Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Why are you running away? We were just getting started!” 

With a rough tug from the blue hedgehog, the bike swerved suddenly and Shadow gasped. He only had just enough time to pull it upright when they slammed into the side of a metro bus, cracking the glass of the door instantaneously. The few passengers inside jumped at the sound, distant in his ears.

The flimsy weapon in his hands bounced unceremoniously from his grasp to the street below as he struggled to stay upright. Even the blue hedgehog stilled as the bike teetered back and forth as it would do neither of them good to come crashing down onto the wet asphalt. Finally, the motorcycle stabilized and Shadow sped off once more, giving a small but lethal glance back.

This blue nuisance was getting to him. The first one Shadow had seen that was just like him and they were fighting. Why was someone so enchanting teaming with the other side? Working with the same individuals that hurt him, that killed her and sealed him away for decades! Did he get replaced in the last fifty years? Was this G.U.N’s new toy? If so, why was he allowed outside? What made him different?

He wanted to be angry at him.

He wanted to fight the other hedgehog.

He wanted to kick him down.

He wanted to—

“The more you talk, the harder I want to kiss you!”

His eyes widened for a split second. Those words were not the ones he had intended to fall from his lips, but he snarled all the same and tightened his grip on the bike, revving it and speeding through the cars in the tunnel before them. Behind him, the other sputtered and Shadow’s ears recoiled and flattened against his head. The sudden heat that rose in his cheeks was in stark contrast to the cool, damp air around them but he refused to look back again.

“W-Wait, wait, what?”

Shadow ignored the surprised cries of the other hedgehog and barreled into the oncoming traffic, deftly maneuvering the bike. It was certainly more difficult to account for the added weight hanging from the back, but with ease, he adjusted and sped on.

“Wait, watch out!” cried the other, though Shadow couldn’t ignore this shout.

Both of their eyes met the flashing lights of the steadily approaching railroad crossing, a mile long bullet train speeding by. He gave a fast glance upwards, towards a staggering, glowing tower in the distance and revved with purpose now. 

Shadow drew in a deep breath and clenched his fists, letting his energy touch the world around him, feeling the bike below, and, inevitably, the body hanging on. He tapped into each aspect, feeling the electricity crackle beneath his palms, and took hold as they approached the train with unrelenting speed. 

And just as quickly, the atmosphere disappeared, the wind whipping through their quills dissipated and a sudden warmth covered them - before spitting them out into the night air - Shadow, bike, other hedgehog and all.

“Ugh, I’m gonna throw up,” the other hedgehog exclaimed, floating mercilessly behind Shadow. He bit his lip, fighting the urge to glance at the other with worry, fighting the need to know more, and grit his teeth to rid himself of those thoughts. 

Drifting through the air, he allowed his energy to bubble under the surface, supercharging into the bike and releasing it, the faintest smell of ozone heavy in the air.  From behind, the other hedgehog flailed around aimlessly, attempting to follow the bike.

“Woah, woah!”

Shadow braced himself for the landing, charging up the bike up the tower, attempting to distance himself, to get away from the infuriatingly enchanting hedgehog. Why couldn’t he be left alone?

With a turn of his head, he saw a flash of blue as the other hedgehog’s energy clashed with his own, throwing sparks into the air as they climbed the building before, slamming against each other in a continuous fight for control.

Red against blue. Sapphire atop of ruby. Crimson burning into cobalt. Woven together like threads.

He wanted to know more, he needed to know more. And yet he had to fight the other, even as their energies intermingled and danced the night sky purple. 

Though he really shouldn’t be surprised. What he wanted never mattered before, so why should it now?

The other hedgehog collapsed over the tip of a ledge in the building, but the bike was too charged for the sudden stop. In an attempt to slow the bike down, he swerved it expertly, the lingering remnants of his chaos energy blending neatly into the sparks the move created, before he was plunged into the air once more.

Shadow barely had time to admire the view. He’d always wanted to see Tokyo with her. 

From the landing, the blue hedgehog was gearing up to charge up at him, and Shadow met his challenge, ignoring the panging in his heart, in his lungs. Clenching his fists one last time, he shot downwards, not caring where the bike ended up. The other hedgehog was rapidly approaching, and from this angle Shadow could see the other also preparing to punch.

Taking a deep breath, he charged himself once more, ignoring the sting of his own energy and slammed his fist into the other.

