Chapter Text
Her voice was hitched from amazement just by looking at the beautiful planet right in front of her, she pressed her hands on the window sill while staring at the huge planet from the spaceship she resides in.
'There are so many things I wanted to do after all of this is done, playing with new friends, eating all kinds of food, and having a great time with-' her mind then focus on the sounds of walking from the hallway that was at her left side, the sound of metal tapping with another metal gave away who was coming towards her slowly.
"Oh Shadow!! You scared me for a moment there!!!" the blond girl giggled while shifting a lock of her hair from her face, she turn to a black hedgehog with a stern face looking at her with concern.
"Maria there's a better time and place where you could list everything you've ever imagined to do once your completely healed, but Professor Gerald gave you a scedule for your bedtime and you already lost 10 minutes of good sleep" the hedgehog lectured her which made the human pout in annoyance before turning away with a 'hmph!!' sound.
Shadow rolled his eyes with a half smile in response before making his way to be near Maria, "You said before that there are times that sleep can give you good dreams, maybe you'll imagine everything you've always dreamed of if you sleep early" he cross his arms and waited for her reply.
"Ok ok I'll go to sleep" the girl whined and grabbed the hedgehog's hand in which he didn't mind at all, "But we better have a bedtime story about history on Earth before going to bed ok?" the two walk with each other, hand in hand into the hallways with only their voices and the sound of their foot steps being the only ones making a noise inside of this ship's dead silence.
"Ok, but you better be asleep afterwards otherwise Professor Gerald would have his blood pressure rise up" he joked which made the girl laugh.
Shadow chuckled in reponse before they descended themselves into the half lit hallways.
________________________________________________
50 years later...
The chirping noises of the Lockies immediately made the same hedgehog rise his eye lids open before watching a few of them flew off into the skies. He sat up straight and look everywhere at his his surroundings, 'I've been sleeping from dusk till noon now' he then stand up on his feet before fixing his quills and then started skating through the forest in high speed.
Despite the debris hitting his form and the obstacles in his path that he was able to dodge, he was able to think in his mind without breaking focus. '...By some miracle I was able to avoid my own death..' he swayed to the right to avoid getting hit by another pine tree before continuing skating, '...But I don't know what my next course of action will be..' he then halted on top of a branch of a tree, he didn't move for 10 minues until he speaks what's going on in his mind, "Are they still going to forgive me after what I did?" he contemplated about this after he crash landed on earth.
Despite sacrificing himself in order to put everyone's safety before himself, he still put everyone on earth in danger because of his own actions. 'If one of them saw me...' the hedgehog just stare at the grassy terrain without moving for how long, 'Forget'.
He jump down from the branch and skated through the land without any guide nor plan on what to do next, the hedgehog just decided to just roam around in whatever destination he'll find.
________________________________________________
Elsewhere...
Another hedgehog was also moving in the fields in a fast but not in the same pace as the black hedgehog before, a feminine anthro was sweating buckets from the running she's been enduring but didn't bother to stop for a bit to catch her breath.
'Darn, I could've sworn I sense Sonic running towards this direction but...did he left in another direction already?'
With no clue if her question is correct or not, the pink hedgehog doesn't stop of what she's doing and keep on running until she stopped on her heels before looking at the dark grim cave right in front of her.
'Sonic and Tails mentioned to me about this place' she took a one step forward to look inside and see how dim the place was. 'I can only see a bit because of the light, maybe I shouldn't-' she shook her head by the thought, 'No!! Those two went in there with no flashlight at all!!! If those two can do it, then I can do it too!!'.
Taking a deep breath, she went inside the cave without stopping.
________________________________________________
Back with Shadow...
The hedgehog found himself inside a dark cave with some fauna or moss sticking out on a few cracks of the stone ceiling and walls. The path was all wood but thankfully all of them are sturdy enough to stand and run on, the downside though was that the place was filled with booby traps.
Not like the black hedgehog had any trouble passing through this place anyway.
'Seems like the Doctor has been here before' he eye at the tons of destroyed Badniks lying down on the floor lifeless. Deciding to stop for a while to check out this place, he heard footsteps echoing this very cave that made one of his ear twitch from reflex and alert.
