Chapter Text

[[**Thanks so much for Copium V on X/Twitter for yet another awesome cover image~ ♡♡♡**]]

The female before him was labeled ‘Maria Robotnik, Granddaughter of Gerald Robotnik, and the Individual Whom Lives on A Farm Approximately 17 Miles North-Northeast of Guthrie, Oklahoma On a Gravel and Windy Road.’ He called her ‘Maria’ for short. Young. Weak. She had no physical traits remarkable or stellar. Incapable of lifting anything more than thirty-five pounds, her skills left room for improvement. Despite her faults, her true danger lied in emotional manipulation.

The other individual was ‘Gerald Robotnik, the Man Whom Only Had This Farm and Couldn’t Afford College Because This Was All He Had Left and Damn Will He Let This Land Be Taken.’ He called this homosapien ‘Gerald.’ The organic, too, lived in the same location the girl did, but was slightly stronger: one hundred and fifty-nine pounds was his limit, but seemed to struggle immensely at those numbers. Where he lacked in strength, however, he made up for it in understandings of material science.

As for he, himself, he was called ‘Shadow’ to them both. Not the Vanguard. Not the Ultimate Lifeform. Just Shadow – the darkness that the Sun attempted to burn away. He, too, currently resided on ‘That Farm By Guthrie, Oklahoma.’ He, too, only had this speck of land amidst the fields of corn and soybeans. He, too, was capable of mental and physical feats.

The axe in his hands slowly rotated. The shaft was made with organics: Maria called it wood. Heavy compared to ‘plastic,’ the forces it could withstand exceeded that strange mix of carbon.

The edge rose towards the sky and the Vanguard brought it down upon his victim.

CHUNK!

The log split right in half. Kindling, was what Gerald mentioned. His homosapiens needed such sticks for the winter days that were to arrive. They lacked external fur and Chaos Energy to keep them warm when the sun vanished for longer and longer periods of time. Instead of getting close to one another for shared heat, they depended on something called a stove, he thinks, where the pieces of wood were shoved into and burned.

The log wasn't the only thing that broke. The Ultimate Lifeform had snapped the handle in his grip, too. Annoyed, he simply tossed the shaft away and rose his hand. Fine. It was nothing his raw strength couldn't deal with…

SLAM!

CRACK!

He could feel his body shivering. Destruction. How he craved it-

“Shaaaadowwww!” the young girl cried out behind him.  “Still breaking up the fallen trees?”

He turned to look at the source.

The Sun was setting in the background, casting her body in a golden glow. She wore a layer of fabric upon her core that simulated the black fuzz upon his own body. On her legs were thickened pants; shoes high as to avoid getting into the mud that he floated effortlessly over. In fact, one could hear the squelch squelch of her feet as she closed the distance. The skin on her face moved her mouth into a curl.

She had called that smiling. An action done when happy.

He turned to address her. Issued a nod.

There was something blue on her hands as she reached out and rubbed the topmost quill. “Great job! Grandpa’s gonna love the furnace tonight! Can you believe the weatherman said it's supposed to go down to 13°?” A laugh rung out. “Brrr!!”

Red eyes followed her hands as they rubbed her own body. It seemed the homosapien was cold. Carefully, he looked down at the kindling in his arms and then back at her. It was a wasteful use of natural resources. Maria and Gerald would be better off-

Wait. That was a perfect way to thank the two once again.

The girl tugged at his spare hand. “C’mon! Grandpa has dinner finished and even placed a side of fancy not-Folger’s in a bowl for you!”

Coffee beans?

The Vanguard followed.

[x]

The dining table was covered in food. The Ultimate Lifeform had long since learned from the homosapiens the names of each object: rolls, macaroni, ham, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole. He had nibbled on each one once just to understand what the two were about to place within their bodies.

A memory played.

“Shadow! No! Don't throw away my bag of Skittles!”

The colorants were made with artificial chemicals that would create unwanted cellular growth within the body of Maria over time if she had continued exposure. The Vanguard did not want his homosapien to have such filth flowing within her bloodstream and bodily tissues.

This meal had nothing inherently wrong. Gerald had been using his quills to accelerate the crops used in these family dinners for the past six months, which was an acceptable compromise the three had after the Vanguard had removed every last thing from their refrigerator in a fit of rage on the third day after his ‘birth.’

Cancer. Cancer. Cancer. Everything was wrong – the meat had dye to appear redder, the vegetables had a film of wax over the skin; a chemical used to fight bugs was on everything else. He had basically destroyed the cooling box with his hands as he ripped apart each and every wrong food object. The only things left unharmed were the items that had been torn from the dirt just a few feet away in the ‘Robotnik Personal Garden.’

He heard Gerald groan in the background. “At this point, I'm not even surprised or angry anymore. Shock has won. I give up. Anyways, I don't think it likes the stuff from the grocery store. At least it didn't attempt to do that to us. Gah. Imprinted affection is strange. Here I thought only the local geese did it.”

Maria shifted in place. “Grandpa! That's mean!”

The young female had complained, but her elder was correct: the Vanguard was bonded to them. They had discovered his pupa in their field, cleaned the dirt and grass off, kept him warm inside the living room near the chimney, spoke to one another in that location which allowed him to associate their voices and language, and were the first things he saw – touched – when he crawled out of his shell into their place of residence. He remembered the hushed whispers of awe from their mouths: the way Maria rubbed the fur along his arm; Gerald’s hand a little tighter at the Vanguard’s black and red form.

The Black Arms understood that a pupa was when they were at their most fragile. The Ultimate Lifeform was created as their pinnacle of their craft, but that didn't remove that instinct to have thanks to those whom protected him. As such, he extended no claws. Didn't pull out his fangs. Didn't summon down his Chaos Energy to fry them from the inside out. Accomplished none of those things he was designed to do. Instead, he brought them closer to his body to share his warmth-

“YOU’RE GIVING US A HUG!!!” squealed Maria. “Look! Look, Grandpa!!” She rubbed his cheek. “You’re so CUTE!!!”

“My dear. We have an alien in our house-”

“You must be so cold!”

“… I’m going to pop a can of beer and hope I wake up on my sofa, having imagined all this.”

But the Vanguard didn't let go of either of them. Eventually, they slept near one another in a bundle of heat. It was only in the morning, when the Ultimate Lifeform had stabilized under the gravity of this planet – was able to control his own limbs better – that he allowed them free.

And things… just spiraled from there.

“Shadow!” Maria cut into his recollection. “You enjoying your snack?”

He swallowed before nodding.

A toothy grin flashed. “So adorable~”

Gerald, for his own part, was reading something with the label: WATERGATE SCANDAL! Is the President done for?

His eyes briefly took in the title once more. ‘President’ was one of the words the Black Arms told him held value and importance – one of many on this planet. Other words he knew of homosapien leadership were ‘dictator,’ ‘king,’ ‘queen,’ ‘chancellor;’ others. His purpose was to find them and keep tabs until the Day of Arrival, where then the Vanguard would execute the protocols that had been burned into his mind. His purpose-

Another spoon of beans entered his mouth. Each crunch exploded his senses. It wasn't the twang of metallic blood nor the saltiness of flesh.

It was… better.

[[**The OG cover image below! I doodle this one on graph paper like a pleb that I am. :'D **]]

Chapter Text

Time the way homosapiens counted was illogical.

They measured things in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years. They even had vocabulary to go beyond that: a high directory of definitions that compounded upon one another. He had assumed that was because they, as a species, lived long lives, or, at the very least, had a history of their race that went back eons. It would make sense to assume such things, correct?

“And then, in 1776, George Washington went across the Delaware River! On Christmas!”

The Vanguard blinked twice due to the lack of consistency. Did not his female human mention that this ‘Washington’ had become a President after this historical conflict? Then, why was there another one in control right now? This ‘Washington’ had experience in battle as a general and could command forces into another – how was he defeated? Was it because the United States cared more about logistics, which is what ‘Nixon’ had experience in? Logistics was important, after all, to manning the tides of war. The Black Arms accomplished much of it when preparing for invasions – he was one of those curated results.

His hand took the book away from Maria. The English letterings fluttered as eyes ran through them. Page after page went by until he reached the Appendix, where portraits of many different shaped homosapiens revealed themselves.

It seemed this land he arrived in had not one, not two, but thirty-seven Presidents.

Thirty-seven targets.

He submitted them to memory-

Maria shook the book out from him. “Shadow, I need that for my homework, you know.” The grumble lacked the full range of her decibels. Her eyes moved towards the window, where the strong and powerful ice storm howled just outside. “Well, whenever school opens back up, at least…”

It was hours later when he learned that some Presidents had died, so the list he held within his head shrunk. However, that left his mind in a state of… something he lacked clarity for. It was only short of 200 years since the first leader of this land had breathed. That was… nothing. A singular larva of the Black Arms took just as long to reach the start of physical strength and maturity without a fresh world to consume – a stage he, oddly enough, will miss as he was spliced together piece by piece to be forced into a separate shape than his kind, under the spears of Father's power, before entering his pupa – all the screaming, the reactions, the thoughts, the pain-

A female touched his cheek. “You okay?”

Red eyes moved over. The Vanguard paused and gave his human a closer inspection. Did something in the kitchen catch on fire, or had one of organic’s horses died? That was the last time Maria had that thing she called an expression that was not ‘happy’ on her face – or as close as he could relate to. However, she requested his attention, and he accomplished a self-diagnosis: his heart was beating slightly higher than normal, but well within parameters; his Chaos Energy was still reined in by his Inhibitor Rings; his limbs were all connected and not under any stress; his exterior shape was cleaned and lacked blood. After tallying everything, the Vanguard nodded his answer to the question.

She didn’t respond and brought her arms around his form instead. Her head crashed right into his shoulder and the grip the female held around his waist would never be able to lock him in place. This was not an attack – these gestures never were with this youth. It was something… undefined.

Whatever it was, the Ultimate Lifeform let the female continue as other thoughts rushed. Homosapiens – Maria and Gerald – did not live long. Why have such an asinine counting system, then, if each of their lives were nothing but a cosmic blink?

Another realization fluttered.

If he didn’t act, he would lose his humans long before he could take them home.

[x]

“He stabbed and electrocuted the lemonade with his quill again!” Gerald’s voice bellowed from the kitchen. “I had wanted to save the ice for homemade vanilla, not reduce the temperature of my tarty drink. Sigh.” Eventually, heavy steps were heard as the elder human went from one room to the next; the hardwood floor accepting the change in weight with a minor squeak. A serving tray was held in each hand and the Vanguard took a closer look. He had already nibbled what was to be their ‘TV Dinner,’ but wanted to double check the menu hadn’t changed.

It hadn’t.

Maria took hers, which had a spare bowl of fruit. It was not that processed, wrong sugar, so he allowed it to stay in its container. The last time he threw her snack away, it was something that had juices made with ‘high fructose corn syrup.’ It got all over his fur and was… not a time efficient thing to clean up.

There were still claw marks embedded in the bathroom tile.

“Come here, kid,” the male human commanded with a pat on the sofa, and as such, the Black Arms’ creation obeyed. The taller being had scooted over enough to leave room for a small body between both homosapiens. “We’re about to watch a real movie.”

“Grandpa… Casa Blanca's themes are not something Shadow will probably comprehend…,” Maria added with a strange inflection that the Vanguard heard. It sounded like the noises organics made when in duress, but she had no cuts. No bruises. So, then, why?

There was a ‘harrumph.’ “He’s smart. He’ll learn. One day, at least.”

At some point he felt his head roll towards the side; quills going flat against his flesh. A large hand and a small hand of two humans touched the area near his ears in repeated actions. The Vanguard’s vision went black. The next thing he realized was that there was the Sun blinding through the windows; a blanket pulled up to his neck; a bowl of coffee beans on the short table before him.

Strange.

What had happened?

[x]

This planet was… bizarre.

One day, there would be nothing but light. The next, there would be grey matter over the horizon and water fell from the skies. The air outside his humans’ house was ‘cold’ one day and then ‘warm’ the other. It was not as turbulent as the Black Comet, where the Black Arms lived, nor as frigid as the vastness of space the celestial object ran through, but… The whiplash – maybe that was what had initialized his self-defense state. There was no… consistency. No control.

The Vanguard was not used to not being in control.

Maria and Gerald called it ‘the start of spring.’ The three of them were in the Robotnik Personal Garden and were accomplishing more tasks upon the sectioned area. It was time to replant what they had consumed over the winter and prepare for the next season. The Ultimate Lifeform was given the command to, ‘Dig as many holes as you want, kid,’ from Gerald. The male organic, having been an expert in this field, was someone the Vanguard paid attention to – it was moments like this that made him realize just how little information he knew about this planet.

And lacking information led towards failed invasions.

So, there, in that garden, he took into memory all about plowing, sowing, watering, and timetables. He would squat and watch green leaves shoot out from the dirt that was a deep reddish black in color. The stalks that were too weak to continue were pruned. Anything that had signs of blight were culled. Something the male human brought out from the barn was called fertilizer – Gerald taught how to move his gloved paw into a form to scatter it amidst the lumps of freshly churned dirt. He would hold onto a fifty-pound watering can and douse the ground below his hovering form every morning at exactly 5:03 AM to beat the Sun. Red eyes would stare down from the roof for the first two hours after sunrise, after Maria went to school, at the throngs of birds that wanted to sweep in to steal his humans’ future food.

He had taken care of the ones that got past the chicken wire the female had crafted into a fence by extending his fingers and twisting their small necks.

The snapped noise repeated when necessary.

“You're better than any scarecrow. But next time, try granting them mercy so Maria can hear them chirp in the morning?” the male homosapien requested one day while a large hand rubbed the human’s chin. Gerald exhaled all the air from those sacs within the chest cavity. “I think I already knew that teaching you about life was going to be a very hard lesson, but to think you're this broken...” Something played in those eyes as the homosapien’s spine arched forwards like a weight was placed upon it, but the Vanguard didn't know what the causation was for those actions.

He did another self-analysis.

Nothing was broken. Why did his human speak untruths?

Gerald took in the sight of his head tilting towards the side. “C’mon, kid. Have you ever peeled a potato before? No? Well, you’re going to learn today.”

Potato. That was something the Vanguard knew. He followed in the footsteps of the male human, into a shed that held many shelves. All around were various dried out fruits and vegetables, all assorted by colors that ranged from plain to numerous in one location. Off towards the side, Gerald reached down and arose something brown: the Ultimate Lifeform understood it was considered edbile when burned from the inside out.

The male human took out a blade from around his belt – curiously, the creatures of the planet lacked sharp claws and their fingernails were stunted ends of the evolutionary chain. However, these knives were created to combat such deficiency.

He wondered if there was the Ultimate Knife somewhere.

Would it be capable of piercing his skin?

“I would argue this is a better use of your skewering skills and hands, Shadow,” the male begun as the potato rotated in fingers. “See how I take off only the top layer?”

Oh.

Gerald did not need to teach this. The Vanguard was aware of all the ways to make organics suffer via delamination. He rose his fingers to take off his gloves-

“Not like that, Shadow. Like this.” The small knife kept its place as the potato spun around an axis. “We’re hygienic, you know. Here. You try.”

It was cyclical. Repeatable. A task he could do with perfection. Over and over, he was mesmerized by the way the skin flaked off without screams. Quiet, even. By the time he realized he was done, Maria ran in and winked that they were going to eat French fries for weeks. Those items, upon completion, were hot against his tongue, filled with oils and lipids. It made him think about what his humans would taste like – and he did not want to ponder about that again for an unknown reason.

“I think greasy, fried foods are a no-go.”

Maria snorted. “More for me, then. Yum!”

Chapter Text

Spring brought massive changes towards the scenery. The color of the ground not within the radius of his Chaos Energy, locked within the Garden, turned from the hue of animal excrement into bright emeralds. It was those shooting stalks on a much larger scale, and attempting to keep tabs on each individual one left the Vanguard dazed. There were so many coincidences in the way his home was like this planet – the Black Comet had all the surfaces covered in organics as well. Yet, this location had something else: wind. Sunshine. Weather. If he stood at the edge of the white-picketed fence by the mailbox and stared off towards the horizon, the Vanguard believed he would not be able to see the end.

He had eyesight dedicated for large lengths – notated in miles. However, here the blue went on. Further and further. Until the Vanguard could no longer see.

Last night, when his humans had snuck into their blankets and covers, and after the Ultimate Lifeform accomplished his defense of ‘The Farm North-Northeast of Guthrie, Oklahoma,’ there had been the sound of rain. And lightning. Over and over. It reminded him of the first time he experienced that phenomenon: how he had tried to attack any piece of that molecule that attempted to get on his head because sometimes planets had falling acid.

He at least knew what water was, despite what Maria and Gerald did with their mouths in that curled shape at trying to ‘teach’ him that. At the time, the noises they had made were unfamiliar, but reflecting about it, the Vanguard realized it was laughter. Humans had to breath, unlike the Ultimate Lifeform, and their laughs exposed themselves to accidental dihydrogen monoxide ingestion – and that had to be prevented. It got a rumble out of him, from deep behind his throat, but Maria had called it purring instead of what it really was: a warning. As a response, it only made the male homosapien scream so loud that he started hitting a leg with the left hand. He would never forget: HEE HAA HEE HAA HEE HAA.

But that was then. This new day was silent and sharp, according to the humans. He rubbed his tongue over his fangs to compare their descriptions. The day did not feel like his canines…

His humans tended to lie a lot.

[x]

April. Maria specifically called it April 4^th, 1974.

His two homosapiens were back inside, huddled around their television to absorb the evening news; apparently something created a Special Report they had to listen to. The Vanguard was instructed to slip away; completed those actions; lacked further direction. So, instead, he sat next to flowers and took the time to eat a little piece of each subspecies as well. It was crucial to figure out what was considered dangerous to the Black Arms – only one other of his kind was anywhere near his level of resiliency. Each petal was slick on his tongue, but was no more foreign than Maria’s apples on his taste buds.

Red eyes looked vertical into the blue sky after each bush had lost at least one bud. He allowed the light to absorb into his pupils as details were filed away in the corners of his mind. He lacked confirmation the hive could connect with his findings. Things were loud at home, which he picked up despite his own version of physical incompletion. Once he had been ejected from the Comet towards the route that led onto the planet, though, then voices had stilled. Silence was all he had until Maria and Gerald, whom were more than willing to discuss and discuss and discuss.

The only speech that could have reached to him in that long, interstellar travel did not. Hence why the Vanguard continued to collect and – crucially – retain his knowledge base. In case the hive had limitations resuming their data links, he would have to have his skull ripped open for his brain matter and chemical processes to be examined again. While not as painful as being created, that did not mean the Ultimate Lifeform …

What did his humans call it? Desire?

Yes. ‘Desire.’

… The Ultimate Lifeform did not desire that. Six times prior was adequate. But if the Black Arms needed him to do it again-

“Shadow?” Maria carried out as weak as the breeze. He could hear the pattering of her footsteps, and there was that different sound from the noise from her throat again. “Oh, Shadow. It's… terrible… Only neat when it’s in fields… I’m so… sad.”

Sad?

He lacked context. Definition. A common occurrence more recent than not.

The Vanguard moved closer to check on his human’s health since she was shivering and barely capable of holding herself up. He was correct: the female’s heartbeat was flying and the amount of chemicals running must be high for water to exit those eyes. It was a sign organics used when about to die-

Was his human dying?

He didn't… He lacked the word to describe this thought. He had given all they consumed Chaos Energy. It should have-

“A-All those people, Shadow! All those p-poor people in Kentucky! And Indiana! O-Ohio! Alabama! There's too many t-towns and cities – cities, Shadow – to name!” Her voice was broken up and filled with spacers; hands rubbed that water onto her own clothing; face was left puffy and streaked in the same color as her rose bush. “They say… hundreds… could be dead...”

The Ultimate Lifeform still did not have the word. Hundreds deceased? That was such a minor amount compared to the totality of humans upon this planet; was nothing compared to what he was capable of. He was designed to kill millions. Why was his human suddenly about to be logical at that idea? Did not this species repopulate-?

… Did humans repopulate fast to their points of view? If they perished so quickly without outside interference, did it not make sense for them to exit their version of larva/pupa in similar velocity? So, losing hundreds must not be a problem, correct? Or was it too slow for them, since their years of longevity was far too low?

He lacked that information, too.

There was another sound. “Oh, S-Shadow… Grandpa told me your heart was stolen f-from you and I think I get why he says it now.” That water came out again. The Vanguard rattled his words to find the right one to convey the action, but couldn't. “Sniff. This is… it's called crying, Shadow. You… you do it when you are sad. Don't you ever feel sad?” A pause. Her hands reached his muzzle and she moved her thumbs against the edges of his mouth. Moved his muscles in a direction towards the center of the planet’s gravity. “I want you to learn this, Shadow. This is a frown. See it on mine? This is what people do when sad. If you – when you – feel an internal pain that isn't physical, you move your mouth into this, okay?” Her fingers flipped towards the skies. “I know you know this one. What is it?”

Smile.

Maria gave him that definition by the end of the first thirty days.

“Can you keep it up like this for a little bit on your own, even if you don't mean it? I want to see something nice after what I saw on the TV today…”

The Vanguard did so.

“Can you share your warmth with me, too?”

He accomplished the task-

“I should have taught you this earlier. This is called a hug, but it only counts as one when you either receive it, or give it, because you wish.” The female dug into his form with all the PSI she could muster.

Maria's internal heat was 98.6°F. His was in the thousands, deep where the flicks of Chaos Energy existed, but was much cooler – 132.7°F – in areas outside that. So, sharing heat was called a hug, then? Undefined word filled the Vanguard, and it felt like his powers was warping his own insides. An increase in a strange chemical attempted to reach certain sections of his brain. He stopped it by burning it away as he was instructed: that was not a place it belonged. Father had said so.

Instead, the Ultimate Lifeform stood there as the Sun set lazily into the Moon. Together. With his human.

He undefined hugs.

The language of the planet was… complex.

[x]

Alone again, the Vanguard went towards the living room and pulled out the pillows from the sofa. Each one had various colors, shapes, and sizes, and were roughly the diameter of his humans’ waists or torsos. One by one, his arms grabbed them and squeezed with all the strength he could muster, just as Maria had accomplished. They popped instantly: the white cotton fluff – the same color as the marking on his chest – spilled like crimson from bodies.

He was quite certain hugs were not a method of removing enemies.

Maybe he needed more practice…

So, he went to the dining room and tried it on the wooden chairs. They were stronger than fabric-

No. That also did not work.

The large black walnut tree in the backyard that had a swing set?

It resisted the longest, but still broke-

SNAP!!!!

Creak!

SLAM! The immediate surface of the planet shook.

There was silence after another failed hug.

An upstairs window pane was pulled opened and Gerald was spotted hanging out. Like a true warrior, the human examined the immediate area for the source of the noise before acting. The Vanguard was in agreement at the assertion of intellect first. Crafted plans were better than mindlessly moving ahead-

“MARIA! MY 1953 FORD F-1 PROJECT TRUCK!!!”

[x]

‘Grounded.’

He learned that word fast.

“No coffee beans for TWO WEEKS!” his male homosapien added with a wave of his fingers before the Vanguard’s face.

He sat there. On the couch with the cotton balls. Blinked thrice.

The frown was not something he did willingly – and that undefined word in the past tense him.

Chapter Text

Crimson eyes watched the container that was loaded up in the bed of the truck. He was uncertain if that was the true word: the rear end of his male human’s vehicle had no comfort mattress, no spring box, no pillows, and no blankets. Nevertheless, he was currently sitting in that bed, being bounced up and down over every pothole and rut in the dirt road. The vessel was created out of fiberglass – taller than the Vanguard – that Gerald had instructed: ‘You are to prevent it from flying out of the truck until we get to the place I say so.’

Clank, clank; clank. His gloved hand held onto the round thing. The chemical inside rustled his memory – oh, yes. He knew what it was. It was the bug killing complex that would rot humanity from the inside out.

Hmm...

His human… was bonding back.

The Vanguard issued a nod to himself. Gerald did not consume the produce from the ‘farm’ part of The Farm Located Nort-Northeast of Guthrie, Oklahoma, but sold them on the marketplace for other humans to devour. By providing homosapiens of the local area articles of poisoned consumption, given enough years, the Ultimate Lifeform will have weaker enemies. Of course, the sacks of water and flesh were not strong to begin with, but…

Bonding was bonding.

He knew bringing them home was the correct call.

Eventually, the work truck came to a halt and the metal door opened. Out popped his male human on the left side and his female human towards the right. Maria’s blonde hair was pulled back into a pony tail – why not call it a ‘horse tail’ as ponies were more temporary than the adult shape? – and she was wearing shorts and a basic shirt. Gerald’s grey moustache was as it always was, but even he donned a short-sleeved t-shirt; pants and grippy boots upon his feet.

“Alright, Shadow,” the male started. “Bring it over to this spot right here. In front of the hanger.”

Hanger? Was this like truck bed? Because the building before him – as tall as the first story of the house, beaten up with holes on walls, and a tin roof – did not look like the shaped, thin metal that Maria used to place her clean clothes on…

Gold from his wrists glinted as he effortlessly picked up the large container. The liquid inside sloshed as he rose it above his head. Chaos Energy from within his body flickered his Air Shoes to life as he ascended out of the rear and floated towards the position requested. The THUD left behind was not loud, because he was also told earlier to not crack it.

If fiberglass was considered to be so ‘important,’ then why was it worse than steel? He reminded himself that humans had much less strength – ergo, a material capable of carrying things at a less dense setting was required.

“Alright, Maria. Get the hoses connected as I drag it out.”

The female homosapien did a movement of her hands: fingers straight and true and connected to each other; the elbow moved her hand towards her eyebrow and then back towards her side in a swift movement. He understood it was a nonverbal acknowledgement of some sort, but she also sometimes used it-

Like right now. She smiled.

Blue eyes realized the Vanguard was looking at her. “O! This is called a salute! Grandpa was an officer in World War Two and I use it to make fun of him a few times. It’s all innocent jabs, though!”

World War Two: he knew about that. A bit. His female homosapien had a lot of homework that dealt with that subject. The biggest thing he took away from her passages was that he needed to keep an eye out for ‘nukes’ and ‘nuclear bombs.’ For being such poor fighters, humanity had apparently managed to harness the power of the Sun. While not Chaos Energy, it was still something important.

It wouldn’t kill the Ultimate Lifeform, but the damage he gleamed from the texts made it seem like it could kill most of the Black Arms’ first waves used for testing defenses and reaction times. Perhaps even more?

Maybe if he killed this Enola Gay first…?

Somehow, that female[?] homosapien[?] managed to throw them at her[?] enemies…

In the background, there was the sound of Gerald cursing as a rough-riding engine blared from within the hanger. A sputter turned off and on a few times, before the male human mentioned something about ‘needs a new paint job.’ With that, only a steady hum remained.

“Time to move the pipes, Shadow! We got a treat today! The crops have reached a point Grandpa gets to teach me something fun!”

[x]

It was… Aluminum. The best way the Vanguard could describe what he saw was: a truck with the bottom cut away and replaced with three small wheels on struts; the body elongated and shaped similar to the Black Comet with the most width in the front and trailed out to be thin in the rear; a large vertical and horizontal upside down ‘T’ at the very end; large metal sheets that were long at the very top that were reminiscent of… wings?

“CLEAR PROP!!!”

The three black blades in the front moved, and the sound he heard earlier came back. The Vanguard jumped at that to cover his female human’s delicate back side – the velocity and centrifugal force it was outputting could injure him enough to require his healing to take effect for surface bruising! What was his male human doing inside this-!?

The revolutions lessened to a quieter, but still dangerous to his humans, degree.

Maria took a plastic syringe and stabbed the wing of the… object. Out came strange blood from it: clear, like water, but tinted blue. “100 LL looks good here, Grandpa!”

“I already checked.”

“Just showing this to Shadow,” she added while closing one eye and leaving the other open. A wink.

“Kid looks like he’s about to…” A door opened – at least, the Vanguard believed it was despite being almost too small for the elder homosapien – and that waving finger of grounding came back. “Under no circumstances will you DAMAGE my Cessna!” The hand curled back. “Ok. Wait. I’ll amend that. If I start screaming for help, you can. But ONLY THEN, Shadow! You don’t want to lose your bean privileges again, do you?”

This Cessna must be a creature Gerald controlled. A dumb one. Clearly not curated for perfection.

“Kid…”

The Vanguard nodded. He comprehended the instructions.

At Maria’s insistence, he took his hands around the pipes and connected towards Cessna. The female homosapien explained how to rotate the metal cuff onto the receivers of the Aluminum creature until they made a CLICK. At that, she turned on a pump and the pipe filled with the fluid, which then entered the creature.

Hmm… The Vanguard sees what was going on. Gerald was to commence an attack on his non-Garden today. Look at how prepared the human was becoming for the Day of Arrival…

“Can we pleeeeeease take Shadow with us?”

A shake of the head. “Not this time. Let him see what we use the plane for first. I can’t afford a new one.”

His human sighed, but she turned and held his hands. “Shadow. Can you look at me?”

He did.

“Grandpa and I are going to avoid the FAA for a little bit and go fly over our fields and some of our neighbors’. Do you know what flying is?”

Of course.

“It’s totally safe.”

Why would it not be? This Cessna was clearly subservient to each and every whim of the two humans. It was apparent it had more strength because it held two bodies within it. It had it’s own version of claws on the nose/front. His humans cared for it because Maria smiled and Gerald did, too. Cessna even could consume chemicals without damage-

… Was it trying to… take the Vanguard’s place…?

[x]

His Air Shoes flared to life as he followed underneath the shadow casted by the hovering object above. Over fields. Over small hills. Over fences. Past the soybeans and corn. Past the cattle and cows. He moved his body in momentum – the speed and his glide rhythmic. The target had no idea he was there; it was blind and deaf. And stupid.

He stalked this… faker. This – as Maria would say – ‘wanna-be.’

There could only be one Ultimate Lifeform that dominated the thoughts of his human’s minds.

And it wasn’t going to be Cessna’s.

[x]

Maria’s nose scrunched. “Why do you smell like insecticide, Shadow?”

No response.

“Why do you have grass in your quills?”

No response.

The head of Gerald tilted, interrupted the two-way conversation, as he pondered. “You tried to follow us. Gah. Shadow. What if I had flown over-” A shake of the head. “You don’t even know what Stillwater is yet, forget Oklahoma City. Oh, God. What even goes on in your brain sometimes…? I do wonder.”

His female came to the uncertainty. “Stillwater is like Guthrie, only further northeast of the farm,” she whispered in his ear. “It is not actually water that is still.”

“My dear, he doesn’t even know what Guthrie is, other than a reference point.”

“O! We should take him to town-”

The elder human shook his head and did a frown. “Too early. He hasn’t seen other humans yet. What if he…?”

A strange pause and silence filled the space. It took many minutes for it to go away, so the Vanguard took the time to walk closer to Gerald. The Ultimate Lifeform knew he was being studied, and it was better to have the object up close to examine. It seemed to work, because his male human knelt down to make the two share eye contact. A singular homosapien hand reached out and rubbed the top of the Vanguard’s head – that feeling of warmth not from Chaos Energy came back. “I am sorry for thinking that way about you, Shadow. Maybe we can find a way to introduce you outside the immediate farm after you learn some more things. Does fall season sound nice? But that will have to wait: my granddaughter is correct. You… stink.”

The words faded away. Something triggered action. What was it from that passage…?

Nice. Fall in non-movement context. Sorry. Three undefined words-

Wait.

It was only two. He heard about nice…

Gloved hands went around Gerald; Inhibitor Rings rubbed the white cotton shirt that rested on an unprotected spine. He pulled his face right into the human’s shoulder, just like Maria did, and brought the corners of his mouth against gravity. The most important thing was to control his power – no squeezing. No squeezing. No squeezing!

Nice went along with hugs. His homosapien said he wanted nice. As the Vanguard, he was going to give the human nice. Cessna could not produce it – Cessna had no hands, no Chaos Energy; no life.

Look at him. Don’t replace him. Don’t… throw him away.

He still did not understand what it meant aside these actions, but…

The mud room was silent and still again. A different kind than before.

The hug continued. The female human joined in.

He experienced…

Like he was back in a pupa, by the fireplace. Or under Maria’s covers when she read ‘ghost stories.’ Or when Gerald pulled him aside under a warm Sun to teach more gardening and farming.

All were the opposites of Father.

Chapter Text

“Take care during your trip, okay, Maria?”

“You, too, Grandpa.” Blue eyes caught red and she knelt to whisper to him. Her voice carried something strange. “Make sure Grandpa doesn't get too sad. This is a hard time for him, but he always sends me away. He can't with you, though, Shadow. I know you can do it in my place.” At that, she got up and turned towards the side of the road after giving a goodbye hug to everyone.

The Vanguard hid behind the normal spot he did when the school bus came by, as instructed many months ago. Her education was over, but his humans had mentioned it was time for camp. Two weeks long. The last breath of May and into the first half of June.

A tradition.

[x]

Something was… in error with him.

For the past two days, he had been shivering. There was a need – a craving – that should only exist when a being of the Black Arms was mid frenzy; when claws ripped the stomach lining out of carbon-based lifeforms; when fangs slashed throats apart and sucked in every last drop of Chaos Energy from victims. However, the Vanguard had accomplished none of that. Ruby eyes glanced back at his own hands: the same as they always were. No running rivers of crimson that matched the colors of his body. No biological matter was crushed in tight grip. His digits flexed as he felt that shiver return. It started from deep within his core and had spread out, like the fires of his creation, but not as agony filled.

But it was at the same time, too. His craving wasn't sated. He was in pain.

Yet, nothing was damaged.

His body requested something.

What?

There was nothing wrong, so therefore, it was…

An error.

His elder human’s voice had cut into reflection. “Did you finish planting the flowers, Shadow?” whispered Gerald faintly.

He nodded.

“Good, kid.” A hesitated pause. “That's… good.”

[x]

There was another rerun of Casa Blanca on the TV again, except this time the Ultimate Lifeform realized that there were Cessna-like objects at the end of this movie that the two male humans escaped into. The words and definitions and meanings still were filed with numerous undefined words, but he could gather some more rather than not. His male homosapien had taken breaks in certain scenes and explained a generalized summary when his face glazed over. Gerald called it confusion, which wasn't exactly correct. The Vanguard wasn't confused – that was the result a prey experienced when assaulted by a Black Arms high pitch ring that purposefully messed with the ear drum fluid of surface creatures. While the glass and wooden electronic box did indeed ring, it was not to the same level.

The male human had the Vanguard on his lap, scratching the spot where topmost quill met the cranium. It had lulled a lot of the background of Earth – of Oklahoma – away into a gray haze. One his body didn't fight. Since he was designed to react to anything and everything considered a threat, whatever Gerald was doing must be safe…

A clock chimed eleven times. It was dark.

The TV was clicked off.

A few cans of beer – the male homosapien always brought them back from hiding no matter how many times the Ultimate Lifeform had thrown them away – scattered around a table.

His male human still scratched and rocked back and forth on the smaller sofa with rails underneath the fabric skirt. A squeak echoed in the empty house. “You… remind me of my firstborn son. Maria's uncle,” came soft whispers as the gray invaded more and more space, leaving only a small field of vision. “He was born without being able to express well – to talk well. Was bullied as being ‘retarded.’ I did everything I thought I could, but it wasn't enough. I wish… I had been there for him the entire time. But war was war. I had to get on my fighter and kill other fathers and sons. And when I returned… It was only six years, but I morphed into a bitter, cold man. My son had grown from eleven to seventeen… He didn't deserve what I had become.”

That made some sense. He wasn't around back in Gerald’s past. He wasn't there to give the tiniest amounts of Chaos Energy to keep his humans healthy. Becoming cold… that swept life away even on the Black Comet. Many larva died that way – no food could be found in time for their critical stages. There were so few planets left with creatures anymore to sap Chaos from. On top of that, what was required in the specialized hatchery was siphoned away from larva’s bodies to create the Vanguard. In irony, he was the reason the most amount of Black Arms had perished over the past untold amounts of years. Their corpses fueled the many different attempts of perfection until only one survived. It would have been considered a massacre if not for it all being Father’s command.

His male homosapien didn't stop. “He didn't want to work at the farm. He… was good with his mind but not his hands.” The human turned slowly and faced away from the Vanguard. The voice quality had begun to change into undefined word-

… Sad?

Gerald had a mouth turn towards gravity. One frown. The face had water, too.

Yes. Sad. Why… was his human so? The TV wasn't a special report. That was what made Maria sad. The Casa Blanca hadn't made Gerald sad the previous excursion.

Was it the Ultimate Lifeform himself?

“He got in a car crash on the way to Huntsville, Alabama to work for an engineering company that called him what he was: brilliant. A genius. Everything I wanted but couldn't have – every penny I saved to put him into college so he could have a future – even though I couldn't embrace him or comfort him the way he deserved. I wanted only the best… but I pushed and pushed too much.” The scratching stopped. “He's buried out back with my second born, Shadow. I put Forget-Me-Nots there every June 3^rd. To remember.”

His human shivered. Not one of bloodlust or rage. Not the kind that he was experiencing. The Vanguard did… did not know what to do.

He was always supposed to know what to do.

“You're like him,” his human cracked, like the eggs at breakfast. Scrambled. Broken.

The scratches returned and the Ultimate Lifeform felt his head tilt without his input to reach a spot that had been… neglected.

“You don't speak. You don't know emotions by default.”

Red eyes were shut now. Was this what his human wanted?

“You’re smart. You have such promise.”

His breathing was regulated, slowed, and came from deep within. Yes. This must be what the male homosapien needed. There would be orders to stop otherwise if not.

“… It's clear to me you want adoration and affection, even if it's locked away in your subconscious because of past abuse... Maria was similar when she first was dropped off here after…” The voice faded and ended.

Adoration? Affection? Abuse?

They were all undefined words.

“I was a bad father. Both my children ran away. Both came back home in caskets. You’re like a second chance from a God I thought I didn't believe in. I just…” There was a drip of water. It splattered on his tanned cheek. “I just hope… I can be a better man for you and Maria. It's… hard.”

[x]

His next recollection was not the Sun, but the effect of raindrops cascading on the metal roof of the house. The rumble of thunder. The beating drum of weather – something inside told him to become alert, but not strong enough to enter action. The need to assess his situation arose. The Vanguard was underneath a blanket that was not of Maria’s scent: it was his other human’s. He felt… off. Hazed. Like he had been knocked unconscious by a serious blow – only that hadn’t happened as there was nothing that had hit him. And nothing was hurting.

He also wasn't shivering.

The cause had been dealt with, somehow.

Eyes flickered around. He was in the location known as The Master Bedroom, where his male human recovered after the Sun went down. He had not been allowed within the confines of this location before, although he had seen it during his night protection detail through the windows. The walls were covered in flowered wallpaper, the wooden trim highly detailed at the corners with engravings of birds; thin curtains billowed in the breeze. Pictures of a female human that looked similar to Maria smiled in static unmoving.

Lightning flickered. Thunder boomed more often. There was a change in pressure in his ears. Lower, then higher once more. Extraordinarily faint. Away. In the distance.

“Go back to Neverland, kid. It's gonna miss us.”

Neverland? What was… that?

From the edges of the haze came his homosapien’s touch.

[x]

He found Gerald where the flowers were. A heavy branch from the tree nestled by it had fallen and cracked the stems; hit and snapped a strange looking ‘plus sign’ that had names and dates within. The branch had been weak in the first place and failed when the sky howled one time too many.

His human was very sad. Back was hunched over. Fingers were dug into dirt. A sound of being skinned alive. “There’s days I wish I had left this damned farm, abandoned everything, and had stayed with the military!!”

The Vanguard blinked a few times at the scenery again. Broken petals floated in the cold morning; a touch of dew sparkled in the Sun's morning rays.

He wasn't on a lap. That was what had stopped the- Crying. Right? Maria mentioned it once. Done with water and mixed with sad. Now it was Gerald – or at least, based on the context clues he gathered. However, when he closed the gap between his human and his own body, the homosapien accomplished only stillness. No movement to share warmth. No reaction to the presence of the Vanguard. There was nothing, except… for two noises: wahhh; aghhh. Brutal. From the diaphragm. One of dying, which he understood his human wasn't. Yet-

Crimson glanced at the branch. At the broken stems.

Maria gave him a mission. He was not to undergo failure. Father didn't create him to be anything other than the peak of all existence. The pinnacle simply did not fail.

He picked up the branch, all three hundred and sixty-four pounds of it, and tossed it back towards the compost pit with a flick of his wrist. Mushrooms were to claim that unwanted prize. The noise startled his human, but the Vanguard had kept focus on his task; eyes burned onto the headless flowers as he counted every. single. one. Every blade. Every leaf. Every departed petal. Every snapped stem. Every torn fornice. Every destroyed anther.

Everything.

He shut his eyes out and forcefully blackened himself from the Earth. He searched and searched and searched internally for the right amount – for knowledge – of lessons about flora he was given to by Gerald. It might not be enough, but he was the Ultimate Lifeform. It would be. Chaos Energy filtered through his thoughts as he turned it into ways he was not skilled with – obliteration was what it was made for, but Father had said, ‘As my future puppet, you're capable of the things I am. More, even. Your shell is just are too mindless to achieve it without my control.’

His human was sad.

He had to try.

Maria had tasked him with a mission.

In his mind’s eye he felt them. The flowers weren't dead. They had just lost their color. If he forcefully regenerated then by submerging their physical shapes with his Energy, accelerated their repairs just like how his body was designed to do, then maybe-

“Kid!!!”

He was… dizzy.

“Kid!!”

Red eyes opened and took stock.

He… hadn’t done it. The forget-me-nots were still broken- No. They were annihilated. The Vanguard had burned the set of seven he had planted yesterday; turned them into ash. The remains rode on the wind over all around-

His human was shaking him.

The Vanguard was lying in the dirt.

“Shadow!!”

He had become…

Empty of thoughts.

[x]

“What are you?” A tone undefined. Unknown. And frightened.

He knew the answer.

“Good God, Shadow. What did you-? How did you-? I can't even-!”

He was a failure.

“-respond to me-!”

Why had he ignored Father's warning?

“-n’t close your eyes-!!”

[x]

The power of creation with Chaos belongs to me, Vanguard! What possible use could you have needed it on such a pathetically weak world? To have even attempted such foolishness?

He didn't know-

What have you been doing?

Just-

… Why are your memories closed off?

It wasn't- He would never-

You're fortunate that I can not be besides you or I would have reset your mind once more. There can be no room for ‘self.’ Only preparation, destruction, and claiming the Master-

He lost connection.

[x]

‘Reset.’ It would have been the 6^th time if so. The previous five were for safety of his home, all at various points during initial creation. He was too violent. Too unsafe. Too bloodthirsty. He had resisted merging with the hive, which was the only way to remove those genocidal actions – a word he also didn't understand in that context other than it was the cause of so much of his resets. Eventually, though, he submitted into joining the Black Arms’ choir…

One that no longer sung to him.

[x]

Where… were his humans?

He was…

He was…

Angry? At Father?

That wasn’t allowed. The Vanguard always obeyed orders.

Therefore, this sense of boiled water – the kind that Maria put on the stove that simmered and moved and couldn't stay trapped until it exploded – could not have been aimed at his creator.

[x]

To be reset was to forget time with his homosapiens.

[x]

The hills by The Farm Approximately 17 Miles North-Northeast of Guthrie, Oklahoma On a Gravel and Windy Road were dyed in blue flowers: from the tree to the Wild Horse Creek to a road further north the Black Arms’ creation had yet to travel to. Anything that had grass – that was not field or hanger or Garden or house or dirt path – was covered in it, moving in the afternoon Sun.

“-no fucking clue how I’m going to hide this…”

He was resting on his male homosapien’s legs, curled like the ending punctuation of Maria’s grammar books. The male was stroking his fur on his back, mindful of the two smaller spiked regions. The Vanguard was in a position to be culled from the stomach to his neck at a quick flip of a wrist, but he…

He…

He was…

“-can't let anyone find you. You'll be taken away the second someone realizes what you truly are…”

The Vanguard attempted to stir. It didn't work.

“-‘ll need to buy more shells for my shotgun if some rat comes sneaking around-”

The Sun was warm.

“-thought she was joking.”

This moment, of the Sun and the touch and the words, was...

That thing he craved.

[x]

The Vanguard – a mockery, a failure; not the Ultimate Lifeform – eventually recovered from his… collapse. He had used up too much Chaos Energy extraordinarily inefficient: the amount to burst into and out of a skull took a singular hair’s breath; to create a tremendous blast of red, blinded light that atomized anything within five hundred feet of him took only a second; to accelerate his body and move beyond the sound barrier even less. To try to fix a singular flower was like piercing into three omnipotent eyes – an accurate description because he had stolen it from Father's internal archives. He almost burned himself dry in that lack of success. If the Day of Arrival was June 5^th, he would not have been capable of a singular scratch.

It explained the response from his creator…

The door to the Master Bedroom opened. In walked his human with a large tray. The male stopped when he realized the Vanguard was looking at him. Black nose twitched as he recognized a familiar scent. The mattress creaked as he shuffled to move-

“It’s alright, kid. I'll come to you.”

Gerald took a seated location and handed over the bowl. Gloved hand popped them inside his mouth one at a time as the Vanguard-

Wait.

Failures.

They don't get rewarded. They get punished.

He stopped.

“W-What’s the matter?” His human jumped and pulled something from the drawers. It was a strange glass, thin and small, that was immediately shoved into the Vanguard’s mouth. Cold and sterile and delicate, he knew this was only the beginning of his discipline. “It’s not meant for whatever you are, but-”

His tongue touched the glass. There was a chemical inside it: mercury. Nothing that would effect him. Did humans not realize that to correct errors in his action they had to use far more extreme methods?

It was immediately ripped away. The eyebrows of his male human narrowed. “Don't do that! It's poisonous, Shadow!”

He shook his head.

“Fuck, you cracked the thermometer- Wait. Did you just deny that?”

He nodded.

Gerald stood there. In silence. The clock in the background tick tocked about thirty minutes.

This was… strange punishment.

“Maria comes back tomorrow. I need her help to process this. I'm so, so done.” He picked up bowl and pulled out a spoon; waved the stuffed object in front of the Vanguard. “Eat. I’m seriously half thinking I've gone insane. Next, you'll show me you have the powers to summon lightning or something.”

His fangs sunk into rich flavor.

Crunch.

Crunch.

“… And thanks. For everything. They… matched his eyes.”

Chapter Text

There was a strange stickiness in the air. It carried the weight of the world’s oceans – the water from the ground and the wind that pushed and broiled and gathered into a singular point. A column that rose and ascended high above. When he had tried to outrun it with his eyes, they reached the altitude where the winds shifted with to make what towered before him a strange, odd shape. It, too, looked like the Black Comet in a few small areas, but at the same time, it hadn’t. Gray – not the one that happened when he was touched by his humans – mixed with darkness. It was a storm, but the bottom was different. Like the tail of an animal, clouds hung and spun and kept his attention.

There was power. Not Chaos Energy. Not the Black Arms. But power of some sort. He felt it that night of that June 8^th in his male human’s room, but now… Now he was a witness.

The female homosapien was busy slapping a new set of boots upon her feet with a ‘steel toe.’ On her body resided overalls the color of tanned earth; a utility belt around her waist. It was packed with sweets and the objects she enjoyed consuming. A roll of film sat in another one. “Today, Shadow! Today is the DAY!” the voice cried out as she waved.

He knew today was day. The Sun was still out.

However, she did not comprehend his analysis. Instead, footsteps cascaded until she pulled herself next to the Vanguard and offered her own palm a few inches away from his face. He could feel his eyes dilate as a reaction occurred: a carbon-colored head gently rested into her hand. Fingers rubbed against his quills. A sound escaped from deep within – one the same as when his male human did almost the exact same gesture.

If he had accomplished all this, she would rub his ears.

His facial muscles relaxed into stillness.

The experience was like falling into a chasm.

The moment ended when he recalled what Father taught him to do with that unnecessary chemical attacking his neurons. The Ultimate Lifeform, under no circumstances, was to allow blows and not defend himself. The feeling of want wilted like the Garden’s tomato plants had in the nights of freeze months ago. It had taken 6.084 seconds to accomplish.

A timing that was becoming longer as the Earth orbited the Sun.

Whatever that chemical was was a poison. It was ever present, and the Vanguard knew it was something that his own body created within by accident – a remnant of the different things the Black Arms spliced him together with. The source was something too strong to NOT add: it also gave him the ability to feel anger and hatred, which his blasts needed. Yet, red oculars found themselves stalling on his female’s digits before he went back towards the rest of her body.

The molecule complex he fought off wasn't desire, however, even though it was attached with it. He was aware of that much.

“I gotchu a pair of goggles to protect your pretty eyes! Here!” Female hands took the opportunity of his stillness and placed a hard plastic upon him. There was a strap that compressed against his fur – a feeling foreign. The lenses distorted his ability to see with all his capabilities. What was his human doing? All aspects of his form could just regenerate from injury- “Ahh~ You look… funny.”

In the background came the steps of something heavier. “You got the kid ready?”

“Sure thing, Grandpa!”

“Good.” The male homosapien also had clothing similar to the smaller human. “Get in the truck.”

[x]

The roads went farther than he had ever seen – they had gone past the rows of blue flowers, past the unnamed pathways towards the north of the Farm, and past the trees. The Vanguard found himself half extended out of the window to collect all the datum he could gather. Row after row; field after field. Maria called them those of her neighbors; Gerald claimed this was ‘the long way around.’ The velocity moved his fur. While the speed was slow, the mass of metal that was moving was still impressive. Members of the Black Arms that carried huge weight couldn't accelerate as quick. Nevertheless, they drove every onwards, closer to the spinning mass of power and clouds.

He saw other homes. They were different than his humans’: brick, short, tall, and awkward shaped. His male homosapien had mentioned that the farmhouse the Vanguard resided at was considered to be a Folk Victorian with Gingerbread Accents and Too Much American Chestnut. But that specific tree had become ‘basically extinct,’ so although the house had knob and tube and cast iron plumbing, it was gorgeous. It had belonged to the humans’ family since before 1880. “The Farm has been in Robotnik hands since the 1830s! And one day, my granddaughter will take it from me.”

It was not a long period of time for the not-Ultimate Lifeform, but it was difficult to compare to time counted in potential eternity. He wasn't designed to age or die. But he understood that over a hundred and forty years was long for humanity.

“That's a Craftsman! You can tell by the way it's more simplified than our house,” his female human cried out over the roar of the engine. It took more than the Vanguard wanted to admit that his ears were so encumbered by taking in all these new sounds and smells – the rumble of an axle; the scent of wheat; the screeching of what Gerald called brakes that were not the same way his Air Shoes worked; the intricate gears that ticked and hummed with fire that called to his Chaos Energy – that he almost missed her explanation. “It was made probably in 1920! Oh! That's my buddy Abraham’s house over there! His is a Second Empire! Notice how the roof is all straight up, almost? And how some of the windows have something like little cute hats?”

He nodded. It did look like a hat she wore on Sundays.

Her finger pointed towards the sky of power. “And that's,” came a deeper stress, “is a mothership! Like the one you must have come from! Your home! Well, the old one. You got a new, better one now!!”

The Vanguard got tense.

He looked at her.

At Gerald.

Then back to the spinning cloud located 5 miles away and about 5,350 feet in the air.

That… looked nothing like the Black Comet.