An explosion of light emerged from where their bodies connected and both were thrown downward, back onto the building. The lights of the city dimmed into oblivion as the power grid failed to comprehend the absolute immensity of energy the blast created.

Shadow grunted as he slammed into the concrete, breath taken from his lungs forcefully. He wheezed in pain for a few moments, arms shaking to hold up his weight as he pushed himself to his feet. He hasn’t felt like this since the accident.

Shadow paused, looking behind him.The other hedgehog was right there, knocked out from the blow. 

He sat there, staring at the body in the darkness, for quite awhile.

He should leave. The other two creatures were surely on their way, and it wasn’t as if the hedgehog  would want to be around Shadow now. He should disappear, far away from the eyes of the world. Where he belonged. 

But still, he hesitated.

Against his better judgement, he staggered to his feet and approached the unmoving body. The blue hedgehog was breathing, though completely unconscious, and a wave of pity rushed over him. What was his story? Why was he working for G.U.N? Who would voluntarily work for that hellish organization. Or maybe it wasn’t voluntary?

He felt angry at that fact. G.U.N deserved to be blown off the face of the planet, they didn’t deserve the blue hedgehog in front of him. They didn’t deserve those emerald green eyes.

Like you do? He thought derisively and shook his head. He failed to save her, how could he stand to think he could help the new hedgehog too?

The mechanical handcuffs lay next to the prone figure and Shadow grabbed them and linked him to a railing without a second thought. Now, he wouldn’t be followed. Now, he was sure to be left alone.

Though again, he hesitated.

He didn’t want to leave the other hedgehog. But he needed answers, and he wasn’t going to get any sitting around here. Fifty years was a long time to be in the dark, and as much as he wanted to stay, his past was impossible to ignore.

But maybe he could leave something behind.

Something to tell the other he was there, despite it all. That he wasn’t so heartless, that he wasn’t the monster everyone feared him to be. 

An apology, in everything but words.

He plucked a single quill from his head, wincing at the tug. His quills were rough and brittle and it took very little effort. Before, Maria had painstakingly done her best to groom and take care of his quills with the utmost love and affection. But it had been a long fifty years since he’d been groomed. He hasn’t eaten anything in that time either, his stomach panged harshly with every step he took.

He took the frail quill and laid it next to the body. The hedgehog’s breathing was still methodical and he was still laying there unconscious, but as lights flickered back on in the distance, Shadow knew he was running out of time.

He kneeled and grabbed the other’s limp hand, squeezing it gently and gazing over the soft blue fur with an apologetic smile.

“I’m sorry. Maybe, in another world,” he whispered, before pressing a chaste kiss to the hand. 

He turned away as the hedgehog began groaning and waking up, disappearing just as the lights of the tower flashed and returned, leaving only a single trace behind.

One might think it had been a remnant of the rain. Though those who looked closer, however, would see it as a teardrop, falling sweetly onto the red shoes of the still body.

Sonic groaned as he awoke, holding his head in one his hands. His temple was pounding, and he continued to wince as waves upon waves of pain rolled through him.

“One-point-twenty one gigawatts,” he muttered as his vision stopped spinning. He was able to sit up partially as the lights around him flickered on, illuminating the city that had been plunged into darkness. Though he wasn’t able to go far.

“Oh, you gotta be kidding me!”

That other hedgehog handcuffed him? With Tails’ own tech? That’s stooping to a new level of low that not even Knuckles had tried to reach. Well, Knuckles punched him through three walls and a television, so he barely had enough room to talk.

“Hedgehog!” the aforementioned echidna cried as Tails carried him over the building.

“Sonic! Are you alright?” Tails asked, immediately running over to him and fiddling with the lock on the cuffs. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he clipped, voice coming back much more harshly than he had intended. “But before you ask - I totally handcuffed myself for tactical reasons you wouldn’t understand.”

The fox didn’t look impressed, only saddened and worried. There was the telltale beginnings of a bruise forming on the young kit’s cheek, left from the other hedgehog’s powerful kick. “You really shouldn’t have gone on your own.”

The whole encounter felt off somehow. He couldn’t explain in words, but at the core, was the new hedgehog. “Something isn’t right, guys. G.U.N’s not being completely honest with us and I’m gonna bet that other hedgehog has some answers.”

“Who was he?” 

