria would be proud of. He wants to learn how much Earth has changed since the time he landed. He wants to watch movies and eat dinner with the Wachowski’s again. He wants to race Sonic again. He wants to hear Sonic laugh. He wants to hear someone care about him and tell him that he’s worth the kindness he doesn’t feel he deserves.

 

Shadow ignores the pain as he runs forward. He runs through the same barrier Sonic did. He feels the chaos energy ripple around him. Time and space mean nothing to pure, unadulterated chaos. Shadow gives it some order, however, as he commands it to send him to wherever it sent Sonic. He doesn’t know if it does, but he suddenly falls through the multi-colored energy.

 

Shadow rolls across the asphalt. He hears the screeching of tires and honking. He rises onto his forearms. He looks around at the daylit street. Pedestrians wander the streets. Vehicles have stopped moving all around him. Shadow lifts his arm to cover his eyes. The sunlight hurts after the dimness of the other planet and the darkness of space. Shadow shoves himself onto his feet. He has to find Sonic.

 

He hears the shuttering of cameras. The humans are yelling. Shadow stumbles on his feet. He needs to find Sonic, but he can’t. It isn’t because of the humans, though. They are annoying, sure, but they aren’t making things difficult for him.

 

No, it’s because the transformation has finally taken him. He feels himself change. A scream leaves his lips before his vocal chords are now unable to perform the noise. When Shadow opens his eyes, he realizes that he has more than two. It’s difficult to tell how many— ten, maybe? His vision is tinted red regardless. The humans are a brighter shade of red closer to white as they move around. Their voices are muffled like he’s underwater. He doesn’t have feet, but his body is being held on the street by tentacles pushing down on the street and holding onto the nearby lampposts. 

 

Shadow is in control of his new body, but he’s clumsy and awkward with it. This is worse than his wings. Shadow knows that he can’t stay here, however. He has to stop Black Doom. He has to find Sonic. He has to remember who he is.

 

Shadow feels pain against his side. It’s a pinprick— negligible, really. But the pain keeps happening. Shadow looks around. Humans are throwing random objects at him. The ones he looks at stare at him with terror in their expressions. They freeze up. Shadow tries communicating with them. Instead, he hears a booming noise. He whirls around to find some other humans with guns in their hands. A few drop their weapons when they see him, but others look determined as they continue firing. The throwing commences again with everyone who isn’t holding a gun.

 

Shadow hates this. He hates the way they look at him. He hates the pain. He hates being in this strange new body. He wants everything to stop.

 

His tentacles respond to his silent pleas. They shoot out, ready to strike the human’s chests. Before they can make contact, a streak moves the humans aside. The streak is so brightly blue that Shadow can see it even with his red-tinted vision. It gives Shadow pause as his tentacles make the sidewalk crack.

 

With the humans gone, that blue streak returns to stand in front of Shadow. Sonic smiles at Shadow. He reaches his paws out carefully. There’s no hesitation in his gait as he approaches. Shadow stops moving. Sonic touches the sides of Shadow’s new form’s head. Sonic nods slowly. “Shh… deep breaths… calm down. It’s just me. It’s Sonic. I’m fine. You’re fine. We’re both fine. Remember who you are. Remember that you aren’t a monster. You’re Shadow.”

 

He’s Shadow. He’s Shadow. He’s Shadow.

 

He sinks lower to the ground. Sonic moves down with him, dropping onto his knees. He holds Shadow’s head in his lap. He continues making hushed noises of comfort, petting Shadow like he’s Ozzie.

 

He’s Shadow. He’s Shadow. He’s Shadow. 

 

He closes his eyes— all of them. He doesn’t hear anything other than a soft rumbling of Sonic’s heartbeat. He doesn’t sense any humans nearby. He smells wildflowers and pine trees in the air. It must be from Sonic since the streets smell like oil.

 

He’s Shadow. He’s Shadow. He’s Shadow. 

 

Slowly, the red-black tentacles snap back into the body. The threads unweave from one another. An ebony hedgehog is left trembling on the ground. Sonic keeps his hands on Shadow’s cheeks, holding him up to make eye contact. Sonic smiles softly at him. “There you are.”

 

“I really don’t understand you,” Shadow earnestly whispers, staring into those emerald eyes filled with so much fondness and affection.

 

Sonic wears a silly expression, eyes crinkling at the edges. “Are you supposed to?”

 

Shadow doesn’t answer. He drops his head back into Sonic’s lap. Sonic moves his paws through Shadow’s fur and quills. Shadow closes his eyes, succumbing to his exhaustion.

Notes:

Black Doom: I have to get rid of this hedgehog. He's turning Shadow gay.

I actually have a theory about movie-verse that's going to disgust you. It may even make you hate me. But that's a price I'm willing to pay to spread the TRUTH Sega will never tell you outright

Chapter 4: Who You Are (and who you aren't)

Something wet and warm slides across his face, making his facial fur stick up in odd directions. His nose wrinkles at the sensation. His paw raises from his side, lifting off what he believes is a cushion of some sort, to wipe his face off. The sensation stops for a few seconds, but it returns once his paw lands on whatever is beneath his head. With irritation guiding his actions, he forces his heavy eyelids to open. He stares straight into the face of a golden-furred dog. The pet is licking his face. His expression twists into an even more sourful expression. He has half a mind to do something about the strange creature, but fortunately for the animal, someone else intervenes on the dog’s behalf.

 

“Ozzie, stop, we give kisses to people who want them, remember?” A voice speaks softly with a whisper splaying out across the fringes of their tone. A gloved paw nudges aside the dog’s muzzle. Ozzie turns his attention to the person who was speaking to him. An azure hedgehog sits on the coffee table, stretching his legs out in front of him. Ozzie takes to licking the hedgehog’s paws instead of his face. Those emerald eyes crinkle with a smile as the two make eye contact. “Good morning, sunshine. How was your nap?”