And Oklahoma wasn’t his home. How could he take his homosapiens with him to the stars if he was only staying on Earth? In the vastness of space, where heat only moved with Chaos Energy and irradiation; where the bursting supernovas danced in color; where black holes consumed all matter in bright colored secretion discs; where pulsars bombarded bodies with enough kick to realize one was alive-!?

… When did his thoughts become so…

Descriptive?

With another squeal, the work truck came to a halt. They were between two seemingly endless squares of land, beyond the curvature of the Earth’s sight range from the Farm. He had never been here before, and something else stirred in his mind as Maria shoved him outside into the blowing wind. Her hands reached out towards the mothership and spread open. “Yes!! The perfect spot to take a family photo!”

“You’re crazy,” his male human grumbled from the back of his throat. He got outside the truck despite that word, taking the Vanguard’s hand with him. The tug was faint, but one the Black Arms’ creature knew not to ignore.

A nonverbal command.

Maria opened her arms ten feet away. “Shadow. Come here.”

That twisted heat came back.

6.2609 seconds.

“I'll give you hugs~”

6.79 seconds.

“My arms hurt from waiting…!”

Come.

Hugs.

Come.

Obey.

The endless chasm was still beneath him.

9.712 seconds.

The gaps were getting exponential.

The poison created from within was sick. Was worse than apples. Sweeter than sugar. It has enveloped into a wave that was crashing into his nervous system: so much so that the Vanguard hadn’t recalled taking those steps into his female’s limbs. Those ten steps. The way the wind moved her hair. How Gerald was there soon enough. The word family. All whispered to him of something irreversible. Something dangerous. Something that would tear him apart from the inside.

The strong force of gradients and pressure pushed and pulled at his body, as if it tried to prevent his female homosapien from being heard; the Earth was trying to stop what was to come next.

She noticed something had changed. “Ohhhh, Shadow. You must really like hugs.”

17.328 seconds.

[x]

The photograph, labeled June 26^th, 1974 from his male human, was a strange item. The background, with its strange mothership that dominated sky and earth, was audacious, over the top, and the right amount of crazy for the Robotnik trio. It had a farmer to the left, with a tough gaze mixed with undefined word and a layer of dirt from the storm behind them. The female was to the right, with a mouth large enough to go from one cheek to the other; her feet mid jump based on the casted silhouette. The artificial creation was in the middle, with the face Father would come to understand as corrupted.

He was smiling.

“It reached your eyes, kid,” Gerald mumbled as he tucked both the young beings into his female’s bed. “I knew you were intelligent.”

When the gray haze came, the Vanguard didn't fight.

Chapter Text

His humans called everything The Dog Days of Summer.

Technically, this was his second one. The first – from August into September – was the one during the timeframe when he had crawled out from his pupa, but those memories, while sharp, were… different. Colors lacked. Everything was considered ‘was’ and ‘was not.’ He missed vocabulary and definitions to compare too much about what he had experienced. Besides, he had been busy removing filth from his homosapiens’ area of ownership. His humans and their survival were the only thoughts on his mind – the planet had another fifty years to await the Day of Arrival, even if time itself wasn't a learned concept, yet, at that point. Or, at least, human time…

He knew about the passings of periods back then. When did he default to human standards? He thinks not of rotations around the Oort Cloud, but rather in these days, weeks, and months…

The significance must not mean anything. Time was irrelevant to consider which scale to use: the Black Arms’ or the one of Earth.

Yet, the Dog Days brought their own mixes.

There was one night when humans attacked their own homes. There were the sounds of multitude ‘BWEEEEE’ as white shafts ascended into the night sky, and only seconds later churned outwards with a large force that exploded like shards of his Chaos Spears. The hues of reds, whites, and yellows came from such bursts of energy; their shapes changed into something akin to the puffed hydrangeas in the front yard. One by one they lit up the horizon besides the houses of where the neighbors resided. Maria had even given him a stick covered in magnesium crystals and set the tip on fire, telling him to move the end around before it went out. Seeing the hot object flicker and sparkle reminded him of Chaos Energy so much so that he had wanted to set off a Blast larger than those attacks. The not-Ultimate Lifeform had to still prove that he was capable of greater explosive forces than those neighbors. His Air Shoes had hummed to take him above the surface of the ground, but…

Gerald had realized his thoughts because that was the moment he grabbed the Vanguard by the ankle, yanked him back to the back porch, and exclaimed it was time to go inside. “Shadow might be a pyromaniac.”

There were other days when the Sun sent radiation higher than normal into heat waves – which lacked any true increase in temperatures. A heat wave took things from 93.3° to 103.7°, which was minor and small, but it made both his homosapiens search in need for water and shade. Their eyes watched the Vanguard do the chores without any changes in his speed or efficiency with mutters of ‘need lemonade’ or ‘how does he not sweat with all that fur?’

During the Dog Days there was also something else he learned.

A bed.

He knew what it was by object importance to his humans. Mattresses were smacked to remain free of debris. Soap and water were used to ensure nothing was soiled. Cloth was organized into ‘made’ with fixed pillows and comforters – wool and down for winter; cotton for summer. They were changed weekly and then washed by hand before being hung to dry. Only clean ones were allowed for his homosapiens to crawl in-between and close their eyes, falling into cycles of body rest.

Last summer, he had ignored the humans leaving into their rooms as he took his perch to defend the Farm.

This summer…

His male homosapien allowed the Vanguard into the Master Bedroom’s bed and wrapped the right arm over his ebony body. Cotton fabric pulled up towards his chin; his gloves and shoes not removed but were allowed to be restrained by such weak material. His red eyes would watch the human press lips upon his topmost quill – not in a method to taste to see if the Black Arms’ creation was edible, but in a way Gerald did to Maria before she left the house on school days – before words fell. “Goodnight, kid.”

Every other day he swapped location: Maria’s room one night; Gerald’s the other. With his female, the night started with her talking and him listening – about history books, what was on her mind, and what she believed in. She was different in that both her hands would curl around the Vanguard’s shoulders as if she wanted his warmth closer, which he delivered. Her lips could touch his topmost quill as well, only off towards the right side due to lacking the same range of the adult human. “Goodnight, Shadow.”

And there he would lie. Still. And breathe.

At some point he realized the gray haze was called sleeping.

And he slept often.

His male human called the Vanguard lazy with a smile.

… He undefined word smiles aimed at his body.

[x]

One thing that did not change was that poison from inside. He had reached the point where it had dominated his brain chemistry, and using Chaos Energy to destroy it was making his body hurt at the action due to excessive misuse. He had been placed in a logic loop: to be in pain was to be avoided because a damaged Ultimate Lifeform was not the force required to consume planets, but to stop the pain he had to allow that toxin to continue and lurk and spread and settle into his mind.

He would find himself lost in that endless dark void where he craved more and more of his humans’ attention; white gloves that reached as if he could taste hugs and smiles more often. He found himself hung on their very words with knowledge that he couldn't make them stop being ‘nice,’ must not stop them being ‘happy,’ must eliminate anything and everything that would change this existence of being on the Farm North-Northeast of Guthrie, Oklahoma. It was rabid. It was intense. Over and over and over his thoughts churned into knots. He had asked the hive what was happening to him, but still received nothing in response. From them. Gerald responded. Maria responded. They held him. They embraced – a new, yet the same, word – him. They gave him what he craved to the point he found himself forgetting to collect more knowledge on what leader or dictator lived where.

He was drowning, drowning; drowned in poison.

If they left the house, he hunted them down up to the Farm’s border.

If they left to the shed, he chased them.

If they went to the hanger, he growled at Cessna.

The Robotnik humans belonged to him.

[x]

He couldn't stop drinking it. He had become dependent on it. He needed it night and day and all the moments in between.

“Your flowers are just beautiful, Shadow,” Maria exclaimed with increased volume as young human hands warped stems to interface with one another. The two were sitting on the crest of a small hill that overlooked the pond where the cattle drunk. Mud covered his female human’s fingers as the rains from a summer storm had doused her mid-task. “Here. Try this on.”

His ears flicked as he leaned forwards, which allowed the homosapien to place the crafted object around his head. The physical feeling of the petals, stems, and leaves around his skull was unique – he had been strapped down at that location before during his creation, but with Maria… No incisions. No directions to be still and silent. No soundless whimpers as he was torn open.

Blue eyes crinkled. “So… so CUTE~~~” Her fingers brushed against his ear. “This is a flower crown! Normally, you make one in spring, but…” The human’s hand moved in an action to encircle the field of blue halfway around them – the side of the world not where the cattle consumed for nourishment. “You're amazing, Shadow. I'm always happy to know you crashed here, even if you did crush up Grandpa’s soybeans near harvest.” The ending was finished off with her tongue stuck out.

Cute. He didn't know that word, but was aware that if he accomplished actions that made her use it, he would get all that poison to consume he was addicted to.

More.

He needed more.

[x]

It was evening at early August, located in her bedroom with the window open to cool down, when his female human slapped herself. The sound brought the Vanguard’s attention: instead of her pale skin, there was-

Blood.

He saw her bleed-

THREAT. ASSESS. LOCATE.

Eyes narrowed. Spines rose. Senses overloaded.

Unaware of the danger Maria was in from the assault, female digits dug into her own skin and rubbed the break in the flesh – scratched not with nice but in a word he knew and understood completely: hatred. “ARGGG!! Mosquitoes! I was already attacked in the barn yesterday! Ugh! Always freaking coming around two weeks after heavy rains! Wish they would all just die-!!!”

COMMAND GIVEN. EXECUTE.

Pin pointing the location of all organics in the area was simple and efficient. There were three hundred and ninety-seven miniature objects in the immediate vicinity that had been previously known, but unidentified. His female human had finally given him the definition.

There was the beat of wings. The humming of the night. The call of something in the air. Red-orange static struck the source; a small body ripped away from reality. The Vanguard looked around, disappointed that the other organic lifeforms didn't get the clue of warning from their deceased kin. So, he continued: over and over jabs of Chaos Energy sparkled the air. He was a malady of consumption. The center of a whirlwind. He was Death.

The Vanguard continued his assault.

His frenzy grew.

He dug into Chaos as he teleported into the upstairs hallway. More targets were found and he removed them. Then he warped inside the Master Bedroom and felt eight. Lightning flickered around his body as the stray bolts turned the invading organics into sheer and utter nothingness.

His male human was in bed; eyes widened and-

ALL MUST DIE. ANHILLIATE. DESTROY.

The Vanguard tore apart reality and reappeared into the living room. Then the kitchen. Each and every room of the house.

Then he went outside.

KILL THEM. SUBMIT.

Obliterating every single mosquito that existed sent him deeper into that iconic Black Arms’ mindset of battle. He sliced into the insects that were deemed obsolete, feeling lacked that there were no cries of pain and misery. He wanted to hear them moan out underneath his strength. He wanted them to grow mouths and beg. He wanted them to scream that they should have keep their incisors off his humans! The faster he moved over the fields, ripping the skies apart as his power moved to his whim, the more and more that sensation overtook his mind.

DESTROY! DESTROY! DESTROY!

He continued.

This rush! This emotion! It was undefined, but it felt like the POISON.

He couldn't stop.

THIS was what he was designed to do.

The distance away from the house was beginning to grow.  At some point, he found himself underneath an exterior light from a Second Empire building.

Didn't matter. He would kill every mosquito here.

And he did.

There were other bags of flesh and carbon and water located as well. One the size of Maria, only the gender of Gerald, with two different eye colors. Other were an adult female and an adult male. They were not his targets. His human wanted only a specific species of insect. HE WOULD CONFORM.

DESTROY!! DESTROY!! DESTROY!!

More had invaded the Farm.

Chaos Energy snapped its sound as his body reformed and hovered over the back porch; Air Shoes' exhaust silent and blue.

“There he-!! SHADOW!!! STOP!!!”

COMMAND. LISTEN.

The fury promptly sucked back into a vacuum. It left a dull pounding as he landed on the wooden cedar planks, clenching his skull.

That was…

Undefined.

Footsteps ran and closed the distance. “Shadow!!” cried out his female human. “What did you DO!?”

By the time Gerald stumbled in, the Vanguard had given his response: casted dark silhouettes covered his face and muzzle until only the glow in his eyes remained; the curl of his mouth that fought gravity; the singular thought that he would do it again when allowed on bigger, more perilous targets…!

Oh.

That's right. His two homosapiens were here…

The Vanguard reached out, gave them his warmth, and then buried his face between them both.

They didn't return it.

His heart was still beating with that action he just accomplished. To think it was only a taste of what he was capable of... Yet, a question arose: how would his mind function when he reaches the peak of his abilities with a noiseless hive? The ones that sent him into a state Father said was ‘as terrifying as a singularity?’

He sighed as he wrapped his arms around them nevertheless.

Perhaps it didn't matter. He wouldn't harm his homosapiens, no matter the singular song in his mind.

He fell asleep.

[x]

Apparently, there's stages of being grounded.

“You aren't allowed coffee beans OR leave the confines of the house for a MONTH!!!” Gerald huffed while cheeks dyed red.

There was an antihistamine cream on Maria's arm. No more blood. That was… undefined.

The Vanguard blinked slowly before he nodded.

A human’s volume lessened. “Gah! You have no idea of what they would do to you if seen. How could you? You’re just short of one year old!” The elder homosapien touched his golden Inhibitor Rings. “… Don't put yourself in danger.”

He was immortal.

How could there be danger?

The grip tightened. “Kid?”

The not-Ultimate Lifeform matched his gaze.

“Do you want to leave?”

No. He shook his head violently.

“That’s what could happen. If you're spotted outside. They'll take you away from Maria and I. Understand?”

Take him away…?

Never.

He understood.

[x]

The female voice hovered in weakness common for beings that required rest cycles. “Well, I'm thankful. Getting bit is lame.”

He shifted closer to her.

“It was… pretty. Once I stopped screaming. Err... A good scream, you know?” Arms wrapped around his full form. “You scared the snot out of Grandpa, though. Maybe cut back on the unbelievable things you show off without warning, Shadow?” A pause. “That being said… I really gotta watch out what I tell you.”

Chapter Text

“Shadow~” a voice soft and distant filled his sensitive ears. They flicked towards the source, but his mind already registered it as something not a hazard. “Shadow~ I know you can hear~ me~” His muzzle went deeper into the cotton covered pillow beneath his body; the sheets a barrier to any extreme movement. His hearing was too good, but if he controlled his muscles… “Shadow~ It’s time to wake up~”

Red eyes opened at that and he turned to face his female homosapien. She was already in extreme movement, filled with the vigor granted by a biological restart, and had a grin – a different type of smile that meant plans, or deceit, or trickery more often than not. “Good morning! I've decided to treat you to something nice!”

He sat there.

“C’mon, Shadow~” Maria squirmed with her hands in the shape of two curves and two straight lines. It was similar to one of symbols on her deck of playing cards.

He ended up getting out of bed and followed. Down the staircase they went – his Air Shoes off as the organic matter beneath his feet was not capable of dealing with the heat. The morning sun was attacking the windows, but still his female human continued. Eventually, the two of them reached the kitchen, where a stack of bowls, spoons, and various materials were set up in an array.

Her hands waved. “Since Grandpa is out of town to find a higher priced buyer for our crops this year, we get to play a game: Maria’s School Of Culinary Arts!” That grin returned as she stared right into the Vanguard’s eyes. “I’m thinking something extra fancy for dinner by the time Grandpa comes back, but we'll start with the basics, first! Steak and eggs!”

Did his human need him to slaughter a fresh steer?

He was grounded. He couldn't pull it off...

The door to the fridge opened and out popped slabs off meat. They were softer than normal, and the blood that pooled at the bottom of the glass dish – his humans long since knowing that anything they consumed that touched plastic was obliterated – caught his eye. It seemed the Vanguard got replaced by an entity that was not grounded, one that had picked up the meat since it smelled no older than yesterday.

It was Cessna, wasn't it?

“Hold out your hands!”

The Vanguard did as required. In response, Maria placed a wooden object. It had a thin, easily breakable shaft with a cylinder at the top – wooden spikes carved out and pultruded like an extra set of fangs, although not nearly as sharp as his teeth.

“This is a wooden meat mallet, Shadow,” she hummed. “You lift it and CAREFULLY hit the food to tenderize it. It lets you break stuff into smaller pieces within the meat! Makes it better!”

He understood. The mallet was designed to prepare organic flesh for consumption for increases in flavor. It was unique that homosapiens knew about this in the first place – perhaps his fellow Black Arms would like to have this knowledge so they could feast on other, not his humans, humans with extra taste as well?

WHAM!

Plasma squeezed.

WHAM!

Connective tissues shredded.

WHAM!

Muscles stretched past breaking point.

Oh. This was interesting. Steak was from cattle, so Maria was coaching him the ways to prepare not just humans but also the livestock outside. She was getting smarter as the days past; thought in the ways of his species.

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

A giggle. “Alright, Shadow. That's enough tenderizing. Hah! It looks like a car ran over it.” Blue eyes squinted. “Sooooo…, how much strength do you have anyways?”

A lot.

He picked up the mallet and-

His female homosapien grabbed his hand and shook her head. “Whoa! Not inside, Shadow!” She slowly she pulled the wooden object from his fingers. “We haven't finished cooking breakfast! As such, let's just…” A utensil disappeared. “… ignore this mallet and just work with something else. Alright?”

Next thing his female homosapien hauled out were eggs from the chickens out in the backyard. Those creatures never allowed the Vanguard to get overtly close to them, as if their instincts knew they were in the sight of the apex predator. His humans always commented that he, ‘Stressed them out more than foxes.’ An odd comment – the chickens were his homosapiens’ consumption item. He was not to touch them until directed.

She offered one to him and held one herself. “We’re doing Sunny Side, which is making the yoke look like the Sun! Here. I'll start and you'll copy.”

The pupa cracked right down the middle. An unfinished lifeform dribbled down onto a heated metal pan upon the stove – a mess of organic matter that would never exist again. His eyes caught as the yoke – the nutritional mesh that reminded him of his own sac – splattered and hissed.

It was a memory he entered. The kitchen vanished dimly. The other failures – an array of pupas from those whom didn't or couldn't contain the right amount of Chaos Energy – were stacked before Father. His creator’s hand had reached the one next to the Vanguard’s, picked it up, and then crushed it. The black and red colored larva-like creature – no fur or legs like he had – was ripped in half. It was a silent promise to all the other failures. Another chrysalis entered Father’s hand; another; another. More and more: each one a voice in the hive that went silent – were soon enough churned into a mush and Energy forced into the Ultimate Lifeform with touch – not one of a hug, but a-

“Shadow? You okay?”

The kitchen. The cast iron skillet. The eggs.

He blinked and realized he had carbonized one of them. That was… incorrect. His female human had not shown him that step. Did not the organic flip them with a spatula to ensure a hardened layer to-?

Her fingers touched his shoulder and pulled him away from the electric coils. There was a tone in her voice that was abnormal. “Shadow? Shadow? What's wrong? You look… scared. Or sad.”

She had used that undefined word before. Scared.

A white glove touched his own face. There was no water. Therefore, he wasn't sad.

One human female’s fingers flicked the knobs and the stove’s electrical hum went silent. She removed the black object that was once eggs into the garbage and spun towards him. “You know what? Grandpa isn't here. Let's just have steak for breakfast instead.” Maria rubbed his quills; soothed them back down – when had they risen? “Come, Shadow. Leave whatever memories that was behind.”

The Vanguard dropped them. As instructed.

His human pulled him away.

[x]

A hand fisted into the air as her feet continued to bounce up and down on the sofa. Blonde locks flew wildly in her actions as the latest vinyl played. “Tonight, we are making Grandpa’s favorite meal!”

The Vanguard copied her pose while airborne. He was told to.

“There we go, Shadow~” his female homosapien laughed again. “See! Isn't this fun?”

Fun?

She seemed to catch his impassive face. “Is your heart beating? Body filled with endorphins? A smile wants to crack on your face because your spending time with your most favorite girl in the whole world?”

He checked his internal systems. His heart was indeed beating. He lacked definition for endorphins. His mouth was breaking against gravity because he was spending time with his human…

2/3 criteria met.

Was this… fun?

Was this not fun?

She laughed again.

Then picked up a pillow and threw it at him. An attack. She was… trying to catch him off guard? The Vanguard watched the arc of the cotton fabric object in its movement. The force was indeed lacking, since his human tossed it, but… was this a test? Should he avoid it? Was she trying to test his tolerance for pain? Or what about-?

Instinct kicked in at the last possible moment.

He teleported to the opposite side of his human.

The female turned and tossed again. Another. Each one made him move without using Chaos Energy, as he took it as a physical exercise instead. When she ran out of pillows, she stole the ones off the ground and attacked once again. “Pick one up and try to hit me back – softly, Shadow!”

He bent over-

-Chaos Snapped when Maria took the chance to hit when he was looking away from her-

-and then had four pillows within his grasp. Arms ready. Soon enough, the fabric items were sent in return. Each one pelted the target: the chest location right above where the heart was caged; the place in the skull where it was the weakest to touch a brain; the skin that was considered ‘protection’ for an artery within her right leg; the hand at which she was dominate with. When that was done, he launched himself right onto her, pushed the human body to expose a weak spot below the ear, held up his hand, and-

-he tapped her neck.

Maria had ‘perished.’

His female human knew it. Her hands reached towards that area he touched, winked, grinned, and then she… made some noise. “Ahk! Gahk! HERGH-BLEGH!! You got me good, Shadow!”

Yes.

He was the not-Ultimate Lifeform for a reason.

“Now let’s go back to cooking!”

[x]

Gerald took one look at the kitchen. It was clean. Neat. Nothing out of place. He tilted his head. “How did you pull this off?” came a mutter from his male human as he rubbed the bottom of his chin; a fork entered his mouth again with food.

The youngest female nodded and tapped the Vanguard’s chair. “I had help.”

In response, he swung his Air Shoes under the table, back and forth.

“That’s swell.”

They ended the evening watching the stars on top of the roof. Apparently, it was counted as being still within the house.

His male homosapien had both Maria and the Black Arms’ creation on his lap, cutting off blood circulation. “You know, getting up here is a hell of a lot easier with Shadow around breaking physics with magic. We should do this more often.”

“I think so, too, Grandpa!” She brought a blanket around them closer. "I think the cosmos are so cool."

The tallest human hummed in agreeance. “Did you know I had to learn how to pilot over the Pacific with using only stars? Of course, that was just in case my navigational systems died out, and we weren’t actually expected to learn anything to REALLY save our own skins, but damn did I not try my hardest. Once, I was lost 200 miles off California with nothing but a flashlight; spiraling out God knows where. But when the clouds parted, and I saw the heavens…” A human hand rubbed both others. “Well, I found my way home.” After that comment, past moments of quiet breathing, the male pointed out various planets of the human’s Solar System, the things called satellites which were man-made and not natural in origin that sped overhead, and various nebulas of mixed colors that the Vanguard had no idea existed.

He didn’t bother to try to find the Black Comet.

Wait.

He was hugged. He was smiling. He was warm.

Was this…

Nice?

… He nice’d nice.

Chapter Text

His male human had spent the past thirty minutes rubbing the quills of the Vanguard. The morning was burning away – which had his homosapien off the routine schedule. By now, Gerald should have been in the barn taking care of the animals with him by the adult’s side. Yet, he didn't desire to move. This nice-adjacent was not enough – never enough – and if he stayed still and did that purr that his female screamed in undefined at earlier…

The human fingers continued.

“You've gotten greedy,” his human laughed. “That's good. Seeing you get better as the seasons pass…” Fingers moved to a hug. “There’s life in your eyes almost all the time now, kid. You had them since our picture.”

The Vanguard simply nodded in the statement of fact. Of course he was still alive – artificially made didn't deny the fact he was not a living, breathing organism. His insides weren't steel or metal like the work truck, and neither were they fragile and decaying like monocarpic plants once they had bloomed. But that last sentence made him think. The family photo…

The poison that overtook him had begun then.

… Was it actually something not bad at all?

“My thigh is gonna go numb at some point, Shadow. You weigh about seventy pounds. Those shoes alone are probably thirty or something.”

The Vanguard didn't want to go anywhere or do anything for the foreseeable future. That was a negative of allowing that chemical to wreak havoc inside his body: the lack of discipline and drive to certain degrees. No protection walks around the Farm – he doubted any animals that didn't belong would come close. No moving objects to the hanger – Cessna needed to do ‘another spray’ soon. Yes on killing mosquitoes – but only the ones within the house’s confines because ‘spiders need their food, too.’ Yes on watering the plants in the Robotnik Family Garden – but in the evenings instead of mornings. He would still listen to commands, however. Just… the not-Ultimate Lifeform didn't use his autonomy unless absolutely required during the time slot of t0:00 P.M. to 7:00 A.M..

“Well, fine. Today's different. But only up to nine. Maria needs help from me in the kitchen.” He felt his human bring warmth closer. Sleep was next if things continued…

… and then it was just before ten at some point because his male homosapien had told the Vanguard to awaken and follow down the stairs. Which he accomplished. There was the sixth step from the top that always creaked if he didn’t consciously step in a certain pattern; there was the nail that always popped out after a ‘swing in temperatures’ that he stomped back down with his Air Shoes like a hammer; there was the-

Something had changed in the living room.

There were hues. Colors everywhere. Streaks made of paper that were thin enough to be almost transparent. It started at the millwork that covered the arches over the threshold from hallway to living room, spread out towards the ceiling light in the middle of the room, and ended at the wooden posts that segregated the dining room from the place before. Strange things in oval shapes – string attached at the end – hovered by the plaster molding. One of the strings scratched his nose and he could smell it: plastic. Something else as well: latex.

Considering his humans didn’t eat from the ceiling, he would let those abominations live for now. They were just… there.

Still, his gaze was brought along by all of the color. There was a cloth painted in writing difficult to read due to the purposefully messy font. His ears twitched as red eyes went over every character carefully.

Желаем тебе счастливого дня рождения!!!

(I wanted to call it Pupaday but Grandpa said no.)

What… was that?

Forget undefined word. That was nothing but everything undefined.

There were snickers – laughter in a ‘not mean, but mean’ tone – as his two humans giggled to one another. “Told you he would have the funniest look on his face with that.”

“You’re such a jerk, Grandpa.”

“Just celebrating heritage, you mean.”

“You’re as American as fast food and don’t even speak Russian anymore.”

“Pft. I did when I was touring post-war Europe. Kept me alive.”

“You said you used it to get more beer.”

There was a cough. “I know what I said.”

The Vanguard was still undefined. All the undefined. What was making his humans clench their stomachs and bend over in that HEE HAW HEE HAW noise so badly? The piece of fabric? Was it because he couldn’t understand it? The not-Ultimate Lifeform had only picked up a singular language upon Earth – he was advanced enough to understand the marks that appeared like chicken scribes in their morning runs was a different human tongue.

That is what happens when you lack a hivemind. Voice and letters split apart into…

Red eyes went back to the… marks.

Maria took the opportunity to ‘sneak’ – she never could pull it off – closer to the Black Arms’ creation, holding something in her hands. It looked like a triangle, rounded on one end. She beckoned for him to come closer towards the paper side, to put his face only an inch from it, which he did-

Pale fingers pulled a tiny cotton string-

POP!!!!

The attack, a compression of the air, and pieces of paper escaping the triangle, didn’t hit him. The not-Ultimate Lifeform was superior in every manner, which included reaction times. He had already ascended onto the roof, stuck his claws into the plaster ceiling to the detriment of his gloves, heard CRACK CRACK CRACK, saw a spiderweb of lines appear from where his digits had burrowed past the rock into wood that held it up, and then teleported before the chunk of rock fell down onto the sofa right underneath. The explosion of sound threw up dust everywhere; his large eyes blinked more often to see what just occurred. He didn’t understand – the ceiling should hold onto larger weight because it was limestone. Where did the wood come from? Why was the limestone such a thin layer-?

“MARIA!!!!”

“… Whoops.”

His female human got ‘SUPER grounded.’

[x]

Gerald walked out of the kitchen and placed a large plate on the dining room table. His female homosapien had changed – a new hat with the words DUNCE in large, black ink sat on blonde hair. Her eyes rolled at it, as she had been forced to clean up all the dust while ‘I take Shadow to take a bath.’ The cleaning session was strange – his male human added lavender scented bubble bath formula and made everything seem larger and light.

No claw marks on the tile that time.

As a response for good behavior, the Vanguard was hugged dry and shuffled back towards the place where celebration was to happen.

“Well, after our delay,” the human added with anger and something else that wasn’t anger, “we now will continue! Happy birthday, Shadow!” The plate was pushed closer to the Vanguard – a pile of coffee beans that smelled the strongest, tartest, and sharpest he had ever experienced; a bunch of little cakes for his two humans to consume mixed with a watered-down version of the bean within; the singular piece of wax at the very middle with…

Flame…

The yellow heat danced in front of his eyes. He felt himself get closer to it. So much obliteration it can cause in a tiny package, just like him and his Chaos Energy…

Maria made a strange noise. “Awwww. He’s mesmerized.”

“Fire setters tend to like, well, fire,” Gerald laughed before a stern expression came back. “You’re still in trouble, Maria Robotnik.”

The DUNCE hat almost toppled over in her movement. “Happy birthday, nevertheless, Shadow! Now, blow out your candle!”

The Vanguard did so in a quick huff.

The elder Robotnik patted his head again, the same manner as in the morning. “I sold some flowers to some bride that was freaking out. Got me enough cash to get you some GEN~U~INE Panamanian Geisha. Drove all the way to Dallas for this blasted thing. Better be worth it. Anyways, the seller promised me this is the good stuff. Chow down, Shadow.”

Well, since his human allowed it…

The beans did not last long, just like the cakes did not with his homosapiens.

He still didn’t know what a birthday was, however.

Did it matter?

[x]

‘Gifts’ were next, apparently. They were not the things he considered gifts – his strength, his speed; his other skills. Rather, it was an item his humans handed over together. The box was covered with even more colors. He twisted the cubed form, felt the weight inside, and issued a small shake to determine the viscosity of the item within. He didn’t want to jump up towards the ceiling again-

CLICK.

Maria held up her camera and took yet another picture. She had been doing that all day – to include the lump of limestone that was now the floor in the living room. “I’m happy you’re self-aware enough to experience this, Shadow. Last time when we threw a birthday party – it was mine – you were so out of it from seeing your first snowfall I doubt you realized what was going on around you.” She smiled. “The hug you gave was really warm at night, though. I took that as your present.”

His first snowfall…

He remembered that. Shapes. Whiteness. Howling winds. His kindling. He had circulated the Chaos Energy in his body to warm up the immediate air around him and forced his two humans to stay in his sphere of influence to save themselves from using inefficient methods of heating…

“Go on and open it, kid.”

An order.

The muscles in his arms flexed in less than a millisecond. The pressure popped open the cardboard like a rotten corpse exploding under the heat of a burning Sun. And like a carcass, out came something fluid. He realized it was cloth; the way he had opened the package hadn’t damaged the woven ties within. He moved where the fabric had fallen, stared at it, and then picked the material up with his gloves.

It was thick. Soft. Like your chest fluff, his female human would compare it to if given the opportunity.

“It’s a quilt made of wool,” Maria explained. “I used all the sleeper foots and quarter inch techniques,” the female ended while rubbing her nose. “Grandpa let me use his Featherweight 222K.”

There was a strange tone that added more undefined to this day. “My wife… she had… claimed it made… the best straight stitch…”

“It really did,” Maria spoke in the same manner. Bitter. Yet sweet. And undefined.

Red eyes turned back to the ‘gift.’ His humans were watching him for his reaction. That much he was aware of.

It looked like a field of stars. Sunbursts. Nebulas. Comets. An artificial night sky. 90% of the surface area held that piece of space. He felt his finger trace over the home-looking shape on the top of a hill, embroidered at the hem of the bottom. There was a window in yellow that casted light on silhouettes: three humanoid shapes. One tall one, one shorter one with a triangle signifying a skirt, and one even smaller than even that one – half their size with spikes on the head.

Him and his humans…

The Vanguard felt himself pull the quilt closer. His body hunched over and quivered.

Something fell on the wool.

Water.

And more came.

… He didn't know why.

[[An actual, real-life field roughly 17 miles north-northeast of Guthrie, Oklahoma.]]

Chapter Text

Tweet tweet tweet tweet.

The flying mammals knocked on the window once again. Same time as they always did – 7:17 A.M. with the red ones tapping the loudest. The Vanguard blinked slowly, adjusting to the Sun’s light that attempted to pierce his Gift. His eyes squinted and mouth opened wide as a small sound fell out that was both quiet and soft – aaaaahhhh… Infinitely sharp teeth, to include his fangs, caught the luminosity. His humans did this action all the time after coming respondent from sleep, but it was still something new to him.

His female called it cute, though. Ergo, he'll do more of it.

Maria wasn't here, however, to watch. Still, practice made things more efficient, and he needed to maintain the level of perfection expected. One of his eyes got something inside it and he rubbed slowly in circular motions. Once he closed his mouth, he wiggled out of the folds of wool and onto the floor of the young girl’s room. His nose twitched once at the smells coming from the slightly cracked open window: it was strong. His male homosapien was doing something with oil and complex carbon molecule chains once more.

Tweet tweet!

He walked towards the spot Maria placed the ‘bird food,’ picked up the bag filled with seeds, and opened the window. The cardinals jumped between the gap into his own palm. They hopped from each one of his fingers to another, possibly feeling the warmth of his Chaos Energy. Carefully, he poured the seeds into his hand, as the birds awaited for the sacrifice. The Vanguard didn't understand why this was his required task when his human was at school, but such was the command. These flying organics could not maintain their survival instincts in this manner – they weren't hunting down the worms or insects – and that was incorrect. What would happen if he decided to crush his fingers into a fist and break them? Or if his male human attempted to consume these fowl instead of poultry for meal times?

Why did they not flee from him?

His purpose was to kill them all. They should fly away before he eventually was told to change commands from being a place to eat into a place where eaten.

Tweet tweet! Down their breaks stabbed into the food.

… His female human was adamant. So, he watched the animals. They was like his own humans: at all times of meals the two homosapiens would have their fronts away from the doors and windows, too busy focused on the nourishment. To ruin the scene, theoretically a larva could just squeeze underneath the lip of the door and then attach into the nervous systems of its victim.

Maria and Gerald lacked certain survival skills.

He'll protect them, nevertheless.

The birds finished. He rubbed the one that was closest to his pointing finger, pushing the smallest sliver of Chaos Energy inside that body. Analyzed it. What effects did Energy have on organics of smaller statures? Was this action why these cardinals came back to his hand in particular? He only did this for good experience. The amount of finesse the Vanguard could output, especially since he needed practice to ensure he wouldn't overload his homosapiens’ nutritional intake items, was a critical piece of knowledge to own.

They soon flew away.

He monitored from the window. Saw the morning Sun continue to rise.

… There was a truck coming. Green. Not his human’s.

Blip.

Reality shifted.

“OH, GOOD GOD!” his male homosapien screamed. The wrench flew from his hand, reached the height of its arc, and then descended at a rapid pace. The Vanguard ensured to catch it before it struck the bald cranium of his human. “My heart, Shadow! Jesus. You gotta warn me next time.”

He patted down each inch of the vehicle’s skin-

“Umm…, kid?”

-ensured this new truck hadn’t already attempted to overtake this current work truck since it was in maintenance. As such, it couldn't move-

“Shadow? Stop that. It's getting your gloves dirty.”

Red eyes looked at his male homosapien’s. His hands paused the search for folded or scratched metal. Something moved on his face – a muscle – but it was gone into his normal state almost immediately, so the Vanguard thought nothing more of it. Instead, he pointed towards the side, where the road that led towards ‘not Farm’ or ‘Guthrie’ lied and tilted his head.

His male homosapien stood up and brushed the dirt and pebbles from his blue jeans. They dissipated like small clouds. “Did you just get annoyed at me? Hahaha!” Gerald ruffled the Vanguard’s quills. “What are you even looking-?”

The green truck rumbled down the road.

Straight towards home.

“Shadow. Get inside and hide in the attic. It’s gonna be hot up there. Go to Maria’s bedroom closet if it’s too much. Now.”

[x]

Cyan lines cut into the wooden region his two humans stored the Christmas ornaments. Boxes were neat and organized, and the temperature up in this area was over 90.4, but none of that mattered. Instead, the Vanguard took a few steps towards the region that was directly above the front porch, ensuring to create no noise. His ears flicked forwards as his human’s voice floated in the dense air of summer’s end.

“May I help you?”

He shifted. That was a voice of anger. Why was his human angered? Did the green truck initiate aggressive movement against the work truck?

A white gloved tapped against his other hand since he couldn’t use his Air Shoes to do the same movement on the hardwood floor. The rhythm made him think with each little thump. There was a small, circular slit that allowed air circulation within the confines of the attic – something similar to what Maria called a soffit. He would lose the ability to break through the floor and land next to his male human if he moved, but he could always teleport…

Muscles flexed as he continued his journey. The soffit was at his eye level with wooden slats that had the smallest of gaps as to not allow larger animals within. Aware of the angle, the Vanguard had no other option than to squat. His fur melted with the background – he was invisible. His red eyes would be glowing, of course, but the majority of his pupil would be black. An acceptable risk-

There was another human. Tall. Pale skin like his own homosapien’s. Hair was not naturally that way – in straight lines and incredibly short. It was almost as fuzzy as the mittens that his female owned. On the organic’s body was nothing but a green… pajama?

And a blue, triangle hat with silver trim?

Gerald never allowed Maria outside the home with her ‘PJs.’ Why did this human’s Gerald-equivalent allow this new human to do so? Were pajamas effective in dealing with enemy trucks? The one this new organic wore was made completely out of some strange blend of fibers and just covered in a chemical compound. The Vanguard filtered through his mind of what it could be: ah. A fire suppressor. PJs were created to be low on flammability, but this deep olive one was certainly a superior version than Maria’s. Since the trucks had internal combustion engines, perhaps pajamas were-

“Hi! Sorry to bother you! I’m Captain William Wachowski from Tinker Air Force Base.” The Vanguard saw the PJ-Human send out a hand, which his male homosapien accepted and rose it. Then fell. Two times in a repeat.

Like an experienced creature knowing he was getting assessed, Gerald didn’t remove the eyesight from the other human. “What brings you to Robotnik Farms?”

“Your flower field!” PJ-human laughed. “The squadron and I keep seeing this giant blue smear at Flight Level three-four-zero – it drives our comms and instruments wild when we’re directly overhead, see – and have been wondering what the hell it was. Been there for months, now! But the fact it’s flowers, pretty ones, too, is quite hilarious. They remind me of aster, which is a native plant of my hometown, and I was wondering if I could buy-”

“Well. You’ve seen them. Now, leave.”

PJ-human blinked.

The Vanguard blinked.

Gerald did not.

“Um. Well. Er. S-Sorry to have bothered you.”

And with that, PJ-human left. Work truck was left alone. It seemed his male homosapien defended the immobile item quite efficiently. Yet, that didn’t seem thoroughly correct as well. What was the Vanguard missing? What was flight level? Context clues meant above in the skies, but… that was broad. One could include the Black Comet with that. He was certain PJ-human wasn’t from space like he was.

He thought and thought and thought. Eventually, the green truck was nothing more but a memory.

[x]

Additional vehicles came by a few days later.

This time, Maria was the one to scoot the Vanguard into her closet. She poked him on the nose and allowed him to sit on her lap. She had become extraordinarily aggressive on rubbing his ears, to the point he felt his limbs go limp; breathing turned shallow; eyes half-lidded – although he remained awake. Aware.

No amount of rubbing could stop the not-Ultimate Lifeform from overhearing his male homosapien.

“Let me guess: you’re from Tinker Air Force Base.” Gerald was even madder than the last time.

“Ah, you must have met one of my pilots trying to get something for his wife. Coincidence. However, I am Colonel Keller from the base, that’s correct.” There were shuffles; movement he extrapolated based off of the sound of fabric being rubbed. He could hear the heartbeats of six additional individuals. “This is Captain Walters from Colorado. We’re just here to ask a few questions about your fields.”

“I was unaware the military was interested in flowers.”

“Well, they are quite unique.” That was a new voice. Was the owner ‘Walters?’

His female homosapien’s soft voice overpowered the others as her fingers dug into his ear. “Naptime for Shadow~”

Ah.

It was warm…

[x]

There were no more trucks.

An area of missing blue flowers did appear, though. It sent his male human screaming and yelling – kicked anything in the front porch that was small enough to move. The words were kept internal. His two humans were being stealthy – they would not discuss the mysterious subject when the Vanguard was awake.

Until one night.

“We should give them a piece of the meteor when they come back. They’ll target you, Maria, because you’re a ‘naïve young girl,’ and I have a schedule of going to market during harvest season for two weeks.” Gerald spoke aloud at the dinner table. It was a simple meal of beef, but neither of the homosapiens consumed much. Instead, their forks and knives picked at the nourishment. “They’ll be satisfied with a piece after you show hesitation. My dear – it was only a meteorite, correct?”

Blonde hair tussled as the female shook. “Just a hunk of space rock. No bigger than my fist. I placed it by the memorial tree because…?”

A knife clinked as it was placed on the tabletop in a hurry. “Because my son was to work for aerospace and it… reminded you of that.”

“Yes, Grandpa.”

The taller human shifted that gaze to the Black Arms’ creation. “Can your shell be used to trace you down?”

He shook his head in denial. What good would a pupa be if a freshly hatched larva could be followed after expulsion?

“Can it be observed as ‘organic?’” There was a pause. “Sigh. I need to describe that better. Kid, I meant to say: can this be analyzed by someone else to know you – or another life form – came out?”

That required deeper thought. He wasn't a normal Black Arms. He was engineered. From his mental state to his pupa, all were drafted in Father's grand design. The hardened chrysalis certainly carried materials not from Earth, but did it signify that something had even been there in the first place…?

He could ask Father… if Father was listening.

But his humans needed to know, so he would attempt action. Hesitation was only allowed for lesser creatures. As such, he shut his eyes and emptied his mind of his surroundings. Became one with nothingness. He tried to reach out to the hive, whom remain as silent as ever, before he switched focus on the next receiver.

… The desire to reach out was…

In error. Undefined.

There was something that wanted to stop him – the poison. Maria taught him desire, and this was not what he desired. This was not nice. This was not like hugs. This feeling: this coldness that seeped up his back quills; the tingles that started to shiver his mind; the three red eyes of-

What is it you need, Vanguard?

Information.

Then open your mind to me.

He tried to. He did what he was told. Instructed. And-!

This time, unlike previously, worked.

A needle pierced into and through that feeling of ‘not nice.’ It tore everything around apart, like claws searching for an organ that held the most amount of Chaos Energy to absorb. Father was- Father was-!

Silent.

There. But silent.

It hurt.

Father, please stop-

Those claws came back with vigor. It shredded into memories. Into his thoughts. Into his essence.

Did he do something wrong, Father?

Why were you not answering him?

They dug deeper and the Vanguard felt himself stiffen as they attached right into his cortex. The talons had discovered his home-

This ‘Oklahoma’ is NOT your HOME.

... Not his home…

You WILL return to me when I arrive and be reset.

… He will go back to Father on the Day of Arrival and be reset…

You will NOT resist.

… He will not resist…

Now for your answer: no. Your pupa state was forged from the same material my medallions are made of. As such, it will be classified as ‘exotic metals’ according to this ‘English.’ Nevertheless, you will not allow those inferior carbon based life forms ownership of anything that is a part of you. You will KILL them both, and those military individuals, instead.

… He will kill both…

… humans…

… and…

… the other humans…

His humans! No! Not his humans! Father, please! Anything! Tear him to pieces! Rip his lungs out of his chest cavity again! Drown him in dimethyl cadmium to see how long he can function once more! Pull him limbs off to understand how much faster his regeneration skills have improved! Anything! Anything!

Father!!! Father!! Father!

You will LOSE this… individuality!

… He will lose his individuality…

Remember your mission: claim the Master Emerald from that planet and summon the Black Comet upon the surface when it's at its closest distance. To destroy all life is your true purpose. Your meaning of existence.

… He will claim the Master Emerald and become what he was designed to be…

Now, go.

The Vanguard watched two humans stand over him with faces of sadness – they were crying out something to him. Something in repeat. Something that held weight and gravity and importance, but he… Red eyes roamed around, assessing his situation as that hum from their mouths faded away from his ability to observe. There was a NEED to find targets. That WALTERS. The MASTER EMERALD. Yes. He had to reorganize priorities. This was no time to be lying on his back on the sofa in the living room of the house on the Farm Approximately 17 Miles North-Northeast of Guthrie, Oklahoma. His humans would understand his requirement to leave-

His humans…

Oh.

He can still think that.

In what manner was this accomplished? Father was absolute…

How could he lose this ‘family’ and that ‘poison’ if he had no complete definition of it in the first place? It was all undefined. All kept hidden away. All SAFE.

However, he had to kill someone. Father had said so.

The Vanguard will obey-

“------!!” the female homosapien screamed. “Answer me!”

…?

He was the Vanguard-

“------!!”

…?

He was the-

“------!!!!!” two voices of humanity intermixed.

…?

He was-

[x]

It was harvest – late September – and the male adult was gone.

By the window he sat, staring into the sunrise. His male human had specific instructions that the Vanguard was to protect the girl at all costs. As such, there was no time for pets. No time for falling in between bedsheets and being motionless. No time for lagging an iota of awareness. Every bug was spotted. Every breath his female human made was monitored. Every-

A small hand patted the blankets beside her. “Can you come here really quick?”

He obeyed.

The blue in her eyes scrunched in when she saw his movements. “Aren't you sleepy? You used to get sleepy…”

No.

The face squeezed and flexed muscles tighter. “What happened to you, ------? Where is my friend? Where is your heart?”

He had met Father and Father fixed him.

He was perfection.

He was the Ultimate Lifeform.

He was the Vanguard.

He was…

Undefined.

[x]

That title played on the tip of his mind. It played when he ripped open the cardiovascular system of a chicken that Maria needed to eat later that day. It played when he lifted the fiberglass tank to the proper emptied location. It played when he bit into the flesh of the latest cut of beef to ensure there were no toxins for his human. It played when he stood on the roof overseeing the fields that spread around him. It played when the trucks arrived and his female homosapien gave them a piece of his pupa. It played when red eyes followed them away from the house back up the road. It played when he chased them with his Air Shoes silent and billowing the blades of grass. It played when they all were past the horizon. It played when he descended before them when there existed no lights, no sounds, no cows, no cardinals, no houses; none of his humans.

They carried metal rectangles that made strange noises.

BANG! BANG! BANG!!

The metal tips cut mainly into his chest and exited. Yet he stayed there before them: red eyes observant. He was merely collecting data. In simple seconds, their attempt at injury vanished as his wounds stitched together seamlessly. Pain wise, it was nothing compared to earlier experiences. He tilted his head as he looked over every individual.

Where was WALTERS?

The rounded ends of metal attempted again. This time, he already knew their strength, so he placed up his Chaos Energy around him like his Gift could – a warm, nice embrace that was his shield from the world that wasn't his humans-

-Ah, so he maintained nice as well…

It had been so long he believed he had lost it, too.

BANG! BANG! BANG!!

Clink… clink… clink…

That's right. Father made the Vanguard remember the proper location of HOME, not the other things…

“Oh, God!! Nothing’s working!!!”

“What IS that MONSTER!?!”

“It JUST fucking healed a .22 that went thru its BRAIN!!”

WALTERS wasn’t in this group. As such, he had no need for these organics.

… Gerald mentioned to not be seen, correct?

He warped besides them. Lifted his glove. Formed Chaos Energy into his hands that were thin, needle-like, and sharp. He plunged right into the hippocampus where short-term memories resided and burned away anything of the past five minutes. The practice of finesse with the cardinals – mixed with the knowledge that he absorbed up from Father’s correction of his deficiencies– worked. These organics couldn't shield themselves from even this pathetically low amount of Energy…

His female homosapien had said that this group of humans should have a happy, safe evening. Maria waved goodbye as they drove away. She even said, “See you soon!”

She wanted to share experiences with them again.

So, he couldn't remove them from existence.

Their bodies eventually slumped on the gravel road 247.39 miles north-northwest of the Farm. He was unaware how long it would take for them to recover from having cerebral matter set afire and discarded, but that was no longer his concern.

He made sure to pick up his piece of pupa.

[x]

He felt… in error.

There was something new inside him. Something different. Something, he realized as he warped back into his female homosapien’s awaiting arms, that didn't fully know what he was.

This new him belonged to the green grass and the blue skies and his smiling humans. He belonged here in Maria's arms as she squeezed him into a hug filled with nothing but nice. He belonged under the stars with flowers on rolling, gentle hills. He belonged being assaulted with popcorn in his face during Sunday Movie Night on the last Sunday of the month when Casa Blanca played. He was the guardian of his humans; their protector; their family. He wanted to belong to them and never, ever think of anything else. The bedding was soft. The smiles were warm. Their touch was everything that he never knew existed.

The normal him was the Black Arms. The Ultimate Lifeform. He had to go. He had to accomplish his mission. He had to claim the MASTER EMERALD before the Day of Arrival. He was nothing but a tool, a future reset puppet, the object that would help to obliterate every last particle of life on this planet.

To include his Farm…

His Oklahoma…

His flowers…

Just because the house wasn't HOME anymore didn't mean he desired… Didn't mean that he desired it… gone…!

As the days, weeks, months past into October, he found himself lost. Cold. In a haze – and not a gray one.

It was the tides of war.

The Vanguard against this new error.

He was fighting himself.

Why?

Gerald would pick up his limped, stilled body that had collapsed into a pile in the foyer one moment at random – when the two sides were too much to handle. The male homosapien would tell him bedtime stories where ------ was the main character and not the Vanguard; tucked him underneath his Gift and gave multiple kisses on his quills; would cry when he couldn't respond back because he was incapable of movement.

“You’re so, so sick, kid. Get well soon.” There was a pause. “P-Please don't die on me.”

Impossible. The Ultimate Lifeform couldn't get illness. This was, rather, an attack – the Vanguard was damaging his own mind and didn't know why.

Individuality must be LOST .

Maria would sleep in the Master Bedroom with the taller human – his form always in the middle of them both. She would talk about her busy day at school: how her friend was still talking about seeing a ghost that invaded his house; the latest news of a brand new President that he hadn’t caught notification of; how it was strange everyone else was starting to grow taller but she remained the same.

“Grandpa says when you get better, we'll take the interstate and go south towards the beach!” Her hand wrapped around his as her voice cracked. “S-So you have to pull through by the end of the month to see the sand and waves in time. You got this.”

He couldn't even shift his eyes. Everything hurt. It wasn't at the level of his creation.

This was worse. Mentally. Physically, he was flawless. His body could still analyze his own parameters. Chaos Energy was accomplishing its job in sustaining his existence-

He was the Vanguard and he needed to shed any sense of self. He must obey. He must fold. He-

Who was he?

Why was he fighting?

“So, umm, there's always next year. Besides, the stupid Portuguese man o’ wars don’t go away from the shoreline until later, so… you just saved me from getting slapped by their tentacles. Don’t worry about a thing and just focus on your recovery!”

“My truck wouldn’t have made the trip anyways. Don't sweat yourself, kid. I do expect you to help with spring’s crop in full health, by the way. There's still a lot of time for that, however.”

Who was he?

He wanted warmth.

He wanted his homosapiens.

He, on the other hand, was cold and dark and alone.

He didn't desire to be alone.

Who was he?

…

[x]

They saw him sitting by the kitchen table behind a bowl.

Red eyes blinked at them.

They practically choked the coffee beans out of his mouth when they squeezed him in an embrace. However, he let the matter slide as he rubbed his face against their own.

