Chapter Text
The next hundred years slip by, as things change around Shadow’s house, as he made sure to maintain the location of Green Hills as best he could, the semi isolation meaning that he was for the most rarely out among the city that kept on getting bigger and the buildings taller.
Shadow for his part kept away from the place as much as possible, as the scenery didn’t appeal to him, as hundreds of years flew by, the brief flickers of Sonic’s energy stirring Shadow to go look for him, but there was no sign of the hedgehog Shadow loved, as the flickers were snuffed out before they could grow into the soothing presence that Shadow knew as well as he did.
The whole city had changed, and there were noises that were enough to concern Shadow at first, but he ignored them in favour of keeping his house maintained as he waited for the next version of Sonic to meet and more than likely fall in love with again.
Shadow’s entire house had grown a little, keeping bits and pieces of his life with Sonic intact over the years while maintaining everything kept him busy as Shadow made things to last as long as possible.
Really he’d only left the house to get supplies and to take care of his home as best he was able to, and with the distinct lack of G.U.N’s presence over the last couple of years, Shadow could be forgiven for thinking that there was peace, as he came into what he could only describe was a maze of a city, with automated vehicles on the roads and no sign of even the slightest mobian presence.
Shadow frowned at the sight, his ears flattening as he wondered where all of the mobians had gone, and he stood looking at the location he was at, seeking any semblance of the places he once knew.
The feeling of being watched prickled down his spine as his quills raised slightly. Shadow, now on alert, turned to look around more carefully, to see what was going on before he reached into his quills about to grab the chaos emerald that he kept on his person at all times since Rouge’s passing over a millennia ago now, if Shadow counted the years right at least.
His eyes swept the scene, ears moving to pick up the tiniest sound that he could as something loomed closer, and Shadow moved into fighting stance, slipping easily to defensive manoeuvres from his G.U.N training, not that he’d had to for a while. Shadow knew he was rusty, but he supposed that he still had some fight left in him at least as his stance allowed him to move without expending too much energy.
Shadow moved with practised ease, taking out the dozen or so robots that looked like hideous versions of what Ivo would have made, perhaps they were of G.U.N make, but that couldn’t be right either as Shadow knew that G.U.N for all their flaws wouldn’t try to antagonise him like this.
No one would antagonise him, if they knew what was good for them.
Shadow drew in a breath as more seemed to come now, and the ebony hedgehog cursed quietly, “Son of a bitch!” He growled, only to sense a roaring surge of familiar chaos energy, his ears flicking as the all too familiar movements knocked more of the damned robots out of the way,
“Whoa buddy, ya got a death wish or somethin’?! Ya should get outta here!” Shadow was still the moment he heard the newcomer’s voice, and saw quills that were faded with gold, the grin on his face unmistakably Sonic’s signature grin. Before Shadow could respond, he was swept up into this version of Sonic’s arms, one mechanical, the other not and the hedgehog lept away at speed, “Tails, uh, little help here! They seem to be goin’ crazier than normal buddy!”
“On it!” Came the reply as Shadow spotted Tails poking his head out of a window, with a mechanical arm as well that he’d turned into a computer-weapon hybrid.
This wasn’t how Shadow pictured his supply run going.
Of course Sonic could still move as fast as ever and came to where he’d left a jacket, setting Shadow down first before letting go of the power the chaos emeralds had given him, one short which was surprising as Shadow knew what could happen if a being used too much chaos energy from their own bodies.
Sonic was tired, that much was clear to Shadow in the way that the former had staggered slightly, the panting, gasping for air while trying to maintain a brave, cocky façade firmly locked in place with the determination to at least appear fine.
Shadow however, knew that this incarnation of Sonic was nearing his limit, and moved to do the only thing that he could do.
He gently held Sonic, proving recovery and support in equal measures that had Sonic tense up, not that Shadow cared too much, he just wanted to be there for the hedgehog.
