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As Shadow stepped into Capital City’s sleek white metropolis, his mind was stuck in a different sterile environment. An environment that on this exact day fifty years ago, had become his permanent home.
“The stars are pretty tonight,” Tails murmured, looking up from his flashing Phantom-Ruby-tracker. He met Shadow’s eyes with a piercing softness, and the hedgehog stiffened. As always, the fox’s startling blue eyes unsettled him. Those eyes turned him inside out, then scrutinized every blood-dripping organ, every gnarled tangle of intestines…
You can stargaze when we’re not strolling into the enemy’s living room. Shadow swallowed the retort. He tilted his head for a brief look at the sky; Capital City’s jarring circus of bright lights fought the skylight for dominance and won. But for the first night in months, hints of starlight peeped through the polluted sludge.
He’d never immerse himself in a star-streaked galaxy again. Even if by some miracle they won the war and chased away Eggman’s constant pollution output, the sky would never look as breathtaking as it did from space. Nestled in a cold ship, her frail fingers threaded through his, they spent hours soaking in the beauty and warmth of a million stars.
This is the worst possible time to be maudlin, Shadow snapped to himself. Find Infinite first. Feel sorry for yourself later.
“This is going well,” Tails commented as their shoes clicked against the marble walkway. White skyscrapers leered at them in clusters, the windows either blaring light or glimmering coldly in its absence. The fox narrowed his eyes. “Too well.”
“Keep on guard.” Shadow slipped behind a hulking mechanical shed, pulling Tails with him. A troop of droids rolled past, their red eyes scanning the sidewalk. “I know we’re close. But we can’t afford to get careless.”
Tails rolled his eyes. “I’m not stupid.” He knelt, flipping a few switches on the pet badnik that’d followed them from Park Avenue. The droids in the street froze, their red eyes clicking off. “There. They’re under our control. At least until Eggman catches wind of this.”
“I don’t plan on sticking around that long.” After a careful survey of the perimeter, Shadow slunk back to the street. “How close are we?”
“The Ruby’s on the other side of the bridge.” The flashing tracker turned Tails’s face red. “About a mile, give or take.”
“Well, let’s not waste a second.” The tips of the bridge were visible in between skyscrapers– the buildings slashed the sky in pieces like prison bars. Shadow glided through the street, the motion alien after months of walking. His air shoes couldn’t handle the rubble-strewn terrain: just another perk of living through the apocalypse.
His mind filled with blood-spattered images of what Infinite would look like after Shadow strangled him. He’d squeeze his fingers around the jackal’s throat, then strike him once for every life lost. Thousands had died at Infinite’s hands, but that didn’t matter. He’d pulverize the masked jackal until his knuckles bruised and bled.
He skated faster, the wind lashing his face. Tails sprinted a few paces behind, their badnik trailing them. Starlight spotted the streets, a rare shred of beauty among the ugly metropolis.
“The bridge is up ahead,” Tails breathed. “You keep him distracted; I’ll get the Ruby.”
“Oh, I’ll keep him distracted, all right,” Shadow spat.
“Save a few hits for me, yeah?”
His friend’s voice rang with conviction, and the coldness of steel. Shadow blinked. He tried to imagine Maria speaking those words, with the same level of bloodlust, and found he couldn’t.
He’s not Maria. Stop it.
“Of course.” Shadow shook off the dregs of his past, always threatening to yank him beneath a black unforgiving surface. Tails had lost so much in this war; he deserved to take revenge not just for himself, but for those who could no longer fight for themselves.
The unspoken truth stretched between them like a taut rope; somewhere in the cosmos, Sonic and Maria were shaking their heads.
Tonight, this image struck a tender nerve.
A paroxysm of screams and slams shattered the silence.
“Shadow.” Tails had skidded to a stop. He pointed to the bridge, half-obstructed by a mechanical tower. Atop the bridge’s trusses, Infinite’s eyes glowed red.
