Chapter Text
The world was in peril.
The past few months have certainly hit the hardest, and as Shadow made his way down the many hallways that the resistance had, he came across a window that gave a rather shocking sight to those who were not used to it; the world outside was bleak. Colorless. There were purple crystals that glittered in the snow, gems that did not belong to this world, they were almost otherworldly.
He had stopped being surprised and caught off-guard with the realization that the world was in peril as he observed the state of it, the same sight had greeted him these many weeks. Shadow had stopped looking outside when he could, stopped believing that maybe, just maybe they would be able to win — that he could restore his promise to Maria.
His promise to Maria, the driving force of most of Shadow’s actions — to keep the inhabitants of Earth happy and free. Shadow had accepted, a long time ago, that he was the furthest away from that goal than he’d ever been in his life. Even when he observed the planet through the ARK’s windows, yearning for something so close yet so far away at the same time.
Even when he had relentlessly tried to destroy the Earth, reprogrammed by his creator who induced his rage and hatred into Project Shadow to make him something he had never been; he had been closer to fulfilling that promise than he was now.
It was hopeless. Almost fleeting, in a way. Knowing that there was something he would never have.
Eggman had gotten an idea — a good one, too — and Shadow could only watch as the doctor went on a rampage, driven with power none of them would ever be able to comprehend.
A strength that Shadow had only felt once before, united with the efforts of himself and Sonic as they battled his own mistakes.
Eggman’s grasp on the world had been something that no one had expected, it came suddenly, quickly, and without power. For once, it seemed as if the doctor was using his brain to its full potential. That very hold on the Earth had been what drove Knuckles to create the resistance; a group of strong-willed individuals willing to try their chances at defeating Eggman and freeing mobians and humans alike from his control.
Because everyone’s homes had been destroyed, there weren’t many options on what to do — to act solo, or join — and naturally, that included Shadow. Rouge had pressured him into joining alongside her and Omega, and his reasons for joining were partially that, but also because he had nowhere else to go.
Even if Shadow wasn’t particularly good at following orders, he had worked with G.U.N. He could handle it. He had to because whatever was out there was active and very dangerous. He wasn’t stupid — of course, he would recognize when something was strong.
So strong that nobody had wanted to go outside. Couldn’t go outside, because not even the fox knew how dangerous it was to be out there.
The only time somebody could go out was if there was a battle.
In fact, the last major battle — aside from the one that he’d heard about happening today — had been a week ago. The same one that Rouge and Omega had gone to, while Shadow was rescuing innocents in another town; he had not been able to go, and he regretted it.
Maybe then, Rouge and Omega would still be here today, perhaps he could have stopped their disappearance. When he hadn’t heard from them in three days, he had gone out to look for both.
He came up with a battlefield, sure, but nobody was there.
No Rouge. No Omega. Just the awful silence still within Shadow’s heart, a permanent reminder of his failings and everything he could not be. Shadow has taken it upon himself to make sure that nobody else gets close to him much like Rouge and Omega had; not wanting to face that pain — that heartbreak — again. Isolation wasn’t new to him, it hardly fazed him.
Despite this all, one thing remained true, Shadow wanted to do more. He wanted to go out and search for Rouge and Omega, wanted to fulfill his promise to Maria, wanted to stop Eggman. Lately, he’s felt like he has wanted all these things but never was capable of doing them in the first place.
Shadow wasn’t keen on staying within the resistance while doing nothing, every day that passed, every second, it felt like they all were a sitting duck.
Shadow’s walking quickly turned into storming throughout the hallways, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, Shadow felt like poison entered his system. He scoffed, running his hand down a windowsill as he got a new outlook on the same old sight he had stared at long before.
He let out a huff, his eyes squeezing shut as he balked, before he went back to looking outside the window, observing the landscape in all its ugliness.
He was there for almost an hour, watching the sun setting over the Earth, as those rays glittered off snow and crystal alike; he could see out for miles. No foliage blocked his view, only dead remnants of trees and life.
“Hey, Shadow!” someone called out his name.
His ear twitched as he clenched his teeth, crossing his arms as he didn’t even bother to look toward the source of the shouting. He could know who that voice was fifteen miles away, and he wasn’t thrilled in the slightest.
He noticed the new figure standing beside him, and Shadow could only fix his gaze on the horizon, a neutral expression on his face despite his rolling stomach.
“How ya doin’, Shadz?” Sonic asks.
Shadow only rolled his eyes and ignored Sonic’s attempted conversation, understanding that he was going to just have to deal with it, he turned his head to glance at the blue hedgehog before looking back outside. A silent acknowledgment as an uncomfortable silence settles onto the both of them.
Sonic audibly shifts on two feet, and he can see him within the reflection of the window, looking mightily uncomfortable with Shadow’s refusal to talk.
Good, he thought, serves him right.