“The more you talk, the harder I want to kiss you!”

Sonic felt his face flush in a way it hadn’t done so before. The hedgehog’s words during the chase came back to him so very suddenly, he almost wished it had been something he’d misheard. His heart raced in his chest, his cheeks reddened, and his hands shook.

“Sonic?”

He shook his head, swallowing thickly and willing the flush to disappear from his face. The others would think it’s just a trick of the light. He answered, “I’m not sure, but he and G.U.N have history, that’s for certain. We’re not jumping out of any more helicopters in the meantime, alright?”

Knuckles and Tails nodded in silent agreement. It seemed as if they wanted more information about the hedgehog too.

“Wait, look!” Tails pointed to the ground and Sonic’s eyes followed obediently. 

A dark, red quill, charged with energy. He gasped and picked it up immediately, analyzing it with scrutiny. Even though their encounter had been brief, the crimson electrical sparks could have originated from no other. “It’s from him.”

“If we find this mysterious hedgehog, we find answers, correct? Fox, can you use your fancy gizmos to track him down?” asked Knuckles.

Tails grasped the quill, turning it over slightly before nodding. “I think I have something that’ll do just the trick! Used it on Sonic once with perfect results!”

“Hey, what?”

Knuckles ignored him, raising his fists in the air. “We have our mission then? Let us travel back to the Lady of Pretzels and the Lord of the Donuts and relay our current information!”

Sonic chuckled sheepishly, rubbing his sore head once more. “Let’s not tell them we got our asses handed to us, alright?”

“Language, Sonic,” Tails chided. Though, he looked down and bit his lip as well. “But agreed.”

“We shall not mention our dishonorable defeat. Fox!” Knuckles gestured to Tails.

“On it!” said the kit as he ruffled through the small yellow backpack, grabbing a ring and throwing it quickly in front of him. The portal opened suddenly to the front lawn of the Wachowski home. Ozzy, who had been lazing sleepily in the grass, was startled by the sudden noise and barked through the portal.

Knuckles and Tails immediately traveled through, the former reaching affectionately for the dog, but Sonic hesitated, staring out into the depths of Tokyo, scanning for any signs of the other.

Who are you? Why are you here? 

Why have we met?

Every time his eyes closed, he could see haunted crimson eyes. Dangerous, but carrying a delicate air that Sonic wanted nothing more to explore. 

As he stepped through the portal, he reveled in the sudden change of atmosphere as his body was welcomed home. The scent of the Tokyo petrichor was dwarfed by Green Hill’s earthy aroma, the familiar smell of the grass flooding his nostrils. He gave a fleeting glance toward the shrinking ring, watching the Tokyo night fade into obscurity.

We'll meet again, hedgehog. Just you wait.

Chapter Text

“How’d the mission go? You kick the alien’s butt?” asked Tom as soon as all three of them were inside the house, wiping their feet on the mat, of course. Maddie relented with her “no shoes in the house rule” after she quickly realized her children were extremely uncomfortable with removing those articles of clothing. Still, a compromise was made with the wiping. 

The trio were eerily silent. Only Ozzie’s obnoxious panting echoed throughout the foyer. 

“We-,” began Sonic, swallowing the knot that had appeared in his throat.

“There’s another hedgehog! And he’s powerful and can teleport and wield a gun, and he utterly wiped the floor with us!” Admitted Tails in a single breath, before letting out a sigh of relief. The kit’s tails bounced with each breath he took.

Sonic and Knuckles glared at the fox, immediately groaning. Though, they really shouldn't have expected much; Knuckles’ hand was swollen, Tails’ face was bruised, and Sonic was pretty sure he had the faintest hint of a concussion. That other hedgehog sure knew how to pack a punch.

“Dude!”

Tails’ cheeks reddened as he looked down sheepishly, saying, “I’m sorry, I hate lying!”

The echidna placed his good hand on the kit’s shoulders, the size of the echidna’s namesake comedically dwarfing Tail’s head. “An admirable trait, but alas we admit defeat.”

“Another one, huh?” mused Tom, looking at Maddie with an expectant glance. She rolled her eyes and had to stifle a laugh with her hands. 

“He’s too strong! Not even Sonic stood a chance.”