Silhouettes tangled with an army of writhing phantom creatures on the road beneath the arches. As Shadow watched, uneasiness sprouted in his gut. He knew those faces. Those screams.
“The Resistance!” Tails sprang forward. Shadow snatched his arm.
“Stop.”
Tails shot him a glare, trying to twist out of Shadow’s grip. “What’s wrong with–”
“Hush.”
Tails followed Shadow’s sharp gaze to the skyline. A gray, mechanical sphere emerged behind Infinite, its jeering face cold and familiar.
Dread wormed through Shadow’s chest. “The doctor.”
Tails’s breath stirred his ear. “The Resistance are losing. Badly.” He fiddled with the badnik next to them, kicking it impatiently. “Work, would you?”
The droid’s eye glittered. Slowly, it rolled out from behind the tower, coasting for the bridge. A rumble sounded from deeper in the city; an army of droids emerged from the shadows, now under their control.
Infinite screeched something inaudible as his phantom demons were attacked by Eggman Empire equipment. Yelps of surprise shot up from the Resistance.
“We need to help them.” Tails started for the bridge battlefield, but Shadow stuck out his arm.
“No. The droids will level the playing field. I need you to come with me.”
“To attack Infinite while he’s busy torturing our friends?” Tails snapped. “Well, stop talking and let’s go!”
“No.” Shadow squashed his growing rage, fighting against primal instinct to leap into the fray and crush the jackal’s skull as intended.
He’d just made the mistake of looking at the sky.
The stars glimmered above them, sparse among the choking smog. One shone brighter than the rest, piercing through the thin portal between the living and the dead.
He couldn’t bring her back.
But tonight, maybe, just maybe, he could save another life.
“We need to infiltrate the doctor’s ship,” Shadow spoke in a low voice.
Tails cocked his head. “Why? We can attack it from the outside.”
“You’re not getting it.” Shadow met the fox’s gaze with a fierce intensity. “Something could be in there. Some one.”
Tails stared at him for a split second before recognition flashed in his eyes. His namesakes stiffened. “You don’t think–”
Shadow grabbed his hand. “Only one way to find out.”
The two slunk behind the tower, dodging patches of light from skyscraper windows. Shadow gritted his teeth as screams pulsed through the air; was he making the stupidest decision of his life? He prayed that nobody died tonight due to his negligence.
As they scaled the back of the Egg Gate, Shadow’s mind whirled. Tails had been sure, had been certain… but whether it was foolishness or the inherent sentimentality of the night, Shadow clutched a tiny light of hope.
Sonic is still alive.
Getting inside wasn’t the hard part. The challenge came in navigating the maze of spiraling hallways completely undetected.
“Security cameras,” Tails breathed, barely daring to speak above a whisper. He pointed to the corridor sprawling ahead.
“I can run fast enough so they won’t detect me.” Shadow stiffened at the sound of clanking footsteps. “We need to make a decision now.”
“He usually holds prisoners near the cockpit.” Tails spoke fast. “He likes to gloat to them while he’s committing evil acts.” As a badnik entered the corridor, Tails split it in half. He darted through the hall, faster than Shadow had seen him move in months. So much for staying out of sight.
As he sprinted after Tails, Shadow swallowed a shred of guilt. Tails had fully convinced himself of Sonic’s death before. If Shadow had gotten his hopes up and Sonic really was dead…
Don’t you dare let me down, Blue.
Red lights exploded through the corridor. Alarms wailed, and Shadow swore under his breath. “Shit.”
“There’s a ton of cells here, but they’re empty!” Panic edged Tails’s voice. The cockpit lay ahead. The doctor’s shouts and slamming fists exploded from the room.
“We might have better luck on the lower level. Come on.” Shadow whirled around, his air shoes scraping the floor so fast that sparks ignited beneath them.
If we get caught, I’ll kill myself for being so stupid.
