Chapter 1
Notes:
I had to learn ao3's html codes for super/sub-scripts in the page breaks
Worth it. ^^'
Chapter Text
It is -Always- a Trap
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✦✦ Act I. ✦✦
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A week into the destruction was enough time for their forces to be called to each corner of the world, and there wasn't enough fight to go around. A seemingly unlimited number of robots poured across the world, and no number of hedgehogs or fox geniuses or bullets changed it. The skies grew darker, and life was forced to retreat underground. Supply lines were strained for the first few days, and no one could piece together how the robots were flowing so quickly. It was worse than a hydra, because at least that outcome was known.
Most times an altercation would end in retreat, and more robots would still pour down to snuff out life. It was Eggman’s final huzzah, and it seemed to be going off without a hitch.
“Code Blue, at the end of the third district’s principal tower..”
Sonic sat up from the ratted and worn beanbag, and pulled his sneakers on, “I’m on it!”
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The walls of the GUN base toppled before he could even get to the door, and like a masterful demolition, the walls fell. And the circle of enemies closed a reclaimed Eggship rose from the rubble. The first of many he sought to recapture. The giant domed creation lumbered above the swarming grounds of spiderlike creations while the air buzzed with electric drones. And Sonic missed the days of the sillier creations, before Eggman saw Sonic as a threat and more as a pest.
Now everything was painted in red, gold and black, and the only markings that distinguished each were serial numbers that had already moved into shapes, after letters and numbers were exhausted.
But a threat was a threat, and even as hope to save the tower was crushed, Sonic knew he couldn’t let the giant ship escape.
He aimed the first dash at the windshield, but no mocking cries came from the robotic doctor as the ship teetered. The second aimed for the extending wings, to try and keep it from flying. And the third dash fell short as the giant mech blasted upwards.
The energy cannons were charging and Sonic was already dancing between lights before they fired. The sweeping beams cut through buildings and roads, leaving more destruction for Sonic to dodge in his chase. The world was falling apart at the seams.
Sonic used the falling building for height, jumping up to each piece as it fell before making a leap of faith towards the oversized mech. Gloves scrambled for purchase against the metal body, and as soon as he found a grip, the machine was lowering into the center of town.
Sonic frantically tapped at his watch as the ground approached, “Tails! It seems like someone ordered takeout, because this crab is about to be at our door.” Once a wide green courtyard, the earth was already scarred by a week of invasions, and the mech’s eight legs were tearing up more dirt as it landed.
Sonic hit the ground before the crab mech could charge the destructive lasers, but even the quick dashes and repeated slams of his quills against the metal didn’t change the focus, and it was strange not to be taunted and chased above the others, especially when it came to Eggman.
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Shadow dropped from the sky to land on the roof of the once luxury apartment building. Now it was a skeleton at best, but Rouge stepped from the shade and pointed at the rampaging crab. “That’s their base, or what’s left of it.”
“Did you find the schematics?” Shadow watched as Sonic looped around the mech, and still it fired at the base instead, and in the first stumble, Shadow was moving.
“No–” Rouge sighed, “Why even ask, if you don’t actually care?”
Shadow let gravity provide the force as his body rolled into a ball and as the speed increased, he was left a buzzsaw that plummeted from the heavens. The crab had some sense of self preservation, and instead of plummeting through the head, two of the left arms were lost instead.
“Hey Shadow!” Sonic was already approaching, “Thanks for the hand–” Shadow kicked off from Sonic’s approaching chest, throwing the blue hedgehog backwards and a claw came smashing down between them.
“I’m here to help, not babysit.” Shadow zipped backwards, as the claws created a timed avalanche that followed both around the circle. “So be useful or go hide, I can’t waste time on you.”
“ I’m Shadow, I can’t accept a thank you .” Sonic mocked him with a single hand like it were a puppet, before a claw called both hedgehogs to jump away.
Shadow pretended he didn’t even hear it as he focused on the mech. Six legs remained, two known energy canons. And it likely still held some secrets, if GUN hed onto it rather than scrapping it. That was their problem– GUN thought of themselves as collectors, and anything that could be used was worth holding onto. Shadow knew even he fell into that category. But GUN was falling fast. Each day saw was tower that fell, another base sundered as hundreds were silenced.
Shadow pulled the Chaos emerald from his quills, the last that Eggman would need to complete the set and the machine’s eyes were locked on the dark hedgehog as lasers charged again.
The base opened, and people were fleeing as Shadow pulled its attention away from the civilians. It was a mad dash, but the streets were still filled with badniks of all shapes and sizes, and even in running, they wouldn’t make it far.
In the corner of his eye, as he jumped over sweeping lasers, Shadow could see the blue cyclone that cleared a path around the group of escapees. He dashed down an empty street, but the crab didn’t follow, and the destructive energy turned back to the original goal.
Sonic. It only took Shadow a second to see the focus: This wasn’t an attack to gain the emerald or to take out the hedgehogs. This was mental warfare; an excuse for collateral damage to weaken their resolve and shatter their resistance. He knew that when the crab saw Tails and machineguns began to fire from each leg’s joint and from the crab’s mouth.
The bullets had already begun, and there was no way to save all of them; half had already fallen. And Sonic wouldn’t run if he couldn’t save them all. And now the blue idiot was a playing shield around the yellow fox.
Chaos control let him move across the earth in flashes, but there was always a second when he reappeared, and even in warping in front of Sonic and Tail, the bullets easily caught his back. And his focus on saving the heroes pulled him away from noticing the rockets that had launched from bays within the crab’s shell.
“Chaos–” The explosions cut his connection to the emerald, as it tumbled away from his hand, but he kept a firm grip on Sonic, and he knew the hedgehog wouldn’t drop Tails. Even in the explosion he turned his body and hurled the two across the sky.
The base had fallen, the people were lost. And now the final emerald was taken as well.
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The medical professionals were already sparse, but the bullets in his back were likely toxic. He could feel that in the itch alone that begged for his claws to slice open his own flesh. And Rouge had dragged him to find someone at least half qualified after a week of his "bitching" as she lovingly called it.
That's how he ended up face down on a table with a knife in his back for a half hour while Rouge talked shop. They both monitored the channels constantly, and no news had slipped by them thus far. But it would have been helpful to have Omega around, but he had put himself in a voluntary exile. But he would resurface once in a while to request repairs or more ammunition.
The hands at his back stilled, and bandaged were wrapped around his chest, “Can you give him the full tank top?” Rouge’s soft smile had the doctor’s chuckle along, even at Shadow’s sharp growl. The bandage covered most of his torso, but even as the doctors pushed him to rest, Shadow was on his feet.
“Thanks for the patch job. We’ll free up space.” He didn’t look back at Rouge to see if she followed, and the door opened before Shadow could reach for the handle.
“Shadow! I heard–” The door barely missed his face, but the blue hedgehog manage to headbutt him as Sonic entered the medical ward with almost frantic steps.
Sonic held his forehead in the wince, and opened his eyes to find the dirty look Shadow pulled in the answering throb at their heads. A hand threw Sonic to hop across one leg as Shadow moved past him, and Rouge offered her thanks to the doctors before she waved at Sonic, “‘Till next time then, Blue.”
It seemed to wake him from the stupor, and he followed the bat, “Is… he mad at me?”
Rouge tittered, turning on her wings to fly backwards, “When isn’t he?”
Sonic let his head drop as he groaned, falling in step behind her retreat, “I was trying to say thanks.”
Rouge turned again as the fatigued smile caught her cheek, “With your forehead?” Sonic was nearing her with each step, “A kiss would have done better to run him off and I wouldn’t have a sourpuss to track down.” Even as she turned the glare to him, Sonic laughed.
“I didn’t mean to be collateral damage in a thank you attempt.” He shook his head, “I want to live, you know that right? So… Do you want help hunting a hedgehog?” He waggled his eyebrows, “I’ve definitely got the first hand exp.”
Rouge nodded as her footsteps returned, slowing them both down further, “He worries about you, and I can see why.”
Sonic’s head almost fell off with the snap of confusion, “Worries? Shadow?” The confusion cut quickly to a cheesy smile, “Did I hit your head too, Rouge?”
She rolled her eyes, “You love trouble, Blue. You’re neck deep in it all day long. We all worry.”
The blue hedgehog swaggered his shoulders, “Well, if everyone’s watching on the edge of their seat, I’ll just have to put on a good show.”
“That’s the stupidity that has us thinking you’re suicidal.” Shadow waited at the end of the hallway.
Sonic grumbled, “This is some way to accept a thank you, Shadow.”
He didn’t turn, “You always rush in and it’s a liability. It cost me the emerald. It cost all those people. You have to think.”
Sonic puffed up his chest, “I did everything I could! You try to take on every robot in the world by yourself for a month and tell me how you feel at the end of it!”
Shadow growled as he moved down the hall away from them, “I have been! And I’m still being called back across the world to fix your mistakes.” The dark hedgehog shook his head, “Go hibernate if you can’t keep up.”
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One week shy of four months.
That's all the time it took for the world to fall apart fully. Every time they found a breath of fresh air, the putrid vapors would roll off of Dr. Eggman in his approach. It was clockwork, and expectable, and it wore them all thin. The bald man with a vibrantly untamed moustache would hover about, making demands and threats, and Sonic and co . would set about thwarting evil schemes. But destruction seemed to be his only goal, and there was no preventing that without causing more first.
One season of the year and Robotnik’s army swarmed to decentralize intelligence and cripple the world. It started with a timed attack on the GUN bases; tiny bots packed with napalm took the lowest structures out to have the bases collapse to their deepest levels. It was gruesome, and thousands were silenced in a single sweep. And then dozens of giant mechs were freed, and each capital was claimed under the rule of a monstrosity.
It was the furthest Eggman had ever gone,and the closest to world domination he claimed, and it brought the rest of the world to fight back against him. But there was no pause to the robots and mechs that would flood the streets as soon as the resistance was located, and life would fall in the hundreds at each attempt to bolster a single communication array. The world was falling to silence, and finally a weakness was found: an energy signal so weak it couldn’t be the Chaos Emeralds, but it was better than no lead at all.
A flying fortress was all the intel they received, before the covert mission was silenced and radio signals and vital readings were lost. But the location was known, and it was time to storm the villain’s keep. There was no other option, and it was at least a comfort to see so many familiar faces in one room.
It was an easy plan, as far as Sonic was concerned, at least. His mission was to run in and grab the Emeralds, or at least one of them. Hopefully that would be enough to stop the Robotnik-crafting machine. That was the crux of the operation; his robotic creations had always been limited and weak, but now thousands of giant hammer bearing constructs would appear in mass to destroy civilization.
The rest of the plan?.... The others would carry their weight. Sonic was the legs. How much easier could it get? But Shadow’s level glare was enough to have him hesitate.
The bandages were gone but the emotionless stare was adamant and Sonic approached anyways and offered a wide smile, “So, me and you? Just like old times.”
Shadow looked past the approaching hedgehog as if he hadn’t heard anything at all.
“Come on, Shads, you can’t still be pouting about the death egg last week.”
Shadow let his neck roll left to right, and the crack was the only sound that answered Sonic’s insinuation. Sonic huffed, “Fine, Thank you for running across the world to help.”
Shadow finally met his eyes, “And?”
“And?”
“The dragon mech in the sky that was chasing you today?”
Sonic pulled back a step as he bristled, “It hadn’t even made it close to me yet! And I also pulled you out of that giant mecha-sharks mouth and I didn’t get a thank you!”
“Quote. Now we’re even for the crab . End quote.” Shadow raised his brow, “ My debt was settled by your word. You just keep racking up more”
Sonic stuck out his tongue. “Then we’ll settle it tonight, I’m sure I’ll save you from danger at least a hundred times.”
Shadow clenched his fist, “So I’ll have a hundred and one blunders to pick you up from? No thanks.”
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The world was on fire and Eggman’s cackling rottened the air with vicious glee as it echoed from thousands of robots that played videos of his circular face. They had assembled all the top fighters, everyone with a grudge against Dr. Robotnik for some reason or another, and it still wasn’t going to be an easy fight.
Rouge and Espio were on infiltration, getting in to start destroying defense systems. Tails was set to follow and try and jam the robot’s signals using Robotnik’s own array. Knuckles, Omega and Amy were set as the vanguard distraction.
Vector and Charmy were positioned with rifle bearing resistance warriors to prevent their forces from getting cornered, pinned, or flanked– as well as all other coverage they might be able to provide. But ammo was limited to what you could carry in, and there would not be enough for they clouds of robotic monsters that surrounded Eggman’s lair.
The first defenses of the master lair were down, and Rouge and Espio were on the retreat, leaving explosions behind them as pocket detonators spread chaos.
