Chapter Text
The ARK has artificial day-night cycles. Instead of determining it by the sunlight, they have specific lights affixed to the walls. The scientists can tell what time of day or night it is based on the color and luminosity of the lights. There are other indicators, of course, including digital clocks beside the inside of every door, each one programmed to account for the way the ARK moves around Earth. They are in military time to ensure that no one is confused. This system was tested several times to ensure that it would not be affected by the trials of traveling through space.
Despite this, Gerald Robotnik questions if it has truly gotten so late. The last he remembers, it was still early afternoon on the ARK. Now, all the timepieces are expressing that it has reached the dark hours of the night. The laboratory around him has been deserted. He presumes the other scientists told him ‘goodnight’ as they were leaving. They might have even told him not to stay up too late working on his current project. He decidedly did not listen to them—both in a literal sense using his ears but also because he’s still in the lab right now. He is hunched over a series of papers, staring through the bars of a cage at the lizard they’ve been experimenting on with the chaos emerald the ARK acquired for its studies.
Gerald shakes his head to himself. He lifts his hand to his face. His fingers rub his eyes, and he realizes how exhausted he is. He knows that he should clean up his area and return to his rooms before it grows so late that he might as well call it early morning, but one look at the papers fills Gerald with the urge to continue pressing forth. They are so close to a breakthrough. The chaos emerald has almost established a permanent connection with the lizard. From there, they will be able to really get into the experiments they want to conduct. And Gerald, more specifically, will be able to find the cure for his precious granddaughter.
Gerald drops his hand back onto the table. He reaches for his pencil, scribbling a few more lines that are legible only to him onto his journal. He will need to rewrite the words later for future documentation, but for now, they remain. They give Gerald a direction to start heading in once more. There’s no reason to spend so much time in the lab without doing something productive, after all, especially since he’s risking his sleep schedule in the pursuit of all this.
Gerald drops from the desk he was sitting on to the ground. He hurries over to the capsule where the chaos emerald is being held. It needs to be left there as often as possible since it contains the excess energy the chaos emerald gives off. That excess energy radiates outward. It could cause problems with the technology, and it has been predicted that it will affect the scientist’s health, too. For everyone’s safety, they are only supposed to handle the chaos emerald with extreme caution.
Gerald is following protocol as best he can without bringing in any of the other scientists to assist him as he is meant to per his own rules. Gerald taps the override code into the side. The capsule begins opening up. Gerald puts on his heavy, thick gloves. He removes the chaos emerald once he’s able to see it. For a moment, he merely examines it. Despite its name, the chaos emerald is cut more akin to a diamond. Unlike any jewel in the world, however, the chaos emerald is filled to the brim with luminescent energy. It spirals outward, creating an afterimage that leaps from the emerald’s facets on every side. Gerald could be mesmerized by it, but his logical mind pushes through to remind him what he’s trying to do right now.
Gerald brings the chaos emerald to the lizard’s cage. The animal is aware enough to realize that Gerald and the emerald are approaching. The lizard has been in experiments with the latter before, but it still shies away from the chaos emerald once Gerald puts it in a special container connected to the cage. The chaos emerald releases a gentle humming noise that attracts the lizard’s attention in the same way the glow once held Gerald’s eyes on it. Gerald has been putting off writing this part down, but he believes the chaos emeralds naturally have a property that both attracts and holds the attention of organic beings around it. Gerald does not yet know why that is, but there are many mysteries regarding the chaos emeralds.
Gerald turns his attention back down to his notes. He picks his pencil up to start writing down information. He keeps the chaos emerald and lizard in his peripheral vision to make sure that he doesn’t miss anything. He doesn’t think he could, though, because the lizard’s shadow and the emerald’s light falls across his papers as he works. Gerald is partially focused on that, so he knows the exact moment when the emerald’s light suddenly increases tenfold.
Gerald’s head quickly rises. He hears a clicking in his neck, but he ignores the aches from his old age. He has to ignore them because the chaos emerald has done something unexpected. At least, Gerald presumes it is the chaos emerald’s fault. There is no other force in this laboratory that would be able to construct a… new object on the other side of the cage.
Gerald pushes the cage aside. He grabs onto the object that wasn’t there when Gerald lowered his head. He pulls, bringing it near him. He examines it quickly. It resembles a Mobian—the animalistic creatures from Earth. More specifically, this is a hedgehog. Gerald can tell because of the muzzle and the quills. Unlike the other Mobians, though, this creature does not have brightly colored fur. It is completely gray. Its open eyes have black irises around equally dark pupils. It doesn’t wear gloves or shoes, which Gerald is aware is part of Mobian culture. Most importantly, the hedgehog’s chest is not moving. The chaos emerald has either summoned or created a dead hedgehog.
Gerald frowns. He needs to investigate this. There are some machines that he should hook the hedgehog up to in order to learn more about its composition. First, he must put away the chaos emerald. He opens the latch to the container. Before he can lift the chaos emerald, it rises into the air. Gerald takes a half-step back. He watches with wide eyes as the chaos emerald drops into the hedgehog’s chest. More than that, the hedgehog’s body absorbs the chaos emerald. The moment it does, bright blue burns across the fur like a spreading fire. Like a loading screen, a streak of green swirls around the hedgehog’s irises, brightening it from the black it was a moment prior to the chaos emerald being inserted inside.
The hedgehog’s head turns to Gerald. It blinks for a few moments, merely examining him. Gerald remains frozen in expectation. When the hedgehog stares at Gerald’s chest, its own begins moving. The hedgehog breaths in tandem with Gerald, mimicking him.
Part of Gerald wonders if he needs to take a nap. The other part, however, is intensely fascinated by what the chaos emerald has brought him to study.
Gerald knew it would be risky to awaken Project Shadow. He knew that chaos and doom energy are not inherently compatible. He knew that he could never create an artificial core that would be as stable and reliable as the ones Mobians naturally have. Despite this, Gerald thought they could temporarily activate Shadow for the express purpose of understanding how exactly the energy would behave. This knowledge would help Gerald improve upon his current designs for a core.
It appears to be unnecessary, though, because for all of Gerald’s musings on how to solve the problem about Shadow’s energy production and circulation, it never crossed his mind that the husk in the storage closet would be useful in this situation. Gerald hardly thinks about the husk, after all. They performed experiments on him for a week before deactivating him again. They removed the chaos emerald to continue with their usual experiments on the lizard. They put the husk away, leaving him for another time. His usefulness was not yet known by anyone which is likely why no one even considered bringing him out when they awakened Project Shadow.
Shadow is laid out on the ground. Gerald has already put him back to sleep. The husk lies right beside him. The husk does not understand sleep nor does it have any switches that the scientists can utilize. It is, however, obedient, and the command to stay right beside Shadow was acknowledged and implemented. The azure hedgehog stares at Gerald, watching the scientists as the human determines what they’re supposed to do now. The husk does not speak. It only waits patiently. More importantly, it absorbs the excess energy produced by Shadow’s body, which is the reason it’s activated, anyway, without needing to absorb a chaos emerald or hooked up to an electric generator.
The problem is that Gerald does not want Project Shadow reliant on an external force—one that seems to possess an ego. But the husk could serve a good, temporary solution until Gerald finds a more permanent one.
“I’ve never been here before.”
Gerald does not turn around. He keeps his focus on the chemicals he’s preparing on the table in front, using the limited light of the emergency bulbs to keep him from straying from what he wants to do. His actions are both quick and methodical because he possesses enough awareness of himself and his world to know that he doesn’t have much time. G.U.N. is growing displeased from the lack of results, and Sonic—the husk that was given a name in order to ‘humanize’ him—is just as impatient even if he respects Gerald a whole lot more than the organizations on Earth do. Neither truly understands what he’s going through or why he’s doing what he’s doing, so he must find a way to pacify them both. This chemical he’s creating is one step of many in this pursuit.
Gerald finally finishes it. He starts pouring it into the container attached to a syringe. Gerald shifts to the side at this point. He finds Sonic in his peripheral vision. The azure hedgehog sits on the floor of an open capsule. His legs are drawn up to his chest, letting him put his muzzle down on his knees. He stares up at Gerald. Tension steadily spreads across Sonic’s features. His eyes narrow slightly when Gerald makes brief, fleeting eye contact. Sonic swallows thickly, burying himself further into himself as if the darkness will hide him from Gerald’s intense stare. Sonic murmurs, “Are you sure about this, professor?”
Gerald freezes. He holds the syringe in his fist. He shakes so badly that it might soon fall from his grasp. The chemical will spill out. He’s wasted enough resources as it is. He cannot afford to prolong this longer than necessary. He shouldn’t indulge in the conversation Sonic has set up for him, but Gerald narrows his eyes at the hedgehog. His voice is empty as he responds, “Isn’t this what you want?”
Sonic nods slowly. He stops after a few seconds, however. When he stares down at the ground, Gerald gets the distinct impression that Sonic is changing his mind. It wasn’t as if Sonic agreed with this in the first place. Gerald told him what to do, and Sonic went about doing it. That’s all there should have been to it, but the question Sonic posed to Gerald and now his hesitation in answering means that he is forming an opinion about how this situation should be handled. He’s deciding that he doesn’t want to go through with this. Gerald, to an extent, does not blame him, but the part of Gerald that just needs Sonic to leave is so much greater.
“Professor, I want—” Sonic starts. He gets cut off when Gerald is suddenly in front of him. Gerald grabs Sonic’s shoulder. He lifts the hedgehog onto his feet. The surprise at Gerald’s quickness gives the professor the opportunity to slam the needle into Sonic’s neck. Luckily, these chemicals and Sonic’s unique composition means that Gerald doesn’t need to find a specific artery. This isn’t even a true sedative. It will only temporarily deactivate Sonic. He won’t be able to start reabsorbing energy until after he lands on the planet’s surface. G.U.N. will make sure that he’s activated.