 

Shadow grumbles. He feels groggy. He feels even more stupefied than when he woke up in the crater, but at least his body isn’t in near-constant pain like it was back then. Instead, he’s just wiping slobber off his face. Between his fingers, he looks around the room. He’s in the Wachowski’s living room. He’s lying on the couch with the blanket Maddie personally got for him halfway hanging off his body. He pushes the blanket aside while swinging his legs over the side of the couch. He forces himself to sit upright, leaving his head in his palm to accommodate how the nap treated him.

 

“I’m glad you had some restful sleep,” Sonic chuckles. He moves both of his paws around Ozzie’s head, pushing and pulling at the fur with gentle, playful touches. Sonic’s eyes slide away from Shadow to the window behind the couch. Shadow can see Sonic clearly trying to keep a positive countenance, but there’s a look in his eyes that Shadow knows spells trouble. “While you were sleeping, Black Doom began sending some of his legions through the chaos emerald portal thing. They’ve been attacking most of the major cities in the world. I know you have a… complicated relationship with, um, you know, G.U.N., but Maddie and Tom radioed them with the information. The organization is helping out. My family is, too. They’ve split up to help as many places as possible. Even Maddie and Tom are with Tails’ machines. It’s… Well, yeah, that’s what happened while you were sleeping. It’s always the one time you want to take a nap, isn’t it?”

 

Sonic’s laughter is hesitant, bordering on a strangled cough. He moves a paw away from Ozzie’s head to the back of his neck. He rubs it for a second before he remembers that his gloves are covered in dog slobber. While he does look at his paw with barely constrained disgust, it does have the benefit of knocking the worried look out of his emerald eyes.

 

“What are you doing here?” Shadow asks, drawing Sonic’s attention away from Ozzie and the impending end of the world. Well, Shadow is actually bringing his attention back to the impending end of the world. There are many, many words and titles that befit Sonic, but among them, Shadow can acknowledge that ‘hero’ is one of them. Sonic is a good, moral person with a wealth of power that he uses for altruistic purposes. Even if he wasn’t, Sonic cares deeply for his family, and he wouldn’t want the planet they all call home to be destroyed. Sonic could be helping out a lot, but instead, he’s sitting on the coffee table with Shadow and Ozzie.

 

“When the others and I were mapping out a plan, we decided I would go after Black Doom. I can use the chaos emerald to achieve my super form. I would have gone alone, but we thought that you would want to join me. It’s your progenitor, as Tails said. Knuckles mentioned that it’s good to face the people who’ve hurt you. Mom agreed with him, but I think Mom meant it’s good to talk to them while Knuckles meant putting them in the ground,” Sonic shrugs, a humorous smile tugging on his lips. He lets it drop the same time he stares at the ground with a hardened expression. “I agreed with them, but… You deserve a choice. You don’t have to come with me. I understand how scary it can be to face off against Black Doom. From your position, anyway. He made you and abandoned you and now he wants you to be something you aren’t. I can see how it would be… You know, maybe scary isn’t the right word, but you get what I mean, don’t you?”

 

Shadow does. Black Doom’s words echo in his mind. Shadow could have finally found the answer he was searching for. Black Doom offered him an identity, a purpose, and a place to belong. It was everything Shadow has ever wanted, and it was the reason he went to the desolate planet in the first place. Shadow gave all that up for a planet that has caused him nothing but misery— for humans who attacked him the moment he didn’t look like anything they’ve seen before.

 

But Shadow doesn’t regret his decision. Maybe Black Doom was giving Shadow the answer to all his questions, but Shadow didn’t like a single one of those answers. He would give them all up over and over again if it meant saving Sonic, if it meant coming back to this warm home, if it meant being the kind person Maria and Sonic were so certain he was all along.

 

“I’m going,” Shadow decisively responds. He rises onto his feet. Ozzie looks up at him with a blank stare. Sonic also looks at him, but his stare is far from blank. There are more emotions on Sonic’s face that Shadow knows he’s ever felt in his life. Part of Shadow hopes he will get the chance to experience those emotions one day, however. He wants to know everything this planet he’s sacrificed so much for has to offer. “We should hurry.”

 

“We should,” Sonic murmurs in agreement. He blinks at Shadow for a few more seconds. Shadow arches a brow at him. Sonic nods suddenly. He jumps onto his feet. He looks down at Ozzie, wagging his finger in the dog’s direction. “Ozzie, protect the house. You see anything suspicious, and you go sicko mode like Knuckles taught you, alright? We’ll be back soon with plenty of treats for such a good boy!”

 

Sonic pats Ozzie’s head. The dog barks at him. Shadow doesn’t think it means anything, but Sonic’s face splits with a bright smile. He nods right back at the dog. Shadow rolls his eyes, but he’s left with the lingering thought of if Sonic can understand the canine’s language. He wouldn’t put it past Sonic to have several seemingly unnecessary skills.

 

“Here we go!” Sonic cheers. He turns around. He zips out of the house, leaving a cold wind to blow back Shadow and Ozzie’s fur. Shadow rolls his eyes again, but there’s an unmistakable fondness building in his chest.

 

“You heard your master,” Shadow glances at Ozzie. The dog doesn’t respond to him. Shadow rolls his shoulders. He tries activating his air-shoes only to realize they aren’t on his feet. Shadow frowns, looking around. The shoes are beside the couch. Shadow pulls them back on, vaguely remembering Tom reminding the aliens that shoes weren’t allowed on the furniture the other… night? Gaia, it hasn’t been that long at all.

 

With his air-shoes back on his feet, Shadow races forward to follow after Sonic. The azure hedgehog is technically far from the house, but distance is relative to speedsters like them. Shadow reaches his side in almost no time at all. They are standing on the mountainside with the wind whistling between the few trees growing from the soil layered on top of the dark gray stone.

 

Sonic glances at him with a smile. He gestures toward the sky. Shadow tilts his head back. He sees the broken moon. He sees the explosion of chaos energy. And he sees the Black Comet approaching Earth’s atmosphere. Sonic taps his foot impatiently, rubbing his chin with his fingers. “I’m not sure how we’re going to get there. Does your chaos control extend that far?”

 

“It doesn’t have to,” Shadow tacitly notes. Sonic shoots him a confused expression, but it drops away when he sees the tentacles spreading from Shadow’s back. Shadow closes his eyes. He forces the tentacles to fold into wings in a similar shape to the appendages of the Black Wings. They are identical to what they were earlier, but this time, there aren’t any extra tentacles trying to spread across his body. Only a sliver of his back is covered, and there isn’t any pain he needs to worry about.