“Ok, first off, the other guy just caught me off is all! I’ve never even seen another hedgehog before! Not even when I was with Longclaw. And this new guy?  He’s dark and mysterious, not to mention, can ride a motorcycle?” He felt the unfamiliar burn in his cheeks just thinking of the other.

The more you talk, the harder I want to kiss you!

Is this what having a crush is like? Sonic hadn’t expected it to feel so frightening, so restrictive and yet floaty. He shook his head, ridding himself of those thoughts, focusing back on his parents.

“What’s he after?” asked Maddie, arms crossed in the living room. She was unfortunately frozen in place by Ozzy’s sleeping form across her feet. The dog was nothing if not insistent on getting attention. 

“That’s the thing, we don’t exactly know,” Sonic surmised. “He just kinda showed up. G.U.N were the ones that attacked him. In fact, he didn’t even attack first. Knuckles, I love you, dude, but you swung the first punch.”

The echidna nodded resolutely. “The more impressive hedgehog was defending himself. I admit I acted rashly.”

“Now, I feel kinda bad,” whispered Tails. “Those were my cuffs.”

Clapping his hands and staring his charges down, Tom asked, “So, what’s the plan? Where’d he go?”

He winced just thinking about how difficult it was to track down someone who could teleport. Or match his speed. Or do anything, really. The other hedgehog just seemed to always be one step ahead. 

“Tails, you still got the quill?” he asked, turning to look at the young fox with an inquiring glance.

The fox swung around his pouch, digging inside and pulling the illuminated quill, sparks of energy crackling near the tips.

“Yep!”

“Woah, hold on,” piped in Maddie, who shuffled the animal off of her with a great heave, walking towards them with purpose. “Ozzy, go sleep in your crate. Let me have a look at that.”

“The quill?”

She took it and frowned, turning it over and pinching it slightly. “It’s incredibly brittle, hold on. Sonic, when we first welcomed you home, you remember how small you were, right?”

“Uh, yeah?”

He had grown a whole six inches the first few months of staying with Tom and Maddie, shooting up like a weed. Maddie watched him like a hawk during his initial stay, fretting over his health like a worried mother should. But as a veterinarian, she had a much deeper worry.

“That was due to malnutrition, hon. You were losing quills left and right and it’s because you hadn’t been eating properly,” she explained, giving his head a small pat. “The quills you had were damaged and could easily break. This quill? It feels the same way. It’s practically see-through.”

“What does that mean?” asked Tails in a small voice.

“It means,” replied Maddie, “That your new friend might be hurting. Or hungry. Definitely, the latter.”

“Well, when we track him down, we’ll be sure to bring a snack or two!” he shouted, pumping his fist.

Tom raised a brow, and it was only then that Sonic realized the man was wearing his thick sleep pants and the ratty shirt he only wore when getting ready for bed. “Track him down? Are you gonna do that like now, or can we get some quality sleep first?”

Maddie looked equally as tired, and Sonic waved them off. “You two sleepyheads can march your butts up the stairs and sleep, but we have a mission!”

“Alright, have fun. Don't do something stupid, like I don’t know, blow up the moon,” said Tom with a  deep chuckle. “Oh, and no crashing any more weddings!”

His wife snorted, patting the dog and encouraging him to follow her. “It’s a wonder how Rachel lets you all live.”

“That was arguably not even the worst thing to happen to her wedding! Do you not remember the priest with a gun!” cried Sonic, but his siblings ignored him.

“You got it, Dad!” said Tails.

Knuckles chimed in with his own confirmation. “Understood, Lord of the Donuts! We bid you and the Lady of Pretzels a pleasant rest.”

As the couple’s footsteps eventually disappeared, the trio turned their attention back to the smallest of their midst.

“Tails, you got the thingy?”

“It’s not a thingy. It’s a high-density electrical powered chaos reader! All it takes is an ounce of a charge, like the quill, and it analyzes the biometrics to produce a signature. Like a finger print - it’s unique, and we can use it to track him down!”

“In English?” asked Sonic.

Tails rolled his eyes and replied with a monotone voice, “It will scan the quill and tell us where he is.”

“Well, why didn’t you say so?” he said jovially, bouncing on his feet in anticipation. The thought of seeing those eyes and that mysterious face again was suddenly the only thing on his mind. “Come on, boys, we got a hedgehog to track!”