Sonic sucks in a tight breath. His quills are already beginning to fade to gray as Gerald shoves him into the capsule. Gerald knows that Sonic could still escape. He knows that Sonic knows it, too. He could be across the base in an instant. He could tug on his connection with Shadow, and the ebony hedgehog would definitely help Sonic. Maria would, too. Sonic knows that he can do this, and he knows that Maria would be able to convince Gerald to stop. It is because they both know this that there’s a sadder quality to the way Sonic allows himself to be shoved away into the capsule. He makes no effort to escape. He only lays himself out, letting his arms fall weakly to both of his sides.
Sonic wasn’t given a chance to say goodbye. He couldn’t even tell Shadow and Maria (and Abraham, and the Biolizard, and the Gizoid, all of whom Sonic has become close with) that he was leaving. He didn’t know that he was until earlier this morning, even if Gerald has been showing signs of handing Sonic over to G.U.N. to buy himself some time for weeks. Sonic might be getting to go to Earth as he’s always wanted, but Gerald knows without having to be told that Sonic never wanted to go alone. For as much wanderlust as he possesses, Sonic is driven by his relationships with others. He is driven by his loyalty, and more than that, the care that he has for others. More than Shadow—perhaps even more than Maria—Sonic has always been able to understand others as if his status as an ‘external heart’ carried a metaphorical connotation as well as a scientific one.
And it is this loyalty to Gerald and care for him that keeps Sonic in place inside the metal capsule. He lets the glass slide shut in front of him. He feels the cold tendrils of cryostasis being activated. Before it can keep him suspended in time, Sonic settles his paw against the inside of the glass. He smiles at Gerald, letting a twinkle appear in his blackened irises. “Be careful, professor. And please don’t lose yourself.”
Sonic leans back. His paw falls back to his sides. He closes his eyes. He completely turns gray. He has been deactivated. He will turn back on in a few minutes, though, so Gerald needs to hurry and send him to Earth. It doesn’t have anything to do with how Gerald will change his mind if he keeps Sonic here for a second longer. It has nothing to do with the way Sonic’s words linger in his mind like ghosts. No, Gerald doesn’t think about either of these matters as he types in the many codes for sending an emergency pod down to Earth. He puts in the coordinates G.U.N. gave him. In the next second, he closes his eyes, exhales heavily, and presses the button.
When Gerald opens his eyes, the capsule—and Sonic within it—is gone. Gerald pushes away from the console. He turns his attention toward the screen on the table where he was mixing chemicals. He pushes a few of them aside to track the capsule’s progress from the ARK to the planet below. It doesn’t take long for the screen to suddenly flash bright red with an emergency. Something obviously went wrong, but Gerald isn’t given more information about what it was. The systems are analyzing it now, but Gerald runs out of the room before the report can come in.
Gerald shoves himself against the nearest window he can find in the hallway. He finds the capsule hurtling from the ARK to the planet. For a singular, precious second, everything looks normal. It will land. Sonic will be safe. He will be in G.U.N.’s custody. He will serve their interests for a few months—maybe years—until Maria can return to Earth. Gerald will find a way to get him back then. Sonic will be happy on Earth, especially since he can rely on the planet instead of Shadow for the energy to live. He might even become more powerful down there.
But then, the second passes. When it does, the capsule explodes. Red and orange flames burst outward. Shrapnel flies among the dark smoke. The metal is ripped asunder, and Sonic, too, is destroyed by the explosion. Gerald averts his eyes to keep from going blind. He hears the machines in the other room dinging with the results about what was wrong with the capsule. Gerald can’t bring himself to go check on it. The damage has already been done. Sonic is gone. That hurts.
Gerald’s leverage against G.U.N. is also gone. Gerald doesn’t know what he’s going to do now. No, he does know. He will do whatever it takes to save Maria.
Gerald pushes the hair from her forehead back. The back of his other hand comes up to check her temperature. When he determines it to be fine, a sigh of relief leaves him. He begins to pull back right as Maria murmurs quietly in her sleep. Gerald waits to determine what she’s saying. He did not mean to wake her up, but he finds himself being one of the first things she notices when her eyes flutter open. Once reality clicks back together in her mind, Maria smiles warmly at him. In a soft voice still conditioned by slumber, she whispers, “Good morning, Grandfather.”
“Good morning,” Gerald responds. He settles himself back into the chair he dragged right to her bedside when her illness was reaching a critical level. All the tension leaves his body upon seeing her awake and strong enough to both smile and speak. Without it propping him up, exhaustion funnels through every single one of his muscles. He will need to stretch or rest for a long time (at least, he should, but there’s no guarantee that he will when everything is so chaotic right now). “How did you sleep?”
“I slept…” Maria begins. She cuts herself off. A strange expression overtakes her face. She looks away from him to stare at the ceiling. Gerald tenses, preparing himself for the worst. It hurts his body to be this panicked, especially when he’s trying his hardest not to look like he is. Thankfully, Maria isn’t paying attention to him because he isn’t doing a good job. “I slept fine, but I had the oddest dream. Shadow and I were playing with someone else. Someone new. Someone I don’t know.”
Maria’s confusion sparks relief in Gerald’s chest. He sets his hand against his heartbeat, feeling it thundering beneath his fingertips. Maria turns to him for clarification. He only smiles at her. “Dreams are nonsense, my girl. I would not pay too much heed to what your imagination has created, especially since you have been very ill for days now.”
Maria tilts her head down, putting her chin right above her collarbone. She raises her hand as far as it will go. Gerald tries not to look at her exceedingly thin wrist. They will need to readjust her diet once more to account for this unexpectedly dark period. She should grow stronger, however. She no longer has any memories that would burden her. If she cannot remember the person who made her grieve so much, that grief cannot bring her to the brink of death again.
Of course, Gerald feels extraordinary guilt for manipulating his granddaughter’s memories. It was the one line he never wanted to cross. But Sonic’s loss caused her more pain than even Gerald knew it would. It was going to kill her, and Gerald has already decided that there is very little he isn’t willing to do to save her life. If he needs to erase her memories of Sonic, he will adjust his morality accordingly and let his guilt fade into nothingness for the sake of his own sanity.
“You’re right, Grandfather. My brain must have been being silly,” Maria agrees with a smile, not a hint of remembrance in the way she looks at him. “I’ll focus on getting better instead of thinking about my dream.”
“That’s my girl,” Gerald responds, returning her smile. If nothing else, he will remember Sonic. He will grieve him, too. But he will most definitely keep Maria safe no matter what.
Chapter Text
There is nothing within her field of vision that she’s particularly interested in staring at for a long period of time. Or any period of time, really, since it truly is that boring. Granted, the hallways of the ARK were not designed to be waiting rooms. They are meant to be functional, not aesthetically pleasing. Since they do their jobs, no one makes an effort to change anything about their composition. The metal beams hold everything up. The fluorescent lights illuminate the space. The floors are able to hold up a significant amount of weight since heavy equipment is rolled through here every day.
That doesn’t make it any easier for Maria to rid herself of the boredom that builds and builds inside her body. It is almost akin to a second illness, one that will fester until she’s convinced to push herself despite her original, actual illness making that an impossibility. She shouldn’t be running around. She shouldn’t be looking for trouble in the pursuit of amusement. To an extent, she shouldn’t even be here right now, but she is, and she’s bored, and she’s so tired of staring at the wall across the hall from her. She sits on her butt, leaning against the wall beside the door. Shadow is on the other side, and all she must do is remain patient until he’s testing is finished. They can play together after that, and hopefully, he’ll have something so much more interesting to show her than the sterile white walls and squeaky-clean floor.
Maria’s head lolls forward. Her eyes become half-lidded. She has decided that dozing off might be the only option for her. Her imagination can certainly carry her through the long hours she must wait for her friend.
Suddenly, Maria sees a flash of blue in her field of vision. Her eyes widen at the exact moment she feels a cold wind strike against her skin, creating a flurry of goosebumps that aren’t going to disappear for a long time. Maria lifts her head. She finds herself locking eyes with Sonic. The azure hedgehog grins widely at her. He stands directly in front of her. His arms are folded behind his back as he leans forward. Because of this, Maria is able to tell that he isn’t simply hiding his paws—he’s holding something. Maria’s curiosity leads to her returning Sonic’s smile. A question is on the tip of her tongue, but Sonic moves the object he’s holding around before she’s even given a chance to ask.
Maria does not know where he got it. She didn’t even know there was one on the Space Colony ARK. But Sonic holds a guitar in his paws. It is made from light brown wood. There is a ring of reddish-brown along the rim of the guitar’s hole. This coloration is also behind the strings, but it is also made from wood like everything else is. At a glance, it looks normal, but Maria realizes that something is off. If Sonic is holding a guitar that looks like it fits him, it must have been modified for his shorter stature compared to humans. It might have even been bought for a human child rather than a Mobian hedgehog like him.
“Your entertainment for the evening has arrived,” Sonic dramatically says while bowing to her. Maria arches an eyebrow at his antics. When Sonic lifts his body, his smile stretches across his entire face. He swings his leg around until Maria faces the tips of his quills. Sonic backs up a few paces until he hits the wall beside Maria. He slides down, sitting next to her. Sonic moves the guitar into his lap. He moves his arms around it, brushing his thumb against the strings. A noise rings out from the instrument, though it isn’t particularly melodic.
