Archive of Our Own ^beta

"Mmh... Are you sure it's around here, Shadow?" The white bat checked the landscape outside the window of the helicopter with dubious eyes. "There's nothing but clouds..."

The black hedgehog at her side sighed. "Yes, Rouge, I'm sure."

Adjusting her headset for the sixth time over her tall ears, she hummed. "I know you're a living chaos detector, hon, and I trust you. But you know it's okay to be wrong sometimes, right?" Shadow sent her a warning glare that the bat easily cast aside with a chuckle. "Aye aye sir, I'll shut up."

Their noisy ride continued for a little longer, Shadow focusing on tracing the Master Emerald's chaos signature while Rouge looked out the window with a bored expression. After a few more directions given by the black hedgehog, the pilot finally obtained the visual they'd been looking for.

"Angel Island right ahead!"

Rouge gave an impressed whistle and Shadow bit back a smirk. Yet another proof that his title of the Ultimate Lifeform wasn't just for show.

"Who did you say was wrong?" he asked, unable to resist it.

Blue eyes looked at him innocently. "Did I say something like that?" She grinned, gazing at the cockpit's window in excitement. "Must be old age, you're starting to hear things."

Shadow huffed but didn't comment. The helicopter reached the edge of the floating island in a matter of minutes, landing smoothly on a patch of grassy ground. The hedgehog and the bat got rid of their headsets and hopped off the GUN issued engine, Rouge thanking the pilot on the way. "We don't know how much time it'll take, so just go back without us, okay? I'll call HQ when we need a ride down again."

After bidding their goodbyes to the pilot, the two agents turned towards the horizon of the large island. "Well, well, let's get going, shall we? The Master Emerald won't wait."

"We're not here for the Emerald," Shadow felt obligated to remind her.

"Yes, of course. I promise I'll only consider it a bonus."

The hedgehog sighed as they entered a forest. "Just don't blame me when you're thrown off the island."

"Oh, don't worry. That guy can't let me fall to save himself." She smirked, but her eyes were soft.

Shadow shrugged, unwilling to stick his muzzle into her strange relationship with the red guardian. They got out of the forest in a relatively short amount of time, following Shadow's sensors to the first hint of an altar-like construction.

"That must be it," he said, staring at the green spot of light shining at its top.

The altar was tall when they got closer, built in sand-colored stone visibly worn by the passage of years. The echidna people were said to have all disappeared, after all, even though the red guardian seemed to be the exception to the rule. Shadow could see the familiar green gem floating above it, some twenty meters higher than the ground. They'd have to go up quite the flight of stairs to reach it, he realized. What a drag.

Just as he was resolving himself to start climbing, a red figure flew from the top to land a few steps above them. Knuckles crossed his arms in defiance from where he stood, staring down at them. "What are you doing here, Bat? Come to steal the Master Emerald again?"

Rouge chuckled. "I wouldn't have expected any other welcome from you, Knuxie." She sighed in defeat. "You know me too well."

The red echidna looked like he'd just gotten slapped in the face. "You- You really...?"

Shadow shook his head at the unhealthy amusement swimming in the bat's eyes. "Don't worry, I'm not here for your Emerald this time. I came to steal something much more precious instead."

Knuckles looked hesitant as she walked up the stairs toward him, Shadow following her in disinterest. "And what's that?" he asked.

She finally reached the step right under the one where the echidna was standing and nested a hand on her hip. "Nothing much," she murmured. "Just a bit of your time."

While the guardian spluttered a response, Shadow decided to take the matter into his own hand. Getting a small tablet out of his quills, he handed it to the flustered echidna.

"A tablet?" Turning it over in his palm, Knuckles eyed the object in wariness.

"It's an artifact we found in one of the Doctor's abandoned bases," Shadow explained. "We believe it's a script of echidna origins, and we need to decipher it to make sure the Doctor hasn't gotten his hands on some of your people's ancient technology."

The guardian's wariness left place to confusion. "Decipher...?" He looked closer at the characters carved into the tablet. "This... I see, no wonder you can't read it. It's ancient echidna."