“Hey, dude, the resistance needs some help with a battle against Eggie’s goons,” Sonic says. “They, uh, asked me to come find you to help out, since you’ve been quite restless lately, from what I’ve heard!”
“Why?” Shadow asks. “I recall them telling me that they ‘could handle it themselves, and didn’t need my help.’”
“Really? Yikes, buddy.”
“Shut up.”
“Yeaaaah, about that — they recently got ordered to do a tactical retreat, ‘cause Eggman was too strong for them.” Sonic raises his hands in a placatingly way. “No pressure, though. You don’t have to come with.”
In all honesty, Shadow was surprised by this information, yet his face remained pressed into something of indifference. The resistance was strong, and they didn’t quite like him, so to call for his help? It must’ve been a pretty big fight.
Besides, he hadn’t been called out in a while; it was about time.
Shadow blinked, staring outside toward where the battle would’ve been, ignoring Sonic’s pacing as he thought of what to do. His ear twitched now and then as he considered his options, eyes narrowed as he tuned out the hero.
He could go fight against a strong enemy that might be a hard match, and Shadow wasn’t that good at teamwork with Sonic, so they could end up fighting. Or, he could stay back, sitting in boredom, waiting for his next chance to do something for once, and risk having the chance of the resistance losing this fight. In reality, he was sure that Sonic would be perfectly fine on his own, but who was Shadow to let Sonic have all the fun?
The answer had been clear from the start, of course. He had a feeling that Sonic knew that too, the sly bastard.
He let out a tsk before sighing. “I’ll go.”
Shadow stretched his arms, watching Sonic perk up as soon as he heard the words that came from his mouth, realizing that Shadow was going with him. His eyes narrowed, already regretting his decision to go and fight with Sonic.
A large grin spread across Sonic’s face as he leaped into the air, pumping his fist, and Shadow could only watch with a baffled expression at the display.
“Sweet! We’ll head out right away, Mr. Ultimate Lifeform!”
Shadow let out another sigh, resignation crossing his face as he rubbed his forehead, soothing the headache that was already beginning to form there.
Regardless, he had already made his decision; his goal was set on fixing this world and fulfilling Maria’s promise, and if he had to deal with Sonic’s sporadic behavior to even get a chance to redeem the world, then so be it.
“Well?” Shadow grunted. “Where is it?”
Sonic laughed, bubbly and light and ear-piercingly annoying as Shadow scowled at him.
“Wow! I never thought you would even agree to it, much less be this enthusiastic!”
“I am not enthusiastic, hedgehog,” he spat.
“Pff, sure, buddy.”
“Whatever, don’t get used to it.”
Shadow sneered, wishing that he were elsewhere at this very moment. He barely held off the creeping annoyance that crept into him, staining him with some emotion he would rather handle while not being in Sonic’s presence.
“It wouldn’t even be a five-minute run! Race you there?”
Shadow doesn’t answer right away, thinking it through. All the crystals that were out there seemed like it would make it a pain in the ass to do anything. He wonders if that was true, would it make it difficult to reach his full speed? Whatever, he could always just blast through them if needed.
Chaos energy flooded into his air shoes as he lifted off the ground by an inch or so, letting out a scoff as he rushes past Sonic, hollering out a final “You’re on, Faker!” Before he’s gone.
Shadow and Sonic are a blur of yellow and blue over the horizon, quickly scaling the land around them while dodging and occasionally smashing through the many crystals that littered Earth. Out here, with no glass separating him from the real world — or well, the world that he was in right now — it was frigid, and the snow melted underneath his air skates, while both hedgehogs were kicking up a storm of snow behind them. If one were to view it back at the resistance, Shadow knew that it would look like a snowstorm headed their way.
The crystals did make it hard to properly skate, and he had to maneuver around them and crash through the gems if there was no other end in sight. He could practically hear Rouge calling him out for it, but she wasn’t there.
Sonic, on the other hand, seemed to have no trouble. He ran, taking quick turns and drifting around them, and he could run and jump over the damn things like there was no tomorrow. Reckless. Sonic was being reckless and competitive. Shadow clenched his teeth, using his anger to fuel his speed. It worked, and he passed Sonic, who cried out that he was ‘cheating’ somehow.
What drove him the most, however, was kicking some robot butt to try and defeat Eggman for what he’s done to the world.
As Sonic smoothly and flawlessly avoided the many obstacles in his way, Shadow found himself pushing his limits more and more; he couldn’t deny that bitterness in his throat. He didn’t let it affect him, much more focused on the mission that he had. He and Sonic weave around each other, and Shadow spotted a town on the horizon. A speck in the distance on the Earth’s round feature, but enough for them both to get there in 10 seconds tops.
Sonic must have spotted it, too, because he waved wildly to get Shadow’s attention, his voice catching the wind before he eventually gave a vague point toward the town. Shadow understood it, and gave a brisk nod, steering toward the town that quickly got larger and larger until he stood at the very entrance.
It was quiet. Too quiet.
