Chapter Text
Shadow’s head throbbed, a burning pain searing across his temples. He knitted his eyebrows together and tried to will away the ache. It didn’t feel like he was bleeding, and nothing was pounding on his head, so he lay trying to piece together the source of his misery.
What happened earlier that day? It seemed like a hazy dream, and Shadow vaguely remembered running somewhere with Maria. Gerald shouted at some point too, didn’t he? Perhaps Shadow was in the lab today, being poked and prodded for any signs of a cure for Maria. That surely could explain the woozy feeling and growing pain in his forehead. What was it called again- headache?
Where was Shadow anyway? His vision was a blur, and a painfully bright light shone in his eyes, making it all the more difficult to see anything. Maria must’ve fallen asleep, forgetting to turn her bedroom light off. She had done that a few times before, but it was always on the days when her sickness rendered her too tired to do anything else. Shadow would always find the blonde girl snoring softly in her sheets, unbothered by the lamps and lights. He would chuckle softly at the bizarre sleeping position she found herself in as he’d inserted her nasal cannula, a task my easier to commit while she was awake, but he would never complain, the poor girl needed her sleep.
A low groan escaped his lips as he tried to move his limbs. He was not supposed to fall asleep before Maria, not when she needed him. He had to look after her, make sure she would sleep safely and healthily. Then he’d have to turn off that painfully bright light.
His disobedient limbs refused to cooperate. This wasn’t right.
Maria’s bed was too solid; it wasn’t like the plush mattress she loved. It was strangely confining, like looming walls closing around him, threatening to squish him.
The black hedgehog’s ears twitched as muffled voices shouted and commanded the footsteps that thudded loudly.
“Is that?”
“Not human.”
“Get him out.”
The voices were unfamiliar; these weren’t the usual scientists. Shadow would’ve been able to recognise them by their voices and footfalls, but these were new. He furrowed his brow. It wasn’t possible to get new scientists on the ARK; they were up in space and on a secret mission. What was going on?
It took a great amount of effort to force open his eyes, but his need to know was strong enough to push through. Shadow hated being left in the unknown; it meant he was defenceless, and if Gerald had taught him anything, it was that the smallest slip-up could mean the difference between life and death, and that he should always, no matter what, be aware of his surroundings. Red eyes tried to glance around, but the blaring light from above nearly rendered Shadow blind.
Shadow squinted, the sky wasn’t dark and filled with beautiful stars or a whirlwind of colours from the millions of galaxies. The sky seemed to be that blue canvas painted with clouds, just like the ones Maria would show him in her picture books about Earth.
Maria . Shadow shot up, knocking his head onto something hard. He winced in pain, grabbing his forehead and falling onto his back. Shadow glanced around frantically; he was trapped. The ultimate lifeform’s breathing grew laboured as he recognised his surroundings. It was one of the ARK’s escape pods, but that would mean he was actually on Earth; therefore, that should mean Maria would be with him, right?
Shadow pushed himself against the windows, looking frantically for Maria in amongst the tall grass and people, or perhaps even another escape pod. She had to be here. They ran to the escape pods together, it was only logical that she was here.
Shadow had thrown them into the bay, locked the door behind them, so no one could reach them, good or bad. Those GUN agents tried to take him, tried to hurt both of them, but they were safe, finally out of reach. Then he woke up on Earth, disoriented and Maria missing.
The black hedgehog tried to cry out for his sister, sure that if he yelled, she’d follow his voice and come back, but the noise that came out was gravelly and strangled. He tried again, the same result. Shadow had to find her, make sure she was okay.
The escape pod creaked and cracked in protest as humanoid hands frantically pulled it apart, pressed buttons and tugged at the door. Shadow’s eyes narrowed and a growl escaped his chest as a cool breeze began to dance across his quills. Hands pulled back, hesitant to grow closer. Shadow pushed himself into the furthest wall, defensive yet, unprotected. Surrounded, yet alone.
The fresh wind was unfamiliar against his fur-covered body, the airflow on the ARK could never compare to this feeling. If only Maria made it out, she would’ve loved it. She would’ve loved the wisps of air and the way they’d flow through her golden hair. Golden hair stained with blood .
A little whisper floated into Shadow's ear and the growl building in his throat died with the speed of a bullet. His world stopped turning as his pupils shrank into pinpricks. Maria- she- Short, aborted breaths. Clammy skin and tingling arms. Maria wasn't here, she- she was never here. The pod, she- Her body-
The strangers took his moment of weakness as an opportunity to attack, hands dove into the pod, restraining some sort of contraption around his neck. Shadow, now realising what was happening, strained himself to just move. Anywhere away from them. He shoved the humanoid figures away from the pod opening, diving through the small space, his legs buckling under his weight, but a tumble to the ground wasn’t going to stop him so easily. Not when the people chasing him were agents of GUN.
A deep pain rattled throughout the black hedgehog’s body. It wasn’t a bruise or a pulled muscle; it was an intense shock, emanating from his neck. From the collar. Shadow fell to the ground again, earning himself a face full of dirt.
A frustrated growl rumbled in Shadow’s chest as his body once more refused to cooperate with his commands and the sudden shock left a searing sensation. He fought to move - to crawl away from the agents chasing him down - but the numbness in his limbs left him able to do little else than slap them against the ground. Footsteps faded into range, and Shadow felt the dull prodding and poking of the agents as they assessed him.
It wasn't long before one of them dared to pick him up.
Whoever held Shadow carried his limp form delicately, like a porcelain doll, as if he would break at any moment. Perhaps, they were more worried he’d blow up, he was dangerous after all.
Everyone took one look at him and only saw an alien, a monster. Even the scientists on the ARK were afraid of him. He tried so hard to be good, to show them he wasn’t a danger, but that seemed to blow up in his face, he was the monster GUN wanted, the one they’d kill to capture.
A weak whimper escaped the black hedgehog as they shut him in a new pod, or at least what he thought was a pod. The space was smaller than his last, the lack of windows threw him into a suffocating darkness. A pained noise racked Shadow’s body and his captors didn’t even acknowledge his broken cries.