The quartet entered the main grounds and Amy vaulted herself to the center, swinging her hammer in tornadoes to strike anything within reach as Knuckles carved a path to her. And behind them Omega held an escape line, torching and blasting anything that tried to close behind the pair.
Sonic stepped to Shadow’s side leaning a shoulder against him from the sudden stop, “You ready for me to beat you in another race?”
Shadow pulled the pistol from his side and checked the chamber before holstering it again, “This isn’t a race, it’s an extraction mission.”
Sonic smiled counting on his fingers, “Oh? So a time limit, a specified course, and a shared goal– that isn’t a race?”
Shadow rolled his shoulders, “This is a war, Sonic. Get your head in the game, the right one, or you’ll lose it.”
“Lame.” Sonic let his face fall to utter disinterest, “I know it’s serious,” Sonic's hands held behind his head as he paced around the darker hedgehog, “But that doesn’t mean we can't have fun!” Sonic offered a wink as the first big explosion shook the castle-like lair, and the words were left to hang in the air as Sonic raced off, “ Try to keep up !”
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The stones were collapsing around him, cutting off paths and leaving him to hop and dash or slide under the debris and hope he didn't get crushed. The walls seemed to know they were intruders and more often than not one would explode just to offer another trap.
A giant pinball, flamethrowers, bots and enemies, spike walls and grind rails. Honestly it was more fun than Sonic could have hoped, even if there were more than a few close calls. The rails were trapped and designed to lead to close quarter fights more often than not, but for the first stage, he was on Distraction, calling forces to a thousand places as far away from the front door as possible.
The team had barely made it to the entrance when Rouge was tossing bombs behind them, and the circle in the courtyard grew denser as more of the resistance was focused on trying to thin the numbers from infinity.
Shadow hadn’t paused, but Sonic couldn’t help but check on each, blazing around in a streak to try and offer them an easier time, even if just for a second. Sonic dashed between enemies with a spray of sparks, offering long enough of a pause for them to see his smile and wave in between the blips of movement.
Tails was already tucking himself through a window as remaining civilian units blew through robots with missile launchers and rifles. It was a petty force all things considered, and Shadow himself had called it a suicide mission, but he was still here trying with the rest of them.
Tails called on the intercom, “We– we need to retreat, this is… Something’s wrong . There aren't any defenses in the system. None . Abort.”
Shadow and Sonic were already racing through the labyrinth of the base, and paused at the same door in their trek: the largest door by far, and it shouted boss fight .
Shadow answered, “We’ve found the door.”
“Start the retreat, little buddy, we’ll check and be outta here in a second flat.” Sonic capped the update with a call into his wrist. Sonic pressed against the door open with a groan before Shadow’s hands joined and they swung wide.
The room was wide and round, but instead of a floor there were only white walkways that cut between pillars spread around the room. The bridges created a seven pointed star across the pit below them where a soft red glow called to the center of the floor surely hundreds of feet below.
And the pillars opened, and each Chaos Emerald was held high above the points on slender beams. “Your fox was right— this seems… wrong.” Shadow held at the threshold, and reached a hand to pull the blue hedgehog away.
But Sonic had already stepped towards the closest emerald when the door slammed shut between them.
Shadow was on the comm as a map displayed from square yellow device, apparently before Sonic could even think to complain, “Miles– Quadrant 6, floor thirteen. Can you open this door?”
There was an electric hum at their ears as Tails clattered at keys, “It’s got self shearing gears… That door’s not gonna open for less than 60 metric tons of lateral force.”
“Sonic, can you lift from that side?” A fist banged on the door before his fingers tried to pry at the base to find a hold against it, “Hey, lift the door, faker.”
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Sonic listened for any buzzing or whirring to signal a coming trap, but still his eyes were drawn to the seven gems. Their goal was so close, “I can see the gems. Y'all open the door, or I’ll get them and make a new way out.”
He paced forwards slowly, “Tails, buddy? You ..uh, copy?” Radio silence answered, but there was a hum of energy as a stream of robots rose from the center of the almost supernatural design. It was like standing inside a cannon that was firing robots into the world. The red lines deep beneath the earth, drew in energy and then…. The Emeralds did something on the star shaped array? He tapped the comm again, “Tails… What am I doing here, bud?”
It didn’t fit in with the harsh steel plates he knew from the Doctor. The gems and pillars weren’t laced in wires and tech and the air was sharp with the positive charged ions around them.
It did feel odd, but it only rose the fur at his neck in discomfort and pressed him to move faster. He made an easy track to peer at each of the seven gems without touching them, and began planning his escape as he traced the bridges again to find another doorway, or even a hatch.
The Emeralds were for emergencies only, and so far this was a cake-walk, “Okay, I’m gonna try the ceiling and the door, so we’ve got Super on standby later.” He pulled at the base of the door and almost regretted not being a werehog, and the ceilings similarly offered enough resistance that his slams against the stone walls were rendered useless.
“So…c… The…” It was a blip of Tail’s voice as he crested towards the the roof, but he couldn’t hold there long enough to catch more than a syllable. He skidded to a halt, there weren’t any defenses, no laser, no snarky video to brag about a trap. Something was definitely wrong. And without ears outside, it was likely the danger wasn’t here at all.
He pulled the gems from each pillar in a single sweep, to let more power flow through his body, and it was equally wrong. He didn’t have time to look at himself as the wall exploded where he had left Shadow.
Instead Omega stood among the rubble “Route accessed.”
And then a black spot rushed past; racing towards the blue hedgehog. And finally Sonic caught sight of his arm is lifted towards Shadow. Instead of gold, he could see his fur growing pale, aging and withering to dust.
It was a crazy thing to see, but for that one second as fear struck his heart, Sonic looked to the black hedgehog that was coming to save him. Like he always did with a grisely glower and rebuke meant to make Sonic feel like a child. Shielded and hidden from the world like a brooding antihero.
But this time, Shadow’s eyes were wide, and Sonic would only wonder if this was actually what it would look like, if Shadow was crying.
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Shadow held the fake emeralds, seven grey stones that had leached the life from Sonic before his very eyes. A few seconds aged Sonic a hundred years at least. And it was devastating to see that failure play out again as each of Eggman’s bots replayed the clip as victory music echoed across the castle.
That was his design, Shadow was the failed cure. Destined to be so close, to finally understand the danger, to understand the want for change and betterment – and still to fail every time.
There was nothing good enough in this world that evil would leave it be. There was no one fast enough to outrun death– And Shadow’s advantage was never speed; but a refusal to change, an adamance in his correctness that left him stationary against time. And he suffered for it now, as finally he wanted to change and even that was refused.
Sonic . Everyone loved him, and even the echidna and fox would say those very words alongside Amy. Even Rouge had said it in a tolerating way, playing along with his antics. And Shadow had played his own games with the hedgehog instead, most of them violent, but it was an expectation when you have that annoying grin over your shoulder every second.
Watching Sonic fade before his eyes, an entire lifetime fading in a single breath, was harrowing. Worse even than Maria’s death. And it would have taken him a hundred years to puzzle out why, but Amy had been the first to point it out barely a month after Sonic’s death. Shadow had loved Sonic, just like the rest of them, and he regretted that lost time just as equally.
It was the one thing Shadow planned he would do on their deathbeds, tell them that he had always cared for them. An ultimate surprise, to color their entire world brighter, and each memory, even the ones where he was a dick. It was the only plan he could make that didn’t actively involve being nice to any of them, and it seemed like a good plan until Sonic’s luck ran out far too quickly.
It wasn’t the same anymore. The world was left flat even as robots continued to pile around them. After the beam struck, after the ash and gems piled to the ground, Eggman finally revealed himself; and he gloated about it, played the moment a hundred times, expecting it to weaken their resolve and submit.
Hell awoke inside them each to see it so fully; to watch their closest friend fade, even if wearing a smile. To see Shadow walk to the pile afterwards was Eggman’s crowning glory, “Two rodents for the price of one, how quaint. I’m glad the idiot was the first one inside, it wouldn’t have worked as well against you, Shadow, but even grief is a weakness I can target.”If he hadn’t gloated in his torture, it might have been the overwhelming victory Roobotnik sought.
For one second Shadow could only count his failures, but Omega was blasting forwards to pull Shadow from the edge of the device, “Trap Detected.” Rockets fired at the walls, and the holograms dispersed. It was a plain square cell, and each of the stones were as fake as the reactor they thought they had found.
He only had anger, but there were plenty of directions to push it, “Omega, I might need you to detain me afterwards, get out of here.”
Omega turned his head to focus on Shadow even as his arms launched more missiles against the walls, “Negative. Our directive states–”
“I’m going to blow this entire island away. Clear the grounds.” His anklets and bracelets held out, and Omega accepted them in an extending drawer from his chest.
“Probability of Failure will increase with each minute. Already your readings supply enough for a .023 percent chance of survival.”
Shadow sighed, it seemed he really would chase the blue hedgehog anywhere, “Then you should hurry, get the rest of them out of here.”
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“Mission Abort.” Omega’s voice took over all the channel, secret and standard, and the word “Retreat” repeated in each commlink, blocking out all transmissions otherwise.
Rouge fluttered to his side as he paced out the front door, “Omega! Where’s Shadow?” The bots were not thinning and a small circle of heroes stood against the flood.
“Completing the mission. The likelihood of survival is negligible. Speed is required.” The robot’s left hand launched to grapple a bot and used it like a mace and chain as he pulled tight circles to clear the forces that surrounded them.
The power in numbers was seen, and the bots at least were simple enough for them to hold off, she pulled higher than the crowd to try and open some channel in the airways to lead the party out. Rouge tapped at her ear as kicks dashed through metal robots, “Tails? We have to move! Where are you?”
There was a soft stutter on the line, “Quadrant 3…but– I’m coming.”
Rouge panned across their small army, and she could see it was true. She couldn’t even fault Shadow for it, there was no other way. As soon as they watched Sonic disappear, the entire world seemed to splinter in their confidence. Suddenly everything possible was impossible again. She swallowed hard, “The island is going down; move to the ocean, and get ready to swim!” She let her wings flap overtime as she swooped to pull Tails from the window as bullets danced around them. Even in friendly fire the cover at least chipped away at the robots around them. It was a plague of tech as Eggman’s true forces were finally being deployed, and
They were barely at the edge of Eggman’s island when the world shook beneath them and then the skies filled with color. Soft blues and pinks and golds shockwaves that interlaced to form a warbling sphere. It would have looked heavenly if Rouge didn’t know what was happening at the center of that multicolored nova. A timebomb was being set off, and already it was set to explode. And she feared that was the ending Shadow wanted.
A white wash of energy preceded the rippling boom as the nova shrank to the size of a hedgehog; and the power was directed downwards.
The ground split under their feet as washes of heat and cool passed over them in quick succession as the rumbling within the earth grew. The column of light held for a second and then shrank into focus to carve holes into the earth. Water from the oceans sought to fill the gaps and steam built from each pass of the laser.
They had only reached the shore when the ground finally gave way, splintering like the driest reaches of the desert in shards of maligned earth. The island crumbled beneath them, and it was a mad dash for the ships and planes before they were blinded.
A whirlpool formed at the center of the island as suddenly the bots and castle were left to ash and a giant hole reached into the depths of the land. The earth broke into pieces under their feet, and the final leaps were made to the rocking ships and teetering planes.
The rescue mission began before they even knew the battle was won.
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Four months passed before they found Shadow in the ocean, and the attack had changed him. Not his energy, not his body– but his mind.
There was no place for him, and Shadow tried to escape from the world, but the people wouldn't let him move on. Not in blame, but as they tried to celebrate him, tried to find some happiness for the end of Sonic’s legacy.
But Shadow couldn’t accept it, he refused it. No solace would be found for the last to truly see the blue hedgehog in this world. Sonic died in front of him after pushing him away for years. And the idiot still reached out like Shadow would save him. Like Shadow could change the world, just because the blue idiot fell into another trap. It wasn’t like seeing Maria fall. Her death had only plagued him. But this loss was one everyone shared.
There wasn’t a ceremony for Sonic, there wasn’t a hall to remember him filled with pictures. The entire world saw him die. The scene was recorded for the annals of history by Eggman and broadcast to the world. It was eternal now, if someone would ever want to watch the ten second clip, they could see the hero’s death as many times as they could stand. And once was too much.
And the ending would always be the black and red striped hedgehog appearing one second too late.
No one needed a place to visit to know the loss, as they watched the hero die together. Even that hadn’t been enough to rally them to victory at the end. Each could only find their failures, knowing what each action had cost them. That was the energy Shadow pulled from, he couldn’t feel the hatred that drowned the planet, and he pointed it at the source. And nothing was ever heard from Eggman again.
