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The Black Moon hung heavy in the featureless sky. Red light bathed everything below.
Shadow tore through the chaos of objects in white space. Maria and Grandfa- the professor, they were alright, but that could change at any moment and the energy inside of him pulsed faster with every breath and time was running out. He had difficulty keeping his eyes downturned from the Black Moon. He found his gaze drifting if he lost focus for even a moment.
He skidded to a halt in front of the entrance to the Ark memory. Six Black Arms soldiers sprung from the platforms within- and were promptly obliterated by a volley of missiles behind them.
Omega stepped through their bloody remains. “A PASSAGE HAS FORMED TO THE BLACK MOON! DESTROY IT!”
“I need your help, it’s urgent!” Shadow shouted back.
“WHAT DO YOU REQUIRE?”
“Protect them. Protect Professor Gerald and Maria at all costs.”
“I DO NOT PROTECT.” Omega switched to his fists and clenched one in front of his optics. For a moment, a vision jolted through Shadow’s mind of destroying him with a fiery rain of chaos spears. But Omega lowered his fist and redrew his machine guns.
“HOWEVER. . . I CAN PROTECT THEM BY DESTROYING ALL WHO THREATEN THEM.”
“Thank you.”
“LOCATING TARGETS OF PROTECTION. . . FOUND. GO, SHADOW! HURRY TO YOUR FINAL CONFRONTATION!” Omega jetted off with his boosters
Omega arrived in the zone of white space that held the ruins of the metropolitan area. His scans from a distance could not indicate what time this location portrayed, nor any hints about the location itself, and his scans up close now did little to elucidate the matter further.
But against the ruined backdrop, the biosigns of Gerald and Maria Robotnik lit up in his scanners. They were both crammed beneath a small alcove close to the entrance of the ruins zone. The concrete surrounding them would do a pitiful job at fending off any attacks or deflecting any debris. Omega stomped towards their location.
“GERALD AND MARIA,” the next word was slimy against his voicebox, but he grabbed it and shoved it through anyway, “ROBOTNIK. I AM E-123 OMEGA. SHADOW HAS TASKED ME WITH PROTECTING YOU.”
The little girl crawled out of the hiding spot first. She stood up straight, brushed the non-existent dirt off her skirt, before standing square with him, meeting his optics.
She was. . . unremarkable. Thin blonde hair. Blue eyes. An almost inhumanly frail muscle and skeletal structure- some of her bones were thin enough that even the force from falling on them wrong might break them.
This was the human girl that Shadow once wanted to destroy the world for.
This was the human girl that caused Shadow to flinch at stray gunfire and to hyperventilate at flashing alarms.
This was the human girl that left Shadow weeping on the floor in the middle of the night after screaming out her name.
This was-
“Are you Shadow’s friend?”
Omega stared at her. “YES.”
“Good. That makes me happy.” Maria smiled, revealing brittle teeth. “Grandfather, it’s okay! Come on out!”
The first thing Omega registered was the mustache. His targeting nearly snapped onto its visage. But he held off, allowing the old man to crawl out of the alcove and stand trembling beside Maria.
“My, you’re an impressive thing.” Gerald said. “I wonder who built you?”
“IT IS ONLY MY PROMISE TO SHADOW THAT KEEPS ME FROM ERADICATING YOU, ROBOTNIK .”
Before he could stomp closer to the old man, Maria jumped in between. “Stop!”
“Maria!”
Gerald grabbed her and pulled her aside. He then stepped up and puffed his chest out, as if he wasn’t about to cower before the girl had intervened.
“AS PREVIOUSLY STATED- I AM TO PREVENT YOU FROM BEFALLING HARM. THIS LOCATION IS UNSHELTERED. FOLLOW ME.” Omega gestured over his shoulder.
He hadn’t had time to scan this new area- he hadn’t explored the confines of this white space while he was trying to triangulate Rouge’s signal, and after confirming her status, events had moved far too quickly. Now he was left guessing at wall thicknesses and scouting as he went, with two vulnerable meatbags far too close on his heels.