“Do you even know how to play?” Maria asks. She moves a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear as she shifts to face Sonic more directly. She’s more diagonal than straight-on, but she does fold her legs underneath her and points her knees at him. Maria folds her hands in her lap, struggling not to reach out for the guitar herself. She doesn’t know how to play, even if she can recall a time watching performers in the street. It was one of her clearest memories from the little while she was allowed to spend on Earth. She doesn’t have many of those, and only the minority are both happy and worth holding onto, so Maria takes special precaution with this memory she continues to carry with her.
“Yup,” Sonic declares. Although he is usually overconfident, Maria finds that he isn’t lying when he finally puts his fingers in the correct spots. He begins playing a song. Maria doesn’t recognize it, but she’s musically aware enough to know that it is an actual song. Surprisingly, it’s slow and soft, focusing more on repeating a specific pattern with the occasional variation for emotional resonance. It is the exact opposite to Sonic in that way since he’s fast, loud, and unpredictable. It isn’t a long song, either, or maybe Sonic only plays a tiny bit. Either way, Sonic stops. He folds his arms over the top of the body. He doesn’t look at Maria. He doesn’t even look at the hallway around him despite his eyes facing the distant corner. “It’s just a hobby I picked up on. The chaos emerald gave me a starting point, but everything you’re hearing now is pure skill.”
Sonic turns his head to look at her. His smile carries an edge of cheekiness, but there’s a genuine depth of self-pride there. Maria returns the smile. She feels a swell of pride within her own body in response to her friend’s enjoyment. It helps that Maria is seeing a new side of Sonic. She didn’t expect him to be the kind of person to learn such a rigorous skill. Maria knows that playing any instrument requires a lot of practice—the kind that happens every day and cannot be skipped so readily. Sonic was as flighty as the energy he frequently absorbs, but it seems he was able to ground himself for long enough to start picking up on the skill.
“You do seem to have the skills. What else can you play?” Maria asks. Her boredom has completely evaporated to the point that she no longer remembers feeling it in the first place. That, probably, is the one constant about Sonic: he’s always there to make her feel better. No matter what negative emotion is plaguing her—boredom, hopelessness, frustration—Sonic has this way to brighten her spirits and make her feel as if everything is bright and good in the world.
“Not too many songs, I’ll admit. Why don’t we write our own?” Sonic says. Maria’s entire face lights up. She claps her hands together. She scoots in closer, bumping their shoulders together. Sonic laughs gently, but he seems just as invested in creating a song with Maria as she is. It doesn’t take them long to start brushing along the strings in the hopes of finding chords and melodies that they can incorporate into their song.
Hours later, the door slides open to reveal Shadow the Hedgehog. His face shows a sour mood until he notices Maria and Sonic sitting on the ground. They both turn their heads toward him to make eye contact. Their smiles are bright enough to force a small one onto Shadow’s face. Maria reaches out, grabbing onto his wrist to pull him into their music session. Just as her boredom was washed away, Shadow’s anger and self-disgust fades as he starts adding advice on how to make the song sound even better.
There have been many times when Maria was confined to her bed. Her weakness comes and goes, and it is steadily getting stronger and staying longer. In a lot of ways, she’s growing used to it. She knows the feel of her mattress against her back and the thin blanket over her body like the back of her hand. The humming of the equipment used to monitor her condition has faded into background noise that would be more noticeable if it were suddenly gone. She has made thousands of constellations and the stories behind them using the glow-in-the-dark stars taped to her ceiling, and she’s getting more creative every time as she makes an entire internal mythology.
Maria has never been this sick before. She has never been consumed by the illness to such an extent that every single part of her body, without a single exception, is deluged entirely by pain. Her lungs are left to burn, desperately trying to grasp onto the air forced into her mouth by the mask over her mouth. Her heart isn’t faring much better as it delves into a frozen wasteland that slows its beating and struggles to continue onward. Her stomach rumbles and bubbles, swishing and swirling, unable to hold anything down yet still screaming out for anything to subdue the hunger. Some limbs are heavy like stones have been slammed down while others are tingling with needles because of how light they feel. Her skin is paler than a ghost, and she feels as cold as one, too, despite the sweat pouring from her and making the sheets stick to her uncomfortably.
The worst pain, however, is not one of the flesh. It’s one of the mind and the heart—the metaphorical one, anyway. When her headache thins enough for her to think, she’s inevitably brought back to the reason her health is failing so drastically. Her dearest friend, Sonic, is dead. He was sent from the ARK to Earth by her grandfather, and apparently, there was an explosion that incinerated the husk. There’s no chance for revival like all the other times Sonic has gotten hurt because nothing was left. Not a single scrap of Sonic was found, either in space or on the planet’s surface. He is simply dead, even if he never considered himself to be alive in the first place.
Her grief is the fuel her illness devours to become as powerful as it is. She wants to cry all the time, especially since she was never given the opportunity to say goodbye. She isn’t even entirely certain that Sonic knew how much he meant to her. He was always there for her, and she tried her best to be there for him, too. Did he understand? Did he die with the knowledge that he was loved? Or did he never even realize how much he loved the others, too?
Maria could ask Shadow if he knew where Sonic’s mind was at, but she isn’t allowed to see him at the moment. Although he now has something called inhibitor rings that keep his energy in check (an imitation of Sonic, and although Maria hasn’t seen them, she already knows they’re a poor one), the recent news about Sonic’s death has made it difficult for him to keep himself stable. He’s managed not to blow up anything around him, but he doesn’t have an interest in allowing anyone to approach him. Maria might be able to, but she can’t get out of bed. Shadow isn’t allowed near her, either, because his excess energy will most certainly kill her given how weak she is right now.
Her separation with Shadow isn’t helping her illness or her grief. If they could hold each other—perhaps cry, too—Maria might have a starting point to begin moving on. But she’s stuck with all this grief and guilt over Sonic, and now she can only add her worry for Shadow. She doesn’t know what’s happening to him. She only knows that he’s hurting, and there’s nothing she can do about it. She’s trapped. She’s never felt so helpless before.
The only upside about her illness, though, is that the pain often overwhelms her to the point of unconsciousness. She can’t experience any emotions when she’s disappeared into the darkness.
A sensation rouses her from the depths of her slumber. It takes her a moment to place it, but she realizes that someone is pushing her hair back. In the next second, there’s a hand against her forehead. It is such a familiar action done to her that she knows someone is checking her temperature. This connection between the sensation and what it means pull her the rest of the way into wakefulness. She murmurs incoherently to herself until she has the strength to shove her eyelids open. They flutter a few times since they want to close again. When she finally gets them to stay, however, she finds herself staring into another pair of eyes. It’s a slow process, but reality clicks together. Maria smiles and whispers, “Good morning, Grandfather.”
“Good morning,” Gerald Robotnik—her paternal grandfather—responds. His voice is tinged so thickly with relief despite the concern still twisted across his features. He pulls away from being above Maria’s body. He sits down in a chair. Maria doesn’t remember it being there the last time she fell asleep, so Gerald must have dragged it over. “How did you sleep?”
“I slept…” It should be an easy answer, but Maria realizes that it isn’t. When she thinks back to her sleep, she’s reminded of the dream she had. Almost everything about the dream was just like reality. She and Shadow were standing in one of the larger rooms on the ARK that is usually reserved for his training. They use it as a place to play games, though, and that’s what they were doing in the dream. The difference is that they weren’t playing alone. Someone else was with them. Maria narrows her eyes at the ceiling. She can’t quite remember who they were playing with, though. Their appearance is blurry in Maria’s mind. She just gets this feeling that they were all having fun. “I slept fine, but I had the oddest dream. Shadow and I were playing with someone else. Someone new. Someone I don’t know.”
Maria turns her confused stare to her grandfather’s face. His eyes widen very slightly, but his expression seems otherwise neutral. He does, however, set a hand against his chest. Maria doesn’t commit to a frown, but her lips twitch downward for a few seconds. Gerald smiles at her, easing away whatever caused Maria’s momentary frown. “Dreams are nonsense, my girl. I would not pay too much heed to what your imagination has created, especially since you have been ill for days now.”
Maria turns away from her grandfather. She tilts her head down until her chin meets resistance against her chest. From this new angle, she lifts her hand from where it was laid out across the sheets at her side. She isn’t able to lift it too high since she’s still weak. She can see signs of this weakness in her skin’s paleness and how thin her wrist is. The past few days have been as blurry as the figure in her dreams, but she knows that is only from her illness. She was extremely sick. One of her worst episodes ever suddenly hit her. It was so bad that Shadow needed to be kept separate from her to avoid his energy leaking out and making her worse. She was so worried about him, though. She hopes that she’s better now so that she can see him again.
“You’re right, Grandfather. My brain must have been being silly,” Maria responds. She smiles at her grandfather. She decides to put the dream behind her. It doesn’t matter all that much. It’s already starting to slip from her mind. “I’ll focus on getting better instead of thinking about my dream.”
“That’s my girl.”
Distantly, Maria can hear the sound of someone cursing. They repeat the same cuss words over and over again, rising in pitch and panic as they realize what they’ve done. Behind them, the emergency sirens are still blaring. They whine and shriek, so rhythmic and loud that they would drive anyone insane. The whirring from the ARK’s engines is even softer than all of that. It is a familiar noise that Maria feels as if she’s known all her life despite the fact that she did spend some years on Earth a long, long time ago.
But the softest noise of them all has to be her heartbeat. It is also the slowest. As it grows weaker, the blood spreads further away from her. One of her arms lies directly in it, staining her clothes and her skin with crimson. The blood brushing against the back of her curling fingers is cold, but she still feels warm blood spilling from the wound in her stomach as she wraps her other arm around her stomach. She squeezes it tighter. Part of her knows that she should be feeling pain, but this is honestly the best she’s ever felt since she first began showing symptoms of her illness.
