Archive of Our Own ^beta

Fighting the Ultimate Lifeform had been a terrifying test and by the end of it all, Sonic was more exhausted than he’d ever been before.

But that all changed when they’d finally managed to persuade Shadow to stand with them. Getting to fight alongside him had single-handedly restored all of Sonic’s adrenaline – he’d never been so in sync with someone on the field before; Shadow was not only able to keep up with him but caught on to whatever plan Sonic came up with at lightning speed.

It surprised him the darker hedgehog was so willing to take his lead to try and shut down the vortex generator, but maybe that was a good sign. Maybe he was trying to make up for all the damage he’d done in his crusade to get revenge on not just GUN, but all of humanity.

What wasn’t a good sign was the increasing number of red crackles and cries of pain coming from Shadow as the two hedgehogs shut down the power stations in tandem. Where he’d seemed nigh-invulnerable before, now he was absorbing as much energy as he could to destroy the machines quicker – and it was costing him. With each power station the two of them shut down to stop the vortex generator siphoning any more power, the Ultimate Lifeform was taking longer and longer to get back up.

The problem was there was no way Sonic was going to be able to stop the machine without Shadow’s help – the entire room was already starting to be torn apart and only he and Shadow had the speed to take the machine apart without getting blindsided by all the debris that was flying around. Not to mention Shadow had deliberately set the whole thing up to be impossible to stop alone – the machine wouldn’t be vulnerable to shut down until all its power sources were taken out of the picture.

Still that didn’t stop Sonic trying to check on Shadow every time they blazed past one another. Each time it happened he called a warning, trying desperately to get Shadow’s attention. “Shadow, your power’s getting weaker!”

Then: “Hey, are you OK…?”

Each time he was ignored.

Until finally Sonic was seeing more and more signs of Shadow’s disintegration – red lines spreading all over his skin like the power under his fur was rising to the surface, about to split his veins open any second.

It was an alien sight. But a frightening one.

The next time they passed each other he managed to catch hold of Shadow’s arm, costing time even as the generator was shaking the floor beneath them. Shadow staggered at the sudden stop, confused.

“At this rate, you won’t last!” Sonic cried. “Get back to the-”

“Let go of me!” Shadow yanked himself out of Sonic’s grip, pointing to the last power source. “One more and the machine will be vulnerable!”

He’d sped away before Sonic could stop him, but the room was coming apart more and more so that Sonic knew all would be lost if he hesitated any longer. The hedgehog ducked under cover so he could get a read on Shadow’s plan before acting himself – just in time for him to spot a blur of gold and red heading straight to the vortex generator, close to the swirling portal forming below.

Message received: he was trusting Sonic to destroy the last of the power sources before he got there. And Sonic wasn’t about to let him down.

The Blue Blur smashed through the last machine right on time for Shadow to wreck the generator. Despite the pain the darker hedgehog looked to be in, he summoned an even greater amount of energy than before and smashed through the machine in one devastating spinning attack.

Then he landed, collapsing to one knee.

Sonic turned to approach him, instinctively reaching out. “Shadow-”

“Get back!” he growled, waving Sonic away. “The vortex is going to destabilise before it vanishes!”

Sonic hesitated again but nodding, racing back to his friends still waiting by the entrance. They were too close and the room was starting to come apart. He grabbed them both, finding a pillar sticking out of the ground that he could tie them all down to.

“Sonic…?” Tails asked, his huge eyes wide and terrified.

“It’s gonna disappear! But we’ve got to hold on fast until then!” he told them, making sure they were both secure before turning back to check on Shadow.

He was walking away from the end of the platform where the black vortex still hovered, painful red lines of light covering his fur. He didn’t look able to teleport any more, but at least he’d be safe in a second.

Then the room began to shake.

The vortex was crackling violently but didn’t disappear, getting bigger and more violent before everything began to turn. Shadow barely dived out of the way as the bottom of the platform was pulled down towards the vortex, tiles coming off and getting pulled apart in the blackness. He tried to propel himself out of the way but the path disappeared faster and faster, becoming a sheer drop so he had to jump and grab hold of the edge to avoid falling. He tried to teleport, white energy covering his body before it fizzled out and he let out a pained, frustrated cry.

Sonic sped down the path, dropping down at the last second onto his stomach to avoid getting pulled in himself. He reached over the edge, seizing Shadow by the wrist. “Gotcha!”

Shadow looked up at him, red eyes going wide. For just a second the constantly in control facade seemed to slip. Then he recovered himself, glaring up at Sonic. “What are you doing? Get back to safety with your friends!”

“Exactly!” Sonic said, flashing a smile for the first time in days. Shadow only looked more confused. “So I’m not going back without you!”

The vortex swirled and spat violently, the floor right beneath them threatening to give. Shadow twisted around to look, something changing in his demeanour.

He looked back up at Sonic.

There was a look in his red-brown eyes that Sonic didn’t like.

It was then that Tail’s voice carried over the din. “Sonic! I think it’s too late, the vortex is expanding-”

At the instant Tails confirmed his worst fears, several things happened at once. Shadow reached up and Sonic reached down, instinctively trying to grab his other arm. But the Ultimate Lifeform didn’t grab hold. Instead he reached for his own wrist and the golden band around it.

The one Sonic was holding onto.

Sonic realised his mistake just as Shadow slipped the ring free with his other hand, turning to plummet towards the vortex below.

“Shadow!” he screamed, but the darker hedgehog was already gathering energy – red burning into orange then a bright burning gold – before he dropped into a spin, blazing towards the vortex in a pillar of light.

Right when he would have fallen into the black he stopped, hanging there in a ball of light as the vortex’s energy was pulled towards the whirling heart of energy the Ultimate Lifeform had become. More and more of it was siphoned towards Shadow until he burnt even brighter, turning white-hot-

“Stop it!” Sonic screamed, struggling to see into the brightness below, “You’ll kill yourself-”

Tails and Knuckles were both yelling to him, begging Sonic to get back from the edge but he held out, willing Shadow to bail out before it was too late.

Except it already was too late. All the energy of the vortex was drawn into the spinning ball of black and red and gold before he abruptly stopped and straightened up. Shadow’s silhouette was still distinguishable but the light changed into rays breaking from his now-golden body, a painful humming sound building and building -

Knuckles seized Sonic around the waist and threw him down to the ground, the echidna’s big hands protecting Sonic’s head and eyes right before a blinding blast went off and all the energy exploded outwards, tiles and debris exploding all around them. Sonic felt Tails squeeze in on his other side, his best friend having gotten free too so the trio could huddle together on the platform as chaos reigned all around them.

