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So far, the New Years' party at Hedgehog Village was going spectacularly. The ball had dropped, the fireworks hadn't been sabotaged, and even Eggman was cooperative! Nothing could go wrong this close to morning.
Sonic, quite obviously, was not familiar with the way these things tended to go. While he was in the conga line with Knuckles, who for an unknown reason was wearing a rabbit costume, he couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched. Eventually, he managed to escape the aforementioned conga line, an action that was met with protests from various villagers. His eyes scanned the party in the very back Sonic could make out a familiar silhouette.
Shadow was here, no doubt to crash the party with his edgy demeanor and egotistical nature.
As it was his civic duty, the great and awesome Sonic the Hedgehog would scare him off and save the party! He zipped on over to the ebony hedgehog, hoping to initiate a fight so he could lure Shadow away from the town. His rival, however, didn't notice him as his eyes were shut tightly, a pained expression on his face. The fireworks were still going strong. And Sonic could barely notice his rival flinch whenever one went off. Hesitantly, he placed a hand on Shadow's shoulder.
"Chaos, Shads you're freezing!" Sonic exclaimed, snapping the black hedgehog out of his paralysis. Shadow growled and tried to push Sonic away, but another firework startled him and he fumbled his hands.
"Leave me alone, fool."
"Uhhh yeah no. You're obviously in need of help and as a hero, it's my job to help people. What's wrong, bud?" Sonic replied, persistent as ever. This seemed to press all the wrong buttons on his rival, who proceeded to snap at him.
"I do not need help from you, imbecile! The Ultimate Lifeform does not need help! It doesn't have weaknesses because if it does, it is inferior and must be replaced!" Shadow was angrier than he'd ever been seen before. Unfortunately for him, his outburst was unexpectedly loud.
There was an almost comical record scratch as all activity came to a halt. As everyone turned to stare at the duo, Sonic could see a pair of black-furred ears flatten against an equally black-furred head. Amy hesitantly emerged from the mob.
"Sonic? What are you doing here with Shadow?" She asked with a brow raised cynically.
"Uhhhhhhh nothing bye!" Sonic responded panicked racing back to his beach shack, Shadow in tow. With an impressive show of strength, he forced Shadow to sit down on the hammock. He then proceeded to search his rather bare kitchen for something to offer his rival. He stole a few glances at the ebony hedgehog and was faintly surprised to see that he hadn't disappeared. Perhaps The Ultimate Lifeform was more lonely than he let on?
Sonic finally found what he was looking for, chocolate powder and the only carton of un-expired milk in the hut. He quickly whipped up two glasses of chocolate milk, feeling a pair of crimson eyes bore through his back the entire time. he set them on the table, decidedly not noticing how Shadow stared at his like it may be poisoned. He made a show of taking a big swig of his, knowing that Shadow watched him make the drinks. The chocolate milk was alright, a little chalky, a bit metallic, but otherwise fine. This seemed to be the right thing to do, as Shadow hesitantly picked up his cup, sniffing the contents before deciding that it was safe.
"Soooo. Fireworks huh?" Sonic asked, trying to get some information out of his black-furred rival. Shadow sighed a very defeated sigh but didn't leave.
"I-" Shadow started before closing his mouth. "I'd prefer to not speak about that," he said, being surprisingly polite.
"OK then, why do you think that loyalty and trust are bad?" Sonic asked, leaning forward a bit, his empty cup forgotten on the table. Shadow's face immediately took on that closed-off, 'im trying my hardest not to show any emotion' property that it did whenever someone quipped at him. His eyes quickly darkened and his mouth pressed into a hard line.
"None of your business, hedgehog," he retorted, voice taking on that classic Edge. Sonic, a fool, decided to press on, despite the obvious signs that his rival was getting more unsettled by the second.
"Come on! It can't be that big of a secret. y'know Shads, it would be best to tell me before I ask Egghead. You know each other, right?"
Shadow was eerily silent. His eyes were closed, a grimace painted on his muzzle. Sonic pressed on.
"I've heard of trust issues but loyalty iss--"
"THE LAST TIME I TRUSTED SOMEONE, THE LAST TIME I WAS LOYAL, I NEARLY LOST MY LIFE." Shadow exploded, face enraged, yet covered in tears. Sonic instinctively shrunk away from his rival.
Oh.