 

When Shadow opens his eyes, Sonic is staring at him with wide eyes and his paws covering his mouth. Shadow swallows thickly. He wouldn’t have the courage to even pull his wings out if it wasn’t for Sonic, so he allows the azure hedgehog to have a few seconds of unadulterated awe even if it makes Shadow feel embarrassed and uncomfortable. 

 

Sonic covers his entire face with his paws, physically hiding away as he tries to school his features. Shadow is thankful for several reasons, but one of them involves how Sonic is giving him an opportunity to pick Sonic up. While he could put Sonic on his back again, he doesn’t think his wings would like that very much given how they are formed. He needs to hold Sonic from the front, and his mind conjures the best way to pick Sonic up. Maybe not the perfect way, but Sonic is going to have to deal with it.

 

Shadow leans down. He hits the back of Sonic’s knees. As the azure hedgehog goes down, Shadow places one arm behind Sonic’s knees and the other one around his shoulders. He rises to his feet, bringing Sonic to his chest. The azure hedgehog hurriedly moves his paws from his face to Shadow’s neck. Sonic stares at Shadow with a wide-eyed expression. Shadow feels warmth flood his face from that expression and the proximity, but he can’t do anything about it at the moment. He just forces his wings to expand, bringing him and Sonic into the air.

 

Shadow thought he would hate this. He is using his Black Arms physiology. He doesn’t hate it as much as he thought he would. Flying, in general, is actually quite nice. There’s a reason Shadow wore the air-shoes instead of regular shoes (other than the fact that Maria designed them). And while he was fighting for his life against Sonic, he enjoyed flying when his fur was colored platinum with the sparks of potential and infinite power. While he’s never used a pair of wings before, the process isn’t too different. It’s only in the subtle ways, and Shadow can get over those easily once he properly adjusts.

 

And even though he’s using what Black Doom gave him, it feels like… It feels like Shadow is doing this for himself. These powers are his, after all. It doesn’t matter who they were given by. They’re just tools. They are amoral in their nature. It is Shadow who decides what to do with them. He could use these wings to hurt people, but he can also use them to have fun while flying. He can use them to bring himself closer to his progenitor, the warmonger he needs to stop. He can use them as an excuse to carry Sonic.

 

Well, except… “If you don’t stop wiggling, I’m going to drop you.”

 

“I can’t help it! This is so awesome!” Sonic complains, squeezing his arms around Shadow’s shoulder. His face leans in even closer. His happiness is palpable, hitting Shadow like a chunk of debris. “I mean, I’ve always thought you were more like Batman since you have the traumatic backstory, gruff demeanor, and kind heart. But Batman doesn’t fly! I mean, he glides. And I guess he could have flown at some point in the comics. There’s so many of them. Even a speed-reader like me misses a few from time to time. But it doesn’t matter! This is totally Superman. To be fair, he’s also awesome. And I guess you’re like him, too, since you came from an alien planet in a similar way. Wait, you probably don’t even know who I’m talking about. Doesn’t matter— this is just so cool to me. It’s also kind of ro—”

 

“Do you ever shut up?” Shadow grits out. To an extent, Shadow wouldn’t actually mind Sonic talking his ear off. It helps his nerves, and he likes Sonic’s voice. Shadow just doesn’t agree with Sonic’s words. In between all the fanboying for superheroes, Sonic is effortlessly slipping in compliments that causes Shadow’s heart to quicken— and his heart already beats fast enough.

 

“Nope. It’s one of my redeeming qualities,” Sonic responds. Shadow rolls his eyes, forcing his face away from Sonic’s scrutinizing gaze. Sonic moves a paw to poke Shadow’s cheek. The ebony hedgehog glares at him. Sonic smirks at Shadow. “Are you blushing right now?”

 

“I will drop you,” Shadow threatens instead of denying. He doesn’t know how to. His cheeks are, in fact, burning vibrant red beneath his dark fur. It shouldn’t be noticeable, but Sonic is just so close to him that it’s impossible to completely hide it.

 

“No, you won’t,” Sonic says plainly and definitively like a prophet seeing the future. His smirk widens, turning his eyes into crescent moons. The slitted appearance doesn’t hide the mischief marching through Sonic’s irises like a band through a parade. “You won’t because it’s me you’re holding.”

 

“You’re arrogant,” Shadow tells Sonic. His voice is heavy, but it’s almost taken by the wind as they rise higher and higher into the air. It’s getting colder, too. Shadow hardly feels it, but he wonders how Sonic is experiencing the harsh winds.

 

“I prefer to think I’m observant,” Sonic notes. He drops his head onto the part of his arm that rests on Shadow’s shoulder. Shadow can feel Sonic’s breath against his throat. He takes a steadying breath. He decides immediately that he is never doing this again.

 

Thankfully, Sonic and Shadow reach the Black Comet. It is high above Earth’s surface, but it is descending rapidly. Black Wings fly off the comet, holding the different subspecies in their claws. The Black Warriors are the only ones who do not take transit from the Black Wings. They leap off the side of the comet. Shadow is led to believe they have a means of landing safely on the ground. He doesn’t care either way. It would be better for him if they died on impact, but the part of him still connected to the hivemind would feel each death as painfully as his own. Shadow needs to get disconnected from that as soon as possible.

 

Shadow would like to drop Sonic as soon as they reach the comet’s surface, but the purple liquid continues bleeding out of the stones. Sonic might have replaced his gloves and shoes at the Wachowski’s house, but Shadow isn’t certain the wounds hidden beneath the materials are completely healed. They might be since Sonic has a speedy healing factor like Shadow does, but Shadow doesn’t want to take any chances with the poisonous substance.

 

Shadow takes Sonic to the metallic ground within the bounds of the chaos emeralds. Black Doom and Doom’s Eye are standing in a similar position that they were earlier. They both watch the devastation being wrought on Earth by the Black Arms. Doom’s Eye turns around first. It spins into position behind its leader’s back. Doom’s Eye releases a mist from the space between his eyeball and its scaly face.