He rounded the corner to find a herd of gunner robots. He destroyed them, but instead of breaking into parts they only shriveled up and disappeared. Their smoke lingered. They’d likely reappear in time, just like all the other robots in this inane dimension. As he walked through the smoke, it reacted to his air resistance, but did not cling to his frame.
It didn’t cling to Maria’s shoes either as she marched behind him. Yet she wheezed. She coughed. She froze. Omega turned around. Her eyelashes fluttered. Her pulse dropped- and so did she.
Omega felt her between his fingers before he even registered that he’d moved to catch her. He dragged her out of the smoke and held her upright until she could plant her own feet beneath herself again.
She placed her palm on his wrist. “Thank you.”
“Let go of her!” Gerald pouted.
Omega looked at him, then to Maria, then back at him. He then plucked Maria off the ground so that she was sitting in his claws.
“Put her down!”
“NO.”
“Grandfather, it’s alright- he’s steady.” Maria replied. “In fact, it might be faster if he carries you as well.”
Omega turned and walked towards the outer wall of white space, leaving the old man jogging after them.
“Please don’t leave him.” Maria said.
“I AM TRACKING HIM BEHIND ME.”
“I’m sorry about what Grandfather said. It was rather rude to call you a thing.”
“IRRELEVANT.”
“No, it really was. You deserve an apology. You’re not a thing. You’re clearly so much more than that.” Maria put her hands on his chest plating.
. . . he could not determine how to respond, so he didn’t.
He arrived at the outer wall. This material, according to his scans, was far too thick for even his arsenal to blast through. He set Maria down next to it, then stepped in front of her, shielding her from the other three directions where possible threats could emerge.
When the old man finally caught up with them, Omega was tempted not to let him in, but Shadow’s promise called itself to the forefronts of his memory banks, and he waved the old man behind him.
“WE ARE SHELTERING AT THIS LOCATION. STAY BEHIND ME. I WILL INSTRUCT YOU WHEN IT IS SAFE TO EMERGE.”
“You know,” Gerald said in that nasally tone of his, “you’re not exactly perfect cover.”
There was a hand placed atop his head. Like a master patting his creation.
“ DO NOT TOUCH ME! ” Omega snapped around and shoved the barrel of his machine gun at Gerald’s throat.
“Stop! Stop, he didn’t mean it!” Maria cried.
“IF YOU TOUCH ME AGAIN, I WILL KILL YOU.”
“Even at risk of permanent damage to the timeline?” Gerald muttered into the barrel of the weapon.
“YOU OVERESTIMATE MY CAPACITY TO CARE.”
“Let him go! ”
Maria shoved Omega’s waist. It was not enough force to move him. She kicked his leg and punched his chest plating, each with barely enough force to even register on his tactile sensors.
But then she shoved Gerald out of the way. The old man was not prepared, stumbling off to the side, and at the tip of Omega’s gun barrel his throat was replaced with Maria’s forehead.
Her blue eyes burned into Omega’s optics.
He lowered his weapon.
“You’re cruel!” Her lips dripped with a venom Omega didn’t even know her vocal chords could produce. “Shadow can’t possibly be your friend!”
“THEN YOU DO NOT KNOW SHADOW AT ALL.”
Her eyes widened. Omega turned his back to her. He scanned the surroundings for hostiles. Unfortunately, there were none.
“Tell me about Shadow, then.” Maria said, quieter.
“Don’t.” Gerald snapped. “I’m sure your treatment of us is already damaging the-”
“SILENCE, IMBECILE!”
The old man sputtered a bit before complying.
Omega generated a few iterations of his next words before settling on one. “SHADOW IS CAPABLE OF SO MUCH MORE THAN YOU WANT HIM TO BE.”
“By that, do you mean. . . hurting people?”
“AFFIRMATIVE.”
“People like that devil in the moon up there?”
“AFFIRMATIVE.”
She paused. “Good.”
“YOU ARE NOT REPULSED BY THIS IDEA OF HIM?”
