Chapter Text
Everything feels light and warm as Shadow runs side-by-side with Maria through the lab hallways, smiling at how she snickers at the sound of the professors shouting after them. She beams down at him, her hair bouncing with every step. Her hand is warm and tight around his fingers, her pulse racing from the exertion. "Come on, Shadow!" her voice echoes, her laugh bubbling around them as they evade the professors chasing them down.
He can't quite remember why they're running. Maybe she snuck him out of the testing lab again - they've had to run from the professors plenty of times because of her. She was always adamant Shadow should be playing with her instead of undergoing some test or another.
Except when he looks over his shoulder, the lights around them start flashing, and panic rips through the warmth he had been soaking in. Soldiers chase after them, guns at the ready and aiming right at them. He looks up, finding Professor Gerald clutching Maria's other hand as he leads the way through the hallways.
"Kids, we have to go!" his voice echoes in Shadow's head. "They want to take Shadow away from us, Maria!"
"What are you doing?! Those are children!"
"We have our orders!"
Shadow feels his breathing cut short, feeling as if he's watching the scene from outside his body just as he did for fifty years in stasis. His chaos energy explodes and he watches Maria's body fly, the blast sending her crumbling into debris that pierces her fragile body. He tries to reach her but something holds tight to his wrist. Whirling around, he gasps when he comes face-to-face with a singular red eye, the flashing lights around them disappearing under black smoke.
"Shadow…" a hoarse, guttural voice pierces through his mind, the pupil from the eye narrowing into a tight slit, "the day of reckoning is coming. Your destiny will be fulfilled. Find them, Shadow. Find them."
"Find what?" Shadow questions. The eye blinks away in a wave of black smoke and the echoes of Maria's scream and Gerald's cries circle him as the new voice snarls at him.
Find them, Shadow! Find them!
Shadow shouts when he shoots up in bed, reality warping around him as he teleports in a panic. He reappears near the window before zapping away again to the corner of the attic, his heart pounding in his ears. He blinks through the haze of his nightmare and flinches when a warm hand rests on his back, looking over his shoulder to meet sleepy but worried green eyes.
"Shadow?" Sonic murmurs, ears twitching in concern. "Nightmare?"
Guilt hits him at realizing he must've disturbed Sonic's sleep. He peers past the hedgehog and is relieved to find their two other brothers are still sound asleep. "Yeah," he grimaces, rubbing his face. "Yeah, a nightmare…"
Sonic hums softly, reaching up to brush a few loose quills from Shadow's head. He purrs at the gesture, pressing close into his side as they sit against the wall. "Wanna talk about it?" Sonic asks, pressing his nose to his ear briefly before giving the fluff there a small lick. Shadow's ear twitches at the gesture. Sonic started doing this recently - a more instinctual grooming technique that oddly helped calm Shadow down when he was really upset.
"No," Shadow mumbles, pulling himself out of the other's embrace. "You should go back to bed. It's still dark out."
Sonic rolls his eyes playfully. "Only if you will as well." When Shadow grimaces at the idea, Sonic grins and stands up, holding out a hand to him. "Come on. Let's go on a run."
Shadow opens his mouth to object, ready to point out that their parents would kill them if they left the house so early in the morning, but the idea of a good race chases away the uneasiness he still feels from his nightmare. Huffing, he takes Sonic's hand and the two sneak out of the attic through the skylight, leaving their other brothers to sleep in peace.
For over an hour, the two race through the forests and mountains side-by-side and laugh as their competitive nature surges through their veins. They go into town and snag a couple of donuts from Mrs. Lewis' shop who bids them a good morning. Shadow pays his respect to the leader duck of the town and her ducklings before following Sonic back to their home where they sit together on the roof to watch the sunrise.
For a while, they sit in silence as they munch on their early breakfast. Shadow frowns to himself as the memories of his dream come back to him. He's used to reliving Maria's death, but that… thing at the end was new. The red eye looked nothing like a human eye would - more demonic, if anything. Not to mention it spoke to him.
Day of reckoning? What does that even mean? What is he supposed to find?