 

“Illusions,” Shadow calls out to Sonic as the mist approaches them. Sonic understands what he means as soon as the mist touches his ankles. Shadow tries holding his breath, but the mist infiltrates his mind through other means. Its claws dig into his mind. Shadow’s vision blurs. The muted colors of the Black Comet spin together until Shadow can’t look at anything in front of him without feeling nauseous. He covers his face with his paws, trying to keep himself from vomiting.

 

“Shadow.” The ebony hedgehog’s paw drops. He stares straight ahead. Maria stands in the purple mist. She smiles warmly at him. Shadow’s arm falls limply to his side and his shoulders droop together. Maria offers her hand to him. “Come on, Shadow. You know this isn’t right. You have to accept the truth given to you. You have to understand who you are. You can be a hero like I thought you were. You can be the Black Arms’ hero. You can end the war they’ve been fighting for years. Isn’t that what you want?”

 

Shadow could give in. He could rush over to her side. He could accept the hand offered to him. He almost does. He takes a step forward, but something holds him back. Shadow looks at the tether stopping him from moving. There is a paw nestled inside of his own, squeezing tighter than a vice. Shadow’s carmine eyes trail the paw up the arm to the face. Sonic’s eyes are closed tightly. A pained expression burns onto his features. He whispers quietly, “I’m sorry, Longclaw.”

 

Shadow turns away from Sonic to Maria. No, he turns toward an illusion. This isn’t real. Maria is gone. And if she were here, she would never say that. Maria never wanted him to be a hero. She only wanted him to be happy. She would have supported his decision to walk away from the Black Arms. She would have been proud of him, even. She would never want him to join the Black Arms.

 

“Shadow, what are you doing?” The illusion asks curiously, tilting Maria’s head to the side. Shadow raises his paw above his head. His chaos energy leaves him like smoke. It collects together into a flaming spear. The point is sharp and orange-gold while the ends trail away like the flicking sparks of a fire. The light produced by the Doom spears makes some of the mist disappear. The illusion weakens around the edges, losing some of the details that make it Maria. “Shadow, don’t do this! It’s me! Are you really going to hurt me?!”

 

Shadow would hesitate if Sonic wasn’t there squeezing his paw. The comfort soothes the part of Shadow that rebels and resists. He meets the illusion’s eyes. He says nothing as he throws the Doom spear forward. When the chaos-infused weapon lands on the ground, it explodes in enough light to make the mist disperse entirely. The illusion disappears. Doom’s Eye rests on the metal surface with a closed eye.

 

“Thanks, Shadow,” Sonic murmurs. Shadow nods slowly. He doesn’t know who Longclaw is, but he knows they were someone important to Sonic. Someone Sonic lost, allowing Sonic to empathize with Shadow’s loss when they were talking on the moon. Another person whose light shines even when they are gone.

 

“You have such power yet you refuse to use it for any satisfactory goals. It truly is a shame,” Black Doom declares, seemingly unbothered by Doom’s Eye’s prone status. Black Doom waves his clawed hand as he turns around. This motion causes Doom’s Eye’s body to fly right off the side of the comet, through the chaos emerald barrier, too. Sonic drops Shadow’s paw, bringing his fists to his chest. His emerald eyes look all around him, searching for another surprise attack like what happened earlier.

 

Black Doom points at Sonic. “I know who you are now. You should have introduced me to Sonic the Hedgehog sooner, Shadow. Things would have been a lot different had I known the fastest creature in the universe was present.”

 

“Great. I’m so famous even creeps like you know who I am,” Sonic sarcastically huffs. A frown pulls his lips down. “Tails is the only good thing to have come from my reputation.” Sonic glances at Shadow. “Knuckles doesn’t count. He would have come for Longclaw’s apprentice whether I was famous or not.”

 

“I don’t care—” Shadow starts.

 

Black Doom interrupts Shadow. “There is a prophecy in the universe about the golden one. I was certain that my creation would become the golden one, but I see now that it was not meant to be. You are the golden one, Sonic the Hedgehog. You are the hedgehog in the mural. You are the one who transforms thought and chaos energy into reality. Forgive me for not recognizing you sooner.”

 

“I’m not buying whatever you’re selling!” Sonic shouts at him. He turns his head toward Shadow. He hides his mouth behind the back of his paw. “What kind of drugs is your dad on?”

 

“For once in your life, be serious,” Shadow orders Sonic. He grabs onto the azure hedgehog’s shoulder. He pulls Sonic to the side. Shadow slides into the space where Sonic just was. A Doom-influenced chaos spear appears to strike through the leech that was flying at Sonic for a second time.

 

Sonic frowns, gesturing at the parasite. “Really, Black Doom? Again? You’ve got to do better than this!”

 

“This is only the beginning. I will acquire your power for my own, prophesied one,” Black Doom warns. He throws his clawed hand forward. Purple poison slides off his skin, flicking into the air. Shadow moves his wing to shield Sonic. The poison does nothing against the Black Arms’ tentacles. Sonic pushes his fingertips onto the ground. His chaos energy glows around his body. In an instant, he’s curled into a ball, spinning forward at an intense speed. Sonic goes right under Shadow’s wing. He appears on the other side, leaping into the air. He hits Black Doom’s face. When Black Doom reaches to grab Sonic, the hedgehog rolls behind Black Doom’s head. He unfurls his body. He reaches  paw to grab one of Black Doom’s horns. Sonic’s body weight causes Black Doom to tip in his direction. Shadow summons even more spears to launch at Black Doom. Some of them miss, but the others land against Black Doom’s side, causing the creature to grunt in pain. Shadow pumps his arms at his side and flaps his wings. This causes him to glide forward at an increased speed.

 

Black Doom grabs Sonic’s face. He holds the hedgehog away from him. Sonic kicks and hits at the arm holding him. Black Doom does not release him. Shadow comes to a stop beside Black Doom. He raises his leg to kick the creature, but tentacles shoot out of the ground to grab Shadow’s body. He is forced onto his knees on the metal ground. Shadow glares at Black Doom. The creature takes a deep breath. “The time for your rebellion is over. I, unfortunately, would not be able to withstand your chaos energy, Sonic, but rest assured that Shadow will serve as an excellent vessel.”