“Uh, mobius to new hedgehog -” Sonic began shifting slightly, as Shadow drew back,
“Ah, sorry… you just… remind me of someone I knew.” Shadow said softly, his voice carrying as this incarnation of Tails arrived on scene, Shadow’s ears flattening slightly as he knew he should have been a bit less in Sonic’s space! Shadow hadn’t wanted to make him uncomfortable! Though perhaps the action could be misconstrued as Shadow being grateful for the help, and the ebony hedgehog sighed, taking in all of the details of this Sonic, trying to commit them to memory as fast as he could, “I - have somewhere that we can rest that is safe. I was in the middle of a supply run.” Shadow offered, the hedgehog and fox looking at one another in surprise,
“Huh? Wait, a supply run?” Sonic asked as Tails looked taken aback by Shadow’s words, “Damn, you must have a pretty sweet gig wherever you were hidin’.”
Shadow hummed quietly, “You could say that.” He agreed, “It’s surprisingly not too far from here.”
A Chaos Control later saw Sonic and Tails’ eyes widen in shock at the admittedly simple home that Shadow and Sonic’s previous incarnations had built together, Sonic whistling as he stepped inside, “Damn this a really old place, no offense man.”
“None taken.” Shadow said as he quietly lit a candle to cast some light, the power having gone out the day before which was why Shadow was on a supply run to get fuel for the back up generator. In the hundred years or so since Shadow had gotten it, he’d never needed it until now, and the fact that he was out of fuel didn’t help matters. The candles would have to do in the meantime, as Shadow tried to be as self-sufficient as possible so that he could live comfortably while waiting for the next incarnation as Sonic.
Tails’ eyes darted about, his expression one of curiosity and deep thought, “I dunno Sonic, this place seems to have been built to stand the test of time. It’s like there’s no decay here at all, despite the seemingly natural materials.” The kit moved with care, taking his time to look over everything, “It’s almost like whoever built this place wanted it to be around for a very long time.”
“You’re not far off that assumption.” Shadow said calmly, “This is my home after all, and has been over the last thousand or so years.”
There was a whistle from the two brothers, “Thousand years?!” Sonic gasped, “Who - how - ?!”
Shadow chuckled wryly, “I was cursed to be an immortal being. To live while the ones I meet, come to love and ultimately bond with would pass on, always, always leaving me behind.”
There was a moment of silence as the pair absorbed his words, and he was sure that they wouldn’t understand what he was saying, but the sentiment was there.
That night was telling, as Sonic and Tails ate what Shadow had to offer them, the meal one of conversation and planning, “So, here’s what we’ve got so far, Batten, do you copy?”
“Loud and clear hun.” Came a flirtatious voice over Tails’ communication device which seemed to be a part of the kit’s arm, “Looks like you two are in some kind of exclusion zone, it’s charged with a lot of power and seems to be enough that it will shut me down if I tried going there.”
Tails nodded as he checked the schematics of his arm “That would explain why my arm is functioning with its emergency reserve instead of its usual.” he mumbled to himself, Sonic glancing at the kit before ruffling his head.
“I know that look, don’t start digging for more weird power rocks again! Ya almost got zapped by one of ‘em!” Sonic laughed as Tails looked away, as if it made his brother’s statement any less true.
Shadow looked at the pair with slight confusion, “I take it the two of you have never seen a chaos emerald then?” He asked as he pulled out the green one, the one that reminded him of Sonic’s irises that he kept on him at all times ever since Rouge had passed on, something he’d felt uneasy about but seeing their reactions, it was something else altogether, as shock filled their faces, followed by realisation as they beheld the chaos emerald in Shadow’s paw.
“...Sonic that looks like the gems you use for that extra form you take.” Tails whispered as he rummaged through Sonic’s bag, pulling out the other six emeralds that were stored away, a familiar look of interest painting the fox’s face.