"I was dreaming about Longclaw," Sonic says suddenly, looking up at the sky with a small smile. "It was heading toward the not-so-fun part of my last moments with her, so I'm not really upset you woke me up."
Shadow makes a face while Sonic grins at him. "Well… you're welcome, I guess." Sonic chuckles and rests back against his elbows, his eyes falling shut. Shadow hugs his knees to his chest, resting his chin against them as he considers his next question. "What was she like? Longclaw, I mean. You and Tom always mention her, but I don't know much…"
Sonic looks at him and beams. "She was great. She was my mother, in a way. This great big gorgeous owl who…" he trails off, ears drooping a bit. "She did her best to keep me safe, but I was a reckless kid. I did the exact opposite she told me to do and used my powers constantly, and eventually…" he sighs, shaking his head. "The Echidna Tribe followed me home and tried to take me, but she sacrificed herself to save me."
"The Echidna Tribe?" Shadow frowns, tilting his head. "As in Knuckles' species?"
Sonic quickly waves his hand, a tight smile on his face. "Knuckles was just a kid when this all happened." His smile falls quickly and he sighs, rubbing his face. "Knuckles lost his family, too, that day."
Shadow's ears flatten, not aware of the close past the two of them shared. He can't imagine being so young and losing a parent like that, but then again, he was less than a year old when he lost Maria. Maybe he does know in some way or another the pain his brothers felt. "Do you ever wish you could go home?"
Sonic looks at him in surprise. "Well- yeah, sure, sometimes I wish I could go back," he starts, scratching his ear with a frown, "but I love it here too much to leave my family. Maybe I can take Tom and Maddie to see that world one day."
"Really?" Shadow looks up, curious. "What's it like?"
"Oh, it was an awesome island," Sonic beams, looking up at the sky with a dreamy look in his eyes. "Sandy beaches, cascading waterfalls, these huge race tracks with loop-de-loops and jumps - basically the best place to have a race and do whatever you want," Sonic chuckles, shaking his head. "I think you'd like it there, too."
Shadow frowns, unable to picture such a world. Did he come from there? If he did, how did he end up on Earth? Knuckles and Tails came from the same world and Shadow is a mobian just like them - logically, it makes sense, but he has no memory before the meteor crash.
"I want to know where I came from," he finally states, looking at the other guiltily. "Is that horrible of me?"
"No, of course not," Sonic answers easily, reaching over to squeeze his shoulder. "It must be hard not to know. No one can be upset with that." Shadow sags in relief, shooting the other a small but thankful smile. Sonic smiles back, looking up as a sliver of light touches their feet. Shadow follows his gaze and his smile widens as the sun begins to rise over the hills, basking in the low orange glow that sweeps over their bodies. "Besides," Sonic speaks up, making Shadow look at him again to find him grinning, "no matter where you came from, we're still brothers, yeah?"
Warmth blooms through his chest at Sonic's words, finding his smile widening as he nods in agreement. "Right."
Sonic's eyes sparkle and he opens his mouth to probably say something stupid and corny but his ears perk up and a frown replaces his grin quickly. Shadow looks at him in confusion only for his ears to perk as well, picking up the familiar sound of the rhythmic beating of blades heading right for them. Sonic stands up and Shadow follows suit, the two peering into the forest as the sound of tires screeching in town breaks the peaceful air of Green Hills. They share a wide-eyed look before darting back through the skylight into the attic. "Guys, wake up!" Sonic shouts, shaking the bed rapidly by running in fast circles on the mattress around the sleeping mobians.
Shadow zaps out of the room directly into Maddie and Tom's room, landing on top of the bed and quickly shaking them. "Tom, Maddie, we have to go!"
"What? What's happening?" Tom groans, sitting up quickly at the panicked look on Shadow's face. "What's wrong?"
"It's G.U.N. They're here," Shadow grits out. Their previous sleepy state is gone the moment G.U.N. leaves his mouth. Maddie shoots out of bed and snatches her phone while Tom picks Shadow up and rushes after her.
"Boys!" Maddie calls, shoving on her shoes and grabbing the car keys. Tails flies down the stairs right into her arms with Knuckles and Sonic right behind them. Sonic rushes ahead to the car and opens all the doors while Knuckles ushers Ozzie outside with them. The family makes quick work of loading into the car with Maddie taking up the driver's seat.