And for the first few years, there was an absence of blue from even the picture frames and houses of Sonic’s friends.
It was hard to see someone you had failed each day. But it was only in the third year that Shadow realized they hid them only when he arrived at their door. They had understood long before he did.
Still, for years, local installations would appear, and statues of the blue hero would be decorated in flowers and circled in candles. The world idolized him, and tried to hold onto a memory they barely understood. And each time the statues were further and further from his true face, until it was an idea more than a person.
And by the tenth year, Shadow fought to make sure Sonic was left only a legend, without stone or statue. Sonic was the wind, and none could define him. He made it his mission to ensure none would ever pin the blue hedgehog down, not even death under a tombstone. Already his ashes were spread to the wind the second he had died, and they would fly until Sonic himself saw fit to rest.
Tails was the first to disagree in his methods, calling him a heartless bastard for destroying the island so completely. The fox had cried and moaned, claiming he could have brought him back, but the Chaos Emeralds were still missing, and there was no magic to save the blue hedgehog.
It was the first time Shadow opened up to the entire group, as each of the survivors watched Shadow’s sigh as Rouge questioned him only hours after they found the black hedgehog in the ocean, “Why didn’t you come home?”
Omega offered the golden bands and Shadow hesitated before he put them on, “I wanted to die with him.”
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Tails heard it for what he meant, and the fox tried for years to find some sense of replacement in Shadow, and to offer comfort for the loss of their friend and brother. But it wasn’t the same, even for their shared loss. There was no connection between the fox and hedgehog to share other than pain, no reason to talk other than the forced interactions so they could roll in their negativity.
There were positive moments, plenty of them, but Shadow could see that Miles dulled with each moment that they focused on Sonic’s death. Amy was the same, she would try to hug and paw at Shadow’s arm, another replacement, as each sought their own comfort from Shadow, or perhaps even misguidedly for him.
Rouge and Knuckles were the least enthused with the admission, but it was easily swept under the rug. He wasn’t actively trying, and grief expressed itself in different ways. For fifteen years they were close friends. But life finally moved on as children and romance called them to find some small happiness, and each was pulled in a different direction.
Shadow watched them turn to finish their lives in separate corners of the world, far away from the Green Hills where a phantom of Sonic would trace across their vision whenever the loop or a favorite turn would fall under their eyes. And Shadow would travel, visiting each of them as scattered as they were. But even that slowed, there was less and less relief as they saw him, unchanged, and their own mortality hung close above their heads.
All of it passed well before he was ready, and then their children as well. Again and again. He watched the world age and forget, until the video of Sonic was as much a mystery as a legend.
All that was left was a single frame among static and the ancient fox had squeezed his hand, “You loved him too, didn't you?”
Shadow sat beside him for the end, “It doesn’t matter. I couldn't save anyone.”
The video played between them as Miles pulled the yellow device from his hand, Sonic’s final smile as Shadow first entered at the bottom of the video’s frame. And the fox would press replay right before the end, never letting the final second play out.
The silver templed fox smiled, “I always wondered… I can promise I won’t tell anyone.” It was a harsh sarcastic laugh that forced Miles to cough.
Shadow nodded as he patted at the fox’s shoulder. “Of course I do.”
Miles clicked the button again and it held down, “Are you still– “ Tails pressed the device to Shadow’s hand and shook his head softly. “No, I won't ask.”
Shadow accepted the Miles-Electric even as he wanted to crush the video. But if it brought Tails comfort to know he was going to find his brother, there was no way Shadow could take it from him, and he tried to press the deceive back to the fox. But Tails only watched the video, and Shadow could see the glitches that took it, “Ask what, Miles?”
Miles’ final gift to Shadow was the freedom he intended for Sonic. And the archives of the ancient video were corrupted and Eggman’s voice was silenced across every instance of the image. Now it was a greyscale memory, just clear enough to see the two hedgehogs that met at the center of the screen before one was wiped away.
“If you’re still looking for Sonic…” Tails laid back to the pillows of his bed, “... now you’ll know it isn’t a trap. So don’t forget him.”
Shadow put the device in his quills as he stood, “He won’t come back Tails.”
The fox laughed wryly, “I know. But maybe he’ll be reincarnated like Amy always said. He might be out there again waiting for us.”
Shadow offered a pensive frown, “Rouge said the same.”
Tails nodded, “We don’t want you to be alone, not after everything.”
Shadow nodded and patted the fox’s head, “Don’t worry, Tails ,” He had never used the nickname before, and he could see the tears it pulled from the fox, “I’ll look after the world while you rest.”
It was a lie, even to let them hold the final hope that Shadow would even look. There could never be another like Sonic. He was the hero who pulled the world together, and now the final pieces of his memory were Shadow’s alone to carry forward.
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Chapter Text
✦✦ Act II. ✦✦
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Two hundred years passed, and there were a few days when he thought he saw Sonic, and he worried his mind would fail before his body and he would be left a zombie that prowled the earth without cause or reason. But each instance was always just wishful thinking. The one that had almost been a blue hedgehog was merely painted for a sports event, and the orange colored fur showed around his wrists and ankles where blue was staining gloves and socks. A mockery of his memory.
Only a hundred years passed when Omega’s soul finally failed. It was long lived for an animal, but the birdie had held the grudge against Eggman, and in the absence of a call to hate, Omega had no will to live and it was only his energy reserves that lasted the first century.
He put himself in a voluntary shutdown, and even for Shadow’s attempts, there was no way to power him up again. Only a hundred more years passed before even Metal was no longer repairable. And it was cruel, but they were the last two of his past, and he couldn’t bring himself to bury them. For hundreds of years they sat in a cave alongside him. And he waited for a death in stillness that would not come.
Food and sleep were as pointless as the time around him, and his mind was locked a thousand years ago. The moment that Sonic had died, the moment when his life lost all trajectory.
The world lost meaning as finally peace was found. And worst of all, it was a lasting peace, so far. Eggman’s defeat had been so final, that no other dared to rise that high and risk defeat.
Shadow’s name likewise had faded to the annals of time, but the spirit of the hero was still called to action from time to time. Small troubles would arise, unrest politically or otherwise, and some brave young soul would answer.
But Shadow didn’t. His responsibility and promise was to the world, not the people. Only once in ten thousand years was he actually needed, and even then it was too late for him to know.
There were myths about the whirlpool isles, a cluster of peaks and valleys around a giant hole in the ocean. They knew the ancient hero died here to stop the robotic uprising, and factions even grew to reject modernity itself. The whirlpool islands were one such place and when people tried to settle the islands.
For centuries, the islands were seen as too dangerous, and then there was suddenly a city at the edge of his forest, and at first they merely thought Shadow had tagged along, praising him for surviving outside their perimeter. But they found the bridges, the small tameness that he had cultivated already, and they praised him as a survivor. And for decades they would send small gifts to the woods in return for the protection they found at his side from beast and disaster.
It was strange to find the world crowding in around him, daring to ask to be his neighbor when suddenly the signs of his long time occupation of the island was made clear. There were already bridges and towers, and soon enough they found the cave with Omega and Metal. And the people knew he was not only a survivor, but an ancient one at that.
With each minute they dared closer to his identity, and peace of anonymity was his final reprieve from the world.
His body was familiar in his mind now, where before it was as much a piece of him as it was a figure belonging to doom and the professor. But now it was his alone, and the powers that he cultivated were easy. He could morph his body without restriction, and the red stripes faded until he was left a plain black hedgehog.
Shadow became the nameless man in the forest, an ancient lifeform. And they would come to him with questions and concerns as if he were the village elder. For a time, Shadow tolerated it. But he had long given up on a want to change the future or even participate in it. For ten thousand years he ran through the same scenario, a single lifetime across the infinite span ahead of him.
Faces came to visit the cave where the ancient robed figure who sat in wait for the unknown. But another thousand years passed, and it was a disaster that finally called him from the stoic stupor. His focus was so internalized, he didn’t even recognize the rumble of the earth until screams found his ears.
The earth ruptured around the massive whirlpool as thought it was finally being pulled in. And the entire island complained at the change, as the grounds tipped inwards towards the central pool. The waters whipped faster, and Shadow watched as even the small goodness around him was taken again. He flew to the waters, morphed into a kraken of massive proportions to settle the waters faster and pull away survivors. But there were none left inside the ocean to save, and the bodies pulled only littered the ground in death.
The whirlpool was a small pond now as the island shrunk around it. And the air was still and serene after the tragedy, before a single cry called him to search the woods.
A sling was hung from a branch, and a child called out for their mother, perhaps a year old, and he recognized the small hedgehog immediately, “Silver?”
The boy looked over to him, recognizing his own name on a stranger’s tongue, and a desperate cry answered.
Shadow pulled back the hood to show a plain black hedgehog, and freed him from the branch. “Let’s go look to see if we can find the others.” They searched for the afternoon and most of the time was spent with the young Silver perched atop his quills.
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“Did my mom die in the storm too?”
Shadow stopped skinning the hare, “Yes.”
“But you aren’t my dad?”
The meat was diced and cubed in his hand, “No.”
Silver looked out to the waters, “Will… we die here too then?”
He pulled the boy down to sit before the single cottage that still held a strong foundation, and was still near enough to the pond to watch it closely. It was the only true comfort he could offer, “I don't know what will happen to me, but I know you’ll survive. You’ll find a friend to travel with one day.”
Silver held closer to Shadow’s side as the meat was placed in the boiling pot. “What kind of friend?”
“The good one, I hope.”
Silver’s hand laced in his now free hand, and it was a surprise to the wide smile at his side again. It was just like Sonic’s. Even in the face of tragedy, these idiots tried to be strong like they were cut from the same cloth. “Will you wait with me?”
But at least in one timeline Silver would return to the past, even in aborted timelines, and that meant there was a chance to change the future again. “Of course. As long as it takes.”
And this was equally Shadow’s timeline, but even he found it despicable as his first thoughts were to train Silver to be stronger to change the past. But even that was a threat to the future he sought, knowing Silver was going to try and kill the hero. But there was time to figure out his plan, at least 14 years..
And for the first time, there was a trace of hope, even as small as Silver was.
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A year passed with Silver at his side, and it was easy to spend the time telling him stories he would never remember, and it was a therapy Shadow hadn’t known he needed. And Silver aimed to be a hero too, that much was clear, but his speed lacked, and the power Shadow knew was within remained dormant. But it was comfortable on their deserted island, and Silver grew stronger each day, even if he remained a bit gullible. He was sweet, and for all that he wanted to help protect him from the world, Shadow refused to be the darkness that realized it for the young hedgehog. And now he found himself crafting stories.
“Was he pretty?” Silver’s voice was a half yawn.
Shadow looked down at the closed eyes, and let his face puzzle freely, “The hero?”
“Yeah” The soft nod at his chest answered better than the mumbled word.
“He… was?” Shadow asked more than answered. “Why?”
“Was he my mom?” The words were met with tiny hands pulling at Shaadow’s and he knew already the comfort he needed.
“No,” Shadow strrooked at his quills, and Silver almost purred in response, “I didn’t know your mom. Do you… remember her?”
“Mm-mm, just you. But I think she would smile a lot.” Silver sighed against him.
Shadow nodded and his hands paused the soft affection, “Sonic smiled a lot too, just like you.”
“Was he your mom?” Silver’s eyes peeked open, only long enough for Shadow to offer a wan smile and tuck him into bed.
“ No , he… was everything… for a long time.” He offered a few final scratches at his back, and moved to stand.
“Did he love you too?” Silver's question paused him at the edge of the bed.
Shadow shook his head, but couldn't bring himself to guess, “Maybe.” He offered a pat on hhis back before Silver’s lips curled lightly even as his eyes remained closed, and his face fell to relax only a second later. Shadow pulled away softly to sit at the door and watch the grounds as the moon rose overhead, “Goodnight, Silver.”
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“Silver, focus. You can’t keep looking away from the fight.”
He was already six years old, and Silver would have been a prodigy if his heart wasn’t so soft. And still Shadow couldn’t bring himself to the cruelty he always offered Sonic…. That he would and had already offered Silver, in multiple kicks to the head. Trauma was out of the question, and still Silver would pause in training to look over at the sunset or see a fish splash up from the ocean to eat the flies and mosquitoes.
“Hey old man, what if we go swimming instead?” Shadow sighed as golden eyes turned to sparkle as Silver begged.
“No. I told you. There’s a hard future ahead of you, but behind me… And I want to change it.” Shadow pulled the cloak tighter around Silver’s chest, “So you’ve gonna be strong.”