Shadow came to a quick, abrupt stop, causing Sonic to crash into him with a half-assed attempt to come to a skidding stop. Sonic got a faceful of spines while Shadow was left with his dignity almost destroyed. He snarled, whipping around and facing his rival.
“Hedgehog, can’t you stop quicker?” Shadow spat.
Sonic mumbled a quick apology, and then Shadow’s ears perked up as he turned to investigate the noise he had heard. He rushed through the town, locating the screams — the cries — for help.
Shadow swore as he noticed children in the destruction of the town, trapped under rubble and stuck in places they could not get out of.
He had made a move to help, when Sonic grabbed his arm, stopping him as Shadow slapped off the hedgehog’s hand. His eyes narrowed dangerously, and he knew there was a look on his face that allowed his words to go unsaid; what the hell was Sonic doing?
Sonic gave him a wary thumbs-up paired with a shaky smile.
Shadow scrutinized him for a whole five seconds before he crossed his arms and waited for the hero to say what was on his mind.
“Leave this one to me?” Sonic asked.
“And why should I do that?”
“Dealt with this stuff before, plus, you don’t look like the kinda guy to help innocents.” Sonic flashed him a cocky grin, doing hand-guns at him. “You can go help fight the badniks up ahead, dude. I know you’ve been itching for something to do.”
Shadow fixed Sonic with his cold gaze.
“Just go on, Shadz! It’ll be fine!”
“Are you sure?” Shadow scoffed.
“Totally!”
Sonic gave him an enthusiastic nod and wore a happy grin on his face, though the hero was tapping his foot against the ground, a signal that Shadow had come to realize. Sonic wanted him to go.
Shadow thought for a moment, wondering if he should just tell Sonic to shut up and help the mobians in need. It’s not like he was good at following orders. That or he could speed off and follow what Sonic said, fighting on his own against the army; which was potentially the most dangerous part of this mission.
He let out a sigh.
He has been wanting something to do ever since he lost Rouge and Omega, the resistance was hardly helpful in these times. Regardless, some fighting wouldn’t hurt in the end.
“Fine. Don’t make a fool out of yourself, hedgehog.”
With that, Shadow was speeding off toward the battle, hearing the faint laughter that came from Sonic’s mouth as Shadow left him in a cloud of snow.
The rhythmic skating pattern that he did was calming to him, as he blasted through the abandoned town. Collapsing, burnt buildings lined his peripherals as he skated through the town’s alleyways until he was out in open plains again, headed toward the battle.
When Shadow arrived, he encountered nothing. Nothing at all — as if all the badniks hadn’t advanced after the retreating army, which he would’ve expected, but there were no badniks. No mobians. Just pure silence, and the memories of battle that were left behind.
He shook his head, letting his arms hang uselessly next to his sides. He stopped completely, his ears perked up, trying to listen and seek out any noise that he might hear.
Still complete, utter silence.
He drew his lips into a thin line, tightening his hands into fists before ultimately looking away and scowling. A chill ran down his back, causing the fur on his neck to stand and his quills to jut out as he marched through the snow.
He searched for any badniks that might have been left behind, his eyes narrowed, a stern expression crossing his face. Shadow didn’t understand why it was like this, where were the robots? Surely, if they did advance, he or Sonic would have noticed as soon as they crested the horizon, so where were they all?
It was as if Eggman had called them all back when in reality, he would have pushed forward with his armies.
Something wasn’t right here.
Shadow sought out the danger that may be lying around, but came up with nothing. He was the Ultimate Lifeform, he knew when to trust his gut, and right now was one of those moments.
Something is wrong.
He was perfectly alert as he lingered, knowing that he should be headed back.
Then, he heard Sonic well before he saw him, turning his head and scowling to look at him. The hero raised a hand to his face, shading it as he too, looked around.
Sonic had a frown.
Good. Shadow was not the only one who thought something was off.
“I’m going back,” Shadow said.
“‘Kay, buddy.” Sonic looked around. “Maybe I’ll hang out here, Eggie never leaves a battle like this!”
“Do whatever you want.”
Then, before he could activate his shoes, he stepped on something lying in the snow. Ignoring Sonic’s laughter, Shadow looked down to see what had broken underneath him.
What he saw was strange, some tool that looked like it had wings attached to it, and what was formerly a glass tube-looking thing that lay shattered at his feet. He couldn’t tell if he was the one to break it, or if it was formerly broken long ago, as there have been multiple battles in this same spot. Shadow shrugged it off as some weird weapon a mobian or badnik used, either recently or long ago.
He scowled at Sonic who ran up, laughing in his face and dancing around him. Shadow, irritated, stuck his foot out and sent Sonic sprawling into the snow; he let out an indigent cry.
“Serves you right, hedgehog,” Shadow said. “Now shut up, I’m headed back.”
With that, Shadow was off yet again, leaving Sonic in another cloud of snow.