A new noise trickles into Maria’s awareness. It is not from the environment around her, though. It originates directly from her mind. It is the melody to a song that Maria has known for a long time without every being able to place it. She doesn’t know where she learned it. She just knows that it was important for her to memorize, so she did exactly that. She let it become a comforting song to hum whenever she was feeling nervous. When she was bored, it was also the song she would mouth words to. For some reason, it was always able to achieve both purposes of making her feel better and chasing away whatever negative feelings she was contending with.
Maria hums it under her breath now. It’s difficult to do since she’s struggling to breath as it stands. Her voice also lacks all strength. It is a broken, incomplete, and airy song, but she continues singing along to it in her mind as tears build in her eyes. In the depths of her consciousness, memories begin to unfurl like flowers in the morning sun. They come so slowly and assimilate so seamlessly that Maria—for a moment—doesn’t realize what’s happening.
She doesn’t know how, but she completely forgot about Sonic. She and Shadow both, and probably everyone else on the ARK. He was here for so long. They were so close, too. He was her best friend—as much a brother as Shadow was. She loved him so much. He died, just like she’s doing right now. She supposes she could have repressed her memories of him because she believes she forgot somewhere in the interim where she was sick from grief, guilt, and worry for Shadow.
Maria’s tears fall faster and harder, but she doesn’t make any noise except for the song she made with Sonic and Shadow. Her heart arguably hurts worse than the bullet wound. She forgot all about Sonic. She’s dying right now. And Shadow will be on Earth all by himself. Her grandfather might be down there with him, but Maria knows that Gerald isn’t long for this world, especially when he finds out she died. If everyone else died on the ARK, Shadow won’t have a single person. He’ll never be able to make up with Abraham. He’ll never be able to reconcile with the Gizoid, either.
Maria exhales shakily. There’s no reason to think about this now. Despite his rough exterior, Shadow has a big heart. Maria knows that he’ll be able to make new friends. She knows that he’ll have the best time on Earth. She wishes for him to have all the happiness in the world.
As for her… well, she hopes that she’ll get to see Sonic again as she succumbs to the darkness.
Sonic’s eyes burst open with a ragged breath. He throws himself upward, completely abandoning his sleeping position. His spine curves inward as he curls around his legs. He lifts his paws, staring at his trembling palms. He pushes his face into his paws hard enough that he begins to feel a semblance of pain. He ignores it as his shaky breathing grows worse. Silent tears slip from his viridescent eyes. They fall across his cheeks and then his forearms, never losing their warmth as they roll down. He continues crying for a long moment until finally, he whispers to himself and the darkness of the night around him. “Maria…”
Notes:
Shadow has guilt about Maria dying, but when Sonic remembers, he'll have guilt, too. He could have taken that bullet and been completely fine. Shadow and Maria could have gotten away. G.U.N. wouldn't have been able to do anything to Sonic because removing him from Shadow would have just deactivated him. Shadow and Maria could have found him again and fixed him. Although, to be fair, if Sonic hadn't been sent away, Shadow never would have gotten inhibitor rings, and it would have been very bad for him on Earth. Maria would have had to pull out the big brains quickly, or Shadow would have to constantly be using chaos energy, which could have worked if they went the break-Gerald-out-of-prison route to both save Shadow and rescue Sonic
But that's not what happened
Chapter Text
Night mode has been activated all throughout the ARK. Many of the rooms have fallen into the darkness, including the one that houses the two hedgehogs. While the room isn’t completely dark because of the light seeping in beneath the door—a product of the hallways always being illuminated for safety reasons—neither of the hedgehogs actually need the light. They are not participating in any activities that require them to use their vision, after all (and not for nothing, but one of them can see in the dark and the other one can dial down the rest of his senses to divert power to his eyes).
They are lying on the bed shoved in the corner of the room. Shadow lies flat on his back, spreading his quills out all around him. Sonic lies on his side. He curls inward, allowing his head to rest on Shadow’s chest and his legs to be tangled with Shadow’s own while the rest of his body stays on the sheet covering the mattress. Sonic, per their nightly ritual, is talking at length about the kind of day he’s had. Shadow listens well enough to give clipped responses during the rare occasions Sonic is silent, but he isn’t really paying attention as he’s not certain what exactly they’re talking about right now.
His attention, instead, is on the way his fingers slide through Sonic’s quills. He isn’t wearing his gloves right now (he put them on the edge of the bed, but he doesn’t doubt that they’ve fallen to the floor already), so he’s able to marvel at the way Sonic’s quills feel. They’re so different from his own. At the moment, Sonic’s quills are soft. They are easy to maneuver and pull apart. At a moment’s notice, they can harden. Shadow has seen Sonic spin-dash before, so he has a rough estimation of their strength when they do harden. But that only happens when Sonic’s in combat—when he feels like he’s in danger. Sonic obviously isn’t in danger right now because Shadow would never (seriously) hurt him, but it’s still a dizzying thought for there to be actual proof that Sonic feels safe. His quills are soft, and his neck is so close to Shadow’s paws, and he isn’t even facing Shadow.
Just as Shadow has seen Sonic in combat, the azure hedgehog has also seen him in a fight. They’ve sparred against each other and whatever holograms the scientists create many times. Sonic knows how dangerous Shadow is. He’s also seen the weird alien leeches that Gerald extracted some of Shadow’s DNA from (Sonic thought it was cool. Shadow didn’t agree with him. Maria swore that it didn’t matter because Shadow was Shadow, regardless of what came together to make him).
Is it because Sonic cannot truly die? But then, isn’t he afraid that Shadow will suddenly cut off his energy flow and deactivate him? Shadow has made progress in not needing Sonic, after all. He could go a few hours without Sonic accepting the excess energy. If Sonic hasn’t thought of that, surely he should be able to realize that he can still feel pain. Shadow can still hurt him even if he can’t permanently kill him.
As Shadow’s thoughts continue spiralling, Sonic lifts his head from Shadow’s chest. He turns around, pulling himself upward using his elbow. Shadow is not aware of his actions, yet his body still knows to kiss back when Sonic leans down to touch their lips together. When Shadow does snap back to the present moment, he presses into the kiss until Sonic pulls away. Their faces remain close enough that Shadow can feel as much as hear the chuckle that leaves Sonic. “That’s one way to make you pay attention to me.”
Shadow’s brows furrow together. Sonic’s laughter only grows louder. He pushes his elbow into the pillow underneath Shadow’s head. He props his chin against his palm. He keeps his head tilted down to look at Shadow. If they aren’t looking at nothing, they’re looking at each other. It’s another unspoken part of their nightly ritual, the one they only have because the scientists don’t want them running around and making a mess in the ARK when nearly everyone is asleep.
“Are my stories not interesting enough for you?” Sonic asks with a teasing lilt to his voice.
“Very few are,” Shadow honestly replies.
Sonic’s mouth gapes open with shock, but his lips also rise upward in the same instance to show his amusement. Sonic shakes his head in disbelief. “Why do I put up with you again?”
“Because you need me,” Shadow answers. He means it literally, of course. Sonic cannot interact with the world unless he has energy. He could get it from a chaos emerald, but the scientists are hard-pressed to part with those since they’re so necessary to their research. Generators are also possible fixes, but those would only anchor Sonic in place. He never sits still, so it isn’t a viable option. The only one they have that could work is Shadow. Sonic can absorb Shadow’s energy from long-distances, meaning they don’t need to be close together (except for the fact that they haven’t really strayed away from each other since the incident, but that’s mental issues, not a physical one). If Sonic wants to be activated, he needs Shadow.
(Shadow also needs Sonic, but he doesn’t mention that right now.)
Sonic’s mouth closes. His smile grows not only larger but also softer. His entire face does, really, each feature drooping and relaxing. His eyes are not literally glowing right now, but Shadow swears he can see the affection Sonic holds for him shimmering along the emerald irises. Sonic’s voice is packed just as tightly with this benign love, so permanent and obvious. “Yeah, I do need you.”
Shadow gets the feeling that Sonic doesn’t mean that in the same way Shadow did. But that’s fine because Shadow thinks he also means it in the way Sonic does.
When Shadow and Maria are walking through the halls like this, it’s normally because someone needs to escort Maria. Her illness could flare at any moment, after all, so someone needs to be there to catch her should she fall or to find an oxygen mask for her when her lungs are beginning to fail her. Technically, most people on the ARK can do this, but Shadow takes special pride in it. More than anything, he was made for this. This is his purpose, and he feels a sense of accomplishment in fulfilling his purpose. Additionally, he’s objectively the best person for this duty since he is much stronger than the humans—strong enough to carry Maria despite their height difference—and he’s faster than them, too. He can get Gerald or anything that Maria needs within an instant, never leaving her for long.
In these situations, Shadow isn’t supposed to be the one needing support, but this situation isn’t a normal one. Shadow feels the chaos and doom energies burning right through him. They are heavy enough to make his movements slow and uncoordinated. He gracelessly stumbles his way through the hallway at Maria’s side. It is with great effort that he keeps his vision from blurring, and that’s where the majority of his energy goes. If the headache slamming against his skull wasn’t so overwhelming, he would have the capacity to think about how mortifying this situation is. He would be able to separate the guilt for making Maria take care of him when she’s the sickly one from the rest of the pain overtaking his circuits and blood vessels. Unfortunately, that simply isn’t possible. The best he can do is keeping himself from coughing up what he’s growing more and more certain is blood in his throat.
“We’re here, Shadow,” Maria whispers. She pats his shoulder to garner his attention. He isn’t able to lift his gaze since the fluorescent lights around behind Maria and looking at them make his head hurt even worse. That being said, he raises it as much as he can to show that he’s listening to Maria. She makes a soft noise. Shadow knows that it must be born from worry.