Enough details had slipped in the years, and Silver was soft hearted, but not stupid. Well, he often found the wrong conclusions, but that was alright too. “But swimming is what the hero was bad at, right?”
Shadow sighed as the dodgy golden eyes that switched between the beach and the black hedgehog, “You’re not fooling anyone like that.” Shadow pulled the hood over his head and moved to the shade beside the pond, “Go, I’ll watch you practice.”
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Silver crouched beside him and Shadow pointed again at the bird, a single bolt of energy fired from his hand, and it fell stunned to the ground. A quick dash pulled it into Shadow’s hand, and he put it at the white hedgehog’s feet. Shadow’s arms crossed “That’s half your dinner. You’ll catch the other half.”
“But… I can’t do it.” Silver’s hand held up between them.
Shadow wrapped his hand around the smaller one, pointing it at the birds that had scattered, “Yes you can, or you’ll be hungry tomorrow.”
Silver’s psychokinetic powers were an unknown to Shadow, and teaching the boy to find them already proved impossible. But his faith wasn’t shaken even as Silver doubted himself. And chaos control was something even Sonic had managed a few times. But Silver seemed even worse at it. And it called a smile to the corner of his mouth as Silver pouted, “I don’t want to be hungry.”
“Then buck up. I know you can do it.”
Silver huffed, “But how can you know?” Silver stepped closer to Shadow and wrapped around his leg, “I can’t do it.”
“What if I can see the future? What if I know what you can do, even if you don’t?” Shadow’s palm pried the face away from his leg as golden eyes threatened to cry.
Silver looked at the tree and his hand clenched in frustration as nothing happened. “What…. What if I can’t be like you?”
“You won’t be like me.” He meant it as a comfort but Silver’s lip quivered, “But I’ve already seen how strong you’ll be, so try to trust me.”
“I do trust you!” Silver’s worry showed too easily.
“Then go try.” Shadow ruffled at his fur before turning Silver under his palm to face the forest. “I won’t let you starve, but one day you might have to fight for your life and I won’t be there.” He led the boy towards the trees with a flick of his wrist, “So, I want you to win.”
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It was a cold afternoon, but Silver was glowing brighter than the fire. It had taken three weeks, and his stomach growled in the afternoons, but for each failure, Shadow would have a larger breakfast ready for him. And then the boy would go out into the wilds on his own, as far as he knew. And Shadow lived to his name and made sure no danger came to the younger hedgehog.
He almost stepped in once, and it turned out to be the victory Silver had needed. Tired of chasing birds and flicking a useless hand to the trees, the platinum furred hedgehog tried to dash, and failed miserably. And it was a startled warthog that answered with a charge of its own. Silver was stunned against the base of the tree when a hand flew out and finally the cyan energy responded, catapulting the beast twenty feet into the air and stunning it on impact.
Shadow was at the front door before Silver made it out of the forest, and Silver’s legacy was set to begin. And more and more, Shadow risked revealing the future, until he realized it would risk Silver’s present to change the past.
His adopted son or a forgotten friend weighed against each other. It was selfishness that wanted him to change the past for even a few more days with Sonic, and the cost would likely be the future where he finds Silver.
“Good job, I never doubted you.”
The white hedgehog beamed under the praise as a hand pulled his smile left and right, and it was a feast that Silver relished in. “Thanks pops.”
It was a nicety that he had never heard from Silver, and Shadow laughed, “Pops?”
Silver shrugged and his eyes pulled away at the sudden focus, “… If that’s okay?”
Shadow sighed, offering him a flat look, “When has that stopped you?”
Silver shook his shoulders in an unsure dance, and Shadow worried until he caught the subversive grin hidden at Silver’s chest. “So, what’s next on our training schedule, dad ?”
Shadow plucked him from the stool beside the fire and tossed him to the pond in a single movement. He could swim, and turquoise energy almost caught his own body to keep him dry, but a sopping wet hedgehog stomped onto the bank a minute later. “That wasn’t fair, dad .”
Shadow had only taken a threatening step forward when Silver was on the run, laughing at the growling black hedgehog that threatened to toss him further into the middle.
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Chapter Text
✦ ✦ Act III. ✦ ✦
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“Pa! Hurry! You’ve got to come see!” The bright voice called from the forest's edge, and it piqued Shadow’s interest. The world had moved on, tragedies had struck, some piddled out in the deaths of the many, some were solved by the few instead. But there was always a blood seeking villain, and always a hero. And he hoped Silver’s would start with Blaze and not Mephiles.
After a eight years, he had been watching for signs of either, and it was a surprise to find his orphan calling again on their deserted island, “Pa! Come look, the friend !!... and it’s drowning!!”
Shadow leaned his head out of the cottage window as an arm rested at the sill, and saw the gloved hand sinking at the center of the pond, “You expect me to go save your stranger? Go rescue her.”
The cyan glow pulled at the water without effect, and Shadow moved to the door, “Hurry up, 4… 3…” The count was for survivability, even on a full breath the stranger would last at least a few seconds, and this was a learning experience Silver needed. And if it was Blaze, maybe this was the instance that called them to trust each other.
It was a dangerous line to tread, but the red stripes at his temples and face were gone the instant he realized the orphan boy was perhaps on a timeline towards the past. And it was selfish to want to follow him on that journey because Shadow knew it would lead to Sonic.
And that’s why he couldn't risk it yet. Silver was strong, he could recall that from their fights, even if he was a stupid as Sonic, and he realized now it was his own hand that pampered the kid too much. Shadow had left him soft from not being able to discipline him better. And it also left him at a loss as Blaze likely appeared to begin their adventures together.
Silver called from the bank of the pond, “It’s… it’s no use, pa, I can’t see him!”
Shadow pulled off the ragged red cape with a sigh, letting it fall around Silver’s shoulders before he dove into the pond to pull out this visitor. Some had known him as the demon or the hedge-witch. But no one had spoken the name Shadow in thousands of years, by his count. Not until the blue hedgehog was coughing up water on the muddy bank. “Shads– I could kill you if I didn’t love you so much right now.”
The air between them fell flat, and Sonic looked up again, “Oh….. Are… you..?” Green eyes fell to the platinum furred hedgehog that approached at their side, “...Silver?”
The boy smiled with bright eyes, “I am!”
Sonic shock was enough to let Shadow know he was real, and a grumble answered before Sonic could, “Silver go inside, let me talk to our visitor first.”
“Sh–” Sonic had only begun to say his name when a chaos bolt landed at his shoes, pulling blue legs into a quick dance. “Hey what gives!?” The red robed child already peeked from the window inside the house, “And… why is Silver here?”
“Pa found me after my mom died.” Silver’s smile was soft and easy, and Sonic returned it back to him before aiming it at Shadow.
“So, you…. Adopted him?” Sonic’s smile threatened on an insinuation, but of what Shadow wasn’t sure.
Shadow pulled the blinds closed from outside the house to block Silver’s view, “You dropped out of existence for a few thousand years, and you want to start there?”
“Well, I also want to know what happened to your fur, where’s the pizzazz ?” Sonic looked him up and down.
He was a mundane looking hedgehog, golden eyes and black fur, brown furred cheeks and the white diamond patch at his chest. His quills were still curved, and perhaps on that alone Sonic would have recognized him in the dark.
Sonic pulled water out of his own quills and shook intentionally too close to Shadow, “So what… Tails had you wait to send me back with Silver?”
Shadow doubted his plan the second Sonic suggested the same, and it was an almost shameful silence before Shadow groaned, “You’re dead. Did Eggman plan this?”
“What? I am definitely not dead.” Sonic looked around the wild forest where once a massive fortress had stood, but a few pieces of crumbled architecture still held the skyline, “We were separated and then you and Omega found me…and then you pulled me out of a lake. So thanks again, are we even yet?” It was a meek laugh as Sonic wringed out his gloves, still on his hands.
Shadow’s hand pulled at Sonic’s arm, leading him to the woods and further from the house, “Silver can’t know who I am. He can’t know who you are. If you’re even real.”
“Ah, the classic ‘infiltrate the future with an idiot’ trope, I do love that one, but you really think Eggman would use me? Come on, Shads, I know you better than that.”
Shadow shook his head. “No you don’t. I’ve spent a thousand years watching the world refuse to forget you, and you come to haunt me when finally I found refuge with Silver.”
Sonic wove through the trees at a light pace, pausing when he realized Shadow wasn’t following, “I didn’t come to haunt you, really. I gathered the emeralds, and bam– Here I am!” The words were accompanied by a spin as one hand held in the air as if he was a display sign. The pose relaxed as Shadow stared blankly at him, and Sonic stifled under the disinterest, “So, uhm… Plan?”
“There is no plan. We watched you die.” It was a cruelness of this world that Sonic’s image could never find rest, and it was one reason he never took Silver away from their desolate islands. Hiding them both from the reach of Sonic’s final moment. But it only took a pull at his quills to reveal the final Miles Electric in the world, and it was still a marvel. The video played as Shadow held the tiny device’s projection between them.
“I– but I didn’t die! So what… what happened?”
“It doesn’t matter. In eight years Silver can go back and fix it.”
“Fix it?” Sonic eyes drew wider as the rest of the sentence sank in, “Eight years?! I can’t wait that long!”
“I’ve been waiting for a while,” Shadow shrugged, “Surely you can handle eight years.”
Sonic rolled his eyes, “Then how do I know you’re the Shadow I know?”
The dark hedgehog paused, “You don’t, and honestly, I doubt I am. So, come on, meet Silver and try not to fuck up his time line.”
“Do I need to find a disguise kit?” Sonic poked at Shadow’s quill and rubbed his finger checking for dyes or ink, “How did you color your quills? Only spray paint ever sticks to mine.” Sonic complaints saw a single red stripe form and disappear on Shadow’s forehead.
The cheers to do it again when unanswered and Sonic sighed, “Ah, so it’s an alien camouflage thing? Are you in hunt mode?” Sonic shook his head, “Nah, this is definitely stealth mode.”
Shadow nodded, “Both. Silver is a handful.”
Sonic answered by pacing at his side offering a wide grin as he teased, “Aww, look at you being a daddy for our little terminator.”
Shadow grumbled, “I told you to stop calling me that.”
Sonic danced in his steps as he cutoff Shadow’s advance, “Then what do I call you?”
Silver’s voice answered from the treeline the second their movement halted, “I call him old man and pa. But he can be your dad, if you don’t mind being thrown in the pond!”
Shadow shook his head as he grabbed the light hedgehog, “I already have one idiot, I’m not taking a second one. He’ll figure something else out.”
“You… what does everyone else call you?” Sonic followed as Shadow dragged the boy by his collar and heels dragged on the ground.
Silver crossed his arms within the hold as though it was completely normal, “Don’t you know? Pa doesn't have a name. This is the ancient lifeform, the old man in the woods!”
Sonic looked to Shadow, and surely the dark hedgehog hadn’t aged a day even if quite a few had passed, "Ancient lifeform, what changed, Pa ?”
Shadow groaned audibly, “it’s harder to find someone if they expect a geezer and only come across me.” He lifted Silver to dangle in front of his face, “And I told you to stay inside .”
A golden-eyed smile answered his half-assed reprimand, “But we found a friend!”
Shadow pulled him to his shoulder, and cast a glance to Sonic, “Well come on, we’ll eat and you two can go act like idiots together.”
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The night was awkward, Shadow obviously doted on Silver, and Sonic was left feeling like the odd-hog out as Shadow would turn to offer a level stare, “I asked, are you going to sleep on a bed or just sit there all night?”
“Uhm. I can couch surf, so no worries. But thanks!” The pleasantry was marked with Sonic’s wink as he nestled against the cushions.
Silver pulled his hand only a second later, “We have an extra, Pa knew we would have guests one day!”
And Sonic couldn’t say no to the still Tails-sized Silver. But the night routine was interesting, if not a little weird. Watching Shadow pick the white hedgehog up and tuck him into bed was a compassionate side Sonic had never seen. But he thought better than to joke about drop-kicking a child to bed.
“Goodnight, Silver. Rest up so you can train hard in the morning, you’ve got a new sparring partner now, if he can survive.” The bed was only ten steps away from the other, and Sonic half expected he would be left in the kids room. Shadow pulled a trundle from under the bed, and slid past it before pointing down, “The spare.”
Sonic tilted his head, leaning to where Shadow was already facing away from him on the bed, “If I died… who was the expected guest?”
Shadow shrugged the blanket higher, and a whisper answered. “The girl, I assume.” Sonic nodded slowly, and then tilted his head to the side, before his mouth formed an O and nodded stronger.
“So…”
Shadow’s glare turned on him quickly, and it was a surprise to have their faces aligned suddenly, “Goodnight So–... Blue .”