 

“What are you—” Sonic’s question is cut off by his scream. Shadow’s eyes snap to him. Sonic’s body glows with his chaos energy. The light gets brighter and brighter like a sun rising above the horizon. But this light is also traveling along Black Doom’s arm, disappearing beneath his sleeve. Sonic’s struggle to free himself gets even wilder but over time, it gets weaker. He’s physically losing energy.

 

And Shadow knows exactly where it’s going. The tentacles surrounding him start pulsating with Sonic’s light. They dig into his flesh like IVs pouring the chaos energy directly into Shadow. It collides violently with the chaos energy already inside of him. There was a precarious balance between the chaos energy and his Doom powers. That balance is being broken, and Shadow can feel his body shattering because of it. His glances down at his inhibitor rings. He sees hairline fractures in the smooth golden surface. Shadow wishes he could do something about it, but he can’t move at all. He’s hardly able to breathe with how much pain thunders inside his chest.

 

Shadow raises his eyes. Sonic’s body has gone limp. His fur and quills have dulled to the same blue-gray as the desolate planet. His eyes have completely darkened, and Shadow doesn’t think Sonic can even see anymore. The apathy of his expression kills Shadow as painfully as the chaos energy exploding inside his fragile body does. Shadow wants to beg Black Doom to stop, but his voice is unreachable.

 

Black Doom drops Sonic. The formerly azure hedgehog lands harshly on the ground, limbs bending at awkward and uncomfortable angles. Shadow’s vision is almost completely covered by blue and burnt-orange, but he finds himself staring at that body for as long as he’s able to. Another person dead— all because of him.

 

Black Doom floats into the space between Shadow and Sonic. He moves his clawed hands out to frame Shadow within his vision. Shadow grits his teeth. He wishes he could say something. He wishes he could glare. He has no strength. Or, rather, he has too much strength. There is so much power thrumming through his body, but Shadow isn’t able to use any of it. He can’t even tear himself out of the tentacles. He feels pathetic and weak, and he promised himself that he would never feel this way again.

 

“Congratulations on your ascension. Although you were not the golden one from legend, you command the power he should have wielded. The entire universe is at your fingertips,” Black Doom promises. He floats forward to put his claws around Shadow’s head. He lifts Shadow to stare into his three eyes. “Unfortunately, I cannot trust you with this power. You have shown that you are prone to betrayal. I cannot have someone like that in my army. I will erase your memories of your time on Earth and completely reintegrate you with the hivemind. You will experience more pain than necessary if you do not comply. Try not to fight.”

 

Black Doom moves one claw to completely cover Shadow’s face. Black Doom was right about it causing him pain, but Shadow cannot stop himself from instinctively fighting against Black Doom’s control. His memories of Maria are all he has left of her. His memories of Gerald are all he has left of him. His memories of Sonic are all he has left of him. Shadow cannot willingly hand them over. He cannot stand idly by while Black Doom tries to take everything away from him.

 

But by Gaia, does it hurt. Shadow finally finds his voice. It is scratchy and broken, but the screams that leave his lips find a way to give him additional strength and courage. He can stand against Black Doom for however long it takes for the creature to decide that it isn’t worth it. Shadow will not crumble. It hurts. It aches. He feels blood slipping from his nose and ears, but he doesn’t focus on that. He doesn’t focus on the bitterly cold numbness spreading throughout his body. He doesn’t focus on the trembling. He doesn’t focus on any of that.

 

He focuses on the memory of sitting under the stars with Maria, her hand in his paw and a smile on her face. He focuses on the memory of Walters making funny faces as he stood behind the soldier lecturing Maria and Shadow for their reckless behavior. He focuses on the memory of Gerald promising that despite Shadow’s alien heritage, they were a family. He focuses on the memory of Sonic cradling his face and promising that Shadow was beautiful even with the way his appearance was influenced by his Black Arms blood.

 

When Shadow fears he’s about to lose the fight, it suddenly stops. Shadow drops to the ground. He braces his forearms on the ground. He coughs up blood, letting it splatter on the ground beneath him. He lifts his heavy head. His eyes find the strength to sharpen when he notices Sonic standing up. 

 

The hedgehog looks like a mess on his feet with grayed fur and nearly blackened irises, but Sonic stands regardless. He holds a torn piece of the Black Comet in his hands. It is a rock covered in a poison that will burn him. Sonic throws it at Black Doom. The creature swats it away as if it were nothing. Sonic’s chest heaves with a breath. He looks close to falling unconscious, but he glares at Black Doom all the same. His voice is breathless when he speaks. “You… don’t get to… do that. You don’t… get to de-decide… who… Shadow is.”

 

“Why are you so persistent?” Black Doom demands. He lifts his hand. Energy forms together in the center of his palm. Sonic stares down his death with quiet, pained acceptance. Shadow jerks forward. His chaos energy is tangled with Sonic’s, but somehow, he’s able to gain enough traction to speed forward. He grabs onto Sonic. His strength wanes, sending them both tumbling onto the ground. The energy blast hits the ground where Sonic was previously standing. Sonic and Shadow now slam into one of the stone pedestals holding one of the chaos emeralds. Shadow thinks he hits his head, but the pain is absolutely nothing compared to everything else his body is going through.

 

Shadow’s arms are wrapped around Sonic’s shoulders. The gray hedgehog leans against Shadow’s chest. He pulls himself away, putting his paws on Shadow’s shoulders. Sonic glares at Black Doom. “You know what? Your father fucking sucks. I think it’s about time we actually pissed him off.”

 

Shadow doesn’t know what Sonic is talking about until Sonic lifts his paws to Shadow’s cheeks. He holds Shadow’s head still as he leans close enough to press their lips together. He takes Shadow longer than he would care to admit to realize what’s happening. He also doesn’t want to admit that he returns the kiss long before he questions if they even have time to do this.