They flew down the stairs, smashing security badniks to pieces along the way. Room after empty room…
“Here!” Shadow skidded to a stop outside of a locked door. He smirked. Did the doctor really think the Ultimate Lifeform couldn’t handle a door?
Splinters of metal careened into the hallway as he broke through. Breathing hard, his eyes focused on the dark room.
Four sets of prison bars suffocated a tiny cell. White chalk marks gleamed in the thousands on the walls, like vertical and criss-crossed stars. Shadow’s breath halted.
Dull green eyes shone between the bars.
“Sonic!” Tails sprinted through the cramped room, metal pieces crunching beneath his feet. He grasped the prison bars. “I’m…I’m so sorry…”
The fox’s ears lay flat and lifted; he couldn’t keep them still. He stared at Sonic as if he were a mirage: merely a lifeless product of the Phantom Ruby.
“We’re getting you out of here.” Shadow struck the bars. Unlike the door, they were Ultimate Lifeform-proof. He threw out a series of attacks before falling to the floor, breathless. “Tails, can you?”
“There’s no keypad or anything,” Tails said. “There’s nothing to hack.” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “It’s okay, Sonic. We won’t leave you.”
“I wish you would.”
Electricity crackled through the room; the pipes on walls and ceilings rushed with energy. In the corridor, the flashing alarms screamed. Shadow and Tails exchanged a look.
“We’re not leaving,” Tails repeated. “Here, what if you try to break the bars from the other side?”
Sonic pushed himself to his feet, now visible in the flashing red lights. Against his better judgement, Shadow gasped.
Ribs protruded from the hedgehog’s body. Thin clumps of fur littered the cell floor. Dark circles masked his bloodshot eyes, which looked flat and mechanical. He stared past Shadow, gripping the bars to stay upright. “Leave me alone,” he rasped, his voice weak and unused.
Tails threw himself at the bars. No matter how hard he whaled on them, they wouldn’t dent.
“Did you hear me?” Clarity broke through Sonic’s glazed irises. “Leave me alone.”
A snarl laced the hedgehog’s voice. Shadow blinked, unsure if this really was a mirage. Sonic did not sound like that.
“Like hell.” Tails threw his shoulder against the bars, wincing. “Please, Sonic. Help us save you.” Desperation entered his voice. He locked eyes with Sonic, pleading. Shadow realized his friend was trembling.
“No.”
The word dropped to the floor and shattered like glass. Sonic leaned against the bars, his voice thick with exhaustion.
“I know you’re not real.”
Tails stiffened. “I–”
“Spare the theatrics.” Sonic spoke louder, each word catching on his scratched throat. “I’ve seen it enough times. I mean…” He shook his head. “How much longer are you gonna show me the same card trick?”
“Sonic, I swear.” Tails’s voice cracked. He swallowed, continuing more steadily. “We’re real. We’re not mirages. We can prove it.” Reaching between the bars, he ran a finger along Sonic’s hand.
Sonic leapt back. “Don’t touch me,” he snapped. “I’m…so sick of you always touching me.” His legs buckled. He caught himself before he hit the floor, arching his back as he gripped the ground. His quills spiked out, frazzled and terrified.
Clanking pounded against the hall floor. Shadow flinched. “Tails, go stall them.”
Tears pooled at the edge of his eyes. “Shadow–”
“Go! I’ll keep working at this.” I’m sorry.
Tails froze. He couldn’t tear his eyes from Sonic. After so long, his brother was finally in reach. Alive.
“Tails.” Shadow pointed to the corridor. “We can’t do anything if we’re being ambushed.”
Tails blinked. Then he sprung into the action, flouncing into the hallway. Metal parts clanged against the floor.
Shadow faced the cell. Sonic hadn’t moved; his hands and knees pressed into the ground, and his arms trembled. Fear emanated off the other hedgehog in thick waves.
“Sonic.” Shadow lowered his voice, holding out his hands to appear non-threatening. “You’ve been through a lot. You don’t know who to trust. I get that.” The chalk marks on the wall glimmered. “But we’re here, and we’re real. We need you home.”
