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Even in darkness Shadow could still see that moment flash before his eyes. Even in sleep, he tossed and turned, memories plaguing him. He jolted awake at the feeling of a hand on his shoulder. Rouge flinched back, startled by his sudden movement.
“Hun, you were having a nightmare,” Rouge said, a concerned look on her white face.
Shadow wrapped his arms around his shoulders, holding himself tight.
Rouge gently put a hand on his back, tracing small circles in his ebony fur. She sighed deeply, one wing wrapping around his side.
“It’s about Blue, isn’t it?”
Shadow nodded weakly, this wasn’t the first time Rouge had to pull him out of these visions.
“Are you going to tell me about them, finally?”
Shadow grumbled something under his breath, dropping his forehead to his tucked in knees.
“It’s the same thing it always is”
“Hun, if you don’t want to tell me you don’t have to, but I wasn’t there when it happened. Nobody else but you two were.”
Shadow shook his head, “I know, I know… it just… hurts.”
Shadow sat up a little straighter, “We were walking in the field, arguing about something stupid. I was ignoring him and he was throwing his dumb jokes left and right, like he always does.”
Rouge’s heart sank a little at this use of the present tense, Shadow was still in denial.
“There was this great light behind us suddenly, I assumed it was Chaos energy and told him to get away from it. I turned away from him for only a second, only a second Rouge…”
A single tear fell from Shadow's red eyes. Rouge held him tight, Shadow buried his face in her white fur.
“He wouldn’t want you to be losing sleep over this, Honey”
“He wouldn’t want to be dead”
Rouge hummed frustratedly, “You couldn't have done anything Shads, it wasn’t your fault.”
“I’m the Ultimate Lifeform, if I can’t save one hedgehog then what am I even good for, Rouge? I’m supposed to be saving the world, and here I am crying over some hedgehog that I let die six months ago”
Rouge cradled Shadow closer, running a hand through his crimson quills, “You’re allowed to grieve, Shadow. You’re allowed to mourn and cry and take time away for yourself and just be.”
“How are you guys supposed to track the last chaos emerald without me? How are we supposed to save the world if I don’t fix what I already messed up? Who’s supposed to stand in his place, Rouge?” Shadow lifted his head, meeting her emerald eyes, begging her to answer.
“I don’t think anyone can replace Blue… But Silver and Tails have been working together to track down that emerald, I’ll admit, it’s much more difficult without you, but you need time away from all this.”
“This is my only purpose! I don’t rest, I don’t mourn, twice now I’ve promised someone I’d be better, I’d help protect earth and everyone in it only for them to die in front of me.”
“Shadow, none of this was your fault, none of this is your burden to bear alone. I’m still here, Omega is still here, hell, even Knuckles has been worried sick about you.”
Rouge’s communications cuff lit up, she quickly switched it on, checking her messages from the team knowing how important this could be. She groaned, this was awful timing.
“Speak of the devil, Knuckles wants us at base in 10. Are you up for a mission right now?” Rouge said, knowing Shadow’s response but hoping he would consider her previous words.
“We can be there now,” Shadow said, grabbing Rouge’s hand and using chaos control to teleport the two away.
Shadow and Blaze appeared in the middle of Tails’ makeshift lab. Silver’s quills shot up at their sudden arrival, startled.
“Rouge, Shadow! I’m so glad you’re both okay,” Silver pulled them in for an impromptu group hug before hurriedly remembering his manners.
“Err, sorry but I am happy you guys made it here all right. You’ll never guess what Knuckles and I just dug up.”
“And me!” cried Tails from some other part of the lab.
“Whatever, guess what Knuckles, Tails and I dug up”
Shadow felt the pull of the emeralds’ power before the white hedgehog could even mention them.
“You found the last chaos emerald”
“Yeah, how did you-”
A rush of Chaos energy moved through the room, blinding the group. When the room cleared, Shadow felt a surge of energy tugging at his very being. The chaos emeralds swirled around him, every color of the rainbow humming with chaos power.
“Solaris’ Might, Shadow, how are you doing that?”
Rouge had to squint through the light being reflected by the gems' surfaces.
“I don’t know, I just… reached out.”
“Well whatever you’re doing, keep doing it!” Tails yelled, floating down towards them. He puts his goggles down over his eyes, fiddling with a number of tools and gadgets in his tool belt.
“These readings I’m getting are beyond anything I’ve ever seen, these are past even Sonic’s Chaos levels.”
“Start making sense, Tails, what do all those numbers mean?” The red Echidna demanded, politeness not his forte.
“Shadow managed to tap directly into the Chaos energy in his blood. He should be able to connect with anything containing Chaos.”
“Which is all of us,” offered Rouge.
“And especially those with high Chaos energy,” Silver said thoughtfully.
“In my time, we’ve learned that even if you pass on, your Chaos energy still remains, going back to Gaia. If Shadow can tap into Gaia’s energy then…”
“Then death becomes temporary,” Shadow completed his thought.
“You could bring back Sonic.”
Shadow hadn’t even considered what Tails must have been going through, having lost his parents as a young kit and now his older brother. Another reason Shadow had to figure out how to use his powers for good.
“Silver, what am I supposed to do, you’ve done this before”
The white hedgehog hurriedly waved his hands, “I didn’t say I’d done this before, I said I was vaguely aware of how all this works.” Silver was fidgeting, trying not to freak out.
“Shadow. you’ve fought Sonic before, you’ve seen his Chaos energy. Think about what it feels like and… search with your heart.”
Shadow raised an eyebrow.
“Okay okay that was cheesy, whatever I’m panicking. Just think about his Chaos energy and focus on that.”