As the noise died down all Sonic could do was squeeze the golden ring in his hands and think that this time, he hadn’t managed to save everyone.

This time it hadn’t been enough.

Gradually the light faded and he risked trying to look. He checked on Tails and Knuckles first; found the two of them still bracing themselves by his side. Tired, but unharmed.

He struggled to his feet just as Tails opened his eyes and tried to stop him. “Sonic, wait, it could still be dangerous-”

He couldn’t stop, though; he was already calling Shadow’s name before he even got to the edge.

Then he stopped dead.

Kunckles and Tails joined him. “Uh oh,” Tails said, his voice soft. “That doesn’t look good.”

Sonic knelt down and dropped over the side of the platform, falling down into the crater left behind by the massive explosion.

The vortex was gone. But somehow, some way, Shadow was not.

At the centre of the crater was a badly burned body covered in black fur. His limbs were loosely bent over bits of debris, blood shining on the surface of his fur. His head was collapsed back, eyes closed, gloves singed black. Whatever propulsion was in his shoes sparked, then went quiet.

Sonic approached slowly, unsure if Shadow had truly managed to contain the vortex.

Tails flew down and Knuckles skidded down the side to join him.

“Sonic…?” Tails asked, his voice sounding small. “Is...Is he…?”

Sonic’s brotherly instincts kicked in. He knew he should tell Tails not to look, to let him handle this. But he couldn’t seem to find his voice. He looked over his shoulder at Knuckles, who seemed to get the message.

“C’mon,” he said, steering Tails to turn around. “Why don’t we find Maddie and Tom? She might be able to help.”

“Be careful, Sonic,” Tails told him, but he let Knuckles lead him away.

Sonic nodded, but he felt like he was underwater. His brain just wasn’t keeping up quick enough. He carefully knelt by Shadow’s side, moving any debris pinning his limbs down. Up close he could see more damage – welts and burns, missing patches of fur. Even his ears were marked up with notches and blood. He didn’t know how to check the way Maddie would, but no bones were visibly broken at least.

Somehow those golden rings on his wrists and ankles were completely intact, no damage on them other than a bit of soot or ash.

Those strange lines were still present, too. Red chaos energy travelling across his body in thin channels, energy that...seemed to brighten and fade in a regular pattern as he watched.

Just like a heartbeat.

Sonic gasped. He fell to his knees, hands instinctively going to touch Shadow before he feared hurting him worse. To start with he rested the back of his hand on Shadow’s chest, trying to ignore the sticky feeling of blood and instead waiting for the sign he’d hoped for.

His hand moved – just an inch – as Shadow took a breath.

When he checked his neck there was the faint thrum of a pulse, perfectly in time with the cycle of the red lines brightening and dimming.

“Maddie!” he turned and cried, “Tom!”

Maddie and Tom appeared at the edge of the platform with Tails and Knuckles in tow – also completely exhausted, but thankfully unharmed.

“Are you guys OK?” he said. “It’s just, Shadow’s still alive and he needs help-”

“You sure, Sonic? He looks pretty bad.”

“Yeah, I checked his neck and -” Sonic started trying to explain about the pulse and the breathing but he could tell he was babbling and Maddie and Tom just exchanged a look before Knuckles helped lower her into the crater.

“I’ll do my best, but I don’t have my kit,” she said, taking Shadow’s other side and checking his vitals and injuries. “This is – this is really something else-”

“He stopped the vortex. I think he absorbed it somehow?” Sonic heard himself say. “We’ve got to help him, we’ve just – we can take him home!”

There was the soft noise of Tails flying down to land next to him. “Sonic,” he said, tone harsher than Sonic had heard it before, “He tried to destroy the world. He’s a fugitive now. If GUN find out we just took him away…”

“We were treated like criminals once, too,” Sonic reminded him. “And I know. I know Shadow did a lot of damage. But GUN caused this whole mess, Tails! You don’t murder someone’s kid sister and lock them up for fifty years like that’s gonna end well. Not with his kind of power.”

Tails bit his lip. He looked over at Shadow, unsure. He could see it in his friend’s face – he was still afraid of Shadow. Sonic didn’t begrudge him that, but he knew from looking at him that Shadow was no threat to anyone right now. It was a miracle he was even still alive.

“Please, guys,” Sonic said, appealing to Maddie and Tom instead. “You don’t have to be directly involved. Just give me a chance to make sure GUN doesn’t get him. There’s no way he could defend himself from whatever they decide to do with him in this state.”

Another shared glance. Tom got down to his height. “This is important to you, isn’t it?”

Sonic nodded.

“Then we don’t do it by halves. You get him home, hide him in your room, get back here. Quick.” He exchanged glances with the others. “Then we make sure GUN sees us all here, they think he’s dead, we had nothing to do with it. Buys us at least a little time while they’re busy cleaning up.” He looked around the group. “Everybody clear?”

The group exchanged glances, some with more trepidation than others. But they were all willing, ready to follow Sonic’s lead.

Sonic himself was nervous as he very carefully lifted Shadow in his arms. He wasn’t sure if he was making any injuries worse, but right now they didn’t have much of a choice. Maddie helped him by taking the golden ring he was still holding and handing it to Tails. Then she tucked Shadow’s arms in and rested his head more securely against Sonic, but in all the movement Shadow didn’t even grimace. His torn ear barely even twitched.

But Sonic risked stopping a minute longer. “Thank you,” he said. “I know what we’re doing is a risk. But I know I wouldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t do it.”

Tom nodded. “Back here in a minute or two, OK?”

Sonic nodded. He was tired, but he had one last run in him.

~ ~

Sonic took Shadow all the way back home and to his room in the attic. He felt a little silly setting the so-called Ultimate Lifeform down in his race car bed to rest, but right now they didn’t have a lot of options. Before he left he couldn’t help doubling checking he wasn’t imagining things and Shadow really was still alive.

He wasn’t imagining things, thankfully .

But S hadow was starting to feel cold.

“Hang tight, OK?” Sonic said, covering him up with blankets as best he could. “I’ll be back soon.”

Shadow didn’t respond. The red lines on his skin cast an eerie light around him, so Sonic drew his bedroom curtains just in case. They were in the attic, but he couldn’t be too careful.

Regretting that he didn’t have the time or know how to bandage him up just yet, Sonic sped back to the others. He made it just in time to try and explain what had happened to GUN and the military starting to converge on the area and it wasn’t too hard for him to act like he was too tired to string a sentence together.