Silver was the first to echo it, or tried to, “Goodnight, Sabloo !”
And Shadow’s wide pointed stare at the other bed said it all: “He’s listening.”
“Uhm… goodnight, hedgehogs?” Sonic sank down onto the low mattress, but even for a spare it was comfortable. And time didn’t seem to have changed the world that much, well… Considering that Shadow was acting paternal was the one piece of the puzzle that felt strange, but knowing this training is why Silver kicked his ass in the past made the bruises a little easier to tolerate in his memory.
And sleep was fairly easy, for the first few days. Figuring out how to get answers from a prickly dark hedgehog away from the ears of a ball of sunshine that followed at his heels was another matter entirely.
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Silver was juggling tree trunks as he launched them at swinging platforms and caught them on the rebound to do it again, and it was honestly terrifying as his accuracy threatened to snap the wires more than once, but it had Shadow sitting as he watched, and Sonic was an opportunist, “So… I don’t want to know…. but I have to ask–”
“You don’t. Not at all.” Shadow leaned back against the tree, letting the bark muss his quills, “You’ll just be upset.”
“Since when do you care?”
Shadow looked at Silver, “I tried to save you back then. I cared.”
Sonic leaned into his shoulder, “That blush is a new look on you, Shadow.” He chuckled as he rocked on the floor, letting their shoulders jostle against each other. “You going soft on me?”
The darker hedgehog didn’t respond to the attack, “Probably. That’s why I don’t want to tell you.”
“I need to know. Tell me what happened.”
Shadow closed his eyes as his face pointed to the boughs above, “They died.”
“I know but what about the good stuff…. Did Tails find a … partner? A wife? Did he have kids?”
“Tails was happy enough. He didn’t get married, Rouge and Knuckles did. They had a slew of kids. Amy married... Well, she lived with a modified version of Metal, or I never heard about a ceremony, at least. They all… Went different directions after you were gone.”
Sonic let his head fall back beside Shadow’s, “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“You you were… sad about me too, right? So, hey I’m sorry about that.” Sonic offered a a curt smile and held it as he bumped Shadow’s shoulder again.
Shadow opened his eyes a fraction, enough to dart his eyes to peer at the blue hedgehog, “It wasn’t you. You wouldn’t do this on purpose, but I won’t say it doesn’t hurt to know it was all meaningless.”
“Hey, I’m here, and you have a plan, right?” Sonic nodded his head as Silver traced back to them, “Eight-ish years and we can go home together with Silver.”
Shadow shook his head before he stood, “If we can.”
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Three weeks passed as he played house alongside Silver and Shadow, and it was an easy fit. Silver would pelt them with attacks, or even each other, and Shadow and Sonic would do their damndest to avoid the falling forest around them.
And it added a whole new level to their races– Now it wasn’t just bragging rights, because Silver had never been taught to pull his punches, only to use them on enemies. The tiny hedgehog chased them with flying trunks and rocks, but the one saving grace is he had not learned Shadow’s speed. So, Sonic still outpaced both, lapping back to Silver to encourage him before taking the line with Shadow again. “Are you gonna teach him restraint soon?”
“Why would I? He’s gotta be strong if he’s gonna live with me.” Shadow pulled a hard left and as Sonic’s eyes followed him. The tree coming swept his legs out from beneath the blue hedgehog before he even saw it coming.
“Okay, that was dirty!” Sonic yelled as he picked himself up off the ground. “I’m putting you both in time out!” He charged first towards Shadow and then darted quickly towards the tiny hedgehog that had lost focus in his own laughter at Sonic’s faceplant only moments ago.
A quick jump pulled Silver to rest under his arm, and it was a cheap trick, but it was also a guaranteed success. “Oops, Catch the baby!” It was exaggerated and false, and even the lean forward was duplicitously placed to bolt forwards. And Sonic tossed Silver into the air.
“Why–?” Shadow warped in to catch him, and Sonic caught his midriff in a tackle to drive both to the ground as he cut off the question.
Sonic stood above both with a mighty grin, “I win, again .”
Shadow pulled Silver to stand as he sat up and rolled his head, letting bones crack as muscles stretched, “It wasn’t your turn. Do we count it, Silver?”
The white hedgehog looked from black to blue with a bright smile, “Yah, so now it’s my turn again!”
“Let's see you catch me.” Sonic was already gone, knowing the reach and strength of his powers grew each day, and Shadow shot upwards to the sky instead of following. The forest was shaking as Silver began the chase, and even without speed, all too quickly he was learning to chase both of the older hedgehogs into a corner. And rarely could they find an escape once they were within reach of his powers.
But it was fun, and the simple bandages made from aloe and leaves never left the sticky residue of a bandaid. So the cuts and scrapes were a lot more tolerable as Sonic and Silver would dangle their feet off the porch while a dark hedgehog berated them for not being careful.
It was comfortable, and each smiled at the other as the usually grumpy hedgehog fussed at them like a mother hen.
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Five month passed, and it was intimate in the single bedroom house in the woods. But Sonic couldn’t say he didn’t enjoy it. Shadow was the single father with Silver and Sonic was the doting uncle that encouraged mischief. And it was a good fit, a perfect fit, honestly.
He stressed about his lost family, but the promise of seeing them again kept him moving forwards despite the concerns. There was no Eggman or Tails to try and find out a quicker route, and Silver’s destiny was seven more years away. If even it was this time line at all, and it had taken two months before Shadow shared his own long-held concern.
But for all the unknowns, the first shock came as Sonic found Shadow in the pond. It wasn’t uncommon for all three to walk to the water together to wash, but Silver was out hunting, or attempting at least, and Shadow was fishing, just in case .
And Shadow’s focus was so tightly bound on his prey beneath the water, he didn’t hear Sonic’s steps against the sand. And he knew it was because Shadow was getting comfortable too.
And the chaotic part of his brain half wanted to scream and scare him, but the strike of the spear into the water was punctuated in words. “It isn’t enough.” A fish held at the spear and it struck again, “Even now, even if I tell him, seven years?”
Sonic opened his mouth to ask, and the answer followed without his guidance, “It’s a death sentence. He can't be happy here with us. A feeling isn’t enough.”
Sonic’s feet were in the water as he called out softly, “What did you feel?” The spear held six fish and was now planted into the sand behind his head as Sonic ducked with a yelp, “O-okay, so surprise and anger, obviously. We can check those feeling off the list.”
Shadow marched to the beach in dripping steps, and pulled the spear from the bank, “You said you were watching Silver.”
“I was. He asked to be alone… And I know he’s going to make it.”
Shadow sighed, “That’s what I tell myself too.”
Sonic shrugged with an impish grin, “Well I’m glad we both believe it at least.” He strolled around Shadow in a loop, “so what were you telling yourself not to feel?”
“Lost.”
Sonic slowed, “Oh, well…you can follow me?” Sonic offered a hand, “I can get you home at least.”
It was a stupid smile on Sonic’s face and an empty promise, but Shadow could only shake his head, “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
Sonic didn’t drop the cheeriness, “Yah, I know. But I might not be able to fix the other bit. I’m just one hedgehog after all.”
Shadow slowed and Sonic turned to watch him, and it was the most broken he had seen the black furred hedgehog. “I worry about that too.”
Wide golden eyes where often it was the half lidded disinterest, and Sonic could see Silver’s shameless pleas for comfort inside Shadow’s piteous stare.
Half of it was for his own want for comfort, but Shadow didn’t refuse the hug Sonic offered, “There’s still time to figure it out.”
At least for a second they weren’t as alone in the worry that even this plan was doomed to fail. Silver had never known them, had appeared before strangers, and there was no chance he was dumb enough not to recognize Shadow just because he didn’t have a red stripe, or because Sonic had… mostly .. kept his name unmentioned.
The chance this future led on that same path was growing slimmer with each day that Silver grew stronger than what either could remember.
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A year had passed when Sonic sat at the side of the pond with Silver, “Has your pop ever said anything about me?” Sonic looked to the skies of the forest, but Shadow hadn’t returned from his hunt for the wolf pack that was prowling.
“If I told you a secret… you wouldn’t run away, right?” The ten year old ran a finger across the ground, tracing circles and spirals.
Sonic frowned, “Is it a bad secret?”
Silver shrugged unsurely, “Are you…would you promise to stay?” Silver’s pinkie held out, and Sonic grabbed it in his own.
Sonic offered a bright smile and exaggerated nod, “Of course, little man, I’m not going anywhere for a long time.”
“Dad likes you. I know he does. He said the hero was pretty, and that he loved him. And… that’s you.” Silver held the yellow device and a single button was all it took to play the video. “So.. if you don’t leave again… You could stay… and be my mom?” Silver’s attention was directed at the forest even in the small glances that would risk looking past his shoulder, and Sonic could feel the blush answer first.
“Soooo blunt,” Sonic’s awkward chuckle tried to dissipate some of the focus, “... just like your dad, I guess?” Sonic shook it off and wrapped an arm around Silver, “That’s a pretty specific question.” His arm shook against white fur, half remind his body to exist as his brain scrambled, “Uhm, I don’t think that’s in the cards for us? Everyone has to vote on that topic...”
“He wants to. I want you to. And we play and eat and tell stories.” Silver gave a huff, exasperated as the pout threatened to quaver into tears, “Why don’t you?”
Sonic’s nerves bubbled into his laughter, “I think we have a good setup. It doesn’t need to change.”
Silver frowned, “But we were alone before you got here.”
There was a grumble from the woods as Shadow pulled three wolves behind him, “You are not alone, Silver, you’ve been here with me.”
Sonic bit his lip, and Silver looked equally ashamed to have broken a promise to secrecy, but Shadow didn’t bring it up. As he directed Silver to go pull logs for the fire.
And Sonic could not forget the implications it brought to his mind. Silver had moved to the pond to wash up for supper when he finally cornered Shadow, “You… uh, got something to say to me?”
Shadow smirked, “No, he’s just a kid, he can imagine anything he wants.”
Sonic held his hands behind his back as he rocked a single time on his heels. “But he’s your kid, right?”
The warmth faded a bit from Shadow’s face, “No, I found him after a disaster wiped the continent. I was waiting for Blaze… and stuck around.”
Sonic nodded softly, “you… uhm… I thought you were crying when you came to get me.”
Shadow looked up instead of at the blue hedgehog “I was.”
Sonic coughed into his hand, “I expected you to lie...I thought you’d never admit–”
“I don't want to lie anymore.” Shadow’s glare was warm, even in lidded eyes that most would see as contempt.
“Then why won't you tell me the truth?” Sonic had a guess, and it was only that confirmation he wanted.
Shadow stood from his position against the tree as Silver moved to the fire to dry off, “Because I refused to accept your death. And suffered it for an eternity. I finally accepted it, and then Silver offered a path. And my choice became you or Silver for eight years. And I chose him. Now that you’re here, what do you suggest I sacrifice? His future or our past?”
Sonic grumbled in answer, “You don't have to do either.”
Shadow pulled him to attention as a hand tugged the base of Sonic’s neck, “If we go back, there’s no guarantee if we’ll end up in our original bodies or as duplicates. We’ll shatter this future where I found a son. I either abandon him in this time to try and find a different one, or I leave your friends memories to shame knowing they could have been happy just knowing it was the only time that separated you from them.”
Sonic hummed, “what if Silver only sends me back?”
Shadow shook his head, “To do what? Create a paradox with two Sonics?”
Sonic nodded faster, “yeah, exactly! One can stay and–”
“Each change creates a completely new future. Even us here. You can see it. He’s too strong already.”
Sonic threw his hands up in exasperation, and Shadow’s hand was finally pulled away “Then…. What are you planning?”
“I was set to see Silver off and disappear again. And then you showed up.”
Sonic’s steps didn’t pause, as if pacing helped him think, “So what now, Shadow? What’s your goal?”
“I want to see Silver happy.” Shadow brushed the quills at his brow, “And what do you want, Sonic?”
Sonic crossed his arms “Honesty would be nice.” His hands tapped at his arms, “Was… it only something Silver wanted?”
“Yes.” Shadow mirrored the pose, shutting off his body language, “I want something else entirely.”
Sonic withdrew further, and it hurt to realize only after it was said that he wanted the other answer completely. Sonic nodded softly, “Then what did you want?”
“For a long time I wanted to go back. But I can’t leave Silver.”
“You have a chance now. I’m here too.”
Shadow shook his head. “It hurts to look at you, Sonic. Don’t you get that? Even in loving you, I only see that one moment. I want you beside me, selfishly. But worse, I want it to be back then, with your family. Before I was left empty. ”
“We could try to be a family here.”