Shadow nodded. "That's why we need your help."

Knuckles returned the nod. "Got it. I can't let the likes of Eggman make use of my people's knowledge."

Satisfied with the smooth exchange, Shadow was about to suggest they get to the task immediately, but his words were cut off by a faraway shout.

"Knuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuux!"

The trio turned in direction of the voice, a blue blur rapidly approaching. "Come on, Knucklehead, we were just getting started-" The blue hedgehog skidded to a stop before them, taking in the presence of the two GUN agents with a look of pleasant surprise. "Oh, hey guys, been a while. What are you doing here?"

Shadow couldn't hold back a click of his tongue, which made Rouge laugh. "Why, hello, big blue. As fast as ever, I see."

Sonic rubbed a smug thumb under his muzzle. "Well, you know, got a reputation to keep, all that jazz."

"Sonic, wait for me!" The tired shape of a flying fox soon appeared from where the blue hedgehog had come from. "Why do you always have to..." It was the fox's turn to interrupt himself as he landed next to his brother. "GUN?"

"In person," Rouge said as she gave a little bow. "But I'm surprised to see so many faces today." She eyed Knuckles with a smirk. "Guess you aren't exactly the loner you pretend to be."

"I never asked for them to come, they just insist on pestering me," the red guardian grumbled.

"Oh, don't be shy, Knux." Sonic laughed as he circled the echidna's shoulders with an arm. "You know you love me."

"Get out of my face, you blue nuisance," the guardian, spat, throwing the peach arm off.

Sonic help up his hands in mock-surprise. "Whoa, there, ease it with the insults, you're starting to sound like Eggman!" As if suddenly struck with an idea, he stroked his chin in thought. "Should I call you Knucklegg?"

"By the love of Chaos, Hedgehog, you say one more word-"

The echidna's fury got interrupted by the two-tailed fox, smiling awkwardly as he put himself between Knuckles and his brother. "Hey, hey, let's leave the fight for later, yeah?" He cast a glance to the two agents, his eyes pleading. "I'm sure GUN wouldn't send people up here if it wasn't important, right?"

The red guardian, reminded of the tablet in his hand, seemed to regain his composure. "You're right. This takes priority."

That piqued Tails' interest. "This?" Knuckles handed him the tablet, repeating the explanation he'd received from Shadow a moment ago. The fox looked fascinated. "I see... And you can read it, Knuckles?"

To the black hedgehog's chagrin, the echidna shook his head. "I know some of it, but my knowledge of the characters has gotten rusty over the years. I'll need to review the language a bit."

"How?" Shadow asked, his hope rekindled.

"I have a study where I keep most of my clan's old tomes." He looked up at a hill on his right. "I should be able to find what I need there."

Sonic cringed. "Ugh, reading? I didn't sign up for book club activities."

"Come on, Sonic," his brother said with stars in his eyes. "This isn't just normal reading! It's the unique trace left of the legendary Echidna Clan!"

Knuckles' expression hardened a fraction at the words, but he hid it under a huff. "That's if the idiot even knows how to read."

"How rude," Sonic retorted, crossing his arms behind his head. "How many autographs do you think I've signed by now? I'm definitely more literate than a cave man like you."

Refusing to waste any more time on the useless banter, Shadow spoke up. "We'll have you prove that at the study." He looked up at Knuckles. "Now, let's go."

The red guardian led them through more forests and occasional marshes, Tails and Sonic busy reminiscing about their first time on the island, and the numerous traps they had gotten caught in. They were laughing good-naturedly at the memories, Knuckles sometimes chipping in to comment on how dumb they'd been to actually fall into this or that trap, while the two agents listened in silent consternation to the discussion.

After a small lull in the conversation, Sonic slowed his pace and casually drifted to Shadow's side. "So, you've been busy, huh? I haven't seen you in ages."

The black hedgehog grunted in confirmation. "Unlike you."