“So! Sir, you wouldn’t mind if I-” Tails moved closer to the hybrid, his eyes on the chaos emerald “Took that to do some studies, maybe make a stabiliser for Sonic’s powers?” Tails grinned, looking up at the hybrid with big eyes, since they would always work on Sonic, Sonic turning away from his little brother to not give into the request that wasn’t even targeted for him.
Shadow for his part sighed, “If it is for his sake then, yes, and please, just call me Shadow.” The hybrid replied calmly, “Sir is a bit too much.”
The night was a strange one, as Tails kept on communicating with the rest of Sonic’s friends, or rather team, Shadow taking the moment to paint Sonic who had happened to have sat for a moment, under the light of a candle, as Shadow managed to catch the details. Sonic’s impatient streak was certainly about as difficult to handle as normal.
“Are you almost done yet? I gotta run!” Sonic huffed as his legs swung on the chair he was sitting on, his quills bristling with his impatience. Sonic not understanding why Shadow insisted on painting him, let alone with the lighting they have available currently,
“Soon, I promise this won’t take much longer.” Shadow said with a small smirk, enjoying the impatience that was Sonic, as he knew how to at least settle the impatient hedgehog, “And we can go for a run around the perimeter if you want, perhaps even treat it like a race.”
Sonic perked up at that, his quills smoothing back to their non-agitated state as he nodded excitedly “Oh I would LOVE that! Although don’t be shocked when I run rings around you!” the cobalt hedgehog grinned, full of confidence on his speed, that factor remaining unchanging between the versions of Sonic that Shadow had come to know.
“I’m sure that you will find me more your match hedgehog.” Shadow replied calmly, tail flicking slightly as he completed his work. He wanted to capture this Sonic’s essence, to make it look perfectly like a mirror as Shadow finally set his brush down, the Sonic within the picture looked ready to jump out and start running freely.
Shadow felt the movement of the wind as he and Sonic “raced”, though it was hardly a race, as the pair moved to be one, their footsteps almost in perfect unison as they made laps around Shadow’s home, the stone bench where Shadow would sit while he was having the more emotional moments while waiting for Sonic’s return was almost completely covered by plants save for the more fact that Shadow had let the lavender spread over it like its own blanket.
It was as they ran that Sonic talked.
Shadow for his part listened, as Sonic’s voice spoke, “I’ve bin out on my own since I could remember.” He said, “I don’ remember my parents, how I was raised, I just remember when that bastard Starline took over.” Sonic laced his paws behind his head as the pair ran, “After a couple years I found Knux and we just stuck together for a while, finding those weird rocks…” Sonic waved his paw “Chaos emeralds and I got that sick new power I managed to save Tails, of course losing something in the process.”
Sonic waved his metallic arm and Shadow had a feeling that it was only part of what had happened, quietly wondering to himself over the state of Metal and Omega, as well as the fact of what parents willingly abandoned their own children like Sonic seemed to have been, “So you’ve been in quite the fight.” Shadow said softly, as he glided smoothly beside Sonic, their own pocket of motion keeping their words between them as Tails was busy working on the thing that Sonic needed to stabilise his powers.
Sonic looked at Shadow with an almost unreadable look, though Shadow knew that emotion well enough. There was something deep inside that Sonic wasn’t telling Shadow, but as the two came to a stop, there were signs that things were at least going to be okay.
Shadow however didn’t know why, didn’t know how… but there was the pervasive bad feeling crawling through him.
Like that chaos awful day that Maria was killed by G.U.N, leaving Shadow without one of the beings he cared most for, aside from his mate Sonic who had been Shadow’s rock for most of their married life together, in between Shadow waiting for Sonic’s return.
When Shadow returned home with Sonic the pair were somewhat close, Sonic making jokes as Shadow listened with a patient ear. It was in a way like the last battle against Ivo, before his passing and Shadow knew, absolutely knew something wasn’t right as the feeling grew within him, his quills tingling with energy that was restless and unease as Shadow was uncharacteristically agitated.
