Chapter Text
Another beautiful day slicked off of Sonic’s back. He sat just outside his house, leaned back, with his eyes half-lidded and pointed skyward. Perfectly spaced cotton clouds floated above. Not too many to make it feel like a cloudy day, but just enough that it seemed intentional; like an artist’s rendition of the sky. The beauty forced a wave of cool anxiety through his stomach.
His homeworld held all the innate beauty and mystique that a hedgehog could ask for. This perfection was so true that it was often targeted just for existing. The magical powers of the seven Chaos Emeralds and their unfathomable guide--the Master Emerald--made it all too alluring to evil hands. The knowledge of this power sat in the back of Sonic’s head, reducing the idyllic landscape into a sitting duck. Every tree was temporary and each perfect day was a countdown to potential ruin.
In his mind he saw the Death Egg descending through the perfect clouds. He saw the smoke from the machine blotting it all out, killing the Sun, making the grass turn from a limey green to an ugly olive. When the machine would land it would tear up some of the land, leaving messy brown dirt to balloon around its edges. Instead of light breeze and birds chirping, he’d hear mechanical creaking and distant thunder, and instead of smelling morning dew and fresh air, he’d be overwhelmed by oozing smog and rusty metal.
But it didn’t scare him. Instead, a deep yearning filled his chest, making him shiver. He wished for the comfort of being in battle rather than waiting for it to come. He wanted to face the villain down and vanquish him rather than sit alone on his beautiful planet with his heart racing. It all felt too real. Soon there wasn’t enough air to breathe and he was trapped, about to be crushed.
Run.
Through the emerald fields of Mobius. Past the anchored shadow of Angel Island, and over the vast ocean. Press the racecar’s pedal to empty and then go further. Select the file with the least amount of progress, and then hold the joystick forward. Find a world that needs to be saved and then hope that it saves you too.
--
“Shadow?”
The voice surprised him and made him step back from the ledge.
“You were a little close to the edge there, pal.” He felt a gloved hand press on his chest, urging him to step even further back. He obliged, allowing his friend to move between him and the railing of the ship. Concern was plain in Rouge’s eyes, along with another emotion he couldn’t place.
They’d been traveling together for some time now, alongside E1-23 Omega. They had debated what their next course of action should be, but they seemed to fall into mercenary work. Yesterday it was destroying some robots on the fringes of Mobius City, today they were stealing a chaos emerald, and another day it would be another thing. Over and over, they always found a person with a problem to offer. Every day there were tasks they could do to earn money, a place to sleep, provide some food. Every single day there was a quest to be done.
Today, they stood on an external platform of Eggman’s fleet ship. This one was a candy red with yellow trim. It was poorly camouflaged above a small forest of sakura trees. From their aerial approach, it looked like a bright, pulsating pimple on a clear complexion.
“There’s a guard rail,” Shadow said. Rouge didn’t respond. He sighed and stepped past her towards the edge, this time acknowledging the railing by placing his hands on it.
“Rouge...what are we doing?”
He flinched before she even huffed in response.
“Shadow. You can’t keep using the robot thing to deflect. I know that’s what you’re going to say.” She grabbed the railing next to him and gave him a cold stare. “What is it? Don’t be vague.”
His nose twitched slightly in annoyance. “This isn’t about the robot thing,” he replied, putting emphasis on her words. “It’s about more than that.”
Rouge didn’t respond again and the silence made him feel obligated to elaborate. He huffed and faced her.
“I was synthesized over five decades ago. I was created by Eggman’s grandfather, Robotnik, and then I was frozen for 50 years. Then I tried to destroy Earth. I failed, and then I protected Earth. Then Eggman made hundreds of copies of me. Then I joined up with you and Omega, then we were racing, and then we were in the Olympics, and then...” More words came to his mind, but he lost the energy to say them. He let out a deep sigh. “What are we doing? It all just...”
He paused.
“It all feels like a game. Rouge, it feels like we’re between levels in a big stupid game.”
Rouge’s expression was unreadable. Her head slowly nodded and she turned away to look over the cherry blossoms. Shadow couldn’t think of anything else to say, so he turned to look over them too. The smell of pollen wafted from below and gentle winds made pink blossoms flow all around them.
“It does feel like a game,” Rouge’s voice came out flat. “I’m sorry I assumed you were going to talk about being a robot. You have a right to be upset about it, anyway.”
Shadow didn’t respond. The tone of her words felt wrong, and he realized what emotion he saw hiding behind her concern before. He turned to face her a final time.
“You feel it, too.”
Rouge rolled her head to the side. The way her ears relaxed but her mouth tightened reminded Shadow of when a card game hits its second hour. She was listening around for any other distraction, anything to grasp onto. But her lips were clasped tightly shut to stop her from saying what was actually on her mind.
The exact moment after a game stops being fun.