L uckily the soldiers obviously wanted to believe Shadow had perished in the battle, since now they had another problem on their hands: the younger Robotnik was still alive and probably newly re-energised to get back into the bad guy business now the world was safe.

I t was a struggle for Sonic to keep from tapping his foot impatiently, though. Every second that passed Shadow could be getting weaker . Or if not it was possible that he’d just get up and leave when he came around , either getting himself caught or managing to never to be seen again. Between his teleportation and speed rivalling Sonic’s, the blue blur knew only too well how easy it would be for him to just go to ground for years and years if he wanted to.

But Sonic didn’t want him to.

Now he finally had the chance to get through to Shadow , he didn’t want to lose it so easily.

~ ~

When the group finally managed to drive through all the military blockades and get back home, they went to battle stations immediately. Tails took it upon himself to check for any bugs left by GUN around the house – just in case, he said – and Knuckles kept close while keeping watch out all the nearby windows at the same time.

Sonic and Maddie immediately fetched her vet’s bag and headed up to Sonic’s room in the attic, Tom following along just in case Shadow had woken up.

As Sonic poked his nose over the top of the ladder he honestly hoped they were done with the fighting. He didn’t think he had the energy or the stomach for any more of it, not after all the exhaustion of the last few days. And not when he’d seen how much better fighting alongside the black hedgehog could be.

But when he raised his head into his attic room, it was exactly as he’d left it.

Shadow lay in the race car bed, bundled up in blankets and still out cold. He didn’t so much as twitch as the three of them climbed up into the attic, a moment of tense silence passing between them as they all half expected Shadow to spring up and attack them again.

“Leave the ladder down?” Tom whispered. “In case GUN comes and you need to get him out of here quick?”

Sonic bit his lip. Doing that would give Shadow another exit if he came around, but knowing him he’d be just as likely to throw himself out the window and use those fancy rocket shoes of his to get away – assuming they still worked given the state he was in. So he nodded, following Maddie to Shadow’s side as she unpicked the blankets so she could get to his wounds.

She took a sharp breath in when she saw the state of him. “Think he might have you beat, Sonic,” she said, trying to keep her voice level as she started to clean off the blood and dirt from the bleeding areas so she could isolate his injuries. “Back when Tom first brought you here you weren’t this badly off.”

“Takes you back, doesn’t it, buddy?” Tom asked softly.

Sonic nodded, watching pensively as Maddie began to bandage the worst of the wounds and apply antiseptic to the smaller scratches and scars. The majority of it required burn cream though – it was evident taking on all that energy from the portal had left Shadow a charred mess. They’d practically used all of Maddie’s burn salve by the time they were done.

He thought of when it had been him on the kitchen table, being treated by Maddie then having his favourite shoes gifted to him by Jojo. It was the first time he’d felt a feeling of being home in years. He’d been so lonely he couldn’t trust it, not right away.

Next Maddie took out a stethoscope, checking Shadow’s pulse and breathing. Tom leant down, squeezing Sonic’s shoulder.

“Why don’t you get some rest, Sonic? It looks like GUN hasn’t caught on yet – if I know the military they’re gonna be drowning in the paperwork just from hiding all this from the public for at least a couple days.”

“I...do you think he’s gonna be OK?”

Tom looked over at Maddie. “What’s the verdict, doc?”

She looked over, a surprised look in her eyes. “I think he’s gonna be fine.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really. I don’t know how it’s possible, but he’s already showing signs of healing around the edges,” she said, putting the stethoscope away. “His heartbeat is stable and strong and those weird red lines he had earlier have vanished, too. So I assume that’s a good thing?”

Sonic realised she was right – he hadn’t even noticed but the strange pulsing red lines all over Shadow’s fur had faded. He looked more or less like he always did, just heavily bandaged and burnt.

“You really think he’s going to be OK?” Tom pressed.

“I mean he is badly hurt and he has some wounds he really shouldn’t stress by running around too much, but compared to what I was expecting it’s…” She hesitated and Sonic sensed what she was getting at.

“Anyone else wouldn’t have survived this,” he said, “Right?”

His parents exchanged an anxious look.

“It’s OK. I can handle it.”

Maddie bit her lip, but nodded. “Yeah. I thought he’d be on death’s door – in critical condition, or a coma . These wounds are definitely bad and he’d be way worse off left untreated, but going from how he is now, unless there’s internal damage we can’t see – he might even be healed in a few days. ”

Despite himself, Tom gave a low whistle.

“How come he hasn’t woken up yet?”

“Not sure,” she said. “His vitals are stable though and it looks like he’s sleeping rather than unconscious. With any luck it’s just shock?”

“All right,” Sonic said. “I’m gonna stand guard by sleeping in my bean bag. I’ll call if he comes around.”

T he Wachowski s exchanged looks again and Tom knelt down to Sonic’s level. “ You’ve done a compassionate thing here, Sonic. But you gotta remember that people have to be open to kindness for it to do its best work. If he wakes up and tries to hurt any one in this house , he can’t stay here. OK?”

S onic nodded. He knew they were right; he was moving too fast as per usual with no real plan of how this was even going to work. Not to mention everyone in the house was still somewhat afraid of and angry with Shadow – and for good reason . If Sonic hadn’t gone out of his way to ask that they help him, they might not have done much besides leave him somewhere he could escape GUN when given half a chance.

Something about that thought made Sonic’s stomach turn and once again he wasn’t sure why. Rationally he should still be angry with Shadow for all the damage he’d done, too, even if he was angrier still with GUN for engineering the situation in the first place – quite literally, since Shadow was apparently some highly experimental research subject.

Tom and Maddie were looking at him, not used to him taking so long to think. He should say something.

“OK,” he said. “I understand. And I’m not gonna let him lay a hand on any of you. Although,” he said, looking over at the black bundle of bandages and blankets in his bed, “I have a feeling that he’s not gonna be up and about for a bit, even if he does heal quick.”

~ ~

“Sonic?” Tails’ little voice carried up into the attic just as the blue hedgehog was beginning to doze off. “Is it safe?”

“Heya, Tails,” Sonic said, rubbing his eyes and struggling to sit up out of the gravity of the beanbag. He looked over at Shadow, finding he was still in the exact same position he’d been in hours earlier. Sonic could be a light sleeper sometimes, so even with the exhaustion of the past few days he was sure Shadow hadn’t so much as stirred. “I’m safe – I mean, it’s safe…”

He poked his head over the edge before cautiously flying in to stand in Sonic’s room, Knuckles following quietly behind. They both eyed Shadow with some uneasiness.