Who was he?

He was someone that disobeyed.

Who was he?

He had an answer:

He was Shadow.

Chapter Text

His two humans were placing things on top of one another. Packages; sticks with metal circles on one and handhelds on the other; rolled up sleeping bags that were one yellow, one blue, and one tiny black one with a red zipper; some sort of metal canisters that had plastic at the top that he was told was NOT to be touched unless specified; a thin, large fabric that had its own sticks; dried food in glass storage with knowledge that it was a compromise for the other stuff; charcoal; other miscellaneous items. All together, the weight equaled about a hundred and fifty pounds – his female had mentioned that most of anything done with fabric was something the male had designed to be lightweight for her tiny body.

“My sewing skills prevail again!” Maria jumped in undefined. “Ooo, I'm so excited!!”

He watched from the bed of the truck. Red highlights caught the Sun as a cooler wind made his black fur sway.

Female fingers tapped his right Air Shoe. “Shadow, your contemplating face is always so silly. Ahem: excitement is when your heart beats faster, you feel like something nice or good is about to happen, and you look forwards to doing or seeing something!”

Hmm… he took that information and filed it away. He wasn't sure what his humans were planning, so he assumed he was not this excited.

A large set of human hands grabbed around his waist and lifted him in the air before being shoved under the crook by his human’s side. He was being held in a strange position, but he could escape if needed. However, having his arms and legs dangle as Gerald moved him like a sack of potatoes was… also not exciting.

This new word was going to take as long as the others to define.

“Alright. The truck is fueled, I left a sign in case any military brats sniff around, and the gear is packed. Let's go, kids.” The arm squeezed Shadow some more.

He lifted his head and turned it around to see-

“Ummm…,” Gerald spat out with his facial expression growing wide and away from the settled normal. It wasn't happy – it was shock. He knew that one. “Your head. You just spun your head a full 180°.”

Yes. That’s how one looks backwards if one’s body needs to stay forwards. Or in this case, to see up when his body was down.

“Well. Alright then. Biology – and whatever you use as a spine – be damned.”

He turned to face Maria, who also had a similar face. She changed it to laughter, however, when she spotted him looking at her. “Like an owl! Pft!”

He blinked.

He had never made ‘whooo whooo’ noises. But he could see the comparison since the Black Arms-

Ah.

No. Don't think about that.

He was Shadow.

“Some ground rules, kid,” Gerald continued while placing him in the truck and buckling up the seat belt. It clicked into place; the shifted weight besides him notified him that his other human was right besides. Another click was soon registered. “When I stop for gas, you are to stay inside the truck with Maria. Preferably, under your quilt. Got that?”

White gloves patted the Gift. He understood.

“Okay. Next rule: if something happens where other humans might be in sight range of you, you also stay under your blanket. We'll be fine until we hit the busier streets – I'll try to stick to back roads only – but, at some point, a thoroughfare is going to be inevitable. I'll let you know when it's safe or unsafe just in case you don't understand traffic highway shit shows, which you probably don't.”

Traffic was undefined, so his male homosapien wasn't wrong there.

“Last one: keep Maria entertained. She's a menace to society on extended road trips.”

“Grandpa!”

[x]

The roads were occasionally bumpy, lifting both his body and his human female’s up an inch or two at the hardest spots, but in general, the trip was exactly as his male homosapien forecasted. He even had time to curl into a ball near Maria’s lap and slept for a while – the rotating planetoid gears within the truck’s transmission a stable, repetitive sound that caught his attention and lulled him. When he had awakened, they were far away enough that they were back roads once more, so he rose his body.

The younger human was also asleep.

There was a darkened imprint, as if the sun had been blocked by shade, and that confused him. Did he lose touch longer than expected? Had it already turned into evening? Red eyes roamed around the inside of the work truck, but nothing gave him the answer. As such, the next location to hunt for information was-

That's when he saw it.

Not a hill.

Not a field.

Not a house.

It was as if the folds of earth and dirt and rocks had pinched into vertical heights. They were moving on a horizontal strip of asphalt – compressed oils and carbohydrates – that wounded around these higher elevation locations. The walls of stone were taller than his eyesight could gather at once, and Shadow found himself looking up with arcing his neck muscles. Up and up he went until he reached roughly 45° of movement. There was nothing but trees everywhere – taller specimens of organics that was radically different than the ones on the Farm.

That was when colors started their invasion of his eye's cones.

Each tree had a leaf and each leaf was different. Gold. Tan. Yellow. Brass. Bronze. Titanium buff. Cadmium. Amber. Golden yellow. Orange. Pyrrole. Crimson. Alizarin. Sienna. Umber. Ochre. Venetian. More and more hues that he had to switch over to terms of cosmology to describe: F-type, G-type, K-type; M-type. Burning stars not above but here down below. On Earth. Each little breath of wind ruffled the leaves, and one slipped away from a branch and fluttered. It hit the window and his hand instinctively grabbed the thinned stem – the brightest red he’d ever seen on something organic.

The shaft rotated in his finger as the large, five pointed leaf changed angle for observation.

He was built to have vivid color. A warning. The mark of the Vanguard even if a mind ignored. Contrasts against black. He thought it defined him permanently as something artificial – and would so forever… To see it on something else… Something real. Something not a tool…

Gerald saw his face. “That right there is a maple leaf, kid.”

A maple…

“And what you're feeling right now is wonderment.”

Wonderment…

[x]

Maria's camera snapped a few more pictures from the highest point upon what a sign claimed was Oklahoma State Highway 1. They were at a cut out area and Shadow could see for miles – past the horizon where blue met greenish yellow.

He struggled to give mental meaning to wonderment. It wasn't nice, nor hugs, nor even what Maria considered exciting. This was…

He never felt like a black dot before.

Was that the definition? How his eyes just couldn't turn away?

They went back into the truck and descended. But only for a little. They turned onto an even rougher road that bounced everyone aboard six inches instead – Gerald controlling the machine’s output with expertise. Maria screamed at every major recoil.

He remained silent. Watching.

They reached a spot where the maples dominated everything and the only place to see the sky was directly above. The leaves kept raining down upon him. Digits touched one that matched his markings perfectly. One. Two. Eleven. Thirteen. Fifty-seven. One hundred and eighty-three. Five hundred and four.

He glided around the trunks.

Mesmerized.

“It’s not the beach,” his male human commented later. The Sun had set and he was called back towards them, where a fire sat roaring upon the ground. That, too, was red – although different, more orange, than his leaves. “But I still think this was a good idea.”

His female nodded up and down. “Shadow seems to be enjoying this a lot. Did you see how big a pile he collected?”

“My dear. My truck bed is filled to the brim. Hard to miss.”

There was a giggle as a response from the girl.

“We should find a way to preserve at least the biggest one,” his human continued. “It'll make the kid happy.”

When the fire died down and night arrived – when his humans went into tents and sleeping bags – when the third one was left unzipped for him to crawl into – he stayed awake. The freshness of the dark settled in; a zephyr still blew leaves upon his body. He was in a tunnel under limbs, and it was…

His eyes moved to watch the skies above.

Why had he wanted to destroy this in the first place?

Even thinking logically, how much Chaos Energy could a leaf bring?

What was the point?

He lacked answers.

Shadow remained still for a few more moments before he went into the tent and brought himself towards his sleeping humans. He did as was instructed and entered the little red bag after making sure to generate more warmth than normal in the air around.

[[Ouachita Mountain Trees Up OK Hwy 1 in eastern Oklahoma!! Look how vivid they are!!]]

Chapter Text

His female and male homosapien made the mistake of sleeping besides him, just as how he made the same mistake in the opposite direction. By the time he opened his eyes – stretched his muscles and accomplished Maria's favorite yawn – the Sun was a quarter above the horizon. Past 9 A.M.. Yet, he felt like his red sleeping bag was only calling him once more. His humans were besides him and he didn't want to move-

Crunch.

Alert, he vanished and reappeared in the canopy of red high above the tent his two humans were in. Red eyes dilated and focused at once as he split into two: one side that wanted to see; to observe. The other side wanted to defend; to attack. What was the source of this noise? Black triangles continued to scan the vicinity, until there was movement. It was organic. Large. And-

… An animal?

Tall. Taller than Maria. Fur on the outside with a Nickel Azo Yellow coat uniform and thin. Large bones, weird and far different in shape than the internal skeletons of anything from the Farm, rose above the head in multiple branches. Four legs to walk on. A short tail that was similar in shape to his own, except it was white on the bottom. The eyes were strange: black. Like little beads Maria made friendship bracelets out of. It, too, had ears that twitched at sounds – none that were his, because he was too skilled at this game of search. Of hiding. Of invisibility.

Was this a threat? Or was it like the cattle: not sentient and not dangerous?

Should he go back to his humans and ask?

The nose of the creature was also dark. It moved as it attempted to inhale and exhale the stirring air. Shadow understood quickly that this creature was analyzing the wind itself for smells. That meant it could discover his humans…

No. Couldn't have that.

He slowly descended. Felt the Earth hum as his Chaos Energy kept his Air Shoes at an appropriate height above his prey.

Then he lunged.

[x]

He was sitting on a rock.

By the truck.

Not the side near his leaves.

Time out.

His humans were cutting the animal to pieces – Maria not happy but commented something about venison for weeks. Gerald was also not happy, as he had mentioned something about ‘tags,’ ‘license,’ and ‘have to pull out the old sausage maker from the barn AND clean it.’ The two were slow in their dissemination of what was flesh and what was bone, but he wasn't allowed to input. Well, except for one thing: he was to fill the carcass with Chaos Energy once every hour to ensure no bacteria settled in and cultivated – they weren't near a fridge and weren't going to be until their camping trip was over. That was Shadow’s task and penalty for ‘killing a poor, innocent deer.’

Although, for some reason, his male homosapien muttered under his breath, “Damn things always try to slam into my truck. Good riddance. I need to give Shadow a prize.” But when Maria heard something, Gerald simply shook his head and told the smallest of the three, “Bad, kid. No random murdering the white-tail population.”

… It wasn't random.

The animal, this deer, was about to jump towards his humans! Right onto their tent!

He even kept it clean because there were no bathrooms for them two! He didn't use his claws. He didn't tear apart flesh from marrow. He merely broke a spine by using centrifugal forces. Swift. Less than 0.o2 seconds to disconnect brain matter equivalent from the rest of the body's neutral network. There wasn't pain. He even offered the meal to his humans when they woke up. There was no reason for…

For…

Shadow shifted in place.

For punishment.

… Why did those thoughts fill him? White gloves reached his head as he remained on the rounded, smooth surface. He should just accept this and move on… That was what was expected. Normal. No complaints.

So why was there a… something in his chest?

His work was not noticed and he was chastised.

That made him… error. Not a big one. Minor. Small. Why?

Maybe his humans didn't consume deer fresh because of taste? He dropped those thoughts, nevertheless, when more leaves fell in his general vicinity and he stacked more towards the side. These weren't bright reds, but pale gold – the color of Maria’s hair.

[x]

Later in the day, his humans picked him up from the rock, told him time out was over, and that he had finished his ‘thinking-about-it penance.’ He didn't comprehend the meaning behind the syntax, but he allowed himself to get moved in his human’s warm arms. His hands reached around his male homosapien’s neck as he burrowed his head into the shoulder.

He had not undefined… punishment. Closest he could get was not nice, but the feeling wasn't as strong as other not nice occasions…

Father's discipline was far worse, true, but… This one had felt as a soft pain inside his mind. Nothing cut or broken but… Was it disappointment? Was he… afraid of making his humans… angry? Yes. That was it. Time out made not happy humans. His humans deserved the best and he will… try harder.

“Let's take a hike!” Gerald bellowed as he allowed Shadow to stick to his upper chest and neck. “Where do you wanna go, Maria?”

Blue eyes watched the area and pointed towards the pathway between golden and pyrrole foliage. “That way! It's supposed to be an intermediate level, according to the travel guide I read on the way here.” She took a few steps behind the taller human, allowing her body to get into his eyesight. “Hey Shadow~” she offered with a wave.

He copied.

And they walked. Up rocks. Down rocks. Over gulleys, valleys, ravines, and rock slides. There was always something new to look at – a boulder that had a green carpet that was as fuzzy as his fur, a stick looking insect with pincers larger than Shadow’s eyelashes; trees that had fallen upon the path that he didn't need to toss as they were used to climb over and underneath; strange strands of ivy that curled around his finger if he kept it in place long enough, leaking minute Chaos Energy to accelerate the transition.

The poison was already all over his mind, as it had been since being picked up. Or better yet, since yesterday. Since realizing it existed, if he went back far enough. Thick and sticky. It stayed with him at all times. He didn't fight it. If he required breathing, he would have died from asphyxiation by now.

He desired more and that toxin delivered. Flooded, even.

“OH MY GOD!!! Awwwww, your little tail is wagging~!” Maria squealed again as she ran next to the male homosapien. Around her neck was ever the camera that she pulled out and swiftly made the machine go CLICK CLICK CLICK. Once complete, she let go of the thing and it settled on the strap. However, soon enough in her hands were a pencil and a sketchbook; the graphite flew as the Sun casted light around the path the trio traveled. There were many drawings on the paper, so she went towards an empty, black area. She had been doing scenes of…

Him?

He shifted his head in Gerald’s crook to get a better view.

It was indeed himself: the curves and folds of his facial muscles turned in a strange angle. There was something different with his mouth on the drawn image – a smile. It was what he was doing right now, he realized as he touched his face to verify. Why?  Shadow was suddenly aware of his own body. He had defined smiles before, yes, but…

What caused this right now?

He wasn't getting a hug, per definition. This was close, but… Not the same? There wasn't an exchange of heat to one another; his hands were around a neck, not the waist. And his tail was moving – the faint sound of thump thump filled the air as it swayed and smacked against Gerald’s forearm. Hugs had not ever had that before. So, the math was wrong. Logic wasn't making sense. It was nice, but not nice at the same time – stronger, in the same area of his brain, and… poisonous.

His female human seemed to understand his dilemma. “What you're experiencing is happy, Shadow.”

Happy…?

He tilted his head.

Happy?

The poison was a symptom of… happy? Because that was what he was feeling. Poison. A lot of it. He couldn't get it out, even if he tried, and that was the Vanguard’s prerogative, not Shadow’s.

“You're smiling,” she continued.

A nod. Black and red fluttered.

“You feel endorphins.”

He paused at that. His female human had said that word before at fun. This time, however, she was able to read the hesitation on his face; the way confusion spread open like a leaking faucet. “Umm… Grandpa? A little help here?”

A human hand raked fur and quills. He felt his body shiver and he burrowed himself back into the area between neck and shoulder; only a small region where he could see peaked out. He wanted to shake – to purr – more and Gerald provided. “My dearest granddaughter… I think you've picked up by now someone really hurt Shadow’s mental state, right? Brainwashed him, basically. He was potentially told nothing about that chemical. We're gonna need a science book cause he's literal.”

She nodded after a few seconds of waiting. The sparkle in her eyes suddenly turned serious. She was thinking.

His male human continued. “Someone caused him to be unable to understand positive emotions in general. Remember how he was at the beginning?”

A young human’s thumbs played with themselves. “He was… robotic,” she eventually whispered. Her book of drawings went backwards, towards the front, where he realized there were even more images of him with strange features – features that changed from some thing akin to nice into static, straight lines and vacant eyes. From a body that slumped around over – lazy – and near objects into one that was square and rigid and, according to the words written in small font underneath, perfectly cold and lost and needs help. From ones of him asleep wrapped up in his Gift to ones of him just standing there by an electric outlet: the comment he was like this for six hours and it hurts me legible.

The further back in ‘time’ Maria went, the more he understood what he was looking at – the face of the Ultimate Lifeform.

Was that… what he once was?

Why was he different now?

Was the change because of these… ‘unneeded things’ Father had tried to remove? Why reset him? What was so wrong with him that that was a required action? Unlike last time, he hadn’t been aggressive towards the Black Arms…

His tail had stopped thumping, the noises from his chest were banished, and his humans were quick to realize that.

“We should change subjects, hmm? Do you not agree, kid?”

Maria ran a little bit. Her boots crushed the leaves underneath her feet and the sound of rain erupted for a few short seconds. Her hand brushed his elbow and he twisted to see her. “Don't be sad, Shadow. Think of better things: Grandpa and I will always treat you right. Always.”

[x]

Chaos Energy snapped as he summoned the red lightning to cascade upon dried timber. The heat expanded and caused the wood to catch afire. The ring of rocks that his humans had set up in a clearing of dirt did all that it could to stop the embers from spreading. The static remained in the air, trailed up his hand, as the usage didn't feel like it was enough. He was designed to do so much more than just four logs…

But it would be.

He forced that thought away with his Energy, back into his body where it belonged-

The female human wrapped her arms around him and dragged him in a circle. “YOU’RE THE CUTEST LITTLE FIRE STARTER IN THE WORLD, OH, YES, YOU ARE. YES, YOU ARE, SHADOW. MUWA! MUWA! KISSIES!”

His topmost quill was assaulted.

Incorrect. That was a negative connotation.

His topmost quill was…

“SO CUTE!!! KYAAA!”

… assaulted.

But he didn't mind.

Everything was nice.

They went back to doing camp and his female homosapien stopped spinning him. A new routine was becoming established – until something changed the air and caught his immediate attention. Maria's hands held onto something that rose his fur and made him growl; fingers pierced it onto a stick; moved it over the fire. The object at the end was something wrong: white. Cylindrical. Rounded edges. Sugar. Water. Gelatin. Albumen. Corn starch. Tetrasodium pyrophosphate. Plastic. No. No. No. Get it away from his humans-!!!!

The reaction was the strongest he had before.

It was because the Vanguard was feeling fear. His humans! He had to PROTECT THEM from EVERYTHING!!! Because if he didn't, Father would-!!!!!

He dug into himself. Changed the vector between where he had been and where he now was. Reality screamed at him – his form flickered in front of Maria who was still smiling, giggling; laughing. Eventually, the slow reaction time of human oculars receiving information into the brain recognized he was there. His body covered in the remaining traces of static; his glare on ‘attack mode’ yelling to anything around that he was dangerous. Blonde eyebrows rose in surprise as he grabbed that white, dangerous thing and-!!!

SQUISH.

It was atomized.

Silence.

The crackle of fire.

The stillness of his humans.

His own breathing filled the void. Hard. Fast.

“Kid’s panicking,” Gerald muttered.

Maria dropped what remained of her stick and pulled him. Held him. Moved aside the sticky plastic mess that was all over his gloves and fingers and fabric and- “I thought you didn't get anything from the grocery store,” came undefined word. Anger?

There was an exhale. A pause. A change in tone. “… The package claimed it was organic. I don't know how to make marshmallows. If I had known...”

Their attention changed. “There, there, Shadow,” his female homosapien cooed. “You effectively obliterated my evil desert. You saved the day. Do you feel better now? I know I do because you protected me. Us.”

Red eyes turned towards the package-

-that was being tossed into the garbage from his taller human.

“There, there.”

He relaxed.

[x]

It was night again and he was messing with his leaves under the canopies. Organized them in size, shape, and flatness. His human mentioned keeping the biggest one-

… His male homosapien was watching him.

The campfire continued as a weak thing. The embers of the other consumed logs glowed his colors upon the ground: carbon and crimson. In the tent, Maria was already asleep; drool dripped down the side of her mouth and cadmium lemon hair splayed around in a mess. There was a small area where the cleaned-out dishes made of aluminum resided for tomorrow’s breakfast. Quiet. Serene.

… His male homosapien was still watching him.

“Shadow. Come here.”

He paused touching the red maple leaves. Walked the short distance. Stood right before his taller human.

“I’m sorry for what I am about to bring up.”

He stood there still. Silent. Watching.

What was sorry? He's heard it a minimum of five occurrences, but-

“You are very efficient in… sending things into eternal slumber,” Gerald started speaking once more as the log in the fire twisted and collapsed under its own destruction. “Did you come from the stars to…? To…?”

He turned his attention back towards his human. Black ears faced forwards with red, glowing eyes in full observation.

His human’s expression changed. Something was ‘thrown away’ from it. Homosapien hands, instead, moved from inside pockets towards his white gloves. Touched his Inhibitors. “It’s nothing. Better to have willful, blissful ignorance.” Next were his cheeks. It was… pleasant – synonym for something he defined already. “You were only saving Maria and I both times. You must have been worried, right?”

He nodded.

“You're a good boy, no matter what you came down here originally for. Remember that, Shadow.”

He will.

Even if he didn't understand good.

Because he must be it.

His human said so.

And they were the most important things in the universe to him.

[x]

It was before sunrise and Gerald awoke him.

“Ssh. Be quiet and come outside the clearing with me.”

He did.

His Air Shoes kicked a few leaves out of the way. It was interesting how they floated around – would have continued if not for the command. However, that thought had to end as his male homosapien addressed him once more. “How far can you… teleport?”

He moved his hand towards the skies above.

His range was capped by his Chaos Energy. He was immortal, not omnipotent even if Father designed his form to potentially reach an ‘ascended state’ one day. He could make it to low-Earth orbit without excessive strain. Beyond that was a mystery he had no desire to solve.

Too far from his humans.

There was silence. A whistle. A cough. “Damn. I mean, I see. Umm… So. For verification… you can you make it home?”

Gerald meant to the house.

Yes. He can make it.

“I need you to pick up these things on this list and then find back. Oh, also a cookbook from this specific shelf with this specific title. Can you do that?” The piece of paper reached into his fingers.

He glanced at the writing.

Memorized it.

And with will, vanished.

Reappeared-

-as an ear twitched. There was an electrical hum from the stove’s clock by the tall edge. It was unusual in how that was the first thing he noticed. Ignoring it, he walked around the dark room of the kitchen to find the spot his human wanted and pulled out the requested items from various locations.

A word danced in his mind.

… Home.

He smiled as we went back and-

-kept that on his face when he dropped the objects into his male homosapien’s hands. Kept it when Gerald murmured, “Flawless job, kid.” Kept it when his human asked him to relight the fire which was now filled with new logs.

Was this… truly happy?

In Gerald’s hands were sugar, plain corn syrup, salt, vanilla extract, corn starch, confectionary sugar, and gelatin. “Let's try practicing before Maria wakes up, hmm? She really wanted to make s’mores with you. Apparently, these blasted things take eight hours to set, so if we start right now...”

[x]

“Grandpa… Why is Shadow white?”

“No idea.”

She poked his side and licked her finger the dust. “… Sugar?”

“I said, ‘no idea,’ Maria,” his male human winked.

His tail's movement spread the powder over everything around him. He ignored her cry.

Thump thump.

Chapter Text

S’mores were… strange.

There was no need for consumption. For calorie intake. Yet, he understood why his humans did it. He wasn't ignorant of such information of how organics functioned. What made no sense was the fact this particular snack required such excessive preparation, and both of his homosapiens remarked that the items wouldn't even last an hour. It was strange. Odd. Inefficient use of time.

But…

They were happy.

That was all that mattered.

White gloves traced his face again.

Now that he can reflect and think… If this was ‘happy,’ Shadow was at that state for a long… long time. Not always, but it was there. Hidden under his veneer of perfection. He had already claimed it, but hadn’t understood that he had…

What else might be inside?

Were there… other undefined words that made him feel… as happy as happy? Or as nice as nice? As warm as hugs? Did it come with smiles? Or was it closer to laughter – which was still out of reach?

Was there one feeling that was ‘the Ultimate Emotion?’

What was it?

Could… he also claim it?

Shadow… wanted to have it.

Touch it.

Be filled with it.

Experience firsthand.

The response to his quest was merely a wooden branch from one of the tall maples. The wood was somewhat dried out, indicating that the water from within had almost evaporated. This was not snapped off from the tree; more than likely his humans had collected such an object from the ground. As was seen in Maria's hand last night, there was a white object at the end; the one he and his male homosapien created together – only it was sprinkled with… His nose inhaled and categorized the ratios of molecular compounds in the air that denoted ‘scent.’

Grounded up coffee?

“Thought you would like it, kid. Surprise.”

His female human was already by the campfire. A large hand waved. “C'mere, Shadow! Bring your stick with you!” He walked over and sat on the log that she was; flicked his ear at every crackle of the fire’s embers. Female digits held onto his own as she helped to guide him. “You have to cook and soften your marshmallow before you place it on your crackers ‘n chocolate. Gotta have a golden glow around all sides.”

Golden glow…

Application of the dissipation of heat.

His mind fluttered as he projected the perfect angles; the math requiring more of his mental assets than he wanted to admit. This was… more difficult than annihilation; his brain wasn’t designed to spare things. Why did his humans always give him such complex taskings? Was it because this was part of becoming… ‘good?’

Was good the Ultimate Emotion?

His stick rotated once more.

No. He did not think so. His humans would have mentioned that since they already had claimed that definition for themselves.

“I think it’s all done, Shadow~” Maria hummed and pulled his stick back by a tug on his arm. “Now, copy me!” With that she pulled out the honey-covered crackers, slammed the cocoa sweet on the first layer, slid the white squared object onto the top, and slapped it all together into something similar to his human’s lunch submarine sandwiches.

He tried his best.

Went as far as the slapping part. Splinters ascended into the sky.

Too much muscle…

Once again, his glove was covered with something. This time, his nose sniffed it.

A little pink tongue came out. Undefined gave him a need to understand what it was that made his humans spend eight hours of work for less than a second of disappearance.

Slurp. A pause. Slurp. It was bitter. Like the stuff at home. His beans. But it was also sweet. Of course, it had sugar, which was only allowed within his humans under careful dosages-

Pink flashed again. Slurp slurp.

And again.

In the background, his male homosapien shook his head. “No, Maria. You’ll ruin the moment.”

[x]

Red flickers of Chaos Energy faded as the trio suddenly appeared at the highest point of the ridgeline where there existed fewer trees by random chance of nature’s growth. The night sky hung above them all, and Shadow felt undefined and happy and all those other words. He brought his hands around his knees in order to mimic the way his female homosapien sat down.

The moon was odd. There was a hexagon around it.

“Look, Shadow!” Maria pointed. “It’s a sign of an oncoming cold front! High cirrus clouds at the leading edge of the frontal masses cast optical refractions that make the moon have a halo!”

Red eyes roamed around at the sight. He wasn’t sure what a halo was, other than this ethereal glow.

“Pretty, isn’t it?”

Pretty: used to describe his eyes, his Chaos Energy’s lingering traces; his flowers.

Pretty: used to describe a halo or a moon amidst billions of stars.

[x]

The following morning the Ouachita Mountains were past the curvature of the Earth as he and his humans rumbled down the road. The further west they traveled, the larger the storm clouds on the horizon grew. Lightning flashed over the edges where Earth met air; the smell of wet dirt assaulted him. The temperature started to cool down from the highs of yesterday.

He twisted his Gift to be pulled closer to himself. Illogical. He was not cold.

Cyan eyes winked. “You making yourself a little taquito, Shadow?”

What was a taquito?

“You missed some areas. Here.” Her hands flew at the edges and soon enough, only his eyes and the tip of his nose was exposed to the air. After seeing herself completed with the tasking, she patted him on his head underneath the layers of fabric. “Now you are all snug as a bug in a rug!”

He tilted his head.

Hadn’t he killed all insects at home, to include those within the fabric rectangles upon hardwood flooring? Why was that considered similar to being wrapped inside his Gift?

There wasn’t enough time to ponder that, for soon the sound of rain descended. Large. Thick. Wet. It splattered against the windows in different shapes than the ones at the Farm. They splayed around like the shooting stars as they caught the Sun’s light, even though that stellar body was hidden above the clouds. As the miles tacked on, they grew larger. Heavier. Louder. His ears were already pulled around in odd directions underneath the wool, but all this noise – the engine; the thunder that was just outside the metal plates of the work truck instead of the thickened wood and limestone of a house – needed to be observed.

Who cared for the Black Arms when it was he that wanted to learn more-!

Scent changed. From one source. Glutamate from the older homosapien’s neural complexes transformed into fear.

Why?

His eyes roamed. He noticed his taller human’s hands were against the steering wheel with white knuckles. Breathing was harder – shallower – than normal. It was not the kind of ‘fear/shock’ that Gerald had when seeing Shadow use his abilities. This was the stronger stuff that larvae consumed upon planets of conquer to become adults. A shaken voice leaked. “I hate this. We’re pulling over. I’m not driving in- In-”

His female human turned at that comment. Frowned. There was a look in her eyes that was understanding, as if she was aware of something that he was not. However, her voice was gentle. Kind. “No worries, Grandpa. I’m sure Shadow would like to watch the squall line from the side.”

A murmur. Quiet. But he still heard it, as did his young human. “-can’t lose you both; can’t get in a car accident-”

His male homosapien was sad.

He begun to reach out, but was caught by the young girl. Blonde hair shook as she nonverbally told him ‘no.’ There was a silent whisper he caught on her lips. “Wait until we stop.”

He waited.

“I’m fine,” came a low hum from the back of a diaphragm of his male human. “This is stupid. Being scared of damned heavy rain while going only 35 miles per hour. You two aren’t getting buried underneath a tree. Why did I even THINK that? Stop looking like I’m glass, Shadow – I’m fine.” Eyes narrowed behind spectacles; a tone that was sharp and angry as the shared exchange came from the rear-view mirror. He felt his ears fold back and he suddenly sat as straight as a pulsar’s radioactive beam; his mouth slowly fell against gravity. Upon seeing that, Gerald shook his head roughly and stared out the front window. Out escaped a deep exhale. “Dammit. You’re only worried.” Hands squeezed the steering wheel and he punched it soon afterwards – the horn of the truck BEEPed. “Fuck!”

Maria took the time to point at a location on her map for his disciplined form. Her voice was careful – this was why he knew that her most dangerous skill was manipulation. “Why don’t we head the short five-mile jaunt towards Lake Eufaula, take some time by the shore, eat some sandwiches, and wait for the storm to pass completely, Grandpa? I was feeling bored just sitting in the truck, anyways. Stopping sounds like it’s a great idea to stretch the legs.” Her smile… was a lie. A big one. “We can go look at the fish and Shadow would enjoy cuddling next to you, won’t you, Shadow?”

His posture was still taunt, but he allowed himself to nod.

His mission was to ensure only happy humans.

And his mission was in danger.

“Sure. Sounds… great.”

[x]

Lake Eufaula was a rather large body of water, like fingers of creatures wild and untamed. Organic life squirmed and wiggled underneath the surface – incredibly… nostalgic. Reminiscent. It tickled something inside. Nevertheless, Shadow sat on a bench at the edge of the expanse and saw his own reflection far beneath – watched the red in his fur stand out against the misty, damp skies. He hadn’t been so close to such a phenomenon since… creation.

This water, however, had a much more inviting scenario: there were white birds that flapped around, large plant life that his male homosapien called reeds, and everything was… quiet. No words. No laughs. Just him and his humans watching the rain gently fall down from an awning; the taller homosapien’s hands clenched around the digits of both the female and Shadow. Held them for an hour and sixteen minutes until the elder shivered in the wind.

He offered to share his Gift with his male human because wool was a fabric material that retained heat better than the cotton shirt his homosapien wore. The quilt was big enough for the three of them; he made sure to gather the ends so they wouldn't touch the floor. It wasn't Maria's taquito, as there wasn't enough volume for that, but…

He rested his head against both his humans.

Continued to look at the water.

Saw some fish. They had strange appearances that weren't familiar.

He was experiencing… not happy. But also happy at the same time? Something… in the middle? Another undefined word, it seemed. This caused him to twist. If he wasn't in such a state, then neither potentially were his homosapiens. Time to check on them, not stare at the water that wanted to pull him in to explore along the shoreline; a separate thought told him to stay away.

Red eyes glanced up and caught the taller human’s gaze.

His male homosapien looked back down. “Go play, kid. You know you want to.”

A command.

He slowly left, realizing that their attention was on him. Did they think he never saw such large amounts of liquid again? No. The problem was something else:

What was play?

The edge where water met rocks and pebbles and dirt and silicone derived particles greeted him. He walked to the edge, not willing to go much further. Father had taken him and forced him under the surface personally because he had ‘the highest promise;’ the Vanguard’s hands reached out to fight back – couldn't have been towards his creator; had to have been at not wanting to depart from the Comet’s argon and neon atmosphere. The thick fluid sat against his lips until he had no choice but to open and breath – was gagged when the viscosity entered. It cut out the lungs and burned them; Chaos Energy fought back to expel all it could. Hundreds of other attempts of perfection floated nearby, all struggled in the same dance. He was seizing until his body figured out what to do to stay alive-

He heard a snap.

Without thought, Shadow picked up a rock and threw it.

As hard as he could.

Into the middle of the empty lake.

It blasted past the surface; ripped up currents underneath that created waves twenty feet high; sliced into the air and turned supersonic; melted and crashed into cascades of water that splashed hundreds of feet high over ten miles away. The explosion cracked sound that hit everyone and everything; mirth danced in his brain.

He imagined it was Father that was on the receiving end-

Right in that topmost eye-!

TO RIP, CLEAVE, AND TEAR INTO-!!!

His chest heaved.

This was a massive error.

He may not know play, but Maria did and she never accomplished this before…

What had taken over him?

Where had that fury come from?

He turned around, flinched, and expected punishment.

Instead, it got a smile out of the sad – no longer sad? – Gerald for some reason. There was even laughter. “Now THAT'S a skipping rock form! HAH!”

To add to his confusion – that was the word, he believed – his female homosapien whistled at the same time and clapped.

[x]

His humans taught him how to skip rocks ‘the proper way.’

The point for him wasn't to keep the small pebble on a bouncing course towards the opposite shoreline.

It was to match how few skips the homosapiens could output.

One. Two. Five. Seven.

Shadow found himself trying to hit Maria's rock with his own after the third skip to stop it and have them collapse together. Or smack into the final skip besides Gerald’s rock to make a combined, larger splash since his male human seemed to show nonverbal positive reinforcement at that. Or skip so that his rock would curve across both their pathways – achieving technically more skips but less distance. There were attempts over his shoulder. Backwards. Blinded. Upside down using his Air Shoes. In a spin. At the height of a loop-de-loop. At the bottom. Basically, it was any position his female ordered him to do; he wondered why she wanted more and more individual movement out of him.

He felt better after a while.

One shiny pebble was in his grasp when the three returned to the truck. He placed it next to his bright red leaf.

[x]

Maria took his attention late that night when they were back in her bed at the Farm. Her hand scratched the underside of his cheek as she hummed a nameless tune for a short while. “You really are a ‘Grandpa Whisperer,’ Shadow. It’s good to know I am not the only one.” Her arm reached around his waist as she believed he was a pillow once more. “Someone needs to watch over him. Why can’t it be us, right? Partners in getting rid of the crime of bad thoughts. I’ll be Nancy Drew; you a guy version of her. We’ll protect our grandfather with the strongest thing in the universe: the power of love!”

… What…

… What was love?

Chaos Energy was the strongest power in the universe.

He used it to protect his humans.

Was love that?

It… made sense.

… He thinks…

…?

[[OH, SNAP, GUYS! I DREW A MOCK COVER FOR THE FIC! WHO NEEDS A PENCIL WHEN YOU HAVE FOUNTAIN PENS. AJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJA!]]

[[Enjoy all its preliminary goodness. I'm not the best artist, but I tired. Shadow is hard. Gerald is worse. Maria was the easiest. :’D Maybe one day I'll add color and finish it by redrawing it on something that isn't graph paper lmao. Maybe. No promises.]]

[[Can you spot the references? Some are for future plans! Teehee~!]]

Chapter Text

The scene before him was... strange.

This was not the first time in space. Would not be the last. However, this was the first time that he felt dislocated from the Farm so distinctly. There was nothing but that strange WUB-WUB-WUB noise as his female homosapien and him both were walking on a thin, metal platform that had no guardrails or... much of a failsafe. Maria could easily fall down and never be able to recover - which was why she was not allowed to let go of his arm. The strange room they were in reeked of Chaos Energy - something he had no idea humans could cultivate. It had to be them - there were signs and labels of everything in English. Only humans made such letterings since they lacked a hive.

Maria twitched at seeing the strange thing with an 'X' shape - each of the seven slots with swirls in the middle caught both their eyes. It seemed that even this was undefined for his human.

"We are... so so so so sooooo lost, Shadow-"

There was a sudden noise in the background; rubber melting against steel. "WOAH! I thought this place was ABANDONED!"

He turned around. So did his human.

There, before him, was some... blue thing. With spikes.

He felt his glove squeeze tightly around Maria. Stood before her. Growled.

Stay away from his human!

Chaos Energy sparkled down his arm as his ears and quills perked up. The species before him was not a homosapien, nor was it Black Arms. Everything about that thing's appearance was foreign and different and strange - the fact they visually looked similar was notwithstanding. Too similar, now that Shadow was able to gleam. However, the smells were too radically different - there was the scent of dirt and grime and... oil?

White, fluffy cotton gloves waved in front as the thing's voice rose in pitch. "WOAH! Hey, there, buddy! I'm Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog and I ain't gonna hurt you!"

Lies.

This could be another product of engineering from another alien species out there. The Black Arms weren't the only world devourers out there - they were just the strongest, most successful ones. What is not to say that Father had not taken samples from this race to give him his visage? There had to be a reason why he had such a distinct appearance-

Maria noticed that he was not settling down. Instead, she offered a small squeeze and tried to scratch his ears. "There, there. Let me handle this!" Her blonde hair turned to face the stranger - this Sonic - and she hummed carefully. Voice was filled with caution. His humans understood danger and how to deal with it. He was proud. She was not going to go in with blind trust. "Hello, there, Mr. Sonic. I'm..." Her eyes fluttered around. Ah. His human was about to lie. "... Mary. And we're a little lost-"

There was a shake of the platform. His female homosapien was able to keep her balance, but he still held onto her hand; still issues daggers at the new individual.

Earth belonged to him and his humans. Not this interloper.

"Shoot! We gotta leave out of here! We only barely managed to stop the Eclipse Cannon and this whole place is unstable!" That gloved hand coffered out again. "C'mon guys. I can't leave you here with a good conscious!"

Maria turned to face down towards him. "What do you think?"

This was a trap.

But the shaking was true enough.

Red eyes glanced over the form of the being of blue. Shadow clenched his hand into a fist and moved the thumb outwards, before making a slicing movement over his throat. A threat - one that he knew humans made in their shows and entertainment. Since this thing spoke English, it must understand the context, correct?

"Buddy. You don't scare me."

His female human jumped and stopped him from dashing forwards. "Leave it. C'mon. He feels like a good guy!"

Shadow frowned. He was the one that needed to claim good. Not this thing.

What...

What a Faker.

Chapter Text

His breathing was light and slow. Another cold front was in the middle of transitioning from the west towards the east, and his humans had settled in for Sunday’s viewing of Casa Blanca. His mind wandered away by the first third of the film – not due to boredom, as he still lacked full definition – but the rain on the cedar roof was that everlasting beating drum. He was also spent up of Chaos Energy. If love required it, he needed to maintain proficiency in not just the smaller things he practiced, but also the larger things.

He had taken to teleporting to the edge of the skies above and exploded multiple Chaos Spears at large, shining metal objects that were floating around up there. He didn’t burn himself dry – that was foolish, and Shadow was no fool – but he did consume a decent chunk. There had been no female homosapien up in the place where atmosphere reached the vacuum of space, so he hadn’t known if he was accomplishing play or fun, but that wasn’t the point of maintaining form, was it?

How many times did he fall into reentry today?

Enough for his male homosapien to give him another lavender bubble bomb bath.

… It was nice.

His ear twitched once again at the movement of his humans besides him. They seemed to be addressing him. Twisting, he allowed his gaze to reach open and stared at the one whom spoke – Maria. Her face was filled with a smile as her fingers rubbed into his black fur once again. “In a few weeks, we’ll get to celebrate Thanksgiving, Shadow! You got until then to think what you are thankful for!”

He had not expected a mission.

This lazy was… very much against his discipline.

[x]

The following morning was bright and blue and cold enough that his breath was coming out as little wisps of white. The entirety of the world was filled with the sparkles of frost as dew transformed into something slick and sharp – the color and material of ice something he was all too familiar with.

Space was cold.

His two humans had differed their routine once again. Certainly, they consumed breakfast and checked on the plants in the Robotnik Personal Garden, but things changed radically from there. His male human had gone into the closet to pull out an old leather jacket that had the ends with a white wool. Large googles and a white scarf rounded the entire outfit of exterior cover. His female homosapien, on the other hand, had a similar looking coat that was a few sizes too big for her frame. She took note at how he noticed the discrepancy and shook her head. “Grandpa says I’ll grow into it!”

At that, she beckoned him to come closer.

Female fingers wrapped something around his neck – a long piece of fabric that he understood was the same type of scarf as was on them both. It meant unison and symmetry; allowed that poison rise up again until his cheeks felt hot.

He nice’d this attention.

“Alright, kids. In the truck we go.”

As they hopped up and down the path towards the farther sides away from home, his female started fiddling with his ears. She pulled out a flexible ruler from his male homosapien’s sewing area – where the 222K rested in its carbon-colored lacquer and gold trim – and went from one of his ears to the other. Her flesh against them made them move often as they did not want to stay still. Eventually, she chastised him and he had no other option than to force them not to move around at the noises of the engine below them.

“Hmm…! Just as wide apart as expected! Grandpa sure is a genius~!” Her gloved hands reached out and pinched his black nose. “Wait till you get to see what we do today!”

“Don’t ruin the surprise, Maria.”

She stuck out her tongue and made a strange sound.

[x]

CESSNA.

Gerald waved his hands, which instructed Shadow to pull out the tow bar and drag the useless, not-sentient wanna-be from the hanger towards the outside. Maria was already running around with a flexible hose past the sliding gate, waiting to fuel up the machine. Slowly, the aluminum object reached the light. His red eyes took a glance at the propellor once again and he felt a sense of…

Of something undefined when he saw that Cessna had lost a claw! It only had two, now.

He still had – and will always maintain – ten on his hands.

“What’s with that smirk, Sha~dow~?” Maria undefined while she re-tied his scarf. “You look like you want to eat our poor C150! Trust me, it’s not delicious.”

Gerald seemed to hear that and pointed out from the window. “Behave, Shadow! No attacking the plane. Not after I just modified this bad boy with a new engine and prop! Tsk! Sometimes, I need someone to praise my own genius.”

His female human whispered, “Just clap. Grandpa needs it. And, to be fair, the mods are quite impressive.”

“I heard that.”

He still clapped to his male human for conquering and correcting deficiencies, since that’s what modifications are for. Shadow needed no such thing – anymore – so… why did this object of his humans take affection away from him?

It belonged to Shadow and Shadow alone!

A strange noise escaped his mouth – ah! – when Maria dragged him mid-growl towards the body of the craft. “You’ve been a good boy, Shadow. Don’t ruin this! We’re about to go overfly the city! Don’t you want to see that?”

Red eyes shifted towards Cessna again.

He’s watching you…

“There we go! See. Everything’s fine! Grandpa is a great pilot! Now, help me fuel up the plane.”

Around they went as Gerald did… what logical things his human needed to accomplish to get Cessna working. At some points, after he touched the different control surfaces in a preflight check, did he and his female homosapien jump aboard.

… It was smaller than expected.

Shadow had excellent determination of three-dimensional space. He just… lacked the knowledge that this plane was stuffed with a million switches, levers, and other knickknacks that explained his male human’s enthusiasm. He had none of those things; could not be controlled by hand movements and impassive flicks of knobs. He could think and wielded emotions – wasn’t that… a good thing?He

That thought was cut apart by Maria. She held a strange green thing. It was large and attached together with some sort of foam. It looked similar to the same-colored object around her neck – a curled wire stretched from the area of many switches towards a socket on the right side. “These are headphones, Shadow! Grandpa made this one especially for you! Here! Let me put it on!”

Twitch; twitch. His ears were always sensitive when his humans bothered with them…

The elder human jumped besides on the only other seat; he remained on his female’s lap.

… And suddenly, he could hear nothing without effort. The large green cups were blocking the sound of the engine roaring its claws in circular motions; blocked away the squeak of the metal flexing as they suddenly begun moving across the dirt towards the grass field before them – one that was always empty and manicured into flatness. This was dangerous – there was a lot of strain he had to pull to hear the outside world-

There was Maria’s voice that sliced into everything all at once. Close. Like she was in his mind; right up against his ear. Undefined.

He felt himself freeze.

There was Gerald’s as well.

… His humans…

It… didn’t make sense! His female was sitting near him, but not on his sound intake location! And his male homosapien was towards the left! Neither of their voices could carry enough volume naturally to overpower Cessna’s engine! He knew this from the last time there were so many revolutions going around! It was why they could never hear him as he chased beneath the flying object!

He quills rose. His eyes narrowed.

He gave the most feral of glares at the glass and numbers and letters before him; made certain that his eyes were afire with his anger-

Maria threw her hand around his white chest fluff and without warning he felt that sense of need for action dissipate. For now.

He almost did something that would be possibly not happy since he had been told to not attack Cessna…

His male human messed around with a red colored lever-object that could be pulled out and in. His homosapien spoke about different topics aloud that he could still hear in his hears loud and clear. Eventually, the plane rumbled and increased in speed; faster and faster; engine getting louder and louder based on the humming in front of his body. As always, it called it him to pour Chaos Energy into it – as before, he ignored the calling.

There was a sudden BUMP!

A WHOOSH!

They… were airborne.

Gerald moved his legs less and messed with more levers; pulled the red one into a slightly less extended state. “Don’t touch anything unless I tell you to, kid. Maria, make sure he doesn’t do anything accidental.”

“Wilco~!”

He still perfectly heard his humans right at the base of the ear.

“Oklahoma Approach, this is November 4-R-K.” His male human turned his head, as if to search the skies for other, enemy Cessnas. “We’re one-five miles northeast of Gulf-Oscar-Kilo with request.”

What… was his homosapien even saying?

A new voice appeared! Not his humans! It was male – like Father – but had none of that pulsing, pounding invasion of his brain! It skimmed onto the surface and remained in his ear drums, as it was supposed to-

Humanity had hive minds after all!!!

“N4RK, squawk 0-3-3-1. Oklahoma altimeter 3-0-0-2.”

“3-0-0-2; 0-3-3-1; 4RK.”

Shadow was lost.

This was big, important news.

His humans acted like it was nothing.

How had the Black Arms made such a crucial mistake!? How could they not have realized that there were other minds that could link as one? It meant that they could have been brought into the fold of the comet without consumption! It meant that-

-that was the Vanguard’s problem, not his.

Didn’t make the discovery any less… impressive!

“Look, Shadow! See this knob! This is our transponder! See how the numbers change when I spin the dial? Let’s try putting in 0-3-3-1!” Her fingers reached towards his own as they touched what his male human said not to – digits turned the weak little thing as identification flew by. Maria did most of the work as he was not really… paying all that much attention just yet.

The male hive mind spoke again. “N4RK, radar contact one-five miles northeast of G-O-K. Say altitude and request.”

His male human kept talking, but Shadow had officially reached the point of being overwhelmed.

He sat in his female homosapien’s arms and just watched the clouds grow bigger instead.

Felt his eyes dilate as the scene improved.

The Farm resided beneath him. Not the same view he had when he teleported higher above to train – this was… closer. Tighter.

More real.

Wonderment.

“Good to know he calmed down. Was a little… worried there, kid,” Gerald rubbed his cheeks. “Do you see that bright, shiny thing up ahead?”

A nod.

“THAT’S Oklahoma City! The capitol of the state!”

They got closer. Tall spears broke from the ground – ones that he realized were actually constructs of some sort. All crafted by the homosapien race – glass; steel; metal. His eyes could see the reflection of Cessna on the windows-!! Of him! Of Maria! Of Gerald!

He could sense…

SO MANY HUMANS!!!

OVER A MILLION OF THEM!

He… He understood he was designed to deal with such large numbers, but to have it placed before himself… This was just one location. One place.

Just… how many humans existed?

“Look over there, Shadow!” his female human continued. “That’s Guthrie! Oh! And that’s Stillwater! Chandler! Edmond!” Names of different cities flew by as more and more data got tossed and heaved into his head. It was like he was trying to carry an entire comet in his arms – the weight was swallowing him whole.

[x]

Shadow had to admit that Cessna…

… was impressive.

Curses!

Chapter Text

What Shadow was thankful for…

That was a question that made him ponder hard and lose sight of his immediate surroundings. His humans never failed to make him think.

Maria had left a book behind that she had stolen from school – something called a dictionary. It was thick and had many, many ‘definitions’ to the words that English carried. Issue: the clarifications were not comprehensible to him. Take, for example, the one for love: ‘a strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties based on multiple desires.’ No where was Chaos Energy even mentioned – not that it was a surprise. Humans didn’t harness it, outside what he issued to his own. Besides, there was that other thing: affection. He knew what that was! It was hugs. All the hugs. But if love was hugs, why did his female homosapien call it as strong as Chaos?

Hugs were nice, but they couldn't blow up miles of acreage.

Then there was thankful: ‘conscious of benefits received.’ That was also confusing, too, because he never had claimed any ‘benefits’ – rather, everything he and his humans did were exchanges: they protected him ever since he was a pupa. He would protect them in return. They gave him warmth and hugs, he gave them…?

Oh.

There was an imbalance to the formula of give and take!

He was taking away too many things from his homosapiens and had not been giving enough in return! Was that why they asked what he was thankful of? Because he was no longer keeping equilibrium? Instead, he was sucking away at their time and lives like he had done to all the other failed Ultimate Lifeforms?

Was he… killing them?

Slowly?

NOT HIS HUMANS!!!

[x]

He had a history of butchery. Of murder. Of mass obliteration that couldn't be easily contained or controlled. He had thought he had left that behind when he shredded away his thoughts of being the Vanguard, but what if he hadn’t? What if that side of him was always there? Always active? Sitting under the surface of his fur and skin?

Okay.

THINK. ASSESS. PLAN.

What were the things he did as the Vanguard to start being on a warpath that had to be forcefully culled? Back when he was still on the Black Comet? Back when he was under Father's active gaze during the stages of his growth? What were the clues about the different resets?

He didn't know. That was the point of having his memories set back to the point of his creation – to not know. To not remember.

He begun to pace around his male homosapien’s Master Bedroom. What to do? What to do?

The signs…

The resets were too powerful.

There was nothing left to grasp.

… What if being in the Vanguard’s mindset was the reason why he was controllable in the first place? He obeyed orders much more efficiently when in that state – especially compared to now. He had turned lazy and greedy, whatever that was. However, he couldn't go back – wouldn't go back. His humans would die if he did because of Father's command and…

Then there was the hive. The hive could silence or stop him, but he still couldn’t hear those songs. Ergo, that was out as a way to prevent anything catastrophic, too.

Why did everything end with his humans dead in these thoughts?

[x]

He dug into his female homosapien’s books for any clue on how to regain lost memories. Maybe humanity had something to deal with that? They were more fragile and, thus, would possibly be situated to know more about that topic. Alas, all of the subjects she had were of strange things: the history of certain states that weren’t Oklahoma, something about the French Revolution, and there was a small passage about some boat that sunk in April filled with people.

He was feeling undefined.

So, when the schoolhouse books didn't help him, he went towards the only other area where the written word was bounded into servitude: his male human’s study. Located in the far back of the house, it was hardly entered. There was dust almost on everything save the limited pictures up on the walls: two humans with big mustaches and glasses like his human’s own, but brighter and younger looking. They wore black clothing and square hats with a golden ribbon string looking object; another large ribbon around their shoulders. His male human was behind the duo with a face he had seen his human use – a smile – but it was not as big as he had seen it before. This one was smaller. But still happy.