Tails inserted the quill into the scanner, pressing a few more buttons that Sonic couldn’t even begin to comprehend. The device clicked and beeped several times, before displaying a series of numbers. The three of them hunched over the small screen, squinting, until Tails’ device highlighted pins on a large map.

Not exactly an expert in geography, Sonic looked to his little brother for clarification. “So where is he?”

There were four red dots scattered throughout the map, but the fox pointed to the largest one.

“He’s in….Colorado?” Tails said as he zoomed it.

Montana wasn’t too far, and given the fact both parties came from Tokyo, it was too strange to be a coincidence. “That’s…awfully close.”

“That’s just from the latest reading. The reader picked up on at least three other instances: the one from Tokyo, then one in Maui, one near Seattle, then finally, then the last about fifty miles north of Aspen. The area he’s in is completely empty according to satellite imaging,” said Tails, looking to his older brother with a fearful expression.

“G.U.N,” Sonic realized. 

Something fishy was going on, and G.U.N and the other hedgehog were at the center of it all. 

“Yep,” said Tails, pulling up a clear image from the ground in an area close to the pin.

“Ring is prepared,” announced Knuckles, holding up the small ring in his large fists.

“Alright boys, ready for more?”

It took several warps to get to the base. It seems in the fifty years he’d been in stasis, he was moved to the outskirts of Tokyo for reasons he did not care to know. One warp took him halfway across the Pacific, the other landing on the coast of America.

The last took Shadow back to the base, to the familiar mountain range that hugged it like an enclosure.

The base looked the same as it did fifty years ago. Clearly no one had touched it since. He’d only seen the doors from when they captured him and yet they remained as imposing as ever. Dust littered the insignia like paint, almost like a somber tarp that had been folded over, hiding the base from the rest of the world.

When he warped inside, all he could feel was dread. It felt like walking into a graveyard. It was a graveyard. His footsteps left an imprint wherever he walked over remnants of dust and ash. 

Shadow turned near the entrance, where the incident had occurred. It was still so fresh in his mind. Having occurred mere hours before, in terms of the time he’d been conscious.

And yet, at the same time, fifty years had gone by without him realizing. The prickling of fresh tears kissed at the corners of his eyes, and hastily wiped them with his glove. 

He glanced down, reeling in shock as he picked up a charred roller skate. It was an echo of a familiar shade of blue. Her shade of blue.

Her beautiful, vibrant shade of blue.

It just wasn’t fair. Maria was so full of life, so full of positivity. She never feared him, not even for a second. And she had been taken away in an instant.

His feet carried him to their- her room without much of a protest from the rest of his body. It was strange how familiar these halls were, despite most of them being reduced to rubble. And still, he knew intrinsically which direction to go.

Their tent was still standing. Her guitar was still laying on its side, awaiting the return of its owner to begin playing once again.

Stale popcorn. Dusty television. Dirty blankets. String lights with dead batteries. His whole life here was a fragment of itself.

Their record player was adorned in a layer of dust, and yet he gave himself a moment of hope. He pressed play and lowered the needle, and his hopes were yet again crushed, the sound coming out warped and distorted and wrong.

Five decades was not a long time to be forgotten. In the grand scope of the universe, it was actually incredibly short. But it was enough that the world had moved on from this dreary place; both his prison and his home.

He kneeled down at the floor, wiping away a layer of dust, cringing as it stained his gloves. If he swiped hard enough, Shadow could almost see the reflection of the lights in the tile, could almost see a trace of her.

He stood up once more, moving to leave the room, but hesitated. 

Where would he go? Where would he belong? 

There was the other hedgehog, the fox, and the echidna. They’d clearly been accepted and welcomed. 

Would he be given the same opportunity?

His ears twitched as footsteps startled him, and he spun around, fists charging with energy. Though, the energy fizzled out once Shadow realized who was standing in the doorway.

The other hedgehog, seemingly alone.

“Stay back,” he ordered, raising his fist. He really didn’t want to knock the other out again, but if it came to it, he wouldn’t hesitate.

“I meant what I said earlier, dude. I don’t want to fight,” the other replied, hands raised in the air. The hedgehog’s hands were empty. The cuffs were gone. 

Still, Shadow hunched over himself defensively, barking, “What do you want from me then.”

“To talk!” The other practically bounced up and down, though it wasn’t a frightening display. The cheery demeanor was rather familiar, actually.