“I suppose even a weapon mighty as he can be felled,” Knuckles said.

“Not by much though,” Tails added, an uncertain note in his voice. “Maddie says he’s already healing – and healing fast.”

“Listen-”

But Tails just shook his head, brightening up. “Don’t worry. I didn’t come to remind you about stuff you already know – I wanted to ask about this.”

And he reached into his tail, fishing out a golden ring – the one Shadow had been wearing when Sonic lost hold of him.

“Nice one, Tails,” he said, “GUN would’ve never thought to check there.” But when he reached to take it to return it to Shadow, Tails pulled back.

“Actually...you mind if I hang onto it a bit longer? I want to run some tests. See if I can figure out what it does. I did some prelim checks and I think there’s some kind of machinery in it.”

“Oh. Sure, if you think it’ll help.”

“Maybe,” Tails said, getting that thoughtful look he always did when he was about to go into an egghead speech. “He was wearing all the others when he fell into the vortex, so it’s possible they don’t work properly any more. But this one should still be intact… if the tech needs replicating I could probably do it. Unless, of course, it turns out that without the ring he’ll be less powerful. Then we can just keep it in our pocket for now.”

“Good thought, Tails,” he said, “But we should keep that one out of his line of sight for now. And try not to break anything if you’ve gotta take it apart. We still don’t know exactly what Shadow is or how he works, after all.”

~ ~

The gang could only last so long being on high alert after all the exhaustion they’d been through. Discussion were had about taking shifts through the night but eventually it became clear GUN weren’t coming and everyone gave in to the urge to doze off.

It had been such an exhausting affair that Sonic didn’t even come around until mid afternoon the next day – when a soft groaning sound disturbed him.

“Shadow!” Sonic exclaimed, speeding over to his side.

The darker hedgehog was struggling to lift himself, barely even having the strength to move. His red eyes had opened only a fraction, his pupils swivelling to look at Sonic without moving his head.

“You,” he said, his deep voice scratchy and faint.

“Me,” Sonic agreed. “How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?”

Shadow rolled his eyes like that was a stupid question before trying to move again. He groaned, wincing and going tense all over. Sonic took a gentle hold of his shoulder.

“Hey, don’t do that,” he said, “You’re gonna hurt yours-”

“Why’d… you help me?” Shadow demanded, teeth clenched through the pain. “I almost -” He had to stop for a second as his whole body went tense with pain, “-killed all of you.”

Sonic shrugged, trying to sound casual. “I’ve made friends with people I’ve fought before. Knuckles, for one.”

Shadow managed to turn his head to look at Sonic, a sharp look in his eyes. “I bet he didn’t go so far as attacking your family the way I did, did he?”

“Shadow, I’m just-”

“If it were me,” he continued, a weak crackle of red energy in his eyes, “I’d stop at nothing to make the people who hurt my family pay. I wouldn’t take them in and hide them from-” He stopped and Sonic suddenly wondered if he’d gotten himself worked up too much. But then Shadow’s eyes narrowed. “Hm. Now I understand. You’re intending to hand me over to GUN in exchange for good favor, aren’t you?”

He struggled harder to push himself upright and Sonic panicked, grabbing his other shoulder to try and stop him. “Hey, knock it off! No one’s handing you over to GUN, kay?”

“Do you honestly…” Shadow clutched his chest, wheezing, “Expect me to believe that? No one could possibly…”

He started to cough harder, flecks of blood staining his glove even as more energy struggled to form around him. His shoulders was getting super tense under Sonic’s hands, too – he could feel that the darker hedgehog was trying to summon the strength to escape. But all he was achieving was getting himself wound up.

“Be honest,” Shadow snapped, “And I’d respect that. I caused so much-”

“Stop!” Sonic ordered, raising his voice. “Stop.”

He could hear footsteps coming towards the attic, but he kept his focus on Shadow. “You’re here because I asked everyone to help me hide you from GUN. As far as they know you got vaporized at the bottom of that crater the portal made.”

“But-”

“He’s telling the truth,” Tom said, poking his head into the attic. He was soon joined by Maddie, then Knuckles and finally Tails protected at the back by the other three. “We came up with a plan to sneak you out of there and so far, it’s worked.”

S hadow fell silent, what little energy he’d summoned dying away again. His dark red eyes looked from Sonic’s parents to the rest of his family, confusion warring with distrust. “... So far,” he eventually repeated, coughing. “It won’t work forever.”

“Probably not,” Tom agreed. “But you’d be better off with your head screwed on straight before you figure out what to do next, right?”

Shadow fell silent. He looked away, something awkward in his manner as he brushed a hand down his arm, ruffling the messy fur.

“You up to taking a bath? Then I can take a check on your wounds and give you a clean up,” Maddie said. Shadow’s eyes widened in shock, jaw dropping as he tried and failed to respond.

“I’ll help,” Sonic volunteered.

S hadow was so taken aback he was practically in a trance when they corralled him to the bathroom.

~ ~

Once Maddie had reapplied antiseptics and dressings to Shadow’s wounds – some of which had already impressively nearly healed except for superficial damage – she gave Sonic the space to help him get clean, telling him she’d be right outside when he needed her.

T he getting clean part proved to be more of a stumbling block for Shadow. He was apparently used to showers, not baths and didn’t seem convinced Sonic wasn’t going to attempt to drown him instead.

But with enough poking and prodding he reluctantly clambered in, removing his high tech shoes and gloves and leaving them in a neat pile on the floor while the bath water filled up. The warmth seemed to relax him though – he sank a little into the water, one clawed hand resting on the side of the bath like he was still suspicious Sonic was planning to dunk him underwater.

A fter a moment of Sonic messing around trying to find the gels he liked for the other hedgehog to pick from, Shadow stirred and took the sponge from him, laboriously cleaning the dirt from his limbs and ears. With his fur clean but damp the burnt patches stood out more, but they were visibly healing at least.

Sonic was still marvelling he was still alive after all that. Even with his artificial healing skills, his burns still looked painful and sore…

He was snapped out of his reverie when Shadow began contorting his body to try and reach his back. Sonic rolled his eyes. “Here, let me do that.”

“I don’t need… your help,” he insisted, trying and failing to reach a spot on his shoulder blade.

“Oh yeah? Should I call Maddie back in?”