"Hey, Sonic the Hedgehog is always busy! There's still so many places I gotta explore, I just can't catch a break." He sighed dramatically before marking a pause. "...is what I'd like to say, but I'll admit I've been somewhat bored lately." He grinned. "And my feet have been aching to see you."

"Don't say it in such a disgusting way," Shadow growled. "Is there really nothing else but the desire to race in that head of yours?"

Sonic pretended to think. "Mmh, you're right, there's chilli dogs there too. So how about a race?"

The black hedgehog glared at his excited grin. "You're hopeless."

"People usually call me the Symbol of Hope, but whatever's up your alley." He turned around and started walking backward, just a few steps in front of Shadow. "So? That race?"

Finally giving in, the black hedgehog sighed. "Fine, if that'll make you shut up."

"Victory!" Sonic cried, throwing up his arms in the air before taking on a sprinter stance. "On the count of three, one, two–"

"Wait, hedgehog, we don't even know where we're going–"

"–Knuxsaysitsatthegianttreeoverthere, three!" The blue blur lived up to his name as he zapped out of sight behind the hill.

Shadow scowled. "I'll make sure you won't be crying 'victory' after this," he muttered, kicking up dust as he too left a bright blur in his wake.

In the end, after talking big, Shadow had only gotten lost. He'd refused to rely on his chaos energy detection to follow after Sonic, wanting to find a shortcut, only to discover that his shortcut contained a crevasse in the middle. Without a chaos emerald, he couldn't chaos control his way over, and he ended up having to retrace his steps with the dejected conviction that he'd lost. However, when he finally found his way up the giant pine tree he'd been told of, he saw that Sonic too had just arrived, a bunch of scratches covering his body.

At Shadow's interrogating lift of an eye ridge, Sonic shrugged awkwardly. "Who would have thought some of that guy's traps were still around, huh? And something like pitfalls too." He shook his head. "I'll have to talk to Knuckles about his tastes in traps, those are way overdone. Definition of a bad cliché."

Shadow looked him up and down. "His clichés are working well, from the looks of it."

Sonic's smile twitched. "Well, I mean, you know... As his buddy, I gotta indulge him, right?" He nodded to himself. "Falling into your pal's traps, now that's what you call friendship."

"I'm pretty sure it isn't," Shadow deadpanned as he scrutinized the surroundings for some sign of the others.

"Guess I can't expect a loner like you to understand the depths of friendship." The blue hedgehog gave him a thumbs up. "But don't worry, it's not too late for you to learn! How 'bout this cool hedgehog teaches you some?"

Shadow crossed his arms with a disgusted frown. "This is by far your worst attempt at asking me to be your friend."

Sonic seemed to deflate. "Welp, got rejected again. Guess you'll have to stick with being a faker for now."

The black hedgehog sneered. "If anything, you're the faker."

"This again? Come on, Shads, we've been over this. We both agreed that I'm faster, stronger, handsomer," the blue hedgehog started listing more and more ridiculous adjectives to flaunt his superiority, making a show of counting them with his fingers.

However, Shadow wasn't listening. He was looking at this annoying counterpart of his, taking in the details that made up Sonic the Hedgehog all over again. The way he held himself, constantly exuding an aura of confidence. The cocky grin that so often found his lips, however dire the situation may be. The barely visible scars crisscrossing the length of his body. His never-ending chatter, as if he was trying to fill in the silence around him. That one silence that never seemed to leave him.

His own silence.

"Sonic," Shadow interrupted suddenly. Said hedgehog looked up at him curiously, surprised to hear his name from a mouth that so rarely bothered to say it. "If you want to be my friend, stop faking."

The blue hedgehog didn't answer right away, which was rare with him, and chose to stare silently instead. The light in his eyes seemed to dull a little, but he blinked and it was gone, replaced by his usual grin and a shrug. "That's why I'm saying, you're the faker."

Shadow spared a second to grieve the other's reaction before he buried the thought. After all, it was the hedgehog's choice. If he'd decided he preferred it this way, Shadow wouldn't insist.