He went behind some large stones and cloak himself to the shadows to become unseen. Each time he hears the sound of footsteps he just knew that whatever is coming is getting closer and closer by any minute. Once he heard it stop, he take a slight peak to see the person or thing that is unknowingly with him in this room.
He was a bit surprised to see another hedgehog, although pink and petite that has curiousity brimming in her face as she look around in interest and awe. This got the black anthro to question in his mind to why that is since this place is already abandoned and look like a dump just from a slight glance.
'But that's none of my business' he look away with his eyes close and told himself before deciding to leave this place without her acknowledgement until a sudden glomp in the back caught him unguarded.
"Caught you Sonic!!!" Amy cheerfully yell before her mouth got covered by Shadow's hand who quickly twisted his body so that he's the one 'hugging' the girl from behind, the entire cave was shaking and little bits of rocks and dust we're falling from the ceiling due to the loud echo coming from the pink hedgehog. Thankfully it stopped when minutes have passed.
"You should learn to keep your mouth shut if you want to stay alive" his voice was low but still holds dominance that shows that he is serious.
The pink hedgette nodded as the other released her from his grasp that made the bubblegum anthro to stumble for a bit before looking at the black anthro with a gasp and then happily jump up and down.
"Oh Shadow!!!-" she then remember his warning and then whispered "Your alive!!" she leap to gave him another embrace while the stern hedgehog just stand in place without moving.
"Oh the others would be happy to see you - wait, I'll have to manage to get a call to Rouge so both of you can -"
"Not going to happen" Shadow sternly interrupted before he turn around to walk away which cause the pink anthro to widen her eyes from shock.
"Wait-what?!?" she shouted before clamping her mouth to close yet again when she felt the cave shake for a moment until it died down, luckily the black hedgehog stopped his tracks when that happened, the downside was that he gave her a warning glare that made her jump a bit.
He then speed off that caught Amy off guard for a second only to immediately follow the silent anthro as fast as her legs can carry her. From what Amy's seen from her own POV, Shadow would have been miles away from her by now, but that didn't stop the hedgette from trying.
________________________________________________
The black hedgehog went out of the cave in high speed, he didn't bother to look back as he skated through the woods while dodging a few obstacles along the way. Tree branches, logs, stones and etc, he dodged everyone of them without a scratch, he skidded to a halt once he know he's far from the pink one.
He spotted a tree that has a lot of shade and decided to sat down underneath to lay his back against the bark of the plant. He look up and watch a bunch of Lockies flying through the sky without any care in the world, as he continue to stare at them for how many minutes he sense a familiar presense nearby and quickly stand up to see the bubblegum anthro running towards him while panting in exhaustion.
Shadow just stands there while Amy continued to run until she stopped on her tracks as she's finally close to the black hedgehog's space. She breathed in and out but still manage to speak "...Don't..you... want to..see your friends again?..." she has her hands on her knees and look at him to answer her question.
"I don't see the point to that when I barely know them, especially you" he commented and was about to turn his back on her but she suddenly grabbed his hand, and in reflex he turn to look at her again with an annoyed expression.
"But there's also no point to NOT see them" she claimed and let go of his hand after making sure that he's not going anywhere for now, "Everyone believed that you didn't make it out alive after you sacrificed yourself for the rest of the people on earth" her tone was different compared to her cheerfulness before, but it came back when her smile widen as her hands clasp joyfully "But here you are now!!! Alive and breathing in flesh!! Everyone would be ecstatic to see you again!!!".
"You don't know that" Shadow dismissively commented.
Amy pouted angrily and stomped her foot "Of coarse I do!!" she then turn her side to him and cross her arms "Why else would I chase after you if it isn't true?!?" she huffed and close her eyes, offended from the dark lifeform's remark.
Shadow only stood there and blink twice after what the pink hedgehog have said, though it doesn't make any sense to him since he was about to doom the whole earth into oblivion if it wasn't for the the bubblegum anthro changing his mind.
"You don't understand" his voice was quiet but serious that made the hedgette stop her childish display and turn all of her attention to him "While what you say may be true, there's still a possibility that your friends-"
"OUR friends" she emphasized.