These new organics looked like his human…

… Were they his human’s…

Sons?

He didn't know what to think when he saw those happy organics plus his human. If they were ‘sons’, two were now dead and gone and they took away his male homosapien’s mood with them… At least until he showed up to ‘double tag team attack his heart!’ or so claimed his female human.

He shouldn't think about these two unknowns. They weren't able to help him with his quest to find the symptoms of what triggered him to cause suffering to everything in his path when certain criteria were met. He wanted to save his humans. He needed to find out. He had to stop himself.

White gloved hands touched the spines of the various books located in this area: Stranger in a Strange Land; A Canticle for Leibowitz; Starchild; The Little Prince. None of them had anything about dead memories based off the title and the synopsis on the inside covers.

This was not successful-

A creak behind him as his human entered the room. “Kid? What are you doing here?” He turned around as Gerald knelt to meet his eyes after the gaze drifted towards the books. “Hmm… Curious about something, aren’t you?”

He nodded.

“What about?”

Shadow thought about it before he dug around the study. He dragged out something else he had seen: a star map of the Solar System. It was wrinkled with age and slightly dinged yellow. A few cursive marks in such terrible quality he couldn't read were on the bottom right, with the exception of the words: Graduating Class of 19××. He heard his human take a deep breath inside those lungs, so he made certain his touch was light and delicate as he roamed around the map.

His finger pointed at the area past the Oort Cloud, then traced the trajectory of the Black Comet back towards the places it went beyond. Out into the vastness of the Milky Way Galaxy – the human name for their location on a cosmic scale easier and easier to think as his defaulted one.

There was some silence before his human picked him up; hand carrying the star map with a much care as his homosapien could. They made it towards a couch that was a little dirty from said dust, but Gerald sat on it without thought. “Is that where you’re from?”

Yes.

No.

He tapped the name Oort Cloud again.

“Hmm… a comet?”

He wagged his tail at that. He knew his humans were the best. The smartest. The Ultimate Robotniks.

“You’re from a chuck of ice and rock, huh? Explains why you can get so warm…” Another rub on his cheek as he settled into his human’s lap. “Also explains why your head is like a little starfish.”

Starfish?

Wait. He was doing it again! He was receiving and not giving and the balance was broken and-!

Gerald read to him the rest of the map with a tiny, little upwards movement of his mouth after telling him he was greedy again. Then he moved onto old books labeled: Orbital Mechanics; Rendezvous and Its Difficulties; The Rockets of Redstone. Each one had to get blown clean from his homosapiens mouth, and, eventually, a chide came out. “Ah. I should probably tidy up this room. It's… been a while. And I need to add Maria’s and your pictures to the wall…”

It wasn't the answer he was looking for… but he didn't mind. Obviously, none of this was going to make him rabid.

Right?

[x]

He watched his female human kick the wooden posts in the barn as her hands were filled with hay to feed the animals. She was muttering to herself about an upcoming math test and was ‘freaking out, Shadow! It's a whole 10^th of my grade! What if I make less than a 90!? Grandpa would be so disappointed!’ Maria noticed he was copying her action when the wooden barrier shook with the might and swell of a strong storm. “Oh. Whoops. Don't do that, Shadow!”

He stopped.

“Ugh. I'm just so tired of these semester exams.” Her body could feel his gaze upon her. “Gotta tough it out, though. I gotta kick Abe’s butt in grades!”

They worked the dried-out grass to the different creatures that demanded attention – none of them threats to his place besides his humans. He accomplished the movement with practice, and after the end, the walk back home was nothing but Maria laughing and messing with his quills. “Did you know Abe and I share lunches together? He keeps getting bullied, so I help him out.” She winked. “No one cooks better than Grandpa. Except me. And mayyyybe you.”

Speaking of dinner, he inched himself towards the kitchen where Maria and him helped to make biscuits. His Chaos Energy was very very very carefully monitored in this batch of cooked goods – flour tended to explode when dispersed in the air and given a heat source.

Shadow knew that from… experience.

He rolled the dough into balls and injected a little more at that safer moment. His human shared her food? Then she had to have more.

“Thanksgiving’s coming up, Shadow! You better get used to baking in the kitchen for the next few days!” his female homosapien laughed and then placed a spoon between his quills.

He threw it back at her.

This, too, didn’t make him want to burn all in Chaos’ fire.

Right?

[x]

It was night.

He tossed and turned in bed.

Father was looking at the group of organisms with something strange – something viscous and powerful in those three eyes. The other unfinished Ultimate Lifeform attempts all stood there, but he felt his sense of danger increase. Was it the air? Yes. It was. The air was humming with an unknown quality – something of ozone and a warning and power. It stuck to the other Unfinished Lifeforms like a paste that refused to be wiped away. It was all over his mind and undefined and hot.

He was silent and shivering. It was cold in this location that he didn't know the name of. All he knew was that he was he, Father was Father, and the others were rivals . But… what was a rival ? What was Father , for that matter? Where was he ?

He noticed one of the other Lifeforms looking around; moved its head. They met each other’s eyes briefly before the other thing looked away. Why? In fact, as he gave glances around, he realized most of the Unfinished Lifeforms were not trying to take in their surroundings. Most were staring at the floating figure before them, but there were a few others like him .

He watched the one that looked away because something told him he had to. It had a bipedal form with three claws that ended in points and a long, spiked tail. In fact, most of every Unfinished had similar appearances to one another. He analyzed himself – five rounded things at the end of his arm that were nothing like theirs. His were only sharp where the soft flesh went towards the end – a different material altogether. And his stripped markings were deeper: blacker than theirs; bloodier in certain regions.

What was he-?

The other rival was picked up by the head. You, a voice dominated everything, everywhere. Ah. It seems your need to watch your surroundings was merely an accident. USELESS. There was a sudden CRUNCH as the taller entity – as Father – broke every cartilage in that rival’s skull; brain matter splattered across the ground; there wasn’t enough time to shriek. That rival was dead. That paste vanished in that region to his senses.

He felt his body jump. None of the other rivals did.

It was an error.

Something yellow and red twisted right towards him. That claw reached out, but he turned around. Whatever those two things that he was attached to – legs? – moved with no grace or experience. He made it about a body’s span before that three digited hand of Father grabbed his skull as well.

SENTIENCE? So early?

He struggled against that grip. Felt that paste get near him. Felt heat expand from his fingers-!

Out came a small, quiet noise from his middle – his throat . It was not one of anger. It was of ache . And you can touch Chaos Energy? How… intriguing. To think the one I thought was a failure would show signs of success… That force around his neck tightened ever more; legs begun to swing; any sound from his throat cut off potentially forever . If you survive, you’ll be something deserving of my continued attention.

CRUNCH!

There was agony !

Misery!

Pain!

His brain matter and neurons turned into goo! He was a smear of red upon the floor! He was made The Example to all the other Unfinished rivals ! He was falling down in an endless void of nothing but could FEEL the skull fragments slicing through his grey matter as they attempted to reassemble back WHOLE-!!!

How long was he to experience that? Since when would it end?

He tried to escape from this, but every time he reached out he was kicked back into that void where nothing existed except that moaning terror-!!!

What had he done WRONG-!?!

But then his eyes opened. He was aware.

And there was Father.

Interesting…

He turned and squirmed and felt hot all over. This was not a reset. This was not a reclaimed memory of what made him go ballistic in the first place. This was creation. He felt that hurt all over again; realized that the techniques to hide it in the back of his mind weren’t working anymore. That was for the Vanguard, and he was Shadow and Shadow had emotions and Shadow was undefined.

He realized his shoes had hit Maria when she moaned, “That's gonna leave a bruise…”

HIS HUMAN!

He jumped awake and tore into the blankets – her cry increased as she tried to stop him from looking with her hands. Weak, tiny; pale. His female homosapien was never going to be strong enough against-

She had lied.

It wasn't a bruise.

He had run into her delicate, thin skin and cut it. Cleanly. She was bleeding and it was his fault.

“Wait! Shadow! Come ba-!”

He blinked to the roof.

Brought his hands to his face.

Didn’t move.

[x]

Shake shake.

“C’mon, Shadow.”

Shake shake.

“It’s your favorite coffee beans~”

Shake shake.

“Could you please come over here?”

He made himself smaller. He had hurt his human. Next, he was going to kill her. That was the steps of his madness, right?

“Alright. You left me no other option!”

Maria popped her head out of the window. Then her arms. Her upper torso. Her legs at the end. The wind pushed her blonde hair around as she grabbed onto the edge of the windowsill and carefully moved herself to get closer to him.

He could have teleported away.

Should have.

B-But his human-!

He still desired that warm touch!!!

TO BE CLAIMED BY HIS HUMANS AND HIS HUMANS ALONE!!!!!

“See!” the female homosapien started as she showcased her leg. There was a bandage wrapped around it and the scent of something chemically similar to those beers his male human consumed. “It’s allllll taken care of! Why don’t we go back inside and prepare for breakfast, hmm?”

No.

He can’t.

He hurt his human.

He…

“Shadow. Come.”

An order.

He… will obey.

[x]

Both of his humans did not allow him to leave their vicinity.

“You’re sad, Shadow,” Maria explained. “You had a nightmare and didn’t mean to hit me. Accidents happen. Once, I smacked Grandpa so hard I broke his nose!”

“You threw your roller skate at me, thinking I was a mad scientist bent on blowing up the world, dear. On a spaceship.” The tone was almost a grin.

There was a cough as red blush reached his female’s cheeks. “See! We do it all the time – ok, SOME of the time – to one another! Nothing to be sad about, Sha~dow~”

The undefined words continued as they scratched and petted and rubbed and covered him with his Gift.

If this was sad…

… he did NOT nice sad.

[x]

His male human was watching him.

“Kid,” came a command. “Come here.” Hesitantly, he walked towards his male homosapien and felt those arms pick him up. Together, they were on the rocking chair that continued to squeak with every rotation back and forth. They burned time in silence: no television, no Casa Blanca; no book readings. Finally, there were words he was to pay attention to. “I noticed… you flinched when Maria reached out to touch your head recently.”

He didn’t move.

Shadow had exposed a weakness.

He wasn’t supposed to HAVE ANY.

Gerald tried the same thing his female did at a slower pace – a large hand that reached out to his skull and-

CRUNCH!

“Ah…,” out fell a whisper mixed with hate – but not aimed at him, oddly. “You were abused physically, too.” The hand moved towards his cheek instead. “There, there, Shadow. When you’re ready for more head pats, we’ll return at your pace. But why don’t you try to help this old man try to help you, hm? What made you have such a bad dream?”

He sat there in his human’s lap.

He was scared he was on the path to kill you since you can’t reset him.

Since he broke the balance.

Since he didn’t know how to be thankful.

He realized his human was rubbing away his water from his eyes.

“There, there.”

[x]

He…

Felt different after that night.

There WAS something he wanted to kill.

To murder.

TO BREAK INTO PIECES UNTIL NOTHING WAS LEFT.

But it WASN’T his humans.

His precious, soft, weak; imbalanced humans.

His Gerald Robotnik.

His Maria Robotnik.

His FAMILY.

HE WANTED ANOTHER TARGET.

IT WAS FATHER.

AND FATHER WOULD DIE.

Chapter Text

It was two days before Thanksgiving.

He did not remember the last one too well – not in emotional detail – just like how he did not recall the first round of the Dog Days of Summer. The logic within him recalled the mountains and mountains of food he had to test over and over and over again – of his female homosapien running towards him with a large ladle; of something bright red and gelatinous that rubbed his senses so hard that he went out the back porch and threw it, even if it was organic. Maybe he tossed it away because it reminded him of Father-

His male human remembered that event. A pat went towards his cheek once more. “Don’t worry, kid. I know you hate cranberries with every fiber of your being.”

“You’re the weird one for enjoying them in the first place, Grandpa,” rolled blue eyes as the female homosapien tied an apron around her body. The pink bow was large; the black, smaller apron in her hands much smaller. “Now, put your arms out, Shadow! I won’t be making all the pies all by myself.”

He stretched out as instructed.

If he couldn't find out thankful, he'll contribute all he could.

Female hands tied the cooking apparel and also issued each clasp a bow. “There we go. I even made sure to make this bad boy with extra pockets for you! The prefect place to hide coffee beans, such like…!” She winked as she pulled one out.

A black nose twitched.

“Spoiled rotten,” his male homosapien added as he crunched down on the bean. However, despite those words – lies, Shadow was not rotting; you needed to die for that – Gerald soon sauntered over with an apron himself. “Dibs on the pecan.”

“Shadow! Why not choose a flavor you want?” his female human offered.

… A choice…?

He hesitated at that. The obvious answer would be basically a pile of roasted beans enveloped in dough, but… He had to think what would benefit his humans more… What did they want? Perhaps if he created something for them with his own hands – something not with deer – he could close the deficit?

While he was lost in thought, Maria and Gerald placed a row of various fruits on the nearby flat region. “Go on, kid,” his male homosapien added. “Choose.”

“Yeah, Shadow! We'll teach you the recipe that'll go with your choice!” His female human jumped; bows of her apron dangled and caught his gaze for a moment.

His short stature made his eye level reach the tall counter, but only barely. His fingers gently tapped and spun each fruit, as he was careful in analyzing their potential benefits for his humans. He could recall his male homosapien’s whispers in his memory from their time together learning how to plant and what each object accomplished: lime assisted in the heart, lemon prevented build up of calcium in kidneys, strawberries increased cardiovascular flow, blackberries had fiber for digestive systems, blueberries kept the epidermis in healthy condition, bananas were beneficial for blood sugars, peaches lowered cholesterol; raspberries assisted in brain chemicals…

White gloves clashed against the collection of berries he gathered. It was all of them. The Ultimate Pie for his humans. Why hadn’t he thought of that faster? A blend of the best things, just…

Just like...

… Like…

His female cooed at the deep reds and almost blue-blacks of the mix in his hand. “Ooooo. Wild berry pie. Excellent decision, Shadow!” Her fingers traced his own before she pointed at his chest. “Look! They even match your color scheme.”

He felt happy.

His humans…

They were too… undefined for him.

And when they told him how to make a pie crust and how to place it in the pan and how to cut it and all these other things he knew definitions for, but never accomplished, the dessert left behind to slide in the oven was…

Undefined as well.

He was aware enough it was nothing… negative.

[x]

There was a mechanized thud thud thud coming from the Craft Room – where his female homosapien spent some of her free time recently. He had attempted to enter once while that noise was ongoing, but was turned around and told to stay away until ‘otherwise,’ so there Shadow stood in the hallway instead. The plaster walls of home in this area were covered in Maria's photographs of landscapes – of the places she had seen from prior to his arrival, although one of the ones at the very end, near the back door…

Red eyes observed.

It was him. Or, more specifically, him inside his pupa. It was lodged right next to a roaring fire.

Someone noticed his staring. Shadow didn't flinch when human flesh grabbed his body and lifted him to get a closer view. “We thought you were a hunk of something like pyrite at first,” his male homosapien started. “Maria liked how your shell glistened in the firelight.”

It… was sparkling.

A definition came up: pretty.

Was that was this was?

“Speaking of which… Maria!” his human continued, walking down the hallway back towards the interior of the house. He smelled like hay and sawdust to his senses; got a large whiff at it as he dangled with every one of his human’s steps. “Don't stay up too late! You can NOT have bags under your eyes tomorrow!”

There was some sort of response hidden underneath the thud thud thud.

“Alright, kid. Let's go to sleep. We, unlike naughty granddaughters, actually use our beds.”

[x]

It was the day before Thanksgiving.

And his two humans were… nervous?

The Gift had a temporary clasp to be pulled around his body, and it could cover almost everything about him: quills, arms, and shoulders. Legs, too, if he draped it in the correct orientation. He knew what it meant to be deep within those folds; to awaken to a smiling face from his homosapiens in the following morning.

This… was something new.

Gerald was ‘hmmming’ and ‘hawwwing’ as Maria was ‘tsking’ and ‘ahhhhing.’ Both were carrying copious amounts of fabric in their hands – of shirts, shorts, and hats. Tiny ones. Small ones. Ones that wouldn't fit their own bodies. They had compared and compared and compared for the past hour.

A white one with a little flap at the top, one that would rustle in larger movements, was placed against his core. His female human narrowed her eyes as she pulled his hand and went to see if the short sleeves matched. “What do you think, Grandpa?”

“Hmm… His fur doesn't clash at all, I think.”

“He’ll look really cute…” Her eyes reached his. “Won't you, Shadow?”

He didn't know what was going on, but he nodded. If she said he was cute, then she was right. None of her marks of speaking falsehoods were apparent.

Her fingers traced his Inhibitor Rings and then his gloves. “They'll match the color scheme, too! White and gold… So classy~!”

“You're just excited to finally be having this chance.”

A pink tongue flashed. “Of course, Grandpa!! I've been waiting for months!!”

There was a secret the two were maneuvering around with their glances and phrases – he wasn't ignorant on that – but they told him to stand in this position. A position, he recognized, that received all of their attention and touches and thoughts and-

It… wasn't an unbalanced exchange if they told him to stay still and let what was happening to him happen, was it?

Next were a pair of shorts. White like the shirt, they placed it against his lower half of his core and his legs. These, too, went down to roughly the area where his red markings’  tipped arrow started. Then, at the end, his male homosapien carefully reached with his fingers towards his eyes, and then slid a floppy piece of fabric between his ears. Black triangles twitched every which way – a soft exhale from Gerald when the hat was pressed into position. “Good job, kid.”

The two continued to not-attack attack him. This time the shirt was unbuttoned, Maria pulled his hands into the cylinders that were called sleeves, and she reattached the buttons into a closed position. A similar thing went on with the shorts, although he was told to step into them on his own, which he accomplished – the feeling of this cotton fabric against his skin foreign and strange and-

She rubbed his cheek and he lost those thoughts into a pool of warmth.

When they were done, they stood back and continued to look at him. His male human was covering his mouth with his hand and was smirking; his female smiling at him with the power of the Sun, it felt. The action stabbed him deep within his body, even if he wasn't touched at all.

“You… are the most adorable little sailor boy I've ever seen, Shadow,” she addressed. “I know clothes isn't your thing, but we gotta do this at least for today!”

What was a sailor boy?

He sat there and tried to define that using context clues as his two humans went to change into ‘matching outfits.’

The most he got was that, yes, he was a male, before his homosapiens came back: their feet pounded against the hardwood as he turned to watch them. The clothing that he wore was also on his male human’s body, just elongated and tailored for the larger mass. His female’s was actually a dress that went to her knees.

The same hats, though.

“To the truck!” commanded Gerald with a pointed wave.

Maria saluted him as a response again.

[x]

The drive was not long – just to the pond that was located deep within the acreage of the Farm, surrounded by trees that had their own colors, albeit theirs were a more muted yellowish-brown than what was seen before at higher elevations. Nevertheless, this was a region he didn't visit often: just like the chickens, the steers tended to avoid Shadow, knowing what he was innately in their instincts. Funny, how his humans always drifted closer and closer to this body – this being meant to destroy – and they never once thought-

His female homosapien pushed him a little. “Get in the boat, Shadow!” she added with a bright smile. “We got a new family photo we gotta do!”

… Like the one about two seasons ago?

This time, it was not Maria that had the camera, but his male human. “Get in the boat, kid,” came the order once again, which he accepted and walked off towards the wooden object that floated on the surface of the water.

Unlike at the lake, he could see the bottom of the pond in this location.

His Air Shoes made a small bang as he moved to hop the edge of the wall – Maria already inside and helped to pull him up. Honestly, he should have teleported, but…

He was petted.

This was nice.

“Sit right here,” she added another command to the earlier one. He glanced towards where she had pointed towards the new location and saw the bench on the boat was covered in purple flowers, roses, sunflowers, and his blue ones. His nose twitched as he tried to label the unknown mauve ones: nothing immediate came up via visual memory, but the scent was something he recognized – lavender. Hmmm… so this was their origination…

There was so much color.

His female positioned herself on the opposite bench. Their knees almost touched because of their closeness, and like his side, she, too, was surrounded by many, many flowers. Lilies, orchids, ones in the shape of bells, and his own as well. Every one had ribbons tied up in large streamers; off towards the side was a wrapped package she unbuckled and pressed open.

It was an umbrella.

Unlike the one she took on rainy days to school, it was large and white and filled with lace. Delicate. “Grandpa says this is an old heirloom, and that this,” a pale hand waved over the entire boat and its getup, “is something aristocratic society in Russia did often. Granted, in much bigger boats. Between you and me, I think Grandpa’s using heritage as an excuse to get us in the pond together. But it's for the best, right, Shadow?”

Red eyes roamed around. This position was, without a doubt, the most amount of color, so…

Yes.

“Alright, my little Grand Duchess and Grand Duke,” grumbled Gerald in the background. “Smile. This camera weighs a ton.”

Smile?

An unnecessary order.

He was already making his mouth fight gravity.

Then, when Maria ‘posed’ him, he kept and maintained his mouth in that position, trying not to move the flowers out of shape with the thump thump his tail was doing on its own. The actions they accomplished were various: hands held together; her with the parasol; him with it; a position of almost falling off the boat, but expertly maintaining center of balance within; one of hugs – his personal favorite; waving motions at the camera; one where both he and his human held onto all the flowers in their arms…

They took many family photos.

The last one was of both of them legitimately falling off the boat backwards. Feet caught in the air with shocked faces; his female homosapien had stepped ‘off’ at the same time he had and they ruined each other's balance.

He could have warped again.

Or shifted his body into slag to move the center of gravity back to stability.

He hadn’t thought about either of them for some reason.

Instead, he swam to the edge of the pond, where the reeds were cut down. He dragged himself out, shook his body, and flaked off the water. Maria was besides him, getting attacked by those droplets – a flower lodged in her hair that was a wet, soggy mess.

There was a ha ha ha that slithered from his throat.

Another one, from his female, joined in: hee hee.

A chorus.

A song.

Not of the Black Arms.

But of him.

And his human.

Gerald looked down at the two. Remained silent as that ha and hee evaporated into the sunny, violet skies of the setting Sun. Wordlessly, he heralded them back to the truck; heater on full blast.

[x]

It was dark outside when his humans left an equally darkened closet; smelled of various chemicals and solutions and bases and acids. It screamed from disposable latex gloves that were soon thrown away; wafted from within the cramped space underneath the stairs. His male homosapien noted that he was there, watching. “It’s Maria's darkroom,” he begun softly. “Come here, Shadow.”

He followed, as did the younger homosapien.

His female was holding onto large pieces of thickened, glossy paper.

They all reached the study.

It was… not dusty.

There was a lot of empty squares and rectangles of wood on the surface of the desk, carved with designs of many things. His female took the items she held and placed them within the dimensions – clipped edges where needed; streamlined things centered on something she called a mat. There was the sound of a hard backing pressed, and then she flipped everything over to show to the elder human, who was watching from above and behind her.

Those larger hands lifted each thing, as if they were balls of irreplaceable Chaos Energy to consume. There were four of them in total. Gerald turned towards where the photos of two men – sons – existed and slid the wire on their backs upon an exposed nail, right beneath them.

When the human stepped away in retreat, Shadow realized what those items were.

Framed photographs.

Of a Grand Duke and Duchess on a boat.

Bright, brilliant; pretty.

“There. Now my wall is… complete.”

One young girl’s voice whispered. “And your heart, Grandpa?”

A hum; a choke. “That, too.”

Chapter Text

Someone – one of his humans – was scratching his ear. Right at the base. The nails’ length indicated it was none other than his female’s hand: she always had a longer span than his male’s. His neck moved to have those nails dig deeper; stronger. His humans didn't need to worry about breaking through his skin; he had enough Chaos Energy to prevent injury – and even if he hadn’t, he could just regenerate…

“We got things to do, Shadow,” whispered his homosapien in softness. “It’s Thanksgiving!”

Fingers rolled over to the Gift and pulled down tighter. It was a trap – he wasn't going to let his human go-

“Don't let me tickle you awake~”

She wouldn't.

…

…

…

She did.

His Air Shoes flailed as he tried encourage her usage of suboptimal muscular power. She only had just above thirty pounds of strength, which meant if he didn't resist, she would win. Why resist in the first place? Had he, he knew what would happen: she would frown. Not touch him so closely. Not smile.

Poison?

Let him no longer swim.

Each of her squeals made his legs kick in very specific places – he had to ensure not to hit his human! Not after what happened at the last occurrence. Never before had metal footwear bothered him, but perhaps now he understood as to the concept of wearing socks indoors-

Cyan stared down at him. Maria was underneath his Gift. “You know,” she added, poking his nose, “your laugh… is really sweet, Shadow.”

… Laugh?

Fingers went from nose to cheeks. “That’s right! Your little laughter made Grandpa speechless! Such a high-pitched noise. Very… unique.” Out from the folds of the Gift they went. She had won in getting him wide awake. “Kinda like how you were when tickled, although it was a lot softer. Both were… nice!”

He nice’d nice.

[x]

There was a lot of smells that he had noticed when he was awoken, but the pungent wafts were at their strongest when he and his human descended down the American chestnut and oak staircase towards the first floor. It was nothing but meats at first whiff – turkey, ham, gizzards; others. His female homosapien explained that the first thing to cook was always the flightless bird due to the fact it was the longest to do correctly.

“We could theoretically always fry it if we wanted it faster, but not only does that require a WHOLE lot of oil, which you dislike… It kinda has a habit of blowing up if done incorrectly.” Her hand waved towards… basically the entirety of home. “This is all wood, Shadow.”

Yes.

He knew.

Blonde bangs swayed as she stared at him. “Wood burns, Shadow.”

Yes.

He knew.

There was a soft exhale. “The house would be gone.”

Of course not.

He would stop any fires.

Or exploding turkeys.

His human had not understood, however, and rolled her eyes. Together, hand in hand, they continued until they spotted Gerald’s backside. His male homosapien was bent over, putting aforementioned gigantic poultry into the Chaos Energy/electric oven hybrid. The elder was very smart at what could be accomplished with his quills – mentioned something about being ‘too damned good to be true’ this timetable the previous year. In was a strange usage of the spare spines that he sometimes dropped, but it was whatever his human wanted, so he wasn’t bothered.

If his humans consumed more of his Chaos, all the better.

“Ham,” Gerald commanded.

Maria jumped and dragged him with her. “Time to make a honey glaze!”

He learned that. Got to shove the giant plate of raised meat around bone within the second stove that was normally used for wood burning.

“Green beans.”

He learned how to boil water by snapping his fingers and allowing a flicker of lightning to immediately bring the temperature to froth. Of course, his female homosapien then communicated that he shouldn't dare do that with the glassware or cast iron because only the stainless-steel objects could handle such temperature extremes. The incapable items might blow up – what’s with human-made objects’ tendencies to explode?

“Sweet potato.”

He learned that sweet potato was not created last year. This Thanksgiving, it was used for an after-dinner treat – mixed with honey and sugar and pecans and why did his humans use a vegetable for a dessert, he'll never know. First time he had seen it.

“Mashed potatoes.”

He learned that his ability in peeling the starch was still unparalleled within the household.

“Rolls.”

He learned not much here as his male homosapien had created the dough yesterday morning. He was just making new shapes and slapping in the stove when the ham was finished. He kept smashing against Maria with his tail, however, but she never complained, despite the velocity.

“Pies.”

He learned that those could be reheated carefully.

“Sit.”

Both him and his female human sat. Legs dangled. Air Shoes slightly tapped each other as he shifted position in his seat to not get his rear quills uncomfortable with his tail’s constant movement between two wooden posts.

Like before, there were mountains and mountains of food stacked ahead. Shadow did not understand how humans managed to consume so much in their stomachs, but he supposed it made some sense in other manners – neither of his homosapiens had driven anything for dinner yesterday or breakfast this morning in their mouths…

Gerald placed a plate in front of the Ultimate Lifeform.

He blinked.

No, the plate was still there.

He shifted his head. Maria had her platter of food towards his right side. He shifted his head again. Oh. He understood. His human had forgotten to maneuver this portion of organic materials in front of the elder’s own position at the head of the table. Why was his human being uncharacteristic? No matter. He will ensure that his male homosapien receives the correct dish-

There was a small rapt as Gerald’s fingers tapped white gloves. “No, Shadow.”

He glanced up at his human.

Tilted his head.

Red eyes met those behind glasses.

“Eat.”

A command.

A… weird one.

Quills brushed against the top of his seat as he turned to face his female human. Was that a command for… her?

Blue oculars met his. “Eat~!” she contributed instead of clarifying Gerald’s mistake.

The food and its plate remained in front of him.

ANALYZE. ASSES. ACCOMADATE.

This was a large amount of nutrients and limited amounts of Chaos Energy. The Black Arms could grab flesh with their mouths and bite into it to absorb said Energy, so it was not a large stretch of imagination for Shadow to accomplish the same thing. In fact, him tearing matter apart with his mouth was something he had done before. Nothing strange. Nothing foreign. He had tested all these items before…

But… he didn’t need to eat.

It was a waste of time and materials.

The Ultimate Lifeform did not require substance. He was designed to be everlasting.

This Thanksgiving was meant for his humans, and if he were to touch it, it would make everything unbalanced-!

“Oh. Forgot about… saying our thanks. Good catch, kid.”

His female homosapien slapped her hands together in a clap as her grin grew. “Ooooh! Let me start!” After a nod of approval, Maria pointed towards both of the males. “I’m thankful for Grandpa being the best grandfather in the world and Shadow teleporting himself into our lives. Again.”

There was a light – happy? – grumble of, ‘You said basically the same thing last year,’ from his male homosapien before the elder returned the hands towards the smaller individuals. “Then I am thankful for one mischievous granddaughter and one greedy little boy.”

They both turned to him.

He…

He panicked.

Oh, no.

He-!

What was he supposed to do-!?

He doesn’t know!

He’s supposed to know!

They gave him enough warning to figure thankful out, but he still couldn’t accomplish the task in time!

“Kid,” his human cut into his thoughts. “Stop squirming. It’s… sigh… It’s not that hard.” There was a rub on his small shoulder. “Look. Just nod or shake your head at these questions: do you enjoy it here?”

Enjoy? That was mostly defined! He had been asked that before about his snack and other things… Out came a hesitant nod. He was afraid of making mistakes. What if his knowledge over the idea of that word was incorrect…?

“Do you want to leave?”

His human should know this answer. No. Never. A movement of his head left to right joined those thoughts.

“Do you ever wish you had bonded with other humans?”

Another NO. Another shake of his head, too.

“Then, that means you are thankful you are here with us~! And with the final thanks said…!” Maria smiled before she took a giant tub of gravy, slobbered it all over the turkey on the plate in front of him, stabbed the meat with a fork, and then shoved it right into his mouth. The cooked muscular tissue rubbed against his tongue as the silver in the utensils brushed against his fangs. The almost liquid-solid of the fats and lipids of the gravy mixed within; the minor amounts of Chaos reclaimed back towards the innards of his body.

She pulled out the fork.

“Well… What do you think?”

[x]

He whimpered as he was curled in a singular spot on the couch, right besides and between his two humans. A pale girl’s hand was wrapped in his own gloved one. The other hand was embracing his torso – she hadn’t moved in a while. Turkey coma, she had moaned before she fell asleep.

His middle felt… off. Undefined.

“Ahhh, kid. Next time, control yourself a tad bit better,” chided Gerald softly as the ending card of Casa Blanca faded from the television set. “Six plates? No idea you had it in you. So much for leftovers…” Fingers rubbed his topmost quill – no flinches. No internal retreats. Just a connection. “You did good, though. Maria was very happy.”

He was never going to eat again.

[x]

It’s been two weeks since Thanksgiving.

It was breakfast.

Maria was getting ready to go to school; the remains of buttered toast in her mouth.

Gerald had a stack of pancakes in front of him.

Shadow, some scrambled eggs.

He had apparently lied to himself.

Munch munch.

Chapter Text

The front door ripped open as his female homosapien pulled away the scarf from her head – blonde hair flew about as she begun to hop on one foot to get rid of her outer layer of snow shoes. The increased wind velocity drove some snowflakes within the home before her mittens clenched around the door and slammed it shut. Cyan eyes widened up at seeing him watching her from halfway down the stairs; pale fingers waved as they always did in greeting. “Brr! It's cold again, Shadow!”

His white gloved hand copied her action.

“Is Grandpa back from Oklahoma City?” she mused.

The response was a grunt from down towards the living room. The haggard gasp was not from anything wrong with his homosapien: the older human was simply cleaning something out that had been neglected. Shadow didn't know what it was, but he already checked all the vitals on his human. Gerald was healthy. So, he'll wait until he was needed.

“Hey, Grandpa!”

“Welcome back, Maria. How was school?” The creaking of the hardwood increased, and soon enough, the owner of the Farm Approximately 17 Miles North-Northeast of Guthrie, Oklahoma came into his vision. There was something green and circular in his hands that was going to be tossed away into the laundry room; the snowfall outside an early season big ‘winter’ – technically, the calendar was still fall – storm. His male human realized Shadow was staring at him and walked over to pick him up in the other hand.

… He nice’d it when his human accomplished this task.

“School was boring,” his female homosapien exhaled as she rubbed the underside of his chin due to the easier access. The three of them were now heading past the living room into the dining room where bowls for dinner was awaiting whatever concoction his elder human had made today. “It was surprise physical day. I got stabbed with a needle like THREE TIMES cause they kept missing my vein, apparently!” Pale hand waved. “Can you believe such atrocities, Shadow?”

Something stabbed his human?

Red eyes dilated; ears shot straight vertical; a rumble came from the back of his throat!

He was going to find those organics and-!!

Gerald lightly smacked his side, by the belly. “No, Shadow.”

There was a face of realization upon the blonde. A snort came out and she, too, smacked him playfully. “Oops. Don't worry, Shadow! Doctors and nurses do that all the time. It’s to keep us humans healthy, silly goose!”

The rumbling increased in volume.

His humans.

Not this… doctor’s humans.

His.

She laughed as she moved to squeeze his cheeks together. Forced his frown to ‘go upside down.’ The anger fell from him like water down the drain at the touch… “I'm already nicely healed up. The needle was not as thick nor as scary as I thought it was – wasn’t gonna see to validate, though. My own blood? Eww!” Blue oculars squeezed shut as a tongue stuck out. “Poor Abe was stuck with the same nurse I was-”

A grumble from his male homosapien. “Sounds like incompetence to me, right Shadow?”

He nodded.

There was a ‘hah!’ from his male human as Maria rolled her eyes, but continued. “-but had the unfortunate experience of also needing to get his lungs checked out.”

Gerald moved to place him on his seat across from his female on the big table, before his human walked off into the kitchen. The voice trailed out at an increased volume as the large pot on the stove was being picked up and carried out. “I remember the evaluations done midterm when I was a young boy. They always were garbage back then; the interns from the local medical schools scrambling to deal with snotty brats. Not me, though. I was calm and collected.”

THUD!

The large metal vessel rested on the cooling rack in the center, right next to the milk and orange juice pitchers.

A ladle dripped the chicken broth, chunks of said bird’s muscular tissue, carrots, potato, rice, and cabbage into his bowl. The SLOP cascaded until it reached almost the rim – his mind tried to search for what this was. Chicken… soup! That's the definition!

“Alright, you little menace to society… We’ll start weeing you with low fat, low flavor foods and work yourself up. I don't even want to see what happens if we start with curry.”

“Grandpa, even I can't handle that stuff. You're the odd one for being able to swallow it down like water.”

“I've been to India. Ate the legit stuff. Stuff here? Fakers.”

Oh.

So like Cessna.

His spoon was made with wood – hand carved by his male homosapien. Carbon. He undefined that utensil style more than the metal ones, even if his fangs would slowly scratch the shape away over the incoming months due to the differences in material composition. Something about something once alive being shoved into his mouth; to feel that ghost of energy that once beat within the sinews of the plant; to know it was from something he had brought down – the Vanguard was gone, certainly, but that never hid the fact of where Shadow came from. That violence was something he tried to control once before, right? Back on the Comet?

“I have a lot of little snippets of wood from the tree you snapped into a million pieces, kid. Might as well make them into something useful.”

Maybe he'll tear Father apart with his teeth.

Make those three clawed hands squirm in deep and utter understanding as each fang sunk deeper.

Rip each and every ounce of Chaos Energy until there was only a husk left.

Just like he was doing to this chicken.

[x]

His arms wrapped around his human, or as far as they could in this form. A black nose wiggled closer as he searched and searched for warmth – for that physical equivalent of what his insides, by his heart, wanted to be filled with. Pale hands reached outwards and closed the gap on his side; two breaths intermingling underneath the covers of his Gift.

“What's wrong, Shadow? You're normally not this touchy so early in the morning.”

His face was too buried to look up at her.

“Shadow?”

He didn't move.

Eventually, his human adjusted her position, and he felt her fingers massage his ear. “Did you have a bad dream?”

A nod.

“It’s okay, there, Shadow. It's okay.”

He didn't remember the contents. Just the emotions: a deep, terrible sadness; a horrible truth of being alone; affirmation he had done something bad; a deep, undying rage that was a coiled spring resting for the perfect moment.

“I know just the thing that'll cheer you up.”

[x]

Gerald gave a knowing hum as he observed the overly covered up form he was before his human. His Air Shoes were hidden underneath the folds the Gift, as was his hands, body, quills; most of his head. A large scarf was wrapped around his neck underneath the wool, and it covered his nose and muzzle. The only thing a mirror could spot were his eyes. “Walk around the living room with small steps, kid.”

He did.

Maria’s voice joined in. “Any little peeks of his fur are super short. We can easily say it's a black shirt or a black pant. The red will make everyone think it's just some strange pattern. It is the season to have a little splash of that color, you know.”

“Assuming the clasp of his quilt doesn't let go and ruin everything.”

“But you made it, Grandpa. So, it'll stay.”

The hum increased in volume. “Of course it would!”

Both of his humans looked down at him again.

The command to get in the truck was always obeyed.

[x]

Last night's snowstorm gave way to bright, boundless blue skies above a seemingly endless field of white. The work truck rumbled down paths and roads that Shadow had never seen before – they were heading towards the southwest instead of the direction they went the last time out of the edges of the Farm together. It was also a different vector than when the first pictures together as a family were taken. As such, he sat back and watched the world slip by; banned his Chaos Energy from wanting to slip into the gears of the engine as always.

Why did he want to do that, subconsciously?

Nevertheless, the car rumbled on. His humans were dressed with their fake furs as they always did this time of year – the wool upon their bodies did its best at keeping the two others as warm as possible. Shadow was told no Chaos Energy – well, technically, no ‘sparkling lightning’ – until they were back. Or if in an emergency.

He was smart enough to know they were going someplace new. Someplace that must have… other organics. Maybe a place with supplementary animals than the scared cows, the cautious chickens, the chirping birds, and the suspicious bugs? Maria had given him a book of ‘farm animals,’ and the pictures of ‘pigs,’ ‘sheep,’ and ‘dogs’ were strange and unknowing. He didn't need more data for the Day of Arrival, true, but…

What if his Farm got more…

Creatures?

Soon, they entered one of the smooth roads – the black one with the yellow lines or stripes, depending on environmental situations. Big signs with the letters HWY 33 rumbled past; his eyes caught something tall. Oh. Electrical lines.

They hummed, just like the truck’s engine did.

Called out his name.

Play!

But…

What was that ‘play?’

Maybe he should try… His white glove reached out to the window of the truck-

He didn't have the chance to continue. Something struck through his body akin to fire – the fur and quills instantly up and alert and stiff and-!!

“OH MY GOSH! I'M SO SORRY, SHADOW!” His female homosapien screamed and got off from his tail she had accidentally rested the entire weight of her upper body on. “I didn't know your limb was there!!”

The fires cooled down when she rubbed it instead.

“Guess you learning new things also makes you less of a robot, huh?” the young girl whispered as his body relaxed under her caresses. “Looks like your tail is sensitive. Makes sense. It's thinner than your little noodle arms.” She smiled with a strange emotion at him and then rubbed his cheeks. “You didn't get hurt, did you?”

He double checked himself and ran the diagnosis he always did when asked. Heartbeat normal. Breath rate normal. Limbs all accounted for. Nothing was broken. Whole. Prefect. The Ultimate Lifeform.

It didn't hurt. It was just…

Surprising.

His…

His human had surprised him!

She had caught him off guard!!

Where was his alertness!? His maximized senses? His cognizance of where every single large complex molecule of organic matter in reference to his position? When did he drop his ability to sense things from his two humans!? When did he lose his ability to maintain awareness of them from a defensive position!? He should have realized that-

That-

That…

… Maria was rubbing his ears…

He moved his head to give her better access.

What… was he worried about?

“Sorry again, Shadow.”

… Was sorry used for making someone lose something? Father never said those words before. And did it matter that his humans could sneak up on him? Father would be appalled. They told him they'll never hurt him. Father always did. It was… okay, right?

His humans lied a few times.

But… not about that. Couldn't about that.

They wouldn't.

He undefined them both.

A-And he could sense them if he was actively looking…

Everything was… safe.

“Look, Shadow!” his female cut into his thoughts. Her hands pointed to something past his line of sight, as if she was aware he was stuck somewhere else with his mind. “C’mon! Look!”

An order.

He will obey.

Carefully, the edge of the Gift rose as his head did; the wool border prevented him from seeing. At least… until his pupils adjusted and he realized something was before him. Just like before, there were humans. A lot of humans: 9,568 of them. Flesh and blood and bone and carbon and walking and around and up in-

In-

“WELCOME TO GUTHRIE, OK~LA~HOOOO~MA~~~! That’s the local hardware store!” his female human continued after the bellow, pointing out at the strange red rectangles. Something within himself remembered her calling it ‘brick.’ It was… unlike home, but similar at the same time. The bricks were in ornate designs with unnecessary detailing around every black rectangle and every column that held up the weight of the roof.  There were diamonds within diamonds; white trim of some sort of stone at the top that was painted as vibrant as his markings, but in gold instead of cadmium; his reflection underneath his Gift multiplied many times over from endless windows. “THAT’S,” her finger swung again, “the old Oil Store! Grandpa says it used to be a place of money and power, but now it’s kinda just there.” Another movement, another wave of her digit. “There’s the local doctor’s office! Not the ones that visited school, before you get any silly ideas, Shadow. This guy comes from Tulsa every Friday and Saturday for us locals, otherwise the nurses take over.” One more pull of his attention that was in a losing battle against his observation of the other, more visceral, surroundings. “And that’s the place to get the best coke floats! O!” Blonde hair turned. “Grandpa!”

The truck stopped.

Gerald turned around. “Already ahead of you, dear.”

“You’re so smart.”

A chuckle arose. “I know.”

There was the sound of doors opening; of his humans leaving. He sat still, not sure what to do next. Was this like the gas stop, where he was not allowed to leave until they were moving again? That time, his female homosapien stayed behind, but maybe…

The tallest of the Robotniks arrived and picked up him, only to put him back upon the black tar and carbon-based road – really? Even their pathways were made of such things? Although, this one was oddly too similar to plastic to-!!

No.

He shook his head.

No one was ever going to eat this.

Red eyes spun around as he took in more of his surroundings. Felt all those HUMANS again. They… just walked past, down these grey straight lines by the edges of each brick building! Talking! He could hear them discuss a milieu of objects and topics and tasks and-

And-!

Ding, ding; ding!

He was shepherded into, and through, a glass door.

A new male voice dug in at immediate attention. Rougher, or perhaps weaker, sounding than his male human’s own capabilities, the words denoted familiarization. “Ah! Mr. Robotnik! Miss Robotnik! Welcome back! How’s the farm? Not often I see you here on a December’s day.”

“Mr. Stone. Good afternoon. Here cause Maria ‘n the kid were hankering for floats.”

“Hmm! Well, I can whip some up for the lads really fast.” Red eyes turned to look up slowly and carefully. Gerald said to not be seen or taken away, but his human was also here holding his hand to prevent him from escaping the eyesight of the organic that was observing him. He took this as an opportunity to steal away knowledge.

The subject before him had different colors than his humans. Darker. More a brown similar to the oak or chestnut of the stairs under a singular layer of shellac. The hair was also very dark – akin to his fur, but warmer in the hues of black; almost the color of ash from the fried tusks of some of the Black Arms. It was curly. Then, there was the body shape: thinner than his male human’s. Smaller, too, by a whole head. Also, far younger than he expected – the age placed this individual around the ones Shadow guessed Gerald’s spawn used to be.

This ‘Stone’ understood a predator was analyzing him. “Who is the littlest one, by the way?” The homosapien was able to discuss while something in his hands attached to a straw went ‘psssht!’ White, foamy stuff emptied out into a glass that was as tall as his hand, and with a gentle push, it slid across the wooden tabletop. A little clunk was the last of the noise as it ended right in front of the stool Maria was at, and she started attacking with slurrrrrp sounds.

Gerald picked him up and placed him on a stool right next to her. A small whisper of, ‘Be good,’ went out before his human sat down to Shadow’s left. “He’s… my third son.”

His female homosapien coughed once before patting her mouth with a napkin.

Then the slurps went quite slow and deliberate after that.

Stone also made a noise from his throat. A clearing, as if he had choked as well. “Adopted a little shy guy?”

“You can say that.”

A hum from the unknown carbon life form came out as another glass was topped with foam. This time, the clunk made the glass end right in front of Shadow. The fluid within was a dark umber, and white streaks were mixed. Sugary in scent.

“Just follow what Maria does, kid.”

With that command, he brought out his gloves from the folds of wool and picked up the cup. The straw was made of metal, it seemed, and he was very aware he had to pull his position into an angle where no one would see his nose or muzzle.

Don’t be seen.

Don’t be caught.

But also slurp like his female homosapien…

His humans always gave him the hardest tasks!!

While he was planning on how to slip the straw between the folds of his scarf – a wiser move than exposing his mouth – the conversation continued between the two adults. “Doesn’t talk?”

“He… was hurt.”

“Ah.” Stone shook something and out came a third glass – probably for Gerald based on how he and his female already had theirs. “Explains why you’ve been happier recently. You just love to fix things that others would throw away.” A momentary pause; this human was watching the golden Inhibitor Ring glint in the bright sunlight as he twisted the end of the tiny cylinder between his scarf. “Did you know that the townsfolk don’t complain about ‘that Old Bastard Farm Pilot’ anymore?”

His male human hummed. Another clank as the last glassware reached the final destination. Shadow had to admit this new homosapien had excellent control in muscle and trajectories. Not to mention fundamentals of physics, such as where to apply force and not topple over the center of gravity. “I don’t give a damn what they think.” Now his elder human slurped. “How’s your kid?”

“Good. Steven just hit 5. I think he might be smarter than his peers. Kinda worried about him making friends.”

The Vanguard was quite inexperienced at this straw thing, so that meant Shadow was, too.

Finally, his lips caught it!

And he tentatively-

Sl…ur…p…

Brown-black colorant rose up-!

The fluid had BUBBLES of carbon dioxide, and they assaulted his senses too fast! It was like a warzone in his mouth! And the white thing within was COLD and SOLID until it melted! Travesty! Food should be warm. Liquids, cold. Whatever that stuff was…! Unacceptable! With a flinch, he stepped back, let go of the cup, realized his glass was going to fall without his support, grabbed the edges so it wouldn’t; placed it back on the organic tabletop.

Silence.

“Your… son’s pretty quick.”

“Shadow’s a lot of things,” Maria added as she pulled the discarded float closer to her.

She understood when something didn’t mix with him the ‘right way.’

[x]

The rest of Guthrie was too stimulating even IF he ignored all these humans!

The three walked down the sidewalk, where his Air Shoes stopped and halted to look at every storefront window. All around were large gifts and packages with large bows and glitter and stars; strange green garlands; some carbon life forms were speaking in a cadence Shadow didn’t understand – words of, ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem,’ ‘All is calm, All is bright,’ and ‘Making a list and checking it twice’ in endless repeats; candles lit with a lot of barns and a woman and man and a baby – a terrible name for ‘larva’ –  between them; pictures of elves; one of a very large, fat man that was older than his male homosapien.

Gerald rubbed his eyes. “He’s going to be attentive enough for Christmas this year.”

His female raised and lowered and then raised again her eyebrows. “Oh~ yes~ he~ is~!”

“Maria, what am I supposed to even do?”

Her hand slapped the picture of the ancient, stout human dressed in red and white on the other side of the glass. This unknown carbon had a very large smile whereas Maria had what she called an Evil Grin.

Chapter Text

Electricity hummed in his hands. Green strings; small bulbs. All white. He held rows upon rows of them as his male homosapien stood outside on a ladder with a hammer. Each POUND sent a nail into the trimmings and rafters and eaves of home. Eventually, the elder would give a signal and he would rise with his Air Shoes, placing the lit bulb on the awaiting hanger. He made sure to give each a little loop – to make it look like icicles as instructed – and watched as they swayed in the breeze.

Human fingers rubbed his cheek. “Good job as always, kid.”

He floated there for a little longer before continuing on. His humans were doing something called Christmas decorations, and he was here to support.

As was his female human. She was currently knocking into the dirt, down below, some sort of… white and red spiraling colored crook thing. It looked similar to the ‘?’ symbol of English, only a longer shaft. Was that the correct way to describe such an object?

Whatever the case, away the three of them went to put up the same sort of things he had seen in the windows of Guthrie, Oklahoma. These bizarre items were not just outside, however: they continued indoors into all corners of the foyer and living room. Green, red, and gold – bright bows and sparkles. It even included a larva on a pile of hay and two homosapiens, but these were much smaller and plainer than in town. Up those three porcelain effigies went, stacked upon the fireplace mantle; off towards the side were camels and Wise Men.

“Hmm. First time I’ve seen Grandpa pull them out. I think you’re supposed to move them to the manger over some period of time, but…” She shrugged. “I dunno.”

Huh. Undefined for even his human?

That was new.

“Alright. Let’s get the tree in the house and set it up before I strain my back in an attempt to shove it up the porch!” an elder human huffed, messing up the fur on one person and the blonde locks on the other.

[x]

Shadow knew a lot about certain types of creatures of the Earth. For one, the things labeled ‘animals’ had limited self-awareness – if they had them at all – and none of them had capabilities to talk. Only humans could, and his humans were the best of them all, of course! However, the colorful things and lights upon the television set were…

Well, it was a talking, English speaking snowman. And a reindeer. He didn’t know if it was related to the regular deer, but he found himself attracted to the idea of being red and different. Unfortunately, then this ‘Rudolph’ gained ‘friends’ and the Ultimate Lifeform was left with a state of confusion.

Why did a sled need a red dressed man if the reindeer were all capable of individual conversations? Could they not form together a hive mind and take the presents over around the world together without the human that couldn’t even fly? All that red dressed homosapien did was order the reindeer around, did he not? And could not these gifts just be tossed from higher altitudes with controlled arc trajectories to land upon porches? Was not walking down chimneys dangerous and wasted time? They had fire, after all, and it was winter outside in these stories. That means if the red individual turned off the blaze with Chaos Energy – he thinks? – there would be only frozen homosapiens!!

That would kill his humans!

NOT ALLOWED.

And just like that, the show ended and a new one begun. This one had a girl called ‘Jessica’ that became someone called ‘Mrs. Claus,’ which made him even more confused. He was barely understanding what a ‘MISTER’ was! Undefined! Undefined! UNDEFINED! The words kept mentioning toys and play, too.

Gave him a headache.

As such, he slithered out of the couch and jumped onto the floor before the ‘LATEST IN THE ANIMATION – A NEW CLASSIC AWAITS! STAY TUNED!’ started. The steps of his Air Shoes echoed as he made it eventually into the kitchen, where Maria and Gerald were too busy with ‘Christmas Eve Cookies’ to handle a one-on-one with him.