Shadow closed his eyes, taking a deep breath in, feeling the energy around him. It felt like he was in a crowded room, energy everywhere speaking to him. He felt his friend’s powers in the room alongside his own spirit. He had to push through the crowd, find the needle in the haystack.
He took another deep breath in, pushing further, past the lab, past green hill, to the heart of Soleanna, to the heart of Gaia. He felt a familiar pull somewhere, he couldn’t quite place it.
On the outside, Shadow had begun floating in the air, the emeralds swirling around him as he focused his energy into the very heart of the world.
“Silver, will he be okay?”
Silver just stared into the distance.
“Silver, Shadow will be okay, right?” Rouge asked, her voice laced with concern for her best friend.
“It’s not exact, if he goes too deep, too far into Gaia, I’m not sure if we’ll be able to get him back.”
She felt a reassuring and firm hand on her shoulder.
“Shadow’s a tough guy, it’d take a lot more to take him down,” Knuckles assured.
Rouge let out a low exhale, grounding herself to her red friend.
“You’re right, Gaia better be ready for a fight.”
Shadow had found himself in a faded distortion of GreenHill, colors dull and lifeless.
Why would Gaia bring him here?
A blur of color appeared and disappeared over the horizon. Shadow tried to track it, eyes immediately drawn to the vibrant azure hue, standing out amongst the empty scenery. The blur hit a loop, dashing past Shadow for a moment.
Sonic
Shadow kicked off, focusing his energy into his rocket skates. He’d beat Sonic in many races and he’d do it again to get him back.
Back on the surface, the room was a mess with the swirling winds of Chaos. Many of them had to retreat further back into the lab or risk being swept up in the mess. Rouge was determined not to leave Shadow’s side.
“Rouge, I know you can fly but it’s still not safe!”
Knuckles held out a hand for her, pleading with her to grab onto it and retreat back.
“I’m not leaving until he’s out, Knuckles, now get out of here before I end up having to save you.”
Knuckles huffed, annoyed by her stubbornness. He pushed through the wind, fighting to stand by her side.
“If you’re not goin’ then I’m not either”
Shadow fought to keep up with Sonic, feeling his energy slowly wearing out.
“Sonic! Sonic, you have to come back,” He yelled out, hoping to catch the hedgehog's attention.
His friend showed no signs of hearing his plea.
Shadow growled, mustering up more energy to go further, go faster, anything to catch Sonic.
Suddenly felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, he lunged forward, reaching for Sonic’s hand.
Rouge and Knuckles were sent flying into the wall behind them, Knuckles taking most of the impact in the process of shielding Rouge.
Rouge coughed, expelling the dust and debris from her lungs. Knuckles helped her to her feet, trying not to show signs of injury and failing. Rouge covered her eyes with her hands, shielding herself from the bright light at the center of the room.
“Shadow…”
Shadow’s form glowed a bright gold color, his ebony replaced with an ivory shade. His inhibitor rings in pieces on the floor.
“He can’t last long in that form, can he?” Knuckles asked, knowing how Sonic’s super form usually functioned.
Rouge shook her head, “Especially without his inhibitor rings. Last time this happened he almost died.”
Knuckles put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.
“He’s got this, I don’t know anyone else as strong as those two.”
Sonic stopped running.
“Shadow? Woah what’s wrong buddy?”
Shadow was taken back by the casualty in his tone. Like nothing was wrong.
“Sonic you have to come back with me, we have to get out of here now!” Shadow said, tugging at his hand.
“Come back where? Shadow, you’re scaring me, what’s going on?”
“Sonic please, don’t fight me on this.”
The azure hedgehog put a hand on Shadow’s shoulder.
“I know it’s hard for you but slow down for once, what’s happening?”
Shadow hadn’t realized how much he missed those stupid quips.
“We can't stay here, it's not safe for either of us. We need you home, I need you home.”
Sonic tilted his head, ears lopsided like a confused puppy, “Shadow, this is home, this is Green Hill”
“Then where Amy, or Tails, or anyone else Sonic? Where's anyone who matters to you?”
“Well, you're here for one”
“Sonic you're not listening! This isn't real, none of this is real, you died.”
Sonic’s mouth fell open, shocked at Shadow’s words.
“...What?”
“This isn't real, I'm trying to bring you home, to Tails to Knuckles to everyone. But you need to come with me now.”
“How do I know you're real?”
“What?
“How do I know you're not just a dream, or some part of this purgatory, how do I know you're really Shadow?”
Shadow huffed angrily, “You always were annoying.”
Shadow leaned forward and kissed him.
When the two opened their eyes, the faded Green Hill was gone, replaced by the mess that now was Tails’ lab.
“That real enough for you?”
Sonic stuttered, too shocked to get words out.
“Sonic! Sonic you're alive!” Tails came out running from wherever he'd taken cover. He nearly tackled his big brother in a hug.
“I missed you so much,” Tails said through sniffles.
“I missed you too, little bro”
If Tails had almost tackled him, Knuckles about knocked him out with his hug. Sonic could've sworn he heard a few bones crack.
“Hey buddy, “ he wheezed out, lungs being compressed by the echidna's strong arms.
“Don't ever do that to me again, asshole”
“I’ll try my best Knucks”
Rouge flew over to him, dragging knuckles off the poor hedgehog.
“Let him breathe, big red,” she said with a playful smile.
“He’s barely slept at all since you’ve been gone,” Rouge confessed.
“Who, Tails?”
“No, Shadow”
Sonic turned back to where the ebony hedgehog was, just in time to catch him as his energy finally gave out, adrenaline leaving his system.
Sonic dashed forward, helping him back to standing.
“Now who’s saving who?”
Shadow frowned weekly, grimacing at both the feeling of his sore muscles and Sonic’s stupid voice.
“We’ll call it even, then.”