Shadow glared at him, making Sonic chuckle. He handed over the sponge.

Sonic was careful to be gentle, knowing it was in his nature to be fast and rough. He had the feeling that was a bad idea here. Now that Shadow had finally stopped his rampage, he seemed kind of – what was that human phrase? At a loose end? Like he didn’t know what to do with himself, so even simple interactions were a challenge.

A s he scrubbed Shadow’s back, the black hedgehog gradually relaxed.

“...I still don’t understand,” he said eventually. “Why you’re doing this.”

“Why? Cause you’re a mess, man. Your fur’s a wreck-”

“No, I mean this. All of you acting like I didn’t nearly kill all of you over the last few days. I nearly cost you everything.”

“Yeah,” Sonic agreed. No sense dancing around it. “You did. And if you ever pull anything like that again, you’d better believe I’ll come for you with everything I’ve got.” He’d rather not, of course, given what a dreaded juggernaut Shadow was, but he wasn’t about to tell him that.

Sonic focused on running water down a spot of matted fur, trying to coax it out with some lather. “But if you’ve stopped then I don’t see the point in keeping fighting. Not when GUN are just as responsible for causing this whole thing in the first place – they’re, uh, the ones who made you, right?”

“...They gave the orders for the research that made me. The funding.”

“Right. And they’re the ones who locked you up in a blacksite and...murdered someone.”

S hadow was quiet for a long time. “And? How is that your responsibility? You know I’m not organic… I’m artificial – the Ultimate Lifeform. What makes you think… it wasn’t a safety measure on GUN’s part?”

“It was messed up!” Sonic stopped cleaning briefly so he could look Shadow in the eye. “You do know that, don’t you, Shadow?”

He stopped when he saw Shadow’s face. His eyes were starting to drift shut and he looked exhausted. His head was dipping forwards, too, like he lacked the energy to hold it up by himself.

Sonic bit his lip and held back from the lecture he’d wanted to give. However Shadow was coping – or not coping – with everything that had happened to him, it was probably too soon to push it anyways. Right now he looked like he was dozing off and that would do him more good than being forced to think about how he’d been GUN’s victim, too .

He kept up the gentle cleaning motions on Shadow’s back, revisiting areas he’d already done as an excuse just to keep up the repetitive gentle cleaning motion in the hopes that it was soothing. “ You uh, need any meds, Shadow? Anything painful?”

“S’not so bad,” he mumbled.

S onic chuckled. “ Bit stubborn, aren’t you?”

H e kept going, deciding to just let a quiet moment be quiet. But surprisingly Shadow was the one to break the silence next. “Still wouldn’t blame you...if you called them…”

“Not happening, Shads,” he said, risking the nickname in the hopes it would distract him. Sure enough, Shadow looked momentarily annoyed before his eyelids drooped even further. “Nobody’s trusting GUN with anything for a while after all this.”

“Hmph,” Shadow mumbled, one ear twitching to flick a drop off water off the end. “Too trusting for your own good…”

Sonic paused. He’d diffused the situation for now, but a sense of unease lingered. “ Shadow?”

“Mmm?”

“Thanks. For trusting me with this at least.”

Sonic rinsed off some of the soap, watching carefully to make sure Shadow didn’t tip forward suddenly. His head was drooping forward until it was resting on his chest and his eyes gradually shut until they were completely closed.

Sonic managed to coax him to lean back between the taps so he wouldn’t collapse into the water, then he opened the door a fraction to talk to Maddie. “Hey, I need you or Tom to help me.”

“What’s wrong, Sonic?”

“He’s, uh, fallen asleep. I don’t think I can lift him without waking him, he’s about my size.”

Maddie called Tom over, both of them peering around the door at Shadow passed out in the bath. He looked a far cry from the unstoppable force they’d all been terrified of for the past few days. Right now he just looked like a damp, damaged hedgehog.

It was a human saying that people looked younger when sleeping. Sonic didn’t really agree; he thought most people just looked relaxed. Neutral. But on Shadow, sleep was transformative. When he wasn’t glaring and acting like a total hardass, he looked really young. He looked around Sonic’s age – younger maybe – but if he really was a created lifeform who could even say what life experience he even had.

Not a weapon. Just a person.

“I’ll lift,” Tom said softly to Maddie, “You dry.”

Sonic scooted back as Tom scooped Shadow out of the bath, Maddie stepping in with a towel to wrap him up in so he didn’t end up dripping all over the floor. Shadow roused a bit as Tom set him on his feet so they could dry him easier, the dark hedgehog casting a discomfited look over at Sonic as the Wachowskis fussed over him. But he was still falling asleep standing, not putting up much of a fight. He even lacked the energy to give much more than a half hearted glare when Sonic chuckled at the way Shadow’s fur fluffed up after he’d been hand dried.

“Can you get his stuff, Sonic?” Tom asked, helping Maddie shepherd Shadow out of the bathroom. “And drain the water.”

He snapped to attention. “On it!” Sonic turned to drain the bath first, noticing all the dirt, blood and unsorted bits of debris and muck floating in the water. Sonic disliked water at the best of times, but Shadow had definitely needed that.

Sonic supposed he should restrain himself from using fluffy post-bath Shadow as future blackmail material, because he was glad Shadow had let them take proper care of him and he wouldn’t want him to refuse that if he ever needed help again.

Of course, he hoped no one he knew was ever going to get that badly hurt again.

He realised he’d started thinking like Shadow was even going to be around in the future. Now he was definitely getting ahead of himself.

Sonic shook off the thoughts, yanking the plug out and leaning down to pile up all of Shadow’s effects in his arms. He noticed that the golden rings were likely not the only things that had been damaged – whatever was powering those futuristic rocket shoes looked totally bust: the holes where the fire usually came out was black and burnt out and Sonic even thought he could see something sparking in there when he took a closer look .

Well, that was something else for Tails to fix. Maybe if they mended these for him Shadow would be more inclined to trust them…

When Sonic had caught up with his parents they were coaxing Shadow back into bed to rest. He complained half-heartedly about GUN turning up any minute, but it was obvious he didn’t have the energy to complain any more. Sonic was a bit worried about how t ired he seemed. What if something else was wrong and they just weren’t seeing it?

Though the more So nic thought about it, the less strange it seemed . Shadow had been a non-stop terror machine the past few days – maybe he simply hadn’t stopped to rest in all that time. And if h is body was having to adapt to all that vortex energy he’d just taken in…

“There,” Maddie said, nudging him back down onto the pillow. “We’ve got an eye out for GUN, so let us handle it. You can’t hope to escape them long with the state you’re in.”