“I can’t chase that fantasy now… Not after a thousand years of trying to forget it. That’s why I want you to go home. Maybe the past version of me still cares.”
Sonic pointed a finger in Shadow’s face, “I–” The hand dropped as Sonic moved towards the cottage, “I don’t believe you.”
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They weren't furtive glances as much as unhidden leers, but Sonic’s attention only grew stronger as months passed and Shadow tried to cement the emotional distance. And it was unprompted when Sonic rolled the trundle back under the bed and laid beside Shadow.
“You have your own.” Shadow’s eyes didn’t open as Sonic moved closer.
“But yours is already warm.” There was a motion behind them at the words, and duplicate oofs answered the weight of a wriggling Silver atop them.
“Get out.” Shadow growled at both.
Silver’s wiggling didn't stop, and it was barely a covert whisper he offered to Sonic, “If you’re sick, pa will let you cuddle. So you know he’s right here beside you!” Silver pried between them, and Shadow pressed his back to the far wall to find room for all three.
Sonic gave a fake cough and fainted back to the pillow as Silver laughed between them and copied the cough. And Shadow couldn’t help the quirk at his lip to see them both happy. He pulled Silver to the center of the bed with a sharp tug, “you’re a pest.” His hand pressed Sonic to almost roll past the lip onto the trundle below, “and you’re worse. So go to sleep.”
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Chapter Text
✦✦ Act IV. ✦✦
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Two full years had passed since Sonic fell into the pond and Silver was steadily approaching eleven years old. And Shadow still spent most of his time in the forests with two hedgehogs often left chasing after him. He let them enjoy the hunt, but half of Shadow’s goal was just the escape from Sonic.
Just last night the blue hedgehog had tried to kiss him again, even with Silver tucked between them. And Sonic had huffed in disappointment as Shadow pulled away. Each day, each moment wore harder between them. There was a deadline for the future and the past, and each day only built towards the warm memories Shadow had wanted in the past.
There was a chance to be happy here and now, and Sonic seemed ready to accept it. The idiot was ready to ignore the millennia of absence, the loss of his friends and the world around. Even two years without chilidogs had passed as the spices simply didn't grow here. But Shadow had a basic understanding of casing ground meats, and Sonic fanned himself at the surprise. And his eyes would have been hearts as even an approximation of hotdogs entered the islands.
There was still civilization somewhere out in the world, just not on the once whirlpool isles. And there was a chance they could even leave the island together, just be a family in the regular world. There were too many options, too many paths and branches. And for the first time in a while, he wished to hear Miles’ obnoxious over-explaining, and the call to memory did spark a single interaction they’d shared.
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[ Post-War Flashback ]
“You didn’t give up then, why now?” Shadow pulled the fox from his bed, “Stand up. Go shower. You’re done sulking.”
It was painful to watch him fall in on himself, and it was Amy that dragged Shadow from his meaningless patrols across the world in those early days, seeking some danger for a distraction from the truth. And Tails was in danger, so Shadow answered.
“You don’t care about me.” Tails’ mumbled as he tried to move around Shadow back to his bed.
“I don’t.” The admission had Tails eye him warily. The fox was twitching in confusion and frustration, “Shadow, you’re the worst at–”
“I care about Sonic. I still do.” Shadow pulled Tails to the bathroom and almost threw him into the shower, “You’re his brother. So, go clean up. I’ll cook.”
The shower ran as Shadow moved around the house, and it was hard not to see the signs of Sonic’s departure. Recipes for his favorite chili dogs were pinned on the fridge. Every picture had a blue hedgehog at the center.
A week had passed, not enough time to forget the pain, but too long to go without help. And grief was known to Shadow, and he tried to help each out of it, and failed often.
Tails was dried and dressed when he emerged downstairs and Shadow pulled open the to go plates, “Eat.”
Tails inched towards the plate, there were chilidogs and vegetables, and Tails had barely registered it when Sonic grabbed one–
Shadow. Shadow had grabbed a chilidog, and it was like seeing the hedgehog again for a second, if only before the hesitance in which Shadow took a bite. “They aren’t poisoned.”
Tails shook his head to clear the vision, “No, I… I just miss him… you just… looked like him for a second.”
Shadow sighed, “I warned Amy, I was the worst choice for this.”
Tails’s ears perked up, “Choice? For what?”
Shadow pulled a tablet Rouge had procured, still marked Miles Electric in the corner. “We want to try to find him. Knuckles… won't help… but Amy and Rouge will. Even if the emeralds fail, at least we can know we did everything right?”
Tails pulled back, “Shadow… I want to. But… We can’t mess with the continuum like that, even if we bring him back, it would have unknown consequences.”
Shadow was looking past the fox in his resolve, “Then I’ll fight those off too.”
“You’d be fighting forever. You’re talking about dominating the world. Do you really think that’s what Sonic would have wanted?”
Shadow pulled the device back from the fox’s limp grip around it. “I can’t ask him now.”
There were no emeralds to find, and no matter how many times Shadow returned to request an adjustment to the device, it never registered the emeralds or a power similar to them. And he half wondered if it was intentional on the fox’s end.
But without Eggman to answer for his schemes there were no clues as to where the true emeralds were located. And he knew, world domination was not what Sonic would have wanted, and so Shadow let the search for the gems fall away to legend as well.
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Sonic let the hammock swing beneath him, it had taken a few tries, and help from Shadow, but the reed and wood bed held well in the shade. And a weight at his side told him Silver was still asleep as a dark hedgehog loomed over them.
“Good morning sunshine,” Sonic smiled even as Shadow rolled his eyes to look away.
“It’s afternoon. Are you two going to nap all day?”
“Well, we trained hard, and we’re tired.” Sonic looked down at the silver hedgehog that cuddled tighter at his side, “So, yes.”
Shadow pulled the hammock up beneath them and carried the entire rigging to the pond. “Well wake up, it’s time for dinner.” The steps had barely shaken Silver awake before both were flung from Shadow’s arms and into the waters.
“Ruuuude!” Sonic was drenched even in the knee deep waters and Silver was dragging at his arm as if six inches of water would drown the lead-weight hedgehog.
Shadow shrugged, “Wash up and come eat.” He had barely looked back to check their compliance when he saw Sonic pull away from his whisper at the white hedgehog’s ear. And he knew his fate was sealed the second the energy lashed around his body.
Two half-drowned blue and white hedgehogs were scruffed and dragged from the water as Shadow huffed. “You’re both hunting on your own from now on.” He let Sonic fall to the ground before tossing Silver to crash on top. “I let you nap all day, and this is my thanks?”
Silver sat up with an exaggerated smile, “Iloveyouthanks!” And quick steps raced towards the boiling stew over the fire.
And Sonic sat up slowly after, but the shift to speed was too quick for Shadow to anticipate; an effective feint.
Sonic pressed a faint kiss to his cheek and pulled away with a soft smile, “Thanks for all you do, Shads!”
Silver had seen the interaction, and it barely took a minute as they sat around the campfire for him to scooch closer beside Sonic, “So… you’re gonna stay now?”
Sonic shook his head to dismiss the worry rather than the question, “Dinner only just started, why would I leave?”
“Pa said it to uncle Mr. Omega last night when I was hunting.”
Shadow groaned, “Silver… sneaking is out of line. You know better than to listen in.”
Sonic tried to follow their silent conversation, but his first question was about Silver’s reveal, “Omega? Is he here? I thought it was Maria’s…”
“There isn’t a Maria, but Mr. Metal is too!” Silver offered.
Shadow leaned Sonic to knock his knuckle on Silver’s head. “What did I say? Shut up.” Silver rubbed at his forehead as he glowered silently, a miniature Shadow in the works.
“Why… didn’t you tell me?” Sonic planted the skewered meat into the ground, “What else are you still hiding?”
“I’m trying to protect you. You don’t need to know this. He shouldn’t know this.” The glare wasn’t hatred but disapproval and Silver pulled away as the conflict grew, “But I have two idiot hedgehogs to balance now.”
“And I told you I’m fine here. You don’t have to push me away. “
Shadow let a hand drag across his eyes, pulling a calm back to his face, “I don’t know what you mean, Sonic… Blue .”
Sonic bristled, “Yes you do, and… maybe I don’t want to leave this either.”
“Omega and Metal are junkyard scrap. I was talking to a grave.”
Sonic bristled as his quills flared behind him, “Well talk to me, I’m right here ! Or do you want me to leave?”
Shadow took a deep breath in through his nose, but the anger between them fed easily, it had been trained for years. “Of course I want you to leave– I want you to go back and…” Shadow’s voice softened, ready to apologize and it was a whimper that deflated their argument first.
“You… lied?” Silver’s voice quivered behind them, “You promised you’d stay.”
And Shadow tried to rip the bandaid off gently. “Everyone will eventually leave, Silver, even you.”
Sonic watched Silver bolt towards the woods, and a sigh offered back over his shoulder, “Nice work, Shads. Did you plan for him to cry or did you just plan for the trauma?”
“Shut up and help me bring him home, before it gets darker.” Shadow was skating forwards and it was an easy line for Sonic to follow.
✦✦✧✦✦☆✦✦✧✦✦
Silver hunkered down in a hollow, the roots were just open enough for him to squeeze into where it had been an amazing hide and seek spot only a month ago. Already he could hear Blue and Pa yelling across the forest, and even that was a lie. He had listened well enough to hear the names they called each other when they were alone or thought he was asleep. And he almost asked about them, but now it was certain only more lies would follow.
Blue was going to leave, Silver was expected to leave. And his running away was only for a want for more time. Time to calm down, to process, to plan. But only his dad was that calm under pressure, and he wanted to be like him from the day they met. And Silver could still remember flashes. Hanging from a tree as the world collapsed around them, and then a robbed figure revealing a black hedgehog. And he could trace the progression of Shadow’s own smile across the years, and it stopped when suddenly there were two hedgehogs for him to split focus over.
Even in the talks to Omega and Metal that Silver wasn’t supposed to listen to, after he could float, there was no sound he would make in following. And he knew that one day he would travel to the past. He heard Blue ask if it would rewrite time, heard his dad worry that it would overwrite the time they were sharing now. He was the crux of each of their concerns, and he tried to smile through all of them. To be happy like they said he was.
But the two adult hedgehogs avoided each other for every second that Silver didn’t drag them together, and then came together every second he was away. And it was easy to see himself as the obstacle.
He wanted his dad happy, and saw it possible with Blue– With Sonic .
Shadow was gruff, but worked hard to find that softness, and he was a good dad. But… Sonic was soft, always, even on day one. And the promise of a friend had him think that Blue had come here as his friend, but even he could see that Sonic loved his dad. He wasn’t a friend, and he wouldn’t be his mom. And he loved both of them.
Enough that if one needed to leave, Silver knew he could fly across the ocean easier than a blue hedgehog that only sank. And eleven was old enough for an adventure, he had hunted, and knew himself capable of surviving. The voices and yells died down, and he moved to bolt again.
He had barely weaseled out of the roots when a hand grabbed his arm, and surprise had him act. Silver only threw his hand out, and let energy protect him, and he watched Sonic fly across the field as trees fell in his wake.
“Silver, stop !” Shadow’s yell called the boy to look at his still extended hand and drop it, and a second later Shadow’s hand was around his arm, as the snarl caused Silver to quake, “What are you doing ?!”
“I’m sorry– Im sorry– I didn’t–” Silver fought for his words as he looked past the dark hedgehog to the trail of destruction, and Shadow was dragging him along it.
Blue was laying at the end of the carnage, groaning as he held his arm, but even that stopped as soon as he noticed the approaching hedgehogs. Green eyes shut in a wincing smile, “Silver I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
He knew it was a fake smile the second the dark hedgehog hissed beside him, and Silver’s own eyes were drawn to the bone that held outside of Blue’s skin, eve as he was trying to hide from view under his hand.
Silver wished he was never born, had never been saved only to see the contempt. The dark hedgehog couldn’t hide it as he dashed to Blue’s side, and and he watched the hatred roll towards him, “What the hell were you thinking?"
And blue was always softer, “He didn’t mean to, Shadow. He’s terrified– you need to….”
“Silver!” His only-known father shouted across Blue’s words, and Silver couldn’t find it in himself to move forwards. Any escape was better than confrontation from a father who had only ever tried to be nice, even when he came across as coarse, Silver never doubted that Shadow tried .
Now it was only anger and disappointment, and Silver wanted to run. “I’m sorry!”
“It’s bad–?” Blue’s words weren’t soft enough for Silver to miss them, and Pa’s nod wasn’t faint enough either. Silver’s vision clouded as his eyes burned.
They wanted him to send them back, and he wanted the same. He heard their worries that he was too strong, and he proved them right.