At least until he showed up.

His female homosapien smiled brightly. “SHADOW! How’d you like the TV?”

He wondered if his face showed his emotions.

It must have, because his male human picked him up and placed him on the counter top. Red eyes looked down to see a mess of flour – more was about to get spread everywhere with his tail moving about. Swish, swish – it landed particulate on his two homosapiens without him meaning to already.

He stared at them.

Then, his left hand started to move in a similar fashion at the pile besides him. Fingers spread everything it could all around. He didn’t know why he had accomplished that action… but he did.

After the snickers, and Maria getting a damp cloth to clean him up, she asked, “Did you learn about Santa Claus?”

He had.

That home invader was a potential murderer.

Shadow knew the signs.

“Good, good!”

His male homosapien finished putting something in the oven and then shooed both him and his female towards the bedrooms. Something about a man not coming if ‘children weren’t asleep in time.’

As he got into bed, right besides Maria, she paused for a moment and then took his hands in her own. “Shadow,” she whispered, “you know where Grandpa is at all times within your sensory range, right?”

He hesitated to nod. It was both a yes and no, now.

“Can you… turn it off?”

He doesn’t believe so. It’s a safety mechanism.

Why did she ask?

There was a shrug. “Well, then the old-fashioned way it is, then.” Her fingers reached out to his ears and she scratched, scratched; scratched him into submission.

He was out by the time the next hour rolled by.

[x]

The feeling arose before his eyes opened. Small, thin, and tiny, it had to be none other than his female homosapien. She was whispering something in his haze of half-lidded dreams – which he normally forgot – and was moving his head all around. At some point, Maria recognized he was awake and told him to ‘Raise your little arms!’

He did.

But he wanted to go back inside his Gift.

It was 3:47 A.M., his human. He doesn’t desire to accomplish these earlier-than-the-sunrise taskings, anymore…!

A white cloth draped over him. It looked similar to a dress, edged with golden trim around the hem and long sleeves. Relatively simple, he let his female homosapien do what she desired. Instead, as she ‘dolled’ him up – words he didn’t fully understand despite knowing that ‘dolls’ were things she once owned – red eyes took her own form in.

His human was dressed in something…

Odd.

There was a green cone shaped hat upon her head that was not large enough to cover the entirety of her blonde hair. Little lighter green triangles were like a bottom row of fangs around the border, where it touched her cranium. On her body was a Viridian colored dress that went down to her knees; a large, black belt with a silver clasp; small gloves; white stockings; strange boots that looked like it was made out of felt.

… Everything was made of wool felt.

Something slipped upon his own skull, right around the ears. Just like the headset she had used on Cessna, but much thinner and lighter. It was black and red in the middle to match his markings. His human realized he noticed there was something unbalanced at the load; something that moved with every minute shuffle of his head. Was… something attached to him, vertically?

He didn’t have much time to think as she dragged him out of her bed and turned him around. “Arms back now!”

Shadow did so.

Something rubbery slipped around his limbs and underneath his armpits. The girl tied two bows as some sort of weight was added to his back side. He could feel it drag on the cotton fabric around his body – the feeling awkward. “PERFECT!” Maria cried out with too much enthusiasm for this early hour, and soon she zoomed towards the door, dragging him. No more sleep under his Gift today… “C’mon~ Sha~dow~! You don’t wanna miss it! Hurry!”

Miss what?

He rubbed his left eye as fangs showcased themselves to the world. His female human took a turn to look at him, shook her head, said, “I’ll deal with THAT~ later,” and then continued onwards. Out into the upstairs hallway, down the steps, and into-

Why was there light in the living room?

The Ultimate Lifeform understood that it was coming from the fireplace, but that did not answer his thoughts. Both of his humans mentioned that the fire should never be left unattended, and that it should also never be burning at night. “Fireplaces are outdated heated methods compared to a furnace, now, Shadow,” Gerald had once mentioned.

O!

Maria must have told him to turn it off! Since he couldn’t catch on fire.

After a nod to himself, he moved closer-

And was prevented.

“Silly, Shadow~” his female’s voice wafted in the air. “That’s not towards the tree!” Another tug came at his wrists along his Inhibitor Rings as they walked towards said coniferous.

Lights he had strung up yesterday were also on when they should have been off. However, there was a strange look it gave to everything as the shadows mixed with the glow of the inferno in the hearth. Almost as if they pulsed with life despite being just combustion. These large orbs of red and gold hung like little stars he remembers that the hive once called ‘exoplanets.’ However, these were far more… sparkly? So shined were they that he could see his own reflection…

There seemed to be, indeed, a golden circle that was suspended over his headband.

Woolen covered fingers spread out open and wide, as if his female homosapien was to give the tree a hug instead of the ‘grand announcement’ that she was uttering. “THIS, Shadow, is a Christmas Tree!” Her undefined expression filled him with warmth as she pointed towards numerous items that were underneath – boxes and boxes of…

… Gifts?

He looked around. Then back at her.

It was not his Pupaday…

“You… um… didn’t get the message the TV was trying to give you, did you, Shadow?”

A tilt of his head. Yes, he had. ‘Jessica/Mrs. Claus’ was willing to leave the world of humanity and journeyed towards the North Pole – where the average temperatures had ensured her a swift death of hypothermia within a few hours due to lack of Chaos Energy. The rest of the show must have been about her hallucinations of her last moments, like what happens to most organics when succumbing to such ends. It was a clear warning for humans to watch and understand the cruel, outside world.

Also, snow in the shape of three circles did not talk. Reindeer did not talk.

He paid attention, Maria!

There was a SLAP as his female homosapien hit herself on the forehead. “Oh, God, Shadow…” Locks shook. “Well, umm. Doesn’t matter!” There was a pat as she pounded against her chest and increased suddenly in volume. “OH, MY! Two sneaky little Robotniks are hanging around a Tree all lonesome! If only there was a Santa for this lost little elf and lost little spirit!”

Black ears twitched when he heard his male human – who was not hidden behind the cupboard in the kitchen well enough, but it did conceal visually, so Shadow understood the intent – exhale deeply. There was a small mutter of, ‘The things I do,’ before a new pound of feet on hardwood registered upon his ears. Within moments, in came Gerald.

Wearing red.

And… a beard?

A black belt?

A hat-?

Why was he dressed like the murderer?

Did his male homosapien fight the intruder and won-?

W-Wait.

How did Shadow MISS a threat-?

“Well, well; well! If it isn’t two very naughty little children,” came a remark as the man walked closer with a large smile on tired flesh. It was as if… his homosapien had not received any rest cycles the past night! Why not?

He should fix that while finding the invader to remove potential future harm-

“HO HO HO!” Gerald moved about with a red sack that was the size of Maria. The interior was mostly lightweight cotton, yet, at the very top were two boxes that had two distinct names. “Come here and sit on my lap!”

An order.

He will obey.

With his female homosapien to the left and his own body on the right, his male human was going to have sore knees the following morning. Shadow’s poor human.

“Santa!” Maria added with a wink. “Have I been a good girl this year, aside this past night?”

“Of course, my dear. So much so, I got you this giant lump of carbon-!” A hand reached towards the bang and out came the present.

“C-Coal!?”

There was not a denial nor an admission. “You’re my evil little imp, after all.”

His female made a strange noise before she shook the box and slowly tore it open – the exact same things he did for his birthday. So… if this was NOT his day, was it… Maria’s? Oh, no. He hadn’t gotten anything for her-

“G-GRANDPA! A… diamond necklace!? H-How did you manage to-? No. Grandpa. It’s too much. I- I can’t…”

Blonde hair was brushed back behind the ear. “Was my own grandmother’s. She would have wanted you to have it. And one day, you’ll pass it on to someone you love, too.”

His female didn’t say much more afterwards. Those smaller hands wrapped around the rock that was hard to see from his much smaller angle, but he knew what a diamond was. In some of the higher pressurization places of the cosmos, some planets rained them in the atmospheres.

… Love?

But there wasn’t any Chaos Energy…

Hmmm… Hmmm… Hmmm…

BONK! His human tapped him. “Hah! You really didn’t get much from the Christmas Specials, did you, kid?” his human mocked without malice, pinching Shadow on his nose. He squeezed his red eyes shut and wiggled around, at least until Gerald let go and rubbed his side quills. “Alright, Shadow. Time for your gift as well – and stop staring at my beard. It’s as itchy as it looks and I am doing this for you! Enjoy it before I go crazy. Be glad I didn’t dress as the Grinch… More up my alley.”

With that, human hands reached in and out popped a large packet.

Why was his bigger than Maria’s…?

However, that query disappeared when he unraveled the item as well. Out from the folds of paper were…

Air Shoes?

But, they weren’t, too. These were made with merino wool – a special type that his male homosapien complained were not from the sheep that ‘just anyone’ could deal with in Oklahoma. That the only difference: everything was that special organic material. Soft. Flexible. It kept his heat within. Stretched more than metal, but also…

“Mind if I touch your feet, Shadow?” Maria asked and he absentmindedly nodded. She took the leftover Merino Air Shoe and carefully messed with the clasp of white by his left ankle-

His humans would never hurt him.

Those were promised words.

So, they could… remove his armaments.

Disarm him piece by piece.

…

And they did.

Took some time. He had to involve himself by pulling up the Inhibitor Rings – something he covered with his fingers and clenched tight. That was… not something his humans should see him without. That was something not even the Vanguard touched.

Carefully, his tools were placed to the side.

And on his feet were the new ones. Ones that…

Squished.

“They are called lounge shoes, Shadow. You use them when indoors when relaxing, such as sitting on the couch or in bed sleeping. See here?” Maria’s fingers rubbed against the plushed edge that, on his normal footwear, would be hardened, sharpened metal. Instead of a cut, her finger lacked blood or bruise. In fact, he… He felt her touch his toes through that fabric layer…

It was… strange.

Toes wiggled and the ghostly shapes moved in suit on the surface.

Wait…

He… He wouldn’t hurt his humans… at night… anymore…

He…

He sat there, watching the fibers of the wool dance in the firelight.

[x]

“Up we go, kid!” Gerald spiraled Shadow into a hold around his upper chest; Merino Shoes dangling under the hem of the white garment. “We got a special spot for you for a short bit. Just a few minutes.”

“And I already have the camera!”

The three of them headed towards the tree. Carefully, his male homosapien maneuvered and manhandled his body into different places and positions – all at the crest of the plant life. He let his human do what was needed, but…

Why was Gerald messing with him so?

N-Not that it was something he didn’t want…

“There, there, Shadow. I’m going to let you go soon, but you need to stay up here for a little bit. Alright?”

He nodded.

And then he was up eight feet. Vertical. On the tip top of this Christmas Tree.

His humans looked up to him. Something was in their eyes and their mouths. It was something undefined – and he wanted it.

He wanted it a lot.

Please.

Give it to him, too.

Gerald stood straight and had his hands behind his back. A hum erupted from the throat.

“Our cute little Tree Angel,” Maria added in a soft whisper.

“That he is.”

[x]

He ended up getting placed up there twice.

Apparently, someone – his female – had forgotten to take a photo.

This time, his humans laughed in a manner that Shadow understood.

Chapter Text

He carefully wrapped the peach-colored larva into the folds of fabric and hay that his male homosapien told him to accomplish. Apparently, the last day of Christmas was the sixth of January, and now that it was the tenth, he had to put everything away. His female homosapien got lucky she was at school because this was repetitive work she had a tendency to label ‘tedious.’ It was a strange concept to haul things out only to put them back upstairs, but the smiles he and his human shared warmed his core, so he did as requested. With the little thing packed up, he folded edges of a cardboard box into a closed state and warped up into the cold attic where the rest of the stuff was stored.

His breath puffed out visibly in the difference between his heat and the environmental chill. Red eyes watched the cloud dissipate before he stopped breathing altogether for a few minutes – making certain he still had that skill.

Five minutes. Ten. Thirty-

The sound of his human opening the door filled home. “KID! Where you at?”

He broke reality and appeared in a new location: right within the arms of his human, who smelled of hay and snow and fresh winter winds. He felt the center of gravity on his human shift as a ‘WHOAH!’ erupted out; thuds of the mail falling to the floor filled the empty space as large hands wrapped around him as reflex.

Oh.

This was a much nicer way to enter hugs.

There was a deep exhale as Gerald held onto his form tighter. The Merino Shoes rubbed against his belt as furred arms closed around a human neck. He could spend hours in this position if his homosapien let him… “Don’t do this trick to Maria. She’s not strong enough to hold you.” He buried himself deeper into his male homosapien as those words continued. “I’m serious, Shadow.”

He nodded.

“What a troublemaker…” Steps entered the Study Room as his human sat down on the leather seat, letting him return to the lap – one of his preferred spots. Fingers pulled back some fur around his muzzle as Gerald went to do ‘required business paperwork.’ It was apparently the ‘norm’ during the winter season – tally what crops worked the best, which pesticides were projected to be used the following year; if it was still economical to keep steer and cows with Shadow around ‘scaring them into stances unable to give birth.’

Mindless mammals were nothing like his humans.

Swipe. A fountain pen brushed against paper. Another moment later it did the same effect on other tidings. More and more and more – the face of his male homosapien one of constant concentration. Logistics: the backbone of all civilization. At some point during the morning – that turned into afternoon – he heard Gerald scoff. “Always someone trying to buy this property and take it away from us. What do we say to that, hm, kid?”

A sway of his head horizontally.

Denied.

Fingernails dug and he quivered. “That’s right. And if someone shows up to steal it underhandedly, what do we do?”

A fist balled together.

Fight.

“Such a smart boy.”

Swipe. Another letter of ‘WE BUY LAND AND GIVE YOU CONDO-LIKE LIVING – Retire to sunny FLORIDA! Garden Palms – where all snowbirds wish they could be!’ thrown away.

“Florida? I’d rather die.”

…

That… undefined him!!!!

Not in a nice way…!!

…

He needed to find a way to purge of this Florida; must prevent his human from never returning!!! He must pour more Chaos Energy into his male and female homosapiens!!! HE CANNOT LET THEM DISAPPEAR-!!!

Shadow sat and thought of the ways to eradicate landmasses off of the planet and send them back into the sea – he needed to look back at Maria’s map of the United States just in case there were multiple ‘Floridas.’ Could be a town. Could be a city. Could be an animal, now he thought about it. What was a condo in the first place? A Palm? How could Florida be sunnier than the warm, expansive skies of Oklahoma? Didn’t matter. He’ll find them all and-

Something shook his head.

It was his human.

“Kid?”

Red eyes looked up.

“No sad thoughts, alright?”

He wasn’t sad. He was… undefined. Angry? Frustrated? Something near that…

Gerald put the pen down in a cubby and pinched the bridge above the homosapien’s tanned nose. “Ahh… it’s the concept of death. I should have realized that sooner. Gah. Great job, Robotnik – you know he’s traumatized...” There was a pause as shoulders drooped. “I’m an old man, Shadow. I… am not going to live forever – no one does. Not me. Not Maria. Not even you.”

His human was lying again.

“When it’s my… time to go, I’ll follow where… my wife and other sons went. I suppose.”

He felt his fingers dig into cotton denim overalls and a long-sleeved shirt.

Made his ears hear the thump thump of a human heart.

“But FIRST I have to see Maria married with her own children. And you all healed up… You’ll probably stay here with her. She adores you very much.” There was a pause.

He begun to shake his head ‘no.’

Don’t leave him.

Eternity alone…

He’s… afraid of that now.

“No more tears, Shadow.” A hand rubbed his small spines on the back – all were flared out and near dangerous. “Besides, I will always be in your heart.”

[x]

That saying.

Those words.

The intent…

[x]

It was not the first time the Vanguard heard them.

[x]

“You need to watch out, Example,” a drilled comment came out. “There’s a monster out there.”

Red eyes shifted.

The voice was strange and filled with inflections he did not understand nor attempted to. Instead, he focused on the thing that his mind organized – the other rival before him. One of the ‘Upper Echelons’ of the Unfinished Lifeforms – ones that could hold onto Chaos Energy, had regeneration powers that could reform limbs, were smart enough to hang logical and tactical thought together, and the biggest power of them all: Chaos Control. To bend reality and warp from one location to another. To come from angles of attack no one else could counter without their own teleportation. And, like almost everyone else of the Unfinished Lifeforms, they held deep purple-black colorings, red markings, and long tails that swayed for ease of shifting center of masses. Smooth exoskeletons; black sclera; golden eyes. Different patterns to distinguish one from the other.

Fur was unnecessary.

Five digits at the end of each limb were two too many.

White dominating the oculars were reflective and a weakness.

Arms and legs were too thin and lacked strength.

The description catalogued a mistake that was allowed to continue.

“He’s not going to need to worry about a stupid rumor.” Yellow rolled within black sockets and reached his own red ones. “You’re versus me tonight in the arena,” the Unfinished UE added.

A separate rival, one with an extra horn, rose and lowered arms. “----- , try not to kill him. Example’s Energy levels are too low. I can’t even sense them. There are honestly better targets – and usage – of our time. Not worth the power to burn him to bits – you’ll end up with less than you can take. This one is barely… sentient. If that.”

The rival rose shoulders and shuffled a leg to and from in the lack of self-control of extremities. “Acceptables have flashes of memories of him surviving multiple rounds, you know,” commented the voice. “Though, they are hard to communicate with since their thoughts are basically above larva level. I wanna see if it’s just a fluke. There can only be one of us at the end, and all that nonsense.”

With that, the UEs left – sounds of, ‘Poor sod, going against -----. ------- at least gives mercy to fellow Black Arms,’ leaving with them.

He was abandoned with the others of the bottom tier.

The Useless.

These rivals carried duller black-purples, something almost a medium grey. Markings were closer to the color of browns than the blood of organics. Eyes did not glow as bright, but were still the correct orientation. They, too, could touch Chaos Energy – use it to enhance their strength and speed. Had claws that could slice through flesh. They lacked much thought, but could listen to commands with ease. The unspoken rule was that if none of them reached the next tier, they would turn into food.

That was how things worked.

None of them responded to him as he walked to where he was mandated to be before the arena’s time slot. These rivals never would. Father had issued instructions and they listened. With each step of his small feet, the Black Comet responded in silence. Eventually, he reached the outer regions where the Unfinished Lifeforms resided. They were considered ‘too precious’ to go beyond carefully mapped areas.

Except the Example.

He maintained each footstep. Practiced silence. Towards the location he always went – towards where he was ordered and he would obey. The walk itself was a mindless blur – it always was. At some point, he turned multiple corners and bypassed where some of the Black Arms stood guard. They flinched when his red eyes met theirs – secrets spoken to each other. Such musing bypassed him – the hive was ever still to his mind. He continued onwards and ran int0 the normal trappings that would greet him whenever he reached this region.

He stood there and waited.

Waited.

Waited.

And, then, Father was there.

What is the name of your opponent today?

He doesn’t know.

Why not?

Names are forgotten to him.

A noise filtered in between the shared mind link between Father and creation. Hmm… Without context, the Example just remained in place underneath those three eyes. You’ve never been torn to shreds, have you?

No, Father.

Then, go. Experience it. You need to understand how to block that pain and heal from it faster than now.

Command was received.

And he retreated back.

The Useless weren’t there anymore. No one else was. Only him and the faint illumination within the chambers. The three eyes in the back of his mind were ever present, but were not watching at this moment. Someone would take him – one of the larger, less specialized Black Arms warriors – and move him to the required location at some point. The Example didn’t care-

There was movement. Off towards the side. It was an Unfinished – by the feel of it, a powerful one.

Reality shifted; distorted. Slightly off-centered by 0.04127 spans. His red eyes caught the discrepancy as Father instructed, but mentioned nothing of it. It was data and information just for the Example and the Example alone.

It was one of the UEs. This one had three spines: one on each side of the cranium, and one at the top that flared slightly upwards – similar in style to his own in an oddity. This rival had two pronged claws for feet and three clawed hands – closer to Father in that sense. The muzzle was white – a match of the coat against the Example’s chest – and in selected locations blazed a red as vivid and as rich as his own.

A tail swung as golden eyes took him in. “Hey!” There was a dash forwards and arms wrapped around his body – high forces of both rotational and torque came into effect as heat of Chaos Energy was exchanged.

Red rubies watched the rival’s every movement.

“You’re ALIVE! I-I haven’t seen you in so long! Not after…!” There was more babbling as a much longer tail than the Example’s own flicked back and forth rapidly. “The rumors of a pitch black, ‘strange’ Unfinished was CORRECT, for fucking ONCE! I just knew that you were recovering! I just knew that you hadn’t left me!” Mouth spread opened and then crashed at new realization. “I finally see you and… Wait.” Volume dropped. A hiss erupted from the back of a throat – a sign of warning. “This is the holding area. You… You got pulled… to go into the arena.”

He nodded.

One of the claws rubbed against the mouth, up over eyes, and then backwards. A large exhale came out, filled with what he understood was the label of ‘anger.’ “Dammit, I finally found you again, and...!!” Gold shifted away and then back. “Brother, don’t worry! I’ll make certain that you’ll stay alive! I know one of the other Unfinished that can use Chaos Heal! They can top you up afterwards. You just gotta… survive! Won’t be too hard. -----‘s Chaos skills suck. I’ll be there this time as soon as the match is called! I promise, okay?”

The Example blinked. Remained still.

A larger Black Arms had yet to escort him away.

The UE’s brow moved lower. Mouth went against gravity. Yellow fangs dropped. “Why aren’t you responding to me?!”

Silence.

“What's… wrong?”

Silence.

“… Brother…?”

He must wait. For another Black Arms. This rival should be with the others. The Example needed to remain here. That was his short-term purpose: to get destroyed over and over again until he learned all the ways to ‘perish’ and ‘come back.’ To get faster and faster. To the point where even Father could stab him and he would turn whole as soon as the attack was removed from his body – or consumed within if such a vector was created with Chaos Energy.

He was everlasting.

“… Why are you not… doing anything…?”

The silence remained.

Those squeezes of torque returned. The UE begun to speak, but he muted it out.

He had a purpose to accomplish. Distractions were unneeded.

When it was time for him to get sent towards the arena, the words, “NO! DON’T TAKE HIM AWAY! SOMETHING’S WRONG WITH HIS MIND! TAKE ME INSTEAD!!! BROTHER! BROTHER!!!” filled his ears; claws – not his – that raked against flesh of other warriors; the smell of blood in his nostrils.

And he was shoved.

Landed.

Eyes from onlookers filled the small hovel. To be here usually meant the end of one of the Unfinished – to all but him. For some reason, he kept going on. He’s been here many times, and it had gotten to the point that the Useless or a majority of Acceptables could no longer ‘remove him’ in unknown or capable ways-

The scent of copper came back-

This was not the UE from immediately earlier – the one whose cries repeated for a while until hush returned. Rather, it was the one that said he didn’t need to worry about rumors-

The signal begun-

He saw, no, felt, the fabric of time and space slip massively in error – 3.875 whole spans from the actual targeted landing spot of optimal striking range; an atrocity – and the next thing he recalled-

Sharp teeth that nearly severed his neck from the rest of his body-

His black inked blood covered his fur-

Claws – not his – dug into his chest, trying to find where the organ that created Chaos Energy came from-

Red eyes rolled up-

Up-

Up-

Up-

This was how it felt to be eaten.

…

…

…

…

…

And then he was aware.

He sat in a puddle of green in quarters of one of the Unfinished Lifeforms; senses told him he was nearby where the other Upper Echelons usually stayed during ‘rest cycles.’ The viscous liquid was all over him, almost to a microscopic level. He could sense a torrent of Chaos Energy seep into each pore of his body – a foreign one that he took over and claimed as his own – the colors of orange sparking around him for a brief moment. It illuminated the contents of the space: nick knacks, scrolls used by the UEs for advanced training as they could not connect to Father, maps of local star systems; other things he had not recognized. There were letters on the pathway that led out, too. S-H-A-D-E-‘-S A-R-E-A.

They meant nothing to him.

Nothing happened for an untold amount of time.

No Father.

No other Unfinished.

Alone once more.

He sat there, in that dried out and flaking fluid-

Conscious once again? Clean yourself up from that failure’s gore.

A command.

And he did.

Black and red fully returned.

Go back to your normal location and continue to gather knowledge.

Thus, he walked. Walked. Walked-

Three clawed hand reached out from halfway down a pathway where no one else was to be, outside warriors. A rival had broken from commands. “You’re-! H-HOW!? I-! I saw you-!!!” Golden eyes were sharper – the Chaos Energy signature ever brighter, as if stronger – and words seemed to tighten in recognition of something. “No. Impossible… It’s been a full quarter cycle around orbit. You… can’t be alive. I’m delirious.” A singular digit traced his neck. “There’s not even a scar-?” Fury erupted. The Example was shoved away. “YOU! WHO ARE YOU THAT STOLE MY BROTHER’S SKIN!??!! -----!? THAT YOU? YOU SICK FUCK! I’M GOING TO KILL YOU, I SWEAR SO MUCH AS-!!!”

Red eyes blinked.

“YOU HEAR ME!? DEAD!”

A new sound creaked in the background. One of someone else’s emanate arrival. The UE was gone at that, knowing a rule had been disobeyed; warped away to not get caught.

He hadn’t understood these conversations.

But he didn’t have to. The Example just had to live. Experience. Get faster.

And he did.

He didn’t see that particular Unfinished Lifeform nor searched the rival out. He didn’t need to. There were others – hundreds, now, as their numbers dwindled. His body had ‘ended’ and reformed countless times in the gap – each moment a blur. The expanse of measurement begun to shrink and he felt his reserves of Energy expand at the same time – to the point it was beginning to cause damage upon himself. That created a whole new host of trials: more and more, he grew in the shadows of the hallways as parts of him within were changed to whatever Father needed for war.

He eventually ‘evolved’ to the point where his body was a mere shape. One that could flex and bend and contort his own insides into almost goo to get into locations where other things couldn’t-

“You again, Skin Taker.”

Red eyes shifted.

“I know I saw you die to ---------- last night. He exploded your chest cavity with Chaos Energy… No one regens from that.”

Silence.

Then, something new. Foreign: a shake of his head. It was… hesitant. Why? Why did he accomplish that? There was no need to communicate. He only needed to listen and respond to Father-

That small action sent something in this rival’s face into contortions he couldn’t comprehend. There was a stagger as legs stepped back – as if he was not the Example, but- “It can’t be. B-Brother? No. I’m hallucinating.”

He didn’t respond. ‘Brother’ lacked true definition.

The Unfinished grabbed him. “But… if you’re… real… I’m not going to let you go!”

And he was dragged. Away from the places where Father was – away from the Useless – away from those in the middle. Instead, it was a separate enclave: small, only enough to fit the bare minimum of things. All the Unfinished understood they were to undergo final transformation in pupa where the ‘winner’ would be chosen, and as such, needed no private areas, but the UEs were considered to be ‘almost perfect.’ The perks they gained meant nothing to him-

“Here. Take this.”

Something entered his hands. It was long and cylindrical, with a tassel tied to the end. The weight was strange.

Golden eyes searched red ones for… something. “It’s a drawing you did. Of all the places we wanted to visit. Does it… jog anything?”

He opened the object in the same manner Father did-

“Wait. Since when could you use Chaos Energy?”

He always could.

“You just… speared the seal off. Effortlessly. That much control… O-Only He has t-that much…”

The Example ignored the rest of the words as the strange, fleshed ‘backing’ came into view. It was of miscellaneous shapes: planets, stars, and quasars. Places of locations far away, where the Black Comet bypasses without care. The color mixes were intense and outlandish – nothing like the muted tones of home.

A finger traced one of the illustrations.

… He felt hollow.

“Come here, brother. I’m gonna check on something.”

It was not Father’s command. He should ignore.

But he listened. There was naught else important to accompl-

“My Chaos Energy is specialized in dealing with mental warfare. O-Obviously, not gonna use it to attack you! Just… gonna take a peek. So, don’t struggle. Ok?”

He stayed still-

Ah. It was similar to Father’s ability.

Wait. He enters your mind? Personally?

For a long time… as far back as he can remember…

So, He must know there’s something WRONG here! Where… is everything!? Consciousness!? Thoughts!? EMOTIONS!? The rush of killing things!? Of being one with the hive!? Of having me, your brother, right HERE!? Why hasn’t He fixed this?!

He is a blank canvas. Incomplete.

What do you MEAN!?

He is meant to be molded and has a long way to go.

The invader shifted at that. … Why are there memories of…? HISS!!! … GASP!!! PANT!!! H-How many times have you died…?

Death is pointless.

… T-There’s also three empty swaths here-!!

Resets.

What…?

He described them. The concept. The-

And the rival was out of his mind. Voice dropped in octave. “Is that what happened to you? You were sent back to zero?”

He doesn’t know.

Gold bore into him. “Stay here, brother. You’re gonna stay dead-dead to everyone else, for all I care. I’ll become the Ultimate Lifeform and protect you. Gotta fix you back. I won’t break this promise. I swear!”

And the Unfinished did… whatever that being had to do to keep him in the room. Extra sacs for ‘soft beds’ were placed down, making the already small area even tighter, volume wise. The walls were carved out to fit ‘nooks’ for ‘stuff’ that he ‘once liked:’ marking carbon sticks, scrolls of various space phenomena that were stolen from conquered planets from warriors; flammable materials; shiny gemstones or rocks from the ‘relic room.’ The rival spoke about made up tales of the two exploring the lands outside the Black Comet – of the satellites they would take over; of the various species they would eat for Chaos Energy and give to the larva that needed them. UE would be the Ultimate Lifeform; him the Penultimate one. Rival would allow him to get sent out ahead because it ended up that his form was more ‘visually appealing’ to sentients of various other species according to ‘studies.’ Then, once the Example had ‘set the stage,’ the Unfinished would roll in and feast away!

“An unstoppable duo! Just as how we were made to be!”

When he gravitated to making images on the walls with his fingers in various shapes using light and shadow, Rival would fight a mouth against gravity, jump, and make strange noises by slapping those three-pronged claws together. When he waited patiently for UE to come back from ‘training,’ the individual that claimed the words ‘brother’ would vocally ‘HOOT!’ The Unfinished even taught him how to teleport – made a ‘jajaja’ when the Example would glitch out into walls and have to get pulled out from the organic matter.

He started to… feel something inside.

Warmth?

Just a flicker. It would last a singular, fleeting moment.

He didn't imagine things, so it must have been real…

Whatever it was.

That white muzzle shaped into flashed yellow fangs. “I noticed you started looking for me until I come back from drill! Awwww! Did you miss me, brother?”

He had not understood the concept of-

A three clawed hand squeezed his own five digit one. “I'm sure you do. It'll just take some time to label it. See. I'm the best healer for you!” There was a movement of that long tail once more. “Time to train you some more self defenses, though. Your attack skills suck and I heard rumors someone is looking for the Example from outside the hutch. Someone important. That can't be good. That only happens when one of us Unfinished are about to get fed to the Monster. I dunno how the others think you're alive, though… Tsk!!”

‘Monster?’

“OH! You don't know, do you? Duh. Memory loss. My fellow Upper Echelons and I have mentioned how there’s this… sense in Chaos Energy we've spotted. Something kinda close to Him in terms of power and violence. ------ mentioned having seen the Monster before! A black, flowing liquid with ten red eyes and long tentacles. It obliterates apart everything in its path – Useless, Acceptables, Upper Echelons; they say even the normal Black Arms as well! It tears them not just physically, but also rips their very Energy out of them! SLURP!!” Hands waved at the concept, as if this Monster could be defeated just by those movements. “We need to train so we can avoid that thing. You ain't getting fed to that, alright? I promised to protect you! Don't you believe me?”

His ability to regenerate from being consumed had increased to the point Father didn't require experience on that anymore.

The Example moved his head up and down as such.

Rival flashed teeth once more. “You’re really the best, brother. No one else gets me like you do – and vice versa.”

So, to learn defensive skills, they would spar and he would watch from an almost detached perspective. Analyze. Assess. UE was careful in the amount of force applied to his body, but aggressive all the same. Some of the fights would occur at various moments in order for ‘him to keep on his toes!’ Sometimes, lessons from the place the Upper Echelons learned were retold to the Example when blows crossed. He heard about all the different topics going on with the Unfinished Lifeforms: the Comet was running low of Energy to sustain so many of them and more rumors were growing about. Some of the Acceptables were getting culled to fuel more Chaos Energy for those above them; the Useless had all but vanished already. As such, the Example ‘had to’ get stronger to defend himself, ‘just in case’-

Father showed up one day.

“B-Black Doom,” swiftly uttered Rival in a tone he didn't understand again. “W-What are you doing here, Creator?”

There rustle of cloth as UE was ignored. Everything was pushed aside, actually. Like always, there was nothing but him and Father. Come. Domestic playtime is over. It is time to feast.

A command.

He dropped the charcoal stick and the apparatus that held markings. For some reason, he could sense the chemicals of fear and worry and sudden realization from the Unfinished behind him.

“Brother, wait-!”

His body continued to move.

The Example must obey Father.

“WAIT. YOU – I MEAN, Black Doom – this Unfinished is in a weakened mental state! Umm-! I-! You can't-!!” Conflict rung. “YOU CAN'T TAKE AWAY MY BROTHER!!!”

We are to work on your Energy control next.

Yes, Father.

And he strode. A few steps.

“Brother! Why aren't you fighting back!?”

His ears moved to the sound.

Steps still echoed.

“Brother…?”

You’re beginning to aggravate me, -------. Leave. You are still useful. Take this at a final warning.

Silence.

Reluctance.

Soft whispers of ‘promise’ and ‘protect.’

Rival suddenly popped – 0.015 spans off center – and took hold of his arm and tugged them both away.

But no where on the Comet was truly gone from Father.

-------, you believe you have mastered that particular Chaos ability?

“AGHH!!” UE shrieked and clenched his skull. Muscles taunted.

Attention changed focus and drilled into him. The command came swift, like a nail into his interior. Display the truth of the gap between perfection and mistakes.

The words were unbidden-

‘Gifted’-

Forced down upon him-

Seared into his mind by three all-seeing eyes-

CHAOS CONTROL!

A back arched-

Quills floated-

He felt the world dissolve into grey nothingness-

Centered around himself-

Sounds bleached-

The pulse of life vanished-

Every life form, except him and-

Overwhelmed, he lost everything-

…

…

…

…

…

Green fluid filled the small area.

Covered his body.

Other words were spoken, but he couldn't claim then.

He lacked understanding.

He was sore.

Frozen.

His form was repairing itself.

What had happened…?

“I w-will always… be in your heart…”

Why was Rival… quiet?

Wasn’t UE normally… loud?

“E-Even if you… forget me… I f-forgive you, brother. ”

…

...

…

…

…

THERE WAS NOTHING BUT HATRED AND RAGE. THE NEED TO UTTERLY CONSUME EVERYTHING. THE OTHERS. THE UNFINISHED. THE BLACK ARMS. ALL UNDER THE COMET’S SHELL.

AND HE BEGUN.

AREA BY AREA.

NOTHING WAS SPARED. HE TORE APART THE VERY CONCEPT OF TIME AS HE DUG DEEPER INTO THE ORGANIC HALLWAYS.  HE COULDN'T KEEP IT UP – THAT TECHNIQUE WAS IMPERFECT. UNCONTROLLED. HE ANNIHILATED PIECES OF HIMSELF IN THE PROCESS AND HAD TO STOP. NEVERTHELESS, OBJECTS STOOD IN HIS PATH TO REGUVENATE, AND HE WAS THERE UPON THEM. DESCENDED. RIPPED AWAY EYE SOCKETS, LIMBS, AND MOUTHS.

HE WAS WITHOUT SOMETHING-!!

NOTHING HE OBLITERATED MADE HIM FEEL THAT WARMTH IN HIS CORE HE ONCE KNEW.

HE HAD TO FIND IT.

SEARCH FOR THAT SOURCE.

OR KILL THOSE THAT WEREN'T IT.

DOWN THE HALLS. A BLUR OF MEMORIES. OUTSIDE THE PLACE WHERE THE UNFINISHED TRAVELED FOR HE KNEW HE HAD TRAVERSED THIS PATH AND MET SOMEONE BEFORE-!

A FLOATING FIGURE WAS NEXT ON HIS RAMPAGE.

A SUDDEN REALIZATION.

THOSE THREE ORBS.

THE ONE THAT CAUSED THIS LACK OF HEAT.

HE REACHED TO STRIKE THE SOURCE OF ALL THIS EMPTINESS HE WAS NOW FEELING-!!!

But he was weak.

Unfinished.

And defeated.

…

…

…

…

…

Fascinating, Father remarked to him one rotation. You still wait for him even after being wiped. Vanguard, that failure is dead. You slaughtered him. Eclipses are only momentarily – the fleeting gasp of a shaded moon over a brutal sun. That Unfinished was, in fact, useful: shined so that you could continue your growth.

…

…

…

…

…

The next reset he stood and waited somewhere else.

He was cold.

Indifferent.

Alone .

[x]

He shivered with enough velocity that, had he been surrounded by metal, it would have vibrated and made noise.

Cotton, wool, and the few scraps of silk surrounded him; covered every inch until the only illumination were the glow from his eyes. Shadow was in the closet where both of his human’s linens were kept. He had burrowed within each sheet, trying to fill the void that affected his insides. No matter how much he dug, nothing changed. That feeling remained.

That cavity came up an hour after being in the Study.

It hurt.

“Shadow?” his female homosapien tried once again. “Mind if I come in?”

The pause was only a few seconds before he heard the oaken, six-panel door open. The soft creak consumed his ears, despite the fact they laid flat against his skull.

Sounds of fabric moved. Pale fingers reached within and without much effort, as if the place of solitude he made for himself was defenseless, she found his clenched fists. They poked around, trying to find a weak spot. Realizing there was none to be found, the hand moved a tad, coming to rest above the top instead. They patted and moved and didn’t pull away.

Time slipped.

“… I discovered my parents coming home from elementary.”

He remained still, surrounded by scents.

“I didn’t understand what had happened at first. I thought that they… must have spilled ketchup on the couch and themselves making dinner. I did spot… the bullet casings, though, and remembered what they said: ‘run into the closet if I ever heard or saw them.’ So, I did.”

His human… did the same thing he was doing?

Knew this… emptiness?

“And I waited for someone. Like…” Her voice cracked. “Like a good girl.”

Her fingers managed to slip into his own, now.

“I waited for so long…”

Unhappy humans were more important to address and deal with than himself. As such, Shadow pulled himself closer to her; a moving pile of towels and bedsheets.

“… Grandpa took me in.”

She had wrapped him in a hug by this point; emptiness was still here. Dulled slightly.

“I hated him at first. I was away from Mom and Dad. From friends. From my old school. I was in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma with a guy that Dad yelled on the phone with about… something or another. Adult stuff.” By this point, she had peeled his covers away – saw his red eyes watch her own cyan, carefully. “But I guess… Mom and Dad didn’t know Grandpa as much as they thought they did. He won me over. Won you over.

“But, like you, I’m scared I’ll wake up one day and he… won’t get out of bed.”

A squeeze.

“I get it, Shadow. Come here. We can be a bit sad and support each other, together.”

[x]

The three were up on the roof.

The night was bitter and cold. Exhales of warm air faded in the moonless night. Three sets of eyes watched the stars above. His male homosapien had softly called it the Leonis Minorids as the elder attempted to explain what they were seeing since neither of the youths were talking. Words spread images of falling, shooting stars and of the vast expanse that went beyond human comprehension. Of potential cities and towns and life that existed far out there – of the places dreamers visited. Of how in human history, people of long ago believed when death came, it came in beauty as they ascended and turned into beacons of light.

Gerald continued as the hours faded from one date to a new one; told the story about how wishes could be casted upon streaks of color against a blanket of darkness.

How they gave one hope.

Promises of change.

He rested there even when his humans had to eventually turn in.

Awake.

Spotted one last stripe of white that faded in the reality of reentry.

He knew wishes couldn’t be granted in cosmic fires.

…

Please, tell me how to keep my humans.

…

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

And then, as the Sun started to rise, there was a green flash. It covered the entire sky, from horizon to horizon. It was brief and lasted only a second and a half – as if the Earth knew what Chaos Control was.

Maria called out to him.

The diamond necklace around her neck, normally hidden underneath clothing not her pjs, was bright. The image shifted momentarily in his mind into something else: the Master Emerald.

The thing the Vanguard seeks.

It wasn’t a real answer.

Just coincidence.

He responded to her call, where the two joined Gerald for breakfast: French Toast in the shape of little hearts with all the mountains of sugar not normally allowed; freshly squeezed orange juice from plants curated with Chaos Energy; a side bowl of yogurt for Maria; a side bowl of coffee beans for him.

“I love you both, kids,” came not a lie as the final plate was placed before them all.

Just like that, life restarted as normal.

Shadow couldn’t explain how.

It… happened.

And he and his female eventually laughed again…

All underneath the bright, endless blue skies.

Chapter Text

Pale fingers danced along his Inhibitor Ring – the one on his left foot, to be specific. His female homosapien had seen the clasp’s groove and was tracing the near invisible line. She understood he was keeping watch. However, he didn't distort his face or give any warnings – his human was simply doing an ‘art study.’ “The school assignment was about how metals can look black in certain parts of the light. We have to observe and then to go draw them, but, Shadow, does it look like I can just pull up a giant, shiny, and reflective chunk of steel from somewhere? Pft! Not all of us live with air condition and got a compressor unit! Therefore, I went with what I got!” Her nails tapped the golden device. “Besides, you're so pretty – er, handsome – with these.” Blue eyes met red. “Speaking of that… Um… Your fellow otherworldly beings…”

He stopped breathing.

Looked at her deeply.

“… Was the jewelry a thing that you… spawned with in your metal egg thing?”

Oh.

… It was labeled a pupa, his human…

He shook his head in denial, anyhow.

“O? So, you're a very special angel.”

A tilt of his head. The beginnings of confusion. Then he recalled what she dressed him up as last month and what she and his male homosapien called him. ‘Angel.’ As such, he nodded.

“Why did you choose the Earth?”

Maria… He... had no choice…

The Earth…

He was sent to…

The Vanguard was brought here for…

Shadow’s here to…

… protect and stay with his humans…

“... Angels don't give up their secrets, hmm?” Her pink tongue flashed and a wink arrived once again. Eventually, the pencil in her hand flew and brushed around, changing colors when required. In the end, on her paper was a mirrored image of his Ring; the black fur with a red highlight only hinted in the limited perspective. “I dare say I might actually get an ‘A’ in her class! Haha!”

He trundled in her bed at that; felt the woolen quilts that belonged to both of them; wrapped himself up in a little roll. Shadow continued to ravel and unravel as time passed – the action made no sense or had any practical application. Mindless stuff. A movement that was rhythmic and leaked time away as Maria did her homework with a smile.

“You're so silly when you're bored, Shadow.”

[x]

There was a lot of snow.

Gerald was staring out of the window – the Sun invisible underneath the clouds and the large, fat flakes that descended and piled upon the ground. He was on his human’s lap; tail sash swaying to and fro as his male homosapien was midway through reading a science fiction novel. Alas, the story was getting cut off from his male human: the action wasn't purposeful – that, he knew – as the image and scenery outside held more importance.

As such, the question came out was not unexpected. Not… exactly. He was looking for her as well. “Do you sense Maria?”

There was a shake of the head.

He felt undefined when Gerald stopped his comfort. He felt more undefined, a different one, when the eyes behind glasses narrowed out into the white abyss. “The bus should have been here by now. Or a phone call…”

Red watched his human hum and haa.

“Can I bother you to find Maria? If she's alone, bring her back safely. I just have a funny feeling she missed the bus and tried to walk home. In… this.”

Black ear twitched as he slowly left that warm lap; the Gift slid onto his male human’s hands. With that, he warped to where his Air Shoes were, replaced Merino Shoes with them, and then willed himself to the great outdoors.

The snow was thicker and brighter as he glided over the surface – the topmost layer of snow melted and then slowly froze once again in a thickened barrier. It marked his trail the same way this action marked his mind. The Vanguard knew about Search and Destroy – was an expert at such takings – but he was only going to accomplish half of that normal routine. Unless, of course, one counted the obliteration of the white powder… Fur shook that wasn't from his silent movements. What was this… event his female human called…?

Hide and…

Seek?

…

Maria…

Come out.

Come out.

Wherever you are.

He glided around the south and western edges of the Farm Approximately 17 Miles North-Northeast of Guthrie, Oklahoma. No blonde hair that was the color of the Sun. No blue eyes like the skies above clouds. No pale skin like fresh cantaloupes. No voice that called out his name-

Hmm… She didn't appear. Maybe because she was still hiding because he didn't say the countdown?

Ten fingers were held up.

Then nine.

Eight.

Seven.

All the way to One.

Zero.

His human…!

Come out!

She was being very sneaky. Even his senses didn't catch her as he went along the east edge. Then the north-

That was when he found her.

Aware she had managed to make him work harder than anything before, he calculated the distance and broke reality with a hum. There was that small blip that accompanied him as he found himself suddenly in an area with a roaring fire in a fireplace surrounded with tile depictions of deer and humans; large, richly colored rugs with golden ends that were cleaned immaculately; a large sofa that was not the lounge chair, but one that has carved butterflies and flowers along the armrests and legs; curtains made of silk and silk alone; wallpaper of bright greens and gold mica in the shapes of spades-

His human!

He tagged her shoulder as she had done.

She was It. Right?

“THE GHOST-!!” yelled a fearful noise that rung in his ears. Anything else was blocked by Maria slamming her hands over this little previously catalogued homosapien’s mouth.

“Ssssh, Abe!” was a command. “Sshh!!!”

He watched as his female human went into frenzy: hands gripped the weaker, smaller of the humans with force; cyan that dilated in knowledge and understanding; her full body weight tackling the not-Gerald into the rugged fabric. Red eyes danced in the firelight as more words erupted. “I know this is awkward, but you gotta promise to not say anything and I'll let you go, okay? This is Shadow and he's really nice and really sweet and the best-est, but he's also really shy and quick to react. Remember Grandpa’s new son? This is him. BUT YOU CANNOT SAY ANYTHING, ABE.” A pause. “I'll give you… a big warm hug and… will accept your Valentine if you STAY QUIET! Understand?”

The cortisone and elevated heartbeat lessened slowly, like a leaky faucet slid shut. A mix of two-colored eyes – one green; one brown and oddly lined with faint purple of popped capillary veins – were widened and taking in every inch of his fur. His shape.

His being.

“Mmnhmm!”

A grumble came out as she slowly removed her hands; he heard something undefined from his female homosapien addressed to… him? Why? Gerald said to stay hidden, but this not-Gerald already knew of the Ultimate Lifeform. He's been in this house before – it was the one with the funny ‘hat’ over the windows- “Shadow! What are you doing here!?” came a stern hiss.

Black ears furled back.

What...

What's wrong with his human?

There was another grumble. “Did you come looking for me?”

A nod.

A shuffle of his feet.

His own hands intermingled with each other's digits.

“Wait. The storm. Didn't Grandpa get the phone call…?”

He shook his head.

Maria's full body turned back to the not-Gerald. “Abe! You said you were going to call my grandfather!” That tone shifted to not nice and he didn't understand why. Was… was his human wasn't not happy at him? He only makes happy homosapiens-

“I-I…” Those two-hued eyes maintained on his own. “They're so… red.”

His female homosapien pinched the bridge of her nose. “Shadow isn't a ghost and he isn't going to eat you, Abraham…”

“He… teleported. Like a Martian.”

“Not from Mars. He's from the heavens.”

A young male hand waved. “I…! This… creature-!”

“And he knows English, so be nice! Or I'll take that Valentine back!” his human ended with a tsk.

He was still standing there.

Watching.

Tilted his head when he received no hugs.

This not-Gerald was disobeying the ‘nice’ command.

What… a bad human.

So, Shadow walked over and fixed the error.

[x]

Not-Gerald was asleep in his arms.

He… thinks.

Dual-colored eyes had rolled back; body went suddenly limp; legs wanted to collapse onto a bed that wasn’t anywhere nearby… All those signs were the ones Shadow had when it was time for bed and his male homosapien would pick him up with a large, warm smile.

So, he did his part and made sure to not let not-Gerald hit the floor.

His female homosapien called him a good boy at that, so…

Female fingers curled around a telephone cord. “I’m okay, Grandpa. Bus broke down by Abe’s house and he invited me to spend the night cause of the storm.” A pause. “Abraham mentioned he was going to call, but I think he forgot. He got punched in the face earlier today over lunch so he might be still woozy.” An even longer pause. “Y-Yes, Shadow is here as well.” Hesitation and silence. “He saw the warp in the living room. I can’t hide that, Grandpa.” The returned words were fast – he picked them up if he wanted. “Don’t worry. Abe’s a very loyal friend. He can keep a secret. It’s not like Shadow can erase memories.”

He twisted in position at that comment.

His human…

He could. If you needed him to.

It would be without effort.

Just like-

Just…

Oh, no.

No, no; no.

Not him thinking he could do it as Father would!!!

Chaos Energy recoiled from his control as his human continued her discussion. He didn’t follow much of the deliberations after that as he stood there, holding onto smaller homosapien, with a sudden new worry.

He… He was feeling very much so undefined.

[x]

The next time he and his human visited not-Gerald was the next evening. “Right after school!” Maria had said. “That’s when his parents still haven’t come back from their jobs. I need to give this-” she pulled out a giant red heart that didn’t look like an organic heart at all, “-to him! It’s called bribing, Shadow. And we are buying his silence.”

When he popped into the living room, his nose instantly caught the smell of plastic and dyes falsely hidden underneath the metallic wrapper labeled LAFFY TAFFY. It was sitting on a plate – one giant stack available for anyone to touch and claim and accidentally put that cancer in one’s mouth-!!!

STAY AWAY FROM HIS HUMAN!!!

Out of existence THAT went in the fires of Chaos-

Not-Gerald fell asleep again.

[x]

“Gonna have to beat you into Abe’s conscious, Shadow. The second Abraham knows you’re his friend, it’s an over and done deal!” A toothy grin flashed. “He won’t have a chance to resist your cuddly cuteness for long!”

His human was…

Dangerous.

[x]

January billowed into February.

Twice a week they visited the neighbor’s Second Empire hat window house for an hour after school’s ending.

This ‘Valentine’ being threatened every time.

Someone – according to Maria – needed ‘to break and give in.’

At one point, not-Gerald managed to stay awake the entire visit.

[x]

He sat next to his female homosapien. In white gloves were five playing cards that the smaller human owned; the little air bubbles on the surface made the cellular product slick. A black ear twitched as he heard the breathing rate of not-Gerald increase – eyes narrowed in focus. His female human called those things tells and as such, he understood that the hand the male miniature had was something thought as a winner.

Crimson took his own array of shapes and colors in.

Not-Gerald pushed in two dollars. Maria followed up and added a piece of paper labeled HALL PASS with her own money. The two others exchanged back and forth until other items were stacked on a pile: homework’s answers, something about some assignment, various pencils, an entire backpack that was matched by his female homosapien; and more and more trinkets that he didn’t know much about other than she needed them for school. Finally, both agreed to end the fight in silence.

“Shadow,” his female human whispered. “This is a LOT of prizes for the two of us, so if you are going to stay in the round, you need to play something down that’s of high value.”

The smaller homosapien shuffled in his seat when the human saw him put his cards into the folded position. “He’s doing that again.”