“I don’t like the idea of him fighting at all.” Maria was silent for a moment. “But I know he’s able to. To protect everyone. He’s been fighting for us this whole time.”
“INDEED. I HAVE BEEN EXCLUDED FROM THE REGIONS FULL OF ENEMIES HE HAS BEEN ABLE TO INTERACT WITH.”
“Otherwise you would have helped?”
“UNDOUBTEDLY!” Omega’s claws twitched. “IT IS FAR TOO BORING HERE.”
“So you fight together. And it’s fun?”
“EXTREMELY SO!”
She made a thoughtful noise. “He used to be so nervous using his powers.”
“I ENCOURAGE HIM TO EMBRACE HIS STATUS AS THE ULTIMATE LIFEFORM.”
“He’s even using the powers from his alien side. . . he’s being so casual about it.” She paused. “He is different. You’re right.”
“You don’t need to apologize to him, dear.” Gerald said.
“QUIET.” Omega reminded him.
“Tell me about his other friends.” Maria asked.
“ROUGE THE BAT,” Omega pointed to her last-known location on the plateau above them, “IS A COMPETENT JEWEL THIEF AND A VALUABLE ALLY.”
“She steals things?”
“SHE IS VERY GOOD AT STEALING THINGS.”
“Hmm. Is it like how it is in the movies? Heists, that is.”
“IT IS MUCH MORE ENTERTAINING.”
“That does sound fun.”
Gerald grunted something. It didn’t matter what.
“What did Shadow think of Earth?” Maria asked. “When he first saw it?”
“Maria, stop asking these sorts of questions. You’ll learn the answers in due time, when you join Shadow back on Earth.”
Omega rotated his head back to stare Gerald down. The man flinched backwards. Maria stood her ground.
“HE APPRECIATES THE ‘BEAUTY’ OF EARTH. HE OFTEN GOES ON LONG LEAVES OF ABSENCE TO EXPLORE IT.” Omega turned his gaze back to the empty space ahead.
“Good. I’m glad. He’s probably able to explore so much with how fast he can run.” Maria said.
“INDEED.”
Before Omega could speak again, the Black Moon rumbled. One of the eyes protruding from the writhing mass stared down upon them. The portal that Shadow had entered on the top rippled, and a horde of Black Arms soldiers belched forth.
It would be so easy to run forward and tear them to pieces, but instead Omega had to wait an agonizing length of time for them to run within range. He drew both of his machine guns and let loose into the horde. Soon they were nothing but splotches of green blood on the ground. Their essence evaporated and drifted back towards the Black Moon.
“. . . is it over?” Maria asked from behind.
“BEFORE IT COULD EVEN BEGIN.” Omega huffed. “I BET SHADOW IS HAVING MUCH MORE FUN.”
A soft giggle filled the air. Suddenly Omega understood the meatbag metaphorical comparison of laughter to wind chimes.
The Black Moon pulsed again, and let out a guttural noise. No enemies emerged. All previously collected data on Shadow the Hedgehog suggested that Shadow was making quick work of Black Doom. Something deeper told Omega that time was almost up.
“IS THERE ANYTHING,” the idea crossed his processor that Shadow would be displeased with such a question, but that was not enough to dissuade him, “YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAY TO SHADOW?”
“He’ll be able to say goodbye, won’t he?”
“A MESSAGE FOR THE FUTURE.”
“Ah. . . I understand.” She said quietly. “Let me think.”
She hummed under her breath.
Gerald cleared his throat. “Tell Shadow that I’m proud of him, whenever he needs to hear it.”
“I WILL NOT. I DID NOT ASK YOU.”
“Um. . .” Maria walked out from behind Omega and grabbed one of his claws. “Tell Shadow that whenever he’s feeling lonely, he should seek you or Rouge out, okay?”
“ARE YOU SURE THIS IS THE ONLY MESSAGE YOU WISH TO LEAVE HIM?”