After a few more minutes of waiting, the rest of the group finally appeared. Knuckles scolded Sonic for leaving them behind but one or two remarks from Tails had him calm down, until Rouge took it upon herself to make him lose his temper again. Shadow had to pity the man somewhat. Knuckles seemed like a reasonable enough person when he wasn't surrounded by idiots.

"We're here," the echidna said after some more walking through the woods.

"Uh, I'm sorry Knux," Sonic said as he analyzed their surroundings with a frown, "but even though, technically, books are made of paper and paper is made of trees, I doubt you can call this place a library."

"Shut up and observe," Knuckles said as a way of answering. He crouched and searched the ground, soon finding a small handle disguised in the grass. He grabbed it and a heavy trapdoor opened with a groan. A smirk tugged at his lips as he let them see the stairs going down from it.

Sonic whistled at the sight. "Man, a hole again? You echidnas really have a thing for digging." To himself, he added, "No wonder there's so many pitfalls."

"Enough chatter," Shadow said. "Let's go."

The red guardian led them through a number of underground tunnels, small light bulbs illuminating the darkness at regular intervals. Shadow's eyes drifted absently over the weathered paintings adorning the walls, illustrating what he supposed to be echidnas of various shapes and colors. Sometimes, an echidna wearing the same lopsided moon patch of white fur as Knuckles would be pictured next to a bright jewel. The Master Emerald. Guardians of generation after generation. Witnessing the drawings, Shadow felt the realization that the echidnas had been more than legends truly settle in him.

Just ahead, Tails was beyond himself with awe. "Knuckles, how does the lighting work? Your ancestors didn't know about electricity, right?"

"No," the guardian answered. "These run on the Master Emerald's chaos energy, same as all the facilities of this island."

Rouge hummed. "So the rule that the big jewel shouldn't be used for personal interest doesn't apply to underground lighting?" She grinned. "Maybe I should invest some of my time to digging a tunnel."

She was offered a glare from a pair of purple eyes. "You won't have the Emerald."

"A shame, my tunnel will have to remain plunged in the dark..." She cocked her head. "But I'm sure I could still find a use for it." With a wink, she successfully made the guardian advert his eyes.

"Whatever," he muttered as he hurried ahead.

They finally reached a large room after turning a corner. It was about the size of a mansion, but the sheer number of books and artifacts littering the space made the room appear much more cramped than it really was. Both Tails and Rouge gawked at the display in adoration, although Shadow suspected it was for two very different reasons. Knuckles immediately began digging in a dusty pile of books, leaving only Shadow and Sonic behind.

"Are you telling me we're gonna spend the rest of the day stuck down here?" The blue hedgehog moaned in displeasure. "Can you even call this place a study? The only thing to study here is boredom itself."

Tails looked up at his brother, the stars in his eyes still twinkling. "Come on, Sonic, don't say that! Look at how much knowledge is stocked in here, all that technology we don't know yet!" He stared at a book in his hands, a thin thread of drool escaping his lips. "I can't wait to read you..."

His brother winced. "Er, yeah, sorry to say but not everyone is booknivore, bud."

The fox seemed to snap back to reality. "Booknivore isn't a word Sonic. But I'm sure you'll find something to have fun with," he said with a gentle smile.

Sonic gave him a flat look. "Yeah? Like..." He glanced around himself. "...dust?"

"There's plenty of other things too!" the fox exclaimed, looking around in turn to find anything that could support his argument. "Like-" He looked at the bookshelves. "Like-" He looked at a pile of ancient weapons and masks. "Like..." He gave a final desperate look at a cluster of unidentifiable artifacts. There was a pause. Then, he turned to face his brother again, forcing out a tentative laugh. "You know, dust can be pretty interesting when you think about it..."

"...Right. I'll take your word for it, lil bro." Sonic sighed and finally stepped further into the room, poking at the surrounding objects in disinterest. "But seriously, Knux, do we have to be in your once-in-every-hundred-years cleaned up dog hole to do this? I'm blaming you if I end up getting claustrophobia."