“ I just need to try again. I– I can fix this! I’ll send them back! ” and that was the thought that synchronized with his power, as his entire being agreed on a single thing: They weren’t meant to be here, not meant to be hurt like this, even if meant Silver was destined to be alone.
There wasn’t any blood on the floor, the trees were unbroken around him, and there was no sign of either hedgehog until both dashed past him in a blur. And he was running beside him as his body held stationary, but his power pulled him to the center of the island so he could watch.
The island was empty except three tracts of color and trees would rise around them as everything pulled back to the beginning. The land exploded outwards as the world rewound around him. As his mother hung him from a branch. As the people first arrived.
And Silver’s body faded beneath him as his own timeline ran short, and it still wasn’t enough time. But he held to the brightest moments, hearing Shadow and Sonic wonder at how strong he had gotten. All the time spent coddling against Blue. Getting bandaged and lectured by Pa on how to always press forwards.
There wasn’t a single flash of color, no streaks of blue or golden energy that traced lines around the island. It was dark and still for centuries as he watched, and still Silver pulled back the hands of time until there wasn’t anything left to fight with.
It was a relief to surrender. It was a grace to let go and not have to fight anymore. It only took a single flash of blue and gold, and Silver let go completely.
✦✦✧✦✦☆✦✦✧✦✦
Chapter Text
✦✦ Act V. ✦✦
✦✦✧✦✦☆✦✦✧✦✦
Shadow stumbled as the call came in “Code Red: Blue Rescue, priority 1.”
Vertigo hit him like a truck, and his body had never felt this kind of upheaval. And he blamed it on the blue hedgehog without a thought. He was stretched thin. Even without a need for sleep or food, those extra calories and energy came in handy when the world was falling apart.
And at the same time, his tiredness was equally hollow, like it was a memory more than a signal from his body.
“Shadow, we need to move.” Rouge was already gliding to the next rooftop, and Shadow matched her pace.
“What was his mission?” Shadow shook his head as his steps dared to slow.
Rouge landed atop the GUN building, and it was premonition that had him tackle her from the roof as it crumbled beneath him. The freefall changed as Rouge worked to lift them both, “You told me? The giant mech?” Her hand pointed down to the blue line that approached from the far end of the city.
Shadow let go of her hand and fell to crash through two of the giant crab’s legs. The blue hedgehog was approaching, and it was instinct to throw him towards the machine’s other side, and now only on rear legs, the face of the crab crashed into the ground and machineguns splashed pavement from the ground.
There was a flurry of panic as the streets clogged with civilians. The bullets from the rear legs arced high, and the crab’s face was left eating dirt. “Nice save, Shads!” The missile bays along the hull of its shell were opening, and a dedicated barrage moved towards the crowds rather than the two hedgehogs that harried it.
His first instinct felt wrong, foreign and untrusted, but there wasn’t a second to reconsider. And it still felt more natural than he expected, his body responded easily and the Doom Morph was part of him, and it was an almost painful click in his brain as his body stretched to form an awning above the people. The blue hedgehog was bouncing off missiles, directing them away from the masses, and there wasn’t a voice to call from in this form, but Sonic seemed able to read even just his eyes.
They had fought beside each other long enough that it should have been expected, but Shadow was more surprised at the focus that followed.
✦✦✧✦✦☆✦✦✧✦✦
Sonic approached slowly and Tails was at his heels as Rouge laughed, “...it was a surprise, I guess?”
Sonic placed himself beside them as Shadow was noodding, throwing an arm around the bat and hedgehog’s huddle, “Good victory, guys.”
Shadow’s retreat was expected and Sonic let his arm pull away from Rouge slowly as she traced the intrusive appendage with her eyes and winked. “Thanks, Blue.”
“I have some medicine for burns,” Tails called from the side, “If you need any?”
Sonic traced his line of sight to Shadow and noticed the burns on his back only before the hedgehog turned. And Sonic pulled his arm before he could complain, dragging Rouge along beside him, “Lets fix up our hero.”
Shadow scoffed, “I don’t need it, save it for an emergency.” And glanced at the hand between them, “You could have taken it out if you would just focus.”
Rouge flew ahead, letting Sonic’s hand fall away from hers, “Shadow, hon, weren’t you just saying how you liked how focused Sonic was tonight?”
Shadow bristled, “I said it was a surprise .”
Sonic smiled as he led the hedgehog behind Tails and Rouge, “I’m a pretty surprising hedgehog.”
Shadow shook his head and pried his hand free, pacing ahead to leave Sonic behind, “I doubt that.”
They had barely gotten to the base when the next alarm went off and Sonic groaned, “Can't the world stay saved for one minute!” Shadow threatened to smile, hidden only as he turned his attention to the wall, but Sonic saw the huff, and would not let it go. “I know you smiled! So come on, let's get you patched and back out there.”
✦✦✧✦✦☆✦✦✧✦✦
There was something weird going on between the hedgehogs, and thankfully Rouge had noticed it too, so Tails didn’t feel like a complete psychopath. But it was a softer hatred at least. And Shadow… almost didn’t seem like Shadow. And internally, they were on high alert.
Sonic had bandaged his back without a single complaint, even as Sonic demanded Shadow call him Nurse.
Shadow hadn’t complied for the entirety of the procedure as aloe was delicately applied to the burn. But Sonic’s laughter wore enough at Shadow’s nerves that he seemed primed to laugh out of contempt more than joy. But Tails was still puzzled when Shadow shook his head and a soft laugh of defeat prefaced Shadow’s words, “Am I going to make it, Nurse Sonic?”
Sonic did laugh, “What? Did you stop being the ultimate lifeform?”
Shadow froze at the question, and scoffed as he moved away from the chair where Sonic held so close behind him, “Tch– not in a million years.”
The hedgehog followed each other down the hallway and Tails was left to look at Rouge who shrugged and shook her head. “No clue. But it’s a nice change.”
Tails frowned, “Do you think something was in those missiles?”
Rouge hummed as she leaned out the door to watch the black and blue forms retreat, “Only fireworks from what I saw.”
Tails puzzled alongside her as his head poked around the doorway to watch. “The explosions?”
Rouge patted his head, “That too. So get to work on that tracker. We need a reason to celebrate, and soon.”
✦✦✧✦✦☆✦✦✧✦✦
The green emerald held in his hand, and it felt out of place. Every instinct in his brain shouted that he shouldn’t have it. And yet it wasn’t as strong as the instinct to let the worry wash away. There was a relief in even just sitting down for a second like it was the most natural thing to do.
Sonic was only an inch away as they lounged on the couch, another successful double mission, even though only Sonic was called to arms. Their breath was half ragged from the race home, and it was Shadow that won, only because Sonic had run first in the wrong direction, and neither could find an excuse for the delirium as Sonic laughed it off.
Tails was working endlessly on a massive array to pinpoint the location of the Doctor’s base through all the scrambling the bot-laden skies offered
And there was a doubt in his mind again as the green gem and Sonic’s eyes seemed to match in his mind. There was choice here. And he feared it was the wrong one. The gem fell into the safety of his quills and Shadow had only leaned forward when Sonic’s hand tried to pull him back.
“You didn’t thank me for rescuing you, or patching you up.” Sonic let go and had his arms casually behind his head, fighting off the blush as Shadow’s quizzical leer traced up him.
“Thank you?” Shadow’s question was met with narrowed eyes, but Sonic’s excitement answered quicker than Shadow’s groan at his own words.
“You’re welcome!” Sonic shook his head, nuzzling deeper against the back of the couch. “Not so hard was it?”
Shadow let his glare hold for a second longer, “It wasn’t intentional.”
Sonic twisted his head, “I know. Rouge said you’d be mad if I kissed you.” It was a playful wink, unthreatening in any way, and Shadow still bristled.
“When were you talking about kissing me?”
Sonic pursed his lips, and he tried to think back, “After you got shot?”
Shadow pulled back, “Did you get hit in the head while I wasn’t looking? I haven’t been shot, and Rouge has been off with Knuckles since the crab-mech.”
Sonic rubbed the back of his head, “Maybe something did hit me?”
The concern was genuine in Shadow’s eyes, and Sonic could feel it even as Shadow's hand threaded thorough fur and quills to check his skull, “Does it hurt?”
The purr answered before Sonic could, a soft hum of contentment, “No– feels nice.”
There was a long silence, and Sonic expected Shadow to be gone as the first hand pulled away. But Shadow was still hovering above him and the faint hold of the other hand slid to his cheek. Amber eyes looked conflicted as a blushing blue hedgehog stared up at him.
And he could feel the second approach, the moment when Shadow would cross the gap between them and offer a sign of affection where words failed between them. And it was only a sigh that met his lips, even with Shadow only an inch away.
“Don’t–” An audible gulp followed Shadow’s word and he struggled to find a reason to pull away, “Don’t make me worry about you, faker.”
✦✦✧✦✦☆✦✦✧✦✦
Shadow had barely made an escape to the door when Sonic was behind him, “Shadow, wait– I just want to talk. One more minute.” The immortal hedgehog had only turned when both were thrown to the rear wall.
A legion of nine bots, all shaped like Sonic, and Shadow could feel their attention fall solely on the gem hidden within his quills. This is why it felt so wrong, they were targeting it, they could track it where Tails was struggling.
His first move was to collect Sonic, and the blue hedgehog was readily running at his side as soon as his hand extended to grab him. “What? Not feeling up to taking on nine at one time?”
Shadow skated across the wall “pinch them.” He was at the ceiling when the gem pulled from his hand and he warped.
Sonic turned on a dime and blasted backwards towards them, and he aimed for Shadow more than an of the bots. Only three fell before they were pressed to run again, and Sonic laughed as Shadow tugged him forwards “Any more bright ideas?”
Shadow huffed, “One.” The gem flew from his hand as they bolted the opposite direction and the escape was assured.
Sonic stood with his hands at his hips. “They weren’t that strong.”
Shadow nodded, “The emerald… Eggman is already tracking it. It was escape before the reinforcements, or not at all. So I’m sorry if you wanted to die.”
Sonic nodded slowly, and a flash had him at Shadow’s cheek, before a soft smack echoed between them, “Thanks again?”
The blue hedgehog was off, and it was harder not to follow him than Shadow expected. But Rouge let her laugh fill the comm line before his first step, “Oh, Blue has it bad .”
Shadow sighed as he responded checking the rooves and windows around the street, “Where are you spying from this time?”
She fluttered down,” I saw the bots headed your way, I thought I might need to get involved.” She smiled too widely, “But I can see it was a by-invitation-only kind of event.”
Shadow flustered at the insinuation, “He’s… he’s just confused.”
Rouge bent forwards as she shook a single finger in his face, “Oh no, that was definitely not confusion.” She let her wings carry her past him in a circle, “But if you’re confused, I can spell it out for you.”
Shadow shook his head, “There’s nothing to explain.”
Rouge whistled, “So you’ve got it bad too, huh?”
✦✦✧✦✦☆✦✦✧✦✦
The emerald falling to Eggman’s control had the output of machines at an indescribable scale, but one thing was certain: they knew where to go. A small island out in the middle of nowhere. And the volcanic activity nearby had hidden Eggman’s powersignals as tectonic movements. A masterful scheme, but Miles was truly a genius.
The plan was elaborate with a thousand moving pieces as extraction, infiltration and defense would all hold the same channel open. If they could have attacked before the final gem it would have been a cake walk, but now the forces weren’t just the simple egg-bots with swords and guns that began the operations. Even the giant mechs had mostly been stopped. Now it was an army of Sonic shaped droids, and they knew Metal was still held in confinement in Tails’ lab.
But there was an itch to his brain he couldn’t quite scratch, a weight, and he pulled an ancient yellow device from his quills, marked only in a branding each here knew too well. Miles-Electronic. And Shadow knew that such an honor had not yet been extended to him. The comms link he held with Rouge was one of her own designs, limited by range. But everything Miles touched became a powerhouse of tech. And a single button was more worn than any other, so he clicked it.
It was blurry even in grayscale. But there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that it was Sonic in the video. The mission would begin in only an hour, their debriefing had concluded and teams were already dispersing, and Sonic would be at his side any second.
And he played the video again. It was his body that chased after him, and he could feel Sonic’s weight at his side as the blue hedgehog watched the end of the clip.
“You figure it out?” Sonic pressed a kiss to his cheek again before nodding Shadow's head with a thumb on his chin, “Silver’s still waiting for you, ya know?”
Shadow put the device back into his quills, “When–?”
“When you got burned. The first day, I think. I can remember both – and you’re a dick.”
Shadow nodded, “Well your arm is fixed.”
Sonic raised a brow, “Maybe be sweeter to him?”