"Why is G.U.N. here?" Knuckles growls from the back seat, his arms wrapped around Ozzie's neck protectively.
"They must be after me," Shadow growls as well, allowing Tails to grab ahold of his hand tightly.
"But how do they know you're even here?" Tails points out, yelping when the car jerks as Maddie reverses and hits the gas. "Seatbelt, Shadow!"
Shadow grumbles as he moves to click the belt on but the car jerks to a sharp stop, making the four boys yell in surprise. Maddie curses under her breath and kicks the car into reverse just as two G.U.N. trucks swerve onto the road in front of them. "Oh no no no!" Sonic clutches onto the back of Tom's seat. "Maddie!"
"I'm trying!" she shouts.
"Look out!" Tom suddenly shrieks and Shadow only has a split second to react as a truck comes pelting for his door. With a quick zap, he finds him and Tails landing clumsily just outside the car as the truck rams the door they were sitting by, pushing the car right up against a tree.
"No!" Tails gasps in dismay, his tails kicking into gear as he flies toward the wrecked car. Shadow, however, zeros in on the three gunmen sweeping out of the truck with their weapons targeted at the car. Orange energy sparks from his hands and he teleports right into the pathway of the first two soldiers, delivering a swift kick and punch to each of them before teleporting to the third. The soldier shouts in surprise and Shadow slams his fist into his gut, shooting him back into another tree.
He turns to find Knuckles had broken the back window, allowing the group to climb out of the wreckage. Maddie clutched her shoulder tightly while Tom supported her, looking a little bruised but not too hurt. Ozzie barks as a helicopter flies over them, the clearing instantly becoming surrounded by trucks and gunmen training their weapons on the family.
"Get behind me," Maddie grits out, grabbing Shadow's arm and tugging him between her and Tom. The other three take on a defensive stance in front of them, red energy already coursing through Knuckles' fists. Shadow wants to protest. He's the Ultimate Lifeform after all - he can protect them, but they all know it's Shadow G.U.N. wants.
The truck directly in front of them opens up and out comes a woman Shadow doesn't recognize. Sonic, however, sneers at the sight of her. "Director Rockwell."
"Commander, actually," she corrects, leveling them with a cold stare. "Thanks to you aliens, actually."
"We never hurt Commander Walters," Knuckles growls, stepping forward bravely. "What do you want?"
Rockwell shoots him a fake smile. "We're here for Shadow. Kindly turn him over to our care and everything will be fine."
"Over our dead bodies," Sonic snaps, blue energy sprouting from his fists.
"That can be arranged," she states coldly. "This is officially a threat to all of humanity, so if you intend to stand in our way, we will use whatever means necessary to capture him."
"What threat? He hasn't done anything!" Tails insists.
"He's been with us for six months," Tom adds, looking just as frustrated as the boys feel. "He's been peaceful up until you rolled in."
Rockwell sneers at him. "I can sort of understand the soft spot you have for these creatures, but you don't know what he's brought to our planet."
"Then stop beating around the bush and tell us," Maddie snaps, one hand moving to settle on Shadow's spine. He leans into her touch, quiet as he listens to them argue.
Rockwell heaves a heavy sigh and nods curtly at one of the soldiers. He quickly opens up a laptop and angles it in their direction, showing a news broadcast jumping between multiple video feeds of various cities around the globe. Shadow's eyes widen as he spots black scaly creatures terrorizing the civilians. One feed shows them dropping from the clouds and causing as much destruction as possible. "As you can see," Rockwell says, her tone icy, "these creatures are destroying every major city around the globe and they came from the Black Comet."
"The what?" Sonic frowns.
"A comet that passes our solar system every fifty years," Rockwell explains. "The comet Shadow came from fifty years ago."
Shock hits Shadow like a tidal wave at those words. He came from this supposed Black Comet that these aliens are also from? They look nothing like him - more like lizards from the few clips they can see. This can't be right. This can't be.
"Shadow has nothing to do with this," Knuckles snaps, more energy sparking from his body as he moves closer to the commander. "You'll have to go through me if you wish to take him."