Maria pulls away from Shadow. He slams the heels of his paws into his eyes to massage away the pain. If the problem is that his energy isn’t being circulated properly, Shadow needs Sonic. For one reason or another, the azure hedgehog must have been deactivated or otherwise shut off from Shadow’s energy. The memory of the last time this happened makes Shadow’s heart flurry with panic, but he tries his hardest to keep a cool head (though, his hardest isn’t helping him push away the rest of his pain and troubles).
Maria presses a series of buttons on the keypad beside the door. Once the password has been put in, the door slides open. Shadow stumbles inside first. He removes his paws from his eyes to search for Gerald and whatever scientists had a hand in Project Shadow (especially the ones that are meant to manage Sonic). Shadow does find them. It’s easy because they’re all huddled together on the other side of the room. Rather than discussing something, they are all talking over one another. Shadow sees them jabbing fingers in each other’s direction and throwing up childish gestures. Their attention is so focused on each other that not one of them notices Shadow and Maria entering the room.
Shadow winces at the sound of their shouting match. As his head turns, he notices there’s a screen playing a video feed on one of the tables. Shadow drifts closer toward it as Maria hurries to her grandfather. Once Shadow is close enough, everything inside of him short-circuits. The pain and guilt and even his own energy—all of it finds a way to go completely blank as he registers what he’s looking at. It is a video of a capsule exploding in space playing on a loop. In the few seconds when the capsule hasn’t yet gone up in smoke, Shadow can see a rather familiar face through the glass.
Shadow has reached the table. He can see over it at the papers. His headache prickles against his skull as it returns, but he hasn’t lost his ability to read yet. He presses his fingers against them, flattening them all out. He scans them as quickly as he can. His heart thunders in his chest the more his brain unscrambles. When some of the words begin overlapping with what he’s hearing from across the room, he turns toward the scientists. He understands what they’re discussing now. He knows why they are masking their fear behind anger. They know Shadow’s energy could run rampant at any moment because his chaos core has…
Maria finally gets her grandfather’s attention. The entire group falls into silence. They whirl around to both look at her and to find Shadow standing in the room in front of the table. Shadow hears a few people curse or pray, but Gerald remains completely silent as he turns his eyes toward Shadow. Since all his effort is being used to keep him from collapsing, Shadow can’t keep the betrayal out of his voice when he asks, “What did you do?”
Shadow doesn’t blame the scientists for locking him away in a room with the thickest walls and the best resistance to energy. It’s for his own safety as much as it’s for their safety. It’s simply the smartest decision that can be made until an artificial core can be constructed for Shadow.
That being said, there is a part of Shadow that’s unbelievably angry at being shoved away like this. This rage roars and growls inside of him, prowling its cage and waiting for any unsuspecting prey to tread close enough for it to lash out. This anger whispers to him about how he’s too powerful to be trapped like this. He is strong enough to break the restraints holding him down and the walls that feel as if they are closing in on him. It continues whispering and making other animalistic noises, resulting in Shadow’s heavy breathing and his narrowed eyes. He jerks against his chains every time someone enters the room to either check on his wellbeing or, more likely, check on the energy levels and his emotional state.
Those people are the same ones who sent Sonic away. They caused Sonic’s body to be annihilated, the only way for a husk like him to truly die. They don’t care, either. They were more worried about Shadow losing his chaos core than they were about the actual hedgehog that had been living among them for so long. It’s probably because none of them considered it ‘living among them.’ They only saw Sonic as a tool. They didn’t consider him alive. They didn’t acknowledge his personality or his desires or his emotions. They couldn’t even comprehend just how much Shadow and Maria cared about Sonic—how much Shadow loved him.
Though, to be fair, Shadow is also angry at Sonic. He didn’t say goodbye. He didn’t give any indication that he was being sent away. Even if he didn’t know about it at first, he should have escaped. He should have used his speed and strength. He should have pulled hard enough on their bond that Shadow would have gone to investigate. He shouldn’t have let them send him away no matter how much Sonic cares about the humans or how much he trusts Gerald. Sonic didn’t have the decency to let Shadow tell him everything he’s been holding back on saying.
And now Sonic’s gone. Shadow is stuck in this room without his chaos core; he’s stuck in this room because he can’t control his anger (his grief) at losing the person he really did love. He can’t visit Maria like this. No one will let him out, and she can’t come see him, either, because of her illness. Her sorrow has caused her to relapse to the point of not being strong enough to get out of bed. Shadow only knows what’s happening with her through whatever words the people checking up on him deign to share.
Shadow knows enough to know this is another reason to be angry at the scientists and Sonic. Their careless actions have caused Maria immeasurable pain. Shadow is as much trapped with his worry about Maria’s health and guilt over not being able to visit her as he is trapped in this room with his excess energy.
The singular entrance and exit to the room opens. Without even seeing who it is, Shadow pulls his chain taut to approach them. His eyes narrow considerably at seeing Gerald’s standing at the doorway. Shadow’s anger howls for revenge—for trapping him like this, for getting Sonic killed, for causing Maria harm—but another part of Shadow tries to calm himself. The professor is a good man. He’s a little… sick right now. Not in the same way Maria (or even Shadow) is, but he has his own troubles that are influencing his behavior. Shadow wants to be understanding of that. The best he can do is to only growl at Gerald without trying to attack him (it’s the fault of the excess doom energy. It’s slowly corrupting him. While Shadow might have felt anger anyway, he finds himself experiencing these violent impulses because of the accursed energy).
Gerald kneels in front of Shadow. He shows no fear, only a bone-deep exhaustion. Shadow silences himself at the cost of scowling at Gerald. The older man pays no heed. Instead, he unlocks one of the chains keeping Shadow tied to the ground. He replaces it with a gold band that easily snaps around Shadow’s wrist. Once the material settles, Shadow finds himself feeling impossibly better.
He watches with wide, blank eyes as Gerald does the same for his other wrist and his ankles. Once all four rings are put in place, Shadow’s entire body feels lighter. The pain is a distant ache, still present but easy to ignore. Shadow can tell, however, that this isn’t as good as it would be if Sonic were here. Instead of processing Shadow’s energy, these bands are merely stifling his energy output. They’re keeping him alive, but at the cost of being comfortable. It is a price Shadow fears he will have to pay. At least until a better chaos core has been constructed, either another one that’s separate from him or a new organ put inside his body to do the work for him.
Without Shadow’s energies overwhelming him, he finds that his emotions do much the same thing. Shadow stares down at his gloves. Without the doom energy amplifying his anger, a profound sadness has found its way to the surface. He’s never going to be able to see Sonic again. They’re never going to race or spar again. They won’t get to curl up together and talk about nonsense at the end of the day again. Shadow never even got to tell Sonic that he loved him—never got to hear the sentiment returned, either.
“Professor—” Shadow starts. As he lifts his gaze, he realizes that Gerald is reaching for him. Shadow trusts Gerald too much for him to move away even when he feels the cold press of a needle entering his body. The betrayal he felt when he learned Gerald was the one to send Sonic away returns at full force, but it doesn’t drudge up Shadow’s anger. Rather, it makes him sadder.
Gerald, at least, looks terribly guilty. He removes the needle from Shadow’s neck. He moves his arms around Shadow, catching the hedgehog as the strength leaves his limbs. Gerald sighs, and Shadow can both hear it and feel the way his chest contorts beneath his cheek. Gerald’s voice rumbles directly into Shadow’s mind. “I am sorry for everything I have done to you. My actions are necessary, yet the pain lingers on. Please know that I have your best interest at heart. Everything I do, I do for you and Maria.”
What about Sonic? Shadow thinks as he slips into the darkness.
Shadow would like to state that for the record—and especially if the likes of Rouge or Amy asks—this was unintentional. As he was skating around to get his mind off the memories he unearthed in his dreams, he stumbled upon Sonic the Hedgehog. The great Hero of Mobius was lying out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by grass and wildflowers swaying in the night’s wind. A half-moon hangs in the sky, providing enough of a silver glow to show that Sonic is asleep. His slow-moving chest is another indication of this since it’s a rarity for any part of Sonic to be moving this unhurriedly and shallowly.
Shadow sat down beside Sonic’s prone figure. He was driven by a desire to be close. His new memories from the ARK continue to rattle around his mind. He has long-since moved on from doubting their validity. Now, he’s just trying to reconcile the truth with his previous perception of reality—a perception he only had because Gerald altered his memories (for a second time. But this was technically the first time he did it. Maybe that’s why he was so confident Shadow would help in his scheme to destroy the planet. He knew that altering Shadow’s memories would work because he was able to erase any entire person—the person Shadow is starting to learn that he loved—from his mind and heart).
As Shadow settled beside Sonic, the azure hedgehog must have sensed his energy or felt his warmth. Either way, Sonic turned onto his side with a sleepy murmur. He slung his arm around Shadow’s waist and pushed his face into Shadow’s side. Shadow had absolutely no part in it. He was just sitting there.
The next part is technically his fault, though. He’s the one who lied back, pulling Sonic’s upward to rest his head against his chest. Likely because he’s asleep, Sonic didn’t resist. Rather, he made a noise that could be described as happy or pleased once he found himself clinging to Shadow. The ebony hedgehog realized at that moment that he could have run away when he saw Sonic’s figure among the fields as green as his eyes.
He didn’t run, though, and that’s what leads him to the situation right now. They are in a position that’s familiar to Shadow now that he has many memories of them lying together like this. The difference is their surroundings. Shadow is able to stare up at the stars. He’s able to hear the wind rustling around them. There are floral scents in the air, mixing together in a way that’s soothing even to his nose. But these differences don’t mean much to Shadow.