“About what?” he asked, voice settling down to a low and calm timber, a far cry from previous malice.

“Why not introductions? I’m tired of referring to you as ‘the other hedgehog’ in my head,” he replied.

Shadow squinted and backed up, his quills hitting the drawer where the record player lay. “Why should I tell you? How can I trust you?”

“You can’t trust me enough to tell me your name, but you trust me enough to tell me you want to kiss me?”

Shadow’s eyes widened, and his face went impossibly red. His hand came up instinctively to hide his cheeks, and he muttered a faint, “I meant to say hit.”

The other hedgehog snorted, a teasing smile on his face. “Yeah, right, and I’m the King of England.”

“I thought it was the Queen?”

“Uh, no dude. She’s been gone for like a year or two now. You been sleeping under a rock?”

“Something like that,” whispered Shadow, cursing himself for forgetting the time he’d lost. “W-Will you tell me your name first?”

“Sure! Sonic is the name, speed is my game! Pleasure to meet your acquaintance…?” Sonic trailed off, extended his hand for a shake.

“Shadow,” he replied, grasping the hand. Sonic’s smile widened exponentially and Shadow could barely hear the next words from how loud his heart thundered in his chest.

“Shadow. A fitting name,” said Sonic, twirling in a circle around him and then sitting down on the ground in front of Shadow with a quiet huff. “So, Shadow. Let’s talk.”

Chapter Text

Across from Sonic, Shadow looked down at him with a questioning glance, though he soon followed suit and sat carefully down, wiping the dusty floor of the old room. There was only about a foot of space between them, enough that Shadow could extend his arm forward and meet cobalt quills

“Talk about…?” Shadow prompted, clearly still rather suspicious.

“Well, why don’t I tell my story first? You listen, and decide if you want to tell yours,” he said, enunciating his point with small gestures of his hands, so as to not startle the other. Typically, Sonic’s movements were wild and unpredictable, but with the other so on edge, he fought his body to control his spontaneous excitement.

Shadow looked perplexed, head cocking to the side like Ozzie did when you asked him if he wanted to go for a walk.

“I have a choice?” the hedgehog asked, eyes wide. This close, Sonic discovered that Shadow’s eyes weren’t actually red - they were actually a light shade of caramel brown.

But the implications of that statement were rather grim. Shadow had looked almost afraid for a moment. In fact, nearly all of Shadow’s actions so far, save for the literal truck thrown at them in Tokyo, had been in self-defense. Not once had Shadow shown signs of aggression.

Only fear.

“Of course!” Sonic beamed. “I’m not keeping you here against your will.”

Still, Shadow’s expression was touched but an anxious hand. It reminded him of the stray cats he’d often feed around the sheriff’s station - easing slowly into affection, but ready to snap back in a moment’s notice.

“Where are the others?” Shadow suddenly asked. “Your accomplices?”

“Tails and Knucks? They’re chilling outside monitoring the perimeter, letting me do all the heavy lifting,” Sonic replied in an easy tone. “Knuckles says he’s sorry by the way for attacking you.”

“…the red one?”

“Yep. And the word you’re looking for is friend, not accomplice. That makes it sound like I’m some evil supervillain and I am very much not that. Actually, now that I’m really thinking ‘bout it they’re more like my brothers than anything.”

A flicker of understanding in Shadow’s gaze. His left ear twitched and folded itself back for a mere fraction of a second. It would have been nearly imperceptible to humans, but to Sonic’s reflexes, it was clear as day.

“Alright, Sonic. I-I’ll listen.”

“So, I was left orphaned on my home planet due to reasons I still don’t know, and was taken in by an owl named Longclaw. She raised me as her own, from a little hoglet all the way to a snot-nosed little kid. But she died protecting me from the wrath of the echidna tribe and sent me to a different planet. I bounced around and eventually found Earth where I stayed hidden for a good ten years on my own,” he started.

“On your own?” Shadow asked.

“Unfortunately, yep. It messed me up for a while, though, and eventually I just got so upset, I accidentally caused an EMP,” he admitted, prompting Shadow to laugh.

It wasn’t the boisterous laughter like Knuckles would burst into, nor Tails’ little giggles. No, it was a small chuckle, more an amused sigh than anything. But it happened. And if Sonic wanted to cause that reaction again, then could you really blame him?

“Then, the government sends this absolute madman after me, Robotnik. He-” but for the first time, he was interrupted.