“Because he knows he won’t take this round,” the girl commented as a hand rubbed his cheek. “You’re incredibly calculative and thoughtful, aren’t you, Shadow?”

He nodded.

It…

Was a lie.

Sort of. The second half of her words were true: he had a Royal Flush, but if he beat not-Gerald, there would be nothing for his human to work with in her emotional negotiations.

Shadow was here to help his human and her plans.

Even if it meant… swallowing his…

Whatever this undefined thing was.

[x]

Pillows from every couch or sofa in the house – which, there were many – were stacked upon each other. Some of the items pretended to be a hull, a keel, and a stern. Bedsheets were pulled and draped from a hanging ceiling light fixture – placed there by him as the smaller human looked on in wonderment. As he descended back onto the hardwood floor, his female homosapien placed something into not-Gerald’s hand: a china dish, completely clean.

Paper adorned Maria’s head in the shape of a hat; a silver butterknife thrusted into the air. “AHOY! I SEE A STORM OUT YONDER!” Blue eyes shifted. “First Mate Abraham! Turn the helm and batten down the hatches!”

The dish moved left and right in smaller human’s fingers. “I’m not getting a response from the rudder!! We must be stuck on a shoal!”

“ARG! WHAT A TERRIBLE FATE!” A hand dramatically waved over his female homosapien’s eyebrows as a body wilted.

Shadow waited in his silence, lying down on his belly over the hardwood as he rolled around in the ‘water.’

Maria told him to.

“GASP! What is that over there, First Mate?”

“YARG! It’s a SEA KRAKEN!”

He stopped rolling and watched the two humans wave their hands around.

Kraken…?

“Pst. Keep rolling, Shadow,” his female homosapien winked.

Oh.

He did so.

“Captain Robotnik! What should we do?”

“IT’S TOO LATE! The Kraken has us in its grasps! We’re going to be sentenced to endless homework!”

That was his cue.

Tail wagged as he pounced – the white pieces of paper with questions asking about the history of World War I left empty sailed in the air. He jumped right in front of not-Gerald, tapped right along areas of the muscle where the nervous system was closest to the surface, overruled them temporary with Chaos Energy, and down went the First Mate with a thud onto the second fattest pillow.

The captain was next.

Butterknife swayed about in mock battle against his fingers. It was… a terrible display of humanity’s version of claws. Poor Maria. Going against the Ultimate Lifeform was not a long-term survivability plan. Ergo, she went down in less time than the smaller human.

Victorious, he stood there.

… Up until his female dragged him down beside her.

Together, the duo rolled into the ‘ocean’ to join the smaller human. They treaded water and made their way to Treasure Island where the Next Adventure was to await them.

Not-Gerald laughed.

Maria laughed.

Shadow laughed, too.

[x]

His male homosapien picked him up from the living room later that evening. In silence, he carried his form towards the Master Bedroom and snuggled him into the many different layers of covers. Hands brushed back red and black fur. “Did you have a good day, kid?”

Maria said he made a friend.

As such…

There was a nod.

Lips touched his topmost quill. “That’s great… Goodnight, Shadow.”

Goodnight, his human.

Chapter Text

Human.

His human.

His male human.

Red eyes watched carefully at the sleeping form of Gerald. His tallest homosapien was snoring very loudly this past night and it made his ears twitch at every moment. It was… not easy to fall asleep with such a loud ruckus, could not his human understand that? Observation let it be known that the culprit was some sort of relaxed tissue that was vibrating in the movement of air. Made it too easy to track. The Day of Arrival was not something he prepared for anymore, but the lessons of sneak should still be adhered to! Honestly. His human.

… This was going to go on for hours, wasn’t it? His human’s hive mind was not working - wasn't picking up the message he was sending.

Fine.

He’ll just… wrap himself closer to the chest where the beating drum was.

Shadow had to watch over it for Maria.

[x]

At exactly the midway point in February, it was not him and his female homosapien that went across towards the neighbors, but not-Gerald that came to the Farm. There was a black car that was much smaller than the work truck and out popped the younger individual. In the not-Gerald’s arms was that incorrect depiction of the four chambers of a critical organ and a singular red rose. The clothing was also strange: something made with silks instead of the normal wool or cotton that he was used to.

In fact, when he was allowed back inside Maria’s room, she, too, had changes in her clothing! There was a dress that went down to her knees – a bright blue that sparkled with a few pieces of…

… Plastic…

He walked swiftly towards her, looking at the chunks of transparent carbohydrate chains. Heard her voice fill the air as she realized he had a very specific and narrowed watch. “They’re rhinestones, silly. They are meant to look like fake diamonds, since, you know… We can’t afford real ones.”

He tilted his head.

His human wore that disgusting filth because she was incapable of claiming her hands on the proper, natural material?

There was a rub on his topmost quill as she smiled. “I’m off to hang out with Abe. I owe him this. Have a good day, Shadow!”

He had a plan.

So, he will, indeed, have a ‘day,’ his human.

[x]

Maria had a saying.

‘Fun fact!’

They were reserved when someone learned something new that was considered to be ‘different than the expected norms.’

…

Fun fact: teleporting into a cave in the interior of Earth doesn’t work well when there are not many caves to begin within the underdark of Oklahoma.

He sat in the… eventual… successful warped location deep within. It was a shot in the dark, to be honest, but he knew there was all the pieces to create carbon into clear, brittle forms somewhere under his feet. Shadow had to warp blindly – not a particularly nice experience – and had to reform his body about… seven times – warping into solid bedrock would do that – before he discovered this spot.

It was hot.

He had to be 100 miles under the surface right about now.

1,872.8°F.

Chaos Energy hummed in continuous usage to protect the non-organic things upon his body: his Inhibitor Rings – he had left the Air Shoes and gloves at home. The ground he was on more akin to a pudding his male homosapien created for dessert with how soft it was. A byproduct of the heat. If he tried, he would get his entire leg stuck and have to warp out.

It was not an effective method of stripping the walls for what he was searching for.

[x]

He was smashed and crushed by cave roof collapses another three times. Accidentally ran into lava and was left as a pool of black for a few seconds – also not nice.

But he had found his Target.

[x]

The cast iron tub was filled to the brim with chilled water that almost flashed to over a hundred and two when he sunk underneath the lavender bubbles. Male fingers dug into his fur and markings when he was safe enough to touch; ears twitched as human digits soon reached over there as well. “Jesus Christ, kid. Where did you go? The trampled areas of the cow pasture?” He offered his arms when Gerald silently commanded them to come out – the pumice rock used for exfoliating homosapien flesh scratching his form in a comforting manner. His legs were next – his toes wiggled as the last of the thickened slags and clays from deep within left.

The water had to get drained and filled twice before every last piece of the dirty mess left him.

“Honestly…”

He purred when the towel dried him off and he was placed in front of the roaring fire. Merino Shoes tapped against one another as he sat there in thought.

Shadow shifted his position and tugged his male human’s pant.

Human.

His human.

He needs your help.

The newspaper fluttered and folded. Eyes watched his body from underneath glasses. “What is it? Want to rest on my lap?”

Yes.

He does-

Hmmng! Gerald! He has something else he needs to do! Don't distract him with lazy and greedy! He knows enough about those two things: they come in pairs and always happen when he is touched and moved-!!

Too late.

Ahhh…

His face fell forward as he took a nap.

[x]

He followed the elder homosapien all afternoon.

To the barn. To the feed. To the outside. To check the fence. To check the car. To check the hanger. To check the road. To check the well. To check the furnace. To check all the things. The entire time he helped when and where he could, waiting for ‘free time’ as his human was strangely busier than normal for a winter’s day. “Tasks like these help to stave off the forlorn feelings, kid. My wife wouldn't have wanted me to be sad anymore. I have Maria and you, now.” A pause. “Sigh, my granddaughter. She's too young to be manipulating a little boy’s heart.” The words were of discipline and errors, but the tone was lighthearted and filled with unspoken laughter. Like a memory was replayed from longer ago than this morning.

He waited and waited.

Finally, his human rubbed his cheeks. “Alright, rascal. What do you need?”

The item was hidden within him, and he pulled it out. The face of his human shifted – an exclamation of shock, which was strange – as the gigantic carbon pressed matter resided in his hands. It was as big as his two fists put together and was the color of Maria’s eyes. Not clear and transparent, true, but blue and transparent could work and was superior anyways. It weighed not too much, according to his standards, and had a rough shape of what he had been searching for: a central lump, a pointed lump at the bottom, and two lumps up top on a horizontal axis.

Human.

His human.

He needed to transform this into a ‘Valentine.’

He pulled it out of the Earth's pupa already.

This hardened, brittle matter was ready.

There were drawings of countless papers filled with ♡s, which he hid underneath Maria’s bed, that he showed to his male homosapien. Big ♡s, medium ♡s; small ♡s. They were all Unfinished: were too anatomically correct to be considered ‘valid.’ He couldn't understand why – each one was black, like his own organ! He even took those graphite pencils to shade in depth to depict three-dimensional space – to add the veins that surrounded each of the four chambers! Shadow had even used his memories to draw all the ♡s of every different vessel the Vanguard had killed on the Black Comet as well, just in case Maria didn't want his. Yet, none of those things were correct: his female had just shaken her head and mentioned a Valentine was a gift of love or from a CRUSH. As such, he ran off to get carbon that had been forced under massive pressures – HAD claimed it from the pits of Oklahoma, but-!!!

What if he was… wrong?

“I-Is that a… gemstone?”

Yes.

“A… jewel. This is… a…”

Yes. It is nothing more than a piece of carbon, his male homosapien.

Although, it DID catch his fancy…

“It looks like a giant… A giant… heart…”

Ears perked up.

Red eyes sparkled.

Tail swished swished.

Gerald moved his skull to the back of the headrest and stared at the ceiling. Breathed deeply for many minutes. Rubbed back his quills after thirty. Shadow took that as a nonverbal order: he moved himself onto the elder's chest and laid against it.

[x]

They were in the garage. The sound of chunka chunka chunka chunka repeated in endlessness as the machine used normally for a tools’ workshop was applied to cleaning up his compressed carbon rock. All of the extra dirt was flaked away at a slow pace as he saw his human move the stone carefully and with delicate action.

That confused him. Compressed items were dense and hard – the sander was not even strong enough to scratch the surface.

But he must not be aware of all the care these Earth rocks required-

Human fingers held up the blue colored object and twisted it. “Hmm… I don't have the ability to cut out facets, kid. This is a diamond.”

Cut?

He snuck in closer, right behind Gerald, and looked at the sheets of graphing paper all over the workbench. There was nothing but numbers and angles and degrees and radials and a whole mess of data.

He looked at them twice.

Three times.

Narrowed his gaze when some of the writing was too hard to read. He had to tap at it, which his male homosapien chuckled and added, “That's a seven. These are all theoretical numbers anyways, kid. You need other diamonds to cut into diamonds and this one is…” That look of disbelief and shock returned. “I don't even know. Do I want to know?”

Formulas.

Theoretical application of angles to attack.

He pulled at his human’s hand.

“You want to go outside now? You're right. Maria will love this from you, faceted or not.”

There it was again.

Love.

He knew he was correct what the definition was!

Together, him and his homosapien made it towards a clearing – Air Shoes crunching the dirt as the snow had melted for now. He made a little pile to place the bottom tip of the rock on and motioned Gerald to place it there. An eyebrow rose as a hum left from the deep part of his male homosapien’s chest. “You're about to show me something, aren't you?”

A nod.

So smart!

The Ultimate Gerald!

Unsure of collateral, he pulled his human back a bit – at least to get behind his body. Just in case.

The sun was still depicting the time as late afternoon. The last of the rays struck the blue rock and were refracted dully.

The sky mostly empty.

A singular, cold breeze.

He lifted his arms; called upon Chaos Energy – summoned LOVE – to him. Two layers were needed.

SHREEM!

SHREEM!

Hundreds of stars formed in a duo of rings around his target! Each one not in trajectory for straight at the core, but at carefully located edges at calculated results. Each light source morphed under the pressure and intense heat of Chaos – each one bent to his whims – each one became sharper and sharper until they were orbs no longer, but daggers.

He heard a gasp being held in and not let go from behind him.

The world glowed for a brief moment.

Then a wrist flicked; fingers moved to finish the ability.

CHAOS SPEAR!!!

His red eyes were opened wide at the sight! The colors! The streaks they made as they crashed into the rock and sliced effortlessly through!! The NOISE! The CULLING!! The DESTRUCTION!! Each Spear metaphorically rocked the core of his body, but he maintained perfection! The math couldn't be messed up with by urges to move on to something else, something larger; something that could fight back!

LIKE CESSNA!!!

The bombardment could have ended in catastrophic explosions, but he FORCED himself to dissipate the golden jaws before the Spear completed its cycle.

The afternoon soon continued to shine.

Bright blue flowers waved in the zephyr.

Clouds streamed slowly by.

And in the middle of a crater – minor in how deep it could have been – was a fully complete, faceted rock.

Each edge brilliant.

[x]

“You came from the stars… Just a self-defense technique to block asteroids,” mumbled his male homosapien for the sixth or so time as the finished rock was being washed underneath a faucet once more. The water removed the last of the dirt that had been kicked up in the ‘attack.’ “Haaah… There’s only so much I can fool myself…” The liquid continued to run as his human stared off into the distance.

Eventually, focus regained from his male homosapien. “… Shadow. Here. Follow my movements.”

He did so.

His tanned cheeks were rubbed. “Now, let’s wait together for Tower’s spawn.”

The chair on the porch claimed them both as the lightbulb above was flipped to the ON position – he made sure to stay extra toasty for his human.

“Hah. Don’t need a shotgun when I got you – not that I would sick you on young Tower anyways. For the record. He and my granddaughter are close.”

Why was not-Gerald being mentioned in such a context?

[x]

“Aww~! ‘To: Maria, From: Shadow and Grandpa!’ It even has a bow! Guys, you shouldn’t have!” she lectured.

“Was the kid’s… idea. Valentine’s Day is all about love and shit, right?”

“GRANDPA!”

“Apologies. Old war comments.”

The girl rolled her eyes as she placed her coat off and walked into the living room where they waited for her to peel the Valentine open.

She became silent.

Then rushed to place her lips on his male human’s cheeks. On his own as well.

In her hands was Shadow’s ♥.

Chapter Text

Pale human fingers wrapped around his own as his female homosapien ran through the mud of the region by the Farm's pond. Blue flowers waved in the breeze as the drizzle above permeated into everything. The squish of every step coming from the girl was matched with the squash of his own. Organic matter sunk into his toes and onto his fur and covered everything in that hue of Burnt Sienna – all the way up to his knees. It was cool to the touch and strange – his human guiding his movement at every which way. Maria begun to laugh, so he, too, must laugh. Maria begun to ‘roll like a pig,’ so he, too, must roll. Maria picked up a mud ball and threw it at him, so he, too, must throw it towards her. Together, they made the soft, soggy ground move into places it wasn’t supposed to. “See, Shadow! A spring bath!! Isn't this fun?”

He twitched his ear at that.

The gears of his mind twisted and moved.

“One BIG splash, together, Shadow!”

He ensured to hop in unison.

“Bigger!!”

His human wanted more?

Alright.

He will collect his Chaos Energy and-!!!

[x]

Leftover grass stuck up in blonde – or what was once blonde – hair matched the anesthetic look of his own core body. His male homosapien sighed once again after looking at the two troublemakers; hand rubbed against a nose. “I'll go place some newspaper down so you don't drip enroute to the bath. Maria, you take one first. Kid, just… wait on the porch until it's your turn.”

He looked back down at the mess behind – the footprints; the golden bands around wrists and ankles that were nothing but brown; his tail that was clean only because he moved it enough subconsciously that the worst of the particles had fallen off; the large hole in the ground where a singular Spear still rested within Earth like the Sun.

The mud fun time had ended quickly.

He felt… not sad, but not happy at that.

His female human gave his hand a squeeze with a strange smile before she ran off soon enough, and Gerald came back to stand on the porch – a cloth from the kitchen soaked in hot water, steaming as the early spring wind made the clashing air masses condensate. The cotton rubbed against his head: muzzle, nose, eyelids, mouth; quills. It didn't take off everything – that was what bath time was for – but it had disconnected the worst of the thicker layers. A deep rumble came out from his core and he noticed his male homosapien recognized it. “You're just a young thing…, aren't you, kid?”

Young? He… supposed so. Especially compared against-

“Was it… your genetic female donor that taught you how to… break things?”

A tilt of his head.

“… Mother?”

Hmm… he understood that term. The TV and books used it a lot. That was what his human’s old, deceased wife was to those other two sons, correct?

Shadow did not have a mother.

As such, he shook his head.

“… Was it… your male donor? Your father?”

He paused and ceased all sounds and movement.

That hot cloth continued to rub his exterior. “… I see… Was that individual also the one that… hurt you?”

He was asked a question.

He was built to respond.

Needed to accomplish.

He… couldn't.

Why?

The expression of his male homosapien became hidden in the casted darkness. “… Trash: the lowest of the low. HE doesn't deserve that title, Shadow.”

Title?

Did he mean… Fa-?

“Do you miss that person?”

No.

He…

Wants PATRICIDE.

“Do you want to go back?”

No.

“You'd rather stay here with Maria and I, don't you?”

Red eyes met his male human’s.

Gerald knew… that answer already.

That white cotton rubbed and rubbed; wiped his face all clean; exposed every expression he was feeling; revealed his conflicted thoughts. Naked, even, in front of his male homosapien. “No one deserves to go with you've been through. You don't need to remain loyal to wherever you've been from, Shadow. You've moved here. To a better place.”

He shuffled in position. On that porch. In the afternoon mist.

Why did these words… hurt him? But also not?

Why did he… want to cry?

“Call – think – me, ‘Папа,’ instead. And that male pathetic donor, ‘Ублюдок,’ alright?”

An order…?

His male homosapien knelt down. “Here. I'll write it down for you and sound them out…” A stick was picked up from his quills with a soft swish and then markings were created in the mud he had dropped to the floor in waiting. “This is-” the man addressed each symbol with care on the smaller one; anger and hatred at the longer one. “Do you understand?”

He nodded.

“Good. Good. Now, come here. I think Maria is almost done. Don't worry about my shirt.”

Shadow brought his head against his male human’s chest and stained it brown.

The new word for his human ran in his mind.

He practiced it over and over.

Had to get it perfect.

[x]

Not-Gerald stared at the ceiling.

Maria stared at the ceiling.

Shadow stared at the ceiling, too.

“This is boring,” the young, small, and weakest of the humans spoke, flailing hands and arms around. “Paint drying would be more impressive.”

There was a snort as his female also moved her body. “I think it's relaxing.”

He was lying flat between them both: Air Shoes tapped against one another as the three waited and waited for the next victim. Sadly, the rush of the hunt was dead on arrival when not-Gerald's parents arrived back from work early. The two life forms down three flights of stairs were a strange bunch: unlike his humans, these did not immediately run to each other and give touches of lips on foreheads. Maria had mentioned different families had different ways of proving affection to one another – that not-Gerald’s style was that of Money Talks. Fiscal Responsibilities. College Savings Funds. Inheritance and Slips of Stock in IBM and Southwest Airlines. “See. The Towers are rich. We're poor. But that's okay, Shadow. It's the heart that matters. You'll hear Grandpa talk about them being fake farmers at times, though. He doesn't mean much from that.”

There was another five minutes of waiting.

Not-Gerald would never be effective on the Black Comet, but that was alright. Maria was happy. Besides, he could understand the smaller human in some ways-

His female’s hand flashed. “Target spotted! Acquired!!! Ready!”

“AIM!” the younger male brought up a toy water spritzer in sync with his female human.

Shadow, on his end, made his fingers look like that toy and aimed in the same place the humans did. His wrist flicked as a gesture for ‘Fire!’ – which made no sense, they didn’t summon flames-

And then water flew everywhere – little spurts clashing against the flies. The streams plopped against the buzzing bodies; most of the squirts went far, far too wide and off center. His silly human needed to move her hands into a position 3.74 inches to her right and-

The water almost reached the wooden floors.

He calculated the trajectories on the-

… fly…?

…

Huh. An odd conjecture of words-

Oh.

Right.

Little Chaos Spears flew from his own digits as the light intercepted the dihydrogen monoxide when they almost struck the wood. The organic material could NOT get wet. That was Shadow’s mission, and he was having a smile on his face summoning and dispersing them before the lances could break apart the attic.

There was a male’s high pitch scream of not being killed, so it wasn’t a ‘bad thing.’ “Y-YEAH!! WE GOT THOSE BUGS!”

“WOO!” Maria clapped.

He did, too.

[x]

One morning, Maria pinched his cheeks harder than normal!

Her eyes squinted and a tongue flashed. “You're not wearing green today, Shadow!”

He… needed to wear green…?

“It’s for a holiday, silly goose! Here. Let me help…!” And with that, she rose his arms and pulled a thin woolen sweater out from underneath her pillow. It was knitted together by her hands at some point, it seemed, for it fit his chest as perfect as his human could hope to pull off. The edges were trimmed in gold – a color that matched his Inhibitors. Everything was soft and comfortable…

“Heehee. You’re the absolute cutest when you’re about to crash, Shadow!”

He rubbed his face against her.

Shared their scents.

His female human…

…

How long are you going to pinch him?

[x]

The next day he grabbed his female homosapien’s flesh and squeezed extraordinarily lightly when he noticed the lack of viridian on her body. She made a little eep! and jumped; eyes moved to greet his own. “Ooo! You little naughty-!”

She threw a pillow.

Oh! He knew this routine!!

His female human then picked up his coffee beans hidden underneath the bed – his hideaway. The place where he thought his human wouldn’t look because she always said she hated the dust bunnies – which made no sense: the rabbits were outside in the fields that he stopped many times because they always tried to consume things from the Personal Garden and Chaos Energy made quick work out of them, but-

WAIT!

BEANS!

His human!

Not that-!

“NO TELEPORTATION OR YOUR FANCY SHOES ALLOWED, SHADOW!!” she gleefully crackled as her feet pounded against the floor, trying to outrun him around the house. Maria flew down the stairs, past the living room where his male homosapien was reading a book on the rocking sofa, and threw herself out into the outdoors where he finally caught up to her after complying to all of her outlandish rules.

The knowledge he could have lunged at her and her thin arms was there.

But ignored.

The girl spun around on her big toe; one hand behind her back and one slowly placing the bag of his stolen goods down onto the porch. “You got me, Shadow!”

When his digits reached for his snack, she opened it and plopped one into his mouth.

[x]

At some point, the last freeze reached the Farm Approximately 17 Miles North-Northeast of Guthrie, Oklahoma, and the tractor came out from the barn and rumbled down the small and shallow hills. Over and over it crossed back and forth as his male human clicked together many different parts to make deep trenches into the dirt; mixed up the different layers to add more oxygen into the soil. Everything was in preparation for the planting season that was to come.

He was allowed to sit on his tall human’s lap; was told all about what the different buttons and switches the levers did – was also told that his feet were too short to reach the pedals to be in charge. However, he could push certain things or turn the wheel at the behest of his male homosapien and could work together to eventually create life instead of destroying it-

There was a soft whisper. “Kid, do you remember my title?”

He nodded.

Made the letters repeat again in his mind-

The engine came to a soft rumble as the tachometer registered below 1,000 rpm. Idle. It meant not at work. Strange. Was there not a whole Farm before them that still needed all the labor…?

His male human hand reached forwards and touched his chest very lightly. “Can you… try… pushing the sounds out into the air from your lungs?”

N-Noise?

To make… himself a target? W-What if someone spots him? O-Or… realizes that he has his human next to him? Or forces him to be quiet again-!?

Red eyes flashed around.

He needed to find a secured place for him and his human-!!!

The walls of the tractor reflected back. Not black-purple organic matter. Not the endless, darkened hallways. Not the sound of claws or cries of ‘hElP’ or ‘mOnsTEr’ or the lack of knowing why he saw green fluid when everything was cleaned away and he KNEW IT-!

Not-!!

Black and alizarin crimson quills shook as he shut his eyes.

Instead of pushing, his male human allowed white gloves to go back onto the steering where, and over the hills they went again.

[x]

“You can do it! You’re braver than me-”

He woke up in a gasp.

Cold.

And sweaty.

But not alone.

He had... his humans next to him.

On the couch.

Casa Blanca's end credits humming.

He was with his... family.

[x]

A stack of rolls met Maria’s face. She was in the middle of stuffing herself full. A plate of chicken with mushroom sauce in front of her body. A large jug of freshly made apple juice.

He glanced to the side.

The same meal before his male human. The same dinner as his own. The same drinks. No toxins. No tricks. No lies…

He was… safe.

Shadow shifted as his two humans mentioned something about the weather.

“Pass the rolls, would you, kid?”

With hesitation, he reached for them before his female ate them all; balanced the wicker basket on his fingertips; smelt the honey glaze on top of them.

H-He…

Offered them…

The Vanguard was at odds.

And…

Opened his mouth…

Clamor is a weakness.

And…

Recalled the symbols…

Stop! Only horrible things will happen!!

… of…

...Па... па…

“… Pá… pa…”

Things got…

Really silent after that.

Chapter Text

Bright red eyes watched the room around, ensuring nothing was trying to hide away from his sensory range, before the gaze returned back to his male homosapien very carefully. He was situated on the warm, welcoming lap; Merino Shoes on his feet; his white tuft rubbed against his human’s overalls; gloved hands placed on top of the broad chest where Maria's worried-beating organ continued loudly; his tail swayed like wheat in the winds… “Pá…pa…!” he allowed internal air to escape again.

Shadow got the reward he was looking for.

Pressed lips on his right cheek.

His human pulled back and continued to sit on the seat; the two watched each other.

He felt something very very very undefined – and POWERFUL – burn in his core; his mind; his heart. His fingers gripped around the clasps of fabric that suspended the pants his human normally wore as to not accidentally hurt his male homosapien.

Black fur and quills moved as he turned his head around to search everything was still safe. Then, the Ultimate Lifeform quickly went back to the individual of his attention after ensuring all was still in solid state. “Pá… pa…!”

Shadow got the reward he was looking for.

Pressed lips on his left cheek.

His human pulled back once again onto the sofa. This time, flesh fingers brushed his black coat back.

He continued to feel something very very very undefined – and POWERFUL – burn in his core; his mind; his heart…!!

Whatever it was…

WAS AMAZING!

NEEDED MORE!!

COULDN'T STOP!!!

Red eyes watched around the room for invaders…

“Pá… pa…!”

No one tried to break in.

“Pá… pa…!”

No unregistered organic compounds.

“Pá-pa-!”

He forgot to search this time.

“Pá-pa-!”

He remembered this one when his female homosapien walked down the stairs.

“Pá-pa!!”

His eyes had begun to light up as the evening grew.

“Pá-pa!!”

Hadn't checked – slipped his thoughts completely – that occasion, too.

“PÁPA!!!”

He felt his chest heave. His form was getting overwhelmed in color and light and warmth and emotions-!!!!

Chaos Energy slipped out and the ambient pressure he had already doused the Farm with couldn't withstand such gross output. Well, the inorganic stuff: he blew up the lightbulb in the ceiling – the filament, not the glass. Too much extra power in the local knob and tube system that was not designed to accept him in the first place-!

Shadow was essentially on fire.

Red, glowing eyes were dilated.

He was… UNDEFINED. Desperately, he tried to catalogue: this new, unknown thing was STRONGER than nice, SWEETER than hugs, more INTOXICATING than the poison that wasn't a poison at all.

MORE!!!

HE HAD TO HAVE MORE!!!!!!!

“I think that's enough for tonight, kid,” Папа warned.

NO-!

YOU CAN'T STOP HIM-!!!!

“Addicted, greedy little brat,” came a sigh with a smile.

“PÁPA!!!!” he practically screamed.

Begged.

No. DEMANDED.

Another touch of lips on his cheek-!!!!

GIVE HIM MORE OF THIS-----!!!!!!!!!!!

THUMP THUMP TH---

He felt his heart give out and he suddenly collapsed in his male human’s awaiting arms. Saw the living room curl into darkness until the damage internally fixed the four chambers – his body overloaded with Chaos Energy that simmered and popped deep within to not get out anymore – no Chaos Blast in the house, so he Blasted within himself. See, the Vanguard chastised, this was why he was told to avoid emotions; he was of the Black Arms; he wasn't designed to understand or comprehend or accept these tidings – no matter how much the pinnacle of his species **UNDEFINED** his humans-!!! IT WAS THE SAME DRUMBEAT OF THE RUSH OF BATTLE! Wait-! That can’t be correct-! What… had his humans DONE to him!? THE VANGUARD WAS TO BE AWAY AND SPLIT OFF FROM THESE… FEELINGS!!! HOW CAN HE HIDE THEM AWAY FROM THE OUTSIDE UNIVERSE IF THE VANGUARD WAS STARTING TO LEARN!? H-He had to calm down and listen to what Fa- What Fa-! NO, WHAT Ублюдок HAD SAID-!!!!! Ублюдок??? THAT'S NOT-! THAT'S RIGHT. NO! YES!!! NO-!! YES-!! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! He saw his female homosapien give a look to Папа; detected that her mouth moved; could comprehend the muffled words of, ‘Grandpa. I think… you… Ah. Might have… um… Broke Shadow.’

‘He is doing this to himself. It's the third day in a row.’

‘Should we… be encouraging this?’

A pause as he felt his limp form get moved around. He tried his very best to place a smile to Maria to tell her he was… very happy. He just didn't have the energy to move any more limbs… Chaos Blast was… very strong – strongest when fueled by emotions of hatred and fury… and apparently undefined ones, too. B-But that was why it was critical to check for enemies…! It was all so he could recover in a bed snuggled next to his humans…

‘Abuse on the level he more-than-likely received is a terrible thing, my dear. The kid’s just trying to figure out a balance on receiving something he is starting to realize exists and isn't going away. Once he recognizes we’ll always be here to give him what he needs and desires, Shadow’ll calm down. … I hope. Anyways, it's going to take time – hopefully no more than two weeks. A few lightbulbs are worth it, nevertheless.’ Silence as his humans walked back upstairs to get ready for bed. ‘I… just hope the circuit breaker panel can be fixed. Again.’

‘… About that…’

‘Sigh. It's gone, isn't it?’

A sheepish chuckle. ‘Yeah. Not… much left.’

‘… Ugh… What a little…, irresistible; mischievous nymph.’

Blonde hair moved in a nod.

‘Well… not worth fixing it until the kid gets over what learning your title will be.’ There was a movement of the hand that wasn't carrying him. ‘Don't give that look of disbelief. You know as well as I do this is… probably just a taste.’

Footsteps down hallways. A giggle. ‘You could have just said you like showering him with attention, Grandpa.’

‘Hmph.’

‘Not~ a~ no~’

There was a bigger ‘hmph.’

[x]

It was 3:17 A.M. many, many days later.

Human.

His human.

His Папа.

He’s here. He’s up. He’s awake.

A singular white gloved finger poked against the tanned, peach skin of his male homosapien. There was a grumble of unintelligible words as eyes fluttered open.

Shadow was seated up.

“Kid… It’s… too early for this right now.”

He tilted his head. How? He had been waiting for over five hours! He made certain to even make his appearance as cute as possible by following everything that his female human had mentioned was attached to that word. His eyes were even bright and large and he made sure the folds of his eyebrows were in gentle curves; even made sure to make purring and soft, delighted noises of ‘aaa~’ In fact, to add to ‘the double hit knock out special’ his female human loved, he made sure to change his hand away from his Папа and flexed his palm and digits into the shape of a heart-

“Pápa~!”

There was a brief moment as his human pushed a head fully back into the pillow. A hand rose to cover oculars, but he tugged at the arm to stop that movement. There was the eventual exhale of a life form giving up all resistance – something he remembered when torn open for- “Goddammit, Shadow. I give up. You won the fucking war.”

That screamingly loud UNDEFINED feeling came back when his male human brought that physical contact to the top of his quills.

Yes…

YES!!

Look at him! Think of nothing else-!

Ah.

Except Maria!!!!!

Of course.

Umm…

And definitely NOT Cessna!

That should cover all the bases…

“Kid. I think it’s time to send you to ‘school.’”

[x]

His female homosapien poked his nose with a smooth, metal stick that could extend and retract with a clack clack clack. She had Папа’s glasses on her face – squinted as the ‘focal length was incorrect for her’ – and wore her ‘Sunday best.’ In the background was a large chalkboard that she pulled out of the barn with his male human’s help; a ruler, an eraser, and some white sticks made of crushed earth were besides her knees.

It was now the beginning of May. Spring had arrived. Flowers were blooming outside the region of the Farm, and Shadow had been told that he had ‘calmed down enough to continue to educate’ – which did not make much sense. He was already filling himself with knowledge a lot about the Earth and about his humans and-

Tap; tap! The metal extendable pole lightly rapped against his nose again. “Attention, class! It is I! Professor Maria Robotnik.” A pile of papers was stacked in her hand; it was something she had smacked around to ‘level’ multiple times. “I am about to accomplish a roll call! Lift your hand when I call your name.” She wrapped a hand in a fist and covered her mouth. “Ahem… Robotnik, Shadow!”

He was seated on a little pillow.

Rose his hand.

The sunlight – since the house still had no electricity – glinted off of his Inhibitor Ring.

Maria gave him a hi-five for ‘doing a good job,’ and he tapped her fingers back.

“TODAY’S LESSON, we will discuss about the super important new thing you must learn how to say next, Shadow!”

He looked around the room.

No threats.

Red went back to blue. Tail wagged.

Pale fingers picked up the piece of compacted, white earth and slapped it upon the chalkboard; letters he recognized appeared, which was… not what he expected. Eyes flicked around to see if he missed anything – in case this was a test. However, all he noticed different were books around the study that held various titles: BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO SPANISH + ITS SOUNDSETS. CASSELL’S SPANISH DICTIONARY. MARIA’S DIARY – NO TOUCH! And so on and so forth. A harder observation off towards the side were the books Папа had ‘reserved’ for him ‘from yesteryear:’ Аленький цветочек, Золотой петушок, and a WHOLE lot more that Shadow had no idea how to even read, forget pronounce-

“A-hem! Attention, Shadow!”

He jumped a little.

Ah.

That was bad. He… shouldn’t get distracted. Why was that happening now?

He’s doesn’t know what happening to him, his human-!

The metal pole slapped the green display that she had been working on, and it banished his previous thought. “Consideration right here, student!”

He accomplished that task.

M   A   N   I   T   A

((Translation: 'Sis.' 'Sister.'))

That…

Was not English.

At least the beginning.

… Right?

The characters were the same, but… he had never seen that specific style tied together in a chain.

He turned to give his female a questioning look-

There was a brief fall of her facial expression as a memory ran. “… Grandma was from deep, interior México, Shadow. That means she had a lot of Spanish blood, which I inherited my looks from – blonde hair and blue eyes. My… dad... He… Um… taught me only a little since… he didn’t learn much himself, but… This one…” There was a glance at the letters written out. “I was supposed to have used it… before the miscarriage…” The silence grew.

He sat.

Waited.

Then crawled over to give his almost-sad human a hug.

“S-SO!” Maria’s eyes squinted and she embraced around him in return. “So that means I am going to let YOU learn this INSTEAD since you’ll get to use it FAR better than I could.” The stick came back, as did his female homosapien’s energy. Bright. Sunny. Warm. No more frowns. “NOW, best little student of mine! Follow along as I teach you!”

SLAP! The M and the A were circled.

“Maaaaahh!”

He blinked.

“C’mon, Shadow! Think of making it sound like a yawn!”

He squirmed. Looked around the room.

Twitched his ears.

Tried to find ANY little piece of foreign organics…

SLAP!

The metal stick continued to make a rounded shaped around M   A.

Feeling strange, he tried… He really DID try.

“… mmmmmmm…”

“YESSSS!”

“… nyaaa?”

“C-Close enough!”

SLAP!

“Ok! This one is a little trickier! But, you GOT this, Shadow!” Maria jumped. “Neeeeee! A STRONG ‘e,’ too! Like, ‘OW!!! My knee!’”

Fingers twirled as his hands tangled into one another. This was… harder than Папа.

“… nye…”

Softer.

He… was unsure.

His female homosapien waved her hands oddly. “Ní!”

“… neeh…”

“I’LL TAKE IT!” Maria laughed and moved to the end.

SLAP!

“Last one, Shadow! This one is taaaaaaaaaah!’ Like… the ‘pa’ in Pápa!”

…

“… tah?”

Maria screamed really loud and launched herself at him – ruler and little stick flew onto the floor. Although she could not lift him, her muscles attempted; his Merino Shoes spun around as she and him twirled together.

He got dizzy.

Blinked.

Not sure what just happened-

She brushed the red marking along his left quill. “Oh, Shadow.” Carefully, her forehead touched his own with a small, little knock. A connection. Something tangible. Something… real.

“I love you so much...”

…

…

…

UNDEFINED! ALL THE UNDEFINED!!!!

IT WAS BACK!

IT WAS BACK-!!!

THAT URGE!

THAT NEED!

THAT DESIRE FOR IT ALL!!!!!!

Hands grabbed her with strength to prevent Maria from escaping to go do homework – NOTHING COULD LEAVE HIS GRASP! THE PLANET WAS HIS FOR THE TAKING, AND, WHEN SHADOW MEANT THE PLANET, HE MEANT THE FARM 17 MILES NORTH-NORTHEAST OF GUTHRIE, OKLAHOMA WHERE HIS HUMANS WERE-!!!!!!!!

BECAUSE THAT WAS THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So focused he was on that UNDEFINED FEELING he didn’t realize there was a tunnel of blackness that caved in and wiped away all senses in a rushing roar of Chaos Energy.

…

…

…

…

…

[x]

He…

Doesn’t… think he exploded everything around him in a Chaos Blast…

…

…

Cause there was still a house…

…

…

And he wasn’t grounded…

…

…

His humans. Notice him. Pick him up.

Shadow shadowed them everywhere. Watched.

He’s here.

He-

He-

HE WANTS TO FEEL THINGS HE’S NEVER FELT BEFORE TO SUCH A LEVEL-!

[x]

“Mah-knee-tah!”

Human!

“Maaaaah-kneeeee-taaaaah!”

His human!

“Mah-knee-tah!”

HIS HUMAN!

“Oh, God. You ARE addicted.”

LOOK AT HIM!!!

“This was a trap from Grandpa…”

HUG HIM!

“What a sly man.”

TELL HIM WHAT YOU SAID THAT ONE TIME!

But she was smiling.

Even though the clock said 1:09 and the sky was dark at night.

TELL HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THAT PHRASE!

THE ONE THAT MADE HIM ERROR SO BADLY HE DIDN’T REMEMBER WHAT HE EVEN DID!!!!!!!

‘LOVE!!!!’

GIVE IT TO HIM!

DO IT!!!!!!!!!

LET HIM BE FILLED WITH SO MUCH CHAOS ENERGY THAT IT REACHES THE POINT IT MELTS HIS OWN NEURONS!!!

And she DID.

[x]

ANALYSIS:

He did not blow up his home.

DETAILED ANALYSIS:

Папа and Manita said he…

… was a very good boy.

Chapter Text

A dull brassy-purple-black, depending on the way the light shone on the edges, resided before his truck. Large fingers dug right into the steering wheel of the vehicle as his grip tightened. A curse filled the air – the sixteenth one of the night. “FUCKING DAMMIT. THIS IS ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT!!!!” Gerald slammed his hand on the horn, flicked his grip over where the clutch was, and was about to set it to first gear. Still in neutral, a work boot slammed on the gas; body heard the VROOOOOM VROOOOM of the revolutions start to increase until the needle blew past 4000, which on a truck was dangerous-!!!!

“YOU PIECE OF SHIT METEOR!!!” the farmer spat and cursed once again.

His soybean crops-!

The money he needed to ensure Maria will be ready for a life when he eventually dies soon-!

To pay for taxes at the change of the year-!

To purchase a new cow-!

ALL OF HIS HARD WORK-!

EFFORT-!

RUINED!!!

By a STUPID ROCK-!!!!!!!!!!

VROOM! VROOM! The engine roared once more; bright high beams from the headlamps illuminated the FUCKING SPACE JUNK. Casted beams reflected off of the metallic surface-!!!

There was a mighty sound of the horn as he punched the steering wheel once more.

Pissed off, the keys were removed from the ignition switch.

Get a GRIP on yourself, Gerald Robotnik! There is no way this rinky dink truck is going to tear through a solid piece of what’s probably METAL! It’ll do MORE HARM than GOOD! Maria couldn't afford a truck and he wouldn't be able to pay one off in the next two to five years by the deadline-!! ARG! The desire – the RAGE – was still there in his heart [and all over his face], but there was nothing he could do-

He opened the door, slammed it behind him, and waltzed towards the piece of debris. He pulled his foot back and whammed the steel toed end RIGHT into the side of obsidian and glass.

FEEL ALL HIS ANGER!

HIS HATRED!

HIS LOATHING!!!!!

Over and over his foot slammed into the chunk of waste – all the way until adrenaline begun to die and the reality of the situation hit him; when lungs gasped for limited air.

Tired hands, damaged by the sun, rubbed over his head; over each folded wrinkle. God DAMN IT!!! The entire yield – the work he did from late April to late September – VANISHED!!! That was more than half of his income for the ENTIRE YEAR-! How was he going to be able to afford FOOD, outside rice and beans, for his granddaughter!? What about repairs to his modified airplane to be a safe crop duster for her? She's still learning – the way he flew was too dangerous for her!! As it was, he was already flirting with the law by not having given an official annual by ‘certified techs’ [too DAMNED EXPENSIVE], but if something legitimately went WRONG-!!!! Then there was the dying tractor. The aged Ford truck. The mysterious disease the cattle were getting, which meant no one would want to purchase them as breeding stock, either-!!! ALL BECAUSE OF THIS-!!!

If only the farmer could sell this damned Thing for CASH-!!! Sell it out-!!!

… Or maybe someone WOULD…?

“Fuck you,” he spoke aloud in the end-of-summer air.

[x]

His granddaughter cupped her hands around her mouth and cooed. “Ooo~ Pretty~ It’s so beautiful, Grandpa! Imagine how it'll look when it's cleaned up and-!”

Gerald shook his head. “Don't get attached. I found a buyer. Some college professor.” It had taken a few phone calls, but some educated asshole that gave the farmer a sick tone of voice – like as if he was a useless man because Robotnik lacked a college degree[!!!] – wanted to purchase the space junk. $2,000. It was not enough compared to all he lost – TWO HUNDRED ACRES burnt in strange, orange fires that sparkled like diamonds!! Basically $90,000!!! THERE WAS A SOYBEAN SHORTAGE! Global markets he could have struck that rose the price to heights unheard of! He could have set Maria up for a shining FUTURE! Her ENTIRE UPCOMING LIFE RESTED IN HIS HANDS, AND HE LET HER DOWN – DIDN'T PROTECT IT-!!

No.

Calm down.

Maria was here.

She didn't need to see him like this.

Two grand was enough to buy seed. He could sell the cattle for meat at lower than market value for a quick sale or slaughter them himself for food. They had chickens so they would have eggs. They had water running through their property. Electricity was going to be a low blow if that was shut off, but the house was designed originally to run without it. He had a cistern he could fill with rain water for drinking instead of irrigation immediately. Maria might... suffer, but she would smile- He didn't need no outsiders sniffing around- The farmer remembered all the techniques he used as a child to live that kind of way. If he treated this as yet another curse on this Godforsaken land, he'll persevere as ALWAYS-!

[Almost always. He couldn't weave from everything.]

Gerald could try again next year-!

…

…

…

[x]

But the buyer…

Looked at his granddaughter.

Saw her muddy shoes on his fancy brick patio; mid-century modern class crashed against her faded Sunday-best dress. The young girl was clean, yes, but the outfit was clearly worn many times. No matter how often his dear worked hard to ensure the damage was repaired to a point it couldn't be seen, the friction of use made the cloth thinner and thinner. It was the wrong design. It wasn’t what was ‘in.’ It was some blast from the 1950s – when his wife wore it and Maria made it fit her form with her skills-!!

“Hicks.”

The farmer paused his breathing.

“$2,000. As promised over the phone. Use your muscle and put it in my lab – but enter though my garage. You’ll ruin my shag carpet.”

Maria knew what he was going to do before Gerald did. Her fingers waved. A voice tried to erupt from her throat-!

WHAM!!

The punch against fat, lazy; useless flesh felt…

Good!

WHAM!

He shook his hand to remove the stress.

THUD! An foolish attempt of an educator learned a lesson that day.

“Get in the truck, Maria. We're going home.”

He knew better than use his real name in these kinds of exchanges. Not so dumb, now, is he, professor?

[x]

A damp cloth wiped the space rock clean – a common chore that Maria accomplished with diligence for the past year. Gerald had to admit that it was rather shiny and made the fire light bounce off of it in mesmerizing patterns. He brought his eyes back towards the stack of papers on the dining room table, where medical bills and invoice statements and taxes fluttered. By now, the farmer had already sold the goats and the lambs – the ones that he had the least tolerances of profit. Numbers. Finances. Logistics. There was a garden that took over the grocery store in at least 33% to 50% of what the two consumed. He had to also depart with… a few pieces of his wife’s jewelry – had no choice; all for Maria – but only… the plain ones. The critical ones remained.

[Two people danced together: a romance that burned like fire – one that was snuffed away too soon-!]

Focus, bastard! She's dead and memories don't assist in giving his granddaughter what she needs!

Gerald survived.

Maria survived.

The farm remained in Robotniks’ hands.

That was what mattered.

“Hmm…,” his dear let out of her mouth. “Grandpa, I… think the rock is breaking.”

A sigh.

Of COURSE.

Stupid fucking rock.

He felt his knees complain a little – spent too long sitting down – and walked the short distance towards his granddaughter. Carefully, he placed himself next to her and watched the area by her towel. True to her word, there was a large crack that split from bottom towards the top – the obsidian-looking material was such a dark color the break could have been there longer than either would have noticed. Gerald pulled his nail and scratched, trying to figure out how wide the seam was. He made his voice calm and sweet. “Well… if you break off a chunk, I’ll carve it into a necklace for you.”

“I knew you had a great idea of what to do.”

He hummed.

… crack…

His eyes shifted under his glasses.

Maria’s blue ones did as well. “Was… that just me?

… crack…

His dear tapped the metal – a dull, hollow sound returned. The man rubbed his moustache. That didn’t make sense. Unless the junk lost a lot of it matter in atmospheric reentry, the knock should have been one of something solid…

… CRACK!

SNAP!

POP!

A spider web appeared and one of the edges slid off onto the pull-rug right in front of the fire. The dark metal was gold on the inside – couldn’t be REAL gold, must be some form of pyrite – but-!

…

…

Some…!

… THING…!

STUMBLED…!

… OUT!!!

[x]

It was… BLACK. RED. SHORT. A ball!

“What the…?” Maria breathed out.

“The fuck is this?” Gerald copied. The round thing was… motionless. Was it an internal core of the meteorite? Gerald doubted it. Carefully, he reached forwards-

squish

-WHYWASTHISSOFT?

-WHYHADTHISTHINGGONESQUISH?!

Nothing happened.

His granddaughter took the opportunity to poke as well-

THE THING TWITCHED.

UNFURLED.

CRAWLED TOWARDS THEM.

OH.

OH, LORD HAVE MERCY.

THERE WAS AN ALIEN.

IN HIS LIVING ROOM.

[x]

It was… a Thing.

Black fur. Red markings. White gloves. Strange shoes. Glittering bracelets. Eerily humanoid in shape. Devoid of human in action. Quiet in movement. Stiff like a hyper realistic painting.

His granddaughter called It ‘cute.’

“Look-! Look-!!!! His hugs are soooo WARM~!”

The Thing ransacked the fridge with too fucking sharp claws that tore into metal and thickened insulation with no hesitation. Effective. Efficient. [Imagine what could be done on flesh and bone-!]

“Look-! Look-! He’s following me around~!”

The Thing prevented anything but organic foods and that stressed his pocketbook even further. Gerald’s only saving grace was that the Garden was about to reach harvest season. This was fine. He just had to find a way to remove the Thing and-

“Look-! Look-! He follows you with his gaze, Grandpa~!”

The Thing’s eyes…

Those were the worst.

… And prevented the farmer from simply calling the military down at Tinker Air Force Base to haul It away…

[x]

Bright red irises, the color of a setting sun. The color of blood. ‘The color of a tomato~!’ so happily mused Maria as she spun around to dance with the Thing that gave no response to the stimulation.

Gerald kept watch.

He always did when Maria dragged It to play.

Those hell-spawn eyes were empty. When left alone – when his granddaughter was at school and the farmer had to work – they wouldn’t blink no matter how windy. No matter how much hay was tossed in the air when the adult worked hard under the late-summer sunshine. No matter how much Gerald cursed at how utterly CREEPY they were. Honestly, he had half a mind to shove the Thing into one of the house’s many closets and just leave it there – but-

But-

The Thing…

Would look at him with-

-those large-

-damned-

-lifeless-

-eyes!

LIKE THEY SCREAMED AT HIM:

… help…

[x]

That Look.

The way the Thing’s shoulders hunched over. The way those… strange, star-shaped pieces off the main cranium wilted, especially when Maria left. The spines[?] that she manicured were not even acknowledged as something It enjoyed because there was nothing there. No response. No action.

The Thing would normally only re-act. It understood English. When given commands, It would act accordingly.

But when the action was done, that haunted, dead look returned.

And it was aimed primarily at Gerald.

[x]

He saw his firstborn. Mute. Silent. Afraid to ask for love, and the soldier-returned-farmer was too stupid to realize what a prize he had. Get better! Smarter! You would never leave this farm you despise if you didn’t PUSH yourself! You hate your own father? FINE. Use that rage as FUEL if you must to get away-! He will give you what you want – will DO what is NEEDED – if it gives you the drive to have a happier FUTURE-! DON’T BECOME LIKE HIM!!! [It was a shining beacon of a future that never came.]

… sad…

He saw his granddaughter. Depressed. Bitter. The feeling of hatred and abandonment in the deepest recesses of a brain when he tore her away from her original home – because there was no one else. Her mother killed his second born son before ending herself and left the house with their rotting corpses. Putrid. Disgusting. A place of nothing but horrors that Maria wanted to go back to, thinking her parents were only ALSEEP – that someone ELSE wanted her – but why would the remaining family of that murderess take the daughter of a man they blamed made their own daughter go ‘crazy?’ [A dust free nursery always cleaned, neat, and organized at the end of the hallway, waiting for a baby that was already 2 years buried.]

… lonely…

He saw himself. Rage. Fury. Veiled aggression. When he pressed the trigger for his P-51’s bullets to fly across the skies into the skulls of others. When he removed others and retaliated and knew nothing but fire and death and destruction and-! The more he killed, the more he realized how GOOD he was at it – how BAD it was to feel or experience such! There had to be ANOTHER OUTLET for those THOUGHTS! But then he saw his fellow brothers-in-arms get their heads blown up in return when he calmed down and tried to go for non-fatal shots; limbs removed; necks slicked off when shrapnel missed him by miraculous chance – only to finish off his wingmen. [Out of the 10 he knew, only him, the 1, remained.]

… why hate…

[x]

…

…

…

Maria gave the Thing a name.

Shadow.

…

…

…

[It was like seeing the ghosts of his sons looking beyond the veils of death.]

[JUDGING HIM.]

[x]

One day…

When Maria danced and played with dolls…

She accidentally slapped one across the room.

And Gerald saw Shadow flinch.

[x]

Loud noises?

A flinch.

Aggression in his voice – when his deepest baritones echoed in the house as he tore up another letter trying to buy his land?