He can see all of this now while still holding Sonic, but what does any of this actually mean? He knows that he once loved Sonic, but does he still? Does he have a right to after everything? And should he tell Sonic about all of this? The azure hedgehog is thriving on Earth. Everyone, including himself, considers him to be more than alive—he’s a friend, a brother, a hero. He isn’t anyone’s tool, certainly not Shadow’s, and he’s developed to the point that he would never consider himself as such. Remembering the ARK… remembering who he once was and who he once knew… is it really right to force that upon Sonic?
Shadow sighs when he doesn’t come up with any answers.
For now, he just holds Sonic close and stares up at the stars. He hopes answers come to him eventually. Until then, he’ll keep pondering about it.
Chapter Text
There are certain places all over the space colony ARK that the majority of the scientists cannot access. It usually comes down to their age. As adults, they are too tall for the smaller corridors, and in the case of locations at higher levels, their bones and muscles are not suitable for the necessary parkour to get up there. The adults, therefore, either do not know about these certain spots, or they have blatantly ignored them since they are inaccessible. They are simply parts of the ARK they will never get to visit, no different from the other laboratories or the rooms Professor Robotnik has made off-limits.
This would be the end of this matter if it wasn’t for the simple fact that human adults are not the only species on the ARK. There are two children, two hedgehogs, and one robot. While the five of them aren’t exactly the same height, they are all within the same range. It’s close enough that they’re able to get into these secluded areas without much trouble. Additionally, only one of the five doesn’t have the energy and bodily strength to climb to the higher areas. Because of Maria’s inability, Shadow won’t come to these places, either, and the robot—the Gizoid—won’t, either, unless it’s ordered.
This means that these places are perfect for Abraham Tower—little Abe as he’s often called. Right now, he’s climbed one of the walls until he reached the rafters. He sits on one of the metal beams with his legs swinging over the side. He keeps his fingers firmly locked around the back in case he slips, knowing that he’ll dangle for a little bit. Hopefully, he’ll be able to pull himself back onto the beam. Until he needs to test out if he’s able to do this, he looks down at the ground beneath him. Ever so often, people will pass by, none the wiser about the little boy staring at the tops of their heads as they’re walking.
Abraham comes up here a lot. It feels like the only place he’s really allowed to think because it ensures that he’s completely alone. He’s hidden away from everyone—the adults, his parents, Maria, and all the experiments. They are down below, underneath him. He’s way up here with nothing but his breaths and thoughts, caught in an ever-changing cycle.
Abraham feels a cold wind brush against his side. Before he even has a chance to frown, pressure descends against his shoulders. Abraham startles. He would have fallen from the beam if someone wasn’t holding him down. That someone leans forward, over Abraham’s shoulder to giggle in his peripheral vision. Abraham whirls around to stare directly into Sonic’s glittering emerald eyes. The azure hedgehog continues laughing as he shuffles to the space right beside Abraham, plopping down on the beam. Unlike Abraham, Sonic makes no attempts to hold on because a fall from this height won’t kill him. It likely won’t even injure him if he uses his speed in mid-air.
“How did you find me?” Abraham pouts, crossing his arms over his chest. Maria, Shadow, the Gizoid—they’ll stay far below on the ground. It’s Sonic that Abraham has to worry about. Sonic will go to places even Abraham wouldn’t. Abraham doesn’t know if it’s because Sonic knows he won’t die, or if it’s truly because Sonic is always looking for adventure and amusement on the ARK.
“You suck at hiding,” Sonic cheekily answers, tilting his head against his shoulder to smile just as stupidly at Abraham. The boy narrows his heterochromatic eyes. He doesn’t know if he should be more upset with Sonic’s flippant attitude or the simple fact that, in some ways, he’s right. Abraham hasn’t yet found a place on the ARK where he can run away to that Sonic won’t inevitably find him at. The azure hedgehog has an uncanny ability which is the entire reason Abraham’s parents always request his help when their son is missing for more than a few hours (in ARK time, of course, since they don’t follow Earth’s many time zones).
Speaking of his parents, he needs to determine if they are actually looking for him or not right now. With that thought in mind, Abraham asks, “Why are you here this time?”
“Can’t I just want to hang out with you?” Sonic responds, arching a brow. Abraham’s expression twitches. Sonic’s friendliness is always so disarming. It would be preferable if he were more like Shadow or the Gizoid—colder, noticeably less than human. It might even be better if he had Maria’s kindness. She knows how to put people at ease. Sonic doesn’t. At least, he’s never been comforting to Abraham no matter how many times their paths have been made to cross.
“I’m not going to apologize,” Abraham declares, crossing his arms over his chest (completely forgetting that he was supposed to be hanging on in case he falls).
“You really hurt Shadow’s feelings this time,” Sonic admits. He turns to the side to face Abraham. He brings his leg onto the metal beam. Once it’s settled, he sets the inside of the knee on his other leg over his ankle. Abraham feels like that too much weight on one side, but Sonic doesn’t show any signs of falling or feeling like he’s going to fall.
“Are you here to get revenge?” Abraham questions. There’s no point in denying or disagreeing. Abraham knows he had something mean. He knows because of the expression Maria wore, not the one Shadow wore. That alien hedgehog never shows his emotions. But Sonic understands them without exception or failure. Abraham has been told how it works. He doesn’t remember all the details, but he does remember enough to know that it’s simply true. If anyone knows what Shadow is feeling, it would be Maria or Sonic. Though, that’s as much because they’re Shadow’s friends as they are someone who can understand emotions (Maria) and someone who can sense specifically Shadow’s emotions (Sonic).
“Nope. Shadow can get his own revenge if he wants it. He probably won’t, though. Revenge isn’t his style,” Sonic shrugs. He leans backward, setting his quills against the vertical beam that rises all the way to the roof. Sonic shuffles until he’s made himself comfortable. He observes Abraham in the darkness that the beam’s shadow casts. “I really am just here to spend time with you.”
“We can’t be friends,” Abraham grits out. He doesn’t really know where the words come from. He doesn’t mind Sonic’s company. His appearance isn’t grotesque, either. Abraham understands what Sonic is, both in the sense of his composition and what his role on the ARK is. Abraham knows that he’s relatively safe when he’s around Sonic. There’s no reason not to be his friend. He supposes he just said it because he’s angry. Or maybe not angry, but definitely somewhere along the lines of upset. It could also be a matter of principle, but Abraham just doesn’t want to be friends with that weird, gross slimy leech that eventually became part of Shadow. Sonic isn’t that. He’s—
Sonic laughs full-heartedly, startling Abraham right out of his thoughts. “Don’t worry. I know we can’t be friends. It’d be pretty sad if you were friends with a tool.”
Abraham frowns, looking away from Sonic. That’s the truth. Shadow was made from alien parts, but Sonic was just made from energy. Those chaos emeralds made him. Abraham knew they were special at a glance. He knew Sonic was, too. It doesn’t help that everyone tells him Sonic is more like those emeralds than he is like Shadow or anyone else. Abraham is still reconciling with the fact that everyone just means Sonic isn’t alive. He isn’t dead, either, because he’s never had life. He’s just a creation of the chaos emerald—a tool for Project Shadow.
Abraham doesn’t know what to say to that. He doesn’t know what he wants to say to that. He doesn’t care about being Sonic’s friend. He doesn’t care what Sonic or everyone else claims. So, logically, he shouldn’t be hung up about this. He should accept it and move on. He hasn’t yet, though, and he doesn’t know why that is. Maybe there’s more to all of this than he realizes. His brain and heart won’t tell him, though, so he’s left being confused all the time. Maybe one day he’ll know, or he’ll come to realize that it isn’t worth it to continue following this train of thought.
For today, though, he’ll just sit with Sonic as he finds himself doing more and more often.
Abraham peers through the ajar door. He holds his hands over his mouth and beneath his nose, allowing himself enough room but trying to minimize the noise as much as possible. He keeps himself firmly in the shadows, too, not letting a single ray of light fall upon him. Once he’s made certain that he’s as well-hidden as he can be without getting further away, he strains his ears and eyes to witness the argument happening in the hallway outside his room between his parents and Professor Robotnik.
“You are not manipulating my son’s memories,” Abraham’s mother hisses directly into Professor Robotnik’s face. Abraham’s father grabs onto her shoulders and arm, trying to pull her away from Professor Robotnik for the older man’s safety. The professor doesn’t look offended or fearful in the slightest. Rather, his expression is entirely composed. He almost looks unbothered by the entire affair, uncaring of what the Towers couple is trying to tell him.
“It is necessary. If he mentions Sonic to Maria or Shadow, the entire ARK will suffer the consequences. Your life and the life of your son will be put in danger,” Robotnik says. It takes Abraham a moment to even realize what he’s saying because his tone doesn’t match the gravity of his words. But even when Abraham understands, he’s confused. Why would his and his parent’s lives be in danger if they talk about Sonic to Maria and Shadow? Did Sonic have a fight with those two? Does it have anything to do with Maria’s sudden bout of intense illness, or the fact that Shadow and Sonic are completely missing?
“We told you not to make Project Shadow sentient. Now, you’ve lost all control over it,” Abraham’s mother says. Her voice is harsh enough to make Abraham shudder, and she isn’t even addressing him. She’s down the hallway, more than likely unaware that her son is eavesdropping on her conversation with the good professor.
“I have not lost control.” Robotnik’s voice has taken on a certain sharpness. Abraham’s hands press down harder against his mouth. He fears he’s going to make a noise at this rate. He never thought his parents or Robotnik were scary people. And they aren’t exactly now, either, but there’s something to the way they are arguing with each other that makes Abraham feel squeamish. He doesn’t like it, but he can’t reveal himself right now when he still isn’t certain what they are arguing about. “I do not regret giving him sentience, either. We cannot have Project Shadow becoming a weapon in the wrong hands.”