 

There is, however, a reason for this kiss beyond upsetting Black Doom. Shadow feels the chaos energy inside of him start to leave. Sonic’s chaos energy, to be exact, returns to the hedgehog it belongs to. The pain in Shadow’s body decreases for every second Sonic is right up against him. He wishes he could say that’s the only reason he kisses back, but he doesn’t think he could lie if asked. Hopefully, no one will ask.

 

Sonic pulls away first. His fur is back to its original hue. His eyes are somehow greener than before. Sonic wears a wide smile. He winks at Shadow. “Thanks, darling.”

 

Just one more thing on the list of stuff Shadow isn’t going to talk about.

 

Sonic rises to his feet. His paws close into fists. He stares down Black Doom. “Since you want a fight so badly, bring it on!”

 

Before Black Doom can respond to the threat, Sonic reaches a hand back. He grabs onto the chaos emerald with his gloved hand. Shadow hears bells jingling in the air. The chaos emeralds are pulled from their pedestals. They come to spin around Sonic. His feet lift off the ground. The chaos emeralds slam directly into his body. A blast of white light explodes out of him. Shadow is forced to look away. He blinks rapidly. When his vision returns, he looks back at Sonic.

 

And he sees an angel.

 

Sonic just got his azure quills back, and he’s already traded it in for a gold as radiant as the sun. His crimson eyes shimmer like a setting sun bleeding out across the horizon. The air around him thickens with heat and electricity. A smirk pulls at his lips with a cruelty Shadow has never been on the receiving end of, even when he angered Sonic to the point of attempted homicide. “And I’ll even let you fight the golden one you keep yapping about.”

 

Sonic tilts his head down to look at Shadow. His smile softens. He offers his paw to the ebony hedgehog. “Would you care to join me?”

 

Shadow glances at the paw. He exhales slowly. He shakes his head. He rises to his feet. When he closes his fingers into fists, he feels the tentacles from his wings spread out to cover his body in armored plates. He narrows his eyes at Black Doom. “I’m going to defeat him with my own power.”

 

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Sonic cheers. The light pouring off of him in waves gets even heavier. Shadow truly feels like he’s standing next to the sun. He knows he shouldn’t look for long, but there’s something about Sonic’s expression— the determination, the confidence, the bloodlust— that draws Shadow back to him every time. “Let’s do this, Shadow!”

 

“You have chosen your place,” Black Doom calls out chidingly. He shakes his head. “Let us see if it was the right choice.”

 

The illusory mist returns, but all it does is hide the transformation Black Doom undertakes in response to Sonic’s super form and Shadow using his Black Arms physiology. Black Doom’s body grows larger. It’s so large that he has to fly above the Black Comet with his newly formed wings because of how much bigger he is now comparatively. He loses his clothing and armaments. He develops a boulder-like bottom where a pair of legs would traditionally go. His torso hardens, developing downward spines. Two gargoyle-like faces grow from his sides. His mouth becomes horizontal with sharp teeth. He has more clawed fingers on his hands. From the depths below him, Doom’s Eye returns to slot into place on the creature’s face where the eyes should be. 

 

“Devil Doom,” Shadow whispers, still recognizing his progenitor even with the transformation.

 

“He doesn’t deserve a cool name,” Sonic mutters beneath his breath. He throws his arms to his sides, shooting him upward. Because he took the chaos emerald, the Black Comet stopped some distance from Earth’s surface. The air is smoky and dark up here, so Sonic’s light stands out. Shadow’s wings flap, bringing him closer to that light. “Doesn’t matter. We’re going to defeat him, anyway, right, Shadow?”

 

“Right,” Shadow confirms with a sharp nod. Sonic shoots him a smile. It’s the last thing Shadow sees before Sonic is pushing him away. Fire licks the air between them. Shadow tracks it to Devil Doom’s horizontal mouth. The creature’s lips snap shut, holding back the fire it just launched into the air. When the fire clears, Sonic’s arms are crossed over his chest. Shadow wishes he could be upset at Sonic’s nonchalance, but it’s comforting in some odd way. “Let’s defeat him.”

 

Sonic smirks at him. They split away from each other to attack Devil Doom. Shadow’s progenitor starts by creating ‘cells’ with his lower half. The cells spread out to fire lasers between each other. Shadow flies through the storm of flashing color. He moves his fists and the heels of his air-shoes through the cells. He destroys them easily. The only reason he spends any amount of time with them is because there’s so many. Shadow can teleport from one to another, though, so he’s finished destroying them at a faster rate than Devil Doom can make them.

 

Shadow flies around Devil Doom. He prepares several chaos spears to launch at his progenitor. They explode upon impact. Devil Doom doesn’t show an ounce of care since it doesn’t hurt him. He turns to Shadow immediately, knowing exactly where the ebony hedgehog is at all times. Devil Doom opens his mouth to send a wave of fire at Shadow. When the hedgehog shoots out of the way, there are lasers waiting for him. Shadow tries to chaos control away, but Devil Doom has the same ability. He teleports in time for a laser to hit Shadow. He curls his wings around him as a protective barrier. He feels pain, however, and he drops lower in the sky.

 

Devil Doom lifts a clawed hand, holding a fireball in it. Shadow forces himself to control his wings. He steadies himself in the darkened sky. He throws his forearms forward. A black X touched with fiery orange-gold light leaves his fur to strike against the fireball. The explosion temporarily illuminates the sky bright enough for Shadow to shrink away. He notices, however, that Doom’s Eye also shows pain from the experience. Shadow doesn’t know if it means anything… but he does sense Doom’s Eye’s presence more than he senses Devil Doom’s presence. There might be a connection there. Shadow just needs an opportunity to—

 

Shadow watches Super Sonic crash right through one of Devil Doom’s wings. He tears it in half with his golden light, leaving burn marks against the hole he made. Devil Doom isn’t hurt by this, but his body does tip to the side because of it. Devil Doom’s wings start flapping harder to keep him airborne. Sonic wears a cheeky smile as he goes back to destroying the wings as best he can. Devil Doom turns his attention to stopping Sonic from knocking him out of the air. Sonic flies around to avoid the hits, flipping around and even dancing in the air. He’s the best distraction Shadow could ask for.