Knuckles had already picked up a good number of books and was balancing them on one arm while staring warily at a smiling Rouge who was trying very hard to appear innocent. He didn't even look up at Sonic as he spoke. "We could always go to Hydrocity, I remember leaving some study material there–"

"Wow look at this Tails this old echidna mask looks totally amazing for real this place is way past cool I wish I could stay here forever!" Sonic laughed mechanically as he waved around a wooden mask.

Observing the scene in consternation, Shadow sighed and decided to leave the two brothers be. Walking closer to the red guardian, he eyed the pile of books and asked, "How much time do you think it'll take?"

"I'm not sure," Knuckles said. "Not only do I have to brush up on my ancient echidna characters, I must also figure out the dialect they used."

"Dialect?" Rouge asked.

"Ancient echidna isn't a single language, it's a number of dialects sharing the same writing system," the guardian explained. "If we're lucky, we'll end up with one of the two dialects I know. If not..." He shrugged.

Shadow mulled over the information. "How do you know any dialect, anyway? We came to you because we had no other option, but to be honest, I wasn't expecting you to be of much help." When the echidna didn't answer right away, he elaborated, "Your people, they disappeared, didn't they?"

Rouge was looking at him in a strange way, but she didn't seem to be angry, just... surprised. Finally, Knuckles spoke up. "You're right. I've always been alone up till now. But sometimes..." He marked an unusual pause. "Sometimes, I remember things. Voices, or feelings, like someone used to be here, with me. I don't know if they were my parents or someone else from the clan. I don't even know if there were multiple persons or just one. I don't... know why they disappeared either. But I'm guessing it's thanks to them I could become the man I am today."

At the end of the admission, Shadow waited, then nodded. He, too, knew the frustration of not having perfect memories.

Knuckles didn't say anything more as he started to pick up books again. Rouge discreetly put back a shiny dagger she'd picked up earlier and helped him, while Shadow wondered what he could use his time on. Unable to be of any use when it came to ancient tongues, he found himself as useless as Sonic and was not pleased by the thought.

"Hey, Knux, do you mind if I clean up this place a bit?" Sonic suddenly asked in the silence. "Dust is going to be my new archenemy at this rate."

Knuckles gave a small snort. "Do what you want."

After that, Sonic busied himself with moving objects from place to place, believing the job to be done once he'd taken care of the dust and spider webs. Seeing at the place was just going from one chaotic state to the other, Shadow took it upon himself to finish the task by picking up the forsaken artifacts and ordering them in groups of different kinds. Amid the blue hedgehog's frequent sneezes, Knuckles and Rouge were quietly discussing patterns and linguistics as they compared the texts in the books to the mysterious tablet. Tails was still sniffing around here and there, trying to absorb as much knowledge as he'd be allowed to in the time the translation would take.

At some point, Sonic had given in to a nap. The room somewhat dust-free with all of it thrown aside in the corridor, the blue hedgehog had found himself without anything to do once again. Shadow was tempted to doze off himself, his patience slowly wearing thin. Even the dedicated two-tailed fox was flipping the pages more and more slowly. Rouge was still full of energy, however, which meant they were probably some hour during the night. That being said, her energy wasn't exactly productive, since she'd given up on helping with the translation long ago. Now she was just examining every object in the room with the calculating eyes of an appraiser.

Shadow sat down on the cold stone floor, soaking up the silence of the room. His eyes drifted around until they landed on the red guardian's figure, and his mind began to wander. He wondered what it would have felt like, being constantly alone. What it should still feel like, being the only survivor of an extinct species. In a way, he realized, Knuckles and he weren't that different. They were both unique, and hence, inevitably alone.

But no, that was wrong. Shadow's attention switched to the blue body curled around itself on the floor, some distance away, and he corrected himself. Species or whatnot were just pre-made bonds, useful in that they were permanent, but in reality, no different from any other. It all depended on whether you chose to use them or let them rot. Anyone could be alone.