“I’m starting to believe those wrong hands are yours,” Abraham’s mother mutters. Abraham’s father says her name in a half-surprised, half-warning manner. Abraham’s mother whips around to glare at him, giving Abraham a better view of her expression. Oh… he’s never seen her this angry before, not even when he broke something really important in her lab. “You cannot be serious right now. He wants to tamper with our son’s memories. Sure, he claims to only be erasing that husk, but what else can he do inside our son’s head?” She looks at Robotnik, poking his chest. “You never liked the way he’s treated your little project. Are you going to change that? It would be easier than teaching him to appreciate your little weapon, no? Oh, and what about all the times he’s disappeared? Are you going to erase his desire to do that? And sure, maybe you should do these things. It would certainly make him easier to handle, no? You wouldn’t have so many problems. But why stop there? Why not erase everything about him that makes him a child? His eagerness to explore and learn is just so terrible for you, isn’t it? And while you’re at it, just make him into another one of your fucking puppets that obeys you unconditionally because that would be so much easier for you. I don’t want you doing anything inside my son’s head, Gerald. I’m not going to let you because I know you. I know what lengths you’re willing to go to in order to get what you want.”
“You can’t say that.” Abraham’s father immediately tries putting himself between Robotnik and Abraham’s mother. He isn’t doing a good job of it, but he doesn’t stop trying while putting a hand on both of their shoulders. “I’m sorry about her, professor. She doesn’t mean it. We know that you—”
“She’s right,” Robotnik says, breaking eye contact with Abraham’s mother. He turns toward Abraham’s doorway. The kid freezes, wondering if Robotnik can see him. It doesn’t seem like he can, though. Regardless if he can or can’t, Robotnik continues. “Erasing the memory of Sonic is almost too easy to do. There’s so much more that can be done. Considering everything that’s happening, it would be much simpler to force your son to be compliant. I cannot truthfully admit that I won’t take those preventive measures. I’ll leave him alone, but if he mentions Sonic to Shadow or Maria, I will do what’s necessary for all of our safety.”
Robotnik turns around, leaving the hallway. Abraham’s mother yells insults after him. She doesn’t march after him, though, as Abraham’s father grabs onto her to keep her rooted in place. They face each other. They’re talking too quietly for Abraham to hear them anymore. He knows that his mother is calming down, though. When she turns, she seems more exhausted and sad than anything else. Abraham’s heart squeezes painfully tight. He wants to rush out to give her a hug, but he doubts his parents would be happy to know that he overheard their argument with Robotnik.
Abraham’s father takes his mother to their room. She disappears inside, but his father remains outside. He exhales heavily, shoulders folding together. Abraham reaches out his hand. He snaps it back in an instant when Abraham’s father turns toward his room. Abraham bolts from the doorway to the bed. He throws himself into it, hurriedly arranging the blanket around him to give the impression that he’s been waiting here the entire time. Abraham’s heart hammers relentlessly in his chest from exertion and anxiety. His fingers tingle beneath the blanket as the door slides open.
His father has put a smile on his face as he moves across the room. He kneels down beside the bed. Abraham swallows thickly. It doesn’t seem like his father knows he was eavesdropping. While that’s good, Abraham doesn’t like his father’s expression. How can he so easily hide the situation he was just in? Abraham might not understand it completely, but he’s not stupid. He knows that arguing hurts people. It’s hurt him, after all, and he’s seen the way it wounds others.
His father grabs the blanket, moving it around to make Abraham more comfortable. Abraham just thinks his father needs something to do with his hands. Abraham lets him because his father eventually settles his arms on the bed. He takes a deep breath. The smile hasn’t faded as he looks into Abraham’s eyes. “Hey, bud, there’s something important we need to talk about.”
Abraham nods. His father’s lips twitch, nearly slipping from his face. Abraham holds his breath in anticipation and to keep himself from saying anything that would comfort his father but also incriminate himself. Thankfully, his father starts talking before Abraham’s determination crumbles. “Sonic was sent to Earth the other day. There was an accident, though. He’s not… We won’t get to see him again for a very long time.”
Abraham’s face falls. His breath is caught in his throat, held back by his frozen heart. Sonic is dead. That’s what his father is trying to tell him. Death is still a huge concept that Abraham knows he doesn’t fully comprehend, but he understands more than his father is giving him credit for. Then again, it isn’t like his father is wrong. They aren’t going to see Sonic for a very long time. He’s gone in a way that he hasn’t ever been before—in a way that no one Abraham knows has ever been.
His father winces, perhaps coming to the realization that Abraham knows what he’s talking about. He looks away from Abraham, staring at the wall beside the bed. “We can’t talk about Sonic to anyone else except for each other. You have to promise me that you won’t, Abe. If you do, bad things are going to happen.”
Abraham has never seen or heard his father sound so desperate before. Maybe it’s that, or maybe it’s the anger and exhaustion his mother carried, or it’s the cold, clinical way Robotnik looked at them, but something compels Abraham to nod his head. But really, it’s just the terrible things his mother and Robotnik said to each other about what’s going to happen to Abraham that makes him mean it.
He’ll never talk about Sonic again, especially not to Shadow and Maria.
An adult with silver hair and heterochromatic eyes sits on a bench outside one of G.U.N.’s buildings. He hasn’t brought any technology outside with him. He hasn’t brought any paperwork, either. His hands are folded in his lap, and his gaze is pointed into the distance. He doesn’t truly see anything out there, but there’s nowhere else to look. All Abraham wants to do is enjoy the breeze on his skin, carrying fresh air into his lungs.
An unnatural wind brushes against him from the opposite direction of the way the air is moving. He glances toward the side to find an azure hedgehog sitting on the bench beside him. Abraham’s able to plant his feet on the ground, but Sonic’s legs dangle over the side. He kicks them back and forth, ridding himself of excess energy. Abraham turns his eyes away, but his attention doesn’t wander far. He’s the one to break the silence, “How did you find me?”
“You still suck at hiding,” Sonic admits, rolling his shoulders. He leans against the back of the bench, loosely crossing his arms over his stomach. He takes a deep breath, truly enjoying the zephyr blowing through the area. He tilts his head back, letting the sunlight fall across his face. “Is this as weird for you as it is for me?”
Abraham chuckles under his breath. “I imagine it was when I first realized you were still alive but without memory.”
“Yeah. I guess you’ve had more time than any of us to come to terms with everything,” Sonic shrugs nonchalantly, not exactly showing that he finds the situation weird. “What even were we up there?”
“We were friends,” Abraham says carefully. Sonic gives him an odd look. Abraham’s lips twitch upward into a smile. “Neither of us could admit it, but I am certain that’s what we were. We can still be, if you want.”
Sonic hums. He moves his arms behind his head, leaning back further. “Well, I do like having friends.”
Chapter Text
Chao gardens, by their very nature, are supposed to be peaceful places. The one on Christmas Island is no exception on the average day. There is a small pond with fresh, clear water. It is surrounded by meadows filled with soft grass and vibrantly colored flowers. There are more than a few trees scattered around, each one heavy with delicious and sweet fruits. Between the sunlight and the shadows, the natural Chao Garden is kept at a perfect temperature that’s neither too hot nor too cold. It has all the necessary details for the many chao who call this corner of the world there home.
But today is not an average day. There is a crater inside the meadow, hollowing out a section of the earth. Its impact caused several fires to pop up along the rim, and the chao are doing their best to bring water over from the pond to keep the flames from spreading. As they are in the midst of completing this goal, smoke rises from the ground to contaminate the air around them. It billows upward into the sky, temporarily blotting out the sun in some locations. This paired with the fires fluctuates the temperature drastically inside the garden, breaking the perfect condition it was in before the crater appeared inside their home.
One of the chao has decided to descend into the crater to look over at what has fallen into their paradise. They wobble down the rocky sides, avoiding getting cut on the sharper ridges or barreling downward with the other rocks. Once the chao is at the bottom, they step into a puddle. It isn’t made from water but rather a bright crimson liquid. The chao makes a displeased noise as the liquid stains their tiny, bulbous legs. The chao continues forward, treading through the stickiness to find the source of both the liquid and the crater.
It’s a Mobian. The chao of this garden have seen a handful of Mobians before. None have caused as much damage as this one has, nor have they even gotten this close. The chao in the crater reaches forward to grab the Mobian’s face. The liquid has completely stained the Mobian’s face. It also gushes out of their many features, including the places where the fur has been burned away. The chao’s emotions drop into concern as they try to awaken the Mobian.
It works. The Mobian’s eyes flutter open. Black and green swirl endlessly in their irises. The Mobian pushes himself onto his paws and knees. The chao makes a noise to gather his attention at the same time they waddle underneath the Mobian. Those unseeing eyes manage to focus on the chao. Confusion unfurls across the Mobian’s features. They mouth words that the chao doesn’t understand. The chao reaches their arms upward, looking to be picked up and held. The Mobian carefully moves one of their paws, scooping it underneath the chao. They pull the chao against their chest (that’s covered in the liquid. The chao’s curiosity and disgust with it only grows).
The Mobian stumbles onto his feet. He carries himself and the chao out of the crater. The other chao notice him once he makes his way through the smoke. They are still holding leaves between each other, a thin layer of water held against the leaves’ waxy surfaces. The Mobian looks between the water to the fires. Understanding dawns in his expression even when he remains perplexed about everything else. He sets the chao he’s holding onto the ground. The little chao tries grabbing onto the Mobian’s foot (or the half-formed material on the Mobian’s foot that might have once been a shoe before it was melted and battered away). The chao misses, falling onto the ground. The Mobian has begun running around the perimeter of the crater. It’s at such a high speed that the fires are suffocated, and eventually, they go out.