“What did you just say?” Shadow asked, a questioning tilt to his voice that hadn’t yet appeared.

“What?”

“Robotnik, you said. First name?”

“Uh, Ivan or Ivo I think.”

Disappointment. It was heavily evident in Shadow’s voice, even if the hedgehog didn’t voice it. His ears, which had perked at the name, drooped. His eyes, suddenly hopeful, had lost the gleam once more.

“Ah, apologies. You may continue,” Shadow whispered.

Slightly hesitant, Sonic continued on, trying to regain his lost composure, “So Robotnik, he came after me for some reason and that’s when I formally met Tom. He and I traveled to San Francisco because I lost my rings that I was going to use to get off the planet and blah, blah, blah. Funny story, he shot me with a tranquilizer gun.”

It had been an attempt to make Shadow laugh again. To make that breathy and delighted purr rumble through him once more.

To his dismay, it had the opposite effect. Even for someone with dark fur and quills, Shadow’s face paled considerably. His eyes widened a fractional bit more, mouth dropping in shock.

“He shot you?”

“Yep! But, it’s really no biggie!” he attempted to reassure the other hedgehog, though Shadow still looked perturbed. “After I defeated Robotnik and kinda banished him to the Mushroom Planet for like eight months, I kinda just settled into my new home. I tried helping saving people and trying to be a real hero, but I wasn’t really good at it.”

With a dramatic pause, he continued on, “Then, boom, one day Robotnik is back and he brought Knuckles. Another fun fact, he also tried to kill me but that’s how I bumped into Tails!”

“The fox?”

“Yep! He's my bestest bud, handy with his gadgets. A real genius if I do say so myself. Anyways, Tails helped us locate the compass for the Master Emerald, Knuckles and Eggman stopped us, we crashed a wedding at some point, which was completely fabricated by G.U.N by the way, so I don’t feel any remorse whatsoever.”

“…G.U.N did what?” 

The bewildered look on Shadow’s face made Sonic burst into giggles of his own. 

“Yeah, in order to get close to me and my family, they basically set up my aunt with one of their agents and captured us after we arrived,” he laughed. “By the way, getting tased is so not fun.”

“I’m aware,” whispered Shadow. And once again, Sonic internally kicked himself.

“Anywho, we broke out, I had to get to the Emerald before Eggman did, Knuckles and I fought, I saved him from drowning, he saved me from drowning, and boom! We’re allies!” Sonic exclaimed with a wild spread of his hands. “Then we had this super cool battle to stop Eggman and I went all golden god mode and stopped him. Tom and Maddie took in Tails and Knuckles and we became a family!”

The other hedgehog blinked as if waiting for more.

“So yeah, that’s basically my life story. Pretty neat, right?”

“A family…with humans?”

“Yep. Sonic Wachowski, proudly at your service.”

“You take the surname of the humans you love?” Shadow asked with a cock of his head. It was cute, like a puppy.

“I mean, it’s not like anybody can stop you,” he shrugged. “It’s just how it came to be. Maddie can’t have human children, but me, Tails, and Knuckles may as well be hers.”

“Hmm,” Shadow breathed, a soft huff ruffling the fur of his muzzle. He then extended his hand towards Sonic, the echo of a smile on his face and said, “Then, Shadow Robotnik. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“…what,” said Sonic, dumbfounded. 

He’d just told Shadow all about how Eggman tried to kill him. Twice! 

“I’m not familiar with the Robotnik you speak of, but my Maria was very much not an evil madman. Nor was she…egg-shaped.”

Oh. A different Robotnik? 

“Maria…Robotnik? I didn’t know Eggman had a family.”

“Maria was everything to me,” Shadow said with a wistful smile. “You’re standing in her bedroom right now.

“Where is she?” he looked around, expecting this Maria to walk through the open doors and greet him. Though Shadow’s next words made him still.

“I imagine she is in the same place as your Longclaw.”

Shit. The layer of dust caking the bedroom, the floor and everything in between. The abandoned records, the popcorn hastily thrown inside the tent. The abandoned base. 

She was dead. Something had happened to her, to Shadow. And as a result, she was gone.

And G.U.N had something to do with it. He just knew it.

You jumped out of a G.U.N helicopter. There’s nothing to talk about.

“Oh,” he sighed, as all the pieces clicked together.