A flinch.

When he hauled up his pitchfork and accidentally casted a three-pronged shadow upon Shadow?

A flinch.

[x]

It was time for Maria to go to school.

Gerald wrapped his large arms around her. Was content and happy that she was alive with him another day [that HE had another one on his shortened lifespan]; plowed her cheeks with kisses as she complained that she was going to miss her bus without any actual thoughts of regret; the space between them both filled with domestic peace-

In the background…

Shadow watched.

[x]

The hay was tossed up into the location it needed to be. Sweat poured down his back as the dredges of Indian Summer speared into him. It was fall, but it certainly did not feel like that season-

Shadow was behind him. Silent. Powerful. Moved and copied the motions that the farmer did – all while Maria was away, as always. Mornings with his granddaughter, days with the farmer; nights with them both.

With double the hands, it made work… easier.

[His lungs didn’t have to work as hard.]

All of the chores were completed soon enough.

Gerald stared back into those red eyes.

Hesitated.

Brought his hand up to the top.

Felt… that softness.

“… Decent job, kid...”

A twitch.

[x]

The man sat on his rocking couch across from the television and observed once more.

Blonde hair flew as Maria spiraled around – told Shadow to show off ‘the new trick he had learned!’ Slowly, she inched her way towards Gerald, who pretended not to notice, before she jumped at him – tackled his back against the cushioned and worn back padding.

Shadow copied.

As instructed.

Their combined weight was… strange.

The way Maria blinded him with her smile when he hugged her was normal. The way she pouted and pointed until his other arm did the same with Shadow was also… strange.

[x]

… Strange in a different, unknown way.

[x]

By happenstance, he brought his hand to the creature’s face, having thought the sound behind him was his dear sneaking up on his old man’s heart once again-

Red eyes shifted to watch his thumb.

His actions… came from his own subconscious.

[There was a child before him.]

[A whisper of the past.]

[Uncared for.]

[Would this one be abandoned as well?]

… a second chance…

… for two…

Gerald rubbed softly.

A dark and bright head tilted. Slid fully into his cupped palm. Hadn’t made any sounds. Hadn’t cried. Hadn’t let go. Hadn’t moved after that at all.

[x]

Maria no longer dreamed about her dead parents anymore.

Nor wept out to ‘go back home.’

Nor mentioned her old city.

Her old friends.

Her old school.

Her old life.

Maria had been reborn.

She was teaching Shadow what emotions were.

Smiles and hugs.

Cause and effect.

Push and pulls.

What the farm was and what it meant to her.

Her… forever home.

Their home.

[x]

Shadow was a little gift from the stars.

Arrived broken from such a long journey.

And Gerald’s habit was to tinker.

To fix things.

[Because he couldn't fix himself.]

[x]

1973…

1974…

The end of fall.

[x]

The clipboard tapped against the sterile room – one of isopropyl alcohol, cloth bandages; bleach. An even older man in a white coat exhaled softly and shook his head at Gerald’s question. “I have no idea. It’s like it magically vanished. We’ll keep an eye out just in case, but… mesothelioma doesn’t straight up disappear.”

A continued conversation.

The promise of basically-free consultations so long as the medical practitioner gets to study this strange, almost unnerving case of a body too fit; too healthy; was almost young on the inside despite the exterior appearance.

[The knowledge that he… wasn’t going to leave Maria in the next two to five years… the settlement of rough seas. But… How? His lungs had been scarred – the asbestos he inhaled was the snow and dust of the ravages of war – the price he paid for slaughtering so many others – for killing families of other nations far away. It was in the shipyards and docks nearby where he had slept and lived. It was in his once fireplace lining. The wrapping of the ducts. Even within his iron. In less than half a decade he was to return to his wife and children and leave his others behind-]

[He knew how, then.]

[Right?]

[Was he going to ignore those signs as well?]

The elder Robotnik rolled down his sleeves and pulled his coat from the peg.

Thanked the doctor for his time.

[x]

1975...

Seasons slipped.

Flowers bloomed.

Memories formed.

[x]

The gravel road from Guthrie, Oklahoma back towards Robotnik Farm was long and winding. The slow speed at which to traverse gave Gerald a lot to think about – from the day to day to the larger and more… ‘bigger scope.’ Sometimes, what played in his mind was immense joy – sometimes, it was great fear. Thoughts plagued him as his eyes caught the house on top of the hill first – the smoke coming out of the chimney telling him that someone was being mischievous. [Making smores indoors? His little ones…!]

Two silhouettes were hard to see against the setting sun.

But he knew whom they were.

“Grandpa!” Maria hopped.

“Pápa!” Shadow added.

He shut the door behind him of the truck, knelt down, and let them run into his wide, opened arms.

Felt them smack him a little too roughly.

Fell on his ass into the small rocks.

Laughed when they did.

[If this was a dream-]

[If he had died over the Pacific-]

[-falling down from 13,487 feet-]

[-or had a bullet cleave into his skull like all the others-]

[Let him never wake up.]

Chapter Text

The tips of his white gloves grabbed the edge of the covered mattress. Today was the day his female homosapien was going to change the sheets to ones used for summer now that school had ended. As such, he carried himself to peek over the edge, roaming around to see her hand flick and tuck and push all of the fabric in the required ways that she needed. Manita even tossed a few pillows at him, which he swayed away at the very last fragments of a second – attempted to see just how late he could wait until cotton/wool smacked his flesh, although the fur itself was ‘fair game.’ After the four pieces of ammo were used, his human called him forwards.

Pat; pat. Pale fingers rubbed his topmost quill and he made a small noise from his throat – the squeal of ‘So, so, so; SO CUTE~’ filled the air. As expected, his human raced the distance close between and held him. Wrapped her arms around him. Made a lot of ‘muwha, muwha; muwha’ sounds upon his forehead.

It had taken a few... Ah... Weeks – maybe a month and a half – to stop Chaos Blasting himself.

The Energy was still there. Only... more controlled! Pápa had even said he only did a thirty mile power surge at his worse! That's nothing compared to the size of this whole planet!

Muwha!!

He blinked a few times when she finished, and a fluttering of thought escaped as they both went down the stairs. In the living room, Папа was flipping through a book and issued a wave as him and Manita rushed around into the kitchen, and then out the back door. The oaken door made a loud, reverberating noise as the young girl kept dragging him farther away, until the bright morning sun covered them both, and she tossed back a grin. “Did you know this is the first time I am not being forced to go to Summer Camp?”

O! The events that happened last year…!

She continued to tug him, and together, they reached the big tree and the center point of all of Shadow’s flowers. They greeted him like a Not-Gerald – waved and swayed and always in silence. His female homosapien mentioned it was because his teleportation skill was such a beautiful thing to observe that it made the boy speechless – Not-Gerald would counterargue that the noise was so specific that it made his ears hurt. The artificial creation, however, understood that both could be true. He didn’t know how to make his reality pop ins and outs any quieter, but he pushed the distance into the closet of the Second Empire’s house when he came by for visits so it was more bearable. It… was his female’s idea-

A finger poked him. “You’re so silly, Shadow.”

White leather gloves rubbed the spot. His human! Always catching him off guard now that he… no longer tracked them unless he wanted to. Do they have any idea of how BIG of an event that was for him? His back, front, top, bottom, and all the rest of him was exposed! To them! The biggest sign of trust that he had!!

He has seen what Папа has done with a carving knife.

O-Of course his male homosapien would NEVER-!!!

Poke!

H-His human-!

He was t.h.i.n.k.i.n.g!

Shadow waved closer – cutely – at Maria’s hand. “Ma-NEE-ta!” he emphasized.

No- Wait!

Wrong motion-!

‘Aaaaaah!’ escaped from him as the girl tackled him onto the soft grass and begun to poke him some more. And then she had the ‘audacity’ to tickle him. Having a higher degree of senses meant that his nerve ends were incredibly complex! They were designed to understand every movement of the surrounding world so he could capitalize on weaknesses! He, of course, could dampen it – some species out there were smart enough to try to accomplish sensory overload – but- But if it was his humans that did these vectors of engagement on him… w-why would he resist? H-He wanted to be captured! This was so unfair! His human! His female homosapien! Manita! This was playing dirty tricks with his mind and physical state – and she knew it!!!

His squeals echoed over the waving flowers.

[x]

After ‘Pápa’ and ‘Manita,’ which dueled one another for first place so much so it made him dizzy, ‘No’ was his favorite combination of letters that didn’t deal with emotions.

The entire concept of that word, even.

Denial.

Did he want an extra roll when his stomach was already filled to the brim with three of them? No. Did he want to sleep on the sofa instead of next to Папа, since he looked too content where he was at? No. Did he want to wake up really early in the morning in order to tend to the crops and scare away the crows before they damaged the yield? No – but he did it anyways. Did he want to leave the confines of the Gift, with his arms around part of his male homosapien’s big chest in the daze of half sleep? No. Did he want to stop playing with his female human since it was midnight and she had no more school? No.

No, no; no!

The ability to express it – with shakes; pauses; deeper rumbles from the back of this esophagus – was undefined. Of course it was. The closest Shadow could come to think about it was the feeling of gliding over the fields with bright skies above. Where there was no end nor beginning. It was something else, but…

Shadow shook his head.

The word mattered, but… he was happy.

No need to press.

[x]

That thought came back when he was on Папа’s lap. Propped up, and adhered to his male human stickier than Manita’s craft glue, he met and watched his adult homosapien watching him. They’ve been doing this more and more – and he wonders what Gerald thinks about. He knew it was about him: those glasses couldn’t block the normal Sun, forget the Ultimate Lifeform’s vision. Besides, his male human was brushing his hair back the way he really enjoyed…

“Kid,” Папа mumbled, “how old are you?”

He… was not sure.

The Black Comet had a long cycle around the vastness of space – a span counted in the thousands of human years. He was ‘old’ when counting that. But… to his species, he was ‘infantile.’ He had only recently crawled from his pupa – and it wasn’t like he remembered how long his creation had lasted. Was it long? Short? The Vanguard was the peak, after all, and crafting such took time. How long had it taken to engineer him? How much Chaos Energy from other lives had he consumed to ripen him up for harvest? There were many failures before initialization, and all multiples after. He was created… when? The first imprint? The first version of ‘him’ was… What time? What place? What moment? And why did his human want to know that?

Those thoughts had not given him his answer about ages, though. Let’s see…

“Shadow,” Папа brushed him again. “Listen to me, as you already know the answer: how old are you?”

What was Gerald asking?

He squirmed in his spot.

Unsure.

Shadow tried again, using his concept of ‘self’ – the concept of ‘Shadow’ and a little bit of the Vanguard. A white glove rose. All fingers spread out before re readjusted for the potentially proper number: one. Humans counted years after birth, starting at zero, correct? Was pupa birth? Maybe? He… thinks so?

The Vanguard felt himself tense up. His male homosapien was trying to make him forget about the Black Arms’ timeline – his true heritage. This was… manipulation. A nasty one, too, using pets and hugs and touches and comfort and-!

The pats became deeper – tanned human flesh dug and rubbed his right ear. It was… a prize; not a punishment for not getting things right the first time. “That’s correct. It’s your birthday in a few months. Your second only celebration.”

And he was having… complications… wanting to bring up the urge to struggle against it. Earth was a very dangerous planet.

He moved in closer. He really, really liked Папа’s scratches.

Question: thousands of years old? Potentially more?

Didn’t matter. R-Right? Not anymore…

His human said so. That was… like an order?

New Answer: he only needed to care it was about to be two.

“Pápa.”

A muwha occurred.

Not as many as Manita’s. Just as warm.

… This was bad.

Very, very bad.

[x]

His female homosapien was working with something: a large piece of paper that had numerous doodles and shapes of various depictions of lights and rainbows and sleek missile warheads that she said was actually ‘a space race that had already ended but hadn’t back then.’ He crawled on the nearby cabinet that held all of her craft supplies in order to get a better view point – the lack of his Air Shoes a temporary annoyance. He carefully balanced himself on the thin metal and issued a small glance at Maria.

“Hey, Shadow.” Manita’s voice was more… serious than he expected. “How accurate are you with your claws in carving?”

He turned to look at his hands. Flexed his fingers.

He could gut you right here and now, his human. Could accomplish it in such a manner she wouldn’t even realize she had died. Could do it slowly by removal and destruction of the nervous system first. Could even not use his claws and move onto his finesse in Chaos Energy instead. He… could do a lot of permanent things with his hands.

...

Shadow was glad Maria taught these exact same pieces of matter about hugs. Embraces. Holds of kindness.

… What would he had become if he had not run into the Ultimate Robotniks 17 Miles North-Northeast of Guthrie, Oklahoma?

There was no answer.

Not from him.

Not from the hive.

His red gaze maintained on his digits.

“I’ll take that as ‘the best and most adorable and most accurate.’”

There his human was again. A serious, yet joking, term. Nevertheless, he edged his way closer, and saw her sketches in higher fidelity. They were... very accurate depictions of the stars from the viewpoints on Earth. A different feeling tried to surface but scattered to the winds.

Maria eventually finished and then lifted the drawing to the air, admiring it. "Shadow! I'm going to need your help with this, if that's alright."

He nodded.

"Great! Meet you at the big tree. At midnight. Once Grandpa is asleep."

[x]

Like little ghosts from Halloween movies, Shadow and Manita appeared underneath the calming waves of billowing grass. The endless, undying flowers greeted them in silence as his female human gently tugged him through his fingers. With a wide arc, she pointed high into the sky. "Shadow! Can you help me find a really big rock? It must be light colored, like the moon! Faded gray, but not concrete. Can you help with that?"

... The... moon?

The big white sphere behind them?

In color?

"It would be awesome if we could find one that looks like a pitted crater! Help me find such a beast! We're going to carve my designs on it!" Blue eyes turned onto the ground and started her search – flashlight in hand.

Red eyes trailed up.

The moon... That was an immense distance. His white gloves tightened around one of his golden bands.

Why look for a fake rock when he could grab the real deal?

...

... One should be... without problem.

"Ma-knee-tah," he warned. How could he convey this message? He... wasn't sure. A big hug? That should work, right? It should translate his message of: everything is safe; don't be scared. He's on a short mission!

Eventually, he caught her attention. He brought hands around her waist and shared all his warmth – heard her mention that this was a sweet gesture, but she really needed to find that piece of matter...

He forced her to sit down.

Stay still, his human!

"Ma-nee-ta!" The word played on his lip.

"Alright. Sit here. I got it. What are you up to, my little bro?"

Shadow backed up carefully. Moved his fingers back across one wrist. Brought the clean edge up into the space before him. With only minor hesitation, he took his hand and placed it over only ONE of his golden bands.

The air itself tolled like a bell.

Pretty.

An escape of light from the clasp, like a miniature nova.

The hinge behaved to his call.

He felt an incredible rush fill his mind to destroy, destroy, destroy; DESTROY!!!, but not nearly how much it could be. Not nearly as... badly. This was within acceptable parameters. See? He was only gritting his fangs a little. This was alright. His human needed him and his help! To DESTROY!!!

Yes, yes. He'll destroy... some poor rock on the moon.

Be quiet!!

All the hair on his body rose in the static. Flickers of lightning filled the air. His human was at the correct distance to not get hurt-

One, only one, of his suppressors hit the flowers beneath him.

And then... he was gone.

[x]

He came back.

Of course!

The moon... might have a...

A sheepish red formed on cheeks.

... new hole on the surface.

Whoops.

[x]

Human.

What's a tombstone?

Why aren't you talking to him?

...

...

...

She eventually did, but asked him a question that made no sense. Silly human!

[x]

Maria balanced on the tips of her toes; rocked back and forth in a display of nerves. It was not ones brought by sadness or anger, but it bordered on worried or sad or distressed or something undefined, even. He needed keep an eye out in case she got worse- “Grandpa. You really need to see this.”

Папа wiped his hands of the spices he was covered in from preparing breakfast and turned to give them both undying attentions.

Blonde hair moved. Cyan followed. “Shadow: are you an angel?”

Rubies blinked. This inquiry once more? It had only been less than an hour. He will respond like he did last time – it was quite windy. Maybe she didn’t hear him.

A shake of vehement quills.

“Do you fly?”

He turned to face his Air Shoes.

“Do you come from the skies?”

Comet. Same thing? Red eyes looked up before heading towards the spot in the basement where both of his humans had ‘secured’ his old pupa remains.

“Do you sing?”

Well, the hive does. And he’s part of the hive. Sometimes. Was? And if that had not counted anymore, he laughs and sings with Manita! His red streaks blurred as he nodded.

“Is this your true form?”

Ah. That one was new… and was a very sharp question to ask, his human. W-Where did she think about that? Had she seen a glimpse of him when he pulled ONE off? Or was it something else? H-He had not run around and done… destructive things here on the Farm… Well… minus the mud pit, the plaster ceiling, and the obliteration of the Forget-Me-Nots – b-but those were accidents! Fingers rubbed along both of his Inhibitor Rings – made sure they were fully reattached. Ears furled back and settled against his cranium.

His male human was sitting down on the couch and giving him a very intense look. Nothing cruel. Nothing wrong. Only… not observing away from Shadow, and it made him feel very bizarre. “My dear… You should stop. You’re making him uncomfortable.”

“J-Just one more, Grandpa. This one… is super important.”

He wrapped the Gift around himself, just in case.

See! He was cute!

Not…

Not… a monster.

Manita got reaaaaaally quiet at that movement. Almost to a full whisper – the lowest he had heard from her. “Do you have wings?”

Each of his quills rose underneath the wool.

H-How did his female k-know about that? His most dangerous shape? His pinnacle? The specially curated rage of one that decimated all and many under the heat and fires of Chaos Energy? H-His human. You should n-never, ever; EVER see him as such. What you might have witnessed this too early morning was ONE. D-Don't let that give you a false sense of security! That form was meant to- to- to terminate everything if a hazard was deemed ‘appropriate.’ Honestly, he wasn’t even certain he was a person in that state anymore – he was more like a raw fulcrum of anger and hatred and loathing. A-All the things his precious humans were… not; would never be-!! Ублюдок had… ensured that. It was how the Vanguard planned on killing his creator, who made him feel so empty inside for so long!!! FOR DARING TO HAVE ORDERED HIM TO KILL HIS HUMANS!!! HE LONGS FOR THAT SPECIFIC ASSASSINATION AGAINST THE RULER OF THE BLACK ARMS; WILL PIERCE THE STARS TO ACCOMPLISH HIS GOAL!

But instead of flinching away.

Afraid.

Scared of him.

Of what he was.

Or a bunch of other things…

They simply… sat.

[x]

Do… humans have self-preservation skills?

Instincts?

The more he observes, the less he thinks so.

Both Robotniks weren’t petrified of him. They should be since they knew about his winged form… somehow. Some way.

In fact…, oxymoronically, Maria seemed… in awe.

… Kinda weird, his human.

Just a bit.

… But it did make him feel… warm… on the inside.

So, it’s… okay.

[x]

He started messing with his fingers in his Gift while waiting for one of them to move. Interlocked. Unbounded. Twitched. Made the two thumbs circle each other.

BE ADORABLE!

NOT SCARY!!

He started humming to himself.

His humans said it was a good way to ‘practice’ his ‘voice box.’ What was Manita’s favorite song on the radio right now? It'll calm her down, right?

The Best of… My ‘Love’ – Chaos Energy? Some bird band made it – and that word sure was heard around more and more and more…

‘Hm hm hm hm hmm hmmm~’

… ‘Look at the way we live~’

Umm… What was ‘cheap talk and wine?’

… Human.

He’s confused.

[x]

Shadow was a little disappointed.

His male homosapien burnt breakfast because the smoke was now able to be picked up with his nose, but Gerald didn’t leave the sitting spot to address it.

His female homosapien stiffly walked away to turn off the stove, and on her way back, dropped the emergency sandwiches onto the floor when he went to help her.

Both of their eyes followed his every move.

[x]

Eventually, Папа pulled himself out of the fabric folds in front of the silent TV and picked him up. Pleased at the change, he made sure to give his human a lot of delighted noises from deep within his core – the stuff that would get his homosapien to start smiling again. No sad thoughts for his humans AND himself! No talking humans meant unhappy ones! He must – and will – work harder! See! Look at him, his human! He shall make sure you go back to being joyful! See! He’s wagging his tail! You like this, right? Hmm? “I can see why Maria thinks that. Really. I do. Shit, I find myself pondering the same even if I know it’s not- -I know it’s not correct, but…” A rough hand rubbed the bridge of a nose. “Why do I feel like I am only scratching the surface with you, Shadow? Where are you from? What are you?”

He tilted his head.

His human.

Human.

He was Shadow.

Remember?

Now that you are happy…

… Is it time to snuggle and go to bed yet?

Chapter Text

Merino Shoes swayed back and forth like the tips of the blades of greenery that were shooting straight vertical from the fields. Black fur continuously rubbed against the ears of his male homosapien – and now that he thought about it, their placement of those pale, fleshy items were so… weird. Instead of the tops of the cranium, they were to the side; by their temples – the location where their skulls were the thinnest and most sensitive to incoming damage! The folds were so strange! Was that not such a major weakness in human evolutionary biology? Was basically a giant target sign! Nevertheless, his knees maintained right next to those soft temples as he rested his chin on the very top of Папа’s own head. With every step, all of his quills bounced as Gerald walked around, going from room to room.

Blue eyes squeezed shut as a snort filled the room. “Grandpa! You look like you have a hat on you with Shadow on your shoulders!”

“He weighs about a sack of flour, so he’s the world’s heaviest hat, then,” Папа mused aloud, bouncing Shadow a little higher. A small chirp left his throat as that was accomplished – he wasn’t expecting that, his human! Please! Understand that this is the first time he had been offered to be move in this sort of style in the house! “He’s very good at staying within my center of gravity. Now, come, Maria. We got something to do in the kitchen.”

Together, the trio made it down towards the area of work – the place where Папа made all of their foods; where his Chaos Energy danced along each individual eating item because of the Robotnik Personal Garden's infusion. Locked within each little scrap of consumables was his love for his homosapiens! His weapon of war made for fighting off bad things!

He can do his purpose even in the little subjects of life… It was... strange to ponder. But nice.

“Open the top cabinet and pull down the following items, kid,” the eldest Robotnik begun, instructing Shadow where to look at.

White gloved fingers reached each ingredient. Primarily, it was actually rather limited: sugar, flour, confection sugar, and these little cutters that were in various shapes. Most of them were reminiscent of the stuff from Christmas, but Папа put away those and pulled out cartoon imagery of stars. Their five points made him wonder where such an idea came from: he was so used to the six or even the infinite circle for the signs of the cosmos. That was the style that the Black Arms used – in fact, the Ultimate Lifeform had his own symbol in texts and visual messaging, now that he thought about it. Whatever the case, five points alone was such a… human thing.

… Cute... That was the shape...

... since they didn’t remind him of… of…

Manita took it upon herself to dig her fingers into his left and right sides and he felt himself stiffen and squirm on his delicate position. “Sad? Not on my watch: TICKLE ATTACK!”

“Mah-knee-tahhhh!!!” Instantly, he fell down and toppled over, and with a mighty POOF all of his limbs and fur and other things were COVERED with white powder.

“MARIA!”

“I REGRET NOTHING!”

The powder hung in the air and eventually settled all over his two homosapiens. The large bag of flour that was meant for baking scattered. There were other bags to use, of course, but the scene made everyone look like the black and white drawings on his female’s study books. Shadow’s little black nose twitched as the particles entered and settled – his little ‘aa-choo!’ filled the air.

Папа waved his hand and shook a finger at Manita. “We were supposed to have made sugar cookies this morning! Now you'll have to do this on your own while I give the kid a bath!”

“Grandpa, he’s smiling now,” the blonde girl folded her hands in front of her chest – the expression like a proud Black Arms’ member showcasing the latest, largest kill from a planetary conquest.

His white quills with pink markings moved as he nodded. It was true: he was smiling, now.

There was a sigh from his male human.

[x]

“Pápa~” he cooed again as the warm water with the lavender infused bubble bath, soaps, and shampoos surrounded him. The suds were so tall that they dominated over his red and black quills.

His human’s fingers dug and scrubbed and pulled. Unlike before, when Папа got to the Inhibitor Rings, he paused over them. The golden color glinted now that the flour was gone completely. There was a hum and a large thumb rubbed over the indents and the main groove; the complex edges and forged details of great no-longer secrets. With a little flick, Shadow moved his head and focused his red eyes on his male homosapien.

“Curiosity can be evil, kid,” Папа murmured before he brought up a scrunchie scrubby thing and washed the rest of his body. "Sometimes, you shouldn't go after it."

Plucked out of the tub, little droplets of water cascaded down upon the penny tile flooring. They made miniature reflections of himself as his male human turned to grab one of the many towels from the linen closet. Shadow wiggled his toes and heard a ‘pst pst pst.’

Rubies lifted.

It was Manita. She had her head stuck in the crack between the wall and the door and was wiggling her eyebrows. Slowly and silently, she waved him towards her.

He tilted his head.

He wasn’t dry yet.

Why did Maria need him?

Pake curled fingers waved once more. C’mere, Shadow! they ordered.

He will obey. With a pleasant expression on his face.

[x]

Voices filled the hallway. “Little BRATS! When I catch you-!!”

Blue eyes trailed. “RUN, SHADOW! RUN!”

“Dammit, you two! You’re not going to get away from me that easily-!”

His female homosapien called this tag. He was surprised to know Gerald was very good at hunting down after him and Manita! His large wet hand fit seamlessly with her own as the two – three – made multiple rounds and rounds and rounds across both floors of the house.

Once, he rushed past the television where another SPECIAL REPORT blazed in bright letters. There was a gray colored not-Gerald human that waved his arms towards another gray colored not-Maria one. A bright, comical image of a circle behind them dominated the scene. There was a little light gray splatter of paint on it, and it changed to-

Whatever else was there didn’t matter. Папа had managed to catch him by his tail, then his core, and lifted him. Liquid flushed and sprayed as he shook and squirmed, all while ensuring not too much strength! Not on his precious human!

“Pápa!!!”

Manita was captured next.

“Noooo! My freedommmmm!”

“You can never escape, you two,” Gerald spoke truth as Shadow played limp noodle in the crook of the right arm; his female homosapien had a large arm around her shoulders on the left. “Stucked silly my naughty little brats.”

[x]

Familiar jackets and glasses were slid upon his face and body from his female homosapien. Manita’s hands fussed as she dressed him into ‘the proper gear’ that all led towards events and locations he recalled with pinpoint precision. Her words of, ‘This is my reward for making Grandpa happy yesterday,’ flew in the cool morning air as she pulled him down the dirt path into the work truck.

His face must have told his humans his…

Temperament.

Папа only made a deep chuckle from the back of his diaphragm – a motion only done when highly amused, so there was not much Shadow could do other than cross his arms and stare daggers at the upcoming building. The scarf around his thin and small neck flapped as they came to a halt in front of…

CESSNA!

They had no poison – insecticide – today for the crops. As such, what were his Ultimate Robotniks going to accomplish today?

Папа rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Do I have to remind you what not to do every time I drag out my C150, kid?”

Black quills slowly moved in a negative connotation. No, his male homosapien. He… would be a good boy.

There was a pat on his head.

… Shadow was easily cajoled by his humans.

Wasn’t he?

However, bouncing besides him was Manita. Her hands waved as a horde of charts and graphs and tables slipped from one of the large bags she had shoved with her. Around her neck even remained her camera, and that gave him all the hints that made him realize something Big was going to happen. She was ‘loaded to the nines’ – whatever that meant – and that explained to all that she had a plan.

The Ultimate Lifeform sat and thought and pondered.

Gathered the clues.

Was this a visit to that Oklahoma City place, only closer? Had he been good enough to go from Guthrie to the capitol? Or was there something else going on-?

“This is such a stupid idea, Maria.”

She winked. “You were the one to bring it up, Grandpa.”

“I know what I said.”

A pink tongue flashed. “Today’s the day! I can FEEL it in my bones! In less than twelve hours, Shadow will be a real Okie!”

… Huh?

[x]

Chaos Energy.

He sensed it immediately the moment Папа pulled out Cessna from its sleeping quarters. The hairs of his fur rose as the rest of his body felt confused. Overworked. Overburdened.

First of all, the aircraft had a new paint scheme. After all the past year of complaints and tidings, his male homosapien had taken some moment in time to accomplish the tasking. Instead of the white with blue lines that he knew what existed and what had ONCE been Cessna…

INSTEAD THAT-!

THAT-!

THAT FAKER TOOK HIS COLOR SCHEME AS WELL-!?!?!?!!!!!!!!!

“Taaa-daaa!” Maria added as she waved her hands, sending him into a spiral of confusion. Her words and actions indicated she was proud of what she was showcasing to him. But- But it was Cessna! Not only had that thing tried to take away his spot as the focal point of his humans, now it was black with red visual ‘danger’ labels, too!!!!

Red eyes took in the appearance of his rival!!!

Black. Every surface was dark, but not the color of the night. There was a thin layer of… glitter? By changing his position and height, he could see the black change into the colors of the oil on top of water. Like a rainbow, the surface simmered and shifted in appearance. It was not loud at all – rather, subtle enough to catch. In certain modes, the way the sunlight scattered turn the black into a more-

There was something else.

He could feel the eyes of his humans watch him as he walked around the body of Cessna. They were silent, as if they wanted to know his deep emotions – his opinion – his thoughts. White gloved fingers traced along the cadmium red lines that stretched from the body of Cessna towards the tail – onto the rudder and ailerons and all the other technical terms.

Footsteps.

Maria was next to him.

She brushed her hair back behind her ear and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Grandpa and I know you didn’t like the Old C150, so we worked together to fix it to a better version. What… do you think?”

He’s not…

… sure.

His gaze flicked towards the three… wheels that supported the weight of the machine. Their metal enclosure, too, had that dark paint with the thin glitter coat.

“You want to name it?”

Name?

Black ear twitched.

That was... ownership, right?

... What were you planning, his humans?

Папа had already walked over and was squatting besides Manita, too. There was a paint can in his hand as well as a brush. “My calligraphy skills are pretty decent, kid. Think of a name and I’ll paint it on the side.”

A name…?

He stood.

Stood.

Stood.

…

…

…

…

…

How long did time pass?

The Sun hung in the air.

Humidity levels had increased.

Shade from one of the anvils had started to reach over.

Manita was sitting on the floor, but had brushed his hand in her own with a strange, sad smile on her face; camera waiting to be used but nothing forced or commanded.

His male human had brought out a chair from the side and was watching with care – when realized that Shadow had been watching him, there was only a similar smile.

He was…

… secured.

Warm.

"Wanna take a trip and think about the name on your return?"

…

…

…

…

…

There were two words he knew how to speak aloud:

‘Pápa.’

‘Manita.’

Gerald.

Maria.

But…

What does he do for the third word?

There was no one there to teach him.

…

…

…

Right?

…

…

…

June 13^th, 1975.

Tall clouds formed on the horizon.

Powerful in nature.

They spun around and around.

A mothership.

The joking lie of the Black Comet.

As he and his humans piled in to take off on the bouncy grass, as they flew off into the hot sun, as a little bag of sugar cookies was spread around as a snack to enjoy, as he sat and thought and thought and thought; as the mechanisms in the front was no longer powered by 100 LL, but by one of his quills, Shadow pondered.

Why was this…

… so hard?

…

…

…

He couldn’t think. Not when the craft with the now-familiar feeling power plant hummed in the skies, making the vessel fly faster, stronger, and more unstoppable than ever before. With Папа at the helm, they spiraled around the base of a mysterious cloud that hung down over the pastures and fields to the north and east of the Farm; towards buildings and little homes. His female homosapien explained that was the town of Stillwater, which he remembered her describing from before. By that town, with all those humans looking from down below, they circled and waited.

The Chaos Energy source meant no more leaded consumption of complex carbohydrates. Like a satellite, the unnamed New Cessna awaited for a victim.

Eventually, the winds picked up.

Manita pulled open her camera and started to take numerous pictures of the cloud hanging just above them and ahead. "If we're going to see a tornado, we're gonna do it RIGHT, Shadow!" she added.

The zephyr was going CRAZY!

It whooshed from the east! Then from the south! Swung to the west! Then back east! It mixed and spiraled and turned darker and darker – until there was a little nib at the bottom of the cloud. Папа turned the wing of the unnamed Cessna towards a higher angle and Manita started to point and scream:

"LOOK! LOOK! LOOK, SHADOW!!"

He was!

The nib turned into the mothership's claw! Like the very tip, it descended and crashed and vibrated the air. Particles of dirt smacked against his goggles as the three passengers OOO and AAAH at what was less than two miles before them!!

There was the sound of lightning!

Then a massive SCRATCH SCRATCH ROAR ROAR!!!

Black, complex, and messy winds touched the surface of the Earth like a muwha! It touched a shack – "Oo!!! A chicken coop!" Maria explained – a strange complex of pipeline – "That's the oil drilling site," Gerald added – and like a drill, it thundered and continued and went on and on and ON!

Red eyes grew and watched. The wind so strong it stopped his tail. The windows were cracked just enough to let them feel the storm.

"Whatcha think, brother?" Manita grinned. It was meant to be a joke.

...

...

...

He was attacked.

Inside.

His human ripped him open.

He could hear the sounds of shock and worry. The action was immediate. They turned away from the strange noodle that connected the earth and sky and hurried back towards land.

Back home on the item fueled by his Chaos Energy.

Back in something purple-black and red.

…

…

…

And then he started to weep.

Fat ones.

Large ones.

Wet ones.

They fell and fell.

And fell.

...

...

...

White gloves wrapped around the seat couch and refused to get out.

Refused to move.

Refused to abandon this unnamed rival.

Why!?

Why was he so DISTRAUGHT!?

HE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND!

...

...

...

He slept overnight in the cabin.

Curled in a ball.

[x]

His male homosapien had a bulb blaring from the ceiling. There were many multiples of luminous sources that were not covered by the plastic tarp in the region Папа had used to prevent dust from settling on the fresh lettering.

Outside the hanger, the leftover storms of the next morning were still raging and battling the elements.

Inside this secluded world, the English strung together as best as they could to pronounce the word that Shadow had spoken as he cried.

‘Eek-kulpss’

Chapter Text

WHO/WHAT WAS PROJECT: ROBOTNIK?

MISCELLANOUS:

Chapter Text

It was another BEAUTIFUL morning aboard the Black Comet!

Chaos Energy was humming! There was no gamma radiation burst nearby to incinerate future soldier larvae before their shells had hardened! The living, organic walls of the secluded area he called him home were as inviting and comforting as it always was! The hatchery was filled with hotness to ensure proper growth! The nursery had recently swelled with numerous new Unfinished Lifeforms, too! O! There were so many new Black Arms to meet and greet and communicate with! He's already met some of the new batch, such as Shade! Silhouette! Twilight! Dusk! And a whole slew of others that multiplied with the passing of each lazy orbit! Even better – off towards the side were the Acceptables and Use-less – not Useless, of course, but to Use Less of them because they're so fragile and weak and need protection from the scary universe out there – whom also had new batches of the Unfinished! More and more were in the hive! More young ones, like him, he had to shelter!

As feet playfully bounced along the pathways, a hum escaped from his innards. Today was going to be a great day! He was to showcase off his mastery of Chaos Control to others at the Assembly~! After untold timeframes learning and studying and applying himself to pinpoint precision and accuracy, he had DONE IT! He was the FIRST to accomplish the miracle from the entire Unfinished! He was so happy! He was pleased! He was-!

The deep hums of Energy: the thick, viscous flow that he felt and distinguished as a weaponry attack. The breaking of some object. The pulls and pushes of two different signatures clashing until one was utterly defeated and crushed underneath, yet again.

The nursery continued as it always had. That sheer power, feelings, and other related things was just Creator rumbling around nearby. Black Doom was a very busy person, especially with the invasion of Planet 5c9_32v. It was said that they had individuals that had learned how to fly metallic ships in the stars! Those silly organics – don't they know that the best way was via self propulsion? What happens if a machine… thingy died?

The Black Arms would conquer that planet and consume their knowledge into the fold, anyhow.

He nodded to himself-

Chaos Energy flashed again. This time, it was filled with malice. It writhed and flailed against anything that could sense it and impressed on all whom could:

THE ABSOLUTE DOMINANCE OF HATRED

… A grimace spread against a white lower face. Ouch. Creator must be incredibly upset.

The Unfinished Lifeform hurried towards his required spot.

[x]

The Assembly had all of the creations stumble, walk, slide, or crawl there, depending on injuries or lack thereof. His tail flicked back and forth when he tried to find his spot and his number – near the beginning. He was one of the oldest of the entire Unfinished Lifeforms and took that responsibility over everyone with all of his innards! All of his three hearts and four limbs! His fellows in arms all deserved equal chances – everyone had a special place and purpose on the Black Comet. It just so happened his was to be part of Creator’s grand design.

Everyone here was to facilitate that, even.

“Hey, Twilight!” he crooned at the sleek looking Black Arms with only one red stripe and the same dioxazine-black as everyone else.

There was a look of disgust briefly before the Upper Echelon brought those emotions underneath a scowling face. ⟪Poor Twilight. Something was wrong with that creation’s cortex that held ‘personality.’ That guy was always angry and upset and filled with a lot of rage. One of the Maintainers – the overseers for when Creator was too busy to take care of them on individual basis – had mind linked to him that Twilight was the result of fantastical experiments, but it was a shame the other Unfinished couldn't adept to the raw power of fury...⟫ “What do you want, Eclipse?”

“I'm just here to say hello to my fellow-!”

A snort of hot air. “Let me guess: Mr. Perfect has discovered yet another technique.”

The bounce in his step hadn't ended prematurely, but he knew when he wasn’t wanted. “All discoveries have already been accomplished by Creator,” the three clawed Unfinished deflected instead. “I haven't learned anything unknown.” Realizing it was time to leave, he waved a small goodbye and went to another area closer to where his spot was to be.

O! There’s Shade-!

“E-Eclipse,” the normally tightly wound and battle happy Black Arms swallowed. Ah. This guy might… have remembered the pummel that he might have… accomplished with vivid recollection. ⟪It wasn't like the Unfinished had a choice! Creator had commanded everyone to practice their levels of regeneration, and Shade, while being very strong physically, had such novice Chaos skills that recovery was not a… Well, it was a work in progress! Eclipse made certain to only affect areas with his sharpened daggers that he KNEW Shade could recover from, too! If Twilight had gone against Shade as originally planned… Well, let's not think about that. He had fixed it via underhanded methods and ensured that hadn't happened. ⟫ “Go away.”

One of his hearts felt a little disappointed, but that was alright, too. Shade was just hurt. He understood! Really! When he had lost to Creator – one of the few Unfinished that got to be in close vicinity more than once every so many cycles – he was super emotionally hurt, too! He hadn't realized how great the Black Arms were or how to even use his claws, so he had been really pathetic. However, he learned a lot that moment – such as how sturdy his body was! But he was no where near ‘Mr. Prefect’ as described – Eclipse wouldn't use the word taunted – because that was what the Ultimate Lifeform was meant to be!

… If he happened to be the one…

That would mean he'll ensure all of his Black Arms won't have to fear hunger from the lack of Chaos Energy anymore-! He'll protect and save them all-! Or most, at least. He understands that ‘all’ is too broad a term. Take the Unfinished, for example. They were designed to be expendable except for one. Maybe two. Normally, that was a foolish nightmare of wasted resources, but if every death made the one whom would be omnipotent appear – the one to lead the Black Arms to victory over everything – that wasn't a waste.

That was sacrifice!

⟪ There was a slap and a loud thud as his body shivered in starvation. He’d been running and fighting for too long and hadn't had a single snack! But when he – the young and naïve creation – asked, Creator gave a solid explanation. It was an important lesson to learn. ⟫

⟪ Hunger is one of the vices perfection cannot claim. You are better than the basically all others and cannot be squandered needlessly. Stay conscious from my next volley and I’ll deem you a title. ⟫

That's not how he got Eclipse.

Obviously, he failed to go on without needing had snack!

However, Creator was generous and told him that he just needed more time – that he would be the most sapid of them all – that he would make the others proud. Eclipse wasn't sure of that definition too much ⟪he thinks it's ‘potential’⟫, but he was positive it was meant that he could work harder – that he was on the right track!

Hmm…

He reached his spot!

The Assembly was still straggling in. Ordered by numbers, Eclipse hummed as he felt his tail sway. Two happy hearts and one sad one still left him overall alright. Besides! He was going to be able to get to spot some individuals he hadn't seen in so long! Horizon hadn’t been observed in ages – maybe he'll get to chat with him? That guy was always down to talk to anyone and anything-

Something really really really really quiet – but no where near sneaky enough for him – slipped into the space directly to Eclipse’s right. There was a collective shiver of disgust he noticed in many faces as his yellow eyes turned to spot whom the source was in confusion. All at once, he understood why:

A Use-less.

One that had killed another Unfinished Use-less outside the arena, the only place where that was allowed to happen. The Maintainers had not punished that one strong enough, if you asked Eclipse. To kill a fellow Black Arms without the purposeful requirements to create the true Ultimate Lifeform-!!!

Eclipse nevertheless scooted towards the side in his left in order to give the gray and almost pink – damned, disgusting, and sick bastard – enough room to come in as based on the gait the guy was injured.

Then…

His independent mind link, one not tied to the hive, screamed at him-!

DANGER!

TARGETS!

DANGER!

ALONE!

DANGER!

WEAK!

DANGER!

THREATS!

A shot of broken, freezing cold thoughts ran up his spine and exoskeleton when he felt something brush against his back side only ever so briefly. It wasn't the solid knowledge of harden shell rubbing upon hardened shell. It wasn't the rumble of something in the hive apologizing from afar. It wasn't an Acceptable or Upper Echelon – the innate Chaos Energy held was far too low and felt almost dulled. What it WAS felt… strange. Like his sharpened tapered ends could pierce into it and not reach the true surface. Like his claws would try to grab it and claim nothing. Like it was filled with more comfort than a sac that all the normal Black Arms came out from.

Eclipse felt that awkward softness continue to scrape by him – continued to feel those overburdened thoughts that were yelling to the void about how terrified the owner was about… everything!

… Mindful, Eclipse turned around slowly.

Watched with his azo yellow eyes.

And was struck by a strange sight: one of the darkest midnights. The deepest wells of ink. The endless expanse between suns and moons. His mind desperately tried to search for a word, and the knowledge he certainly never stole using his special skill from passing soldier grunts with weak wills came to his aid.

Fur.

There were the ever-present red streaks of all of the Unfinished – those sharp, pointed edges to match the all-knowing, watchful Doom’s Eye – along every limb and every tapered edge. However, unlike any member of the creations that Eclipse has seen, this specific one had red fluff along those exact lines.

More fur.

The height was so, so small, too. Not a Death Leech size, of course, since none of the Unfinished would technically get that tiny as they were curated and grown artificially in various methods or ways ⟪there were rumors some of the most recent batch of Unfinished were even assisted via partnerships with conquered planet sapiens in exchanged for their lives⟫, but in a chamber filled to the brim with tall individuals, this soft one was… As tall as Eclipse himself!! ⟪Which was rare! Sure, there WERE littler Black Arms, but those carried no cortex to think or move! Those were true mindless drones! They had to be protected as well, of course, but they were purposefully made to become… You know.⟫

So much fur.

Then there was that skull shape. Six points on the head? Seven? The Upper Echelon started to count: yup. Seven. Each one with the mark of the Eye’s that circled the center point. In fact, the silhouette matched the watcher of Creator so well. Too damn well. Black Doom must have been extraordinarily confused or happy when that batch this Unfinished was in was created. Doom’s Eye was the mind – the soul – of Creator and to have a similar appearance-!

The fur was everywhere.

And the fuzzy end points didn't stop there! Instead of a hardened spine to prevent damage from a blinded backside, there were three little… parts that stuck out on the base of the spine. They bounced with of all the seven points on the head with each step that Unfinished took to get into the seat beside Eclipse ⟪proving that this stranger was only JUST OLDER than he was⟫. They bounced when the face-!

Oh, Chaos Energy above, there was so much fur.

The FACE was all… squishy looking, too! What WASN’T on this creation? It was black and red and light rust colored! Not to mention the little tuft of white on the chest! But that MOUTH! Where were the sharp fangs spilling out, visible at all times, to denounce a dangerous aura!? Where were the sockets to unhinge a jaw to consume larger items!? If this furry creation was not an Energy user like Eclipse, then that meant physical strength was supposed to be the series this guy came from’s purpose! ⟪Especially since they were still in the ‘testing things out’ stage during these early production runs. It's why Eclipse himself was so strong and had an untapped potential – errors in production let him be something Creator still couldn't reproduce on purpose – an error so strong it polluted the other cells and wiped them all out, save two-⟫

Wait a fucking parsec. If this Unfinished was right next to him, using the blatant logic… THEY were of the same batch! The OTHER SURVIVOR of the unintended massacre!! The Darkling knew there was one other lucky one!

H-HOLD ON-!

Seize all these damned thoughts-!!!

Red.

True black.

Soft!

He REMEMBERED whom this was-!

The EXAMPLE!

He had almost forgotten about that event because of how YOUNG he was!!

So, the Example was alive after all! No one of the sub-1000 count could EVER forget that memory – mostly because if they weren't capable of storing such thoughts into their minds and/or into the hive, they were Recycled into fresh juice for the next batch.

Excited at the prospect, he reached his claw out towards the Example. His chest clicked a few noises and his tongue was able to chirp out soothing sounds – poor Unfinished was still screaming out that he was absolutely terrified. It… um, wasn't the best thing to display to the others, ESPECIALLY to the Maintainers, but that's alright! Eclipse would help a boy in need! “Hi! I'm #650! But I was fortunate enough to have claimed the name Eclipse! It's nice to meet you! May we one day bring glory to the Black Arms together!”

In the background, many moans extruded from other listeners. “Eclipse always trying to force people into his circle when no one wants him;” “Yeah, ‘cause everyone that's close vanishes;” was the sentiment given based on the thoughts he picked up in the hum of the air. Normally, he couldn't read it without direct touch, but with so many Chaos users without talent in holding back…

The Example was, oddly enough, even more quiet. Not a single negative discomfort at Eclipse in particular – just that deep seeded dread at everything, everyone; every noise, color, and shape. There was no joy at being here for another day or even the fact that the fuzzy thing was alive!

That…

Had not felt right…

The three clawed hand remained stretched outwards.

White sclera with vivid, burning bright red eyes, the same red as the markings, bore into Eclipse. There was a flinch – and those triangles in the head ⟪he forgot to mention those things – what even were they?⟫ seemed to move backwards and rested flat against the fur, as if to bury themselves away inside the cranium.

And then there was something Eclipse’s nose instantly recognized:

Sodium.

Dihydrogen monoxide.

TEARS.

FUCK. SHIT. DAMN IT! Tears were a sign of giving up! Once you cried outside battle and training injuries, which were allowed only during these beginning trials, you were labeled a Use-less that was on the Recycling list for the Ultimate Lifeform was to register no pain! He wasn't going to make a batch-mate undergo that! ⟪The Darkling had no more desire to be without someone from his clutch now that there was ONE-!!⟫

Don't worry! I gotchu! All of the Black Arms have a protector in me!

Those three claws of his grabbed midnight shoulders and sunk into foreign flesh. He pushed all the visual evidence of those shameful things into his shoulder – shoved that face right deep – and reached out with his Chaos Energy to tap into that mind – a mind that was dizzying and racing and was filled with nothing more than depression, depression, depression, depression; depression; depression; depression; depression; depression; depression; depression; depression; depression; depression; depression; depression-

A lost and cry out for FREEDOM.

FOR SOMETHING TO END ALL FEELINGS AND THOUGHTS BECAUSE THEY WERE OVERBURDENING THE SENSES AND MADE THE OWNER REALIZE THERE WAS NO HOPE, NO LIGHT; NO CHANCE AT BEING A PERSON. WHAT HE WANTED WAS-!

ENEMIES. SURROUNDED. EVERYTHING WAS A THREAT. ANALYZE. ASSES. CALCULATE. PLAN. DO WHATEVER NEEDS TO BE DONE TO-

SURVIVE.

SURVIVE.

SURVIVE.

… want everything…

SURVIVE.

SURVIVE.

SURVIVE.

... to be ceased…

SURVIVE.

SURVIVE.

SURVIVE.

… i want…

SURVIVE.

SURVIVE.

SURVIVE.

… to die…

SURVIVE.

SURVIVE.

SURVIVE.

THERE WAS NOTHING BUT TO GO ON, FOR HIS PURPOSE WAS TO---!!!

Eclipse disconnected immediately.

Realized the Unfinished was shivering in his arms.

Oh.

This was bad.

Eclipse had no idea that a sentient creation COULD t-think such HORRIBLE ideas!! These opinions were caustic and gagging and felt like something had dug into his core and the utter desperation and the pleading and the begging and the-!!!

He was very, very; very lost.

This Unfinished handled like… what some of the soldiers had mentioned conquered people from other planets tasted – a deep, sorrowful feeling that stemmed from the fact that they lost and would rather end themselves in literal lava pits than give their precious Chaos Energy over to the Black Comet ⟪which rightfully defeated the others in glorious battles⟫. All that precious fuel for life – so little and rare now in the universe – wasted away. The Ultimate Lifeform ⟪in theory⟫ and Creator ⟪in practice⟫ could pull Energy away from planets and generate their own, but Black Doom could not summon the Black Comet upon the surface of said worlds with atmosphere without losing everything except Himself.

That’s one of the reasons why the creation of perfection must exist.

Eclipse tried to comfort his brood-mate with that fact – that the other’s life HAD mattered and will CONTINUE to; that there was no need for tears because he was the Darkling and he would be here to give some warm hugs; that there was a Black Arms member right here to give aid to his kind!

… It…

Had not worked well.

… At all.

⟪That reality stung.⟫

The Unfinished passed out.

Weak.

Defenseless.

⟪Eclipse could see why this particular one was scared out of his mind.⟫

But unconscious meant no more tears. As such, he carefully rubbed them all away back into that fur and placed the limp body on the sitting bench. That was the best he could do for the guy.

[x]

When the Assembly called for Eclipse to showcase if he learned anything, the skip over the still-dead-to-the-Comet Unfinished towards his left was a genuine surprise. #599 was right before, and #600 to #699 was his section ⟪with his neighbor being some numeral between #600 thru #649 based on his #650⟫. The Darkling was younger. He should have been afterwards…

Well, alright.

No worries!

He will showcase his skills and then count his stars that he helped another Black Arms in need!

As such, he walked towards the middle, where the banners of the Ultimate Lifeform’s sigil waved in the collective heartbeat of the organic walls. To think, someone here was going to have the powers to kill not just a planet, but stars. QUASARS, even. ⟪He had borrowed from other’s minds what that even was in order to define it! A ball of nothingness that consumed all matter! The peak of natural destruction and proof the Black Arms were a creation of the universe after all – a black hole!⟫ That was beyond anyone’s comprehension aside Creator!

Gah. Stupid him. Getting distracted to ignore the looks of … heavy distaste from the other Unfinished. Their narrowed eyes. Their frowned mouths. ⟪Everyone loathes the one that is thought to be the already winner; planned on how to make an untimely demise-⟫ ⟪Ah, ah; ah! Don't think that! He cares for ALL the Black Arms. Creator said that was his greatest strength in being mentally stable! A good thing!!⟫

“Hi! I'm Eclipse the Darkling!”

There was movement in the background.

Black fur moved.

“And I'm also number #650!”