Shadow mumbled again about the warm bath being some sort of trap, but then his eyes dropped to his wrists. “Where’s – where’s my-”

“I’ve got ‘em,” Sonic said, holding his position at the door and raising the items in his arms into view. He didn’t want to come closer in case Shadow asked for his things back, and he wanted to enlist Tails to try and help him fix some of them. “It’s all good.”

S hadow gave him a long look, but said nothing. Sonic set the pile down and crept closer. “Everything all right?”

“…I…” Shadow looked from Sonic to the Wachowskis, then back again. He sighed, seeming to deflate. “Thank you.”

“Well, you’re welcome,” Tom said, he and Maddie retreating to the attic door. Sonic made to follow but Shadow caught hold of his hand.

“Wait,” Shadow said, forcing himself to keep his eyes open. “Need...speak with you alone.”

Sonic nodded to his parents, turning back to the hedgehog bundled up in his bed. “What’s up?”

“I know you want to make me less dangerous… case I turn on you,” he said, red eyes narrowed.

“Shadow-”

“I understand. Those are the terms of your hospitality.” He absently rubbed his wrists where the golden rings were missing. He’d been wearing them so long there was a faint track mark in his fur. “Confiscate my air shoes if it pleases you, but the rings are different. They contain...me.”

S onic frowned. “So you like, need them? Are you in pain without them?”

“Not… now. But once I recover…” His eyes drifted shut. His words were getting slower and slower – he clearly wasn’t in a fit state to give an in-depth explanation. “Your friend should be able to confirm… the smart one.”

Sonic nodded. “ All right. I’ll talk with him.”

“Hmm.” Shadow relaxed back into the blankets, letting his eyes start to drift shut. Sonic thought he was done talking but after a second he mustered up the energy to say, “I cannot believe...you have a racecar bed.”

S onic rolled his eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re too cool for it. What if it had been in black and red?”

“Hmph. It wasn’t my choice to be these colours. I mean I’m…” He stopped suddenly, glancing at Sonic before falling silent.

Something was obviously bothering him, but Sonic decided not to push it . Instead he decided to pivot and say the thing that had been on his mind since they’d taken Shadow in. “Listen, Shadow…” he paused, rubbing the back of his neck. Shadow turned red eyes on him, putting all his effort into giving him his full attention.

Sonic cleared his throat. “I’m...sorry. About your friend.”

Shadow’s face contorted with sadness, but he’d buried the expression the next moment.

“...Sister,” Shadow said, turning away and resting his head back into the blankets. His eyes drifted shut again. “She was my sister…”

Sonic made sure he was warm enough, then collected up the small pile of Shadow’s belongings and retreated from the attic.

He met Tails at the bottom of the ladder, the one working golden ring in his hand.

“Heya, Tails,” he greeted, “I was just gonna come find you.”

“That’s good,” Tails said, “Because I’ve found out something you need to know.”

~ ~

The two of them headed to the garage which Tails often used as a lab, being joined by Knuckles on the way. Sonic filled tails in on what Shadow had said about the rings and the fox could only nod grimly.

“That’s basically in line with what I’ve discovered.,” he said. “After analysing this working ring the only purpose I can explain it as having is a means of concentrating or channelling energy. Chaos energy, most likely.”

“OK, meaning…”

He sighed, started drawing out a diagram on his whiteboard. In the centre was a black hedgehog. “ So theoretically speaking, if you had a great source of uncontrollable Chaos energy, you could make it easier to focus by having the rings act as limiters.” He added the rings to his drawing of Shadow, showing the energy coming from him and passing through them. “The energy passe s through them and comes out the other side less potent, but more focused and controlled. It starts as uncontrolled massive destruction and ends as controlled, beam, kind of like a laser. ”

“Hold it – less potent?” Knuckles said. “Potent as in powerful?”

Tails nodded, soberly. “You realise what that means, then.”

Sonic felt a cold chill go straight down his spine. “You’re saying this entire time we’ve been fighting him, he wasn’t even at full power? This is him with some scientist’s leash on?”

Knuckles chuckled. “I would love to fight him again at full power, given the chance.”

Tails nodded again. “It’s theoretically possible that channelling the amount of Chaos energy he’s capable of without limiters would be enough to hurt even him after the fact – similar to what we’re seeing right now with the vortex side effects, actually – but few would even be able to withstand the threat that long to take advantage o f any drawbacks . So it kind of evens out.”

Sonic rubbed his arms, trying to rid himself of the goosebumps all over his skin. No wonder GUN had tried to lock him down then immediately panicked and called in a ringer when he got free. They’d been hoping against hope Sonic and the others could handle it, but they must have known they were sending his team into a battle where they’d be hopelessly outmatched.

“Can you fix them?” he asked Tails.

“Without the working one it would have been tough,” he said. “But luckily we’ve had 50 years of tech improvements since these things were built. If it were anyone else I’d suggest a whole heap of improvements I could make, but…”

“Better keep it simple,” Sonic agreed. “But then, what about these?”

He indicated Shadow’s broken air shoes. Tails took a look over them, scratching his head. “They’re also impressive for fifty year old tech. There’s a whole propulsion system in here – he probably wouldn’t be able to keep up with you on speed alone without them, outside of teleport spamming.”

“...And you don’t want to fix them,” Sonic surmised.

Tails considered for a moment. He set the shoes down. “I guess what I really wanna ask is, why do you want to fix them, Sonic? You’re really going out of your way here and I’m pretty sure the first thing he’s gonna do when he recovers will either be crippling GUN for good or just going to ground for a while. I can’t see him sticking with us, if he even could once GUN catches up to the fact he’s not dead. They’re gonna want someone to foot the bill for all the destruction he caused – and he’s the ideal weapon to make them invincible for decades to come if they could just find a way to control him. We could be looking at the start of another very bloody fight, Sonic.” Tails lifted himself up on the desk so he could be eye to eye with him. “But it really seems to mean something to you. Why? Cause he’s another hedgehog, kind of?”

Sonic thought. Why did he want to help, really? Ever since he’d heard about where Shadow had come from and what had happened to him, he’d had this tight feeling in his chest. Finally talking Shadow down, getting to fight alongside him… both of those things had left him elated. But why?