"I- I'm so sorry," Sonic replied, filled with shame. His hero complex pressed him to try and comfort the crying hedgehog, and so he did. "I know we're like, mortal enemies, but do you mind telling me what happened? I promise I won't laugh or tell anyone, heroes vow."
Shadow wiped some of his tears off and stood up from his spot on the floor that he had kneeled at, but didn't leave. he sat back on the hammock, chuckling darkly. "Like you 'heroes' take any promises seriously." Sonic hesitantly placed a hand on his rival's back, prompting the edgy hedgehog to continue. "I am... not a normal hedgehog. I wasn't born, I was created. There's a reason I call myself The Ultimate Lifeform." he chuckled darkly again. "I'm what? 7 years old despite looking and acting like I'm 16?"
Sonic didn't respond, trying to be as respectful as possible.
"It was lonely, up in that colony. So painfully lonely. The researchers didn't think of me as a person, but as an experiment. The only escape was my friend, my sister, Maria."
"How was she, how was Maria?" Sonic asked.
"Maria Robotnik was the best-damned human of that entire Chaos forsaken species. She was so kind, we'd run down the halls, one of us locking a bulk door so that the adults couldn't reach us before the other would reopen the door to let them in. We'd do that for hours, running around before her illness would act up and we'd get caught. Sometimes I wonder if she resented me, I was Gerald's 'greatest creation'. and she was just his granddaughter." A single tear slipped down his cheek. "The government, the same 'heroes' that ordered he begin his research, found out about Father's success with Project: Shadow. He was a threat. I was a threat."
"And... that's why you resent heroes?"
"They stormed the colony, determined to eliminate everyone. There were civilians on that space station, not just scientists. Not just me. Maria spent the most time with me, so she was number three on their kill list, under Gerald and I. I- I remember locking a bulk door, putting Maria on the other side, away from the soldiers. The implications of my plan were clear, I know she understood. I would... neutralize the soldiers, she would reopen the door, we would run."
"What happened?" Sonic asked, knowing inside what the response would be. Dreading the confirmation.
"There were too many. I couldn't do my job, I couldn't protect her. I have my hand pressed against the glass, asking Maria, Begging Maria to open the door. I know she can hear me, Father designed the bulkheads that way. She looks me in the eyes and she's scared and I know at that moment I won't be leaving with her." Tears are streaming down Shadow's face, but his voice is even. His unfocused eyes are staring straight ahead. "She tells me 'Sayonara, Shadow The Hedgehog' through the glass and she turns her back and she runs. I scream her name, begging the universe for this to be some practical joke. And then the soldiers open fire and there's a knife in my shoulder and I'm bleeding on the ground and then it all goes black."
"O h."
"That was fifty years ago. Maria's illness was terminal, if she didn't die on ARK, she's long dead now. Unfortunately, I owe my existence on this island to the doctor, if not for the journal Gerald left, I would still be on ice, hibernating in that retched facility." Shadow stood up slowly, facing the doorframe. "Leave me alone. Tell no one about this and you won't have to worry about me for a while. If you do tell anyone, however, I will retry my attempt at universal annihilation, and this time I will not fail."
"Umm. Got it. I won't bother you, try my best to keep Eggman out of your hair." Sonic replies, nervous and a little overwhelmed.
Shadow disappears in a flash of blue, leaving Sonic alone in the shack. He attempts to put away the canister of chocolate mix, only for the paper casing to fall away, revealing a can of Eggman Industries Truth Serum Mix. Of course, Sonic thinks to himself, he wouldn't just tell me that.
He lies down on the hammock, hand gravitating to where Shadow sat down earlier. He sighs before turning off his lights and going to sleep. His dreams are fitful, he spends his entire night running down a metal hallway, rocket shoes clanking on the ground as he holds hands with a blonde-haired human. they're both scared.
He wakes up 4 hours later, shrugs off Amy's questions and concerns about him being seen with Shadow, deals with an Eggman attack, and finds himself in Tails' workshop, a certain Ultimate Lifeform on his mind. Tails' can tell he is distracted as he keeps handing the fox the spanner wrench instead of the Philips head screwdriver. Finally, the fox kit has enough and goes to stand in front of his brother.
"OK. What is it? I have a bet going on with Sticks and I'm counting on your distance being something related to Shadow instead of alien brainwaves."
"... Have you ever heard of Maria Robotnik?"