Rockwell, while her expression remains cold, shows a glimmer of unease in her eyes. She looks between all of them slowly, assessing the situation they're in. Finally, she nods curtly. "Very well."
An electric shock has Shadow's ears perking and his body warping through reality. When he reappears, Tom and Maddie fall beside him from the sudden teleportation, finding two men had come up behind where they were standing with electric rods in hand. Knuckles snarls and launches at the two men, punching them into the ground with ease. Sonic dashes forward, sweeping the legs out from multiple men before they can realize what's happening. Tails takes to the sky as a distraction, egging on the men to look at him.
Shadow growls and launches into action, moving through reality behind man after man, punching and kicking them and disarming them before they can shoot at Tails. He keeps close to Tom and Maddie, unwilling to leave them vulnerable to these scum. Anger fills his veins for the first time in months, leaving chaos energy sparking and powering his punches.
However, when he appears behind Rockwell to deliver his most damaging blow, a blue rod stabs into his side and leaves him crumbling to the ground with a cry of pain. Metal grabbers pin his arms and neck to the ground, leaving him vulnerable to hits from the electric rods. He can hear Knuckles shouting his name and the screams from his parents. Tilting his head as best as he can, he spots Tom and Maddie trying to get to him only to be held back by multiple men. One physically lifts Maddie by her waist screaming and kicking while two men have to hold Tom back.
"While we're at it," Rockwell speaks up, a smirk twisting her features, "capture the other three as well."
While Shadow can't see where the other three are, he can still hear Knuckles' rough shouts. Sonic's worried calls. Tails' shriek of pain. White hot rage shoots through his veins and Shadow snarls, his energy colliding with the electric rods and causing a small explosion that has everyone around him flying backward. Without thinking, Shadow warps behind the man pinning Tails down and tackles him to the ground, punching his head and ribs and gut and-
"Shadow!" Maddie's voice cuts through his rage-induced haze, whipping his head around to find her still fighting with the man holding her. She meets his gaze and he wants nothing more than to run right into her arms and hope this is just a bad dream. "Get out of here!" she orders, delivering a mean elbow to the man's jaw. "Get your brothers and go!"
Pain prickles at his heart at her order, looking around to find Knuckles surrounded by men with rods and Sonic struggling to evade the men closing in on him fast. Tails meets his gaze and Shadow realizes he has to act fast. Quickly, he grabs onto his arm and teleports away from the fight high in the mountains where he shoves Tails into a cave without thinking much of it. Back in the clearing, he barrels his way through Knuckles' barricade and snatches him, teleporting him not far from where he left Tails. He can't think clearly enough to remember where exactly he left Tails, but he trusts Knuckles to find him.
Sonic's eyes widen when Shadow appears in front of him, fear replacing his surprise when he looks back at their parents. Tom is still wrestling with the two men and Maddie is being shoved into one of the trucks. Sonic moves to rush forward but Shadow snatches his arm, his voice rough with pain and anger. "We have to leave. Now!"
"But-" Sonic protests, looking back at their parents. Shadow knows Sonic heard Maddie, and the forces around them are closing in. He has no choice but to hold tight and disappear from the clearing with Sonic in hand.
Tom's face breaks out into a relieved smile when he realizes the last of his boys are gone, not resisting as much as the men handcuff him. Rockwell furiously stomps over, grasping the front of his shirt with a growl. "Where did they go?"
Tom shrugs casually. "Beats me."
Rockwell shoves him roughly and stomps away. "They couldn't have gotten far. Search the area! I want the aliens found now!"
Tom glares at her retreating form as he's hauled into the truck with Maddie. Ozzie barks repeatedly as the men close the doors, ignoring the dog as he claws at the truck to get to his owners. Rockwell looks back at the sight and sneers at an officer. "Shoot the dog."
Maddie gasps at her command and quickly leans out of the window. "No! Ozzie, go!" Ozzie whines up at her and turns as a man approaches, gun in hand. Ozzie growls and rushes the man, barreling into his legs so he falls over. Without missing a beat, Ozzie takes off into the forest, his howl echoing through the trees as he disappears from sight.