He let out a breath and rubbed a tired hand over his face. After three days without sleep, the fatigue was getting to him. The black hedgehog finally decided he'd rest his eyes for a bit when a loud noise brought him back to reality. Next to him, he saw Sonic jolt awake.

The red echidna had slammed the tablet to the ground, his face abnormally neutral. "I've solved it."

"What does it say?" Rouge asked as she walked back to the guardian's side.

"There's nothing on echidna technology." Knuckles stared at the tablet for a few silent seconds, as if unable to look at anything else. "This... This is a love letter."

They all more or less gawked at the revelation. "A love letter?" Rouge exclaimed. "But this isn't even paper! Who in their right mind would write poems on clay?"

"The echidnas have a strong affinity to the earth element," Knuckles explained. "Writing mundane stuff on clay or limestone wasn't uncommon, I think." He grabbed the tablet again, lifting it up to his eyes. "What's written here is definitely part of that mundane stuff. There's the description of a woman, with quills like the dew or eyes like pyrite, as well as other nonsensical comparisons." He let out a short breath. "Really, it's frustratingly normal."

"Quills like the dew?" Rouge questioned, amused. "I want to see what that looks like."

The red guardian gave a soft snort. "My people weren't exactly the best at poetry."

Acknowledging the waste of time for what it had been, Shadow let the exhaustion come and go, already ready to leave. He figured it could at least assure them that the Doctor had not, in fact, gotten his hands on another mythical creature or technological threat. Small victories.

He was about to stand up when the sound of Knuckles' voice stopped him.

"I wish... I could have been a part of it." His words were soft, his voice low, as if afraid of disturbing someone. "Of their normal, everyday life. Instead of only reading about it in books, I wish..."

His voice cut off, and Shadow realized he could see a silent tear roll down the echidna's cheek. Knuckles didn't try to stop it as it rolled all the way down to eventually drop to the ground. He let it be, proud and honest until the end, just like he was.

Tails was the first to react. He let go of his book to crouch next to his friend, resting a hand on the echidna's shoulder. "Knuckles..."

Rouge followed soon after, taking the gloved hand of the guardian in hers, and wordlessly leaning her weight on him in comfort.

Surrounded by two friends, Knuckles continued to cry silently, his eyes never leaving the small tablet. Shadow looked at the scene for a short moment, then figured it wasn't his place to intrude on the guardian's display of vulnerability. He had more important things to do.

Like going after the one who was refusing to intrude when he should have been the first one to hold out a hand.

Sonic had left.

When he found his way out of the underground tunnels and into the night, Shadow didn't see Sonic right away. The blue hedgehog would have decided to go for a run, most probably. Shadow wasn't fazed. He knew Sonic's chaos signature, and as Rouge had said, he was better than any chaos energy detector. Focusing his mind on finding the hedgehog's particular presence, he finally pinpointed Sonic's location to the eastern edge of the floating island. A couple of hover skating minutes later, the blue hedgehog's figure was visible.

Shadow turned off his hover skates and walked closer to Sonic. His counterpart was sitting on the very edge of the land, legs dangling into the void. His ears flicked when he heard Shadow come to a stop at his side.

"Sonic the Hedgehog, running away from a friend's tears," Shadow said. "How unexpected."

Sonic snorted. "You know that's not how it is. I only want to respect his privacy." He lowered his head a little. "I've never seen him cry before."

"Is that how it is?" Shadow hummed. "Here I thought you were scared."

"Are you kidding? Sonic the Hedgehog fears nothing." His tone lacked its usual joviality as he made to stand.

Shadow lifted an eye ridge. "Even if I said this island is currently floating over an ocean?"

"Not fazed in the least."

The black hedgehog gave a blank stare at his counterpart now standing a few steps away from the edge. "Your feet are saying otherwise."

"Ah, well, my feet have a mind of their own, sometimes."

Shadow snorted. "So, was it you or your feet that ran away from what happened back there?"

The blue hedgehog shrugged. "I told you that's not it. Knuckles would have done the same if it had been me crying."