Sonic shook his head. His ears lay flat against his skull.
“Look at me, Blue. I won’t touch you. Just look at me.”
The other hedgehog sat up, listlessly grabbing the prison bars. He met Shadow’s eyes, and Shadow winced at the hopelessness there.
“You know, it’s never you.”
Shadow frowned. “Come again?”
Sonic shrugged. “I’m always fighting some warped version of you. You’ve certainly never tried rescuing me before.” He gave a hapless laugh.
Something in Shadow’s heart cracked.
Determination to find Infinite filled his days. With his thoughts so chock-full of rage and purpose, he drove away any haunting, all-consuming thoughts.
Nights, though, were awful.
Lying awake next to a sleeping Tails, sheltering in some ramshackle bungalow on the outskirts of some blown-up village, Shadow’s mind seized control of guilt and pain.
So many thoughts involved Sonic.
“They’ve been hurting you.” Anger twisted in Shadow’s chest as he looked at the weak hedgehog in front of him, separated from his touch by four sets of impenetrable bars. He could scarcely believe his foolish hunch had been correct. He’s alive…barely.
“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it, Faker.” Sonic smirked. “Go join the Eggman Empire or blow up the Resistance or whatever you’re planning to do. Take the other one with you. I’m sure he’s dying to tell me how he killed Amy. Has he told you that story?”
“Do not start the ‘Faker’ nonsense with me, Blue,” Shadow retorted. The rest of Sonic’s words sank in, and he bristled. “Amy’s alive. She’s right outside. The whole Resistance is. Now, are you going to help me get you out of here?”
“Look, I’m done being angry. I’ve accepted it.” Sonic coughed, his body trembling. “I’m never getting outta here. Is that what you wanted to hear? Well, you can’t hurt me anymore.” He smirked again, creating stretch lines on his hollow cheeks. Her face looked the same, frail and sickly.
But she’d never lost the spark in her eyes. No matter how many machines whirred at her bedside, no matter how many IVs bruised her fragile skin, she still offered the world a smile.
Would this apocalypse snuff out her eternal hope? Would he find her on the other side of a cell like this one, defeated and listless? Bile rose in his throat. He screwed his eyes shut, breathing against it.
“I missed you, ya know.” Sonic’s words were barely audible over the frenzy of alarms. Outside, Tails slammed another badnik to the floor. Screws and bolts flew into the room.
Shadow twitched his ear.
“I know it isn’t really you. Just like it isn’t really Tails or Amy or Knuckles, time and time again. But I thought you should know.” He broke into a coughing fit, eyes streaming. Each cough threatened to rob his breath completely.
Shadow knelt. Tentatively, he reached between the bars, rubbing the other hedgehog’s back.
Sonic flinched, but he didn’t protest. Couldn’t protest.
“Relax, Blue. You’re okay.” Shadow fell into a rhythm, as he had several times before on the Ark. Maria was also prone to coughing fits, and even the smallest comfort meant something to her. “Don’t be so scared, okay? The cornered animal look doesn’t fit you.”
Beneath Shadow’s touch, Sonic relaxed. His coughing halted. “I…still don’t…believe you.”
“You can’t afford to not believe me. You’re going to die here unless you help me.”
Sonic stared through him, the way Tails did. When he first found Tails in Sunset Heights, he’d worn that same look of hopelessness. Like the light behind his eyes had been extinguished.
He lowered his head, breaking eye contact. “I can’t break these bars. Trust me, I’ve tried. I…can’t even stand.”
“You’ve gotta want it. Come on, hedgehog. What’s wrong with you?” Shadow stood, his hand outstretched through the bars. “I know damn well you don’t give up that easily.”
“Of course I want it,” Sonic snapped, the animalistic snarl back in his voice. “But I don’t deserve it. Ever think of that, Faker? I left the whole planet to die. Amy’s dead. Tails is…” he broke off, swallowing. His voice had grown rougher, like shards of glass had scratched up his throat.