Shadow growled, “I was upset. Who was going to fix that? You would have died from infection in a month or less. Even Silver knows that.”
“Silver?” Tails called from behind them, “Did Silver contact you?”
Shadow grumbled, “No. He’s still in the future. But we need to change plans. The island’s a giant trap.”
✦✦✧✦✦☆✦✦✧✦✦
There was an explosion as legions of robots began their defense of Eggman’s fortress. Sonic smiled counting on his fingers, “So, if there’s a time limit, a specified course, and a shared goal– that is a race!”
Shadow rolled his shoulders, and a tension “This is a war, Sonic. Get your head in the game, the right one, or you’ll lose….” Shadow groaned. “Ugh, Deja-vu.”
“Including the part where I beat you to the emeralds?” Sonic let his face fall to a confused bemusement,” Sonic's hands held behind his head as he paced around the darker hedgehog, “But that doesn’t mean we can't have fun! Just try it?” Sonic offered a wink as the first big explosion shook the castle-like lair, and the words were left to hang in the air as Sonic raced off, “Ready-set-go!”
Shadow was already five steps ahead before the race was even started. Thousands of years worth of what Shadow could do differently rushed to his head at once, and Sonic was at his side, “Are you going to wait with Silver or jump ahead yourself this time?”
“Are you stupid? It’s a trap.” Shadow pulled Sonic’s hand to veer into the cavernous depths of the base, even as the most promisingly tempting – and definitely a trap– door held shut.
“But… If we’re here, he’s back there alone.”
Shadow flung his arm forward to hurdle the blue hedgehog against the floor beneath them like a torpedo. Shadow landed beside him and the red glow on the floor surged like radial spokes into the center. “I raised him, and we already saw him after we last left. Even if it was years ago… He’s fine .”
The walls were large and echoey, but the tracing lights did little to illuminate the room, and so they followed it to the center.
There he was, a baby white hoglet, and Shadow stopped Sonic’s approach. “It has to be another trap, let's look elsewhere. I destroyed this island, and Silver was left hanging in a tree.”
“You’re right, let’s go.” Sonic turned to the door with a whistle, and his steps were arduously slow, and Shadow only looked at the white hoglet.
“You… agree that it’s a trap?” Shadow struggled to leave the clear cylindrical tube, “Why?”
Sonic leaned against the jamb of the mechanized bay door, “I figurer you’re gonna grab him either way, I’m just holding the door open.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Shadow glared at the blue hedgehog, “You’re faster. I’ll hold the door, you grab Silver.”
“Oh, is he flirting now, Silver, telling me I run fast?” Sonic answered with coy grin aimed at the darker hedgehog, and Shadow was already bracing before Sonic touched the canister.
“Hurry up, so we can take him home."
The trap sprang immaculately. The ceiling opened to the white imitation production facility, with seven trapped gems. A beautiful appetizer. The soup and salad were found in waves of energy that poured from Silver’s container to warble Sonic’s steps. Four wide doors opened to hammer bots, so this is where they were coming from at the end of the battle– a wonderful dessert. But the putrid main-course, Eggman , was noticeably absent. And they both knew he was determined to have a death as his preamble to victory.
The doors didn’t try to close as the halls filled with Sonic-mechs, and Shadow tried to find a new scenario to follow in the rising unknowns. He wanted to blame Sonic for not leading them on the same path, losing the emerald in that first moment, but it wasn’t his fault. A thousand years of planning still could take him past the unknowns, and he fought them anyways.
The star platform above was sinking, an intentional temptation as thirty giant monstrosities geared to life and massive hammers were lifted in a joint warcry. The skies were filling with the electric buzz of drones to paralyze them from bounding around the room for speed. If this wasn’t the end-end trap, the next would have to be immaculate.
Sonic still stood in the center, and Shadow let himself morph into the kraken. Tentacles threw a tantrum among the now comparatively toysized robots. And Shadow could see Sonic’s surprise as black spiderweb tendrils caught blue fur and then against the canister in his hand. And Sonic let go of the canister as soon as he saw the black and red monster he would be facing instead.
“Well… angry dad is a good look on you, Shadow.” Sonic could feel the disapproval in only the squint of monstrous eyes as a leg was pulled to dangle him upside down before the giant red eyes. The canister around Silver cracked like an egg beside them.
The giant tentacles retracted in an instant, like a rubber band pulled taught and Shadow was left with a hedgehog in each arm, and a still muddled path ahead.
He called first to the comm in Sonic’s ear, “Operation… Successful, enough . Phase 2.” Sonic laughed at the assessment, as the emeralds were still somewhere in the base. But he couldn’t complain that it wasn’t a decent trade off. Silver was obviously worth more than an emerald, and if he was at the center of this machine, even this should be enough to pause the advance.
The resistance hadn't launched their frontal assault, and instead the entire focus was extraction. And now markedly on the escape, Shadow could hear the explosions beginning above as they worked to clear an exit path for the three retreating hedgehogs.
It was still too easy, and the giant bots weren’t even following behind as they danced through a hundred copies of Metal-Sonic.
✦✦✧✦✦☆✦✦✧✦✦
“So… Do you want me to try… or am I the one running from an explosion?” Sonic paused at the open door, it was another circle of emeralds but at least this time they were actually wired into the base with cables and screens that monitored power flow. This seemed right.
“We’ll grab one together, just in case?" They passed the threshold and the door slammed closed behind them.
“Whyyyyy!?” Sonic growled at the walls, but nothing answered, and the frustration turned towards Shadow, “Is it me? Am I that gullible?”
Shadow sighed, “I fell for it too. It… it does feel right .” He pointed at the green gem, “That one.”
Robotnik's voice hummed in excitement, “Not so fast hedgehogs, one more step and I’ll have you fading to dust.” The doors opened to a slew of missiles and the gems were pulling down to retract beneath the floor. “And we wouldn’t want little Silver to get a boo-boo, would we?”
Shadow placed Silver in Sonic’s care and dropped both, and Sonic landed with a soft tumble. “I said— Oh, just fire!” The missiles traced after him, and with attention split, it was easier to dodge. The light coverage only offered slight obstacles as Shadow raced towards the gems and Sonic made loops around the turrets that rose from the walls.
A few of the tracking missiles were led into other turrets, and the Shadow was beside them with a green gem in his hand before Sonic realized the dark hedgehog had made it to his goal. And arm wrapped around his waist and the second warp pulled both of them to the now sunken gem room. Silence waited for only a second before the doors above suddenly switched to rise again.
Shadow took the white hoglet before tossing his gem to Sonic, “I’ll race you back.” Shadow bolted towards the ceiling and Sonic made quick dimestops to pluck each of the remaining six gems.
And this time it was easy.
Escape was all Shadow thought about, because there was no doubt that a golden hedgehog would beat them there. He looked over his shoulder to watch the golden beams erupt from the mechanized island. He half expected a whirlpool to form at the center, but Super Sonic never struck the earth as sheet metal and wires splintered, a focused chaos. But the light did grow brighter as a white tornado of light drilled down into the base.
The explosion turned his eyes back to the shore where the team was holding the boats open. There was a ripple of energy like an EMP that washed across the island, and Sonic was lapping a thousand circles as he bounced and dashed and looped to trace its perimeter.
Sonic’s form held in the warbled and expanding afterimage as it passed them the first few times and then the pieces came together in a flash of victory dance as bots fell around them before they could even see the flash of evermoving color.
It was a deep laughter that set into Shadow, there was nothing he could have changed. There was only a path that led Shadow to Silver, but he could see now that Sonic was equally bound to find the platinum hedgehog. The only change Shadow could make was to offer Sonic a different path. It had always been Sonic’s decision. He was the hero.
A single blink missed the next lap and destroyed another ring of bots as the ring expanded further. Shadow pressed faster as Silver held in his arms, Sonic would have the base destroyed in a second, and he wasn’t wrong to expect to see the smile at the shore long before Shadow landed.
A single step brought the golden hedgehog to Shadow’s face, and the glare felt sincere, as the Super hedgehog opened his mouth to yap about something, but Shadow only pressed forward to kiss him. But the decision was always the hero’s.
The golden light faded to blue as imagination was lost, and the gems clattered to the ground around the now mostly normal hedgehog. “Shadow?”
“You’ll be Silver’s mom, right?” Shadow looked off to the beach as Rouge and Knuckles cheered in their approach, and Shadow mumbled, “He going to be pretty vocal about it soon enough.”
Sonic hummed as he took long duck steps to approach, “Well… I told Silver it’s something we all would have to agree on.”
Shadow let his head cut to Sonic as the glare turned to glowering squint, “I’m asking…” More names tried to call them away as the war was won, and Shadow offered his hand to drag him back to the approaching masses, “I’m telling you I love you.”
Sonic’s step faltered as the group drew around them, and the smile turned to a wild crescent and Sonic pressed a kiss to his cheek and pulled back to look at Silver between them, “Well, I… I could see a future with the two of us together…”
Shadow snorted, “It will be different.” He shook his head, correcting his words, “ Better , I hope.”
Sonic rolled his eyes, “Well, the first one didn’t have me changing diapers.”
“You still haven’t said it.” Shadow held Silver higher at his shoulder as he stopped Sonic. “Say it back.”
Sonic smiled and looked up at the sky, “I don’t know what you mean, you’ll have to remind me?” Green eyes darted once, and Shadow could see the coy smile that threatened at Sonic’s lips.
“I know you heard me, faker.” The words drew into a growl, as Shadow pulled Sonic closer, “I said I love you; now say it back.”
There was a record scratch around them as a dozen instances of “What?” overlapped like pattering rain and then repeated as they shared the sentiment again.
Tails looked from the platinum hedgehog to black and blue, “Is that Silver?” and already he could see a family portrait just in how close they all stood, “When… When did this happen?”
Sonic’s thoughts were voiced with a loud umm that held out before Shadow cut in, “Ten thousand years from now, give or take.”
✦✦✧✦✦☆✦✦✧✦✦
✦✦ [[ DLC ]] ✦✦
✦✦✧✦✦☆✦✦✧✦✦
Better was promising, and it was very different.
“Time travel is dangerous… And Silver’s powers… I want to ask him.” Tails pulled devices to his hand and shook his head before switching for another.
Sonic stroked at Silver’s cheek as he pulled away from Shadow, “Well, Shadow thinks–”
“Silver overwrote it. That’s most likely if he’s here before he’s supposed to be born.”
Tails pulled a scanner from his workbench, and then pointed Shadow to the table. A questioning look answered, and Tails found a blanket to place on the table first, “Put him down so I can scan him, maybe I can find out if he’s a clone or…”
Rouge leaned across to coo at the baby before she turned to Shadow, “So… what’s the penalty for fucking with time again? Weren’t there cops for that?”
Sonic shrugged, “I haven’t gotten a cease and desist letter?”
Tails cut across their vamping, “Eggman’s records say Silver appeared four months ago. And the army was being pulled from the future possibilities, targeting his timeline”
Sonic pursed his lips, and Shadow answered, “So Sonic got sent to the era that Eggman was stealing tech from?”
Tails frowned as he rounded on Shadow, “Yeah, and you said we were supposed to be friends in this future , and you let technology die?… and didn’t question it?” Tails grumbled, “Some friend.”
Shadow hummed, “I thought it was odd they were abandoning it, but I didn’t question it, it was… peaceful, but I do have this.” It was a small yellow rectangle that barely held together against the rust, and patches had seen the surface repaired multiple times.
Tails pulled the Miles-Electric from Shadow's hand, “Definitely from the future…. “ It rotated in the foxes hands, and the blurred video played. “Maybe… Silver sent himself back with you?”
Sonic asked the one question he knew both he and Shadow worried about, “What does that mean for the other versions of us?”
Tails frowned in his consideration,"It's a long shot considering his continued development may overwrite or break signals… but maybe he remembers?”
Sonic frowned, “But none of you do?”
Shadow tugged at the device in Miles’ hand and hit play. The only undeniable proof popped up in a projection, and it only took Miles a second to reverse the degradation, and each watched as Sonic grew old before their eyes and faded to dust before Shadow stepped into the frame.
“But you gotta admit, I still look good for an old guy.” Sonic’s wink at Shadow was refuted in the turn of the immortal hedgehog’s head.
But even facing away, Sonic could hear the soft, “You’ve got some charm,” and even for the playful scorn that came with it, the blue hedgehog could only feel the almost childish glee that pulled his shoulders higher as Sonic laughed like an idiot.
✦✦✧✦✦☆✦✦✧✦✦
kato167 on Chapter 1 Wed 16 Jul 2025 05:39AM UTC
Last Edited Wed 16 Jul 2025 05:39AM UTC
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