When the fires are out, the chao cheer. The Mobian smiles at them. The smile remains on his face even as he crashes right back into the ground. His fur and quills have turned gray, and his chest doesn’t move. The chao, however, are not truly aware of what it means for other creatures to be alive or dead. They just know that the Mobian has fallen, so they work together to pull him beneath the shade of a tree. They leave him there to ‘sleep’ as they finish cleaning up the crater. When they’re done, they even set some fruits down at his side for when he wakes up.
The Mobian does wake up again. It’s difficult to determine how long it’s been since the chao work on a different timeframe than other creatures do. The Mobian, at least, doesn’t know that any time has passed while he was unconscious. He could use his size to determine it, but he’s gotten smaller rather than larger. He’s shrinking. The chao doesn’t know why (he isn’t accepting enough energy from the planet), and he doesn’t remember ever being larger than this (he doesn’t remember anything from before waking up in the crater). Neither him nor the chao question it, and they don’t get bogged down trying to figure out how much time has passed, either.
As soon as the Mobian wakes up, he silently greets the chao. They bustle around him, excited that he’s finally woken up. They speak in their own language, but the Mobian can somewhat understand the stories they’re trying to tell him. He can also understand their insistence on getting him to eat the fruit he’s surrounded with. He eyes them with black irises (for he doesn’t have enough energy for them to be green, but he and the chao don’t know they’re even capable of being any other color), but he eventually takes the fruit. He peels and cuts them, eating a few slices for himself and sharing the rest with the storytellers that have come to surround him.
When they’re all finished eating, they lie together in the sunlight. With a full stomach, the warm sunlight upon him, and barely any energy within him, the Mobian quickly falls back asleep. The chao also take a nap, but they wake up way sooner than he does. They notice that the new addition to their garden is still asleep, so they drag him back to the tree they’ve designated for him. None the wiser about the behaviors of Mobians, the chao come to the collective conclusion that Mobians sleep for a long time and are awake for short bursts. If that’s the case, they’ll continue caring for their new friend and wait to spend time with him when he wakes up.
The next time the Mobian wakes up, it’s to the sound of the chao crying out in panic and concern. He blinks his eyes open. He searches the area around him once he’s gained an awareness of himself. There is fruit surrounding his body alongside overgrown grass. There are more than a few puddles made from rainwater collecting in the various areas across the garden, including the crater that has been growing with plants and flowers because of the chao’s meddling. A thick humidity remains in the air, charged with the residual energy of lightning. A storm has just passed through this area. He doesn’t know how he completely slept through it because he knows that the storm wasn’t what awakened him.
One chao has latched onto his leg, trying to shake it in an attempt to wake him up. He sits forward, gently lifting the chao into his paws to prove that he’s awake. The chao stops crying to look at him with glassy eyes. They throw one of their arms back, gesturing to the other side of the pond. Their voice is filled with so much emotion that the Mobian doesn’t ask for more information.
Instead, he sets the chao on his shoulder, making sure they are tightly holding onto him. The Mobian blitzes around the pond, searching for what has spooked his friend so thoroughly.
He finds it quickly. It’s the place where all the other chao are crying out. They’ve surrounded a fallen tree. The Mobian doesn’t understand the problem until he sees another chao beneath the tree. It must have fallen because of the storm, trapping the chao. Both the trapped one and the others are screaming out. The chao are trying to push or lift the tree off their friend while the chao on the ground squirms. With enough time, it might work, but the Mobian decides to help. He moves his paws beneath the tree. He feels the energy of the planet ebb into him, giving him the necessary strength to lift the tree. The other chao let go of the bark. They quickly grab onto their friend, pulling them out. The Mobian is able to set the tree back down without anyone being crushed.
The Mobian kneels among the chao. Some have taken to grabbing onto him. He pays no mind to their climbing as he examines the chao that was crushed. Luckily, it seems he was crying out more in fear than in pain. There isn’t anything wrong with him. Regardless, the Mobian lifts the chao into his arms, holding them tightly and gently. Their crying softens as they grow more comfortable within the Mobian’s touch. The hedgehog settles himself on the ground. He cradles one chao while the others play around on his body. He smiles at them all, feeling… content.
It beats the other emotions he’s been feeling every time he wakes up. There’s a sorrow layered so deeply in his bones that he knows he lived a life before he woke up in the crater. It is paired tightly with guilt and grief, never failing to send his gaze upward as he searches for something in the sky without knowing what exactly he’s looking for.
The hedgehog stays with the chao for a long time. A few days, actually, but inevitably, he finds himself succumbing back to the deep darkness of a past he can’t recall for days or weeks or months or possibly even years.
A chao lies directly on his chest. His eyes flutter open to look at them. A smile graces his features when he realizes that it’s the chao that has taken a liking to him. He knows this because they are starting to adopt features similar to himself. Their coloring is deepening into the same blue as his quills. Their eyes are softening around the edges. They frequently wear a smile, even when they stumble to the ground and hurt themselves. Every time the hedgehog has woken up from his long slumbers, it’s this chao that’s always with him.
He moves his paw from his side to pet the top of the chao’s head. This rouses them from their own slumber. They blink sleepily until they notice his opened eyes. The chao yells cheerfully. They drag themselves closer to the Mobian’s face. They instantly begin babbling with the brightest smile on their face. He smiles back at them. He ignores the stinging in his heart at the vague memory of having another friend who he used to… (did he talk to them? He doesn’t know. He can’t talk now but does that mean he was always incapable of it?).
He doesn’t know how many days have actually passed since he woke up. He doesn’t know how long he’s asleep for. He thinks the longest it’s been is days (the longest was months… it’s only shortened to days recently), and he’s starting to match that by being awake for a longer amount of time. The chao are happy about this, especially the one that lies on his chest now. These chao are the closest ones he has to a family.
But part of him believes that he has another one. It’s information based on nothing. It’s just a feeling that he continues to cling to—that he lets put him to sleep for long stretches of time and makes him subconsciously reject the energy of the planet because he’s searching for something—someone?—else. But he’ll never find it.
The depressing thought causes him to close his eyes. He doesn’t mean to, but he simply drifts back into the darkness.
The chao are screaming for him again. Each one has grabbed a different part of body, shaking it relentlessly in the hopes of waking him back up. He pulls himself into awareness. He’s immediately met with the sight of the chao who looks like him hitting their tiny hands against his forehead while sitting on his nose. He has to be careful when sitting upright. Several chao tumble downward, landing in his lap. The chao on his face clings on for dear life, so he grabs them to pull them away. He looks at all the chao, trying to figure out why they needed him awake so badly.
While the chao are all talking at once and gesturing into the distance, another noise draws his attention away. In the distance, he can see strange creatures tearing up the forest surrounding the Chao Garden. No, it’s not creatures; it’s machines. They look strange, but they are made from metal and powered by… flickies? He shakes his head rapidly. He tries sensing the energy inside of them again. It is flickies! Someone is using the precious lives of animals to power machines that are destroying the Chao Garden!
That’s why the chao have woken him up. They need his help to stop the machines and free the flickies. The chao know all about his speed since he’s used it on occasion, and he’s helped them several times before. The chao know he can do it. They believe in him which is why they’re wasting time waking him up instead of escaping or even trying to fight back themselves.
He rises to his feet. He’s about to run over to the machines, but he finds himself frozen in place. He might be able to fight them off. That isn’t a guarantee, though. He is holding himself back. This isn’t as strong or as fast as he could be. He’s been rejecting the planet’s energy for so long, only accepting enough of it to wake up every few days (it used to be every few months, but he doesn’t know that).
He looks around. The chao are staring up at him, grabbing onto his ankles and shoes. They are expectant, and desperate, and they just want to protect their home and friends. They are counting on him. And he doesn’t want to let them down. They’ve been taking care of him for a long time, ever since he destroyed part of their gardens. They have kept him fed and entertained, and he hasn’t done much to pay them back. But even if it weren’t a matter of paying back favors, he doesn’t want them to lose their home, and he doesn’t want to lose the home they’ve given him. He doesn’t want any of them to lose their lives because he cares about them so much.
He kneels onto the ground. He presses his palms against the dirt and grass. He inhales deeply, letting his eyes fall shut. He drowns out the sounds of the machines and the chao questioning him with concern in their voices. The chaos energy from the planet rolls inside his body. The circuit is about to be complete, but there’s one more obstacle keeping him from accessing his full power.
The vague memories that surface in the darkness of his forgotten past. An old man. A sickly girl. A little boy. A robot. And him, the person he keeps searching for even if he can’t remember his name or what he looks like or what their relationship was. The Mobian just knows that he had a connection with him—with all of them. But he severs that connection himself, removing the final block that keeps him from reaching his full potential. It is time to say goodbye, so he does in a voice that he hardly uses anymore. With that, he lets go—let himself completely forget.
And with a mind that only remembers the present—this home, these chao, his heart—he accepts the energy of the planet. His quills transform into a deeper shade of blue. His irises flicker along the edges with green that will bleed inward and overtake the black one day. Determination beats alongside his heart, and chaos energy runs through his circuits uninhibited.
And then, he, too, runs—he runs forward, away from the past and all that he needs to leave behind if he wants to truly live on this planet and protect this Chao Garden. He isn’t going to back down or look back, not anymore.
Notes:
Up next in Chaos Heart will be outsiders realizing how weird Sonic is, and then we'll finally have the chapter that goes into Sonic remembering and him reconciling all of this with his current life and Shadow
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