“I think it’s cause…” He searched his heart, trying to get to the bottom of that painful feeling. “I could’ve easily been in his shoes. If I’d chosen a different town with different people, gotten caught...gotten turned into a lab rat...I might’ve ended up hating humans, too.”

“I can’t imagine you ever hating people, Sonic. Being angry the way he’s been.”

“If I lost you, I might be,” he said. “Shadow was a big brother, too. But his little sibling saved his life and got shot by humans for her trouble. Can you imagine going through something like that?”

“No,” Tails conceded, looking suddenly more like his age. “No, I can’t. I wouldn’t want to.”

“And…” Sonic shut his eyes, immediately seeing the image of Shadow slipping his hand free from Sonic’s grasp in his mind’s eye. “I feel like he was really prepared to die back there, you know? Like maybe he wanted it – either cause he thought he had to die to fix everything, or...or…”

“Or what, Sonic?” Tails prompted. But he sounded scared. Sonic debated not saying anything, brushing it off – Tails was young after all – but he felt like he was carrying a weight around. He didn’t want rid of it. He just wanted to know how to help better and Tails was the wisest person he knew.

“Or that he can’t see a purpose or life for himself outside being someone’s weapon, so if that’s true...why not disappear once he’s done?” He clenched his fist. “And when I think about how that must feel, I feel like I can’t… breathe. It just feels way too much like how I felt when I was having to hide all the time.”

“Sonic…”

“I know, I know!” He waved his hands, trying way too hard to sound light hearted. “I’m taking this waaaaay too personal. But thanks. For hearing me out.”

Sonic boosted up to sit next to Tails, Knuckles taking his other side. “Anyway, I promised Maddie and Tom I wouldn’t let Shadow hurt anyone while trying to give him another chance. And I meant it. Once he gets better, if the first thing he tries to do is bolt out the door, I won’t stand in his way if it means risking any of you.”

“Thanks, Sonic.”

“As for the shoes – well, I guess I’d just like him to understand there are people who will do good things just ’cause. His brain has this real risk-benefit way of thinking in it. He’s been treated like a weapon for too long. And he’s not. He’s a person – he’s a teenager my age!”

T ails looked at his hands. He took a big breath in, rested his tail on Sonic’s back. “OK. I’ll do it. I’ll fix them.”

“You sure? You don’t have to.”

Tails shook his head. “ No, I want to. It’s the right thing to do.” He squeezed Knuckles with his tail, too. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost both of you either, you know. It’s...hard trying to forgive Shadow after what he nearly did, because of that . ”

The three of them sat quietly in the garage-lab, contemplating the miracle of the fact that they were all still here.

~ ~

None of that strong feeling of empathy meant that Sonic didn’t second guess himself, of course. He worried constantly that he was wasting everyone’s time and ultimately doing something that was going to land all of them in a lot of trouble if they were ever found out.

He worried as his brother fixed the shoes and limiters. He worried as he or one of the Wachowskis checked on Shadow periodically. He worried as he started taking laps around his attic to burn off all the nervous energy he was making by worrying. At least until he knocked a lamp over and Shadow stirred in his sleep.

Then he made himself sit, put on some headphones and play games until he was too exhausted to stay awake in his beanbag chair any longer.

That feeling only compounded when he woke the next morning to find his bed empty and Shadow gone.

No note, no nothing.

Sonic’s stomach turned. Had he stolen the half finished rings and shoes back and just bounced? After everything they’d risked trying to help him?

Sonic sped to the garage, but both the rings and the shoes were still there. There was only a few more hours’ work left in them, according to Tails. They’d both assumed they’d have the morning at least before Shadow would be getting tetchy to leave.

Next Sonic did a lap around the outside of the house, hoping without his super tech shoes Shadow would have left prints somewhere. But there were none.

Now thoroughly confused, Sonic headed back inside. He was about to search each room for clues and rouse the others when he heard a voice from the kitchen.

“OK, now do the loop round like that – yeah, exactly!”

Sonic’s heart stuttered as he recognised the voice. Jojo.

She must have come over unannounced.

He raced into the kitchen to be greeted by one of the strangest sights he’d ever seen in his life.

Shadow was perched up on the kitchen island in the same spot where he’d been when Tom first brought him to his home. His claws were gently combing through Jojo’s hair, styling it into buns on either side of her head.

“Maybe you could do some other styles too,” she said. “You’re really good at this.”

Shadow said nothing, but as Sonic watched him style her hair something happened that he never expected to see: he smiled. A very small, very soft smile.

But a smile nonetheless.

The quiet moment was broken when Jojo looked up and noticed Sonic standing dumbfounded in the doorway. “Sonic! You didn’t tell me you had a new friend. Is he a relative of yours?”

Shadow looked up, his expression immediately hardening. He still looked a bit tired and rough around the edges, but he was at least less obviously charred. Jojo didn’t seem to have noticed though – she just looked thrilled to meet another hedgehog.

Sonic struggled to answer. Maddie would hit the roof if she knew Jojo had come over and was anywhere near Shadow. But he’d been so gentle with her, kinder than Sonic thought him capable of.

“No,” he managed eventually, “He’s, uh-”

“What are you doing?” Maddie said, thunder in her voice.

Too late.

“Look how nice Sonic’s friend did my hair!” Jojo cried, rushing over to show her. Maddie automatically got down to her level to check her over, the anger in her expression turning to confusion when she saw what Jojo was talking about.

“Sonic’s...friend… did this?” She looked over at Shadow, conflicting emotions warring on her face. Shadow had already folded back in on himself, hopping down from the counter and crossing his arms over his chest defensively.

“Yeah!” Jojo said, too enthused to notice the hesitation. “He needs some shoes though. He’s worse than Sonic was!”

Now Shadow looked discomfited. Sonic wondered if he’d been wandering around just looking for the air shoes and gloves and simply hadn’t thought to check the garage. He probably wasn’t exactly familiar with how civilian homes worked, he supposed.

“That’s all right,” Tails said timidly. “I’ve got them...right here.”

Sonic turned to see Knuckles and Tails standing there. Knuckles had his arms folded, staring Shadow down but otherwise not moving. Tails had the mended shows and limiter rings in his arms, along with a fresh pair of gloves.

Tom slipped into the room, urging Jojo to go watch TV before wrapping his arm around Maddie.

All eyes were on Shadow to see what he’d do next.

The darker hedgehog’s eyes flickered from person to person, his arms slowly uncrossing before he reached out to take the gloves first. He slid his shoes on next, clicking the first set of limiters back into place at his ankles. He tapped his foot, looking surprised as the engine sputtered back to life. His eyes went to Tails, then back down to test the other shoe like he couldn’t quite believe they were working again.