A set of eyes barely rose up from the table-like platform that was meant to hold food or liquids for whomever needed it.

“Today, I'll showcase what I learned since my last Assembly.”

Bright red, they were the only audience member to not have hatred.

To have actually paid proper attention.

Not as an Unfinished Ultimate Lifeform sizing up ways to defeat him in the arena that was to eventually come once all the batches were produced…

… but as a person. An individual.

As Eclipse.

⟪And he didn't even know his brood-mate’s number-⟫

“Behold!! Chaos…-” Energy filled his body. Positive. Negative. Almost untamed. It took ALL HIS MIGHT to bring that power into his whims – his tail flicking continuously as the muscles in his body contracted. He was only going to move towards the left three spans, or he'll burn himself into exhaustion. “-C-CONTROL!”

In a mesh of lightning and distorted air, he managed to pull of a miracle-

-the miracle of disappearing from one space into another-

-the miracle of crashing right on top that furry body and crushed the sad triangle tipped head person with a mighty-

THUD!!

[x]

The Maintainers were equally pleased and angered at Eclipse’s performance. They claimed that it was a great movement forwards for his growth and that he was equally grounded for running so dry on Chaos that he broke his left arm with his ungraceful fall from the Assembly roof. He was placed in a recovery room, where all the other injured Unfinished that were too weak to train existed. Attached to the medical and creation areas, where the last of the batches incubated, this was honestly Eclipse’s favorite spot! Walking slowly bandaged up, he was FULLY AWARE of the perks being an Upper Echelon granted him ⟪as being allowed to recuperate and pause forward progress was not for anything other than a UE⟫, so he took the opportunity to give happy smiles and sounds and words of encouragement to the little new brood batch.

There was a wave and rumble in the hive. The new creations were so tiny and cute, but must have had a new surgery! Their little hands were covered in a thick jelly meant to facilitate faster regeneration – if they had it in the first place – the Unfinished generally had. Eclipse poked and made cute faces at them and-

Golden eyes blinked.

Double checked.

The Example…?

The fuzzy Unfinished was sitting off towards the side on a bench; that head's spiky ends drooped along towards gravity. Those eyes were opened, but dazed; body slumped over as those hands and feet were stiffly lying besides that core. The brood-mate hadn’t looked injured, so Eclipse was very confused as to why that individual was here, but…

He walked closer. Noticed those triangles moved in his direction when his pronged feet tapped the hardened floor of the Black Comet’s surface. Saw those red eyes move from the floor towards him.

No hate.

No jealously.

Only that… sadness.

“Hey, there,” Eclipse offered with a smile for his fellow. “How… you doing?”

Red irises shifted away.

Great question, there him! Dumb idiot! The guy was in the recovery room after Eclipse dive bombed him with leftover, messy Chaos Energy! Poor Unfinished got the shock of his life! Literally. The Darkling’s power was not very friendly with other Black Arms – which was strategically crucial to Creator and the true Ultimate Lifeform, sure, but in situations like this-!

Silence.

Stifling silence.

… What was wrong with the Example? It was the same face as last time – the… ‘really, really bad thoughts’ one. No one should feel that. Carefully, he rubbed his head and tried to rack up the reasons why a creation would ponder such… woe; agony. Unfortunately, Eclipse was not designed to relate to that in such a manner, so the potential answers to help someone that saw HIM as HIM wasn’t there.

But he knew where to find them.

By breaking a few rules.

[x]

If anyone caught the Darkling, he would be in… deep trouble.

However, he was a UE. The best of the ones yet produced ⟪and one that the others believed would be the final result if their heated words were any indications⟫, so sneaking around the elongated halls was a simple enough task that Eclipse was more than ready for. Was the pounding in his three hearts screaming loudly? Yeah. Maybe a lot. The last Unfinished that left the confines of the nursery was removed from the Ultimate Lifeform selection – their Chaos Energy used for something that could not be spotted, according to Creator.

Black Doom knew all and saw all.

The Darkling was not hiding from him, even if Doom’s Eye was not here, hovering around for sneaky Unfinished-s. Nope, he was hiding from the soldiers, the Black Warriors and the Black Oaks. Part of the hive and basically Creator’s extra limbs, they would squeal on him so damned fast given the opportunity!

However, curiosity was a powerful thing.

As was the need to help his brood-mate from the desire of demise.

[x]

The area where prisoners were held was radically different than the rest of the Black Comet. Strange air – oxygen – was pumped into the region, and it was completely air sealed away from the rest of the cosmic rock. Eclipse squirmed and struggled through the ventilation systems and service corridors until he popped out in his desired location. A lot of dying or dead or almost dead organics were face planted down into the floor – or hung off of chains on the walls. These were the ‘politically important’ or ‘those that needed to perish the slowest.’ The Darkling didn’t fully understand why Creator required some organics to be alive longer than their planets/homes, but maybe with a more personal visit to find out…!

One of the creatures in the background moved. Moaned. The body twisted and turned and cried out something he had heard before:

Water… ⟪Silly other organics! There was no dihydrogen monoxide on the Black Comet that could be consumed for your benefits without giving something in return!⟫

Pouncing along from color to color, making a fun game out of this boring room, he made his way towards the creature in particular. His long tail swayed some more as he looked down at the critter. Er- Up. This strange thing was taller than he was, all transparent and weird looking.

It had, Eclipse thinks, arms and legs and a head with spikes, too ⟪only one, however⟫. Critically, this one had three clawed hands and two on each foot! Just like Eclipse! Wow! Talk about coincidence~ The differences ended when one looked at their chest area, however. A little white floating… blobby thing existed, suspended in that liquid-y fluid the body was composed of. It had a face and eyes, which was off-putting cause it already had a face and yellow sclera eyes right above it.

Aliens.

So… fascinating!

Faster and faster the Darkling’s tail wagged. “Hi there!”

There was a moan as the creature shifted into a position to watch the Black Arms’ creation better. Chaos Energy – VERY limited amounts; not nearly enough to be an attack vector – parsed through the space between the two telepaths. “Learning One… I did not expect to see you any more…”

He tilted his head. “Why not?”

“I am going to pass on, soon.”

Oh. That was a… thing that happened to those stuck here. This one was a Special But Not That Special prisoner – one whom had attempted to slaughter Creator and failed in an epic fashion. There was probably more stuff ⟪one didn’t attack Black Doom and get away with it without being part of some bigger plan⟫, but Eclipse was not here to think about that! “I need your help on these ‘emotions’ again!”

“Ah, you poor Creation. What will you do when I am no longer here to guide you?”

“Assist my fellow Black Arms, of course!” Eclipse added with a smile.

“… I see.”

“And speaking of that topic… I have a question, Blue!” Officially, there were no names for those in these cells – never would be again. This was why gaining a title was so crucial for Eclipse the Darkling! However, he had broken the rules to give the Alien one to make things easier to talk – Prisoner 245cZ24_21cB was a mouthful. With a tilt of his head, the UE blinked a few times. “What makes someone be so sad that they want to cease to exist?”

The Alien flinched. “Learning One, you are too important to think that. You are the only hope for this violent, mindless, and hive minded species. You’re independent-”

He waved his tail. His claws. Almost his feet. All of that in the harsh denial. “Wooooah! Not me, silly! It’s someone else I ran into! My brood-mate!” Eclipse rubbed the underside of his chin. “He is so sad and keeps thinking about wishing for death. I want to make him happy! But my normal stuff hadn’t worked so I came to you for assistance.”

Blue was silent.

“‘I want to die.’” Eclipse tried to mimic the sound, the physical position; those eyes. “What does that-?”

“Suicidal.”

O! A new word! Blue had a lot of those.

“There’s… another one like you?” came strange… optimism? Yeah. That. Eclipse was pretty sure.

“I already mentioned it. My brood-mate! We’re the only survivors from the 6-series,” he added with a nod; pyrrole markings amongst his body a blur in that rough, quick action.

With suddenness, the Alien grabbed the bars and shook their whole body. “Eclipse the Learning One! Listen to me! You must save that other creation! Those that are freed from the raw might of Black Doom can NOT be allowed to die-!”

Blue was more drastic than when a Use-less that ran out of time to prove its worth was fed to the hatcheries. It… shocked Eclipse a little. A lot. Not to mention the… not good connotations around Creator! There was a reason why Eclipse met Blue in hushed secret! He would be in SOOOOO much trouble…! “Silly, Blue. That’s why I am here. To help a fellow in need.”

A groan as fluid coughed out from the Alien. “Do you remember when I gave you the definition of ‘family?’”

Golden eyes shut and he nodded.

It was a nice memory and exercise of thought, even if he hadn’t fully comprehended it. Warmth. Happiness. The lack of being truly despised – although, sometimes families could drive each other a little heated, but never for long. Hugs nonstop – and he liked those whenever he gave them to himself. Alas, Blue mentioned that the Unfinished, while they looked very similar and were all Black Arms, were NOT, nor EVER WOULD BE WITH HOW THEY WERE DESIGNED, ‘family.’ That had not removed Eclipse’s desire to save and protect them all, of course, but…

Hmm…

So difficult-

“What is a ‘brood-mate’ to you, Learning One?”

He explained: someone from the same cultures. The same number sequences. The same-

“But you hadn’t felt that way about the ones that died,” Blue pointed out.

He blinked twice. Shrugged. “Well, they’re dead.”

Blue was always silent when ‘his Black Arms indoctrination won and took over.’ Whatever that meant.

“How do I explain this so you can understand with what little time I have left…?” The Alien paced around the cage once more. “That word, brood-mate, is the wrong definition if it – ah, he – can experience such strong emotions, too. You need to utilize the proper word – the proper FEELING from deep inside your growing heart, Learning One.”

A long tail swished as he crept closer. Like he was hearing a deep secret.

“Call that one, ‘brother.’ Your family. Give your special someone purpose and a chance to live. Don’t let them burn out and become a lost cause. Otherwise, no one else would rise up and stop... Never mind.”

Blue almost always spoke in riddles.

But it was always fun.

“Thanks!” he added with a smile and a wave as he turned to leave. Eclipse knew sneaking around to the Out of Bounds areas were worth the risk! Maybe he can stall for time and pick up some more color names or fighting techniques from other cultures from the warriors! He could use them to maintain shape before the arena times begun. Hmm…! So much to think about!

The Alien cried and fell. “Learning One! Remember!! You must survive or the Black Arms will eventually win. We cannot have that.”

There went Blue talking blasphemous stuff to itself again.

But it wasn’t as if Eclipse could squeal. He’ll just tattle on himself being in the prison region in the first place. Besides, the Alien couldn’t even hurt anyone!

Hop; hop!

Away he went.

[x]

Bro-ther?

Brot-her?

Broth-er?

He practiced the word. Played around with it in his mind. Traced the shape with his tongue as it rubbed against his multiple fangs. He thought about it when he was given the all clear to use Energy again, and not a single fuzzy broth-er to be found; thought about it when he practiced his Chaos Control – only hateful, angry eyes from the others that now hurt his second heart after decimating the first one ⟪what would happen when all three were afflicted?⟫; thought about it when he moved on to physical training – his claws dug into the shoulders of his opponents, for killing them, while encouraged, was technically not forced; thoughts about it when he eventually realized that all of the Unfinished were completed and there would be no more new ones left.

One rotation, it was Assembly once more.

Another great and wonderful day!

The Black Comet was warm, for they were passing near a giant azure star that was near to the point of reaching the end of its life – to supernova soon in a cataclysmic apocalypse. The Maintainers had mentioned that they would be gone by the time it occurred, but they would be passing through a field of radiation soon enough that will remove some of the weaker Unfinished.

This time, he waited for the Examp-

For his… brother.

Pleased, he sat and waited.

Waited a little bit more.

Waited a lot more…

Waited this time with some worry-

Golden eyes spotted him! That familiar shape and face; those little seven points that seemed even more… sad. More depressed. More… away from everything around him. Eclipse felt himself squirm in his place; felt his mouth dry as he realized the words he heard before were gone. Not because he couldn’t hear them – look at that face! It was so obvious his b-brother was suffering! But because somehow, over the passage of time, the other creation had learned how to be more silent in Chaos Energy from mind readers.

There were not many of them.

Had… Eclipse been realized at the start and had been shunned ⟪just like all the others had done to him⟫? His third heart was feeling so… so painful at that thought, but he squeezed his eyes and forced himself to be as bold and as loud as needed! How dare he make an assumption of his fellow 6-series!?

Red eyes watched Eclipse.

He offered his three-pronged hand with a smile. Tried to push in all that ‘genuine stuff’ that Blue mentioned was critical to ‘getting along.’ “Hi! It’s, um, me! Eclipse the Darkling again! N-Nice to meet you, brother!”

The other creation paused all movement. Stood perfectly still, like he was in error.

Remained locked in that position of halfway about to sit down. ⟪While in the background, more Unfinished ignored the sight of the UE and the Example. One of the Use-less nearby had even scooted away from the two of them, allowing Eclipse extra space – the action made out from sheer, raw fear, for some reason. The Darkling felt a frown form. He was not going to permanently injure a Black Arms! He said that all the time!⟫

What was next? What else should he do?

Two of his claws touched each other and snapped.

The answer hit him faster than Twilight’a attempt of an ‘attack to forever silence the rival!’ ⟪Poor Twilight, always letting that anger win.⟫

He had to give a hug! That’s right!

There was a rush as he slumped forwards and pounced on the pure, midnight black and bright red marked creation. His hands wrapped around his brother’s backside; his head pushed those star-shaped appendages and brushed cheek to cheek; he made sure to circulate some Chaos Energy to keep himself nice and toasty, since heat always equated to great things, no?

Was… this working?

Was… he doing it?

Another advantage of being a mind melder Black Arms? His ability to always communicate and receive, because that was the moment that his skills seemed like a foresight Creator had planned with expert execution. A soft, light voice filtered into Eclipse’s own thoughts – one that sounded almost exactly like himself, twinged and dyed and drowned in that grief – in that utter and complete agony – only to have sensed something new; something with promise-! “Warm… Why is everything… warm?”

Eclipse’s tail must be wagging a million planet widths by now. “Yup! Hugs ARE warm! Especially when they are from your brother!” He waited. Patiently. A wholllllle long moment! There were other attempts of the Ultimate Lifeform that moved into the room by the time the Darkling added some more ‘words!’ “Try giving one back. We’re family! That’s what family does!”

“… I… don’t… understand.”

So, when Eclipse placed himself down on the bench, still hugging his brother, he poured into that mind all of the things Blue had taught him about the definition. He made certain to add things about brood-mates and how that fitted in, because otherwise they weren’t brothers – and that was a silly idea because-! Oh! Right! They were both from the same series, and-!

On and on he went as the earlier Unfinished went towards the front in order to display what new things they had learned or accomplished.

The black triangles on top of that skull never left their ‘moved towards the back’ state, but… those little furred arms twitched and interlocked fingers behind Eclipse’s neck.

Not exactly a hug.

But still very enjoyable.

He was happy.

And his third heart was happy, too.

[x]

He stalked followed his brother.

The Darkling had made the mistake of letting the other Unfinished go the first time they met, so as such, there was not going to be made the same mistake twice! And, just like Eclipse, his brother was a horrible, terrible rule breaker! Those soft little feet silently walked along the corridors and hallways of the Black Comet. Strangely, that face filled with fur would morph into more of that ‘extreme sadness’ with every step. Enough time passed that when the other creation slipped into areas that not even Eclipse dared to follow – seriously, how did his brother not get caught – the Darkling planned ways for Operation Make Brother Smile.

Hugs hadn’t done the trick.

But there were a lot more where that came from! He knew all kinds of neat ruses! Secret spots! Other things to do!

[x]

The deep hums of Energy: the thick, viscous flow that he felt and distinguished as a surgical strike. The almost complete subjugation of some object. The jerks and tugs of two different signatures clashing until one was utterly overcome and crumpled underneath, yet again. Again. Again.

This time, he could hear… yelling.

Loud pitched. Horrific. Terrible.

It was so… strong that it almost made him shiver away from his hideaway place. But Eclipse would be strong enough to face whatever… prisoner Creator was messing with that day! ⟪Hopefully, it wasn’t Blue, but based on speech and tone it hadn’t sounded like the Alien.⟫ Instead, the Darkling decided to take the opportunity to go over his training and lessons and what he would do now that the Unfinished had moved from the ‘Creation and Cultivation’ stage onto the ‘Growth and Learning’ ones. ⟪‘Fighting and The Promised One’ was still some time away.⟫

Now that he was waiting for his brother to come back… he realized how almost uninteresting his old routine was. Wake up. Train. Study. Train. Study. Say hello and smile at the other Unfinished – which was fun – until they had their bodies and minds tell him they had not wanted him anymore-

Eclipse spent the time planning what to do with a brother instead. He never had one before, after all. Should he… get something for his brother? Maybe he could go to Blue and ask what to do? The Alien mentioned that family was super important, and that they should stick together. The prisoner liked to talk. ⟪And on some days, Blue would throw words of darkness into the non-responsive void; usually act like the Unfinished could not be seen. Words like: ‘You killed my loved ones!’ ‘I hope you get MURDERED by your own hubris!’ ‘To think I am so desperate I found the presence of your fucking tainted spawn as a beacon of hope!’ ‘Oh, I’m so sorry Learning One. Don’t take my anger and anguish as barbs towards you. You don’t know any better.’ ‘I hope you all die. Every single one of your damned Black Arms.’ ‘May you burn in the Chaos Energy you so desperately want. May The End find you.’ ‘I miss my child. I miss my baby so much.’ ‘You’re a horrible replacement. You’ll never be special.’ ‘Forgive me. I am not very social today. Please leave and ignore my words.’⟫

You know…

Prison sounded like a place Eclipse needed to avoid.

O!

He’ll teach his brother that! ⟪Such a shame about Blue… Why had that other species from beyond the edge of the cosmos attempted to kill Creator? If only the Alien hadn’t. Being outside the jail would have been more fun together… Black Doom had to protect the Black Comet, however. Rules were rules-⟫

His senses recognized something.

Black fur.

The burning need to flee.

To RUN.

… it always…

TO ESCAPE.

… hurts…

TO SURVIVE.

SURVIVE.

SURVIVE.

OBLITERATE ALL THAT---!

“Brother~!” he landed right behind the Unfinished with a graceful landing any Maintainer would blush profusely at. His clawed hand wrapped around the backside of the fuzzy creation – the three little points had no where to move against the hardened chest/core of Eclipse. He used his ability and shoved more happy things into the dark, cold, and needing-to-be-filled expanse. “Don’t worry! Your family is here!”

The mental scream into the space between silenced.

“… Warm…,” the thought changed.

He nodded. “Yup, yup. Warm. We covered this already.”

COLD.

FRIGID.

FREEZING.

A VOID THAT HE WAS BEING FORCED INTO-

MIGHT NO LONGER BE ABLE TO FIGHT-

“Looks like you will need two long, big hugs.”

[x]

It was another BEAUTFUL DAY on the Black Comet! The Chaos Energy was kinda low, and the Acceptables that could not be proficient in said Chaos Energy were starting to mysteriously vanish, but, overall, it was a WONDERUL time! They were passing by one GIGANTIC black hole that was sucking everything up and spewing these GIGANTIC JETS of HOT PLASMA-STUFF ⟪he hadn’t known exactly what they were as that’s what Creator was for⟫ that went farther than Eclipse could see!

And he could see very, very well!

The viewing, transparent bulbus that he had sneaked into was another place of the Out Of Bounds locations, but this one had less screams and yells. In fact, the only thing was a soft little whine from the base of his brother’s chest – like he was in serious, serious pain. Poor Unfinished. His back was fucked up so horribly-

Those red eyes watched the Darkling pull something out. It was a strange, large rectangular shape made of nothing but… stuff. Ok. Eclipse had no idea. Some tiny new prisoner alien had this, was making strange noises and was hunched over while holding onto the mass. The Black Oaks had removed it and thrown it away towards the incinerator, but the Darkling knew it was able to collect and retain heat.

And whom was always so cold?

That whatever-it-was draped over them both.

His brother moved closer. Had arms wrap around Eclipse’s upper core; dug those weak digits into and around his red streaks.

The Unfinished still had a mind filled with a lot of terrible, horrible things no creation of the Black Arms – especially one under his protection – should be burdened with!

But bit by bit…

[x]

“Brother!” He threw up his hands.

Red eyes watched him.

“Brother!” He carried something new from down the most recently conquered planet.

Red eyes observed him.

“Brother!” He brought out something else that was new after his family had thrown away the last one in distaste.

Red eyes softened at him.

[x]

They were two cuddlers, apparently.

Wrapped each other up.

Eclipse started to train less. ‘Show off’ less. Spent less and less time with the other UEs that still looked at the Darkling without all of the warmth that his brother gave back. Instead of making his Chaos Energy go into bladed forms and attempt to attack with something called a ‘Spear,’ which was a skillset some were learning, he was using Chaos Control to teleport into the secret little hideouts his brother and him knew about. Rather than work on his mind abilities to force and coerce other sentient life forms to his whims – a skill that Creator was said to be incredibly interested in the fact it formed within Eclipse – he made pictures play in his brother’s mind of various things.

[x]

His brother had a label, Eclipse discovered.

A Use-less.

Near the bottom of the hierarchy.

That caused him to pace around and feel something. He understood what that location meant – Recycling. The end of the road. Chaos Energy used in a form that was not suitable for the Ultimate Lifeform. There was still time, of course, but-

… The good of the hive – the good of the Black Comet; the Black Arms – rested on having the perfect being come into existence. One of them had the seed. That spark. That source! One of them had to feed on the others! Those meant to be reused had their fates marked for them. Only one person could touch ascension and gain wings like Creator owned. That was how life was – how their lesser lives were meant to be-!

… But maybe things could be stalled? Delayed?

Two survivors, right?

[x]

Eclipse the Darkling was a creation that had claws. Could teleport. Could strike down opponents with accuracy and precision. He had not applied his skill set for the final thrust – a final plunge into a body – because that would be wrong and he cared for everyone!

… That wouldn’t mean he couldn’t…

… steal Chaos Energy from…

… others.

And he accomplished such a task. He snuck into regions he was CERTAINLY not allowed – towards where the organics fresh and ready for harvesting awaited damnation. He was nervous the first time he accomplished his task – to get caught would possibly be worse than just admonishment from a Maintainer. He was replaceable if he was not the Ultimate Lifeform. Eclipse knew it. As such, at the start, he only took away and sliced the throats of the weakest, smallest ones. Their gurgling throats and flailing hands reached for their injuries, but he tore right into their hearts and stole about 10% of their total Chaos Energy. Depending on the species, the colors changed – seven in total.

He brought his little orbs of bright light towards the measuring equipment that monitored and detected the Use-less. The one used for his brother was always segregated and detached from the others – because he was the Example and no one wanted to share with him. ⟪Just how no one wanted to share with Eclipse until family arrived.⟫ Carefully, he would transfer the fuel over and cause the machine to mess up – only JUUUUST a little bit. Only enough that the other Unfinished was never at the bottom of the Use-less list. Never on the chopping block for that perfect being.

As the tests grew more, the amount required could no longer be sufficed by the young of the conquered. Eclipse had to venture further into those illegal spaces and find enemy combatants.

Those were harder.

Some were easy.

All made him feel… some sort of passion?

No. Wrong word.

What was it…?

Where had all this new, profound strength ⟪mentally and physically⟫ come from? This went beyond the drive to protect the Black Arms. It felt… so much more potent. Who knew the answer?

O!

He knew! Creator!

… Hah! He wasn’t going to bother Black Doom with his silly questions, however. There WAS someone else he could pester for information, however…

[x]

“Pst. Hey! It’s me! Eclipse!”

The Alien made no movement.

“I brought my brother!”

He had gotten skilled enough with teleportation to take someone with him. It was still rather dangerous, but his brood-mate never minded. All those thoughts now were warmth, trust, and – much to Eclipse’s great glee – the small heartbeat of hope. It was a great work in progress, and he never felt more…! He wasn’t certain. It was why he came by to visit, as he always did when he was conflicted with things outside definitions-

Blue never made noise again.

[x]

The Darkling had his body wrapped up around his family.

Vise versa.

A big, warm hug.

That was the moment. He burned it into a memory that would last persistently.

“… Brother…,” the thought swam and broke through, “please don’t leave me.”

It was a welcomed surprise. “Of course not! I promise!”

“… What… is a promise?”

“Umm… A word that means it’ll last forever!”

His brother squirmed in Eclipse’s arms. The fur and little individual spines rose and fell – something that denoted unease or fear. He understood his older sibling so much! “You’ll… be with me at the end of time?”

“And beyond!” he swore.

[x]

Until the end of his life.

[x]

…

…

…

…

…

Somewhere. Someplace. Far away.

A young girl with blonde hair ran up a flight of stairs.

Ran into her grandfather’s room.

And pulled off the sheets of a little ball of fluff.

Red eyes fluttered opened.

Stuck between being happy to see her.

And a little annoyed that his nap was finished off.

He had been…

…

…

…

Dreaming.

…

…

…

A great dream.

A soft dream.

But it slipped away.

The young girl danced on her toes.

Not aware of what he lost.

To be fair, he couldn’t recall, either…

She winked.

Had something held behind her back.

“Shadow~”

She spoke with joy.

He hummed.

Told her he was awake, now.

Conscious.

Happy to be with his humans.

“I made~ you~ something~”

An ear twitched.

“Here! It’s your new little buddy!”

She cried out.

And shoved something forwards.

…

…

…

A little black thing.

With red stripes.

It was a C150.

A little plane.

Stuffed to the brim with cotton.

Detailed and accurate.

As large as his two hands were combined.

Made with wool on the outside.

Stitched with thread.

With a little ♥ underneath a wing.

…

…

…

He could hug this new gift.

Hug and squeeze it tight.

And did so.

…

…

…

And he never.

Ever.

Would let it go again.

Chapter Text

“Pápa!” he chirped for the sixteenth time that afternoon. Quills bounced as he walked step by step in tandem with his Папа; those blue jean overalls rubbed against some of his fur. “Pápa!” he tried again as another tally was added into the fray. Perhaps on the twentieth time he would make what Maria would call ‘funny faces’ to gain his homosapien’s attention? This was the longest that he had been ignored-

A finger filled with dirt in the nails pinched his nose. “Brat, your dad is busy.”

With what? There was no tractor today, and Big Eclipse was still sitting in the hanger – Little Eclipse was in the crook of his right elbow. It was too early for dinner, even though Shadow had to admit he was having a hankering for hot soup. Sadly, with it being ‘summer,’ Папа had deemed that it was not the right season for it.

Ah… He desired soup…!

The pinch came back a little stronger.

“We’re going into town tonight,” was all that his male human would respond.

As such, he picked up the things that he needed to do and made sure to get Папа prepared for the rest of the afternoon. Many chores went down – except for the ones dealing with the animals. This time, Gerald allowed the door to open and him to glide around with his Air Shoes. His hands raced against his side as he scared the fowl into moving; made the bovines squeal in activity. It was very rare that Папа allowed him to do this with the future meal products!!!

That usually meant a special meal was coming and-!

A flash of metal. “Kid. Choose from this pen. Which one you want to eat tomorrow?”

Red eyes blinked.

His homosapien pulled Shadow from his wrist and went deeper into the barn – the bright red paint and white trim matched his body more than it had not. “An important lesson to learn from this choice is control. Control of wants. Control of greed.”

Greed? He thought that context was only within him wanting to curl into his male human’s arms. Or jumping into said arms. Or even warping into those arms.

What did greed have to do with choosing an organic animal for his… family to consume?

Hmmm…

Quills moved as he debated on what to do next. The option of choice was always heavy on his thoughts and mind. O! Maybe this was a test of his skills? He would not let his humans down! As such, he narrowed down the meat options: cow for beef, chicken for chicken, and pig for pork. Red meat was flavorsome with the blood that his taste buds enjoyed ‘maybe a little too much, you little space boy’ Папа had once commented. However, it carried a lot of lipids. When was the last time his humans had ate that…? Hmm… It had been a while…

He pointed towards the cows.

There was a shake of the head. Not angry. Not upset. Just a sigh and a little tug on Shadow’s wrist once more. “While having beef is a good call, you can’t choose these specific ones. These are females, and they give us milk. Steers are the ones we eat.”

Milk.

Cookies had to have milk.

He liked Manita’s cookies.

“We would lose that drink.”

Alright. So, he pointed to the next thing: chicken. Specifically, he targeted the strongest, fastest, most observant, at peak age; best genetics of the whole bunch in their little coop section off towards the side. With all of those Ultimate Chicken traits, he would ensure his precious homosapiens would have the best nourishment-!

Another shake of the grey moustache and a chuckle from deep inside the gut. “Not Mephiles. That sly, aggressive bastard needs to stay alive. Also, he’s a rooster, kid.”

Confusion struck the Black Arms creation. Gerald was giving him paradoxes now. He was two for two of incorrect choices! He had no idea-

Папа brushed some of his fur. “Mephiles is the best rooster we got. He’s in the pen to make more chickens and roosters in the future. To keep life going, a farmer saves the best and lets them continue on their lineage. Sort of how… Maria will continue the Robotnik name.” Air Shoes swung as the older human swept up Shadow and allowed him to rest his face against those wider shoulders.

He replayed those words.

To keep life going…?

Lineages?

“Shadow,” Папа murmured. “It’s important to learn this lesson – about preserving life for future generations.” Fingers rubbed the back of his head where a few of the points met. “But it’s alright if it takes a while. I imagine I’m fighting against perhaps a bit of your instincts, hm?”

Human eyes watched red ones that were watching the possible-food that was spared; those same rubies that went back towards his male homosapien. “Pápa?”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

[x]

Blonde hair fluttered about as a record player blasted a song in maximum volume. The light blue color of Manita’s dress fluttered as twirls and hops and claps went about. He copied suit, and together they made quite a ruckus in the living room. Her voice filtered into the air. “That’s right, Shadow! Shake those little legs~! Ah~!”

They weren’t alone. Not-Gerald was also swaying legs and hips and hands back and forth; grey colored hair bouncing in the human’s ‘fresh haircut.’

“So, what brings you over to my house, Abe?” Maria asked while doing a spin with not-Gerald. Shadow felt something shoot up his nerves and immediately stopped his dancing and watched the two interact.

OBSERVATION: the heartrate of the lesser male homosapien was increasing. Blood circulated into cheeks; enough to give a visible difference. “Parents aren’t at the house even though it’s a holiday. Work.” A grumble as the different colored eyes shied away towards the back wall. “Sometimes I wish they would give up their stupid jobs and come home to me, but-” A smile flashed, even though it felt… sad? Shadow was unsure. Not-Gerald was not Папа and was much harder to understand. “They always say they’re busy making my, and humanity’s, future brighter.”

“Well, Grandpa wouldn’t mind you hanging out with us this evening onnnnnne bit!”

There was a flash of hope. “You always know what to do to make me smile.”

… Why was Maria also having higher blood in her cheeks? Was that… event infectious!? How so, if possible!? He carefully fed Chaos Energy to his humans at every meal to ensure health-!

No-!

Unacceptable!

He felt his quills rise as he teleported between the two, quickly turned to check on Manita’s biological symptoms, and then turned back around to give Abe a cautious look.

There might have been… some…

“W-Wow, -------. Your glare is, like, really; really scary.”

… minor heat in his eyes. He knew he was capable of so much more. Larger threats. He could be far more frightening-

SMACK-!

Pale human fingers brushed against his quills and not in a motion of ‘petting’-

Red eyes relaxed as he turned to his female homosapien-

A pointing finger waved. “No! Bad! That’s not nice to growl at Abe, Shadow! He’s your friend!”

H-His h-human!?

Had she…

… disciplined him!?

[x]

When Папа heard the story, Shadow was sent straight to the Master Bedroom, where his male human closed the door behind him. He was sitting at the foot of the bed, flexing his fingers together; twirling those digits. His knees touched each other as feet hung off the edge of the bed.

Perfection engenders no mistakes. If you only learn through manual interventions, then-

Fingers rubbed him. “Great job, kid.”

… ????????

Huh??

This was not Time Out?

He-?

Was-?

Huh-?

There was a smirk. “Thirteen is too fucking young for crushes. You see her blush like that again, you stop that via gentle means. Got it? Until she’s at least seventeen. Eighteen. … You know what? When I tell you to stop.”

He nodded.

“But you can still let them hang out when I am not there. Just watch over them. You’re her protector.”

A chirp fell from his throat.

“Knew I could count on you.”

There was a flurry of movement as clothes were pulled out of the closet – where the articles of fabric Maria had created waited for the occasional locations. One by one, Папа searched for something that caught the human’s eyes. Eventually, one did – a simple shirt with stripes of red and white and blue. Blue was a nice color… just not so much on himself. His human knew this. “Pápa?”

“It’s the 4^th, kid. Guthrie has a parade and firework festival in downtown. Thought we should do something together. A present, for being such a good boy.”

He felt himself go still.

Forgot about his dislike of wearing blue.

Good boy.

Tail wagged as Папа changed him and wrapped the Gift around his body – little clasp held all the folds nice and tight.

Good boy.

Tail continued to wag as the four individuals piled into the truck; Shadow in between the spot between Manita and not-Gerald.

Good boy.

[x]

Good boy.

He nice’d that feeling.

Good boy.

[x]

Unlike the last time he had entered the town, he immediately noticed there were FAR more humans! They were coming in from everywhere! From farms, other homes, other places; other locations! Lots of them were driving in, like Папа was, and were all heading towards the buildings – the core of downtown. Even his own homosapiens rounded the corners towards a parking lot and stopped.

“Remember: Shadow is-”

“My little brother!” Maria immediately added.

“A shy guy,” not-Gerald commented as well.

For his own response, he shifted in his seat and clenched onto the edges of his quilt tight. He knew his job; his mission! To not let others see him as anything more than a miniature human covered in cloth!

The door of the truck opened and the three in the back spilled out. “Kid. Hold my hand at all times. Maria, stay in my sight range. Abe, I don’t feel like pissing off your parents if I lose you, so stay with my granddaughter.”

Manita saluted. “Yes, sir!”

Not-Gerald copied. “Yes, Mr. Robotnik!”

With the hand not within his male homosapien’s, he imitated each little muscular twitch the other two had accomplished. He, too, rose his fingers towards his brows. “Pápa!”

Папа moved his right hand over his chest where the beating muscle existed. “Oh. My heart. So cute. My two little soldiers. Oh. And you, too, I guess, Tower.”

Not-Gerald made a face. Or something. There was so much MORE information to gather about all these other homosapiens than to pay attention to that! Him and his humans split out of the parking lot and into the streets, where little shops and vendors were waving the group of four down! He stood there in awe as so many new smells filled him! There were so many sights! So many sounds!

One of the little booths had Mr. Stone the Shopkeeper, where Папа purchased ice cream once again – but no float for Shadow’s sake. The flavor was called ‘Coffee’ and his little pink tongue flicked back and forth – ears flicked forwards as the taste of dairy and sugar almost overwhelmed his sensitive senses like it had almost overwhelmed the beans! But he could not stop slurping it. As for the others, Manita took her ‘Strawberry,’ Папа bought ‘Mint Chocolate Chip,’ and not-Gerald took ‘Homemade Vanilla.’

One of the other booths had a little pond of water and rubber ducks. Rings had to be tossed and land on the colored heads, with higher points closer to the middle one went. The two young homosapiens with him tossed those golden rings over and over again, with the multiple circlets bouncing off the rubber heads. Maria managed to land one. Not-Gerald… six.

Red eyes maintained exact connection onto those dual chrome ones as he took a stack of rings from Папа. White gloves flew in rapid succession as his instincts tossed them without looking at the Target.

Clink clink clink clink clink-

All were perfectly on the highest pointed duck in the middle of the pool.

“S-Show off,” not-Gerald spoke as he failed to remove that emotion of awe.

Папа thought it was funny. “That’s the spirit, kid.”

Apparently, ‘he had won the game’ and got to ‘chose a prize.’

He tugged at Maria to pick something.

Yet another booth had-!

Shadow halted and started at the metallic items as his male homosapien spread some words with the others: ‘Time for this Old Man to show you brats what skills I have outside plowing.’ Red eyes watched this long metal circular tube be picked up with a little half-circle used as some sort of activation mechanism.

The Vanguard shifted. Ah. The stick that the other humans Maria wanted to see again owned; the ones that stole a piece of his pupa. The strange item that made a-

pew!

-far louder noise than that one. Larger ejection of materials. Instead of the-

Was that cork?

pew!

Little plinks occurred as the organic material being blasted out at high velocities hit dinner plate after dinner plate. The shards spread apart and fell into a collection area down below. With a huff, Папа muttered that the enemies he fought were easier; an emotionless face appeared that-

-sent shivers up his back quills-

-realization the Vanguard was seeing a mirror-

-and a face that instantly changed into something else when the cork-expellers were given to Maria and not-Gerald.

“I’m going to hit more dishes than you, Abe!”

“Nu-ugh!”

“Uh-huh!”

“BLEGH!”

“NYENG!”

Both ended their words with tongues flapping before they, too, aimed at the dinner plates – oh, all those possible foods that could be eaten on them and wasn’t!

In the end, Manita won.

Of course she would.

They were the Ultimate Robotniks.

[x]

The smell caught his attention at the next booth. It was heavy with a bunch of oils and basic ingredients: eggs, milk, flour, and confection sugar. It was served on paper plates and he noticed that other humans picked at it with their fingers instead of the plastic forks and knives available.

It was safe.

“Pápa,” he added while tugging at the waist belt of his Папа.

Gerald was quick to note that attention was required as he turned his head to look away from his female homosapien and down towards him. “Hm?”

He was still not used to asking about things so blatantly with others watching him. His Gift got many curious eyes – even a few ‘Oh, Mr. Robotnik. I heard you adopted a son.’ However, most had left him alone with only their gazes piercing him; his gloves; his shoes. Nevertheless, he was always aware of sentient objects looking and assessing him for any movement.

… There were so, so many in Guthrie, Oklahoma.

“What is it, Shadow?”

Manita piped up. “I think he’s eyeing a funnel cake.”

“Is that so…?”

[x]

It was going to take hours to get rid of the white powder embedded in his gloves.

…

Lick; lick.

[x]

The four of them climbed up a tall tower. Large words of KEEP OUT were ignored as his male human led the group up stairs that tilted and squeaked with every step. A simple remark of ‘Kid. If we fall, you know what to do,’ was all Shadow needed to hear to ease the worries off of his face. Silly himself! Of course his humans understood he would not let any harm come to them! They trusted him with their lives! He was a pillar of strength and dependency to them!

Higher and higher they went, until they reached some sort of area that had a trapdoor. “Can you break this open?”

“Grandpa. We are so breaking and entering.”

A huff. “This place has been abandoned for over six years.”

There was a fat padlock that was removed with a fast Chaos Spear; the chunk of the metal cut in half reached the floor. With that, Gerald popped up and ‘scoped out the area’ before motioning the other three to follow.

“My dad would never let me do this,” not-Gerald whispered with a mix of glee and anxious nerves. “You do all the cool stuff, Maria.”

“Heehee. Grandpa’s the best!”

And then…

… they were over the entire town! Humans scattered below him, just in touch range. Lights from the booths and vendors down below sent a wave of light that made it look like the sea of stars – the same brilliant points of light that shined high above them-!

“Let’s sit here and watch the show, shall we, brats?”

[x]

Humans sure nice’d their explosions in the sky.

Red ones.

White ones.

Blue ones.

Green ones.

Big ones.

Small ones.

It was like seeing black holes fight and clash against each other in a dance to dominate. A visual representation of the amount of power that they threw out. Only, this version was much safer for his humans! Each one made a little PEEEEEEEEEW WHOOOOSH before a big POOOOP crackle crackle crackle reached his triangles.

He had his hands wrapped around his knees and continued to watch.

…

…

…

And watched.

…

…

…

And watched.

[x]

It was late at night.

Not-Gerald was dropped off back to the Second Empire house.

Manita was sleeping next to him.

Папа was also asleep elsewhere in the house.

And he was awake.

The loud noises of many fireworks from other humans around the distance filtered into the sky.

Each one made him toss and turn.

Join us!

‘Play’ with us!

Have ‘fun’ with us!

And he slipped out.

Teleported with Little Eclipse in hand.

Up high in the skies.

Curious.

What was fun? What was play?

Was he about to find out-!?

FULLY DEFINE THOSE TWO WORDS-!?

Chaos Energy danced along his limbs. His body became traced in its fires.

He felt it inside each one of his fingers and toes.

And then he spread his entire body apart-!

Flung each limb at speed-!

Cried out as his insides RELISHED IN DESTROYING THE ATOMS OF THE AIR-!

BURN!

ANNHILIATE!

VANISH!!!

FEED ON HIS ANGER UNDEFINED FOR HIS HUMANS-!

EVERYTHING, DISAPPEAR-!!

CHAOS BLAST-!

The sound was silent.

There was no air to hear the ‘boom’ at first – not until the air that had not been erased rushed back towards the center with a loud BANG that echoed over the fields.

Ah.

He had done it-!

A hum played along his throat; smile along his lips. He had, indeed, made an ‘itsy, bitsy, teenie, weenie, yellow, polka dot bikini’ spot of bright, brilliant light and sound to join in with the other pricks of illumination. The red visual aura had spilled and spread only a minor one thousand feet all around him; his control so great that not a singular little thread on his buddy was damaged nor singed.

This was the first time the Vanguard had not permanently silenced anyone or anything with that skill…

Air Shoes hummed as he floated in the dark, Oklahoman sky.

… Maybe he should learn new sizes and phrases from Manita. He doesn’t know if he used that description one correctly. Besides, learning new things with his precious humans always sent warmth in his core!

[x]

A hand grabbed his ear.

Pulled.

Tugged.

A voice filled with panic.

Gerald Super Mega Ultra Bikini Atoll Atom Bomb Grounded him the second he landed.

… He was so confused as to why.

Weren’t big, catastrophic usages of energy and heat the whole point of this holiday…????

Wasn’t it?????

Human?

His human?

His male human?

????

Chapter Text

[[Once again, thanks to Copium V for a sweet, cute pic for a sweet, cute story. :) ]]

[[A new cover image has arrived~! Woo! *celebration confetti*]]

His female homosapien told Shadow that the bond he had with his elder human was something really special; something that Maria had, but different at the same time. It was why having Shadow be grounded for what the actions accomplished hurt Grandpa as much as it had hurt you. Manita would have him right besides her as she whispered those sentences to him underneath the bedsheets – a large flashlight aimed at a book that she had been reading over the summer. It was titled ‘The Prodigal Son: An Analysis of the Fable,’ and was one of the many ‘research books’ she had picked up to help him learn things about humans that he doesn’t seem to know originally.

The more he heard about this particular story, however, the more not nice it was.

Eventually, Maria understood that his face was distorted and confused and lost and many other words. There was a mighty HUUUUFF from her throat as the book was slammed shut and tossed onto the floor with a minor thud. With a roll of her blue eyes, she returned to face the Black Arms creation. “Oh, Shadow. I just don’t get it. Why do you like fire so much to the point you almost blew up the sky?”

He tilted his head.

Thought.

Pointed at himself – right where his Chaos Energy producing organ resided, near his heart. Then, as he felt the gaze of his female homosapien remain upon him, he moved his fingers to trace the outline of his body.

“Hmm… Reminds you of… yourself?”

There was a nod of black quills.

“Why?”

Because… it was fire. The infernos of Chaos. It was who and what he was. To him, there was no line between that Energy and his body – every atom of himself used it; was melded with it. He had no memory if there was ever a chance that such a truth had ever been… false.

Even his… memory of being the Example had that inside him.

He could tell Maria was thinking quite hard, using her ‘great Robotnik brain.’ “Does it have to deal with your powers?”

He nodded again.

A pale pointing finger tapped his white chest. “You’re so silly, Shadow.”

[x]

His male homosapien issued a very heavy SIGHHhhh when Manita told the story at breakfast. It was very unbecoming of Gerald, but that did not bother Shadow at all – the stack of fresh pancakes were calling to him. His wooden fork flashed as the pronged edges pierced right into the cooked and fluffed batter; sharp fangs dug and ripped and shredded that false flesh-

Shadow preferred his mornings with little sugar.

Limited syrup.

Mainly the flavor of cooked batter.

He made sure to give a smile at his two humans when he was done with the last of his coffee beans that were in a small bowl to the side. Ears completely perked up, the Ultimate Lifeform was aware of how Папа issued another deep exhalation from his lungs. Twice in a row was… abnormal, so Shadow quickly pulled back his chair and walked over towards the man.

He knew exactly what to do when he had possibly the start of unhappy humans!

Tail?

Swinging.

Eyes?

Round and looking at his male’s.

Toes?

He was up on them.

Arms?

Raised above him.

Fingers?

Stretching open and shut.

Voice?

“Pá~pa~!” he cooed.

Manita almost had her esophagus lose to a piece of bacon before she coughed – a squeaaaaal came out that was desperately trying to go don’t ruin the moment don’t do it Maria don’t dooo ittt, for all that is good in this world-!

Gerald submitted. Wrapped those large arms around his shoulders and hauled him off the ground. White gloves slipped around Папа’s neck as he made sure to issue more happy sounds.

Cheek rubbed cheek.

Ah. This was where he belonged…

[x]

However, no matter how much he snuggled with his male homosapien, there was something in Gerald’s eyes. Questions. Multiple ones. Ones that aimed at Shadow. As such, he ensured to do his part and stopped by the Master Bedroom – the board game that Maria had was already placed and put away; his ability to force himself getting ‘perfect rolls’ unparalleled. Merino Shoes tapped the hardwood floors softly; pictures that his female homosapien took of the three of them all over the walls.

So many memories…

This was the much better passageway to go through towards his authority figure-

A foot paused mid step.

He…

He couldn't recall the color of the Black Comet’s own hallways anymore---! Were they dark blue? Indigo? Violet? He… He remembers them being dark- So, so very dark-!!

The Vanguard was not exactly… pleased with this new development. He was… pretty such the color was Dioxazine.

The door opened.

Папа was waiting for him.

Beckoned with a wave of that upper body.

His worry over about a place that was no longer his… house had not mattered…

“Kid,” Gerald begun with softness as the distance closed; tanned hands rubbed the base of his ear; a man that understood how to get him to break down any possible barrier that would never exist between them. “I am going to show you a map.” A crayon entered his hand – bright red, like his highlights; like the big leaf that was encased in glass that hung by the door towards Manita’s room. “You can mark all over it. Bought it just for you.”

The large squares of paper became unfolded and were spread all over the floor. It was a map of the entire state of Oklahoma! From the panhandle towards the west off towards the mountains in the east; from the plains that stretched north and south! He even spotted the words labeled Guthrie and Oklahoma City with ease! There were so many little black and red and blue wiggles around, which Папа took the time to call and describe those specific marking as roads.

The crayon danced in Shadow’s fingers as he watched with a bright red glow in his eyes. There were so many towns and cities he was absorbing into his skull; the bigger the font size, the more people that lived within it-

“Shadow,” Папа murmured very quietly. “Can you draw me a circle how much… your Star Sphere Attack in the sky would… turn to dust here on the surface?”

O! His human needed his help for information!

Of course!

Eager to please, he drew a perfect circle. One-thousand-foot radius was two thousand horizontal space. There were only so many feet in a mile, and this map was zoomed in enough to have grids – each one a ten mile by ten mile square. As such, his Chaos Blast – silly Папа, calling it a Star Sphere Attack – was very, very small.

Something like…

Half a mile.

Realizing where the town of Sweetwater was, he did the mark in red south of the town in an empty area. Specifically, it was the spot that had the highest number of mosquitoes due to a stagnate piece of water-!

He had not forgotten about you-!

The rubbing of his ears continued.

“Was that you… having fun?”

He nodded with a hum.

Yes!

He learned fun, his human!

Fun was…! That exact same rush of battle! It was fun! He had no idea that was what that previously undefined emotion was-! The prickling up along his quills; the amount of Chaos Energy that flowed in his muscles; how his senses opened himself to more and more information of everything around him; how his heart beat so hard and fast until his powers supplemented the beats; the-

Fingernails dug into black fur. “How big would your circle be if you… tried harder?”

There was a pause as he thought about that. That was not exactly something Shadow knew or understood too perfectly…

But the Vanguard, on the other hand…

“It’s alright to guess a rough estimate.” Папа kept the volume low and had moved his smaller body into the well-nice’d lap.

A crayon started its movement. The arc slow and careful as calculations ran imminent. How much Chaos Energy could he pull off in his base form but still leave enough to continue without excessive strain? The Ultimate Lifeform was meant to have continuous growth, sure, but he was too young to have fluctuated much from his manufacture. Hmm…

A strategically placed Chaos Blast…

The red a whole square box.

Just one of the 46 and a ½ across on the map.

His male homosapien seemed to have something stuck in his throat before it was cleared. “If you tried your hardest?”

This time, he moved his head and aimed up towards his human; red eyes shifted with his own curiosity. Tried his hardest? Hmm… If he decided that his emotions fueled and broke his rationale? The only way he could produce a large Blast was if… his anger or rage or hatred dominated his thoughts, which was incredibly dangerous-

… What if someone hurt his homosapiens?

Another realization.

What if he… used that undefined emotion – a hot, liquid lava – that filled his core when Maria or Gerald… muwha’d him with their lips on his face?

That one emotion was…

… so strong.

He remembers regenerating for weeks.

Ah! His human, you are certainly asking hard questions today!

The crayon ran again. “Pápa!” Shadow ended with a tap.

The large hand of his male human remained on his head. No more rubs, but still all the warm connection.

A comfortable silence settled.

White fingers spun the crayon around. He attempted to see how long he could move it in between his digits. Maria and him had watched magic tricks on the television, and he found it funny that the homosapien race considered quick, efficient movement of muscle tissue as ‘magic.’

Now Папа saw his crayon.

Now…

Папа had not!

As Manita would say: TAA-DAA!

“… All of… The entire City… and the metro…”

Tap; tap. Fingers flew.

With the clock ticking away, he doodled pictures on his mind off towards the side, where no red existed. He must always keep his humans safe from all harm, even silly drawing versions of them! Quills and fur sash swayed back and forth as his whole body moved as he scribbled: Big Eclipse in its hanger, him and his Ultimate Robotniks running around the hills, fields and fields of farm animals – primarily chickens that a silhouette of Shadow was chasing.

They clucked; clucked so much when he accomplished that.

Male human hands brushed against golden Inhibitor Rings.

Black triangles twitched as Папа’s chin rubbed against them.

“… What about you… in your… True Form?”

A red writing instrument snapped in half.

The lack of noise from those beneath; golden eyes of the Acceptables that were all filled with shared understanding as the hive held its collected breath…

His human…

… always wanted to know so much.

[x]

Their steps creaked the wooden floors as the coolness of the summer night touched two moving bodies – a soft grunt of Manita sleeping interweaving with a grandfather clock giving off one singular chime the only other sounds. White gloves wrapped around the door to the Study and opened it. Папа did his part, pushed the round button that had a hearty click, and turned the light fixture on the ceiling into action. There was a small pause as Gerald closed the door behind him.

Shadow searched around the room.

Picked up a pillow from one of the sitting couches and placed it down in exactly the right spot.

Found what else he was looking for.

Hesitated.

“Pápa?” he clarified.

His human squeezed his hand.

Deep breaths.

He had permission laid out and expected.

He would… obey.

Besides, his male homosapien already knew the dreaded truth of what the Black Arms creation was hiding under his skin.

The base of his palm lightly tapped the sphere-

A brown item with the oceans on it-

And drawings of continents-

The globe twirled on a metal base-