"Would he?" Shadow anchored his red eyes into Sonic's green ones. "There was no shame in the guardian's grief. No request to be left alone. Would he have done the same?"

Sonic looked at him mutely for a moment before letting out a small sigh. His eyes drifted to the sea of clouds around them, softly illuminated by the moonlight. "Shadow, do you know why I became a hero?"

The black hedgehog didn't answer, prompting the other to continue.

"I can't bear to see people in pain," he said. "That's why I choose to save them from danger with a smile on my face. So that when they see me, they see hope. They cheer up. Feel better."

Staying silent for a moment, Shadow acknowledged the blue hedgehog's honesty. But he wasn't done. "That's why you ran away. Because being a hero can't help you alleviate the pain of someone missing."

Sonic played with a small piece of rock at his feet. "I guess you could say that."

"This fear you have of other people's weakness," Shadow continued, "you do know where it comes from, don't you?"

The blue hedgehog frowned. "What do you mean?"

Shadow turned to face Sonic fully. "It comes from the fear of acknowledging your own weakness."

Sonic lifted an unimpressed eye ridge. "Do I look that stupid? I may not say sound like it, even I know I'm not perfect."

"There's a difference between knowing and accepting, hedgehog."

"You're awfully talkative today, Shadow."

The black hedgehog met the other's warning gaze and shrugged. "I can go back to ignoring you if that's what you prefer."

There laid the line not to be crossed, and Shadow's foot was stepping right over it. If he took it too far, who knew how the blue hedgehog would react. But if he backed down now, the distance between them would only grow larger. In the end, the decision was for Sonic to take. Shadow was merely standing there, both in challenge and in invitation.

Sonic's resolve seemed to crack a little. He sighed and ruffled his quills with a hand as if trying to distract himself. "You say it like it's easy, but in my line of business, weakness means death. I can't just go around boasting about it." Then, he frowned. "What weakness are we even talking about, anyway? I should know better than to let myself get swept up in your philosophical speeches."

"At this rate, even if you survive the Doctor's machines, you'll just die of loneliness."

Sonic's gaze snapped up sharply. It was subtle, but Shadow saw the moment his shoulders tensed.

"Am I wrong?" Shadow asked.

Sonic's silence was answer enough. But after a few seconds of simply staring at the ground, he finally spoke up. "You're the last person I expected to hear this from."

Shadow snorted. "You're the last person I expected to say this to. Although... I've been wanting to for a while now." He paused, taking a deep breath. "Sonic, I don't know how much you know about me, but I'm sure you've heard of the name Maria."

Sonic looked at him in surprise. "Yeah, a bit."

Shadow nodded. "She was my creator's granddaughter. I won't get into the details since I can't remember most myself, but we used to spend a lot of time together, back on the Ark. She was my friend and my family. My only one." He felt all the emotion he had for her warm up his chest. "I loved her."

Sonic quirked a smiled.

"When she died, I felt like my world had ended," he continued. "When you and I met for the first time, I was out for revenge on a world that had robbed her from me. But underneath the rage, there was only agony."

Sonic's smile faded.

"Even after all this time, it still hurts." He turned his hand around, staring at it. It was trembling. "Some days, it's unbearable. Guilt, hatred, and sadness take over my mind and I end up thinking I should join her in death. To be honest, it even scares me."

Shadow clenched his fist gently. "But I can't run away from it. This pain and longing are what allow me to remember the good times too. If I erase it, I erase her as well. And I refuse to forget all that she's given me."

He looked up at the blue hedgehog. "I don't know much about you, Sonic. But I know that, like me, you've seen death."

Sonic's expression was shuttered, blank.

"You've lost things dear to you."

The light in his eyes was dim.

"You've made mistakes you can't forgive yourself for."

He clenched his fists.

"You've suffered."

Finally, he jerked his head to the side. "So what? I've overcome it." His voice came out tight.

"You haven't overcome anything, hedgehog. Even now, you're still running."