He stood a little closer to Tails as he took one of his rings, sliding it onto his wrist. Tails fidgeted with the taller hedgehog standing over him, but he didn’t move away.

Instead he held out the last ring – the one Sonic had been holding when he fell. The last bit of still-working tech from Shadow’s origins.

Shadow considered it, glancing over at Sonic before it too was slid back into position.

He flexed his wrists, summoning up a crackle of red energy between his fingers – everyone tensed – before letting it fade again in the next moment. Shadow shut his eyes, clenching his fist. He almost smirked. “Hmph,” he said, looking over at Tails. “You really are sentimental, aren’t you?”

Sonic figured that might be the best they’d get, but Shadow looked Tails dead in the eye. “Thank you,” he said. “All of you.” He glanced out the window, his ear turning to listen to the quiet day outside.

Still no sign of GUN. But they all knew the window was closing on that – it had been almost a week and the moment the military found any sign Shadow had actually escaped unscathed, none of them were safe.

“From now on you don’t need to worry. I won’t trouble you any longer,” he said.

“Wait.” Sonic stepped forward. “Where are you gonna go, Shadow?”

He looked down, deep in thought. “After what I did...what I tried to help Gerald do…” He folded his arms again. “I owe you all a debt. And if I cannot repay you, I’ll serve it to humanity instead. Like she’d have wanted. None of that makes up for what I almost did….But it’s all I can do.”

Tom nodded. “I think your friend would be happy with that.”

“You wanna...leave out the back?” Sonic asked. “I’ll walk you out.”

“Hmph. Very well.” He inclined his head one more time, following Sonic to the door. But once there, he stopped. “Just for the record, I didn’t know your daughter was here. I was just…I ran into her and I didn’t mean to scare her.”

Sonic chuckled. “Jojo doesn’t scare easy.”

“No,” Shadow agreed, softening for a moment. “Your daughter is very… sweet.”

“Niece,” Maddie corrected. “But yeah, she is.”

He nodded, looking awkward for a second before quickly retreating from the room with Sonic in tow.

They stood for a moment just before the back door.

“This the part where you give me another inspirational speech?”

“Hm, naw,” Sonic said. He shoved Shadow’s shoulder. “You at least look better than you did earlier. Appreciate you stuck around long enough to stop looking like roadkill.”

“Hpmh. And here I was about to give you the secret to my highlights.”

Sonic’s jaw dropped. “Was...was that a joke?”

“No.”

“Riiight. Sure.”

They were silent for a moment longer until Shadow sighed. “All right. Out with it.”

“Huh?”

“If there’s one word I’d used to describe you, Sonic, subtle is not it. You offered to show me out because you have something to say.”

Sonic rubbed the back of his head. “All right, you got me. It’s just...the thing you were describing doing. Touring the world, tryna help people and stuff.”

Shadow stared him down silently.

“It’s great, Shadow, really. But you said...it’s what she would have wanted.”

“Yes. And?”

“Well. What about what you want, Shadow?” He turned to face him, green eyes meeting red. “For real, I’m serious. Cause the whole travel the world while staying out of sight thing? I’ve done it. Gets real lonely, real fast.” He gripped Shadow’s shoulders before he could respond. “I know, you’re big and tough and you can handle it, right? But that’s no way to live. Not for long. There’s probably only so much good you can do to help people while staying out of sight, anyway.”

Shadow smirked, shutting his eyes. “What do you suggest I do, then?”

“Take a look around first – there’s a lot of neat stuff on Earth you can miss if you just resign yourself to staying outta sight. Y’know, there’s chilli dogs, arcades, races, lazy afternoons, friends, family…” He shrugged. “Then once you’ve figured out some of the stuff you like, who you are outside all that ‘Ultimate Lifeform’ baggage, just...come back here once in a while. Visit. Spend time with us.”

Shadow opened his eyes again, openly shocked. He looked back towards the lounge where the others were, that look flashing over his face again.

Grief.

Heavy amounts of it.

Sonic remembered then what Tom had said days earlier – just kindness wasn’t enough. Someone had to be ready to accept it.

It was more than that, though. Shadow looked at Sonic’s family, the people that had gathered around him after years of suffering and loneliness, and reacted with deep discomfort. It almost looked like there was fear in his eyes.

Sonic let go of his shoulders.

Shadow wasn’t ready for this. And Sonic wasn’t going to do anyone any good by pushing him on it.

“Cramping your style, huh? That’s all right. I can deal.”

Shadow blinked. The grief he’d let slip cleared, replaced by confusion. “That was an awfully quick turnaround.”

“Hey, I know when I’m beat. But you know, Shadow – there might be people out there who you can start over with. Just...don’t shut them out while you’re busy doing other things.”

Shadow rolled his eyes, but there was no heat in it.

“Also, uh – if you ever find yourself in this neck of the woods again – or you need some place to hide out,” he coughed, trying not to be embarrassed as he admitted, “I uh, have a cave I decked out on the outskirts of town. I don’t use it any more, but no one knows it’s there except me. Feel free to use it if you want – it’s got enough to get through a night or two in comfort.”

Shadow tilted his head, considering. Then he nodded. “Maybe I will,” he said. “But I have to ask – does it have a racecar bed, too?”

Sonic groaned. “Never gonna let that go, are you, Shads?”

“Hmph.” He looked towards the door, seeing the sunlight streaming through the room. “Time to go. Get the door on my signal.”

Sonic got in position, but he couldn’t resist teasing him one last time. It seemed to be the easiest thing for Shadow to respond to. “Sure you’re up to this? If anyone sees you…”

“Relax, Sonic,” he said, getting into a sprint-ready position. Energy started crackling in his eyes and around his limbs. “I can teleport clear across town long before anyone notices.”

Sonic nodded. He steeled himself, pulling the door handle down. “Then sayonara, Shadow the hedgehog.”

Shadow’s stoic expression faltered, but only for a moment. Then Sonic pulled the door open and in a flash of light, Shadow was gone.

Sonic turned to look outside, just able to catch sight of brief flashes of light travelling away from the house until very quickly, they disappeared out of sight. But Sonic lingered a second longer anyway, just to make sure GUN weren’t going to spring out of the suburbs to capture Shadow again.

But no one came.

It was just a quiet day on Earth, with the flash of light who Sonic hoped would someday be his friend travelling further and further away, off to find his place in the world.