“Lost to us.”

“Man, I’m really sorry, Shadow,” Sonic said, because what was there to say?

“It’s alright. It’s been fifty years since her passing.”

“...fifty?” he asked bewildered, suddenly doing the math in his head. “How old are you? You look the same age I do.”

With an anguished look, Shadow whispered, “I’m unaware of my true age. But, if it's any consolation, I was asleep for those fifty years. I awoke only hours ago.”

“Tokyo?”

Shadow nodded, hands wrapping themselves around his chest in a mock embrace.

Sighing with determination, Sonic turned and kneeled before Shadow. The grief in the other’s face was so very obvious, and Sonic understood. He knew what it was like to have absolutely nothing, to have those who he loved torn from him forever.

He wanted to help Shadow. He truly did.

“You should come with us, Shadow. There’s currently one family on Earth who knows how to deal with those like us and it’s the Wachowski’s.”

Those great big eyes peered into Sonic’s soul, uncertainly. “And I wouldn’t be imposing?”

“‘Course not! But, Maddie did want to look you over, dude.”

Sonic reached out a hand, pulling Shadow to his feet far too quickly, even for himself. Shadow wobbled dangerously, now suddenly leaning heavily into Sonic’s side, startled. “Woah, there, easy, easy.”

At first, he thought it had been from the sudden lateral movement, but even after fifteen seconds, Shadow still showed signs of weakness.

“Shadow, you good?”

“Just…a little tired,” panted the other, clenching his eyes closed.

“When’s the last time you ate something?”

“I-I can’t remember…”

“It’s been fifty years, huh,” Sonic’s eyes widened, recalling their earlier words.

“Likely,” Shadow groaned, and it was then that Sonic noticed the size difference between them. 

Shadow was lean. And not in a good way. Impossibly small arms (how on Earth had he managed such a mean swing with those?) and inches shorter than him. Now that Shadow was in hitting distance, Sonic could see exactly what Maddie had been trying to tell him.

The quills, brittle, out of place, worn. 

From one hedgehog to another, he knew that must feel extremely uncomfortable. It was just like his were a year ago. The same short stature, almost frail posture.

If it had been fifty years since Shadow last had proper nutrition, he must be running on absolute fumes. And one look at the hedgehog confirmed it.

Bags under his eyes conveying an exhaustion that Sonic doesn’t think he’s ever felt. Knees trembling, trying to hold up Shadow’s meager weight. Shaky hands, shaky legs, shaky, stuttering breaths.

“You should really not be on your feet,” he commented. “You mind if I carry you?”

“I…suppose not,” Shadow murmured quietly, and Sonic was quick to scoop him up, internally cooing at the way the other hedgehog hid his face in the crook of Sonic’s neck.

“You ready to leave this popsicle stand?” Sonic asked, ready to return to the familiar mountains of Montan. The lush green surroundings, the coziness of Green Hills. Shadow would like it there, the peace and tranquility.

“Wait! The picture frame! It’s in here somewhere,” cried Shadow suddenly, squirming in his arms. 

“Huh?” asked Sonic, looking around the deserted room, eyes glancing to every corner. 

“Please, it’s all I have left of her,” whispered Shadow, and Sonic, determined to not to upset the hedgehog in his arms, scanned every corner of Maria’s bedroom in response.

It was not near the record player. It was not on the dresser. Not on the desk with scattered drawings, clearly done by a young girl. 

Not near the door.

Not near the bedside table.

Not near the…tent? 

Sonic crouched low, scanning the blanketed floor of the makeshift fort and his eyes settled on the one object that reflected light back at him. A cracked frame, it had, but the beaming faces that smiled back at him made up for the shoddy exterior.

Shadow with a truly real smile, next to a girl with golden blonde hair.

“Here, Shadow.”

Shadow grasped it carefully, fingers still shaking, though this time, Sonic couldn’t tell if it was because he had become overwhelmed with his emotions. Tears blossomed beneath his eyes as his fingers ran over the girl’s face.

Hopefully, Tails and Knuckles wouldn’t startle him too much.

And as they departed from the room, Sonic’s arms tightened around Shadow, a fuzzy, yet unfamiliar warmth in his chest spreading. It felt good, in a way. But also exhilarating, like he had just returned from running a marathon.

It was only because Sonic was excited to help him, right?