Shadow slammed his fist into the bars, and they rattled. Sonic jumped. “That’s about the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard out of your mouth. And you’ve given me some tough competition.” He balled his fists. “You think I’m angry with you? That’s it? You think I blame you for all of this? How presumptuous. You’re somehow even more arrogant when you’re being self-deprecating.” He exhaled.
“I can’t stand seeing you like this, you know that? It’s wrong. You’re wrong. I can’t convince you I’m real. But what I can tell you is that the Resistance fights even more ruthlessly now that you’re gone. Tails screams in his sleep for you. And I…” He paused. “I need you to be okay. You’re loved. You’re loved and you’re missed, and even if we did blame you for this bullshit, we’d fight for you like we always have.”
Emotion awoke in Sonic’s eyes.
Shadow pressed his hand against the barred barrier between them. He kept his other hand outstretched in between the bars: an offering.
“They…never got that part right,” Sonic whispered.
“What?”
“Infinite and the Phantom Ruby. They always made you cruel.” Tension strained his voice. “Shadow…it’s you.”
He grasped Shadow’s hand.
Electricity crackled between them. Shadow squeezed Sonic’s hand back, careful not to do too much damage. “You ready to go home?”
“Is that a trick question? Yes!”
“Here, I’ll help you up.” Through the bars, Shadow pulled Sonic to his feet. “It looks like you’ve made a few dents here.” He gestured to one of the bars at eye level. “On three, we’re both going to try breaking it. Alright?”
Sonic nodded, narrowing his eyes in focus. “Alright.”
“One…two… three!”
Shadow harnessed his power, hyper-aware of the frail hedgehog behind the bars. The two attacked the bars in a flash of black and blue.
An orange flash joined them. Tails.
Badniks streamed into the room. The bars weakened, but they didn’t split. Not yet.
“Keep going!” Shadow snapped, smashing a droid to pieces. “Tails, can you–”
“Our badnik’s outside,” he said breathlessly. “I can’t get it to control–”
A silhouette appeared in the doorway. Among the debris, Shadow squinted to recognize the figure.
“Knuckles!” Tails shouted. “Help us!”
The red echidna plowed into the room. His eyes widened upon seeing Tails. Right. They hadn’t interacted since Tails fled the Resistance.
“What’s it like outside?” Shadow inquired. “Are you all–”
“The Ruby’s glitching.” Knuckles joined them beside the cell. “It should keep Infinite and his army distracted.” He halted, his hand flying to his throat. “Sonic…?”
“Yeah, have the family reunion later,” Shadow said. “We’ve gotta get him outta here before the doctor shows up.”
With no further hesitation, Knuckles slammed his powerful fists into the bars. With the four of them hammering the metal, the barrier began to splinter.
Debris showered over the room. The cell collapsed in on itself in a heap of metal and dust.
Above the door, an alarm screeched, bathing the room in red.
Knuckles dug feverishly through the rubble, pulling Sonic into his arms. Sonic didn’t move, but a twitch of his hand proved he was still alive. Like Sonic the Hedgehog would die in a prison break.
They’d barely escaped the ship before Infinite clambered aboard, sending the Egg Gate into tangible hieroglyphics. They’d barely escaped Capital City before Eggman’s enraged face blew up the news channels, raving about the loss of his prisoner.
Shadow barely escaped the anniversary of Maria’s death alive.
As they flew back to Resistance HQ, Sonic hooked up to an eerily familiar array of machines, Shadow stood by his bedside– the same way he did over fifty years ago, with his head lowered and hands laced.
Tails leaned against him, his cheek nuzzling Shadow’s arm– a soundless expression of gratitude.
Something outside the helicopter window caught Shadow’s eye.
A splash of yellow, gleaming among the endless stretch of rubble and desert.
The flower field had lived.