“I don’t see why not. He gets lonely easily. I don’t want him to be. Now that he has you two as friends, he doesn’t have to be.”
“MESSAGE RECORDED. I WILL PRESENT IT TO HIM,” Omega paused, “WHENEVER NECESSARY.”
He deleted the recording.
“Thank you.” Maria let go. She glanced over her shoulder, then back to him. “And you take care of him, okay?”
“I DO NOT ‘CARE’ FOR ANYONE.”
“What?”
“BUT I WILL NOT ALLOW SHADOW TO COME TO HARM.”
Maria smiled again. “Good.”
“HE IS THE ONLY ORGANIC WHO CAN POSSIBLY KEEP UP WITH ME. HE IS MY MOST VALUABLE ALLY.”
“And your friend.”
“AND MY FRIEND.”
Omega’s scanners picked up growing energy within the Black Moon. He quickly picked up Maria and placed her behind his frame, just before a series of shockwaves hit. The old man got the worst of it, getting knocked off his feet, but with Omega’s frame curled around her, the forces against Maria’s body were minimized.
A final, massive explosion sent purple-red smoke rolling past them. Then all was quiet. Omega turned around to find that the Black Moon was no more- he didn’t even get to see the blasted thing explode into little pieces. Sad.
A small figure landed in the distance. Scans confirmed it to be Shadow.
“SHADOW HAS EMERGED VICTORIOUS.” Omega informed the other two. “I WILL RETURN YOU TO YOUR ORIGINAL LOCATION.”
“Thank you for protecting us.” Maria said.
“. . . YOU’RE WELCOME.” Omega replied. He then tapped his shoulder. “WOULD YOU LIKE FASTER TRANSPORTATION BACK?”
She turned to Gerald. “Can I, Grandfather? Can I please?”
“Absolutely not.” Gerald spat. “Come on, let’s get back to Shadow.”
The old man held out his hand, and she took it. Omega turned away from them.
“It’s probably for the best we don’t leave Grandfather behind. There could still be monsters about.” Maria tried to explain.
“IRRELEVANT. FOLLOW.”
He walked them back to the ruins of the urban area. He saw Rouge take off towards some other area of the white space. Shadow went the opposite direction, closing on the ruins area and fast.
“SHADOW IS RETURNING. I WILL ALLOW YOU TO SAY YOUR FINAL GOODBYES.”
“Right.” Maria said quietly.
“Nonsense, my dear. The robot clearly doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” Gerald put his hands on her shoulders.
Analysis of his voice suggested he didn’t quite believe what he was saying either. Omega stomped off to the edge of the ruins.
Before he activated his boosters, he heard a faint “goodbye Omega!” from behind him.
He saved it to his memory banks before blasting away.
The aftermath. . . Shadow didn’t remember much. The rest of Sonic’s party was a blur. He stood on the edge of it until people started to trickle out. Rouge grabbed his shoulder, told him it was time to go, and they were off.
Halfway through their route they were intercepted. Shadow skidded to a halt and Rouge landed to find Omega with his thrusters overheating.
After they gave him a moment to cool down, the first thing he asked Shadow was “WHAT IS YOUR STATUS?”
“I’m okay.” Shadow replied.
Then they went home. A few weeks slipped away. It was difficult to break out of the fog. Omega suggested a mission. Shadow took him up on the offer.
In the now-empty hallways of this base of Eggman’s, Shadow paused.
“Did you talk with her at all?” He asked.
“MARIA, DURING THE TIME EATER EVENT?”
“Yes.”
“AFFIRMATIVE.”
Shadow waited for him to elaborate. When he didn’t, he asked, “what did you think of her?”
Omega paused. Switched back to his weapon and shot the remnants of a destroyed Badnik on the floor. Switched back to his claws.
“SHE WAS NOT AS PITIFUL AS I EXPECTED.”
“You thought she was pitiful? ” Shadow hissed.
Omega didn’t answer; he turned and walked away. Then he paused mid-step, as if there was something else he wanted to say, before he ignited his boosters and took off down the hall.