 

He’s also the worst one because he momentarily distracts Shadow, too. He finds himself laughing. It leaves him like a breeze on a summer’s day. It makes him feel lighter— light enough that his speed increases tenfold. He freezes time for as long as he can to get closer to Devil Doom. When time starts moving once more, Shadow is close to Devil Doom’s face. The monster obviously realizes. He tries diverting some resources to stopping Shadow, but he finds it nearly impossible when Sonic is being a complete menace (truly unangelic, though Shadow can’t quite separate the word from Sonic anymore). What little Devil Doom does do isn’t enough. Shadow darts between them, flying as swiftly as a Black Wings and with as much strength as a Black Bull. 

 

Shadow stops when he makes it to Doom’s Eye. The starfish-like creature glares at him with its one eye. It tries shooting Shadow with a laser at point-blank range. Shadow grabs onto one of its appendages before it can send the energy forward. Shadow moves his other fist back, ready to strike the eye. Before he can throw his fist forward, he hears a voice directly in his ears. “Son, you don’t want to do this. You have proven yourself capable and worthy. You will find happiness when you join the legion. We will be the family you lost. We will take away the memories of sorrow this planet made you experience. You will gain unparalleled strength. You will never feel weakness again. You are still my greatest creation, my Ultimate Weapon—”

 

“I already told you,” Shadow hisses. He narrows his eyes, staring directly into the consciousness of his progenitor— of some monster Shadow doesn’t affiliate himself with any longer. “I am Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Lifeform. I decide who I am. I decide where I belong. I don’t need you or your false promises. Now, shut up!”

 

Red-black tentacles shoot out to cover Shadow’s fist. His burnt orange chaos energy glows between the tendrils. It burns like a flame. Shadow shouts as his fist flies forward. It crashes directly into Doom’s Eye’s eye. As soon as Shadow’s fist is out the other side, Devil Doom dissipates into the mists of an illusion. The Black Arms on the ground drop away without the head of the hivemind commanding them. Doom’s Eye slides off Shadow’s wrist, falling to the ground below him. Shadow’s wings flap, keeping him airborne without the support.

 

“Shadow!” Sonic yells. He throws his arms around Shadow’s shoulder from behind. Shadow glances over his shoulder. He sees Sonic’s smiling face. Even as his fur flickers with golden warmth and his eyes burn ruby red, Shadow doubts there’s anything brighter than that smile, especially when it aims at Shadow with a fondness he feels mirrored in his chest. “We did it! We did it! I can’t believe we did it! How did you know? Did you even now? Please tell me you said something badass before you did it! Come on, Shads, tell me what you said!”

 

Shadow chuckles. It is softer and quicker than his laugh from earlier, but Sonic’s eyes widen. “Nevermind. Tell me how I can make you do that again instead.”

 

Shadow rolls his eyes. He’s about to respond when he notices the Black Comet in the corner of his eye. It, unfortunately, isn’t an illusion. And it’s hurtling towards Earth. Shadow pulls away from Sonic to get closer to it. He hears Sonic curse before the golden hedgehog is flying right beside Shadow. They hurry toward the Black Comet, prepared to stop it somehow.

 

The two of them get underneath the comet. They put their paws against the bottom surface. The purple liquid that once burnt Sonic’s flesh turns into steam before it can touch his fur. This allows Sonic to brace his entire shoulder against the comet. They have stopped it, but they aren’t able to push it out of Earth’s atmosphere. They have to do something about it now since they won’t be able to hold this up for much longer.

 

“Want to join me now?” Sonic asks. His voice is tense, but he manages to put a smile on his face. He slides his paw over the surface. Shadow nods at Sonic. He puts his paw over Sonic’s paw. He feels the power of the chaos emeralds spread to him, accompanied by jingling bells. The chaos energy fills his entire system. His fur turns platinum, flickering with a colder sort of heat than Sonic’s warmth.

 

With their newfound strength, he and Sonic push the Black Comet. It starts to move backward. Shadow could say he doesn’t know what their plan is, but he feels it in his veins. It’s slightly different from the hivemind the Black Arms have, but Shadow can sense Sonic’s thoughts. More than anything, he can feel Sonic’s heart this way. For a fraction of a second, he feels as if he understands Sonic’s fundamental core. And Sonic must be experiencing the same thing. Shadow could be embarrassed, but he doesn’t have time to. He also… just isn’t embarrassed. 

 

Shadow doesn’t consciously inform Sonic of the plan, but Sonic somehow knows. Sonic, likewise, does nothing. Shadow simply knows what they’re going to do.

 

Shadow’s wings and armor disappear back inside his body. He repurposes the Doom energy, putting it into his muscles. At the same time, Sonic and Shadow both push with every remaining drop of strength in their bodies. They force the Black Comet away from Earth. Between the limitless potential of the chaos emeralds and destructive might of Black Doom’s ‘greatest creation,’ they are able to throw Black Comet into space with enough force to set it on a different galactic path.

 

Shadow’s body gives up immediately. The platinum color leaves his fur. The chaos energy runs dry in his body. He doesn’t have his wings to support him. He doesn’t have any Doom abilities. Shadow’s eyes fall shut. The cold wind whips around his fur. Gravity clutches onto him with a vengeance, sending him hurtling to the ground below. He isn’t going to survive this time. Even if the fall is technically a short distance, Shadow has nothing protecting him this time. He’s going to die, and Shadow…

 

… doesn’t know how he feels about that. He knows that he wanted to die. Ever since he woke up from Prison Island, he’s wanted to die. He used to want to take the whole world with him. Now, he doesn’t, but he also doesn’t think he wants to die. No, he— he wants to live. He’s just fought for his life. Why does he have to die? Why does he—

 

Shadow suddenly stops. It isn’t the ground that he hits, though. There’s an arm beneath his knees and another one around his shoulders. Shadow’s eyes flutter open. He sees the clear night sky shimmering with hundreds of stars. He meets a pair of red eyes. A balmy golden glow smoothly glides across Shadow’s face as he’s forced to rest against a soft chest. Sonic smiles affectionately at Shadow. “I’ve got you. Don’t worry, Shads. I’ve got you.”