He paced in the lounge room, air shoes clacking against wood with dull thuds as the material had long since been worked smoothe.
‘Something’s not right.’ Shadow thought to himself, ‘I don’t know what, but something’s not right…’
Tails was in the room that had always been his since the first lifetime that Shadow and Sonic had spent together, filled with everything that the kit needed to work while also being the safest room of the house. Shadow rarely went to watch Tails at work, but when the kit called out for him, Shadow obliged and came to see what the kit was up to.
“I got it done.” The kit said handing the green chaos emerald back to Shadow, looking exhausted as he did so.
“Rest Tails.” Shadow said softly, carefully setting the device on the bench before making the well practiced move of lifting the kit up with care, setting him down onto the bed that was waiting for him, “Tomorrow I assume we’re taking on this ‘Starline’ and putting an end to their tyranny.”
Tails for his part nodded, yawning widely and falling asleep.
The feeling of something being off gnawed at Shadow again, as he knew he was missing something. And whatever he was missing, it was important. Very important.
Shadow was used to focusing on missions. So when he and Sonic infiltrated Starline’s base of operations, Shadow was all business, slipping back into the role of a G.U.N Team Leader with no issue, making hand signals for the others to point out what to do without making a sound, easily stealthing his way through the base and making the jobs of the other partly robotic mobians as easy as he could.
Shutting down the main generator was easy enough, too easy, even.
Shadow should have known that Starline was waiting for Sonic, that the bastard platypus would goad Sonic into a confrontation, and of course use a mechanical version of Knuckles to fight Sonic.
Shadow did what he could to avoid collateral damage, not aware of the exact details of Sonic’s fight with the mechanical Knuckles, until the body fell, Sonic’s body shaking, but also falling.
Shadow knew that the lethal amount of chaos energy varied for beings capable of wielding it, as the scientists on board the Ark had spent hours trying to overload his own body behind Professor Gerald’s back, not that they succeeded, as Shadow just felt immense pain but never any of the supposed signs of a lethal level of chaos energy.
Yet somehow, he knew what he was seeing.
He’d surged forwards to Sonic, tried to grip his mate to prevent the worst, but it was too late.
It's wet, it's too wet. Shadow’s blank expression and still form wasn’t moving, as if he was not present in his own body as the feeling of something warm yet cold began to fill the air, Shadow had heard Sonic plead for Tails to be protected, for Tails to be looked after…
Sonic’s face isn’t visible, he couldn’t see his face… Shadow felt his body begin to tremble as the feeling of his own suppressed powers began to bubble up towards the surface, he was sure he cried out Sonic’s name, sure that there was a cry of anguish that was drowned out by the surge of dark powers that began to split away his hedgehog form…
Where is it where is it WHERE IS IT- Shadow couldn't find Sonic's face... Shadow couldn't -
There was a strange bellow that filled the air, a deep anguished, fury filled roar that made the mere presence of the others shrink back briefly, as a pitch black multiple eyed being appeared, cradling Sonic’s body with the utmost care, stunning everyone who was present as Starline tried and failed to speak, painting the walls a whole new colour as an eldritch being destroyed the once dictator.
Shadow eventually shifted back, still cradling Sonic’s body in his arms as the hybrid wept. Shadow’s tears coupled with the ragged sobs were joined by the cries of a screaming kit.
The rest of Sonic’s friends in this lifetime came to help move Sonic as the unspoken agreement was to follow Shadow, the others surprised when the ebony hybrid led them to a lavender field that was enough to elicit gasps from them.
Shadow eventually pulled himself together enough to explain the location was a place where those departed could find peace, at least for Sonic, since Shadow was sure that he’d want open skies over his resting place, the stone standing stark as Shadow marked the third lifetime of Sonic’s with the grief of only spending a single day. All while Tails was beating himself up over the fact that the device that could have saved Sonic was still on the bench in his workshop.