Sonic gave a dry chuckle. "Who would have thought I'd hate talking to you so much? I feel stupid for trying to be your friend for so long." He didn't look at Shadow as he shrugged. "Sorry Shads, but I think I've had enough of the lecture. I'll see you around."

The black hedgehog watched as Sonic turned to leave. "Don't," he said.

There was a good chance that Shadow had gone too far. That he'd definitely closed the door he'd been trying to pry open. Truthfully, he wouldn't be surprised if Sonic decided to leave and never look back.

But Sonic stopped. He didn't turn around, didn't show any sign of wanting to. But he stopped.

"Stop running away," Shadow continued. "Face it."

"Face what?" Sonic's voice was rising, his deadly quills puffing up. "What is it that you're trying to do, Shadow? Why are you like this? What do you want from me?" He finally turned around, eyes bristling with anger.

"I want to be your friend."

Sonic's eyes widened, and just like that, the anger was gone. Robbed from his fury, the hedgehog only looked miserable. "Stop it."

Shadow took a step closer.

"Get away from me."

Another step.

The blue hedgehog closed his eyes, letting out a shaky breath. "Please."

Watching the breaking hero, Shadow almost felt bad. But it was too late for regrets, now. Maybe that was why he got compelled to do something he thought he would never do. He lifted a hesitant hand to the hedgehog's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

That was the drop that broke the dam.

Shadow stared in astonishment as Sonic's face twisted into something it had never been. A flood of emotions seemed to wash over him; frustration, horror, fear, sorrow, shame, guilt. Witnessing the falling of the mask suddenly felt like more than Shadow had bargained for. He realized with a chill that he'd been less than ready for it.

But he wouldn't run. He owed it to the broken hedgehog in front of him. He owed it to himself. He wouldn't run.

Sonic's face lowered, and he grabbed Shadow's arm where it was still on his shoulder. For a moment, the black hedgehog thought his hand would be swatted away, but Sonic only tightened his grip. Then, to Shadow's surprise, he stepped closer and hid his face on the black hedgehog's shoulder.

"I hate you," he whispered.

Shadow, after a short moment of shock, huffed and let his free arm sneak its way up to the blue hedgehog's nape, holding it gently.

"I don't like this," Sonic continued. "This isn't me."

Shadow waited, looking up at the clear night sky. The stars had dimmed, hinting at the first sign of dawn.

"I can't," Sonic said, shaking his head against Shadow's fur. "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog, damnit. I can't..." His voice cracked.

Listening to the muted sobs, Shadow didn't move. Sonic was trying to calm his breathing, to stop the tears seeping into the black fur, but nothing seemed to work. His muzzle dug deeper into Shadow's shoulder as if he wanted to disappear.

When he spoke again, his voice was so small Shadow barely heard it. "I can't be weak."

The black hedgehog closed his eyes and tightened his hold on the other's neck, not enough to hurt but enough to make a point. "If you want to be strong, you have to be weak."

After that, Sonic didn't speak again for a long time. They stayed like that, close to each other, as the moon slowly faded into the brightening skies. Shadow didn't know how much time passed, and he didn't care. He knew he would stay until the end. Because, in a way, that was part of his promise to Maria as well.

I'm giving him a chance, Maria. A chance to be himself, just for one night.

The thought of her pinched at his chest, and he held the blue hedgehog even closer. All of this, it was all thanks to her, and because of her. The way the stars made him remember terrible and beautiful things at once, the way he wanted to protect without really knowing how to, and the way Sonic was silently crying in his arms, he owed it to her.

So, Maria, let me miss you, just for one night too.

As both hedgehogs let their heartache out into the open, a moment came when the world that had stopped turning just for them began to turn again. The breeze picked up, and the birds chirped the first notes of a timid song into the air of dawn. Shadow turned to look at the horizon, broad and generous as they stood above everything, here, on this floating island. The sky was bright with tendrils of silver, reflections of orange and gold lazily painted over it. Shadow felt an emotion of a different kind rise up his throat, and when he spoke, his voice was full of it.

"Look, Sonic, the sun is rising."