 

Shadow says nothing. He keeps his paws against his stomach. He stares into those eyes as Sonic slowly lowers them to the ground. Shadow distantly understands why Sonic wanted to be held. It’s nice. Physically being in Sonic’s arms is pleasant, but it’s those words that truly make Shadow comfortable. I’ve got you. The reassurance that he’s being held in a more abstract way. Sonic has been holding onto Shadow for a while now, and finally, Shadow allows himself to sink into what that embrace means under the surface.

 

Sonic steps onto the ground. He puts Shadow back onto his feet. As the ebony hedgehog balances, the chaos emeralds depart from Sonic’s body. They jingle one last time as they shoot into the air. Sonic watches them go. The forest around them suddenly darkens without Sonic’s light. The moonlight barely reaches between the canopy, leaving Shadow and Sonic in almost complete darkness. Sonic hums to himself, “Knuckles is going to kill me for losing those. Geez, I wonder where they went—”

 

Sonic stops talking as Shadow rushes forward. He moves his arms around Sonic’s waist. He buries his face in Sonic’s shoulder. He exhales shakily. He doesn’t relax until Sonic moves his arms around Shadow’s shoulders. Shadow feels Sonic’s voice rumbling in his chest. “I didn’t know you were a hugger, Shads.”

 

Shadow isn’t responding to that comment when he says, “Thank you.”

 

“For?” Sonic prompts.

 

“Just…” Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for helping me. Thank you for never giving up on me. Thank you for caring about me. “Everything.”

 

“How vague,” Sonic laughs. It’s a wondrous sound to hear, and it’s soothing to feel it against his cheek. Sonic moves a paw through Shadow’s quills. “But I understand. You don’t have to thank me, Shadow. Everything I’ve done is because I want to. And I’ll do it again. And again. And again.”

 

Sonic might continue saying ‘again’ to prove his point, but Shadow doesn’t give him the chance. He moves his head to properly kiss Sonic this time. There’s no audience. There’s no chaos energy flowing between them. There isn’t even a reason to do this other than the simple fact that Shadow wants to. And based on Sonic’s reciprocation, he wants to, as well.

 

Sonic is smiling when they pull apart. Shadow thinks he is, too, as foreign as the sensation is to him after all these years. Sonic lifts his paws to grab Shadow’s cheeks with a goofy expression on his face. “Gaia, you’re so adorable.”

 

Shadow would argue if he wasn’t as happy as he currently is. He just bumps his forehead against Sonic’s forehead, squeezing his waist even tighter. Sonic laughs gently, and it sounds even lovelier than the jingling bells of the chaos emeralds. “We should probably get back to the others. Or, well, I should. You don’t have to come. I understand if you still feel like you don’t belong…”

 

Sonic trails off. Shadow closes his eyes. “I don’t know where I belong. I just know I want to stay with you. I want to make amends with your family. I want to learn more about this planet. Is that possible?”

 

Shadow opens his eyes to look at Sonic. The azure hedgehog grins at him, and Shadow can see it clearly despite the darkness. He moves his paws behind his back to slip them into Shadow’s paws. Sonic brings their intertwined paws between their chests. He squeezes tightly. “Of course it’s possible. You just defeated an alien overlord and threw a comet back into orbit. I think spending time with me, having a few conversations with my family, and doing whatever the hell you want on this planet is more than possible. And I promise you, Shadow, we’re going to figure out where you belong.”

 

Sonic releases one paw, but he keeps the other one firmly in Shadow’s hold. Sonic tugs Shadow along. The ebony hedgehog simply follows. The smile remains on his face for a long while. He listens to Sonic rambling about all the activities he’s going to force Shadow to participate in.

 

As they leave the forest, Shadow catches sight of something in his peripheral vision. He glances over his shoulder. Maria stands between the trees. Her smile is filled with warmth and pride that Shadow can’t breathe for a second. She raises her hand to give him a thumbs-up, letting her eyes fall shut with her widening grin. Shadow smiles back at her.

 

“Shadow, are you okay?”

 

Shadow blinks, and Maria is gone.

 

“I’m fine. Let’s get back to the Wachowski’s. Tell me more about this movie.”

 

“Okay, so, it stars Keanu Reeves—”

Notes:

Tried my damnedest to bring Agent Stone into this, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. I'll just have to write a Stone adopting Shadow fic separately.

Thanks for reading this one, though! I had a lot of fun with it. The longer chapters were interesting, but I made it through every time. I hope to see you guys in the next one.

Now for the theory. I should have known that telling you guys that you would be disgusted by it and possibly hate me for it would be like reverse phycology, but whatever. We're here now. This is a theory I told my friend about, and he refused to engage with me. To be fair, I don't have proof, but I know I can't the first person to posit this theory, so maybe you guys won't immediately scorn me, and you'll just be like, "yeah, we know"

So, in the movies, Shadow is more than likely 100% Black Arms. Gerald didn't have a hand in making him. Black Doom created Shadow all by himself.
Now, based on my observations, Black Doom more than likely has cellular manipulation. It's how he made all his legions, and it's how he made Shadow. He can manipulate his own cells, at least.
Shadow is more like Black Doom than many of the other Black Arms. I would also say he's more powerful. Not just because he can beat Black Doom in his many forms, but also because he has ego and will of his own that's independent of the hivemind.
Shadow has cellular manipulation, too, to an extent. I think we actually see it in SxS Generations. His control over his Doom powers once he has them reeks of cellular manipulation.
So, all this to say, Shadow could potentially create an offspring like Black Doom made him
But I'll take it one step further.
1) Shadow was created by mixing DNA, so Black Arms DNA can be mixed with other species to create hybrids
2) Black Doom wants the Ultimate Weapon. And to get that, you need all the right genes.
Black Doom would want the fastest creature alive's DNA to integrate into his Ultimate Weapon. We all know that Sonic.
So, at this TED talk, I would like to say that Black Doom would 100% "ship" Sonadow and he would be the first one in line to make a fan-kid because it is possible in the movies. Don't let Sega tell you otherwise!

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 30 of This Hedgehog Has Me in A Damn Chokehold
• Part 17 of The Moon and the ARK