Shadow roll his eyes but play along anyway "Fine...OUR friends may trust me that easily with open arms, I may have fought alongside Sonic but there's no guarantee of the possibility. I did started the mess after all".
Amy shook her head in disagreement and huffed with a pout "But there's no reason to NOT try!! Sure you did bad things in the past, but you can still make up for them now" she clasp her hands, hoping she can get through to him like she did back from the Ark.
The dark lifeform was left staring at the ground in a train of thought, the silence between the two was defeaning and only the wind passing by was heard.
"...Why?.." he whispered so quietly that Amy has to take a step closer to listen intently, luckily he repeated the same word but has more nuance "Why are you going through the trouble to convince me to see them again?" he ask her in all seriousness as he look up to see her jump a bit from the way his eyes look up to her but regain her composure quickly as she gave him a gentle smile.
"Don't you remember the promise you made to me and Maria?" the two individuals we're silent for a moment and the pinkette was sure that she saw his lip almost move a bit, she then continue "I think Maria wouldn't want you to just stay away from the people you made friends with" she then nervously giggled and rub the back of her head "Even if you fought one of them to the death".
The comment made the edges of the older hedgehog's lips go upwards while his eyes stare at the ground in deep thought, the other hedgehog put her finger in her lips and tilted her head in confusion since she's not sure whether he's smirking or smiling.
"...Maria..she..." Shadow trailed off, the world around them seems to stop for a moment as a breeze pass by along with the pieces of leaves from some trees. Amy just stare and waited for him to continue as the palm of her hand lay on top of her chest, "Didn't only want to come to this planet" she notice a change of tone in his voice, but there's no anger in it "She dreamed to one day live here, start a new life, grow up to earn her own career and make friends of her own...and..I was suppose to see that happen right in front of me".
This made the pinkette's ears fall flat and her eyes droop a bit from seeing the pain that was evident in his eyes. Both of her hands had now fall into place and raise them wide up to comfort the black hedgehog until she stop into a halt after he spoken again.
"..And I question myself...what is my dream if the one I vision..have disappeared years ago?..." he stare at the sky in wonder and was subtly surprised that it's afternoon already, and the blue hue turned to orange with violet mixed with pink clouds splattered in some places, making the world around him look like it came out from a painting.
"Maybe..." Shadow turned to Amy who smile softly at him, the way it's positioned was different compared from her enthusiastic smiles before. "Finding new dreams is your goal now, sure it sucks that your first dream was a total bummer, but I think looking for something new as your goal would be fun!!!" she made a little hop from joy and clasp her hands while swaying to the left and right.
The black hedgehog stare at her for a moment, he was about to say something but was hesitating if he should or not. This cause the pinkette to tilt her head in confusion "What is it?" she ask with her hand formed into soft fist to place on top of her mouth cutely.
"If your first dream doesn't come true..." this made the hedgette flinch but she nodded for him to continue "Would you still be willing to find another one?" the dark anthro can see that his question had an effect on the girl, both of her hands are holding tight to each other, shoulder slumped and her eyes are fixated on the ground in deep thought. He would have thought that she's about to cry only to perk up and tried to make an effort to make a smile, although it was obvious to the lifeform that the smile is a farce.
"It..would also be fun finding a new goal if that ever happen..." the sun behind her slowly sets on the horizon as it finally disappeared and the moon has now taken its place into the sky. The stars above their heads shine like diamonds and the pinkette stare at them in a trance with a thin smile, maybe even wanting to forget the question he asked.
Shadow joined along with her as the two look at the stars while their quills are gently swayed by a breeze, the black hedgehog look at the hedgette for a few minutes without her notice until he caught her attention again.
"...Fine.." his tone was low but the bubblegum anthro heard him correctly and she gave him an excited smile.
"Oh that's wonderful!!!" she grabbed both of his hands as her tail wag joyfully "Don't worry a thing Shadow!! Our friends would be really relieved to see you!!!" she drag him by the hand and run to who knows where they'll take them to, but he neither budge nor decline and just let her do her thing.
Shadow look at her while she's not looking and gave a small smile, he then stare at the stars above him.
'I may not achieve my goal to see you here accomplishing your own dreams Maria, but I do hope that you'll witness me accomplishing mine'.